Selected microgravity combustion diagnostic techniques

During FY 1989-1992, several diagnostic techniques for studying microgravity combustion have moved from the laboratory to use in reduced-gravity facilities. This paper discusses current instrumentation for rainbow schlieren deflectometry and thermophoretic sampling of soot from gas jet diffusion flames

Rumination and Quality of Life among Northern Plains Indians

Native Americans (NAs) share unique risk factors for poor mental health. In response, mental health providers must address barriers to treatment while making the most of low resource situations. One way to increase usefulness of treatment is to address the mechanisms underlying multiple mental health disorders. Rumination is a style of thinking marked by repeated thoughts about distress and is well-recognized as a diagnostic factor for underlying disorders in the general population. Secondary data from the Mood Disorder Assessment Validation with Northern Plains Indians (NPI) pilot study was used to examine the relationship between rumination and anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, as well as overall quality of life. Results indicated that as rumination increased, significant increases occurred in severity of symptoms reported for both women and men- but lower perceived quality of life only occurred in the presence of depressive symptoms. Significant differences arose between NPI women and men, with women reporting higher rumination, anxiety, and depression and men reporting higher substance abuse. Based on these results, rumination is useful as a transdiagnostic factor for NPI by uncovering the nature of maladaptive coping mechanisms. In addition, quality of life assessments are culturally-relevant ways to target maladaptive coping and replace unhealthy coping with more adaptive coping via culturally congruent methods

Training Non-Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Behavior Specialists to Conduct Trial-Based Functional Analyses in Residential Settings

This study investigated a process for identifying the reasons why a person with an intellectual disability has problem behaviors. This process is called a trial-based functional analysis (TBFA). The researchers wanted to know if a person who was not an expert behavior analyst could be trained to perform the TBFA and if the results obtained from the TBFA could be used to create a program to reduce the problem behavior of a person with an intellectual disability living in a community-based group home for persons with disabilities. The results of this study show that a person who is not an expert behavior analyst can be trained to perform a TBFA and that the results obtained from the TBFA were useful in creating a program to reduce the problem behavior of an adult male person living in a rural area in Utah

Pollinator Community Homogenization and Pollination Services in Agroecosystems

Pollination, or the transfer of pollen to plant stigmas, is an essential part of plant reproduction. The term “pollination system” refers to the floral phenotype and pollinator of a given plant. Although angiosperms exhibit a variety of different pollination systems, most rely partially or completely on animals, particularly insects, to vector their pollen. In agricultural systems, understanding the pollination system of the crop species is necessary to produce an economically valuable yield. Moreover, agricultural management may affect pollination systems by altering the abundance, diversity, or function of the pollinator community. In natural ecosystems, there is a great diversity of pollinating insects. This pollinator diversity may be vulnerable to global change and land use. One concern is that land use change may homogenize these pollinator communities, which in turn might affect their pollination service to angiosperms. To better understand the effect of agriculture on the homogenization of pollinator communities, we conducted a survey of pollinator diversity in different land-use types in eastern Tennessee. We sampled flower-visiting (pollinating) insects from the landscape around experimental plots of plants native to Tennessee. We found that the plots represent a subset of the pollinator diversity at the landscape level at most of our sites but found no effect of land-use type of pollinator community homogenization. To complement this landscape survey, we also evaluated pollination services in a focal agricultural crop. First, we conducted a greenhouse study to evaluate biotic effects of tree health and pollen donor on fruit set. We found that tree identity and size affected the probability of fruit set in greenhouse cacao trees. Another way to evaluate the effect of management on agricultural pollination services is to measure fruit set in different management scenarios. For example, agroforestry is a more sustainable way to grow cacao (Theobroma cacao), an extremely important crop world-wide; however, the effects of agroforestry on cacao pollination are unknown. In addition, pollination may affect the varietal purity of cacao, thereby affecting its market value. We conducted a hand-pollination experiment on Criollo and Trinitario cacao grown within an agroforestry setting in Punta Gorda, Belize. We examined the self-pollination and cross-variety compatibility of these cacao varieties. We found that the Criollo variety can self-pollinate whereas the Trinitario variety cannot. However, both varieties are compatible with one another, leading to implications for pure heirloom chocolate production where they are grown in close proximity

Together, Our Voices Will Strengthen the Weaving: Using Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry to Indigenize Sense of Belonging in Higher Education

Native American students in higher education are often asked to find a sense of belonging in places and spaces that do not reflect their cultures or worldviews. This can lead to isolation and a feeling of having to choose between themselves and their identities as Indigenous peoples. This contributes to poorer mental health, loss of well-being, and decreased academic success. The purpose of this study was to ask seven Native American participants how they defined sense of belonging from their own worldviews. Participants were also asked about spaces and places in higher education that helped or did not help them belong, and how this affected their mental health, well-being, and ability to succeed in the university setting. Using a metaphor of a Cherokee double-walled basket, we drew from our collective stories to define belonging in the following ways: connection, safety, acknowledgment, respect, presence, purpose, and growth. These themes became a model of Indigenized belonging called “Having the Spirit in the Circle”. Two other key themes that affected belonging were gatekeepers and way-makers. Gatekeepers in higher education created barriers to success and way-makers decreased barriers. What we learned together will be used to inform universities about ways they can change current academic success structures to promote belonging that aligns with Indigenous ways of knowing and being and to help Native American students succeed

A comparison of AdaBoost algorithms for time series forecast combination

Recently, combination algorithms from machine learning classification have been extended to time series regression, most notably seven variants of the popular AdaBoost algorithm. Despite their theoretical promise their empirical accuracy in forecasting has not yet been assessed, either against each other or against any established approaches of forecast combination, model selection, or statistical benchmark algorithms. Also, none of the algorithms have been assessed on a representative set of empirical data, using only few synthetic time series. We remedy this omission by conducting a rigorous empirical evaluation using a representative set of 111 industry time series and a valid and reliable experimental design. We develop a full-factorial design over derived Boosting meta-parameters, creating 42 novel Boosting variants, and create a further 47 novel Boosting variants using research insights from forecast combination. Experiments show that only few Boosting meta-parameters increase accuracy, while meta-parameters derived from forecast combination research outperform others

ROTONET Primer

This document provides a brief overview of use of the ROTONET rotorcraft system noise prediction capability within the Aircraft Noise Program (ANOPP). Reviews are given on rotorcraft noise, the state-of-the-art of system noise prediction, and methods for using the various ROTONET prediction modules