The effects of hypnosis on flow states and three-point shooting performance in basketball players.

This study examined the effects of hypnosis on flow states and three-point shooting performance in 5 collegiate basketball players. The investigation uti- lized an ideographic single-subject multiple baselines across subjects design combined with a procedure that monitors the internal experience of the par- ticipants (Wollman, 1986). The method of intervention utilized in this study involved relaxation, imagery, hypnotic induction, hypnotic regression, and trigger control procedures. The results indicated that all five participants in- creased both their mean basketball three-point shooting performance and their mean flow scores from baseline to intervention. There were no overlapping data points between the baseline and intervention for either performance or flow state. Additionally, each participant indicated that they had felt the inter- vention was useful in keeping them confident, relaxed, and calm. These re- sults support the hypothesis that a hypnosis intervention can improve three- point shooting performance in basketball players and increase feelings and cognitions that are associated with flow

Aperture-Level Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (STAR) with Digital Phased Arrays

In the signal processing community, it has long been assumed that transmitting and receiving useful signals at the same time in the same frequency band at the same physical location was impossible. A number of insights in antenna design, analog hardware, and digital signal processing have allowed researchers to achieve simultaneous transmit and receive (STAR) capability, sometimes also referred to as in-band full-duplex (IBFD). All STAR systems must mitigate the interference in the receive channel caused by the signals emitted by the system. This poses a significant challenge because of the immense disparity in the power of the transmitted and received signals. As an analogy, imagine a person that wanted to be able to hear a whisper from across the room while screaming at the top of their lungs. The sound of their own voice would completely drown out the whisper. Approaches to increasing the isolation between the transmit and receive channels of a system attempt to successively reduce the magnitude of the transmitted interference at various points in the received signal processing chain. Many researchers believe that STAR cannot be achieved practically without some combination of modified antennas, analog self-interference cancellation hardware, digital adaptive beamforming, and digital self-interference cancellation. The aperture-level simultaneous transmit and receive (ALSTAR) paradigm confronts that assumption by creating isolation between transmit and receive subarrays in a phased array using only digital adaptive transmit and receive beamforming and digital self-interference cancellation. This dissertation explores the boundaries of performance for the ALSTAR architecture both in terms of isolation and in terms of spatial imaging resolution. It also makes significant strides towards practical ALSTAR implementation by determining the performance capabilities and computational costs of an adaptive beamforming and self-interference cancellation implementation inspired by the mathematical structure of the isolation performance limits and designed for real-time operation

PERFORMANCE SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF A SIMULTANEOUS TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE PHASED ANTENNA ARRAY USING ADAPTIVE BEAMFORMING AND GENETIC ALGORITHM TECHNIQUES

The development of simultaneous transmit and receive capabilities is on the cutting-edge of research in phased array technology [1, 2, 3]. The large disparity in power between the transmitted and received signals in antenna systems has traditionally prevented operation in a simultaneous mode. However, simultaneous transmit and receive offers great opportunities for increased capabilities and performance in communications, radar, and electronic warfare applications [3]. This technology will be made feasible by realizing a high level of isolation between the transmitted and received signals through a variety of techniques. This work explores the feasibility of choosing non-standard array partitions that--when paired with the appropriate beamforming techniques--significantly reduce the self-interference between transmit and receive channels

What drives political leaders to improve urban sanitation?

This report analyses the political challenge of improving access to sanitation in rapidly growing and developing secondary cities. We look at examples throughout history and across the world, and argue that while sanitation problems may appear to be technical in nature, without political incentives to solve them, progress cannot be made. Drawing on lessons from historical progress, we formulate a framework for understanding how improvements in urban sanitation take place. We then apply these principles to current sanitation challenges in two secondary Tanzanian cities, Mwanza and Arusha, to assess what could drive improvements there, and potentially elsewhere

The complete plasmid sequences of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium U288.

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium U288 is an emerging pathogen of pigs. The strain contains three plasmids of diverse origin that encode traits that are of concern for food security and safety, these include antibiotic resistant determinants, an array of functions that can modify cell physiology and permit genetic mobility. At 148,711 bp, pSTU288-1 appears to be a hybrid plasmid containing a conglomerate of genes found in pSLT of S. Typhimurium LT2, coupled with a mosaic of horizontally-acquired elements. Class I integron containing gene cassettes conferring resistance against clinically important antibiotics and compounds are present in pSTU288-1. A curious feature of the plasmid involves the deletion of two genes encoded in the Salmonella plasmid virulence operon (spvR and spvA) following the insertion of a tnpA IS26-like element coupled to a blaTEM gene. The spv operon is considered to be a major plasmid-encoded Salmonella virulence factor that is essential for the intracellular lifecycle. The loss of the positive regulator SpvR may impact on the pathogenesis of S. Typhimurium U288. A second 11,067 bp plasmid designated pSTU288-2 contains further antibiotic resistance determinants, as well as replication and mobilization genes. Finally, a small 4675 bp plasmid pSTU288-3 was identified containing mobilization genes and a pleD-like G-G-D/E-E-F conserved domain protein that modulate intracellular levels of cyclic di-GMP, and are associated with motile to sessile transitions in growth

CNC Application and Design

Machining is an important manufacturing process that is used in wide range of applications. We acquired primary machine shop skills that provide us an opportunity to mill and drill a class of components to specified dimensions and tolerances. For each component, we created a detailed engineering working drawing that helps to shape and construct all the operations and procedures that must be undertaken, and controlled, to attain component machining without any breakdown or failure. Through hands-on machining, we discovered many different factors involved in milling, drilling, and the effects they exhibit on the tolerance and surface finish of a part

Tissue-engineered vascular graft remodeling in a growing lamb model: expression of matrix metalloproteinases

OBJECTIVES We have previously demonstrated the functionality and growth of autologous, living, tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) in long-term animal studies. These grafts showed substantial in vivo tissue remodeling and approximation to native arterial wall characteristics. Based on this, in vitro and in vivo matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity of TEVGs is investigated as a key marker of matrix remodeling. METHODS TEVGs fabricated from biodegradable scaffolds (polyglycolic-acid/poly-4-hydroxybutyrate, PGA/P4HB) seeded with autologous vascular cells were cultured in static and dynamic in vitro conditions. Thereafter, TEVGs were implanted as pulmonary artery replacements in lambs and followed up for 2 years. Gelatin gel zymography to detect MMP-2 and -9 was performed and collagen content quantified (n=5). Latent (pro) and active MMP-2 and -9 were detected. RESULTS Comparable levels of active MMP-9 and pro-MMP-2 were detected in static and dynamic culture. Higher levels of active MMP-2 were detected in dynamic cultures. Expression of MMP-2 and -9 was minimal in native grafts but was increased in implanted TEVG. Pro-MMP-9 was expressed 20 weeks post implantation and persisted up to 80 weeks post implantation. Collagen content in vitro was increased in dynamically conditioned TEVG as compared with static constructs and was increased in vivo compared with the corresponding native pulmonary artery. CONCLUSIONS MMPs are up-regulated in vitro by dynamic culture conditions and could contribute to increased matrix remodeling, native analogous tissue formation and functional growth of TEVGs in vivo. Monitoring of MMP activity, for example, by molecular imaging techniques, may enable the non-invasive assessment of functional tissue quality in future clinical tissue-engineering application