Land use impacts of rapid transit: implications of recent experience

This report reviews evidence of land-use impacts of recent major rapid-transit improvements and draws conclusions concerning the extent and nature of such impacts and the conditions under which they have occurred. Transit improvements studied are primarily post-World War II in origin. American and Canadian examples are stressed, although European experience is treated briefly. Virtually all major modern American and Canadian rapid-transit improvements are included, covering conventional rapid rail, commuter rail, light rail, and bus/busway. In addition to conclusions on general patterns of land-use impact causes, research recommendations and Federal policy implications are drawn

Cross-national comparisons of product development in manufacturing

In this study we compare product development strategies and practices of five companies in the durable goods industries: one each in the United States (equipment), Sweden aerospace), Germany (electric motors), Hungary (transportation equipment), and Japan (business machines, cameras/video). In particular, we focus on the concept development phase of new product development and the attend to the aspects of the design process that may be influenced by culture. To the extent that the five cases are representative of their home countries, there appears to be ample variance across cultures to justify further, more extensive research in this arena. A model is presented which differentiates the amount of cultural influence by stage of the product development process in high technology versus low technology industries.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30535/1/0000167.pd

Integrating Multidisciplinary Design in an Undergraduate Curriculum

Multidisciplinary design and analysis has become the normal mode of operation within most aerospace companies, but the impact of these changes have largely not been reflected at many universities. In an effort to determine if the emergence of multidisciplinary design concepts should influence engineering curricula, NASA has asked several universities (Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson, BYU, and Cal Poly) to investigate the practicality of introducing the concepts within their undergraduate curricula. A multidisciplinary team of faculty, students, and industry partners evaluated the aeronautical engineering curriculum at Cal Poly. A variety of ways were found to introduce multidisciplinary themes into the existing program. Both analytic and educational tools for multidisciplinary design of aircraft have been developed and are in the process of being implemented

Band-theoretical prediction of magnetic anisotropy in uranium monochalcogenides

Magnetic anisotropy of uranium monochalcogenides, US, USe and UTe, is studied by means of fully-relativistic spin-polarized band structure calculations within the local spin-density approximation. It is found that the size of the magnetic anisotropy is fairly large (about 10 meV/unit formula), which is comparable with experiment. This strong anisotropy is discussed in view of a pseudo-gap formation, of which crucial ingredients are the exchange splitting of U 5f states and their hybridization with chalcogen p states (f-p hybridization). An anomalous trend in the anisotropy is found in the series (US>>USe<UTe) and interpreted in terms of competition between localization of the U 5f states and the f-p hybridization. It is the spin-orbit interaction on the chalcogen p states that plays an essential role in enlarging the strength of the f-p hybridization in UTe, leading to an anomalous systematic trend in the magnetic anisotropy.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Postgraduate Students’ Experience of Using a Learning Management System to Support Their Learning: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Introduction Educational institutions worldwide have implemented learning management systems (LMSs) to centralise and manage learning resources, educational services, learning activities and institutional information. LMS has mainly been used by teachers as storage and transfer of course material. To effectively utilise digital technologies in education, there is a need for more knowledge of student experiences with digital technology, such as LMSs and especially regarding how LMSs can contribute to student engagement and learning. Objective This study aimed to gain knowledge about postgraduate nursing students’ experiences with the use of LMS in a subject in an advanced practice nursing master's programme. Methods A qualitative method with a descriptive design was employed. Two focus group interviews were performed with eight postgraduate nursing students from an advanced practice nursing programme at a university college in Norway. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Three themes emerged from the data material: 1) A course structure that supports learning; 2) LMS tools facilitate preparation, repetition and flexibility; and 3) own responsibility for using the LMS for preparation before on-campus activities. Conclusion The course structure within the LMS seemed to be important to enhance postgraduate students’ ability to prepare before on-campus activities. Implementation and use of LMS tools can facilitate preparation, repetition and flexibility, especially when postgraduate students study difficult topics. Postgraduate students seem to have different views regarding their own responsibility for using the LMS to prepare before on-campus activities.publishedVersio

Altered Metabolic Signature in Pre-Diabetic NOD Mice

Altered metabolism proceeding seroconversion in children progressing to Type 1 diabetes has previously been demonstrated. We tested the hypothesis that non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice show a similarly altered metabolic profile compared to C57BL/6 mice. Blood samples from NOD and C57BL/6 female mice was collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 weeks and the metabolite content was analyzed using GC-MS. Based on the data of 89 identified metabolites OPLS-DA analysis was employed to determine the most discriminative metabolites. In silico analysis of potential involved metabolic enzymes was performed using the dbSNP data base. Already at 0 weeks NOD mice displayed a unique metabolic signature compared to C57BL/6. A shift in the metabolism was observed for both strains the first weeks of life, a pattern that stabilized after 5 weeks of age. Multivariate analysis revealed the most discriminative metabolites, which included inosine and glutamic acid. In silico analysis of the genes in the involved metabolic pathways revealed several SNPs in either regulatory or coding regions, some in previously defined insulin dependent diabetes (Idd) regions. Our result shows that NOD mice display an altered metabolic profile that is partly resembling the previously observation made in children progressing to Type 1 diabetes. The level of glutamic acid was one of the most discriminative metabolites in addition to several metabolites in the TCA cycle and nucleic acid components. The in silico analysis indicated that the genes responsible for this reside within previously defined Idd regions

Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy Energy of Transition Metal Thin Films: A Non-perturbative Theory

The magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy E(anis) of free-standing monolayers and thin films of Fe and Ni is determined using two different semi-empirical schemes. Within a tight-binding calculation for the 3d bands alone, we analyze in detail the relation between bandstructure and E(anis), treating spin-orbit coupling non-pertubatively. We find important contributions to E(anis) due to the lifting of band degeneracies near the Fermi level by SOC. The important role of degeneracies is supported by the calculation of the electron temperature dependence of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy, which decreases with the temperature increasing on a scale of several hundred K. In general, E(anis) scales with the square of the SOC constant. Including 4s bands and s-d hybridization, the combined interpolation scheme yields anisotropy energies that quantitatively agree well with experiments for Fe and Ni monolayers on Cu(001). Finally, the anisotropy energy is calculated for systems of up to 14 layers. Even after including s-bands and for multilayers, the importance of degeneracies persists. Considering a fixed fct-Fe structure, we find a reorientation of the magnetization from perpendicular to in-plane at about 4 layers. For Ni, we find the correct in-plane easy-axis for the monolayer. However, since the anisotropy energy remains nearly constant, we do not find the experimentally observed reorientation.Comment: 15 pages, Revtex, 15 postscript figure

Electronic structure of the strongly hybridized ferromagnet CeFe2

We report on results from high-energy spectroscopic measurements on CeFe2, a system of particular interest due to its anomalous ferromagnetism with an unusually low Curie temperature and small magnetization compared to the other rare earth-iron Laves phase compounds. Our experimental results indicate very strong hybridization of the Ce 4f states with the delocalized band states, mainly the Fe 3d states. In the interpretation and analysis of our measured spectra, we have made use of two different theoretical approaches: The first one is based on the Anderson impurity model, with surface contributions explicitly taken into account. The second method consists of band-structure calculations for bulk CeFe2. The analysis based on the Anderson impurity model gives calculated spectra in good agreement with the whole range of measured spectra, and reveals that the Ce 4f -- Fe 3d hybridization is considerably reduced at the surface, resulting in even stronger hybridization in the bulk than previously thought. The band-structure calculations are ab initio full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital calculations within the local-spin-density approximation of the density functional. The Ce 4f electrons were treated as itinerant band electrons. Interestingly, the Ce 4f partial density of states obtained from the band-structure calculations also agree well with the experimental spectra concerning both the 4f peak position and the 4f bandwidth, if the surface effects are properly taken into account. In addition, results, notably the partial spin magnetic moments, from the band-structure calculations are discussed in some detail and compared to experimental findings and earlier calculations.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B in December 200

Combined Inflammatory and Metabolic Defects Reflected by Reduced Serum Protein Levels in Patients with Buruli Ulcer Disease

Buruli ulcer is a skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans that is spreading in tropical countries, with major public health and economic implications in West Africa. Multi-analyte profiling of serum proteins in patients and endemic controls revealed that Buruli ulcer disease down-regulates the circulating levels of a large array of inflammatory mediators, without impacting on the leukocyte composition of peripheral blood. Notably, several proteins contributing to acute phase reaction, lipid metabolism, coagulation and tissue remodelling were also impacted. Their down-regulation was selective and persisted after the elimination of bacteria with antibiotic therapy. It involved proteins with various functions and origins, suggesting that M. ulcerans infection causes global and chronic defects in the host’s protein metabolism. Accordingly, patients had reduced levels of total serum proteins and blood urea, in the absence of signs of malnutrition, or functional failure of liver or kidney. Interestingly, slow healers had deeper metabolic and coagulation defects at the start of antibiotic therapy. In addition to providing novel insight into Buruli ulcer pathogenesis, our study therefore identifies a unique proteomic signature for this disease

Importance of Correlation Effects on Magnetic Anisotropy in Fe and Ni

We calculate magnetic anisotropy energy of Fe and Ni by taking into account the effects of strong electronic correlations, spin-orbit coupling, and non-collinearity of intra-atomic magnetization. The LDA+U method is used and its equivalence to dynamical mean-field theory in the static limit is emphasized. Both experimental magnitude of MAE and direction of magnetization are predicted correctly near U=4 eV for Ni and U=3.5 eV for Fe. Correlations modify one-electron spectra which are now in better agreement with experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure