Flexible format, computer accessed telemetry system

With this system, it is possible to sample and generate two or more simultaneous formats; one can be transmitted to ground station in real time, and other is stored for later transmission. Sensor output comparison data, plus information to control format, compression algorithm, and allowable degree of sensor activity, are stored in memory

Data multiplexer using a tree switch

Self-decoding FET-hybrid or integrated-circuit tree configuration uses minimum number of components and can be sequenced by clock or computer. Redundancy features can readily be incorporated into tree configuration; as tree grows in size and more sensors are included, percentage of parts that will affect given percentage of sensors steadily decreases

Problem-based learning case writing by students based on early years clinical attachments: a focus group evaluation.

To evaluate the perception of medical students of the new approach to problem-based learning which involves students writing their own problem-based learning cases based on their recent clinical attachment, and team assessment.Focus group interviews with students using purposive sampling. Transcripts of the audio recordings were analysed using thematic analysis.Imperial College School of Medicine, London.Medical students in the second year of the MBBS course, who attended the problem-based learning case writing session.To elicit the students views about problem-based learning case writing and team assessment.The following broad themes emerged: effect of group dynamics on the process; importance of defining the tutors role; role of summative assessment; feedback as a learning tool and the skills developed during the process.Overall the students found the new approach, writing problem-based learning cases based on patients seen during their clinical attachments, useful in helping them to gain a better understanding about the problem-based learning process, promoting creativity and reinforcing the importance of team work and peer assessment which are vital professional skills. Further tutor development and guidance for students about the new approach was found to be important in ensuring it is a good learning experience. We hope this evaluation will be of use to other institutions considering introducing students case writing to problem-based learning

Testing Estimates of Housing Cost Differences among US Metropolitan Areas

This paper investigates the accuracy of six measures of housing cost differences among US metropolitan areas. Using Census data from 177 metropolitan areas, it tests the measures in two ways. First, it tests the ability of changes in the measures to predict changes in the shelter component of the metropolitan CPI from 1990 to 2000. Second, it tests the ability of the measures themselves to predict a proxy in 2000. A measure based on Fair Market Rents calculated by HUD placed second on the first test but did badly on the second. The housing component of the ACCRA index, a living cost measure frequently used by researchers, performed poorly on both tests. The top performer on both tests was a measure based on the average rent per room for a metropolitan area’s dwellings. Researchers wishing to control for living cost differences among places should consider including it in their living cost index

Of Secrets and Spies: Strengthening the Public\u27s Right to Know About the CIA

The impetus behind the Intelligence Reform Act was to prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. The statute completely overhauled the United States intelligence apparatus, largely by amending the National Security Act of 1947, which created the CIA and established the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) as its head. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that by renovating the fifty-seven-year-old National Security Act to create a modern intelligence infrastructure, Congress has also paved the way for a new intelligence-information paradigm. For the last two decades, near-blanket CIA secrecy has gone largely unchecked, principally because of the Court\u27s ruling in CIA v. Sims.The authors believe that Sims was wrongly decided in 1985, but this article asserts that, right or wrong, Sims is no longer controlling precedent when viewed in light of the Intelligence Reform Act. This Article asserts that the CIA\u27s ability to deny FOIA requests should be sharply circumscribed in accordance with a new information paradigm of maximum dissemination as established in the Act. Part I discusses the FOIA, its statutory exemptions and its legislative history. Part II examines the Sims decision and argues that the Court\u27s ruling contravened Congress\u27s intent to require the fullest disclosure possible under the FOIA. Part III summarizes the changes established by the Intelligence Reform Act and examines the legislative history of the Act to clarify the plain meaning of its text. This Article concludes that the Intelligence Reform Act offers a new intelligence information policy that recognizes that carte blanche CIA secrecy has been outmoded and acknowledges that this nation has experienced a profound shift in terms of what the public has come to expect to know about what their government is doing in their name

Complete mitochondrial genome of Carijoa riisei (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860) (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Stolonifera: Clavulariidae)

We report the first complete Stolonifera mitochondrial genome. Carijoa riisei (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860) isolate CLP2_A03 was collected by scuba at 32 m on the USTS Texas Clipper (27° 53.7827′N, 93° 36.2702′W). The complete mitogenome has the ancestral octocoral gene order for its 14 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and one tRNA gene. It is 18,714 bp (30.7% A, 15.8% C, 18.8% G, and 34.7% T). Of the Alcyonacea mitogenomes published to date, it is most genetically similar (94% uncorrected) to Sinularia ceramensis Verseveldt, 1977 (NC_044122)

Seasonal Movements, Migratory Behavior, and Site Fidelity of West Indian Manatees along the Atlantic Coast of the United States as Determined by Radio-telemetry

The study area encompassed the eastern coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, including inland waterways such as the St. Johns River (Fig. 1). Manatees inhabited the relatively narrow band of water that lies between the barrier beaches and the mainland, occasionally venturing into the ocean close to shore. Between Miami and Fernandina Beach, Florida, 19 inlets provided manatees with corridors between the intracoastal waters and the Atlantic Ocean; the distance between adjacent inlets averaged 32 km(SD = 24 km) and varied from 3 to 88 km. Habitats used by manatees along this 900-km stretch ofcoastline varied widely and included estuaries, lagoons, rivers and creeks, shallow bays and sounds, and ocean inlets. Salinities in most areas were brackish, but ranged from completely fresh to completely marine. The predominant communities of aquatic vegetation also varied geographically and with salinity: seagrass meadows and mangrove swamps in brackish and marine waters along the southern half of peninsular Florida; salt marshes in northeastern Florida and Georgia; benthic macroalgae in estuarine and marine habitats; and a variety of submerged, floating, and emergent vegetation in freshwater rivers, canals, and streams throughout the region. Radio-telemetry has been used successfully to track manatees in other regions ofFlorida (Bengtson 1981, Powell and Rathbun 1984, Lefebvre and Frohlich 1986, Rathbun et al. 1990) and Georgia (Zoodsma 1991), but these early studies relied primarily on conventional VHF (very high frequency) transmitters and were limited in their spatial and temporal scope (see O'Shea and Kochman 1990 for overview). Typically, manatees were tagged at a thermal refuge in the winter and then tracked until the tag detached, usually sometime between the spring and fall of the same year. Our study differs from previous research on manatee movements in several important respects. First, we relied heavily on data from satellite-monitored transmitters using the Argos system, which yielded a substantially greater number of locations and more systematic collection of data compared to previous VHF tracking studies (Deutsch et al. 1998). Second, our tagging and tracking efforts encompassed the entire range of manatees along the Atlantic coast, from the Florida Keys to South Carolina, so inferences were not limited to a small geographic area. Third, we often used freshwater to lure manatees to capture sites, which allowed tagging in all months of the year; this provided more information about summer movement patterns than had previous studies which emphasized capture and tracking at winter aggregations. Finally, the study spanned a decade, and success in retagging animals and in replacing transmitters allowed long-term tracking ofmany individuals. This provided the opportunity to investigate variation in seasonal movements, migratory behavior, and site fidelity across years for individual manatees. (254 page document.