344 research outputs found

    Collaborative online communities for increased MILSATCOM performance

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    The Department of Defense and, subsequently, the U.S. Navy have embraced a strategy of exerting influence through information dominance versus amassing a large presence. This philosophy, called Net-centric Warfare, uses sensor and network technology to leverage naval platforms towards realizing effects previously achievable only by a larger force. In adapting this strategy, the U.S. Navy has realized many benefits, but has also increased its reliance on the technologies implementing Net-centric Warfare. One such technology is the U.S. Navy's future Military SATCOM terminal, the Navy Multiband Terminal, which will provide critical off-ship bandwidth required for these leveraging effects. The Navy plans to sustain the NMT system using the same methods as previous systems. When considering Operational Availability, these legacy methods do not adequately address attributes affecting system performance, creating a risk the NMT system will not perform as needed to successfully execute Net-centric Warfare. This risk can be managed by transitioning away from traditional methods to those utilizing online collaborative technologies. These technologies, coined 'Web 2.0," center around member participation to foster communities. Much like the philosophy of Net-centric warfare, these communities leverage the experience of individuals to the benefit of the entire community.http://archive.org/details/collaborativeonl109454523Assistant Program Manager author (civilian).Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

    The Wesleyan Enlightenment: Closing the gap between heart religion and reason in Eighteenth Century England

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    Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of HistoryRobert D. LinderJohn Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican priest who became the leader of Wesleyan Methodism, a renewal movement within the Church of England that began in the late 1730s. Although Wesley was not isolated from his enlightened age, historians of the Enlightenment and theologians of John Wesley have only recently begun to consider Wesley in the historical context of the Enlightenment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between a man, John Wesley, and an intellectual movement, the Enlightenment. As a comparative history, this study will analyze the juxtaposition of two historiographies, Wesley studies and Enlightenment studies. Surprisingly, Wesley scholars did not study John Wesley as an important theologian until the mid-1960s. Moreover, because social historians in the 1970s began to explore the unique ways people experienced the Enlightenment in different local, regional and national contexts, the plausibility of an English Enlightenment emerged for the first time in the early 1980s. As a result, in the late 1980s, scholars began to integrate the study of John Wesley and the Enlightenment. In other words, historians and theologians began to consider Wesley as a serious thinker in the context of an English Enlightenment that was not hostile to Christianity. From a review of the historical literature, this dissertation details six links that scholars have introduced in their study of Wesley’s relation to the Enlightenment. However, the review also reveals two problems, one obstacle and one omission, that hinder new innovation and further study. Therefore, as a solution, this study introduces five lenses adapted from the recent scholarship of four historians and one historical theologian that provide new vantage points for considering the enlightenment of Wesley and Wesleyan Methodists, which together form the Wesleyan Enlightenment. Finally, based on the evidence gathered by using these new lenses, this study argues that because Wesley not only engaged the Enlightenment, but also addressed the spiritual needs and practical concerns of Wesleyan Methodists for more than fifty years in what he referred to as an enlightened age, John Wesley was a central figure in the eighteenth-century English Enlightenment

    Subtypes of early childhood caries predict future caries experience

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    Objectives: To test whether postulated subtypes of early childhood caries (ECC) are predictive of subsequent caries experience in a population-based cohort of Swedish children. Methods: The study included children aged between 3 and 5 years at study entry with dental records available for at least 5 years of follow-up. Dental record data were retrieved from the Swedish Quality Registry for Caries and Periodontal disease (SKaPa) for the initial and follow-up visits. Participants who had ECC at study entry were assigned to one of five ECC subtypes (termed classes 1-5) using latent class modelling of tooth surface-level caries experience. Subsequent experience of caries was assessed using the decayed, missing and filled surfaces indices (dmfs/DMFS) at follow-up visits, and compared between ECC subtypes using logistic and negative binomial regression modelling. Results: The study included 128 355 children who had 3 or more dental visits spanning at least 5 years post-baseline. Of these children, 31 919 had caries at the initial visit. Baseline ECC subtype was associated with differences in subsequent disease experience. As an example, 83% of children who had a severe form of ECC at age 5 went on to have caries in the permanent dentition by the end of the study, compared to 51% of children who were caries-free at age 5 (adjusted odds ratio of 4.9 for new disease at their third follow-up). Conclusion: ECC subtypes assigned at a baseline visit are associated with differences in subsequent caries experience in both primary and permanent teeth. This suggests that the development and future validation of an ECC classification can be used in addition to current prediction tools to help identify children at high risk of developing new caries lesions throughout childhood and adolescence

    Gas Transfer Velocities in Small Forested Ponds

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    Inland waters actively exchange gases with the atmosphere, and the gas exchange rate informs system biogeochemistry, ecology, and global carbon budgets. Gas exchange in medium- to large-sized lakes is largely regulated by wind; yet less is known about processes regulating gas transfer in small ponds where wind speeds are low. In this study, we determined the gas transfer velocity, k600, in four small ( \u3c 250 m2 ) ponds by using a propane ( C3H8 ) gas injection. When estimated across 12 h periods, the average k600 ranged from 0.19 to 0.72 m d-1 across the ponds. We also estimated k600 at 2 to 3 h intervals during the day and evaluated the relationship with environmental conditions. The average daytime k600 ranged from 0.33 to 1.83 m d-1 across the ponds and was best predicted by wind speed and air or air-water temperature; however, the explanatory power was weak (R2 \u3c 0.27) with high variability within and among ponds. To compare our results to larger water bodies, we compiled direct measurements of k600 from 67 ponds and lakes worldwide. Our k600 estimates were within the range of estimates for other small ponds, and variability in k600 increased with lake size. However, the majority of studies were conducted on medium-sized lakes (0.01 to 1 km2), leaving small ponds and large lakes understudied. Overall, this study adds four small ponds to the existing body of research on gas transfer velocities from inland waters and highlights uncertainty in k600, with implications for calculating metabolism and carbon emissions in inland waters

    Assessment and visualization of phenome-wide causal relationships using genetic data:an application to dental caries and periodontitis

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    Hypothesis-free Mendelian randomization studies provide a way to assess the causal relevance of a trait across the human phenome but can be limited by statistical power, sample overlap or complicated by horizontal pleiotropy. The recently described latent causal variable (LCV) approach provides an alternative method for causal inference which might be useful in hypothesis-free experiments across human phenome. We developed an automated pipeline for phenome-wide tests using the LCV approach including steps to estimate partial genetic causality, filter to a meaningful set of estimates, apply correction for multiple testing and then present the findings in a graphical summary termed causal architecture plot. We apply this pipeline to body mass index (BMI) and lipid traits as exemplars of traits where there is strong prior expectation for causal effects, and to dental caries and periodontitis as exemplars of traits where there is a need for causal inference. The results for lipids and BMI suggest that these traits are best viewed as contributing factors on a multitude of traits and conditions, thus providing additional evidence that supports viewing these traits as targets for interventions to improve health. On the other hand, caries and periodontitis are best viewed as a downstream consequence of other traits and diseases rather than a cause of ill health. The automated pipeline is implemented in the Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab ( https://vl.genoma.io ) and results are available in https://view.genoma.io . We propose causal architecture plots based on phenome-wide partial genetic causality estimates as a new way visualizing the overall causal map of the human phenome

    Risk assessment – can we achieve consensus?

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    Objective The object of this conference paper was to review and discuss caries risk assessment in general practice from the questions i) ‘Why’, ii) ‘When’, and iii) ‘How’. Method Narrative review. Results i) Patient caries risk assessment is the basic component in the decision‐making process for adequate prevention and management of dental caries and for determination of individual recall intervals . ii) Caries risk assessment should always be performed at a child's first dental visit and then regularly throughout life, and especially when social or medical life events are occurring. iii) There are several risk assessment methods and models available for but the evidence for their validity is limited. Although there is no clearly superior method for predicting future caries, the use of structured protocols combining socioeconomy, behavior, general health, diet, oral hygiene routines, clinical data, and salivary tests or computer‐based systems are considered best clinical practice. The accuracy ranges between 60% and 90%, depending on age. Caries risk assessment is more effective in the selection of patients at low risk than those with high caries risk. Conclusion As evidence suggests that past caries experience is far from ideal but the most important single risk component for more caries at all ages, any clinical sign of likely active demineralization on smooth, occlusal, and proximal tooth surfaces should be taken as a signal for the implementation of individually designed preventive and disease management measures.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96394/1/cdoe12026.pd

    Ag@Ni Core-Shell Nanowire Network for Robust Transparent Electrodes Against Oxidation and Sulfurization

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    Silver nanowire (Ag NW) based transparent electrodes are inherently unstable to moist and chemically reactive environment. A remarkable stability improvement of the Ag NW network film against oxidizing and sulfurizing environment by local electrodeposition of Ni along Ag NWs is reported. The optical transmittance and electrical resistance of the Ni deposited Ag NW network film can be easily controlled by adjusting the morphology and thickness of the Ni shell layer. The electrical conductivity of the Ag NW network film is increased by the Ni coating via welding between Ag NWs as well as additional conductive area for the electron transport by electrodeposited Ni layer. Moreover, the chemical resistance of Ag NWs against oxidation and sulfurization can be dramatically enhanced by the Ni shell layer electrodeposited along the Ag NWs, which provides the physical barrier against chemical reaction and diffusion as well as the cathodic protection from galvanic corrosion
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