Development of optimum clamp combinations for strap-down inertial measuring units with field replaceable sensors

Optimum clamp combinations for strap down inertial measuring units with field replaceable sensor

Narrative support for young game designers’ writing

Creating narrative-based computer games is a complex and challenging task. Narrative Threads is a suite of software tools designed to aid young people (aged 11-15) in creating their own narrative-based games as a writing development activity. A participatory design process highlighted the areas where additional support was required, and informed the iterative design of Narrative Threads. The tools are implemented as a plugin to a commercial game creation toolset, and constitute character and object design tools, a branching narrative diagramming tool and an augmented story map view. In this paper, we provide an overview of the design of the tools and describe an evaluation carried out with 14 children over a four-day workshop. The study examined tool usage patterns, and compared games created with Narrative Threads to those created using the standard toolset. The results suggest a number of ways in which dynamic external representations of story elements can support writing activities in narrative-based game creation. Young designers using Narrative Threads wrote more character dialogue, made stronger links between the conversations they wrote and wider game events, and designed more complex characters, compared to those using the standard toolset. In addition to showing how Narrative Threads can support young games designers, the results have broader implications for anyone looking to support storytelling and writing through game creation activities and tools

Neurophysiology

Contains reports on four research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant B-1865-(C3), Grant MH-04737-02)United States Air Force, Aeronautical Systems Division (Contract AF33(616)-7783)Teagle Foundation, IncorporatedBell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporate

THE BIOMECHANIST AS EXPERT WITNESS

INTRODUCTION There is a critical need for qualified Biomechanists in the areas of civil and criminal litigation. Currently few "true Biomechanists" work in this area. This has resulted in a vacuum of qualified personnel being filled by people who speak to biomechanical issues with little or no education, training, and experience in anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, research methods, statistics and other areas that constitute the discipline of Biomechanics. The result is that legal decisions are made based upon incorrect or inadequate information. We suggest that as professional Biomechanists we may have a responsibility to enter this area or in our absence abdicate our role to less qualified individuals. If we as a discipline do engage this role we will upgrade the quality and truthfulness of at least a portion of the litigation process

An Experimental Approach to a Rapid Propulsion and Aeronautics Concepts Testbed

Modern aircraft design tools have limitations for predicting complex propulsion-airframe interactions. The demand for new tools and methods addressing these limitations is high based on the many recent Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) concepts being developed for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) markets. We propose that low cost electronics and additive manufacturing can support the conceptual design of advanced autonomy-enabled concepts, by facilitating rapid prototyping for experimentally driven design cycles. This approach has the potential to reduce complex aircraft concept development costs, minimize unique risks associated with the conceptual design, and shorten development schedule by enabling the determination of many "unknown unknowns" earlier in the design process and providing verification of the results from aircraft design tools. A modular testbed was designed and built to evaluate this rapid design-build-test approach and to support aeronautics and autonomy research targeting UAM applications utilizing a complex, transitioning-VTOL aircraft configuration. The testbed is a modular wind tunnel and flight model. The testbed airframe is approximately 80% printed, with labor required for assembly. This paper describes the design process, fabrication process, ground testing, and initial wind tunnel structural and thermal loading of a proof-of-concept aircraft, the Langley Aerodrome 8 (LA-8)

Genetic engineering of cyanobacteria as biodiesel feedstock.

Algal biofuels are a renewable energy source with the potential to replace conventional petroleum-based fuels, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The economic feasibility of commercial algal fuel production, however, is limited by low productivity of the natural algal strains. The project described in this SAND report addresses this low algal productivity by genetically engineering cyanobacteria (i.e. blue-green algae) to produce free fatty acids as fuel precursors. The engineered strains were characterized using Sandia's unique imaging capabilities along with cutting-edge RNA-seq technology. These tools are applied to identify additional genetic targets for improving fuel production in cyanobacteria. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates successful fuel production from engineered cyanobacteria, identifies potential limitations, and investigates several strategies to overcome these limitations. This project was funded from FY10-FY13 through the President Harry S. Truman Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering, a program sponsored by the LDRD office at Sandia National Laboratories

Feasibility of a Relaxation Guided Imagery Intervention to Reduce Maternal Stress in the NICU

Objective: To test the feasibility of a relaxation guided imagery (RGI) intervention for mothers of hospitalized preterm infants and to explore the biobehavioral effects of RGI on their distress, responsiveness, and physiological stress. Design: Single sample, pretest-posttest design. Setting: A large Level III NICU in Southern California. Participants: Twenty mothers of hospitalized preterm infants (24-32 weeks gestational age). Methods: Correlational analyses of RGI use with self-reported measures of distress (perceived stress, state anxiety, and depression symptoms), awakening salivary cortisol level, and salivary cortisol awakening response collected from mothers at baseline and after 8 weeks of an RGI intervention. Results: Nineteen mothers completed the study. Average use of RGI varied from 1.7 to 7.4 times per week (mean = 4.46, standard deviation = 2.7). Greater average use of RGI was correlated with lower awakening cortisol levels (r = -.38), greater cortisol awakening response (r =.36), and lower levels of distress (perceived stress [r = -.38], anxiety [r = -.43], and depression [r = -.41]). Conclusion: Relaxation guided imagery may be a feasible and acceptable intervention to reduce mental and physiologic stress and improve responsiveness in mothers of hospitalized preterm infants