873 research outputs found
Correspondence Between Roger J. Traynor and C. Donald Peterson Regarding the National News\u27s Council Closed Session, 1973 December 18 - 1974 January 2
A FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE INDUSTRY STRATEGIC PLANNING
As agricultural commodity industries strategically plan for their future, they need to consider the systemic and synergistic effects of such factors as changing government regulations, demand expansion or contraction, globalized markets, increased competitive pressures, and greater customer quality requirements. This article discusses a framework developed to help industries strategically plan within the context of these dynamic factors. This framework, based upon relevant theory and an accumulation of experiences with this type of strategic planning, provides one possible approach for addressing the strategic needs of an entire industry. In this way, a commodity industry as a whole can identify and address key industrywide strategic issues to maintain and enhance its competitiveness, profitability, or at the very least, its survival in increasingly global markets.framework, industry, strategic planning, Agribusiness,
Regional gray matter volumetric changes in autism associated with social and repetitive behavior symptoms.
BackgroundAlthough differences in brain anatomy in autism have been difficult to replicate using manual tracing methods, automated whole brain analyses have begun to find consistent differences in regions of the brain associated with the social cognitive processes that are often impaired in autism. We attempted to replicate these whole brain studies and to correlate regional volume changes with several autism symptom measures.MethodsWe performed MRI scans on 24 individuals diagnosed with DSM-IV autistic disorder and compared those to scans from 23 healthy comparison subjects matched on age. All participants were male. Whole brain, voxel-wise analyses of regional gray matter volume were conducted using voxel-based morphometry (VBM).ResultsControlling for age and total gray matter volume, the volumes of the medial frontal gyri, left pre-central gyrus, right post-central gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, caudate nuclei and the left hippocampus were larger in the autism group relative to controls. Regions exhibiting smaller volumes in the autism group were observed exclusively in the cerebellum. Significant partial correlations were found between the volumes of the caudate nuclei, multiple frontal and temporal regions, the cerebellum and a measure of repetitive behaviors, controlling for total gray matter volume. Social and communication deficits in autism were also associated with caudate, cerebellar, and precuneus volumes, as well as with frontal and temporal lobe regional volumes.ConclusionGray matter enlargement was observed in areas that have been functionally identified as important in social-cognitive processes, such as the medial frontal gyri, sensorimotor cortex and middle temporal gyrus. Additionally, we have shown that VBM is sensitive to associations between social and repetitive behaviors and regional brain volumes in autism
Micro heat pipe panels and method for producing same
Flat or curved micro heat pipe panels are fabricated by arranging essentially parallel filaments in the shape of the desired panel. The configuration of the filaments corresponds to the desired configuration of the tubes that will constitute the heat pipes. A thermally conductive material is then deposited on and around the filaments to fill in the desired shape of the panel. The filaments are then removed, leaving tubular passageways of the desired configuration and surface texture in the material. The tubes are then filled with a working fluid and sealed. Composite micro heat pipe laminates are formed by layering individual micro heat pipe panels and bonding them to each other to form a single structure. The layering sequence of the micro heat pipe panels can be tailored to transport heat preferentially in specific directions as desired for a particular application
Method for producing micro heat panels
Flat or curved micro heat pipe panels are fabricated by arranging essentially parallel filaments in the shape of the desired panel. The configuration of the filaments corresponds to the desired configuration of the tubes that will constitute the heat pipes. A thermally conductive material is then deposited on and around the filaments to fill in the desired shape of the panel. The filaments are then removed, leaving tubular passageways of the desired configuration and surface texture in the material. The tubes are then filled with a working fluid and sealed. Composite micro heat pipe laminates are formed by layering individual micro heat pipe panels and bonding them to each other to form a single structure. The layering sequence of the micro heat pipe panels can be tailored to transport heat preferentially in specific directions as desired for a particular application
Extravehicular activities limitations study. Volume 1: Physiological limitations to extravehicular activity in space
This report contains the results of a comprehensive literature search on physiological aspects of EVA. Specifically, the topics covered are: (1) Oxygen levels; (2) Optimum EVA work; (3) Food and Water; (4) Carbon dioxide levels; (5) Repetitive decompressions; (6) Thermal, and (7) Urine collection. The literature was assessed on each of these topics, followed by statements on conclusions and recommended future research needs
Hot Horizontal Branch Stars in the Galactic Bulge. I
We present the first results of a survey of blue horizontal branch (BHB)
stars in the Galactic bulge. 164 candidates with 15 < V < 17.5 in a field
7.5deg from the Galactic Center were observed in the blue at 2.4A FWHM
resolution with the AAT 2dF spectrograph. Radial velocities were measured for
all stars. For stars with strong Balmer lines, their profiles were matched to
theoretical spectrum calculations to determine stellar temperature Teff and
gravity log g; matches to metal lines yielded abundances. CTIO UBV photometry
then gave the reddening and distance to each hot star. Reddening was found to
be highly variable, with E(B-V) from 0.0 to 0.55 around a mean of 0.28.
Forty-seven BHB candidates were identified with Teff >= 7250K, of which seven
have the gravities of young stars, three are ambiguous, and 37 are HB stars.
They span a wide metallicity range, from solar to 1/300 solar. The warmer BHB's
are more metal-poor and loosely concentrated towards the Galactic center, while
the cooler ones are of somewhat higher metallicity and closer to the center.
Their red B-V colors overlap main-sequence stars, but the U-B vs. B-V diagram
separates them until E(B-V) > 0.5. We detect two cool solar-metallicity HB
stars in the bulge of our own Galaxy, the first such stars known. Still elusive
are their hot counterparts, the metal-rich sdB/O stars causing excess UV light
in metal-rich galaxies; they have V ~ 20.5 in the Bulge.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures (the third with 4 panels, the fourth with 2
panels). To appear in the Astrophysical Journal v571n1, Jan. 20, 2000.
Abstract is shortened here, and figures compresse
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Velocity Shifts of Quasar Emission Lines
Quasar emission lines are often shifted from the systemic velocity due to
various dynamical and radiative processes in the line-emitting region. The
level of these velocity shifts depends both on the line species and on quasar
properties. We study velocity shifts for the line peaks of various narrow and
broad quasar emission lines relative to systemic using a sample of 849 quasars
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping (SDSS-RM) project. The
coadded (from 32 epochs) spectra of individual quasars have sufficient
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to measure stellar absorption lines to provide
reliable systemic velocity estimates, as well as weak narrow emission lines.
The sample also covers a large dynamic range in quasar luminosity (~2 dex),
allowing us to explore potential luminosity dependence of the velocity shifts.
We derive average line peak velocity shifts as a function of quasar luminosity
for different lines, and quantify their intrinsic scatter. We further quantify
how well the peak velocity can be measured for various lines as a function of
continuum SNR, and demonstrate there is no systematic bias in the line peak
measurements when the spectral quality is degraded to as low as SNR~3 per SDSS
pixel. Based on the observed line shifts, we provide empirical guidelines on
redshift estimation from [OII]3728, [OIII]5008, [NeV]3426, MgII, CIII],
HeII1640, broad Hbeta, CIV, and SiIV, which are calibrated to provide unbiased
systemic redshifts in the mean, but with increasing intrinsic uncertainties of
46, 56, 119, 205, 233, 242, 400, 415, and 477 km/s, in addition to the
measurement uncertainties. These more realistic redshift uncertainties are
generally much larger than the formal uncertainties reported by the redshift
pipelines for spectroscopic quasar surveys, and demonstrate the infeasibility
of measuring quasar redshifts to better than ~200 km/s with only broad lines.Comment: matched to the published version; minor changes and conclusions
unchange
Hydrogeological Characterization of the South Oyster Bacterial Transport Site Using Geophysical Data
A multidisciplinary research team has conducted a field-scale bacterial transport study within an uncontaminated sandy Pleistocene aquifer near Oyster, Virginia. The overall goal of the project was to evaluate the importance of heterogeneities in controlling the field-scale transport of bacteria that are injected into the ground for remediation purposes. Geochemical, hydrological, geological, and geophysical data were collected to characterize the site prior to conducting chemical and bacterial injection experiments. In this paper we focus on results of a hydrogeological characterization effort using geophysical data collected across a range of spatial scales. The geophysical data employed include surface ground-penetrating radar, radar cross-hole tomography, seismic cross-hole tomography, cone penetrometer, and borehole electromagnetic flowmeter. These data were used to interpret the subregional and local stratigraphy, to provide high-resolution hydraulic conductivity estimates, and to provide information about the log conductivity spatial correlation function. The information from geophysical data was used to guide and assist the field operations and to constrain the numerical bacterial transport model. Although more field work of this nature is necessary to validate the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of including geophysical data in the characterization effort, qualitative and quantitative comparisons between tomographically obtained flow and transport parameter estimates with hydraulic well bore and bromide breakthrough measurements suggest that geophysical data can provide valuable, high-resolution information. This information, traditionally only partially obtainable by performing extensive and intrusive well bore sampling, may help to reduce the ambiguity associated with hydrogeological heterogeneity that is often encountered when interpreting field-scale bacterial transport data
- …