A Study of Walkway Safety and Evaluation of Tribological Test Equipment

A walkway tribometer measures the coefficient of friction between flooring material and a test foot. The value of the coefficient of friction is an indicator as to whether the flooring surface is slippery and has a propensity to cause slip and falls. This study determined that one style of tribometer, an XL Tribometer, mimics the heel-to-floor interaction of the human heel strike. High speed video footage revealed that the test foot strikes the surface and rotates so that full engagement occurs before sliding thus mimicking the affect of a human ankle. The test foot accelerates forward as would be expected during a human slip event. The manufacturer’s reported impact speed of 11 in/s, when set to the operating pressure of 25psi, was found to be much lower than measured speeds of three calibrated tribometers. Three XL tribometers were tested and provided a range of impact speeds from 17.4 to 22.7 in/s (n=540) when set to the operating pressure of 25 psi. The pressure setting was found to have a significant effect on the impact speed while the mast angle had an insignificant affect. A review of human walking studies revealed a range of pedestrian heel impact speeds on the order of 19.4 to 45.3 in/s during normal human ambulation activities. These tribometers fell on the low side of this speed range. A sensitivity study showed that the measured value of the coefficient of friction tends to decrease with a higher impact speed. This COF decrease was on the order of 0.02 and below the machine resolution and considered inconsequential within the walkway safety community

High-throughput retrotransposon-based fluorescent markers: improved information content and allele discrimination

BACKGROUND: Dense genetic maps, together with the efficiency and accuracy of their construction, are integral to genetic studies and marker assisted selection for plant breeding. High-throughput multiplex markers that are robust and reproducible can contribute to both efficiency and accuracy. Multiplex markers are often dominant and so have low information content, this coupled with the pressure to find alternatives to radio-labelling, has led us to adapt the SSAP (sequence specific amplified polymorphism) marker method from a (33)P labelling procedure to fluorescently tagged markers analysed from an automated ABI 3730 xl platform. This method is illustrated for multiplexed SSAP markers based on retrotransposon insertions of pea and is applicable for the rapid and efficient generation of markers from genomes where repetitive element sequence information is available for primer design. We cross-reference SSAP markers previously generated using the (33)P manual PAGE system to fluorescent peaks, and use these high-throughput fluorescent SSAP markers for further genetic studies in Pisum. RESULTS: The optimal conditions for the fluorescent-labelling method used a triplex set of primers in the PCR. These included a fluorescently labelled specific primer together with its unlabelled counterpart, plus an adapter-based primer with two bases of selection on the 3' end. The introduction of the unlabelled specific primer helped to optimise the fluorescent signal across the range of fragment sizes expected, and eliminated the need for extensive dilutions of PCR amplicons. The software (GeneMarker Version 1.6) used for the high-throughput data analysis provided an assessment of amplicon size in nucleotides, peak areas and fluorescence intensity in a table format, so providing additional information content for each marker. The method has been tested in a small-scale study with 12 pea accessions resulting in 467 polymorphic fluorescent SSAP markers of which 260 were identified as having been mapped previously using the radio-labelling technique. Heterozygous individuals from pea cultivar crosses were identifiable after peak area data analysis using the fluorescent SSAP method. CONCLUSION: As well as developing a rapid, and high-throughput marker method for genetic studies, the fluorescent SSAP system improved the accuracy of amplicon scoring, increased the available marker number, improved allele discrimination, and was sensitive enough to identify heterozygous loci in F(1 )and F(2 )progeny, indicating the potential to develop high-throughput codominant SSAPs

Ground-water pumpage in Northwestern Illinois through 1963

Bibliography: p. 33.Enumeration continues through succeeding title

High Consequence Scenarios for North Korean Atmospheric Nuclear Tests with Policy Recommendations for the U.S. Government

The government of North Korea has declared high-altitude EMP-capability to be a “strategic goal” and has also threatened an atmospheric test of a hydrogen bomb. Atmospheric nuclear tests have the potential to cripple satellites and the undersea cable networks critical to communication, and navigation necessary for trans-Pacific trade among the U.S., China, and other nations. When a nuclear warhead is detonated at high altitude, a series of electromagnetic pulses radiate downward within the line of sight of the blast. These pulses can disable equipment with miniature electronics and long conductors. Electric grid controls and transmission systems are especially vulnerable. Intense X-rays and free electrons caused by high-altitude nuclear tests can also disable satellites over large regions of space. After the 1962 Starfish Prime test of EMP effects by the U.S, numerous satellites failed. Based on past missile tests, calculated delivery ranges, EMP coverage areas, and geography, Resilient Societies developed five scenarios for North Korean atmospheric tests. Possible sites for EMP tests include the South Pacific Ocean northeast of French Polynesia, Johnson Atoll southwest of Hawaii, and vicinity of the U.S. territory of Guam. Missile trajectories for all three of these EMP test scenarios overfly populated areas. Missile navigation or nuclear device fuzing errors could place the populations of Japan, Guam, and Hawaii are at risk. All potential EMP test locations could cause disruption to international satellite and undersea cable communications networks. North Korea should not be permitted to conduct an atmospheric nuclear tests since EMP effects on large networks necessary for electric power and international data sharing could have serious worldwide consequences due to the importance of Asia and the Pacific region to the global economy. In the regrettable event that North Korea chooses to conduct atmospheric nuclear tests, U.S. and allied monitoring of EMP effects will be helpful

The impact of protocol assignment for older adolescents with Hodgkin lymphoma

Background and Purpose: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treatment has evolved to reduce or avoid radiotherapy (RT) dose and volume and minimize the potential for late effects. Some older adolescents are treated on adult protocols. The purpose of this study is to examine the protocol assignment of older adolescents and its impact on radiation dose to relevant thoracic structures. Materials and Methods: Cooperative group data were reviewed and 12 adolescents were randomly selected from a pediatric HL protocol. Treatment plans were generated per one pediatric and two adult protocols. Dose volume histograms for heart, lung, and breast allowed comparison of radiation dose to these sites across these three protocols. Results: A total of 15.2% of adolescents were treated on adult HL protocols and received significantly higher radiation dosage to heart and lung compared to pediatric HL protocols. Adolescents treated on either pediatric or adult protocols received similar RT dose to breast. Conclusion: Older adolescents treated on adult HL protocols received higher RT dose to thoracic structures except breast. Level of nodal involvement may impact overall RT dose to breast. The impact of varying field design and RT dose on survival, local, and late effects needs further study for this vulnerable age group

Developmental and computational perspectives on infant social cognition

Adults effortlessly and automatically infer complex pat- terns of goals, beliefs, and other mental states as the causes of others’ actions. Yet before the last decade little was known about the developmental origins of these abilities in early infancy. Our understanding of infant social cognition has now improved dramatically: even preverbal infants appear to perceive goals, preferences (Kushnir, Xu, & Wellman, in press), and even beliefs from sparse observations of inten- tional agents’ behavior. Furthermore, they use these infer- ences to predict others’ behavior in novel contexts and to make social evaluations (Hamlin, Wynn, & Bloom, 2007). Keywords: Social cognition; Cognitive Development; Computational Modeling; Theory of Min

The dynamics of esports crowdfunding campaign success: a social exchange perspective

Esports—a professionalized, commercialized, and spectatorial form of video game competition—is a burgeoning industrial sector that has relied on entrepreneurial community support and multi-platform media distribution modalities to catalyze its growth. In particular, the esports industry is increasingly turning towards grass- roots crowdfunding to gain access to financial resources that can be used to facili- tate tournament prizes. However, what remains unclear is which factors contribute to grassroots esports crowdfunding campaigns’ success. We used social exchange theory to identify important social and economic attributes that may influence the outcomes of esports crowdfunding projects. For methods, we scraped crowdfunding data from Matcherino using Octoparse 8. A total of 14,497 esports crowdfunding projects were analyzed by using multiple regression analysis, as well as robustness checks that were estimated through machine learning techniques. We find that equal distribution of prize rewards, the endorsement of big brand sponsors, and genres of games significantly influence the success of esports crowdfunding. This con- tributes to our theoretical understanding of 1) the process of esports crowdfunding campaigns as a complex mechanism that incorporates financial incentives and social values, 2) esports as an emerging industry that is institutionalizing, 3) the hetero- geneity of genre-based community, and 4) the importance of distributive justice of prize rewards for organizing grassroots esports tournaments and events. Further- more, we discussed methodological implications regarding the use of econometrics approach and machine learning for future crowdfunding and esports research as well as managerial implications for esports entrepreneurs, esports teams and organiza- tions, and sponsors and investors in terms of developing strategies tailored to the dynamics of esports communities

Spectral Response Measurements of Perovskite Solar Cells

A new spectral response (SR) measurement routine is proposed that is universally applicable for all perovskite devices. It is aimed at improving measurement accuracy and repeatability of SR curves and current–voltage curve spectral mismatch factor (MMF) corrections. Frequency response, effects of preconditioning as well as dependency on incident light intensity and voltage load on SR measurements are characterized on two differently structured perovskite device types. It is shown that device preconditioning affects the SR shape, causing errors in spectral MMF corrections of up to 0.8% when using a reference cell with a good spectral match and a class A solar simulator. Wavelength dependent response to incident light intensity and voltage load is observed on both device types, which highlights the need to measure at short-circuit current and maximum power point to correct spectral mismatch. The method with recommendations given ensures that the correct measurement conditions are applied and measurements are corrected for instability in performance

Genetic variation in TLR genes in Ugandan and South African populations and comparison with HapMap data

Genetic epidemiological studies of complex diseases often rely on data from the International HapMap Consortium for identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), particularly those that tag haplotypes. However, little is known about the relevance of the African populations used to collect HapMap data for study populations conducted elsewhere in Africa. Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes play a key role in susceptibility to various infectious diseases, including tuberculosis. We conducted full-exon sequencing in samples obtained from Uganda (n = 48) and South Africa (n = 48), in four genes in the TLR pathway: TLR2, TLR4, TLR6, and TIRAP. We identified one novel TIRAP SNP (with minor allele frequency [MAF] 3.2%) and a novel TLR6 SNP (MAF 8%) in the Ugandan population, and a TLR6 SNP that is unique to the South African population (MAF 14%). These SNPs were also not present in the 1000 Genomes data. Genotype and haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium patterns in Uganda and South Africa were similar to African populations in the HapMap datasets. Multidimensional scaling analysis of polymorphisms in all four genes suggested broad overlap of all of the examined African populations. Based on these data, we propose that there is enough similarity among African populations represented in the HapMap database to justify initial SNP selection for genetic epidemiological studies in Uganda and South Africa. We also discovered three novel polymorphisms that appear to be population-specific and would only be detected by sequencing efforts