Improving physician–patient communication

This chapter looks at improving physician–patient communicatio

Assessment of Seventh Grade Students\u27 Attitudes Towards Writing

Eleven students in seventh grade were pretested regarding their attitudes towards writing, using the Knudson Writing Attitude Survey for Children. A writing workshop based on the Nancie Atwell model was implemented for one month with the group. The students took the Knudson Survey again as a post test after the workshop. Results varied, with some of the students\u27 attitudes remaining the same, some improving, and some declining. Suggestions for further research include studying the impact of specific teaching methodologies on writing self-efficacy beliefs, designing surveys to assess only self-efficacy beliefs, and studying the reasons for the drop in self-efficacy beliefs among middle-school students

Composite used for thermal spray instrumentation and method for making the same

A superalloy article which comprises a substrate comprised of a superalloy, a bond coat comprised of MCrAlY wherein M is a metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, nickel and mixtures thereof applied onto at least a portion of the substrate and a ceramic top coat applied over at least a portion of the bond coat. The bond coat is exposed to a temperature of within the range of between about 1600-1800.degree. F. subsequent to its application onto the substrate

Impulsivity, Rejection Sensitivity, and Reactions to Stressors in Borderline Personality Disorder

This research investigated baseline impulsivity, rejection sensitivity, and reactions to stressors in individuals with borderline personality disorder compared to healthy individuals and those with avoidant personality disorder . The borderline group showed greater impulsivity than the avoidant and healthy groups both in a delay-discounting task with real monetary rewards and in self-reported reactions to stressors; moreover, these findings could not be explained by co-occurring substance use disorders. Distress reactions to stressors were equally elevated in both personality disorder groups (relative to the healthy group). The borderline and avoidant groups also reported more maladaptive reactions to a stressor of an interpersonal versus non-interpersonal nature, whereas the healthy group did not. Finally, self-reported impulsive reactions to stressors were associated with baseline impulsivity in the delay-discounting task, and greater self-reported reactivity to interpersonal than non-interpersonal stressors was associated with rejection sensitivity. This research highlights distinct vulnerabilities contributing to impulsive behavior in borderline personality disorder

Nonlinear programming model of a wastewater treatment system: Sensitivity analysis and a robustness constraint

A method for sensitivity analysis in nonlinear programming is described and then illustrated using a least-cost model of a secondary wastewater treatment system. A sensitivity equation approach is used to calculate normalized sensitivity coefficients, which approximate the percent changes in model variables and objective function due to a small parameter variation. Design changes predicted by the sensitivity coefficients are confirmed by a perturbation analysis of the optimal solution. Sensitivity concepts are used to develop a robustness measure which is incorporated into the constraint set of the nonlinear model. Robustness is narrowly defined as the ability of a model solution to maintain a level of performance that meets the system design criteria even if the actual values of model parameters are not exactly the same as the values assumed for design. A gradient optimization procedure is used to examine the tradeoff between total cost and the robustness measure. A preliminary analysis shows that the trends in robust wastewater treatment plant design are in direct conflict with the optimal decisions obtained when minimizing cost without a constraint on robustness but are in agreement with those designs observed to work in practice. The robustness constraint method presented should be applicable to other optimization models of water resources systems.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Increasing Durability of Flame-Sprayed Strain Gauges

Thermally sprayed dielectric ceramic coatings are the primary means of attaching strain and temperature gauges to hot-section rotating parts of turbine engines. As hot-section temperatures increase, lifetimes of installed gauges decrease, and seldom exceed one hour above 2,000 F (approx.1,100 C). Advanced engine components are expected to operate at temperatures approaching 2,200 F (approx.1,200 C), and the required high-temperature lifetime is 10 hours minimum. Typically, to enable a ceramic coating to adhere to the smooth surface of an engine component, a thermally sprayed NiCrAlY or NiCoCrAlY bond coat is applied to the smooth surface, thereby providing a textured surface to which the ceramic coat can adhere. The main failure mechanism of this system is decohesion and/or delamination at the interface between the ceramic top coat and the bond coat, caused by oxidation of the bond coat and stresses from the mismatch between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the ceramic top coat and the metallic bond coat. The approach taken to increase the high-temperature lifetime of a gauge attached to an engine component by the method described above involves (1) selective oxidation of the bond coat by means of a heat treatment in reduced oxygen partial pressure followed by (2) the application of a noble-metal diffusion barrier. In experiments to test this approach, heat treatments of NiCoCrAlY bond coats were carried out in a tube furnace in which, in each case, the temperature was alternately (1) increased at a rate of 3 C per minute and (2) held steady for one hour until the desired temperature was reached. The tube furnace was continuously purged with dry nitrogen gas. A final heat-treatment temperature range of 1,600 to 1,800 F (871 to 982 C) proved most beneficial

Experimental Methods Using Photogrammetric Techniques for Parachute Canopy Shape Measurements

NASA Langley Research Center in partnership with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center has collaborated on the development of a payload instrumentation package to record the physical parameters observed during parachute air drop tests. The instrumentation package records a variety of parameters including canopy shape, suspension line loads, payload 3-axis acceleration, and payload velocity. This report discusses the instrumentation design and development process, as well as the photogrammetric measurement technique used to provide shape measurements. The scaled model tests were conducted in the NASA Glenn Plum Brook Space Propulsion Facility, OH