Motor unit firing rate patterns during voluntary muscle force generation: a simulation study

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xiaogang; Rymer, William Z.; Suresh, Nina L.

2014-04-01

Objective. Muscle force is generated by a combination of motor unit (MU) recruitment and changes in the discharge rate of active MUs. There have been two basic MU recruitment and firing rate paradigms reported in the literature, which describe the control of the MUs during force generation. The first (termed the reverse ‘onion skin’ profile), exhibits lower firing rates for lower threshold units, with higher firing rates occurring in higher threshold units. The second (termed the ‘onion skin’ profile), exhibits an inverse arrangement, with lower threshold units reaching higher firing rates. Approach. Using a simulation of the MU activity in a hand muscle, this study examined the force generation capacity and the variability of the muscle force magnitude at different excitation levels of the MU pool under these two different MU control paradigms. We sought to determine which rate/recruitment scheme was more efficient for force generation, and which scheme gave rise to the lowest force variability. Main results. We found that the force output of both firing patterns leads to graded force output at low excitation levels, and that the force generation capacity of the two different paradigms diverged around 50% excitation. In the reverse ‘onion skin’ pattern, at 100% excitation, the force output reached up to 88% of maximum force, whereas for the ‘onion skin’ pattern, the force output only reached up to 54% of maximum force at 100% excitation. The force variability was lower at the low to moderate force levels under the ‘onion skin’ paradigm than with the reverse ‘onion skin’ firing patterns, but this effect was reversed at high force levels. Significance. This study captures the influence of MU recruitment and firing rate organization on muscle force properties, and our results suggest that the different firing organizations can be beneficial at different levels of voluntary muscle force generation and perhaps for different tasks.

Cold Lake-Beaver River water management study update: Report of the Cold Lake Regional Water Management Task Force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The Cold Lake Regional Water Management Task Force was formed in 1992, comprising representatives from local governments, aboriginal groups, the oil industry, and the public. The Task Force's mandate was to advise Alberta Environmental Protection on updating the Cold Lake-Beaver River Water Management Plan, taking into acocunt the views and concerns of the public, industry, and local governments. Industrial water use was found to be the key issue to be addressed in the plan update, so the Task Force focused on reviewing industrial water supply options and developing recommendations on the appropriate water supply to meet long-term requirements. A subcommittee was established to monitor groundwater use by the heavy oil industry. This committee took readings at Imperial Oil's water production and observation wells on a biweekly basis. Nine options for supplying industrial water requirements were examined and evaluated using criteria including supply reliability, economic factors, and impacts on other users and the environment. The Task Force found that the preferred source of water for industrial use is the North Saskatchewan River, to be accessed by a water pipeline. The second and less desirable source of water for industrial use would be a system of weirs on Cold or Primrose Lakes and Wolf Lake, supplemented by the use of brackish water to the maximum extent possible. In the interim, industry was recommended to maximize its use of brackish water and continue to use surface and ground water within existing license limits. Other recommendations were to form provincial or regional boards to oversee water use and issue water licenses, to treat water as a resource, and to establish a fee for industrial use of water. 3 figs., 5 tabs

Rate control and quality assurance during rhythmic force tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Cheng-Ya; Su, Jyong-Huei; Hwang, Ing-Shiou

2014-02-01

Movement characteristics can be coded in the single neurons or in the summed activity of neural populations. However, whether neural oscillations are conditional to the frequency demand and task quality of rhythmic force regulation is still unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate EEG dynamics and behavior correlates during force-tracking at different target rates. Fourteen healthy volunteers conducted load-varying isometric abduction of the index finger by coupling the force output to sinusoidal targets at 0.5 Hz, 1.0 Hz, and 2.0 Hz. Our results showed that frequency demand significantly affected EEG delta oscillation (1-4 Hz) in the C3, CP3, CPz, and CP4 electrodes, with the greatest delta power and lowest delta peak around 1.5 Hz for slower tracking at 0.5 Hz. Those who had superior tracking congruency also manifested enhanced alpha oscillation (8-12 Hz). Alpha rhythms of the skilled performers during slow tracking spread through the whole target cycle, except for the phase of direction changes. However, the alpha rhythms centered at the mid phase of a target cycle with increasing target rate. In conclusion, our findings clearly suggest two advanced roles of cortical oscillation in rhythmic force regulation. Rate-dependent delta oscillation involves a paradigm shift in force control under different time scales. Phasic organization of alpha rhythms during rhythmic force tracking is related to behavioral success underlying the selective use of bimodal controls (feedback and feedforward processes) and the timing of attentional focus on the target's peak velocity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The relationship of motor unit size, firing rate and force.

Science.gov (United States)

Conwit, R A; Stashuk, D; Tracy, B; McHugh, M; Brown, W F; Metter, E J

1999-07-01

Using a clinical electromyographic (EMG) protocol, motor units were sampled from the quadriceps femoris during isometric contractions at fixed force levels to examine how average motor unit size and firing rate relate to force generation. Mean firing rates (mFRs) and sizes (mean surface-detected motor unit action potential (mS-MUAP) area) of samples of active motor units were assessed at various force levels in 79 subjects. MS-MUAP size increased linearly with increased force generation, while mFR remained relatively constant up to 30% of a maximal force and increased appreciably only at higher force levels. A relationship was found between muscle force and mS-MUAP area (r2 = 0.67), mFR (r2 = 0.38), and the product of mS-MUAP area and mFR (mS-MUAP x mFR) (r2 = 0.70). The results support the hypothesis that motor units are recruited in an orderly manner during forceful contractions, and that in large muscles only at higher levels of contraction ( > 30% MVC) do mFRs increase appreciably. MS-MUAP and mFR can be assessed using clinical EMG techniques and they may provide a physiological basis for analyzing the role of motor units during muscle force generation.

An update in international trends in incidence rates of thyroid cancer, 1973-2007.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Benjamin C; Mitchell, Janeil M; Jeon, Heedo D; Vasilottos, Nektarios; Grogan, Raymon H; Aschebrook-Kilfoy, Briseis

2018-05-01

Over the past several decades, there has been a reported increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer in many countries. We previously reported an increase in thyroid cancer incidence across continents between 1973 and 2002. Here, we provide an update on the international trends in thyroid cancer between 2003 and 2007. We examined thyroid cancer incidence data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5) database for the period between 1973 and 2007 from 24 populations in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, and report on the time trends as well as the distribution by histologic type and gender worldwide. The incidence of thyroid cancer increased during the period from 1998-2002 to 2003-2007 in the majority of populations examined, with the highest rates observed among women, most notably in Israel and the United States SEER registry, at over 14 per 100,000 people. This update suggests that incidence is rising in a similar fashion across all regions of the world. The histologic and gender distributions in the updated CI5 are consistent with the previous report. Our analysis of the published CI5 data illustrates that the incidence of thyroid cancer increased between 1998-2002 and 2003-2007 in most populations worldwide, and rising rates continue in all regions of the world.

Early and Late Rate of Force Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lars L; Andersen, Jesper L; Zebis, Mette K

2010-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the potentially opposing influence of qualitative and quantitative muscular adaptations in response to high-intensity resistance training on contractile rate of force development (RFD) in the early (<100 ms) and later phases (>200 ms) of rising muscle...

Utilization of negative beat-frequencies for maximizing the update-rate of OFDR

Science.gov (United States)

Gabai, Haniel; Botsev, Yakov; Hahami, Meir; Eyal, Avishay

2015-07-01

In traditional OFDR systems, the backscattered profile of a sensing fiber is inefficiently duplicated to the negative band of spectrum. In this work, we present a new OFDR design and algorithm that remove this redundancy and make use of negative beat frequencies. In contrary to conventional OFDR designs, it facilitates efficient use of the available system bandwidth and enables distributed sensing with the maximum allowable interrogation update-rate for a given fiber length. To enable the reconstruction of negative beat frequencies an I/Q type receiver is used. In this receiver, both the in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components of the backscatter field are detected. Following detection, both components are digitally combined to produce a complex backscatter signal. Accordingly, due to its asymmetric nature, the produced spectrum will not be corrupted by the appearance of negative beat-frequencies. Here, via a comprehensive computer simulation, we show that in contrast to conventional OFDR systems, I/Q OFDR can be operated at maximum interrogation update-rate for a given fiber length. In addition, we experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, the ability of I/Q OFDR to utilize negative beat-frequencies for long-range distributed sensing.

Trends in pregnancy rates for the United States, 1976-97: an update.

Science.gov (United States)

Ventura, S J; Mosher, W D; Curtin, S C; Abma, J C; Henshaw, S

2001-06-06

This report presents detailed pregnancy rates for 1996 and 1997 to update a recently published comprehensive report on pregnancies and pregnancy rates for U.S. women. Tabular and graphic data on pregnancy rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin, and by marital status are presented and described. In 1997 an estimated 6.19 million pregnancies resulted in 3.88 million live births, 1.33 million induced abortions, and 0.98 million fetal losses. The 1997 pregnancy rate of 103.7 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years is the lowest recorded since 1976 (102.7), the first year for which a consistent series of national pregnancy rates is available. The 1997 rate was 10 percent lower than the peak rate in 1990 (115.6). The teenage pregnancy rate dropped steadily through 1997, falling to a record low of 94.3 pregnancies per 1,000 teenagers 15-19 years, 19 percent below the 1990 level (116.3). Rates for younger teenagers declined more than for older teenagers.

Effect of Retarding Force on Mass Flow Rates of Fluid at Different ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... mathematical model and software visualization to view the effect of retarding forces on the mass flow rate in term of visualization. C-sharp (C#) is the chosen program and this enable compares and us to determine the mass flow rates patterns in relation to retarding force in form of graphical tables at different temperature.

Isotonic force modulates force redevelopment rate of intact frog muscle fibres: evidence for cross-bridge induced thin filament activation

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenboom, Rene; Hannon, James D; Sieck, Gary C

2002-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that force-velocity history modulates thin filament activation, as assessed by the rate of force redevelopment after shortening (+dF/dtR). The influence of isotonic force on +dF/dtR was assessed by imposing uniform amplitude (2.55 to 2.15 μm sarcomere−1) but different speed releases to intact frog muscle fibres during fused tetani. Each release consisted of a contiguous ramp- and step-change in length. Ramp speed was changed from release to release to vary fibre shortening speed from 1.00 (2.76 ± 0.11 μm half-sarcomere−1 s−1) to 0.30 of maximum unloaded shortening velocity (Vu), thereby modulating isotonic force from 0 to 0.34 Fo, respectively. The step zeroed force and allowed the fibre to shorten unloaded for a brief period of time prior to force redevelopment. Although peak force redevelopment after different releases was similar, +dF/dtR increased by 81 ± 6% (P < 0.05) as fibre shortening speed was reduced from 1.00 Vu. The +dF/dtR after different releases was strongly correlated with the preceding isotonic force (r = 0.99, P < 0.001). Results from additional experiments showed that the slope of slack test plots produced by systematically increasing the step size that followed each ramp were similar. Thus, isotonic force did not influence Vu (mean: 2.84 ± 0.10 μm half-sarcomere−1 s−1, P < 0.05). We conclude that isotonic force modulates +dF/dtR independent of change in Vu, an outcome consistent with a cooperative influence of attached cross-bridges on thin filament activation that increases cross-bridge attachment rate without alteration to cross-bridge detachment rate. PMID:12205189

78 FR 41013 - Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for CY 2014...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 42 CFR Parts 431 [CMS-1450-CN] RIN 0938-AR52 Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate... period titled ``Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for CY...

Physician Bayesian updating from personal beliefs about the base rate and likelihood ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Rottman, Benjamin Margolin

2017-02-01

Whether humans can accurately make decisions in line with Bayes' rule has been one of the most important yet contentious topics in cognitive psychology. Though a number of paradigms have been used for studying Bayesian updating, rarely have subjects been allowed to use their own preexisting beliefs about the prior and the likelihood. A study is reported in which physicians judged the posttest probability of a diagnosis for a patient vignette after receiving a test result, and the physicians' posttest judgments were compared to the normative posttest calculated from their own beliefs in the sensitivity and false positive rate of the test (likelihood ratio) and prior probability of the diagnosis. On the one hand, the posttest judgments were strongly related to the physicians' beliefs about both the prior probability as well as the likelihood ratio, and the priors were used considerably more strongly than in previous research. On the other hand, both the prior and the likelihoods were still not used quite as much as they should have been, and there was evidence of other nonnormative aspects to the updating, such as updating independent of the likelihood beliefs. By focusing on how physicians use their own prior beliefs for Bayesian updating, this study provides insight into how well experts perform probabilistic inference in settings in which they rely upon their own prior beliefs rather than experimenter-provided cues. It suggests that there is reason to be optimistic about experts' abilities, but that there is still considerable need for improvement.

78 FR 63208 - UPDATE-Meeting of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-23

... of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and... Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force). The in-person Task Force meeting is being replaced by... CDC's ability to complete the necessary scientific and logistical support for the meeting. The Task...

Tracking variable sedimentation rates in orbitally forced paleoclimate proxy series

Science.gov (United States)

Li, M.; Kump, L. R.; Hinnov, L.

2017-12-01

This study addresses two fundamental issues in cyclostratigraphy: quantitative testing of orbital forcing in cyclic sedimentary sequences and tracking variable sedimentation rates. The methodology proposed here addresses these issues as an inverse problem, and estimates the product-moment correlation coefficient between the frequency spectra of orbital solutions and paleoclimate proxy series over a range of "test" sedimentation rates. It is inspired by the ASM method (1). The number of orbital parameters involved in the estimation is also considered. The method relies on the hypothesis that orbital forcing had a significant impact on the paleoclimate proxy variations, and thus is also tested. The null hypothesis of no astronomical forcing is evaluated using the Beta distribution, for which the shape parameters are estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. We introduce a metric to estimate the most likely sedimentation rate using the product-moment correlation coefficient, H0 significance level, and the number of contributing orbital parameters, i.e., the CHO value. The CHO metric is applied with a sliding window to track variable sedimentation rates along the paleoclimate proxy series. Two forward models with uniform and variable sedimentation rates are evaluated to demonstrate the robustness of the method. The CHO method is applied to the classical Late Triassic Newark depth rank series; the estimated sedimentation rates match closely with previously published sedimentation rates and provide a more highly time-resolved estimate (2,3). References: (1) Meyers, S.R., Sageman, B.B., Amer. J. Sci., 307, 773-792, 2007; (2) Kent, D.V., Olsen, P.E., Muttoni, G., Earth-Sci. Rev.166, 153-180, 2017; (3) Li, M., Zhang, Y., Huang, C., Ogg, J., Hinnov, L., Wang, Y., Zou, Z., Li, L., 2017. Earth Plant. Sc. Lett. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2017.07.015

Rates of change in natural and anthropogenic radiative forcing over the past 20,000 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Joos, Fortunat; Spahni, Renato

2008-02-05

The rate of change of climate codetermines the global warming impacts on natural and socioeconomic systems and their capabilities to adapt. Establishing past rates of climate change from temperature proxy data remains difficult given their limited spatiotemporal resolution. In contrast, past greenhouse gas radiative forcing, causing climate to change, is well known from ice cores. We compare rates of change of anthropogenic forcing with rates of natural greenhouse gas forcing since the Last Glacial Maximum and of solar and volcanic forcing of the last millennium. The smoothing of atmospheric variations by the enclosure process of air into ice is computed with a firn diffusion and enclosure model. The 20th century increase in CO(2) and its radiative forcing occurred more than an order of magnitude faster than any sustained change during the past 22,000 years. The average rate of increase in the radiative forcing not just from CO(2) but from the combination of CO(2), CH(4), and N(2)O is larger during the Industrial Era than during any comparable period of at least the past 16,000 years. In addition, the decadal-to-century scale rate of change in anthropogenic forcing is unusually high in the context of the natural forcing variations (solar and volcanoes) of the past millennium. Our analysis implies that global climate change, which is anthropogenic in origin, is progressing at a speed that is unprecedented at least during the last 22,000 years.

The adhesion force of Notch with Delta and the rate of Notch signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahimou, Francois; Mok, Lee-Peng; Bardot, Boris; Wesley, Cedric

2004-12-20

Notch signaling is repeatedly used during animal development to specify cell fates. Using atomic force microscopy on live cells, chemical inhibitors, and conventional analyses, we show that the rate of Notch signaling is linked to the adhesion force between cells expressing Notch receptors and Delta ligand. Both the Notch extracellular and intracellular domains are required for the high adhesion force with Delta. This high adhesion force is lost within minutes, primarily due to the action of Presenilin on Notch. Reduced turnover or Delta pulling accelerate this loss. These data suggest that strong adhesion between Notch and Delta might serve as a booster for initiating Notch signaling at a high rate.

Well blowout rates in California Oil and Gas District 4--Update and Trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jordan, Preston D.; Benson, Sally M.

2009-10-01

Well blowouts are one type of event in hydrocarbon exploration and production that generates health, safety, environmental and financial risk. Well blowouts are variously defined as 'uncontrolled flow of well fluids and/or formation fluids from the wellbore' or 'uncontrolled flow of reservoir fluids into the wellbore'. Theoretically this is irrespective of flux rate and so would include low fluxes, often termed 'leakage'. In practice, such low-flux events are not considered well blowouts. Rather, the term well blowout applies to higher fluxes that rise to attention more acutely, typically in the order of seconds to days after the event commences. It is not unusual for insurance claims for well blowouts to exceed US$10 million. This does not imply that all blowouts are this costly, as it is likely claims are filed only for the most catastrophic events. Still, insuring against the risk of loss of well control is the costliest in the industry. The risk of well blowouts was recently quantified from an assembled database of 102 events occurring in California Oil and Gas District 4 during the period 1991 to 2005, inclusive. This article reviews those findings, updates them to a certain extent and compares them with other well blowout risk study results. It also provides an improved perspective on some of the findings. In short, this update finds that blowout rates have remained constant from 2005 to 2008 within the limits of resolution and that the decline in blowout rates from 1991 to 2005 was likely due to improved industry practice.

Rate enhancement in microfabricated chemical reactors under fast forced temperature oscillations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Heine Anton; Olsen, Jakob L.; Jensen, Søren

2006-01-01

Oxidation of CO under fast forced temperature oscillations shows increased reaction rate compared to steady state. A maximum increase of 40% is observed relative to steady state. The reaction rate is investigated for varying mean temperature, amplitude and frequency. As function of mean temperatu...

Tracking Real-Time Changes in Working Memory Updating and Gating with the Event-Based Eye-Blink Rate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rac-Lubashevsky, R.; Slagter, H.A.; Kessler, Y.

2017-01-01

Effective working memory (WM) functioning depends on the gating process that regulates the balance between maintenance and updating of WM. The present study used the event-based eye-blink rate (ebEBR), which presumably reflects phasic striatal dopamine activity, to examine how the cognitive

Importance of anisotropy in detachment rates for force production and cargo transport by a team of motor proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Takshak, Anjneya; Kunwar, Ambarish

2016-05-01

Many cellular processes are driven by collective forces generated by a team consisting of multiple molecular motor proteins. One aspect that has received less attention is the detachment rate of molecular motors under mechanical force/load. While detachment rate of kinesin motors measured under backward force increases rapidly for forces beyond stall-force; this scenario is just reversed for non-yeast dynein motors where detachment rate from microtubule decreases, exhibiting a catch-bond type behavior. It has been shown recently that yeast dynein responds anisotropically to applied load, i.e. detachment rates are different under forward and backward pulling. Here, we use computational modeling to show that these anisotropic detachment rates might help yeast dynein motors to improve their collective force generation in the absence of catch-bond behavior. We further show that the travel distance of cargos would be longer if detachment rates are anisotropic. Our results suggest that anisotropic detachment rates could be an alternative strategy for motors to improve the transport properties and force production by the team. © 2016 The Protein Society.

The adhesion force of Notch with Delta and the rate of Notch signaling

OpenAIRE

Ahimou, Francois; Mok, Lee-Peng; Bardot, Boris; Wesley, Cedric

2004-01-01

Notch signaling is repeatedly used during animal development to specify cell fates. Using atomic force microscopy on live cells, chemical inhibitors, and conventional analyses, we show that the rate of Notch signaling is linked to the adhesion force between cells expressing Notch receptors and Delta ligand. Both the Notch extracellular and intracellular domains are required for the high adhesion force with Delta. This high adhesion force is lost within minutes, primarily due to the action of ...

Time-related changes in firing rates are influenced by recruitment threshold and twitch force potentiation in the first dorsal interosseous.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Jonathan D; Herda, Trent J; Trevino, Michael A; Sterczala, Adam J; Ciccone, Anthony B

2017-08-01

What is the central question of this study? The influences of motor unit recruitment threshold and twitch force potentiation on the changes in firing rates during steady-force muscular contractions are not well understood. What is the main finding and its importance? The behaviour of motor units during steady force was influenced by recruitment threshold, such that firing rates decreased for lower-threshold motor units but increased for higher-threshold motor units. In addition, individuals with greater changes in firing rates possessed greater twitch force potentiation. There are contradictory reports regarding changes in motor unit firing rates during steady-force contractions. Inconsistencies are likely to be the result of previous studies disregarding motor unit recruitment thresholds and not examining firing rates on a subject-by-subject basis. It is hypothesized that firing rates are manipulated by twitch force potentiation during contractions. Therefore, in this study we examined time-related changes in firing rates at steady force in relationship to motor unit recruitment threshold in the first dorsal interosseous and the influence of twitch force potentiation on such changes in young versus aged individuals. Subjects performed a 12 s steady-force contraction at 50% maximal voluntary contraction, with evoked twitches before and after the contraction to quantify potentiation. Firing rates, in relationship to recruitment thresholds, were determined at the beginning, middle and end of the steady force. There were no firing rate changes for aged individuals. For the young, firing rates decreased slightly for lower-threshold motor units but increased for higher-threshold motor units. Twitch force potentiation was greater for young than aged subjects, and changes in firing rates were correlated with twitch force potentiation. Thus, individuals with greater increases in firing rates of higher-threshold motor units and decreases in lower-threshold motor units

Update History of This Database - PSCDB | LSDB Archive [Life Science Database Archive metadata

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available List Contact us PSCDB Update History of This Database Date Update contents 2016/11/30 PSCDB English archive ...site is opened. 2011/11/13 PSCDB ( http://idp1.force.cs.is.nagoya-u.ac.jp/pscdb/ ) is opened. About This Database Database... Description Download License Update History of This Database Site Policy | Contact Us Update History of This Database - PSCDB | LSDB Archive ...

Update: Exertional rhabdomyolysis, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2012-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

Among active component service members in 2016, there were 525 incident diagnoses of rhabdomyolysis likely due to physical exertion and/or heat stress ("exertional rhabdomyolysis"). The crude incidence rate in 2016 was 40.7 cases per 100,000 person-years. Annual rates of incident diagnoses of exertional rhabdomyolysis increased 46.2% between 2013 and 2016, with the greatest percentage change occurring between 2014 and 2015. In 2016, relative to their respective counterparts, the highest incidence rates of exertional rhabdomyolysis affected service members who were male; younger than 20 years of age; and black, non-Hispanic. During the surveillance period, annual incidence rates were highest among service members of the Marine Corps, intermediate among those in the Army, and lowest among those in the Air Force and Navy. Most cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis were diagnosed at installations that support basic combat/recruit training or major ground combat units of the Army or the Marine Corps. Medical care providers should consider exertional rhabdomyolysis in the differential diagnosis when service members (particularly recruits) present with muscular pain or swelling, limited range of motion, or the excretion of dark urine (possibly due to myoglobinuria) after strenuous physical activity, particularly in hot, humid weather.

Predicting Active Duty Air Force Pilot Attrition Given an Anticipated Increase in Major Airline Pilot Hiring

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

the Air Force in addressing some quality-of-life issues, such as updating 3,800 family housing units, 21 dormitories, and building three child ...of pilots into the airlines (Air Force Personnel Center, FY 07). By allowing this crop of pilots to leave on the Air Force’s terms, the service felt...attrition rates compared with pilots with more general skills (flying mobility aircraft) (Stephen P. Barrows, 1993). This may be due to the phenomenon in

Classical Wigner method with an effective quantum force: application to reaction rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulsen, Jens Aage; Li, Huaqing; Nyman, Gunnar

2009-07-14

We construct an effective "quantum force" to be used in the classical molecular dynamics part of the classical Wigner method when determining correlation functions. The quantum force is obtained by estimating the most important short time separation of the Feynman paths that enter into the expression for the correlation function. The evaluation of the force is then as easy as classical potential energy evaluations. The ideas are tested on three reaction rate problems. The resulting transmission coefficients are in much better agreement with accurate results than transmission coefficients from the ordinary classical Wigner method.

Optimal updating magnitude in adaptive flat-distribution sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Cheng; Drake, Justin A; Ma, Jianpeng; Pettitt, B Montgomery

2017-11-07

We present a study on the optimization of the updating magnitude for a class of free energy methods based on flat-distribution sampling, including the Wang-Landau (WL) algorithm and metadynamics. These methods rely on adaptive construction of a bias potential that offsets the potential of mean force by histogram-based updates. The convergence of the bias potential can be improved by decreasing the updating magnitude with an optimal schedule. We show that while the asymptotically optimal schedule for the single-bin updating scheme (commonly used in the WL algorithm) is given by the known inverse-time formula, that for the Gaussian updating scheme (commonly used in metadynamics) is often more complex. We further show that the single-bin updating scheme is optimal for very long simulations, and it can be generalized to a class of bandpass updating schemes that are similarly optimal. These bandpass updating schemes target only a few long-range distribution modes and their optimal schedule is also given by the inverse-time formula. Constructed from orthogonal polynomials, the bandpass updating schemes generalize the WL and Langfeld-Lucini-Rago algorithms as an automatic parameter tuning scheme for umbrella sampling.

Valence-Dependent Belief Updating: Computational Validation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bojana Kuzmanovic

2017-06-01

Full Text Available People tend to update beliefs about their future outcomes in a valence-dependent way: they are likely to incorporate good news and to neglect bad news. However, belief formation is a complex process which depends not only on motivational factors such as the desire for favorable conclusions, but also on multiple cognitive variables such as prior beliefs, knowledge about personal vulnerabilities and resources, and the size of the probabilities and estimation errors. Thus, we applied computational modeling in order to test for valence-induced biases in updating while formally controlling for relevant cognitive factors. We compared biased and unbiased Bayesian models of belief updating, and specified alternative models based on reinforcement learning. The experiment consisted of 80 trials with 80 different adverse future life events. In each trial, participants estimated the base rate of one of these events and estimated their own risk of experiencing the event before and after being confronted with the actual base rate. Belief updates corresponded to the difference between the two self-risk estimates. Valence-dependent updating was assessed by comparing trials with good news (better-than-expected base rates with trials with bad news (worse-than-expected base rates. After receiving bad relative to good news, participants' updates were smaller and deviated more strongly from rational Bayesian predictions, indicating a valence-induced bias. Model comparison revealed that the biased (i.e., optimistic Bayesian model of belief updating better accounted for data than the unbiased (i.e., rational Bayesian model, confirming that the valence of the new information influenced the amount of updating. Moreover, alternative computational modeling based on reinforcement learning demonstrated higher learning rates for good than for bad news, as well as a moderating role of personal knowledge. Finally, in this specific experimental context, the approach based on

Escape rate for nonequilibrium processes dominated by strong non-detailed balance force

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Ying; Xu, Song; Ao, Ping

2018-02-01

Quantifying the escape rate from a meta-stable state is essential to understand a wide range of dynamical processes. Kramers' classical rate formula is the product of an exponential function of the potential barrier height and a pre-factor related to the friction coefficient. Although many applications of the rate formula focused on the exponential term, the prefactor can have a significant effect on the escape rate in certain parameter regions, such as the overdamped limit and the underdamped limit. There have been continuous interests to understand the effect of non-detailed balance on the escape rate; however, how the prefactor behaves under strong non-detailed balance force remains elusive. In this work, we find that the escape rate formula has a vanishing prefactor with decreasing friction strength under the strong non-detailed balance limit. We both obtain analytical solutions in specific examples and provide a derivation for more general cases. We further verify the result by simulations and propose a testable experimental system of a charged Brownian particle in electromagnetic field. Our study demonstrates that a special care is required to estimate the effect of prefactor on the escape rate when non-detailed balance force dominates.

A PSO Driven Intelligent Model Updating and Parameter Identification Scheme for Cable-Damper System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danhui Dan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The precise measurement of the cable force is very important for monitoring and evaluating the operation status of cable structures such as cable-stayed bridges. The cable system should be installed with lateral dampers to reduce the vibration, which affects the precise measurement of the cable force and other cable parameters. This paper suggests a cable model updating calculation scheme driven by the particle swarm optimization (PSO algorithm. By establishing a finite element model considering the static geometric nonlinearity and stress-stiffening effect firstly, an automatically finite element method model updating powered by PSO algorithm is proposed, with the aims to identify the cable force and relevant parameters of cable-damper system precisely. Both numerical case studies and full-scale cable tests indicated that, after two rounds of updating process, the algorithm can accurately identify the cable force, moment of inertia, and damping coefficient of the cable-damper system.

Updating of states in operational hydrological models

Science.gov (United States)

Bruland, O.; Kolberg, S.; Engeland, K.; Gragne, A. S.; Liston, G.; Sand, K.; Tøfte, L.; Alfredsen, K.

2012-04-01

Operationally the main purpose of hydrological models is to provide runoff forecasts. The quality of the model state and the accuracy of the weather forecast together with the model quality define the runoff forecast quality. Input and model errors accumulate over time and may leave the model in a poor state. Usually model states can be related to observable conditions in the catchment. Updating of these states, knowing their relation to observable catchment conditions, influence directly the forecast quality. Norway is internationally in the forefront in hydropower scheduling both on short and long terms. The inflow forecasts are fundamental to this scheduling. Their quality directly influence the producers profit as they optimize hydropower production to market demand and at the same time minimize spill of water and maximize available hydraulic head. The quality of the inflow forecasts strongly depends on the quality of the models applied and the quality of the information they use. In this project the focus has been to improve the quality of the model states which the forecast is based upon. Runoff and snow storage are two observable quantities that reflect the model state and are used in this project for updating. Generally the methods used can be divided in three groups: The first re-estimates the forcing data in the updating period; the second alters the weights in the forecast ensemble; and the third directly changes the model states. The uncertainty related to the forcing data through the updating period is due to both uncertainty in the actual observation and to how well the gauging stations represent the catchment both in respect to temperatures and precipitation. The project looks at methodologies that automatically re-estimates the forcing data and tests the result against observed response. Model uncertainty is reflected in a joint distribution of model parameters estimated using the Dream algorithm.

Firing rate modulation of human motor units in different muscles during isometric contraction with various forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Seki, K; Narusawa, M

1996-05-06

To examine the factors affecting the control of human motor units, rate coding strategies of the motor units were investigated in upper limb and intrinsic hand muscles during voluntary isometric contraction of steady force levels up to 80% of maximal voluntary contraction. Numerous spike trains from single motor units were recorded from the m. first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and the m. biceps brachii (BB) of eight human subjects by means of tungsten micro-electrodes, and the mean firing rate (MFR) was calculated for each subject and inter-individual comparisons made. The MFRs of the FDI were larger than that of the BB at the higher force level, and substantial differences were not found between these muscles at the lower force level. The slope of the linear regression line of MFRs vs. exerted forces for the FDI was more than twice that for the BB. Therefore, isometric force control of the FDI depends more on the rate coding strategy. The difference in rate coding between the FDI and BB motor units may be determined by factors other than muscle fiber composition, because both muscles are known to possess a similar composition of fiber types. Possible mechanisms underlying these characteristics of rate coding strategy are considered in this report.

Labour Force Participation Rates of Older Persons: An International Comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Robert L.; Anker, Richard

1990-01-01

Using data from 151 countries, labor force participation of older men and women was analyzed and related to economic, demographic, and policy variables. Reduced participation rates are related to increased income levels, structural changes, social security programs, and, for men, the ratio of older persons to persons of standard working age. (SK)

[Concordance of glomerular filtration rate with creatinine clearance in 24-hour urine and Schwartz and Schwartz updated].

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar-Gutiérrez, María Luisa; Ochoa-Ponce, Cristina; Lona-Reyes, Juan Carlos; Gutiérrez-Íñiguez, Sara Ivonne

Reference methods for the quantification of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are difficult to use in clinical practice; formulas for evaluating GFR based on serum creatinine (SCr) and/or creatinine clearance are used. The aim of this study was to quantify the correlation and concordance of GFR with creatinine clearance in 24-hour urine (GFR24) and Schwartz and Schwartz updated formulas. Cross-sectional study involving healthy pediatric patients and with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from 5 to 16.9 years. Linear correlation between GFR 24 and two formulas was evaluated with the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). We studied 134 patients, of which 59.7% were male. Mean age was 10.8 years. The average GFR24 was 140.34ml/min/1.73m 2 ; 34.3% (n=46) had GFR <90ml/min/1.73m 2 . Moderate linear correlation between GFR24 and Schwartz (r= 0.63) and Schwartz updated (r= 0.65) formulas was observed. There was good concordance between the GFR24 and Schwartz (ICC= 0.77) and updated Schwartz (ICC= 0.77) formulas. Schwartz classical formula in patients with GFR24 ≥ 90ml/min/1.73m 2 estimated higher values, while Schwartz updated underestimated values. There is moderate correlation and good concordance between the GFR24 and Schwartz and Schwartz updated formulas. The concordance was better in patients with obesity and lower in women, patients with hyperfiltration and normal weight. Copyright © 2016 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Development of master slave system for interventional radiology with force-rate control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ide, Masaru; Zobel, P.B.; Claudio, P.D.; Mohri, Makoto; Komeda, Takashi

2010-01-01

The objective of this study is to develop a master-slave system for a catheter-guided operation, which is performed by using radiology, through the vascular system. When the master-slave system is used, the surgeon is not exposed to x-rays during the operation. The master tool is managed by an operator away from the slave tool, which is near the patient. The system must provide a realistic picture to the surgeon, particularly in term of force information because this operation is performed by observing three-dimensional fields on a two-dimensional monitor. In this paper, we describe the development of a master slave system that involves the use of force-rate control for guiding the catheter without using force sensors. The master tool has a force-display function. This system can be controlled by force and velocity controlling; hence, this system realized an innovative mechanism and algorism. Finally, the preliminary experiment indicated that the new control method was effective. Further, the force display was stable and achieved fast response. (author)

R5FORCE: a program to compute fluid induced forces using hydrodynamic output from the RELAP5 code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watkins, J.C.

1983-01-01

This paper describes the computer code R5FORCE, a postprocessor to the RELAP5/MOD1 thermal-hydraulics code. R5FORCE computes piping hydraulic force/time histories that can be input into various structural analysis computer codes. R5FORCE solves the momentum conservation equation using the pressure and wall shear force terms rather than the pressure and fluid acceleration terms; eliminating potential instabilities associated with computing the time derivative in the fluid acceleration term. The updates to REALP5 required to generate the input data to R5FORCE are also discussed

Labour force participation rates at the regional and national levels of the European Union : An integrated analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elhorst, J. Paul; Zeilstra, Annette S.

This study investigates the causes of variation in regional labour force participation rates in a cross-country perspective. A microeconomic framework of the tabour force participation decision is aggregated across individuals to obtain an explanatory rnodel of regional participation rates in which

Estimation of longitudinal force, lateral vehicle speed and yaw rate for four-wheel independent driven electric vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Te; Xu, Xing; Chen, Long; Jiang, Haobing; Cai, Yingfeng; Li, Yong

2018-02-01

Accurate estimation of longitudinal force, lateral vehicle speed and yaw rate is of great significance to torque allocation and stability control for four-wheel independent driven electric vehicle (4WID-EVs). A fusion method is proposed to estimate the longitudinal force, lateral vehicle speed and yaw rate for 4WID-EVs. The electric driving wheel model (EDWM) is introduced into the longitudinal force estimation, the longitudinal force observer (LFO) is designed firstly based on the adaptive high-order sliding mode observer (HSMO), and the convergence of LFO is analyzed and proved. Based on the estimated longitudinal force, an estimation strategy is then presented in which the strong tracking filter (STF) is used to estimate lateral vehicle speed and yaw rate simultaneously. Finally, co-simulation via Carsim and Matlab/Simulink is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The performance of LFO in practice is verified by the experiment on chassis dynamometer bench.

Labor Force Participation Rates among Working-Age Individuals with Visual Impairments

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Stacy M.

2013-01-01

The present study analyzes four consecutive years of monthly labor force participation rates reported by the Current Population Survey that included nationally representative samples of the general U.S. population and nationally representative samples of the U.S. population with specifically identified disabilities. Visual impairment is one of the…

Anxious Behaviors of Patrons of an X-Rated Movie: An Update of the Winick Study for the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography.

Science.gov (United States)

Copeland, Gary A.; Davis, Donald M.

A study examined the behavior patterns of patrons arriving at theatres that showed both "X" rated and "PG" rated movies. The study was undertaken to update the findings of the President's Commission on Pornography and Obscenity, which conducted similar research in 1970 and 1971. Patrons entering the theatre's X and PG rated…

Early and late rate of force development: differential adaptive responses to resistance training?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, L L; Andersen, Jesper Løvind; Zebis, M K

2010-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the potentially opposing influence of qualitative and quantitative muscular adaptations in response to high-intensity resistance training on contractile rate of force development (RFD) in the early (200 ms) of rising muscle force. Fifteen healthy young......-intensity resistance training due to differential influences of qualitative and quantitative muscular adaptations on early and later phases of rising muscle force....... males participated in a 14-week resistance training intervention for the lower body and 10 matched subjects participated as controls. Maximal muscle strength (MVC) and RFD were measured during maximal voluntary isometric contraction of the quadriceps femoris muscle. Muscle biopsies were obtained from...

Physiological and methodological aspects of rate of force development assessment in human skeletal muscle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodríguez-Rosell, David; Pareja-Blanco, Fernando; Aagaard, Per

2018-01-01

Rate of force development (RFD) refers to the ability of the neuromuscular system to increase contractile force from a low or resting level when muscle activation is performed as quickly as possible, and it is considered an important muscle strength parameter, especially for athletes in sports re......, which may aid to clarify the thinking of coaches and sports scientists in this area....

Kinetic coupling of phosphate release, force generation and rate-limiting steps in the cross-bridge cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Stehle, Robert; Tesi, Chiara

2017-08-01

A basic goal in muscle research is to understand how the cyclic ATPase activity of cross-bridges is converted into mechanical force. A direct approach to study the chemo-mechanical coupling between P i release and the force-generating step is provided by the kinetics of force response induced by a rapid change in [P i ]. Classical studies on fibres using caged-P i discovered that rapid increases in [P i ] induce fast force decays dependent on final [P i ] whose kinetics were interpreted to probe a fast force-generating step prior to P i release. However, this hypothesis was called into question by studies on skeletal and cardiac myofibrils subjected to P i jumps in both directions (increases and decreases in [P i ]) which revealed that rapid decreases in [P i ] trigger force rises with slow kinetics, similar to those of calcium-induced force development and mechanically-induced force redevelopment at the same [P i ]. A possible explanation for this discrepancy came from imaging of individual sarcomeres in cardiac myofibrils, showing that the fast force decay upon increase in [P i ] results from so-called sarcomere 'give'. The slow force rise upon decrease in [P i ] was found to better reflect overall sarcomeres cross-bridge kinetics and its [P i ] dependence, suggesting that the force generation coupled to P i release cannot be separated from the rate-limiting transition. The reasons for the different conclusions achieved in fibre and myofibril studies are re-examined as the recent findings on cardiac myofibrils have fundamental consequences for the coupling between P i release, rate-limiting steps and force generation. The implications from P i -induced force kinetics of myofibrils are discussed in combination with historical and recent models of the cross-bridge cycle.

UPDATING UNDER RISK CONDITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VĂDUVA CECILIA ELENA

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The foundation for future firm development is investment. Agents have a risk aversion requiring higher returns as the risks associated with the project will be greater. The investment decision determines the market firm's affirmation, increasing the market share, dominating the market. Making an investment at a certain point will determine certain cash flows throughout the life of the project, and a residual value can be obtained when it is taken out of service. The flows and payments for the investment project can be more easily tracked if we are proposing a constant update rate. We will be able to analyze, based on various factors, three techniques for determining the discount rate for investment projects: the opportunity cost, the risk-free rate, and a series of risk premiums, the weighted average cost of capital. People without financial training make value judgments for investment projects based on other market opportunities, comparing the returns that any investment offers to other pay options. An investor has a sum of money he wants to make - if he does not invest in a project, he will invest in another, that will bring him a certain amount of money, choosing the most advantageous project by comparison. All projects are characterized by identical risks, and the agents are considered indifferent to the risks. The answer given by financial theory and practice to the disadvantage of rates in the opportunity cost category is the discount rate calculated as a sum of the risk-free rate and a risk premium, defining the risk as a factor whose action may cause a possible decrease in cash of the available flows. Higher objectivity is presented by the opportunity cost update rates of update because it refers to known variables but cannot be perfectly matched to the performance of the investment process.

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2017 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model; and Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-03

This final rule updates the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) payment rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor; effective for home health episodes of care ending on or after January 1, 2017. This rule also: Implements the last year of the 4-year phase-in of the rebasing adjustments to the HH PPS payment rates; updates the HH PPS case-mix weights using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking; implements the 2nd-year of a 3-year phase-in of a reduction to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment to account for estimated case-mix growth unrelated to increases in patient acuity (that is, nominal case-mix growth) between CY 2012 and CY 2014; finalizes changes to the methodology used to calculate payments made under the HH PPS for high-cost "outlier" episodes of care; implements changes in payment for furnishing Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) using a disposable device for patients under a home health plan of care; discusses our efforts to monitor the potential impacts of the rebasing adjustments; includes an update on subsequent research and analysis as a result of the findings from the home health study; and finalizes changes to the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which was implemented on January 1, 2016; and updates to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP).

Elongational flow of polymer melts at constant strain rate, constant stress and constant force

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Manfred H.; Rolón-Garrido, Víctor H.

2013-04-01

Characterization of polymer melts in elongational flow is typically performed at constant elongational rate or rarely at constant tensile stress conditions. One of the disadvantages of these deformation modes is that they are hampered by the onset of "necking" instabilities according to the Considère criterion. Experiments at constant tensile force have been performed even more rarely, in spite of the fact that this deformation mode is free from necking instabilities and is of considerable industrial relevance as it is the correct analogue of steady fiber spinning. It is the objective of the present contribution to present for the first time a full experimental characterization of a long-chain branched polyethylene melt in elongational flow. Experiments were performed at constant elongation rate, constant tensile stress and constant tensile force by use of a Sentmanat Extensional Rheometer (SER) in combination with an Anton Paar MCR301 rotational rheometer. The accessible experimental window and experimental limitations are discussed. The experimental data are modelled by using the Wagner I model. Predictions of the steady-start elongational viscosity in constant strain rate and creep experiments are found to be identical, albeit only by extrapolation of the experimental data to Hencky strains of the order of 6. For constant stress experiments, a minimum in the strain rate and a corresponding maximum in the elongational viscosity is found at a Hencky strain of the order of 3, which, although larger than the steady-state value, follows roughly the general trend of the steady-state elongational viscosity. The constitutive analysis also reveals that constant tensile force experiments indicate a larger strain hardening potential than seen in constant elongation rate or constant tensile stress experiments. This may be indicative of the effect of necking under constant elongation rate or constant tensile stress conditions according to the Considère criterion.

NACRE II: an update of the NACRE compilation of charged-particle-induced thermonuclear reaction rates for nuclei with mass number A<16

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Y.; Takahashi, K.; Goriely, S.; Arnould, M.; Ohta, M.; Utsunomiya, H.

2013-01-01

An update of the NACRE compilation [3] is presented. This new compilation, referred to as NACRE II, reports thermonuclear reaction rates for 34 charged-particle induced, two-body exoergic reactions on nuclides with mass number A 6 ≲T⩽10 10 K range. Along with the ‘adopted’ rates, their low and high limits are provided. The new rates are available in electronic form as part of the Brussels Library (BRUSLIB) of nuclear data. The NACRE II rates also supersede the previous NACRE rates in the Nuclear Network Generator (NETGEN) for astrophysics. [ (http://www.astro.ulb.ac.be/databases.html)

Forced-air warming discontinued: periprosthetic joint infection rates drop

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott D. Augustine

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Several studies have shown that the waste heat from forced-air warming (FAW escapes near the floor and warms the contaminated air resident near the floor. The waste heat then forms into convection currents that rise up and contaminate the sterile field above the surgical table. It has been shown that a single airborne bacterium can cause a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI following joint replacement surgery. We retrospectively compared PJI rates during a period of FAW to a period of air-free conductive fabric electric warming (CFW at three hospitals. Surgical and antibiotic protocols were held constant. The pooled multicenter data showed a decreased PJI rate of 78% following the discontinuation of FAW and a switch to air-free CFW (n=2034; P=0.002. The 78% reduction in joint implant infections observed when FAW was discontinued suggests that there is a link between the waste FAW heat and PJIs.

Differences in radial expansion force among inferior vena cava filter models support documented perforation rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Robins, J Eli; Ragai, Ihab; Yamaguchi, Dean J

2018-05-01

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are used in patients at risk for pulmonary embolism who cannot be anticoagulated. Unfortunately, these filters are not without risk, and complications include perforation, migration, and filter fracture. The most prevalent complication is filter perforation of the IVC, with incidence varying among filter models. To our knowledge, the mechanical properties of IVC filters have not been evaluated and are not readily available through the manufacturer. This study sought to determine whether differences in mechanical properties are similar to differences in documented perforation rates. The radial expansion forces of Greenfield (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Mass), Cook Celect (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind), and Cook Platinum filters were analyzed with three replicates per group. The intrinsic force exerted by the filter on the measuring device was collected in real time during controlled expansion. Replicates were averaged and significance was determined by calculating analysis of covariance using SAS software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Each filter model generated a significantly different radial expansion force (P filter, followed by the Cook Celect and Greenfield filters. Radial force dispersion during expansion was greatest in the Cook Celect, followed by the Cook Platinum and Greenfield filters. Differences in radial expansion forces among IVC filter models are consistent with documented perforation rates. Cook Celect IVC filters have a higher incidence of perforation compared with Greenfield filters when they are left in place for >90 days. Evaluation of Cook Celect filters yielded a significantly higher radial expansion force at minimum caval diameter, with greater force dispersion during expansion. Copyright © 2018 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Sled Towing on Peak Force, the Rate of Force Development and Sprint Performance During the Acceleration Phase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martínez-Valencia María Asunción

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Resisted sprint training is believed to increase strength specific to sprinting. Therefore, the knowledge of force output in these tasks is essential. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of sled towing (10%, 15% and 20% of body mass (Bm on sprint performance and force production during the acceleration phase. Twenty-three young experienced sprinters (17 men and 6 women; men = 17.9 ± 3.3 years, 1.79 ± 0.06 m and 69.4 ± 6.1 kg; women = 17.2 ± 1.7 years, 1.65 ± 0.04 m and 56.6 ± 2.3 kg performed four 30 m sprints from a crouch start. Sprint times in 20 and 30 m sprint, peak force (Fpeak, a peak rate of force development (RFDpeak and time to RFD (TRFD in first step were recorded. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant increases (p ≤ 0.001 in sprint times (20 and 30 m sprint for each resisted condition as compared to the unloaded condition. The RFDpeak increased significantly when a load increased (3129.4 ± 894.6 N·s−1, p ≤ 0.05 and 3892.4 ± 1377.9 N·s−1, p ≤ 0.01. Otherwise, no significant increases were found in Fpeak and TRFD. The RFD determines the force that can be generated in the early phase of muscle contraction, and it has been considered a factor that influences performance of force-velocity tasks. The use of a load up to 20% Bm might provide a training stimulus in young sprinters to improve the RFDpeak during the sprint start, and thus, early acceleration.

Evidence-based medical review update: pharmacological and surgical treatments of Parkinson's disease: 2001 to 2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Goetz, Christopher G; Poewe, Werner; Rascol, Olivier; Sampaio, Cristina

2005-05-01

The objective of this study is to update a previous evidence-based medicine (EBM) review on Parkinson's disease (PD) treatments, adding January 2001 to January 2004 information. The Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Task Force prepared an EBM review of PD treatments covering data up to January 2001. The authors reviewed Level I (randomized clinical trials) reports of pharmacological and surgical interventions for PD, published as full articles in English (January 2001-January 2004). Inclusion criteria and ranking followed the original program and adhered to EBM methodology. For Efficacy Conclusions, treatments were designated Efficacious, Likely Efficacious, Non-Efficacious, or Insufficient Data. Four clinical indications were considered for each intervention: prevention of disease progression; treatment of Parkinsonism, as monotherapy and as adjuncts to levodopa where indicated; prevention of motor complications; treatment of motor complications. Twenty-seven new studies qualified for efficacy review, and others covered new safety issues. Apomorphine, piribedil, unilateral pallidotomy, and subthalamic nucleus stimulation moved upward in efficacy ratings. Rasagiline, was newly rated as Efficacious monotherapy for control of Parkinsonism. New Level I data moved human fetal nigral transplants, as performed to date, from Insufficient Data to Non- efficacious for the treatment of Parkinsonism, motor fluctuations, and dyskinesias. Selegiline was reassigned as Non-efficacious for the prevention of dyskinesias. Other designations did not change. In a field as active in clinical trials as PD, frequent updating of therapy-based reviews is essential. We consider a 3-year period a reasonable time frame for published updates and are working to establish a Web-based mechanism to update the report in an ongoing manner. Copyright 2005 Movement Disorder Society.

Communication technology update and fundamentals

CERN Document Server

Grant, August E

2010-01-01

New communication technologies are being introduced at an astonishing rate. Making sense of these technologies is increasingly difficult. Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals is the single best source for the latest developments, trends, and issues in communication technology. Featuring the fundamental framework along with the history and background of communication technologies, Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals, 12th edition helps you stay ahead of these ever-changing and emerging technologies.As always, every chapter ha

Communication technology update and fundamentals

CERN Document Server

Grant, August E

2008-01-01

New communication technologies are being introduced at an astonishing rate. Making sense of these technologies is increasingly difficult. Communication Technology Update is the single best source for the latest developments, trends, and issues in communication technology. Now in its 11th edition, Communication Technology Update has become an indispensable information resource for business, government, and academia. As always, every chapter has been completely rewritten to reflect the latest developments and market statistics, and now covers mobile computing, dig

42 CFR 414.30 - Conversion factor update.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Conversion factor update. 414.30 Section 414.30... Practitioners § 414.30 Conversion factor update. Unless Congress acts in accordance with section 1848(d)(3) of... preceding FY over the third preceding FY exceeds the performance standard rate of increase established for...

Recruitment of faster motor units is associated with greater rates of fascicle strain and rapid changes in muscle force during locomotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sabrina S M; de Boef Miara, Maria; Arnold, Allison S; Biewener, Andrew A; Wakeling, James M

2013-01-15

Animals modulate the power output needed for different locomotor tasks by changing muscle forces and fascicle strain rates. To generate the necessary forces, appropriate motor units must be recruited. Faster motor units have faster activation-deactivation rates than slower motor units, and they contract at higher strain rates; therefore, recruitment of faster motor units may be advantageous for tasks that involve rapid movements or high rates of work. This study identified motor unit recruitment patterns in the gastrocnemii muscles of goats and examined whether faster motor units are recruited when locomotor speed is increased. The study also examined whether locomotor tasks that elicit faster (or slower) motor units are associated with increased (or decreased) in vivo tendon forces, force rise and relaxation rates, fascicle strains and/or strain rates. Electromyography (EMG), sonomicrometry and muscle-tendon force data were collected from the lateral and medial gastrocnemius muscles of goats during level walking, trotting and galloping and during inclined walking and trotting. EMG signals were analyzed using wavelet and principal component analyses to quantify changes in the EMG frequency spectra across the different locomotor conditions. Fascicle strain and strain rate were calculated from the sonomicrometric data, and force rise and relaxation rates were determined from the tendon force data. The results of this study showed that faster motor units were recruited as goats increased their locomotor speeds from level walking to galloping. Slow inclined walking elicited EMG intensities similar to those of fast level galloping but different EMG frequency spectra, indicating that recruitment of the different motor unit types depended, in part, on characteristics of the task. For the locomotor tasks and muscles analyzed here, recruitment patterns were generally associated with in vivo fascicle strain rates, EMG intensity and tendon force. Together, these data provide

Recruitment of faster motor units is associated with greater rates of fascicle strain and rapid changes in muscle force during locomotion

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sabrina S. M.; de Boef Miara, Maria; Arnold, Allison S.; Biewener, Andrew A.; Wakeling, James M.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Animals modulate the power output needed for different locomotor tasks by changing muscle forces and fascicle strain rates. To generate the necessary forces, appropriate motor units must be recruited. Faster motor units have faster activation–deactivation rates than slower motor units, and they contract at higher strain rates; therefore, recruitment of faster motor units may be advantageous for tasks that involve rapid movements or high rates of work. This study identified motor unit recruitment patterns in the gastrocnemii muscles of goats and examined whether faster motor units are recruited when locomotor speed is increased. The study also examined whether locomotor tasks that elicit faster (or slower) motor units are associated with increased (or decreased) in vivo tendon forces, force rise and relaxation rates, fascicle strains and/or strain rates. Electromyography (EMG), sonomicrometry and muscle-tendon force data were collected from the lateral and medial gastrocnemius muscles of goats during level walking, trotting and galloping and during inclined walking and trotting. EMG signals were analyzed using wavelet and principal component analyses to quantify changes in the EMG frequency spectra across the different locomotor conditions. Fascicle strain and strain rate were calculated from the sonomicrometric data, and force rise and relaxation rates were determined from the tendon force data. The results of this study showed that faster motor units were recruited as goats increased their locomotor speeds from level walking to galloping. Slow inclined walking elicited EMG intensities similar to those of fast level galloping but different EMG frequency spectra, indicating that recruitment of the different motor unit types depended, in part, on characteristics of the task. For the locomotor tasks and muscles analyzed here, recruitment patterns were generally associated with in vivo fascicle strain rates, EMG intensity and tendon force. Together, these

Influence of forced respiration on nonlinear dynamics in heart rate variability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kanters, J K; Højgaard, M V; Agner, E

1997-01-01

Although it is doubtful whether the normal sinus rhythm can be described as low-dimensional chaos, there is evidence for inherent nonlinear dynamics and determinism in time series of consecutive R-R intervals. However, the physiological origin for these nonlinearities is unknown. The aim...... with a metronome set to 12 min(-1). Nonlinear dynamics were measured as the correlation dimension and the nonlinear prediction error. Complexity expressed as correlation dimension was unchanged from normal respiration, 9.1 +/- 0.5, compared with forced respiration, 9.3 +/- 0.6. Also, nonlinear determinism...... expressed as the nonlinear prediction error did not differ between spontaneous respiration, 32.3 +/- 3.4 ms, and forced respiration, 31.9 +/- 5.7. It is concluded that the origin of the nonlinear dynamics in heart rate variability is not a nonlinear input from the respiration into the cardiovascular...

Non-Rated Air Force Line Officer Attrition Rates Using Survival Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-26

Further complicating human resourcing, all Air Force members–enlisted and officer–start at entry-level. Personnel entering the Air Force inventory are...the system [8]. Chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID) is an algorithm “to predict the response behaviour [sic] of individuals as...branches with the highest probability may require incentives to increase attrition. The branches could be defined by gender, career field, religion

Treating rheumatoid arthritis to target: 2014 update of the recommendations of an international task force

Science.gov (United States)

Smolen, Josef S; Breedveld, Ferdinand C; Burmester, Gerd R; Bykerk, Vivian; Dougados, Maxime; Emery, Paul; Kvien, Tore K; Navarro-Compán, M Victoria; Oliver, Susan; Schoels, Monika; Scholte-Voshaar, Marieke; Stamm, Tanja; Stoffer, Michaela; Takeuchi, Tsutomu; Aletaha, Daniel; Andreu, Jose Louis; Aringer, Martin; Bergman, Martin; Betteridge, Neil; Bijlsma, Hans; Burkhardt, Harald; Combe, Bernard; Durez, Patrick; Fonseca, Joao Eurico; Gibofsky, Alan; Gomez-Reino, Juan J; Graninger, Winfried; Hannonen, Pekka; Haraoui, Boulos; Kouloumas, Marios; Landewe, Robert; Martin-Mola, Emilio; Nash, Peter; Ostergaard, Mikkel; Östör, Andrew; Richards, Pam; Sokka-Isler, Tuulikki; Thorne, Carter; Tzioufas, Athanasios G; van Vollenhoven, Ronald; de Wit, Martinus

2016-01-01

Background Reaching the therapeutic target of remission or low-disease activity has improved outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) significantly. The treat-to-target recommendations, formulated in 2010, have provided a basis for implementation of a strategic approach towards this therapeutic goal in routine clinical practice, but these recommendations need to be re-evaluated for appropriateness and practicability in the light of new insights. Objective To update the 2010 treat-to-target recommendations based on systematic literature reviews (SLR) and expert opinion. Methods A task force of rheumatologists, patients and a nurse specialist assessed the SLR results and evaluated the individual items of the 2010 recommendations accordingly, reformulating many of the items. These were subsequently discussed, amended and voted upon by >40 experts, including 5 patients, from various regions of the world. Levels of evidence, strengths of recommendations and levels of agreement were derived. Results The update resulted in 4 overarching principles and 10 recommendations. The previous recommendations were partly adapted and their order changed as deemed appropriate in terms of importance in the view of the experts. The SLR had now provided also data for the effectiveness of targeting low-disease activity or remission in established rather than only early disease. The role of comorbidities, including their potential to preclude treatment intensification, was highlighted more strongly than before. The treatment aim was again defined as remission with low-disease activity being an alternative goal especially in patients with long-standing disease. Regular follow-up (every 1–3 months during active disease) with according therapeutic adaptations to reach the desired state was recommended. Follow-up examinations ought to employ composite measures of disease activity that include joint counts. Additional items provide further details for particular aspects of the

Bifurcations of a periodically forced microbial continuous culture model with restrained growth rate

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Jingli; Yuan, Qigang

2017-08-01

A three dimensional microbial continuous culture model with a restrained microbial growth rate is studied in this paper. Two types of dilution rates are considered to investigate the dynamic behaviors of the model. For the unforced system, fold bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation are detected, and numerical simulations reveal that the system undergoes degenerate Hopf bifurcation. When the system is periodically forced, bifurcation diagrams for periodic solutions of period-one and period-two are given by researching the Poincaré map, corresponding to different bifurcation cases in the unforced system. Stable and unstable quasiperiodic solutions are obtained by Neimark-Sacker bifurcation with different parameter values. Periodic solutions of various periods can occur or disappear and even change their stability, when the Poincaré map of the forced system undergoes Neimark-Sacker bifurcation, flip bifurcation, and fold bifurcation. Chaotic attractors generated by a cascade of period doublings and some phase portraits are given at last.

Effect of Strength Training on Rate of Force Development in Older Women

Science.gov (United States)

Gurjao, Andre Luiz Demantova; Gobbi, Lilian Teresa Bucken; Carneiro, Nelson Hilario; Goncalves, Raquel; Ferreira de Moura, Rodrigo; Cyrino, Edilson Serpeloni; Altimari, Leandro Ricardo; Gobbi, Sebastiao

2012-01-01

We analyzed the effect of an 8-week strength training (ST) program on the rate of force development (RFD) and electromyographic activity (EMG) in older women. Seventeen women (M age = 63.4 years, SD = 4.9) without previous ST experience were randomly assigned to either a control (n = 7) or training (n = 10) group. A leg-press isometric test was…

Updating of a dynamic finite element model from the Hualien scale model reactor building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Billet, L.; Moine, P.; Lebailly, P.

1996-08-01

The forces occurring at the soil-structure interface of a building have generally a large influence on the way the building reacts to an earthquake. One can be tempted to characterise these forces more accurately bu updating a model from the structure. However, this procedure requires an updating method suitable for dissipative models, since significant damping can be observed at the soil-structure interface of buildings. Such a method is presented here. It is based on the minimization of a mechanical energy built from the difference between Eigen data calculated bu the model and Eigen data issued from experimental tests on the real structure. An experimental validation of this method is then proposed on a model from the HUALIEN scale-model reactor building. This scale-model, built on the HUALIEN site of TAIWAN, is devoted to the study of soil-structure interaction. The updating concerned the soil impedances, modelled by a layer of springs and viscous dampers attached to the building foundation. A good agreement was found between the Eigen modes and dynamic responses calculated bu the updated model and the corresponding experimental data. (authors). 12 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

Fluctuations in isometric muscle force can be described by one linear projection of low-frequency components of motor unit discharge rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Negro, Francesco; Holobar, Ales; Farina, Dario

2009-12-15

The aim of the study was to investigate the relation between linear transformations of motor unit discharge rates and muscle force. Intramuscular (wire electrodes) and high-density surface EMG (13 x 5 electrode grid) were recorded from the abductor digiti minimi muscle of eight healthy men during 60 s contractions at 5%, 7.5% and 10% of the maximal force. Spike trains of a total of 222 motor units were identified from the EMG recordings with decomposition algorithms. Principal component analysis of the smoothed motor unit discharge rates indicated that one component (first common component, FCC) described 44.2 +/- 7.5% of the total variability of the smoothed discharge rates when computed over the entire contraction interval and 64.3 +/- 10.2% of the variability when computed over 5 s intervals. When the FCC was computed from four or more motor units per contraction, it correlated with the force produced by the muscle (62.7 +/- 10.1%) by a greater degree (P FCC and the force signal increased up to 71.8 +/- 13.1% when the duration and the shape of the smoothing window for discharge rates were similar to the average motor unit twitch force. Moreover, the coefficients of variation (CoV) for the force and for the FCC signal were correlated in all subjects (R(2) range = 0.14-0.56; P measures on the tibialis anterior muscle of an additional eight subjects during contractions at forces up to 20% of the maximal force (e.g. FCC explained 59.8 +/- 11.0% of variability of the smoothed discharge rates). In conclusion, one signal captures most of the underlying variability of the low-frequency components of motor unit discharge rates and explains large part of the fluctuations in the motor output during isometric contractions.

Calibrationless rotating Lorentz-force flowmeters for low flow rate applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hvasta, M. G.; Dudt, D.; Fisher, A. E.; Kolemen, E.

2018-07-01

A ‘weighted magnetic bearing’ has been developed to improve the performance of rotating Lorentz-force flowmeters (RLFFs). Experiments have shown that the new bearing reduces frictional losses within a double-sided, disc-style RLFF to negligible levels. Operating such an RLFF under ‘frictionless’ conditions provides two major benefits. First, the steady-state velocity of the RLFF magnets matches the average velocity of the flowing liquid at low flow rates. This enables an RLFF to make accurate volumetric flow measurements without any calibration or prior knowledge of the fluid properties. Second, due to minimized frictional losses, an RLFF is able to measure low flow rates that cannot be detected when conventional, high-friction bearings are used. This paper provides a brief background on RLFFs, gives a detailed description of weighted magnetic bearings, and compares experimental RLFF data to measurements taken with a commercially available flowmeter.

Updating systematic reviews: an international survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chantelle Garritty

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews (SRs should be up to date to maintain their importance in informing healthcare policy and practice. However, little guidance is available about when and how to update SRs. Moreover, the updating policies and practices of organizations that commission or produce SRs are unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The objective was to describe the updating practices and policies of agencies that sponsor or conduct SRs. An Internet-based survey was administered to a purposive non-random sample of 195 healthcare organizations within the international SR community. Survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The completed response rate was 58% (n = 114 from across 26 countries with 70% (75/107 of participants identified as producers of SRs. Among responders, 79% (84/107 characterized the importance of updating as high or very-high and 57% (60/106 of organizations reported to have a formal policy for updating. However, only 29% (35/106 of organizations made reference to a written policy document. Several groups (62/105; 59% reported updating practices as irregular, and over half (53/103 of organizational respondents estimated that more than 50% of their respective SRs were likely out of date. Authors of the original SR (42/106; 40% were most often deemed responsible for ensuring SRs were current. Barriers to updating included resource constraints, reviewer motivation, lack of academic credit, and limited publishing formats. Most respondents (70/100; 70% indicated that they supported centralization of updating efforts across institutions or agencies. Furthermore, 84% (83/99 of respondents indicated they favoured the development of a central registry of SRs, analogous to efforts within the clinical trials community. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Most organizations that sponsor and/or carry out SRs consider updating important. Despite this recognition, updating practices are not regular, and many organizations lack

Labor Force Participation and Gender Inequalities: Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Najeebullah Khan; Adnan Hussein; Qamar Afaq; Zahid Awan

2012-01-01

In this study we analyzed gender inequalities in labour force participation of the two Asian Countries namely Pakistan and Malaysia. Gender inequalities in labour market are analyzed and updated using recent time series data of 2005 to 2009. The data are drawn from different sources including various Integrated Household Surveys, Labour Force Surveys, Economic Surveys and Labour Force Survey Reports of the two countries. The results indicate significant gender differences in the labour force ...

Comparison of the performance of the updated Schwartz, combined Schwartz and the Grubb glomerular filtration rate equations in a general pediatric population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alaleh Gheissari

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To determine the performance of the updated Schwartz, combined Schwartz and Grubb glomerular filtration rate (GFR equations in a relatively large number of healthy children with no known renal disease, we studied 712 students aged between seven and 18 years from the Isfahan province of Iran by random cluster sampling between 2009 and 2010. Blood investigations included blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and cystatin C. For each participant, GFR was calculated based on the three equations. We used Bland-Altman plots and weighted kappa statistics to compare the performance of the study equations. The mean age of the children was 12.2 ± 2.4 years. A high concordance in estimating GFR (mean difference: 0 ± 12.7 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and a very good agreement in defining chronic kidney disease (CKD and non-CKD individuals (weighted kappa: 0.85; 95% confidence intervals: 0.69-1 were observed between the updated Schwartz and the combined Schwartz equations. Poor agreement was observed between the Grubb equation and two Schwartz equations in estimating GFR and defining CKD. There was no systematic deviation between the updated Schwartz and the combined Schwartz equations in children with normal renal function. The Grubb equation was highly inconsistent with both Schwartz equations in this population. We conclude that the updated Schwartz equation is simpler and more accessible than the combined Schwartz equation in daily clinical practice and CKD screening programs.

Associations between rate of force development metrics and throwing velocity in elite team handball players: a short research report.

Science.gov (United States)

Marques, Mário C; Saavedra, Francisco J; Abrantes, Catarina; Aidar, Felipe J

2011-09-01

Performance assessment has become an invaluable component of monitoring participant's development in distinct sports, yet limited and contradictory data are available in trained subjects. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between ball throwing velocity during a 3-step running throw in elite team handball players and selected measures of rate of force development like force, power, velocity, and bar displacement during a concentric only bench press exercise in elite male handball players. Fitteen elite senior male team handball players volunteered to participate. Each volunteer had power and bar velocity measured during a concentric only bench press test with 25, 35, and 45 kg as well as having one-repetition maximum strength determined. Ball throwing velocity was evaluated with a standard 3-step running throw using a radar gun. The results of this study indicated significant associations between ball velocity and time at maximum rate of force development (0, 66; pvelocity was only median associated with maximum rate of force development with light loads. A training regimen designed to improve ball-throwing velocity in elite male team handball players should emphasize bench press movement using light loads.

The Effect of Minimum Wages on the Labor Force Participation Rates of Teenagers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wessels, Walter J.

In light of pressure on Congress to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 per hour, a study looked at the effects such a raise would have on more than 10 million workers, many of them teenagers. The study used quarterly data on the labor force participation rates of teenagers from 1978 through 1999 and other studies to assess the effects of…

Comparison of rate of En masse retraction and anchorage loss in conventional labial appliance with labial and lingual force: A clinical study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dilshad Quraishi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Aims: The rate of en masse retraction and anchorage loss were compared between labial appliance with lingual force and conventional labial appliance. Subjects and Methods: The sample consists of 14 patients and they were divided into two groups. In Group 1 – labial appliance with lingual force, elastomeric chain was placed from the palatal surface of the canines to the palatal surface of the molars. In Group 2 – labial appliance with labial force, elastomeric chain was placed from the crimpable hook distal to lateral incisor to the molar tube hooks. The rate of en masse retraction and anchorage loss was calculated for both the groups during retraction in dental casts (R0, initial; R1, 4 weeks; R2, 8 weeks; and R3, 12 weeks. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's paired t-test. Results: The rate of retraction was faster and anchorage loss was lower with labial appliance with lingual force, i.e., Group 1. The difference of anchorage loss in Group 1 and Group 2 shows t = 4.824 and P value= 0.000, which is statistically highly significant. The difference of rate of retraction in Group 1 and Group 2 shows t = 3.573 and P value = 0.004, which is statistically signifcant. Conclusions: The rate of retraction was faster and anchorage loss was lower with labial appliance with lingual force, thus indicating that this new technique of space closure utilizes biomechanical advantage of lingual force in conventional labial appliance.

Update heat exchanger designing principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lipets, A.U.; Yampol'skij, A.E.

1985-01-01

Update heat exchanger design principles are analysed. Different coolant pattern in a heat exchanger are considered. It is suggested to rationally organize flow rates irregularity in it. Applying on heat exchanger designing measures on using really existing temperature and flow rate irregularities will permit to improve heat exchanger efficiency. It is expedient in some cases to artificially produce irregularities. In this connection some heat exchanger design principles must be reviewed now

Force Structure: Performance Measures Needed to Better Implement the Recommendations of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-01

implementation actions. The teams present their proposed actions to the one- star general officers within the Total Force Continuum office. According...additional information. Connect with GAO on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube . Subscribe to our RSS Feeds or E-mail Updates. Listen to our

Impact of uncertainties in inorganic chemical rate constants on tropospheric composition and ozone radiative forcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Newsome

2017-12-01

regions such as the tropics, poles and upper troposphere are most uncertain. This chemical uncertainty is sufficiently large to suggest that rate constant uncertainty should be considered alongside other processes when model results disagree with measurement. Calculations for the pre-industrial simulation allow a tropospheric ozone radiative forcing to be calculated of 0.412 ± 0.062 W m−2. This uncertainty (13 % is comparable to the inter-model spread in ozone radiative forcing found in previous model–model intercomparison studies where the rate constants used in the models are all identical or very similar. Thus, the uncertainty of tropospheric ozone radiative forcing should expanded to include this additional source of uncertainty. These rate constant uncertainties are significant and suggest that refinement of supposedly well-known chemical rate constants should be considered alongside other improvements to enhance our understanding of atmospheric processes.

Male Mutation Bias Is the Main Force Shaping Chromosomal Substitution Rates in Monotreme Mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Link, Vivian; Aguilar-Gómez, Diana; Ramírez-Suástegui, Ciro; Hurst, Laurence D; Cortez, Diego

2017-09-01

In many species, spermatogenesis involves more cell divisions than oogenesis, and the male germline, therefore, accumulates more DNA replication errors, a phenomenon known as male mutation bias. The extent of male mutation bias (α) is estimated by comparing substitution rates of the X, Y, and autosomal chromosomes, as these chromosomes spend different proportions of their time in the germlines of the two sexes. Male mutation bias has been characterized in placental and marsupial mammals as well as birds, but analyses in monotremes failed to detect any such bias. Monotremes are an ancient lineage of egg-laying mammals with distinct biological properties, which include unique germline features. Here, we sought to assess the presence and potential characteristics of male mutation bias in platypus and the short-beaked echidna based on substitution rate analyses of X, Y, and autosomes. We established the presence of moderate male mutation bias in monotremes, corresponding to an α value of 2.12-3.69. Given that it has been unclear what proportion of the variation in substitution rates on the different chromosomal classes is really due to differential number of replications, we analyzed the influence of other confounding forces (selection, replication-timing, etc.) and found that male mutation bias is the main force explaining the between-chromosome classes differences in substitution rates. Finally, we estimated the proportion of variation at the gene level in substitution rates that is owing to replication effects and found that this phenomenon can explain >68% of these variations in monotremes, and in control species, rodents, and primates. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Confirmation of linear system theory prediction: Rate of change of Herrnstein's κ as a function of response-force requirement

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, J. J; Wood, Helena M.

1985-01-01

Four human subjects worked on all combinations of five variable-interval schedules and five reinforcer magnitudes (¢/reinforcer) in each of two phases of the experiment. In one phase the force requirement on the operandum was low (1 or 11 N) and in the other it was high (25 or 146 N). Estimates of Herrnstein's κ were obtained at each reinforcer magnitude. The results were: (1) response rate was more sensitive to changes in reinforcement rate at the high than at the low force requirement, (2) κ increased from the beginning to the end of the magnitude range for all subjects at both force requirements, (3) the reciprocal of κ was a linear function of the reciprocal of reinforcer magnitude for seven of the eight data sets, and (4) the rate of change of κ was greater at the high than at the low force requirement by an order of magnitude or more. The second and third findings confirm predictions made by linear system theory, and replicate the results of an earlier experiment (McDowell & Wood, 1984). The fourth finding confirms a further prediction of the theory and supports the theory's interpretation of conflicting data on the constancy of Herrnstein's κ. PMID:16812408

Confirmation of linear system theory prediction: Rate of change of Herrnstein's kappa as a function of response-force requirement.

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, J J; Wood, H M

1985-01-01

Four human subjects worked on all combinations of five variable-interval schedules and five reinforcer magnitudes ( cent/reinforcer) in each of two phases of the experiment. In one phase the force requirement on the operandum was low (1 or 11 N) and in the other it was high (25 or 146 N). Estimates of Herrnstein's kappa were obtained at each reinforcer magnitude. The results were: (1) response rate was more sensitive to changes in reinforcement rate at the high than at the low force requirement, (2) kappa increased from the beginning to the end of the magnitude range for all subjects at both force requirements, (3) the reciprocal of kappa was a linear function of the reciprocal of reinforcer magnitude for seven of the eight data sets, and (4) the rate of change of kappa was greater at the high than at the low force requirement by an order of magnitude or more. The second and third findings confirm predictions made by linear system theory, and replicate the results of an earlier experiment (McDowell & Wood, 1984). The fourth finding confirms a further prediction of the theory and supports the theory's interpretation of conflicting data on the constancy of Herrnstein's kappa.

Sum-rate analysis of spectrum sharing spatial multiplexing MIMO systems with zero-forcing and multiuser diversity

KAUST Repository

Yang, Liang; Qaraqe, Khalid A.; Serpedin, Erchin; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

This paper considers a multiuser spectrum sharing (SS) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with zero-forcing (ZF) operating in a Rayleigh fading environment. We provide an asymptotic sum-rate analysis to investigate the effects of different

Imaging stability in force-feedback high-speed atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Byung I.; Boehm, Ryan D.

2013-01-01

We studied the stability of force-feedback high-speed atomic force microscopy (HSAFM) by imaging soft, hard, and biological sample surfaces at various applied forces. The HSAFM images showed sudden topographic variations of streaky fringes with a negative applied force when collected on a soft hydrocarbon film grown on a grating sample, whereas they showed stable topographic features with positive applied forces. The instability of HSAFM images with the negative applied force was explained by the transition between contact and noncontact regimes in the force–distance curve. When the grating surface was cleaned, and thus hydrophilic by removing the hydrocarbon film, enhanced imaging stability was observed at both positive and negative applied forces. The higher adhesive interaction between the tip and the surface explains the improved imaging stability. The effects of imaging rate on the imaging stability were tested on an even softer adhesive Escherichia coli biofilm deposited onto the grating structure. The biofilm and planktonic cell structures in HSAFM images were reproducible within the force deviation less than ∼0.5 nN at the imaging rate up to 0.2 s per frame, suggesting that the force-feedback HSAFM was stable for various imaging speeds in imaging softer adhesive biological samples. - Highlights: ► We investigated the imaging stability of force-feedback HSAFM. ► Stable–unstable imaging transitions rely on applied force and sample hydrophilicity. ► The stable–unstable transitions are found to be independent of imaging rate

Inter-firm Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Updating: An Empirical Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Su-rong; Wang, Wen-ping

In the era of knowledge-based economy which information technology develops rapidly, the rate of knowledge updating has become a critical factor for enterprises to gaining competitive advantage .We build an interactional theoretical model among inter-firm networks, organizational learning and knowledge updating thereby and demonstrate it with empirical study at last. The result shows that inter-firm networks and organizational learning is the source of knowledge updating.

Screening for Syphilis Infection in Pregnancy : US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calonge, Ned; Petitti, Diana B.; DeWitt, Thomas G.; Dietrich, Allen; Gregory, Kimberly D.; Grossman, David; Isham, George; LeFevre, Michael L.; Leipzig, Rosanne; Marion, Lucy N.; Melnyk, Bernadette; Moyer, Virginia A.; Ockene, Judith K.; Sawaya, George F.; Schwartz, J. Sanford; Wilt, Timothy

2009-01-01

Description: Update of the 2004 U. S. Preventive Services Task Force statement about screening for syphilis in pregnancy. Methods: The U. S. Preventive Services Task Force did a targeted literature search for evidence on the benefits of screening, the harms of screening, and the harms of treatment

Coupled force-balance and particle-occupation rate equations for high-field electron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, X. L.

2008-01-01

It is pointed out that in the framework of balance-equation approach, the coupled force-balance and particle-occupation rate equations can be used as a complete set of equations to determine the high-field transport of semiconductors in both strong and weak electron-electron interaction limits. We call to attention that the occupation rate equation conserves the total particle number and maintains the energy balance of the relative electron system, and there is no need to introduce any other term in it. The addition of an energy-drift term in the particle-occupation rate equation [Phys. Rev. B 71, 195205 (2005)] is physically inadequate for the violation of the total particle-number conservation and the energy balance. It may lead to a substantial unphysical increase of the total particle number by the application of a dc electric field

The influence of sodium bicarbonate on maximal force and rates of force development in the triceps surae and brachii during fatiguing exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Siegler, Jason C; Mudie, Kurt; Marshall, Paul

2016-11-01

What is the central question of this study? Does metabolic alkalosis in humans, induced by sodium bicarbonate, affect rates of skeletal muscle fatigue differentially in muscle groups composed predominately of slow- and fast-twitch fibres? What is the main finding and its importance? Sodium bicarbonate exhibited no effect on the fatigue profile observed between triceps surae and brachii muscle groups during and after 2 min of tetanic stimulation. For the first time in exercising humans, we have profiled the effect of sodium bicarbonate on the voluntary and involuntary contractile characteristics of muscle groups representative of predominately slow- and fast-twitch fibres. The effect of metabolic alkalosis on fibre-specific maximal force production and rates of force development (RFD) has been investigated previously in animal models, with evidence suggesting an improved capacity to develop force rapidly in fast- compared with slow-twitch muscle. We have attempted to model in vivo the fatigue profile of voluntary and involuntary maximal force and RFD in the triceps surae and brachii after sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) ingestion. In a double-blind, three-way repeated-measures design, participants (n = 10) ingested either 0.3 g kg -1 NaHCO 3 (ALK) or equivalent calcium carbonate (PLA) prior to 2 min of continuous (1 Hz) supramaximal stimulation (300 ms at 40 Hz) of the triceps surae or brachii, with maximal voluntary efforts (maximal voluntary torque) coupled with direct muscle stimulation also measured at baseline, 1 and 2 min. Metabolic alkalosis was achieved in both ALK trials but was not different between muscle groups. Regardless of the conditions, involuntary torque declined nearly 60% in the triceps brachii (P < 0.001) and ∼30% in the triceps surae (P < 0.001). In all trials, there was a significant decline in normalized involuntary RFD (P < 0.05). Maximal voluntary torque declined nearly 28% but was not different between conditions (P < 0

Development of force adaptation during childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Konczak, Jürgen; Jansen-Osmann, Petra; Kalveram, Karl-Theodor

2003-03-01

Humans learn to make reaching movements in novel dynamic environments by acquiring an internal motor model of their limb dynamics. Here, the authors investigated how 4- to 11-year-old children (N = 39) and adults (N = 7) adapted to changes in arm dynamics, and they examined whether those data support the view that the human brain acquires inverse dynamics models (IDM) during development. While external damping forces were applied, the children learned to perform goal-directed forearm flexion movements. After changes in damping, all children showed kinematic aftereffects indicative of a neural controller that still attempted to compensate the no longer existing damping force. With increasing age, the number of trials toward complete adaptation decreased. When damping was present, forearm paths were most perturbed and most variable in the youngest children but were improved in the older children. The findings indicate that the neural representations of limb dynamics are less precise in children and less stable in time than those of adults. Such controller instability might be a primary cause of the high kinematic variability observed in many motor tasks during childhood. Finally, the young children were not able to update those models at the same rate as the older children, who, in turn, adapted more slowly than adults. In conclusion, the ability to adapt to unknown forces is a developmental achievement. The present results are consistent with the view that the acquisition and modification of internal models of the limb dynamics form the basis of that adaptive process.

Climate forcing growth rates: doubling down on our Faustian bargain

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, James; Kharecha, Pushker; Sato, Makiko

2013-03-01

Rahmstorf et al 's (2012) conclusion that observed climate change is comparable to projections, and in some cases exceeds projections, allows further inferences if we can quantify changing climate forcings and compare those with projections. The largest climate forcing is caused by well-mixed long-lived greenhouse gases. Here we illustrate trends of these gases and their climate forcings, and we discuss implications. We focus on quantities that are accurately measured, and we include comparison with fixed scenarios, which helps reduce common misimpressions about how climate forcings are changing. Annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions have shot up in the past decade at about 3% yr-1, double the rate of the prior three decades (figure 1). The growth rate falls above the range of the IPCC (2001) 'Marker' scenarios, although emissions are still within the entire range considered by the IPCC SRES (2000). The surge in emissions is due to increased coal use (blue curve in figure 1), which now accounts for more than 40% of fossil fuel CO2 emissions. Figure 1. Figure 1. CO2 annual emissions from fossil fuel use and cement manufacture, an update of figure 16 of Hansen (2003) using data of British Petroleum (BP 2012) concatenated with data of Boden et al (2012). The resulting annual increase of atmospheric CO2 (12-month running mean) has grown from less than 1 ppm yr-1 in the early 1960s to an average ~2 ppm yr-1 in the past decade (figure 2). Although CO2 measurements were not made at sufficient locations prior to the early 1980s to calculate the global mean change, the close match of global and Mauna Loa data for later years suggests that Mauna Loa data provide a good approximation of global change (figure 2), thus allowing a useful estimate of annual global change beginning with the initiation of Mauna Loa measurements in 1958 by Keeling et al (1973). Figure 2. Figure 2. Annual increase of CO2 based on data from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL 2012). CO2 change

Curriculum structure, content, learning and assessment in European undergraduate dental education - update 2010.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Manogue, M

2011-08-01

This paper presents an updated statement on behalf of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) in relation to proposals for undergraduate Curriculum Structure, Content, Learning, Assessment and Student \\/ Staff Exchange for dental education in Europe. A task force was constituted to consider these issues and the two previous, related publications produced by the Association (Plasschaert et al 2006 and 2007) were revised. The broad European dental community was circulated and contributed to the revisions. The paper was approved at the General Assembly of ADEE, held in Amsterdam in August 2010 and will be updated again in 2015.

Effect of Five-Finger Shoes on Vertical Ground Reaction Force Loading Rates and Perceived Comfort during the Stance Phase of the Running

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyede Zeynab Hoseini

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Objective:  Increased vertical ground reaction force loading rates and lack of comfort footwear in the early stance phase can increase the risk of overuse injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Five-finger shoes on vertical ground reaction force loading rate and perceived comfort during the stance phase of running. Methods: 15 male students (aged 24 ± 5/24 years, weight 75/8 ± 4/61 kg, height 178/6 ± 6/64 cm were selected. Subjects were asked to run over a force plate, in control shoe, five finger shoe and barefoot conditions. Loading rate using the slope of the vertical reaction force and perceived comfort were determined using a visual analogue scale. One factor repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the loading rate hypothesis and Paired t-tests was used to test the meaningfulness of perceived comfort (P<0/05. Results: The effect of shoes on loading rate was found to be not significant (P=0.1. However, comfort of control shoes increased by 10. 92% as compared to that of five-finger shoes (P=0.001.  Conclusion: The loading rate of five-finger shoes is the same as that of barefoot during running; however, as subjects did not perceive them as comfortable as regular shoes are five-finger shoes cannot be advised as a desirable choice in exercises.

Variability of sea ice deformation rates in the Arctic and their relationship with basin-scale wind forcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Herman

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The temporal variability of the moments of probability distribution functions (pdfs of total sea ice deformation rates in the Arctic is analyzed in the context of the basin-scale wind forcing acting on the ice. The pdfs are estimated for 594 satellite-derived sea ice deformation maps from 11 winter seasons between 1996/1997 and 2007/2008, provided by the RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System. The temporal scale analyzed equals 3 days. The moments of the pdfs, calculated for a range of spatial scales (12.5–900 km, have two dominating components of variability: a seasonal cycle, with deformation rates decreasing throughout winter towards a minimum in March; and a short-term, synoptic variability, strongly correlated with the area-averaged magnitude of the wind stress over the Arctic, estimated based on the NCEP-DOE Reanalysis-2 data (correlation coefficient of 0.71 for the mean deformation rate. Due to scaling properties of the moments, logarithms of higher moments are strongly correlated with the wind stress as well. Exceptions are observed only at small spatial scales, as a result of extreme deformation events, not directly associated with large-scale wind forcing. By repeating the analysis within regions of different sizes and locations, we show that the wind–ice deformation correlation is largest at the basin scale and decreases with decreasing size of the area of study. Finally, we suggest that a positive trend in seasonally averaged correlation between sea ice deformation rates and the wind forcing, present in the analyzed data, may be related to an observed decrease in the multi-year ice area in the Arctic, indicating possibly even stronger correlations in the future.

Efficient Multiplicative Updates for Support Vector Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Potluru, Vamsi K.; Plis, Sergie N; Mørup, Morten

2009-01-01

(NMF) problem. This allows us to derive a novel multiplicative algorithm for solving hard and soft margin SVM. The algorithm follows as a natural extension of the updates for NMF and semi-NMF. No additional parameter setting, such as choosing learning rate, is required. Exploiting the connection......The dual formulation of the support vector machine (SVM) objective function is an instance of a nonnegative quadratic programming problem. We reformulate the SVM objective function as a matrix factorization problem which establishes a connection with the regularized nonnegative matrix factorization...... between SVM and NMF formulation, we show how NMF algorithms can be applied to the SVM problem. Multiplicative updates that we derive for SVM problem also represent novel updates for semi-NMF. Further this unified view yields algorithmic insights in both directions: we demonstrate that the Kernel Adatron...

Update: Exertional rhabdomyolysis, active component, U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, 2011-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch

2016-03-01

Among active component members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps in 2015, there were 456 incident episodes of rhabdomyolysis likely due to physical exertion or heat stress ("exertional rhabdomyolysis"). Annual rates of incident diagnoses of exertional rhabdomyolysis increased 17% between 2014 and 2015. In 2015, the highest incidence rates occurred in service members who were male; younger than 20 years of age; black, non-Hispanic; members of the Marine Corps and Army; recruit trainees; and in combat-specific occupations. Most cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis were diagnosed at installations that support basic combat/recruit training or major ground combat units of the Army or Marine Corps. Medical care providers should consider exertional rhabdomyolysis in the differential diagnosis when service members (particularly recruits) present with muscular pain and swelling, limited range of motion, or the excretion of dark urine (e.g., myoglobinuria) after strenuous physical activity, particularly in hot, humid weather.

Technical Update: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahdouh, Elias M; Balayla, Jacques; Audibert, François; Wilson, R Douglas; Audibert, François; Brock, Jo-Ann; Campagnolo, Carla; Carroll, June; Chong, Karen; Gagnon, Alain; Johnson, Jo-Ann; MacDonald, William; Okun, Nanette; Pastuck, Melanie; Vallée-Pouliot, Karine

2015-05-01

To update and review the techniques and indications of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and preimplantation genetic screening (PGS). Discussion about the genetic and technical aspects of preimplantation reproductive techniques, particularly those using new cytogenetic technologies and embryo-stage biopsy. Clinical outcomes of reproductive techniques following the use of PGD and PGS are included. This update does not discuss in detail the adverse outcomes that have been recorded in association with assisted reproductive technologies. Published literature was retrieved through searches of The Cochrane Library and Medline in April 2014 using appropriate controlled vocabulary (aneuploidy, blastocyst/physiology, genetic diseases, preimplantation diagnosis/methods, fertilization in vitro) and key words (e.g., preimplantation genetic diagnosis, preimplantation genetic screening, comprehensive chromosome screening, aCGH, SNP microarray, qPCR, and embryo selection). Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies published from 1990 to April 2014. There were no language restrictions. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the update to January 2015. Additional publications were identified from the bibliographies of retrieved articles. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of health technology assessment and health technology-related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, clinical trial registries, and national and international medical specialty societies. The quality of evidence in this document was rated using the criteria described in the Report of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. (Table 1) BENEFITS, HARMS, AND COSTS: This update will educate readers about new preimplantation genetic concepts, directions, and technologies. The major harms and costs identified are those of assisted reproductive

Validity and reproducibility of crutch force and heart rate measurements to assess energy expenditure of paraplegic gait

NARCIS (Netherlands)

IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Baardman, Gert; van 't Hof, Martin A.; Boom, H.B.K.; Hermens, Hermanus J.; Veltink, Petrus H.

1999-01-01

Objective: To determine the validity and reproducibility of heart rate (HR) and crutch force measurements to estimate energy expenditure during paraplegic walking. Usefulness of these outcome measures in comparative trials was assessed in terms of responsiveness. Design: Cross-sectional validity was

Effective Filtering of Query Results on Updated User Behavioral Profiles in Web Mining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Sadesh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Web with tremendous volume of information retrieves result for user related queries. With the rapid growth of web page recommendation, results retrieved based on data mining techniques did not offer higher performance filtering rate because relationships between user profile and queries were not analyzed in an extensive manner. At the same time, existing user profile based prediction in web data mining is not exhaustive in producing personalized result rate. To improve the query result rate on dynamics of user behavior over time, Hamilton Filtered Regime Switching User Query Probability (HFRS-UQP framework is proposed. HFRS-UQP framework is split into two processes, where filtering and switching are carried out. The data mining based filtering in our research work uses the Hamilton Filtering framework to filter user result based on personalized information on automatic updated profiles through search engine. Maximized result is fetched, that is, filtered out with respect to user behavior profiles. The switching performs accurate filtering updated profiles using regime switching. The updating in profile change (i.e., switches regime in HFRS-UQP framework identifies the second- and higher-order association of query result on the updated profiles. Experiment is conducted on factors such as personalized information search retrieval rate, filtering efficiency, and precision ratio.

Inpatient Psychiatric Admission Rates in a U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training Population

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-20

Please know that if you are a Graduate Health Sciences Education student and your department has told you they cannot fund your publication, the 59th...author must complete page two of this form: a. In Section 2, add the funding source for your study (e.g., S9 MOW CRD Graduate Health Sciences...U.S. AIR FORCE BASIC MILITARY TRAINING POPULATION Background: Mental health admission rates for those with no active mental health disorders have

Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus : US preventive services task force recommendation statement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calonge, Ned; Petitti, Diana B.; DeWitt, Thomas G.; Gordis, Leon; Gregory, Kimberly D.; Harris, Russell; Isham, George; LeFevre, Michael L.; Loveland-Cherry, Carol; Marion, Lucy N.; Moyer, Virginia A.; Ockene, Judith K.; Sawaya, George F.; Siu, Albert L.; Teutsch, Steven M.; Yawn, Barbara P.

2008-01-01

Description: Update of 2003 U. S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation about screening for gestational diabetes. Methods: The USPSTF weighed the evidence on maternal and neonatal benefits (reduction in preeclampsia, mortality, brachial plexus injury, clavicular fractures, admission

Research of Cadastral Data Modelling and Database Updating Based on Spatio-temporal Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Feng

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The core of modern cadastre management is to renew the cadastre database and keep its currentness,topology consistency and integrity.This paper analyzed the changes and their linkage of various cadastral objects in the update process.Combined object-oriented modeling technique with spatio-temporal objects' evolution express,the paper proposed a cadastral data updating model based on the spatio-temporal process according to people's thought.Change rules based on the spatio-temporal topological relations of evolution cadastral spatio-temporal objects are drafted and further more cascade updating and history back trace of cadastral features,land use and buildings are realized.This model implemented in cadastral management system-ReGIS.Achieved cascade changes are triggered by the direct driving force or perceived external events.The system records spatio-temporal objects' evolution process to facilitate the reconstruction of history,change tracking,analysis and forecasting future changes.

Updating Procedures Can Reorganize the Neural Circuit Supporting a Fear Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwapis, Janine L; Jarome, Timothy J; Ferrara, Nicole C; Helmstetter, Fred J

2017-07-01

Established memories undergo a period of vulnerability following retrieval, a process termed 'reconsolidation.' Recent work has shown that the hypothetical process of reconsolidation is only triggered when new information is presented during retrieval, suggesting that this process may allow existing memories to be modified. Reconsolidation has received increasing attention as a possible therapeutic target for treating disorders that stem from traumatic memories, yet little is known about how this process changes the original memory. In particular, it is unknown whether reconsolidation can reorganize the neural circuit supporting an existing memory after that memory is modified with new information. Here, we show that trace fear memory undergoes a protein synthesis-dependent reconsolidation process following exposure to a single updating trial of delay conditioning. Further, this reconsolidation-dependent updating process appears to reorganize the neural circuit supporting the trace-trained memory, so that it better reflects the circuit supporting delay fear. Specifically, after a trace-to-delay update session, the amygdala is now required for extinction of the updated memory but the retrosplenial cortex is no longer required for retrieval. These results suggest that updating procedures could be used to force a complex, poorly defined memory circuit to rely on a better-defined neural circuit that may be more amenable to behavioral or pharmacological manipulation. This is the first evidence that exposure to new information can fundamentally reorganize the neural circuit supporting an existing memory.

Physiological and methodological aspects of rate of force development assessment in human skeletal muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Rosell, David; Pareja-Blanco, Fernando; Aagaard, Per; González-Badillo, Juan José

2017-12-20

Rate of force development (RFD) refers to the ability of the neuromuscular system to increase contractile force from a low or resting level when muscle activation is performed as quickly as possible, and it is considered an important muscle strength parameter, especially for athletes in sports requiring high-speed actions. The assessment of RFD has been used for strength diagnosis, to monitor the effects of training interventions in both healthy populations and patients, discriminate high-level athletes from those of lower levels, evaluate the impairment in mechanical muscle function after acute bouts of eccentric muscle actions and estimate the degree of fatigue and recovery after acute exhausting exercise. Notably, the evaluation of RFD in human skeletal muscle is a complex task as influenced by numerous distinct methodological factors including mode of contraction, type of instruction, method used to quantify RFD, devices used for force/torque recording and ambient temperature. Another important aspect is our limited understanding of the mechanisms underpinning rapid muscle force production. Therefore, this review is primarily focused on (i) describing the main mechanical characteristics of RFD; (ii) analysing various physiological factors that influence RFD; and (iii) presenting and discussing central biomechanical and methodological factors affecting the measurement of RFD. The intention of this review is to provide more methodological and analytical coherency on the RFD concept, which may aid to clarify the thinking of coaches and sports scientists in this area. © 2017 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

DOD Service Academies. Update on Extent of Sexual Harassment. Report to Congressional Requesters.

Science.gov (United States)

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. National Security and International Affairs Div.

This report provides an update on the nature and extent of sexual harassment at the three Department of Defense (DOD) service academies. It is based on a stratified random survey of 430 Military Academy cadets, 470 Naval Academy midshipmen, and 428 Air Force Academy cadets, which oversampled women to ensure that a statistically significant number…

Sum-rate analysis of spectrum sharing spatial multiplexing MIMO systems with zero-forcing and multiuser diversity

KAUST Repository

Yang, Liang

2013-06-01

This paper considers a multiuser spectrum sharing (SS) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with zero-forcing (ZF) operating in a Rayleigh fading environment. We provide an asymptotic sum-rate analysis to investigate the effects of different parameters on the multiuser diversity gain. For a ZF SS spatial multiplexing system with scheduling, the asymptotic sum-rate scales like Nt log2(Q(Nt Np√K - 1)/N t), where Np denotes the number of antennas of primary receiver, Q is the interference temperature, and K represents the number of secondary transmitters. © 2013 IEEE.

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2016 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model; and Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-05

This final rule will update Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor under the Medicare prospective payment system for home health agencies (HHAs), effective for episodes ending on or after January 1, 2016. As required by the Affordable Care Act, this rule implements the 3rd year of the 4-year phase-in of the rebasing adjustments to the HH PPS payment rates. This rule updates the HH PPS case-mix weights using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking and provides a clarification regarding the use of the "initial encounter'' seventh character applicable to certain ICD-10-CM code categories. This final rule will also finalize reductions to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rate in CY 2016, CY 2017, and CY 2018 of 0.97 percent in each year to account for estimated case-mix growth unrelated to increases in patient acuity (nominal case-mix growth) between CY 2012 and CY 2014. In addition, this rule implements a HH value-based purchasing (HHVBP) model, beginning January 1, 2016, in which all Medicare-certified HHAs in selected states will be required to participate. Finally, this rule finalizes minor changes to the home health quality reporting program and minor technical regulations text changes.

Kinesiotaping enhances the rate of force development but not the neuromuscular efficiency of physically active young men

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Magalhães, Igor; Bottaro, Martim; Mezzarane, Rinaldo André; Neto, Frederico Ribeiro; Rodrigues, Bruno A.; Ferreira-Júnior, João B.; Carregaro, Rodrigo Luiz

2016-01-01

Introduction: Investigations on the effects of KT on human performance have been increasing in the last few years. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating its effects on neuromuscular efficiency (NME) and rate of force development (RFD). Objective: To evaluate the NME and RFD of the

Revealing energy level structure of individual quantum dots by tunneling rate measured by single-electron sensitive electrostatic force spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy-Gobeil, Antoine; Miyahara, Yoichi; Grutter, Peter

2015-04-08

We present theoretical and experimental studies of the effect of the density of states of a quantum dot (QD) on the rate of single-electron tunneling that can be directly measured by electrostatic force microscopy (e-EFM) experiments. In e-EFM, the motion of a biased atomic force microscope cantilever tip modulates the charge state of a QD in the Coulomb blockade regime. The charge dynamics of the dot, which is detected through its back-action on the capacitavely coupled cantilever, depends on the tunneling rate of the QD to a back-electrode. The density of states of the QD can therefore be measured through its effect on the energy dependence of tunneling rate. We present experimental data on individual 5 nm colloidal gold nanoparticles that exhibit a near continuous density of state at 77 K. In contrast, our analysis of already published data on self-assembled InAs QDs at 4 K clearly reveals discrete degenerate energy levels.

The 2014 update to the National Seismic Hazard Model in California

Science.gov (United States)

Powers, Peter; Field, Edward H.

2015-01-01

The 2014 update to the U. S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Model in California introduces a new earthquake rate model and new ground motion models (GMMs) that give rise to numerous changes to seismic hazard throughout the state. The updated earthquake rate model is the third version of the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3), wherein the rates of all ruptures are determined via a self-consistent inverse methodology. This approach accommodates multifault ruptures and reduces the overprediction of moderate earthquake rates exhibited by the previous model (UCERF2). UCERF3 introduces new faults, changes to slip or moment rates on existing faults, and adaptively smoothed gridded seismicity source models, all of which contribute to significant changes in hazard. New GMMs increase ground motion near large strike-slip faults and reduce hazard over dip-slip faults. The addition of very large strike-slip ruptures and decreased reverse fault rupture rates in UCERF3 further enhances these effects.

On estimation of stochastic forcing with application to El Niño

Science.gov (United States)

Penland, C.

2014-12-01

Although Linear Inverse Modeling (LIM) provides skillful forecasts of tropical ocean sea surface temperatures, LIM's diagnostic properties are at least as useful as its prognostic properties. In this presentation, we discuss an updated method for using LIM to obtain time series representing stochastic forcing of El Niño and to quantify particular unpredictable contributions to LIM forecast error. Attention is paid to the proper stochastic calculus and to the time scale separation between the stochastic forcing and El Niño's signal. The method yields seldom-considered sources of El Niño's stochastic forcing.

Rate and selectivity modification in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis over charcoal supported molybdenum by forced concentration cycling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dun, J.W.; Gulari, E.

1985-01-01

Forced concentration cycling of the feed between pure CO and pure H/sub 2/ was used to successfully change both the selectivities and reactivities of promoted and unpromoted charcoal supported molybdenum catalysts in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. It was found that with the unpromoted catalyst the rate enhancement increases with temperature and selectivity shifts towards methane. At the lower temperatures concentration cycling increases selectivity to ethane and higher hydrocarbons to levels only achievable with promised catalysts. Periodic operation with the potassium promoted catalyst results in small rate enhancements but the olefin to paraffin ratio is dramatically changed without changing the carbon number distribution

Eastern US seismic hazard characterization update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savy, J.B.; Boissonnade, A.C.; Mensing, R.W.; Short, C.M.

1993-06-01

In January 1989, LLNL published the results of a multi-year project, funded by NRC, on estimating seismic hazard at nuclear plant sites east of the Rockies. The goal of this study was twofold: to develop a good central estimate (median) of the seismic hazard and to characterize the uncertainty in the estimates of this hazard. In 1989, LLNL was asked by DOE to develop site specific estimates of the seismic hazard at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina as part of the New Production Reactor (NPR) project. For the purpose of the NPR, a complete review of the methodology and of the data acquisition process was performed. Work done under the NPR project has shown that first order improvement in the estimates of the uncertainty (i.e., lower mean hazard values) could be easily achieved by updating the modeling of the seismicity and ground motion attenuation uncertainty. To this effect, NRC sponsored LLNL to perform a reelicitation to update the seismicity and ground motion experts' inputs and to revise methods to combine seismicity and ground motion inputs in the seismic hazard analysis for nuclear power plant sites east of the Rocky Mountains. The objective of the recent study was to include the first order improvements that reflect the latest knowledge in seismicity and ground motion modeling and produce an update of all the hazard results produced in the 1989 study. In particular, it had been demonstrated that eliciting seismicity information in terms of rates of earthquakes rather than a- and b-values, and changing the elicitation format to a one-on-one interview, improved our ability to express the uncertainty of earthquake rates of occurrence at large magnitudes. Thus, NRC sponsored this update study to refine the model of uncertainty, and to re-elicitate of the experts' interpretations of the zonation and seismicity, as well as to reelicitate the ground motion models, based on current state of knowledge

CANDU severe accident management guidance update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, L.; Popov, N.; Gilbert, L.; Weed, J.

2014-01-01

The CANDU Owners Group (COG) developed a set of generic and initial station-specific Severe Accident Management Guidance (SAMG) documents to mitigate the consequences to the public in the event of a severe accident. The generic portion of the COG SAMG was completed in 2006; the overall project including the station-specific phase was completed in April 2007. Over the years, the CANDU industry and utilities have continuously increased the knowledge base for SAMG and have incorporated various engineered features based on the knowledge obtained. As a result of the event that occurred at the Fukushima Daiiachi nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) established the CNSC Fukushima Task Force. The results of the task force were documented in INFO-0828, CNSC Staff Action Plan on the CNSC Fukushima Task Force Recommendations. Among the recommendation documented in INFO-828 were Fukushima Action Items (FAIs) directed towards the CANDU utilities in Canada; a portion of which are related to SAMG documentation updates and directed at enhancing SAM response. A COG joint project was established to support the closure of the CNSC FAIs and to revise the current CANDU documentation accordingly. This paper provides a high level summary of the COG project scope and results. It also demonstrates that the CANDU SAMG programs in Canada provide robust protection and mitigation of severe accidents. (author)

CANDU severe accident management guidance update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, L., E-mail: lisa.m.jones@opg.com [Ontario Power Generation, Pickering, ON (Canada); Popov, N., E-mail: nik.popov@rogers.com [Candu Owners Group, Toronto, ON (Canada); Gilbert, L., E-mail: lovell.gilbert@brucepower.com [Bruce Power, Tiverton, ON (Canada); Weed, J., E-mail: jeff.weed@candu.gov [Candu Owners Group, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2014-07-01

The CANDU Owners Group (COG) developed a set of generic and initial station-specific Severe Accident Management Guidance (SAMG) documents to mitigate the consequences to the public in the event of a severe accident. The generic portion of the COG SAMG was completed in 2006; the overall project including the station-specific phase was completed in April 2007. Over the years, the CANDU industry and utilities have continuously increased the knowledge base for SAMG and have incorporated various engineered features based on the knowledge obtained. As a result of the event that occurred at the Fukushima Daiiachi nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) established the CNSC Fukushima Task Force. The results of the task force were documented in INFO-0828, CNSC Staff Action Plan on the CNSC Fukushima Task Force Recommendations. Among the recommendation documented in INFO-828 were Fukushima Action Items (FAIs) directed towards the CANDU utilities in Canada; a portion of which are related to SAMG documentation updates and directed at enhancing SAM response. A COG joint project was established to support the closure of the CNSC FAIs and to revise the current CANDU documentation accordingly. This paper provides a high level summary of the COG project scope and results. It also demonstrates that the CANDU SAMG programs in Canada provide robust protection and mitigation of severe accidents. (author)

Crevicular Alkaline Phosphatase Activity and Rate of Tooth Movement of Female Orthodontic Subjects under Different Continuous Force Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohaya Megat Abdul Wahab

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. This study is aimed to compare the effects of two different orthodontic forces on crevicular alkaline phosphatase activity, rate of tooth movement, and root resorption. Materials and Methods. Twelve female subjects of class II division 1 malocclusion participated. Maxillary canines with bonded fixed appliances acted as the tested teeth, while their antagonists with no appliances acted as the controls. Canine retraction was performed using nickel titanium coil spring that delivered forces of 100 gm or 150 gm to either side. Crevicular fluid was analyzed for ALP activity, and study models were casted to measure tooth movements. Root resorption was assessed using periapical radiographs before and after the force application. Results. ALP activity at the mesial sites peaked at week 1 for 150 gm group with significant differences when compared with the 100 gm group. Cumulative canine movements were significantly greater in the 150 gm force (2.10 ± 0.50 mm than in the 100 gm force (1.57 ± 0.44 mm. No root resorption was in the maxillary canines after retraction. Conclusions. A force of 150 gm produced faster tooth movements and higher ALP activity compared with the 100 gm group and had no detrimental effects such as root resorption.

Reductions in soil surface albedo as a function of biochar application rate: implications for global radiative forcing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verheijen, Frank G A; Bastos, Ana Catarina; Keizer, Jan Jacob; Jeffery, Simon; Van der Velde, Marijn; Penížek, Vít; Beland, Martin

2013-01-01

Biochar can be defined as pyrolysed (charred) biomass produced for application to soils with the aim of mitigating global climate change while improving soil functions. Sustainable biochar application to soils has been estimated to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 71–130 Pg CO 2 -C e over 100 years, indicating an important potential to mitigate climate change. However, these estimates ignored changes in soil surface reflection by the application of dark-coloured biochar. Through a laboratory experiment we show a strong tendency for soil surface albedo to decrease as a power decay function with increasing biochar application rate, depending on soil moisture content, biochar application method and land use. Surface application of biochar resulted in strong reductions in soil surface albedo even at relatively low application rates. As a first assessment of the implications for climate change mitigation of these biochar–albedo relationships, we applied a first order global energy balance model to compare negative radiative forcings (from avoided CO 2 emissions) with positive radiative forcings (from reduced soil surface albedos). For a global-scale biochar application equivalent to 120 t ha −1 , we obtained reductions in negative radiative forcings of 5 and 11% for croplands and 11 and 23% for grasslands, when incorporating biochar into the topsoil or applying it to the soil surface, respectively. For a lower global biochar application rate (equivalent to 10 t ha −1 ), these reductions amounted to 13 and 44% for croplands and 28 and 94% for grasslands. Thus, our findings revealed the importance of including changes in soil surface albedo in studies assessing the net climate change mitigation potential of biochar, and we discuss the urgent need for field studies and more detailed spatiotemporal modelling. (letter)

Road Edge of Pavement, Pavement Condition Ratings and Maintenance Designations per Street Centerline. Updated frequently by Public Works Streets Division, Published in 2006, 1:1200 (1in=100ft) scale, City of Asheville Government.

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — Road Edge of Pavement dataset current as of 2006. Pavement Condition Ratings and Maintenance Designations per Street Centerline. Updated frequently by Public Works...

Accelerated partial-breast irradiation using high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy: 12-year update of a prospective clinical study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polgar, Csaba; Major, Tibor; Fodor, Janos; Sulyok, Zoltan; Somogyi, Andras; Loevey, Katalin; Nemeth, Gyoergy; Kasler, Miklos

2010-01-01

Background and purpose: To report the 12-year updated results of accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) using multicatheter interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT). Patients and methods: Forty-five prospectively selected patients with T1N0-N1mi, nonlobular breast cancer without the presence of an extensive intraductal component and with negative surgical margins were treated with APBI after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) using interstitial HDR BT. A total dose of 30.3 Gy (n = 8) and 36.4 Gy (n = 37) in seven fractions within 4 days was delivered to the tumour bed plus a 1-2 cm margin. The median follow-up time was 133 months for surviving patients. Local and regional control, disease-free (DFS), cancer-specific (CSS), and overall survival (OS), as well as late side effects, and cosmetic results were assessed. Results: Four (8.9%) ipsilateral breast tumour recurrences were observed, for a 5-, 10-, and 12-year actuarial rate of 4.4%, 9.3%, and 9.3%, respectively. A total of two regional nodal failures were observed for a 12-year actuarial rate of 4.4%. The 12-year DFS, CSS, and OS was 75.3%, 91.1%, and 88.9%, respectively. Grade 3 fibrosis was observed in one patient (2.2%). No patient developed grade 3 teleangiectasia. Fat necrosis requiring surgical intervention occurred in one woman (2.2%). Cosmetic results were rated excellent or good in 35 patients (77.8%). Conclusions: Twelve-year results with APBI using HDR multicatheter interstitial implants continue to demonstrate excellent long-term local tumour control, survival, and cosmetic results with a low-rate of late side effects.

Food irradiation. An update of legal and analytical aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masotti, P.; Zonta, F.

1999-01-01

A new European directive concerning ionising radiation treatment of foodstuffs has been recently adopted, although National laws may continue to be applied at least until 31 December 2000. A brief updated review dealing with the legal and analytical aspects of food irradiation is presented. The legal status of the food irradiation issue presently in force in Italy, in the European Union and in the USA is discussed. Some of the most used and reliable analytical methods for detecting irradiated foodstuffs, with special reference to standardised methods of European Committee of Standardization, are listed [it

[French Society for Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology task force. Formal consensus for the treatment of bipolar disorder: an update (2014)].

Science.gov (United States)

Samalin, L; Guillaume, S; Courtet, P; Abbar, M; Lancrenon, S; Llorca, P-M

2015-02-01

As part of a process to improve the quality of care, the French Society for Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology developed in 2010 formal consensus guidelines for the treatment of bipolar disorder. The evolution of therapeutic options available in France for the treatment of bipolar disorder has justified the update of this guideline. The purpose of this work was to provide an updated and ergonomic document to promote its use by clinicians. This update focuses on two of the six thematic previously published (acute treatment and long-term treatment). Aspects of the treatment of bipolar patients sparking debate and questions of clinicians (use of antidepressant, place of the bitherapy, interest of long-acting antipsychotics…) were also covered. Finally, we proposed graded recommendations taking into account specifically the risk-benefit balance of each molecule. Copyright © 2014 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Force-Time Entropy of Isometric Impulse.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Tsung-Yu; Newell, Karl M

2016-01-01

The relation between force and temporal variability in discrete impulse production has been viewed as independent (R. A. Schmidt, H. Zelaznik, B. Hawkins, J. S. Frank, & J. T. Quinn, 1979 ) or dependent on the rate of force (L. G. Carlton & K. M. Newell, 1993 ). Two experiments in an isometric single finger force task investigated the joint force-time entropy with (a) fixed time to peak force and different percentages of force level and (b) fixed percentage of force level and different times to peak force. The results showed that the peak force variability increased either with the increment of force level or through a shorter time to peak force that also reduced timing error variability. The peak force entropy and entropy of time to peak force increased on the respective dimension as the parameter conditions approached either maximum force or a minimum rate of force production. The findings show that force error and timing error are dependent but complementary when considered in the same framework with the joint force-time entropy at a minimum in the middle parameter range of discrete impulse.

a Bottom-Up Geosptial Data Update Mechanism for Spatial Data Infrastructure Updating

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, W.; Zhu, X.; Liu, Y.

2012-08-01

Currently, the top-down spatial data update mechanism has made a big progress and it is wildly applied in many SDI (spatial data infrastructure). However, this mechanism still has some issues. For example, the update schedule is limited by the professional department's project, usually which is too long for the end-user; the data form collection to public cost too much time and energy for professional department; the details of geospatial information does not provide sufficient attribute, etc. Thus, how to deal with the problems has become the effective shortcut. Emerging Internet technology, 3S technique and geographic information knowledge which is popular in the public promote the booming development of geoscience in volunteered geospatial information. Volunteered geospatial information is the current "hotspot", which attracts many researchers to study its data quality and credibility, accuracy, sustainability, social benefit, application and so on. In addition to this, a few scholars also pay attention to the value of VGI to support the SDI updating. And on that basis, this paper presents a bottom-up update mechanism form VGI to SDI, which includes the processes of match homonymous elements between VGI and SDI vector data , change data detection, SDI spatial database update and new data product publication to end-users. Then, the proposed updating cycle is deeply discussed about the feasibility of which can detect the changed elements in time and shorten the update period, provide more accurate geometry and attribute data for spatial data infrastructure and support update propagation.

Labor Force

Science.gov (United States)

Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 2010

2010-01-01

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly…

Working Memory Updating Latency Reflects the Cost of Switching between Maintenance and Updating Modes of Operation

Science.gov (United States)

Kessler, Yoav; Oberauer, Klaus

2014-01-01

Updating and maintenance of information are 2 conflicting demands on working memory (WM). We examined the time required to update WM (updating latency) as a function of the sequence of updated and not-updated items within a list. Participants held a list of items in WM and updated a variable subset of them in each trial. Four experiments that vary…

FRMAC Updates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, P.

1995-01-01

This talks describes updates in the following updates in FRMAC publications concerning radiation emergencies: Monitoring and Analysis Manual; Evaluation and Assessment Manual; Handshake Series (Biannual) including exercises participated in; environmental Data and Instrument Transmission System (EDITS); Plume in a Box with all radiological data stored onto a hand-held computer; and courses given

Military milk: breastfeeding rates among Australian Defence Force women who return to military service following maternity leave.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Kelley

2015-02-01

The breastfeeding behaviors among Australian Defence Force women have not previously been examined. Studies have shown that breastfeeding prevalence and duration are affected by maternity leave entitlements and returning to work. This study aimed to benchmark breastfeeding initiation, prevalence, and duration among a cohort of Australian Defence Force women and to compare these findings against Australian population norms. A cross-sectional survey was conducted via email in 2008 for Australian Defence Force women who had taken maternity leave in the Australian financial year of 2006/2007. Analysis of breastfeeding indicators was undertaken. Ninety-eight percent of Australian Defence Force women in this cohort initiated breastfeeding and breastfed for a median duration of 8 months, returning to work when the mean age of the child was 8.4 months. Breastfeeding prevalence did not meet 2003 Australian National Health and Medical Research Council targets by 6 months postpartum but compared favorably to the Australian population norms. Sixty-six percent of the respondents returned to work full-time, with a median breastfeeding duration of 7 months. Women who returned to work part-time had a longer median duration of 10 months. Breastfeeding rates among this cohort of Australian Defence Force women compare favorably with the general Australian population until 9 months, coinciding with returning to work after a period of maternity leave. The results support recent Australian population studies on breastfeeding and employment. © The Author(s) 2014.

Update in women's health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganschow, Pamela S; Jacobs, Elizabeth A; Mackinnon, Jennifer; Charney, Pamela

2009-06-01

average 50-year-old woman, is provided in the guidelines. In addition, available risk prediction models, such as the NIH Web site calculator (http://www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool/) can also be used to estimate quantitative breast cancer risk. This model was updated in 2008 with race-specific data for calculating risk in African-American women.18 The harms and benefits of mammography should be discussed and incorporated along with a woman's preferences and breast cancer risk profile into the decision on when to begin screening. If a woman decides to forgo mammography, the decision should be readdressed every 1 to 2 years. STD screening guidelines19 USPSTF and CDC Routine screening for this infection is now recommended for ALL sexually active women age 24 and under, based on the recent high prevalence estimates for chlamydia It is not recommended for women (pregnant or nonpregnant) age 25 and older, unless they are at increased risk for infection. STD treatment guidelines20 CDC Flouroquinolones are NO longer recommended for treatment of N. gonorrhea, due to increasing resistance (as high as 15% of isolates in 2006). For uncomplicated infections, treatment of gonorrhea should be initiated with ceftriaxone 125 mg IM or cefixime 400 mg PO and co-treatment for chlamydia infection (unless ruled out with testing). Recent estimates demonstrate that almost 50% of persons with gonorrhea have concomitant chlamydia infection21. STD = sexually transmitted disease, NIH = National Institutes of Health, ACP = American College of Physicians, USPSTF = United States Prevention Services Task Force, CDC = Centers for Disease Control.

Screening for Syphilis: Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantor, Amy G; Pappas, Miranda; Daeges, Monica; Nelson, Heidi D

2016-06-07

Screening for syphilis infection is currently recommended for high-risk individuals, including those with previous syphilis infection, an infected sexual partner, HIV infection, or more than 4 sex partners in the preceding year. To update a 2004 systematic review of studies of syphilis screening effectiveness, test accuracy, and screening harms in nonpregnant adults and adolescents. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews through October 2015 and Ovid MEDLINE (January 2004 to October 2015), with updated search through March 2016. English-language trials and observational studies of screening effectiveness, test accuracy, and screening harms in nonpregnant adults and adolescents. One investigator abstracted data, a second checked data for accuracy, and 2 investigators independently assessed study quality using predefined criteria. Transmission of disease, including HIV; complications of syphilis; diagnostic accuracy; and harms of screening. No evidence was identified regarding the effectiveness of screening on clinical outcomes or the effectiveness of risk assessment instruments; the harms of screening; or the effectiveness of screening in average-risk, nonpregnant adolescents or adults or high-risk individuals other than men who have sex with men (MSM) or men who are HIV positive. Four non-US studies indicated higher rates of syphilis detection with screening every 3 months vs 6 or 12 months for early syphilis in HIV-positive men or MSM. For example, there was an increased proportion of asymptomatic, higher-risk MSM in Australia (n = 6789 consultations) receiving a diagnosis of early syphilis when tested every 3 months vs annually (53% vs 16%, P = .001), but no difference among low-risk MSM. Treponemal and nontreponemal tests were accurate in asymptomatic individuals (sensitivity >85%, specificity >91%) in 3 studies but required confirmatory testing. Reverse sequence testing with an initial automated

Persistent fluctuations in synchronization rate in globally coupled oscillators with periodic external forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Atsumi, Yu; Nakao, Hiroya

2012-05-01

A system of phase oscillators with repulsive global coupling and periodic external forcing undergoing asynchronous rotation is considered. The synchronization rate of the system can exhibit persistent fluctuations depending on parameters and initial phase distributions, and the amplitude of the fluctuations scales with the system size for uniformly random initial phase distributions. Using the Watanabe-Strogatz transformation that reduces the original system to low-dimensional macroscopic equations, we show that the fluctuations are collective dynamics of the system corresponding to low-dimensional trajectories of the reduced equations. It is argued that the amplitude of the fluctuations is determined by the inhomogeneity of the initial phase distribution, resulting in system-size scaling for the random case.

Thermonuclear reaction rates. III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, M.J.; Fowler, W.A.; Caughlan, G.R.; Zimmerman, B.A.

1983-01-01

Stellar thermonuclear reaction rates are revised and updated, adding a number of new important reaction rates. Several reactions with large negative Q-values are included, and examples of them are discussed. The importance of the decay rates for Mg-26(p,n) exp 26 Al and Al-26(n,p) exp 26 Mg for stellar studies is emphasized. 19 references

Perforated peptic ulcer - an update.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Kin Tong; Shelat, Vishalkumar G

2017-01-27

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) affects 4 million people worldwide annually. The incidence of PUD has been estimated at around 1.5% to 3%. Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) is a serious complication of PUD and patients with PPU often present with acute abdomen that carries high risk for morbidity and mortality. The lifetime prevalence of perforation in patients with PUD is about 5%. PPU carries a mortality ranging from 1.3% to 20%. Thirty-day mortality rate reaching 20% and 90-d mortality rate of up to 30% have been reported. In this review we have summarized the current evidence on PPU to update readers. This literature review includes the most updated information such as common causes, clinical features, diagnostic methods, non-operative and operative management, post-operative complications and different scoring systems of PPU. With the advancement of medical technology, PUD can now be treated with medications instead of elective surgery. The classic triad of sudden onset of abdominal pain, tachycardia and abdominal rigidity is the hallmark of PPU. Erect chest radiograph may miss 15% of cases with air under the diaphragm in patients with bowel perforation. Early diagnosis, prompt resuscitation and urgent surgical intervention are essential to improve outcomes. Exploratory laparotomy and omental patch repair remains the gold standard. Laparoscopic surgery should be considered when expertise is available. Gastrectomy is recommended in patients with large or malignant ulcer.

Perforated peptic ulcer - an update

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Kin Tong; Shelat, Vishalkumar G

2017-01-01

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) affects 4 million people worldwide annually. The incidence of PUD has been estimated at around 1.5% to 3%. Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) is a serious complication of PUD and patients with PPU often present with acute abdomen that carries high risk for morbidity and mortality. The lifetime prevalence of perforation in patients with PUD is about 5%. PPU carries a mortality ranging from 1.3% to 20%. Thirty-day mortality rate reaching 20% and 90-d mortality rate of up to 30% have been reported. In this review we have summarized the current evidence on PPU to update readers. This literature review includes the most updated information such as common causes, clinical features, diagnostic methods, non-operative and operative management, post-operative complications and different scoring systems of PPU. With the advancement of medical technology, PUD can now be treated with medications instead of elective surgery. The classic triad of sudden onset of abdominal pain, tachycardia and abdominal rigidity is the hallmark of PPU. Erect chest radiograph may miss 15% of cases with air under the diaphragm in patients with bowel perforation. Early diagnosis, prompt resuscitation and urgent surgical intervention are essential to improve outcomes. Exploratory laparotomy and omental patch repair remains the gold standard. Laparoscopic surgery should be considered when expertise is available. Gastrectomy is recommended in patients with large or malignant ulcer. PMID:28138363

Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Décieux Jean Philippe

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Online surveys have become a popular method for data gathering for many reasons, including low costs and the ability to collect data rapidly. However, online data collection is often conducted without adequate attention to implementation details. One example is the frequent use of the forced answering option, which forces the respondent to answer each question in order to proceed through the questionnaire. The avoidance of missing data is often the idea behind the use of the forced answering option. However, we suggest that the costs of a reactance effect in terms of quality reduction and unit nonresponse may be high because respondents typically have plausible reasons for not answering questions. The objective of the study reported in this paper was to test the influence of forced answering on dropout rates and data quality. The results show that requiring participants answer every question increases dropout rates and decreases quality of answers. Our findings suggest that the desire for a complete data set has to be balanced against the consequences of reduced data quality.

Morocco; Financial System Stability Assessment: Update

OpenAIRE

International Monetary Fund

2008-01-01

This paper presents an update to the Financial System Stability Assessment on Morocco. Major reforms have been achieved since the 2002 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) within a policy of actively promoting economic and financial sector opening. The 2002 FSAP recommendations have been largely implemented. Although the financial system is stable and considerably more robust than in the past, the liberalization of capital flows and increased exchange rate flexibility present challenges...

Memory updating and mental arithmetic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Ching eHan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Is domain-general memory updating ability predictive of calculation skills or are such skills better predicted by the capacity for updating specifically numerical information? Here, we used multidigit mental multiplication (MMM as a measure for calculating skill as this operation requires the accurate maintenance and updating of information in addition to skills needed for arithmetic more generally. In Experiment 1, we found that only individual differences with regard to a task updating numerical information following addition (MUcalc could predict the performance of MMM, perhaps owing to common elements between the task and MMM. In Experiment 2, new updating tasks were designed to clarify this: a spatial updating task with no numbers, a numerical task with no calculation, and a word task. The results showed that both MUcalc and the spatial task were able to predict the performance of MMM but only with the more difficult problems, while other updating tasks did not predict performance. It is concluded that relevant processes involved in updating the contents of working memory support mental arithmetic in adults.

Updates to In-Line Calculation of Photolysis Rates

Science.gov (United States)

How photolysis rates are calculated affects ozone and aerosol concentrations predicted by the CMAQ model and the model?s run-time. The standard configuration of CMAQ uses the inline option that calculates photolysis rates by solving the radiative transfer equation for the needed ...

"FORCE" learning in recurrent neural networks as data assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Duane, Gregory S.

2017-12-01

It is shown that the "FORCE" algorithm for learning in arbitrarily connected networks of simple neuronal units can be cast as a Kalman Filter, with a particular state-dependent form for the background error covariances. The resulting interpretation has implications for initialization of the learning algorithm, leads to an extension to include interactions between the weight updates for different neurons, and can represent relationships within groups of multiple target output signals.

Running quietly reduces ground reaction force and vertical loading rate and alters foot strike technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, Xuan; Grisbrook, Tiffany L; Wernli, Kevin; Stearne, Sarah M; Davey, Paul; Ng, Leo

2017-08-01

This study aimed to determine if a quantifiable relationship exists between the peak sound amplitude and peak vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and vertical loading rate during running. It also investigated whether differences in peak sound amplitude, contact time, lower limb kinematics, kinetics and foot strike technique existed when participants were verbally instructed to run quietly compared to their normal running. A total of 26 males completed running trials for two sound conditions: normal running and quiet running. Simple linear regressions revealed no significant relationships between impact sound and peak vGRF in the normal and quiet conditions and vertical loading rate in the normal condition. t-Tests revealed significant within-subject decreases in peak sound, peak vGRF and vertical loading rate during the quiet compared to the normal running condition. During the normal running condition, 15.4% of participants utilised a non-rearfoot strike technique compared to 76.9% in the quiet condition, which was corroborated by an increased ankle plantarflexion angle at initial contact. This study demonstrated that quieter impact sound is not directly associated with a lower peak vGRF or vertical loading rate. However, given the instructions to run quietly, participants effectively reduced peak impact sound, peak vGRF and vertical loading rate.

Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Guidelines: Update of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Policies and Procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo-Metzger, Quyen; Moyer, Virginia; Grossman, David; Ebell, Mark; Woo, Meghan; Miller, Therese; Brummer, Tana; Chowdhury, Joya; Kato, Elisabeth; Siu, Albert; Phillips, William; Davidson, Karina; Phipps, Maureen; Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten

2018-01-01

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) provides independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous recommendations for clinical preventive services. A primary concern is to avoid even the appearance of members having special interests that might influence their ability to judge evidence and formulate unbiased recommendations. The conflicts of interest policy for the USPSTF is described, as is the formal process by which best practices were incorporated to update the policy. The USPSTF performed a literature review, conducted key informant interviews, and reviewed conflicts of interest policies of ten similar organizations. Important findings included transparency and public accessibility; full disclosure of financial relationships; disclosure of non-financial relationships (that create the potential for bias and compromise a member's objective judgment); disclosure of family members' conflicts of interests; and establishment of appropriate reporting periods. Controversies in best practices include the threshold of financial disclosures, ease of access to conflicts of interest policies and declarations, vague definition of non-financial biases, and request for family members' conflicts of interests (particularly those that are non-financial in nature). The USPSTF conflicts of interest policy includes disclosures for immediate family members, a clear non-financial conflicts of interest definition, long look-back period and application of the policy to prospective members. Conflicts of interest is solicited from all members every 4 months, formally reviewed, adjudicated, and made publicly available. The USPSTF conflicts of interest policy is publicly available as part of the USPSTF Procedure Manual. A continuous improvement process can be applied to conflicts of interest policies to enhance public trust in members of panels, such as the USPSTF, that produce clinical guidelines and recommendations. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Age-related decreases in motor unit discharge rate and force control during isometric plantar flexion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kallio, J; Søgaard, Karen; Avela, J

2012-01-01

Aging is related to multiple changes in muscle physiology and function. Previous findings concerning the effects of aging on motor unit discharge rate (DR) and fluctuations in DR and force are somewhat contradictory. Eight YOUNG and nine OLD physically active males performed isometric ramp (RECR......) and isotonic (ISO) plantar flexions at 10 and 20% of surface EMG at MVC. Motor unit (MU) action potentials were recorded with intramuscular fine-wire electrodes and decomposed with custom build software "Daisy". DR was lower in OLD in RECR-10% (17.9%, p...

MEDICAL PROTECTION FOR THE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN THE EVENT OF USING BIOLOGICAL AGENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorel ORDEANUL

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The ADM/CBRN military or terrorist attack is most likely to be enforced on the force deployed in the theaters of operations (TO, as peace making troops, peace keeping troops, etc. For the medical protection of the expeditionary forces deployed in external theaters of operations (T.O., when using biological agents, we conducted a documentary study on the prophylaxis and specific treatment for the medical force protection, when using biological agents, by updating and improving the medical protection countermeasures against BWA, by anti-infective prophylaxis (antibacterial and antiviral pre-exposure, post-exposure and anti-infective etiology and support of the vital fuctions treatment.

Effect of contraction mode of slow-speed resistance training on the maximum rate of force development in the human quadriceps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blazevich, Anthony J; Horne, Sara; Cannavan, Dale

2008-01-01

This study examined the effects of slow-speed resistance training involving concentric (CON, n = 10) versus eccentric (ECC, n = 11) single-joint muscle contractions on contractile rate of force development (RFD) and neuromuscular activity (EMG), and its maintenance through detraining. Isokinetic...

How update schemes influence crowd simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seitz, Michael J; Köster, Gerta

2014-01-01

Time discretization is a key modeling aspect of dynamic computer simulations. In current pedestrian motion models based on discrete events, e.g. cellular automata and the Optimal Steps Model, fixed-order sequential updates and shuffle updates are prevalent. We propose to use event-driven updates that process events in the order they occur, and thus better match natural movement. In addition, we present a parallel update with collision detection and resolution for situations where computational speed is crucial. Two simulation studies serve to demonstrate the practical impact of the choice of update scheme. Not only do density-speed relations differ, but there is a statistically significant effect on evacuation times. Fixed-order sequential and random shuffle updates with a short update period come close to event-driven updates. The parallel update scheme overestimates evacuation times. All schemes can be employed for arbitrary simulation models with discrete events, such as car traffic or animal behavior. (paper)

Studying the potential impact of automated document classification on scheduling a systematic review update

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Systematic Reviews (SRs) are an essential part of evidence-based medicine, providing support for clinical practice and policy on a wide range of medical topics. However, producing SRs is resource-intensive, and progress in the research they review leads to SRs becoming outdated, requiring updates. Although the question of how and when to update SRs has been studied, the best method for determining when to update is still unclear, necessitating further research. Methods In this work we study the potential impact of a machine learning-based automated system for providing alerts when new publications become available within an SR topic. Some of these new publications are especially important, as they report findings that are more likely to initiate a review update. To this end, we have designed a classification algorithm to identify articles that are likely to be included in an SR update, along with an annotation scheme designed to identify the most important publications in a topic area. Using an SR database containing over 70,000 articles, we annotated articles from 9 topics that had received an update during the study period. The algorithm was then evaluated in terms of the overall correct and incorrect alert rate for publications meeting the topic inclusion criteria, as well as in terms of its ability to identify important, update-motivating publications in a topic area. Results Our initial approach, based on our previous work in topic-specific SR publication classification, identifies over 70% of the most important new publications, while maintaining a low overall alert rate. Conclusions We performed an initial analysis of the opportunities and challenges in aiding the SR update planning process with an informatics-based machine learning approach. Alerts could be a useful tool in the planning, scheduling, and allocation of resources for SR updates, providing an improvement in timeliness and coverage for the large number of medical topics needing SRs

Interannual Variability in Radiative Forcing and Snowmelt Rates by Desert Dust in Snowcover in the Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Skiles, S.; Painter, T. H.; Barrett, A. P.; Landry, C.; Deems, J. S.; Winstral, A. H.

2010-12-01

Dust in snow accelerates snowmelt through its direct reduction of albedo and its further reduction of albedo by accelerating the growth of snow effective grain size. Since the Anglo expansion and disturbance of the western US that began in the mid 19th century, the mountain snow cover of the Colorado River Basin has been subject to five-fold greater dust loading. This research expands on the work done in Painter et al. (2007) by assessing the interannual variability in radiative forcing, melt rates, and shortening of snow cover duration from 2005 to 2010, and the relative response of melt rates to simulated increases in air temperature. We ran the SNOBAL snowmelt model over the 6 year energy balance record at the alpine and subalpine towers in the Senator Beck Basin Study Area, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA. Observations indicate that dust concentrations are not correlated with total number of dust events and that dust loading and concentrations vary by an order of magnitude during the 6 year record. Our modeling results indicate that the number of days that dust advances retreat of snow cover and cumulative radiative forcing are linearly related to total dust concentration. Over the 6 years of record we have shown that for all years dust advances melt relative to a clean snowpack, even in lowest dust concentration years melt is advanced by up to 26 days. The greatest dust radiative impact occurred in 2009, when snow cover duration was shortened by 50 days, and the highest observed end of year dust concentrations reduced visible albedo to less than 0.35 during the last three weeks of snowcover. This work also shows that dust radiative forcing has a markedly greater impact on snow cover duration than increases in temperature. In the presence of dust there is little impact from temperature increases of 2 °C and 4 °C (0-4 days) and, in the absence of dust radiative forcing, temperature increases shorten snow cover duration by 5-18 days, compared with the 26

An update on percutaneous nephrolithotomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tefekli, A; Cordeiro, E; de la Rosette, J J M C H

2013-01-01

Since its introduction in late 1970's, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) has undergone an evolution in both equipment and technique. This evolution still continues today in the era of minimally invasive treatment options, and is evidenced by the numerous publications. PNL is generally advantageous...... in the management of large renal stones (>1.5-2 cm) with high stone-free rates and considerable complication rates. However this technique is especially competing with retrograde intrarenal surgery and laparoscopic techniques. Therefore the CROES Global PNL Study Group prospectively collected data of over 5800...... patients managed with PNL worldwide and analyzed the data in detail, producing more than 25 scientific papers. And this update focuses on the lessons learned from the CROES PCNL Global Study....

Effects of force reflection on servomanipulator task performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draper, J.V.; Moore, W.E.; Herndon, J.N.; Weil, B.S.

1986-01-01

This paper reports results of a testing program that assessed the impact of force reflection on servomanipulator task performance. The testing program compared three force-reflection levels: 4 to 1 (four units of force on the slave produce one unit of force at the master controller), 1 to 1, and infinity to 1 (no force reflection). Time required to complete tasks, rate of occurrence of errors, the maximum force applied to task components, and variability in forces during completion of representative remote handling tasks were used as dependent variables. Operators exhibited lower error rates, lower peak forces, and more consistent application of forces using force reflection than they did without it. These data support the hypothesis that force reflection provides useful information for servomanipulator operators

Sub-annual North Pacific hydroclimate variability since 1450AD from updated St. Elias ice core isotope and accumulation rate records

Science.gov (United States)

Kreutz, K. J.; Campbell, S. W.; Winski, D.; Osterberg, E. C.; Kochtitzky, W. H.; Copland, L.; Dixon, D.; Introne, D.; Medrzycka, D.; Main, B.; Bernsen, S.; Wake, C. P.

2017-12-01

A growing array of high-resolution paleoclimate records from the terrestrial region bordering the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) continues to reveal details about ocean-atmosphere variability in the region during the Common Era. Ice core records from high-elevation ranges in proximity to the GoA provide key information on extratropical hydroclimate, and potential teleconnections to low latitude regions. In particular, stable water isotope and snow accumulation reconstructions from ice cores collected in high precipitation locations are uniquely tied to regional water cycle changes. Here we present new data collected in 2016 and 2017 from the St. Elias Mountains (Eclipse Icefield, Yukon Territories, Canada), including a range of ice core and geophysical measurements. Low- and high-frequency ice penetrating radar data enable detailed mapping of icefield bedrock topography and internal reflector stratigraphy. The 1911 Katmai eruption layer can be clearly traced across the icefield, and tied definitively to the coeval ash layer found in the 345 meter ice core drilled at Eclipse Icefield in 2002. High-resolution radar data are used to map spatial variability in 2015/16 and 2016/17 snow accumulation. Ice velocity data from repeat GPS stake measurements and remote sensing feature tracking reveal a clear divide flow regime on the icefield. Shallow firn/ice cores (20 meters in 2017 and 65 meters in 2016) are used to update the 345 meter ice core drilled at Eclipse Icefield in 2002. We use new algorithm-based layer counting software to improve and provide error estimates on the new ice core chronology, which extends from 2017 to 1450AD. 3D finite element modeling, incorporating all available geophysical data, is used to refine the reconstructed accumulation rate record and account for vertical and horizontal ice flow. Together with high-resolution stable water isotope data, the updated Eclipse record provides detailed, sub-annual resolution data on several aspects of the regional

75 FR 43235 - Medicare Program; Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for Calendar Year 2011...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-23

... Hypertension''), fail to include the NHLBI Blood Pressure (BP) guidelines and classification terminology. The.... Updates to the HH PPS II. Provisions of the Proposed Regulation A. Case-Mix Measurement B. Hypertension... points for secondary diagnoses, whereas the system prior to the refinements did not. Longstanding OASIS...

An update on Argonne's AWA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosing, M.; Chojnacki, E.; Gai, W.; Ho, C.; Konecny, R.; Mtingwa, S.; Norem, J.; Schoessow, P.; Simpson, J.

1991-01-01

The Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) is a new research facility which will possess unprecedented research capabilities for the study of wakefields and related areas requiring short, intense electron bunches. The AWA is designed to produce 100 nC, 14 ps (full width) electron bunches at rep rates up to 30 Hz. Phase-1 of the AWA, now under construction, will provide these pulses at 20 MeV for various experiments. Current designs, related research and development, and construction status are presented in this general overview and project update. 6 refs., 4 figs

Canadian Gas Association position paper on year 2000 update - November 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goard, R.C.

1998-01-01

An update to the response of the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) addressing the year 2000 (Y2K) problem is provided. CGA's Y2K Task Force consists of senior management as well as working committees of Y2K project managers, business continuity planners and multi-disciplinary resources from major member companies. The mandate of the Task Force is to collaborate and communicate on identifying and mitigating the technical, financial, legal and resource risks associated with Y2K, however, each member company is responsible for its own risk mitigation, compliance and contingency plans. CGA favours tax incentives to companies to encourage investment in Y2K remediation efforts. It also favours legislation that would reduce the risk of lawsuits for small, medium and large enterprises who are conscientiously working toward a solution. 3 refs

Sleep bruxism. Conceptual review and update.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Hoz-Aizpurua, José-Luis; Díaz-Alonso, Esperanza; LaTouche-Arbizu, Roy; Mesa-Jiménez, Juan

2011-03-01

Sleep bruxism (SB) is a parafunctional oromotor habit that can sometimes pose a threat to the integrity of the structures of the masticatory system if the magnitude and direction of the forces exerted exceed the system 's adaptive capacity. Over the years science has tried to provide a consistent explanation of the etiopathogenesis and physiopathology of SB, although the pathophysiological mechanisms are even now not yet fully understood. There is at present no specific, effective treatment to eliminate the habit of bruxism permanently. There are only palliative therapeutic alternatives steered at preventing the pathological effects of SB on the stomatognathic system and alleviating the negative clinical consequences of the habit. The objective of this article is to review and update the fundamental scientific concepts of SB and to furnish an approach to the main types of therapy used, based on the scientific literature.

Update of CERN exchange network

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

An update of the CERN exchange network will be done next April. Disturbances or even interruptions of telephony services may occur from 4th to 24th April during evenings from 18:30 to 00:00 but will not exceed more than 4 consecutive hours (see tentative planning below). CERN divisions are invited to avoid any change requests (set-ups, move or removals) of telephones and fax machines from 4th to 25th April. Everything will be done to minimize potential inconveniences which may occur during this update. There will be no loss of telephone functionalities. CERN GSM portable phones won't be affected by this change. Should you need more details, please send us your questions by email to Standard.Telephone@cern.ch. DateChange typeAffected areas April 11 Update of switch in LHC 4 LHC 4 Point April 14 Update of switch in LHC 5 LHC 5 Point April 15 Update of switches in LHC 3 and LHC 2 Points LHC 3 and LHC 2 April 22 Update of switch N4 Meyrin Ouest April 23 Update of switch  N6 Prévessin Site Ap...

Temperature effect on the rates of isometric force development and relaxation in the fresh and fatigued human adductor pollicis muscle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Ruiter, C J; Jones, D A; Sargeant, A J; de Haan, A

1999-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of temperature on the rates of isometric force development and relaxation in electrically activated fresh and fatigued human adductor pollicis muscle. Following immersion of the lower arm for 20 min in water baths of four different

Disruption of the Right Temporoparietal Junction Impairs Probabilistic Belief Updating.

Science.gov (United States)

Mengotti, Paola; Dombert, Pascasie L; Fink, Gereon R; Vossel, Simone

2017-05-31

Generating and updating probabilistic models of the environment is a fundamental modus operandi of the human brain. Although crucial for various cognitive functions, the neural mechanisms of these inference processes remain to be elucidated. Here, we show the causal involvement of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) in updating probabilistic beliefs and we provide new insights into the chronometry of the process by combining online transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with computational modeling of behavioral responses. Female and male participants performed a modified location-cueing paradigm, where false information about the percentage of cue validity (%CV) was provided in half of the experimental blocks to prompt updating of prior expectations. Online double-pulse TMS over rTPJ 300 ms (but not 50 ms) after target appearance selectively decreased participants' updating of false prior beliefs concerning %CV, reflected in a decreased learning rate of a Rescorla-Wagner model. Online TMS over rTPJ also impacted on participants' explicit beliefs, causing them to overestimate %CV. These results confirm the involvement of rTPJ in updating of probabilistic beliefs, thereby advancing our understanding of this area's function during cognitive processing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Contemporary views propose that the brain maintains probabilistic models of the world to minimize surprise about sensory inputs. Here, we provide evidence that the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is causally involved in this process. Because neuroimaging has suggested that rTPJ is implicated in divergent cognitive domains, the demonstration of an involvement in updating internal models provides a novel unifying explanation for these findings. We used computational modeling to characterize how participants change their beliefs after new observations. By interfering with rTPJ activity through online transcranial magnetic stimulation, we showed that participants were less able to update

Status and Performance Updates for the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Elaine M.; De Rosa, Gisella; Fischer, William J.; Fix, Mees; Fox, Andrew; Indriolo, Nick; James, Bethan; Oliveira, Cristina M.; Penton, Steven V.; Plesha, Rachel; Rafelski, Marc; Roman-Duval, Julia; Sahnow, David J.; Sankrit, Ravi; Taylor, Joanna M.; White, James

2018-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) moved the spectra on the FUV detector from Lifetime Position 3 (LP3) to a new pristine location, LP4, in October 2017. The spectra were shifted in the cross-dispersion direction by -2.5" (roughly -31 pixels) from LP3, or -5" (roughly -62 pixels) from the original LP1. This move mitigates the adverse effects of gain sag on the spectral quality and accuracy of COS FUV observations. Here, we present updates regarding the calibration of FUV data at LP4, including the flat fields, flux calibrations, and spectral resolution. We also present updates on the time-dependent sensitivities and dark rates of both the NUV and FUV detectors.

Decentralized Consistent Updates in SDN

KAUST Repository

Nguyen, Thanh Dang

2017-04-10

We present ez-Segway, a decentralized mechanism to consistently and quickly update the network state while preventing forwarding anomalies (loops and blackholes) and avoiding link congestion. In our design, the centralized SDN controller only pre-computes information needed by the switches during the update execution. This information is distributed to the switches, which use partial knowledge and direct message passing to efficiently realize the update. This separation of concerns has the key benefit of improving update performance as the communication and computation bottlenecks at the controller are removed. Our evaluations via network emulations and large-scale simulations demonstrate the efficiency of ez-Segway, which compared to a centralized approach, improves network update times by up to 45% and 57% at the median and the 99th percentile, respectively. A deployment of a system prototype in a real OpenFlow switch and an implementation in P4 demonstrate the feasibility and low overhead of implementing simple network update functionality within switches.

Breath-hold after forced expiration before removal of the biopsy needle decreased the rate of pneumothorax in CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Min, Lingfeng; Xu, Xingxiang [Subei People' s Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Clinical Medical School of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225001, Jiangsu (China); Song, Yong [Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medical, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu (China); Issahar, Ben-Dov [Pulmonary Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Wu, Jingtao; Zhang, Le; Huang, Qian [Subei People' s Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Clinical Medical School of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225001, Jiangsu (China); Chen, Mingxiang, E-mail: chenmx1129@126.com [Subei People' s Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Clinical Medical School of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225001, Jiangsu (China)

2013-01-15

Purpose: To assess the effect of a breath-hold after forced expiration on the rate of pneumothorax after computed tomography (CT)-guided transthoracic needle biopsy of pulmonary lesions. Materials and methods: Between January 2008 and December 2011, percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsy was performed in 440 patients. Two hundred and twenty-one biopsies were performed without (control group) and two hundred and nineteen biopsies were performed with (study group) the study maneuver – a breath-hold after forced expiratory approach. Multivariate analysis was performed between groups for risk factors for pneumothorax, including patient demographics, lesion characteristics, and biopsy technique. Results: A reduced number of pneumothoraces (18 [8.2%] vs 35 [15.8%]; P = 0.014) but no significant difference in rate of drainage catheter insertions (2 [0.9%] vs (4 [1.8%]; P = 0.418) were noted in the study group as compared with the control group. By logistic regression analysis, three factors significantly and independently affected the risk for pneumothorax including lesion size (transverse and longitudinal diameter), distance from pleura and utilizing or avoiding the breath-hold after deep expiration maneuver. Conclusion: Breath-holding after forced expiration before removal of the biopsy needle during the percutaneous CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy almost halved the rate of overall pneumothorax. Small lesion size (longitudinal diameter) and the distance from pleura were also predictors of pneumothorax in our study.

Breath-hold after forced expiration before removal of the biopsy needle decreased the rate of pneumothorax in CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, Lingfeng; Xu, Xingxiang; Song, Yong; Issahar, Ben-Dov; Wu, Jingtao; Zhang, Le; Huang, Qian; Chen, Mingxiang

2013-01-01

Purpose: To assess the effect of a breath-hold after forced expiration on the rate of pneumothorax after computed tomography (CT)-guided transthoracic needle biopsy of pulmonary lesions. Materials and methods: Between January 2008 and December 2011, percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsy was performed in 440 patients. Two hundred and twenty-one biopsies were performed without (control group) and two hundred and nineteen biopsies were performed with (study group) the study maneuver – a breath-hold after forced expiratory approach. Multivariate analysis was performed between groups for risk factors for pneumothorax, including patient demographics, lesion characteristics, and biopsy technique. Results: A reduced number of pneumothoraces (18 [8.2%] vs 35 [15.8%]; P = 0.014) but no significant difference in rate of drainage catheter insertions (2 [0.9%] vs (4 [1.8%]; P = 0.418) were noted in the study group as compared with the control group. By logistic regression analysis, three factors significantly and independently affected the risk for pneumothorax including lesion size (transverse and longitudinal diameter), distance from pleura and utilizing or avoiding the breath-hold after deep expiration maneuver. Conclusion: Breath-holding after forced expiration before removal of the biopsy needle during the percutaneous CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy almost halved the rate of overall pneumothorax. Small lesion size (longitudinal diameter) and the distance from pleura were also predictors of pneumothorax in our study

Nonlinear model updating applied to the IMAC XXXII Round Robin benchmark system

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt, Mehmet; Moore, Keegan J.; Eriten, Melih; McFarland, D. Michael; Bergman, Lawrence A.; Vakakis, Alexander F.

2017-05-01

We consider the application of a new nonlinear model updating strategy to a computational benchmark system. The approach relies on analyzing system response time series in the frequency-energy domain by constructing both Hamiltonian and forced and damped frequency-energy plots (FEPs). The system parameters are then characterized and updated by matching the backbone branches of the FEPs with the frequency-energy wavelet transforms of experimental and/or computational time series. The main advantage of this method is that no nonlinearity model is assumed a priori, and the system model is updated solely based on simulation and/or experimental measured time series. By matching the frequency-energy plots of the benchmark system and its reduced-order model, we show that we are able to retrieve the global strongly nonlinear dynamics in the frequency and energy ranges of interest, identify bifurcations, characterize local nonlinearities, and accurately reconstruct time series. We apply the proposed methodology to a benchmark problem, which was posed to the system identification community prior to the IMAC XXXII (2014) and XXXIII (2015) Conferences as a "Round Robin Exercise on Nonlinear System Identification". We show that we are able to identify the parameters of the non-linear element in the problem with a priori knowledge about its position.

An updated nuclear criticality slide rule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopper, C.M.; Broadhead, B.L.

1998-04-01

This Volume 2 contains the functional version of the updated nuclear criticality slide rule (more accurately, sliding graphs) that is referenced in An Updated Nuclear Criticality Slide Rule: Technical Basis, NUREG/CR-6504, Vol. 1 (ORNL/TM-13322/V1). This functional slide rule provides a readily usable open-quotes in-handclose quotes method for estimating pertinent nuclear criticality accident information from sliding graphs, thereby permitting (1) the rapid estimation of pertinent criticality accident information without laborious or sophisticated calculations in a nuclear criticality emergency situation, (2) the appraisal of potential fission yields and external personnel radiation exposures for facility safety analyses, and (3) a technical basis for emergency preparedness and training programs at nonreactor nuclear facilities. The slide rule permits the estimation of neutron and gamma dose rates and integrated doses based upon estimated fission yields, distance from the fission source, and time-after criticality accidents for five different critical systems. Another sliding graph permits the estimation of critical solution fission yields based upon fissile material concentration, critical vessel geometry, and solution addition rate. Another graph provides neutron and gamma dose-reduction factors for water, steel, and concrete. Graphs from historic documents are provided as references for estimating critical parameters of various fissile material systems. Conversion factors for various English and metric units are provided for quick reference

Progress toward national estimates of police use of force

Science.gov (United States)

Garner, Joel H.; Malega, Ronald W.; Maxwell, Christopher D.

2018-01-01

This research builds on three decades of effort to produce national estimates of the amount and rate of force used by law enforcement officers in the United States. Prior efforts to produce national estimates have suffered from poor and inconsistent measurements of force, small and unrepresentative samples, low survey and/or item response rates, and disparate reporting of rates of force. The present study employs data from a nationally representative survey of state and local law enforcement agencies that has a high survey response rate as well as a relatively high rate of reporting uses of force. Using data on arrests for violent offenses and the number of sworn officers to impute missing data on uses of force, we estimate a total of 337,590 use of physical force incidents among State and local law enforcement agencies during 2012 with a 95 percent confidence interval of +/- 10,470 incidents or +/- 3.1 percent. This article reports the extent to which the number and rate of force incidents vary by the type and size of law enforcement agencies. Our findings demonstrate the willingness of a large proportion of law enforcement agencies to voluntarily report the amount of force used by their officers and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) program to produce nationally representative information about police behavior. PMID:29447295

UPDATING NATIONAL TOPOGRAPHIC DATA BASE USING CHANGE DETECTION METHODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Keinan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The traditional method for updating a topographic database on a national scale is a complex process that requires human resources, time and the development of specialized procedures. In many National Mapping and Cadaster Agencies (NMCA, the updating cycle takes a few years. Today, the reality is dynamic and the changes occur every day, therefore, the users expect that the existing database will portray the current reality. Global mapping projects which are based on community volunteers, such as OSM, update their database every day based on crowdsourcing. In order to fulfil user's requirements for rapid updating, a new methodology that maps major interest areas while preserving associated decoding information, should be developed. Until recently, automated processes did not yield satisfactory results, and a typically process included comparing images from different periods. The success rates in identifying the objects were low, and most were accompanied by a high percentage of false alarms. As a result, the automatic process required significant editorial work that made it uneconomical. In the recent years, the development of technologies in mapping, advancement in image processing algorithms and computer vision, together with the development of digital aerial cameras with NIR band and Very High Resolution satellites, allow the implementation of a cost effective automated process. The automatic process is based on high-resolution Digital Surface Model analysis, Multi Spectral (MS classification, MS segmentation, object analysis and shape forming algorithms. This article reviews the results of a novel change detection methodology as a first step for updating NTDB in the Survey of Israel.

Updating National Topographic Data Base Using Change Detection Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Keinan, E.; Felus, Y. A.; Tal, Y.; Zilberstien, O.; Elihai, Y.

2016-06-01

The traditional method for updating a topographic database on a national scale is a complex process that requires human resources, time and the development of specialized procedures. In many National Mapping and Cadaster Agencies (NMCA), the updating cycle takes a few years. Today, the reality is dynamic and the changes occur every day, therefore, the users expect that the existing database will portray the current reality. Global mapping projects which are based on community volunteers, such as OSM, update their database every day based on crowdsourcing. In order to fulfil user's requirements for rapid updating, a new methodology that maps major interest areas while preserving associated decoding information, should be developed. Until recently, automated processes did not yield satisfactory results, and a typically process included comparing images from different periods. The success rates in identifying the objects were low, and most were accompanied by a high percentage of false alarms. As a result, the automatic process required significant editorial work that made it uneconomical. In the recent years, the development of technologies in mapping, advancement in image processing algorithms and computer vision, together with the development of digital aerial cameras with NIR band and Very High Resolution satellites, allow the implementation of a cost effective automated process. The automatic process is based on high-resolution Digital Surface Model analysis, Multi Spectral (MS) classification, MS segmentation, object analysis and shape forming algorithms. This article reviews the results of a novel change detection methodology as a first step for updating NTDB in the Survey of Israel.

The updating of clinical practice guidelines: insights from an international survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solà Ivan

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs have become increasingly popular, and the methodology to develop guidelines has evolved enormously. However, little attention has been given to the updating process, in contrast to the appraisal of the available literature. We conducted an international survey to identify current practices in CPG updating and explored the need to standardize and improve the methods. Methods We developed a questionnaire (28 items based on a review of the existing literature about guideline updating and expert comments. We carried out the survey between March and July 2009, and it was sent by email to 106 institutions: 69 members of the Guidelines International Network who declared that they developed CPGs; 30 institutions included in the U.S. National Guideline Clearinghouse database that published more than 20 CPGs; and 7 institutions selected by an expert committee. Results Forty-four institutions answered the questionnaire (42% response rate. In the final analysis, 39 completed questionnaires were included. Thirty-six institutions (92% reported that they update their guidelines. Thirty-one institutions (86% have a formal procedure for updating their guidelines, and 19 (53% have a formal procedure for deciding when a guideline becomes out of date. Institutions describe the process as moderately rigorous (36% or acknowledge that it could certainly be more rigorous (36%. Twenty-two institutions (61% alert guideline users on their website when a guideline is older than three to five years or when there is a risk of being outdated. Twenty-five institutions (64% support the concept of "living guidelines," which are continuously monitored and updated. Eighteen institutions (46% have plans to design a protocol to improve their guideline-updating process, and 21 (54% are willing to share resources with other organizations. Conclusions Our study is the first to describe the process of updating CPGs among prominent

Study of Adhesion Interaction Using Atomic Force Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Grybos, J.; Pyka-Fosciak, G.; Lebed, K.; Lekka, M.; Stachura, Z.; Styczeñ, J.

2003-05-01

An atomic force microscope is a useful tool to study the interaction forces at molecular level. In particular the atomic force microscope can measure an unbinding force needed to separate the two single molecule complexes. Recent studies have shown that such unbinding force depends linearly on the logarithm of the applied loading rate, defined as a product of scanning velocity and the spring constant characterizing the investigated system (cantilever vs. surface). This dependence can be used to study the energy landscape shape of a molecular complex by the estimation of energy barrier locations and the related dissociation rates. In the present work the complex consisting of ethylene(di)aminetetraacetic acid and the bovine serum albumin was measured. The dependence between the unbinding force and the logarithm of the loading rate was linear. Using the Bell model describing the dissociation of the above molecules caused by the action of the external bond breaking force, two parameters were estimated: the dissociation rate and the position of the energy barrier needed to overcome during a transition from a bound to unbound state. The obtained results are similar to those obtained for a typical ligand--receptor interaction.

Attainment and retention of force moderation following laparoscopic resection training with visual force feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, Rafael; Onar-Thomas, Arzu; Travascio, Francesco; Asfour, Shihab

2017-11-01

Laparoscopic training with visual force feedback can lead to immediate improvements in force moderation. However, the long-term retention of this kind of learning and its potential decay are yet unclear. A laparoscopic resection task and force sensing apparatus were designed to assess the benefits of visual force feedback training. Twenty-two male university students with no previous experience in laparoscopy underwent relevant FLS proficiency training. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control or treatment group. Both groups trained on the task for 2 weeks as follows: initial baseline, sixteen training trials, and post-test immediately after. The treatment group had visual force feedback during training, whereas the control group did not. Participants then performed four weekly test trials to assess long-term retention of training. Outcomes recorded were maximum pulling and pushing forces, completion time, and rated task difficulty. Extreme maximum pulling force values were tapered throughout both the training and retention periods. Average maximum pushing forces were significantly lowered towards the end of training and during retention period. No significant decay of applied force learning was found during the 4-week retention period. Completion time and rated task difficulty were higher during training, but results indicate that the difference eventually fades during the retention period. Significant differences in aptitude across participants were found. Visual force feedback training improves on certain aspects of force moderation in a laparoscopic resection task. Results suggest that with enough training there is no significant decay of learning within the first month of the retention period. It is essential to account for differences in aptitude between individuals in this type of longitudinal research. This study shows how an inexpensive force measuring system can be used with an FLS Trainer System after some retrofitting. Surgical

Updating Recursive XML Views of Relations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Choi, Byron; Cong, Gao; Fan, Wenfei

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the view update problem for XML views published from relational data. We consider XML views defined in terms of mappings directed by possibly recursive DTDs compressed into DAGs and stored in relations. We provide new techniques to efficiently support XML view updates...... specified in terms of XPath expressions with recursion and complex filters. The interaction between XPath recursion and DAG compression of XML views makes the analysis of the XML view update problem rather intriguing. Furthermore, many issues are still open even for relational view updates, and need...... to be explored. In response to these, on the XML side, we revise the notion of side effects and update semantics based on the semantics of XML views, and present effecient algorithms to translate XML updates to relational view updates. On the relational side, we propose a mild condition on SPJ views, and show...

Dissociating Working Memory Updating and Automatic Updating: The Reference-Back Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Rac-Lubashevsky, Rachel; Kessler, Yoav

2016-01-01

Working memory (WM) updating is a controlled process through which relevant information in the environment is selected to enter the gate to WM and substitute its contents. We suggest that there is also an automatic form of updating, which influences performance in many tasks and is primarily manifested in reaction time sequential effects. The goal…

State updating of a distributed hydrological model with Ensemble Kalman Filtering: Effects of updating frequency and observation network density on forecast accuracy

Science.gov (United States)

Rakovec, O.; Weerts, A.; Hazenberg, P.; Torfs, P.; Uijlenhoet, R.

2012-12-01

This paper presents a study on the optimal setup for discharge assimilation within a spatially distributed hydrological model (Rakovec et al., 2012a). The Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is employed to update the grid-based distributed states of such an hourly spatially distributed version of the HBV-96 model. By using a physically based model for the routing, the time delay and attenuation are modelled more realistically. The discharge and states at a given time step are assumed to be dependent on the previous time step only (Markov property). Synthetic and real world experiments are carried out for the Upper Ourthe (1600 km2), a relatively quickly responding catchment in the Belgian Ardennes. The uncertain precipitation model forcings were obtained using a time-dependent multivariate spatial conditional simulation method (Rakovec et al., 2012b), which is further made conditional on preceding simulations. We assess the impact on the forecasted discharge of (1) various sets of the spatially distributed discharge gauges and (2) the filtering frequency. The results show that the hydrological forecast at the catchment outlet is improved by assimilating interior gauges. This augmentation of the observation vector improves the forecast more than increasing the updating frequency. In terms of the model states, the EnKF procedure is found to mainly change the pdfs of the two routing model storages, even when the uncertainty in the discharge simulations is smaller than the defined observation uncertainty. Rakovec, O., Weerts, A. H., Hazenberg, P., Torfs, P. J. J. F., and Uijlenhoet, R.: State updating of a distributed hydrological model with Ensemble Kalman Filtering: effects of updating frequency and observation network density on forecast accuracy, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 9, 3961-3999, doi:10.5194/hessd-9-3961-2012, 2012a. Rakovec, O., Hazenberg, P., Torfs, P. J. J. F., Weerts, A. H., and Uijlenhoet, R.: Generating spatial precipitation ensembles: impact of

Serologic Screening for Genital Herpes: An Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Feltner, Cynthia; Grodensky, Catherine; Ebel, Charles; Middleton, Jennifer C; Harris, Russell P; Ashok, Mahima; Jonas, Daniel E

2016-12-20

Genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection. Vertical transmission of HSV can lead to fetal morbidity and mortality. To assess the evidence on serologic screening and preventive interventions for genital HSV infection in asymptomatic adults and adolescents to support the US Preventive Services Task Force for an updated recommendation statement. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and trial registries through March 31, 2016. Surveillance for new evidence in targeted publications was conducted through October 31, 2016. English-language randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing screening with no screening in persons without past or current symptoms of genital herpes; studies evaluating accuracy and harms of serologic screening tests for HSV-2; RCTs assessing preventive interventions in asymptomatic persons seropositive for HSV-2. Dual review of abstracts, full-text articles, and study quality; pooled sensitivities and specificities of screening tests using a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curve analysis when at least 3 similar studies were available. Accuracy of screening tests, benefits of screening, harms of screening, reduction in genital herpes outbreaks. A total of 17 studies (n = 9736 participants; range, 24-3290) in 19 publications were included. No RCTs compared screening with no screening. Most studies of the accuracy of screening tests were from populations with high HSV-2 prevalence (greater than 40% based on Western blot). Pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity of the most commonly used test at the manufacturer's cutpoint were 99% (95% CI, 97%-100%) and 81% (95% CI, 68%-90%), respectively (10 studies; n = 6537). At higher cutpoints, pooled estimates were 95% (95% CI, 91%-97%) and 89% (95% CI, 82%-93%), respectively (7 studies; n = 5516). Use of this test at the manufacturer's cutpoint in a population of 100 000 with a prevalence of HSV-2 of 16% (the

Folic Acid for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects : US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calonge, Ned; Petitti, Diana B.; DeWitt, Thomas G.; Dietrich, Allen J.; Gregory, Kimberly D.; Grossman, David; Isham, George; LeFevre, Michael L.; Leipzig, Rosanne M.; Marion, Lucy N.; Melnyk, Bernadette; Moyer, Virginia A.; Ockene, Judith K.; Sawaya, George F.; Schwartz, J. Sanford; Wilt, Timothy

2009-01-01

Description: In 1996, the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that all women planning or capable of pregnancy take a multivitamin supplement containing folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects. This recommendation is an update of the 1996 USPSTF recommendation.

Confidence in Forced-Choice Recognition: What Underlies the Ratings?

Science.gov (United States)

Zawadzka, Katarzyna; Higham, Philip A.; Hanczakowski, Maciej

2017-01-01

Two-alternative forced-choice recognition tests are commonly used to assess recognition accuracy that is uncontaminated by changes in bias. In such tests, participants are asked to endorse the studied item out of 2 presented alternatives. Participants may be further asked to provide confidence judgments for their recognition decisions. It is often…

Efficient rate control scheme using modified inter-layer dependency ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The IRC from the prior art is modified to achieve better rate control per layer by recursive updates for mean absolute difference values of eachbasic unit. Proposed modified inter-layer dependency shows improvement in the PSNR for enhancement layers while the updated IRC enforces better IRC for all the layers.

Updated 2016 EAU Guidelines on Muscle-invasive and Metastatic Bladder Cancer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witjes, J.A.; Lebret, T.; Comperat, E.M.; Cowan, N.C.; Santis, M. de; Bruins, H.M.; Hernandez, V.; Espinos, E.L.; Dunn, J.; Rouanne, M.; Neuzillet, Y.; Veskimae, E.; Heijden, A.G. van der; Gakis, G.; Ribal, M.J.

2017-01-01

CONTEXT: Invasive bladder cancer is a frequently occurring disease with a high mortality rate despite optimal treatment. The European Association of Urology (EAU) Muscle-invasive and Metastatic Bladder Cancer (MIBC) Guidelines are updated yearly and provides information to optimise diagnosis,

Energy Levels and B(E2) transition rates in the Hartree-Fock approximation with the Skyrme force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, D.R. de; Mizrahi, S.S.

1976-11-01

The Hartree-Fock approximation with the Skyrme force is applied to the A = 4n type of nuclei in the s-d shell. Energy levels and electric quadrupole transition probabilities within the ground states band are calculated from the projected states of good angular momentum. Strong approximations are made but the results concerning the spectra are better than those obtained with more sophisticated density independent two-body interactions. The transition rates are less sensitive to the interaction, as previously verified

Efficacy of interventions to combat tobacco addiction: Cochrane update of 2012 reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; Stead, Lindsay F; Cahill, Kate; Lancaster, Tim

2013-10-01

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international not-for-profit organization which produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health-care interventions. This paper is the first in a series of annual updates of Cochrane reviews on tobacco addiction interventions. It also provides an up-to-date overview of review findings in this area to date and summary statistics for cessation reviews in which meta-analyses were conducted. In 2012, the Group published seven new reviews and updated 13 others. This update summarizes and comments on these reviews. It also summarizes key findings from all the other reviews in this area. New reviews in 2012 found that in smokers using pharmacotherapy, behavioural support improves success rates [risk ratio (RR) 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.09-1.24], and that combining behavioural support and pharmacotherapy aids cessation (RR 1.82, 95% CI = 1.66-2.00). Updated reviews established mobile phones as potentially helpful in aiding cessation (RR 1.71, 95% CI = 1.47-1.99), found that cytisine (RR 3.98, 95% CI = 2.01-7.87) and low-dose varenicline (RR 2.09, 95% CI = 1.56-2.78) aid smoking cessation, and found that training health professionals in smoking cessation improves patient cessation rates (RR 1.60, 95% CI = 1.26-2.03). The updated reviews confirmed the benefits of nicotine replacement therapy, standard dose varenicline and providing cessation treatment free of charge. Lack of demonstrated efficacy remained for partner support, expired-air carbon monoxide feedback and lung function feedback. Cochrane systematic review evidence for the first time establishes the efficacy of behavioural support over and above pharmacotherapy, as well as the efficacy of cytisine, mobile phone technology, low-dose varenicline and health professional training in promoting smoking cessation. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Force deficits and breakage rates after single lengthening contractions of single fast fibers from unconditioned and conditioned muscles of young and old rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Gordon S; Faulkner, John A; Brooks, Susan V

2008-07-01

The deficit in force generation is a measure of the magnitude of damage to sarcomeres caused by lengthening contractions of either single fibers or whole muscles. In addition, permeabilized single fibers may suffer breakages. Our goal was to understand the interaction between breakages and force deficits in "young" and "old" permeabilized single fibers from control muscles of young and old rats and "conditioned" fibers from muscles that completed a 6-wk program of in vivo lengthening contractions. Following single lengthening contractions of old-control fibers compared with young-control fibers, the twofold greater force deficits at a 10% strain support the concept of an age-related increase in the susceptibility of fibers to mechanical damage. In addition, the much higher breakage rates for old fibers at all strains tested indicate an increase with aging in the number of fibers at risk of being severely injured during any given stretch. Following the 6-wk program of lengthening contractions, young-conditioned fibers and old-conditioned fibers were not different with respect to force deficit or the frequency of breakages. A potential mechanism for the increased resistance to stretch-induced damage of old-conditioned fibers is that, through intracellular damage and subsequent degeneration and regeneration, weaker sarcomeres were replaced by stronger sarcomeres. These data indicate that, despite the association of high fiber breakage rates and large force deficits with aging, the detrimental characteristics of old fibers were improved by a conditioning program that altered both sarcomeric characteristics as well as the overall structural integrity of the fibers.

Quantifying Update Effects in Citizen-Oriented Software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion Ivan

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Defining citizen-oriented software. Detailing technical issues regarding update process in this kind of software. Presenting different effects triggered by types of update. Building model for update costs estimation, including producer-side and consumer-side effects. Analyzing model applicability on INVMAT – large scale matrix inversion software. Proposing a model for update effects estimation. Specifying ways for softening effects of inaccurate updates.

Air Bag Momentum Force Including Aspiration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy Nusholtz

1995-01-01

Full Text Available A gas-jet momentum force drives the air bag into position during a crash. The magnitude of this force can change as a result of aspiration. To determine the potential magnitude of the effect on the momentum force and mass flow rate in an aspirated system, a series of experiments and simulations of those experiments was conducted. The simulation consists of a two-dimensional unsteady isentropic CFD model with special “infinite boundaries”. One of the difficulties in simulating the gas-jet behavior is determining the mass flow rate. To improve the reliability of the mass flow rate input to the simulation, a sampling procedure involving multiple tests was used, and an average of the tests was adopted.

Are Forecast Updates Progressive?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

2010-01-01

textabstractMacro-economic forecasts typically involve both a model component, which is replicable, as well as intuition, which is non-replicable. Intuition is expert knowledge possessed by a forecaster. If forecast updates are progressive, forecast updates should become more accurate, on average,

High-speed force mapping on living cells with a small cantilever atomic force microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braunsmann, Christoph; Seifert, Jan; Rheinlaender, Johannes; Schäffer, Tilman E.

2014-01-01

The imaging speed of the wide-spread force mapping mode for quantitative mechanical measurements on soft samples in liquid with the atomic force microscope (AFM) is limited by the bandwidth of the z-scanner and viscous drag forces on the cantilever. Here, we applied high-speed, large scan-range atomic force microscopy and small cantilevers to increase the speed of force mapping by ≈10−100 times. This allowed resolving dynamic processes on living mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Cytoskeleton reorganization during cell locomotion, growth of individual cytoskeleton fibers, cell blebbing, and the formation of endocytic pits in the cell membrane were observed. Increasing the force curve rate from 2 to 300 Hz increased the measured apparent Young's modulus of the cells by about 10 times, which facilitated force mapping measurements at high speed

High-speed force mapping on living cells with a small cantilever atomic force microscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braunsmann, Christoph; Seifert, Jan; Rheinlaender, Johannes; Schäffer, Tilman E., E-mail: Tilman.Schaeffer@uni-tuebingen [Institute of Applied Physics and LISA, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen (Germany)

2014-07-15

The imaging speed of the wide-spread force mapping mode for quantitative mechanical measurements on soft samples in liquid with the atomic force microscope (AFM) is limited by the bandwidth of the z-scanner and viscous drag forces on the cantilever. Here, we applied high-speed, large scan-range atomic force microscopy and small cantilevers to increase the speed of force mapping by ≈10−100 times. This allowed resolving dynamic processes on living mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Cytoskeleton reorganization during cell locomotion, growth of individual cytoskeleton fibers, cell blebbing, and the formation of endocytic pits in the cell membrane were observed. Increasing the force curve rate from 2 to 300 Hz increased the measured apparent Young's modulus of the cells by about 10 times, which facilitated force mapping measurements at high speed.

LightForce: An Update on Orbital Collision Avoidance Using Photon Pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Stupl, Jan; Mason, James; De Vries, Willem; Smith, Craig; Levit, Creon; Marshall, William; Salas, Alberto Guillen; Pertica, Alexander; Olivier, Scot; Ting, Wang

2012-01-01

We present an update on our research on collision avoidance using photon-pressure induced by ground-based lasers. In the past, we have shown the general feasibility of employing small orbit perturbations, induced by photon pressure from ground-based laser illumination, for collision avoidance in space. Possible applications would be protecting space assets from impacts with debris and stabilizing the orbital debris environment. Focusing on collision avoidance rather than de-orbit, the scheme avoids some of the security and liability implications of active debris removal, and requires less sophisticated hardware than laser ablation. In earlier research we concluded that one ground based system consisting of a 10 kW class laser, directed by a 1.5 m telescope with adaptive optics, could avoid a significant fraction of debris-debris collisions in low Earth orbit. This paper describes our recent efforts, which include refining our original analysis, employing higher fidelity simulations and performing experimental tracking tests. We investigate the efficacy of one or more laser ground stations for debris-debris collision avoidance and satellite protection using simulations to investigate multiple case studies. The approach includes modeling of laser beam propagation through the atmosphere, the debris environment (including actual trajectories and physical parameters), laser facility operations, and simulations of the resulting photon pressure. We also present the results of experimental laser debris tracking tests. These tests track potential targets of a first technical demonstration and quantify the achievable tracking performance.

Seismic source characterization for the 2014 update of the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model

Science.gov (United States)

Moschetti, Morgan P.; Powers, Peter; Petersen, Mark D.; Boyd, Oliver; Chen, Rui; Field, Edward H.; Frankel, Arthur; Haller, Kathleen; Harmsen, Stephen; Mueller, Charles S.; Wheeler, Russell; Zeng, Yuehua

2015-01-01

We present the updated seismic source characterization (SSC) for the 2014 update of the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for the conterminous United States. Construction of the seismic source models employs the methodology that was developed for the 1996 NSHM but includes new and updated data, data types, source models, and source parameters that reflect the current state of knowledge of earthquake occurrence and state of practice for seismic hazard analyses. We review the SSC parameterization and describe the methods used to estimate earthquake rates, magnitudes, locations, and geometries for all seismic source models, with an emphasis on new source model components. We highlight the effects that two new model components—incorporation of slip rates from combined geodetic-geologic inversions and the incorporation of adaptively smoothed seismicity models—have on probabilistic ground motions, because these sources span multiple regions of the conterminous United States and provide important additional epistemic uncertainty for the 2014 NSHM.

UMER: An analog computer for dynamics of swarms interacting via long-range forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kishek, R.A.; Bai, G.; Bernal, S.; Feldman, D.; Godlove, T.F.; Haber, I.; O'Shea, P.G.; Quinn, B.; Papadopoulos, C.; Reiser, M.; Stratakis, D.; Tian, K.; Tobin, C.J.; Walter, M.

2006-01-01

Some of the most challenging and interesting problems in nature involve large numbers of objects or particles mutually interacting through long-range forces. Examples range from galaxies and plasmas to flocks of birds and traffic flow on a highway. Even in cases where the form of the interacting force is precisely known, such as the 1/r 2 -dependent Coulomb and gravitational forces, such problems present a formidable theoretical and modeling challenge for large numbers of interacting bodies. This paper reports on a newly constructed, scaled particle accelerator that will serve as an experimental testbed for the dynamics of swarms interacting through long-range forces. Primarily designed for intense beam dynamics studies for advanced accelerators, the University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER) design is described in detail and an update on commissioning is provided. An example application to a system other than a charged particle beam is discussed

Consensus Guidelines for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Neuropsychopharmacology: Update 2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiemke, C; Bergemann, N; Clement, H W; Conca, A; Deckert, J; Domschke, K; Eckermann, G; Egberts, K; Gerlach, M; Greiner, C; Gründer, G; Haen, E; Havemann-Reinecke, U; Hefner, G; Helmer, R; Janssen, G; Jaquenoud, E; Laux, G; Messer, T; Mössner, R; Müller, M J; Paulzen, M; Pfuhlmann, B; Riederer, P; Saria, A; Schoppek, B; Schoretsanitis, G; Schwarz, M; Gracia, M Silva; Stegmann, B; Steimer, W; Stingl, J C; Uhr, M; Ulrich, S; Unterecker, S; Waschgler, R; Zernig, G; Zurek, G; Baumann, P

2018-01-01

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is the quantification and interpretation of drug concentrations in blood to optimize pharmacotherapy. It considers the interindividual variability of pharmacokinetics and thus enables personalized pharmacotherapy. In psychiatry and neurology, patient populations that may particularly benefit from TDM are children and adolescents, pregnant women, elderly patients, individuals with intellectual disabilities, patients with substance abuse disorders, forensic psychiatric patients or patients with known or suspected pharmacokinetic abnormalities. Non-response at therapeutic doses, uncertain drug adherence, suboptimal tolerability, or pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions are typical indications for TDM. However, the potential benefits of TDM to optimize pharmacotherapy can only be obtained if the method is adequately integrated in the clinical treatment process. To supply treating physicians and laboratories with valid information on TDM, the TDM task force of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Neuropsychopharmakologie und Pharmakopsychiatrie (AGNP) issued their first guidelines for TDM in psychiatry in 2004. After an update in 2011, it was time for the next update. Following the new guidelines holds the potential to improve neuropsychopharmacotherapy, accelerate the recovery of many patients, and reduce health care costs. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Blood Pressure vs. Heart Rate

Science.gov (United States)

... Peripheral Artery Disease Venous Thromboembolism Aortic Aneurysm More Blood Pressure vs. Heart Rate (Pulse) Updated:Nov 13,2017 ... This content was last reviewed October 2016. High Blood Pressure • Home • Get the Facts About HBP Introduction What ...

The Forecasting of Labour Force Participation and the Unemployment Rate in Poland and Turkey Using Fuzzy Time Series Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yolcu Ufuk

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Fuzzy time series methods based on the fuzzy set theory proposed by Zadeh (1965 was first introduced by Song and Chissom (1993. Since fuzzy time series methods do not have the assumptions that traditional time series do and have effective forecasting performance, the interest on fuzzy time series approaches is increasing rapidly. Fuzzy time series methods have been used in almost all areas, such as environmental science, economy and finance. The concepts of labour force participation and unemployment have great importance in terms of both the economy and sociology of countries. For this reason there are many studies on their forecasting. In this study, we aim to forecast the labour force participation and unemployment rate in Poland and Turkey using different fuzzy time series methods.

Updating river basin models with radar altimetry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michailovsky, Claire Irene B.

suited for use in data assimilation frameworks which combine the information content from models and current observations to produce improved forecasts and reduce prediction uncertainty. The focus of the second and third papers of this thesis was therefore the use of radar altimetry as update data...... of political unwillingness to share data which is a common problem in particular in transboundary settings. In this context, remote sensing (RS) datasets provide an appealing alternative to traditional in-situ data and much research effort has gone into the use of these datasets for hydrological applications...... response of a catchment to meteorological forcing. While river discharge cannot be directly measured from space, radar altimetry (RA) can measure water level variations in rivers at the locations where the satellite ground track and river network intersect called virtual stations or VS. In this PhD study...

Updating of working memory: lingering bindings.

Science.gov (United States)

Oberauer, Klaus; Vockenberg, Kerstin

2009-05-01

Three experiments investigated proactive interference and proactive facilitation in a memory-updating paradigm. Participants remembered several letters or spatial patterns, distinguished by their spatial positions, and updated them by new stimuli up to 20 times per trial. Self-paced updating times were shorter when an item previously remembered and then replaced reappeared in the same location than when it reappeared in a different location. This effect demonstrates residual memory for no-longer-relevant bindings of items to locations. The effect increased with the number of items to be remembered. With one exception, updating times did not increase, and recall of final values did not decrease, over successive updating steps, thus providing little evidence for proactive interference building up cumulatively.

Control Of Motor Unit Firing During Step-Like Increases In Voluntary Force

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaogang eHu

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In most skeletal muscles, force is generated by a combination of motor unit (MU recruitment and increases in the firing rate of previously active MUs. Two contrasting patterns of firing rate organization have been reported. In the first pattern, the earliest recruited MUs reach the highest firing rates as force is increased, and later recruited MUs fire at lower rates. When firing rate of multiple MUs are superimposed, these rate trajectories form a concentric layered profile termed ‘onion skin’. In the second pattern, called ‘reverse onion skin’, later recruited MUs reach higher firing rates, and crossing of firing rate trajectories for recorded MUs is common (although such trajectories are assembled routinely from different trials. Our present study examined the firing rate organization of concurrently active MUs of the first dorsal interosseous muscle during serial, step-like increases in isometric abduction forces. We used a surface sensor array coupled with MU discrimination algorithms to characterize MU firing patterns. Our objective was to determine whether ‘onion skin’ profiles are contingent upon the force trajectory of the motor task, examined here using step-like increases of force output, and also whether they are manifested at different force levels.Our results revealed that the overall ‘onion skin’ firing rate profile was retained as the force level increased with each force step up to 15% MVC. However, the distribution of firing rates across MUs was compressed with increasing force, and overlapping firing rate of units were observed. This rate compression was largely due to rate saturation of the relatively high frequency discharging MUs.Our results reflect flexible firing patterns across MUs at different levels of excitation drive. It is also evident that many units did not follow all the step increases consistently. This failure to track firing rate increases at higher forces could be due to an intrinsically

How do we update faces? Effects of gaze direction and facial expressions on working memory updating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caterina eArtuso

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to investigate how the biological binding between different facial dimensions, and their social and communicative relevance, may impact updating processes in working memory (WM. We focused on WM updating because it plays a key role in ongoing processing. Gaze direction and facial expression are crucial and changeable components of face processing. Direct gaze enhances the processing of approach-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g. joy, while averted gaze enhances the processing of avoidance-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g. fear. Thus, the way in which these two facial dimensions are combined communicates to the observer important behavioral and social information. Updating of these two facial dimensions and their bindings has not been investigated before, despite the fact that they provide a piece of social information essential for building and maintaining an internal ongoing representation of our social environment. In Experiment 1 we created a task in which the binding between gaze direction and facial expression was manipulated: high binding conditions (e.g. joy-direct gaze were compared to low binding conditions (e.g. joy-averted gaze. Participants had to study and update continuously a number of faces, displaying different bindings between the two dimensions. In Experiment 2 we tested whether updating was affected by the social and communicative value of the facial dimension binding; to this end, we manipulated bindings between eye and hair color, two less communicative facial dimensions. Two new results emerged. First, faster response times were found in updating combinations of facial dimensions highly bound together. Second, our data showed that the ease of the ongoing updating processing varied depending on the communicative meaning of the binding that had to be updated. The results are discussed with reference to the role of WM updating in social cognition and appraisal processes.

How do we update faces? Effects of gaze direction and facial expressions on working memory updating.

Science.gov (United States)

Artuso, Caterina; Palladino, Paola; Ricciardelli, Paola

2012-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate how the biological binding between different facial dimensions, and their social and communicative relevance, may impact updating processes in working memory (WM). We focused on WM updating because it plays a key role in ongoing processing. Gaze direction and facial expression are crucial and changeable components of face processing. Direct gaze enhances the processing of approach-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., joy), while averted gaze enhances the processing of avoidance-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., fear). Thus, the way in which these two facial dimensions are combined communicates to the observer important behavioral and social information. Updating of these two facial dimensions and their bindings has not been investigated before, despite the fact that they provide a piece of social information essential for building and maintaining an internal ongoing representation of our social environment. In Experiment 1 we created a task in which the binding between gaze direction and facial expression was manipulated: high binding conditions (e.g., joy-direct gaze) were compared to low binding conditions (e.g., joy-averted gaze). Participants had to study and update continuously a number of faces, displaying different bindings between the two dimensions. In Experiment 2 we tested whether updating was affected by the social and communicative value of the facial dimension binding; to this end, we manipulated bindings between eye and hair color, two less communicative facial dimensions. Two new results emerged. First, faster response times were found in updating combinations of facial dimensions highly bound together. Second, our data showed that the ease of the ongoing updating processing varied depending on the communicative meaning of the binding that had to be updated. The results are discussed with reference to the role of WM updating in social cognition and appraisal processes.

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2018 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update and CY 2019 Case-Mix Adjustment Methodology Refinements; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model; and Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-07

This final rule updates the home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) payment rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor, effective for home health episodes of care ending on or after January 1, 2018. This rule also: Updates the HH PPS case-mix weights using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking; implements the third year of a 3-year phase-in of a reduction to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment to account for estimated case-mix growth unrelated to increases in patient acuity (that is, nominal case-mix growth) between calendar year (CY) 2012 and CY 2014; and discusses our efforts to monitor the potential impacts of the rebasing adjustments that were implemented in CY 2014 through CY 2017. In addition, this rule finalizes changes to the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model and to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP). We are not finalizing the implementation of the Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) in this final rule.

49 CFR 1002.3 - Updating user fees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... updating fees. Each fee shall be updated by updating the cost components comprising the fee. Cost... direct labor costs are direct labor costs determined by the cost study set forth in Revision of Fees For... by total office costs for the Offices directly associated with user fee activity. Actual updating of...

Curvature force and dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balakin, Alexander B; Pavon, Diego; Schwarz, Dominik J; Zimdahl, Winfried

2003-01-01

A curvature self-interaction of the cosmic gas is shown to mimic a cosmological constant or other forms of dark energy, such as a rolling tachyon condensate or a Chaplygin gas. Any given Hubble rate and deceleration parameter can be traced back to the action of an effective curvature force on the gas particles. This force self-consistently reacts back on the cosmological dynamics. The links between an imperfect fluid description, a kinetic description with effective antifriction forces and curvature forces, which represent a non-minimal coupling of gravity to matter, are established

Adult mouse motor units develop almost all of their force in the subprimary range: a new all-or-none strategy for force recruitment?

Science.gov (United States)

Manuel, Marin; Heckman, C J

2011-10-19

Classical studies of the mammalian neuromuscular system have shown an impressive adaptation match between the intrinsic properties of motoneurons and the contractile properties of their motor units. In these studies, the rate at which motoneurons start to fire repetitively corresponds to the rate at which individual twitches start to sum, and the firing rate increases linearly with the amount of excitation ("primary range") up to the point where the motor unit develops its maximal force. This allows for the gradation of the force produced by a motor unit by rate modulation. In adult mouse motoneurons, however, we recently described a regime of firing ("subprimary range") that appears at lower excitation than what is required for the primary range, a finding that might challenge the classical conception. To investigate the force production of mouse motor units, we simultaneously recorded, for the first time, the motoneuron discharge elicited by intracellular ramps of current and the force developed by its motor unit. We showed that the motor unit developed nearly its maximal force during the subprimary range. This was found to be the case regardless of the input resistance of the motoneuron, the contraction speed, or the tetanic force of the motor unit. Our work suggests that force modulation in small mammals mainly relies on the number of motor units that are recruited rather than on rate modulation of individual motor units.

Modeling of hysteretic behavior of the levitation force between superconductor and permanent magnet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Xing-da, E-mail: shuxdw@gmail.com [School of Information Engineering, Guangdong Medical College, No. 2, Eastern Wenming Road, Zhanjiang 524023 (China); Xu, Ke-Xi, E-mail: kxxu@staff.shu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China); Cao, Yue; Hu, Shun-bo; Zuo, Peng-xiang; Li, Guan-dong [Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China)

2013-03-15

Highlights: ► Experimental results on hysteretic behavior of the levitaion force are presented. ► Hysteresis loop for the first descent/ascent cycle of magnet is largest. ► Hysteresis loop for the second and subsequent cycles almost overlap each other. ► Yang’s frozen-image model cannot describe this characteristic of levitation force. ► An updated frozen-image model is developed to describe these experimental results. -- Abstract: The hysteretic behavior of the levitation force between a permanent magnet and a melt-textured-growth YBCO bulk has been investigated under both zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) processes. It is found that both in ZFC and FC measurements, the hysteresis loop for the first descent/ascent cycle of magnet is relatively larger than that for the second or third cycle, and the hysteresis loops for Cycle 2–4 have the same area. These results can be qualitatively understood in terms of the critical state model. To describe these experimental results, we develop an updated frozen-image model, which is obtained by modifying the change rules of the vertical movement image in the advanced frozen-image model proposed by Yang et al. Comparing with the advanced frozen-image model proposed by Yang et al., our model cannot only give the hysteretic characteristic in the first descent–ascent cycle of magnet, but also show the hysteresis loops with the same area for the second and subsequent cycles.

Concepts of incremental updating and versioning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cooper, Antony K

2004-07-01

Full Text Available of the work undertaken recently by the Working Group (WG). The WG was voted for a Commission by the General Assembly held at the 21st ICC in Durban, South Africa. The basic problem being addressed by the Commission is that a user compiles their data base... or election). Historically, updates have been provided in bulk, with the new data set replacing the old one. User could: ignore update (if it is not significant enough), manually (and selectively) update their data base, or accept the whole update...

An Atomic Force Microscope Study Revealed Two Mechanisms in the Effect of Anticancer Drugs on Rate-Dependent Young's Modulus of Human Prostate Cancer Cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Ren

Full Text Available Mechanical properties of cells have been recognized as a biomarker for cellular cytoskeletal organization. As chemical treatments lead to cell cytoskeletal rearrangements, thereby, modifications of cellular mechanical properties, investigating cellular mechanical property variations provides insightful knowledge to effects of chemical treatments on cancer cells. In this study, the effects of eight different anticancer drugs on the mechanical properties of human prostate cancer cell (PC-3 are investigated using a recently developed control-based nanoindentation measurement (CNM protocol on atomic force microscope (AFM. The CNM protocol overcomes the limits of other existing methods to in-liquid nanoindentation measurement of live cells on AFM, particularly for measuring mechanical properties of live cells. The Young's modulus of PC-3 cells treated by the eight drugs was measured by varying force loading rates over three orders of magnitude, and compared to the values of the control. The results showed that the Young's modulus of the PC-3 cells increased substantially by the eight drugs tested, and became much more pronounced as the force load rate increased. Moreover, two distinct trends were clearly expressed, where under the treatment of Disulfiram, paclitaxel, and MK-2206, the exponent coefficient of the frequency- modulus function remained almost unchanged, while with Celebrex, BAY, Totamine, TPA, and Vaproic acid, the exponential rate was significantly increased.

Efficacy of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: a systematic literature review informing the 2013 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nam, Jackie L.; Ramiro, Sofia; Gaujoux-Viala, Cecile; Takase, Kaoru; Leon-Garcia, Mario; Emery, Paul; Gossec, Laure; Landewe, Robert; Smolen, Josef S.; Buch, Maya H.

2014-01-01

To update the evidence for the efficacy of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to inform the European League Against Rheumatism(EULAR) Task Force treatment recommendations. Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched for

Temperature dependence of levitation force and its relaxation in a HTS levitation system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Jun; Zhang Xingyi [Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Western Disaster and Environment, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000 (China); Zhou Youhe, E-mail: zhouyh@lzu.edu.c [Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Western Disaster and Environment, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000 (China)

2010-03-01

Using a modified Gifford-McMahon refrigerator to cool the cylindrical bulk YBaCuO superconductor within the region of 100-10 K, and using an updated high-temperature superconductor (HTS) maglev measurement system, the levitation force and its time relaxation at different temperatures between a YBaCuO bulk superconductor and a permanent magnet (PM) have been measured under zero-field cooling. It is found that decrease the cooling temperature of HTS can decrease the hysteresis of magnetization and increase the maximum levitation force of each hysteresis loop. For the relaxation of levitation force, if the temperature is continually lowered to 10 K after the relaxation measurement at given cooling temperature is performed for 600 s, the levitation force will continue to decrease sharply with the lowering of temperature even though it will get stable if the temperature is not lowered. Our results shown in this work are a benefit to the understanding of levitation systems.

Environmental Assessment for the Construction of a Photovoltaic Solar Array at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-01

Softball Field FAMCamp Golf Course Club House Tennis Court GENERAL PLAN Update | Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas 4-9 CoMPonEnT PLAns Legend[ FIGuRE 4-3...Golf Course, FAMCamp RV Park, several baseball/ softball fields, a paintball field, an outdoor skeet shooting range, a multi-sport track and field

Updating Geospatial Data from Large Scale Data Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, R.; Chen, J.; Wang, D.; Shang, Y.; Wang, Z.; Li, X.; Ai, T.

2011-08-01

In the past decades, many geospatial databases have been established at national, regional and municipal levels over the world. Nowadays, it has been widely recognized that how to update these established geo-spatial database and keep them up to date is most critical for the value of geo-spatial database. So, more and more efforts have been devoted to the continuous updating of these geospatial databases. Currently, there exist two main types of methods for Geo-spatial database updating: directly updating with remote sensing images or field surveying materials, and indirectly updating with other updated data result such as larger scale newly updated data. The former method is the basis because the update data sources in the two methods finally root from field surveying and remote sensing. The later method is often more economical and faster than the former. Therefore, after the larger scale database is updated, the smaller scale database should be updated correspondingly in order to keep the consistency of multi-scale geo-spatial database. In this situation, it is very reasonable to apply map generalization technology into the process of geo-spatial database updating. The latter is recognized as one of most promising methods of geo-spatial database updating, especially in collaborative updating environment in terms of map scale, i.e , different scale database are produced and maintained separately by different level organizations such as in China. This paper is focused on applying digital map generalization into the updating of geo-spatial database from large scale in the collaborative updating environment for SDI. The requirements of the application of map generalization into spatial database updating are analyzed firstly. A brief review on geospatial data updating based digital map generalization is then given. Based on the requirements analysis and review, we analyze the key factors for implementing updating geospatial data from large scale including technical

Grip force and heart rate responses to manual carrying tasks: effects of material, weight, and base area of the container.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tzu-Hsien; Tseng, Chia-Yun

2014-01-01

This study recruited 16 industrial workers to examine the effects of material, weight, and base area of container on reduction of grip force (ΔGF) and heart rate for a 100-m manual carrying task. This study examined 2 carrying materials (iron and water), 4 carrying weights (4.4, 8.9, 13.3, 17.8 kg), and 2 base areas of container (24 × 24 cm, 35 × 24 cm). This study showed that carrying water significantly increased ΔGF and heart rate as compared with carrying iron. Also, ΔGF and heart rate significantly increased with carrying weight and base area of container. The effects of base area of container on ΔGF and heart rate were greater in carrying water condition than in carrying iron condition. The maximum dynamic effect of water on ΔGF and heart rate occurred when water occupied ~60%-80% of full volume of the container.

Measurement and prediction of cutting forces and vibrations on longwall shearers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulent Tiryaki [CRCMining (Australia)

2006-12-15

CRCMining has developed the Cutting Head Performance Analysis Software (CPAS) to predict cutter motor power, ranging arm reaction forces, and vibrations for different drum designs, coal seams, and shearer operational conditions. This project describes the work on THE DBT EL3000 shearer at Beltana to validate/update CPAS by measuring the cutter motor power, ranging arm vibrations, and reaction forces through an online data acquisition system called Cutting Head Performance Monitoring System (CPMS). This system records the outputs of six strain gauge bridges, six accelerometers, and two pressure transducers on ranging arms during underground coal production. CPAS2 has then been developed in order to eliminate the needs for performing coal cutting tests for the target coal seam. CPAS2 simulations for cutter motor power, vertical reaction force, and vibrations were also close to those measured in the trials. CRCMining will release the CPAS code including fully functioning software code on CD to Australian coal mining industry.

National Utility Rate Database: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ong, S.; McKeel, R.

2012-08-01

When modeling solar energy technologies and other distributed energy systems, using high-quality expansive electricity rates is essential. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a utility rate platform for entering, storing, updating, and accessing a large collection of utility rates from around the United States. This utility rate platform lives on the Open Energy Information (OpenEI) website, OpenEI.org, allowing the data to be programmatically accessed from a web browser, using an application programming interface (API). The semantic-based utility rate platform currently has record of 1,885 utility rates and covers over 85% of the electricity consumption in the United States.

Comparing the impact of time displaced and biased precipitation estimates for online updated urban runoff models.

Science.gov (United States)

Borup, Morten; Grum, Morten; Mikkelsen, Peter Steen

2013-01-01

When an online runoff model is updated from system measurements, the requirements of the precipitation input change. Using rain gauge data as precipitation input there will be a displacement between the time when the rain hits the gauge and the time where the rain hits the actual catchment, due to the time it takes for the rain cell to travel from the rain gauge to the catchment. Since this time displacement is not present for system measurements the data assimilation scheme might already have updated the model to include the impact from the particular rain cell when the rain data is forced upon the model, which therefore will end up including the same rain twice in the model run. This paper compares forecast accuracy of updated models when using time displaced rain input to that of rain input with constant biases. This is done using a simple time-area model and historic rain series that are either displaced in time or affected with a bias. The results show that for a 10 minute forecast, time displacements of 5 and 10 minutes compare to biases of 60 and 100%, respectively, independent of the catchments time of concentration.

Packing force data correlations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heiman, S.M.

1994-01-01

One of the issues facing valve maintenance personnel today deals with an appropriate methodology for installing and setting valve packing that will minimize leak rates, yet ensure functionality of the the valve under all anticipated operating conditions. Several variables can affect a valve packing's ability to seal, such as packing bolt torque, stem finish, and lubrication. Stem frictional force can be an excellent overall indicator of some of the underlying conditions that affect the sealing characteristics of the packing and the best parameter to use when adjusting the packing. This paper addresses stem friction forces, analytically derives the equations related to these forces, presents a methodology for measuring these forces on valve stems, and attempts to correlate the data directly to the underlying variables

Effects of rapid shortening on rate of force regeneration and myoplasmic [Ca2+] in intact frog skeletal muscle fibres

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenboom, R; Claflin, D R; Julian, F J

1998-01-01

The effect of rapid shortening on rate of force regeneration (dF/dtR) was examined in single, intact frog (Rana temporaria) skeletal muscle fibres (3·0 °C). Step releases leading to unloaded shortening were applied after 500 ms of stimulation, during the plateau of an isometric tetanus. Initial mean sarcomere length ranged from 2·05 to 2·35 μm; force regeneration after shortening was at 2·00 μm.Values for dF/dtR following a 25 nm half-sarcomere−1 release were 3·17 ± 0·17 (mean ± s.e.m., n= 8) times greater than the initial rate of rise of force before release (dF/dtI). As release size was increased from 25 to 175 nm half-sarcomere−1, the relationship between release size and dF/dtR decreased sharply before attaining a plateau value that was 1·34 ± 0·09 times greater than dF/dtI. Despite wide variations in dF/dtR, the velocity of unloaded shortening remained constant (2·92 ± 0·08 μm half-sarcomere−1 s−1; n= 8) for the different release amplitudes used in this study.To investigate its role in the attenuation of dF/dtR with increased shortening, the effects of rapid ramp (constant velocity) shortening on intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) were monitored using the Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent dye furaptra. Compared with an isometric contraction, rapid fibre shortening was associated with a transient increase in [Ca2+]i while force regeneration after shortening was associated with a transient reduction in [Ca2+]i. The greatest reductions in [Ca2+]i were associated with the largest amplitude ramps.Cross-bridge-mediated modifications of the Ca2+ affinity of troponin C (TnC) may explain the fluctuations in [Ca2+]i observed during and after ramps. Associated fluctuations in TnC Ca2+ occupancy could play a role in the reduction of dF/dtR with increasing release size. PMID:9679172

Contribution of anthropogenic aerosols in direct radiative forcing and atmospheric heating rate over Delhi in the Indo-Gangetic Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Atul K; Singh, Sachchidanand; Tiwari, S; Bisht, D S

2012-05-01

The present work is aimed to understand direct radiation effects due to aerosols over Delhi in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) region, using detailed chemical analysis of surface measured aerosols during the year 2007. An optically equivalent aerosol model was formulated on the basis of measured aerosol chemical compositions along with the ambient meteorological parameters to derive radiatively important aerosol optical parameters. The derived aerosol parameters were then used to estimate the aerosol direct radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere, surface, and in the atmosphere. The anthropogenic components measured at Delhi were found to be contributing ∼ 72% to the composite aerosol optical depth (AOD(0.5) ∼ 0.84). The estimated mean surface and atmospheric forcing for composite aerosols over Delhi were found to be about -69, -85, and -78 W m(-2) and about +78, +98, and +79 W m(-2) during the winter, summer, and post-monsoon periods, respectively. The anthropogenic aerosols contribute ∼ 90%, 53%, and 84% to the total aerosol surface forcing and ∼ 93%, 54%, and 88% to the total aerosol atmospheric forcing during the above respective periods. The mean (± SD) surface and atmospheric forcing for composite aerosols was about -79 (± 15) and +87 (± 26) W m(-2) over Delhi with respective anthropogenic contributions of ∼ 71% and 75% during the overall period of observation. Aerosol induced large surface cooling, which was relatively higher during summer as compared to the winter suggesting an increase in dust loading over the station. The total atmospheric heating rate at Delhi averaged during the observation was found to be 2.42  ±  0.72 K day(-1), of which the anthropogenic fraction contributed as much as ∼ 73%.

Saving Blood and Reducing Costs: Updating Blood Transfusion Practice in Lower Limb Arthroplasty

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Fenelon, C

2018-04-01

Our aim was to quantify blood transfusion rates in lower limb arthroplasty following the introduction of a multimodal enhanced recovery programme (ERP). We then sought to update the maximum surgical blood ordering schedule (MSBOS) and calculate cost savings achieved.

Global baby-friendly hospital initiative monitoring data: update and discussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Labbok, Miriam H

2012-08-01

The World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) was developed to support the implementation of the Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding. The purpose of this study is to assess trends in the numbers facilities ever-designated "baby-friendly," to consider uptake of the new WHO/UNICEF BFHI materials, and to consider implications for future breastfeeding support. The national contacts from the 2006-2007 UNICEF BFHI update were recontacted, as were WHO and UNICEF officers worldwide, to ascertain the number of hospitals ever-designated "baby-friendly," presence of a government breastfeeding oversight committee, use of the new BFHI materials and, if yes, use of the new maternity or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) materials. Seventy countries reporting in 2010-2011 and the updates from an additional 61 reporting in 2006-2007 (n=131, or 66% of the 198 countries) confirm that there are at least 21,328 ever-designated facilities. This is 27.5% of maternities worldwide: 8.5% of those in industrialized countries and 31% in less developed settings. In 2010, government committees were reported by 18 countries, and 34 reported using the new BFHI materials: 14 reported using the maternity care and 11 reported using the HIV materials. Rates of increase in the number of ever-certified "baby-friendly" hospitals vary by region and show some chronological correlation with trends in breastfeeding rates. Although it is not possible to attribute this increase to the BFHI alone, there is ongoing interest in Ten Steps implementation and in BFHI. The continued growth may reflect the dedication of ministries of health and national BFHI groups, as well as increasing recognition that the Ten Steps are effective quality improvement practices that increase breastfeeding and synergize with community interventions and other program efforts. With renewed interest in maternal/neonatal health, revitalization of support for Ten Steps and their effective

Resistance training intensity and volume affect changes in rate of force development in resistance-trained men.

Science.gov (United States)

Mangine, Gerald T; Hoffman, Jay R; Wang, Ran; Gonzalez, Adam M; Townsend, Jeremy R; Wells, Adam J; Jajtner, Adam R; Beyer, Kyle S; Boone, Carleigh H; Miramonti, Amelia A; LaMonica, Michael B; Fukuda, David H; Ratamess, Nicholas A; Stout, Jeffrey R

2016-12-01

To compare the effects of two different resistance training programs, high intensity (INT) and high volume (VOL), on changes in isometric force (FRC), rate of force development (RFD), and barbell velocity during dynamic strength testing. Twenty-nine resistance-trained men were randomly assigned to either the INT (n = 15, 3-5 RM, 3-min rest interval) or VOL (n = 14, 10-12 RM, 1-min rest interval) training group for 8 weeks. All participants completed a 2-week preparatory phase prior to randomization. Measures of barbell velocity, FRC, and RFD were performed before (PRE) and following (POST) the 8-week training program. Barbell velocity was determined during one-repetition maximum (1RM) testing of the squat (SQ) and bench press (BP) exercises. The isometric mid-thigh pull was used to assess FRC and RFD at specific time bands ranging from 0 to 30, 50, 90, 100, 150, 200, and 250 ms. Analysis of covariance revealed significant (p velocity. Results indicate that INT is more advantageous than VOL for improving FRC and RFD, while changes in barbell velocity during dynamic strength testing are similarly improved by both protocols in resistance-trained men.

Updating the USGS seismic hazard maps for Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Charles; Briggs, Richard; Wesson, Robert L.; Petersen, Mark D.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey makes probabilistic seismic hazard maps and engineering design maps for building codes, emergency planning, risk management, and many other applications. The methodology considers all known earthquake sources with their associated magnitude and rate distributions. Specific faults can be modeled if slip-rate or recurrence information is available. Otherwise, areal sources are developed from earthquake catalogs or GPS data. Sources are combined with ground-motion estimates to compute the hazard. The current maps for Alaska were developed in 2007, and included modeled sources for the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust, a few crustal faults, and areal seismicity sources. The megathrust was modeled as a segmented dipping plane with segmentation largely derived from the slip patches of past earthquakes. Some megathrust deformation is aseismic, so recurrence was estimated from seismic history rather than plate rates. Crustal faults included the Fairweather-Queen Charlotte system, the Denali–Totschunda system, the Castle Mountain fault, two faults on Kodiak Island, and the Transition fault, with recurrence estimated from geologic data. Areal seismicity sources were developed for Benioff-zone earthquakes and for crustal earthquakes not associated with modeled faults. We review the current state of knowledge in Alaska from a seismic-hazard perspective, in anticipation of future updates of the maps. Updated source models will consider revised seismicity catalogs, new information on crustal faults, new GPS data, and new thinking on megathrust recurrence, segmentation, and geometry. Revised ground-motion models will provide up-to-date shaking estimates for crustal earthquakes and subduction earthquakes in Alaska.

Staged Optimization Design for Updating Urban Drainage Systems in a City of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kui Xu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Flooding has been reported more often than in the past in most cities of China in recent years. In response, China’s State Council has urged the 36 largest cities to update the preparedness to handle the 50-year rainfall, which would be a massive project with large investments. We propose a staged optimization design for updating urban drainage that is not only a flexible option against environmental changes, but also an effective way to reduce the cost of the project. The staged cost optimization model involving the hydraulic model was developed in Fuzhou City, China. This model was established to minimize the total present costs, including intervention costs and flooding costs, with full consideration of the constraints of specific local conditions. The results show that considerable financial savings could be achieved by a staged design rather than the implement-once scheme. The model’s sensitivities to four data parameters were analyzed, including rainfall increase rate, flood unit cost, storage unit cost, and discount rate. The results confirm the applicability and robustness of the model for updating drainage systems to meet the requirements. The findings of this study may have important implications on urban flood management in the cities of developing countries with limited construction investments.

Predicting Individual Physiological Responses During Marksmanship Field Training Using an Updated SCENARIO-J Model

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Yokota, Miyo

2004-01-01

...)) for individual variation and a metabolic rate (M) correction during downhill movements. This study evaluated the updated version of the model incorporating these new features, using a dataset collected during U.S. Marine Corps (USMC...

Updated clinical guidelines experience major reporting limitations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin W.M. Vernooij

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Checklist for the Reporting of Updated Guidelines (CheckUp was recently developed. However, so far, no systematic assessment of the reporting of updated clinical guidelines (CGs exists. We aimed to examine (1 the completeness of reporting the updating process in CGs and (2 the inter-observer reliability of CheckUp. Methods We conducted a systematic assessment of the reporting of the updating process in a sample of updated CGs using CheckUp. We performed a systematic search to identify updated CGs published in 2015, developed by a professional society, reporting a systematic review of the evidence, and containing at least one recommendation. Three reviewers independently assessed the CGs with CheckUp (16 items. We calculated the median score per item, per domain, and overall, converting scores to a 10-point scale. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to identify differences according to country, type of organisation, scope, and health topic of updated CGs. We calculated the intraclass coefficient (ICC and 95% confidence interval (95% CI for domains and overall score. Results We included in total 60 updated CGs. The median domain score on a 10-point scale for presentation was 5.8 (range 1.7 to 10, for editorial independence 8.3 (range 3.3 to 10, and for methodology 5.7 (range 0 to 10. The median overall score on a 10-point scale was 6.3 (range 3.1 to 10. Presentation and justification items at recommendation level (respectively reported by 27 and 38% of the CGs and the methods used for the external review and implementing changes in practice were particularly poorly reported (both reported by 38% of the CGs. CGs developed by a European or international institution obtained a statistically significant higher overall score compared to North American or Asian institutions (p = 0.014. Finally, the agreement among the reviewers on the overall score was excellent (ICC 0.88, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.95. Conclusions The

Update in cardiology: vascular risk and cardiac rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Galve, Enrique; Cordero, Alberto; Bertomeu-Martínez, Vicente; Fácila, Lorenzo; Mazón, Pilar; Alegría, Eduardo; Fernández de Bobadilla, Jaime; García-Porrero, Esteban; Martínez-Sellés, Manuel; González-Juanatey, José Ramón

2015-02-01

As in other fields, understanding of vascular risk and rehabilitation is constantly improving. The present review of recent epidemiological update shows how far we are from achieving good risk factor control: in diet and nutrition, where unhealthy and excessive societal consumption is clearly increasing the prevalence of obesity; in exercise, where it is difficult to find a balance between benefit and risk, despite systemization efforts; in smoking, where developments center on programs and policies, with the electronic cigarette seeming more like a problem than a solution; in lipids, where the transatlantic debate between guidelines is becoming a paradigm of the divergence of views in this extensively studied area; in hypertension, where a nonpharmacological alternative (renal denervation) has been undermined by the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 setback, forcing a deep reassessment; in diabetes mellitus, where the new dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors and glucagon like peptide 1 analogues have contributed much new information and a glimpse of the future of diabetes treatment, and in cardiac rehabilitation, which continues to benefit from new information and communication technologies and where clinical benefit is not hindered by advanced diseases, such as heart failure. Our summary concludes with the update in elderly patients, whose treatment criteria are extrapolated from those of younger patients, with the present review clearly indicating that should not be the case. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Circular Updates

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Circular Updates are periodic sequentially numbered instructions to debriefing staff and observers informing them of changes or additions to scientific and specimen...

Harms of Breast Cancer Screening: Systematic Review to Update the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Heidi D; Pappas, Miranda; Cantor, Amy; Griffin, Jessica; Daeges, Monica; Humphrey, Linda

2016-02-16

In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended biennial mammography screening for women aged 50 to 74 years and selective screening for those aged 40 to 49 years. To review studies of screening in average-risk women with mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasonography that reported on false-positive results, overdiagnosis, anxiety, pain, and radiation exposure. MEDLINE and Cochrane databases through December 2014. English-language systematic reviews, randomized trials, and observational studies of screening. Investigators extracted and confirmed data from studies and dual-rated study quality. Discrepancies were resolved through consensus. Based on 2 studies of U.S. data, 10-year cumulative rates of false-positive mammography results and biopsies were higher with annual than biennial screening (61% vs. 42% and 7% vs. 5%, respectively) and for women aged 40 to 49 years, those with dense breasts, and those using combination hormone therapy. Twenty-nine studies using different methods reported overdiagnosis rates of 0% to 54%; rates from randomized trials were 11% to 22%. Women with false-positive results reported more anxiety, distress, and breast cancer-specific worry, although results varied across 80 observational studies. Thirty-nine observational studies indicated that some women reported pain during mammography (1% to 77%); of these, 11% to 46% declined future screening. Models estimated 2 to 11 screening-related deaths from radiation-induced cancer per 100,000 women using digital mammography, depending on age and screening interval. Five observational studies of tomosynthesis and mammography indicated increased biopsies but reduced recalls compared with mammography alone. Studies of overdiagnosis were highly heterogeneous, and estimates varied depending on the analytic approach. Studies of anxiety and pain used different outcome measures. Radiation exposure was based on models. False-positive results are common and are higher for

Important update of CERN Mail Services

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2009-01-01

The CERN Mail Services are evolving. In the course of June and July 2009, all CERN mailboxes will be updated with a new infrastructure for hosting mailboxes, running Exchange 2007. This update is taking place in order to provide the capacity upgrade for the constantly growing volume of CERN mailboxes. It is also the opportunity to provide a number of improvements to CERN mailboxes: new and improved Outlook Web Access (the web interface used to access your mailbox from a web browser, also known as "webmail"), new features in the Out-of-Office auto-reply assistant, easier spam management... The update will preserve the mailbox configuration and no specific action is required by users. During the next weeks, each mailbox will be individually notified of the upcoming update the day before it takes place. We invite all users to carefully read this notification as it will contain the latest information for this update. The mailbox will be unavailable for a short time during the ni...

The Updating of Geospatial Base Data

Science.gov (United States)

Alrajhi, Muhamad N.; Konecny, Gottfried

2018-04-01

Topopographic mapping issues concern the area coverage at different scales and their age. The age of the map is determined by the system of updating. The United Nations (UNGGIM) have attempted to track the global map coverage at various scale ranges, which has greatly improved in recent decades. However the poor state of updating of base maps is still a global problem. In Saudi Arabia large scale mapping is carried out for all urban, suburban and rural areas by aerial surveys. Updating is carried out by remapping every 5 to 10 years. Due to the rapid urban development this is not satisfactory, but faster update methods are forseen by use of high resolution satellite imagery and the improvement of object oriented geodatabase structures, which will permit to utilize various survey technologies to update the photogrammetry established geodatabases. The longterm goal is to create an geodata infrastructure, which exists in Great Britain or Germany.

Updating the definition and role of public health nursing to advance and guide the specialty.

Science.gov (United States)

Bekemeier, Betty; Walker Linderman, Tessa; Kneipp, Shawn; Zahner, Susan J

2015-01-01

National changes in the context for public health services are influencing the nature of public health nursing practice. Despite this, the document that defines public health nursing as a specialty--The Definition and Role of Public Health Nursing--has remained in wide use since its publication in 1996 without a review or update. With support from the American Public Health Association (APHA) Public Health Nursing Section, a national Task Force, was formed in November 2012 to update the definition of public health nursing, using processes that reflected deliberative democratic principles. A yearlong process was employed that included a modified Delphi technique and various modes of engagement such as online discussion boards, questionnaires, and public comment to review. The resulting 2013 document consisted of a reaffirmation of the one-sentence 1996 definition, while updating supporting documentation to align with the current social, economic, political, and health care context. The 2013 document was strongly endorsed by vote of the APHA Public Health Nursing Section elected leadership. The 2013 definition and document affirm the relevance of a population-focused definition of public health nursing to complex systems addressed in current practice and articulate critical roles of public health nurses (PHN) in these settings. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Forced excitation and active control for the measurement of fluid-elastic forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caillaud, Sebastien

1999-01-01

The action of a fluid flow on a tubes bundle is commonly decomposed into a random turbulent excitation and a fluid-elastic excitation. The fluid-elastic forces which are coupled to the tubes movement can be experimentally determined from an analysis of the vibratory response of the structure excited by turbulent forces. For low flow velocities, the turbulent excitation can be insufficient to make the tube significantly vibrate and to permit a correct vibratory analysis. On the opposite side, the structure can become unstable for high flow velocities: the fluid-elastic forces make the fluid-structure damping system fall towards zero. Two experimental methods are proposed in order to extend the considered flow rate. An additional excitation force allows to increase the tube vibration level for improving the signal-noise ratio at low velocities. When the tube is submitted to fluid-elastic instability, an artificial damping contribution by active control allows to stabilize it. Methods are implemented on a flexible tube inserted into rigid tubes bundle water and water-air transverse flows. Two actuator technologies are used: an electromagnetic exciter and piezoelectric actuators. The additional excitation method shows that the fluid-elastic forces remain insignificant at low velocity single phase flow. With the active control method, it is possible to carry out tests beyond the fluid-elastic instability. In two-phase flow, the stabilization of the structure is observed for low vacuum rates. The obtained new results are analyzed with the literature expected results in terms of fluid-elastic coupling and turbulent excitation. (author) [fr

Monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting force vibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piao, Chun Guang; Kim, Ju Wan; Kim, Jin Oh; Shin, Yoan [Soongsl University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-09-15

This paper deals with an experimental technique for monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting-force vibration measured at a milling machine. This technique is based on the relationship of the cutting-force vibrations with the feed rate and cutting depth as reported earlier. The measurement system consists of dynamic force transducers and a signal amplifier. The analysis system includes an oscilloscope and a computer with a LabVIEW program. Experiments were carried out at various feed rates and cutting depths, while the rotating speed was kept constant. The magnitude of the cutting force vibration component corresponding to the number of cutting edges multiplied by the frequency of rotation was linearly correlated with the machining conditions. When one condition of machining is known, another condition can be identified by analyzing the cutting-force vibration.

Monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting force vibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piao, Chun Guang; Kim, Ju Wan; Kim, Jin Oh; Shin, Yoan

2015-01-01

This paper deals with an experimental technique for monitoring machining conditions by analyzing cutting-force vibration measured at a milling machine. This technique is based on the relationship of the cutting-force vibrations with the feed rate and cutting depth as reported earlier. The measurement system consists of dynamic force transducers and a signal amplifier. The analysis system includes an oscilloscope and a computer with a LabVIEW program. Experiments were carried out at various feed rates and cutting depths, while the rotating speed was kept constant. The magnitude of the cutting force vibration component corresponding to the number of cutting edges multiplied by the frequency of rotation was linearly correlated with the machining conditions. When one condition of machining is known, another condition can be identified by analyzing the cutting-force vibration

Updating optical pseudoinverse associative memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Telfer, B; Casasent, D

1989-07-01

Selected algorithms for adding to and deleting from optical pseudoinverse associative memories are presented and compared. New realizations of pseudoinverse updating methods using vector inner product matrix bordering and reduced-dimensionality Karhunen-Loeve approximations (which have been used for updating optical filters) are described in the context of associative memories. Greville's theorem is reviewed and compared with the Widrow-Hoff algorithm. Kohonen's gradient projection method is expressed in a different form suitable for optical implementation. The data matrix memory is also discussed for comparison purposes. Memory size, speed and ease of updating, and key vector requirements are the comparison criteria used.

AN UPDATED 6Li(p, α)3He REACTION RATE AT ASTROPHYSICAL ENERGIES WITH THE TROJAN HORSE METHOD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamia, L.; Spitaleri, C.; Sergi, M. L.; Pizzone, R. G.; Tumino, A.; La Cognata, M.; Tognelli, E.; Degl'Innocenti, S.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Pappalardo, L.

2013-01-01

The lithium problem influencing primordial and stellar nucleosynthesis is one of the most interesting unsolved issues in astrophysics. 6 Li is the most fragile of lithium's stable isotopes and is largely destroyed in most stars during the pre-main-sequence (PMS) phase. For these stars, the convective envelope easily reaches, at least at its bottom, the relatively low 6 Li ignition temperature. Thus, gaining an understanding of 6 Li depletion also gives hints about the extent of convective regions. For this reason, charged-particle-induced reactions in lithium have been the subject of several studies. Low-energy extrapolations of these studies provide information about both the zero-energy astrophysical S(E) factor and the electron screening potential, U e . Thanks to recent direct measurements, new estimates of the 6 Li(p, α) 3 He bare-nucleus S(E) factor and the corresponding U e value have been obtained by applying the Trojan Horse method to the 2 H( 6 Li, α 3 He)n reaction in quasi-free kinematics. The calculated reaction rate covers the temperature window 0.01 to 2T 9 and its impact on the surface lithium depletion in PMS models with different masses and metallicities has been evaluated in detail by adopting an updated version of the FRANEC evolutionary code.

Force-velocity measurements of a few growing actin filaments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Coraline Brangbour

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The polymerization of actin in filaments generates forces that play a pivotal role in many cellular processes. We introduce a novel technique to determine the force-velocity relation when a few independent anchored filaments grow between magnetic colloidal particles. When a magnetic field is applied, the colloidal particles assemble into chains under controlled loading or spacing. As the filaments elongate, the beads separate, allowing the force-velocity curve to be precisely measured. In the widely accepted Brownian ratchet model, the transduced force is associated with the slowing down of the on-rate polymerization. Unexpectedly, in our experiments, filaments are shown to grow at the same rate as when they are free in solution. However, as they elongate, filaments are more confined in the interspace between beads. Higher repulsive forces result from this higher confinement, which is associated with a lower entropy. In this mechanism, the production of force is not controlled by the polymerization rate, but is a consequence of the restriction of filaments' orientational fluctuations at their attachment point.

Investigation of the heparin-thrombin interaction by dynamic force spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Congzhou; Jin, Yingzi; Desai, Umesh R; Yadavalli, Vamsi K

2015-06-01

The interaction between heparin and thrombin is a vital step in the blood (anti)coagulation process. Unraveling the molecular basis of the interactions is therefore extremely important in understanding the mechanisms of this complex biological process. In this study, we use a combination of an efficient thiolation chemistry of heparin, a self-assembled monolayer-based single molecule platform, and a dynamic force spectroscopy to provide new insights into the heparin-thrombin interaction from an energy viewpoint at the molecular scale. Well-separated single molecules of heparin covalently attached to mixed self-assembled monolayers are demonstrated, whereby interaction forces with thrombin can be measured via atomic force microscopy-based spectroscopy. Further these interactions are studied at different loading rates and salt concentrations to directly obtain kinetic parameters. An increase in the loading rate shows a higher interaction force between the heparin and thrombin, which can be directly linked to the kinetic dissociation rate constant (koff). The stability of the heparin/thrombin complex decreased with increasing NaCl concentration such that the off-rate was found to be driven primarily by non-ionic forces. These results contribute to understanding the role of specific and nonspecific forces that drive heparin-thrombin interactions under applied force or flow conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ontario regulatory update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, P.

1998-01-01

This paper provides a summary of recent events which when combined add up to a gradual but unmistakable movement of the energy sector in Ontario towards a fully competitive market. Some of the events precipitating this movement towards competition include the passing of the Energy Competition Act of 1998 (Bill 35), electricity deregulation, regulatory reform of the natural gas sector, and changes to the consumer protection legislation. The role of the Ontario Energy Board was also updated to bring it in line with the demands of the competitive marketplace. Among the new roles that the Board will assume are to facilitate competition, to maintain fair and reasonable rates, and to facilitate rational expansion. Another objective is to provide opportunities for including energy efficiency in government policies. Implications of the changes in the OEB's mandate for market participants were also discussed, including (1) regulated gas sales and delivery mechanisms, (2) transactional services, (3) contract restructuring, (4) consumer protection, (5) supervision of competitive market participants, and (6) market surveillance

Research reactor fuel - an update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finlay, M.R.; Ripley, M.I.

2003-01-01

In the two years since the last ANA conference there have been marked changes in the research reactor fuel scene. A new low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, 'monolithic' uranium molybdenum, has shown such promise in initial trials that it may be suitable to meet the objectives of the Joint Declaration signed by Presidents Bush and Putin to commit to converting all US and Russian research reactors to LEU by 2012. Development of more conventional aluminium dispersion UMo LEU fuel has continued in the meantime and is entering the final qualification stage of multiple full sized element irradiations. Despite this progress, the original 2005 timetable for UMo fuel qualification has slipped and research reactors, including the RRR, may not convert from silicide to UMo fuel before 2007. The operators of the Swedish R2 reactor have been forced to pursue the direct route of qualifying a UMo lead test assembly (LTA) in order to meet spent fuel disposal requirements of the Swedish law. The LTA has recently been fabricated and is expected to be loaded shortly into the R2 reactor. We present an update of our previous ANA paper and details of the qualification process for UMo fuel

7. Mentor update and support: what do mentors need from an update?

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Mari; Marshall, Joyce

2015-04-01

Mentorship is the 14th series of 'Midwifery basics' targeted at practising midwives. The aim of these articles is to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on women's experience, and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities relating to the topic. In this seventh article Mari Phillips and Joyce Marshall consider some of the key issues related to mentor update and support and consider what mentors need from their annual update.

Email Updates

Science.gov (United States)

... of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/listserv.html Email Updates To use the sharing features on this ... view your email history or unsubscribe. Prevent MedlinePlus emails from being marked as "spam" or "junk" To ...

Compressive Force Spectroscopy: From Living Cells to Single Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jiabin; Liu, Meijun; Shen, Yi; Sun, Jielin; Shao, Zhifeng; Czajkowsky, Daniel Mark

2018-03-23

One of the most successful applications of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in biology involves monitoring the effect of force on single biological molecules, often referred to as force spectroscopy. Such studies generally entail the application of pulling forces of different magnitudes and velocities upon individual molecules to resolve individualistic unfolding/separation pathways and the quantification of the force-dependent rate constants. However, a less recognized variation of this method, the application of compressive force, actually pre-dates many of these "tensile" force spectroscopic studies. Further, beyond being limited to the study of single molecules, these compressive force spectroscopic investigations have spanned samples as large as living cells to smaller, multi-molecular complexes such as viruses down to single protein molecules. Correspondingly, these studies have enabled the detailed characterization of individual cell states, subtle differences between seemingly identical viral structures, as well as the quantification of rate constants of functionally important, structural transitions in single proteins. Here, we briefly review some of the recent achievements that have been obtained with compressive force spectroscopy using AFM and highlight exciting areas of its future development.

Effects of fast-velocity eccentric resistance training on early and late rate of force development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliveira, Anderson S.C.; Corvino, Rogério Bulhões; Caputo, Fabrizio

2016-01-01

This study examined whether short-term maximal resistance training employing fast-velocity eccentric knee extensor actions would induce improvements in maximal isometric torque and rate of force development (RFD) at early (phases (>100 ms) of rising torque. Twenty healthy men were......, no changes in the late phase of incremental RFD were observed in TG. No changes were found in the CG. In summary, we have demonstrated, in active individuals, that a short period of resistance training performed with eccentric fast-velocity isokinetic muscle contractions is able to enhance RFDINC and RFDREL...... assigned to two experimental groups: eccentric resistance training (TG) or control (CG). Participants on the TG trained three days a week for a total of eight weeks. Training consisted of maximal unilateral eccentric knee extensors actions performed at 180°s-1. Maximal isometric knee extensor torque (MVC...

49 CFR 360.5 - Updating user fees.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... updating the cost components comprising the fee. Cost components shall be updated as follows: (1) Direct... determined by the cost study in Regulations Governing Fees For Service, 1 I.C.C. 2d 60 (1984), or subsequent... by total office costs for the office directly associated with user fee activity. Actual updating of...

Second-generation speed limit map updating applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tradisauskas, Nerius; Agerholm, Niels; Juhl, Jens

2011-01-01

Intelligent Speed Adaptation is an Intelligent Transport System developed to significantly improve road safety in helping car drivers maintain appropriate driving behaviour. The system works in connection with the speed limits on the road network. It is thus essential to keep the speed limit map...... used in the Intelligent Speed Adaptation scheme updated. The traditional method of updating speed limit maps on the basis of long time interval observations needed to be replaced by a more efficient speed limit updating tool. In a Danish Intelligent Speed Adaptation trial a web-based tool was therefore...... for map updating should preferably be made on the basis of a commercial map provider, 2 such as Google Maps and that the real challenge is to oblige road authorities to carry out updates....

The implications of force reflection for teleoperation in space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draper, J.V.; Herndon, J.N.; Moore, W.E.

1987-01-01

This paper reviews previous research on teleoperator force feedback and reports results of a testing program which assessed the impact of force reflection on teleoperator task performance. Force reflection is a type of force feedback in which the forces acting on the remote portion of the teleoperator are displayed to the operator by back-driving the master controller. The testing program compared three force reflection levels: 4 to 1 (four units of force on the slave produce one unit of force at the master controller), 1 to 1, and infinity to 1 (no force reflection). Time required to complete tasks, rate of occurrence of errors, the maximum force applied to tasks components, and variability in forces applied to components during completion of representative remote handling tasks were used as dependent variables. Operators exhibited lower error rates, lower peak forces, and more consistent application of forces using force reflection than they did without it. These data support the hypothesis that force reflection provides useful information for teleoperator users. The earlier literature and the results of the experiment are discussed in terms of their implications for space-based teleoperator systems. The discussion describes the impact of force reflection on task completion performance and task strategies, as suggested by the literature. It is important to understand the trade-offs involved in using telerobotic systems with and without force reflection. Force-reflecting systems are typically more expensive (in mass, volume, and price per unit), but they reduce mean time to repair and may be safer to use, compared to systems without force reflection

Glass Dissolution Parameters: Update for Entsorgungsnachweis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curti, E.

2003-11-01

This document provides updated long-term corrosion rates for borosilicate glasses used in Switzerland as a matrix for high-level radioactive waste. The new rates are based on long-term leaching experiments conducted at PSI and are corroborated by recent investigations. The asymptotic rates have been determined through weighted linear regressions of the normalised mass losses, directly calculated from B and Li concentrations in the leaching solutions. Special attention was given to the determination of the analytical uncertainty of the mass losses. The sensitivity of the corrosion rates to analytical uncertainties and to other criteria (e.g. the choice of data points for the regressions) was also studied. A major finding was that the uncertainty of the corrosion rate mainly depends on the uncertainty of the specific glass surface area. The reference rates proposed for safety assessment calculations are 1.5 mg m -2 d -1 for BNFL glasses and 0.2 mg m -2 d -1 for Cogema glasses. The relevance of the proposed corrosion rates for repository conditions is shown based on the analysis of processes and parameters currently known to affect the long-term kinetics of silicate glasses. Specifically, recent studies indicate that potentially detrimental effects, notably the removal of silica from solution through adsorption on clay minerals, are transitory and will not affect the long-term corrosion rate of the Swiss reference glasses. Iron corrosion products are also known to bind silica, but present data are not sufficient to quantify their influence on the long-term rate. (author)

Update of CERN exchange network

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

An update of the CERN exchange network will be done next April. Disturbances or even interruptions of telephony services may occur from 4th to 24th April during evenings from 18:30 to 00:00 but will not exceed more than 4 consecutive hours (see tentative planning below). In addition, the voice messaging system will be shut down on March, 26th April from 18:00 to 00:00. Calls supposed to be routed to the voice messaging system will not be possible during the shutdown. CERN divisions are invited to avoid any change requests (set-ups, move or removals) of telephones and fax machines from 4th to 25th April. Everything will be done to minimize potential inconveniences which may occur during this update. There will be no loss of telephone functionalities. CERN GSM portable phones won't be affected by this change. Should you need more details, please send us your questions by email to Standard.Telephone@cern.ch. DateChange typeAffected areas March 26Update of the voice messaging systemAll CERN sites April 4Updat...

Distributed force feedback in the spinal cord and the regulation of limb mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, T Richard

2018-03-01

This review is an update on the role of force feedback from Golgi tendon organs in the regulation of limb mechanics during voluntary movement. Current ideas about the role of force feedback are based on modular circuits linking idealized systems of agonists, synergists, and antagonistic muscles. In contrast, force feedback is widely distributed across the muscles of a limb and cannot be understood based on these circuit motifs. Similarly, muscle architecture cannot be understood in terms of idealized systems, since muscles cross multiple joints and axes of rotation and further influence remote joints through inertial coupling. It is hypothesized that distributed force feedback better represents the complex mechanical interactions of muscles, including the stresses in the musculoskeletal network born by muscle articulations, myofascial force transmission, and inertial coupling. Together with the strains of muscle fascicles measured by length feedback from muscle spindle receptors, this integrated proprioceptive feedback represents the mechanical state of the musculoskeletal system. Within the spinal cord, force feedback has excitatory and inhibitory components that coexist in various combinations based on motor task and integrated with length feedback at the premotoneuronal and motoneuronal levels. It is concluded that, in agreement with other investigators, autogenic, excitatory force feedback contributes to propulsion and weight support. It is further concluded that coexistent inhibitory force feedback, together with length feedback, functions to manage interjoint coordination and the mechanical properties of the limb in the face of destabilizing inertial forces and positive force feedback, as required by the accelerations and changing directions of both predator and prey.

Breast Cancer and Estrogen-Alone Update

Science.gov (United States)

... Current Issue Past Issues Research News From NIH Breast Cancer and Estrogen-Alone Update Past Issues / Summer 2006 ... hormone therapy does not increase the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to an updated analysis ...

Working Memory Updating as a Predictor of Academic Attainment

Science.gov (United States)

Lechuga, M. Teresa; Pelegrina, Santiago; Pelaez, Jose L.; Martin-Puga, M. Eva; Justicia, M. Jose

2016-01-01

There is growing evidence supporting the importance of executive functions, and specifically working memory updating (WMU), for children's academic achievement. This study aimed to assess the specific contribution of updating to the prediction of academic performance. Two updating tasks, which included different updating components, were…

An Update on Ethanol Production and Utilization in Thailand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bloyd, Cary N.

2009-10-01

Thailand has continued to promote domestic biofuel utilization. Production and consumption of biofuel in Thailand have continued to increase at a fast rate due to aggressive policies of the Thai government in reducing foreign oil import and increasing domestic renewable energy utilization. This paper focuses on ethanol production and consumption, and the use of gasohol in Thailand. The paper is an update on the previous paper--Biofuel Infrastructure Development and Utilization in Thailand--in August 2008.

A Class of Manifold Regularized Multiplicative Update Algorithms for Image Clustering.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shangming; Yi, Zhang; He, Xiaofei; Li, Xuelong

2015-12-01

Multiplicative update algorithms are important tools for information retrieval, image processing, and pattern recognition. However, when the graph regularization is added to the cost function, different classes of sample data may be mapped to the same subspace, which leads to the increase of data clustering error rate. In this paper, an improved nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) cost function is introduced. Based on the cost function, a class of novel graph regularized NMF algorithms is developed, which results in a class of extended multiplicative update algorithms with manifold structure regularization. Analysis shows that in the learning, the proposed algorithms can efficiently minimize the rank of the data representation matrix. Theoretical results presented in this paper are confirmed by simulations. For different initializations and data sets, variation curves of cost functions and decomposition data are presented to show the convergence features of the proposed update rules. Basis images, reconstructed images, and clustering results are utilized to present the efficiency of the new algorithms. Last, the clustering accuracies of different algorithms are also investigated, which shows that the proposed algorithms can achieve state-of-the-art performance in applications of image clustering.

Canada's oil sands : opportunities and challenges to 2015 : an update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-06-01

This report updated an energy market assessment compiled and published by the National Energy Board (NEB) in 2004. Major changes resulting from recent developments in the oil sands industry were presented. The report was compiled from a series of informal meetings and discussions with a cross-section of oil sands stakeholders. Influences on recent oil sands development and production growth included market development and pipelines; rising capital and labour costs; operating costs; environmental impact management; high crude oil prices; rising global energy demand; technology innovations; and a more stable investment climate. A comparison of key assumptions between the current analysis and the 2004 report was presented, along with estimates of operating and supply costs for various types of oil sands recovery methods. Potential markets for oil sands production were reviewed. Environmental and socio-economic impacts on the industry included the larger than anticipated water withdrawals from the Athabasca River for mining operations; and uncertainties over land reclamation methods. The industry has also been impacted by a limited supply of skilled workers in Alberta. It was observed that the potential for building cogeneration capacity has decreased since the 2004 report. It was concluded that the oil sands industry will continue to grow rapidly, but the rate of development will depend on the balance that is reached between the opposing forces that affect the oil sands. Natural gas costs, high oil prices, air emissions management issues and water usage will continue to be of concern. 6 tabs., 7 figs

The cumulative measure of a force: A unified kinetic theory for rigid-sphere and inverse-square force law interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongbin Chang

2011-09-01

Full Text Available By introducing a cutoff on the cumulative measure of a force, a unified kinetic theory is developed for both rigid-sphere and inverse-square force laws. The difference between the two kinds of interactions is characterized by a parameter, γ, which is 1 for rigid-sphere interactions and -3 for inverse-square force law interactions. The quantities governed by γ include the specific reaction rates, kernels, collision frequencies, arbitrarily high orders of transition moments, arbitrarily high orders of Fokker-Planck expansion (also called Kramers-Moyal expansion coefficients, and arbitrarily high orders of energy exchange rates. The cutoff constants are shown to be incomplete gamma functions of different orders. The widely used cutoff constant in plasma physics (usually known as Coulomb logarithm is found to be exactly the zeroth order of the incomplete gamma function. The well known Arrhenius reaction rate formula comes from the first order of the incomplete gamma functions, while the negative first order can be used for fitting the fusion reaction rate between deuterium and tritium.

A clinical investigation of force delivery systems for orthodontic space closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Nightingale, C; Jones, S P

2003-09-01

To investigate the force retention, and rates of space closure achieved by elastomeric chain and nickel titanium coil springs. Randomized clinical trial. Eastman Dental Hospital, London and Queen Mary's University Hospital, Roehampton, 1998-2000. Twenty-two orthodontic patients, wearing the pre-adjusted edgewise appliance undergoing space closure in opposing quadrants, using sliding mechanics on 0.019 x 0.025-inch posted stainless steel archwires. Medium-spaced elastomeric chain [Durachain, OrthoCare (UK) Ltd., Bradford, UK] and 9-mm nickel titanium coil springs [OrthoCare (UK) Ltd.] were placed in opposing quadrants for 15 patients. Elastomeric chain only was used in a further seven patients. The initial forces on placement and residual forces at the subsequent visit were measured with a dial push-pull gauge [Orthocare (UK) Ltd]. Study models of eight patients were taken before and after space closure, from which measurements were made to establish mean space closure. The forces were measured in grammes and space closure in millimetres. Fifty-nine per cent (31/53) of the elastomeric sample maintained at least 50 per cent of the initial force over a time period of 1-15 weeks. No sample lost all its force, and the mean loss was 47 per cent (range: 0-76 per cent). Nickel titanium coil springs lost force rapidly over 6 weeks, following that force levels plateaued. Forty-six per cent (12/26) maintained at least 50 per cent of their initial force over a time period of 1-22 weeks, and mean force loss was 48 per cent (range: 12-68 per cent). The rate of mean weekly space closure for elastomeric chain was 0.21 mm and for nickel titanium coil springs 0.26 mm. There was no relationship between the initial force applied and rate of space closure. None of the sample failed during the study period giving a 100 per cent response rate. In clinical use, the force retention of elastomeric chain was better than previously concluded. High initial forces resulted in high force decay

REACLIB: A Reaction Rate Library for the Era of Collaborative Science

Science.gov (United States)

Meisel, Zachary

2008-10-01

Thermonuclear reaction rates and weak decay rates are of great importance to modern nuclear astrophysics. They are critical in the study of many topics such as Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, X-ray bursts, Supernovae, and S-process element formation, among others. The Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) has been created to increase connectivity amongst nuclear astrophysicists in our modern age of highly collaborative science. Within JINA there has been an effort to create a frequently updated and readily accessible database of thermonuclear reactions and weak decay rates. This database is the REACLIB library, which can be accessed at the web address: http://www.nscl.msu.edu/˜nero/db/. Here I will discuss the JINA REACLIB Project, including a new procedure to fit reaction rates as a function of temperature that takes full advantage of physicality. With these updated reaction rates, astrophysical modelers will no longer have to worry about the adverse effects of using obsolete reaction rate libraries lacking physical behavior.

Force and Compliance Measurements on Living Cells Using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wojcikiewicz Ewa P.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We describe the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM in studies of cell adhesion and cell compliance. Our studies use the interaction between leukocyte function associated antigen-1 (LFA-1/intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1 as a model system. The forces required to unbind a single LFA-1/ICAM-1 bond were measured at different loading rates. This data was used to determine the dynamic strength of the LFA-1/ICAM-1 complex and characterize the activation potential that this complex overcomes during its breakage. Force measurements acquired at the multiple- bond level provided insight about the mechanism of cell adhesion. In addition, the AFM was used as a microindenter to determine the mechanical properties of cells. The applications of these methods are described using data from a previous study.

Update of CERN exchange network

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

An update of the CERN exchange network will be done next April. Disturbances or even interruptions of telephony services may occur from 4th to 24th April during evenings from 18:30 to 00:00 but will not exceed more than 4 consecutive hours (see tentative planning below). In addition, the voice messaging system will be shut down on March, 26th April from 18:00 to 00:00. Calls supposed to be routed to the voice messaging system will not be possible during the shutdown. CERN divisions are invited to avoid any change requests (set-ups, move or removals) of telephones and fax machines from 4th to 25th April. Everything will be done to minimize potential inconveniences which may occur during this update. There will be no loss of telephone functionalities. CERN GSM portable phones won't be affected by this change. Should you need more details, please send us your questions by email to Standard.Telephone@cern.ch. Date Change type Affected areas April 8 Update of switch in LHC 7 LHC 7 Point April 9 Update of...

High quality NMR structures: a new force field with implicit water and membrane solvation for Xplor-NIH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian, Ye [Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (United States); Schwieters, Charles D. [National Institutes of Health, Center for Information Technology (United States); Opella, Stanley J. [University of California San Diego, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (United States); Marassi, Francesca M., E-mail: fmarassi@sbmri.org [Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (United States)

2017-01-15

Structure determination of proteins by NMR is unique in its ability to measure restraints, very accurately, in environments and under conditions that closely mimic those encountered in vivo. For example, advances in solid-state NMR methods enable structure determination of membrane proteins in detergent-free lipid bilayers, and of large soluble proteins prepared by sedimentation, while parallel advances in solution NMR methods and optimization of detergent-free lipid nanodiscs are rapidly pushing the envelope of the size limit for both soluble and membrane proteins. These experimental advantages, however, are partially squandered during structure calculation, because the commonly used force fields are purely repulsive and neglect solvation, Van der Waals forces and electrostatic energy. Here we describe a new force field, and updated energy functions, for protein structure calculations with EEFx implicit solvation, electrostatics, and Van der Waals Lennard-Jones forces, in the widely used program Xplor-NIH. The new force field is based primarily on CHARMM22, facilitating calculations with a wider range of biomolecules. The new EEFx energy function has been rewritten to enable OpenMP parallelism, and optimized to enhance computation efficiency. It implements solvation, electrostatics, and Van der Waals energy terms together, thus ensuring more consistent and efficient computation of the complete nonbonded energy lists. Updates in the related python module allow detailed analysis of the interaction energies and associated parameters. The new force field and energy function work with both soluble proteins and membrane proteins, including those with cofactors or engineered tags, and are very effective in situations where there are sparse experimental restraints. Results obtained for NMR-restrained calculations with a set of five soluble proteins and five membrane proteins show that structures calculated with EEFx have significant improvements in accuracy, precision

Methodology, Measurement and Analysis of Flow Table Update Characteristics in Hardware OpenFlow Switches

KAUST Repository

Kuźniar, Maciej

2018-02-15

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow are actively being standardized and deployed. These deployments rely on switches that come from various vendors and differ in terms of performance and available features. Understanding these differences and performance characteristics is essential for ensuring successful and safe deployments.We propose a systematic methodology for SDN switch performance analysis and devise a series of experiments based on this methodology. The methodology relies on sending a stream of rule updates, while relying on both observing the control plane view as reported by the switch and probing the data plane state to determine switch characteristics by comparing these views. We measure, report and explain the performance characteristics of flow table updates in six hardware OpenFlow switches. Our results describing rule update rates can help SDN designers make their controllers efficient. Further, we also highlight differences between the OpenFlow specification and its implementations, that if ignored, pose a serious threat to network security and correctness.

Low frequency temperature forcing of chemical oscillations.

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Jan; Thompson, Barnaby W; Wilson, Mark C T; Taylor, Annette F; Britton, Melanie M

2011-07-14

The low frequency forcing of chemical oscillations by temperature is investigated experimentally in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction and in simulations of the Oregonator model with Arrhenius temperature dependence of the rate constants. Forcing with temperature leads to modulation of the chemical frequency. The number of response cycles per forcing cycle is given by the ratio of the natural frequency to the forcing frequency and phase locking is only observed in simulations when this ratio is a whole number and the forcing amplitude is small. The global temperature forcing of flow-distributed oscillations in a tubular reactor is also investigated and synchronisation is observed in the variation of band position with the external signal, reflecting the periodic modulation of chemical oscillations by temperature.

Random excitation forces in tube bundles subjected to two-phase cross-flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, C.E.; Pettigrew, M.J.; Currie, I.G.

1996-01-01

Data from two experimental programs have been analyzed to determine the characteristics of the random excitation forces associated with two-phase cross-flow in tube bundles. Large-scale air-water flow loops in France and Canada were used to generate the data. Tests were carried out on cantilevered, clamped-pinned, and clamped-clamped tubes in normal-square, parallel-triangular, and normal-triangular configurations. Either strain gages or force transducers were used to measure the vibration response of a centrally located tube as the tue array was subjected to a wide range of void fractions and flow rates. Power spectra were analyzed to determine the effect of parameters such as tube diameter, frequency, flow rate, void fraction, and flow regime on the random excitation forces. Normalized expressions for the excitation force power spectra were found to be flow-regime dependent. In the churn flow regime, flow rate and void fraction had very little effect on the magnitude of the excitation forces. In the bubble-plug flow regime, the excitation forces increased rapidly with flow rate and void fraction

Levitation force relaxation under reloading in a HTS Maglev system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Qingyong; Wang Jiasu; Wang Suyu; Wang Jiansi; Dong Hao; Wang Yuxin; Shao Senhao

2009-01-01

The loading capacity of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev vehicle is an important parameter in the practical application. It is closely related to the levitation force of the HTS bulk. Many papers reported that the levitation force showed the relaxation characteristic. Because different loads cause different levitation gaps and different applied magnetic fields, the levitation force relaxations under the different loads are not the same. In terms of cylindrical YBCO bulk levitated over the permanent magnetic guideway, the relationship between the levitation force relaxation and the reloading is investigated experimentally in this paper. The decrement, the decrement rate and the relaxation rate of the levitation force are calculated, respectively. This work might be helpful for studying the loading capacity of the HTS Maglev vehicle

Levitation force relaxation under reloading in a HTS Maglev system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He Qingyong [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, M/S 152, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)], E-mail: hedoubling@gmail.com; Wang Jiasu; Wang Suyu; Wang Jiansi; Dong Hao; Wang Yuxin; Shao Senhao [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, M/S 152, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)

2009-02-01

The loading capacity of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev vehicle is an important parameter in the practical application. It is closely related to the levitation force of the HTS bulk. Many papers reported that the levitation force showed the relaxation characteristic. Because different loads cause different levitation gaps and different applied magnetic fields, the levitation force relaxations under the different loads are not the same. In terms of cylindrical YBCO bulk levitated over the permanent magnetic guideway, the relationship between the levitation force relaxation and the reloading is investigated experimentally in this paper. The decrement, the decrement rate and the relaxation rate of the levitation force are calculated, respectively. This work might be helpful for studying the loading capacity of the HTS Maglev vehicle.

RATE-DEPENDENT PULL-OUT BEARING CAPACITY OF PILES BY SIMILITUDE MODEL TESTS USING SEEPAGE FORCE

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Tatsuya; Kokusho, Takaji

Pull-out test of model piles was conducted by varying the pull-out velocity and skin friction of piles using a seepage force similitude model test apparatus. Due to the seepage consolidation under the pressure of 150kPa, the effective stress distribution in a prototype saturated soil of 17m could be successfully reproduced in the model ground of 28cm thick, in which the pull-out tests were carried out. The pull-out load rose to a peak value at small displacement, and then decreased to a residual value. At the same time, pore pressure in the vicinity of the pile decreased due to suction near the tip and the positive dilatancy near the pile skin. The maximum pull-out load, pile axial load, side friction and the corresponding displacement increased dramatically with increasing pull-out velocity. It was found that these rate-dependent trends become more prominent with increasing skin friction.

THE NECESSITY OF LAND FORCES BATTLEGROUPS TO DIVERSIFY THEIR STRUCTURE AND ACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ltc. Ilie MELINTE

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Given, on the one hand, the trends of military conflicts in the proximity of our country, and on the other hand the features the operating mode of the Land Forces brigades with the highest operational level, we consider it necessary to develop the principles envisaging the use of these large units in combat. The Romanian Land Forces brigades have gathered knowledge and experience on the unfolding of operations by participating, on various occasions, in international missions in operation theatres such as Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, through a close study of the allied doctrines and of the NATO representative armies, by updating their document base and, last but not least, by intensifying combined arms and combined forces training both on a national and on a multinational level. Regarding the involvement of the operational units and large units in combat, in terms of taskorganising, we believe that they are able to act both in the classic format based on the current organization pattern and in the battlegroup format, especially set up for missions (Battlegroups - BGs.

Factors influencing power hand tool fastening accuracy and reaction forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Radwin, Robert G; Chourasia, Amrish O; Howery, Robert S; Fronczak, Frank J; Yen, Thomas Y; Subedi, Yashpal; Sesto, Mary E

2014-06-01

A laboratory study investigated the relationship between power hand tool and task-related factors affecting threaded fastener torque accuracy and associated handle reaction force. We previously developed a biodynamic model to predict handle reaction forces. We hypothesized that torque accuracy was related to the same factors that affect operator capacity to react against impulsive tool forces, as predicted by the model. The independent variables included tool (pistol grip on a vertical surface, right angle on a horizontal surface), fastener torque rate (hard, soft), horizontal distance (30 cm and 60 cm), and vertical distance (80 cm, 110 cm, and 140 cm). Ten participants (five male and five female) fastened 12 similar bolts for each experimental condition. Average torque error (audited - target torque) was affected by fastener torque rate and operator position. Torque error decreased 33% for soft torque rates, whereas handle forces greatly increased (170%). Torque error also decreased for the far horizontal distance 7% to 14%, when vertical distance was in the middle or high, but handle force decreased slightly 3% to 5%. The evidence suggests that although both tool and task factors affect fastening accuracy, they each influence handle reaction forces differently. We conclude that these differences are attributed to different parameters each factor influences affecting the dynamics of threaded faster tool operation. Fastener torque rate affects the tool dynamics, whereas posture affects the spring-mass-damping biodynamic properties of the human operator. The prediction of handle reaction force using an operator biodynamic model may be useful for codifying complex and unobvious relationships between tool and task factors for minimizing torque error while controlling handle force.

Updating parameters of the chicken processing line model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kurowicka, Dorota; Nauta, Maarten; Jozwiak, Katarzyna

2010-01-01

A mathematical model of chicken processing that quantitatively describes the transmission of Campylobacter on chicken carcasses from slaughter to chicken meat product has been developed in Nauta et al. (2005). This model was quantified with expert judgment. Recent availability of data allows...... updating parameters of the model to better describe processes observed in slaughterhouses. We propose Bayesian updating as a suitable technique to update expert judgment with microbiological data. Berrang and Dickens’s data are used to demonstrate performance of this method in updating parameters...... of the chicken processing line model....

Measurement of the tensile forces during bone lengthening.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohnishi, Isao; Kurokawa, Takahide; Sato, Wakyo; Nakamura, Kozo

2005-05-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of lengthening frequency on mechanical environment in limb lengthening. Tensile forces were continuously monitored using a load sensor attached to a unilateral external fixator. Twenty patients were monitored. Ten patients were with acquired femoral shortening, and five of them underwent quasi-continuous lengthening of 1440 steps per day, and the other five received step lengthening twice a day. The other 10 patients were with achondropalsia. Five of them underwent the same quasi-continuous lengthening, and the other five received the same step lengthening. The circadian change and the daily course of the tensile forces were assessed and compared between quasi-continuous lengthening and step lengthening. As for circadian change, an acute increase in the force took place simultaneously with each step of lengthening in the step-lengthening group, but very little change of the baseline force level was seen during quasi-continuous lengthening. As for daily course of the tensile force, it increased almost linearly in both lengthening frequency groups in the initial stage of lengthening. No significant difference of the average force increment rate in this phase was recognized between the quasi-continuous and step lengthening groups irrespective of the etiologies. The lengthening frequency greatly affected the circadian change of the tensile force, but did not affect the increment rate of the force in the linear phase.

Physician-Rating Web Sites: Ethical Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Samora, Julie Balch; Lifchez, Scott D; Blazar, Philip E

2016-01-01

To understand the ethical and professional implications of physician behavior changes secondary to online physician-rating Web sites (PRWs). The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Ethics and Professionalism Committee surveyed the ASSH membership regarding PRWs. We sent a 14-item questionnaire to 2,664 active ASSH members who practice in both private and academic settings in the United States. We received 312 responses, a 12% response incidence. More than 65% of the respondents had a slightly or highly unfavorable impression of these Web sites. Only 34% of respondents had ever updated or created a profile for PRWs, although 62% had observed inaccuracies in their profile. Almost 90% of respondents had not made any changes in their practice owing to comments or reviews. One-third of respondents had solicited favorable reviews from patients, and 3% of respondents have paid to improve their ratings. PRWs are going to become more prevalent, and more research is needed to fully understand the implications. There are several ethical implications that PRWs pose to practicing physicians. We contend that it is morally unsound to pay for good reviews. The recourse for physicians when an inaccurate and potentially libelous review has been written is unclear. Some physicians have required patients to sign a waiver preventing them from posting negative comments online. We propose the development of a task force to assess the professional, ethical, and legal implications of PRWs, including working with companies to improve accuracy of information, oversight, and feedback opportunities. It is expected that PRWs will play an increasing role in the future; it is unclear whether there will be a uniform reporting system, or whether these online ratings will influence referral patterns and/or quality improvement. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of mean time between forced outage for reactor protection system using RBD and failure rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D. Y.; Park, J. H.; Hwang, I. K.; Cha, K. H.; Choi, J. K.; Lee, K. Y.; Park, J. K.

2001-01-01

The design life of nuclear power plants (NPPs) under recent construction is about fifty to sixty years. However, the duration that equipments of control systems operate without failures is at most five to ten years. Design for diversity and adequate maintenance strategy are required for NPP protection system in order to use the control equipment which has shorter life time than the design life of NPP. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) technique, which has been applied to Probabilistics Safety Analysis (PSA), has been introduced to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of NPP I and C systems. The FTA, however, cannot properly consider the effect of maintenance. In this work, we have reviewed quantitative reliability evaluation techniques using the reliability block diagram and failure rates and applied it to the evaluation of mean time between forced outage for reactor protection system

Better Plants Progress Update Fall 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2013-09-23

This Progress Update summarizes the significant energy saving achievements and cumulative cost savings made by these industry leaders from 2010-2012. The update also shares the plans and priorities over the next year for the Better Plants Program to continue to advance energy efficiency in the industrial sector.

Non-Linear Approximation of Bayesian Update

KAUST Repository

Litvinenko, Alexander

2016-01-01

We develop a non-linear approximation of expensive Bayesian formula. This non-linear approximation is applied directly to Polynomial Chaos Coefficients. In this way, we avoid Monte Carlo sampling and sampling error. We can show that the famous Kalman Update formula is a particular case of this update.

Non-Linear Approximation of Bayesian Update

KAUST Repository

Litvinenko, Alexander

2016-06-23

We develop a non-linear approximation of expensive Bayesian formula. This non-linear approximation is applied directly to Polynomial Chaos Coefficients. In this way, we avoid Monte Carlo sampling and sampling error. We can show that the famous Kalman Update formula is a particular case of this update.

Indoor Spatial Updating with Reduced Visual Information

OpenAIRE

Legge, Gordon E.; Gage, Rachel; Baek, Yihwa; Bochsler, Tiana M.

2016-01-01

Purpose Spatial updating refers to the ability to keep track of position and orientation while moving through an environment. People with impaired vision may be less accurate in spatial updating with adverse consequences for indoor navigation. In this study, we asked how artificial restrictions on visual acuity and field size affect spatial updating, and also judgments of the size of rooms. Methods Normally sighted young adults were tested with artificial restriction of acuity in Mild Blur (S...

Model parameter updating using Bayesian networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treml, C.A.; Ross, Timothy J.

2004-01-01

This paper outlines a model parameter updating technique for a new method of model validation using a modified model reference adaptive control (MRAC) framework with Bayesian Networks (BNs). The model parameter updating within this method is generic in the sense that the model/simulation to be validated is treated as a black box. It must have updateable parameters to which its outputs are sensitive, and those outputs must have metrics that can be compared to that of the model reference, i.e., experimental data. Furthermore, no assumptions are made about the statistics of the model parameter uncertainty, only upper and lower bounds need to be specified. This method is designed for situations where a model is not intended to predict a complete point-by-point time domain description of the item/system behavior; rather, there are specific points, features, or events of interest that need to be predicted. These specific points are compared to the model reference derived from actual experimental data. The logic for updating the model parameters to match the model reference is formed via a BN. The nodes of this BN consist of updateable model input parameters and the specific output values or features of interest. Each time the model is executed, the input/output pairs are used to adapt the conditional probabilities of the BN. Each iteration further refines the inferred model parameters to produce the desired model output. After parameter updating is complete and model inputs are inferred, reliabilities for the model output are supplied. Finally, this method is applied to a simulation of a resonance control cooling system for a prototype coupled cavity linac. The results are compared to experimental data.

Resonant forcing of multidimensional chaotic map dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Glenn; Hübler, Alfred W; Dahmen, Karin

2007-03-01

We study resonances of chaotic map dynamics. We use the calculus of variations to determine the additive forcing function that induces the largest response. We find that resonant forcing functions complement the separation of nearby trajectories, in that the product of the displacement of nearby trajectories and the resonant forcing is a conserved quantity. As a consequence, the resonant function will have the same periodicity as the displacement dynamics, and if the displacement dynamics is irregular, then the resonant forcing function will be irregular as well. Furthermore, we show that resonant forcing functions of chaotic systems decrease exponentially, where the rate equals the negative of the largest Lyapunov exponent of the unperturbed system. We compare the response to optimal forcing with random forcing and find that the optimal forcing is particularly effective if the largest Lyapunov exponent is significantly larger than the other Lyapunov exponents. However, if the largest Lyapunov exponent is much larger than unity, then the optimal forcing decreases rapidly and is only as effective as a single-push forcing.

The 2018 and 2020 Updates of the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Models

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, M. D.

2017-12-01

During 2018 the USGS will update the 2014 National Seismic Hazard Models by incorporating new seismicity models, ground motion models, site factors, fault inputs, and by improving weights to ground motion models using empirical and other data. We will update the earthquake catalog for the U.S. and introduce new rate models. Additional fault data will be used to improve rate estimates on active faults. New ground motion models (GMMs) and site factors for Vs30 have been released by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) and we will consider these in assessing ground motions in craton and extended margin regions of the central and eastern U.S. The USGS will also include basin-depth terms for selected urban areas of the western United States to improve long-period shaking assessments using published depth estimates to 1.0 and 2.5 km/s shear wave velocities. We will produce hazard maps for input into the building codes that span a broad range of periods (0.1 to 5 s) and site classes (shear wave velocity from 2000 m/s to 200 m/s in the upper 30 m of the crust, Vs30). In the 2020 update we plan on including: a new national crustal model that defines basin depths required in the latest GMMs, new 3-D ground motion simulations for several urban areas, new magnitude-area equations, and new fault geodetic and geologic strain rate models. The USGS will also consider including new 3-D ground motion simulations for inclusion in these long-period maps. These new models are being evaluated and will be discussed at one or more regional and topical workshops held at the beginning of 2018.

Fusion of intraoperative force sensoring, surface reconstruction and biomechanical modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Röhl, S.; Bodenstedt, S.; Küderle, C.; Suwelack, S.; Kenngott, H.; Müller-Stich, B. P.; Dillmann, R.; Speidel, S.

2012-02-01

Minimally invasive surgery is medically complex and can heavily benefit from computer assistance. One way to help the surgeon is to integrate preoperative planning data into the surgical workflow. This information can be represented as a customized preoperative model of the surgical site. To use it intraoperatively, it has to be updated during the intervention due to the constantly changing environment. Hence, intraoperative sensor data has to be acquired and registered with the preoperative model. Haptic information which could complement the visual sensor data is still not established. In addition, biomechanical modeling of the surgical site can help in reflecting the changes which cannot be captured by intraoperative sensors. We present a setting where a force sensor is integrated into a laparoscopic instrument. In a test scenario using a silicone liver phantom, we register the measured forces with a reconstructed surface model from stereo endoscopic images and a finite element model. The endoscope, the instrument and the liver phantom are tracked with a Polaris optical tracking system. By fusing this information, we can transfer the deformation onto the finite element model. The purpose of this setting is to demonstrate the principles needed and the methods developed for intraoperative sensor data fusion. One emphasis lies on the calibration of the force sensor with the instrument and first experiments with soft tissue. We also present our solution and first results concerning the integration of the force sensor as well as accuracy to the fusion of force measurements, surface reconstruction and biomechanical modeling.

Unified Model of Dynamic Forced Barrier Crossing in Single Molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Friddle, R W

2007-06-21

Thermally activated barrier crossing in the presence of an increasing load can reveal kinetic rate constants and energy barrier parameters when repeated over a range of loading rates. Here we derive a model of the mean escape force for all relevant loading rates--the complete force spectrum. Two well-known approximations emerge as limiting cases; one of which confirms predictions that single-barrier spectra should converge to a phenomenological description in the slow loading limit.

Life-Cycle Labor-Force Participation of Married Women: Historical Evidence and Implications

OpenAIRE

Goldin, Claudia

1989-01-01

The five-fold increase in the labor force participation rate of married women over the last half century was not accompanied by a substantial increase in the average job market experience of working women. Two data sets giving life-cycle labor force histories for cohorts of women born from the 1880s to 1910s indicate substantial (unconditional) heterogeneity in labor force participation. Married women in the labor force had a high degree of attachment to it; increased participation rates brou...

Astrophysical evidence for weak new forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, C.; Cloutier, J.

1988-01-01

Recent observations of the orbital precession rate for eclipsing binary star systems appear to be in disagreement with the predictions of general relativity. We here analyse whether these discrepancies can be interpreted as being due to the existence of a new, long range, very weak force. We find that, with a conservative estimate of the astrophysical errors involved, the binary-star data by itself is consistent with what would be expected of a new force. The coupling and range required to fit the data can be consistent with the present limits on the existence of new forces. The strongest constraints come from recent terrestrial searches for a ''fifth force''. This analysis underlines the fact that these binary star systems are sensitive to forces whose coupling strength can be as low as 10 -5 that of gravity

Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic. Annual Update, 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Balfanz, Robert; Bridgeland, John M.; Bruce, Mary; Fox, Joanna Hornig

2012-01-01

In 2010, the authors shared a Civic Marshall Plan to create a Grad Nation. Through that first report and subsequent update, they saw hopeful signs of progress in boosting high school graduation rates in communities across the country. This 2012 report shows that high school graduation rates continue to improve nationally and across many states and…

Nonsynchronous updating in the multiverse of cellular automata.

Science.gov (United States)

Reia, Sandro M; Kinouchi, Osame

2015-04-01

In this paper we study updating effects on cellular automata rule space. We consider a subset of 6144 order-3 automata from the space of 262144 bidimensional outer-totalistic rules. We compare synchronous to asynchronous and sequential updatings. Focusing on two automata, we discuss how update changes destroy typical structures of these rules. Besides, we show that the first-order phase transition in the multiverse of synchronous cellular automata, revealed with the use of a recently introduced control parameter, seems to be robust not only to changes in update schema but also to different initial densities.

Nonsynchronous updating in the multiverse of cellular automata

Science.gov (United States)

Reia, Sandro M.; Kinouchi, Osame

2015-04-01

In this paper we study updating effects on cellular automata rule space. We consider a subset of 6144 order-3 automata from the space of 262144 bidimensional outer-totalistic rules. We compare synchronous to asynchronous and sequential updatings. Focusing on two automata, we discuss how update changes destroy typical structures of these rules. Besides, we show that the first-order phase transition in the multiverse of synchronous cellular automata, revealed with the use of a recently introduced control parameter, seems to be robust not only to changes in update schema but also to different initial densities.

New uses of sulfur - update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almond, K.P.

1995-07-01

An update to an extensive bibliography on alternate uses of sulfur was presented. Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd., previously compiled a bibliography in volume 24 of this quarterly bulletin. This update provides an additional 44 new publications. The information regarding current research focusses on topics regarding the use of sulfur in oil and gas applications, mining and metallurgy, concretes and other structural materials, waste management, rubber and textile products, asphalts and other paving and highway applications.

Vasectomy reversal: a clinical update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhishek P Patel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Vasectomy is a safe and effective method of contraception used by 42-60 million men worldwide. Approximately 3%-6% of men opt for a vasectomy reversal due to the death of a child or divorce and remarriage, change in financial situation, desire for more children within the same marriage, or to alleviate the dreaded postvasectomy pain syndrome. Unlike vasectomy, vasectomy reversal is a much more technically challenging procedure that is performed only by a minority of urologists and places a larger financial strain on the patient since it is usually not covered by insurance. Interest in this procedure has increased since the operating microscope became available in the 1970s, which consequently led to improved patency and pregnancy rates following the procedure. In this clinical update, we discuss patient evaluation, variables that may influence reversal success rates, factors to consider in choosing to perform vasovasostomy versus vasoepididymostomy, and the usefulness of vasectomy reversal to alleviate postvasectomy pain syndrome. We also review the use of robotics for vasectomy reversal and other novel techniques and instrumentation that have emerged in recent years to aid in the success of this surgery.

News and Features Updates from USA.gov

Data.gov (United States)

General Services Administration — Stay on top of important government news and information with the USA.gov Updates: News and Features RSS feed. We'll update this feed when we add news and featured...

Effects of oncoming target velocities on rapid force production and accuracy of force production intensity and timing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohta, Yoichi

2017-12-01

The present study aimed to clarify the effects of oncoming target velocities on the ability of rapid force production and accuracy and variability of simultaneous control of both force production intensity and timing. Twenty male participants (age: 21.0 ± 1.4 years) performed rapid gripping with a handgrip dynamometer to coincide with the arrival of an oncoming target by using a horizontal electronic trackway. The oncoming target velocities were 4, 8, and 12 m · s -1 , which were randomly produced. The grip force required was 30% of the maximal voluntary contraction. Although the peak force (Pf) and rate of force development (RFD) increased with increasing target velocity, the value of the RFD to Pf ratio was constant across the 3 target velocities. The accuracy of both force production intensity and timing decreased at higher target velocities. Moreover, the intrapersonal variability in temporal parameters was lower in the fast target velocity condition, but constant variability in 3 target velocities was observed in force intensity parameters. These results suggest that oncoming target velocity does not intrinsically affect the ability for rapid force production. However, the oncoming target velocity affects accuracy and variability of force production intensity and timing during rapid force production.

Updated Results from the Michigan Titan Thermospheric General Circulation Model (TTGCM)

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, J. M.; Bougher, S. W.; de Lahaye, V.; Waite, J. H.; Ridley, A.

2006-05-01

This paper presents updated results from the Michigan Titan Thermospheric General Circulation Model (TTGCM) that was recently unveiled in operational form (Bell et al 2005 Spring AGU). Since then, we have incorporated a suite of chemical reactions for the major neutral constituents in Titan's upper atmosphere (N2, CH4). Additionally, some selected minor neutral constituents and major ionic species are also supported in the framework. At this time, HCN, which remains one of the critical thermally active species in the upper atmosphere, remains specified at all altitudes, utilizing profiles derived from recent Cassini-Huygen's measurements. In addition to these improvements, a parallel effort is underway to develop a non-hydrostatic Titan Thermospheric General Circulation Model for further comparisons. In this work, we emphasize the impacts of self-consistent chemistry on the results of the updated TTGCM relative to its frozen chemistry predecessor. Meanwhile, the thermosphere's thermodynamics remains determined by the interplay of solar EUV forcing and HCN rotational cooling, which is calculated by a full line- by-line radiative transfer routine along the lines of Yelle (1991) and Mueller-Wodarg (2000, 2002). In addition to these primary drivers, a treatment of magnetospheric heating is further tested. The model's results will be compared with both the Cassini INMS data and the model of Mueller-Wodarg (2000,2002).

Contact behavior analysis of elastomeric x-ring under uniform squeeze rate and internal pressure before and after forcing-out using the photoelastic experimental hybrid method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernard, Alunda Ouma [Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri (Kenya); Hawong, Jai Sug; Dong, Bai [Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Dong Chul [Koje College, Geoje (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

Many different types of elastomeric rings have been developed to suit various needs in industry. The X-ring was introduced as a result of the limitations of O-rings that twist, especially during dynamic application. A better understanding of the behavior and the stress distribution of the X-ring under a uniform squeeze rate and internal pressure is needed. We analyzed the contact stresses and internal stresses developed in an X-ring before and after forcing-out by using the photoelastic experimental hybrid method, ascertained the packing ability of an X-ring, and studied the failure criterion of an X-ring under uniform squeeze rate and internal pressure. Forcing-out in the X-ring occurred when the internal pressure was 3.92 MPa. After forcing-out, at an internal pressure of 5.88 MPa, the two lobes on the upper contact surface merged one contact side of the upper side immensely. Even after extrusion of the X-ring, the X-ring can be used to effectively contain the fluid. This is because the effects of extrusion on the X-ring affected the stress distribution of only two lobes close to the assembly gap and the two lobes are merge into one lobe. In addition, our experimental results show that the maximum shear failure criterion is suitable for the prediction of failure in X-ring seals.

Variation of explosive force at different times of day

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Pereira

2011-03-01

Full Text Available AIM: The purpose of this study was to compare the explosive force and electromyographic (EMG activity at three different times of the day. METHODS: Thirty healthy subjects took part in the study, and carried out two maximum isometric voluntary knee extensions to measure explosive force, through contractile impulse (CI and rate of force development (RFD, and myoelectric signals from quadriceps muscles in the following periods: 07:30-09:30, 13:30-15:30 and 19:30-21:30 (called morning, afternoon and night respectively, on three non-consecutive days. RESULTS: The body temperature was lower in the morning than in the afternoon and night periods. The explosive force, evaluated through contractile impulse (CI and rate of force development (RFD, was greater at night than in the morning, without differences in the myoelectric signal. CONCLUSION: The ability to produce explosive force varies throughout different times of the day without variation in muscular recruitment, indicating that peripheral and not neural mechanisms could be responsible for this variation.

Rebuild America partner update, November--December 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-11-01

This issue of the update includes articles on retrofitting Duke University facilities, energy efficiency updates to buildings in Portland, Oregon, Salisbury, North Carolina, Hawaii, Roanoke-Chowan, Virginia, and energy savings centered designs for lighting systems.

Diversification rates, host plant shifts and an updated molecular phylogeny of Andean Eois moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Strutzenberger

Full Text Available Eois is one of the best-investigated genera of tropical moths. Its close association with Piper plants has inspired numerous studies on life histories, phylogeny and evolutionary biology. This study provides an updated view on phylogeny, host plant use and temporal patterns of speciation in Eois. Using sequence data (2776 bp from one mitochondrial (COI and one nuclear gene (Ef1-alpha for 221 Eois species, we confirm and reinforce previous findings regarding temporal patterns of diversification. Deep diversification within Andean Eois took place in the Miocene followed by a sustained high rate of diversification until the Pleistocene when a pronounced slowdown of speciation is evident. In South America, Eois diversification is very likely to be primarily driven by the Andean uplift which occurred concurrently with the entire evolutionary history of Eois. A massively expanded dataset enabled an in-depth look into the phylogenetic signal contained in host plant usage. This revealed several independent shifts from Piper to other host plant genera and families. Seven shifts to Peperomia, the sister genus of Piper were detected, indicating that the shift to Peperomia was an easy one compared to the singular shifts to the Chloranthaceae, Siparunaceae and the Piperacean genus Manekia. The potential for close co-evolution of Eois with Piper host plants is therefore bound to be limited to smaller subsets within Neotropical Eois instead of a frequently proposed genus-wide co-evolutionary scenario. In regards to Eois systematics we confirm the monophyly of Neotropical Eois in relation to their Old World counterparts. A tentative biogeographical hypothesis is presented suggesting that Eois originated in tropical Asia and subsequently colonized the Neotropics and Africa. Within Neotropical Eois we were able to identify the existence of six clades not recognized in previous studies and confirm and reinforce the monophyly of all 9 previously delimited

77 FR 47223 - Medicare Program; Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System-Update for Fiscal...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-07

... CFR Sec. 412.428, include the following: A description of the methodology and data used to calculate... Act requires the application of the productivity adjustment described in section 1886(b)(3)(B)(xi)(II... PPS using the following update strategy: Calculate the final Federal per diem base rate to be budget...

Co-operation and Phase Behavior under the Mixed Updating Rules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wen; Li Yao-Sheng; Xu Chen

2015-01-01

We present a model by considering two updating rules when the agents play prisoner's dilemma on a square lattice. Agents can update their strategies by referencing one of his neighbors of higher payoffs under the imitation updating rule or directly replaced by one of his neighbors according to the death-birth updating rule. The frequency of co-operation is related to the probability q of occurrence of the imitation updating or the death-birth updating and the game parameter b. The death-birth updating rule favors the co-operation while the imitation updating rule favors the defection on the lattice, although both rules suppress the co-operation in the well-mixed population. Therefore a totally co-operative state may emerge when the death-birth updating is involved in the evolution when b is relatively small. We also obtain a phase diagram on the q-b plane. There are three phases on the plane with two pure phases of a totally co-operative state and a totally defective state and a mixing phase of mixed strategies. Based on the pair approximation, we theoretically analyze the phase behavior and obtain a quantitative agreement with the simulation results. (paper)

In Vivo Force Decay of Niti Closed Coil Springs

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Crystal; Nguyen, Tung; Koroluk, Lorne; Ko, Ching-Chang

2014-01-01

Introduction Nickel-titanium (NiTi) closed coil springs are purported to deliver constant forces over extended ranges of activation and working times. In vivo studies supporting this claim are limited. The objective of this study is to evaluate changes in force decay properties of NiTi closed coil springs after clinical use. Methods Pseudoelastic force-deflection curves for 30 NiTi coil springs (used intra-orally) and 15 matched laboratory control springs (simulated intra-oral conditions - artificial saliva, 37°C) were tested pre- and post-retrieval via Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and the Instron machine, respectively, to evaluate amount of force loss and hysteresis change following 4, 8, or 12 weeks of working time (n=10 per group). Effect of the oral environment and clinical use on force properties were evaluated by comparing in vivo and in vitro data. Results The springs studied showed a statistically significant decrease in force (~12%) following 4 weeks of clinical use (pspace closure at an average rate of 0.91mm per month was still observed despite this decrease in force. In vivo and in vitro force loss data were not statistically different. Conclusions NiTi closed coil springs do not deliver constant forces when used intra-orally, but they still allow for space closure rates of ~1mm/month. PMID:24703289

Changes in motor unit recruitment strategy during pain alters force direction.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Kylie J; Hodges, Paul W

2010-10-01

Motor unit (MU) recruitment is altered (decreased discharge rate and cessation of discharge in some units, and recruitment of new units) in force-matched contractions during pain compared to contractions performed before pain. As MU's within a motoneurone pool have different force direction properties we hypothesised that altered MU recruitment during experimental knee pain would change the force vector (total force (F(T)): amplitude and angle) generated by the quadriceps. Force was produced at two levels during 1 × 60-s and 3 × 10-s isometric contractions of knee extensors, and recorded by two force transducers at right angles. This enabled calculation of both F(E) (extension force) and F(T). MU recruitment was recorded from the medial and lateral vastii with four fine-wire electrodes. Pain was induced by hypertonic saline injection in the infra-patella fat pad. Nine subjects matched F(E) and six subjects also matched both medial and lateral forces (F(T)) before and during pain. Changes in MU discharge pattern (decreased discharge rate (Precruitment of new units) during pain were associated with a ∼5° change in absolute force angle. As force angle changed in both directions (left/right) for individual subjects with pain there was no change in average F(T) amplitude between conditions. When both medial and lateral forces were matched MU discharge rate decreased (Punits ceased firing or were newly recruited during pain. Change in motoneurone recruitment during pain alters direction of muscle force. This may be a strategy to avoid pain or protect the painful part. Copyright © 2010 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Federal Education Update, December 2004. Commission Update 04-17.

Science.gov (United States)

California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2004

2004-01-01

This update presents some of the major issues affecting education occurring at the national level. These include: Higher Education Act Extended for One Year; New Law Increases Loan Forgiveness for Teachers; Domestic Appropriations Measures Completed; Change in Federal Student Aid Rules; Bush Advisor Nominated To Be Education Secretary In Second…

Agent Communication for Dynamic Belief Update

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Mikito; Tojo, Satoshi

Thus far, various formalizations of rational / logical agent model have been proposed. In this paper, we include the notion of communication channel and belief modality into update logic, and introduce Belief Update Logic (BUL). First, we discuss that how we can reformalize the inform action of FIPA-ACL into communication channel, which represents a connection between agents. Thus, our agents can send a message only when they believe, and also there actually is, a channel between him / her and a receiver. Then, we present a static belief logic (BL) and show its soundness and completeness. Next, we develop the logic to BUL, which can update Kripke model by the inform action; in which we show that in the updated model the belief operator also satisfies K45. Thereafter, we show that every sentence in BUL can be translated into BL; thus, we can contend that BUL is also sound and complete. Furthermore, we discuss the features of CUL, including the case of inconsistent information, as well as channel transmission. Finally, we summarize our contribution and discuss some future issues.

Treatment of childhood sexual abuse: an updated review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, Marissa; Berkowitz, Steven J; Scribano, Philip V

2012-12-01

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) involves multiple complex factors that make the evaluation of therapeutic interventions especially complicated. PTSD prevalence rates of CSA are approximately 37 % -53 %. Several other psychiatric sequelae of CSA exist. CSA appears to disrupt brain and body physiology. One co-located service delivery model reported a 52 % linkage rate of CSA survivors with mental health treatment. This article reviews current literature on the treatment of CSA, including psychosocial interventions, pharmacotherapy, and early preventative interventions. It also provides an update on the short- and long-term sequelae of CSA and implications for future research directions. A literature search of papers published in the last 3 years was conducted using the keywords treatment, sexual abuse, childhood, epigenetics, resilience and review, and searching the following databases: PsycInfo, PubMed, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Centers for Disease Control.

Updated safety analysis of ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, Neill, E-mail: neill.taylor@iter.org [ITER Organization, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Baker, Dennis; Ciattaglia, Sergio; Cortes, Pierre; Elbez-Uzan, Joelle; Iseli, Markus; Reyes, Susana; Rodriguez-Rodrigo, Lina; Rosanvallon, Sandrine; Topilski, Leonid [ITER Organization, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France)

2011-10-15

An updated version of the ITER Preliminary Safety Report has been produced and submitted to the licensing authorities. It is revised and expanded in response to requests from the authorities after their review of an earlier version in 2008, to reflect enhancements in ITER safety provisions through design changes, to incorporate new and improved safety analyses and to take into account other ITER design evolution. The updated analyses show that changes to the Tokamak cooling water system design have enhanced confinement and reduced potential radiological releases as well as removing decay heat with very high reliability. New and updated accident scenario analyses, together with fire and explosion risk analyses, have shown that design provisions are sufficient to minimize the likelihood of accidents and reduce potential consequences to a very low level. Taken together, the improvements provided a stronger demonstration of the very good safety performance of the ITER design.

Updated safety analysis of ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Neill; Baker, Dennis; Ciattaglia, Sergio; Cortes, Pierre; Elbez-Uzan, Joelle; Iseli, Markus; Reyes, Susana; Rodriguez-Rodrigo, Lina; Rosanvallon, Sandrine; Topilski, Leonid

2011-01-01

An updated version of the ITER Preliminary Safety Report has been produced and submitted to the licensing authorities. It is revised and expanded in response to requests from the authorities after their review of an earlier version in 2008, to reflect enhancements in ITER safety provisions through design changes, to incorporate new and improved safety analyses and to take into account other ITER design evolution. The updated analyses show that changes to the Tokamak cooling water system design have enhanced confinement and reduced potential radiological releases as well as removing decay heat with very high reliability. New and updated accident scenario analyses, together with fire and explosion risk analyses, have shown that design provisions are sufficient to minimize the likelihood of accidents and reduce potential consequences to a very low level. Taken together, the improvements provided a stronger demonstration of the very good safety performance of the ITER design.

Mining Sequential Update Summarization with Hierarchical Text Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunyun Zhang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The outbreak of unexpected news events such as large human accident or natural disaster brings about a new information access problem where traditional approaches fail. Mostly, news of these events shows characteristics that are early sparse and later redundant. Hence, it is very important to get updates and provide individuals with timely and important information of these incidents during their development, especially when being applied in wireless and mobile Internet of Things (IoT. In this paper, we define the problem of sequential update summarization extraction and present a new hierarchical update mining system which can broadcast with useful, new, and timely sentence-length updates about a developing event. The new system proposes a novel method, which incorporates techniques from topic-level and sentence-level summarization. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, we apply it to the task of sequential update summarization of temporal summarization (TS track at Text Retrieval Conference (TREC 2013 to compute four measurements of the update mining system: the expected gain, expected latency gain, comprehensiveness, and latency comprehensiveness. Experimental results show that our proposed method has good performance.

Run-time Phenomena in Dynamic Software Updating: Causes and Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Allan Raundahl; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2011-01-01

The development of a dynamic software updating system for statically-typed object-oriented programming languages has turned out to be a challenging task. Despite the fact that the present state of the art in dynamic updating systems, like JRebel, Dynamic Code Evolution VM, JVolve and Javeleon, all...... written in statically-typed object-oriented programming languages. In this paper, we present our experience from developing dynamically updatable applications using a state-of-the-art dynamic updating system for Java. We believe that the findings presented in this paper provide an important step towards...... provide very transparent and flexible technical solutions to dynamic updating, case studies have shown that designing dynamically updatable applications still remains a challenging task. This challenge has its roots in a number of run-time phenomena that are inherent to dynamic updating of applications...

34 CFR 668.55 - Updating information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Updating information. 668.55 Section 668.55 Education... Information § 668.55 Updating information. (a)(1) Unless the provisions of paragraph (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this... applicant to verify the information contained in his or her application for assistance in an award year if...

Fixation of competing strategies when interacting agents differ in the time scale of strategy updating

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, Jianlei; Weissing, Franz J.; Cao, Ming

2016-01-01

A commonly used assumption in evolutionary game theory is that natural selection acts on individuals in the same time scale; e.g., players use the same frequency to update their strategies. Variation in learning rates within populations suggests that evolutionary game theory may not necessarily be

Strength decoupling from the giant dipole resonance upon diagonalizing a Gaussian force and a delta-force on a particle-hole basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csernai, L.P.; Zimanyi, J.; Gyarmati, B.; Lovas, R.G.

1978-01-01

The finite-range Gaussian force and delta-force have been diagonalized in a basis of 27 particle-hole states with Jsup(π)=1 - in 116 Sn. Depending on the range of the force, 3.9-7.1% of the total transition rate has been found in the 6-9 MeV excitation energy region, which comprises the unperturbed energies of the basis states containing neutron threshold states. (Auth.)

Effect of resistance training on muscle strength and rate of force development in healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Guizelini, Pedrode Camargo; de Aguiar, Rafael Alves; Denadai, Benedito Sérgio; Caputo, Fabrizio; Greco, Camila Coelho

2018-02-01

Rapid force capacity, identified by rate of rise in contractile force at the onset of contraction, i.e., the rate of force development (RFD), has been considered an important neuromuscular parameter of physical fitness in elderly individuals. Randomized control studies conducted in adults have found that resistance training may elicit different outcomes in terms of RFD and muscle strength. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to review systematically the literature for studies regarding the influence of resistance training on muscle strength and RFD in elderly persons. A literature search was performed in major electronic databases from inception to March 2017. Studies including health individuals with a mean age≥60years, describing the effect of resistance training on RFD and muscle strength were found eligible. The outcomes were calculated as the difference in percentage change between control and experimental groups (% change) and data were presented as mean±95% confidence limits. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model and, in addition, simple and multiple meta-regression analyses were used to identify effects of age, training type, sessions per week and training duration on % change in RFD and muscle strength. Thirteen training effects were collected from 10 studies included in the meta-analysis. The resistance training program had a moderate beneficial effect on both muscle strength (% change=18.40%, 95% CL 13.69-23.30, pchange=26.68, 95% CL 14.41-35.52, pchanges in muscle strength and RFD. It can be concluded that explosive training and heavy strength training are effective resistance training methods aiming to improve both muscle strength and RFD after short-to-medium training period. However, muscle strength and RFD seem to adapt differently to resistance training programs, suggesting caution for their interchangeable use in clinical assessments of the elderly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

German-austrian recommendations for HIV1-therapy in pregnancy and in HIV1-exposed newborn - update 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Buchholz Bernd

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract German-Austrian recommendations for HIV1-therapy in pregnancy - Update 2008 Bernd Buchholz (University Medical Centre Mannheim, Pediatric Clinic, Matthias Beichert (Mannheim, Gynecology and Obstetrics Practice, Ulrich Marcus (Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Thomas Grubert, Andrea Gingelmaier (Gynecology Clinic of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Dr. med. Annette Haberl (HIV-Department, J. W. Goethe-University Hospital, Frankfurt, Dr. med. Brigitte Schmied (Otto-Wagner Spital, Wien. In Germany during the last years about 200-250 HIV1-infected pregnant women delivered a baby each year, a number that is currently increasing. To determine the HIV-status early in pregnancy voluntary HIV-testing of all pregnant women is recommended in Germany and Austria as part of prenatal care. In those cases, where HIV1-infection was known during pregnancy, since 1995 the rate of vertical transmission of HIV1 was reduced to 1-2%. This low transmission rate has been achieved by the combination of anti-retroviral therapy of pregnant women, caesarean section scheduled before onset of labour, anti-retroviral post exposition prophylaxis in the newborn and refraining from breast-feeding by the HIV1-infected mother. To keep pace with new results in research, approval of new anti-retroviral drugs and changes in the general treatment recommendations for HIV1-infected adults, in 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2005 an interdisciplinary consensus meeting was held. Gynaecologists, infectious disease specialists, paediatricians, pharmacologists, virologists and members of the German AIDS Hilfe (NGO were participating in this conference to update the prevention strategies. A fifth update became necessary in 2008. The updating process was started in January 2008 and was terminated in September 2008. The guidelines provide new recommendations on the indication and the starting point for HIV-therapy in pregnancies without complications, drugs and drug combinations to be

Towards Dynamic Updates in Service Composition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Bravetti

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We survey our results about verification of adaptable processes. We present adaptable processes as a way of overcoming the limitations that process calculi have for describing patterns of dynamic process evolution. Such patterns rely on direct ways of controlling the behavior and location of running processes, and so they are at the heart of the adaptation capabilities present in many modern concurrent systems. Adaptable processes have named scopes and are sensible to actions of dynamic update at runtime; this allows to express dynamic and static topologies of adaptable processes as well as different evolvability patterns for concurrent processes. We introduce a core calculus of adaptable processes and consider verification problems for them: first based on specific properties related to error occurrence, that we call bounded and eventual adaptation, and then by considering a simple yet expressive temporal logic over adaptable processes. We provide (undecidability results of such verification problems over adaptable processes considering the spectrum of topologies/evolvability patterns introduced. We then consider distributed adaptability, where a process can update part of a protocol by performing dynamic distributed updates over a set of protocol participants. Dynamic updates in this context are presented as an extension of our work on choreographies and behavioural contracts in multiparty interactions. We show how update mechanisms considered for adaptable processes can be used to extend the theory of choreography and orchestration/contracts, allowing them to be modified at run-time by internal (self-adaptation or external intervention.

KDEF-PT: Valence, Emotional Intensity, Familiarity and Attractiveness Ratings of Angry, Neutral, and Happy Faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrido, Margarida V; Prada, Marília

2017-01-01

The Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF) is one of the most widely used human facial expressions database. Almost a decade after the original validation study (Goeleven et al., 2008), we present subjective rating norms for a sub-set of 210 pictures which depict 70 models (half female) each displaying an angry, happy and neutral facial expressions. Our main goals were to provide an additional and updated validation to this database, using a sample from a different nationality ( N = 155 Portuguese students, M = 23.73 years old, SD = 7.24) and to extend the number of subjective dimensions used to evaluate each image. Specifically, participants reported emotional labeling (forced-choice task) and evaluated the emotional intensity and valence of the expression, as well as the attractiveness and familiarity of the model (7-points rating scales). Overall, results show that happy faces obtained the highest ratings across evaluative dimensions and emotion labeling accuracy. Female (vs. male) models were perceived as more attractive, familiar and positive. The sex of the model also moderated the accuracy of emotional labeling and ratings of different facial expressions. Each picture of the set was categorized as low, moderate, or high for each dimension. Normative data for each stimulus (hits proportion, means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals per evaluative dimension) is available as supplementary material (available at https://osf.io/fvc4m/).

KDEF-PT: Valence, Emotional Intensity, Familiarity and Attractiveness Ratings of Angry, Neutral, and Happy Faces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarida V. Garrido

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF is one of the most widely used human facial expressions database. Almost a decade after the original validation study (Goeleven et al., 2008, we present subjective rating norms for a sub-set of 210 pictures which depict 70 models (half female each displaying an angry, happy and neutral facial expressions. Our main goals were to provide an additional and updated validation to this database, using a sample from a different nationality (N = 155 Portuguese students, M = 23.73 years old, SD = 7.24 and to extend the number of subjective dimensions used to evaluate each image. Specifically, participants reported emotional labeling (forced-choice task and evaluated the emotional intensity and valence of the expression, as well as the attractiveness and familiarity of the model (7-points rating scales. Overall, results show that happy faces obtained the highest ratings across evaluative dimensions and emotion labeling accuracy. Female (vs. male models were perceived as more attractive, familiar and positive. The sex of the model also moderated the accuracy of emotional labeling and ratings of different facial expressions. Each picture of the set was categorized as low, moderate, or high for each dimension. Normative data for each stimulus (hits proportion, means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals per evaluative dimension is available as supplementary material (available at https://osf.io/fvc4m/.

Working memory updating occurs independently of the need to maintain task-context: accounting for triggering updating in the AX-CPT paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessler, Yoav; Baruchin, Liad J; Bouhsira-Sabag, Anat

2017-01-01

Theoretical models suggest that maintenance and updating are two functional states of working memory (WM), which are controlled by a gate between perceptual information and WM representations. Opening the gate enables updating WM with input, while closing it enables keeping the maintained information shielded from interference. However, it is still unclear when gate opening takes place, and what is the external signal that triggers it. A version of the AX-CPT paradigm was used to examine a recent proposal in the literature, suggesting that updating is triggered whenever the maintenance of the context is necessary for task performance (context-dependent tasks). In four experiments using this paradigm, we show that (1) a task-switching cost takes place in both context-dependent and context-independent trials; (2) task-switching is additive to the dependency effect, and (3) unlike switching cost, the dependency effect is not affected by preparation and, therefore, does not reflect context-updating. We suggest that WM updating is likely to be triggered by a simple mechanism that occurs in each trial of the task regardless of whether maintaining the context is needed or not. The implications for WM updating and its relationship to task-switching are discussed.

Testing the Feasibility of Skype and FaceTime Updates With Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein, Elizabeth Gingell; Sherman, Jessica; Blackman, Amy; Sinkin, Robert A

2015-07-01

Effective provider-parent relationships are essential during critical illness when treatment decisions are complex, the environment is crowded and unfamiliar, and outcomes are uncertain. To evaluate the feasibility of daily Skype or FaceTime updates with parents of patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to assess the intervention's potential for improving parent-provider relationships. A pre/post mixed-methods approach was used. NICU parent participants received daily Skype or FaceTime updates for 5 days and completed demographic and feasibility surveys. Parents also completed Penticuff's Parents' Understanding survey before and after the intervention. Nurses and physicians completed feasibility surveys after each update. Twenty-six parents were enrolled and 15 completed the study. More than 90% of providers and parents perceived the intervention to be reliable and easy to use, and about 80% of parents and providers rated video and audio quality as either excellent or good. Frozen screens and missed updates due to scheduling problems were challenges. Two of the 4 subscores on the Parents' Understanding survey improved significantly. Qualitative data favor the intervention as meaningful for parents. Real-time videoconferencing via Skype or FaceTime is feasible for providing updates for parents when they cannot be present in the NICU and can be used to include parents in bedside rounds. Videoconferencing updates may improve relationships between parents and the health care team. ©2015 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Numerical model updating technique for structures using firefly algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Sai Kubair, K.; Mohan, S. C.

2018-03-01

Numerical model updating is a technique used for updating the existing experimental models for any structures related to civil, mechanical, automobiles, marine, aerospace engineering, etc. The basic concept behind this technique is updating the numerical models to closely match with experimental data obtained from real or prototype test structures. The present work involves the development of numerical model using MATLAB as a computational tool and with mathematical equations that define the experimental model. Firefly algorithm is used as an optimization tool in this study. In this updating process a response parameter of the structure has to be chosen, which helps to correlate the numerical model developed with the experimental results obtained. The variables for the updating can be either material or geometrical properties of the model or both. In this study, to verify the proposed technique, a cantilever beam is analyzed for its tip deflection and a space frame has been analyzed for its natural frequencies. Both the models are updated with their respective response values obtained from experimental results. The numerical results after updating show that there is a close relationship that can be brought between the experimental and the numerical models.

Update of European bioethics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rendtorff, Jacob Dahl

2015-01-01

This paper presents an update of the research on European bioethics undertaken by the author together with Professor Peter Kemp since the 1990s, on Basic ethical principles in European bioethics and biolaw. In this European approach to basic ethical principles in bioethics and biolaw......, the principles of autonomy, dignity, integrity and vulnerability are proposed as the most important ethical principles for respect for the human person in biomedical and biotechnological development. This approach to bioethics and biolaw is presented here in a short updated version that integrates the earlier...... research in a presentation of the present understanding of the basic ethical principles in bioethics and biolaw....

Robot Visual Tracking via Incremental Self-Updating of Appearance Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danpei Zhao

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a target tracking method called Incremental Self-Updating Visual Tracking for robot platforms. Our tracker treats the tracking problem as a binary classification: the target and the background. The greyscale, HOG and LBP features are used in this work to represent the target and are integrated into a particle filter framework. To track the target over long time sequences, the tracker has to update its model to follow the most recent target. In order to deal with the problems of calculation waste and lack of model-updating strategy with the traditional methods, an intelligent and effective online self-updating strategy is devised to choose the optimal update opportunity. The strategy of updating the appearance model can be achieved based on the change in the discriminative capability between the current frame and the previous updated frame. By adjusting the update step adaptively, severe waste of calculation time for needless updates can be avoided while keeping the stability of the model. Moreover, the appearance model can be kept away from serious drift problems when the target undergoes temporary occlusion. The experimental results show that the proposed tracker can achieve robust and efficient performance in several benchmark-challenging video sequences with various complex environment changes in posture, scale, illumination and occlusion.

Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic. Annual Update 2015

Science.gov (United States)

DePaoli, Jennifer L.; Fox, Joanna Hornig; Ingram, Erin S.; Maushard, Mary; Bridgeland, John M.; Balfanz, Robert

2015-01-01

In 2013, the national high school graduation rate hit a record high of 81.4 percent, and for the third year in a row, the nation remained on pace to meet the 90 percent goal by the Class of 2020. This sixth annual update on America's high school dropout challenge shows that these gains have been made possible by raising graduation rates for…

Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic. Annual Update 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Balfanz, Robert; Bridgeland, John M.; Fox, Joanna Hornig; DePaoli, Jennifer L.; Ingram, Erin S.; Maushard, Mary

2014-01-01

This fifth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that, for the first time in history, the nation has crossed the 80 percent high school graduation rate threshold and remains on pace, for the second year in a row, to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020. This report highlights key…

Choosing in Freedom or Forced to Choose? Introspective Blindness to Psychological Forcing in Stage-Magic

Science.gov (United States)

Shalom, Diego E.; de Sousa Serro, Maximiliano G.; Giaconia, Maximiliano; Martinez, Luis M.; Rieznik, Andres; Sigman, Mariano

2013-01-01

We investigated an individual ability to identify whether choices were made freely or forced by external parameters. We capitalized on magical setups where the notion of psychological forcing constitutes a well trodden path. In live stage magic, a magician guessed cards from spectators while inquiring how freely they thought they had made the choice. Our data showed a marked blindness in the introspection of free choice. Spectators assigned comparable ratings when choosing the card that the magician deliberately forced them compared to any other card, even in classical forcing, where the magician literally handles a card to the participant This observation was paralleled by a laboratory experiment where we observed modest changes in subjective reports by factors with drastic effect in choice. Pupil dilatation, which is known to tag slow cognitive events related to memory and attention, constitutes an efficient fingerprint to index subjective and objective aspects of choice. PMID:23516455

Decentralized Consistent Network Updates in SDN with ez-Segway

KAUST Repository

Nguyen, Thanh Dang

2017-03-06

We present ez-Segway, a decentralized mechanism to consistently and quickly update the network state while preventing forwarding anomalies (loops and black-holes) and avoiding link congestion. In our design, the centralized SDN controller only pre-computes information needed by the switches during the update execution. This information is distributed to the switches, which use partial knowledge and direct message passing to efficiently realize the update. This separation of concerns has the key benefit of improving update performance as the communication and computation bottlenecks at the controller are removed. Our evaluations via network emulations and large-scale simulations demonstrate the efficiency of ez-Segway, which compared to a centralized approach, improves network update times by up to 45% and 57% at the median and the 99th percentile, respectively. A deployment of a system prototype in a real OpenFlow switch and an implementation in P4 demonstrate the feasibility and low overhead of implementing simple network update functionality within switches.

Bayesian inference and updating of reliability data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabri, Z.A.; Cullingford, M.C.; David, H.T.; Husseiny, A.A.

1980-01-01

A Bayes methodology for inference of reliability values using available but scarce current data is discussed. The method can be used to update failure rates as more information becomes available from field experience, assuming that the performance of a given component (or system) exhibits a nonhomogeneous Poisson process. Bayes' theorem is used to summarize the historical evidence and current component data in the form of a posterior distribution suitable for prediction and for smoothing or interpolation. An example is given. It may be appropriate to apply the methodology developed here to human error data, in which case the exponential model might be used to describe the learning behavior of the operator or maintenance crew personnel

Shipwreck rates reveal Caribbean tropical cyclone response to past radiative forcing.

Science.gov (United States)

Trouet, Valerie; Harley, Grant L; Domínguez-Delmás, Marta

2016-03-22

Assessing the impact of future climate change on North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) activity is of crucial societal importance, but the limited quantity and quality of observational records interferes with the skill of future TC projections. In particular, North Atlantic TC response to radiative forcing is poorly understood and creates the dominant source of uncertainty for twenty-first-century projections. Here, we study TC variability in the Caribbean during the Maunder Minimum (MM; 1645-1715 CE), a period defined by the most severe reduction in solar irradiance in documented history (1610-present). For this purpose, we combine a documentary time series of Spanish shipwrecks in the Caribbean (1495-1825 CE) with a tree-growth suppression chronology from the Florida Keys (1707-2009 CE). We find a 75% reduction in decadal-scale Caribbean TC activity during the MM, which suggests modulation of the influence of reduced solar irradiance by the cumulative effect of cool North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, El Niño-like conditions, and a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Our results emphasize the need to enhance our understanding of the response of these oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns to radiative forcing and climate change to improve the skill of future TC projections.

Minnesota's forest statistics, 1987: an inventory update.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerold T. Hahn; W. Brad Smith

1987-01-01

The Minnesota 1987 inventory update, derived by using tree growth models, reports 13.5 million acres of timberland, a decline of less than 1% since 1977. This bulletin presents findings from the inventory update in tables detailing timer land area, volume, and biomass.

Wisconsin's forest statistics, 1987: an inventory update.

Science.gov (United States)

W. Brad Smith; Jerold T. Hahn

1989-01-01

The Wisconsin 1987 inventory update, derived by using tree growth models, reports 14.7 million acres of timberland, a decline of less than 1% since 1983. This bulletin presents findings from the inventory update in tables detailing timberland area, volume, and biomass.

Research on Topographic Map Updating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Javorović

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The investigation of interpretability of panchromatic satellite image IRS-1C integrated with multispectral Landsat TM image with the purpose of updating the topographic map sheet at the scale of 1:25 000 has been described. The geocoding of source map was based on trigonometric points of the map sheet. Satellite images were geocoded using control points selected from the map. The contents of map have been vectorized and topographic database designed. The digital image processing improved the interpretability of images. Then, the vectorization of new contents was made. The change detection of the forest and water area was defined by using unsupervised classification of spatial and spectral merged images. Verification of the results was made using corresponding aerial photographs. Although this methodology could not insure the complete updating of topographic map at the scale of 1:25 000, the database has been updated with huge amount of data. Erdas Imagine 8.3. software was used. 

Relationship between the entomologic inoculation rate and the force of infection for Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Thomas; Maire, Nicolas; Dietz, Klaus; Killeen, Gerry F; Vounatsou, Penelope; Molineaux, Louis; Tanner, Marcel

2006-08-01

We propose a stochastic model for the relationship between the entomologic inoculation rate (EIR) for Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the force of infection in endemic areas. The model incorporates effects of increased exposure to mosquito bites as a result of the growth in body surface area with the age of the host, naturally acquired pre-erythrocytic immunity, and the reduction in the proportion of entomologically assessed inoculations leading to infection, as the EIR increases. It is fitted to multiple datasets from field studies of the relationship between malaria infection and the EIR. We propose that this model can account for non-monotonic relationships between the age of the host and the parasite prevalence and incidence of disease. It provides a parsimonious explanation for the faster acquisition of natural immunity in adults than in children exposed to high EIRs. This forms one component of a new stochastic model for the entire transmission cycle of P. falciparum that we have derived to estimate the potential epidemiologic impact of malaria vaccines and other malaria control interventions.

The labor force of the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Norwood, J L

1987-07-01

In the decades ahead, the US labor force will reflect changes in the industrial structure, with declines in some manufacturing industries and expansion in service industries. The services sector is so diverse that the jobs within it cannot be categorized as either high wage or low wage. The service-producing sector employs 85% of professional specialty workers in the US. In general, information on compensation trends indicates that greater increases in compensation have occurred for workers in service-producing as opposed to goods-producing industries. The increase in service sector jobs has created opportunities for women to enter the labor force and, at present, 5 out of 6 women work in this sector compared to fewer than 2 out of 3 men. Productivity growth rates in the service-producing industries vary substantially and are strongly affected by the business cycle. Central to employment opportunities in the years ahead will be the effect of new technology. To date, the aggregate effect of new technology has been increased employment and higher living standards. Although retraining programs should be in place, the scenario of a huge technology-created labor surplus seems unlikely. In fact, a more likely problem is a shortage of labor resulting from earlier labor force withdrawal and demographic aging of the population. Those in the 25-54-year age group will represent a larger share of the labor force in the years ahead. In addition, blacks are expected to account for 20% of the labor force growth in the next decade. Finally, given increasing labor force participation rates among mothers, employers may have to provide more flexible work schedules, assistance with day care, and more attractive benefits packages.

75 FR 52947 - Maximum Per Diem Rates for the Continental United States (CONUS)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-30

... per diem rate setting process enhances the government's ability to obtain policy-compliant lodging where it is needed. In conjunction with the annual lodging study, GSA identified five new non-standard... diem localities and updates the standard CONUS rate. The CONUS per diem rates prescribed in Bulletin 11...

Update on Multiple Ovulations in Dairy Cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Macmillan, Kira; Kastelic, John P; Colazo, Marcos G

2018-04-24

This review updates the causal mechanisms and risk factors for multiple ovulations (MOV) in cattle. Clearly, MOV can lead to twin pregnancies, which negatively affects the health, production, and reproduction of cows. Therefore, a better understanding of the factors causing MOV may help to reduce twinning. Multiple ovulations occur after two or more follicles deviate and achieve codominance. The MOV rate is influenced by a complex network of hormones. For example, MOV is more common during periods of low progesterone (P4), that is, in anovulatory cattle or when luteolysis coincides with the selection of the future ovulatory follicle. There is also strong evidence for the luteinizing hormone (LH) being the primary factor leading to codominance, as high P4 concentrations suppress the transient LH surges and can reduce the ovulation rate in cattle or even inhibit deviation. Rates of MOV are increased in older and higher-producing dairy cows. Increased milk production and dry matter intake (DMI) increases hormone clearance, including P4; however, the association between milk yield and MOV has not been consistent. Additional risk factors for MOV include ovarian cysts, diet, season, and genetics.

Updated Magmatic Flux Rate Estimates for the Hawaii Plume

Science.gov (United States)

Wessel, P.

2013-12-01

Several studies have estimated the magmatic flux rate along the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain using a variety of methods and arriving at different results. These flux rate estimates have weaknesses because of incomplete data sets and different modeling assumptions, especially for the youngest portion of the chain (little or no quantification of error estimates for the inferred melt flux, making an assessment problematic. Here we re-evaluate the melt flux for the Hawaii plume with the latest gridded data sets (SRTM30+ and FAA 21.1) using several methods, including the optimal robust separator (ORS) and directional median filtering techniques (DiM). We also compute realistic confidence limits on the results. In particular, the DiM technique was specifically developed to aid in the estimation of surface loads that are superimposed on wider bathymetric swells and it provides error estimates on the optimal residuals. Confidence bounds are assigned separately for the estimated surface load (obtained from the ORS regional/residual separation techniques) and the inferred subsurface volume (from gravity-constrained isostasy and plate flexure optimizations). These new and robust estimates will allow us to assess which secondary features in the resulting melt flux curve are significant and should be incorporated when correlating melt flux variations with other geophysical and geochemical observations.

Software Updating in Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey and Lacunae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cormac J. Sreenan

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Wireless Sensor Networks are moving out of the laboratory and into the field. For a number of reasons there is often a need to update sensor node software, or node configuration, after deployment. The need for over-the-air updates is driven both by the scale of deployments, and by the remoteness and inaccessibility of sensor nodes. This need has been recognized since the early days of sensor networks, and research results from the related areas of mobile networking and distributed systems have been applied to this area. In order to avoid any manual intervention, the update process needs to be autonomous. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of software updating in Wireless Sensor Networks, and analyses the features required to make these updates autonomous. A new taxonomy of software update features and a new model for fault detection and recovery are presented. The paper concludes by identifying the lacunae relating to autonomous software updates, providing direction for future research.

Improvement of force-sensor-based heart rate estimation using multichannel data fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruser, Christoph; Kortelainen, Juha M; Winter, Stefan; Tenhunen, Mirja; Parkka, Juha; Leonhardt, Steffen

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate algorithms for heartbeat interval estimation from multiple spatially distributed force sensors integrated into a bed. Moreover, the benefit of using multichannel systems as opposed to a single sensor is investigated. While it might seem intuitive that multiple channels are superior to a single channel, the main challenge lies in finding suitable methods to actually leverage this potential. To this end, two algorithms for heart rate estimation from multichannel vibration signals are presented and compared against a single-channel sensing solution. The first method operates by analyzing the cepstrum computed from the average spectra of the individual channels, while the second method applies Bayesian fusion to three interval estimators, such as the autocorrelation, which are applied to each channel. This evaluation is based on 28 night-long sleep lab recordings during which an eight-channel polyvinylidene fluoride-based sensor array was used to acquire cardiac vibration signals. The recruited patients suffered from different sleep disorders of varying severity. From the sensor array data, a virtual single-channel signal was also derived for comparison by averaging the channels. The single-channel results achieved a beat-to-beat interval error of 2.2% with a coverage (i.e., percentage of the recording which could be analyzed) of 68.7%. In comparison, the best multichannel results attained a mean error and coverage of 1.0% and 81.0%, respectively. These results present statistically significant improvements of both metrics over the single-channel results (p < 0.05).

Changes in muscle force-length properties affect the early rise of force in vivo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blazevich, Anthony J; Cannavan, Dale; Horne, Sara

2009-01-01

Changes in contractile rate of force development (RFD), measured within a short time interval from contraction initiation, were measured after a period of strength training that led to increases in muscle fascicle length but no measurable change in neuromuscular activity. The relationship between...

77 FR 41258 - FOIA Fee Schedule Update

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-13

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. ACTION: Establishment of FOIA Fee Schedule. SUMMARY: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is publishing its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update pursuant to...

76 FR 43819 - FOIA Fee Schedule Update

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-22

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. ACTION: Establishment of FOIA Fee Schedule. SUMMARY: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is publishing its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update pursuant to...

Frequency-dependence of the slow force response.

Science.gov (United States)

von Lewinski, Dirk; Zhu, Danan; Khafaga, Mounir; Kockskamper, Jens; Maier, Lars S; Hasenfuss, Gerd; Pieske, Burkert

2008-05-01

Stretch induces biphasic inotropic effects in mammalian myocardium. A delayed component (slow force response, SFR) has been demonstrated in various species, however, experimental conditions varied and the underlying mechanisms are controversial. The physiological relevance of the SFR is poorly understood. Experiments were performed in ventricular muscle strips from failing human hearts and non-failing rabbit hearts. Upon stretch, twitch force was assessed at basal conditions (1 Hz, 37 degrees C) and after changing stimulation frequency with and without blockade of the Na+/H+-exchanger-1 (NHE1) or reverse-mode Na+/Ca2+-exchange (NCX). Action potential duration (APD) was assessed using floating electrodes. Low stimulation rates (0.2 Hz) potentiated and higher stimulation rates (2 and 3 Hz) reduced the SFR. The extent of SFR inhibition by NHE1 or NCX inhibition was not affected by stimulation rate. APD decreased at 0.2 Hz but was not altered at higher stimulation rates. The data demonstrate frequency-dependence of the SFR with greater positive inotropic effects at lower stimulation rates. Subcellular mechanisms underlying the SFR are not fundamentally affected by stimulation rate. The SFR may have more pronounced physiological effects at lower heart rates.

Sequential multi-nuclide emission rate estimation method based on gamma dose rate measurement for nuclear emergency management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiaole; Raskob, Wolfgang; Landman, Claudia; Trybushnyi, Dmytro; Li, Yu

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Sequentially reconstruct multi-nuclide emission using gamma dose rate measurements. • Incorporate a priori ratio of nuclides into the background error covariance matrix. • Sequentially augment and update the estimation and the background error covariance. • Suppress the generation of negative estimations for the sequential method. • Evaluate the new method with twin experiments based on the JRODOS system. - Abstract: In case of a nuclear accident, the source term is typically not known but extremely important for the assessment of the consequences to the affected population. Therefore the assessment of the potential source term is of uppermost importance for emergency response. A fully sequential method, derived from a regularized weighted least square problem, is proposed to reconstruct the emission and composition of a multiple-nuclide release using gamma dose rate measurement. The a priori nuclide ratios are incorporated into the background error covariance (BEC) matrix, which is dynamically augmented and sequentially updated. The negative estimations in the mathematical algorithm are suppressed by utilizing artificial zero-observations (with large uncertainties) to simultaneously update the state vector and BEC. The method is evaluated by twin experiments based on the JRodos system. The results indicate that the new method successfully reconstructs the emission and its uncertainties. Accurate a priori ratio accelerates the analysis process, which obtains satisfactory results with only limited number of measurements, otherwise it needs more measurements to generate reasonable estimations. The suppression of negative estimation effectively improves the performance, especially for the situation with poor a priori information, where it is more prone to the generation of negative values.

Sequential multi-nuclide emission rate estimation method based on gamma dose rate measurement for nuclear emergency management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xiaole, E-mail: zhangxiaole10@outlook.com [Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, D-76021 (Germany); Institute of Public Safety Research, Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China); Raskob, Wolfgang; Landman, Claudia; Trybushnyi, Dmytro; Li, Yu [Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, D-76021 (Germany)

2017-03-05

Highlights: • Sequentially reconstruct multi-nuclide emission using gamma dose rate measurements. • Incorporate a priori ratio of nuclides into the background error covariance matrix. • Sequentially augment and update the estimation and the background error covariance. • Suppress the generation of negative estimations for the sequential method. • Evaluate the new method with twin experiments based on the JRODOS system. - Abstract: In case of a nuclear accident, the source term is typically not known but extremely important for the assessment of the consequences to the affected population. Therefore the assessment of the potential source term is of uppermost importance for emergency response. A fully sequential method, derived from a regularized weighted least square problem, is proposed to reconstruct the emission and composition of a multiple-nuclide release using gamma dose rate measurement. The a priori nuclide ratios are incorporated into the background error covariance (BEC) matrix, which is dynamically augmented and sequentially updated. The negative estimations in the mathematical algorithm are suppressed by utilizing artificial zero-observations (with large uncertainties) to simultaneously update the state vector and BEC. The method is evaluated by twin experiments based on the JRodos system. The results indicate that the new method successfully reconstructs the emission and its uncertainties. Accurate a priori ratio accelerates the analysis process, which obtains satisfactory results with only limited number of measurements, otherwise it needs more measurements to generate reasonable estimations. The suppression of negative estimation effectively improves the performance, especially for the situation with poor a priori information, where it is more prone to the generation of negative values.

Update on Performance in Tobacco Control: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Tobacco Control Policy and the US Adult Smoking Rate, 2011-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Mader, Emily M; Lapin, Brittany; Cameron, Brianna J; Carr, Thomas A; Morley, Christopher P

2016-01-01

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. States and municipalities have instituted a variety of tobacco control measures (TCMs) to address the significant impact tobacco use has on population health. The American Lung Association annually grades state performance of tobacco control using the State of Tobacco Control grading framework. To gain an updated understanding of how recent efforts in tobacco control have impacted tobacco use across the United States, using yearly State of Tobacco Control TCM assessments. The independent TCM variables of smoke-free air score, cessation score, excise tax, and percentage of recommended funding were selected from the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control reports. Predictors of adult smoking rates were determined by a mixed-effects model. The 50 US states and District of Columbia. Adult smoking rate in each state from 2011 to 2013. The average adult smoking rate decreased significantly from 2011 to 2013 (21.3% [SD: 3.5] to 19.3% [SD: 3.5], P = .016). All forms of TCMs varied widely in implementation levels across states. Excise taxes (β = -.812, P = .006) and smoke-free air regulations (β = -.057, P = .008) were significant, negative predictors of adult smoking. Cessation services (β = .015, P = .46) did not have a measurable effect on adult smoking. Tobacco control measures with the strongest influence on adult smoking include the state excise tax and state smoke-free air regulations. The lack of robust funding for tobacco cessation services across the majority of US states highlights an important shortfall in current tobacco control policy.

Modeling good research practices--overview: a report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Caro, J Jaime; Briggs, Andrew H; Siebert, Uwe; Kuntz, Karen M

2012-01-01

Models-mathematical frameworks that facilitate estimation of the consequences of health care decisions-have become essential tools for health technology assessment. Evolution of the methods since the first ISPOR modeling task force reported in 2003 has led to a new task force, jointly convened with the Society for Medical Decision Making, and this series of seven papers presents the updated recommendations for best practices in conceptualizing models; implementing state-transition approaches, discrete event simulations, or dynamic transmission models; dealing with uncertainty; and validating and reporting models transparently. This overview introduces the work of the task force, provides all the recommendations, and discusses some quandaries that require further elucidation. The audience for these papers includes those who build models, stakeholders who utilize their results, and, indeed, anyone concerned with the use of models to support decision making.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, December 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlbert, L.M.; Langston, M.E.; Nikbakht, A.; Salk, M.S.

1990-01-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action

Environmental regulatory update table, March 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, L.; Langston, M.E.; Nikbakht, A.; Salk, M.S.

1989-04-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, April 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, L.; Langston, M.E.; Nikbakht, A.; Salk, M.S.

1989-05-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, December 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1992-01-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, August 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, L.M.; Nikbakht, A.; Salk, M.S.

1990-09-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, October 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1991-11-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, November 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1991-12-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, September 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1991-10-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

How Do We Update Faces? Effects of Gaze Direction and Facial Expressions on Working Memory Updating

OpenAIRE

Artuso, Caterina; Palladino, Paola; Ricciardelli, Paola

2012-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate how the biological binding between different facial dimensions, and their social and communicative relevance, may impact updating processes in working memory (WM). We focused on WM updating because it plays a key role in ongoing processing. Gaze direction and facial expression are crucial and changeable components of face processing. Direct gaze enhances the processing of approach-oriented facial emotional expressions (e.g., joy), while averted gaze enh...

Key Update Assistant for Resource-Constrained Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yuksel, Ender; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming

2012-01-01

developed a push-button solution - powered by stochastic model checking - that network designers can easily benefit from, and it paves the way for consumers to set up key update related security parameters. Key Update Assistant, as we named it, runs necessary model checking operations and determines...

Choosing in freedom or forced to choose? Introspective blindness to psychological forcing in stage-magic.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego E Shalom

Full Text Available We investigated an individual ability to identify whether choices were made freely or forced by external parameters. We capitalized on magical setups where the notion of psychological forcing constitutes a well trodden path. In live stage magic, a magician guessed cards from spectators while inquiring how freely they thought they had made the choice. Our data showed a marked blindness in the introspection of free choice. Spectators assigned comparable ratings when choosing the card that the magician deliberately forced them compared to any other card, even in classical forcing, where the magician literally handles a card to the participant This observation was paralleled by a laboratory experiment where we observed modest changes in subjective reports by factors with drastic effect in choice. Pupil dilatation, which is known to tag slow cognitive events related to memory and attention, constitutes an efficient fingerprint to index subjective and objective aspects of choice.

An Update on the Hazards and Risks of Forensic Anthropology, Part II: Field and Laboratory Considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Lindsey G; Dabbs, Gretchen R; Spencer, Jessica R

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on potential hazards and risks to forensic anthropologists while working in the field and laboratory in North America. Much has changed since Galloway and Snodgrass published their seminal article addressing these issues. The increased number of forensic practitioners combined with new information about potential hazards calls for an updated review of these pathogens and chemicals. Discussion of pathogen hazards (Brucella, Borrelia burgdorferi, Yersinia pestis, Clostridium tetani and West Nile virus) includes important history, exposure routes, environmental survivability, early symptoms, treatments with corresponding morbidity and mortality rates, and decontamination measures. Additionally, data pertaining to the use of formaldehyde in the laboratory environment have resulted in updated safety regulations, and these are highlighted. These data should inform field and laboratory protocols. The hazards of working directly with human remains are discussed in a companion article, "An Update on the Hazards and Risks of Forensic Anthropology, Part I: Human Remains." © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Improving precipitation simulation from updated surface characteristics in South America

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Gabriel; Silva, Maria Elisa Siqueira; Moraes, Elisabete Caria; Chiquetto, Júlio Barboza; da Silva Cardozo, Francielle

2017-07-01

Land use and land cover maps and their physical-chemical and biological properties are important variables in the numerical modeling of Earth systems. In this context, the main objective of this study is to analyze the improvements resulting from the land use and land cover map update in numerical simulations performed using the Regional Climate Model system version 4 (RegCM4), as well as the seasonal variations of physical parameters used by the Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS). In general, the update of the South America 2007 land use and land cover map, used by the BATS, improved the simulation of precipitation by 10 %, increasing the mean temporal correlation coefficient, compared to observed data, from 0.84 to 0.92 (significant at p Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) positioning, presenting a spatial pattern of alternated areas with higher and lower precipitation rates. These important differences occur due to the replacement of tropical rainforest for pasture and agriculture and the replacement of agricultural areas for pasture, scrubland, and deciduous forest.

Forced migration and mortality in the very long term: did perestroika affect death rates also in Finland?

Science.gov (United States)

Saarela, Jan; Finnäs, Fjalar

2009-08-01

In this article, we analyze mortality rates of Finns born in areas that were ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II and from which the entire population was evacuated. These internally displaced persons are observed during the period 1971-2004 and compared with people born in the same region but on the adjacent side of the new border. We find that in the 1970s and 1980s, the forced migrants had mortality rates that were on par with those of people in the comparison group. In the late 1980s, the mortality risk of internally displaced men increased by 20% in relation to the expected time trend. This deviation, which manifests particularly in cardiovascular mortality, coincides with perestroika and the demise of the Soviet Union, which were events that resulted in an intense debate in civil society about restitution of the ceded areas. Because state actors were reluctant to engage, the debate declined after some few years, and after the mid-1990s, the death risk again approached the long-term trend. Our findings indicate that when internally displaced persons must adjust to situations for which appropriate coping behaviors are unknown, psychosocial stress might arise several decades after their evacuation.

Neural control of muscle force: indications from a simulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Luca, Carlo J. De

2013-01-01

We developed a model to investigate the influence of the muscle force twitch on the simulated firing behavior of motoneurons and muscle force production during voluntary isometric contractions. The input consists of an excitatory signal common to all the motor units in the pool of a muscle, consistent with the “common drive” property. Motor units respond with a hierarchically structured firing behavior wherein at any time and force, firing rates are inversely proportional to recruitment threshold, as described by the “onion skin” property. Time- and force-dependent changes in muscle force production are introduced by varying the motor unit force twitches as a function of time or by varying the number of active motor units. A force feedback adjusts the input excitation, maintaining the simulated force at a target level. The simulations replicate motor unit behavior characteristics similar to those reported in previous empirical studies of sustained contractions: 1) the initial decrease and subsequent increase of firing rates, 2) the derecruitment and recruitment of motor units throughout sustained contractions, and 3) the continual increase in the force fluctuation caused by the progressive recruitment of larger motor units. The model cautions the use of motor unit behavior at recruitment and derecruitment without consideration of changes in the muscle force generation capacity. It describes an alternative mechanism for the reserve capacity of motor units to generate extraordinary force. It supports the hypothesis that the control of motoneurons remains invariant during force-varying and sustained isometric contractions. PMID:23236008

Consistency of motor-unit identification during force-varying static contractions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pilegaard, M; Jensen, B R; Sjøgaard, G

2000-01-01

active either before or after the 1 s at 0% MVC, and 18 as being de-recruited during force decreases and recruited during force increases. Both operators agreed that 16 of these 18 MUs were de-recruited at a higher force level than that at which they were recruited, which may be due...... to the electromechanical delay. The coefficient of variation for double determination of the results obtained by operators A and B was 8.5% for the number of MU firings, 4.5% for the MU mean firing rate, and 8.4% for the MU action potential (MUAP) amplitude. Therefore, the operator interactive decomposition method...... was considered to be valid for studying recruitment and de-recruitment as well as firing rate and MUAP amplitude during static, force-varying ramp contractions....

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, August 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M., Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1991-09-01

This Environmental Regulatory Update Table (August 1991) provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental regulatory update table, July 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1991-08-01

This Environmental Regulatory Update Table (July 1991) provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Interannual Variability in Dust Deposition, Radiative Forcing, and Snowmelt Rates in the Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Skiles, M.; Painter, T. H.; Deems, J. S.; Barrett, A. P.

2011-12-01

Dust in snow accelerates snowmelt through its direct reduction of albedo and its further reduction of albedo by accelerating the growth of snow effective grain size. Since the Anglo expansion and disturbance of the western US that began in the mid 19th century, the mountain snow cover of the Colorado River Basin has been subject to five-fold greater dust loading. Here we present the impacts of dust deposition onto alpine snow cover using a 7-year energy balance record at the alpine and subalpine towers in the Senator Beck Basin Study Area (SBBSA), San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, USA. We assess the radiative and hydrologic impacts with a two-layer point snow energy balance snowmelt model that calculates snowmelt and predicts point runoff using measured inputs of energy exchanges and snow properties. By removing the radiative forcing due to dust, we can determine snowmelt under observed dusty and modeled clean conditions. Additionally, we model the relative response of melt rates to simulated increases in air temperature. Our modeling results indicate that the number of days that dust advances retreat of snow cover and cumulative radiative forcing are linearly related to total dust concentration. The greatest dust radiative impact occurred in 2009, when the highest observed end of year dust concentrations reduced visible albedo to less than 0.35 during the last three weeks of snowcover and snow cover duration was shortened by 50 days. This work also shows that dust radiative forcing has a markedly greater impact on snow cover duration than increases in temperature in terms of acceleration of snowmelt. We have completed the same analysis over a 2-year energy balance record at the Grand Mesa Study plot (GMSP) in west central Colorado, 150 km north of SBBSA. This new location allows us to assess site variability. For example, at SBBSA 2010 and 2011 were the second and third highest dust deposition years, respectively, but 2010 was a larger year with 3

Periodic health examination, 1996 update: 1. Prenatal screening for and diagnosis of Down syndrome. Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Dick, P T

1996-02-15

To make recommendations to physicians providing prenatal care on (1) whether prenatal screening for and diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is advisable and (2) alternative screening and diagnosis manoeuvres. "Triple-marker" screening of maternal serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin and unconjugated estriol; fetal ultrasonographic examination; amniocentesis; and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). Accuracy of detection of DS in fetuses, and risks to the mother, including psychologic distress, and to the fetus from the screening and diagnostic interventions. A MEDLINE search for relevant articles published from Jan. 1, 1966, to Mar. 31, 1994, with the use of MeSH terms "Down syndrome," "prenatal diagnosis," "screening," "prevention," "amniocentesis," "chorionic villus sampling," "ultrasonography," "anxiety," "depression" and "psychological stress" and a manual search of bibliographies, recent issues of key journals and Current Contents. The evidence-based methods and values of the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination were used. A high value was placed on providing pregnant women with the opportunity to determine whether they are carrying a fetus with DS and to make choices concerning the termination of the pregnancy. The economic issues involved are complex and were not considered. Triple-marker screening identifies an estimated 58% of fetuses with DS, but it has an estimated rate of true-positive results of 0.1% and of false-positive results of 3.7% (given a risk cut-off of one chance in 190 of DS). These rates vary with maternal age and the risk cut-off chosen. Women with a known risk of having a fetus with DS (e.g., those who have had a previous child with DS) may benefit from a reduction in anxiety after confirmation that their fetus does not have DS. Screening allows women at low risk of having a child with DS to detect fetuses with the syndrome, but may cause psychologic distress if there is a false-positive screening test

Sugammadex: An Update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ezri Tiberiu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this update is to provide recent knowledge and debates regarding the use of sugammadex in the fields of anesthesia and critical care. The review is not intended to provide a comprehensive description of sugammadex and its clinical use.

Non-linear Bayesian update of PCE coefficients

KAUST Repository

Litvinenko, Alexander

2014-01-06

Given: a physical system modeled by a PDE or ODE with uncertain coefficient q(?), a measurement operator Y (u(q), q), where u(q, ?) uncertain solution. Aim: to identify q(?). The mapping from parameters to observations is usually not invertible, hence this inverse identification problem is generally ill-posed. To identify q(!) we derived non-linear Bayesian update from the variational problem associated with conditional expectation. To reduce cost of the Bayesian update we offer a unctional approximation, e.g. polynomial chaos expansion (PCE). New: We apply Bayesian update to the PCE coefficients of the random coefficient q(?) (not to the probability density function of q).

Non-linear Bayesian update of PCE coefficients

KAUST Repository

Litvinenko, Alexander; Matthies, Hermann G.; Pojonk, Oliver; Rosic, Bojana V.; Zander, Elmar

2014-01-01

Given: a physical system modeled by a PDE or ODE with uncertain coefficient q(?), a measurement operator Y (u(q), q), where u(q, ?) uncertain solution. Aim: to identify q(?). The mapping from parameters to observations is usually not invertible, hence this inverse identification problem is generally ill-posed. To identify q(!) we derived non-linear Bayesian update from the variational problem associated with conditional expectation. To reduce cost of the Bayesian update we offer a unctional approximation, e.g. polynomial chaos expansion (PCE). New: We apply Bayesian update to the PCE coefficients of the random coefficient q(?) (not to the probability density function of q).

Review of Research Shows, Overall, Acupuncture Did Not Increase Pregnancy Rates with IVF

Science.gov (United States)

... did seem to increase pregnancy success rates at IVF clinics with baseline pregnancy rates that were lower than 32 percent. This review, funded in part by NCCAM, was published online in the journal Human Reproduction Update. The review analyzed 16 randomized controlled clinical ...

Characterizing the transplanar and in-plane water transport properties of fabrics under different sweat rate: Forced Flow Water Transport Tester

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, K. P. M.; Chau, K. H.; Kan, C. W.; Fan, J. T.

2015-11-01

The water absorption and transport properties of fabrics are critical to wear comfort, especially for sportswear and protective clothing. A new testing apparatus, namely Forced Flow Water Transport Tester (FFWTT), was developed for characterizing the transplanar and in-plane wicking properties of fabrics based on gravimetric and image analysis technique. The uniqueness of this instrument is that the rate of water supply is adjustable to simulate varying sweat rates with reference to the specific end-use conditions ranging from sitting, walking, running to other strenuous activities. This instrument is versatile in terms of the types of fabrics that can be tested. Twenty four types of fabrics with varying constructions and surface finishes were tested. The results showed that FFWTT was highly sensitive and reproducible in differentiating these fabrics and it suggests that water absorption and transport properties of fabrics are sweat rate-dependent. Additionally, two graphic methods were proposed to map the direction of liquid transport and its relation to skin wetness, which provides easy and direct comparison among different fabrics. Correlation analysis showed that FFWTT results have strong correlation with subjective wetness sensation, implying validity and usefulness of the instrument.

The application of force-sensing resistor sensors for measuring forces developed by the human hand.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikonovas, A; Harrison, A J L; Hoult, S; Sammut, D

2004-01-01

Most attempts to measure forces developed by the human hand have been implemented by placing force sensors on the object of interaction. Other researchers have placed sensors just on the subject's fingertips. In this paper, a system is described that measures forces over the entire hand using thin-film sensors and associated electronics. This system was developed by the authors and is able to obtain force readings from up to 60 thin-film sensors at rates of up to 400 samples/s per sensor. The sensors can be placed anywhere on the palm and/or fingers of the hand. The sensor readings, together with a video stream containing information about hand posture, are logged into a portable computer using a multiplexer, analogue-to-digital converter and software developed for the purpose. The system has been successfully used to measure forces involved in a range of everyday tasks such as driving a vehicle, lifting saucepans and hitting a golf ball. In the latter case, results are compared with those from an instrumented golf club. Future applications include the assessment of hand strength following disease, trauma or surgery, and to enable quantitative ergonomic investigations.

AN UPDATED {sup 6}Li(p, {alpha}){sup 3}He REACTION RATE AT ASTROPHYSICAL ENERGIES WITH THE TROJAN HORSE METHOD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamia, L.; Spitaleri, C.; Sergi, M. L. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universita di Catania, I-95123 Catania (Italy); Pizzone, R. G.; Tumino, A.; La Cognata, M. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, I-95125 Catania (Italy); Tognelli, E.; Degl' Innocenti, S.; Prada Moroni, P. G. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Pappalardo, L. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Universita di Ferrara, I-44100 Ferrara (Italy)

2013-05-01

The lithium problem influencing primordial and stellar nucleosynthesis is one of the most interesting unsolved issues in astrophysics. {sup 6}Li is the most fragile of lithium's stable isotopes and is largely destroyed in most stars during the pre-main-sequence (PMS) phase. For these stars, the convective envelope easily reaches, at least at its bottom, the relatively low {sup 6}Li ignition temperature. Thus, gaining an understanding of {sup 6}Li depletion also gives hints about the extent of convective regions. For this reason, charged-particle-induced reactions in lithium have been the subject of several studies. Low-energy extrapolations of these studies provide information about both the zero-energy astrophysical S(E) factor and the electron screening potential, U{sub e} . Thanks to recent direct measurements, new estimates of the {sup 6}Li(p, {alpha}){sup 3}He bare-nucleus S(E) factor and the corresponding U{sub e} value have been obtained by applying the Trojan Horse method to the {sup 2}H({sup 6}Li, {alpha} {sup 3}He)n reaction in quasi-free kinematics. The calculated reaction rate covers the temperature window 0.01 to 2T{sub 9} and its impact on the surface lithium depletion in PMS models with different masses and metallicities has been evaluated in detail by adopting an updated version of the FRANEC evolutionary code.

Update of CERN exchange network

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

An update of the CERN exchange network will be done next April. Disturbances or even interruptions of telephony services may occur from 4th to 24th April during evenings from 18:30 to 00:00 but will not exceed more than 4 consecutive hours (see tentative planning below). In addition, the voice messaging system will be shut down on March, 26th April from 18:00 to 00:00. Calls supposed to be routed to the voice messaging system will not be possible during the shutdown. CERN divisions are invited to avoid any change requests (set-ups, move or removals) of telephones and fax machines from 4th to 25th April. Everything will be done to minimize potential inconveniences which may occur during this update. There will be no loss of telephone functionalities. CERN GSM portable phones won't be affected by this change. Should you need more details, please send us your questions by email to Standard.Telephone@cern.ch. Date Change type Affected areas March 26 Update of the voice messaging system All CERN sites April...

Updating and test on 12 kA HTSCL for Russia JINR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Tingzhi; Ding, K; Liu, C; Xu, C; Feng, H; Wu, H; Liu, X; Song, Y

2014-01-01

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) started manufacture and test of superconducting magnets for the new accelerator complex Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA). A pair of current leads rated 12 kA was developed for cold testing of the magnets in 2012. The operation of the facility needs ∼350 leads rated from 100 A to 12 kA to convey current for the magnets. After the test of the pair of 12 kA leads in JINR a contract of supplying 3 pairs of 12 kA high temperature superconducting current leads (HTSCLs) were signed to ASIPP this year. In this paper the design updating and test of the current leads are introduced.

Taking nanomedicine teaching into practice with atomic force microscopy and force spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Filomena A; Freitas, Teresa; Santos, Nuno C

2015-12-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a useful and powerful tool to study molecular interactions applied to nanomedicine. The aim of the present study was to implement a hands-on atomic AFM course for graduated biosciences and medical students. The course comprises two distinct practical sessions, where students get in touch with the use of an atomic force microscope by performing AFM scanning images of human blood cells and force spectroscopy measurements of the fibrinogen-platelet interaction. Since the beginning of this course, in 2008, the overall rating by the students was 4.7 (out of 5), meaning a good to excellent evaluation. Students were very enthusiastic and produced high-quality AFM images and force spectroscopy data. The implementation of the hands-on AFM course was a success, giving to the students the opportunity of contact with a technique that has a wide variety of applications on the nanomedicine field. In the near future, nanomedicine will have remarkable implications in medicine regarding the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of different diseases. AFM enables students to observe single molecule interactions, enabling the understanding of molecular mechanisms of different physiological and pathological processes at the nanoscale level. Therefore, the introduction of nanomedicine courses in bioscience and medical school curricula is essential. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic coasts

Science.gov (United States)

Himmelstoss, Emily A.; Kratzmann, Meredith G.; Thieler, E. Robert

2017-07-18

Long-term rates of shoreline change for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic regions of the United States have been updated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Assessment of Shoreline Change project. Additional shoreline position data were used to compute rates where the previous rate-of-change assessment only included four shoreline positions at a given location. The long-term shoreline change rates also incorporate the proxy-datum bias correction to account for the unidirectional onshore bias of the proxy-based high water line shorelines relative to the datum-based mean high water shorelines. The calculation of uncertainty associated with the long-term average rates has also been updated to match refined methods used in other study regions of the National Assessment project. The average rates reported here have a reduced amount of uncertainty relative to those presented in the previous assessments for these two regions.

Control of Interference during Working Memory Updating

Science.gov (United States)

Szmalec, Arnaud; Verbruggen, Frederick; Vandierendonck, Andre; Kemps, Eva

2011-01-01

The current study examined the nature of the processes underlying working memory updating. In 4 experiments using the n-back paradigm, the authors demonstrate that continuous updating of items in working memory prevents strong binding of those items to their contexts in working memory, and hence leads to an increased susceptibility to proactive…

Crack growth in the creep region: criteria based on material forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roche, R.L.

1984-12-01

Meaning of C* concept is discussed. It is shown that this concept is only a global approach of material force rate concept. The field of Csub(i)sup(*) (material force rate densities) is more representative of creep crack growth than C* integral. As application corrected expressions of C* are proposed for non isothermal cases, strain hardening creep and effect of material elasticity

Application of Real Time Models Updating in ABO Central Field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heikal, S.; Adewale, D.; Doghmi, A.; Augustine, U.

2003-01-01

ABO central field is the first deep offshore oil production in Nigeria located in OML 125 (ex-OPL316). The field was developed in a water depth of between 500 and 800 meters. Deep-water development requires much faster data handling and model updates in order to make the best possible technical decision. This required an easy way to incorporate the latest information and dynamic update of the reservoir model enabling real time reservoir management. The paper aims at discussing the benefits of real time static and dynamic model update and illustrates with a horizontal well example how this update was beneficial prior and during the drilling operation minimizing the project CAPEX Prior to drilling, a 3D geological model was built based on seismic and offset wells' data. The geological model was updated twice, once after the pilot hole drilling and then after reaching the landing point and prior drilling the horizontal section .Forward modeling ws made was well using the along the planned trajectory. During the drilling process both geo- steering and LWD data were loaded in real time to the 3D modeling software. The data was analyzed and compared with the predicted model. The location of markers was changed as drilling progressed and the entire 3D Geological model was rapidly updated. The target zones were revaluated in the light of the new model updates. Recommendations were communicated to the field, and the well trajectory was modified to take into account the new information. The combination of speed, flexibility and update-ability of the 3D modeling software enabled continues geological model update on which the asset team based their trajectory modification decisions throughout the drilling phase. The well was geo-steered through 7 meters thickness of sand. After the drilling, the testing showed excellent results with a productivity and fluid properties data were used to update the dynamic model reviewing the well production plateau providing optimum reservoir

Development of the Nonstationary Incremental Analysis Update Algorithm for Sequential Data Assimilation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoo-Geun Ham

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study introduces a modified version of the incremental analysis updates (IAU, called the nonstationary IAU (NIAU method, to improve the assimilation accuracy of the IAU while keeping the continuity of the analysis. Similar to the IAU, the NIAU is designed to add analysis increments at every model time step to improve the continuity in the intermittent data assimilation. However, unlike the IAU, the NIAU procedure uses time-evolved forcing using the forward operator as corrections to the model. The solution of the NIAU is superior to that of the forward IAU, of which analysis is performed at the beginning of the time window for adding the IAU forcing, in terms of the accuracy of the analysis field. It is because, in the linear systems, the NIAU solution equals that in an intermittent data assimilation method at the end of the assimilation interval. To have the filtering property in the NIAU, a forward operator to propagate the increment is reconstructed with only dominant singular vectors. An illustration of those advantages of the NIAU is given using the simple 40-variable Lorenz model.

Effect of asynchronous updating on the stability of cellular automata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baetens, J.M.; Van der Weeën, P.; De Baets, B.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► An upper bound on the Lyapunov exponent of asynchronously updated CA is established. ► The employed update method has repercussions on the stability of CAs. ► A decision on the employed update method should be taken with care. ► Substantial discrepancies arise between synchronously and asynchronously updated CA. ► Discrepancies between different asynchronous update schemes are less pronounced. - Abstract: Although cellular automata (CAs) were conceptualized as utter discrete mathematical models in which the states of all their spatial entities are updated simultaneously at every consecutive time step, i.e. synchronously, various CA-based models that rely on so-called asynchronous update methods have been constructed in order to overcome the limitations that are tied up with the classical way of evolving CAs. So far, only a few researchers have addressed the consequences of this way of updating on the evolved spatio-temporal patterns, and the reachable stationary states. In this paper, we exploit Lyapunov exponents to determine to what extent the stability of the rules within a family of totalistic CAs is affected by the underlying update method. For that purpose, we derive an upper bound on the maximum Lyapunov exponent of asynchronously iterated CAs, and show its validity, after which we present a comparative study between the Lyapunov exponents obtained for five different update methods, namely one synchronous method and four well-established asynchronous methods. It is found that the stability of CAs is seriously affected if one of the latter methods is employed, whereas the discrepancies arising between the different asynchronous methods are far less pronounced and, finally, we discuss the repercussions of our findings on the development of CA-based models.

A comparison of updating algorithms for large N reduced models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez, Margarita García [Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, E-28049-Madrid (Spain); González-Arroyo, Antonio [Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, E-28049-Madrid (Spain); Departamento de Física Teórica, C-XI Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,E-28049 Madrid (Spain); Keegan, Liam [PH-TH, CERN,CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Okawa, Masanori [Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University,Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Core of Research for the Energetic Universe, Hiroshima University,Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Ramos, Alberto [PH-TH, CERN,CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland)

2015-06-29

We investigate Monte Carlo updating algorithms for simulating SU(N) Yang-Mills fields on a single-site lattice, such as for the Twisted Eguchi-Kawai model (TEK). We show that performing only over-relaxation (OR) updates of the gauge links is a valid simulation algorithm for the Fabricius and Haan formulation of this model, and that this decorrelates observables faster than using heat-bath updates. We consider two different methods of implementing the OR update: either updating the whole SU(N) matrix at once, or iterating through SU(2) subgroups of the SU(N) matrix, we find the same critical exponent in both cases, and only a slight difference between the two.

A comparison of updating algorithms for large $N$ reduced models

CERN Document Server

Pérez, Margarita García; Keegan, Liam; Okawa, Masanori; Ramos, Alberto

2015-01-01

We investigate Monte Carlo updating algorithms for simulating $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills fields on a single-site lattice, such as for the Twisted Eguchi-Kawai model (TEK). We show that performing only over-relaxation (OR) updates of the gauge links is a valid simulation algorithm for the Fabricius and Haan formulation of this model, and that this decorrelates observables faster than using heat-bath updates. We consider two different methods of implementing the OR update: either updating the whole $SU(N)$ matrix at once, or iterating through $SU(2)$ subgroups of the $SU(N)$ matrix, we find the same critical exponent in both cases, and only a slight difference between the two.

Biased Brownian dynamics for rate constant calculation.

OpenAIRE

Zou, G; Skeel, R D; Subramaniam, S

2000-01-01

An enhanced sampling method-biased Brownian dynamics-is developed for the calculation of diffusion-limited biomolecular association reaction rates with high energy or entropy barriers. Biased Brownian dynamics introduces a biasing force in addition to the electrostatic force between the reactants, and it associates a probability weight with each trajectory. A simulation loses weight when movement is along the biasing force and gains weight when movement is against the biasing force. The sampl...

Energy Economic Data Base (EEDB) Program: Phase VI update (1983) report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-09-01

This update of the Energy Economic Data Base is the latest in a series of technical and cost studies prepared by United Engineers and Constructors Inc., during the last 18 years. The data base was developed during 1978 and has been updated annually since then. The purpose of the updates has been to reflect the impact of changing regulations and technology on the costs of electric power generating stations. This Phase VI (Sixth) Update report documents the results of the 1983 EEDB Program update effort. The latest effort was a comprehensive update of the technical and capital cost information for the pressurized water reactor, boiling water reactor, and liquid metal fast breeder reactor nuclear power plant data models and for the 800 MWe and 500 MWe high sulfur coal-fired power plant data models. The update provided representative costs for these nuclear and coal-fired power plants for the 1980's. In addition, the updated nuclear power plant data models for the 1980's were modified to provide anticipated costs for nuclear power plants for the 1990's. Consequently, the Phase VI Update has continued to provide important benchmark information through which technical and capital cost trends may be identified that have occurred since January 1, 1978

Indoor Spatial Updating with Reduced Visual Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Legge, Gordon E; Gage, Rachel; Baek, Yihwa; Bochsler, Tiana M

2016-01-01

Spatial updating refers to the ability to keep track of position and orientation while moving through an environment. People with impaired vision may be less accurate in spatial updating with adverse consequences for indoor navigation. In this study, we asked how artificial restrictions on visual acuity and field size affect spatial updating, and also judgments of the size of rooms. Normally sighted young adults were tested with artificial restriction of acuity in Mild Blur (Snellen 20/135) and Severe Blur (Snellen 20/900) conditions, and a Narrow Field (8°) condition. The subjects estimated the dimensions of seven rectangular rooms with and without these visual restrictions. They were also guided along three-segment paths in the rooms. At the end of each path, they were asked to estimate the distance and direction to the starting location. In Experiment 1, the subjects walked along the path. In Experiment 2, they were pushed in a wheelchair to determine if reduced proprioceptive input would result in poorer spatial updating. With unrestricted vision, mean Weber fractions for room-size estimates were near 20%. Severe Blur but not Mild Blur yielded larger errors in room-size judgments. The Narrow Field was associated with increased error, but less than with Severe Blur. There was no effect of visual restriction on estimates of distance back to the starting location, and only Severe Blur yielded larger errors in the direction estimates. Contrary to expectation, the wheelchair subjects did not exhibit poorer updating performance than the walking subjects, nor did they show greater dependence on visual condition. If our results generalize to people with low vision, severe deficits in acuity or field will adversely affect the ability to judge the size of indoor spaces, but updating of position and orientation may be less affected by visual impairment.

Indoor Spatial Updating with Reduced Visual Information.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon E Legge

Full Text Available Spatial updating refers to the ability to keep track of position and orientation while moving through an environment. People with impaired vision may be less accurate in spatial updating with adverse consequences for indoor navigation. In this study, we asked how artificial restrictions on visual acuity and field size affect spatial updating, and also judgments of the size of rooms.Normally sighted young adults were tested with artificial restriction of acuity in Mild Blur (Snellen 20/135 and Severe Blur (Snellen 20/900 conditions, and a Narrow Field (8° condition. The subjects estimated the dimensions of seven rectangular rooms with and without these visual restrictions. They were also guided along three-segment paths in the rooms. At the end of each path, they were asked to estimate the distance and direction to the starting location. In Experiment 1, the subjects walked along the path. In Experiment 2, they were pushed in a wheelchair to determine if reduced proprioceptive input would result in poorer spatial updating.With unrestricted vision, mean Weber fractions for room-size estimates were near 20%. Severe Blur but not Mild Blur yielded larger errors in room-size judgments. The Narrow Field was associated with increased error, but less than with Severe Blur. There was no effect of visual restriction on estimates of distance back to the starting location, and only Severe Blur yielded larger errors in the direction estimates. Contrary to expectation, the wheelchair subjects did not exhibit poorer updating performance than the walking subjects, nor did they show greater dependence on visual condition.If our results generalize to people with low vision, severe deficits in acuity or field will adversely affect the ability to judge the size of indoor spaces, but updating of position and orientation may be less affected by visual impairment.

Population and labour force growth and patterns in ASEAN countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Saw, S

1988-01-01

"The paper shows that the diverse labor dimensions prevailing in the ASEAN region can be attributed to changes in the structure of the society and economy in the course of recent economic development. It observes the considerable variety in the growth of the population and its effect on the labor force in the ASEAN region.... The paper details the similarity and diversity in the level and type of labor force participation rates. A common feature shared by ASEAN countries is a general pattern in the age-specific participation rate of men. In contrast, the women, aside from participating in the labor force at a much lower level than men at almost all ages, display diverse patterns of participation over the working age range. Lastly, the distribution of the labor force according to major industrial sectors in the six ASEAN countries is presented...." excerpt

Impact of the updating scheme on stationary states of networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radicchi, F; Ahn, Y Y; Meyer-Ortmanns, H

2008-01-01

From Boolean networks it is well known that the number of attractors as a function of the system size depends on the updating scheme which is chosen either synchronously or asynchronously. In this contribution, we report on a systematic interpolation between synchronous and asynchronous updating in a one-dimensional chain of Ising spins. The stationary state for fully synchronous updating is antiferromagnetic. The interpolation allows us to locate a phase transition between phases with an absorbing and a fluctuating stationary state. The associated universality class is that of parity conservation. We also report on a more recent study of asynchronous updates applied to the yeast cell-cycle network. Compared to the synchronous update, the basin of attraction of the largest attractor considerably shrinks and the convergence to the biological pathway slows down and is less dominant. Both examples illustrate how sensitively the stationary states and the properties of attractors can depend on the updating mode of the algorithm

Map updates in a dynamic Voronoi data structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mioc, Darka; Antón Castro, Francesc/François; Gold, C. M.

2006-01-01

In this paper we are using local and sequential map updates in the Voronoi data structure, which allows us to automatically record each event and performed map updates within the system. These map updates are executed through map construction commands that are composed of atomic actions (geometric...... algorithms for addition, deletion, and motion of spatial objects) on the dynamic Voronoi data structure. The formalization of map commands led to the development of a spatial language comprising a set of atomic operations or constructs on spatial primitives (points and lines), powerful enough to define...

Medicare and Medicaid programs; CY 2015 Home Health Prospective Payment System rate update; Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements; and survey and enforcement requirements for home health agencies. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-11-06

This final rule updates Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor under the Medicare prospective payment system for home health agencies (HHAs), effective for episodes ending on or after January 1, 2015. As required by the Affordable Care Act, this rule implements the second year of the four-year phase-in of the rebasing adjustments to the HH PPS payment rates. This rule provides information on our efforts to monitor the potential impacts of the rebasing adjustments and the Affordable Care Act mandated face-to-face encounter requirement. This rule also implements: Changes to simplify the face-to-face encounter regulatory requirements; changes to the HH PPS case-mix weights; changes to the home health quality reporting program requirements; changes to simplify the therapy reassessment timeframes; a revision to the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) personnel qualifications; minor technical regulations text changes; and limitations on the reviewability of the civil monetary penalty provisions. Finally, this rule also discusses Medicare coverage of insulin injections under the HH PPS, the delay in the implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), and a HH value-based purchasing (HH VBP) model.

The US Air Force suicide prevention program: implications for public health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Knox, Kerry L; Pflanz, Steven; Talcott, Gerald W; Campise, Rick L; Lavigne, Jill E; Bajorska, Alina; Tu, Xin; Caine, Eric D

2010-12-01

We evaluated the effectiveness of the US Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) in reducing suicide, and we measured the extent to which air force installations implemented the program. We determined the AFSPP's impact on suicide rates in the air force by applying an intervention regression model to data from 1981 through 2008, providing 16 years of data before the program's 1997 launch and 11 years of data after launch. Also, we measured implementation of program components at 2 points in time: during a 2004 increase in suicide rates, and 2 years afterward. Suicide rates in the air force were significantly lower after the AFSPP was launched than before, except during 2004. We also determined that the program was being implemented less rigorously in 2004. The AFSPP effectively prevented suicides in the US Air Force. The long-term effectiveness of this program depends upon extensive implementation and effective monitoring of implementation. Suicides can be reduced through a multilayered, overlapping approach that encompasses key prevention domains and tracks implementation of program activities.

An update on renal replacement therapy in Europe: ERA-EDTA Registry data from 1997 to 2006

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kramer, Anneke; Stel, Vianda; Zoccali, Carmine; Heaf, James; Ansell, David; Grönhagen-Riska, Carola; Leivestad, Torbjørn; Simpson, Keith; Pálsson, Runólfur; Postorino, Maurizio; Jager, Kitty

2009-01-01

Background. Recent studies have indicated a stabilization in the incidence rates of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in a number of European countries. The aim of this study was to provide an update on the incidence, prevalence and outcomes of RRT in Europe over the

Key Techniques for Dynamic Updating of National Fundamental Geographic Information Database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Donghua

2015-07-01

Full Text Available One of the most important missions of fundamental surveying and mapping work is to keep the fundamental geographic information fresh. In this respect, National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation has launched the project of dynamic updating of national fundamental geographic information database since 2012, which aims to update 1:50 000, 1:250 000 and 1:1 000 000 national fundamental geographic information database continuously and quickly, by updating and publishing once a year. This paper introduces the general technical thinking of dynamic updating, states main technical methods, such as dynamic updating of fundamental database, linkage updating of derived databases, and multi-tense database management and service and so on, and finally introduces main technical characteristics and engineering applications.

Interstate Migrant Education Task Force: Migrant Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Education Commission of the States, Denver, CO.

Because ill-clothed, sick, or hungry migrant children learn poorly, the Task Force has emphasized the migrant health situation in 1979. Migrant workers have a 33% shorter life expectancy, a 25% higher infant mortality rate, and a 25% higher death rate from tuberculosis and other communicable diseases than the national average. Common among…

Employment: Labor Force Status (1983-2012)

Data.gov (United States)

Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — Civilian labor force data consists of the number of employed persons, the number of unemployed persons, an unemployment rate and the total count of both employed and...

42 CFR 412.308 - Determining and updating the Federal rate.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

..., changes in the case mix index, the effect of changes to DRG classification and relative weights, and... increase attributable to changes in case mix. (ii) Effective FY 1996. Effective FY 1996, the standard... under the Federal rate for outlier cases under subpart F of this part, determined as a proportion of...

Statistical and perceptual updating: correlated impairments in right brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Stöttinger, Elisabeth; Filipowicz, Alex; Marandi, Elahe; Quehl, Nadine; Danckert, James; Anderson, Britt

2014-06-01

It has been hypothesized that many of the cognitive impairments commonly seen after right brain damage (RBD) can be characterized as a failure to build or update mental models. We (Danckert et al. in Neglect as a disorder of representational updating. NOVA Open Access, New York, 2012a; Cereb Cortex 22:2745-2760, 2012b) were the first to directly assess the association between RBD and updating and found that RBD patients were unable to exploit a strongly biased play strategy in their opponent in the children's game rock, paper, scissors. Given that this game required many other cognitive capacities (i.e., working memory, sustained attention, reward processing), RBD patients could have failed this task for various reasons other than a failure to update. To assess the generality of updating deficits after RBD, we had RBD, left brain-damaged (LBD) patients and healthy controls (HCs) describe line drawings that evolved gradually from one figure (e.g., rabbit) to another (e.g., duck) in addition to the RPS updating task. RBD patients took significantly longer to alter their perceptual report from the initial object to the final object than did LBD patients and HCs. Although both patient groups performed poorly on the RPS task, only the RBD patients showed a significant correlation between the two, very different, updating tasks. We suggest these data indicate a general deficiency in the ability to update mental representations following RBD.

Reduced Dietary Sodium Intake Increases Heart Rate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Graudal, Niels A; Hubeck-Graudal, Thorbjørn; Jürgens, Gesche

2016-01-01

Reduced dietary sodium intake (sodium reduction) increases heart rate in some studies of animals and humans. As heart rate is independently associated with the development of heart failure and increased risk of premature death a potential increase in heart rate could be a harmful side......-effect of sodium reduction. The purpose of the present meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of sodium reduction on heart rate. Relevant studies were retrieved from an updated pool of 176 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the period 1973-2014. Sixty-three of the RCTs including 72 study...... populations reported data on heart rate. In a meta-analysis of these data sodium reduction increased heart rate with 1.65 beats per minute [95% CI: 1.19, 2.11], p heart rate. This effect was independent of baseline blood pressure. In conclusion sodium reduction...

The properties and interrelationships of various force-time parameters during maximal repeated rhythmic grip.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakada, Masakatsu; Demura, Shinichi; Yamaji, Shunsuke

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the properties and interrelationships of various force-time parameters including the inflection point for the rate of decline in force during a maximal repeated rhythmic grip. Fifteen healthy males (age M=21.5, SD=2.1 yr, height M=172.4, SD=5.7 cm, body mass M=68.2, SD=9.2 kg) participated in this study. Subjects performed a maximal repeated rhythmic grip with maximal effort with a target frequency of 30 grip.min(-1) for 6 min. The force value decreased linearly and markedly until about 70% of maximal strength for about 55 s after the onset of a maximal repeated rhythmic grip, and then decreased moderately. Because all parameters showed fair or good correlations between 3 min and 6 min, they are considered to be able to sufficiently evaluate muscle endurance for 3 min instead of 6 min. However, there were significant differences between 3 min and 6 min in the integrated area, the final force, the rate of the decrement constant (k) fitting the force decreasing data to y=ae(-kx)+b and the force of maximal difference between the force and a straight line from peak force to the final force. Their parameters may vary generally by the length of a steady state, namely, a measurement time. The final force value before finishing and the rate of the decrement constant (k) reflect the latter phase during a maximal repeated rhythmic grip. Although many parameters show relatively high mutual relationships, the rate constant (k) shows relatively low correlations with other parameters. We inferred that decreasing the time until 80% of maximal strength and the amount of the decrement force for the first 1 min reflect a linear decrease in the initial phase.

Estimating product-to-product variations in metal forming using force measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Havinga, Jos; van den Boogaard, Ton

2017-10-01

The limits of production accuracy of metal forming processes can be stretched by the development of control systems for compensation of product-to-product variations. Such systems require the use of measurements from each semi-finished product. These measurements must be used to estimate the final quality of each product. We propose to predict part of the product-to-product variations in multi-stage forming processes based on force measurements from previous process stages. The reasoning is that final product properties as well as process forces are expected to be correlated since they are both affected by material and process variation. In this study, an approach to construct a moving window process model based on historical data from the process is presented. These regression models can be built and updated in real-time during production. The approach is tested with data from a demonstrator process with cutting, deep drawing and bending stages. It is shown that part of the product-to-product variations in the process can be predicted with the developed process model.

Improved heavy oil recovery by low rate waterflooding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mai, A. [Laricina Energy Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Kantzas, A. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Tomographic Imaging and Porous Media Laboratory

2008-10-15

Waterflooding techniques are frequently used to recover oil in low viscosity or marginal heavy oil reservoirs. This paper described a low-rate waterflooding oil recovery mechanism. The mechanism was determined by examining the effect of sand permeability on the impact of viscous force contributions. Changes in permeability and injection rates parameters were studied in order to evaluate the significance of imbibition, and a method of quantifying the effect of capillary forces was presented. The mechanism was demonstrated in an experimental study that used sand packs of varying permeabilities wet-packed into cores with overburden pressures. A fixed injection rate was used to investigate waterflooding in the different permeability systems with 2 different oils. Overall recovery rates were examined as a function of injection velocity. An analysis of normalized oil production rates demonstrated that viscous forces are more important during the early phases of waterflooding. The study showed that breakthrough oil recovery values increased with higher permeability values. However, when injection rates were reduced to low frontal velocity values, the correlation between sand permeability and breakthrough oil recovery resulted in low permeability rates. Lower permeability porous media resulted in more restrictive flow conditions. However, the capillary force components increased as a result of the smaller pore sizes, which in turn led to enhanced water imbibition and higher oil recovery values after water breakthrough. It was concluded that waterflooding rates can be modified later in the recovery process in order to improve final oil recovery values. 21 refs., 3 tabs., 11 figs.

Supporting Frequent Updates in R-Trees: A Bottom-Up Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Mong Li; Hsu, Wynne; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

2003-01-01

Advances in hardware-related technologies promise to enable new data management applications that monitor continuous processes. In these applications, enormous amounts of state samples are obtained via sensors and are streamed to a database. Further, updates are very frequent and may exhibit...... and aims to improve update performance. It has different levels of reorganization—ranging from global to local—during updates, avoiding expensive top-down updates. A compact main-memory summary structure that allows direct access to the R-tree index nodes is used together with efficient bottom...

The distance effect in numerical memory-updating tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lendínez, Cristina; Pelegrina, Santiago; Lechuga, Teresa

2011-05-01

Two experiments examined the role of numerical distance in updating numerical information in working memory. In the first experiment, participants had to memorize a new number only when it was smaller than a previously memorized number. In the second experiment, updating was based on an external signal, which removed the need to perform any numerical comparison. In both experiments, distance between the memorized number and the new one was manipulated. The results showed that smaller distances between the new and the old information led to shorter updating times. This graded facilitation suggests that the process by which information is substituted in the focus of attention involves maintaining the shared features between the new and the old number activated and selecting other new features to be activated. Thus, the updating cost may be related to amount of new features to be activated in the focus of attention.

77 FR 45539 - Great Lakes Pilotage Rates-2013 Annual Review and Adjustment

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

... Multiplier for Basic Rates and Charges in 46 CFR 401.420 and 401.428 Ratemaking Projections Total Revenue... and are made in accordance with a required full ratemaking procedure. The proposed update reflects... adjusted each year, not later than March 1. Base rates must be established by a full ratemaking at least...

Intelligent measurement and compensation of linear motor force ripple: a projection-based learning approach in the presence of noise

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Song, Fazhi; Yang, Xiaofeng; Dong, Yue; Tan, Jiubin

2018-06-01

Due to their structural simplicity, linear motors are increasingly receiving attention for use in high velocity and high precision applications. The force ripple, as a space-periodic disturbance, however, would deteriorate the achievable dynamic performance. Conventional force ripple measurement approaches are time-consuming and have high requirements on the experimental conditions. In this paper, a novel learning identification algorithm is proposed for force ripple intelligent measurement and compensation. Existing identification schemes always use all the error signals to update the parameters in the force ripple. However, the error induced by noise is non-effective for force ripple identification, and even deteriorates the identification process. In this paper only the most pertinent information in the error signal is utilized for force ripple identification. Firstly, the effective error signals caused by the reference trajectory and the force ripple are extracted by projecting the overall error signals onto a subspace spanned by the physical model of the linear motor as well as the sinusoidal model of the force ripple. The time delay in the linear motor is compensated in the basis functions. Then, a data-driven approach is proposed to design the learning gain. It balances the trade-off between convergence speed and robustness against noise. Simulation and experimental results validate the proposed method and confirm its effectiveness and superiority.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, January/February 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E.; Mayer, S.J.; Salk, M.S.

1995-03-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives impacting environmental, health, and safety management responsibilities. the table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, January/February 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E.; Mayer, S.J.; Salk, M.S.

1995-03-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives impacting environmental, health, and safety management responsibilities. the table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action

UCI2001: The updated catalogue of Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peresan, A.; Panza, G.F.

2002-05-01

A new updated earthquake catalogue for the Italian territory, named UCI2001, is described here; it consists of an updated and revised version of the CCI1996 catalogue (Peresan et al., 1997). The revision essentially corresponds to the incorporation of data from the NEIC (National Earthquake Information Centre) and ALPOR (Catalogo delle Alpi Orientali) catalogues, while the updating is performed using the NEIC Preliminary Determinations of Epicenters since 1986. A brief overview of the catalogues used for the monitoring of seismicity in the Italian area is provided, together with the essential information about the structure of the UCI2001 catalogue and a description of its format. A complete list of the events, as on May 1 2002, is given in the Appendix. (author)

Corrected direct force balance method for atomic force microscopy lateral force calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asay, David B.; Hsiao, Erik; Kim, Seong H.

2009-01-01

This paper reports corrections and improvements of the previously reported direct force balance method (DFBM) developed for lateral calibration of atomic force microscopy. The DFBM method employs the lateral force signal obtained during a force-distance measurement on a sloped surface and relates this signal to the applied load and the slope of the surface to determine the lateral calibration factor. In the original publication [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 043903 (2006)], the tip-substrate contact was assumed to be pinned at the point of contact, i.e., no slip along the slope. In control experiments, the tip was found to slide along the slope during force-distance curve measurement. This paper presents the correct force balance for lateral force calibration.

National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Ann E.; Richmond, Bruce M.

2017-09-25

Long-term rates of shoreline change for the north coast of Alaska, from the U.S.-Canadian border to the Icy Cape region of northern Alaska, have been updated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. Short-term shoreline change rates are reported for the first time. Additional shoreline position data were used to compute rates where the previous rate-of-change assessment only included two shoreline positions at a given location. The calculation of uncertainty associated with the long-term average rates has also been updated to match refined methods used in other study regions of the National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. The average rates of this report have a reduced amount of uncertainty compared to those presented in the first assessment for this region.

Perceived causality, force, and resistance in the absence of launching.

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbard, Timothy L; Ruppel, Susan E

2017-04-01

In the launching effect, a moving object (the launcher) contacts a stationary object (the target), and upon contact, the launcher stops and the target begins moving in the same direction and at the same or slower velocity as previous launcher motion (Michotte, 1946/1963). In the study reported here, participants viewed a modified launching effect display in which the launcher stopped before or at the moment of contact and the target remained stationary. Participants rated perceived causality, perceived force, and perceived resistance of the launcher on the target or the target on the launcher. For launchers and for targets, increases in the size of the spatial gap between the final location of the launcher and the location of the target decreased ratings of perceived causality and ratings of perceived force and increased ratings of perceived resistance. Perceived causality, perceived force, and perceived resistance exhibited gradients or fields extending from the launcher and from the target and were not dependent upon contact of the launcher and target. Causal asymmetries and force asymmetries reported in previous studies did not occur, and this suggests that such asymmetries might be limited to typical launching effect stimuli. Deviations from Newton's laws of motion are noted, and the existence of separate radii of action extending from the launcher and from the target is suggested.

2014 Update of the United States National Seismic Hazard Maps

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, M.D.; Mueller, C.S.; Haller, K.M.; Moschetti, M.; Harmsen, S.C.; Field, E.H.; Rukstales, K.S.; Zeng, Y.; Perkins, D.M.; Powers, P.; Rezaeian, S.; Luco, N.; Olsen, A.; Williams, R.

2012-01-01

The U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps are revised every six years, corresponding with the update cycle of the International Building Code. These maps cover the conterminous U.S. and will be updated in 2014 using the best-available science that is obtained from colleagues at regional and topical workshops, which are convened in 2012-2013. Maps for Alaska and Hawaii will be updated shortly following this update. Alternative seismic hazard models discussed at the workshops will be implemented in a logic tree framework and will be used to develop the seismic hazard maps and associated products. In this paper we describe the plan to update the hazard maps, the issues raised in workshops up to March 2012, and topics that will be discussed at future workshops. An advisory panel will guide the development of the hazard maps and ensure that the maps are acceptable to a broad segment of the science and engineering communities. These updated maps will then be considered by end-users for inclusion in building codes, risk models, and public policy documents.

Memory-guided force control in healthy younger and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Neely, Kristina A; Samimy, Shaadee; Blouch, Samantha L; Wang, Peiyuan; Chennavasin, Amanda; Diaz, Michele T; Dennis, Nancy A

2017-08-01

Successful performance of a memory-guided motor task requires participants to store and then recall an accurate representation of the motor goal. Further, participants must monitor motor output to make adjustments in the absence of visual feedback. The goal of this study was to examine memory-guided grip force in healthy younger and older adults and compare it to performance on behavioral tasks of working memory. Previous work demonstrates that healthy adults decrease force output as a function of time when visual feedback is not available. We hypothesized that older adults would decrease force output at a faster rate than younger adults, due to age-related deficits in working memory. Two groups of participants, younger adults (YA: N = 32, mean age 21.5 years) and older adults (OA: N = 33, mean age 69.3 years), completed four 20-s trials of isometric force with their index finger and thumb, equal to 25% of their maximum voluntary contraction. In the full-vision condition, visual feedback was available for the duration of the trial. In the no vision condition, visual feedback was removed for the last 12 s of each trial. Participants were asked to maintain constant force output in the absence of visual feedback. Participants also completed tasks of word recall and recognition and visuospatial working memory. Counter to our predictions, when visual feedback was removed, younger adults decreased force at a faster rate compared to older adults and the rate of decay was not associated with behavioral performance on tests of working memory.

Sleep bruxism: review and update for the restorative dentist.

Science.gov (United States)

de-la-Hoz, José L

2013-01-01

Sleep bruxism (SB) is a parafunctional oromotor activity that can sometimes pose a threat to the integrity of the structures of the masticatory system if the magnitude and direction of the forces exerted exceed the system's adaptive capacity. Over the years science has tried to provide a consistent explanation of the etiopathogenesis and physiopathology of SB, although the pathophysiological mechanisms are, even now, not fully understood yet. There is at present no specific, effective treatment to permanently eliminate the habit of SB. There are only palliative therapeutic alternatives steered at preventing the pathological effects of SB on the stomatognathic system and alleviating the negative clinical consequences of the habit. The aim of this paper is to review and update the fundamental scientific concepts of SB based on the scientific literature and to furnish an approach to the main types of therapy available, in an attempt to assist the general and restorative dentist to manage those clinical situations in which SB is a significant risk factor for the oral health and/or dental treatment of the patient.

Recent updates and developments to plant genome size databases

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Sònia; Leitch, Ilia J.; Anadon-Rosell, Alba; Canela, Miguel Á.; Gálvez, Francisco; Garnatje, Teresa; Gras, Airy; Hidalgo, Oriane; Johnston, Emmeline; Mas de Xaxars, Gemma; Pellicer, Jaume; Siljak-Yakovlev, Sonja; Vallès, Joan; Vitales, Daniel; Bennett, Michael D.

2014-01-01

Two plant genome size databases have been recently updated and/or extended: the Plant DNA C-values database (http://data.kew.org/cvalues), and GSAD, the Genome Size in Asteraceae database (http://www.asteraceaegenomesize.com). While the first provides information on nuclear DNA contents across land plants and some algal groups, the second is focused on one of the largest and most economically important angiosperm families, Asteraceae. Genome size data have numerous applications: they can be used in comparative studies on genome evolution, or as a tool to appraise the cost of whole-genome sequencing programs. The growing interest in genome size and increasing rate of data accumulation has necessitated the continued update of these databases. Currently, the Plant DNA C-values database (Release 6.0, Dec. 2012) contains data for 8510 species, while GSAD has 1219 species (Release 2.0, June 2013), representing increases of 17 and 51%, respectively, in the number of species with genome size data, compared with previous releases. Here we provide overviews of the most recent releases of each database, and outline new features of GSAD. The latter include (i) a tool to visually compare genome size data between species, (ii) the option to export data and (iii) a webpage containing information about flow cytometry protocols. PMID:24288377

ISS Ambient Air Quality: Updated Inventory of Known Aerosol Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Marit

2014-01-01

Spacecraft cabin air quality is of fundamental importance to crew health, with concerns encompassing both gaseous contaminants and particulate matter. Little opportunity exists for direct measurement of aerosol concentrations on the International Space Station (ISS), however, an aerosol source model was developed for the purpose of filtration and ventilation systems design. This model has successfully been applied, however, since the initial effort, an increase in the number of crewmembers from 3 to 6 and new processes on board the ISS necessitate an updated aerosol inventory to accurately reflect the current ambient aerosol conditions. Results from recent analyses of dust samples from ISS, combined with a literature review provide new predicted aerosol emission rates in terms of size-segregated mass and number concentration. Some new aerosol sources have been considered and added to the existing array of materials. The goal of this work is to provide updated filtration model inputs which can verify that the current ISS filtration system is adequate and filter lifetime targets are met. This inventory of aerosol sources is applicable to other spacecraft, and becomes more important as NASA considers future long term exploration missions, which will preclude the opportunity for resupply of filtration products.

Influence of maglev force relaxation on the forces of bulk HTSC subjected to different lateral displacements above the NdFeB guideway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Yujie; Hou Xiaojing

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → The relaxation properties of maglev forces have been investigated simultaneously. → Influence of relaxation on forces of HTSC subjected to different LDs above PMG is different. → The influence is explained based on motion of flux lines, re/demagnetization of HTSC during LD. → The work provide a scientific analysis for the practical application of the bulk HTSC. - Abstract: This paper studied the influence of maglev force relaxation on the force (both levitation and guidance forces) of bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) subjected to different lateral displacements above a NdFeB guideway. Firstly, the maglev forces relaxation property of bulk HTSC above the permanent-magnet guideway (PMG) was studied experimentally, then the levitation and guidance forces were measured by SCML-2 measurement system synchronously at different lateral displacements, some times later(after relaxation), the forces were measured again as the same way. Compared to the two measured results, it was found that the change of the levitation force was larger compared to the case without relaxation, while the change of the guidance force was smaller. In addition, the rate of change of levitation force and guidance force was different for different maximum lateral displacements. This work provided a scientific analysis for the practical application of the bulk HTS.

Influence of maglev force relaxation on the forces of bulk HTSC subjected to different lateral displacements above the NdFeB guideway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qin Yujie, E-mail: qyjswjtu@vip.sohu.co [Department of Computer and Information Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang, Henan 471023 (China); Hou Xiaojing [Department of Computer and Information Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang, Henan 471023 (China)

2011-02-15

Research highlights: {yields} The relaxation properties of maglev forces have been investigated simultaneously. {yields} Influence of relaxation on forces of HTSC subjected to different LDs above PMG is different. {yields} The influence is explained based on motion of flux lines, re/demagnetization of HTSC during LD. {yields} The work provide a scientific analysis for the practical application of the bulk HTSC. - Abstract: This paper studied the influence of maglev force relaxation on the force (both levitation and guidance forces) of bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) subjected to different lateral displacements above a NdFeB guideway. Firstly, the maglev forces relaxation property of bulk HTSC above the permanent-magnet guideway (PMG) was studied experimentally, then the levitation and guidance forces were measured by SCML-2 measurement system synchronously at different lateral displacements, some times later(after relaxation), the forces were measured again as the same way. Compared to the two measured results, it was found that the change of the levitation force was larger compared to the case without relaxation, while the change of the guidance force was smaller. In addition, the rate of change of levitation force and guidance force was different for different maximum lateral displacements. This work provided a scientific analysis for the practical application of the bulk HTS.

An updated hip fracture projection in Asia: The Asian Federation of Osteoporosis Societies study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ching-Lung Cheung

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Hip fracture is a major public health problem. Earlier studies projected that the total number of hip fracture will increase dramatically by 2050, and most of the hip fracture will occur in Asia. To date, only a few studies provided the updated projection, and none of them focused on the hip fracture projection in Asia. Thus, it is essential to provide the most up to date prediction of hip fracture in Asia, and to evaluate the total direct medical cost of hip fracture in Asia. Methods: We provide the updated projection of hip fracture in 9 Asian Federation of Osteoporosis Societies members using the most updated incidence rate and projected population size. Results: We show that the number of hip fracture will increase from 1,124,060 in 2018 to 2,563,488 in 2050, a 2.28-fold increase. This increase is mainly due to the changes on the population demographics, especially in China and India, which have the largest population size. The direct cost of hip fracture will increase from 9.5 billion United State dollar (USD in 2018 to 15 billion USD in 2050, resulting a 1.59-fold increase. A 2%–3% decrease in incidence rate of hip fracture annually is required to keep the total number of hip fracture constant over time. Conclusions: The results show that hip fracture remains a key public health issue in Asia, despite the available of better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of fracture over the recent years. Healthcare policy in Asia should be aimed to reduce the burden of hip fracture. Keywords: Hip fracture, Asia, Osteoporosis, Incidence

78 FR 26244 - Updating of Employer Identification Numbers

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-06

... Number, or EIN. Employers are required to know the identity of their responsible party. The amount of...-BK02 Updating of Employer Identification Numbers AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury... assigned an employer identification number (EIN) to provide updated information to the IRS in the manner...

76 FR 28194 - Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-16

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY... publishing its proposed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update and solicits comments from... on the proposed fee schedule should be mailed or delivered to the Office of the General Counsel...

75 FR 27228 - Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-14

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD 10 CFR Part 1703 Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update AGENCY... publishing its proposed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee Schedule Update and solicits comments from... on the proposed fee schedule should be mailed or delivered to the Office of the General Counsel...

In-vitro analysis of forces in conventional and ultrasonically assisted drilling of bone.

Science.gov (United States)

Alam, K; Hassan, Edris; Imran, Syed Husain; Khan, Mushtaq

2016-05-12

Drilling of bone is widely performed in orthopaedics for repair and reconstruction of bone. Current paper is focused on the efforts to minimize force generation during the drilling process. Ultrasonically Assisted Drilling (UAD) is a possible option to replace Conventional Drilling (CD) in bone surgical procedures. The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze the effect of drilling parameters and ultrasonic parameters on the level of drilling thrust force in the presence of water irrigation. Drilling tests were performed on young bovine femoral bone using different parameters such as spindle speeds, feed rates, coolant flow rates, frequency and amplitudes of vibrations. The drilling force was significantly dropped with increase in drill rotation speed in both types of drilling. Increase in feed rate was more influential in raising the drilling force in CD compared to UAD. The force was significantly dropped when ultrasonic vibrations up to 10 kHz were imposed on the drill. The drill force was found to be unaffected by the range of amplitudes and the amount of water supplied to the drilling region in UAD. Low frequency vibrations with irrigation can be successfully used for safe and efficient drilling in bone.

Below the Surface: Solving the Hidden Graduation Rate Crisis. Updated

Science.gov (United States)

Cardichon, Jessica; Lovell, Phillip

2015-01-01

The U.S. national high school graduation rate recently reached a record high with 81 percent of the Class of 2013 graduating within four years. While this accomplishment is laudable, it should not obscure the fact that more than 1,200 high schools, serving more than 1.1 million students, still fail to graduate one-third or more of their students…

Heart rate detection from an electronic weighing scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González-Landaeta, R; Casas, O; Pallàs-Areny, R

2008-01-01

We propose a novel technique for beat-to-beat heart rate detection based on the ballistocardiographic (BCG) force signal from a subject standing on a common electronic weighing scale. The detection relies on sensing force variations related to the blood acceleration in the aorta, works even if wearing footwear and does not require any sensors attached to the body because it uses the load cells in the scale. We have devised an approach to estimate the sensitivity and frequency response of three commercial weighing scales to assess their capability to detect the BCG force signal. Static sensitivities ranged from 490 nV V −1 N −1 to 1670 nV V −1 N −1 . The frequency response depended on the subject's mass but it was broad enough for heart rate estimation. We have designed an electronic pulse detection system based on off-the-shelf integrated circuits to sense heart-beat-related force variations of about 0.24 N. The signal-to-noise ratio of the main peaks of the force signal detected was higher than 30 dB. A Bland–Altman plot was used to compare the RR time intervals estimated from the ECG and BCG force signals for 17 volunteers. The error was ±21 ms, which makes the proposed technique suitable for short-term monitoring of the heart rate

WIMS Library updating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravnik, M; Trkov, A [Inst. Jozef Stefan, Ljubljana (Slovenia); Holubar, A [Ustav Jaderneho Vyzkumu CSKAE, Rez (Serbia and Montenegro)

1992-07-01

At the end of 1990 the WIMS Library Update Project (WLUP) has been initiated at the International Atomic Energy Agency. The project was organized as an international research project, coordinated at the J. Stefan Institute. Up to now, 22 laboratories from 19 countries joined the project. Phase 1 of the project, which included WIMS input optimization for five experimental benchmark lattices, has been completed. The work presented in this paper describes also the results of Phase 2 of the Project, in which the cross sections based on ENDF/B-IV evaluated nuclear data library have been processed. (author) [Slovenian] Konec 1990 se je na Mednarodni agenciji za atomsko energijo zacel projekt obnove knjiznice presekov programa WIMS (WIMS Library Updating Project, WLUP). V projektu sodeluje 22 laboratorijev iz 19 drzav, koordiniramo pa ga na Institutu Jozef Stefan. Doslej je koncana faza 1 tega projekta, ki obsega optimizacijo vhodnega modela programa WIMS za pet eksperimentalnih testnih problemov. Podani so tudi rezultati faze 2, v kateri so se procesirali preseki na osnovi ENDF/B-IV datoteke. (author)

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, January--February 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1993-03-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, November--December 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1994-01-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental regulatory update table November--December 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E.; Mayer, S.J.; Salk, M.S.

1995-01-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, May--June 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E.; Salk, M.S.

1994-07-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bimonthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, May/June 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1993-07-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bimonthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental regulatory update table, March--April 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Health Sciences Research Div.; Salk, M.S. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Div.

1994-03-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table July/August 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1993-09-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, March/April 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1993-05-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bimonthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, November--December 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Lewis, E.B.; Salk, M.S.

1993-01-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly wit information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, July--August 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Lewis, E.B.; Salk, M.S.

1992-09-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, September/October 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1993-11-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operation and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, January--February 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.; Danford, G.S.; Lewis, E.B.

1994-03-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations ad contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental regulatory update table, September--October 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Lewis, E.B.; Salk, M.S.

1992-11-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental regulatory update table, July/August 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E.; Salk, M.S.

1994-09-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental Regulatory Update Table, March/April 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Salk, M.S.

1992-05-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

Environmental regulatory update table, July/August 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, L.M.; Hawkins, G.T.; Bock, R.E.; Salk, M.S.

1994-09-01

The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated bi-monthly with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action

Updating radiation protection regulations in Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomaa, M.A.; El-Naggar, A.M.

1996-01-01

The aim of this treatise is to present -the rational steps taken in the process of updating the Radiation Protection Regulations in Egypt. The contents of the review will include a historical synopsis, and the current state of art regarding competent authorities. Furthermore, the various committees formed with responsibilities for specific issues are indicated, including the role of the Ministry of Health (MOH), and that of the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA). Finally, the efforts made towards updating the radiation Protection Regulations in Egypt are highlighted. (author)

Functionalization of gold and nanocrystalline diamond atomic force microscope tips for single molecule force spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Drew, Michael E.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has fueled interest in nanotechnology because of its ability to image surfaces at the nanometer level and act as a molecular force sensor. Functionalization of the surface of an AFM tip surface in a stable, controlled manner expands the capabilities of the AFM and enables additional applications in the fields of single molecule force spectroscopy and nanolithography. Two AFM tip functionalizations are described: the assembly of tripodal molecular tips onto gold AFM tips and the photochemical attachment of terminal alkenes to nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) AFM tips. Two separate tripodal molecules with different linker lengths and a monopodal molecule terminated with biotin were synthesized to attach to a gold AFM tip for single molecule force spectroscopy. The immobilization of these molecules was examined by contact angle measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, infrared, and near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. All three molecules displayed rupture forces that agreed with previously reported values for the biotin--avidin rupture. The tripodal molecular tip displayed narrower distribution in their force histograms than the monopodal molecular tip. The performance of the tripodal molecular tip was compared to the monopodal molecular tip in single molecule force spectroscopy studies. Over repeated measurements, the distribution of forces for the monopodal molecular tip shifted to lower forces, whereas the distribution for the tripodal molecular tip remained constant throughout. Loading rate dependence and control experiments further indicated that the rupture forces of the tripod molecular tips were specific to the biotin--NeutrAvidin interaction. The second functionalization method used the photochemical attachment of undecylenic acid to NCD AFM tips. The photochemical attachment of undecylenic acid to hydrogen-terminated NCD wafer surfaces was investigated by contact angle measurements, x

National Pediatric Program Update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The book of the National Pediatric Program Update, issued by the Argentina Society of Pediatrics, describes important issues, including: effective treatment of addictions (drugs); defects of the neural tube; and the use of radiation imaging in diagnosis. [es

77 FR 33980 - Proposed FOIA Fee Schedule Update

Science.gov (United States)