Remediation of old environmental liabilities in the Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svoboda, Karel; Podlaha, Josef

2011-01-01

The Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc (NRI) after 55 years of activities in the nuclear field produced some environmental liabilities that shall be remedied. There are three areas of remediation: (1) decommissioning of old obsolete facilities (e.g. decay tanks, RAW treatment technology, special sewage system), (2) processing of RAW from operation and dismantling of nuclear facilities, and (3) elimination of spent fuel from research nuclear reactors operated by the NRI. The goal is to remedy the environmental liabilities and eliminate the potential negative impact on the environment. Remediation of the environmental liabilities started in 2003 and will be finished in 2014. The character of the environmental liabilities is very specific and requires special remediation procedures. Special technologies are being developed with assistance of external subcontractors. The NRI has gained many experiences in the field of RAW management and decommissioning of nuclear facilities and will use its facilities, experienced staff and all relevant data needed for the successful realization of the remediation. The most significant items of environmental liabilities are described in the paper together with information about the history, the current state, the progress, and the future activities in the field of remediation of environmental liabilities in the NRI. (author)

Activities of Nuclear Research Institute Rez in the area of hydrogen technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doucek, A.; Janik, L.; Misak, J.

2010-01-01

NRI is a research institution established in 1955. Nowadays, the Institute provides wide range of expertise and services for operators of the nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic and abroad, supports Czech central state institutions in the domains of strategic energy planning and development, management of radioactive waste (for the Ministry of Trade and Industry), provides independent expertise for the State Office of Nuclear Safety, performs activities in the area of exploitation of ionising radiation and irradiation services for basic and applied research, health service and industry, performs research and provides services for radioactive waste disposal, production of radiopharmaceuticals, education and training of experts and scientific specialists and performs many other activities. With the gradual changes in energy policy, hydrogen economy becomes one of the important topics related to nuclear energy. NRI is participating in the research and development in this area and as a member of the Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform is currently the leader in this area in the country. To promote hydrogen economy, NRI prepared and participated in several demonstration projects. Studies on production of hydrogen in current and future nuclear power plants are performed as well. (authors)

The recent and prospective developments of cooled IR FPAs for double application at Electron NRI

Science.gov (United States)

Arutunov, V. A.; Vasilyev, I. S.; Ivanov, V. G.; Prokofyev, A. E.

2003-09-01

The recent and prospective developments of monolithic silicon IR-Schottky-barrier staring focal plane arrays (IR SB FPAs), photodetector assembly, and digital thermal imaging cameras (TICs) at Electron National Research Institute (Electron NRI) are considered. Basic parameters for IR SB FPAs with 256x256 and 512x512 pixels, and TICs based on these arrays are presented. The problems emerged while proceeding from the developments of IR SB FPAs for the wavelength range from 3 μm to 5 μm to the developments of those ones for xLWIR range are indicated (an abrupt increase in the level of background architecture). Possibility for further improvement in basic parameters of IR SB FPAs are discussed (a decrease in threshold signal power down to 0.5-1.0"1013 W/element with an increase in quantum efficiency, a decrease in output noise and proceeding to Schottky barriers of degenerated semiconductor/silicon heterojunction, and implementation of these array parameters in photodetector assembly with improved thermal background shielding taking into consideration an optical structure of TIC for concrete application). It is concluded that relative simplicity of the technology and expected low cost of monolithic silicon IR SB FPAs with basic parameters compared with hybrid IR FPAs for the wavelength ranges from 3 μm to 5 μm and from 8 μm to 12 μm maintain large monolithic IR SB FPAs as a basis for developments of double application digital TICs in the Russian Federation.

Nuclear research in Strasbourg. The first ten years 1941-1951

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casel, R.

1993-01-01

The story of the first decade of the nuclear research in Strasbourg includes three different periods. During the war there is the installation as part of the Reichsuniversitaet Strassburg (november 1941-november 1944) of one 'Medical Research Institute' the physics department of which is equipped with a very important equipment for the period, particularly a connection generator of 1.5 MeV. For the Liberation, the civil hospices and the Strasbourg Medicine Faculty decide to create from the old german installations an artificial radioisotope production laboratory: the 'Strasbourg Nuclear Research Institute' (N.R.I) which was born in 1947 as interfaculty Institute (Medicine, Science, Pharmacy). But the N.R.I doesn't make for the applied research but for the fundamental research. To the nuclear research institute will be added in 1950 the corpuscular physics and the nuclear chemistry laboratories. 163 refs., 20 figs

Research Programs & Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

CGH develops international initiatives and collaborates with other NCI divisions, NCI-designated Cancer Centers, and other countries to support cancer control planning, encourage capacity building, and support cancer research and research networks.

The quest for the next information processing technology

Science.gov (United States)

Welser, Jeffrey J.; Bourianoff, George I.; Zhirnov, Victor V.; Cavin, Ralph Keary

2008-01-01

Fundamental physical considerations indicate that the scaling of devices that use electron charge as the information carrier will limit within the next one to two decades. The Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI), a joint industry-government program, has been developed to fund university research seeking devices that utilize alternative physical information carriers or non-equilibrium switching mechanisms to continue the historical cost and performance trends of information technology. Three research centers have been established to pursue five research vectors that have been identified as critical to the effort to replace the electronic switch. A brief history and rationale for NRI is given and the projects currently underway are described in the context of the five research vectors.

Using action research for complex research initiatives

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Greeff, M

2009-12-01

Full Text Available the research process of such a complex research initiative. Action research is one research method that lends itself to these complex projects. The paper uses the Ability Based Technology Interventions (AbTi) research project as a case study to analyse...

PENGARUH SISTEM MULTI PARTAI TERHADAP KEDUDUKAN PRESIDEN DALAM SISTEM PEMERINTAHAN PRESIDENSIIL MENURUT UUD NRI TAHUN 1945

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ida R. Hasan, S.H., M.H.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The multi-party system is a system that consists of more than two dominant parties. Under the provisions of Article 6 and Article 6A the Constitution NRI 1945 Results Changes in the election of the President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia using the direct election system based on the proposals of the political party or coalition of political parties. If if adopted multi-party system, the presidential election will take place on the basis of a compromise between several parties contained therein. This was done because among the party that produced no outright majority. President elected in this way, would not want or desire should always pay attention to political parties that support it. The formulation of the problem is How the Implementation of the System Setup Multi Party in Indonesia? How to Influence System Against Multi Party Presidential Position In the presidential system of government in Indonesia? The research method is a normative juridical approach. Normative juridical approach method used to assess or analyze secondary data in the form of legal materials, especially primary law materials and secondary legal materials. Indonesia adheres to to multi-party presidential system. Multi-party system has been running since 1945 and runs until today even though some time has been changed the system of government. Post-reform, democratic system in Indonesia entered a new era, especially in an election in Indonesia. In a presidential system of government, multi-party system affect the difficulty of candidates for President and vice president produce a majority in the election.

Research award: Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in ...

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

2017-09-06

Sep 6, 2017 ... The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) builds resilience in these hot spots by supporting collaborative research on climate change adaptation to inform adaptation policy and practice. Specifically, CARIAA supports four consortia that research geographic and social ...

INITIAL TRAINING OF RESEARCHERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Alejandra Cruz-Pallares

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The document presents results of a research that used as strategy a complementary training project with thirty-three students of a Bachelors Degree in Primary School 1997(DPS,1997 of an Education Faculty for the initial training of investigators, applied by four teachers members of the academic research group in Mexico; that develops through process of action research methodology. Highlighted in results is the strengthening of the competition of reading, understanding and writing scientific texts, which is analogous to the first feature of the graduate profile called intellectual skills. Among the conclusions it is emphasized that the initial training of teachers in a task that is quite interesting, challenging and complex, as is the educational complex phenomenon.

Use of net reclassification improvement (NRI method confirms the utility of combined genetic risk score to predict type 2 diabetes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia H T Tam

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS identified more than 70 novel loci for type 2 diabetes (T2D, some of which have been widely replicated in Asian populations. In this study, we investigated their individual and combined effects on T2D in a Chinese population. METHODOLOGY: We selected 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in T2D genes relating to beta-cell function validated in Asian populations and genotyped them in 5882 Chinese T2D patients and 2569 healthy controls. A combined genetic score (CGS was calculated by summing up the number of risk alleles or weighted by the effect size for each SNP under an additive genetic model. We tested for associations by either logistic or linear regression analysis for T2D and quantitative traits, respectively. The contribution of the CGS for predicting T2D risk was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC analysis and net reclassification improvement (NRI. RESULTS: We observed consistent and significant associations of IGF2BP2, WFS1, CDKAL1, SLC30A8, CDKN2A/B, HHEX, TCF7L2 and KCNQ1 (8.5×10(-18NRI approach (P<0.001. CONCLUSION: In a Chinese population, the use of a CGS of 8 SNPs modestly but significantly improved its discriminative ability to predict T2D above and beyond that attributed to clinical risk factors (sex, age and BMI.

Science Granting Councils Initiative: Research uptake | CRDI ...

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

The initiative's activities include training, regional exchanges and forums, online training, on-site coaching, and collaborative research. The initiative was developed jointly by IDRC, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, and South Africa's National Research Foundation. Its ultimate goal is ...

Construction and performance research on variable-length codes for multirate OCDMA multimedia networks

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chuan-qi; Yang, Meng-jie; Luo, De-jun; Lu, Ye; Kong, Yi-pu; Zhang, Dong-chuang

2014-09-01

A new kind of variable-length codes with good correlation properties for the multirate asynchronous optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) multimedia networks is proposed, called non-repetition interval (NRI) codes. The NRI codes can be constructed by structuring the interval-sets with no repetition, and the code length depends on the number of users and the code weight. According to the structural characteristics of NRI codes, the formula of bit error rate (BER) is derived. Compared with other variable-length codes, the NRI codes have lower BER. A multirate OCDMA multimedia simulation system is designed and built, the longer codes are assigned to the users who need slow speed, while the shorter codes are assigned to the users who need high speed. It can be obtained by analyzing the eye diagram that the user with slower speed has lower BER, and the conclusion is the same as the actual demand in multimedia data transport.

The Health and Safety Executive's strategy for nuclear safety research 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This brochure illustrates HSE's nuclear safety research strategy for 1996. It is divided into two parts. The first part presents HSE's overall strategy. The second contains short strategy statements for the individual areas detailed above, providing a rationale and objectives for the particular safety issues in the NRI, where greater detail can be found. (author)

[Support Team for Investigator-Initiated Clinical Research].

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Hisako

2017-07-01

Investigator-initiated clinical research is that in which investigators plan and carry out their own clinical research in academia. For large-scale clinical research, a team should be organized and implemented. This team should include investigators and supporting staff, who will promote smooth research performance by fulfilling their respective roles. The supporting staff should include project managers, administrative personnel, billing personnel, data managers, and clinical research coordinators. In this article, I will present the current status of clinical research support and introduce the research organization of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) study, an investigator-initiated international clinical research study, with particular emphasis on the role of the project management staff and clinical research coordinators.

FP 6 EU - COVERS. Coordination action - VVER safety research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasa, I.

2008-01-01

In this work research program of the European Union FP 6 - COVERS coordinated by the NRI Rez is presented. COVERS is designed to improve professional and communication environment in the specific area covering all aspects of safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants with VVER-440 and VVER-1000 reactors. Project Consortium is composed of 26 research and development, engineering and technical support organisations of European VVER-operating and other EU and non-EU countries.

International Research Chairs Initiative | IDRC - International ...

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

The International Research Chairs Initiative (IRCI) is a seven-year, CA$8 million research program that pairs top research talent from universities in Canada with their counterparts in developing countries to address key ... The results of this joint effort: world-class discoveries and healthier, wealthier, fairer societies.

Research on Initiation Sensitivity of Solid Explosive and Planer Initiation System

OpenAIRE

N Matsuo; M Otuka; H Hamasima; K Hokamoto; S Itoh

2016-01-01

Firstly, recently, there are a lot of techniques being demanded for complex process, various explosive initiation method and highly accurate control of detonation are needed. In this research, the metal foil explosion using high current is focused attention on the method to obtain linear or planate initiation easily, and the main evaluation of metal foil explosion to initiate explosive was conducted. The explosion power was evaluated by observing optically the underwater shock wave generated ...

2015 Global Information Technology Report: Consequences on Knowledge Management in Higher Education Institutions in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Ololube, Nwachukwu Prince; Agbor, Comfort Nkogho; Major, Nanighe Baldwin; Agabi, Chinyere O.; Wali, Worlu I.

2016-01-01

This research is a continuation of a theoretical review that evaluated ICT Policy Outcomes for National Development in relation to Networked Readiness Index (NRI) and the impact it has on knowledge integration and management in higher education institutions in Nigeria. A new dawn in information technology (IT) has initiated new trends in…

MONTANA PALLADIUM RESEARCH INITIATIVE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peters, John; McCloskey, Jay; Douglas, Trevor; Young, Mark; Snyder, Stuart; Gurney, Brian

2012-05-09

Project Objective: The overarching objective of the Montana Palladium Research Initiative is to perform scientific research on the properties and uses of palladium in the context of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program. The purpose of the research will be to explore possible palladium as an alternative to platinum in hydrogen-economy applications. To achieve this objective, the Initiatives activities will focus on several cutting-edge research approaches across a range of disciplines, including metallurgy, biomimetics, instrumentation development, and systems analysis. Background: Platinum-group elements (PGEs) play significant roles in processing hydrogen, an element that shows high potential to address this need in the U.S. and the world for inexpensive, reliable, clean energy. Platinum, however, is a very expensive component of current and planned systems, so less-expensive alternatives that have similar physical properties are being sought. To this end, several tasks have been defined under the rubric of the Montana Palladium Research Iniative. This broad swath of activities will allow progress on several fronts. The membrane-related activities of Task 1 employs state-of-the-art and leading-edge technologies to develop new, ceramic-substrate metallic membranes for the production of high-purity hydrogen, and develop techniques for the production of thin, defect-free platinum group element catalytic membranes for energy production and pollution control. The biomimetic work in Task 2 explores the use of substrate-attached hydrogen-producing enzymes and the encapsulation of palladium in virion-based protein coats to determine their utility for distributed hydrogen production. Task 3 work involves developing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a real-time, in situ diagnostic technique to characterize PGEs nanoparticles for process monitoring and control. The systems engineering work in task 4

View all initiatives | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

The International Research Chairs Initiative pairs top research talent from universities in Canada with their counterparts in developing countries to address key development challenges. We fund researchers driving global change. Careers · Contact Us · Subscribe · Unsubscribe · Site map. Follow us; Facebook · Twitter ...

View all initiatives | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

Initiative. The Cultivate Africa's Future research partnership is designed to support applied research to combat hunger in sub-Saharan Africa by harnessing the potential for innovation among the region's smallholder farmers, the majority of whom are women. We fund researchers driving global change. Careers · Contact Us ...

Initiation to research in Brazil: p olicies for educating young researchers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucídio Bianchetti

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Scientific Initiation (SI is a process which, through universities, challenges young people and provides them a set of attitudes and knowledge that is indispensable to their initiation to research, and the production and socializing of knowledge. Situated in the context of our broader research, this text is based on bibliographic research. It critically analyzes the importance of SI to qualify the approximation between basic education and undergraduate and graduate studies, given that the range of options of this mode of education has significantly expanded in recent years. Entrance into SI contributes in particular to theoretical grounding and to developing a familiarity with research methodology, complementing the academic training of young students with a process in which knowledge, in addition to being constructed in relation to teaching-research, comes to be re-evaluated and recreated, challenging young people to become researchers. Finally, we detect an increasingly evident instrumentalization of this locus of education and research by CAPES and CNPq, to improve evaluation indicators for undergraduate courses.

Establishing a research agenda for Foundation Phasei initial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2016-08-19

Aug 19, 2016 ... This paper profiles empirical research relating to initial ... post-1994 democratic government chose to locate all initial teacher education in higher education institutions .... philosophical aspects of teacher education, issues.

Impact of Pre-Initiators on PSA in Research Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ochirbat, Chimedtseren [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sok Chul [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

Most of nuclear power plants had already conducted PSA work to examine their plant safety for identifying vulnerability and preparing the mitigating strategies for severe accident. However, the PSA for research reactor has been conducted limitedly comparing with nuclear power plants due to lack of awareness and resources. Most of PSA results demonstrated that human failure events (HFEs) take a major role of risk contributor in terms of core damage frequency. HFEs are categorized as the following three types: pre-initiating event interaction (e.g., maintenance of errors, testing errors, calibration errors), initiating event related interactions (e.g., human error causing loss of power, human error causing system trip), and post-initiating event (e.g., all action actuating manual safety system backup of an automatic system). Lack of resources and utilization of research reactor calls a vicious circle in terms of safety degradation. The safety degradation poses the vulnerability of human failure during research reactor utilization process. Typically, evaluation of pre-initiators related to test and maintenance are not taking into account in PSA for research reactors. This paper aims to investigate the impact of pre-initiating events related to test and maintenance activities on PSA results in terms of core damage frequency for a research reactor.

Impact of Pre-Initiators on PSA in Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochirbat, Chimedtseren; Kim, Sok Chul

2014-01-01

Most of nuclear power plants had already conducted PSA work to examine their plant safety for identifying vulnerability and preparing the mitigating strategies for severe accident. However, the PSA for research reactor has been conducted limitedly comparing with nuclear power plants due to lack of awareness and resources. Most of PSA results demonstrated that human failure events (HFEs) take a major role of risk contributor in terms of core damage frequency. HFEs are categorized as the following three types: pre-initiating event interaction (e.g., maintenance of errors, testing errors, calibration errors), initiating event related interactions (e.g., human error causing loss of power, human error causing system trip), and post-initiating event (e.g., all action actuating manual safety system backup of an automatic system). Lack of resources and utilization of research reactor calls a vicious circle in terms of safety degradation. The safety degradation poses the vulnerability of human failure during research reactor utilization process. Typically, evaluation of pre-initiators related to test and maintenance are not taking into account in PSA for research reactors. This paper aims to investigate the impact of pre-initiating events related to test and maintenance activities on PSA results in terms of core damage frequency for a research reactor

View all initiatives | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

The Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa is focused on strengthening the capacities of science granting councils in order to support research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to economic and social development in Sub-Saharan Africa. We fund researchers driving global change.

Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia ...

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

The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) builds the resilience of vulnerable populations and their livelihoods in these hot spots by supporting collaborative research on climate change adaptation to inform policy and practice. CARIAA takes a unique approach by organizing research ...

Improving practical training ability at Nuclear Research Institute oriented to nuclear human resource development within First Phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen Xuan Hai; Nguyen Nhi Dien; Pham Dinh Khang; Pham Ngoc Tuan; Tuong Thi Thu Huong

2016-01-01

This report presents results of a research project “Improving practical training ability at Nuclear Research Institute oriented to nuclear human resource development within first phase”. In the frameworks of the project, a guiding document on 27 Ortec’s experiments was translated into Vietnamese. Several equipment are used in the experiments such as neutron howitzer, gamma counter, multi-channel analyzer and alpha-gamma coincidence spectroscopy were designed and fabricated. These products contributed to improving the ability of research and training of Training and Education Center, Nuclear Research Institute (NRI). (author)

Final results of the fifth three-dimensional dynamic Atomic Energy Research benchmark problem calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadek, J.

1999-01-01

The paper gives a brief survey of the fifth three-dimensional dynamic Atomic Energy Research benchmark calculation results received with the code DYN3D/ATHLET at NRI Rez. This benchmark was defined at the seventh Atomic Energy Research Symposium (Hoernitz near Zittau, 1997). Its initiating event is a symmetrical break of the main steam header at the end of the first fuel cycle and hot shutdown conditions with one stuck out control rod group. The calculations were performed with the externally coupled codes ATHLET Mod.1.1 Cycle C and DYN3DH1.1/M3. The standard WWER-440/213 input deck of ATHLET code was adopted for benchmark purposes and for coupling with the code DYN3D. The first part of paper contains a brief characteristics of NPP input deck and reactor core model. The second part shows the time dependencies of important global and local parameters. In comparison with the results published at the eighth Atomic Energy Research Symposium (Bystrice nad Pernstejnem, 1998), the results published in this paper are based on improved ATHLET descriptions of control and safety systems. (Author)

African Tobacco Control Research Initiative Scoping Exercise ...

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

The African Tobacco Control Research Initiative (ATCRI) was established in ... of taxation, advertising bans, smoke-free places and graphic health warnings. ... Special journal issue highlights IDRC-supported findings on women's paid work.

Effect of Initial Conditions on Reproducibility of Scientific Research

Science.gov (United States)

Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Hozo, Iztok

2014-01-01

Background: It is estimated that about half of currently published research cannot be reproduced. Many reasons have been offered as explanations for failure to reproduce scientific research findings- from fraud to the issues related to design, conduct, analysis, or publishing scientific research. We also postulate a sensitive dependency on initial conditions by which small changes can result in the large differences in the research findings when attempted to be reproduced at later times. Methods: We employed a simple logistic regression equation to model the effect of covariates on the initial study findings. We then fed the input from the logistic equation into a logistic map function to model stability of the results in repeated experiments over time. We illustrate the approach by modeling effects of different factors on the choice of correct treatment. Results: We found that reproducibility of the study findings depended both on the initial values of all independent variables and the rate of change in the baseline conditions, the latter being more important. When the changes in the baseline conditions vary by about 3.5 to about 4 in between experiments, no research findings could be reproduced. However, when the rate of change between the experiments is ≤2.5 the results become highly predictable between the experiments. Conclusions: Many results cannot be reproduced because of the changes in the initial conditions between the experiments. Better control of the baseline conditions in-between the experiments may help improve reproducibility of scientific findings. PMID:25132705

Think Tank Initiative Phase 2: Strengthening Research Capacity ...

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

Public policies work best when local actors design and implement them. ... that can do the ongoing research and analysis needed to effect improvements over time. ... to enable think tanks to improve organizational performance, research quality, and ... New initiative to further global sustainable development goals in health.

Research on Initiation Sensitivity of Solid Explosive and Planer Initiation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N Matsuo

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Firstly, recently, there are a lot of techniques being demanded for complex process, various explosive initiation method and highly accurate control of detonation are needed. In this research, the metal foil explosion using high current is focused attention on the method to obtain linear or planate initiation easily, and the main evaluation of metal foil explosion to initiate explosive was conducted. The explosion power was evaluated by observing optically the underwater shock wave generated from the metal foil explosion. Secondly, in high energy explosive processing, there are several applications, such as shock compaction, explosive welding, food processing and explosive forming. In these explosive applications, a high sensitive explosive has been mainly used. The high sensitive explosive is so dangerous, since it can lead to explosion suddenly. So, for developing explosives, the safety is the most important thing as well as low manufacturing cost and explosive characteristics. In this work, we have focused on the initiation sensitivity of a solid explosive and performed numerical analysis of sympathetic detonation. The numerical analysis is calculated by LS-DYNA 3D (commercial code. To understand the initiation reaction of an explosive, Lee-Tarver equation was used and impact detonation process was analyzed by ALE code. Configuration of simulation model is a quarter of circular cylinder. The donor type of explosive (SEP was used as initiation explosive. When the donor explosive is exploded, a shock wave is generated and it propagates into PMMA, air and metallic layers in order. During passing through the layers, the shock wave is attenuated and finally, it has influence on the acceptor explosive, Comp. B. Here, we evaluate the initiation of acceptor explosive and discuss about detonation pressure, reactive rate of acceptor explosive and attenuation of impact pressure.

The Danish 22q11 research initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmock, Henriette; Vangkilde, Anders; Larsen, Kit Melissa

2015-01-01

mechanisms may come from studies of subjects with homogenous etiologies. Breakthroughs in psychiatric genetics have shown that several genetic anomalies predispose for neurodevelopmental brain disorders. We have established a Danish research initiative to study the common microdeletion at chromosome 22q11...

Multi-band Microwave Antennas and Devices based on Generalized Negative-Refractive-Index Transmission Lines

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Colan Graeme Matthew

Focused on the quad-band generalized negative-refractive-index transmission line (G-NRI-TL), this thesis presents a variety of novel printed G-NRI-TL multi-band microwave device and antenna prototypes. A dual-band coupled-line coupler, an all-pass G-NRI-TL bridged-T circuit, a dual-band metamaterial leaky-wave antenna, and a multi-band G-NRI-TL resonant antenna are all new developments resulting from this research. In addition, to continue the theme of multi-band components, negative-refractive-index transmission lines are used to create a dual-band circularly polarized transparent patch antenna and a two-element wideband decoupled meander antenna system. High coupling over two independently-specified frequency bands is the hallmark of the G-NRI-TL coupler: it is 0.35lambda0 long but achieves approximately -3 dB coupling over both bands with a maximum insertion loss of 1 dB. This represents greater design flexibility than conventional coupled-line couplers and less loss than subsequent G-NRI-TL couplers. The single-ended bridged-T G-NRI-TL offers a metamaterial unit cell with an all-pass magnitude response up to 8 GHz, while still preserving the quad-band phase response of the original circuit. It is shown how the all-pass response leads to wider bandwidths and improved matching in quad-band inverters, power dividers, and hybrid couplers. The dual-band metamaterial leaky-wave antenna presented here was the first to be reported in the literature, and it allows broadside radiation at both 2 GHz and 6 GHz without experiencing the broadside stopband common to conventional periodic antennas. Likewise, the G-NRI-TL resonant antenna is the first reported instance of such a device, achieving quad-band operation between 2.5 GHz and 5.6 GHz, with a minimum radiation efficiency of 80%. Negative-refractive-index transmission line loading is applied to two devices: an NRI-TL meander antenna achieves a measured 52% impedance bandwidth, while a square patch antenna incorporates

View all initiatives | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

The Open Data for Development program's global network will facilitate and scale innovative approaches to open data to ensure benefits reach citizens in developing countries. Combining research and action to address scaling and sustainability of open data for development initiatives is key to the network's success.

The Global Interaction Research Initiative at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bardram, Jakob Eyvind; Bjørn, Pernille; Glenstrup, Arne John

2011-01-01

This showcase paper describes the Global Interaction Research Initiative – GIRI – recently inaugurated at the IT University of Copenhagen. It presents the motivation for this initiative, namely that the use of information technology is the core enabling factor for global collaboration and business...... initiative, and we invite other researchers to join....

The interplay of management accounting research and NPM health initiatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmmose, Margit

This paper investigates the development of management accounting research in the context of New Public Management (NPM) initiatives in health care. Drawing on concepts from diffusion theory and earlier literature reviews, the paper examines the interplay between management accounting research...... and health care reforms in relation to country of origin, development, theoretical approach, research method and topic. The study thus establishes a different focus; namely the interrelationship between the development of management accounting research and practical socio-political NPM innovations. The study...... shows that management accounting techniques are increasingly adopted in governmental health reforms and diffused across nations, themes and initiatives through time with the result that wider social practices become more and more integrated in management accounting research themes...

Editorial : initiating cultural heritage research to increase Europe's competitiveness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pereira Roders, A.R.; Oers, van R.

2011-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the contribution of European Commission (EC) initiatives to stimulate cultural heritage research over the last 20 years and the contribution of the research results to cultural heritage management and sustainable development.

Initiating a New Research Phase in the Field of International Entrepreneurship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coviello, Nicole; Tanev, Stoyan

2017-01-01

In a recent publication, Nicole Coviello (2015) emphasized the need to re-think existing research on international entrepreneurship and, more specifically, research on born-global firms. She pointed out that the main value of a critical review lies in initiating a new research phase focusing on t...... be of relevance for new technology firms aiming at an international or global engagement from their very inception.......In a recent publication, Nicole Coviello (2015) emphasized the need to re-think existing research on international entrepreneurship and, more specifically, research on born-global firms. She pointed out that the main value of a critical review lies in initiating a new research phase focusing...

The Economics of Tobacco Control Research Initiative | IDRC ...

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The Economics of Tobacco Control Research Initiative ... action on tobacco will cause economic harm to governments, businesses, farmers, and poor families. ... Sign up now for IDRC news and views sent directly to your inbox each month.

Annual report 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-07-01

A review is presented of the economic data and activities of the Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) at Rez. The income, operating expenditures and number of man-years employed (total staff and university graduates) are given for the NRI as a whole and separately for the Division of Nuclear Power and Safety, Division of Reactor Materials, Division of Fuel Cycle Chemistry, Division of Reactor Physics, Division of Radionuclides and Ionizing Radiation, Central Analytical Laboratory, and Research Reactor Laboratory. (J.B.)

Annual report 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-05-01

A review is presented of the economic data and activities of the Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) at Rez. The income, operating expenditures and number of man-years employed (total staff and university graduates) are given for the NRI as a whole and separately for the Nuclear Power and Safety Division, Reactor Materials Division, Fuel Cycle Chemistry Division, Reactor Physics Division, Radionuclides and Ionizing Radiation Division, Central Analytical Laboratory, Research Reactor Laboratory, and Technical and Production Division. (J.B.)

Evolutions at SCK-CEN Mol. An example of trends in nuclear research institutes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dejonghe, P.A.J.; Sakurada, M.

1995-01-01

In the 1950s and 1960s, large nuclear research institutes (NRIs) were established by governments in many countries to play a role as centres of nuclear research and development. At the beginning, they were mostly financed through government grants and contracts. Since then, significant changes have occurred which affect the operation of NRIs: nuclear power has become an economic reality, but is still a matter of socio-political debate, the major infrastructure gets older, and the question may be raised to what extent governments and/or the industry will still be willing to support NRIs, at least in their present form, what their mission would be in the future and which alternative ways of financing could be developed. Considering these evolutions, the OECD/NEA launched a study on past trends and the current state of NRIs, in co-operation with 40 laboratories. Mainly on the basis of the contribution of the Belgian NRI to the study, some problems and trends are discussed in the paper: growth of NRIs and financial support; evolution of programmes; diversification: opportunities and consequences; ageing of nuclear facilities; technical liabilities; creation of dedicated establishments for nuclear services; and future needs for NRIs. The paper analyses the necessity of maintaining some form of NRI in view of the need for programmes, expertise and staff in a number of areas, given the present and anticipated requirements of the nuclear sector. (author). 4 refs

US Department of Energy nuclear energy research initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, F.

2001-01-01

This paper describes the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) that has been established to address and help overcome the principal technical and scientific issues affecting the future use of nuclear energy in the United States. (author)

Experimental and calculational works on characteristics of the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor. Second edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pham Ngoc Khoi; Nguyen Kim Dung

2016-03-01

Recognizing the significant value and necessity of publishing the scientific document of experimental and calculational works on the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor (DNRR) physics and engineering for research, operation, training activities as well as for international scientific exchange, Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency (VAEA) and Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute have completed editing to publish the “Experimental and Calculational Works on Characteristics of THE DALAT NUCLEAR RESEARCH REACTOR” which consists of 26 typical papers representing the most important experimental and calculational results of the DNRR physics and engineering obtained during 30 years of operation and exploitation with the contribution of Vietnamese and former USSR’s experts, especially scientists and engineers working at the Reactor Center of the NRI

NASA Gulf of Mexico Initiative Hypoxia Research

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Curtis D.

2012-01-01

The Applied Science & Technology Project Office at Stennis Space Center (SSC) manages NASA's Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GOMI). Addressing short-term crises and long-term issues, GOMI participants seek to understand the environment using remote sensing, in-situ observations, laboratory analyses, field observations and computational models. New capabilities are transferred to end-users to help them make informed decisions. Some GOMI activities of interest to the hypoxia research community are highlighted.

Economics of tobacco control research initiative: Operating costs for ...

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

Economics of tobacco control research initiative: Operating costs for capacity building ... (but misinformed) beliefs about the economic benefits of the tobacco industry ... Nutrition, health policy, and ethics in the age of public-private partnerships.

Peer Mentoring for Undergraduates in a Research-Focused Diversity Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Thomas E.; Logan, Kay; Lindwall, Jennifer; Beals, Caitlyn

2017-01-01

To provide multi-dimensional support for undergraduates from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds who aspire to careers in research, the BUILD EXITO project, part of a major NIH-funded diversity initiative, matches each scholar with three mentors: peer mentor (advanced student), career mentor (faculty adviser), and research mentor (research…

International Society of Nephrology-Hydration and Kidney Health Initiative - Expanding Research and Knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Moist, Louise M; Clark, William F; Segantini, Luca; Damster, Sandrine; Le Bellego, Laurent; Wong, Germaine; Tonelli, Marcello

2016-01-01

The purpose of this manuscript is to describe a collaborative research initiative to explore the role of hydration in kidney health. Our understanding of the effects of hydration in health and disease is surprisingly limited, particularly when we consider the vital role of hydration in basic human physiology. Recent initiatives and research outcomes have challenged the global medical community to expand our knowledge about hydration, including the differences between water, sugared beverages and other consumables. Identification of the potential mechanisms contributing to the benefits of hydration has stimulated the global nephrology community to advance research regarding hydration for kidney health. Hydration and kidney health has been a focus of research for several research centers with a rapidly expanding world literature and knowledge. The International Society of Nephrology has collaborated with Danone Nutricia Research to promote development of kidney research initiatives, which focus on the role of hydration in kidney health and the global translation of this new information. This initiative supports the use of existing data in different regions and countries to expand dialogue among experts in the field of hydration and health, and to increase scientific interaction and productivity with the ultimate goal of improving kidney health. © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Breakfast in human nutrition: The international breakfast research initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gibney, Michael J.; Barr, Susan I.; Bellisle, France

2018-01-01

to relate breakfast nutrient intakes to overall diet quality. The present review describes a novel and harmonised approach to the study of the nutritional impact of breakfast through The International Breakfast research Initiative involving national dietary survey data from Canada, Denmark, France, Spain...

A Strategic Approach for Funding Research: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Patient Safety Initiative 2000-2004

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Keyes, Margaret A; Ortiz, Eduardo; Queenan, Deborah; Hughes, Ronda; Chesley, Francis; Hogan, Eileen M

2005-01-01

.... While the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has historically funded some research on patient safety, much of that support was driven by a small number of highquality investigator-initiated research projects...

Genuine participation in participant-centred research initiatives: the rhetoric and the potential reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Feeney, Oliver; Borry, Pascal; Felzmann, Heike; Galvagni, Lucia; Haukkala, Ari; Loi, Michele; Nordal, Salvör; Rakic, Vojin; Riso, Brígida; Sterckx, Sigrid; Vears, Danya

2018-04-01

The introduction of Web 2.0 technology, along with a population increasingly proficient in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), coupled with the rapid advancements in genetic testing methods, has seen an increase in the presence of participant-centred research initiatives. Such initiatives, aided by the centrality of ICT interconnections, and the ethos they propound seem to further embody the ideal of increasing the participatory nature of research, beyond what might be possible in non-ICT contexts alone. However, the majority of such research seems to actualise a much narrower definition of 'participation'-where it is merely the case that such research initiatives have increased contact with participants through ICT but are otherwise non-participatory in any important normative sense. Furthermore, the rhetoric of participant-centred initiatives tends to inflate this minimalist form of participation into something that it is not, i.e. something genuinely participatory, with greater connections with both the ICT-facilitated political contexts and the largely non-ICT participatory initiatives that have expanded in contemporary health and research contexts. In this paper, we highlight that genuine (ICT-based) 'participation' should enable a reasonable minimum threshold of participatory engagement through, at least, three central participatory elements: educative, sense of being involved and degree of control. While we agree with criticisms that, at present, genuine participation seems more rhetoric than reality, we believe that there is clear potential for a greater ICT-facilitated participatory engagement on all three participatory elements. We outline some practical steps such initiatives could take to further develop these elements and thereby their level of ICT-facilitated participatory engagement.

Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative (ATTRI) : User Needs Assessment: Stakeholder Engagement Report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-01

The Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative (ATTRI) is a joint U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) initiative that is co-led by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). ATTRI ...

Project setup and learning processes in participative systems oriented research initiatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langeveld, J W A; Crawford, A; Paine, M

2006-01-01

makers and administrators, grassroots movements and research staff. It is expected that such a coordinated research initiative can revitalize the contribution of farming to rural development and yield important insight to be used by the individual farmer in coping with future challenges....

The European initiative on low-dose risk research: from the HLEG to MELODI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belli, Mauro; Tabocchini, Maria Antonella; Jourdain, Jean-Rene; Repussard, Jacques; Salomaa, Sisko

2015-01-01

The importance of low-dose risk research for radiation protection is now widely recognised. The European Commission (EC) and five European Union (EU) Member States involved in the Euratom Programme set up in 2008 a 'High Level and Expert Group on European Low Dose Risk Research' (HLEG) aimed at identifying research needs and proposing a better integration of European efforts in the field. The HLEG revised the research challenges and proposed a European research strategy based on a 'Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative' (MELODI). In April 2009, five national organisations, with the support of the EC, created the initial core of MELODI (http://www.melodi-online.eu) with a view to integrate the EU institutions with significant programmes in the field, while being open to other scientific organisations and stakeholders, and to develop an agreed strategic research agenda (SRA) and roadmap. Since then, open workshops have been organised yearly, exploring ideas for SRA implementation. As of October 2014, 31 institutions have been included as members of MELODI. HLEG recommendations and MELODI SRA have become important reference points in the radiation protection part of the Euratom Research Programme. MELODI has established close interactions through Memorandum of Understanding with other European platforms involved in radiation protection (Alliance, NERIS and EURADOS) and, together with EURADOS, with the relevant medical European Associations. The role of Joint Programming in priority setting, foreseen in the forthcoming EU Horizon 2020, calls for keeping MELODI an open, inclusive and transparent initiative, able to avoid redundancies and possible conflicts of interest, while promoting common initiatives in radiation protection research. An important issue is the establishment of a proper methodology for managing these initiatives, and this includes the set-up of an independent MELODI Scientific Committee recently extended to Alliance, NERIS

The European initiative on low-dose risk research: from the HLEG to MELODI.

Science.gov (United States)

Belli, Mauro; Tabocchini, Maria Antonella; Jourdain, Jean-René; Salomaa, Sisko; Repussard, Jacques

2015-09-01

The importance of low-dose risk research for radiation protection is now widely recognised. The European Commission (EC) and five European Union (EU) Member States involved in the Euratom Programme set up in 2008 a 'High Level and Expert Group on European Low Dose Risk Research' (HLEG) aimed at identifying research needs and proposing a better integration of European efforts in the field. The HLEG revised the research challenges and proposed a European research strategy based on a 'Multidisciplinary European LOw Dose Initiative' (MELODI). In April 2009, five national organisations, with the support of the EC, created the initial core of MELODI (http://www.melodi-online.eu) with a view to integrate the EU institutions with significant programmes in the field, while being open to other scientific organisations and stakeholders, and to develop an agreed strategic research agenda (SRA) and roadmap. Since then, open workshops have been organised yearly, exploring ideas for SRA implementation. As of October 2014, 31 institutions have been included as members of MELODI. HLEG recommendations and MELODI SRA have become important reference points in the radiation protection part of the Euratom Research Programme. MELODI has established close interactions through Memorandum of Understanding with other European platforms involved in radiation protection (Alliance, NERIS and EURADOS) and, together with EURADOS, with the relevant medical European Associations. The role of Joint Programming in priority setting, foreseen in the forthcoming EU Horizon 2020, calls for keeping MELODI an open, inclusive and transparent initiative, able to avoid redundancies and possible conflicts of interest, while promoting common initiatives in radiation protection research. An important issue is the establishment of a proper methodology for managing these initiatives, and this includes the set-up of an independent MELODI Scientific Committee recently extended to Alliance, NERIS and EURADOS, with

A joint european initiative on IASCC issues: the new Amalia nuclear network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sevini, F.; Debarberis, L.; Toerroenen, K.; Iracane, D.; Van Dijk, S.

2002-01-01

The Institute for energy of the joint research center of the European Commission has recently organized a workshop on IASCC (irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking) issues at Petten, with the participation of Tractebel, CEA, EDF, Ringhals, NRI from Czech Republic and of many other institutes. The conclusions showed that in-core IASCC experiments are lacking and should be developed in order to make substantial progress in the field. Beside these technical considerations, it is also important to propose an European program to set our own standards instead of relying on American propositions. The next action is therefore establishing a European network of IASCC specialists, with an integrated laboratory, formed by the complementary tools provided by the member institutions. The new network will exchange information, results and will coordinate the use of resources. AMALIA is the acronym for ''assessment of materials ageing under load and irradiation-assisted corrosion''. (A.C.)

Industry and forest wetlands: Cooperative research initiatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shepard, J.P.; Lucier, A.A.; Haines, L.W.

1993-01-01

In 1989 the forest products industry responded to a challenge of the National Wetlands Policy Forum to initiate a cooperative research program on forest wetlands management organized through the National Council of the Paper Industry for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI). The objective is to determine how forest landowners can manage wetlands for timber production while protecting other wetland functions such as flood storage, water purification, and food chain/wildlife habitat support. Studies supported by the NCASI in 9 states are summarized. Technical support on wetland regulatory issues to member companies is part of the research program. Since guidelines for recognizing wetlands for regulatory proposed have changed frequently, the NCASI has recommend an explicit link between wetland delineation and a classification system that considers difference among wetland types in vegetation, soils, hydrology, appearance, landscape position, and other factors. 16 refs

Initial robotics research for environmental restoration and waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamel, W.R.; Mann, R.C.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the initial research and development activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that will support the technology development component of the overall National Robotics Technology Development Program (NRTDP). The NRTDP is a subelement of the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (ER and WM) 5-Year Applied Research, Development, Demonstration, Testing, and Evaluation Plan and of overall efforts at DOE operational sites around the country. ORNL research will focus on fundamental improvement of remote manipulation through enhancements of the human man/machine interface, integration of automated functions, and the incorporation of machine intelligence to increase productivity. Background and goals for these activities are presented in this paper

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: Scoping research in broad topic areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tavender Emma

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI. Methods The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks: 1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. Results One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60 and low (n = 69 importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: scoping research in broad topic areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bragge, Peter; Clavisi, Ornella; Turner, Tari; Tavender, Emma; Collie, Alex; Gruen, Russell L

2011-06-17

Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks:1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers) who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60) and low (n = 69) importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority questions. GEM Initiative evidence maps have a broad

The big data phenomenon: The business and public impact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chroneos-Krasavac Biljana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The subject of the research in this paper is the emergence of big data phenomenon and application of big data technologies for business' needs with the specific emphasis on marketing and trade. The purpose of the research is to make a comprehensive overview of different discussions about the characteristics, application possibilities, achievements, constraints and the future of big data development. Based on the relevant literature, the concept of big data is presented and the potential of large impact of big data on business activities is discussed. One of the key findings indicates that the most prominent change that big data brings to the business arena is the appearance of new business models, as well as revisions of the existing ones. Substantial part of the paper is devoted to the marketing and marketing research which are under the strong impact of big data. The most exciting outcomes of the research in this domain concerns the new abilities in profiling the customers. In addition to the vast amount of structured data which are used in marketing for a long period, big data initiatives suggest the inclusion of semi-structured and unstructured data, opening up the room for substantial improvements in customer profile analysis. Considering the usage of information communication technologies (ICT as a prerequisite for big data project success, the concept of Networked Readiness Index (NRI is presented and the position of Serbia and regional countries in NRI framework is analyzed. The main outcome of the analysis points out that Serbia, with its NRI score took the lowest position in the region, excluding Albania. Also, Serbia is lagging behind the appropriate EU mean values regarding all observed composite indicators - pillars. Further on, this analysis reveals the domains of ICT usage in Serbia, which could be focused for an improvement and where incentives can be made. These domains are: political and regulatory environment, business and

The Precision Medicine Initiative's All of Us Research Program: an agenda for research on its ethical, legal, and social issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Sankar, Pamela L; Parker, Lisa S

2017-07-01

The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) is an innovative approach to developing a new model of health care that takes into account individual differences in people's genes, environments, and lifestyles. A cornerstone of the initiative is the PMI All of Us Research Program (formerly known as PMI-Cohort Program) which will create a cohort of 1 million volunteers who will contribute their health data and biospecimens to a centralized national database to support precision medicine research. The PMI All of US Research Program is the largest longitudinal study in the history of the United States. The designers of the Program anticipated and addressed some of the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) associated with the initiative. To date, however, there is no plan to call for research regarding ELSI associated with the Program-PMI All of Us program. Based on analysis of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding announcements for the PMI All of Us program, we have identified three ELSI themes: cohort diversity and health disparities, participant engagement, and privacy and security. We review All of Us Research Program plans to address these issues and then identify additional ELSI within each domain that warrant ongoing investigation as the All of Us Research Program develops. We conclude that PMI's All of Us Research Program represents a significant opportunity and obligation to identify, analyze, and respond to ELSI, and we call on the PMI to initiate a research program capable of taking on these challenges.Genet Med advance online publication 01 December 2016.

The NIMH Research Domain Criteria Initiative: Background, Issues, and Pragmatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozak, Michael J; Cuthbert, Bruce N

2016-03-01

This article describes the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative. The description includes background, rationale, goals, and the way the initiative has been developed and organized. The central RDoC concepts are summarized and the current matrix of constructs that have been vetted by workshops of extramural scientists is depicted. A number of theoretical and methodological issues that can arise in connection with the nature of RDoC constructs are highlighted: subjectivism and heterophenomenology, desynchrony and theoretical neutrality among units of analysis, theoretical reductionism, endophenotypes, biomarkers, neural circuits, construct "grain size," and analytic challenges. The importance of linking RDoC constructs to psychiatric clinical problems is discussed. Some pragmatics of incorporating RDoC concepts into applications for NIMH research funding are considered, including sampling design. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Comment on the in-core measurement in the WWER nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krett, V.; Dach, K.; Erben, O.

1985-01-01

The activity of the Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) Rez in the field of in-core measurement sensors is described in the paper. The results of comparison and calibration experiments realized on the WWR-S research reactor at the NRI are presented. Measurements with fission calorimeters and SPN detectors carried out in the framework of diagnostic fuel assembly program of WWER NPP reactors are described. Noise measurements with detectors of in-core instrumentation of diagnostic fuel assemblies are also mentioned. Comparison experiments on the WWER-440 NPP reactor are described and the method of function verification of neutron sensors of the in-core control system of these reactors is given. (author)

University of Maryland MRSEC - Directory

Science.gov (United States)

MRSEC Director 1996-2009 1996-2009 IRG 1, NRI Research Scientists William Cullen Cullen, William Assoc ; Engineering 2007-2013 Seed, IRG 2, SEF Research Scientists William Cullen Cullen, William Asst. Res. Scientist

Presenting Digital Archives with Historical GIS: Mapping Joseph Needham's Trips in WWII China

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, H.

2017-12-01

Since 2016, select groups of students (aged 14-17) from the Independent School Foundation Academy (ISF), Hong Kong, have been constructing a Historical GIS system for the Needham Research Institute (NRI), Cambridge, UK, during their annual summer school in Cambridge. Students read the diaries and reports of Joseph Needham, the Cambridge scientist who worked in China from 1943 to 1946 as the head of the Sino-British Science Cooperation Office, and mapped out both Needham's itineraries and the location of Chinese scientific institutions he visited. By taking part in this project, students learnt two sets of skills: the historian's skills of reading and analyzing primary sources, and the geographer's skills of creating datasets and maps with a GIS software. This project will be carried on in future years, to gradually include other trips Joseph Needham undertook in China in the second half of the 20th century, thus making an essential contribution to the digitalization and the diffusion of the NRI's archives. As a historical researcher in NRI and an educator, the presenter will offer some reflections on the benefit of historical GIS projects as a venue par excellence for research institutions and schools to join force, enhancing both academic research and teaching with an enlarged social impact.

Outline of research proposals selected in the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwamura, Takamichi; Okubo, Tsutomu; Usui, Shuji

1999-08-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) created a new R and D program called Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI)' in FY 1999 with the appropriation of $19 million. The major objectives of the NERI program is to preserve the nuclear science and engineering infrastructure in the U.S. and to maintain a competitive position in the global nuclear market in the 21st century. In may, 1999, the DOE selected 45 research proposals for the first year of the NERI program. The proposals are classified into the following five R and D areas: Proliferation Resistant Reactors and/or Fuel Cycles, New Reactor Designs, Advanced Nuclear Fuel, New Technology for Management of Nuclear Waste, Fundamental Nuclear Science. Since the NERI is a very epoch-making and strategic nuclear research program sponsored by the U.S. government, the trend of the NERI is considered to affect the future R and D programs in Japanese nuclear industries and research institutes including JAERI. The present report summarizes the analyzed results of the selected 45 research proposals. Staffs comments are made on each proposal in connection with the R and D activities in JAERI. (author)

Mbarara University Research Training Initiative: a spin-off of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative in Uganda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wakida E

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Edith Wakida,1 Samuel Maling,2 Celestino Obua3 1Office of Research Administration, 2Department of Psychiatry, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Medicine, 3Department of Pharmacomology and Therapeutics, Office of the Vice Chancellor, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda Abstract: Scientific productivity in Africa is insignificant compared to that in the rest of the world. This has been attributed to the fact that, in spite of academic qualifications, junior ­faculty, who form the majority of academics in low- and middle-income countries lack experience in research. This calls for a need to put in place programs that provide hands-on training in research so that junior faculty can conduct relevant research. The Mbarara University Research ­Training Initiative, a Fogarty International Center-funded program, is one such program that was developed to provide research capacity training for junior faculty at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. The program utilizes health priority areas to provide research training to junior faculty. During the training, they are given short-term-focused research training on particular knowledge and skills, which they apply while conducting the mentored research. Keywords: junior faculty, MURTI, short training, mentored research

Earth Observation Research for GMES Initial Operations

Science.gov (United States)

van Beijma, Sybrand; Balzter, Heiko; Nicolas-Perea, Virginia

2013-04-01

GMES Initial Operations - Network for Earth Observation Research Training (GIONET) is a Marie Curie funded project that aims to establish the first of a kind European Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation Research Training. GIONET is a partnership of leading Universities, research institutes and private companies from across Europe aiming to cultivate a community of early stage researchers in the areas of optical and radar remote sensing skilled for the emerging GMES land monitoring services during the GMES Initial Operations period (2011-2013) and beyond. GIONET is expected to satisfy the demand for highly skilled researchers and provide personnel for operational phase of the GMES and monitoring and emergency services. It will achieve this by: * Providing postgraduate training in Earth Observation Science that exposes students to different research disciplines and complementary skills, providing work experiences in the private and academic sectors, and leading to a recognized qualification (Doctorate). * Enabling access to first class training in both fundamental and applied research skills to early-stage researchers at world-class academic centres and market leaders in the private sector. * Building on the experience from previous GMES research and development projects in the land monitoring and emergency information services. * Developing a collaborative training network, through the placement of researchers for short periods in other GIONET organizations. Reliable, thorough and up-to-date environmental information is essential for understanding climate change the impacts it has on people's lives and ways to adapt to them. The GIONET researchers are being trained to understand the complex physical processes that determine how electromagnetic radiation interacts with the atmosphere and the land surface ultimately form the signal received by a satellite. In order to achieve this, the researchers have been placed in industry and universities across Europe, as

Closing Symposium of the German Research Initiative ComFliTe

CERN Document Server

Radespiel, Rolf; Burg, Jan; Sørensen, Kaare

2013-01-01

This book reports on the German research initiative ComFliTe (Computational Flight Testing), the main goal of which was to enhance the capabilities of and tools for numerical simulation in flight physics to support future aircraft design and development. The initiative was coordinated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and promoted collaboration between the aircraft industry and academia. Activities focused on improving physical modeling for separated flows, developing advanced numerical algorithms for series computations and sensitivity predictions, as well as surrogate and reduced order modeling for aero data production and developing robust fluid-, structure- and flight mechanics coupling procedures. Further topics included more efficient handling of aircraft control surfaces and improving simulation methods for maneuvers, such as gust encounter. The important results of this three-year initiative were presented during the ComFliTe closing symposium, which took place at the DLR in Braunschweig, Germany, ...

Prognostic Value of the Nutritional Risk Index in Heart Transplant Recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Barge-Caballero, Eduardo; García-López, Fernando; Marzoa-Rivas, Raquel; Barge-Caballero, Gonzalo; Couto-Mallón, David; Paniagua-Martín, María J; Solla-Buceta, Miguel; Velasco-Sierra, Carlos; Pita-Gutiérrez, Francisco; Herrera-Noreña, José M; Cuenca-Castillo, José J; Vázquez-Rodríguez, José Manuel; Crespo-Leiro, María G

2017-08-01

To study the prognostic impact of preoperative nutritional status, as assessed through the nutritional risk index (NRI), on postoperative outcomes after heart transplantation (HT). We conducted a retrospective, single-center study of 574 patients who underwent HT from 1991 to 2014. Preoperative NRI was calculated as 1.519 × serum albumin (g/L) + 41.7 × (body weight [kg] / ideal body weight [kg]). The association between preoperative NRI and postoperative outcomes was analyzed by means of multivariable logistic regression and multivariable Cox regression. Mean NRI before HT was 100.9 ± 9.9. According to this parameter, the prevalence of severe nutritional risk (NRI risk (83.5 ≤ NRI risk (97.5 ≤ NRI risk of postoperative infection (adjusted OR, 0.97; 95%CI, 0.95-1.00; P = .027) and prolonged postoperative ventilator support (adjusted OR, 0.96; 95%CI, 0.94-0.98; P = .001). Patients at moderate or severe nutritional risk had significantly higher 1-year post-HT mortality (adjusted HR, 1.55; 95%CI, 1.22-1.97; P risk of postoperative complications and mortality after HT. Preoperative NRI determination may help to identify HT candidates who might benefit from nutritional intervention. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The International Permafrost Association: current initiatives for cryospheric research

Science.gov (United States)

Schollaen, Karina; Lewkowicz, Antoni G.; Christiansen, Hanne H.; Romanovsky, Vladimir E.; Lantuit, Hugues; Schrott, Lothar; Sergeev, Dimitry; Wei, Ma

2015-04-01

The International Permafrost Association (IPA), founded in 1983, has as its objectives to foster the dissemination of knowledge concerning permafrost and to promote cooperation among persons and national or international organizations engaged in scientific investigation and engineering work on permafrost. The IPA's primary responsibilities are convening International Permafrost Conferences, undertaking special projects such as preparing databases, maps, bibliographies, and glossaries, and coordinating international field programs and networks. Membership is through adhering national or multinational organizations or as individuals in countries where no Adhering Body exists. The IPA is governed by its Executive Committee and a Council consisting of representatives from 26 Adhering Bodies having interests in some aspect of theoretical, basic and applied frozen ground research, including permafrost, seasonal frost, artificial freezing and periglacial phenomena. This presentation details the IPA core products, achievements and activities as well as current projects in cryospheric research. One of the most important core products is the circumpolar permafrost map. The IPA also fosters and supports the activities of the Global Terrestrial Network on Permafrost (GTN-P) sponsored by the Global Terrestrial Observing System, GTOS, and the Global Climate Observing System, GCOS, whose long-term goal is to obtain a comprehensive view of the spatial structure, trends, and variability of changes in the active layer thickness and permafrost temperature. A further important initiative of the IPA are the biannually competitively-funded Action Groups which work towards the production of well-defined products over a period of two years. Current IPA Action Groups are working on highly topical and interdisciplinary issues, such as the development of a regional Palaeo-map of Permafrost in Eurasia, the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge about the use of thermokarst and permafrost

The Gulf of Mexico research initiative: It takes a village

Science.gov (United States)

Colwell, Rita R.

2016-07-01

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was established at the time of one of the most significant ecological events in recent memory, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Defined by the discharge of over 150 million gallons of crude oil and the introduction of over 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersants into the Gulf system, the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster reached the Gulf Coast's wetlands and beaches and impacted the surface and deep ocean. The ecological story of the event reveals a strong linkage between the deep sea research community and research priorities in the Gulf of Mexico (coastal processes, human health, etc.). Deep Sea research efforts have revealed critical parts of the story, providing information on transport, fate, and effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil release and subsequent recovery of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems.

Initial verification and validation of RAZORBACK - A research reactor transient analysis code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talley, Darren G. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-09-01

This report describes the work and results of the initial verification and validation (V&V) of the beta release of the Razorback code. Razorback is a computer code designed to simulate the operation of a research reactor (such as the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR)) by a coupled numerical solution of the point reactor kinetics equations, the energy conservation equation for fuel element heat transfer, and the mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations for the water cooling of the fuel elements. This initial V&V effort was intended to confirm that the code work to-date shows good agreement between simulation and actual ACRR operations, indicating that the subsequent V&V effort for the official release of the code will be successful.

Silicon Valley Meets Biomedical Research in the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Crow, Diana

2017-05-18

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropy launched by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, drew attention with its stated goal of helping to "cure, manage, or treat all diseases" by the end of the century. They intend to do it through funding basic research and addressing gaps in biomedical technology. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A Classroom-Based Distributed Workflow Initiative for the Early Involvement of Undergraduate Students in Scientific Research

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, Jon M.

2014-01-01

Engaging freshman and sophomore students in meaningful scientific research is challenging because of their developing skill set and their necessary time commitments to regular classwork. A project called the Chondrule Analysis Project was initiated to engage first- and second-year students in an initial research experience and also accomplish…

The legacy of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI).

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Robert E

2016-06-01

Under the Global Forum for Health Research, the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) began its operations in 1999 and became a Swiss foundation in 2006. The vision of CHNRI was to improve child health and nutrition of all children in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) through research that informs health policy and practice. Specific objectives included expanding global knowledge on childhood disease burden and cost-effectiveness of interventions, promoting priority setting in research, ensuring inclusion of institutions and scientists in LMIC in setting priorities, promoting capacity development in LMIC and stimulating donors and countries to increase resources for research. CHNRI created a knowledge network, funded research through multiple rounds of a global competitive process and published research papers and policy briefs. A signature effort was to develop a systematic methodology for prioritizing health and nutrition research investments. The "CHNRI method" has been extensively applied to global health problems and is now the most commonly used method for prioritizing health research questions.

Undergraduate Student Research Opportunities and Economic Revitalization through Urban Agriculture Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Schläppi, Michael R.

2017-01-01

Through interactions with the recently formed Cooperative of the Institute of Urban Agriculture and Nutrition (CIUAN), a catalyst initiative co-governed by community organizations and academia to engage in mutually beneficial research and teaching projects, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is supporting community efforts to bring…

Energy Technologies Research and Education Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghassemi, Abbas [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States); Ranade, Satish [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States)

2014-12-31

For this project, the intended goal of the microgrid component was to investigate issues in policy and technology that would drive higher penetration of renewable energy, and to demonstrate implementation in a utility system. The work accomplished on modeling the dynamics of photovoltaic (PV) penetration can be expanded for practical application. Using such a tool those involved in public policy can examine what the effect of a particular policy initiative, e.g., renewable portfolio standards (RPS) requirements, might be in terms of the desired targets. The work in the area of microgrid design, protection, and operation is fundamental to the development of microgrids. In particular the “Energy Delivery” paradigm provides new opportunities and business models for utilities. Ultimately, Energy Delivery could accrue significant benefits in terms of costs and resiliency. The experimental microgrid will support continued research and allow the demonstration of technology for better integration of renewables. The algal biofuels component of the project was developed to enhance the test facility and to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of a commercial-scale geothermal algal biofuels operation for replication elsewhere in the arid Southwest. The project was housed at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU’s) Geothermal Aquaculture Facility (GAF) and a design for the inoculation train and algae grow-out process was developed. The facility was upgraded with modifications to existing electrical, plumbing and structural components on the GAF and surrounding grounds. The research work was conducted on biomass-processing, harvesting, dewatering, and extraction. Additionally, research was conducted to determine viability of using low-cost, wastewater from municipal treatment plants in the cultivation units as make-up water and as a source of nutrients, including nitrogen and soluble phosphorus. Data was collected on inputs and outputs, growth evaluation and

Pediatric Critical Care Nursing Research Priorities-Initiating International Dialogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Tume, Lyvonne N; Coetzee, Minette; Dryden-Palmer, Karen; Hickey, Patricia A; Kinney, Sharon; Latour, Jos M; Pedreira, Mavilde L G; Sefton, Gerri R; Sorce, Lauren; Curley, Martha A Q

2015-07-01

To identify and prioritize research questions of concern to the practice of pediatric critical care nursing practice. One-day consensus conference. By using a conceptual framework by Benner et al describing domains of practice in critical care nursing, nine international nurse researchers presented state-of-the-art lectures. Each identified knowledge gaps in their assigned practice domain and then poised three research questions to fill that gap. Then, meeting participants prioritized the proposed research questions using an interactive multivoting process. Seventh World Congress on Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care in Istanbul, Turkey. Pediatric critical care nurses and nurse scientists attending the open consensus meeting. Systematic review, gap analysis, and interactive multivoting. The participants prioritized 27 nursing research questions in nine content domains. The top four research questions were 1) identifying nursing interventions that directly impact the child and family's experience during the withdrawal of life support, 2) evaluating the long-term psychosocial impact of a child's critical illness on family outcomes, 3) articulating core nursing competencies that prevent unstable situations from deteriorating into crises, and 4) describing the level of nursing education and experience in pediatric critical care that has a protective effect on the mortality and morbidity of critically ill children. The consensus meeting was effective in organizing pediatric critical care nursing knowledge, identifying knowledge gaps and in prioritizing nursing research initiatives that could be used to advance nursing science across world regions.

The first interview: Anxieties and research on initiating psychoanalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Reith, Bernard

2015-06-01

A qualitative clinical study of preliminary interviews by the Working Party on Initiating Psychoanalysis (WPIP) of the European Psychoanalytic Federation suggests that the unconscious dynamics in first interviews are extraordinarily powerful and that they give rise to deep unconscious anxieties in both patient and analyst, with the corresponding defences against them. Furthermore, the group dynamics observed in the clinical workshops and in the research team doing the study suggest that both the anxieties and the defences are conveyed to these groups in the form of unelaborated 'session residues' provoking renewed anxieties and defences in them. These findings contribute to our understanding of what goes on in first interviews, but also raise interesting questions about the psychoanalytic research process in psychoanalysis and how confrontation with the unknown is dealt with in that context. Rather than as a means to avoid anxiety, method in clinical research can be seen as a way to help the research group to contain its reactions and to tolerate them until the group finds its way to further elaboration. These points are illustrated with a clinical case drawn from the study. Copyright © 2014 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Deep Vadose Zone–Applied Field Research Initiative Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wellman, Dawn M.; Truex, Michael J.; Johnson, Timothy C.; Bunn, Amoret L.; Golovich, Elizabeth C.

2013-03-14

This annual report describes the background of the Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Initiative, and some of the programmatic approaches and transformational technologies in groundwater and deep vadose zone remediation developed during fiscal year 2012.

Progress report for '89

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podest, M.

1990-08-01

The 1989 Progress Report presents the most important scientific and technical achievements of the Nuclear Research Institute's research work. Some specialized products prepared at or fabricated by the NRI are mentioned as well. (author). 24 figs., 8 tabs., 101 refs

QUALITY OF INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION: REFLECTIONS ON WHAT IS BEING RESEARCHED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josimar de Aparecido Vieira

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This work is discussed, in general, the state of knowledge on research dealing with the quality of the initial training of teachers. Presents an analytical and critical reading of the situation of the quality of the initial training of teachers from the analysis of the theoretical bases produced in the last decade. For this, initially, are presented some considerations on the development of this process, followed by an analysis on the issue of training. Following are considered some of the dilemmas or problems that have been addressed in the study area, suggesting mechanisms or alternative solutions. The main source of data used is the Bank of the CAPES Theses which is available on the home page http://servicos.capes.gov.br/capesdw/, for the period from 2004 until 2006. Was used to search by typing the words "initial teacher training" in the "subject", which in 2004 were examined 33 abstracts were selected and these 15, in 2005 were examined 42 abstracts, of which 07 were deployed in 2006 and were seen 44 abstracts of which 21 have been considered because they relate to the quality of initial teacher education. Involved in this analysis, this study points out some principles and data that can help with the process of initial teacher training, pointing to possible review some indicators of pedagogical projects of degree courses. Emphasizes that the specificity and multidimensionality of the performance of the teacher raises the formulation of a set of information relevant to the qualification of objectives and practices of the initial key step in the process of learning to teach. Key words: Quality of education, initial training, university education, state of knowledge; indicators.

The legacy of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert E Black

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Under the Global Forum for Health Research, the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI began its operations in 1999 and became a Swiss foundation in 2006. The vision of CHNRI was to improve child health and nutrition of all children in low– and middle–income countries (LMIC through research that informs health policy and practice. Specific objectives included expanding global knowledge on childhood disease burden and cost-effectiveness of interventions, promoting priority setting in research, ensuring inclusion of institutions and scientists in LMIC in setting priorities, promoting capacity development in LMIC and stimulating donors and countries to increase resources for research. CHNRI created a knowledge network, funded research through multiple rounds of a global competitive process and published research papers and policy briefs. A signature effort was to develop a systematic methodology for prioritizing health and nutrition research investments. The “CHNRI method” has been extensively applied to global health problems and is now the most commonly used method for prioritizing health research questions.

Highly polygenic architecture of antidepressant treatment response: Comparative analysis of SSRI and NRI treatment in an animal model of depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Malki, Karim; Tosto, Maria Grazia; Mouriño-Talín, Héctor; Rodríguez-Lorenzo, Sabela; Pain, Oliver; Jumhaboy, Irfan; Liu, Tina; Parpas, Panos; Newman, Stuart; Malykh, Artem; Carboni, Lucia; Uher, Rudolf; McGuffin, Peter; Schalkwyk, Leonard C; Bryson, Kevin; Herbster, Mark

2017-04-01

Response to antidepressant (AD) treatment may be a more polygenic trait than previously hypothesized, with many genetic variants interacting in yet unclear ways. In this study we used methods that can automatically learn to detect patterns of statistical regularity from a sparsely distributed signal across hippocampal transcriptome measurements in a large-scale animal pharmacogenomic study to uncover genomic variations associated with AD. The study used four inbred mouse strains of both sexes, two drug treatments, and a control group (escitalopram, nortriptyline, and saline). Multi-class and binary classification using Machine Learning (ML) and regularization algorithms using iterative and univariate feature selection methods, including InfoGain, mRMR, ANOVA, and Chi Square, were used to uncover genomic markers associated with AD response. Relevant genes were selected based on Jaccard distance and carried forward for gene-network analysis. Linear association methods uncovered only one gene associated with drug treatment response. The implementation of ML algorithms, together with feature reduction methods, revealed a set of 204 genes associated with SSRI and 241 genes associated with NRI response. Although only 10% of genes overlapped across the two drugs, network analysis shows that both drugs modulated the CREB pathway, through different molecular mechanisms. Through careful implementation and optimisations, the algorithms detected a weak signal used to predict whether an animal was treated with nortriptyline (77%) or escitalopram (67%) on an independent testing set. The results from this study indicate that the molecular signature of AD treatment may include a much broader range of genomic markers than previously hypothesized, suggesting that response to medication may be as complex as the pathology. The search for biomarkers of antidepressant treatment response could therefore consider a higher number of genetic markers and their interactions. Through

Initiating undergraduate medical students into communities of research practise: what do supervisors recommend?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riley Simon C

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Much has been written in the educational literature on the value of communities of practise in enhancing student learning. Here, we take the experience of senior undergraduate medical students involved in short-term research as a member of a team as a paradigm for learning in a community of practise. Based on feedback from experienced supervisors, we offer recommendations for initiating students into the research culture of their team. In so doing, we endeavour to create a bridge between theory and practise through disseminating advice on good supervisory practise, where the supervisor is perceived as an educator responsible for designing the research process to optimize student learning. Methods Using the questionnaire design tool SurveyMonkey and comprehensive lists of contact details of staff who had supervised research projects at the University of Edinburgh during 1995 - 2008, current and previous supervisors were invited to recommend procedures which they had found successful in initiating students into the research culture of a team. Text responses were then coded in the form of derivative recommendations and categorized under general themes and sub-themes. Results Using the chi-square tests of linear trend and association, evidence was found for a positive trend towards more experienced supervisors offering responses (χ2 = 16.833, p 2 = 0.482, p = 0.487, n = 203, respectively. A total of 126 codes were extracted from the text responses of 65 respondents. These codes were simplified to form a complete list of 52 recommendations, which were in turn categorized under seven derivative overarching themes, the most highly represented themes being Connecting the student with others and Cultivating self-efficacy in research competence. Conclusions Through the design of a coding frame for supervisor responses, a wealth of ideas has been captured to make communities of research practise effective mediums for undergraduate

Harmonization in preclinical epilepsy research: A joint AES/ILAE translational initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Galanopoulou, Aristea S; French, Jacqueline A; O'Brien, Terence; Simonato, Michele

2017-11-01

Among the priority next steps outlined during the first translational epilepsy research workshop in London, United Kingdom (2012), jointly organized by the American Epilepsy Society (AES) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), are the harmonization of research practices used in preclinical studies and the development of infrastructure that facilitates multicenter preclinical studies. The AES/ILAE Translational Task Force of the ILAE has been pursuing initiatives that advance these goals. In this supplement, we present the first reports of the working groups of the Task Force that aim to improve practices of performing rodent video-electroencephalography (vEEG) studies in experimental controls, generate systematic reviews of preclinical research data, and develop preclinical common data elements (CDEs) for epilepsy research in animals. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International League Against Epilepsy.

Applicability of initial stress measurement methods to Horonobe Siliceous rocks and initial stress state around Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanada, Hiroyuki; Niunoya, Sumio; Matsui, Hiroya; Fujii, Yoshiaki

2009-01-01

Understanding initial stress condition in deep underground is important for such construction as rock cavern for geological disposal of HLW and underground power plant. Neogene sedimentary rock is widely distributed in Japan. There are only a few studies of initial stress measurement in Neogene sedimentary rock mass in Japan due to difficulty of measurement. Evaluation of initial stress condition around Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project was carried out in order to understand initial stress condition and applicability of AE, DSCA and hydraulic fracturing (HF) methods to Neogene sedimentary rock. Initial stress values obtained from AE method is smaller than overburden pressure due to time dependency of Kaizer effect. It would be difficult to use AE method as initial stress measurement method for Horonobe Siliceous rocks. Principal stress values by DSCA are similar to those by HF tests. Directions of maximum horizontal principal stresses are approximately in E-W and corresponded to HF results. In HF, rod type and wire-line type systems were compared. Workability of rod type was much better than wire-line type. However, re-opening pressure were not able to be precisely measured in case of rod type system due to the large compliance of the packers and rods. Horizontal maximum and minimum principal stresses increase linearly in HF results. Deviatoric stress is acting at shallow depth. Initial stress condition approaches hydrostatic condition with depth. Direction of maximum horizontal principal stress was in E-W direction which was similar to tectonic movement around Horonobe URL by triangular surveying. (author)

Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Research and Training: Initial Outcomes and Evolution of the Affinity Research Collaboratives Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravid, Katya; Seta, Francesca; Center, David; Waters, Gloria; Coleman, David

2017-10-01

Team science has been recognized as critical to solving increasingly complex biomedical problems and advancing discoveries in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease. In 2009, the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research (ECIBR) was established in the Department of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine as a new organizational paradigm to promote interdisciplinary team science. The ECIBR is made up of affinity research collaboratives (ARCs), consisting of investigators from different departments and disciplines who come together to study biomedical problems that are relevant to human disease and not under interdisciplinary investigation at the university. Importantly, research areas are identified by investigators according to their shared interests. ARC proposals are evaluated by a peer review process, and collaboratives are funded annually for up to three years.Initial outcomes of the first 12 ARCs show the value of this model in fostering successful biomedical collaborations that lead to publications, extramural grants, research networking, and training. The most successful ARCs have been developed into more sustainable organizational entities, including centers, research cores, translational research projects, and training programs.To further expand team science at Boston University, the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Office was established in 2015 to more fully engage the entire university, not just the medical campus, in interdisciplinary research using the ARC mechanism. This approach to promoting team science may be useful to other academic organizations seeking to expand interdisciplinary research at their institutions.

Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative (MELODI). Strategic research agenda for low dose radiation risk research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kreuzer, M. [Federal Office for Radiation Protection, BfS, Department of Radiation Protection and Health, Neuherberg (Germany); Auvinen, A. [University of Tampere, Tampere (Finland); STUK, Helsinki (Finland); Cardis, E. [ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona (Spain); Durante, M. [Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, TIFPA, Trento (Italy); Harms-Ringdahl, M. [Stockholm University, Centre for Radiation Protection Research, Stockholm (Sweden); Jourdain, J.R. [Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, IRSN, Fontenay-aux-roses (France); Madas, B.G. [MTA Centre for Energy Research, Environmental Physics Department, Budapest (Hungary); Ottolenghi, A. [University of Pavia, Physics Department, Pavia (Italy); Pazzaglia, S. [Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Rome (Italy); Prise, K.M. [Queens University Belfast, Belfast (United Kingdom); Quintens, R. [Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, SCK-CEN, Mol (Belgium); Sabatier, L. [French Atomic Energy Commission, CEA, Paris (France); Bouffler, S. [Public Health England, PHE, Chilton (United Kingdom)

2018-03-15

MELODI (Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative) is a European radiation protection research platform with focus on research on health risks after exposure to low-dose ionising radiation. It was founded in 2010 and currently includes 44 members from 18 countries. A major activity of MELODI is the continuous development of a long-term European Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on low-dose risk for radiation protection. The SRA is intended to identify priorities for national and European radiation protection research programs as a basis for the preparation of competitive calls at the European level. Among those key priorities is the improvement of health risk estimates for exposures close to the dose limits for workers and to reference levels for the population in emergency situations. Another activity of MELODI is to ensure the availability of European key infrastructures for research activities, and the long-term maintenance of competences in radiation research via an integrated European approach for training and education. The MELODI SRA identifies three key research topics in low dose or low dose-rate radiation risk research: (1) dose and dose rate dependence of cancer risk, (2) radiation-induced non-cancer effects and (3) individual radiation sensitivity. The research required to improve the evidence base for each of the three key topics relates to three research lines: (1) research to improve understanding of the mechanisms contributing to radiogenic diseases, (2) epidemiological research to improve health risk evaluation of radiation exposure and (3) research to address the effects and risks associated with internal exposures, differing radiation qualities and inhomogeneous exposures. The full SRA and associated documents can be downloaded from the MELODI website (http://www.melodi-online.eu/sra.html). (orig.)

The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI): 5-year report

Science.gov (United States)

Muths, Erin; Gallant, Alisa L.; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Battaglin, William A.; Green, David E.; Staiger, Jennifer S.; Walls, Susan C.; Gunzburger, Margaret S.; Kearney, Rick F.

2006-01-01

The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is an innovative, multidisciplinary program that began in 2000 in response to a congressional directive for the Department of the Interior to address the issue of amphibian declines in the United States. ARMI’s formulation was cross-disciplinary, integrating U.S. Geological Survey scientists from Biology, Water, and Geography to develop a course of action (Corn and others, 2005a). The result has been an effective program with diverse, yet complementary, expertise.

Initial Flight Test of the Production Support Flight Control Computers at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, John; Stephenson, Mark

1999-01-01

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has completed the initial flight test of a modified set of F/A-18 flight control computers that gives the aircraft a research control law capability. The production support flight control computers (PSFCC) provide an increased capability for flight research in the control law, handling qualities, and flight systems areas. The PSFCC feature a research flight control processor that is "piggybacked" onto the baseline F/A-18 flight control system. This research processor allows for pilot selection of research control law operation in flight. To validate flight operation, a replication of a standard F/A-18 control law was programmed into the research processor and flight-tested over a limited envelope. This paper provides a brief description of the system, summarizes the initial flight test of the PSFCC, and describes future experiments for the PSFCC.

A National Initiative of Teaching, Researching, and Dreaming: Community College Faculty Research in "Achieving the Dream" Colleges

Science.gov (United States)

Hagedorn, Linda Serra

2015-01-01

Dating back to 2004, the Achieving the Dream initiative was established to promote evidence-based programs and interventions to produce and sustain student success. Achieving the Dream has created a new environment and new forms of thinking among the faculty that have spurred some to action research within their classrooms and beyond. Using three…

GMES Initial Operations - Network for Earth Observation Research Training (GIONET)

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolas-Perea, V.; Balzter, H.

2012-12-01

GMES Initial Operations - Network for Earth Observation Research Training (GIONET) is a Marie Curie funded project that aims to establish the first of a kind European Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation Research Training. GIONET is a partnership of leading Universities, research institutes and private companies from across Europe aiming to cultivate a community of early stage researchers in the areas of optical and radar remote sensing skilled for the emerging GMES land monitoring services during the GMES Initial Operations period (2011-2013) and beyond. GIONET is expected to satisfy the demand for highly skilled researchers and provide personnel for operational phase of the GMES and monitoring and emergency services. It will achieve this by: -Providing postgraduate training in Earth Observation Science that exposes students to different research disciplines and complementary skills, providing work experiences in the private and academic sectors, and leading to a recognized qualification (Doctorate). -Enabling access to first class training in both fundamental and applied research skills to early-stage researchers at world-class academic centers and market leaders in the private sector. -Building on the experience from previous GMES research and development projects in the land monitoring and emergency information services. The training program through supervised research focuses on 14 research topics (each carried out by an Early Stage Researchers based in one of the partner organization) divided in 5 main areas: Forest monitoring: Global biomass information systems Forest Monitoring of the Congo Basin using Synthetic Aperture radar (SAR) Multi-concept Earth Observation Capabilities for Biomass Mapping and Change Detection: Synergy of Multi-temporal and Multi-frequency Interferometric Radar and Optical Satellite Data Land cover and change: Multi-scale Remote Sensing Synergy for Land Process Studies: from field Spectrometry to Airborne Hyperspectral and

GIONET (GMES Initial Operations Network for Earth Observation Research Training)

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolas, V.; Balzter, H.

2013-12-01

GMES Initial Operations - Network for Earth Observation Research Training (GIONET) is a Marie Curie funded project that aims to establish the first of a kind European Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation Research Training. Copernicus (previously known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is a joint undertaking of the European Space Agency and the European Commission. It develops fully operational Earth Observation monitoring services for a community of end users from the public and private sector. The first services that are considered fully operational are the land monitoring and emergency monitoring core services. In GIONET, 14 early stage researchers are being trained at PhD level in understanding the complex physical processes that determine how electromagnetic radiation interacts with the atmosphere and the land surface ultimately form the signal received by a satellite. In order to achieve this, the researchers are based in industry and universities across Europe, as well as receiving the best technical training and scientific education. The training programme through supervised research focuses on 14 research topics. Each topic is carried out by an Early Stage Researcher based in one of the partner organisations and is expected to lead to a PhD degree. The 14 topics are grouped in 5 research themes: Forest monitoring Land cover and change Coastal zone and freshwater monitoring Geohazards and emergency response Climate adaptation and emergency response The methods developed and used in GIONET are as diverse as its research topics. GIONET has already held two summer schools; one at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena (Germany), on 'New operational radar satellite applications: Introduction to SAR, Interferometry and Polarimetry for Land Surface Mapping'. The 2nd summer school took place last September at the University of Leicester (UK )on 'Remote sensing of land cover and forest in GMES'. The next Summer School in September 2013

Planet Press: an EGU initiative to bring geoscientific research to children

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Bárbara

2016-04-01

Planet Press (http://www.egu.eu/education/planet-press/) is an EGU educational project that aims to get children (mainly 7-13 year olds), as well as their parents and educators, interested in and engaged with up-to-date scientific research and news. Planet Press articles are short versions of EGU press releases written in child-friendly language. Because EGU press releases cover research published in the various EGU scientific journals, Planet Press focuses on topics as varied as air pollution, glaciers, climate change, earthquakes, ocean sciences, droughts and floods, or space sciences. The texts are reviewed by both scientists and educators to make sure they are accurate and clear to their target audience. By sharing new and exciting geoscientific research with young kids, we hope to inspire them to develop an interest in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. In this presentation, we describe how the Planet Press idea came about, how the project is run, and the challenges and lessons learnt since the launch of this educational initiative in 2014. Planet Press, which has the support of the EGU Committee on Education, is made possible by the work of volunteer scientists and educators who review and translate the texts. We are grateful for the help of Jane Robb, former EGU Educational Fellow, with launching the project. Planet Press is inspired by Space Scoop (http://www.spacescoop.org/), an initiative by UNAWE, the EU-Universe Awareness organisation, that brings astronomy news to children every week.

77 FR 7565 - Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-13

... Food and Agriculture Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA. ACTION: Notice; correction... public comment from persons who use or conduct research, extension, or education activities to assist...

Affection mechanism research of initiation crack pressure of perforation parameters of horizontal well

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Tong

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Horizontal wells show better affect and higher success rate in low water ratio cement, complex fracture zone, crevice and heavy oil blocks, it is the main measures to expand control area of a single well. Hydraulic fracturing technology is the most financial way to improve the penetration of the reservoir to increase the production. However, compare with the vertical wells, the fracture of Horizontal wells are more complex, and lead to the initiation crack pressure is much higher than vertical wells. In this paper, defined the crack judging basis, and established the finite element model which could compute the initial crack pressure, to research the affection mechanism of perforation azimuth angle, density, diameter and depth, to provide references of perforation project's design and optimize. The research of this paper has significances on further understanding the affection mechanism of perforation parameters.

Availability of MCNP and MATLAB for reconstructing the water-vapor two-phase flow pattern in neutron radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Qixi; Feng Quanke; Takeshi, K.

2008-01-01

The China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) is scheduled to be operated in the autumn of 2008. In this paper, we report preparations for installing the neutron radiography instrument (NRI) and for utilizing it efficiently. The 2-D relative neutron intensity profiles for the water-vapor two-phase flow inside the tube were obtained using the MCNP code without influence of γ-ray and electronic-noise. The MCNP simulation of the 2-D neutron intensity profile for the water-vapor two-phase flow was demonstrated. The simulated 2-D neutron intensity profiles could be used as the benchmark data base by calibrating part of the data measured by the CARR-NRI. The 3-D objective images allow us to understand the flow pattern more clearly and it is reconstructed using the MATLAB through the threshold transformation techniques. And thus it is concluded that the MCNP code and the MATLAB are very useful for constructing the benchmark data base for the investigation of the water-vapor two-phase flow using the CARR-NRI. (authors)

Upgrade for the epithermal neutron beam at NRI Rez

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marek, M.; Flibor, S.; Viererbl, L.; Burian, J.; Rejchrt, J.; Klupak, V.; Gambarini, G.; Vanossi, E.

2006-01-01

The epithermal neutron beam facility designed for pre-clinical neutron capture therapy research has been operated at LVR-15 reactor for more than ten years. The construction of the beam filter has been recently modified especially for the shielding quality of the beam shutter to be improved. The parameters of the upgraded beam were calculated with the MCNP code and a new source term for the NCTPLAN treatment planning software was evaluated. The calculated source term was consequently scaled according to the results of measurements in the free beam and in the 50x50x25 cm 3 water phantom. (author)

Ohio’s Research Initiative for Locals Peer Exchange Report, March 8-9, 2017

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-23

On March 8-9, 2017, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) hosted a peer exchange on behalf of the Ohios Research Initiative for Locals (ORIL) program. Peer exchanges provide an opportunity to foster best practices and evaluate processes wit...

Cancer cell uptake behavior of Au nanoring and its localized surface plasmon resonance induced cell inactivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, Che-Kuan; Tu, Yi-Chou; Chang, Yu-Wei; Chu, Chih-Ken; Chen, Shih-Yang; Chi, Ting-Ta; Kiang, Yean-Woei; Yang, Chih-Chung

2015-01-01

Au nanorings (NRIs), which have the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelength around 1058 nm, either with or without linked antibodies, are applied to SAS oral cancer cells for cell inactivation through the LSPR-induced photothermal effect when they are illuminated by a laser of 1065 nm in wavelength. Different incubation times of cells with Au NRIs are considered for observing the variations of cell uptake efficiency of Au NRI and the threshold laser intensity for cell inactivation. In each case of incubation time, the cell sample is washed for evaluating the total Au NRI number per cell adsorbed and internalized by the cells based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurement. Also, the Au NRIs remaining on cell membrane are etched with KI/I 2 solution to evaluate the internalized Au NRI number per cell. The threshold laser intensities for cell inactivation before washout, after washout, and after KI/I 2 etching are calibrated from the circular area sizes of inactivated cells around the illuminated laser spot center with various laser power levels. By using Au NRIs with antibodies, the internalized Au NRI number per cell increases monotonically with incubation time up to 24 h. However, the number of Au NRI remaining on cell membrane reaches a maximum at 12 h in incubation time. The cell uptake behavior of an Au NRI without antibodies is similar to that with antibodies except that the uptake NRI number is significantly smaller and the incubation time for the maximum NRI number remaining on cell membrane is delayed to 20 h. By comparing the threshold laser intensities before and after KI/I 2 etching, it is found that the Au NRIs remaining on cell membrane cause more effective cancer cell inactivation, when compared with the internalized Au NRIs. (paper)

A field focused university education in NRI : A case of UST-KAERI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Byung Chul; Hwang, In A [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-10-15

The University of Science and Technology (UST) was founded in Oct. 2003 through the approval of the former Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development to nurture R and D professionals in convergence technology, who will lead us into the 21st century, the era of information technology. In the era of 'global talent war', every country competes to secure young scientific/technological leaders who will cope with future global and national agenda. In accordance with this need, advanced countries have diversified their higher level education channels utilizing the representative national research institutes or laboratories in addition to the traditional graduate school. Recently, almost all the advanced countries operate a unique graduate school or university to nurture higher talents based on the national research institutes (NRIs) which lead national strategic R and D fields. They include International Max Planck research school(IMPRS) and International Helmholtz graduate school in Germany, Watson school of the Cold Spring Harbor Lab. and Kellogg school of the Scripps Research Institute in US, Feinberg graduate school of the Weizmann Institute in Israel, SOKENDAI in Japan, and UST in Korea. UST has enormous research facilities and special high tech equipment, and has faculty members who have outstanding research records, which is not common in general universities. With high tech equipment, the excellent faculty members are participating in useful field focused R and D education. Instead of having a rigid department, UST allows flexible opening of a major for new convergence technology. By doing this, UST is responding actively to fast changes in science and technology. UST manages 29 campuses granted as government funded research institutes in the area of science and technology with educational functions. Each campus member and faculty are joining a network related to educating each other and cooperating with different research activities, which is

A field focused university education in NRI : A case of UST-KAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Byung Chul; Hwang, In A

2012-01-01

The University of Science and Technology (UST) was founded in Oct. 2003 through the approval of the former Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development to nurture R and D professionals in convergence technology, who will lead us into the 21st century, the era of information technology. In the era of 'global talent war', every country competes to secure young scientific/technological leaders who will cope with future global and national agenda. In accordance with this need, advanced countries have diversified their higher level education channels utilizing the representative national research institutes or laboratories in addition to the traditional graduate school. Recently, almost all the advanced countries operate a unique graduate school or university to nurture higher talents based on the national research institutes (NRIs) which lead national strategic R and D fields. They include International Max Planck research school(IMPRS) and International Helmholtz graduate school in Germany, Watson school of the Cold Spring Harbor Lab. and Kellogg school of the Scripps Research Institute in US, Feinberg graduate school of the Weizmann Institute in Israel, SOKENDAI in Japan, and UST in Korea. UST has enormous research facilities and special high tech equipment, and has faculty members who have outstanding research records, which is not common in general universities. With high tech equipment, the excellent faculty members are participating in useful field focused R and D education. Instead of having a rigid department, UST allows flexible opening of a major for new convergence technology. By doing this, UST is responding actively to fast changes in science and technology. UST manages 29 campuses granted as government funded research institutes in the area of science and technology with educational functions. Each campus member and faculty are joining a network related to educating each other and cooperating with different research activities, which is expanding

Role of shape of hole in transmission and negative refractive index of sandwiched metamaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong Min; Ye Yong-Hong

2014-01-01

Transmission and negative refractive index (NRI) of metal—dielectric—metal (MDM) sandwiched metamaterial perforated with four kinds of shapes of holes are numerically studied. Results indicate that positions of all transmission peaks of these kinds of holes are sensitive to the shape of the hole. Under the same conditions, the circular hole can obtain the maximum NRI and the rectangular hole can obtain the maximum frequency bandwidth of NRI. Moreover, the figure of merit (FOM) of the circular hole is the maximum too. As a result, we can obtain a higher NRI and FOM metamaterial by drilling circular hole arrays on MDM metamaterial. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Bioregenerative Life Support System Research as part of the DLR EDEN Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Bamsey, Matthew; Schubert, Daniel; Zabel, Paul; Poulet, Lucie; Zeidler, Conrad

In 2011, the DLR Institute of Space Systems launched a research initiative called EDEN - Evolution and Design of Environmentally-closed Nutrition-Sources. The research initiative focuses on bioregenerative life support systems, especially greenhouse modules, and technologies for future crewed vehicles. The EDEN initiative comprises several projects with respect to space research, ground testing and spin-offs. In 2014, EDEN’s new laboratory officially opened. This new biological cleanroom laboratory comprises several plant growth chambers incorporating a number of novel controlled environment agriculture technologies. This laboratory will be the nucleus for a variety of plant cultivation experiments within closed environments. The utilized technologies are being advanced using the pull of space technology and include such items as stacked growth systems, PAR-specific LEDs, intracanopy lighting, aeroponic nutrient delivery systems and ion-selective nutrient sensors. The driver of maximizing biomass output per unit volume and energy has much application in future bioregenerative life support systems but can also provide benefit terrestrially. The EDEN laboratory also includes several specially constructed chambers for advancing models addressing the interaction between bioregenerative and physical-chemical life support systems. The EDEN team is presently developing designs for containerized greenhouse modules. One module is planned for deployment to the German Antarctic Station, Neumayer III. The shipping container based system will provide supplementation to the overwintering crew’s diet, provide psychological benefit while at the same time advancing the technology and operational readiness of harsh environment plant production systems. In addition to hardware development, the EDEN team has participated in several early phase designs such as for the ESA Greenhouse Module for Space System and for large-scale vertical farming. These studies often utilize the

Research Award: Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI) Deadline ...

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

Jean-Claude Dumais

2012-09-12

Sep 12, 2012 ... IDRC's Research Awards are a unique opportunity for master's and doctoral-level students, as well as recent graduates to enhance their research skills and gain a fresh perspective on crucial development issues. This one-year, paid in-house program of training and mentorship in research, research ...

Results from the Data & Democracy initiative to enhance community-based organization data and research capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll-Scott, Amy; Toy, Peggy; Wyn, Roberta; Zane, Jazmin I; Wallace, Steven P

2012-07-01

In an era of community-based participatory research and increased expectations for evidence-based practice, we evaluated an initiative designed to increase community-based organizations' data and research capacity through a 3-day train-the-trainer course on community health assessments. We employed a mixed method pre-post course evaluation design. Various data sources collected from 171 participants captured individual and organizational characteristics and pre-post course self-efficacy on 19 core skills, as well as behavior change 1 year later among a subsample of participants. Before the course, participants reported limited previous experience with data and low self-efficacy in basic research skills. Immediately after the course, participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in data and research self-efficacy. The subsample reported application of community assessment skills to their work and increased use of data 1 year later. Results suggest that an intensive, short-term training program can achieve large immediate gains in data and research self-efficacy in community-based organization staff. In addition, they demonstrate initial evidence of longer-term behavior change related to use of data and research skills to support their community work.

California Breast Cancer Prevention Initiatives: Setting a research agenda for prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutton, P; Kavanaugh-Lynch, M H E; Plumb, M; Yen, I H; Sarantis, H; Thomsen, C L; Campleman, S; Galpern, E; Dickenson, C; Woodruff, T J

2015-07-01

The environment is an underutilized pathway to breast cancer prevention. Current research approaches and funding streams related to breast cancer and the environment are unequal to the task at hand. We undertook the California Breast Cancer Prevention Initiatives, a four-year comprehensive effort to set a research agenda related to breast cancer, the environment, disparities and prevention. We identified 20 topics for Concept Proposals reflecting a life-course approach and the complex etiology of breast cancer; considering the environment as chemical, physical and socially constructed exposures that are experienced concurrently: at home, in the community and at work; and addressing how we should be modifying the world around us to promote a less carcinogenic environment. Redirecting breast cancer research toward prevention-oriented discovery could significantly reduce the incidence and associated disparities of the disease among future generations. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An evidence-based evaluation of transferrable skills and job satisfaction for science PhDs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Sinche

Full Text Available PhD recipients acquire discipline-specific knowledge and a range of relevant skills during their training in the life sciences, physical sciences, computational sciences, social sciences, and engineering. Empirically testing the applicability of these skills to various careers held by graduates will help assess the value of current training models. This report details results of an Internet survey of science PhDs (n = 8099 who provided ratings for fifteen transferrable skills. Indeed, analyses indicated that doctoral training develops these transferrable skills, crucial to success in a wide range of careers including research-intensive (RI and non-research-intensive (NRI careers. Notably, the vast majority of skills were transferrable across both RI and NRI careers, with the exception of three skills that favored RI careers (creativity/innovative thinking, career planning and awareness skills, and ability to work with people outside the organization and three skills that favored NRI careers (time management, ability to learn quickly, ability to manage a project. High overall rankings suggested that graduate training imparted transferrable skills broadly. Nonetheless, we identified gaps between career skills needed and skills developed in PhD training that suggest potential areas for improvement in graduate training. Therefore, we suggest that a two-pronged approach is crucial to maximizing existing career opportunities for PhDs and developing a career-conscious training model: 1 encouraging trainees to recognize their existing individual skill sets, and 2 increasing resources and programmatic interventions at the institutional level to address skill gaps. Lastly, comparison of job satisfaction ratings between PhD-trained employees in both career categories indicated that those in NRI career paths were just as satisfied in their work as their RI counterparts. We conclude that PhD training prepares graduates for a broad range of satisfying careers

An evidence-based evaluation of transferrable skills and job satisfaction for science PhDs.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinche, Melanie; Layton, Rebekah L; Brandt, Patrick D; O'Connell, Anna B; Hall, Joshua D; Freeman, Ashalla M; Harrell, Jessica R; Cook, Jeanette Gowen; Brennwald, Patrick J

2017-01-01

PhD recipients acquire discipline-specific knowledge and a range of relevant skills during their training in the life sciences, physical sciences, computational sciences, social sciences, and engineering. Empirically testing the applicability of these skills to various careers held by graduates will help assess the value of current training models. This report details results of an Internet survey of science PhDs (n = 8099) who provided ratings for fifteen transferrable skills. Indeed, analyses indicated that doctoral training develops these transferrable skills, crucial to success in a wide range of careers including research-intensive (RI) and non-research-intensive (NRI) careers. Notably, the vast majority of skills were transferrable across both RI and NRI careers, with the exception of three skills that favored RI careers (creativity/innovative thinking, career planning and awareness skills, and ability to work with people outside the organization) and three skills that favored NRI careers (time management, ability to learn quickly, ability to manage a project). High overall rankings suggested that graduate training imparted transferrable skills broadly. Nonetheless, we identified gaps between career skills needed and skills developed in PhD training that suggest potential areas for improvement in graduate training. Therefore, we suggest that a two-pronged approach is crucial to maximizing existing career opportunities for PhDs and developing a career-conscious training model: 1) encouraging trainees to recognize their existing individual skill sets, and 2) increasing resources and programmatic interventions at the institutional level to address skill gaps. Lastly, comparison of job satisfaction ratings between PhD-trained employees in both career categories indicated that those in NRI career paths were just as satisfied in their work as their RI counterparts. We conclude that PhD training prepares graduates for a broad range of satisfying careers, potentially

View all initiatives | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

View all initiatives. You are looking at projects supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Displaying 1 - 2 of 2. Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women. Initiative. Women around the world increasingly participate in economic activities, but they continue to face significant challenges in pursuing better ...

The Australian Centre for Minesite Rehabilitation Research - an initiative to meet the strategic research needs for sustainable mining rehabilitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, L.C.

1996-01-01

The Australian Centre for Minesite Rehabilitation Research (ACMRR) was established through a mining industry initiative to meet the need of industry governments and the community for sustainable systems for land affected by exploration, mining and mineral processing activities. The Centre, which is a consortium of the major groups associated with mining rehabilitation research in Australia, has a focus on both strategic research and technology transfer and combines a wide range of multidisciplinary skills covering engineering and the physical and biological sciences. The paper briefly describes the goals, structure, expertise and research and technology transfer activities of the Centre. The major research program areas of waste rock dump and final void stability, acid mine drainage, tailings disposal and remediation of ecosystem reconstruction are described in the context of national priorities. 3 refs., 1 fig

PET/CT-guided interventional procedures: rationale, justification, initial study, and research plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, K.; Rahill, J.; Cleary, K. [Computer Aided Interventions and Medical Robotics (CAIMR), Imaging Science and Information Systems (ISIS) Center, Georgetown Univ. Medical Center, Washington, DC (United States); Petrillo, S.; Earl-Graef, D. [Dept. of Radiology, Georgetown Univ. Hospital, MedStar Health, Washington, DC (United States); Banovac, F.; Levy, E. [Computer Aided Interventions and Medical Robotics (CAIMR), Imaging Science and Information Systems (ISIS) Center, Georgetown Univ. Medical Center, Washington, DC (United States); Dept. of Radiology, Georgetown Univ. Hospital, MedStar Health, Washington, DC (United States); Shekhar, R. [Dept. of Radiology, Univ. of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD (United States)

2007-06-15

Positron-emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT (computed tomography) are becoming increasingly important for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Clinically relevant changes can sometimes be seen on PET that are not seen on other imaging modalities. However, PET is not suitable for guiding biopsy as the images are not obtained in real-time. Therefore, our research group has begun developing a concept for PET/CT-guided interventional procedures. This paper presents the rationale for this concept, outlines our research plan, and includes an initial study to evaluate the relative sensitivity of CT and PET/CT in detecting suspicious lesions. (orig.)

Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Initiative Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wellman, Dawn M.; Johnson, Timothy C.; Smith, Ronald M.; Truex, Michael J.; Matthews, Hope E.

2011-01-01

This annual report describes the background of the Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Initiative, and some of the programmatic approaches and transformational technologies in groundwater and deep vadose zone remediation developed during fiscal year 2011. The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Innovation and Development's (OTID) mission is to transform science into viable solutions for environmental cleanup. In 2010, OTID developed the Impact Plan, Science and Technology to Reduce the Life Cycle Cost of Closure to outline the benefits of research and development of the lifecycle cost of cleanup across the DOE complex. This plan outlines OTID's ability to reduce by $50 billion, the $200 billion life-cycle cost in waste processing, groundwater and soil, nuclear materials, and deactivation and decommissioning. The projected life-cycle costs and return on investment are based on actual savings realized from technology innovation, development, and insertion into remedial strategies and schedules at the Fernald, Mound, and Ashtabula sites. To achieve our goals, OTID developed Applied Field Research Initiatives to facilitate and accelerate collaborative development and implementation of new tools and approaches that reduce risk, cost and time for site closure. The primary mission of the Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Initiative (DVZ-AFRI) is to protect our nation's water resources, keeping them clean and safe for future generations. The DVZ-AFRI was established for the DOE to develop effective, science-based solutions for remediating, characterizing, monitoring, and predicting the behavior and fate of deep vadose zone contamination. Subsurface contaminants include radionuclides, metals, organics, and liquid waste that originated from various sources, including legacy waste from the nation's nuclear weapons complexes. The DVZ-AFRI project team is translating strategy into action by working to solve these complex challenges in a collaborative

The genetic signature of sex-biased migration in patrilocal chimpanzees and humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin E Langergraber

Full Text Available A large body of theoretical work suggests that analyses of variation at the maternally inherited mitochondrial (mtDNA and the paternally inherited non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY are a potentially powerful way to reveal the differing migratory histories of men and women across human societies. However, the few empirical studies comparing mtDNA and NRY variation and known patterns of sex-biased migration have produced conflicting results. Here we review some methodological reasons for these inconsistencies, and take them into account to provide an unbiased characterization of mtDNA and NRY variation in chimpanzees, one of the few mammalian taxa where males routinely remain in and females typically disperse from their natal groups. We show that patterns of mtDNA and NRY variation are more strongly contrasting in patrilocal chimpanzees compared with patrilocal human societies. The chimpanzee data we present here thus provide a valuable comparative benchmark of the patterns of mtDNA and NRY variation to be expected in a society with extremely female-biased dispersal.

Changes in Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviour: A Critical Review of Research into the Impacts of Environmental Education Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Gralton, Anna; Sinclair, Mark; Purnell, Ken

2004-01-01

This paper reviews research literature on the impact of environmental education initiatives on learners' attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. The review focuses on initiatives involving learners of all ages and school-aged learners in particular. The review shows two things. There is some evidence that environmental education initiatives are…

Family-friendly research and workplace initiative announced

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2011-10-01

A new U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative aims to increase the participation of women and girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) over the next 10 years by providing more flexible research policies, promoting flexible workplace options, and supporting STEM careers for women, Obama administration officials announced on 26 September. Currently, women earn about 41% of STEM doctoral degrees awarded by U.S. educational institutions but make up only about 28% of tenure-track faculty in U.S. colleges and universities, the officials said. "Unfortunately, too many young women drop out of promising careers in science, engineering, and math because of conflicts between their desire to start families and the need to rapidly ramp up their careers," said John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). "The way to help women stay in the STEM jobs pipeline is to create and support more flexible workplace policies that allow a women's career—or a man's, for that matter, but as we know, it's more common for women to give up STEM careers for family reasons—to thrive even as time is allowed for important family responsibilities."

Supporting open access to clinical trial data for researchers: The Duke Clinical Research Institute-Bristol-Myers Squibb Supporting Open Access to Researchers Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Pencina, Michael J; Louzao, Darcy M; McCourt, Brian J; Adams, Monique R; Tayyabkhan, Rehbar H; Ronco, Peter; Peterson, Eric D

2016-02-01

There are growing calls for sponsors to increase transparency by providing access to clinical trial data. In response, Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Duke Clinical Research Institute have collaborated on a new initiative, Supporting Open Access to Researchers. The aim is to facilitate open sharing of Bristol-Myers Squibb trial data with interested researchers. Key features of the Supporting Open Access to Researchers data sharing model include an independent review committee that ensures expert consideration of each proposal, stringent data deidentification/anonymization and protection of patient privacy, requirement of prespecified statistical analysis plans, and independent review of manuscripts before submission for publication. We believe that these approaches will promote open science by allowing investigators to verify trial results as well as to pursue interesting secondary uses of trial data without compromising scientific integrity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative: Managing a Multidisciplinary Data Explosion

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, M. K.; Gibeaut, J. C.; Reed, D.

2011-12-01

On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon drilling unit located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, experienced a catastrophic wellhead blowout. Roughly 5 billion barrels of oil and 1 million U.S. gallons of dispersant were released near the wellhead over the next three months. Within weeks of the blowout, BP announced the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) and pledged 50M/yr over 10 years for independent scientific research on the spill's impact on the ecosystem. Two months after the blowout three institutions were awarded a total of 25M in fast-track grants (Louisiana State University, Northern Gulf Institute, and Florida Institute of Oceanography). Soon after the Alabama Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium and the National Institutes of Health were awarded 5M and 10M, respectively. These five institutions began to generate data almost immediately. First year grants funded 100's of researchers from nearly 100 research units. Their activities included numerical modeling, field data collection, and laboratory experiments. Measured parameters included those associated with chemical analyses of oil, gas, and dispersants, studies of bacteria, plants and animals -from phytoplankton to marsh grasses, from zooplankton to cetaceans. Studies were conducted from estuaries to the deep Gulf, from atmosphere to sediments. Parameters from physical oceanography, marine meteorology, and biogeochemistry were measured in abundance. Additionally, impact studies on human mental, physical health and businesses were made. Proposals for years 2-4 of the program were to be awarded in August 2011 supporting 4-8 research consortia. Consortia may have up to 20 named researchers. In aggregate, these studies yielded a multidisciplinary data explosion. Following the fast-track awards the GRI Administrative Unit (AU) was established and a data management activity initiated. That activity became the GRI Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC). "Cooperative" emphasizes the

A commentary on domestic animals as dual-purpose models that benefit agricultural and biomedical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Ireland, J J; Roberts, R M; Palmer, G H; Bauman, D E; Bazer, F W

2008-10-01

Research on domestic animals (cattle, swine, sheep, goats, poultry, horses, and aquatic species) at land grant institutions is integral to improving the global competitiveness of US animal agriculture and to resolving complex animal and human diseases. However, dwindling federal and state budgets, years of stagnant funding from USDA for the Competitive State Research, Education, and Extension Service National Research Initiative (CSREES-NRI) Competitive Grants Program, significant reductions in farm animal species and in numbers at land grant institutions, and declining enrollment for graduate studies in animal science are diminishing the resources necessary to conduct research on domestic species. Consequently, recruitment of scientists who use such models to conduct research relevant to animal agriculture and biomedicine at land grant institutions is in jeopardy. Concerned stakeholders have addressed this critical problem by conducting workshops, holding a series of meetings with USDA and National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials, and developing a white paper to propose solutions to obstacles impeding the use of domestic species as dual-purpose animal models for high-priority problems common to agriculture and biomedicine. In addition to shortfalls in research support and human resources, overwhelming use of mouse models in biomedicine, lack of advocacy from university administrators, long-standing cultural barriers between agriculture and human medicine, inadequate grantsmanship by animal scientists, and a scarcity of key reagents and resources are major roadblocks to progress. Solutions will require a large financial enhancement of USDA's Competitive Grants Program, educational programs geared toward explaining how research using agricultural animals benefits both animal agriculture and human health, and the development of a new mind-set in land grant institutions that fosters greater cooperation among basic and applied researchers. Recruitment of

Amish-Initiated Burn Care Project: Case Report and Lessons Learned in Participatory Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Rosanna F

2017-03-01

This case report describes the phases of an Amish Burn Care Project and the lessons learned throughout the process. Data sources to construct the case report included participant observation, interviews, archival documents, and a focus group. The narrative is organized into five phases of a participatory research approach: engagement, formalization, mobilization, maintenance, and expansion. Community-initiated research led to legitimate change, working together for change took time, team members grew in mutual trust and respect for each other, cultural humility brought personal and professional growth, and capacity building took place through mutually supported efforts.

Building clinicians-researchers partnerships: lessons from diverse natural settings and practice-oriented initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Castonguay, Louis G; Youn, Soo Jeong; Xiao, Henry; Muran, J Christopher; Barber, Jacques P

2015-01-01

In this concluding paper, we identify the type of studies conducted by 11 teams of contributors to a special issue on building clinicians-researchers partnerships. Those studies were conducted across a variety of clinical settings. We also integrate the lessons that have emerged from their collaborative initiatives in terms of obstacles faced, strategies adopted to address these challenges, benefits gained, and general recommendations offered to facilitate studies conducted with or by clinicians. The paper ends with the authors' thoughts about the future success of practice-oriented research in general.

Applying a global justice lens to health systems research ethics: an initial exploration.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Bridget; Hyder, Adnan A

2015-03-01

Recent scholarship has considered what, if anything, rich people owe to poor people to achieve justice in global health and the implications of this for international research. Yet this work has primarily focused on international clinical research. Health systems research is increasingly being performed in low and middle income countries and is essential to reducing global health disparities. This paper provides an initial description of the ethical issues related to priority setting, capacity-building, and the provision of post-study benefits that arise during the conduct of such research. It presents a selection of issues discussed in the health systems research literature and argues that they constitute ethical concerns based on their being inconsistent with a particular theory of global justice (the health capability paradigm). Issues identified include the fact that priority setting for health systems research at the global level is often not driven by national priorities and that capacity-building efforts frequently utilize one-size-fits-all approaches.

Research priorities in Maternal, Newborn, & Child Health & Nutrition for India: An Indian Council of Medical Research-INCLEN Initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narendra K Arora

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In India, research prioritization in Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN themes has traditionally involved only a handful of experts mostly from major cities. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR-INCLEN collaboration undertook a nationwide exercise engaging faculty from 256 institutions to identify top research priorities in the MNCHN themes for 2016-2025. The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative method of priority setting was adapted. The context of the exercise was defined by a National Steering Group (NSG and guided by four Thematic Research Subcommittees. Research ideas were pooled from 498 experts located in different parts of India, iteratively consolidated into research options, scored by 893 experts against five pre-defined criteria (answerability, relevance, equity, investment and innovation and weighed by a larger reference group. Ranked lists of priorities were generated for each of the four themes at national and three subnational (regional levels [Empowered Action Group & North-Eastern States, Southern and Western States, & Northern States (including West Bengal]. Research priorities differed between regions and from overall national priorities. Delivery domain of research which included implementation research constituted about 70 per cent of the top ten research options under all four themes. The results were endorsed in the NSG meeting. There was unanimity that the research priorities should be considered by different governmental and non-governmental agencies for investment with prioritization on implementation research and issues cutting across themes.

Student perception of initial transition into a nursing program: A mixed methods research study.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Meghan; Brown, Janine; Knihnitski, Crystal

2018-05-01

Transition into undergraduate education programs is stressful and impacts students' well-being and academic achievement. Previous research indicates nursing students experience stress, depression, anxiety, and poor lifestyle habits which interfere with learning. However, nursing students' experience of transition into nursing programs has not been well studied. Incongruence exists between this lack of research and the desire to foster student success. This study analyzed students' experiences of initial transition into a nursing program. An embedded mixed method design. A single site of a direct-entry, four year baccalaureate Canadian nursing program. All first year nursing students enrolled in the fall term of 2016. This study combined the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) with a subset of participants participating in qualitative focus groups. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics to identify statistically significant differences in full-scale and subscale scores. Qualitative data was analyzed utilizing thematic analysis. Significant differences were seen between those who moved to attend university and those who did not, with those who moved scoring lower on the Academic Adjustment subscale. Focus group thematic analysis highlighted how students experienced initial transition into a baccalaureate nursing program. Identified themes included reframing supports, splitting focus/finding focus, negotiating own expectations, negotiating others' expectations, and forming identity. These findings form the Undergraduate Nursing Initial Transition (UNIT) Framework. Significance of this research includes applications in faculty development and program supports to increase student success in the first year of nursing and to provide foundational success for ongoing nursing practice. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The South/Southeast Asia Research Initiative (SARI) Update and Meeting Objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad

2017-01-01

Land Use/Cover Change (LU/CC) is one of the most important types of environmental change in South and Southeast Asian countries. Several studies suggest that LU/CC in these countries is in large part driven by population growth and economic development. In the region, changes that are most common include urban expansion, agricultural land loss, land abandonment, deforestation, logging, reforestation, etc. To address the research needs and priorities in the region, a regional initiative entitled South Southeast Asia Regional Initiative (SARI) has been developed involving US and regional scientists. The initiative is funded by NASA Land Cover, Land Use Change program. The goal of SARI is to integrate state-of-the-art remote sensing, natural sciences, engineering and social sciences to enrich LU/CC science in South Southeast Asian countries. In the presentation, LU/CC change research in SARI countries will be highlighted including the drivers of change. For example, in South Asia, forest cover has been increasing in countries like India, Nepal and Bhutan due to sustainable afforestation measures; whereas, large-scale deforestation in Southeast Asian countries is still continuing, due to oil palm plantation expansion driven by the international market demand in Malaysia and Indonesia. With respect to urbanization, South and Southeast Asian countries contain 23 megacities, each with more than 10 million people. Rapid urbanization is driving agricultural land loss and agricultural intensification has been increasing due to less availability of land for growing food crops such as in India, Vietnam, and Thailand. The drivers of LUCC vary widely in the region and include such factors as land tenure, local economic development, government policies, inappropriate land management, land speculation, improved road networks, etc. In addition, variability in the weather, climate, and socioeconomic factors also drive LU/CC resulting in disruptions of biogeochemical cycles

Global alignment, coordination and collaboration in perinatal research: the Global Obstetrics Network (GONet) Initiative

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, Ben Willem; Ruifrok, Anneloes Elisabeth

2013-01-01

Large clinical studies provide information and insight that are used to develop clinical guidelines. In view of the large sample sizes needed, many researchers have initiated multicenter studies. In some situations, the activities of these groups have led to networks, through which multiple trials

AcEST: DK956292 [AcEST

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available -diphosphooligosaccharide--protein ... 30 7.5 sp|Q9NRI5|DISC1_HUMAN Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 protein OS=...KSMSYYSNLSSSNIKK 684 >sp|Q9NRI5|DISC1_HUMAN Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 protein

Advancing US GHG Inventory by Incorporating Survey Data using Machine-Learning Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Alsaker, C.; Ogle, S. M.; Breidt, J.

2017-12-01

Crop management data are used in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory that is compiled annually and reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Emissions for carbon stock change and N2O emissions for US agricultural soils are estimated using the USDA National Resources Inventory (NRI). NRI provides basic information on land use and cropping histories, but it does not provide much detail on other management practices. In contrast, the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) survey collects detailed crop management data that could be used in the GHG Inventory. The survey data were collected from NRI survey locations that are a subset of the NRI every 10 years. Therefore, imputation of the CEAP are needed to represent the management practices across all NRI survey locations both spatially and temporally. Predictive mean matching and an artificial neural network methods have been applied to develop imputation model under a multiple imputation framework. Temporal imputation involves adjusting the imputation model using state-level USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey data. Distributional and predictive accuracy is assessed for the imputed data, providing not only management data needed for the inventory but also rigorous estimates of uncertainty.

Exocytosis of gold nanoparticle and photosensitizer from cancer cells and their effects on photodynamic and photothermal processes

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yulu; Hua, Wei-Hsiang; Low, Meng-Chun; Tsai, Yu-Hsuan; Cai, Cheng-Jin; Chiang, Hsin-Chun; Yu, Jian-He; Hsiao, Jen-Hung; Tseng, Po-Hao; Kiang, Yean-Woei; Yang, C. C.; Zhang, Zhenxi

2018-06-01

We first illustrate the faster decrease of the photothermal (PT) effect with the delay time of laser treatment, in which the illumination of a 1064 nm laser effectively excites the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance of cell-up-taken gold nanoring (NRI) linked with a photosensitizer (PS), when compared with the photodynamic (PD) effect produced by the illumination of a 660 nm laser for effective PS excitation. The measurement results of the metal contents of Au NRI and PS based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and the PS fluorescence intensity based on flow cytometry show that the linkage of NRI and PS is rapidly broken for releasing PS through the effect of glutathione in lysosome after cell uptake. Meanwhile, NRI escapes from a cell with a high rate such that the PT effect decays fast while the released PS can stay inside a cell longer for producing a prolonged PD effect. The effective delivery of PS through the linkage with Au NRI for cell uptake and the advantageous effect of LSP resonance at a PS absorption wavelength on the PD process are also demonstrated.

U.S. Radioecology Research Programs Initiated in the 1950s

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auerbach, S.I.; Reichle, D.E.

1999-01-01

In the early postwar years, beginning in 1949 and extending to the mid-1960s, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) research on the fate and effects of radionuclides in the environment was driven by distinct environmental concerns-- the releases of radioactive materials around production sites, fallout from nuclear weapons tests, and radiation effects from both external and internal exposures. These problem areas spawned development of the scientific field of radioecology. To understand the perspectives in the 1950s of the United States on the issues of nuclear energy and the environment, we have reviewed the early research programs. Keeping to the theme of the papers in this environmental session, we will focus on the first area of concern -- the scientific studies to understand the environmental consequences of nuclear production and fuel reprocessing at the three primary production sites: the Hanford Works in the state of Washington, Clinton Laboratories in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina. The driving environmental issue was the fate and effects of waste products from nuclear fuel production and reprocessing -- concern about entry into environmental pathways. Early operational monitoring and evaluation by health physicists led to realization that additional emphasis needed to be placed on understanding environmental fate of radionuclides. What followed was forward-thinking R and D planning and development of interdisciplinary research teams for experimentation on complex environmental systems. What follows is a review of the major U.S. AEC radioecology research programs initiated during the 1950s, the issues leading to the establishment of these programs, early results, and their legacies for environmental protection and ecological research in the following decades

U.S. Radioecology Research Programs Initiated in the 1950s

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Auerbach, S.I.; Reichle, D.E.

1999-10-01

In the early postwar years, beginning in 1949 and extending to the mid-1960s, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) research on the fate and effects of radionuclides in the environment was driven by distinct environmental concerns-- the releases of radioactive materials around production sites, fallout from nuclear weapons tests, and radiation effects from both external and internal exposures. These problem areas spawned development of the scientific field of radioecology. To understand the perspectives in the 1950s of the United States on the issues of nuclear energy and the environment, we have reviewed the early research programs. Keeping to the theme of the papers in this environmental session, we will focus on the first area of concern -- the scientific studies to understand the environmental consequences of nuclear production and fuel reprocessing at the three primary production sites: the Hanford Works in the state of Washington, Clinton Laboratories in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina. The driving environmental issue was the fate and effects of waste products from nuclear fuel production and reprocessing -- concern about entry into environmental pathways. Early operational monitoring and evaluation by health physicists led to realization that additional emphasis needed to be placed on understanding environmental fate of radionuclides. What followed was forward-thinking R and D planning and development of interdisciplinary research teams for experimentation on complex environmental systems. What follows is a review of the major U.S. AEC radioecology research programs initiated during the 1950s, the issues leading to the establishment of these programs, early results, and their legacies for environmental protection and ecological research in the following decades.

Initial phases of design-based research into the educational potentials of NAO-robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Majgaard, Gunver; Bertel, Lykke Brogaard

2014-01-01

In this paper, we describe our initial research, using the humanoid robot NAO in primary and secondary schools. How does a programmable humanoid enrich teaching and how do we prepare the teachers? Ten school classes are using the robot for creative programming. So far we have experienced...... that the robot enriches the learning processes by combining the auditory, visual and kinaesthetic modalities....

Initial results from the Auto/Oil Air Quality Improvement Research Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCabe, L.J.

1993-01-01

The Auto/Air Quality Improvement Research Program (AQIRP), a cooperative effort by the three major US auto companies and fourteen oil companies, is the most comprehensive research effort ever undertaken to develop data on the air quality effects of the use of various motor fuels in various automotive systems and the relative cost-effectiveness of various fuel/vehicle combinations. Phase 1 of the Program, at a cost of about $15 million, is examining emissions and air quality impacts from current and older vehicles using reformulated gasolines with widely different values of aromatics content, olefin content, oxygenate content and type, sulfur content, vapor pressure (RVP) and 90% distillation temperature. Emissions from Flexible and Variable Fuel vehicles using methanol/gasoline mixtures are also being examined. A second phase with a $25 million budget over three years has also been approved. Initial findings for the Phase 1 study and Phase 2 plans are presented

The 2011-2016 Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) initiative: rationale and design.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Ruth E; Colditz, Graham A; Hu, Frank B; Schmitz, Kathryn H; Ahima, Rexford S; Brownson, Ross C; Carson, Kenneth R; Chavarro, Jorge E; Chodosh, Lewis A; Gehlert, Sarah; Gill, Jeff; Glanz, Karen; Haire-Joshu, Debra; Herbst, Karen Louise; Hoehner, Christine M; Hovmand, Peter S; Irwin, Melinda L; Jacobs, Linda A; James, Aimee S; Jones, Lee W; Kerr, Jacqueline; Kibel, Adam S; King, Irena B; Ligibel, Jennifer A; Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A; Natarajan, Loki; Neuhouser, Marian L; Olefsky, Jerrold M; Proctor, Enola K; Redline, Susan; Rock, Cheryl L; Rosner, Bernard; Sarwer, David B; Schwartz, J Sanford; Sears, Dorothy D; Sesso, Howard D; Stampfer, Meir J; Subramanian, S V; Taveras, Elsie M; Tchou, Julia; Thompson, Beti; Troxel, Andrea B; Wessling-Resnick, Marianne; Wolin, Kathleen Y; Thornquist, Mark D

2013-04-01

Recognition of the complex, multidimensional relationship between excess adiposity and cancer control outcomes has motivated the scientific community to seek new research models and paradigms. The National Cancer Institute developed an innovative concept to establish a center grant mechanism in nutrition, energetics, and physical activity, referred to as the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) Initiative. This paper gives an overview of the 2011-2016 TREC Collaborative Network and the 15 research projects being conducted at the centers. Four academic institutions were awarded TREC center grants in 2011: Harvard University, University of California San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is the Coordination Center. The TREC research portfolio includes three animal studies, three cohort studies, four randomized clinical trials, one cross-sectional study, and two modeling studies. Disciplines represented by TREC investigators include basic science, endocrinology, epidemiology, biostatistics, behavior, medicine, nutrition, physical activity, genetics, engineering, health economics, and computer science. Approximately 41,000 participants will be involved in these studies, including children, healthy adults, and breast and prostate cancer survivors. Outcomes include biomarkers of cancer risk, changes in weight and physical activity, persistent adverse treatment effects (e.g., lymphedema, urinary and sexual function), and breast and prostate cancer mortality. The NIH Science of Team Science group will evaluate the value added by this collaborative science. However, the most important outcome will be whether this transdisciplinary initiative improves the health of Americans at risk of cancer as well as cancer survivors.

Internal NASA Study: NASAs Protoflight Research Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Coan, Mary R.; Hirshorn, Steven R.; Moreland, Robert

2015-01-01

The NASA Protoflight Research Initiative is an internal NASA study conducted within the Office of the Chief Engineer to better understand the use of Protoflight within NASA. Extensive literature reviews and interviews with key NASA members with experience in both robotic and human spaceflight missions has resulted in three main conclusions and two observations. The first conclusion is that NASA's Protoflight method is not considered to be "prescriptive." The current policies and guidance allows each Program/Project to tailor the Protoflight approach to better meet their needs, goals and objectives. Second, Risk Management plays a key role in implementation of the Protoflight approach. Any deviations from full qualification will be based on the level of acceptable risk with guidance found in NPR 8705.4. Finally, over the past decade (2004 - 2014) only 6% of NASA's Protoflight missions and 6% of NASA's Full qualification missions experienced a publicly disclosed mission failure. In other words, the data indicates that the Protoflight approach, in and of it itself, does not increase the mission risk of in-flight failure. The first observation is that it would be beneficial to document the decision making process on the implementation and use of Protoflight. The second observation is that If a Project/Program chooses to use the Protoflight approach with relevant heritage, it is extremely important that the Program/Project Manager ensures that the current project's requirements falls within the heritage design, component, instrument and/or subsystem's requirements for both the planned and operational use, and that the documentation of the relevant heritage is comprehensive, sufficient and the decision well documented. To further benefit/inform this study, a recommendation to perform a deep dive into 30 missions with accessible data on their testing/verification methodology and decision process to research the differences between Protoflight and Full Qualification

Late health effects of childhood nasopharyngeal radium irradiation: nonmelanoma skin cancers, benign tumors, and hormonal disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ronckers, Cécile M.; Land, Charles E.; Hayes, Richard B.; Verduijn, Pieter G.; Stovall, Marilyn; van Leeuwen, Flora E.

2002-01-01

Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation (NRI) was widely used from 1940 through 1970 to treat otitis serosa in children and barotrauma in airmen and submariners. We assessed whether NRI-exposed individuals were at higher risk for benign tumors, nonmelanoma skin cancer, thyroid disorders, and conditions

VVER operational safety improvements: lessons learnt from European co-operation and future research needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pazdera, F.; Vasa, I.; Zd'arek, J.

2003-01-01

The paper summarises involvement of Nuclear Research Institute Rez (NRI) in the areas which are directly related to Reactor Operational Safety and Plant Life Management, it also gives an idea how results of the research projects can be used to enhance safety of VVER reactors. These issues are for many years subject of a wide international co-operation effort, covered by such programmes as PHARE, OECD/NEA TACIS, 5th Framework Programme. Nuclear Research Institute participated in the majority of these programmes and projects, which allowed us to evaluate benefits (especially for VVER reactors) of the projects already finalised or running, as well as to formulate so-called 'future research needs', which possibly may be pursued within 6th Framework Programme. The paper highlights the main features of some projects our Institute was and is involved in, emphasising the most important results, expectations and future needs. It also very briefly, deals with some general and particular lessons learnt within these projects and their application to VVER reactors, especially as to their safety improvement. The paper also mentions VVER-focused projects and activities, co-ordinated by the OECD, which should enable to extend multilateral contacts already existing between organisations of the EU countries to include organisations from Russia, USA, Japan and possibly some other countries

Where is Research on Massive Open Online Courses Headed? A Data Analysis of the MOOC Research Initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragan Gašević1, 2,1, 2,1 and 3

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the results of an analysis of the research proposals submitted to the MOOC Research Initiative (MRI funded by the Gates Foundation and administered by Athabasca University. The goal of MRI was to mobilize researchers to engage into critical interrogation of MOOCs. The submissions – 266 in Phase 1, out of which 78 was recommended for resubmission in the extended form in Phase 2, and finally, 28 funded – were analyzed by applying conventional and automated content analysis methods as well as citation network analysis methods. The results revealed the main research themes that could form a framework of the future MOOC research: i student engagement and learning success, ii MOOC design and curriculum, iii self-regulated learning and social learning, iv social network analysis and networked learning, and v motivation, attitude and success criteria. The theme of social learning received the greatest interest and had the highest success in attracting funding. The submissions that planned on using learning analytics methods were more successful. The use of mixed methods was by far the most popular. Design-based research methods were also suggested commonly, but the questions about their applicability arose regarding the feasibility to perform multiple iterations in the MOOC context and rather a limited focus on technological support for interventions. The submissions were dominated by the researchers from the field of education (75% of the accepted proposals. Not only was this a possible cause of a complete lack of success of the educational technology innovation theme, but it could be a worrying sign of the fragmentation in the research community and the need to increased efforts towards enhancing interdisciplinarity.

A Model for Undergraduate and High School Student Research in Earth and Space Sciences: The New York City Research Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Scalzo, F.; Johnson, L.; Marchese, P.

2006-05-01

The New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI) is a research and academic program that involves high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and high school teachers in research teams that are led by college/university principal investigators of NASA funded projects and/or NASA scientists. The principal investigators are at 12 colleges/universities within a 50-mile radius of New York City (NYC and surrounding counties, Southern Connecticut and Northern New Jersey), as well as the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS). This program has a summer research institute component in Earth Science and Space Science, and an academic year component that includes the formulation and implementation NASA research based learning units in existing STEM courses by high school and college faculty. NYCRI is a revision and expansion of the Institute on Climate and Planets at GISS and is funded by NASA MURED and the Goddard Space Flight Center's Education Office.

The NASA Climate Change Research Initiative - A Scientist's Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

LeGrande, A. N.; Pearce, M. D.; Dulaney, N.; Kelly, S. M.

2017-12-01

For the last four years, I have been a lead mentor in the NASA GISS Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) program, a component in the NASA GSFC Office of Education portfolio. It creates a multidisciplinary; vertical research team including a NYC metropolitan teacher, graduate student, undergraduate student, and high school student. While the college and high school members of this research team function like a more traditional internship component, the teacher component provides a powerful, direct way to connect state-of-the art research with students in the classroom. Because the teacher internship lasts a full year, it affords a similar relationship with a teacher that normally only exists between a PhD student and scientist. It also provides an opportunity to train the teacher in using the extensive data archives and other information maintained on NASA's publicly available websites. This time and access provide PhD-level training in the techniques and tools used in my climate research to the high school teacher. The teacher then uses his/her own pedagogical expertise to translate these techniques into age/level appropriate lesson plans for the classroom aligned with current STEM education trends and expectations. Throughout the process, there is an exchange of knowledge between the teacher and scientist that is very similar to the training given to PhD level graduate students. The teacher's understanding of the topic and implementation of the tools is done under a very close collaboration with the scientist supervisor and the NASA Education Program Specialist. This vertical team model encourages collegial communication between teachers and learners from many different educational levels and capitalizes on the efficacy of near peer mentoring strategies. This relationship is important in building trust through the difficult, iterative process that results in the development of highly accurate and quality (continuously discussed and vetted) curriculum composed

A European multi-language initiative to make the general population aware of independent clinical research: the European Communication on Research Awareness Need project

OpenAIRE

Mosconi, Paola; Antes, Gerd; Barbareschi, Giorgio; Burls, Amanda; Demotes-Mainard, Jacques; Chalmers, Iain; Colombo, Cinzia; Garattini, Silvio; Gluud, Christian; Gyte, Gill; Mcllwain, Catherine; Penfold, Matt; Post, Nils; Satolli, Roberto; Valetto, Maria Rosa

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The ECRAN (European Communication on Research Awareness Needs) project was initiated in 2012, with support from the European Commission, to improve public knowledge about the importance of independent, multinational, clinical trials in Europe. \\ud \\ud METHODS: Participants in the ECRAN consortium included clinicians and methodologists directly involved in clinical trials; researchers working in partnership with the public and patients; representatives of patients; and experts in s...

Heavy-Section Steel Technology Program: Recent developments in crack initiation and arrest research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pennell, W.E.

1991-01-01

Technology for the analysis of crack initiation and arrest is central to the reactor pressure vessel fracture-margin-assessment process. Regulatory procedures for nuclear plants utilize this technology to assure the retention of adequate fracture-prevention margins throughout the plant operating license period. As nuclear plants age and regulatory procedures dictate that fracture-margin assessments be performed, interest in the fracture-mechanics technology incorporated into those procedures has heightened. This has led to proposals from a number of sources for development and refinement of the underlying crack-initiation and arrest-analysis technology. This paper presents an overview of ongoing Heavy-Section Steel Technology (HSST) Program research aimed at refining the fracture toughness data used in the analysis of fracture margins under pressurized-thermal-shock loading conditions. 33 refs., 13 figs

78 FR 7860 - Initial Research on the Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-04

... epidemiologic research initiatives for VA and DoD to further study potential long-term health effects. IOM first... examined through a research-based physical examination component of a broader research program. As a first step, VA intends to develop research goals and objectives, structures, and establish essential study...

A Case⁻Control Study of Socio-Economic and Nutritional Characteristics as Determinants of Dental Caries in Different Age Groups, Considered as Public Health Problem: Data from NHANES 2013⁻2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanella-Calzada, Laura A; Galván-Tejada, Carlos E; Chávez-Lamas, Nubia M; Gracia-Cortés, Ma Del Carmen; Moreno-Báez, Arturo; Arceo-Olague, Jose G; Celaya-Padilla, Jose M; Galván-Tejada, Jorge I; Gamboa-Rosales, Hamurabi

2018-05-10

One of the principal conditions that affects oral health worldwide is dental caries, occurring in about 90% of the global population. This pathology has been considered a challenge because of its high prevalence, besides being a chronic but preventable disease which can be caused by a series of different demographic, dietary" among others. Based on this problem, in this research a demographic and dietary features analysis is performed for the classification of subjects according to their oral health status based on caries, according to the age group where the population belongs, using as feature selector a technique based on fast backward selection (FBS) approach for the development of three predictive models, one for each age range (group 1: 10⁻19; group 2: 20⁻59; group 3: 60 or more years old). As validation, a net reclassification improvement (NRI), AUC, ROC, and OR values are used to evaluate their classification accuracy. We analyzed 189 demographic and dietary features from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013⁻2014. Each model obtained statistically significant results for most features and narrow OR confidence intervals. Age group 2 obtained a mean NRI = -0.080 and AUC = 0.933; age group 3 obtained a mean NRI = -0.024 and AUC = 0.787; and age group 4 obtained a mean NRI = -0.129 and AUC = 0.735. Based on these results, it is concluded that these specific demographic and dietary features are significant determinants for estimating the oral health status in patients based on their likelihood of developing caries, and the age group could imply different risk factors for subjects.

The promise and challenge of practice-research collaborations: Guiding principles and strategies for initiating, designing, and implementing program evaluation research.

Science.gov (United States)

Secret, Mary; Abell, Melissa L; Berlin, Trey

2011-01-01

The authors present a set of guiding principles and strategies to facilitate the collaborative efforts of social work researchers and practitioners as they initiate, design, and implement outcome evaluations of human service interventions and programs. Beginning with an exploration of the interpersonal barriers to practice-research collaborations, and building on their experiences in successfully completing a community-based research evaluation, the authors identify specific relationship-focused principles and strategies and illustrate how these approaches can guide practice-research teams through the various sequential activities of the evaluation research process. In particular, it is suggested that practice-research collaborations can be formed, strengthened, and sustained by emphasis on a spirit of discovery and shared leadership at the start of the relationship, use of a comprehensive evaluation model to clarify and frame the evaluation and program goals, beginning where the client is when selecting research methodology and measurement tools, commitment to keeping the program first and recording everything during the implementation and data-collection stages, discussion of emerging findings and presentation of findings in graphic format at the data-analysis stage, and a total team approach at the dissemination stage.

EPRI research program NDE techniques for crack initiation of steam turbine rotor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goto, T.; Kimura, J.; Kawamoto, K.; Kadoya, Y.; Viswanathan, R.

1990-01-01

EPRI RP 2481-8 aims at the development of nondestructive methods for the life assessment of steam turbine rotor for its crack initiation caused by creep and/or fatigue. As a part of the research project, the demonstration of the state of the art NDE techniques was conducted during June to August of 1988 at EPRI NDE Center, Charlotte, N.C. by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. using four rotors retired after long term service (16-22x10 4 hr). This paper introduces the results of the demonstration

EnergyFit Nevada (formerly known as the Nevada Retrofit Initiative) final report and technical evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvill, Anna; Bushman, Kate; Ellsworth, Amy

2014-06-17

The EnergyFit Nevada (EFN) Better Buildings Neighborhood Program (BBNP, and referred to in this document as the EFN program) currently encourages Nevada residents to make whole-house energy-efficient improvements by providing rebates, financing, and access to a network of qualified home improvement contractors. The BBNP funding, consisting of 34 Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) and seven State Energy Program (SEP) grants, was awarded for a three-year period to the State of Nevada in 2010 and used for initial program design and implementation. By the end of first quarter in 2014, the program had achieved upgrades in 553 homes, with an average energy reduction of 32% per home. Other achievements included: Completed 893 residential energy audits and installed upgrades in 0.05% of all Nevada single-family homes1 Achieved an overall conversation rate of 38.1%2 7,089,089 kWh of modeled energy savings3 Total annual homeowner energy savings of approximately $525,7523 Efficiency upgrades completed on 1,100,484 square feet of homes3 $139,992 granted in loans to homeowners for energy-efficiency upgrades 29,285 hours of labor and $3,864,272 worth of work conducted by Nevada auditors and contractors4 40 contractors trained in Nevada 37 contractors with Building Performance Institute (BPI) certification in Nevada 19 contractors actively participating in the EFN program in Nevada 1 Calculated using 2012 U.S. Census data reporting 1,182,870 homes in Nevada. 2 Conversion rate through March 31, 2014, for all Nevada Retrofit Initiative (NRI)-funded projects, calculated using the EFN tracking database. 3 OptiMiser energy modeling, based on current utility rates. 4 This is the sum of $3,596,561 in retrofit invoice value and $247,711 in audit invoice value.

Net reclassification index at event rate: properties and relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Pencina, Michael J; Steyerberg, Ewout W; D'Agostino, Ralph B

2017-12-10

The net reclassification improvement (NRI) is an attractively simple summary measure quantifying improvement in performance because of addition of new risk marker(s) to a prediction model. Originally proposed for settings with well-established classification thresholds, it quickly extended into applications with no thresholds in common use. Here we aim to explore properties of the NRI at event rate. We express this NRI as a difference in performance measures for the new versus old model and show that the quantity underlying this difference is related to several global as well as decision analytic measures of model performance. It maximizes the relative utility (standardized net benefit) across all classification thresholds and can be viewed as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov distance between the distributions of risk among events and non-events. It can be expressed as a special case of the continuous NRI, measuring reclassification from the 'null' model with no predictors. It is also a criterion based on the value of information and quantifies the reduction in expected regret for a given regret function, casting the NRI at event rate as a measure of incremental reduction in expected regret. More generally, we find it informative to present plots of standardized net benefit/relative utility for the new versus old model across the domain of classification thresholds. Then, these plots can be summarized with their maximum values, and the increment in model performance can be described by the NRI at event rate. We provide theoretical examples and a clinical application on the evaluation of prognostic biomarkers for atrial fibrillation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Progress report on neutron activation analysis at Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuan, Nguyen Ngoc [Nuclear Research Institute, Dalat (Viet Nam)

2003-03-01

Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) is one of most powerful techniques for the simultaneous multi-elements analysis. This technique has been studied and applied to analyze major, minor and trace elements in Geological, Biological and Environmental samples at Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor. At the sixth Workshop, February 8-11, 1999, Yojakarta, Indonesia we had a report on Current Status of Neutron Activation Analysis using Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor. Another report on Neutron Activation Analysis at the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor also was presented at the seventh Workshop in Taejon, Korea from November 20-24, 2000. So in this report, we would like to present the results obtained of the application of NAA at NRI for one year as follows: (1) Determination of the concentrations of noble, rare earth, uranium, thorium and other elements in Geological samples according to requirement of clients particularly the geologists, who want to find out the mineral resources. (2) The analysis of concentration of radionuclides and nutrient elements in foodstuffs to attend the program on Asian Reference Man. (3) The evaluation of the contents of trace elements in crude oil and basement rock samples to determine original source of the oil. (4) Determination of the elemental composition of airborne particle in the Ho Chi Minh City for studying air pollution. The analytical data of standard reference material, toxic elements and natural radionuclides in seawater are also presented. (author)

Progress report on neutron activation analysis at Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuan, Nguyen Ngoc

2003-01-01

Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) is one of most powerful techniques for the simultaneous multi-elements analysis. This technique has been studied and applied to analyze major, minor and trace elements in Geological, Biological and Environmental samples at Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor. At the sixth Workshop, February 8-11, 1999, Yojakarta, Indonesia we had a report on Current Status of Neutron Activation Analysis using Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor. Another report on Neutron Activation Analysis at the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor also was presented at the seventh Workshop in Taejon, Korea from November 20-24, 2000. So in this report, we would like to present the results obtained of the application of NAA at NRI for one year as follows: (1) Determination of the concentrations of noble, rare earth, uranium, thorium and other elements in Geological samples according to requirement of clients particularly the geologists, who want to find out the mineral resources. (2) The analysis of concentration of radionuclides and nutrient elements in foodstuffs to attend the program on Asian Reference Man. (3) The evaluation of the contents of trace elements in crude oil and basement rock samples to determine original source of the oil. (4) Determination of the elemental composition of airborne particle in the Ho Chi Minh City for studying air pollution. The analytical data of standard reference material, toxic elements and natural radionuclides in seawater are also presented. (author)

Initial research of np scattering with polarized deuterium target at ANKE/COSY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gou, Boxing [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73000 Lanzhou (China); Collaboration: ANKE-Collaboration

2014-07-01

With the goal of understanding the nuclear forces, the ANKE collaboration has been working on a systematic NN spin program for many years. Due to the lack of free neutron sources experimental data of np scattering are very rare, especially at higher energies. It has been shown that using phase shift analysis (PSA) it is possible to reconstruct np scattering amplitudes from the spin observables of pd → {pp}{sub {sup 1}S{sub 0}}n charge-exchange reaction. So far experiments were conducted using polarized deuteron beams and hydrogen target, which led to valuable results. To extend the research up to the highest nucleon energy available at COSY (2.8 GeV), proton beam and polarized deuterium target will be used. This talk presents the results of the commissioning experiment of a deuterium target at ANKE with emphasis on the initial research of charge-exchange reaction.

MEASURING COERCION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH WITHIN A DOUBLY VULNERABLE POPULATION: INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COERCION ASSESSMENT SCALE

Science.gov (United States)

Dugosh, Karen Leggett; Festinger, David S.; Croft, Jason R.; Marlowe, Douglas B.

2011-01-01

Despite many efforts aimed to ensure that research participation is autonomous and not coerced, there exists no reliable and valid measure of perceived coercion for the doubly vulnerable population of substance-abusing offenders. The current study describes the development and initial validation of an instrument measuring perceived coercion to participate in research among substance-abusing offenders. The results indicated that a substantial number of individuals report feeling coerced to participate in the study. In addition, the instrument has adequate levels of internal consistency, a one-dimensional factor structure, and evidence of discriminative validity. This study provides initial support for the instrument’s validity and clinical utility. PMID:20235867

A two-dimensional uniplanar transmission-line metamaterial with a negative index of refraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elek, Francis; Eleftheriades, George V

2005-01-01

A uniplanar transmission-line (TL) network has been loaded with lumped elements (chip or printed), enabling one to achieve a two-dimensional (2D) uniplanar negative-refractive-index (NRI) metamaterial. The metamaterial consists of a 2D array of unit cells, composed of TL sections connected in series and loaded in a specified manner. The unit cell dimensions can be designed to be much smaller than the operating wavelength, enabling one to identify the structure as an effective medium, with a negative index of refraction. This NRI metamaterial supports transverse electric (TE) waves, as opposed to related previous work on NRI-TL media that supported transverse magnetic (TM) waves. The dispersion characteristics are calculated using a simple, fast 2D loaded TL model with periodic (Bloch) boundary conditions. Subsequently the dispersion relation is simplified in the homogeneous limit, thus allowing one to identify effective permittivities and permeabilities, which are shown to be simultaneously negative. Simulations demonstrating the negative refraction of a plane wave on an interface between such a NRI uniplanar metamaterial and a commensurate positive-refractive-index (PRI) metamaterial verify the validity of the proposed concept and theory. A fully printed unit cell is presented at microwave frequencies (∼10 GHz) along with a prescription for synthesizing an isotropic 3D transmission line NRI metamaterial based on this unit cell

Science Granting Councils Initiative: Research uptake | IDRC ...

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

The Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa aims to ... The strategy identifies a wide range of activities to collect, package, and share lessons ... Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), IDRC is ...

Reshaping clinical science: Introduction to the Special Issue on Psychophysiology and the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, Christopher J; Hajcak, Greg

2016-03-01

The National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative seeks to establish new dimensional conceptions of mental health problems, through the investigation of clinically relevant "process" constructs that have neurobiological as well as psychological referents. This special issue provides a detailed overview of the RDoC framework by NIMH officials Michael Kozak and Bruce Cuthbert, and spotlights RDoC-oriented investigative efforts by leading psychophysiological research groups as examples of how clinical science might be reshaped through application of RDoC principles. Accompanying commentaries highlight key aspects of the work by each group, and discuss reported methods/findings in relation to promises and challenges of the RDoC initiative more broadly. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Building the field of population health intervention research: The development and use of an initial set of competencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Riley

2015-01-01

This initial set of competencies, released in 2013, may be used to develop graduate student curriculum, recruit trainees and faculty to academic institutions, plan non-degree professional development, and develop job descriptions for PHIR-related research and professional positions. The competencies provide some initial guideposts for the field and will need to be adapted as the PHIR field matures and to meet unique needs of different jurisdictions.

Report of the 1st meeting of the "Vienna Initiative to Save European Academic Research (VISAER)".

Science.gov (United States)

Druml, Christiane; Singer, Ernst A; Wolzt, Michael

2006-04-01

The European Directive 2001/20/EC ("Clinical Trials Directive") was aimed at simplifying and harmonising European clinical research. The directive's attempt represents an important step because many European Member States lack national laws that specifically address details of research, but the goal has been only partly achieved. For academic investigators doing national or multi-national research the new European law and the requirements following its implementation are likely to have the opposite effect. Some areas seem to be of particular concern: trial sponsorship, the ethical review process, the participation of patients who are temporarily not able to consent in clinical trials, in particular the informed consent process, an accepted European registry for all clinical trials, insurance and pharmacovigilance. Furthermore there are fundamental problems of the conduct of clinical trials that could have been foreseen at the time of implementation of the new law, which are impeding academic basic clinical research. The bureaucratic burden for academic investigators has tremendously increased without representing any contribution to patients' safety or to the scientific value of research. Furthermore some large European academic trials cannot be conducted anymore due to the new regulations. This result in a reduction in the number of trials and additionally in a reduction in the number of patients enrolled in a study. European research and thus European patients will suffer from the loss of potential benefits of research. The Vienna Initiative to Save European Academic Research (VISEAR) brings together leading stakeholders from academic research groups and interested parties from industry, international organisations and regulatory authorities to focus on the issues of concern regarding the organisational and funding of academic clinical research in order to improve the development and use of medicines in Europe. The first step of the initiative was a meeting held

Charging conditions research to increase the initial projected velocity at different initial charge temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Ishchenko, Aleksandr; Burkin, Viktor; Kasimov, Vladimir; Samorokova, Nina; Zykova, Angelica; Diachkovskii, Alexei

2017-11-01

The problems of the defense industry occupy the most important place in the constantly developing modern world. The daily development of defense technology does not stop, nor do studies on internal ballistics. The scientists of the whole world are faced with the task of managing the main characteristics of a ballistic experiment. The main characteristics of the ballistic experiment are the maximum pressure in the combustion chamber Pmax and the projected velocity at the time of barrel leaving UM. During the work the combustion law of the new high-energy fuel was determined in a ballistic experiment for different initial temperatures. This combustion law was used for a parametric study of depending Pmax and UM from a powder charge mass and a traveling charge was carried out. The optimal conditions for loading were obtained for improving the initial velocity at pressures up to 600 MPa for different initial temperatures. In this paper, one of the most promising schemes of throwing is considered, as well as a method for increasing the muzzle velocity of a projected element to 3317 m/s.

Post-approval monitoring and oversight of U.S.-initiated human subjects research in resource-constrained countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Brandon; Kinsler, Janni; Folayan, Morenike O; Allen, Karen; Cáceres, Carlos F

2014-06-01

The history of human subjects research and controversial procedures in relation to it has helped form the field of bioethics. Ethically questionable elements may be identified during research design, research implementation, management at the study site, or actions by a study's investigator or other staff. Post-approval monitoring (PAM) may prevent violations from occurring or enable their identification at an early stage. In U.S.-initiated human subjects research taking place in resource-constrained countries with limited development of research regulatory structures, arranging a site visit from a U.S. research ethics committee (REC) becomes difficult, thus creating a potential barrier to regulatory oversight by the parent REC. However, this barrier may be overcome through the use of digital technologies, since much of the world has at least remote access to the Internet. Empirical research is needed to pilot test the use of these technologies for research oversight to ensure the protection of human subjects taking part in research worldwide.

Building the field of population health intervention research: The development and use of an initial set of competencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Barbara; Harvey, Jean; Di Ruggiero, Erica; Potvin, Louise

2015-01-01

Population health intervention research (PHIR) is a relatively new research field that studies interventions that can improve health and health equity at a population level. Competencies are one way to give legitimacy and definition to a field. An initial set of PHIR competencies was developed with leadership from a multi-sector group in Canada. This paper describes the development process for these competencies and their possible uses. Methods to develop the competencies included key informant interviews; a targeted review of scientific and gray literature; a 2-round, online adapted Delphi study with a 24-member panel; and a focus group with 9 international PHIR experts. The resulting competencies consist of 25 items grouped into 6 categories. They include principles of good science applicable though not exclusive to PHIR, and more suitable for PHIR teams rather than individuals. This initial set of competencies, released in 2013, may be used to develop graduate student curriculum, recruit trainees and faculty to academic institutions, plan non-degree professional development, and develop job descriptions for PHIR-related research and professional positions. The competencies provide some initial guideposts for the field and will need to be adapted as the PHIR field matures and to meet unique needs of different jurisdictions.

Aquaculture research and management in the telecoupled Belt and Road Initiative countries and beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, W.; Ying, Z.; Marín, T.

2017-12-01

Due to the continuous growth in aquatic product consumption, globally the total production of aquatic products has increased by 20% in the past two decades. In 2014, for the first time, the production of aquatic products for direct human consumption from aquaculture surpassed that of wild catch. In 2016, the total production of global aquatic products reached 170 million tons, of which 45% comes from the aquaculture sector. More importantly, over 80% of the global aquaculture production occurs in the Belt and Road Initiative countries. Particularly, China alone contributes to two third of the global share. The rapid expansion and intensification of aquaculture have many environmental and socioeconomic impacts both at the cultivation places and also in places where feed is produced; however, these telecoupled processes and effects are largely unknown in a quantitative manner. Here, we apply the telecoupling framework to analyze the aquaculture trade among China and other Belt and Road Initiative countries and beyond. The integrated telecoupling framework helps to demonstrate the environmental and socioeconomic interactions among the feed (and aquatic product) sending, receiving, and spillover systems. It also provides a platform to model the telecoupled processes and effects across multiple remotely connected systems. Moreover, the application of the framework reveals many research gaps and management needs on aquaculture research and management.

Provincial development of a patient-reported outcome initiative to guide patient care, quality improvement, and research.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Robert A; Howard, Fuchsia; Lapointe, Vincent; Schellenberg, Devin; Nichol, Alan; Bowering, Gale; Curtis, Susan; Walter, Allison; Brown, Steven; Thompson, Corinne; Bergin, Jackie; Lomas, Sheri; French, John; Halperin, Ross; Tyldesley, Scott; Beckham, Wayne

2018-01-01

The BC Cancer Agency Radiotherapy (RT) program started the Prospective Outcomes and Support Initiative (POSI) at all six centres to utilize patient-reported outcomes for immediate clinical care, quality improvement, and research. Patient-reported outcomes were collected at time of computed tomography simulation via tablet and 2 to 4 weeks post-RT via either tablet or over the phone by a registered nurse. From 2013 to 2016, patients were approached on 20,150 attempts by POSI for patients treated with RT for bone metastases (52%), brain metastases (11%), lung cancer (17%), gynecological cancer (16%), head and neck cancer (2%), and other pilots (2%). The accrual rate for all encounters was 85% (n = 17,101), with the accrual rate varying between the lowest and the highest accruing centre from 78% to 89% ( P < .001) and varying by tumour site ( P < .001). Using the POSI database, we have performed research and quality improvement initiatives that have changed practice.

Electric Power Infrastructure Reliability And Security Research And Development Initiative. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dale, S.; Meeker, R.; Steurer, M.; Li, H.; Pamidi, S.; Rodrigo, H.; Suryanarayanan, S.; Cartes, D.; Ordonez, J.; Domijan, A.; Liu, W.; Cox, D.; McLaren, P.; Hovsapian, R.; Edwards, D.; Simmons, S.; Wilde, N.; Woodruff, S.; Kopriva, D.; Hussaini, Y.; Mohammed, O.; Zheng, J.; Baldwin, T.L.

2008-01-01

This is the final scientific/technical report for the Electric Power Infrastructure Reliability and Security R and D Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, under award number DE-FG02-05CH11292. This report covers results from the FSU-led, multi-institution effort conducted over the period 8/15/05 to 10/14/2007. Building upon existing infrastructure for power systems research, modeling, and simulation, the Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) at Florida State University (FSU) is developing world-class programs in electric power systems research and education to support future electric power system needs and challenges. With U.S. Department of Energy Support, FSU CAPS has engaged in a multi-faceted effort to conduct basic and applied research towards understanding, developing, and deploying technologies and approaches that can lead to improved reliability and security of the North American electric power generation and delivery infrastructure. This wide-reaching project, through a number of carefully selected thrusts cutting across several research disciplines, set out to address key terrestrial electric utility power system issues and challenges. The challenges and the thrusts to address them were arrived at through analysis of a number of national reports and recommendations combined with input from an experienced multi-disciplined team of power systems research staff and faculty at FSU CAPS. The resulting project effort can be grouped into four major areas: - Power Systems and New Technology Insertion - Controls, Protection, and Security - Simulation Development - High Temperature Superconductivity (HTS)

Strategies Information and Communication Technology Managers Use to Build Employee Competencies

Science.gov (United States)

Rabogadi, Thulaganyo Arnold

2017-01-01

The World Economic Forum (WEF) found that Botswana's information and communication technology (ICT) networked readiness index (NRI) had declined from position 89 in 2012 to 104 in 2015. A decline in Botswana's ICT NRI resulted in a modest gross domestic product (GDP) growth increasing from 4.2% in 2012 to 5.0% in 2015. The purpose of this…

AcEST: BP920123 [AcEST

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 1.3 sp|Q9NRI5|DISC1_HUMAN Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 protein OS=Ho... 30 2.9 sp|Q8BMI0|FBX38_MOUSE F-box o... PL*LPVHSL 238 L LPV SL Sbjct: 86 VLKLPVRSL 94 >sp|Q9NRI5|DISC1_HUMAN Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 protein O

Initiating a participatory action research process in the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance site.

Science.gov (United States)

Wariri, Oghenebrume; D'Ambruoso, Lucia; Twine, Rhian; Ngobeni, Sizzy; van der Merwe, Maria; Spies, Barry; Kahn, Kathleen; Tollman, Stephen; Wagner, Ryan G; Byass, Peter

2017-06-01

Despite progressive health policy, disease burdens in South Africa remain patterned by deeply entrenched social inequalities. Accounting for the relationships between context, health and risk can provide important information for equitable service delivery. The aims of the research were to initiate a participatory research process with communities in a low income setting and produce evidence of practical relevance. We initiated a participatory action research (PAR) process in the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance site (HDSS) in rural north-east South Africa. Three village-based discussion groups were convened and consulted about conditions to examine, one of which was under-5 mortality. A series of discussions followed in which routine HDSS data were presented and participants' subjective perspectives were elicited and systematized into collective forms of knowledge using ranking, diagramming and participatory photography. The process concluded with a priority setting exercise. Visual and narrative data were thematically analyzed to complement the participants' analysis. A range of social and structural root causes of under-5 mortality were identified: poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing, unsafe environments and shortages of clean water. Despite these constraints, single mothers were often viewed as negligent. A series of mid-level contributory factors in clinics were also identified: overcrowding, poor staffing, delays in treatment and shortages of medications. In a similar sense, pronounced blame and negativity were directed toward clinic nurses in spite of the systems constraints identified. Actions to address these issues were prioritized as: expanding clinics, improving accountability and responsiveness of health workers, improving employment, providing clean water, and expanding community engagement for health promotion. We initiated a PAR process to gain local knowledge and prioritize actions. The process was acceptable to those

FEMININE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A RESEARCH THEME. SOME CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE WAY OF INITIATING A BUSINESS BY THE ENTREPRENEUR WOMEN IN THE WEST OF ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pop Cohut Ioana

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The present paper aims an incursion in the concern for researches in the field of feminine entrepreneurship – as a research theme, the study directions of the feminine entrepreneurship, on the basis of the special literature in the field. The applicative part of the paper refers to the research taken in the field of feminine entrepreneurship in Romania, through the project AntrES, in the area of the initiation way of business by entrepreneur women investigated and aligns aspects regarding the research methodology, the study of the way of initiating a business, the length with the age of manager women, the occupational situation at the moment of business initiation and their previous experience.

Open science initiatives: challenges for public health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Holzmeyer, Cheryl

2018-03-07

While academic open access, open data and open science initiatives have proliferated in recent years, facilitating new research resources for health promotion, open initiatives are not one-size-fits-all. Health research particularly illustrates how open initiatives may serve various interests and ends. Open initiatives not only foster new pathways of research access; they also discipline research in new ways, especially when associated with new regimes of research use and peer review, while participating in innovation ecosystems that often perpetuate existing systemic biases toward commercial biomedicine. Currently, many open initiatives are more oriented toward biomedical research paradigms than paradigms associated with public health promotion, such as social determinants of health research. Moreover, open initiatives too often dovetail with, rather than challenge, neoliberal policy paradigms. Such initiatives are unlikely to transform existing health research landscapes and redress health inequities. In this context, attunement to social determinants of health research and community-based local knowledge is vital to orient open initiatives toward public health promotion and health equity. Such an approach calls for discourses, norms and innovation ecosystems that contest neoliberal policy frameworks and foster upstream interventions to promote health, beyond biomedical paradigms. This analysis highlights challenges and possibilities for leveraging open initiatives on behalf of a wider range of health research stakeholders, while emphasizing public health promotion, health equity and social justice as benchmarks of transformation.

A personal history of the human exploration initiative with commentary on the pivotal role for life support research

Science.gov (United States)

Mendell, Wendell

1990-01-01

The author relates the history of the human exploration initiative from a personal perspective from the 1961 J. F. Kennedy initiative to land a man on the moon up to 1986 when a memo was circulated from NASA Headquarters to its employees which stated as a major goal the expansion of the human presence beyond Earth into the solar system. The pivotal role of life support research is woven into this personalized history.

Research Award: Think Tank Initiative

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

IDRC CRDI

organizations related to research quality, policy links or aspects of organizational performance. Through ... Master's in economics, development studies, public policy or political sciences; ... Knowledge of French or Spanish (would be an asset).

Recent Multidisciplinary Research Initiatives and IODP Drilling in the South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, J.; Li, C. F.; Wang, P.; Kulhanek, D. K.

2016-12-01

The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest low-latitude marginal sea in the world. Its formation and evolution are linked to the complex continental-oceanic tectonic interaction of the Eurasian, Pacific, and Indo-Australian plates. Despite its relatively small size and short history, the SCS has undergone nearly a complete Wilson cycle from continental break-up to seafloor spreading to subduction, serving as a natural laboratory for studying the linkages between tectonic, volcanic, and oceanic processes. The last several years have witnessed significant progress in investigation of the SCS through comprehensive research programs using multidisciplinary approaches and enhanced international collaboration. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 349 drilled and cored five sites in the SCS in 2014. The expedition successfully obtained the first basaltic rock samples of the SCS relict spreading center, discovered large and frequent deep-sea turbidity events, and sampled multiple seamount volcaniclastic layers. In addition, high-resolution near-seafloor magnetic surveys were conducted in the SCS with survey lines passing near some of the IODP drilling sites. Together the IODP drilling and deep-tow magnetic survey results confirmed, for the first time, that the entire SCS basin might have stopped seafloor spreading at similar ages in early Miocene, providing important constraints on marginal sea geodynamic models. In 2007, IODP Expeditions 367 and 368 will drill the northern margin of the SCS to investigate the mechanisms of rifting to spreading processes. Meanwhile, major progress in studying the SCS processes has also been made through comprehensive multidisciplinary programs, for example, the eight-year-long "South China Sea Deep" initiative, which also supports and encourages strong international collaboration. This presentation will highlight the recent multidisciplinary research initiatives in investigation of the SCS and the important role of

Radiation protection survey of research and development activities initiated after the Chernobyl accident. Review report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burkart, W.

1989-01-01

The compilation of research and development activities in the various fields of radiation protection in OECD Member countries which have been undertaken or planned specifically to address open questions arising from the Chernobyl reactor accident experience shows a potential for international cooperative arrangements and/or coordination between national programmes. Both the preliminary review of the answers, which only cover a part of the relevant activities in OECD Member countries, and a computerized literature search indicate that the multidisciplinarity of the research area under consideration will call for special efforts to efficiently implement new models and new quantitative findings from the different fields of activity to provide an improved basis for emergency management and risk assessment. Further improvements could also be achieved by efforts to initiate new activities to close gaps in the programmes under way, to enhance international cooperation, and to coordinate the evaluation of the results. This preliminary review of the answers of 17 Member countries to the questionnaire on research and development activities initiated after the Chernobyl accident is not sufficient as a basis for a balanced decision on those research areas most in need for international cooperation and coordination. It may however serve as a guide for the exploration of the potential for international cooperative arrangements and/or coordination between national programmes by the CRPPH. Even at this preliminary stage, several specific activities are proposed to the NEA/OECD by Member countries. Whole body counting and the intercomparison of national data bases on the behaviour of radionuclides in the environment did attract most calls for international cooperation sponsored by the NEA

Research Award: Think Tank Initiative

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

Office 2004 Test Drive User

perceived as successful, and what can be learned from these examples to help ... What is the nature of the applied research market in specific developing ... A degree in economics, development studies, public policy or political sciences;.

Teachers’ perceptions of their own initiative: Collective initiative vs. personal initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Džinović Vladimir

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Current trends in education demand from teachers to exhibit proactive behaviour and assume responsibility for the implementation of changes in school practice. In that sense, it is important to study how teachers perceive their own initiative and to gain insight into the activities where such initiative is demonstrated. This study has been conceived as a mixed-methods research. The qualitative study implied forming four focus groups with subject teachers and class teachers (N=38, while the quantitative study entailed surveying 1441 teachers in forty primary schools in Serbia using the questionnaire constructed based on qualitative data. Data from focus groups were processed by qualitative thematic analysis, while the questionnaire data were processed by principal component analysis and univariate analysis of variance. The findings of the study have shown that teachers mostly demonstrate initiative through co­operative activities that include planning of joint teaching as well as conducting joint projects within school and with the local community actors. Teachers are least ready to demonstrate personal initiative and the initiative aimed at accomplishing considerable changes in school work. The concluding part includes the recommendations for encouraging teachers’ personal initiative and building organizational culture that would support such initiative. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. br. 47008: Unapređivanje kvaliteta i dostupnosti obrazovanja u procesima modernizacije Srbije i br. 179034: Od podsticanja inicijative, saradnje i stvaralaštva u obrazovanju do novih uloga i identiteta u društvu

Out of Arabia. The Settlement of Island Soqotra as Revealed by Mitochondrial and Y Chromosome Genetic Diversity

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Černý, Viktor; Pereira, L.; Kujanová, Martina; Vašíková, A.; Hájek, Martin; Morris, M.; Mulligan, C. J.

2009-01-01

Roč. 138, č. 4 (2009), s. 439-447 ISSN 0002-9483 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ME 917 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z80020508 Keywords : mtDNA and NRY diversity * regional sampling * phylogeography * migration s * Southern Arabia Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology Impact factor: 2.756, year: 2009 www.interscience.wiley.com

Disruption of pupariation and eclosion behavior in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga bullata Parker (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), by venom form the ectoparasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rivers, D. B.; Žďárek, Jan; Denlinger, D. L.

2004-01-01

Roč. 57, - (2004), s. 78-91 ISSN 0739-4462 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA522/01/0501 Grant - others:USDA-NRI(US) 98-35302-6659; USDA-NRICGP(US) 2001-1005 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4055905 Keywords : ectoparasitoid * ecdysone * fly development Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 1.173, year: 2004

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative: Multidisciplinary data management from the ground up

Science.gov (United States)

Showalter, L. M.; Gibeaut, J. C.

2015-12-01

As more journals and funding organizations require data to be made available, more and more scientists are being exposed to the world of data science, metadata development, and data standards so they can ensure future funding and publishing success. The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) is the vehicle by which the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) is making all data collected in this program publically available. This varied group of researchers all have different levels of experience with data management standards and protocols, thus GRIIDC has evolved to embrace the cooperative nature of our work and develop a number of tools and training materials to help ensure data managers and researchers in the GoMRI program are submitting high quality data and metadata that will be useful for years to come. GRIIDC began with a group of 8 data managers many of which had only ever managed their own data, who were then expected to manage the data of a large group of geographically distant researchers. As the program continued to evolve these data managers worked with the GRIIDC team to help identify and develop much needed resources for training and communication for themselves and the scientists they represented. This essential cooperation has developed a team of highly motivated scientists, computer programmers and data scientists who are working to ensure a data and information legacy that promotes continual scientific discovery and public awareness of the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem and beyond.

Cancer patient and survivor research from the cancer information service research consortium: a preview of three large randomized trials and initial lessons learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Alfred C; Diefenbach, Michael A; Stanton, Annette L; Miller, Suzanne M; Fleisher, Linda; Raich, Peter C; Morra, Marion E; Perocchia, Rosemarie Slevin; Tran, Zung Vu; Bright, Mary Anne

2013-01-01

The authors describe 3 large randomized trials from the Cancer Information Service Research Consortium. Three web-based multimedia programs are being tested to help newly diagnosed prostate (Project 1) and breast cancer patients (Project 2) make informed treatment decisions and breast cancer patients prepare for life after treatment (Project 3). Project 3 also tests a telephone callback intervention delivered by a cancer information specialist. All participants receive standard print material specific to each project. Preliminary results from the 2-month follow-up interviews are reported for the initial wave of enrolled participants, most of whom were recruited from the Cancer Information Service (1-800-4-CANCER) telephone information program (Project 1: n =208; Project 2: n =340; Project 3: n =792). Self-reported use of the multimedia program was 51%, 52%, and 67% for Projects 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Self-reported use of the print materials (read all, most, or some) was 90%, 85%, and 83% for Projects 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The callback intervention was completed by 92% of Project 3 participants. Among those using the Cancer Information Service Research Consortium interventions, perceived usefulness and benefit was high, and more than 90% reported that they would recommend them to other cancer patients. The authors present 5 initial lessons learned that may help inform future cancer communications research.

Understanding the value of mixed methods research: the Children’s Safety Initiative-Emergency Medical Services

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Matthew; O’Brien, Kerth; Meckler, Garth; Chang, Anna Marie; Guise, Jeanne-Marie

2016-01-01

Mixed methods research has significant potential to broaden the scope of emergency care and specifically emergency medical services investigation. Mixed methods studies involve the coordinated use of qualitative and quantitative research approaches to gain a fuller understanding of practice. By combining what is learnt from multiple methods, these approaches can help to characterise complex healthcare systems, identify the mechanisms of complex problems such as medical errors and understand aspects of human interaction such as communication, behaviour and team performance. Mixed methods approaches may be particularly useful for out-of-hospital care researchers because care is provided in complex systems where equipment, interpersonal interactions, societal norms, environment and other factors influence patient outcomes. The overall objectives of this paper are to (1) introduce the fundamental concepts and approaches of mixed methods research and (2) describe the interrelation and complementary features of the quantitative and qualitative components of mixed methods studies using specific examples from the Children’s Safety Initiative-Emergency Medical Services (CSI-EMS), a large National Institutes of Health-funded research project conducted in the USA. PMID:26949970

Research initiatives for plug-and-play scientific computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McInnes, Lois Curfman; Dahlgren, Tamara; Nieplocha, Jarek; Bernholdt, David; Allan, Ben; Armstrong, Rob; Chavarria, Daniel; Elwasif, Wael; Gorton, Ian; Kenny, Joe; Krishan, Manoj; Malony, Allen; Norris, Boyana; Ray, Jaideep; Shende, Sameer

2007-01-01

This paper introduces three component technology initiatives within the SciDAC Center for Technology for Advanced Scientific Component Software (TASCS) that address ever-increasing productivity challenges in creating, managing, and applying simulation software to scientific discovery. By leveraging the Common Component Architecture (CCA), a new component standard for high-performance scientific computing, these initiatives tackle difficulties at different but related levels in the development of component-based scientific software: (1) deploying applications on massively parallel and heterogeneous architectures, (2) investigating new approaches to the runtime enforcement of behavioral semantics, and (3) developing tools to facilitate dynamic composition, substitution, and reconfiguration of component implementations and parameters, so that application scientists can explore tradeoffs among factors such as accuracy, reliability, and performance

Exploring the Benefits of a Collaborative Inquiry Team in Education (CITE Initiative to Develop a Research Community and Enhance Student Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Teresa Cantalini-Williams

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study examined a collaborative inquiry process, facilitated by university faculty in an elementary school, intended to develop a research community, foster knowledge mobilization, and enhance student engagement. The Collaborative Inquiry Team in Education (CITE initiative consisted of five school-based sessions that included videos, discussions, and the completion of a research action plan. Data collection and analysis involved sessions’ transcripts, feedback from participants, documents such as brainstorming charts, and student artifacts. Findings indicate that the collaborative inquiry process with enablers of time, flexibility, and support from university faculty increased educators’ research acumen and student engagement in classrooms. The CITE initiative is an effective example of applied education research and knowledge mobilization with the inclusion of faculty and technological support, innovative resources, and the co-construction of new understandings.

Understanding the value of mixed methods research: the Children's Safety Initiative-Emergency Medical Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Matthew; O'Brien, Kerth; Meckler, Garth; Chang, Anna Marie; Guise, Jeanne-Marie

2016-07-01

Mixed methods research has significant potential to broaden the scope of emergency care and specifically emergency medical services investigation. Mixed methods studies involve the coordinated use of qualitative and quantitative research approaches to gain a fuller understanding of practice. By combining what is learnt from multiple methods, these approaches can help to characterise complex healthcare systems, identify the mechanisms of complex problems such as medical errors and understand aspects of human interaction such as communication, behaviour and team performance. Mixed methods approaches may be particularly useful for out-of-hospital care researchers because care is provided in complex systems where equipment, interpersonal interactions, societal norms, environment and other factors influence patient outcomes. The overall objectives of this paper are to (1) introduce the fundamental concepts and approaches of mixed methods research and (2) describe the interrelation and complementary features of the quantitative and qualitative components of mixed methods studies using specific examples from the Children's Safety Initiative-Emergency Medical Services (CSI-EMS), a large National Institutes of Health-funded research project conducted in the USA. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Setting priorities for zinc-related health research to reduce children's disease burden worldwide: an application of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative's research priority-setting method.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kenneth H; Hess, Sonja Y; Boy, Erick; Gibson, Rosalind S; Horton, Susan; Osendarp, Saskia J; Sempertegui, Fernando; Shrimpton, Roger; Rudan, Igor

2009-03-01

To make the best use of limited resources for supporting health-related research to reduce child mortality, it is necessary to apply a suitable method to rank competing research options. The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) developed a new methodology for setting health research priorities. To broaden experience with this priority-setting technique, we applied the method to rank possible research priorities concerning the control of Zn deficiency. Although Zn deficiency is not generally recognized as a direct cause of child mortality, recent research indicates that it predisposes children to an increased incidence and severity of several of the major direct causes of morbidity and mortality. Leading experts in the field of Zn research in child health were identified and invited to participate in a technical working group (TWG) to establish research priorities. The individuals were chosen to represent a wide range of expertise in Zn nutrition. The seven TWG members submitted a total of ninety research options, which were then consolidated into a final list of thirty-one research options categorized by the type of resulting intervention. The identified priorities were dominated by research investment options targeting Zn supplementation, and were followed by research on Zn fortification, general aspects of Zn nutrition, dietary modification and other new interventions. In general, research options that aim to improve the efficiency of an already existing intervention strategy received higher priority scores. Challenges identified during the implementation of the methodology and suggestions to modify the priority-setting procedures are discussed.

Breakfast in Human Nutrition: The International Breakfast Research Initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Gibney

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day and in recent years has been implicated in weight control, cardio-metabolic risk factors and cognitive performance although, at present, the literature remains inconclusive as to the precise health benefits of breakfast. There are extensive reports of breakfast’s contributions to daily food and nutrient intakes, as well as many studies that have compared daily food and nutrient intakes by breakfast consumers and skippers. However, significant variation exists in the definitions of breakfast and breakfast skippers, and in methods used to relate breakfast nutrient intakes to overall diet quality. The present review describes a novel and harmonised approach to the study of the nutritional impact of breakfast through The International Breakfast research Initiative involving national dietary survey data from Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, the UK and the USA. It is anticipated that the analysis of such data along harmonised lines, will allow the project to achieve its primary goal of exploring approaches to defining optimal breakfast food and nutrient intakes. Such data will be of value to public health nutrition policy-makers and food manufacturers and will also allow consistent messaging to help consumers to optimize food choices at breakfast.

The NASA research and technology program on space power: A key element of the Space Exploration Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Gary L.; Brandhorst, Henry W., Jr.; Atkins, Kenneth L.

1991-01-01

In July 1989, President Bush announced his space exploration initiative of going back to the Moon to stay and then going to Mars. Building upon its ongoing research and technology base, NASA has established an exploration technology program to develop the technologies needed for piloted missions to the Moon and Mars. A key element for the flights and for the planned bases is power. The NASA research and technology program on space power encompasses power sources, energy storage, and power management.

University Research Initiative Program for Combat Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

1999-05-01

microscope image of one of the lenses. This array was selected for testing because it is fabricated in a relatively inexpensive polyacrylic material, the...potent analogues of the potassium -sparing diuretic, amiloride. However, our results 179 University Reasearch Initiative for Combat Readiness Annual Report...for Combat Readiness Annual Report for the period June 1, 1998 - June 30, 1999 Roger H. Sawyer University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 May

Deep-sea coral research and technology program: Alaska deep-sea coral and sponge initiative final report

Science.gov (United States)

Rooper, Chris; Stone, Robert P.; Etnoyer, Peter; Conrath, Christina; Reynolds, Jennifer; Greene, H. Gary; Williams, Branwen; Salgado, Enrique; Morrison, Cheryl L.; Waller, Rhian G.; Demopoulos, Amanda W.J.

2017-01-01

Deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems are widespread throughout most of Alaska’s marine waters. In some places, such as the central and western Aleutian Islands, deep-sea coral and sponge resources can be extremely diverse and may rank among the most abundant deep-sea coral and sponge communities in the world. Many different species of fishes and invertebrates are associated with deep-sea coral and sponge communities in Alaska. Because of their biology, these benthic invertebrates are potentially impacted by climate change and ocean acidification. Deepsea coral and sponge ecosystems are also vulnerable to the effects of commercial fishing activities. Because of the size and scope of Alaska’s continental shelf and slope, the vast majority of the area has not been visually surveyed for deep-sea corals and sponges. NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) sponsored a field research program in the Alaska region between 2012–2015, referred to hereafter as the Alaska Initiative. The priorities for Alaska were derived from ongoing data needs and objectives identified by the DSCRTP, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), and Essential Fish Habitat-Environmental Impact Statement (EFH-EIS) process.This report presents the results of 15 projects conducted using DSCRTP funds from 2012-2015. Three of the projects conducted as part of the Alaska deep-sea coral and sponge initiative included dedicated at-sea cruises and fieldwork spread across multiple years. These projects were the eastern Gulf of Alaska Primnoa pacifica study, the Aleutian Islands mapping study, and the Gulf of Alaska fish productivity study. In all, there were nine separate research cruises carried out with a total of 109 at-sea days conducting research. The remaining projects either used data and samples collected by the three major fieldwork projects or were piggy-backed onto existing research programs at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC).

Cancer Research UK | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

Cancer Research UK. Cancer Research UK. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/. The Economics of Tobacco Control Research Initiative. The Economics of Tobacco Control Research Initiative funds innovative fiscal policy research supporting tobacco control in low and middle-income countries. View more. The Economics ...

National Genome Research Initiative: A New Paradigm For Teaching Research To Undergraduates In South America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Ovalle

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: From 2007 to 2011, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI recruited professors across the US to test a new paradigm in undergraduate education: the National Genome Research Initiative (NGRI. Undergraduates were taught to isolate bacteriophages, characterize their findings, and report to the scientific community.Objective: The educational goal of the NGRI program was to expose science undergraduates to an authentic research experience to increase graduation rates. The scientific goal was to isolate mycobacteriophages to be used as therapeutic agents against disease-causing mycobacteria.Materials and Methods: In a one-semester lab course undergraduates are taught to find, grow, and purify bacteriophages. In the second semester, students use bioinformatic software to annotate sequences of their bacteriophages.Results: Ahead of data on student graduation rates, the NGRI program has generated expanded productivity for US undergraduates. Over a four year period, thousands of participants were taught to collect bacteriophages, annotate sequences, and present their findings. Those undergraduates will have isolated 2300+ phages, annotated 250+ sequences, presented hundreds of posters at conferences across the US, and are co-authors on papers published by labs participating in the NGRI program.Discussion: Many professors in the US academic community are convinced that the NGRI program will have lasting impact on the US educational system. Several professors have banded together to form the Phage Galaxy Consortium to continue HHMI’s goal of implementation of the NGRI program at all US colleges.Conclusions: HHMI’s paradigm is ready for distribution to Central and South America.

The basic research on the CDA initiation phase for a metallic fuel FBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirano, Go; Hirakawa, Naohiro; Kawada, Ken-ichi; Niwa, Hazime

1998-03-01

A metallic fuel with novel design has received great deal of interest recently as an option of advanced fuel to be substituted MOX fuel, however, the behavior at the transient has not been studied in many aspects. Therefore, for the purpose to show the basic tendency of the behavior and released energy at CDA (core disruptive accident) for a metallic fuel FBR and to prepare the basic knowledge for consideration of the adoption of the advanced fuel, Tohoku University and Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation have made a joint research entitled. (1) Target and Results of analysis: The accident initiator considered is a LOF accident with ATWS. The LOF analysis was performed for a metallic fuel 600 MWe homogeneous two region core at the beginning of cycle, both for an ordinary metallic fuel core and for a metallic fuel core with ZrH pins. It was necessary mainly to change the constants of input parameters to apply the code for the analysis of a metallic fueled reactor. These changes were made by assuming appropriate models. Basic LOF cases and all blackout case that assumed using electromagnetic pumps were analyzed. The results show that the basic LOF cases for a metallic fuel core and all the cases for a metallic fuel core with ZrH pins could be avoided to become prompt-critical, and mildly transfer to the transient phase. (2) Improvement of CDA initiation phase analysis code: At present, it is difficult for the code to adapt to the large material movement to in the core at the transient. Therefore, the nuclear calculation model in the code was improved by using the adiabatic space dependent kinetics. The results of a sample case, that is a metallic fueled core at the beginning of cycle, show this improvement is appropriate. (3) Conclusion: The behavior at CDA of a metallic fueled core of a fast reactor was analyzed using the CDA initiation phase analysis code and the knowledge of the important characteristics at the CDA initiation phase was obtained

The White House BRAIN Initiative has the potential to further strengthen multidisciplinary research and training in psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Flattau, Pamela

2014-12-01

Comments on the original article by Robiner et al. (see record 2014-07939-001) regarding psychologists in medical schools and academic medical center settings. The current authors also discuss how to advance training in psychology using the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Human papillomavirus vaccine initiation in Asian Indians and Asian subpopulations: a case for examining disaggregated data in public health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Budhwani, H; De, P

2017-12-01

Vaccine disparities research often focuses on differences between the five main racial and ethnic classifications, ignoring heterogeneity of subpopulations. Considering this knowledge gap, we examined human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine initiation in Asian Indians and Asian subpopulations. National Health Interview Survey data (2008-2013), collected by the National Center for Health Statistics, were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted on adults aged 18-26 years (n = 20,040). Asian Indians had high income, education, and health insurance coverage, all positive predictors of preventative health engagement and vaccine uptake. However, we find that Asian Indians had comparatively lower rates of HPV vaccine initiation (odds ratio = 0.41; 95% confidence interval = 0.207-0.832), and foreign-born Asian Indians had the lowest rate HPV vaccination of all subpopulations (2.3%). Findings substantiate the need for research on disaggregated data rather than evaluating vaccination behaviors solely across standard racial and ethnic categories. We identified two populations that were initiating HPV vaccine at abysmal levels: foreign-born persons and Asian Indians. Development of culturally appropriate messaging has the potential to improve these initiation rates and improve population health. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Institutional Support : Agricultural and Rural Forecasting Initiative ...

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

Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rural (IPAR), Sénégal, began in 2004 and was formally registered in October 2008 as an independent, nonprofit research organization. The Initiative is committed to promoting dialogue and informing debate between policymakers, researchers and research users in the areas of agriculture, ...

A comparative analysis of Serbia and the EU member states in the context of networked readiness index values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soldić-Aleksić Jasna

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays it is generally accepted that information and communication technologies (ICT are important drivers and ‘enabling’ technologies that have a broad impact on many sectors of the economy and social life. Therefore, measuring the level of ICT development, their economic and social impact, and the country’s readiness to use them are of great importance. In this paper we present the conceptual framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI proposed by the World Economic Forum, and analyse the relative position of Serbia and its ‘distance’ from the EU member states in the domain of NRI indicator variables. For this purpose we have applied the Kohonen Self-Organizing Map (the SOM algorithm, which provides the visual image, as a virtual map, of observed countries and their groupings. The resulting SOM map indicates that in the complex NRI space, Serbia is located in a group of EU states that includes Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. In comparison to other countries, this group shows the poorest performance in the NRI landscape. In addition, our empirical analysis points to the areas in which policy intervention can boost the impact of ICT on Serbian economic development and growth. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179005

Initiation of a phase-I trial of neutron capture therapy at the MIT research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harling, O.K.; Bernard, J.A.; Yam, Chun-Shan

1995-01-01

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the New England Medical Center (NEMC), and Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) initiated a phase-1 trial of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) on September 6, 1994, at the 5-MW(thermal) MIT research reactor (MITR). A novel form of experimental cancer therapy, BNCT is being developed for certain types of highly malignant brain tumors such as glioblastoma and melanoma. The results of the phase-1 trials on patients with tumors in the legs or feet are described

Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Amendments

OpenAIRE

Kharlie, Ahmad Tholabi

2013-01-01

Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Amendments. Indonesian constitutional amendments incorporated human rights principles into the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 (UUD NRI), especially in the second amendment in 2000. Under that amendment, the UUD NRI currently stipulates human rights principles as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). However, there are some important notes, which at its core is a lack of emphasis on the vision and mission of ...

AcEST: BP916642 [AcEST

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available ides f... 35 0.20 sp|Q9NRI5|DISC1_HUMAN Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 protein OS=Ho... 34 0.34 sp|O94386|YGS9...EL----QAHADEVEELRRKMAQ-KISEYEEQLEALLNKCSSLEKQKSR 258 Query: 145 L 143 L Sbjct: 259 L 259 >sp|Q9NRI5|DISC1_HUMAN Disrupted in schizoph...renia 1 protein OS=Homo sapiens GN=DISC1 PE=1 SV=3 Length = 854 Score = 34.3 bits (

The use of geographical information systems in socio-economic studies

OpenAIRE

Daplyn, P.; Cropley, J.; Treagust, S.; Gordon, A.

1994-01-01

Geographical information systems (GIS) have found wide and growing applications, as digital remote-sensing data and computer technology have become more sophisticated, more easily available and less expensive. NRI recently undertook preliminary research into potential socio-economic applications of GIS. The feasibility of utilizing spatial data, available in GIS, to model socio-economic relationships was examined. It included the following steps: (a) identification of hypothetical relationshi...

Research workshop to research work: initial steps in establishing health research systems on Malaita, Solomon Islands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kekuabata Esau

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Atoifi Adventist Hospital is a 90 bed general hospital in East Kwaio, Malaita, Solomon Islands providing services to the population of subsistence villagers of the region. Health professionals at the hospital and attached College of Nursing have considerable human capacity and willingness to undertake health research. However they are constrained by limited research experience, training opportunities, research systems, physical infrastructure and access to resources. This brief commentary describes an 'Introduction to Health Research' workshop delivered at Atoifi Adventist Hospital in September 2009 and efforts to move from 'research workshop' to 'research work'. The Approach Using a participatory-action research approach underpinned by decolonising methodologies, staff from Atoifi Adventist Hospital and James Cook University (Queensland, Australia collaboratively designed, implemented and evaluated a health research workshop. Basic health research principles and methods were presented using active learning methodologies. Following the workshop, Atoifi Adventist Hospital and Atoifi College of Nursing staff, other professionals and community members reported an increased awareness and understanding of health research. The formation of a local Research Committee, improved ethics review procedures and the identification of local research mentors followed the week long workshop. The workshop has acted as a catalyst for research activity, increasing structural and human resource capacity for local health professionals and community leaders to engage in research. Discussion and Conclusions Participants from a variety of educational backgrounds participated in, and received benefit from, a responsive, culturally and linguistically accessible health research workshop. Improving health research systems at a remote hospital and aligning these with local and national research agendas is establishing a base to strengthen public health

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative: A Funding Model for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Colwell, R. R.

2016-12-01

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a massive ecological event, resulted in the tragic loss of 11 lives, and an environmental release of more than 130 million gallons of crude oil. Approximately 1.8 million gallons of dispersants were used in remediation efforts. An immediate response by BP was to establish a ten-year research program, with funding of 500 million. The funding was to determine the impact and long-term ecological and public health effects of oil spills and to develop improved preparation in the event of future oil or gas release into the environment. This Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI), established by BP, provided independent leadership for both the program and administration of the 500 million funding, and the Research Board provides oversight, assisted by excellent staff. The Research Board of the GoMRI comprises twenty scientists, many of whom have prior scientific research administrative expertise. The Research Board, in accordance with its charge, develops research programs and carries out their evaluation and oversight, employing the peer review and operational principles of the National Science Foundation and the National Academies of Science. With these guiding principles, the Research Board established procedures for conflict of interest oversight and requesting and evaluating research programs. It has also focused on communicating the research findings accurately and responsibly. The GoMRI Research Board operates with transparency and ensures availability of all scientific results and data. GoMRI, currently midway through its 10-year mandate, has funded more than 3,000 scientists, representing 278 institutions in 42 states and 17 countries, who have produced more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications to date. The Research Board is exploring mechanisms by which the GoMRI science findings can be communicated to the broader community and the public and to continue availability of data when the program has ended. A major contribution

A new DoD initiative: the Computational Research and Engineering Acquisition Tools and Environments (CREATE) program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arevalo, S; Atwood, C; Bell, P; Blacker, T D; Dey, S; Fisher, D; Fisher, D A; Genalis, P; Gorski, J; Harris, A; Hill, K; Hurwitz, M; Kendall, R P; Meakin, R L; Morton, S; Moyer, E T; Post, D E; Strawn, R; Veldhuizen, D v; Votta, L G

2008-01-01

In FY2008, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) initiated the Computational Research and Engineering Acquisition Tools and Environments (CREATE) program, a $360M program with a two-year planning phase and a ten-year execution phase. CREATE will develop and deploy three computational engineering tool sets for DoD acquisition programs to use to design aircraft, ships and radio-frequency antennas. The planning and execution of CREATE are based on the 'lessons learned' from case studies of large-scale computational science and engineering projects. The case studies stress the importance of a stable, close-knit development team; a focus on customer needs and requirements; verification and validation; flexible and agile planning, management, and development processes; risk management; realistic schedules and resource levels; balanced short- and long-term goals and deliverables; and stable, long-term support by the program sponsor. Since it began in FY2008, the CREATE program has built a team and project structure, developed requirements and begun validating them, identified candidate products, established initial connections with the acquisition programs, begun detailed project planning and development, and generated the initial collaboration infrastructure necessary for success by its multi-institutional, multidisciplinary teams

A European initiative to define research needs and foster the adoption of Managed Aquifer Recharge into river basin management

Science.gov (United States)

Kneppers, Angeline; Grützmacher, Gesche; Kazner, Christian; Zojer, Hans

2010-05-01

The European Technology Platform for Water (WssTP) was initiated by the European Commission to federate a highly fragmented sector with the aim to foster competitive innovations and promote sustainable solutions. To achieve this, pilot programmes endorsing a bottom-up approach were launched in 2007 with a variety of stakeholders having representative water issues to solve. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was adopted as a balancing process for the safe and sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of current and future social, economic and environmental objectives. As a result key drivers were selected and a methodology was followed to identify and validate the needs with stakeholders and experts, and demonstrate solutions as an integrated part of the river basin management plans. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) was identified as a key component of integrated water resources management, especially in water scarce regions and an area relevant for further research. The paper shall summarize the process followed by the WssTP, initiating a Task Force with 36 representatives from European research institutes and industry partners with participation of a few international experts. During a workshop conducted in Graz in June 2009 these experts developed the basis for a report that has now been submitted to the European Commission for consideration in future research calls. Implementing IWRM and MAR is made difficult by the number of different water bodies, but also by the large number of stakeholders, policies, legislations and conflicting interests. The results of the MAR Task Force initiative set the basis for further discussions with the international MAR community on the relevance of the identified research needs but also on the importance and process to associate the institutional and managerial entities for capacity building and the adoption of MAR into the overall management strategies.

Kenya-Malawi Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative ...

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

This grant will support the creation of two task forces in Kenya and Malawi, respectively, to articulate nationally owned and strategies for an effective health research system in each country. The idea is to enhance the capacity of health research institutions to generate new scientific knowledge, and health policymaking ...

Design, assembly, and initial use of a digital system for the closed-loop control of a nuclear research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwok, K.S.; Bernard, J.A.; Lanning, D.D.

1991-01-01

In this paper the design, implementation, and initial testing of a multiple-computer/single-task system for the closed-loop control of a nuclear research reactor is described. A major advantage of the multiple-computer approach is that generic safety-related software that remains invariant can be separated from the control law software that is updated as plant procedures change. This facilitates software validation. Also, this approach allows both real-time operation and high numerical throughput. System compatibility was achieved through design of a special passive back plane which enabled the otherwise incompatible components to be operated in an integrated system. This multiple-computer system, which was designated as the Advanced Control Computer System (ACCS), has been installed on the 5-MWt MIT Research Reactor. In addition to a description of both the system and its associated hardware and software interfaces, experimental results are presented from its initial trials

A Comparison of the Updated Diamond-Forrester, CAD Consortium, and CONFIRM History-Based Risk Scores for Predicting Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Stable Chest Pain: The SCOT-HEART Coronary CTA Cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Baskaran, Lohendran; Danad, Ibrahim; Gransar, Heidi; Ó Hartaigh, Bríain; Schulman-Marcus, Joshua; Lin, Fay Y; Peña, Jessica M; Hunter, Amanda; Newby, David E; Adamson, Philip D; Min, James K

2018-04-13

This study sought to compare the performance of history-based risk scores in predicting obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) among patients with stable chest pain from the SCOT-HEART study. Risk scores for estimating pre-test probability of CAD are derived from referral-based populations with a high prevalence of disease. The generalizability of these scores to lower prevalence populations in the initial patient encounter for chest pain is uncertain. We compared 3 scores among patients with suspected CAD in the coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) randomized arm of the SCOT-HEART study for the outcome of obstructive CAD by coronary CTA: the updated Diamond-Forrester score (UDF), CAD Consortium clinical score (CAD2), and CONFIRM risk score (CRS). We tested calibration with goodness-of-fit, discrimination with area under the receiver-operating curve (AUC), and reclassification with net reclassification improvement (NRI) to identify low-risk patients. In 1,738 patients (58 ± 10 years and 44.0% women), overall calibration was best for UDF, with underestimation by CRS and CAD2. Discrimination by AUC was highest for CAD2 at 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.77 to 0.81) than for UDF (0.77 [95% CI: 0.74 to 0.79]) or CRS (0.75 [95% CI: 0.73 to 0.77]) (p CAD2 (NRI 0.31, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.35) followed by CRS (NRI 0.21, 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.25) compared with UDF (p CAD and uniform CAD evaluation by coronary CTA, CAD2 provided the best discrimination and classification, despite overestimation of obstructive CAD as evaluated by coronary CTA. CRS exhibited intermediate performance followed by UDF for discrimination and reclassification. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Accelerating Research Impact in a Learning Health Care System: VA's Quality Enhancement Research Initiative in the Choice Act Era.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilbourne, Amy M; Elwy, A Rani; Sales, Anne E; Atkins, David

2017-07-01

Since 1998, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) has supported more rapid implementation of research into clinical practice. With the passage of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice Act), QUERI further evolved to support VHA's transformation into a Learning Health Care System by aligning science with clinical priority goals based on a strategic planning process and alignment of funding priorities with updated VHA priority goals in response to the Choice Act. QUERI updated its strategic goals in response to independent assessments mandated by the Choice Act that recommended VHA reduce variation in care by providing a clear path to implement best practices. Specifically, QUERI updated its application process to ensure its centers (Programs) focus on cross-cutting VHA priorities and specify roadmaps for implementation of research-informed practices across different settings. QUERI also increased funding for scientific evaluations of the Choice Act and other policies in response to Commission on Care recommendations. QUERI's national network of Programs deploys effective practices using implementation strategies across different settings. QUERI Choice Act evaluations informed the law's further implementation, setting the stage for additional rigorous national evaluations of other VHA programs and policies including community provider networks. Grounded in implementation science and evidence-based policy, QUERI serves as an example of how to operationalize core components of a Learning Health Care System, notably through rigorous evaluation and scientific testing of implementation strategies to ultimately reduce variation in quality and improve overall population health.

Setting global research priorities for integrated community case management (iCCM: Results from a CHNRI (Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative exercise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerri Wazny

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Aims: to systematically identify global research gaps and resource priorities for integrated community case management (iCCM. Methods: an iCCM Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI Advisory Group, in collaboration with the Community Case Management Operational Research Group (CCM ORG identified experts to participate in a CHNRI research priority setting exercise. These experts generated and systematically ranked research questions for iCCM. Research questions were ranked using a “Research Priority Score” (RPS and the “Average Expert Agreement” (AEA was calculated for every question. Our groups of experts were comprised of both individuals working in Ministries of Health or Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs in low– and middle–income countries (LMICs and individuals working in high–income countries (HICs in academia or NGO headquarters. A Spearman's Rho was calculated to determine the correlation between the two groups' research questions' ranks. Results: The overall RPS ranged from 64.58 to 89.31, with a median score of 81.43. AEA scores ranged from 0.54 to 0.86. Research questions involving increasing the uptake of iCCM services, research questions concerning the motivation, retention, training and supervision of Community Health Workers (CHWs and concerning adding additional responsibilities including counselling for infant and young child feeding (IYCF and treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM ranked highly. There was weak to moderate, statistically significant, correlation between scores by representatives of high–income countries and those working in–country or regionally (Spearman's ρ = 0.35034, P < 0.01. Conclusions: Operational research to determine optimal training, supervision and modes of motivation and retention for the CHW is vital for improving iCCM, globally, as is research to motivate caregivers to take advantage of iCCM services. Experts working in–country or regionally in

Structuring Cooperative Nuclear RIsk Reduction Initiatives with China.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brandt, Larry [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Reinhardt, Jason Christian [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Hecker, Siegfried [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

2017-03-01

The Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation engaged several Chinese nuclear organizations in cooperative research that focused on responses to radiological and nuclear terrorism. The objective was to identify joint research initiatives to reduce the global dangers of such threats and to pursue initial technical collaborations in several high priority areas. Initiatives were identified in three primary research areas: 1) detection and interdiction of smuggled nuclear materials; 2) nuclear forensics; and 3) radiological (“dirty bomb”) threats and countermeasures. Initial work emphasized the application of systems and risk analysis tools, which proved effective in structuring the collaborations. The extensive engagements between national security nuclear experts in China and the U.S. during the research strengthened professional relationships between these important communities.

NRI experimental facility for the testing of irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruscak, M.; Chvatal, P.; Zamboch, M.

1998-01-01

IASCC influencing reactor internals of both BWR and PWR reactors is a complex phenomenon covering influences of material structure, neutron fluence, neutron flux, chemistry of environment, gamma radiation and mechanical stress. To evaluate such degradation, tests should be performed under conditions similar to those in real structure. Nuclear Research Institute has built several experimental facilities in order to be able to test IASCC degradation of materials. Basically, reactor water loops, both PWR and BWR, could be used to model environmental conditions including gamma and neutron irradiation. Pre-irradiation can be done in irradiation channels under well controlled temperature conditions. During the experiment, in-pile conditions can be compared with those out of pile. It enables to clarify pure influence of irradiation. For testing of irradiated specimens, hot cell facility has been developed for slow strain rate tests. The paper will show all above mentioned facilities as well as some of the results observed with them. (author)

Engineering design of a neutron generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coelho, Daniel M.; Campos, Tarcísio P.R. de, E-mail: dmcoelho.eng@gmail.com, E-mail: tprcampos@pq.cnpq.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (NRI/UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear. Nucleo de Radiações Ionizantes

2017-07-01

This paper presents an engineering design of a neutron generator (NG). In order to analyze and choose the materials and the appropriate geometry, previous studies of NRI Group (Nucleus for Ionizing Radiation at UFMG - NRI/UFMG) were considered and a model was developed for the simulation of these systems. The efficiency of a neutron generator is measured by the neutron flux. Among the modeling and simulation methods, was employed open software sources for the transmuting cell, aiming to evaluate resonant cavity and for complementary physical analysis. In addition, the titanium target was compared designed based in other studies of NRI Group. Deuterium plasma with a density close to 10{sup 10} particles/cm³, was proposed with a frequency of 0.898 GHz and an approximate wavelength of 110 μm, using a radio frequency antenna up to 2.45 GHz. This compact system includes a hydrogen-isotopes fusor, moderator, reflector and shield. Neutron reflection minimized the neutron escape, increasing the final flux. A insulation material is required to enclose the device. As a conclusion, the investigated nuclear and electromagnetic features of NG have demonstrated that such generator shall have a notable potential for radioisotope generation applied to medical diagnosis. The designs presented will be used to build a 3D model in the NRI laboratory and then a prototype with the selected materials. (author)

Žánry příběhů, které žijeme

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Chrz, Vladimír; Čermák, Ivo

2005-01-01

Roč. 49, č. 6 (2005), s. 481-495 ISSN 0009-062X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA7025402 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70250504 Keywords : genre * storytelling * narrative analysis * narrative configuration of experience * plot Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.241, year: 2005

DIZZYNET--a European network initiative for vertigo and balance research: visions and aims.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwergal, Andreas; Brandt, Thomas; Magnusson, Mans; Kennard, Christopher

2016-04-01

Vertigo is one of the most common complaints in medicine. Despite its high prevalence, patients with vertigo often receive either inappropriate or inadequate treatment. The most important reasons for this deplorable situation are insufficient interdisciplinary cooperation, nonexistent standards in diagnostics and therapy, the relatively rare translations of basic science findings to clinical applications, and the scarcity of prospective controlled multicenter clinical trials. To overcome these problems, the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ) started an initiative to establish a European Network for Vertigo and Balance Research called DIZZYNET. The central aim is to create a platform for collaboration and exchange among scientists, physicians, technicians, and physiotherapists in the fields of basic and translational research, clinical management, clinical trials, rehabilitation, and epidemiology. The network will also promote public awareness and help establish educational standards in the field. The DIZZYNET has the following objectives as regards structure and content: to focus on multidisciplinary translational research in vertigo and balance disorders, to develop interdisciplinary longitudinal and transversal networks for patient care by standardizing and personalizing the management of patients, to increase methodological competence by implementing common standards of practice and quality management, to internationalize the infrastructure for prospective multicenter clinical trials, to increase recruitment capacity for clinical trials, to create a common data base for patients with vertigo and balance disorders, to offer and promote attractive educational and career paths in a network of cooperating institutions. In the long term, the DIZZYNET should serve as an internationally visible network for interdisciplinary and multiprofessional research on vertigo and balance disorders. It ideally should equally attract the afflicted patients and

Initiation of new category of grant-in-aid for energy research by the Ministry of Education, science and culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohkado, Takashi

1980-01-01

Starting from fiscal 1980, among the grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Education, the one for energy researches was instituted with yearly budget of yen 1,400 million, intended for nuclear fusion research and other energy researches. In the guidance for the grants-in-aid in fiscal 1980, the formula of application was stated. The number of applicants was unexpectedly small, however. For the purpose of information, the following matters are described: the background for the initiation, significance and purpose of the grant-in-aid, the screening examination and its results, etc. The gist of instituting the grant-in-aid for energy researches is as follows. First, as for nuclear fusion research, assuming the advances in the next ten years, efforts are to be made in such delayed studies as those on reactor material and tritium technology. As for other energy researches, other features than the research and development having been carried out so far are to be pursued. (J.P.N.)

Design of negative refractive index metamaterial with water droplets using 3D-printing

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Zhaoyang; Yang, Helin; Huang, Xiaojun; Yu, Zetai

2017-11-01

We numerically and experimentally demonstrate a negative refractive index (NRI) behavior in combined water droplets and photosensitive resin materials operating in the microwave regime. The NRI is achieved over a very wide frequency range in 10.27-15 GHz with bandwidth of 4.63 GHz. The simulated results approximately agree with the experimental results. The negative index band can be controlled by water droplet radius. The proposed metamaterial production process is simple and may have potential applications in broadband tunable devices.

Comprehensive School Safety Initiative Report

Science.gov (United States)

National Institute of Justice, 2014

2014-01-01

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) developed the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative in consultation with federal partners and Congress. It is a research-focused initiative designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide through the development of knowledge regarding the most effective and sustainable school safety interventions and…

The incremental value of brachial flow-mediated dilation measurements in risk stratification for incident cardiovascular events: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Sanne A E; den Ruijter, Hester M; Bots, Michiel L

2012-06-01

Abstract Adequate risk assessment for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is essential as a guide to initiate drug treatment. Current methods based on traditional risk factors could be improved considerably. Although brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) predicts subsequent cardiovascular events, its predictive value on top of traditional risk factors is unknown. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the incremental predictive value of FMD on top of traditional risk factors in asymptomatic individuals. Using PubMed and reference tracking, three studies were identified that reported on the incremental value of FMD using change in the area under the curve (AUC). Two large cohort studies found no improvement in AUC when FMD was added to traditional risk prediction models, whereas one small case-control study found an improvement. One study used the net reclassification improvement (NRI) to assess whether FMD measurement leads to correct risk stratification in risk categories. Although this study did not find an improvement in AUC, the NRI was statistically significant. Based on the reclassification results of this study, FMD measurement might be helpful in risk prediction. Evidence supporting the use of FMD measurement in clinical practice for risk stratification for CVD on top of traditional risk factors is limited, and future studies are needed.

Contribution of the Nordic School of Public Health to the public mental health research field: a selection of research initiatives, 2007-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsman, Anna K; Fredén, Lars; Lindqvist, Rafael; Wahlbeck, Kristian

2015-08-01

The field of public mental health has been defined by an expert group convened by the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV) as encompassing the experience, occurrence, distribution and trajectories of positive mental health and mental health problems and their determinants; mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders; as well as mental health system policies, governance and organization. The mental health priorities of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2010 signalled a mutual Nordic exchange of knowledge in the following thematic areas: child and adolescent mental health; working life and mental health; mental health in older people; strengthening the role of primary care in mental health service provision; stronger involvement of users and carers; and reduction of use of coercion in psychiatric care. Efforts to realize these priorities included commissioning the Nordic Research Academy for Mental Health, an NHV-based network of research institutions with a common interest in mental health research across the Nordic countries, to develop, organize and follow-up projects on public mental health. The research initiatives included mental health policy analysis, register-based research and research focused on the users' perspective in a Nordic context, as well as EU-level research policy analysis. The public mental health research conducted at the NHV highlighted the complexity of mental health and emphasized that the broad determinants of mental health need to be increasingly addressed in both public health research and practice. For example, health promotion actions, improved access to health care, a healthy alcohol policy and prevention of suicides and violence are all needed to reduce the life expectancy gap - a red flag indicator of public health inequalities. By exchanging knowledge and best practice, the collaboration between the Nordic countries contributes to the welfare of the region. The expertise and traditions developed at the NHV are of

Progress of the radioactive waste management at the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute and the role of an IAEA technical co-operation project in this process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nang, N.T.; Ngoc, O.V.; Nhu Thuy, T.T.; Nghi, D.V.; Thu, N.T.

2002-01-01

At present, the main radioactive waste generator in Vietnam is the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute (DNRI). For safe management of radioactive waste generated from this nuclear center, in 1982 Soviet specialists newly constructed one combined technology system for low level radioactive waste management. The existing system consists of two main parts, a Liquid Radioactive Waste Treatment Station and a Storage/Disposal Facility. The liquid treatment station can in principle meet the needs for this nuclear center but disposal technology and storage/disposal facilities are not good enough both with respect to safety and economy, especially the storage/disposal facility placed in Dalat, the tourist city. In order to help DNRI and Vietnam to solve the radioactive waste management problem, the IAEA Technical Co-operation (TC) project VIE/9/007 was implemented in Vietnam. The facilities and IAEA experts provided under this project gradually help to develop radioactive waste management at DNRI, Vietnam. This paper outlines progress under way in the management of the radioactive waste at the Nuclear Research Institute (NRI), Dalat, Vietnam, and the role of the IAEA Technical Co-operation (TC) project in this process. (author)

1999 Annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

In 1999, GMA executed a major shift in its business strategy and operations by selling its geophysical and geological software assets and by entering into broad based technology markets with potential sales growth in North America and internationally. The decision to diversify the company's client base followed the slowdown in the oil and gas industry in 1998 and 1999, forcing many of the company's clients to cut budgets in order to survive. The new business strategy enables GMA to concentrate on delivering software and service solutions across a wide-range of non-cyclical industries, giving the company greater access to growth markets, less susceptibility to industry down cycles and increased applications of research and development results. To give effect to the new strategy, GMA in 1999 acquired 100 per cent of a high volume virtual data management company (NRI Online Inc), 100 per cent of a newspaper circulation management software company (NTI Newspaper Technologies Inc). GMA also acquired the remaining outstanding shares of a private Alberta company which developed petrophysical software for the oil and gas industry. Through NRI's Computerized On-Line Interactive Network (COIN) GMA, to be renamed Netdriven Solutions Inc., intends to enter the Canadian oil and gas seismic data niche market by providing storage and management of large volume data sets in an on-line network environment, with high speed fibre optic communications links. Current NRI clients include Talisman Energy, Mobil Oil, Anderson Exploration, Suncor Energy , and others. The long-term goal is to expand NRI's oil and gas client base from Calgary to other national and international oil and gas regions. GMA had revenues from its combined operation in Canada, the USA and Europe of $ 5.7 million in 1999, derived from a combination of geophysical and geological software sales, maintenance contracts and geophysical consulting services. Revenues from software sale alone are down, due to the cutbacks

EXPERIENCES WITH IDEA PROMOTING INITIATIVES

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gish, Liv

2011-01-01

In new product development a central activity is to provide new ideas. Over the last decades experiences with stimulating employee creativity and establishing idea promoting initiatives have been made in industrial practice. Such initiatives are often labeled Idea Management – a research field...... with a growing interest. In this paper I examine three different idea promoting initiatives carried out in Grundfos, a leading pump manufacturer. In the analysis I address what understandings of idea work are inscribed in the initiatives and what role these initiatives play in the organization with respect...... understandings of idea work are inscribed in the idea promoting initiatives as they to some degree have to fit with the understandings embedded in practice in order to work....

Research Award: Think Tank Initiative Deadline: 12 September ...

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

Jean-Claude Dumais

2012-09-12

Sep 12, 2012 ... policy research organizations related to research quality, policy links or aspects of ... be familiar with methodologies for social and economic analysis and statistical ... a knowledge of French or Spanish (would be an asset).

Research Paper Xhosa male initiation: Freedom of choice versus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Conclusion: Questions were raised regarding the role of children and women in general in a patriarchal society. As an example of culture and religion as influencing factors in a group's reality, Xhosa male initiation was discussed. These arguments call for the raising of questions and identifying themes and discourse in the ...

New South Africa–Canada Research Chairs Initiative | IDRC ...

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

2016-12-08

Dec 8, 2016 ... ... (SARChI), as well as on the Industrial Research Chairs program, funded in part ... Calls for submissions will be launched on January 3, 2017 and will close ... Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Initiative to manufacture and characterize Baculovirus Reference Material

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamen, A.; Aucoin, M.; Merten, O.W.; Alves, P.C.M.; Hashimoto, Y.; Airenne, K.; Hu, Y.C.; Mezzina, M.; Oers, van M.M.

2011-01-01

This letter to the editor brings to the attention of researchers an initiative to develop a baculovirus reference material repository. To be successful this initiative needs the support of a broad panel of researchers working with baculovirus vectors for recombinant protein production and gene

Improving Initiation and Tracking of Research Projects at an Academic Health Center: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Susanne; Goros, Martin; Parsons, Helen M; Saygin, Can; Wan, Hung-Da; Shireman, Paula K; Gelfond, Jonathan A L

2017-09-01

Research service cores at academic health centers are important in driving translational advancements. Specifically, biostatistics and research design units provide services and training in data analytics, biostatistics, and study design. However, the increasing demand and complexity of assigning appropriate personnel to time-sensitive projects strains existing resources, potentially decreasing productivity and increasing costs. Improving processes for project initiation, assigning appropriate personnel, and tracking time-sensitive projects can eliminate bottlenecks and utilize resources more efficiently. In this case study, we describe our application of lean six sigma principles to our biostatistics unit to establish a systematic continual process improvement cycle for intake, allocation, and tracking of research design and data analysis projects. The define, measure, analyze, improve, and control methodology was used to guide the process improvement. Our goal was to assess and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations by objectively measuring outcomes, automating processes, and reducing bottlenecks. As a result, we developed a web-based dashboard application to capture, track, categorize, streamline, and automate project flow. Our workflow system resulted in improved transparency, efficiency, and workload allocation. Using the dashboard application, we reduced the average study intake time from 18 to 6 days, a 66.7% reduction over 12 months (January to December 2015).

MELODI - Multidisciplinary European Low dose Initiative - First Draft of Strategic Research Agenda (SRA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Averbeck, D.; Lloyd, D.; O'Neill, P.

2010-01-01

The SRA Working Group of MELODI (Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative) was tasked to develop a long-term strategic research agenda (SRA) to guide the coherent integration of national low dose research programmes. Priorities that need to be addressed concern fundamental mechanistic research ranging from radiation track structure and the deposition of energy in biologically important molecules; the resultant homeostatic perturbations and the steps in the cellular and tissue metabolic pathways that eventually lead to disease pathologies. In fact, the main priorities are here the step-wise elucidation of the mechanisms of radiation-induced (oxidative) stress responses and their impact on radiation-induced cancers and non cancer diseases. To achieve this a holistic approach is proposed staring with radiation-specific effects, radiation-induced molecular, biological and pathological effects involving a systems biology approach as well as molecular epidemiology and mathematical modelling in order to come up with more solid low dose health risk assessments. The pathologies considered are outlined in the report where the need is stressed for the MELODI platform to involve a constellation of classical and emerging technologies in a highly multidisciplinary approach. Elucidating the shapes of low-dose response relationships and resolving the question of thresholds is paramount to resolving questions of risk for both populations and individuals. Much is known about radiation-induced cancer in humans and animal models but this needs to be pursued particularly at low doses. More recently, the scientific community has realised that low radiation-induced health effects range well beyond cancer. The priority non-cancer areas that need to be brought into focus are cardiovascular, neurological and ophthalmic. (A.C.)

Student initiative: A conceptual analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polovina Nada

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the description and scientific consideration of the attitude of children and youth towards their education and development, the concept of student initiative has been gaining ground lately, and it is hence the subject of analysis in this paper. The analysis is important because of the discrepancy between the increased efforts of the key educational policy holders to promote the idea about the importance of the development of student initiative and rare acceptance of this idea among theoreticians, researchers and practitioners dealing with the education and development of children and youth. By concretising the features of initiative student behaviour, our aim was, on the one hand, to observe the structural determinants and scientific status of the very concept of an initiative student, and, on the other, to contribute to the understanding of the initiative behaviour in practice. In the first part of the paper we deal with different notions and concretisations of the features of initiative behaviour of children and youth, which includes the consideration of: basic student initiative, academic student initiative, individual student initiative, the capacity for initiative and personal development initiative. In the second part of the paper, we discuss the relations of the concept of student initiative with the similar general concepts (activity/passivity, proactivity, agency and the concepts immediately related to school environment (student involvement, student participation. The results of our analysis indicate that the concept of student initiative has: particular features that differentiate it from similar concepts; the potential to reach the status of a scientific concept, bearing in mind the initial empirical specifications and general empirical verifiability of the yet unverified determinants of the concept. In the concluding part of the paper, we discuss the implications of the conceptual analysis for further research, as well as for

Cardiovascular outcomes after pharmacologic stress myocardial perfusion imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Douglas S; Husain, Mansoor; Wang, Xuesong; Austin, Peter C; Iwanochko, Robert M

2016-04-01

While pharmacologic stress single photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT-MPI) is used for noninvasive evaluation of patients who are unable to perform treadmill exercise, its impact on net reclassification improvement (NRI) of prognosis is unknown. We evaluated the prognostic value of pharmacologic stress MPI for prediction of cardiovascular death or non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) within 1 year at a single-center, university-based laboratory. We examined continuous and categorical NRI of pharmacologic SPECT-MPI for prediction of outcomes beyond clinical factors alone. Six thousand two hundred forty patients (median age 66 years [IQR 56-74], 3466 men) were studied and followed for 5963 person-years. SPECT-MPI variables associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death or non-fatal MI included summed stress score, stress ST-shift, and post-stress resting left ventricular ejection fraction ≤50%. Compared to a clinical model which included age, sex, cardiovascular disease, risk factors, and medications, model χ(2) (210.5 vs. 281.9, P statistic (0.74 vs. 0.78, P stress score, stress ST-shift and stress resting left ventricular ejection fraction). SPECT-MPI predictors increased continuous NRI by 49.4% (P 3% annualized risk of cardiovascular death or non-fatal MI, yielded a 15.0% improvement in NRI (95% CI 7.6%-27.6%, P stress MPI substantially improved net reclassification of cardiovascular death or MI risk beyond that afforded by clinical factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Surgical Critical Care Initiative

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Surgical Critical Care Initiative (SC2i) is a USU research program established in October 2013 to develop, translate, and validate biology-driven critical care....

OPM: The Open Porous Media Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Flemisch, B.; Flornes, K. M.; Lie, K.; Rasmussen, A.

2011-12-01

The principal objective of the Open Porous Media (OPM) initiative is to develop a simulation suite that is capable of modeling industrially and scientifically relevant flow and transport processes in porous media and bridge the gap between the different application areas of porous media modeling, including reservoir mechanics, CO2 sequestration, biological systems, and product development of engineered media. The OPM initiative will provide a long-lasting, efficient, and well-maintained open-source software for flow and transport in porous media built on modern software principles. The suite is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Our motivation is to provide a means to unite industry and public research on simulation of flow and transport in porous media. For academic users, we seek to provide a software infrastructure that facilitates testing of new ideas on models with industry-standard complexity, while at the same time giving the researcher control over discretization and solvers. Similarly, we aim to accelerate the technology transfer from academic institutions to professional companies by making new research results available as free software of professional standard. The OPM initiative is currently supported by six research groups in Norway and Germany and funded by existing grants from public research agencies as well as from Statoil Petroleum and Total E&P Norge. However, a full-scale development of the OPM initiative requires substantially more funding and involvement of more research groups and potential end users. In this talk, we will provide an overview of the current activities in the OPM initiative. Special emphasis will be given to the demonstration of the synergies achieved by combining the strengths of individual open-source software components. In particular, a new fully implicit solver developed within the DUNE-based simulator DuMux could be enhanced by the ability to read industry-standard Eclipse input files and to run on

The Common Fund Initiative and Its Implication for Advancing Exercise and Physical Activity Research in Child Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Dan M; Radom-Aizik, Shlomit

2015-08-01

NIH Director Francis Collins noted that the Common Fund initiative would lead to unprecedented insights into the mechanisms responsible for the health effects of physical activity. He noted: “Armed with this knowledge, researchers and clinicians may one day be able to define optimal physical activity recommendations for people at various stages of life, as well as develop precisely targeted regimens for individuals with particular health needs.” Given the ominous burden of physical inactivity-related diseases and conditions in otherwise healthy children, and the growing number of children who survive chronic diseases in whom we know little about what constitutes healthy exercise, it is essential that the community of child health researchers develop compelling strategies and proposals in response to the unique opportunity offered through the Common Fund mechanism.

Solid Fuel - Oxygen Fired Combustion for Production of Nodular Reduced Iron to Reduce CO2 Emissions and Improve Energy Efficiencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donald R. Fosnacht; Richard F. Kiesel; David W. Hendrickson; David J. Englund; Iwao Iwasaki; Rodney L. Bleifuss; Mathew A. Mlinar

2011-12-22

The current trend in the steel industry is an increase in iron and steel produced in electric arc furnaces (EAF) and a gradual decline in conventional steelmaking from taconite pellets in blast furnaces. In order to expand the opportunities for the existing iron ore mines beyond their blast furnace customer base, a new material is needed to satisfy the market demands of the emerging steel industry while utilizing the existing infrastructure and materials handling capabilities. This demand creates opportunity to convert iron ore or other iron bearing materials to Nodular Reduced Iron (NRI) in a recently designed Linear Hearth Furnace (LHF). NRI is a metallized iron product containing 98.5 to 96.0% iron and 2.5 to 4% C. It is essentially a scrap substitute with little impurity that can be utilized in a variety of steelmaking processes, especially the electric arc furnace. The objective of this project was to focus on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through reducing the energy intensity using specialized combustion systems, increasing production and the use of biomass derived carbon sources in this process. This research examined the use of a solid fuel-oxygen fired combustion system and compared the results from this system with both oxygen-fuel and air-fuel combustion systems. The solid pulverized fuels tested included various coals and a bio-coal produced from woody biomass in a specially constructed pilot scale torrefaction reactor at the Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory (CMRL). In addition to combustion, the application of bio-coal was also tested as a means to produce a reducing atmosphere during key points in the fusion process, and as a reducing agent for ore conversion to metallic iron to capture the advantage of its inherent reduced carbon footprint. The results from this study indicate that the approaches taken can reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and the associated energy intensity with the Linear Hearth Furnace process for converting

Quality of Colonoscopy Performed in Rural Practice: Experience From the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative and the Oregon Rural Practice-Based Research Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Holub, Jennifer L; Morris, Cynthia; Fagnan, Lyle J; Logan, Judith R; Michaels, LeAnn C; Lieberman, David A

2018-02-01

Colon cancer screening is effective. To complete screening in 80% of individuals over age 50 years by 2018 will require adequate colonoscopy capacity throughout the country, including rural areas, where colonoscopy providers may have less specialized training. Our aim was to study the quality of colonoscopy in rural settings. The Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (CORI) and the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN) collaborated to recruit Oregon rural practices to submit colonoscopy reports to CORI's National Endoscopic Database (NED). Ten ORPRN sites were compared to non-ORPRN rural (n = 11) and nonrural (n = 43) sites between January 2009 and October 2011. Established colonoscopy quality measures were calculated for all sites. No ORPRN physicians were gastroenterologists compared with 82% of nonrural physicians. ORPRN practices reached the cecum in 87.4% of exams compared with 89.3% of rural sites (P = .0002) and 90.9% of nonrural sites (P 9mm 16.6% vs 18.7% (P = .106). ORPRN sites performed well on most colonoscopy quality measures, suggesting that high-quality colonoscopy can be performed in rural settings. © 2016 National Rural Health Association.

Functional Annotation of All Salmonid Genomes (FAASG): an international initiative supporting future salmonid research, conservation and aquaculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Macqueen, Daniel J; Primmer, Craig R; Houston, Ross D; Nowak, Barbara F; Bernatchez, Louis; Bergseth, Steinar; Davidson, William S; Gallardo-Escárate, Cristian; Goldammer, Tom; Guiguen, Yann; Iturra, Patricia; Kijas, James W; Koop, Ben F; Lien, Sigbjørn; Maass, Alejandro; Martin, Samuel A M; McGinnity, Philip; Montecino, Martin; Naish, Kerry A; Nichols, Krista M; Ólafsson, Kristinn; Omholt, Stig W; Palti, Yniv; Plastow, Graham S; Rexroad, Caird E; Rise, Matthew L; Ritchie, Rachael J; Sandve, Simen R; Schulte, Patricia M; Tello, Alfredo; Vidal, Rodrigo; Vik, Jon Olav; Wargelius, Anna; Yáñez, José Manuel

2017-06-27

We describe an emerging initiative - the 'Functional Annotation of All Salmonid Genomes' (FAASG), which will leverage the extensive trait diversity that has evolved since a whole genome duplication event in the salmonid ancestor, to develop an integrative understanding of the functional genomic basis of phenotypic variation. The outcomes of FAASG will have diverse applications, ranging from improved understanding of genome evolution, to improving the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture production, supporting the future of fundamental and applied research in an iconic fish lineage of major societal importance.

View all initiatives | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

The International Partnerships for Sustainable Societies are collaborations that produce high-quality research to inform academic, public, and policy debates to contribute to create just, inclusive, and sustainable social and economic development.

About the RAS Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

The RAS Initiative, a "hub and spoke" model, connects researchers to better understand and target the more than 30% of cancers driven by mutations in RAS genes. Includes oversight and contact information.

Tailoring the implementation of new biomarkers based on their added predictive value in subgroups of individuals.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A van Giessen

Full Text Available The value of new biomarkers or imaging tests, when added to a prediction model, is currently evaluated using reclassification measures, such as the net reclassification improvement (NRI. However, these measures only provide an estimate of improved reclassification at population level. We present a straightforward approach to characterize subgroups of reclassified individuals in order to tailor implementation of a new prediction model to individuals expected to benefit from it.In a large Dutch population cohort (n = 21,992 we classified individuals to low (< 5% and high (≥ 5% fatal cardiovascular disease risk by the Framingham risk score (FRS and reclassified them based on the systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE. Subsequently, we characterized the reclassified individuals and, in case of heterogeneity, applied cluster analysis to identify and characterize subgroups. These characterizations were used to select individuals expected to benefit from implementation of SCORE.Reclassification after applying SCORE in all individuals resulted in an NRI of 5.00% (95% CI [-0.53%; 11.50%] within the events, 0.06% (95% CI [-0.08%; 0.22%] within the nonevents, and a total NRI of 0.051 (95% CI [-0.004; 0.116]. Among the correctly downward reclassified individuals cluster analysis identified three subgroups. Using the characterizations of the typically correctly reclassified individuals, implementing SCORE only in individuals expected to benefit (n = 2,707,12.3% improved the NRI to 5.32% (95% CI [-0.13%; 12.06%] within the events, 0.24% (95% CI [0.10%; 0.36%] within the nonevents, and a total NRI of 0.055 (95% CI [0.001; 0.123]. Overall, the risk levels for individuals reclassified by tailored implementation of SCORE were more accurate.In our empirical example the presented approach successfully characterized subgroups of reclassified individuals that could be used to improve reclassification and reduce implementation burden. In particular when newly

Partnership in Knowledge Creation: Lessons Learned from a Researcher-Policy Actor Partnership to Co-Produce a Rapid Appraisal Case Study of South Australia's Social Inclusion Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Lareen; Biedrzycki, Kate; Patterson, Jan; Baum, Fran

2011-01-01

This paper describes a partnership between researchers and policy actors that was developed within a short timeframe to produce a rapid appraisal case study of a government policy initiative--South Australia's "Social Inclusion Initiative"--for the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network of the international Commission on Social Determinants…

Initial Results from the Survey of Organizational Research Climates (SOuRCe) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System

Science.gov (United States)

Martinson, Brian C.; Nelson, David; Hagel-Campbell, Emily; Mohr, David; Charns, Martin P.; Bangerter, Ann; Thrush, Carol R.; Ghilardi, Joseph R.; Bloomfield, Hanna; Owen, Richard; Wells, James A.

2016-01-01

Background In service to its core mission of improving the health and well-being of veterans, Veterans Affairs (VA) leadership is committed to supporting research best practices in the VA. Recognizing that the behavior of researchers is influenced by the organizational climates in which they work, efforts to assess the integrity of research climates and share such information with research leadership in VA may be one way to support research best practices. The Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SOuRCe) is the first validated survey instrument specifically designed to assess the organizational climate of research integrity in academic research organizations. The current study reports on an initiative to use the SOuRCe in VA facilities to characterize the organizational research climates and pilot test the effectiveness of using SOuRCe data as a reporting and feedback intervention tool. Methods We administered the SOuRCe using a cross-sectional, online survey, with mailed follow-up to non-responders, of research-engaged employees in the research services of a random selection of 42 VA facilities (e.g., Hospitals/Stations) believed to employ 20 or more research staff. We attained a 51% participation rate, yielding more than 5,200 usable surveys. Results We found a general consistency in organizational research climates across a variety of sub-groups in this random sample of research services in the VA. We also observed similar SOuRCe scale score means, relative rankings of these scales and their internal reliability, in this VA-based sample as we have previously documented in more traditional academic research settings. Results also showed more substantial variability in research climate scores within than between facilities in the VA research service as reflected in meaningful subgroup differences. These findings suggest that the SOuRCe is suitable as an instrument for assessing the research integrity climates in VA and that the tool has similar patterns of

Initial Results from the Survey of Organizational Research Climates (SOuRCe) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinson, Brian C; Nelson, David; Hagel-Campbell, Emily; Mohr, David; Charns, Martin P; Bangerter, Ann; Thrush, Carol R; Ghilardi, Joseph R; Bloomfield, Hanna; Owen, Richard; Wells, James A

2016-01-01

In service to its core mission of improving the health and well-being of veterans, Veterans Affairs (VA) leadership is committed to supporting research best practices in the VA. Recognizing that the behavior of researchers is influenced by the organizational climates in which they work, efforts to assess the integrity of research climates and share such information with research leadership in VA may be one way to support research best practices. The Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SOuRCe) is the first validated survey instrument specifically designed to assess the organizational climate of research integrity in academic research organizations. The current study reports on an initiative to use the SOuRCe in VA facilities to characterize the organizational research climates and pilot test the effectiveness of using SOuRCe data as a reporting and feedback intervention tool. We administered the SOuRCe using a cross-sectional, online survey, with mailed follow-up to non-responders, of research-engaged employees in the research services of a random selection of 42 VA facilities (e.g., Hospitals/Stations) believed to employ 20 or more research staff. We attained a 51% participation rate, yielding more than 5,200 usable surveys. We found a general consistency in organizational research climates across a variety of sub-groups in this random sample of research services in the VA. We also observed similar SOuRCe scale score means, relative rankings of these scales and their internal reliability, in this VA-based sample as we have previously documented in more traditional academic research settings. Results also showed more substantial variability in research climate scores within than between facilities in the VA research service as reflected in meaningful subgroup differences. These findings suggest that the SOuRCe is suitable as an instrument for assessing the research integrity climates in VA and that the tool has similar patterns of results that have been

Initial Results from the Survey of Organizational Research Climates (SOuRCe in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian C Martinson

Full Text Available In service to its core mission of improving the health and well-being of veterans, Veterans Affairs (VA leadership is committed to supporting research best practices in the VA. Recognizing that the behavior of researchers is influenced by the organizational climates in which they work, efforts to assess the integrity of research climates and share such information with research leadership in VA may be one way to support research best practices. The Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SOuRCe is the first validated survey instrument specifically designed to assess the organizational climate of research integrity in academic research organizations. The current study reports on an initiative to use the SOuRCe in VA facilities to characterize the organizational research climates and pilot test the effectiveness of using SOuRCe data as a reporting and feedback intervention tool.We administered the SOuRCe using a cross-sectional, online survey, with mailed follow-up to non-responders, of research-engaged employees in the research services of a random selection of 42 VA facilities (e.g., Hospitals/Stations believed to employ 20 or more research staff. We attained a 51% participation rate, yielding more than 5,200 usable surveys.We found a general consistency in organizational research climates across a variety of sub-groups in this random sample of research services in the VA. We also observed similar SOuRCe scale score means, relative rankings of these scales and their internal reliability, in this VA-based sample as we have previously documented in more traditional academic research settings. Results also showed more substantial variability in research climate scores within than between facilities in the VA research service as reflected in meaningful subgroup differences. These findings suggest that the SOuRCe is suitable as an instrument for assessing the research integrity climates in VA and that the tool has similar patterns of results that

Proposed plan for a JAEA internationalization initiative (JII) (Contract research)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolton, Paul R; Kawanishi, Shunichi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Photo-Medical Research Center, Kizugawa, Kyoto (Japan); Mizuki, Jun' ichiro [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Sayo, Hyogo (Japan)

2011-01-15

Concepts for a JAEA Internationalization Initiative, JII are presented. Following a general discussion of issues and recommendations for JII, a 'fast startup JII' is proposed in the form of fast start action items (FSAI). The FSAI represent a clear set of action items that can be implemented at the KPSI/PMRC site which would serve as a seed site for test and evaluation. A JAEA Internationalization Initiative that is guided by evaluation and tailored for JAEA as a whole can be established with appropriate oversight and tracking at each JAEA site by local JII teams. In addition to recommendations for the KPSI/PMRC seed site, the roles of the Quantum Beam Science Directorate (QuBS) leadership and the International Affairs Department (IAD) of JAEA are also discussed. Current KPSI/PMRC activities that are consistent with a JII are briefly presented. (author)

Proposed plan for a JAEA internationalization initiative (JII) (Contract research)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolton, Paul R.; Kawanishi, Shunichi; Mizuki, Jun'ichiro

2011-01-01

Concepts for a JAEA Internationalization Initiative, JII are presented. Following a general discussion of issues and recommendations for JII, a 'fast startup JII' is proposed in the form of fast start action items (FSAI). The FSAI represent a clear set of action items that can be implemented at the KPSI/PMRC site which would serve as a seed site for test and evaluation. A JAEA Internationalization Initiative that is guided by evaluation and tailored for JAEA as a whole can be established with appropriate oversight and tracking at each JAEA site by local JII teams. In addition to recommendations for the KPSI/PMRC seed site, the roles of the Quantum Beam Science Directorate (QuBS) leadership and the International Affairs Department (IAD) of JAEA are also discussed. Current KPSI/PMRC activities that are consistent with a JII are briefly presented. (author)

Exploring the Benefits of a Collaborative Inquiry Team in Education (CITE) Initiative to Develop a Research Community and Enhance Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Cantalini-Williams, Maria; Curtis, Debra; Eden-DeGasperis, Kimberley; Esposto, Lauren; Guibert, Jenny; Papp, Heather; Roque, Carlos

2015-01-01

This study examined a collaborative inquiry process, facilitated by university faculty in an elementary school, intended to develop a research community, foster knowledge mobilization, and enhance student engagement. The Collaborative Inquiry Team in Education (CITE) initiative consisted of five school-based sessions that included videos,…

Research Award: Think Tank Initiative | IDRC - International ...

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

2016-09-07

Sep 7, 2016 ... In the remaining 50% of their time, the Research Award Recipient will contribute to the management of the program ... Strong writing and communication skills in English;; Knowledge of French or Spanish would be an asset.

Engagement enacted: Essentials of initiating an action research project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prof Tineke Abma; Dr Theo Niessen; Drs Miranda Snoeren

2011-01-01

Engagement is seen as an important characteristic of action research. The term is often used to refer to the participation and involvement of the research participants. Within this article we take another angle and explore the concept of engagement in relation to the main action researcher. Using an

Engagement enacted: Essentials of initiating an action research project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snoeren, M.M.W.C.; Niessen, T.J.H.; Abma, T.A.

2012-01-01

Engagement is seen as an important characteristic of action research. The term is often used to refer to the participation and involvement of the research participants. Within this article we take another angle and explore the concept of engagement in relation to the main action researcher. Using an

International and national initiatives in biobanking.

Science.gov (United States)

Ectors, N

2011-01-01

Translational research and biobanking are "in", also in Flanders and in Belgium. In Flanders the Advice report 120 from the Flemish Council for Science and innovation, entitled "Extension of translational research in Flanders" paved the way for the Center for Medical Innovation. The Center for Medical Innovation aims at promoting collaboration between Flemish Universities, university hospitals, pharma and biotech industry and the Flemish Government specifically in the domain of translational research. The Initiative # 27 of the Cancer plan from the Federal Government aims at financing a virtual interuniversity tumor bank in order to promote "cancer" translational research in a collaborative network between academic structures, general hospitals en different industrial partners (pharmacy, biotechnology, diagnostics, ...) active in research in Belgium. However, the scientific interest in the human tissues is not new, at all. This text aims at giving an overview of the development and evolutions of "biobanking" initiatives.

Initial decommissioning planning for the Budapest research reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toth Gabor

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The Budapest Research Reactor is the first nuclear research facility in Hungary. The reactor is to remain in operation for at least another 13 years. At the same time, the development of a decommissioning plan is a mandatory requirement under national legislation. The present paper describes the current status of decommissioning planning which is aimed at a timely preparation for the forthcoming decommissioning of the reactor.

A Multi-Disciplinary University Research Initiative in Hard and Soft Information Fusion: Overview, Research Strategies and Initial Results

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

Multisource Information Fusion ( CMIF ) along with a team including the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Iona College (Iona), and Tennessee State...License. 14. ABSTRACT The University at Buffalo (UB) Center for Multisource Information Fusion ( CMIF ) along with a team including the Pennsylvania...of CMIF current research on methods for Test and Evaluation ([7], [8]) involving for example large- factor-space experimental design techniques ([9

Arab Reform Initiative | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

The conference will be devoted to an exchange between institutions conducting research on Islamist movements with support from IDRC and ARI. ... International Water Resources Association, in close collaboration with IDRC, is holding a webinar titled “Climate change and adaptive water management: Innovative solutions ...

Data Collection and Harmonization in HIV Research: The Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain Initiative at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandler, Redonna K; Kahana, Shoshana Y; Fletcher, Bennett; Jones, Dionne; Finger, Matthew S; Aklin, Will M; Hamill, Kathleen; Webb, Candace

2015-12-01

Large-scale, multisite data sets offer the potential for exploring the public health benefits of biomedical interventions. Data harmonization is an emerging strategy to increase the comparability of research data collected across independent studies, enabling research questions to be addressed beyond the capacity of any individual study. The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently implemented this novel strategy to prospectively collect and harmonize data across 22 independent research studies developing and empirically testing interventions to effectively deliver an HIV continuum of care to diverse drug-abusing populations. We describe this data collection and harmonization effort, collectively known as the Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain Data Collection and Harmonization Initiative, which can serve as a model applicable to other research endeavors.

The review of the reactor physics experiments carried out on the LR-0 research reactor NRI Rez plc for reactors of the VVER type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudec, Frantisek; Jansky, Bohumil; Juricek, Vlastimil; Mikus, Jan; Novak, Evzen; Osmera, Bohumil; Posta, Severin; Rypar, Vojtech; Svadlenkova, Marie

2010-01-01

LR-0 is an experimental zero power reactor mainly used for the determination of the neutron-physical characteristics of WWER and PWR type reactor lattices and shielding with UO2 or MOX fuel. Its major assets include capability to design and operate multizone cores, i.e. substituted cores, with an inner inserted part in hexagonal or square geometry (driven by LR-0 standard assemblies); Standard and special supporting plates for mock-up experiments; special supporting plates, which enables the triangular symmetrical assembly arrangement with an arbitrary pitch; Modeling neutron field parameters of power reactors; Wide range benchmarking possibilities, with high reproducibility of the benchmark design parameters; Wide range of measurement techniques including equipment and experienced personal; Flexible rearrangements of the core. The main experiments included: Pin wise flux distribution measurements; VVER-440 and VVER-1000 mock-ups; compact spent fuel storage; space kinetics experiment; core parameters experimental determination; experiment with new design fuel assembly; WWER-440 control assembly influence; and burnable absorber study. International research projects are also described. (P.A.)

Combat Wound Initiative program.

Science.gov (United States)

Stojadinovic, Alexander; Elster, Eric; Potter, Benjamin K; Davis, Thomas A; Tadaki, Doug K; Brown, Trevor S; Ahlers, Stephen; Attinger, Christopher E; Andersen, Romney C; Burris, David; Centeno, Jose; Champion, Hunter; Crumbley, David R; Denobile, John; Duga, Michael; Dunne, James R; Eberhardt, John; Ennis, William J; Forsberg, Jonathan A; Hawksworth, Jason; Helling, Thomas S; Lazarus, Gerald S; Milner, Stephen M; Mullick, Florabel G; Owner, Christopher R; Pasquina, Paul F; Patel, Chirag R; Peoples, George E; Nissan, Aviram; Ring, Michael; Sandberg, Glenn D; Schaden, Wolfgang; Schultz, Gregory S; Scofield, Tom; Shawen, Scott B; Sheppard, Forest R; Stannard, James P; Weina, Peter J; Zenilman, Jonathan M

2010-07-01

The Combat Wound Initiative (CWI) program is a collaborative, multidisciplinary, and interservice public-private partnership that provides personalized, state-of-the-art, and complex wound care via targeted clinical and translational research. The CWI uses a bench-to-bedside approach to translational research, including the rapid development of a human extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) study in complex wounds after establishing the potential efficacy, biologic mechanisms, and safety of this treatment modality in a murine model. Additional clinical trials include the prospective use of clinical data, serum and wound biomarkers, and wound gene expression profiles to predict wound healing/failure and additional clinical patient outcomes following combat-related trauma. These clinical research data are analyzed using machine-based learning algorithms to develop predictive treatment models to guide clinical decision-making. Future CWI directions include additional clinical trials and study centers and the refinement and deployment of our genetically driven, personalized medicine initiative to provide patient-specific care across multiple medical disciplines, with an emphasis on combat casualty care.

Microsoft Biology Initiative: .NET Bioinformatics Platform and Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz Acosta, B.

2011-01-01

The Microsoft Biology Initiative (MBI) is an effort in Microsoft Research to bring new technology and tools to the area of bioinformatics and biology. This initiative is comprised of two primary components, the Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF) and the Microsoft Biology Tools (MBT). MBF is a language-neutral bioinformatics toolkit built as an extension to the Microsoft .NET Framework—initially aimed at the area of Genomics research. Currently, it implements a range of parsers for common bioinformatics file formats; a range of algorithms for manipulating DNA, RNA, and protein sequences; and a set of connectors to biological web services such as NCBI BLAST. MBF is available under an open source license, and executables, source code, demo applications, documentation and training materials are freely downloadable from http://research.microsoft.com/bio. MBT is a collection of tools that enable biology and bioinformatics researchers to be more productive in making scientific discoveries.

Advanced Air Traffic Management Research (Human Factors and Automation): NASA Research Initiatives in Human-Centered Automation Design in Airspace Management

Science.gov (United States)

Corker, Kevin M.; Condon, Gregory W. (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

NASA has initiated a significant thrust of research and development focused on providing the flight crew and air traffic managers automation aids to increase capacity in en route and terminal area operations through the use of flexible, more fuel-efficient routing, while improving the level of safety in commercial carrier operations. In that system development, definition of cognitive requirements for integrated multi-operator dynamic aiding systems is fundamental. The core processes of control and the distribution of decision making in that control are undergoing extensive analysis. From our perspective, the human operators and the procedures by which they interact are the fundamental determinants of the safe, efficient, and flexible operation of the system. In that perspective, we have begun to explore what our experience has taught will be the most challenging aspects of designing and integrating human-centered automation in the advanced system. We have performed a full mission simulation looking at the role shift to self-separation on board the aircraft with the rules of the air guiding behavior and the provision of a cockpit display of traffic information and an on-board traffic alert system that seamlessly integrates into the TCAS operations. We have performed and initial investigation of the operational impact of "Dynamic Density" metrics on controller relinquishing and reestablishing full separation authority. (We follow the assumption that responsibility at all times resides with the controller.) This presentation will describe those efforts as well as describe the process by which we will guide the development of error tolerant systems that are sensitive to shifts in operator work load levels and dynamic shifts in the operating point of air traffic management.

Management of radioactive waste at INR-technical support for processing of radioactive waste from nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bujoreanu, D.; Popescu, I.V.; Bujoreanu, L.

2009-01-01

The Institute for nuclear research (INR) subsidiary of the Romanian authority for nuclear activities has its own radwaste treatment plant (STDR). STDR is supposed to treat and condition radioactive waste from the nuclear fuel facility, the TRIGA reactor, post irradiation examination laboratories and other research laboratories of NRI. The main steps of waste processing are: pretreatment (collection, characterization, segregation, decontamination)., treatment (waste volume reduction, radionuclide removal, compositional change), conditioning (immobilization and containerization), interim storage of the packages in compliance with safety requirements for the protection of human health and environmental protection, transport of the packages containing radioactive waste, disposal.

Rural-urban differences in breastfeeding initiation in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Sparks, P Johnelle

2010-05-01

Research has noted a rural disadvantage in breastfeeding initiation; however, most previous research has been based on nonrepresentative samples and has been limited in its ability to compare racial/ethnic differences in breastfeeding initiation based on residential location. This research fills this gap by examining a nationally representative sample of births using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) to explore associations between rural-urban residence and maternal race/ethnicity on breastfeeding initiation. Results indicate that associations observed for rural-urban breastfeeding initiation differ based on maternal race/ethnicity and poverty status. These patterns likely reflect differences in economic resources, work environments, and social support among rural minority postpartum women.

Think Tank Initiative | IDRC - International Development Research ...

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

The UK Department for International Development. What we do · Funding · Resources · About IDRC. Knowledge. Innovation. Solutions. Careers · Contact Us · Site map. Sign up now for IDRC news and views sent directly to your inbox each month. Subscribe · Copyright · Open access policy · Privacy policy · Research ethics ...

A European multi-language initiative to make the general population aware of independent clinical research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mosconi, Paola; Antes, Gerd; Barbareschi, Giorgio

2016-01-01

2. An animated film about clinical trials, dubbed in the 23 official languages of the European Community, and an interactive tutorial 3. An inventory of resources, available in 23 languages, searchable by topic, author, and media type 4. Two educational games for young people, developed in six......BACKGROUND: The ECRAN (European Communication on Research Awareness Needs) project was initiated in 2012, with support from the European Commission, to improve public knowledge about the importance of independent, multinational, clinical trials in Europe. METHODS: Participants in the ECRAN...... materials and tools, making them freely available under a Creative Commons licence. RESULTS: The principal communication materials developed were: 1. A website ( http://ecranproject.eu ) in six languages, including a Media centre section to help journalists to disseminate information about the ECRAN project...

PAN EURASIAN EXPERIMENT (PEEX - A RESEARCH INITIATIVE MEETING THE GRAND CHALLENGES OF THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF THE NORTHERN PAN-EURASIAN ARCTIC-BOREAL AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna K. Lappalainen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX is a new multidisciplinary, global change research initiative focusing on understanding biosphere-ocean-cryosphere-climate interactions and feedbacks in Arctic and boreal regions in the Northern Eurasian geographical domain. PEEX operates in an integrative way and it aims at solving the major scientific and society relevant questions in many scales using tools from natural and social sciences and economics. The research agenda identifies the most urgent large scale research questions and topics of the land-atmosphere-aquatic-anthropogenic systems and interactions and feedbacks between the systems for the next decades. Furthermore PEEX actively develops and designs a coordinated and coherent ground station network from Europe via Siberia to China and the coastal line of the Arctic Ocean together with a PEEX-modeling platform. PEEX launches a program for educating the next generation of multidisciplinary researcher and technical experts. This expedites the utilization of the new scientific knowledge for producing a more reliable climate change scenarios in regional and global scales, and enables mitigation and adaptation planning of the Northern societies. PEEX gathers together leading European, Russian and Chinese research groups. With a bottom-up approach, over 40 institutes and universities have contributed the PEEX Science Plan from 18 countries. In 2014 the PEEX community prepared Science Plan and initiated conceptual design of the PEEX land-atmosphere observation network and modeling platform. Here we present the PEEX approach as a whole with the specific attention to research agenda and preliminary design of the PEEX research infrastructure.

Current Editorial Initiatives: A Progress Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Werner Ulrich

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This editorial article reports on the progress that the Journal of Research Practice (JRP has achieved in its ongoing development since November 2011, when a number of editorial initiatives were announced. Several new initiatives are also proposed. In addition, there are some current announcements, including a number of recent awards, distinctions, and nominations.

Sistem integrat de tip geospaţial pentru localizarea şi protecţia siturilor arheologice. Dezvoltare zona pilot: judeţul Tulcea

OpenAIRE

Oana Popescu

2011-01-01

The paper describes a project carried on during 2007-2010 carried on by Crescendo International – head of the project, with NRI URBAN-INCERC, URBANPROIECT branch, the Institute for Eco-Museum Research în Archeology Tulcea and ELECTROVÂLCEA S.R.L. The aim of the project was to elaborate a methodology of geospatial localization, electronic marking and coding of historical sites în order to protect and introduce them în tours. The methodology was applied through case studies to some archeologica...

WWER-440 control assembly local power peaking investigation on LR-0 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikus, J.

2002-01-01

This paper presents information concerning the local power peaking problem induced by the WWER-440 control assembly and the investigation possibilities on the light water, zero power reactor LR-0 at the Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) Rez plc. A brief description is given about the disposable control assembly model, experimental arrangement and conditions on the LR-0 reactor with regard to the earlier performed investigations as well as to the relevant measurements to be realized in the near future.(abstract)

Evaluating the Impact of Open Access at Berkeley: Results from the 2015 Survey of Berkeley Research Impact Initiative (BRII) Funding Recipients

Science.gov (United States)

Teplitzky, Samantha; Phillips, Margaret

2016-01-01

The Berkeley Research Impact Initiative (BRII) was one of the first campus-based open access (OA) funds to be established in North America and one of the most active, distributing more than $244,000 to support University of California (UC) Berkeley authors. In April 2015, we conducted a qualitative study of 138 individuals who had received BRII…

Findings from working for the IAEA initiative on research reactor ageing and ageing management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roegler, H.-J.

2010-01-01

1995 the last sharing and compiling the existing knowledge about of the Research Reactor (RR) Ageing and the respective Fighting took place during a well attended conference at Geesthacht, Germany, documented in a bulky conference report. In 2008, the International Atomic Energy Agency has initiated another collecting and evaluating in order to make the recent experience in that field available to the entire RR Community. In this respect, RR operators, plant and system fabricators, and authorities as well as independent experts have been approached worldwide for providing contributions and fortunately about every second member of the RR Community replied. The paper is going to inform on the experience gained by the contacts and communication, the replies as well as the non-replies, underlying motives as problems, and mainly, some statistical evaluation of the findings. The respective IAEA data base being accessible to all members of the RR Community will be briefly characterised in structures and contents. (author)

Next generation initiation techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Tom; Derber, John; Zupanski, Milija; Cohn, Steve; Verlinde, Hans

1993-01-01

Four-dimensional data assimilation strategies can generally be classified as either current or next generation, depending upon whether they are used operationally or not. Current-generation data-assimilation techniques are those that are presently used routinely in operational-forecasting or research applications. They can be classified into the following categories: intermittent assimilation, Newtonian relaxation, and physical initialization. It should be noted that these techniques are the subject of continued research, and their improvement will parallel the development of next generation techniques described by the other speakers. Next generation assimilation techniques are those that are under development but are not yet used operationally. Most of these procedures are derived from control theory or variational methods and primarily represent continuous assimilation approaches, in which the data and model dynamics are 'fitted' to each other in an optimal way. Another 'next generation' category is the initialization of convective-scale models. Intermittent assimilation systems use an objective analysis to combine all observations within a time window that is centered on the analysis time. Continuous first-generation assimilation systems are usually based on the Newtonian-relaxation or 'nudging' techniques. Physical initialization procedures generally involve the use of standard or nonstandard data to force some physical process in the model during an assimilation period. Under the topic of next-generation assimilation techniques, variational approaches are currently being actively developed. Variational approaches seek to minimize a cost or penalty function which measures a model's fit to observations, background fields and other imposed constraints. Alternatively, the Kalman filter technique, which is also under investigation as a data assimilation procedure for numerical weather prediction, can yield acceptable initial conditions for mesoscale models. The

Cancer Research

Science.gov (United States)

NCI is the nation's leader in cancer research. Learn more about NCI's cancer research areas, key initiatives, progress made in cancer research, and resources for researchers like research tools, specimens and data.

Children-Engaging Social and Environmental Initiatives as Determinants of Corporate Reputation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrida Smaiziene

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective:  The paper aims to explore children-engaging social and green initiatives as determinants of corporate reputation.  Research Design & Methods: The research data were collected by means of a consumer survey (n=354 in Lithuania. During the research, consumers’ perception and attitudes towards companies which take children-engaging social and environmental initiatives were surveyed. Findings: The research findings indicate that consumers tend to agree that companies implementing children-engaging CSR initiatives contribute to the development of children as responsible citizens. However, consumers have a different attitude towards companies which implement children-engaging environmental initiatives and companies which take children-engaging social initiatives.  Implications & Recommendations: The research results suggest that consumers form opinions about the company not only by assessing the company’s behaviour towards them, but also by assessing the corporate performance targeted at children. Therefore, companies should consider children-engaging CSR as determinants of corporate reputation. Contribution & Value Added: The paper provides some empirical evidence on how CSR practices targeted at children may affect corporate reputation.

The advanced fuel cycle initiative: the future path for advanced spent fuel treatment and transmutation research in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herczeg, J.W.

2003-01-01

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) has invested over USD 100 million in transmutation research and development over the past three years. The programme has evolved from an accelerator based transmutation programme to a multi-tier reactor and accelerator based programme. These changes have resulted in a significant re-focus of the research and development programme as well as a name change to reflect the new direction. The Advanced Accelerator Application (AAA) programme is now renamed the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI). Research completed by the AAA programme in Fiscal Year 2002 points to a multi-phased AFCI Programme consisting of two elements that would be conducted in parallel as part of an integrated research effort: an intermediate-term technology element (AFCI Series One), which emphasises advanced technical enhancements to the current commercial nuclear power infrastructure; and a long term technology element (AFCI Series Two), which will require the introduction of next-generation nuclear energy systems to reduce the toxicity of nuclear waste. (author)

United States policy initiatives in promoting the RERTR program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huizenga, David G.

1996-01-01

The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program has been successful in furthering efforts to reduce and eventually eliminate highly enriched uranium (HEU) from international commerce. Three key policy initiatives are underway to further promote the RERTR program. The first initiative is implementation of a new nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy concerning foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel. Under this policy, the United States will accept over the next 13 years research reactor spent fuel from 41 countries that have converted or plan to convert to use LEU fuels. The second initiative is to pursue cooperative efforts to expand the RERTR program to new regions of the globe, including Russia and China. The third initiative is to restart the advanced LEU fuels development program at the Argonne National Laboratory in order to increase the number of reactors that can convert to use LEU without significant detriment to their performance

The "Internet of Things" and "industrial production" as part of the early identification initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

OpenAIRE

Dworschak, Bernd; Zaiser, Helmut; Achtenhagen, Claudia

2013-01-01

The main objective of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's initiative for early identification of skill needs is to pinpoint the skills and qualifications required for the new skill requirements emerging from impending changes in the world of work and for which widespread demand may well grow over the next three to five years. Three projects relevant to the “Internet of Things”, which is one focus of the initiative, were completed inthe fields of logistics, industrial produ...

University involvement in sustainability initiatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehmann, Martin; Christensen, Per; Thrane, Mikkel

2007-01-01

With an outset in the case of Aalborg University, the linkages (actual, potential and missing) between academic work in research & education and sustainability initiatives are explored. The focus is both on the university's core activities as a provider of research and education and on the univer......With an outset in the case of Aalborg University, the linkages (actual, potential and missing) between academic work in research & education and sustainability initiatives are explored. The focus is both on the university's core activities as a provider of research and education...... and on the university's activities as an organisation, i.e. its own operation and its accounting for this. Sustainability is defined as a continuous process requiring balance between (the emergence of) problems and our ability and capability to solve them. Some core questions that this paper seeks to answer are: "How...... is Sustainable Development understood at executive level at the university? How (if at all) is sustainable development integrated in the core activities of the university? How is the university attached to ‘real life outside the ivory tower', e.g. through the establishing of Public-Private-Academic Partnerships...

The analysis of the initiating events in thorium-based molten salt reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuo Jiaxu; Song Wei; Jing Jianping; Zhang Chunming

2014-01-01

The initiation events analysis and evaluation were the beginning of nuclear safety analysis and probabilistic safety analysis, and it was the key points of the nuclear safety analysis. Currently, the initiation events analysis method and experiences both focused on water reactor, but no methods and theories for thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR). With TMSR's research and development in China, the initiation events analysis and evaluation was increasingly important. The research could be developed from the PWR analysis theories and methods. Based on the TMSR's design, the theories and methods of its initiation events analysis could be researched and developed. The initiation events lists and analysis methods of the two or three generation PWR, high-temperature gascooled reactor and sodium-cooled fast reactor were summarized. Based on the TMSR's design, its initiation events would be discussed and developed by the logical analysis. The analysis of TMSR's initiation events was preliminary studied and described. The research was important to clarify the events analysis rules, and useful to TMSR's designs and nuclear safety analysis. (authors)

The LHCb Starterkit initiative

CERN Document Server

Puig Navarro, Albert

2017-01-01

The vast majority of high-energy physicists use and produce software every day. Software skills are usually acquired on the go and dedicated training courses are rare. The LHCb Starterkit is a new training format for getting LHCb collaborators started in effectively using software to perform their research. The initiative, combining courses and online tutorials, focuses on teaching basic skills for research computing, as well as LHCb software specifics. Unlike traditional tutorials we focus on starting with basics, performing all the material live, with a high degree of interactivity, giving priority to understanding the tools as opposed to handing out recipes that work “as if by magic”. The LHCb Starterkit was started by young members of the collaboration inspired by the principles of Software Carpentry, and the material is created in a collaborative fashion using the tools we teach. Three successful entry-level workshops, as well as two advanced ones, have taken place since the start of the initiative i...

Validation of the alpha-fetoprotein model for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after transplantation in an Asian population.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhu, Jinsoo; Kim, Jong Man; Choi, Gyu Seong; Kwon, Choon Hyuck David; Joh, Jae-Won

2018-02-20

This study was designed to validate the alpha-fetoprotein model for predicting recurrence after liver transplantation in Korean hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Patients who underwent liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma at Samsung Medical Center between 2007 and 2015 were included. Recurrence, overall survival, and disease-specific survival of patients divided by both the Milan criteria and the alpha-fetoprotein model were compared using Kaplan-Meier log-rank test. The predictability of the alpha-fetoprotein model compared to the Milan criteria was tested by means of net reclassification improvement analysis applied to patients with a follow-up of at least 2 years. A total of 400 patients were included in the study. Patients within Milan criteria had 5-year recurrence, and overall survival rates of 20.9% and 76.3% respectively, compared to corresponding rates of 50.3% and 55.7%, respectively, for patients who were beyond Milan criteria. Alpha-fetoprotein model low risk patients had 5-year recurrence and overall survival rates of 21.1% and 76.2%, respectively, compared to corresponding rates of 57.7% and 52.2%, respectively, in high risk patients (P<0.001, all). Although overall net reclassification improvements were statistically nonsignificant for recurrence (NRI=1.7%, Z=0.30, p=0.7624), and overall survival (NRI=9.0%, Z=1.60, p=0.1098), they were significantly better for predicting no recurrence (NRI=6.6%, Z=3.16, p=0.0016) and no death. (NRI=7.7%, Z=3.65, p=0.0003) CONCLUSIONS: The alpha-fetoprotein model seems to be a promising tool for liver transplantation candidacy, but further investigation is needed.

Predictors of High Motivation Score for Performing Research Initiation Fellowship, Master 1, Research Master 2, and PhD Curricula During Medical Studies: A Strobe-Compliant Article.

Science.gov (United States)

Feigerlova, Eva; Oussalah, Abderrahim; Fournier, Jean-Paul; Antonelli, Arnaud; Hadjadj, Samy; Marechaud, Richard; Guéant, Jean-Louis; Roblot, Pascal; Braun, Marc

2016-02-01

Translational research plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between fundamental and clinical research. The importance of integrating research training into medical education has been emphasized. Predictive factors that help to identify the most motivated medical students to perform academic research are unknown. In a cross-sectional study on a representative sample of 315 medical students, residents and attending physicians, using a comprehensive structured questionnaire we assessed motivations and obstacles to perform academic research curricula (ie, research initiation fellowship, Master 1, Research Master 2, and PhD). Independent predictive factors associated with high "motivation score" (top quartile on motivation score ranging from 0 to 10) to enroll in academic research curricula were derived using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Independent predictors of high motivation score for performing Master 1 curriculum were: "considering that the integration of translational research in medical curriculum is essential" (OR, 3.79; 95% CI, 1.49-9.59; P = 0.005) and "knowledge of at least 2 research units within the university" (OR, 3.60; 95% CI, 2.01-6.47; P motivation score for performing Research Master 2 curriculum were: "attending physician" (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 1.86-11.37; P = 0.001); "considering that the integration of translational research in medical curriculum is essential" (OR, 4.12; 95% CI, 1.51-11.23; P = 0.006); "knowledge of at least 2 research units within the university" (OR, 3.51; 95% CI, 1.91-6.46; P = 0.0001); and "male gender" (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.02-3.25; P = 0.04). Independent predictors of high motivation score for performing PhD curriculum were: "considering that the integration of translational research in medical curriculum is essential" (OR, 5.94; 95% CI, 2.33-15.19; P = 0.0002) and "knowledge of at least 2 research units within the university" (OR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.46-4.77; P = 0.001). This is the

Advances in outcomes measurement in rehabilitation medicine: current initiatives from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulsky, David S; Carlozzi, Noelle E; Cella, David

2011-10-01

The articles in this supplement present recent advances in the measurement of patient-reported health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) outcomes. Specifically, these articles highlight the combined efforts of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Center on Medical Rehabilitation Research, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service to improve HRQOL measurement. In addition, this supplement is intended to provide rehabilitation professionals with information about these efforts and the implications that these advances in outcomes measurement have for rehabilitation medicine and clinical practice. These new measurement scales use state-of-the-art method techniques, including item response theory and computerized adaptive testing. In addition, scale development involves both qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as the administration of items to hundreds or even thousands of research participants. The scales deliberately have been built with overlap of items between scales so that linkages and equivalency scores can be computed. Ultimately, these scales should facilitate direct comparison of outcomes instruments across studies and will serve as standard data elements across research trials without compromising the specificity of disease- or condition-targeted measures. This supplement includes the initial publications for many of these new measurement initiatives, each of which provides researchers and clinicians with better tools for evaluation of the efficacy of their interventions. Copyright © 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Closing the Gaps: Health Equity Research Initiative in India | CRDI ...

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

India's shortage of research on health inequities The Commission on Social ... project's activities will also include establishing a network of health equity researchers. ... Strength in collaboration and numbers The project will help increase the connections between previously disconnected researchers, civil ... Site internet.

Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC): Developing a Data Sharing Culture in the Wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Science.gov (United States)

Showalter, L. M.; Gibeaut, J. C.

2016-02-01

Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP committed $500 million (USD) for a research program that investigates the impacts of oil, dispersed oil, and dispersant on the environment and to develop strategies for response to future disasters. This research program, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI), is mandated to make all the data produced available to the public. To fulfill this goal, GoMRI developed the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC). GRIIDC is the vehicle by which GoMRI is addressing the data and information needs of this large and varied community of more than 3,000 scientists. The mission of GRIIDC is to ensure a data and information legacy that promotes continual scientific discovery and public awareness of the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem. As part of its effort to encourage data sharing among scientists interested in oil-spill related research in the Gulf of Mexico GRIIDC provides tools to researchers to facilitate all aspects of the data management process, from developing data management plans, to creating robust metadata records, to ensuring the data is made discoverable by the public. GRIIDC also provides a service to ensure that GoMRI funded publications have any associated data linked and available. This cradle to grave approach to data management has been extremely effective in developing data management practices that will ensure better data stewardship and preservation of all the data created in the GoMRI research program.

Using the Quebec Task Force Classification to subgroup low back pain patients in primary care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartvigsen, Lisbeth; Kongsted, Alice; Hestbæk, Lise

) patients. Compared with patients with LBP alone, patients with leg pain and patients with NRI were more severely affected across baseline characteristics and outcome measures in both CP and GP. QTF categories were associated with activity limitation at all follow-up time-points in both CP and GP (p....05) but not 3 months and 1 year. Nearly twice as many patients with LBP alone compared with patients with LBP + NRI were improved at 2 weeks in both cohorts. None of the outcomes were accurately predicted by the QTF (R2 range: 0.05-0.14); AUC range: 0.53-0.65).ConclusionsThe QTF classification differentiated...

Initiation devices, initiation systems including initiation devices and related methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daniels, Michael A.; Condit, Reston A.; Rasmussen, Nikki; Wallace, Ronald S.

2018-04-10

Initiation devices may include at least one substrate, an initiation element positioned on a first side of the at least one substrate, and a spark gap electrically coupled to the initiation element and positioned on a second side of the at least one substrate. Initiation devices may include a plurality of substrates where at least one substrate of the plurality of substrates is electrically connected to at least one adjacent substrate of the plurality of substrates with at least one via extending through the at least one substrate. Initiation systems may include such initiation devices. Methods of igniting energetic materials include passing a current through a spark gap formed on at least one substrate of the initiation device, passing the current through at least one via formed through the at least one substrate, and passing the current through an explosive bridge wire of the initiation device.

Subsidiary-level determinants of global initiatives in multinational corporations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Williams, C.

2009-01-01

This article examines subsidiary-level factors that promote global initiatives in MNCs. Global initiatives are a key capability of MNCs that domestic firms do not possess, yet there has been little research on how MNCs promote initiatives on a global basis. I draw principally on the knowledge-based

Philanthropy as a source of funding for nursing initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinpell, Ruth M; Start, Rachel; McIntosh, Erik; Worobec, Sophia; Llewellyn, Jane

2014-01-01

Nurse leaders are challenged with ensuring that research and evidence-based practices are being integrated into clinical care. Initiatives such as the Magnet Recognition Program have helped reinforce the importance of advancing nursing practices to integrate best practices, conduct quality improvement initiatives, improve performance metrics, and involve bedside nurses in conducting research and evidence-based practice projects. While seeking research funding is an option for some initiatives, other strategies such as seeking funding from grateful patients or from philanthropic resources are becoming important options for nurse leaders to pursue, as the availability of funding from traditional sources such as professional organizations or federal funding becomes more limited. In addition, more institutions are seeking and applying for funding, increasing the pool of candidates who are vying for existing funding. Seeking alternative sources of funding, such as through philanthropy, becomes a viable option. This article reviews important considerations in seeking funding from philanthropic sources for nursing initiatives. Examples from a multiyear project that focused on promoting a healthy work environment and improving nursing morale are used to highlight strategies that were used to solicit, obtain, and secure extension funding from private foundation funding to support the initiative.

The State of the NIH BRAIN Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Koroshetz, Walter; Gordon, Joshua; Adams, Amy; Beckel-Mitchener, Andrea; Churchill, James; Farber, Gregory; Freund, Michelle; Gnadt, Jim; Hsu, Nina; Langhals, Nicholas; Lisanby, Sarah; Liu, Guoying; Peng, Grace; Ramos, Khara; Steinmetz, Michael; Talley, Edmund; White, Samantha

2018-06-19

The BRAIN Initiative® arose from a grand challenge to "accelerate the development and application of new technologies that will enable researchers to produce dynamic pictures of the brain that show how individual brain cells and complex neural circuits interact at the speed of thought." The BRAIN Initiative is a public-private effort focused on the development and use of powerful tools for acquiring fundamental insights about how information processing occurs in the central nervous system. As the Initiative enters its fifth year, NIH has supported over 500 principal investigators, who have answered the Initiative's challenge via hundreds of publications describing novel tools, methods, and discoveries that address the Initiative's seven scientific priorities. We describe scientific advances produced by individual labs, multi-investigator teams, and entire consortia that, over the coming decades, will produce more comprehensive and dynamic maps of the brain, deepen our understanding of how circuit activity can produce a rich tapestry of behaviors, and lay the foundation for understanding how its circuitry is disrupted in brain disorders. Much more work remains to bring this vision to fruition, and NIH continues to look to the diverse scientific community, from mathematics, to physics, chemistry, engineering, neuroethics, and neuroscience, to ensure that the greatest scientific benefit arises from this unique research Initiative. Copyright © 2018 the authors.

Application for airborne particulate matter as a demonstration using k0-NAA method in Dalat nuclear research institute of Vietnam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho Manh Dung; Cao Dong Vu; Nguyen Thi Sy; Truong Y; Nguyen Thanh Binh

2004-01-01

The airborne particulate samples have been collected using two types of polycarbonate membrane filter PM 2.5 and PM 2-5-10 in two typical sites of industrial (Ho Chi Minh City) and rural (Dateh) regions in south of Vietnam. The concentration of trace elements in the samples has been determined by the k 0 -NAA procedure developed in Dalat NRI. In order to check the developed k 0 -NAA procedure for the airborne particulate matter, two standard reference materials (SRMs) Urban Particulate NIST-1648 and Vehicle Exhaust Particulates NIES-8 were analyzed and the obtained results have been compared and interpreted in term of deviation between experimental results and the certified values. (author)

Promoting Ethics and Integrity in Management Academic Research: Retraction Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayodele, Freida Ozavize; Yao, Liu; Haron, Hasnah

2018-02-13

In the management academic research, academic advancement, job security, and the securing of research funds at one's university are judged mainly by one's output of publications in high impact journals. With bogus resumes filled with published journal articles, universities and other allied institutions are keen to recruit or sustain the appointment of such academics. This often places undue pressure on aspiring academics and on those already recruited to engage in research misconduct which often leads to research integrity. This structured review focuses on the ethics and integrity of management research through an analysis of retracted articles published from 2005 to 2016. The study employs a structured literature review methodology whereby retracted articles published between 2005 and 2016 in the field of management science were found using Crossref and Google Scholar. The searched articles were then streamlined by selecting articles based on their relevance and content in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Based on the analysed retracted articles, the study shows evidence of ethical misconduct among researchers of management science. Such misconduct includes data falsification, the duplication of submitted articles, plagiarism, data irregularity and incomplete citation practices. Interestingly, the analysed results indicate that the field of knowledge management includes the highest number of retracted articles, with plagiarism constituting the most significant ethical issue. Furthermore, the findings of this study show that ethical misconduct is not restricted to a particular geographic location; it occurs in numerous countries. In turn, avenues of further study on research misconduct in management research are proposed.

HRD initiatives to realize the Mission Programmes of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldev Raj; Sai Baba, M.; Sundararajan, Vidya; Srikanthan, R.; Madanmohan, Jalaja; Venugopal Rao, G.

2009-01-01

IGCAR has developed the expertise and built comprehensive facilities to realize the mission programme of the Centre. The efforts would lead to achieving the world leadership and meet the expectation and aspiration of the nation for ensuring energy security. Taking into consideration the enhanced role FBRs are likely to play in contributing to the nuclear power component of the nation, there is a need to augment skilled manpower for the critical assignments to take up challenges in the design of plant, development of equipment and processes. Thus human resource development has been one of the areas of emphasis in the management philosophy of the Centre. Initiating the Training School programme at Kalpakkam, identifying research scholars to take up the problems in interface areas for achieving breakthroughs, attracting young people and empowering them has been the 'mantra' adopted at the Centre. Multilevel mentoring process has been built in and mentoring the young talent has been our priority. In this paper, we discuss our approach to overall human resource development at our Centre

Research Note: Headteacher Support Groups Initiative within the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 18, No 1 (2002) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

The Influence of Power and Individualism-Collectivism on Negotiation Initiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roger Volkema

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Negotiation is an essential business process, with the initiation of a negotiation likely to affect how the process unfolds. Despite the fact that opportunities are often lost when one or more parties fail to initiate, initiation has until recently been overlooked in negotiation process models and research. This paper reports findings from a study that examines the effects situational/contextual factors and culture have on the initiation process (engaging a prospective counterpart, making a request, and optimizing that request, focusing specifically on relative bargaining power (a situational factor and individualism-collectivism. Higher bargaining power was found to increase the likelihood of initiation intentionality in general as well as the requesting and optimizing phases more specifically. In addition, individualism/collectivism was also found to affect initiation, with individualists more likely than collectivists to initiate a negotiation. Further, this effect was enhanced when individualists had high relative bargaining power. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, with suggestions for future research.

Researcher Story: Stuttering

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Record Research & Training Medical Research Initiatives Science Highlights Science Education Research in NIH Labs & Clinics Training Opportunities Library Resources Research Resources Clinical Research Resources Safety, Regulation ...

Balance control during gait initiation: State-of-the-art and research perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Yiou, Eric; Caderby, Teddy; Delafontaine, Arnaud; Fourcade, Paul; Honeine, Jean-Louis

2017-11-18

It is well known that balance control is affected by aging, neurological and orthopedic conditions. Poor balance control during gait and postural maintenance are associated with disability, falls and increased mortality. Gait initiation - the transient period between the quiet standing posture and steady state walking - is a functional task that is classically used in the literature to investigate how the central nervous system (CNS) controls balance during a whole-body movement involving change in the base of support dimensions and center of mass progression. Understanding how the CNS in able-bodied subjects exerts this control during such a challenging task is a pre-requisite to identifying motor disorders in populations with specific impairments of the postural system. It may also provide clinicians with objective measures to assess the efficiency of rehabilitation programs and better target interventions according to individual impairments. The present review thus proposes a state-of-the-art analysis on: (1) the balance control mechanisms in play during gait initiation in able bodied subjects and in the case of some frail populations; and (2) the biomechanical parameters used in the literature to quantify dynamic stability during gait initiation. Balance control mechanisms reviewed in this article included anticipatory postural adjustments, stance leg stiffness, foot placement, lateral ankle strategy, swing foot strike pattern and vertical center of mass braking. Based on this review, the following viewpoints were put forward: (1) dynamic stability during gait initiation may share a principle of homeostatic regulation similar to most physiological variables, where separate mechanisms need to be coordinated to ensure stabilization of vital variables, and consequently; and (2) rehabilitation interventions which focus on separate or isolated components of posture, balance, or gait may limit the effectiveness of current clinical practices.

International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change ...

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

Climate change is already happening, and its effects are being felt in many places. But relatively little is known about how to cope and adapt to it. IRIACC aims to address this knowledge gap through rigorous research in Canada and across four continents.

Site-directed subsurface environmental initiative: Five year summary and plan for fundamental research in subsoils and in groundwater, FY 1989-FY 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-10-01

The overall goal of this research initiative is to develop the necessary scientific basis for resolution of key technical obstacles to defining and remediating contamination at DOE and other waste sites. To accomplish this goal, the resouces of the national laboratories, universities, and DOE sites will be fully utilized to develop and demonstrate improved, cost-effective, and environmentally acceptable techniques for predicting the behavior of contaminants and reducing their concentrations in ground water. This document is a preliminary plan to set general research directions for a program extending into the 1990s. The needs and milestones identified in this plan may change with additional guidance from DOE sites. Promising research opportunities will be identified as part of national laboratory submissions of preliminary proposals

The high-risk plaque initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falk, Erling; Sillesen, Henrik; Muntendam, Pieter

2011-01-01

The High-Risk Plaque (HRP) Initiative is a research and development effort to advance the understanding, recognition, and management of asymptomatic individuals at risk for a near-term atherothrombotic event such as myocardial infarction or stroke. Clinical studies using the newest technologies...... have been initiated, including the BioImage Study in which novel approaches are tested in a typical health plan population. Asymptomatic at-risk individuals were enrolled, including a survey-only group (n = 865), a group undergoing traditional risk factor scoring (n = 718), and a group in which all...

Transitioning a Fundamental Research Program to Align with the NASA Exploration Initiative-Perspectives from Microgravity Combustion Science and Fluid Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Sutliff, Thomas J.; Kohl, Fred J.

2004-01-01

A new Vision for Space Exploration was announced earlier this year by U.S. President George W. Bush. NASA has evaluated on-going programs for strategic alignment with this vision. The evaluation proceeded at a rapid pace and is resulting in changes to the scope and focus of experimental research that will be conducted in support of the new vision. The existing network of researchers in the physical sciences - a highly capable, independent, and loosely knitted community - typically have shared conclusions derived from their work within appropriate discipline-specific peer reviewed journals and publications. The initial result of introducing this Vision for Space Exploration has been to shift research focus from a broad coverage of numerous, widely varying topics into a research program focused on a nearly-singular set of supporting research objectives to enable advances in space exploration. Two of these traditional physical science research disciplines, Combustion Science and Fluid Physics, are implementing a course adjustment from a portfolio dominated by "Fundamental Science Research" to one focused nearly exclusively on supporting the Exploration Vision. Underlying scientific and engineering competencies and infrastructure of the Microgravity Combustion Science and Fluid Physics disciplines do provide essential research capabilities to support the contemporary thrusts of human life support, radiation countermeasures, human health, low gravity research for propulsion and materials and, ultimately, research conducted on the Moon and Mars. A perspective on how these two research disciplines responded to the course change will be presented. The relevance to the new NASA direction is provided, while demonstrating through two examples how the prior investment in fundamental research is being brought to bear on solving the issues confronting the successful implementation of the exploration goals.

Researching local sports initiatives for young migrants from a political perspective: methodological and practical challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noemi García-Arjona

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The processes of incorporation of young migrants have been studied using a range of new approaches. Among them, sports and physical activity have been claimed as a space for social and cultural integration. To date, most research has been based mainly on ethnographic and grassroots perspectives to better understand the experiences of sports practices of migrants and their families. However, fewer contributions have focused on the political discourse on sports as a field of integration. This article explores methodological challenges arosen when choosing sports policies as a field of study. The main methodological challenges considered include the contested conceptualizations of the target population in sports initiatives and the development of comparative selection criteria for different levels of institutional participants. An indepth analysis of these methodological issues can help to reflect on the ideological constructs of sports as a field of integration and highlight the contribution of the political sociological perspective to existing migration studies.

Updated global soil map for the Weather Research and Forecasting model and soil moisture initialization for the Noah land surface model

Science.gov (United States)

DY, C. Y.; Fung, J. C. H.

2016-08-01

A meteorological model requires accurate initial conditions and boundary conditions to obtain realistic numerical weather predictions. The land surface controls the surface heat and moisture exchanges, which can be determined by the physical properties of the soil and soil state variables, subsequently exerting an effect on the boundary layer meteorology. The initial and boundary conditions of soil moisture are currently obtained via National Centers for Environmental Prediction FNL (Final) Operational Global Analysis data, which are collected operationally in 1° by 1° resolutions every 6 h. Another input to the model is the soil map generated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (FAO-UNESCO) soil database, which combines several soil surveys from around the world. Both soil moisture from the FNL analysis data and the default soil map lack accuracy and feature coarse resolutions, particularly for certain areas of China. In this study, we update the global soil map with data from Beijing Normal University in 1 km by 1 km grids and propose an alternative method of soil moisture initialization. Simulations of the Weather Research and Forecasting model show that spinning-up the soil moisture improves near-surface temperature and relative humidity prediction using different types of soil moisture initialization. Explanations of that improvement and improvement of the planetary boundary layer height in performing process analysis are provided.

Instrumented Pipeline Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas Piro; Michael Ream

2010-07-31

This report summarizes technical progress achieved during the cooperative agreement between Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) and U.S. Department of Energy to address the need for a for low-cost monitoring and inspection sensor system as identified in the Department of Energy (DOE) National Gas Infrastructure Research & Development (R&D) Delivery Reliability Program Roadmap.. The Instrumented Pipeline Initiative (IPI) achieved the objective by researching technologies for the monitoring of pipeline delivery integrity, through a ubiquitous network of sensors and controllers to detect and diagnose incipient defects, leaks, and failures. This report is organized by tasks as detailed in the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO). The sections all state the objective and approach before detailing results of work.

77 FR 32977 - Announcement of Funding Awards for Fiscal Year 2012 Transformation Initiative: Choice...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-04

... Awards for Fiscal Year 2012 Transformation Initiative: Choice Neighborhoods Demonstration Small Research... awards for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Transformation Initiative: Choice Neighborhoods Demonstration Small... Under the Fiscal Year 2012 Transformation Initiative: Choice Neighborhoods Demonstration Small Research...

Teacher Incentive Systems, Final Report. Policy Research Initiative: Haiti, Liberia, Somalia, Yemen Arab Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemmerer, Frances; Thiagarajan, Sivasailam

Findings of a study that examined the implementation of a teacher incentives initiative in four countries--Haiti, Liberia, Somalia, and Yemen--are presented in this paper. The countries are participating in a 10-year initiative founded in 1984, Improving the Efficiency of Educational Systems (IEES). Methodology involved interviews with…

The NEA Nuclear Innovation 2050 Initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rayment, Fiona; ); Deffrennes, Marc; )

2017-01-01

The NEA launched its Nuclear Innovation 2050 (NI2050) Initiative with the aim of identifying research and development (R and D) strategies and associated priorities to achieve commercial readiness of innovative, sustainable nuclear fission technologies in a fast and cost-effective way. As defined at the beginning of the process, these R and D strategies would be elaborated with NEA stakeholders at large, in particular involving nearly all NEA committees, nuclear research organisations, industry, regulators and technical safety organisations. The NI2050 Initiative has evolved over the last year to become an NEA incubator for the selection and development of a number of large nuclear fission R and D programs (and infrastructures) that can support the role of nuclear energy in a low carbon future, mainly by accelerating innovation and the market deployment of technologies. This article provides a brief overview and the next steps of the initiative, which has reached the stage where more concrete outcomes might now be expected, in particular in terms of programs of action to be proposed for co-operative implementation

Stepping up Information Infrastructures and Statistical Reporting: Monitoring the German Excellence Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinhold, A.

2016-07-01

The Excellence Initiative has not only been the most prominent funding scheme in German research policy in recent years, but has also had important side effects on research management. This paper argues that the Excellence Initiative was indeed a “boost” for improving the data infrastructure and statistical reporting of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). The learning effects are now transferred to the line business and serve as a good starting point for the reporting on a potential third phase of the Excellence Initiative. (Author)

Innovation Initiatives in Large Software Companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edison, Henry; Wang, Xiaofeng; Jabangwe, Ronald

2018-01-01

empirical studies on innovation initiative in the context of large software companies. A total of 7 studies are conducted in the context of large software companies, which reported 5 types of initiatives: intrapreneurship, bootlegging, internal venture, spin-off and crowdsourcing. Our study offers three......Context: To keep the competitive advantage and adapt to changes in the market and technology, companies need to innovate in an organised, purposeful and systematic manner. However, due to their size and complexity, large companies tend to focus on the structure in maintaining their business, which...... can potentially lower their agility to innovate. Objective:The aims of this study are to provide an overview of the current research on innovation initiatives and to identify the challenges of implementing those initiatives in the context of large software companies. Method: The investigation...

Workshop on initiation of stress corrosion cracking under LWR conditions: Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, J.L.; Cubicciotti, D.; Licina, G.J.

1988-05-01

A workshop titled ''Initiation of Stress Corrosion Cracking under LWR Conditions'' was held in Palo Alto, California on November 13, 1986, hosted by the Electric Power Research Institute. Participants were experts on the topic from nuclear steam supply and component manufacturers, public and private research laboratories, and university environments. Presentations included discussions on the definition of crack initiation, the effects of environmental and electrochemical variables on cracking susceptibility, and detection methods for the determination of crack initiation events and measurement of critical environmental and stress parameters. Examination of the questions related to crack initiation and its relative importance to the overall question of cracking of LWR materials from these perspectives provided inputs to EPRI project managers on the future direction of research efforts designed to prevent and control cracking. Thirteen reports have been cataloged separately

An evaluation of safety culture initiatives at BNSF Railway

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-01

Major safety culture (SC) initiatives initiated in the FRA Office of Research, Technology and Development (RT&D), such as Clear Signal for Action (CSA), the Investigation of Safety Related Occurrences Protocol (ISROP), the Participative Safety Rules ...

Asymptotic distribution of ∆AUC, NRIs, and IDI based on theory of U-statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Demler, Olga V; Pencina, Michael J; Cook, Nancy R; D'Agostino, Ralph B

2017-09-20

The change in area under the curve (∆AUC), the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and net reclassification index (NRI) are commonly used measures of risk prediction model performance. Some authors have reported good validity of associated methods of estimating their standard errors (SE) and construction of confidence intervals, whereas others have questioned their performance. To address these issues, we unite the ∆AUC, IDI, and three versions of the NRI under the umbrella of the U-statistics family. We rigorously show that the asymptotic behavior of ∆AUC, NRIs, and IDI fits the asymptotic distribution theory developed for U-statistics. We prove that the ∆AUC, NRIs, and IDI are asymptotically normal, unless they compare nested models under the null hypothesis. In the latter case, asymptotic normality and existing SE estimates cannot be applied to ∆AUC, NRIs, or IDI. In the former case, SE formulas proposed in the literature are equivalent to SE formulas obtained from U-statistics theory if we ignore adjustment for estimated parameters. We use Sukhatme-Randles-deWet condition to determine when adjustment for estimated parameters is necessary. We show that adjustment is not necessary for SEs of the ∆AUC and two versions of the NRI when added predictor variables are significant and normally distributed. The SEs of the IDI and three-category NRI should always be adjusted for estimated parameters. These results allow us to define when existing formulas for SE estimates can be used and when resampling methods such as the bootstrap should be used instead when comparing nested models. We also use the U-statistic theory to develop a new SE estimate of ∆AUC. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Common carotid artery intima-media thickness is as good as carotid intima-media thickness of all carotid artery segments in improving prediction of coronary heart disease risk in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nambi, Vijay; Chambless, Lloyd; He, Max; Folsom, Aaron R; Mosley, Tom; Boerwinkle, Eric; Ballantyne, Christie M

2012-01-01

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque information can improve coronary heart disease (CHD) risk prediction when added to traditional risk factors (TRF). However, obtaining adequate images of all carotid artery segments (A-CIMT) may be difficult. Of A-CIMT, the common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) is relatively more reliable and easier to measure. We evaluated whether CCA-IMT is comparable to A-CIMT when added to TRF and plaque information in improving CHD risk prediction in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Ten-year CHD risk prediction models using TRF alone, TRF + A-CIMT + plaque, and TRF + CCA-IMT + plaque were developed for the overall cohort, men, and women. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC), per cent individuals reclassified, net reclassification index (NRI), and model calibration by the Grønnesby-Borgan test were estimated. There were 1722 incident CHD events in 12 576 individuals over a mean follow-up of 15.2 years. The AUC for TRF only, TRF + A-CIMT + plaque, and TRF + CCA-IMT + plaque models were 0.741, 0.754, and 0.753, respectively. Although there was some discordance when the CCA-IMT + plaque- and A-CIMT + plaque-based risk estimation was compared, the NRI and clinical NRI (NRI in the intermediate-risk group) when comparing the CIMT models with TRF-only model, per cent reclassified, and test for model calibration were not significantly different. Coronary heart disease risk prediction can be improved by adding A-CIMT + plaque or CCA-IMT + plaque information to TRF. Therefore, evaluating the carotid artery for plaque presence and measuring CCA-IMT, which is easier and more reliable than measuring A-CIMT, provide a good alternative to measuring A-CIMT for CHD risk prediction.

The contribution of a 9p21.3 variant, a KIF6 variant, and C-reactive protein to predicting risk of myocardial infarction in a prospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tracy Russell P

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genetic risk factors might improve prediction of coronary events. Several variants at chromosome 9p21.3 have been widely reported to be associated with coronary heart disease (CHD in prospective and case-control studies. A variant of KIF6 (719Arg has also been reported to be associated with increased risk of CHD in large prospective studies, but not in case-control studies. We asked whether the addition of genetic information (the 9p21.3 or KIF6 variants or a well-established non-genetic risk factor (C-reactive protein [CRP] can improve risk prediction by the Framingham Risk Score (FRS in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS--a prospective observational study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease among > 5,000 participants aged 65 or older. Methods Improvement of risk prediction was assessed by change in the area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC and by net reclassification improvement (NRI. Results Among white participants the FRS was improved by addition of KIF6 719Arg carrier status among men as assessed by the AUC (from 0.581 to 0.596, P = 0.03 but not by NRI (NRI = 0.027, P = 0.32. Adding both CRP and 719Arg carrier status to the FRS improved risk prediction by the AUC (0.608, P = 0.02 and NRI (0.093, P = 0.008 in men, but not women (P ≥ 0.24. Conclusions While none of these risk markers individually or in combination improved risk prediction among women, a combination of KIF6 719Arg carrier status and CRP levels modestly improved risk prediction among white men; although this improvement is not significant after multiple-testing correction. These observations should be investigated in other prospective studies.

NECTAR: initiatives and development 2008-2016

OpenAIRE

Dimmock, Nick; Hibbert, Dawn

2017-01-01

A poster illustrating the development of NECTAR, the University of Northampton's research repository, since its launch in 2008. Key initiatives and projects are highlighted, along with statistics on deposit activity and downloads.

MELODI: The 'Multidisciplinary European Low-Dose Initiative'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belli, M.; Salomaa, S.; Ottolenghi, A.

2011-01-01

The importance of research to reduce uncertainties in risk assessment of low and protracted exposures is now recognised globally. In Europe a new initiative, called 'Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative' (MELODI), has been proposed by a 'European High Level and Expert Group on low-dose risk research' (www.hleg.de), aimed at integrating national and EC (Euratom) efforts. Five national organisations: BfS (DE), CEA (FR), IRSN (FR), ISS (IT) and STUK (FI), with the support of the EC, have initiated the creation of MELODI by signing a letter of intent. In the forthcoming years, MELODI will integrate in a step-by-step approach EU institutions with significant programmes in the field and will be open to other scientific organisations and stakeholders. A key role of MELODI is to develop and maintain over time a strategic research agenda (SRA) and a road map of scientific priorities within a multidisciplinary approach, and to transfer the results for the radiation protection system. Under the coordination of STUK a network has been proposed in the 2009 Euratom Programme, called DoReMi (Low-Dose Research towards Multidisciplinary Integration), which can help the integration process within the MELODI platform. DoReMi and the First MELODI Open Workshop, organised by BfS in September 2009, are now important inputs for the European SRA. (authors)

Heavy-Section Steel Technology Program: Recent developments in crack initiation and arrest research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pennell, W.E.

1991-01-01

Technology for the analysis of crack initiation and arrest is central to the reactor pressure vessel fracture-margin-assessment process. Regulatory procedures for nuclear plants utilize this technology to assure the retention of adequate fracture-prevention margins throughout the plant operating license period. As nuclear plants age and regulatory procedures dictate that fracture-margin assessments be performed, interest in the fracture-mechanics technology incorporated into those procedures has heightened. This has led to proposals from a number of sources for development and refinement of the underlying crack-initiation and arrest-analysis technology. An important element of the Heavy-Section Steel Technology (HSST) Program is devoted to the investigation and evaluation of these proposals. This paper presents the technological bases and fracture-margin assessment objectives for some of the recently proposed crack-initiation and arrest-technology developments. The HSST Program approach to the evaluation of the proposals is described and the results and conclusions obtained to date are presented

Developing the Safety of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Registry Initiative (SAFARI) as a collaborative pan-stakeholder critical path registry model: a Cardiac Safety Research Consortium "Incubator" Think Tank.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Khatib, Sana M; Calkins, Hugh; Eloff, Benjamin C; Kowey, Peter; Hammill, Stephen C; Ellenbogen, Kenneth A; Marinac-Dabic, Danica; Waldo, Albert L; Brindis, Ralph G; Wilbur, David J; Jackman, Warren M; Yaross, Marcia S; Russo, Andrea M; Prystowsky, Eric; Varosy, Paul D; Gross, Thomas; Pinnow, Ellen; Turakhia, Mintu P; Krucoff, Mitchell W

2010-10-01

Although several randomized clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) in experienced centers, the outcomes of this procedure in routine clinical practice and in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent AF remain uncertain. Brisk adoption of this therapy by physicians with diverse training and experience highlights potential concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of this procedure. Some of these concerns could be addressed by a national registry of AF ablation procedures such as the Safety of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Registry Initiative that was initially proposed at a Cardiac Safety Research Consortium Think Tank meeting in April 2009. In January 2010, the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium, in collaboration with the Duke Clinical Research Institute, the US Food and Drug Administration, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society, held a follow-up meeting of experts in the field to review the construct and progress to date. Other participants included the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; the AdvaMed AF working group; and additional industry representatives. This article summarizes the discussions that occurred at the meeting of the state of the Safety of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Registry Initiative, the identification of a clear pathway for its implementation, and the exploration of solutions to potential issues in the execution of this registry. Copyright © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa ...

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

This initiative seeks to strengthen the capacities of science granting councils in East Africa and other selected sub-Saharan African countries. The goal is to contribute to economic and social development in the region through research and evidence-based policies. About the science granting councils initiative The Science ...

Systematic Review about Personal Growth Initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clarissa Pinto Pizarro de Freitas

Full Text Available The present study aimed to realize a systematic review of publications about personal growth initiative. A literature review was realized in Bireme, Index Psi, LILACS, PePSIC, Pubmed - Publisher's Medlme, Wiley Online Library, PsycINFO, OneFile, SciVerse ScienceDirect, ERIC, Emerald Journals, PsycARTICLES - American Psychological Association, Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, SAGE Journals, SpringerLink, PLoS, IngentaConnect, IEEE Journals & Magazines and SciELO databases. The literature review was performed from December of 2014 to January of 2015, without stipulating date limits for the publication of the articles. It was found 53 studies, excluded seven, and analyzed 46 researches. The studies aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of personal growth initiative scale and personal growth initiative scale II. The relations of personal initiative growth and others constructs were also evaluated. Furthermore the studies investigated the impact of interventions to promote personal growth initiative. Results of these studies showed that personal growth initiative was positively related to levels of well-being, selfesteem and others positive dimensions, and negatively to anxiety, depression and others negative factors.

AECL's new environmental initiatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonnell, F.N.

1993-01-01

AECL's research and development expenditures in environmental sciences and waste management technology are about $50 M per year. The main focus of these programs is the Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program. This research is supplemented by activities in support of laboratory, Environmental Authority and internal waste management requirements, as well as provision of non-nuclear services. AECL intends to become more involved in performing environmental research and development with broader application. The goal is to achieve a relationship with Canadian industry that would involve a substantial portion of AECL's environmental research capabilities. The research directions and priorities of the resulting partnership would be set by the private sector in accordance with their needs and requirements. It is expected that the activities associated with this new environmental initiative will start small and grow in response to perceived needs. AECL is now increasing its non-nuclear research efforts by targeting those markets that appear most attractive. The thrust can be divided into three broad categories: environmental research, environmental services, and environmental products. (Author)

Sistem integrat de tip geospaţial pentru localizarea şi protecţia siturilor arheologice. Dezvoltare zona pilot: judeţul Tulcea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana Popescu

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The paper describes a project carried on during 2007-2010 carried on by Crescendo International – head of the project, with NRI URBAN-INCERC, URBANPROIECT branch, the Institute for Eco-Museum Research în Archeology Tulcea and ELECTROVÂLCEA S.R.L. The aim of the project was to elaborate a methodology of geospatial localization, electronic marking and coding of historical sites în order to protect and introduce them în tours. The methodology was applied through case studies to some archeological sites în Tulcea County.

Left ventricular filling pressure by septal and lateral E/e' equally predict cardiovascular events in the general population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Joanna Nan; Biering-Sørensen, Tor; Jørgensen, Peter Godsk

2017-01-01

/e'lateral were equally strong predictors of cardiac events; in age- and sex-adjusted models they did not differ in AUC (septal: 0.8385, lateral: 0.8389; p = 0.94) or in continuous NRI (p = 0.84). Models using E/e'average did not improve AUC or NRI, and the intra-individual difference between sites had...... no predictive value (p = 0.79). E/e'septal was generally higher than E/e'lateral, thus age- and sex-specific normal values were reported for both sites for a population free of cardiac events during 10 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Septal and lateral E/e' are equally useful in predicting cardiac events...

Overview of large scale experiments performed within the LBB project in the Czech Republic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadecka, P.; Lauerova, D. [Nuclear Research Institute, Rez (Czechoslovakia)

1997-04-01

During several recent years NRI Rez has been performing the LBB analyses of safety significant primary circuit pipings of NPPs in Czech and Slovak Republics. The analyses covered the NPPs with reactors WWER 440 Type 230 and 213 and WWER 1000 Type 320. Within the relevant LBB projects undertaken with the aim to prove the fulfilling of the requirements of LBB, a series of large scale experiments were performed. The goal of these experiments was to verify the properties of the components selected, and to prove the quality and/or conservatism of assessments used in the LBB-analyses. In this poster, a brief overview of experiments performed in Czech Republic under guidance of NRI Rez is presented.

Russian Initiatives in Internet Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Sergeevich Shirin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the research of Russian initiatives concerning its participation in international system of Internet governance. In the research, conceptual and theoretic basis for participation of state governments in Internet governance is given, academic discourse of this issue is assessed, the review of main Russian initiatives made from 2005 (since the second stage of the World Summit on Information Society till the present day is carried out. The conclusion is made that the most successful Internet governance initiative of Russia is the implementation of cyrillic top level domains. Much less successful are Russian attempts to reconstruct existing organizational structure of Internet governance. Russian policy is assessed as a policy of preferring loud statements and PR rather than real influence on development of Internet technologies. Russia consideres Internet as political resource and tries to increase its influence on decision making process on a political, not operational level of Internet governance. The author states that federal government of the United States of America has fully lost the control on the domain name systems. These functions are going to be given to the private sector, while ICANN, which was established according to the Memorandum of Understanding/Joint Project Agreement with U.S. Department of Commerce, is becoming a truly independent international organization. Considering this, the author comes to the conclusion that political transformations for the sake of Russia are already made. He also forecast that next initiatives of Russia will be directed to the segmentation of the Internet.

Partners and initiatives | IDRC - International Development ...

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

Results 1 - 10 of 20 ... A longstanding partner, Global Affairs Canada collaborates with us on maternal and ... Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia ... These investments in scientific breakthroughs will improve the health.

Canada Research Chairs | IDRC - International Development ...

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

aspx. International Research Chairs Initiative. The International Research Chairs Initiative pairs top research talent from universities in Canada with their counterparts in developing countries to address key development challenges. View more

An initial bibliometric analysis and mapping of systems engineering research

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, Rudolph

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Systems engineering is still a growing field that depends on continuous research to develop and mature. Research in systems engineering is difficult and the classic approaches for other engineering disciplines may not be sufficient. Additional...

VT County National Resources Inventory Data 1982-1997

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — (Link to Metadata) This collection provides tabular USDA - Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), National Resources Inventory (NRI) data (1982-1997), by...

Researcher Story: Stuttering

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Research & Training Medical Research Initiatives Science Highlights Science Education Research in NIH Labs & Clinics Training Opportunities Library Resources Research Resources Clinical Research Resources Safety, Regulation and Guidance More » Quick Links PubMed Stem ...

NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT IN PATIENTS PREDICTED TO MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY AT THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CELJE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernest Novak

2001-12-01

Full Text Available Background. Malnutrition has serious implications for recovery after surgery. Early detection of malnutrition with nutritional support minimizes postoperative complications. Nutritional assessment tools need to be simple and suitable for use in everyday practice. In our study we wanted to determine, how many patients might benefit from nutritional support.Methods. From April to August 1999 fifty consecutively admitted patients predicted to major abdominal surgery have been examined. We used Mini nutritional assessment (MNA, Buzby’s nutrition risk index (NRI, blood albumin level and weight loss in the last 3 months period prior to the examination, to assess nutritional status.Results. We examined 50 patients (27 males and 23 females, age 76.5 ± 16.5 and confirmed malnutrition in 40% of patients with MNA and serum albumin level. The increased risk for nutrition-associated complications was confirmed by NRI and weight loss in 44%.Conclusions. A confident diagnosis of malnutrition and increased risk for nutrition-associated complications can be established by using a combination of simple methods like MNA, NRI, weight loss and serum albumin level. Almost half of the patients admitted for major abdominal surgery in General hospital Celje suffer from malnutrition and they may benefit with early nutritional intervention.

76 FR 55403 - Announcement of Funding Awards for Fiscal Year 2010 Transformation Initiative: Sustainable...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-07

... Awards for Fiscal Year 2010 Transformation Initiative: Sustainable Communities Research Grant (SCRGP... Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Transformative Initiative: Sustainable Communities Research Grant Program (SCRGP...&R), under the Assistant Secretary, administered the FY10 Sustainable Communities Research Grant...

NASA GISS Climate Change Research Initiative: A Multidisciplinary Vertical Team Model for Improving STEM Education by Using NASA's Unique Capabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, M. D.

2017-12-01

CCRI is a year-long STEM education program designed to bring together teams of NASA scientists, graduate, undergraduate and high school interns and high school STEM educators to become immersed in NASA research focused on atmospheric and climate changes in the 21st century. GISS climate research combines analysis of global datasets with global models of atmospheric, land surface, and oceanic processes to study climate change on Earth and other planetary atmospheres as a useful tool in assessing our general understanding of climate change. CCRI interns conduct research, gain knowledge in assigned research discipline, develop and present scientific presentations summarizing their research experience. Specifically, CCRI interns write a scientific research paper explaining basic ideas, research protocols, abstract, results, conclusion and experimental design. Prepare and present a professional presentation of their research project at NASA GISS, prepare and present a scientific poster of their research project at local and national research symposiums along with other federal agencies. CCRI Educators lead research teams under the direction of a NASA GISS scientist, conduct research, develop research based learning units and assist NASA scientists with the mentoring of interns. Educators create an Applied Research STEM Curriculum Unit Portfolio based on their research experience integrating NASA unique resources, tools and content into a teacher developed unit plan aligned with the State and NGSS standards. STEM Educators also Integrate and implement NASA unique units and content into their STEM courses during academic year, perform community education STEM engagement events, mentor interns in writing a research paper, oral research reporting, power point design and scientific poster design for presentation to local and national audiences. The CCRI program contributes to the Federal STEM Co-STEM initiatives by providing opportunities, NASA education resources and

Developing and validating a new precise risk-prediction model for new-onset hypertension: The Jichi Genki hypertension prediction model (JG model).

Science.gov (United States)

Kanegae, Hiroshi; Oikawa, Takamitsu; Suzuki, Kenji; Okawara, Yukie; Kario, Kazuomi

2018-03-31

No integrated risk assessment tools that include lifestyle factors and uric acid have been developed. In accordance with the Industrial Safety and Health Law in Japan, a follow-up examination of 63 495 normotensive individuals (mean age 42.8 years) who underwent a health checkup in 2010 was conducted every year for 5 years. The primary endpoint was new-onset hypertension (systolic blood pressure [SBP]/diastolic blood pressure [DBP] ≥ 140/90 mm Hg and/or the initiation of antihypertensive medications with self-reported hypertension). During the mean 3.4 years of follow-up, 7402 participants (11.7%) developed hypertension. The prediction model included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), SBP, DBP, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, uric acid, proteinuria, current smoking, alcohol intake, eating rate, DBP by age, and BMI by age at baseline and was created by using Cox proportional hazards models to calculate 3-year absolute risks. The derivation analysis confirmed that the model performed well both with respect to discrimination and calibration (n = 63 495; C-statistic = 0.885, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.865-0.903; χ 2 statistic = 13.6, degree of freedom [df] = 7). In the external validation analysis, moreover, the model performed well both in its discrimination and calibration characteristics (n = 14 168; C-statistic = 0.846; 95%CI, 0.775-0.905; χ 2 statistic = 8.7, df = 7). Adding LDL cholesterol, uric acid, proteinuria, alcohol intake, eating rate, and BMI by age to the base model yielded a significantly higher C-statistic, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement, especially NRI non-event (NRI = 0.127, 95%CI = 0.100-0.152; NRI non-event  = 0.108, 95%CI = 0.102-0.117). In conclusion, a highly precise model with good performance was developed for predicting incident hypertension using the new parameters of eating rate, uric acid, proteinuria, and BMI by age. ©2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Research Initiatives and Preliminary Results In Automation Design In Airspace Management in Free Flight

Science.gov (United States)

Corker, Kevin; Lebacqz, J. Victor (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

The NASA and the FAA have entered into a joint venture to explore, define, design and implement a new airspace management operating concept. The fundamental premise of that concept is that technologies and procedures need to be developed for flight deck and ground operations to improve the efficiency, the predictability, the flexibility and the safety of airspace management and operations. To that end NASA Ames has undertaken an initial development and exploration of "key concepts" in the free flight airspace management technology development. Human Factors issues in automation aiding design, coupled aiding systems between air and ground, communication protocols in distributed decision making, and analytic techniques for definition of concepts of airspace density and operator cognitive load have been undertaken. This paper reports the progress of these efforts, which are not intended to definitively solve the many evolving issues of design for future ATM systems, but to provide preliminary results to chart the parameters of performance and the topology of the analytic effort required. The preliminary research in provision of cockpit display of traffic information, dynamic density definition, distributed decision making, situation awareness models and human performance models is discussed as they focus on the theme of "design requirements".

The Learning Science through Theatre Initiative in the Context of Responsible Research and Innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zacharoula Smyrnaiou

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Fostering Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI is the next big step in the methodological teaching of Science. This is the solution towards an open classroom and innovation system of learning. The school science teaching needs to become more engaging. Science education should be an essential component of a learning continuum not only in classroom, but also for all, from pre- school to active engaged citizenship. "The Learning Science Through Theatre" Initiative creates a network of knowledge and collaboration between different communities by learning about science through other disciplines and learning about other disciplines through science. Forty Three (43 theatrical performances during the school years 2014-2016 were organized by secondary school students (2000 subjects which embed both scientific concepts and cultural/ social elements which are expressed by embodied, verbal interaction and analogies. The methodology constitutes a merging of qualitative, quantitative and grounded theory analysis. The data were classified into categories and they were cross- checked by registrations forms, filled by the teachers. Results show that the acquisition of knowledge is successful with the co- existence of multiple semiotic systems and the theatrical performances are compatible with the principles of RRI.

Research Program Overview

Science.gov (United States)

PEER logo Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center home about peer news events research products laboratories publications nisee b.i.p. members education FAQs links research Research Program Overview Tall Buildings Initiative Transportation Research Program Lifelines Program Concrete Grand

Сoncept of national legislative initiative and its types

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

А. Л. Крутько

2015-11-01

Full Text Available . National legislative initiative is a new instrument of popular wills demonstration as compared to different forms of direct democracy. In most of developed democracies this institution regulated at the constitutional/ legislative level. But in the modern Ukraine its constitutional legal regulation is absent, due disregard of its possibilities and lack of understanding of its essence. Paper objective. This article an aim is to analyze in details the definition of «national legislative initiative» and determinate its basic types according to theoretical insights and foreign current law. Recent research and publications analysis. The domestic and foreign scholars works on scientific research of national legislative initiative institution such as V.N. Rudenko, O.M. Mudra, V.M. Shapoval, V.F. Nesterovich, J. F. Zimmerman and etc. Their works were foundational at the time of writing. Paper main body. With the help of big definition dictionary and new encyclopedic dictionary it was found the etymology of the concept «initiative» which is characterized as the basis, also found meaning of «legislative initiative», «national initiative» and «national legislative initiative». It was argued impossibility an identification of «national initiative» with «national legislative initiative». The current definitions of the national legislative initiative were analyzed in the article. It was noted that suggested terms were limited only by identification of institute’s apparent indicator and withhold essence. This is precisely why four types of the national legislative initiative’s realization are briefly examined for the complex determination of the definition. These types depending on what role the legislator are assigning to citizen, who are the main actors of initiative. And on the basis of this analysis the author provided his own definition of «the national legislative initiative». The author had notes that the proposed definition was not

The New York City Research Initiative: A Model for Undergraduate and High School Student Research in Earth and Space Sciences and Space Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Scalzo, F.; Frost, J.; Carlson, B. E.; Marchese, P.; Rosenzweig, C.; Austin, S. A.; Peteet, D. M.; Druyan, L.; Fulakeza, M.; Gaffin, S.; Baruh, H.; Decker, S.; Thangam, S.; Miles, J.; Moshary, F.; Rossow, W.; Greenbaum, S.; Cheung, T. K.; Johnson, L. P.

2010-12-01

1 Frank Scalzo, 1 Barbara Carlson, 2 Leon Johnson, 3 Paul Marchese, 1 Cynthia Rosenzweig, 2 Shermane Austin, 1 Dorothy Peteet, 1 Len Druyan, 1 Matthew Fulakeza, 1 Stuart Gaffin, 4 Haim Baruh, 4 Steven Decker, 5 Siva Thangam, 5 Joe Miles, 6 James Frost, 7 Fred Moshary, 7 William Rossow, 7 Samir Ahmed, 8 Steven Greenbaum and 3 Tak Cheung 1 NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, USA 2 Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, Brooklyn, NY, USA 3 Physics, Queensborough Community College, CUNY, Queens, NY, USA 4 Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA 5 Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA 6 Physics, LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, Queens, NY, USA 7 Electrical Engineering, City College of New York, CUNY, USA 8 Physics, Hunter College, CUNY, USA The New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI) is a research and academic program that involves high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and high school teachers in research teams under the mentorship of college/university principal investigator of NASA funded projects and/or NASA scientists. The principal investigators are at 7 colleges/universities within a 20-mile radius of New York City (NYC and Northern New Jersey), as well as the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies. The program supports research in Earth Science, Space Science, and Space Technology. Research investigations include: Sea Surface Temperature and Precipitation in the West African Monsoon, Urban Heat Island: Sun and Rain Effects, Decadal Changes in Aerosol and Asthma, Variations in Salinity and River Discharge in the Hudson River Estuary, Environmental Change in the Hudson Estuary Wetlands, Verification of Winter Storm Scale Developed for Nor’easters, Solar Weather and Tropical Cyclone Activity, Tropospheric and Stratospheric Ozone Investigation in Metropolitan NYC, Aerosol Optical Depth through use of a MFRSR, Detection of Concentration in the Atmosphere Using a Quantum Cascade Laser System

Initiating Service Encounter-based Innovation by Word-of-Business

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mattsson, Jan

2015-01-01

Purpose – This paper aims to set up a natural experiment as action research and to develop a framework of cognitive distance of informants to improve the initiation of service encounter-based innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Natural experiment as action research in one Scandinavian case...... transcriptions of interviews and transcriptions. Research limitations/implications – Only one Scandinavian company and a limited number of informants were activated. Also, the time period only included the initiation phase of service encounter-based innovation. Practical implications – Three different strategies...... in an emerging innovation field, open/user-driven innovation. Theory from business marketing, service encounter and innovation is also used....

Light-initiated detonation systems

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Stafford S.; Malone, Philip G.; Bartholomew, Stephen W.; Necker, William J.

1986-09-01

Numerous light sources could be employed in detonation systems, but lasers have the most efficient coupling to optical fibers and can generate energetic light pulses required for detonation. Flash lamp-pumped, solid state lasers are presently the most useful light source for explosive initiation. Laser diodes in current production cannot generate enough energy for practical applications. The most useful optical fiber for blast line application is a step index fiber with a large core-to-cladding ratio. The large core minimizes energy losses due to misalignment core of fibers in connectors. Couplers that involve mechanically crimped connectors and cleaved fibers, rather than the epoxy-cemented connectors with polished fibers, provide superior energy transmission due to the reduced carbonization at the fiber end. Detonators for optical initiation systems are similar in basic construction to those employed in electrical initiation systems. Explosive and pyrotechnic charges can also be similar. Either primary or secondary explosives can be initiated in present laser-based systems. Two laser detonation systems are presently accessible; a multiple-shot laser with a single-shot, single fiber system designed for use with detonators containing primary explosives. Additional research related to development of low-energy, photoreactive detonators, continuity checking techniques and improved connectors and fibers can produce significant improvements in presently fielded systems.

Sun Grant Initiative : great strides toward a sustainable and more energy-independent future

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

The Sun Grant Initiative publication, developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, offers a glimpse of how the Sun Grant Initiative Centers are advancing alternative fuels research. Transportation plays a significant role in biofuels research,...

Researcher Story: Stuttering

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Full Text Available ... Research & Training Medical Research Initiatives Science Highlights Science ... Drayna, Ph.D., an intramural researcher at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the NIH, ...

An Initial Formulation. Research, Diagnosis and Development in Urban Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Gappert, Gary

Described in this report are factors which affect and/or limit urban educational research and dimensions of cities which should be considered in making social and organizational research in urban education more relevant. Some of these considerations are learning, institutional and management deficits, the lack of a total systems perspective on the…

Big Data Initiatives for Agroecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

NAL has developed a workspace for research groups associated with the i5k initiative, which aims to sequence the genomes of all insesct species known to be important to worldwide agriculture, food safety, medicine, and energy production; all those used as models in biology; the most abundant in worl...

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Full Text Available ... Health NIH Research Matters NIH Record Research & Training Medical Research Initiatives Science Highlights Science Education Research in ... can. The genetic methods for all sorts of medical genetic disorders have been refined over the past ...

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Sensitivity of a Simulated Derecho Event to Model Initial Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei

2014-05-01

Since 2003, the MMM division at NCAR has been experimenting cloud-permitting scale weather forecasting using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Over the years, we've tested different model physics, and tried different initial and boundary conditions. Not surprisingly, we found that the model's forecasts are more sensitive to the initial conditions than model physics. In 2012 real-time experiment, WRF-DART (Data Assimilation Research Testbed) at 15 km was employed to produce initial conditions for twice-a-day forecast at 3 km. On June 29, this forecast system captured one of the most destructive derecho event on record. In this presentation, we will examine forecast sensitivity to different model initial conditions, and try to understand the important features that may contribute to the success of the forecast.

Alliance members' roles in collective field-building: an assessment of leadership and championship within the Population Health Intervention Research Initiative for Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Ruggiero, Erica; Kishchuk, Natalie; Viehbeck, Sarah; Edwards, Nancy; Robinson, Kerry; Riley, Barbara; Fowler, Heather Smith

2017-12-06

The Population Health Intervention Research Initiative for Canada (PHIRIC) is a multi-stakeholder alliance founded in 2006 to advance population health intervention research (PHIR). PHIRIC aimed to strengthen Canada's capacity to conduct and use such research to inform policy and practice to improve the public's health by building PHIR as a field of research. In 2014, an evaluative study of PHIRIC at organisational and system levels was conducted, guided by a field-building and collaborative action perspective. The study involved 17 qualitative key informant interviews with 21 current and former PHIRIC Planning Committee and Working Group members. The interviews examined how individuals and organisations were acting as champions and exerting leadership in building the field of PHIR. Founding PHIRIC organisational members have been championing PHIR at organisational and system levels. While the PHIR field has progressed in terms of enhanced funding, legitimacy, profile and capacity, some members and organisations faced constraints and challenges acting as leaders and champions in their respective environments. Expectations about the future of PHIRIC and field-building of PHIR were mixed, where longer-term and founding members of PHIRIC expressed more optimism than recent members. All agreed on the need for incorporating perspectives of decision-makers into PHIR directions and initiatives. The findings contribute to understanding alliance members' roles in leadership and championship for field-building more generally, and for population health and PHIR specifically. Building this field requires multi-level efforts, collaborative action and distributed leadership to create the necessary conditions for PHIRIC members to both benefit from and contribute to advancing PHIR as a field. Lessons from this 'made in Canada' model may be of interest to other countries regarding the structures needed for PHIR field-building.

Using mixed methods research in medical education: basic guidelines for researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schifferdecker, Karen E; Reed, Virginia A

2009-07-01

Mixed methods research involves the collection, analysis and integration of both qualitative and quantitative data in a single study. The benefits of a mixed methods approach are particularly evident when studying new questions or complex initiatives and interactions, which is often the case in medical education research. Basic guidelines for when to use mixed methods research and how to design a mixed methods study in medical education research are not readily available. The purpose of this paper is to remedy that situation by providing an overview of mixed methods research, research design models relevant for medical education research, examples of each research design model in medical education research, and basic guidelines for medical education researchers interested in mixed methods research. Mixed methods may prove superior in increasing the integrity and applicability of findings when studying new or complex initiatives and interactions in medical education research. They deserve an increased presence and recognition in medical education research.

Industrial initiatives in the wind industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edworthy, J.

1992-01-01

Industrial initiatives are methods of lobbying and marketing to increase the activity, revenues, profits, and commercial viability of an industry. They may be undertaken by industry individuals or firms, industry groups, government agencies, or combinations of all these. In Canada, one example of an industrial initiative is the Canadian Wind Energy Association. Other initiatives relevant to the wind power industry include Technology Inflow Programs sponsored by External Affairs Canada, used for visiting foreign firms with the view to licensing foreign technology, and Industrial Research Assistance Programs to develop or adapt new technologies in partnership with government. The Conservation/Renewable Energy Council, Small Power Producers of Alberta, and Independent Power Producers Society of Ontario are also active in supporting wind energy initiatives. In other countries, notable initiatives for wind energy include the Danish wind turbine warranty guarantee program. The Western Wind Industry Network of Canada conducts regional lobbying. It is suggested that in Canada, more such networks are needed, as well as joint ventures with utilities and governments, and more work with the regulatory agencies, to promote wind energy

Telemedicine-Based Burn Research Initiative: Longitudinal Outcomes of Patients

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Montalvo, Alfredo

2003-01-01

.... All instruments were professionally printed. The consultant for the project was hired and telemedicine equipment was evaluated by the consultant based on clinical requirements defined by the research team...

Researcher Story: Stuttering

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Full Text Available ... Lines Health Services Locator HealthCare.gov NIH Clinical Research Trials and You Talking to Your Doctor Science ... More » Quick Links NIH News in Health NIH Research Matters NIH Record Research & Training Medical Research Initiatives ...

Beyond breakthrough research: Epistemic properties of research and their consequences for research funding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laudel, Grit; Gläser, Jochen

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to initiate a discussion about links between epistemic properties and institutional conditions for research by providing an exploratory analysis of such links featured by projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC). Our analysis identifies epistemic properties of

Researcher Story: Stuttering

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Fluctuations of quasars and other astronomical sources: final report on New Research Initiatives Program W-210

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terrell, J.

1978-01-01

New Research Initiatives Program W-210 produced a number of scientific results, publications, colloquia, and talks. Investigations under this program dealt with power spectra of fluctuating light sources, the apparent expansion rates of astronomical sources exploding at relativistic speed, the limits on fluctuation rates of such expanding (and nonexpanding) light sources, and related matters. Probably the most important result was a study of the time history of such an exploding light source, which showed that a widely held belief that unusually rapid fluctuations of light output would be produced in this case is not correct. This result has an important bearing on the interpretation of the redshifts of quasars and BL Lac objects, indicating that cosmological distance is very difficult to reconcile with the observations of rapid variations of luminosity. These results, and the power-spectrum results, are also of considerable interest in the study of astronomical x-ray sources. A list of publications is included

Stakeholder Pressures, Environmental Impact and Managerial Initiatives of SMEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

2015-01-01

impact was available in Denmark. Consequently, a longitudinal research project was initiated to enlighten the situation. This study investigates environmentally related initiatives taken in response to the perception of stakeholder pressures and the perceived corporate environmental impact. The empirical......Environmental sustainability has become an issue of uttermost importance for business organisations. Therefore, the implementation of corporate environmental initiatives has been vigorously embraced by industry. Two decades ago, no clear picture of industry initiatives to reduce their environmental...... popularity of self-regulation, voluntary initiatives do not tend to be widely adopted by SMEs, stressing a need for a continuing regulation of industry’s behaviour in relation to environmental issues....

Predictive value of semi-quantitative MRI-based scoring systems for future knee replacement: data from the osteoarthritis initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hafezi-Nejad, Nima; Eng, John; Demehri, Shadpour; Zikria, Bashir; Carrino, John A.

2015-01-01

To evaluate, in a confirmatory fashion, whether baseline and change from baseline to 24-month follow-up in cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions and meniscal damage are predictors of knee replacement (KR) in subjects with a high risk of osteoarthritis (OA), independent of the level of physical activity, symptom severity and radiographic abnormalities. Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative's (OAI) baseline and 24-month follow-up knee MRIs of 115 patients (age range: 45-78 years; 48 % female; BMI: 20.9-48.7) were analyzed. Cartilage, bone marrow and menisci were semi-quantitatively scored according to the Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS) and Boston-Leeds Osteoarthritis Knee Score (BLOKS) systems in all compartments. Baseline and 24-month interval changes in structural tissue damage assessed by BLOKS and WORMS were used as predictors of KR independent of clinical and radiographic parameters using Cox hazard analysis. Adjustments were performed for age, gender, BMI and physical activity (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly: PASE), Western Ontario and McMaster Questionnaire (WOMAC) total score and radiographic Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) score. BLOKS and WORMS baseline cartilage scores were predictors of KR independent of the PASE, WOMAC and KL score. One score increase in the average baseline BLOKS full-thickness cartilage defect score was associated with a [hazard ratio (95 % CI)] 13.55 (3.61-50.89) times greater risk of KR independent of the PASE, WOMAC and KL score. Net reclassification improvements (NRIs) of the additional evaluation of 24-month follow-up MRI scores and assessment of changes were not significant for prediction of KR (NRI range: - 7.23 - 24.8 %). The BLOKS cartilage score for full-thickness cartilage defects had the highest hazard for KR. Follow-up MRI changes in structural tissue damage, detected by BLOKS and WORMS cartilage, bone marrow or meniscus scores (up to 24 months) had no significant predictive value in addition

Predictive value of semi-quantitative MRI-based scoring systems for future knee replacement: data from the osteoarthritis initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hafezi-Nejad, Nima; Eng, John; Demehri, Shadpour [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Baltimore, MD (United States); Zikria, Bashir [Johns Hopkins University, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Baltimore, MD (United States); Carrino, John A. [Hospital for Special Surgery, Department of Radiology and Imaging, New York, NY (United States)

2015-11-15

To evaluate, in a confirmatory fashion, whether baseline and change from baseline to 24-month follow-up in cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions and meniscal damage are predictors of knee replacement (KR) in subjects with a high risk of osteoarthritis (OA), independent of the level of physical activity, symptom severity and radiographic abnormalities. Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative's (OAI) baseline and 24-month follow-up knee MRIs of 115 patients (age range: 45-78 years; 48 % female; BMI: 20.9-48.7) were analyzed. Cartilage, bone marrow and menisci were semi-quantitatively scored according to the Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS) and Boston-Leeds Osteoarthritis Knee Score (BLOKS) systems in all compartments. Baseline and 24-month interval changes in structural tissue damage assessed by BLOKS and WORMS were used as predictors of KR independent of clinical and radiographic parameters using Cox hazard analysis. Adjustments were performed for age, gender, BMI and physical activity (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly: PASE), Western Ontario and McMaster Questionnaire (WOMAC) total score and radiographic Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) score. BLOKS and WORMS baseline cartilage scores were predictors of KR independent of the PASE, WOMAC and KL score. One score increase in the average baseline BLOKS full-thickness cartilage defect score was associated with a [hazard ratio (95 % CI)] 13.55 (3.61-50.89) times greater risk of KR independent of the PASE, WOMAC and KL score. Net reclassification improvements (NRIs) of the additional evaluation of 24-month follow-up MRI scores and assessment of changes were not significant for prediction of KR (NRI range: - 7.23 - 24.8 %). The BLOKS cartilage score for full-thickness cartilage defects had the highest hazard for KR. Follow-up MRI changes in structural tissue damage, detected by BLOKS and WORMS cartilage, bone marrow or meniscus scores (up to 24 months) had no significant predictive value in addition

Initiating Event Analysis of a Lithium Fluoride Thorium Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Geraci, Nicholas Charles

The primary purpose of this study is to perform an Initiating Event Analysis for a Lithium Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) as the first step of a Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). The major objective of the research is to compile a list of key initiating events capable of resulting in failure of safety systems and release of radioactive material from the LFTR. Due to the complex interactions between engineering design, component reliability and human reliability, probabilistic safety assessments are most useful when the scope is limited to a single reactor plant. Thus, this thesis will study the LFTR design proposed by Flibe Energy. An October 2015 Electric Power Research Institute report on the Flibe Energy LFTR asked "what-if?" questions of subject matter experts and compiled a list of key hazards with the most significant consequences to the safety or integrity of the LFTR. The potential exists for unforeseen hazards to pose additional risk for the LFTR, but the scope of this thesis is limited to evaluation of those key hazards already identified by Flibe Energy. These key hazards are the starting point for the Initiating Event Analysis performed in this thesis. Engineering evaluation and technical study of the plant using a literature review and comparison to reference technology revealed four hazards with high potential to cause reactor core damage. To determine the initiating events resulting in realization of these four hazards, reference was made to previous PSAs and existing NRC and EPRI initiating event lists. Finally, fault tree and event tree analyses were conducted, completing the logical classification of initiating events. Results are qualitative as opposed to quantitative due to the early stages of system design descriptions and lack of operating experience or data for the LFTR. In summary, this thesis analyzes initiating events using previous research and inductive and deductive reasoning through traditional risk management techniques to

Supporting Research Activities through the Think Tank Initiative-End ...

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

26 sept. 2014 ... Two research proposals were selected for support. ... teams will conduct a qualitative and quantitative study on policy stakeholders' perceptions on ... and conduct a qualitative evaluation of youth employment program design.

Green Power Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, Patrick Barry [Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (United States)

2013-01-28

National energy policy supports the gathering of more detailed and authoritative data on the introduction of renewable bio-based fuels into new and existing district energy systems via the application of biomass gasification. The University of Iowa developed a biomass-fueled, university-scale steam generation system based on biomass gasification technologies. The system serves as a state-of-the-art research and educational facility in the emerging application of gasification in steam generation. The facility, which includes a smaller down-draft gasifier and a larger multi-stage biomass boiler, was designed to operate primarily on wood-based fuels, but has provisions for testing other biomass fuel sources produced within a 100-mile radius, providing enough flexibility to meet the fluctuating local supply of biomass from industry and Midwest agriculture. The equipment was installed in an existing, staffed facility. The down-draft gasifier unit is operated by College of Engineering staff and students, under the direct technical supervision of qualified Utilities plant staff. The Green Power Initiative also includes a substantial, innovative educational component. In addition to an onsite, graduate-level research program in biomass fuels, the investigators have integrated undergraduate and graduate level teaching – through classroom studies and experiential learning – and applied research into a biomass-based, university-scale, functioning power plant. University of Iowa is unique in that it currently has multiple renewable energy technologies deployed, including significant biomass combustion (oat hulls) at its Main Power Plant and a new reciprocating engine based renewable district energy system. This project complements and supports the national energy policy and State of Iowa initiatives in ethanol and biodiesel. Byproducts of ethanol and biodiesel processes (distiller grains) as well as industry residues (oat hulls, wood chips, construction and demolition

Building Research Cyberinfrastructure at Small/Medium Research Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Agee, Anne; Rowe, Theresa; Woo, Melissa; Woods, David

2010-01-01

A 2006 ECAR study defined cyberinfrastructure as the coordinated aggregate of "hardware, software, communications, services, facilities, and personnel that enable researchers to conduct advanced computational, collaborative, and data-intensive research." While cyberinfrastructure was initially seen as support for scientific and…

United States Air Force Research Initiation Program. 1984 Research Reports. Volume 3.

Science.gov (United States)

1986-05-01

right terminal of lamp 13. Position the second switch below switch A such that the handle may be pulled toward you or pushed away from you. The second...position. 42. Pull the handle of s.itch B toward you to light lamp B. 47. Fush.the handle of switch B all the way forward to light both lamps A and B... goalI was to obtain information that could lead to the stabilization of a . Nd:YAG laser. III. APPROACH At the beginning of this research, some of the

Researcher Story: Stuttering

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Full Text Available ... Media Contacts Images and B-roll Events Social Media More » Quick Links NIH News in Health NIH Research Matters NIH Record Research & Training Medical Research Initiatives Science Highlights Science Education Research in NIH Labs & Clinics Training Opportunities Library ...

Early results from a multi-component French public-private partnership initiative to improve participation in clinical research - CeNGEPS: a prospective before-after study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bordet, Régis; Lang, Marie; Dieu, Christelle; Billon, Nathalie; Duffet, Jean-Pierre

2015-08-19

A public-private (51/49 %) partnership was initiated in 2007 in France to improve the attractiveness of French sites in industry-sponsored international clinical trials. This initiative developed and implemented a combination of structuring actions and support actions. Here we report the assessment of the impact after 6 years on participation of French study sites in industry-sponsored clinical trials. We performed a prospective before-after study of clinical research activities in French public hospitals to assess the impact of actions developed and implemented by CeNGEPS. The programme involved a combination of structuring actions (establishment of sites of excellence, national networks and dedicated clinical research assistants (CRAs)), support actions (tools, templates and training) and competitive budget allocation for sites or networks based on performance. The impact was assessed using the following performance criteria: 1) reduction of the delay to contract signature to ≤ 60 days for 80 % of the trial sites; 2) inclusion of ≥80 % of the planned number of patients by at least 80 % of trial sites; 3) closure of attractiveness for industry-sponsored clinical research. The two main actions, i.e. establishing sites of excellence throughout the country with well-trained, dedicated staff and establishing a national network of clinical investigators, could be adapted to other countries in Western Europe to improve Europe's attractiveness to industry-funded trials.

Initial developments in the Stanford SQUIRT program

Science.gov (United States)

Kitts, Christopher A.; Twiggs, Robert J.

1995-01-01

Stanford University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics has commenced full scale development of a new microsatellite initiative. Known as the satellite quick research testbed (SQUIRT) program, the project's goal is to produce student engineered satellites capable of servicing state-of-the-art research payloads on a yearly basis. This program is specifically designed to meet the education and research goals of the department's Satellite Systems Development Laboratory. SQUIRT vehicles are envisioned to consist of a 25 pound, 9 inch tall, 16 inch diameter hexagonal structure with complete processor, communications, power, thermal, and attitude subsystems. These spacecraft cater to low power, volume, and mass research experiments and student developed educational packages. Mission lifetimes of up to one year are considered. Through student participation, voluntary mentoring from the academic and industrial communities, and the extensive use of off-the-shelf components, the cash outlay target for SQUIRT class vehicles is $50,000. This paper discusses the educational and research issues surrounding the development of Stanford's spacecraft design curriculum and the formulation of the SQUIRT program. A technical review of the first SQUIRT satellite, named SAPPHIRE, and an outline of the conceptual plans for other missions is also presented. Additionally, initiatives concerning partner academic institutions and public domain design information are featured.

From the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative to the Northern Eurasia Future Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Streletskiy, D. A.; Groisman, P. Y.; Shugart, H. H., Jr.; Gulev, S.; Maksyutov, S. S.; Qi, J.

2017-12-01

Since 2004, the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) - an interdisciplinary program of internationally-supported Earth systems and science research - has addressed large-scale and long-term manifestations of climate and environmental changes over Northern Eurasia and their impact on the Global Earth system. With 40 books and more than 1500 peer-reviewed journal publications to its credit, NEESPI's output can now be used to directly support decision-making for societal needs. Specifically, it was decided to shift gradually the foci of regional studies in Northern Eurasia towards applications with the following major Science Question: "What dynamic and interactive change(s) will affect societal well-being, activities, and health, and what might be the mitigation and adaptation strategies that could support sustainable development and decision-making activities in Northern Eurasia?" To answer this question requires a stronger socio-economic component in the ongoing and future regional studies focused on sustainable societal development under changing climatic and environmental conditions. The NEESPI Research Team has reorganized itself into "Northern Eurasia Future Initiative" (NEFI) and developed a new Science Plan released in June 2016. The Plan underwent a 6-month-long public review and was finalized at the end of 2016. Its description was thereafter split between two review papers: Groisman et al. (2017) and Monier et al. (2017). The first paper describes the Plan rationale and a new set of topical questions. The second paper describes a major modeling approach that will be employed in addressing the "what to do" questions of the NEFI Research (cf., presentation by Monier et al. at this Session). In the current presentation, we outline the new NEFI research foci and present latest NEFI findings including international projects in the Eurasian Arctic, boreal zone, and the Dry Land Belt of Northern Eurasia (cf., also presentations at sister

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Dynamic crack initiation toughness : experiments and peridynamic modeling.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foster, John T.

2009-10-01

This is a dissertation on research conducted studying the dynamic crack initiation toughness of a 4340 steel. Researchers have been conducting experimental testing of dynamic crack initiation toughness, K{sub Ic}, for many years, using many experimental techniques with vastly different trends in the results when reporting K{sub Ic} as a function of loading rate. The dissertation describes a novel experimental technique for measuring K{sub Ic} in metals using the Kolsky bar. The method borrows from improvements made in recent years in traditional Kolsky bar testing by using pulse shaping techniques to ensure a constant loading rate applied to the sample before crack initiation. Dynamic crack initiation measurements were reported on a 4340 steel at two different loading rates. The steel was shown to exhibit a rate dependence, with the recorded values of K{sub Ic} being much higher at the higher loading rate. Using the knowledge of this rate dependence as a motivation in attempting to model the fracture events, a viscoplastic constitutive model was implemented into a peridynamic computational mechanics code. Peridynamics is a newly developed theory in solid mechanics that replaces the classical partial differential equations of motion with integral-differential equations which do not require the existence of spatial derivatives in the displacement field. This allows for the straightforward modeling of unguided crack initiation and growth. To date, peridynamic implementations have used severely restricted constitutive models. This research represents the first implementation of a complex material model and its validation. After showing results comparing deformations to experimental Taylor anvil impact for the viscoplastic material model, a novel failure criterion is introduced to model the dynamic crack initiation toughness experiments. The failure model is based on an energy criterion and uses the K{sub Ic} values recorded experimentally as an input. The failure model

Initiation of Hoshin Kanri in SMEs using a tentative process

OpenAIRE

Löfving, Malin; Melander, Anders; Andersson, David; Elgh, Fredrik; Thulin, Mikael

2015-01-01

Hoshin Kanri is a management method supporting strategic work. In spite of a number of Hoshin Kanri success stories in large organizations, little research attention are given to SMEs. This research encourages an increased focus on Hoshin Kanri in SMEs. In this paper a tentative process for the initiation of Hoshin Kanri in SMEs is outlined. We also identify factors influencing the initiation of Hoshin Kanri in SMEs based on findings from eight case studies. The result shows that the initiati...

Arousal and exposure duration affect forward step initiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniëlle eBouman

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Emotion influences parameters of goal-directed whole-body movements in several ways. For instance, previous research has shown that approaching (moving toward pleasant stimuli is easier compared to approaching unpleasant stimuli. However, some studies found that when emotional pictures are viewed for a longer time, approaching unpleasant stimuli may in fact be facilitated. The effect of viewing duration may modulate whole-body approach movement in previous research but this has not been investigated before. In the current study, participants initiated a step forward after viewing neutral, high-arousal pleasant and high-arousal unpleasant stimuli. The viewing duration of the stimuli was set to 7 different durations, varying from 100 to 4000ms. Valence and arousal scores were collected for all stimuli.The results indicate that both viewing duration and the arousal of the stimuli influence kinematic parameters in forward gait initiation. Specifically, longer viewing duration, compared to shorter viewing duration, (a diminished the step length and peak velocity in both neutral and emotional stimuli, (b increased reaction time in neutral stimuli and, (c decreased reaction time in pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Strikingly, no differences were found between high-arousal pleasant and high-arousal unpleasant stimuli. In other words, the valence of the stimuli did not influence kinematic parameters of forward step initiation. In contrast, the arousal level (neutral: low; pleasant and unpleasant: high explained the variance found in the results. The kinematics of forward gait initiation seemed to be reflected in the subjective arousal scores, but not the valence scores. So it seems arousal affects forward gait initiation parameters more strongly than valence. In addition, longer viewing duration seemed to cause diminished alertness, affecting GI parameters. These results shed new light on the prevailing theoretical interpretations regarding approach

Initial status of the environment. Environmental marks of the Meuse-Haute Marne underground research laboratory; L'etat initial de l'environnement. Reperes environnementaux du Laboratoire de Recherche souterrain de Meuse/Haute-Marne

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

On August 3, 1999, the French government gave the permission to the national agency of radioactive wastes (ANDRA) to build up a research laboratory devoted to the feasibility study of a facility for the reversible disposal of high level and long living radioactive wastes in deep geologic beds. The site retained is located at Bure, at the boundary of the Meuse and Haute-Marne departements. Before starting the construction of this research facility, the ANDRA has carried out a careful survey of the initial environmental status of the site which will serve as a reference. This brochure presents the results of this survey: geo-morphology, agriculture, natural ecosystems, radioecology, sound levels, air quality, surface and groundwater quality. The ANDRA has implemented an environmental monitoring plan for each phase of the development of the project. (J.S.)

Linhchi mushrooms as biological monitors for 137Cs pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran Van, L.; Le Duy, T.

1991-01-01

Radioactivity of Linhchi mushrooms (Ganoderma Lucidum) cultivated in laboratory and production conditions has been measured in the Environmental Laboratory of Nuclear Research Institute (NRI), Dalat, Vietnam. The results showed that Linhchi mushroom has a high radioactive concentration of 137 Cs, which is about 20 Bq kg -1 fresh weight. In addition, the radioactive contents of substrata before and after cultivation were insignificant. This suggested that Linhchi mushroom should only accumulate the 137 Cs radioisotope from the atmosphere, directly. Therefore, it should be considered as a bio-indicator for environmental monitoring. (author) 13 refs.; 3 figs.; 2 tabs

The initiative on Model Organism Proteomes (iMOP) Session

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrimpf, Sabine P; Mering, Christian von; Bendixen, Emøke

2012-01-01

iMOP – the Initiative on Model Organism Proteomes – was accepted as a new HUPO initiative at the Ninth HUPO meeting in Sydney in 2010. A goal of iMOP is to integrate research groups working on a great diversity of species into a model organism community. At the Tenth HUPO meeting in Geneva...

Timelines of translational science: From technology initiation to FDA approval.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura M McNamee

Full Text Available While timelines for clinical development have been extensively studied, there is little data on the broader path from initiation of research on novel drug targets, to approval of drugs based on this research. We examined timelines of translational science for 138 drugs and biologicals approved by the FDA from 2010-2014 using an analytical model of technology maturation. Research on targets for 102 products exhibited a characteristic (S-curve maturation pattern with exponential growth between statistically defined technology initiation and established points. The median initiation was 1974, with a median of 25 years to the established point, 28 years to first clinical trials, and 36 years to FDA approval. No products were approved before the established point, and development timelines were significantly longer when the clinical trials began before this point (11.5 vs 8.5 years, p<0.0005. Technological maturation represents the longest stage of translation, and significantly impacts the efficiency of drug development.

Interim results of the sixth three-dimensional AER dynamic benchmark problem calculation. Solution of problem with DYN3D and RELAP5-3D codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadek, J.; Kral, P.; Macek, J.

2001-01-01

The paper gives a brief survey of the 6 th three-dimensional AER dynamic benchmark calculation results received with the codes DYN3D and RELAPS-3D at NRI Rez. This benchmark was defined at the 10 th AER Symposium. Its initiating event is a double ended break in the steam line of steam generator No. I in a WWER-440/213 plant at the end of the first fuel cycle and in hot full power conditions. Stationary and burnup calculations as well as tuning of initial state before the transient were performed with the code DYN3D. Transient calculations were made with the system code RELAPS-3D.The KASSETA library was used for the generation of reactor core neutronic parameters. The detailed six loops model of NPP Dukovany was adopted for the 6 th AER dynamic benchmark purposes. The RELAPS-3D full core neutronic model was connected with seven coolant channels thermal-hydraulic model of the core (Authors)

Processes of enlightenment : farmer initiatives in rural development in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ye, J.

2002-01-01

This research concerns development initiatives in rural communities. I define a farmer initiative as the impetus that sufficiently and necessarily drives a farmer (or group of farmers) to formulate a realistic strategic plan, and to implement it in an

[A framework for evaluating ethical issues of public health initiatives: practical aspects and theoretical implications].

Science.gov (United States)

Petrini, Carlo

2015-01-01

The "Framework for the Ethical Conduct of Public Health Initiatives", developed by Public Health Ontario, is a practical guide for assessing the ethical implications of evidence-generating public health initiatives, whether research or non-research activities, involving people, their biological materials or their personal information. The Framework is useful not only to those responsible for determining the ethical acceptability of an initiative, but also to investigators planning new public health initiatives. It is informed by a theoretical approach that draws on widely shared bioethical principles. Two considerations emerge from both the theoretical framework and its practical application: the line between practice and research is often blurred; public health ethics and biomedical research ethics are based on the same common heritage of values.

Policies and Initiatives for Carbon Neutrality in Nordic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Qiuwei; Møller, Jakob Glarbo; Østergaard, Jacob

2013-01-01

Policies and initiatives promoting carbon neutrality in the Nordic heating and transport systems are presented. The focus within heating systems is the promotion of HPs (heat pumps) while the focus within transport systems is initiatives regarding EVs (electric vehicles). It is found...... for the future heating and transport systems with the ambition of realizing carbon neutrality...... that the conversion to HPs in the Nordic region relies on both private economic and national economic incentives. Initiatives toward carbon neutrality in the transport system are mostly concentrated on research, development and demonstration for deployment of a large number of EVs. All Nordic countries have plans...

Improved preclinical cardiovascular therapeutic indices with long-term inhibition of norepinephrine reuptake using reboxetine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fossa, Anthony A.; Wisialowski, Todd A.; Cremers, Thomas; Hart, Marieke van der; Tseng, Elaine; Deng, Shibing; Rollema, Hans; Wang, Ellen Q.

2012-01-01

Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) acutely increase norepinephrine (NE) levels, but therapeutic antidepressant activity is only observed after weeks of treatment because central NE levels progressively increase during continued drug exposure. Similarly, while NRIs acutely increase blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) due to enhanced sympathetic neurotransmission, chronic treatment changes the responsiveness of the central noradrenergic system and suppresses these effects via autonomic regulation. To better understand the relationship between NE increases and cardiovascular safety, we investigated acute and chronic effects of the NRI reboxetine on central NE release and on BP and HR and electrical alternans, a measure of arrhythmia liability, in guinea pigs. NE release was assessed by microdialysis in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN); BP and HR were measured by telemetry. Animals were treated for 28 days with 15 mg/kg/day of reboxetine or vehicle via an osmotic minipump and then challenged with acute intravenous doses of reboxetine. Animals chronically treated with reboxetine had 2-fold higher extracellular basal NE levels in mPFC and PVN compared to basal levels after chronic vehicle treatment. BP was significantly increased after the first day of treatment, and gradually returned to vehicle levels by day 21. These data indicate that chronic NRI treatment may lead to an increase in central NE levels and a concomitant reduction in BP based on exposure–response curves compared to vehicle treatment, suggesting a larger separation between preclinical estimates of efficacy vs. safety compared to acute NRI treatment. -- Highlights: ► Acute RBX produces blood pressure increases acutely that decrease with chronic RBX ► Chronic RBX increases brain NE levels, a preclinical surrogate of improved efficacy ► Short-term screening of NRI often underestimates the chronic therapeutic index ► Chronic cardiovascular

Improved preclinical cardiovascular therapeutic indices with long-term inhibition of norepinephrine reuptake using reboxetine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fossa, Anthony A., E-mail: anthony.fossa@icardiac.com [Department of Global Safety Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism, and Neuroscience, Pfizer Global Research and Development Eastern Point Road, Groton, CT 06340 (United States); Wisialowski, Todd A. [Department of Global Safety Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism, and Neuroscience, Pfizer Global Research and Development Eastern Point Road, Groton, CT 06340 (United States); Cremers, Thomas; Hart, Marieke van der [Brains On-Line B.V., University of Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen (Netherlands); Tseng, Elaine; Deng, Shibing; Rollema, Hans; Wang, Ellen Q. [Department of Global Safety Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism, and Neuroscience, Pfizer Global Research and Development Eastern Point Road, Groton, CT 06340 (United States)

2012-11-01

Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) acutely increase norepinephrine (NE) levels, but therapeutic antidepressant activity is only observed after weeks of treatment because central NE levels progressively increase during continued drug exposure. Similarly, while NRIs acutely increase blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) due to enhanced sympathetic neurotransmission, chronic treatment changes the responsiveness of the central noradrenergic system and suppresses these effects via autonomic regulation. To better understand the relationship between NE increases and cardiovascular safety, we investigated acute and chronic effects of the NRI reboxetine on central NE release and on BP and HR and electrical alternans, a measure of arrhythmia liability, in guinea pigs. NE release was assessed by microdialysis in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN); BP and HR were measured by telemetry. Animals were treated for 28 days with 15 mg/kg/day of reboxetine or vehicle via an osmotic minipump and then challenged with acute intravenous doses of reboxetine. Animals chronically treated with reboxetine had 2-fold higher extracellular basal NE levels in mPFC and PVN compared to basal levels after chronic vehicle treatment. BP was significantly increased after the first day of treatment, and gradually returned to vehicle levels by day 21. These data indicate that chronic NRI treatment may lead to an increase in central NE levels and a concomitant reduction in BP based on exposure–response curves compared to vehicle treatment, suggesting a larger separation between preclinical estimates of efficacy vs. safety compared to acute NRI treatment. -- Highlights: ► Acute RBX produces blood pressure increases acutely that decrease with chronic RBX ► Chronic RBX increases brain NE levels, a preclinical surrogate of improved efficacy ► Short-term screening of NRI often underestimates the chronic therapeutic index ► Chronic cardiovascular

Research Areas - Clinical Trials

Science.gov (United States)

Information about NCI programs and initiatives that sponsor, conduct, develop, or support clinical trials, including NCI’s Clinical Trial Network (NCTN) and NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) initiatives.

Responses to Environmental & Societal Challenges for our Unstable Earth (RESCUE) foresight initiative - towards a European response to grand challenges in sustainability research and learning

Science.gov (United States)

Avril, B.; et al.

2012-04-01

The "Responses to Environmental and Societal Challenges for our Unstable Earth" (RESCUE; www.esf.org/rescue) foresight initiative - a joint COST-ESF "Frontiers of Science" initiative - aimed to help Europe address the societal and scientific challenges related to global environmental change and the related resilience issues. In RESCUE, the focus of attention was on people and the goal was to stimulate an integrated, innovative response from natural, social and human sciences. The RESCUE foresight initiative began in September 2009 and has recently been completed. RESCUE had the following key objectives: 1. To propose a strategic process for natural, social and human sciences to improve their ability and capacity to work together to address global environmental change through interdisciplinary synergy and to respond effectively to societal and policy-relevant needs; 2. To articulate new scientific issues related to global environmental change and the related resilience issues, especially those of transdisciplinary nature and of major relevance to society; 3. To explore new approaches towards truly integrated, interdisciplinary science, and to facilitate the 'revolution' in education and capacity building it requires. The work of RESCUE focused on the following themes: · Contributions from social sciences and humanities in developing responses to challenges of the Anthropocene; · Collaboration between the natural, social and human sciences in global environmental change and resilience studies; · Requirements for research methodologies and data; · Education and capacity building - towards a 'revolution'; · The interface between science and policy, communication and outreach. The RESCUE recommendations include the following issues to be addressed by science-funders, science policy-makers, researchers, practitioners, educators and a range of other societal actors: · develop an institutional framework for an open knowledge society, · re-organise research so

The African Institutions Initiative: Insights from the First Four Years

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Gavin; Robin, Enora; Marjanovic, Sonja; Diepeveen, Stephanie; Hanlin, Rebecca; Kryl, David; Muchova, Lucia; Yaqub, Ohid; Chataway, Joanna

2014-01-01

In 2009, the Wellcome Trust launched a research capacity strengthening programme known as the "African Institutions Initiative" (AII). The AII is innovative in its methods and organization. The Initiative funded networked consortia (7 consortia involving 54 institutions in 18 African countries, and Northern partners). RAND Europe was…

45 CFR 689.5 - Initial NSF handling of misconduct matters.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... regulation. (c) If OIG determines that alleged research misconduct involves potential civil or criminal... FOUNDATION RESEARCH MISCONDUCT § 689.5 Initial NSF handling of misconduct matters. (a) NSF staff who learn of... awardee institution of the alleged research misconduct and encourage it to undertake an inquiry; (2) Defer...

The Pennsylvania quality initiative : a synthesis of customer satisfaction and additional research needs

Science.gov (United States)

1999-10-29

Customer satisfaction is at the heart of the Pennsylvania Quality Initiative (PQI), which was created in 1994 to build a more effective partnership among all the stakeholders involved in the process of designing, building, operating, and maintaining ...

Usage patterns and attitudes towards emergency contraception: the International Emergency Contraception Research Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Krassovics, Miklós; Virágh, Gabriella

2016-08-01

The aim of the survey was to gain understanding of women's usage patterns and attitudes towards emergency contraception (i.e., the 'morning after pill') and to gain insight into the role and attitudes of pharmacists as providers of emergency contraception. As part of the International Emergency Contraception Research Initiative, approximately 6500 women (15-49 years) and nearly 500 pharmacists from 14 countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia completed questionnaires via web-based interrogation or computer-assisted/paper-assisted personal interviews. Common to almost all countries and cultures was that, while awareness of emergency contraception was high (≥84% of respondents, except in Kazakhstan), usage was generally low (4-18%). In Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, and the UK, better underlying protection with hormonal contraceptives or male condoms would have meant less need for emergency contraception. In Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, and Russia, greater dependence on less reliable contraceptive methods such as calendar + withdrawal was associated with higher use of the emergency contraceptive pill (11-18%) but also with higher abortion rates (19-21%). Overt rejection of emergency contraception in the event of an accident was low, except in countries (e.g., Austria, Poland) where the misperception that it acts as an abortifacient was common. Except for Bulgaria, pharmacists elsewhere tended to have limited knowledge and moralistic attitudes towards emergency contraception. Improved educational efforts, probably country-specific, are required to increase the use of highly effective methods of regular contraception and overcome barriers to acceptance of emergency contraception as a suitable postcoital solution to avoid unwanted pregnancy or abortion.

The Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Baratoux, D.; Chennaoui-Aoudjehane, H.; Gibson, R.; Lamali, A.; Reimold, W. U.; Selorm Sepah, M.; Chabou, M. C.; Habarulema, J. B.; Jessell, M.; Mogessie, A.; Benkhaldoun, Z.; Nkhonjera, E.; Mukosi, N. C.; Kaire, M.; Rochette, P.; Sickafoose, A.; Martínez-Frías, J.; Hofmann, A.; Folco, L.; Rossi, A. P.; Faye, G.; Kolenberg, K.; Tekle, K.; Belhai, D.; Elyajouri, M.; Koeberl, C.; Abdeem, M.

2017-12-01

Research groups in Planetary and Space Sciences (PSS) are now emerging in Africa, but remain few, scattered and underfunded. It is our conviction that the exclusion of 20% of the world's population from taking part in the fascinating discoveries about our solar system impoverishes global science. The benefits of a coordinated PSS program for Africa's youth have motivated a call for international support and investment [1] into an Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences. At the time of writing, the call has been endorsed by 230 scientists and 19 institutions or international organizations (follow the map of endorsements on https://africapss.org). More than 70 African Planetary scientists have already joined the initiative and about 150 researchers in non-African countries are ready to participate in research and in capacitity building of PSS programs in Africa. We will briefly review in this presentation the status of PSS in Africa [2] and illustrate some of the major achievements of African Planetary and Space scientists, including the search for meteorites or impact craters, the observations of exoplanets, and space weather investigations. We will then discuss a road map for its expansion, with an emphasis on the role that planetary and space scientists can play to support scientific and economic development in Africa. The initiative is conceived as a network of projects with Principal Investigators based in Africa. A Steering Committee is being constituted to coordinate these efforts and contribute to fund-raising and identification of potential private and public sponsors. The scientific strategy of each group within the network will be developed in cooperation with international experts, taking into account the local expertise, available equipment and facilities, and the priority needs to achieve well-identified scientific goals. Several founding events will be organized in 2018 in several African research centers and higher-education institutions to

Physical Restraint Initiation in Nursing Homes and Subsequent Resident Health

Science.gov (United States)

Engberg, John; Castle, Nicholas G.; McCaffrey, Daniel

2008-01-01

Purpose: It is widely believed that physical restraint use causes mental and physical health decline in nursing home residents. Yet few studies exist showing an association between restraint initiation and health decline. In this research, we examined whether physical restraint initiation is associated with subsequent lower physical or mental…

The Integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiatives into Business Activities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Jette Steen

While proponents of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have suggested that CSR initiatives should be integrated into mainstream business activities as ‘strategic CSR’ or ‘shared value’, research is lacking that explores how CSR initiatives are integrated in companies. This article compares CSR...... initiatives to human resource management (HRM) initiatives, which have a longer tradition of being integrated into company strategy. The focus is on gender diversity and CSR initiatives in a US multinational corporation (MNC). The MNC sees gender diversity as an integral part of business activities...

Alcohol industry corporate social responsibility initiatives and harmful drinking: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Mialon, Melissa; McCambridge, Jim

2018-04-25

There is growing awareness of the detrimental effects of alcohol industry commercial activities, and concern about possible adverse impacts of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, on public health. The aims of this systematic review were to summarize and examine what is known about CSR initiatives undertaken by alcohol industry actors in respect of harmful drinking globally. We searched for peer-reviewed studies published since 1980 of alcohol industry CSR initiatives in seven electronic databases. The basic search strategy was organized around the three constructs of 'alcohol', 'industry' and 'corporate social responsibility'. We performed the searches on 21 July 2017. Data from included studies were analyzed inductively, according to the extent to which they addressed specified research objectives. A total of 21 studies were included. We identified five types of CSR initiatives relevant to the reduction of harmful drinking: alcohol information and education provision; drink driving prevention; research involvement; policy involvement and the creation of social aspects organizations. Individual companies appear to undertake different CSR initiatives than do industry-funded social aspects organizations. There is no robust evidence that alcohol industry CSR initiatives reduce harmful drinking. There is good evidence, however, that CSR initiatives are used to influence the framing of the nature of alcohol-related issues in line with industry interests. This research literature is at an early stage of development. Alcohol policy measures to reduce harmful drinking are needed, and the alcohol industry CSR initiatives studied so far do not contribute to the attainment of this goal.

Research and innovation in the `exploring our world´ project (6-12. The example of `exploring current and historical societies´ in initial teacher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Estepa Giménez

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper the authors present how they research and innovate in Initial Teacher Education programmes throught the `Exploring our world´ project (6-12. Along the article aspects related to the why, what for and how to teach of the curricular project are analysed by means of the example of `Exploring current and historical societies´. Trainees´ productions on this Field of Research are presented, in which they deal with the three afore-mentioned elements throught the design of didactic units that form part, like a portfolio, of the group reseach file.

Collecting School Counseling Group Work Data: Initiating Consensual Qualitative Research through Practitioner-Researcher Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Sarah I.; Land, Christy W.; Moss, Lauren J.; Cinotti, Daniel

2018-01-01

Group counseling interventions can be complex to assess and research. Over the years, The "Journal for Specialists in Group Work" ("JSGW") has highlighted many of these challenges and offered valued approaches to designing projects that promote the efficacy and meaningfulness of group work in various settings. Similarly, school…

Initial Educational Experiences of Tertiary Students. LSAY Briefing Number 14

Science.gov (United States)

Hillman, Kylie

2008-01-01

This "Briefing" presents information about the initial tertiary education experiences, such as satisfaction with aspects of student life and changes to initial enrolments, of two groups of young people, based on two recent Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research reports. One study focused on the first year experiences of…

HIV/AIDS peer education initiative for learners in Kuils River ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which basic knowledge on the science of HIV/AIDS was retained after a peer educational initiative. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed. It was hypothesized that through the described HIV /AIDS peer education initiative, learners would assimilate ...

CSIR research, development and innovation initiatives for the medical device and diagnostic industry

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Vilakazi, Busisiwe

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This presentation is focused on development and innovation initiatives in the medical device and diagnostic industry. It is presented by Dr Busisiwe Vilakasi at The 6th CSIR Conference: Ideas that work for industrial development, 5-6 October 2017...

Eliciting and Applying Local Research Knowledge for Peacebuilding ...

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

gs

Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) are pleased to announce a jointly-funded research initiative Eliciting and Applying Local Research. Knowledge for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. The research initiative seeks to increase the level of recognition and ...

Determination and demarcation of fatigue crack initiation phase in rotating bending condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasha, R.A.; Rehman, K.; Shah, M.

2012-01-01

In engineering applications, components often experience cyclic loading and therefore, have crack initiation propagation phase. In this research work experimental demarcation of fatigue crack initiation has been investigated. Initiation phase of fatigue life of Aluminium was determined by using single and two step fatigue loading test on four point rotating bending fatigue testing machine. Experimental data is used to determine the distinction between the initiation and propagation phase. Initiation phase is determined at different stress levels. The obtained results demonstrate the effect of stress level on initiation phase and propagation phase. (author)

What is a self-made expat? Self-disclosures of self-initiated expatriates

OpenAIRE

Roth, Steffen; Dana, Léo-Paul

2015-01-01

The label expatriates is increasingly used by and applied to a growing number of persons who do not fit classical concepts of company-driven expatriation. While relevant research is engaged in establishing interaction with smaller samples of self- initiated expatriates, the present article represents netnography of a larger, international sample of self-designated self-initiated expatriates who, independently of any research intervention, engaged in an online conversation headlined “Self-Made...

Open Access Initiatives in Africa--Structure, Incentives and Disincentives

Science.gov (United States)

Nwagwu, Williams E.

2013-01-01

Building open access in Africa is imperative not only for African scholars and researchers doing scientific research but also for the expansion of the global science and technology knowledgebase. This paper examines the structure of homegrown initiatives, and observes very low level of awareness prevailing in the higher educational institutions…

Global nuclear cleanout initiative 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edlow, J.; Gruber, G.

2004-01-01

Full text: During more than 50 years of Atoms for Peace programmes nuclear materials were spread out worldwide. Stranded nuclear materials from nuclear research are left over without any safe back-end solution. 'Dirty Bombs' or so-called 'Radioactive Dispersal Devices (RDD)' are no longer science fiction since the world experienced the 9/11 attack. Governmental, NGO's and private industry organizations having discussed Global Nuclear Cleanout since then and start to take actions. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced to establish a dedicated organization in cooperation with IAEA and start the 'Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI)'. The US government will allocate to that program USD 450 M over the next 10 years. Besides the historical development the paper will focus on the progress of the different initiatives and perspectives to threat reduction. (author)

Management and research priorities of NASA 'Human Research Program'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Weijun; Diao Tianxi; Li Lijuan; Li Zulan

2013-01-01

Research on humans has been the focus of the United States space biomedical research, while 'Human Research Program', as an important project initiated by NASA, aims to reduce the risks to the health and performance of astronauts. This paper analyzed this project in terms of organization and management, funding investment and research directions. (authors)

Ecohealth Field-building Leadership Initiative in Southeast Asia ...

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

Ecohealth Field-building Leadership Initiative in Southeast Asia ... This grant will allow a consortium of research centres in China, Indonesia, Thailand ... Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences as represented by Sun Hang.

Self-esteem and the initiation of substance use among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Chris G; Kwon, Jae-Young; Ratner, Pamela A

2012-11-08

To investigate differences in the relationship between self-esteem and the initiation of substance use (tobacco, alcohol and marijuana) among male and female secondary school students in British Columbia. The data were collected in the 2010 fall and 2011 spring cycles of the British Columbia Adolescent Substance Use Survey (BASUS). The sample consisted of 1,267 adolescents (57% female) in Grades 8 and 9. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the extent to which self-esteem and gender, and their interaction, influenced the odds of having initiated substance use at baseline and at follow-up 6 months later. For each one-point increase on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, there was a reduction in the odds of initiating substance use by up to 9% for tobacco, 3% for alcohol, and 7% for marijuana. The relationships between self-esteem and the initiation of tobacco and alcohol use varied by gender, with boys having slightly less robust associations at the baseline assessment. The results suggest that self-esteem is protective against the initiation of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Researchers are advised to consider the interactive effects of gender in future longitudinal research examining the relationship between self-esteem and the initiation of substance use, including implications related to the development of substance use prevention programs.

Radioactive Waste Management - Community Policy and Research Initiatives. The sixth international conference on the management and disposal of radioactive waste - Euradwaste '04

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forsstroem, Hans [Research Directorate Energy, Nuclear Fission and Radiation Protection, European Commission, MO-75 5/37, 200 avenue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels (Belgium); Ruiz, P Fernandez [DG Research, Energy, Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, CSN, C/ Justo Dorado, 11, E-28040 Madrid (Spain)

2004-07-01

The sixth international conference on the management and disposal of radioactive waste organized be European Commission, held on 29-31 March 2004 in Luxembourg aimed to cover the following objectives: - To present EC policy in waste management, in particular the proposed 'Directive on the Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste' and to discuss relating issues such as the effect on national programmes, site selection, EU added value, the case for EU safety standards, and various socio-political aspects; - To highlight the main results of the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) of EURATOM for 'Nuclear Energy, Fission Research and Training Activities' in the field of waste in spent fuel management and disposal, and partitioning and transmutation; - To present examples of activities under FP5 and to discuss further research European integration through FP6. The program was divided into two main groups: 1. 'Community Policy and Socio-Political Aspects' which included sessions on community policy initiatives, disposal option, common safety standards and public involvement and acceptance; 2. 'Community Research Activities - FP5' which included sessions on partitioning and transmutation, geological disposal and research networking. There were 29 oral presentations and 36 poster presentations which, for the latter, allowed detailed presentations of the results of the EU-funded research projects. The conference was attended by some 240 participants from 27 countries.

Statement on Public-Private Partnerships as Part of the NIH HEAL Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

... Stem Cell Information OppNet NIDB NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Institutes at NIH List of Institutes, Centers & ... Initiative NIH recently launched the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative , a trans-agency effort ...

Arts and Humanities Research, Redefining Public Benefit, and Research Prioritization in Ireland

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Andrew G.; Hazelkorn, Ellen

2017-01-01

This article looks at the effects of a national policy of research prioritization in the years following Ireland's economic crisis. A national research prioritization exercise initiated by policymakers redefined the purpose of higher education research, and designed policies in line with this approach. Placing research for enterprise to the fore,…

Designers initiating open innovation with multi-stakeholder through co-reflection sessions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tomico Plasencia, O.; Lu, Y.; Baha, S.E.; Lehto, P.; Hivikoski, T.; Roozenburg, N.F.M.; Chen, L.; Stappers, P.J.

2011-01-01

This paper explores a designerly approach to open innovation initiation as start of the PhD research of the third author. More specifically, it presents the application of co-reflection sessions by designers in a healthcare open innovation project to initiate multi-stakeholder participation.

The initial criticality and nuclear commissioning test program at HANARO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Choong-Sung; Seo, Chul-Gyo; Jun, Byung-Jin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Dukjin-Dong 150, Yusung-Ku, Taejon, 305-353 (Korea, Republic of)

1995-07-01

The construction of the Korea Multipurpose Research Reactor - HANARO of 3MW, developed by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, was completed at the beginning of this year. The first fuel loading began on February 2 1995, and initial criticality was achieved on February 8, when the core had four 18-element assemblies and thirteen 36-element assemblies. The critical control rod position was 600.8 mm which represents excess reactivity of 0.71 $. Currently the nuclear commissioning test is on going under the zero power range. This paper describes the initial criticality approach of the HANARO, and its nuclear commissioning test program. (author)

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council | IDRC ...

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

ca/index_eng.asp. International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change. The International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change aims to help vulnerable populations in Canada and in developing countries adapt to ...

The experiences of employees participating in organisational corporate social responsibility initiatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gretha Cook

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Orientation: This article is about the experiences of employees who actively participate in organisational corporate social responsibility (CSR initiatives.   Research purpose: The general aim of this study was to explore the experiences of employees who participate in CSR initiatives within an organisation where a well-developed framework exists.   Motivation for the study: Whilst an emergent number of studies have considered the various dimensions of CSR initiatives, the focus appears to be on stakeholders such as the recipients of CSR, organisations, consumers and shareholders but not the perspective of the employees who actively participate in CSR initiatives.   Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research approach was employed with the intent of exploring the experiences of employees participating in organisational CSR initiatives. Data were collected and analysed from a purposive sample of 12 employees, by means of interactive qualitative analysis.   Main findings: The study revealed that the primary driver that motivates employees to participate in CSR is love. Love sparks a sense of compassion. Compassion, coupled with an enabling environment, stimulates generosity. By being generous, a feeling of hope and inspiration is induced in both the givers and receivers of generosity. A secondary outcome of generosity and hope and inspiration is bringing about change to others, and whilst going through this journey and making a difference in the lives of others, participants experience a progressive change within themselves. This change evokes a feeling of fulfilment, and ultimately a feeling of complete joy.   Contributions or value-add: This research complements existing CSR literature by focussing and reporting on the experiences of the employee as an important stakeholder.

Do corporate environmental initiatives lead to results in SMEs?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

, it is relevant to study the situation between these two stages in order to identify to which extent corporate environmental initiatives actually lead to results and reductions. The research is based on data collected by surveys of industrial companies in Denmark in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. They information...... with previous research demonstrating that companies generally are re-active in their attitude when perceiving stakeholder influence on taking environmental initiative and mainly respond to influence from stakeholders representing authorities, owners or employees. However, the size of the company may have...... a negative influence in some situations. That is, it seems to be easier for smaller companies to achieve an improvement compared to medium-sized companies....

Human Cancer Models Initiative | Office of Cancer Genomics

Science.gov (United States)

The Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI) is an international consortium that is generating novel human tumor-derived culture models, which are annotated with genomic and clinical data. In an effort to advance cancer research and more fully understand how in vitro findings are related to clinical biology, HCMI-developed models and related data will be available as a community resource for cancer research.

Attributes of a research environment that contribute to excellent research and development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

G. B. Jordan; L. D. Streit; J. S. Binkley

1999-04-01

This paper presents initial work at two U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories to identify attributes of DOE Laboratory research environments that are most important for fostering excellent research.

Age peculiarities of the structure of senior pupils' and students' initiativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V V Alekseyeva

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The results of this research of age peculiarities of senior pupils' and students' initiativity based on multimeasureble-functional model of personal structure of their qualities, which gives an opportunity to study, the display of individual peculiarities of initiativity are considered in this article.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II

Science.gov (United States)

Robitschek, Christine; Ashton, Matthew W.; Spering, Cynthia C.; Geiger, Nathaniel; Byers, Danielle; Schotts, G. Christian; Thoen, Megan A.

2012-01-01

The original Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS; Robitschek, 1998) was unidimensional, despite theory identifying multiple components (e.g., cognition and behavior) of personal growth initiative (PGI). The present research developed a multidimensional measure of the complex process of PGI, while retaining the brief and psychometrically sound…

Teaching-based research: Models of and experiences with students doing research and inquiry – results from a university-wide initiative in a research-intensive environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rump, Camilla Østerberg; Damsholt, Tine; Sandberg, Marie

, where students coproduce knowledge together with teachers. Two case studies, (3) and (4), also relate to students engaging in research-like activities, where students are engaged in inquiry, but do not produce new knowledge as such. One project was done across faculties (3), one was done...... a two-dimensional model distinguish between different research-based forms of teaching: Research-led: Students are mainly an audience, emphasis on research content • Students learn about current research in the discipline. Research-oriented: Students are mainly an audience, emphasis on research...... processes and problems • Students develop research skills and techniques. Research-based: Student are active, emphasis on research processes and problems • Students undertake research and inquiry. Research-tutored: Student are active, emphasis on research content • Students engage in research discussions...

Army Research Office’s ARO in Review 2014.The Annual Historical Record of the Army Research Laboratory’s Army Research Office (ARO) Programs and Funding Activities

Science.gov (United States)

2015-07-01

MINERVA RESEARCH INITIATIVE ( MRI ) The Minerva Research Initiative ( MRI ) is a DoD-sponsored, university-based social science basic research program...Core, MRI , MURI, PECASE, and DURIP. Received Accepted Declined Pending Withdrawn Chemical Sciences 90 39 28 23 0 Computing Sciences 46 35 3 8...mobile devices (PDAs, tablets , and Smartphones) are subject to tampering and compromise. To secure mobile computing and communication, previous

Inventory of North-West European algae initiatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spruijt, J.

2015-01-01

In 2012 an inventory of North-West European (NWE) algae initiatives was carried out to get an impression of the market and research activities on algae production and refinery, especially for bioenergy purposes. A questionnaire was developed that would provide the EnAlgae project with information on

Risk-based flood-planning strategy for Vermont's roadway network.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

In this project, the authors extend the use of a previously established measure of link-specific criticality, the Network Robustness Index (NRI), to address disruptions in Vermonts federal-aid road network caused by summertime flooding. The goal o...

The start of lightning: Evidence of bidirectional lightning initiation

OpenAIRE

van der Velde, Oscar; Williams, Earle R.; Montanya, Joan

2015-01-01

Lightning flashes are known to initiate in regions of strong electric fields inside thunderstorms, between layers of positively and negatively charged precipitation particles. For that reason, lightning inception is typically hidden from sight of camera systems used in research. Other technology such as lightning mapping systems based on radio waves can typically detect only some aspects of the lightning initiation process and subsequent development of positive and negative leader...

White House announces “big data” initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2012-04-01

The world is now generating zetabytes—which is 10 to the 21st power, or a billion trillion bytess—of information every year, according to John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. With data volumes growing exponentially from a variety of sources such as computers running large-scale models, scientific instruments including telescopes and particle accelerators, and even online retail transactions, a key challenge is to better manage and utilize the data. The Big Data Research and Development Initiative, launched by the White House at a 29 March briefing, initially includes six federal departments and agencies providing more than $200 million in new commitments to improve tools and techniques for better accessing, organizing, and using data for scientific advances. The agencies and departments include the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Funding Initiatives | Women in Science | Initiatives | Indian Academy ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Initiatives; Women in Science; Funding Initiatives ... The Fellowship Scheme for Women Scientists for societal programmes is initiative of the ... at a young age of 52, after a valiant battle with cancer, today on 29th March 2016 in Delhi.

Origin of the latitudinal richness gradient

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engemann, Kristine; Sandel, Brody Steven; Enquist, Brian J.

2015-01-01

Spatial variation in richness patterns must be due to variation in rates of speciation, extinction, immigration and emigration. Hotspots of diversity can occur either because they are hotspots of speciation (cradles) or cold spots of extinction (museums) – two major hypotheses that make contrasting...... predictions for the phylogenetic structure of communities. We test these hypotheses by comparing centers of species richness and phylogenetic clustering for vascular plants in the New World. Range maps for 88,417 plant species were extracted from the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database...... and combined with the BIEN mega phylogeny of >80,000 species. We calculated the Phylogenetic Diversity Index (PDI) and Net Relatedness Index (NRI) for each cell in a 100×100 km grid using a new computationally efficient algorithm. Species richness patterns were compared to patterns of PDI and NRI. We found...

‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid Therwath

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Commercial Hindi cinema plays a central role in the negotiation of national identity. For decades, the expatriate Indian served as a counter-example for acceptable behaviour, a living testimony of inappropriateness. In the mid-1990s, following the liberalization of the Indian economy, the rise of Hindu nationalism and the advent of a multiplex-going urban middle-class, the stereotype was turned around. The Non Resident Indian (NRI became the epitome of Indianness and embodied at once capitalist and consumerist modernity and patriarchal, Northern and Hindu traditionalism. This change was meant to cater to a lucrative niche market and reflected an uneasy transition period. In addition, the on screen NRI role models were seen as an instrument of Western modernity in India and of India's recognition as an international power in the West.

Analytical Strategies for the Determination of Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors in Pharmaceutical Formulations and Biological Fluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Saka, Cafer

2016-01-01

Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) are a class of antidepressant drugs that act as reuptake inhibitors for the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and epinephrine. The present review provides an account of analytical methods published in recent years for the determination of NRI drugs. NRIs are atomoxetine, reboxetine, viloxazine and maprotiline. NRIs with less activity at other sites are mazindol, bupropion, tapentadol, and teniloxazine. This review focuses on the analytical methods including chromatographic, spectrophotometric, electroanalytical, and electrophoresis techniques for NRI analysis from pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples. Among all of the published methods, liquid chromatography with UV-vis or MS-MS detection is the most popular technique. The most the common sample preparation techniques in the analytical methods for NRIs include liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction. Besides the analytical methods for single components, some of the simultaneous determinations are also included in this review.

Bush Pledges Increased Science Research and Education Funding

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Mohi

2006-02-01

In his 31 January State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush announced two new initiatives aimed at galvanizing scientific research and education. For the American Competitiveness Initiative, Bush proposes to ``double the federal commitment to the most critical basic research programs in the physical sciences in the next 10 years. . .[and to] make permanent the research and development tax credit to encourage bolder private-sector initiative in technology.''

Web Content Analysis On Sustainable Campus Operation (SCO Initiatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razman Ruzaimah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the current practices implemented in global universities for achieving sustainability throughout campus operations. This study adopted a web content analysis method where 30 international green universities’ websites have been thoroughly examined to identify common initiatives implemented to achieve sustainability through campus operations. The findings are ranked based on the implementation of these initiatives by participating universities. From the websites reviewed, as much as 31 initiatives have been identified as common initiatives frequently implemented by green universities to achieve sustainability in campus operations. It was found that the common initiatives frequently implemented by most of the universities include ‘Provide bin with clearly marked signs to increase the number of recycling items’, and ‘Generate electricity on campus by establishing power generation plants’ with 87% and 83% respectively. This paper fills the gap by presenting the investigation of sustainability initiatives from some of the major green universities internationally. It is suggested that higher education institutions, particularly Malaysian universities, initiate or manage their implementation of sustainable campus operation (SCO initiatives based on the findings of this research.

Think Tank Initiative - Hewlett Foundation | IDRC - International ...

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

IDRC and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are collaborating on the Think Tank Initiative, a new program to strengthen independent think tanks and policy research centres in the developing world. These organizations provide critical input for the creation of effective public policy to promote growth and reduce ...

Safety Research Opportunities Post-Fukushima. Initial Report of the Senior Expert Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baek, Won-Pil; Yang, Joon-Eon; Ball, Joanne; Glowa, Glenn; Bisconti, Giulia; Peko, Damian; Bolshov, Leonid; Burgazzi, Luciano; De Rosa, Felice; Conde, Jose M.; Cook, Gary; Evrard, Jean-Michel; Jacquemain, Didier; Funaki, Kentaro; Uematsu, Mari Marianne; Miyoshi, Katsumasa; Tatematsu, Atsushi; Hirano, Masashi; Hoshi, Harutaka; Kawaragi, Chie; Kobayashi, Youko; Sakamoto, Kazunobu; Journeau, Christophe; Kim, Han-Chul; Klein-Hessling, Walter; Sonnenkalb, Martin; Koganeya, Toshiyuki; White, Andrew; ); Lind, Terttaliisa; Zimmermann, Martin; Lindholm, Ilona; Castelo Lopez, Carlos; Nagase, Fumihisa; Washiya, Tadahiro; Oima, Hirofumi; Okada, Hiro; Richards, Stuart; West, Steven; Sandberg, Nils; Suzuki, Shunichi; Vitanza, Carlo; Yamanaka, Yasunori

2017-02-01

One of the imperatives following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is for the nuclear science and industry communities to ensure that knowledge gaps in nuclear safety are identified and that research programs to address these gaps are being instituted. In recognition of broad international interest in additional information that could be gained from post-accident examinations related to Fukushima Daiichi, Japan recommended to the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) in June 2013 that a process be developed to identify and follow up on opportunities to address safety research gaps. Consequently, a Senior Expert Group (SEG) on Safety Research Opportunities post-Fukushima (SAREF) was formed. The members of the group are senior technical experts from technical support organisations, nuclear regulatory authorities and Japanese organisations responsible for planning and execution of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning. The domain of interest for the group is activities that address safety research knowledge gaps and also the needs of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning. SEG on SAREF identified areas where these two interests intersect or overlap, and activities that could be undertaken to generate information of common benefit. The group's output is documented in this report; Chapter 2 describes the current status of the damaged units at Fukushima Daiichi NPS; Chapter 3 summarises safety research areas of common interest; Chapter 4 summarises the safety research activities recommended as short-term projects; Chapter 5 summarises those as long-term considerations; Chapter 6 supplies conclusions and recommendations. The appendix contains detailed information compiled by the SEG members on all safety research areas of interest

Whose Knowledge, Whose Values? The Contribution of Local Knowledge to Education Policy Processes: A Case Study of Research Development Initiatives in the Small State of Saint Lucia

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Keith; Crossley, Michael

2004-01-01

This paper draws upon a case study of education in the small Caribbean state of Saint Lucia (population 154,000) to examine how local knowledge and values can influence the education policy process. It is argued that recent research development initiatives have strengthened the ability of Saint Lucia to mediate international education agendas to…

Exo-electrons and initiation of electric discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laube, Sylvain

1992-01-01

As some observations seemed to indicate that glass submitted to an electric field could be a source of electrons, and that any dielectric could play the role, this research thesis aimed at verifying this hypothesis, at least for two industrially used dielectrics (Teflon and Kapton). The author also shows the advantage which could be taken from such an emission, as well in the field of electric discharges as in the field of their applications. Electrons emitted in such conditions are herein called exo-electrons. In a first part, the author analysed the characteristic magnitudes which govern the conditions of discharge initiation, i.e. the initiation voltage and the statistic delay between the application of an electric field and the initiative occurrence. The second part presents the different measurements devices which have been designed, and the third part presents and discusses experimental results, and shows that the theoretical model is in compliance with initiation voltage measurements. As far as electron emission is concerned, a possible explication of this phenomenon is proposed [fr

Recommendations concerning the new U.S. National Institutes of Health initiative to balance the sex of cells and animals in preclinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandberg, Kathryn; Umans, Jason G

2015-05-01

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced last May that steps will be taken to address the over-reliance on male cells and animals in preclinical research. To further address this announcement, in September 2014, scientists with varying perspectives came together at Georgetown University to discuss the following questions. (1) What metrics should the NIH use to assess tangible progress on policy changes designed to address the over-reliance on male cells and animals in preclinical research? (2) How effective can education be in reducing the over-reliance on male cells and animals in preclinical research and what educational initiatives sponsored by the NIH would most likely effect change? (3) What criteria should the NIH use to determine rigorously defined exceptions to the future proposal requirement of a balance of male and female cells and animals in preclinical studies? (4) What additional strategies in addition to proposal requirements should NIH use to reduce the overreliance of male cells and animals in preclinical research? The resulting consensus presented herein includes input from researchers not only from diverse disciplines of basic and translational science including biology, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience, cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology, but also from recognized experts in publishing, industry, advocacy, science policy, clinical medicine, and population health. We offer our recommendations to aid the NIH as it selects, implements, monitors, and optimizes strategies to correct the over-reliance on male cells and animals in preclinical research. © FASEB.

7-GeV Advanced Photon Source Instrumentation Initiative conceptual design report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-12-01

In this APS Instrumentation Initiative, 2.5-m-long and 5-m-long insertion-device x-ray sources will be built on 9 straight sections of the APS storage ring, and an additional 9 bending-magnet sources will also be put in use. The front ends for these 18 x-ray sources will be built to contain and safeguard access to these bright x-ray beams. In addition, funds will be provided to build state-of-the-art insertion-device beamlines to meet scientific and technological research demands well into the next century. This new initiative will also include four user laboratory modules and a special laboratory designed to meet the x-ray imaging research needs of the users. The Conceptual Design Report (CDR) for the APS Instrumentation Initiative describes the scope of all the above technical and conventional construction and provides a detailed cost and schedule for these activities. According to these plans, this new initiative begins in FY 1994 and ends in FY 1998. The document also describes the preconstruction R ampersand D plans for the Instrumentation Initiative activities and provides the cost estimates for the required R ampersand D

EVA Glove Research Team

Science.gov (United States)

Strauss, Alvin M.; Peterson, Steven W.; Main, John A.; Dickenson, Rueben D.; Shields, Bobby L.; Lorenz, Christine H.

1992-01-01

The goal of the basic research portion of the extravehicular activity (EVA) glove research program is to gain a greater understanding of the kinematics of the hand, the characteristics of the pressurized EVA glove, and the interaction of the two. Examination of the literature showed that there existed no acceptable, non-invasive method of obtaining accurate biomechanical data on the hand. For this reason a project was initiated to develop magnetic resonance imaging as a tool for biomechanical data acquisition and visualization. Literature reviews also revealed a lack of practical modeling methods for fabric structures, so a basic science research program was also initiated in this area.

Initial impact of integrated agricultural research for development in East and Central Africa

OpenAIRE