Geometric modeling with rational B-spline surfaces

Issued as Final report, Project no. E-25-67

Alien Registration- Boulet, Mary A. (Auburn, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/30760/thumbnail.jp

Structural Modeling of the Next Generation Space Telescope's Primary Mirror

In recent years, astronomical observations made with space telescopes have dramatically increased our understanding of the history of the universe. In particular, the cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have yielded observations that cannot be achieved at ground-based observatories. We now have views of the universe before galaxies existed (from COBE) and views of young galaxies (from HST). But none of the existing observatories can provide views of the period in which the galaxies were born, about 100 million to one billion years after the "big bang". NASA expects the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) to fill this gap. An investigation into the structural modeling of the primary mirror of the NGST, its methodology and results are presented

Determinants of lung function changes in athletic swimmers. A review.

To summarise lung function characteristics of athletic swimmers and discuss mechanisms explaining these changes while putting forward the lack of a clear understanding of the precise physiological factors implicated. Literature search until 07.2021 on Medline and EMBASE using keywords swimming, athletes, respiratory physiology, lung development, lung function tests. Relevant articles in French and English were reviewed. We found insufficient data to perform a meta-analysis. However, there is evidence that swimmers have better expiratory flows and increased baseline lung volumes than non-athletes or non-swimmers. Although these features can result from changes in lung development following intense training over the years, the contribution of a genetic predisposition and positive selection cannot be totally excluded. Disentangling the participation of constitutional factors and years of hard training to explain the larger lung volumes of athletic swimmers is in favour of an adaptative response of the lungs to early swim training through modification of the pathway of lung development. There seems to be an optimal window of opportunity before the end of growth for these adaptational changes to occur. Precise mechanisms, and contribution of adaptative change on lung physiology, remain to be further studied

Magnetic and electrical properties of dhcp NpPd3 and U(1-x)Np(x)Pd3

We have made an extensive study of the magnetic and electrical properties of double-hexagonal closepacked NpPd3 and a range of U(1-x)Np(x)Pd3 compounds with x=0.01, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.50 using magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, and heat capacity measurements on polycrystalline samples, performed in the temperature range 2-300 K and in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Two transitions are observed in NpPd3 at T=10 and 30 K. Dilute Np samples (x<0.05) exhibit quadrupolar transitions, with the transition temperatures reduced from those of pure UPd3.Comment: 10 pages, 18 figure

On radiative transfer in water spray curtains using the discrete ordinates method

International audienc

An evaluation of a general model for individualizing instruction

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement and assess the\ud effectiveness of a general model for individualizing instruction in terms of\ud its effects on:\ud (i) students' academic achievement\ud (ii) students' attitudes towards a subject\ud (iii) teachers' attitudes towards students\ud The need to develop a general model for individualizing instruction\ud was deduced from an analysis of current models and procedures of individualization.\ud The model is aimed at understanding individualized teaching and at\ud the same time catering to individualized learning. Its purpose is to provide\ud teachers with the opportunity to exercise their particular strengths in\ud teaching and a chance to compensate in some way for their individual\ud weaknesses and this without being prejudicial to the individual learner.\ud The approach selected to achieve this purpose was to provide\ud teachers with a flexible guide allowing them to design and administer\ud individualized learning programmes according to their individual\ud requirements, and above all according to the particular situations in which\ud they are placed.\ud An experiment was carried out in order to assess the effectiveness\ud of the general model. The samples for the study consisted of 187 students\ud and eight teachers in the fifth grade distributed in three Schools, in School\ud District Number Thirteen, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. In a first\ud step, the teachers in the experimental group were provided with appropriate\ud training in the design and administration of an individualized learning\ud programme according to the proposed general model. At the same time, the\ud teachers in the control group were provided with a weekly seminar dealing\ud with subjects related to the teaching-learning process in general. In a\ud second step, the teachers in both the experimental and control groups\ud administered their own instructional programmes; individualized learning\ud programmes for the teachers in the experimental group and traditional\ud instruction programmes for the teachers in the control group. Four major instruments were used to collect data for the study: a\ud Mathematics achievement test developed by the Montreal Catholic School\ud Commission; the Subject Perception Test Developed by the author; the\ud Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory developed by Cook, Leed and Callis\ud (1951); and the Teaching Strategies Inventory also developed by the author.\ud The major findings of the study indicate that:\ud (i) The Mathematics academic achievement of students who\ud have been involved in individualized learning programmes designed\ud according to the new general model proposed in this study is higher than\ud that of students involved in more traditional programmes.\ud (ii) The students who have been involved in individualized learning\ud programmes designed according to the new general model have more\ud positive attitudes towards Mathematics than the students involved in more\ud traditional programmes.\ud (iii) The teachers who have been involved in individualized learning\ud programmes designed according to the new general model have more\ud positive attitudes towards students than the teachers involved in more\ud traditional programmes