On the uses of intermediate infrared and microwave infrared in meteorological satellites Third semiannual report

Analysis of Nimbus satellite high resolution infrared radiation grid point data, surface emissivity in intermediate region, and meteorological modeling for microwave stud

Ways to Greater Happiness: A Delphi Study

In the first round of this Delphi study 14 experts suggested strategies for improving life-satisfaction. In a second round, experts rated these strategies for (a) effectiveness, (b) feasibility and (c) cost-effectiveness. They considered 56 strategies policy makers can use to raise average happiness in a nation and 68 ways in which individuals can raise their own happiness. Experts were informed about the average ratings made by the panel and about the arguments advanced. Then, in a third round, experts made their final judgments. Summed ratings for average effectiveness and feasibility of the strategies ranged between 8.4 and 4.9 on scale 2–10, which means that most of the recommendations were deemed suitable. Agreement was slightly higher on policy strategies than on individual ways to greater happiness. Policy strategies deemed the most effective and feasi

An in vitro assay of collagen fiber alignment by acupuncture needle rotation

BACKGROUND: During traditional acupuncture therapy, soft tissues attach to and wind around the acupuncture needle. To study this phenomenon in a controlled and quantitative setting, we performed acupuncture needling in vitro. METHODS: Acupuncture was simulated in vitro in three-dimensional, type I collagen gels prepared at 1.5 mg/ml, 2.0 mg/ml, and 2.5 mg/ml collagen, and either crosslinked with formalin or left untreated. Acupuncture needles were inserted into the gels and rotated via a computer-controlled motor at 0.3 rev/sec for up to 10 revolutions while capturing the evolution of birefringence under cross-polarization. RESULTS: Simulated acupuncture produced circumferential alignment of collagen fibers close to the needle that evolved into radial alignment as the distance from the needle increased, which generally matched observations from published tissue explant studies. All gels failed prior to 10 revolutions, and the location of failure was near the transition between circumferential and radial alignment. Crosslinked collagen failed at a significantly lower number of revolutions than untreated collagen, whereas collagen concentration had no effect on gel failure. The strength of the alignment field increased with increasing collagen concentration and decreased with crosslinking. Separate studies were performed in which the gel thickness and depth of needle insertion were varied. As gel thickness increased, gels failed at fewer needle revolutions. For the same depth of insertion, alignment was greater in thinner gels. Alignment increased as the depth of insertion increased. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the mechanostructural properties of soft connective tissues may affect their response to acupuncture therapy. The in vitro model provides a platform to study mechanotransduction during acupuncture in a highly controlled and quantitative setting

On the use of intermediate infrared and microwave infrared in weather satellites First annual report

Microwave infrared sensors in meteorological satellite payloads to obtain additional weather informatio

Ways to Greater Happiness: A Delphi Study

In the first round of this Delphi study 14 experts suggested strategies for improving life-satisfaction. In a second round, the experts rated these strategies for a) effectiveness, b) feasibility and c) cost-effectiveness. They considered 56 strategies policy makers can use to raise average happiness in a nation and 68 ways in which individuals can raise their own happiness. Experts were informed about the average ratings made by the panel and about the arguments advanced. Then, in a third round, experts made their final judgments. Summed ratings for average effectiveness and feasibility of the strategies ranged between 8,4 and 4.9 on scale 2-10, which means that most of the recommendations were deemed suitable. Agreement was slightly higher on policy strategies than on individual ways to greater happiness. Policy strategies deemed the most effective and feasible are: 1) investing in happiness research, 2) support of vulnerable people and 3) improving the social climate, in particular by promoting voluntary work and supporting non-profits. ndividual strategies deemed most effective are: a) investing in social networks, b) doing meaningful things and c) caring for one’s health

Ways to greater happiness: A Delphi study

In the first round of this Delphi study 14 experts suggested strategies for improving life-satisfaction. In a second round, experts rated these strategies for a) effectiveness, b) feasibility and c) cost-effectiveness. They considered 56 strategies policy makers can use to raise average happiness in a nation and 68 ways in which individuals can raise their own happiness. Experts were informed about the average ratings made by the panel and about the arguments advanced. Then, in a third round, experts made their final judgments. Summed ratings for average effectiveness and feasibility of the strategies ranged between 8,4 and 4.9 on scale 2-10, which means that most of the recommendations were deemed suitable. Agreement was slightly higher on policy strategies than on individual ways to greater happiness. Policy strategies deemed the most effective and feasible are: 1) investing in happiness research, 2) support of vulnerable people and 3) improving the social climate, in particular by promoting voluntary work and supporting non-profits. Individual strategies deemed most effective are: a) investing in social networks, b) doing meaningful things and c) caring for one’s health. Keywords: life-satisfaction, research review, policy advice, utilitarianis

Lemur Systematics and Hemoglobin Phylogeny a

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73526/1/j.1749-6632.1988.tb51443.x.pd

A scalable, modular leg design for multi-legged stair climbing robots

Improving robustness of walking robots has always been problematic. Their complex kinematics and locomotion has always been prone to damage: a broken cable, an unstable foothold or a wrong set of parameters has been an everlasting source of frustration. Nature developed an extraordinary robustness through redundancy and fast adaptation. Theories about decentralized nervous systems has inspired this paper with a novel approach. The presented solution aims at relocating low-level walking behaviours to a network of computers and, more exactly, into the robots individual legs. This paper will not cover the full scope of the software implementation (this is a eld found especially in modular robotics), but presents how such an encapsulated leg with all necessary hardware is built and focuses on the mechanical and kinematic aspect of such legs. It highlights how a robotic leg needs to be designed to tackle structured environments serves as explanatory guide through the design process of legs with integrated PCU and sensors

Exponential Distribution of Locomotion Activity in Cell Cultures

In vitro velocities of several cell types have been measured using computer controlled video microscopy, which allowed to record the cells' trajectories over several days. On the basis of our large data sets we show that the locomotion activity displays a universal exponential distribution. Thus, motion resulting from complex cellular processes can be well described by an unexpected, but very simple distribution function. A simple phenomenological model based on the interaction of various cellular processes and finite ATP production rate is proposed to explain these experimental results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure