IM toolbox for the present and future to support data synthesis activities, An

The SGS-LTER research site was established in 1980 by researchers at Colorado State University as part of a network of long-term research sites within the US LTER Network, supported by the National Science Foundation. Scientists within the Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Biology Department at CSU, California State Fullerton, USDA Agricultural Research Service, University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Wyoming, among others, have contributed to our understanding of the structure and functions of the shortgrass steppe and other diverse ecosystems across the network while maintaining a common mission and sharing expertise, data and infrastructure.This poster displays four examples of topics and tools currently being implemented and developed by information management staff at the Shortgrass Steppe LTER, across the LTER Network and within USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). These tools are necessary in order to synthesize similar data sets from different researchers, agencies, and institutions. These tools were designed provide to support to Principal Investigators, educators, students, and policy makers that need to synthesize information to make better decisions about planning their research, coursework and land management strategies. The four areas to be presented are Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing, standardization of metadata using Ecological Metadata Language (EML), integration of relational database management systems for different agencies, and the creation of useful dynamic web pages. GIS and Remote Sensing are powerful tools that allow researchers to analyze, model, and predict ecological factors and outcomes that shape the shortgrass steppe by integrating spatial and non-spatial data collected at the field site. EML consists of a number of modules that define an extensible mark-up language (XML) that creates a standard syntax for ecological metadata. This concept allows for sharing of standard metadata and data across not only the LTER Network, but throughout the broader ecological community. SGS is researching new database technologies to managing the growing amount of standard non-spatial data from the ARS and LTER as well as GIS and Remote Sensed data. This also will address the need for multi-user data access and database integration with the SGS website. An SGS Website was launched 8 years ago to provide general site information as well as detailed research information. The web site will be enhanced over the next year to improve query tools, submit metadata online, improve integration with various ecological research databases, and implement the EML standards

Through the looking glass: what do we see, what have we learned, what can we share? Information management at the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research site

The SGS-LTER research site was established in 1980 by researchers at Colorado State University as part of a network of long-term research sites within the US LTER Network, supported by the National Science Foundation. Scientists within the Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Biology Department at CSU, California State Fullerton, USDA Agricultural Research Service, University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Wyoming, among others, have contributed to our understanding of the structure and functions of the shortgrass steppe and other diverse ecosystems across the network while maintaining a common mission and sharing expertise, data and infrastructure.This poster displays the development of a successful information management system at a Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site that has a rich history of data collection and management. Over sixty years of data from three separate projects are incorporated into the Shortgrass Steppe (SGS) LTER information management system and databases. People with different strengths and expertise ranging from clerical administrator, programmer, to ecologist, have filled the role of Information Manager (IM) at the SGS-LTER. Today the information management needs of the SGS are provided by a team of IMs with various levels of expertise in a wide variety of domains from information technology administration to education and outreach. It is critical for IMs at any long-term research site to understand how information and data were managed in the past and what recent changes have been added to the system, in order to effectively implement a management plan for the future. We are able to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to information management and have a commitment to share our successes with the information management community

Heavy-light decay constants---MILC results with the Wilson action

We present the current status of our ongoing calculations of pseudoscalar meson decay constants for mesons that contain one light and one heavy quark (f_B, f_{B_s}, f_D, f_{D_s}). We are currently generating new gauge configurations that include dynamical quarks and calculating the decay constants. In addition, we have several new results for the static approximation. Those results, as well as several refinements to the analysis, are new since Lattice '96. Our current (still preliminary) value for f_B is 156 +- 11 +- 30 +- 14 MeV, where the first error is from statistical and fitting errors, the second error is an estimate of other systematic errors within the quenched approximation and the third error is an estimate of the quenching error. For the ratio f_{B_s}/f_B, we get 1.11 +- 0.02 +- 0.03 +- 0.07.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, LaTeX, uses espcrs2, epsf, Invited talk presented by S. Gottlieb at Lattice QCD on Parallel Computers, University of Tsukuba, March, 1997, to appear in the proceeding

Development of a flexible and modular approach for integrated continuous biomanufacturing

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ETSI Technical Specification TS 103757. SmartM2M; Asynchronous Contact Tracing System: Fighting pandemic disease with Internet of Things (IoT)

The present document defines properties and usage of IoT and M2M technology in Contact Tracing.It introduces the method of Asynchronous Contact Tracing (ACT). ACT registers the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus on IoT connected objects (waste water, or air conditioning filters, or dirty objects, or dirty cleaning tools, etc.) or connected locations (such as a shops, restaurants, corridors in a supermarket, sanitary facilities in a shopping mall, railway stations, airports terminals and gates, etc.) using Group Test (sometime called in the literature Pooling Test).ACT identifies contacts with IoT connected objects that have been contaminated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and works in synergy with solutions designed for manual and digital contact tracing to identify and alert people who may have been infected by the virus. In case the object is suspected to host or have hosted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, ACT allows users that have been in contact with the object or visited the connected location to be informed.This shifts the paradigm from synchronously tracing the contacts of the people infected by COVID-19 to asynchronously tracing of contacts of materials (such as infected surfaces, waste-water, air-conditioning filters, etc.) that are hosting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.This enables people who have come into contact asynchronously with those particular materials to be alerted of a potential COVID-19 contagion, and, at the same time, it signals that one or more persons have been in contact with the material which is now spreading the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Asynchronous Contact Tracing (ACT) traces the IoT connected object that may have been infected by the Covid-19 virus (or future pandemic viruses). This shifts the paradigm, from searching for a person in the process of infecting another to the tracing of both potential contamination and infections, and leveraging on the combination of the two information.The scope of this WI is to standardize the full support of Asynchronous Contact Tracing (ACT) by means of1) providing some examples of use and deployment of ACT by means of a few explanatory use cases.2) specifying the ACT method and its interaction with deployed contact tracing applications for human and systems. This includes the interaction with the different technologies used by non ACT contact tracing solutions.3) specifying the ACT system including application protocols and API.The new ACT method will require the use of existing ready-to-market IoT-based technology and well-established wireless network techniques, in particular the ones specified in the ETSI standards ecosystem. Moreover, it will preserve the user's privacy in accordance with GDPR and/or other regional requirements not requiring the transmission of any personal information by the user

ETSI SmartM2M Technical Report 103717; Study for oneM2M; Discovery and Query specification development

The oneM2M system has implemented basic native discovery capabilities. In order to enhance the semantic capabilities of the oneM2M architecture by providing solid contributions to the oneM2M standards, four Technical Reports have been developed. Each of them is the outcome of a special study phase: requirements, study, simulation and standardization phase. The present document covers the second phase and provides the basis for the other documents. It identifies, defines and analyses relevant approaches with respect to the use cases and requirements developed in ETSI TR 103 714 The most appropriate one will be selected.The present document develops the specification for the discovery solution selected in ETSI TR 103 715 [i.2] and which simulation is documented in ETSI TR 103 716 [i.3]. The present document specifies candidate solutions while the corresponding standardization proposals are contributed to oneM2M TS-0001 (Architecture) [i.5], oneM2M TS- 0034 (Semantic support) [i.7], oneM2M TS-0033 (Interworking Framework) [i.18], oneM2M TS-0004 (Protocols) [i.19] (other oneM2M TS may be also impacted) with the help of the supporting companies active in oneM2M

Glutathione Precursor N-Acetyl-Cysteine Modulates EEG Synchronization in Schizophrenia Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Glutathione (GSH) dysregulation at the gene, protein, and functional levels has been observed in schizophrenia patients. Together with disease-like anomalies in GSH deficit experimental models, it suggests that such redox dysregulation can play a critical role in altering neural connectivity and synchronization, and thus possibly causing schizophrenia symptoms. To determine whether increased GSH levels would modulate EEG synchronization, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, was administered to patients in a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol for 60 days, followed by placebo for another 60 days (or vice versa). We analyzed whole-head topography of the multivariate phase synchronization (MPS) for 128-channel resting-state EEGs that were recorded at the onset, at the point of crossover, and at the end of the protocol. In this proof of concept study, the treatment with NAC significantly increased MPS compared to placebo over the left parieto-temporal, the right temporal, and the bilateral prefrontal regions. These changes were robust both at the group and at the individual level. Although MPS increase was observed in the absence of clinical improvement at a group level, it correlated with individual change estimated by Liddle's disorganization scale. Therefore, significant changes in EEG synchronization induced by NAC administration may precede clinically detectable improvement, highlighting its possible utility as a biomarker of treatment efficacy

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Sustainable supply chain management: Confirmation of a higher-order model

Drawing from the research of green supply chain management and corporate social responsibility, this research proposes a hierarchical structure of sustainable supply chain management and develops a multi-item measurement scale to reflect the specific management practices of sustainable supply chain management. In this research, sustainable supply chain management is operationalised as a third-order factor reflected by three second-order factors, namely external green supply chain management, internal green supply chain management and corporate social responsibility. Utilising a rigorous, multi-step scale development method and data from 293 Chinese manufacturers, this research validates a 31-item measurement scale and approves the proposed third-order structure. The results confirm the multidimensionality of sustainable supply chain management, which suggests that it is necessary for the future researches to consider both environmental and social aspects. The valid measurement scales provide managers with a “to do list” to make the specific business decisions to achieve sustainable development in the supply chain