742 research outputs found
Instrumentation and Controls Division Progress Report for the Period July 1, 1994, to December 31, 1997: Working Together on New Horizons
The ORNL I&C Division was created to support DOE-funded research. We have since broadened our mission to include other sponsors as the need for our services has grown. This report summarizes some of the work we have been conducting on behalf of DOE, other federal agencies, and the private sector during the past three and a half years. Because we take on nearly 750 individual projects every year, much of our work cannot be reported in detail. We hope that these summaries are of interest and demonstrate that our work, rooted in DOE scientific and technological programs, can also benefit the nation, its industry, and its citizens in direct and tangible ways
Interactive public digital displays: investigating its use in a high school context
This paper presents a longitudinal user study that investigated the
adoption of some Bluetooth based functionalities for a public digital display
in a high school. More specifically, the utilization of Bluetooth device naming
extended beyond social identity representation and introduced the use of a
simple interaction mechanism. The interaction mechanism involves recognizing
parts of the Bluetooth device name as explicit instructions to trigger the
generation of content on an interactive public display. Together with representatives
of the teachers' community, the design team defined some social
rules concerning usage in order to account for the specificities of the place. In
the user study, three fully functional prototypes were deployed at the school
hall of the high school. The functionalities introduced with the different prototypes
were: the visualization on the display of the Bluetooth device names,
the possibility to contribute to tag clouds and the possibility to choose icons
from a given set for self-expression. The results suggest that people appropriated
some but not all of the functionalities employed. Implications of our
findings to the design of interactive digital displays are pointed out.(undefined
Increasing viscosity of the intestinal contents alters small intestinal structure and intestinal growth, and stimulates proliferation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in newly-weaned pigs
Sources of viscous soluble fibre, such as barley and oats, have often been included in the weaning diet of the pig to accelerate development of the large intestine. Inclusion of a non-fermentable, viscous compound, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), in a low-fibre weaning diet was tested to assess the influence of digesta viscosity on the gut in the absence of increased fermentation. Two CMC sources, of low and high viscosity, were added to cooked rice-based diet at 40 g/kg total diet. A third control rice diet did not contain any CMC. Diets were fed for 13 d following weaning at 3 weeks of age. Addition of CMC to the diet significantly increased the intestinal viscosity of digesta within the small (P<0.001) and large (P<0.05) intestine. No simple association was found between increases in intestinal viscosity and effects on intestinal morphology and whole-body growth. The average empty-body-weight gain and the small intestinal villus height increased with low-viscosity CMC, but decreased with the high-viscosity CMC group. The full large intestinal weight increased in all pigs fed CMC. Dietary CMC (both low- and high-viscosity) increased the percentage moisture of digesta and faeces, and was associated with increased faecal shedding of enterotoxigenic haemolytic Escherichia coli. Feed ingredients in weaning diets that excessively increase the viscosity of the intestinal digesta may be detrimental to pig health and production
The interaction of human microbial pathogens, particulate material and nutrients in estuarine environments and their impacts on recreational and shellfish waters
Anthropogenic activities have increased the load of faecal bacteria, pathogenic viruses and nutrients in rivers, estuaries and coastal areas through point and diffuse sources such as sewage discharges and agricultural runoff. These areas are used by humans for both commercial and recreational activities and are therefore protected by a range of European Directives. If water quality declines in these zones, significant economic losses can occur. Identifying the sources of pollution, however, is notoriously difficult due to the ephemeral nature of discharges, their diffuse source, and uncertainties associated with transport and transformation of the pollutants through the freshwater–marine interface. Further, significant interaction between nutrients, microorganisms and particulates can occur in the water column making prediction of the fate and potential infectivity of human pathogenic organisms difficult to ascertain. This interaction is most prevalent in estuarine environments due to the formation of flocs (suspended sediment) at the marine-freshwater interface. A range of physical, chemical and biological processes can induce the co-flocculation of microorganisms, organic matter and mineral particles resulting in pathogenic organisms becoming potentially protected from a range of biotic (e.g. predation) and abiotic stresses (e.g. UV, salinity). These flocs contain and retain macro- and micro- nutrients allowing the potential survival, growth and transfer of pathogenic organisms to commercially sensitive areas (e.g. beaches, shellfish harvesting waters). The flocs can either be transported directly to the coastal environment or can become deposited in the estuary forming cohesive sediments where pathogens can survive for long periods. Especially in response to storms, these sediments can be subsequently remobilised releasing pulses of potential pathogenic organisms back into the water column leading to contamination of marine waters long after the initial contamination event occurred. Further work, however, is still required to understand and predict the potential human infectivity of pathogenic organisms alongside the better design of early warning systems and surveillance measures for risk assessment purposes
Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America
Predator-prey interactions revealed by vertebrate trace fossils are extremely rare. We present footprint evidence
from White Sands National Monument in New Mexico for the association of sloth and human trackways.
Geologically, the sloth and human trackways were made contemporaneously, and the sloth trackways show
evidence of evasion and defensive behavior when associated with human tracks. Behavioral inferences from
these trackways indicate prey selection and suggest that humans were harassing, stalking, and/or hunting
the now-extinct giant ground sloth in the terminal Pleistocene
Variable Ticket Pricing in Major League Baseball
Sport teams historically have been reluctant to change ticket prices during the season. Recently, however, numerous sport organizations have implemented variable ticket pricing in an effort to maximize revenues. In Major League Baseball variable pricing results in ticket price increases or decreases depending on factors such as quality of the opponent, day of the week, month of the year, and for special events such as opening day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. Using censored regression and elasticity analysis, this article demonstrates that variable pricing would have yielded approximately 1.4 million in revenue. The largest percentage revenue gain would have been the San Francisco Giants. The Giants would have seen an estimated 6.7% increase in revenue had they used optimal variable pricing
Spatial Solitons and Anderson Localization
Stochastic (Anderson) localization is the spatial localization of the
wave-function of quantum particles in random media. We show, that a
corresponding phenomenon can stabilize spatial solitons in optical resonators:
spatial solitons in resonators with randomly distorted mirrors are more stable
than in perfect mirror resonators. We demonstrate the phenomenon numerically,
by investigating solitons in lasers with saturable absorber, and analytically
by deriving and analyzing coupled equations of spatially coherent and
incoherent field components.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.
Interactions between donor age and 12-month estimated glomerular filtration rate on allograft and patient outcomes after kidney transplantation
Reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 12-months after kidney transplantation is associated with increased risk of allograft loss, but it is uncertain whether donor age and types modify this relationship. Using Australia and New Zealand registry data, multivariable Cox proportional modelling was used to examine the interactive effects between donor age, types and 12-month eGFR on overall allograft loss. We included 11,095 recipients (4,423 received live-donors). Recipients with lowest 12-month eGFR (60 ml/min/1.73 m²) was 0.67 [0.62–0.74]. The association of 12-month eGFR and allograft loss was modified by donor age (but not donor types) where a higher risk of allograft loss in recipients with lower compared with higher 12-month eGFR being most pronounced in the younger donor age groups (p 60 ml/min/1.73 m², and the magnitude of the increased risk is most marked among recipients with younger donors. Careful deliberation of other factors including donor age when considering eGFR as a surrogate for clinical endpoints is warranted.Wai H. Lim, Esther Ooi, Helen L. Pilmore, David W. Johnson, Stephen P. McDonald, Philip Clayton, Carmel Hawley, William R. Mulley, Ross Francis, Michael G. Collins, Bryon Jaques, Nicholas G. Larkins, Christopher E. Davies, Kate Wyburn, Steve J. Chadban and Germaine Won
Morphology and foliar chemistry of containerized Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir. seedlings as affected by water availability and nutrition
• We present the results of a two-year (2007–2008) greenhouse study investigating the
effect of water availability and nitrogen fertilization on the growth, biomass
partitioning, and foliar nutrient content of Abies fraseri (Pursh)
Poir.
• Fertilizer and moisture content (irrigation) were varied in a factorial experiment
combining four levels of irrigation and three levels of fertilization to evaluate growth
and foliar nutrient content. In addition, a numerical optimization was used to estimate
appropriate levels of each factor necessary to achieve simulated goals for response
variables.
• Irrigation increased the height growth by 12 to 35% depending on the fertilization
treatment (p = 0.0001). Fertilization increased height growth by 10 to
26% (p = 0.02). A similar response was observed for stem diameter growth
(SDG). Total biomass accumulation increased as result of positive response of stem and
root biomass development, and foliar nitrogen content was positively affected by nitrogen
fertilization and negatively affected by irrigation. The numerical optimization for
simulated target growth and nitrogen content responses produced levels of input
combinations with high desirability factors to achieve the target responses.
• These results suggest that nutrient addition is a strong determining factor for early
development of this species. The improved growth efficiency in this study is likely
attributed to a combination of factors including, improved photosynthetic capacity,
decreased stomatal limitations, or increased resource allocation to stems
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