Kompaneets Model Fitting of the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble

Winds and supernovae from OB associations create large cavities in the interstellar medium referred to as superbubbles. The Orion molecular clouds are the nearest high mass star-forming region and have created a highly elongated, 20 degree x 45 degree, superbubble. We fit Kompaneets models to the Orion-Eridanus superbubble and find that a model where the Eridanus side of the superbubble is oriented away from the Sun provides a marginal fit. Because this model requires an unusually small scaleheight of 40 pc and has the superbubble inclined 35 degrees from the normal to the Galactic plane, we propose that this model should be treated as a general framework for modelling the Orion-Eridanus superbubble, with a secondary physical mechanism not included in the Kompaneets model required to fully account for the orientation and elongation of the superbubble.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by MNRAS, minor grammatical change

Restricted Access: Work Trends Survey of Employers About People with Disabilities

This report, Restricted Access: A Survey of Employers About People With Disabilities and Lowering Barriers to Work, surveys the nation's employers regarding their views on people with disabilities in the workplace, the accommodation of these workers, and policy strategies needed to increase workplace accessibility for all workers and job seekers. In addition, employers express a significant degree of concern regarding the nation's economy, unemployment rate, and their workers' job security, clearly conveying that the weakened economy continues to weigh on their minds

Graduation Hat Microphone for Waterproof Top Port Microphones

Small form factor consumer electronic (CE) devices such Echo Buds and Echo Loop with microphone functions are often required to be waterproof. Integrating waterproof feature at the microphone component level enables consistent audio performance and simplified product design. However, integrating the membrane on the small footprint of the microphone while maintaining the desired audio and water resistance performance has been a big challenge. This paper describes a “Graduation Hat” microphone lid technology to integrate a reactive waterproof acoustic membrane with less than 4dB additional acoustic attenuation compared to the same microphone without the membrane while providing 5atm waterproofing. Thereby enabling a more sleek design, consistent audio performance and simplified device level microphone integration

Density dependent movement of South African sardine

A hypothesis that the movement of South Africa sardine from the west to the south coast is dependent on west coast biomass is revisited and a relationship proposed for use in future projections

Progress report on recommendations from the International review panel report for the 2013 International Fisheries Stock assessment workshop:sardine

The international review panel report (MARAM/IWS/DEC13/General/4 Final Report) contained the following recommendations pertinent to sardine in response to key questions put to them at the annual stock assessment review meeting held at UCT from 2-6 December 2013. Comments on any progress in response to these recommendations are inserted in italics. As a general point of background information, the Small Pelagic Scientific Working Group agreed earlier in 2014 to finalise OMP-14 based on a single sardine stock operating model only, but coupled with some spatial management, the spirit of which is to be a “warm up period” with the expectation that the next OMP will quite likely require spatial management components. The development of new operating models and a new OMP is to be brought forward, commencing in early 2015 with the aim of being finalised before the end of 2016

A Switched Oscillator as an Antenna for High Power THz Generation

This paper presents an approach to high power THz generation that uses a Switched Oscillator (SwO) as a photoconductively-switched antenna. A simplified model is used to demonstrate the SwO as an effective THz radiator. Numerical simulations are used to optimize various parameters of interest with the primary objective of maximizing the radiated energy and minimizing losses. The radiation Q and resonant frequency are obtained as function of each parameter

The Psychometric Properties of a Self-Administered, Open-Source Module for Valuing Metastatic Epidural Spinal Cord Compression Utilities.

INTRODUCTION: Web surveys are often used for utility valuation. Typically, custom utility valuation tools that have not undergone psychometric evaluation are used. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of a metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) module run on a customizable open-source, internet-based, self-directed utility valuation platform (Self-directed Online Assessment of Preferences [SOAP]). METHODS: Individuals accompanying patients to the emergency department waiting room in Ottawa, Canada, were recruited. Participants made SOAP MESCC health state valuations in the waiting room and 48 h later at home. Validity, agreement reliability, and responsiveness were measured by logical consistency of responses, smallest detectable change, the interclass correlation coefficient, and Guyatt\u27s responsiveness index, respectively. RESULTS: Of 285 participants who completed utility valuations, only 113 (39.6%) completed the re-test. Of these 113 participants, 92 (81.4%) provided valid responses on the first test and 75 (66.4%) provided valid responses on the test and re-test. Agreement for all groups of health states was adequate, since their smallest detectable change was less than the minimal clinically important difference. The mean interclass correlation coefficients for all health states were \u3e 0.8, indicating at least substantial reliability. Guyatt\u27s responsiveness indices all exceeded 0.80, indicating a high level of responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first validated open-source, web-based, self-directed utility valuation module. We have demonstrated the SOAP MESCC module is valid, reproducible, and responsive for obtaining ex ante utilities. Considering the successful psychometric validation of the SOAP MESCC module, other investigators can consider developing modules for other diseases where direct utility valuation is needed

How does one become spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory 5 of Life Environments (SMILE)

We report psychometric properties, correlates, and underlying theory of the 15 Spiritual Modeling Index of Life Environments (SMILE), a measure of perceptions of spiritual models, defined as everyday and prominent people who have functioned for respondents as exemplars of spiritual qualities, such as compassion, self-control, or faith. Demographic, spiritual, and personality correlates were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of college students 20 from California, Connecticut, and Tennessee (N ¼ 1010). A summary measure of model influence was constructed from perceived models within family, school, religious organization, and among prominent individuals from both tradition and media. The SMILE, based on concepts from Bandura's (1986) Social Cognitive Theory, was well-received by respondents. The summary measure demonstrated 25 good 7-week test-retest reliability (r ¼ 0.83); patterns of correlation supporting convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity; demographic differences in expected directions; and substantial individual heterogeneity. Implications are discussed for further research and for pastoral, educational, and health-focused interventions. 30 Keywords: spirituality; religion; social cognitive theory; measurement; validity; health promotion; education Introduction Throughout history, religious traditions have emphasized the importance of keeping company and attending to the example of good or holy persons, arguing that people tend 35 to become more like those with whom they associate. The power of example is also recognized and documented in modern scientific psychology, in which Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT, Bandura, 1986) Improved understanding of spiritual modeling processes would be of obvious interest in pastoral psychology. Such understanding would also be of interest to education, health psychology, medicine, nursing, social work, public health, and other fields in which spiritual factors have been found to predict or cause outcomes of significant interest This article reports on an initial psychometric evaluation of the Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE), a multidimensional inventory of perceptions 65 about spiritual models and their availability and influence. Validated measurement instruments are vital for scientific progress in any field, and spiritual modeling measures have not previously been available. As described later, the SMILE follows in operationally defining spirituality with reference to a respondent's perceived ''ultimate concerns.'' 1 In the study reported here, the SMILE was administered to a geographically 70 and ethnically diverse sample of US college students drawn from both religious and statesupported public universities (N ¼ 1010). Besides providing psychometric information, these findings offer a solid initial view of the contours of spiritual modeling perceptions in contemporary US college students. We present theoretical background and a conceptual framework that specifies 75 key features of spiritual modeling perceptions and processes as experienced in daily life. We then report and discuss empirical findings, including implications for interventions. Conceptual background and model According to Social Cognitive Theory, social learning processes are influenced both by environmental factors, such as the availability of suitable behavioral models, and by intra-80 individual factors, such as motivations and self-efficacy perceptions Interpersonal factors, such as the nature, closeness, and psychic ''investment'' in one's personal relationship with a model, may also affect social learning processes . Intra-individual factors (represented in the center oval) are viewed as potentially 90 changeable and evolving, either conscious or unconscious, and closely related to social learning processes that include attention, retention, and motivation. . Social environments (the outer semicircle), including family, school, and religious or spiritual organizations, are a potential source of spiritual models. They help guide investments of attention and behavior by both individuals and groups, and may either facilitate or impede spiritual modeling learning processes. The framework represented in 105 Multiple levels for intervention The spiritual modeling framework presented in 150 Assessment strategy Constructing the SMILE demanded resolving two main challenges: conveying what we meant by spiritual, and conveying what we meant by model. Failing to offer any explanation of these constructs could create confusing findings due to idiosyncratic understandings of these terms. But asking participants to use a rigid definition of spiri-155 tuality could risk undermining our intended inclusiveness. Thus, in the final SMILE questionnaire, we addressed these challenges through a combination of three main techniques: First, we defined spirituality and spiritual models with reference to Tillich's (1951) notion of ultimate concerns, sometimes expressed in the SMILE simply as ''what's most important in life,'' a notion that does not require specific theological or ontological beliefs 160 (Emmons, 1999). The term spirituality was then introduced as a convenient word to describe skills or qualities viewed as ''helpful for what's most important/consequential in life.'' Second, we included substantial introductory text that used diverse examples to explain how people experience and respond to ultimate concerns, and how they learn from other people (models) how to respond to those concerns (spirituality). To illustrate 165 the concept, some specific everyday and prominent models were mentioned as examples from whom ''some people feel they have learned wise daily living.'' 2 Third, the SMILE was structured to allow earlier questions to set a context for later questions. This feature is analogous to a semistructured interview, in which earlier questions provide a context for understanding the intent and vocabulary of later questions. 170 The SMILE also included several opportunities for respondents to express their own conceptions and definitions of important constructs, which not only helped convey the inclusive intent, but also provided useful feedback. Later, we present evidence suggesting that these communication strategies were reasonably successful for engaging and representing the views of most survey participants. social environments, perceived efficacy for learning from models, and the perceived impact on other life tasks of learning from spiritual models. Scoring As an inventory, the SMILE is not intended to produce a single overall score reflecting all items. However, one can distinguish a meaningful continuum between respondents who 195 report no models in Part II, at one extreme, vs. respondents who report influential models in every major environment. As described later, SMILE scoring quantifies this particular dimension of variability as an interval-level summary measure of perceived influence from spiritual models. sections of the SMILE may be obtained on request from the corresponding author. Research questions The present empirical studies of the SMILE focus on psychometric evaluation of its foundational questions in a college student sample. Our diverse sample also supplies useful reference values for US college students, a population of major educational and 210 health related concern . We examined the following primary research questions: (1) What qualities do students view as important for spirituality (operationalized here as ultimate concerns)? What dimensions of variability (i.e., underlying factors) can be detected in their views? 215 (2) What spiritual models are most commonly recognized (1) within everyday life environments (family, school, religious organization) and (2) among prominent people known from tradition or from contemporary sources? (3) How are the perceived existence and influence of spiritual models associated with demographic and spiritual factors within various environments? 220 (4) Does a summary index of spiritual models across major life environments possess adequate psychometric reliability and validity? Methods We first describe methods used for a multisite cross-sectional study (N ¼ 1010), and then for a smaller single-site test-retest study (N ¼ 66). All surveys in both studies were admin-22

Zinc Finger Protein, Hzf, Is Required for Megakaryocyte Development and Hemostasis

Using an expression gene trapping strategy, we recently identified a novel gene, hematopoietic zinc finger (Hzf), which encodes a protein containing three C2H2-type zinc fingers that is predominantly expressed in megakaryocytes. Here, we have examined the in vivo function of Hzf by gene targeting and demonstrated that Hzf is essential for megakaryopoiesis and hemostasis in vivo. Hzf-deficient mice exhibited a pronounced tendency to rebleed and had reduced α-granule substances in both megakaryocytes and platelets. These mice also had large, faintly stained platelets, whereas the numbers of both megakaryocytes and platelets were normal. These results indicate that Hzf plays important roles in regulating the synthesis of α-granule substances and/or their packing into α-granules during the process of megakaryopoiesis