ERTS image data compression technique evaluation

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Method of cross-linking polyvinyl alcohol and other water soluble resins

A self supporting sheet structure comprising a water soluble, noncrosslinked polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol which is capable of being crosslinked by reaction with hydrogen atom radicals and hydroxyl molecule radicals is contacted with an aqueous solution having a pH of less than 8 and containing a dissolved salt in an amount sufficient to prevent substantial dissolution of the noncrosslinked polymer in the aqueous solution. The aqueous solution is then irradiated with ionizing radiation to form hydrogen atom radicals and hydroxyl molecule radicals and the irradiation is continued for a time sufficient to effect crosslinking of the water soluble polymer to produce a water insoluble polymer sheet structure. The method has particular application in the production of battery separators and electrode envelopes for alkaline batteries

From theory to 'measurement' in complex interventions: methodological lessons from the development of an e-health normalisation instrument

<b>Background</b> Although empirical and theoretical understanding of processes of implementation in health care is advancing, translation of theory into structured measures that capture the complex interplay between interventions, individuals and context remain limited. This paper aimed to (1) describe the process and outcome of a project to develop a theory-based instrument for measuring implementation processes relating to e-health interventions; and (2) identify key issues and methodological challenges for advancing work in this field.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> A 30-item instrument (Technology Adoption Readiness Scale (TARS)) for measuring normalisation processes in the context of e-health service interventions was developed on the basis on Normalization Process Theory (NPT). NPT focuses on how new practices become routinely embedded within social contexts. The instrument was pre-tested in two health care settings in which e-health (electronic facilitation of healthcare decision-making and practice) was used by health care professionals.<p></p> <b>Results</b> The developed instrument was pre-tested in two professional samples (N = 46; N = 231). Ratings of items representing normalisation 'processes' were significantly related to staff members' perceptions of whether or not e-health had become 'routine'. Key methodological challenges are discussed in relation to: translating multi-component theoretical constructs into simple questions; developing and choosing appropriate outcome measures; conducting multiple-stakeholder assessments; instrument and question framing; and more general issues for instrument development in practice contexts.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> To develop theory-derived measures of implementation process for progressing research in this field, four key recommendations are made relating to (1) greater attention to underlying theoretical assumptions and extent of translation work required; (2) the need for appropriate but flexible approaches to outcomes measurement; (3) representation of multiple perspectives and collaborative nature of work; and (4) emphasis on generic measurement approaches that can be flexibly tailored to particular contexts of study

Using Kappenman\u27s Model to Compare the Relative Fishing Power of 42-Foot Shrimp Trawls and 65-Foot Fish Trawls During Summer and Fall in the Western and North-Central Gulf of Mexico

Kappenman’s fishing power correction (FPC) model was used to compare the fishing efficiency between a 42-ft shrimp trawl and a 65-ft fish trawl towed simultaneously at 985 stations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Oregon II in the western and north-central Gulf of Mexico. The shrimp trawl was consistently more efficient, both summer and fall, and regardless of whether using no./hr or kg/hr to calculate the FPC factors, for four species of fish, three species of crustaceans, and paper scallops. During summer, the shrimp trawl was more efficient, when using FPC factors calculated using no./hr as the catch per unit of effort (CPUE), at catching 13 of the 42 species of fish, 11 of the 12 species of crustaceans, and paper scallops. It was more efficient at catching 18 of the 42 species of fish, 10 of the 12 species of crustaceans, and paper scallops when FPC factors were calculated using kg/hr as the CPUE. In the fall, the shrimp trawl was more efficient, when using no./hr or kg/hr as the CPUE, at catching five species of fish, three species of crustaceans, and paper scallops. Fishing power correction factors were then compared between summer and fall seasons for 42 species of fish and 16 species of invertebrates. During summer, FPC values ranged from a low of 0.15 for Gulf menhaden to 4.94 for shoal flounder; fall FPC values ranged from 0.05 for yellow box crab to 2.52 for broad-striped anchovy. With the exception of three species, when using number of individuals caught per hour as the CPUE, all FPC factors were significantly different between summer and fall catches

Segregation by thermal diffusion in granular shear flows

Segregation by thermal diffusion of an intruder immersed in a sheared granular gas is analyzed from the (inelastic) Boltzmann equation. Segregation is induced by the presence of a temperature gradient orthogonal to the shear flow plane and parallel to gravity. We show that, like in analogous systems without shear, the segregation criterion yields a transition between upwards segregation and downwards segregation. The form of the phase diagrams is illustrated in detail showing that they depend sensitively on the value of gravity relative to the thermal gradient. Two specific situations are considered: i) absence of gravity, and ii) homogeneous temperature. We find that both mechanisms (upwards and downwards segregation) are stronger and more clearly separated when compared with segregation criteria in systems without shear.Comment: 8 figures. To appear in J. Stat. Mec

Analytic Behaviour of Competition among Three Species

We analyse the classical model of competition between three species studied by May and Leonard ({\it SIAM J Appl Math} \textbf{29} (1975) 243-256) with the approaches of singularity analysis and symmetry analysis to identify values of the parameters for which the system is integrable. We observe some striking relations between critical values arising from the approach of dynamical systems and the singularity and symmetry analyses.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in Journal of Nonlinear Mathematical Physic

The impact of phosphorus inputs from small discharges on designated freshwater sites

Natural England, with a contribution from the Broads Authority, commissioned the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) in 2009 to conduct a review of the potential risk posed by small domestic discharges, such as from septic tanks, to freshwater SSSIs. The particular focus of this work was the risk of phosphorus (P) pollution to sites that are vulnerable to hyper-eutrophication

Ontology-Based Production Simulation with OntologySim

Imagine the possibility to save a simulation at any time, modify or analyze it, and restart again with exactly the same state. The conceptualization and its concrete manifestation in the implementation OntologySim is demonstrated in this paper. The presented approach of a fully ontology-based simulation can solve current challenges in modeling and simulation in production science. Due to the individualization and customization of products and the resulting increase in complexity of production, a need for flexibly adaptable simulations arises. This need is exemplified in the trend towards Digital Twins and Digital Shadows. Their application to production systems, against the background of an ever increasing speed of change in such systems, is arduous. Moreover, missing understandability and human interpretability of current approaches hinders successful, goal oriented applications. The OntologySim can help solving this challenge by providing the ability to generate truly cyber physical systems, both interlocked with reality and providing a simulation framework. In a nutshell, this paper presents a discrete-event-based open-source simulation using multi-agency and ontology

Nonadiabatic charged spherical evolution in the postquasistatic approximation

We apply the postquasistatic approximation, an iterative method for the evolution of self-gravitating spheres of matter, to study the evolution of dissipative and electrically charged distributions in General Relativity. We evolve nonadiabatic distributions assuming an equation of state that accounts for the anisotropy induced by the electric charge. Dissipation is described by streaming out or diffusion approximations. We match the interior solution, in noncomoving coordinates, with the Vaidya-Reissner-Nordstr\"om exterior solution. Two models are considered: i) a Schwarzschild-like shell in the diffusion limit; ii) a Schwarzschild-like interior in the free streaming limit. These toy models tell us something about the nature of the dissipative and electrically charged collapse. Diffusion stabilizes the gravitational collapse producing a spherical shell whose contraction is halted in a short characteristic hydrodynamic time. The streaming out radiation provides a more efficient mechanism for emission of energy, redistributing the electric charge on the whole sphere, while the distribution collapses indefinitely with a longer hydrodynamic time scale.Comment: 11 pages, 16 Figures. Accepted for publication in Phys Rev

Construction of the Soudan 2 detector

Progress in the construction of the Soudan 2 nucleon decay detector which is being built at the Soudan iron mine in Minnesota is discussed. The expected event rate and characteristics of low energy neutrino events, muon events, multiple muon events, and other cosmic ray phenomena are discussed