Essai de synthèse d'une image géographique par combinaison de données satellitaires et d'un MNT

La superposition dune classification d'image satellitaire à un modèle numérique de terrain (MNT) permet de mettre les informations thématiques en situation sur le relief, et d'en extraire des cartes thématiques et des vues 3D des paysages

An Investigation of the Relationships Between and Among Disaster Preparedness Knowledge, Perceived Use of Intuition, and Triage Decision Making of Emergency Department Registered Nurses in Acute Care Hospitals Using Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory

Background: Disasters are man-made or natural events that challenge resources and support in an environment lacking rules and regulations. Nurses represent the largest resource in healthcare and are among the first to encounter victims of disaster, thus having knowledge of disaster preparedness is essential to disaster response. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence concerning the relationships between everyday elements of nursing practice such as intuition and triage decision-making and disaster preparedness knowledge. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between and among disaster preparedness knowledge, perceived use of intuition, and triage decision-making in emergency department nurses employed in acute care hospitals. Methods: This descriptive correlational study of one hundred twenty-three emergency department nurses investigated the relationships between and among disaster preparedness knowledge, perceived use of intuition, and triage decision-making in emergency department nurses employed in acute care hospitals in the New York City combined statistical area. Participants completed the following four measurement instruments: The Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire, The Acknowledges Using Intuition in Nursing Scale, the Triage Decision Making Inventory, and a Demographic Data Information Form. Results: Statistical analysis demonstrated that perceived use of intuition and triage decision-making as a group was not predictive of disaster preparedness knowledge. Triage decision-making was predictive of disaster preparedness knowledge by it-self and significant relationships were found between demographic variables related to experience and disaster preparedness knowledge and triage decision-making. Empirical testing of perceived use of intuition demonstrated no significant relationships with disaster preparedness knowledge or triage decision-making. Conclusion: Emergency department registered nurses will be on the front lines of healthcare’s response to a disaster event. The relationship between disaster preparedness knowledge and triage decision-making suggests that emergency department registered nurses who posses’ higher levels of triage decision-making, have more disaster preparedness knowledge. As such, it is vital that hospital administration, government officials, and professional practice organizations recognize the value of disaster preparedness knowledge and promote innovative methods to educate and train this population of nurses. The empirical evidence of this research study was congruent with Benner’s novice to expert theory indicating that knowledge is gained from previous learning and experience

Role of the cellular environment in interstitial stem cell proliferation in Hydra

The role of the cellular environment on hydra stem cell proliferation and differentiation was investigated by introduction of interstitial cells into host tissue of defined cellular composition. In epithelial tissue lacking all non-epithelial cells the interstitial cell population did not grow but differentiated into nerve cells and nematocytes. In host tissue with progressively increased numbers of nerve cells growth of the interstitial cell population was positively correlated to the nerve cell density. In agreement with previous observations (Bode et al. 1976), growth of the interstitial cell population was also found to be negatively correlated to the level of interstitial cells present. The strong correlation between the growth of the interstitial cell population and the presence of interstitial cells and nerve cells implies that interstitial cell proliferation is controlled by a feedback signal from interstitial cells and their derivatives. Our results suggest that the cellular environment of interstitial cells provides cues which are instrumental in stem cell decision making

Trajectory Synthesis for Fisher Information Maximization

Estimation of model parameters in a dynamic system can be significantly improved with the choice of experimental trajectory. For general, nonlinear dynamic systems, finding globally "best" trajectories is typically not feasible; however, given an initial estimate of the model parameters and an initial trajectory, we present a continuous-time optimization method that produces a locally optimal trajectory for parameter estimation in the presence of measurement noise. The optimization algorithm is formulated to find system trajectories that improve a norm on the Fisher information matrix. A double-pendulum cart apparatus is used to numerically and experimentally validate this technique. In simulation, the optimized trajectory increases the minimum eigenvalue of the Fisher information matrix by three orders of magnitude compared to the initial trajectory. Experimental results show that this optimized trajectory translates to an order of magnitude improvement in the parameter estimate error in practice.Comment: 12 page

Effects of Biases in Virial Mass Estimation on Cosmic Synchronization of Quasar Accretion

Recent work using virial mass estimates and the quasar mass-luminosity plane has yielded several new puzzles regarding quasar accretion, including a sub-Eddington boundary on most quasar accretion, near-independence of the accretion rate from properties of the host galaxy, and a cosmic synchronization of accretion among black holes of a common mass. We consider how these puzzles might change if virial mass estimation turns out to have a systematic bias. As examples, we consider two recent claims of mass-dependent biases in MgII masses. Under any such correction, the surprising cosmic synchronization of quasar accretion rates and independence from the host galaxy remain. The slope and location of the sub-Eddington boundary are very sensitive to biases in virial mass estimation, and various mass calibrations appear to favor different possible physical explanations for feedback between the central black hole and its environment. The alternative mass estimators considered do not simply remove puzzling quasar behavior, but rather replace it with new puzzles that may be more difficult to solve than those using current virial mass estimators and the Shen et al. (2008) catalog.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

A Laboratory Experiment Involving Paper-Chromatography and Statistics

This article suggests a paper chromatographic separation of the dyes in commercial black inks, which has been designed for completion in one 3-hour laboratory period with the use of equipment and solvents found in practically all laboratories. The experiment gives very satisfactory results, and allows the student to become familiar with the general field of paper chromatography and some of the factors which affect Rf values of constituents of mixtures. It also may be used to demonstrate the use of simple statistical tests, if desired

The Born and Lens-Lens Corrections to Weak Gravitational Lensing Angular Power Spectra

We revisit the estimation of higher order corrections to the angular power spectra of weak gravitational lensing. Extending a previous calculation of Cooray and Hu, we find two additional terms to the fourth order in potential perturbations of large-scale structure corresponding to corrections associated with the Born approximation and the neglect of line-of-sight coupling of two foreground lenses in the standard first order result. These terms alter the convergence ($\kappa\kappa$), the lensing shear E-mode ($\epsilon\epsilon$), and their cross-correlation ($\kappa\epsilon$) power spectra on large angular scales, but leave the power spectra of the lensing shear B-mode ($\beta\beta$) and rotational ($\omega\omega$) component unchanged as compared to previous estimates. The new terms complete the calculation of corrections to weak lensing angular power spectra associated with both the Born approximation and the lens-lens coupling to an order in which the contributions are most significant. Taking these features together, we find that these corrections are unimportant for any weak lensing survey, including for a full sky survey limited by cosmic variance.Comment: Added references, minor changes to text. 9 pages, 2 figure

Torque Auditing Test Fixture for Hansen Medical’s Remote Catheter Manipulator Robot

Current manufacturing test systems for motor control of Hansen\u27s line of surgical robots are labor intensive, have room for operator error and do not supply sufficient information. Based upon an expected increase in production, the objective of this project was to replace their test protocol with a modular test fixture that improves test time, is intuitive to use, and enhances the user experience. We developed a modular design that works for both the Sensei and Magellan robots, and can be reconfigured easily for use on future robots. Using a control system and GUI made in LabVIEW, a magnetic particle as our torque actuator, and a Futek rotary torque sensor for precise data acquisition, our device is a creative, efficient, and effective replacement to Hansen’s quality testing. We successfully develop an equivalent test, surpassed our goal of decreasing test time, our fixture is completely modular for all Hansen’s RCMs, we integrated two tests into a single operation, and we received favorable feedback from the engineers and technicians whom proposed this project. This project succeeded in creating a functional prototype to replace Hansen Medical’s current test protocol. Our test system has been handed off to Hansen Medical for implementation and further development

Kriterien zur Stickstoffeffizienz moderner Winterweizensorten und deren Eignung für low-input Anbausysteme

Nitrogen deficiency is one of the most important reasons for reduced quality and yield stability in wheat production under low-input conditions. The present project intends to develop criteria allowing to find varieties that are adapted for low-input agricultural conditions. Therefore, yield and nitrogen uptake and use dynamics of eleven modern wheat varieties have been studied under low and high input conditions on a long term field experiment in Changins. This preliminary report shows that nitrogen efficiency defined as yield per available nitrogen is a useful criterion to distinguish nutrient efficiency under high nitrogen conditons but not when nitrogen is lacking. In further studies we will focus on backing quality as a potential indicator for nitrogen efficiency at low nitrogen conditions