WorldWideScience

Sample records for size distinguishes projection

  1. Distinguishing the elements of a full product basis set needs only projective measurements and classical communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Pingxing; Li Chengzu

    2004-01-01

    Nonlocality without entanglement is an interesting field. A manifestation of quantum nonlocality without entanglement is the possible local indistinguishability of orthogonal product states. In this paper we analyze the character of operators to distinguish the elements of a full product basis set in a multipartite system, and show that distinguishing perfectly these product bases needs only local projective measurements and classical communication, and these measurements cannot damage each product basis. Employing these conclusions one can discuss local distinguishability of the elements of any full product basis set easily. Finally we discuss the generalization of these results to the locally distinguishability of the elements of incomplete product basis set

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

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

    2007-01-01

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

  3. Estimating software development project size, using probabilistic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Estimating software development project size, using probabilistic techniques. ... of managing the size of software development projects by Purchasers (Clients) and Vendors (Development ... EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

  4. Mid-level perceptual features distinguish objects of different real-world sizes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Bria; Konkle, Talia; Cohen, Michael A; Alvarez, George A

    2016-01-01

    Understanding how perceptual and conceptual representations are connected is a fundamental goal of cognitive science. Here, we focus on a broad conceptual distinction that constrains how we interact with objects--real-world size. Although there appear to be clear perceptual correlates for basic-level categories (apples look like other apples, oranges look like other oranges), the perceptual correlates of broader categorical distinctions are largely unexplored, i.e., do small objects look like other small objects? Because there are many kinds of small objects (e.g., cups, keys), there may be no reliable perceptual features that distinguish them from big objects (e.g., cars, tables). Contrary to this intuition, we demonstrated that big and small objects have reliable perceptual differences that can be extracted by early stages of visual processing. In a series of visual search studies, participants found target objects faster when the distractor objects differed in real-world size. These results held when we broadly sampled big and small objects, when we controlled for low-level features and image statistics, and when we reduced objects to texforms--unrecognizable textures that loosely preserve an object's form. However, this effect was absent when we used more basic textures. These results demonstrate that big and small objects have reliably different mid-level perceptual features, and suggest that early perceptual information about broad-category membership may influence downstream object perception, recognition, and categorization processes. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Sizing ERP implementation projects: an activity-based approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssens, G.; Kusters, R.J.; Heemstra, F.J.

    2008-01-01

    ERP implementation projects affect large parts of an implementing organization and lead to changes in the way an organization performs its tasks. The costs needed for the effort to implement these systems are hard to estimate. Research indicates that the size of an ERP project can be a useful

  6. Distinguishing non-obstructive azoospermia from obstructive azoospermia in Taiwanese patients by hormone profile and testis size

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I-Shen Huang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: An accurate diagnosis of the etiology of azoospermia is crucial, as sperm retrieval methods differ between patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA and obstructive azoospermia (OA. The aim of this study was to determine hormone and testes size cutoff values to identify the cause of azoospermia in Taiwanese patients. Methods: The medical records of azoospermic patients were retrospectively collected from April 2008 to July 2016, including hormone profile, physical examination findings, and testes size. Bilateral testes biopsies or microdissection testicular sperm extraction were performed in all patients for a definite diagnosis. The diagnostic parameters used to distinguish NOA from OA were analyzed using the t-test and receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: A total of 51 patients with OA and 156 with NOA were included. The mean levels of testosterone (4.5 vs. 3.4 ng/ml and E2 (26.3 vs. 19.2 pg/ml were significantly higher in the OA group, whereas the levels of follicular stimulating hormone (FSH (5.6 vs. 25.4 mIU/ml and Leutinizing hormone (LH (3.7 vs. 11.6 mIU/ml were lower. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that FSH and right testis size were the best individual diagnostic predictors. Using a combination of FSH >9.2 mIU/ml and right testis size 9.2 mIU/ml and right testis size <15 ml was a strong predictor of NOA in our Taiwanese patients. Keywords: Azoospermia, FSH, Hormone, Testis

  7. Generalized projective synchronization of two coupled complex networks of different sizes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Ke-Zan; He En; Zeng Zhao-Rong; Chi, K. Tse

    2013-01-01

    We investigate a new generalized projective synchronization between two complex dynamical networks of different sizes. To the best of our knowledge, most of the current studies on projective synchronization have dealt with coupled networks of the same size. By generalized projective synchronization, we mean that the states of the nodes in each network can realize complete synchronization, and the states of a pair of nodes from both networks can achieve projective synchronization. Using the stability theory of the dynamical system, several sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the existence of the generalized projective synchronization under feedback control and adaptive control are obtained. As an example, we use Chua's circuits to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach

  8. Mass size and occurrence of necrosis as discerning values to distinguish between a malignant mass and a bening one by CT. Adrenal mass as the only clinicoradiologic finding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez Gonzalez, R.

    1991-01-01

    We have studied 123 adult patients with 137 adrenal masses, analyzing mass size and ocurrence of necrosis. We have proved that necrosis depends, although not perfectly, on the mass size. Though 81-83% of masses lasser than 3-4 cm are bening, size alone has no a great discerning value to distinguish between a malignant mass and a bening one, other clinical and radiologic data being more decisive. In 37 patients, with 38 adrenal masses, there was no other findings which could information on the type of treatment to choose. From the adrenal masses of these last patients we carried out a diagnostic efficiency curve (DEC) which showed that the critical size in order to distinguish between a bening mass and a malignant one could be 5 cm. After an evaluation of the results obtained in the 137 adrenal masses, we think that is wiser to choose a critical size of 4 cm to establish an acting strategy in the patients with an adrenal mass as the only clinicoradiologic finding. (Author)

  9. Project size and common pool size: An empirical test using Danish municipal mergers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Sune Welling

    The paper examines the proposition that project size tends to increase with common pool size from the law of 1 over n (Weingast et al, 1981). This remains under-investigated and a recent study conducted by Primo & Snyder (2008) argues, and empirically substantiates, a reverse law of 1 over n...... across two research designs, two outcome variables, two subsamples, and several model specifications The implications of the findings, combined with the limited potential for empirically testing Primo & Snyder’s alternative model, suggest a re-appreciation of the law of 1 over n as it was originally...

  10. Human vocal attractiveness as signaled by body size projection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Xu

    Full Text Available Voice, as a secondary sexual characteristic, is known to affect the perceived attractiveness of human individuals. But the underlying mechanism of vocal attractiveness has remained unclear. Here, we presented human listeners with acoustically altered natural sentences and fully synthetic sentences with systematically manipulated pitch, formants and voice quality based on a principle of body size projection reported for animal calls and emotional human vocal expressions. The results show that male listeners preferred a female voice that signals a small body size, with relatively high pitch, wide formant dispersion and breathy voice, while female listeners preferred a male voice that signals a large body size with low pitch and narrow formant dispersion. Interestingly, however, male vocal attractiveness was also enhanced by breathiness, which presumably softened the aggressiveness associated with a large body size. These results, together with the additional finding that the same vocal dimensions also affect emotion judgment, indicate that humans still employ a vocal interaction strategy used in animal calls despite the development of complex language.

  11. Distinguishing crystallite size effects from those of structural disorder ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    Both crystallite size effects and structural disorder contribute to the broadening of lines in .... ple contributions to the peak profiles. ... the fit is then corrected by accounting for sample ... Authors thank the Department of Science and Tech-.

  12. Engineering design and economic evaluation of a family-sized biogas project in Nigeria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adeoti, O.; Ilori, M.O.; Oyebisi, T.O.; Adekoya, L.O.

    2000-01-01

    To woo householders into harnessing the cooking energy potential of biogas in order to solve the perennial cooking energy problems at household level in Nigeria, this paper carried out the engineering design requirement, and used the discounted cash flow micro-economic assessments to evaluate the 6.0 m 3 family-sized biogas project in Nigeria. The project has an initial investment cost of 41,088 Naira, annual expenditure of 5909 Naira and an annual benefit of 13,347 Naira. The NPV, IRR, B/C and payback period of financial analysis are 0.050 million Naira, 17.52%, 2.26 and 6.6 years respectively. This shows that the 6.0 m 3 family-sized biogas project using cattle dung as substrate in Nigeria has a good economic potential. (author)

  13. Determination of aerosol size distributions at uranium mill tailings remedial action project sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newton, G.J.; Reif, R.H.; Hoover, M.D.

    1994-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an ongoing program, the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project, to stabilize piles of uranium mill tailings in order to reduce the potential radiological hazards to the public. Protection of workers and the general public against airborne radioactivity during remedial action is a top priority at the UMTRA Project. The primary occupational radionuclides of concern are 230 Th, 226 Ra, 210 Pb, 210 Po, and the short-lived decay products of 222 Rn with 230 Th causing the majority of the committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE) from inhaling uranium mill tailings. Prior to this study, a default particle size of 1.0 μm activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) was assumed for airborne radioactive tailings dust. Because of recent changes in DOE requirements, all DOE operations are now required to use the CEDE methodology, instead of the annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) methodology, to evaluate internal radiation exposures. Under the transition from AEDE to CEDE, with a 1.0 μm AMAD particle size, lower bioassay action levels would be required for the UMTRA Project. This translates into an expanded internal dosimetry program where significantly more bioassay monitoring would be required at the UMTRA Project sites. However, for situations where the particle size distribution is known to differ significantly from 1.0 μm AMAD, the DOE allows for corrections to be made to both the estimated dose to workers and the derived air concentration (DAC) values. For particle sizes larger than 1.0 μm AMAD, the calculated CEDE from inhaling tailings would be relatively lower

  14. Photovoltaic (PV) Pricing Trends: Historical, Recent, and Near-Term Projections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feldman, D.; Barbose, G.; Margolis, R.; Wiser, R.; Darghouth, N.; Goodrich, A.

    2012-11-01

    This report helps to clarify the confusion surrounding different estimates of system pricing by distinguishing between past, current, and near-term projected estimates. It also discusses the different methodologies and factors that impact the estimated price of a PV system, such as system size, location, technology, and reporting methods.These factors, including timing, can have a significant impact on system pricing.

  15. How bees distinguish patterns by green and blue modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horridge, Adrian

    2015-01-01

    In the 1920s, Mathilde Hertz found that trained bees discriminated between shapes or patterns of similar size by something related to total length of contrasting contours. This input is now interpreted as modulation in green and blue receptor channels as flying bees scan in the horizontal plane. Modulation is defined as total contrast irrespective of sign multiplied by length of edge displaying that contrast, projected to vertical, therefore, combining structure and contrast in a single input. Contrast is outside the eye; modulation is a phasic response in receptor pathways inside. In recent experiments, bees trained to distinguish color detected, located, and measured three independent inputs and the angles between them. They are the tonic response of the blue receptor pathway and modulation of small-field green or (less preferred) blue receptor pathways. Green and blue channels interacted intimately at a peripheral level. This study explores in more detail how various patterns are discriminated by these cues. The direction of contrast at a boundary was not detected. Instead, bees located and measured total modulation generated by horizontal scanning of contrasts, irrespective of pattern. They also located the positions of isolated vertical edges relative to other landmarks and distinguished the angular widths between vertical edges by green or blue modulation alone. The preferred inputs were the strongest green modulation signal and angular width between outside edges, irrespective of color. In the absence of green modulation, the remaining cue was a measure and location of blue modulation at edges. In the presence of green modulation, blue modulation was inhibited. Black/white patterns were distinguished by the same inputs in blue and green receptor channels. Left-right polarity and mirror images could be discriminated by retinotopic green modulation alone. Colors in areas bounded by strong green contrast were distinguished as more or less blue than the

  16. Pricing via functional size : A case study of 77 outsourced projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijgens, H.; Gousios, G.; Van Deursen, A.

    2014-01-01

    A medium-sized west-European telecom company experienced a worsening trend in performance, indicating that the organization did not learn from history, in combination with much time and energy spent on preparation and review of project proposals. In order to create more transparency in the supplier

  17. Sibship Size and Educational Attainment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jæger, Mads Meier

    2009-01-01

    have a negative effect on educational attainment most studies cannot distinguish empirically between the CM and the RDH. In this paper I use the different theoretical predictions in the CM and RDH on the role of cognitive ability as a partial or complete mediator of the effect of sibship size......Studies on family background often explain the negative effect of sibship size on educational attainment by one of two theories: the Confluence Model (CM) or the Resource Dilution Hypothesis (RDH). However, as both theories - for substantively different reasons - predict that sibship size should...... to distinguish the two theories and to identify a unique RDH effect on educational attainment. Using sibling data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and a random effect Instrumental Variable model I find that, in addition to a negative effect on cognitive ability, sibship size also has a strong negative...

  18. Do detailed simulations with size-resolved microphysics reproduce basic features of observed cirrus ice size distributions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fridlind, A. M.; Atlas, R.; van Diedenhoven, B.; Ackerman, A. S.; Rind, D. H.; Harrington, J. Y.; McFarquhar, G. M.; Um, J.; Jackson, R.; Lawson, P.

    2017-12-01

    It has recently been suggested that seeding synoptic cirrus could have desirable characteristics as a geoengineering approach, but surprisingly large uncertainties remain in the fundamental parameters that govern cirrus properties, such as mass accommodation coefficient, ice crystal physical properties, aggregation efficiency, and ice nucleation rate from typical upper tropospheric aerosol. Only one synoptic cirrus model intercomparison study has been published to date, and studies that compare the shapes of observed and simulated ice size distributions remain sparse. Here we amend a recent model intercomparison setup using observations during two 2010 SPARTICUS campaign flights. We take a quasi-Lagrangian column approach and introduce an ensemble of gravity wave scenarios derived from collocated Doppler cloud radar retrievals of vertical wind speed. We use ice crystal properties derived from in situ cloud particle images, for the first time allowing smoothly varying and internally consistent treatments of nonspherical ice capacitance, fall speed, gravitational collection, and optical properties over all particle sizes in our model. We test two new parameterizations for mass accommodation coefficient as a function of size, temperature and water vapor supersaturation, and several ice nucleation scenarios. Comparison of results with in situ ice particle size distribution data, corrected using state-of-the-art algorithms to remove shattering artifacts, indicate that poorly constrained uncertainties in the number concentration of crystals smaller than 100 µm in maximum dimension still prohibit distinguishing which parameter combinations are more realistic. When projected area is concentrated at such sizes, the only parameter combination that reproduces observed size distribution properties uses a fixed mass accommodation coefficient of 0.01, on the low end of recently reported values. No simulations reproduce the observed abundance of such small crystals when the

  19. Distinguishing magnetic particle size of iron oxide nanoparticles with first-order reversal curves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumari, Monika; Hirt, Ann M., E-mail: ann.hirt@erdw.ethz.ch [Department of Earth Sciences, Institute of Geophysics, ETH-Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland); Widdrat, Marc; Faivre, Damien [Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Science Park Golm, D-14424 Potsdam (Germany); Tompa, Éva; Pósfai, Mihály [Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pannonia, Egyetem u. 10, H-8200 Veszprém (Hungary); Uebe, Rene; Schüler, Dirk [Department Biologie I, LMU Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried (Germany)

    2014-09-28

    Magnetic nanoparticles encompass a wide range of scientific study and technological applications. The success of using the nanoparticles in various applications demands control over size, dispersibility, and magnetics. Hence, the nanoparticles are often characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, and magnetic hysteresis loops. TEM analysis requires a thin layer of dispersed particles on the grid, which may often lead to particle aggregation thus making size analysis difficult. Magnetic hysteresis loops on the other hand provide information on the bulk property of the material without discriminating size, composition, and interaction effects. First order reversal curves (FORCs), described as an assembly of partial hysteresis loops originating from the major loop are efficient in identifying the domain size, composition, and interaction in a magnetic system. This study presents FORC diagrams on a variety of well-characterized biogenic and synthetic magnetite nanoparticles. It also introduces deconvoluted reversible and irreversible components from FORC as an important method for obtaining a semi-quantitative measure of the effective magnetic particle size. This is particularly important in a system with aggregation and interaction among the particles that often leads to either the differences between physical size and effective magnetic size. We also emphasize the extraction of secondary components by masking dominant coercivity fraction on FORC diagram to explore more detailed characterization of nanoparticle systems.

  20. Distinguishing magnetic particle size of iron oxide nanoparticles with first-order reversal curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumari, Monika; Hirt, Ann M.; Widdrat, Marc; Faivre, Damien; Tompa, Éva; Pósfai, Mihály; Uebe, Rene; Schüler, Dirk

    2014-01-01

    Magnetic nanoparticles encompass a wide range of scientific study and technological applications. The success of using the nanoparticles in various applications demands control over size, dispersibility, and magnetics. Hence, the nanoparticles are often characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, and magnetic hysteresis loops. TEM analysis requires a thin layer of dispersed particles on the grid, which may often lead to particle aggregation thus making size analysis difficult. Magnetic hysteresis loops on the other hand provide information on the bulk property of the material without discriminating size, composition, and interaction effects. First order reversal curves (FORCs), described as an assembly of partial hysteresis loops originating from the major loop are efficient in identifying the domain size, composition, and interaction in a magnetic system. This study presents FORC diagrams on a variety of well-characterized biogenic and synthetic magnetite nanoparticles. It also introduces deconvoluted reversible and irreversible components from FORC as an important method for obtaining a semi-quantitative measure of the effective magnetic particle size. This is particularly important in a system with aggregation and interaction among the particles that often leads to either the differences between physical size and effective magnetic size. We also emphasize the extraction of secondary components by masking dominant coercivity fraction on FORC diagram to explore more detailed characterization of nanoparticle systems.

  1. Evidence for the Higher Importance of Signal Size Over Body Size in Aposematic Signaling in Insects

    OpenAIRE

    Remmel, Triinu; Tammarub, Toomas

    2011-01-01

    To understand the evolution of warning coloration, it is important to distinguish between different aspects of conspicuous color patterns. As an example, both pattern element size and body size of prey have been shown to enhance the effectiveness of warning signals. However, it is unclear whether the effect of body size is merely a side effect of proportionally increasing pattern elements, or if there is an effect of body size per se. These possibilities were evaluated by offering different s...

  2. Distinguishing Hidden Markov Chains

    OpenAIRE

    Kiefer, Stefan; Sistla, A. Prasad

    2015-01-01

    Hidden Markov Chains (HMCs) are commonly used mathematical models of probabilistic systems. They are employed in various fields such as speech recognition, signal processing, and biological sequence analysis. We consider the problem of distinguishing two given HMCs based on an observation sequence that one of the HMCs generates. More precisely, given two HMCs and an observation sequence, a distinguishing algorithm is expected to identify the HMC that generates the observation sequence. Two HM...

  3. The aesthetics of hazardous waste - Distinguishing visual impacts from publicly perceived risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheppard, S.

    1986-01-01

    The need to address the aesthetic impacts of hazardous waste projects on the environment and the public stems from two sources: government regulations which specifically require assessment of aesthetic effects; and rapidly increasing public concern for perceived impacts and risks of existing or proposed hazardous waste facilities. How aesthetic issues are handled on hazardous waste projects can potentially have significant implications on the fate of those projects. These implications range from delays in the permitting process to denial of sites or costly legal judgments in damage suits. This paper discusses strategies for evaluating the aesthetic/perceptual aspects of hazardous waste. In particular, it focuses upon ways to distinguish visual concerns from other influences on public perceptions such as perceived health and safety risks

  4. Preparing the Production of a New Product in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises by Using the Method of Projects Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bijańska, Jolanta; Wodarski, Krzysztof; Wójcik, Janusz

    2016-06-01

    Efficient and effective preparation the production of new products is important requirement for a functioning and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. One of the methods, which support the fulfilment of this condition is project management. This publication presents the results of considerations, which are aimed at developing a project management model of preparation the production of a new product, adopted to specificity of small and medium-sized enterprises.

  5. Measurements of Plutonium and Americium in Soil Samples from Project 57 using the Suspended Soil Particle Sizing System (SSPSS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    John L. Bowen; Rowena Gonzalez; David S. Shafer

    2001-01-01

    As part of the preliminary site characterization conducted for Project 57, soils samples were collected for separation into several size-fractions using the Suspended Soil Particle Sizing System (SSPSS). Soil samples were collected specifically for separation by the SSPSS at three general locations in the deposited Project 57 plume, the projected radioactivity of which ranged from 100 to 600 pCi/g. The primary purpose in focusing on samples with this level of activity is that it would represent anticipated residual soil contamination levels at the site after corrective actions are completed. Consequently, the results of the SSPSS analysis can contribute to dose calculation and corrective action-level determinations for future land-use scenarios at the site

  6. An empirical study on the critical success factors of small to medium sized projects in a South African mining company

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Du Randt, Francois Jean

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Projects that fail, for whatever reason, can impact negatively on society, organisations, and other stakeholders. A number of researchers have identified various critical success factors (CSFs that can influence the outcome and success of a project. This research therefore aims to determine the CSFs that influence various success measures of small- to medium-sized projects at a South African mining company, Exxaro Resources’ Grootegeluk Coal Mine. Other objectives of this research include determining the extent of the impacts of these CSFs on the different success measures of a project. The investigation suggests that there are correlations among CSFs, and that certain factors impact the outcome of projects far more than others. This research finds that the single most important CSF for small- to medium-sized projects is the selection of a competent project manager. The competent project manager is characterised by a group of interrelated CSF factors: good leadership, commitment, and learning from past experiences. Based on the research results, other CSFs are discussed and explored in order for recommendations to be made on how this mining company, and possibly other organisations, can achieve greater project success.

  7. Confidence intervals for distinguishing ordinal and disordinal interactions in multiple regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sunbok; Lei, Man-Kit; Brody, Gene H

    2015-06-01

    Distinguishing between ordinal and disordinal interaction in multiple regression is useful in testing many interesting theoretical hypotheses. Because the distinction is made based on the location of a crossover point of 2 simple regression lines, confidence intervals of the crossover point can be used to distinguish ordinal and disordinal interactions. This study examined 2 factors that need to be considered in constructing confidence intervals of the crossover point: (a) the assumption about the sampling distribution of the crossover point, and (b) the possibility of abnormally wide confidence intervals for the crossover point. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to compare 6 different methods for constructing confidence intervals of the crossover point in terms of the coverage rate, the proportion of true values that fall to the left or right of the confidence intervals, and the average width of the confidence intervals. The methods include the reparameterization, delta, Fieller, basic bootstrap, percentile bootstrap, and bias-corrected accelerated bootstrap methods. The results of our Monte Carlo simulation study suggest that statistical inference using confidence intervals to distinguish ordinal and disordinal interaction requires sample sizes more than 500 to be able to provide sufficiently narrow confidence intervals to identify the location of the crossover point. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Crystal size and shape analysis of Pt nanoparticles in two and three dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gontard, L Cervera; Dunin-Borkowski, R E; Ozkaya, D; Hyde, T; Midgley, P A; Ash, P

    2006-01-01

    The majority of industrial catalysts are high-surface-area solids, onto which an active component is dispersed in the form of nanoparticles that have sizes of between 1 and 20 nm. In an industrial environment, the crystal size distributions of such particles are conventionally measured by using either bright-field transmission electron microscope (TEM) images or X-ray diffraction. However, the analysis of particle sizes and shapes from two-dimensional bright-field TEM images is affected by variations in image contrast between adjacent particles, by the difficulty of distinguishing the particles from their matrix, and by overlap between particles when they are imaged in projection. High-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) electron tomography provides a convenient technique for overcoming many of these problems, by allowing the three-dimensional shapes and sizes of high atomic number nanoparticles that are supported on a low atomic number support to be recorded. Here, we discuss the three-dimensional analysis of particle sizes and shapes from such tomographic data, and we assess whether such measurements provide different information from that obtained using two-dimensional TEM images and X-ray diffraction measurements

  9. Multiobjective optimization applied to structural sizing of low cost university-class microsatellite projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravanbakhsh, Ali; Franchini, Sebastián

    2012-10-01

    In recent years, there has been continuing interest in the participation of university research groups in space technology studies by means of their own microsatellites. The involvement in such projects has some inherent challenges, such as limited budget and facilities. Also, due to the fact that the main objective of these projects is for educational purposes, usually there are uncertainties regarding their in orbit mission and scientific payloads at the early phases of the project. On the other hand, there are predetermined limitations for their mass and volume budgets owing to the fact that most of them are launched as an auxiliary payload in which the launch cost is reduced considerably. The satellite structure subsystem is the one which is most affected by the launcher constraints. This can affect different aspects, including dimensions, strength and frequency requirements. In this paper, the main focus is on developing a structural design sizing tool containing not only the primary structures properties as variables but also the system level variables such as payload mass budget and satellite total mass and dimensions. This approach enables the design team to obtain better insight into the design in an extended design envelope. The structural design sizing tool is based on analytical structural design formulas and appropriate assumptions including both static and dynamic models of the satellite. Finally, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) multiobjective optimization is applied to the design space. The result is a Pareto-optimal based on two objectives, minimum satellite total mass and maximum payload mass budget, which gives a useful insight to the design team at the early phases of the design.

  10. A Distinguish Attack on COSvd Cipher

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Ali Orumiehchi ha; R. Mirghadri

    2007-01-01

    The COSvd Ciphers has been proposed by Filiol and others (2004). It is a strengthened version of COS stream cipher family denoted COSvd that has been adopted for at least one commercial standard. We propose a distinguish attack on this version, and prove that, it is distinguishable from a random stream. In the COSvd Cipher used one S-Box (10×8) on the final part of cipher. We focus on S-Box and use weakness this S-Box for distinguish attack. In addition, found a leak on HNLL that the sub s-bo...

  11. Size and emotion averaging: costs of dividing attention after all.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, John; Oriet, Chris; Tottenham, Laurie Sykes

    2012-03-01

    Perceptual averaging is a process by which sets of similar items are represented by summary statistics such as their average size, luminance, or orientation. Researchers have argued that this process is automatic, able to be carried out without interference from concurrent processing. Here, we challenge this conclusion and demonstrate a reliable cost of computing the mean size of circles distinguished by colour (Experiments 1 and 2) and the mean emotionality of faces distinguished by sex (Experiment 3). We also test the viability of two strategies that could have allowed observers to guess the correct response without computing the average size or emotionality of both sets concurrently. We conclude that although two means can be computed concurrently, doing so incurs a cost of dividing attention.

  12. Local and Global Distinguishability in Quantum Interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durkin, Gabriel A.; Dowling, Jonathan P.

    2007-01-01

    A statistical distinguishability based on relative entropy characterizes the fitness of quantum states for phase estimation. This criterion is employed in the context of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and used to interpolate between two regimes of local and global phase distinguishability. The scaling of distinguishability in these regimes with photon number is explored for various quantum states. It emerges that local distinguishability is dependent on a discrepancy between quantum and classical rotational energy. Our analysis demonstrates that the Heisenberg limit is the true upper limit for local phase sensitivity. Only the ''NOON'' states share this bound, but other states exhibit a better trade-off when comparing local and global phase regimes

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

    OpenAIRE

    Chan, Ka Fai

    2011-01-01

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

  14. Distinguished trajectories in time dependent vector fields

    OpenAIRE

    Madrid, J. A. Jimenez; Mancho, Ana M.

    2008-01-01

    We introduce a new definition of distinguished trajectory that generalizes the concepts of fixed point and periodic orbit to aperiodic dynamical systems. This new definition is valid for identifying distinguished trajectories with hyperbolic and nonhyperbolic types of stability. The definition is implemented numerically and the procedure consists of determining a path of limit coordinates. It has been successfully applied to known examples of distinguished trajectories. In the context of high...

  15. Design, construction, and operation of the contact size reduction facility at the West Valley Demonstration Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frank, D.E.; Reeves, S.R.; Valenti, P.J.

    1988-05-01

    This paper describes the design, construction and initial operation of the Contact-Handled Size Reduction Facility (CSRF) at the West Valley Demonstration Project. The facility was constructed to size reduce contaminated tanks, piping, and other metallic scrap and package the scrap for disposal. In addition, the CSRF has the capability to decontaminate scrap prior to disposal. The anticipated result of decontaminating the scrap is to reduce waste classified as transuranic or low-level Class B and C to Class A or release for unrestricted use as nonradioactive equipment. 10 figs., 1 tab

  16. Cytomorphologic features distinguishing Bethesda category IV thyroid lesions from parathyroid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Sung

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Thyroid follicular cells share similar cytomorphological features with parathyroid. Without a clinical suspicion, the distinction between a thyroid neoplasm and an intrathyroidal parathyroid can be challenging. The aim of this study was to assess the distinguishing cytomorphological features of parathyroid (including intrathyroidal and Bethesda category IV (Beth-IV thyroid follicular lesions, which carry a 15%–30% risk of malignancy and are often followed up with surgical resection. Methods: A search was performed to identify “parathyroid” diagnoses in parathyroid/thyroid-designated fine-needle aspirations (FNAs and Beth-IV thyroid FNAs (follicular and Hurthle cell, all with diagnostic confirmation through surgical pathology, immunocytochemical stains, Afirma® analysis, and/or clinical correlation. Unique cytomorphologic features were scored (0-3 or noted as present versus absent. Statistical analysis was performed using R 3.3.1 software. Results: We identified five FNA cases with clinical suspicion of parathyroid neoplasm, hyperthyroidism, or thyroid lesion that had an eventual final diagnosis of the parathyroid lesion (all female; age 20–69 years and 12 Beth-IV diagnoses (11 female, 1 male; age 13–64 years. The following cytomorphologic features are useful distinguishing features (P value: overall pattern (0.001, single cells (0.001, cell size compared to red blood cell (0.01, nuclear irregularity (0.001, presence of nucleoli (0.001, nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio (0.007, and nuclear chromatin quality (0.028. Conclusions: There are cytomorphologic features that distinguish Beth-IV thyroid lesions and (intrathyroidal parathyroid. These features can aid in rendering correct diagnoses and appropriate management.

  17. Integral and Multidimensional Linear Distinguishers with Correlation Zero

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bogdanov, Andrey; Leander, Gregor; Nyberg, Kaisa

    2012-01-01

    Zero-correlation cryptanalysis uses linear approximations holding with probability exactly 1/2. In this paper, we reveal fundamental links of zero-correlation distinguishers to integral distinguishers and multidimensional linear distinguishers. We show that an integral implies zero-correlation li...... weak key assumptions. © International Association for Cryptologic Research 2012....

  18. The role intuitive decision making plays in project selection in the residential property market: a case study of a medium sized

    OpenAIRE

    Ryan, Diarmuid

    2013-01-01

    non-peer-reviewed This thesis addresses the role of intuition in project selection in residential property development. The paper provides a comprehensive review of existing literature in relation to project selection and decision making. In addition, the examination of the project files of M.A. Ryan & Sons Ltd., a medium sized property development company, has enabled a case study to be carried out on three projects carried out by the organisation. Through the case study, t...

  19. The Bluedisks project, a study of unusually H I-rich galaxies - I. H I sizes and morphology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Jing; Kauffmann, Guinevere; Jozsa, Gyula I. G.; Serra, Paolo; van der Hulst, Thijs; Bigiel, Frank; Brinchmann, Jarle; Verheijen, M. A. W.; Oosterloo, Tom; Wang, Enci; Li, Cheng; den Heijer, Milan; Kerp, Juergen

    2013-01-01

    We introduce the 'Bluedisk' project, a large programme at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope that has mapped the H i in a sample of 23 nearby galaxies with unusually high H i mass fractions, along with a similar-sized sample of control galaxies. This paper presents the sample selection,

  20. Method for distinguishing fuel pellets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sagami, Masaharu; Kurihara, Kunitoshi.

    1978-01-01

    Purpose: To distinguish correctly and efficiently the kind of fuel substance enclosed in a cladding tube. Method: Elements such as manganess 55, copper 65, vanadium 51, zinc 64, scandium 45 and the like, each having a large neutron absorption cross section and discharging gamma rays of inherent bright line spectra are applied to or mixed in fuel pellets of different kinds in uranium enrichment degree, plutonium concentration, burnable poison concentration or the like. These fuel rods are irradiated with neutron beams, and energy spectra of gamma rays discharged upon this occasion are observed to carry out distinguishing of fuel pellets. (Aizawa, K.)

  1. Ecosystem size structure response to 21st century climate projection: large fish abundance decreases in the central North Pacific and increases in the California Current.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodworth-Jefcoats, Phoebe A; Polovina, Jeffrey J; Dunne, John P; Blanchard, Julia L

    2013-03-01

    Output from an earth system model is paired with a size-based food web model to investigate the effects of climate change on the abundance of large fish over the 21st century. The earth system model, forced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special report on emission scenario A2, combines a coupled climate model with a biogeochemical model including major nutrients, three phytoplankton functional groups, and zooplankton grazing. The size-based food web model includes linkages between two size-structured pelagic communities: primary producers and consumers. Our investigation focuses on seven sites in the North Pacific, each highlighting a specific aspect of projected climate change, and includes top-down ecosystem depletion through fishing. We project declines in large fish abundance ranging from 0 to 75.8% in the central North Pacific and increases of up to 43.0% in the California Current (CC) region over the 21st century in response to change in phytoplankton size structure and direct physiological effects. We find that fish abundance is especially sensitive to projected changes in large phytoplankton density and our model projects changes in the abundance of large fish being of the same order of magnitude as changes in the abundance of large phytoplankton. Thus, studies that address only climate-induced impacts to primary production without including changes to phytoplankton size structure may not adequately project ecosystem responses. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  2. Creativity in Numbers and Words:The Analysis of Divergence in Creative Project Perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Kozarkiewicz

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Aim/purpose - The main purpose of this paper is to identify the necessity of distinguishing a particular taxonomic group termed creative projects. Is it a peculiar, distinctive type of projects, or nowadays every project can be denominated 'creative'? The research aims at comparing the ways of understanding and defining this term in prior literature and in the opinions of practitioners involved in everyday project management and realization. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is divided into main parts corresponding to research objectives: first, the results of literature research is demonstrated briefly, and next the results of empirical research are delineated. The empirical research was conducted with mixed methods. The quantitative part conducted as CAWI was supported by Poll Everywhere platform, the qualitative investigations were supported by MAXQDA software. Findings - According to research results, there exists the inconsistency among the views of researchers, as well as practitioners. As the literature review reveals, there are various stances towards this issue: from silent assumption that the concept does not require to be defined till some analyses of the relations between routine and creative actions. Similar variety was disclosed when analyzing practitioners' judgments. Research implications/limitations - The divergence in opinions as to the necessity of distinguishing a particular taxon of creative projects as well as the broad variety of opinions as to their specific characteristics have given rise to the call for more precise framing scientific research on creative projects. The research has numerous limitations result-ing from its scope, sampling method or sample size, however, it demonstrates the absence of coherent views and variety of arguments used.Originality/value/contribution - Apart from urging the more rigorous frames of research on creative projects, the paper indicates new avenues of investigations oriented

  3. Asymptotic state discrimination and a strict hierarchy in distinguishability norms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chitambar, Eric [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901 (United States); Hsieh, Min-Hsiu [Centre for Quantum Computation and Intelligent Systems (QCIS), Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT), University of Technology Sydney - UTS, NSW 2007 (Australia)

    2014-11-15

    In this paper, we consider the problem of discriminating quantum states by local operations and classical communication (LOCC) when an arbitrarily small amount of error is permitted. This paradigm is known as asymptotic state discrimination, and we derive necessary conditions for when two multipartite states of any size can be discriminated perfectly by asymptotic LOCC. We use this new criterion to prove a gap in the LOCC and separable distinguishability norms. We then turn to the operational advantage of using two-way classical communication over one-way communication in LOCC processing. With a simple two-qubit product state ensemble, we demonstrate a strict majorization of the two-way LOCC norm over the one-way norm.

  4. A hierarchical approach to multi-project planning under uncertainty

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leus, R.; Wullink, Gerhard; Hans, Elias W.; Herroelen, W.

    2004-01-01

    We survey several viewpoints on the management of the planning complexity of multi-project organisations under uncertainty. A positioning framework is proposed to distinguish between different types of project-driven organisations, which is meant to aid project management in the choice between the

  5. A hierarchical approach to multi-project planning under uncertainty

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hans, Elias W.; Herroelen, W.; Wullink, Gerhard; Leus, R.

    2007-01-01

    We survey several viewpoints on the management of the planning complexity of multi-project organisations under uncertainty. Based on these viewpoints we propose a positioning framework to distinguish between different types of project-driven organisations. This framework is meant to aid project

  6. Accurate characterisation of hole size and location by projected fringe profilometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yuxiang; Dantanarayana, Harshana G.; Yue, Huimin; Huntley, Jonathan M.

    2018-06-01

    The ability to accurately estimate the location and geometry of holes is often required in the field of quality control and automated assembly. Projected fringe profilometry is a potentially attractive technique on account of being non-contacting, of lower cost, and orders of magnitude faster than the traditional coordinate measuring machine. However, we demonstrate in this paper that fringe projection is susceptible to significant (hundreds of µm) measurement artefacts in the neighbourhood of hole edges, which give rise to errors of a similar magnitude in the estimated hole geometry. A mechanism for the phenomenon is identified based on the finite size of the imaging system’s point spread function and the resulting bias produced near to sample discontinuities in geometry and reflectivity. A mathematical model is proposed, from which a post-processing compensation algorithm is developed to suppress such errors around the holes. The algorithm includes a robust and accurate sub-pixel edge detection method based on a Fourier descriptor of the hole contour. The proposed algorithm was found to reduce significantly the measurement artefacts near the hole edges. As a result, the errors in estimated hole radius were reduced by up to one order of magnitude, to a few tens of µm for hole radii in the range 2–15 mm, compared to those from the uncompensated measurements.

  7. Competition in size-structured populations: mechanisms inducing cohort formation and population cycles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Roos, A.M.; Persson, L.

    2003-01-01

    In this paper we investigate the consequences of size-dependent competition among the individuals of a consumer population by analyzing the dynamic properties of a physiologically structured population model. Only 2 size-classes of individuals are distinguished: juveniles and adults. Juveniles and

  8. Mid-size urbanism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwart, de B.A.M.

    2013-01-01

    To speak of the project for the mid-size city is to speculate about the possibility of mid-size urbanity as a design category. An urbanism not necessarily defined by the scale of the intervention or the size of the city undergoing transformation, but by the framing of the issues at hand and the

  9. Estimation and control of droplet size and frequency in projected spray mode of a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzehaee, Mohammad Mousavi; Haeri, Mohammad

    2011-07-01

    New estimators are designed based on the modified force balance model to estimate the detaching droplet size, detached droplet size, and mean value of droplet detachment frequency in a gas metal arc welding process. The proper droplet size for the process to be in the projected spray transfer mode is determined based on the modified force balance model and the designed estimators. Finally, the droplet size and the melting rate are controlled using two proportional-integral (PI) controllers to achieve high weld quality by retaining the transfer mode and generating appropriate signals as inputs of the weld geometry control loop. Copyright © 2011 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Distinguishing attack on five-round Feistel networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Lars Ramkilde; Raddum, H

    2003-01-01

    Recently it was shown (by J. Patarin) how to distinguish a general five-round Feistel network from a random permutation using O(2/sup 3n/2/) chosen plaintexts or O(2/sup 7n/4/) known plaintexts. The present authors report improvement of these results and a distinguisher is presented which uses ro...

  11. Distinguishability of countable quantum states and von Neumann lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawakubo, Ryûitirô; Koike, Tatsuhiko

    2016-01-01

    The condition for distinguishability of a countably infinite number of pure states by a single measurement is given. Distinguishability is to be understood as the possibility of an unambiguous measurement. For a finite number of states, it is known that the necessary and sufficient condition of distinguishability is that the states are linearly independent. For an infinite number of states, several natural classes of distinguishability can be defined. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a system of pure states to be distinguishable. It turns out that each level of distinguishability naturally corresponds to one of the generalizations of linear independence to families of infinite vectors. As an important example, we apply the general theory to von Neumann’s lattice, a subsystem of coherent states which corresponds to a lattice in the classical phase space. We prove that the condition for distinguishability is that the area of the fundamental region of the lattice is greater than the Planck constant, and also find subtle behavior on the threshold. These facts reveal the measurement theoretical meaning of the Planck constant and give a justification for the interpretation that it is the smallest unit of area in the phase space. The cases of uncountably many states and of mixed states are also discussed. (paper)

  12. Ecomorphology of a size-structured tropical freshwater fish community

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piet, G.J.

    1998-01-01

    Among nine species of a tropical community ecomorphological correlates were sought throughout ontogeny. Ontogenetic changes were distinguished by establishing six pre-defined size- classes. Morphometric data associated with feeding were compared by canonical correspondence analysis to dietary data.

  13. Smarandachely Adjacent-Vertex-Distinguishing Proper Edge Chromatic Number of Cm∨Kn

    OpenAIRE

    Shunqin Liu

    2016-01-01

    According to different conditions, researchers have defined a great deal of coloring problems and the corresponding chromatic numbers. Such as, adjacent-vertex-distinguishing total chromatic number, adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper edge chromatic number, smarandachely-adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper edge chromatic number, smarandachely-adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper total chromatic number. And we focus on the smarandachely adjacent-vertex-distinguishing proper edge chromatic...

  14. Tsunami sediments and their grain size characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulastya Putra, Purna

    2018-02-01

    Characteristics of tsunami deposits are very complex as the deposition by tsunami is very complex processes. The grain size characteristics of tsunami deposits are simply generalized no matter the local condition in which the deposition took place. The general characteristics are fining upward and landward, poor sorting, and the grain size distribution is not unimodal. Here I review the grain size characteristics of tsunami deposit in various environments: swale, coastal marsh and lagoon/lake. Review results show that although there are similar characters in some environments and cases, but in detail the characteristics in each environment can be distinguished; therefore, the tsunami deposit in each environment has its own characteristic. The local geological and geomorphological condition of the environment may greatly affect the grain size characteristics.

  15. Distinguishing fiction from non-fiction with complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larue, David M.; Carr, Lincoln D.; Jones, Linnea K.; Stevanak, Joe T.

    2014-03-01

    Complex Network Measures are applied to networks constructed from texts in English to demonstrate an initial viability in textual analysis. Texts from novels and short stories obtained from Project Gutenberg and news stories obtained from NPR are selected. Unique word stems in a text are used as nodes in an associated unweighted undirected network, with edges connecting words occurring within a certain number of words somewhere in the text. Various combinations of complex network measures are computed for each text's network. Fisher's Linear Discriminant analysis is used to build a parameter optimizing the ability to separate the texts according to their genre. Success rates in the 70% range for correctly distinguishing fiction from non-fiction were obtained using edges defined as within four words, using 400 word samples from 400 texts from each of the two genres with some combinations of measures such as the power-law exponents of degree distributions and clustering coefficients.

  16. Distinguishing computable mixtures of quantum states

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grande, Ignacio H. López; Senno, Gabriel; de la Torre, Gonzalo; Larotonda, Miguel A.; Bendersky, Ariel; Figueira, Santiago; Acín, Antonio

    2018-05-01

    In this article we extend results from our previous work [Bendersky et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 230402 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.230402] by providing a protocol to distinguish in finite time and with arbitrarily high success probability any algorithmic mixture of pure states from the maximally mixed state. Moreover, we include an experimental realization, using a modified quantum key distribution setup, where two different random sequences of pure states are prepared; these sequences are indistinguishable according to quantum mechanics, but they become distinguishable when randomness is replaced with pseudorandomness within the experimental preparation process.

  17. Experimental investigation of distinguishable and non-distinguishable grayscales applicable in active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes for quality engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Henglong; Chang, Wen-Cheng; Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Chen, Ming-Hong

    2017-08-01

    The distinguishable and non-distinguishable 6-bit (64) grayscales of green and red organic light-emitting diode (OLED) were experimentally investigated by using high-sensitive photometric instrument. The feasibility of combining external detection system for quality engineering to compensate the grayscale loss based on preset grayscale tables was also investigated by SPICE simulation. The degradation loss of OLED deeply affects image quality as grayscales become inaccurate. The distinguishable grayscales are indicated as those brightness differences and corresponding current increments are differentiable by instrument. The grayscales of OLED in 8-bit (256) or higher may become nondistinguishable as current or voltage increments are in the same order of noise level in circuitry. The distinguishable grayscale tables for individual red, green, blue, and white colors can be experimentally established as preset reference for quality engineering (QE) in which the degradation loss is compensated by corresponding grayscale numbers shown in preset table. The degradation loss of each OLED colors is quantifiable by comparing voltage increments to those in preset grayscale table if precise voltage increments are detectable during operation. The QE of AMOLED can be accomplished by applying updated grayscale tables. Our preliminary simulation result revealed that it is feasible to quantify degradation loss in terms of grayscale numbers by using external detector circuitry.

  18. Distinguishing CDM dwarfs from SIDM dwarfs in baryonic simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strickland, Emily; Fitts, Alex B.; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael

    2017-06-01

    Dwarf galaxies in the nearby Universe are the most dark-matter-dominated systems known. They are therefore natural probes of the nature of dark matter, which remains unknown. Our collaboration has performed several high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of isolated dwarf galaxies. We simulate each galaxy in standard cold dark matter (ΛCDM) as well as self-interacting dark matter (SIDM, with a cross section of σ/m ~ 1 cm2/g), both with and without baryons, in order to identify distinguishing characteristics between the two. The simulations are run using GIZMO, a meshless-finite-mass hydrodynamical code, and are part of the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) project. By analyzing both the global properties and inner structure of the dwarfs in varying dark matter prescriptions, we provide a side-by-side comparison of isolated, dark-matter-dominated galaxies at the mass scale where differences in the two models of dark matter are thought to be the most obvious. We find that the edge of classical dwarfs and ultra-faint dwarfs (at stellar masses of ~105 solar masses) provides the clearest window for distinguishing between the two theories. At these low masses, our SIDM galaxies have a cored inner density profile, while their CDM counterparts have “cuspy” centers. The SIDM versions of each galaxy also have measurably lower stellar velocity dispersions than their CDM counterparts. Future observations of ultra faint dwarfs with JWST and 30-m telescopes will be able to discern whether such alternate theories of dark matter are viable.

  19. Phase-modified CTQW unable to distinguish strongly regular graphs efficiently

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahasinghe, A; Wijerathna, J K; Izaac, J A; Wang, J B

    2015-01-01

    Various quantum walk-based algorithms have been developed, aiming to distinguish non-isomorphic graphs with polynomial scaling, within both the discrete-time quantum walk (DTQW) and continuous-time quantum walk (CTQW) frameworks. Whilst both the single-particle DTQW and CTQW have failed to distinguish non-isomorphic strongly regular graph families (prompting the move to multi-particle graph isomorphism (GI) algorithms), the single-particle DTQW has been successfully modified by the introduction of a phase factor to distinguish a wide range of graphs in polynomial time. In this paper, we prove that an analogous phase modification to the single particle CTQW does not have the same distinguishing power as its discrete-time counterpart, in particular it cannot distinguish strongly regular graphs with the same family parameters with the same efficiency. (paper)

  20. Hornbills can distinguish between primate alarm calls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rainey, Hugo J.; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Slater, Peter J. B.

    2004-01-01

    Some mammals distinguish between and respond appropriately to the alarm calls of other mammal and bird species. However, the ability of birds to distinguish between mammal alarm calls has not been investigated. Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana) produce different alarm calls to two predators: crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and leopards (Panthera pardus). Yellow-casqued hornbills (Ceratogymna elata) are vulnerable to predation by crowned eagles but are not preyed on by leopards and might therefore be expected to respond to the Diana monkey eagle alarm call but not to the leopard alarm call. We compared responses of hornbills to playback of eagle shrieks, leopard growls, Diana monkey eagle alarm calls and Diana monkey leopard alarm calls and found that they distinguished appropriately between the two predator vocalizations as well as between the two Diana monkey alarm calls. We discuss possible mechanisms leading to these responses. PMID:15209110

  1. Sizing up countability

    OpenAIRE

    De Belder, Marijke

    2008-01-01

    SIZING UP COUNTABILITY: TOWARDS A MORE FINE-GRAINED MASS-COUNT DISTINCTION MARIJKE DE BELDER CRISSP/CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS/FACULTÉS UNIVERSITAIRES SAINT-LOUIS 1. Summary Borer (2005) argues that the presence of the functional projection DivP, which divides stuff into units, yields count readings in the NP and that its absence yields mass readings. I claim, however, that countability requires not only DivP (which creates units) but also SizeP (which assigns size). The head ...

  2. Diversity of layer 5 projection neurons in the mouse motor cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2013-01-01

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

  3. Diversity of Layer 5 Projection Neurons in the Mouse Motor Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manfred J Oswald

    2013-10-01

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

  4. Can one distinguish τ-neutrinos from antineutrinos in neutral-current pion production processes?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez, E.; Nieves, J.; Valverde, M.

    2007-01-01

    A potential way to distinguish τ-neutrinos from antineutrinos, below the τ-production threshold, but above the pion production one, is presented. It is based on the different behavior of the neutral-current pion production off the nucleon, depending on whether it is induced by neutrinos or antineutrinos. This procedure for distinguishing τ-neutrinos from antineutrinos neither relies on any nuclear model, nor it is affected by any nuclear effect (distortion of the outgoing nucleon waves, etc.). We show that neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries occur both in the totally integrated cross sections and in the pion azimuthal differential distributions. To define the asymmetries for the latter distributions we just rely on Lorentz-invariance. All these asymmetries are independent of the lepton family and can be experimentally measured by using electron or muon neutrinos, due to the lepton family universality of the neutral-current neutrino interaction. Nevertheless and to estimate their size, we have also used the chiral model of [E. Hernandez, J. Nieves, M. Valverde, hep-ph/0701149] at intermediate energies. Results are really significant since the differences between neutrino and antineutrino induced reactions are always large in all physical channels

  5. Distinguishing Computer-Generated Graphics from Natural Images Based on Sensor Pattern Noise and Deep Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ye Yao

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Computer-generated graphics (CGs are images generated by computer software. The rapid development of computer graphics technologies has made it easier to generate photorealistic computer graphics, and these graphics are quite difficult to distinguish from natural images (NIs with the naked eye. In this paper, we propose a method based on sensor pattern noise (SPN and deep learning to distinguish CGs from NIs. Before being fed into our convolutional neural network (CNN-based model, these images—CGs and NIs—are clipped into image patches. Furthermore, three high-pass filters (HPFs are used to remove low-frequency signals, which represent the image content. These filters are also used to reveal the residual signal as well as SPN introduced by the digital camera device. Different from the traditional methods of distinguishing CGs from NIs, the proposed method utilizes a five-layer CNN to classify the input image patches. Based on the classification results of the image patches, we deploy a majority vote scheme to obtain the classification results for the full-size images. The experiments have demonstrated that (1 the proposed method with three HPFs can achieve better results than that with only one HPF or no HPF and that (2 the proposed method with three HPFs achieves 100% accuracy, although the NIs undergo a JPEG compression with a quality factor of 75.

  6. Including the smoking epidemic in internationally coherent mortality projections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, Fanny; van Wissen, Leo J. G.; Kunst, Anton E.

    2013-01-01

    We present a new mortality projection methodology that distinguishes smoking- and non-smoking-related mortality and takes into account mortality trends of the opposite sex and in other countries. We evaluate to what extent future projections of life expectancy at birth (e 0) for the Netherlands up

  7. Including the smoking epidemic in internationally coherent mortality projections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, Fanny; van Wissen, Leo J. G.; Kunst, Anton E.

    We present a new mortality projection methodology that distinguishes smoking- and non-smoking-related mortality and takes into account mortality trends of the opposite sex and in other countries. We evaluate to what extent future projections of life expectancy at birth (e (0)) for the Netherlands up

  8. The Stack-Size of Combinatorial Tries Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus E. Nebel

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available In the present paper we consider a generalized class of extended binary trees in which leaves are distinguished in order to represent the location of a key within a trie of the same structure. We prove an exact asymptotic equivalent to the average stack-size of trees with α internal nodes and β leaves corresponding to keys; we assume that all trees with the same parameters α and β have the same probability. The assumption of that uniform model is motivated for example by the usage of tries for the compression of blockcodes. Furthermore, we will prove asymptotics for the r-th moments of the stack-size and we will show that a normalized stack-size possesses a theta distribution in the limit.

  9. Distinguishing pathological from constitutional small for gestational age births in population-based studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ananth, Cande V; Vintzileos, Anthony M

    2009-10-01

    Small for gestational age (SGA) can occur following a pathological process or may represent constitutionally small fetuses. However, distinguishing these processes is often difficult, especially in large studies, where the term SGA is often used as a proxy for restricted fetal growth. Since biologic variation in fetal size is largely a third trimester phenomenon, we hypothesized that the definition of SGA at term may include a sizeable proportion of constitutionally small fetuses. In contrast, since biologic variation in fetal size is not fully expressed in (early) preterm gestations, it is plausible that SGA in early preterm gestations would comprise a large proportion of growth restricted fetuses. We compared mortality and morbidity rates between SGA and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) babies. A population-based study of over 19million non-malformed, singleton births (1995-04) in the United States was performed. Gestational age (24-44weeks) was based on a clinical estimate. SGA and AGA were defined as sex-specific birthweight constitutionally small.

  10. Including the smoking epidemic in internationally coherent mortality projections

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, F.; van Wissen, L.J.G.; Kunst, A.E.

    2013-01-01

    We present a new mortality projection methodology that distinguishes smoking- and non-smoking-related mortality and takes into account mortality trends of the opposite sex and in other countries. We evaluate to what extent future projections of life expectancy at birth (e0) for the Netherlands up to

  11. 5 CFR 838.612 - Distinguishing between annuities and contributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Distinguishing between annuities and... Orders Affecting Employee Annuities or Refunds of Employee Contributions Identification of Benefits § 838.612 Distinguishing between annuities and contributions. (a) A court order using “annuities,” “pensions...

  12. Spatial and body-size dependent response of marine pelagic communities to projected global climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefort, Stelly; Aumont, Olivier; Bopp, Laurent; Arsouze, Thomas; Gehlen, Marion; Maury, Olivier

    2015-01-01

    Temperature, oxygen, and food availability directly affect marine life. Climate models project a global warming of the ocean's surface (~+3 °C), a de-oxygenation of the ocean's interior (~-3%) and a decrease in total marine net primary production (~-8%) under the 'business as usual' climate change scenario (RCP8.5). We estimated the effects of these changes on biological communities using a coupled biogeochemical (PISCES)--ecosystems (APECOSM) model forced by the physical outputs of the last generation of the IPSL-CM Earth System Model. The APECOSM model is a size-structured bio-energetic model that simulates the 3D dynamical distributions of three interactive pelagic communities (epipelagic, mesopelagic, and migratory) under the effects of multiple environmental factors. The PISCES-APECOSM model ran from 1850 to 2100 under historical forcing followed by RCP8.5. Our RCP8.5 simulation highlights significant changes in the spatial distribution, biomass, and maximum body-size of the simulated pelagic communities. Biomass and maximum body-size increase at high latitude over the course of the century, reflecting the capacity of marine organisms to respond to new suitable environment. At low- and midlatitude, biomass and maximum body-size strongly decrease. In those regions, large organisms cannot maintain their high metabolic needs because of limited and declining food availability. This resource reduction enhances the competition and modifies the biomass distribution among and within the three communities: the proportion of small organisms increases in the three communities and the migrant community that initially comprised a higher proportion of small organisms is favored. The greater resilience of small body-size organisms resides in their capacity to fulfill their metabolic needs under reduced energy supply and is further favored by the release of predation pressure due to the decline of large organisms. These results suggest that small body-size organisms might be

  13. Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology: Neil Lutsky

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2011

    2011-01-01

    The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology recognizes an outstanding career contribution to the teaching of psychology. The 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award is Neil Lutsky. Dorothy W. Cantor, president of the APF, will present the APF Distinguished Teaching Award…

  14. A fast computing method to distinguish the hyperbolic trajectory of an non-autonomous system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Meng; Fan, Yang-Yu; Tian, Wei-Jian

    2011-03-01

    Attempting to find a fast computing method to DHT (distinguished hyperbolic trajectory), this study first proves that the errors of the stable DHT can be ignored in normal direction when they are computed as the trajectories extend. This conclusion means that the stable flow with perturbation will approach to the real trajectory as it extends over time. Based on this theory and combined with the improved DHT computing method, this paper reports a new fast computing method to DHT, which magnifies the DHT computing speed without decreasing its accuracy. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60872159).

  15. Using Geomorphic Change Detection to Understand Restoration Project Success Relative to Stream Size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeager, A.; Segura, C.

    2017-12-01

    Large wood (LW) jams have long been utilized as a stream restoration strategy to create fish habitat, with a strong focus on Coho salmon in the Pacific Northwest. These projects continue to be implemented despite limited understanding of their success in streams of different size. In this study, we assessed the changes triggered by LW introductions in 10 alluvial plane bed reaches with varying drainage areas (3.9-22 km²) and bankfull widths (6.4-14.7 m) in one Oregon Coast Range basin. In this basin, LW was added in an effort to improve winter rearing habitat for Coho salmon. We used detailed topographic mapping (0.5 m² resolution) to describe the local stream and floodplain geometry. Pebble counts were used to monitor changes in average substrate size after the LW addition. Field surveys were conducted immediately after the LW were installed, in the summer of 2016, and one year after installation, in the summer of 2017. We used geomorphic change detection analysis to quantify the amount of scour and deposition at each site along with changes in average bankfull width. Then we determined the relative amount of change among all sites to identify which size stream changed the most. We also modeled fluctuations in water surface elevation at each site, correlating frequency and inundation of the LW with geomorphic changes detected from the topographic surveys. Preliminary results show an increase in channel width and floodplain connectivity at all sites, indicating an increase in off-channel habitat for juvenile Coho salmon. Bankfull widths increased up to 75% in small sites and up to 25% in large sites. Median grain size became coarser in large streams (increased up to 20%), while we saw a similar amount of fining at smaller sites. The overall increase in channel width is compensated by an overall decrease in bed elevation at both large and small sites, suggesting the maintenance of overall geomorphic equilibrium. Further work will include quantifying these

  16. Michael Tomasello: Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-11-01

    The APA Awards for Distinguished Scientific Contributions are presented to persons who, in the opinion of the Committee on Scientific Awards, have made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology. One of the 2015 award winners is Michael Tomasello, who received this award for "outstanding empirical and theoretical contributions to understanding what makes the human mind unique. Michael Tomasello's pioneering research on the origins of social cognition has led to revolutionary insights in both developmental psychology and primate cognition." Tomasello's award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award recognizes an outstanding career contribution to the teaching of psychology. The 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award is William Buskist. Dorothy W. Cantor, president of the APF, will present the APF Teaching Award at the 117th…

  18. Distinguishing method for contamination/radio-activation of radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukazawa, Takuji; Kato, Keiichiro; Koda, Satoshi.

    1994-01-01

    The present invention concerns a method of distinguishing the contamination/radio-activation of radioactive wastes used in processing wastes generated upon dismantling of exhausted nuclear reactors. Especially, contaminated/radio-activation is distinguished for wastes having openings such as pipes and valves, by utilizing scattering of γ-rays or γ-ray to β-ray ratio. That is, ratio of scattered γ-rays and direct γ-rays or ratio of β-rays and γ-rays from radioactive wastes are measured and compared by a radiation detector, to distinguish whether the radioactive wastes contaminated materials or radio-activated materials. For example, when an object to be measured having an opening is contaminated at the inner side, the radiation detector facing to the opening mainly detects high direct γ-rays emitted from the object to be measured while a radiation detector not facing the opening mainly detects high scattered γ-rays relatively. On the other hand, when the object is a radio-activated material, any of the detectors detect scattered γ-rays, so that they can be distinguished by these ratios. (I.S.)

  19. Entropic Lower Bound for Distinguishability of Quantum States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungho Yang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available For a system randomly prepared in a number of quantum states, we present a lower bound for the distinguishability of the quantum states, that is, the success probability of determining the states in the form of entropy. When the states are all pure, acquiring the entropic lower bound requires only the density operator and the number of the possible states. This entropic bound shows a relation between the von Neumann entropy and the distinguishability.

  20. Performance, size, mass, and cost estimates for projected 1kW EOL Si, InP, and GaAs arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slifer, Luther W., Jr.

    1991-01-01

    One method of evaluating the potential of emerging solar cell and array technologies is to compare their projected capabilities in space flight applications to those of established Si solar cells and arrays. Such an application-oriented comparison provides an integrated view of the elemental comparisons of efficiency, radiation resistance, temperature sensitivity, size, mass, and cost in combination. In addition, the assumptions necessary to make the comparisons provide insights helpful toward determining necessary areas of development or evaluation. Finally, as developments and evaluations progress, the results can be used in more precisely defining the overall potential of the new technologies in comparison to existing technologies. The projected capabilities of Si, InP, and GaAs cells and arrays are compared.

  1. Exact fan-beam image reconstruction algorithm for truncated projection data acquired from an asymmetric half-size detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leng Shuai; Zhuang Tingliang; Nett, Brian E; Chen Guanghong

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we present a new algorithm designed for a specific data truncation problem in fan-beam CT. We consider a scanning configuration in which the fan-beam projection data are acquired from an asymmetrically positioned half-sized detector. Namely, the asymmetric detector only covers one half of the scanning field of view. Thus, the acquired fan-beam projection data are truncated at every view angle. If an explicit data rebinning process is not invoked, this data acquisition configuration will reek havoc on many known fan-beam image reconstruction schemes including the standard filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm and the super-short-scan FBP reconstruction algorithms. However, we demonstrate that a recently developed fan-beam image reconstruction algorithm which reconstructs an image via filtering a backprojection image of differentiated projection data (FBPD) survives the above fan-beam data truncation problem. Namely, we may exactly reconstruct the whole image object using the truncated data acquired in a full scan mode (2π angular range). We may also exactly reconstruct a small region of interest (ROI) using the truncated projection data acquired in a short-scan mode (less than 2π angular range). The most important characteristic of the proposed reconstruction scheme is that an explicit data rebinning process is not introduced. Numerical simulations were conducted to validate the new reconstruction algorithm

  2. Distinguishing attack and second-preimage attack on encrypted message authentication codes (EMAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariwibowo, Sigit; Windarta, Susila

    2016-02-01

    In this paper we show that distinguisher on CBC-MAC can be applied to Encrypted Message Authentication Code (EMAC) scheme. EMAC scheme in general is vulnerable to distinguishing attack and second preimage attack. Distinguishing attack simulation on AES-EMAC using 225 message modifications, no collision have been found. According to second preimage attack simulation on AES-EMAC no collision found between EMAC value of S1 and S2, i.e. no second preimage found for messages that have been tested. Based on distinguishing attack simulation on truncated AES-EMAC we found collision in every message therefore we cannot distinguish truncated AES-EMAC with random function. Second-preimage attack is successfully performed on truncated AES-EMAC.

  3. Unimodal tree size distributions possibly result from relatively strong conservatism in intermediate size classes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Bin

    Full Text Available Tree size distributions have long been of interest to ecologists and foresters because they reflect fundamental demographic processes. Previous studies have assumed that size distributions are often associated with population trends or with the degree of shade tolerance. We tested these associations for 31 tree species in a 20 ha plot in a Dinghushan south subtropical forest in China. These species varied widely in growth form and shade-tolerance. We used 2005 and 2010 census data from that plot. We found that 23 species had reversed J shaped size distributions, and eight species had unimodal size distributions in 2005. On average, modal species had lower recruitment rates than reversed J species, while showing no significant difference in mortality rates, per capita population growth rates or shade-tolerance. We compared the observed size distributions with the equilibrium distributions projected from observed size-dependent growth and mortality. We found that observed distributions generally had the same shape as predicted equilibrium distributions in both unimodal and reversed J species, but there were statistically significant, important quantitative differences between observed and projected equilibrium size distributions in most species, suggesting that these populations are not at equilibrium and that this forest is changing over time. Almost all modal species had U-shaped size-dependent mortality and/or growth functions, with turning points of both mortality and growth at intermediate size classes close to the peak in the size distribution. These results show that modal size distributions do not necessarily indicate either population decline or shade-intolerance. Instead, the modal species in our study were characterized by a life history strategy of relatively strong conservatism in an intermediate size class, leading to very low growth and mortality in that size class, and thus to a peak in the size distribution at intermediate sizes.

  4. Features of conflict sensitivity implementation mechanisms’ in the public sector projects

    OpenAIRE

    T. V. Маматоvа

    2017-01-01

    It has been found in the study that potential conflicts are natural for public sector projects. Among the factors, that predetermine it, one can distinguish the following: the opposite to the processes of making changes; competition of participants during the allocation of project resources; different opportunities to access the project product; insufficient consideration of interested parties’ interests; context conflicts; directing the project to resolve the conflict in the territory; unsuc...

  5. MuSAE: A European Project for the Diffusion of Energy and Environmental Planning in Small-Medium Sized Municipalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giorgio Baldinelli

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The basic idea of the EU LIFE+ 2011 project MuSAE (“Municipalities Subsidiarity for Actions on Energy”, code LIFE11 ENV/IT/000016 consists of transferring the skills and experience related to energy planning, acquired by the leading beneficiary, the Municipality of Perugia, to three small- or medium-sized Umbrian Municipalities (Marsciano, Umbertide and Lisciano Niccone. This transfer is aimed, among other objectives, at the drafting of the Municipal Energy and Environmental Plan (MEEP and the opening of an energy information office in each partner Municipality, in cooperation with CIRIAF and Umbria Region. The present paper provides a summary of MuSAE activities, analyzing the procedures and modalities of implementation of the various phases of the MEEPs, on the basis of the experience gained over the years through the collaboration with the Municipality of Perugia and adapted to smaller territories such as those represented by the other partner Municipalities. A summary of the dissemination activities and pilot projects is also presented, testifying the first concrete results of the planning activity developed by each administration within the project.

  6. Foraging mode and prey size spectra of suspension-feeding copepods and other zooplankton

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kiørboe, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Prey size spectra of suspension-feeding zooplankton may be predicted from foraging mode and a mechanistic understanding of prey perception and capture. I examine this for suspension-feeding copepods where 2 foraging modes can be distinguished: ambush feeding and active (i.e. cruising and feeding-...... the prediction. I also make qualitative predictions of food size spectra in zooplankton with other prey perception mechanisms that accord with observations....

  7. Raman spectroscopic identification of size-selected airborne particles for quantitative exposure assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steer, Brian; Gorbunov, Boris; Price, Mark C; Podoleanu, Adrian

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we present a method for the quantification of chemically distinguished airborne particulate matter, required for health risk assessment. Rather than simply detecting chemical compounds in a sample, we demonstrate an approach for the quantification of exposure to airborne particles and nanomaterials. In line with increasing concerns over the proliferation of engineered particles we consider detection of synthetically produced ZnO crystals. A multi-stage approach is presented whereby the particles are first aerodynamically size segregated from a lab-generated single component aerosol in an impaction sampler. These size fractionated samples are subsequently analysed by Raman spectroscopy. Imaging analysis is applied to Raman spatial maps to provide chemically specific quantification of airborne exposure against background which is critical for health risk evaluation of exposure to airborne particles. Here we present a first proof-of-concept study of the methodology utilising particles in the 2–4 μm aerodynamic diameter range to allow for validation of the approach by comparison to optical microscopy. The results show that the combination of these techniques provides independent size and chemical discrimination of particles. Thereby a method is provided to allow quantitative and chemically distinguished measurements of aerosol concentrations separated into exposure relevant size fractions. (paper)

  8. Plasma complement biomarkers distinguish multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakobyan, Svetlana; Luppe, Sebastian; Evans, David Rs; Harding, Katharine; Loveless, Samantha; Robertson, Neil P; Morgan, B Paul

    2017-06-01

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. Although distinguished by clinicoradiological and demographic features, early manifestations can be similar complicating management. Antibodies against aquaporin-4 support the diagnosis of NMOSD but are negative in some patients. Therefore, there is unmet need for biomarkers that enable early diagnosis and disease-specific intervention. We investigated whether plasma complement proteins are altered in MS and NMOSD and provide biomarkers that distinguish these diseases. Plasma from 54 NMOSD, 40 MS and 69 control donors was tested in multiplex assays measuring complement activation products and proteins. Using logistic regression, we tested whether combinations of complement analytes distinguished NMOSD from controls and MS. All activation products were elevated in NMOSD compared to either control or MS. Four complement proteins (C1inh, C1s, C5 and FH) were higher in NMOSD compared to MS or controls. A model comprising C1inh and terminal complement complex (TCC) distinguished NMOSD from MS (area under the curve (AUC): 0.98), while C1inh and C5 distinguished NMOSD from controls (AUC: 0.94). NMOSD is distinguished from MS by plasma complement biomarkers. Selected complement analytes enable differential diagnosis. Findings support trials of anti-complement therapies in NMOSD.

  9. The Effect of Family Size on Incentive Effects of Welfare Transfers in Two-Parent Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewin, Alisa C.; Maurin, Eric

    2005-01-01

    Family size is an important determinant of family well-being, and it is a good predictor of poverty. This study examines effects of waiving the 100-hour rule, by family size, and distinguishes between the "work-incentive effects" and the "eligibility effects" of the waiver. The 100-hour rule limits eligibility to aid to…

  10. Distinguishing Entailment and Presupposition Under Negation Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gatri Asti Putri Indarti

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Distinguishing entailment from presupposition is quite difficult because their semantic relation seems to be similar. Both entailment and presupposition have an automatic relationship based on the context. However, those semantic relations can still be differentiated by using negation test to show whether a pair is entailment or presupposition. This research focuses on sentences and utterances. Thus, this research aims to analyze and test pairs of entailment and pairs of presupposition by using negation in utterances. The data were twelve comic strips from the Internet and they were analysed by using a negation test. The analysis shows that negation test is useful to test entailment and presupposition in the comic strips. It can be concluded that the difficulty of distinguishing pair of entailment and presupposition in the comic strip using negation test has been successfully solved. In this case, negation test is suitable to test entailment and presupposition. This research can be developed further by other researchers to distinguish entailment and presupposition by using another test if the negation test cannot be used to any further extent.   DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.2015.180104

  11. Project appraisal for small and medium size wind energy installation: The Italian wind energy policy effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fera, M.; Iannone, R.; Macchiaroli, R.; Miranda, S.; Schiraldi, M.M.

    2014-01-01

    In the last few years, the distributed energy production from small wind turbines (i.e.<200 kWp) has developed into a relevant business opportunity for different investors in Italy. The market, especially in Italy, has rapidly grown, achieving 9 MWp only in 2011, with an increase from 1.5 MW in 2009 to 13.3 MW at the end of 2011. This paper reports the results of a case study on the installation of several small wind turbines. It aims to provide an analysis of the conditions in Italy that make it possible to install these machines and offer a reliable reference for designing, planning, and controlling small wind turbine projects while focusing on the strategic variables of time, cost, and quality used by typical enterprises in the investment projects. The results are relevant to investors as well as engineering, procurement, and construction companies involved in this new sector, which must understand Italy’s renewable energy policy and its effects in practice. Moreover, certain national energy policy conclusions are reported and discussed in this paper. To properly study the sector, the data on time, cost and quality are analysed using typical project management tools. - Highlights: • Focus on the Italian wind energy sector. • Analysis of Italian policy effects. • Focus on small/medium size wind energy machines

  12. Intercomparison of 15 Aerodynamic Particle Size Spectrometers (APS 3321): Uncertainties in Particle Sizing and Number Size Distribution.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pfeifer, S.; Müller, T.; Weinhold, K.; Zíková, Naděžda; dos Santos, S.M.; Marinoni, A.; Bischof, O.F.; Kykal, C.; Ries, L.; Meinhardt, F.; Aalto, P.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Wiedensohler, A.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 9, č. 4 (2016), s. 1545-1551 ISSN 1867-1381 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 262254 - ACTRIS Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : counting efficiency * aerodynamic particle size spectrometers * laboratory study Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 3.089, year: 2016

  13. Status of the project of Novosibirsk high power FEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pinayev, I.V.; Erg, G.I.; Gavrilov, N.G. [Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)] [and others

    1995-12-31

    The project of IR FEL for the Siberian Center of photochemical researches is described. The distinguished features of this project are the use of the race-track microtron-recuperator and the {open_quotes}electron output of radiation{close_quotes}. The building for the machine is under reconstruction now. About half of hardware has been manufactured. The assembly of installation began.

  14. A Conceptualization of Knowledge Governance in Project-based Organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pemsel, Sofia; Wiewiorac, Anna; Müller, Ralf

    2014-01-01

    This paper conceptualizes and defines knowledge governance (KG) in project-based organizations (PBOs). Two key contributions towards a multi-faceted view of KG and an understanding of KG in PBOs are advanced, as distinguished from knowledge management and organizational learning concepts. The con......This paper conceptualizes and defines knowledge governance (KG) in project-based organizations (PBOs). Two key contributions towards a multi-faceted view of KG and an understanding of KG in PBOs are advanced, as distinguished from knowledge management and organizational learning concepts....... The conceptual framework addresses macro- and micro-level elements of KG and their interaction. Our definition of KG in PBOs highlights the contingent nature of KG processes in relation to their organizational context. These contributions provide a novel platform for understanding KG in PBOs....

  15. The business environment and phases of development of small and medium-sized enterprises

    OpenAIRE

    Wach, Krzysztof

    2006-01-01

    The subject literature distinguishes several factors that determine the establishment, survival , operations and development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in particular regions. In this article, the author presents a classification of these factors in terms of whether they are barriers or stimulators. On this basis, the author explains the influence of regional environment (meso-environment) factors on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in various phases of ...

  16. Web Project Management

    OpenAIRE

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

    2013-01-01

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

  17. Distinguishing Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension From Other Causes of Pulmonary Hypertension Using CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosse, Alexandra; Grosse, Claudia; Lang, Irene M

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to discern imaging findings that separate chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) from other causes of pulmonary hypertension (PH). A total of 143 patients with proven PH (group 1, pulmonary arterial hypertension; group 2, PH due to left heart disease; group 3, PH due to lung disease; group 4, CTEPH; and group 5, PH due to unclear or multifactorial mechanisms) underwent MDCT angiography. The CT images were assessed for the presence of chronic pulmonary embolism (PE), disparity in segmental vessel size, mosaic perfusion, parenchymal densities, bronchial dilatation, and collateral arteries. The frequencies of vascular signs of chronic PE, disparity in segmental vessel size, mosaic perfusion, parenchymal densities, bronchial collateral arteries, and bronchial dilatation were statistically significantly higher in patients with CTEPH than in patients with nonthromboembolic PH. Vascular signs of chronic PE, mosaic perfusion, parenchymal densities, and bronchial dilatation without bronchial wall thickening were significantly more frequent in patients with CTEPH than in patients in groups 1, 2, 3, and 5. There was no significant difference in the frequencies of bronchial collateral arteries between patients with CTEPH and patients in groups 3 and 5. Most patients with CTEPH have direct vascular signs of chronic PE. Secondary signs include disparity in segmental vessel size, mosaic perfusion pattern, parenchymal densities, collateral bronchial arteries, and bronchial dilatation, which help distinguish CTEPH from other causes of PH.

  18. Project structure plan requirements for the deconstruction projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrasch, Peter; Schmitt, Christian; Stapf, Meike

    2011-01-01

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

  19. Using Project Complexity Determinations to Establish Required Levels of Project Rigor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andrews, Thomas D.

    2015-10-01

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

  20. Familial identification: population structure and relationship distinguishability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohlfs, Rori V; Fullerton, Stephanie Malia; Weir, Bruce S

    2012-02-01

    With the expansion of offender/arrestee DNA profile databases, genetic forensic identification has become commonplace in the United States criminal justice system. Implementation of familial searching has been proposed to extend forensic identification to family members of individuals with profiles in offender/arrestee DNA databases. In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the crime scene sample. In addition to concerns regarding civil liberties, familial searching poses unanswered statistical questions. In this study, we define confidence intervals on estimated likelihood ratios for familial identification. Using these confidence intervals, we consider familial searching in a structured population. We show that relatives and unrelated individuals from population samples with lower gene diversity over the loci considered are less distinguishable. We also consider cases where the most appropriate population sample for individuals considered is unknown. We find that as a less appropriate population sample, and thus allele frequency distribution, is assumed, relatives and unrelated individuals become more difficult to distinguish. In addition, we show that relationship distinguishability increases with the number of markers considered, but decreases for more distant genetic familial relationships. All of these results indicate that caution is warranted in the application of familial searching in structured populations, such as in the United States.

  1. Familial identification: population structure and relationship distinguishability.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rori V Rohlfs

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available With the expansion of offender/arrestee DNA profile databases, genetic forensic identification has become commonplace in the United States criminal justice system. Implementation of familial searching has been proposed to extend forensic identification to family members of individuals with profiles in offender/arrestee DNA databases. In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the crime scene sample. In addition to concerns regarding civil liberties, familial searching poses unanswered statistical questions. In this study, we define confidence intervals on estimated likelihood ratios for familial identification. Using these confidence intervals, we consider familial searching in a structured population. We show that relatives and unrelated individuals from population samples with lower gene diversity over the loci considered are less distinguishable. We also consider cases where the most appropriate population sample for individuals considered is unknown. We find that as a less appropriate population sample, and thus allele frequency distribution, is assumed, relatives and unrelated individuals become more difficult to distinguish. In addition, we show that relationship distinguishability increases with the number of markers considered, but decreases for more distant genetic familial relationships. All of these results indicate that caution is warranted in the application of familial searching in structured populations, such as in the United States.

  2. Entropy of Mixing of Distinguishable Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozliak, Evguenii I.

    2014-01-01

    The molar entropy of mixing yields values that depend only on the number of mixing components rather than on their chemical nature. To explain this phenomenon using the logic of chemistry, this article considers mixing of distinguishable particles, thus complementing the well-known approach developed for nondistinguishable particles, for example,…

  3. Design Theory Projectability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baskerville, Richard; Pries-Heje, Jan

    2014-01-01

    design science research is materially prescriptive, it requires a different perspective in developing the breadth of applications of design theories. In this paper we propose different concepts that embody forms of general technological knowledge The concept of projectability, developed originally......Technological knowledge has been characterized as having a scope that is specific to a particular problem. However, the information systems community is exploring forms of design science research that provide a promising avenue to technological knowledge with broader scope: design theories. Because...... as a means of distinguishing realized generalizations from unrealized generalizations, helps explain how design theories, being prescriptive, possess a different form of applicability. The concept of entrenchment describes the use of a theory in many projections. Together these concepts provide a means...

  4. Clinical review: Distinguishing constitutional delay of growth and puberty from isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: critical appraisal of available diagnostic tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Jennifer; Palmert, Mark R

    2012-09-01

    Determining the etiology of delayed puberty during initial evaluation can be challenging. Specifically, clinicians often cannot distinguish constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) from isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH), with definitive diagnosis of IHH awaiting lack of spontaneous puberty by age 18 yr. However, the ability to make a timely, correct diagnosis has important clinical implications. The aim was to describe and evaluate the literature regarding the ability of diagnostic tests to distinguish CDGP from IHH. A PubMed search was performed using key words "puberty, delayed" and "hypogonadotropic hypogonadism," and citations within retrieved articles were reviewed to identify studies that assessed the utility of basal and stimulation tests in the diagnosis of delayed puberty. Emphasis was given to a test's ability to distinguish prepubertal adolescents with CDGP from those with IHH. Basal gonadotropin and GnRH stimulation tests have limited diagnostic specificity, with overlap in gonadotropin levels between adolescents with CDGP and IHH. Stimulation tests using more potent GnRH agonists and/or human chorionic gonadotropin may have better discriminatory value, but small study size, lack of replication of diagnostic thresholds, and prolonged protocols limit clinical application. A single inhibin B level in two recent studies demonstrated good differentiation between groups. Distinguishing IHH from CDGP is an important clinical issue. Basal inhibin B may offer a simple, discriminatory test if results from recent studies are replicated. However, current literature does not allow for recommendation of any diagnostic test for routine clinical use, making this an important area for future investigation.

  5. What big size you have! Using effect sizes to determine the impact of public health nursing interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, K E; McMorris, B J; Raynor, L A; Monsen, K A

    2013-01-01

    The Omaha System is a standardized interface terminology that is used extensively by public health nurses in community settings to document interventions and client outcomes. Researchers using Omaha System data to analyze the effectiveness of interventions have typically calculated p-values to determine whether significant client changes occurred between admission and discharge. However, p-values are highly dependent on sample size, making it difficult to distinguish statistically significant changes from clinically meaningful changes. Effect sizes can help identify practical differences but have not yet been applied to Omaha System data. We compared p-values and effect sizes (Cohen's d) for mean differences between admission and discharge for 13 client problems documented in the electronic health records of 1,016 young low-income parents. Client problems were documented anywhere from 6 (Health Care Supervision) to 906 (Caretaking/parenting) times. On a scale from 1 to 5, the mean change needed to yield a large effect size (Cohen's d ≥ 0.80) was approximately 0.60 (range = 0.50 - 1.03) regardless of p-value or sample size (i.e., the number of times a client problem was documented in the electronic health record). Researchers using the Omaha System should report effect sizes to help readers determine which differences are practical and meaningful. Such disclosures will allow for increased recognition of effective interventions.

  6. Size Determination of Aqueous C60 by Asymmetric Flow Field-Flow Fractionation (AF4) and in-Line Dynamic Light Scattering

    Science.gov (United States)

    To date, studies on the environmental behaviour of aggregated aqueous fullerene nanomaterials have used the entire size distribution of fullerene aggregates and do not distinguish between different aggregate size classes. This is a direct result of the lack of analytical methods ...

  7. Rapid molecular technique to distinguish Fusarium species

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Lodolo, EJ

    1993-03-01

    Full Text Available The nuclear DNA (nDNA) of different isolates of three closely related, toxin-producing Fusarium species, F. moniliforme, F. nygamai and F. napiforme, was compared to ascertain the sensitivity of a molecular method to distinguish these three species...

  8. Is MRI a useful tool to distinguish between serous and mucinous borderline ovarian tumours?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazot, M.; Haouy, D.; Daraï, E.; Cortez, A.; Dechoux-Vodovar, S.; Thomassin-Naggara, I.

    2013-01-01

    Aim: To analyse the morphological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of borderline ovarian tumours (BOT) and to evaluate whether MRI can be used to distinguish serous from mucinous subtypes. Materials and methods: A retrospective study of 72 patients who underwent BOT resection was undertaken. MRI images were reviewed blindly by two radiologists to assess MRI features: size, tumour type, grouped and irregular thickened septa, number of septa, loculi of different signal intensity, vegetations, solid portion, signal intensity of vegetations, normal ovarian parenchyma, and pelvic ascites. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney and Fisher's exact tests. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the predictive value of the MRI findings for histological subtypes. Results: At histology, there were 33 serous BOT (SBOT) and 39 mucinous BOT (MBOT). Predictive MRI criteria for SBOT were bilaterality, predominantly solid tumour, and the presence of vegetations, especially exophytic or with a high T2 signal (p < 0.01), whereas predictive MRI criteria for MBOT were multilocularity, number of septa, loculi of different signal intensity, and grouped and irregular thickened septa (p < 0.01). Using multivariate analysis, vegetations were independently associated with SBOT [odds ratio (OR) = 29.5] and multilocularity with MBOT (OR = 3.9). Conclusion: Vegetations and multilocularity are two independent MRI features that can help to distinguish between SBOT and MBOT.

  9. Sensitive and predictable separation of microfluidic droplets by size using in-line passive filter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Ruihua; Ung, W Lloyd; Heyman, John A; Weitz, David A

    2017-01-01

    Active manipulation of droplets is crucial in droplet microfluidics. However, droplet polydispersity decreases the accuracy of active manipulation. We develop a microfluidic "droplet filter" that accurately separates droplets by size. The droplet filter has a sharp size cutoff and is capable of distinguishing droplets differing in volume by 20%. A simple model explains the behavior of the droplets as they pass through the filter. We show application of the filter in improving dielectric sorting efficiency.

  10. Activity recognition from minimal distinguishing subsequence mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iqbal, Mohammad; Pao, Hsing-Kuo

    2017-08-01

    Human activity recognition is one of the most important research topics in the era of Internet of Things. To separate different activities given sensory data, we utilize a Minimal Distinguishing Subsequence (MDS) mining approach to efficiently find distinguishing patterns among different activities. We first transform the sensory data into a series of sensor triggering events and operate the MDS mining procedure afterwards. The gap constraints are also considered in the MDS mining. Given the multi-class nature of most activity recognition tasks, we modify the MDS mining approach from a binary case to a multi-class one to fit the need for multiple activity recognition. We also study how to select the best parameter set including the minimal and the maximal support thresholds in finding the MDSs for effective activity recognition. Overall, the prediction accuracy is 86.59% on the van Kasteren dataset which consists of four different activities for recognition.

  11. Equipment sizing in a coal-fired municipal heating plant modernisation project with support for renewable energy and cogeneration technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalina, Jacek

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Sizing of biomass fired cogeneration block is performed for existing heating plant. • Mathematical model for cogeneration block optimisation is presented. • Impact of financial support mechanisms on optimal solution is discussed. • Influence of short term variations of prices and support intensity is presented. • Different design parameters are suggested by economic and technical quality indices. - Abstract: The paper presents results of design parameters optimisation of a wood chips fired steam boiler based heat and power block in a sample project of coal fired municipal heating plant modernisation. The project assumes the conversion of the heating plant into a dual fuel heat and power plant. The problem that is presented is selection of cogeneration block structure and thermodynamic parameters taking into account financial support mechanisms for cogeneration and renewable energy technologies. There are examined energy conversion and financial performances of the project. The results show that without the financial support the project is not profitable although it generates savings of primary energy of fossil fuels. If an administrative incentives are applied the optimal technical solution is different than suggested by energy conversion efficiency or fossil fuel savings. Financial calculations were performed for Polish marked conditions in the years 2011 and 2014 showing the impact of relatively short term variations of prices and support intensity on optimal plant design parameters

  12. Distinguishing between symbiotic stars and planetary nebulae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iłkiewicz, K.; Mikołajewska, J.

    2017-10-01

    Context. The number of known symbiotic stars (SySt) is still significantly lower than their predicted population. One of the main problems in finding the total population of SySt is the fact that their spectrum can be confused with other objects, such as planetary nebulae (PNe) or dense H II regions. This problem is reinforced by the fact that in a significant fraction of established SySt the emission lines used to distinguish them from other objects are not present. Aims: We aim at finding new diagnostic diagrams that could help separate SySt from PNe. Additionally, we examine a known sample of extragalactic PNe for candidate SySt. Methods: We employed emission line fluxes of known SySt and PNe from the literature. Results: We found that among the forbidden lines in the optical region of spectrum, only the [O III] and [N II] lines can be used as a tool for distinguishing between SySt and PNe, which is consistent with the fact that they have the highest critical densities. The most useful diagnostic that we propose is based on He I lines, which are more common and stronger in SySt than forbidden lines. All these useful diagnostic diagrams are electron density indicators that better distinguish PNe and ionized symbiotic nebulae. Moreover, we found six new candidate SySt in the Large Magellanic Cloud and one in M 81. If confirmed, the candidate in M 81 would be the farthest known SySt thus far.

  13. Visibility bound caused by a distinguishable noise particle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gavenda, Miroslav; Celechovska, Lucie; Dusek, Miloslav; Filip, Radim; Soubusta, Jan

    2011-01-01

    We investigate how the distinguishability of a 'noise' particle degrades interference of the 'signal' particle. The signal, represented by an equatorial state of a photonic qubit, is mixed with noise, represented by another photonic qubit, via linear coupling on a beam splitter. We report on the degradation of the signal photon interference depending on the degree of indistinguishability between the signal and noise photons. When the photons are completely distinguishable in principle but technically indistinguishable, the visibility drops to the value 1/√(2). As the photons become more indistinguishable, the maximal visibility increases and reaches the unit value for completely indistinguishable photons. We have examined this effect experimentally using a setup with a fiber-optics two-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

  14. Could We Distinguish Child Users from Adults Using Keystroke Dynamics?

    OpenAIRE

    Uzun, Yasin; Bicakci, Kemal; Uzunay, Yusuf

    2015-01-01

    Significant portion of contemporary computer users are children, who are vulnerable to threats coming from the Internet. To protect children from such threats, in this study, we investigate how successfully typing data can be used to distinguish children from adults. For this purpose, we collect a dataset comprising keystroke data of 100 users and show that distinguishing child Internet users from adults is possible using Keystroke Dynamics with equal error rates less than 10 percent. However...

  15. Calculating Optimal Inventory Size

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruby Perez

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the project is to find the optimal value for the Economic Order Quantity Model and then use a lean manufacturing Kanban equation to find a numeric value that will minimize the total cost and the inventory size.

  16. Role of Relationship Marketing in Small and Medium-Sized Entreprises

    OpenAIRE

    Ružica Butigan; Ivana Mahnić

    2011-01-01

    Along with marketing, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are commonly associated in literature with relationship marketing which results in marketing networks. This paper examines the specific characteristics that differentiate large companies from small and medium-sized enterprises, and the reasons that prevent SMEs from engaging in traditional marketing within the scope of marketing mix. The paper also shows that the key characteristic which distinguishes small from large companies is a pr...

  17. Projected phase-change memory devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koelmans, Wabe W; Sebastian, Abu; Jonnalagadda, Vara Prasad; Krebs, Daniel; Dellmann, Laurent; Eleftheriou, Evangelos

    2015-09-03

    Nanoscale memory devices, whose resistance depends on the history of the electric signals applied, could become critical building blocks in new computing paradigms, such as brain-inspired computing and memcomputing. However, there are key challenges to overcome, such as the high programming power required, noise and resistance drift. Here, to address these, we present the concept of a projected memory device, whose distinguishing feature is that the physical mechanism of resistance storage is decoupled from the information-retrieval process. We designed and fabricated projected memory devices based on the phase-change storage mechanism and convincingly demonstrate the concept through detailed experimentation, supported by extensive modelling and finite-element simulations. The projected memory devices exhibit remarkably low drift and excellent noise performance. We also demonstrate active control and customization of the programming characteristics of the device that reliably realize a multitude of resistance states.

  18. Distinguishing the rates of gene activation from phenotypic variations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ye; Lv, Cheng; Li, Fangting; Li, Tiejun

    2015-06-18

    Stochastic genetic switching driven by intrinsic noise is an important process in gene expression. When the rates of gene activation/inactivation are relatively slow, fast, or medium compared with the synthesis/degradation rates of mRNAs and proteins, the variability of protein and mRNA levels may exhibit very different dynamical patterns. It is desirable to provide a systematic approach to identify their key dynamical features in different regimes, aiming at distinguishing which regime a considered gene regulatory network is in from their phenotypic variations. We studied a gene expression model with positive feedbacks when genetic switching rates vary over a wide range. With the goal of providing a method to distinguish the regime of the switching rates, we first focus on understanding the essential dynamics of gene expression system in different cases. In the regime of slow switching rates, we found that the effective dynamics can be reduced to independent evolutions on two separate layers corresponding to gene activation and inactivation states, and the transitions between two layers are rare events, after which the system goes mainly along deterministic ODE trajectories on a particular layer to reach new steady states. The energy landscape in this regime can be well approximated by using Gaussian mixture model. In the regime of intermediate switching rates, we analyzed the mean switching time to investigate the stability of the system in different parameter ranges. We also discussed the case of fast switching rates from the viewpoint of transition state theory. Based on the obtained results, we made a proposal to distinguish these three regimes in a simulation experiment. We identified the intermediate regime from the fact that the strength of cellular memory is lower than the other two cases, and the fast and slow regimes can be distinguished by their different perturbation-response behavior with respect to the switching rates perturbations. We proposed a

  19. Project management in building industry management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Nový

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with contents of the project management on general level first. It mentions the most widespread project management standards, which have historically developed in global scale, their parts and objectives. Further, it describes position of the building industry in national economy, its specific features distinguishing it from the other industrial production, contents of the building industry management and project management of structures. The importance of the role of project manager is documented by characteristics of construction projects, their course, contents of sub-phases, and individual types of managing activities. Attention is devoted to project planning – determination of realization costs, necessary resources, sequence and time course of individual works. The most frequently used graphic methods of schedule presentation – Gantt chart, network chart and frequency bar chart are applied on examples of constructions. These charts can be focused in time sequence on individual types of resources – workforce, finance, materials, energies, and machinery. In conclusion, necessity to manage the project management procedures is emphasized as a part of skills of a construction engineer in the role of preparation manager or construction project realization manager.

  20. LDRD 149045 final report distinguishing documents.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitchell, Scott A.

    2010-09-01

    This LDRD 149045 final report describes work that Sandians Scott A. Mitchell, Randall Laviolette, Shawn Martin, Warren Davis, Cindy Philips and Danny Dunlavy performed in 2010. Prof. Afra Zomorodian provided insight. This was a small late-start LDRD. Several other ongoing efforts were leveraged, including the Networks Grand Challenge LDRD, and the Computational Topology CSRF project, and the some of the leveraged work is described here. We proposed a sentence mining technique that exploited both the distribution and the order of parts-of-speech (POS) in sentences in English language documents. The ultimate goal was to be able to discover 'call-to-action' framing documents hidden within a corpus of mostly expository documents, even if the documents were all on the same topic and used the same vocabulary. Using POS was novel. We also took a novel approach to analyzing POS. We used the hypothesis that English follows a dynamical system and the POS are trajectories from one state to another. We analyzed the sequences of POS using support vector machines and the cycles of POS using computational homology. We discovered that the POS were a very weak signal and did not support our hypothesis well. Our original goal appeared to be unobtainable with our original approach. We turned our attention to study an aspect of a more traditional approach to distinguishing documents. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) turns documents into bags-of-words then into mixture-model points. A distance function is used to cluster groups of points to discover relatedness between documents. We performed a geometric and algebraic analysis of the most popular distance functions and made some significant and surprising discoveries, described in a separate technical report.

  1. 3D computed tomography using a microfocus X-ray source: Analysis of artifact formation in the reconstructed images using simulated as well as experimental projection data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krimmel, S.; Stephan, J.; Baumann, J.

    2005-01-01

    The scope of this contribution is to identify and to quantify the influence of different parameters on the formation of image artifacts in X-ray computed tomography (CT) resulting for example, from beam hardening or from partial lack of information using 3D cone beam CT. In general, the reconstructed image quality depends on a number of acquisition parameters concerning the X-ray source (e.g. X-ray spectrum), the geometrical setup (e.g. cone beam angle), the sample properties (e.g. absorption characteristics) and the detector properties. While it is difficult to distinguish the influence of different effects clearly in experimental projection data, they can be selected individually with the help of simulated projection data by varying the parameter set. The reconstruction of the 3D data set is performed with the filtered back projection algorithm according to Feldkamp, Davis and Kress for experimental as well as for simulated projection data. The experimental data are recorded with an industrial microfocus CT system which features a focal spot size of a few micrometers and uses a digital flat panel detector for data acquisition

  2. Distinguishing feral and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) using stable carbon isotopes

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson , Lucy; Dynes , Travis; Berry , Jennifer; Delaplane , Keith; McCormick , Lydia; Brosi , Berry

    2014-01-01

    International audience; The ability to distinguish feral and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) has applications in studies of population genetics, parasite transmission, pollination, interspecific interactions, and bee breeding. We evaluated a diagnostic test based on theoretical differences in stable carbon isotope ratios generated by supplemental feeding. We evaluated (1) if carbon isotope ratios can distinguish feral and managed honeybees and (2) the temporal persistence of the signal aft...

  3. A Model to Partly but Reliably Distinguish DDOS Flood Traffic from Aggregated One

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Li

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Reliable distinguishing DDOS flood traffic from aggregated traffic is desperately desired by reliable prevention of DDOS attacks. By reliable distinguishing, we mean that flood traffic can be distinguished from aggregated one for a predetermined probability. The basis to reliably distinguish flood traffic from aggregated one is reliable detection of signs of DDOS flood attacks. As is known, reliably distinguishing DDOS flood traffic from aggregated traffic becomes a tough task mainly due to the effects of flash-crowd traffic. For this reason, this paper studies reliable detection in the underlying DiffServ network to use static-priority schedulers. In this network environment, we present a method for reliable detection of signs of DDOS flood attacks for a given class with a given priority. There are two assumptions introduced in this study. One is that flash-crowd traffic does not have all priorities but some. The other is that attack traffic has all priorities in all classes, otherwise an attacker cannot completely achieve its DDOS goal. Further, we suppose that the protected site is equipped with a sensor that has a signature library of the legitimate traffic with the priorities flash-crowd traffic does not have. Based on those, we are able to reliably distinguish attack traffic from aggregated traffic with the priorities that flash-crowd traffic does not have according to a given detection probability.

  4. Distinguishing papillary endothelial hyperplasia and angiosarcoma on core needle biopsy of the breast: The importance of clinical and radiologic correlation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilbert, Marie-Christine; Frost, Elisabeth P; Brock, Jane E; Lester, Susan C

    2018-02-24

    Papillary endothelial hyperplasia (PEH) is a rare non-neoplastic exuberant organizing hematoma that can closely mimic angiosarcoma due to a resemblance to malignant anastomosing blood vessels. It could be particularly difficult to distinguish PEH from angiosarcoma in breast core needle biopsies. We identified all cases of these lesions diagnosed on core needle biopsy in order to identify clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features that could prove helpful to arrive at the correct diagnosis. Four cases of PEH and 4 cases of angiosarcoma were identified. The mean age at diagnosis was 62 for PEH and 33 for primary angiosarcoma. All cases of PEH formed small masses with circumscribed or lobulated margins by imaging (mean size 0.9 cm). In 3 cases, the masses were difficult or impossible to identify after the biopsy. Angiosarcomas presented as larger masses with ill-defined margins (mean size 2.8 cm) that were unchanged in size after biopsy. PEH was surrounded by adipose tissue, whereas angiosarcoma invaded into fibrous stroma and involved lobules. The pseudopapillary structures of PEH were composed mainly of collagen, and thus, additional histologic stains for fibrin were not helpful for diagnosis. The 4 patients with PEH received no further treatment and are alive and disease-free at 2-11 years of follow-up. In contrast, the patients with angiosarcoma underwent mastectomy and chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Two of the patients with angiosarcoma died 3 years after diagnosis and the other 2 patients are alive without disease at 5 and 6 years. Therefore, distinguishing PEH and angiosarcoma is essential for appropriate management. This is the first series to compare these lesions on core needle biopsy and the first to note important clinical, imaging, and histologic differences that aid in making a diagnosis of PEH with confidence on breast core needle biopsy. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Antarctic krill; assessment of mesh size selectivity and escape mortality from trawls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krafft, Bjørn A.; Krag, Ludvig Ahm; Herrmann, Bent

    2015-01-01

    Marine AS. The project will examine krill escape mortality from the codend during a full scale field experiment, model size selectivity and escape mortality in codends including different designs and assess the size selectivity in the trawl body forward of the codend. Based on end results from the preceding...... examinations we will be able to predict size selectivity and escape mortality from the entire trawl body with the appurtenant mortality for different trawl designs......This working paper presents the aims and methodology for a three-year-project (commenced in 2015) assessing size selectivity and escape mortality of Antarctic krill from trawl nets. The project is widely based on acquired experiences from a completed study Net Escapement of Antarctic krill...

  6. Characterizing locally distinguishable orthogonal product states

    OpenAIRE

    Feng, Yuan; Shi, Yaoyun

    2007-01-01

    Bennett et al. \\cite{BDF+99} identified a set of orthogonal {\\em product} states in the $3\\otimes 3$ Hilbert space such that reliably distinguishing those states requires non-local quantum operations. While more examples have been found for this counter-intuitive ``nonlocality without entanglement'' phenomenon, a complete and computationally verifiable characterization for all such sets of states remains unknown. In this Letter, we give such a characterization for the $3\\otimes 3$ space.

  7. Projections for the Production of Bulk Volume Bio-Based Polymers in Europe and Environmental Implications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Patel, M.K.; Crank, M.

    2007-01-01

    In this paper we provide an overview of the most important emerging groups of bio-based polymers for bulk volume applications and we discuss market projections for these types of bio-based polymers in the EU, thereby distinguishing between three scenarios. Bio-based polymers are projected to reach a

  8. 29 CFR 794.107 - “Establishment” distinguished.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... the definition of “enterprise” in section 3(r), as set forth in § 794.106, that the activities of the... § 794.107 “Establishment” distinguished. The “enterprise” referred to in the section 7(b)(3) exemption... “an entire business or enterprise” which may include several separate places of business. (See...

  9. Exploratory Data Analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR Measurements to Distinguish the Sea Surface Expressions of Naturally-Occurring Oil Seeps from Human-Related Oil Spills in Campeche Bay (Gulf of Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo de Araújo Carvalho

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available An Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA aims to use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR measurements for discriminating between two oil slick types observed on the sea surface: naturally-occurring oil seeps versus human-related oil spills—the use of satellite sensors for this task is poorly documented in scientific literature. A long-term RADARSAT dataset (2008–2012 is exploited to investigate oil slicks in Campeche Bay (Gulf of Mexico. Simple Classification Algorithms to distinguish the oil slick type are designed based on standard multivariate data analysis techniques. Various attributes of geometry, shape, and dimension that describe the oil slick Size Information are combined with SAR-derived backscatter coefficients—sigma-(σo, beta-(βo, and gamma-(γo naught. The combination of several of these characteristics is capable of distinguishing the oil slick type with ~70% of overall accuracy, however, the sole and simple use of two specific oil slick’s Size Information (i.e., area and perimeter is equally capable of distinguishing seeps from spills. The data mining exercise of our EDA promotes a novel idea bridging petroleum pollution and remote sensing research, thus paving the way to further investigate the satellite synoptic view to express geophysical differences between seeped and spilled oil observed on the sea surface for systematic use.

  10. The hotel enterprise: a business system of project business on the tourism business market

    OpenAIRE

    Berc Radisic, Branka; Basan, Lorena

    2007-01-01

    As a business system, an enterprise represents a complex, dynamic, stochastic, open and organisational system. Certain specific features of a hotel enterprise as a business system of project business result from the activity it performs and from project-based business and development management. As an enterprise based on project business, its distinguishing features include the interconnectedness of business subsystems and the overlapping a hotel enterprise’s business function.

  11. Distinguishing advective and powered motion in self-propelled colloids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byun, Young-Moo; Lammert, Paul E.; Hong, Yiying; Sen, Ayusman; Crespi, Vincent H.

    2017-11-01

    Self-powered motion in catalytic colloidal particles provides a compelling example of active matter, i.e. systems that engage in single-particle and collective behavior far from equilibrium. The long-time, long-distance behavior of such systems is of particular interest, since it connects their individual micro-scale behavior to macro-scale phenomena. In such analyses, it is important to distinguish motion due to subtle advective effects—which also has long time scales and length scales—from long-timescale phenomena that derive from intrinsically powered motion. Here, we develop a methodology to analyze the statistical properties of the translational and rotational motions of powered colloids to distinguish, for example, active chemotaxis from passive advection by bulk flow.

  12. Identical Distinguishable Gas Particles in the Real World

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    particles, it requires more care to identify a gas of identical distinguishable particles ... properties (such as mass, charge, shape, and spin). Adopt an operational ... [6] which might appear to be a physical realization of the proto- typical system of ...

  13. Size Evolution and Stochastic Models: Explaining Ostracod Size through Probabilistic Distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krawczyk, M.; Decker, S.; Heim, N. A.; Payne, J.

    2014-12-01

    The biovolume of animals has functioned as an important benchmark for measuring evolution throughout geologic time. In our project, we examined the observed average body size of ostracods over time in order to understand the mechanism of size evolution in these marine organisms. The body size of ostracods has varied since the beginning of the Ordovician, where the first true ostracods appeared. We created a stochastic branching model to create possible evolutionary trees of ostracod size. Using stratigraphic ranges for ostracods compiled from over 750 genera in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, we calculated overall speciation and extinction rates for our model. At each timestep in our model, new lineages can evolve or existing lineages can become extinct. Newly evolved lineages are assigned sizes based on their parent genera. We parameterized our model to generate neutral and directional changes in ostracod size to compare with the observed data. New sizes were chosen via a normal distribution, and the neutral model selected new sizes differentials centered on zero, allowing for an equal chance of larger or smaller ostracods at each speciation. Conversely, the directional model centered the distribution on a negative value, giving a larger chance of smaller ostracods. Our data strongly suggests that the overall direction of ostracod evolution has been following a model that directionally pushes mean ostracod size down, shying away from a neutral model. Our model was able to match the magnitude of size decrease. Our models had a constant linear decrease while the actual data had a much more rapid initial rate followed by a constant size. The nuance of the observed trends ultimately suggests a more complex method of size evolution. In conclusion, probabilistic methods can provide valuable insight into possible evolutionary mechanisms determining size evolution in ostracods.

  14. ALARA/ALARP distinguished

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riley, P.

    1992-01-01

    In the United Kingdom the term ALARA, ''as low as reasonably achievable'' and the term ALARP ''as low as reasonably practicable'' are used in regulations, in conditions in licenses, in assessment principles and in guidance notes used in the nuclear industry. In fact the ALARA principle is a cornerstone on which much of radiation protection regulation is based. The words ''reasonably practicable'' in ALARP have an established meaning in UK law and are used extensively in statutes and regulations, in particular The Health and Safety Act 1974. The Select Committee of the House of Lords on the European Communities in 1986 concluded that public opinion will play a much larger part in deciding the future of nuclear power than is usual with questions of science and technology. Under the circumstances it is important to industry and the general public for the terms used in legislation to be clear and unambiguous. This paper by distinguishing the terms ALARA/ALARP, sets the scene for a more disciplined use of the terms. (author)

  15. Distinguishing Features and Similarities Between Descriptive Phenomenological and Qualitative Description Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Danny G; Sullivan-Bolyai, Susan; Knafl, Kathleen; Cohen, Marlene Z

    2016-09-01

    Scholars who research phenomena of concern to the discipline of nursing are challenged with making wise choices about different qualitative research approaches. Ultimately, they want to choose an approach that is best suited to answer their research questions. Such choices are predicated on having made distinctions between qualitative methodology, methods, and analytic frames. In this article, we distinguish two qualitative research approaches widely used for descriptive studies: descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description. Providing a clear basis that highlights the distinguishing features and similarities between descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description research will help students and researchers make more informed choices in deciding upon the most appropriate methodology in qualitative research. We orient the reader to distinguishing features and similarities associated with each approach and the kinds of research questions descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description research address. © The Author(s) 2016.

  16. Soil forensics: How far can soil clay analysis distinguish between soil vestiges?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrêa, R S; Melo, V F; Abreu, G G F; Sousa, M H; Chaker, J A; Gomes, J A

    2018-03-01

    Soil traces are useful as forensic evidences because they frequently adhere to individuals and objects associated with crimes and can place or discard a suspect at/from a crime scene. Soil is a mixture of organic and inorganic components and among them soil clay contains signatures that make it reliable as forensic evidence. In this study, we hypothesized that soils can be forensically distinguished through the analysis of their clay fraction alone, and that samples of the same soil type can be consistently distinguished according to the distance they were collected from each other. To test these hypotheses 16 Oxisol samples were collected at distances of between 2m and 1.000m, and 16 Inceptisol samples were collected at distances of between 2m and 300m from each other. Clay fractions were extracted from soil samples and analyzed for hyperspectral color reflectance (HSI), X-ray diffraction crystallographic (XRD), and for contents of iron oxides, kaolinite and gibbsite. The dataset was submitted to multivariate analysis and results were from 65% to 100% effective to distinguish between samples from the two soil types. Both soil types could be consistently distinguished for forensic purposes according to the distance that samples were collected from each other: 1000m for Oxisol and 10m for Inceptisol. Clay color and XRD analysis were the most effective techniques to distinguish clay samples, and Inceptisol samples were more easily distinguished than Oxisol samples. Soil forensics seems a promising field for soil scientists as soil clay can be useful as forensic evidence by using routine analytical techniques from soil science. Copyright © 2017 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Integrating Project Management, Product Design with Industry Sponsored Projects provides Stimulating Senior Capstone Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip A. Sanger

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available

    size: 9pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Abstractsize: x-small;"> size: x-small;">¾ size: 9pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Many students are uncomfortable with real world engineering problems where needs and requirements must be concretely defined and the selection of design solutions is not black and white. This paper describes a two semester, multi-disciplinary senior capstone project for students from three Engineering and Technology Department programs (electrical engineering, electrical and computer engineering technology, and engineering technology that brings together the tools of project management and the creative product development process into industry sponsored projects.  The projects are fully integrated with the Center for Rapid Product Realization with its dual goals of economic development and enhanced learning.  The stage/gate development process is used with six formal reviews covering the development of the proposal through to the fabrication and testing of the project’s output.  Over the past four years thirty five (35 projects have been undertaken with students getting an exciting

  18. 78 FR 12329 - Distinguishing Medical Device Recalls From Product Enhancements; Reporting Requirements; Draft...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-22

    ... medical devices to take timely action to correct violative devices or remove them from the marketplace...] Distinguishing Medical Device Recalls From Product Enhancements; Reporting Requirements; Draft Guidance for... draft guidance entitled ``Distinguishing Medical Device Recalls From Product Enhancements; Reporting...

  19. Varying stiffness and load distributions in defective ball bearings: Analytical formulation and application to defect size estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Dick; Howard, Carl; Prime, Zebb

    2015-02-01

    This paper presents an analytical formulation of the load distribution and varying effective stiffness of a ball bearing assembly with a raceway defect of varying size, subjected to static loading in the radial, axial and rotational degrees of freedom. The analytical formulation is used to study the effect of the size of the defect on the load distribution and varying stiffness of the bearing assembly. The study considers a square-shaped outer raceway defect centered in the load zone and the bearing is loaded in the radial and axial directions while the moment loads are zero. Analysis of the load distributions shows that as the defect size increases, defect-free raceway sections are subjected to increased static loading when one or more balls completely or partly destress when positioned in the defect zone. The stiffness variations that occur when balls pass through the defect zone are significantly larger and change more rapidly at the defect entrance and exit than the stiffness variations that occur for the defect-free bearing case. These larger, more rapid stiffness variations generate parametric excitations which produce the low frequency defect entrance and exit events typically observed in the vibration response of a bearing with a square-shaped raceway defect. Analysis of the stiffness variations further shows that as the defect size increases, the mean radial stiffness decreases in the loaded radial and axial directions and increases in the unloaded radial direction. The effects of such stiffness changes on the low frequency entrance and exit events in the vibration response are simulated with a multi-body nonlinear dynamic model. Previous work used the time difference between the low frequency entrance event and the high frequency exit event to estimate the size of the defect. However, these previous defect size estimation techniques cannot distinguish between defects that differ in size by an integer number of the ball angular spacing, and a third feature

  20. Uncertainties in the Dutch Reference Projections. Background information for the report 'Reference Projections Energy and Emissions 2005-2020'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seebregts, A.J.; Gijsen, A.

    2005-09-01

    The Dutch targets for greenhouse gases, ammonia and non-methane VOCs will likely be met in 2010 according to our calculations from an uncertainty analysis in the framework of the project on Reference Projections for energy, climate and acidifying emissions. However, it is unlikely that the targets for sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide will be attained This study distinguished between sources of uncertainty in the input variables of the Reference Projections. These sources were quantified with the help of the 'Guidance for Uncertainty Assessment and Communication' and 'expert judgement'. With the aid of a statistical Monte Carlo analysis, margins and probability distributions were determined for the most important outcomes of the Reference Projections. These probability distributions led, for example, to several statements being made on the chances of meeting certain targets. The use of 'Guidance for Uncertainty Assessment and Communication' was also evaluated [nl

  1. Evaluation of rules to distinguish unique female grizzly bears with cubs in Yellowstone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, C.C.; Haroldson, M.A.; Cherry, S.; Keating, K.A.

    2008-01-01

    The United States Fish and Wildlife Service uses counts of unduplicated female grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) with cubs-of-the-year to establish limits of sustainable mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA. Sightings are dustered into observations of unique bears based on an empirically derived rule set. The method has never been tested or verified. To evaluate the rule set, we used data from radiocollared females obtained during 1975-2004 to simulate populations under varying densities, distributions, and sighting frequencies. We tested individual rules and rule-set performance, using custom software to apply the rule-set and duster sightings. Results indicated most rules were violated to some degree, and rule-based dustering consistently underestimated the minimum number of females and total population size derived from a nonparametric estimator (Chao2). We conclude that the current rule set returns conservative estimates, but with minor improvements, counts of unduplicated females-with-cubs can serve as a reasonable index of population size useful for establishing annual mortality limits. For the Yellowstone population, the index is more practical and cost-effective than capture-mark-recapture using either DNA hair snagging or aerial surveys with radiomarked bears. The method has useful application in other ecosystems, but we recommend rules used to distinguish unique females be adapted to local conditions and tested.

  2. A multivariate rank test for comparing mass size distributions

    KAUST Repository

    Lombard, F.

    2012-04-01

    Particle size analyses of a raw material are commonplace in the mineral processing industry. Knowledge of particle size distributions is crucial in planning milling operations to enable an optimum degree of liberation of valuable mineral phases, to minimize plant losses due to an excess of oversize or undersize material or to attain a size distribution that fits a contractual specification. The problem addressed in the present paper is how to test the equality of two or more underlying size distributions. A distinguishing feature of these size distributions is that they are not based on counts of individual particles. Rather, they are mass size distributions giving the fractions of the total mass of a sampled material lying in each of a number of size intervals. As such, the data are compositional in nature, using the terminology of Aitchison [1] that is, multivariate vectors the components of which add to 100%. In the literature, various versions of Hotelling\\'s T 2 have been used to compare matched pairs of such compositional data. In this paper, we propose a robust test procedure based on ranks as a competitor to Hotelling\\'s T 2. In contrast to the latter statistic, the power of the rank test is not unduly affected by the presence of outliers or of zeros among the data. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

  3. Distinguishing the communicative functions of gestures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jokinen, Kristiina; Navarretta, Costanza; Paggio, Patrizia

    2008-01-01

    This paper deals with the results of a machine learning experiment conducted on annotated gesture data from two case studies (Danish and Estonian). The data concern mainly facial displays, that are annotated with attributes relating to shape and dynamics, as well as communicative function....... The results of the experiments show that the granularity of the attributes used seems appropriate for the task of distinguishing the desired communicative functions. This is a promising result in view of a future automation of the annotation task....

  4. Daniel L. Schacter: Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents Daniel L. Schacter as one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions (2012). Daniel L. Schacter's major theoretical and empirical contributions include groundbreaking research on the psychological and neural foundations of implicit and explicit memory, memory distortions and…

  5. Simple and multiple linear regression: sample size considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanley, James A

    2016-11-01

    The suggested "two subjects per variable" (2SPV) rule of thumb in the Austin and Steyerberg article is a chance to bring out some long-established and quite intuitive sample size considerations for both simple and multiple linear regression. This article distinguishes two of the major uses of regression models that imply very different sample size considerations, neither served well by the 2SPV rule. The first is etiological research, which contrasts mean Y levels at differing "exposure" (X) values and thus tends to focus on a single regression coefficient, possibly adjusted for confounders. The second research genre guides clinical practice. It addresses Y levels for individuals with different covariate patterns or "profiles." It focuses on the profile-specific (mean) Y levels themselves, estimating them via linear compounds of regression coefficients and covariates. By drawing on long-established closed-form variance formulae that lie beneath the standard errors in multiple regression, and by rearranging them for heuristic purposes, one arrives at quite intuitive sample size considerations for both research genres. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. The Statistics and Mathematics of High Dimension Low Sample Size Asymptotics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Dan; Shen, Haipeng; Zhu, Hongtu; Marron, J S

    2016-10-01

    The aim of this paper is to establish several deep theoretical properties of principal component analysis for multiple-component spike covariance models. Our new results reveal an asymptotic conical structure in critical sample eigendirections under the spike models with distinguishable (or indistinguishable) eigenvalues, when the sample size and/or the number of variables (or dimension) tend to infinity. The consistency of the sample eigenvectors relative to their population counterparts is determined by the ratio between the dimension and the product of the sample size with the spike size. When this ratio converges to a nonzero constant, the sample eigenvector converges to a cone, with a certain angle to its corresponding population eigenvector. In the High Dimension, Low Sample Size case, the angle between the sample eigenvector and its population counterpart converges to a limiting distribution. Several generalizations of the multi-spike covariance models are also explored, and additional theoretical results are presented.

  7. The potential distributions, and estimated spatial requirements and population sizes, of the medium to large-sized mammals in the planning domain of the Greater Addo Elephant National Park project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.F. Boshoff

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available The Greater Addo Elephant National Park project (GAENP involves the establishment of a mega biodiversity reserve in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Conservation planning in the GAENP planning domain requires systematic information on the potential distributions and estimated spatial requirements, and population sizes of the medium to largesized mammals. The potential distribution of each species is based on a combination of literature survey, a review of their ecological requirements, and consultation with conservation scientists and managers. Spatial requirements were estimated within 21 Mammal Habitat Classes derived from 43 Land Classes delineated by expert-based vegetation and river mapping procedures. These estimates were derived from spreadsheet models based on forage availability estimates and the metabolic requirements of the respective mammal species, and that incorporate modifications of the agriculture-based Large Stock Unit approach. The potential population size of each species was calculated by multiplying its density estimate with the area of suitable habitat. Population sizes were calculated for pristine, or near pristine, habitats alone, and then for these habitats together with potentially restorable habitats for two park planning domain scenarios. These data will enable (a the measurement of the effectiveness of the GAENP in achieving predetermined demographic, genetic and evolutionary targets for mammals that can potentially occur in selected park sizes and configurations, (b decisions regarding acquisition of additional land to achieve these targets to be informed, (c the identification of species for which targets can only be met through metapopulation management,(d park managers to be guided regarding the re-introduction of appropriate species, and (e the application of realistic stocking rates. Where possible, the model predictions were tested by comparison with empirical data, which in general corroborated the

  8. 32 CFR 22.205 - Distinguishing assistance from procurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... procurement contract, is the appropriate instrument, based on the following: (a) Purpose. (1) The grants... purpose is acquisition, then the grants officer shall judge that a procurement contract is the appropriate... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Distinguishing assistance from procurement. 22...

  9. Bringing to Market Technological Innovation: What Distinguishes Success from Failure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federico Frattini

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Commercialization is a critical step in technological innovation. Nevertheless, many scholars believe that it is often the least well-managed activity of the whole innovation process. The launch stage seems to be particularly critical in high-technology markets because of the volatility, interconnectedness and the proliferation of new technologies they experience. However, academic and practitioners’ literature has not, so far, developed a clear understanding of the factors that distinguish an effective commercialization from an unsuccessful one, especially in high-technology environments. This paper discusses the results of a research project that aimed to understand the ingredients for success in the commercialization of a technological innovation. The first stage of the research consisted of a comparative historical analysis of 18 innovations, which were commercialized in consumer high-tech markets in the last 30 years. The analysis advocates that an effective commercialization comprises three sub-strategies: Early adoption strategy, Adoption network configuration strategy and Mainstream adoption strategy, with each one characterized by a coherent set of commercialization dimensions. The relative importance of each sub-strategy in determining the innovation commercial success depends on the type of innovation that is commercialized, be it radical or incremental and discontinuous or continuous.

  10. Differences in atypical resting-state effective connectivity distinguish autism from schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dana Mastrovito

    Full Text Available Autism and schizophrenia share overlapping genetic etiology, common changes in brain structure and common cognitive deficits. A number of studies using resting state fMRI have shown that machine learning algorithms can distinguish between healthy controls and individuals diagnosed with either autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia. However, it has not yet been determined whether machine learning algorithms can be used to distinguish between the two disorders. Using a linear support vector machine, we identify features that are most diagnostic for each disorder and successfully use them to classify an independent cohort of subjects. We find both common and divergent connectivity differences largely in the default mode network as well as in salience, and motor networks. Using divergent connectivity differences, we are able to distinguish autistic subjects from those with schizophrenia. Understanding the common and divergent connectivity changes associated with these disorders may provide a framework for understanding their shared cognitive deficits. Keywords: Schizophrenia, Autism, Resting state, Classification, Connectivity, fMRI, Default mode network

  11. Recycled Uranium Mass Balance Project Y-12 National Security Complex Site Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-12-01

    This report has been prepared to summarize the findings of the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12 Complex) Mass Balance Project and to support preparation of associated U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) site reports. The project was conducted in support of DOE efforts to assess the potential for health and environmental issues resulting from the presence of transuranic (TRU) elements and fission products in recycled uranium (RU) processed by DOE and its predecessor agencies. The United States government used uranium in fission reactors to produce plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons production. Because uranium was considered scarce relative to demand when these operations began almost 50 years ago, the spent fuel from U.S. fission reactors was processed to recover uranium for recycling. The estimated mass balance for highly enriched RU, which is of most concern for worker exposure and is the primary focus of this project, is summarized in a table. A discrepancy in the mass balance between receipts and shipments (plus inventory and waste) reflects an inability to precisely distinguish between RU and non-RU shipments and receipts involving the Y-12 Complex and Savannah River. Shipments of fresh fuel (non-RU) and sweetener (also non-RU) were made from the Y-12 Complex to Savannah River along with RU shipments. The only way to distinguish between these RU and non-RU streams using available records is by enrichment level. Shipments of {le}90% enrichment were assumed to be RU. Shipments of >90% enrichment were assumed to be non-RU fresh fuel or sweetener. This methodology using enrichment level to distinguish between RU and non-RU results in good estimates of RU flows that are reasonably consistent with Savannah River estimates. Although this is the best available means of distinguishing RU streams, this method does leave a difference of approximately 17.3 MTU between receipts and shipments. Slightly depleted RU streams received by the Y-12 Complex from ORGDP and

  12. Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions: Steven F. Maier

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Steven F. Maier, winner of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions, is cited for his work in the fields of learned helplessness; cytokines, depressed mood, and cognitive interference; and the brain structures that produce and counteract learned helplessness. In addition to the citation, a biography and selected bibliography of Maier's…

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1982-01-01

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

  14. Distinguishing between Realistic and Fantastical Figures in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davoodi, Telli; Corriveau, Kathleen H.; Harris, Paul L.

    2016-01-01

    Children in the United States come to distinguish historical from fictional story figures between the ages of 3 and 5 years, guided by the plausibility of the story events surrounding the figure (Corriveau, Kim, Schwalen, & Harris, 2009; Woolley & Cox, 2007). However, U.S. children vary in their reactions to stories that include…

  15. Transcranial magnetic stimulation distinguishes Alzheimer disease from frontotemporal dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benussi, Alberto; Di Lorenzo, Francesco; Dell'Era, Valentina; Cosseddu, Maura; Alberici, Antonella; Caratozzolo, Salvatore; Cotelli, Maria Sofia; Micheli, Anna; Rozzini, Luca; Depari, Alessandro; Flammini, Alessandra; Ponzo, Viviana; Martorana, Alessandro; Caltagirone, Carlo; Padovani, Alessandro; Koch, Giacomo; Borroni, Barbara

    2017-08-15

    To determine whether a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) multiparadigm approach can be used to distinguish Alzheimer disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Paired-pulse TMS was used to investigate short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (ICF), long-interval intracortical inhibition, and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) to measure the activity of different intracortical circuits in patients with AD, patients with FTD, and healthy controls (HC). The primary outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity of TMS measures, derived from receiver operating curve analysis. A total of 175 participants met the inclusion criteria. We diagnosed 79 patients with AD, 64 patients with FTD, and 32 HC. We found that while patients with AD are characterized by a specific impairment of SAI, FTD shows a remarkable dysfunction of SICI-ICF intracortical circuits. With the use of the best indexes, TMS differentiated FTD from AD with a sensitivity of 91.8% and specificity of 88.6%, AD from HC with a sensitivity of 84.8% and specificity of 90.6%, and FTD from HC with a sensitivity of 90.2% and specificity of 78.1%. These results were confirmed in patients with mild disease. TMS is a noninvasive procedure that reliably distinguishes AD from FTD and HC and, if these findings are replicated in larger studies, could represent a useful additional diagnostic tool for clinical practice. This study provides Class III evidence that TMS measures can distinguish patients with AD from those with FTD. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology.

  16. THE FORMATION OF A CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROJECT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. S. Potashnik

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article specifies the main sources of financing of investment projects of industrial enterprises, among which are proposed to distinguish between belonging to the participants (shareholders of the company and others. Shows the sequence and content of the steps in building the industrial enterprises of a specific capital investment project. The main requirements for the capital structure of the investment project. As such invited to consider the requirements for the financial feasibility of the project, minimize the cost of capital of the project, the need for additional investments and changes of property shares members of the company, and not exceeding the maximum level of the probability of occurrence of insolvency of the enterprise. The approach allowing to assess the adequacy of the probability of occurrence of insolvency of the enterprise in one way or another the capital structure of the project the maximum allowable (limit level. The methodical examples of basic calculations.

  17. Scoring system to distinguish uncomplicated from complicated acute appendicitis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Atema, J. J.; van Rossem, C. C.; Leeuwenburgh, M. M.; Stoker, J.; Boermeester, M. A.

    2015-01-01

    Non-operative management may be an alternative for uncomplicated appendicitis, but preoperative distinction between uncomplicated and complicated disease is challenging. This study aimed to develop a scoring system based on clinical and imaging features to distinguish uncomplicated from complicated

  18. Investigation of Soil Salinity to Distinguish Boundary Line between ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ADOWIE PERE

    Investigation of Soil Salinity to Distinguish Boundary Line between Saline and ... Setting 4 dSm-1 as the limit between saline and non-saline soils in kriging algorithms resulted in a .... number of sample points within the search window,.

  19. Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions: Alice H. Eagly

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Alice H. Eagly, winner of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions, is cited for her work in the field of social psychology, the psychology of gender, and the use of meta-analytic techniques. She envisions a psychology that extends from individual cognitions to societal structures. In addition to the citation, a biography and selected…

  20. The Hues of English. NCTE Distinguished Lectures 1969.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Council of Teachers of English, Champaign, IL.

    The third volume in the NCTE Distinguished Lectures Series, this collection of papers includes (1) William Stafford on poetry and the language of everyday life, (2) Fred Stocking linking Shakespeare to his time and all time by analysing "temperance" in Sonnet 18, (3) Alan Downer discussing the nature of comedy in drama and the universal…

  1. Diagnostic value of chemical shift artifact in distinguishing benign lymphadenopathy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farshchian, Nazanin, E-mail: farshchian.n@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Tamari, Saghar; Farshchian, Negin [Department of Radiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Madani, Hamid [Department of Pathology, Imam-Reza Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rezaie, Mansour [Department of Biostatistics, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mohammadi-Motlagh, Hamid-Reza, E-mail: mohammadimotlagh@gmail.com [Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2011-11-15

    Purpose: Today, distinguishing metastatic lymph nodes from secondary benign inflammatory ones via using non-invasive methods is increasingly favorable. In this study, the diagnostic value of chemical shift artifact (CSA) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated to distinguish benign lymphadenopathy. Subjects and methods: A prospective intraindividual internal review board-approved study was carried out on 15 men and 15 women having lymphadenopathic lesions in different locations of the body who underwent contrast-enhanced dynamic MR imaging at 1.5 T. Then, the imaging findings were compared with pathology reports, using the statistics analyses. Results: Due to the findings of the CSA existence in MRI, a total of 56.7% of the studied lesions (17 of 30) were identified as benign lesions and the rest were malignant, whereas the pathology reports distinguished twelve malignant and eighteen benign cases. Furthermore, the CSA findings comparing the pathology reports indicated that CSA, with confidence of 79.5%, has a significant diagnostic value to differentiate benign lesions from malignant ones. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that CSA in MR imaging has a suitable diagnostic potential nearing readiness for clinical trials. Furthermore, CSA seems to be a feasible tool to differentiate benign lymph nodes from malignant ones; however, further studies including larger numbers of patients are required to confirm our results.

  2. The Identification of Conductor-Distinguished Functions of Conducting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gumm, Alan J.; Battersby, Sharyn L.; Simon, Kathryn L.; Shankles, Andrew E.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to identify whether conductors distinguish functions of conducting similarly to functions implied in previous research. A sample of 84 conductors with a full range of experience levels (M = 9.8) and of a full range of large ensemble types and ensemble age levels rated how much they pay attention to 82…

  3. General Vertex-Distinguishing Total Coloring of Graphs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chanjuan Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The general vertex-distinguishing total chromatic number of a graph G is the minimum integer k, for which the vertices and edges of G are colored using k colors such that any two vertices have distinct sets of colors of them and their incident edges. In this paper, we figure out the exact value of this chromatic number of some special graphs and propose a conjecture on the upper bound of this chromatic number.

  4. Distinguishing Biologically Relevant Hexoses by Water Adduction to the Lithium-Cationized Molecule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Matthew T; Chen, Dazhe; Wallbillich, Nicholas J; Glish, Gary L

    2017-10-03

    A method to distinguish the four most common biologically relevant underivatized hexoses, d-glucose, d-galactose, d-mannose, and d-fructose, using only mass spectrometry with no prior separation/derivatization step has been developed. Electrospray of a solution containing hexose and a lithium salt generates [Hexose+Li] + . The lithium-cationized hexoses adduct water in a quadrupole ion trap. The rate of this water adduction reaction can be used to distinguish the four hexoses. Additionally, for each hexose, multiple lithiation sites are possible, allowing for multiple structures of [Hexose+Li] + . Electrospray produces at least one structure that reacts with water and at least one that does not. The ratio of unreactive lithium-cationized hexose to total lithium-cationized hexose is unique for the four hexoses studied, providing a second method for distinguishing the isomers. Use of the water adduction reaction rate or the unreactive ratio provides two separate methods for confidently (p ≤ 0.02) distinguishing the most common biologically relevant hexoses using only femtomoles of hexose. Additionally, binary mixtures of glucose and fructose were studied. A calibration curve was created by measuring the reaction rate of various samples with different ratios of fructose and glucose. The calibration curve was used to accurately measure the percentage of fructose in three samples of high fructose corn syrup (<4% error).

  5. Distribution functions of sections and projections of convex bodies

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Jaegil; Yaskin, Vladyslav; Zvavitch, Artem

    2015-01-01

    Typically, when we are given the section (or projection) function of a convex body, it means that in each direction we know the size of the central section (or projection) perpendicular to this direction. Suppose now that we can only get the information about the sizes of sections (or projections), and not about the corresponding directions. In this paper we study to what extent the distribution function of the areas of central sections (or projections) of a convex body can be used to derive ...

  6. Using Tractography to Distinguish SWEDD from Parkinson’s Disease Patients Based on Connectivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansu Kim

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. It is critical to distinguish between Parkinson’s disease (PD and scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDD, because the two groups are different and require different therapeutic approaches. Objective. The aim of this study was to distinguish SWEDD patients from PD patients using connectivity information derived from diffusion tensor imaging tractography. Methods. Diffusion magnetic resonance images of SWEDD (n=37 and PD (n=40 were obtained from a research database. Tractography, the process of obtaining neural fiber information, was performed using custom software. Group-wise differences between PD and SWEDD patients were quantified using the number of connected fibers between two regions, and correlation analyses were performed based on clinical scores. A support vector machine classifier (SVM was applied to distinguish PD and SWEDD based on group-wise differences. Results. Four connections showed significant group-wise differences and correlated with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale sponsored by the Movement Disorder Society. The SVM classifier attained 77.92% accuracy in distinguishing between SWEDD and PD using these identified connections. Conclusions. The connections and regions identified represent candidates for future research investigations.

  7. Neural Indices of Semantic Processing in Early Childhood Distinguish Eventual Stuttering Persistence and Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreidler, Kathryn; Wray, Amanda Hampton; Usler, Evan; Weber, Christine

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Maturation of neural processes for language may lag in some children who stutter (CWS), and event-related potentials (ERPs) distinguish CWS who have recovered from those who have persisted. The current study explores whether ERPs indexing semantic processing may distinguish children who will eventually persist in stuttering…

  8. U.S. Energy Service Company Industry: Market Size and Project Performance from 1990-2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, Peter; Goldman, Charles; Satchwell, Andrew

    2012-08-21

    The U.S. energy service company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private sector business model where energy savings are delivered to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. This study was conceived as a snapshot of the ESCO industry prior to the economic slowdown and the introduction of federal stimulus funding mandated by enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This study utilizes two parallel analytic approaches to characterize ESCO industry and market trends in the U.S.: (1) a ?top-down? approach involving a survey of individual ESCOs to estimate aggregate industry activity and (2) a ?bottom-up? analysis of a database of ~;;3,250 projects (representing over $8B in project investment) that reports market trends including installed EE retrofit strategies, project installation costs and savings, project payback times, and benefit-cost ratios over time. Despite the onset of a severe economic recession, the U.S. ESCO industry managed to grow at about 7percent per year between 2006 and 2008. ESCO industry revenues were about $4.1 billion in 2008 and ESCOs anticipate accelerated growth through 2011 (25percent per year). We found that 2,484 ESCO projects in our database generated ~;;$4.0 billion ($2009) in net, direct economic benefits to their customers. We estimate that the ESCO project database includes about 20percent of all U.S. ESCO market activity from 1990-2008. Assuming the net benefits per project are comparable for ESCO projects that are not included in the LBNL database, this would suggest that the ESCO industry has generated ~;;$23 billion in net direct economic benefits for customers at projects installed between 1990 and 2008. There is empirical evidence confirming that the industry is evolving by installing more comprehensive and complex measures?including onsite generation and measures to address deferred maintenance?but this evolution has significant implications for customer project

  9. Effect of coal stress on grain size of the gotten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sikora, W; Tront, A

    1988-09-01

    Presents investigation results on the effect of seam stress and strain state on winning as measured by the grain size of the gotten. The investigations were carried out at the Institute of Mining Mechanization of the Silesian Politechnical where the relations between parameters of seams and cutters and their effect on coal grain size and energy consumption have been studied for several years. The effect was examined on coal samples taken from 4 mines in the Upper Silesian coal basin using a model of the system: seam - cutter. Cubic samples (400x400x400 mm) were tested on the CMG KOMAG test stand equipped with the POS-1 cutting apparatus. Two types of coal were distinguished: that particularly sensitive to increased pressure on seam and that only negligibly susceptible. Corresponding graphs of coal grain size versus vertical pressure are shown. A function has been developed that characterizes this sensitivity depending on a material parameter that can be determined by workability tests. The relationship between coal strength and grain size yield greater than 10 mm in the gotten depending on dynamic crushability of coal is shown in graphs. 6 refs.

  10. Quantum-Secret-Sharing Scheme Based on Local Distinguishability of Orthogonal Seven-Qudit Entangled States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Cheng-Ji; Li, Zhi-Hui; Bai, Chen-Ming; Si, Meng-Meng

    2018-02-01

    The concept of judgment space was proposed by Wang et al. (Phys. Rev. A 95, 022320, 2017), which was used to study some important properties of quantum entangled states based on local distinguishability. In this study, we construct 15 kinds of seven-qudit quantum entangled states in the sense of permutation, calculate their judgment space and propose a distinguishability rule to make the judgment space more clearly. Based on this rule, we study the local distinguishability of the 15 kinds of seven-qudit quantum entangled states and then propose a ( k, n) threshold quantum secret sharing scheme. Finally, we analyze the security of the scheme.

  11. Distinguishing benign from malignant gallbladder wall thickening using FDG-PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oe, Ai; Kawabe, Joji; Torii, Kenji

    2006-01-01

    Because thickening of the gallbladder wall is observed not only in patients with gallbladder cancer but also in those with benign diseases such as chronic cholecystitis and gallbladder adenomyosis, it is difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant gallbladder wall thickening by conventional techniques of diagnostic imaging such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and abdominal ultrasonography (US). In the present study, we attempted to distinguish between benign and malignant gallbladder wall thickening by means of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-Positron emission tomography (PET). FDG-PET was performed in 12 patients with gallbladder wall thickening detected by CT or US, to determine whether it was benign or malignant. Emission scans were taken, beginning 45 minutes after intravenous administration of FDG, and standardized uptake value (SUV) was calculated as an indicator of glucose metabolism. Of the 12 patients, 4 showed positive uptake of FDG in the gallbladder wall. Of these 4 patients, 3 had gallbladder cancer. The remaining one, who had chronic cholecystitis, had false-positive findings. The other 8 patients had negative uptake of FDG in the gallbladder wall. Two of these 8 underwent surgical resection, which yielded a diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis. The other 6 patients exhibited no sign of gallbladder malignancy and have been followed without active treatment. FDG-PET appears able to distinguish between benign and malignant gallbladder wall thickening. (author)

  12. Distinguishing between Poor/Dysfunctional Parenting and Child Emotional Maltreatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, David A.; McIsaac, Caroline

    2011-01-01

    Objective: This paper was intended to distinguish between poor parenting and child emotional maltreatment (CEM), to inform child welfare and public health policymakers of the need for differentiated responses. Methods: Scientific literature was integrated with current practice and assumptions relating to poor/dysfunctional parenting and child…

  13. Distinguishing hyperhidrosis and normal physiological sweat production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorlacius, Linnea; Gyldenløve, Mette; Zachariae, Claus

    2015-01-01

    of this study was to establish reference intervals for normal physiological axillary and palmar sweat production. METHODS: Gravimetric testing was performed in 75 healthy control subjects. Subsequently, these results were compared with findings in a cohort of patients with hyperhidrosis and with the results...... 100 mg/5 min. CONCLUSIONS: A sweat production rate of 100 mg/5 min as measured by gravimetric testing may be a reasonable cut-off value for distinguishing axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis from normal physiological sweat production....

  14. Laboratory test variables useful for distinguishing upper from lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomizawa, Minoru; Shinozaki, Fuminobu; Hasegawa, Rumiko; Shirai, Yoshinori; Motoyoshi, Yasufumi; Sugiyama, Takao; Yamamoto, Shigenori; Ishige, Naoki

    2015-05-28

    To distinguish upper from lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Patient records between April 2011 and March 2014 were analyzed retrospectively (3296 upper endoscopy, and 1520 colonoscopy). Seventy-six patients had upper GI bleeding (Upper group) and 65 had lower GI bleeding (Lower group). Variables were compared between the groups using one-way analysis of variance. Logistic regression was performed to identify variables significantly associated with the diagnosis of upper vs lower GI bleeding. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the threshold value that could distinguish upper from lower GI bleeding. Hemoglobin (P = 0.023), total protein (P = 0.0002), and lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.009) were significantly lower in the Upper group than in the Lower group. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was higher in the Upper group than in the Lower group (P = 0.0065). Logistic regression analysis revealed that BUN was most strongly associated with the diagnosis of upper vs lower GI bleeding. ROC analysis revealed a threshold BUN value of 21.0 mg/dL, with a specificity of 93.0%. The threshold BUN value for distinguishing upper from lower GI bleeding was 21.0 mg/dL.

  15. Make Projects Small Form Factor PCs

    CERN Document Server

    Wessels, Duane

    2006-01-01

    Shoebox sized and smaller, small-form-factor PCs can pack as much computing muscle as a full-sized desktop computer. They consumer less power, have few or no moving parts, and are very quiet. Whether you plan to use one as a standalone PC or want to embed it in your next hacking project, a small-form-factor PC can be a lot of fun to build. Make Projects: Small Form Factor PCs is the only book available that shows you how to build small-form-factor PCs -- from kits and from scratch -- that are more interesting and more personalized than what a full-sized PC can give you. Included in the book

  16. Viability in holder of irradiated cells: distinguish between repair and cell multiplication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araujo, A.C. de.

    1980-01-01

    In experiments in which liquid holding recovery (LHR) was measured, the majority of cellular population is formed by non-viable cells and cell multiplication may be important for LHR expression. In order to distinguish between recuperation of viability (true LHR) and cell multiplication, it was necessary to employ improved plating techniques and a fluctuation test based on Poisson distribution. Our results are an indication that this fluctuation test, used together with the traditional method, is a good tool to distinguish repair from cell multiplication. (author)

  17. Measurement of the angle formed between the thalamostriate vein and internal cerebral vein in anteroposterior projection: A method of estimating the size of the lateral ventricle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Il Soon; Yoo, Ho Joon; Kim, Myung Sung; Park, Kwang Joo

    1974-01-01

    The size and shape of the lateral ventricle are frequently altered by intracranial lesions, and this may be reflected on cerebral angiogram. The size and dilatation of the lateral ventricle may be estimate by the course of the thalamostirate vein (TSV) and the distance between the midline and the TSV in frontal projection, the course of the pericallosal artery and the distance between the venous angle and subependymal veins in lateral projection. However, little description can be found in the literature about the method of expressing the size and degree of dilatation of the lateral ventricle on cerebral angiogram. The authors have attempted to find out an easy way of precisely estimating the size of the lateral ventricle and to observe how it can be applied in the patients with various expanding intracranial lesions. We measured the angle formed between the internal cerebral vein (ICV) and the TSV in the anteroposterior roentgenograms of venous phase in normal group composed of 61 patients in whom no significant abnormality could be detected neurologically or by other methods, and in 18 patients with expanding intracranial lesions. The results obtained are as follows: 1. In the normal group, the average angle formed between the ICV and TSV on the anteroposterior angiogram obtained with the central beam projected making an angle of 10 to 15 .deg with the orbitomeatal line was 25.7 ± 3.9 .deg, ranging from 19 to 34 .deg. The angle measured from 20 to 30 in 85% of the normal group. There was no significant difference between the male and the female as well as between the children and adults. 2. The measurement of the angle was found to reflect faithfully the size of the lateral ventricle on the side examined, increasing as the lateral ventricle dilated. When the angle measures more than 33.deg. the lateral ventricle would certainly be dilated. The lateral ventricle can be taken as moderately dilated when the measurement exceeds 40.deg and as severely dilated when

  18. Technological Aspects of Creating Large-size Optical Telescopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Sychev

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A concept of the telescope creation, first of all, depends both on a choice of the optical scheme to form optical radiation and images with minimum losses of energy and information and on a choice of design to meet requirements for strength, stiffness, and stabilization characteristics in real telescope operation conditions. Thus, the concept of creating large-size telescopes, certainly, involves the use of adaptive optics methods and means.The level of technological capabilities to realize scientific and engineering ideas define a successful development of large-size optical telescopes in many respects. All developers pursue the same aim that is to raise an amount of information by increasing a main mirror diameter of the telescope.The article analyses the adaptive telescope designs developed in our country. Using a domestic ACT-25 telescope as an example, it considers creation of large-size optical telescopes in terms of technological aspects. It also describes the telescope creation concept features, which allow reaching marginally possible characteristics to ensure maximum amount of information.The article compares a wide range of large-size telescopes projects. It shows that a domestic project to create the adaptive ACT-25 super-telescope surpasses its foreign counterparts, and there is no sense to implement Euro50 (50m and OWL (100m projects.The considered material gives clear understanding on a role of technological aspects in development of such complicated optic-electronic complexes as a large-size optical telescope. The technological criteria of an assessment offered in the article, namely specific informational content of the telescope, its specific mass, and specific cost allow us to reveal weaknesses in the project development and define a reserve regarding further improvement of the telescope.The analysis of results and their judgment have shown that improvement of optical largesize telescopes in terms of their maximum

  19. Alberta's Tomorrow Project: adherence to cancer prevention recommendations pertaining to diet, physical activity and body size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whelan, Heather K; Xu, Jian-Yi; Vaseghi, Sanaz; Lo Siou, Geraldine; McGregor, S Elizabeth; Robson, Paula J

    2017-05-01

    To explore cross-sectional adherence to cancer prevention recommendations by adults enrolled in a prospective cohort in Alberta, Canada. Questionnaire data were used to construct a composite cancer prevention adherence score for each participant, based on selected personal recommendations published by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (2007). Data were self-reported on health and lifestyle, past-year physical activity and past-year FFQ. The scores accounted for physical activity, dietary supplement use, body size, and intakes of alcohol, fruit, vegetables and red meat. Tobacco exposure was also included. Scores ranged from 0 (least adherent) to 7 (most adherent). Alberta's Tomorrow Project; a research platform based on a prospective cohort. Adult men and women (n 24 988) aged 35-69 years recruited by random digit dialling and enrolled in Alberta's Tomorrow Project between 2001 and 2009. Of the cohort, 14 % achieved adherence scores ≥5 and 60 % had scores ≤3. Overall adherence scores were higher in women (mean (sd): 3·4 (1·1)) than in men (3·0 (1·2)). The extent of overall adherence was also associated with level of education, employment status, annual household income, personal history of chronic disease, family history of chronic disease and age. Reported adherence to selected personal recommendations for cancer prevention was low in this cohort of adults. In the short to medium term, these results suggest that more work is required to identify behaviours to target with cancer prevention strategies at a population level. Future work will explore the associations between adherence scores and cancer risk in this cohort.

  20. Studies to distinguish between human and animal faecal pollution ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Human enteric viral infections are considered to be predominantly associated with human wastes, as opposed to animal wastes, and a distinction between these has benefits for water quality control and risk assessment. A variety of techniques have been described to distinguish between human and animal faecal pollution ...

  1. Kryolize - KT Fund Project

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    Safety standards and best practices do exist in the field of cryogenics but, as in most domains, they are generally inserted in a few ‘envelope’ cases commonly used in the industry, whereas applicability to the particularity of research facilities are not fully tailored to its needs. The main objective in these cases is to find a harmonised approach, based on lessons learnt and scientific knowledge. The Kryolize Project was created in order to produce tools with a harmonized approach to size pressure relief devices for cryogenic applications. In view of disseminating such tools to other institutes and industrial partners, the project was submitted to CERN’s KT Fund committee. This talk will focus on the process and deliverables of the KT-Funded Kryolize project, including the method on how to cope with the sizing of pressure relief devices and the R&D collaboration agreement between CERN and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for an experimental programme.

  2. INDICATIVE MODEL OF DEVIATIONS IN PROJECT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Олена Борисівна ДАНЧЕНКО

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The article shows the process of constructing the project deviations indicator model. It based on a conceptual model of project deviations integrated management (PDIM. During the project different causes (such as risks, changes, problems, crises, conflicts, stress lead to deviations of integrated project indicators - time, cost, quality, and content. For a more detailed definition of where in the project deviations occur and how they are dangerous for the whole project, it needs to develop an indicative model of project deviations. It allows identifying the most dangerous deviations that require PDIM. As a basis for evaluation of project's success has been taken famous model IPMA Delta. During the evaluation, IPMA Delta estimated project management competence of organization in three modules: I-Module ("Individuals" - a self-assessment personnel, P-module ("Projects" - self-assessment of projects and/or programs, and O-module ("Organization" - used to conduct interviews with selected people during auditing company. In the process of building an indicative model of deviations in the project, the first step is the assessment of project management in the organization by IPMA Delta. In the future, built cognitive map and matrix of system interconnections of the project, which conducted simulations and built a scale of deviations for the selected project. They determined a size and place of deviations. To identify the detailed causes of deviations in the project management has been proposed to use the extended system of indicators, which is based on indicators of project management model Project Excellence. The proposed indicative model of deviations in projects allows to estimate the size of variation and more accurately identify the place of negative deviations in the project and provides the project manager information for operational decision making for the management of deviations in the implementation of the project

  3. Sequencing and annotation of the chloroplast DNAs and identification of polymorphisms distinguishing normal male-fertile and male-sterile cytoplasms of onion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Kohn, Christopher; Kiełkowska, Agnieszka; Havey, Michael J

    2013-12-01

    Male-sterile (S) cytoplasm of onion is an alien cytoplasm introgressed into onion in antiquity and is widely used for hybrid seed production. Owing to the biennial generation time of onion, classical crossing takes at least 4 years to classify cytoplasms as S or normal (N) male-fertile. Molecular markers in the organellar DNAs that distinguish N and S cytoplasms are useful to reduce the time required to classify onion cytoplasms. In this research, we completed next-generation sequencing of the chloroplast DNAs of N- and S-cytoplasmic onions; we assembled and annotated the genomes in addition to identifying polymorphisms that distinguish these cytoplasms. The sizes (153 538 and 153 355 base pairs) and GC contents (36.8%) were very similar for the chloroplast DNAs of N and S cytoplasms, respectively, as expected given their close phylogenetic relationship. The size difference was primarily due to small indels in intergenic regions and a deletion in the accD gene of N-cytoplasmic onion. The structures of the onion chloroplast DNAs were similar to those of most land plants with large and small single copy regions separated by inverted repeats. Twenty-eight single nucleotide polymorphisms, two polymorphic restriction-enzyme sites, and one indel distributed across 20 chloroplast genes in the large and small single copy regions were selected and validated using diverse onion populations previously classified as N or S cytoplasmic using restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Although cytoplasmic male sterility is likely associated with the mitochondrial DNA, maternal transmission of the mitochondrial and chloroplast DNAs allows for polymorphisms in either genome to be useful for classifying onion cytoplasms to aid the development of hybrid onion cultivars.

  4. A novel distinguishing system for the diagnosis of malignant pancreatic cystic neoplasm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen, Xiaoyong, E-mail: shanlixinc@163.com [Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Lu, Di, E-mail: lcyxld@126.com [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Xu, Xiao, E-mail: zdyyxx@163.com [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Wang, Jianguo, E-mail: 21118059@zju.edu.cn [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Wu, Jian, E-mail: drwujian@hotmail.com [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Yan, Sheng, E-mail: shengyan@zju.edu.cn [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China); Zheng, Shu-sen, E-mail: zyzss@zju.edu.cn [Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou (China)

    2013-11-01

    Purpose: To explore a simple and reliable non-invasive distinguishing system for the pre-operative evaluation of malignancy in pancreatic cystic neoplasm (PCN). Methods: This study first enrolled an observation cohort of 102 consecutive PCN patients. Demographic information, results of laboratory examinations, and computed tomography (CT) presentations were recorded and analyzed to achieve a distinguishing model/system for malignancy. A group of 21 patients was then included to validate the model/system prospectively. Results: Based on the 11 malignancy-related features identified by univariate analysis, a distinguishing model for malignancy in PCN was established by multivariate analysis: PCN malignant score = 2.967 × elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) (≥6.16 mmol/L) ± 4.496 × asymmetrically thickened wall (or mural nodules ≥ 4 mm) ± 1.679 × septum thickening (≥2 mm) − 5.134. With the optimal cut-off value selected as −2.8 in reference to the Youden index, the proposed system for malignant PCN was established: septum thickening (>2 mm), asymmetrically thickened wall (or mural nodules > 4 mm), or elevated FBG (>6.16 mmol/L, accompanying commonly known malignant signs), the presence of at least one of these 3 features indicated malignancy in PCN. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of this system were 81.4%, 95.8% and 76.9%, respectively. MRI was performed on 32 patients, making correct prediction of malignancy explicitly in only 68.8% (22/32). The subsequent prospective validation study showed that the proposed distinguishing system had a predictive accuracy of 85.7% (18/21). Moreover, a higher model score, or aggregation of the features in the proposed system, indicated a higher grade of malignancy (carcinoma) in PCN. Conclusion: Elevated FBG (>6.16 mmol/L), asymmetrically thickened wall (or mural nodules > 4 mm) and septum thickening (>2 mm) are of great value in differentiating the malignancy in PCN. The developed distinguishing system is

  5. Electron Beam Size Measurements in a Cooling Solenoid

    CERN Document Server

    Kroc, Thomas K; Burov, Alexey; Seletsky, Sergey; Shemyakin, Alexander V

    2005-01-01

    The Fermilab Electron Cooling Project requires a straight trajectory and constant beam size to provide effective cooling of the antiprotons in the Recycler. A measurement system was developed using movable appertures and steering bumps to measure the beam size in a 20 m long, nearly continuous, solenoid. This paper discusses the required beam parameters, the implimentation of the measurement system and results for our application.

  6. Distinguishing between stochasticity and determinism: Examples from cell cycle duration variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearl Mizrahi, Sivan; Sandler, Oded; Lande-Diner, Laura; Balaban, Nathalie Q; Simon, Itamar

    2016-01-01

    We describe a recent approach for distinguishing between stochastic and deterministic sources of variability, focusing on the mammalian cell cycle. Variability between cells is often attributed to stochastic noise, although it may be generated by deterministic components. Interestingly, lineage information can be used to distinguish between variability and determinism. Analysis of correlations within a lineage of the mammalian cell cycle duration revealed its deterministic nature. Here, we discuss the sources of such variability and the possibility that the underlying deterministic process is due to the circadian clock. Finally, we discuss the "kicked cell cycle" model and its implication on the study of the cell cycle in healthy and cancerous tissues. © 2015 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

  7. A history of the Distinguished Service Foundation of Optometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goss, David A

    2015-01-01

    The Distinguished Service Foundation of Optometry was an organization which sought to encourage research and education to facilitate the conservation of vision through publications and the awarding of medals. It existed from 1927 to 1979, but was most active in the 1930s and 1940s. Its leaders and activities are discussed.

  8. Small and medium-sized hydropower projects in competitive markets: the case of Rio Piedras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Restrepo Posada, Federico

    1999-01-01

    The article describes the case of the Rio Piedras Hydropower Project, a first private hydropower generation initiative in Colombia, within the new regulatory framework for the provision of public services and electric generation under laws 142 and 143, passed in 1994. Reference is made in this article to the background and characteristics of the Project, and some obstacles, challenges and risks encountered are described, as well as the way in which they are being controlled. The investment and commercialization modules developed in analyzing the project are also presented. Finally, some reflections are given as to the medium and long term prospects for electric generation projects in Colombia. (The author)

  9. Can one distinguish T-neutrinos from antineutrinos in neutral-current pion production processes?

    OpenAIRE

    Hernández Gajate, Eliecer; Nieves Pamplona, Juan Miguel; Valverde Hermosilla, Manuel

    2007-01-01

    A potential way to distinguish tau-neutrinos from antineutrinos, below the tau-production threshold, but above the pion production one, is presented. It is based on the different behavior of the neutral-current pion production off the nucleon, depending on whether it is induced by neutrinos or antineutrinos. This procedure for distinguishing tau-neutrinos from antineutrinos neither relies on any nuclear model, nor it is affected by any nuclear effect (distortion of the outgoing nucleon waves,...

  10. A novel histological technique for distinguishing between epithelial cells in forensic casework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Claire E V; Jensen, Cynthia G; Vintiner, Susan K; Elliot, Douglas A; McGlashan, Susan R

    2008-06-10

    There are a number of forensic cases in which the identification of the epithelial cell type from which DNA originated would provide important probative evidence. This study aimed to develop a technique using histological staining of fixed cells to distinguish between skin, buccal and vaginal epithelium. First, 11 different stains were screened on formalin-fixed, wax-embedded cells from five women. Samples were analysed qualitatively by examining staining patterns (colour) and morphology (absence or presence of nuclei). Three of the staining methods--Dane's, Csaba's and Ayoub-Shklar--were successful in distinguishing skin epithelial cells from buccal and vaginal. Second, cells were smeared directly onto slides, fixed with one of five fixatives and stained with one of the three stains mentioned above. Methanol fixation, coupled with the Dane's staining method, specific to keratin, was the only technique that distinguished between all three cell types. Skin cells stained magenta, red and orange and lacked nuclei; buccal cells stained predominantly orange-pink with red nuclei; while vaginal cells stained bright orange with orange nuclei and a blue extracellular hue. This staining pattern in vaginal cells was consistent in samples collected from 50 women aged between 18 and 67. Identification of cell type from unlabelled micrographs by 10 trained observers showed a mean success rate of 95%. The results of this study demonstrate that histological staining may provide forensic scientists with a technique for distinguishing between skin, buccal and vaginal epithelial cells and thus would enable more conclusive analyses when investigating sexual assault cases.

  11. Distinguishing between Exogenous and Endogenous Intent-to-Transfer Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris A.; Karoly, Paul; Martin, Jessica L.; Benshoff, Annja

    2009-01-01

    In this article, we distinguish between 2 types of students who intend to transfer and graduate from another institution. During the fall of 2006, 507 first-semester students attending a state university completed a survey. Seventy-six percent of the students indicated that they planned on graduating from the University (intent-to-persist), 16%…

  12. Distinguishing deterministic and noise components in ELM time series

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zvejnieks, G.; Kuzovkov, V.N

    2004-01-01

    Full text: One of the main problems in the preliminary data analysis is distinguishing the deterministic and noise components in the experimental signals. For example, in plasma physics the question arises analyzing edge localized modes (ELMs): is observed ELM behavior governed by a complicate deterministic chaos or just by random processes. We have developed methodology based on financial engineering principles, which allows us to distinguish deterministic and noise components. We extended the linear auto regression method (AR) by including the non-linearity (NAR method). As a starting point we have chosen the nonlinearity in the polynomial form, however, the NAR method can be extended to any other type of non-linear functions. The best polynomial model describing the experimental ELM time series was selected using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). With this method we have analyzed type I ELM behavior in a subset of ASDEX Upgrade shots. Obtained results indicate that a linear AR model can describe the ELM behavior. In turn, it means that type I ELM behavior is of a relaxation or random type

  13. Deriving Fuel Mass by Size Class in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lloyd Queen

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Requirements for describing coniferous forests are changing in response to wildfire concerns, bio-energy needs, and climate change interests. At the same time, technology advancements are transforming how forest properties can be measured. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS is yielding promising results for measuring tree biomass parameters that, historically, have required costly destructive sampling and resulted in small sample sizes. Here we investigate whether TLS intensity data can be used to distinguish foliage and small branches (≤0.635 cm diameter; coincident with the one-hour timelag fuel size class from larger branchwood (>0.635 cm in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii branch specimens. We also consider the use of laser density for predicting biomass by size class. Measurements are addressed across multiple ranges and scan angles. Results show TLS capable of distinguishing fine fuels from branches at a threshold of one standard deviation above mean intensity. Additionally, the relationship between return density and biomass is linear by fuel type for fine fuels (r2 = 0.898; SE 22.7% and branchwood (r2 = 0.937; SE 28.9%, as well as for total mass (r2 = 0.940; SE 25.5%. Intensity decays predictably as scan distances increase; however, the range-intensity relationship is best described by an exponential model rather than 1/d2. Scan angle appears to have no systematic effect on fine fuel discrimination, while some differences are observed in density-mass relationships with changing angles due to shadowing.

  14. 12 strategies for managing capital projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoudt, Richard L

    2013-05-01

    To reduce the amount of time and cost associated with capital projects, healthcare leaders should: Begin the project with a clear objective and a concise master facilities plan. Select qualified team members who share the vision of the owner. Base the size of the project on a conservative business plan. Minimize incremental program requirements. Evaluate the cost impact of the building footprint. Consider alternative delivery methods.

  15. MANAGING MULTICULTURAL PROJECT TEAMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cezar SCARLAT

    2014-06-01

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

  16. Distinguishing the Transcription Regulation Patterns in Promoters of Human Genes with Different Function or Evolutionary Age

    KAUST Repository

    Alam, Tanvir

    2012-01-01

    elements, histone modification marks, and others. Ten-fold cross-validation tests suggest that our model can distinguish protein-coding and non-coding RNAs with accuracy above 80%. Twenty-fold cross-validation tests suggest that our model can distinguish

  17. An improved affine projection algorithm for active noise cancellation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Congyan; Wang, Mingjiang; Han, Yufei; Sun, Yunzhuo

    2017-08-01

    Affine projection algorithm is a signal reuse algorithm, and it has a good convergence rate compared to other traditional adaptive filtering algorithm. There are two factors that affect the performance of the algorithm, which are step factor and the projection length. In the paper, we propose a new variable step size affine projection algorithm (VSS-APA). It dynamically changes the step size according to certain rules, so that it can get smaller steady-state error and faster convergence speed. Simulation results can prove that its performance is superior to the traditional affine projection algorithm and in the active noise control (ANC) applications, the new algorithm can get very good results.

  18. Distinguishing Perceived Competence and Self-Efficacy: An Example from Exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Wendy M.; Markland, David; Selzler, Anne-Marie; Murray, Terra C.; Wilson, Philip M.

    2014-01-01

    This article examined the conceptual and statistical distinction between perceived competence and self-efficacy. Although they are frequently used interchangeably, it is possible that distinguishing them might assist researchers in better understanding their roles in developing enduring adaptive behavior patterns. Perceived competence is conceived…

  19. Sample size calculation in metabolic phenotyping studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billoir, Elise; Navratil, Vincent; Blaise, Benjamin J

    2015-09-01

    The number of samples needed to identify significant effects is a key question in biomedical studies, with consequences on experimental designs, costs and potential discoveries. In metabolic phenotyping studies, sample size determination remains a complex step. This is due particularly to the multiple hypothesis-testing framework and the top-down hypothesis-free approach, with no a priori known metabolic target. Until now, there was no standard procedure available to address this purpose. In this review, we discuss sample size estimation procedures for metabolic phenotyping studies. We release an automated implementation of the Data-driven Sample size Determination (DSD) algorithm for MATLAB and GNU Octave. Original research concerning DSD was published elsewhere. DSD allows the determination of an optimized sample size in metabolic phenotyping studies. The procedure uses analytical data only from a small pilot cohort to generate an expanded data set. The statistical recoupling of variables procedure is used to identify metabolic variables, and their intensity distributions are estimated by Kernel smoothing or log-normal density fitting. Statistically significant metabolic variations are evaluated using the Benjamini-Yekutieli correction and processed for data sets of various sizes. Optimal sample size determination is achieved in a context of biomarker discovery (at least one statistically significant variation) or metabolic exploration (a maximum of statistically significant variations). DSD toolbox is encoded in MATLAB R2008A (Mathworks, Natick, MA) for Kernel and log-normal estimates, and in GNU Octave for log-normal estimates (Kernel density estimates are not robust enough in GNU octave). It is available at http://www.prabi.fr/redmine/projects/dsd/repository, with a tutorial at http://www.prabi.fr/redmine/projects/dsd/wiki. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Inequality indicators and distinguishability in economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenblatt, J.; Martinás, K.

    2008-03-01

    Money has a material counterpart, such as banknotes or coins, and an ideal expression, monetary units. In the latter case, it is boson-like: individual incomes have no a priori limit, and their units are not distinguishable from each other in economic processes. Individuals, on the other hand, usually occupy one job at a time which makes them akin to fermions. We apply to individual incomes down-to-earth statistical calculations, similar to those for quantum particles, and obtain expressions for the cumulative distribution function, probability density and Lorenz function resulting from the simultaneous use of both statistics. They provide extremely good fits to corresponding data on French income distributions. On this basis, we propose a new entropic inequality indicator.

  1. [Formal sample size calculation and its limited validity in animal studies of medical basic research].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, B; Muche, R

    2013-01-01

    Animal studies are highly relevant for basic medical research, although their usage is discussed controversially in public. Thus, an optimal sample size for these projects should be aimed at from a biometrical point of view. Statistical sample size calculation is usually the appropriate methodology in planning medical research projects. However, required information is often not valid or only available during the course of an animal experiment. This article critically discusses the validity of formal sample size calculation for animal studies. Within the discussion, some requirements are formulated to fundamentally regulate the process of sample size determination for animal experiments.

  2. Rapid Methods to Distinguish Heterodera schachtii from Heterodera glycines Using PCR Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyoung Rai Ko

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to develop rapid methods for distinguishing between Heterodera schachtii and H. glycines detected from chinese cabbage fields of highland in Gangwon, Korea. To do this, we performed PCR-RFLP and PCR with the primers set developed in this study for GC147, GC408 and PM001 population, H. schachtii, and YS224, DA142 and BC115 population, H. glycines. Eight restriction enzymes generated RFLP profiles of mtDNA COI region for populations of H. schachtii and H. glycines, repectively. As a result, treatment of two restriction enzymes, RsaI and HinfI, were allowed to distinguish H. schachtii from H. glycines based on the differences of DNA band patterns. The primer set, #JBS1, #JBG1 and #JB3R, amplified specific fragments with 277 and 339 bp of H. schachtii, 339 bp of H. glycines, respectively, while it did not amplify fragments from three root-knot nematodes and two root-lesion nematodes. Thus, the primer set developed in this study could be a good method, which is used to distinguish between H. schachtii and H. glycines.

  3. Distinguished figures in mechanism and machine science

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    This book is composed of chapters that focus specifically on technological developments by distinguished figures in the history of MMS (Mechanism and Machine Science).  Biographies of well-known scientists are also included to describe their efforts and experiences, and surveys of their work and achievements, and a modern interpretation of their legacy are presented. After the first two volumes, the papers in this third volume again cover a wide range within the field of the History of Mechanical Engineering with specific focus on MMS and will be of interest and motivation to the work (historical or not) of many.

  4. Estimating Sample Size for Usability Testing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Cazañas

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available One strategy used to assure that an interface meets user requirements is to conduct usability testing. When conducting such testing one of the unknowns is sample size. Since extensive testing is costly, minimizing the number of participants can contribute greatly to successful resource management of a project. Even though a significant number of models have been proposed to estimate sample size in usability testing, there is still not consensus on the optimal size. Several studies claim that 3 to 5 users suffice to uncover 80% of problems in a software interface. However, many other studies challenge this assertion. This study analyzed data collected from the user testing of a web application to verify the rule of thumb, commonly known as the “magic number 5”. The outcomes of the analysis showed that the 5-user rule significantly underestimates the required sample size to achieve reasonable levels of problem detection.

  5. Wavelet coherence analysis: A new approach to distinguish organic and functional tremor types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, G; Van der Stouwe, A M M; Maurits, N M; Tijssen, M A J; Elting, J W J

    2018-01-01

    To distinguish tremor subtypes using wavelet coherence analysis (WCA). WCA enables to detect variations in coherence and phase difference between two signals over time and might be especially useful in distinguishing functional from organic tremor. In this pilot study, polymyography recordings were studied retrospectively of 26 Parkinsonian (PT), 26 functional (FT), 26 essential (ET), and 20 enhanced physiological (EPT) tremor patients. Per patient one segment of 20 s in duration, in which tremor was present continuously in the same posture, was selected. We studied several coherence and phase related parameters, and analysed all possible muscle combinations of the flexor and extensor muscles of the upper and fore arm. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) was applied to compare WCA and standard coherence analysis to distinguish tremor subtypes. The percentage of time with significant coherence (PTSC) and the number of periods without significant coherence (NOV) proved the most discriminative parameters. FT could be discriminated from organic (PT, ET, EPT) tremor by high NOV (31.88 vs 21.58, 23.12 and 10.20 respectively) with an AUC-ROC of 0.809, while standard coherence analysis resulted in an AUC-ROC of 0.552. EMG-EMG WCA analysis might provide additional variables to distinguish functional from organic tremor. WCA might prove to be of additional value to discriminate between tremor types. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Can Assertiveness be Distinguished From Aggressiveness Using Self Report Data?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mauger, Paul A.; And Others

    The differences between aggressiveness and assertiveness were examined using the Interpersonal Behavior Survey (IBS), a 136-item self-report questionnaire which was developed to distinguish between assertive and aggressive behaviors. Item level factor analysis was used in scale construction. Results indicated that: (1) the correlation between the…

  7. Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology: Nancy E. Adler

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Nancy E. Adler, winner of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology, is cited for her research on reproductive health examining adolescent decision making with regard to contraception, conscious and preconscious motivations for pregnancy, and perception of risk for sexually transmitted diseases, and for her groundbreaking…

  8. Model distinguishability and inference robustness in mechanisms of cholera transmission and loss of immunity

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Elizabeth C.; Kelly, Michael R.; Ochocki, Brad M.; Akinwumi, Segun M.; Hamre, Karen E. S.; Tien, Joseph H.; Eisenberg, Marisa C.

    2016-01-01

    Mathematical models of cholera and waterborne disease vary widely in their structures, in terms of transmission pathways, loss of immunity, and other features. These differences may yield different predictions and parameter estimates from the same data. Given the increasing use of models to inform public health decision-making, it is important to assess distinguishability (whether models can be distinguished based on fit to data) and inference robustness (whether model inferences are robust t...

  9. Analyzing Project Management Maturity Level in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliot Simangunsong

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Project management has been generally known and increasingly used by many organizations to gain competitive advantage. In this context, many studies have proposed maturity models to evaluate how project management knowledge has been deployed effectively and efficiently in organization. As a developing country, Indonesia needs many development projects managed by government and private companies in different industries. Here, a study to assess project management maturity level in Indonesian businesses may bring insight about current business practices, which is important to speed up country development and business sustainability.  Adapting the Project Management Maturity Model (ProMMM, a survey instrument has been developed and applied to professionals from Jakarta and surrounding area.  The result of analysis shows that construction and primary industry have a higher maturity level compare to manufacturing and services.  It is to be noted, however, that the level of project management understanding is low across industries.  This indicates that more quality project management training or certification is required to improve overall project management knowledge in Indonesia. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

  10. Learning network theory : its contribution to our understanding of work-based learning projects and learning climate

    OpenAIRE

    Poell, R.F.; Moorsel, M.A.A.H. van

    1996-01-01

    This paper discusses the relevance of Van der Krogt's learning network theory (1995) for our understanding of the concepts of work-related learning projects and learning climate in organisations. The main assumptions of the learning network theory are presented and transferred to the level of learning groups in organisations. Four theoretical types of learning projects are distinguished. Four different approaches to the learning climate of work groups are compared to the approach offered by t...

  11. Linear Distinguishers in the Key-less Setting: Application to PRESENT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauridsen, Martin Mehl; Rechberger, Christian

    2015-01-01

    The application of the concept of linear cryptanalysis to the domain of key-less primitives is largely an open problem. In this paper we, for the first time, propose a model in which its application is meaningful for distinguishing block ciphers. Combining our model with ideas from message...

  12. Tunable preparation of ruthenium nanoparticles with superior size-dependent catalytic hydrogenation properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Yuan; Luo, Yaodong; Yang, Xuan; Yang, Yaxin; Song, Qijun, E-mail: qsong@jiangnan.edu.cn

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • A facile and efficient strategy is firstly developed for the synthesis of Ru NPs. • Ru NPs are stable and uniform with the controllable sizes from 2.6 to 51.5 nm. • Ru NPs exhibit size-dependent and superior catalytic hydrogenation activity. - Abstract: Ruthenium (Ru) featured with an unusual catalytic behavior is of great significance in several heterogeneous and electro-catalytic reactions. The preparation of tractable Ru nanocatalysts and the building of highly active catalytic system at ambient temperature remains a grand challenge. Herein, a facile strategy is developed for the controllable preparation of Ru nanoparticles (NPs) with the sizes ranging from 2.6 to 51.5 nm. Ru NPs show superior size-dependent catalytic performance with the best kinetic rate constant as high as −1.52 min{sup −1}, which could far surpass the other traditional noble metals. Ru NPs exert exceedingly efficient low-temperature catalytic activity and good recyclability in the catalytic reduction of nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) and azo dyes. The developed catalytic system provides a distinguishing insight for the artificial preparation of Ru NPs with desired sizes, and allows for the development of rational design rules for exploring catalysts with superior catalytic performances, potentially broadening the applications of metallic NP-enabled catalytic analysis.

  13. Self-adaptive method to distinguish inner and outer contours of industrial computed tomography image for rapid prototype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Liming; Ye Yong; Zhang Xia; Zuo Jian

    2013-01-01

    A self-adaptive identification method is proposed for realizing more accurate and efficient judgment about the inner and outer contours of industrial computed tomography (CT) slice images. The convexity-concavity of the single-pixel-wide closed contour is identified with angle method at first. Then, contours with concave vertices are distinguished to be inner or outer contours with ray method, and contours without concave vertices are distinguished with extreme coordinate value method. The method was chosen to automatically distinguish contours by means of identifying the convexity and concavity of the contours. Thus, the disadvantages of single distinguishing methods, such as ray method's time-consuming and extreme coordinate method's fallibility, can be avoided. The experiments prove the adaptability, efficiency, and accuracy of the self-adaptive method. (authors)

  14. Electromechanical characterization of individual micron-sized metal coated polymer particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bazilchuk, Molly; Kristiansen, Helge [Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491 (Norway); Conpart AS, Skjetten 2013 (Norway); Pettersen, Sigurd Rolland; Zhang, Zhiliang; He, Jianying, E-mail: jianying.he@ntnu.no [Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491 (Norway)

    2016-06-28

    Micron-sized polymer particles with nanoscale metal coatings are essential in conductive adhesives for electronics assembly. The particles function in a compressed state in the adhesives. The link between mechanical properties and electrical conductivity is thus of the utmost importance in the formation of good electrical contact. A custom flat punch set-up based on nanoindentation has been developed to simultaneously deform and electrically probe individual particles. The set-up has a sufficiently low internal resistance to allow the measurement of sub-Ohm contact resistances. Additionally, the set-up can capture mechanical failure of the particles. Combining this data yields a fundamental understanding of contact behavior. We demonstrate that this method can clearly distinguish between particles of different sizes, with different thicknesses of metal coating, and different metallization schemes. The technique provides good repeatability and physical insight into the behavior of these particles that can guide adhesive design and the optimization of bonding processes.

  15. Electromechanical characterization of individual micron-sized metal coated polymer particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazilchuk, Molly; Kristiansen, Helge; Pettersen, Sigurd Rolland; Zhang, Zhiliang; He, Jianying

    2016-01-01

    Micron-sized polymer particles with nanoscale metal coatings are essential in conductive adhesives for electronics assembly. The particles function in a compressed state in the adhesives. The link between mechanical properties and electrical conductivity is thus of the utmost importance in the formation of good electrical contact. A custom flat punch set-up based on nanoindentation has been developed to simultaneously deform and electrically probe individual particles. The set-up has a sufficiently low internal resistance to allow the measurement of sub-Ohm contact resistances. Additionally, the set-up can capture mechanical failure of the particles. Combining this data yields a fundamental understanding of contact behavior. We demonstrate that this method can clearly distinguish between particles of different sizes, with different thicknesses of metal coating, and different metallization schemes. The technique provides good repeatability and physical insight into the behavior of these particles that can guide adhesive design and the optimization of bonding processes.

  16. Reference doses and patient size in paediatric radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hart, D.; Wall, B.; Shrimpton, P.

    2000-01-01

    There is a wide range in patient size from a newborn baby to a 15 year old adolescent. Reference doses for paediatric radiology can sensibly be established only for specific sizes of children. Here five standard sizes have been chosen, representing 0 (newborn), 1, 5, 10 and 15 year old patients. This selection of standard ages has the advantage of matching the paediatric mathematical phantoms which are often used in Monte Carlo organ dose calculations. A method has been developed for calculating factors for normalising doses measured on individual children to those for the nearest standard-sized 'child'. These normalisation factors for entrance surface dose (ESD) and dose-area product (DAP) measurements depend on the thickness of the real child, the thickness of the nearest standard 'child', and an effective linear attenuation coefficient (μ) which is itself a function of the x-ray spectrum, the field size, and whether or not an antiscatter grid is used. Entrance and exit dose measurements were made with phantom material representing soft tissue to establish μ values for abdominal and head examinations, and with phantom material representing lung for chest examinations. These measurements of μ were confirmed and extended to other x-ray spectra and field sizes by Monte Carlo calculations. The normalisation factors are tabulated for ESD measurements for specific radiographic projections through the head and trunk, and for DAP measurements for complete multiprojection examinations in the trunk. The normalisation factors were applied to European survey data for entrance surface dose and dose-area product measurements to derive provisional reference doses for common radiographic projections and for micturating cystourethrography (MCU) examinations - the most frequent fluoroscopic examination on children. (author)

  17. A new method of distinguishing models of the high-Q2 events at HERA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Z.; He, X.G.; McKellar, B.

    1997-07-01

    A new method is proposed to distinguish models for the high Q 2 e + p → e + X anomaly at HERA by looking at a new observable which is insensitive to parton distribution function (PDF), but sensitive to new physics. Three models have been considered: modification of PDF's, new physics due to s-channel production of new particle and new physics due to contact interactions. Using this new method it is possible to distinguish different models with increased luminosity

  18. Quantum correlations and distinguishability of quantum states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spehner, Dominique [Université Grenoble Alpes and CNRS, Institut Fourier, F-38000 Grenoble, France and Laboratoire de Physique et Modélisation des Milieux Condensés, F-38000 Grenoble (France)

    2014-07-15

    A survey of various concepts in quantum information is given, with a main emphasis on the distinguishability of quantum states and quantum correlations. Covered topics include generalized and least square measurements, state discrimination, quantum relative entropies, the Bures distance on the set of quantum states, the quantum Fisher information, the quantum Chernoff bound, bipartite entanglement, the quantum discord, and geometrical measures of quantum correlations. The article is intended both for physicists interested not only by collections of results but also by the mathematical methods justifying them, and for mathematicians looking for an up-to-date introductory course on these subjects, which are mainly developed in the physics literature.

  19. Quantum correlations and distinguishability of quantum states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spehner, Dominique

    2014-01-01

    A survey of various concepts in quantum information is given, with a main emphasis on the distinguishability of quantum states and quantum correlations. Covered topics include generalized and least square measurements, state discrimination, quantum relative entropies, the Bures distance on the set of quantum states, the quantum Fisher information, the quantum Chernoff bound, bipartite entanglement, the quantum discord, and geometrical measures of quantum correlations. The article is intended both for physicists interested not only by collections of results but also by the mathematical methods justifying them, and for mathematicians looking for an up-to-date introductory course on these subjects, which are mainly developed in the physics literature

  20. Scheduling of resource-constrained projects

    CERN Document Server

    Klein, Robert

    2000-01-01

    Project management has become a widespread instrument enabling organizations to efficiently master the challenges of steadily shortening product life cycles, global markets and decreasing profit margins. With projects increasing in size and complexity, their planning and control represents one of the most crucial management tasks. This is especially true for scheduling, which is concerned with establishing execution dates for the sub-activities to be performed in order to complete the project. The ability to manage projects where resources must be allocated between concurrent projects or even sub-activities of a single project requires the use of commercial project management software packages. However, the results yielded by the solution procedures included are often rather unsatisfactory. Scheduling of Resource-Constrained Projects develops more efficient procedures, which can easily be integrated into software packages by incorporated programming languages, and thus should be of great interest for practiti...

  1. Palaeoenvironmental implication of grain-size compositions of terrace deposits on the western Chinese Loess Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xingxing; Sun, Youbin; Vandenberghe, Jef; Li, Ying; An, Zhisheng

    2018-06-01

    Sedimentary sequences that developed on river terraces have been widely investigated to reconstruct high-resolution palaeoclimatic changes since the last deglaciation. However, frequent changes in sedimentary facies make palaeoenvironmental interpretation of grain-size variations relatively complicated. In this paper, we employed multiple grain-size parameters to discriminate the sedimentary characteristics of aeolian and fluvial facies in the Dadiwan (DDW) section on the western Chinese Loess Plateau. We found that wind and fluvial dynamics have quite different impacts on the grain-size compositions, with distinctive imprints on the distribution pattern. By using a lognormal distribution fitting approach, two major grain-size components sensitive to aeolian and fluvial processes, respectively, were distinguished from the grain-size compositions of the DDW terrace deposits. The fine grain-size component (GSC2) represents mixing of long-distance aeolian and short-distance fluvial inputs, whilst the coarse grain-size component (GSC3) is mainly transported by wind from short-distance sources. Thus GSC3 can be used to infer the wind intensity. Grain-size variations reveal that the wind intensity experienced a stepwise shift from large-amplitude variations during the last deglaciation to small-amplitude oscillations in the Holocene, corresponding well to climate changes from regional to global context.

  2. Kelly D. Brownell: Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents a short biography of Kelly D. Brownwell, winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology (2012). He won the award for outstanding contributions to our understanding of the etiology and management of obesity and the crisis it poses for the modern world. A seminal thinker in…

  3. An expert system based software sizing tool, phase 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedlander, David

    1990-01-01

    A software tool was developed for predicting the size of a future computer program at an early stage in its development. The system is intended to enable a user who is not expert in Software Engineering to estimate software size in lines of source code with an accuracy similar to that of an expert, based on the program's functional specifications. The project was planned as a knowledge based system with a field prototype as the goal of Phase 2 and a commercial system planned for Phase 3. The researchers used techniques from Artificial Intelligence and knowledge from human experts and existing software from NASA's COSMIC database. They devised a classification scheme for the software specifications, and a small set of generic software components that represent complexity and apply to large classes of programs. The specifications are converted to generic components by a set of rules and the generic components are input to a nonlinear sizing function which makes the final prediction. The system developed for this project predicted code sizes from the database with a bias factor of 1.06 and a fluctuation factor of 1.77, an accuracy similar to that of human experts but without their significant optimistic bias.

  4. The Effect of Pixel Size on the Accuracy of Orthophoto Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulur, S.; Yildiz, F.; Selcuk, O.; Yildiz, M. A.

    2016-06-01

    In our country, orthophoto products are used by the public and private sectors for engineering services and infrastructure projects, Orthophotos are particularly preferred due to faster and are more economical production according to vector digital photogrammetric production. Today, digital orthophotos provide an expected accuracy for engineering and infrastructure projects. In this study, the accuracy of orthophotos using pixel sizes with different sampling intervals are tested for the expectations of engineering and infrastructure projects.

  5. Linearized Jastrow-style fluctuations on spin-projected Hartree-Fock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henderson, Thomas M.; Scuseria, Gustavo E.

    2013-01-01

    The accurate and efficient description of strong electronic correlations remains an important objective in electronic structure theory. Projected Hartree-Fock theory, where symmetries of the Hamiltonian are deliberately broken and projectively restored, all with a mean-field computational scaling, shows considerable promise in this regard. However, the method is neither size extensive nor size consistent; in other words, the correlation energy per particle beyond broken-symmetry mean field vanishes in the thermodynamic limit, and the dissociation limit of a molecule is not the sum of the fragment energies. These two problems are closely related. Recently, Neuscamman [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 203001 (2012)] has proposed a method to cure the lack of size consistency in the context of the antisymmetrized geminal power wave function (equivalent to number-projected Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov) by using a Jastrow-type correlator in Hilbert space. Here, we apply the basic idea in the context of projected Hartree-Fock theory, linearizing the correlator for computational simplicity but extending it to include spin fluctuations. Results are presented for the Hubbard Hamiltonian and for some simple molecular systems

  6. Shippingport station decommissioning project technology transfer program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKernan, M.L.

    1988-01-01

    US Department of Energy (DOE) Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project (SSDP) decommissioned, decontaminated, and dismantled the world's first, nuclear fueled, commercial size, electric power plant. SSDP programmatic goal direction for technology transfer is documentation of project management and operations experience. Objective is to provide future nuclear facility decommissioning projects with pertinent SSDP performance data for project assessment, planning, and operational implementation. This paper presents a working definition for technology transfer. Direction is provided for access and availability for SSDP technology acquisition

  7. Improving the distinguishable cluster results: spin-component scaling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kats, Daniel

    2018-06-01

    The spin-component scaling is employed in the energy evaluation to improve the distinguishable cluster approach. SCS-DCSD reaction energies reproduce reference values with a root-mean-squared deviation well below 1 kcal/mol, the interaction energies are three to five times more accurate than DCSD, and molecular systems with a large amount of static electron correlation are still described reasonably well. SCS-DCSD represents a pragmatic approach to achieve chemical accuracy with a simple method without triples, which can also be applied to multi-configurational molecular systems.

  8. Can We Distinguish between Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary J Bennett

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Inflammatory and neuropathic pain were once considered to be distinct entities. However, research over the past decade or so has brought to light many shared mechanisms, and the distinction between the two is no longer clear. Consideration of mechanisms, symptoms and the effects of analgesic drugs does not reveal any definitive or universally applicable differentiating factors. Given the present level of understanding, it may not be possible to distinguish between inflammatory and neuropathic pain in a large number of patients, and a satisfying definition of neuropathic pain may not be possible.

  9. Adaptive iterative dose reduction algorithm in CT: Effect on image quality compared with filtered back projection in body phantoms of different sizes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Milim; Lee, Jeong Min; Son, Hyo Shin; Han, Joon Koo; Choi, Byung Ihn [College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Jeong Hee; Choi, Jin Woo [Dept. of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-04-15

    To evaluate the impact of the adaptive iterative dose reduction (AIDR) three-dimensional (3D) algorithm in CT on noise reduction and the image quality compared to the filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm and to compare the effectiveness of AIDR 3D on noise reduction according to the body habitus using phantoms with different sizes. Three different-sized phantoms with diameters of 24 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm were built up using the American College of Radiology CT accreditation phantom and layers of pork belly fat. Each phantom was scanned eight times using different mAs. Images were reconstructed using the FBP and three different strengths of the AIDR 3D. The image noise, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the phantom were assessed. Two radiologists assessed the image quality of the 4 image sets in consensus. The effectiveness of AIDR 3D on noise reduction compared with FBP were also compared according to the phantom sizes. Adaptive iterative dose reduction 3D significantly reduced the image noise compared with FBP and enhanced the SNR and CNR (p < 0.05) with improved image quality (p < 0.05). When a stronger reconstruction algorithm was used, greater increase of SNR and CNR as well as noise reduction was achieved (p < 0.05). The noise reduction effect of AIDR 3D was significantly greater in the 40-cm phantom than in the 24-cm or 30-cm phantoms (p < 0.05). The AIDR 3D algorithm is effective to reduce the image noise as well as to improve the image-quality parameters compared by FBP algorithm, and its effectiveness may increase as the phantom size increases.

  10. Adaptive iterative dose reduction algorithm in CT: Effect on image quality compared with filtered back projection in body phantoms of different sizes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Milim; Lee, Jeong Min; Son, Hyo Shin; Han, Joon Koo; Choi, Byung Ihn; Yoon, Jeong Hee; Choi, Jin Woo

    2014-01-01

    To evaluate the impact of the adaptive iterative dose reduction (AIDR) three-dimensional (3D) algorithm in CT on noise reduction and the image quality compared to the filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm and to compare the effectiveness of AIDR 3D on noise reduction according to the body habitus using phantoms with different sizes. Three different-sized phantoms with diameters of 24 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm were built up using the American College of Radiology CT accreditation phantom and layers of pork belly fat. Each phantom was scanned eight times using different mAs. Images were reconstructed using the FBP and three different strengths of the AIDR 3D. The image noise, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the phantom were assessed. Two radiologists assessed the image quality of the 4 image sets in consensus. The effectiveness of AIDR 3D on noise reduction compared with FBP were also compared according to the phantom sizes. Adaptive iterative dose reduction 3D significantly reduced the image noise compared with FBP and enhanced the SNR and CNR (p < 0.05) with improved image quality (p < 0.05). When a stronger reconstruction algorithm was used, greater increase of SNR and CNR as well as noise reduction was achieved (p < 0.05). The noise reduction effect of AIDR 3D was significantly greater in the 40-cm phantom than in the 24-cm or 30-cm phantoms (p < 0.05). The AIDR 3D algorithm is effective to reduce the image noise as well as to improve the image-quality parameters compared by FBP algorithm, and its effectiveness may increase as the phantom size increases.

  11. Distinguishing stress fractures from pathologic fractures: a multimodality approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fayad, Laura M.; Kamel, Ihab R.; Kawamoto, Satomi; Bluemke, David A.; Fishman, Elliot K.; Frassica, Frank J.

    2005-01-01

    Whereas stress fractures occur in normal or metabolically weakened bones, pathologic fractures occur at the site of a bone tumor. Unfortunately, stress fractures may share imaging features with pathologic fractures on plain radiography, and therefore other modalities are commonly utilized to distinguish these entities. Additional cross-sectional imaging with CT or MRI as well as scintigraphy and PET scanning is often performed for further evaluation. For the detailed assessment of a fracture site, CT offers a high-resolution view of the bone cortex and periosteum which aids the diagnosis of a pathologic fracture. The character of underlying bone marrow patterns of destruction can also be ascertained along with evidence of a soft tissue mass. MRI, however, is a more sensitive technique for the detection of underlying bone marrow lesions at a fracture site. In addition, the surrounding soft tissues, including possible involvement of adjacent muscle, can be well evaluated with MRI. While bone scintigraphy and FDG-PET are not specific, they offer a whole-body screen for metastases in the case of a suspected malignant pathologic fracture. In this review, we present select examples of fractures that underscore imaging features that help distinguish stress fractures from pathologic fractures, since accurate differentiation of these entities is paramount. (orig.)

  12. Managing Risk and Uncertainty in Large-Scale University Research Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Sharlissa; Shangraw, R. F., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    Both publicly and privately funded research projects managed by universities are growing in size and scope. Complex, large-scale projects (over $50 million) pose new management challenges and risks for universities. This paper explores the relationship between project success and a variety of factors in large-scale university projects. First, we…

  13. Micromanipulation and pick-up system for X-Ray diffraction characterization of micrometer-sized single particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeichi, Y; Inami, N; Saito, K; Otori, H; Sagayama, R; Kumai, R; Ono, K; Ueno, T

    2014-01-01

    We describe a micromanipulation and pick-up system for preparing a micrometer-sized single particle for X-ray diffraction characterization. Combining a microgripper based on microelectromechanical systems, piezo-motor-driven linear stages, and a gamepad, the system provides precise and intuitive handling of the object. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements of Sm-Fe-N permanent magnet were performed using this system. We also describe a method to distinguish crystallographically homogeneous particles found in powder-form samples.

  14. Differentiating gold nanorod samples using particle size and shape distributions from transmission electron microscope images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grulke, Eric A.; Wu, Xiaochun; Ji, Yinglu; Buhr, Egbert; Yamamoto, Kazuhiro; Song, Nam Woong; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B.; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Burchett, Woodrow W.; Lambert, Joshua; Stromberg, Arnold J.

    2018-04-01

    Size and shape distributions of gold nanorod samples are critical to their physico-chemical properties, especially their longitudinal surface plasmon resonance. This interlaboratory comparison study developed methods for measuring and evaluating size and shape distributions for gold nanorod samples using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The objective was to determine whether two different samples, which had different performance attributes in their application, were different with respect to their size and/or shape descriptor distributions. Touching particles in the captured images were identified using a ruggedness shape descriptor. Nanorods could be distinguished from nanocubes using an elongational shape descriptor. A non-parametric statistical test showed that cumulative distributions of an elongational shape descriptor, that is, the aspect ratio, were statistically different between the two samples for all laboratories. While the scale parameters of size and shape distributions were similar for both samples, the width parameters of size and shape distributions were statistically different. This protocol fulfills an important need for a standardized approach to measure gold nanorod size and shape distributions for applications in which quantitative measurements and comparisons are important. Furthermore, the validated protocol workflow can be automated, thus providing consistent and rapid measurements of nanorod size and shape distributions for researchers, regulatory agencies, and industry.

  15. Laser display system for multi-depth screen projection scenarios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Torre, J Pablo; Mayes, Nathan; Riza, Nabeel A

    2017-11-10

    Proposed is a laser projection display system that uses an electronically controlled variable focus lens (ECVFL) to achieve sharp and in-focus image projection over multi-distance three-dimensional (3D) conformal screens. The system also functions as an embedded distance sensor that enables 3D mapping of the multi-level screen platform before the desired laser scanned beam focused/defocused projected spot sizes are matched to the different localized screen distances on the 3D screen. Compared to conventional laser scanning and spatial light modulator (SLM) based projection systems, the proposed design offers in-focus non-distorted projection over a multi-distance screen zone with varying depths. An experimental projection system for a screen depth variation of 65 cm is demonstrated using a 633 nm laser beam, 3 KHz scan speed galvo-scanning mirrors, and a liquid-based ECVFL. As a basic demonstration, an in-house developed MATLAB based graphic user interface is deployed to work along with the laser projection display, enabling user inputs like text strings or predefined image projection. The user can specify projection screen distance, scanned laser linewidth, projected text font size, projected image dimensions, and laser scanning rate. Projected images are shown highlighting the 3D control capabilities of the display, including the production of a non-distorted image onto two-depths versus a distorted image via dominant prior-art projection methods.

  16. Distinguishing the rates of gene activation from phenotypic variations

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Ye; Lv, Cheng; Li, Fangting; Li, Tiejun

    2015-01-01

    Background Stochastic genetic switching driven by intrinsic noise is an important process in gene expression. When the rates of gene activation/inactivation are relatively slow, fast, or medium compared with the synthesis/degradation rates of mRNAs and proteins, the variability of protein and mRNA levels may exhibit very different dynamical patterns. It is desirable to provide a systematic approach to identify their key dynamical features in different regimes, aiming at distinguishing which r...

  17. Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

    OpenAIRE

    Joshua D. Campbell; Christina Yau; Reanne Bowlby; Yuexin Liu; Kevin Brennan; Huihui Fan; Alison M. Taylor; Chen Wang; Vonn Walter; Rehan Akbani; Lauren Averett Byers; Chad J. Creighton; Cristian Coarfa; Juliann Shih; Andrew D. Cherniack

    2018-01-01

    Summary: This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smoking and/or human papillomavirus (HPV). SCCs harbor 3q, 5p, and other recurrent chromosomal copy-number alterations (CNAs), DNA mutations, and/or aberrant methylation of genes and microRNAs, which are correlated with the expression of multi-gene programs linked to squamous cell stemness, epithelial-to-mes...

  18. Grain size dependence of wear in ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, C.C.; Rice, R.W.; Johnson, D.; Platt, B.A.

    1985-01-01

    Pin-On-Disk (POD), microwear tests of Al 2 O 3 , MgO, MgAl 2 O 4 , and ZrO 2 , most being dense and essentially single phase, showed the reciprocal of wear following a hall-petch type relationship. However, extrapolation to infinite grain size always gave a lower intercept than most or all single-crystal values; in particular, Al 2 O 3 data projects to a negative intercept. Initial macro wear tests of some of the same Al 2 O 3 materials also indicate a hall-petch type grain-size dependence, but with a greatly reduced grain-size dependence, giving a positive hall-petch intercept. Further, the macrowear grain-size dependence appears to decrease with increased wear. It is argued that thermal expansion anisotropy (of Al 2 O 3 ) significantly affects the grain size dependence of POD wear, in particular, giving a negative intercept, while elastic anisotropy is suggested as a factor in the grain-size dependence of the cubic (MgO, MgAl 2 O 4 , and ZrO 2 ) materials. The reduced grain-size dependence in the macrowear tests is attributed to overlapping wear tracks reducing the effects of enhanced wear damage, e.g., from elastic and thermal expansion anisotropies

  19. Statistical properties of four effect-size measures for mediation models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miočević, Milica; O'Rourke, Holly P; MacKinnon, David P; Brown, Hendricks C

    2018-02-01

    This project examined the performance of classical and Bayesian estimators of four effect size measures for the indirect effect in a single-mediator model and a two-mediator model. Compared to the proportion and ratio mediation effect sizes, standardized mediation effect-size measures were relatively unbiased and efficient in the single-mediator model and the two-mediator model. Percentile and bias-corrected bootstrap interval estimates of ab/s Y , and ab(s X )/s Y in the single-mediator model outperformed interval estimates of the proportion and ratio effect sizes in terms of power, Type I error rate, coverage, imbalance, and interval width. For the two-mediator model, standardized effect-size measures were superior to the proportion and ratio effect-size measures. Furthermore, it was found that Bayesian point and interval summaries of posterior distributions of standardized effect-size measures reduced excessive relative bias for certain parameter combinations. The standardized effect-size measures are the best effect-size measures for quantifying mediated effects.

  20. Collaborative Complexities: Co-Authorship, Voice, and African American Rhetoric in Oral History Community Literacy Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grobman, Laurie

    2015-01-01

    This co-authored article describes a community literacy oral history project involving 14 undergraduate students. It is intellectually situated at the intersection of writing studies, oral history, and African American rhetoric and distinguished by two features: 1) we were a combined team of 20 collaborators, and 2) our narrator, Frank Gilyard,…

  1. Retinal ganglion cells with distinct directional preferences differ in molecular identity, structure, and central projections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Jeremy N; De la Huerta, Irina; Kim, In-Jung; Zhang, Yifeng; Yamagata, Masahito; Chu, Monica W; Meister, Markus; Sanes, Joshua R

    2011-05-25

    The retina contains ganglion cells (RGCs) that respond selectively to objects moving in particular directions. Individual members of a group of ON-OFF direction-selective RGCs (ooDSGCs) detect stimuli moving in one of four directions: ventral, dorsal, nasal, or temporal. Despite this physiological diversity, little is known about subtype-specific differences in structure, molecular identity, and projections. To seek such differences, we characterized mouse transgenic lines that selectively mark ooDSGCs preferring ventral or nasal motion as well as a line that marks both ventral- and dorsal-preferring subsets. We then used the lines to identify cell surface molecules, including Cadherin 6, CollagenXXVα1, and Matrix metalloprotease 17, that are selectively expressed by distinct subsets of ooDSGCs. We also identify a neuropeptide, CART (cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript), that distinguishes all ooDSGCs from other RGCs. Together, this panel of endogenous and transgenic markers distinguishes the four ooDSGC subsets. Patterns of molecular diversification occur before eye opening and are therefore experience independent. They may help to explain how the four subsets obtain distinct inputs. We also demonstrate differences among subsets in their dendritic patterns within the retina and their axonal projections to the brain. Differences in projections indicate that information about motion in different directions is sent to different destinations.

  2. Shippingport station decommissioning project technology transfer program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKernan, M.L.

    1989-01-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project (SSDP) decontaminated and dismantled the world's first nuclear-fueled, commercial-size electric power plant. The SSDP programmatic goal direction for technology transfer is documentation of project management and operations experience. The objective is to provide future nuclear facility decommissioning projects with pertinent SSDP performance data for project assessment, planning, and operational implementation. This paper sets out access and availability directions for SSDP technology acquisition. Discusses are technology transfer definition; technology transfer products including topical and other project reports, professional-technical society presentations, other project liaison and media relations, visual documentation, and technology transfer data base; and retrieving SSDP information

  3. UMTRA -- The US Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lightner, R.; Cormier, C.; Bierley, D.

    1995-01-01

    In the late 1970s, the United States (US) established the first comprehensive regulatory structure for the management, disposal, and long-term care of wastes produced from its domestic uranium processing industry. This regulatory framework was established through the passage of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, often referred to as UMTRCA. This legislation created the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project and assigned the US Department of Energy (DOE) the lead in conducting the required remedial action at 24 designated inactive uranium ore processing sites. With the majority of these 22 sites complete, the DOE's UMTRA Project has established a distinguished reputation for safely and effectively remediating these low-level waste sites in a complex regulatory and socioeconomic environment. This paper describes the past accomplishments and current status of the UMTRA Project and discusses the DOE's plans for addressing ground water contamination associated with these sites and its commitment to continuing the long-term care and management of these disposal cells

  4. Gestão de projetos em empresas no Brasil: abordagem "tamanho único"? Project management in companies in Brazil: a "one size fits all" approach?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz José Marques Junior

    2011-01-01

    approaches focused on a rational and normative view of project management are predominant. On the other hand, the data also indicated the presence of adaptive approach practices in the management of strategic projects suggesting that there is no "one size fits all" approach to manage projects in the companies studied.

  5. Effects of Risk Management Practices on IT Project Success

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pimchangthong Daranee

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Successful management of an information technology (IT project is the most desirable for all organisations and stakeholders. Many researchers elaborated that risk management is a key part of project management for any project size. Risk management is so critical because it provides project managers with a forward-looking view of both threats and opportunities to improve the project success. The objectives of this research are to explore organisational factors affecting IT project success and risk management practices influencing IT project success. Risk management practices include risk identification, risk analysis, risk response planning, and risk monitoring and control. The IT project success is measured by process performance and product performance. Data are collected from 200 project managers, IT managers, and IT analysts in IT firms through questionnaires and analysed using Independent Sample t-test, One-way ANOVA, and Multiple Linear Regression at the statistical significance level of 0.05. The results show that the differences in organisational types affect IT project success in all aspects, while the differences on organisational sizes affect IT project success in the aspect of product performance and total aspects. Risk identification and risk response planning influence the process performance and the total aspects of IT project success. Risk identification has the highest positive influence on product performance, followed closely by risk response, while risk analysis negatively influences product performance.

  6. Raspberry Pi hardware projects 1

    CERN Document Server

    Robinson, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Learn how to take full advantage of all of Raspberry Pi's amazing features and functions-and have a blast doing it! Congratulations on becoming a proud owner of a Raspberry Pi, the credit-card-sized computer! If you're ready to dive in and start finding out what this amazing little gizmo is really capable of, this ebook is for you. Taken from the forthcoming Raspberry Pi Projects, Raspberry Pi Hardware Projects 1 contains three cool hardware projects that let you have fun with the Raspberry Pi while developing your Raspberry Pi skills. The authors - PiFace inventor, Andrew Robinson and Rasp

  7. Design of a projection display screen with vanishing color shift for rear-projection HDTV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiu; Zhu, Jin-lin

    1996-09-01

    Using bi-convex cylinder lens with matrix structure, the transmissive projection display screen with high contrast and wider viewing angle has been widely used in large rear projection TV and video projectors, it obtained a inhere color shift and puzzled the designer of display screen for RGB projection tube in-line adjustment. Based on the method of light beam racing, the general software of designing projection display screen has been developed and the computer model of vanishing color shift for rear projection HDTV has bee completed. This paper discussed the practical designing method to vanish the defect of color shift and mentioned the relations between the primary optical parameters of display screen and relative geometry sizes of lens' surface. The distributions of optical gain to viewing angle and the influences on engineering design are briefly analyzed.

  8. Leslie S. Greenberg: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents a short biography of the 2012 winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research. Leslie S. Greenberg is an exemplary scientist-practitioner whose pioneering work has significantly altered the landscape of the field of psychotherapy research and practice. His seminal…

  9. Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research: Luciano L'Abate

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Luciano L'Abate, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research, contributed to applied research through the introduction of the laboratory method in clinical psychology assessment and intervention, leading to the development of the first automated playroom, linking play therapy with research in child…

  10. Selecting Map Projections in Minimizing Area Distortions in GIS Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Kaya

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Varioussoftware for Geographical Information Systems (GISs have been developed and used in many different engineering projects. In GIS applications, map coverage is important in terms of performing reliable and meaningful queries. Map projections can be conformal, equal-area and equidistant. The goal of an application plays an important role in choosing one of those projections. Choosing the equal-area projection for an application in which area information is used (forestry, agriculture, ecosystem etc reduces the amount of distortion on the area, but many users using GIS ignore this fact and continue to use applications with present map sheets no matter in what map projection it is. For example, extracting area information from data whose country system’s map sheet is in conformal projection is relatively more distorted, compared to an equal-area projection one. The goal of this study is to make the best decision in choosing the most proper equal-area projection among the choices provided by ArcGIS 9.0, which is a popular GIS software package, and making a comparison on area errors when conformal projection is used. In this study, the area of parcels chosen in three different regions and geographic coordinates and whose sizes vary between 0.01 to 1,000,000 ha are calculated according to Transversal Mercator (TM, 3°, Universal Transversal Mercator (UTM, 6° and 14 different equal-area projections existing in the ArcGIS 9.0 GIS software package. The parcel areas calculated with geographical coordinates are accepted as definite. The difference between the sizes calculated according to projection coordinates and real sizes of the parcels are determined. Consequently, the appropriate projections are decided for the areas smaller and equal than 1,000 ha and greater than 1,000 ha in the GIS software package.

  11. Simulated multipolarized MAPSAR images to distinguish agricultural crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagner Fernando Silva

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Many researchers have shown the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images for agricultural applications, particularly for monitoring regions with limitations in terms of acquiring cloud free optical images. Recently, Brazil and Germany began a feasibility study on the construction of an orbital L-band SAR sensor referred to as MAPSAR (Multi-Application Purpose SAR. This sensor provides L-band images in three spatial resolutions and polarimetric, interferometric and stereoscopic capabilities. Thus, studies are needed to evaluate the potential of future MAPSAR images. The objective of this study was to evaluate multipolarized MAPSAR images simulated by the airborne SAR-R99B sensor to distinguish coffee, cotton and pasture fields in Brazil. Discrimination among crops was evaluated through graphical and cluster analysis of mean backscatter values, considering single, dual and triple polarizations. Planting row direction of coffee influenced the backscatter and was divided into two classes: parallel and perpendicular to the sensor look direction. Single polarizations had poor ability to discriminate the crops. The overall accuracies were less than 59 %, but the understanding of the microwave interaction with the crops could be explored. Combinations of two polarizations could differentiate various fields of crops, highlighting the combination VV-HV that reached 78 % overall accuracy. The use of three polarizations resulted in 85.4 % overall accuracy, indicating that the classes pasture and parallel coffee were fully discriminated from the other classes. These results confirmed the potential of multipolarized MAPSAR images to distinguish the studied crops and showed considerable improvement in the accuracy of the results when the number of polarizations was increased.

  12. Time-Frequency Analysis and Hermite Projection Method Applied to Swallowing Accelerometry Signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ervin Sejdić

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Fast Hermite projections have been often used in image-processing procedures such as image database retrieval, projection filtering, and texture analysis. In this paper, we propose an innovative approach for the analysis of one-dimensional biomedical signals that combines the Hermite projection method with time-frequency analysis. In particular, we propose a two-step approach to characterize vibrations of various origins in swallowing accelerometry signals. First, by using time-frequency analysis we obtain the energy distribution of signal frequency content in time. Second, by using fast Hermite projections we characterize whether the analyzed time-frequency regions are associated with swallowing or other phenomena (vocalization, noise, bursts, etc.. The numerical analysis of the proposed scheme clearly shows that by using a few Hermite functions, vibrations of various origins are distinguishable. These results will be the basis for further analysis of swallowing accelerometry to detect swallowing difficulties.

  13. A Moving Optical Fibre Technique for Structure Analysis of Heterogenous Products: Application to the Determination of the Bubble-Size Distribution in Liquid Foams

    OpenAIRE

    Bisperink, C. G. J.; Akkerman, J. C.; Prins, A.; Ronteltap, A. D.

    1992-01-01

    The bubble-size distribution in liquid foams measured as a function of time can be used to distinguish between the physical processes that determine the breakdown of foams. A new method based on an optical fibre technique was developed to measure various foam characteristics e.g. the rate of drainage, the rate of foam collapse, the change in gas fraction, interbubble gas diffusion (disproportionation) and the evolution of the bubble - size distribution during the ageing of the foam. The metho...

  14. Knowledge Communication Through Visualizations in Project Management Documents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kampf, Constance

    Trust is difficult to locate, measure and define.  Yet, in terms of knowledge communication, Nonaka et al include trust as an experiential knowledge asset (2000). In 2000, Nonaka et al limited experiential knowledge assets to face-to-face interactions.  However, since then, technologies...... for supporting multimodal features of the Internet have developed to the point where it could be argued that virtual and face-to-face interactions can no longer be distinguished in terms of shared experience (Woolgar 2002). Thus, trust and other experiential knowledge assets can be understood to be present...... in Internet based communication.  To examine online trust from a knowledge communication perspective, this paper looks at the I35W bridge reconstruction project in Minneapolis through web-based communication by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) about the project. The MnDOT bridge...

  15. Distinguishing Bark Beetle-infested Vegetation by Tree Species Types and Stress Levels using Landsat Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivanpillai, R.; Ewers, B. E.; Speckman, H. N.; Miller, S. N.

    2015-12-01

    In the Western United States, more than 3 million hectares of lodgepole pine forests have been impacted by the Mountain pine beetle outbreak, while another 166,000 hectares of spruce-fir forests have been attacked by Spruce beetle. Following the beetle attack, the trees lose their hydraulic conductivity thus altering their carbon and water fluxes. These trees go through various stages of stress until mortality, described by color changes in their needles prior to losing them. Modeling the impact of these vegetation types require thematically precise land cover data that distinguishes lodgepole pine and spruce-fir forests along with the stage of impact since the ecosystem fluxes are different for these two systems. However, the national and regional-scale land cover datasets derived from remotely sensed data do not have this required thematic precision. We evaluated the feasibility of multispectral data collected by Landsat 8 to distinguish lodgepole pine and spruce fir, and subsequently model the different stages of attack using field data collected in Medicine Bow National Forest (Wyoming, USA). Operational Land Imager, onboard Landsat 8 has more spectral bands and higher radiometric resolution (12 bit) in comparison to sensors onboard earlier Landsat missions which could improve the ability to distinguish these vegetation types and their stress conditions. In addition to these characteristics, its repeat coverage, rigorous radiometric calibration, wide swath width, and no-cost data provide unique advantages to Landsat data for mapping large geographic areas. Initial results from this study highlight the importance of SWIR bands for distinguishing different levels of stress, and the need for ancillary data for distinguishing species types. Insights gained from this study could lead to the generation of land cover maps with higher thematic precision, and improve the ability to model various ecosystem processes as a result of these infestations.

  16. Distinguishing between SU(5) and flipped SU(5)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dorsner, Ilja [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste (Italy); Fileviez Perez, Pavel [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste (Italy) and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Facultad de Fisica, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)]. E-mail: fileviez@higgs.fis.puc.cl

    2005-01-13

    We study in detail the d=6 operators for proton decay in the two possible matter unification scenarios based on SU(5) gauge symmetry. We investigate the way to distinguish between these two scenarios. The dependence of the branching ratios for the two body decays on the fermion mixing is presented in both cases. We point out the possibility to make a clear test of flipped SU(5) through the decay channel p->{pi}{sup +}{nu}-bar , and the ratio {tau}(p->K{sup 0}e{sub {alpha}}{sup +})/{tau}(p->{pi}{sup 0}e{sub {alpha}}{sup +})

  17. What Have Researchers Learned from Project STAR?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore

    2007-01-01

    Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) was a large-scale randomized trial of reduced class sizes in kindergarten through the third grade. Because of the scope of the experiment, it has been used in many policy discussions. For example, the California statewide class-size-reduction policy was justified, in part, by the successes of…

  18. Effect of population size on prospect of species survival

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Münzbergová, Zuzana

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 41, - (2006), s. 137-150 ISSN 1211-9520 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB6111303 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : population * size * survival Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 1.196, year: 2006

  19. Distinguishing Intensity Levels of Grassland Fertilization Using Vegetation Indices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jens L. Hollberg

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring the reaction of grassland canopies on fertilizer application is of major importance to enable a well-adjusted management supporting a sustainable production of the grass crop. Up to date, grassland managers estimate the nutrient status and growth dynamics of grasslands by costly and time-consuming field surveys, which only provide low temporal and spatial data density. Grassland mapping using remotely-sensed Vegetation Indices (VIs has the potential to contribute to solving these problems. In this study, we explored the potential of VIs for distinguishing five differently-fertilized grassland communities. Therefore, we collected spectral signatures of these communities in a long-term fertilization experiment (since 1941 in Germany throughout the growing seasons 2012–2014. Fifteen VIs were calculated and their seasonal developments investigated. Welch tests revealed that the accuracy of VIs for distinguishing these grassland communities varies throughout the growing season. Thus, the selection of the most promising single VI for grassland mapping was dependent on the date of the spectra acquisition. A random forests classification using all calculated VIs reduced variations in classification accuracy within the growing season and provided a higher overall precision of classification. Thus, we recommend a careful selection of VIs for grassland mapping or the utilization of temporally-stable methods, i.e., including a set of VIs in the random forests algorithm.

  20. Quantitative CT analysis of pulmonary ground-glass opacity nodules for distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma: the added value of using iodine mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Ji Ye; Lee, Ho Yun; Kim, Jae-Hun; Han, Joungho; Jeong, Ji Yun; Lee, Kyung Soo; Kwon, O Jung; Shim, Young Mog

    2016-01-01

    To determine whether quantitative analysis of iodine-enhanced images generated from dual-energy CT (DECT) have added value in distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) showing ground-glass nodule (GGN). Thirty-four patients with 39 GGNs were enrolled in this prospective study and underwent DECT followed by complete tumour resection. Various quantitative imaging parameters were assessed, including virtual non-contrast (VNC) imaging and iodine-enhanced imaging. Of all 39 GGNs, four were adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) (10 %), nine were MIA (23 %), and 26 were invasive adenocarcinoma (67 %). When assessing only VNC imaging, multivariate analysis revealed that mass, uniformity, and size-zone variability were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma (odds ratio [OR] = 19.92, P = 0.02; OR = 0.70, P = 0.01; OR = 16.16, P = 0.04, respectively). After assessing iodine-enhanced imaging with VNC imaging, both mass on the VNC imaging and uniformity on the iodine-enhanced imaging were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma (OR = 5.51, P = 0.04 and OR = 0.67, P VNC imaging alone, from 0.888 to 0.959, respectively (P = 0.029). Quantitative analysis using iodine-enhanced imaging metrics versus VNC imaging metrics alone generated from DECT have added value in distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from AIS or MIA. Quantitative analysis using DECT was used to distinguish invasive adenocarcinoma. Tumour mass and uniformity were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma. Diagnostic performance was improved after adding iodine parameters to VNC parameters.

  1. APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-01

    The APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology is awarded on an annual basis by the APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. A qualified candidate must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or have developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. The 2016 recipient of the APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology was selected by the 2015 Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the 2015 APAGS Scholarship and Awards Selection Committee. Members of the 2015 BPA were Patricia Arredondo, EdD; Helen L. Coons, PhD, ABPP; Vickie Mays, PhD, MSPH; Linda A. Reddy, PhD; Lois O. Condi, PhD; Antonette M. Zeiss, PhD; Timothy A. Cavell, PhD; Robert T. Kinscherff, PhD, JD; and Jared L. Skillings, PhD, ABPP. Members of the 2015 APAGS Scholarship and Awards Selection Committee were Emily Voelkel, PhD; Blaire Schembari; and Yolanda Perkins-Volk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Kotka ecopower IGCC-project, the attempt to transfer the biocycle project to Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salo, K.

    1998-01-01

    The Danish utilities Elsam and Elkraft planned to build a small (7 MW e ) IGCC-plant in Denmark, called Biocycle Project, based on the gasification and gas clean-up technology of Enviropower Inc. EU/THERMIE program committed to finance part of the investment. The project, however, was not feasible due to the difficulty of finding a suitable customer and sufficient amount of reasonably priced biomass. For this reason a new host and site was found for the Biocycle project. The new site was in Kotka, Finland, where Kotka Energy Ltd., the Energy Board of the City of Kotka acted as the main partner. The fuel of the IGCC project would have been sugar mill wood residue from Xyrofin Inc. During the feasibility investigation (project definition phase) Xyrofin Inc. made the decision to change the production process which eliminated the wood waste production. Without no-cost fuel and due to the low electricity price in Finland the small size IGCC power plant proved not to be feasible. (author)

  3. Gene expression profiling distinguishes between spontaneous and radiation-induced rat mammary carcinomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imaoka, Tatsuhiko; Nishimura, Mayumi; Kakinuma, Shizuko; Shimada, Yoshiya; Yamashita, Satoshi; Ushijima, Toshikazu

    2008-01-01

    The ability to distinguish between spontaneous and radiation-induced cancers in humans is expected to improve the resolution of estimated risk from low dose radiation. Mammary carcinomas were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats that were either untreated (n=45) or acutely γ-irradiated (1 Gy; n=20) at seven weeks of age. Gene expression profiles of three spontaneous and four radiation-induced carcinomas, as well as those of normal mammary glands, were analyzed by microarrays. Differential expression of identified genes of interest was then verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Cluster analysis of global gene expression suggested that spontaneous carcinomas were distinguished from a heterogeneous population of radiation-induced carcinomas, though most gene expressions were common. We identified 50 genes that had different expression levels between spontaneous and radiogenic carcinomas. We then selected 18 genes for confirmation of the microarray data by qPCR analysis and obtained the following results: high expression of Plg, Pgr and Wnt4 was characteristic to all spontaneous carcinomas; Tnfsf11, Fgf10, Agtr1a, S100A9 and Pou3f3 showed high expression in a subset of radiation-induced carcinomas; and increased Gp2, Areg and Igf2 expression, as well as decreased expression of Ca3 and noncoding RNA Mg1, were common to all carcinomas. Thus, gene expression analysis distinguished between spontaneous and radiogenic carcinomas, suggesting possible differences in their carcinogenic mechanism. (author)

  4. Determination of a saliva cotinine cut-off to distinguish pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hegaard, Hanne K; Kjaergaard, Hanne; Møller, Lars F

    2007-01-01

    Objective validation of smoking status is necessary. Earlier studies have used saliva cotinine concentrations between 14.2 and 30 ng/ml as cut-off values to distinguish pregnant smokers from non-smokers. However, these cut-offs derive from studies including men and non-pregnant women....... This constitutes a problem, as recent studies have reported an accelerated metabolism in pregnant smokers. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum cut-off cotinine level distinguishing pregnant smokers from pregnant non-smokers....

  5. LD Score regression distinguishes confounding from polygenicity in genome-wide association studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan K.; Loh, Po-Ru; Finucane, Hilary K.

    2015-01-01

    Both polygenicity (many small genetic effects) and confounding biases, such as cryptic relatedness and population stratification, can yield an inflated distribution of test statistics in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, current methods cannot distinguish between inflation from...

  6. Optimum body size of Holstein replacement heifers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, P C

    1997-03-01

    Criteria that define optimum body size of replacement heifers are required by commercial dairy producers to evaluate replacement heifer management programs. Historically recommended body size criteria have been based on live BW measurements. Numerous research studies have observed a positive relationship between BW at first calving and first lactation milk yield, which has served as the impetus for using live BW to define body size of replacement heifers. Live BW is, however, not the only available measurement to define body size. Skeletal measurements such as wither height, length, and pelvic area have been demonstrated to be related to first lactation performance and (or) dystocia. Live BW measurements also do not define differences in body composition. Differences in body composition of replacement heifers at first calving are also related to key performance variables. An updated research data base is available for the modern Holstein genotype to incorporate measures of skeletal growth and body composition with BW when defining body size. These research projects also lend insight into the relative importance of measurements that define body size of replacement heifers. Incorporation of these measurements from current research into present BW recommendations should aid commercial dairy producers to better define replacement heifer growth and management practices. This article proposes enhancements in defining optimum body size and growth characteristics of Holstein replacement heifers.

  7. Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060. Population Estimates and Projections. Current Population Reports. P25-1143

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colby, Sandra L.; Ortman, Jennifer M.

    2015-01-01

    Between 2014 and 2060, the U.S. population is projected to increase from 319 million to 417 million, reaching 400 million in 2051. The U.S. population is projected to grow more slowly in future decades than in the recent past, as these projections assume that fertility rates will continue to decline and that there will be a modest decline in the…

  8. Current information technology needs of small to medium sized apparel manufacturers and contractors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wipple, C.; Vosti, E.

    1997-11-01

    This report documents recent efforts of the American Textile Partnership (AMTEX) Demand Activated Manufacturing Architecture (DAMA) Project to address needs that are characterized of small to medium sized apparel manufactures and contractors. Background on the AMTEX/DAMA project and objectives for this specific efforts are discussed.

  9. Attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in childhood: Distinguishing between targets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noorden, T.H.J. van; Haselager, G.J.T.; Lansu, T.A.M.; Cillessen, A.H.N.; Bukowski, W.M.

    2016-01-01

    This investigation researched the association between the attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in children by distinguishing between targets. Study 1 focused on the attribution of human characteristics by bullies, victims, bully/victims, and non-involved children toward

  10. A Macrophysiological Analysis of Energetic Constraints on Geographic Range Size in Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos, Gerardo; Steele, Michael A.

    2013-01-01

    Physiological processes are essential for understanding the distribution and abundance of organisms, and recently, with widespread attention to climate change, physiology has been ushered back to the forefront of ecological thinking. We present a macrophysiological analysis of the energetics of geographic range size using combined data on body size, basal metabolic rate (BMR), phylogeny and range properties for 574 species of mammals. We propose three mechanisms by which interspecific variation in BMR should relate positively to geographic range size: (i) Thermal Plasticity Hypothesis, (ii) Activity Levels/Dispersal Hypothesis, and (iii) Energy Constraint Hypothesis. Although each mechanism predicts a positive correlation between BMR and range size, they can be further distinguished based on the shape of the relationship they predict. We found evidence for the predicted positive relationship in two dimensions of energetics: (i) the absolute, mass-dependent dimension (BMR) and (ii) the relative, mass-independent dimension (MIBMR). The shapes of both relationships were similar and most consistent with that expected from the Energy Constraint Hypothesis, which was proposed previously to explain the classic macroecological relationship between range size and body size in mammals and birds. The fact that this pattern holds in the MIBMR dimension indicates that species with supra-allometric metabolic rates require among the largest ranges, above and beyond the increasing energy demands that accrue as an allometric consequence of large body size. The relationship is most evident at high latitudes north of the Tropics, where large ranges and elevated MIBMR are most common. Our results suggest that species that are most vulnerable to extinction from range size reductions are both large-bodied and have elevated MIBMR, but also, that smaller species with elevated MIBMR are at heightened risk. We also provide insights into the global latitudinal trends in range size and MIBMR

  11. APPLICATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AT A SMALL BUSINESSES ENTERPRISES

    OpenAIRE

    Sergey V. Rajewski

    2016-01-01

    This article discusses the types of organizational structures of project management and their application in project management in small and medium-sized enterprises. Among the approaches and methods to organize projects emphasizing project management as part of the existing functional structure of the enterprise. Analyzed the most relevant organizational tools of project management in small business: a network schedule; matrix distribution of administrative and management tasks of the projec...

  12. Map of projects of energy efficiency and of renewable energies by the AFD and FFEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Briand, Claude; Ries, Alain

    2008-04-01

    The AFD (the French Agency for Development) and the FFEM (French Fund for World Environment) are involved in cooperation and partnership projects for the development of energy efficiency, notably, but not only, in developing and emerging countries. This report proposes a review and an analysis of these projects in terms of concerned sectors, interveners, type of financing, and geographical area. It also comments and discusses the evolutions of financial commitments. In a second part, and based on these experiences, the report highlights the starting conditions for projects in energy efficiency. These conditions are distinguished in terms of national context, of economic conditions, of financing, of technical capacities, and of environmental and social factors

  13. Project W-320, 241-C-106 sluicing HVAC calculations, Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailey, J.W.

    1998-01-01

    This supporting document has been prepared to make the FDNW calculations for Project W-320, readily retrievable. The report contains the following calculations: Exhaust airflow sizing for Tank 241-C-106; Equipment sizing and selection recirculation fan; Sizing high efficiency mist eliminator; Sizing electric heating coil; Equipment sizing and selection of recirculation condenser; Chiller skid system sizing and selection; High efficiency metal filter shielding input and flushing frequency; and Exhaust skid stack sizing and fan sizing

  14. Project W-320, 241-C-106 sluicing HVAC calculations, Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bailey, J.W.

    1998-08-07

    This supporting document has been prepared to make the FDNW calculations for Project W-320, readily retrievable. The report contains the following calculations: Exhaust airflow sizing for Tank 241-C-106; Equipment sizing and selection recirculation fan; Sizing high efficiency mist eliminator; Sizing electric heating coil; Equipment sizing and selection of recirculation condenser; Chiller skid system sizing and selection; High efficiency metal filter shielding input and flushing frequency; and Exhaust skid stack sizing and fan sizing.

  15. Toward ideal separation by size-exclusion chromatography

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Netopilík, Miloš

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 1487, 3 March (2017), s. 139-146 ISSN 0021-9673 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GC17-04258J Grant - others:OPPK(XE) CZ.2.16/3.1.00/24504 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : size-exclusion chromatography * separation mechanism * band broadening function Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry OBOR OECD: Polymer science Impact factor: 3.981, year: 2016

  16. Particle size dependence of biogenic secondary organic aerosol molecular composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, Peijun; Johnston, Murray V.

    2017-06-01

    Formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is initiated by the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the gas phase whose products subsequently partition to the particle phase. Non-volatile molecules have a negligible evaporation rate and grow particles at their condensation rate. Semi-volatile molecules have a significant evaporation rate and grow particles at a much slower rate than their condensation rate. Particle phase chemistry may enhance particle growth if it transforms partitioned semi-volatile molecules into non-volatile products. In principle, changes in molecular composition as a function of particle size allow non-volatile molecules that have condensed from the gas phase (a surface-limited process) to be distinguished from those produced by particle phase reaction (a volume-limited process). In this work, SOA was produced by β-pinene ozonolysis in a flow tube reactor. Aerosol exiting the reactor was size-selected with a differential mobility analyzer, and individual particle sizes between 35 and 110 nm in diameter were characterized by on- and offline mass spectrometry. Both the average oxygen-to-carbon (O / C) ratio and carbon oxidation state (OSc) were found to decrease with increasing particle size, while the relative signal intensity of oligomers increased with increasing particle size. These results are consistent with oligomer formation primarily in the particle phase (accretion reactions, which become more favored as the volume-to-surface-area ratio of the particle increases). Analysis of a series of polydisperse SOA samples showed similar dependencies: as the mass loading increased (and average volume-to-surface-area ratio increased), the average O / C ratio and OSc decreased, while the relative intensity of oligomer ions increased. The results illustrate the potential impact that particle phase chemistry can have on biogenic SOA formation and the particle size range where this chemistry becomes important.

  17. Particle size dependence of biogenic secondary organic aerosol molecular composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Tu

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA is initiated by the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs in the gas phase whose products subsequently partition to the particle phase. Non-volatile molecules have a negligible evaporation rate and grow particles at their condensation rate. Semi-volatile molecules have a significant evaporation rate and grow particles at a much slower rate than their condensation rate. Particle phase chemistry may enhance particle growth if it transforms partitioned semi-volatile molecules into non-volatile products. In principle, changes in molecular composition as a function of particle size allow non-volatile molecules that have condensed from the gas phase (a surface-limited process to be distinguished from those produced by particle phase reaction (a volume-limited process. In this work, SOA was produced by β-pinene ozonolysis in a flow tube reactor. Aerosol exiting the reactor was size-selected with a differential mobility analyzer, and individual particle sizes between 35 and 110 nm in diameter were characterized by on- and offline mass spectrometry. Both the average oxygen-to-carbon (O ∕ C ratio and carbon oxidation state (OSc were found to decrease with increasing particle size, while the relative signal intensity of oligomers increased with increasing particle size. These results are consistent with oligomer formation primarily in the particle phase (accretion reactions, which become more favored as the volume-to-surface-area ratio of the particle increases. Analysis of a series of polydisperse SOA samples showed similar dependencies: as the mass loading increased (and average volume-to-surface-area ratio increased, the average O ∕ C ratio and OSc decreased, while the relative intensity of oligomer ions increased. The results illustrate the potential impact that particle phase chemistry can have on biogenic SOA formation and the particle size range where this chemistry becomes

  18. Distinguishing between anthropogenic and climatic impacts on lake size: a modeling approach using data from Ebinur Lake in arid northwest China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Long Ma

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Evaluation of anthropogenic and climatic impacts on lake size variation is important for maintaining ecosystem integrity and sustaining societal development. We assumed that climate and human activity are the only drivers of lake-size variation and are independent of each other. We then evaluated anthropogenic and climatic effects on hydrological processes, using a multivariate linear model. Macro-economic data were used to describe the anthropogenic impact on lake surface area in our approach. Ebinur Lake is a shallow, closed, saline lake in arid northwest China; it has shrunk at a rapid rate over the past half century. Using our new method, we explored temporal trends of anthropogenic and climatic impacts on the lake over the past 50 years. Assessment indices indicate that the model represents observed data quite well. Compared with the reference period of 1955-1960, impacts of climate change across the catchment were generally positive with respect to lake area, except for the period from 1961 to 1970. Human activity was responsible for a reduction in lake surface area of 286.8 km2 over the last 50 years. Our approach, which uses economic variables to describe the anthropogenic impact on lake surface area, enables us to explain the lake responses to climate change and human activities quantitatively.

  19. Post secondary project-based learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

    OpenAIRE

    Ralph, Rachel A.

    2016-01-01

    Project-based learning (PjBL - to distinguish from problem-based learning - PBL) has become a recurrent practice in K-12 classroom environments. As PjBL has become prominent in K-12 classrooms, it has also surfaced in post-secondary institutions.  The purpose of this paper is to examine the research that has studied a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematic subjects using PjBL in post-secondary classrooms. Eleven articles (including qualitative, quantitative and mixed metho...

  20. Distinguishing Aspartic and Isoaspartic Acids in Peptides by Several Mass Spectrometric Fragmentation Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeGraan-Weber, Nick; Zhang, Jun; Reilly, James P.

    2016-12-01

    Six ion fragmentation techniques that can distinguish aspartic acid from its isomer, isoaspartic acid, were compared. MALDI post-source decay (PSD), MALDI 157 nm photodissociation, tris(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)phosphonium bromide (TMPP) charge tagging in PSD and photodissociation, ESI collision-induced dissociation (CID), electron transfer dissociation (ETD), and free-radical initiated peptide sequencing (FRIPS) with CID were applied to peptides containing either aspartic or isoaspartic acid. Diagnostic ions, such as the y-46 and b+H2O, are present in PSD, photodissociation, and charge tagging. c•+57 and z-57 ions are observed in ETD and FRIPS experiments. For some molecules, aspartic and isoaspartic acid yield ion fragments with significantly different intensities. ETD and charge tagging appear to be most effective at distinguishing these residues.

  1. Key factors of project success in family small and medium-sized companies: the theoretical review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinisa Arsic

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposes a systematization of the key success factors of projects, through the theoretical review of family-owned companies operating in the EU market. It is the small and medium companies that in their own way contribute to the overall success of the national economy in terms of economic activity, increased employment, development activities and defining better business environment. The theoretical review observed numerous studies of family businesses, and the contribution of this work is in the systematization of the results of previous research – over three horizons, i.e., over the role of managers in the creation of successful projects (or owner if it is a family enterprise, institutional support for companies in Serbia and the EU, specific industries and the parent (regional markets where a family company operates. Project management, as a general representation of the concept of implementation of strategic and operational endeavors, contains many specifics in terms of critical success factors of projects depending on the environment in which they are implemented. The goal of the paper is reflected in the identification and presentation of critical success factors of projects implemented in family companies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the research results in relation to the existing, similar research studies, as well as with the announcement of future research, which will examine the conclusions drawn on a real sample.

  2. The accuracy of matrix population model projections for coniferous trees in the Sierra Nevada, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Mantgem, P.J.; Stephenson, N.L.

    2005-01-01

    1 We assess the use of simple, size-based matrix population models for projecting population trends for six coniferous tree species in the Sierra Nevada, California. We used demographic data from 16 673 trees in 15 permanent plots to create 17 separate time-invariant, density-independent population projection models, and determined differences between trends projected from initial surveys with a 5-year interval and observed data during two subsequent 5-year time steps. 2 We detected departures from the assumptions of the matrix modelling approach in terms of strong growth autocorrelations. We also found evidence of observation errors for measurements of tree growth and, to a more limited degree, recruitment. Loglinear analysis provided evidence of significant temporal variation in demographic rates for only two of the 17 populations. 3 Total population sizes were strongly predicted by model projections, although population dynamics were dominated by carryover from the previous 5-year time step (i.e. there were few cases of recruitment or death). Fractional changes to overall population sizes were less well predicted. Compared with a null model and a simple demographic model lacking size structure, matrix model projections were better able to predict total population sizes, although the differences were not statistically significant. Matrix model projections were also able to predict short-term rates of survival, growth and recruitment. Mortality frequencies were not well predicted. 4 Our results suggest that simple size-structured models can accurately project future short-term changes for some tree populations. However, not all populations were well predicted and these simple models would probably become more inaccurate over longer projection intervals. The predictive ability of these models would also be limited by disturbance or other events that destabilize demographic rates. ?? 2005 British Ecological Society.

  3. How to distinguish dark energy and modified gravity?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Hao; Zhang Shuangnan

    2008-01-01

    The current accelerated expansion of our universe could be due to an unknown energy component (dark energy) or a modification of general relativity (modified gravity). In the literature it has been proposed that combining the probes of the cosmic expansion history and growth history can distinguish between dark energy and modified gravity. In this work, without invoking nontrivial dark energy clustering, we show that the possible interaction between dark energy and dark matter could make the interacting dark model and the modified gravity model indistinguishable. An explicit example is also given. Therefore, it is required to seek some complementary probes beyond the ones of cosmic expansion history and growth history.

  4. Capabilities and Limitations of Tissue Size Control through Passive Mechanical Forces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jochen Kursawe

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Embryogenesis is an extraordinarily robust process, exhibiting the ability to control tissue size and repair patterning defects in the face of environmental and genetic perturbations. The size and shape of a developing tissue is a function of the number and size of its constituent cells as well as their geometric packing. How these cellular properties are coordinated at the tissue level to ensure developmental robustness remains a mystery; understanding this process requires studying multiple concurrent processes that make up morphogenesis, including the spatial patterning of cell fates and apoptosis, as well as cell intercalations. In this work, we develop a computational model that aims to understand aspects of the robust pattern repair mechanisms of the Drosophila embryonic epidermal tissues. Size control in this system has previously been shown to rely on the regulation of apoptosis rather than proliferation; however, to date little work has been done to understand the role of cellular mechanics in this process. We employ a vertex model of an embryonic segment to test hypotheses about the emergence of this size control. Comparing the model to previously published data across wild type and genetic perturbations, we show that passive mechanical forces suffice to explain the observed size control in the posterior (P compartment of a segment. However, observed asymmetries in cell death frequencies across the segment are demonstrated to require patterning of cellular properties in the model. Finally, we show that distinct forms of mechanical regulation in the model may be distinguished by differences in cell shapes in the P compartment, as quantified through experimentally accessible summary statistics, as well as by the tissue recoil after laser ablation experiments.

  5. Impact of Base Functional Component Types on Software Functional Size based Effort Estimation

    OpenAIRE

    Gencel, Cigdem; Buglione, Luigi

    2008-01-01

    Software effort estimation is still a significant challenge for software management. Although Functional Size Measurement (FSM) methods have been standardized and have become widely used by the software organizations, the relationship between functional size and development effort still needs further investigation. Most of the studies focus on the project cost drivers and consider total software functional size as the primary input to estimation models. In this study, we investigate whether u...

  6. Bringing to Market Technological Innovation: What Distinguishes Success from Failure

    OpenAIRE

    Frattini, Federico; Massis, Alfredo De; Chiesa, Vittorio; Cassia, Lucio; Campopiano, Giovanna

    2012-01-01

    Commercialization is a critical step in technological innovation. Nevertheless, many scholars believe that it is often the least well-managed activity of the whole innovation process. The launch stage seems to be particularly critical in high-technology markets because of the volatility, interconnectedness and the proliferation of new technologies they experience. However, academic and practitioners' literature has not, so far, developed a clear understanding of the factors that distinguish a...

  7. Myoglobin Structure and Function: A Multiweek Biochemistry Laboratory Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverstein, Todd P.; Kirk, Sarah R.; Meyer, Scott C.; Holman, Karen L. McFarlane

    2015-01-01

    We have developed a multiweek laboratory project in which students isolate myoglobin and characterize its structure, function, and redox state. The important laboratory techniques covered in this project include size-exclusion chromatography, electrophoresis, spectrophotometric titration, and FTIR spectroscopy. Regarding protein structure,…

  8. The importance of procurement negotiations for project success

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoezen, M; Volker, L.

    2015-01-01

    The allocation of a contract for public construction projects in Europe usually requires a European tender procedure. This has to do with the size, the use of public means and the complexity of this type of projects. Compared to regular partnerships, it is hard to develop trust between the buyer and

  9. Overestimation of test performance by ROC analysis: Effect of small sample size

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seeley, G.W.; Borgstrom, M.C.; Patton, D.D.; Myers, K.J.; Barrett, H.H.

    1984-01-01

    New imaging systems are often observer-rated by ROC techniques. For practical reasons the number of different images, or sample size (SS), is kept small. Any systematic bias due to small SS would bias system evaluation. The authors set about to determine whether the area under the ROC curve (AUC) would be systematically biased by small SS. Monte Carlo techniques were used to simulate observer performance in distinguishing signal (SN) from noise (N) on a 6-point scale; P(SN) = P(N) = .5. Four sample sizes (15, 25, 50 and 100 each of SN and N), three ROC slopes (0.8, 1.0 and 1.25), and three intercepts (0.8, 1.0 and 1.25) were considered. In each of the 36 combinations of SS, slope and intercept, 2000 runs were simulated. Results showed a systematic bias: the observed AUC exceeded the expected AUC in every one of the 36 combinations for all sample sizes, with the smallest sample sizes having the largest bias. This suggests that evaluations of imaging systems using ROC curves based on small sample size systematically overestimate system performance. The effect is consistent but subtle (maximum 10% of AUC standard deviation), and is probably masked by the s.d. in most practical settings. Although there is a statistically significant effect (F = 33.34, P<0.0001) due to sample size, none was found for either the ROC curve slope or intercept. Overestimation of test performance by small SS seems to be an inherent characteristic of the ROC technique that has not previously been described

  10. A New, Simple Method for Estimating Pleural Effusion Size on CT Scans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moy, Matthew P.; Berko, Netanel S.; Godelman, Alla; Jain, Vineet R.; Haramati, Linda B.

    2013-01-01

    Background: There is no standardized system to grade pleural effusion size on CT scans. A validated, systematic grading system would improve communication of findings and may help determine the need for imaging guidance for thoracentesis. Methods: CT scans of 34 patients demonstrating a wide range of pleural effusion sizes were measured with a volume segmentation tool and reviewed for qualitative and simple quantitative features related to size. A classification rule was developed using the features that best predicted size and distinguished among small, moderate, and large effusions. Inter-reader agreement for effusion size was assessed on the CT scans for three groups of physicians (radiology residents, pulmonologists, and cardiothoracic radiologists) before and after implementation of the classification rule. Results: The CT imaging features found to best classify effusions as small, moderate, or large were anteroposterior (AP) quartile and maximum AP depth measured at the midclavicular line. According to the decision rule, first AP-quartile effusions are small, second AP-quartile effusions are moderate, and third or fourth AP-quartile effusions are large. In borderline cases, AP depth is measured with 3-cm and 10-cm thresholds for the upper limit of small and moderate, respectively. Use of the rule improved interobserver agreement from κ = 0.56 to 0.79 for all physicians, 0.59 to 0.73 for radiology residents, 0.54 to 0.76 for pulmonologists, and 0.74 to 0.85 for cardiothoracic radiologists. Conclusions: A simple, two-step decision rule for sizing pleural effusions on CT scans improves interobserver agreement from moderate to substantial levels. PMID:23632863

  11. Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: Ahmad R. Hariri

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Ahmad R. Hariri, recipient of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology, is cited for pioneering contributions to understanding the neurobiological mechanisms driving individual differences in complex behavior traits. Hariri has integrated molecular genetics, neuropharmacology, neuroimaging, and psychology in…

  12. Distinguishing ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi using carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiguo Hou

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Ectomycorrhizal fungi, a group of widespread symbiotic fungi with plant, obtain carbon source from trees and improve plant mineral nutrient uptake with their widespread hyphal network. Ectomycorrhizal fungi can be used as inoculants to improve the survival rates of plantation. Saprophytic fungi use the nutrition from the debris of plant or animals, and it is difficult to distinguish the saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi by morphological and anatomic methods. In this research, the differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of these fungi were analyzed. The results showed that the abundances of 13C of were higher than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi and the abundances of 15N of saprophytic fungi were lower than those of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Such differences of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions between ectomycorrhizal fungi and saprophytic fungi can be ascribed to their different nutrition sources and ecological functions. These results collectively indicate that stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions are an effective proxy for distinguishing between ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi.

  13. Perspective on small and medium size reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stahlkopf, K.E.; Braun, C.

    1985-01-01

    There has been renewed interests in the United States in small and medium size nuclear power plants (600 MWe or less). The reasons for this include: (1) there is a large uncertainty in load growth projections. Small to medium size nuclear power plants may be better suited to meet uncertain load growth projections. (2) It has been argued that a large economy of scale exists because of the nature of nuclear power installations. A recent examination of the French program shows that no economy of scale exists between the 900 MWe and 1300 MWe plants. Others have suggested that it is possible to reduce the economy of scale so it is not a prohibitive factor. (3) In the past in the United States, it has been customary for several smaller utilities to share the output of a large nuclear plant to take advantage of the perceived economy of scale. Difficulties have been encountered by some of these enterprises. (4) An examination of capacity factors for the United States shows that plants of smaller output appear to operate more reliably and economically than larger plants

  14. APPLICATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AT A SMALL BUSINESSES ENTERPRISES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey V. Rajewski

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the types of organizational structures of project management and their application in project management in small and medium-sized enterprises. Among the approaches and methods to organize projects emphasizing project management as part of the existing functional structure of the enterprise. Analyzed the most relevant organizational tools of project management in small business: a network schedule; matrix distribution of administrative and management tasks of the project; schedule of the project plan; information and technological methods and models used in the process of project management; software applications for project management, used in the sphere of small business.

  15. Evolution of the U.S. Energy Service Company Industry: Market Size and Project Performance from 1990-2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, Peter [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Goldman, Charles A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Satchwell, Andrew [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2012-05-08

    The U.S. energy service company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private sector business model where energy savings are delivered to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. This study was conceived as a snapshot of the ESCO industry prior to the economic slowdown and the introduction of federal stimulus funding mandated by enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This study utilizes two parallel analytic approaches to characterize ESCO industry and market trends in the U.S.: (1) a “top-down” approach involving a survey of individual ESCOs to estimate aggregate industry activity and (2) a “bottom-up” analysis of a database of -3,265 projects (representing over $8B in project investment) that reports market trends including installed EE retrofit strategies, project installation costs and savings, project payback times, and benefit-cost ratios over time. Despite the onset of an economic recession, the U.S. ESCO industry managed to grow at about 7% per year between 2006 and 2008. ESCO industry revenues are relatively small compared to total U.S. energy expenditures (about $4.1 billion in 2008), but ESCOs anticipated accelerated growth through 2011 (25% per year). We found that 2,484 ESCO projects in our database generated -$4.0 billion ($2009) in net, direct economic benefits to their customers. We estimate that the ESCO project database includes about 20% of all U.S. ESCO market activity from 1990-2008. Assuming the net benefits per project are comparable for ESCO projects that are not included in the LBNL database, this would suggest that the ESCO industry has generated -$23 billion in net direct economic benefits for customers at projects installed between 1990 and 2008. We found that nearly 85% of all public and institutional projects met or exceeded the guaranteed level of savings. We estimated that a typical ESCO project generated $1.5 dollars of direct benefits for every dollar of customer

  16. Science 101: How Do We Distinguish between Living and Nonliving Things?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Bill

    2016-01-01

    Since nearly every science curriculum in the country contains a section on living and non-living things, Bill Robertson believes that pretty much anyone who has taught the subject has run into difficulties. It seems as if no matter what criteria you use to distinguish between the two you can nearly always find exceptions. This article provides a…

  17. Distinguishing a SM-like MSSM Higgs boson from SM Higgs boson ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We explore the possibility of distinguishing the SM-like MSSM Higgs boson from the SM Higgs boson via Higgs boson pair production at future muon collider. We study the behavior of the production cross-section in SM and MSSM with Higgs boson mass for various MSSM parameters tan and A. We observe that at fixed ...

  18. APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    The APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology is awarded on an annual basis by the APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. A qualified candidate must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or have developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. The 2017 recipient of the APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology was selected by the 2016 Board of Professional Affairs (BPA) and the 2016 APAGS Scholarship and Awards Selection Committee. Members of the 2016 BPA were Antonette M. Zeiss, PhD (Chair); Linda A. Reddy, PhD; Lois O. Condie, PhD; Timothy A. Cavell, PhD; Robert T. Kinscherff, PhD, JD; Jared L. Skillings, PhD, ABPP; Cynthia A. Gómez, PhD; Lisa K. Kearney, PhD, ABPP; and Dinelia Rosa, PhD. Members of the 2016 APAGS Scholarship and Awards Selection Committee were Jerrold Yeo, MA; Jacklynn Fitzgerald, MA; and Roseann Fish Getchell, MA, Med. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Cost Estimation for Cross-organizational ERP Projects: Research Perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daneva, Maia; Bieman, J.; Wieringa, Roelf J.

    There are many methods for estimating size, effort, schedule and other cost aspects of IS projects, but only one specifically developed for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) [67] and none for simultaneous, interdependent ERP projects in a cross-organizational context. The objective of this paper is

  20. Effects of grain size evolution on mantle dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Falko; Tosi, Nicola; Plesa, Ana-Catalina; Breuer, Doris

    2016-04-01

    The rheology of planetary mantle materials is strongly dependent on temperature, pressure, strain-rate, and grain size. In particular, the rheology of olivine, the most abundant mineral of the Earth's upper mantle, has been extensively studied in the laboratory (e.g., Karato and Wu, 1993; Hirth and Kohlstedt, 2003). Two main mechanisms control olivine's deformation: dislocation and diffusion creep. While the former implies a power-law dependence of the viscosity on the strain-rate that leads to a non-Newtonian behaviour, the latter is sensitively dependent on the grain size. The dynamics of planetary interiors is locally controlled by the deformation mechanism that delivers the lowest viscosity. Models of the dynamics and evolution of planetary mantles should thus be capable to self-consistently distinguish which of the two mechanisms dominates at given conditions of temperature, pressure, strain-rate and grain size. As the grain size can affect the viscosity associated with diffusion creep by several orders of magnitude, it can strongly influence the dominant deformation mechanism. The vast majority of numerical, global-scale models of mantle convection, however, are based on the use of a linear diffusion-creep rheology with constant grain-size. Nevertheless, in recent studies, a new equation has been proposed to properly model the time-dependent evolution of the grain size (Austin and Evens, 2007; Rozel et al., 2010). We implemented this equation in our mantle convection code Gaia (Hüttig et al., 2013). In the framework of simple models of stagnant lid convection, we compared simulations based on the fully time-dependent equation of grain-size evolution with simulations based on its steady-state version. In addition, we tested a number of different parameters in order to identify those that affects the grain size to the first order and, in turn, control the conditions at which mantle deformation is dominated by diffusion or dislocation creep. References Austin

  1. Preparation of leucite powders with controlled particle size distribution

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Novotná, Martina; Kloužková, A.; Maixner, J.; Šatava, Vladimír

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 49, č. 4 (2005), s. 252-258 ISSN 0862-5468 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA104/03/0031 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40320502 Keywords : leucite * preparation * particle size distribution Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry Impact factor: 0.463, year: 2005

  2. Hydrodynamic discrimination of wakes caused by objects of different size or shape in a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wieskotten, S.; Mauck, B.; Miersch, L.

    2011-01-01

    Harbour seals can use their mystacial vibrissae to detect and track hydrodynamic wakes. We investigated the ability of a harbour seal to discriminate objects of different size or shape by their hydrodynamic signature and used particle image velocimetry to identify the hydrodynamic parameters...... that a seal may be using to do so. Hydrodynamic trails were generated by different sized or shaped paddles that were moved in the calm water of an experimental box to produce a characteristic signal. In a two-alternative forced-choice procedure the blindfolded subject was able to discriminate size differences...... of down to 3.6. cm (Weber fraction 0.6) when paddles were moved at the same speed. Furthermore the subject distinguished hydrodynamic signals generated by flat, cylindrical, triangular or undulated paddles of the same width. Particle image velocimetry measurements demonstrated that the seal could have...

  3. Project FIND: a profile of a community-based senior services agency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockwood, Andrée

    2007-01-01

    Project FIND has been providing innovative supportive housing, nutrition, and social support to homeless and low- and moderate-income seniors on New York City's West Side since 1967. This article profiles this nonprofit, community-based agency, which was established to meet the needs of the frail and isolated elderly, and has continued to grow and evolve in response to changing demographics, neighborhood gentrification, and needs of both the homeless as well as the active "younger old." The article describes creative programming that has distinguished Project FIND's response to seniors' needs beyond basic housing and nutrition. It also explores what it takes to successfully provide senior services using limited resources and examines challenges for the future both nationally and for the agency.

  4. Managing projects using a project management approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marko D. Andrejić

    2011-04-01

    these objectives should be like. Requirements and effects of the application of project management The goal of the project management methodology is to assist the manager in all of these elements, but also to provide a uniform way of evaluating his performance as an objective comparison of indicators in all projects that are implemented in the system. Project management methodology Efficient business operations and fulfilling the requests of users, or buyers if business is done for the third parties, require modern planning and management of projects using computers and appropriate software. Given that the project management with the help of network models requires frequent and rapid processing of large amount of data, it is obvious that the application of computers in this area is of utmost importance. System of reporting on project implementation To achieve effective monitoring, control and implementation of control actions, it is necessary to organize an effective reporting system that will provide timely and realistic information about the real state of the project, in terms of job performing time, the resources spent and the costs of project implementation. Concept of risk management In any project there are many different risk events by type, the probability of appearance, manner and size of the impact of the project. The process of testing the nature of risk events in the project as well as their potential impact on the outcome of the project and their interdependence are realized through the risk analysis. Conclusion Methodologies of project management surged from these differences, when it became apparent that a unified approach to the problem of project managing does not meet the unique project requirements. Taking into account that in the future projects will become more complex and that the methodology of project management will be required to deal with such projects, a proper selection of methodology within the organization is extremely important.

  5. Integrated project management type contracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heisler, S.I.

    1975-01-01

    The concept of integrated project management represents a single source to which the owner can turn for all project management functions excepting for those relating to outside parties such as site purchase, personnel selection etc. Other functions such as design, procurement, construction management, schedule and cost control, quality assurance/quality control are usually handled by the integrated project manager as the agent of the owner. The arrangement is flexible and the responsibilities can be varied to suit the size and experience of the owner. Past experience in the United States indicates an increase in the trend toward IPM work and it appears that overseas this trend is developing also. (orig./RW) [de

  6. Daniel Landis: Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    Presents a short biography of one of the co-recipients of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. One of the 2012 winners is Daniel Landis for his unparalleled contribution to the field of intercultural research in a distinguished academic career spanning almost half a century. Landis has shaped the field of intercultural research through scholarship of the highest order, reflected in his publications on cross-cultural training and research, the measurement of equal opportunity climate, individual-differences research and methodology, evaluation of social programs, development of theory in social psychology, and cross-cultural aspects of human sexuality. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Intercultural Relations and has edited three editions of the Handbook of Intercultural Training (1983, 1996, 2004). Landis' Award citation and a selected bibliography are also presented. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Body Size Preference of Marine Animals in Relation to Extinction Selectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sriram, A.; Idgunji, S.; Heim, N. A.; Payne, J.

    2014-12-01

    Our project encompasses an extremely specific aspect in relation to the five mass extinctions in geologic history. We asked ourselves whether larger or smaller body sizes would be better suited for surviving a mass extinction. To conduct research for our project, we used the body sizes of 17,172 marine animal genera as our primary data. These animals include echinoderms, arthropods, chordates, mollusks, and brachiopods. These creatures are perfect model organisms in terms of finding data on them because they have an excellent fossil record, and are well documented. We focused on the mean body size of these animals before and after each of the five mass extinctions (end-Ordovician, Late Devonian, end-Permian, end-Triassic, and end-Cretaceous). Our hypothesis was that the average biovolume of animals increased after each of the extinctions, with the mean size being greater after than it was before. Our size data is from the Ellis & Messina Catalogue of Ostracoda and the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. We obtained stratigraphic range data The Treatise and Sepkoski (2002). In our analyses, we compared the mean size of the different animal genera before and after each extinction event. We further partitioned size change across mass extinction boundaries into three categories: the surviving genera, the extinct genera, and the newly originating genera that came about after the extinction. According to our analyses, the mean sizes did not change significantly from the genera living during the stages before the extinctions and after the extinctions. From our results, we can assume that there were not enough major increases in the overall volume of the organisms to warrant a definite conclusion that extinctions lead to larger body sizes. Further support for our findings came from the T-tests in our R code. Only the Cretaceous period showed true evidence for size changing because of the extinction; in this case, the mean size decreased. T-tests for the Cretaceous

  8. DNA barcodes and molecular diagnostics to distinguish an introduced and native Laricobius (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) species in eastern North America

    Science.gov (United States)

    G.A. Davis; N.P. Havill; Z.N. Adelman; A. Caccone; L.T. Kok; S.M. Salom

    2011-01-01

    Molecular diagnostics based on DNA barcodes can be powerful identification tools in the absence of distinctive morphological characters for distinguishing between closely related species. A specific example is distinguishing the endemic species Laricobius rubidus from Laricobius nigrinus, a biological control agent of hemlock...

  9. Breaking Free of Sample Size Dogma to Perform Innovative Translational Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacchetti, Peter; Deeks, Steven G.; McCune, Joseph M.

    2011-01-01

    Innovative clinical and translational research is often delayed or prevented by reviewers’ expectations that any study performed in humans must be shown in advance to have high statistical power. This supposed requirement is not justifiable and is contradicted by the reality that increasing sample size produces diminishing marginal returns. Studies of new ideas often must start small (sometimes even with an N of 1) because of cost and feasibility concerns, and recent statistical work shows that small sample sizes for such research can produce more projected scientific value per dollar spent than larger sample sizes. Renouncing false dogma about sample size would remove a serious barrier to innovation and translation. PMID:21677197

  10. Distinguishing modified gravity from dark energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertschinger, Edmund; Zukin, Phillip

    2008-01-01

    The acceleration of the Universe can be explained either through dark energy or through the modification of gravity on large scales. In this paper we investigate modified gravity models and compare their observable predictions with dark energy models. Modifications of general relativity are expected to be scale independent on superhorizon scales and scale dependent on subhorizon scales. For scale-independent modifications, utilizing the conservation of the curvature scalar and a parametrized post-Newtonian formulation of cosmological perturbations, we derive results for large-scale structure growth, weak gravitational lensing, and cosmic microwave background anisotropy. For scale-dependent modifications, inspired by recent f(R) theories we introduce a parametrization for the gravitational coupling G and the post-Newtonian parameter γ. These parametrizations provide a convenient formalism for testing general relativity. However, we find that if dark energy is generalized to include both entropy and shear stress perturbations, and the dynamics of dark energy is unknown a priori, then modified gravity cannot in general be distinguished from dark energy using cosmological linear perturbations.

  11. Can we distinguish an MSSM Higgs from a SM Higgs at a linear collider?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Logan, Heather E.

    2001-01-01

    We study the prospects for distinguishing the CP-even Higgs boson of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) from the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson by measuring its branching ratios at an e + e - linear collider. The regions of the M A -tan β plane in which an MSSM Higgs boson can be distinguished from the SM Higgs boson depend strongly upon the supersymmetric parameters that enter the radiative corrections to the Higgs mass matrix and the Higgs couplings to fermions. In some regions of parameter space it is possible to extract the supersymmetric correction to the relation between the b quark mass and its Yukawa coupling from Higgs branching ratio measurements

  12. Reengineering the Project Design Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casani, E.; Metzger, R.

    1994-01-01

    In response to NASA's goal of working faster, better and cheaper, JPL has developed extensive plans to minimize cost, maximize customer and employee satisfaction, and implement small- and moderate-size missions. These plans include improved management structures and processes, enhanced technical design processes, the incorporation of new technology, and the development of more economical space- and ground-system designs. The Laboratory's new Flight Projects Implementation Office has been chartered to oversee these innovations and the reengineering of JPL's project design process, including establishment of the Project Design Center and the Flight System Testbed. Reengineering at JPL implies a cultural change whereby the character of its design process will change from sequential to concurrent and from hierarchical to parallel. The Project Design Center will support missions offering high science return, design to cost, demonstrations of new technology, and rapid development. Its computer-supported environment will foster high-fidelity project life-cycle development and cost estimating.

  13. A generalized public goods game with coupling of individual ability and project benefit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Li-Xin; Xu, Wen-Juan; He, Yun-Xin; Zhong, Chen-Yang; Chen, Rong-Da; Qiu, Tian; Shi, Yong-Dong; Ren, Fei

    2017-08-01

    Facing a heavy task, any single person can only make a limited contribution and team cooperation is needed. As one enjoys the benefit of the public goods, the potential benefits of the project are not always maximized and may be partly wasted. By incorporating individual ability and project benefit into the original public goods game, we study the coupling effect of the four parameters, the upper limit of individual contribution, the upper limit of individual benefit, the needed project cost and the upper limit of project benefit on the evolution of cooperation. Coevolving with the individual-level group size preferences, an increase in the upper limit of individual benefit promotes cooperation while an increase in the upper limit of individual contribution inhibits cooperation. The coupling of the upper limit of individual contribution and the needed project cost determines the critical point of the upper limit of project benefit, where the equilibrium frequency of cooperators reaches its highest level. Above the critical point, an increase in the upper limit of project benefit inhibits cooperation. The evolution of cooperation is closely related to the preferred group-size distribution. A functional relation between the frequency of cooperators and the dominant group size is found.

  14. CALDERON COKEMAKING PROCESS/DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albert Calderon

    1998-01-01

    This project deals with the demonstration of a coking process using proprietary technology of Calderon, with the following objectives geared to facilitate commercialization: (1) making coke of such quality as to be suitable for use in hard-driving, large blast furnaces; (2) providing proof that such process is continuous and environmentally closed to prevent emissions; (3) demonstrating that high-coking-pressure (non-traditional) coal blends which cannot be safely charged into conventional by-product coke ovens can be used in the Calderon process; and (4) demonstrating that coke can be produced economically, at a level competitive with coke imports. The activities of the past quarter were focused on the following: Conducting bench-scale tests to produce coke and acceptable tar from the process to satisfy Koppers, a prospective stakeholder; Consolidation of the project team players to execute the full size commercial cokemaking reactor demonstration; and Progress made in advancing the design of the full size commercial cokemaking reactor

  15. Variations in Tropospheric Submicron Particle Size Distributions Across the European Continent 2008–2009

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Beddows, D.C.S.; Dall’Osto, M.; Harrison, R. M.; Kulmala, M.; Asmi, A.; Wiedensohler, A.; Laj, P.; Fjaeraa, A.M.; Sellegri, K.; Birmili, W.; Bukowiecki, N.; Weingartner, E.; Baltensperger, U.; Ždímal, Vladimír; Zíková, Naděžda; Putaud, J.-P.; Marinoni, A.; Tunved, P.; Hansson, H.-C.; Feibig, M.; Kivekäs, N.; Swietlicki, E.; Lihavainen, H.; Asmi, E.; Ulevicius, V.; Aalto, P.P.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Kalivitis, N.; Kalapov, I.; Kiss, G.; de Leeuw, G.; Henzing, B.; O'Dowd, C.; Jennings, S.G.; Flentje, H.; Meinhardt, F.; Ries, L.; Denier van der Gon19, H.A.C.; Visschedijk, A.J.H.; Swietlicki, E.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 14, č. 8 (2014), s. 4327-4348 ISSN 1680-7316 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 36833 - EUCAARI; European Commission(XE) 26140 - EUSAAR Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : particle size distribution * clusters * aerosol size distribution Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 5.053, year: 2014

  16. Distinguishing the Chinese materia medica Tiepishihu from similar Dendrobium species of the same genus using histological and microscopic method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Kun-Zi; Yan, Hua; Tai, Hai-Chuan; Zhang, Nan-Ping; Cheng, Xian-Long; Guo, Zeng-Xi; Ma, Shuang-Cheng; Wei, Feng

    2017-07-01

    The Chinese Materia Medica, Tiepishihu, used as a tonic for over one thousand years, is a well-known precious medicine in China. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, its source is the species Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, which is distinguished from other species in Dendrobium genus. However, these species from the same genus are similar with Tiepishihu and caused confusion in the market. To find a quick and simple method to distinguish Tiepishihu from other similar species, histologic and microscopic methods were combined together to investigate the transverse section of stem of Tiepishihu and other similar species. Phloroglucinol test solution with hydrochloric acid was used to reveal the lignified tissue by staining the transverse section of Tiepishihu and similar species. Results revealed the unique identification characteristics to distinguish Tiepishihu from similar species, which were difficult to distinguish by other methods. The identification characteristics of Tiepishihu include the cells of vascular bundle sheath were stained red, parenchyma cells were not stained red. What's more, other species can be distinguished from each other with microscopic and histological characteristics. These characteristics proved stable and can be easily observed by normal light microscopic examination. This method is rapid, accurate, stable, and inexpensive. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Can voltammetry distinguish glycan isomers?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Trefulka, Mojmír; Paleček, Emil

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 69, č. 1 (2015), s. 241-244 ISSN 0366-6352 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP301/11/2055 Institutional support: RVO:68081707 Keywords : oligosaccharide isomers * Os(VI) complexes * chemical modification Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 1.326, year: 2015

  18. Intermittent sizing on carbon fiber for composite application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Norris, Jr, Robert E. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Paulauskas, Felix L. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Ozcan, Soydan [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Xiong, Fue [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Grappe, Hippolyte A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Intermittent sizing is a technique designed to improve the bonding of carbon fiber to a resin when manufacturing composite parts. The purpose of this technique is to improve Sheet Molding Composites (SMC) made of non-continuous carbon fibers while using regular material. At the end of the project, tests showed that improved mechanical properties have been achieved using this technique compared to conventional process. Mechanical properties have been improved by 110% for the peak tensile stress and by 60% for the modulus at the laboratory scale. In this project, Continental Structural Plastics and ORNL have worked to demonstrate the scalability and viability of commercialization of this technique.

  19. Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua D. Campbell

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Summary: This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs from five sites associated with smoking and/or human papillomavirus (HPV. SCCs harbor 3q, 5p, and other recurrent chromosomal copy-number alterations (CNAs, DNA mutations, and/or aberrant methylation of genes and microRNAs, which are correlated with the expression of multi-gene programs linked to squamous cell stemness, epithelial-to-mesenchymal differentiation, growth, genomic integrity, oxidative damage, death, and inflammation. Low-CNA SCCs tended to be HPV(+ and display hypermethylation with repression of TET1 demethylase and FANCF, previously linked to predisposition to SCC, or harbor mutations affecting CASP8, RAS-MAPK pathways, chromatin modifiers, and immunoregulatory molecules. We uncovered hypomethylation of the alternative promoter that drives expression of the ΔNp63 oncogene and embedded miR944. Co-expression of immune checkpoint, T-regulatory, and Myeloid suppressor cells signatures may explain reduced efficacy of immune therapy. These findings support possibilities for molecular classification and therapeutic approaches. : Campbell et al. reveal that squamous cell cancers from different tissue sites may be distinguished from other cancers and subclassified molecularly by recurrent alterations in chromosomes, DNA methylation, messenger and microRNA expression, or by mutations. These affect squamous cell pathways and programs that provide candidates for therapy. Keywords: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, cervical squamous cell carcinoma, bladder carcinoma with squamous differentiation, human papillomavirus

  20. A method for distinguishing between propagons, diffusions, and locons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seyf, Hamid Reza; Henry, Asegun [George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Heat Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States)

    2016-07-14

    The majority of intuition on phonon transport has been derived from studies of homogenous crystalline solids, where the atomic composition and structure are periodic. For this specific class of materials, the solutions to the equations of motions for the atoms (in the harmonic limit) result in plane wave modulated velocity fields for the normal modes of vibration. However, it has been known for several decades that whenever a system lacks periodicity, either compositional or structural, the normal modes of vibration can still be determined (in the harmonic limit), but the solutions take on different characteristics and many modes may not be plane wave modulated. Previous work has classified the types of vibrations into three primary categories, namely, propagons, diffusions, and locons. One can use the participation ratio to distinguish locons, from propagons and diffusons, which measures the extent to which a mode is localized. However, distinguishing between propagons and diffusons has remained a challenge, since both are spatially delocalized. Here, we present a new method that quantifies the extent to which a mode's character corresponds to a propagating mode, e.g., exhibits plane wave modulation. This then allows for clear and quantitative distinctions between propagons and diffusons. By resolving this issue quantitatively, one can now automate the classification of modes for any arbitrary material or structure, subject to a single constraint that the atoms must vibrate stably around their respective equilibrium sites. Several example test cases are studied including crystalline silicon and germanium, crystalline silicon with different defect concentrations, as well as amorphous silicon, germanium, and silica.

  1. Determination of Crystallite Size Distribution Histogram in Nanocrystalline Anatase Powders by XRD

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Matěj, Z.; Matějová, Lenka; Novotný, F.; Drahokoupil, Jan; Kužel, R.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 1, - (2011), s. 87-92 [European Powder Diffraction Conference EPDIC 12 /12./. Darmstadt, 27.08.2010-30.08.2010] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN400720701 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504; CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : titanium dioxide * crystallite size * crystallite size distribution Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry http://www.oldenbourg-link.com/ toc /zkpr/current

  2. Exploring the capital markets and securitisation for renewable energy projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haggard, M.E.; Thompson, M.A.; Colonna, S.

    2000-07-01

    This study looks at the opportunities for renewable energy projects to access the bond market to finance projects or refinance existing projects, and what, if anything, is required to facilitate this. In addition, the study looks at the possible use of securitisation to group projects together as a means of dealing with some of the challenges faced by renewables, such as small size relative to most bond issues and the transaction costs. (author)

  3. Exploring the capital markets and securitisation for renewable energy projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haggard, M.E.; Thompson, M.A.; Colonna, S.

    2000-01-01

    This study looks at the opportunities for renewable energy projects to access the bond market to finance projects or refinance existing projects, and what, if anything, is required to facilitate this. In addition, the study looks at the possible use of securitisation to group projects together as a means of dealing with some of the challenges faced by renewables, such as small size relative to most bond issues and the transaction costs. (author)

  4. Thomas L. Griffiths: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents a short biography of one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology (2012). Thomas L. Griffiths won the award for bringing mathematical precision to the deepest questions in human learning, reasoning, and concept formation. In his pioneering work,…

  5. ABCC-NIH adult health study, Hiroshima 1958-1960. Cardiovascular project report Number 6, heart size norm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ueda, Shoichi, Russell, W.J.; Yano, Katsuhiko

    1962-05-01

    Utilizing the information obtained from the detailed clinical examinations of subjects seen at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, standard heart size determinations in the Hiroshima population are provided. A formula has been devised to express the normal transverse cardiac diameter, obtained from the routine posteroanterior chest roentgenogram, in relation to weight, height, and age. The analysis was made for each sex separately. Values computed by using this formula are regarded as standard heart size. Deviations from the standard are interpreted as individual variability in the normal group, with a standard deviation of 9 mm. When this standard was applied to abnormal subjects, a high correlation between the relative heart size and the blood pressure or the presence of overt heart disease was evident. For this reason, the relative heart size for this standard should prove useful, together with other related factors, in the diagnosis and investigation of cardiovascular disease. A nomograph has been devised for practical use. 12 references, 7 figures, 4 tables.

  6. Iterative CT reconstruction with small pixel size: distance-driven forward projector versus Joseph's

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, K.; Rassner, U.; Davidson, H. C.; Schöndube, H.; Stierstorfer, K.; Hornegger, J.; Noo, F.

    2015-03-01

    Over the last few years, iterative reconstruction methods have become an important research topic in x-ray CT imaging. This effort is motivated by increasing evidence that such methods may enable significant savings in terms of dose imparted to the patient. Conceptually, iterative reconstruction methods involve two important ingredients: the statistical model, which includes the forward projector, and a priori information in the image domain, which is expressed using a regularizer. Most often, the image pixel size is chosen to be equal (or close) to the detector pixel size (at field-of-view center). However, there are applications for which a smaller pixel size is desired. In this investigation, we focus on reconstruction with a pixel size that is twice smaller than the detector pixel size. Using such a small pixel size implies a large increase in computational effort when using the distance-driven method for forward projection, which models the detector size. On the other hand, the more efficient method of Joseph will create imbalances in the reconstruction of each pixel, in the sense that there will be large differences in the way each projection contributes to the pixels. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the impact of these imbalances on image quality in comparison with utilization of the distance-driven method. The evaluation involves computational effort, bias and noise metrics, and LROC analysis using human observers. The results show that Joseph's method largely remains attractive.

  7. Dispersant Effectiveness, In-Situ Droplet Size Distribution and ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report summarizes two projects covered under an Interagency Agreement between the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (BIO DFO), New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Dalhousie University. Both projects dovetail together in addressing the ability to differentiate physical from chemical dispersion effectiveness using dispersed oil simulations within a flume tank for improving forensic response monitoring tools. This report is split into separateTasks based upon the two projects funded by BSEE: 1) Dispersant Effectiveness, In-Situ Droplet Size Distribution and Numerical Modeling to Assess Subsurface Dispersant Injection as a Deepwater Blowout Oil Spill Response Option. 2) Evaluation of Oil Fluorescence Characteristics to Improve Forensic Response Tools. This report summarizes 2 collaborative projects funded through an Interagency Agreement with DOI BSEE and a Cooperative Agreement with DFO Canada. BSEE required that the projects be combined into one report as they are both covered under the one Interagency Agreement. Task B (Fluorescence of oils) is an SHC 3.62 FY16 product.

  8. Application of finance project for leverage of small size hydroelectric enterprising; Aplicacao do project finance para alavancagem de empreendimentos hidreletricos de pequeno porte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Silvana dos

    2003-07-01

    In the same way that the majority of the countries, project financing of substructure in Brazil, in project finance modality, depend on a skillful structure of guaranties and contracts to become possible. In the case of projects of centrals of generation of electrical energy, that financial engineering becomes still more complicated. In Brazil, due to particularities of the sectors of electricity, the arrangements of guaranties requested but creditors pass to present levels of complexity and exigency well elevated. The contractual appliances that give support to the project finance, originally projected to developed countries, request an extreme adaptation to these particularities. The development of Brazil is directly related to its capacity in expanding the offer of electric energy in the just measure of the national necessity. In this context, the small central hydroelectric (PCH's) represent, actually, an efficient and fast form to complete the offer of energy in such a way to supply the crescent demand the national market. For its characteristics, that type of undertaking can be developed by small manager, from among which are the owners of the areas in which on can find these hydraulic potentials which, however they do not dispose of capital to integral raising. These undertakings are tasks, normally, of low global cost, at the rate of US$ 1.000,00/k W, and of a smaller ambient impact, compared to the return that they give to the enterprise and to the Brazilian electric system as a whole, by having to receive special attention in the planned politics to the sector and to merit a series of incentives to become business still more attractive. By thinking in the found difficulty by small enterprises in rising undertakings of generation of electric energy of small port through the convectional mechanisms of financing is being proposed in that work a well-founded methodology in the concepts of the modality of financing project finance. (author)

  9. Application of finance project for leverage of small size hydroelectric enterprising; Aplicacao do project finance para alavancagem de empreendimentos hidreletricos de pequeno porte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Silvana dos

    2003-07-01

    In the same way that the majority of the countries, project financing of substructure in Brazil, in project finance modality, depend on a skillful structure of guaranties and contracts to become possible. In the case of projects of centrals of generation of electrical energy, that financial engineering becomes still more complicated. In Brazil, due to particularities of the sectors of electricity, the arrangements of guaranties requested but creditors pass to present levels of complexity and exigency well elevated. The contractual appliances that give support to the project finance, originally projected to developed countries, request an extreme adaptation to these particularities. The development of Brazil is directly related to its capacity in expanding the offer of electric energy in the just measure of the national necessity. In this context, the small central hydroelectric (PCH's) represent, actually, an efficient and fast form to complete the offer of energy in such a way to supply the crescent demand the national market. For its characteristics, that type of undertaking can be developed by small manager, from among which are the owners of the areas in which on can find these hydraulic potentials which, however they do not dispose of capital to integral raising. These undertakings are tasks, normally, of low global cost, at the rate of US$ 1.000,00/k W, and of a smaller ambient impact, compared to the return that they give to the enterprise and to the Brazilian electric system as a whole, by having to receive special attention in the planned politics to the sector and to merit a series of incentives to become business still more attractive. By thinking in the found difficulty by small enterprises in rising undertakings of generation of electric energy of small port through the convectional mechanisms of financing is being proposed in that work a well-founded methodology in the concepts of the modality of financing project finance. (author)

  10. Distinguishing Asthma Phenotypes Using Machine Learning Approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Rebecca; Rattray, Magnus; Prosperi, Mattia; Custovic, Adnan

    2015-07-01

    Asthma is not a single disease, but an umbrella term for a number of distinct diseases, each of which are caused by a distinct underlying pathophysiological mechanism. These discrete disease entities are often labelled as 'asthma endotypes'. The discovery of different asthma subtypes has moved from subjective approaches in which putative phenotypes are assigned by experts to data-driven ones which incorporate machine learning. This review focuses on the methodological developments of one such machine learning technique-latent class analysis-and how it has contributed to distinguishing asthma and wheezing subtypes in childhood. It also gives a clinical perspective, presenting the findings of studies from the past 5 years that used this approach. The identification of true asthma endotypes may be a crucial step towards understanding their distinct pathophysiological mechanisms, which could ultimately lead to more precise prevention strategies, identification of novel therapeutic targets and the development of effective personalized therapies.

  11. Internal displacement in Colombia: Fifteen distinguishing features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shultz, James M; Ceballos, Ángela Milena Gómez; Espinel, Zelde; Oliveros, Sofia Rios; Fonseca, Maria Fernanda; Florez, Luis Jorge Hernandez

    2014-01-01

    This commentary aims to delineate the distinguishing features of conflict-induced internal displacement in the nation of Colombia, South America. Even as Colombia is currently implementing a spectrum of legal, social, economic, and health programs for "victims of armed conflict," with particular focus on internally displaced persons (IDPs), the dynamics of forced migration on a mass scale within this country are little known beyond national borders.   The authors of this commentary are embarking on a global mental health research program in Bogota, Colombia to define best practices for reaching the displaced population and implementing sustainable, evidence-based screening and intervention for common mental disorders. Presenting the defining characteristics of internal displacement in Colombia provides the context for our work and, more importantly, conveys the compelling and complex nature of this humanitarian crisis. We attempt to demonstrate Colombia's unique position within the global patterning of internal displacement.

  12. Correction of bubble size distributions from transmission electron microscopy observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirkegaard, P.; Eldrup, M.; Horsewell, A.; Skov Pedersen, J.

    1996-01-01

    Observations by transmission electron microscopy of a high density of gas bubbles in a metal matrix yield a distorted size distribution due to bubble overlap and bubble escape from the surface. A model is described that reconstructs 3-dimensional bubble size distributions from 2-dimensional projections on taking these effects into account. Mathematically, the reconstruction is an ill-posed inverse problem, which is solved by regularization technique. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations support the validity of our model. (au) 1 tab., 32 ills., 32 refs

  13. Adaptive evolution and effective population size in wild house mice

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Phifer-Rixey, M.; Bonhomme, F.; Boursot, P.; Churchill, G. A.; Piálek, Jaroslav; Tucker, P.; Nachman, M.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 29, č. 10 (2012), s. 2949-2955 ISSN 0737-4038 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/08/0640 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : substitution * adaptation * evolution * effective population size * house mouse Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 10.353, year: 2012

  14. Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology: Nancy S. Elman.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    The Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology is given in recognition of the efforts of psychologists who have made distinguished contributions to education and training, who have produced imaginative innovations, or who have been involved in the developmental phases of programs in education and training in psychology. The Career designation is added to the award at the discretion of the Education and Training Awards Committee to recognize continuous significant contributions made over a lifelong career in psychology. The 2017 recipient of this award is Nancy S. Elman, whose leadership roles have brought significant advancements for the education and training of psychologists. Her award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. What distinguishes passive recipients from active decliners of sales flyers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Birger Boutrup; Orquin, Jacob Lund; Bech-Larsen, Tino

    2014-01-01

    While sales flyer ad spending in Denmark has increased over the last decade ,the proportion of consumers declining to receive such flyers has been ever-increasing. To address this paradox, attitudinal and behavioural factors distinguishing passive recipients from active decliners of sales flyers ...... on the Internet.To reach the decliners, retailers could focus on the possibilities of the Internet, but to stop the trend of escalating numbers of decliners, retailers will have to address the perceived inconvenience and uselessness of sales flyers....

  16. Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy: Charlotte J. Patterson

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Charlotte J. Patterson, winner of the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, is cited as the world's expert on psychological research on children and youths raised by lesbian and gay parents. Her early analytic syntheses of the literature on the subject greatly influenced other researchers in child and family…

  17. Evolution of the U.S. energy service company industry: Market size and project performance from 1990–2008

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larsen, Peter H.; Goldman, Charles A.; Satchwell, Andrew

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. energy service company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private sector business model where energy savings are delivered to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. This study was conceived as a snapshot of the ESCO industry prior to the economic slowdown and the introduction of federal stimulus funding mandated by enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This study utilizes two parallel analytic approaches to characterize ESCO industry and market trends in the U.S.: (1) a “top-down” approach involving a survey of individual ESCOs to estimate aggregate industry activity and (2) a “bottom-up” analysis of a database of ∼3250 projects (representing over $8B in project investment) that reports market trends including installed EE retrofit strategies, project installation costs and savings, project payback times, and benefit-cost ratios over time. Despite the onset of a severe economic recession, the U.S. ESCO industry managed to grow at about 7% per year between 2006 and 2008. ESCO industry revenues were about $4.1 billion in 2008 and ESCOs anticipate accelerated growth through 2011 (25% per year). We found that 2484 ESCO projects in our database generated ∼$4.0 billion ($2009) in net, direct economic benefits to their customers. We estimate that the ESCO project database includes about 20% of all U.S. ESCO market activity from 1990–2008. Assuming the net benefits per project are comparable for ESCO projects that are not included in the LBNL database, this would suggest that the ESCO industry has generated ∼$23 billion in net direct economic benefits for customers at projects installed between 1990 and 2008. There is empirical evidence confirming that the industry is evolving by installing more comprehensive and complex measures—including onsite generation and measures to address deferred maintenance—but this evolution has significant implications for customer project economics

  18. Exploitation of cloud computing in management of construction projects in Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mandičák Tomáš

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The issue of cloud computing is a highly topical issue. Cloud computing represents a new model for information technology (IT services based on the exploitation of Web (it represents a cloud and other application platforms, as well as software as a service. In general, the exploitation of cloud computing in construction project management has several advantages, as demonstrated by several research reports. Currently, research quantifying the exploitation of cloud computing in the Slovak construction industry has not yet been carried out. The article discusses the issue of exploitation of cloud computing in construction project management in Slovakia. The main objective of the research is to confirm whether factors such as size of construction enterprise, owner of construction enterprise and participant of construction project have any impact on the exploitation level of cloud computing in construction project management. It includes confirmation of differences in use between different participants of the construction project or between construction enterprises broken down by size and shareholders.

  19. Decontamination and size reduction of plutonium contaminated process exhaust ductwork and glove boxes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaFrate, P.; Elliott, J.; Valasquez, M.

    1996-01-01

    The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Decommissioning Program has decontaminated and demolished two filter plenum buildings at Technical Area 21 (TA-21). During the project a former hot cell was retrofitted to perform decontamination and size reduction of highly Pu contaminated process exhaust (1,100 ft) and gloveboxes. Pu-238/239 concentrations were as high a 1 Ci per linear foot and averaged approximately 1 mCi/ft. The Project decontamination objective was to reduce the plutonium contamination on surfaces below transuranic levels. If possible, metal surfaces were decontaminated further to meet Science and Ecology Group (SEG) waste classification guidelines to enable the metal to be recycled at their facility in oak Ridge, Tennessee. Project surface contamination acceptance criteria for low-level radioactive waste (LLRW), transuranic waste, and SEG waste acceptance criteria will be presented. Ninety percent of all radioactive waste for the project was characterized as LLRW. Twenty percent of this material was shipped to SEG. Process exhaust and glove boxes were brought to the project decontamination area, an old hot cell in Building 4 North. This paper focuses on process exhaust and glovebox decontamination methodology, size reduction techniques, waste characterization, airborne contamination monitoring, engineering controls, worker protection, lessons learned, and waste minimization. Decontamination objectives are discussed in detail

  20. A Management Maturity Model (MMM for project-based organisational performance assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Langston

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Common sense suggests that organisations are more likely to deliver successful projects if they have systems in place that reflect a mature project environment based on a culture of continuous improvement. This paper develops and discusses a Management Maturity Model (MMM to assess the maturity of project management organisations through a customisable, systematic, strategic and practical methodology inspired from the seminal work of Darwin, Deming, Drucker and Daniel. The model presented is relevant to organisations, such as construction and engineering companies, that prefer to use the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK™ Guide published by the Project Management Institute (PMI, but without the disadvantages of excessive time and cost commitments and a ‘one size fits all’ approach linked to rigid increments of maturity. It offers a game-changing advance in the application of project-based organisational performance assessment compared to existing market solutions that are unnecessarily complex. The feasibility of MMM is field-tested using a medium-sized data centre infrastructure firm in Tehran.

  1. Urbanization disrupts latitude-size rule in 17-year cicadas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beasley, DeAnna E; Penick, Clint A; Boateng, Nana S; Menninger, Holly L; Dunn, Robert R

    2018-03-01

    Many ectotherms show a decrease in body size with increasing latitude due to changes in climate, a pattern termed converse Bergmann's rule. Urban conditions-particularly warmer temperatures and fragmented landscapes-may impose stresses on development that could disrupt these body size patterns. To test the impact of urbanization on development and latitudinal trends in body size, we launched a citizen science project to collect periodical cicadas ( Magicicada septendecim ) from across their latitudinal range during the 2013 emergence of Brood II. Periodical cicadas are long-lived insects whose distribution spans a broad latitudinal range covering both urban and rural habitats. We used a geometric morphometric approach to assess body size and developmental stress based on fluctuating asymmetry in wing shape. Body size of rural cicadas followed converse Bergmann's rule, but this pattern was disrupted in urban habitats. In the north, urban cicadas were larger than their rural counterparts, while southern populations showed little variation in body size between habitats. We detected no evidence of differences in developmental stress due to urbanization. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that urbanization disrupts biogeographical trends in body size, and this pattern highlights how the effects of urbanization may differ over a species' range.

  2. Developing Project Duration Models in Software Engineering

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Pierre Bourque; Serge Oligny; Alain Abran; Bertrand Fournier

    2007-01-01

    Based on the empirical analysis of data contained in the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group(ISBSG) repository, this paper presents software engineering project duration models based on project effort. Duration models are built for the entire dataset and for subsets of projects developed for personal computer, mid-range and mainframeplatforms. Duration models are also constructed for projects requiring fewer than 400 person-hours of effort and for projectsre quiring more than 400 person-hours of effort. The usefulness of adding the maximum number of assigned resources as asecond independent variable to explain duration is also analyzed. The opportunity to build duration models directly fromproject functional size in function points is investigated as well.

  3. The Human Element of Project Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillard, Sharlett

    2017-01-01

    Much research and dialogue have been published about project management. Studies have been conducted regarding the impact of size, member location, gender composition, cross-functional structure, stakeholder influence, confidence issues, technology usage, management style, generational differences, technical expertise vs. people skills, and a…

  4. Distinguishing radiation fibrosis from tumour recurrence after stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for lung cancer: A quantitative analysis of CT density changes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattonen, Sarah A.; Ward, Aaron D. [Dept. of Medical Biophysics, Univ. of Western Ontario, London, Ontario (Canada); Palma, David A. [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, London Regional Cancer Program, London, Ontario (Canada)], E-mail: david.palma@lhsc.on.ca; Haasbeek, Cornelis J. A.; Senan, Suresh [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, VU Univ. Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2013-06-15

    Background. For patients treated with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, benign computed tomography (CT) changes due to radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) can be difficult to differentiate from recurrence. We measured the utility of CT image feature analysis in differentiating RILI from recurrence, compared to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumours (RECIST). Materials and methods. Twenty-two patients with 24 lesions treated with SABR were selected (11 with recurrence, 13 with substantial RILI). On each follow-up CT, consolidative changes and ground glass opacities (GGO) were contoured. For each lesion, contoured regions were analysed for mean and variation in Hounsfi eld units (HU), 3D volume, and RECIST size during follow-up. Results . One hundred and thirtysix CT scans were reviewed, with a median imaging follow-up of 26 months. The 3D volume and RECIST measures of consolidative changes could significantly distinguish recurrence from RILI, but not until 15 months post-SABR; mean volume at 15 months [all values {+-}95% confidence interval (CI)] of 30.1 {+-} 19.3 cm{sup 3} vs. 5.1 {+-} 3.6 cm{sup 3} (p 0.030) and mean RECIST size at 15 months of 4.34 {+-} 1.13 cm vs. 2.63 {+-} 0.84 cm (p =0.028) respectively for recurrence vs. RILI. At nine months post-SABR, patients with recurrence had significantly higher-density consolidative changes (mean at nine months of -96.4 {+-} 32.7 HU vs. -143.2 {+-} 28.4 HU for RILI; p =0.046). They also had increased variability of HU, an image texture metric, measured as the standard deviation (SD) of HU, in the GGO areas (SD at nine months of 210.6 {+-} 14.5 HU vs. 175.1 {+-} 18.7 HU for RILI; p =0.0078). Conclusions. Quantitative changes in mean HU and GGO textural analysis have the potential to distinguish RILI from recurrence as early as nine months post-SABR, compared to 15 months with RECIST and 3D volume. If validated, this approach could allow for earlier detection

  5. Whitebark pine, population density, and home-range size of grizzly bears in the greater yellowstone ecosystem.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel D Bjornlie

    Full Text Available Changes in life history traits of species can be an important indicator of potential factors influencing populations. For grizzly bears (Ursus arctos in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE, recent decline of whitebark pine (WBP; Pinus albicaulis, an important fall food resource, has been paired with a slowing of population growth following two decades of robust population increase. These observations have raised questions whether resource decline or density-dependent processes may be associated with changes in population growth. Distinguishing these effects based on changes in demographic rates can be difficult. However, unlike the parallel demographic responses expected from both decreasing food availability and increasing population density, we hypothesized opposing behavioral responses of grizzly bears with regard to changes in home-range size. We used the dynamic changes in food resources and population density of grizzly bears as a natural experiment to examine hypotheses regarding these potentially competing influences on grizzly bear home-range size. We found that home-range size did not increase during the period of whitebark pine decline and was not related to proportion of whitebark pine in home ranges. However, female home-range size was negatively associated with an index of population density. Our data indicate that home-range size of grizzly bears in the GYE is not associated with availability of WBP, and, for female grizzly bears, increasing population density may constrain home-range size.

  6. Whitebark pine, population density, and home-range size of grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjornlie, Daniel D.; van Manen, Frank T.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Haroldson, Mark A.; Thompson, Daniel J.; Costello, Cecily M.

    2014-01-01

    Changes in life history traits of species can be an important indicator of potential factors influencing populations. For grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), recent decline of whitebark pine (WBP; Pinus albicaulis), an important fall food resource, has been paired with a slowing of population growth following two decades of robust population increase. These observations have raised questions whether resource decline or density-dependent processes may be associated with changes in population growth. Distinguishing these effects based on changes in demographic rates can be difficult. However, unlike the parallel demographic responses expected from both decreasing food availability and increasing population density, we hypothesized opposing behavioral responses of grizzly bears with regard to changes in home-range size. We used the dynamic changes in food resources and population density of grizzly bears as a natural experiment to examine hypotheses regarding these potentially competing influences on grizzly bear home-range size. We found that home-range size did not increase during the period of whitebark pine decline and was not related to proportion of whitebark pine in home ranges. However, female home-range size was negatively associated with an index of population density. Our data indicate that home-range size of grizzly bears in the GYE is not associated with availability of WBP, and, for female grizzly bears, increasing population density may constrain home-range size.

  7. Whitebark pine, population density, and home-range size of grizzly bears in the greater yellowstone ecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjornlie, Daniel D; Van Manen, Frank T; Ebinger, Michael R; Haroldson, Mark A; Thompson, Daniel J; Costello, Cecily M

    2014-01-01

    Changes in life history traits of species can be an important indicator of potential factors influencing populations. For grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), recent decline of whitebark pine (WBP; Pinus albicaulis), an important fall food resource, has been paired with a slowing of population growth following two decades of robust population increase. These observations have raised questions whether resource decline or density-dependent processes may be associated with changes in population growth. Distinguishing these effects based on changes in demographic rates can be difficult. However, unlike the parallel demographic responses expected from both decreasing food availability and increasing population density, we hypothesized opposing behavioral responses of grizzly bears with regard to changes in home-range size. We used the dynamic changes in food resources and population density of grizzly bears as a natural experiment to examine hypotheses regarding these potentially competing influences on grizzly bear home-range size. We found that home-range size did not increase during the period of whitebark pine decline and was not related to proportion of whitebark pine in home ranges. However, female home-range size was negatively associated with an index of population density. Our data indicate that home-range size of grizzly bears in the GYE is not associated with availability of WBP, and, for female grizzly bears, increasing population density may constrain home-range size.

  8. DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERISTICS OF INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS IN HIV/AIDS AMONG INTRAVENOUS DRUGS ABUSED

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Y. Ponomareva

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim – definition of distinguished characteristics of the right-sided infective endocarditis (IE inintravenous drugs abused with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS.Materials and methods. The study included 10 patients with right-sided IE in conjunction with HIV/AIDS. All patients were male, age – from 28to 36 years.Results. Course of the IE in HIV/AIDS among intravenous drugs abused in general corresponds to features specific to IE in intravenous drug users without HIV infection. Distinctive features of IE in these patients are a large burden of lung disease, its disseminated character, more tissue oxygenation disorders and marked pulmonary hypertension and haematological disorders (lymphopenia, anemia, and late diagnosis of IE.Conclusion. Features of the current right-sided IE in intravenous drugs abused with HIV/AIDS are distinguished . Difficulties in diagnosis of IE inHIV infection are due to variety of causes of prolonged fever, which should guide doctors to more frequent use of transthoracic echocardiography during prolonged fever in HIV-infected patients.

  9. Utility of ck metrics in predicting size of board-based software games

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabhat, N.; Azam, F.; Malik, A.A.

    2017-01-01

    Software size is one of the most important inputs of many software cost and effort estimation models. Early estimation of software plays an important role at the time of project inception. An accurate estimate of software size is, therefore, crucial for planning, managing, and controlling software development projects dealing with the development of software games. However, software size is unavailable during early phase of software development. This research determines the utility of CK (Chidamber and Kemerer) metrics, a well-known suite of object-oriented metrics, in estimating the size of software applications using the information from its UML (Unified Modeling Language) class diagram. This work focuses on a small subset dealing with board-based software games. Almost sixty games written using an object-oriented programming language are downloaded from open source repositories, analyzed and used to calibrate a regression-based size estimation model. Forward stepwise MLR (Multiple Linear Regression) is used for model fitting. The model thus obtained is assessed using a variety of accuracy measures such as MMRE (Mean Magnitude of Relative Error), Prediction of x(PRED(x)), MdMRE (Median of Relative Error) and validated using K-fold cross validation. The accuracy of this model is also compared with an existing model tailored for size estimation of board games. Based on a small subset of desktop games developed in various object-oriented languages, we obtained a model using CK metrics and forward stepwise multiple linear regression with reasonable estimation accuracy as indicated by the value of the coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.756).Comparison results indicate that the existing size estimation model outperforms the model derived using CK metrics in terms of accuracy of prediction. (author)

  10. Using MT2 to distinguish dark matter stabilization symmetries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agashe, Kaustubh; Kim, Doojin; Zhu Lijun; Walker, Devin G. E.

    2011-01-01

    We examine the potential of using colliders to distinguish models with parity (Z 2 ) stabilized dark matter (DM) from models in which the DM is stabilized by other symmetries, taking the latter to be a Z 3 symmetry for illustration. The key observation is that a heavier mother particle charged under a Z 3 stabilization symmetry can decay into one or two DM particles along with standard model particles. This can be contrasted with the decay of a mother particle charged under a parity symmetry; typically, only one DM particle appears in the decay chain. The arXiv:1003.0899 studied the distributions of visible invariant mass from the decay of a single such mother particle in order to highlight the resulting distinctive signatures of Z 3 symmetry versus parity symmetry stabilized dark matter candidates. We now describe a complementary study which focuses on decay chains of the two mother particles which are necessarily present in these events. We also include in our analysis the missing energy/momentum in the event. For the Z 3 symmetry stabilized mothers, the resulting inclusive final state can have two, three or four DM particles. In contrast, models with Z 2 symmetry can have only two. We show that the shapes and edges of the distribution of M T2 -type variables, along with ratio of the visible momentum/energy on the two sides of the event, are powerful in distinguishing these different scenarios. Finally we conclude by outlining future work which focuses on reducing combinatoric ambiguities from reconstructing multijet events. Increasing the reconstruction efficiency can allow better reconstruction of events with two or three dark matter candidates in the final state.

  11. ''FUR'' - one size suits all

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutland, M.; Que, L.; Hassan, I.M.

    2000-01-01

    This work used amalgamated data from previous projects in order to test the concept that when organ function is expressed in terms of tracer kinetics, the results are independent of patient size or gender. Dynamic gamma camera studies were analysed by measuring the rate of movement of tracers from the blood into various organs. These rates were expressed as a ''fractional uptake rate'' (FUR), which is the fraction of tracer in the blood taken up by the organ per unit time. As these values were small, it was convenient to express the FUR per million seconds. The FUR was calculated using the expression FUR = SLOPE (of Rutland-Patlak plot), multiplied by B(0) (the blood curve value back-extrapolated to time zero), and divided by the TOTAL amount of tracer injected. Data were used from adult patients between the ages of 20 and 49 years who had normal organ function. Organ/tracer groups studied were the skeletal uptake of 99m Tc-MDP, the renal uptake of 99m Tc-MAG3, the renal uptake of 99m Tc-MDP, the renal uptake of 99m Tc-DTPA, the hepatic uptake of 99m Tc-colloid, the splenic uptake of 99m Tc-colloid, and the hepatic uptake of 99m Tc-DISIDA. Each organ/tracer group was divided into three subgroups according to patient size (smallest, middle and largest), and also into subgroups according to gender. Comparison of these subgroups did not show any significant size- or gender-related differences in FUR values. It is concluded that for patients with normally functioning organs the FUR is independent of patient size or gender. Thus, the FUR is a valuable way of expressing organ function, particularly in patients with unusual or rapidly changing body size, such as children. (orig.)

  12. National Marine Fisheries Service Grain Size Data from the Baltimore Canyon Trough

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Grain size analyses produced by Robert Reid of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for the NOAA/BLM Outer Continental Shelf Mid-Atlantic Project, Baltimore...

  13. The Fort McMurray Demonstration Project in Social Marketing: theory, design, and evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidotti, T L; Ford, L; Wheeler, M

    2000-02-01

    The Fort McMurray Demonstration Project in Social Marketing is a multifaceted program that applies the techniques of social marketing to health and safety. This paper describes the origins of the project and the principles on which it was based. VENUE: Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta, Canada, was selected because the community had several community initiatives already underway and the project had the opportunity to demonstrate "value added." The project is distinguished from others by a model that attempts to achieve mutually reinforcing effects from social marketing in the community as a whole and from workplace safety promotion in particular. Specific interventions sponsored by the project include a media campaign on cable television, public activities in local schools, a community safety audit, and media appearance by a mascot that provides visual identity to the project, a dinosaur named "Safetysaurus." The project integrated its activities with other community initiatives. The evaluation component emphasizes outcome measures. A final evaluation based on injury rates and attitudinal surveys is underway. Baseline data from the first round of surveys have been compiled and published. In 1995, Fort McMurray became the first city in North America to be given membership in the World Health Organization's Safe Community Network.

  14. Distinguishing Lewd and Lascivious Acts from Related Crimes Against Minors’ Sexual Immunity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ragozina I. G.

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the criminal law norms related to the crime provided for by Article 135 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The authors estimate judicial practice and outline disputable issues of correlation of the given norms and offer the criteria to distinguish lewd and lascivious acts from related crimes

  15. New projects related to decommissioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benbow, R.

    2008-01-01

    The PMU has been established in support of the KNPP Decommissioning Department. All of the Infrastructure Projects associated with Decommissioning have been identified and are being managed through the EBRD Procurement Process. The status of the following projects is presented: Evaluation of the Radiological Inventory for Units 1 to 4; Supply of Size Reduction and Decontamination Workshops; Dismantling Tools and Equipment; Heat Generation Plant; Environmental Assessment for Decommissioning; Decay Storage Site for Transitional RAW ; Information Centres for Decommissioning; Storage Site for Conventional Waste from Decommissioning; Inventory, Treatment an Conditioning of Contaminated Soil; Concrete Core Sampling Analysis; Asbestos Removal Equipment; Demolition Equipment

  16. Commercial agreements and documentation relevant for project financing renewable energy schemes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    Renewable energy projects covered by the NFFO Orders are distinguished by the fact that the key contract in any project is in effect a standard form contract in the form of the Power Purchase Agreement with the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency Limited (''NFPA''). However our research has indicated that general contract standardization is unlikely to be practicable in the short term, although it is thought that the production of a range of specimen documents in the context of this study with input from various representative industry associations could lead to a more consistent approach to the negotiation and structuring of projects and facilitate the presentation of projects at the funding stage. We have produced a suite of documents which are specimens of the sorts of agreements that lenders are likely to find acceptable. The range of documents which we have produced covers the principal contractual arrangements for a typical renewable energy project (including full text or abridged agreements), for a land lease and for agreements for design and build, operation and maintenance, waste supply, wind lease, landfill gas, and forestry residue supply. We have produced an insurance scope of cover and financing documentation including a due diligence check list, term sheet, and a facility agreement with related security documentation. (author)

  17. Estimating average tree crown size using high-resolution airborne data

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Brovkina, Olga; Latypov, I.; Cienciala, E.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 9, may 13 (2015), 096053-1-096053-13 ISSN 1931-3195 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1415; GA MŠk OC09001 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : crown size * airborne data * spruce * granulometry Subject RIV: GK - Forestry Impact factor: 0.937, year: 2015

  18. Optimisation Sizing of Hybrid Wind-Diesel Systems using Linear Programming Technique

    OpenAIRE

    Gan, Leong Kit; Shek, Jonathan; Mueller, Markus

    2014-01-01

    Despite the great potential of hybrid wind-diesel system in supplying energy to remote or island communities, sizing the system components have been a challenging problem for many project managers due to the reliance on various factors. This work considers utilising a fixed speed wind turbine (induction generator) in the hybrid system. It requires energy for start-up operation and this work takes into account for sizing the battery storage. In addition, the trade-off between the number of bat...

  19. Distinguishing simulated from genuine dissociative identity disorder on the MMPI-2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, Bethany L; Chasson, Gregory S

    2015-01-01

    Due to high elevations on validity and clinical scales on personality and forensic measures, it is challenging to determine if individuals presenting with symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (DID) are genuine or not. Little research has focused on malingering DID, or on the broader issue of the profiles these patients obtain on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), despite increasing awareness of dissociation. This study sought to characterize the MMPI-2 profiles of DID patients and to determine the utility of the MMPI-2 in distinguishing DID patients from uncoached and coached DID simulators. The analyses revealed that Infrequency, Back Infrequency, and Infrequency-Psychopathology (Fp) distinguished simulators from genuine DID patients. Fp was best able to discriminate simulated DID. Utility statistics and classification functions are provided for classifying individual profiles as indicative of genuine or simulated DID. Despite exposure to information about DID, the simulators were not able to accurately feign DID, which is inconsistent with the iatrogenic/sociocultural model of DID. Given that dissociation was strongly associated with elevations in validity, as well as clinical scales, including Scale 8 (i.e., Schizophrenia), considerable caution should be used in interpreting validity scales as indicative of feigning, and Scale 8 as indicative of schizophrenia, among highly dissociative individuals. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. A Fuzzy Expert System for Distinguishing between Bacterial and Aseptic Meningitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostafa Langarizadeh

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Bacterial meningitis is a known infectious disease which occurs at early ages and should be promptly diagnosed and treated. Bacterial and aseptic meningitis are hard to be distinguished. Therefore, physicians should be highly informed and experienced in this area. The main aim of this study was to suggest a system for distinguishing between bacterial and aseptic meningitis, using fuzzy logic.    Materials and Methods In the first step, proper attributes were selected using Weka 3.6.7 software. Six attributes were selected using Attribute Evaluator, InfoGainAttributeEval, and Ranker search method items. Then, a fuzzy inference engine was designed using MATLAB software, based on Mamdani’s fuzzy logic method with max-min composition, prod-probor, and centroid defuzzification. The rule base consisted of eight rules, based on the experience of three specialists and information extracted from textbooks. Results Data were extracted from 106 records of patients with meningitis (42 cases with bacterial meningitis in order to evaluate the proposed system. The system accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were 89%, 92 %, and 97%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.93, and Kappa test revealed a good level of agreement (k=0.84, P

  1. Distinguishability notion based on Wootters statistical distance: Application to discrete maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Ignacio S.; Portesi, M.; Lamberti, P. W.

    2017-08-01

    We study the distinguishability notion given by Wootters for states represented by probability density functions. This presents the particularity that it can also be used for defining a statistical distance in chaotic unidimensional maps. Based on that definition, we provide a metric d ¯ for an arbitrary discrete map. Moreover, from d ¯ , we associate a metric space with each invariant density of a given map, which results to be the set of all distinguished points when the number of iterations of the map tends to infinity. Also, we give a characterization of the wandering set of a map in terms of the metric d ¯ , which allows us to identify the dissipative regions in the phase space. We illustrate the results in the case of the logistic and the circle maps numerically and analytically, and we obtain d ¯ and the wandering set for some characteristic values of their parameters. Finally, an extension of the metric space associated for arbitrary probability distributions (not necessarily invariant densities) is given along with some consequences. The statistical properties of distributions given by histograms are characterized in terms of the cardinal of the associated metric space. For two conjugate variables, the uncertainty principle is expressed in terms of the diameters of the associated metric space with those variables.

  2. Can We Distinguish Low-mass Black Holes in Neutron Star Binaries?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Huan; East, William E.; Lehner, Luis

    2018-04-01

    The detection of gravitational waves (GWs) from coalescing binary neutron stars (NS) represents another milestone in gravitational-wave astronomy. However, since LIGO is currently not as sensitive to the merger/ringdown part of the waveform, the possibility that such signals are produced by a black hole (BH)–NS binary can not be easily ruled out without appealing to assumptions about the underlying compact object populations. We review a few astrophysical channels that might produce BHs below 3 M ⊙ (roughly the upper bound on the maximum mass of an NS), as well as existing constraints for these channels. We show that, due to the uncertainty in the NS equation of state, it is difficult to distinguish GWs from a binary NS system from those of a BH–NS system with the same component masses, assuming Advanced LIGO sensitivity. This degeneracy can be broken by accumulating statistics from many events to better constrain the equation of state, or by third-generation detectors with higher sensitivity to the late-spiral to post-merger signal. We also discuss the possible differences in electromagnetic (EM) counterparts between binary NS and low-mass BH–NS mergers, arguing that it will be challenging to definitively distinguish the two without better understanding of the underlying astrophysical processes.

  3. Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    This award is given by the Board of Educational Affairs in recognition of the efforts of psychologists who have made distinguished contributions to education and training, who have produced imaginative innovations, or who have been involved in the developmental phases of programs in education and training in psychology. These contributions might include important research on education and training; the development of effective materials for instruction; the establishment of workshops, conferences, or networks of communication for education and training; achievement and leadership in administration that facilitates education and training; or activity in professional organizations that promote excellence. The Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in psychology recognizes a specific contribution to education and training. The Career designation is added to the award at the discretion of the Education and Training Awards Committee to recognize continuous significant contributions made over a lifelong career in psychology. This year the Education and Training Awards Committee selected a psychologist for the Career designation. The 2017 recipients of the APA Education and Training Contributions Awards were selected by the 2016 Education and Training Awards Committee appointed by the Board of Educational Affairs (BEA). Members of the 2016 Education and Training Awards Committee were Erica Wise, PhD (Chair); Ron Rozensky, PhD; Jane D. Halonen, PhD; Sharon Berry, PhD (Chair Elect); Emil Rodolfa, PhD; and Sylvia A. Rosenfield, PhD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Efficient 3M PBS enhancing miniature projection optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Zhisheng; Nevitt, Timothy; Willett, Stephen; Mortenson, Dave; Le, John; McDowell, Erin; Kent, Susan; Wong, Timothy; Beniot, Gilles J.; Ouderkirk, Andrew

    2016-09-01

    Over the past decade, 3M has developed a number of mobile projectors, with a goal towards providing the world's smallest, most efficient projection systems. Compact size and efficiency are required characteristics for projection systems used in mobile devices and more lately, in augmented reality systems. In this paper we summarize the main generations of 3M light engine optical designs. We present the optical architectures of four light engines, including the rationale behind the illumination designs and the projection systems. In particular, we describe various configurations relating to the 3M polarizing beam splitter (PBS) which is key to enhanced efficiency of the miniature projection systems.

  5. Discovering beaten paths in collaborative ontology-engineering projects using Markov chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walk, Simon; Singer, Philipp; Strohmaier, Markus; Tudorache, Tania; Musen, Mark A; Noy, Natalya F

    2014-10-01

    Biomedical taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies in the form of the International Classification of Diseases as a taxonomy or the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus as an OWL-based ontology, play a critical role in acquiring, representing and processing information about human health. With increasing adoption and relevance, biomedical ontologies have also significantly increased in size. For example, the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which is currently under active development by the World Health Organization contains nearly 50,000 classes representing a vast variety of different diseases and causes of death. This evolution in terms of size was accompanied by an evolution in the way ontologies are engineered. Because no single individual has the expertise to develop such large-scale ontologies, ontology-engineering projects have evolved from small-scale efforts involving just a few domain experts to large-scale projects that require effective collaboration between dozens or even hundreds of experts, practitioners and other stakeholders. Understanding the way these different stakeholders collaborate will enable us to improve editing environments that support such collaborations. In this paper, we uncover how large ontology-engineering projects, such as the International Classification of Diseases in its 11th revision, unfold by analyzing usage logs of five different biomedical ontology-engineering projects of varying sizes and scopes using Markov chains. We discover intriguing interaction patterns (e.g., which properties users frequently change after specific given ones) that suggest that large collaborative ontology-engineering projects are governed by a few general principles that determine and drive development. From our analysis, we identify commonalities and differences between different projects that have implications for project managers, ontology editors, developers and contributors working on collaborative ontology

  6. Discovering Beaten Paths in Collaborative Ontology-Engineering Projects using Markov Chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walk, Simon; Singer, Philipp; Strohmaier, Markus; Tudorache, Tania; Musen, Mark A.; Noy, Natalya F.

    2014-01-01

    Biomedical taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies in the form of the International Classification of Diseases as a taxonomy or the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus as an OWL-based ontology, play a critical role in acquiring, representing and processing information about human health. With increasing adoption and relevance, biomedical ontologies have also significantly increased in size. For example, the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which is currently under active development by the World Health Organization contains nearly 50, 000 classes representing a vast variety of different diseases and causes of death. This evolution in terms of size was accompanied by an evolution in the way ontologies are engineered. Because no single individual has the expertise to develop such large-scale ontologies, ontology-engineering projects have evolved from small-scale efforts involving just a few domain experts to large-scale projects that require effective collaboration between dozens or even hundreds of experts, practitioners and other stakeholders. Understanding the way these different stakeholders collaborate will enable us to improve editing environments that support such collaborations. In this paper, we uncover how large ontology-engineering projects, such as the International Classification of Diseases in its 11th revision, unfold by analyzing usage logs of five different biomedical ontology-engineering projects of varying sizes and scopes using Markov chains. We discover intriguing interaction patterns (e.g., which properties users frequently change after specific given ones) that suggest that large collaborative ontology-engineering projects are governed by a few general principles that determine and drive development. From our analysis, we identify commonalities and differences between different projects that have implications for project managers, ontology editors, developers and contributors working on collaborative ontology

  7. Distinguishing Buried Objects in Extremely Shallow Underground by Frequency Response Using Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touma Abe,; Tsuneyoshi Sugimoto,

    2010-07-01

    A sound wave vibration using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer are used as a method of exploring and imaging an extremely shallow underground. Flat speakers are used as a vibration source. We propose a method of distinguishing a buried object using a response range of a frequencies corresponding to a vibration velocities. Buried objects (plastic containers, a hollow steel can, an unglazed pot, and a stone) are distinguished using a response range of frequencies. Standardization and brightness imaging are used as methods of discrimination. As a result, it was found that the buried objects show different response ranges of frequencies. From the experimental results, we confirmed the effectiveness of our proposed method.

  8. Project risk definition and measurement in a not-for-profit setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gapenski, L C

    1992-11-01

    The health care finance literature on capital investment decisions generally applies conventional market risk concepts without distinguishing between proprietary and not-for-profit forms of organization. Since proprietary firms have shareholder wealth maximization as their primary goal, a project's relevant risk is its contribution to the riskiness of the equity investors' well diversified stock portfolios, or its market risk. However, not-for-profit organizations do not have shareholder wealth maximization as their primary goal, and thus market risk concepts are not applicable. Rather, the relevant risk in a not-for-profit setting is a project's corporate risk; that is, the project's contribution to the riskiness of the organization. The difference in risk definition and measurement between proprietary and not-for-profit firms has two implications for managerial decisions: (1) in making capital investment decisions, a manager must define and measure a project's riskiness on the basis of the firm's organizational form; and (2) although diversification for the sole purpose of risk reduction is not a valid rationale for proprietary firms because stockholders can achieve the same result at less cost, risk-reducing diversification does make sense for not-for-profit firms.

  9. Variations in otolith patterns, sizes and body morphometrics of jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus juveniles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanaji, Y; Kishida, M; Watanabe, Y; Kawamura, T; Xie, S; Yamashita, Y; Sassa, C; Tsukamoto, Y

    2010-10-01

    Variations in otolith patterns, sizes and body morphometrics of jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus juveniles were investigated. Under transmitted light, translucent (W(t)) and opaque otoliths (W(o)) were detected in juveniles collected from Wakasa Bay between July 2005 and April 2006, whereas only opaque otoliths (G(o)) were detected in Goto-nada Sea individuals between May and June 2006. Three groups of juveniles were distinguished based on differences in hatch season, otolith size and growth history, and body morphometrics. As T. japonicus has different spawning seasons according to spawning grounds, each group was estimated to hatch in different waters. Juveniles with W(t) otoliths were considered to have stayed in coastal habitat longer, as the hatch area was estimated to be near Wakasa Bay. Juveniles with W(o) and G(o) otoliths appear to recruit to coastal waters at larger size, since their hatch areas were estimated to be far from each collection area. Larger otoliths of W(t) were attributed to otolith accretion after the second growth flexion, which was observed only for W(t) . Standard length of W(t) fish at the second otolith growth flexion was estimated to correspond to recruitment size to coastal rocky reefs in Wakasa Bay. Body morphometrics were correlated with otolith size after removing body size effect, suggesting that morphological variations of T. japonicus juveniles were also associated with the timing of recruitment to coastal habitat. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  10. The mechanism distinguishability problem in biochemical kinetics: the single-enzyme, single-substrate reaction as a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnell, Santiago; Chappell, Michael J; Evans, Neil D; Roussel, Marc R

    2006-01-01

    A theoretical analysis of the distinguishability problem of two rival models of the single enzyme-single substrate reaction, the Michaelis-Menten and Henri mechanisms, is presented. We also outline a general approach for analysing the structural indistinguishability between two mechanisms. The approach involves constructing, if possible, a smooth mapping between the two candidate models. Evans et al. [N.D. Evans, M.J. Chappell, M.J. Chapman, K.R. Godfrey, Structural indistinguishability between uncontrolled (autonomous) nonlinear analytic systems, Automatica 40 (2004) 1947-1953] have shown that if, in addition, either of the mechanisms satisfies a particular criterion then such a transformation always exists when the models are indistinguishable from their experimentally observable outputs. The approach is applied to the single enzyme-single substrate reaction mechanism. In principle, mechanisms can be distinguished using this analysis, but we show that our ability to distinguish mechanistic models depends both on the precise measurements made, and on our knowledge of the system prior to performing the kinetics experiments.

  11. Melissa L. Anderson: APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association/American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology. The 2012 winner is Melissa L. Anderson for her ongoing commitment to understanding, treating, and preventing domestic violence in Deaf women…

  12. Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: Christian N. L. Olivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Christian N. L. Olivers, winner of the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology, is cited for outstanding research on visual attention and working memory. Olivers uses classic experimental designs in an innovative and sophisticated way to determine underlying mechanisms. He has formulated important theoretical…

  13. Analysis on Risk Control for Project Financing of Small and Medium -sized Private S&T Enterprises in China%我国民营中小科技企业项目融资风险控制分析

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    蔡乐平

    2011-01-01

    In current developed market economy, small and medium - sized private scientific & technical enterprises, like large enterprises, make great contributions to the society and economy and are playing more and more important role. But due to the small size, unreasonable financing structure, nonsymmetrical information and high financing cost, they usually have weak capability of resisting risks and thus have great operation risks, This situation results in difficult financing of small and medium - sized private scientific & technical enterprises, which further increases their risks. This article first makes an analysis on current status of project financing in small and medium - sized private scientific & technical enterprises, then discusses the causes for risks in their project financing according to characteristics of their project financing, and finally puts forward countermeasures and recommendations for their project financing according to actual conditions of our country.%在目前较发达的市场经济中,民营中小科技企业和大企业一样为社会经济作出了巨大贡献,而且越来越发挥着其重要作用.但中小科技企业由于规模比较小、融资结构不合理,再加上信息不对称及融资成本高等问题,因而抗风险能力弱,存在着较大的经营风险,进而导致了中小科技企业融资困难,而融资困难又进一步加剧了其风险.首先对中国民营中小科技企业项目融资的现状进行了分析,然后结合民营中小科技企业项目融资的特点,探讨了民营中小科技企业项目融资中风险的成因,最后结合我国的实际情况,提出了中小民营科技企业项目融资风险的对策建议.

  14. Entanglement of a two-atom system driven by the quantum vacuum in arbitrary cavity size

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flores-Hidalgo, G., E-mail: gfloreshidalgo@unifei.edu.br [Instituto de Física e Química, Universidade Federal de Itajubá, 37500-903, Itajubá, MG (Brazil); Rojas, M., E-mail: moises.leyva@dfi.ufla.br [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Lavras, CP 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG (Brazil); Rojas, Onofre, E-mail: ors@dfi.ufla.br [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Lavras, CP 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG (Brazil)

    2017-05-10

    We study the entanglement dynamics of two distinguishable atoms confined into a cavity and interacting with a quantum vacuum field. As a simplified model for this system, we consider two harmonic oscillators linearly coupled to a massless scalar field which are inside a spherical cavity of radius R. Through the concurrence, the entanglement dynamics for the two-atom system is discussed for a range of initial states composed of a superposition of atomic states. Our results reveal how the entanglement of the two atoms behaves through the time evolution, in a precise way, for arbitrary cavity size and for arbitrary coupling constant. All our computations are analytical and only the final step is numerical. - Highlights: • Entanglement time evolution in arbitrary cavity size is considered. • In free space concurrence approaches a fixed value at large time. • For finite cavity, concurrence behaves almost as a periodic function of time.

  15. The Road to a Court of Appeal—Part II: Distinguishing Features and Establishment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Butler, Graham

    2015-01-01

    of the road taken. By mapping the sequence of events that lead to the creation of the new court, the complexity that goes into large-scale judicial restructuring can begin to be fully appreciated. This is the second and concluding part of the article, covering the distinguishing features and establishment......-lasting effects on the judicial system of the state. The creation of a new court takes a considerable effort from a number of branches of the State, in formulating the correct path for its establishment to proceed. In this article, the history of a Court of Appeal is set out, before discussing the referendum...... to amend the Constitution to allow for it. This is followed by looking at some of the provisions of the Amendment Bill that was put before both the Oireachtas and the people, before looking at three distinguishing features of the Bill, and finally discussing its establishment in 2014, along with analysis...

  16. Project winners - Ademe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-01-01

    The French agency of environment and energy management (Ademe) is the operator in charge of innovation for accelerating the ecological and environmental transition. A credit of 3.3 billion euros is allocated to this goal in the framework of forward-looking investment. This budget aims at financing innovative projects of any size with the objective of developing tomorrow's industries. The projects cover the following topics: 1 - carbon-free energies and green chemistry: renewable energy sources (marine, solar, wind and geothermal energies), green chemistry and energy challenges (bio-resources, buildings, energy storage, hydrogen, CO_2 capture, storage and valorization, industry and agriculture), 2 - smart grids, 3 - circular economy (wastes and industrial ecology, sites and soils cleansing, water and biodiversity), 4 - future vehicles: road vehicle (mobility and logistics, electric-powered vehicles and charging facilities, hybrid and thermal engines, vehicles lightering, heavy-duty vehicles), rail and maritime transport. This document presents the financing system, a report of the previous investment campaign (2014), and the list of retained projects for the 2015 investment program

  17. Lack of utility of measuring serum bilirubin concentration in distinguishing perforation status of pediatric appendicitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonadio, William; Bruno, Santina; Attaway, David; Dharmar, Logesh; Tam, Derek; Homel, Peter

    2017-06-01

    Pediatric appendicitis is a common, potentially serious condition. Determining perforation status is crucial to planning effective management. Determine the efficacy of serum total bilirubin concentration [STBC] in distinguishing perforation status in children with appendicitis. Retrospective review of 257 cases of appendicitis who received abdominal CT scan and measurement of STBC. There were 109 with perforation vs 148 without perforation. Although elevated STBC was significantly more common in those with [36%] vs without perforation [22%], the mean difference in elevated values between groups [0.1mg/dL] was clinically insignificant. Higher degrees of hyperbilirubinemia [>2mg/dL] were rarely encountered [5%]. Predictive values for elevated STBC in distinguishing perforation outcome were imprecise [sensitivity 38.5%, specificity 78.4%, PPV 56.8%, NPV 63.4%]. ROC curve analysis of multiple clinical and other laboratory factors for predicting perforation status was unenhanced by adding the STBC variable. Specific analysis of those with perforated appendicitis and percutaneously-drained intra-abdominal abscess which was culture-positive for Escherichia coli showed an identical rate of STBC elevation compared to all with perforation. The routine measurement of STBC does not accurately distinguish perforation status in children with appendicitis, nor discern infecting organism in those with perforation and intra-abdominal abscess. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. FIRST VLTI-MIDI DIRECT DETERMINATIONS OF ASTEROID SIZES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delbo, M.; Ligori, S.; Cellino, A.; Matter, A.; Berthier, J.

    2009-01-01

    We have obtained the first successful interferometric measurements of asteroid sizes and shapes by means of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer-Mid-Infrared Interferometric Instrument (VLTI-MIDI). The VLTI can spatially resolve asteroids in a range of sizes and heliocentric distances that are not accessible to other techniques such as adaptive optics and radar. We have observed, as a typical bench mark, the asteroid (951) Gaspra, visited in the past by the Galileo space probe, and we derive a size in good agreement with the ground truth coming from the in situ measurements by the Galileo mission. Moreover, we have also observed the asteroid (234) Barbara, known to exhibit unusual polarimetric properties, and we found evidence of a potential binary nature. In particular, our data are best fit by a system of two bodies of 37 and 21 km in diameter, separated by a center-to-center distance of ∼24 km (projected along the direction of the baseline at the epoch of our observations).

  19. Testing Software Development Project Productivity Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipkin, Ilya

    Software development is an increasingly influential factor in today's business environment, and a major issue affecting software development is how an organization estimates projects. If the organization underestimates cost, schedule, and quality requirements, the end results will not meet customer needs. On the other hand, if the organization overestimates these criteria, resources that could have been used more profitably will be wasted. There is no accurate model or measure available that can guide an organization in a quest for software development, with existing estimation models often underestimating software development efforts as much as 500 to 600 percent. To address this issue, existing models usually are calibrated using local data with a small sample size, with resulting estimates not offering improved cost analysis. This study presents a conceptual model for accurately estimating software development, based on an extensive literature review and theoretical analysis based on Sociotechnical Systems (STS) theory. The conceptual model serves as a solution to bridge organizational and technological factors and is validated using an empirical dataset provided by the DoD. Practical implications of this study allow for practitioners to concentrate on specific constructs of interest that provide the best value for the least amount of time. This study outlines key contributing constructs that are unique for Software Size E-SLOC, Man-hours Spent, and Quality of the Product, those constructs having the largest contribution to project productivity. This study discusses customer characteristics and provides a framework for a simplified project analysis for source selection evaluation and audit task reviews for the customers and suppliers. Theoretical contributions of this study provide an initial theory-based hypothesized project productivity model that can be used as a generic overall model across several application domains such as IT, Command and Control

  20. A clinical molecular scanner: the Melanie project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hochstrasser, D F; Appel, R D; Vargas, R; Perrier, R; Vurlod, J F; Ravier, F; Pasquali, C; Funk, M; Pellegrini, C; Muller, A F

    1991-01-01

    We developed an expert system to analyze and interpret protein maps. This system, Melanie (medical electrophoresis analysis interactive expert), can distinguish between normal and cirrhotic liver and identify various types of cancer on the basis of protein patterns in biopsy specimens. Our findings suggest that some diseases associated with toxic compounds or modifications of the human genome can be diagnosed by expert systems that analyze protein maps. The combination of protein mapping and computer analysis could result in a clinically useful "molecular scanner". The massive amount of information analyzed and stored in such studies requires new strategies, including centralized databases and image transmission over networks. Increased understanding of protein expression and regulation will enhance the importance of the human genome project in medicine and biology.

  1. Concentration-dependent, size-independent toxicity of citrate capped AuNPs in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Vecchio

    Full Text Available The expected potential benefits promised by nanotechnology in various fields have led to a rapid increase of the presence of engineered nanomaterials in a high number of commercial goods. This is generating increasing questions about possible risks for human health and environment, due to the lack of an in-depth assessment of the physical/chemical factors responsible for their toxic effects. In this work, we evaluated the toxicity of monodisperse citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs of different sizes (5, 15, 40, and 80 nm in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, upon ingestion. To properly evaluate and distinguish the possible dose- and/or size-dependent toxicity of the AuNPs, we performed a thorough assessment of their biological effects, using two different dose-metrics. In the first approach, we kept constant the total surface area of the differently sized AuNPs (Total Exposed Surface area approach, TES, while, in the second approach, we used the same number concentration of the four different sizes of AuNPs (Total Number of Nanoparticles approach, TNN. We observed a significant AuNPs-induced toxicity in vivo, namely a strong reduction of Drosophila lifespan and fertility performance, presence of DNA fragmentation, as well as a significant modification in the expression levels of genes involved in stress responses, DNA damage recognition and apoptosis pathway. Interestingly, we found that, within the investigated experimental conditions, the toxic effects in the exposed organisms were directly related to the concentration of the AuNPs administered, irrespective of their size.

  2. Study on Top-Down Estimation Method of Software Project Planning

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHANG Jun-guang; L(U) Ting-jie; ZHAO Yu-mei

    2006-01-01

    This paper studies a new software project planning method under some actual project data in order to make software project plans more effective. From the perspective of system theory, our new method regards a software project plan as an associative unit for study. During a top-down estimation of a software project, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) method and analogy method are combined to estimate its size, then effort estimation and specific schedules are obtained according to distributions of the phase effort. This allows a set of practical and feasible planning methods to be constructed. Actual data indicate that this set of methods can lead to effective software project planning.

  3. Fanny M. Cheung: Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents a short biography of one of the co-recipients of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. One of the 2012 winners is Fanny M. Cheung for her outstanding contributions to the assessment of cross-cultural psychopathology, personality psychology, and gender…

  4. Monitoring of ocean storage projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caldeira, K. [Energy and Environment Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States)

    2003-02-01

    It has been proposed that atmospheric CO2 accumulation could be slowed by capture of CO2 from point sources and subsequent storage of that CO2 in the ocean. If applied, such sequestration efforts would need to be monitored for compliance, effectiveness, and unintended consequences. Aboveground inspection and monitoring of facilities and practices, combined with ocean observations, could assure compliance with ocean sequestration guidelines and regulations. Ocean observations could be made using a variety of sensors mounted on moorings or underwater gliders. Long-term effectiveness and leakage to the atmosphere must be estimated from models, since on large spatial scales it will be impossible to observationally distinguish carbon stored by a project from variable concentrations of background carbon. Furthermore, the ocean naturally would absorb roughly 80% of fossil fuel CO2 released to the atmosphere within a millennium. This means that most of the CO2 sequestered in the ocean that leaks out to the atmosphere will be reabsorbed by the ocean. However, there is no observational way to distinguish remaining carbon from reabsorbed carbon. The science of monitoring unintended consequences in the deep ocean interior is at a primitive state. Little is understood about ecosystems of the deep ocean interior; and even less is understood about how those ecosystems would respond to added CO2. High priority research objectives should be (1) to improve our understanding of the natural ecosystems of the deep ocean, and (2) to improve our understanding of the response of these ecosystems to increased oceanic CO2 concentrations and decreased ocean pH.

  5. Finite detector based projection model for super resolution CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Hengyong; Wang, Ge [Wake Forest Univ. Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC (United States). Dept. of Radiology; Virgina Tech, Blacksburg, VA (United States). Biomedical Imaging Div.

    2011-07-01

    For finite detector and focal spot sizes, here we propose a projection model for super resolution CT. First, for a given X-ray source point, a projection datum is modeled as an area integral over a narrow fan-beam connecting the detector elemental borders and the X-ray source point. Then, the final projection value is expressed as the integral obtained in the first step over the whole focal spot support. An ordered-subset simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (OS-SART) is developed using the proposed projection model. In the numerical simulation, our method produces super spatial resolution and suppresses high-frequency artifacts. (orig.)

  6. Distinguishing a SM-like MSSM Higgs boson from SM Higgs boson at muon collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singhal, Jai Kumar; Singh, Sardar; Nagawat, Ashok K.

    2007-01-01

    We explore the possibility of distinguishing the SM-like MSSM Higgs boson from the SM Higgs boson via Higgs boson pair production at future muon collider. We study the behavior of the production cross-section in SM and MSSM with Higgs boson mass for various MSSM parameters tanβ and m A . We observe that at fixed CM energy, in the SM, the total cross-section increases with the increase in Higgs boson mass whereas this trend is reversed for the MSSM. The changes that occur for the MSSM in comparison to the SM predictions are quantified in terms of the relative percentage deviation in cross-section. The observed deviations in cross-section for different choices of Higgs boson masses suggest that the measurements of the cross-section could possibly distinguish the SM-like MSSM Higgs boson from the SM Higgs boson. (author)

  7. A low-cost and portable realization on fringe projection three-dimensional measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Suzhi; Tao, Wei; Zhao, Hui

    2015-12-01

    Fringe projection three-dimensional measurement is widely applied in a wide range of industrial application. The traditional fringe projection system has the disadvantages of high expense, big size, and complicated calibration requirements. In this paper we introduce a low-cost and portable realization on three-dimensional measurement with Pico projector. It has the advantages of low cost, compact physical size, and flexible configuration. For the proposed fringe projection system, there is no restriction to camera and projector's relative alignment on parallelism and perpendicularity for installation. Moreover, plane-based calibration method is adopted in this paper that avoids critical requirements on calibration system such as additional gauge block or precise linear z stage. What is more, error sources existing in the proposed system are introduced in this paper. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed low cost and portable fringe projection system.

  8. Delivery of workshops on mobility monitoring in small to medium-sized communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-11-01

    This report summarizes the delivery and outcome of a series of workshops conducted in 13 cities across the : state on performing mobility monitoring in small to medium-sized communities. The workshops served as : implementation for research project 0...

  9. Hot rock energy projects : Australian context

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goldstein, B.A.; Malavazos, M. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX (United States); Hill, A.J.; Coda, J. [Primary Industries and Resources South Australia, Adelaide (Australia)]|[Australian Geothermal Energy Group, Adelaide (Australia); Budd, A.R.; Holgate, F.L. [Australian Geothermal Energy Group, Adelaide (Australia)]|[Geoscience Australia, Adelaide (Australia)

    2008-10-15

    The Australia Geothermal Energy Group is an alliance of companies, government agencies and research organizations with an interest in promoting geothermal energy use. Hot rocks (HR) geothermal energy is a valued addition to the portfolio of safe, secure and competitive energy supplies because it offers the potential of inexhaustible geothermal heat energy with zero emissions. Australia's vast HR resources have attracted global interest and government support for HR projects, which call upon integrated expertise from the petroleum minerals and power industries. Funding from the Australian government is aimed at reducing critical, sector-wide uncertainties and equates to nearly 25 per cent of the cost of the private sector's field efforts to date. A national HR resource assessment and a road-map for the commercialization of Australian HR plays will be published in 2008 to help in the decision making process by portfolio managers. The challenges and prospects for HR projects in Australia were presented. It has been estimated that converting only 1 per cent of Australia's crustal energy from depths of 5 km and 150 degrees C to electricity would supply 26,000 years of Australia's 2005 primary power use. The factors that distinguish Australian HR resources include abundant radioactive granites and areas of recent volcanic activity; and, Australia is converging with Indonesia on a plate scale resulting in common, naturally occurring subhorizontally fractured basement rocks that are susceptible to hydraulic fracture stimulation. Most projects are focused on HR to develop enhanced or engineered geothermal systems (EGS) to fuel binary power plants. Approximately 80 percent of these projects are located in South Australia. 14 refs., 3 tabs., 3 figs.

  10. 19th International Congress on Project Management and Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Blanco, José; Capuz-Rizo, Salvador

    2017-01-01

    This book gathers the best papers presented at the 19th International Congress on Project Management and Engineering, which was held in Granada, Spain in July 2015. It covers a range of project management and engineering contexts, including: civil engineering and urban planning, product and process engineering, environmental engineering, energy efficiency and renewable energies, rural development, information and communication technologies, safety, labour risks and ergonomics, and training in project engineering. Project management and engineering is taking on increasing importance as projects continue to grow in size, more stakeholders become involved, and environmental, organisational and technological issues become more complex. As such, this book offers a valuable resource for all professionals seeking the latest material on the changing face of project management.

  11. New class of two-loop neutrino mass models with distinguishable phenomenology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Qing-Hong; Chen, Shao-Long; Ma, Ernest; Yan, Bin; Zhang, Dong-Ming

    2018-04-01

    We discuss a new class of neutrino mass models generated in two loops, and explore specifically three new physics scenarios: (A) doubly charged scalar, (B) dark matter, and (C) leptoquark and diquark, which are verifiable at the 14 TeV LHC Run-II. We point out how the different Higgs insertions will distinguish our two-loop topology with others if the new particles in the loop are in the simplest representations of the SM gauge group.

  12. Characterization and uniqueness of distinguished self-adjoint extensions of dirac operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klaus, M.; Wuest, R.; Princeton Univ., NJ

    1979-01-01

    Distinguished self-adjoint extensions of Dirac operators are characterized by Nenciu and constructed by means of cut-off potentials by Wuest. In this paper it is shown that the existence and a more explicit characterization of Nenciu's self-adjoint extensions can be obtained as a consequence from results of the cut-off method, that these extensions are the same as the extensions constructed with cut-off potentials and that they are unique in some sense. (orig.) [de

  13. Synthetic mRNA devices that detect endogenous proteins and distinguish mammalian cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawasaki, Shunsuke; Fujita, Yoshihiko; Nagaike, Takashi; Tomita, Kozo; Saito, Hirohide

    2017-07-07

    Synthetic biology has great potential for future therapeutic applications including autonomous cell programming through the detection of protein signals and the production of desired outputs. Synthetic RNA devices are promising for this purpose. However, the number of available devices is limited due to the difficulty in the detection of endogenous proteins within a cell. Here, we show a strategy to construct synthetic mRNA devices that detect endogenous proteins in living cells, control translation and distinguish cell types. We engineered protein-binding aptamers that have increased stability in the secondary structures of their active conformation. The designed devices can efficiently respond to target proteins including human LIN28A and U1A proteins, while the original aptamers failed to do so. Moreover, mRNA delivery of an LIN28A-responsive device into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) revealed that we can distinguish living hiPSCs and differentiated cells by quantifying endogenous LIN28A protein expression level. Thus, our endogenous protein-driven RNA devices determine live-cell states and program mammalian cells based on intracellular protein information. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  14. On the possibilities of distinguishing Dirac from Majorana neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zralek, M.

    1997-01-01

    The problem if existing neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana particles is considered in a very pedagogical way. After a few historical remarks we recall the theoretical description of neutral spin 1/2 particles, emphasizing the difference between chirality and helicity which is important in our discussion. Next we describe the properties of neutrinos in the cases when their interactions are given by the standard model and by its extensions (massive neutrinos, right-handed currents, electromagnetic neutrino interaction, interaction with scalar particles). Various processes where the different nature of neutrinos could in principle be visible are reviewed. We clear up misunderstandings which have appeared in last suggestions how to distinguish both types of neutrinos. (author)

  15. Genetic profiles distinguish different types of hereditary ovarian cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Domanska, Katarina; Malander, Susanne; Staaf, Johan

    2010-01-01

    (HBOC) syndrome and the hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) syndrome. Genome-wide array comparative genomic hybridization was applied to 12 HBOC associated tumors with BRCA1 mutations and 8 HNPCC associated tumors with mismatch repair gene mutations with 24 sporadic ovarian cancers......Heredity represents the strongest risk factor for ovarian cancer with disease predisposing mutations identified in 15% of the tumors. With the aim to identify genetic classifiers for hereditary ovarian cancer, we profiled hereditary ovarian cancers linked to the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer...... that HBOC and HNPCC associated ovarian cancer develop along distinct genetic pathways and genetic profiles can thus be applied to distinguish between different types of hereditary ovarian cancer....

  16. What Causes Cost Overrun in Transport Infrastructure Projects?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flyvbjerg, Bent; Holm, Mette K. Skamris; Buhl, Søren L.

    cost escalation for three types of project ownership - private, state-owned enterprise and other public ownership - it is shown that the oft-seen claim that public ownership is problematic and private ownership effective in curbing cost escalation is an oversimplification. Type of accountability......This article presents results from the first statistically significant study of causes of cost escalation in transport infrastructure projects. The study is based on a sample of 258 rail, bridge, tunnel and roads projects worth US$90 billion. The focus is on the dependence of cost escalation on (1......) length of project implementation phase, (2) size of project and (3) type of project ownership. First, it is found with very high statistical significance that cost escalation is strongly dependent on length of implementation phase. The policy implications are clear: Decision makers and planners should...

  17. Particle size analysis on density, surface morphology and specific capacitance of carbon electrode from rubber wood sawdust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taer, E.; Kurniasih, B.; Sari, F. P.; Zulkifli, Taslim, R.; Sugianto, Purnama, A.; Apriwandi, Susanti, Y.

    2018-02-01

    The particle size analysis for supercapacitor carbon electrodes from rubber wood sawdust (SGKK) has been done successfully. The electrode particle size was reviewed against the properties such as density, degree of crystallinity, surface morphology and specific capacitance. The variations in particle size were made by different treatment on the grinding and sieving process. The sample particle size was distinguished as 53-100 µm for 20 h (SA), 38-53 µm for 20 h (SB) and < 38 µm with variations of grinding time for 40 h (SC) and 80 h (SD) respectively. All of the samples were activated by 0.4 M KOH solution. Carbon electrodes were carbonized at temperature of 600oC in N2 gas environment and then followed by CO2 gas activation at a temperature of 900oC for 2 h. The densities for each variation in the particle size were 1.034 g cm-3, 0.849 g cm-3, 0.892 g cm-3 and 0.982 g cm-3 respectively. The morphological study identified the distance between the particles more closely at 38-53 µm (SB) particle size. The electrochemical properties of supercapacitor cells have been investigated using electrochemical methods such as impedance spectroscopy and charge-discharge at constant current using Solatron 1280 tools. Electrochemical properties testing results have shown SB samples with a particle size of 38-53 µm produce supercapacitor cells with optimum capacitive performance.

  18. Size of the great white shark (carcharodon).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randall, J E

    1973-07-13

    The maximum length of 36.5 feet (11.1 meters) attributed to the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) by Günther and others is a mistake. Examination of the jaws and teeth of the specimen referred to by Günther and comparison with the jaws of white sharks of known length revealed a length of about 17 feet ( approximately 5 meters). The largest white shark reliably measured was a 21-foot (6.4-meter) individual from Cuba. Bites on whale carcasses found off southern Australia suggest that white sharks as long as 25 or 26 feet (7 (1/2) or 8 meters) exist today. The size of extinct Carcharodon has also been grossly exaggerated. Based on a projection of a curve of tooth size of Recent Carcharodon carcharias, the largest fossil Carcharodon were about 43 feet ( approximately 13 meters) long.

  19. Developing Government Renewable Energy Projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurt S. Myers; Thomas L. Baldwin; Jason W. Bush; Jake P. Gentle

    2012-07-01

    The US Army Corps of Engineers has retained Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to conduct a study of past INL experiences and complete a report that identifies the processes that are needed for the development of renewable energy projects on government properties. The INL has always maintained expertise in power systems and applied engineering and INL’s renewable energy experiences date back to the 1980’s when our engineers began performing US Air Force wind energy feasibility studies and development projects. Over the last 20+ years of working with Department of Defense and other government agencies to study, design, and build government renewable projects, INL has experienced the do’s and don’ts for being successful with a project. These compiled guidelines for government renewable energy projects could include wind, hydro, geothermal, solar, biomass, or a variety of hybrid systems; however, for the purpose of narrowing the focus of this report, wind projects are the main topic discussed throughout this report. It is our thought that a lot of what is discussed could be applied, possibly with some modifications, to other areas of renewable energy. It is also important to note that individual projects (regardless the type) vary to some degree depending on location, size, and need but in general these concepts and directions can be carried over to the majority of government renewable energy projects. This report focuses on the initial development that needs to occur for any project to be a successful government renewable energy project.

  20. Crowdfunding, an alternative source of financing construction and real estate projects. Guideline for Developers on how to use this tool in medium size projects.

    OpenAIRE

    Sierra Mercado, David

    2017-01-01

    Real estate crowdfunding comprises the process of investing in a real estate projects using online platforms, specialized websites that can reach a large number of potential investors, changing in just few years the traditional approach of the real estate industry. This phenomenon has become a trend among small and medium project developers, which nowadays have this additional source of financing. However, many people still unfamiliar about this new business model. Therefore, it is relevant t...

  1. Strength and fatigue testing of large size wind turbines rotors. Vol. II: Full size natural vibration and static strength test, a reference case

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arias, F.; Soria, E.

    1996-12-01

    This report shows the methods and procedures selected to define a strength test for large size wind turbine, anyway in particular it application on a 500 kW blade and it results obtained in the test carried out in july of 1995 in Asinel`s test plant (Madrid). Henceforth, this project is designed in an abbreviate form whit the acronym SFAT. (Author)

  2. Strength and fatigue testing of large size wind turbines rotors. Volume II. Full size natural vibration and static strength test, a reference case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arias, F.; Soria, E.

    1996-01-01

    This report shows the methods and procedures selected to define a strength test for large size wind turbine, anyway in particularly it application on a 500 kW blade and it results obtained in the test carried out in july of 1995 in Asinel test plant (Madrid). Henceforth, this project is designed in an abbreviate form whit the acronym SFAT. (Author)

  3. Size evolution of ultrafine particles: Differential signatures of normal and episodic events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joshi, Manish; Khan, Arshad; Anand, S.; Sapra, B.K.

    2016-01-01

    The effect of fireworks on the aerosol number characteristics of atmosphere was studied for an urban mega city. Measurements were made at 50 m height to assess the local changes around the festival days. Apart from the increase in total number concentration and characteristic accumulation mode, short-term increase of ultrafine particle concentration was noted. Total number concentration varies an order of magnitude during the measurement period in which peak occurs at a frequency of approximately one per day. On integral scale, it seems not possible to distinguish an episodic (e.g. firework bursting induced aerosol emission) and a normal (ambient atmospheric changes) event. However these events could be differentiated on the basis of size evolution analysis around number concentration peaks. The results are discussed relative to past studies and inferences are drawn towards aerosol signatures of firework bursting. The short-term burst in ultrafine particle concentration can pose an inhalation hazard. - Highlights: • Effect of firework emissions on atmospheric aerosol characteristics was studied. • Significant increase in ultrafine particle concentration was observed during firework bursting. • Size distribution evolution analysis of number concentration peaks has been performed. • Differential signatures of normal and episodic event were noted. - Notable increase in ultrafine particle concentration during firework bursting was seen. Normal and episodic event could be differentiated on the basis of size evolution analysis.

  4. Managing Small Spacecraft Projects: Less is Not Easier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barley, Bryan; Newhouse, Marilyn

    2012-01-01

    Managing small, low cost missions (class C or D) is not necessarily easier than managing a full flagship mission. Yet, small missions are typically considered easier to manage and used as a training ground for developing the next generation of project managers. While limited resources can be a problem for small missions, in reality most of the issues inherent in managing small projects are not the direct result of limited resources. Instead, problems encountered by managers of small spacecraft missions often derive from 1) the perception that managing small projects is easier if something is easier it needs less rigor and formality in execution, 2) the perception that limited resources necessitate or validate omitting standard management practices, 3) less stringent or unclear guidelines or policies for small projects, and 4) stakeholder expectations that are not consistent with the size and nature of the project. For example, the size of a project is sometimes used to justify not building a full, detailed integrated master schedule. However, while a small schedule slip may not be a problem for a large mission, it can indicate a serious problem for a small mission with a short development phase, highlighting the importance of the schedule for early identification of potential issues. Likewise, stakeholders may accept a higher risk posture early in the definition of a low-cost mission, but as launch approaches this acceptance may change. This presentation discusses these common misconceptions about managing small, low cost missions, the problems that can result, and possible solutions.

  5. Decomposition of size-exclusion chromatography elution curves of complex branched polymers

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Netopilík, Miloš; Janata, Miroslav

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 1330, 21 February (2014), s. 14-19 ISSN 0021-9673 R&D Projects: GA ČR GCP205/11/J043 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : size-exclusion chromatography * triple detection * curve decomposition Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 4.169, year: 2014

  6. Optimal sampling plan for clean development mechanism energy efficiency lighting projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye, Xianming; Xia, Xiaohua; Zhang, Jiangfeng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • A metering cost minimisation model is built to assist the sampling plan for CDM projects. • The model minimises the total metering cost by the determination of optimal sample size. • The required 90/10 criterion sampling accuracy is maintained. • The proposed metering cost minimisation model is applicable to other CDM projects as well. - Abstract: Clean development mechanism (CDM) project developers are always interested in achieving required measurement accuracies with the least metering cost. In this paper, a metering cost minimisation model is proposed for the sampling plan of a specific CDM energy efficiency lighting project. The problem arises from the particular CDM sampling requirement of 90% confidence and 10% precision for the small-scale CDM energy efficiency projects, which is known as the 90/10 criterion. The 90/10 criterion can be met through solving the metering cost minimisation problem. All the lights in the project are classified into different groups according to uncertainties of the lighting energy consumption, which are characterised by their statistical coefficient of variance (CV). Samples from each group are randomly selected to install power meters. These meters include less expensive ones with less functionality and more expensive ones with greater functionality. The metering cost minimisation model will minimise the total metering cost through the determination of the optimal sample size at each group. The 90/10 criterion is formulated as constraints to the metering cost objective. The optimal solution to the minimisation problem will therefore minimise the metering cost whilst meeting the 90/10 criterion, and this is verified by a case study. Relationships between the optimal metering cost and the population sizes of the groups, CV values and the meter equipment cost are further explored in three simulations. The metering cost minimisation model proposed for lighting systems is applicable to other CDM projects as

  7. Laboratory technology research - abstracts of FY 1997 projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-11-01

    The Laboratory Technology Research (LTR) program supports high-risk, multidisciplinary research partnerships to investigate challenging scientific problems whose solutions have promising commercial potential. These partnerships capitalize on two great strengths of this country: the world-class basic research capability of the DOE Energy Research (ER) multi-program national laboratories and the unparalleled entrepreneurial spirit of American industry. A distinguishing feature of the ER multi-program national laboratories is their ability to integrate broad areas of science and engineering in support of national research and development goals. The LTR program leverages this strength for the Nation`s benefit by fostering partnerships with US industry. The partners jointly bring technology research to a point where industry or the Department`s technology development programs can pursue final development and commercialization. Projects supported by the LTR program are conducted by the five ER multi-program laboratories. These projects explore the applications of basic research advances relevant to DOE`s mission over a full range of scientific disciplines. The program presently emphasizes three critical areas of mission-related research: advanced materials; intelligent processing/manufacturing research; and sustainable environments.

  8. Utility of the Leyton Obsessional Inventory to distinguish OCD and OCPD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wellen, David; Samuels, Jack; Bienvenu, O Joseph; Grados, Marco; Cullen, Bernadette; Riddle, Mark; Liang, Kung-Yee; Nestadt, Gerald

    2007-01-01

    The Leyton Obsessional Inventory (LOI) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses obsessional symptoms. The ability of the LOI to distinguish between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) has not been adequately addressed. Our purpose is to identify dimensions of obsessional symptoms from the LOI and determine how well they distinguish between OCD and OCPD. The LOI was completed by 488 participants diagnosed by trained clinicians. Factor analysis was performed on responses to the interference items of the LOI. The relationship between the factors, OCD and OCPD was evaluated using logistic regression. Five factors underlying the LOI were identified: (I) obsessional ruminations and compulsions, (II) ordering and arranging, (III) organizing activities, (IV) contamination, and (V) parsimony. Factors I, III, and IV were strongly associated with OCD. Only Factor II was associated with OCPD. Factor IV was negatively associated with obsessive-compulsive personality traits. LOI factors are useful in discriminating between OCD and OCPD. Obsessional ruminations and compulsions, organizing activities, and contamination fears may indicate OCD, and ordering and arranging symptoms may indicate OCPD rather than OCD. Parsimony may indicate neither disorder, and contamination, the absence of OCPD traits compared with the other LOI factors. These findings may contribute to effective diagnosis and treatment by allowing the LOI to screen for OCD and OCPD in a population exhibiting obsessional symptoms and traits.

  9. Improved Patient Size Estimates for Accurate Dose Calculations in Abdomen Computed Tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Chang-Lae [Yonsei University, Wonju (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-07-15

    The radiation dose of CT (computed tomography) is generally represented by the CTDI (CT dose index). CTDI, however, does not accurately predict the actual patient doses for different human body sizes because it relies on a cylinder-shaped head (diameter : 16 cm) and body (diameter : 32 cm) phantom. The purpose of this study was to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional CTDI and to provide more accurate radiation dose information. Projection radiographs were obtained from water cylinder phantoms of various sizes, and the sizes of the water cylinder phantoms were calculated and verified using attenuation profiles. The effective diameter was also calculated using the attenuation of the abdominal projection radiographs of 10 patients. When the results of the attenuation-based method and the geometry-based method shown were compared with the results of the reconstructed-axial-CT-image-based method, the effective diameter of the attenuation-based method was found to be similar to the effective diameter of the reconstructed-axial-CT-image-based method, with a difference of less than 3.8%, but the geometry-based method showed a difference of less than 11.4%. This paper proposes a new method of accurately computing the radiation dose of CT based on the patient sizes. This method computes and provides the exact patient dose before the CT scan, and can therefore be effectively used for imaging and dose control.

  10. Preliminary notes concerning the uranium-gold ratio and the gradient of heavy-mineral size distribution as factors of transport distance down the paleoslope of the Proterozoic Steyn Reef placer deposit, Orange Free State Goldfield, Witwatersrand, South Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minter, W.E.L.

    1981-01-01

    The size decrease of quartz pebbles, pyrite nodules, and zircon grains, evident from samples of Steyn Reef taken from various positions down a paleoslope indicated by crossbedding data, confirms their detrital origin. An increase in the ratio of uranium to gold, which appears to be related to their original size-frequency distribution, also indicates the paleoslope direction and effectively distinguishes between blanket and carbon-seam reefs

  11. Size and Local Democracy: the Case of Czech Municipal Representatives

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ryšavý, D.; Bernard, Josef

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 39, č. 6 (2013), s. 833-852 ISSN 0300-3930 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA403/09/1779 Institutional support: RVO:68378025 Keywords : local councillors * size of municipality * incumbents Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography Impact factor: 0.620, year: 2013 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03003930.2012.675329

  12. Applying protein-based amide proton transfer MR imaging to distinguish solitary brain metastases from glioblastoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Hao; Zou, Tianyu; Wang, Xianlong; Du, Yongxing; Jiang, Chunxiu; Ma, Ling; Zhu, Jianbin; He, Wen; Rui, Qihong; Wen, Zhibo [Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Department of Radiology, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China); Lou, Huiling [The First People' Hospital of Guangzhou, Department of Geriatrics, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China); Jiang, Shanshan [Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Department of Radiology, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China); Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of MR Research, Department of Radiology, Baltimore, MD (United States); Huang, Zhongqing [Shantou University Medical College, Department of Medical Image Center, Yuebei People' s Hospital, Shantou, Guangdong (China); Zhou, Jianyuan [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of MR Research, Department of Radiology, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2017-11-15

    To determine the utility of amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) MR imaging in distinguishing solitary brain metastases (SBMs) from glioblastomas (GBMs). Forty-five patients with SBMs and 43 patients with GBMs underwent conventional and APT-weighted sequences before clinical intervention. The APTw parameters and relative APTw (rAPTw) parameters in the tumour core and the peritumoral brain zone (PBZ) were obtained and compared between SBMs and GBMs. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the best parameter for distinguishing between the two groups. The APTw{sub max}, APTw{sub min}, APTw{sub mean}, rAPTw{sub max}, rAPTw{sub min} or rAPTw{sub mean} values in the tumour core were not significantly different between the SBM and GBM groups (P = 0.141, 0.361, 0.221, 0.305, 0.578 and 0.448, respectively). However, the APTw{sub max}, APTw{sub min}, APTw{sub mean}, rAPTw{sub max}, rAPTw{sub min} or rAPTw{sub mean} values in the PBZ were significantly lower in the SBM group than in the GBM group (P < 0.001). The APTw{sub min} values had the highest area under the ROC curve 0.905 and accuracy 85.2% in discriminating between the two neoplasms. As a noninvasive imaging method, APT-weighted MR imaging can be used to distinguish SBMs from GBMs. (orig.)

  13. Distinguishing and diagnosing contemporary and conventional features of dental erosion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassiouny, Mohamed A

    2014-01-01

    The vast number and variety of erosion lesions encountered today require reconsideration of the traditional definition. Dental erosion associated with modern dietary habits can exhibit unique features that symbolize a departure from the decades-old conventional image known as tooth surface loss. The extent and diversity of contemporary erosion lesions often cause conflicting diagnoses. Specific examples of these features are presented in this article. The etiologies, genesis, course of development, and characteristics of these erosion lesions are discussed. Contemporary and conventional erosion lesions are distinguished from similar defects, such as mechanically induced wear, carious lesions, and dental fluorosis, which affect the human dentition.

  14. Reengineering the project design process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane Casani, E.; Metzger, Robert M.

    1995-01-01

    In response to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's goal of working faster, better, and cheaper, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has developed extensive plans to minimize cost, maximize customer and employee satisfaction, and implement small- and moderate-size missions. These plans include improved management structures and processes, enhanced technical design processes, the incorporation of new technology, and the development of more economical space- and ground-system designs. The Laboratory's new Flight Projects Implementation Development Office has been chartered to oversee these innovations and the reengineering of JPL's project design process, including establishment of the Project Design Center (PDC) and the Flight System Testbed (FST). Reengineering at JPL implies a cultural change whereby the character of the Laboratory's design process will change from sequential to concurrent and from hierarchical to parallel. The Project Design Center will support missions offering high science return, design to cost, demonstrations of new technology, and rapid development. Its computer-supported environment will foster high-fidelity project life-cycle development and more accurate cost estimating. These improvements signal JPL's commitment to meeting the challenges of space exploration in the next century.

  15. Geophysical applicability of aerosol size distribution measurements using cascade impactors and proton induced X-ray emission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Grieken, R.E.; Johansson, T.B.; Akselsson, K.R.; Winchester, J.W.; Nelson, J.W.; Chapman, K.R.

    1976-01-01

    Proton Induced X-ray Emission, (PIXE), is capable of high precision analysis for trace element components of aerosol particle size fractions sampled by cascade impactor. A statistical evaluation of data quality has been carried out in order to distinguish between analytical uncertainties in the PIXE procedure, errors caused by cascade impactor performance and by other factors in the sampling procedure, and geophysical causes of differences in composition and particle size distributions of the elements in aerosols. Replicate analyses and simultaneous samplings taken in north Florida and St. Louis have been used for the data evaluation. In addition to the analytical error the sampling procedure contributes an error of approximately 10% to be added quadratically. The resulting precision is sufficient to evaluate the data in geophysical terms. This is illustrated by means of sample sets taken simultaneously in an urban, forest and coastal environment of the same region. (author)

  16. Body Size Adaptations to Altitudinal Climatic Variation in Neotropical Grasshoppers of the Genus Sphenarium (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Altitudinal clines in body size can result from the effects of natural and sexual selection on growth rates and developing times in seasonal environments. Short growing and reproductive seasons constrain the body size that adults can attain and their reproductive success. Little is known about the effects of altitudinal climatic variation on the diversification of Neotropical insects. In central Mexico, in addition to altitude, highly heterogeneous topography generates diverse climates that can occur even at the same latitude. Altitudinal variation and heterogeneous topography open an opportunity to test the relative impact of climatic variation on body size adaptations. In this study, we investigated the relationship between altitudinal climatic variation and body size, and the divergence rates of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in Neotropical grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium using a phylogenetic comparative approach. In order to distinguish the relative impact of natural and sexual selection on the diversification of the group, we also tracked the altitudinal distribution of the species and trends of both body size and SSD on the phylogeny of Sphenarium. The correlative evidence suggests no relationship between altitude and body size. However, larger species were associated with places having a warmer winter season in which the temporal window for development and reproduction can be longer. Nonetheless, the largest species were also associated with highly seasonal environments. Moreover, large body size and high levels of SSD have evolved independently several times throughout the history of the group and male body size has experienced a greater evolutionary divergence than females. These lines of evidence suggest that natural selection, associated with seasonality and sexual selection, on maturation time and body size could have enhanced the diversification of this insect group. PMID:26684616

  17. Cost diviation in road construction projects: The case of Palestine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Mahamid

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the statistical relationship between actual and estimated cost of road construction projects using data from road construction projects awarded in the West Bank in Palestine over the years 2004–2008. The study is based on a sample of 169 road construction projects. Based on this data, regression models are developed. The findings reveal that 100% of projects suffer from cost diverge, it is found that 76% of projects have cost under estimation while 24% have cost over estimation. The discrepancy between estimated and actual cost has an average of 14.6%, ranging from -39% to 98%. The relation between the project size (length and width and the cost diverge is discussed.

  18. Specifying general activity clusters for ERP projects aimed at effort prediction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssens, G.; Kusters, R.J.; Heemstra, F.J.; Gunasekaran, A.; Shea, T.

    2010-01-01

    ERP implementation projects affect large parts of an implementing organization and lead to changes in the way an organization performs its tasks. The costs needed for the effort to implement these systems are hard to estimate. Research indicates that the size of an ERP project can be a useful

  19. Assessing corporate project impacts in changeable contexts: A human rights perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salcito, Kendyl, E-mail: kendyl.salcito@unibas.ch [Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel (Switzerland); NomoGaia, 1900 Wazee Street, Suite 303, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); NewFields, LLC, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); Singer, Burton H., E-mail: bhsinger@epi.ufl.edu [Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 (United States); Krieger, Gary R., E-mail: gkrieger@newfields.com [NewFields, LLC, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); Weiss, Mitchell G., E-mail: mitchell-g.weiss@unibas.ch [Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel (Switzerland); Wielga, Mark, E-mail: wielga@nomogaia.org [NomoGaia, 1900 Wazee Street, Suite 303, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); NewFields, LLC, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); Utzinger, Jürg, E-mail: juerg.utzinger@unibas.ch [Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel (Switzerland)

    2014-07-01

    Project-level impact assessment was originally conceived as a snapshot taken in advance of project implementation, contrasting current conditions with a likely future scenario involving a variety of predicted impacts. Current best practice guidance has encouraged a shift towards longitudinal assessments from the pre-project stage through the implementation and operating phases. Experience and study show, however, that assessment of infrastructure-intensive projects rarely endures past the project's construction phase. Negative consequences for environmental, social and health outcomes have been documented. Such consequences clarify the pressing need for longitudinal assessment in each of these domains, with human rights impact assessment (HRIA) as an umbrella over, and critical augmentation of, environmental, social and health assessments. Project impacts on human rights are more closely linked to political, economic and other factors beyond immediate effects of a company's policy and action throughout the project lifecycle. Delineating these processes requires an adequate framework, with strategies for collecting longitudinal data, protocols that provide core information for impact assessment and guidance for adaptive mitigation strategies as project-related effects change over time. This article presents general principles for the design and implementation of sustained, longitudinal HRIA, based on experience assessing and responding to human rights impact in a uranium mining project in Malawi. The case study demonstrates the value of longitudinal assessment both for limiting corporate risk and improving human welfare. - Graphical abstract: Assessing changes in human rights condition as affected by both project and context, over time. - Highlights: • Corporate capital projects affect human rights in myriad ways. • Ongoing, longitudinal impact assessment techniques are needed. • We present an approach for conducting longitudinal human rights impact

  20. Assessing corporate project impacts in changeable contexts: A human rights perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salcito, Kendyl; Singer, Burton H.; Krieger, Gary R.; Weiss, Mitchell G.; Wielga, Mark; Utzinger, Jürg

    2014-01-01

    Project-level impact assessment was originally conceived as a snapshot taken in advance of project implementation, contrasting current conditions with a likely future scenario involving a variety of predicted impacts. Current best practice guidance has encouraged a shift towards longitudinal assessments from the pre-project stage through the implementation and operating phases. Experience and study show, however, that assessment of infrastructure-intensive projects rarely endures past the project's construction phase. Negative consequences for environmental, social and health outcomes have been documented. Such consequences clarify the pressing need for longitudinal assessment in each of these domains, with human rights impact assessment (HRIA) as an umbrella over, and critical augmentation of, environmental, social and health assessments. Project impacts on human rights are more closely linked to political, economic and other factors beyond immediate effects of a company's policy and action throughout the project lifecycle. Delineating these processes requires an adequate framework, with strategies for collecting longitudinal data, protocols that provide core information for impact assessment and guidance for adaptive mitigation strategies as project-related effects change over time. This article presents general principles for the design and implementation of sustained, longitudinal HRIA, based on experience assessing and responding to human rights impact in a uranium mining project in Malawi. The case study demonstrates the value of longitudinal assessment both for limiting corporate risk and improving human welfare. - Graphical abstract: Assessing changes in human rights condition as affected by both project and context, over time. - Highlights: • Corporate capital projects affect human rights in myriad ways. • Ongoing, longitudinal impact assessment techniques are needed. • We present an approach for conducting longitudinal human rights impact assessment

  1. Selection on male size, leg length and condition during mate search in a sexually highly dimorphic orb-weaving spider.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foellmer, Matthias W; Fairbairn, Daphne J

    2005-02-01

    Mate search plays a central role in hypotheses for the adaptive significance of extreme female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in animals. Spiders (Araneae) are the only free-living terrestrial taxon where extreme SSD is common. The "gravity hypothesis" states that small body size in males is favoured during mate search in species where males have to climb to reach females, because body length is inversely proportional to achievable speed on vertical structures. However, locomotive performance of males may also depend on relative leg length. Here we examine selection on male body size and leg length during mate search in the highly dimorphic orb-weaving spider Argiope aurantia, using a multivariate approach to distinguish selection targeted at different components of size. Further, we investigate the scaling relationships between male size and energy reserves, and the differential loss of reserves. Adult males do not feed while roving, and a size-dependent differential energy storage capacity may thus affect male performance during mate search. Contrary to predictions, large body size was favoured in one of two populations, and this was due to selection for longer legs. Male size was not under selection in the second population, but we detected direct selection for longer third legs. Males lost energy reserves during mate search, but this was independent of male size and storage capacity scaled isometrically with size. Thus, mate search is unlikely to lead to selection for small male size, but the hypothesis that relatively longer legs in male spiders reflect a search-adapted morphology is supported.

  2. Accounting for dynamics of mean precipitation in drought projections: A case study of Brazil for the 2050 and 2070 periods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mpelasoka, Freddie; Awange, Joseph L; Goncalves, Rodrigo Mikosz

    2018-05-01

    Changes in drought around the globe are among the most daunting potential effects of climate change. However, changes in droughts are often not well distinguished from changes in aridity levels. As drought constitutes conditions of aridity, the projected declines in mean precipitation tend to override changes in drought. This results in projections of more dire changes in drought than ever. The overestimate of changes can be attributed to the use of 'static' normal precipitation in the derivation of drought events. The failure in distinguishing drought from aridity is a conceptual problem of concern, particularly to drought policymakers. Given that the key objective of drought policies is to determine drought conditions, which are rare and so protracted that they are beyond the scope of normal risk management, for interventions. The main objective of this Case Study of Brazil is to demonstrate the differences between projections of changes in drought based on 'static' and '30-year dynamic' precipitation normal conditions. First we demonstrate that the 'static' based projections suggest 4-fold changes in the probability of drought-year occurrences against changes by the dynamic normal precipitation. The 'static-normal mean precipitation' based projections tend to be monotonically increasing in magnitude, and were arguably considered unrealistic. Based on the '30-year dynamic' normal precipitation conditions, the 13-member GCM ensemble median projection estimates of changes for 2050 under rcp4.5 1 and rcp8.5 2 suggest: (i) Significant differences between changes associated with rcp4.5 and rcp8.5, and are more noticeable for droughts at long than short timescales in the 2070; (ii) Overall, the results demonstrate more realistic projections of changes in drought characteristics over Brazil than previous projections based on 'static' normal precipitation conditions. However, the uncertainty of response of droughts to climate change in CMIP5 simulations is still large

  3. A Bayesian Perspective on the Reproducibility Project: Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etz, Alexander; Vandekerckhove, Joachim

    2016-01-01

    We revisit the results of the recent Reproducibility Project: Psychology by the Open Science Collaboration. We compute Bayes factors-a quantity that can be used to express comparative evidence for an hypothesis but also for the null hypothesis-for a large subset (N = 72) of the original papers and their corresponding replication attempts. In our computation, we take into account the likely scenario that publication bias had distorted the originally published results. Overall, 75% of studies gave qualitatively similar results in terms of the amount of evidence provided. However, the evidence was often weak (i.e., Bayes factor studies (64%) did not provide strong evidence for either the null or the alternative hypothesis in either the original or the replication, and no replication attempts provided strong evidence in favor of the null. In all cases where the original paper provided strong evidence but the replication did not (15%), the sample size in the replication was smaller than the original. Where the replication provided strong evidence but the original did not (10%), the replication sample size was larger. We conclude that the apparent failure of the Reproducibility Project to replicate many target effects can be adequately explained by overestimation of effect sizes (or overestimation of evidence against the null hypothesis) due to small sample sizes and publication bias in the psychological literature. We further conclude that traditional sample sizes are insufficient and that a more widespread adoption of Bayesian methods is desirable.

  4. UHP lamp systems for projection applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Derra, Guenther; Moench, Holger; Fischer, Ernst; Giese, Hermann; Hechtfischer, Ulrich; Heusler, Gero; Koerber, Achim; Niemann, Ulrich; Noertemann, Folke-Charlotte; Pekarski, Pavel; Pollmann-Retsch, Jens; Ritz, Arnd; Weichmann, Ulrich

    2005-01-01

    Projection systems have found widespread use in conference rooms and other professional applications during the last decade and are now entering the home TV market at a considerable pace. Projectors as small as about one litre are able to deliver several thousand screen lumens and are, with a system efficacy of over 10 lm W -1 , the most efficient display systems realized today. Short arc lamps are a key component for projection systems of the highest efficiency for small-size projection displays. The introduction of the ultra high performance (UHP) lamp system by Philips in 1995 can be identified as one of the key enablers of the commercial success of projection systems. The UHP lamp concept features outstanding arc luminance, a well suited spectrum, long life and excellent lumen maintenance. For the first time it combines a very high pressure mercury discharge lamp with extremely short and stable arc gap with a regenerative chemical cycle keeping the discharge walls free from blackening, leading to lifetimes of over 10 000 h. Since the introduction of the UHP lamp system, many important new technology improvements have been realized: burner designs for higher lamp power, advanced ignition systems, miniaturized electronic drivers and innovative reflector concepts. These achievements enabled the impressive increase of projector light output, a remarkable reduction in projector size and even higher optical efficiency in projection systems during the last years. In this paper the concept of the UHP lamp system is described, followed by a discussion of the technological evolution the UHP lamp has undergone so far. Last, but not least, the important improvements of the UHP lamp system including the electronic driver and the reflector are discussed. (review article)

  5. Manikin-Based Size-Resolved Penetrations of CE-marked Filtering Facepiece Respirators.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Serfozo, N.; Ondráček, Jakub; Otáhal, P.; Lazaridis, M.; Ždímal, Vladimír

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 14, č. 12 (2017), s. 965-974 ISSN 1545-9624 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 315760 - HEXACOMM Institutional support: RVO:67985858 Keywords : size-resolved penetration * manikin-based study * CE-marked respirator Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry OBOR OECD: Physical chemistry Impact factor: 1.200, year: 2016

  6. Influence of Size Effect and Foreign Gases on Formation of Nanoparticles

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Levdansky, V.V.; Smolík, Jiří; Moravec, Pavel

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 33, č. 1 (2006), s. 56-60 ISSN 0735-1933 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA2076203 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : nanoparticles * condensation coefficient * size effect Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 0.708, year: 2006

  7. How genome size variation is linked with evolution within Chenopodium sensu lato

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mandák, Bohumil; Krak, Karol; Vít, Petr; Pavlíková, Zuzana; Lomonosova, M. N.; Habibi, Farzaneh; Lei, Wang; Jellen, E.N.; Douda, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 23, DEC 2016 (2016), s. 18-32 ISSN 1433-8319 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-02290S Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : Chenopodium * genome size evolution * flow cytometry Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 3.123, year: 2016

  8. J. David Creswell: Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    APA's Awards for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology recognize excellent young psychologists who have not held a doctoral degree for more than nine years. One of the 2014 award winners is J. David Creswell, for "outstanding and innovative research on mechanisms linking stress management strategies to disease." Creswell's award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  9. Theodore P. Beauchaine: award for distinguished scientific early career contributions to psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-11-01

    Presents the citation for Theodore P. Beauchaine, who received the Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology (psychopathology) "for core contributions in developmental psychopathology, especially related to the biological underpinnings of various mental disorders among children, sophisticated and elegant quantitative approaches to these issues, and exemplary work on the prevention of such conditions." A brief profile and a selected bibliography accompany the citation. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. The evolution of genome size in ants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spagna Joseph C

    2008-02-01

    include occasional whole-genome duplication. The small genome sizes of ants, combined with their ecological, evolutionary and agricultural importance, suggest that some of these species may be good candidates for future whole-genome sequencing projects.

  11. Role of a texture gradient in the perception of relative size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tozawa, Junko

    2010-01-01

    Two theories regarding the role of a texture gradient in the perception of the relative size of objects are compared. Relational theory states that relative size is directly specified by the projective ratio of the numbers of texture elements spanned by objects. Distance calibration theory assumes that relative size is a product of visual angle and distance, once the distance is specified by the texture. Experiment 1 involved three variables: background (no texture, texture gradient patterns), the ratio of heights of the comparison stimulus to a standard (three levels), and angular vertical separation of the standard stimulus below the horizon (two levels). The effect of the retinal length of the comparison stimulus was examined in experiment 2. In both experiments, participants judged both the apparent size and distance of a comparison stimulus relative to a standard stimulus. Results suggest that the cues selected by observers to judge relative size were to some degree different from those used to judge relative distance. Relative size was strongly affected by a texture gradient and the retinal length of a comparison stimulus whereas relative distance perception was affected by relative height. When dominant cues that specify size are different from those which specify distance, relational theory might provide a better account of relative size perception than distance calibration theory.

  12. Distinguishing zero-group-velocity modes in photonic crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghebrebrhan, M.; Ibanescu, M.; Johnson, Steven G.; Soljacic, M.; Joannopoulos, J. D.

    2007-01-01

    We examine differences between various zero-group-velocity modes in photonic crystals, including those that arise from Bragg diffraction, anticrossings, and band repulsion. Zero-group velocity occurs at points where the group velocity changes sign, and therefore is conceptually related to 'left-handed' media, in which the group velocity is opposite to the phase velocity. We consider this relationship more quantitatively in terms of the Fourier decomposition of the modes, by defining a measure of how much the ''average'' phase velocity is parallel to the group velocity--an anomalous region is one in which they are mostly antiparallel. We find that this quantity can be used to qualitatively distinguish different zero-group-velocity points. In one dimension, such anomalous regions are found never to occur. In higher dimensions, they are exhibited around certain zero-group-velocity points, and lead to unusual enhanced confinement behavior in microcavities

  13. A comprehensive crop genome research project: the Superhybrid Rice Genome Project in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jun; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu; Liu, Siqi; Wang, Jian; Yang, Huanming

    2007-06-29

    In May 2000, the Beijing Institute of Genomics formally announced the launch of a comprehensive crop genome research project on rice genomics, the Chinese Superhybrid Rice Genome Project. SRGP is not simply a sequencing project targeted to a single rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome, but a full-swing research effort with an ultimate goal of providing inclusive basic genomic information and molecular tools not only to understand biology of the rice, both as an important crop species and a model organism of cereals, but also to focus on a popular superhybrid rice landrace, LYP9. We have completed the first phase of SRGP and provide the rice research community with a finished genome sequence of an indica variety, 93-11 (the paternal cultivar of LYP9), together with ample data on subspecific (between subspecies) polymorphisms, transcriptomes and proteomes, useful for within-species comparative studies. In the second phase, we have acquired the genome sequence of the maternal cultivar, PA64S, together with the detailed catalogues of genes uniquely expressed in the parental cultivars and the hybrid as well as allele-specific markers that distinguish parental alleles. Although SRGP in China is not an open-ended research programme, it has been designed to pave a way for future plant genomics research and application, such as to interrogate fundamentals of plant biology, including genome duplication, polyploidy and hybrid vigour, as well as to provide genetic tools for crop breeding and to carry along a social burden-leading a fight against the world's hunger. It began with genomics, the newly developed and industry-scale research field, and from the world's most populous country. In this review, we summarize our scientific goals and noteworthy discoveries that exploit new territories of systematic investigations on basic and applied biology of rice and other major cereal crops.

  14. Signatures of cytoplasmic proteins in the exoproteome distinguish community- and hospital-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300 lineages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mekonnen, Solomon A.; Palma Medina, Laura M.; Glasner, Corinna

    2017-01-01

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the common name for a heterogeneous group of highly drug-resistant staphylococci. Two major MRSA classes are distinguished based on epidemiology, namely community-associated (CA) and hospital-associated (HA) MRSA. Notably, the distinction of CA......- and HA-MRSA based on molecular traits remains difficult due to the high genomic plasticity of S. aureus. Here we sought to pinpoint global distinguishing features of CA- and HA-MRSA through a comparative genome and proteome analysis of the notorious MRSA lineage USA300. We show for the first time that CA......- and HA-MRSA isolates can be distinguished by 2 distinct extracellular protein abundance clusters that are predictive not only for epidemiologic behavior, but also for their growth and survival within epithelial cells. This ‘exoproteome profiling’ also groups more distantly related HA-MRSA isolates...

  15. Co-Learning and Knowledge Diffusion in Public Procurement of Sustainable Innovation Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rolfstam, Max

    to identify and remedy implementation barriers academics and policy analysts have studied (e.g.) the role of the public procurement law and public agencies risk averseness. Distinguishable is also a tension between two approaches how to stimulate the diffusion of more innovation-friendly procurement practices......, firms and NGO’s in Denmark and Sweden interested in the innovation potential that prevails in municipalities’ challenges in relation to climate change and resource use/ waste handling. A central variable looked into is the opportunities available in the new EU Public procurement directives, i.e. how...... in order to support the project. This creates a set-up facilitating co-learning in a situation where not all aspects of the final solutions are known. Based on qualitative case material (observation studies, interviews, workshop material) from the Cleantech TIPP project, the paper attempts to summarise...

  16. Analysis of Financial Ratio to Distinguish Indonesia Joint Venture General Insurance Company Performance using Discriminant Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subiakto Soekarno

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Insurance industry stands as a service business that plays a significant role in Indonesiaeconomical condition. The development of insurance industry in Indonesia, both of generalinsurance and life insurance, has increased very fast. The general insurance industry itselfdivided into two major players which are local private company and Joint Venture Company.Lately, the use of statistical techniques and financial ratios models to asses financial institutionsuch as insurance company have been used as one of the appropriate combination inpredicting the performance of an industry. This research aims to distinguish between JointVenture General Insurance Companies that have a good performance and those who are lessperforming well using Discriminant Analysis. Further, the findings led that DiscriminantAnalysis is able to distinguish Joint Venture General Insurance Companies that have a goodperformance and those who are not performing well. There are also six ratios which are RBC,Technical Reserve to Investment Ratio, Debt Ratio, Return on Equity, Loss Ratio, and ExpenseRatio that stand as the most influential ratios to distinguish the performance of joint venturegeneral insurance companies. In addition, the result suggest business people to be concernedtoward those six ratios, to increase their companies’ performance.Key words: general insurance, financial ratio, discriminant analysis

  17. PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM: STUDY IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES OF INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Eduardo Mondin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to analyze the structuring stage and use of information systems in project management in small and medium-sized companies in the business of providing services in industrial automation. Information systems applied to project management - SIGPs can contribute to decision-making on projects, assisting in the management of reliable information in real time, making it a natural choice for most companies looking to increase performance management of their projects. The research method used was multiple case study, in line with the explanatory nature of the study, when to investigate and perform analytical comparisons on how small and medium-sized enterprises of the studied branch structure and use the SIGPs, considering the contemporary character theme and the possibility of direct observation of the object of study, in addition to conducting interviews. The main results were identified the main gaps in project management in companies and research as the management characteristics of these SMEs have influence in how their projects are managed. It was observed that there is a predominance of features involving scope, time and resources on projects, whereas aspects related to costs, risks, quality, procurement and communications have unimpressive results in relation to structuring.

  18. Goleman-Boyatzis Model of Emotional Intelligence for Dealing with Problems in Project Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Vincent Livesey

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available As projects grow in size and complexity the sizes of teams needed to manage them also increases. This places greater emphasis on the need for the project manager to develop people management skills, commonly called soft skills, of which emotional intelligence (EI has been recognised as an important component. The objective of this research was to investigate the relevance of the Goleman-Boyatzis model of EI in dealing with the problems in large projects identified via a literature review. To achieve this end, a Delphi study using project managers who had been involved in the management of projects in excess of $500 million was used. The responses from the Delphi panel were analysed and the results showed that the competencies contained in the Goleman-Boyatzis model had a relevance of 95% or greater to the problems presented to the panel. A ranking of the various competencies contained within the model was also developed, some competencies being found to be more important than others. By confirming the importance of emotional intelligence, as described by the model, this research adds to the understanding of the necessary skills needed by a project manager to successfully manage large projects.

  19. Brain-mapping projects using the common marmoset.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okano, Hideyuki; Mitra, Partha

    2015-04-01

    Globally, there is an increasing interest in brain-mapping projects, including the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative project in the USA, the Human Brain Project (HBP) in Europe, and the Brain Mapping by Integrated Neurotechnologies for Disease Studies (Brain/MINDS) project in Japan. These projects aim to map the structure and function of neuronal circuits to ultimately understand the vast complexity of the human brain. Brain/MINDS is focused on structural and functional mapping of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) brain. This non-human primate has numerous advantages for brain mapping, including a well-developed frontal cortex and a compact brain size, as well as the availability of transgenic technologies. In the present review article, we discuss strategies for structural and functional mapping of the marmoset brain and the relation of the common marmoset to other animals models. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. Julio J. Ramirez: Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    The Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology is given in recognition of the efforts of psychologists who have made distinguished contributions to education and training, who have produced imaginative innovations, or who have been involved in the developmental phases of programs in education and training in psychology. The Career designation is added to the award at the discretion of the Education and Training Awards Committee to recognize continuous significant contributions made over a lifelong career in psychology. The 2014 recipient of this award is Julio J. Ramirez, for "creating a national infrastructure to support education and training in behavioral neuroscience and biological psychology, for playing a seminal role in creating an undergraduate neuroscience education journal, and for creating a nationally recognized mentoring program for junior faculty in the neurosciences, particularly with underrepresented groups." Ramirez's award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  1. Belief in a Just What? Demystifying Just World Beliefs by Distinguishing Sources of Justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stroebe, Katherine; Postmes, Tom; Täuber, Susanne; Stegeman, Alwin; John, Melissa-Sue

    2015-01-01

    People’s Belief in a Just World (BJW) plays an important role in coping with misfortune and unfairness. This paper demonstrates that understanding of the BJW concept, and its consequences for behavior, is enhanced if we specify what (or who) the source of justice might be. We introduce a new scale, the 5-Dimensional Belief in a Just Treatment Scale (BJT5), which distinguishes five causal dimensions of BJW (God, Nature, Other People, Self, Chance). We confirm the 5-factor structure of the BJT5. We then address whether the BJW should be considered a uni- and/or multi-dimensional construct and find support for our multi-dimensional approach. Finally, we demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity with respect to important correlates of BJW as well as action in response to important negative life events and societal attitudes. This work illustrates the importance of distinguishing causal dimensions with regard to who distributes justice. PMID:25803025

  2. [Validation of a clinical prediction rule to distinguish bacterial from aseptic meningitis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agüero, Gonzalo; Davenport, María C; Del Valle, María de la P; Gallegos, Paulina; Kannemann, Ana L; Bokser, Vivian; Ferrero, Fernando

    2010-02-01

    Despite most meningitis are not bacterial, antibiotics are usually administered on admission because bacterial meningitis is difficult to be rule-out. Distinguishing bacterial from aseptic meningitis on admission could avoid inappropriate antibiotic use and hospitalization. We aimed to validate a clinical prediction rule to distinguish bacterial from aseptic meningitis in children, on arriving to the emergency room. This prospective study included patients aged or = 1000 cells/mm(3), CSF protein > or = 80 mg/dl, peripheral blood absolute neutrophil count > or = 10.000/mm(3), seizure = 1 point each. Sensitivity (S), specificity (E), positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR) of the BMS to predict bacterial meningitis were calculated. Seventy patients with meningitis were included (14 bacterial meningitis). When BMS was calculated, 25 patients showed a BMS= 0 points, 11 BMS= 1 point, and 34 BMS > or = 2 points. A BMS = 0 showed S: 100%, E: 44%, VPP: 31%, VPN: 100%, RVP: 1,81 RVN: 0. A BMS > or = 2 predicted bacterial meningitis with S: 100%, E: 64%, VPP: 41%, VPN: 100%, PLR: 2.8, NLR:0. Using BMS was simple, and allowed identifying children with very low risk of bacterial meningitis. It could be a useful tool to assist clinical decision making.

  3. Diagnostic value of virtual touch tissue imaging quantification for benign and malignant breast lesions with different sizes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hui; Zhao, Li-Xia; Xu, Guang; Yao, Ming-Hua; Zhang, Ai-Hong; Xu, Hui-Xiong; Wu, Rong

    2015-01-01

    The study was to explore diagnostic value of the virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ) in distinguishing benign and malignant breast lesions of variable sizes. We performed conventional ultrasound and VTIQ in 139 breast lesions. The lesions were categorized into three groups according to size (group 1, ≤ 10 mm; group 2, 10-20 mm; and group 3, > 20 mm), and their mean, min, and max shear wave velocities (SWVs) were measured. Diagnoses were confirmed by pathological examination after surgery or needle biopsy. Receiver-operating characteristic curves (ROC) were constructed to determine the optimum cut-off values, calculate the area under curve (AUC), the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for each velocity. For all groups, the mean, min, and max SWVs of malignant lesions were significantly higher than those of benign lesions (P < 0.05). The cut-off values of mean, min, and max SWVs were not significantly different among the three groups. In addition, the diagnostic performance of mean, min, and max SWV values is analogous, regardless of lesion size. In conclusion, VTIQ is a strong complement to conventional ultrasound, which is a promising method in the differential diagnosis of the breast lesions with different sizes. Further studies validate our results as well as reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, regardless of size is warranted. PMID:26550234

  4. Innovation capabilities and challenges for energy smartdevelopment in medium sized European cities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lindhult, Erik; Campillo, J.; Dahlquist, E.; Read, S.A.

    2016-01-01

    Transition towards becoming Energy smart city integrating different areas of energy production, distribution and use in a community requires a spectrum of capabilities. The paper reports on findings from the EU planning project PLEEC, involving six medium sized European cities. The purpose of the

  5. How bees distinguish black from white

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horridge A

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Adrian Horridge Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaAbstract: Bee eyes have photoreceptors for ultraviolet, green, and blue wavelengths that are excited by reflected white but not by black. With ultraviolet reflections excluded by the apparatus, bees can learn to distinguish between black, gray, and white, but theories of color vision are clearly of no help in explaining how they succeed. Human vision sidesteps the issue by constructing black and white in the brain. Bees have quite different and accessible mechanisms. As revealed by extensive tests of trained bees, bees learned two strong signals displayed on either target. The first input was the position and a measure of the green receptor modulation at the vertical edges of a black area, which included a measure of the angular width between the edges of black. They also learned the average position and total amount of blue reflected from white areas. These two inputs were sufficient to help decide which of two targets held the reward of sugar solution, but the bees cared nothing for the black or white as colors, or the direction of contrast at black/white edges. These findings provide a small step toward understanding, modeling, and implementing in silicon the anti-intuitive visual system of the honeybee, in feeding behavior. Keywords: vision, detectors, black/white, color, visual processing

  6. The particle size distribution of fragmented melt debris from molten fuel coolant interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fletcher, D.F.

    1984-04-01

    Results are presented of a study of the types of statistical distributions which arise when examining debris from Molten Fuel Coolant Interactions. The lognormal probability distribution and the modifications of this distribution which result from the mixing of two distributions or the removal of some debris are described. Methods of fitting these distributions to real data are detailed. A two stage fragmentation model has been developed in an attempt to distinguish between the debris produced by coarse mixing and fine scale fragmentation. However, attempts to fit this model to real data have proved unsuccessful. It was found that the debris particle size distributions from experiments at Winfrith with thermite generated uranium dioxide/molybdenum melts were Upper Limit Lognormal. (U.K.)

  7. Carbon burnout project-coal fineness effects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mike Celechin [Powergen UK plc, Nottingham (United Kingdom)

    2004-02-01

    The aim of this DTI project is to establish good quality plant and rig data to demonstrate the effect of changing coal fineness on carbon burnout in a controlled manner, which can then be used to support computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and engineering models of the process. The modelling elements of the project were completed by Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd., and validated using the data produced by the other partners. The full scale plant trials were successfully completed at Powergen's Kingsnorth Power Station and a full set of tests were also completed on Powergen's CTF. During these test both carbon-in-ash and NOx levels were seen to increase with increasing fuel particle size. Laboratory analysis of fly ash produced during the plant and rig trials revealed that only small differences in char morphology and reactivity could be detected in samples produced under significantly different operating conditions. Thermo Gravimetric Analysis was also undertaken on a range of PF size fractions collected form mills operating at different conditions. 3 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab.

  8. A pilot study for distinguishing chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and oncocytoma using second harmonic generation imaging and convolutional neural network analysis of collagen fibrillar structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judd, Nicolas; Smith, Jason; Jain, Manu; Mukherjee, Sushmita; Icaza, Michael; Gallagher, Ryan; Szeligowski, Richard; Wu, Binlin

    2018-02-01

    A clear distinction between oncocytoma and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC) is critically important for clinical management of patients. But it may often be difficult to distinguish the two entities based on hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stained sections alone. In this study, second harmonic generation (SHG) signals which are very specific to collagen were used to image collagen fibril structure. We conduct a pilot study to develop a new diagnostic method based on the analysis of collagen associated with kidney tumors using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). CNNs comprise a type of machine learning process well-suited for drawing information out of images. This study examines a CNN model's ability to differentiate between oncocytoma (benign), and chRCC (malignant) kidney tumor images acquired with second harmonic generation (SHG), which is very specific for collagen matrix. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that attempts to distinguish the two entities based on their collagen structure. The model developed from this study demonstrated an overall classification accuracy of 68.7% with a specificity of 66.3% and sensitivity of 74.6%. While these results reflect an ability to classify the kidney tumors better than chance, further studies will be carried out to (a) better realize the tumor classification potential of this method with a larger sample size and (b) combining SHG with two-photon excited intrinsic fluorescence signal to achieve better classification.

  9. Gay, Mostly Gay, or Bisexual Leaning Gay? An Exploratory Study Distinguishing Gay Sexual Orientations Among Young Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savin-Williams, Ritch C; Cash, Brian M; McCormack, Mark; Rieger, Gerulf

    2017-01-01

    This exploratory study assessed physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures of sexual and romantic indicators of sexual orientation identities among young men (mean age = 21.9 years) with predominant same-sex sexual and romantic interests: those who described themselves as bisexual leaning gay (n = 11), mostly gay (n = 17), and gay (n = 47). Although they were not significantly distinguishable based on physiological (pupil dilation) responses to nude stimuli, on behavioral and self-report measures a descending linear trend toward the less preferred sex (female) was significant regarding sexual attraction, fantasy, genital contact, infatuation, romantic relationship, sex appeal, and gazing time to the porn stimuli. Results supported a continuum of sexuality with distinct subgroups only for the self-report measure of sexual attraction. The other behavioral and self-report measures followed the same trend but did not significantly differ between the bisexual leaning gay and mostly gay groups, likely the result of small sample size. Results suggest that romantic indicators are as good as sexual measures in assessing sexual orientation and that a succession of logically following groups from bisexual leaning gay, mostly gay, to gay. Whether these three groups are discrete or overlapping needs further research.

  10. Reality check in the project management of EU funding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Chenbo

    2015-04-01

    A talk addressing workload, focuses, impacts and outcomes of project management (hereinafter PM) Two FP7 projects serve as objects for investigation. In the Earth Science sector NACLIM is a large scale collaborative project with 18 partners from North and West Europe. NACLIM aims at investigating and quantifying the predictability of the North Atlantic/Arctic sea surface temperature, sea ice variability and change on seasonal to decadal time scales which have a crucial impact on weather and climate in Europe. PRIMO from Political Science is a global PhD program funded by Marie Curie ITN instrument with 11 partners from Europe, Eurasia and BRICS countries focusing on the rise of regional powers and its impact on international politics at large. Although the two projects are granted by different FP7 funding instruments, stem from different cultural backgrounds and have different goals, the inherent processes and the key focus of the PM are quite alike. Only the operational management is at some point distinguished from one another. From the administrative point of view, understanding of both EU requirements and the country-specific regulations is essential; it also helps us identifying the grey area in order to carry out the projects more efficiently. The talk will focus on our observation of the day-to-day PM flows - primarily the project implementation - with few particular cases: transparency issues, e.g. priority settings of non-research stakeholders including the conflict in the human resources field, End-User integration, gender issues rising up during a monitoring visit and ethical aspects in field research. Through a brief comparison of both projects we summarize a range of dos and don'ts, an "acting instead of reacting" line of action, and the conclusion to a systematic overall management instead of exclusively project controlling. In a nutshell , the talk aims at providing the audience a summary of the observation in management methodologies and toolkits

  11. Fourier and granulometry methods on 3D images of soil surfaces for evaluating soil aggregate size distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, T.; Green, O.; Munkholm, Lars Juhl

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this research is to present and compare two methods for evaluating soil aggregate size distribution based on high resolution 3D images of the soil surface. The methods for analyzing the images are discrete Fourier transform and granulometry. The results of these methods correlate...... with a measured weight distribution of the soil aggregates. The results have shown that it is possible to distinguish between the cultivated and the uncultivated soil surface. A sensor system suitable for capturing in-situ high resolution 3D images of the soil surface is also described. This sensor system...

  12. Random distribution of nucleoli in metabolic cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beckman, R.J.; Waterman, M.S.

    1977-01-01

    Hasofer (1974) has studied a probabilistic model for the fusion of nucleoli in metabolic cells. The nucleoli are uniformly distributed at points in the nucleus, assumed to be a sphere. The nucleoli grow from a point to a maximum size during interphase, and fusion is said to occur if the nucleoli touch. For this model, Hasofer calculated the probability of fusion and found it much smaller than experimental data would indicate. Experimental data of this type is taken by use of a microscope where a two-dimensional view or projection of the three-dimensional cell is obtained. Hasofer implicitly assumes that actual fusion can be distinguished from the case where the two nucleoli do not touch but their two-dimensional projections overlap. It is assumed, in this letter, that these two cases cannot be distinguished. The probability obtained by Beckman and Waterman is larger than Hasofer's and a much better fit to the experimental data is obtained. Even if true fusion can be unfailingly distinguished from overlap of the two-dimensional projections, it is hoped that these calculations will allow someone to propose the correct (non-uniform) model. It is concluded, for the assumptions used, that there is not sufficient evidence to reject the hypothesis of uniform distribution of the nucleoli.

  13. Kenya geothermal private power project: A prefeasibility study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-10-01

    Twenty-eight geothermal areas in Kenya were evaluated and prioritized for development. The prioritization was based on the potential size, resource temperature, level of exploration risk, location, and exploration/development costs for each geothermal area. Suswa, Eburru and Arus are found to offer the best short-term prospects for successful private power development. It was found that cost per kill developed are significantly lower for the larger (50MW) than for smaller-sized (10 or 20 NW) projects. In addition to plant size, the cost per kill developed is seen to be a function of resource temperature, generation mode (binary or flash cycle) and transmission distance.

  14. Quantitative CT analysis of pulmonary ground-glass opacity nodules for distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma: the added value of using iodine mapping

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Son, Ji Ye; Lee, Ho Yun; Kim, Jae-Hun; Lee, Kyung Soo [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Han, Joungho [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Ji Yun [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kwon, O.J. [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Division of Respiratory and Critical Medicine of the Department of Internal Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shim, Young Mog [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-01-15

    To determine whether quantitative analysis of iodine-enhanced images generated from dual-energy CT (DECT) have added value in distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) showing ground-glass nodule (GGN). Thirty-four patients with 39 GGNs were enrolled in this prospective study and underwent DECT followed by complete tumour resection. Various quantitative imaging parameters were assessed, including virtual non-contrast (VNC) imaging and iodine-enhanced imaging. Of all 39 GGNs, four were adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) (10 %), nine were MIA (23 %), and 26 were invasive adenocarcinoma (67 %). When assessing only VNC imaging, multivariate analysis revealed that mass, uniformity, and size-zone variability were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma (odds ratio [OR] = 19.92, P = 0.02; OR = 0.70, P = 0.01; OR = 16.16, P = 0.04, respectively). After assessing iodine-enhanced imaging with VNC imaging, both mass on the VNC imaging and uniformity on the iodine-enhanced imaging were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma (OR = 5.51, P = 0.04 and OR = 0.67, P < 0.01). The power of diagnosing invasive adenocarcinoma was improved after adding the iodine-enhanced imaging parameters versus VNC imaging alone, from 0.888 to 0.959, respectively (P = 0.029). Quantitative analysis using iodine-enhanced imaging metrics versus VNC imaging metrics alone generated from DECT have added value in distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from AIS or MIA. (orig.)

  15. Quantitative CT analysis of pulmonary ground-glass opacity nodules for distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma: the added value of using iodine mapping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Son, Ji Ye; Lee, Ho Yun; Kim, Jae-Hun; Lee, Kyung Soo; Han, Joungho; Jeong, Ji Yun; Kwon, O.J.; Shim, Young Mog

    2016-01-01

    To determine whether quantitative analysis of iodine-enhanced images generated from dual-energy CT (DECT) have added value in distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) showing ground-glass nodule (GGN). Thirty-four patients with 39 GGNs were enrolled in this prospective study and underwent DECT followed by complete tumour resection. Various quantitative imaging parameters were assessed, including virtual non-contrast (VNC) imaging and iodine-enhanced imaging. Of all 39 GGNs, four were adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) (10 %), nine were MIA (23 %), and 26 were invasive adenocarcinoma (67 %). When assessing only VNC imaging, multivariate analysis revealed that mass, uniformity, and size-zone variability were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma (odds ratio [OR] = 19.92, P = 0.02; OR = 0.70, P = 0.01; OR = 16.16, P = 0.04, respectively). After assessing iodine-enhanced imaging with VNC imaging, both mass on the VNC imaging and uniformity on the iodine-enhanced imaging were independent predictors of invasive adenocarcinoma (OR = 5.51, P = 0.04 and OR = 0.67, P < 0.01). The power of diagnosing invasive adenocarcinoma was improved after adding the iodine-enhanced imaging parameters versus VNC imaging alone, from 0.888 to 0.959, respectively (P = 0.029). Quantitative analysis using iodine-enhanced imaging metrics versus VNC imaging metrics alone generated from DECT have added value in distinguishing invasive adenocarcinoma from AIS or MIA. (orig.)

  16. The APACHE Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giacobbe P.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available First, we summarize the four-year long efforts undertaken to build the final setup of the APACHE Project, a photometric transit search for small-size planets orbiting bright, low-mass M dwarfs. Next, we describe the present status of the APACHE survey, officially started in July 2012 at the site of the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley, in the Western Italian Alps. Finally, we briefly discuss the potentially far-reaching consequences of a multi-technique characterization program of the (potentially planet-bearing APACHE targets.

  17. Identification of diagnostic peptide regions that distinguish Zika virus from related mosquito-borne Flaviviruses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra J Lee

    Full Text Available Zika virus (ZIKV is a member of the Flavivirus genus of positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, which includes Dengue, West Nile, Yellow Fever, and other mosquito-borne arboviruses. Infection by ZIKV can be difficult to distinguish from infection by other mosquito-borne Flaviviruses due to high sequence similarity, serum antibody cross-reactivity, and virus co-circulation in endemic areas. Indeed, existing serological methods are not able to consistently differentiate ZIKV from other Flaviviruses, which makes it extremely difficult to accurately calculate the incidence rate of Zika-associated Guillain-Barre in adults, microcephaly in newborns, or asymptomatic infections within a geographical area. In order to identify Zika-specific peptide regions that could be used as serology reagents, we have applied comparative genomics and protein structure analyses to identify amino acid residues that distinguish each of 10 Flavivirus species and subtypes from each other by calculating the specificity, sensitivity, and surface exposure of each residue in relevant target proteins. For ZIKV we identified 104 and 116 15-mer peptides in the E glycoprotein and NS1 non-structural protein, respectively, that contain multiple diagnostic sites and are located in surface-exposed regions in the tertiary protein structure. These sensitive, specific, and surface-exposed peptide regions should serve as useful reagents for seroprevalence studies to better distinguish between prior infections with any of these mosquito-borne Flaviviruses. The development of better detection methods and diagnostic tools will enable clinicians and public health workers to more accurately estimate the true incidence rate of asymptomatic infections, neurological syndromes, and birth defects associated with ZIKV infection.

  18. Semantic size does not matter: "bigger" words are not recognized faster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Sean H K; Yap, Melvin J; Tse, Chi-Shing; Kurby, Christopher A

    2011-06-01

    Sereno, O'Donnell, and Sereno (2009) reported that words are recognized faster in a lexical decision task when their referents are physically large than when they are small, suggesting that "semantic size" might be an important variable that should be considered in visual word recognition research and modelling. We sought to replicate their size effect, but failed to find a significant latency advantage in lexical decision for "big" words (cf. "small" words), even though we used the same word stimuli as Sereno et al. and had almost three times as many subjects. We also examined existing data from visual word recognition megastudies (e.g., English Lexicon Project) and found that semantic size is not a significant predictor of lexical decision performance after controlling for the standard lexical variables. In summary, the null results from our lab experiment--despite a much larger subject sample size than Sereno et al.--converged with our analysis of megastudy lexical decision performance, leading us to conclude that semantic size does not matter for word recognition. Discussion focuses on why semantic size (unlike some other semantic variables) is unlikely to play a role in lexical decision.

  19. In a distinguishing spacetime the horismos relation generates the causal relation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minguzzi, E

    2009-01-01

    It is proved that in a distinguishing spacetime the horismos relation E + = J + /I + generates the causal relation J + . In other words two causally related events are joined by a chain of horismotically related events, or again, the causal relation is the smallest transitive relation containing the horismos relation. The result is sharp in the sense that the distinction cannot be weakened to future or past distinction. Finally, it is proved that a spacetime in which the horismos relation generates the causal relation is necessarily non-total imprisoning.

  20. Alpha spectrometric characterization of process-related particle size distributions from active particle sampling at the Los Alamos National Laboratory uranium foundry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plionis, Alexander A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Peterson, Dominic S [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Tandon, Lav [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Lamont, Stephen P [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2009-01-01

    Uranium particles within the respirable size range pose a significant hazard to the health and safety of workers. Significant differences in the deposition and incorporation patterns of aerosols within the respirable range can be identified and integrated into sophisticated health physics models. Data characterizing the uranium particle size distribution resulting from specific foundry-related processes are needed. Using personal air sampling cascade impactors, particles collected from several foundry processes were sorted by activity median aerodynamic diameter onto various Marple substrates. After an initial gravimetric assessment of each impactor stage, the substrates were analyzed by alpha spectrometry to determine the uranium content of each stage. Alpha spectrometry provides rapid nondestructive isotopic data that can distinguish process uranium from natural sources and the degree of uranium contribution to the total accumulated particle load. In addition, the particle size bins utilized by the impactors provide adequate resolution to determine if a process particle size distribution is: lognormal, bimodal, or trimodal. Data on process uranium particle size values and distributions facilitate the development of more sophisticated and accurate models for internal dosimetry, resulting in an improved understanding of foundry worker health and safety.

  1. The underestimated role of temperature-oxygen relationship in large-scale studies on size-to-temperature response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walczyńska, Aleksandra; Sobczyk, Łukasz

    2017-09-01

    The observation that ectotherm size decreases with increasing temperature (temperature-size rule; TSR) has been widely supported. This phenomenon intrigues researchers because neither its adaptive role nor the conditions under which it is realized are well defined. In light of recent theoretical and empirical studies, oxygen availability is an important candidate for understanding the adaptive role behind TSR. However, this hypothesis is still undervalued in TSR studies at the geographical level. We reanalyzed previously published data about the TSR pattern in diatoms sampled from Icelandic geothermal streams, which concluded that diatoms were an exception to the TSR. Our goal was to incorporate oxygen as a factor in the analysis and to examine whether this approach would change the results. Specifically, we expected that the strength of size response to cold temperatures would be different than the strength of response to hot temperatures, where the oxygen limitation is strongest. By conducting a regression analysis for size response at the community level, we found that diatoms from cold, well-oxygenated streams showed no size-to-temperature response, those from intermediate temperature and oxygen conditions showed reverse TSR, and diatoms from warm, poorly oxygenated streams showed significant TSR. We also distinguished the roles of oxygen and nutrition in TSR. Oxygen is a driving factor, while nutrition is an important factor that should be controlled for. Our results show that if the geographical or global patterns of TSR are to be understood, oxygen should be included in the studies. This argument is important especially for predicting the size response of ectotherms facing climate warming.

  2. Do female newts modify thermoregulatory behavior to manipulate egg size?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Toufarová, E.; Gvoždík, Lumír

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 57, April (2016), s. 72-77 ISSN 0306-4565 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP506/10/2170; GA ČR(CZ) GA15-07140S Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Amphibians * Egg size * Gravidity * Jelly coat * Mother-offspring conflict * Oviparity * Oviposition rate * Parental effect * Preferred temperature Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.157, year: 2016

  3. Size Determination of Au Aerosol Nanoparticles by Off-Line TEM/STEM Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson, Lisa S.; Deppert, Knut; Malm, Jan-Olle

    2006-12-01

    Determination of particle size distributions of Au aerosol nanoparticles has been performed by a TEM/STEM investigation. The particles are generated by an evaporation/condensation method and are size-selected by differential mobility analyzers (DMA) based on their electrical mobility. Off-line TEM measurements resulted in equivalent projected area diameters assuming that the particles are spherical in shape. In this paper critical factors such as magnification calibration, sampling, image analysis, beam exposure and, particle shape are treated. The study shows that the measures of central tendency; mean, median and mode, are equal as expected from a narrow size distribution. Moreover, the correlation between TEM/STEM and DMA are good, in practice 1:1. Also, STEM has the advantage over TEM due to enhanced contrast and is proposed as an alternative route for determination of particle size distributions of nanoparticles with lower contrast.

  4. Size Determination of Au Aerosol Nanoparticles by Off-Line TEM/STEM Observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karlsson, Lisa S.; Deppert, Knut; Malm, Jan-Olle

    2006-01-01

    Determination of particle size distributions of Au aerosol nanoparticles has been performed by a TEM/STEM investigation. The particles are generated by an evaporation/condensation method and are size-selected by differential mobility analyzers (DMA) based on their electrical mobility. Off-line TEM measurements resulted in equivalent projected area diameters assuming that the particles are spherical in shape. In this paper critical factors such as magnification calibration, sampling, image analysis, beam exposure and, particle shape are treated. The study shows that the measures of central tendency; mean, median and mode, are equal as expected from a narrow size distribution. Moreover, the correlation between TEM/STEM and DMA are good, in practice 1:1. Also, STEM has the advantage over TEM due to enhanced contrast and is proposed as an alternative route for determination of particle size distributions of nanoparticles with lower contrast

  5. Distinguishing community benefits: tax exemption versus organizational legitimacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrd, James D; Landry, Amy

    2012-01-01

    US policymakers continue to call into question the tax-exempt status of hospitals. As nonprofit tax-exempt entities, hospitals are required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report the type and cost of community benefits they provide. Institutional theory indicates that organizations derive organizational legitimacy from conforming to the expectations of their environment. Expectations from the state and federal regulators (the IRS, state and local taxing authorities in particular) and the community require hospitals to provide community benefits to achieve legitimacy. This article examines community benefit through an institutional theory framework, which includes regulative (laws and regulation), normative (certification and accreditation), and cultural-cognitive (relationship with the community including the provision of community benefits) pillars. Considering a review of the results of a 2006 IRS study of tax-exempt hospitals, the authors propose a model of hospital community benefit behaviors that distinguishes community benefits between cost-quantifiable activities appropriate for justifying tax exemption and unquantifiable activities that only contribute to hospitals' legitimacy.

  6. High Heat Load Diamond Monochromator Project at ESRF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van aerenbergh, P.; Detlefs, C.; Haertwig, J.; Lafford, T. A.; Masiello, F.; Roth, T.; Schmid, W.; Wattecamps, P.; Zhang, L.

    2010-01-01

    Due to its outstanding thermal properties, diamond is an attractive alternative to silicon as a monochromator material for high intensity X-ray beams. To date, however, the practical applications have been limited by the small size and relatively poor crystallographic quality of the crystals available. The ESRF Diamond Project Group has studied the perfection of diamonds in collaboration with industry and universities. The group has also designed and tested different stress-free mounting techniques to integrate small diamonds into larger X-ray optical elements. We now propose to develop a water-cooled Bragg-Bragg double crystal monochromator using diamond (111) crystals. It will be installed on the ESRF undulator beamline, ID06, for testing under high heat load. This monochromator will be best suited for the low energy range, typically from ∼3.4 keV to 15 keV, due to the small size of the diamonds available and the size of the beam footprint. This paper presents stress-free mounting techniques studied using X-ray diffraction imaging, and their thermal-mechanical analysis by finite element modelling, as well as the status of the ID06 monochromator project.

  7. Distinguishing psychological characteristics of expert cricket batsmen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissensteiner, Juanita R; Abernethy, Bruce; Farrow, Damian; Gross, John

    2012-01-01

    This paper sought to determine the psychological characteristics and skills that are fundamental to batting success in the sport of cricket. Following on from the findings of an earlier qualitative investigation which suggested that a favourable mix of psychological attributes and skills are critical to high performance in batting (Weissensteiner et al.(10)), adult-aged batsmen of two different skill levels (highly skilled n=11; lesser skilled n=10) completed a battery of psychological tests that included measures of mental toughness (Mental Toughness Inventory), perfectionism (Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale), coping ability (Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28), and optimism (Attributional Styles Questionnaire). Contrary to the research hypothesis, it was found that the highly skilled batsmen were only distinguishable from batsmen of lesser skill by their higher degree of global mental toughness. The skilled batsmen scored significantly higher on mental toughness dimensions relating to motivation (Personal Bests, Task Value and Commitment), coping skill (Perseverance) and self-belief (Potential). If mental toughness can be reliably predicted at an earlier age, it may be an attribute worthy of inclusion in future talent identification and development programs. Copyright © 2011 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Model-based sphere localization (MBSL) in x-ray projections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawall, Stefan; Maier, Joscha; Leinweber, Carsten; Funck, Carsten; Kuntz, Jan; Kachelrieß, Marc

    2017-08-01

    The detection of spherical markers in x-ray projections is an important task in a variety of applications, e.g. geometric calibration and detector distortion correction. Therein, the projection of the sphere center on the detector is of particular interest as the used spherical beads are no ideal point-like objects. Only few methods have been proposed to estimate this respective position on the detector with sufficient accuracy and surrogate positions, e.g. the center of gravity, are used, impairing the results of subsequent algorithms. We propose to estimate the projection of the sphere center on the detector using a simulation-based method matching an artificial projection to the actual measurement. The proposed algorithm intrinsically corrects for all polychromatic effects included in the measurement and absent in the simulation by a polynomial which is estimated simultaneously. Furthermore, neither the acquisition geometry nor any object properties besides the fact that the object is of spherical shape need to be known to find the center of the bead. It is shown by simulations that the algorithm estimates the center projection with an error of less than 1% of the detector pixel size in case of realistic noise levels and that the method is robust to the sphere material, sphere size, and acquisition parameters. A comparison to three reference methods using simulations and measurements indicates that the proposed method is an order of magnitude more accurate compared to these algorithms. The proposed method is an accurate algorithm to estimate the center of spherical markers in CT projections in the presence of polychromatic effects and noise.

  9. Attractive and climate-friendly medium-sized cities; Attraktive og klimavennlige mellomstore byer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tennoey, Aud

    2012-07-01

    Ministry of the Environment (MD) wanted an overview of current knowledge of climate-friendly and attractive urban development in medium-sized cities (10 - 50 000 inhabitants). This report presents and discusses knowledge between major cities' situation and challenges of land use and transport development to reduce car traffic and greenhouse gas emissions and on urban development for more attractive cities. A main conclusion is that there are major gaps in knowledge and opportunities for improvement. If those covered will be far better opportunities for planners, local authorities and others may be able to contribute to more climate-friendly and attractive medium-sized cities.The report is part of the project Comprehensive information pack for the status of knowledge from research on urban development. The project has also prepared a report entitled Planning for attractive urban environment. The reports are intended to complement each other and should be seen in context.(eb)

  10. Bernice Lott: Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2012

    2012-01-01

    Presents a short biography of the winner of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. The 2012 winner is Bernice Lott. Lott's commitment to the public interest has always guided her career, as her groundbreaking research on gender, ethnicity, and race…

  11. Genome Sizes in Hepatica Mill: (Ranunculaceae Show a Loss of DNA, Not a Gain, in Polyploids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. J. M. Zonneveld

    2010-01-01

    , and a possible pentaploid. The somatic nuclear DNA contents (2C-value, as measured by flow cytometry with propidium iodide, were shown to range from 33 to 80 pg. The Asiatic and American species, often considered subspecies of H. nobilis, could be clearly distinguished from European H. nobilis. DNA content confirmed the close relationships in the Asiatic species, and these are here considered as subspecies of H. asiatica. Parents for the allotetraploid species could be suggested based on their nuclear DNA content. Contrary to the increase in genome size suggested earlier for Hepatica, a significant (6%–14% loss of nuclear DNA in the natural allopolyploids was found.

  12. Project on Social Architecture in Education. Final Report. Part III: Case Studies. Chapter 9: Arts Co-op: An Experimental High School Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Ellen Wahl

    This document contains chapter 9 of the final report of the Project on Social Architecture in Education. Chapter 9 is about a regional experimental high school program for the arts. Several features distinguished Arts Co-op from the other schools in the study. For one, it was a special purpose school, focused on the arts, and not offering a…

  13. RISK MANAGEMENT PROJECTS EVALUATION OF INNOVATION IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-HIGH TECHNOLOGY USING THE PERSPECTIVE OF PRISM METHODOLOGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taciana de Barros Jerônimo

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the failures of the activity of project management in small and medium-sized high-tech firms, using the tool PRISM. This postmortem methodology, proposed by Gary Pan, Shan L. and Ray Hackney Pan, analyzes the interactions between the components of the project during the exchange relationship between the project organization, information system and the users. Thus, the contribution of this work is to allow a formal analysis of the relationship between the sequence of events development projects into an innovative view, that provide insights into the potential success or failure of the project on medium-sized high-tech firms (whose the acronym is PMET.

  14. APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research: Cameron J. Camp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. The 2017 recipient is Cameron J. Camp, whose innovative programs have informed psychologists in working with dementia patients to improve their living skills and enhance their independence. Camp's award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. CooMan - a global collaborative project management system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souza, J.M. de; Palma, S.

    1994-01-01

    Project Coordination and Management have long been recognized as an area with growing problems and unsatisfactory solutions. Conciliating flexibility with target achievements is historically the main problem to face. The difficulties have been growing at more than linear ratio with the size and complexity of the Projects being developed in the present days. The HEP communities suffer additional challenges because of the distributed nature of the collaborations, the novelty of each project; and the less authoritarian form of leadership and management of team and individual. This prevents the adoption of more centralized focus on decision. CooMan intends to be a Global Collaborative Project Management System. This paper discusses the basic aspects of the concepts involved, outlining how task coordination, acts of speech, and World-Wide hyper media can be used to support project management activities. A distributed tool to implement such proposition is described, and a first prototype is presented

  16. Mapping groundwater quality distinguishing geogenic and anthropogenic contribution using NBL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preziosi, Elisabetta; Ducci, Daniela; Condesso de Melo, Maria Teresa; Parrone, Daniele; Sellerino, Mariangela; Ghergo, Stefano; Oliveira, Joana; Ribeiro, Luis

    2015-04-01

    Groundwaters are threatened by anthropic activities and pollution is interesting a large number of aquifers worldwide. Qualitative and quantitative monitoring is required to assess the status and track its evolution in time and space especially where anthropic pressures are stronger. Up to now, groundwater quality mapping has been performed separately from the assessment of its natural status, i.e. the definition of the natural background level of a particular element in a particular area or groundwater body. The natural background level (NBL) of a substance or element allows to distinguish anthropogenic pollution from contamination of natural origin in a population of groundwater samples. NBLs are the result of different atmospheric, geological, chemical and biological interaction processes during groundwater infiltration and circulation. There is an increasing need for the water managers to have sound indications on good quality groundwater exploitation. Indeed the extension of a groundwater body is often very large, in the order of tens or hundreds of square km. How to select a proper location for good quality groundwater abstraction is often limited to a question of facility for drilling (access, roads, authorizations, etc.) or at the most related to quantitative aspects driven by geophysical exploration (the most promising from a transmissibility point of view). So how to give indications to the administrators and water managers about the exploitation of good quality drinking water? In the case of anthropic contamination, how to define which area is to be restored and to which threshold (e.g. background level) should the concentration be lowered through the restoration measures? In the framework of a common project between research institutions in Italy (funded by CNR) and Portugal (funded by FCT), our objective is to establish a methodology aiming at merging together 1) the evaluation of NBL and 2) the need to take into account the drinking water standards

  17. About Nano-JASMINE Satellite System and Project Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sako, Nobutada

    Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory, The University of Tokyo (ISSL) and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAO) have been developing a small infrared astrometry satellite named “Nano-JASMINE”. The satellite size is about 50cm cubic and 20kg, which plays a pre-cursor role of JASMINE Project which is programmed by NAO and JAXA. In addition, since there has been only one astrometry satellite HIPPARCOS by ESA in the past, Nano-JASMINE is also expected to achieve certain scientific results in the field of astrometry. In this project, ISSL aims to develop new advanced small satellite bus system whose performance is comparable to that of 100-500kg sized satellites, including attitude stability of 1 arc-second and thermal stability of the mission subsystem of 1 mK. This paper overviews the Nano-JASMINE bus system with emphasis on attitude and thermal control systems.

  18. Abelian projection at the multi-instanton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukushima, M.

    2001-01-01

    We study full non-Abelian, Abelian projected lattice field configurations built up from random instanton gas configurations in the continuum. We study the instanton contribution to the Q-barQ force with respect to whether various versions of Abelian dominance hold. We show that the lattice used to discretize the instanton gas configurations has to be sufficiently coarse (a ≅ 2ρ-bar compared with the instanton size ρ-bar) such that maximal Abelian gauge projection as well as the monopole gas contribution to the Q-barQ force reproduce the non-Abelian instanton-mediated force in the intermediate range of linear quasi-confinement. (author)

  19. WormSizer: high-throughput analysis of nematode size and shape.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brad T Moore

    Full Text Available The fundamental phenotypes of growth rate, size and morphology are the result of complex interactions between genotype and environment. We developed a high-throughput software application, WormSizer, which computes size and shape of nematodes from brightfield images. Existing methods for estimating volume either coarsely model the nematode as a cylinder or assume the worm shape or opacity is invariant. Our estimate is more robust to changes in morphology or optical density as it only assumes radial symmetry. This open source software is written as a plugin for the well-known image-processing framework Fiji/ImageJ. It may therefore be extended easily. We evaluated the technical performance of this framework, and we used it to analyze growth and shape of several canonical Caenorhabditis elegans mutants in a developmental time series. We confirm quantitatively that a Dumpy (Dpy mutant is short and fat and that a Long (Lon mutant is long and thin. We show that daf-2 insulin-like receptor mutants are larger than wild-type upon hatching but grow slow, and WormSizer can distinguish dauer larvae from normal larvae. We also show that a Small (Sma mutant is actually smaller than wild-type at all stages of larval development. WormSizer works with Uncoordinated (Unc and Roller (Rol mutants as well, indicating that it can be used with mutants despite behavioral phenotypes. We used our complete data set to perform a power analysis, giving users a sense of how many images are needed to detect different effect sizes. Our analysis confirms and extends on existing phenotypic characterization of well-characterized mutants, demonstrating the utility and robustness of WormSizer.

  20. Holistic Care in the US Military I-The Epidaurus Project: An Initiative in Holistic Medicine for the Military Health System, 2001-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foote, Frederick O; Bulger, Roger J; Frampton, Susan B; Pellegrino, Edmund D

    2012-05-01

    This article describes the history and findings of the Epidaurus Project, a Uniformed Services University-affiliated project to bring holistic care and evidence-based design into the Military Health System (MHS). A distinguished group of civilian thought leaders contributed. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process offered a chance to implement the Epidaurus agenda. A new integrated healthcare delivery system, centered around the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, was the result. These facilities will be templates for a new generation of MHS "healing environments" and a model for innovative systems of healthcare nationwide. The Epidaurus Project represents a significant collaboration between civilian medicine and the military in times of war.

  1. Financing wind projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manson, J.

    2006-01-01

    This presentation reviewed some of the partnership opportunities available from GE Energy. GE Energy's ecomagination commitment has promised to double research investment, make customers true partners and reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). GE Energy's renewable energy team provides a broad range of financial products, and has recently funded 30 wind farms and 2 large solar projects. The company has a diverse portfolio of technology providers and wind regimes, and is increasing their investment in technology. GE Energy recognizes that the wind industry is growing rapidly and has received increased regulatory support that is backed by strong policy and public support. It is expected that Canada will have 3006 wind projects either planned or under construction by 2007. According to GE Energy, successful wind financing is dependent on the location of the site and its wind resources, as well as on the wind developer's power sales agreement. The success of a wind project is also determined by clear financing goals. Site-specific data is needed to determine the quality of wind resource, and off-site data can also be used to provide validation. Proximity to load centres will help to minimize capital costs. Power sales agreements should be based on the project's realistic net capacity factor as well as on the cost of the turbines. The economics of many wind farms is driven by the size of the turbines used. Public consultations are also needed to ensure the success of wind power projects. It was concluded that a good partner will have staying power in the wind power industry, and will understand the time-lines and needs that are peculiar to wind energy developers. refs., tabs., figs

  2. Site characterization activities at Stripa and other Swedish projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahlstroehm, P.E.

    1991-01-01

    The Swedish research programme concerning spent nuclear fuel disposal aims for submitting a siting license application around the year 2000. An important step towards that goal will be the detailed characterization of at least two potential sites in late 1990s. In preparation for such characterization several research projects are conducted. One is the international Stripa Project that includes a site characterization and validation project for a small size granite rock body. The Stripa work also includes further development of instrumentation and measurement techniques. Another project is the Finnsjoen Fracture Zone Project, which is characterizing a subhorizontal zone at depths from 100 to 350 meters. The third project is the new Swedish Hard Rock Laboratory planned at the site of the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant. The preinvestigations and construction of this laboratory include major efforts in development, application and validation of site characterization methodology. (author) 6 figs., 9 refs

  3. Sales strategy in small and medium-sized food companies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Renate; Stacey, Julia; Andersen, Lone Merete Schreiber

    2002-01-01

    All managing teams know that they have to deal with the company's strategy in handling the market. But how do they do it and on the basis of which beleifs and interpretations? A nearly completed PhD project has examined the way in which three small and medium-sized food companies define...... their market, their competitors and customers, and how they create the world they perceive and act in through their own actions....

  4. Marketing plan : Dallas Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) demonstration project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    North Central Texas is a unique region in terms of its combination of recent, current and projected size, growth rate, ethnic diversity, and transportation profile specifically in relation to congestion. This document summarizes a plan to market ...

  5. All projects related to canada | Page 14 | IDRC - International ...

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

    Zambia is experiencing a crisis in terms of the size and deployment of its health workforce. Start Date: January 13, ... Co-management of Natural Resources across Radical Differences : Case Study of the Yshiro (Paraguay). Project. Previous ...

  6. Spectroscopic (multi-energy) CT distinguishes iodine and barium contrast material in MICE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, N.G. [University of Otago, Department of Radiology, Christchurch (New Zealand); Butler, A.P. [University of Otago, Department of Radiology, Christchurch (New Zealand); University of Canterbury, Physics and Astronomy, Christchurch (New Zealand); Scott, N.J.A. [University of Otago, Department of Medicine, Christchurch (New Zealand); Cook, N.J. [Christchurch Hospital, Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Christchurch (New Zealand); Butzer, J.S. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Physics Department, Karlsruhe (Germany); Schleich, N. [University of Canterbury, Physics and Astronomy, Christchurch (New Zealand); Christchurch Hospital, Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Christchurch (New Zealand); Firsching, M. [Friedrich Alexander University, Physics Department, Erlangen (Germany); Grasset, R.; Ruiter, N. de [University of Canterbury, Hitlab NZ, Christchurch (New Zealand); Campbell, M. [European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Physics Section, Geneva (Switzerland); Butler, P.H. [University of Canterbury, Physics and Astronomy, Christchurch (New Zealand)

    2010-09-15

    Spectral CT differs from dual-energy CT by using a conventional X-ray tube and a photon-counting detector. We wished to produce 3D spectroscopic images of mice that distinguished calcium, iodine and barium. We developed a desktop spectral CT, dubbed MARS, based around the Medipix2 photon-counting energy-discriminating detector. The single conventional X-ray tube operated at constant voltage (75 kVp) and constant current (150 {mu}A). We anaesthetised with ketamine six black mice (C57BL/6). We introduced iodinated contrast material and barium sulphate into the vascular system, alimentary tract and respiratory tract as we euthanised them. The mice were preserved in resin and imaged at four detector energy levels from 12 keV to 42 keV to include the K-edges of iodine (33.0 keV) and barium (37.4 keV). Principal component analysis was applied to reconstructed images to identify components with independent energy response, then displayed in 2D and 3D. Iodinated and barium contrast material was spectrally distinct from soft tissue and bone in all six mice. Calcium, iodine and barium were displayed as separate channels on 3D colour images at <55 {mu}m isotropic voxels. Spectral CT distinguishes contrast agents with K-edges only 4 keV apart. Multi-contrast imaging and molecular CT are potential future applications. (orig.)

  7. WHEN CAN GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE OBSERVATIONS DISTINGUISH BETWEEN BLACK HOLES AND NEUTRON STARS?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hannam, Mark; Fairhurst, Stephen; Brown, Duncan A.; Fryer, Chris L.; Harry, Ian W.

    2013-01-01

    Gravitational-wave observations of compact binaries have the potential to uncover the distribution of masses and spins of black holes and neutron stars in the universe. The binary components' physical parameters can be inferred from their effect on the phasing of the gravitational-wave signal, but a partial degeneracy between the components' mass ratio and their spins limits our ability to measure the individual component masses. At the typical signal amplitudes expected by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (signal-to-noise ratios between 10 and 20), we show that it will in many cases be difficult to distinguish whether the components are neutron stars or black holes. We identify when the masses of the binary components could be unambiguously measured outside the range of current observations: a system with a chirp mass M ≤ 0.871 M ☉ would unambiguously contain the smallest-mass neutron star observed, and a system with M ≥ 2.786 M ☉ must contain a black hole. However, additional information would be needed to distinguish between a binary containing two 1.35 M ☉ neutron stars and an exotic neutron-star-black-hole binary. We also identify those configurations that could be unambiguously identified as black hole binaries, and show how the observation of an electromagnetic counterpart to a neutron-star-black-hole binary could be used to constrain the black hole spin.

  8. Thomas Grisso: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    The Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research is given to a psychologist whose research has led to important discoveries or developments in the field of applied psychology. To be eligible, this research should have led to innovative applications in an area of psychological practice, including but not limited to assessment, consultation, instruction, or intervention (either direct or indirect). The 2014 recipient is Thomas Grisso. Grisso "has made seminal contributions to the field of forensic psychology and psychiatry through his internationally renowned program of research, which has directly impacted juvenile justice reform worldwide." Grisso's award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  9. The exact solution and the finite-size behaviour of the Osp(1vertical stroke 2)-invariant spin chain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martins, M.J.

    1995-01-01

    We have solved exactly the Osp(1vertical stroke 2) spin chain by the Bethe ansatz approach. Our solution is based on an equivalence between the Osp(1vertical stroke 2) chain and a certain special limit of the Izergin-Korepin vertex model. The completeness of the Bethe ansatz equations is discussed for a system with four sites and the appearance of special string structures is noted. The Bethe ansatz presents an important phase factor which distinguishes the even and odd sectors of the theory. The finite-size properties are governed by a conformal field theory with central charge c=1. (orig.)

  10. On the monitoring and prediction of flash floods in small and medium-sized catchments - the EXTRUSO project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiemann, Stefan; Eltner, Anette; Sardemann, Hannes; Spieler, Diana; Singer, Thomas; Thanh Luong, Thi; Janabi, Firas Al; Schütze, Niels; Bernard, Lars; Bernhofer, Christian; Maas, Hans-Gerd

    2017-04-01

    Flash floods regularly cause severe socio-economic damage worldwide. In parallel, climate change is very likely to increase the number of such events, due to an increasing frequency of extreme precipitation events (EASAC 2013). Whereas recent work primarily addresses the resilience of large catchment areas, the major impact of hydro-meteorological extremes caused by heavy precipitation is on small areas. Those are very difficult to observe and predict, due to sparse monitoring networks and only few means for hydro-meteorological modelling, especially in small catchment areas. The objective of the EXTRUSO project is to identify and implement appropriate means to close this gap by an interdisciplinary approach, combining comprehensive research expertise from meteorology, hydrology, photogrammetry and geoinformatics. The project targets innovative techniques for achieving spatio-temporal densified monitoring and simulations for the analysis, prediction and warning of local hydro-meteorological extreme events. The following four aspects are of particular interest: 1. The monitoring, analysis and combination of relevant hydro-meteorological parameters from various sources, including existing monitoring networks, ground radar, specific low-cost sensors and crowdsourcing. 2. The determination of relevant hydro-morphological parameters from different photogrammetric sensors (e.g. camera, laser scanner) and sensor platforms (e.g. UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and UWV (unmanned water vehicle)). 3. The continuous hydro-meteorological modelling of precipitation, soil moisture and water flows by means of conceptual and data-driven modelling. 4. The development of a collaborative, web-based service infrastructure as an information and communication point, especially in the case of an extreme event. There are three major applications for the planned information system: First, the warning of local extreme events for the population in potentially affected areas, second, the support

  11. Optical spectroscopy techniques can accurately distinguish benign and malignant renal tumours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couapel, Jean-Philippe; Senhadji, Lotfi; Rioux-Leclercq, Nathalie; Verhoest, Grégory; Lavastre, Olivier; de Crevoisier, Renaud; Bensalah, Karim

    2013-05-01

    WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: There is little known about optical spectroscopy techniques ability to evaluate renal tumours. This study shows for the first time the ability of Raman and optical reflectance spectroscopy to distinguish benign and malignant renal tumours in an ex vivo environment. We plan to develop this optical assistance in the operating room in the near future. To evaluate the ability of Raman spectroscopy (RS) and optical reflectance spectroscopy (ORS) to distinguish benign and malignant renal tumours at surgery. Between March and October 2011, RS and ORS spectra were prospectively acquired on surgical renal specimens removed for suspicion of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Optical measurements were done immediately after surgery. Optical signals were normalised to ensure comparison between spectra. Initial and final portions of each spectrum were removed to avoid artefacts. A support vector machine (SVM) was built and tested using a leave-one-out cross-validation. Classification scores, including accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated on the entire population and in patients with tumours of 700 optical spectra were obtained and submitted to SVM classification. The SVM could recognise benign and malignant renal tumours with an accuracy of 96% (RS) and 88% (ORS) in the whole population and with an accuracy of 93% (RS) and 95% (ORS) in the present subset of small renal tumours (Benign and malignant renal tumours can be accurately discriminated by a combination of RS and ORS. In vivo experiments are needed to further assess the value of optical spectroscopy techniques. © 2012 BJU International.

  12. Can loss of the swallow tail sign help distinguish between Parkinson Disease and the Parkinson-Plus syndromes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oustwani, Christopher Sami; Korutz, Alexander William; Lester, Malisa Siri; Kianirad, Yasaman; Simuni, Tanya; Hijaz, Tarek Aref

    To determine if loss of the swallow tail sign (STS) can distinguish Parkinson Disease (PD) from the Parkinson-Plus syndromes. Twenty-five patients with PD, 21 with Parkinson-Plus syndromes, and 14 control patients were included. Presence of the STS was assessed. The STS was present in 79% of controls, statistically greater than the PD/Parkinson-Plus patients. There was no difference in the presence of the STS between the PD/Parkinson-Plus subgroups or when scanning at 1.5 T or 3 T. Loss of the STS could not distinguish between PD and Parkinson-Plus patients. The STS can be identified at both 1.5 T and 3 T. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. The doubly conditioned frequency spectrum does not distinguish between ancient population structure and hybridization

    KAUST Repository

    Eriksson, Anders

    2014-03-13

    Distinguishing between hybridization and population structure in the ancestral species is a key challenge in our understanding of how permeable species boundaries are to gene flow. The doubly conditioned frequency spectrum (dcfs) has been argued to be a powerful metric to discriminate between these two explanations, and it was used to argue for hybridization between Neandertal and anatomically modern humans. The shape of the observed dcfs for these two species cannot be reproduced by a model that represents ancient population structure in Africa with two populations, while adding hybridization produces realistic shapes. In this letter, we show that this result is a consequence of the spatial coarseness of the demographic model and that a spatially structured stepping stone model can generate realistic dcfs without hybridization. This result highlights how inferences on hybridization between recently diverged species can be strongly affected by the choice of how population structure is represented in the underlying demographic model. We also conclude that the dcfs has limited power in distinguishing between the signals left by hybridization and ancient structure. 2014 The Author.

  14. The doubly conditioned frequency spectrum does not distinguish between ancient population structure and hybridization

    KAUST Repository

    Eriksson, Anders; Manica, Andrea

    2014-01-01

    Distinguishing between hybridization and population structure in the ancestral species is a key challenge in our understanding of how permeable species boundaries are to gene flow. The doubly conditioned frequency spectrum (dcfs) has been argued to be a powerful metric to discriminate between these two explanations, and it was used to argue for hybridization between Neandertal and anatomically modern humans. The shape of the observed dcfs for these two species cannot be reproduced by a model that represents ancient population structure in Africa with two populations, while adding hybridization produces realistic shapes. In this letter, we show that this result is a consequence of the spatial coarseness of the demographic model and that a spatially structured stepping stone model can generate realistic dcfs without hybridization. This result highlights how inferences on hybridization between recently diverged species can be strongly affected by the choice of how population structure is represented in the underlying demographic model. We also conclude that the dcfs has limited power in distinguishing between the signals left by hybridization and ancient structure. 2014 The Author.

  15. Study on distinguishing of Chinese ancient porcelains by neutron activation and fuzzy cluster analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang An

    1992-01-01

    By means of the method of neutron activation, the contents of trace elements in some samples of Chinese ancient porcelains from different places of production were determined. The data were analysed by fuzzy cluster analysis. On the basis of the above mentioned works, a method with regard to the distinguishing and determining of Chinese ancient porcelain was suggested

  16. Toxicologically important trace elements and organic compounds investigated in size-fractionated urban particulate matter collected near the Prague highway

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sysalová, J.; Sýkorová, Ivana; Havelcová, Martina; Száková, J.; Trejtnarová, Hana; Kotlík, B.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 437, October (2012), s. 127-136 ISSN 0048-9697 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/09/1162 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : urban particulate matter * grain- size partitioning * grain- size partitioning Subject RIV: DI - Air Pollution ; Quality Impact factor: 3.258, year: 2012

  17. HSAPS market analysis project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gloeckner, Ronny; Aaberg, Rolf Jarle

    2006-12-15

    The H-SAPS (Hydrogen Stand-Alone Power System) project, an EU project within the ALTENER programme in the period 2002-2004, was initiated to determine the potential for the introduction of environmentally benign hydrogen technology in what is believed to be a near-term market, namely stand-alone power systems (SAPS). The objective of the project was to examine the technological, political, social and economical factors affecting the emergence of hydrogen technology in the stand-alone power system market today and in the future. The scope of the project was limited to small and medium sized stand-alone power systems, up to a few hundred kilowatts (kW) power rating and based on renewable energy as the primary energy source. The work was divided into five phases: (1) Inception, (2) Data collection and analysis, (3) Market analysis and barrier removal, (4) Dissemination, and (5) Final report. Separate reports were written on these topics, and later summarised this final report. The H-SAPS-project identified the following critical technical barriers (in prioritized order): (1) High costs of both electrolyser and fuel cell solutions, (2) Short lifetime warranties and little lifetime experience for PEM electrolysers and PEM fuel cells, (3) Low energy efficiency of the hydrogen energy system (critical for small systems), and (4) The need to develop easy-to-use and energy efficient gas and electricity control systems. One of the main conclusions from the project is that there is a need to focus on interim solutions, based on conventional energy technologies (e.g., internal combustion engines instead of fuel cells), in order for H-SAPS to compete in the near-term SAPS-market (author) (ml)

  18. HSAPS market analysis project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gloeckner, Ronny; Aaberg, Rolf Jarle

    2006-12-01

    The H-SAPS (Hydrogen Stand-Alone Power System) project, an EU project within the ALTENER programme in the period 2002-2004, was initiated to determine the potential for the introduction of environmentally benign hydrogen technology in what is believed to be a near-term market, namely stand-alone power systems (SAPS). The objective of the project was to examine the technological, political, social and economical factors affecting the emergence of hydrogen technology in the stand-alone power system market today and in the future. The scope of the project was limited to small and medium sized stand-alone power systems, up to a few hundred kilowatts (kW) power rating and based on renewable energy as the primary energy source. The work was divided into five phases: (1) Inception, (2) Data collection and analysis, (3) Market analysis and barrier removal, (4) Dissemination, and (5) Final report. Separate reports were written on these topics, and later summarised this final report. The H-SAPS-project identified the following critical technical barriers (in prioritized order): (1) High costs of both electrolyser and fuel cell solutions, (2) Short lifetime warranties and little lifetime experience for PEM electrolysers and PEM fuel cells, (3) Low energy efficiency of the hydrogen energy system (critical for small systems), and (4) The need to develop easy-to-use and energy efficient gas and electricity control systems. One of the main conclusions from the project is that there is a need to focus on interim solutions, based on conventional energy technologies (e.g., internal combustion engines instead of fuel cells), in order for H-SAPS to compete in the near-term SAPS-market (author) (ml)

  19. Preliminary Correlations for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Sizing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álvaro Gómez-Rodríguez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The field of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS is currently undergoing a noteworthy expansion. The diverse types of missions that these aircraft can accomplish, both in military and civil environments, have motivated an increase of interest in their study and applications. The methods chosen to develop this study are based on the statistical analysis of a database including numerous models of RPAS and the estimation of different correlations in order to develop a design method for rapid sizing of H-tail RPAS. Organizing the information of the database according to relevant characteristics, information relative to the state-of-the-art design tendencies can be extracted, which can serve to take decisions relative to the aerodynamic configuration or the power plant in the first phases of the design project. Furthermore, employing statistical correlations estimated from the database, a design method for rapid-sizing of H-tail RPAS has been conducted, which will be focused on the sizing of the wing and tail surfaces. The resulting method has been tested by applying it to an example case so as to validate the proposed procedure.

  20. The nanoscale phase distinguishing of PCL-PB-PCL blended in epoxy resin by tapping mode atomic force microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huiqin; Sun, Limin; Shen, Guangxia; Liang, Qi

    2012-02-01

    In this work, we investigated the bulk phase distinguishing of the poly(ɛ-caprolactone)-polybutadiene-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL-PB-PCL) triblock copolymer blended in epoxy resin by tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM). We found that at a set-point amplitude ratio ( r sp) less than or equal to 0.85, a clear phase contrast could be obtained using a probe with a force constant of 40 N/m. When r sp was decreased to 0.1 or less, the measured size of the PB-rich domain relatively shrank; however, the height images of the PB-rich domain would take reverse (translating from the original light to dark) at r sp = 0.85. Force-probe measurements were carried out on the phase-separated regions by TM-AFM. According to the phase shift angle vs. r sp curve, it could be concluded that the different force exerting on the epoxy matrix or on the PB-rich domain might result in the height and phase image reversion. Furthermore, the indentation depth vs. r sp plot showed that with large tapping force (lower r sp), the indentation depth for the PB-rich domain was nearly identical for the epoxy resin matrix.