Explicit and implicit reinforcement learning across the psychosis spectrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Barch, Deanna M; Carter, Cameron S; Gold, James M; Johnson, Sheri L; Kring, Ann M; MacDonald, Angus W; Pizzagalli, Diego A; Ragland, J Daniel; Silverstein, Steven M; Strauss, Milton E

2017-07-01

Motivational and hedonic impairments are core features of a variety of types of psychopathology. An important aspect of motivational function is reinforcement learning (RL), including implicit (i.e., outside of conscious awareness) and explicit (i.e., including explicit representations about potential reward associations) learning, as well as both positive reinforcement (learning about actions that lead to reward) and punishment (learning to avoid actions that lead to loss). Here we present data from paradigms designed to assess both positive and negative components of both implicit and explicit RL, examine performance on each of these tasks among individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with psychosis, and examine their relative relationships to specific symptom domains transdiagnostically. None of the diagnostic groups differed significantly from controls on the implicit RL tasks in either bias toward a rewarded response or bias away from a punished response. However, on the explicit RL task, both the individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder performed significantly worse than controls, but the individuals with bipolar did not. Worse performance on the explicit RL task, but not the implicit RL task, was related to worse motivation and pleasure symptoms across all diagnostic categories. Performance on explicit RL, but not implicit RL, was related to working memory, which accounted for some of the diagnostic group differences. However, working memory did not account for the relationship of explicit RL to motivation and pleasure symptoms. These findings suggest transdiagnostic relationships across the spectrum of psychotic disorders between motivation and pleasure impairments and explicit RL. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Caregiver preference for reinforcement-based interventions for problem behavior maintained by positive reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabor, Anne M; Fritz, Jennifer N; Roath, Christopher T; Rothe, Brittany R; Gourley, Denise A

2016-06-01

Social validity of behavioral interventions typically is assessed with indirect methods or by determining preferences of the individuals who receive treatment, and direct observation of caregiver preference rarely is described. In this study, preferences of 5 caregivers were determined via a concurrent-chains procedure. Caregivers were neurotypical, and children had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities and engaged in problem behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. Caregivers were taught to implement noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), and the caregivers selected interventions to implement during sessions with the child after they had demonstrated proficiency in implementing the interventions. Three caregivers preferred DRA, 1 caregiver preferred differential reinforcement procedures, and 1 caregiver did not exhibit a preference. Direct observation of implementation in concurrent-chains procedures may allow the identification of interventions that are implemented with sufficient integrity and preferred by caregivers. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Diffusion with social reinforcement: The role of individual preferences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tur, Elena M.; Zeppini, Paolo; Frenken, Koen

2018-01-01

The debate on diffusion in social networks has traditionally focused on the structure of the network to understand the efficiency of a network in terms of diffusion. Recently, the role of social reinforcement has been added to the debate, as it has been proposed that simple contagions diffuse better

Epidemic Spreading with Heterogeneous Awareness on Human Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanling Lu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The spontaneous awareness behavioral responses of individuals have a significant impact on epidemic spreading. In this paper, a modified Susceptible-Alert-Infected-Susceptible (SAIS epidemic model with heterogeneous awareness is presented to study epidemic spreading in human networks and the impact of heterogeneous awareness on epidemic dynamics. In this model, when susceptible individuals receive awareness information about the presence of epidemic from their infected neighbor nodes, they will become alert individuals with heterogeneous awareness rate. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that heterogeneous awareness can enhance the epidemic threshold with certain conditions and reduce the scale of virus outbreaks compared with no awareness. What is more, for the same awareness parameter, it also shows that heterogeneous awareness can slow effectively the spreading size and does not delay the arrival time of epidemic spreading peak compared with homogeneous awareness.

When the Plus Sign is a Negative: Challenging and Reinforcing Embodied Stigmas Through Outliers and Counter-Narratives.

Science.gov (United States)

Lippert, Alexandra

2017-11-30

When individuals become aware of their stigma, they attempt to manage their identity through discourses that both challenge and reinforce power. Identity management is fraught with tensions between the desire to fit normative social constructions and counter the same discourse. This essay explores identity management in the midst of the embodied stigmas concerning unplanned pregnancy during college and raising a biracial son. In doing so, this essay points to the difference between outlier narratives and counter-narratives. The author encourages health communication scholars to explore conditions under which storytelling moves beyond the personal to the political. Emancipatory intent does not guarantee emancipatory outcomes. Storytelling can function therapeutically for individuals while failing to redress forces that constrain human potential and agency.

Factors that influence the reinforcing value of foods and beverages.

Science.gov (United States)

Temple, Jennifer L

2014-09-01

Behavioral economic principles state that as the cost of a product increases, purchasing or consumption of that product will decrease. To understand the impact of behavioral economics on ingestive behavior, our laboratory utilizes an operant behavior paradigm to measure how much work an individual will engage in to get access to foods and beverages. This task provides an objective measure of the reinforcing value. We have shown that consumption of the same high fat snack food every day for two weeks reduces its reinforcing value in lean individuals, but increases its reinforcing value in a subset of obese individuals. This increase in the reinforcing value of food predicts future weight gain. Similarly, we have shown that repeated intake of caffeinated soda increases its reinforcing value in boys, but not in girls. This increase in reinforcing value is not related to usual caffeine consumption, but may be associated with positive, subjective effects of caffeine that are more likely to be reported by boys than by girls. Because food and beverage reinforcement relates to real-world consumption, it is important to determine factors that increase or decrease the reinforcing value and determine the consequences of these responses. We are especially interested in determining ways to shift the behavioral economic curve in order to develop novel strategies to decrease the reinforcing value of less healthy snack foods and beverages, such as soda, potato chips and candy and to increase the reinforcing value of healthier foods and beverages, such as water, fruits, and vegetables. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing mental health services in Nigeria : the impact of a community-based mental health awareness programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Julian; Agomoh, Ahamefula O

2008-07-01

This grass-roots level mental health awareness programme considerably increased use of community-based mental health services in a part of Nigeria where knowledge about treatability of mental illness was limited. The benefits of the programme were sustained for a significant period after the initial awareness programme. In order for attitude changes to be reinforced, similar awareness programmes must be repeated at regular intervals.

Linking Multimodal Communication and Feedback Loops to Reinforce Plagiarism Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Kerri

2011-01-01

In this article, the author describes the use of an electronic quiz on a trial basis as a means of improving students' awareness of academic misconduct issues and their understanding of how to avoid those issues. The quiz integrated several new factors into information-sharing processes, increasing feedback to both students and staff. It was by no…

The Elicitation of Relaxation and Interoceptive Awareness Using Floatation Therapy in Individuals With High Anxiety Sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Feinstein, Justin S; Khalsa, Sahib S; Yeh, Hung-Wen; Al Zoubi, Obada; Arevian, Armen C; Wohlrab, Colleen; Pantino, Marie K; Cartmell, Laci J; Simmons, W Kyle; Stein, Murray B; Paulus, Martin P

2018-03-09

Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy), an intervention that attenuates exteroceptive sensory input to the nervous system, has recently been found to reduce state anxiety across a diverse clinical sample with high levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS). To further examine this anxiolytic effect, the present study investigated the affective and physiological changes induced by Floatation-REST and assessed whether individuals with high AS experienced any alterations in their awareness for interoceptive sensation while immersed in an environment lacking exteroceptive sensation. Using a within-subject crossover design, 31 participants with high AS were randomly assigned to undergo a 90-minute session of Floatation-REST or an exteroceptive comparison condition. Measures of self-reported affect and interoceptive awareness were collected before and after each session, and blood pressure was measured during each session. Relative to the comparison condition, Floatation-REST generated a significant anxiolytic effect characterized by reductions in state anxiety and muscle tension and increases in feelings of relaxation and serenity (p 12 mm Hg). The float environment also significantly enhanced awareness and attention for cardiorespiratory sensations. Floatation-REST induced a state of relaxation and heightened interoceptive awareness in a clinical sample with high AS. The paradoxical nature of the anxiolytic effect in this sample is discussed in relation to Wolpe's theory of reciprocal inhibition and the regulation of distress via sustained attention to present moment visceral sensations such as the breath. Copyright © 2018 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decentralized Reinforcement Learning of robot behaviors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leottau, David L.; Ruiz-del-Solar, Javier; Babuska, R.

2018-01-01

A multi-agent methodology is proposed for Decentralized Reinforcement Learning (DRL) of individual behaviors in problems where multi-dimensional action spaces are involved. When using this methodology, sub-tasks are learned in parallel by individual agents working toward a common goal. In

Quantized Visual Awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W Alexander Escobar

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The proposed model holds that, at its most fundamental level, visual awareness is quantized. That is to say that visual awareness arises as individual bits of awareness through the action of neural circuits with hundreds to thousands of neurons in at least the human striate cortex. Circuits with specific topologies will reproducibly result in visual awareness that correspond to basic aspects of vision like color, motion and depth. These quanta of awareness (qualia are produced by the feedforward sweep that occurs through the geniculocortical pathway but are not integrated into a conscious experience until recurrent processing from centers like V4 or V5 select the appropriate qualia being produced in V1 to create a percept. The model proposed here has the potential to shift the focus of the search for visual awareness to the level of microcircuits and these likely exist across the kingdom Animalia. Thus establishing qualia as the fundamental nature of visual awareness will not only provide a deeper understanding of awareness, but also allow for a more quantitative understanding of the evolution of visual awareness throughout the animal kingdom.

Are Perfectionism, Individualism, and Racial Color-Blindness Associated with Less Cultural Sensitivity? Exploring Diversity Awareness in White Prospective Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kenneth T.; Castro, Antonio J.; Cunningham, Yu Li

2014-01-01

Cultural ideologies of meritocracy and individualism act as strong barriers for college students in understanding the most complex systems of inequity across racial, cultural, and gendered lines. The dichotomous thinking patterns of maladaptive perfectionists may also relate to resistance of multicultural awareness. This study examined whether…

Awareness of diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Steven T; Tan, Andrew K G; Mustapha, Feisul I

2017-09-01

Policy interventions for cardiovascular diseases require individual awareness of ailments. Such awareness is also key to individuals making changes to their lifestyle and dietary habits. The present study investigated the association of sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors with the awareness and prevalence of three ailments: diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Data were obtained from the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1. Logistic regressions were estimated and odds ratios of exposure variables calculated. Diabetes awareness was associated with work hours, age, family history of illnesses, and ethnicity. Individuals with diminished hypertension awareness included those who were younger, without family history of illnesses, not obese, working more hours, and not adhering to a healthy diet. Low awareness of hypercholesterolemia was associated with younger age, lower education level, living in rural areas, female gender, no family history of illnesses, non-obesity, and minority ethnic background. Prevalence generally had the same pattern of association with the exposure variables. Various sociodemographic and health and lifestyle characteristics were associated with diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia awareness in Malaysia, albeit with varying outcomes. Therefore, programs focusing on lifestyle improvements should be targeted at high-risk subgroups, such as individuals working longer hours and young adults, who are less likely to be aware of their health risk factors. © 2016 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Body Awareness and Movement for Students with Multiple Disabilities Including Visual Impairments

Science.gov (United States)

DePountis, Vicki; Cady, Deborah; Hallak, Tracy

2013-01-01

This conference presentation examines concept development for congenitally blind students. It presents current research on best-practice for teaching this population. Examples of strategies to reinforce understanding of body concepts, spatial awareness, and positional language, while promoting mirroring, self regulation, and purposeful movement to…

The power reinforcement framework revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jeppe; Andersen, Kim Normann; Danziger, James N.

2016-01-01

Whereas digital technologies are often depicted as being capable of disrupting long-standing power structures and facilitating new governance mechanisms, the power reinforcement framework suggests that information and communications technologies tend to strengthen existing power arrangements within...... public organizations. This article revisits the 30-yearold power reinforcement framework by means of an empirical analysis on the use of mobile technology in a large-scale programme in Danish public sector home care. It explores whether and to what extent administrative management has controlled decision......-making and gained most benefits from mobile technology use, relative to the effects of the technology on the street-level workers who deliver services. Current mobile technology-in-use might be less likely to be power reinforcing because it is far more decentralized and individualized than the mainly expert...

Awareness of financial skills in dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Wielingen, L E; Tuokko, H A; Cramer, K; Mateer, C A; Hultsch, D F

2004-07-01

The present study examined the relations among levels of cognitive functioning, executive dysfunction, and awareness of financial management capabilities among a sample of 42 community-dwelling persons with dementia. Financial tasks on the Measure of Awareness of Financial Skills (MAFS) were dichotomized as simple or complex based on Piaget's operational levels of childhood cognitive development. Severity of global cognitive impairment and executive dysfunction were significantly related to awareness of financial abilities as measured by informant-participant discrepancy scores on the MAFS. For persons with mild and moderate/severe dementia, and persons with and without executive dysfunction, proportions of awareness within simple and complex financial task categories were tabulated. Significantly less awareness of financial abilities occurred on complex compared with simple tasks. Individuals with mild dementia were significantly less aware of abilities on complex items, whereas persons with moderate/severe dementia were less aware of abilities, regardless of task complexity. Similar patterns of awareness were observed for individuals with and without executive dysfunction. These findings support literature suggesting that deficits associated with dementia first occur for complex cognitive tasks involving inductive reasoning or decision-making in novel situations, and identify where loss of function in the financial domain may first be expected. Copyright Taylor & Francis Ltd

Modulation of the conflict monitoring intensity: the role of aversive reinforcement, cognitive demand, and trait-BIS.

Science.gov (United States)

Leue, Anja; Lange, Sebastian; Beauducel, André

2012-06-01

According to Botvinick's (2007) integrative account, conflict monitoring is aversive because individuals anticipate cognitive demand, whereas the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST) predicts that conflict processing is aversive because individuals anticipate aversive reinforcement of erroneous responses. Because these accounts give different reasons for the aversive aspects of conflict, we manipulated cognitive demand and the aversive reinforcement as a consequence of wrong choices in a go/no-go task. Thereby, we also aimed to investigate whether individual differences in conflict sensitivity (i.e., in trait anxiety, linked to high sensitivity of the behavioral inhibition system [trait-BIS]) represent the effects of aversive reinforcement and cognitive demand in conflict tasks. We expected that these manipulations would have effects on the frontal N2 component representing activity of the anterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, higher-trait-BIS individuals should be more sensitive than lower-trait-BIS individuals to aversive effects in conflict situations, resulting in a more negative frontal N2 for higher-trait-BIS individuals. In Study 1, with N = 104 students, and Study 2, with N = 47 students, aversive reinforcement was manipulated in three levels (within-subjects factor) and cognitive demand in two levels (between-subjects factor). The behavioral findings from the go/no-go task with noncounterbalanced reinforcement levels (Study 1) could be widely replicated in a task with counterbalanced reinforcement levels (Study 2). The frontal mean no-go N2 amplitude and the frontal no-go N2 dipole captured predicted reinforcement-related variations of conflict monitoring, indicating that the anticipation of aversive reinforcement induces variations in conflict monitoring intensity in frontal brain areas. The aversive nature of conflict was underlined by the more pronounced conflict monitoring in higher- than in lower-trait-BIS individuals.

From Positive Reinforcement to Positive Behaviors: An Everyday Guide for the Practitioner

Science.gov (United States)

Sigler, Ellen A.; Aamidor, Shirley

2005-01-01

There are various opinions concerning the value of positive reinforcement when discussing modifying behaviors of young children. In some cases, individuals considered positive reinforcement difficult to implement and, in extreme cases, even felt it to be detrimental. Educators often use praise interchangeably with positive reinforcement when…

Neural mechanisms of negative reinforcement in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Damiano, Cara R; Cockrell, Dillon C; Dunlap, Kaitlyn; Hanna, Eleanor K; Miller, Stephanie; Bizzell, Joshua; Kovac, Megan; Turner-Brown, Lauren; Sideris, John; Kinard, Jessica; Dichter, Gabriel S

2015-01-01

Previous research has found accumulating evidence for atypical reward processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), particularly in the context of social rewards. Yet, this line of research has focused largely on positive social reinforcement, while little is known about the processing of negative reinforcement in individuals with ASD. The present study examined neural responses to social negative reinforcement (a face displaying negative affect) and non-social negative reinforcement (monetary loss) in children with ASD relative to typically developing children, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that children with ASD demonstrated hypoactivation of the right caudate nucleus while anticipating non-social negative reinforcement and hypoactivation of a network of frontostriatal regions (including the nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, and putamen) while anticipating social negative reinforcement. In addition, activation of the right caudate nucleus during non-social negative reinforcement was associated with individual differences in social motivation. These results suggest that atypical responding to negative reinforcement in children with ASD may contribute to social motivational deficits in this population.

FEM performance of concrete beams reinforced by carbon fiber bars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Hashim

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Concrete structures may be vulnerable to harsh environment, reinforcement with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP bars have an increasing acceptance than normal steel. The nature of (FRP bar is (non-corrosive which is very beneficial for increased durability as well as the reinforcement of FRP bar has higher strength than steel bar. FRP usage are being specified more and more by public structural engineers and individual companies as main reinforcement and as strengthening of structures. Steel reinforcement as compared to (FRP reinforcement are decreasingly acceptable for structural concrete reinforcement including precast concrete, cast in place concrete, columns, beams and other components. Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Polymer (CFRP have a very high modulus of elasticity “high modulus” and very high tensile strength. In aerospace industry, CFRP with high modulus are popular among all FRPs because it has a high strength to weight ratio. In this research, a finite element models will be used to represent beams with Carbon Fiber Reinforcement and beams with steel reinforcement. The primary objective of the research is the evaluation of the effect of (CFR on beam reinforcement.

Reinforcement Learning Explains Conditional Cooperation and Its Moody Cousin.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahiro Ezaki

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Direct reciprocity, or repeated interaction, is a main mechanism to sustain cooperation under social dilemmas involving two individuals. For larger groups and networks, which are probably more relevant to understanding and engineering our society, experiments employing repeated multiplayer social dilemma games have suggested that humans often show conditional cooperation behavior and its moody variant. Mechanisms underlying these behaviors largely remain unclear. Here we provide a proximate account for this behavior by showing that individuals adopting a type of reinforcement learning, called aspiration learning, phenomenologically behave as conditional cooperator. By definition, individuals are satisfied if and only if the obtained payoff is larger than a fixed aspiration level. They reinforce actions that have resulted in satisfactory outcomes and anti-reinforce those yielding unsatisfactory outcomes. The results obtained in the present study are general in that they explain extant experimental results obtained for both so-called moody and non-moody conditional cooperation, prisoner's dilemma and public goods games, and well-mixed groups and networks. Different from the previous theory, individuals are assumed to have no access to information about what other individuals are doing such that they cannot explicitly use conditional cooperation rules. In this sense, myopic aspiration learning in which the unconditional propensity of cooperation is modulated in every discrete time step explains conditional behavior of humans. Aspiration learners showing (moody conditional cooperation obeyed a noisy GRIM-like strategy. This is different from the Pavlov, a reinforcement learning strategy promoting mutual cooperation in two-player situations.

Intensive Individualized Reinforcement Education Is Important for the Prevention of Hypoglycemia in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun-Mi Yong

2015-04-01

Full Text Available BackgroundWe investigated whether an intensive individualized reinforcement education program could influence the prevention of hypoglycemic events in patients with type 2 diabetes.MethodsFrom March 2013 to September 2013, patients aged 35 to 75 years with type 2 diabetes who had not previously participated in diabetes education, and treated with insulin or a sulfonylurea-containing regimen were included in the study. After structured group education, the patients assigned to the intensive individualized education group (IT were requested to visit for reinforcement. All subjects in the IT were encouraged to self-manage dose adjustments. Participants in both groups (control group [CG, group education only; n=22] and IT [n=24] attended follow-up visits at 2, 8, 12, and 24 weeks. At each visit, all patients were asked whether they had experienced hypoglycemia.ResultsThe total study population consisted of 20 men (43.5%; mean age and diabetic duration of 55.9±11.0 and 5.1±7.3 years, respectively. At 24 weeks, there were no significant differences in hemoglobin A1c values between the CG and IT. The total number of hypoglycemic events per patient was 5.26±6.5 in the CG and 2.58±2.3 times in the IT (P=0.004. Adherence to lifestyle modification including frequency of exercise, self-monitoring of blood glucose, or dietary habit was not significantly different between the groups. However, adherence to hypoglycemia management, especially the dose adjustment of medication, was significantly higher in the IT compared with the CG.ConclusionCompared with the structured group education, additional IT resulted in additional benefits in terms of avoidance of hypoglycemia and treating hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Intensive individualized reinforcement education is important for the prevention of hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Yun-Mi; Shin, Kyung-Mi; Lee, Kang-Min; Cho, Jae-Young; Ko, Sun-Hye; Yoon, Min-Hyang; Kim, Tae-Won; Jeong, Jong-Hyun; Park, Yong-Moon; Ko, Seung-Hyun; Ahn, Yu-Bae

2015-04-01

We investigated whether an intensive individualized reinforcement education program could influence the prevention of hypoglycemic events in patients with type 2 diabetes. From March 2013 to September 2013, patients aged 35 to 75 years with type 2 diabetes who had not previously participated in diabetes education, and treated with insulin or a sulfonylurea-containing regimen were included in the study. After structured group education, the patients assigned to the intensive individualized education group (IT) were requested to visit for reinforcement. All subjects in the IT were encouraged to self-manage dose adjustments. Participants in both groups (control group [CG, group education only; n=22] and IT [n=24]) attended follow-up visits at 2, 8, 12, and 24 weeks. At each visit, all patients were asked whether they had experienced hypoglycemia. The total study population consisted of 20 men (43.5%; mean age and diabetic duration of 55.9±11.0 and 5.1±7.3 years, respectively). At 24 weeks, there were no significant differences in hemoglobin A1c values between the CG and IT. The total number of hypoglycemic events per patient was 5.26±6.5 in the CG and 2.58±2.3 times in the IT (P=0.004). Adherence to lifestyle modification including frequency of exercise, self-monitoring of blood glucose, or dietary habit was not significantly different between the groups. However, adherence to hypoglycemia management, especially the dose adjustment of medication, was significantly higher in the IT compared with the CG. Compared with the structured group education, additional IT resulted in additional benefits in terms of avoidance of hypoglycemia and treating hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Behavior of reinforced concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. H. Tavares

Full Text Available The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP bars is one of the alternatives presented in recent studies to prevent the drawbacks related to the steel reinforcement in specific reinforced concrete members. In this work, six reinforced concrete beams were submitted to four point bending tests. One beam was reinforced with CA-50 steel bars and five with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP bars. The tests were carried out in the Department of Structural Engineering in São Carlos Engineering School, São Paulo University. The objective of the test program was to compare strength, reinforcement deformation, displacement, and some anchorage aspects between the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams and the steel-reinforced concrete beam. The results show that, even though four GFRP-reinforced concrete beams were designed with the same internal tension force as that with steel reinforcement, their capacity was lower than that of the steel-reinforced beam. The results also show that similar flexural capacity can be achieved for the steel- and for the GFRP-reinforced concrete beams by controlling the stiffness (reinforcement modulus of elasticity multiplied by the bar cross-sectional area - EA and the tension force of the GFRP bars.

Level of emotional awareness in the general French population: effects of gender, age, and education level.

Science.gov (United States)

Nandrino, Jean-Louis; Baracca, Margaret; Antoine, Pascal; Paget, Virginie; Bydlowski, Sarah; Carton, Solange

2013-01-01

The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) developed by Lane et al. (1990) measures the ability of a subject to discriminate his or her own emotional state and that of others. The scale is based on a cognitive-developmental model in which emotional awareness increases in a similar fashion to intellectual functions. Because studies performed using North American and German populations have demonstrated an effect of age, gender, and level of education on the ability to differentiate emotional states, our study attempts to evaluate whether these factors have the same effects in a general French population. 750 volunteers (506 female, 244 male), who were recruited from three regions of France (Lille, Montpellier, Paris), completed the LEAS. The sample was divided into five age groups and three education levels. The results of the LEAS scores for self and others and the total score showed a difference in the level of emotional awareness for different age groups, by gender and education level. A higher emotional level was observed for younger age groups, suggesting that emotional awareness depends on the cultural context and generational societal teachings. Additionally, the level of emotional awareness was higher in women than in men and lower in individuals with less education. This result might be explained by an educational bias linked to gender and higher education whereby expressive ability is reinforced. In addition, given the high degree of variability in previously observed scores in the French population, we propose a standard based on our French sample.

Reinforcement principles for addiction medicine; from recreational drug use to psychiatric disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Scott

2016-01-01

The transition from recreational drug use to addiction can be conceptualized as a pathological timeline whereby the psychological mechanisms responsible for disordered drug use evolve from positive reinforcement to favor elements of negative reinforcement. Abused substances (ranging from alcohol to psychostimulants) are initially ingested at regular occasions according to their positive reinforcing properties. Importantly, repeated exposure to rewarding substances sets off a chain of secondary reinforcing events, whereby cues and contexts associated with drug use may themselves become reinforcing and thereby contribute to the continued use and possible abuse of the substance(s) of choice. Indeed, the powerful reinforcing efficacy of certain drugs may eclipse that of competing social rewards (such as career and family) and lead to an aberrant narrowing of behavioral repertoire. In certain vulnerable individuals, escalation of drug use over time is thought to drive specific molecular neuroadaptations that foster the development of addiction. Research has identified neurobiological elements of altered reinforcement following excessive drug use that comprise within-circuit and between-circuit neuroadaptations, both of which contribute to addiction. Central to this process is the eventual potentiation of negative reinforcement mechanisms that may represent the final definitive criterion locking vulnerable individuals into a persistent state of addiction. Targeting the neural substrates of reinforcement likely represents our best chances for therapeutic intervention for this devastating disease. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reinforcement Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Schuetze

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Early behavioral interventions are recognized as integral to standard care in autism spectrum disorder (ASD, and often focus on reinforcing desired behaviors (e.g., eye contact and reducing the presence of atypical behaviors (e.g., echoing others' phrases. However, efficacy of these programs is mixed. Reinforcement learning relies on neurocircuitry that has been reported to be atypical in ASD: prefrontal-sub-cortical circuits, amygdala, brainstem, and cerebellum. Thus, early behavioral interventions rely on neurocircuitry that may function atypically in at least a subset of individuals with ASD. Recent work has investigated physiological, behavioral, and neural responses to reinforcers to uncover differences in motivation and learning in ASD. We will synthesize this work to identify promising avenues for future research that ultimately can be used to enhance the efficacy of early intervention.

Origins of altered reinforcement effects in ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tripp Gail

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, characterized by hyperactivity, impulsiveness and deficient sustained attention, is one of the most common and persistent behavioral disorders of childhood. ADHD is associated with catecholamine dysfunction. The catecholamines are important for response selection and memory formation, and dopamine in particular is important for reinforcement of successful behavior. The convergence of dopaminergic mesolimbic and glutamatergic corticostriatal synapses upon individual neostriatal neurons provides a favorable substrate for a three-factor synaptic modification rule underlying acquisition of associations between stimuli in a particular context, responses, and reinforcers. The change in associative strength as a function of delay between key stimuli or responses, and reinforcement, is known as the delay of reinforcement gradient. The gradient is altered by vicissitudes of attention, intrusions of irrelevant events, lapses of memory, and fluctuations in dopamine function. Theoretical and experimental analyses of these moderating factors will help to determine just how reinforcement processes are altered in ADHD. Such analyses can only help to improve treatment strategies for ADHD.

Awareness of Cancer Susceptibility Genetic Testing

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, Phuong L.; Vadaparampil, Susan Thomas; Breen, Nancy; McNeel, Timothy S.; Wideroff, Louise; Graubard, Barry I.

2014-01-01

Background Genetic testing for several cancer susceptibility syndromes is clinically available; however, existing data suggest limited population awareness of such tests. Purpose To examine awareness regarding cancer genetic testing in the U.S. population aged ≥25 years in the 2000, 2005, and 2010 National Health Interview Surveys. Methods The weighted percentages of respondents aware of cancer genetic tests, and percent changes from 2000–2005 and 2005–2010, overall and by demographic, family history, and healthcare factors were calculated. Interactions were used to evaluate the patterns of change in awareness between 2005 and 2010 among subgroups within each factor. To evaluate associations with awareness in 2005 and 2010, percentages were adjusted for covariates using multiple logistic regression. The analysis was performed in 2012. Results Awareness decreased from 44.4% to 41.5% (pAwareness increased between 2005 and 2010 in most subgroups, particularly among individuals in the South (p-interaction=0.03) or with a usual place of care (p-interaction=0.01). In 2005 and 2010, awareness was positively associated with personal or family cancer history and high perceived cancer risk, and inversely associated with racial/ethnic minorities, age 25–39 or ≥60 years, male gender, lower education and income levels, public or no health insurance, and no provider contact in 12 months. Conclusions Despite improvement from 2005 to 2010, ≤50% of the U.S. adult population was aware of cancer genetic testing in 2010. Notably, disparities persist for racial/ethnic minorities and individuals with limited health care access or income. PMID:24745633

Braided reinforced composite rods for the internal reinforcement of concrete

Science.gov (United States)

Gonilho Pereira, C.; Fangueiro, R.; Jalali, S.; Araujo, M.; Marques, P.

2008-05-01

This paper reports on the development of braided reinforced composite rods as a substitute for the steel reinforcement in concrete. The research work aims at understanding the mechanical behaviour of core-reinforced braided fabrics and braided reinforced composite rods, namely concerning the influence of the braiding angle, the type of core reinforcement fibre, and preloading and postloading conditions. The core-reinforced braided fabrics were made from polyester fibres for producing braided structures, and E-glass, carbon, HT polyethylene, and sisal fibres were used for the core reinforcement. The braided reinforced composite rods were obtained by impregnating the core-reinforced braided fabric with a vinyl ester resin. The preloading of the core-reinforced braided fabrics and the postloading of the braided reinforced composite rods were performed in three and two stages, respectively. The results of tensile tests carried out on different samples of core-reinforced braided fabrics are presented and discussed. The tensile and bending properties of the braided reinforced composite rods have been evaluated, and the results obtained are presented, discussed, and compared with those of conventional materials, such as steel.

The Impact of Public Health Awareness Campaigns on the Awareness and Quality of Palliative Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Seymour, Jane

2018-01-01

The right to health includes a right of access to good quality palliative care, but inequalities persist. Raising awareness is a key plank of the public health approach to palliative care, but involves consideration of subjects most of us prefer not to address. This review addresses the question: "do public health awareness campaigns effectively improve the awareness and quality of palliative care"? The evidence shows that public awareness campaigns can improve awareness of palliative care and probably improve quality of care, but there is a lack of evidence about the latter. Rapid review and synthesis. A comprehensive public awareness campaign about palliative care (including advance care planning and end-of-life decision making) should be based on clear and shared terminology, use well piloted materials, and the full range of mass media to suit different ages, cultures, and religious/spiritual perspectives. Arts and humanities have a role to play in allowing individuals and communities to express experiences of illness, death, and grief and encourage conversation and thoughtful reflection. There is evidence about key factors for success: targeting, networking, and use of specific, measurable, achievable, realistic time-bound objectives; continuous evaluation; and complementarity to national and international policy. Campaigns should be located within the framework of public health promotion and the synergy between short national mass media campaigns and longer term local community action initiatives carefully considered. National and local projects to raise awareness should identify and address any barriers at the level of individuals, communities, and systems of care, for example, literacy skills and unequal access to resources.

Flexural reinforced concrete member with FRP reinforcement

OpenAIRE

Putzolu, Mariana

2017-01-01

One of the most problematic point in construction is the durability of the concrete especially related to corrosion of the steel reinforcement. Due to this problem the construction sector, introduced the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer, the main fibers used in construction are Glass, Carbon and Aramid. In this study, the author aim to analyse the flexural behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP. This aim is achieved by the analysis of specimens reinforced with GFRP bars, with theoreti...

Examination of the Influence of Contingency on Changes in Reinforcer Value

Science.gov (United States)

DeLeon, Iser G.; Gregory, Meagan K.; Frank-Crawford, Michelle A.; Allman, Melissa J.; Wilke, Arthur E.; Carreau-Webster, Abbey B.; Triggs, Mandy M.

2011-01-01

This study examined how the amount of effort required to produce a reinforcer influenced subsequent preference for, and strength of, that reinforcer in 7 individuals with intellectual disabilities. Preference assessments identified four moderately preferred stimuli for each participant, and progressive-ratio (PR) analyses indexed reinforcer…

Is nutritional labeling associated with individual health? The effects of labeling-based awareness on dyslipidemia risk in a South Korean population.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong Yeob; Kweon, Ki Hong; Kim, Min Jae; Park, Eun-Cheol; Jang, Suk-Yong; Kim, Woorim; Han, Kyu-Tae

2016-09-15

In 1995, the South Korean government made nutrition labeling compulsory, which has positively impacted patients with certain chronic diseases, such as dyslipidemia. We investigated the association between nutrition labeling-based awareness and the risk of dyslipidemia among individuals not yet diagnosed. Our study used data from the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys administered during 2010-2014 (n = 17,687). We performed multiple or logistic regression analysis to examine the association between nutritional analysis and various outcome variables. Approximately 70 % of the respondents (n = 11,513) were familiar with nutrition labeling, of which 20 % (n = 3172) decided what food to buy based on that information. This awareness yielded mostly positive results on outcome indicators, such as triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In general, individuals who used nutritional labels to make decisions regarding food purchases had a lower risk of dyslipidemia than individuals who did not (OR: 0.806, 95 % CI: 0.709-0.917). Utilizing nutrition labels for making food choices correlated with a lower risk of dyslipidemia in certain subgroups. Based on our findings, we recommend that health policymakers and medical professionals consider promoting nutrition labeling as an alternative method for managing certain chronic diseases in South Korean patients.

Study on reinforced concrete beams with helical transverse reinforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Kaarthik Krishna, N.; Sandeep, S.; Mini, K. M.

2018-02-01

In a Reinforced Concrete (R.C) structure, major reinforcement is used for taking up tensile stresses acting on the structure due to applied loading. The present paper reports the behavior of reinforced concrete beams with helical reinforcement (transverse reinforcement) subjected to monotonous loading by 3-point flexure test. The results were compared with identically similar reinforced concrete beams with rectangular stirrups. During the test crack evolution, load carrying capacity and deflection of the beams were monitored, analyzed and compared. Test results indicate that the use of helical reinforcement provides enhanced load carrying capacity and a lower deflection proving to be more ductile, clearly indicating the advantage in carrying horizontal loads. An analysis was also carried out using ANSYS software in order to compare the test results of both the beams.

Reinforcing effects of cigarette advertising on under-age smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Aitken, P P; Eadie, D R

1990-03-01

Interviews were conducted with 848 Glasgow children aged between 11 and 14 years. There were consistent differences between smokers and non-smokers. Smokers tended to be more adept at recalling, recognizing and identifying cigarette advertisements. This suggests they tend to pay more attention to cigarette advertising. Smokers also tended to be generally more appreciative of cigarette advertising. Moreover, this greater awareness and appreciation of cigarette advertising was independent of other important predictors of under-age smoking, such as smoking by peers, siblings and parents. These findings, taken in conjunction with previous research, indicate that cigarette advertising is reinforcing under-age smoking. The smokers showed an enhanced or heightened preference for Kensitas Club, the brand favoured by adults. This is consistent with previous research indicating that promotional devices which help determine and reinforce adult cigarette brand preferences have an even greater effect on under-age smokers.

Manipulating parameters of reinforcement to reduce problem behavior without extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunnavatana, S Shanun; Bloom, Sarah E; Samaha, Andrew L; Slocum, Timothy A; Clay, Casey J

2018-04-01

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) most often includes extinction as a treatment component. However, extinction is not always feasible and it can be counter-therapeutic if implemented without optimal treatment integrity. Researchers have successfully implemented DRA without extinction by manipulating various parameters of reinforcement such that alternative behavior is favored. We extended previous research by assessing three participants' sensitivities to quality, magnitude, and immediacy using arbitrary responses and reinforcers that maintain problem behavior. The results were used to implement an intervention for problem behavior using DRA without extinction. Our findings indicate that arbitrary responses can be used to identify individual and relative sensitivity to parameters of reinforcement for reinforcers that maintain problem behavior. Treatment was effective for all participants when we manipulated parameters of reinforcement to which they were most sensitive, and, for two participants, the treatment was less effective when we manipulated parameters to which they were least sensitive. © 2018 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

REINFORCED COMPOSITE PANEL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2003-01-01

A composite panel having front and back faces, the panel comprising facing reinforcement, backing reinforcement and matrix material binding to the facing and backing reinforcements, the facing and backing reinforcements each independently comprising one or more reinforcing sheets, the facing rein...... by matrix material, the facing and backing reinforcements being interconnected to resist out-of-plane relative movement. The reinforced composite panel is useful as a barrier element for shielding structures, equipment and personnel from blast and/or ballistic impact damage....

Continuous carbon nanotube reinforced composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Ci, L; Suhr, J; Pushparaj, V; Zhang, X; Ajayan, P M

2008-09-01

Carbon nanotubes are considered short fibers, and polymer composites with nanotube fillers are always analogues of random, short fiber composites. The real structural carbon fiber composites, on the other hand, always contain carbon fiber reinforcements where fibers run continuously through the composite matrix. With the recent optimization in aligned nanotube growth, samples of nanotubes in macroscopic lengths have become available, and this allows the creation of composites that are similar to the continuous fiber composites with individual nanotubes running continuously through the composite body. This allows the proper utilization of the extreme high modulus and strength predicted for nanotubes in structural composites. Here, we fabricate such continuous nanotube polymer composites with continuous nanotube reinforcements and report that under compressive loadings, the nanotube composites can generate more than an order of magnitude improvement in the longitudinal modulus (up to 3,300%) as well as damping capability (up to 2,100%). It is also observed that composites with a random distribution of nanotubes of same length and similar filler fraction provide three times less effective reinforcement in composites.

Preventing and managing awareness during general anesthesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelena Berger

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Background: General anesthesia is a reversible state of a temporary loss of consciousness, analgesia, muscle paralysis, blunted autonomic responses and amnesia. To achieve this, an adequate depth of anesthesia should be maintained throughout the surgery. Awareness is a serious complication of general anesthesia, which occurs when the depth of anesthesia is not appropriate due to various causes.In this paper the underlying neurobiology of intraoperative awareness is presented, as well as risk factors for awareness and methods for assessing the depth of anesthesia. Possible psychological consequences of awareness and their management are also discussed. At the end, the recommendations for preventing intraoperative awareness are given.Conclusions: Awareness during general anesthesia may have adverse psychological sequelae in individual patients, therefore guidelines for preventing and managing of intraoperative awareness need to be adopted. In case of a possible awareness, the recommendations for offering a psychological support should also be followed.

Emotional awareness and delusions in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Antonio, Emily; Kahn, Jennifer; McKelvey, Jennifer; Berenbaum, Howard; Serper, Mark R

2015-02-01

Emotion plays a significant role in schizophrenia. Emotional awareness (i.e., attention to and clarity of emotions) is associated with a wide range of outcomes. Given that individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder differ in the significance of their mood symptoms, the present research examined whether the association between emotional awareness and delusions differs for these two groups of patients. Emotional awareness (i.e., attention to and clarity of emotions) was measured with self-report in a sample of 44 individuals diagnosed with either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Clinical ratings of delusions were made using the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms. For the sample as a whole, individuals with higher levels of attention to emotion tended to have more severe delusions. In addition, diagnostic group significantly moderated the relation between emotional clarity and delusions. Conclusions regarding causality cannot be drawn due to the cross-sectional design. Replication is particularly important given the small sample sizes. The present research indicates that emotional awareness is associated with delusions. The results raise the possibility that the emotional factors that contribute to delusional beliefs among individuals with schizophrenia differ in at least some ways from the emotional factors that contribute to delusional beliefs among individuals with schizoaffective disorder. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discrimination Acquisition in Children with Developmental Disabilities under Immediate and Delayed Reinforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Sy, Jolene R.; Vollmer, Timothy R.

2012-01-01

We evaluated the discrimination acquisition of individuals with developmental disabilities under immediate and delayed reinforcement. In Experiment 1, discrimination between two alternatives was examined when reinforcement was immediate or delayed by 20 s, 30 s, or 40 s. In Experiment 2, discrimination between 2 alternatives was compared across an…

The influence of the damaged reinforcing bars on the stress-strain state of the rein-forced concrete beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zenoviy Blikharskyy

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the overall view of experimental research of reinforced concrete beams with the simultaneous influence of the corrosion environment and loading. The tests have been carried out upon the reinforced concrete specimens considering the corrosion in the acid environment, namely 10 % H2SO4 that have been taken as a model of the aggressive environment. The beams are with span equalling to 1,9m with different series of tensile armature, concrete compressive strength and different length of impact of corrosion (continuous and local. The influence of simultaneous action of the aggressive environment and loading on strength of reinforced-concrete beams has been described. For a detailed study of the effect of individual components there was suggested additional experimental modelling of the only tensile armature damage without concrete damage. It will investigate the influence of this factor irrespective of the concrete.

Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation of Preference and Reinforcer Efficacy

OpenAIRE

Trosclair-Lasserre, Nicole M; Lerman, Dorothea C; Call, Nathan A; Addison, Laura R; Kodak, Tiffany

2008-01-01

Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relations among reinforcer magnitude, preference, and efficacy by drawing on the procedures and results of basic experimenta...

Epidemic spread in bipartite network by considering risk awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Han, She; Sun, Mei; Ampimah, Benjamin Chris; Han, Dun

2018-02-01

Human awareness plays an important role in the spread of infectious diseases and the control of propagation patterns. Exploring the interplay between human awareness and epidemic spreading is a topic that has been receiving increasing attention. Considering the fact, some well-known diseases only spread between different species we propose a theoretical analysis of the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) epidemic spread from the perspective of bipartite network and risk aversion. Using mean field theory, the epidemic threshold is calculated theoretically. Simulation results are consistent with the proposed analytic model. The results show that, the final infection density is negative linear with the value of individuals' risk awareness. Therefore, the epidemic spread could be effectively suppressed by improving individuals' risk awareness.

Global reinforcement training of CrossNets

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaolong

2007-10-01

Hybrid "CMOL" integrated circuits, incorporating advanced CMOS devices for neural cell bodies, nanowires as axons and dendrites, and latching switches as synapses, may be used for the hardware implementation of extremely dense (107 cells and 1012 synapses per cm2) neuromorphic networks, operating up to 10 6 times faster than their biological prototypes. We are exploring several "Cross- Net" architectures that accommodate the limitations imposed by CMOL hardware and should allow effective training of the networks without a direct external access to individual synapses. Our studies have show that CrossNets based on simple (two-terminal) crosspoint devices can work well in at least two modes: as Hop-field networks for associative memory and multilayer perceptrons for classification tasks. For more intelligent tasks (such as robot motion control or complex games), which do not have "examples" for supervised learning, more advanced training methods such as the global reinforcement learning are necessary. For application of global reinforcement training algorithms to CrossNets, we have extended Williams's REINFORCE learning principle to a more general framework and derived several learning rules that are more suitable for CrossNet hardware implementation. The results of numerical experiments have shown that these new learning rules can work well for both classification tasks and reinforcement tasks such as the cartpole balancing control problem. Some limitations imposed by the CMOL hardware need to be carefully addressed for the the successful application of in situ reinforcement training to CrossNets.

Neural mechanisms of negative reinforcement in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

OpenAIRE

Damiano, Cara R; Cockrell, Dillon C; Dunlap, Kaitlyn; Hanna, Eleanor K; Miller, Stephanie; Bizzell, Joshua; Kovac, Megan; Turner-Brown, Lauren; Sideris, John; Kinard, Jessica; Dichter, Gabriel S

2015-01-01

Background Previous research has found accumulating evidence for atypical reward processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), particularly in the context of social rewards. Yet, this line of research has focused largely on positive social reinforcement, while little is known about the processing of negative reinforcement in individuals with ASD. Methods The present study examined neural responses to social negative reinforcement (a face displaying negative affect) and non-social negative re...

Performance Analysis of Cyber Security Awareness Delivery Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Abawajy, Jemal; Kim, Tai-Hoon

In order to decrease information security threats caused by human-related vulnerabilities, an increased concentration on information security awareness and training is necessary. There are numerous information security awareness training delivery methods. The purpose of this study was to determine what delivery method is most successful in providing security awareness training. We conducted security awareness training using various delivery methods such as text based, game based and a short video presentation with the aim of determining user preference delivery methods. Our study suggests that a combined delvery methods are better than individual secrity awareness delivery method.

Reinforced sulphur concrete

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2014-01-01

Reinforced sulphur concrete wherein one or more metal reinforcing members are in contact with sulphur concrete is disclosed. The reinforced sulphur concrete comprises an adhesion promoter that enhances the interaction between the sulphur and the one or more metal reinforcing members.

Two functional serotonin polymorphisms moderate the effect of food reinforcement on BMI.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Katelyn A; Lin, Henry; Fletcher, Kelly D; Sucheston, Lara; Singh, Prashant K; Salis, Robbert J; Erbe, Richard W; Faith, Myles S; Allison, David B; Stice, Eric; Epstein, Leonard H

2013-06-01

Food reinforcement, or the motivation to eat, has been associated with increased energy intake, greater body weight, and prospective weight gain. Much of the previous research on the reinforcing value of food has focused on the role of dopamine, but it may be worthwhile to examine genetic polymorphisms in the serotonin and opioid systems as these neurotransmitters have been shown to be related to reinforcement processes and to influence energy intake. We examined the relationship among 44 candidate genetic polymorphisms in the dopamine, serotonin, and opioid systems, as well as food reinforcement and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of 245 individuals. Polymorphisms in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA-LPR) and serotonin receptor 2A genes (rs6314) moderated the effect of food reinforcement on BMI, accounting for an additional 5-10% variance and revealed a potential role of the single nucleotide polymorphism, rs6314, in the serotonin 2A receptor as a differential susceptibility factor for obesity. Differential susceptibility describes a factor that can confer either risk or protection depending on a second variable, such that rs6314 is predictive of both high and low BMI based on the level of food reinforcement, while the diathesis stress or dual-gain model only influences one end of the outcome measure. The interaction with MAOA-LPR better fits the diathesis stress model, with the 3.5R/4R allele conferring protection for individuals low in food reinforcement. These results provide new insight into genes theoretically involved in obesity, and support the hypothesis that genetics moderate the association between food reinforcement and BMI. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Reinforcement Magnitude: An Evaluation of Preference and Reinforcer Efficacy

Science.gov (United States)

Trosclair-Lasserre, Nicole M.; Lerman, Dorothea C.; Call, Nathan A.; Addison, Laura R.; Kodak, Tiffany

2008-01-01

Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current…

Autoshaping Chicks with Heat Reinforcement: The Role of Stimulus-Reinforcer and Response-Reinforcer Relations

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserman, Edward A.; And Others

1975-01-01

The present series of experiments attempted to analyze more fully the contributions of stimulus-reinforcer and response-reinforcer relations to autoshaping within a single conditioning situation. (Author)

Numerical simulation of CFRP-repaired reinforced concrete columns.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-07-01

The overarching goal of this study was to investigate the influence of repair to individual reinforced concrete bridge columns on the : post-repair seismic performance of the bridge system. A method was developed to rapidly repair an earthquake-damag...

Vicarious Reinforcement In Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steve W. C. Chang

2011-03-01

Full Text Available What happens to others profoundly influences our own behavior. Such other-regarding outcomes can drive observational learning, as well as motivate cooperation, charity, empathy, and even spite. Vicarious reinforcement may serve as one of the critical mechanisms mediating the influence of other-regarding outcomes on behavior and decision-making in groups. Here we show that rhesus macaques spontaneously derive vicarious reinforcement from observing rewards given to another monkey, and that this reinforcement can motivate them to subsequently deliver or withhold rewards from the other animal. We exploited Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning to associate rewards to self (M1 and/or rewards to another monkey (M2 with visual cues. M1s made more errors in the instrumental trials when cues predicted reward to M2 compared to when cues predicted reward to M1, but made even more errors when cues predicted reward to no one. In subsequent preference tests between pairs of conditioned cues, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to M2 over cues paired with reward to no one. By contrast, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to self over cues paired with reward to both monkeys simultaneously. Rates of attention to M2 strongly predicted the strength and valence of vicarious reinforcement. These patterns of behavior, which were absent in nonsocial control trials, are consistent with vicarious reinforcement based upon sensitivity to observed, or counterfactual, outcomes with respect to another individual. Vicarious reward may play a critical role in shaping cooperation and competition, as well as motivating observational learning and group coordination in rhesus macaques, much as it does in humans. We propose that vicarious reinforcement signals mediate these behaviors via homologous neural circuits involved in reinforcement learning and decision-making.

Vicarious reinforcement in rhesus macaques (macaca mulatta).

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Steve W C; Winecoff, Amy A; Platt, Michael L

2011-01-01

What happens to others profoundly influences our own behavior. Such other-regarding outcomes can drive observational learning, as well as motivate cooperation, charity, empathy, and even spite. Vicarious reinforcement may serve as one of the critical mechanisms mediating the influence of other-regarding outcomes on behavior and decision-making in groups. Here we show that rhesus macaques spontaneously derive vicarious reinforcement from observing rewards given to another monkey, and that this reinforcement can motivate them to subsequently deliver or withhold rewards from the other animal. We exploited Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning to associate rewards to self (M1) and/or rewards to another monkey (M2) with visual cues. M1s made more errors in the instrumental trials when cues predicted reward to M2 compared to when cues predicted reward to M1, but made even more errors when cues predicted reward to no one. In subsequent preference tests between pairs of conditioned cues, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to M2 over cues paired with reward to no one. By contrast, M1s preferred cues paired with reward to self over cues paired with reward to both monkeys simultaneously. Rates of attention to M2 strongly predicted the strength and valence of vicarious reinforcement. These patterns of behavior, which were absent in non-social control trials, are consistent with vicarious reinforcement based upon sensitivity to observed, or counterfactual, outcomes with respect to another individual. Vicarious reward may play a critical role in shaping cooperation and competition, as well as motivating observational learning and group coordination in rhesus macaques, much as it does in humans. We propose that vicarious reinforcement signals mediate these behaviors via homologous neural circuits involved in reinforcement learning and decision-making.

In vitro reinforcement of hippocampal bursting: a search for Skinner's atoms of behavior.

OpenAIRE

Stein, L; Xue, B G; Belluzzi, J D

1994-01-01

A novel "in vitro reinforcement" paradigm was used to investigate Skinner's (1953) hypotheses (a) that operant behavior is made up of infinitesimal "response elements" or "behavioral atoms" and (b) that these very small units, and not whole responses, are the functional units of reinforcement. Our tests are based on the assumption that behavioral atoms may plausibly be represented at the neural level by individual cellular responses. As a first approach, we attempted to reinforce the bursting...

Advance study of fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mironova, M.; Ivanova, M.; Naidenov, V.; Georgiev, I.; Stary, J.

2015-01-01

Incorporation in concrete composition of steel macro- and micro – fiber reinforcement with structural function increases the degree of ductility of typically brittle cement-containing composites, which in some cases can replace completely or partially conventional steel reinforcement in the form of rods and meshes. Thus, that can reduce manufacturing, detailing and placement of conventional reinforcement, which enhances productivity and economic efficiency of the building process. In this paper, six fiber-reinforced with different amounts of steel fiber cement-containing self-compacting compositions are investigated. The results of some of their main strength-deformation characteristics are presented. Advance approach for the study of structural and material properties of these type composites is proposed by using the methods of industrial computed tomography. The obtained original tomography results about the microstructure and characteristics of individual structural components make it possible to analyze the effective macro-characteristics of the studied composites. The resulting analytical data are relevant for the purposes of multi-dimensional modeling of these systems. Multifactor structure-mechanical analysis of the obtained with different methods original scientific results is proposed. It is presented a conclusion of the capabilities and effectiveness of complex analysis in the studies to characterize the properties of self-compacting fiber-reinforced concrete

Advance study of fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete

Science.gov (United States)

Mironova, M.; Ivanova, M.; Naidenov, V.; Georgiev, I.; Stary, J.

2015-10-01

Incorporation in concrete composition of steel macro- and micro - fiber reinforcement with structural function increases the degree of ductility of typically brittle cement-containing composites, which in some cases can replace completely or partially conventional steel reinforcement in the form of rods and meshes. Thus, that can reduce manufacturing, detailing and placement of conventional reinforcement, which enhances productivity and economic efficiency of the building process. In this paper, six fiber-reinforced with different amounts of steel fiber cement-containing self-compacting compositions are investigated. The results of some of their main strength-deformation characteristics are presented. Advance approach for the study of structural and material properties of these type composites is proposed by using the methods of industrial computed tomography. The obtained original tomography results about the microstructure and characteristics of individual structural components make it possible to analyze the effective macro-characteristics of the studied composites. The resulting analytical data are relevant for the purposes of multi-dimensional modeling of these systems. Multifactor structure-mechanical analysis of the obtained with different methods original scientific results is proposed. It is presented a conclusion of the capabilities and effectiveness of complex analysis in the studies to characterize the properties of self-compacting fiber-reinforced concrete.

Advance study of fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mironova, M., E-mail: mirona@imbm.bas.bg; Ivanova, M., E-mail: magdalena.ivanova@imbm.bas.bg; Naidenov, V., E-mail: valna53@mail.bg [Institute of Mechanics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl. 4, Sofia 1113 (Bulgaria); Georgiev, I., E-mail: ivan.georgiev@parallel.bas.bg [Institute of Information and Communication Technologies & Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., Sofia 1113 (Bulgaria); Stary, J., E-mail: stary@ugn.cas.cz [Institute of Geonics Czech Academy of Sciences, Studentska str., Ostrava 1768 (Czech Republic)

2015-10-28

Incorporation in concrete composition of steel macro- and micro – fiber reinforcement with structural function increases the degree of ductility of typically brittle cement-containing composites, which in some cases can replace completely or partially conventional steel reinforcement in the form of rods and meshes. Thus, that can reduce manufacturing, detailing and placement of conventional reinforcement, which enhances productivity and economic efficiency of the building process. In this paper, six fiber-reinforced with different amounts of steel fiber cement-containing self-compacting compositions are investigated. The results of some of their main strength-deformation characteristics are presented. Advance approach for the study of structural and material properties of these type composites is proposed by using the methods of industrial computed tomography. The obtained original tomography results about the microstructure and characteristics of individual structural components make it possible to analyze the effective macro-characteristics of the studied composites. The resulting analytical data are relevant for the purposes of multi-dimensional modeling of these systems. Multifactor structure-mechanical analysis of the obtained with different methods original scientific results is proposed. It is presented a conclusion of the capabilities and effectiveness of complex analysis in the studies to characterize the properties of self-compacting fiber-reinforced concrete.

Analysis of radioactivity increase of rad waste filled in fibre-reinforced concrete container regarding external exposure of workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baratova, D.; Hrncir, T.; Necas, V.

2012-01-01

The paper deals with the assessment of the external radiation exposure of workers performing the individual tasks associated with disposal of the fibre-reinforced concrete containers in the National Radioactive Waste Repository in Mochovce. Models for fibre-reinforced concrete containers with maximum activity allowable for transport and for fibre-reinforced concrete containers contained radionuclides at the common level of activity concentration were created in order to analyze the option of fibre-reinforced concrete containers radioactivity increase. Calculations of individual effective doses have been carried out for three workers who work in the control area of the waste disposal facility dosimetrist, assistant and crane worker. (Authors)

Relationship of Vocational Satisfaction to the Correspondence of Job Reinforcement and Vocational Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Golden, Robert R.; Weiss, David J.

The Theory of Work Adjustment proposes that vocational satisfaction is a function of the correspondence between the reinforcers in the work environment and the individual's vocational needs. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the means and variances of measures of satisfaction for groups differing in degree of need-reinforcer correspondence.…

Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Austin G. Garner

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved.

Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Goulet, Benjamin E.

2018-01-01

Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved. PMID:29614048

Is cascade reinforcement likely when sympatric and allopatric populations exchange migrants?

Science.gov (United States)

Yukilevich, Roman; Aoki, Fumio

2016-04-01

When partially reproductively isolated species come back into secondary contact, these taxa may diverge in mating preferences and sexual cues to avoid maladaptive hybridization, a process known as reinforcement. This phenomenon often leads to reproductive character displacement (RCD) between sympatric and allopatric populations of reinforcing species that differ in their exposure to hybridization. Recent discussions have reinvigorated the idea that RCD may give rise to additional speciation between conspecific sympatric and allopatric populations, dubbing the concept "cascade reinforcement." Despite some empirical studies supporting cascade reinforcement, we still know very little about the conditions for its evolution. In the present article, we address this question by developing an individual-based population genetic model that explicitly simulates cascade reinforcement when one of the hybridizing species is split into sympatric and allopatric populations. Our results show that when sympatric and allopatric populations reside in the same environment and only differ in their exposure to maladaptive hybridization, migration between them generally inhibits the evolution of cascade by spreading the reinforcement alleles from sympatry into allopatry and erasing RCD. Under these conditions, cascade reinforcement only evolved when migration rate between sympatric and allopatric populations was very low. This indicates that stabilizing sexual selection in allopatry is generally ineffective in preventing the spread of reinforcement alleles. Only when sympatric and allopatric populations experienced divergent ecological selection did cascade reinforcement evolve in the presence of substantial migration. These predictions clarify the conditions for cascade reinforcement and facilitate our understanding of existing cases in nature.

Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness

OpenAIRE

David R Lloyd; David R Lloyd; Douglas J Medina; Larry W Hawk; Whitney D Fosco; Jerry B Richards

2014-01-01

In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We ar...

Structural Behavior of Concrete Beams Reinforced with Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) Bars

Science.gov (United States)

Ovitigala, Thilan

The main challenge for civil engineers is to provide sustainable, environmentally friendly and financially feasible structures to the society. Finding new materials such as fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) material that can fulfill the above requirements is a must. FRP material was expensive and it was limited to niche markets such as space shuttles and air industry in the 1960s. Over the time, it became cheaper and spread to other industries such as sporting goods in the 1980-1990, and then towards the infrastructure industry. Design and construction guidelines are available for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and they are currently used in structural applications. Since FRP is linear elastic brittle material, design guidelines for the steel reinforcement are not valid for FRP materials. Corrosion of steel reinforcement affects the durability of the concrete structures. FRP reinforcement is identified as an alternative to steel reinforcement in corrosive environments. Although basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) has many advantages over other FRP materials, but limited studies have been done. These studies didn't include larger BFRP bar diameters that are mostly used in practice. Therefore, larger beam sizes with larger BFRP reinforcement bar diameters are needed to investigate the flexural and shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams. Also, shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams was not yet studied. Experimental testing of mechanical properties and bond strength of BFRP bars and flexural and shear behavior of BFRP reinforced concrete beams are needed to include BFRP reinforcement bars in the design codes. This study mainly focuses on the use of BFRP bars as internal reinforcement. The test results of the mechanical properties of BFRP reinforcement bars, the bond strength of BFRP reinforcement bars, and the flexural and shear behavior of concrete beams

Perception-based Co-evolutionary Reinforcement Learning for UAV Sensor Allocation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Berenji, Hamid

2003-01-01

.... A Perception-based reasoning approach based on co-evolutionary reinforcement learning was developed for jointly addressing sensor allocation on each individual UAV and allocation of a team of UAVs...

A new measure for the assessment of visual awareness in individuals with tunnel vision.

Science.gov (United States)

AlSaqr, Ali M; Dickinson, Chris M

2017-01-01

Individuals with a restricted peripheral visual field or tunnel vision (TV) have problems moving about and avoiding obstacles. Some individuals adapt better than others and some use assistive optical aids, so measurement of the visual field is not sufficient to describe their performance. In the present study, we developed a new clinical test called the 'Assessment of Visual Awareness (AVA)', which can be used to measure detection of peripheral targets. The participants were 20 patients with TV due to retinitis pigmentosa (PTV) and 50 normally sighted participants with simulated tunnel vision (STV) using goggles. In the AVA test, detection times were measured, when subjects searched for 24 individually presented, one degree targets, randomly positioned in a 60 degrees noise background. Head and eye movements were allowed and the presentation time was unlimited. The test validity was investigated by correlating the detection times with the 'percentage of preferred walking speed' (PPWS) and the 'number of collisions' on an indoor mobility course. In PTV and STV, the detection times had significant negative correlation with the field of view. The detection times had significant positive relations with target location. In the STV, the detection time was significantly negatively correlated with the PPWS and significantly positively correlated with the collisions score on the indoor mobility course. In the PTV, the relationship was not statistically significant. No significant difference in performance of STV was found when repeating the test one to two weeks later. The proposed AVA test was sensitive to the field of view and target location. The test is unique in design, quick, simple to deliver and both repeatable and valid. It could be a valuable tool to test different rehabilitation strategies in patients with TV. © 2016 Optometry Australia.

Adapting without reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Kheifets, Aaron; Gallistel, C Randy

2012-11-01

Our data rule out a broad class of behavioral models in which behavioral change is guided by differential reinforcement. To demonstrate this, we showed that the number of reinforcers missed before the subject shifted its behavior was not sufficient to drive behavioral change. What's more, many subjects shifted their behavior to a more optimal strategy even when they had not yet missed a single reinforcer. Naturally, differential reinforcement cannot be said to drive a process that shifts to accommodate to new conditions so adeptly that it doesn't miss a single reinforcer: it would have no input on which to base this shift.

An experiment on individual 'parochial altruism' revealing no connection between individual 'altruism' and individual 'parochialism'.

Science.gov (United States)

Corr, Philip J; Hargreaves Heap, Shaun P; Seger, Charles R; Tsutsui, Kei

2015-01-01

Is parochial altruism an attribute of individual behavior? This is the question we address with an experiment. We examine whether the individual pro-sociality that is revealed in the public goods and trust games when interacting with fellow group members helps predict individual parochialism, as measured by the in-group bias (i.e., the difference in these games in pro-sociality when interacting with own group members as compared with members of another group). We find that it is not. An examination of the Big-5 personality predictors of each behavior reinforces this result: they are different. In short, knowing how pro-social individuals are with respect to fellow group members does not help predict their parochialism.

Investigations of timing during the schedule and reinforcement intervals with wheel-running reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Belke, Terry W; Christie-Fougere, Melissa M

2006-11-01

Across two experiments, a peak procedure was used to assess the timing of the onset and offset of an opportunity to run as a reinforcer. The first experiment investigated the effect of reinforcer duration on temporal discrimination of the onset of the reinforcement interval. Three male Wistar rats were exposed to fixed-interval (FI) 30-s schedules of wheel-running reinforcement and the duration of the opportunity to run was varied across values of 15, 30, and 60s. Each session consisted of 50 reinforcers and 10 probe trials. Results showed that as reinforcer duration increased, the percentage of postreinforcement pauses longer than the 30-s schedule interval increased. On probe trials, peak response rates occurred near the time of reinforcer delivery and peak times varied with reinforcer duration. In a second experiment, seven female Long-Evans rats were exposed to FI 30-s schedules leading to 30-s opportunities to run. Timing of the onset and offset of the reinforcement period was assessed by probe trials during the schedule interval and during the reinforcement interval in separate conditions. The results provided evidence of timing of the onset, but not the offset of the wheel-running reinforcement period. Further research is required to assess if timing occurs during a wheel-running reinforcement period.

Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R Lloyd

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE that links behavioral and neural based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009;Rankin et al., 2009. We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect ‘accelerated-HRE’. Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.

Public awareness of autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsehemi, Matar A; Abousaadah, Mahmoud M; Sairafi, Razan A; Jan, Mohammed M

2017-07-01

Examine the awareness of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in our community which would help in early recognition and improved support of affected families. A focused 20-item questionnaire was designed to survey the public awareness and knowledge of ASD. Personal interviews were conducted during an ASD awareness day, which was organized in a major shopping mall on February 20, 2015 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 259 individuals participated in the study with 47% being 30 years of age). Females were more likely to think that autistic children can be employed in the future (p=0.008), whereas males were more likely to think that autism is similar to mental retardation (p=0.005). The public awareness of ASD needs improvement. Areas for targeted education were identified to help improve the quality of life of autistic children and their families.

Enhancing corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete structures with hybrid fiber reinforced concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blunt, J.; Jen, G.; Ostertag, C.P.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Reinforced concrete beams were subjected to cyclic flexural loading. • Hybrid fiber reinforced composites were effective in reducing corrosion rates. • Crack resistance due to fibers increased corrosion resistance of steel rebar. • Galvanic corrosion measurements underestimated corrosion rates. • Polarization resistance measurements predicted mass loss more accurately. - Abstract: Service loads well below the yield strength of steel reinforcing bars lead to cracking of reinforced concrete. This paper investigates whether the crack resistance of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HyFRC) reduces the corrosion rate of steel reinforcing bars in concrete after cyclic flexural loading. The reinforcing bars were extracted to examine their surface for corrosion and compare microcell and macrocell corrosion mass loss estimates against direct gravimetric measurements. A delay in corrosion initiation and lower active corrosion rates were observed in the HyFRC beam specimens when compared to reinforced specimens containing plain concrete matrices cycled at the same flexural load

Aerobic exercise decreases the positive-reinforcing effects of cocaine.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mark A; Schmidt, Karl T; Iordanou, Jordan C; Mustroph, Martina L

2008-11-01

Aerobic exercise can serve as an alternative, non-drug reinforcer in laboratory animals and has been recommended as a potential intervention for substance abusing populations. Unfortunately, relatively little empirical data have been collected that specifically address the possible protective effects of voluntary, long-term exercise on measures of drug self-administration. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of chronic exercise on sensitivity to the positive-reinforcing effects of cocaine in the drug self-administration procedure. Female rats were obtained at weaning and immediately divided into two groups. Sedentary rats were housed individually in standard laboratory cages that permitted no exercise beyond normal cage ambulation; exercising rats were housed individually in modified cages equipped with a running wheel. After 6 weeks under these conditions, rats were surgically implanted with venous catheters and trained to self-administer cocaine on a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement. Once self-administration was acquired, cocaine was made available on a progressive ratio schedule and breakpoints were obtained for various doses of cocaine. Sedentary and exercising rats did not differ in the time to acquire cocaine self-administration or responding on the fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement. However, on the progressive ratio schedule, breakpoints were significantly lower in exercising rats than sedentary rats when responding was maintained by both low (0.3mg/kg/infusion) and high (1.0mg/kg/infusion) doses of cocaine. In exercising rats, greater exercise output prior to catheter implantation was associated with lower breakpoints at the high dose of cocaine. These data indicate that chronic exercise decreases the positive-reinforcing effects of cocaine and support the possibility that exercise may be an effective intervention in drug abuse prevention and treatment programs.

Educational and Psychological Aspects of Environmental Awareness and a Sense of Belonging

Science.gov (United States)

Rode, Ojars

2015-01-01

The research problem concerns the sphere of relationships with the environment and an individual's awareness in the aspect of satisfying the need for belonging. This research aims to determine the conditions of relationships with the environment and an individual's awareness in the process of personality formation. The research is constituted by…

Theoretical and numerical analysis of reinforced concrete beams with confinement reinforcement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. G. Delalibera

Full Text Available This paper discusses the use of confinement in over-reinforced concrete beams. This reinforcement consists of square stirrups, placed in the compression zone of the beam cross-section, in order to improve its ductility. A parametric numerical study is initially performed, using a finite element computational program that considers the material nonlinearities and the confinement effect. To investigate the influence of the transverse reinforcing ratio on the beam ductility, an experimental program was also conducted. Four over-reinforced beams were tested; three beam specimens with additional transverse reinforcement to confine the beams, and one without it. All specimens were fabricated with a concrete designed for a compressive strength of 25 MPa. The experimental results show that the post-peak ductility factor is proportional to the confining reinforcement ratio, however the same is not observed for the pre-peak ductility factor, which varied randomly with changes in the confining reinforcement ratio. It was also observed from the experiments that the confinement effect tends to be smaller close to the beam neutral axis.

Grounding privacy with awareness : a social approach to describe privacy related issues in awareness systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Romero, N.; Markopoulos, P.; Markopoulos, P.; De Ruyter, B.; MacKay, W.

2009-01-01

By their very nature, awareness systems bring about an increase in the level of communication between the individuals they connect. Sharing information regarding people’s whereabouts and activities raises privacy concerns, potentially compromising their ability to control who receives what

Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, David R; Medina, Douglas J; Hawk, Larry W; Fosco, Whitney D; Richards, Jerry B

2014-01-09

In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral- and neural-based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations. In contrast, an HRE approach predicts decreased effectiveness due to repeated presentation. We argue that repeated presentation of reinforcing stimuli decreases their effectiveness and that these decreases are described by the behavioral characteristics of habituation (McSweeney and Murphy, 2009; Rankin etal., 2009). We describe a neural model that postulates a positive association between dopamine neurotransmission and HRE. We present evidence that stimulant drugs, which artificially increase dopamine neurotransmission, disrupt (slow) normally occurring HRE and also provide evidence that stimulant drugs have differential effects on operant responding maintained by reinforcers with rapid vs. slow HRE rates. We hypothesize that abnormal HRE due to genetic and/or environmental factors may underlie some behavioral disorders. For example, recent research indicates that slow-HRE is predictive of obesity. In contrast ADHD may reflect "accelerated-HRE." Consideration of HRE is important for the development of effective reinforcement-based treatments. Finally, we point out that most of the reinforcing stimuli that regulate daily behavior are non-consumable environmental/social reinforcers which have rapid-HRE. The almost exclusive use of consumable reinforcers with slow-HRE in pre-clinical studies with animals may have caused the importance of HRE to be overlooked. Further study of reinforcing stimuli with rapid-HRE is needed in order to understand how habituation and reinforcement interact and regulate behavior.

Analysis of the awareness of medical radioactive waste management plans (with focus on Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Se Sik; Choi, Seok Yoon; Kim, Jung Hoon

2014-01-01

This study was conducted to propose medical radioactive waste management methods by background factors of radioactive workers, their awareness of safety management and reduce the difficulty of self-disposal. A population of 102 radiotechnologist who work at hospital in Busan was the subject of this study and a survey was conducted to them. the analysis for the collected data used SPSS/PC+Win13 version and one-way, ANOVA was carried out of verify differences between the groups. The result showed that most of workers had correct awareness of radioactive waste management. Also, about the difficulty of self-disposal, legal procedures were mentioned most often, and as efficient improvement of management methods is concerned, changing the awareness of safety management and disposal was proposed. According to this study, the right way of managing medical radioactive waste is to change the awareness of radioactive workers by reinforcing regular training

Analysis of the awareness of medical radioactive waste management plans (with focus on Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Se Sik; Choi, Seok Yoon; Kim, Jung Hoon [Dept. of Radiological Science, College of Health Science, Catholic University of Pusan, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2014-03-15

This study was conducted to propose medical radioactive waste management methods by background factors of radioactive workers, their awareness of safety management and reduce the difficulty of self-disposal. A population of 102 radiotechnologist who work at hospital in Busan was the subject of this study and a survey was conducted to them. the analysis for the collected data used SPSS/PC+Win13 version and one-way, ANOVA was carried out of verify differences between the groups. The result showed that most of workers had correct awareness of radioactive waste management. Also, about the difficulty of self-disposal, legal procedures were mentioned most often, and as efficient improvement of management methods is concerned, changing the awareness of safety management and disposal was proposed. According to this study, the right way of managing medical radioactive waste is to change the awareness of radioactive workers by reinforcing regular training.

Constructive solutions for beamless capitalless floors with prestressed reinforcement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bardysheva Yuliya Anatol'evna

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In the article the authors present advanced constructions of prestressed reinforced concrete flat ceiling, where high-strength ropes in elastic shell are used as stressed reinforcement. The novelty of the solution lays in diagonal arrangement of hard valves and use of high-strength ropes in a flexible shell of "Monostrand" type. This type of prestress, in our opinion, is the most acceptable from technical point of view for selective reinforcement of separate tense rods or cables. The use of pre-stressed reinforcement in the form of individual rods or cables increases the rigidity and crack resistance of concrete beamless slabs. The use of high-strength ropes in the monostrand-type shell makes it possible to prestress in frames of single cell plate or floor in general and to reduce labour input for stressing armature. The paper presents original solution with diagonal position of the valve. The authors suggest the use of prestressed diagonal valves as in all cells of the floor with the cells of the same or only slightly different size and in separate cells of the floor (for roofs with different cells. The diagonal location of stressed reinforcement proposed in the work is an efficient solution for extending the range of dimensions and loads size.

Working memory and attentional bias on reinforcing efficacy of food.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Katelyn A; Epstein, Leonard H

2017-09-01

Reinforcing efficacy of food, or the relationship between food prices and purchasing, is related to obesity status and energy intake in adults. Determining how to allocate resources for food is a decision making process influenced by executive functions. Attention to appetitive cues, as well as working memory capacity, or the ability to flexibly control attention while mentally retaining information, may be important executive functions involved in food purchasing decisions. In two studies, we examined how attention bias to food and working memory capacity are related to reinforcing efficacy of both high energy-dense and low energy-dense foods. The first study examined 48 women of varying body mass index (BMI) and found that the relationship between attentional processes and reinforcing efficacy was moderated by working memory capacity. Those who avoid food cues and had high working memory capacity had the lowest reinforcing efficacy, as compared to those with low working memory capacity. Study 2 systematically replicated the methods of study 1 with assessment of maintained attention in a sample of 48 overweight/obese adults. Results showed the relationship between maintained attention to food cues and reinforcing efficacy was moderated by working memory capacity. Those with a maintained attention to food and high working memory capacity had higher reinforcing efficacy than low working memory capacity individuals. These studies suggest working memory capacity moderated the relationship between different aspects of attention and food reinforcement. Understanding how decision making process are involved in reinforcing efficacy may help to identify future intervention targets. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing Awareness through Poetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Roeming, Robert F., Ed.

This booklet contains the proceedings of a seminar in which poets demonstrated through readings and analysis of their works how poetry, combining appeals to both reason and emotion, can develop and refine individual awareness of the world and nature around us. The primary participants in the program were Bruce Cutler, Dolores Kendrick, and May…

Axial Compression Tests on Corroded Reinforced Concrete Columns Consolidated with Fibre Reinforced Polymers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bin Ding

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Reinforced concrete structure featured by strong bearing capacity, high rigidity, good integrity, good fire resistance, and extensive applicability occupies a mainstream position in contemporary architecture. However, with the development of social economy, people need higher requirements on architectural structure; durability, especially, has been extensively researched. Because of the higher requirement on building material, ordinary reinforced concrete structure has not been able to satisfy the demand. As a result, some new materials and structures have emerged, for example, fibre reinforced polymers. Compared to steel reinforcement, fibre reinforced polymers have many advantages, such as high tensile strength, good durability, good shock absorption, low weight, and simple construction. The application of fibre reinforced polymers in architectural structure can effectively improve the durability of the concrete structure and lower the maintenance, reinforcement, and construction costs in severe environments. Based on the concepts of steel tube concrete, fibre reinforced composite material confined concrete, and fibre reinforced composite material tubed concrete, this study proposes a novel composite structure, i.e., fibre reinforced composite material and steel tube concrete composite structure. The structure was developed by pasting fibre around steel tube concrete and restraining core concrete using fibre reinforced composite material and steel tubes. The bearing capacity and ultimate deformation capacity of the structure was tested using column axial compression test.

"You Should Have Seen the Look on Your Face…": Self-awareness of Facial Expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Fangbing; Yan, Wen-Jing; Chen, Yu-Hsin; Li, Kaiyun; Zhang, Hui; Fu, Xiaolan

2017-01-01

The awareness of facial expressions allows one to better understand, predict, and regulate his/her states to adapt to different social situations. The present research investigated individuals' awareness of their own facial expressions and the influence of the duration and intensity of expressions in two self-reference modalities, a real-time condition and a video-review condition. The participants were instructed to respond as soon as they became aware of any facial movements. The results revealed that awareness rates were 57.79% in the real-time condition and 75.92% in the video-review condition. The awareness rate was influenced by the intensity and (or) the duration. The intensity thresholds for individuals to become aware of their own facial expressions were calculated using logistic regression models. The results of Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) revealed that video-review awareness was a significant predictor of real-time awareness. These findings extend understandings of human facial expression self-awareness in two modalities.

Political and news media factors shaping public awareness of the HPV vaccine.

Science.gov (United States)

Gollust, Sarah E; Attanasio, Laura; Dempsey, Amanda; Benson, Allison M; Fowler, Erika Franklin

2013-01-01

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed a vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV) that prevents the strains of HPV that cause 70% of cervical cancers. Within months, many states introduced legislation requiring the vaccine for girls, prompting controversy and heightened political and media attention to the issue. Previous research has shown differences in HPV vaccine awareness by individual-level characteristics such as race/ethnicity, income, and education levels. We examined how individual political orientation and exposure to media coverage can also shape awareness of the vaccine. Using data from a 2009 Internet survey of 1,216 nationally representative adult respondents linked to data on state-specific news coverage, we assessed how political orientation, media exposure, and state political context predicted HPV vaccine awareness. Younger people, women, and those with more education were significantly more likely to be aware of the vaccine. Even after controlling for these characteristics, we found that exposure to news media was associated with higher HPV vaccine awareness. Whereas liberals and conservatives were both more aware of the vaccine compared with moderates, the data are suggestive that liberals were more sensitive to news coverage. These findings suggest that individual-level political identities and their interaction with the informational environment may be important factors to consider in evaluating the determinants of individuals' attitudes and behaviors related to politically charged women's health issues. Copyright © 2013 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding situation awareness and its importance in patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Gluyas, Heather; Harris, Sarah-Jane

2016-04-20

Situation awareness describes an individual's perception, comprehension and subsequent projection of what is going on in the environment around them. The concept of situation awareness sits within the group of non-technical skills that include teamwork, communication and managing hierarchical lines of communication. The importance of non-technical skills has been recognised in safety-critical industries such as aviation, the military, nuclear, and oil and gas. However, health care has been slow to embrace the role of non-technical skills such as situation awareness in improving outcomes and minimising the risk of error. This article explores the concept of situation awareness and the cognitive processes involved in maintaining it. In addition, factors that lead to a loss of situation awareness and strategies to improve situation awareness are discussed.

Flexural strength using Steel Plate, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) on reinforced concrete beam in building technology

Science.gov (United States)

Tarigan, Johannes; Patra, Fadel Muhammad; Sitorus, Torang

2018-03-01

Reinforced concrete structures are very commonly used in buildings because they are cheaper than the steel structures. But in reality, many concrete structures are damaged, so there are several ways to overcome this problem, by providing reinforcement with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and reinforcement with steel plates. Each type of reinforcements has its advantages and disadvantages. In this study, researchers discuss the comparison between flexural strength of reinforced concrete beam using steel plates and Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP). In this case, the researchers use Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) as external reinforcements. The dimension of the beams is 15 x 25 cm with the length of 320 cm. Based on the analytical results, the strength of the beam with CFRP is 1.991 times its initial, GFRP is 1.877 times while with the steel plate is 1.646 times. Based on test results, the strength of the beam with CFRP is 1.444 times its initial, GFRP is 1.333 times while the steel plate is 1.167 times. Based on these test results, the authors conclude that beam with CFRP is the best choice for external reinforcement in building technology than the others.

Personalized Time-Aware Tweets Summarization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ren, Z.; Liang, S.; Meij, E.; de Rijke, M.

2013-01-01

We focus on the problem of selecting meaningful tweets given a user's interests; the dynamic nature of user interests, the sheer volume, and the sparseness of individual messages make this an challenging problem. Specifically, we consider the task of time-aware tweets summarization, based on a

Pitch discrimination associated with phonological awareness: Evidence from congenital amusia.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yanan; Lu, Xuejing; Ho, Hao Tam; Thompson, William Forde

2017-03-13

Research suggests that musical skills are associated with phonological abilities. To further investigate this association, we examined whether phonological impairments are evident in individuals with poor music abilities. Twenty individuals with congenital amusia and 20 matched controls were assessed on a pure-tone pitch discrimination task, a rhythm discrimination task, and four phonological tests. Amusic participants showed deficits in discriminating pitch and discriminating rhythmic patterns that involve a regular beat. At a group level, these individuals performed similarly to controls on all phonological tests. However, eight amusics with severe pitch impairment, as identified by the pitch discrimination task, exhibited significantly worse performance than all other participants in phonological awareness. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that pitch discrimination thresholds predicted phonological awareness beyond that predicted by phonological short-term memory and rhythm discrimination. In contrast, our rhythm discrimination task did not predict phonological awareness beyond that predicted by pitch discrimination thresholds. These findings suggest that accurate pitch discrimination is critical for phonological processing. We propose that deficits in early-stage pitch discrimination may be associated with impaired phonological awareness and we discuss the shared role of pitch discrimination for processing music and speech.

Phonological awareness and short-term memory in hearing and deaf individuals of different communication backgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Daniel; Crain, Kelly; LaSasso, Carol; Eden, Guinevere F

2008-12-01

Previous work in deaf populations on phonological coding and working memory, two skills thought to play an important role in the acquisition of written language skills, have focused primarily on signers or did not clearly identify the subjects' native language and communication mode. In the present study, we examined the effect of sensory experience, early language experience, and communication mode on the phonological awareness skills and serial recall of linguistic items in deaf and hearing individuals of different communicative and linguistic backgrounds: hearing nonsigning controls, hearing users of ASL, deaf users of ASL, deaf oral users of English, and deaf users of cued speech. Since many current measures of phonological awareness skills are inappropriate for deaf populations on account of the verbal demands in the stimuli or response, we devised a nonverbal phonological measure that addresses this limitation. The Phoneme Detection Test revealed that deaf cuers and oral users, but not deaf signers, performed as well as their hearing peers when detecting phonemes not transparent in the orthography. The second focus of the study examined short-term memory skills and found that in response to the traditional digit span as well as an experimental visual version, digit-span performance was similar across the three deaf groups, yet deaf subjects' retrieval was lower than that of hearing subjects. Our results support the claim (Bavelier et al., 2006) that lexical items processed in the visual-spatial modality are not as well retained as information processed in the auditory channel. Together these findings show that the relationship between working memory, phonological coding, and reading may not be as tightly interwoven in deaf students as would have been predicted from work conducted in hearing students.

The Development of a Token Reinforcement System for a Specific Lesson. Technical Report #11.

Science.gov (United States)

Au, Kathryn

This paper presents a brief description of a token reinforcement system developed for a kindergarten language class in the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP). Visual reinforcers (colored plastic tabs) were placed next to the names of individual children (each time they made a correct response) on a large chart in the front of the room. Five…

The Impact of Feedback on Phonological Awareness Development

Science.gov (United States)

Kazakou, Maria N.; Soulis, Spyros

2014-01-01

The utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in educational practice is indispensable, while it becomes imperative in the education of individuals with special educational needs, as it promotes the application of Individualized Education Programs. Feedback in digital activities aiming at phonological awareness development is…

Oral cancer awareness and knowledge among residents in the Oporto city, Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, Luís Silva; Warnakulasuriya, Saman; Cadilhe, Suzana; Sousa, Duarte; Trancoso, Pedro Ferreira; Antunes, Luís; Salazar, Filomena; Pacheco, José Júlio

2016-08-01

To assess the awareness and knowledge on oral cancer in a general population of Oporto city, in Portugal. Face-to-face interviews were performed with 1116 individuals, resident in the city of Oporto. Participants' socio-demographic information, lifestyle habits and awareness, knowledge and beliefs on oral cancer were ascertained. Breast cancer was the most mentioned being as heard of (69.8%), while oral cancer was one of the least heard of (23.7%). Tobacco was identified as a risk factor by 54.8% of individuals and this knowledge was associated with their education level (P oral cancer. There is a general lack of awareness on oral cancer among this Oporto population. Higher education level and better oral health care were significant factors that identified individuals with a better awareness and knowledge of oral cancer, suggesting that educational measures could be useful for the prevention and early diagnosis of oral cancer in the Portuguese population. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

An experiment on individual ‘parochial altruism’ revealing no connection between individual ‘altruism’ and individual ‘parochialism’

Science.gov (United States)

Corr, Philip J.; Hargreaves Heap, Shaun P.; Seger, Charles R.; Tsutsui, Kei

2015-01-01

Is parochial altruism an attribute of individual behavior? This is the question we address with an experiment. We examine whether the individual pro-sociality that is revealed in the public goods and trust games when interacting with fellow group members helps predict individual parochialism, as measured by the in-group bias (i.e., the difference in these games in pro-sociality when interacting with own group members as compared with members of another group). We find that it is not. An examination of the Big-5 personality predictors of each behavior reinforces this result: they are different. In short, knowing how pro-social individuals are with respect to fellow group members does not help predict their parochialism. PMID:26347703

Fiber reinforced concrete as a material for nuclear reactor containment buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallikarjuna; Banthia, N.; Mindess, S.

1991-01-01

The fiber reinforced concrete as a constructional material for nuclear reactor containment buildings calls for an examination of its individual characteristics and potentialities due to its inherent superiority over normal plain and reinforced concrete. In the present investigation, first, to study the static behavior of straight, hooked-end and crimped fibers, recently developed nonlinear three-dimensional interface (contact) element has been used in conjunction with the eight nodded hexahedron and two nodded bar elements for concrete and steel fiber respectively. Then impact tests were carried out on fiber reinforced concrete beams with an instrumented drop weight impact machine. Two different concrete mixes were tested: normal strength and high strength concrete specimens. Fibers in the concrete mix found to significantly increase the ductility and the impact resistance of the composite. Deformed fibers increase peak pull-out load and pull-out distance, and perform better in the steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) structures. (author)

Experimental analysis of reinforced concrete beams strengthened in bending with carbon fiber reinforced polymer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. VIEIRA

Full Text Available The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP has been widely used for the reinforcement of concrete structures due to its practicality and versatility in application, low weight, high tensile strength and corrosion resistance. Some construction companies use CFRP in flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete beams, but without anchor systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is analyze, through an experimental program, the structural behavior of reinforced concrete beams flexural strengthened by CFRP without anchor fibers, varying steel reinforcement and the amount of carbon fibers reinforcement layers. Thus, two groups of reinforced concrete beams were produced with the same geometric feature but with different steel reinforcement. Each group had five beams: one that is not reinforced with CFRP (reference and other reinforced with two, three, four and five layers of carbon fibers. Beams were designed using a computational routine developed in MAPLE software and subsequently tested in 4-point points flexural test up to collapse. Experimental tests have confirmed the effectiveness of the reinforcement, ratifying that beams collapse at higher loads and lower deformation as the amount of fibers in the reinforcing layers increased. However, the increase in the number of layers did not provide a significant increase in the performance of strengthened beams, indicating that it was not possible to take full advantage of strengthening applied due to the occurrence of premature failure mode in the strengthened beams for pullout of the cover that could have been avoided through the use of a suitable anchoring system for CFRP.

Reinforcement Schedules in a Verbal Reinforcement Combination and Renection-Impulsivity

OpenAIRE

TAMASE, Koji; UEDA, Masako

1986-01-01

It was predicted that higher proportion of the negative reinforcement "Wrong" than that of the positive reinforcement "Right" in a reinforcement combination will produce higher proportion of the correct response and this trend will be greater in reflective children than in impulsive children. From 140 kindergarten children 30 reflective and 30 impulsive children were selected and they were given a two-hole marble-dropping task. The best performance in the ratio of correct responses was obtain...

Interoceptive Awareness Skills for Emotion Regulation: Theory and Approach of Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy (MABT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia J. Price

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Emotion regulation involves a coherent relationship with the self, specifically effective communication between body, mind, and feelings. Effective emotion regulation involves the ability to accurately detect and evaluate cues related to physiological reactions to stressful events, accompanied by appropriate regulation strategies that temper and influence the emotional response. There is compelling evidence demonstrating links between poor or disrupted awareness of sensory information, or interoceptive awareness, and difficulties with emotion regulation. This paper presents a framework, based on psychological and neurobiological research, for understanding how interoceptive awareness facilitates regulation and an integrated sense of self, and thus contributes to health and well-being. A mind-body therapeutic approach called mindful awareness in body-oriented therapy (MABT, uniquely designed to teach fundamental skills of interoceptive awareness, is described. MABT develops the distinct interoceptive awareness capacities of identifying, accessing, and appraising internal bodily signals that are identified in physiological models as the critical components of interoception for emotion regulation. The explanatory model is that the development of these key interoceptive capacities improves sensory (physical and emotional awareness, reduces distress, and improves regulation. Strategies for teaching and learning interoceptive awareness are not well-developed in mindfulness or psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly important for people who may have difficulty attending to interoceptive awareness due to stress, chronic pain or trauma. To address this issue, MABT provides an individualized protocol for scaffolding interoceptive awareness through a combination of psychoeducation and somatic approaches explicitly addressing difficulties with interoceptive processing. Clinical vignettes are included to provide exemplars of this approach and to highlight

Infection dynamics in structured populations with disease awareness based on neighborhood contact history

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Lang

2014-10-01

In recent years, continuing efforts have been directed to revealing the effect of human behavioral responses in the spread of infectious diseases. In this paper, we propose an implementation mechanism of disease awareness via individual self-perception from neighborhood contact histories (NCHs), where each individual is capable of memorizing a sequence of his infectious contacts earlier time, and adaptively adjusting the contact rate with his neighboring individuals as a preventive strategy from risks of exposure to infection. Both analytical and numerical results show that the NCH-based self-perceived awareness is a simple, but efficient disease control measure, which can greatly reduce the outbreak size of infectious diseases. We further examine the effects of a centralized disease control measure, which corresponds, for comparison, to an NCH-independent and uniformly aroused disease awareness. We find our proposed strategy outperforms the centralized one in a much larger and more practical range of epidemiological parameters, which also highlight the importance of the NCH-based awareness information in guidance of the individual protective behavior against infectious diseases.

Improving Financial Education and Awareness on Insurance and Private Pensions

Science.gov (United States)

OECD Publishing (NJ3), 2008

2008-01-01

With public pensions under pressure and private pensions exposed to risk, individuals face an increasing variety of financial risks, particularly those linked to their retirement. This book analyzes the level of risk awareness of consumers and highlights good practices governments might initiate to enhance consumers' awareness and education on…

Two-stage effects of awareness cascade on epidemic spreading in multiplex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Quantong; Jiang, Xin; Lei, Yanjun; Li, Meng; Ma, Yifang; Zheng, Zhiming

2015-01-01

Human awareness plays an important role in the spread of infectious diseases and the control of propagation patterns. The dynamic process with human awareness is called awareness cascade, during which individuals exhibit herd-like behavior because they are making decisions based on the actions of other individuals [Borge-Holthoefer et al., J. Complex Networks 1, 3 (2013), 10.1093/comnet/cnt006]. In this paper, to investigate the epidemic spreading with awareness cascade, we propose a local awareness controlled contagion spreading model on multiplex networks. By theoretical analysis using a microscopic Markov chain approach and numerical simulations, we find the emergence of an abrupt transition of epidemic threshold βc with the local awareness ratio α approximating 0.5 , which induces two-stage effects on epidemic threshold and the final epidemic size. These findings indicate that the increase of α can accelerate the outbreak of epidemics. Furthermore, a simple 1D lattice model is investigated to illustrate the two-stage-like sharp transition at αc≈0.5 . The results can give us a better understanding of why some epidemics cannot break out in reality and also provide a potential access to suppressing and controlling the awareness cascading systems.

Management of Reinforcement Corrosion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Küter, André; Geiker, Mette Rica; Møller, Per

Reinforcement corrosion is the most important cause for deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, both with regard to costs and consequences. Thermodynamically consistent descriptions of corrosion mechanisms are expected to allow the development of innovative concepts for the management...... of reinforcement corrosion....

Toward a generalized theory of epidemic awareness in social networks

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Qingchu; Zhu, Wenfang

We discuss the dynamics of a susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model with local awareness in networks. Individual awareness to the infectious disease is characterized by a general function of epidemic information in its neighborhood. We build a high-accuracy approximate equation governing the spreading dynamics and derive an approximate epidemic threshold above which the epidemic spreads over the whole network. Our results extend the previous work and show that the epidemic threshold is dependent on the awareness function in terms of one infectious neighbor. Interestingly, when a pow-law awareness function is chosen, the epidemic threshold can emerge in infinite networks.

Body awareness and responses to experimentally Induced pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Minev

2017-09-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE. The aim of this study is to discuss personal and demographic factors that influence the relationship between physical activity and awareness of one's own body, as well as the pain response (threshold and tolerance of pain, situational anxiety and personality. In the study 38 healthy individual- volunteers, students in Trakia University - Stara Zagora were selected. All participants were divided into two groups: actively involved in individual or team sport (n = 19 and healthy normaly active subjects (non-athletes, n = 19. The age of the study participants ranged between 18 and 39 years, while the gender breakdown was as follows: men - 22 women – 16. Methods: Psychological Questionnaires: Body Awareness Questionnaire that asks subjects to rate, on a 4 point scale, the degree to which they were currently experiencing symptoms of sympathetic arousal, State Trait Anger Scale, and State Trait Anxiety Scale. Objective methods (cold pressure test are used only to determine the pain sensation and pain tolerance thresholds. The results of investigation support significant differences between athletes and non-athletes in pain thershold, body awareness and anxiety. The study conclusions discuss body awareness as an increasing factor for pain resistance in athletes and as an integral part of the learning process among them.

Error-related anterior cingulate cortex activity and the prediction of conscious error awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine eOrr

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Research examining the neural mechanisms associated with error awareness has consistently identified dorsal anterior cingulate activity (ACC as necessary but not predictive of conscious error detection. Two recent studies (Steinhauser and Yeung, 2010; Wessel et al. 2011 have found a contrary pattern of greater dorsal ACC activity (in the form of the error-related negativity during detected errors, but suggested that the greater activity may instead reflect task influences (e.g., response conflict, error probability and or individual variability (e.g., statistical power. We re-analyzed fMRI BOLD data from 56 healthy participants who had previously been administered the Error Awareness Task, a motor Go/No-go response inhibition task in which subjects make errors of commission of which they are aware (Aware errors, or unaware (Unaware errors. Consistent with previous data, the activity in a number of cortical regions was predictive of error awareness, including bilateral inferior parietal and insula cortices, however in contrast to previous studies, including our own smaller sample studies using the same task, error-related dorsal ACC activity was significantly greater during aware errors when compared to unaware errors. While the significantly faster RT for aware errors (compared to unaware was consistent with the hypothesis of higher response conflict increasing ACC activity, we could find no relationship between dorsal ACC activity and the error RT difference. The data suggests that individual variability in error awareness is associated with error-related dorsal ACC activity, and therefore this region may be important to conscious error detection, but it remains unclear what task and individual factors influence error awareness.

Effects of partial reinforcement and time between reinforced trials on terminal response rate in pigeon autoshaping.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottlieb, Daniel A

2006-03-01

Partial reinforcement often leads to asymptotically higher rates of responding and number of trials with a response than does continuous reinforcement in pigeon autoshaping. However, comparisons typically involve a partial reinforcement schedule that differs from the continuous reinforcement schedule in both time between reinforced trials and probability of reinforcement. Two experiments examined the relative contributions of these two manipulations to asymptotic response rate. Results suggest that the greater responding previously seen with partial reinforcement is primarily due to differential probability of reinforcement and not differential time between reinforced trials. Further, once established, differences in responding are resistant to a change in stimulus and contingency. Secondary response theories of autoshaped responding (theories that posit additional response-augmenting or response-attenuating mechanisms specific to partial or continuous reinforcement) cannot fully accommodate the current body of data. It is suggested that researchers who study pigeon autoshaping train animals on a common task prior to training them under different conditions.

Awareness and the Effect of Rate Rehearsal on Free Recall

Science.gov (United States)

Kestner, Jane; Walter, Donald A.

1977-01-01

The effect of time of awareness of a subsequent test of recall and the relationship of that awareness and rote rehearsal were studied by telling subjects which specific items to encode before the item's presentation (prior instructions) or after its rehearsal (postrehearsal instructions) and by varying rehearsal intervals for individual items.…

Influence of transverse reinforcement on perforation resistance of reinforced concrete slabs under hard missile impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orbovic, Nebojsa; Sagals, Genadijs; Blahoianu, Andrei

2015-01-01

This paper describes the work conducted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) related to the influence of transverse reinforcement on perforation capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under “hard” missile impact (impact with negligible missile deformations). The paper presents the results of three tests on reinforced concrete slabs conducted at VTT Technical Research Centre (Finland), along with the numerical simulations as well as a discussion of the current code provisions related to impactive loading. Transverse reinforcement is widely used for improving the shear and punching strength of concrete structures. However, the effect of this reinforcement on the perforation resistance under localized missile impact is still unclear. The goal of this paper is to fill the gap in the current literature related to this topic. Based on similar tests designed by the authors with missile velocity below perforation velocity, it was expected that transverse reinforcement would improve the perforation resistance. Three slabs were tested under almost identical conditions with the only difference being the transverse reinforcement. One slab was designed without transverse reinforcement, the second one with the transverse reinforcement in form of conventional stirrups with hooks and the third one with the transverse reinforcement in form of T-headed bars. Although the transverse reinforcement reduced the overall damage of the slabs (the rear face scabbing), the conclusion from the tests is that the transverse reinforcement does not have important influence on perforation capacity of concrete slabs under rigid missile impact. The slab with T-headed bars presented a slight improvement compared to the baseline specimen without transverse reinforcement. The slab with conventional stirrups presented slightly lower perforation capacity (higher residual missile velocity) than the slab without transverse reinforcement. In conclusion, the performed tests show slightly

An experiment on individual ‘parochial altruism’ revealing no connection between individual ‘altruism’ and individual ‘parochialism’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaun eHargreaves Heap

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Is parochial altruism an attribute of individual behaviour? This is the question we address with an experiment. We examine whether the individual pro-sociality that is revealed in the public goods and trust games when interacting with fellow group members helps predict individual parochialism, as measured by the in-group bias (i.e., the difference in these games in pro-sociality when interacting with own group members as compared with members of another group. We find that it is not. An examination of the Big 5 personality predictors of each behaviour reinforces this result: they are different. In short, knowing how ‘nice’ individuals are with respect to fellow group members does not help predict their parochialism.

Determinants of glaucoma awareness in urban punjab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooq, S.; Jaffar, S.; Kausar, A.

2015-01-01

To assess the awareness about glaucoma and the factors affecting it in urban Punjab population. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted in March-April 2011 in Rawalpindi District Punjab, Pakistan. Material and Methods: Glaucoma awareness study was conducted on urban population of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Taxila. Individuals belonging to medical profession (doctors, nurses and paramedics etc) were not included. Demographic details and educational status of all participants were documented. A brief structured close-ended study questionnaire was used to collect information about their awareness of risk factors, treatment aspects and complication of glaucoma. Results: There were 729 participants in the study. Majority were females (60.1%) and adults (76.1%). Literacy level of 40.2% was up to matriculate level. The study indicated that the awareness level about glaucoma was low especially about the recognition of high-risk groups and symptoms. Only one-third of respondents i.e. 32.6% had an idea about the symptoms of the disease and 27.4% participants had awareness of glaucoma as a blinding eye disease. Determinants of glaucoma awareness amongst study participants were gender, age, education level and occupation. Conclusion: Awareness of glaucoma was quite low among the urban population in Punjab. There is need of increased public health education to reduce glaucoma associated blindness and its burden on society. (author)

Finite element modelling of concrete beams reinforced with hybrid fiber reinforced bars

Science.gov (United States)

Smring, Santa binti; Salleh, Norhafizah; Hamid, NoorAzlina Abdul; Majid, Masni A.

2017-11-01

Concrete is a heterogeneous composite material made up of cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water mixed in a desired proportion to obtain the required strength. Plain concrete does not with stand tension as compared to compression. In order to compensate this drawback steel reinforcement are provided in concrete. Now a day, for improving the properties of concrete and also to take up tension combination of steel and glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars promises favourable strength, serviceability, and durability. To verify its promise and support design concrete structures with hybrid type of reinforcement, this study have investigated the load-deflection behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with hybrid GFRP and steel bars by using ATENA software. Fourteen beams, including six control beams reinforced with only steel or only GFRP bars, were analysed. The ratio and the ordinate of GFRP to steel were the main parameters investigated. The behaviour of these beams was investigated via the load-deflection characteristics, cracking behaviour and mode of failure. Hybrid GFRP-Steel reinforced concrete beam showed the improvement in both ultimate capacity and deflection concomitant to the steel reinforced concrete beam. On the other hand, finite element (FE) modelling which is ATENA were validated with previous experiment and promising the good result to be used for further analyses and development in the field of present study.

Motion sickness: a negative reinforcement model.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowins, Brad

2010-01-15

Theories pertaining to the "why" of motion sickness are in short supply relative to those detailing the "how." Considering the profoundly disturbing and dysfunctional symptoms of motion sickness, it is difficult to conceive of why this condition is so strongly biologically based in humans and most other mammalian and primate species. It is posited that motion sickness evolved as a potent negative reinforcement system designed to terminate motion involving sensory conflict or postural instability. During our evolution and that of many other species, motion of this type would have impaired evolutionary fitness via injury and/or signaling weakness and vulnerability to predators. The symptoms of motion sickness strongly motivate the individual to terminate the offending motion by early avoidance, cessation of movement, or removal of oneself from the source. The motion sickness negative reinforcement mechanism functions much like pain to strongly motivate evolutionary fitness preserving behavior. Alternative why theories focusing on the elimination of neurotoxins and the discouragement of motion programs yielding vestibular conflict suffer from several problems, foremost that neither can account for the rarity of motion sickness in infants and toddlers. The negative reinforcement model proposed here readily accounts for the absence of motion sickness in infants and toddlers, in that providing strong motivation to terminate aberrant motion does not make sense until a child is old enough to act on this motivation.

Nicotine Acutely Enhances Reinforcement from Non-Drug Rewards in Humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth A. Perkins

2017-05-01

smoking, potential individual differences in these effects, and the possibility that nicotine via nicotine replacement therapy and non-nicotine quit medications may attenuate loss of these effects upon quitting. Further study with humans of nicotine’s reinforcement-enhancing effects may provide a more complete understanding of smoking persistence and added mechanisms of cessation medication efficacy.

Dynamic Sensor Tasking for Space Situational Awareness via Reinforcement Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Linares, R.; Furfaro, R.

2016-09-01

This paper studies the Sensor Management (SM) problem for optical Space Object (SO) tracking. The tasking problem is formulated as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and solved using Reinforcement Learning (RL). The RL problem is solved using the actor-critic policy gradient approach. The actor provides a policy which is random over actions and given by a parametric probability density function (pdf). The critic evaluates the policy by calculating the estimated total reward or the value function for the problem. The parameters of the policy action pdf are optimized using gradients with respect to the reward function. Both the critic and the actor are modeled using deep neural networks (multi-layer neural networks). The policy neural network takes the current state as input and outputs probabilities for each possible action. This policy is random, and can be evaluated by sampling random actions using the probabilities determined by the policy neural network's outputs. The critic approximates the total reward using a neural network. The estimated total reward is used to approximate the gradient of the policy network with respect to the network parameters. This approach is used to find the non-myopic optimal policy for tasking optical sensors to estimate SO orbits. The reward function is based on reducing the uncertainty for the overall catalog to below a user specified uncertainty threshold. This work uses a 30 km total position error for the uncertainty threshold. This work provides the RL method with a negative reward as long as any SO has a total position error above the uncertainty threshold. This penalizes policies that take longer to achieve the desired accuracy. A positive reward is provided when all SOs are below the catalog uncertainty threshold. An optimal policy is sought that takes actions to achieve the desired catalog uncertainty in minimum time. This work trains the policy in simulation by letting it task a single sensor to "learn" from its performance

Awareness of Emotional Stimuli Determines the Behavioral Consequences of Amygdala Activation and Amygdala-Prefrontal Connectivity

Science.gov (United States)

Lapate, R. C.; Rokers, B.; Tromp, D. P. M.; Orfali, N. S.; Oler, J. A.; Doran, S. T.; Adluru, N.; Alexander, A. L.; Davidson, R. J.

2016-01-01

Conscious awareness of negative cues is thought to enhance emotion-regulatory capacity, but the neural mechanisms underlying this effect are unknown. Using continuous flash suppression (CFS) in the MRI scanner, we manipulated visual awareness of fearful faces during an affect misattribution paradigm, in which preferences for neutral objects can be biased by the valence of a previously presented stimulus. The amygdala responded to fearful faces independently of awareness. However, when awareness of fearful faces was prevented, individuals with greater amygdala responses displayed a negative bias toward unrelated novel neutral faces. In contrast, during the aware condition, inverse coupling between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex reduced this bias, particularly among individuals with higher structural connectivity in the major white matter pathway connecting the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Collectively, these results indicate that awareness promotes the function of a critical emotion-regulatory network targeting the amygdala, providing a mechanistic account for the role of awareness in emotion regulation. PMID:27181344

Pretreatment of Woven Jute FRP Composite and Its Use in Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams in Flexure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tara Sen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental awareness motivates researchers worldwide to perform studies of natural fibre reinforced polymer composites, as they come with many advantages and are primarily sustainable. The present study aims at evaluating the mechanical characteristics of natural woven jute fibre reinforced polymer (FRP composite subjected to three different pretreatments, alkali, benzyl chloride, and lastly heat treatment. It was concluded that heat treatment is one of the most suitable treatment methods for enhancing mechanical properties of jute FRP. Durability studies on Jute FRP pertaining to some common environmental conditions were also carried out such as effect of normal water and thermal aging on the tensile strength of jute FRP followed by fire flow test. The heat treated woven jute FRP composites were subsequently used for flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete beams in full and strip wrapping configurations. The study includes the effect of flexural strengthening provided by woven jute FRP, study of different failure modes, load deflection behavior, effect on the first crack load, and ultimate flexural strength of concrete beams strengthened using woven jute FRP subjected to bending loads. The study concludes that woven jute FRP is a suitable material which can be used for flexural upgradation of reinforced concrete beams.

Environmental awareness -- An interactive multimedia CD-ROM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huntelmann, A.; Petruk, M.W.

1998-07-01

As corporations move to new and innovative ways of structuring high-performance work teams, effective training is being recognized as a key to insuring success. Time and scheduling constraints tend to limit the effectiveness of traditional approaches to training. This has led Edmonton Power Inc. to explore the use of CD-ROM based multimedia as a means of delivering individualized instruction in an effective and timely manner. This session will demonstrate a multimedia CD-ROM based course on Environmental Awareness designed for workers in the electrical utilities industry. The objective of the course is to make workers aware of their roles and responsibilities with respect to their impact on the environment. This session will also describe the instructional design strategy underlying this approach to training and will present some preliminary findings with respect to the effectiveness of this approach. Individuals who are interested in improving the effectiveness of their environmental training program as well as individuals who are interested in understanding the strengths of multimedia CD-ROM based training will find this session useful and informative.

Methods for producing reinforced carbon nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Zhifen [Newton, MA; Wen, Jian Guo [Newton, MA; Lao, Jing Y [Chestnut Hill, MA; Li, Wenzhi [Brookline, MA

2008-10-28

Methods for producing reinforced carbon nanotubes having a plurality of microparticulate carbide or oxide materials formed substantially on the surface of such reinforced carbon nanotubes composite materials are disclosed. In particular, the present invention provides reinforced carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having a plurality of boron carbide nanolumps formed substantially on a surface of the reinforced CNTs that provide a reinforcing effect on CNTs, enabling their use as effective reinforcing fillers for matrix materials to give high-strength composites. The present invention also provides methods for producing such carbide reinforced CNTs.

Personal awareness and behavioural choices on having a stoma: a qualitative metasynthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Hui; Songwathana, Praneed; Isaramalai, Sang-Arun; Zhang, Ying

2014-05-01

To answer how personal awareness and behavioural choices on having a stoma have been described and interpreted in previous qualitative studies. Over the past two decades, there has been an accumulation of the qualitative studies concerning the experiences of individuals living with a stoma. Synthesising the findings of these studies would be able to improve the understanding among health providers. Qualitative metasynthesis. The literature was obtained through searching CINAHL and PubMed databases for papers published in English, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database for papers published in Chinese from 1990-March 2012. Sixteen articles were selected using the predefined criteria. Three themes about personal awareness and behavioural choices on having a stoma were identified: altered self, restricted life and overcoming restrictions. The results showed the impacts of having a stoma through the analysis on connections between personal awareness and behavioural choices. Having a stoma means that the individuals have to learn to be aware of and accustomed to changes and restrictions in their everyday lives. The individuals take behavioural efforts to overcome these restrictions involving: deciding on whether to reveal or conceal their stomas to others based on the possibility of being accepted or rejected, using internal resources, seeking and receiving external supports. The description and interpretation on personal awareness and behavioural choices associated with having a stoma is useful for nurses in providing practical, informational and emotional supports to help the individuals successfully adapt to their lives with a stoma. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Grids for Shear and End Zone Reinforcement in Bridge Beams

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Corrosion of reinforcing steel reduces life spans of bridges throughout the United States; therefore, using non-corroding carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement is seen as a way to increase service life. The use of CFRP as the flexural ...

Towards risk-aware communications networking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chołda, Piotr; Følstad, Eirik L.; Helvik, Bjarne E.; Kuusela, Pirkko; Naldi, Maurizio; Norros, Ilkka

2013-01-01

We promote introduction of risk-awareness in the design and operation of communications networks and services. This means explicit and systematic consideration of uncertainties related to improper behavior of the web of interdependent networks and the resulting consequences for individuals, companies and a society as a whole. Central activities are the recognition of events challenging dependability together with the assessment of their probabilities and impacts. While recognizing the complex technical, business and societal issues, we employ an overall risk framing approach containing risk assessment, response and monitoring. Our paradigm gathers topics that are currently dispersed in various fields of network activities. We review the current state of risk-related activities in networks, identify deficiencies and challenges, and suggest techniques, procedures, and metrics towards higher risk-awareness.

Mission Command in the Age of Network-Enabled Operations: Social Network Analysis of Information Sharing and Situation Awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchler, Norbou; Fitzhugh, Sean M; Marusich, Laura R; Ungvarsky, Diane M; Lebiere, Christian; Gonzalez, Cleotilde

2016-01-01

A common assumption in organizations is that information sharing improves situation awareness and ultimately organizational effectiveness. The sheer volume and rapid pace of information and communications received and readily accessible through computer networks, however, can overwhelm individuals, resulting in data overload from a combination of diverse data sources, multiple data formats, and large data volumes. The current conceptual framework of network enabled operations (NEO) posits that robust networking and information sharing act as a positive feedback loop resulting in greater situation awareness and mission effectiveness in military operations (Alberts and Garstka, 2004). We test this assumption in a large-scale, 2-week military training exercise. We conducted a social network analysis of email communications among the multi-echelon Mission Command staff (one Division and two sub-ordinate Brigades) and assessed the situational awareness of every individual. Results from our exponential random graph models challenge the aforementioned assumption, as increased email output was associated with lower individual situation awareness. It emerged that higher situation awareness was associated with a lower probability of out-ties, so that broadly sending many messages decreased the likelihood of attaining situation awareness. This challenges the hypothesis that increased information sharing improves situation awareness, at least for those doing the bulk of the sharing. In addition, we observed two trends that reflect a compartmentalizing of networked information sharing as email links were more commonly formed among members of the command staff with both similar functions and levels of situation awareness, than between two individuals with dissimilar functions and levels of situation awareness; both those findings can be interpreted to reflect effects of homophily. Our results have major implications that challenge the current conceptual framework of NEO. In

The impact of multiple information on coupled awareness-epidemic dynamics in multiplex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yaohui; Yan, Zhijun

2018-02-01

Growing interest has emerged in the study of the interplay between awareness and epidemics in multiplex networks. However, previous studies on this issue usually assume that all aware individuals take the same level of precautions, ignoring individual heterogeneity. In this paper, we investigate the coupled awareness-epidemic dynamics in multiplex networks considering individual heterogeneity. Here, the precaution levels are heterogeneous and depend on three types of information: contact information and local and global prevalence information. The results show that contact-based precautions can decrease the epidemic prevalence and augment the epidemic threshold, but prevalence-based precautions, regardless of local or global information, can only decrease the epidemic prevalence. Moreover, unlike previous studies in single-layer networks, we do not find a greater impact of local prevalence information on the epidemic prevalence compared to global prevalence information. In addition, we find that the altruistic behaviors of infected individuals can effectively suppress epidemic spreading, especially when the level of contact-based precaution is high.

Effect of Lubrication on Sliding Wear of Red Mud Particulate Reinforced Aluminium Alloy 6061

OpenAIRE

N. Panwar; R.P. Poonia; G. Singh; R. Dabral; A. Chauhan

2017-01-01

In present study, Red mud, an industrial waste, has been utilized as a reinforcement material to fabricate Aluminium 6061 matrix based metal matrix composite. Taguchi L18 orthogonal array has been employed for fabrication of composite castings and for conducting the tribological experimentation. ANOVA analysis has been applied to examine the effect of individual parameters such as sliding condition: dry and wet, reinforcement weight fraction, load, speed, and sliding distance on specific wear...

Teen PACK: Population Awareness Campaign Kit.

Science.gov (United States)

Zero Population Growth, Inc., Washington, DC.

This packet of instructional materials is designed to teach teenagers about the effects of overpopulation on the world and on the individual. Information is presented in three related booklets. The first of the three parts of the "Teen Population Awareness Campaign Kit," illustrates overpopulation through profiles of teens living in…

Investigation on Mechanical Properties of Graphene Oxide reinforced GFRP

Science.gov (United States)

Arun, G. K.; Sreenivas, Nikhil; Brahma Reddy, Kesari; Sai Krishna Reddy, K.; Shashi Kumar, M. E.; Pramod, R.

2018-02-01

Graphene and E-glass fibres individually find a very wide field of applications because of their various mechanical and chemical properties. Recently graphene has attracted both academic and industrial interest because it can produce a dramatic improvement in properties at very low filler content. The primary interest of this venture is to investigate on Graphene reinforced polymer matrix nanocomposites and finding the mechanical properties. The composites were fabricated by Hand Lay Process and have been evaluated by the addition of Graphene with 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 by weight% as reinforcement in composites. The theoretical and experimental results validate the increase in properties such as tensile strength, hardness and flexural strength with increase in weight proportions from 1% to 3% of graphene powder. It was observed that the composite material with 2.5% weight fraction of graphene yielded superior properties over other weight percentages. Graphene reinforced polymer matrix nanocomposites finds its major applications in the manufacture of aircraft bodies, ballistic missiles, sporting equipment, marine applications and extraterrestrial ventures.

Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension among Filipino immigrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Ursua, Rhodora; Aguilar, David; Wyatt, Laura; Tandon, Shiv Darius; Escondo, Kirklyn; Rey, Mariano; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau

2014-03-01

Filipino Americans have high rates of hypertension, yet little research has examined hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in this group. In a community-based sample of hypertensive Filipino American immigrants, we identify 1) rates of hypertension awareness, treatment, and control; and 2) factors associated with awareness, treatment, and control. Cross-sectional analysis of survey data from health screenings collected from 2006 to 2010. A total of 566 hypertensive Filipino immigrants in New York City, New York and Jersey City, New Jersey. Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control. Participants were included in analysis if they were hypertensive, based on: a past physician diagnosis, antihypertensive medication use, and/or high blood pressure (BP) screening measurements. Demographic variables included sex, age, time in the United States, location of residence, and English spoken language fluency. Health-related variables included self-reported health, insurance status, diabetes diagnosis, high cholesterol diagnosis, clinical measures (body mass index [BMI], glucose, and cholesterol), exercise frequency, smoking status, cardiac event history, family history of cardiac event, and family history of hypertension. Among the hypertensive individuals, awareness, treatment, and control rates were suboptimal; 72.1 % were aware of their status, 56.5 % were on medication, and only 21.7 % had controlled BP. Factors related to awareness included older age, worse self-reported health, family history of hypertension, and a diagnosis of high cholesterol or diabetes; factors related to treatment included older age, longer time lived in the United States, and being a non-smoker; having health insurance was found to be the main predictor of hypertension control. Many individuals had other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors; 60.4 % had a BMI ≥25, 12.0 % had at-risk glucose measurements and 12.8 % had cholesterol ≥ 240. Hypertensive Filipinos exhibit poor

Combining noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement schedules as treatment for aberrant behavior.

OpenAIRE

Marcus, B A; Vollmer, T R

1996-01-01

Research has shown that noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) can be an effective behavior-reduction procedure when based on a functional analysis. The effects of NCR may be a result of elimination of the contingency between aberrant behavior and reinforcing consequences (extinction) or frequent and free access to reinforcers that may reduce the participant's motivation to engage in aberrant behaviors or mands. If motivation is momentarily reduced, behavior such as mands may not be sensitive to p...

Degradation of Waterfront Reinforced Concrete Structures

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Key words: Degradation, reinforced concrete, Dar es Salaam port. Abstract—One of the ... especially corrosion of the reinforcement. ... Corrosion of steel reinforcement contributes .... cracks along the line of reinforcement bars and most of the ...

Career Awareness, Career Planning, and Career Transition Needs among Sports Coaches

Science.gov (United States)

Lavallee, David

2006-01-01

This study is conducted with 56 recently retired full-time sports coaches to examine the importance of career awareness, postsport career planning, and career transition needs. Results indicate that the individuals do not have a high level of career awareness, have done relatively little postsport career planning during their coaching careers, and…

Monetary incentives to reinforce engagement and achievement in a job-skills training program for homeless, unemployed adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Koffarnus, Mikhail N; Wong, Conrad J; Fingerhood, Michael; Svikis, Dace S; Bigelow, George E; Silverman, Kenneth

2013-01-01

The current study examined whether monetary incentives could increase engagement and achievement in a job-skills training program for unemployed, homeless, alcohol-dependent adults. Participants (n=124) were randomized to a no-reinforcement group (n=39), during which access to the training program was provided but no incentives were given; a training reinforcement group (n=42), during which incentives were contingent on attendance and performance; or an abstinence and training reinforcement group (n=43), during which incentives were contingent on attendance and performance, but access was granted only if participants demonstrated abstinence from alcohol. abstinence and training reinforcement and training reinforcement participants advanced further in training and attended more hours than no-reinforcement participants. Monetary incentives were effective in promoting engagement and achievement in a job-skills training program for individuals who often do not take advantage of training programs. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Confinement of Reinforced-Concrete Columns with Non-Code Compliant Confining Reinforcement plus Supplemental Pen-Binder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anang Kristianto

2012-11-01

Full Text Available One of the important requirements for earthquake resistant building related to confinement is the use of seismic hooks in the hoop or confining reinforcement of reinforced-concrete column elements. However, installation of a confining reinforcement with a 135-degree hook is not easy. Therefore, in practice, many construction workers apply a confining reinforcement with a 90-degreehook (non-code compliant. Based on research and records of recent earthquakes in Indonesia, the use of a non-code compliant confining reinforcement for concrete columns produces structures with poor seismic performance. This paper presents a study that introduces an additional element that is expected to improve the effectiveness of concrete columns confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement. The additional element, named a pen-binder, is used to keep the non-code compliant confining reinforcement in place. The effectiveness of this element under pure axial concentric loading was investigatedcomprehensively.The specimens tested in this study were 18 concrete columns,with a cross-section of 170 mm x 170 mm and a height of 480 mm. The main test variables were the material type of the pen-binder, the angle of the hook, and the confining reinforcement configuration.The test results indicate that adding pen-binders can effectively improve the strength and ductility of the column specimens confined with a non-code compliant confining reinforcement

Cancer risk awareness and screening uptake in individuals at higher risk for colon cancer: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Salimzadeh, Hamideh; Bishehsari, Faraz; Delavari, Alireza; Barzin, Gilda; Amani, Mohammad; Majidi, Azam; Sadjadi, Alireza; Malekzadeh, Reza

2016-12-20

We aimed to measure cancer knowledge and feasibility of a screening colonoscopy among a cohort of individuals at higher risk of colon cancer. This study was conducted as part of an ongoing screening cohort, in which first degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with colon cancer are invited to participate in a free of charge screening colonoscopy. We enrolled 1017 FDRs in the study between 2013 and 2014 measuring their data on demographics, cancer knowledge and colonoscopy uptake. A p value of aware of their increased risk for cancer, near 35.0% had ever heard about colonoscopy with 22% aware of the correct age to start screening. Comparing cancer knowledge of FDRs at high risk versus those at moderate risk, we recorded non-significant differences (p>0.05). Almost two-thirds of FDRs expressed willingness to undergo a colonoscopy and 49.2% completed the procedure, of which 12.8% had advanced neoplasm. Our data indicated that remarkable numbers of FDRs were not still informed of their cancer risk or never received a physician recommendation for screening. The desirable uptake at first invitation, which would be higher over successive invitations, supports the feasibility of a family-based recruitment approach for early screening. This has promising implications to introduce targeted screening colonoscopy into the healthcare system in Iran and other developing nations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Development and Relationships Between Phonological Awareness, Morphological Awareness and Word Reading in Spoken and Standard Arabic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Schiff

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This study addressed the development of and the relationship between foundational metalinguistic skills and word reading skills in Arabic. It compared Arabic-speaking children’s phonological awareness (PA, morphological awareness, and voweled and unvoweled word reading skills in spoken and standard language varieties separately in children across five grade levels from childhood to adolescence. Second, it investigated whether skills developed in the spoken variety of Arabic predict reading in the standard variety. Results indicate that although individual differences between students in PA are eliminated toward the end of elementary school in both spoken and standard language varieties, gaps in morphological awareness and in reading skills persisted through junior and high school years. The results also show that the gap in reading accuracy and fluency between Spoken Arabic (SpA and Standard Arabic (StA was evident in both voweled and unvoweled words. Finally, regression analyses showed that morphological awareness in SpA contributed to reading fluency in StA, i.e., children’s early morphological awareness in SpA explained variance in children’s gains in reading fluency in StA. These findings have important theoretical and practical contributions for Arabic reading theory in general and they extend the previous work regarding the cross-linguistic relevance of foundational metalinguistic skills in the first acquired language to reading in a second language, as in societal bilingualism contexts, or a second language variety, as in diglossic contexts.

Development and Relationships Between Phonological Awareness, Morphological Awareness and Word Reading in Spoken and Standard Arabic

Science.gov (United States)

Schiff, Rachel; Saiegh-Haddad, Elinor

2018-01-01

This study addressed the development of and the relationship between foundational metalinguistic skills and word reading skills in Arabic. It compared Arabic-speaking children’s phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness, and voweled and unvoweled word reading skills in spoken and standard language varieties separately in children across five grade levels from childhood to adolescence. Second, it investigated whether skills developed in the spoken variety of Arabic predict reading in the standard variety. Results indicate that although individual differences between students in PA are eliminated toward the end of elementary school in both spoken and standard language varieties, gaps in morphological awareness and in reading skills persisted through junior and high school years. The results also show that the gap in reading accuracy and fluency between Spoken Arabic (SpA) and Standard Arabic (StA) was evident in both voweled and unvoweled words. Finally, regression analyses showed that morphological awareness in SpA contributed to reading fluency in StA, i.e., children’s early morphological awareness in SpA explained variance in children’s gains in reading fluency in StA. These findings have important theoretical and practical contributions for Arabic reading theory in general and they extend the previous work regarding the cross-linguistic relevance of foundational metalinguistic skills in the first acquired language to reading in a second language, as in societal bilingualism contexts, or a second language variety, as in diglossic contexts. PMID:29686633

Effects of Suicide Awareness Material on Implicit Suicide Cognition: A Laboratory Experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Arendt, Florian; Till, Benedikt; Niederkrotenthaler, Thomas

2016-01-01

In spite of the increasing adoption of suicide awareness campaigns to prevent suicide, little is known about the effective construction of awareness messages used and on their impact on suicidal cognition. We hypothesized that media reporting on an individual overcoming a suicidal crisis increases the automatic association between "life" and self. University students (N = 112) were randomly allocated to one of three groups in a laboratory experiment. Participants allocated to treatment group 1 or group 2 read awareness material about a person coping with suicidal ideation by getting professional help. The only difference between the two groups was the amount of social similarity (low vs. high) between the protagonist and the participants. The control group read an article unrelated to suicide. Awareness material increased implicit cognition in terms of a strengthening of self-life associations. This effect was restricted to participants scoring low on wishful identification with the suicidal protagonist. This finding suggests that only individuals who do not wishfully identify with a protagonist going through difficult life circumstances benefit from the awareness material in terms of suicidal cognition. These findings provide a rich basis for further research and have potentially high relevance to the construction of suicide-awareness messages.

Conflict Resolution Automation and Pilot Situation Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Dao, Arik-Quang V.; Brandt, Summer L.; Bacon, Paige; Kraut, Josh; Nguyen, Jimmy; Minakata, Katsumi; Raza, Hamzah; Rozovski, David; Johnson, Walter W.

2010-01-01

This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts. The Concepts varied in terms of the allocation of traffic avoidance responsibility between the pilot on the flight deck, the air traffic controllers, and a conflict resolution automation system. In Concept 1, the flight deck was equipped with conflict resolution tools that enable them to fully handle the responsibility of weather avoidance and maintaining separation between ownship and surrounding traffic. In Concept 2, pilots were not responsible for traffic separation, but were provided tools for weather and traffic avoidance. In Concept 3, flight deck tools allowed pilots to deviate for weather, but conflict detection tools were disabled. In this concept pilots were dependent on ground based automation for conflict detection and resolution. Situation awareness of the pilots was measured using online probes. Results showed that individual situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, where the pilots were most engaged, and lowest in Concept 3, where automation was heavily used. These findings suggest that for conflict resolution tasks, situation awareness is improved when pilots remain in the decision-making loop.

Utility of Formal Preference Assessments for Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Leaf, Justin B.; Leaf, Ronald; Alcalay, Aditt; Leaf, Jeremy A.; Ravid, Daniel; Dale, Stephanie; Kassardjian, Alyne; Tsuji, Kathleen; Taubman, Mitchell; McEachin, John; Oppenheim-Leaf, Misty

2015-01-01

The systematic use of reinforcers is an essential component of behavioral intervention for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, the use of rigorous formal preference assessments, including paired-preference assessments, are widely conducted to help determine which items to use as reinforcers during intervention. Although…

Finite element modeling of reinforced concrete beams with a hybrid combination of steel and aramid reinforcement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawileh, R.A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Modeling of concrete beams reinforced steel and FRP bars. • Developed finite element models achieved good results. • The models are validated via comparison with experimental results. • Parametric studies are performed. - Abstract: Corrosion of steel bars has an adverse effect on the life-span of reinforced concrete (RC) members and is usually associated with crack development in RC beams. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have been recently used to reinforce concrete members in flexure due to their high tensile strength and superior corrosion resistance properties. However, FRP materials are brittle in nature, thus RC beams reinforced with such materials would exhibit a less ductile behavior when compared to similar members reinforced with conventional steel reinforcement. Recently, researchers investigated the performance of concrete beams reinforced with a hybrid combination of steel and Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymer (AFRP) reinforcement to maintain a reasonable level of ductility in such members. The function of the AFRP bars is to increase the load-carrying capacity, while the function of the steel bars is to ensure ductility of the flexural member upon yielding in tension. This paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model that predicted the load versus mid-span deflection response of tested RC beams conducted by other researchers with a hybrid combination of steel and AFRP bars. The developed FE models account for the constituent material nonlinearities and bond–slip behavior between the reinforcing bars and adjacent concrete surfaces. It was concluded that the developed models can accurately capture the behavior and predicts the load-carrying capacity of such RC members. In addition, a parametric study is conducted using the validated models to investigate the effect of AFRP bar size, FRP material type, bond–slip action, and concrete compressive strength on the performance of concrete beams when reinforced

Health monitoring of precast bridge deck panels reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

The present research project investigates monitoring concrete precast panels for bridge decks that are reinforced with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars. Due to the lack of long term research on concrete members reinforced with GFRP bars, lo...

Cyclic behavior, development, and characteristics of a ductile hybrid fiber-reinforced polymer (DHFRP) for reinforced concrete members

Science.gov (United States)

Hampton, Francis Patrick

--6 were achieved for all concrete elements tested. To study the long-term behavior of DHFRP, the creep-rupture strength of 5-mm bars was tested. This was conducted first on individual bar specimens and is important in the life-cycle design and performance of DHFRP reinforced concrete.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

In observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, talks about the HIV/AIDS among African Americans and what steps can be taken on the national, state, local, and individual levels to address this epidemic.

Marketing Animal-Friendly Products: Addressing the Consumer Social Dilemma with Reinforcement Positioning Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

van Riemsdijk, Lenka; Ingenbleek, Paul T M; van Trijp, Hans C M; van der Veen, Gerrita

2017-12-14

This article presents a conceptual framework that aims to encourage consumer animal-friendly product choice by introducing positioning strategies for animal-friendly products. These strategies reinforce the animal welfare with different types of consumption values and can therefore reduce consumers' social dilemma, which is a major barrier to animal-friendly consumer choices. The article suggests how animal-friendly products can use various types of consumption values (functional, sensory, emotional, social, epistemic and situational) to create an attractive position relative to their competitors. It also explains why some consumer segments, such as those with a specific thinking style, may experience a stronger effect of some strategies, giving directions on how to approach different types of consumers. Finally, building on research asserting that animal welfare is a credence product attribute, the article proposes moderating effects of two factors that help consumers to evaluate the credibility of animal welfare claims, namely corporate social responsibility strategy and the role of stakeholders. Here it concludes that companies selling animal-friendly products need to be aware of the impact of their overall strategy on the effectiveness of positioning strategies for individual products and that, to gain consumer trust, they may need to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, such as media or animal-interest organizations.

Marketing Animal-Friendly Products: Addressing the Consumer Social Dilemma with Reinforcement Positioning Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenka van Riemsdijk

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents a conceptual framework that aims to encourage consumer animal-friendly product choice by introducing positioning strategies for animal-friendly products. These strategies reinforce the animal welfare with different types of consumption values and can therefore reduce consumers’ social dilemma, which is a major barrier to animal-friendly consumer choices. The article suggests how animal-friendly products can use various types of consumption values (functional, sensory, emotional, social, epistemic and situational to create an attractive position relative to their competitors. It also explains why some consumer segments, such as those with a specific thinking style, may experience a stronger effect of some strategies, giving directions on how to approach different types of consumers. Finally, building on research asserting that animal welfare is a credence product attribute, the article proposes moderating effects of two factors that help consumers to evaluate the credibility of animal welfare claims, namely corporate social responsibility strategy and the role of stakeholders. Here it concludes that companies selling animal-friendly products need to be aware of the impact of their overall strategy on the effectiveness of positioning strategies for individual products and that, to gain consumer trust, they may need to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, such as media or animal-interest organizations.

Instrumental learning and relearning in individuals with psychopathy and in patients with lesions involving the amygdala or orbitofrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, D G V; Fine, C; Richell, R A; Newman, C; Lumsden, J; Blair, K S; Blair, R J R

2006-05-01

Previous work has shown that individuals with psychopathy are impaired on some forms of associative learning, particularly stimulus-reinforcement learning (Blair et al., 2004; Newman & Kosson, 1986). Animal work suggests that the acquisition of stimulus-reinforcement associations requires the amygdala (Baxter & Murray, 2002). Individuals with psychopathy also show impoverished reversal learning (Mitchell, Colledge, Leonard, & Blair, 2002). Reversal learning is supported by the ventrolateral and orbitofrontal cortex (Rolls, 2004). In this paper we present experiments investigating stimulus-reinforcement learning and relearning in patients with lesions of the orbitofrontal cortex or amygdala, and individuals with developmental psychopathy without known trauma. The results are interpreted with reference to current neurocognitive models of stimulus-reinforcement learning, relearning, and developmental psychopathy. Copyright (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Effects of reinforcer magnitude on responding under differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedules of rats and pigeons.

Science.gov (United States)

Doughty, Adam H; Richards, Jerry B

2002-07-01

Experiment I investigated the effects of reinforcer magnitude on differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule performance in three phases. In Phase 1, two groups of rats (n = 6 and 5) responded under a DRI. 72-s schedule with reinforcer magnitudes of either 30 or 300 microl of water. After acquisition, the water amounts were reversed for each rat. In Phase 2, the effects of the same reinforcer magnitudes on DRL 18-s schedule performance were examined across conditions. In Phase 3, each rat responded unider a DR1. 18-s schedule in which the water amotnts alternated between 30 and 300 microl daily. Throughout each phase of Experiment 1, the larger reinforcer magnitude resulted in higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates. The peak of the interresponse-time distributions was at a lower value tinder the larger reinforcer magnitude. In Experiment 2, 3 pigeons responded under a DRL 20-s schedule in which reinforcer magnitude (1-s or 6-s access to grain) varied iron session to session. Higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates occurred tinder the longer hopper duration. These results demonstrate that larger reinforcer magnitudes engender less efficient DRL schedule performance in both rats and pigeons, and when reinforcer magnitude was held constant between sessions or was varied daily. The present results are consistent with previous research demonstrating a decrease in efficiency as a function of increased reinforcer magnituide tinder procedures that require a period of time without a specified response. These findings also support the claim that DRI. schedule performance is not governed solely by a timing process.

Optimisation of mechanical properties of bamboo fibre reinforced-PLA biocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Nurnadia M., J.; Fazita, M. R. Nurul; Abdul Khalil H. P., S.; Mohamad Haafiz M., K.

2017-12-01

The majority of the raw materials that have been widely used in industries are petroleum-based. Growing environmental awareness, the depletion of fossil fuels, and climate change are the key drivers to seek more ecologically friendly materials, such as natural fibres to replace synthetic fibres in polymeric composite. Among the natural fibres available, bamboo fibre has relatively high strength. Poly (lactic) acid (PLA), one of the well-known biopolymers, has been used as a matrix in order to produce totally biodegradable biocomposites. In this study, bamboo fibres were compounded with PLA by a twin screw extruder. The bamboo fibre reinforced PLA composites were then manufactured via the compression moulding method. The influences of screw speed and die temperature during extrusion on the mechanical properties, the tensile and flexural of the biocomposites, were studied. The effects of fibre content and fibre length were also investigated. Taguchi experimental design approach was adopted to determine the optimum set of conditions to achieve the "best" mechanical properties of the composites. Tensile and flexural properties were characterised based on the D638-10 and D790-10 standards, respectively. It was observed that the fibre aspect ratio and fibre content significantly affected the mechanical performance of bamboo fibres reinforced PLA composites.

The usage of carbon fiber reinforcement polymer and glass fiber reinforcement polymer for retrofit technology building

Science.gov (United States)

Tarigan, Johannes; Meka, Randi; Nursyamsi

2018-03-01

Fiber Reinforcement Polymer has been used as a material technology since the 1970s in Europe. Fiber Reinforcement Polymer can reinforce the structure externally, and used in many types of buildings like beams, columns, and slabs. It has high tensile strength. Fiber Reinforcement Polymer also has high rigidity and strength. The profile of Fiber Reinforcement Polymer is thin and light, installation is simple to conduct. One of Fiber Reinforcement Polymer material is Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Polymer and Glass Fiber Reinforcement Polymer. These materials is tested when it is installed on concrete cylinders, to obtain the comparison of compressive strength CFRP and GFRP. The dimension of concrete is diameter of 15 cm and height of 30 cm. It is amounted to 15 and divided into three groups. The test is performed until it collapsed to obtain maximum load. The results of research using CFRP and GFRP have shown the significant enhancement in compressive strength. CFRP can increase the compressive strength of 26.89%, and GFRP of 14.89%. For the comparison of two materials, CFRP is more strengthening than GFRP regarding increasing compressive strength. The usage of CFRP and GFRP can increase the loading capacity.

Evaluation of Absolute and Relative Reinforcer Value Using Progressive-Ratio Schedules

Science.gov (United States)

Francisco, Monica T.; Borrero, John C.; Sy, Jolene R.

2008-01-01

We evaluated behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities using progressive-ratio (PR) schedules. High- and low-preference stimuli were determined based on the results of a paired-stimulus preference assessment and were evaluated in subsequent reinforcer and PR assessments using concurrent and single schedules of presentation.…

Developing critical awareness : the consequences of action and reflection for perceptions of group injustices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Turner-Zwinkels, Felicity M.; Postmes, Tom; van Zomeren, Martijn

Individuals often cannot address (objective) group injustices until they develop a (subjective) critical awareness of them. In three studies, we tested two potential psychological pathways toward critical awareness: Reflection (deductive, knowledge driven) and action (inductive, action driven)

Neural correlates of reinforcement learning and social preferences in competitive bidding.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Bos, Wouter; Talwar, Arjun; McClure, Samuel M

2013-01-30

In competitive social environments, people often deviate from what rational choice theory prescribes, resulting in losses or suboptimal monetary gains. We investigate how competition affects learning and decision-making in a common value auction task. During the experiment, groups of five human participants were simultaneously scanned using MRI while playing the auction task. We first demonstrate that bidding is well characterized by reinforcement learning with biased reward representations dependent on social preferences. Indicative of reinforcement learning, we found that estimated trial-by-trial prediction errors correlated with activity in the striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Additionally, we found that individual differences in social preferences were related to activity in the temporal-parietal junction and anterior insula. Connectivity analyses suggest that monetary and social value signals are integrated in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and striatum. Based on these results, we argue for a novel mechanistic account for the integration of reinforcement history and social preferences in competitive decision-making.

Reinforced concrete tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mariscotti, M.A.J.; Morixe, M.; Tarela, P.A.; Thieberger, P.

1997-01-01

In this paper we describe the technique of reinforced concrete tomography, its historical background, recent technological developments and main applications. Gamma radiation sensitive plates are imprinted with radiation going through the concrete sample under study, and then processed to reveal the presence of reinforcement and defects in the material density. The three dimensional reconstruction, or tomography, of the reinforcement out of a single gammagraphy is an original development alternative to conventional methods. Re-bar diameters and positions may be determined with an accuracy of ± 1 mm 0.5-1 cm, respectively. The non-destructive character of this technique makes it particularly attractive in cases of inhabited buildings and diagnoses of balconies. (author) [es

Variability in prescription opioid intake and reinforcement amongst 129 substrains.

Science.gov (United States)

Jimenez, S M; Healy, A F; Coelho, M A; Brown, C N; Kippin, T E; Szumlinski, K K

2017-09-01

Opioid abuse in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, with treatment admissions and deaths associated with prescription opioid abuse quadrupling over the past 10 years. Although genetics are theorized to contribute substantially to inter-individual variability in the development, severity and treatment outcomes of opioid abuse/addiction, little direct preclinical study has focused on the behavioral genetics of prescription opioid reinforcement and drug-taking. Herein, we employed different 129 substrains of mice currently available from The Jackson Laboratory (129S1/SvlmJ, 129X1/SvJ, 129S4/SvJaeJ and 129P3/J) as a model system of genetic variation and assayed mice for oral opioid intake and reinforcement, as well as behavioral and somatic signs of dependence. All substrains exhibited a dose-dependent increase in oral oxycodone and heroin preference and intake under limited-access procedures and all, but 129S1/SvlmJ mice, exhibited oxycodone reinforcement. Relative to the other substrains, 129P3/J mice exhibited higher heroin and oxycodone intake. While 129X1/SvJ exhibited the highest anxiety-like behavior during natural opioid withdrawal, somatic and behavior signs of precipitated withdrawal were most robust in 129P3/J mice. These results demonstrate the feasibility and relative sensitivity of our oral opioid self-administration procedures for detecting substrain differences in drug reinforcement/intake among 129 mice, of relevance to the identification of genetic variants contributing to high vs. low oxycodone reinforcement and intake. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

The impact of feedback on phonological awareness development

OpenAIRE

Maria N. Kazakou; Spyros Soulis

2014-01-01

The utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in educational practice is indispensable, while it becomes imperative in the education of individuals with special educational needs, as it promotes the application of Individualized Education Programs. Feedback in digital activities aiming at phonological awareness development is the topic under consideration in the present paper. The study has two objectives. On the one hand to study feedback as a differentiating factor for...

Stainless steel reinforcement for durability in concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochrane, D.J.

1998-01-01

Stainless steels and concrete are materials which the nuclear industry, more than any other, has given special attention to over the years. It is the intention of this paper to inform congress about developments outside the nuclear industry, in the use of stainless steel as reinforcement (rebar) in concrete structures. It is left to individual engineers within the industry to assess the implications of this information to applications with which they will be familiar. (author)

Prediction of reinforcement corrosion using corrosion induced cracks width in corroded reinforced concrete beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Inamullah; François, Raoul; Castel, Arnaud

2014-01-01

This paper studies the evolution of reinforcement corrosion in comparison to corrosion crack width in a highly corroded reinforced concrete beam. Cracking and corrosion maps of the beam were drawn and steel reinforcement was recovered from the beam to observe the corrosion pattern and to measure the loss of mass of steel reinforcement. Maximum steel cross-section loss of the main reinforcement and average steel cross-section loss between stirrups were plotted against the crack width. The experimental results were compared with existing models proposed by Rodriguez et al., Vidal et al. and Zhang et al. Time prediction models for a given opening threshold are also compared to experimental results. Steel cross-section loss for stirrups was also measured and was plotted against the crack width. It was observed that steel cross-section loss in the stirrups had no relationship with the crack width of longitudinal corrosion cracks. -- Highlights: •Relationship between crack and corrosion of reinforcement was investigated. •Corrosion results of natural process and then corresponds to in-situ conditions. •Comparison with time predicting model is provided. •Prediction of load-bearing capacity from crack pattern was studied

Study of the internal confinement of concrete reinforced (in civil engineering) with woven reinforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Dalal, M.; Goumairi, O.; El Malik, A.

2017-10-01

Concrete is generally the most used material in the field of construction. Despite its extensive use in structures, it represents some drawbacks related to its properties including its low tensile strength and low ductility. To solve this problem, the use of steel reinforcement in concrete structures is possible. Another possibility is the introduction of different types of continuous fibre / staple in the concrete, such as steel fibres or synthetic fibres, to obtain ″Concretes bundles″. Many types of fibre concrete, which have been developed and for many of them, the gain provided by the fibre was rather low and no significant improvement in tensile strength was really reaching. By cons, the ductility was higher than that of ordinary concrete. The objective of this study is to examine concrete reinforcement by inserting reinforcements woven polyester. These are either woven bidirectional (2D) or three-dimensional woven (3D). So we will report the properties of each type of reinforcement and the influence of the method of weaving on the strength reinforcements and on the strength of concrete in which they are incorporated. Such influence should contribute to improving the sustainability and enhancement of reinforcement

Reinforcement learning for microgrid energy management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsova, Elizaveta; Li, Yan-Fu; Ruiz, Carlos; Zio, Enrico; Ault, Graham; Bell, Keith

2013-01-01

We consider a microgrid for energy distribution, with a local consumer, a renewable generator (wind turbine) and a storage facility (battery), connected to the external grid via a transformer. We propose a 2 steps-ahead reinforcement learning algorithm to plan the battery scheduling, which plays a key role in the achievement of the consumer goals. The underlying framework is one of multi-criteria decision-making by an individual consumer who has the goals of increasing the utilization rate of the battery during high electricity demand (so as to decrease the electricity purchase from the external grid) and increasing the utilization rate of the wind turbine for local use (so as to increase the consumer independence from the external grid). Predictions of available wind power feed the reinforcement learning algorithm for selecting the optimal battery scheduling actions. The embedded learning mechanism allows to enhance the consumer knowledge about the optimal actions for battery scheduling under different time-dependent environmental conditions. The developed framework gives the capability to intelligent consumers to learn the stochastic environment and make use of the experience to select optimal energy management actions. - Highlights: • A consumer exploits a 2 steps-ahead reinforcement learning for battery scheduling. • The Q-learning based mechanism is fed by the predictions of available wind power. • Wind speed state evolutions are modeled with a Markov chain model. • Optimal scheduling actions are learned through the occurrence of similar scenarios. • The consumer manifests a continuous enhance of his knowledge about optimal actions

Development of Flexible Link Slabs using Ductile Fiber Reinforced Concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lárusson, Lárus Helgi

Civil engineering structures with large dimensions, such as multi-span bridges, overpasses and viaducts, are typically equipped with mechanical expansion joints. These joints allow the individual spans of the structure to undergo unrestrained deformations due to thermal expansions and load......-deformation response and crack development of representative sections of the reinforced composites, and iv) detailing, designing and testing of large scale prefabricated link slab elements. In addition, an application of ductile Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) in prefabricated floor panels is presented...... crack widths and crack spacing measurements are obtained, which can characterize the tensile behavior of ECC. In chapter 3 on interfacial bond, the bond slip behavior and crack development, between the reinforcement and surrounding cementitious matrix is investigated in a unique test setup with special...

Brain mechanisms for loss of awareness of thought and movement

Science.gov (United States)

Oakley, David A.; Halligan, Peter W.; Mehta, Mitul A.; Deeley, Quinton

2017-01-01

Abstract Loss or reduction of awareness is common in neuropsychiatric disorders and culturally influenced dissociative phenomena but the underlying brain mechanisms are poorly understood. fMRI was combined with suggestions for automatic writing in 18 healthy highly hypnotically suggestible individuals in a within-subjects design to determine whether clinical alterations in awareness of thought and movement can be experimentally modelled and studied independently of illness. Subjective ratings of control, ownership, and awareness of thought and movement, and fMRI data were collected following suggestions for thought insertion and alien control of writing movement, with and without loss of awareness. Subjective ratings confirmed that suggestions were effective. At the neural level, our main findings indicated that loss of awareness for both thought and movement during automatic writing was associated with reduced activation in a predominantly left-sided posterior cortical network including BA 7 (superior parietal lobule and precuneus), and posterior cingulate cortex, involved in self-related processing and awareness of the body in space. Reduced activity in posterior parietal cortices may underlie specific clinical and cultural alterations in awareness of thought and movement. Clinically, these findings may assist development of imaging assessments for loss of awareness of psychological origin, and interventions such as neurofeedback. PMID:28338742

The Social Awareness Inventory: Development and Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheldon, Kennon M.

1996-01-01

The Social Awareness Inventory (SAI), which assesses individual differences in eight social-perceptual styles, is introduced and applied in three studies. The model is derived by crossing the three binary dimensions of target (self or other), perspective (own or other's), and content (overt appearance or covert experience). The SAI appears to…

Behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Smart Soft Composite Actuators According to Material Composition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Min-Woo; Kim, Hyung-Il; Song, Sung-Hyuk; Ahn, Sung-Hoon [Seoul Nat’l Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-02-15

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites, which are made by combining a continuous fiber that acts as reinforcement and a homogeneous polymeric material that acts as a host, are engineering materials with high strength and stiffness and a lightweight structure. In this study, a shape memory alloy(SMA) reinforced composite actuator is presented. This actuator is used to generate large deformations in single lightweight structures and can be used in applications requiring a high degree of adaptability to various external conditions. The proposed actuator consists of numerous individual laminas of the glass-fiber fabric that are embedded in a polymeric matrix. To characterize its deformation behavior, the composition of the actuator was changed by changing the matrix material and the number of the glass-fiber fabric layers. In addition, current of various magnitudes were applied to each actuator to study the effect of the heating of SMA wires on applying current.

[Awareness and attitude toward suicide in community mental health professionals and hospital workers].

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Soung Nam; Lee, Kang Sook; Lee, Seon Young; Yu, Jae Hee; Hong, A Rum

2009-05-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate community mental health professionals and hospital workers attitude and awareness towards suicide. This study investigated 264 community mental health professionals and 228 hospital workers. SOQs (Suicidal Opinion Questionnaires) were used from July 2007 to September 2007. After a factor analysis for the attitude towards suicide, the items on ethics, mental illness, religion, risk, and motivation were included in the subsequent analysis. There were significant differences in the attitude towards suicide according to religion, age, educational background, the marriage status, the economic position, and different professional licenses. Hospital workers' view was different from the community workers'. The hospital workers judged that suicide was due to mental illness, and suicide was high for the people in a special environment and who lacked motivation, which caused them to fall in a dangerous situation. For the lower educational group, they thought that suicide was attributable to mental illness. The awareness for suicide was significantly higher in the group with a postgraduate education, unmarried people, mental health professionals and the persons who had concern and experience with suicide. The factors that had an influence on the awareness of suicide were the items of mental illness, religion, risk and motivational factors. This study suggested that the factors to increase the awareness and attitude for suicide were the experience of increased education and case management of suicide. Therefore, education dealing with suicide and reinforcement of crisis management programs should be developed.

Sharing experiences through awareness systems in the home

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Markopoulos, P.; IJsselsteijn, W.A.; Huijnen, C.; Ruyter, B.E.R. de

2005-01-01

In the current paper we hypothesize that providing peripheral awareness information to remotely located but socially close individuals will yield affective user benefits. An experiment in a controlled home-like environment was conducted to investigate the effects of providing different levels of

The Reinforcing Event (RE) Menu

Science.gov (United States)

Addison, Roger M.; Homme, Lloyd E.

1973-01-01

A motivational system, the Contingency Management System, uses contracts in which some amount of defined task behavior is demanded for some interval of reinforcing event. The Reinforcing Event Menu, a list of high probability reinforcing behaviors, is used in the system as a prompting device for the learner and as an aid for the administrator in…

Interventions to Promote Cancer Awareness and Early Presentation: Systematic Review

OpenAIRE

J Austoker; C Bankhead; Lindsay J. L. Forbes; L Atkins; F Martin; K Robb; J Wardle; A J. Ramirez

2009-01-01

Background: Low cancer awareness contributes to delay in presentation for cancer symptoms and may lead to delay in cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study was to review the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to raise cancer awareness and promote early presentation in cancer to inform policy and future research. Methods: We searched bibliographic databases and reference lists for randomised controlled trials of interventions delivered to individuals, and controlled or uncontrolled...

Dynamical interplay between awareness and epidemic spreading in multiplex networks

OpenAIRE

Granell, Clara; Gomez, Sergio; Arenas, Alex

2013-01-01

We present the analysis of the interrelation between two processes accounting for the spreading of an epidemics, and the information awareness to prevent its infection, on top of multiplex networks. This scenario is representative of an epidemic process spreading on a network of persistent real contacts, and a cyclic information awareness process diffusing in the network of virtual social contacts between the same individuals. The topology corresponds to a multiplex network where two diffusiv...

Risk-aware multi-armed bandit problem with application to portfolio selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Huo, Xiaoguang; Fu, Feng

2017-11-01

Sequential portfolio selection has attracted increasing interest in the machine learning and quantitative finance communities in recent years. As a mathematical framework for reinforcement learning policies, the stochastic multi-armed bandit problem addresses the primary difficulty in sequential decision-making under uncertainty, namely the exploration versus exploitation dilemma, and therefore provides a natural connection to portfolio selection. In this paper, we incorporate risk awareness into the classic multi-armed bandit setting and introduce an algorithm to construct portfolio. Through filtering assets based on the topological structure of the financial market and combining the optimal multi-armed bandit policy with the minimization of a coherent risk measure, we achieve a balance between risk and return.

Sub-optimal Testing and Awareness of HCV and HBV Among High Risk Individuals at an Underserved Safety-Net Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Robert J; Campbell, Brendan; Liu, Benny; Baden, Rachel; Bhuket, Taft

2018-02-01

Sub-optimal screening for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) among high risk groups delays diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to evaluate overall rates of HCV and HBV screening and patient knowledge of their testing result. Adults age ≥18 years undergoing elective outpatient endoscopy at a large, urban safety-net hospital from July 2015 to July 2016 were prospectively evaluated to determine rates of HCV and HBV testing, the results of those completed tests, and patient knowledge of test results among high risk individuals (as determined by U.S. Preventative Services Task Force). Among 1125 patients (52.3% male, 70.4% foreign-born), 66.5% were high risk for chronic HCV; only 30.9% received prior testing. 14.7% had positive chronic HCV infection. Patients born in the 1945-1965 cohort were more likely to have received prior HCV testing compared to those born outside of this cohort (32.7 vs. 16.9%, p = 0.01). Among patients who received HCV screening, 29.3% were aware of test results. Overall, 61.6% were high risk for chronic HBV; only 25.1% received prior testing. 4.1% were positive for chronic HBV. Compared to Caucasians, Asians (19.0 vs. 44.4%, p HBV testing. Among patients who received prior HBV screening, 18.4% were aware of test results. Less than one-third of high risk patients received HCV and HBV screening among an ethnically diverse safety-net population. Equally low rates of patient knowledge of testing results were observed.

Steel fiber reinforced concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baloch, S.U.

2005-01-01

Steel-Fiber Reinforced Concrete is constructed by adding short fibers of small cross-sectional size .to the fresh concrete. These fibers reinforce the concrete in all directions, as they are randomly oriented. The improved mechanical properties of concrete include ductility, impact-resistance, compressive, tensile and flexural strength and abrasion-resistance. These uniqlte properties of the fiber- reinforcement can be exploited to great advantage in concrete structural members containing both conventional bar-reinforcement and steel fibers. The improvements in mechanical properties of cementitious materials resulting from steel-fiber reinforcement depend on the type, geometry, volume fraction and material-properties of fibers, the matrix mix proportions and the fiber-matrix interfacial bond characteristics. Effects of steel fibers on the mechanical properties of concrete have been investigated in this paper through a comprehensive testing-programme, by varying the fiber volume fraction and the aspect-ratio (Lid) of fibers. Significant improvements are observed in compressive, tensile, flexural strength and impact-resistance of concrete, accompanied by marked improvement in ductility. optimum fiber-volume fraction and aspect-ratio of steel fibers is identified. Test results are analyzed in details and relevant conclusions drawn. The research is finally concluded with future research needs. (author)

Corrosion of reinforcement bars in steel ibre reinforced concrete structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solgaard, Anders Ole Stubbe

and the influence of steel fibres on initiation and propagation of cracks in concrete. Moreover, the impact of fibres on corrosion-induced cover cracking was covered. The impact of steel fibres on propagation of reinforcement corrosion was investigated through studies of their impact on the electrical resistivity...... of concrete, which is known to affect the corrosion process of embedded reinforcement. The work concerning the impact of steel fibres on initiation and propagation of cracks was linked to corrosion initiation and propagation of embedded reinforcement bars via additional studies. Cracks in the concrete cover...... are known to alter the ingress rate of depassivating substances and thereby influence the corrosion process. The Ph.D. study covered numerical as well as experimental studies. Electrochemically passive steel fibres are electrically isolating thus not changing the electrical resistivity of concrete, whereas...

Algorithms for Reinforcement Learning

CERN Document Server

Szepesvari, Csaba

2010-01-01

Reinforcement learning is a learning paradigm concerned with learning to control a system so as to maximize a numerical performance measure that expresses a long-term objective. What distinguishes reinforcement learning from supervised learning is that only partial feedback is given to the learner about the learner's predictions. Further, the predictions may have long term effects through influencing the future state of the controlled system. Thus, time plays a special role. The goal in reinforcement learning is to develop efficient learning algorithms, as well as to understand the algorithms'

Video game addiction, ADHD symptomatology, and video game reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathews, Christine L; Morrell, Holly E R; Molle, Jon E

2018-06-06

Up to 23% of people who play video games report symptoms of addiction. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at increased risk for video game addiction, especially when playing games with more reinforcing properties. The current study tested whether level of video game reinforcement (type of game) places individuals with greater ADHD symptom severity at higher risk for developing video game addiction. Adult video game players (N = 2,801; Mean age = 22.43, SD = 4.70; 93.30% male; 82.80% Caucasian) completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were used to test type of game, ADHD symptom severity, and the interaction between type of game and ADHD symptomatology as predictors of video game addiction severity, after controlling for age, gender, and weekly time spent playing video games. ADHD symptom severity was positively associated with increased addiction severity (b = .73 and .68, ps .05. The relationship between ADHD symptom severity and addiction severity did not depend on the type of video game played or preferred most, ps > .05. Gamers who have greater ADHD symptom severity may be at greater risk for developing symptoms of video game addiction and its negative consequences, regardless of type of video game played or preferred most. Individuals who report ADHD symptomatology and also identify as gamers may benefit from psychoeducation about the potential risk for problematic play.

Joint awareness after total knee arthroplasty is affected by pain and quadriceps strength.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiyama, Y; Wada, O; Nakakita, S; Mizuno, K

2016-06-01

There is a growing interest in the use of patient-reported outcomes to provide a more patient-centered view on treatment. Forgetting the artificial joint can be regarded as the goal in joint arthroplasty. The goals of the study were to describe changes in joint awareness in the artificial joint after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and to determine which factors among pain, knee range of motion (ROM), quadriceps strength, and functional ability affect joint awareness after TKA. Patients undergoing TKA demonstrate changes in joint awareness and joint awareness is associated with pain, knee ROM, quadriceps strength, and functional ability. This prospective cohort study comprised 63 individuals undergoing TKA, evaluated at 1, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Outcomes included joint awareness assessed using the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS), pain score, knee ROM, quadriceps strength, and functional ability. Fifty-eight individuals completed all postoperative assessments. All measures except for knee extension ROM improved from 1 to 6 months. However, there were no differences in any measures from 6 to 12 months. FJS was affected most greatly by pain at 1 month and by quadriceps strength at 6 and 12 months. Patients following TKA demonstrate improvements in joint awareness and function within 6 months after surgery, but reach a plateau from 6 to 12 months. Quadriceps strength could contribute to this plateau of joint awareness. Prospective cohort study, IV. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Continuous Reinforced Concrete Beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoang, Cao Linh; Nielsen, Mogens Peter

1996-01-01

This report deals with stress and stiffness estimates of continuous reinforced concrete beams with different stiffnesses for negative and positive moments e.g. corresponding to different reinforcement areas in top and bottom. Such conditions are often met in practice.The moment distribution...

Modelling reinforcement corrosion in concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette Rica; Stang, Henrik

2012-01-01

A physio-chemical model for the simulation of reinforcement corrosion in concrete struc-tures was developed. The model allows for simulation of initiation and subsequent propaga-tion of reinforcement corrosion. Corrosion is assumed to be initiated once a defined critical chloride threshold......, a numerical example is pre-sented, that illustrates the formation of corrosion cells as well as propagation of corrosion in a reinforced concrete structure....

The Reinforcement Learning Competition 2014

OpenAIRE

Dimitrakakis, Christos; Li, Guangliang; Tziortziotis, Nikoalos

2014-01-01

Reinforcement learning is one of the most general problems in artificial intelligence. It has been used to model problems in automated experiment design, control, economics, game playing, scheduling and telecommunications. The aim of the reinforcement learning competition is to encourage the development of very general learning agents for arbitrary reinforcement learning problems and to provide a test-bed for the unbiased evaluation of algorithms.

My face, my heart: cultural differences in integrated bodily self-awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Maister, Lara; Tsakiris, Manos

2014-01-01

Body-awareness is produced by an integration of both interoceptive and exteroceptive bodily signals. However, previous investigations into cultural differences in bodily self-awareness have only studied these two aspects in isolation. We investigated the interaction between interoceptive and exteroceptive self-processing in East Asian and Western participants. During an interoceptive awareness task, self-face observation improved performance of those with initially low awareness in the Western group, but did not benefit the East Asian participants. These results suggest that the integrated, coherent experience of the body differs between East Asian and Western cultures. For Western participants, viewing one's own face may activate a bodily self-awareness which enhances processing of other bodily information, such as interoceptive signals. Instead, for East Asian individuals, the external appearance of the self may activate higher-level, social aspects of self-identity, reflecting the importance of the sociocultural construct of "face" in East Asian cultures.

Investigation of a reinforcement-based toilet training procedure for children with autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Cicero, Frank R; Pfadt, Al

2002-01-01

Independent toileting is an important developmental skill which individuals with developmental disabilities often find a challenge to master. Effective toilet training interventions have been designed which rely on a combination of basic operant principles of positive reinforcement and punishment. In the present study, the effectiveness of a reinforcement-based toilet training intervention was investigated with three children with a diagnosis of autism. Procedures included a combination of positive reinforcement, graduated guidance, scheduled practice trials and forward prompting. Results indicated that all procedures were implemented in response to urination accidents. A three participants reduced urination accidents to zero and learned to spontaneously request use of the bathroom within 7-11 days of training. Gains were maintained over 6-month and 1-year follow-ups. Findings suggest that the proposed procedure is an effective and rapid method of toilet training, which can be implemented within a structured school setting with generalization to the home environment.

Origins of food reinforcement in infants12345

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Kai Ling; Feda, Denise M; Eiden, Rina D; Epstein, Leonard H

2015-01-01

Background: Rapid weight gain in infancy is associated with a higher risk of obesity in children and adults. A high relative reinforcing value of food is cross-sectionally related to obesity; lean children find nonfood alternatives more reinforcing than do overweight/obese children. However, to our knowledge, there is no research on how and when food reinforcement develops. Objective: This study was designed to assess whether the reinforcing value of food and nonfood alternatives could be tested in 9- to 18-mo-old infants and whether the reinforcing value of food and nonfood alternatives is differentially related to infant weight status. Design: Reinforcing values were assessed by using absolute progressive ratio schedules of reinforcement, with presentation of food and nonfood alternatives counterbalanced in 2 separate studies. Two nonfood reinforcers [Baby Einstein–Baby MacDonald shows (study 1, n = 27) or bubbles (study 2, n = 30)] were tested against the baby’s favorite food. Food reinforcing ratio (FRR) was quantified by measuring the reinforcing value of food (Food Pmax) in proportion to the total reinforcing value of food and a nonfood alternative (DVD Pmax or BUB Pmax). Results: Greater weight-for-length z score was associated with a greater FRR of a favorite food in study 1 (FRR-DVD) (r = 0.60, P positively associated with FRR-DVD (r = 0.57, P = 0.009) and FRR-BUB (r = 0.37, P = 0.047). Conclusions: Our newly developed paradigm, which tested 2 different nonfood alternatives, demonstrated that lean infants find nonfood alternatives more reinforcing than do overweight/obese infants. This observation suggests that strengthening the alternative reinforcers may have a protective effect against childhood obesity. This research was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02229552. PMID:25733636

Group dream work as a support for self – awareness

OpenAIRE

Brumen Žarn, Zarja

2016-01-01

Master's thesis discusses group dream work as a form of support for increasing the individual's self-awareness. Working with dreams encourages creativity, opens up the possibilities of self-knowing and helps individuals to guide their life paths. One of the fundamental concepts of social pedagogy is the empowerment of individuals for problem solving and self-development. For this purpose, social educational profession develops and uses a number of methods and approaches. Working with dreams i...

Summation of reinforcement rates when conditioned stimuli are presented in compound.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrew, Benjamin J; Harris, Justin A

2011-10-01

Three experiments used delay conditioning of magazine approach in rats to examine the summation of responding when two conditioned stimuli (CSs) are presented together as a compound. The duration of each CS varied randomly from trial-to-trial around a mean that differed between the CSs. This meant that the rats' response rate to each CS was systematically related to the reinforcement rate of that CS, but remained steady as time elapsed during the CS (Harris & Carpenter, 2011; Harris, Gharaei, & Pincham, 2011). When the rats were presented with a compound of two CSs that had been conditioned separately, they responded more during the compound than during either of the CSs individually. More significantly, however, in all three experiments, the rats responded to the compound at the same rate as they responded to a third CS that had been reinforced at a rate equal to the sum of the reinforcement rates of the two CSs in compound. We discuss the implications of this finding for associative models (e.g., Rescorla & Wagner, 1972) and rate-based models (Gallistel & Gibbon, 2000) of conditioning.

LACK OF AWARENESS ABOUT SAFE BLOOD IN PAKISTANI POPULATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Usman

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Blood transfusion is a life saving procedure in various transfusion-dependent life threatening conditions and donation of safe blood is a prerequisite for achieving this goal. This study was designed to evaluate the awareness regarding “safe blood” in Pakistani population. This study was conducted at a large scale through a population survey. The test population was divided into two groups i.e. general population and students. The Performa was designed for a general and student population and included 20 questions related to awareness of safe blood. A total of 4900 individuals belonging to different ethnic groups were included in this population survey. Results of social survey were analyzed by using Usman and Moin awareness chart. Results of this study revealed profound unawareness about safe blood in Pakistani population. This study found lack of awareness about safe blood as a major factor that is playing a vital role in the propagation of blood borne diseases in Pakistan. To secure the recipients from blood borne complications through blood donation, it is necessary to create effective awareness about safe blood in Pakistani population.

Cranioplasty with individual carbon fibre reinforced polymere (CFRP) medical grade implants based on CAD/CAM technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Saringer, W; Nöbauer-Huhmann, I; Knosp, E

2002-11-01

The authors present a new method for the reconstruction of large or complex-formed cranial bone defects using prefabricated, computer-generated, individual CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastics) medical grade implants. CFRP is a composite material containing carbon fibres embedded in an epoxy resin matrix. It is radiolucent, heat-resistant, extremely strong and light (its weight is 20% that of steel), has a modulus of elasticity close to that of bone, and an established biocompatibility. The utilisation of a CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacture) technique based on digitised computed tomography (CT) data, with stereolithographic modelling as intermediate step, enabled the production of individual, prefabricated CFRP medical grade implants with an arithmetical maximum aberration in extension of less than +/-0.25 mm. Between 1995 and February 2002, 29 patients (15 men and 14 women; mean age, 39.9 years; range, 16 to 67 years) underwent cranioplasty with CFRP medical grade implants at the neurosurgical department of the University of Vienna. Twenty-four patients were repaired secondarily (delayed cranioplasty) while 5 were repaired immediately following craniectomy (single stage cranioplasty). All cases were assessed for the accuracy of the intra-operative fit of the implant, restoration of the natural skull contour and aesthetics and adverse symptoms. The intra-operative fit was excellent in 93.1% and good in 6.9% of the implants. In two cases minor adjustments of the bony margin of the defect were required. The operating time for insertion ranged from 16 to 38 minutes, median 21 minutes. Postoperatively, 86.2% of the patients graded the restoration of their natural skull shape and symmetry as excellent while 13.8% termed it good. In one patient a non-space occupying subdural hygroma was found at the follow-up, but required no intervention. Two patients experienced atrophy of the frontal portion of the temporal muscle while one patient had a

Effect of hybrid fiber reinforcement on the cracking process in fiber reinforced cementitious composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pereira, Eduardo B.; Fischer, Gregor; Barros, Joaquim A.O.

2012-01-01

The simultaneous use of different types of fibers as reinforcement in cementitious matrix composites is typically motivated by the underlying principle of a multi-scale nature of the cracking processes in fiber reinforced cementitious composites. It has been hypothesized that while undergoing...... tensile deformations in the composite, the fibers with different geometrical and mechanical properties restrain the propagation and further development of cracking at different scales from the micro- to the macro-scale. The optimized design of the fiber reinforcing systems requires the objective...... materials is carried out by assessing directly their tensile stress-crack opening behavior. The efficiency of hybrid fiber reinforcements and the multi-scale nature of cracking processes are discussed based on the experimental results obtained, as well as the micro-mechanisms underlying the contribution...

Relationship between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency in first-grade students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasibe Soltaninejad

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Phonological awareness (consisting of phoneme, syllable and intra-syllable awareness is an important part of receptive and expressive language; it facilitates reading and writing skills through phonological re-coding. Multiple studies in several languages have studied the relationship between phonological awareness and dictation. This research is based on a study of the relationship between phonological skill and spelling score in first-grade Persian students.Methods: Four hundred first-grade students participated in the study, including 209 girls and 191 boys. A phonological awareness test was individually administered for each student and then a spelling exam was administered in groups. The correlation between the two tests was studied using a simple regression model. The comparison of mean scores of girls and boys was evaluated employing an independent t-test.Results: A correlation coefficient of 0.82 was obtained between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency (p<0.001. Phonological skill sub-tests also showed a significant correlation with spelling proficiency (highest for phoneme awareness r=0.34 and lowest for rhyme awareness r=0.12. The mean scores of girls and boys differed significantly (p<0.05.Conclusion: There is a strong positive association between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency. Therefore, if phonological skill is improved, spelling score can be enhanced.

The Effectiveness of a Phonological Awareness Training Intervention on Pre-Reading Skills of Children with Mental Retardation

Science.gov (United States)

Eissa, Mourad Ali

2013-01-01

Phonological awareness is the ability to manipulate the individual speech sounds that make up connected speech. Little information is reported on the acquisition of phonological awareness in special populations. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a phonological awareness training intervention on pre-reading skills of…

Advances in intelligent process-aware information systems concepts, methods, and technologies

CERN Document Server

Oberhauser, Roy; Reichert, Manfred

2017-01-01

This book provides a state-of-the-art perspective on intelligent process-aware information systems and presents chapters on specific facets and approaches applicable to such systems. Further, it highlights novel advances and developments in various aspects of intelligent process-aware information systems and business process management systems. Intelligence capabilities are increasingly being integrated into or created in many of today’s software products and services. Process-aware information systems provide critical computing infrastructure to support the various processes involved in the creation and delivery of business products and services. Yet the integration of intelligence capabilities into process-aware information systems is a non-trivial yet necessary evolution of these complex systems. The book’s individual chapters address adaptive process management, case management processes, autonomically-capable processes, process-oriented information logistics, process recommendations, reasoning over ...

Nonlinear Analysis of External Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Beams with BFRP and CFRP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haleem K. Hussain

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The traditional strengthening methods for concrete structure (girders, beams, columns…. consuming time and could be an economical, a new modern repair methods using the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP and Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP as a laminate strips or bars,and considered a competitive solution that will increase the life-cycle of repaired structures. This study investigated the strengthen reinforced concrete girder. Nonlinear analysis have been adopted to the models using FEM analysis (ANSYS to simulate the theoretical results compared with experimental results.Using finite element packages, more efficient and better analyses can be made to fully understand the response of individual structural components and their contribution to a structure as a whole.Three type of material are used in this study as an external prestressed wire (steel, CFRP and BFRP. The prestressed beam is modeled as simply supported beam with two concentrated point load. The results showed that all tested strengthening beam increased the load carryingcapacity of the beams depend on prestressing force. Obtained Result was compared for different type of beam.This study also was enlarged to include using CFRP and BFRPbarwhich are light weight and moredurable, lead to ease of handling and maintenance. The research conducted analytical work to evaluate the effectiveness of concrete beams reinforced normally by the use of CFRP and BFRP bars. The results showed a significant gain in the beam’s ultimate capacities using CFRP bars comparing with beam reinforced with BFRP bar and reference beam

An Expert System-based Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning Approach for Conducting Science Learning Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Po-Han; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Tsai, Wen-Hung

2013-01-01

Context-aware ubiquitous learning has been recognized as being a promising approach that enables students to interact with real-world learning targets with supports from the digital world. Several researchers have indicated the importance of providing learning guidance or hints to individual students during the context-aware ubiquitous learning…

Phoneme Awareness, Visual-Verbal Paired-Associate Learning, and Rapid Automatized Naming as Predictors of Individual Differences in Reading Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Warmington, Meesha; Hulme, Charles

2012-01-01

This study examines the concurrent relationships between phoneme awareness, visual-verbal paired-associate learning, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and reading skills in 7- to 11-year-old children. Path analyses showed that visual-verbal paired-associate learning and RAN, but not phoneme awareness, were unique predictors of word recognition,…

Improving mental health awareness among rural Aboriginal men: perspectives from Gippsland.

Science.gov (United States)

Isaacs, Anton; Maybery, Darryl

2012-04-01

To identify views of Aboriginal people in rural areas about improving mental health awareness among Aboriginal men. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 Aboriginal people, including men, carers and health workers. Participants highlighted the need for mental health awareness programs in the community. They described the type of programs to be conducted as well as their method, content and frequency. This study demonstrates that mental health awareness programs designed specifically for rural Aboriginal men need to involve local Elders and other significant individuals from the community, be de-stigmatised by including mental health under Men's Health and by embedding the messages within a cultural framework.

Facets of emotional awareness and associations with emotion regulation and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Boden, Matthew Tyler; Thompson, Renee J

2015-06-01

Emotion theories posit that effective emotion regulation depends upon the nuanced information provided by emotional awareness; attending to and understanding one's own emotions. Additionally, the strong associations between facets of emotional awareness and various forms of psychopathology may be partially attributable to associations with emotion regulation. These logically compelling hypotheses are largely uninvestigated, including which facets compose emotional awareness and how they relate to emotion regulation strategies and psychopathology. We used exploratory structural equation modeling of individual difference measures among a large adult sample (n = 919) recruited online. Results distinguished 4 facets of emotional awareness (type clarity, source clarity, involuntary attention to emotion, and voluntary attention to emotion) that were differentially associated with expressive suppression, acceptance of emotions, and cognitive reappraisal. Facets were associated with depression both directly and indirectly via associations with emotion regulation strategies. We discuss implications for theory and research on emotional awareness, emotion regulation, and psychopathology. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A multiplicative reinforcement learning model capturing learning dynamics and interindividual variability in mice

OpenAIRE

Bathellier, Brice; Tee, Sui Poh; Hrovat, Christina; Rumpel, Simon

2013-01-01

Learning speed can strongly differ across individuals. This is seen in humans and animals. Here, we measured learning speed in mice performing a discrimination task and developed a theoretical model based on the reinforcement learning framework to account for differences between individual mice. We found that, when using a multiplicative learning rule, the starting connectivity values of the model strongly determine the shape of learning curves. This is in contrast to current learning models ...

Awareness and Self-Awareness for Multi-Robot Organisms

OpenAIRE

Kernbach, Serge

2011-01-01

Awareness and self-awareness are two different notions related to knowing the environment and itself. In a general context, the mechanism of self-awareness belongs to a class of co-called "self-issues" (self-* or self-star): self-adaptation, self-repairing, self-replication, self-development or self-recovery. The self-* issues are connected in many ways to adaptability and evolvability, to the emergence of behavior and to the controllability of long-term developmental processes. Self-* are ei...

Seismic Retrofitting: Reinforced Concrete (RC shear wall versus Reinforcement of RC element by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP using PUSHOVER analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yahya RIYAD

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Seismic retrofitting of constructions vulnerable to earthquakes is a current problem of great political and social relevance. During the last sixty years, moderate to severe earthquakes have occurred in Morocco (specifically in Agadir 1960 and Hoceima 2004. Such events have clearly shown the vulnerability of the building stock in particular and of the built environment in general. Hence, it is very much essential to retrofit the vulnerable building to cope up for the next damaging earthquake. In this paper, the focus will be on a comparative study between two techniques of seismic retrofitting, the first one is a reinforcement using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP applied to RC elements by bonding , and the second one is a reinforcement with a shear wall. For this study, we will use a non-linear static analysis -also known as Pushover analysis - on a reinforced concrete structure consisting of beams and columns, and composed from eight storey with a gross area of 240 m², designed conforming to the Moroccan Seismic code[1].

Theory of own mind in autism: Evidence of a specific deficit in self-awareness?

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, David

2010-09-01

Assuming that self-awareness is not a unitary phenomenon, and that one can be aware of different aspects of self at any one time, it follows that selective impairments in self-awareness can occur. This article explores the idea that autism involves a particular deficit in awareness of the 'psychological self', or 'theory of own mind'. This hypothesised deficit renders individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at least as impaired at recognising their own mental states as at recognising mental states in other people. This deficit, it is argued, stands in contrast to an apparently typical awareness of the 'physical self' amongst people with autism. Theoretical implications of the empirical evidence are discussed.

Awareness regarding eye donation among stakeholders in Srikakulam district in South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronanki, Venkata Ramana; Sheeladevi, Sethu; Ramachandran, Brinda P; Jalbert, Isabelle

2014-03-06

There is a huge need for the availability of transplantable donor corneas worldwide to reduce the burden of corneal blindness due to corneal opacity. Voluntary eye donation depends on the awareness levels of various stakeholders in the community. This study aimed to assess the awareness level regarding eye donation among various stakeholders in Srikakulam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. 355 subjects were selected from the district using multi stage random sampling. A pre tested semi structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding each individual's awareness, knowledge, and perception regarding eye donation. Each response was scored individually and a total score was calculated. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with willingness towards eye donation and increased awareness levels. Of the 355 subjects interviewed, 192 (54%) were male and 163 (46%) were female. The mean age of the stakeholders was 35.9 years (SD ±16.1) and all the study subjects were literate. Ninety-three percent of subjects were aware of the concept of eye donation. Knowledge levels were similar among the teaching community and persons engaged in social service, but lower among students (p stakeholders, there was considerable ambiguity regarding whether persons currently wearing spectacles or suffering from a chronic illnesses could donate their eyes. Older age group (p stakeholders in Srikakulam district in India. The services of stakeholders could be utilized, in conjunction with other community based eye donation counselors, to promote awareness regarding eye donation among the general population.

77 FR 20501 - World Autism Awareness Day, 2012

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-05

... and what they can do to support individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. [[Page 20502... spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect young people and adults of every background, and millions of American families know the weight of their impact. On World Autism Awareness Day, we recognize ASDs as a growing...

Awareness of cancer susceptibility genetic testing: the 2000, 2005, and 2010 National Health Interview Surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, Phuong L; Vadaparampil, Susan Thomas; Breen, Nancy; McNeel, Timothy S; Wideroff, Louise; Graubard, Barry I

2014-05-01

Genetic testing for several cancer susceptibility syndromes is clinically available; however, existing data suggest limited population awareness of such tests. To examine awareness regarding cancer genetic testing in the U.S. population aged ≥25 years in the 2000, 2005, and 2010 National Health Interview Surveys. The weighted percentages of respondents aware of cancer genetic tests, and percent changes from 2000-2005 and 2005-2010, overall and by demographic, family history, and healthcare factors were calculated. Interactions were used to evaluate the patterns of change in awareness between 2005 and 2010 among subgroups within each factor. To evaluate associations with awareness in 2005 and 2010, percentages were adjusted for covariates using multiple logistic regression. The analysis was performed in 2012. Awareness decreased from 44.4% to 41.5% (pAwareness increased between 2005 and 2010 in most subgroups, particularly among individuals in the South (pinteraction=0.03) or with a usual place of care (pinteraction=0.01). In 2005 and 2010, awareness was positively associated with personal or family cancer history and high perceived cancer risk, and inversely associated with racial/ethnic minorities, age 25-39 or ≥60 years, male gender, lower education and income levels, public or no health insurance, and no provider contact in 12 months. Despite improvement from 2005 to 2010, ≤50% of the U.S. adult population was aware of cancer genetic testing in 2010. Notably, disparities persist for racial/ethnic minorities and individuals with limited health care access or income. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Enriching behavioral ecology with reinforcement learning methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankenhuis, Willem E; Panchanathan, Karthik; Barto, Andrew G

2018-02-13

This article focuses on the division of labor between evolution and development in solving sequential, state-dependent decision problems. Currently, behavioral ecologists tend to use dynamic programming methods to study such problems. These methods are successful at predicting animal behavior in a variety of contexts. However, they depend on a distinct set of assumptions. Here, we argue that behavioral ecology will benefit from drawing more than it currently does on a complementary collection of tools, called reinforcement learning methods. These methods allow for the study of behavior in highly complex environments, which conventional dynamic programming methods do not feasibly address. In addition, reinforcement learning methods are well-suited to studying how biological mechanisms solve developmental and learning problems. For instance, we can use them to study simple rules that perform well in complex environments. Or to investigate under what conditions natural selection favors fixed, non-plastic traits (which do not vary across individuals), cue-driven-switch plasticity (innate instructions for adaptive behavioral development based on experience), or developmental selection (the incremental acquisition of adaptive behavior based on experience). If natural selection favors developmental selection, which includes learning from environmental feedback, we can also make predictions about the design of reward systems. Our paper is written in an accessible manner and for a broad audience, though we believe some novel insights can be drawn from our discussion. We hope our paper will help advance the emerging bridge connecting the fields of behavioral ecology and reinforcement learning. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of phonological awareness in reading comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Silvia Cárnio

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Purpose: to characterize the performance of 4th grade-Elementary School students with and without signs of reading and writing disorders as for phonological awareness and reading comprehension, and also verify possible correlations between them. Methods: 60 children enrolled in the 4th grade of Elementary School from two public schools, whose parents signed the Informed Consent Form, participated in the present study. They were selected and organized in groups, with and without signs of reading and writing disorders. All students were individually assessed regarding their phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts through standardized tests. The data underwent statistical analysis. Results: those with signs of reading and writing disorders showed the lowest performance in the reading comprehension of sentences and texts. A correlation was found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts in both groups. Conclusion: students with no signs of reading and writing disorders had a higher performance in the skills assessed. The correlation found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension of sentences and texts shows not only the importance of metaphonological skills for a proficient reading, but also for a comprehensive one.

Stereotype awareness, self-esteem and psychopathology in people with psychosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine van Zelst

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Stigma is an important environmental risk factor for a variety of outcomes in schizophrenia. In order to understand and remediate its effects, research is required to assess how stigma experiences are processed at the level of the individual. To this end, stereotype awareness (SA with respect to people with mental illness and their families was explored in persons with psychotic disorder. METHOD: Data from the Dutch Genetic Risk and OUtcome of Psychosis project (GROUP were analyzed. SA was measured using scales that assess a respondent's perception of common opinions about people with a mental illness and their families. RESULTS: People with higher level of self-esteem were less aware of stereotypes about patients and families. People with more severe psychopathology reported more awareness of stereotypes about families, not about patients. CONCLUSION: Enhancing psychological resources, by increasing self-esteem and the ability to cope with symptoms, can be targeted to diminish stereotype threat and improve stigma resilience. Interventions can be tailored to individual differences to increase their impact. Furthermore, in order to diminish detrimental consequences of negative stereotypes, mental health professionals, health educators and experts by experience can inform the public about mental illness and stigma.

Stereotype awareness, self-esteem and psychopathology in people with psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

van Zelst, Catherine; van Nierop, Martine; Oorschot, Margreet; Myin-Germeys, Inez; van Os, Jim; Delespaul, Philippe

2014-01-01

Stigma is an important environmental risk factor for a variety of outcomes in schizophrenia. In order to understand and remediate its effects, research is required to assess how stigma experiences are processed at the level of the individual. To this end, stereotype awareness (SA) with respect to people with mental illness and their families was explored in persons with psychotic disorder. Data from the Dutch Genetic Risk and OUtcome of Psychosis project (GROUP) were analyzed. SA was measured using scales that assess a respondent's perception of common opinions about people with a mental illness and their families. People with higher level of self-esteem were less aware of stereotypes about patients and families. People with more severe psychopathology reported more awareness of stereotypes about families, not about patients. Enhancing psychological resources, by increasing self-esteem and the ability to cope with symptoms, can be targeted to diminish stereotype threat and improve stigma resilience. Interventions can be tailored to individual differences to increase their impact. Furthermore, in order to diminish detrimental consequences of negative stereotypes, mental health professionals, health educators and experts by experience can inform the public about mental illness and stigma.

FOAM CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT BY BASALT FIBRES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhukov Aleksey Dmitrievich

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The authors demonstrate that the foam concrete performance can be improved by dispersed reinforcement, including methods that involve basalt fibres. They address the results of the foam concrete modeling technology and assess the importance of technology-related parameters. Reinforcement efficiency criteria are also provided in the article. Dispersed reinforcement improves the plasticity of the concrete mix and reduces the settlement crack formation rate. Conventional reinforcement that involves metal laths and rods demonstrates its limited application in the production of concrete used for thermal insulation and structural purposes. Dispersed reinforcement is preferable. This technology contemplates the infusion of fibres into porous mixes. Metal, polymeric, basalt and glass fibres are used as reinforcing components. It has been identified that products reinforced by polypropylene fibres demonstrate substantial abradability and deformability rates even under the influence of minor tensile stresses due to the low adhesion strength of polypropylene in the cement matrix. The objective of the research was to develop the type of polypropylene of D500 grade that would demonstrate the operating properties similar to those of Hebel and Ytong polypropylenes. Dispersed reinforcement was performed by the basalt fibre. This project contemplates an autoclave-free technology to optimize the consumption of electricity. Dispersed reinforcement is aimed at the reduction of the block settlement in the course of hardening at early stages of their operation, the improvement of their strength and other operating properties. Reduction in the humidity rate of the mix is based on the plasticizing properties of fibres, as well as the application of the dry mineralization method. Selection of optimal parameters of the process-related technology was performed with the help of G-BAT-2011 Software, developed at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. The authors also

Students multicultural awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F.I Soekarman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Multicultural awareness is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions. Multicultural awareness becomes central when we have to interact with people from other cultures. People see, interpret and evaluate things in a different ways. What is considered an appropriate behaviour in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another one. this research use descriptive- quantitative methodology to indentify level of students multicultural awareness specifically will be identified by gender and academic years. This research will identify multicultural awareness based on differences of gender, academic years. This research use random and purposive random sampling of 650 students from university. These studies identify of multicultural awareness 34, 11, 4% in high condition, 84, 1% medium and 4, 5% in low. Further, there is a significant difference in the level of multicultural awareness based on gender and academic year. These findings could not be generalized because of the limited sample and ethnicity; it should need a wider research so that can be generalized and recommended the efforts to development and improvement of multicultural awareness conditions for optimization the services.

Sources of variation in emotional awareness: Age, gender, and socioeconomic status

Science.gov (United States)

Mankus, Annette M.; Boden, Matthew Tyler; Thompson, Renee J.

2015-01-01

The present study examined associations between emotional awareness facets (type clarity, source clarity, negative emotion differentiation, voluntary attention, involuntary attention) and sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES)) in a large US sample (N = 919). Path analyses—controlling for variance shared between sociodemographic variables and allowing emotional awareness facets to correlate—demonstrated that (a) age was positively associated with type clarity and source clarity, and inversely associated with involuntary attention; (b) gender was associated with all facets but type clarity, with higher source clarity, negative emotion differentiation, voluntary attention, and involuntary attention reported by women then men; and (c) SES was positively associated with type clarity with a very small effect. These findings extend our understanding of emotional awareness and identify future directions for research to elucidate the causes and consequences of individual differences in emotional awareness. PMID:26500384

The possibility of using high strength reinforced concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miura, Nobuaki

1991-01-01

There is recently much research about and developments in reinforced concrete using high strength concrete and reinforcement. As a result, some high-rise buildings and nuclear buildings have been constructed with such concrete. Reinforced concrete will be stronger in the future, but there is a limit to its strength defined by the character of the materials and also by the character of the reinforced concrete members made of the concrete and reinforcement. This report describes the merits and demerits of using high strength reinforced concrete. (author)

75 FR 62301 - National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2010

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-08

... and talents of all our citizens. No individual in our Nation should face unnecessary barriers to... Disability Employment Awareness Month, we renew our focus on improving employment opportunities and career... access to technology, with advances in areas such as closed captioning, delivery of emergencyinformation...

Expected information needs of parents for pervasive awareness systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khan, V.J.; Markopoulos, P.; Ruyter, de B.E.R.; IJsselsteijn, W.A.; Schiele, B.; Dey, A.K.; Gellersen, H.; Ruyter, de B.E.R.; Aarts, E.

2007-01-01

This paper examines the communication needs of busy parents that can be served by awareness systems: systems supporting a continuous and semi-automated flow of information about the activities of communicating individuals. We report an online survey involving 69 participants. This survey focused on

Obesity awareness among elders living in rural area: a household survey

OpenAIRE

Maycon Sousa Pegorari; Alisson Fernandes Bolina; Darlene Mara dos Santos Tavares

2017-01-01

The acceptance of the disease is essential to health self-care, elder’s awareness regarding obesity is suggested to influence their search for health services, and consequently, in obesity’s treatment. This study aimed to verify obesity awareness of elders living in rural areas and associated socioeconomic and demographic factors. We conducted a cross-sectional household survey with 562 individuals, who were older than 60 years and were rural residents from a Brazil southeast city. The identi...

Reinforced concrete wall under hydrogen detonation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saarenheimo, A.

2000-11-01

The structural integrity of a reinforced concrete wall in the BWR reactor building under hydrogen detonation conditions has been analysed. Of particular interest is whether the containment integrity can be jeopardised by an external hydrogen detonation. The load carrying capacity of a reinforced concrete wall was studied. The detonation pressure loads were estimated with computerised hand calculations assuming a direct initiation of detonation and applying the strong explosion theory. The results can be considered as rough and conservative estimates for the first shock pressure impact induced by a reflecting detonation wave. Structural integrity may be endangered due to slow pressurisation or dynamic impulse loads associated with local detonations. The static pressure following the passage of a shock front may be relatively high, thus this static or slowly decreasing pressure after a detonation may damage the structure severely. The mitigating effects of the opening of a door on pressure history and structural response were also studied. The non-linear behaviour of the wall was studied under detonations corresponding a detonable hydrogen mass of 0.5 kg and 1.428 kg. Non-linear finite element analyses of the reinforced concrete structure were carried out by the ABAQUS/Explicit program. The reinforcement and its non-linear material behaviour and the tensile cracking of concrete were modelled. Reinforcement was defined as layers of uniformly spaced reinforcing bars in shell elements. In these studies the surrounding structures of the non-linearly modelled reinforced concrete wall were modelled using idealised boundary conditions. Especially concrete cracking and yielding of the reinforcement was monitored during the numerical simulation. (au)

Dynamical Interplay between Awareness and Epidemic Spreading in Multiplex Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Granell, Clara; Gómez, Sergio; Arenas, Alex

2013-09-01

We present the analysis of the interrelation between two processes accounting for the spreading of an epidemic, and the information awareness to prevent its infection, on top of multiplex networks. This scenario is representative of an epidemic process spreading on a network of persistent real contacts, and a cyclic information awareness process diffusing in the network of virtual social contacts between the same individuals. The topology corresponds to a multiplex network where two diffusive processes are interacting affecting each other. The analysis using a microscopic Markov chain approach reveals the phase diagram of the incidence of the epidemics and allows us to capture the evolution of the epidemic threshold depending on the topological structure of the multiplex and the interrelation with the awareness process. Interestingly, the critical point for the onset of the epidemics has a critical value (metacritical point) defined by the awareness dynamics and the topology of the virtual network, from which the onset increases and the epidemics incidence decreases.

Dynamical interplay between awareness and epidemic spreading in multiplex networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Granell, Clara; Gómez, Sergio; Arenas, Alex

2013-09-20

We present the analysis of the interrelation between two processes accounting for the spreading of an epidemic, and the information awareness to prevent its infection, on top of multiplex networks. This scenario is representative of an epidemic process spreading on a network of persistent real contacts, and a cyclic information awareness process diffusing in the network of virtual social contacts between the same individuals. The topology corresponds to a multiplex network where two diffusive processes are interacting affecting each other. The analysis using a microscopic Markov chain approach reveals the phase diagram of the incidence of the epidemics and allows us to capture the evolution of the epidemic threshold depending on the topological structure of the multiplex and the interrelation with the awareness process. Interestingly, the critical point for the onset of the epidemics has a critical value (metacritical point) defined by the awareness dynamics and the topology of the virtual network, from which the onset increases and the epidemics incidence decreases.

TensorFlow Agents: Efficient Batched Reinforcement Learning in TensorFlow

OpenAIRE

Hafner, Danijar; Davidson, James; Vanhoucke, Vincent

2017-01-01

We introduce TensorFlow Agents, an efficient infrastructure paradigm for building parallel reinforcement learning algorithms in TensorFlow. We simulate multiple environments in parallel, and group them to perform the neural network computation on a batch rather than individual observations. This allows the TensorFlow execution engine to parallelize computation, without the need for manual synchronization. Environments are stepped in separate Python processes to progress them in parallel witho...

A Randomized Trial of Adjunct mHealth Abstinence Reinforcement With Transdermal Nicotine and Counseling for Smoking Cessation.

Science.gov (United States)

Alessi, Sheila M; Rash, Carla J; Petry, Nancy M

2017-03-01

Abstinence reinforcement is efficacious for improving smoking treatment outcomes, but practical constraints related to the need for multiple in-person carbon monoxide (CO) breath tests daily to verify smoking abstinence have limited its use. This study tested an mHealth procedure to remotely monitor and reinforce smoking abstinence in individuals' natural environment. Eligible treatment-seeking smokers (N = 90) were randomized to (1) usual care and ecological monitoring with abstinence reinforcement (mHealth reinforcement) or (2) without reinforcement (mHealth monitoring). Usual care was 8 weeks of transdermal nicotine and twice-weekly telephone counseling. Following training, an interactive voice response system prompted participants to conduct CO tests 1-3 daily at pseudorandom times (7 am to 10 pm) for 4 weeks. When prompted, participants used a study cell phone and CO monitor to complete a CO self-test, video record the process, and submit videos using multimedia messaging. mHealth reinforcement participants could earn prizes for smoking-negative on-time CO tests. The interactive voice response generated preliminary earnings immediately. Earnings were finalized by comparing video records against participants' self-reports. mHealth reinforcement was associated with a greater proportion of smoking-negative CO tests, longest duration of prolonged abstinence, and point-prevalence abstinence during the monitoring/reinforcement phase compared to mHealth monitoring (p mHealth reinforcement has short-term efficacy. Research on methods to enhance and sustain benefits is needed. This study suggests that mHealth abstinence reinforcement is efficacious and may present temporal and spatial opportunities to research, engage, and support smokers trying to quit that do not exist with conventional (not technology-based) reinforcement interventions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights

Smartphones and Location Awareness in Brazil: Users’ Reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Maria Nicolaci-da-Costa

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The general objective of this study was to gain detailed information on how Brazilians are using the many features of their smartphones according to their own accounts. Among these features, of particular interest were the ways in which they react to and deal with the novelty presented by location awareness, especially in LBSN applications. A qualitative research guided by the Underlying Discourse Unveiling Method (UDUM was carried out. Fifteen knowledgeable users of digital technologies aged between 23 and 38 were recruited in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Open-ended-question interviews were conducted with each. Results revealed that location-sharing reinforced their pre-existing fears related to violence and criminality. They knew that criminals may have access to these technologies. Therefore, in order to protect their personal safety most participants avoided location-disclosure. The fears mentioned by them are embedded in the violent context they live in.

On the weld strength of in situ tape placed reinforcements on weave reinforced structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grouve, Wouter Johannes Bernardus; Warnet, Laurent; Rietman, Bert; Akkerman, Remko

2012-01-01

Unidirectionally reinforced thermoplastic tapes were welded onto woven fabric reinforced laminates using a laser assisted tape placement process. A mandrel peel setup was used to quantify the interfacial fracture toughness between the tape and the laminate as a measure for weld strength. The tape

Reinforcement Learning State-of-the-Art

CERN Document Server

Wiering, Marco

2012-01-01

Reinforcement learning encompasses both a science of adaptive behavior of rational beings in uncertain environments and a computational methodology for finding optimal behaviors for challenging problems in control, optimization and adaptive behavior of intelligent agents. As a field, reinforcement learning has progressed tremendously in the past decade. The main goal of this book is to present an up-to-date series of survey articles on the main contemporary sub-fields of reinforcement learning. This includes surveys on partially observable environments, hierarchical task decompositions, relational knowledge representation and predictive state representations. Furthermore, topics such as transfer, evolutionary methods and continuous spaces in reinforcement learning are surveyed. In addition, several chapters review reinforcement learning methods in robotics, in games, and in computational neuroscience. In total seventeen different subfields are presented by mostly young experts in those areas, and together the...

Micro/Nanomechanical characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced epoxy composite.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Peng; Wang, Xinnan; Tangpong, X W

2012-11-01

In this paper, the mechanical properties of 1 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) reinforced epoxy nanocomposites were characterized using a self-designed micro/nano three point bending tester that was on an atomic force microscope (AFM) to in situ observe MWCNTs movement on the sample surface under loading. The migration of an individual MWCNT at the surface of the nanocomposite was tracked to address the nanomechanical reinforcing mechanism of the nanocomposites. Through morphology analysis of the nanocomposite via scanning electron microscopy, AFM, and digital image correlation technique, it was found that the MWCNTs agglomerate and the bundles were the main factors for limiting the bending strength of the composites. The agglomeration/bundle effect was included in the Halpin-Tsai model to account for the elastic modulus of the nanocomposites.

Reinforced Conductive Polyaniline-Paper Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinhua Yan

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A method for direct aniline interfacial polymerization on polyamideamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE-reinforced paper substrate is introduced in this paper. Cellulose-based papers with and without reinforcement were considered. The polyaniline (PANI-paper composites had surface resistivity lower than 100 Ω/sq after more than 3 polymerizations. Their mechanical strength and thermal stability were analyzed by tensile tests and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR results revealed that there was strong interaction between NH groups in aniline monomers and OH groups in fibers, which did not disappear until after 3 polymerizations. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and field emission (FE SEM images showed morphological differences between composites using reinforced and untreated base papers. Conductive composites made with PAE-reinforced base paper had both good thermal stability and good mechanical strength, with high conductivity and a smaller PANI amount.

Superelastic SMA–FRP composite reinforcement for concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wierschem, Nicholas; Andrawes, Bassem

2010-01-01

For many years there has been interest in using fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) as reinforcement in concrete structures. Unfortunately, due to their linear elastic behavior, FRP reinforcing bars are never considered for structural damping or dynamic applications. With the aim of improving the ductility and damping capability of concrete structures reinforced with FRP reinforcement, this paper studies the application of SMA–FRP, a relatively novel type of composite reinforced with superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. The cyclic tensile behavior of SMA–FRP composites are studied experimentally and analytically. Tests of SMA–FRP composite coupons are conducted to determine their constitutive behavior. The experimental results are used to develop and calibrate a uniaxial SMA–FRP analytical model. Parametric and case studies are performed to determine the efficacy of the SMA–FRP reinforcement in concrete structures and the key factors governing its behavior. The results show significant potential for SMA–FRP reinforcement to improve the ductility and damping of concrete structures while still maintaining its elastic characteristic, typical of FRP reinforcement

Accounting for Fiber Bending Effects in Homogenization of Long Fiber Reinforced Composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulios, Konstantinos; Niordson, Christian Frithiof

2015-01-01

The present work deals with homogenized finite-element models of long fiber reinforced composite materials in the context of studying compressive failure modes such as the formation of kink bands and fiber micro-buckling. Compared to finite-element models with an explicit discretization of the ma......The present work deals with homogenized finite-element models of long fiber reinforced composite materials in the context of studying compressive failure modes such as the formation of kink bands and fiber micro-buckling. Compared to finite-element models with an explicit discretization...... of the material micro-structure including individual fibers, homogenized models are computationally more efficient and hence more suitable for modeling of larger and complex structure. Nevertheless, the formulation of homogenized models is more complicated, especially if the bending stiffness of the reinforcing...... fibers is to be taken into account. In that case, so-called higher order strain terms need to be considered. In this paper, important relevant works from the literature are discussed and numerical results from a new homogenization model are presented. The new model accounts for two independent...

Positive behavioral contrast across food and alcohol reinforcers.

OpenAIRE

McSweeney, F K; Melville, C L; Higa, J

1988-01-01

The present study examined behavioral contrast during concurrent and multiple schedules that provided food and alcohol reinforcers. Concurrent-schedule contrast occurred in the responding reinforced by food when alcohol reinforcers were removed. It also occurred in the responding reinforced by alcohol when food was removed. Multiple-schedule contrast appeared for food when alcohol reinforcers were removed, but not for alcohol when food was removed. These results show that behavioral contrast ...

Levels of Phonological Awareness, Working Memory, and Lexical Knowledge in Elementary School Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heloisa Helena Motta Bandini

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Relationships between oral language, phonological awareness, and working memory have been empirically demonstrated, however, phonological awareness encompasses different abilities, assessed at different levels. The present study investigated the possible associations between specific phonological awareness abilities and phonological working memory in first-grade students. In the initial phase ( n = 254, the study evaluated the abilities of phonological awareness and phonological working memory and found a high positive correlation between these abilities, thus confirming the findings of previous studies. The second phase ( n = 12 evaluated the vocabulary of individuals who, in the initial phase, showed low or high working memory and phonological awareness scores. Students with low working memory and low phonological awareness capacities had low scores in expressive language abilities, suggesting that phonological working memory may have direct effects on lexical knowledge. These results contribute to the understanding of the relationships investigated in this study and have important implications for planning teaching strategies.

The contribution of reinforcement sensitivity to the personality-psychopathology hierarchical structure in childhood and adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Slobodskaya, Helena R

2016-11-01

This study examined the contribution of reinforcement sensitivity to the hierarchical structure of child personality and common psychopathology in community samples of parent reports of children aged 2-18 (N = 968) and self-reports of adolescents aged 10-18 (N = 1,543) using the Inventory of Child Individual Differences-Short version (ICID-S), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). A joint higher-order factor analysis of the ICID-S and SDQ scales suggested a 4-factor solution; congruence coefficients indicated replicability of the factors across the 2 samples at all levels of the personality-psychopathology hierarchy. The canonical correlation analyses indicated that reinforcement sensitivity and personality-psychopathology dimensions shared much of their variance. The main contribution of reinforcement sensitivity was through opposing effects of reward and punishment sensitivities. The superordinate factors Beta and Internalizing were best predicted by reinforcement sensitivity, followed by the Externalizing and Positive personality factors. These findings provide evidence for consistency of the hierarchical structure of personality and common psychopathology across informants and highlight the role of reinforcement systems in the development of normal and abnormal patterns of behavior and affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Learning to trade via direct reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Moody, J; Saffell, M

2001-01-01

We present methods for optimizing portfolios, asset allocations, and trading systems based on direct reinforcement (DR). In this approach, investment decision-making is viewed as a stochastic control problem, and strategies are discovered directly. We present an adaptive algorithm called recurrent reinforcement learning (RRL) for discovering investment policies. The need to build forecasting models is eliminated, and better trading performance is obtained. The direct reinforcement approach differs from dynamic programming and reinforcement algorithms such as TD-learning and Q-learning, which attempt to estimate a value function for the control problem. We find that the RRL direct reinforcement framework enables a simpler problem representation, avoids Bellman's curse of dimensionality and offers compelling advantages in efficiency. We demonstrate how direct reinforcement can be used to optimize risk-adjusted investment returns (including the differential Sharpe ratio), while accounting for the effects of transaction costs. In extensive simulation work using real financial data, we find that our approach based on RRL produces better trading strategies than systems utilizing Q-learning (a value function method). Real-world applications include an intra-daily currency trader and a monthly asset allocation system for the S&P 500 Stock Index and T-Bills.

The effects of global awareness on the spreading of epidemics in multiplex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Haijuan

2018-02-01

It is increasingly recognized that understanding the complex interplay patterns between epidemic spreading and human behavioral is a key component of successful infection control efforts. In particular, individuals can obtain the information about epidemics and respond by altering their behaviors, which can affect the spreading dynamics as well. Besides, because the existence of herd-like behaviors, individuals are very easy to be influenced by the global awareness information. Here, in this paper, we propose a global awareness controlled spreading model (GACS) to explore the interplay between the coupled dynamical processes. Using the global microscopic Markov chain approach, we obtain the analytical results for the epidemic thresholds, which shows a high accuracy by comparison with lots of Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, considering other classical models used to describe the coupled dynamical processes, including the local awareness controlled contagion spreading (LACS) model, Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible-Unaware-Aware-Unaware (SIS-UAU) model and the single layer occasion, we make a detailed comparisons between the GACS with them. Although the comparisons and results depend on the parameters each model has, the GACS model always shows a strong restrain effects on epidemic spreading process. Our results give us a better understanding of the coupled dynamical processes and highlights the importance of considering the spreading of global awareness in the control of epidemics.

Inequality in the hepatitis B awareness level in rural residents from 7 provinces in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Juan; Li, Quan; Wang, Jian; Zhang, Guojie; Wangen, Knut R

2017-05-04

The hepatitis B (HB) awareness level is an important factor affecting the rates of HB virus vaccination. To better understand income-related inequalities in the HB awareness level, it is imperative to identify the sources of inequalities and assess the contribution rates of these influential factors. This study analyzed the unequal distribution of the HB awareness level and the contributions of various influential factors. We performed a cross-sectional household survey with questionnaire-based, face-to-face interviews in 7 Chinese provinces. Responses from 7271 respondents were used in this analysis. Multinomial logistic regression was used for the analysis of contributing factors, and the concentration index was used as a measure of HB awareness inequalities. The HB awareness level varied across participants with different characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression of the explanatory factors of the HB awareness level showed that several estimated coefficients and relative risk ratios were statistically significant for middle- and high-level awareness, except for sex, occupation, and household income. The concentration index of the HB knowledge score was 0.140, indicating inequality gradients disadvantageous to the poor. The contribution rate of socioeconomic factors was the largest (60.8%), followed by demographic characteristics (29.0%) and geographic factors (4.3%). Demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors are associated with the HB awareness inequality. Therefore, to reduce inequality, HB-related health education targeting individuals with low socioeconomic status should be performed. Less-developed provinces, especially with high proportions of poor residents, warrant particular attention. Our findings may be beneficial to improve the HB virus vaccination rate for individuals with low socioeconomic status.

Enhancement of shear strength and ductility for reinforced concrete wide beams due to web reinforcement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Said

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The shear behavior of reinforced concrete wide beams was investigated. The experimental program consisted of nine beams of 29 MPa concrete strength tested with a shear span-depth ratio equal to 3.0. One of the tested beams had no web reinforcement as a control specimen. The flexure mode of failure was secured for all of the specimens to allow for shear mode of failure. The key parameters covered in this investigation are the effect of the existence, spacing, amount and yield stress of the vertical stirrups on the shear capacity and ductility of the tested wide beams. The study shows that the contribution of web reinforcement to the shear capacity is significant and directly proportional to the amount and spacing of the shear reinforcement. The increase in the shear capacity ranged from 32% to 132% for the range of the tested beams compared with the control beam. High grade steel was more effective in the contribution of the shear strength of wide beams. Also, test results demonstrate that the shear reinforcement significantly enhances the ductility of the wide beams. In addition, shear resistances at failure recorded in this study are compared to the analytical strengths calculated according to the current Egyptian Code and the available international codes. The current study highlights the need to include the contribution of shear reinforcement in the Egyptian Code requirements for shear capacity of wide beams.

True-personality-assisted self-awareness expert system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laleuf, M.

1988-01-01

Based on psychoanalytic theory, the Who am I? expert system explains in simple terms the individual's true personality, even it its unconscious or hidden aspects. Our overt personality traits are deeply rooted. The Who am I? expert system gives access to an individual's primary personality, starting from his habitual everyday-life behavior: (1) describes the individual's basic personality, (2) explains this personality through the individual's deeply rooted experience and motivation, and (3) makes links with other people with a similar profile. The following are the primary features of the system: easy individual access, results in <20 minutes, and guaranteed confidentiality. Business applications include the following: (1) Individual training: Self-awareness improves a person's ability to fit in and to succeed within the group. (2) Communication: a homogeneous team has a better chance of success. (3) Human reliability: A close-knit team remains reliable even when faced with serious difficulties. (4) Recruitment: This technique enables the selection of individuals who will fit an existing homogeneous team. The system also enables a psychological diagnosis to be confirmed

Modeling Avoidance in Mood and Anxiety Disorders Using Reinforcement Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Mkrtchian, Anahit; Aylward, Jessica; Dayan, Peter; Roiser, Jonathan P; Robinson, Oliver J

2017-10-01

Serious and debilitating symptoms of anxiety are the most common mental health problem worldwide, accounting for around 5% of all adult years lived with disability in the developed world. Avoidance behavior-avoiding social situations for fear of embarrassment, for instance-is a core feature of such anxiety. However, as for many other psychiatric symptoms the biological mechanisms underlying avoidance remain unclear. Reinforcement learning models provide formal and testable characterizations of the mechanisms of decision making; here, we examine avoidance in these terms. A total of 101 healthy participants and individuals with mood and anxiety disorders completed an approach-avoidance go/no-go task under stress induced by threat of unpredictable shock. We show an increased reliance in the mood and anxiety group on a parameter of our reinforcement learning model that characterizes a prepotent (pavlovian) bias to withhold responding in the face of negative outcomes. This was particularly the case when the mood and anxiety group was under stress. This formal description of avoidance within the reinforcement learning framework provides a new means of linking clinical symptoms with biophysically plausible models of neural circuitry and, as such, takes us closer to a mechanistic understanding of mood and anxiety disorders. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites as Internal and External Reinforcements for Building Elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cătălin Banu

2008-01-01

Full Text Available During the latest decades fibre reinforced polymer (FRP composite materials have proven valuable properties and suitable to be used in construction of new buildings and in upgrading the existing ones. These materials have covered the road from research laboratory and demonstration projects to implementation in actual structures. Nowadays the civil and structural engineering communities are about to commence the stage in which the use of FRP composites is becoming a routine similar to that of traditional material such as concrete, masonry and wood. Two main issues are presented in this paper, the use of FRP composite materials for new structural members (internal reinforcements and strengthening of existing members (externally bonded reinforcements. The advantages and disadvantages as well as the problems and constraints associated with both issues are discussed in detail mainly related to concrete members.

Strength Characteristics of Reinforced Sandy Soil

OpenAIRE

S. N. Bannikov; Mahamed Al Fayez

2005-01-01

Laboratory tests on determination of reinforced sandy soil strength characteristics (angle of internal friction, specific cohesive force) have been carried out with the help of a specially designed instrument and proposed methodology. Analysis of the obtained results has revealed that cohesive forces are brought about in reinforced sandy soil and an angle of internal soil friction becomes larger in comparison with non-reinforced soil.

Building Cybersecurity Awareness : The need for evidence-based framing strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Bruijn, J.A.; Janssen, M.F.W.H.A.

2017-01-01

Cybersecurity is a global phenomenon representing a complex socio-technical challenge for governments, but requiring the involvement of individuals. Although cybersecurity is one of the most important challenges faced by governments today, the visibility and public awareness remains limited.

Analytical, Numerical and Experimental Examination of Reinforced Composites Beams Covered with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Science.gov (United States)

Kasimzade, A. A.; Tuhta, S.

2012-03-01

In the article, analytical, numerical (Finite Element Method) and experimental investigation results of beam that was strengthened with fiber reinforced plastic-FRP composite has been given as comparative, the effect of FRP wrapping number to the maximum load and moment capacity has been evaluated depending on this results. Carbon FRP qualitative dependences have been occurred between wrapping number and beam load and moment capacity for repair-strengthen the reinforced concrete beams with carbon fiber. Shown possibilities of application traditional known analysis programs, for the analysis of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) strengthened structures.

Producing Durable Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement using Glass-ceramic Coated Reinforcing Steel

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-01

reinforcement if the enamel is broken  Embedded cement grains hydrate if enamel is cracked to self-heal with the formation of calcium silicate hydrate Goal...Reinforced Concrete Pavement The 600% volume change in the iron to iron oxide formation put the concrete in tension and it cracks an spalls BUILDING...corrodes prematurely and delaminates the pavement  Moisture and chlorides can move through the natural porosity of concrete and the cracks in the

Real World Awareness in Distributed Organizations: A View on Informal Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eldar Sultanow

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Geographically distributed development has consistently had to deal with the challenge of intense awareness extensively more than locally concentrated development. Awareness marks the state of being informed incorporated with an understanding of project-related activities, states or relationships of each individual employee within a given group as a whole. In multifarious offices, where social interaction is necessary in order to distribute and locate information together with experts, awareness becomes a concurrent process which amplifies the exigency of easy routes for staff to be able to access this information, deferred or decentralized, in a formalized and problem-oriented way. Although the subject of Awareness has immensely increased in importance, there is extensive disagreement about how this transparency can be conceptually and technically implemented [1]. This paper introduces a model in order to visualize and navigate this information in three tiers using semantic networks, GIS and Web3D.

Constitutive model for reinforced concrete

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feenstra, P.H.; Borst, de R.

1995-01-01

A numerical model is proposed for reinforced-concrete behavior that combines the commonly accepted ideas from modeling plain concrete, reinforcement, and interaction behavior in a consistent manner. The behavior of plain concrete is govern by fracture-energy-level-based formulation both in tension

Tangible Reinforcers: Bonuses or Bribes?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Leary, K. Daniel; And Others

1972-01-01

Objections to the use of tangible reinforcers, such as prizes, candy, cigarettes, and money, are discussed. Treatment programs using tangible reinforcers are recommended as powerful modifers of behavior to be implemented only after less powerful means of modification have been tried. (Author)

Facebook network structure and awareness of preexposure prophylaxis among young men who have sex with men.

Science.gov (United States)

Khanna, Aditya S; Schumm, Phil; Schneider, John A

2017-03-01

Young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are the only population in the United States who have experienced rising human immunodeficiency virus incidence over the past decade. Consistent pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use can substantially reduce the risk of human immunodeficiency virus acquisition. What differentiates those who become aware of PrEP, and those who do not, remains largely unknown. The social networks of YBMSM can impact their awareness of PrEP; to examine this impact, we used two waves of Facebook data from "uConnect"-a longitudinal cohort study of YBMSM in Chicago (n = 266). While PrEP awareness increased from 45% at baseline to 75% at follow-up, its use remained low (4% and 6%). There were 88 PrEP-unaware individuals at baseline who became aware (BA) by follow-up, and 56 who remained persistently unaware. While the persistently unawares had a higher median number of total Facebook friends, the BAs had a higher median numbers of friends who participated in uConnect, who were PrEP-aware, and who practiced behaviors previously found to be associated with individual-level awareness of PrEP at baseline. The BAs also had substantially more "influential" friends. These findings demonstrate the potential of social networks in raising PrEP awareness and use among YBMSM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

TEACHING SELF-CONTROL WITH QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT REINFORCERS

OpenAIRE

Passage, Michael; Tincani, Matt; Hantula, Donald A.

2012-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of using qualitatively different reinforcers to teach self-control to an adolescent boy who had been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. First, he was instructed to engage in an activity without programmed reinforcement. Next, he was instructed to engage in the activity under a two-choice fixed-duration schedule of reinforcement. Finally, he was exposed to self-control training, during which the delay to a more preferred reinforcer was initially sh...

Social support influences on eating awareness in children and adolescents : the mediating effect of self-regulatory strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaspar de Matos, Margarida; Palmeira, Antonio L; Gaspar, Tania; De Wit, John B F; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

2016-01-01

The impact of the social environment on healthy eating awareness results from complex interactions among physical, economic, cultural, interpersonal and individual characteristics. This study investigated the impact of social support and social influence on healthy eating awareness, controlling for

PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT (ACQUISITION) EFFECTS WITHIN SUBJECTS.

Science.gov (United States)

AMSEL, A; MACKINNON, J R; RASHOTTE, M E; SURRIDGE, C T

1964-03-01

Acquisition performance of 22 rats in a straight alley runway was examined. The animals were subjected to partial reinforcement when the alley was black (B+/-) and continuous reinforcement when it was white (W+). The results indicated (a) higher terminal performance, for partial as against continuous reinforcement conditions, for starting-time and running-time measures, and (b) lower terminal performance under partial conditions for a goal-entry-time measure. These results confirm within subjects an effect previously demonstrated, in the runway, only in between-groups tests, where one group is run under partial reinforcement and a separate group is run under continuous reinforcement in the presence of the same external stimuli. Differences between the runway situation, employing a discrete-trial procedure and performance measures at three points in the response chain, and the Skinner box situation, used in its free-operant mode with a single performance measure, are discussed in relation to the present findings.

Reinforcement Learning in Repeated Portfolio Decisions

OpenAIRE

Diao, Linan; Rieskamp, Jörg

2011-01-01

How do people make investment decisions when they receive outcome feedback? We examined how well the standard mean-variance model and two reinforcement models predict people's portfolio decisions. The basic reinforcement model predicts a learning process that relies solely on the portfolio's overall return, whereas the proposed extended reinforcement model also takes the risk and covariance of the investments into account. The experimental results illustrate that people reacted sensitively to...

Responding for sucrose and wheel-running reinforcement: effects of sucrose concentration and wheel-running reinforcer duration.

Science.gov (United States)

Belke, Terry W; Hancock, Stephanie D

2003-03-01

Six male albino rats were placed in running wheels and exposed to a fixed-interval 30-s schedule of lever pressing that produced either a drop of sucrose solution or the opportunity to run for a fixed duration as reinforcers. Each reinforcer type was signaled by a different stimulus. In Experiment 1, the duration of running was held constant at 15 s while the concentration of sucrose solution was varied across values of 0, 2.5. 5, 10, and 15%. As concentration decreased, postreinforcement pause duration increased and local rates decreased in the presence of the stimulus signaling sucrose. Consequently, the difference between responding in the presence of stimuli signaling wheel-running and sucrose reinforcers diminished, and at 2.5%, response functions for the two reinforcers were similar. In Experiment 2, the concentration of sucrose solution was held constant at 15% while the duration of the opportunity to run was first varied across values of 15, 45, and 90 s then subsequently across values of 5, 10, and 15 s. As run duration increased, postreinforcement pause duration in the presence of the wheel-running stimulus increased and local rates increased then decreased. In summary, inhibitory aftereffects of previous reinforcers occurred when both sucrose concentration and run duration varied; changes in responding were attributable to changes in the excitatory value of the stimuli signaling the two reinforcers.

Individual Differences in the Attribution of Incentive Salience to a Pavlovian Alcohol Cue

Science.gov (United States)

Villaruel, Franz R.; Chaudhri, Nadia

2016-01-01

Individual differences exist in the attribution of incentive salience to conditioned stimuli associated with food. Here, we investigated whether individual differences also manifested with a Pavlovian alcohol conditioned stimulus (CS). We compiled data from five experiments that used a Pavlovian autoshaping paradigm and tests of conditioned reinforcement. In all experiments, male, Long-Evans rats with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to 15% ethanol. Next, rats received Pavlovian autoshaping training, in which a 10 s presentation of a retractable lever served as the CS and 0.2 mL of 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Finally, rats underwent conditioned reinforcement tests in which nose-pokes to an active aperture led to brief presentations of the lever-CS, but nose-pokes to an inactive aperture had no consequence. Rats were categorized as sign-trackers, goal-trackers and intermediates based on a response bias score that reflected their tendencies to sign-track or goal-track at different times during training. We found that distinct groups of rats either consistently interacted with the lever-CS (“sign-trackers”) or routinely approached the port during the lever-CS (“goal-trackers”) across a majority of the training sessions. However, some individuals (“shifted sign-trackers”) with an early tendency to goal-track later shifted to comparable asymptotic levels of sign-tracking as the group identified as sign-trackers. The lever-CS functioned as a conditioned reinforcer for sign-trackers and shifted sign-trackers, but not for goal-trackers. These results provide evidence of robust individual differences in the extent to which a Pavlovian alcohol cue gains incentive salience and functions as a conditioned reinforcer. PMID:28082877

Individual Differences in the Attribution of Incentive Salience to a Pavlovian Alcohol Cue.

Science.gov (United States)

Villaruel, Franz R; Chaudhri, Nadia

2016-01-01

Individual differences exist in the attribution of incentive salience to conditioned stimuli associated with food. Here, we investigated whether individual differences also manifested with a Pavlovian alcohol conditioned stimulus (CS). We compiled data from five experiments that used a Pavlovian autoshaping paradigm and tests of conditioned reinforcement. In all experiments, male, Long-Evans rats with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to 15% ethanol. Next, rats received Pavlovian autoshaping training, in which a 10 s presentation of a retractable lever served as the CS and 0.2 mL of 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Finally, rats underwent conditioned reinforcement tests in which nose-pokes to an active aperture led to brief presentations of the lever-CS, but nose-pokes to an inactive aperture had no consequence. Rats were categorized as sign-trackers, goal-trackers and intermediates based on a response bias score that reflected their tendencies to sign-track or goal-track at different times during training. We found that distinct groups of rats either consistently interacted with the lever-CS ("sign-trackers") or routinely approached the port during the lever-CS ("goal-trackers") across a majority of the training sessions. However, some individuals ("shifted sign-trackers") with an early tendency to goal-track later shifted to comparable asymptotic levels of sign-tracking as the group identified as sign-trackers. The lever-CS functioned as a conditioned reinforcer for sign-trackers and shifted sign-trackers, but not for goal-trackers. These results provide evidence of robust individual differences in the extent to which a Pavlovian alcohol cue gains incentive salience and functions as a conditioned reinforcer.

Rational and Mechanistic Perspectives on Reinforcement Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Chater, Nick

2009-01-01

This special issue describes important recent developments in applying reinforcement learning models to capture neural and cognitive function. But reinforcement learning, as a theoretical framework, can apply at two very different levels of description: "mechanistic" and "rational." Reinforcement learning is often viewed in mechanistic terms--as…

Conditioned Reinforcement Value and Resistance to Change

Science.gov (United States)

Shahan, Timothy A.; Podlesnik, Christopher A.

2008-01-01

Three experiments examined the effects of conditioned reinforcement value and primary reinforcement rate on resistance to change using a multiple schedule of observing-response procedures with pigeons. In the absence of observing responses in both components, unsignaled periods of variable-interval (VI) schedule food reinforcement alternated with…

Prospective study on cranioplasty with individual carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) implants produced by means of stereolithography.

Science.gov (United States)

Wurm, Gabriele; Tomancok, Berndt; Holl, Kurt; Trenkler, Johannes

2004-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) cranial implants produced by means of 3-dimensional (3D) stereolithography (SL) and template modeling for reconstructions of complex or extensive cranial defects. A series of 41 cranioplasties with individual CFRP implants was performed in 37 patients between April 1996 and November 2002. Only patients with complex and/or large cranial defects were included, most of them having extended scarring or dural calcification and poor quality of the overlying soft-tissue cover after infection or multiple preceding operations. Involvement of frontal sinus, a known risk factor for complications after cranioplasty, was the case in 21 patients (51.2%). A computer-based 3D model of the skull with the bony defect was generated by means of stereolithography after acquisition, evaluation and transfer of the patient's helical computed tomography (CT) data. A wax template of the defect that was used to design the individual prosthesis-shape was invested in dental stone. Then, the cranial implant was fabricated out of CFRP by loosen mold. Reconstruction of defects measuring up to 17 x 9 cm was performed. The intra-operative fit of the implants was excellent in 36 (87.8%), good in 1 (2.4%), and fair in 4 (9.8%) of the cases. Problems of implant fit occurred because of extended scarring and poor quality of soft-tissue cover. Adverse reactions were observed in 5 patients (1 subdural, 1 subcutaneous hematoma, 2 infections, 1 allergic reaction). Excellent contours and a solid stable reconstruction have been maintained in 30 out of 35 remaining plates (mean follow-up 3.6 years). No adverse effects concerning postoperative imaging, the accuracy of electroencephalograms and radiation therapy have been observed. The authors believe that this relatively new technique represents an advance in the management of complex and large cranial defects, but seems less suitable for simple defects because of cost

An audit on public awareness of depression symptoms in Jordan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sayer Al-Azzam

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Depression is acommon mental health disorder. The aim of this study is to determine the level of public awareness regarding this illness, its symptoms, associated factors, available forms of treatment, and the attitude towards depressed people. Methods: A self administered questionnaire was filled in by approximately 5000 individuals selected from various regions of Jordan. Results: The majority of participants thought that depression is a treatable condition that can affect patient at any age, and may be controlled by the will power. Loss of interest in things and presence of negative feelings were the most commonly recognized symptoms of depression, while, unemployment and poverty were found to be the most recognized risk factors for depression. In addition, most participants considered support from family and friends (93.6% as well as exercise (80.4% to be the best available forms of depression treatment. Respondents found it acceptable to work, make friends with, or marry depressed individuals. The first choice persons for seeking help by most participants were family members and friends (49.8%. Conclusion: Collectively, the level of awareness of depression was acceptable. However, further efforts are necessary to establish public educational programs related to depression in order to raise awareness regarding the disease.

Intranasal oxytocin enhances socially-reinforced learning in rhesus monkeys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa A Parr

2014-09-01

Full Text Available There are currently no drugs approved for the treatment of social deficits associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD. One hypothesis for these deficits is that individuals with ASD lack the motivation to attend to social cues because those cues are not implicitly rewarding. Therefore, any drug that could enhance the rewarding quality of social stimuli could have a profound impact on the treatment of ASD, and other social disorders. Oxytocin (OT is a neuropeptide that has been effective in enhancing social cognition and social reward in humans. The present study examined the ability of OT to selectively enhance learning after social compared to nonsocial reward in rhesus monkeys, an important species for modeling the neurobiology of social behavior in humans. Monkeys were required to learn an implicit visual matching task after receiving either intranasal (IN OT or Placebo (saline. Correct trials were rewarded with the presentation of positive and negative social (play faces/threat faces or nonsocial (banana/cage locks stimuli, plus food. Incorrect trials were not rewarded. Results demonstrated a strong effect of socially-reinforced learning, monkeys’ performed significantly better when reinforced with social versus nonsocial stimuli. Additionally, socially-reinforced learning was significantly better and occurred faster after IN-OT compared to placebo treatment. Performance in the IN-OT, but not Placebo, condition was also significantly better when the reinforcement stimuli were emotionally positive compared to negative facial expressions. These data support the hypothesis that OT may function to enhance prosocial behavior in primates by increasing the rewarding quality of emotionally positive, social compared to emotionally negative or nonsocial images. These data also support the use of the rhesus monkey as a model for exploring the neurobiological basis of social behavior and its impairment.

“You Should Have Seen the Look on Your Face…”: Self-awareness of Facial Expressions

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Fangbing; Yan, Wen-Jing; Chen, Yu-Hsin; Li, Kaiyun; Zhang, Hui; Fu, Xiaolan

2017-01-01

The awareness of facial expressions allows one to better understand, predict, and regulate his/her states to adapt to different social situations. The present research investigated individuals’ awareness of their own facial expressions and the influence of the duration and intensity of expressions in two self-reference modalities, a real-time condition and a video-review condition. The participants were instructed to respond as soon as they became aware of any facial movements. The results revealed that awareness rates were 57.79% in the real-time condition and 75.92% in the video-review condition. The awareness rate was influenced by the intensity and (or) the duration. The intensity thresholds for individuals to become aware of their own facial expressions were calculated using logistic regression models. The results of Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) revealed that video-review awareness was a significant predictor of real-time awareness. These findings extend understandings of human facial expression self-awareness in two modalities. PMID:28611703

Glass FRP reinforcement in rehabilitation of concrete marine infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newhook, John P.

2006-01-01

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcements for concrete structures are gaining wide acceptance as a suitable alternative to steel reinforcements. The primary advantage is that they do not suffer corrosion and hence they promise to be more durable in environments where steel reinforced concrete has a limited life span. Concrete wharves and jetties are examples of structures subjected to such harsh environments and represent the general class of marine infrastructure in which glass FRP (GFRP) reinforcement should be used for improved durability and service life. General design considerations which make glass FRP suitable for use in marine concrete rehabilitation projects are discussed. A case study of recent wharf rehabilitation project in Canada is used to reinforce these considerations. The structure consisted of a GFRP reinforced concrete deck panel and steel - GFRP hybrid reinforced concrete pile cap. A design methodology is developed for the hybrid reinforcement design and verified through testing. The results of a field monitoring program are used to establish the satisfactory field performance of the GFRP reinforcement. The design concepts presented in the paper are applicable to many concrete marine components and other structures where steel reinforcement corrosion is a problem. (author)

Developing robust arsenic awareness prediction models using machine learning algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Sushant K; Taylor, Robert W; Rahman, Mohammad Mahmudur; Pradhan, Biswajeet

2018-04-01

Arsenic awareness plays a vital role in ensuring the sustainability of arsenic mitigation technologies. Thus far, however, few studies have dealt with the sustainability of such technologies and its associated socioeconomic dimensions. As a result, arsenic awareness prediction has not yet been fully conceptualized. Accordingly, this study evaluated arsenic awareness among arsenic-affected communities in rural India, using a structured questionnaire to record socioeconomic, demographic, and other sociobehavioral factors with an eye to assessing their association with and influence on arsenic awareness. First a logistic regression model was applied and its results compared with those produced by six state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms (Support Vector Machine [SVM], Kernel-SVM, Decision Tree [DT], k-Nearest Neighbor [k-NN], Naïve Bayes [NB], and Random Forests [RF]) as measured by their accuracy at predicting arsenic awareness. Most (63%) of the surveyed population was found to be arsenic-aware. Significant arsenic awareness predictors were divided into three types: (1) socioeconomic factors: caste, education level, and occupation; (2) water and sanitation behavior factors: number of family members involved in water collection, distance traveled and time spent for water collection, places for defecation, and materials used for handwashing after defecation; and (3) social capital and trust factors: presence of anganwadi and people's trust in other community members, NGOs, and private agencies. Moreover, individuals' having higher social network positively contributed to arsenic awareness in the communities. Results indicated that both the SVM and the RF algorithms outperformed at overall prediction of arsenic awareness-a nonlinear classification problem. Lower-caste, less educated, and unemployed members of the population were found to be the most vulnerable, requiring immediate arsenic mitigation. To this end, local social institutions and NGOs could play a

Multi-physics corrosion modeling for sustainability assessment of steel reinforced high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lepech, M.; Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette

2016-01-01

and widespread depassivation, are the mechanism behind experimental results of HPFRCC steel corrosion studies found in the literature. Such results provide an indication of the fundamental mechanisms by which steel reinforced HPFRCC materials may be more durable than traditional reinforced concrete and other......Using a newly developed multi-physics transport, corrosion, and cracking model, which models these phenomena as a coupled physiochemical processes, the role of HPFRCC crack control and formation in regulating steel reinforcement corrosion is investigated. This model describes transport of water...... and chemical species, the electric potential distribution in the HPFRCC, the electrochemical propagation of steel corrosion, and the role of microcracks in the HPFRCC material. Numerical results show that the reduction in anode and cathode size on the reinforcing steel surface, due to multiple crack formation...

Awareness and acceptability of premarital screening of sickle cell ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Premarital screening for the diagnosis of Sickle Cell Disease is helpful in the prevention of the condition. It provides information about the health of the individual while assessing their health related reproductive risk. To evaluate the level of awareness and acceptability of premarital screening for sickle cell disease amongst ...

Consequences of objective self-awareness during exercise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica E Cornick

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Although exercise is recommended by healthcare professionals for nearly everyone, adverse reactions can occur following exercising for some overweight individuals. The reported study investigated the cardiovascular consequences of exercise in a stressful environment. In all, 60 females completed two baseline and one biking (i.e. ergometer periods while cardiovascular and self-report measures were recorded. Findings indicated that those who are more self-aware showed cardiovascular response patterns indicative of threat. Additionally, post-task exercise self-efficacy levels predicted intentions to exercise at a demanding level in the coming week. These findings suggest exercise may exacerbate health issues for some individuals for whom it is recommended.

White Awareness: The Frontier of Racism Awareness Training

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Judy H.; Ivey, Allen

1977-01-01

This article's purpose is to make white professional helpers aware of how racism undermines the helping field and to demonstrate how racism affects white people. A systematic training program for white people that develops an awareness of the masking effect of racism and develops interventions for changes is presented. (Author)

The critical dimensions of the response-reinforcer contingency.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, B A.

2001-05-03

Two major dimensions of any contingency of reinforcement are the temporal relation between a response and its reinforcer, and the relative frequency of the reinforcer given the response versus when the response has not occurred. Previous data demonstrate that time, per se, is not sufficient to explain the effects of delay-of-reinforcement procedures; needed in addition is some account of the events occurring in the delay interval. Moreover, the effects of the same absolute time values vary greatly across situations, such that any notion of a standard delay-of-reinforcement gradient is simplistic. The effects of reinforcers occurring in the absence of a response depend critically upon the stimulus conditions paired with those reinforcers, in much the same manner as has been shown with Pavlovian contingency effects. However, it is unclear whether the underlying basis of such effects is response competition or changes in the calculus of causation.

How Does Awareness Modulate Goal-Directed and Stimulus-Driven Shifts of Attention Triggered by Value Learning?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexia Bourgeois

Full Text Available In order to behave adaptively, attention can be directed in space either voluntarily (i.e., endogenously according to strategic goals, or involuntarily (i.e., exogenously through reflexive capture by salient or novel events. The emotional or motivational value of stimuli can also strongly influence attentional orienting. However, little is known about how reward-related effects compete or interact with endogenous and exogenous attention mechanisms, particularly outside of awareness. Here we developed a visual search paradigm to study subliminal value-based attentional orienting. We systematically manipulated goal-directed or stimulus-driven attentional orienting and examined whether an irrelevant, but previously rewarded stimulus could compete with both types of spatial attention during search. Critically, reward was learned without conscious awareness in a preceding phase where one among several visual symbols was consistently paired with a subliminal monetary reinforcement cue. Our results demonstrated that symbols previously associated with a monetary reward received higher attentional priority in the subsequent visual search task, even though these stimuli and reward were no longer task-relevant, and despite reward being unconsciously acquired. Thus, motivational processes operating independent of conscious awareness may provide powerful influences on mechanisms of attentional selection, which could mitigate both stimulus-driven and goal-directed shifts of attention.

How Does Awareness Modulate Goal-Directed and Stimulus-Driven Shifts of Attention Triggered by Value Learning?

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgeois, Alexia; Neveu, Rémi; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2016-01-01

In order to behave adaptively, attention can be directed in space either voluntarily (i.e., endogenously) according to strategic goals, or involuntarily (i.e., exogenously) through reflexive capture by salient or novel events. The emotional or motivational value of stimuli can also strongly influence attentional orienting. However, little is known about how reward-related effects compete or interact with endogenous and exogenous attention mechanisms, particularly outside of awareness. Here we developed a visual search paradigm to study subliminal value-based attentional orienting. We systematically manipulated goal-directed or stimulus-driven attentional orienting and examined whether an irrelevant, but previously rewarded stimulus could compete with both types of spatial attention during search. Critically, reward was learned without conscious awareness in a preceding phase where one among several visual symbols was consistently paired with a subliminal monetary reinforcement cue. Our results demonstrated that symbols previously associated with a monetary reward received higher attentional priority in the subsequent visual search task, even though these stimuli and reward were no longer task-relevant, and despite reward being unconsciously acquired. Thus, motivational processes operating independent of conscious awareness may provide powerful influences on mechanisms of attentional selection, which could mitigate both stimulus-driven and goal-directed shifts of attention.

Modelling root reinforcement in shallow forest soils

Science.gov (United States)

Skaugset, Arne E.

1997-01-01

A hypothesis used to explain the relationship between timber harvesting and landslides is that tree roots add mechanical support to soil, thus increasing soil strength. Upon harvest, the tree roots decay which reduces soil strength and increases the risk of management -induced landslides. The technical literature does not adequately support this hypothesis. Soil strength values attributed to root reinforcement that are in the technical literature are such that forested sites can't fail and all high risk, harvested sites must fail. Both unstable forested sites and stable harvested sites exist, in abundance, in the real world thus, the literature does not adequately describe the real world. An analytical model was developed to calculate soil strength increase due to root reinforcement. Conceptually, the model is composed of a reinforcing element with high tensile strength, i.e. a conifer root, embedded in a material with little tensile strength, i.e. a soil. As the soil fails and deforms, the reinforcing element also deforms and stretches. The lateral deformation of the reinforcing element is treated analytically as a laterally loaded pile in a flexible foundation and the axial deformation is treated as an axially loaded pile. The governing differential equations are solved using finite-difference approximation techniques. The root reinforcement model was tested by comparing the final shape of steel and aluminum rods, parachute cord, wooden dowels, and pine roots in direct shear with predicted shapes from the output of the root reinforcement model. The comparisons were generally satisfactory, were best for parachute cord and wooden dowels, and were poorest for steel and aluminum rods. A parameter study was performed on the root reinforcement model which showed reinforced soil strength increased with increasing root diameter and soil depth. Output from the root reinforcement model showed a strain incompatibility between large and small diameter roots. The peak

Modeling of geosynthetic reinforced capping systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viswanadham, B.V.S.; Koenig, D.; Jessberger, H.L.

1997-01-01

The investigation deals with the influence of a geosynthetic reinforcement on the deformation behavior and sealing efficiency of the reinforced mineral sealing layer at the onset of non-uniform settlements. The research program is mainly concentrated in studying the influence of reinforcement inclusion in restraining cracks and crack propagation due to soil-geosynthetic bond efficiency. Centrifuge model tests are conducted in the 500 gt capacity balanced beam Bochum geotechnical Centrifuge (Z1) simulating a differential deformation of a mineral sealing layer of a landfill with the help of trap-door arrangement. By comparing the performance of the deformed mineral sealing layer with and without geogrid, the reinforcement ability of the geogrid in controlling the crack propagation and permeability of the mineral swing layer is evaluated

Awareness in Gestalt sex therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosher, D L

1979-01-01

Awareness is conceived to be selective, curative, a method, a prescription for ideal living, and a ground for human existence. In this paper the following gestalt awareness methods are described: continuum of awareness, awareness questions, biobehavioral feedback, directed awareness, concentration, present-centering, taking responsibilty, and shuttles in awareness. The use of these methods is illustrated in a gestalt therapy dialogue. The application of awareness as concept and method to sensate focus and to the treatment of the prematurely ejaculating male is discussed. Shuttles in awareness and the shared continua of awareness are introduced as promising new methods in the treatment of sexual dysfunction and as enhancing sexual pleasure and communion.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2012-02-01

In observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, talks about the HIV/AIDS among African Americans and what steps can be taken on the national, state, local, and individual levels to address this epidemic.  Created: 2/1/2012 by National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).   Date Released: 2/1/2012.

Incarcerated women's HPV awareness, beliefs, and experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Pankey, Tyson; Ramaswamy, Megha

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore incarcerated women's awareness, beliefs, and experiences with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination. Researchers conducted focus groups with 45 incarcerated women in an urban Midwestern US jail to assess how women talked about their Papanicolaou (Pap) test screening and abnormal Pap test follow-up experiences. Some focus group questions specifically assessed individual awareness, beliefs, and experiences with HPV infection and vaccination. Based on these data, the authors described participants' awareness of HPV, as well as used open coding to ultimately extract themes related to beliefs and experiences with HPV infection and vaccine. While all 45 participants reported experiencing an abnormal Pap test event within the last five years, only two-thirds of participants (n=30) reported having heard of the HPV infection. Several themes emerged from the analysis of the data: the women's beliefs about cause and severity of HPV; frustration with age requirements of the vaccine; varied experiences with vaccinations for themselves and their children; the impact of media exposure on knowledge; and desire for more HPV infection and vaccine information. Incarcerated women's awareness and limited experiences with HPV infection and vaccination may be a barrier to adequate screening and cervical cancer prevention. This study has implications for the development of cervical health education for this high-risk group of women, who are four to five times as likely to have cervical cancer as non-incarcerated women.

Geo synthetic-reinforced Pavement systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zornberg, J. G.

2014-01-01

Geo synthetics have been used as reinforcement inclusions to improve pavement performance. while there are clear field evidence of the benefit of using geo synthetic reinforcements, the specific conditions or mechanisms that govern the reinforcement of pavements are, at best, unclear and have remained largely unmeasured. Significant research has been recently conducted with the objectives of: (i) determining the relevant properties of geo synthetics that contribute to the enhanced performance of pavement systems, (ii) developing appropriate analytical, laboratory and field methods capable of quantifying the pavement performance, and (iii) enabling the prediction of pavement performance as a function of the properties of the various types of geo synthetics. (Author)

Awareness and Knowledge of Glaucoma in Central India: A Hospital-Based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Maharana, Prafulla K; Rai, Vaishali G; Pattebahadur, Rajesh; Singhi, Shipra; Chauhan, Ashish K

2017-01-01

To assess the awareness and knowledge of glaucoma among people attending the ophthalmology outpatient department at a tertiary care hospital in central India. A prospective observational study. A questionnaire-based study was conducted, involving persons aged 18 and above attending the ophthalmology outpatient department from October 2014 to September 2015. Data on awareness and knowledge of glaucoma was collected through a face-to-face interview. Fourteen hundred people participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 43 ± 15 years (range, 18-85). The study participants included 53% men and 47% women. Only 27% (n = 380/1400) of the participants were aware of glaucoma. Age, sex, and presence or type of refractive error had no impact on glaucoma awareness. Awareness level was greater in individuals with higher education levels and those belonging to an upper socioeconomic class (SEC). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed significantly higher levels of glaucoma awareness among participants belonging to the upper 2 SECs (P = 0.05) and those educated above the high school level (P = 0.001). The most common source of awareness was close acquaintance with relatives, famly members, and friends of glaucoma patients. Awareness of glaucoma in India is low. Lack of education and lower socioeconomic status are the major risk factors for late preentation of glaucoma. Continuous presence of a low level of awareness and the same factors accounting for it warrants the need for an aggressive and refined approach to increase awareness of glaucoma to prevent glaucoma-related blindness. Copyright 2017 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.

Reinforcement of Conducting Silver-based Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heike JUNG

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Silver is a well-known material in the field of contact materials because of its high electrical and thermal conductivity. However, due to its bad mechanical and switching properties, silver alloys or reinforcements of the ductile silver matrix are required. Different reinforcements, e. g. tungsten, tungsten carbide, nickel, cadmium oxide or tin oxide, are used in different sectors of switches. To reach an optimal distribution of these reinforcements, various manufacturing techniques (e. g. powder blending, preform infiltration, wet-chemical methods, internal oxidation are being used for the production of these contact materials. Each of these manufacturing routes offers different advantages and disadvantages. The mechanical alloying process displays a successful and efficient method to produce particle-reinforced metal-matrix composite powders. This contribution presents the obtained fine disperse microstructure of tungsten-particle-reinforced silver composite powders produced by the mechanical alloying process and displays this technique as possible route to provide feedstock powders for subsequent consolidation processes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.20.3.4889

Coordinated computer-supported collaborative learning: Awareness and awareness tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssen, J.J.H.M.; Bodermer, D.

2013-01-01

Traditionally, research on awareness during online collaboration focused on topics such as the effects of spatial information about group members’ activities on the collaborative process. When the concept of awareness was introduced to computer-supported collaborative learning, this focus shifted to

Predictors of the nicotine reinforcement threshold, compensation, and elasticity of demand in a rodent model of nicotine reduction policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Grebenstein, Patricia E; Burroughs, Danielle; Roiko, Samuel A; Pentel, Paul R; LeSage, Mark G

2015-06-01

The FDA is considering reducing the nicotine content in tobacco products as a population-based strategy to reduce tobacco addiction. Research is needed to determine the threshold level of nicotine needed to maintain smoking and the extent of compensatory smoking that could occur during nicotine reduction. Sources of variability in these measures across sub-populations also need to be identified so that policies can take into account the risks and benefits of nicotine reduction in vulnerable populations. The present study examined these issues in a rodent nicotine self-administration model of nicotine reduction policy to characterize individual differences in nicotine reinforcement thresholds, degree of compensation, and elasticity of demand during progressive reduction of the unit nicotine dose. The ability of individual differences in baseline nicotine intake and nicotine pharmacokinetics to predict responses to dose reduction was also examined. Considerable variability in the reinforcement threshold, compensation, and elasticity of demand was evident. High baseline nicotine intake was not correlated with the reinforcement threshold, but predicted less compensation and less elastic demand. Higher nicotine clearance predicted low reinforcement thresholds, greater compensation, and less elastic demand. Less elastic demand also predicted lower reinforcement thresholds. These findings suggest that baseline nicotine intake, nicotine clearance, and the essential value of nicotine (i.e. elasticity of demand) moderate the effects of progressive nicotine reduction in rats and warrant further study in humans. They also suggest that smokers with fast nicotine metabolism may be more vulnerable to the risks of nicotine reduction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predictors of the nicotine reinforcement threshold, compensation, and elasticity of demand in a rodent model of nicotine reduction policy*

Science.gov (United States)

Grebenstein, Patricia E.; Burroughs, Danielle; Roiko, Samuel A.; Pentel, Paul R.; LeSage, Mark G.

2015-01-01

Background The FDA is considering reducing the nicotine content in tobacco products as a population-based strategy to reduce tobacco addiction. Research is needed to determine the threshold level of nicotine needed to maintain smoking and the extent of compensatory smoking that could occur during nicotine reduction. Sources of variability in these measures across sub-populations also need to be identified so that policies can take into account the risks and benefits of nicotine reduction in vulnerable populations. Methods The present study examined these issues in a rodent nicotine self- administration model of nicotine reduction policy to characterize individual differences in nicotine reinforcement thresholds, degree of compensation, and elasticity of demand during progressive reduction of the unit nicotine dose. The ability of individual differences in baseline nicotine intake and nicotine pharmacokinetics to predict responses to dose reduction was also examined. Results Considerable variability in the reinforcement threshold, compensation, and elasticity of demand was evident. High baseline nicotine intake was not correlated with the reinforcement threshold, but predicted less compensation and less elastic demand. Higher nicotine clearance predicted low reinforcement thresholds, greater compensation, and less elastic demand. Less elastic demand also predicted lower reinforcement thresholds. Conclusions These findings suggest that baseline nicotine intake, nicotine clearance, and the essential value of nicotine (i.e. elasticity of demand) moderate the effects of progressive nicotine reduction in rats and warrant further study in humans. They also suggest that smokers with fast nicotine metabolism may be more vulnerable to the risks of nicotine reduction. PMID:25891231

Asymmetrical reinforcement and Wolbachia infection in Drosophila.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Jaenike

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Reinforcement refers to the evolution of increased mating discrimination against heterospecific individuals in zones of geographic overlap and can be considered a final stage in the speciation process. One the factors that may affect reinforcement is the degree to which hybrid matings result in the permanent loss of genes from a species' gene pool. Matings between females of Drosophila subquinaria and males of D. recens result in high levels of offspring mortality, due to interspecific cytoplasmic incompatibility caused by Wolbachia infection of D. recens. Such hybrid inviability is not manifested in matings between D. recens females and D. subquinaria males. Here we ask whether the asymmetrical hybrid inviability is associated with a corresponding asymmetry in the level of reinforcement. The geographic ranges of D. recens and D. subquinaria were found to overlap across a broad belt of boreal forest in central Canada. Females of D. subquinaria from the zone of sympatry exhibit much stronger levels of discrimination against males of D. recens than do females from allopatric populations. In contrast, such reproductive character displacement is not evident in D. recens, consistent with the expected effects of unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility. Furthermore, there is substantial behavioral isolation within D. subquinaria, because females from populations sympatric with D. recens discriminate against allopatric conspecific males, whereas females from populations allopatric with D. recens show no discrimination against any conspecific males. Patterns of general genetic differentiation among populations are not consistent with patterns of behavioral discrimination, which suggests that the behavioral isolation within D. subquinaria results from selection against mating with Wolbachia-infected D. recens. Interspecific cytoplasmic incompatibility may contribute not only to post-mating isolation, an effect already widely recognized, but also to

Topology optimization of reinforced concrete beams by a spread-over reinforcement model with fixed grid mesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjapon Wethyavivorn

2011-02-01

Full Text Available For this investigation, topology optimization was used as a tool to determine the optimal reinforcement for reinforcedconcrete beam. The topology optimization process was based on a unit finite element cell with layers of concrete and steel.The thickness of the reinforced steel layer of this unit cell was then adjusted when the concrete layer could not carry thetensile or compressive stress. At the same time, unit cells which carried very low stress were eliminated. The process wasperformed iteratively to create a topology of reinforced concrete beam which satisfied design conditions.

A Quantitative Study on Japanese Internet User's Awareness to Information Security: Necessity and Importance of Education and Policy

OpenAIRE

Toshihiko Takemura; Atsushi Umino

2009-01-01

In this paper, the authors examine whether or not there Institute for Information and Communications Policy shows are differences of Japanese Internet users awareness to information security based on individual attributes by using analysis of variance based on non-parametric method. As a result, generally speaking, it is found that Japanese Internet users' awareness to information security is different by individual attributes. Especially, the authors verify that the users who received the in...

Acquisition with partial and continuous reinforcement in pigeon autoshaping.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottlieb, Daniel A

2004-08-01

Contemporary time accumulation models make the unique prediction that acquisition of a conditioned response will be equally rapid with partial and continuous reinforcement, if the time between conditioned stimuli is held constant. To investigate this, acquisition of conditioned responding was examined in pigeon autoshaping under conditions of 100% and 25% reinforcement, holding intertrial interval constant. Contrary to what was predicted, evidence for slowed acquisition in partially reinforced animals was observed with several response measures. However, asymptotic performance was superior with 25% reinforcement. A switching of reinforcement contingencies after initial acquisition did not immediately affect responding. After further sessions, partial reinforcement augmented responding, whereas continuous reinforcement did not, irrespective of an animal's reinforcement history. Subsequent training with a novel stimulus maintained the response patterns. These acquisition results generally support associative, rather than time accumulation, accounts of conditioning.

Brain network response underlying decisions about abstract reinforcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills-Finnerty, Colleen; Hanson, Catherine; Hanson, Stephen Jose

2014-12-01

Decision making studies typically use tasks that involve concrete action-outcome contingencies, in which subjects do something and get something. No studies have addressed decision making involving abstract reinforcers, where there are no action-outcome contingencies and choices are entirely hypothetical. The present study examines these kinds of choices, as well as whether the same biases that exist for concrete reinforcer decisions, specifically framing effects, also apply during abstract reinforcer decisions. We use both General Linear Model as well as Bayes network connectivity analysis using the Independent Multi-sample Greedy Equivalence Search (IMaGES) algorithm to examine network response underlying choices for abstract reinforcers under positive and negative framing. We find for the first time that abstract reinforcer decisions activate the same network of brain regions as concrete reinforcer decisions, including the striatum, insula, anterior cingulate, and VMPFC, results that are further supported via comparison to a meta-analysis of decision making studies. Positive and negative framing activated different parts of this network, with stronger activation in VMPFC during negative framing and in DLPFC during positive, suggesting different decision making pathways depending on frame. These results were further clarified using connectivity analysis, which revealed stronger connections between anterior cingulate, insula, and accumbens during negative framing compared to positive. Taken together, these results suggest that not only do abstract reinforcer decisions rely on the same brain substrates as concrete reinforcers, but that the response underlying framing effects on abstract reinforcers also resemble those for concrete reinforcers, specifically increased limbic system connectivity during negative frames. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-term performance of GFRP reinforcement : technical report.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

Significant research has been performed on glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) concrete reinforcement. : This research has shown that GFRP reinforcement exhibits high strengths, is lightweight, can decrease time of : construction, and is corrosion ...

The effect of concrete strength and reinforcement on toughness of reinforced concrete beams

OpenAIRE

Carneiro, Joaquim A. O.; Jalali, Said; Teixeira, Vasco M. P.; Tomás, M.

2005-01-01

The objective pursued with this work includes the evaluating of the strength and the total energy absorption capacity (toughness) of reinforced concrete beams using different amounts of steel-bar reinforcement. The experimental campaign deals with the evaluation of the threshold load prior collapse, ultimate load and deformation, as well as the beam total energy absorption capacity, using a three point bending test. The beam half span displacement was measured using a displacement transducer,...

Stereotype awareness, self-esteem and psychopathology in people with psychosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Zelst, Catherine; van Nierop, Martine; Oorschot, Margreet; Myin-Germeys, Inez; van Os, Jim; Delespaul, Philippe; Bruggeman, Richard; Cahn, Wiepke; de Haan, Lieuwe; Kahn, René S.; Meijer, Carin J.; Wiersma, Durk

2014-01-01

Stigma is an important environmental risk factor for a variety of outcomes in schizophrenia. In order to understand and remediate its effects, research is required to assess how stigma experiences are processed at the level of the individual. To this end, stereotype awareness (SA) with respect to

First-Year Student Perceptions Related to Leadership Awareness and Influences

Science.gov (United States)

Shehane, Melissa R.; Sturtevant, Kathryn A.; Moore, Lori L.; Dooley, Kim E.

2012-01-01

This study sought to explore first-year college student perceptions related to when they first became aware of leadership and perceived influences on leadership. The study was rooted in the Leadership Identity Development Model (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005). Five purposively selected individuals completing the first…

PERKAM: Personalized Knowledge Awareness Map for Computer Supported Ubiquitous Learning

Science.gov (United States)

El-Bishouty, Moushir M.; Ogata, Hiroaki; Yano, Yoneo

2007-01-01

This paper introduces a ubiquitous computing environment in order to support the learners while doing tasks; this environment is called PERKAM (PERsonalized Knowledge Awareness Map). PERKAM allows the learners to share knowledge, interact, collaborate, and exchange individual experiences. It utilizes the RFID ubiquities technology to detect the…

Concrete cover cracking due to uniform reinforcement corrosion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solgaard, Anders Ole Stubbe; Michel, Alexander; Geiker, Mette Rica

2013-01-01

and reinforcement de-passivation is a frequently used limit state. The present paper investigates an alternative limit state: corrosion-induced cover cracking. Results from numerical simulations of concrete cover cracking due to reinforcement corrosion are presented. The potential additional service life...... is calculated using literature data on corrosion rate and Faraday’s law. The parameters varied comprise reinforcement diameter, concrete cover thickness and concrete material properties, viz. concrete tensile strength and ductility (plain concrete and fibre reinforced concrete). Results obtained from......Service life design (SLD) is an important tool for civil engineers to ensure that the structural integrity and functionality of the structure is not compromised within a given time frame, i.e. the service life. In SLD of reinforced concrete structures, reinforcement corrosion is of major concern...

Determination of residual load-bearing capacity of concrete beams at the operation stage by the strength reinforcement and concrete criterion

OpenAIRE

V.S. Utkin

2015-01-01

An experimental theoretical method was considered for estimating the residual load-bearing capacity of an individual reinforced concrete beam at the operational stage according to the criteria of the working strength and durability of concrete reinforcement compressed zone of the beam. Integrated methods of beam testing and probabilistic methods of random variables definition were used. Ultimate load in the form of interval during the operational phase was accepted as the measure of carr...

Awareness of treatment history in family and friends, and mental health care seeking propensity.

Science.gov (United States)

Thériault, François L; Colman, Ian

2017-04-01

Many adults suffering from mental disorders never receive the care they need. The role of family and friends in overcoming mental health treatment barriers is poorly understood. We investigated the association between awareness of lifetime mental health treatment history in one's family or friends, and likelihood of having recently received mental health care for oneself. Using Canadian Community Health Survey 2012-Mental Health data, we defined care seekers as individuals who talked about mental health issues to at least one health professional in the past 12 months. Seekers were matched to non-seekers based on estimated care seeking propensity, and 1933 matched pairs were created. Reported awareness of lifetime treatment history in family and friends was compared between seekers and non-seekers. There were no differences in the distribution of any confounder of interest between seekers and non-seekers. 73% of seekers were aware of treatment history in family or friends, compared to only 56% of non-seekers (RR 1.3; 95% CI 1.2, 1.3). Awareness of treatment history in family members had nearly identical associations with care seeking as awareness of treatment history in friends. We have found a social clustering of mental health care seeking behavior; individuals who were aware of lifetime treatment history in family or friends were more likely to have recently sought care for themselves. These novel results are consistent with a social learning model of care seeking behavior, and could inform efforts to bridge the current mental health treatment gap.

Quenched Reinforcement Exposed to Fire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hertz, Kristian Dahl

2006-01-01

.0% is seldom found in “slack” (not prestressed) reinforcement, but 2.0% stresses might be relevant for reinforcement in T shaped cross sections and for prestressed structures, where large strains can be applied. All data are provided in a “HOT” condition during a fire and in a “COLD” condition after a fire...

Effect of Lubrication on Sliding Wear of Red Mud Particulate Reinforced Aluminium Alloy 6061

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Panwar

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In present study, Red mud, an industrial waste, has been utilized as a reinforcement material to fabricate Aluminium 6061 matrix based metal matrix composite. Taguchi L18 orthogonal array has been employed for fabrication of composite castings and for conducting the tribological experimentation. ANOVA analysis has been applied to examine the effect of individual parameters such as sliding condition: dry and wet, reinforcement weight fraction, load, speed, and sliding distance on specific wear rate obtained experimentally. It has been found that tensile strength and impact energy increases while elongation decreases, with increasing weight fraction and decrease in particle size of red mud. The percentage contribution of the effect of factors on SWR is Sliding condition (73.17, speed (7.84, percentage reinforcement (7.35, load (5.75, sliding distance (2.24, and particle size (1.25. It has also been observed that specific wear rate is very low in wet condition. However, it decreases with increase in weight fraction of reinforcement, decrease in load and sliding speed. Al6061/red mud metal matrix composites have shown reasonable strength and wear resistance. The use of red mud in Aluminium composite provides the solution for disposal of red mud and can possibly become an economic replacement of Aluminium and its alloys.

Design of reinforced concrete plates and shells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, M.

1984-01-01

Nowadays, the internal forces of reinforced concrete laminar structures can be easily evaluated by the finite element procedures. The longitudinal design in each direction is not adequate, since the whole set of internal forces in each point must be concomitantly considered. The classic formulation for the design and new design charts which bring reduction of the amount of necessary reinforcement are presented. A rational reinforced concrete mathematical theory which makes possible the limit state design of plates and shells is discussed. This model can also be applied to define the constitutive relationships of laminar finite elements of reinforced concrete. (Author) [pt

Effect of steel reinforcement with different degree of corrosion on degeneration of mechanical performance of reinforced concrete frame joints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Xu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Beam-column joints which shoulders high-level and vertical shearing effect that maintains balance of beam and column end is the major component influencing the performance of the whole framework. Post earthquake investigation suggests that collapse of frame structure is induced by failure of joints in most cases. Thus, beam-column joints must have strong bearing capacity and good ductility, and reinforced concrete structure just meets the above requirement. But corrosion caused by long time use of reinforced concrete framework will lead to degeneration of mechanical performance of joints. To find out the rule of effect of steel reinforcement with different corrosion rate on degeneration of bearing capacity of reinforced concrete framework joints, this study made a nonlinear numerical analysis on fifteen models without stirrup in the core area of reinforced concrete frame joints using displacement method considering axial load ratio of column end and constraint condition. This work aims to find out the key factor that influences mechanical performance of joints, thus to provide a basis for repair and reinforcement of degenerated framework joints.

Stability of reinforced cemented backfills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, R.J.; Stone, D.M.

1987-01-01

Mining with backfill has been the subject of several international meetings in recent years and a considerable research effort is being applied to improve both mining economics and ore recovery by using backfill for ground support. Classified mill tailings sands are the most commonly used backfill material but these fine sands must be stabilized before full ore pillar recovery can be achieved. Normal portland cement is generally used for stabilization but the high cost of cement prohibits high cement usage. This paper considers the use of reinforcements in cemented fill to reduce the cement usage. It is concluded that strong cemented layers at typical spacings of about 3 meters in a low cement content bulk fill can reinforce the fill and reduce the overall cement usage. Fibre reinforcements introduced into strong layers or into bulk fills are also known to be effective in reducing cement usage. Some development work is needed to produce the ideal type of anchored fibre in order to realize economic gains from fibre-reinforced fills

Peer Interaction and Social Network Analysis of Online Communities with the Support of Awareness of Different Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jian-Wei; Mai, Li-Jung; Lai, Yung-Cheng

2015-01-01

Although several studies related to social-context awareness (SA) and knowledge-context awareness (KA) argued that each (SA or KA) can individually enhance peer interaction in an online learning community, other studies reached opposite conclusions. These conflicting findings likely stem from different experimental settings. Most importantly, few…

Fatigue Performance of Fiber Reinforced Concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jun, Zhang; Stang, Henrik

1996-01-01

The objective of the present study is to obtain basic data of fibre reinforced concrete under fatigue load and to set up a theoretical model based on micromechanics. In this study, the bridging stress in fiber reinforced concrete under cyclic tensile load was investigted in details. The damage...... mechanism of the interface between fiber and matrix was proposed and a rational model given. Finally, the response of a steel fiber reinforced concrete beam under fatigue loading was predicted based on this model and compared with experimental results....

FTO polymorphisms moderate the association of food reinforcement with energy intake.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheid, Jennifer L; Carr, Katelyn A; Lin, Henry; Fletcher, Kelly D; Sucheston, Lara; Singh, Prashant K; Salis, Robbert; Erbe, Richard W; Faith, Myles S; Allison, David B; Epstein, Leonard H

2014-06-10

Food reinforcement (RRVfood) is related to increased energy intake, cross-sectionally related to obesity, and prospectively related to weight gain. The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is related to elevated body mass index and increased energy intake. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine whether any of 68 FTO single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or a FTO risk score moderate the association between food reinforcement and energy or macronutrient intake. Energy and macronutrient intake was measured using a laboratory ad libitum snack food consumption task in 237 adults of varying BMI. Controlling for BMI, the relative reinforcing value of reading (RRVreading) and proportion of African ancestry, RRVfood predicted 14.2% of the variance in energy intake, as well as predicted carbohydrate, fat, protein and sugar intake. In individual analyses, six FTO SNPs (rs12921970, rs9936768, rs12446047, rs7199716, rs8049933 and rs11076022, spanning approximately 251kbp) moderated the relationship between RRVfood and energy intake to predict an additional 4.9-7.4% of variance in energy intake. We created an FTO risk score based on 5 FTO SNPs (rs9939609, rs8050136, rs3751812, rs1421085, and rs1121980) that are related to BMI in multiple studies. The FTO risk score did not increase variance accounted for beyond individual FTO SNPs. rs12921970 and rs12446047 served as moderators of the relationship between RRVfood and carbohydrate, fat, protein, and sugar intake. This study shows for the first time that the relationship between RRVfood and energy intake is moderated by FTO SNPs. Research is needed to understand how these processes interact to predict energy and macronutrient intake. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strain rate effects on reinforcing steels in tension

Science.gov (United States)

Cadoni, Ezio; Forni, Daniele

2015-09-01

It is unquestionable the fact that a structural system should be able to fulfil the function for which it was created, without being damaged to an extent disproportionate to the cause of damage. In addition, it is an undeniable fact that in reinforced concrete structures under severe dynamic loadings, both concrete and reinforcing bars are subjected to high strain-rates. Although the behavior of the reinforcing steel under high strain rates is of capital importance in the structural assessment under the abovementioned conditions, only the behaviour of concrete has been widely studied. Due to this lack of data on the reinforcing steel under high strain rates, an experimental program on rebar reinforcing steels under high strain rates in tension is running at the DynaMat Laboratory. In this paper a comparison of the behaviour in a wide range of strain-rates of several types of reinforcing steel in tension is presented. Three reinforcing steels, commonly proposed by the European Standards, are compared: B500A, B500B and B500C. Lastly, an evaluation of the most common constitutive laws is performed.

Effect of kenaf fiber in reinforced concrete slab

Science.gov (United States)

Syed Mohsin, S. M.; Baarimah, A. O.; Jokhio, G. A.

2018-04-01

The effect of kenaf fibers in reinforced concrete slab with different thickness is discusses and presented in this paper. Kenaf fiber is a type of natural fiber and is added in the reinforced concrete slab to improve the structure strength and ductility. For this study, three types of mixtures were prepared with fiber volume fraction of 0%, 1% and 2%, respectively. The design compressive strength considered was 20 MPa. Six cubes were prepared to be tested at 7th and 28th day. A total of six reinforced concrete slab with two variances of thickness were also prepared and tested under four-point bending test. The differences in the thickness is to study the potential of kenaf fiber to serve as part of shear reinforcement in reinforced concrete slab that was design to fail in shear. It was observed that, addition of kenaf fiber in reinforced concrete slab improves the flexural strength and ductility of the reinforced concrete slab. In the slab with reduction in thickness, the mode of failure change from brittle to ductile with the inclusion of kenaf fiber.

Influence of reinforcement on strains within maxillary implant overdentures.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Toshihito; Gonda, Tomoya; Maeda, Yoshinobu

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of reinforcement of an embedded cast on the strains within maxillary implant overdentures. A maxillary edentulous model with implants placed bilaterally in the canine positions, dome-shaped copings, and experimental overdentures was fabricated. Rosette-type strain gauges were attached in the canine positions and at three points along the midline of the polished surface of the denture and connected to the sensor interface controlled by a personal computer. Experimental dentures with five different reinforcements were tested: without reinforcement; with a cast cobalt-chrome reinforcement over the residual ridge and the tops of the copings; with the same reinforcement from first molar to first molar, over the residual ridge and the tops of the copings; with the same reinforcement over the residual ridge and the sides of the copings; and with the same reinforcement from first molar to first molar, over the residual ridge and the sides of the copings. A vertical occlusal load of 49 N was applied to the first premolar and then to the first molar, and the strains were measured and compared by analysis of variance. In both loading situations, significantly less strain was recorded in dentures with reinforcement than in those without reinforcement. When the first premolar was loaded on dentures with and without palatal reinforcement at the first premolars, the strains on the denture with reinforcement over the tops of the copings were significantly lower than on the denture with reinforcement over the sides of the copings at the canine position. Cast reinforcement over the residual ridge and the top of copings embedded in an acrylic base reduced the strain from occlusal stress on maxillary implant overdentures.

Attention without awareness: Attentional modulation of perceptual grouping without awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Shih-Yu

2018-04-01

Perceptual grouping is the process through which the perceptual system combines local stimuli into a more global perceptual unit. Previous studies have shown attention to be a modulatory factor for perceptual grouping. However, these studies mainly used explicit measurements, and, thus, whether attention can modulate perceptual grouping without awareness is still relatively unexplored. To clarify the relationship between attention and perceptual grouping, the present study aims to explore how attention interacts with perceptual grouping without awareness. The task was to judge the relative lengths of two centrally presented horizontal bars while a railway-shaped pattern defined by color similarity was presented in the background. Although the observers were unaware of the railway-shaped pattern, their line-length judgment was biased by that pattern, which induced a Ponzo illusion, indicating grouping without awareness. More importantly, an attentional modulatory effect without awareness was manifested as evident by the observer's performance being more often biased when the railway-shaped pattern was formed by an attended color than when it was formed by an unattended one. Also, the attentional modulation effect was shown to be dynamic, being more pronounced with a short presentation time than a longer one. The results of the present study not only clarify the relationship between attention and perceptual grouping but also further contribute to our understanding of attention and awareness by corroborating the dissociation between attention and awareness.

Review of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforced Material in Concrete Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayuddin Ayuddin

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP is a material that is lightweight, strong, anti-magnetic and corrosion resistant. This material can be used as an option to replace the steel material in concrete construction or as material to improve the strength of existing construction. CFRP is quite easy to be attached to the concrete structure and proved economically used as a material for repairing damaged structures and increase the resilience of structural beams, columns, bridges and other parts of the structure against earthquakes. CFRP materials can be shaped sheet to be attached to the concrete surface. Another reason is due to the use of CFRP has a higher ultimate strength and lower weight compared to steel reinforcement so that the handling is significantly easier. Through this paper suggests that CFRP materials can be applied to concrete structures, especially on concrete columns. Through the results of experiments conducted proved that the concrete columns externally wrapped with CFRP materials can increase the strength. This treatment is obtained after testing experiments on 130 mm diameter column with a height of 700 mm with concentric loading method to collapse. The experimental results indicate that a column is wrapped externally with CFRP materials can achieve a load capacity of 250 kN compared to the concrete columns externally without CFRP material which only reached 150 kN. If the column is given internally reinforcing steel and given externally CFRP materials can reach 270 kN. It shows that CFRP materials can be used for concrete structures can even replace reinforcing steel that has been widely used in building construction in Indonesia.

Modelling of Situation Awareness with Perception, Attention, and Prior and Retrospective Awareness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thilakarathne, D.J.

2015-01-01

Human awareness under different circumstances is complex and non-trivial to understand. Nevertheless, due to the importance of awareness for safety and efficiency in many domains (e.g.; the aviation domain), it is necessary to study the processes behind situation awareness, to eliminate possible

Awareness and knowledge about human papillomavirus among high school students in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Shuang-yang; Liu, Zhi-hua; Li, Le; Cai, Heng-ling; Wan, Yan-ping

2014-01-01

To investigate awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among high school students and to provide a basis for health education on HPV infection for high school students in China. A questionnaire on HPV awareness and knowledge was administered to 900 high school students in Xiangtan City of Hunan Province in China by layer cluster sampling. A total of 848 anonymous valid questionnaires were received from volunteers who completed the questionnaire correctly. Only 10.1% had heard of HPV, and of those only 18.6% knew that HPV could lead to cervical cancer. Single factor analysis indicated that home address, age, grade, academic achievement, sex history, gender, father's education level and mother's education level were impact factors for HPV knowledge of high school students. Multiple regression analysis showed 4 independent risk factors associated with HPV knowledge: academic achievement, sex history, gender, and mother's education level. The limited knowledge came primarily from television and radio broadcasts (59.3%), the Internet (57.0%), parents (25.6%), medical workers (20.9%), and teachers (18.6%). High school students lack HPV knowledge, which is affected by multiple factors. Targeted health education of all sorts must be provided. Both schools and families are responsible for reinforcing HPV education provided to high school students.

The neural basis of attaining conscious awareness of sad mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Ryan; Braden, B Blair; Chen, Kewei; Ponce, Francisco A; Lane, Richard D; Baxter, Leslie C

2015-09-01

The neural processes associated with becoming aware of sad mood are not fully understood. We examined the dynamic process of becoming aware of sad mood and recovery from sad mood. Sixteen healthy subjects underwent fMRI while participating in a sadness induction task designed to allow for variable mood induction times. Individualized regressors linearly modeled the time periods during the attainment of self-reported sad and baseline "neutral" mood states, and the validity of the linearity assumption was further tested using independent component analysis. During sadness induction the dorsomedial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices, and anterior insula exhibited a linear increase in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal until subjects became aware of a sad mood and then a subsequent linear decrease as subjects transitioned from sadness back to the non-sadness baseline condition. These findings extend understanding of the neural basis of conscious emotional experience.

Phonological Awareness and Reading in Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

Adlof, Suzanne M.; Klusek, Jessica; Shinkareva, Svetlana V.; Robinson, Marissa L.; Roberts, Jane E.

2015-01-01

Background: Reading delays are well documented in children with fragile X syndrome (FXS), but few studies have examined linguistic precursors of reading in this population. This study examined the longitudinal development of phonological awareness and its relationship with basic reading in boys with FXS. Individual differences in genetic,…

The stranded individualizer under compressed modernity: South Korean women in individualization without individualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Kyung-Sup, Chang; Min-Young, Song

2010-09-01

South Korean families have functioned as a highly effective receptacle for the country's highly compressed conditions of modernity and late modernity. It is as much due to the success of South Korean families as an engine of compressed modernity as due to their failure that they have become functionally overloaded and socially risk-ridden. Such familial burdens and risks are particularly onerous to South Korean women because of the fundamentally gender-based structure of family relations and duties that has in part been recycled from the Confucian past and in part manufactured under industrial capitalism. Under these complicated conditions, South Korean women have had to dramatically restructure their family relations and duties as well as their individual life choices. Furthermore, under the most recent condition of what Beck calls second modernity, other institutions of modernity, such as the state, industrial economy, firms, unions, schools, and welfare systems, have become increasingly ineffective in helping to alleviate such (gender-based) familial burdens and dilemmas. As a result South Korean women have experienced dramatic changes in marriage patterns, fertility, family relations, etc. South Korean women's individualization has thereby taken place primarily as a matter of practicality rather than ideational change. A brief analysis of the situation in the neighbouring societies of Japan and Taiwan reinforces the conclusion that individualization without individualism, particularly among women, is a region-wide phenomenon in East Asia. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2010.

Depression, Activity, and Evaluation of Reinforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Hammen, Constance L.; Glass, David R., Jr.

1975-01-01

This research attempted to find the causal relation between mood and level of reinforcement. An effort was made to learn what mood change might occur if depressed subjects increased their levels of participation in reinforcing activities. (Author/RK)

The genetics of speciation by reinforcement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Reinforcement occurs when natural selection strengthens behavioral discrimination to prevent costly interspecies matings, such as when matings produce sterile hybrids. This evolutionary process can complete speciation, thereby providing a direct link between Darwin's theory of natural selection and the origin of new species. Here, by examining a case of speciation by reinforcement in Drosophila,we present the first high-resolution genetic study of variation within species for female mating discrimination that is enhanced by natural selection. We show that reinforced mating discrimination is inherited as a dominant trait, exhibits variability within species, and may be influenced by a known set of candidate genes involved in olfaction. Our results show that the genetics of reinforced mating discrimination is different from the genetics of mating discrimination between species, suggesting that overall mating discrimination might be a composite phenomenon, which in Drosophila could involve both auditory and olfactory cues. Examining the genetics of reinforcement provides a unique opportunity for both understanding the origin of new species in the face of gene flow and identifying the genetic basis of adaptive female species preferences, two major gaps in our understanding of speciation.

Experimental investigation of the relation between damage at the concrete-steel interface and initiation of reinforcement corrosion in plain and fibre reinforced concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michel, Alexander; Solgaard, Anders Ole Stubbe; Pease, Bradley Justin

2013-01-01

Cracks in covering concrete are known to hasten initiation of steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. To minimise the impact of cracks on the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, current approaches in (inter)national design codes often limit the concrete surface crack width....... Recent investigations however, indicate that the concrete-reinforcement interfacial condition is a more fundamental criterion related to reinforcement corrosion. This work investigates the relation between macroscopic damage at the concrete-steel interface and corrosion initiation of reinforcement...... embedded in plain and fibre reinforced concrete. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results indicate a strong correlation between corrosion initiation and interfacial condition....

Environmental Durability of Reinforced Concrete Deck Girders Strengthened for Shear with Surface-Bonded Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-01

"This research investigated the durability of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRP) used for shear strengthening reinforced concrete deck girders. Large beams were used to avoid accounting for size effects in the data analysis. The effort...

Seismic Stability of Reinforced Soil Slopes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tzavara, I.; Zania, Varvara; Tsompanakis, Y.

2012-01-01

Over recent decades increased research interest has been observed on the dynamic response and stability issues of earth walls and reinforced soil structures. The current study aims to provide an insight into the dynamic response of reinforced soil structures and the potential of the geosynthetics...... to prevent the development of slope instability taking advantage of their reinforcing effect. For this purpose, a onedimensional (SDOF) model, based on Newmark’s sliding block model as well as a two-dimensional (plane-strain) dynamic finite-element analyses are conducted in order to investigate the impact...

Reinforcement of RC structure by carbon fibers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kissi B.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, rehabilitation has been the subject of extensive research due to the increased spending on building maintenance work and restoration of built works. In all cases, it is essential to carry out methods of reinforcement or maintenance of structural elements, following an inspection analysis and methodology of a correct diagnosis. This research focuses on the calculation of the necessary reinforcement sections of carbon fiber for structural elements with reinforced concrete in order to improve their load bearing capacity and rigidity. The different results obtained reveal a considerable gain in resistance and deformation capacity of reinforced sections without significant increase in the weight of the rehabilitated elements.

Methodology of shell structure reinforcement layout optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Szafrański, Tomasz; Małachowski, Jerzy; Damaziak, Krzysztof

2018-01-01

This paper presents an optimization process of a reinforced shell diffuser intended for a small wind turbine (rated power of 3 kW). The diffuser structure consists of multiple reinforcement and metal skin. This kind of structure is suitable for optimization in terms of selection of reinforcement density, stringers cross sections, sheet thickness, etc. The optimisation approach assumes the reduction of the amount of work to be done between the optimization process and the final product design. The proposed optimization methodology is based on application of a genetic algorithm to generate the optimal reinforcement layout. The obtained results are the basis for modifying the existing Small Wind Turbine (SWT) design.

Tuning perception: Visual working memory biases the quality of visual awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Salahub, Christine M; Emrich, Stephen M

2016-12-01

Studies of consciousness reveal that it is possible to manipulate subjective awareness of a visual stimulus. For example, items held in visual working memory (VWM) that match target features increase the speed with which the target reaches visual awareness. To examine the effect of VWM on perception, previous studies have mainly used coarse measures of awareness, such as present/absent or forced-choice judgments. These methods can reveal whether or not an individual has seen an item, but they do not provide information about the quality with which the item was seen. Using continuous report methods it has been shown that the fidelity of a perceived item can be affected by whether or not that item is masked. In the present study, we used an object-substitution masking task to examine whether items held in VWM would influence the quality with which a masked target reached awareness, or whether the threshold for awareness was instead affected by stimuli held in memory. We observed that targets matching the contents of VWM were recalled with greater precision compared to items that did not match the contents of VWM. Importantly, this effect occurred without affecting the likelihood of the target being perceived. These results suggest that VWM plays a greater role in modulating the fidelity of perceived representations than in lowering the overall threshold of awareness.

Awareness of the association between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcome among the general female population.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarannum, Fouzia; Prasad, R K Shiva; Shobha, R; Kumar, B B Santosh; Ebenezer, Supriya

2015-01-01

Preterm low birth weight (PTLBW) is a public health issue which needs to be dealt with by educating the general female population. One of the major contributing factors is periodontal disease and treatment of the same could reduce the occurrence of PTLBW babies. Therefore, awareness of this among the female population is highly essential. Hence, this survey was planned with the aim to explore the awareness of the general female population regarding the association of periodontal disease and PTLBW. This survey consisted of nine close-ended questions answered by 1284 females. Younger individuals had higher knowledge scores as compared to the older individuals (r = -0.161) and the more educated group had a higher knowledge score as compared to the less educated groups (r = 0.322). Furthermore, married women seemed to be more aware of the relation of PTLBW to periodontal disease as compared to unmarried women. Younger and educated females had better awareness of the association between periodontal diseases and PTLBW. Hence, efforts to educate the general female population on this association could contribute toward the reduction of the risk of PTLBW.

What motivates individuals with ADHD? : A qualitative analysis from the adolescent's point of view

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morsink, S.; Sonuga-Barke, E.; Mies, G.; Glorie, N.; Lemiere, J.; Van der Oord, S.; Danckaerts, M.

Individuals with ADHD appear to respond differently to incentives than their peers. This could be due to a general altered sensitivity to reinforcers. However, apart from differences in the degree of motivation, individuals with ADHD might also be motivated by qualitatively different factors. This

What motivates individuals with ADHD? A qualitative analysis from the adolescent's point of view

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morsink, S.; Sonuga-Barke, E.J.S.; Mies, G.W.; Glorie, N.; Lemiere, J.; Oord, S. van der; Danckaerts, M.

2017-01-01

Individuals with ADHD appear to respond differently to incentives than their peers. This could be due to a general altered sensitivity to reinforcers. However, apart from differences in the degree of motivation, individuals with ADHD might also be motivated by qualitatively different factors. This

Awareness, knowledge, and attitude of patients toward dental implants - A questionnaire-based prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosadurga, Rajesh; Shanti, Tenneti; Hegde, Shashikanth; Kashyap, Rajesh Shankar; Arunkumar, Suryanarayan Maiya

2017-01-01

In developing nations like India awareness and education about dental implants as a treatment modality is still scanty. The study was conducted to determine the awareness, knowledge, and attitude of patients toward dental implants as a treatment modality among the general population and to assess the influence of personality characteristics on accepting dental implants as a treatment modality in general and as well as treatment group. A structured questionnaire-based survey was conducted on 500 randomly selected participants attending the outpatient department. The study was conducted in 2 parts. In the first part of the study, level of awareness, knowledge, and attitude was assessed. In the second part of the study, interactive educational sessions using audiovisual aids were conducted following which a retest was conducted. The participants who agreed to undergo implant treatment were followed up to assess their change in attitude towards dental implants posttreatment. Thus pain, anxiety, functional, and esthetic benefits were measured using visual analog scale. They were further followed up for 1 year to reassess awareness, knowledge, and attitude towards dental implants. A total of 450 individuals completed the questionnaires. Only 106 individuals agreed to participate in the educational sessions and 83 individuals took the retest. Out of these, only 39 individuals chose implants as a treatment option. A significant improvement in the level of information, subjective and objective need for information, was noted after 1 year. In this study, a severe deficit in level of information, subjective and objective need for information towards, dental implants as a treatment modality was noted. In the treatment group, a significant improvement in perception of dental implant as a treatment modality suggests that professionally imparted knowledge can bring about a change in the attitude.

The effects of field dependent/independent style awareness on learning strategies and outcomes in an instructional hypermedia module

Science.gov (United States)

Fyle, Clifford Omodele

The purpose of this study was to examine whether field-dependent/independent style awareness affects learning outcomes and learning strategies used in a hypermedia instructional module. Field-dependent/independent style was measured using the Global Embedded Figures Test. Style awareness meant that students were provided with information and explanations about their individual cognitive styles and the learning strategies that accommodate those styles. The study entailed examining students' achievement in a multiple-choice test and performance in a design task, and also their navigation patterns as they studied a science-oriented Webquest. The sample consisted of 149 eighth-grade students in 10 sections of a science class taught by two teachers in a public middle school. A two-group posttest-only design on one factor (style awareness) was used. Sixty-eight students in five sections of the class were assigned to the treatment group (field dependent/independent style awareness) while the other 81 students in five sections were assigned to the control group (no field dependent/independent style awareness). The study took place over a period of 6 days. On the first day, students in the treatment group were first tested and debriefed on their individual styles. Next, all students in both the treatment and control groups studied the hypermedia instructional module (Webquest) over a period of two days. On the fourth and fifth days students worked on the performance tasks, and on the sixth day students took the multiple-choice test and students in the control group were tested and debriefed on their individual styles. The findings indicate that style awareness significantly influenced the learning strategies of field-dependent students as they studied and carried out learning tasks in the Webquest. Field-dependent students with style awareness used hypertext links and navigated the menu sequentially a greater number of times than their counterparts with no style awareness

Designing Privacy-aware Internet of Things Applications

OpenAIRE

Perera, Charith; Barhamgi, Mahmoud; Bandara, Arosha K.; Ajmal, Muhammad; Price, Blaine; Nuseibeh, Bashar

2017-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) applications typically collect and analyse personal data that can be used to derive sensitive information about individuals. However, thus far, privacy concerns have not been explicitly considered in software engineering processes when designing IoT applications. In this paper, we explore how a Privacy-by-Design (PbD) framework, formulated as a set of guidelines, can help software engineers to design privacy-aware IoT applications. We studied the utility of our propos...

Behaviour of concrete beams reinforced withFRP prestressed concrete prisms

Science.gov (United States)

Svecova, Dagmar

The use of fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) to reinforce concrete is gaining acceptance. However, due to the relatively low modulus of FRP, in comparison to steel, such structures may, if sufficient amount of reinforcement is not used, suffer from large deformations and wide cracks. FRP is generally more suited for prestressing. Since it is not feasible to prestress all concrete structures to eliminate the large deflections of FRP reinforced concrete flexural members, researchers are focusing on other strategies. A simple method for avoiding excessive deflections is to provide sufficiently high amount of FRP reinforcement to limit its stress (strain) to acceptable levels under service loads. This approach will not be able to take advantage of the high strength of FRP and will be generally uneconomical. The current investigation focuses on the feasibility of an alternative strategy. This thesis deals with the flexural and shear behaviour of concrete beams reinforced with FRP prestressed concrete prisms. FRP prestressed concrete prisms (PCP) are new reinforcing bars, made by pretensioning FRP and embedding it in high strength grout/concrete. The purpose of the research is to investigate the feasibility of using such pretensioned rebars, and their effect on the flexural and shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beams over the entire loading range. Due to the prestress in the prisms, deflection of concrete beams reinforced with this product is substantially reduced, and is comparable to similarly steel reinforced beams. The thesis comprises both theoretical and experimental investigations. In the experimental part, nine beams reinforced with FRP prestressed concrete prisms, and two companion beams, one steel and one FRP reinforced were tested. All the beams were designed to carry the same ultimate moment. Excellent flexural and shear behaviour of beams reinforced with higher prestressed prisms is reported. When comparing deflections of three beams designed to have the

A conditioned reinforcer did not help to maintain an operant conditioning in the absence of a primary reinforcer in horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lansade, Léa; Calandreau, Ludovic

2018-01-01

The use of conditioned reinforcers is increasingly promoted in animal training. Surprisingly, the efficiency of their use remains to be demonstrated in horses. This study aimed to determine whether an auditory signal which had previously been associated with a food reward 288 times could be used as a conditioned reinforcer to replace the primary reinforcer in an unrelated operant conditioning procedure. Fourteen horses were divided into two groups of 7: No Reinforcement (NR) and Conditioned Reinforcement (CR). All horses underwent nine sessions of Pavlovian conditioning during which the word "good" was associated with food (32 associations/session). The horses then followed five sessions of operant conditioning (30 trials/session) during which they had to touch a cone signaled by an experimenter to receive a food reward. The last day, horses underwent one test session of the operant response: no reward was given, but the word "good" was said each time a CR horse touched the cone. Nothing was said in the NR group. CR horses did not achieve more correct trials than NR horses during the test. These findings again show that the conditioned reinforcement was ineffective when used instead of the primary reinforcement to maintain conditioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relating Pitch Awareness to Phonemic Awareness in Children: Implications for Tone-Deafness and Dyslexia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Psyche eLoui

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Language and music are complex cognitive and neural functions that rely on awareness of one’s own sound productions. Information on the awareness of vocal pitch, and its relation to phonemic awareness which is crucial for learning to read, will be important for understanding the relationship between tone-deafness and developmental language disorders such as dyslexia. Here we show that phonemic awareness skills are positively correlated with pitch perception-production skills in children. Children between the ages of 7 and 9 were tested on pitch perception and production, phonemic awareness, and IQ. Results showed a significant positive correlation between pitch perception-production and phonemic awareness, suggesting that the relationship between musical and linguistic sound processing is intimately linked to awareness at the level of pitch and phonemes. Since tone-deafness is a pitch-related impairment and dyslexia is a deficit of phonemic awareness, we suggest that dyslexia and tone-deafness may have a shared and/or common neural basis.

Design aid for shear strengthening of reinforced concrete T-joints using carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites

Science.gov (United States)

Gergely, Ioan

The research presented in the present work focuses on the shear strengthening of beam column joints using carbon fiber composites, a material considered in seismic retrofit in recent years more than any other new material. These composites, or fiber reinforced polymers, offer huge advantages over structural steel reinforced concrete or timber. A few of these advantages are the superior resistance to corrosion, high stiffness to weight and strength to weight ratios, and the ability to control the material's behavior by selecting the orientation of the fibers. The design and field application research on reinforced concrete cap beam-column joints includes analytical investigations using pushover analysis; design of carbon fiber layout, experimental tests and field applications. Several beam column joints have been tested recently with design variables as the type of composite system, fiber orientation and the width of carbon fiber sheets. The surface preparation has been found to be critical for the bond between concrete and composite material, which is the most important factor in joint shear strengthening. The final goal of this thesis is to develop design aids for retrofitting reinforced concrete beam column joints. Two bridge bents were tested on the Interstate-15 corridor. One bent was tested in the as-is condition. Carbon fiber reinforced plastic composite sheets were used to externally reinforce the second bridge bent. By applying the composite, the displacement ductility has been doubled, and the bent overall lateral load capacity has been increased as well. The finite element model (using DRAIN-2DX) was calibrated to model the actual stiffness of the supports. The results were similar to the experimental findings.

Inner body and outward appearance: the relationships between appearance orientation, eating disorder symptoms, and internal body awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Spoor, Sonja T P; Bekker, Marrie H J; Van Heck, Guus L; Croon, Marcel A; Van Strien, Tatjana

2005-01-01

This study investigated the associations of appearance orientation and eating disorder symptoms with internal body awareness in an eating-disordered group of women and a general sample of women. In the eating-disordered group, appearance orientation was positively associated with internal body awareness. Eating disorders symptoms were negatively related to the awareness of bodily signals. No significant associations were found in the general sample of women. The results indicate that in eating-disordered individuals preoccupation with the body and eating-disordered behaviors are not only negatively associated with hunger, but with awareness of other bodily signals as well.

Predictors of public climate change awareness and risk perception around the world

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tien Ming; Markowitz, Ezra M.; Howe, Peter D.; Ko, Chia-Ying; Leiserowitz, Anthony A.

2015-11-01

Climate change is a threat to human societies and natural ecosystems, yet public opinion research finds that public awareness and concern vary greatly. Here, using an unprecedented survey of 119 countries, we determine the relative influence of socio-demographic characteristics, geography, perceived well-being, and beliefs on public climate change awareness and risk perceptions at national scales. Worldwide, educational attainment is the single strongest predictor of climate change awareness. Understanding the anthropogenic cause of climate change is the strongest predictor of climate change risk perceptions, particularly in Latin America and Europe, whereas perception of local temperature change is the strongest predictor in many African and Asian countries. However, other key factors associated with public awareness and risk perceptions highlight the need to develop tailored climate communication strategies for individual nations. The results suggest that improving basic education, climate literacy, and public understanding of the local dimensions of climate change are vital to public engagement and support for climate action.

Thermal Stress Awareness, Self-Study #18649

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chochoms, Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-11-15

Thermal stresses can expose individuals to a variety of health hazards at work, home, and play. Every year thermal stresses cause severe injuries and death to a large range of people, from elderly people in cities during summer heat waves to young people engaged in winter mountaineering. Awareness is the key to preventing the health hazards associated with thermal stresses. This course is designed for personnel at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). It addresses both heat and cold stresses and discusses their factors, signs and symptoms, treatments, and controls.

STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF DEGRADED REINFORCED CONCRETE MEMBERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braverman, J.I.; Miller, C.A.; Ellingwood, B.R.; Naus, D.J.; Hofmayer, C.H.; Bezler, P.; Chang, T.Y.

2001-01-01

This paper describes the results of a study to evaluate, in probabilistic terms, the effects of age-related degradation on the structural performance of reinforced concrete members at nuclear power plants. The paper focuses on degradation of reinforced concrete flexural members and shear walls due to the loss of steel reinforcing area and loss of concrete area (cracking/spalling). Loss of steel area is typically caused by corrosion while cracking and spalling can be caused by corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw, or aggressive chemical attack. Structural performance in the presence of uncertainties is depicted by a fragility (or conditional probability of failure). The effects of degradation on the fragility of reinforced concrete members are calculated to assess the potential significance of various levels of degradation. The fragility modeling procedures applied to degraded concrete members can be used to assess the effects of degradation on plant risk and can lead to the development of probability-based degradation acceptance limits

Laboratory Assessment of Select Methods of Corrosion Control and Repair in Reinforced Concrete Bridges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew D. Pritzl

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Fourteen reinforced concrete laboratory test specimens were used to evaluate a number of corrosion control (CoC procedures to prolong the life of patch repairs in corrosion-damaged reinforced concrete. These specimens included layered mixed-in chlorides to represent chloride contamination due to deicing salts. All specimens were exposed to accelerated corrosion testing for three months, subjected to patch repairs with various treatments, and further subjected to additional three months of exposure to accelerated corrosion. The use of thermal sprayed zinc, galvanic embedded anodes, epoxy/polyurethane coating, acrylic coating, and an epoxy patch repair material was evaluated individually or in combination. The specimens were assessed with respect to corrosion currents (estimated mass loss, chloride ingress, surface rust staining, and corrosion of the reinforcing steel observed after dissection. Results indicated that when used in patch repair applications, the embedded galvanic anode with top surface coating, galvanic thermal sprayed zinc, and galvanic thermal sprayed zinc with surface coating were more effective in controlling corrosion than the other treatments tested.

Mechanical characterization and structural analysis of recycled fiber-reinforced-polymer resin-transfer-molded beams

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Eugene Wie Loon

1999-09-01

The present investigation was focussed on the mechanical characterization and structural analysis of resin-transfer-molded beams containing recycled fiber-reinforced polymers. The beams were structurally reinforced with continuous unidirectional glass fibers. The reinforcing filler materials consisted entirely of recycled fiber-reinforced polymer wastes (trim and overspray). The principal resin was a 100-percent dicyclo-pentadiene unsaturated polyester specially formulated with very low viscosity for resin transfer molding. Variations of the resin transfer molding technique were employed to produce specimens for material characterization. The basic materials that constituted the structural beams, continuous-glass-fiber-reinforced, recycled-trim-filled and recycled-overspray-filled unsaturated polyesters, were fully characterized in axial and transverse compression and tension, and inplane and interlaminar shear, to ascertain their strengths, ultimate strains, elastic moduli and Poisson's ratios. Experimentally determined mechanical properties of the recycled-trim-filled and recycled-overspray-filled materials from the present investigation were superior to those of unsaturated polyester polymer concretes and Portland cement concretes. Mechanical testing and finite element analyses of flexure (1 x 1 x 20 in) and beam (2 x 4 x 40 in) specimens were conducted. These structurally-reinforced specimens were tested and analyzed in four-point, third-point flexure to determine their ultimate loads, maximum fiber stresses and mid-span deflections. The experimentally determined load capacities of these specimens were compared to those of equivalent steel-reinforced Portland cement concrete beams computed using reinforced concrete theory. Mechanics of materials beam theory was utilized to predict the ultimate loads and mid-span deflections of the flexure and beam specimens. However, these predictions proved to be severely inadequate. Finite element (fracture propagation

Limit analysis of solid reinforced concrete structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kasper Paaske

2009-01-01

Recent studies have shown that Semidefinite Programming (SDP) can be used effectively for limit analysis of isotropic cohesive-frictional continuums using the classical Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. In this paper we expand on this previous research by adding reinforcement to the model and a solid...... reinforcement and it is therefore possible to analyze structures with complex reinforcement layouts. Tests are conducted to validate the method against well-known analytical solutions....

Status of Social Engineering Awareness in Business Organizations and Colleges/Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Hauser, Deanna Mae

2017-01-01

Social engineers manipulate individuals into divulging confidential information or compromising personal or organizational security. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the potential lack of social engineering awareness that affects employees at companies in southeastern Michigan. The research method consisted of interviews…

Developing Cultural Awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İsmail Fırat Altay

2005-04-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at emphasizing the issue of teaching of culture in foreign languageteaching. In this respect, the reasons of teaching culture in foreign language classes arefocused on initially. So, the justifications of teaching culture are considered and explainedand by the help of a dialogue. Right after this, ways of developing cultural awareness is takeninto account. At this step, types of courses to develop cultural awareness are dealt with.Developing cultural awareness in class is another aspect to handle. Besides, ways ofdeveloping cultural awareness outside the class are worked on. Whether there are dangers ofusing culture in foreign language class is explained in dangers and problems part. In theconclusion, ideas of the writer on the subject as final remarks are clarified.

Reinforced flexural elements for TEMP-STRESS Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchertas, A.H.; Kennedy, J.M.; Pfeiffer, P.A.

1987-06-01

The implementation of reinforced flexural elements into the thermal-mechanical finite element program TEMP-STRESS is described. With explicit temporal integration and dynamic relaxation capabilities in the program, the flexural elements provide an efficient method for the treatment of reinforced structures subjected to transient and static loads. The capability of the computer program is illustrated by the solution of several examples: the simulation of a reinforced concrete beam; simulations of a reinforced concrete containment shell which is subjected to internal pressurization, thermal gradients through the walls, and transient pressure loads. The results of this analysis are relevant in the structural design/safety evaluations of typical reactor containment structures. 22 refs., 13 figs

Reinforcement learning modulates the stability of cognitive control settings for object selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony William Sali

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Cognitive flexibility reflects both a trait that reliably differs between individuals and a state that can fluctuate moment-to-moment. Whether individuals can undergo persistent changes in cognitive flexibility as a result of reward learning is less understood. Here, we investigated whether reinforcing a periodic shift in an object selection strategy can make an individual more prone to switch strategies in a subsequent unrelated task. Participants completed two different choice tasks in which they selected one of four objects in an attempt to obtain a hidden reward on each trial. During a training phase, objects were defined by color. Participants received either consistent reward contingencies in which one color was more often rewarded, or contingencies in which the color that was more often rewarded changed periodically and without warning. Following the training phase, all participants completed a test phase in which reward contingencies were defined by spatial location and the location that was more often rewarded remained constant across the entire task. Those participants who received inconsistent contingencies during training continued to make more variable selections during the test phase in comparison to those who received the consistent training. Furthermore, a difference in the likelihood to switch selections on a trial-by-trial basis emerged between training groups: participants who received consistent contingencies during training were less likely to switch object selections following an unrewarded trial and more likely to repeat a selection following reward. Our findings provide evidence that the extent to which priority shifting is reinforced modulates the stability of cognitive control settings in a persistent manner, such that individuals become generally more or less prone to shifting priorities in the future.

Reinforcement Corrosion: Numerical Simulation and Service Life Prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michel, Alexander

defects and b) define the end of service life once reinforcement corrosion is initiated neglecting corrosion processes during the propagation stage. The goal of this work was to develop a framework for the service life prediction of reinforced concrete covering initiation and propagation of chloride......Modelling of deterioration processes in concrete structures plays an increasing role in the design of reinforced concrete structures. Large sums are spent every year to ensure the durability of concrete structures, especially towards reinforcement corrosion. Improved durability provides increased...... structural reliability, economical improvements in form of less need for maintenance and repair as well as increased sustainability due to an increased energy and resource efficiency. Several service life prediction models dealing with reinforcement corrosion in concrete structurescan be found...

A shell approach for fibrous reinforcement forming simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, B.; Colmars, J.; Boisse, P.

2018-05-01

Because of the slippage between fibers, the basic assumptions of classical plate and shell theories are not verified by fiber reinforcement during a forming. However, simulations of reinforcement forming use shell finite elements when wrinkles development is important. A shell formulation is proposed for the forming simulations of continuous fiber reinforcements. The large tensile stiffness leads to the quasi inextensibility in the fiber directions. The fiber bending stiffness determines the curvature of the reinforcement. The calculation of tensile and bending virtual works are based on the precise geometry of the single fiber. Simulations and experiments are compared for different reinforcements. It is shown that the proposed fibrous shell approach not only correctly simulates the deflections but also the rotations of the through thickness material normals.

FESTIVE FOOD BRANDS AWARENESS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE ON ROMANIAN MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Catalina Timiras

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper are presented some of the results obtained through an exploratory research carried out in the month of April 2016 on a sample of 100 students from the Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau, referring to awareness of festive food brands on the Romanian market. Festive products have special sensory properties designed to especially satisfy gastronomic indulgence and not nutritional needs of individuals. Thus, we studied a number of categories covering mainly food products for the pleasure of eating, namely: confectionery, coffee, tea, chips and snacks, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. Thus there are shown brands that enjoy the highest spontaneous awareness in the investigated sample, young people undergoing investigation being asked to indicate the top 3 brands that come to mind for various product categories investigated. The study shows both the brands which enjoy the highest top of mind awareness and those brands which were nominated by most respondents among the top three of which they remember.

Interference-Aware Radio Resource Management for Local Area Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ribeiro CássioB

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Interference-aware multiple access is an enabler to cost-efficient and reliable high data-rate local area wireless access. In this paper, we propose an interference-aware radio resource management scheme where receivers inform about their throughput, interference, and signal levels by means of broadcast messages tied to data reception. In the proposed scheme, the conventional scheduler is extended to interference-aware operation where individual scheduling decisions are based on estimated change in system-level performance. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated in system simulations where it is compared to a conventional scheduler and a centralized scheduler (global optimum. The convergence of the proposed scheduler is analyzed and signaling overhead of an example implementation is characterized. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme enables fair and efficient wireless access in challenging interference scenarios, for example, multiple networks deployed in the same geographical area and sharing a common band.

Hearing, listening, action: Enhancing nursing practice through aural awareness education.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Anita; Vanderheide, Rebecca; McKenna, Lisa

2014-01-01

Abstract Noise overload within the clinical environment has been found to interfere with the healing process for patients, as well as nurses' ability to assess patients effectively. Awareness and responsibility for noise production begins during initial nursing training and consequently a program to enhance aural awareness skills was designed for graduate entry nursing students in an Australian university. The program utilized an innovative combination of music education activities to develop the students' ability to distinguishing individual sounds (hearing), appreciate patients' experience of sounds (listening) and improve their auscultation skills and reduce the negative effects of noise on patients (action). Using a mixed methods approach, students reported heightened auscultation skills and greater recognition of both patients' and clinicians' aural overload. Results of this pilot suggest that music education activities can assist nursing students to develop their aural awareness and to action changes within the clinical environment to improve the patient's experience of noise.

Nurse ethical awareness: Understanding the nature of everyday practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Milliken, Aimee; Grace, Pamela

2017-08-01

Much attention has been paid to the role of the nurse in recognizing and addressing ethical dilemmas. There has been less emphasis, however, on the issue of whether or not nurses understand the ethical nature of everyday practice. Awareness of the inherently ethical nature of practice is a component of nurse ethical sensitivity, which has been identified as a component of ethical decision-making. Ethical sensitivity is generally accepted as a necessary precursor to moral agency, in that recognition of the ethical content of practice is necessary before consistent action on behalf of patient interests can take place. This awareness is also compulsory in ensuring patient good by recognizing the unique interests and wishes of individuals, in line with an ethic of care. Scholarly and research literature are used to argue that bolstering ethical awareness and ensuring that nurses understand the ethical nature of the role are an obligation of the profession. Based on this line of reasoning, recommendations for education and practice, along with directions for future research, are suggested.

Shear behaviour of reinforced phyllite concrete beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adom-Asamoah, Mark; Owusu Afrifa, Russell

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Phyllite concrete beams often exhibited shear with anchorage bond failure. ► Different shear design provisions for reinforced phyllite beams are compared. ► Predicted shear capacity of phyllite beams must be modified by a reduction factor. -- Abstract: The shear behaviour of concrete beams made from phyllite aggregates subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading is reported. First diagonal shear crack load of beams with and without shear reinforcement was between 42–58% and 42–92% of the failure loads respectively. The phyllite concrete beams without shear links had lower post-diagonal cracking shear resistance compared to corresponding phyllite beams with shear links. As a result of hysteretic energy dissipation, limited cyclic loading affected the stiffness, strength and deformation of the phyllite beams with shear reinforcement. Generally, beams with and without shear reinforcement showed anchorage bond failure in addition to the shear failure due to high stress concentration near the supports. The ACI, BS and EC codes are conservative for the prediction of phyllite concrete beams without shear reinforcement but they all overestimate the shear strength of phyllite concrete beams with shear reinforcement. It is recommended that the predicted shear capacity of phyllite beams reinforced with steel stirrups be modified by a reduction factor of 0.7 in order to specify a high enough safety factor on their ultimate strength. It is also recommended that susceptibility of phyllite concrete beams to undergo anchorage bond failure is averted in design by the provision of greater anchorage lengths than usually permitted.

Application of Fiber Reinforcement Concrete Technique in Civil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

modulus of elasticity, high tensile strength, improved fatigue and impact resistance. Reinforcing the concrete structures with fibers such as polyester is one of the possible ways to provide all the criteria of the durable repair material. This type of reinforcement is called Fiber Reinforcement of Concrete Structures. There is an ...

DEVELOPMENT OF PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS OF STUTTERING CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH FLUENT SPEECH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila BEGIC

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine characteristics of phonological awareness of stuttering children and children with fluent speech. The sample consisted of 64 children, between 56 and 83 months old (4 years and 8 months to 6 years and 11 months. Examinees were divided in two groups. The first group consisted of 32 stuttering children, 19 males, and 13 females. The control group consisted of 32 children with fluent speech, whose age and sex were equal to the age and sex of the children in the experimental group. The research was conducted in preschools and primary schools in Tuzla and Una-Sana Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The subjects were examined with 7 subtests (syllable and phoneme blending abilities, ability to rhyme, phoneme segmentation, phoneme deletion, phoneme transposition and spoonerisms. Each of the subtest scores, which index a variety of phonological awareness abilities, was examined separately. Phonological awareness score is the total score which relates to a common result that the subjects achieved on these 7 individual subtests. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between stuttering children and their peers with fluent speech in relation to Phonological awareness score. The examination of differences between stuttering and non-stuttering children in individual variables, which describe phonological awareness, showed that there was statistically significant difference in the ability to rhyme between these two subjects groups. T-test was used for examination of the differences between the male stuttering children and their fluent peers, and also female stuttering children and their fluent peers for the phonological awareness variables. The results exhibited statistically significant differences in the variable Rhyme between the male stuttering children and their fluent peers. In addition, we examined the ability of phonemic analysis of children who stutter and children with fluent

Design for whipping pipe impact on reinforced concrete panels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, C.C.; Gurbuz, O.

1984-01-01

This paper describes determination of local and overall effects on reinforced concrete panels due to whipping pipe impact in postulated pipe break events. Local damage includes the prediction of minimum concrete panel thickness required to prevent spalling from the back face of the target reinforced concrete panels. Evaluation of overall effect deals with the ductility ratio calculation for the target reinforced concrete panels. Design curves for determining the minimum panel thickness and the minimum reinforcement of reinforced concrete panels are presented in this paper for some cases commonly encountered in nuclear applications. The methodology and the results provided can be used to determine if an existing reinforced concrete wall is capable of resisting the whipping pipe impact, and consequently, if pipe whip restraints can be eliminated

Scheduling reinforcement about once a day.

Science.gov (United States)

Eckerman, D A

1999-04-01

A pigeon earned its daily food by pecking a key according to reinforcement schedules that produced food about once per day. Fixed-interval (FI), Fixed-time (FT), and various complex schedules were arranged to demonstrate the degree to which a scalloped pattern of responding remained. Pausing continued until about an hour before the reinforcer could be earned for FIs of 12, 24, and 48 h. Pausing was not as long for FIs of 18, 19, and 23 h. Pausing of about 24 h was seen for FI 36 h. FT 24 h produced continued responding but at a diminished frequency. The pattern of responding was strongly controlled by the schedule of reinforcement and seemed relatively independent of the cycle of human activity in the surrounding laboratory. Effects of added ratio contingencies and of signaling the availability of reinforcement in FT were also examined. Signaled FTs of 5 min-3 h produced more responding during the signal (autoshaping) than did FTs of 19 or 24 h.

Fundamentals of fibre-reinforced soil engineering

CERN Document Server

Shukla, Sanjay Kumar

2017-01-01

This book is intended to serve as a one-stop reference on fibre-reinforced soils. Over the past 30-35 years, the engineering behaviour of randomly distributed/oriented fibre-reinforced soil, also called simply fibre-reinforced soil, has been investigated in detail by researchers and engineers worldwide. Waste fibres (plastic waste fibres, old tyre fibres, etc.) create disposal and environmental problems. Utilization of such fibres in construction can help resolve these concerns. Research studies and some field applications have shown that the fibres can be utilized in large quantities in geotechnical and civil engineering applications in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. This book covers a complete description of fibres, their effects when included within a soil or other similar materials such as the fly ash, and their field applications. It gives a detailed view of fibre-reinforced soil engineering. The book will be useful to students, professional, and researchers alike, and can also ser...

An analysis of intergroup rivalry using Ising model and reinforcement learning

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Feng-Fei; Qin, Zheng; Shao, Zhuo

2014-01-01

Modeling of intergroup rivalry can help us better understand economic competitions, political elections and other similar activities. The result of intergroup rivalry depends on the co-evolution of individual behavior within one group and the impact from the rival group. In this paper, we model the rivalry behavior using Ising model. Different from other simulation studies using Ising model, the evolution rules of each individual in our model are not static, but have the ability to learn from historical experience using reinforcement learning technique, which makes the simulation more close to real human behavior. We studied the phase transition in intergroup rivalry and focused on the impact of the degree of social freedom, the personality of group members and the social experience of individuals. The results of computer simulation show that a society with a low degree of social freedom and highly educated, experienced individuals is more likely to be one-sided in intergroup rivalry.

Material State Awareness for Composites Part II: Precursor Damage Analysis and Quantification of Degraded Material Properties Using Quantitative Ultrasonic Image Correlation (QUIC)

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, Subir; Banerjee, Sourav

2017-01-01

Material state awareness of composites using conventional Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) method is limited by finding the size and the locations of the cracks and the delamination in a composite structure. To aid the progressive failure models using the slow growth criteria, the awareness of the precursor damage state and quantification of the degraded material properties is necessary, which is challenging using the current NDE methods. To quantify the material state, a new offline NDE method is reported herein. The new method named Quantitative Ultrasonic Image Correlation (QUIC) is devised, where the concept of microcontinuum mechanics is hybrid with the experimentally measured Ultrasonic wave parameters. This unique combination resulted in a parameter called Nonlocal Damage Entropy for the precursor awareness. High frequency (more than 25 MHz) scanning acoustic microscopy is employed for the proposed QUIC. Eight woven carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic composite specimens were tested under fatigue up to 70% of their remaining useful life. During the first 30% of the life, the proposed nonlocal damage entropy is plotted to demonstrate the degradation of the material properties via awareness of the precursor damage state. Visual proofs for the precursor damage states are provided with the digital images obtained from the micro-optical microscopy, the scanning acoustic microscopy and the scanning electron microscopy. PMID:29258256

Material State Awareness for Composites Part II: Precursor Damage Analysis and Quantification of Degraded Material Properties Using Quantitative Ultrasonic Image Correlation (QUIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subir Patra

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Material state awareness of composites using conventional Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE method is limited by finding the size and the locations of the cracks and the delamination in a composite structure. To aid the progressive failure models using the slow growth criteria, the awareness of the precursor damage state and quantification of the degraded material properties is necessary, which is challenging using the current NDE methods. To quantify the material state, a new offline NDE method is reported herein. The new method named Quantitative Ultrasonic Image Correlation (QUIC is devised, where the concept of microcontinuum mechanics is hybrid with the experimentally measured Ultrasonic wave parameters. This unique combination resulted in a parameter called Nonlocal Damage Entropy for the precursor awareness. High frequency (more than 25 MHz scanning acoustic microscopy is employed for the proposed QUIC. Eight woven carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic composite specimens were tested under fatigue up to 70% of their remaining useful life. During the first 30% of the life, the proposed nonlocal damage entropy is plotted to demonstrate the degradation of the material properties via awareness of the precursor damage state. Visual proofs for the precursor damage states are provided with the digital images obtained from the micro-optical microscopy, the scanning acoustic microscopy and the scanning electron microscopy.

Awareness of Knowledge or Awareness of Processing? Implications for Sleep-Related Memory Consolidation

OpenAIRE

Yordanova, Juliana; Kolev, Vasil; Verleger, Rolf

2009-01-01

The present study assessed the effects of awareness at encoding on off-line learning during sleep. A new framework is suggested according to which two aspects of awareness are distinguished: awareness of task information, and awareness of task processing. The number reduction task (NRT) was employed because it has two levels of organization, an overt one based on explicit knowledge of task instructions, and a covert one based on hidden abstract regularities of task structure (implicit knowled...

Numerical estimation of concrete beams reinforced with FRP bars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Protchenko Kostiantyn

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces numerical investigation on mechanical performance of a concrete beam reinforced with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP bars, which can be competitive alternative to steel bars for enhancing concrete structures. The objective of this work is being identified as elaborating of reliable numerical model for predicting strength capacity of structural elements with implementation of Finite Element Analysis (FEA. The numerical model is based on experimental study prepared for the beams, which were reinforced with Basalt FRP (BFRP bars and steel bars (for comparison. The results obtained for the beams reinforced with steel bars are found to be in close agreement with the experimental results. However, the beams reinforced with BFRP bars in experimental programme demonstrated higher bearing capacity than those reinforced with steel bars, which is not in a good convergence with numerical results. Authors did attempt to describe the reasons on achieving experimentally higher bearing capacity of beams reinforced with BFRP bars.

Simulation analysis of impact tests of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slabs against aircraft impact and its validation with experimental results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadiq, Muhammad; Xiu Yun, Zhu; Rong, Pan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Simulation analysis is carried out with two constitutive concrete models. • Winfrith model can better simulate nonlinear response of concrete than CSCM model. • Performance of steel plate concrete is better than reinforced concrete. • Thickness of safety related structures can be reduced by adopting steel plates. • Analysis results, mainly concrete material models should be validated. - Abstract: The steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete structures are used in nuclear power plants for protection against impact of an aircraft. In order to compare the impact resistance performance of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slabs panels, simulation analysis of 1/7.5 scale model impact tests is carried out by using finite element code ANSYS/LS-DYNA. The damage modes of all finite element models, velocity time history curves of the aircraft engine and damage to aircraft model are compared with the impact test results of steel plate reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete slab panels. The results indicate that finite element simulation results correlate well with the experimental results especially for constitutive winfrith concrete model. Also, the impact resistance performance of steel plate reinforced concrete slab panels is better than reinforced concrete slab panels, particularly the rear face steel plate is very effective in preventing the perforation and scabbing of concrete than conventional reinforced concrete structures. In this way, the thickness of steel plate reinforced concrete structures can be reduced in important structures like nuclear power plants against impact of aircraft. It also demonstrates the methodology to validate the analysis procedure with experimental and analytical studies. It may be effectively employed to predict the precise response of safety related structures against aircraft impact

Halloysite reinforced epoxy composites with improved mechanical properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saif Muhammad Jawwad

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs reinforced epoxy composites with improved mechanical properties were prepared. The prepared HNTs reinforced epoxy composites demonstrated improved mechanical properties especially the fracture toughness and flexural strength. The flexural modulus of nanocomposite with 6% mHNTs loading was 11.8% higher than that of neat epoxy resin. In addition, the nanocomposites showed improved dimensional stability. The prepared halloysite reinforced epoxy composites were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA. The improved properties are attributed to the unique characteristics of HNTs, uniform dispersion of reinforcement and interfacial coupling.

Altered interaction with environmental reinforcers in major depressive disorder: Relationship to anhedonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Szczepanik, Joanna E; Furey, Maura L; Nugent, Allison C; Henter, Ioline D; Zarate, Carlos A; Lejuez, Carl W

2017-10-01

Anhedonia-defined as loss of interest or pleasure-is one of two core symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). Anhedonia may involve decreased enjoyment of potentially rewarding activities and decreased motivation to engage in such activities. Increased engagement with reinforcers-activities with the potential to be positive experiences-is a frequent target of cognitive-behavioral therapies. Nevertheless, how environmental reinforcers are perceived, and how decisions to approach or avoid them are made by individuals with MDD, is largely unknown. We developed an experimental Behavioral Approach Motivation Paradigm to study how activities are evaluated and approached in MDD. Twenty-one MDD participants and 23 healthy controls performed an experimental task that rated activity words for their hedonic value, then engaged in an approach-avoidance joystick task with each individual's unique set of 'liked' and 'disliked' activity words. A negative correlation was observed between anhedonia and the number of 'liked' activities across participants. No significant difference between approach and avoidance behavior was found in direct comparisons between healthy controls and MDD participants; however, weaker avoidance and greater approach toward 'disliked' activities was found in MDD participants. This suggests negative bias in selecting environmental opportunities, potentially further compromising access to hedonic experiences in MDD. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Working Memory and Reinforcement Schedule Jointly Determine Reinforcement Learning in Children: Potential Implications for Behavioral Parent Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elien Segers

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Behavioral Parent Training (BPT is often provided for childhood psychiatric disorders. These disorders have been shown to be associated with working memory impairments. BPT is based on operant learning principles, yet how operant principles shape behavior (through the partial reinforcement (PRF extinction effect, i.e., greater resistance to extinction that is created when behavior is reinforced partially rather than continuously and the potential role of working memory therein is scarcely studied in children. This study explored the PRF extinction effect and the role of working memory therein using experimental tasks in typically developing children.Methods: Ninety-seven children (age 6–10 completed a working memory task and an operant learning task, in which children acquired a response-sequence rule under either continuous or PRF (120 trials, followed by an extinction phase (80 trials. Data of 88 children were used for analysis.Results: The PRF extinction effect was confirmed: We observed slower acquisition and extinction in the PRF condition as compared to the continuous reinforcement (CRF condition. Working memory was negatively related to acquisition but not extinction performance.Conclusion: Both reinforcement contingencies and working memory relate to acquisition performance. Potential implications for BPT are that decreasing working memory load may enhance the chance of optimally learning through reinforcement.

Optimizing the Flexural Strength of Beams Reinforced with Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bars Using Back-Propagation Neural Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahman O. Taha

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The reinforced concrete with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP bars (carbon, aramid, basalt and glass is used in places where a high ratio of strength to weight is required and corrosion is not acceptable. Behavior of structural members using (FRP bars is hard to be modeled using traditional methods because of the high non-linearity relationship among factors influencing the strength of structural members. Back-propagation neural network is a very effective method for modeling such complicated relationships. In this paper, back-propagation neural network is used for modeling the flexural behavior of beams reinforced with (FRP bars. 101 samples of beams reinforced with fiber bars were collected from literatures. Five important factors are taken in consideration for predicting the strength of beams. Two models of Multilayer Perceptron (MLP are created, first with single-hidden layer and the second with two-hidden layers. The two-hidden layer model showed better accuracy ratio than the single-hidden layer model. Parametric study has been done for two-hidden layer model only. Equations are derived to be used instead of the model and the importance of input factors is determined. Results showed that the neural network is successful in modeling the behavior of concrete beams reinforced with different types of (FRP bars.

An evaluation of resistance to change with unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Vargo, Kristina K; Ringdahl, Joel E

2015-09-01

Several reinforcer-related variables influence a response's resistance to change (Nevin, 1974). Reinforcer type (i.e., conditioned or unconditioned) is a reinforcer-related variable that has not been studied with humans but may have clinical implications. In Experiment 1, we identified unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers of equal preference. In Experiments 2, 3, and 4, we reinforced participants' behavior during a baseline phase using a multiple variable-interval (VI) 30-s VI 30-s schedule with either conditioned (i.e., token) or unconditioned (i.e., food; one type of reinforcement in each component) reinforcement. After equal reinforcement rates across components, we introduced a disruptor. Results of Experiments 2 and 3 showed that behaviors were more resistant to extinction and distraction, respectively, with conditioned than with unconditioned reinforcers. Results of Experiment 4, however, showed that when prefeeding disrupted responding, behaviors were more resistant to change with unconditioned reinforcers than with conditioned reinforcers. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Mechanical Properties of Welded Deformed Reinforcing Steel Bars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghafur H. Ahmed

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Reinforcement strength, ductility and bendability properties are important components in design of reinforced concrete members, as the strength of any member comes mainly from reinforcement. Strain compatibility and plastic behaviors are mainly depending on reinforcement ductility. In construction practice, often welding of the bars is required. Welding of reinforcement is an instant solution in many cases, whereas welding is not a routine connection process. Welding will cause deficiencies in reinforcement bars, metallurgical changes and re-crystallization of microstructure of particles. Weld metal toughness is extremely sensitive to the welding heat input that decreases both of its strength and ductility. For determining the effects of welding in reinforcement properties, 48 specimens were tested with 5 different bar diameters, divided into six groups. Investigated parameters were: properties of un-welded bars; strength, ductility and density of weld metal; strength and ductility reduction due to heat input for bundled bars and transverse bars; welding effect on bars’ bending properties; behavior of different joint types; properties of three weld groove shapes also the locations and types of failures sections. Results show that, strength and elongation of the welded bars decreased by (10-40% and (30-60% respectively. Cold bending of welded bars and groove welds shall be prevented.

Structural and thermophysical properties characterization of continuously reinforced cast Al matrix composite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Gordon

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In this work the process of manufacturing a continuously reinforced cast Al matrix composite and its properties are presented. The described technology permits obtaining a structural material of competitive properties compared to either heat treatable aluminum alloys or polymer composites for several types of applications. The examined thermophysical properties and structural characterization, including material anisotropy, coupled with the results of previous measurements of the mechanical properties of both Al2O3 reinforcing filaments and metallic prepregs have proven the high quality of this material and the possibility of its operation under special loading modes and environmental conditions. Microscopic examinations (LM, SEM were carried out to reveal the range of morphological homogeneity of the microstructure, the anisotropy of the filament band distribution, and simultaneously the adhesive behavior of the metal/fiber interface. The 3D morphology of the chosen microstructure components was revealed by computed tomography. The obtained results indicate that special properties of the examined prepreg materials have been strongly influenced, on the one hand, by the geometry of its internal microstructure, i.e. spatial distribution and volume fraction of the Al2O3 reinforcing filaments and, on the other hand, by a very good compatibility obtained between the individual metal prepreg components.

Deep Reinforcement Learning: An Overview

OpenAIRE

Li, Yuxi

2017-01-01

We give an overview of recent exciting achievements of deep reinforcement learning (RL). We discuss six core elements, six important mechanisms, and twelve applications. We start with background of machine learning, deep learning and reinforcement learning. Next we discuss core RL elements, including value function, in particular, Deep Q-Network (DQN), policy, reward, model, planning, and exploration. After that, we discuss important mechanisms for RL, including attention and memory, unsuperv...

Response-reinforcer dependency and resistance to change.

Science.gov (United States)

Cançado, Carlos R X; Abreu-Rodrigues, Josele; Aló, Raquel Moreira; Hauck, Flávia; Doughty, Adam H

2018-01-01

The effects of the response-reinforcer dependency on resistance to change were studied in three experiments with rats. In Experiment 1, lever pressing produced reinforcers at similar rates after variable interreinforcer intervals in each component of a two-component multiple schedule. Across conditions, in the fixed component, all reinforcers were response-dependent; in the alternative component, the percentage of response-dependent reinforcers was 100, 50 (i.e., 50% response-dependent and 50% response-independent) or 10% (i.e., 10% response-dependent and 90% response-independent). Resistance to extinction was greater in the alternative than in the fixed component when the dependency in the former was 10%, but was similar between components when this dependency was 100 or 50%. In Experiment 2, a three-component multiple schedule was used. The dependency was 100% in one component and 10% in the other two. The 10% components differed on how reinforcers were programmed. In one component, as in Experiment 1, a reinforcer had to be collected before the scheduling of other response-dependent or independent reinforcers. In the other component, response-dependent and -independent reinforcers were programmed by superimposing a variable-time schedule on an independent variable-interval schedule. Regardless of the procedure used to program the dependency, resistance to extinction was greater in the 10% components than in the 100% component. These results were replicated in Experiment 3 in which, instead of extinction, VT schedules replaced the baseline schedules in each multiple-schedule component during the test. We argue that the relative change in dependency from Baseline to Test, which is greater when baseline dependencies are high rather than low, could account for the differential resistance to change in the present experiments. The inconsistencies in results across the present and previous experiments suggest that the effects of dependency on resistance to change are

Is that really my movement? - Students' experiences of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Backåberg, Sofia; Gummesson, Christina; Brunt, David; Rask, Mikael

2015-01-01

Healthcare staff and students have a great risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. One cause of this is heavy load related work activities such as manual handling, in which the quality of individual work technique may play a major role. Preventive interventions and well-defined educational strategies to support movement awareness and long-lasting movement changes need to be developed. The aim of the present study was to explore nursing students' experiences of a newly developed interactive learning model for movement awareness. The learning model, which is based on a life-world perspective with focus on interpersonal interaction, has been used with 11 undergraduate students from the second and final year. Each student participated in three individual video sessions with a facilitator. Two individual interviews were carried out with each student during the learning process and one interview 12-18 months after the last session. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by Paul Ricoeur and described by Lindseth and Norberg was used to interpret the interviews and diary notes. The interpretation resulted in three key themes and nine subthemes. The key themes were; "Obtaining better preconditions for bodily awareness," "Experiencing changes in one's own movement," and "Experiencing challenges in the learning process." The interactive learning model entails a powerful and challenging experience that develops movement awareness. The experience of meaningfulness and usefulness emerges increasingly and alternates with a feeling of discomfort. The learning model may contribute to the body of knowledge of well-defined educational strategies in movement awareness and learning in, for example, preventive interventions and ergonomic education. It may also be valuable in other practical learning situations where movement awareness is required.

Durability of fibre reinforced concrete structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ernst Jan De Place; Hansen, Kurt Kielsgaard

1996-01-01

The planned research will indicate, whether fibre reinforced concrete has better or worse durability than normal concrete. Durability specimens will be measured on cracked as well as uncracked specimens. Also the pore structure in the concrete will be characterized.Keywords: Fibre reinforced...... concrete, durability, pore structure, mechanical load...

Public awareness and knowledge of stuttering in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Iimura, Daichi; Yada, Yasuto; Imaizumi, Kazuya; Takeuchi, Toshimitsu; Miyawaki, Manami; Van Borsel, John

To determine laypeople's knowledge and awareness of stuttering in Japan. A total of 303 respondents, recruited by street sampling, completed a questionnaire assessing the prevalence, onset, gender distribution, occurrence in different races, cause, treatment, association with intelligence, and hereditariness of stuttering. The questionnaire used was a Japanese version of that devised by Van Borsel, Verniers, and Bouvry (1999) for use in Belgium. Although around half of the respondents had heard or met a stutterer, they tended to misunderstand the stuttering; e.g., respondents estimated the prevalence of stuttering as high. Knowledge also differed according to age, gender, and education level. Specifically, older individuals, females, and individuals with higher levels of education tended to have greater knowledge of stuttering. In comparing the results of the present study with similar studies conducted in Belgium, China, and Brazil, we observed several similarities and differences. Although most respondents were to some extent familiar with stuttering, their overall knowledge of the condition was limited. Certain factors could be involved in having knowledge of stuttering, such as one's life experience, cultural background, and social attitudes toward stuttering. The findings suggest the need for growing knowledge and awareness of stuttering. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Cognitive-Developmental Model of Emotional Awareness and Its Application to the Practice of Psychotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chhatwal, Jasleen; Lane, Richard D

The ability to be aware of one's own emotional states has been a time-honored ingredient of successful psychodynamic psychotherapy. With the rise of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), however, the utility of experiencing and reflecting upon emotional experience has become less certain, and a quantifiable measure of emotional awareness for clinicians has not been previously available. Several recent advances cast the role of emotional awareness in psychotherapy in a different light: (1) a new theory of change in psychotherapy has been formulated that highlights emotional experience as an important ingredient of change in a variety of modalities; (2) new evidence shows that individual differences in the capacity for emotional awareness predict successful psychotherapeutic outcome in the treatment of panic disorder both by manualized psychodynamic psychotherapy and CBT; and (3) a new online version of the electronic Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (eLEAS) has been created that can be used with individual patients as a guide to psychotherapy treatment. Here we review evidence of a reliable and valid measure of emotional awareness that has been used in both normative and clinical contexts. The psychotherapeutic treatment of three patients is described to illustrate the clinical manifestations of the different levels of emotional awareness and the ways the eLEAS can be useful in the clinical context, including (1) assessment of the patient's current level of emotional functioning and his or her potential for higher levels of functioning, (2) the targeting of interventions to facilitate functioning at the next level, and (3) a possible marker of treatment progress. These observations suggest that the eLEAS has the potential to be a clinically useful tool that may assist clinicians in guiding psychotherapy treatment.

Behavior of reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freskakis, G.N.

1984-09-01

A study is presented concerning the behavior of reinforced concrete sections at elevated temperatures. Material properties of concrete and reinforcing steel are discussed. Behavior studies are made by means of moment-curvature-axial force relationships. Particular attention is given to the load carrying capacity, thermal forces and moments, and deformation capacity. The effects on these properties of variations in the strength properties, the temperature level and distribution, the amount of reinforcing steel, and limiting values of strains are considered

Experimental investigation of the relation between damage at the concrete-steel interface and initiation of reinforcement corrosion in plain and fibre reinforced concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michel, A.; Solgaard, A.O.S.; Pease, B.J.; Geiker, M.R.; Stang, H.; Olesen, J.F.

2013-01-01

Highlights: •Cracked plain and steel fibre reinforced concrete flexural beams were investigated. •“Instrumented rebars” provided location- and time-dependent corrosion measurements. •Interfacial condition can be used as a reliable indicator to quantify the risk of corrosion. •Simulated interfacial conditions are in very good agreement with all experimental observations. -- Abstract: Cracks in covering concrete are known to hasten initiation of steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. To minimise the impact of cracks on the deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, current approaches in (inter)national design codes often limit the concrete surface crack width. Recent investigations however, indicate that the concrete-reinforcement interfacial condition is a more fundamental criterion related to reinforcement corrosion. This work investigates the relation between macroscopic damage at the concrete-steel interface and corrosion initiation of reinforcement embedded in plain and fibre reinforced concrete. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results indicate a strong correlation between corrosion initiation and interfacial condition

Are Universities Aware of the Changes that are Occurring in Higher Education?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco José GARCÍA PEÑALVO

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The editorial of this last issue of volume 17, corresponding to 2016, reflects about the vertiginous changes that are taking place in higher education, with management and business models based on online education and a labour market orientation that challenge the traditional concept of University. The underlying question is whether the University, as an institution, is aware of all these movements and is prepared to give a qualified response that allows it to adapt to the new realities of a Digital Society, without losing its hegemony as universal guarantor of the generation and transmission of scientific and humanistic knowledge; or, on the contrary, faithful to its more conservative tradition, it continúes to reinforce the scaffolding of its ivory tower, moving further and further from this reality, secure from a position of social privilege that it understands immovable.

Situation awareness and documentation of changes that affect patient outcomes in progress notes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tower, Marion; Chaboyer, Wendy

2014-05-01

To report on registered nurses' situation awareness as a precursor to decision-making when recording changes in patients' conditions. Progress notes are important to communicate patients' progress and detail changes in patients' conditions. However, documentation is often poorly completed. There is little work that examines nurses' decision-making during documentation. This study focused on describing situation awareness as a precursor to decision-making during documentation. This study used Endsley's (Situation Awareness Analysis and Measurement, 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, NJ) work on situation awareness to guide and conceptualise information. The study was situated in a naturalistic paradigm to provide an interpretation of nurses' decision-making. Think-aloud research methods and semi-structured interviews were employed to illuminate decision-making processes. Audio recordings and interview texts were individually examined for evidence of cues, informed by Endsley's (Situation Awareness Analysis and Measurement, 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, NJ) descriptions of situation awareness. As patients' conditions changed, nurses used complex mental models and pattern-matching of information, drawing on all 3 levels of situation awareness during documentation. Level 1 situation awareness provided context, level 2 situation awareness signified a change in condition and its significance for the patient, and level 3 situation awareness was evident when nurses thought aloud about what this information indicated. Three themes associated with changes in patients' conditions emerged: deterioration in condition, not responding to prescribed treatments as expected and issues related to professional practice that impacted on patients' conditions. Nurses used a complex mental model for decision-making, drawing on 3 levels of situation awareness. Hamm's cognitive continuum theory, when related to situation awareness, is a useful decision-making theory to provide a

Numerical modelling of reinforced concrete beams with fracture-plastic material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Sucharda

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the use of models of fracture-plastic materials for reinforced concrete in numerical modelling of beams made from reinforced concrete. The purpose of the paper is to use of a model of concrete for modelling of a behaviour of reinforced concrete beams which have been tested at the University of Toronto within re-examination of classic concrete beam tests. The original tests were performed by Bresler- Scordelis. A stochastic modelling based on LHS (Latin Hypercube Sampling has been performed for the reinforced concrete beam. An objective of the modelling is to evaluate the total bearing capacity of the reinforced concrete beams depending on distribution of input data. The beams from the studied set have longitudinal reinforcement only. The beams do not have any shear reinforcement. The software used for the fracture-plastic model of the reinforced concrete is the ATENA.

Reinforcement learning in supply chains.

Science.gov (United States)

Valluri, Annapurna; North, Michael J; Macal, Charles M

2009-10-01

Effective management of supply chains creates value and can strategically position companies. In practice, human beings have been found to be both surprisingly successful and disappointingly inept at managing supply chains. The related fields of cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence have postulated a variety of potential mechanisms to explain this behavior. One of the leading candidates is reinforcement learning. This paper applies agent-based modeling to investigate the comparative behavioral consequences of three simple reinforcement learning algorithms in a multi-stage supply chain. For the first time, our findings show that the specific algorithm that is employed can have dramatic effects on the results obtained. Reinforcement learning is found to be valuable in multi-stage supply chains with several learning agents, as independent agents can learn to coordinate their behavior. However, learning in multi-stage supply chains using these postulated approaches from cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence take extremely long time periods to achieve stability which raises questions about their ability to explain behavior in real supply chains. The fact that it takes thousands of periods for agents to learn in this simple multi-agent setting provides new evidence that real world decision makers are unlikely to be using strict reinforcement learning in practice.

Rotational Capacity of Reinforced Concrete Beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulfkjær, J. P.; Henriksen, M. S.; Brincker, Rune

1995-01-01

programme where 120 reinforced concrete beams, 54 plain concrete beams and 324 concrete cylinders are tested. For the reinforced concrete beams four different parar meters are varied. The slenderness is 6, 12 and 18, the beam depth is 100 mm, 200 mm and 400 mm giving nine different geometries, five...

Numerical analyses of the effect of SG-interlayer shear stiffness on the structural performance of reinforced glass beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Louter, C.; Nielsen, Jens Henrik

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on the numerical modelling of SentryGlas-laminated reinforced glass beams. In these beams, which have been experimentally investigated in preceding research, a stainless steel reinforcement section is laminated at the inner recessed edge of a triple-layer glass beam by means...... of SentryGlas (SG) interlayer sheets. The current contribution numerically investigates the effect of the SG-interlayer shear stiffness on the overall structural response of the beams. This is done by means of a 3D finite element model in which the individual glass layers, the SG......-interlayers and the reinforcement are incorporated. In the model, the glass parts are allowed to crack, but all other parts are assumed linear elastic throughout the analyses. By changing the shear modulus of the SG-interlayer in multiple analyses, its contribution to the overall structural performance of the beams - especially...

GLASS-FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITES: THE EFFECT OF ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HOD

mechanical and corrosion wear behaviour of any reinforced composites. In other ..... physical properties of glass fibre reinforced epoxy resin and the following .... waste in concrete and cement composites," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol.

Development of a Self-Rating instrument to Measure Team Situation Awareness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schraagen, J.M.C.; Koning, L. de; Hof, T.; Dongen, K. van

2010-01-01

The goal of this paper is to describe the development of an instrument to measure team situation awareness (TSA). Individual team member SA may or may not be shared through communication processes with other team members. Most existing instruments do not measure these processes but measure TSA as a

Determinants of Awareness, Consideration, and Choice Set Size in University Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawes, Philip L.; Brown, Jennifer

2002-01-01

Developed and tested a model of students' university "brand" choice using five individual-level variables (ethnic group, age, gender, number of parents going to university, and academic ability) and one situational variable (duration of search) to explain variation in the sizes of awareness, consideration, and choice decision sets. (EV)

Relationship Quality and Alcohol-Related Social Reinforcement during Couples Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fairbairn, Catharine E; Testa, Maria

2016-01-01

Individuals who are unhappy in their intimate partnerships are at risk for developing alcohol problems. But little is known about the mechanisms underlying this link. One possibility is that couples with poor relationship quality gain more reinforcement from alcohol in certain contexts-a possibility that has never previously been empirically examined. In the current study, 304 individuals (152 couples) were assigned to receive alcohol (target BAC .08%) or a non-alcoholic beverage. They then engaged in a conflict-resolution interaction with their partners. Videotaped interactions were coded by trained observers. Results revealed a significant interaction between alcohol and relationship quality across multiple measures. Alcohol decreased negative behaviors, decreased negative reciprocity, and enhanced self-reported experience to a greater extent during interactions involving individuals reporting low relationship quality and had comparatively little effect among those reporting high relationship quality. Findings point to a potential mechanism underlying problem drinking among couples with poor relationship quality.

Human choice among five alternatives when reinforcers decay.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothstein, Jacob B; Jensen, Greg; Neuringer, Allen

2008-06-01

Human participants played a computer game in which choices among five alternatives were concurrently reinforced according to dependent random-ratio schedules. "Dependent" indicates that choices to any of the wedges activated the random-number generators governing reinforcers on all five alternatives. Two conditions were compared. In the hold condition, once scheduled, a reinforcer - worth a constant five points - remained available until it was collected. In the decay condition, point values decreased with intervening responses, i.e., rapid collection was differentially reinforced. Slopes of matching functions were higher in the decay than hold condition. However inter-subject variability was high in both conditions.

Toughened microstructures for ductile phase reinforced molybdenum disilicide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pickard, S.M.; Ghosh, A.K.

1995-01-01

Various morphologies of ductile Nb refractory metal reinforcement are incorporated into a MoSi 2 matrix using powder metallurgy, including single-ply laminates, continuous metal ribbons and sections of 2-dimensional wire mesh. Hot forging techniques are used to redistribute the reinforcement and change the dimensions and the aspect ratio of the reinforcing metal ligaments. Work-of-rupture measurements are conducted on bend test specimens and precracked tensile specimens of the composite so that the toughness contribution from the various ductile metal morphologies can be assessed according to its effectiveness. Accompanying microstructural examination of crack bridging interaction with the reinforcement is conducted

Generating variable and random schedules of reinforcement using Microsoft Excel macros.

Science.gov (United States)

Bancroft, Stacie L; Bourret, Jason C

2008-01-01

Variable reinforcement schedules are used to arrange the availability of reinforcement following varying response ratios or intervals of time. Random reinforcement schedules are subtypes of variable reinforcement schedules that can be used to arrange the availability of reinforcement at a constant probability across number of responses or time. Generating schedule values for variable and random reinforcement schedules can be difficult. The present article describes the steps necessary to write macros in Microsoft Excel that will generate variable-ratio, variable-interval, variable-time, random-ratio, random-interval, and random-time reinforcement schedule values.

Evaluation of the protection behaviour of reinforcement steel against corrosion induced by chlorides in reinforced mortar specimens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crivelaro, Marcos

2002-01-01

In this work various treatments for protecting reinforcing steels against corrosion induced by chlorides have been evaluated. Additives to mortars and surface treatments given to reinforcing steels were evaluated as corrosion protection measures. In the preliminary tests the corrosion resistance of a CA 50 steel treated by immersion in nearly 50 different solutions, was determined. The solutions were prepared with tannins (from various sources) and/or benzotriazole, and during immersion, a surface film formed on the steel. The corrosion resistance of the coated steels was evaluated in a saturated Ca(OH) 2 solution with 5% (wt) NaCl. Preliminary tests were also carried out with mortars reinforced with uncoated steel to which tannin or lignin was added. Two organic coatings, a monocomponent and a bicomponent type, formulated specially for this investigation, with both tannin and benzotriazole, were also tested in the preliminary tests to select the coating with better corrosion protection property. The bicomponent type (epoxy coating) showed better performance than the monocomponent type coating, and the former was therefore chosen to investigate the corrosion performance on CA 50 steel inside mortar specimens. From the preliminary tests, two solutions with tannin from two sources, Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii) and Brazilian tea (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hill), to which benzotriazole and phosphoric acid were added, were chosen. Mortar specimens reinforced with CA50 steel treated by immersion in these two solutions were prepared. Also, epoxy coated CA50 steel was tested as reinforcement inside mortar specimens. Mortars reinforced with uncoated CA50 steel were also prepared and corrosion tested for comparison. The effect of tannin and lignin as separate additives to the mortar on the corrosion resistance of uncoated steel was also studied. The reinforced mortar specimens were tested with various cycles of immersion for 2 days in 3.5% (wt) NaCl followed by with air

Online human training of a myoelectric prosthesis controller via actor-critic reinforcement learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilarski, Patrick M; Dawson, Michael R; Degris, Thomas; Fahimi, Farbod; Carey, Jason P; Sutton, Richard S

2011-01-01

As a contribution toward the goal of adaptable, intelligent artificial limbs, this work introduces a continuous actor-critic reinforcement learning method for optimizing the control of multi-function myoelectric devices. Using a simulated upper-arm robotic prosthesis, we demonstrate how it is possible to derive successful limb controllers from myoelectric data using only a sparse human-delivered training signal, without requiring detailed knowledge about the task domain. This reinforcement-based machine learning framework is well suited for use by both patients and clinical staff, and may be easily adapted to different application domains and the needs of individual amputees. To our knowledge, this is the first my-oelectric control approach that facilitates the online learning of new amputee-specific motions based only on a one-dimensional (scalar) feedback signal provided by the user of the prosthesis. © 2011 IEEE

Cognitive decision modelling of emotion-based learning impairment in schizophrenia: the role of awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Cella, Matteo; Dymond, Simon; Cooper, Andrew; Turnbull, Oliver H

2012-03-30

Individuals with schizophrenia often lack insight or awareness. Resulting impairment has been observed in various cognitive domains and, recently, linked to problems in emotion-based learning. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has been used to assess emotion-based decision-making in patients with schizophrenia, but results have been inconclusive. The current study further investigates emotion-based decision-making in schizophrenia by elucidating the unique contribution of awareness. Twenty-five patients with schizophrenia and 24 healthy controls were assessed with a modified version of the IGT recording awareness at regular intervals. Symptom assessment, medication and medical history were recorded for the clinical group. Patients with schizophrenia underperformed on the IGT compared to controls. Subjective awareness levels were significantly lower in the schizophrenia group and were associated with hallucination severity. Cognitive decision modelling further indicated that patients with schizophrenia had impaired attention to losses, compared to controls. This parameter was positively correlated with awareness. We also found that positive symptoms altered awareness levels and suggest that this disruption may contribute to sub-optimal decision-making. Overall, a lack of awareness may be an important aspect in understanding impaired social cognitive functioning and emotion-based learning observed in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The behavior of fiber-reinforced plastics during laser cutting].

Science.gov (United States)

Emmrich, M; Levsen, K; Trasser, F J

1992-06-01

The pattern of the organic emissions, which are produced by processing of fibre reinforced plastics (epoxy resins reinforced by aramid and glass fibres and phenol resins reinforced by aramid fibre) with laser beam was studied and the concentrations of the main components determined. Despite the application of plastic materials with different chemical structures, the observed patterns are very similar. Mainly aromatic hydrocarbons are emitted, especially benzene and toluene, as well as some heteroatom-containing aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. phenol). By use of oxygen as process gas the emissions during cutting of glass fibre reinforced plastics can be reduced, while they will be constantly high with aramid fibre reinforced plastics.

Do I stand out or blend in? Conspicuousness awareness and consistent behavioural differences in hermit crabs.

Science.gov (United States)

Briffa, Mark; Twyman, Claire

2011-06-23

Animals titrate their behaviour against the level of risk and an individual's conspicuousness should influence decisions such as when to flee and for how long to hide. Conspicuousness will vary with variation in substrate colour. Since hermit crabs frequently change the shells they occupy, shell colour will also influence conspicuousness and to be aware of their conspicuousness would require information on both of these factors to be integrated. Reduced boldness in high-contrast shell and substrate combinations compared with situations of low contrast indicates that hermit crabs are aware of current conspicuousness. Differences between individuals remained consistent across conspicuousness levels indicating the presence of animal personalities.

Short and long carbon fibre reinforced Cu-matrix composites: microstructural results and structural origin of properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchgraber, W.

1997-01-01

Carbon fibre reinforced copper matrix composites possess properties of copper, i.e. excellent thermal and electrical conductivities, and properties of carbon fibre, i.e. a small thermal expansion coefficient. Since the desirable properties of the composite can be obtained by selecting the amount, type and orientation of the carbon fibres, it is considered to be suitable for use as electric and electronic materials. This lecture focuses on two-dimensional isotropic carbon fibre reinforced copper matrix composites with long or short carbon fibres. Short carbon fibre reinforced copper matrix composites have been produced by hot-pressing of copper coated short carbon fibres. During hot-pressing, the carbon fibres take on a preferred orientation in a plane perpendicular to the hot pressing direction. Within this plane the fibre orientation is random. Long carbon fibre reinforced copper matrix composites have been made by hot pressing of monolayers consisting of copper coated long carbon fibres. Different orientations of the monolayers will be compared. Both the physical and mechanical properties of the discussed composites are strongly influenced not only by the properties of its individual constituents, but also by the microstructure and properties of the fibre matrix interface. The problem of poor wettability of the carbon fibre by the copper matrix will be discussed. The microstructure of several types of carbon fibre reinforced copper matrix composites will be discussed. Their thermophysical properties will be compared with microstructural results. (author)

Generating Variable and Random Schedules of Reinforcement Using Microsoft Excel Macros

Science.gov (United States)

Bancroft, Stacie L.; Bourret, Jason C.

2008-01-01

Variable reinforcement schedules are used to arrange the availability of reinforcement following varying response ratios or intervals of time. Random reinforcement schedules are subtypes of variable reinforcement schedules that can be used to arrange the availability of reinforcement at a constant probability across number of responses or time.…

Measuring the Effects of Self-Awareness: Construction of the Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Sutton

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Dispositional self-awareness is conceptualized in several different ways, including insight, reflection, rumination and mindfulness, with the latter in particular attracting extensive attention in recent research. While self-awareness is generally associated with positive psychological well-being, these different conceptualizations are also each associated with a range of unique outcomes. This two part, mixed methods study aimed to advance understanding of dispositional self-awareness by developing a questionnaire to measure its outcomes. In Study 1, expert focus groups categorized and extended an initial pool of potential items from previous research. In Study 2, these items were reduced to a 38 item self-report questionnaire with four factors representing three beneficial outcomes (reflective self-development, acceptance and proactivity and one negative outcome (costs. Regression of these outcomes against self-awareness measures revealed that self-reflection and insight predicted beneficial outcomes, rumination predicted reduced benefits and increased costs, and mindfulness predicted both increased proactivity and costs. These studies help to refine the self-awareness concept by identifying the unique outcomes associated with the concepts of self-reflection, insight, reflection, rumination and mindfulness. It can be used in future studies to evaluate and develop awareness-raising techniques to maximize self-awareness benefits while minimizing related costs.

Empathy in adolescence: Relations with emotion awareness and social roles.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieffe, Carolien; Camodeca, Marina

2016-09-01

In this study, we aimed at gaining a better understanding of the individual differences contributing to feelings of empathy in adolescents. Therefore, we examined the extent to which emotion awareness (e.g., recognizing and appreciating one's own and the emotions of others) and a tendency for certain social roles (e.g., helping or teasing peers when being bullied) are related to adolescents' levels of empathy. The sample was comprised of 182 adolescents aged between 11 and 16. Empathy and emotion awareness were assessed using self-report measures. Peer reports were used to indicate adolescents' different social roles: Bullying, defending the victim, and outsider behaviour. Outcomes demonstrated that evaluating one's own and the emotions of others, and more defending nominations were associated with both affective and cognitive empathy, whereas aspects of emotion awareness which are linked with internalizing symptoms were related to empathic distress, suggesting maladaptive emotion appraisal. Furthermore, outsider behaviour was associated with empathic distress, emphasizing a self-focused orientation. In contrast, more bullying was negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Overall, these outcomes demonstrate that, besides social roles, emotion awareness is an important factor for adaptive empathic reactions, whereas emotion dysregulation might cause distress when witnessing the negative feelings of others. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Fatigue resistance and stiffness of glass fiber-reinforced urethane dimethacrylate composite.

Science.gov (United States)

Narva, Katja K; Lassila, Lippo V J; Vallittu, Pekka K

2004-02-01

Retentive properties of cast metal clasps decrease over time because of metal fatigue. Novel fiber-reinforced composite materials are purported to have increased fatigue resistance compared with metals and may offer a solution to the problem of metal fatigue. The aim of this study was to investigate the fatigue resistance and stiffness of E-glass fiber-reinforced composite. Twelve cylindrical fiber-reinforced composite test cylinders (2 mm in diameter and 60 mm in length) were made from light-polymerized urethane dimethacrylate monomer with unidirectional, single-stranded, polymer preimpregnated E-glass fiber reinforcement. Six cylinders were stored in dry conditions and 6 in distilled water for 30 days before testing. Fatigue resistance was measured by a constant-deflection fatigue test with 1 mm of deflection across a specimen span of 11 mm for a maximum of 150,000 loading cycles. The resistance of the cylinder against deflection was measured (N) and the mean values of the force were compared by 1-way analysis of variance (alpha = .05). The flexural modulus (GPa) was calculated for the dry and water-stored cylinders for the first loading cycle. Scanning electron microscopy was used to assess the distribution of the fibers, and the volume percent of fibers and polymer were assessed by combustion analysis. The test cylinders did not fracture due to fatigue following 150,000 loading cycles. Flexural modulus at the first loading cycle was 18.9 (+/- 2.9) GPa and 17.5 (+/- 1.7) GPa for the dry and water-stored cylinders, respectively. The mean force required to cause the first 1-mm deflection was 33.5 (+/- 5.2) N and 37.7 (+/- 3.6) N for the dry and water stored cylinders, respectively; however, the differences were not significant. After 150,000 cycles the mean force to cause 1-mm deflection was significantly reduced to 23.4 (+/- 8.5) N and 13.1 (+/- 3.5) N, respectively (P fiber- and polymer-rich areas within the specimens and indicated that individual fibers were

Marine environmental contamination: public awareness, concern and perceived effectiveness in five European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Silke; Sioen, Isabelle; De Henauw, Stefaan; Rosseel, Yves; Calis, Tanja; Tediosi, Alice; Nadal, Martí; Marques, António; Verbeke, Wim

2015-11-01

Given the potential of Perceived Consumer Effectiveness (PCE) in shaping pro-environmental behavior, the relationships between PCE, awareness of causes of contaminants in the marine environment, and concern about marine environmental contamination were investigated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). PCE is the belief that an individual has in being able to make a difference when acting alone. A web-based survey was performed in one western European country (Belgium), one northern European country (Ireland) and three southern European countries (Italy, Portugal and Spain), resulting in a total sample size of 2824 participants. The analyses confirm that European citizens are concerned about marine environmental problems. Participants from the southern countries reported the highest concern. In addition, the study participants did not have a strong belief in themselves in being capable of making a difference in tackling marine environmental problems. However, a higher awareness, which was associated with a higher degree of concern, enhanced the belief that an individual can make a difference in tackling marine environmental problems, though only when a concrete action was proposed. Consequently, information campaigns focusing on pro-environmental behavior are recommended to raise public awareness about marine environmental problems and at the same time explicitly refer to concrete possible actions. The findings indicate that when only awareness and concern are raised without mentioning a concrete action, PCE might even decrease and render the communication effort ineffective. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of the reinforcement bar arrangement on the efficiency of electrochemical chloride removal technique applied to reinforced concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garces, P.; Sanchez de Rojas, M.J.; Climent, M.A.

2006-01-01

This paper reports on the research done to find out the effect that different bar arrangements may have on the efficiency of the electrochemical chloride removal (ECR) technique when applied to a reinforced concrete structural member. Five different types of bar arrangements were considered, corresponding to typical structural members such as columns (with single and double bar reinforcing), slabs, beams and footings. ECR was applied in several steps. We observe that the extraction efficiency depends on the reinforcing bar arrangement. A uniform layer set-up favours chloride extraction. Electrochemical techniques were also used to estimate the reinforcing bar corrosion states, as well as measure the corrosion potential, and instant corrosion rate based on the polarization resistance technique. After ECR treatment, a reduction in the corrosion levels is observed falling short of the depassivation threshold

Reinforcement versus fluidization in cytoskeletal mechanoresponsiveness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramaswamy Krishnan

Full Text Available Every adherent eukaryotic cell exerts appreciable traction forces upon its substrate. Moreover, every resident cell within the heart, great vessels, bladder, gut or lung routinely experiences large periodic stretches. As an acute response to such stretches the cytoskeleton can stiffen, increase traction forces and reinforce, as reported by some, or can soften and fluidize, as reported more recently by our laboratory, but in any given circumstance it remains unknown which response might prevail or why. Using a novel nanotechnology, we show here that in loading conditions expected in most physiological circumstances the localized reinforcement response fails to scale up to the level of homogeneous cell stretch; fluidization trumps reinforcement. Whereas the reinforcement response is known to be mediated by upstream mechanosensing and downstream signaling, results presented here show the fluidization response to be altogether novel: it is a direct physical effect of mechanical force acting upon a structural lattice that is soft and fragile. Cytoskeletal softness and fragility, we argue, is consistent with early evolutionary adaptations of the eukaryotic cell to material properties of a soft inert microenvironment.

Increasing Wearing of Prescription Glasses in Individuals with Mental Retardation

Science.gov (United States)

DeLeon, Iser G.; Hagopian, Louis P.; Rodriguez-Catter, Vanessa; Bowman, Lynn G.; Long, Ethan S.; Boelter, Eric W.

2008-01-01

This study evaluated an intervention for promoting wearing of prescription glasses in 4 individuals with mental retardation who had refused to wear their glasses previously. Distraction through noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) increased independent glasses wearing for 1 of the 4 participants. An intervention consisting of NCR, response cost, and…

Introduction to Concrete Reinforcing. Instructor Edition. Introduction to Construction Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This module on concrete reinforcing is one of a series of modules designed to teach basic skills necessary for entry-level employment in this field. This module contains three instructional units that cover the following topics: (1) concrete reinforcing materials; (2) concrete reinforcing tools; and (3) concrete reinforcing basic skills. Each…

Behaviour of fibre reinforced polymer confined reinforced concrete columns under fire condition

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhury, Ershad Ullah

In recent years, fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials have demonstrated enormous potential as materials for repairing and retrofitting concrete bridges that have deteriorated from factors such as electro-chemical corrosion and increased load requirements. However, concerns associated with fire remain an obstacle to applications of FRP materials in buildings and parking garages due to FRP's sensitivity to high temperatures as compared with other structural materials and to limited knowledge on their thermal and mechanical behaviour in fire. This thesis presents results from an ongoing study on the fire performance of FRP materials, fire insulation materials and systems, and FRP wrapped reinforced concrete columns. The overall goal of the study is to understand the fire behaviour of FRP materials and FRP strengthened concrete columns and ultimately, provide rational fire safety design recommendations and guidelines for FRP strengthened concrete columns. A combined experimental and numerical investigation was conducted to achieve the goals of this research study. The experimental work consisted of both small-scale FRP material testing at elevated temperatures and full-scale fire tests on FRP strengthened columns. A numerical model was developed to simulate the behaviour of unwrapped reinforced concrete and FRP strengthened reinforced concrete square or rectangular columns in fire. After validating the numerical model against test data available in literature, it was determined that the numerical model can be used to analyze the behaviour of concrete axial compressive members in fire. Results from this study also demonstrated that although FRP materials experience considerable loss of their mechanical and bond properties at temperatures somewhat below the glass transition temperature of the resin matrix, externally-bonded FRP can be used in strengthening concrete structural members in buildings, if appropriate supplemental fire protection system is provided over

Equivalence relations and the reinforcement contingency.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidman, M

2000-07-01

Where do equivalence relations come from? One possible answer is that they arise directly from the reinforcement contingency. That is to say, a reinforcement contingency produces two types of outcome: (a) 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, or n-term units of analysis that are known, respectively, as operant reinforcement, simple discrimination, conditional discrimination, second-order conditional discrimination, and so on; and (b) equivalence relations that consist of ordered pairs of all positive elements that participate in the contingency. This conception of the origin of equivalence relations leads to a number of new and verifiable ways of conceptualizing equivalence relations and, more generally, the stimulus control of operant behavior. The theory is also capable of experimental disproof.

Slipforming of reinforced concrete shield building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsieh, M.C.; King, J.R.

1982-01-01

The unique design and construction features of slipforming the heavily reinforced concrete cylindrical shield walls at the Satsop nuclear plant in Washington, D.C. site are presented. The shield walls were designed in compliance with seismic requirements which resulted in the need for reinforcing steel averaging 326 kg/m/sup 3/. A 7.6 m high, three-deck moving platform was designed to permit easy installation of the reinforcing steel, embedments, and blockouts, and to facilitate concrete placement and finishing. Two circular box trusses, one on each side of the shield wall, were used in combination with a spider truss to meet both the tolerance and strength requirements for the slipform assembly

A conceptual framework for cyber security awareness and education in SA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noluxolo Kortjan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The Internet is becoming increasingly interwoven in the daily lives of many individuals, organisations and nations. It has, to a large extent, had a positive effect on the way people communicate. It has also introduced new avenues for business; and it has offered nations an opportunity to govern online. Nevertheless, although cyberspace offers an endless list of services and opportunities, it is also accompanied by many risks, of which many Internet users are not aware. As such, various countries have developed and implemented cyber-security awareness and education measures to counter the perceived ignorance of the Internet users. However, there is currently a definite lack in South Africa (SA in this regard; as there are currently, little government-led and sponsored cyber-security awareness and education initiatives. The primary research objective of this paper, therefore, is to propose a cyber-security awareness and education framework for SA that would assist in creating a cyber-secure culture in SA among all of the users of the Internet. This framework will be developed on the basis of key factors extrapolated from a comparative analysis of relevant developed countries.

Quantitative radiographic analysis of fiber reinforced polymer composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Baidya, K P; Ramakrishna, S; Rahman, M; Ritchie, A

2001-01-01

X-ray radiographic examination of the bone fracture healing process is a widely used method in the treatment and management of patients. Medical devices made of metallic alloys reportedly produce considerable artifacts that make the interpretation of radiographs difficult. Fiber reinforced polymer composite materials have been proposed to replace metallic alloys in certain medical devices because of their radiolucency, light weight, and tailorable mechanical properties. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a comparable radiographic analysis of different fiber reinforced polymer composites that are considered suitable for biomedical applications. Composite materials investigated consist of glass, aramid (Kevlar-29), and carbon reinforcement fibers, and epoxy and polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) matrices. The total mass attenuation coefficient of each material was measured using clinical X-rays (50 kev). The carbon fiber reinforced composites were found to be more radiolucent than the glass and kevlar fiber reinforced composites.

Behavior of reinforcement SCC beams under elevated temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Fathi, Hamoon; Farhang, Kianoosh

2015-09-01

This experimental study focuses on the behavior of heated reinforced concrete beams. Four types of concrete mixtures were used for the tested self-compacting concrete beams. A total of 72 reinforced concrete beams and 72 standard cylindrical specimens were tested. The compressive strength under uniaxial loading at 23 °C ranged from 30 to 45 MPa. The specimens were exposed to different temperatures. The test parameters of interest were the compressive strength and the temperature of the specimens. The effect of changes in the parameters was examined so as to control the behavior of the tested concrete and that of the reinforced concrete beam. The results indicated that flexibility and compressive strength of the reinforced concrete beams decreased at higher temperatures. Furthermore, heating beyond 400 °C produced greater variations in the structural behavior of the materials in both the cylindrical samples and the reinforced concrete beams.

Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Benjamin P.; Frank, Michael J.; Bogert, Brigitte; Brattico, Elvira

2013-01-01

Mounting evidence links the enjoyment of music to brain areas implicated in emotion and the dopaminergic reward system. In particular, dopamine release in the ventral striatum seems to play a major role in the rewarding aspect of music listening. Striatal dopamine also influences reinforcement learning, such that subjects with greater dopamine efficacy learn better to approach rewards while those with lesser dopamine efficacy learn better to avoid punishments. In this study, we explored the practical implications of musical pleasure through its ability to facilitate reinforcement learning via non-pharmacological dopamine elicitation. Subjects from a wide variety of musical backgrounds chose a pleasurable and a neutral piece of music from an experimenter-compiled database, and then listened to one or both of these pieces (according to pseudo-random group assignment) as they performed a reinforcement learning task dependent on dopamine transmission. We assessed musical backgrounds as well as typical listening patterns with the new Helsinki Inventory of Music and Affective Behaviors (HIMAB), and separately investigated behavior for the training and test phases of the learning task. Subjects with more musical experience trained better with neutral music and tested better with pleasurable music, while those with less musical experience exhibited the opposite effect. HIMAB results regarding listening behaviors and subjective music ratings indicate that these effects arose from different listening styles: namely, more affective listening in non-musicians and more analytical listening in musicians. In conclusion, musical pleasure was able to influence task performance, and the shape of this effect depended on group and individual factors. These findings have implications in affective neuroscience, neuroaesthetics, learning, and music therapy. PMID:23970875

A planetary nervous system for social mining and collective awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Giannotti, F.; Pedreschi, D.; Pentland, A.; Lukowicz, P.; Kossmann, D.; Crowley, J.; Helbing, D.

2012-11-01

We present a research roadmap of a Planetary Nervous System (PNS), capable of sensing and mining the digital breadcrumbs of human activities and unveiling the knowledge hidden in the big data for addressing the big questions about social complexity. We envision the PNS as a globally distributed, self-organizing, techno-social system for answering analytical questions about the status of world-wide society, based on three pillars: social sensing, social mining and the idea of trust networks and privacy-aware social mining. We discuss the ingredients of a science and a technology necessary to build the PNS upon the three mentioned pillars, beyond the limitations of their respective state-of-art. Social sensing is aimed at developing better methods for harvesting the big data from the techno-social ecosystem and make them available for mining, learning and analysis at a properly high abstraction level. Social mining is the problem of discovering patterns and models of human behaviour from the sensed data across the various social dimensions by data mining, machine learning and social network analysis. Trusted networks and privacy-aware social mining is aimed at creating a new deal around the questions of privacy and data ownership empowering individual persons with full awareness and control on own personal data, so that users may allow access and use of their data for their own good and the common good. The PNS will provide a goal-oriented knowledge discovery framework, made of technology and people, able to configure itself to the aim of answering questions about the pulse of global society. Given an analytical request, the PNS activates a process composed by a variety of interconnected tasks exploiting the social sensing and mining methods within the transparent ecosystem provided by the trusted network. The PNS we foresee is the key tool for individual and collective awareness for the knowledge society. We need such a tool for everyone to become fully aware of how

Structural performance evaluation on aging underground reinforced concrete structures. Part 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumura, Takuro; Matsuo, Toyofumi; Miyagawa, Yoshinori

2009-01-01

When we evaluate the soundness of reinforced concrete structures, it is important to assess the chloride induced deterioration. We conducted the reinforcing steel corrosion tests of reinforced concrete specimens under simulated tidal environment of sea. Parameters of the tests were water cement ratio, cement type and crack width of concrete. Periods of the tests were eighty month. The obtained results were summarized at follows: (a) The chloride ion concentration at the initiation of reinforcing steel corrosion was about 3.0 kg/m 3 in case of reinforcing steel in non-crack concrete used ordinary cement. (b) The corrosion rate of reinforcing steels was almost constant at any cement type specimens after causing crack by reinforcing steel corrosion. (c) The corrosion rate of reinforcing steels in specimens, which caused cracks by bending load, increased as crack width. In the same type specimens, the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels in fly ash cement specimens was larger than that of ordinary cement specimens. In this case, the corrosion rate of reinforcing steels was evaluated about 0.18 mm/year. (author)

The mediating relationship of self-awareness on supervisor burnout and workgroup Civility & Psychological Safety: A multilevel path analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Hernandez

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine whether managerial self-awareness (defined as degree of agreement between self and subordinate ratings of leaders’ behaviors mediates the relationship between supervisor burnout and supervised workgroup climate. Using an HLM approach, supervisor emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment exhibited significant indirect relationships with workplace Civility and Psychological Safety, via managerial self-awareness. No direct relationships between supervisor burnout and workgroup climate were found, suggesting that self-awareness may be an important mediator for individual characteristics of leaders previously thought to be non-significant. Additional post hoc comparisons indicated that workgroups with supervisors who over-rated their own performance behaviors reported the lowest levels of Civility and Psychological Safety compared to workgroups with supervisors who accurately rated or under-rated their own performance behaviors. However, supervisors that under-rated their own performance reported the highest levels of burnout, highlighting the importance of self-awareness (accurately rating oneself in relation to individual and group outcomes. The relationships between supervisor burnout, managerial self-awareness, and workgroup perceptions of Civility and Psychological Safety differed when considering the directionality of self-other rating agreement, with the negative impact of burnout at the supervisor level having a more direct impact on the workgroup level perceptions of Civility and Psychological Safety when the workgroup is managed by an under-rater, as opposed to an accurate- or over-rater. Practically, organizations should consider the role of managerial self-awareness in influencing subordinate performance and creating desirable work climates. Also, this study suggests the effects of burnout extend beyond the individual and have significant implications for the performance

Is that really my movement?—Students' experiences of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia Backåberg

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Healthcare staff and students have a great risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. One cause of this is heavy load related work activities such as manual handling, in which the quality of individual work technique may play a major role. Preventive interventions and well-defined educational strategies to support movement awareness and long-lasting movement changes need to be developed. The aim of the present study was to explore nursing students’ experiences of a newly developed interactive learning model for movement awareness. The learning model, which is based on a life-world perspective with focus on interpersonal interaction, has been used with 11 undergraduate students from the second and final year. Each student participated in three individual video sessions with a facilitator. Two individual interviews were carried out with each student during the learning process and one interview 12–18 months after the last session. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by Paul Ricoeur and described by Lindseth and Norberg was used to interpret the interviews and diary notes. The interpretation resulted in three key themes and nine subthemes. The key themes were; “Obtaining better preconditions for bodily awareness,” “Experiencing changes in one's own movement,” and “Experiencing challenges in the learning process.” The interactive learning model entails a powerful and challenging experience that develops movement awareness. The experience of meaningfulness and usefulness emerges increasingly and alternates with a feeling of discomfort. The learning model may contribute to the body of knowledge of well-defined educational strategies in movement awareness and learning in, for example, preventive interventions and ergonomic education. It may also be valuable in other practical learning situations where movement awareness is required.

The joint effect of bias awareness and self-reported prejudice on intergroup anxiety and intentions for intergroup contact.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Sylvia P; Dovidio, John F; Murphy, Mary C; van Ryn, Michelle

2015-01-01

Two correlational studies investigated the joint effect of bias awareness-a new individual difference measure that assesses Whites' awareness and concern about their propensity to be biased-and prejudice on Whites' intergroup anxiety and intended intergroup contact. Using a community sample (Study 1), we found the predicted Bias Awareness × Prejudice interaction. Prejudice was more strongly related to interracial anxiety among those high (vs. low) in bias awareness. Study 2 investigated potential behavioral consequences in an important real world context: medical students' intentions for working primarily with minority patients. Study 2 replicated the Bias Awareness × Prejudice interaction and further demonstrated that interracial anxiety mediated medical students' intentions to work with minority populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Disperse reinforced concrete used in obtaining prefabricated elements for roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan MEZEI

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Concrete is the most used material in construction. By improving the performance of materials and of technologies, concretes with outstanding performances were also developed, in the past two decades. Concrete with dispersed reinforcement represents a new generation of reinforced concrete that combines a good behavior of concrete compressive strength with an increased tensile strength of steel fibers. Using this material, monolithic and prefabricated concrete elements with high mechanical strengths and high durability can be obtained. Technological processes for preparation of concrete with dispersed reinforcement are similar to the conventional methods and do not involve using additional equipment for dosing the dispersed reinforcement. The study aimed the development of road plates made with optimized disperse- reinforced concrete. The first tests were done on plates from the gutter roadway, having a classic reinforcement, using different percentages of fibre reinforcement in the concrete composition, leading to the development of a new optimized economical solution. The results prove the enhanced characteristics of the disperse-reinforced concrete versus conventional concrete, and hence of the developed concrete plates.

Strengthening of the Timber Members Using Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioana-Sorina Enţuc

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The reinforcement of structural wood products has become in the last decades an efficient method of improving structural capabilities of load carrying members made of this material. Some important steps in earlier stages of research were focused on using metallic reinforcement, including steel bars, prestressed stranded cables, and bonded steel and aluminum plates. A disadvantage of the metallic reinforcement was the poor compatibility between the wood and the reinforcing materials. In comparison with metallic reinforcement, fiber reinforced polymers (FRP composites are compatible with structural wood products leading to efficient hybrid members. Some interesting strengthening alternatives using FRP applied to wood beams and to wood columns are presented in this paper.

Optomechanical System Development of the AWARE Gigapixel Scale Camera

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Hui S.

Electronic focal plane arrays (FPA) such as CMOS and CCD sensors have dramatically improved to the point that digital cameras have essentially phased out film (except in very niche applications such as hobby photography and cinema). However, the traditional method of mating a single lens assembly to a single detector plane, as required for film cameras, is still the dominant design used in cameras today. The use of electronic sensors and their ability to capture digital signals that can be processed and manipulated post acquisition offers much more freedom of design at system levels and opens up many interesting possibilities for the next generation of computational imaging systems. The AWARE gigapixel scale camera is one such computational imaging system. By utilizing a multiscale optical design, in which a large aperture objective lens is mated with an array of smaller, well corrected relay lenses, we are able to build an optically simple system that is capable of capturing gigapixel scale images via post acquisition stitching of the individual pictures from the array. Properly shaping the array of digital cameras allows us to form an effectively continuous focal surface using off the shelf (OTS) flat sensor technology. This dissertation details developments and physical implementations of the AWARE system architecture. It illustrates the optomechanical design principles and system integration strategies we have developed through the course of the project by summarizing the results of the two design phases for AWARE: AWARE-2 and AWARE-10. These systems represent significant advancements in the pursuit of scalable, commercially viable snapshot gigapixel imaging systems and should serve as a foundation for future development of such systems.

Continuing midwifery education beyond graduation: Student midwives' awareness of continuous professional development.

Science.gov (United States)

Embo, M; Valcke, M

2017-05-01

Midwifery education plays an important role in educating graduates about engaging in continuous professional development (CPD) but there is a lack of empirical research analysing student midwives' awareness of CPD beyond graduation. We aimed to explore student midwives' awareness of the need to become lifelong learners and to map their knowledge of CPD activities available after graduation. Therefore, forty-seven reflective documents, written in the last week of student midwives' training programme, were analysed in a thematic way. Content analysis confirmed student midwives' awareness of the importance of CPD before graduation. They mentioned different reasons for future involvement in CPD and described both, formal and informal CPD-activities. Respondents were especially aware of the importance of knowledge, to a lesser degree of skills-training and still less of the potential value of the Internet for individual and collective learning. Respondents perceived a need for a mandatory preceptorship. Supporting learning guides were highly valued and the importance of reflection on CPD was well-established. This could have resulted from an integrated reflective learning strategy during education. Undergraduate midwives are aware of the importance of CPD and the interplay of formal and informal learning activities. Virtual learning requires special attention to overcome CPD challenges. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bond characteristics of steel fiber and deformed reinforcing steel bar embedded in steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC)

Science.gov (United States)

Aslani, Farhad; Nejadi, Shami

2012-09-01

Steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC) is a relatively new composite material which congregates the benefits of the self-compacting concrete (SCC) technology with the profits derived from the fiber addition to a brittle cementitious matrix. Steel fibers improve many of the properties of SCC elements including tensile strength, ductility, toughness, energy absorption capacity, fracture toughness and cracking. Although the available research regarding the influence of steel fibers on the properties of SFRSCC is limited, this paper investigates the bond characteristics between steel fiber and SCC firstly. Based on the available experimental results, the current analytical steel fiber pullout model (Dubey 1999) is modified by considering the different SCC properties and different fiber types (smooth, hooked) and inclination. In order to take into account the effect of fiber inclination in the pullout model, apparent shear strengths ( τ ( app)) and slip coefficient ( β) are incorporated to express the variation of pullout peak load and the augmentation of peak slip as the inclined angle increases. These variables are expressed as functions of the inclined angle ( ϕ). Furthurmore, steel-concrete composite floors, reinforced concrete floors supported by columns or walls and floors on an elastic foundations belong to the category of structural elements in which the conventional steel reinforcement can be partially replaced by the use of steel fibers. When discussing deformation capacity of structural elements or civil engineering structures manufactured using SFRSCC, one must be able to describe thoroughly both the behavior of the concrete matrix reinforced with steel fibers and the interaction between this composite matrix and discrete steel reinforcement of the conventional type. However, even though the knowledge on bond behavior is essential for evaluating the overall behavior of structural components containing reinforcement and steel fibers

Soil reinforcement with geosynthetics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bessaim Mohammed Mustapha

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The proportionality of existence of land with good bearing to erect any building or building is very small, to remedy this deficiency it is necessary to resort to techniques of reinforcement of the soils which can constitute a very important development. Among these methods of remediation, there is reinforcement by the geosynthetics which constitute an effective solution to these constraints. This process tends to stabilize the soil in question with increased load bearing capacity in civil engineering and geotechnical works such as embankments, slopes, embankments and hydraulic structures, with an inestimable gain in time, economy and durability while preserving the natural and environmental aspect.

“ABC”—The Awareness-Body-Chart: A new tool assessing body awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Avian, Alexander; Macheiner, Tanja; Salchinger, Beate; Dalkner, Nina; Fellendorf, Frederike T.; Birner, Armin; Bengesser, Susanne A.; Platzer, Martina; Kapfhammer, Hans-Peter; Probst, Michel; Reininghaus, Eva Z.

2017-01-01

Background Despite the importance of body awareness for health and well-being there is still a lack of valid assessment tools to scan proper body awareness. To respond to the limitations of questionnaires (reading/interpretation problems) the Awareness-Body-Chart (ABC) was designed to assess body awareness by colouring 51 regions according to their awareness. The objective of this study was to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the ABC. Methods In a questionnaire-study, 106 students in Graz (79 females, 27 males, age median 21 (IQR 20–23) years) filled in the ABC, furthermore a German body awareness questionnaire „KEKS”, and the Beck Depression Inventory II. Factor structure, internal consistency, and retest reliability of the ABC were investigated. Correlations of the ABC with the KEKS and the Beck Depression Inventory II and comparisons of subgroups were conducted. Results Through factor analyses, 14 factors with clear assignments to body parts could be categorized: cranium, face, cervical/lumbar region, chest/abdomen, back, shoulder, upper arm, lower arm/elbow, hand, genital area, thigh/hip, knee, lower leg, and foot. The 14 body parts and the total score showed acceptable to high Cronbach’s alphas (α = .64 - .97). The test-retest reliability showed values between ρ = .71 and ρ = .96. The correlation of the ABC and KEKS (r = .66, p awareness-patterns of various subgroups. PMID:29036217

Norm-Aware Socio-Technical Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Savarimuthu, Bastin Tony Roy; Ghose, Aditya

The following sections are included: * Introduction * The Need for Norm-Aware Systems * Norms in human societies * Why should software systems be norm-aware? * Case Studies of Norm-Aware Socio-Technical Systems * Human-computer interactions * Virtual environments and multi-player online games * Extracting norms from big data and software repositories * Norms and Sustainability * Sustainability and green ICT * Norm awareness through software systems * Where To, From Here? * Conclusions

Assessing air quality index awareness and use in Mexico City.

Science.gov (United States)

Borbet, Timothy C; Gladson, Laura A; Cromar, Kevin R

2018-04-23

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area has an expansive urban population and a long history of air quality management challenges. Poor air quality has been associated with adverse pulmonary and cardiac health effects, particularly among susceptible populations with underlying disease. In addition to reducing pollution concentrations, risk communication efforts that inform behavior modification have the potential to reduce public health burdens associated with air pollution. This study investigates the utilization of Mexico's IMECA risk communication index to inform air pollution avoidance behavior among the general population living in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. Individuals were selected via probability sampling and surveyed by phone about their air quality index knowledge, pollution concerns, and individual behaviors. The results indicated reasonably high awareness of the air quality index (53% of respondents), with greater awareness in urban areas, among older and more educated individuals, and for those who received air quality information from a healthcare provider. Additionally, behavior modification was less influenced by index reports as it was by personal perceptions of air quality, and there was no difference in behavior modification among susceptible and non-susceptible groups. Taken together, these results suggest there are opportunities to improve the public health impact of risk communication through an increased focus on susceptible populations and greater encouragement of public action in response to local air quality indices.

Awareness in cardiac anesthesia.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Serfontein, Leon

2010-02-01

Cardiac surgery represents a sub-group of patients at significantly increased risk of intraoperative awareness. Relatively few recent publications have targeted the topic of awareness in this group. The aim of this review is to identify areas of awareness research that may equally be extrapolated to cardiac anesthesia in the attempt to increase understanding of the nature and significance of this scenario and how to reduce it.

A predictive model for the stiffness and damping properties of fiber-reinforced bearings. (Draft)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.M.

1998-01-01

Seismic isolation technology in the United States today is applied almost entirely to large, expensive buildings housing sensitive internal equipment. Examples are computer centers, chip fabrication factories, emergency operation centers, and hospitals. The isolators used in these applications are large, expensive, and heavy. An individual isolator can weight around 1 ton and often more. To extend this valuable earthquake-resistant strategy to housing and commercial buildings, it is necessary to reduce the cost and weight of the isolators. The primary weight in an isolator is in the reinforcing steel plates used to provide the vertical stiffness of the rubber-steel composite element. A typical rubber isolator has two large end-plates [around 1 in. (25 mm) thick] and 20 thin reinforcing plates [around 3 mm (1/8 in.) thick). The high cost of producing the isolators results from the labor involved in preparing the steel plates and laying-up the rubber sheets and steel plates for vulcanization bonding in a mold. The steel plates have to be cut, sandblasted, acid cleaned, and coated with bonding compound. Next, the compounded rubber sheets with the interleaved steel plates are put into a mold and heated under pressure for several hours to complete the manufacturing process. The purpose of this research is to suggest that both the weight and the cost of isolators can be reduced by eliminating the steel reinforcing plates and replacing them with a fiber reinforcement

How partial reinforcement of food cues affects the extinction and reacquisition of appetitive responses. A new model for dieting success?

Science.gov (United States)

van den Akker, Karolien; Havermans, Remco C; Bouton, Mark E; Jansen, Anita

2014-10-01

Animals and humans can easily learn to associate an initially neutral cue with food intake through classical conditioning, but extinction of learned appetitive responses can be more difficult. Intermittent or partial reinforcement of food cues causes especially persistent behaviour in animals: after exposure to such learning schedules, the decline in responding that occurs during extinction is slow. After extinction, increases in responding with renewed reinforcement of food cues (reacquisition) might be less rapid after acquisition with partial reinforcement. In humans, it may be that the eating behaviour of some individuals resembles partial reinforcement schedules to a greater extent, possibly affecting dieting success by interacting with extinction and reacquisition. Furthermore, impulsivity has been associated with less successful dieting, and this association might be explained by impulsivity affecting the learning and extinction of appetitive responses. In the present two studies, the effects of different reinforcement schedules and impulsivity on the acquisition, extinction, and reacquisition of appetitive responses were investigated in a conditioning paradigm involving food rewards in healthy humans. Overall, the results indicate both partial reinforcement schedules and, possibly, impulsivity to be associated with worse extinction performance. A new model of dieting success is proposed: learning histories and, perhaps, certain personality traits (impulsivity) can interfere with the extinction and reacquisition of appetitive responses to food cues and they may be causally related to unsuccessful dieting. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface Heave Behaviour of Coir Geotextile Reinforced Sand Beds

Science.gov (United States)

Lal, Dharmesh; Sankar, N.; Chandrakaran, S.

2017-06-01

Soil reinforcement by natural fibers is one of the cheapest and attractive ground improvement techniques. Coir is the most abundant natural fiber available in India and due to its high lignin content; it has a larger life span than other natural fibers. It is widely used in India for erosion control purposes, but its use as a reinforcement material is rather limited. This study focuses on the use of coir geotextile as a reinforcement material to reduce surface heave phenomena occurring in shallow foundations. This paper presents the results of laboratory model tests carried out on square footings supported on coir geotextile reinforced sand beds. The influence of various parameters such as depth of reinforcement, length, and number of layers of reinforcement was studied. It was observed that surface heave is considerably reduced with the provision of geotextile. Heave reduction up to 98.7% can be obtained by the proposed method. Heave reduction is quantified by a non-dimensional parameter called heave reduction factor.

Neurofeedback in Learning Disabled Children: Visual versus Auditory Reinforcement.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, Thalía; Bosch-Bayard, Jorge; Harmony, Thalía; Caballero, María I; Díaz-Comas, Lourdes; Galán, Lídice; Ricardo-Garcell, Josefina; Aubert, Eduardo; Otero-Ojeda, Gloria

2016-03-01

Children with learning disabilities (LD) frequently have an EEG characterized by an excess of theta and a deficit of alpha activities. NFB using an auditory stimulus as reinforcer has proven to be a useful tool to treat LD children by positively reinforcing decreases of the theta/alpha ratio. The aim of the present study was to optimize the NFB procedure by comparing the efficacy of visual (with eyes open) versus auditory (with eyes closed) reinforcers. Twenty LD children with an abnormally high theta/alpha ratio were randomly assigned to the Auditory or the Visual group, where a 500 Hz tone or a visual stimulus (a white square), respectively, was used as a positive reinforcer when the value of the theta/alpha ratio was reduced. Both groups had signs consistent with EEG maturation, but only the Auditory Group showed behavioral/cognitive improvements. In conclusion, the auditory reinforcer was more efficacious in reducing the theta/alpha ratio, and it improved the cognitive abilities more than the visual reinforcer.

Tensile behavior and tension stiffening of reinforced concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choun, Young Sun; Seo, Jeong Moon

2001-03-01

For the ultimate behavior analysis of containment buildings under severe accident conditions, a clear understanding of tensile behaviors of plain and reinforced concrete is necessary. Nonlinear models for tensile behaviors of concrete are also needed. This report describe following items: tensile behaviors of plain concrete, test results of reinforced concrete panels in uniaxial and biaxial tension, tension stiffening. The tensile behaviors of reinforced concrete are significantly influenced by the properties of concrete and reinforcing steel. Thus, for a more reliable evaluation of tensile behavior and ultimate pressure capacity of a reinforced or prestressed concrete containment building, an advanced concrete model which can be considered rebar-concrete interaction effects should be developed. In additions, a crack behavior analysis method and tension stiffening models, which are based on fracture mechanics, should be developed. The model should be based on the various test data from specimens considering material and sectional properties of the containment building

Raising awareness of chronic kidney disease in a Brazilian urban population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Mazza Nascimento

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The incidence and prevalence of chronic kidney disease have been increasing in recent years in developing countries. The aim of this study was to report the results of a general chronic kidney disease awareness program applied to an urban population in a large Brazilian city. From January 2002 to January 2005 a total of 8883 individuals in the city of Curitiba (PR, Brazil were screened for hypertension, body mass index, hematuria, and proteinuria. A family history and previous medical diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM were also recorded. Of the 8883 individuals assessed, 56% were women, subject median age was 47 years (range: 17-93 years and more than 90% were Caucasian. Thirty percent had signs of hematuria, 6% had proteinuria, and 3% had hematuria and proteinuria. The median of mean arterial pressure values was 93 mmHg (range: 71-135 mmHg and 16% of the population screened had a history of hypertension. A significant positive family history of both hypertension or DM was present in 42% (P < 0.0001; chi-square = 83.18 and 7% (P < 0.0001; chi-square = 161.31 of the hypertensive group, respectively. Finally, the prevalence of hypertension and DM was significantly higher in older individuals with proteinuria. In the present study, a higher prevalence of hematuria and proteinuria was found in older individuals with hypertension and diabetes compared to the general population. These data confirm the need for public awareness of renal disease in high-risk individuals.

Context-awareness and Mobile HCI

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qin, Xiangang; Tan, Chee Wee; Clemmensen, Torkil

2017-01-01

-awareness has been employed broadly in developing applications and services on mobile platform, has had a huge impact on mobile user experience, and has altered the interaction between humans and computers by giving the latter a more active role to play. The significance of context-awareness in the usage......Context-awareness endows mobile devices and services with the capability of interacting with users in an efficient, intelligent, natural and smart fashion. Consequently, context-awareness makes a significant difference to mobile HCI. However, the challenges brought by context-awareness to users...... of mobile devices are rarely examined in depth. In this paper, previous conceptions of context and their contribution to context-awareness in mobile HCI is scrutinized and a preliminary context-computer interaction (CCI) model is advanced to illustrate the interaction characterized by mobile context...

A suicide awareness and intervention program for health professional students.

Science.gov (United States)

De Silva, Eve; Bowerman, Lisa; Zimitat, Craig

2015-01-01

Many emergency service professionals and health professionals play important roles in the assessment and management of suicide risk but often receive inadequate mental health training in this area. A 'Suicide Awareness and Intervention Program' (SAIP) was developed for first year medical, paramedical and pharmacy students at the University of Tasmania, Australia. The program aimed to increase students' knowledge and awareness about suicide-related issues, develop interpersonal skills around suicide screening and increase awareness of available support services. A 5-hour experiential SAIP was embedded within the curriculum. A pre and post evaluation of knowledge, skills and attitudes was conducted, with an open-ended follow-up survey regarding use of what was learned in the program. Pre and post SAIP surveys showed significant improvement inknowledge and practical skills. Feedback from students and the counselling service indicated enduring impact of the program. Participation in the SAIP increased knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the assessment and management of individuals at risk for suicide, and the application of this ability to students' personal and professional lives.

Mechanical Behaviour of Sisal Fibre Reinforced Cement Composites

OpenAIRE

M. Aruna

2014-01-01

Emphasis on the advancement of new materials and technology has been there for the past few decades. The global development towards using cheap and durable materials from renewable resources contributes to sustainable development. An experimental investigation of mechanical behaviour of sisal fibre-reinforced concrete is reported for making a suitable building material in terms of reinforcement. Fibre reinforced Composite is one such material, which has reformed the concept of high strength. ...

Analyzing the Effects of Context-Aware Mobile Design Principles on Student Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Seneca, Eric

2014-01-01

The adoption of mobile technology is rapidly transforming how individuals obtain information. Learning occurs when content is accessed in a recursive process of awareness, exploration, reflection and resolution within one's social context. Specifically, the most visible, current definitions of mobile learning provide an overview of the learning…

Superconducting properties and uniaxial strain characteristics of Nb3Sn fiber-reinforced superconductors with tantalum reinforcement fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, Kazuaki; Umeda, Masaichi; Agatsuma, Koh; Tateishi, Hiroshi

1998-01-01

We have been developing fiber-reinforced superconductors (FRS) for high-field and large-scale magnets. Tungsten fibers have been selected as the reinforcement fiber for FRS so far because tungsten has the highest elastic modulus of approximately 400 GPa which can minimize the strain from electromagnetic force. The preparation process of FRS consists of sputtering deposition and heat treatment because it may be difficult to apply drawing methods to materials of high-elastic modulus such as tungsten. Tantalum has high elastic modulus of 178 GPa and its thermal expansion coefficient that is closer to that of Nb 3 Sn than tungsten's, which means prestrain in Nb 3 Sn in FRS is reduced by adopting tantalum fibers. Tantalum has been used as barriers between bronze and copper in conventional Nb 3 Sn superconductors which are usually prepared with drawing process despite of the tantalum's high elastic modulus. That implies drawing process may be applied to prepare FRS with tantalum reinforcement fibers. In this paper, FRS using tantalum fibers prepared with sputtering process are described with making comparison with FRS of tungsten to clarify the basic properties of FRS using tantalum fibers. Depth profiles in Nb 3 Sn layer in FRS were measured to examine reaction between superconducting layers and reinforcement fibers. Superconducting properties including strain and stress characteristics were shown. Those data will contribute to design of FRS using tantalum reinforcement fibers with adopts the drawing processes. (author)

Self-awareness of prospective memory failure in adults with traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Nadine L; Fleming, Jennifer M; Shum, David H K

2002-11-01

The frequency of prospective memory failure in individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) was investigated by comparison with a non-brain-injured control group. Self-awareness of prospective memory function was also assessed by comparing self-ratings with ratings by significant others. Study participants included 33 individuals with severe TBI and 29 non-brain-injured persons. Each participant nominated a close friend or relative who completed the informant's version of the questionnaire. Participants and their significant others both rated the participants' frequency of prospective memory lapses using the Comprehensive Assessment of Prospective Memory (CAPM). An independent groups design was adopted to compare the TBI and control groups. No significant difference was found between the TBI and control participants' self-ratings of frequency of prospective memory failure, but ratings by significant others were significantly different. The TBI group demonstrated less self-awareness (i.e. underestimated the frequency of prospective memory failure compared to significant others) than the control group.

Structural performance evaluation on aging underground reinforced concrete structures. Part 6. An estimation method of threshold value in performance verification taking reinforcing steel corrosion