210 research outputs found
Combining situated Cognitive Engineering with a novel testing method in a case study comparing two infusion pump interfaces
We validated the usability of a new infusion pump interface designed with a situated Cognitive Engineering approach by comparing it to a reference interface using a novel testing method employing repeated measurements and process measures, in addition to traditional outcome measures. The sample consisted of 25 nurses who performed eight critical tasks three times. Performance measures consisted of number and type of errors, deviations from a pre-established normative path solution, task completion times, number of keystrokes, mental effort and preferences in use. Results showed that interaction with the new interface resulted in 18% fewer errors, 90% fewer normative path deviations, 42% lower task completion times, 40% fewer keystrokes, 39% lower mental effort and 76% more subjective preferences in use. These outcomes suggest that within the scope of this case study, combining the situated Cognitive Engineering approach with a novel testing method addresses various shortcomings of earlier testing methods
Social Science Methods for Twins Data: Integrating Causality, Endowments and Heritability
Twins have been extensively used in both economic and behavioral genetics to investigate the role of genetic endowments on a broad range of social, demographic and economic outcomes. However, the focus in these two literatures has been distinct: the economic literature has been primarily concerned with the need to control for unobserved endowments—including as an im¬portant subset, genetic endowments—in analyses that attempt to establish the impact of one vari¬able, often schooling, on a variety of economic, demographic and health outcomes. Behavioral genetic analyses have mostly been concerned with decomposing the variation in the outcomes of interest into genetic, shared environmental and non-shared environmental components, with recent multivariate analyses investigating the contributions of genes and the environment to the correlation and causation between variables. Despite the fact that twins studies and the recogni¬tion of the role of endowments are central to both of these literatures, they have mostly evolved independently. In this paper we develop formally the relationship between the economic and behavioral genetic approaches to the analyses of twins, and we develop an integrative approach that combines the identification of causal effects, which dominates the economic literature, with the decomposition of variances and covariances into genetic and environmental factors that is the primary goal of behavioral genetic approaches. We apply this new integrative approach to an illustrative investigation of the impact of schooling on several demographic outcomes such as fertility and nuptiality and health
Molecular analysis of intragenic recombination at the tryptophan synthetase locus in Neurospora crassa
Fifteen different classically generated and mapped mutations at the tryptophan synthetase locus in Neurospora crassa have been characterized to the level of the primary sequence of the gene. This sequence analysis has demonstrated that intragenic recombination is accurate to order mutations within one open reading frame. While classic genetic analysis correctly ordered the mutations, the position of mutations characterized by gene sequence analysis was more accurate. A leaky mutation was found to have a wild-type primary sequence. The presence of unique polymorphisms in the primary sequence of the trp-3 gene from strain 861 confirms that it has a unique history relative to the other strains studied. Most strains that were previously shown to be immunologically nonreactive with antibody preparations raised against tryptophan synthetase protein were shown to have nonsense mutations. This work defines 14 alleles of the N. crassa trp-3 gene.Citation: "Molecular analysis of intragenic recombination at the tryptophan synthetase locus in Neurospora crassa" (December 2013) A. Wiest D. Barchers M. Eaton R. Henderson R. Schnittker K. Mccluskey. Journal of Genetics, Indian Academy of Science. Volume 92 Issue 3. 523-528.Citation: Wiest, A., . . . & McCluskey, K. (2013). Molecular analysis of intragenic recombination at the tryptophan
synthetase locus in Neurospora crassa. Journal of Genetics, 92(1), 523–528.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-013-0305-
Breakup Conditions of Projectile Spectators from Dynamical Observables
Momenta and masses of heavy projectile fragments (Z >= 8), produced in
collisions of 197Au with C, Al, Cu and Pb targets at E/A = 600 MeV, were
determined with the ALADIN magnetic spectrometer at SIS. An analysis of
kinematic correlations between the two and three heaviest projectile fragments
in their rest frame was performed. The sensitivity of these correlations to the
conditions at breakup was verified within the schematic SOS-model. The data
were compared to calculations with statistical multifragmentation models and to
classical three-body calculations. Classical trajectory calculations reproduce
the dynamical observables. The deduced breakup parameters, however, differ
considerably from those assumed in the statistical multifragmentation models
which describe the charge correlations. If, on the other hand, the analysis of
kinematic and charge correlations is performed for events with two and three
heavy fragments produced by statistical multifragmentation codes, a good
agreement with the data is found with the exception that the fluctuation widths
of the intrinsic fragment energies are significantly underestimated. A new
version of the multifragmentation code MCFRAG was therefore used to investigate
the potential role of angular momentum at the breakup stage. If a mean angular
momentum of 0.75/nucleon is added to the system, the energy fluctuations
can be reproduced, but at the same time the charge partitions are modified and
deviate from the data.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Mn, 25.70.Pq, 25.75.Ld, 25.75.-qComment: 38 pages, RevTeX with 21 included figures; Also available from
http://www-kp3.gsi.de/www/kp3/aladin_publications.htm
Time Scales in Spectator Fragmentation
Proton-proton correlations and correlations of p-alpha, d-alpha, and t-alpha
from spectator decays following Au + Au collisions at 1000 AMeV have been
measured with an highly efficient detector hodoscope. The constructed
correlation functions indicate a moderate expansion and low breakup densities
similar to assumptions made in statistical multifragmentation models. In
agreement with a volume breakup rather short time scales were deduced employing
directional cuts in proton-proton correlations.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Pq, 21.65.+f, 25.70.MnComment: 8 pages, with 5 included figures; To appear in the proceedings of the
CRIS 2000 conference; Also available from
http://www-kp3.gsi.de/www/kp3/aladin_publications.htm
Breakup Density in Spectator Fragmentation
Proton-proton correlations and correlations of protons, deuterons and tritons
with alpha particles from spectator decays following 197Au + 197Au collisions
at 1000 MeV per nucleon have been measured with two highly efficient detector
hodoscopes. The constructed correlation functions, interpreted within the
approximation of a simultaneous volume decay, indicate a moderate expansion and
low breakup densities, similar to assumptions made in statistical
multifragmentation models.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Pq, 21.65.+f, 25.70.Mn, 25.75.GzComment: 11 pages, LaTeX with 3 included figures; Also available from
http://www-kp3.gsi.de/www/kp3/aladin_publications.htm
Thermal and Chemical Freeze-out in Spectator Fragmentation
Isotope temperatures from double ratios of hydrogen, helium, lithium,
beryllium, and carbon isotopic yields, and excited-state temperatures from
yield ratios of particle-unstable resonances in 4He, 5Li, and 8Be, were
determined for spectator fragmentation, following collisions of 197Au with
targets ranging from C to Au at incident energies of 600 and 1000 MeV per
nucleon. A deviation of the isotopic from the excited-state temperatures is
observed which coincides with the transition from residue formation to
multi-fragment production, suggesting a chemical freeze-out prior to thermal
freeze-out in bulk disintegrations.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, small changes as
suggested by the editors and referee
Breakup Temperature of Target Spectators in Au + Au Collisions at E/A = 1000 MeV
Breakup temperatures were deduced from double ratios of isotope yields for
target spectators produced in the reaction Au + Au at 1000 MeV per nucleon.
Pairs of He and Li isotopes and pairs of He and H
isotopes (p, d and d, t) yield consistent temperatures after feeding
corrections, based on the quantum statistical model, are applied. The
temperatures rise with decreasing impact parameter from 4 MeV for peripheral to
about 10 MeV for the most central collisions.
The good agreement with the breakup temperatures measured previously for
projectile spectators at an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon confirms the
observed universality of the spectator decay at relativistic bombarding
energies. The measured temperatures also agree with the breakup temperatures
predicted by the statistical multifragmentation model. For these calculations a
relation between the initial excitation energy and mass was derived which gives
good simultaneous agreement for the fragment charge correlations.
The energy spectra of light charged particles, measured at =
150, exhibit Maxwellian shapes with inverse slope parameters much
higher than the breakup temperatures. The statistical multifragmentation model,
because Coulomb repulsion and sequential decay processes are included, yields
light-particle spectra with inverse slope parameters higher than the breakup
temperatures but considerably below the measured values. The systematic
behavior of the differences suggests that they are caused by
light-charged-particle emission prior to the final breakup stage.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Mn, 25.70.Pq, 25.75.-qComment: 29 pages, TeX with 11 included figures; Revised version accepted for
publication in Z. Phys. A Two additional figure
Temperatures of Exploding Nuclei
Breakup temperatures in central collisions of 197Au + 197Au at bombarding
energies E/A = 50 to 200 MeV were determined with two methods. Isotope
temperatures, deduced from double ratios of hydrogen, helium, and lithium
isotopic yields, increase monotonically with bombarding energy from 5 MeV to 12
MeV, in qualitative agreement with a scenario of chemical freeze-out after
adiabatic expansion. Excited-state temperatures, derived from yield ratios of
states in 4He, 5Li, 6Li, and 8Be, are about 5 MeV, independent of the
projectile energy, and seem to reflect the internal temperature of fragments at
their final separation from the system.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Mn, 25.70.Pq, 25.75.-qComment: 10 pages, RevTeX with 4 included figures; Also available from
http://www-kp3.gsi.de/www/kp3/aladin_publications.htm
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