The Life of Portland Cement

Perhaps just a word in explanation of the title of this paper will not be amiss. We speak of Portland Cement as possessing life. We do this because the duration of its existence as Portland Cement is measurable. In contradistinction we might speak of a material such as the Sioux Falls Quartzite as being dead, since no appreciable change takes place in the body of this Quartzite, all of the elements of the Quartzite being practically at a state of rest and resisting all disintegration by the ordinary weathering agencies. Perhaps our distinction may be somewhat arbitrary and we cheerfully invite helpful criticism

The Development of the Therapy Process Observational Coding System - In-Session Involvement

In-session client involvement (i.e., participation in in-session therapeutic tasks) is hypothesized to be a necessary component of youth therapy and associated with positive outcomes. However, research on in-session client involvement has been slowed by definitional problems. At present, the field has not yet adopted a single definition of client involvement that is applicable across different theoretical orientations, which has impacted the measurement of this construct. To remedy this problem, the field needs to adopt a definition of in-session client involvement that includes important components (i.e., behavioral, affective, and cognitive) of this construct that applies across different theoretical orientations and use this definition to guide instrument development. The current study reports on the development and initial psychometric assessment of the Therapy Process Observational Coding Scale – Involvement (TPOCS-I), an observational measure designed to capture in-session involvement for youth therapy. Treatment sessions (N = 895) were drawn from (a) 55 youth (ages 7-13 years; M = 9.89, SD = 1.71; 51.5% Caucasian; 58.8% male) who received standard cognitive-behavioral therapy, modular therapy, or usual care for youth anxiety; and (b) 51 youth (ages 7-14; M = 10.35, SD = 1.89; 86.3% Caucasian; 60.8% male) receiving standard cognitive behavioral therapy for youth anxiety. Sessions were independently scored by seven coders using observational instruments designed to assess involvement, alliance, therapist competence, and therapist interventions. Interrater reliability – intraclass correlation coefficients (2,2)—for the item scores averaged 0.73 (SD = 0.08) and 0.82 (SD = 0.08) for the Kendall and Child STEPS samples, respectively. The TPOCS-I scale and subscale (Behavioral, Affective, Cognitive, Positive, Negative) scores failed to demonstrate discriminant validity from the alliance. The use of two subscale configurations (i.e., Behavioral, Affective, Cognitive; and Positive, Negative) was not supported. These findings are discussed and future directions including measure development in a sample of youth with diverse diagnoses and the use of different perspectives in the measurement of in-session involvement

Surgical Repair of Umbilical and Inguinal Hernias in the Bovine

Many different techniques have been described for hernia repair and all are aimed at securing the same result, a firm union of the opposing edges of the hernial ring

Those New Barley and Flax Varieties

Growers in northwestern Iowa will be hearing more about several new and improved varieties of barley and flax. Particularly promising varieties for Iowa are Traill and Liberty barley as well as Arny and Bolley flax

Free drifting buoy trajectories in the Gulf Stream system : 1975-1978 : a data report

From 1975 to 1978, thirty-one satellite-tracked free-drifting surface buoys were launched in the Gulf Stream system. Most of these buoys were launched in cyclonic rings, as part of an interdisciplinary Gulf Stream ring experiment, Other buoys were launched in anticyclonic rings and the Gulf Stream itself; one buoy was launched in a cyclonic Kuroshio ring. The basic data set consists of buoy trajectories and sea surface temperature and velocity measurements along trajectories. The main results consist of a series of 19 buoy trajectories in rings from which the movement of rings is inferred and a series of 20 buoy trajectories in the Gulf Stream. Rings frequently coalesced with the Gulf Stream, and some reformed as modified rings. The trajectories of buoys in the Stream reveal that at times surface currents are strongly influenced by topographic features such as seamounts and ridges. Most buoys in the Stream continued to move eastward until they reached the vicinity of the Grand Banks (50°W) where they rapidly fanned out, some moving northward, others eastward across the mid-Atlantic Ridge, still others southward and westward .Prepared for the Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-74-C-0262; NR 083-004 and for the National Science Foundation under Grants OCE 75-008765 and OCE 77-08045

A depth camera-based system for estimating cyclist-bike projected frontal area

A major component of total resistive force in cycling is aerodynamic drag. For speeds greater than ~14 m/s aerodynamic drag accounts for approximately 90% of total resistive force (Debraux et al., 2009: International Journal of Sports Medicine, 30, 266-272). Together with the air density, the coefficient of drag and the velocity of the cyclist-bike, an important determinant of aerodynamic drag is projected frontal area. Several techniques have been used to estimate the projected frontal area of a cyclist-bike, including the weighing of photographs and image digitising (Debraux et al., 2009). These techniques are similar as they involve extracting the cyclist-bike from a two-dimensional (2D) image and using scaling information from a plane of known dimensions. With the weighing photographs method this is done physically using sensitive weighing scales whereas image processing software is used for the image digitising technique. Both techniques require the collection of a calibration plane, involve considerable post-processing and cannot be performed in real time. We have developed a depth camera-based system for estimating cyclist-bike projected frontal area which addresses these issues. The depth camera algorithm works by creating a metrically scaled, three-dimensional point cloud of the cyclist-bike. The point cloud is projected on to a 2D representation of the scene and the area of the point cloud is calculated using a technique similar to ‘voxelization’; points in the cloud occupy spaces in a fine grid – the sum of the occupied grid spaces gives total area. The aim of this study was to investigate the agreement between our new method and the image digitising technique.After institutional ethics approval, eight regular cyclists volunteered to participate and provided written informed consent. Participants wore their normal cycling clothing and their bicycle was mounted on a stationary indoor trainer. The bicycle was positioned against a white background to help with the image digitising method. Participants placed their feet on the pedals and held the cranks parallel to the floor. A digital camera (Canon EOS 400D, 10.1 megapixel) and Kinect depth camera (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) were mounted on tripods at a height of 1.1 m and positioned 5 m and 2.2 m in front of the participant, respectively. Similar to Debraux et al. (2009), participants adopted two positions on the bike: 1. Upright – upright torso with hands close to the stem and 2. Drops Position – hands on the drops. Three repeat captures were performed in each position, with the participant relaxing between each capture. The digitising method was performed as described by Debraux et al. (2009). Agreement between methods was assessed using limits of agreement (LOA - Bland and Altman, 1986: Lancet, 1, 307-310). A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (method by position) was used to assess the effect of cyclist position on the systematic difference between measurement methods.There was no interaction between cyclist position and measurement method (p = 0.201) indicating that the same effect of cyclist position was observed using both measurement techniques. A significant main effect for cyclist position (p = 0.017) indicated that projected frontal area was smaller with hands on the drops (upright: 0.485 m2, drops: 0.434 m2). There was also a significant main effect for measurement method (p < 0.001) indicating a significantly smaller estimation of projected frontal area using the Kinect (Kinect: 0.416 m2, Image: 0.503 m2). A predominantly systematic difference between methods was also suggested by the LOA analysis (upright: 0.086 ± 0.029 m2, drops: 0.090 ± 0.033 m2).The aim of this study was to assess the agreement between a common method of estimating cyclist-bike frontal area and a new depth camera-based technique. The new technique estimated systematically smaller projected frontal area than the image digitisation method but there was relatively little random variation and the same effect of cyclist position was observed with both techniques. Which technique gives the most accurate estimate of projected frontal area is not clear as the image digitisation technique - to which the new technique was compared - has associated errors e.g. identification of the cyclist-bike outline and out-of-plane errors. However, it was apparent during testing that the depth camera-based system often failed to identify parts of the bike and this is most likely the cause of the difference between techniques. Regardless, the results of this study suggest that the new technique can be used to assess changes in projected frontal area – as the cyclist changes position, for example. Further, the new technique offers the possibility of analysing changes in projected frontal area in real time – there is no requirement for calibration or post-processing

The Deep Subsurface Biosphere in Igneous Ocean Crust: Frontier Habitats for Microbiological Exploration

We discuss ridge flank environments in the ocean crust as habitats for subseafloor microbial life. Oceanic ridge flanks, areas far from the magmatic and tectonic influence of seafloor spreading, comprise one of the largest and least explored microbial habitats on the planet. We describe the nature of selected ridge flank crustal environments, and present a framework for delineating a continuum of conditions and processes that are likely to be important for defining subseafloor microbial "provinces." The basis for this framework is three governing conditions that help to determine the nature of subseafloor biomes: crustal age, extent of fluid flow, and thermal state. We present a brief overview of subseafloor conditions, within the context of these three characteristics, for five field sites where microbial studies have been done, are underway, or have been proposed. Technical challenges remain and likely will limit progress in studies of microbial ridge flank ecosystems, which is why it is vital to select and design future studies so as to leverage as much general understanding as possible from work focused at a small number of sites. A characterization framework such that as presented in this paper, perhaps including alternative or additional physical or chemical characteristics, is essential for achieving the greatest benefit from multidisciplinary microbial investigations of oceanic ridge flanks

Grief Content Inclusion in CACREP-Accredited Counselor Education Programs

This study investigated how counselor educators (n = 61) integrated grief content in accredited counselor education programs, characteristics of the course in which grief is taught, and professional background of faculty members. Most participants endorsed general content items (e.g., reactions to loss), grief theories (e.g., stages/phases of grief), and practice considerations (e.g., self-care). Additionally, results indicated grief-focused courses were mostly elective (n = 23; 85.19%), facilitated face-to-face (n = 18; 66.67%) and taught by counselor educators influenced by significant personal loss (n = 18, 78.26%). Results demonstrated a lack of professional affiliation with grief-related organizations, professional development through certifications, or continuing education. Discussion of results, implications for the counseling profession, and areas for future research and practice are explored