High gain semiconductor optical amplifier — Laser diode at visible wavelength

KAUST Repository

Shen, Chao; Lee, Changmin; Ng, Tien Khee; Nakamura, Shuji; Speck, James S.; DenBaars, Steven P.; Alyamani, Ahmed Y.; El-Desouki, Munir M.; Ooi, Boon S.

2017-01-01

We reported on the first experimental demonstration of a two-section semipolar InGaN-based laser diode with monolithically integrated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA-LD). The onset of amplification effect was measured at 4V SOA bias (VSOA). The SOA-LD shows a large gain of 5.32 dB at Vsoa = 6 V.

High gain semiconductor optical amplifier — Laser diode at visible wavelength

KAUST Repository

Shen, Chao

2017-02-07

We reported on the first experimental demonstration of a two-section semipolar InGaN-based laser diode with monolithically integrated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA-LD). The onset of amplification effect was measured at 4V SOA bias (VSOA). The SOA-LD shows a large gain of 5.32 dB at Vsoa = 6 V.

A gain-coefficient switched Alexandrite laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chris J; Van der Slot, Peter J M; Boller, Klaus-J

2013-01-01

We report on a gain-coefficient switched Alexandrite laser. An electro-optic modulator is used to switch between high and low gain states by making use of the polarization dependent gain of Alexandrite. In gain-coefficient switched mode, the laser produces 85 ns pulses with a pulse energy of 240 mJ at a repetition rate of 5 Hz.

Association between gestational weight gain and perinatal outcomes in women with chronic hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Lynn M; Caughey, Aaron B; Cheng, Yvonne W

2017-09-01

Gestational weight gain above or below the 2009 National Academy of Medicine guidelines has been associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Although it has been well established that excess gestational weight gain is associated with the development of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia, the relationship between gestational weight gain and adverse perinatal outcomes among women with pregestational (chronic) hypertension is less clear. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between gestational weight gain above and below National Academy of Medicine guidelines and perinatal outcomes in a large, population-based cohort of women with chronic hypertension. This is a population-based retrospective cohort study of women with chronic hypertension who had term, singleton, vertex births in the United States from 2012 through 2014. Prepregnancy body mass index was calculated using self-reported prepregnancy weight and height. Women were categorized into 4 groups based on gestational weight gain and prepregnancy body mass index: (1) weight gain less than, (2) weight gain within, (3) weight gain 1-19 lb in excess of, and (4) weight gain ≥20 lb in excess of the National Academy of Medicine guidelines. The χ 2 tests and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used for statistical comparisons. Stratified analyses by body mass index category were additionally performed. In this large birth cohort, 101,259 women met criteria for inclusion. Compared to hypertensive women who had gestational weight gain within guidelines, hypertensive women with weight gain ≥20 lb over National Academy of Medicine guidelines were more likely to have eclampsia (adjusted odds ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-2.42) and cesarean delivery (adjusted odds ratio, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.50-1.70). Excess weight gain ≥20 lb over National Academy of Medicine guidelines was also associated with increased odds of 5-minute Apgar gain 1-19 lb

Determination of the STIS CCD Gain

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Allyssa; Monroe, TalaWanda; Lockwood, Sean

2016-09-01

This report summarizes the analysis and absolute gain results of the STIS Cycle 23 special calibration program 14424 that was designed to measure the gain of amplifiers A, C and D at nominal gain settings of 1 and 4 e-/DN. We used the mean-variance technique and the results indicate a mean-variance technique.

Developmental gains in visuospatial memory predict gains in mathematics achievement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaoran Li

Full Text Available Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusive, and their working memory capacity and processing speed in first and fifth grade. Intelligence was assessed in first grade and their second to fourth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. Developmental gains in visuospatial memory span (d = 2.4 were larger than gains in the capacity of the central executive (d = 1.6 that in turn were larger than gains in phonological memory span (d = 1.1. First to fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory and in speed of numeral processing predicted end of fifth grade mathematics achievement, as did first grade central executive scores, intelligence, and in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest there are important individual differences in the rate of growth of visuospatial memory during childhood and that these differences become increasingly important for mathematics learning.

Developmental gains in visuospatial memory predict gains in mathematics achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaoran; Geary, David C

2013-01-01

Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusive, and their working memory capacity and processing speed in first and fifth grade. Intelligence was assessed in first grade and their second to fourth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. Developmental gains in visuospatial memory span (d = 2.4) were larger than gains in the capacity of the central executive (d = 1.6) that in turn were larger than gains in phonological memory span (d = 1.1). First to fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory and in speed of numeral processing predicted end of fifth grade mathematics achievement, as did first grade central executive scores, intelligence, and in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest there are important individual differences in the rate of growth of visuospatial memory during childhood and that these differences become increasingly important for mathematics learning.

Developmental Gains in Visuospatial Memory Predict Gains in Mathematics Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaoran; Geary, David C.

2013-01-01

Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusive, and their working memory capacity and processing speed in first and fifth grade. Intelligence was assessed in first grade and their second to fourth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. Developmental gains in visuospatial memory span (d = 2.4) were larger than gains in the capacity of the central executive (d = 1.6) that in turn were larger than gains in phonological memory span (d = 1.1). First to fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory and in speed of numeral processing predicted end of fifth grade mathematics achievement, as did first grade central executive scores, intelligence, and in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest there are important individual differences in the rate of growth of visuospatial memory during childhood and that these differences become increasingly important for mathematics learning. PMID:23936154

LARGE BLOCK TEST STATUS REPORT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D.G. WILDER, W. LIN, S.C. BLAIR, T. BUSCHECK, R.C. CARLSON, K. LEE, A. MEIKE, A.L. RAMIREZ, J.L. WAGONER, AND J. WANG

1997-01-01

This report is intended to serve as a status report, which essentially transmits the data that have been collected to date on the Large Block Test (LBT). The analyses of data will be performed during FY98, and then a complete report will be prepared. This status report includes introductory material that is not needed merely to transmit data but is available at this time and therefore included. As such, this status report will serve as the template for the future report, and the information is thus preserved. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is investigatinq the suitability of Yucca Mountain (YM) as a potential site for the nation's first high-level nuclear waste repository. As shown in Fig. 1-1, the site is located about 120 km northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, in an area of uninhabited desert

Can LENR Energy Gains Exceed 1000?

Science.gov (United States)

Nagel, David J.

2011-03-01

Energy gain is defined as the energy realized from reactions divided by the energy required to produce those reactions. Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) have already been measured to significantly exceed the energy gain of 10 projected from ITER,possibly 15 years from now. Electrochemical experiments using the Pd-D system have shown energy gains exceeding 10. Gas phase experiments with the Ni-H system were reported to yield energy gains of over 100. Neither of these reports has been adequately verified or reproduced. However, the question in the title still deserves consideration. If, as thought by many, it is possible to trigger nuclear reactions that yield MeV energies with chemical energies of the order of eV, then the most optimistic expectation is that LENR gains could approach one million. Hence, the very tentative answer to the question above is yes. However, if LENR could be initiated with some energy cost, and then continue to ``burn,'' very high energy gains might be realized. Consider a match and a pile of dry logs. The phenomenon termed ``heat after death'' will be examined to see if it might be the initial evidence for nuclear ``burning.''

Combined Influence of Gestational Weight Gain and Estimated Fetal Weight on Risk Assessment for Small- or Large-for-Gestational-Age Birth Weight: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pugh, Sarah J; Hinkle, Stefanie N; Kim, Sungduk; Albert, Paul S; Newman, Roger; Grobman, William A; Wing, Deborah A; Grantz, Katherine L

2018-04-01

To evaluate the frequency with which gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight do not track across gestation and to assess the risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth weight as a function of tracking. This study included a pregnancy cohort (2009-2013) of 2438 women from 4 racial/ethnic groups in the United States. We calculated race- and trimester-specific gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight z scores. The prevalence of how often gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight did not or did directly track was examined by grouping z scores into measure-specific categories (1 SD) and then examining 2-measure combinations. Trimester-specific relative risks for SGA and LGA births were estimated with a gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight z score interaction. We estimated coefficients for selected gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight values (-1 SD, 0 SD, and +1 SD) compared with the referent of 0 SD for both measures. Small and large for gestational age were calculated as birth weight below the 10th and at or above the 90th percentiles, respectively. Gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight were within 1 SD 55.5%, 51.5%, and 48.2% of the time in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. There was no significant interaction between gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight on the risk of SGA in the first and second trimesters (interaction term P = .48; P = .79). In the third trimester, there was a significant interaction (P = .002), resulting in a 71% (95% confidence interval, 1.45-2.02) increased risk of SGA when estimated fetal weight was low and gestational weight gain was high. These relationships were similar for the risk of LGA. Deviations in either measure, even in the presence of average gestational weight gain or estimated fetal weight, still suggest an increased risk of SGA and LGA. © 2017 by the American Institute of

Energy gains from lattice-enabled nuclear reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagel, David J.

2015-01-01

The energy gain of a system is defined as the ratio of its output energy divided by the energy provided to operate the system. Most familiar systems have energy gains less than one due to various inefficiencies. By contrast, lattice-enabled nuclear reactions (LENR) offer high energy gains. Theoretical values in excess of 1000 are possible. Energy gains over 100 have already been reported. But, they have not yet been sustained for commercially significant durations. This article summarizes the current status of LENR energy gains. (author)

Associations of exercise-induced hormone profiles and gains in strength and hypertrophy in a large cohort after weight training.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Daniel W D; Phillips, Stuart M

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between acute exercise-induced hormone responses and adaptations to high intensity resistance training in a large cohort (n = 56) of young men. Acute post-exercise serum growth hormone (GH), free testosterone (fT), insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and cortisol responses were determined following an acute intense leg resistance exercise routine at the midpoint of a 12-week resistance exercise training study. Acute hormonal responses were correlated with gains in lean body mass (LBM), muscle fibre cross-sectional area (CSA) and leg press strength. There were no significant correlations between the exercise-induced elevations (area under the curve-AUC) of GH, fT and IGF-1 and gains in LBM or leg press strength. Significant correlations were found for cortisol, usually assumed to be a hormone indicative of catabolic drive, AUC with change in LBM (r = 0.29, P training-induced changes in fibre CSA and LBM (cortisol only), but not with changes in strength.

Terrestrial Ecosystem Responses to Species Gains and Losses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wardle, D.A.; Bardgett, R.D.; Callaway, R.; Putten, van der W.H.

2011-01-01

Ecosystems worldwide are losing some species and gaining others, resulting in an interchange of species that is having profound impacts on how these ecosystems function. However, research on the effects of species gains and losses has developed largely independently of one another. Recent conceptual

Terrestrial ecosystem responses to species gains and losses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wardle, D.A.; Bardgett, R.D.; Callaway, R.M.; Van der Putten, W.H.

2011-01-01

Ecosystems worldwide are losing some species and gaining others, resulting in an interchange of species that is having profound impacts on how these ecosystems function. However, research on the effects of species gains and losses has developed largely independently of one another. Recent conceptual

Self-reported causes of weight gain: among prebariatric surgery patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Sarah; Al-Rehany, Layla; Tang, Cathy; Gougeon, Lorraine; Warwick, Katie; Madill, Janet

2013-01-01

Bariatric surgery is accepted by the medical community as the most effective treatment for obesity; however, weight regain after surgery remains common. Long-term weight loss and weight maintenance may be aided when dietitians who provide perioperative care understand the causes of weight gain leading to bariatric surgery. In this study, the most common causes for weight gain were examined among prebariatric surgery patients. A retrospective chart review was conducted for 160 patients enrolled in a bariatric surgery program. Data were collected for 20 variables: puberty, pregnancy, menopause, change in living environment, change in job/career, financial problems, quitting smoking, drug or alcohol use, medical condition, surgery, injury affecting mobility, chronic pain, dieting, others' influence over diet, abuse, mental health condition, stress, death of a loved one, divorce/end of a relationship, and other causes. Frequency distribution and chi-square tests were performed using SPSS. Sixty-three percent of participants selected stress as a cause of weight gain, while 56% selected dieting. Significant differences existed between women and men in the selection of dieting and change in living environment. This information may allow dietitians to better identify causes for weight gain leading to bariatric surgery, and to address these causes appropriately before and after surgery.

The effects of control-display gain on performance of race car drivers in an isometric braking task.

Science.gov (United States)

de Winter, J C F; de Groot, S

2012-12-01

To minimise lap times during car racing, it is important to build up brake forces rapidly and maintain precise control. We examined the effect of the amplification factor (gain) between brake pedal force and a visually represented output value on a driver's ability to track a target value. The test setup was a formula racing car cockpit fitted with an isometric brake pedal. Thirteen racing drivers performed tracking tasks with four control-display gains and two target functions: a step function (35 trials per gain) and a multisine function (15 trials per gain). The control-display gain had only minor effects on root mean-squared error between output value and target value, but it had large effects on build-up speed, overshoot, within-participants variability, and self-reported physical load. The results confirm the hypothesis that choosing an optimum gain involves balancing stability against physical effort.

Financial conflicts of interest and reporting bias regarding the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Bes-Rastrollo, Maira; Schulze, Matthias B; Ruiz-Canela, Miguel; Martinez-Gonzalez, Miguel A

2013-12-01

Industry sponsors' financial interests might bias the conclusions of scientific research. We examined whether financial industry funding or the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest influenced the results of published systematic reviews (SRs) conducted in the field of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and weight gain or obesity. We conducted a search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases to identify published SRs from the inception of the databases to August 31, 2013, on the association between SSB consumption and weight gain or obesity. SR conclusions were independently classified by two researchers into two groups: those that found a positive association and those that did not. These two reviewers were blinded with respect to the stated source of funding and the disclosure of conflicts of interest. We identified 17 SRs (with 18 conclusions). In six of the SRs a financial conflict of interest with some food industry was disclosed. Among those reviews without any reported conflict of interest, 83.3% of the conclusions (10/12) were that SSB consumption could be a potential risk factor for weight gain. In contrast, the same percentage of conclusions, 83.3% (5/6), of those SRs disclosing some financial conflict of interest with the food industry were that the scientific evidence was insufficient to support a positive association between SSB consumption and weight gain or obesity. Those reviews with conflicts of interest were five times more likely to present a conclusion of no positive association than those without them (relative risk: 5.0, 95% CI: 1.3-19.3). An important limitation of this study is the impossibility of ruling out the existence of publication bias among those studies not declaring any conflict of interest. However, the best large randomized trials also support a direct association between SSB consumption and weight gain or obesity. Financial conflicts of interest may bias conclusions from SRs on SSB consumption and weight gain

Temporal Gain Correction for X-Ray Calorimeter Spectrometers

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, F. S.; Chiao, M. P.; Eckart, M. E.; Fujimoto, R.; Ishisaki, Y.; Kelley, R. L.; Kilbourne, C. A.; Leutenegger, M. A.; McCammon, D.; Mitsuda, K.

2016-01-01

Calorimetric X-ray detectors are very sensitive to their environment. The boundary conditions can have a profound effect on the gain including heat sink temperature, the local radiation temperature, bias, and the temperature of the readout electronics. Any variation in the boundary conditions can cause temporal variations in the gain of the detector and compromise both the energy scale and the resolving power of the spectrometer. Most production X-ray calorimeter spectrometers, both on the ground and in space, have some means of tracking the gain as a function of time, often using a calibration spectral line. For small gain changes, a linear stretch correction is often sufficient. However, the detectors are intrinsically non-linear and often the event analysis, i.e., shaping, optimal filters etc., add additional non-linearity. Thus for large gain variations or when the best possible precision is required, a linear stretch correction is not sufficient. Here, we discuss a new correction technique based on non-linear interpolation of the energy-scale functions. Using Astro-HSXS calibration data, we demonstrate that the correction can recover the X-ray energy to better than 1 part in 104 over the entire spectral band to above 12 keV even for large-scale gain variations. This method will be used to correct any temporal drift of the on-orbit per-pixel gain using on-board calibration sources for the SXS instrument on the Astro-H observatory.

Receiver gain function: the actual NMR receiver gain

OpenAIRE

Mo, Huaping; Harwood, John S.; Raftery, Daniel

2010-01-01

The observed NMR signal size depends on the receiver gain parameter. We propose a receiver gain function to characterize how much the raw FID is amplified by the receiver as a function of the receiver gain setting. Although the receiver is linear for a fixed gain setting, the actual gain of the receiver may differ from what the gain setting suggests. Nevertheless, for a given receiver, we demonstrate that the receiver gain function can be calibrated. Such a calibration enables accurate compar...

2009 IOM guidelines for gestational weight gain: how well do they predict outcomes across ethnic groups?

Science.gov (United States)

Khanolkar, Amal R; Hanley, Gillian E; Koupil, Ilona; Janssen, Patricia A

2017-11-13

To determine whether the Institute Of Medicine's (IOM) 2009 guidelines for weight-gain during pregnancy are predictive of maternal and infant outcomes in ethnic minority populations. We designed a population-based study using administrative data on 181,948 women who delivered live singleton births in Washington State between 2006-2008. We examined risks of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia/eclampsia, cesarean delivery, and extended hospital stay in White, Black, Native-American, East-Asian, Hispanic, South-Asian and Hawaiian/Pacific islander women according to whether they gained more or less weight during pregnancy than recommended by IOM guidelines. We also examined risks of neonatal outcomes including Apgar score IOM guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy reduces risk for various adverse maternal outcomes in all ethnic groups studied. However, the guidelines were less predictive of infant outcomes with the exception of small and large for gestational age. GWG: Gestational weight gain; IOM/NRC; Institute of Medicine and National Research Council; NICU: Neonatal intensive care need for ventilation; SGA: Small for gestational age; LGA: Large for gestational age; BERD: Birth Events Records Database; CHARS: Comprehensive Hospital Discharge Abstract Reporting System; ICD: International Classification of Disease; LMP: Last menstrual period; OR: Odds ratio.

Weight gain after bariatric surgery as a result of a large gastric stoma: endotherapy with sodium morrhuate may prevent the need for surgical revision.

Science.gov (United States)

Catalano, Marc F; Rudic, Goran; Anderson, Alfred J; Chua, Thomas Y

2007-08-01

Obesity affects more than 30% of the U.S. population and is associated with the development of life-threatening complications. Numerous therapeutic approaches to the problem have been advocated, including low-calorie diets, anoretic drugs, behavior modifications, and exercise therapy. The only treatment proven to be effective in the long-term management of morbid obesity is surgical intervention. Complications of bariatric surgery include stomal stenosis and/or ulcer and stomal dilation (secondary to overeating). The latter complication can result in a gain of previously lost weight. To determine the effect of endoscopic injection by using a sclerosant (sodium morrhuate) to induce stomal stenosis in patients who present with stomal dilatation complicated by weight gain. Bariatric patients with a large gastric stoma were treated with sodium morrhuate stomal injection. Diameters of the stoma were followed at repeat endoscopy. Weight loss at scheduled clinic visits were compared with pretherapy weights. Twenty-eight patients (10 men, 18 women; age range, 27-58 years), after bariatric surgery with GI bypass, were referred with weight gain after initial weight loss. Weight gain was believed to be the result of a large gastric stoma. Treatment included injection of sodium morrhuate (1-2 mL circumferentially) surrounding the stoma. A total of 1 to 3 injection sessions were performed in an attempt to achieve a stoma diameter of 1.2 cm or smaller. Treatment success was defined as a decrease of stoma size to weight loss >or=75% of the weight the patient gained after establishing a steady state post bariatric surgery weight. A total of 2.3 injection sessions were performed. Successful endotherapy was achieved in 18 of 28 patients (64%). One patient developed symptoms of stomal stenosis, which required 2 separate balloon dilating sessions. No other complications were encountered. Retrospective case series. Endoscopic injection of sodium morrhuate surrounding the dilated

DNA gains at 8q23.2

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

da Silva Veiga, Luciana Caricati; Bérgamo, Nádia Aparecida; dos Reis, Patrícia Pintor

2003-01-01

Gains or amplifications involving chromosome arm 8q are one of the most recurrent chromosomal alterations in head and neck tumors. To characterize previously reported gains, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using the sequences BAC RP1179E1 and 8-centromere PMJ 128 as probes....

A wide range and high speed automatic gain control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tacconi, E.; Christiansen, C.

1993-05-01

Automatic gain control (AGC) techniques have been largely used since the beginning of electronics, but in most of the applications the dynamic response is slow compared with the carrier frequency. The problem of developing an automatic gain control with high dynamic response and wide control range simultaneously is analyzed in this work. An ideal gain control law, with the property that the total loop gain remains constant independent of the carrier amplitude, is obtained. The resulting AGC behavior is compared by computer simulations with a linear multiplier AGC. The ideal gain control law can be approximated using a transconductance amplifier. A practical circuit that has been used at CERN in the radio frequency loops of the Booster Synchrotron is presented. The circuit has high speed and 80-dB gain control range

An Improved Adaptive-Torque-Gain MPPT Control for Direct-Driven PMSG Wind Turbines Considering Wind Farm Turbulences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaolian Zhang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Maximum power point tracking (MPPT plays an important role in increasing the efficiency of a wind energy conversion system (WECS. In this paper, three conventional MPPT methods are reviewed: power signal feedback (PSF control, decreased torque gain (DTG control, and adaptive torque gain (ATG control, and their potential challenges are investigated. It is found out that the conventional MPPT method ignores the effect of wind turbine inertia and wind speed fluctuations, which lowers WECS efficiency. Accordingly, an improved adaptive torque gain (IATG method is proposed, which customizes adaptive torque gains and enhances MPPT performances. Specifically, the IATG control considers wind farm turbulences and works out the relationship between the optimal torque gains and the wind speed characteristics, which has not been reported in the literature. The IATG control is promising, especially under the ongoing trend of building wind farms with large-scale wind turbines and at low and medium wind speed sites.

Capital Gains Taxation and House Price Fluctuations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuest, Clemens; Nielsen, Søren Bo

2004-01-01

Recent years have seen large swings in house prices in many countries. Motivated by housing price variations, proposals for taxing capital gains on housing have repeatedly been put forth. The idea seems to be that such taxes would curb the redistribution occurring between those owning houses...... and those trying to get into the market for owner-occupied housing. Our paper shows that at least in simple settings, a tax on real capital gains on housing will only lead to even bigger price swings and will not be able to redistribute between people appearing on either side of the housing market.......Keywords: capital gains tax, housing market, price fluctuationsJEL-Classification: H23, H24, R 31.Addresses:...

Utility of barium studies for patients with recurrent weight gain after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, B.; Levine, M.S.; Rubesin, S.E.; Williams, N.N.; Dumon, K.; Raper, S.

2015-01-01

Aim: To determine the utility of barium studies for detecting abnormalities responsible for recurrent weight gain after gastric bypass surgery. Methods: A computerized search identified 42 patients who had undergone barium studies for recurrent weight gain after gastric bypass and 42 controls. The images were reviewed to determine the frequency of staple-line breakdown and measure the length/width of the pouch and gastrojejunal anastomosis. A large pouch exceeded 6 cm in length or 5 cm in width and a wide anastomosis exceeded 2 cm. Records were reviewed for the amount of recurrent weight gain and subsequent weight loss after additional treatment. Results: Staple-line breakdown was present in 6/42 patients (14%) with recurrent weight gain. When measurements were obtained, 13/35 patients (37%) with recurrent weight gain had a large pouch, three (9%) had a wide anastomosis, and four (11%) had both, whereas 22/42 controls (52%) had a large pouch, one (2%) had a wide anastomosis, and two (5%) had both. Ten patients (24%) with recurrent weight gain underwent staple-line repair (n = 3) or pouch/anastomosis revision (n = 7). These 10 patients had a mean weight loss of 38.1 lbs versus a mean loss of 8.6 lbs in 19 patients managed medically. Conclusion: Only 14% of patients with recurrent weight gain after gastric bypass had staple-line breakdown, whereas 57% had a large pouch, wide anastomosis, or both. Not all patients with abnormal anatomy had recurrent weight gain, but those who did were more likely to benefit from surgical intervention than from medical management. - Highlights: • Only 14% of patients with recurrent weight gain after gastric bypass had GGFs. • The majority of patients with recurrent weight gain had a large pouch/wide GJA. • Many patients without recurrent weight gain also had a large pouch/wide GJA. • Those with weight gain and a large pouch/wide GJA are likely to benefit from surgery

Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain influence birth weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, R; Xu, L; Wu, M L; Huang, S H; Cao, X J

2018-02-01

Evidence suggests that pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain have impact on pregnancy and birth weight, yet whether maternal gestational weight gain has a differential effect on the rates of adverse birth weight among women with different pre-pregnancy body mass index categories are unknown. We selected 1617 children matched with their mothers as study subjects. The subjects were divided into three categories: weight gain below the American Institute of Medicine guidelines, weight gain within the American Institute of Medicine guidelines and weight gain above the American Institute of Medicine guidelines. The prevalence of pre-pregnancy underweight and overweight/obese women was 16.3% and 12.3%. And nearly 15.2% of the women had gestational weight gain below American Institute of Medicine guideline, 52.1% of the women had gestational weight gain above American Institute of Medicine guideline. Maternal overweight and obese was associated with increased risk for macrosomia and large-for-gestational age. Women had gestational weight gain below American Institute of Medicine guideline were more likely to have low birth weight and small-for-gestational age than women who had gestational weight gain within American Institute of Medicine guideline. Furthermore, the risks for macrosomia and large-for-gestational age were increased in women with above American Institute of Medicine guideline. And for women with a normal weight before pregnancy, gestational weight gain above the American Institute of Medicine guidelines were associated with higher rates of macrosomia and large-for-gestational age, compared with the women of similar pre-pregnancy weight category but with gestational weight gain within the American Institute of Medicine guidelines. Women with abnormal pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain are at risk for adverse birth weight outcomes. Moreover, gestational weight gain has a differential effect on the rates of adverse

Spontaneous indices are inconsistent with arterial baroreflex gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipman, Ruth D; Salisbury, Julie K; Taylor, J Andrew

2003-10-01

Spontaneously occurring, parallel fluctuations in arterial pressure and heart period are frequently used as indices of baroreflex function. Despite the convenience of spontaneous indices, their relation to the arterial baroreflex remains unclear. Therefore, in 97 volunteers, we derived 5 proposed indices (sequence method, alpha-index, transfer function, low-frequency transfer function, and impulse response function), compared them with arterial baroreflex gain (by the modified Oxford pharmacologic technique), and examined their relation to carotid distensibility and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The subjects comprised men and women (n=41) aged 25 to 86 years, 30% of whom had established coronary artery disease. Generally, the indices were correlated with each other (except alpha-index and low-frequency transfer function) and with baroreflex gain. However, the Bland-Altman method demonstrated that the spontaneous indices had limits of agreement as large as the baroreflex gain itself. Even in individuals within the lowest tertile of baroreflex gain for whom baroreflex gain appears to be the most clinically relevant, spontaneous indices failed to relate to baroreflex gain. In fact, for these individuals, there was no correlation between any index and baroreflex gain. Forward stepwise linear regression showed that all spontaneous indices and baroreflex gain were related to respiratory sinus arrhythmia, but only baroreflex gain was related to carotid distensibility. Therefore, these data suggest that spontaneous indices are inadequate estimates of gain and are inconsistent with arterial baroreflex function.

Lessons from a large-scale assessment: Results from conceptual inventories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beth Thacker

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We report conceptual inventory results of a large-scale assessment project at a large university. We studied the introduction of materials and instructional methods informed by physics education research (PER (physics education research-informed materials into a department where most instruction has previously been traditional and a significant number of faculty are hesitant, ambivalent, or even resistant to the introduction of such reforms. Data were collected in all of the sections of both the large algebra- and calculus-based introductory courses for a number of years employing commonly used conceptual inventories. Results from a small PER-informed, inquiry-based, laboratory-based class are also reported. Results suggest that when PER-informed materials are introduced in the labs and recitations, independent of the lecture style, there is an increase in students’ conceptual inventory gains. There is also an increase in the results on conceptual inventories if PER-informed instruction is used in the lecture. The highest conceptual inventory gains were achieved by the combination of PER-informed lectures and laboratories in large class settings and by the hands-on, laboratory-based, inquiry-based course taught in a small class setting.

Determining productivity gains from herbaceous vegetation management with 'age-shift' calculations

Science.gov (United States)

David B. South; James H. Miller; Mark O. Kimberley; Curtis L. Vanderschaaf

2006-01-01

Gains in stand volume that result from competition control and fertilization are sometimes reported as 'percentage gains'. Because percentage gains arithmetically decline over time asstand volume increases, plantation managers have difficultyin using percentage gains to project growth and revenues. The 'age-shift' method quantifies the year...

Brillouin gain enhancement in nano-scale photonic waveguide

Science.gov (United States)

Nouri Jouybari, Soodabeh

2018-05-01

The enhancement of stimulated Brillouin scattering in nano-scale waveguides has a great contribution in the improvement of the photonic devices technology. The key factors in Brillouin gain are the electrostriction force and radiation pressure generated by optical waves in the waveguide. In this article, we have proposed a new scheme of nano-scale waveguide in which the Brillouin gain is considerably improved compared to the previously-reported schemes. The role of radiation pressure in the Brillouin gain was much higher than the role of the electrostriction force. The Brillouin gain strongly depends on the structural parameters of the waveguide and the maximum value of 12127 W-1 m-1 is obtained for the Brillouin gain.

78 FR 74125 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Measuring Educational Gain in the...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-10

...; Comment Request; Measuring Educational Gain in the National Reporting System for Adult Education AGENCY... Educational Gain in the National Reporting System for Adult Education. OMB Control Number: 1830-0567. Type of... tests to measure and report educational gain under the NRS. Dated: December 4, 2013. Tomakie Washington...

An efficient fast response and high-gain solar-blind flexible ultraviolet photodetector employing hybrid geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Amreen A.; Pal, Arup R.; Patil, Dinkar S.

2014-05-01

We report high performance flexible hybrid ultraviolet photodetector with solar-blind sensitivity using nanocomposite film of plasma polymerized aniline-titanium dioxide. A facile solvent-free plasma technique is used to synthesize superior quality hybrid material with high yield. The hybrid photodetector exhibited high photoconductive gain of the order of ˜105 and fast speed with response and recovery time of 22.87 ms and 34.23 ms. This is an excellent result towards getting a balance in the response speed and photoconductive gain trade-off of the photodetectors reported so far. In addition, the device has the advantages of enhanced photosensitivity ((Ilight - Idark)/Idark) of the order of ˜102 and high responsivity of ˜104 AW-1. All the merits substantiates that, to prepare hybrid material, plasma based method holds potential to be an easy way for realizing large scale nanostructured photodetectors for practical applications.

Measured stimulated Raman gain in methane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopert, R.B.

1983-01-01

This report is about the stimulated Raman effect in methane due to the nu 1 vibration. For various gas pressures between 150 torr and 30 atm, the Raman lineshape function was both experimentally measured and synthesized using a computer model. The stimulated Raman gain was measured by sending a pump laser beam provided by an argon-ion laser and a weak probe beam provided by a tunable dye laser through a cell of methane gas. The stimulated Raman effect caused some of the energy from the pump beam to be transferred to the probe beam. The intensity of the pump beam was low so the gain of the probe beam was on the order of parts per million. A two detector arrangement and a differential amplifier system that had a feedback loop to balance the detectors was constructed to measure the small gains. A detailed description of this detection system that was able to measure gains as small as 0.2 parts per million is provided

Large Gain in Air Quality Compared to an Alternative Anthropogenic Emissions Scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Daskalakis, Nikos; Tsigaridis, Kostas; Myriokefalitakis, Stelios; Fanourgakis, George S.; Kanakidou, Maria

2016-01-01

During the last 30 years, significant effort has been made to improve air quality through legislation for emissions reduction. Global three-dimensional chemistrytransport simulations of atmospheric composition over the past 3 decades have been performed to estimate what the air quality levels would have been under a scenario of stagnation of anthropogenic emissions per capita as in 1980, accounting for the population increase (BA1980) or using the standard practice of neglecting it (AE1980), and how they compare to the historical changes in air quality levels. The simulations are based on assimilated meteorology to account for the yearto- year observed climate variability and on different scenarios of anthropogenic emissions of pollutants. The ACCMIP historical emissions dataset is used as the starting point. Our sensitivity simulations provide clear indications that air quality legislation and technology developments have limited the rapid increase of air pollutants. The achieved reductions in concentrations of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, black carbon, and sulfate aerosols are found to be significant when comparing to both BA1980 and AE1980 simulations that neglect any measures applied for the protection of the environment. We also show the potentially large tropospheric air quality benefit from the development of cleaner technology used by the growing global population. These 30-year hindcast sensitivity simulations demonstrate that the actual benefit in air quality due to air pollution legislation and technological advances is higher than the gain calculated by a simple comparison against a constant anthropogenic emissions simulation, as is usually done. Our results also indicate that over China and India the beneficial technological advances for the air quality may have been masked by the explosive increase in local population and the disproportional increase in energy demand partially due to the globalization of the economy.

Large gain in air quality compared to an alternative anthropogenic emissions scenario

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Daskalakis

2016-08-01

Full Text Available During the last 30 years, significant effort has been made to improve air quality through legislation for emissions reduction. Global three-dimensional chemistry-transport simulations of atmospheric composition over the past 3 decades have been performed to estimate what the air quality levels would have been under a scenario of stagnation of anthropogenic emissions per capita as in 1980, accounting for the population increase (BA1980 or using the standard practice of neglecting it (AE1980, and how they compare to the historical changes in air quality levels. The simulations are based on assimilated meteorology to account for the year-to-year observed climate variability and on different scenarios of anthropogenic emissions of pollutants. The ACCMIP historical emissions dataset is used as the starting point. Our sensitivity simulations provide clear indications that air quality legislation and technology developments have limited the rapid increase of air pollutants. The achieved reductions in concentrations of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, black carbon, and sulfate aerosols are found to be significant when comparing to both BA1980 and AE1980 simulations that neglect any measures applied for the protection of the environment. We also show the potentially large tropospheric air quality benefit from the development of cleaner technology used by the growing global population. These 30-year hindcast sensitivity simulations demonstrate that the actual benefit in air quality due to air pollution legislation and technological advances is higher than the gain calculated by a simple comparison against a constant anthropogenic emissions simulation, as is usually done. Our results also indicate that over China and India the beneficial technological advances for the air quality may have been masked by the explosive increase in local population and the disproportional increase in energy demand partially due to the globalization of the economy.

SiPM Gain Stabilization Studies for Adaptive Power Supply

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2074257; Zalieckas, Justas; Cvach, Jaroslav; Kvasnicka, Jiri; Polak, Ivo

2016-01-01

We present herein gain stabilization studies of SiPMs using a climate chamber at CERN. We present results for four detectors not tested before, three from Hamamatsu and one from KETEK. Two of the Hamamatsu SiPMs are novel sensors with trenches that reduce cross talk. We use an improved readout system with a digital oscilloscope controlled with a dedicated LabView program. We improved and automized the analysis to deal with large datasets. We have measured the gain-versus-bias-voltage dependence at fixed temperature and gain-versus-temperature dependence at fixed bias voltage to determine the bias voltage dependence on temperature $V(T)$ for stable gain. We show that the gain remains stable to better than $\\pm 0.5\\%$ in the $20^\\circ \\rm C - 30^\\circ C$ temperature range if the bias voltage is properly adjusted with temperature.

Perception of gain in U.S.-Soviet arms control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Anieri, P.J.

1991-01-01

Most current work in the field of international cooperation focuses on the resolution of the 'prisoners dilemma.' Such work begins by assuming that the issues under consideration are defined by absolute gains, where both sides can gain simultaneously. But the realist strand of international relations literature holds that this assumption is suspect - that international relations are usually characterized by relative gains, where gain for one side comes only at the others expense. The model developed here uses the question of absolute versus relative gains not as a theoretical assumption, but as a variable to be measured empirically. The hypothesis is that whether or not the US and the Soviet Union cooperate to limit arms competition is largely determined by whether the two sides define the issue in question as one of absolute or relative gains. The 'perception of gain' hypothesis is compared to explanations at the levels of the international system (rational choice), domestic politics, and individual belief systems. Three case studies are used to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each hypothesis. The findings confirmed that perception of gain is an important independent variable affecting arms control outcomes, but none of the theories were completely supported or rejected

Unusually large erupted complex odontoma: A rare case report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bagewadi, Shivanand B.; Kukreja, Rahul; Suma, Gundareddy N.; Yadav, Bhawn; Sharma, Havi [Dept. of Oral Medicine and Radiology, ITS Centre for Dental Studies and Research, Murad Nagar (India)

2015-03-15

Odontomas are nonaggressive, hamartomatous developmental malformations composed of mature tooth substances and may be compound or complex depending on the extent of morphodifferentiation or on their resemblance to normal teeth. Among them, complex odontomas are relatively rare tumors. They are usually asymptomatic in nature. Occasionally, these tumors become large, causing bone expansion followed by facial asymmetry. Odontoma eruptions are uncommon, and thus far, very few cases of erupted complex odontomas have been reported in the literature. Here, we report the case of an unusually large, painless, complex odontoma located in the right posterior mandible.

Clinical attachment level gain and three-year maintenance of a maxillary incisor with 100% bone loss: A case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirone, Federico; Salzano, Stefano

2016-01-01

This case report discusses a patient suffering from chronic periodontal disease and diagnosed with a hopeless central incisor. The intention was to show the possibility of gaining new clinical attachment via regenerative surgery in a tooth with 100% bone loss around the root. Treatment of hopeless and questionable teeth in periodontal patients has become an ideological matter. On the one hand, dental implants have proved to be a reliable solution to replace lost teeth; on the other hand, newly emerging evidence suggests that successful periodontal treatment of teeth diagnosed as hopeless is possible. Here we describe surgical, orthodontic, and restorative treatments that led to clinical attachment gain and achieved clinical success over a three-year follow-up period.

The Association of Antidepressant Medication and Body Weight Gain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Ranjbar

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: To review the literature and discover which antidepressants are responsible for weight gain and then to discuss the areas with lack of adequate knowledge. Method: An electronic search was conducted through Medline, Pubmed, Cochrane library, and ScienceDirect. Forty nine empirical researches were identified and reviewed. Results: Amitriptyline, clomipramine, and mirtazapine have been associated with more weight gain induction in clinical studies, but not in animal-based studies. All TCAs have been reported to cause weight gain except protriptyline. MAOIs have been associated with weight gain. In SSRI group, citalopram and ecitalopram induce weight, yet mixed results exist for paroxetine and fluoxetine. Researches unanimously reported weight loss effect for bupropion. Some studies suggest contributing factors in the relationship of antidepressants with body weight changes including age, gender, base-line weights and treatment duration. Various results of different treatment durations have been reported in some cases but there are not continuous time-dependent studies for the influences of antidepressants on body weight changes. Conclusion: More studies are required to discover underlying mechanisms and the time-dependent effects of antidepressants on body weight changes.

FEL gain optimisation and spontaneous radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bali, L.M.; Srivastava, A.; Pandya, T.P. [Lucknow Univ. (India)] [and others

1995-12-31

Colson have evaluated FEL gains for small deviations from perfect electron beam injection, with radiation of the same polarisation as that of the wiggler fields. We find that for optimum gain the polarisation of the optical field should be the same as that of the spontaneous emission under these conditions. With a helical wiggler the axial oscillations resulting from small departures from perfect electron beam injection lead to injection dependent unequal amplitudes and phases of the spontaneous radiation in the two transverse directions. Viewed along the axis therefore the spontaneous emission is elliptically polarised. The azimuth of the ellipse varies with the difference of phase of the two transverse components of spontaneous emission but the eccentricity remains the same. With planar wigglers the spontaneous emission viewed in the axial direction is linearly polarised, again with an injection dependent azimuth. For optimum coherent gain of a radiation field its polarisation characteristics must be the same as those of the spontaneous radiation with both types of wiggler. Thus, with a helical wiggler and the data reported earlier, an increase of 10% in the FEL gain at the fundamental frequency and of 11% at the fifth harmonic has been calculated in the small gain per pass limit. Larger enhancements in gain may result from more favourable values of input parameters.

Exercise during pregnancy and its association with gestational weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Shericka T; Liu, Jihong; Wilcox, Sara; Moran, Robert; Gallagher, Alexa

2015-03-01

We examined the association between exercise during pregnancy and meeting gestational weight gain recommendations. Data came from the 2009 South Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n = 856). Women reported their participation in exercise/sports activities before and during pregnancy, including the number of months and types of exercise. We developed an exercise index (EI), the product of the number of months spent in exercise and average metabolic equivalents for specific exercise. The 2009 Institute of Medicine's guideline was used to categorize gestational weight gain into three classes: inadequate, adequate, and excessive. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounders. Over 46 % of women exceeded the recommended weight gain during pregnancy. Nearly one third (31.9 %) of women reported exercising ≥3 times a week at any time during pregnancy. Compared to women who did not report this level of exercise during pregnancy, exercising women were more likely to meet gestational weight gain recommendations (32.7 vs. 18.7 %) and had a lower odds of excessive gestational weight gain [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.43, 95 % confidence interval 0.24-0.78]. Women with an EI above the median value of those women who exercised or women who exercised ≥3 times a week for 6-9 months during pregnancy had lower odds of excessive gestational weight gain (AOR for EI 0.20, 0.08-0.49; AOR for months 0.26, 0.12-0.56, respectively). Our findings support the need to promote or increase exercise during pregnancy to reduce the high proportion of women who are gaining excessive weight.

Calibration of the SH134-20 Standard Gain Horn

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pivnenko, Sergey; Breinbjerg, Olav

This report documents the measurement of the linearly polarized SH134-20 Standard Gain Horn. The measurement comprises on-axis gain, on-axis polarization characteristics, and reflection coefficient at 111 frequencies in the frequency range from 22-33 GHz. The measurement was carried out at the DTU...

Review of health and productivity gains from better IEQ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisk, William J.

2000-08-01

The available scientific data suggest that existing technologies and procedures can improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in a manner that significantly increases productivity and health. While there is considerable uncertainty in the estimates of the magnitudes of productivity gains that may be obtained, the projected gains are very large. For the U.S., the estimated potential annual savings and productivity gains are $6 to $14 billion from reduced respiratory disease, $2 to $4 billion from reduced allergies and asthma, $10 to $30 billion from reduced sick building syndrome symptoms, and $20 to $160 billion from direct improvements in worker performance that are unrelated to health. Productivity gains that are quantified and demonstrated could serve as a strong stimulus for energy efficiency measures that simultaneously improve the indoor environment.

Substrate effects in high gain, low operating voltage SnSe2 photoconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Krishna, Murali; Kallatt, Sangeeth; Majumdar, Kausik

2018-01-01

High gain photoconductive devices find wide spread applications in low intensity light detection. Ultra-thin layered materials have recently drawn a lot of attention from researchers in this regard. However, in general, a large operating voltage is required to obtain large responsivity in these devices. In addition, the characteristics are often confounded by substrate induced trap effects. Here we report multi-layer SnSe2 based photoconductive devices using two different structures: (1) SiO2 substrate supported inter-digitated electrode (IDE), and (2) suspended channel. The IDE device exhibits a responsivity of ≈ {10}3 A W-1 and ≈ 8.66× {10}4 A W-1 at operating voltages of 1 mV and 100 mV, respectively—a superior low voltage performance over existing literature on planar 2D structures. However, the responsivity reduces by more than two orders of magnitude, while the transient response improves for the suspended device—providing insights into the critical role played by the channel-substrate interface in the gain mechanism. The results, on one hand, are promising for highly sensitive photoconductive applications consuming ultra-low power, and on the other hand, show a generic methodology that could be applied to other layered material based photoconductive devices as well for extracting the intrinsic behavior.

Large oral lipoma: Case report and literature review in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Motagi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Lipoma is a benign mesenchymal tumor of fat with uncertain pathogenesis. Although the most common mesenchymal neoplasm in trunk and proximal portions of the extremities, it is rarely seen in the oral cavity. Oral lipomas are clinically soft, smooth-surfaced nodular masses that mostly are less than 3 cm in size. Typically the tumor is asymptomatic unless bitten or become noticeable because of their size. The buccal mucosa and buccal vestibule are the most common intraoral sites and account for 50% of all cases. Reported here is a relatively large lipoma of buccal mucosa that was treated surgically under local anesthesia. In an 18-month postsurgical follow up no complication or recurrence has occurred. This case will also be compared to intraoral lipomas reported in Iranian population. As lipomas are usually smaller than 3 cm in diameter, lipoma with the size reported, is of clinical importance. Since the large lipomas are in differential diagnosis with other, even malignant, mesenchymal, or salivary gland tumors. Thus, this case report recommends clinical awareness in diagnosis of large intraoral soft tissue lesions.

Power fluctuations from large wind farms - Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soerensen, Poul; Pinson, P.; Cutululis, N.A.; Madsen, Henrik; Jensen, Leo Enrico; Hjerrild, J.; Heyman Donovan, M.; Vigueras-ROdriguez, A.

2009-08-15

Experience from power system operation with the first large offshore wind farm in Denmark: Horns Rev shows that the power from the wind farm is fluctuating significantly at certain times, and that this fluctuation is seen directly on the power exchange between Denmark and Germany. This report describes different models for simulation and prediction of wind power fluctuations from large wind farms, and data acquired at the two large offshore wind farms in Denmark are applied to validate the models. Finally, the simulation model is further developed to enable simulations of power fluctuations from several wind farms simultaneously in a larger geographical area, corresponding to a power system control area. (au)

Potential gains from hospital mergers in Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Troels; Bogetoft, Peter; Pedersen, Kjeld Moeller

2010-12-01

The Danish hospital sector faces a major rebuilding program to centralize activity in fewer and larger hospitals. We aim to conduct an efficiency analysis of hospitals and to estimate the potential cost savings from the planned hospital mergers. We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate a cost frontier. Based on this analysis, we calculate an efficiency score for each hospital and estimate the potential gains from the proposed mergers by comparing individual efficiencies with the efficiency of the combined hospitals. Furthermore, we apply a decomposition algorithm to split merger gains into technical efficiency, size (scale) and harmony (mix) gains. The motivation for this decomposition is that some of the apparent merger gains may actually be available with less than a full-scale merger, e.g., by sharing best practices and reallocating certain resources and tasks. Our results suggest that many hospitals are technically inefficient, and the expected "best practice" hospitals are quite efficient. Also, some mergers do not seem to lower costs. This finding indicates that some merged hospitals become too large and therefore experience diseconomies of scale. Other mergers lead to considerable cost reductions; we find potential gains resulting from learning better practices and the exploitation of economies of scope. To ensure robustness, we conduct a sensitivity analysis using two alternative returns-to-scale assumptions and two alternative estimation approaches. We consistently find potential gains from improving the technical efficiency and the exploitation of economies of scope from mergers.

Personality type influence the gestational weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Franik, Grzegorz; Lipka, Nela; Kopyto, Katarzyna; Kopocińska, Joanna; Owczarek, Aleksander; Sikora, Jerzy; Madej, Paweł; Chudek, Jerzy; Olszanecka-Glinianowicz, Magdalena

2017-08-01

Pregnancy is frequently followed by the development of obesity. Aside from psychological factors, hormonal changes influence weight gain in pregnant women. We attempted to assess the potential association between personality type and the extent of gestational weight gain. The study group involved 773 women after term delivery (age 26.3 ± 3.9 years, body mass before pregnancy 61.2 ± 11.1 kg). Weight gain during pregnancy was calculated by using self-reported body mass prior to and during the 38th week of pregnancy. Personality type was assessed using the Polish version of the Framingham Type A Behavior Patterns Questionnaire (adapted by Juczynski). Two hundred forty-six (31.8%) study subjects represented type A personalities, 272 (35.2%) type B and 255 (33.0%) an indirect type. Gestational weight gain was related to the behavior patterns questionnaire score and age. In women gain was higher than in women with type B behavior of the same age. In women >30, the gestational weight gain was larger for type B personalities. Type A personality and increased urgency in younger pregnant women increases the risk of developing obesity during pregnancy in women below 30 years old. A higher level of competitiveness demonstrates a risk factor of excessive weight gain during pregnancy regardless of age.

Calculation of gas gain fluctuations in uniform fields

CERN Document Server

Schindler, H; Veenhof, R

2010-01-01

Fluctuations of the charge amplification factor (gain) are a key element for assessing the performance of gas-based particle detectors In this report we present Monte Carlo calculations of electron avalanches based on the Magboltz program In terms of a simple model extracted from the simulation an intuitive explanation for the impact of the gas mixture and the electric field on the gain spectrum is proposed.

Robust random number generation using steady-state emission of gain-switched laser diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Z. L.; Lucamarini, M.; Dynes, J. F.; Fröhlich, B.; Plews, A.; Shields, A. J.

2014-01-01

We demonstrate robust, high-speed random number generation using interference of the steady-state emission of guaranteed random phases, obtained through gain-switching a semiconductor laser diode. Steady-state emission tolerates large temporal pulse misalignments and therefore significantly improves the interference quality. Using an 8-bit digitizer followed by a finite-impulse-response unbiasing algorithm, we achieve random number generation rates of 8 and 20 Gb/s, for laser repetition rates of 1 and 2.5 GHz, respectively, with a ±20% tolerance in the interferometer differential delay. We also report a generation rate of 80 Gb/s using partially phase-correlated short pulses. In relation to the field of quantum key distribution, our results confirm the gain-switched laser diode as a suitable light source, capable of providing phase-randomized coherent pulses at a clock rate of up to 2.5 GHz.

Achieving Appropriate Gestational Weight Gain: The Role of Healthcare Provider Advice.

Science.gov (United States)

Deputy, Nicholas P; Sharma, Andrea J; Kim, Shin Y; Olson, Christine K

2018-01-10

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) revised gestational weight gain recommendations in 2009. We examined associations between healthcare provider advice about gestational weight gain and inadequate or excessive weight gain, stratified by prepregnancy body mass index category. We analyzed cross-sectional data from women delivering full-term (37-42 weeks of gestation), singleton infants from four states that participated in the 2010-2011 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (unweighted n = 7125). Women reported the weight gain range (start and end values) advised by their healthcare provider; advice was categorized as follows: starting below recommendations, starting and ending within recommendations (IOM consistent), ending above recommendations, not remembered, or not received. We examined associations between healthcare provider advice and inadequate or excessive, compared with appropriate, gestational weight gain using adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, 26.3% of women reported receiving IOM-consistent healthcare provider advice; 26.0% received no advice. Compared with IOM-consistent advice, advice below recommendations was associated with higher likelihood of inadequate weight gain among underweight (aPR 2.22, CI 1.29-3.82) and normal weight women (aPR 1.57, CI 1.23-2.02); advice above recommendations was associated with higher likelihood of excessive weight gain among all but underweight women (aPR range 1.36, CI 1.08-1.72 to aPR 1.42, CI 1.19-1.71). Not remembering or not receiving advice was associated with both inadequate and excessive weight gain. Few women reported receiving IOM-consistent advice; not receiving IOM-consistent advice put women at-risk for weight gain outside recommendations. Strategies that raise awareness of IOM recommendations and address barriers to providing advice are needed.

Gain and loss learning differentially contribute to life financial outcomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Knutson

Full Text Available Emerging findings imply that distinct neurobehavioral systems process gains and losses. This study investigated whether individual differences in gain learning and loss learning might contribute to different life financial outcomes (i.e., assets versus debt. In a community sample of healthy adults (n = 75, rapid learners had smaller debt-to-asset ratios overall. More specific analyses, however, revealed that those who learned rapidly about gains had more assets, while those who learned rapidly about losses had less debt. These distinct associations remained strong even after controlling for potential cognitive (e.g., intelligence, memory, and risk preferences and socioeconomic (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity, income, education confounds. Self-reported measures of assets and debt were additionally validated with credit report data in a subset of subjects. These findings support the notion that different gain and loss learning systems may exert a cumulative influence on distinct life financial outcomes.

Study on high gain broadband optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, S.K.; Fujita, M.; Yamanaka, C.; Yoshida, H.; Kodama, R.; Fujita, H.; Nakatsuka, M.; Izawa, Y.

2000-01-01

Optical parametric chirped pulse amplification has apparent advantages over the current schemes for high energy ultrashort pulse amplification. High gain in a single pass amplification, small B-integral, low heat deposition, high contrast ratio and, especially the extremely broad gain bandwidth with large-size crystals available bring people new hope for over multi-PW level at which the existing Nd:glass systems suffered difficulties. In this paper we present simulation and experimental studies for a high gain optical parametric chirped pulse amplification system which may be used as a preamplifier to replace the current complicated regenerative system or multi-pass Ti:sapphire amplifiers. Investigations on the amplification bandwidth and gain with BBO are performed. Analysis and discussions are also given. (author)

Realized gains from block-plot coastal Douglas-fir trials in the northern Oregon Cascades

Science.gov (United States)

Terrence Z. Ye; Keith J.S. Jayawickrama; J. Bradley. St. Clair

2010-01-01

Realized gains for coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) were evaluated using data collected from 15-year-old trees from five field trials planted in large block plots in the northern Oregon Cascades. Three populations with different genetic levels (elite--high predicted gain; intermediate--moderate predicted gain; and an...

Leaving home for college and gaining independence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mulder, C.H.; Clark, W.A.V.

2002-01-01

As more and more young US adults attend college it has become an increasingly important filter in the process of becoming an independent household. Now for a large number of young adults living in the USA, living away at college is a first step in the process of gaining residential and economic

Advanced automated gain adjustments for in-vivo ultrasound imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moshavegh, Ramin; Hemmsen, Martin Christian; Martins, Bo

2015-01-01

Automatic gain adjustments are necessary on the state-of-the-art ultrasound scanners to obtain optimal scan quality, while reducing the unnecessary user interactions with the scanner. However, when large anechoic regions exist in the scan plane, the sudden and drastic variation of attenuations in....... Wilcoxon signed-rank test was then applied to the ratings provided by radiologists. The average VAS score was highly positive 12.16 (p-value: 2.09 x 10-23) favoring the gain-adjusted scans with the proposed algorithm....

Characterisation of large area THGEMs and experimental measurement of the Townsend coefficients for CF4

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, J.; Crane, T.; Ezeribe, A. C.; Grove, C. L.; Lynch, W.; Scarff, A.; Spooner, N. J. C.; Steer, C.

2017-10-01

Whilst the performance of small THGEMs is well known, here we consider the challenges in scaling these up to large area charge readouts. We first verify the expected gain of larger THGEMs by reporting experimental Townsend coefficients for a 10 cm diameter THGEM in low-pressure CF4. Large area 50 cm by 50 cm THGEMs were sourced from a commercial PCB supplier and geometrical imperfections were observed which we quantified using an optical camera setup. The large area THGEMs were experimentally characterised at Boulby Underground Laboratory through a series of gain calibrations and alpha spectrum measurements. ANSYS, Magboltz and Garfield++ simulations of the design of a TPC based on the large area THGEMs are presented. We also consider their implications for directional dark matter research and potential applications within nuclear security.

Report of the LASCAR forum: Large scale reprocessing plant safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This report has been prepared to provide information on the studies which were carried out from 1988 to 1992 under the auspices of the multinational forum known as Large Scale Reprocessing Plant Safeguards (LASCAR) on safeguards for four large scale reprocessing plants operated or planned to be operated in the 1990s. The report summarizes all of the essential results of these studies. The participants in LASCAR were from France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Commission of the European Communities - Euratom, and the International Atomic Energy Agency

Low-Gain Circularly Polarized Antenna with Torus-Shaped Pattern

Science.gov (United States)

Amaro, Luis R.; Kruid, Ronald C.; Vacchione, Joseph D.; Prata, Aluizio

2012-01-01

The Juno mission to Jupiter requires an antenna with a torus-shaped antenna pattern with approximately 6 dBic gain and circular polarization over the Deep Space Network (DSN) 7-GHz transmit frequency and the 8-GHz receive frequency. Given the large distances that accumulate en-route to Jupiter and the limited power afforded by the solar-powered vehicle, this toroidal low-gain antenna requires as much gain as possible while maintaining a beam width that could facilitate a +/-10deg edge of coverage. The natural antenna that produces a toroidal antenna pattern is the dipole, but the limited approx. = 2.2 dB peak gain would be insufficient. Here a shaped variation of the standard bicone antenna is proposed that could achieve the required gains and bandwidths while maintaining a size that was not excessive. The final geometry that was settled on consisted of a corrugated, shaped bicone, which is fed by a WR112 waveguide-to-coaxial- waveguide transition. This toroidal low-gain antenna (TLGA) geometry produced the requisite gain, moderate sidelobes, and the torus-shaped antenna pattern while maintaining a very good match over the entire required frequency range. Its "horn" geometry is also low-loss and capable of handling higher powers with large margins against multipactor breakdown. The final requirement for the antenna was to link with the DSN with circular polarization. A four-layer meander-line array polarizer was implemented; an approach that was fairly well suited to the TLGA geometry. The principal development of this work was to adapt the standard linear bicone such that its aperture could be increased in order to increase the available gain of the antenna. As one increases the aperture of a standard bicone, the phase variation across the aperture begins to increase, so the larger the aperture becomes, the greater the phase variation. In order to maximize the gain from any aperture antenna, the phase should be kept as uniform as possible. Thus, as the standard

Pressure Gain Combustion for Gas Turbines

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-20

downstream of a large  diesel  engine, they tested three turbine geometries the best experienced  a drop in efficiency of 10%.   A few people have  looked...Society of Mechanical Engineers Turbo Expo 1995 [3] Heffer, J., 2010, Integration of Pressure Gain Combustion with Gas Turbines, Ph.D. Thesis...investigated  an  axial  turbocharger  designed  for  use  downstream  of  a  large  diesel   engine,  they  tested  three  turbine geometries the best

Operational gain : measuring the capture of genetic gain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The concept of operational gain is more than the weighted average of the genetic quality of planted hectares, and encompasses tree breeding efficiencies, propagation efficiencies, matching of species and genotype to site, plant use efficiency and early measures of stand density and growth. To test the operational gain ...

An amorphous silicon photodiode with 2 THz gain-bandwidth product based on cycling excitation process

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Lujiang; Yu, Yugang; Zhang, Alex Ce; Hall, David; Niaz, Iftikhar Ahmad; Raihan Miah, Mohammad Abu; Liu, Yu-Hsin; Lo, Yu-Hwa

2017-09-01

Since impact ionization was observed in semiconductors over half a century ago, avalanche photodiodes (APDs) using impact ionization in a fashion of chain reaction have been the most sensitive semiconductor photodetectors. However, APDs have relatively high excess noise, a limited gain-bandwidth product, and high operation voltage, presenting a need for alternative signal amplification mechanisms of superior properties. As an amplification mechanism, the cycling excitation process (CEP) was recently reported in a silicon p-n junction with subtle control and balance of the impurity levels and profiles. Realizing that CEP effect depends on Auger excitation involving localized states, we made the counter intuitive hypothesis that disordered materials, such as amorphous silicon, with their abundant localized states, can produce strong CEP effects with high gain and speed at low noise, despite their extremely low mobility and large number of defects. Here, we demonstrate an amorphous silicon low noise photodiode with gain-bandwidth product of over 2 THz, based on a very simple structure. This work will impact a wide range of applications involving optical detection because amorphous silicon, as the primary gain medium, is a low-cost, easy-to-process material that can be formed on many kinds of rigid or flexible substrates.

How much is too much assessment? Insight into assessment-driven student learning gains in large-scale undergraduate microbiology courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jack T H; Schembri, Mark A; Hall, Roy A

2013-01-01

Designing and implementing assessment tasks in large-scale undergraduate science courses is a labor-intensive process subject to increasing scrutiny from students and quality assurance authorities alike. Recent pedagogical research has provided conceptual frameworks for teaching introductory undergraduate microbiology, but has yet to define best-practice assessment guidelines. This study assessed the applicability of Biggs' theory of constructive alignment in designing consistent learning objectives, activities, and assessment items that aligned with the American Society for Microbiology's concept-based microbiology curriculum in MICR2000, an introductory microbiology course offered at the University of Queensland, Australia. By improving the internal consistency in assessment criteria and increasing the number of assessment items explicitly aligned to the course learning objectives, the teaching team was able to efficiently provide adequate feedback on numerous assessment tasks throughout the semester, which contributed to improved student performance and learning gains. When comparing the constructively aligned 2011 offering of MICR2000 with its 2010 counterpart, students obtained higher marks in both coursework assignments and examinations as the semester progressed. Students also valued the additional feedback provided, as student rankings for course feedback provision increased in 2011 and assessment and feedback was identified as a key strength of MICR2000. By designing MICR2000 using constructive alignment and iterative assessment tasks that followed a common set of learning outcomes, the teaching team was able to effectively deliver detailed and timely feedback in a large introductory microbiology course. This study serves as a case study for how constructive alignment can be integrated into modern teaching practices for large-scale courses.

Technical advisory panel for the large acceptance spectrometer: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The Technical Advisory Panel for the Large Acceptance Spectrometer met on November 17--19, 1988, at CEBAF to perform a second review of the status of this project. The charge to the Panel was ''to provide technical advice to the CEBAF directorate on the design, construction, cost, schedule, and implementation of the Large Acceptance Spectrometer.'' In this written report, an overview of the entire project is given. Specific comments on the major components, data handling and analysis, assembly and installation, and management are presented. The Panel's conclusions are contained in the Executive Summary at the beginning of the report

Improving Genetic Gain with Genomic Selection in Autotetraploid Potato

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony T. Slater

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Potato ( L. breeders consider a large number of traits during cultivar development and progress in conventional breeding can be slow. There is accumulating evidence that some of these traits, such as yield, are affected by a large number of genes with small individual effects. Recently, significant efforts have been applied to the development of genomic resources to improve potato breeding, culminating in a draft genome sequence and the identification of a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. The availability of these genome-wide SNPs is a prerequisite for implementing genomic selection for improvement of polygenic traits such as yield. In this review, we investigate opportunities for the application of genomic selection to potato, including novel breeding program designs. We have considered a number of factors that will influence this process, including the autotetraploid and heterozygous genetic nature of potato, the rate of decay of linkage disequilibrium, the number of required markers, the design of a reference population, and trait heritability. Based on estimates of the effective population size derived from a potato breeding program, we have calculated the expected accuracy of genomic selection for four key traits of varying heritability and propose that it will be reasonably accurate. We compared the expected genetic gain from genomic selection with the expected gain from phenotypic and pedigree selection, and found that genetic gain can be substantially improved by using genomic selection.

Examination of Routine Use of Prenatal Weight Gain Charts as a Communication Tool for Providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilera, Marijo; Sidebottom, Abbey C; McCool, Brigitte R

2017-10-01

Objectives In 2009 the IOM revised prenatal weight gain guidelines. The primary purpose of this pilot study was to assess if provider education and use of prenatal weight gain charts to track weight gain and counsel patients was associated with better patient and provider knowledge and communication about the guidelines. Methods A prospective non-randomized study conducted in four OB practices (two control, two intervention). Data sources included provider surveys (n = 16 intervention, 21 control), patient surveys (n = 332), and medical records. Intervention clinics received provider education on the IOM guidelines and used patient education materials and prenatal weight gain charts to track weight gain and as a counseling tool. Comparison clinics received no education and did not use the charts or patient education information. Results More patients at intervention clinics (92.3%) reported that a provider gave them advice about weight gain, compared to patients from comparison clinics (66.4%) (p gain (83.1 vs. 64.3%, p = 0.007). Intervention clinic patients were more likely to have knowledge of the guidelines indicated by 72.3% reporting a target weight gain amount within the guidelines versus 50.4% of comparison patients (p gain charts resulted in higher patient reported communication about weight gain from their provider, higher patient satisfaction with those discussions, and better knowledge of the appropriate target weight gain goals.

Windfall gains, political economy and economic development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Olsson, Ola

2008-01-01

Natural resource rents and foreign aid have the character of windfall gains that affect economic outcomes both directly and indirectly. Several studies have shown that the indirect effect typically works via institutions like corruption. In this article, we offer a theoretical framework for a joi...... in a large cross-section of countries. Our results suggest that whereas more aid means less corruption, natural resource rents is positively correlated with corruption, although both relationships are non-linear......Natural resource rents and foreign aid have the character of windfall gains that affect economic outcomes both directly and indirectly. Several studies have shown that the indirect effect typically works via institutions like corruption. In this article, we offer a theoretical framework for a joint...

Second progress report on pre-test calculations for the large block test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, K.H.

1995-01-01

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) is investigating the suitability of the Topopah Spring tuff in the thick vadose zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a host rock for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste. As part of the YMP, a group of field tests, called the Large Block Test (LBT), will be conducted on a large electrically heated block of Topopah Spring tuff. The block will be heated by electrical heaters. The goals of the LBT are to gain information on the coupled thermal-mechanical-hydrological-chemical processes that will be active in the near-field environment of a repository; to provide field data for testing and calibrating models; and to help in the development of measurement systems and techniques. In this second progress report, we present results of the final set of numerical modeling calculations performed in support of the LBT design. The results include block temperatures and heat fluxes across the surfaces. The results are applied primarily to the design of guard heaters to enforce adiabatic conditions along the block walls. Conduction-only runs are adequate to estimate the thermal behavior of the system, because earlier calculations showed that heat transfer in the block is expected to be dominated by conduction. In addition, conduction-only runs can be made at substantially shorter execution times than full hydrothermal runs. We also run a two-dimensional, hydrothermal, discrete fracture model, with 200-μm vertical fractures parallel to the heaters and occurring at a uniform spacing of 30 cm. The results show the development of distinct dryout and recondensation zones. The dryout zones are thickest at the fractures and thinnest in the matrix midway between the fractures

Gain uniformity experimental study performed on triple-GEM gas detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Liyuan; Qi Huirong; Lu Xinyu; Ouyang Qun; Chen Yuanbo; Li Yuhong

2012-01-01

With the application of the two-dimensional GEM gaseous detector in X-ray imaging, the correction method of gain uniformity caused by triple-GEM avalanche structures and electric field uniformity should be studied. The paper reported the study of the triple-GEM detector with effective area 100 mm × 100 mm used the Pad's size of 9.5 mm × 9.5 mm. In the test, 100 readout channels were designed. Results showed that gain remained stable over time; at air flow increases, gain from increases obviously to changes very little. Particularly, triple-GEM's gain uniformity was very good (more than 80%) and the range of energy resolution was from 0.18 to 0.2. To improve gain consistency of results, the difference value revised was obtained to be about 0.1 by the least square method. It provided a better method to improve gain uniformity of GEM detector. (authors)

The Biology of Intron Gain and Loss

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeffares, Daniel C; Mourier, Tobias; Penny, David

2006-01-01

Intron density in eukaryote genomes varies by more than three orders of magnitude, so there must have been extensive intron gain and/or intron loss during evolution. A favored and partial explanation for this range of intron densities has been that introns have accumulated stochastically in large...... on introns depending on the biology of the organism and the gene involved....

Optimal weight gain in obese and overweight pregnant Japanese women.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirooka-Nakama, Junko; Enomoto, Kimiko; Sakamaki, Kentaro; Kurasawa, Kentaro; Miyagi, Etsuko; Aoki, Shigeru

2018-03-20

We aimed to determine the optimal gestational weight gain (GWG) in Japanese women with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m 2 . The present retrospective study investigated singleton pregnancies in 6,781 Japanese women registered in the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology system in 2013. We divided overweight and obese women into four GWG categories based on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended: weight loss, small weight gain, within IOM criteria, and above IOM criteria. The adjusted odds ratios and predicted probabilities of maternal and neonatal outcomes of interest with weight change were calculated. In overweight women, GWG was associated with neonatal birth weight. In the loss and small gain subgroups, there was a significant increase in small for gestational age (SGA) and low birth weight neonates (LBW). Predicted probabilities showed the lowest risk was observed in a weight gain of 0 kg; the risk sharply increased at a gain of 11.5 kg. In obese women, weight gain increased the prevalence of large for gestational age (LGA) neonates; however; SGA was not associated with GWG. Predicted probabilities showed an increase in the risk with weight gain. The observed optimal GWG was 0 to 11.5 kg in overweight, and weight loss in obese, pregnant Japanese women.

Large volume liquid silicone injection in the upper thighs : a never ending story

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofer, SOP; Damen, A; Nicolai, JPA

This report concerns a 26-year-old male-to-female transsexual who had received a large volume liquid silicone injection of unknown grade into her upper lateral thighs to gain female contour. She presented at our outpatient clinic 4 years after the silicone injection with complaints of pain and

Net Gain: A New Method for Preventing Malaria Deaths | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

A finely spun net could prevent as many as one-third of all child deaths in Africa, reports IDRC's new publication, Net Gain. Studies conducted in Gambia, Ghana, and Kenya show that the insecticide-treated mosquito net reduced the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age by up to 63 percent. Net Gain reviews and ...

MOS current gain cells with electronically variable gain and constant bandwidth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Seevinck, Evert

1989-01-01

Two MOS current gain cells are proposed that provide linear amplification of currents supplied by several linear MOS V-I converters. The gain is electronically variable by a voltage or a current and can be made insensitive to temperature and IC processing. The gain cells have a constant

Report of the large solenoid detector group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, G.G.; Mori, S.; Pondrom, L.G.

1987-09-01

This report presents a conceptual design of a large solenoid for studying physics at the SSC. The parameters and nature of the detector have been chosen based on present estimates of what is required to allow the study of heavy quarks, supersymmetry, heavy Higgs particles, WW scattering at large invariant masses, new W and Z bosons, and very large momentum transfer parton-parton scattering. Simply stated, the goal is to obtain optimum detection and identification of electrons, muons, neutrinos, jets, W's and Z's over a large rapidity region. The primary region of interest extends over +-3 units of rapidity, although the calorimetry must extend to +-5.5 units if optimal missing energy resolution is to be obtained. A magnetic field was incorporated because of the importance of identifying the signs of the charges for both electrons and muons and because of the added possibility of identifying tau leptons and secondary vertices. In addition, the existence of a magnetic field may prove useful for studying new physics processes about which we currently have no knowledge. Since hermeticity of the calorimetry is extremely important, the entire central and endcap calorimeters were located inside the solenoid. This does not at the moment seem to produce significant problems (although many issues remain to be resolved) and in fact leads to a very effective muon detector in the central region

Establishing contact and gaining trust : an exploratory study of care avoidance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schout, Gert; de Jong, Gideon; Zeelen, Jacques

Title. Establishing contact and gaining trust: an exploratory study of care avoidance. Aim. This paper is a report of a study conducted to explore the competencies especially deep-rooted personal qualities - of care providers who succeed in making contact and gaining trust with clients who are

Enhancing optical gains in Si nanocrystals via hydrogenation and cerium ion doping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Dong-Chen; Li, Yan-Li; Song, Sheng-Chi; Guo, Wen-Ping; Lu, Ming; Chen, Jia-Rong

2014-01-01

We report optical gain enhancements in Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs) via hydrogenation and Ce 3+ ion doping. Variable stripe length technique was used to obtain gains. At 0.3 W/cm 2 pumping power density of pulsed laser, net gains were observed together with gain enhancements after hydrogenation and/or Ce 3+ ion doping; gains after loss corrections were between 89.52 and 341.95 cm −1 ; and the photoluminescence (PL) lifetime was found to decrease with the increasing gain enhancement. At 0.04 W/cm 2 power density, however, no net gain was found and the PL lifetime increased with the increasing PL enhancement. The results were discussed according to stimulated and spontaneous excitation and de-excitation mechanisms of Si-NCs.

Genetic factors as predictors of weight gain in young adult Dutch men and women

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rossum, van C.T.M.; Hoebee, B.; Seidell, J.C.; Bouchard, C.; Baak, van M.A.; Groot, de C.P.G.M.; Chagnon, M.; Graaf, de C.; Saris, W.H.M.

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between DNA polymorphisms in several candidate genes for obesity and weight gain. Polymorphisms in these genes may contribute to weight gain through effects on energy intake, energy expenditure or adipogenesis. DESIGN AND METHODS: From two large cohorts in

Progress report on pre-test calculations for the large block test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, K.H.

1995-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) is investigating the suitability of the Topopah Spring tuff in the thick vadose zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a host rock for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste. As part of the YMP, a group of field tests, referred to as the Large Block Test (LBT), will be conducted on a large electrically heated block of Topopah Spring tuff, isolated at Fran Ridge, Nevada Test Site. The block, which will be 3 x 3 m in horizontal dimensions and 4.5 m in height, will be heated by electrical heaters. The goals of the LBT axe to gain information on the coupled thermal-mechanical-hydrological-chemical processes active in the near-field environment of a repository; to provide field data for testing and calibrating models; and to help the development of measurement systems and techniques. This progress report presents results of on-going numerical modeling calculations carried out in support of the LBT design. An equivalent continuum model with an upper boundary temperature of 60 degrees C was used to simulate the hydrothermal response of the block to heating over a one-year period. The total heating power was started at 1500 W and later reduced to maintain an approximately uniform temperature of 138-140 degrees C. For a homogeneous bulk permeability case, the results show the formation of a distinct dry-out zone in and around the heater plane, and well-developed condensation zones above and below the heater plane. For a heterogeneous permeability distribution, the condensation zone above the heater plane was not well developed. This difference in results suggests that water saturation changes might be sensitive to changes in bulk permeability distribution. Rock temperatures were almost unaffected by permeability distribution. Heat flow was dominated by conduction. No liquid flow through the top of the block was predicted

Investigation with automatic ultrasonic equipment to trace flaws in a large test piece, and experience gained in carrying out inspections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindner, J.P.

1975-01-01

evaluated for the individual parameters of the inspection. Finally, the possibilities are given for employing such inspection equipment for ultrasonic in-service inspections on reactor pressure vessels. A report is given on the experience gained in this respect both for internal and external inspections. (author)

Effects of having a baby on weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Wendy J; Hockey, Richard; Dobson, Annette J

2010-02-01

Women often blame weight gain in early adulthood on having a baby. The aim was to estimate the weight gain attributable to having a baby, after disentangling the effects of other factors that influence weight change at this life stage. A longitudinal study of a randomly selected cohort of 6458 Australian women, aged 18-23 years in 1996, was conducted. Self-report mailed surveys were completed in 1996, 2000, 2003, and 2006, and data were analyzed in 2008. On average, women gained weight at the rate of 0.93% per year (95% CI=0.89, 0.98) or 605 g/year (95% CI=580, 635) for a 65-kg woman. Over the 10-year study period, partnered women with one baby gained almost 4 kg more, and those with a partner but no baby gained 1.8 kg more, than unpartnered childless women (after adjustment for other significant factors: initial BMI and age; physical activity, sitting time, energy intake (2003); education level, hours in paid work, and smoking). Having a baby has a marked effect on 10-year weight gain, but there is also an effect attributable to getting married or living with a partner. Social and lifestyle as well as energy balance variables should be considered when developing strategies to prevent weight gain in young adult women. Copyright 2010 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extensive intron gain in the ancestor of placental mammals

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Genome-wide studies of intron dynamics in mammalian orthologous genes have found convincing evidence for loss of introns but very little for intron turnover. Similarly, large-scale analysis of intron dynamics in a few vertebrate genomes has identified only intron losses and no gains, indicating that intron gain is an extremely rare event in vertebrate evolution. These studies suggest that the intron-rich genomes of vertebrates do not allow intron gain. The aim of this study was to search for evidence of de novo intron gain in domesticated genes from an analysis of their exon/intron structures. Results A phylogenomic approach has been used to analyse all domesticated genes in mammals and chordates that originated from the coding parts of transposable elements. Gain of introns in domesticated genes has been reconstructed on well established mammalian, vertebrate and chordate phylogenies, and examined as to where and when the gain events occurred. The locations, sizes and amounts of de novo introns gained in the domesticated genes during the evolution of mammals and chordates has been analyzed. A significant amount of intron gain was found only in domesticated genes of placental mammals, where more than 70 cases were identified. De novo gained introns show clear positional bias, since they are distributed mainly in 5' UTR and coding regions, while 3' UTR introns are very rare. In the coding regions of some domesticated genes up to 8 de novo gained introns have been found. Intron densities in Eutheria-specific domesticated genes and in older domesticated genes that originated early in vertebrates are lower than those for normal mammalian and vertebrate genes. Surprisingly, the majority of intron gains have occurred in the ancestor of placentals. Conclusions This study provides the first evidence for numerous intron gains in the ancestor of placental mammals and demonstrates that adequate taxon sampling is crucial for reconstructing intron evolution. The

Advanced radiation detector development mercuric iodide, silicon with internal gain, hybrid scintillator/semiconductor detectors. Comprehensive summary report, 1976-1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huth, G.C.; Dabrowski, A.J.

1985-01-01

Accomplishments are reported in the development of a compound semi-insulator mercuric iodide (HgI 2 ) for nuclear radiation detection and spectroscopy, early lung cancer detection and localization in the uranium miner/worker population, computer digital image processing and image reconstruction research, and a concept for multiple, filtered x-ray computed tomography scanning to reveal chemical compositional information. Another area of interest is the study of new advances in the area of silicon detectors with internal gain (''avalanche'')

Optical gain and gain suppression of quantum-well lasers with valence band mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, D.; Chuang, S.L.

1990-01-01

The effects of valence band mixing on the nonlinear gains of quantum-well lasers are studied theoretically. The authors' analysis is based on the multiband effective-mass theory and the density matrix formalism with intraband relaxation taken into account. The gain and the gain-suppression coefficient of a quantum-well laser are calculated from the complex optical susceptibility obtained by the density matrix formulation with the theoretical dipole moments obtained from the multiband effective-mass theory. The calculated gain spectrum shows that there are remarkable differences (both in peak amplitude and spectral shape) between our model with valence band mixing and the conventional parabolic band model. The shape of the gain spectrum calculated by the authors' model becomes more symmetric due to intraband relaxation together with nonparabolic energy dispersions and is closer to the experimental observations when compared with the conventional method using the parabolic band model and the multiband effective-mass calculation without intraband relaxation. Both give quite asymmetric gain spectra. Optical intensity in the GaAs active region is estimated by solving rate equations for the stationary states with nonlinear gain suppression. The authors calculate the mode gain for the resonant mode including the gain suppression, which results in spectral hole burning of the gain spectrum

Gestational weight gain among minority adolescents predicts term birth weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekambaram, Maheswari; Irigoyen, Matilde; DeFreitas, Johelin; Rajbhandari, Sharina; Geaney, Jessica Lynn; Braitman, Leonard Edward

2018-03-07

In adolescents, there is limited evidence on the independent and additive effect of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain on infant birth weight. Data also show that this effect may vary by race. We sought to examine the impact of maternal prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain on birth weight and risk of large for gestational age (LGA) in term newborns of minority adolescent mothers. This was a retrospective cohort study of 411 singleton live term infants born to mothers ≤ 18 years. Data were abstracted from electronic medical records. Gestational weight gain was related to infant birth weight (ρ = 0.36, P gain, gestational age and Hispanic ethnicity were independent predictors of birth weight, controlling for maternal age, BMI, parity, tobacco/drug use and preeclampsia. The probability of having an LGA infant increased with weight gain [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.21] but not with BMI. Mothers who gained weight in excess of 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations had a greater risk of having an LGA infant compared to those who gained within recommendations (aOR 5.7, 95% CI 1.6-19.5). Minority adolescents with greater gestational weight gain had infants with higher birth weight and greater risk of LGA; BMI was not associated with either outcome. Further studies are needed to examine the applicability of the 2009 BMI-specific IOM gestational weight gain recommendations to adolescents in minority populations.

Gain beyond cosmesis: Demonstration of psychosocial and functional gains following successful strabismus surgery using the adult strabismus questionnaire adult strabismus 20

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danish Alam

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Strabismus adversely affects psychosocial and functional aspects; while its correction impacts positively. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the gains in scores: Overall scores (OASs, psychosocial subscale scores (PSSs and functional subscale scores (FSSs following successful surgical alignment. Settings and Design: We evaluated changed scores in the adult strabismus 20 (AS-20 questionnaire, administered before and after successful surgery. Materials and Methods: Thirty adults horizontal strabismics, were administered the AS-20, at baseline, and at 6-week and 3-month. Group-wise analysis was carried out based on gender, strabismus type (esotropia [ET] or exotropia [XT], back-ground and amblyopia. Statistical Analysis: We used Wilcoxon, and Mann-Whitney U-tests. Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: At baseline, there were no significant differences within the groups, except that those with amblyopia significantly scored less than nonamblyopes in OAS (median scores: 53.8 vs. 71.3; P = 0.009 and FSS (56.3 vs. 85.3; P = 0.009. OAS, PSS and FSS showed significant gains at 6-week and 3-month (all Wilcoxon P < 0.001. Compared with males, females showed significantly more gain at 3-month (OAS: 37.9 vs. 28.7; P = 0.02, on account of PSS gain (49.6 vs. 37.5; P = 0.01. The ET performed better than XT only on the FSS at 6-week (28.7 vs. 15.0; P = 0.02. Vis-à-vis the nonamblyopes, the amblyopes showed significantly more benefit at 6-week alone (OAS: 18.7 vs. 28.7; P = 0.04, largely due to gains in PSS. Conclusions: Successful strabismus surgery has demonstrated significant gains in psychosocial, functional and overall functions. There is some evidence that gains may be more in females; with a trend to better outcomes in ET and amblyopes up to 6-week.

VIIRS day-night band gain and offset determination and performance

Science.gov (United States)

Geis, J.; Florio, C.; Moyer, D.; Rausch, K.; De Luccia, F. J.

2012-09-01

On October 28th, 2011, the Visible-Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) was launched on-board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) spacecraft. The instrument has 22 spectral bands: 14 reflective solar bands (RSB), 7 thermal emissive bands (TEB), and a Day Night Band (DNB). The DNB is a panchromatic, solar reflective band that provides visible through near infrared (IR) imagery of earth scenes with radiances spanning 7 orders of magnitude. In order to function over this large dynamic range, the DNB employs a focal plane array (FPA) consisting of three gain stages: the low gain stage (LGS), the medium gain stage (MGS), and the high gain stage (HGS). The final product generated from a DNB raw data record (RDR) is a radiance sensor data record (SDR). Generation of the SDR requires accurate knowledge of the dark offsets and gain coefficients for each DNB stage. These are measured on-orbit and stored in lookup tables (LUT) that are used during ground processing. This paper will discuss the details of the offset and gain measurement, data analysis methodologies, the operational LUT update process, and results to date including a first look at trending of these parameters over the early life of the instrument.

Low Voltage Current-Reused Pseudo-Differential Programmable Gain Amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Huy-Hieu; Lee, Jeong-Seon; Lee, Sang-Gug

This paper reports a current-reused pseudo-differential (CRPD) programmable gain amplifier (PGA) that demonstrates small size, low power, wide band, low noise, and high linearity operation with 4 control bits. Implemented in 0.18um CMOS technology, the PGA shows the gain range from -9.9 to 8.3dB with gain error of less than ±0.38dB. The IIP3, P1dB, and smallest 3-dB bandwidth are 10.5 to 27dBm, -9 to 9.5dBm, and 250MHz, respectively. The PGA occupies the chip area of 0.04mm2 and consumes only 460 µA from a 1.2V supply.

Maternal Obesity, Gestational Weight Gain, and Asthma in Offspring.

Science.gov (United States)

Polinski, Kristen J; Liu, Jihong; Boghossian, Nansi S; McLain, Alexander C

2017-11-09

Obesity is common among women of childbearing age; intrauterine exposure to maternal obesity or gestational weight gain may influence the development of asthma in early childhood. We examined the relationships of maternal obesity and gestational weight gain with asthma in offspring. We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, which has a nationally representative sample of children followed from birth in 2001 through age 4 (n = 6,450). Asthma was based on parental report of a medical professional's diagnosis. We used generalized estimating equation binomial models to compute adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of childhood asthma with maternal obesity and 4 measures of gestational weight gain. Compared with children of normal-weight mothers, children of obese mothers had increased risk of asthma (adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-2.12) by age 4, and children born to overweight mothers had similar risk (adjusted OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 0.99-1.59). Extreme-low weight gain (gain (≥25 kg) were associated with increased risk of asthma; however, the following measures were not significant predictors of asthma: meeting gestational weight gain recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, total gestational weight gain, and weekly rate of weight gain in the second and third trimesters. Extreme-low or extreme-high gestational weight gain and maternal obesity are risk factors for early childhood asthma, further evidence of the long-term impact of intrauterine exposure on children and the need to target preconception care to improve child health indicators.

The Role of Morphology and Electronic Chain Aggregation on the Optical Gain Properties of Semiconducting Conjugated Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Lampert, Zachary Evan

thresholds and large net gains are highly desirable. In this thesis, we also discuss novel routes we developed for enhancement of ASE performance in MEH-PPV thin film planar waveguides. The first technique relied on improving the distribution of the TE0 guided mode in the CP gain layer through optimization of waveguide architecture. This was achieved by fabricating symmetric heterostructure waveguides formed from a core layer of MEH-PPV sandwiched between an SiO2 buffer and index matched poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) cover layer. Relative to asymmetric waveguides of Si(100)/SiO2/MEH-PPV/Air, symmetric waveguides exhibited increased optical confinement and reduced propagation loss enabling lower ASE threshold (40%) and higher net gain (50%). Independent of device architecture and degree of aggregation in the films, we discovered that optical gain is also highly dependent on the excitation conditions, specifically the temporal width of the pump laser pulses. A 400% increase in net gain was achieved under transient (25 picosecond pulses), compared to quasi-steady state (8 nanosecond pulses), excitation conditions. This large difference is attributed to low pumping efficiency and increased non-radiative recombination under ns pumping, which reduces the emission cross-section resulting in a net decrease in gain. The gain values we achieved in the ps regime are to the best of our knowledge the largest gain values reported to date for thin conjugated polymer films measured using the variable stripe length (VSL) technique. Films pumped in the transient regime also required 30 times less pump energy density to reach threshold in comparison with films pumped in the quasi-steady state regime, although the excited state densities were essentially the same. These results demonstrate that the pumping efficiency, and hence generation rate of excited states in a gain medium, can be dramatically increased by using pump laser pulses that are shorter than the exciton luminescence lifetime

Factors Related to Weight Gain/Loss among Emerging Adults with Obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ping H; Annesi, James J

2018-05-01

We examined the reasons for weight gain and barriers to weight loss among emerging adults with obesity. Eighty-one female undergraduate students with obesity completed 4-open ended questions in 2015-2016. Qualitative responses were analyzed using NVivo 11 Pro software. Most participants experienced weight gain prior to attending college. The most commonly reported reasons for weight gain include a lack of ability to control one's behaviors or overcome barriers (ie, poor eating habits, lack of physical activity, lack of time, easy access to food), emotional/mental health issues, physical health, and influence of significant others. Nearly half reported having a weight loss goal. Most reported having used one or more weight loss methods. Few reached short-term weight loss but quickly regained the lost weight. Major reported barriers reflect a lack of self-regulation skills, negative mood and stress, and lack of self-efficacy for healthy eating or physical activity. Results suggest that the perceived ability to control one's behaviors and overcome barriers, self-efficacy, and mood are important in weight-related behaviors, weight, and weight loss success among emerging adults, especially those enrolled in college.

Multimodal Pilot Behavior in Multi-Axis Tracking Tasks with Time-Varying Motion Cueing Gains

Science.gov (United States)

Zaal, P. M. T; Pool, D. M.

2014-01-01

In a large number of motion-base simulators, adaptive motion filters are utilized to maximize the use of the available motion envelope of the motion system. However, not much is known about how the time-varying characteristics of such adaptive filters affect pilots when performing manual aircraft control. This paper presents the results of a study investigating the effects of time-varying motion filter gains on pilot control behavior and performance. An experiment was performed in a motion-base simulator where participants performed a simultaneous roll and pitch tracking task, while the roll and/or pitch motion filter gains changed over time. Results indicate that performance increases over time with increasing motion gains. This increase is a result of a time-varying adaptation of pilots' equalization dynamics, characterized by increased visual and motion response gains and decreased visual lead time constants. Opposite trends are found for decreasing motion filter gains. Even though the trends in both controlled axes are found to be largely the same, effects are less significant in roll. In addition, results indicate minor cross-coupling effects between pitch and roll, where a cueing variation in one axis affects the behavior adopted in the other axis.

Directional amplifier in an optomechanical system with optical gain

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Cheng; Song, L. N.; Li, Yong

2018-05-01

Directional amplifiers are crucial nonreciprocal devices in both classical and quantum information processing. Here we propose a scheme for realizing a directional amplifier between optical and microwave fields based on an optomechanical system with optical gain, where an active optical cavity and two passive microwave cavities are coupled to a common mechanical resonator via radiation pressure. The two passive cavities are coupled via hopping interaction to facilitate the directional amplification between the active and passive cavities. We obtain the condition of achieving optical directional amplification and find that the direction of amplification can be controlled by the phase differences between the effective optomechanical couplings. The effects of the gain rate of the active cavity and the effective coupling strengths on the maximum gain of the amplifier are discussed. We show that the noise added to this amplifier can be greatly suppressed in the large cooperativity limit.

Analysis and Evaluation of Performance Gains and Tradeoffs for Massive MIMO Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saba Qasim Jabbar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Massive MIMO technique offers significant performance gains for the future of wireless communications via improving the spectral efficiency, energy efficiency and the channel quality with simple linear processing such as maximum-ratio transmission (MRT or zero-forcing (ZF by providing each user a large degree of freedom. In this paper, the system performance gains are studied in a multi-cell downlink massive MIMO system under the main considerations such as perfect channel estimation, imperfect channel estimation and the effect of interference among cells due to pilot sequences contamination. Then, mathematical expressions are derived for these gains i.e., spatial multiplexing gain, array gain and spatial diversity gain. After that, essential tradeoffs among these gains are considered under the effect of non-orthogonal interference, these tradeoffs are: spatial diversity gain vs. spatial multiplexing gain and array gain vs. spatial multiplexing gain. Simulation results show that the unbounded number of base station antennas boosts the array gain through concentrating the energy to spatial directions where users are sited, hence diminishing loss in array gain due to pilot contamination. The simulation results reveal also that massive MIMO strengthens the spatial multiplexing gain through increasing the number of served users via the same system resources in spite the effect of inter-cell interference. Finally, the spatial diversity gain is measured in term of outage probability and the simulation results show that raising the number of antennas will improve the outage probability. Meanwhile increasing the number of served users will lead to degrade the outage probability per user due to non-orthogonal interference from other cells.

Changes in working conditions and major weight gain among normal- and overweight midlife employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Niskanen, Riikka; Holstila, Ansku; Rahkonen, Ossi; Lallukka, Tea

2017-11-01

Objectives We aimed to examine the association between changes in psychosocial working conditions and major weight gain among midlife women and men. Furthermore, we examined the associations separately among normal- and overweight participants. Methods We used survey data among employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland, from 2000-2002 (phase 1, N=8960), 2007 (phase 2, N=7332), and 2012 (phase 3, N=6814), with a final study sample of 4369 participants. We examined changes in job strain, job demands, and job control from phase 1 to 2. We defined major weight gain as ≥10% weight gain between phases 1 and 3 based on self-reported weight (kg). We performed logistic regression analysis adjusting for baseline age, marital status, and occupational class, stratifying by gender and by baseline body mass index. Results Job demands among both genders and job strain among women was associated with major weight gain. Furthermore, increased job demands [odds ratio (OR) 1.52, 95% CI 1.05-2.20] or increased job strain (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.11-2.11) was associated with major weight gain among overweight women. Normal-weight men reporting decreased job demands (OR 4.11, 95% CI 1.48-11.40) and overweight men reporting increasing job demands (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.26-6.82) exhibited higher odds of major weight gain. Conclusions Associations between working conditions and weight gain appeared primarily weak. Our study suggests that overweight individuals might be at a higher risk of weight gain when facing psychosocial strain in the workplace.

Should I Gain Weight?

Science.gov (United States)

... Videos for Educators Search English Español Should I Gain Weight? KidsHealth / For Teens / Should I Gain Weight? ... something about it. Why Do People Want to Gain Weight? Some of the reasons people give for ...

Speech production gains following constraint-induced movement therapy in children with hemiparesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Kristen M; Reidy, Teressa Garcia; Boyle, Mary; Naber, Erin; Carney, Joan; Pidcock, Frank S

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in speech skills of children who have hemiparesis and speech impairment after participation in a constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) program. While case studies have reported collateral speech gains following CIMT, the effect of CIMT on speech production has not previously been directly investigated to the knowledge of these investigators. Eighteen children with hemiparesis and co-occurring speech impairment participated in a 21-day clinical CIMT program. The Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-2 (GFTA-2) was used to assess children's articulation of speech sounds before and after the intervention. Changes in percent of consonants correct (PCC) on the GFTA-2 were used as a measure of change in speech production. Children made significant gains in PCC following CIMT. Gains were similar in children with left and right-sided hemiparesis, and across age groups. This study reports significant collateral gains in speech production following CIMT and suggests benefits of CIMT may also spread to speech motor domains.

Genetic Variation in the Leptin Receptor Gene, Leptin, and Weight Gain in Young Dutch Adults

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rossum, van C.T.M.; Hoebee, B.; Baak, van M.A.; Mars, M.; Saris, W.H.M.; Seidell, J.C.

2003-01-01

Objective: To investigate the association between leptin levels, polymorphisms in the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene, and weight gain. Research Methods and Procedures: From two large prospective cohorts in The Netherlands (n = 17, 500), we compared the baseline leptin of 259 subjects who had gained an

ON SOME IDEAS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF IDENTIFICATION AND RECORDING GAINS/LOSSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaan Alver

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of paper is to analyze the definitions and recording process of revenues and gains. The authors of current paper have worked out some suggestions for improving the reporting process taking into account the definitions of income, revenue, gains, losses and profit. Analyzing the inconsistency in two pairs of opposite terms (Profit and Loss and Gain and Loss the authors came to conclusion that the amount named gain/loss in disposal of property, plant and equipment is rather correction or adjustment of previous miscalculation of depreciation expense due to the formula. To make aforementioned adjustments and show them separately a Contra depreciation expense account or Depreciation adjunct account is recommended.

Detective quantum efficiency gains compared with speed gains for hypersensitized astronomical plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaye, A.L.

1977-01-01

It is reasonable to assume that gains in detective quantum efficiency (DQE) are far better criteria for assessing the performance of hypersensitizing techniques than gains in speed. It is shown here that gains in speed can be misleading, for some methods of hypersensitization give plates of increased speed but reduced detective quantum efficiency. (author)

Enhanced intrinsic voltage gain in artificially stacked bilayer CVD graphene field effect transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pandey, Himadri; Kataria, Satender [RWTH Aachen University, Chair for Electronic Devices, Aachen (Germany); University of Siegen, School of Science and Technology, Siegen (Germany); Aguirre-Morales, Jorge-Daniel; Fregonese, Sebastien; Zimmer, Thomas [IMS Laboratory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Bordeaux, Talence (France); Passi, Vikram [University of Siegen, School of Science and Technology, Siegen (Germany); AMO GmbH, Advanced Microelectronics Center Aachen (Germany); Iannazzo, Mario; Alarcon, Eduard [Technical University of Catalonia, Department of Electronics Engineering, UPC, Barcelona (Spain); Lemme, Max C. [RWTH Aachen University, Chair for Electronic Devices, Aachen (Germany); University of Siegen, School of Science and Technology, Siegen (Germany); AMO GmbH, Advanced Microelectronics Center Aachen (Germany)

2017-11-15

We report on electronic transport in dual-gate, artificially stacked bilayer graphene field effect transistors (BiGFETs) fabricated from large-area chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene. The devices show enhanced tendency to current saturation, which leads to reduced minimum output conductance values. This results in improved intrinsic voltage gain of the devices when compared to monolayer graphene FETs. We employ a physics based compact model originally developed for Bernal stacked bilayer graphene FETs (BSBGFETs) to explore the observed phenomenon. The improvement in current saturation may be attributed to increased charge carrier density in the channel and thus reduced saturation velocity due to carrier-carrier scattering. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Reversal of olanzapine-induced weight gain in a patient with schizophrenia by switching to asenapine: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Okazaki K

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Kosuke Okazaki, Kazuhiko Yamamuro, Toshifumi Kishimoto Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan Aims: Antipsychotics are effective for treating schizophrenia, but atypical antipsychotics can cause several adverse side effects including weight gain, hyperprolactinemia, and extrapyramidal symptoms. Moreover, weight gain increases the risk of metabolic diseases.Methods: We treated a case of olanzapine-induced weight gain in a 41-year-old man with schizophrenia by switching his medication from olanzapine to asenapine.Results: The weight gain improved after switching the medication, from 80.3 to 75.0 kg, a weight loss of 6.6%, and there was no significant worsening of psychological symptoms or other adverse effects.Conclusions: Asenapine might be effective for treating patients with schizophrenia who experience olanzapine-induced weight gain. Keywords: olanzapine, weight gain, schizophrenia, asenapine

Managing large-scale models: DBS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-05-01

A set of fundamental management tools for developing and operating a large scale model and data base system is presented. Based on experience in operating and developing a large scale computerized system, the only reasonable way to gain strong management control of such a system is to implement appropriate controls and procedures. Chapter I discusses the purpose of the book. Chapter II classifies a broad range of generic management problems into three groups: documentation, operations, and maintenance. First, system problems are identified then solutions for gaining management control are disucssed. Chapters III, IV, and V present practical methods for dealing with these problems. These methods were developed for managing SEAS but have general application for large scale models and data bases

Two Photon Induced Lasing in 1550 nm Quantum Dash Optical Gain Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capua, Amir; Saal, Abigael; Reithmaier, Johann Peter

2011-01-01

We report on a unique lasing mechanism observed in quantum dash Gain media. While the gain media is electrically pumped below lasing threshold, a strong optical pulse excites carriers by two photon absorption into high energy states of the quantum dashes and wetting layer. Fast inter band carrier...

105-DR Large Sodium Fire Facility closure activities evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adler, J.G.

1996-01-01

This report evaluates the closure activities at the 105-DR Large Sodium Fire Facility. The closure activities discussed include: the closure activities for the structures, equipment, soil, and gravel scrubber; decontamination methods; materials made available for recycling or reuse; and waste management. The evaluation compares these activities to the regulatory requirements and closure plan requirements. The report concludes that the areas identified in the closure plan can be clean closed

Preventing Weight Gain

Science.gov (United States)

... Local Programs Related Topics Diabetes Nutrition Preventing Weight Gain Language: English (US) Español (Spanish) Recommend on Facebook ... cancer. Choosing an Eating Plan to Prevent Weight Gain So, how do you choose a healthful eating ...

Temporal trends in pregnancy weight gain and birth weight in Bavaria 2000–2007: slightly decreasing birth weight with increasing weight gain in pregnancy

OpenAIRE

Schiessl, Barbara; Beyerlein, Andreas; Lack, Nicholas; Kries, Rüdiger von

2009-01-01

Aims: To assess temporal trends in birth weight and pregnancy weight gain in Bavaria from 2000 to 2007. Methods: Data on 695,707 mother and infant pairs (singleton term births) were available from a compulsory reporting system for quality assurance, including information on birth weight, maternal weight at delivery and at booking, maternal smoking, age, and further anthropometric and lifestyle factors. Pregnancy weight gain was defined as: weight prior to delivery minus weight at first booki...

Metformin and berberine prevent olanzapine-induced weight gain in rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yueshan Hu

Full Text Available Olanzapine is a first line medication for the treatment of schizophrenia, but it is also one of the atypical antipsychotics carrying the highest risk of weight gain. Metformin was reported to produce significant attenuation of antipsychotic-induced weight gain in patients, while the study of preventing olanzapine-induced weight gain in an animal model is absent. Berberine, an herbal alkaloid, was shown in our previous studies to prevent fat accumulation in vitro and in vivo. Utilizing a well-replicated rat model of olanzapine-induced weight gain, here we demonstrated that two weeks of metformin or berberine treatment significantly prevented the olanzapine-induced weight gain and white fat accumulation. Neither metformin nor berberine treatment demonstrated a significant inhibition of olanzapine-increased food intake. But interestingly, a significant loss of brown adipose tissue caused by olanzapine treatment was prevented by the addition of metformin or berberine. Our gene expression analysis also demonstrated that the weight gain prevention efficacy of metformin or berberine treatment was associated with changes in the expression of multiple key genes controlling energy expenditure. This study not only demonstrates a significant preventive efficacy of metformin and berberine treatment on olanzapine-induced weight gain in rats, but also suggests a potential mechanism of action for preventing olanzapine-reduced energy expenditure.

Association Between Gestational Weight Gain According to Body Mass Index and Postpartum Weight in a Large Cohort of Danish Women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rode, Line; Kjærgaard, Hanne; Ottesen, Bent

2012-01-01

weight, 60% of overweight and 50% of obese women gained more than recommended during pregnancy. For normal weight and overweight women with GWG above recommendations the OR of gaining = 5 kg (11 lbs) 1-year postpartum was 2.8 (95% CI 2.0-4.0) and 2.8 (95% CI 1.3-6.2, respectively) compared to women...... with GWG within recommendations. GWG above IOM recommendations significantly increases normal weight, overweight and obese women's risk of retaining weight 1 year after delivery. Health personnel face a challenge in prenatal counseling as 40-60% of these women gain more weight than recommended...

High gain gas microstrip detectors for soft x-ray detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bateman, J.; Barlow, R.; Derbyshire, G.

2001-01-01

This report describes development work in which systematic changes in the pitch of the electrode pattern of a Gas Microstrip Detector are explored in the search for higher avalanche gains and enhanced stability. With the cathode width set to half of the pitch, gas gains of >50 000 are comfortably attainable with low detector noise so that x-rays can potentially be detected down to the limit of a single x-ray-produced photoelectron. (author)

Compensation of propagation loss of surface plasmon polaritons with a finite-thickness dielectric gain layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xin; Liu, Haitao; Zhong, Ying

2012-01-01

We theoretically study the compensation of propagation loss of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) with the use of a finite-thickness dielectric layer with optical gain. The impacts of the gain coefficient, the gain-layer thickness and the wavelength on the loss compensation and the field distribution of the SPP mode are systematically explored with a fully vectorial method. Abnormal behaviors for the loss compensation as the gain-layer thickness increases are found and explained. Critical values of the gain coefficient and of the corresponding gain-layer thickness for just compensating the propagation loss are provided. Our results show that as the SPP propagation loss is fully compensated with a gain coefficient at a reasonably low level, the gain layer is still thin enough to ensure a large exterior SPP field at the gain-layer/air interface, which is important for achieving a strong light–matter interaction for applications such as bio-chemical sensing. (paper)

Feedback Loop Gains and Feedback Behavior (1996)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampmann, Christian Erik

2012-01-01

Linking feedback loops and system behavior is part of the foundation of system dynamics, yet the lack of formal tools has so far prevented a systematic application of the concept, except for very simple systems. Having such tools at their disposal would be a great help to analysts in understanding...... large, complicated simulation models. The paper applies tools from graph theory formally linking individual feedback loop strengths to the system eigenvalues. The significance of a link or a loop gain and an eigenvalue can be expressed in the eigenvalue elasticity, i.e., the relative change...... of an eigenvalue resulting from a relative change in the gain. The elasticities of individual links and loops may be found through simple matrix operations on the linearized system. Even though the number of feedback loops can grow rapidly with system size, reaching astronomical proportions even for modest systems...

Gestational Weight Gain: Results from the Delta Healthy Sprouts Comparative Impact Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica L. Thomson

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Delta Healthy Sprouts trial was designed to test the comparative impact of two home visiting programs on weight status, dietary intake, and health behaviors of Southern African American women and their infants. Results pertaining to the primary outcome, gestational weight gain, are reported. Methods. Participants (n=82, enrolled early in their second trimester of pregnancy, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment arms. Gestational weight gain, measured at six monthly home visits, was calculated by subtracting measured weight at each visit from self-reported prepregnancy weight. Weight gain was classified as under, within, or exceeding the Institute of Medicine recommendations based on prepregnancy body mass index. Chi-square tests and generalized linear mixed models were used to test for significant differences in percentages of participants within recommended weight gain ranges. Results. Differences in percentages of participants within the gestational weight gain guidelines were not significant between treatment arms across all visits. Conclusions. Enhancing the gestational nutrition and physical activity components of an existing home visiting program is feasible in a high risk population of primarily low income African American women. The impact of these enhancements on appropriate gestational weight gain is questionable given the more basic living needs of such women. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01746394, registered 4 December 2012.

Design and fabrication of an optimum peripheral region for low gain avalanche detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernández-Martínez, Pablo; Flores, D.; Hidalgo, S.; Greco, V.; Merlos, A.; Pellegrini, G.; Quirion, D.

2016-01-01

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) represent a remarkable advance in high energy particle detection, since they provide a moderate increase (gain ~10) of the collected charge, thus leading to a notable improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio, which largely extends the possible application of Silicon detectors beyond their present working field. The optimum detection performance requires a careful implementation of the multiplication junction, in order to obtain the desired gain on the read out signal, but also a proper design of the edge termination and the peripheral region, which prevents the LGAD detectors from premature breakdown and large leakage current. This work deals with the critical technological aspects required to optimize the LGAD structure. The impact of several design strategies for the device periphery is evaluated with the aid of TCAD simulations, and compared with the experimental results obtained from the first LGAD prototypes fabricated at the IMB-CNM clean room. Solutions for the peripheral region improvement are also provided.

Design and fabrication of an optimum peripheral region for low gain avalanche detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernández-Martínez, Pablo; Flores, D., E-mail: david.flores@imb-cnm.csic.es; Hidalgo, S.; Greco, V.; Merlos, A.; Pellegrini, G.; Quirion, D.

2016-06-11

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) represent a remarkable advance in high energy particle detection, since they provide a moderate increase (gain ~10) of the collected charge, thus leading to a notable improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio, which largely extends the possible application of Silicon detectors beyond their present working field. The optimum detection performance requires a careful implementation of the multiplication junction, in order to obtain the desired gain on the read out signal, but also a proper design of the edge termination and the peripheral region, which prevents the LGAD detectors from premature breakdown and large leakage current. This work deals with the critical technological aspects required to optimize the LGAD structure. The impact of several design strategies for the device periphery is evaluated with the aid of TCAD simulations, and compared with the experimental results obtained from the first LGAD prototypes fabricated at the IMB-CNM clean room. Solutions for the peripheral region improvement are also provided.

105-DR Large sodium fire facility soil sampling data evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adler, J.G.

1996-01-01

This report evaluates the soil sampling activities, soil sample analysis, and soil sample data associated with the closure activities at the 105-DR Large Sodium Fire Facility. The evaluation compares these activities to the regulatory requirements for meeting clean closure. The report concludes that there is no soil contamination from the waste treatment activities

Associations of neighbourhood walkability indices with weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Koohsari, Mohammad Javad; Oka, Koichiro; Shibata, Ai; Liao, Yung; Hanibuchi, Tomoya; Owen, Neville; Sugiyama, Takemi

2018-04-03

Inconsistent associations of neighbourhood walkability with adults' body weight have been reported. Most studies examining the relationships of walkability and adiposity are cross-sectional in design. We examined the longitudinal relationships of two walkability indices - conventional walkability and space syntax walkability, and their individual components, with weight change among adults over four years. Data were from the Physical Activity in Localities and Community study in Adelaide, Australia. In 2003-2004, 2650 adults living in 154 Census Collection Districts (CCDs) returned baseline questionnaires; in 2007-2008, the follow-up survey was completed by 1098. Participants reported their weight at baseline and at follow-up. Neighbourhood walkability indices were calculated using geographic information systems and space syntax software. Linear marginal models using generalized estimating equations with robust standard errors were fitted to examine associations of the two walkability indices and their individual components with the weight at follow-up, adjusting for baseline weight, socio-demographic variables, and spatial clustering at the level of CCD. The overall mean weight gain over four years was 1.5 kg. The two walkability indices were closely correlated (r = 0.76, p walkability indices and weight change. Among walkability components, there was a marginally significant negative association between space syntax measure of street integration and weight change: one standard deviation increment in street integration was associated with 0.31 kg less weight gain (p = 0.09). Using a prospective study design and a novel space-syntax based measure of walkability, we were not able to identify relationships between neighbourhood walkability with weight gain. This is consistent with other inconclusive findings on the built environment and obesity. Research on the built environment and adults' weight gain may need to consider not just local environments but

High gain multigap avalanche detectors for Cerenkov ring imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilmore, R.S.; Lavender, W.M.; Leith, D.W.G.S.; Williams, S.H.

1980-10-01

We report on a continuing study of multigap parallel plate avalanche chambers, primarily as photoelectron detectors for use with Cerenkov ring imaging counters. By suitable control of the fields in successive gaps and by introducing screens to reduce photon feedback to the cathode the gain many be increased considerably. We have obtained gains in excess of 6 x 10/sup 7/ for photoelectrons with a good pulse height spectrum and expect to increase this further. We discuss the use of resistive anodes to give avalanche positions in two dimensions by charge division.

Influences of finite gain bandwidth on pulse propagation in parabolic fiber amplifiers with distributed gain profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jia-Sheng; Li Pan; Chen Xiao-Dong; Feng Su-Juan; Mao Qing-He

2012-01-01

The evolutions of the pulses propagating in decreasing and increasing gain distributed fiber amplifiers with finite gain bandwidths are investigated by simulations with the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The results show that the parabolic pulse propagations in both the decreasing and the increasing gain amplifiers are restricted by the finite gain bandwidth. For a given input pulse, by choosing a small initial gain coefficient and gain variation rate, the whole gain for the pulse amplification limited by the gain bandwidth may be higher, which is helpful for the enhancement of the output linearly chirped pulse energy. Compared to the decreasing gain distributed fiber amplifier, the increasing gain distributed amplifier may be more conducive to suppress the pulse spectral broadening and increase the critical amplifier length for achieving a larger output linearly chirped pulse energy

Report from the 3rd Workshop on Extremely Large Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacek Becla

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Academic and industrial users are increasingly facing the challenge of petabytes of data, but managing and analyzing such large data sets still remains a daunting task. Both the database and the map/reduce communities worldwide are working on addressing these issues. The 3rdExtremely Large Databases workshop was organized to examine the needs of scientific communities beginning to face these issues, to reach out to European communities working on extremely large scale data challenges, and to brainstorm possible solutions. The science benchmark that emerged from the 2nd workshop in this series was also debated. This paper is the final report of the discussions and activities at this workshop.

Meal size is a critical driver of weight gain in early childhood

OpenAIRE

Syrad, Hayley; Llewellyn, Clare H.; Johnson, Laura; Boniface, David; Jebb, Susan A.; van Jaarsveld, Cornelia H. M.; Wardle, Jane

2016-01-01

Larger serving sizes and more frequent eating episodes have been implicated in the rising prevalence of obesity at a population level. This study examines the relative contributions of meal size and frequency to weight gain in a large sample of British children. Using 3-day diet diaries from 1939 children aged 21 months from the Gemini twin cohort, we assessed prospective associations between meal size, meal frequency and weight gain from two to five years. Separate longitudinal analyses demo...

Maternal glycated haemoglobin, pre-gestational weight, pregnancy weight gain and risk of large-for-gestational-age babies: a Danish cohort study of 209 singleton Type 1 diabetic pregnancies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Gunnar Lauge; Dethlefsen, Claus; Møller, Anna Margrethe

2007-01-01

between glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and relative risk of delivering an LGA baby was quantified based on logistic regression models and stratified analysis controlling for the five covariates. Results We included 209 singleton pregnancies with assessable HbA1c values of which 59% [95% confidence interval......Aims To examine the association between maternal glycated haemoglobin in the second half of diabetic pregnancies and the relative risk of delivering large-for-gestational-age (LGA) babies, controlling for maternal body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy, weight gain, age, White class and smoking...... (CI) 52-65%] terminated with an LGA baby. Increasing levels of HbA1c, BMI and weight gain were all associated with increasing risk of delivering an LGA baby. Analyses stratified according to maternal BMI showed that the association between HbA1c and risk of delivering an LGA baby was restricted...

Slow and stopped light in active gain composite materials of metal nanoparticles. Ultralarge group index-bandwidth product predicted

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kwang-Hyon; Choe, Song-Hyok [Institute of Lasers, State Academy of Sciences, Unjong District, Pyongyang (Korea, Democratic People' s Republic of)

2017-08-15

Chip-compatible slow light devices with large group index-bandwidth products and low losses are of great interest in the community of modern photonics. In this work, active gain materials containing metal nanoparticles are proposed as the slow and stopped light materials. Gain-assisted high field enhancement in metal nanoparticles and the resultant strong dispersion lead to such phenomena. From the Maxwell-Garnett model, it is revealed that the metal nanocomposite exhibits the infinitely large group index when the gain of the host medium and the filling factor of metal nanoparticles satisfy a critical condition. For the gain of the host above the critical value, one can observe slowing down effect with amplification of light pulses. Significantly large group index-bandwidth products, which vary from a few to several thousand or even infinity depending on the gain value of the host medium, have been numerically predicted in active silica glasses containing spheroidal metal nanoparticles, as examples. The proposed scheme inherently provides the widely varying operating spectral range by changing the aspect ratio of metal nanoparticles and chip-compatibility with low cost. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Almost all antipsychotics result in weight gain: a meta-analysis.

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Maarten Bak

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Antipsychotics (AP induce weight gain. However, reviews and meta-analyses generally are restricted to second generation antipsychotics (SGA and do not stratify for duration of AP use. It is hypothesised that patients gain more weight if duration of AP use is longer. METHOD: A meta-analysis was conducted of clinical trials of AP that reported weight change. Outcome measures were body weight change, change in BMI and clinically relevant weight change (7% weight gain or loss. Duration of AP-use was stratified as follows: ≤6 weeks, 6-16 weeks, 16-38 weeks and >38 weeks. Forest plots stratified by AP as well as by duration of use were generated and results were summarised in figures. RESULTS: 307 articles met inclusion criteria. The majority were AP switch studies. Almost all AP showed a degree of weight gain after prolonged use, except for amisulpride, aripiprazole and ziprasidone, for which prolonged exposure resulted in negligible weight change. The level of weight gain per AP varied from discrete to severe. Contrary to expectations, switch of AP did not result in weight loss for amisulpride, aripiprazole or ziprasidone. In AP-naive patients, weight gain was much more pronounced for all AP. CONCLUSION: Given prolonged exposure, virtually all AP are associated with weight gain. The rational of switching AP to achieve weight reduction may be overrated. In AP-naive patients, weight gain is more pronounced.

Turning value chains into social gains in Southeast Asia | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Turning value chains into social gains in Southeast Asia. Global value chains, which now form the largest share of the world's trade, involve producers and enterprises that produce goods as inputs for other producers. In Southeast Asian countries, these industries employ large numbers of low-skilled workers, particularly ...

Weight Gain and Hair Loss during Anti-TNF Therapy

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Abdo Lutf

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. To investigate the incidence of weight gain and hair loss as adverse effects of anti-TNF therapy in rheumatic diseases. Methods. Patients using anti-TNF therapy, who are followed in rheumatology clinic, were interviewed using a questionnaire to investigate the side effects of anti-TNF therapy. Patients who complained of hair loss and weight gain were asked additional questions concerning the relationship of these adverse effects to anti-TNF use, whether therapy was stopped because of these adverse effects and if the adverse effects reversed after stopping therapy. The files were reviewed to follow the weight change before, during, and after discontinuation of anti-TNF. Results. One hundred fifty consecutive patients (82 RA, 34 ankylosing spondylitis, 32 psoriatic arthritis, and 4 for other indications were interviewed .Weight gain was observed in 20 patients (13.3% with average gain of 5.5 Kg. Anti-TNF was stopped in five patients because of this adverse effect. Hair loss during anti-TNf therapy was reported in five females (3.3% and anti-TNF therapy was stopped in all of them. Conclusion. Weight gain and hair loss appear to be associated with anti-TNF therapy and may be one reason for discontinuing the therapy.

Measurements and modeling of gain coefficients for neodymium laser glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linford, G.J.; Saroyan, R.A.; Trenholme, J.B.; Weber, M.J.

1979-01-01

Small-signal gain coefficients are reported for neodymium in silicate, phosphate, fluorophosphate, and fluoroberyllate laser glasses. Measurements were made in a disk amplifier under identical conditions. Using spectroscopic data as the input, amplifier gain is calculated as a fucntion of flashlamp energy, pumping pulse duration, disk thickness, and Nd-doping. The agreement between predicted and measured gains is generally with ;plus or minus;10 percent, consistent with experimental uncertainties in the model and the parameters used. The operating conditions which optimize amplifier performance and efficiency for a given laser glass may be found using spectroscopic data alone. This process can be extended to derive the most cost-effective staging of amplifier chains for fusion lasers. A discussion of the model and examples of calculations are presented

Gain-switched all-fiber laser with narrow bandwidth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Casper; Giesberts, M.; Nyga, S.

2013-01-01

pulse energy is 20 μJ in a duration of 135 ns at 7 kHz. The bandwidth increases for a higher pump pulse energy and repetition rate, and this sets the limit of the output pulse energy. A single power amplifier is added to raise the peak power to the kW-level and the pulse energy to 230 μJ while keeping......Gain-switching of a CW fiber laser is a simple and cost-effective approach to generate pulses using an all-fiber system. We report on the construction of a narrow bandwidth (below 0.1 nm) gain-switched fiber laser and optimize the pulse energy and pulse duration under this constraint. The extracted...

Reversal of olanzapine-induced weight gain in a patient with schizophrenia by switching to asenapine: a case report

OpenAIRE

Okazaki, Kosuke; Yamamuro, Kazuhiko; Kishimoto, Toshifumi

2017-01-01

Kosuke Okazaki, Kazuhiko Yamamuro, Toshifumi Kishimoto Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan Aims: Antipsychotics are effective for treating schizophrenia, but atypical antipsychotics can cause several adverse side effects including weight gain, hyperprolactinemia, and extrapyramidal symptoms. Moreover, weight gain increases the risk of metabolic diseases.Methods: We treated a case of olanzapine-induced weight gain in a 41-year-old man with s...

Large Lipoma of the Larynx: A Case Report

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Mohammad Taghi Khorsandi Ashtiani

2010-09-01

Full Text Available "nFewer than 15% of lipomas occur in the head and neck. Lipomas of the larynx are very rare benign laryngeal tumors (0.6%. To date less than 100 case of laryngeal lipoma have been reported in the literature.Clinical manifestation include progressive horseness, dyspnea, and even dysphagia. In the direct exam smooth or pedunculated mass is seen in the larynx and sometimes if tumor is large enough a mass palpated in the neck. In the computed tomography (CT low attenuation mass is seen. Treatment of laryngeal lipoma consists of endoscopic removal or external surgical approach depending on tumor size. The authors present a case of laryngeal lipoma that involved the true vocal cord. The following is a report of a single case of laryngeal lipoma, Including esteroboscopy, radiologic and intraoperative finding as well as review of the literature.

Large Lipoma of the Larynx: A Case Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Taghi Khorsandi Ashtiani

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Fewer than 15% of lipomas occur in the head and neck. Lipomas of the larynx are very rare benign laryngeal tumors (0.6%. To date less than 100 case of laryngeal lipoma have been reported in the literature.Clinical manifestation include progressive horseness, dyspnea, and even dysphagia. In the direct exam smooth or pedunculated mass is seen in the larynx and sometimes if tumor is large enough a mass palpated in the neck. In the computed tomography (CT low attenuation mass is seen. Treatment of laryngeal lipoma consists of endoscopic removal or external surgical approach depending on tumor size. The authors present a case of laryngeal lipoma that involved the true vocal cord. The following is a report of a single case of laryngeal lipoma, Including esteroboscopy, radiologic and intraoperative finding as well as review of the literature.

Ichthyosiform large plaque parapsoriasis: report of a rare entity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nag, Falguni; Ghosh, Arghyaprasun; Biswas, Projna; Chatterjee, Gobinda; Biswas, Saugato

2013-09-01

Large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP) is an idiopathic, chronic scaly dermatosis classified within parapsoriasis group of diseases, occurring commonly in middle aged patients of all races and geographic regions. LPP and its variants are closely related to the patch stage of mycosis fungoides. The two types of LPP mostly described are the poikilodermatous and retiform parapsoriasis. We are reporting an ichthyosiform LPP for its rarity.

Ichthyosiform large plaque parapsoriasis: Report of a rare entity

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Falguni Nag

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP is an idiopathic, chronic scaly dermatosis classified within parapsoriasis group of diseases, occurring commonly in middle aged patients of all races and geographic regions. LPP and its variants are closely related to the patch stage of mycosis fungoides. The two types of LPP mostly described are the poikilodermatous and retiform parapsoriasis. We are reporting an ichthyosiform LPP for its rarity.

A Wide-Band High-Gain Compact SIS Receiver Utilizing a 300-μW SiGe IF LNA

Science.gov (United States)

Montazeri, Shirin; Grimes, Paul K.; Tong, Cheuk-Yu Edward; Bardin, Joseph C.

2017-06-01

Low-power low-noise amplifiers integrated with superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers are required to enable implementation of large-scale focal plane arrays. In this work, a 220-GHz SIS mixer has been integrated with a high-gain broad-band low-power IF amplifier into a compact receiver module. The low noise amplifier (LNA) was specifically designed to match to the SIS output impedance and contributes less than 7 K to the system noise temperature over the 4-8 GHz IF frequency range. A receiver noise temperature of 30-45 K was measured for a local oscillator frequency of 220 GHz over an IF spanning 4-8 GHz. The LNA power dissipation was only 300-μW. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the lowest power consumption reported for a high-gain wide-band LNA directly integrated with an SIS mixer.

Active rc filter permits easy trade-off of amplifier gain and sensitivity to gain

Science.gov (United States)

Kerwin, W. J.; Shaffer, C. V.

1968-01-01

Passive RC network was designed with zeros of transmission in the right half of the complex frequency plane in the feedback loop of a simple negative-gain amplifier. The proper positioning provides any desired trade-off between amplifier gain and sensitivity to amplifier gain.

Informant Agreement in Treatment Gains for Child Anxiety

Science.gov (United States)

Benjamin, Courtney L.; Puleo, Connor M.; Kendall, Philip C.

2011-01-01

The present study examined multiple informant agreement in reports of treatment gains in a sample of children (M age = 10.27) treated for social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder. Mothers and fathers agreed on their child's improvement, and parents and children also generally agreed on the child's improvement.…

Gaining the Edge: Connecting with the Millennials

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

Cleaver’s and Partridge’s) entered Americans’ living rooms nightly. The Osmond’s and Beatles captivated music of the Boomer’s youth. Powerful...AIR WAR COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY GAINING THE EDGE: CONNECTING WITH THE MILLENNIALS by Kay A. Smith, Lt Col, USAF A Research Report Submitted to... the Faculty In Partial Fulfillment of the Graduation Requirements 1 December 2008 DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this academic research

Sudden losses and sudden gains during a DBT-PTSD treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder following childhood sexual abuse

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Antje Krüger

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Exposure-based treatment approaches are first-line interventions for patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD. However, the dissemination of exposure-based treatments for PTSD is challenging, as a large proportion of clinicians report being concerned about symptoms worsening as a result of this type of intervention and are therefore reluctant to offer it to patients with PTSD. However, there is only little empirical evidence to date on the pattern of symptom worsening during exposure-based treatment for PTSD. Objective: The goal of the present study was to explore the frequency of sudden losses and sudden gains in the course of an exposure-based treatment programme for female patients suffering from PTSD related to childhood sexual abuse who also show severe comorbidity. In addition, the relationship between sudden changes and treatment outcome was examined. Methods: Female participants (N=74 were randomised to either a 12-week residential DBT-PTSD programme or a treatment-as-usual wait list. The pattern of symptom change was assessed via weekly assessments using the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS. Sudden changes were computed as suggested by the literature on sudden gains. Results: During treatment, only one participant (3% experienced a sudden loss, whereas 25% of participants experienced sudden gains. In the waiting condition, 8% of the participants experienced sudden losses and 5% experienced sudden gains during the same time period. No symptom worsening was observed in response to exposure sessions. However, sudden gains occurred during exposure and non-exposure treatment weeks. Patients with sudden gains showed better treatment outcome in the post-treatment and follow-up assessments. Conclusions: Exposure-based treatment did not lead to PTSD symptom worsening in the study sample. Results show that sudden gains occur frequently during PTSD treatment and have a prognostic value for treatment outcome.

High energy gain in three-dimensional simulations of light sail acceleration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sgattoni, A., E-mail: andrea.sgattoni@polimi.it [Dipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano, Milano (Italy); CNR, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, u.o.s. “Adriano Gozzini,” Pisa (Italy); Sinigardi, S. [CNR, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, u.o.s. “Adriano Gozzini,” Pisa (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); INFN sezione di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Macchi, A. [CNR, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, u.o.s. “Adriano Gozzini,” Pisa (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica “Enrico Fermi,” Università di Pisa, Pisa (Italy)

2014-08-25

The dynamics of radiation pressure acceleration in the relativistic light sail regime are analysed by means of large scale, three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Differently to other mechanisms, the 3D dynamics leads to faster and higher energy gain than in 1D or 2D geometry. This effect is caused by the local decrease of the target density due to transverse expansion leading to a “lighter sail.” However, the rarefaction of the target leads to an earlier transition to transparency limiting the energy gain. A transverse instability leads to a structured and inhomogeneous ion distribution.

High energy gain in three-dimensional simulations of light sail acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sgattoni, A.; Sinigardi, S.; Macchi, A.

2014-01-01

The dynamics of radiation pressure acceleration in the relativistic light sail regime are analysed by means of large scale, three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Differently to other mechanisms, the 3D dynamics leads to faster and higher energy gain than in 1D or 2D geometry. This effect is caused by the local decrease of the target density due to transverse expansion leading to a “lighter sail.” However, the rarefaction of the target leads to an earlier transition to transparency limiting the energy gain. A transverse instability leads to a structured and inhomogeneous ion distribution.

Weight Gain and Obesity in Infants and Young Children Exposed to Prolonged Antibiotic Prophylaxis.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmonson, M Bruce; Eickhoff, Jens C

2017-02-01

An association between antibiotic use and excessive weight gain or obesity in healthy infants and young children has been reported, but evidence is inconsistent and based on observational studies of growth in relation to incidental antibiotic exposures. To evaluate whether prolonged antibiotic exposure is associated with weight gain in children participating in a clinical trial of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent recurrent urinary tract infection. Secondary analysis of data from the Randomized Intervention for Children With Vesicoureteral Reflux Study, a 2-year randomized clinical trial that enrolled participants from 2007 to 2011. All 607 children who were randomized to receive antibiotic (n = 302) or placebo (n = 305) were included. Children with urinary tract anomalies, premature birth, or major comorbidities were excluded from participation. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or placebo taken orally, once daily, for 2 years. Weight gain as measured by change in weight-for-age z score from baseline to the end-of-study visit at 24 months. Secondary outcomes included weight gain at 6, 12, and 18 months and the prevalence of overweight or obesity at 24 months. Participants had a median age of 12 months (range, 2-71 months) and 558 of 607 (91.9%) were female. Anthropometric data were complete at the 24-month visit for 428 children (214 in the trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole group and 214 in the placebo group). Weight gain in the trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole group and the placebo group was similar (mean [SD] change in weight-for-age z score: +0.14 [0.83] and +0.18 [0.85], respectively; difference, -0.04 [95% CI, -0.19 to 0.12]; P = .65). There was no significant difference in weight gain at 6, 12, or 18 months or in the prevalence of overweight or obesity at 24 months (24.8% vs 25.7%; P = .82). Subgroup analyses showed no significant interaction between weight gain effect and age, sex, history of breastfeeding, prior antibiotic use, adherence to study

Characterizing gestational weight gain in a cohort of Indigenous Australian women.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, Tracy L; Weatherall, Loretta; Keogh, Lyniece; Sutherland, Kathryn; Collins, Clare E; Pringle, Kirsty G; Rae, Kym M

2018-05-01

to determine the adequacy of gestational weight gain for a cohort of Indigenous Australian women and investigate whether it is associated with pre-pregnancy body mass index. analysis of observational data collected from a longitudinal cohort study that follows Indigenous Australian women through pregnancy. women recruited through antenatal clinics in regional and remote towns in NSW, Australia to the Gomeroi gaaynggal program. 110 pregnant women who either identified as being an Indigenous Australian or as carrying an Indigenous child. measurements included weight and height, self-reported pre-pregnancy weight and smoking status, parity and health conditions that may contribute to gestational weight gain, such as hypertensive or diabetic disorders. Compared to the 2009 Institute of Medicine recommendations for gestational weight gain and based on prepregnancy body mass index, the rate of adequate gestational weight gain in this cohort was very low (15%). 32% of women had inadequate weight gain and 54% had excessive weight gain. The highest rate of excessive gestational weight gain was found in overweight women (74%), with rates of 48% and 50% found in healthy and obese (all classes) categories, respectively. Parity (coefficient 4.5, p<0.01) and hypertension (coefficient 4.8, p = 0.04) were found to be significantly associated with gestational weight gain in mixed model linear regression. few women gained adequate gestational weight gain in this study. Culturally acceptable ways of addressing this issue are needed for this group of women, as inadequate and excessive rates of gestational weight gain have health implications for women and their offspring. a systematic approach to addressing gestational weight gain within antenatal care is required, including asking about diet and exercise, for all women identifying as Indigenous Australian. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dye gain gold NW array of surface plasmon polariton waveguide

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Jun Zhu

Full Text Available Plasmon lasers can support ultrasmall mode confinement and ultrafast dynamics with device feature sizes below the diffraction limit. At present in the single visible light frequency, the optical gain method of constraint SPP on metal nanowires structure reported less. We design the gold nanowire array structure, consisting of PMMA and R6G dye molecules as gain, by 488 nm pump in the middle of the nanowires position for wide range of light, use symmetry broken overcome that momentum does not match the photonic and SPP energy conversion. Theoretical analysis shows that dyes provide coherent optical feedback, resulting in nanowires face will observe laser properties of surface plasmons. Feature analysis: the incident light and pump joint strength is greater than the sum of strength which is the incident light, pump respectively. Under the effect of dye molecules gain effective, length of SPP transmission can increase 1 µm. The results achieved in a single optical frequency of stimulated radiation, application of dye optical gain can achieve continuous gain effect. This is for the future development of plasma amplifier and the wavelength laser. Keywords: SPP, Stimulated radiation, Gold nanowires array, Dye molecules

Polyurethane foam pica in a patient with excessive interdialytic weight gain

Science.gov (United States)

Iyasere, Osasuyi; Allington, Ying; Cafferkey, Michele

2010-01-01

Maintaining fluid balance in haemodialysis patients is important because of the adverse effects of excessive interdialytic weight gain. This often requires fluid restriction that patients often struggle with. We report a case of a 31-year-old female diabetic patient on haemodialysis with repeated excessive interdialytic weight gains despite fluid restriction and dry weight adjustment. It was subsequently discovered that she devised an unusual, albeit unsuccessful, strategy of eating the polyurethane foam from her dialysis chair while increasing her fluid intake hoping that it would absorb excess water in the gut! This under-diagnosed phenomenon known as pica has been reported in renal patients with substances such as ice, clay and baking soda. PMID:22767521

The Impact of Kangaroo Care on Premature Infant Weight Gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Evereklian, Melvina; Posmontier, Bobbie

Preterm births occur among 11.4% of all live infant births. Without steady weight gain, premature infants may experience lengthy hospitalizations, neurodevelopmental deficits and hospital readmissions, which can increase the financial burden on the health care system and their families. The total U.S. health-related costs linked to preterm infant deliveries are estimated at $4.33 billion. Kangaroo care is a feasible practice that can improve preterm infant weight gain. However, this intervention is utilized less often throughout the U.S. due to numerous barriers including a lack of consistent protocols, inadequate knowledge, and decreased level of confidence in demonstrating the proper kangarooing technique. An integrative review was conducted to evaluate the impact of kangaroo care on premature infant weight gain in order to educate nurses about its efficacy among preterm infants. A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Reviews, ClinicalKey and Google Scholar. Large volume searches were restricted using appropriate filters and limiters. Most of the evaluated studies determined that weight gain was greater among the kangarooing premature infants. Kangaroo care is a low-tech low-cost modality that can facilitate improved preterm infant weight gain even in low-resource settings. Despite its current efficacy, kangaroo care is not widely utilized due to several barriers including an absence of standardized protocols and a lack of knowledge about its benefits. Kangaroo care can become a widespread formalized practice after nurses and parents learn about the technique and its numerous benefits for premature infants, including its association with improved weight gain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Report from the 4th Workshop on Extremely Large Databases

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Jacek Becla

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Academic and industrial users are increasingly facing the challenge of petabytes of data, but managing and analyzing such large data sets still remains a daunting task. The 4th Extremely Large Databases workshop was organized to examine the needs of communities under-represented at the past workshops facing these issues. Approaches to big data statistical analytics as well as emerging opportunities related to emerging hardware technologies were also debated. Writable extreme scale databases and the science benchmark were discussed. This paper is the final report of the discussions and activities at this workshop.

An output amplitude configurable wideband automatic gain control with high gain step accuracy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Xiaofeng; Ye Tianchun; Mo Taishan; Ma Chengyan

2012-01-01

An output amplitude configurable wideband automatic gain control (AGC) with high gain step accuracy for the GNSS receiver is presented. The amplitude of an AGC is configurable in order to cooperate with baseband chips to achieve interference suppression and be compatible with different full range ADCs. And what's more, the gain-boosting technology is introduced and the circuit is improved to increase the step accuracy. A zero, which is composed by the source feedback resistance and the source capacity, is introduced to compensate for the pole. The AGC is fabricated in a 0.18 μm CMOS process. The AGC shows a 62 dB gain control range by 1 dB each step with a gain error of less than 0.2 dB. The AGC provides 3 dB bandwidth larger than 80 MHz and the overall power consumption is less than 1.8 mA, and the die area is 800 × 300 μm 2 . (semiconductor integrated circuits)

34 CFR 462.41 - How must tests be administered in order to accurately measure educational gain?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... measure educational gain? 462.41 Section 462.41 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... EDUCATIONAL GAIN IN THE NATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM FOR ADULT EDUCATION What Requirements Must States and Local Eligible Providers Follow When Measuring Educational Gain? § 462.41 How must tests be administered in order...

Gestational Weight Gain and Pregnancy Outcomes in 481 Obese Glucose-Tolerant Women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Dorte Møller; Ovesen, Per; Beck-Nielsen, Henning

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of gestational weight gain in obese glucose-tolerant women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a historical cohort study of 481 women with prepregnancy BMI > or = 30 kg/m2 and a normal 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) during the third trimester......-weight women (3,478 g). In multivariate analyses, increasing weight gain was associated with significantly higher rates of hypertension (OR 4.8 [95% CI for group 4 vs. group 1: 1.7-13.1]), cesarean section (3.5 [1.6-7.8]), induction of labor (3.7 [1.7-8.0]), and large-for-gestational-age infants (4.7 [2.......0-11.0]). There was no difference in rates of small-for-gestational-age infants. Significant predictors for birth weight (determined by multiple linear regression) were gestational weight gain, 2-h OGTT result, pre-gestational BMI, maternal age, gestational age, and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing weight gain in obese women...

Summary of Pressure Gain Combustion Research at NASA

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, H. Douglas; Paxson, Daniel E.

2018-01-01

NASA has undertaken a systematic exploration of many different facets of pressure gain combustion over the last 25 years in an effort to exploit the inherent thermodynamic advantage of pressure gain combustion over the constant pressure combustion process used in most aerospace propulsion systems. Applications as varied as small-scale UAV's, rotorcraft, subsonic transports, hypersonics and launch vehicles have been considered. In addition to studying pressure gain combustor concepts such as wave rotors, pulse detonation engines, pulsejets, and rotating detonation engines, NASA has studied inlets, nozzles, ejectors and turbines which must also process unsteady flow in an integrated propulsion system. Other design considerations such as acoustic signature, combustor material life and heat transfer that are unique to pressure gain combustors have also been addressed in NASA research projects. In addition to a wide range of experimental studies, a number of computer codes, from 0-D up through 3-D, have been developed or modified to specifically address the analysis of unsteady flow fields. Loss models have also been developed and incorporated into these codes that improve the accuracy of performance predictions and decrease computational time. These codes have been validated numerous times across a broad range of operating conditions, and it has been found that once validated for one particular pressure gain combustion configuration, these codes are readily adaptable to the others. All in all, the documentation of this work has encompassed approximately 170 NASA technical reports, conference papers and journal articles to date. These publications are very briefly summarized herein, providing a single point of reference for all of NASA's pressure gain combustion research efforts. This documentation does not include the significant contributions made by NASA research staff to the programs of other agencies, universities, industrial partners and professional society

The association between patient participation and functional gain following inpatient rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Morghen, Sara; Morandi, Alessandro; Guccione, Andrew A; Bozzini, Michela; Guerini, Fabio; Gatti, Roberto; Del Santo, Francesco; Gentile, Simona; Trabucchi, Marco; Bellelli, Giuseppe

2017-08-01

To evaluate patients' participation during physical therapy sessions as assessed with the Pittsburgh rehabilitation participation scale (PRPS) as a possible predictor of functional gain after rehabilitation training. All patients aged 65 years or older consecutively admitted to a Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care (DRAC) were evaluated on admission regarding their health, nutritional, functional and cognitive status. Functional status was assessed with the functional independence measure (FIM) on admission and at discharge. Participation during rehabilitation sessions was measured with the PRPS. Functional gain was evaluated using the Montebello rehabilitation factor score (MRFS efficacy), and patients stratified in two groups according to their level of functional gain and their sociodemographic, clinical and functional characteristics were compared. Predictors of poor functional gain were evaluated using a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for confounding factors. A total of 556 subjects were included in this study. Patients with poor functional gain at discharge demonstrated lower participation during physical therapy sessions were significantly older, more cognitively and functionally impaired on admission, more depressed, more comorbid, and more frequently admitted for cardiac disease or immobility syndrome than their counterparts. There was a significant linear association between PRPS scores and MRFS efficacy. In a multivariable logistic regression model, participation was independently associated with functional gain at discharge (odds ratio 1.51, 95 % confidence interval 1.19-1.91). This study showed that participation during physical therapy affects the extent of functional gain at discharge in a large population of older patients with multiple diseases receiving in-hospital rehabilitation.

Audit of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. Final Audit Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Inspector General (ED), Washington, DC.

An audit was conducted to determine whether the U.S. Department of Education had implemented adequate management controls to administer the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) in accordance with legislative, regulatory, and internal administrative requirements. The focus was on the fiscal year 2000 grant…

Association between smoking cessation and weight gain in treatment-seeking African Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Marcia M; Okuyemi, Kolawole S; Resnicow, Ken; Dietz, Noella A; Antoni, Michael H; Webb Hooper, Monica

2018-06-01

Research has shown that African Americans gain more than average weight after smoking cessation. However, African Americans have been underrepresented in post-cessation weight gain research. The current study examined 1) the pattern of weight gain and 2) the association between smoking status and weight gain in a sample of African Americans seeking smoking cessation treatment. Data were drawn from a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a 4-week culturally specific smoking cessation cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention among African American smokers (N = 342). Weight was measured and self-reported smoking status was biochemically verified at baseline, end of counseling, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Random effects multilevel modeling was used to examine weight gain over twelve months post CBT, and a fully unconditional model tested the pattern of weight gain over time. Smoking status was included as a time-varying factor to examine its effect on weight gain, controlling for potential confounding variables. Weight significantly increased among those who remained abstinent over 12 months post CBT [average gain of seven lbs. (three kg)]. Controlling for covariates, abstinence was predictive of the rate of weight gain for those with high weight concern. Weight gain among African American abstainers was comparable to the average post-cessation weight gain observed among the general population. It is possible that exposure to CBT (culturally specific or standard) may have mitigated excessive weight gain. Future research should assess predictors of weight gain in African American smokers to inform future smoking cessation interventions and help elucidate factors that contribute to tobacco- and obesity-related health disparities. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gain attenuation of gated framing camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Shali; Liu Shenye; Cao Zhurong; Li Hang; Zhang Haiying; Yuan Zheng; Wang Liwei

2009-01-01

The theoretic model of framing camera's gain attenuation is analyzed. The exponential attenuation curve of the gain along the pulse propagation time is simulated. An experiment to measure the coefficient of gain attenuation based on the gain attenuation theory is designed. Experiment result shows that the gain follows an exponential attenuation rule with a quotient of 0.0249 nm -1 , the attenuation coefficient of the pulse is 0.00356 mm -1 . The loss of the pulse propagation along the MCP stripline is the leading reason of gain attenuation. But in the figure of a single stripline, the gain dose not follow the rule of exponential attenuation completely, instead, there is a gain increase at the stripline bottom. That is caused by the reflection of the pulse. The reflectance is about 24.2%. Combining the experiment and theory, which design of the stripline MCP can improved the gain attenuation. (authors)

Robust, Gain-Scheduled Control of Wind Turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Kasper Zinck

Wind turbines are today large and efficient machines, which are combined into wind farms operating on par with conventional power plants. When looking back, this is significantly different from the status only a few years ago, when wind turbines were sold mainly to private people. This change...... in turbine owners has resulted in a new focus on operational reliability instead of turbine size. This research deals with investigating model-based gain-scheduling control of wind turbines by use of linear parameter varying (LPV) methods. The numerical challenges grow quickly with the model size...

Second quarter trims earnings gain of OGJ group of U.S. oil companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, R.J.; Biggs, J.B.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that first half of 1991 profits for the Oil and Gas Journal group of 22 large U.S. oil companies totaled $10,553 billion, down a scant 0.1% from the same period the year before. However, second quarter profits were down sharply, dipping to $3.656 billion or 27.4% below the second quarter of 1990. This is in sharp contrast with first quarter profits, which totaled $6.897 billion and were up 24.8% from the same period of 1990. First half individuals results were widely diverse, with seven companies showing profit improvements from last year and 15 companies a decline. Only one, Murphy Oil Co., posted a loss in the first half. Six companies showed profit gains of more than 20% and 11 posted declines greater than 20%. In the second quarter 16 of the group had lower earnings than they booked in the same period of 1990. Restructuring charges and gains, along with provisions for future environmental costs, continued to have a great deal of influence over year to year changes in profits. Chemical earnings were down for the 6 months and in the second quarter for most companies. U.S. refining and marketing earnings were mixed but generally lower for both periods. Due to an economic recession product demand was down in the first half of this year. Non-U.S. refining and marketing profits were up for the first half, but the gain stemmed from improved margins in the first quarter

Suppression of Gain Ripples in Superconducting Traveling-Wave Kinetic Inductance Amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Bal, Mustafa; Erickson, Robert P.; Ku, Hsiang Sheng; Wu, Xian; Pappas, David P.

Superconducting traveling-wave kinetic inductance (KIT) amplifiers demonstrated gain over a wide bandwidth with high dynamic range and low noise. However, the gain curve exhibits ripples. Impedance mismatch at the input and output ports of the KIT amplifier as wells as split ground planes of the coplanar waveguide (CPW) geometry are potential contributors to the ripple in the gain curve. Here we study the origin of these ripples in KIT amplifiers configured in CPW geometry using approximately 20 nm thick NbTiN films grown by reactive co-sputtering of NbN and TiN. Our NbTiN films have non-linear kinetic inductance as a function of current, described by L =L0 (1 +(I /I*) 2) , where I* = 15 . 96 +/- 0 . 11 mA measured by time domain reflectometry. We report the results of implementing an impedance taper that takes into account a significantly reduced phase velocity as it narrows, adding Au onto the CPW split grounds, as well as employing different designs of dispersion engineering. Qubit Measurements using KIT amplifiers will also be reported.

Fetal Programming of Obesity: Maternal Obesity and Excessive Weight Gain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seray Kabaran

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The prevalence of obesity is an increasing health problem throughout the world. Maternal pre-pregnancy weight, maternal nutrition and maternal weight gain are among the factors that can cause childhood obesity. Both maternal obesity and excessive weight gain increase the risks of excessive fetal weight gain and high birth weight. Rapid weight gain during fetal period leads to changes in the newborn body composition. Specifically, the increase in body fat ratio in the early periods is associated with an increased risk of obesity in the later periods. It was reported that over-nutrition during fetal period could cause excessive food intake during postpartum period as a result of metabolic programming. By influencing the fetal metabolism and tissue development, maternal obesity and excessive weight gain change the amounts of nutrients and metabolites that pass to the fetus, thus causing excessive fetal weight gain which in turn increases the risk of obesity. Fetal over-nutrition and excessive weight gain cause permanent metabolic and physiologic changes in developing organs. While mechanisms that affect these organs are not fully understood, it is thought that the changes may occur as a result of the changes in fetal energy metabolism, appetite control, neuroendocrine functions, adipose tissue mass, epigenetic mechanisms and gene expression. In this review article, the effects of maternal body weight and weight gain on fetal development, newborn birth weight and risk of obesity were evaluated, and additionally potential mechanisms that can explain the effects of fetal over-nutrition on the risk of obesity were investigated [TAF Prev Med Bull 2014; 13(5.000: 427-434

History of Smoking and Postcessation Weight Gain among Weight Loss Surgery Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Michele D.; Kalarchian, Melissa A.; Courcoulas, Anita P.; Wisinski, Meghan S.C.; Marcus, Marsha D.

2007-01-01

Smoking cessation often results in weight gain. Although smoking cessation frequently is recommended to patients presenting for weight loss surgery (WLS), the relationship between smoking cessation and weight gain among WLS candidates is poorly understood. Thus, we sought to document the history and prevalence of smoking and smoking-related weight gain among WLS candidates. Subjects (N = 67) presenting for bariatric surgery provided demographic information, were interviewed about smoking, and weighed and measured prior to operation. Sixty-seven percent of patients reported a lifetime history of smoking, and 26.9% were current smokers. Among lifetime smokers who had attempted to quit, the average maximum amount of weight gained following smoking cessation was 28.1 pounds, but there was wide variability in postcessation weight gain. These data suggest that smoking among candidates for bariatric surgery is prevalent, and that previous cessation attempts were associated with considerable weight gain. Because patients often receive recommendations to quit smoking and lose weight prior to surgery, additional information on the impact of presurgical smoking cessation on long-tem weight control in this population is needed. PMID:17408868

Optical gain in an optically driven three-level ? system in atomic Rb vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Ballmann, C. W.; Yakovlev, V. V.

2018-06-01

In this work, we report experimentally achieved optical gain of a weak probe beam in a three-level ? system in a low density Rubidium vapor cell driven by a single pump beam. The maximum measured gain of the probe beam was about 0.12%. This work could lead to new approaches for enhancing molecular spectroscopy applications.

Report from the 2nd Workshop on Extremely Large Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacek Becla

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The complexity and sophistication of large scale analytics in science and industry have advanced dramatically in recent years. Analysts are struggling to use complex techniques such as time series analysis and classification algorithms because their familiar, powerful tools are not scalable and cannot effectively use scalable database systems. The 2nd Extremely Large Databases (XLDB workshop was organized to understand these issues, examine their implications, and brainstorm possible solutions. The design of a new open source science database, SciDB that emerged from the first workshop in this series was also debated. This paper is the final report of the discussions and activities at this workshop.

When size matters: attention affects performance by contrast or response gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, Katrin; Montaser-Kouhsari, Leila; Carrasco, Marisa; Heeger, David J

2010-12-01

Covert attention, the selective processing of visual information in the absence of eye movements, improves behavioral performance. We found that attention, both exogenous (involuntary) and endogenous (voluntary), can affect performance by contrast or response gain changes, depending on the stimulus size and the relative size of the attention field. These two variables were manipulated in a cueing task while stimulus contrast was varied. We observed a change in behavioral performance consonant with a change in contrast gain for small stimuli paired with spatial uncertainty and a change in response gain for large stimuli presented at one location (no uncertainty) and surrounded by irrelevant flanking distracters. A complementary neuroimaging experiment revealed that observers' attention fields were wider with than without spatial uncertainty. Our results support important predictions of the normalization model of attention and reconcile previous, seemingly contradictory findings on the effects of visual attention.

Carbon gains by conservation projects overbalance carbon losses by degradation in China's karst ecoregions

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, X.; Yue, Y.; Fensholt, R.; Brandt, M.

2017-12-01

China's ecological restoration projects are considered as "mega-engineering" activities and the most ambitious afforestation and conservation projects in human history. The highly sensitive and vulnerable karst ecosystem in Southwest China is one of the largest exposed carbonate rock areas (more than 0.54 million km2) in the world. Accelerating desertification has been reported during the last half century, caused by the increasing intensity of human exploitation of natural resources. As a result, vast karst areas (approximately 0.12 million km2) previously covered by vegetation and soil were turned into a rocky landscape. To combat this severe form of land degradation, more than 19 billion USD have been invested in mitigation initiatives since the end of the 1990s. The costs of mega-engineering as a climate change mitigation measure are however only justified if ecosystem properties can be affected at large scales. Here we study the carbon balance of the karst regions of 8 Chinese provinces over four decades, using optical and passive microwave satellite data, supported by statistical data on project implementations. We find that most areas experiencing losses in aboveground biomass carbon are located in areas with a high standing biomass ( 95 Mg C ha-1), whereas areas with a carbon gain are mostly located in regions with a low standing biomass ( 45 Mg C ha-1). However, the overall gains in carbon stocks overbalance the losses, with an average gross loss of -0.8 Pg C and a gross gain of +2.4 Pg C (1980s to 2016), resulting in a net gain of 1.6 Pg C. Areas of carbon gains are widespread and spatially coherent with conservation projects implemented after 2001, whereas areas of carbon losses show that ongoing degradation is still happening in the western parts of the karst regions. We conclude that the impact of conservation projects on the carbon balance of China's karst ecoregions is remarkable, but biomass carbon losses caused by ongoing degradation can not be

OGJ group earnings show big gain for 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, R.J.; Sanders, V.

1994-01-01

Earnings for Oil and Gas Journal's group of 22 large US oil companies advanced sharply last year, increasing 70.9% from 1992. Group profits totaled $16.1 billion, with the gain stemming largely from lack of one time charges that depressed earnings in 1992. Adoption of new accounting rules associated with future postretirement costs caused the 1992 charges. US exploration and production earnings were mixed, tied in part to oil and gas production volumes. Higher gas prices and production helped boost earnings for a number of companies. But the earnings improvement from gas was offset by reduced oil production and prices. Results from non-U.S. E and P also were mixed. Average worldwide crude oil export prices were down from year earlier levels. However, for some companies this was offset by higher production levels and lower exploration costs. Earnings from refining and marketing were improved from 1992 levels, particularly for non-US operations. Lower feedstock costs, especially in the fourth quarter, helped boost earnings in this sector. Refining earnings gains also flowed from lower costs due to restructuring and an accompanying improvement in operating efficiency. The paper discusses world trends, operations and prices, US exploration and production, non-US E and P, US and non-US refining and marketing, petrochemicals, and the forecast for future demand

On the unlimited gain of a nonlinear parametric amplifier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sorokin, Vladislav

2014-01-01

The present paper is concerned with analysis of the response of a nonlinear parametric amplifier in abroad range of system parameters, particularly beyond resonance. Such analysis is of particular interestfor micro- and nanosystems, since many small-scale parametric amplifiers exhibit a distinctly...... nonlinearbehavior when amplitude of their response is sufficiently large. The modified method of direct separa-tion of motions is employed to study the considered system. As the result it is obtained that steady-stateamplitude of the nonlinear parametric amplifier response can reach large values in the case...... of arbitrarilysmall amplitude of external excitation, so that the amplifier gain tends to infinity. Very large amplifiergain can be achieved in a broad range of system parameters, in particular when the amplitude of para-metric excitation is comparatively small. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that very...

Controlling morphology and chain aggregation in semiconducting conjugated polymers: the role of solvent on optical gain in MEH-PPV.

Science.gov (United States)

Lampert, Zach E; Reynolds, C Lewis; Papanikolas, John M; Aboelfotoh, M Osama

2012-10-25

We report the results of a detailed investigation that addresses the influence of polymer morphology and chain aggregation, as controlled by the chemical nature of the solvent, on the optical gain properties of the conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV). Using the variable stripe length technique in the picosecond regime, we have extensively studied the optical gain performance of asymmetric planar waveguides formed with thin MEH-PPV films spin-cast from concentrated chlorobenzene (CB) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) solutions onto thermally oxidized silicon substrates. CB and THF solvents were chosen based on their known ability to promote and effectively limit aggregate formation, respectively. Very large net gain coefficients are demonstrated, reaching values of 330 and 365 cm(-1), respectively, when optically pumping the waveguides with a maximum energy density of 85 μJ/cm(2). Our results clearly demonstrate that polymer morphology, and hence, the chain conformation dependence of the degree of aggregation in the films as controlled by the solvent, has minimal impact on the net gain. Moreover, the waveguides exhibit low loss coefficients of 10-20 cm(-1) at the ASE wavelength. These results question the importance of polymer morphology and aggregate formation in polymer-based optical devices operating at high excitation densities in the stimulated emission regime as would be characteristic of lasers and optical amplifiers.

Can Beta Blockers Cause Weight Gain?

Science.gov (United States)

... cause weight gain? Can beta blockers cause weight gain? Answers from Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D. Yes. Weight gain can occur as a side effect of some ... and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL). The average weight gain is about 2.6 pounds (about 1.2 ...

Unusually large solitary unicameral bone cyst: case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Sandeep; Dhammi, Ish Kumar; Arora, Anil; Kumar, Sudhir

2003-01-01

A 15-year-old boy presented with complaints of pain and swelling of the right leg. Radiography revealed a large lytic lesion involving the proximal half of the tibia. The patient was taken to surgery, where the cavity was curetted and packed with allogeneic bone graft. Tissue was sent for histopathological evaluation. The patient was kept in an above-knee cast for 4 months, after which partial weight-bearing was allowed. The histopathological diagnosis was a unicameral bone cyst. A radiograph at 1 year showed incorporation of the graft, but a small part of the cavity was still visible and there was a persistent discharge. The patient was again subjected to allogeneic bone grafting in the remaining cavity. At 3.5 years of follow-up now, the patient is walking unsupported, there is no pain, and the radiograph shows complete obliteration of the cavity. Unicameral bone cysts are usually a few centimeters in size. To the best of our knowledge, a unicameral bone cyst of such a large size has never been reported in the literature.

Measuring learning gain: Comparing anatomy drawing screencasts and paper-based resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, James D

2017-07-01

The use of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) resources is now a common tool across a variety of healthcare programs. Despite this popular approach to curriculum delivery there remains a paucity in empirical evidence that quantifies the change in learning gain. The aim of the study was to measure the changes in learning gain observed with anatomy drawing screencasts in comparison to a traditional paper-based resource. Learning gain is a widely used term to describe the tangible changes in learning outcomes that have been achieved after a specific intervention. In regard to this study, a cohort of Year 2 medical students voluntarily participated and were randomly assigned to either a screencast or textbook group to compare changes in learning gain across resource type. Using a pre-test/post-test protocol, and a range of statistical analyses, the learning gain was calculated at three test points: immediate post-test, 1-week post-test and 4-week post-test. Results at all test points revealed a significant increase in learning gain and large effect sizes for the screencast group compared to the textbook group. Possible reasons behind the difference in learning gain are explored by comparing the instructional design of both resources. Strengths and weaknesses of the study design are also considered. This work adds to the growing area of research that supports the effective design of TEL resources which are complimentary to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning to achieve both an effective and efficient learning resource for anatomical education. Anat Sci Educ 10: 307-316. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

NIAC Phase I Study Final Report on Large Ultra-Lightweight Photonic Muscle Space Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, Joe

2016-01-01

The research goal is to develop new tools support NASA's mission of understanding of the Cosmos by developing cost effective solutions that yield a leap in performance and science data. 'Maikalani' in Hawaiian translates to, "knowledge we gain from the cosmos." Missions like Hubble have fundamentally changed humanity's view of the cosmos. Last year's Nobel prize in physics was a result of astronomical discoveries. $9B class JWST size (6.5 meter diameter) space telescopes, when launched are anticipated to rewrite our knowledge of physics. Here we report on a neoteric meta-material telescope mirror technology designed to enable a factor of 100 or more reduction in areal density, a factor of 100 reduction in telescope production and launch costs as well as other advantages; a leap to enable missions to image the cosmos in unprecedented detail, with the associated gain in knowledge. Whether terahertz, visible or X-ray, reflectors used for high quality electromagnetic imaging require shape accuracy (surface figure) to far better than 1 wavelength (lambda) of the incident photons, more typically lambda/10 or better. Imaging visible light therefore requires mirror surfaces that approximate a desired curve (e.g. a sphere or paraboloid) with smooth shape deviation of th less than approximately 1/1000 the diameter of a human hair. This requires either thick high modulus material like glass or metal, or actuators to control mirror shape. During Phase I our team studied a novel solution to this systems level design mass/shape tradespace requirement both to advance the innovative space technology concept and also to help NASA and other agencies meet current operational and future mission requirements. Extreme and revolutionary NASA imaging missions such as Terrestrial Planet Imager (TPI) require lightweight mirrors with minimum diameters of 20 to 40 meters. For reference, NASA's great achievement; the Hubble space telescope, is only 2.4 meters in diameter. What is required is a

Estimating the potential gains from mergers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogetoft, Peter; Wang, Dexiang

2005-01-01

We introduce simple production economic models to estimate the potential gains from mergers. We decompose the gains into technical ef¿ciency, size (scale) and harmony (mix) gains, and we discuss alternative ways to capture these gains. We propose to approximate the production processes using...... the non-parametric. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, and we use the resulting operational approach to estimate the potential gains from merging agricultural extension of¿ces in Denmark....

The effect of the Thanksgiving Holiday on weight gain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinger Mary K

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background More people than ever are considered obese and the resulting health problems are evident. These facts highlight the need for identification of critical time periods for weight gain. Therefore the purpose was to assess potential changes that occur in body weight during the Thanksgiving holiday break in college students. Methods 94 college students (23.0 ± 4.6 yrs, 72.1 ± 14.0 kg, 172.6 ± 9.3 cm, 24.0 ± 3.9 kg/m2 reported to the human body composition laboratory at the University of Oklahoma following a 6-hour fast with testing occurring prior to, and immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday break (13 ± 3 days. Body weight (BW was assessed using a balance beam scale while participants were dressed in minimal clothing. Paired t-tests were used to assess changes in BW pre and post Thanksgiving holiday with additional analysis by gender, body mass index (BMI, and class standing (i.e. undergraduate vs. graduate. Results Overall, a significant (P P P 2 group compared to a non significant 0.2 kg gain in the normal group (2. Conclusion These data indicate that participants in our study gained a significant amount of BW (0.5 kg during the Thanksgiving holiday. While an increase in BW of half a kilogram may not be cause for alarm, the increase could have potential long-term health consequences if participants retained this weight gain throughout the college year. Additionally, because the overweight/obese participants gained the greatest amount of BW, this group may be at increased risk for weight gain and further obesity development during the holiday season.

Study of gain variation as a function of physical parameters of GEM foil

CERN Document Server

Das, Supriya

2015-01-01

The ALICE experiment at LHC has planned to upgrade the TPC by replacing the MWPC with GEM based detecting elements to restrict the IBF to a tolerable value. However the variation of the gain as a function of physical parameters of industrially produced large size GEM foils is needed to be studied as a part of the QA procedure for the detector. The size of the electron avalanche and consequently the gain for GEM based detectors depend on the electric field distribution inside the holes. Geometry of a hole plays an important role in defining the electric field inside it. In this work we have studied the variation of the gain as a function of the hole diameters using Garfield++ simulation package.

Postoperative weight gain after standard Whipple's procedure versus pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy: the influence of tumour status

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Berge Henegouwen, M. I.; Moojen, T. M.; van Gulik, T. M.; Rauws, E. A.; Obertop, H.; Gouma, D. J.

1998-01-01

BACKGROUND: Recent reports suggest a better postoperative weight gain after pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD) compared with standard pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). Factors that could also influence postoperative weight gain, such as tumour-positive resection margins and tumour recurrence,

Longitudinal weight gain in women identified with polycystic ovary syndrome: results of an observational study in young women.

Science.gov (United States)

Teede, Helena J; Joham, Anju E; Paul, Eldho; Moran, Lisa J; Loxton, Deborah; Jolley, Damien; Lombard, Catherine

2013-08-01

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 6-18% of women. The natural history of weight gain in women with PCOS has not been well described. Here we aimed to examine longitudinal weight gain in women with and without PCOS and to assess the association between obesity and PCOS prevalence. The observational study was set in the general community. Participants were women randomly selected from the national health insurance scheme (Medicare) database. Mailed survey data were collected by the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Data from respondents to survey 4, aged 28-33 years (2006, n = 9,145) were analyzed. The main outcome measures were PCOS prevalence and body mass index (BMI). Self-reported PCOS prevalence was 5.8% (95% CI: 5.3%-6.4%). Women reporting PCOS had higher weight, mean BMI [2.5 kg/m(2) (95% CI: 1.9-3.1)], and greater 10-year weight gain [2.6 kg (95% CI: 1.2-4.0)]. BMI was the strongest correlate of PCOS status with every BMI increment increasing the risk of reporting PCOS by 9.2% (95% CI: 6%-12%). This community based observational study with longitudinal reporting of weight shows that weight, BMI, and 10-year weight gain were higher in PCOS. We report the novel finding that obesity and greater weight gain are significantly associated with PCOS status. Considering the prevalence, major health and economic burden of PCOS, the increasing weight gain in young women, and established benefits of weight loss, these results have major public health implications. Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.

17 CFR Appendix B to Part 420 - Sample Large Position Report

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., and as collateral for financial derivatives and other securities transactions $ Total Memorandum 1... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Sample Large Position Report B Appendix B to Part 420 Commodity and Securities Exchanges DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY REGULATIONS UNDER...

Noise Induces Biased Estimation of the Correction Gain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jooeun Ahn

Full Text Available The detection of an error in the motor output and the correction in the next movement are critical components of any form of motor learning. Accordingly, a variety of iterative learning models have assumed that a fraction of the error is adjusted in the next trial. This critical fraction, the correction gain, learning rate, or feedback gain, has been frequently estimated via least-square regression of the obtained data set. Such data contain not only the inevitable noise from motor execution, but also noise from measurement. It is generally assumed that this noise averages out with large data sets and does not affect the parameter estimation. This study demonstrates that this is not the case and that in the presence of noise the conventional estimate of the correction gain has a significant bias, even with the simplest model. Furthermore, this bias does not decrease with increasing length of the data set. This study reveals this limitation of current system identification methods and proposes a new method that overcomes this limitation. We derive an analytical form of the bias from a simple regression method (Yule-Walker and develop an improved identification method. This bias is discussed as one of other examples for how the dynamics of noise can introduce significant distortions in data analysis.

Automated hierarchical time gain compensation for in-vivo ultrasound imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Moshavegh, Ramin; Hemmsen, Martin C.; Martins, Bo; Brandt, Andreas H.; Hansen, Kristoffer L.; Nielsen, Michael B.; Jensen, Jørgen A.

2015-03-01

Time gain compensation (TGC) is essential to ensure the optimal image quality of the clinical ultrasound scans. When large fluid collections are present within the scan plane, the attenuation distribution is changed drastically and TGC compensation becomes challenging. This paper presents an automated hierarchical TGC (AHTGC) algorithm that accurately adapts to the large attenuation variation between different types of tissues and structures. The algorithm relies on estimates of tissue attenuation, scattering strength, and noise level to gain a more quantitative understanding of the underlying tissue and the ultrasound signal strength. The proposed algorithm was applied to a set of 44 in vivo abdominal movie sequences each containing 15 frames. Matching pairs of in vivo sequences, unprocessed and processed with the proposed AHTGC were visualized side by side and evaluated by two radiologists in terms of image quality. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to evaluate whether radiologists preferred the processed sequences or the unprocessed data. The results indicate that the average visual analogue scale (VAS) is positive ( p-value: 2.34 × 10-13) and estimated to be 1.01 (95% CI: 0.85; 1.16) favoring the processed data with the proposed AHTGC algorithm.

Gains in Life Expectancy Associated with Higher Education in Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Bijwaard, Govert E; van Poppel, Frans; Ekamper, Peter; Lumey, L H

2015-01-01

Many studies show large differences in life expectancy across the range of education, intelligence, and socio-economic status. As educational attainment, intelligence, and socio-economic status are highly interrelated, appropriate methods are required to disentangle their separate effects. The aim of this paper is to present a novel method to estimate gains in life expectancy specifically associated with increased education. Our analysis is based on a structural model in which education level, IQ at age 18 and mortality all depend on (latent) intelligence. The model allows for (selective) educational choices based on observed factors and on an unobserved factor capturing intelligence. Our estimates are based on information from health examinations of military conscripts born in 1944-1947 in The Netherlands and their vital status through age 66 (n = 39,798). Our empirical results show that men with higher education have lower mortality. Using structural models to account for education choice, the estimated gain in life expectancy for men moving up one educational level ranges from 0.3 to 2 years. The estimated gain in months alive over the observational period ranges from -1.2 to 5.7 months. The selection effect is positive and amounts to a gain of one to two months. Decomposition of the selection effect shows that the gain from selection on (latent) intelligence is larger than the gain from selection on observed factors and amounts to 1.0 to 1.7 additional months alive. Our findings confirm the strong selection into education based on socio-economic status and intelligence. They also show significant higher life expectancy among individuals with higher education after the selectivity of education choice has been taken into account. Based on these estimates, it is plausible therefore that increases in education could lead to increases in life expectancy.

Association of gestational weight gain and pre-pregnancy body mass index with adverse pregnancy outcome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munim, S.; Maheen, H.

2012-01-01

Objective: To determine the association between gestation weight gain (GWG) and adverse pregnancy outcome in a Pakistani population. Study Design: Analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University, Karachi, from February 2003 to 2007. Methodology: This study used secondary data of 4,735 women from a large cohort study on fetal growth. Pre-pregnancy BMI was categorized according to the recommendations from the institute of medicine (IOM, 2009) and gestation weight gain (GWG) was noted. Chi-square test was used to find the association of GWG and pre-pregnancy BMI with low birth, large for gestational age (LGA), and caesarean section. Logistic regression analysis was weight (LBW), preterm delivery performed to control for confounders like age, parity, working status and ethnicity. Results: The prevalence of LBW decreased with increasing BMI. GWG of the population was noted as 8.5 kg. LBW was omen below the age of 19 were twice more likely to have LBW than observed to have an inverse relationship with GWG. W above 35 years of age. Weight gain above the recommended range were twice more likely to have large for dates. Overweight women were 1.5 times more likely to deliver preterm whereas obese women were 1.4 times more likely to undergo caesarean section than women with normal BMI. Conclusion: The optimal weight gain was estimated to be 8.5 kg to prevent low birth weight in our population. Obese women are more likely to have LGA, caesarean sections and pre-term deliveries. (author)

Study of gain-coupled distributed feedback laser based on high order surface gain-coupled gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Feng; Qin, Li; Chen, Yongyi; Jia, Peng; Chen, Chao; Cheng, LiWen; Chen, Hong; Liang, Lei; Zeng, Yugang; Zhang, Xing; Wu, Hao; Ning, Yongqiang; Wang, Lijun

2018-03-01

Single-longitudinal-mode, gain-coupled distributed feedback (DFB) lasers based on high order surface gain-coupled gratings are achieved. Periodic surface metal p-contacts with insulated grooves realize gain-coupled mechanism. To enhance gain contrast in the quantum wells without the introduction of effective index-coupled effect, groove length and depth were well designed. Our devices provided a single longitudinal mode with the maximum CW output power up to 48.8 mW/facet at 971.31 nm at 250 mA without facet coating, 3dB linewidth (39 dB). Optical bistable characteristic was observed with a threshold current difference. Experimentally, devices with different cavity lengths were contrasted on power-current and spectrum characteristics. Due to easy fabrication technique and stable performance, it provides a method of fabricating practical gain-coupled distributed feedback lasers for commercial applications.

Violet-to-Blue Gain and Lasing from Colloidal CdS Nanoplatelets: Low-Threshold Stimulated Emission Despite Low Photoluminescence Quantum Yield

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diroll, Benjamin T.; Talapin, Dmitri V.; Schaller, Richard D.

2017-02-13

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and lasing from solution-processed materials are demonstrated in the challenging violet-to-blue (430–490 nm) spectral region for colloidal nanoplatelets of CdS and newly synthesized core/shell CdS/ZnS nanoplatelets. Despite modest band-edge photoluminescence quantum yields of 2% or less for single excitons, which we show results from hole trapping, the samples exhibit low ASE thresholds. Furthermore, four-monolayer CdS samples show ASE at shorter wavelengths than any reported film of colloidal quantum-confined material. This work underlines that low quantum yields for single excitons do not necessarily lead to a poor gain medium. The low ASE thresholds originate from negligible dispersion in thickness, large absorption cross sections of 2.8 × 10–14 cm–2, and rather slow (150 to 300 ps) biexciton recombination. We show that under higher-fluence excitation, ASE can kinetically outcompete hole trapping. Using nanoplatelets as the gain medium, lasing is observed in a linear optical cavity. This work confirms the fundamental advantages of colloidal quantum well structures as gain media, even in the absence of high photoluminescence efficiency.

When gains loom larger than losses: reversed loss aversion for small amounts of money.

Science.gov (United States)

Harinck, Fieke; Van Dijk, Eric; Van Beest, Ilja; Mersmann, Paul

2007-12-01

Previous research has generally shown that people are loss averse; that is, they weigh losses more heavily than gains. In a series of three experiments, we found that for small outcomes, this pattern is reversed, and gains loom larger than losses. We explain this reversal on the basis of (a) the hedonic principle, which states that individuals are motivated to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain, and (b) the assumption that small losses are more easily discounted cognitively than large losses are.

The modulation of neural gain facilitates a transition between functional segregation and integration in the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Shine, James M; Aburn, Matthew J; Breakspear, Michael; Poldrack, Russell A

2018-01-29

Cognitive function relies on a dynamic, context-sensitive balance between functional integration and segregation in the brain. Previous work has proposed that this balance is mediated by global fluctuations in neural gain by projections from ascending neuromodulatory nuclei. To test this hypothesis in silico, we studied the effects of neural gain on network dynamics in a model of large-scale neuronal dynamics. We found that increases in neural gain directed the network through an abrupt dynamical transition, leading to an integrated network topology that was maximal in frontoparietal 'rich club' regions. This gain-mediated transition was also associated with increased topological complexity, as well as increased variability in time-resolved topological structure, further highlighting the potential computational benefits of the gain-mediated network transition. These results support the hypothesis that neural gain modulation has the computational capacity to mediate the balance between integration and segregation in the brain. © 2018, Shine et al.

Emotional eating as a mediator between depression and weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

van Strien, Tatjana; Konttinen, Hanna; Homberg, Judith R; Engels, Rutger C M E; Winkens, Laura H H

2016-05-01

Depression is often associated with weight gain but underlying mechanisms are unclear. This study assessed whether three psychological eating styles (emotional eating, external eating and restrained eating) act as mediators between depression and weight gain. We used structural equation modelling to test the hypothesized mediation models in a sample of 298 fathers and 294 mothers by assessing self-reported eating styles (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire), depressive feelings (Depressive Mood List) and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and BMI after five years. In the model with emotional eating we also assessed the moderation effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype in a sub-sample of 520 Caucasians. All analyses were performed separately for the two sexes. Although the overall effect of depression on weight gain was statistically non-significant in both sexes, there was a causal chain between depression, emotional eating and weight gain in the mothers. Depressive symptoms were related to higher emotional eating and emotional eating predicted greater increases in BMI independently of depression. Moreover, the indirect effect (via emotional eating) of depression on BMI change was significant (Beta = 0.18, P = 0.026). This mediation effect was found to be independent of 5-HTTLPR genotype. No such mediation effect was found for the fathers. Further, external eating and restrained eating did not act as mediators between depression and weight gain in either sex. The finding that emotional eating acted as mediator between depression and weight gain in the mothers suggests that obesity interventions should take emotional eating into account. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gain-dependent linewidth enhancement factor in the quantum dot structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyoung Chan; Han, Il Ki; Lee, Jung Il [Nano Device Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Geun, E-mail: hikoel@kist.re.kr, E-mail: tgkim1@korea.ac.kr [School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2010-04-02

We measured the linewidth enhancement factor ({alpha} factor) of InAs quantum dot (QD) laser diodes (LDs) with two different QD structures. One is a normal QD LD with the same energy bandgap for each active QD layer, while the other is chirped with different energy bandgaps. The differential gain of the chirped InAs QD LDs is found to be about five times smaller than that of normal InAs QD LDs, whereas no overall wavelength shift with injection currents is observed in both QD LDs. The {alpha} factor is approximately five times higher in the chirped InAs QD LDs than in the normal InAs QD LDs. This relatively large {alpha} factor in the chirped InAs QD LDs is attributed to the asymmetrical, wide inhomogeneous gain profile.

You Spin my Head Right Round: Threshold of Limited Immersion for Rotation Gains in Redirected Walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Patric; Hildebrandt, Julian; Valdez, Andre Calero; Kobbelt, Leif; Ziefle, Martina

2018-04-01

In virtual environments, the space that can be explored by real walking is limited by the size of the tracked area. To enable unimpeded walking through large virtual spaces in small real-world surroundings, redirection techniques are used. These unnoticeably manipulate the user's virtual walking trajectory. It is important to know how strongly such techniques can be applied without the user noticing the manipulation-or getting cybersick. Previously, this was estimated by measuring a detection threshold (DT) in highly-controlled psychophysical studies, which experimentally isolate the effect but do not aim for perceived immersion in the context of VR applications. While these studies suggest that only relatively low degrees of manipulation are tolerable, we claim that, besides establishing detection thresholds, it is important to know when the user's immersion breaks. We hypothesize that the degree of unnoticed manipulation is significantly different from the detection threshold when the user is immersed in a task. We conducted three studies: a) to devise an experimental paradigm to measure the threshold of limited immersion (TLI), b) to measure the TLI for slowly decreasing and increasing rotation gains, and c) to establish a baseline of cybersickness for our experimental setup. For rotation gains greater than 1.0, we found that immersion breaks quite late after the gain is detectable. However, for gains lesser than 1.0, some users reported a break of immersion even before established detection thresholds were reached. Apparently, the developed metric measures an additional quality of user experience. This article contributes to the development of effective spatial compression methods by utilizing the break of immersion as a benchmark for redirection techniques.

Weight gain following treatment of hyperthyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, J; Daykin, J; Holder, R; Sheppard, M C; Franklyn, J A

2001-08-01

Patients frequently express concern that treating hyperthyroidism will lead to excessive weight gain. This study aimed to determine the extent of, and risk factors for, weight gain in an unselected group of hyperthyroid patients. We investigated 162 consecutive hyperthyroid patients followed for at least 6 months. Height, weight, clinical features, biochemistry and management were recorded at each clinic visit. Documented weight gain was 5.42 +/- 0.46 kg (mean +/- SE) and increase in BMI was 8.49 +/- 0.71%, over a mean 24.2 +/- 1.6 months. Pre-existing obesity, Graves' disease causing hyperthyroidism, weight loss before presentation and length of follow-up each independently predicted weight gain. Patients treated with thionamides or radioiodine gained a similar amount of weight (thionamides, n = 87, 5.16 +/- 0.63 kg vs. radioiodine, n = 62, 4.75 +/- 0.57 kg, P = 0.645), but patients who underwent thyroidectomy (n = 13) gained more weight (10.27 +/- 2.56 kg vs. others, P = 0.007). Development of hypothyroidism (even transiently) was associated with weight gain (never hypothyroid, n = 102, 4.57 +/- 0.52 kg, transiently hypothyroid, n = 29, 5.37 +/- 0.85 kg, on T4, n = 31, 8.06 +/- 1.42 kg, P = 0.014). This difference remained after correcting for length of follow-up. In the whole cohort, weight increased by 3.95 +/- 0.40 kg at 1 year (n = 144) to 9.91 +/- 1.62 kg after 4 years (n = 27) (P = 0.008), representing a mean weight gain of 3.66 +/- 0.44 kg/year. We have demonstrated marked weight gain after treatment of hyperthyroidism. Pre-existing obesity, a diagnosis of Graves' disease and prior weight loss independently predicted weight gain and weight continued to rise with time. Patients who became hypothyroid, despite T4 replacement, gained most weight.

Mean Effective Gain for Data Mode Operation of Mobile Handsets with Users

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jesper Ødum; Yanakiev, Boyan; Bonev, Ivan Bonev

2010-01-01

The current paper presents statistics on the mean effective gain (MEG) for mobile handsets. The results are based on a large measurement campaign in an urban environment where the propagation channel from two different base sta- tions to seven different handsets were measured in two bands (776 MHz...

Meal size is a critical driver of weight gain in early childhood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Syrad, H.; Llewellyn, C.H.; Johnson, L.; Boniface, D.; Jebb, S.A.; Jaarsveld, C.H.M. van; Wardle, J.

2016-01-01

Larger serving sizes and more frequent eating episodes have been implicated in the rising prevalence of obesity at a population level. This study examines the relative contributions of meal size and frequency to weight gain in a large sample of British children. Using 3-day diet diaries from 1939

Pre-pregnancy BMI-specific optimal gestational weight gain for women in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naho Morisaki

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The Institute of Medicine (IOM guidelines are the most widely used guidelines on gestational weight gain; however, accumulation of evidence that body composition in Asians differs from other races has brought concern regarding whether their direct application is appropriate. We aimed to study to what extent optimal gestational weight gain among women in Japan differs by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI and to compare estimated optimal gestational weight gain to current Japanese and Institute of Medicine (IOM recommendations. Methods: We retrospectively studied 104,070 singleton pregnancies among nulliparous women in 2005–2011 using the Japanese national perinatal network database. In five pre-pregnancy BMI sub-groups (17.0–18.4, 18.5–19.9, 20–22.9, 23–24.9, and 25–27.4 kg/m2, we estimated the association of the rate of gestational weight gain with pregnancy outcomes (fetal growth, preterm delivery, and delivery complications using multivariate regression. Results: Weight gain rate associated with the lowest risk of adverse outcomes decreased with increasing BMI (12.2 kg, 10.9 kg, 9.9 kg, 7.7 kg, and 4.3 kg/40 weeks for the five BMI categories as described above, respectively. Current Japanese guidelines were lower than optimal gains, with the lowest risk of adverse outcomes for women with BMI below 18.5 kg/m2, and current IOM recommendations were higher than optimal gains for women with BMI over 23 kg/m2. Conclusion: Optimal weight gain during pregnancy varies largely by pre-pregnancy BMI, and defining those with BMI over 23 kg/m2 as overweight, as proposed by the World Health Organization, may be useful when applying current IOM recommendations to Japanese guidelines.

Pre-pregnancy BMI-specific optimal gestational weight gain for women in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Morisaki, Naho; Nagata, Chie; Jwa, Seung Chik; Sago, Haruhiko; Saito, Shigeru; Oken, Emily; Fujiwara, Takeo

2017-10-01

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines are the most widely used guidelines on gestational weight gain; however, accumulation of evidence that body composition in Asians differs from other races has brought concern regarding whether their direct application is appropriate. We aimed to study to what extent optimal gestational weight gain among women in Japan differs by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and to compare estimated optimal gestational weight gain to current Japanese and Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations. We retrospectively studied 104,070 singleton pregnancies among nulliparous women in 2005-2011 using the Japanese national perinatal network database. In five pre-pregnancy BMI sub-groups (17.0-18.4, 18.5-19.9, 20-22.9, 23-24.9, and 25-27.4 kg/m 2 ), we estimated the association of the rate of gestational weight gain with pregnancy outcomes (fetal growth, preterm delivery, and delivery complications) using multivariate regression. Weight gain rate associated with the lowest risk of adverse outcomes decreased with increasing BMI (12.2 kg, 10.9 kg, 9.9 kg, 7.7 kg, and 4.3 kg/40 weeks) for the five BMI categories as described above, respectively. Current Japanese guidelines were lower than optimal gains, with the lowest risk of adverse outcomes for women with BMI below 18.5 kg/m 2 , and current IOM recommendations were higher than optimal gains for women with BMI over 23 kg/m 2 . Optimal weight gain during pregnancy varies largely by pre-pregnancy BMI, and defining those with BMI over 23 kg/m 2 as overweight, as proposed by the World Health Organization, may be useful when applying current IOM recommendations to Japanese guidelines. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Association between gestational weight gain according to body mass index and postpartum weight in a large cohort of Danish women.

Science.gov (United States)

Rode, Line; Kjærgaard, Hanne; Ottesen, Bent; Damm, Peter; Hegaard, Hanne K

2012-02-01

Our aim was to investigate the association between gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight retention (PWR) in pre-pregnancy underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese women, with emphasis on the American Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations. We performed secondary analyses on data based on questionnaires from 1,898 women from the "Smoke-free Newborn Study" conducted 1996-1999 at Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark. Relationship between GWG and PWR was examined according to BMI as a continuous variable and in four groups. Association between PWR and GWG according to IOM recommendations was tested by linear regression analysis and the association between PWR ≥ 5 kg (11 lbs) and GWG by logistic regression analysis. Mean GWG and mean PWR were constant for all BMI units until 26-27 kg/m(2). After this cut-off mean GWG and mean PWR decreased with increasing BMI. Nearly 40% of normal weight, 60% of overweight and 50% of obese women gained more than recommended during pregnancy. For normal weight and overweight women with GWG above recommendations the OR of gaining ≥ 5 kg (11 lbs) 1-year postpartum was 2.8 (95% CI 2.0-4.0) and 2.8 (95% CI 1.3-6.2, respectively) compared to women with GWG within recommendations. GWG above IOM recommendations significantly increases normal weight, overweight and obese women's risk of retaining weight 1 year after delivery. Health personnel face a challenge in prenatal counseling as 40-60% of these women gain more weight than recommended for their BMI. As GWG is potentially modifiable, our study should be followed by intervention studies focusing on GW.

Gain control mechanisms in spinal motoneurons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael David Johnson

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Motoneurons provide the only conduit for motor commands to reach muscles. For many years, motoneurons were in fact considered to be little more than passive wires. Systematic studies in the past 25 years however have clearly demonstrated that the intrinsic electrical properties of motoneurons are under strong neuromodulatory control via multiple sources. The discovery of potent neuromodulation from the brainstem and its ability to change the gain of motoneurons shows that the passive view of the motor output stage is no longer tenable. A mechanism for gain control at the motor output stage makes good functional sense considering our capability of generating an enormous range of forces, from very delicate (e.g. putting in a contact lens to highly forceful (emergency reactions. Just as sensory systems need gain control to deal with a wide dynamic range of inputs, so to might motor output need gain control to deal with the wide dynamic range of the normal movement repertoire. Two problems emerge from the potential use of the brainstem monoaminergic projection to motoneurons for gain control. First, the projection is highly diffuse anatomically, so that independent control of the gains of different motor pools is not feasible. In fact, the system is so diffuse that gain for all the motor pools in a limb likely increases in concert. Second, if there is a system that increases gain, probably a system to reduce gain is also needed. In this review, we summarize recent studies that show local inhibitory circuits within the spinal cord, especially reciprocal and recurrent inhibition, have the potential to solve both of these problems as well as constitute another source of gain modulation.

Substantial weight gain during adulthood: the road to bariatric surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

McCullough, Peter A; Sandberg, Keisha R; Miller, Wendy M; Odom, Jacqueline S; Sloan, Kevin C; de Jong, Adam T; Nori, Katherine E; Irving, Sarah D; Krause, Kevin R; Franklin, Barry A

2005-01-01

We sought to examine the relationship of body mass index (BMI) at age 18 years with the degree and rate of rise in body weight during adulthood among the morbidly obese. We evaluated 196 patients with a standard medical history form and a structured interview with questions regarding weight at age 18 years. The study included 40 (20.4%) men and 156 (79.6%) women. The mean BMI was 50.2+/-8.0 kg/m2, range 37.0-80.0 kg/m2. Based on self-reported weight, 133 (67.9%) were overweight/obese (BMI >25 kg/m2) and 68 (34.7%) were obese (BMI > or =30 kg/m2) at age 18 years. The distribution of cumulative weight gain was normal with a mean of 60.8+/-23.7 kg. There was a positive relationship (r=0.36, pweight gain were BMI at age 18 years (pweight gains during adult life, resulting in morbid obesity and high rates of obesity-related comorbidities.

A model to obtain an optimum erbium desity for gain increasing in EDFA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Arzi

2003-12-01

Full Text Available   In this paper, we suggest a novel model, based on input pump power and wave guidestructure, to calculate the Er-density profile in Erbium doped fiber amplifiers. This optimization is carried out for both SMF and DSF fibers. These optimized profiles have a Gaussian-like shape. Using the SMF optimized Er-density profile, high gain enhancement is obtained in a relatively short length of fibers. On the other hand, the DSF optimized profile shows small changes in the gain, which agrees with the previously report on other method of gain enhancement. This model is applicable to all active waveguides and any other dopant as well .

The effects of field errors on low-gain free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esarey, E.; Tang, C.M.; Marable, W.P.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on the effects of random wiggler magnetic field errors on low-gain free-electron lasers that are examined analytically and numerically through the use of ensemble averaging techniques. Wiggler field errors perturb the electron beam as it propagates and lead to a random walk of the beam centroid δx, variations in the axial beam energy δ γz and deviations in the relative phase of the electrons in the ponderomotive wave δψ. In principle, the random walk may be kept as small as desired through the use of transverse focusing and beam steering. Transverse focusing of the electron beam is shown to be ineffective in reducing the phase deviation. Furthermore, it is shown that beam steering at the wiggler entrance reduces the average phase deviation at the end of the wiggler by 1/3. The effect of the field errors (via the phase deviation) on the gain in the low-gain regime is calculated. To avoid significant reduction in gain it is necessary for the phase deviation to be small compared to 2π. The detrimental effects of wiggler errors on low-gain free-electron lasers may be reduced by arranging the magnet poles in an optimal ordering such that the magnitude of the phase deviation is minimized

Receiver Gain Modulation Circuit

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Hollis; Racette, Paul; Walker, David; Gu, Dazhen

2011-01-01

A receiver gain modulation circuit (RGMC) was developed that modulates the power gain of the output of a radiometer receiver with a test signal. As the radiometer receiver switches between calibration noise references, the test signal is mixed with the calibrated noise and thus produces an ensemble set of measurements from which ensemble statistical analysis can be used to extract statistical information about the test signal. The RGMC is an enabling technology of the ensemble detector. As a key component for achieving ensemble detection and analysis, the RGMC has broad aeronautical and space applications. The RGMC can be used to test and develop new calibration algorithms, for example, to detect gain anomalies, and/or correct for slow drifts that affect climate-quality measurements over an accelerated time scale. A generalized approach to analyzing radiometer system designs yields a mathematical treatment of noise reference measurements in calibration algorithms. By treating the measurements from the different noise references as ensemble samples of the receiver state, i.e. receiver gain, a quantitative description of the non-stationary properties of the underlying receiver fluctuations can be derived. Excellent agreement has been obtained between model calculations and radiometric measurements. The mathematical formulation is equivalent to modulating the gain of a stable receiver with an externally generated signal and is the basis for ensemble detection and analysis (EDA). The concept of generating ensemble data sets using an ensemble detector is similar to the ensemble data sets generated as part of ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) with exception of a key distinguishing factor. EEMD adds noise to the signal under study whereas EDA mixes the signal with calibrated noise. It is mixing with calibrated noise that permits the measurement of temporal-functional variability of uncertainty in the underlying process. The RGMC permits the evaluation of EDA by

Orally disintegrating olanzapine and potential differences in treatment-emergent weight gain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karagianis, Jamie; Hoffmann, Vicki Poole; Arranz, Belen; Treuer, Tamás; Maguire, Gerald A.; de Haan, Lieuwe; Chawla, Bharat

2008-01-01

Several papers and communications have reported possible weight reduction or less weight gain when patients start or switch to orally disintegrating olanzapine, as contrasted with standard oral olanzapine tablets. In this paper, the current literature is reviewed and hypothesized mechanisms of

Energy Gaining Windows for Residental Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kragh, Jesper; Laustsen, Jacob Birck; Svendsen, Svend

2008-01-01

This paper presents some of the research done during the last 8 years at the Technical University of Denmark developing improved low-energy window solutions. The focus has been on maximizing the net energy gain of windows for residential buildings. The net energy gain of windows is the solar gain...... minus the heat loss integrated over the heating season. It is assumed that in northern cold climates all of the solar gain during the heating season can be utilized for space heating. Problems with overheating in the summer period must be solved with overhang or moveable solar shading devices. Two...... and longer durability of the window. The glazing in these fiber reinforced polyester windows is both unsealed and sealed triple glazing units. To increase the net energy gain slim frame profiles have been developed to increase the glazing area and thereby the solar gain. The challenge when developing slim...

Clip reconstruction of a large right MCA bifurcation aneurysm. Case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovani A.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available We report a case of complex large middle cerebral artery (MCA bifurcation aneurysm that ruptured during dissection from the very adherent MCA branches but was successfully clipped and the MCA bifurcation reconstructed using 4 Yasargill clips. Through a right pterional craniotomy the sylvian fissure was largely opened as to allow enough workspace for clipping the aneurysm and placing a temporary clip on M1. The pacient recovered very well after surgery and was discharged after 1 week with no neurological deficit. Complex MCA bifurcation aneurysms can be safely reconstructed using regular clips, without the need of using fenestrated clips or complex by-pass procedures.

LDRD final report : robust analysis of large-scale combinatorial applications.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carr, Robert D.; Morrison, Todd (University of Colorado, Denver, CO); Hart, William Eugene; Benavides, Nicolas L. (Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA); Greenberg, Harvey J. (University of Colorado, Denver, CO); Watson, Jean-Paul; Phillips, Cynthia Ann

2007-09-01

Discrete models of large, complex systems like national infrastructures and complex logistics frameworks naturally incorporate many modeling uncertainties. Consequently, there is a clear need for optimization techniques that can robustly account for risks associated with modeling uncertainties. This report summarizes the progress of the Late-Start LDRD 'Robust Analysis of Largescale Combinatorial Applications'. This project developed new heuristics for solving robust optimization models, and developed new robust optimization models for describing uncertainty scenarios.

Design issues for a laboratory high gain fusion facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hogan, W.J.

1987-01-01

In an inertial fusion laboratory high gain facility, experiments will be carried out with up to 1000 MJ of thermonuclear yield. The experiment area of such a facility will include many systems and structures that will have to operate successfully in the difficult environment created by the sudden large energy release. This paper estimates many of the nuclear effects that will occur, discusses the implied design issues and suggests possible solutions so that a useful experimental facility can be built. 4 figs

Optimal weight gain in triplet pregnancies.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Robert C; Erfani, Hadi; Shamshirsaz, Amir A; Spiel, Melissa; Ravangard, Sam F; Shaman, Majid; Allaf, M Baraa; Shamshirsaz, Alireza A; Haeri, Sina

2017-08-01

To identify appropriate weight gain in triplet gestations, which may aid in reducing the risk of perinatal morbidity within this high-risk cohort. This retrospective cohort study evaluated all non-anomalous triplet pregnancies between 23 and 40 weeks' gestation resulting in live births at five tertiary-care medical centers between 1991 and 2011. Subjects were divided by pre-pregnancy BMI into underweight, normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups, and then stratified by low (gain (≥1.5 lbs/week). Primary outcomes included spontaneous preterm birth and preeclampsia. We included 116 mothers and 348 corresponding neonates for final analysis. The incidence of preeclampsia and preterm delivery less than 32 weeks' gestation was 37% and 41%, respectively. The incidence of preeclampsia increased with weight gain per week, but was not statistically different from subjects who gained less weight. We found no statistical correlation between weight gain per week and preterm delivery. We found no association between preeclampsia or preterm delivery and increasing weight gain in triplet pregnancies. The association with increased risk for preeclampsia was predominantly due to BMI effect. Based on the current study, recommendations for optimal weight gain in mothers with triplet gestations could not be defined.

Interaural Level Difference Dependent Gain Control and Synaptic Scaling Underlying Binaural Computation

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Xiaorui R.; Liang, Feixue; Li, Haifu; Mesik, Lukas; Zhang, Ke K.; Polley, Daniel B.; Tao, Huizhong W.; Xiao, Zhongju; Zhang, Li I.

2013-01-01

Binaural integration in the central nucleus of inferior colliculus (ICC) plays a critical role in sound localization. However, its arithmetic nature and underlying synaptic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we showed in mouse ICC neurons that the contralateral dominance is created by a “push-pull”-like mechanism, with contralaterally dominant excitation and more bilaterally balanced inhibition. Importantly, binaural spiking response is generated apparently from an ipsilaterally-mediated scaling of contralateral response, leaving frequency tuning unchanged. This scaling effect is attributed to a divisive attenuation of contralaterally-evoked synaptic excitation onto ICC neurons with their inhibition largely unaffected. Thus, a gain control mediates the linear transformation from monaural to binaural spike responses. The gain value is modulated by interaural level difference (ILD) primarily through scaling excitation to different levels. The ILD-dependent synaptic scaling and gain adjustment allow ICC neurons to dynamically encode interaural sound localization cues while maintaining an invariant representation of other independent sound attributes. PMID:23972599

Diagnostic pitfalls associated with a large true posterior communicating artery aneurysm: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagatani, Kimihiro; Otani, Naoki; Seno, Soichiro; Takeuchi, Satoru; Wada, Kojiro; Mori, Kentaro

2013-10-01

True posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysm is an aneurysm that originates from the PCoA, and large or giant true PCoA aneurysms are rare. We report a case of a large true PCoA aneurysm successfully clipped after anterior clinoidectomy and discuss the diagnostic pitfalls associated with this rare clinical entity.

High-Performance 1.55-µm Superluminescent Diode Based on Broad Gain InAs/InGaAlAs/InP Quantum Dash Active Region

KAUST Repository

Khan, Mohammed Zahed Mustafa

2014-08-01

We report on the high-performance characteristics from superluminescent diodes (SLDs) based on four-stack InAs/InGaAlAs chirped-barrier thickness quantum dash (Qdash) in a well structure. The active region exhibits a measured broad gain spectrum of 140 nm, with a peak modal gain of ~41 cm-1. The noncoated two-section gainabsorber broad-area and ridge-waveguide device configuration exhibits an output power of > 20 mW and > 12 mW, respectively. The corresponding -3-dB bandwidths span ~82 nm and ~72 nm, with a small spectral ripple of <; 0.2 dB, related largely to the contribution from dispersive height dash ensembles of the highly inhomogeneous active region. These C-L communication band devices will find applications in various cross-disciplinary fields of optical metrology, optical coherent tomography, etc.

Large for Gestational Age (LGA)

Science.gov (United States)

... mother Other risk factors for having large-for-gestational-age newborns include Maternal obesity Having had previous LGA babies Genetic abnormalities or syndromes (for example, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome or Sotos syndrome) Excessive weight gain during pregnancy (the fetus gets more calories as ...

Adaptive Large Neighbourhood Search

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røpke, Stefan

Large neighborhood search is a metaheuristic that has gained popularity in recent years. The heuristic repeatedly moves from solution to solution by first partially destroying the solution and then repairing it. The best solution observed during this search is presented as the final solution....... This tutorial introduces the large neighborhood search metaheuristic and the variant adaptive large neighborhood search that dynamically tunes parameters of the heuristic while it is running. Both heuristics belong to a broader class of heuristics that are searching a solution space using very large...... neighborhoods. The tutorial also present applications of the adaptive large neighborhood search, mostly related to vehicle routing problems for which the heuristic has been extremely successful. We discuss how the heuristic can be parallelized and thereby take advantage of modern desktop computers...

Weight suppression predicts total weight gain and rate of weight gain in outpatients with anorexia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Frances A; Boden, Joseph M; Jordan, Jennifer; McIntosh, Virginia V W; Bulik, Cynthia M; Joyce, Peter R

2015-11-01

The present study sought to replicate the finding of Wildes and Marcus, Behav Res Ther, 50, 266-274, 2012 that higher levels of weight suppression at pretreatment predict greater total weight gain, faster rate of weight gain, and bulimic symptoms amongst patients admitted with anorexia nervosa. Participants were 56 women with anorexia nervosa diagnosed by using strict or lenient weight criteria, who were participating in a randomized controlled psychotherapy trial (McIntosh et al., Am J Psychiatry, 162, 741-747, 2005). Thirty-five women completed outpatient treatment and post-treatment assessment. Weight suppression was the discrepancy between highest lifetime weight at adult height and weight at pretreatment assessment. Outcome variables were total weight gain, rate of weight gain, and bulimic symptoms in the month prior to post-treatment assessment [assessed using the Eating Disorders Examination (Fairburn et al., Binge-Eating: Nature, Assessment and Treatment. New York: Guilford, 1993)]. Weight suppression was positively associated with total weight gain and rate of weight gain over treatment. Regression models showed that this association could not be explained by covariates (age at onset of anorexia nervosa and treatment modality). Weight suppression was not significantly associated with bulimic symptoms in the month prior to post-treatment assessment, regardless of whether bulimic symptoms were examined as continuous or dichotomous variables. The present study reinforces the previous finding that weight suppression predicts total weight gain and rate of weight gain amongst patients being treated for anorexia nervosa. Methodological issues may explain the failure of the present study to find that weight suppression predicts bulimic symptoms. Weight suppression at pretreatment for anorexia nervosa should be assessed routinely and may inform treatment planning. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Demonstration Of 3D Effects With High Gain And Efficiency In A UV FEL Oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, Stephen; Biallas, George; Blackburn, Keith; Boyce, James; Bullard, Donald; Coleman, James; Dickover, Cody; Douglas, David; Ellingsworth, Forrest; Evtushenko, Pavel; Hernandez-Garcia, Carlos; Gould, Christopher; Gubeli, Joseph; Hardy, David; Jordan, Kevin; Klopf, John; Kortze, James; Legg, Robert; Marchlik, Matthew; Moore, Steven; Neil, George; Powers, Thomas; Sexton, Daniel; Shinn, Michelle; Tennant, Christopher; Walker, Richard; Watson, Anne; Williams, Gwyn; Wilson, Frederick; Zhang, Shukui

2011-01-01

We report on the performance of a high gain UV FEL oscillator operating on an energy recovery linac at Jefferson Lab. The high brightness of the electron beam leads to both gain and efficiency that cannot be reconciled with a one-dimensional model. Three-dimensional simulations do predict the performance with reasonable precision. Gain in excess of 100% per pass and an efficiency close to 1/2NW, where NW is the number of wiggler periods, is seen. The laser mirror tuning curves currently permit operation in the wavelength range of 438 to 362 nm. Another mirror set allows operation at longer wavelengths in the red with even higher gain and efficiency.

Measurement of Antenna Bore-Sight Gain

Science.gov (United States)

Fortinberry, Jarrod; Shumpert, Thomas H.

2016-01-01

The absolute or free-field gain of a simple antenna can be approximated using standard antenna theory formulae or for a more accurate prediction, numerical methods may be employed to solve for antenna parameters including gain. Both of these methods will result in relatively reasonable estimates but in practice antenna gain is usually verified and documented via measurements and calibration. In this paper, a relatively simple and low-cost, yet effective means of determining the bore-sight free-field gain of a VHF/UHF antenna is proposed by using the Brewster angle relationship.

A comprehensive study on gain stabilization of Er-doped fiber amplifier in C-band with uniform fiber Bragg grating-pair

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jiuru; Ma, Yu; OuYang, Yunlun; Liu, Chunyu; Zhang, Jiaxiao

2014-07-01

Fiber grating-pair is one of the efficient methods for gain stabilization of erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) but with a gain-reduction of signals, especially in C-band. In order to overcome it, in this article, we establish a configuration of EDFA based uniform fiber grating-pair and conduct a comprehensive study on gain stabilization by varying the reflectivity, center wavelength and 3dB bandwidth of grating, and by varying the channel number and pump power. The numerical results show that under the optimal parameters of grating the gain stabilization at 1550nm is +/-0.044dB with high gain and large dynamic range.

Gain scheduling using the Youla parameterization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niemann, Hans Henrik; Stoustrup, Jakob

1999-01-01

Gain scheduling controllers are considered in this paper. The gain scheduling problem where the scheduling parameter vector cannot be measured directly, but needs to be estimated is considered. An estimation of the scheduling vector has been derived by using the Youla parameterization. The use...... in connection with H_inf gain scheduling controllers....

Heuristic Portfolio Trading Rules with Capital Gain Taxes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Marcel; Gallmeyer, Michael

in some cases. Overlaying simple tax trading heuristics on these trading strategies improves out-of-sample performance. In particular, the 1/N trading strategy's welfare gains improve when a variety of tax trading heuristics are also imposed. For medium to large transaction costs, no trading strategy can...... outperform a 1/N trading strategy augmented with a tax heuristic, not even the most tax- and transaction-cost efficient buy-and-hold strategy. Overall, the best strategy is 1/N augmented with a heuristic that allows for a fixed deviation in absolute portfolio weights. Our results show that the best trading...

High Gain Advanced GPS Receiver

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Brown, Alison; Zhang, Gengsheng

2006-01-01

NAVSYS High Gain Advanced GPS Receiver (HAGR) uses a digital beam-steering antenna array to enable up to eight GPS satellites to be tracked, each with up to 10 dBi of additional antenna gain over a conventional receiver solution...

Study of the MWPC gas gain behaviour as a function of the gas pressure and temperature

CERN Document Server

Pinci, D

2005-01-01

The Muon System of the LHCb experiment is composed of five detection stations (M1-M5) equipped with 1368 Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers (MWPC) and 24 Triple-GEM detectors. The Multi Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) performances (detection efficiency, time resolution, pad-cluster size and ageing properties) are heavily dependent on the gas gain. The chamber gain depends on the gas density and therefore on the gas temperature and pressure. The impact of the environmental parameters on the MWPC gain has been studied in detail. The results, togheter with a simple method proposed to account for the gain variations, are reported in this note. The absolute gas gain at the testing voltage of 2750 V was also measured to be (1.2 +- 0.1)*10^5.

Trends and determinants of weight gains among OECD countries: an ecological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nghiem, S; Vu, X-B; Barnett, A

2018-06-01

Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevalence of obesity in many nations has increased over time. The literature also reports a strong association between obesity and economic development, but the trend that obesity growth rates may converge over time has not been examined. We propose a conceptual framework and conduct an ecological analysis on the relationship between economic development and weight gain. We also test the hypothesis that weight gain converges among countries over time and examine determinants of weight gains. This is a longitudinal study of 34 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in the years 1980-2008 using publicly available data. We apply a dynamic economic growth model to test the hypothesis that the rate of weight gains across countries may converge over time. We also investigate the determinants of weight gains using a longitudinal regression tree analysis. We do not find evidence that the growth rates of body weight across countries converged for all countries. However, there were groups of countries in which the growth rates of body weight converge, with five groups for males and seven groups for females. The predicted growth rates of body weight peak when gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reaches US$47,000 for males and US$37,000 for females in OECD countries. National levels of consumption of sugar, fat and alcohol were the most important contributors to national weight gains. National weight gains follow an inverse U-shape curve with economic development. Excessive calorie intake is the main contributor to weight gains. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Primary Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma of the Bladder: Case Report and Literature Review

OpenAIRE

Mansour Ansari; Hamid Nasrollahi; Majdaddin Rajaei; Maral Mokhtari; Seyed Hasan Hamedi; Mohammad Mohammadianpanah; Shapour Omidvari; Ahmad Mosalaei; Niloofar Ahmadloo

2017-01-01

Most bladder tumors are epithelial in origin. Nonepithelial cancers are rarely located in the bladder. Sarcomas are the most common malignancies among nonepithelial cancers. Primary bladder lymphoma is rare and mostly low grade. Here, we have reported a case of diffuse large cell lymphoma of the bladder. The patient, a 64-year-old man, had urinary frequency for 18 months. Abdominal sonography indicated a thick bladder wall and transurethral biopsy showed diffuse large cell lymp...

Can weight gain be prevented in women receiving treatment for breast cancer? A systematic review of intervention studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Z O; Reeves, M M

2017-11-01

Obesity and weight gain have been associated with poor disease-specific and health-related outcomes in women with breast cancer. This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of weight gain prevention interventions among women with breast cancer. Completed and ongoing trials evaluating a behaviourally based dietary intervention with or without physical activity and with a focus on weight gain prevention during treatment for breast cancer were reviewed. Weight change and body composition data were extracted. Within-group weight change of ±1 kg and between-group (intervention versus control) weight difference of ≥2 kg were defined as successful weight gain prevention. Five completed trials (seven intervention arms) and five ongoing trials were identified. Completed trials exclusively recruited premenopausal or premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Within-group weight gain was prevented in two intervention arms, two arms achieved weight loss and three arms reported weight gain. Of the five comparisons with control groups, two reported significant differences in weight change between groups. Ongoing trials will provide further evidence on longer-term outcomes, cost-effectiveness and blood markers. This small but growing number of studies provides preliminary and promising evidence that weight gain can be prevented in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. © 2017 World Obesity Federation.

A randomized, placebo-controlled study of zonisamide to prevent olanzapine-associated weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

McElroy, Susan L; Winstanley, Erin; Mori, Nicole; Martens, Brian; McCoy, Jessica; Moeller, Dianna; Guerdjikova, Anna I; Keck, Paul E

2012-04-01

Weight gain is commonly observed with olanzapine treatment. Zonisamide is an antiepileptic drug associated with weight loss. This study examined the effectiveness of zonisamide in preventing weight gain in 42 patients beginning olanzapine for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Each patient had a body mass index of 22 mg/kg or greater and was randomized to taking olanzapine with either zonisamide (n = 20) or placebo (n = 22) for 16 weeks. The primary outcome measure was change in body weight in kilograms from baseline. In the primary analysis using longitudinal regression, patients who received zonisamide had a significantly slower rate of weight gain and increase in body mass index than those who received placebo. The patients treated with zonisamide gained a mean (SD) of 0.9 (3.3) kg, whereas those treated with placebo gained a mean (SD) of 5.0 (5.5) kg; P = 0.01. None of the patients in the zonisamide group, compared with 7 patients (33%) in the placebo group, gained 7% of body weight or greater from baseline (Fisher exact test, P = 0.009). The zonisamide group, however, reported significantly more cognitive impairment as an adverse event than the placebo group (25% vs 0, respectively; P = 0.02). Zonisamide was effective for mitigating weight gain in patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia initiating treatment with olanzapine but was associated with cognitive impairment as an adverse event.

Focus on Form, Learner Uptake and Subsequent Lexical Gains in Learners' Oral Production

Science.gov (United States)

Alcon-Soler, Eva

2009-01-01

This descriptive study reports findings on the relationship between focus on form, learner uptake and subsequent lexical gains in learners' oral production. The data for the study consisted in 17 45-minute audio-recorded teacher-led conversations, 204 learners' diaries (17 sessions x 12 learners) reporting what they had learned after each…

Large LOCA-earthquake combination probability assessment - Load combination program. Project 1 summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, S; Streit, R D; Chou, C K

1980-01-01

This report summarizes work performed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the Load Combination Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to establish a technical basis for the NRC to use in reassessing its requirement that earthquake and large loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) loads be combined in the design of nuclear power plants. A systematic probabilistic approach is used to treat the random nature of earthquake and transient loading to estimate the probability of large LOCAs that are directly and indirectly induced by earthquakes. A large LOCA is defined in this report as a double-ended guillotine break of the primary reactor coolant loop piping (the hot leg, cold leg, and crossover) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Unit 1 of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant, a four-loop PWR-1, is used for this study. To estimate the probability of a large LOCA directly induced by earthquakes, only fatigue crack growth resulting from the combined effects of thermal, pressure, seismic, and other cyclic loads is considered. Fatigue crack growth is simulated with a deterministic fracture mechanics model that incorporates stochastic inputs of initial crack size distribution, material properties, stress histories, and leak detection probability. Results of the simulation indicate that the probability of a double-ended guillotine break, either with or without an earthquake, is very small (on the order of 10{sup -12}). The probability of a leak was found to be several orders of magnitude greater than that of a complete pipe rupture. A limited investigation involving engineering judgment of a double-ended guillotine break indirectly induced by an earthquake is also reported. (author)

Large LOCA-earthquake combination probability assessment - Load combination program. Project 1 summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, S.; Streit, R.D.; Chou, C.K.

1980-01-01

This report summarizes work performed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the Load Combination Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to establish a technical basis for the NRC to use in reassessing its requirement that earthquake and large loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) loads be combined in the design of nuclear power plants. A systematic probabilistic approach is used to treat the random nature of earthquake and transient loading to estimate the probability of large LOCAs that are directly and indirectly induced by earthquakes. A large LOCA is defined in this report as a double-ended guillotine break of the primary reactor coolant loop piping (the hot leg, cold leg, and crossover) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Unit 1 of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant, a four-loop PWR-1, is used for this study. To estimate the probability of a large LOCA directly induced by earthquakes, only fatigue crack growth resulting from the combined effects of thermal, pressure, seismic, and other cyclic loads is considered. Fatigue crack growth is simulated with a deterministic fracture mechanics model that incorporates stochastic inputs of initial crack size distribution, material properties, stress histories, and leak detection probability. Results of the simulation indicate that the probability of a double-ended guillotine break, either with or without an earthquake, is very small (on the order of 10 -12 ). The probability of a leak was found to be several orders of magnitude greater than that of a complete pipe rupture. A limited investigation involving engineering judgment of a double-ended guillotine break indirectly induced by an earthquake is also reported. (author)

Nonunity gain minimal-disturbance measurement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabuncu, Metin; Mišta, L.; Fiurášek, J.

2007-01-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an optimal nonunity gain Gaussian scheme for partial measurement of an unknown coherent state that causes minimal disturbance of the state. The information gain and the state disturbance are quantified by the noise added to the measurement outcomes...

Postcessation weight gain concern as a barrier to smoking cessation: Assessment considerations and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Germeroth, Lisa J; Levine, Michele D

2018-01-01

Concern about postcessation weight gain may be one potential barrier to quitting smoking. In this 'mini-review' of recent literature, we summarize findings on the relationship between postcessation weight gain concern and smoking cessation, and evaluate varied use of postcessation weight gain concern assessments and potential moderators of the postcessation weight gain concern-cessation association. We conducted a search using the terms "smoking" OR "smoking cessation" AND "weight concern" for articles published between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016. We identified 17 studies assessing postcessation weight gain concern, seven of which evaluated the postcessation weight gain concern-cessation association. The relationship between postcessation weight gain concern and smoking cessation was mixed. Recent studies varied in their assessments of postcessation weight gain concern, many of which were not validated and assessed correlates of this construct. Studies varied in their adjustment of demographic (e.g., sex), smoking-specific (e.g., smoking level), and weight-specific (e.g., body mass index) variables. The use of non-validated assessments and variability in testing covariates/moderators may contribute to conflicting results regarding the postcessation weight gain concern-cessation relationship. We recommend validating an assessment of postcessation weight gain concern, maintaining vigilance in testing and reporting covariates/moderators, and investigating trajectories of this construct over time and by smoking status to inform future assessment and intervention efforts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Instrumentation amplifier implements second-order active low-pass filter with high gain factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomqvist, Kim H; Eskelinen, Pekka; Sepponen, Raimo E

2011-01-01

A single-ended second-order active low-pass filter can simultaneously provide high gain factor and dc voltage subtraction. This makes it possible to reduce the number of components and signal processing stages needed in an application where small voltage changes are measured on the top of large dc voltage masked by a large amplitude oscillating carrier. The filter described in this paper is constructed from a conventional 3-op-amp instrumentation amplifier and five passive circuit elements. (technical design note)

Algorithms for the prediction of retinopathy of prematurity based on postnatal weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Binenbaum, Gil

2013-06-01

Current ROP screening guidelines represent a simple risk model with two dichotomized factors, birth weight and gestational age at birth. Pioneering work has shown that tracking postnatal weight gain, a surrogate for low insulin-like growth factor 1, may capture the influence of many other ROP risk factors and improve risk prediction. Models including weight gain, such as WINROP, ROPScore, and CHOP ROP, have demonstrated accurate ROP risk assessment and a potentially large reduction in ROP examinations, compared to current guidelines. However, there is a need for larger studies, and generalizability is limited in countries with developing neonatal care systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HbA1c and Gestational Weight Gain Are Factors that Influence Neonatal Outcome in Mothers with Gestational Diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barquiel, Beatriz; Herranz, Lucrecia; Hillman, Natalia; Burgos, Ma Ángeles; Grande, Cristina; Tukia, Keleni M; Bartha, José Luis; Pallardo, Luis Felipe

2016-06-01

Maternal glucose and weight gain are related to neonatal outcome in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The aim of this study was to explore the influence of average third-trimester HbA1c and excess gestational weight gain on GDM neonatal complications. This observational study included 2037 Spanish singleton pregnant women with GDM followed in our Diabetes and Pregnancy Unit. The maternal HbA1c level was measured monthly from GDM diagnosis to delivery. Women were compared by average HbA1c level and weight gain categorized into ≤ or > the current Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations for body mass index. The differential effects of these factors on large-for-gestational-age birth weight and a composite of neonatal complications were assessed. Women with an average third-trimester HbA1c ≥5.0% (n = 1319) gave birth to 7.3% versus 3.8% (p = 0.005) of large-for-gestational-age neonates and 22.0% versus 16.0% (p = 0.006) of neonates with complications. Women with excess gestational weight gain (n = 299) delivered 12.5% versus 5.2% (p gestational-age neonates and 24.7% versus 19.0% (p = 0.022) of neonates with complications. In an adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis among mothers exposed to the respective risk factors, ∼47% and 52% of large-for-gestational-age neonates and 32% and 37% of neonatal complications were potentially preventable by attaining an average third-trimester HbA1c level gestational weight gain. Average third-trimester HbA1c level ≥5% and gestational weight gain above the IOM recommendation are relevant risk factors for neonatal complications in mothers with gestational diabetes.

Charge Gain, Voltage Gain, and Node Capacitance of the SAPHIRA Detector Pixel by Pixel

Science.gov (United States)

Pastrana, Izabella M.; Hall, Donald N. B.; Baker, Ian M.; Jacobson, Shane M.; Goebel, Sean B.

2018-01-01

The University of Hawai`i Institute for Astronomy has partnered with Leonardo (formerly Selex) in the development of HgCdTe linear mode avalanche photodiode (L-APD) SAPHIRA detectors. The SAPHIRA (Selex Avalanche Photodiode High-speed Infra-Red Array) is ideally suited for photon-starved astronomical observations, particularly near infrared (NIR) adaptive optics (AO) wave-front sensing. I have measured the stability, and linearity with current, of a 1.7-um (10% spectral bandpass) infrared light emitting diode (IR LED) used to illuminate the SAPHIRA and have then utilized this source to determine the charge gain (in e-/ADU), voltage gain (in uV/ADU), and node capacitance (in fF) for each pixel of the 320x256@24um SAPHIRA. These have previously only been averages over some sub-array. Determined from the ratio of the temporal averaged signal level to variance under constant 1.7-um LED illumination, I present the charge gain pixel-by-pixel in a 64x64 sub-array at the center of the active area of the SAPHIRA (analyzed separately as four 32x32 sub-arrays) to be about 1.6 e-/ADU (σ=0.5 e-/ADU). Additionally, the standard technique of varying the pixel reset voltage (PRV) in 10 mV increments and recording output frames for the same 64x64 subarray found the voltage gain per pixel to be about 11.7 uV/ADU (σ=0.2 uV/ADU). Finally, node capacitance was found to be approximately 23 fF (σ=6 fF) utilizing the aforementioned charge and voltage gain measurements. I further discuss the linearity measurements of the 1.7-um LED used in the charge gain characterization procedure.

Job gains and losses at large and small firms during the Great Recession

OpenAIRE

Juan M. Sánchez; Lowell R. Ricketts

2012-01-01

Conventional wisdom says that employment at small firms declines more than employment at large firms during recessions. However, that doesn’t seem to have been the case during the Great Recession of 2007-09.

Comparison of Video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) Gains Between Two Commercially Available Devices and by Different Gain Analytical Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sang Hun; Yoo, Myung Hoon; Park, Jun Woo; Kang, Byung Chul; Yang, Chan Joo; Kang, Woo Suk; Ahn, Joong Ho; Chung, Jong Woo; Park, Hong Ju

2018-06-01

To evaluate whether video head impulse test (vHIT) gains are dependent on the measuring device and method of analysis. Prospective study. vHIT was performed in 25 healthy subjects using two devices simultaneously. vHIT gains were compared between these instruments and using five different methods of comparing position and velocity gains during head movement intervals. The two devices produced different vHIT gain results with the same method of analysis. There were also significant differences in the vHIT gains measured using different analytical methods. The gain analytic method that compares the areas under the velocity curve (AUC) of the head and eye movements during head movements showed lower vHIT gains than a method that compared the peak velocities of the head and eye movements. The former method produced the vHIT gain with the smallest standard deviation among the five procedures tested in this study. vHIT gains differ in normal subjects depending on the device and method of analysis used, suggesting that it is advisable for each device to have its own normal values. Gain calculations that compare the AUC of the head and eye movements during the head movements show the smallest variance.

Characterization of transient gain x-ray lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, J.; Osterheld, A.; Shlyaptsev, V.

1999-01-01

We have performed numerical simulations of the transient collisional excitation Ni-like Pd 4d → 4p J = 0 → 1 147 angstrom laser transition recently observed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The high gain ∼35 cm results from the experiment are compared with detailed modeling simulations from the 1-D RADEX code in order to better understand the main physics issues affecting the measured gain and x-ray laser propagation along the plasma column. Simulations indicate that the transient gain lifetime associated with the short pulse pumping and refraction of the x-ray laser beam out of the gain region are the main detrimental effects. Gain lifetimes of ∼7 ps(1/e decay) are inferred from the smoothly changing gain experimental observations and are in good agreement with the simulations. Furthermore, the modeling results indicate the presence of a longer-lived but lower gain later in time associated with the transition from transient to quasi-steady state excitation

Controlling gain one photon at a time

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Gregory W; Rieke, Fred

2013-01-01

Adaptation is a salient property of sensory processing. All adaptational or gain control mechanisms face the challenge of obtaining a reliable estimate of the property of the input to be adapted to and obtaining this estimate sufficiently rapidly to be useful. Here, we explore how the primate retina balances the need to change gain rapidly and reliably when photons arrive rarely at individual rod photoreceptors. We find that the weakest backgrounds that decrease the gain of the retinal output signals are similar to those that increase human behavioral threshold, and identify a novel site of gain control in the retinal circuitry. Thus, surprisingly, the gain of retinal signals begins to decrease essentially as soon as background lights are detectable; under these conditions, gain control does not rely on a highly averaged estimate of the photon count, but instead signals from individual photon absorptions trigger changes in gain. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00467.001 PMID:23682314

X-ray imaging with amorphous selenium: Pulse height measurements of avalanche gain fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lui, Brian J. M.; Hunt, D. C.; Reznik, A.; Tanioka, K.; Rowlands, J. A.

2006-01-01

Avalanche multiplication in amorphous selenium (a-Se) can provide a large, adjustable gain for active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI), enabling quantum noise limited x-ray imaging during both radiography and fluoroscopy. In the case of direct conversion AMFPI, the multiplication factor for each x ray is a function of its depth of interaction, and the resulting variations in gain can reduce the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of the system. An experimental method was developed to measure gain fluctuations by analyzing images of individual x rays that were obtained using a video camera with an a-Se target operated in avalanche mode. Pulse height spectra (PHS) of the charge produced per x ray were recorded for monoenergetic 30.9, 49.4, and 73.8 keV x-ray sources. The rapid initial decay and long tail of each PHS can be explained by a model in which positive charge dominates the initiation of avalanche. The Swank information factor quantifies the effect of gain fluctuation on DQE and was calculated from the PHS. The information factor was found to be 0.5 for a 25 μm a-Se layer with a maximum gain of ∼300. Changing the energy of the incident x ray influenced the range of the primary photoelectron and noticeably affected the tail of the experimental PHS, but did not significantly change the avalanche Swank factor

External locus of control contributes to racial disparities in memory and reasoning training gains in ACTIVE

Science.gov (United States)

Zahodne, Laura B.; Meyer, Oanh L.; Choi, Eunhee; Thomas, Michael L.; Willis, Sherry L.; Marsiske, Michael; Gross, Alden L.; Rebok, George W.; Parisi, Jeanine M.

2015-01-01

Racial disparities in cognitive outcomes may be partly explained by differences in locus of control. African Americans report more external locus of control than non-Hispanic Whites, and external locus of control is associated with poorer health and cognition. The aims of this study were to compare cognitive training gains between African American and non-Hispanic White participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study and determine whether racial differences in training gains are mediated by locus of control. The sample comprised 2,062 (26% African American) adults aged 65 and older who participated in memory, reasoning, or speed training. Latent growth curve models evaluated predictors of 10-year cognitive trajectories separately by training group. Multiple group modeling examined associations between training gains and locus of control across racial groups. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans evidenced less improvement in memory and reasoning performance after training. These effects were partially mediated by locus of control, controlling for age, sex, education, health, depression, testing site, and initial cognitive ability. African Americans reported more external locus of control, which was associated with smaller training gains. External locus of control also had a stronger negative association with reasoning training gain for African Americans than for Whites. No racial difference in training gain was identified for speed training. Future intervention research with African Americans should test whether explicitly targeting external locus of control leads to greater cognitive improvement following cognitive training. PMID:26237116

Keldysh meets Lindblad: Correlated Gain and Loss in Higher Order Perturbation Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Stace, Tom; Mueller, Clemens

Motivated by correlated decay processes driving gain, loss and lasing in driven artificial quantum systems, we develop a theoretical technique using Keldysh diagrammatic perturbation theory to derive a Lindblad master equation that goes beyond the usual second order perturbation theory. We demonstrate the method on the driven dissipative Rabi model, including terms up to fourth order in the interaction between the qubit and both the resonator and environment. This results in a large class of Lindblad dissipators and associated rates which go beyond the terms that have previously been proposed to describe similar systems. All of the additional terms contribute to the system behaviour at the same order of perturbation theory. We then apply these results to analyse the phonon-assisted steady-state gain of a microwave field driving a double quantum-dot in a resonator. We show that resonator gain and loss are substantially affected by dephasing- assisted dissipative processes in the quantum-dot system. These additional processes, which go beyond recently proposed polaronic theories, are in good quantitative agreement with experimental observations.

Gestational weight gain and nutritional state of the newborn: a descriptive study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelen Cristina Ramos dos SANTOS

Full Text Available The objective was to characterize puerperal women in relation to gestational weight gain and their newborns in accordance with the nutritional state at birth. This is a descriptive, quantitative and retrospective study approved by the Ethics Committee at the institution responsible. The collection of data was from December 2012 to May 2013. The sample was composed of 24 puerperal women and their children. The participants presented an average age of 26.5 (DP=5.4 years, 79.2% white; 91.7% married; 58.3% multiparous; 75% with a level of education between secondary school and higher education; 58.3% with a low family income; 54.1% presented an altered pre-gestational nutritional state and 75% obtained an inadequate gestational weight gain. 79.2% of the newborns were classified as Adequate for Gestational Age (AIG. The newborns classified as Large for Gestational Age (GIG were from pregnant women that had excessive weight gain or were overweight. It was concluded that health professionals should be attentive to nutritional deviations with the intention of avoiding complications for maternal/fetal health.

Research into condensed matter using large-scale apparatus. Physics, chemistry, biology. Progress report 1992-1995. Summarizing reports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Activities for research into condensed matter have been supported by the German BMBF with approx. 102 million Deutschmarks in the years 1992 through 1995. These financial means have been distributed among 314 research projects in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and other fields, which all rely on the intensive utilization of photon and particle beams generated in large-scale apparatus of institutions for basic research. The volume in hand first gives information of a general kind and statistical data on the distribution of financial means, for a number of priority research projects. The project reports are summarizing reports on the progress achieved in the various projects. (CB) [de

Primary testicular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Sadiq

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Primary testicular diffuse large-B cell lymphoma (DLBCL is an uncommon and aggressive disease with predominant manifestation in the older age. Herein, we report a case of 47-year-old male patient who presented with three months history of left testis swelling. The patient underwent unilateral (left radical orchiectomy. Histopathological examination revealed extensive involvement and replacement of testicular parenchyma by a tumor composed of large discohesive sheets of cells with pleomorphic, hyperchromatic nuclei and prominent nucleoli. Immunohistochemical (IHC staining showed reactivity for LCA & Pan B (CD20 and negativity for OCT 3/4, SALL4 and Inhibin. Moreover, Pan T (CD3 highlighted reactive T-cells. These features rendered the diagnosis of DLBCL of testis. The hybrid 2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT demonstrated two para-aortic FDG avid lymph nodes on the left side at the level of L2 vertebra. Presently, the patient has been planned for doxorubicin-based chemotherapy (i.e., cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone; CHOP along with intrathecal Methroxate (MTX, which would presumably improve the prognosis. Our study would expand the pool of this uncommon tumor towards its better understanding. Keywords: Primary testicular lymphoma, Diffuse large-B cell lymphoma, Orchiectomy, Doxorubicin-based chemotherapy

Seismic and source characteristics of large chemical explosions. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adushkin, V.V.; Kostuchenko, V.N.; Pernik, L.M.; Sultanov, D.D.; Zcikanovsky, V.I.

1995-01-01

From the very beginning of its arrangement in 1947, the Institute for Dynamics of the Geospheres RAS (former Special Sector of the Institute for physics of the Earth, RAS) was providing scientific observations of effects of nuclear explosions, as well as large-scale detonations of HE, on environment. This report presents principal results of instrumental observations obtained from various large-scale chemical explosions conducted in the Former-Soviet Union in the period of time from 1957 to 1989. Considering principal aim of the work, tamped and equivalent chemical explosions have been selected with total weights from several hundreds to several thousands ton. In particular, the selected explosions were aimed to study scaling law from excavation explosions, seismic effect of tamped explosions, and for dam construction for hydropower stations and soil melioration. Instrumental data on surface explosions of total weight in the same range aimed to test military technics and special objects are not included.

Heuristic Portfolio Trading Rules with Capital Gain Taxes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Marcel; Gallmeyer, Michael

2016-01-01

We study the out-of-sample performance of portfolio trading strategies used when an investor faces capital gain taxation and proportional transaction costs. Overlaying simple tax trading heuristics on trading strategies improves out-of-sample performance. For medium to large transaction costs......, no trading strategy can outperform a 1/N trading strategy augmented with a tax heuristic, not even the most tax and transaction cost-efficient buy-and-hold strategy. Overall, the best strategy is 1/N augmented with a heuristic that allows for a fixed deviation in absolute portfolio weights. Our results thus...... show that the best trading strategies balance diversification considerations and tax considerations....

Development of advanced solid state radiation detectors: mercuric iodide and high gain silicon avalanche structures. Annual progress report, December 1, 1984-November 30, 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huth, G.C.; Dabrowski, A.J.

1986-04-01

This report covers the period from December 1984 through November 1985 for this research project sponsored by the Office of Health and Environmental Research of the Dept. of Energy. This work has two primary research objectives. The first is continuing development of the material mercuric iodide (HgI 2 ) and its applications to energy dispersive x-ray analysis and gamma ray spectrometry. The second task involves investigation of silicon ''avalanche'' (internal electron gain) radiation detector structures fabricated from new neutron transmutation doped (NTD) silicon single crystal

Compromised Weight Gain, Milk Intake, and Feeding Behavior in Breastfed Newborns of Depressive Mothers

OpenAIRE

Hart, Sybil L.; Jackson, Shera C.; Boylan, L. Mallory

2011-01-01

Objective To explore depressed mood in the breastfeeding dyad. Method N = 50 mothers of 12-day-olds reported depressed mood (EPDS) and anxiety (STAI), then were videotaped while breastfeeding. Infants were weighed before and after breastfeeding. Results An ANCOVA on weight gain, which controlled for infant age and birth weight, found EPDS inversely related to weight gain. Following a significant MANCOVA on infant biobehavioral measures, ANCOVAs which controlled for birth weight, age, hunger a...

Extracting and analyzing ejection fraction values from electronic echocardiography reports in a large health maintenance organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Fagen; Zheng, Chengyi; Yuh-Jer Shen, Albert; Chen, Wansu

2017-12-01

The left ventricular ejection fraction value is an important prognostic indicator of cardiovascular outcomes including morbidity and mortality and is often used clinically to indicate severity of heart disease. However, it is usually reported in free-text echocardiography reports. We developed and validated a computerized algorithm to extract ejection fraction values from echocardiography reports and applied the algorithm to a large volume of unstructured echocardiography reports between 1995 and 2011 in a large health maintenance organization. A total of 621,856 echocardiography reports with a description of ejection fraction values or systolic functions were identified, of which 70 percent contained numeric ejection fraction values and the rest (30%) were text descriptions explicitly indicating the systolic left ventricular function. The 12.1 percent (16.0% for male and 8.4% for female) of these extracted ejection fraction values are <45 percent. Validation conducted based on a random sample of 200 reports yielded 95.0 percent sensitivity and 96.9 percent positive predictive value.

Servo-elastic dynamics of a hydraulic actuator pitching a blade with large deflections

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Morten Hartvig; Kallesøe, Bjarne Skovmose

2007-01-01

This paper deals with the servo-elastic dynamics of a hydraulic pitch actuator acting on a largely bend wind turbine blade. The compressibility of the oil and flexibility of the hoses introduce a dynamic mode in the pitch bearing degree of freedom. This mode may obtain negative damping...... if the proportional gain on the actuator position error is defined too large relative to the viscous forces in the hydraulic system and the total rotational inertia of the pitch bearing degree of freedom. A simple expression for the stability limit of this proportional gain is derived for tuning the gain based...

Underrepresented minority high school and college students report STEM-pipeline sustaining gains after participating in the Loma Linda University Summer Health Disparities Research Program.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorena M Salto

Full Text Available An urgent need exists for graduate and professional schools to establish evidence-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math pipeline programs to increase the diversity of the biomedical workforce. An untapped yet promising pool of willing participants are capable high school students that have a strong STEM interest but may lack the skills and the guided mentoring needed to succeed in competitive STEM fields. This study evaluates and compares the impact of the Loma Linda University (LLU Summer Health Disparities Research Program on high school (HS and undergraduate (UG student participants. The primary focus of our summer research experience (SRE is to enhance the research self-efficacy of the participants by actively involving them in a research project and by providing the students with personalized mentoring and targeted career development activities, including education on health disparities. The results of our study show that our SRE influenced terminal degree intent and increased participant willingness to incorporate research into future careers for both the HS and the UG groups. The quantitative data shows that both the HS and the UG participants reported large, statistically significant gains in self-assessed research skills and research self-efficacy. Both participant groups identified the hands-on research and the mentor experience as the most valuable aspects of our SRE and reported increased science skills, increased confidence in science ability and increased motivation and affirmation to pursue a science career. The follow-up data indicates that 67% of the HS participants and 90% of the UG participants graduated from college with a STEM degree; for those who enrolled in graduate education, 61% and 43% enrolled in LLU, respectively. We conclude that structured SREs can be highly effective STEM strengthening interventions for both UG and HS students and may be a way to measurably increase institutional and biomedical

Transient gain property of a weak probe field in an asymmetric semiconductor coupled double quantum well structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhigang; Zheng Zhiren; Yu Junhua

2007-01-01

The transient gain property of a weak probe field in an asymmetric semiconductor coupled double quantum well structure is reported. The transient process of the system, which is induced by the external coherent coupling field, shows the property of no inverse gain. We find that the transient behavior of the probe field can be tuned by the change of tunneling barrier. Both the amplitude of the transient gain and the frequency of the oscillation can be affected by the lifetime broadening

Predictive Variable Gain Iterative Learning Control for PMSM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huimin Xu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A predictive variable gain strategy in iterative learning control (ILC is introduced. Predictive variable gain iterative learning control is constructed to improve the performance of trajectory tracking. A scheme based on predictive variable gain iterative learning control for eliminating undesirable vibrations of PMSM system is proposed. The basic idea is that undesirable vibrations of PMSM system are eliminated from two aspects of iterative domain and time domain. The predictive method is utilized to determine the learning gain in the ILC algorithm. Compression mapping principle is used to prove the convergence of the algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the predictive variable gain is superior to constant gain and other variable gains.

Large Scale Demand Response of Thermostatic Loads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Totu, Luminita Cristiana

This study is concerned with large populations of residential thermostatic loads (e.g. refrigerators, air conditioning or heat pumps). The purpose is to gain control over the aggregate power consumption in order to provide balancing services for the electrical grid. Without affecting the temperat......This study is concerned with large populations of residential thermostatic loads (e.g. refrigerators, air conditioning or heat pumps). The purpose is to gain control over the aggregate power consumption in order to provide balancing services for the electrical grid. Without affecting....... The control architecture is defined by parsimonious communication requirements that also have a high level data privacy, and it furthermore guarantees a robust and secure local operation. Mathematical models are put forward, and the effectiveness is shown by numerical simulations. A case study of 10000...

Weight gain - unintentional

Science.gov (United States)

... diabetes Hormone changes or medical problems can also cause unintentional weight gain. This may be due to: Cushing syndrome Underactive thyroid, or low thyroid (hypothyroidism) Polycystic ovary syndrome Menopause Pregnancy Bloating, or swelling ...

Large-scale building integrated photovoltaics field trial. First technical report - installation phase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

This report summarises the results of the first eighteen months of the Large-Scale Building Integrated Photovoltaic Field Trial focussing on technical aspects. The project aims included increasing awareness and application of the technology, raising the UK capabilities in application of the technology, and assessing the potential for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Details are given of technology choices; project organisation, cost, and status; and the evaluation criteria. Installations of BIPV described include University buildings, commercial centres, and a sports stadium, wildlife park, church hall, and district council building. Lessons learnt are discussed, and a further report covering monitoring aspects is planned.

The Role of Sustainability Resources of Large Greenhouse Gas Emitters: The Case of Corporations in Alberta, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marwa Hannouf

2017-01-01

Full Text Available With the global challenge of climate change, it becomes crucial to understand the factors that can guide carbon intensive companies to comply with environmental regulations through significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. Using the natural-resource-based view, the argument in this paper is that focusing on sustainability-driven resources by companies is a way to meet environmental compliance and reduce GHG emissions while gaining differential competitive benefits. A specific analysis on Alberta case has discussed large GHG emitters’ environmental compliance mechanisms in the context of their sustainability resources. The aim is examining if large GHG emitters in Alberta related to corporations having sustainability resources are complying with the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER reduction requirement through cleaner-production driven internal mechanisms. The paper examines the existence of the sustainability resources in the reporting companies related to large GHG emitters responsible for 86% of total GHG reported by facilities with emissions above the threshold of 100 kilotonnes of GHG per year under SGER in Alberta. Corporations are found not using their sustainability resource potential to achieve internal reductions in GHG emissions throughout their facilities. Thus, some recommendations are presented for Alberta case as well as for environmental regulations in other jurisdictions that can potentially help policy makers improve their climate change regulations and achieve their global targets and enable companies to gain competitive advantage while meeting GHG reduction compliance.

CONDITIONS FOR CSR MICROBUNCHING GAIN SUPPRESSION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsai, Cheng Ying [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Douglas, David R. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States); Li, Rui [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States); Tennant, Christopher D. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States); di Mitri, Simone [Elettra–Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy

2016-05-01

The coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) of a high brightness electron beam traversing a series of dipoles, such as transport arcs, may result in phase space degradation. On one hand, the CSR can perturb electron transverse motion in dispersive regions along the beamline, causing emittance growth. On the other hand, the CSR effect on the longitudinal beam dynamics could result in microbunching gain enhancement. For transport arcs, several schemes have been proposed* to suppress the CSR-induced emittance growth. Similarly, several scenarios have been introduced** to suppress CSR-induced microbunching gain, which however mostly aim for linac-based machines. In this paper we try to provide sufficient conditions for suppression of CSR-induced microbunching gain along a transport arc, analogous to*. Several example lattices are presented, with the relevant microbunching analyses carried out by our semi-analytical Vlasov solver***. The simulation results show that lattices satisfying the proposed conditions indeed have microbunching gain suppressed. We expect this analysis can shed light on lattice design approach that could suppress the CSR-induced microbunching gain.

Flow and wakes in large wind farms. Final report for UpWind WP8

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barthelmie, R.J.; Frandsen, S.T.; Rathmann, O. (Risoe DTU (Denmark)); Hansen, K. (Technical Univ. of Denmark (DTU), Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Politis, E.; Prospathopoulos, J. (CRES (Greece)); Schepers, J.G. (ECN, Petten (Netherlands)); Rados, K. (NTUA, Athens (Greece)); Cabezon, D. (CENER, Sarriguren (Spain)); Schlez, W.; Neubert, A.; Heath, M. (Garrad Hassan and Partners (Germany) (United Kingdom))

2011-02-15

This report summarises the research undertaken through the European Commission funded project UpWind Wp8:Flow. The objective of the work was to develop understanding of flow in large wind farms and to evaluate models of power losses due to wind turbine wakes focusing on complex terrain and offshore. A crosscutting activity was to improve and compare the performance of computational fluid dynamics models with wind farm models. The report contains 6 deliverable reports and guideline to wind farm wake analysis as appendices. (Author)

Redesign of a Variable-Gain Output Feedback Longitudinal Controller Flown on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV)

Science.gov (United States)

Ostroff, Aaron J.

1998-01-01

This paper describes a redesigned longitudinal controller that flew on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) during calendar years (CY) 1995 and 1996. Linear models are developed for both the modified controller and a baseline controller that was flown in CY 1994. The modified controller was developed with three gain sets for flight evaluation, and several linear analysis results are shown comparing the gain sets. A Neal-Smith flying qualities analysis shows that performance for the low- and medium-gain sets is near the level 1 boundary, depending upon the bandwidth assumed, whereas the high-gain set indicates a sensitivity problem. A newly developed high-alpha Bode envelope criterion indicates that the control system gains may be slightly high, even for the low-gain set. A large motion-base simulator in the United Kingdom was used to evaluate the various controllers. Desired performance, which appeared to be satisfactory for flight, was generally met with both the low- and medium-gain sets. Both the high-gain set and the baseline controller were very sensitive, and it was easy to generate pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) in some of the target-tracking maneuvers. Flight target-tracking results varied from level 1 to level 3 and from no sensitivity to PIO. These results were related to pilot technique and whether actuator rate saturation was encountered.

External locus of control contributes to racial disparities in memory and reasoning training gains in ACTIVE.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahodne, Laura B; Meyer, Oanh L; Choi, Eunhee; Thomas, Michael L; Willis, Sherry L; Marsiske, Michael; Gross, Alden L; Rebok, George W; Parisi, Jeanine M

2015-09-01

Racial disparities in cognitive outcomes may be partly explained by differences in locus of control. African Americans report more external locus of control than non-Hispanic Whites, and external locus of control is associated with poorer health and cognition. The aims of this study were to compare cognitive training gains between African American and non-Hispanic White participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study and determine whether racial differences in training gains are mediated by locus of control. The sample comprised 2,062 (26% African American) adults aged 65 and older who participated in memory, reasoning, or speed training. Latent growth curve models evaluated predictors of 10-year cognitive trajectories separately by training group. Multiple group modeling examined associations between training gains and locus of control across racial groups. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans evidenced less improvement in memory and reasoning performance after training. These effects were partially mediated by locus of control, controlling for age, sex, education, health, depression, testing site, and initial cognitive ability. African Americans reported more external locus of control, which was associated with smaller training gains. External locus of control also had a stronger negative association with reasoning training gain for African Americans than for Whites. No racial difference in training gain was identified for speed training. Future intervention research with African Americans should test whether explicitly targeting external locus of control leads to greater cognitive improvement following cognitive training. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Primary Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma of the Bladder: Case Report and Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansour Ansari

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Most bladder tumors are epithelial in origin. Nonepithelial cancers are rarely located in the bladder. Sarcomas are the most common malignancies among nonepithelial cancers. Primary bladder lymphoma is rare and mostly low grade. Here, we have reported a case of diffuse large cell lymphoma of the bladder. The patient, a 64-year-old man, had urinary frequency for 18 months. Abdominal sonography indicated a thick bladder wall and transurethral biopsy showed diffuse large cell lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry (IHC results showed that the tumor was positive for CD20, CD45, and Pax-5 and negative for BCL-2, cytokeratin, and S100. He had a normal bone marrow biopsy, abdominal, pelvic and chest CT scans. He had no B symptoms. The patient received 6 cycles of R-CHOP followed by radiotherapy (36 Gy to the pelvis. Six months after treatment, the patient is well and has returned to work. We have searched PubMed for primary diffuse large cell lymphoma. Primary diffuse large cell lymphoma of the bladder is best treated according to treatment for diffuse large cell lymphoma of other sites, which includes chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As seen in our review, primary diffuse large cell lymphoma of the bladder has a similar clinical course to diffuse large cell lymphoma of other sites.

24 CFR 3280.507 - Comfort heat gain.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Comfort heat gain. 3280.507 Section... gain. Information necessary to calculate the home cooling load shall be provided as specified in this part. (a) Transmission heat gains. Homes complying with this section shall meet the minimum heat loss...

CREATIVE ACCOUNTING PLAYERS AND THEIR GAINS AND LOSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VLADU ALINA BEATTRICE

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to bring into attention an interesting game of accounts manipulation and its playes. Their expectations represent the genesis point of manipulative behaviour and by understanding their actions and gains and losses we may create a link to undestanding the process of creative accounting thinking. The divergent interests of these users (e.g.managers, fiscal authorities and banks derive from their position and power, and give rise to doubt regarding the objectivity of accountancy information provided by annual financial reports.

The Neural Responses to Social Cooperation in Gain and Loss Context.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Sun

Full Text Available Cooperation is pervasive and constitutes the core behavioral principle of human social life. Previous studies have revealed that mutual cooperation was reliably correlated with two reward-related brain regions, the ventral striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, this study sought to investigate how the loss and gain contexts modulated the neural responses to mutual cooperation. Twenty-five female participants were scanned when they played a series of one-shot prisoner's dilemma games in the loss and gain contexts. Specifically, participants and partners independently chose to either cooperate with each other or not, and each was awarded or deprived of (in the gain context or the loss context, respectively a sum of money which depended upon the interaction of their choices. Behavioral results indicated that participants cooperated in nearly half of the experiment trials and reported higher level of positive emotions for mutual cooperation in both contexts, but they cooperated more in the gain than in the loss context. At the neural level, stronger activities in the orbitofrontal cortex were observed for mutual cooperation compared with the other three outcomes in both contexts, while stronger activation in ventral striatum associated with mutual cooperation was observed in the gain context only. Together, our data indicated that, even in the one-shot interaction under loss context, participants still exhibited preference for cooperation and the rewarding experience from a mutually cooperative social interaction activated the ventral striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex, but the loss context weakened the association between the ventral striatum activation and mutual cooperation.

Challenges in Gaining Large Scale Carbon Reductions through Wireless Home Automation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Peter Gorm; Rovsing, Poul Ejnar; Toftegaard, Thomas Skjødeberg

2010-01-01

Buildings account for more than a 35 % of the energy consumption in Europe. Therefore a step towards more sustainable lifestile is to use home automation to optimize the energy consumption “automatically”. This paper reports about the usage and some of the remaining challenges of especially...... wireless but also powerline communication in a home automation setting. For many years, home automation has been visible to many, but accessible to only a few, because of inadequate integration of systems. A vast number of both standard and proprietary communication protocols are used, and systems...... are often difficult to install and configure so professional assistance is needed. In this paper we report about our experience in constructing an open universal home automation framework enabling interoperability of multiple communication protocols. The framework can easily be expanded in order to support...

Large cavernous hemangioma of the adrenal gland: Laparoscopic treatment. Report of a case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Agrusa

2015-01-01

Conclusion: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is considered the standard treatment in case of diagnosis of benign lesions. In this case report we discussed a large adrenal cavernous hemangioma treated with laparoscopic approach. Fundamental is the study of preoperative endocrine disorders and radiologic findings to exclude signs of malignancy.

Amplified spontaneous emission measurements on the Aurora large aperture module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oertel, J.A.; Czuchlewski, S.J.; Leland, W.T.; Turner, T.P.

1990-01-01

The large aperture module (LAM) of the Aurora KrF laser can be used to address a number of issues that relate to the scaling of KrF amplifiers to larger ICF systems. Perhaps foremost among these are the possible effects of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) on laser performance. To assess this problem a 3-D computer code has been developed to model these ASE effects. The code uses an iterative procedure to arrive at a self-consistent steady state solution to the 3-D distribution of coherent and incoherent fluxes within the amplifier. Two-pass energy extraction, wall reflectivity, and nonuniform excitation are included in the model. The authors previously reported the effects of ASE on the small signal gains measured in the 1- x 1- x 2-m 3 LAM. The code also makes quantitative predictions of the ASE that should be generated in the amplifier. This paper indicates the radiance expected for a medium of uniform gain in terms of the (g - ν)L product and the parameter g/a. The quantity (g - ν)L is the product of the net gain and the path length along the direction of observation. The present experiments compare values of ASE measured at various locations around the LAM with the code predictions. The impact of ASE on amplifier output, is also discussed

Association between maternal nutritional status of pre pregnancy, gestational weight gain and preterm birth.

Science.gov (United States)

Xinxo, Sonela; Bimbashi, Astrit; Z Kakarriqi, Eduard; Zaimi, Edmond

2013-01-01

Maternal nutritional status of pre pregnancy and gestational weight gain affects the preterm birth. The association between maternal nutritional status of pre pregnancy and preterm birth appears to be complex and varied by studies from different countries, thus this association between the gestational weight gain and preterm birth is more consolidated. The study aims to determine any association between the pre pregnancy maternal nutritional status, gestational weight gain and the preterm birth rate in the Albanian context. In case control study, we analyzed women who have delivered in obstetric institutions in Tirana during the year 2012. Body mass index and gestational weight gain of 150 women who had a preterm delivery were compared with those of 150 matched control women who had a normal delivery regarding the gestation age. The self-reported pre pregnancy weight, height, gestational weight gain, age, education and parity are collected through a structured questioner. The body mass index and gestational weight gain are categorized based on the Institute of Medicine recommendation. The multiple logistic regression is used to measure the association between the nutritional status of pre pregnancy and gestational weight gain and the preterm birth rate. The women which have a underweight status or obese of pre pregnancy are more likely to have a preterm birth compared to the women of a normal pre-pregnancy nutritional status (respectively OR =2.7 and 4.3 pnutritional status and gestational weight gain affects the risk for preterm birth. Pre-pregnancy and gestation nutritional assessments should be part of routine prenatal visits.

Insulin detemir attenuates food intake, body weight gain and fat mass gain in diet-induced obese Sprague-Dawley rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Rojas, J M; Printz, R L; Niswender, K D

2011-07-04

Initiation and intensification of insulin therapy commonly causes weight gain, a barrier to therapy. A contrasting body of evidence indicates that insulin functions as an adiposity negative feedback signal and reduces food intake, weight gain and adiposity via action in the central nervous system. Basal insulin analogs, detemir (Det) and glargine (Glar), have been associated with less hypoglycemia compared with neutral protamine hagedorn insulin, and Det with less weight gain, especially in patients with higher body mass index (BMI). We sought to determine whether insulin therapy per se causes body weight and fat mass gain when delivered via a clinically relevant subcutaneous (SC) route in the absence of hypoglycemia and glycosuria in non-diabetic lean and diet-induced obese rats. Rats were exposed to either a low-fat diet (LFD; 13.5% fat) or high-fat diet (HFD; 60% fat), and received Det (0.5 U kg(-1)), Glar (0.2 U kg(-1)) or vehicle (Veh) SC once daily for 4 weeks. These dosages of insulin were equipotent in rats with respect to blood-glucose concentration and did not induce hypoglycemia. As predicted by current models of energy homeostasis, neither insulin Det nor Glar therapy affected food intake and weight gain in LFD rats. Det treatment significantly attenuated food intake, body weight gain and fat mass gain relative to the Glar and Veh in high-fat fed animals, mirroring observations in humans. That neither insulin group gained excess weight, suggests weight gain with SC basal insulin therapy may not be inevitable. Our data further suggest that Det possesses a unique property to attenuate the development of obesity associated with a HFD.

Capital Gains Taxation and Tax Avoidance: New Evidence from Panel Data

OpenAIRE

Alan J. Auerbach; Leonard E. Burman; Jonathan Siegel

1998-01-01

Previous theoretical analyses of the capital gains tax have suggested that investors have considerable opportunity to avoid the tax. Yet, past empirical work has found relatively little evidence of such activity. Using a previously unavailable panel data set with a very large sample of high-income individuals, this paper aims to bring the theory and evidence closer together by examining the behavior of individual taxpayers over time. Though confirming past findings that avoidance of tax on re...

Trainees' Perceived Knowledge Gain Unrelated to the Training Domain: The Joint Action of Impression Management and Motives

Science.gov (United States)

Chiaburu, Dan S.; Huang, Jason L.; Hutchins, Holly M.; Gardner, Richard G.

2014-01-01

Trainees' knowledge gains represent an important outcome in human resource development. In this research, we tested a model examining the joint influence of social desirability (impression management, self-deception) and motives (need for power, need for approval) on trainees' self-reported knowledge gain. We conducted a study with…

High-gain (43 dB), high-power (40 W), highly efficient multipass amplifier at 995 nm in Yb:LiYF4

Science.gov (United States)

Manni, Jeffrey; Harris, Dennis; Fan, Tso Yee

2018-06-01

A simple implementation of a multipass amplifier along with the use of a cryogenic Yb:LiYF4 (YLF) gain medium has enabled the demonstration of a bulk amplifier with an unprecedented combination of large-signal gain (43 dB), efficiency (>50% optical), average output power (40 W) and a near-diffraction-limited output beam.

Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific and Technical Report 1999. Volume VI: Large Research Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foroughi, Fereydoun; Bercher, Renate; Buechli, Carmen; Meyer, Rosa [eds.

2000-07-01

The department GFA (Grossforschungsanlagen, Large Research Facilities) has been established in October 1998. Its main duty is operation, maintenance and development of the PSI accelerators, the spallation neutron source and the beam transport systems for pions and muons. A large effort of this group concerns the planning and co-ordination of new projects like e.g. the assembly of the synchrotron light source (SLS), design studies of a new proton therapy facility, the ultracold neutron source and a new intensive secondary beam line for low energy muons. A large fraction of this report is devoted to research especially in the field of materials Science. The studies include large scale molecular dynamics computer simulations on the elastic and plastic behavior of nanostructured metals, complemented by experimental mechanical testing using micro-indentation and miniaturized tensile testing, as well as microstructural characterisation and strain field mapping of metallic coatings and thin ceramic layers, the latter done with synchrotron radiation.

Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific and Technical Report 1999. Volume VI: Large Research Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foroughi, Fereydoun; Bercher, Renate; Buechli, Carmen; Meyer, Rosa

2000-01-01

The department GFA (Grossforschungsanlagen, Large Research Facilities) has been established in October 1998. Its main duty is operation, maintenance and development of the PSI accelerators, the spallation neutron source and the beam transport systems for pions and muons. A large effort of this group concerns the planning and co-ordination of new projects like e.g. the assembly of the synchrotron light source (SLS), design studies of a new proton therapy facility, the ultracold neutron source and a new intensive secondary beam line for low energy muons. A large fraction of this report is devoted to research especially in the field of materials Science. The studies include large scale molecular dynamics computer simulations on the elastic and plastic behavior of nanostructured metals, complemented by experimental mechanical testing using micro-indentation and miniaturized tensile testing, as well as microstructural characterisation and strain field mapping of metallic coatings and thin ceramic layers, the latter done with synchrotron radiation

Analysis of NRAS gain in 657 patients with melanoma and evaluation of its sensitivity to a MEK inhibitor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Junya; Wu, Xiaowen; Yu, Jiayi; Yu, Huan; Xu, Tianxiao; Brown, Kevin M; Bai, Xue; Dai, Jie; Ma, Meng; Tang, Huan; Si, Lu; Chi, Zhihong; Sheng, Xinan; Cui, Chuanliang; Kong, Yan; Guo, Jun

2018-01-01

Neuroblastoma rat-sarcoma (NRAS) mutations have been described in Chinese patients with melanoma. However, the status and the clinical significance of NRAS gain have not been investigated on a large scale. A total of 657 melanoma samples were included in the study. NRAS copy number was examined using the QuantiGene Plex DNA assay. The sensitivities of cell lines and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models containing NRAS gain to a MAP/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor (binimetinib) were also evaluated. The overall incidence of NRAS gain was 14.0% (92 of 657). Incidence of NRAS gain in acral, mucosal, chronic sun-induced damage (CSD) and non-CSD melanomas was 12.2%, 15.8%, 9.5% and 19.4%, respectively. NRAS gain was mutually exclusive to NRAS mutations (P = 0.036). The median survival time for melanoma patients with NRAS gain was significantly shorter than that for patients with normal NRAS copy number (P = 0.006). For patients containing NRAS gain, the median survival time for higher copy number (>4 copies) was significantly shorter than those with lower copy number (2-4 copies; P = 0.002). The MEK inhibitor (binimetinib) inhibited the proliferation of melanoma cells and the tumour growth of PDX models with NRAS gain. NRAS gain is frequent in patients with melanoma and may predict a poor prognosis of melanoma. The melanoma cells and PDX models containing NRAS gain are sensitive to MEK inhibitor (binimetinib), indicating that NRAS gain might be a new therapeutic target for melanoma. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Benefits of Multi-Year Research Experiences: Differences in Novice and Experienced Students’ Reported Gains from Undergraduate Research

Science.gov (United States)

Thiry, Heather; Weston, Timothy J.; Laursen, Sandra L.; Hunter, Anne-Barrie

2012-01-01

This mixed-methods study explores differences in novice and experienced undergraduate students’ perceptions of their cognitive, personal, and professional gains from engaging in scientific research. The study was conducted in four different undergraduate research (UR) programs at two research-extensive universities; three of these programs had a focus on the biosciences. Seventy-three entry-level and experienced student researchers participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews and completed the quantitative Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) instrument. Interviews and surveys assessed students’ developmental outcomes from engaging in UR. Experienced students reported distinct personal, professional, and cognitive outcomes relative to their novice peers, including a more sophisticated understanding of the process of scientific research. Students also described the trajectories by which they developed not only the intellectual skills necessary to advance in science, but also the behaviors and temperament necessary to be a scientist. The findings suggest that students benefit from multi-year UR experiences. Implications for UR program design, advising practices, and funding structures are discussed. PMID:22949423

Intrinsic gain modulation and adaptive neural coding.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sungho Hong

2008-07-01

Full Text Available In many cases, the computation of a neural system can be reduced to a receptive field, or a set of linear filters, and a thresholding function, or gain curve, which determines the firing probability; this is known as a linear/nonlinear model. In some forms of sensory adaptation, these linear filters and gain curve adjust very rapidly to changes in the variance of a randomly varying driving input. An apparently similar but previously unrelated issue is the observation of gain control by background noise in cortical neurons: the slope of the firing rate versus current (f-I curve changes with the variance of background random input. Here, we show a direct correspondence between these two observations by relating variance-dependent changes in the gain of f-I curves to characteristics of the changing empirical linear/nonlinear model obtained by sampling. In the case that the underlying system is fixed, we derive relationships relating the change of the gain with respect to both mean and variance with the receptive fields derived from reverse correlation on a white noise stimulus. Using two conductance-based model neurons that display distinct gain modulation properties through a simple change in parameters, we show that coding properties of both these models quantitatively satisfy the predicted relationships. Our results describe how both variance-dependent gain modulation and adaptive neural computation result from intrinsic nonlinearity.

Variations in resting energy expenditure: impact on gestational weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Berggren, E K; O'Tierney-Ginn, P; Lewis, S; Presley, L; De-Mouzon, S Hauguel; Catalano, P M

2017-10-01

There are significant variations in gestational weight gain, with many women gaining in excess of the Institute of Medicine guidelines. Unfortunately, efforts to improve appropriate gestational weight gain have had only limited success. To date, interventions have focused primarily on decreasing energy intake and/or increasing physical activity. Maternal resting energy expenditure, which comprises ∼60% of total energy expenditure compared with the ∼20% that comes from physical activity, may be an important consideration in understanding variations in gestational weight gain. Our objective was to quantify the changes in resting energy expenditure during pregnancy and their relationship to gestational weight gain and body composition changes among healthy women. We hypothesized that greater gestational weight gain, and fat mass accrual in particular, are inversely related to variations in resting energy expenditure. We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort studied before conception and late pregnancy (34-36 weeks). Body composition (estimated using hydrodensitometry) and resting energy expenditure (estimated using indirect calorimetry) were measured. The relationship between the changes in resting energy expenditure and gestational weight gain and the change in fat mass and fat-free mass were quantified. Resting energy expenditure was expressed as kilocalories per kilogram of fat-free mass per day (kilocalories per kilogram of fat-free mass -1 /day -1 ) and kilocalories per day. Correlations are reported as r. Among 51 women, preconception body mass index was 23.0 (4.7) kg/m 2 ; gestational weight gain was 12.8 (4.7) kg. Preconception and late pregnancy resting energy expenditure (kilocalories per day) correlated positively with the change in fat-free mass (r = 0.37, P = .008; r = 0.51, P = .001). Late-pregnancy resting energy expenditure (kilocalories per kilogram of fat-free mass -1 /day -1 ) was inversely associated with the change in fat

IQ Gains in Argentina between 1964 and 1998

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, James R.; Rossi-Case, Lilia

2012-01-01

The literature on IQ gains in Latin America is sparse. We estimate gains on Raven's Progressive Matrices in the city of La Plata (Argentina) between 1964 and 1998. The gains are robust at the top of the curve as well as at the bottom. Therefore, they are contrary to the hypothesis that nutrition played a major role in recent Argentine IQ gains.…

Loss restlessness and gain calmness: durable effects of losses and gains on choice switching.

Science.gov (United States)

Yechiam, Eldad; Zahavi, Gal; Arditi, Eli

2015-08-01

While the traditional conceptualization of the effect of losses focuses on bias in the subjective weight of losses compared with respective gains, some accounts suggest more global task-related effects of losses. Based on a recent attentional theory, we predicted a positive after-effect of losses on choice switching in later tasks. In two experimental studies, we found increased choice switching rates in tasks with losses compared to tasks with no losses. Additionally, this heightened shifting behavior was maintained in subsequent tasks that do not include losses, a phenomenon we refer to as "loss restlessness." Conversely, gains were found to have an opposite "calming" effect on choice switching. Surprisingly, the loss restlessness phenomenon was observed following an all-losses payoff regime but not after a task with symmetric mixed gains and losses. This suggests that the unresolved mental account following an all-losses regime increases search behavior. Potential implications to macro level phenomena, such as the leverage effect, are discussed.

A numerical algorithm for optimal feedback gains in high dimensional linear quadratic regulator problems

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, H. T.; Ito, K.

1991-01-01

A hybrid method for computing the feedback gains in linear quadratic regulator problem is proposed. The method, which combines use of a Chandrasekhar type system with an iteration of the Newton-Kleinman form with variable acceleration parameter Smith schemes, is formulated to efficiently compute directly the feedback gains rather than solutions of an associated Riccati equation. The hybrid method is particularly appropriate when used with large dimensional systems such as those arising in approximating infinite-dimensional (distributed parameter) control systems (e.g., those governed by delay-differential and partial differential equations). Computational advantages of the proposed algorithm over the standard eigenvector (Potter, Laub-Schur) based techniques are discussed, and numerical evidence of the efficacy of these ideas is presented.

1999 Annual report: Gaining momentum, creating value

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

Danoil Energy is an oil and gas company engaged in exploration, development and acquisition of both oil and natural gas reserves in western Canada. The company is based in Calgary. In 1999, the company had revenues of $29.5 million from natural gas sales and from the sale of crude oil and natural gas liquids, an increase of 56 per cent over the previous year. Net earnings amounted to $2.7 million, or 12 cents a share. Production also increased about 15 per cent in 1999 and is forecast to increase 32 per cent over 1999 levels in 2000. Production has been replaced by 150 per cent, bringing current total reserves to 29,239 MMcf/d of natural gas and 11,238 Mbbls of crude oil and natural gas liquids. The company has 71,149 acres of undeveloped lands. The report contains a review of the property, a review of operations, consolidated financial statements, and management's analysis and discussion of operating and financial results

Measurements of diversity gain and radiation efficiency of the eleven antenna by using different measurement techniques

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Jian; Pivnenko, Sergey; Laitinen, Tommi

2010-01-01

This paper presents measurement results of diversity gain and radiation efficiency by using three different measurement techniques: reverberation chamber, spherical near-field anechoic chamber, and multi-probe anechoic chamber. The results are measured over a large 2–8 GHz bandwidth which...

Insulin-associated weight gain in obese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: What can be done?

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Adrian; Guess, Nicola; Dornhorst, Anne; Taheri, Shahrad; Frost, Gary

2017-12-01

Insulin therapy (IT) is initiated for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus when glycaemic targets are not met with diet and other hypoglycaemic agents. The initiation of IT improves glycaemic control and reduces the risk of microvascular complications. There is, however, an associated weight gain following IT, which may adversely affect diabetic and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A 3 to 9 kg insulin-associated weight gain (IAWG) is reported to occur in the first year of initiating IT, predominantly caused by adipose tissue. The potential causes for this weight gain include an increase in energy intake linked to a fear of hypoglycaemia, a reduction in glycosuria, catch-up weight, and central effects on weight and appetite regulation. Patients with type 2 diabetes who are receiving IT often have multiple co-morbidities, including obesity, that are exacerbated by weight gain, making the management of their diabetes and obesity challenging. There are several treatment strategies for patients with type 2 diabetes, who require IT, that attenuate weight gain, help improve glycaemic control, and help promote body weight homeostasis. This review addresses the effects of insulin initiation and intensification on IAWG, and explores its potential underlying mechanisms, the predictors for this weight gain, and the available treatment options for managing and limiting weight gain. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Possibility of Recombination Gain Increase in CV Ions at 4.0 nm Via Coherence

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Y.; Morozov, A.; Gordon, D.; Sprangle, P.; Svidzinsky, A.; Xia, H.; Scully, M.; Suckewer, S.

This paper is about the recent experimental results on amplification of the CV line in the "water window" at 4.03 nm from resonance transition to the ground level of He-like ions in recombination scheme. The indication of the amplification of the CV line has been observed when an elongated narrow plasma channel was created, where high intensity 100 fs beams, optimal for creating CV ions in high density plasma, was propagated up to 0.5-0.6 mm. Without channeling the effective plasma length was much shorter and there was no indication of amplification.The large interest in gain generation in He-like ions in the transition to ground state is due to the possibility of applying a recently developed theory of Lasing Without Inversion (LWI) in XUV and X-ray regions to largely increase the gain for such transitions. The presented results of the indication of CV line amplifications are being discussed from the point of view of using LWI as a superradiance gain increase, hence to construct a very compact soft X-ray laser in the "water window".The last part of the paper is related to the application of the ultra-intensive fs plasma laser, which is currently in the process of development by using stimulated Raman backscattering (SRBS) to create a plasma amplifier and compressor, as the pump for compact laser operating in the "water window" and also at shorter wavelengths.

Central gain control in tinnitus and hyperacusis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin D Auerbach

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Sensorineural hearing loss induced by noise or ototoxic drug exposure reduces the neural activity transmitted from the cochlea to the central auditory system. Despite a reduced cochlear output, neural activity from more central auditory structures is paradoxically enhanced at suprathreshold intensities. This compensatory increase in the central auditory activity in response to the loss of sensory input is referred to as central gain enhancement. Enhanced central gain is hypothesized to be a potential mechanism that gives rise to hyperacusis and tinnitus, two debilitating auditory perceptual disorders that afflict millions of individuals. This review will examine the evidence for gain enhancement in the central auditory system in response to cochlear damage. Further, it will address the potential cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this enhancement and discuss the contribution of central gain enhancement to tinnitus and hyperacusis. Current evidence suggests that multiple mechanisms with distinct temporal and spectral profiles are likely to contribute to central gain enhancement. Dissecting the contributions of these different mechanisms at different levels of the central auditory system is essential for elucidating the role of central gain enhancement in tinnitus and hyperacusis and, most importantly, the development of novel treatments for these disorders.

Central Gain Control in Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

Science.gov (United States)

Auerbach, Benjamin D.; Rodrigues, Paulo V.; Salvi, Richard J.

2014-01-01

Sensorineural hearing loss induced by noise or ototoxic drug exposure reduces the neural activity transmitted from the cochlea to the central auditory system. Despite a reduced cochlear output, neural activity from more central auditory structures is paradoxically enhanced at suprathreshold intensities. This compensatory increase in the central auditory activity in response to the loss of sensory input is referred to as central gain enhancement. Enhanced central gain is hypothesized to be a potential mechanism that gives rise to hyperacusis and tinnitus, two debilitating auditory perceptual disorders that afflict millions of individuals. This review will examine the evidence for gain enhancement in the central auditory system in response to cochlear damage. Further, it will address the potential cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this enhancement and discuss the contribution of central gain enhancement to tinnitus and hyperacusis. Current evidence suggests that multiple mechanisms with distinct temporal and spectral profiles are likely to contribute to central gain enhancement. Dissecting the contributions of these different mechanisms at different levels of the central auditory system is essential for elucidating the role of central gain enhancement in tinnitus and hyperacusis and, most importantly, the development of novel treatments for these disorders. PMID:25386157

Gain-loss frequency and final outcome in the Soochow Gambling Task: A Reassessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Ching-Hung

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Behavioral decision making literature suggests that decision makers are guided less by final outcome than by immediate gain-loss. However, studies of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT under dynamic and uncertain conditions reveal very different conclusions about the role of final outcome. Another research group designed a similar yet simpler game, the Soochow Gambling Task (SGT, which demonstrated that, in dynamic decision making, the effect of gain-loss frequency is more powerful than that of final outcome. Further study is needed to determine the precise effect of final outcome on decision makers. This experiment developed two modified SGTs to explore the effect of final outcome under the same gain-loss frequency context. Methods Each version of the SGT was performed by twenty-four undergraduate Soochow University students. A large-value (± $200, ± $550 and ± $1050 and a small-value (± $100, ± $150 and ± $650 contrast of SGT were conducted to investigate the final outcome effect. The computerized SGT was launched to record and analyze the choices of the participants. Results The results of both SGT versions consistently showed that the preferred decks A and B to decks C and D. Analysis of learning curves also indicated that, throughout the game, final outcome had a minimal effect on the choices of decision makers. Conclusion Experimental results indicated that, in both the frequent-gain context and the frequent-loss context, final outcome has little effect on decision makers. Most decision makers are guided by gain-loss frequency but not by final outcome.

Eating style, overeating and weight gain. A prospective 2-year follow-up study in a representative Dutch sample.

Science.gov (United States)

van Strien, Tatjana; Herman, C Peter; Verheijden, Marieke W

2012-12-01

This study examined which individuals are particularly at risk for developing overweight and whether there are behavioral lifestyle factors that may attenuate this susceptibility. A prospective study with a 2-year follow-up was conducted in a sample representative of the general population of The Netherlands (n=590). Body mass change (self-reported) was assessed in relation to overeating and change in physical activity (both self-reported), dietary restraint, emotional eating, and external eating, as assessed by the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. There was a consistent main (suppressive) effect of increased physical activity on BMI change. Only emotional eating and external eating moderated the relation between overeating and body mass change. However, the interaction effect of external eating became borderline significant with Yes or No meaningful weight gain (weight gain >3%) as dependent variable. It was concluded that whilst increasing physical activity may attenuate weight gain, particularly high emotional eaters seem at risk for developing overweight, because overconsumption seems to be more strongly related to weight gain in people with high degrees of emotional eating. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic Gain Increases by Applying the Usefulness Criterion with Improved Variance Prediction in Selection of Crosses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehermeier, Christina; Teyssèdre, Simon; Schön, Chris-Carolin

2017-12-01

A crucial step in plant breeding is the selection and combination of parents to form new crosses. Genome-based prediction guides the selection of high-performing parental lines in many crop breeding programs which ensures a high mean performance of progeny. To warrant maximum selection progress, a new cross should also provide a large progeny variance. The usefulness concept as measure of the gain that can be obtained from a specific cross accounts for variation in progeny variance. Here, it is shown that genetic gain can be considerably increased when crosses are selected based on their genomic usefulness criterion compared to selection based on mean genomic estimated breeding values. An efficient and improved method to predict the genetic variance of a cross based on Markov chain Monte Carlo samples of marker effects from a whole-genome regression model is suggested. In simulations representing selection procedures in crop breeding programs, the performance of this novel approach is compared with existing methods, like selection based on mean genomic estimated breeding values and optimal haploid values. In all cases, higher genetic gain was obtained compared with previously suggested methods. When 1% of progenies per cross were selected, the genetic gain based on the estimated usefulness criterion increased by 0.14 genetic standard deviation compared to a selection based on mean genomic estimated breeding values. Analytical derivations of the progeny genotypic variance-covariance matrix based on parental genotypes and genetic map information make simulations of progeny dispensable, and allow fast implementation in large-scale breeding programs. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

Patient-reported causes of heart failure in a large European sample

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timmermans, Ivy; Denollet, Johan; Pedersen, Susanne S.

2018-01-01

), psychosocial (35%, mainly (work-related) stress), and natural causes (32%, mainly heredity). There were socio-demographic, clinical and psychological group differences between the various categories, and large discrepancies between prevalence of physical risk factors according to medical records and patient...... distress (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 0.94–2.51, p = 0.09), and behavioral causes and a less threatening view of heart failure (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.40–1.01, p = 0.06). Conclusion: European patients most frequently reported comorbidities, smoking, stress, and heredity as heart failure causes, but their causal......Background: Patients diagnosed with chronic diseases develop perceptions about their disease and its causes, which may influence health behavior and emotional well-being. This is the first study to examine patient-reported causes and their correlates in patients with heart failure. Methods...

Nova Upgrade: A proposed ICF facility to demonstrate ignition and gain, revision 1

Science.gov (United States)

1992-07-01

The present objective of the national Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program is to determine the scientific feasibility of compressing and heating a small mass of mixed deuterium and tritium (DT) to conditions at which fusion occurs and significant energy is released. The potential applications of ICF will be determined by the resulting fusion energy yield (amount of energy produced) and gain (ratio of energy released to energy required to heat and compress the DT fuel). Important defense and civilian applications, including weapons physics, weapons effects simulation, and ultimately the generation of electric power will become possible if yields of 100 to 1,000 MJ and gains exceeding approximately 50 can be achieved. Once ignition and propagating bum producing modest gain (2 to 10) at moderate drive energy (1 to 2 MJ) has been achieved, the extension to high gain (greater than 50) is straightforward. Therefore, the demonstration of ignition and modest gain is the final step in establishing the scientific feasibility of ICF. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) proposes the Nova Upgrade Facility to achieve this demonstration by the end of the decade. This facility would be constructed within the existing Nova building at LLNL for a total cost of approximately $400 M over the proposed FY 1995-1999 construction period. This report discusses this facility.

Standing Together for Reproducibility in Large-Scale Computing: Report on reproducibility@XSEDE

OpenAIRE

James, Doug; Wilkins-Diehr, Nancy; Stodden, Victoria; Colbry, Dirk; Rosales, Carlos; Fahey, Mark; Shi, Justin; Silva, Rafael F.; Lee, Kyo; Roskies, Ralph; Loewe, Laurence; Lindsey, Susan; Kooper, Rob; Barba, Lorena; Bailey, David

2014-01-01

This is the final report on reproducibility@xsede, a one-day workshop held in conjunction with XSEDE14, the annual conference of the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). The workshop's discussion-oriented agenda focused on reproducibility in large-scale computational research. Two important themes capture the spirit of the workshop submissions and discussions: (1) organizational stakeholders, especially supercomputer centers, are in a unique position to promote, enab...

The development and feasibility of an online aphasia group intervention and networking program - TeleGAIN.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitt, Rachelle; Theodoros, Deborah; Hill, Anne J; Russell, Trevor

2017-09-04

Aphasia group therapy offers many benefits, however people with aphasia report difficulty accessing groups and speech-language pathologists are faced with many challenges in providing aphasia group therapy. Telerehabilitation may offer an alternative service delivery option. An online aphasia group therapy program - Telerehabilitation Group Aphasia Intervention and Networking (TeleGAIN) - has been developed according to the guidelines of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for complex interventions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of TeleGAIN and the results of a pilot trial to determine feasibility and acceptability. The development of TeleGAIN was informed through literature reviews in relevant topic areas, consideration of expert opinion and application of the social cognitive theory. TeleGAIN was then modelled through a feasibility pilot trial with four people with aphasia. TeleGAIN appeared to be feasible and acceptable to participants and able to be implemented as planned. Participant satisfaction with treatment was high and results suggested some potential for improvements in language functioning and communication-related quality of life. TeleGAIN appeared to be feasible and acceptable, however the study highlighted issues related to technology, clinical implementation and participant-specific factors that should be addressed prior to a larger trial.

Maternal Pre-pregnancy BMI, Gestational Weight Gain, and Infant Birth Weight: A Within-Family Analysis in the United States

OpenAIRE

Ji Yan

2014-01-01

In the United States, the high prevalence of unhealthy preconception body weight and inappropriate gestational weight gain among pregnant women is an important public health concern. However, the relationship among pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and newborn birth weight has not been well established. This study uses a very large dataset of sibling births and a within-family design to thoroughly address this issue. The baseline regression controlling for mother fixed effects indic...

Study of the amplified spontaneous emission spectral width and gain coefficient for a KrF laser in unsaturated and saturated conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hariri, A; Sarikhani, S

2014-01-01

On the basis of a model of a geometrically dependent gain coefficient, the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectral width was calculated analytically for the nearly resonant transition of ν ∼ ν 0 , and also numerically for a wide range of transition frequencies. For this purpose, the intensity rate equation was used under unsaturated and saturated conditions. For verifying the proposed model, reported measurements of the ASE energy versus the excitation length for a KrF laser were used. For the excitation length of l = 84 cm corresponding to single-path propagation, the ASE spectral width for the homogeneously broadened transition was calculated to be 6.28 Å, to be compared with the measured 4.1 Å spectral width reported for a KrF oscillator utilizing a two-mirror resonator. With the gain parameters obtained from the ASE energy measurements, the unsaturated and saturated gain coefficients for l = 84 cm were calculated to be 0.042 cm −1 and 0.014 cm −1 , respectively. These values of the gain coefficient are comparable to but slightly lower than the measured gain coefficient for laser systems of 80–100 cm excitation lengths reported from different laboratories. (letter)

Radiation hardness of thin Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Kramberger, G.; Carulla, M.; Cavallaro, E.; Cindro, V.; Flores, D.; Galloway, Z.; Grinstein, S.; Hidalgo, S.; Fadeyev, V.; Lange, J.; Mandić, I.; Medin, G.; Merlos, A.; McKinney-Martinez, F.; Mikuž, M.; Quirion, D.; Pellegrini, G.; Petek, M.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Seiden, A.; Zavrtanik, M.

2018-05-01

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) are based on a n++-p+-p-p++ structure where an appropriate doping of the multiplication layer (p+) leads to high enough electric fields for impact ionization. Gain factors of few tens in charge significantly improve the resolution of timing measurements, particularly for thin detectors, where the timing performance was shown to be limited by Landau fluctuations. The main obstacle for their operation is the decrease of gain with irradiation, attributed to effective acceptor removal in the gain layer. Sets of thin sensors were produced by two different producers on different substrates, with different gain layer doping profiles and thicknesses (45, 50 and 80 μm). Their performance in terms of gain/collected charge and leakage current was compared before and after irradiation with neutrons and pions up to the equivalent fluences of 5 ṡ 1015 cm-2. Transient Current Technique and charge collection measurements with LHC speed electronics were employed to characterize the detectors. The thin LGAD sensors were shown to perform much better than sensors of standard thickness (∼300 μm) and offer larger charge collection with respect to detectors without gain layer for fluences gain prolongs the beneficial performance of LGADs. Pions were found to be more damaging than neutrons at the same equivalent fluence, while no significant difference was found between different producers. At very high fluences and bias voltages the gain appears due to deep acceptors in the bulk, hence also in thin standard detectors.

Resolved discrepancies between visible spontaneous Raman cross-section and direct near-infrared Raman gain measurements in TeO2-based glasses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivero, Clara; Stegeman, Robert; Couzi, Michel; Talaga, David; Cardinal, Thierry; Richardson, Kathleen; Stegeman, George

2005-06-13

Disagreements on the Raman gain response of different tellurite-based glasses, measured at different wavelengths, have been recently reported in the literature. In order to resolve this controversy, a multi-wavelength Raman cross-section experiment was conducted on two different TeO2-based glass samples. The estimated Raman gain response of the material shows good agreement with the directly-measured Raman gain data at 1064 nm, after correction for the dispersion and wavelength-dependence of the Raman gain process.

European Extremely Large Telescope: progress report

Science.gov (United States)

Tamai, R.; Spyromilio, J.

2014-07-01

The European Extremely Large Telescope is a project of the European Southern Observatory to build and operate a 40-m class optical near-infrared telescope. The telescope design effort is largely concluded and construction contracts are being placed with industry and academic/research institutes for the various components. The siting of the telescope in Northern Chile close to the Paranal site allows for an integrated operation of the facility providing significant economies. The progress of the project in various areas is presented in this paper and references to other papers at this SPIE meeting are made.

Body image and gestational weight gain: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Briony; Skouteris, Helen; McCabe, Marita; Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew

2013-01-01

Approximately 50% of Australian adult women of childbearing age are overweight or obese, and, when pregnant, the majority gain excessive weight; this is also the case in the United States and other developed nations. High gestational weight gain (GWG) is the strongest predictor of maternal overweight/obesity postbirth and is also associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity. Understanding factors that contribute to excessive GWG is vital in combating obesity. The aim of the current study was to examine whether body image attitudes (eg, feeling fat, attractive, or strong and fit, and salience of weight and shape) predict GWG. Pregnant women, recruited through advertisements on pregnancy online forums and parenting magazines, completed questionnaires assessing body image, demographic variables, and GWG. The Body Attitudes Questionnaire assessed body image in early-to-middle, middle, and late pregnancy (mean of 16.8, 24.7, and 33.0 weeks' gestation, respectively). Total GWG was calculated by subtracting self-reported pre pregnancy weight from self-reported weight at 36.8 weeks' gestation. A total of 150 pregnant women responded to the study's advertisements, and 72% (n = 108) took part. After controlling for pre pregnancy body mass index (BMI), lower attractiveness in early-to-middle pregnancy was associated with higher GWG. In late pregnancy, women who had the lowest feelings of fatness had greater GWG. Body image attitudes earlier in pregnancy did not predict whether GWG recommendations were exceeded. Women of higher BMI were more likely to gain excessive weight. The findings suggest that the type and timing of pregnancy, body attitudes, and the time of pregnancy when they are noted, predict GWG. However, more research in the area is needed, including assessment of the relationship between body image concerns, GWG, and other psychosocial factors. We recommend that midwives monitor body image concerns in pregnancy to help address factors affecting GWG in at

Gain enhancement of low profile on-chip dipole antenna via Artificial Magnetic Conductor at 94 GHz

KAUST Repository

Nafe, Mahmoud

2015-04-13

The bottleneck for realizing high efficiency System-on-Chip is integrating the antenna on the lossy silicon substrate. To shield the antenna from the silicon, a ground plane can be used. However, the ultra-thin oxide does not provide enough separation between the antenna and the ground plane. In this work, we demonstrate one of the highest reported gains to date for low profile 94 GHz on-chip dipole antenna while the ground plane is in the lowest metal in the oxide (M1). This is achieved by optimizing an Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC) structure midway the antenna and M1. The dipole antenna without the AMC has a gain of − 11 dBi while with the AMC structure a gain of + 4.8 dBi and hence achieving a gain enhancement of + 15.8 dB.

Ricardian Productivity Differences and the Gains from Trade

OpenAIRE

Andrei A. Levchenko; Jing Zhang

2013-01-01

This paper evaluates the role of sectoral heterogeneity in determining the gains from trade. We first show analytically that in the presence of sectoral Ricardian comparative advantage, a one- sector sufficient statistic formula that uses total trade volumes as a share of total absorption systematically understates the true gains from trade. Greater relative sectoral productivity differences lead to larger disparities between the gains implied by the one-sector formula and the true gains. Usi...

College Freshmen Students' Perspectives on Weight Gain Prevention in the Digital Age: Web-Based Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Monroe, Courtney M; Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle; Larsen, Chelsea A; Magradey, Karen; Brandt, Heather M; Wilcox, Sara; Sundstrom, Beth; West, Delia Smith

2017-10-12

College freshmen are highly vulnerable to experiencing weight gain, and this phenomenon is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases and mortality in older adulthood. Technology offers an attractive and scalable way to deliver behavioral weight gain prevention interventions for this population. Weight gain prevention programs that harness the appeal and widespread reach of Web-based technologies (electronic health or eHealth) are increasingly being evaluated in college students. Yet, few of these interventions are informed by college students' perspectives on weight gain prevention and related lifestyle behaviors. The objective of this study was to assess college freshmen students' concern about weight gain and associated topics, as well as their interest in and delivery medium preferences for eHealth programs focused on these topics. Web-based surveys that addressed college freshmen students' (convenience sample of N=50) perspectives on weight gain prevention were administered at the beginning and end of the fall 2015 semester as part of a longitudinal investigation of health-related issues and experiences in first semester college freshmen. Data on weight gain prevention-related concerns and corresponding interest in eHealth programs targeting topics of potential concern, as well as preferred program delivery medium and current technology use were gathered and analyzed using descriptive statistics. A considerable proportion of the freshmen sample expressed concern about weight gain (74%, 37/50) and both traditional (healthy diet: 86%, 43/50; physical activity: 64%, 32/50) and less frequently addressed (stress: 82%, 41/50; sleep: 74%, 37/50; anxiety and depression: 60%, 30/50) associated topics within the context of behavioral weight gain prevention. The proportion of students who reported interest in eHealth promotion programs targeting these topics was also generally high (ranging from 52% [26/50] for stress management to 70% [35/50] for eating a

Patterns of gestational weight gain and birthweight outcomes in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Fetal Growth Studies-Singletons: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pugh, Sarah J; Albert, Paul S; Kim, Sungduk; Grobman, William; Hinkle, Stefanie N; Newman, Roger B; Wing, Deborah A; Grantz, Katherine L

2017-09-01

Inadequate or excessive total gestational weight gain is associated with increased risks of small- and large-for-gestational-age births, respectively, but evidence is sparse regarding overall and trimester-specific patterns of gestational weight gain in relation to these risks. Characterizing the interrelationship between patterns of gestational weight gain across trimesters can reveal whether the trajectory of gestational weight gain in the first trimester sets the path for gestational weight gain in subsequent trimesters, thereby serving as an early marker for at-risk pregnancies. We sought to describe overall trajectories of gestational weight gain across gestation and assess the risk of adverse birthweight outcomes associated with the overall trajectory and whether the timing of gestational weight gain (first vs second/third trimester) is differentially associated with adverse outcomes. We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of 2802 singleton pregnancies from 12 US prenatal centers (2009 through 2013). Small and large for gestational age were calculated using sex-specific birthweight references gain and separate first- and second-/third-trimester trajectories to assess tracking. Robust Poisson regression was used to estimate the relative risk of small- and large-for-gestational-age outcomes by the probability of trajectory membership. We tested whether relationships were modified by prepregnancy body mass index. There were 2779 women with a mean of 15 (SD 5) weights measured across gestation. Four distinct gestational weight gain trajectories were identified based on the lowest Bayesian information criterion value, classifying 10.0%, 41.8%, 39.2%, and 9.0% of the population from lowest to highest weight gain trajectories, with an inflection at 14 weeks. The average rate in each trajectory group from lowest to highest for 0-gaining trajectory resembled the Institute of Medicine recommendations and was designated as the reference with the other

Active Microwave Metamaterials Incorporating Ideal Gain Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Xin

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Incorporation of active devices/media such as transistors for microwave and gain media for optics may be very attractive for enabling desired low loss and broadband metamaterials. Such metamaterials can even have gain which may very well lead to new and exciting physical phenomena. We investigate microwave composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TL incorporating ideal gain devices such as constant negative resistance. With realistic lumped element values, we have shown that the negative phase constant of this kind of transmission lines is maintained (i.e., left-handedness kept while gain can be obtained (negative attenuation constant of transmission line simultaneously. Possible implementation and challenging issues of the proposed active CRLH-TL are also discussed.

Nucleus accumbens response to gains in reputation for the self relative to gains for others predicts social media use.

Science.gov (United States)

Meshi, Dar; Morawetz, Carmen; Heekeren, Hauke R

2013-01-01

Our reputation is important to us; we've experienced natural selection to care about our reputation. Recently, the neural processing of gains in reputation (positive social feedback concerning one's character) has been shown to occur in the human ventral striatum. It is still unclear, however, how individual differences in the processing of gains in reputation may lead to individual differences in real-world behavior. For example, in the real-world, one way that people currently maintain their reputation is by using social media websites, like Facebook. Furthermore, Facebook use consists of a social comparison component, where users observe others' behavior and can compare it to their own. Therefore, we hypothesized a relationship between the way the brain processes specifically self-relevant gains in reputation and one's degree of Facebook use. We recorded functional neuroimaging data while participants received gains in reputation, observed the gains in reputation of another person, or received monetary reward. We demonstrate that across participants, when responding to gains in reputation for the self, relative to observing gains for others, reward-related activity in the left nucleus accumbens predicts Facebook use. However, nucleus accumbens activity in response to monetary reward did not predict Facebook use. Finally, a control step-wise regression analysis showed that Facebook use primarily explains our results in the nucleus accumbens. Overall, our results demonstrate how individual sensitivity of the nucleus accumbens to the receipt of self-relevant social information leads to differences in real-world behavior.

Self-reported accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Katrine Meltofte; Andersen, Camilla Sloth

2016-01-01

The main idea behind the self-reporting of accidents is to ask people about their traffic accidents and gain knowledge on these accidents without relying on the official records kept by police and/or hospitals.......The main idea behind the self-reporting of accidents is to ask people about their traffic accidents and gain knowledge on these accidents without relying on the official records kept by police and/or hospitals....

Investigation of effective base transit time and current gain modulation of light-emitting transistors under different ambient temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Hao-Hsiang; Tu, Wen-Chung; Wang, Hsiao-Lun [Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, National Taiwan University, 1, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 4, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Wu, Chao-Hsin, E-mail: chaohsinwu@ntu.edu.tw [Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, National Taiwan University, 1, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 4, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Graduate Institute of Electronics Engineering, National Taiwan University, 1, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 4, Taipei106, Taiwan (China)

2014-11-03

In this report, the modulation of current gain of InGaP/GaAs light-emitting transistors under different ambient temperatures are measured and analyzed using thermionic emission model of quantum well embedded in the transistor base region. Minority carriers captured by quantum wells gain more energy at high temperatures and escape from quantum wells resulting in an increase of current gain and lower optical output, resulting in different I-V characteristics from conventional heterojunction bipolar transistors. The effect of the smaller thermionic lifetime thus reduces the effective base transit time of transistors at high temperatures. The unique current gain enhancement of 27.61% is achieved when operation temperature increase from 28 to 85 °C.

Degenerate four wave mixing in large mode area hybrid photonic crystal fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Sidsel Rübner; Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard; Lægsgaard, Jesper

2013-01-01

Spontaneous degenerate four wave mixing (FWM) is investigated in large mode area hybrid photonic crystal fibers, in which photonic bandgap guidance and index guidance is combined. Calculations show the parametric gain is maximum on the edge of a photonic bandgap, for a large range of pump...... wavelengths. The FWM products are observed on the edges of a transmission band experimentally, in good agreement with the numerical results. Thereby the bandedges can be used to control the spectral positions of FWM products through a proper fiber design. The parametric gain control combined with a large mode...... area fiber design potentially allows for power scaling of light at wavelengths not easily accessible with e.g. rare earth ions....

Association of Timing of Weight Gain in Pregnancy With Infant Birth Weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Retnakaran, Ravi; Wen, Shi Wu; Tan, Hongzhuan; Zhou, Shujin; Ye, Chang; Shen, Minxue; Smith, Graeme N; Walker, Mark C

2018-02-01

Gestational weight gain is a determinant of infant birth weight, but it is unclear whether its timing in pregnancy may hold implications in this regard. Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings on the association of maternal weight gain in early pregnancy with birth weight. However, as these studies have typically recruited women during the first trimester, they are inherently limited by a reliance on self-reported pregravid weight. To evaluate the associations of directly measured maternal pregravid weight and the timing of subsequent weight gain across pregnancy with infant birth weight. In this prospective, preconception, observational cohort study, 1164 newly married women in Liuyang, China, underwent pregravid evaluation at a median of 19.9 weeks before a singleton pregnancy during which they underwent serial weight measurements. The study was conducted from February 1, 2009, to November 4, 2015. Data analysis was performed between September 1, 2016, and May 6, 2017. Maternal weight gain was calculated for the following 10 gestational intervals: from pregravid to less than 14, 14 to 18, 19 to 23, 24 to 28, 29 to 30, 31 to 32, 33 to 34, 35 to 36, 37 to 38, and 39 to 40 weeks. Associations of pregravid weight and weight gain within each of the 10 gestational intervals with the outcome of infant birth weight. The mean (SD) age of the 1164 women included in the study was 25.3 (3.1) years. Pregravid weight was consistently associated with infant birth weight. However, among the 10 gestational intervals, only weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and from 14 to 18 weeks was associated with birth weight. Birth weight increased by 13.6 g/kg (95% CI, 3.2-24.1 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and by 26.1 g/kg (95% CI, 3.8-48.4 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from 14 to 18 weeks. Maternal weight only in the first half of gestation is a determinant of infant birth weight. Before pregnancy and early gestation may be a critical window for

A rare case of anasarca caused by infiltration of the pituitary gland by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

OpenAIRE

Kumabe, Ayako; Kenzaka, Tsuneaki; Nishimura, Yoshioki; Aikawa, Masaki; Mori, Masaki; Matsumura, Masami

2015-01-01

Background Anasarca in patients with lymphoma is a rare symptom. We report a patient with DLBCL associated with pituitary gland infiltration that was diagnosed based on significant anasarca. Case presentation A 72-year-old woman with a 10-year history of hypertension visited a local hospital presenting with anasarca and 15-kg weight gain in the past 3?months. we clinically diagnosed central hypothyroidism caused by pituitary gland infiltration of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (clinica...

Method and system for edge cladding of laser gain media

Science.gov (United States)

Bayramian, Andrew James; Caird, John Allyn; Schaffers, Kathleen Irene

2014-03-25

A gain medium operable to amplify light at a gain wavelength and having reduced transverse ASE includes an input surface and an output surface opposing the input surface. The gain medium also includes a central region including gain material and extending between the input surface and the output surface along a longitudinal optical axis of the gain medium. The gain medium further includes an edge cladding region surrounding the central region and extending between the input surface and the output surface along the longitudinal optical axis of the gain medium. The edge cladding region includes the gain material and a dopant operable to absorb light at the gain wavelength.

Role of 5-HT2C receptor gene variants in antipsychotic-induced weight gain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brandl EJ

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Tessa JM Wallace, Clement C Zai, Eva J Brandl, Daniel J MüllerNeurogenetics Section, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaAbstract: Antipsychotic-induced weight gain is a serious side effect of antipsychotic medication that can lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and non-compliance in patients. Numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms have been studied for association with antipsychotic-induced weight gain in an attempt to find genetic predictors of this side effect. An ability to predict this side effect could lead to personalized treatment plans for predisposed individuals, which could significantly decrease the prevalence and severity of weight gain. Variations in the serotonin receptor 2c gene (HTR2C have emerged as promising candidates for prediction of antipsychotic-induced weight gain. Specifically, the well-studied -759C/T promoter polymorphism has been associated with weight gain in diverse populations, although some studies have reported no association. This discrepancy is likely due to heterogeneity in study design with respect to ethnicity, treatment duration, and other variables. Notably, the association between HTR2C and antipsychotic-induced weight gain appears strongest in short-term studies on patients with limited or no previous antipsychotic treatment. Other, less extensively studied promoter polymorphisms (-697C/G, -997G/A, and -1165A/G have also emerged as potential predictors of antipsychotic-induced weight gain. Conversely, the well-studied intronic polymorphism Cys23Ser does not appear to be associated. With further research on both HTR2C and other genetic and environmental predictors of antipsychotic-induced weight gain, a predictive test could one day be created to screen patients and provide preventative or alternative treatment for those who are predisposed to this serious side effect.Keywords: HTR2C, pharmacogenomics, promoter polymorphism

Active Enhancement of Slow Light Based on Plasmon-Induced Transparency with Gain Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhaojian; Yang, Junbo; He, Xin; Han, Yunxin; Zhang, Jingjing; Huang, Jie; Chen, Dingbo; Xu, Siyu

2018-06-03

As a plasmonic analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) has drawn more attention due to its potential of realizing on-chip sensing, slow light and nonlinear effect enhancement. However, the performance of a plasmonic system is always limited by the metal ohmic loss. Here, we numerically report a PIT system with gain materials based on plasmonic metal-insulator-metal waveguide. The corresponding phenomenon can be theoretically analyzed by coupled mode theory (CMT). After filling gain material into a disk cavity, the system intrinsic loss can be compensated by external pump beam, and the PIT can be greatly fueled to achieve a dramatic enhancement of slow light performance. Finally, a double-channel enhanced slow light is introduced by adding a second gain disk cavity. This work paves way for a potential new high-performance slow light device, which can have significant applications for high-compact plasmonic circuits and optical communication.

Net energy gain from DT fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buende, R.

1985-01-01

The net energy which can be gained from an energy raw material by means of a certain conversion system is deduced as the figure-of-merit which adequately characterizes the net energy balance of utilizing an energy source. This potential net energy gain is determined for DT fusion power plants. It is represented as a function of the degree of exploitation of the energy raw material lithium ore and is compared with the net energy which can be gained with LW and FBR power plants by exploiting uranium ore. The comparison clearly demonstrates the net energetic advantage of DT fusion. A sensitivity study shows that this holds even if the energy expenditure for constructing and operating is drastically increased

Nucleus accumbens response to gains in reputation for the self relative to gains for others predicts social media use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dar eMeshi

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Our reputation is important to us; we’ve experienced natural selection to care about our reputation. Recently, the neural processing of gains in reputation (positive social feedback concerning one’s character has been shown to occur in the human ventral striatum. It is still unclear, however, how individual differences in the processing of gains in reputation may lead to individual differences in real-world behavior. For example, in the real-world, one way that people currently maintain their reputation is by using social media websites, like Facebook. Furthermore, Facebook use consists of a social comparison component, where users observe others’ behavior and can compare it to their own. Therefore, we hypothesized a relationship between the way the brain processes specifically self-relevant gains in reputation and one’s degree of Facebook use. We recorded functional neuroimaging data while participants received gains in reputation, observed the gains in reputation of another person, or received monetary reward. We demonstrate that across participants, when responding to gains in reputation for the self, relative to observing gains for others, reward-related activity in the left nucleus accumbens predicts Facebook use. However, nucleus accumbens activity in response to monetary reward did not predict Facebook use. Finally, a control step-wise regression analysis showed that Facebook use primarily explains our results in the nucleus accumbens. Overall, our results demonstrate how individual sensitivity of the nucleus accumbens to the receipt of self-relevant social information leads to differences in real-world behavior.

High gain requirements and high field Tokamak experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohn, D.R.

1994-01-01

Operation at sufficiently high gain (ratio of fusion power to external heating power) is a fundamental requirement for tokamak power reactors. For typical reactor concepts, the gain is greater than 25. Self-heating from alpha particles in deuterium-tritium plasmas can greatly reduce ητ/temperature requirements for high gain. A range of high gain operating conditions is possible with different values of alpha-particle efficiency (fraction of alpha-particle power that actually heats the plasma) and with different ratios of self heating to external heating. At one extreme, there is ignited operation, where all of the required plasma heating is provided by alpha particles and the alpha-particle efficiency is 100%. At the other extreme, there is the case of no heating contribution from alpha particles. ητ/temperature requirements for high gain are determined as a function of alpha-particle heating efficiency. Possibilities for high gain experiments in deuterium-tritium, deuterium, and hydrogen plasmas are discussed

Design of a high-power, high-gain, 2nd harmonic, 22.848 GHz gyroklystron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veale, M. [University of California, Berkeley, CA, 24720 (United States); Purohit, P. [Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. USA (United States); Lawson, W. [University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2013-08-15

In this paper we consider the design of a four-cavity, high-gain K-band gyroklystron experiment for high gradient structure testing. The frequency doubling gyroklystron utilizes a beam voltage of 500 kV and a beam current of 200 A from a magnetron injection gun (MIG) originally designed for a lower-frequency device. The microwave circuit features input and gain cavities in the circular TE{sub 011} mode and penultimate and output cavities that operate at the second harmonic in the TE{sub 021} mode. We investigate the MIG performance and study the behavior of the circuit for different values of perpendicular to parallel velocity ratio (α= V{sub ⊥}/ V{sub z}). This microwave tube is expected to be able to produce at least 20 MW of power in 1μs pulses at a repetition rate of at least 120 Hz. A maximum efficiency of 26% and a large signal gain of 58 dB under zero-drive stable conditions were simulated for a velocity ratio equal to 1.35.

Exploring the diet and lifestyle changes contributing to weight gain among Australian West African women following migration: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Babatunde-Sowole, Olutoyin O; Power, Tamara; Davidson, Patricia; Ballard, Charlotte; Jackson, Debra

2018-04-10

This paper reports on women's experiences of weight gain and obesity as they became acculturated to the Australian diet and lifestyle. Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have a much higher risk of obesity than the native population when settling in industrialised countries. Qualitative. Women in this study reported weight gain post-migration. This was attributed to increased access to a wide variety of food including takeaway food and more sedentary lifestyles. Obesity has long-term consequences for health and well-being. Further research is needed to support a healthy transition to life in Australia. Gaining insight into the underlying reasons that West African immigrants to Australia become obese could contribute to assisting health professionals design culturally appropriate interventions and health education programmes to support new arrivals.

Different growth strategies determine the carbon gain and productivity of aspen collectives to be used in short-rotation plantations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Müller, Annika; Horna, Viviana; Zhang, Chunxia; Leuschner, Christoph

2012-01-01

Populus tremula is a favoured tree species in short-rotation forestry with a recognised large intraspecific variation in productivity. We compared the growth potential of 1-yr-old saplings of four Central European aspen collectives with different climate adaptation on a low-fertility site and searched for growth-determining physiological and morphological traits and their dependence on genetic constitution. Among the 35 investigated traits were photosynthetic capacity and mean assimilation rate, quantum yield and carboxylation efficiency, leaf water potential, leaf phaenology and the ratio of leaves lost to leaves produced (LP ratio), leaf size and total leaf area, axes length growth and canopy carbon gain as an estimate of productivity. The collectives differed by more than 30% in cumulative carbon gain with a large genotype effect, while mean assimilation rate and most photosynthetic and water status traits showed a relatively small intraspecific variation with no significant influence on the variation in C gain. The timing of the beginning of net leaf loss (leaf abscission > leaf production) in August differed between the four collectives and resulted in different maximum leaf areas and LP ratios, which were identified as key factors controlling C gain. Mean assimilation rate, though not related to cumulative C gain, was positively correlated with the light, CO 2 and water use efficiencies of photosynthesis. We conclude that genotype selection for high-yielding aspen in short-rotation forestry at low-fertility sites should focus on the parameters leaf phaenology, LP ratio at the end of the growing season, and the resulting total leaf area as key traits.

Photomultiplier gain stabilisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Baud, P.; Sautiez, B.

1958-07-01

By the control and adjustment of magnetic deflection applied to the electron beam of a photomultiplier it has proved possible to flatten the gain curve, forming plateaux at levels dependent upon the voltage at intake. It should be possible to add this simple device to most photomultipliers on the market today. (author) [fr

When, How and Why is Loss-Framing More Effective than Gain- and Non-Gain-Framing in the Promotion of Detection Behaviors?

OpenAIRE

Bosone, Lucia; Martinez, Frédéric

2017-01-01

This short paper aims to untangle the effect of loss-framing versus gain and non-gain; explaining when, how and why it influences individuals’ intentions to engage in cholesterol screening. We argue that framing-effects are (1) significant only when individuals perceive the issue to be highly relevant and (2) are mediated by perceived negative consequences (resulting from undergoing the test) and response-efficacy. In a 2(issue-relevance: high vs low) × 3(framing: gain vs non-gain vs loss) ex...

Relationships among hepatitis C virus, hepatocellular carcinoma, and diffuse large B cell lymphoma: A case report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byun, Hyuk Jun; Kim, Seong Hoon [Dept. of Radiology, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

2015-07-15

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the main causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent studies have reported various associations between HCV and the incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We report the radiologic findings in a rare case of simultaneous occurrence of HCC and diffuse large B cell lymphoma in a HCV carrier.

24 CFR 3280.506 - Heat loss/heat gain.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Heat loss/heat gain. 3280.506... URBAN DEVELOPMENT MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS Thermal Protection § 3280.506 Heat loss/heat gain. The manufactured home heat loss/heat gain shall be determined by methods outlined in...

Determinants of Weight Gain During Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy and Association of Such Weight Gain With Recurrence in Long-term Breast Cancer Survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Raghavendra, Akshara; Sinha, Arup K; Valle-Goffin, Janeiro; Shen, Yu; Tripathy, Debu; Barcenas, Carlos H

2018-02-01

Weight gain is a negative prognostic factor in breast cancer (BC) patients. The risk factors for weight gain during adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) and the extent to which such weight gain is associated with disease recurrence remain unclear. We retrospectively identified a cohort of women with a diagnosis of stage I-III, hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative BC from January 1997 to August 2008, who had received initial treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, had completed 5 years of ET, and had remained free of locoregional or distant relapse or contralateral BC for ≥ 5 years after diagnosis. The weight change at the end of 5 years of ET was measured as the percentage of the change in weight from the start of ET, with a weight gain of > 5% considered clinically significant. Multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the determinants of such weight gain and the risk of recurrence after 5 years. Of 1282 long-term BC survivors, 432 (33.7%) had a weight gain of > 5% after 5 years of ET. Women who were premenopausal at diagnosis were 1.40 times more likely than women who were postmenopausal at diagnosis to have a weight gain of > 5%. Asian women had the lowest risk of gaining weight. The recurrence risks of patients who had gained weight and those who had not were not significantly different. Premenopausal BC patients had an increased risk of weight gain after 5 years of ET; however, BC patients with a weight gain of > 5% did not have an increased risk of disease recurrence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transient optical gain in germanium quantum wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chatterjee, Sangam; Lange, Christoph; Koester, Niko S.; Schaefer, Martin; Kira, Mackillo; Koch, Stephan W. [Faculty of Physics and Materials Sciences Center, Philipps-Universitaet Marburg (Germany); Chrastina, Daniel; Isella, Giovanni; Kaenel, Hans von [CNISM, Como (Italy); L-NESS, Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico di Milano, Como (Italy); Sigg, Hans [Laboratory for Micro and Nanotecnology, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

2010-07-01

One of today's most-sought goals in semiconductor technology is the monolithic integration of microelectronics and photonics on Si. Optical gain is, in general, not expected for Si and Ge or its alloys due to the indirect nature of the band gap in this material system. Here, we show that Ge/SiGe QWs show transient optical gain and may thus be used as an optically-pumped amplifier at room temperature. Further, the nonequilibrium effects which govern the relaxation dynamics of the optically injected carrier distributions in this material were observed and analyzed using a microscopic many-body theory. Strong non-equilibrium gain was obtained on a sub-100 fs time scale. Long-lived gain arising from {gamma}-point transitions is overcompensated by a process bearing the character of free carrier absorption.

Optical properties of nanowire metamaterials with gain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Isidio de Lima, Joaquim Junior; Adam, Jost; Rego, Davi

2016-01-01

The transmittance, reflectance and absorption of a nanowire metamaterial with optical gain are numerically simulated and investigated. It is assumed that the metamaterial is represented by aligned silver nanowires embedded into a semiconductor matrix, made of either silicon or gallium phosphide....... The gain in the matrix is modeled by adding a negative imaginary part to the dielectric function of the semiconductor. It is found that the optical coefficients of the metamaterial depend on the gain magnitude in a non-trivial way: they can both increase and decrease with gain depending on the lattice...... constant of the metamaterial. This peculiar behavior is explained by the field redistribution between the lossy metal nanowires and the amplifying matrix material. These findings are significant for a proper design of nanowire metamaterials with low optical losses for diverse applications....

Obesity, gestational weight gain and preterm birth: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nøhr, Ellen Aagaard; Bech, Bodil Hammer; Vaeth, Michael

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of obesity and gestational weight gain on the risk of subtypes of preterm birth, because little is known about these associations. The study included 62 167 women within the Danish National Birth Cohort for whom self-reported information about...... prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain was available. Information about spontaneous preterm birth with or without preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and about induced preterm deliveries was obtained from national registers. Cox regression analyses were used to examine...... associations of prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain with subtypes of preterm birth. The crude risks of PPROM and of induced preterm deliveries were higher in obese women (BMI > or = 30) than in normal-weight women (18.5 gestation, when obese...

Weight gain in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Demark-Wahnefried, W; Rimer, B K; Winer, E P

1997-05-01

This review of the literature indicates that weight gain is a common observation among women after the diagnosis of breast cancer. Gains in weight range from 0 to 50 lb and are influenced by menopausal status; nodal status; and the type, duration, and intensity of treatment. Weight gain appears to be greater among premenopausal women; among those who are node positive; and among those receiving higher dose, longer duration, and multiagent regimens. Psychosocial research suggests that weight gain has a profoundly negative impact on quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Recent findings also suggest that weight gain during therapy may increase the risk of recurrence and decrease survival. Although weight gain in patients with breast cancer is clinically well appreciated, little research has been conducted to investigate the underlying mechanisms of energy imbalance. Changes in rates of metabolism, physical activity, and dietary intake are all plausible mechanisms and call for more research. Further study will provide valuable insight into the problem of weight gain and encourage effective interventions to improve the quality and quantity of life for the woman with breast cancer. Until more is known, however, dietetics practitioners will have to monitor and work individually with patients with breast cancer and use empirical approaches to achieve the important goal of weight management.

Gain Shift Corrections at Chi-Nu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Tristan Brooks [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Applied Physics; Devlin, Matthew James [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-08-30

Ambient conditions have the potential to cause changes in liquid scintillator detector gain that vary with time and temperature. These gain shifts can lead to poor resolution in both energy as well as pulse shape discrimination. In order to correct for these shifts in the Chi-Nu high energy array, a laser system has been developed for calibration of the pulse height signals.

Maximum gain of Yagi-Uda arrays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bojsen, J.H.; Schjær-Jacobsen, Hans; Nilsson, E.

1971-01-01

Numerical optimisation techniques have been used to find the maximum gain of some specific parasitic arrays. The gain of an array of infinitely thin, equispaced dipoles loaded with arbitrary reactances has been optimised. The results show that standard travelling-wave design methods are not optimum....... Yagi–Uda arrays with equal and unequal spacing have also been optimised with experimental verification....

A Chain Perspective on Large-scale Number Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grijpink, J.H.A.M.

2012-01-01

As large-scale number systems gain significance in social and economic life (electronic communication, remote electronic authentication), the correct functioning and the integrity of public number systems take on crucial importance. They are needed to uniquely indicate people, objects or phenomena

Comparison of normalized gain and Cohen's d for analyzing gains on concept inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Nissen, Jayson M.; Talbot, Robert M.; Nasim Thompson, Amreen; Van Dusen, Ben

2018-06-01

Measuring student learning is a complicated but necessary task for understanding the effectiveness of instruction and issues of equity in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Our investigation focused on the implications on claims about student learning that result from choosing between one of two commonly used metrics for analyzing shifts in concept inventories. The metrics are normalized gain (g ), which is the most common method used in physics education research and other discipline based education research fields, and Cohen's d , which is broadly used in education research and many other fields. Data for the analyses came from the Learning About STEM Student Outcomes (LASSO) database and included test scores from 4551 students on physics, chemistry, biology, and math concept inventories from 89 courses at 17 institutions from across the United States. We compared the two metrics across all the concept inventories. The results showed that the two metrics lead to different inferences about student learning and equity due to the finding that g is biased in favor of high pretest populations. We discuss recommendations for the analysis and reporting of findings on student learning data.

Persistency of Prediction Accuracy and Genetic Gain in Synthetic Populations Under Recurrent Genomic Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominik Müller

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Recurrent selection (RS has been used in plant breeding to successively improve synthetic and other multiparental populations. Synthetics are generated from a limited number of parents ( Np , but little is known about how Np affects genomic selection (GS in RS, especially the persistency of prediction accuracy (rg , g ^ and genetic gain. Synthetics were simulated by intermating Np= 2–32 parent lines from an ancestral population with short- or long-range linkage disequilibrium (LDA and subjected to multiple cycles of GS. We determined rg , g ^ and genetic gain across 30 cycles for different training set (TS sizes, marker densities, and generations of recombination before model training. Contributions to rg , g ^ and genetic gain from pedigree relationships, as well as from cosegregation and LDA between QTL and markers, were analyzed via four scenarios differing in (i the relatedness between TS and selection candidates and (ii whether selection was based on markers or pedigree records. Persistency of rg , g ^ was high for small Np , where predominantly cosegregation contributed to rg , g ^ , but also for large Np , where LDA replaced cosegregation as the dominant information source. Together with increasing genetic variance, this compensation resulted in relatively constant long- and short-term genetic gain for increasing Np > 4, given long-range LDA in the ancestral population. Although our scenarios suggest that information from pedigree relationships contributed to rg , g ^ for only very few generations in GS, we expect a longer contribution than in pedigree BLUP, because capturing Mendelian sampling by markers reduces selective pressure on pedigree relationships. Larger TS size (NTS and higher marker density improved persistency of rg , g ^ and hence genetic gain, but additional recombinations could not increase genetic gain.

Point Information Gain and Multidimensional Data Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Rychtáriková

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We generalize the point information gain (PIG and derived quantities, i.e., point information gain entropy (PIE and point information gain entropy density (PIED, for the case of the Rényi entropy and simulate the behavior of PIG for typical distributions. We also use these methods for the analysis of multidimensional datasets. We demonstrate the main properties of PIE/PIED spectra for the real data with the examples of several images and discuss further possible utilizations in other fields of data processing.

Collaborative Visualization for Large-Scale Accelerator Electromagnetic Modeling (Final Report)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, William J.

2011-01-01

This report contains the comprehensive summary of the work performed on the SBIR Phase II, Collaborative Visualization for Large-Scale Accelerator Electromagnetic Modeling at Kitware Inc. in collaboration with Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). The goal of the work was to develop collaborative visualization tools for large-scale data as illustrated in the figure below. The solutions we proposed address the typical problems faced by geographicallyand organizationally-separated research and engineering teams, who produce large data (either through simulation or experimental measurement) and wish to work together to analyze and understand their data. Because the data is large, we expect that it cannot be easily transported to each team member's work site, and that the visualization server must reside near the data. Further, we also expect that each work site has heterogeneous resources: some with large computing clients, tiled (or large) displays and high bandwidth; others sites as simple as a team member on a laptop computer. Our solution is based on the open-source, widely used ParaView large-data visualization application. We extended this tool to support multiple collaborative clients who may locally visualize data, and then periodically rejoin and synchronize with the group to discuss their findings. Options for managing session control, adding annotation, and defining the visualization pipeline, among others, were incorporated. We also developed and deployed a Web visualization framework based on ParaView that enables the Web browser to act as a participating client in a collaborative session. The ParaView Web Visualization framework leverages various Web technologies including WebGL, JavaScript, Java and Flash to enable interactive 3D visualization over the web using ParaView as the visualization server. We steered the development of this technology by teaming with the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. SLAC has a computationally-intensive problem

Collaborative Visualization for Large-Scale Accelerator Electromagnetic Modeling (Final Report)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

William J. Schroeder

2011-11-13

This report contains the comprehensive summary of the work performed on the SBIR Phase II, Collaborative Visualization for Large-Scale Accelerator Electromagnetic Modeling at Kitware Inc. in collaboration with Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). The goal of the work was to develop collaborative visualization tools for large-scale data as illustrated in the figure below. The solutions we proposed address the typical problems faced by geographicallyand organizationally-separated research and engineering teams, who produce large data (either through simulation or experimental measurement) and wish to work together to analyze and understand their data. Because the data is large, we expect that it cannot be easily transported to each team member's work site, and that the visualization server must reside near the data. Further, we also expect that each work site has heterogeneous resources: some with large computing clients, tiled (or large) displays and high bandwidth; others sites as simple as a team member on a laptop computer. Our solution is based on the open-source, widely used ParaView large-data visualization application. We extended this tool to support multiple collaborative clients who may locally visualize data, and then periodically rejoin and synchronize with the group to discuss their findings. Options for managing session control, adding annotation, and defining the visualization pipeline, among others, were incorporated. We also developed and deployed a Web visualization framework based on ParaView that enables the Web browser to act as a participating client in a collaborative session. The ParaView Web Visualization framework leverages various Web technologies including WebGL, JavaScript, Java and Flash to enable interactive 3D visualization over the web using ParaView as the visualization server. We steered the development of this technology by teaming with the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. SLAC has a computationally

Adequacy of Prenatal Care and Gestational Weight Gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, SeonAe; Crandell, Jamie L; Jones-Vessey, Kathleen

2016-02-01

The goal of prenatal care is to maximize health outcomes for a woman and her fetus. We examined how prenatal care is associated with meeting the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines for gestational weight gain. The study used deidentified birth certificate data supplied by the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. The sample included 197,354 women (≥18 years) who delivered singleton full-term infants in 2011 and 2012. A generalized multinomial model was used to identify how adequate prenatal care was associated with the odds of gaining excessive or insufficient weight during pregnancy according to the 2009 IOM guidelines. The model adjusted for prepregnancy body size, sociodemographic factors, and birth weight. A total of 197,354 women (≥18 years) delivered singleton full-term infants. The odds ratio (OR) for excessive weight gain was 2.44 (95% CI 2.37-2.50) in overweight and 2.33 (95% CI 2.27-2.40) in obese women compared with normal weight women. The OR for insufficient weight gain was 1.15 (95% CI 1.09-1.22) for underweight and 1.34 (95% CI 1.30-1.39) for obese women compared with normal weight women. Prenatal care at the inadequate or intermediate levels was associated with insufficient weight gain (OR: 1.32, 95% CI 1.27-1.38; OR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.09-1.21, respectively) compared with adequate prenatal care. Women with inadequate care were less likely to gain excessive weight (OR: 0.88, 95% CI 0.86-0.91). Whereas prenatal care was effective for preventing insufficient weight gain regardless of prepregnancy body size, educational background, and racial/ethnic group, there were no indications that adequate prenatal care was associated with reduced risk for excessive gestational weight gain. Further research is needed to improve prenatal care programs for preventing excess weight gain.

Case study teaching method improves student performance and perceptions of learning gains.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonney, Kevin M

2015-05-01

Following years of widespread use in business and medical education, the case study teaching method is becoming an increasingly common teaching strategy in science education. However, the current body of research provides limited evidence that the use of published case studies effectively promotes the fulfillment of specific learning objectives integral to many biology courses. This study tested the hypothesis that case studies are more effective than classroom discussions and textbook reading at promoting learning of key biological concepts, development of written and oral communication skills, and comprehension of the relevance of biological concepts to everyday life. This study also tested the hypothesis that case studies produced by the instructor of a course are more effective at promoting learning than those produced by unaffiliated instructors. Additionally, performance on quantitative learning assessments and student perceptions of learning gains were analyzed to determine whether reported perceptions of learning gains accurately reflect academic performance. The results reported here suggest that case studies, regardless of the source, are significantly more effective than other methods of content delivery at increasing performance on examination questions related to chemical bonds, osmosis and diffusion, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA structure and replication. This finding was positively correlated to increased student perceptions of learning gains associated with oral and written communication skills and the ability to recognize connections between biological concepts and other aspects of life. Based on these findings, case studies should be considered as a preferred method for teaching about a variety of concepts in science courses.

Case Study Teaching Method Improves Student Performance and Perceptions of Learning Gains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin M. Bonney

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Following years of widespread use in business and medical education, the case study teaching method is becoming an increasingly common teaching strategy in science education. However, the current body of research provides limited evidence that the use of published case studies effectively promotes the fulfillment of specific learning objectives integral to many biology courses. This study tested the hypothesis that case studies are more effective than classroom discussions and textbook reading at promoting learning of key biological concepts, development of written and oral communication skills, and comprehension of the relevance of biological concepts to everyday life. This study also tested the hypothesis that case studies produced by the instructor of a course are more effective at promoting learning than those produced by unaffiliated instructors. Additionally, performance on quantitative learning assessments and student perceptions of learning gains were analyzed to determine whether reported perceptions of learning gains accurately reflect academic performance. The results reported here suggest that case studies, regardless of the source, are significantly more effective than other methods of content delivery at increasing performance on examination questions related to chemical bonds, osmosis and diffusion, mitosis and meiosis, and DNA structure and replication. This finding was positively correlated to increased student perceptions of learning gains associated with oral and written communication skills and the ability to recognize connections between biological concepts and other aspects of life. Based on these findings, case studies should be considered as a preferred method for teaching about a variety of concepts in science courses.

Genetic gains in wheat in Turkey: Winter wheat for dryland conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mesut Keser

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Wheat breeders in Turkey have been developing new varieties since the 1920s, but few studies have evaluated the rates of genetic improvement. This study determined wheat genetic gains by evaluating 22 winter/facultative varieties released for rainfed conditions between 1931 and 2006. The study was conducted at three locations in Turkey during 2008–2012, with a total of 21 test sites. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates in 2008 and 2009 and three replicates in 2010–2012. Regression analysis was conducted to determine genetic progress over time. Mean yield across all 21 locations was 3.34 t ha−1, but varied from 1.11 t ha−1 to 6.02 t ha−1 and was highly affected by moisture stress. Annual genetic gain was 0.50% compared to Ak-702, or 0.30% compared to the first modern landmark varieties. The genetic gains in drought-affected sites were 0.75% compared to Ak-702 and 0.66% compared to the landmark varieties. Modern varieties had both improved yield potential and tolerance to moisture stress. Rht genes and rye translocations were largely absent in the varieties studied. The number of spikes per unit area decreased by 10% over the study period, but grains spike−1 and 1000-kernel weight increased by 10%. There were no significant increases in harvest index, grain size, or spike fertility, and no significant decrease in quality over time. Future use of Rht genes and rye translocations in breeding programs may increase yield under rainfed conditions. Keywords: Genetic gain, Rainfed wheat production, Winter wheat, Yield

Large scale photovoltaic field trials. Second technical report: monitoring phase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-09-15

This report provides an update on the Large-Scale Building Integrated Photovoltaic Field Trials (LS-BIPV FT) programme commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (Department for Business, Enterprise and Industry; BERR). It provides detailed profiles of the 12 projects making up this programme, which is part of the UK programme on photovoltaics and has run in parallel with the Domestic Field Trial. These field trials aim to record the experience and use the lessons learnt to raise awareness of, and confidence in, the technology and increase UK capabilities. The projects involved: the visitor centre at the Gaia Energy Centre in Cornwall; a community church hall in London; council offices in West Oxfordshire; a sports science centre at Gloucester University; the visitor centre at Cotswold Water Park; the headquarters of the Insolvency Service; a Welsh Development Agency building; an athletics centre in Birmingham; a research facility at the University of East Anglia; a primary school in Belfast; and Barnstable civic centre in Devon. The report describes the aims of the field trials, monitoring issues, performance, observations and trends, lessons learnt and the results of occupancy surveys.

Large intradural craniospinal arachnoid cyst: A case report and review of literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Souvagya Panigrahi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Presence of an arachnoid cyst at craniospinal junction is not very common. This is a very rare anatomic site, with only seven other cases reported in the literature. We report a case of large intradural craniospinal arachnoid cyst presenting with obstructive hydrocephalus and cranial nerve palsy. A 39-year-old male presented with 8-month history of neck pain, headache, vomiting, visual disturbances, diminished taste sensation, and numbness of face. He had bilateral papilledema on ophthalmoscopy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI revealed a posterior fossa arachnoid cyst extending down to the lower border of C5 vertebra. Posterior decompression was done through C5 laminectomy. He made a full recovery and was asymptomatic at 6-month follow-up examination. The clinical features, diagnosis, and management of these rare craniospinal arachnoid cysts are discussed.

High-frequency binge eating predicts weight gain among veterans receiving behavioral weight loss treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Masheb, Robin M; Lutes, Lesley D; Kim, Hyungjin Myra; Holleman, Robert G; Goodrich, David E; Janney, Carol A; Kirsh, Susan; Richardson, Caroline R; Damschroder, Laura J

2015-01-01

To assess for the frequency of binge eating behavior and its association with weight loss in an overweight/obese sample of veterans. This study is a secondary analysis of data from the ASPIRE study, a randomized effectiveness trial of weight loss among veterans. Of the 481 enrolled veterans with overweight/obesity, binge eating frequency was obtained by survey for 392 (82%). The majority (77.6%) reported binge eating, and 6.1% reported high-frequency binge eating. Those reporting any binge eating lost 1.4% of body weight, decreased waist circumference by 2.0 cm, and had significantly worse outcomes than those reporting never binge eating who lost about double the weight (2.7%) and reduced waist circumference by twice as much (4.2 cm). The high-frequency binge group gained 1.4% of body weight and increased waist circumference by 0.3 cm. High rates of binge eating were observed in an overweight/obese sample of veterans enrolled in weight loss treatment. The presence of binge eating predicted poorer weight loss outcomes. Furthermore, high-frequency binge eating was associated with weight gain. These findings have operational and policy implications for developing effective strategies to address binge eating in the context of behavioral weight loss programs for veterans. © 2014 The Obesity Society.

Optical gain in colloidal quantum dots achieved with direct-current electrical pumping

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Jaehoon; Park, Young-Shin; Klimov, Victor I.

2018-01-01

Chemically synthesized semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can potentially enable solution-processable laser diodes with a wide range of operational wavelengths, yet demonstrations of lasing from the QDs are still at the laboratory stage. An important challenge--realization of lasing with electrical injection--remains unresolved, largely due to fast nonradiative Auger recombination of multicarrier states that represent gain-active species in the QDs. Here we present population inversion and optical gain in colloidal nanocrystals realized with direct-current electrical pumping. Using continuously graded QDs, we achieve a considerable suppression of Auger decay such that it can be outpaced by electrical injection. Further, we apply a special current-focusing device architecture, which allows us to produce high current densities (j) up to ~18 A cm-2 without damaging either the QDs or the injection layers. The quantitative analysis of electroluminescence and current-modulated transmission spectra indicates that with j = 3-4 A cm-2 we achieve the population inversion of the band-edge states.

Optomechanical transistor with mechanical gain

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X. Z.; Tian, Lin; Li, Yong

2018-04-01

We study an optomechanical transistor, where an input field can be transferred and amplified unidirectionally in a cyclic three-mode optomechanical system. In this system, the mechanical resonator is coupled simultaneously to two cavity modes. We show that it only requires a finite mechanical gain to achieve the nonreciprocal amplification. Here the nonreciprocity is caused by the phase difference between the linearized optomechanical couplings that breaks the time-reversal symmetry of this system. The amplification arises from the mechanical gain, which provides an effective phonon bath that pumps the mechanical mode coherently. This effect is analogous to the stimulated emission of atoms, where the probe field can be amplified when its frequency is in resonance with that of the anti-Stokes transition. We show that by choosing optimal parameters, this optomechanical transistor can reach perfect unidirectionality accompanied with strong amplification. In addition, the presence of the mechanical gain can result in ultralong delay in the phase of the probe field, which provides an alternative to controlling light transport in optomechanical systems.

Flow and wakes in large wind farms: Final report for UpWind WP8

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barthelmie, Rebecca Jane; Frandsen, Sten Tronæs; Rathmann, Ole

This report summarises the research undertaken through the European Commission funded project UpWind Wp8:Flow. The objective of the work was to develop understanding of flow in large wind farms and to evaluate models of power losses due to wind turbine wakes focusing on complex terrain and offshore...

Gains of ubiquitylation sites in highly conserved proteins in the human lineage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Dong Seon

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Post-translational modification of lysine residues of specific proteins by ubiquitin modulates the degradation, localization, and activity of these target proteins. Here, we identified gains of ubiquitylation sites in highly conserved regions of human proteins that occurred during human evolution. Results We analyzed human ubiquitylation site data and multiple alignments of orthologous mammalian proteins including those from humans, primates, other placental mammals, opossum, and platypus. In our analysis, we identified 281 ubiquitylation sites in 252 proteins that first appeared along the human lineage during primate evolution: one protein had four novel sites; four proteins had three sites each; 18 proteins had two sites each; and the remaining 229 proteins had one site each. PML, which is involved in neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration, acquired three sites, two of which have been reported to be involved in the degradation of PML. Thirteen human proteins, including ERCC2 (also known as XPD and NBR1, gained human-specific ubiquitylated lysines after the human-chimpanzee divergence. ERCC2 has a Lys/Gln polymorphism, the derived (major allele of which confers enhanced DNA repair capacity and reduced cancer risk compared with the ancestral (minor allele. NBR1 and eight other proteins that are involved in the human autophagy protein interaction network gained a novel ubiquitylation site. Conclusions The gain of novel ubiquitylation sites could be involved in the evolution of protein degradation and other regulatory networks. Although gains of ubiquitylation sites do not necessarily equate to adaptive evolution, they are useful candidates for molecular functional analyses to identify novel advantageous genetic modifications and innovative phenotypes acquired during human evolution.

Control of the inversionless gain and refractive index in a V-type atom via squeezed vacuum and quantum interference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anton, M.A.; Calderon, Oscar G.; Carreno, F.

2004-01-01

In this paper we analyze the steady-state populations and gain lineshape of a V-type three-level atom with a closely spaced excited doublet. The atom is driven by a strong coherent field, a weak probe, and a single broadband squeezed vacuum. We focus our attention in the interplay between the quantum interference and the squeezed field on the probe gain. It is shown that the relative phases between the two coherent fields and the squeezed field play an important role in the optical properties of the atom. Specifically, we find that the probe can experience gain without population inversion for proper values of the parameters characterizing the squeezed field and in the absence of incoherent pumping. The system can be tailored to exhibit multiple dispersion regimes accompanied by negligible gain or absorption over a large bandwidth, a desirable feature for obtaining propagation of pulses with negligible distortion

Genetic variation in the leptin receptor gene, leptin, and weight gain in young Dutch adults.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rossum, Caroline T M; Hoebee, Barbara; van Baak, Marleen A; Mars, Monica; Saris, Wim H M; Seidell, Jacob C

2003-03-01

To investigate the association between leptin levels, polymorphisms in the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene, and weight gain. From two large prospective cohorts in The Netherlands (n = 17,500), we compared the baseline leptin of 259 subjects who had gained an average of 12.6 kg (range 5.5 to 33 kg) with 277 subjects who kept stable weight (range -2.6 to 3.1 kg) after a mean follow-up of 6.8 years. Three polymorphisms in the LEPR gene (Lys109Arg, Gln223Arg, and Lys656Asn) were determined. Weight gainers had significantly higher baseline leptin levels than those who kept stable weight (odds ratio = 1.27, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 1.5, per SD increase in log(e)-transformed leptin). Weight gainers with the Arg109 or the Arg223 alleles had higher leptin levels compared with the noncarriers of these alleles. Only among men, the association between leptin and weight gain tended to be stronger among those with an Arg223 allele compared with those without this mutation. Relatively high leptin levels predict weight gain, suggesting that leptin resistance plays a role in the development of obesity in the general population. Higher leptin levels for those with a Lys109Arg or Gln223Arg mutation (or a linked other marker) may imply that these subjects have a modified functional leptin receptor. However, the role of these mutations on weight gain is limited.

Stability, gain, and robustness in quantum feedback networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Helon, C.; James, M. R.

2006-01-01

In this paper we are concerned with the problem of stability for quantum feedback networks. We demonstrate in the context of quantum optics how stability of quantum feedback networks can be guaranteed using only simple gain inequalities for network components and algebraic relationships determined by the network. Quantum feedback networks are shown to be stable if the loop gain is less than one--this is an extension of the famous small gain theorem of classical control theory. We illustrate the simplicity and power of the small gain approach with applications to important problems of robust stability and robust stabilization

Off-axis multipass amplifier as a large aperture driver stage for fusion lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, J.E.; Downs, D.C.; Junt, J.T.; Hermes, G.L.; Warren, W.E.

1981-01-01

A multipass amplifier configuration is described which has potential as a large aperture, high gain driver stage for fusion laser systems. We avoid the present limitations of large aperture switches by using an off-angle geometry that does not require an optical switch. The saturated gain characteristics of this multipass amplifier are optimized numerically. Three potential problems are investigated experimentally, self-lasing, output beam quality, and amplified spontaneous emission output. The results indicate comparable cost for comparable performance to a linear chain, with some operational advantage for the multipass driver stage

Intermodal parametric gain of degenerate four wave mixing in large mode area hybrid photonic crystal fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Sidsel Rübner; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard

2013-01-01

Intermodal degenerate four wave mixing (FWM) is investigated numerically in large mode area hybrid photonic crystal fibers. The dispersion is controlled independently of core size, and thus allows for power scaling of the FWM process.......Intermodal degenerate four wave mixing (FWM) is investigated numerically in large mode area hybrid photonic crystal fibers. The dispersion is controlled independently of core size, and thus allows for power scaling of the FWM process....

Isolation and characterization of Bacillus subtilis CH16 strain from chicken gastrointestinal tracts for use as a feed supplement to promote weight gain in broilers.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, A T V; Nguyen, D V; Tran, M T; Nguyen, L T; Nguyen, A H; Phan, T-N

2015-06-01

Spore-forming bacterial strains were isolated from chicken gastrointestinal tracts to develop a heat-stable feed supplement that promotes weight gain in broilers. Seven Bacillus strains having more than 90% sporulation were screened from the isolates and identified to be closely related with Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis. Of the seven strains, B. subtilis CH16 was selected to develop a feed supplement for broilers, because it formed 100% heat-stable spores, grew rapidly at 42°C and quickly formed a biofilm. In large-scale trials in broilers (n ≥ 1150 per group), the group fed CH16 (3 × 10(6) CFU g(-1) pellet) showed higher average daily gain (ADG = 61·16) and lower food conversion ratio (FCR = 1·696) than did the group fed B. licheniformis CH22 (ADG = 57·10 and FCR = 1·792), the group fed B. subtilis HU58 (ADG = 51·90 and FCR = 1·868), BioPlus group (ADG = 59·32 and FCR = 1·807) and the control group (ADG = 56·02 and FCR = 1·880). In conclusion, CH16 spores significantly increased ADG by 9·17% and reduced FCR by 9·79% in broilers. The result supports the use of B. subtilis CH16 of chicken intestinal origin as a feed supplement that promote weight gain in broilers. Significance and impact of the study: This study reports screening of Bacillus strains isolated from chicken gastrointestinal tracts for development of a feed supplement that promote weight gain in broilers. Of the seven Bacillus isolates with high sporulation efficiency (≥90%), Bacillus subtilis CH16 strain showed the best growth and biofilm formation at body temperature of broilers (42°C). In large-scale trials in broilers (n ≥ 1150 per group), CH16 spores induced a 9·17% increase in daily weight gain (ADG) and a 9·79% reduction in FCR while the commercial BioPlus(®) YC induced only a 5·89% increase in ADG and a 3·88% reduction in FCR. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Gain curves and hydrodynamic modeling for shock ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafon, M.; Ribeyre, X.; Schurtz, G.

2010-01-01

Ignition of a precompressed thermonuclear fuel by means of a converging shock is now considered as a credible scheme to obtain high gains for inertial fusion energy. This work aims at modeling the successive stages of the fuel time history, from compression to final thermonuclear combustion, in order to provide the gain curves of shock ignition (SI). The leading physical mechanism at work in SI is pressure amplification, at first by spherical convergence, and by collision with the shock reflected at center during the stagnation process. These two effects are analyzed, and ignition conditions are provided as functions of the shock pressure and implosion velocity. Ignition conditions are obtained from a non-isobaric fuel assembly, for which we present a gain model. The corresponding gain curves exhibit a significantly lower ignition threshold and higher target gains than conventional central ignition.

The electrical characteristic and gain behavior as a function of the radial distance from the laser axis in a copper vapor laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gal, G.

1989-06-01

The dependence of few parameters (related to the laser gain) on the radial distance from the laser axis, is observed very easily in a large-bore Copper Vapor Laser (CVL). An 80-mm-bore CVL which has reproducible parameters for research purposes has been constructed. The temporal development of the gain at different radial distances in this laser has been measured. A narrow probing beam from a small CVL operating as a oscillator has been used for the measurements, while the large-bore CVL has been operated as an amplifier and probed by this beam at different radial points. The electric response of the laser has also been checked and lead to the conclusion that raising the electrons energy in the laser plasma entails higher gain. As the laser tube wall was moved towards the laser axis, a temporal lag in the gain development and a reduction in its size has been found. The temporal lag is related to skin effect which delays the penetration of the electric field in the plasma towards the laser axis. The reduction in gain is related to the radial dependence of the population of the laser lower levels. It has also been found that under saturation the average power per unit area extracted from the laser is weakly dependent on the radial distance. (author)

DTU International Energy Report 2012: Energy efficiency improvements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Increased energy efficiency can reduce global CO2 emissions over the period to 2050 with up to 25%. On the top of that large profits can be gained for very little investment. Energy efficiency improvements can save investment in new energy infrastructure, cut fuel costs, increase competitiveness...... and increase consumer welfare. Thus, it is natural for DTU International Energy Report 2012 to take up this issue and analyze the global, regional and national challenges in exploiting energy efficiency and promote research and development in energy efficiency....

Antidepressants and Weight Gain

Science.gov (United States)

... 2015;37:46. Blumenthal SR, et al. An electronic health records study of long-term weight gain following antidepressant ... your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy ...

Living in large experiments - ECFA report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

The European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA) plays an important role in shaping the physics programme in Europe, especially around major facilities which attract increasingly large numbers of users. How happy are physicists working in these scientific Towers of Babel? Apart from making physics discoveries, what are their requirements? Following a suggestion of CERN Director General Chris Llewellyn Smith, to provide an updated answer to these questions ECFA Chairman Gunter Flügge initiated a survey on the sociology of large experiments. It fell to Bjarne Stugu of Bergen, as the youngest member of ECFA, to lead an ECFA subcommittee to carry it out. A similar ECFA survey, carried out back in 1979/80, was influential in preparing infrastructure and thinking for the LEP experimental programme. In the past 20 years, high energy physics collaborations have grown from typically 20 persons at fixed target experiments to around 500 for current major detectors at large colliding beam facilities. The high complexity and cost of the two general-purpose experiments for the LHC require even larger collaborations, approaching 1500. With these two experiments alone - ATLAS and CMS - absorbing a considerable fraction of the entire high energy physics community, it is timely to review the organizational and sociological aspects of large experiments. ECFA recently sent a questionnaire to research groups involved in large collaborations in LEP (CERN), HERA (DESY) and the LHC (CERN). Each group leader was asked to reply, but to get a balanced view, a younger member of the group was also requested to return the form. The replies were anonymous. The questionnaire was distributed to as many groups as possible, and 182 forms were returned. 90 replies from people working at LEP, where the four experiments include 159 groups, corresponds to a response rate of 28.3% with two forms returned. Similarly, 48 replies from the 87 institutions participating in the two main HERA experiments

Sound pressure gain produced by the human middle ear.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurokawa, H; Goode, R L

1995-10-01

The acoustic function of the middle ear is to match sound passing from the low impedance of air to the high impedance of cochlear fluid. Little information is available on the actual middle ear pressure gain in human beings. This article describes experiments on middle ear pressure gain in six fresh human temporal bones. Stapes footplate displacement and phase were measured with a laser Doppler vibrometer before and after removal of the tympanic membrane, malleus, and incus. Acoustic insulation of the round window with clay was performed. Umbo displacement was also measured before tympanic membrane removal to assess baseline tympanic membrane function. The middle ear has its major gain in the lower frequencies, with a peak near 0.9 kHz. The mean gain was 23.0 dB below 1.0 kHz, the resonant frequency of the middle ear; the mean peak gain was 26.6 dB. Above 1.0 kHz, the second pressure gain decreased at a rate of -8.6 dB/octave, with a mean gain of 6.5 dB at 4.0 kHz. Only a small amount of gain was present above 7.0 kHz. Significant individual differences in pressure gain were found between ears that appeared related to variations in tympanic membrane function and not to variations in cochlear impedance.

The Impact of Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages on Young Adults' Sexual Decision Making: An Experimental Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Macapagal, Kathryn; Janssen, Erick; Matson, Margaret; Finn, Peter R; Heiman, Julia R

2017-02-01

Messages that frame a target behavior in terms of its benefits (gain frame) or costs (loss frame) have been widely and successfully used for health promotion and risk reduction. However, the impact of framed messages on decisions to have sex and sexual risk, as well as moderators of these effects, has remained largely unexplored. We used a computerized laboratory task to test the effects of framed messages about condom use on young adults' sexual decision making. Participants (N = 127) listened to both gain- and loss-framed messages and rated their intentions to have sex with partners who posed a high and low risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The effects of message frame, partner risk, participant gender, ability to adopt the messages, and message presentation order on intentions to have sex were examined. Intentions to have sex with high-risk partners significantly decreased after the loss-framed message, but not after the gain-framed message, and intentions to have sex increased for participants who received the gain-framed message first. Yet, participants found it easier to adopt the gain-framed message. Results suggest that loss-framed messages may be particularly effective in reducing intentions to have sex with partners who might pose a higher risk for STIs, and that message presentation order may alter the relative effectiveness of gain- and loss-framed messages on sexual decision making. Future studies should examine the precise conditions under which gain- and loss-framed messages can promote healthy sexual behaviors and reduce sexual risk behaviors.

Values of average daily gain of swine posted to commercial hybrids on pork in youth phase depending on the type

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Marin

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Values of average daily gain of weight are calculated according to the ratio of total growth and total number of days of feeding. In the case of the four commercial hybrids intensively exploited was observed, as test applied, that there were no statistically significant differences in terms of average daily gain of these hybrids, but the lowest values ​​of this index were recorded in hybrid B (with Large White as terminal boar.

26 CFR 1.1374-2 - Net recognized built-in gain.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Net recognized built-in gain. 1.1374-2 Section 1...-in gain. (a) In general. An S corporation's net recognized built-in gain for any taxable year is the... considering only its recognized built-in gain, recognized built-in loss, and recognized built-in gain...

A scalable-low cost architecture for high gain beamforming antennas

KAUST Repository

Bakr, Omar; Johnson, Mark; Jungdong Park,; Adabi, Ehsan; Jones, Kevin; Niknejad, Ali

2010-01-01

Many state-of-the-art wireless systems, such as long distance mesh networks and high bandwidth networks using mm-wave frequencies, require high gain antennas to overcome adverse channel conditions. These networks could be greatly aided by adaptive beamforming antenna arrays, which can significantly simplify the installation and maintenance costs (e.g., by enabling automatic beam alignment). However, building large, low cost beamforming arrays is very complicated. In this paper, we examine the main challenges presented by large arrays, starting from electromagnetic and antenna design and proceeding to the signal processing and algorithms domain. We propose 3-dimensional antenna structures and hybrid RF/digital radio architectures that can significantly reduce the complexity and improve the power efficiency of adaptive array systems. We also present signal processing techniques based on adaptive filtering methods that enhance the robustness of these architectures. Finally, we present computationally efficient vector quantization techniques that significantly improve the interference cancellation capabilities of analog beamforming architectures. © 2010 IEEE.

A scalable-low cost architecture for high gain beamforming antennas

KAUST Repository

Bakr, Omar

2010-10-01

Many state-of-the-art wireless systems, such as long distance mesh networks and high bandwidth networks using mm-wave frequencies, require high gain antennas to overcome adverse channel conditions. These networks could be greatly aided by adaptive beamforming antenna arrays, which can significantly simplify the installation and maintenance costs (e.g., by enabling automatic beam alignment). However, building large, low cost beamforming arrays is very complicated. In this paper, we examine the main challenges presented by large arrays, starting from electromagnetic and antenna design and proceeding to the signal processing and algorithms domain. We propose 3-dimensional antenna structures and hybrid RF/digital radio architectures that can significantly reduce the complexity and improve the power efficiency of adaptive array systems. We also present signal processing techniques based on adaptive filtering methods that enhance the robustness of these architectures. Finally, we present computationally efficient vector quantization techniques that significantly improve the interference cancellation capabilities of analog beamforming architectures. © 2010 IEEE.

Efficiency gains, bounds, and risk in finance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sarisoy, Cisil

2015-01-01

This thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter analyzes efficiency gains in the estimation of expected returns based on asset pricing models and examines the economic implications of such gains in portfolio allocation exercises. The second chapter provides nonparametric efficiency bounds

Estimating the Effectiveness of Special Education Using Large-Scale Assessment Data

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Katherine Anne

2009-01-01

The inclusion of students with disabilities in large scale assessment and accountability programs has provided new opportunities to examine the impact of special education services on student achievement. Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin (1998, 2002) evaluated the effectiveness of special education programs by examining students' gains on a large-scale…

Life cycle thinking in impact assessment—Current practice and LCA gains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bidstrup, Morten, E-mail: Bidstrup@plan.aau.dk

2015-09-15

It has been advocated that life cycle thinking (LCT) should be applied in impact assessment (IA) to a greater extent, since some development proposals pose a risk of significant impacts throughout the interconnected activities of product systems. Multiple authors have proposed the usage of life cycle assessment (LCA) for such analytical advancement, but little to no research on this tool application has been founded in IA practice so far. The aim of this article is to elaborate further on the gains assigned to application of LCA. The research builds on a review of 85 Danish IA reports, which were analysed for analytical appropriateness and application of LCT. Through a focus on the non-technical summary, the conclusion and the use of specific search words, passages containing LCT were searched for in each IA report. These passages were then analysed with a generic framework. The results reveal that LCT is appropriate for most of the IAs, but that LCA is rarely applied to provide such a perspective. Without LCA, the IAs show mixed performance in regard to LCT. Most IAs do consider the product provision of development proposals, but they rarely relate impacts to this function explicitly. Many IAs do consider downstream impacts, but assessments of upstream, distant impacts are generally absent. It is concluded that multiple analytical gains can be attributed to greater application of LCA in IA practice, though some level of LCT already exists. - Highlights: • Life cycle thinking is appropriate across the types and topics of impact assessment. • Yet, life cycle assessment is rarely used for adding such perspective. • Impact assessment practice does apply some degree of life cycle thinking. • However, application of life cycle assessment could bring analytical gains.

Life cycle thinking in impact assessment—Current practice and LCA gains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidstrup, Morten

2015-01-01

It has been advocated that life cycle thinking (LCT) should be applied in impact assessment (IA) to a greater extent, since some development proposals pose a risk of significant impacts throughout the interconnected activities of product systems. Multiple authors have proposed the usage of life cycle assessment (LCA) for such analytical advancement, but little to no research on this tool application has been founded in IA practice so far. The aim of this article is to elaborate further on the gains assigned to application of LCA. The research builds on a review of 85 Danish IA reports, which were analysed for analytical appropriateness and application of LCT. Through a focus on the non-technical summary, the conclusion and the use of specific search words, passages containing LCT were searched for in each IA report. These passages were then analysed with a generic framework. The results reveal that LCT is appropriate for most of the IAs, but that LCA is rarely applied to provide such a perspective. Without LCA, the IAs show mixed performance in regard to LCT. Most IAs do consider the product provision of development proposals, but they rarely relate impacts to this function explicitly. Many IAs do consider downstream impacts, but assessments of upstream, distant impacts are generally absent. It is concluded that multiple analytical gains can be attributed to greater application of LCA in IA practice, though some level of LCT already exists. - Highlights: • Life cycle thinking is appropriate across the types and topics of impact assessment. • Yet, life cycle assessment is rarely used for adding such perspective. • Impact assessment practice does apply some degree of life cycle thinking. • However, application of life cycle assessment could bring analytical gains

Are gains in decision-making autonomy during early adolescence beneficial for emotional functioning? The case of the United States and china.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Lili; Pomerantz, Eva M; Wang, Qian

2009-01-01

This research examined the role of children's decision-making autonomy in their emotional functioning during early adolescence in the United States and China. Four times over the 7th and 8th grades, 825 American and Chinese children (M = 12.73 years) reported on the extent to which they versus their parents make decisions about issues children often deem as under their authority. Children also reported on their emotional functioning. American children made greater gains over time in decision-making autonomy than did Chinese children. Initial decision-making autonomy predicted enhanced emotional functioning similarly among American and Chinese children. However, gains over time in decision-making autonomy predicted enhanced emotional functioning more in the United States (vs. China) where such gains were normative.

MRI induced second-degree burn in a patient with extremely large uterine leiomyomas: A case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chul Min; Kang, Bo Kyeong; Song, Soon Young; Koh, Byung Hee; Choi, Joong Sub; Lee, Won Moo

2015-01-01

Burns and thermal injuries related with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are rare. Previous literature indicates that medical devices with cable, cosmetics or tattoo are known as risk factors for burns and thermal injuries. However, there is no report of MRI-related burns in Korea. Herein, we reported a case of deep second degree burn after MRI in a 38-year-old female patient with multiple uterine leiomyomas including some that were large and degenerated. The large uterine leiomyoma-induced protruded anterior abdominal wall in direct contact with the body coil during MRI was suspected as the cause of injury, by retrospective analysis. Therefore, awareness of MRI related thermal injury is necessary to prevent this hazard, together with extreme care during MRI

MRI induced second-degree burn in a patient with extremely large uterine leiomyomas: A case report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Chul Min; Kang, Bo Kyeong; Song, Soon Young; Koh, Byung Hee; Choi, Joong Sub; Lee, Won Moo [Hanyang University Medical Center, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-15

Burns and thermal injuries related with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are rare. Previous literature indicates that medical devices with cable, cosmetics or tattoo are known as risk factors for burns and thermal injuries. However, there is no report of MRI-related burns in Korea. Herein, we reported a case of deep second degree burn after MRI in a 38-year-old female patient with multiple uterine leiomyomas including some that were large and degenerated. The large uterine leiomyoma-induced protruded anterior abdominal wall in direct contact with the body coil during MRI was suspected as the cause of injury, by retrospective analysis. Therefore, awareness of MRI related thermal injury is necessary to prevent this hazard, together with extreme care during MRI.

Enhanced Gain in Photonic Crystal Amplifiers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ek, Sara; Semenova, Elizaveta; Hansen, Per Lunnemann

2012-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate enhanced gain in the slow-light regime of quantum well photonic crystal amplifiers. A strong gain enhancement is observed with the increase of the group refractive index, due to light slow-down. The slow light enhancement is shown in a amplified spontaneous emission....... These results are promising for short and efficient semiconductor optical amplifiers. This effect will also benefit other devices, such as mode locked lasers....

How to Gain Value from a Project Management Model: Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis, Eva; Eskerod, Pernille

2010-01-01

  Recent research has shown that PM models can be a powerful creator of value for companies. This paper extends this research aiming at gaining a deeper understanding of the preconditions that must exist for harvesting the values of a common frame of reference for project management. It reports...... findings from in-depth investigations in a Danish industrial concern that considers its PM model as the core of its project activities.  ...

Changes in job strain and subsequent weight gain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vesterlund, Gitte Kingo; Keller, Amélie Cléo; Heitmann, Berit Lilienthal

2018-01-01

in 1999 between those who were rarely v. sometimes v. often busy in 1993 (P=0·03), with the largest weight gain in individuals with sustained high busyness in both years. Loss of influence between 1993 and 1999 was associated with larger subsequent weight gain than sustained high influence (P=0......Objective: Obesity as well as job strain is increasing, and job strain might contribute to weight gain. The objective of the current study was to examine associations between longitudinal alterations in the components of job strain and subsequent weight gain. Design: The study was designed...... as a prospective cohort study with three questionnaire surveys enabling measurement of job-strain alterations over 6 years and subsequent measurements of weight gain after further 10 years of follow-up. ANCOVA and trend analyses were conducted. Job demands were measured as job busyness and speed, and control...

Gaining, losing, and dry stream reaches at Bear Creek Valley, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, March and September 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, J.A.; Mitchell, R.L. III.

1996-01-01

A study was conducted, to delineate stream reaches that were gaining flow, losing flow, or that were dry in the upper reaches of Bear Creek Valley near the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The study included a review of maps and discharge data from a seepage investigation conducted at Bear Creek Valley; preparation of tables showing site identification and discharge and stream reaches that were gaining flow, losing flow, or that were dry; and preparation of maps showing measurement site locations and discharge measurements, and gaining, losing, and dry stream reaches. This report will aid in developing a better understanding of ground-water and surface-water interactions in the upper reaches of Bear Creek

Capital gains in economic theory and national accounting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. STEINDL

1998-12-01

Full Text Available Capital gains are ironically one of the least studied concepts in economics despite their crucial role in national accounting. Although capital gains are technically not involved in the circular flow of production and incomes, they are a vital determinants of consumer credit and personal savings. Recent findings, in fact, correlate capital gains with the prevalence of inflationary pressures and gyrations on spending in assets.

Adequacy of Prenatal Care and Gestational Weight Gain

Science.gov (United States)

Crandell, Jamie L.; Jones-Vessey, Kathleen

2016-01-01

Abstract Background: The goal of prenatal care is to maximize health outcomes for a woman and her fetus. We examined how prenatal care is associated with meeting the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines for gestational weight gain. Sample: The study used deidentified birth certificate data supplied by the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. The sample included 197,354 women (≥18 years) who delivered singleton full-term infants in 2011 and 2012. Methods: A generalized multinomial model was used to identify how adequate prenatal care was associated with the odds of gaining excessive or insufficient weight during pregnancy according to the 2009 IOM guidelines. The model adjusted for prepregnancy body size, sociodemographic factors, and birth weight. Results: A total of 197,354 women (≥18 years) delivered singleton full-term infants. The odds ratio (OR) for excessive weight gain was 2.44 (95% CI 2.37–2.50) in overweight and 2.33 (95% CI 2.27–2.40) in obese women compared with normal weight women. The OR for insufficient weight gain was 1.15 (95% CI 1.09–1.22) for underweight and 1.34 (95% CI 1.30–1.39) for obese women compared with normal weight women. Prenatal care at the inadequate or intermediate levels was associated with insufficient weight gain (OR: 1.32, 95% CI 1.27–1.38; OR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.09–1.21, respectively) compared with adequate prenatal care. Women with inadequate care were less likely to gain excessive weight (OR: 0.88, 95% CI 0.86–0.91). Conclusions: Whereas prenatal care was effective for preventing insufficient weight gain regardless of prepregnancy body size, educational background, and racial/ethnic group, there were no indications that adequate prenatal care was associated with reduced risk for excessive gestational weight gain. Further research is needed to improve prenatal care programs for preventing excess weight gain. PMID:26741198

Pump-beam-instability limits to Raman-gain-doublet ''fast-light'' pulse propagation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stenner, Michael D.; Gauthier, Daniel J.

2003-01-01

We investigate the behavior of a system for generating ''fast-light'' pulses in which a bichromatic Raman pumping beam is used to generate optical gain at two frequencies and a region of anomalous dispersion between them. It is expected that increasing the gain will increase the pulse advancement. However, as the gain increases, the pumping field becomes increasingly distorted, effectively limiting the pulse advancement. We observe as much as 12% of the input pump power converted to orthogonal polarization, broadening of the initially bichromatic pump field (25 MHz initial frequency separation) to more than 2.5 GHz, and a temporal collapse of the pump beam into an erratic train of sub-500-ps pulses. The instability is attributed to the combined effects of the cross modulation instability and stimulated Raman scattering. Extreme distortion of an injected pulse that should (absent the instability) experience an advancement of 21% of its width is observed. We conclude that the fast-light pulse advancement is limited to just a few percent of the pulse width using this pulse advancement technique. The limitation imposed by the instability is important because careful study of the information velocity in fast-light pulses requires that pulse advancement be large enough to distinguish the velocities of different pulse features. Possible methods for achieving pulse advancement by avoiding the distortion caused by the instability are discussed

Giant enhancement of reflectance due to the interplay between surface confined wave modes and nonlinear gain in dielectric media.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sangbum; Kim, Kihong

2017-12-11

We study theoretically the interplay between the surface confined wave modes and the linear and nonlinear gain of the dielectric layer in the Otto configuration. The surface confined wave modes, such as surface plasmons or waveguide modes, are excited in the dielectric-metal bilayer by obliquely incident p waves. In the purely linear case, we find that the interplay between linear gain and surface confined wave modes can generate a large reflectance peak with its value much greater than 1. As the linear gain parameter increases, the peak appears at smaller incident angles, and the associated modes also change from surface plasmons to waveguide modes. When the nonlinear gain is turned on, the reflectance shows very strong multistability near the incident angles associated with surface confined wave modes. As the nonlinear gain parameter is varied, the reflectance curve undergoes complicated topological changes and sometimes displays separated closed curves. When the nonlinear gain parameter takes an optimally small value, a giant amplification of the reflectance by three orders of magnitude occurs near the incident angle associated with a waveguide mode. We also find that there exists a range of the incident angle where the wave is dissipated rather than amplified even in the presence of gain. We suggest that this can provide the basis for a possible new technology for thermal control in the subwavelength scale.

Developmental Gains in Visuospatial Memory Predict Gains in Mathematics Achievement

OpenAIRE

Li, Yaoran; Geary, David C.

2013-01-01

Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusiv...

Quantifying the mechanisms of domain gain in animal proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Buljan, Marija; Frankish, Adam; Bateman, Alex

2010-01-01

Protein domains are protein regions that are shared among different proteins and are frequently functionally and structurally independent from the rest of the protein. Novel domain combinations have a major role in evolutionary innovation. However, the relative contributions of the different molecular mechanisms that underlie domain gains in animals are still unknown. By using animal gene phylogenies we were able to identify a set of high confidence domain gain events and by looking at their coding DNA investigate the causative mechanisms. Here we show that the major mechanism for gains of new domains in metazoan proteins is likely to be gene fusion through joining of exons from adjacent genes, possibly mediated by non-allelic homologous recombination. Retroposition and insertion of exons into ancestral introns through intronic recombination are, in contrast to previous expectations, only minor contributors to domain gains and have accounted for less than 1% and 10% of high confidence domain gain events, respectively. Additionally, exonization of previously non-coding regions appears to be an important mechanism for addition of disordered segments to proteins. We observe that gene duplication has preceded domain gain in at least 80% of the gain events. The interplay of gene duplication and domain gain demonstrates an important mechanism for fast neofunctionalization of genes.

Consequences of 'load-lightening' for future indirect fitness gains by helpers in a cooperatively breeding bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Meade, Jessica; Nam, Ki-Baek; Beckerman, Andrew P; Hatchwell, Ben J

2010-05-01

1. Helpers that invest energy in provisioning the offspring of related individuals stand to gain indirect fitness benefits from doing so. First, if the helper's effort is additional to that of the parents (additive) the productivity of the current breeding attempt can be increased. Secondly, if the parents reduce their workload (compensation) this can result in future indirect fitness gains to the helper via increased breeder survival; termed 'load-lightening'. 2. Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) have a cooperative breeding system in which helpers assist kin and parents exhibit both additive and compensatory reactions in the presence of helpers. Offspring from helped nests are heavier and more likely to recruit into the breeding population, thus helpers gain indirect fitness benefits from increasing the productivity of the current breeding attempt. Despite breeders' reduction of feeding effort in the presence of helpers, previous investigations found no subsequent increase in breeder survival. 3. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that load-lightening resulted in indirect fitness benefits for helpers. We used data from a 14-year study to investigate the provisioning rate, survival and future fecundity of male and female long-tailed tits that did and did not receive help at the nest. 4. We found an asymmetrical response to the presence of helpers at large brood sizes. Males reduced their feeding rate more than females, and this differential response was reflected in a significant increase in male survival when provisioning large broods assisted by helpers. We found no evidence of any increase in future fecundity for helped breeders. 5. The finding that males reduce their provisioning rate in the presence of helpers (at large brood sizes) to a greater degree than females, and that this is reflected in an increase in survival rate for males only, implies that the survival increase is caused by the reduction in work-rate rather than a non

Assessment of learning gains in a flipped biochemistry classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Ojennus, Deanna Dahlke

2016-01-01

The flipped classroom has become an increasingly popular pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. In this study, learning gains were assessed in a flipped biochemistry course and compared to gains in a traditional lecture. Although measured learning gains were not significantly different between the two courses, student perception of learning gains did differ and indicates a higher level of satisfaction with the flipped lecture format. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Renyi information gain on quantum key

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, Howard E

2007-01-01

The concept of maximum Renyi information gain from quantum key is important in eavesdropping and security analyses of quantum key distribution. It is particularly useful in the design optimization of eavesdropping probes. The present work reviews the quantitative measure of Renyi information gain, its optimization, and application to the design of eavesdropping probes in which single-photon probe states become optimally entangled with the signal states on their way between the legitimate transmitter and receiver

The effect of maternal breast variations on neonatal weight gain in the first seven days of life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esmaeili Abbas

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study aims to examine whether specific maternal breast variations (such as flat nipple, inverted nipple, large breast or/and large nipple are barriers for weight gain in breastfed infants during the first seven days of life. Methods In this prospective cohort study, 100 healthy term neonates were followed from birth to day seven in two groups; Group A: fifty neonates born to mothers with specified breast variations and Group B: fifty neonates born to mothers without such breast variations ("normal breasts". All neonates were the first child of their families and there was no sex ratio difference between the two groups. Neonates' weight at birth and day seven were measured and the mean weight differences in the two groups were compared using paired t-test. Results Neonates born to mothers without the specified breast variations had a mean weight gain of (+ 53 ± 154.4 g at day seven., Not only there was no increase in the mean weight of neonates in the other group, but they had a mean decrease of weight of (- 162 ± 125.5 g by the seventh day of their life compared to birth weight. Thus, neonates born to mothers without breast variations had significantly greater weight gain than neonates born to the mothers with the specified variations (p Conclusion Breast variation among first-time mothers acts as an important barrier to weight gain among breastfed neonates in the early days of life. Health professionals need skills in the management of breastfeeding among mothers with the specified breast variations, so that mothers are given appropriate advice on how to breastfeed and overcome these problems.

Monolithically integrated quantum dot optical gain modulator with semiconductor optical amplifier for 10-Gb/s photonic transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Naokatsu; Akahane, Kouichi; Umezawa, Toshimasa; Kawanishi, Tetsuya

2015-03-01

Short-range interconnection and/or data center networks require high capacity and a large number of channels in order to support numerous connections. Solutions employed to meet these requirements involve the use of alternative wavebands to increase the usable optical frequency range. We recently proposed the use of the T- and O-bands (Thousand band: 1000-1260 nm, Original band: 1260-1360 nm) as alternative wavebands because large optical frequency resources (>60 THz) can be easily employed. In addition, a simple and compact Gb/s-order high-speed optical modulator is a critical photonic device for short-range communications. Therefore, to develop an optical modulator that acts as a highfunctional photonic device, we focused on the use of self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) as a three-dimensional (3D) confined structure because QD structures are highly suitable for realizing broadband optical gain media in the T+O bands. In this study, we use the high-quality broadband QD optical gain to develop a monolithically integrated QD optical gain modulator (QD-OGM) device that has a semiconductor optical amplifier (QD-SOA) for Gb/s-order highspeed optical data generation in the 1.3-μm waveband. The insertion loss of the device can be compensated through the SOA, and we obtained an optical gain change of up to ~7 dB in the OGM section. Further, we successfully demonstrate a 10-Gb/s clear eye opening using the QD-OGM/SOA device with a clock-data recovery sequence at the receiver end. These results suggest that the monolithic QD-EOM/SOA is suitable for increasing the number of wavelength channels for smart short-range communications.

Acting to gain information

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenchein, Stanley J.; Burns, J. Brian; Chapman, David; Kaelbling, Leslie P.; Kahn, Philip; Nishihara, H. Keith; Turk, Matthew

1993-01-01

This report is concerned with agents that act to gain information. In previous work, we developed agent models combining qualitative modeling with real-time control. That work, however, focused primarily on actions that affect physical states of the environment. The current study extends that work by explicitly considering problems of active information-gathering and by exploring specialized aspects of information-gathering in computational perception, learning, and language. In our theoretical investigations, we analyzed agents into their perceptual and action components and identified these with elements of a state-machine model of control. The mathematical properties of each was developed in isolation and interactions were then studied. We considered the complexity dimension and the uncertainty dimension and related these to intelligent-agent design issues. We also explored active information gathering in visual processing. Working within the active vision paradigm, we developed a concept of 'minimal meaningful measurements' suitable for demand-driven vision. We then developed and tested an architecture for ongoing recognition and interpretation of visual information. In the area of information gathering through learning, we explored techniques for coping with combinatorial complexity. We also explored information gathering through explicit linguistic action by considering the nature of conversational rules, coordination, and situated communication behavior.

78 FR 54996 - Information Reporting by Applicable Large Employers on Health Insurance Coverage Offered Under...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-09

... Information Reporting by Applicable Large Employers on Health Insurance Coverage Offered Under Employer... credit to help individuals and families afford health insurance coverage purchased through an Affordable... or group health insurance coverage offered by an employer to the employee that is (1) a governmental...

Percutaneous endoscopic intra-annular subligamentous herniotomy for large central disc herniation: a technical case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sang-Ho; Choi, Kyung-Chul; Baek, Oon Ki; Kim, Ho Jin; Yoo, Seung-Hwa

2014-04-01

Technical case report. To describe the novel technique of percutaneous endoscopic herniotomy using a unilateral intra-annular subligamentous approach for the treatment of large centrally herniated discs. Open discectomy for large central disc herniations may have poor long-term prognosis due to heavy loss of intervertebral disc tissue, segmental instability, and recurrence of pain. Six consecutive patients who presented with back and leg pain, and/or weakness due to a large central disc herniation were treated using percutaneous endoscopic herniotomy with a unilateral intra-annular subligamentous approach. The patients experienced relief of symptoms and intervertebral disc spaces were well maintained. The annular defects were noted to be in the process of healing and recovery. Percutaneous endoscopic unilateral intra-annular subligamentous herniotomy was an effective and affordable minimally invasive procedure for patients with large central disc herniations, allowing preservation of nonpathological intradiscal tissue through a concentric outer-layer annular approach.

From struggles to resource gains in interprofessional service networks: Key findings from a multiple case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Toiviainen, Hanna; Kira, Mari

2017-07-01

In interprofessional service networks, employees cross professional boundaries to collaborate with colleagues and clients with expertise and values different from their own. It can be a struggle to adopt shared work practices and deal with "multivoicedness." At the same time, networks allow members to engage in meaningful service provision, gain a broader understanding of the service provided, and obtain social support. Intertwined network struggles and resource gains have received limited attention in the interprofessional care literature to date. The aim of the study was to investigate the learning potential of the co-existing struggles and resource gains. This article reports findings from two interprofessional networks. Interviews were conducted with 19 employees and thematically analysed. Three types of struggles and six types of resource gains of networking were identified. The struggles relate, first, to the assumptions of networking following similar practices to those in a home organisation; second, to the challenges of dealing with the multivoicedness of networking; and, third, to the experienced gap between the networking ideals and the reality of cooperation. At the same time, the network members experience gains in emotional resources (e.g., stronger sense of meaningfulness at work), cognitive resources (e.g., understanding the customer needs from alternative perspectives), and social resources (e.g., being able to rely on other professionals' competence). Learning potential emerged from the dynamics between coexisting struggles and resource gains.

Gain maximization in a probabilistic entanglement protocol

Science.gov (United States)

di Lorenzo, Antonio; Esteves de Queiroz, Johnny Hebert

Entanglement is a resource. We can therefore define gain as a monotonic function of entanglement G (E) . If a pair with entanglement E is produced with probability P, the net gain is N = PG (E) - (1 - P) C , where C is the cost of a failed attempt. We study a protocol where a pair of quantum systems is produced in a maximally entangled state ρm with probability Pm, while it is produced in a partially entangled state ρp with the complementary probability 1 -Pm . We mix a fraction w of the partially entangled pairs with the maximally entangled ones, i.e. we take the state to be ρ = (ρm + wUlocρpUloc+) / (1 + w) , where Uloc is an appropriate unitary local operation designed to maximize the entanglement of ρ. This procedure on one hand reduces the entanglement E, and hence the gain, but on the other hand it increases the probability of success to P =Pm + w (1 -Pm) , therefore the net gain N may increase. There may be hence, a priori, an optimal value for w, the fraction of failed attempts that we mix in. We show that, in the hypothesis of a linear gain G (E) = E , even assuming a vanishing cost C -> 0 , the net gain N is increasing with w, therefore the best strategy is to always mix the partially entangled states. Work supported by CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, proc. 311288/2014-6, and by FAPEMIG, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais, proc. IC-FAPEMIG2016-0269 and PPM-00607-16.

L2-gain and passivity techniques in nonlinear control

CERN Document Server

van der Schaft, Arjan

2017-01-01

This standard text gives a unified treatment of passivity and L2-gain theory for nonlinear state space systems, preceded by a compact treatment of classical passivity and small-gain theorems for nonlinear input-output maps. The synthesis between passivity and L2-gain theory is provided by the theory of dissipative systems. Specifically, the small-gain and passivity theorems and their implications for nonlinear stability and stabilization are discussed from this standpoint. The connection between L2-gain and passivity via scattering is detailed. Feedback equivalence to a passive system and resulting stabilization strategies are discussed. The passivity concepts are enriched by a generalised Hamiltonian formalism, emphasising the close relations with physical modeling and control by interconnection, and leading to novel control methodologies going beyond passivity. The potential of L2-gain techniques in nonlinear control, including a theory of all-pass factorizations of nonlinear systems, and of parametrization...

Unconventional modes in lasers with spatially varying gain and loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Li; Tuereci, H. E.; Chong, Y. D.; Stone, A. D.; Rotter, S.

2011-01-01

We discuss a class of lasing modes created by a spatially inhomogeneous gain profile. These lasing modes are ''extra modes,'' in addition to, and very different from, conventional lasing modes, which arise from the passive cavity resonances. These new modes do not have high intensity across the entire gain region, but instead are localized at the gain boundary and throughout the gain-free region. They are surface modes, originating from the transmission resonances of the gain-free region. Using an S-matrix description we connect these surface modes to the lasing modes in PT-symmetric (balanced gain-loss) cavities.

Low Birthweight, Rapid Weight Gain and Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescence: An Illustrative Case Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Onyiriuka Alphonsus N.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A 16-year-old boy whose diabetes mellitus was diagnosed 3 months previously in a private hospital but was not placed on medication. The presenting complaints were fast breathing for 24 hours, weakness for 2 hours, and unresponsiveness to calls for 0.5 hours. His father was obese with type 2 diabetes mellitus and died 8 months earlier from cardiac arrest. His birthweight was low, 2.2kg. At first presentation, his weight, BMI and blood pressure were 60kg (25th-50th percentile, 19.4kg/m2 (25thpercentile and 110/70mmHg (systolic BP 50th percentile, diastolic BP 50th-90th percentile, respectively. He was managed for diabetic ketoacidosis and was discharged on subcutaneous premixed insulin, 1 Unit/kg/day. At point of discharge, weight and BP were 60.5 kg and 120/70 mmHg, respectively. The patient defaulted but presented again 6 months later at the age of 17 years. At second presentation, his weight, BMI and BP were 89 kg (95th percentile, 27.5 kg/m2 (90th-95th percentile and 180/80 mmHg (systolic 99th percentile; diastolic 90th percentile, respectively. His waist circumference was 98.7cm (> 90th percentile. We had no record of previous waist circumference. His lipid profile showed low HDL-cholesterol 0.7252 mmol/L [(28mg/dl; <5thpercentile]. His fasting blood glucose and HbA1C were 6.5 mmol/L (117mg/dl and 34 mol/mol (5.3%, respectively. A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in a patient with ketosis-prone type 2 diabetes was made. He was referred to the pediatric cardiologist for management of his hypertension. He defaulted again and was lost to follow up. Conclusion: This report illustrates the association of low birth weight and rapid weight gain with metabolic syndrome in adolescence.

Neural responses to gains and losses in children of suicide attempters.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsypes, Aliona; Owens, Max; Hajcak, Greg; Gibb, Brandon E

2017-02-01

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 126(2) of Journal of Abnormal Psychology (see record 2016-56318-001). In the article, Figure 1 had incorrect axis labels. There was also an error in the abstract, which did not state that ΔFN was calculated as FN to losses minus FN to gains. All versions of this article have been corrected.] Suicidal behavior aggregates within families, yet the specific mechanisms of suicide-risk transmission are poorly understood. Despite some evidence that abnormal patterns of reward responsiveness might constitute one such potential mechanism, empirical evidence is lacking. The goal of this study was to examine neural responses to gains and losses in children of suicide attempters with no personal history of suicide attempt (SA) themselves. To objectively assess these neural responses, we used feedback negativity (FN), a psychophysiological marker of responsiveness to reward and loss. Participants were 66 parents and their 7-11-year-old children (22 with parental history of SA and 44 demographically and clinically matched children of parents with no SA history). Diagnostic interviews were used to gather information about psychiatric diagnoses, symptoms, and histories of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Children also completed a guessing task, during which continuous electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. The FN was scored as the mean amplitude, 275-375 ms, following gain or loss feedback at frontocentral sites (Fz and FCz). Children of suicide attempters exhibited significantly more negative ΔFN (i.e., FN to losses minus FN to gains) than children of parents with no SA history. We found that this difference in ΔFN was due specifically to children of parents with a history of SA exhibiting a stronger response to loss, and no group differences were observed for responses to gains. The results suggest that an increased neural response to loss might represent one of the potential pathways of the familial

MMSW. A large-size micromegas quadruplet prototype. Design and construction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuger, Fabian; Sidiropoulou, Ourania [Julius Maximilians Universitaet, Wuerzburg (Germany); European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Bianco, Michele; Danielsson, Hans; Degrange, Jordan; Oliveira, Rui de; Farina, Eduardo; Iengo, Paolo; Perez Gomez, Francisco; Sekhniaidze, Givi; Sforza, Federico; Vergain, Maurice; Wotschack, Joerg [European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Duedder, Andreas; Lin, Tai-Hua; Schott, Matthias [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Mainz (Germany)

2016-07-01

Two micromegas detector quadruplets with an area of 0.5 m{sup 2} (MMSW) have been recently constructed and tested at CERN and University of Mainz. They serve as prototypes for the planned upgrade project of the ATLAS muon system. Their design is based on the resistive-strip technology and thus renders the detectors spark tolerant. The applied 'mechanically floating' mesh design allows for large area Micromegas construction and facilitates detector cleaning before assembly. Each quadruplet comprises four detection layers with 1024 readout strips and a strip pitch of 415 μm. In two out of the four layers the strips are inclined by ± 1.5 to allow for the measurement of a second coordinate. We present the detector concept and report on the experience gained during the detector construction.

Access control issues and solutions for large sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, F.E.

1992-07-01

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) operates an automated access control system consisting of more than 100 portals. We have gained considerable practical experience in the issues involved in operating this large system, and have identified the central issues to include system reliability, the large user population, the need for central control, constant change, high visibility and the budget. This paper outlines these issues and draws from our experience to discuss some fruitful ways of addressing them

TCAD simulation of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Dalal, Ranjeet; Jain, Geetika; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Ranjan, Kirti

2016-11-01

In the present work, detailed simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tool, Silvaco for non-irradiated and irradiated LGAD (Low Gain Avalanche Detector) devices has been carried out. The effects of different design parameters and proton irradiation on LGAD operation are discussed in detail. An already published effective two trap bulk damage model is used to simulate the radiation damage without implementing any acceptor removal term. The TCAD simulation for irradiated LGAD devices produce decreasing gain with increasing fluence, similar to the measurement results. The space charge density and electric field distribution are used to illustrate the possible reasons for the degradation of gain of the irradiated LGAD devices.

TCAD simulation of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalal, Ranjeet; Jain, Geetika; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh, E-mail: ashutosh.bhardwaj@cern.ch; Ranjan, Kirti

2016-11-11

In the present work, detailed simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tool, Silvaco for non-irradiated and irradiated LGAD (Low Gain Avalanche Detector) devices has been carried out. The effects of different design parameters and proton irradiation on LGAD operation are discussed in detail. An already published effective two trap bulk damage model is used to simulate the radiation damage without implementing any acceptor removal term. The TCAD simulation for irradiated LGAD devices produce decreasing gain with increasing fluence, similar to the measurement results. The space charge density and electric field distribution are used to illustrate the possible reasons for the degradation of gain of the irradiated LGAD devices.

TCAD simulation of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalal, Ranjeet; Jain, Geetika; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Ranjan, Kirti

2016-01-01

In the present work, detailed simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tool, Silvaco for non-irradiated and irradiated LGAD (Low Gain Avalanche Detector) devices has been carried out. The effects of different design parameters and proton irradiation on LGAD operation are discussed in detail. An already published effective two trap bulk damage model is used to simulate the radiation damage without implementing any acceptor removal term. The TCAD simulation for irradiated LGAD devices produce decreasing gain with increasing fluence, similar to the measurement results. The space charge density and electric field distribution are used to illustrate the possible reasons for the degradation of gain of the irradiated LGAD devices.

Gain tuning and fidelity in continuous-variable quantum teleportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ide, Toshiki; Hofmann, Holger F.; Furusawa, Akira; Kobayashi, Takayoshi

2002-01-01

The fidelity of continuous-variable teleportation can be optimized by changing the gain in the modulation of the output field. We discuss the gain dependence of fidelity for coherent, vacuum, and one-photon inputs and propose optimal gain tuning strategies for corresponding input selections

Validation of Tilt Gain under Realistic Path Loss Model and Network Scenario

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Huan Cong; Rodriguez, Ignacio; Sørensen, Troels Bundgaard

2013-01-01

Despite being a simple and commonly-applied radio optimization technique, the impact on practical network performance from base station antenna downtilt is not well understood. Most published studies based on empirical path loss models report tilt angles and performance gains that are far higher...... than practical experience suggests. We motivate in this paper, based on a practical LTE scenario, that the discrepancy partly lies in the path loss model, and shows that a more detailed semi-deterministic model leads to both lower gains in terms of SINR, outage probability and downlink throughput...... settings, including the use of electrical and/or mechanical antenna downtilt, and therefore it is possible to find multiple optimum tilt profiles in a practical case. A broader implication of this study is that care must be taken when using the 3GPP model to evaluate advanced adaptive antenna techniques...

Metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children: the Viva la Familia Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Butte, Nancy F; Cai, Guowen; Cole, Shelley A; Wilson, Theresa A; Fisher, Jennifer O; Zakeri, Issa F; Ellis, Kenneth J; Comuzzie, Anthony G

2007-06-01

Despite the high prevalence of overweight among Hispanic children in the United States, definitive predictors of weight gain have not been identified in this population. The study objective was to test sociodemographic, metabolic, and behavioral predictors of 1-y weight gains in a large cohort of Hispanic children studied longitudinally. Subjects (n = 879) were siblings from 319 Hispanic families enrolled in the Viva la Familia Study. Families were required to have at least one overweight child aged 4-19 y. One-year changes in weight and body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were measured. Data were from parental interviews, birth certificates, multiple-pass 24-h dietary recalls, 3-d accelerometry, 24-h respiration calorimetry, measurements of eating in the absence of hunger, and measurement of fasting blood biochemistry indexes by radioimmunoassay. Generalized estimating equations and principal component analysis were applied. Weight gain increased with age (P = 0.001), peaking at approximately 10 y of age in girls and approximately 11 y of age in boys. Mean (+/-SD) weight gain was significantly higher in overweight (7.5 +/- 3.7 kg/y) than in nonoverweight (4.4 +/- 2.4 kg/y) children and in boys than in girls. When adjusted for age, age squared, sex, and Tanner stage, the final model indicated a child's body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) status, maternal BMI, energy expenditure (total energy expenditure, basal metabolic rate, and sleeping metabolic rate), and fasting blood biochemistry indexes (total triiodothyronine, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin) as independent, positive predictors of weight gain (P = 0.01-0.001). Knowledge of the metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children will inform prevention and treatment efforts to address this serious public health problem in the United States.

Energy Gaining Windows for Residental Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kragh, Jesper; Laustsen, Jacob Birck; Svendsen, Svend

2008-01-01

window is made of fiber-reinforced plastic (plastic reinforced by fine fibers made of glass). This composite material is a weatherproof material with very low thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength. These properties make the material very suitable for frame profiles due to lower heat loss...... minus the heat loss integrated over the heating season. It is assumed that in northern cold climates all of the solar gain during the heating season can be utilized for space heating. Problems with overheating in the summer period must be solved with overhang or moveable solar shading devices. Two...... and longer durability of the window. The glazing in these fiber reinforced polyester windows is both unsealed and sealed triple glazing units. To increase the net energy gain slim frame profiles have been developed to increase the glazing area and thereby the solar gain. The challenge when developing slim...

Improving student learning and views of physics in a large enrollment introductory physics class

Science.gov (United States)

Salehzadeh Einabad, Omid

Introductory physics courses often serve as gatekeepers for many scientific and engineering programs and, increasingly, colleges are relying on large, lecture formats for these courses. Many students, however, leave having learned very little physics and with poor views of the subject. In interactive engagement (IE), classroom activities encourage students to engage with each other and with physics concepts and to be actively involved in their own learning. These methods have been shown to be effective in introductory physics classes with small group recitations. This study examined student learning and views of physics in a large enrollment course that included IE methods with no separate, small-group recitations. In this study, a large, lecture-based course included activities that had students explaining their reasoning both verbally and in writing, revise their ideas about physics concepts, and apply their reasoning to various problems. The questions addressed were: (a) What do students learn about physics concepts and how does student learning in this course compare to that reported in the literature for students in a traditional course?, (b) Do students' views of physics change and how do students' views of physics compare to that reported in the literature for students in a traditional course?, and (c) Which of the instructional strategies contribute to student learning in this course? Data included: pre-post administration of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), classroom exams during the term, pre-post administration of the Colorado Learning Attitudes About Science Survey (CLASS), and student work, interviews, and open-ended surveys. The average normalized gain (=0.32) on the FCI falls within the medium-gain range as reported in the physics education literature, even though the average pre-test score was very low (30%) and this was the instructor's first implementation of IE methods. Students' views of physics remained relatively unchanged by instruction

Dynamic Sliding Mode Evolution PWM Controller for a Novel High-Gain Interleaved DC-DC Converter in PV System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taizhou Bei

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the disadvantages of the traditional high-gain DC-DC converter such as big size, high voltage stress of switches, and large input current ripple, a novel high-gain interleaved boost converter with coupled-inductor and switched-capacitor was proposed correspondingly and the operation principle together with the steady-state analysis of this converter was also described. Besides, a new control approach-dynamic sliding mode evolution PWM controller (DSME PWM for the novel topological converter based on both dynamic evolution and sliding mode control was also presented. From the simulation results and experimental validation the proposed converter can fulfill high-gain boost, low ripple of both the input current and the output voltage. Furthermore, MPPT technique can be also achieved in a short time by simulation. The efficiency and stability of the converter proposed in this paper can be improved.

Sigmoid endometriosis in a post-menopausal woman leading to acute large bowel obstruction: A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bardia Bidarmaghz, MD

2016-01-01

Conclusion: This case report shows that colonic endometriosis, although rare, can be significantly infiltrative and lead to complications such as a large bowel obstruction. Diagnosing this condition can be challenging and usually requires histological confirmation.

Field Observations of Precursors to Large Earthquakes: Interpreting and Verifying Their Causes

Science.gov (United States)

Suyehiro, K.; Sacks, S. I.; Rydelek, P. A.; Smith, D. E.; Takanami, T.

2017-12-01

Many reports of precursory anomalies before large earthquakes exist. However, it has proven elusive to even identify these signals before their actual occurrences. They often only become evident in retrospect. A probabilistic cellular automaton model (Sacks and Rydelek, 1995) explains many of the statistical and dynamic natures of earthquakes including the observed b-value decrease towards a large earthquake or a small stress perturbation to have effect on earthquake occurrence pattern. It also reproduces dynamic characters of each earthquake rupture. This model is useful in gaining insights on causal relationship behind complexities. For example, some reported cases of background seismicity quiescence before a main shock only seen for events larger than M=3 4 at years time scale can be reproduced by this model, if only a small fraction ( 2%) of the component cells are strengthened by a small amount. Such an enhancement may physically occur if a tiny and scattered portion of the seismogenic crust undergoes dilatancy hardening. Such a process to occur will be dependent on the fluid migration and microcracks developments under tectonic loading. Eventual large earthquake faulting will be promoted by the intrusion of excess water from surrounding rocks into the zone capable of cascading slips to a large area. We propose this process manifests itself on the surface as hydrologic, geochemical, or macroscopic anomalies, for which so many reports exist. We infer from seismicity that the eastern Nankai Trough (Tokai) area of central Japan is already in the stage of M-dependent seismic quiescence. Therefore, we advocate that new observations sensitive to detecting water migration in Tokai should be implemented. In particular, vertical component strain, gravity, and/or electrical conductivity, should be observed for verification.

Sleeve Push Technique: A Novel Method of Space Gaining.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Sanjeev; Bhupali, Nameksh Raj; Gupta, Deepak Kumar; Singh, Sombir; Singh, Satinder Pal

2018-01-01

Space gaining is frequently required in orthodontics. Multiple loops were initially used for space gaining and alignment. The most common used mechanics for space gaining is the use of nickel-titanium open coil springs. The disadvantage of nickel-titanium coil spring is that they cannot be used until the arches are well aligned to receive the stiffer stainless steel wires. Therefore, a new method of gaining space during initial alignment and leveling has been developed and named as sleeve push technique (SPT). The nickel-titanium wires, i.e. 0.012 inches and 0.014 inches along with archwire sleeve (protective tubing) can be used in a modified way to gain space along with alignment. This method helps in gaining space right from day 1 of treatment. The archwire sleeve and nickel-titanium wire in this new SPT act as a mutually synergistic combination and provide the orthodontist with a completely new technique for space opening.

Sleeve push technique: A novel method of space gaining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjeev Verma

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Space gaining is frequently required in orthodontics. Multiple loops were initially used for space gaining and alignment. The most common used mechanics for space gaining is the use of nickel–titanium open coil springs. The disadvantage of nickel–titanium coil spring is that they cannot be used until the arches are well aligned to receive the stiffer stainless steel wires. Therefore, a new method of gaining space during initial alignment and leveling has been developed and named as sleeve push technique (SPT. The nickel–titanium wires, i.e. 0.012 inches and 0.014 inches along with archwire sleeve (protective tubing can be used in a modified way to gain space along with alignment. This method helps in gaining space right from day 1 of treatment. The archwire sleeve and nickel–titanium wire in this new SPT act as a mutually synergistic combination and provide the orthodontist with a completely new technique for space opening.

The Independent Importance of Pre-pregnancy Weight and Gestational Weight Gain for the Prevention of Large-for Gestational Age Brazilian Newborns.

Science.gov (United States)

Mastroeni, Marco F; Czarnobay, Sandra A; Kroll, Caroline; Figueirêdo, Katherinne B W; Mastroeni, Silmara S B S; Silva, Jean C; Khan, Mohammad K A; Loehr, Sarah; Veugelers, Paul J

2017-04-01

Objectives To study the independent effect of pre-pregnancy weight, gestational weight gain (GWG), and other important risk factors on newborn birth weight. Methods Baseline data of 435 adult women and their singletons born between January and February 2012 at a public hospital in Brazil were used. Logistic regression was applied to determine the independent importance of pre-pregnancy weight and GWG for large for gestational age (LGA) newborns. Results Among all mothers, 37.9 % were overweight and obese before pregnancy and 45.3 % experienced excessive GWG. Among the newborns, 24.4 % were classified as LGA. Univariate analysis showed an association of family income, GWG, pre-pregnancy BMI and excessive GWG with LGA newborns. Smoking before and during pregnancy was associated with a decreased likelihood of giving birth to an LGA newborn compared to mothers who did not smoke. After adjustment for confounding variables, age at birth of first child, GWG, HbA1c and pre-pregnancy weight-GWG were significant and independent determinants of giving birth to an LGA newborn. Mothers with pre-pregnancy overweight and excessive GWG were more likely to deliver an LGA newborn (OR 2.54, P weight and experienced adequate GWG. Conclusions for Practice Age at first birth of child, GWG, HbA1c and pre-pregnancy overweight combined with excessive GWG are independent determinants of LGA newborns. The results of this study suggest that both primary prevention of overweight in women of childbearing age and management of GWG may be important strategies to reduce the number of LGA newborns and, consequently, the long-term public health burden of obesity.

Excessive Gestational Weight Gain and Subsequent Maternal Obesity at Age 40: A Hypothetical Intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Barbara; Coyle, Jeremy; Cohen, Alison K; Headen, Irene; Hubbard, Alan; Ritchie, Lorrene; Rehkopf, David H

2017-09-01

To model the hypothetical impact of preventing excessive gestational weight gain on midlife obesity and compare the estimated reduction with the US Healthy People 2020 goal of a 10% reduction of obesity prevalence in adults. We analyzed 3917 women with 1 to 3 pregnancies in the prospective US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, from 1979 to 2012. We compared the estimated obesity prevalence between 2 scenarios: gestational weight gain as reported and under the scenario of a hypothetical intervention that all women with excessive gestational weight gain instead gained as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (2009). A hypothetical intervention was associated with a significantly reduced estimated prevalence of obesity for first (3.3 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0, 5.6) and second (3.0 percentage points; 95% CI = 0.7, 5.2) births, and twice as high in Black as in White mothers, but not significant in Hispanics. The population attributable fraction was 10.7% (95% CI = 3.3%, 18.1%) in first and 9.3% (95% CI = 2.2%, 16.5%) in second births. Development of effective weight-management interventions for childbearing women could lead to meaningful reductions in long-term obesity.

Enhanced broadband upconversion emission and 23 dB optical gain at 780 nm in Tm3+/Nd3+ codoped optical fiber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Weiwei; Chen, Shuyue; Htein, Lin; Han, Won-Taek

2015-01-01

Maximum gain of 23 dB at 780 nm and a broadband optical gain with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 88 nm (761–849 nm) were obtained from the Tm 3+ /Nd 3+ codoped fiber upon pumping at 1550 nm. The enhancement of the upconversion emission stretching from 730 to 970 nm was observed in the Tm 3+ /Nd 3+ codoped fiber due to the energy transfer from Tm 3+ to Nd 3+ ions. - Highlights: • We fabricated the Tm 3+ /Nd 3+ codoped silica based fiber. • The broadband upconversion emission was observed with 1550 nm pumping. • Maximum gain of 23 dB was observed at 780 nm from the Tm 3+ /Nd 3+ codoped fiber. • The gain bandwidth of the upconversion emission was largely increased due to energy transfer process

Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and infant birth weight: A within-family analysis in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Ji

2015-07-01

In the United States, the high prevalence of unhealthy preconception body weight and inappropriate gestational weight gain among pregnant women is an important public health concern. However, the relationship among pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and newborn birth weight has not been well established. This study uses a very large dataset of sibling births and a within-family design to thoroughly address this issue. The baseline analysis controlling for mother fixed effects indicates maternal preconception overweight, preconception obesity, and excessive gestational weight gain significantly increase the risk of having a high birth weight baby, respectively, by 1.3, 3 and 3.9 percentage points, while underweight before pregnancy and inadequate gestational weight gain increase the low birth weight incidence by 1.4 and 2 percentage points. The benchmark results are robust in a variety of sensitivity checks. Since poor birth outcomes especially high birth weight and low birth weight have lasting adverse impacts on one's health, education, and socio-economic outcomes later in life, the findings of this research suggest promoting healthy weight among women before pregnancy and preventing inappropriate weight gain during pregnancy can generate significant intergenerational benefits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large-area imaging micro-well detectors for high-energy astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Deines-Jones, P; Hunter, S D; Jahoda, K; Owens, S M

2002-01-01

Micro-well detectors are pixelized imaging sensors that can be inexpensively fabricated in very large arrays. Owing to their intrinsic gain and operation at room temperature, they can be instrumented at very low power, per unit area, making them valuable for a variety of space-flight applications where wide-angle X-ray imaging or large-area particle tracking is required. For example, micro-well detectors have been chosen as the focal plane imager for Lobster-ISS, a proposed soft X-ray all-sky monitor. We have fabricated detectors which image X-rays with 200 mu m FWHM resolution at 3 keV. In agreement with other groups using similar geometries, we find nominal proportional counter energy resolution (20% at 6 keV in P-10), and stable operation at gas gains up to 30,000.

Assessment of Learning Gains in a Flipped Biochemistry Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Ojennus, Deanna Dahlke

2016-01-01

The flipped classroom has become an increasingly popular pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. In this study, learning gains were assessed in a flipped biochemistry course and compared to gains in a traditional lecture. Although measured learning gains were not significantly different between the two courses, student perception of…

Stimulated Raman gain scattering in thin planar dielectric waveguides

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kanger, Johannes S.; Otto, Cornelis; Greve, Jan

1995-01-01

The stimulated Raman gain effect in planar dielectric waveguides is analyzed for the study of thin layers. Calculations show high gain factors and predict the possibility of detecting monolayers. Compared with those for methods based on ref lection, the gain can be 4 orders of magnitude higher for a

Large-Grain Superconducting Gun Cavity Testing Program Phase One Closing Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammons, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Bellavia, S. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Belomestnykh, S. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Ben-Zvi, I. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Cullen, C. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Dai, J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Degen, C. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Hahn, H. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Masi, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); McIntyre, G. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Schultheiss, C. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Seda, T. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Kellerman, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Tallerico, T. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Todd, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Tuozzolo, S. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Xu, W. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Than, Y. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2013-10-31

This report details the experimental configuration and RF testing results for the first phase of a large-grained niobium electron gun cavity testing program being conducted in the Small Vertical Testing Facility in the Collider-Accelerator Department. This testing is meant to explore multi-pacting in the cavity and shed light on the behavior of a counterpart cavity of identical geometry installed in the Energy Recovery LINAC being constructed in the Collider-Accelerator Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This test found that the Q of the large-grained cavity at 4 K reached ~6.5 × 10⁸ and at 2 K reached a value of ~6 × 10⁹. Both of these values are about a factor of 10 lower than would be expected for this type of cavity given the calculated surface resistance and the estimated geometry factor for this half-cell cavity. In addition, the cavity reached a peak voltage of 0.6 MV before there was sig-nificant decline in the Q value and a substantial increase in field emission. This relatively low volt-age, coupled with the low Q and considerable field emission suggest contamination of the cavity interior, possibly during experimental assembly. The results may also suggest that additional chemical etching of the interior surface of the cavity may be beneficial. Throughout the course of testing, various challenges arose including slow helium transfer to the cryostat and cable difficulties. These difficulties and others were eventually resolved, and the re-port discusses the operating experience of the experiment thus far and the plans for future work aimed at exploring the nature of multipacting with a copper cathode inserted into the cavity.

Maximizing gain in high-throughput screening using conformal prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Svensson, Fredrik; Afzal, Avid M; Norinder, Ulf; Bender, Andreas

2018-02-21

Iterative screening has emerged as a promising approach to increase the efficiency of screening campaigns compared to traditional high throughput approaches. By learning from a subset of the compound library, inferences on what compounds to screen next can be made by predictive models, resulting in more efficient screening. One way to evaluate screening is to consider the cost of screening compared to the gain associated with finding an active compound. In this work, we introduce a conformal predictor coupled with a gain-cost function with the aim to maximise gain in iterative screening. Using this setup we were able to show that by evaluating the predictions on the training data, very accurate predictions on what settings will produce the highest gain on the test data can be made. We evaluate the approach on 12 bioactivity datasets from PubChem training the models using 20% of the data. Depending on the settings of the gain-cost function, the settings generating the maximum gain were accurately identified in 8-10 out of the 12 datasets. Broadly, our approach can predict what strategy generates the highest gain based on the results of the cost-gain evaluation: to screen the compounds predicted to be active, to screen all the remaining data, or not to screen any additional compounds. When the algorithm indicates that the predicted active compounds should be screened, our approach also indicates what confidence level to apply in order to maximize gain. Hence, our approach facilitates decision-making and allocation of the resources where they deliver the most value by indicating in advance the likely outcome of a screening campaign.

Evaluating realized genetic gains from tree improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

J.B. St. Clair

1993-01-01

Tree improvement has become an essential part of the management of forest lands for wood production, and predicting yields and realized gains from forests planted with genetically-improved trees will become increasingly important. This paper discusses concepts of tree improvement and genetic gain important to growth and yield modeling, and reviews previous studies of...

Gaining Access to Hidden Populations: Strategies for Gaining Cooperation of Drug Sellers/Dealers and Their Families in Ethnographic Research

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlap, Eloise; Johnson, Bruce D.

2009-01-01

Summary This article examines strategies for gaining the cooperation of drug sellers and their families in order to conduct ethnographic research. The strategies were developed during an eight year study of drug dealers in New York City. A key element in gaining the ability to talk with and observe drug dealers and their family members was the availability of funds to compensate respondents for interviews and other expenses associated with building and maintaining rapport. Access to more successful crack sellers and dealers rested upon the right contacts. The “right contact” is a critical element. Locating a trusted “go-between” was adapted from strategies employed by cocaine sellers to arrange transactions involving large quantities of drugs. Such transactions rely upon a trusted associate of a dealer, the “go-between,” who performs various roles and assumes risks the dealer wishes to avoid. The role of the go-between became important when ethnographers attempted to reach drug dealers for research purposes. Favors and trust are central components in the equation of access to the dealer and his family. Favors are a part of drug dealers' interaction patterns: everyone owes someone else a favor. Such reciprocity norms exist independently of the amount of drugs involved and outlast any particular transaction. Reputations and favors are related. This framework of favors, trust, and reciprocity provides a basis for the ethnographer to gain an introduction to dealers and sellers. The “go-between” is critical because he/she explains the ethnographer's role to the dealer and helps arrange an initial meeting between the ethnographer and the seller. Once the go-between has provided an initial introduction, the ethnographer marshals the communication skills necessary to convince the dealer to allow further contact and conversations. This article examines the ritual of initial conversation within its cultural framework. Developing rapport requires showing

Persistency of Prediction Accuracy and Genetic Gain in Synthetic Populations Under Recurrent Genomic Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Dominik; Schopp, Pascal; Melchinger, Albrecht E

2017-03-10

Recurrent selection (RS) has been used in plant breeding to successively improve synthetic and other multiparental populations. Synthetics are generated from a limited number of parents [Formula: see text] but little is known about how [Formula: see text] affects genomic selection (GS) in RS, especially the persistency of prediction accuracy ([Formula: see text]) and genetic gain. Synthetics were simulated by intermating [Formula: see text]= 2-32 parent lines from an ancestral population with short- or long-range linkage disequilibrium ([Formula: see text]) and subjected to multiple cycles of GS. We determined [Formula: see text] and genetic gain across 30 cycles for different training set ( TS ) sizes, marker densities, and generations of recombination before model training. Contributions to [Formula: see text] and genetic gain from pedigree relationships, as well as from cosegregation and [Formula: see text] between QTL and markers, were analyzed via four scenarios differing in (i) the relatedness between TS and selection candidates and (ii) whether selection was based on markers or pedigree records. Persistency of [Formula: see text] was high for small [Formula: see text] where predominantly cosegregation contributed to [Formula: see text], but also for large [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] replaced cosegregation as the dominant information source. Together with increasing genetic variance, this compensation resulted in relatively constant long- and short-term genetic gain for increasing [Formula: see text] > 4, given long-range LD A in the ancestral population. Although our scenarios suggest that information from pedigree relationships contributed to [Formula: see text] for only very few generations in GS, we expect a longer contribution than in pedigree BLUP, because capturing Mendelian sampling by markers reduces selective pressure on pedigree relationships. Larger TS size ([Formula: see text]) and higher marker density improved persistency of

46 CFR 287.12 - Election as to nonrecognition of gain.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Election as to nonrecognition of gain. 287.12 Section... of gain. (a) Election requirements. As a prerequisite to the nonrecognition of gain on the sale or... partnership, in the partnership return of income) for the taxable year in which the gain with respect to the...

Comparing weight gain in the year prior to treatment for overweight and obese patients with and without binge eating disorder in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivezaj, Valentina; Kalebjian, Roushig; Grilo, Carlos M; Barnes, Rachel D

2014-08-01

To examine weight change trajectories among overweight and obese patients with binge eating disorder (BED) versus without (NBO) during the year prior to seeking treatment. Participants were 97 (75 women, 22 men) overweight and obese patients recruited for the same weight-loss treatment in primary care; 26 (27%) met DSM-5 BED criteria. Participants were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination and completed self-report questionnaires about their weight histories and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Participants' self-reported current weight and measured current weight were significantly correlated and did not statistically differ. Reported weight changes during the year prior to seeking treatment differed significantly by group: BED patients gained an average of 18.3lb (8.2kg) whereas NBO patients gained an average of 1.5lb (0.7kg). Among BED patients, but not NBO, weight change during the prior year was positively correlated with greater eating-disorder psychopathology, binge-eating frequency, frequency of overeating at lunch and dinner, and depression scores. For the overall group, BED status and binge-eating frequency each made independent significant contributions to predicting weight change in the past year. Findings suggest BED patients are gaining considerably more weight during the year prior to treatment than NBO patients. BED treatment may interrupt a steep weight gain trajectory and prevent further weight gain for BED patients suggesting need for early intervention. Primary care physicians should screen for BED when overweight and obese patients present with rapid weight gain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Life after unsuccessful IVF treatment in an assisted reproduction unit: a qualitative analysis of gains through loss among Chinese persons in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Geok Ling; Hui Choi, W H; Chan, Celia H Y; Chan, Cecilia L W; Ng, Ernest H Y

2009-08-01

Previous studies examining experiences of infertility focused mainly on the aspect of loss but neglected the possible gains realized through surviving the experience of infertility. The success rate of IVF remains relatively low, and we used the strengths perspective to examine adjustment after unsuccessful treatment. This study aims to provide an in-depth description of the gains perceived by Chinese men and women and how they re-constructed their lives after unsuccessful IVF treatment. Four couples and another six women who experienced unsuccessful IVF treatment were recruited from an assisted reproduction clinic. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, using a grounded theory constructivist approach. Of the 10 women and 4 men interviewed, 9 remained childless, 3 had adopted a child and 2 had conceived naturally. They reported gains on a personal level, interpersonal level and transpersonal level through surviving the experience of infertility. All, regardless of the eventual outcome, reported at least one form of personal gain: in personality or knowledge gain. Interpersonal gains were perceived in relationships with their spouses, children, parents, friends, colleagues and fellow IVF service users. More than half of them reported spiritual growth and a change in identity through integrating their experiences and offering help to others. Despite the small sample size, this study makes a significant contribution by suggesting that while negative feelings provoked by the failure to conceive should be acknowledged, people in this situation should also be enabled to consolidate their negative experiences of IVF constructively, helping them to move on with their lives.

Subpicosecond gain dynamics in GaAlAs laser diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kesler, M.P.; Ippen, E.P.

1987-11-30

Ultrafast gain dynamics in GaAlAs diode amplifiers have been studied using 100 fs optical pulses. Pulse propagation through the amplifier resulted in temporal broadening and pulse shaping due to both gain saturation and material dispersion. Pump-probe experiments indicate the presence of two processes contributing to the gain dynamics but give no evidence of spectral hole burning. A dynamic carrier heating model is presented to explain all of the observed gain nonlinearities, and the implications of our results on the dynamic response of laser diodes are discussed.

Variety Gains and the Extensive Margin of Trade

OpenAIRE

Mohler, Lukas

2012-01-01

Findings from the literature suggest that previous estimates of the variety gains from trade are too small because of the imprecise measurement of the imported variety set under the Armington assumption. In this contribution, I use results from the literature on multi-product firms to obtain variety gain estimates that account for the entry and exit of firms as well as for product turnover within firms and find that welfare gains increase by a factor of 2.5 compared to the baseline Armington ...

Optical gain of LaF3:Nd nanoparticle doped polymers for active integrated optical devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stouwdam, J.W.; Klunder, D.J.W.; Borreman, A.; Diemeer, Mart; Worhoff, Kerstin; Driessen, A.; de Ridder, R.M.; de Ridder, R.M; Altena, G; Altena, G.; Geuzebroek, D.H.; Dekker, R; Dekker, R.

2003-01-01

We report on rare earth doped LaF3 nanoparticles dispersed in PMMA and SU-8 photosensitive polymers. We observed optical gain after we applied these materials for waveguides. Experimental results on various samples will be discussed. We theoretically discuss the improvements that can be obtained and

Sequence specific motor performance gains after memory consolidation in children and adolescents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shoshi Dorfberger

Full Text Available Memory consolidation for a trained sequence of finger opposition movements, in 9- and 12-year-old children, was recently found to be significantly less susceptible to interference by a subsequent training experience, compared to that of 17-year-olds. It was suggested that, in children, the experience of training on any sequence of finger movements may affect the performance of the sequence elements, component movements, rather than the sequence as a unit; the latter has been implicated in the learning of the task by adults. This hypothesis implied a possible childhood advantage in the ability to transfer the gains from a trained to the reversed, untrained, sequence of movements. Here we report the results of transfer tests undertaken to test this proposal in 9-, 12-, and 17-year-olds after training in the finger-to-thumb opposition sequence (FOS learning task. Our results show that the performance gains in the trained sequence partially transferred from the left, trained hand, to the untrained hand at 48-hours after a single training session in the three age-groups tested. However, there was very little transfer of the gains from the trained to the untrained, reversed, sequence performed by either hand. The results indicate sequence specific post-training gains in FOS performance, as opposed to a general improvement in performance of the individual, component, movements that comprised both the trained and untrained sequences. These results do not support the proposal that the reduced susceptibility to interference, in children before adolescence, reflects a difference in movement syntax representation after training.

Sequence specific motor performance gains after memory consolidation in children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorfberger, Shoshi; Adi-Japha, Esther; Karni, Avi

2012-01-01

Memory consolidation for a trained sequence of finger opposition movements, in 9- and 12-year-old children, was recently found to be significantly less susceptible to interference by a subsequent training experience, compared to that of 17-year-olds. It was suggested that, in children, the experience of training on any sequence of finger movements may affect the performance of the sequence elements, component movements, rather than the sequence as a unit; the latter has been implicated in the learning of the task by adults. This hypothesis implied a possible childhood advantage in the ability to transfer the gains from a trained to the reversed, untrained, sequence of movements. Here we report the results of transfer tests undertaken to test this proposal in 9-, 12-, and 17-year-olds after training in the finger-to-thumb opposition sequence (FOS) learning task. Our results show that the performance gains in the trained sequence partially transferred from the left, trained hand, to the untrained hand at 48-hours after a single training session in the three age-groups tested. However, there was very little transfer of the gains from the trained to the untrained, reversed, sequence performed by either hand. The results indicate sequence specific post-training gains in FOS performance, as opposed to a general improvement in performance of the individual, component, movements that comprised both the trained and untrained sequences. These results do not support the proposal that the reduced susceptibility to interference, in children before adolescence, reflects a difference in movement syntax representation after training.

Sudden gains in group cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Clerkin, Elise M; Teachman, Bethany A; Smith-Janik, Shannan B

2008-11-01

The current study investigates sudden gains (rapid symptom reduction) in group cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder. Sudden gains occurring after session 2 of treatment predicted overall symptom reduction at treatment termination and some changes in cognitive biases. Meanwhile, sudden gains occurring immediately following session 1 were not associated with symptom reduction or cognitive change. Together, this research points to the importance of examining sudden gains across the entire span of treatment, as well as the potential role of sudden gains in recovery from panic disorder.

26 CFR 1.737-1 - Recognition of precontribution gain.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Recognition of precontribution gain. 1.737-1... gain. (a) Determination of gain—(1) In general. A partner that receives a distribution of property (other than money) must recognize gain under section 737 and this section in an amount equal to the...

Active metamaterial: Gain and stability, and microfluidic chip for THz cell spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Qi

Metamaterials are artificially designed composite materials which can exhibit unique and unusual properties such as the negative refractive index, negative phase velocity, etc. The concept of metamaterials becomes prevalent in the electromagnetic society since the first experimental implementation in the early 2000s. Many fascinated potential applications, e.g. super lens, invisibility cloaking, and novel antennas that are electrically small, have been proposed based on metamaterials. However, most of the applications still remain in theory and are not suitable for practical applications mainly due to the intrinsic loss and narrow bandwidth (large dispersion) determined by the fundamental physics of metamaterials. In this dissertation, we incorporate active gain devices into conventional passive metamaterials to overcome loss and even provide gain. Two types of active gain negative refractive index metamaterials are proposed, designed and experimentally demonstrated, including an active composite left-/right-handed transmission line and an active volumetric metamaterial. In addition, we investigate the non-Foster circuits for broadband matching of electrically small antennas. A rigorous way of analyzing the stability of non-Foster circuits by normalized determinant function is proposed. We study the practical factors that may affect the stability of non-Foster circuits, including the device parasitics, DC biasing, layouts and load impedance. A stable floating negative capacitor is designed, fabricated and tested. Moreover, it is important to resolve the sign of refractive index for active gain media which can be quite challenging. We investigate the analytical solution of a gain slab system, and apply the Nyquist criterion to analyze the stability of a causal gain medium. We then emphasize that the result of frequency domain simulation has to be treated with care. Lastly, this dissertation discusses another interesting topic about THz spectroscopy of live cells

The effect of honey compared to sucrose, mixed sugars, and a sugar-free diet on weight gain in young rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Chepulis, L M

2007-04-01

To determine whether honey, sucrose, and mixed sugars as in honey have different effects on weight gain, 40 6-wk-old Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a powdered diet that was either sugar free or contained 8% sucrose, 8% mixed sugars as in honey, or 10% honey freely for 6 wk. Weight gain and food intake were assessed weekly, and at completion of the study blood samples were removed for measurement of blood sugar (HbA1c) and a fasting lipid profile. The animals were then minced and total percentage body fat and protein measured. Overall percentage weight gain was significantly lower in honey-fed rats than those fed sucrose or mixed sugars, despite a similar food intake. Weight gains were comparable for rats fed honey and a sugar free diet although food intake was significantly higher in honey-fed rats. HbA1c and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in all sugar treatments compared with rats fed a sugar free diet, but no other differences in lipid profiles were reported. No differences in percentage body fat or protein levels were reported.

26 CFR 1.1247-3 - Treatment of capital gains.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... portion of the excess capital gains were designated. The amount so includible by the partnership shall be... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Treatment of capital gains. 1.1247-3 Section 1... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Special Rules for Determining Capital Gains and Losses § 1.1247-3 Treatment of...

First lasing of a high-gain harmonic generation free-electron laser experiment.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babzien, M.; Ben-Zvi, I.; Biedron, S. G.; DiMauro, L. F.; Douryan, A.; Galayda, J. N.; Gluskin, E.; Graves, W.; Jagger, J.; Johnson, E.; Krinsky, S.; Malone, R.; Pogorelsky, I.; Rakowsky, G.; Sajaev, V.; Skaritka, J.; Solomon, L.; Vasserman, I.; Wang, X. L.; Woodle, M.; Yakimenko, V.; Yu, L.-H.

1999-09-11

We report on the first lasing of a high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) free-electron laser (FEL). The experiment was conducted at the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). This is a BNL experiment in collaboration with the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory. A preliminary measurement gives a high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) pulse energy that is 2 x 10{sup 7} times larger than the spontaneous radiation, In a purely self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) mode of operation, the signal was measured as 10 times larger than the spontaneous radiation in the same distance ({approximately}2 m) through the same wiggler. This means the HGHG signal is 2 x 10{sup 6} times larger than the SASE signal. To obtain the same saturated output power by the SASE process, the radiator would have to be 3 times longer (6 m).

Isocurvature modes and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations II: gains from combining CMB and Large Scale Structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbone, Carmelita; Mangilli, Anna; Verde, Licia

2011-01-01

We consider cosmological parameters estimation in the presence of a non-zero isocurvature contribution in the primordial perturbations. A previous analysis showed that even a tiny amount of isocurvature perturbation, if not accounted for, could affect standard rulers calibration from Cosmic Microwave Background observations such as those provided by the Planck mission, affect Baryon Acoustic Oscillations interpretation, and introduce biases in the recovered dark energy properties that are larger than forecasted statistical errors from future surveys. Extending on this work, here we adopt a general fiducial cosmology which includes a varying dark energy equation of state parameter and curvature. Beside Baryon Acoustic Oscillations measurements, we include the information from the shape of the galaxy power spectrum and consider a joint analysis of a Planck-like Cosmic Microwave Background probe and a future, space-based, Large Scale Structure probe not too dissimilar from recently proposed surveys. We find that this allows one to break the degeneracies that affect the Cosmic Microwave Background and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations combination. As a result, most of the cosmological parameter systematic biases arising from an incorrect assumption on the isocurvature fraction parameter f iso , become negligible with respect to the statistical errors. We find that the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure combination gives a statistical error σ(f iso ) ∼ 0.008, even when curvature and a varying dark energy equation of state are included, which is smaller that the error obtained from Cosmic Microwave Background alone when flatness and cosmological constant are assumed. These results confirm the synergy and complementarity between Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure, and the great potential of future and planned galaxy surveys

Gain of chromosomal region 20q and loss of 18 discriminates between Lynch syndrome and familial colorectal cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Therkildsen, Christina; Jönsson, Göran; Dominguez-Valentin, Mev

2013-01-01

Lynch syndrome and familial colorectal cancer type X, FCCTX, represent the two predominant colorectal cancer syndromes. Whereas Lynch syndrome is clinically and genetically well defined, the genetic cause of FCCTX is unknown and genomic differences between Lynch syndrome and FCCTX tumours...... are largely unknown. We applied array-based comparative genomic hybridisation to 23 colorectal cancers from FCCTX with comparison to 23 Lynch syndrome tumours and to 45 sporadic colorectal cancers. FCCTX tumours showed genomic complexity with frequent gains on chromosomes 20q, 19 and 17 and losses of 18, 8p...... and 15. Gain of genetic material in two separate regions encompassing, 20q12-13.12 and 20q13.2-13.32, was identified in 65% of the FCCTX tumours. Gain of material on chromosome 20q and loss on chromosome 18 significantly discriminated colorectal cancers associated with FCCTX from Lynch syndrome, which...

A High Gain-Bandwidth Product Distributed Transimpedance Amplifier IC for High-Speed Optical Transmission Using Low-Cost GaAs Technology.

OpenAIRE

Giannini, F.; Limiti, E.; Orengo, G.; Serino, A.; De Dominicis, M.

2002-01-01

This paper reports a distributed baseband transimpedance amplifier for optical links up to 10 Gb/s. The amplifier operates as a baseband amplifier with a transimpedance gain of 48 dB Ω and a DC-to-9 GHz bandwidth. Some innovative design techniques to improve gain-bandwidth performance at low and high frequency with an available low-cost GaAs MESFET technology have been developed.