Mars oxygen production system design

The design and construction phase is summarized of the Mars oxygen demonstration project. The basic hardware required to produce oxygen from simulated Mars atmosphere was assembled and tested. Some design problems still remain with the sample collection and storage system. In addition, design and development of computer compatible data acquisition and control instrumentation is ongoing

Physiological Responses in Initial Psychological Interviews

The purpose of this study was to determine the physiological responses of subjects to an initial psychological interview, and to study the effect of physical proximity and touch on these responses. Heart rate and total skin conductance variability were the responses monitored. To assess the subjects\u27 like or dislike of the psychologist interviewer, a measure of interpersonal attraction, the Interpersonal Judgment Scale, was employed. The California Psychological Inventory was utilized to investigate possible personality correlates with the physiological responses. Sixty females, between the ages of 18 and 28, responded to the California Psychological Inventory and were then connected to the physiological monitoring devices. The subjects\u27 physiological responses were recorded for a 10-minute period in an empty office and then they randomly received one of the following treatments: In treatment I the psychologist entered the counseling office, introduced himself, and sat one foot from the subject while orally administering the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank--Adult Form. When the psychologist reached item 15 he stated, Very good, now let\u27s go on to page 2. After the test, the psychologist said, That\u27s all for today, thank you for your help. If you will wait here, the experimenter will be right in. The psychologist then left the office, and the subject responded to the Interpersonal Judgment Scale. Treatment II was identical to treatment I, except the subject was touched three times during the interview, once on the shoulder and twice on the arm. In treatment III the psychologist entered the office, sat behind a desk and followed the procedure outlined in treatment I. The results indicated that a subject\u27s reaction to an initial psychological interview is a mild to moderate defensive response manifested by an increase in physiological stress levels. Total skin conductance variability increased significantly during the period when the psychologist was in the office. Heart rate increased in 54 out of 60 cases, but did not increase sufficiently enough in magnitude to justify significance. There were no significant differences between the three treatment groups on heart rate, skin conductance, or interpersonal attraction, and there were no personality correlates which were great enough to be of practical value. The data collected in the experiment supported the conclusion that a subject\u27s reaction to an initial psychological interview is a mild to moderate stress response manifested by increments in physiological stress levels. Touch and physical proximity do not appear to alter the stress response or the subject\u27s like--dislike attitude toward the psychologist

Sealing the Deal: A Case Study of a Private, Southeastern, Regional College’s Student Onboarding Practices

Each year, higher education institutions offer support to new, incoming students through an onboarding process that requires dedication and collaboration across multiple departments. Offering streamlined guidance and clear communication throughout the onboarding process is essential to ensure incoming students understand action steps without becoming overwhelmed with new terminology, processes, and environments. This explanatory case study is set to understand the current communication practices and technology use across onboarding departments at Brightside College – also referred to as Brightside or BC (pseudonym). The research team aimed to understand Brightside\u27s onboarding staff\u27s perspective of current processes and practices. With emphasis on the theoretical approaches of cognitive load theory (CLT) and loss-momentum framework (LMF), this study explores correlations on the impacts of students\u27 ability to move through the onboarding process based on the volume and content within onboarding processes and communications. Through focus groups, interviews, surveys, and document analysis, the capstone team gained a clear understanding of the current onboarding processes, communications, and loss points staff face at Brightside College. Common themes developed throughout data collection to indicate areas that could be improved upon to streamline and unify the onboarding process. Recommendations were offered in a timeline approach focusing on enhancing current technology practices, utilizing feedback from both staff and students, and exploring ways to improve communications to enhance the overall onboarding experience for both students and staff

Tikhonov adaptively regularized gamma variate fitting to assess plasma clearance of inert renal markers

The Tk-GV model fits Gamma Variates (GV) to data by Tikhonov regularization (Tk) with shrinkage constant, λ, chosen to minimize the relative error in plasma clearance, CL (ml/min). Using 169Yb-DTPA and 99mTc-DTPA (n = 46, 8–9 samples, 5–240 min) bolus-dilution curves, results were obtained for fit methods: (1) Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) one and two exponential term (E1 and E2), (2) OLS-GV and (3) Tk-GV. Four tests examined the fit results for: (1) physicality of ranges of model parameters, (2) effects on parameter values when different data subsets are fit, (3) characterization of residuals, and (4) extrapolative error and agreement with published correction factors. Test 1 showed physical Tk-GV results, where OLS-GV fits sometimes-produced nonphysical CL. Test 2 showed the Tk-GV model produced good results with 4 or more samples drawn between 10 and 240 min. Test 3 showed that E1 and E2 failed goodness-of-fit testing whereas GV fits for t > 20 min were acceptably good. Test 4 showed CLTk-GV clearance values agreed with published CL corrections with the general result that CLE1 > CLE2 > CLTk-GV and finally that CLTk-GV were considerably more robust, precise and accurate than CLE2, and should replace the use of CLE2 for these renal markers

Composting of rice straw with effective microorganisms (EM) and its influence on compost quality.

This study aims to assess the effect of EM application on the composting process of rice straw with goat manure and green waste and to evaluate the quality of both compost treatments. There are two treatment piles in this study, in which one pile was applied with EM and another pile without EM. Each treatment was replicated three times with 90 days of composting duration. The parameters for the temperature, pH, TOC and C/N ratio, show that decomposition of organic matter occurs during the 90-day period. The t-test conducted shows that there is a significant difference between compost with EM and compost without EM. The application of EM in compost increases the macro and micronutrient content. The following parameters support this conclusion: compost applied with EM has more N, P and K content (P < 0.05) compared to compost without EM. Although the Fe in compost with EM is much higher (P < 0.05) than in the compost without EM, for Zn and Cu, there is no significant difference between treatments. This study suggests that the application of EM is suitable to increase the mineralization in the composting process. The final resultant compost indicated that it was in the range of the matured level and can be used without any restriction

The Alcoholism and drugs abuse patient workbook/ Perkinson

ix, 10 hal.; 28 cm