A review of the biology, ecology and management of Scirpus Olneyi. Volume 1: An annotated bibliography of selected references

This annotated bibliography of selected literature on Olney's three7square (Scirpus olneyi Gray )compiled basically for two reasons: 1) to assist a task force in its pursuit of an explanation for the substantial reduction in marsh acreage at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland, and 2) to serve as the author's foundation for the initiation of ecological research on this species as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Botany Department of the University of Maryland. Both purposes are directly related in that the Author's research will be of use to the task force, along I with its other technical information and research results, in under-standing and possibly correcting the marshland loss problem at the Refuge. (PDF contains 100 pages

Structural modeling and monitoring of the Rollins Road Bridge for condition assessment

The health of the US infrastructure is on the minds of everyone following the August 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The safety of bridges nationwide should be a top priority for both our citizens and government since they are the backbone of this nation\u27s economy, with 73% of all traffic and 90% of all truck traffic traveling over state-owned bridges. Performing nondestructive load tests, collecting structural response data, and structural modeling techniques allow bridge owners an objective insight into the health of a bridge. The art of reconciling the structural model to reflect collected field data also allows bridge owners to have an up-to-date analytical model of the bridge for condition assessment, decision-making, and asset management. The results from the Rollins Road Bridge load test accurately show that a model can be updated to match measured structural response from a nondestructive load test

Psychosocial Assessment in Orthopedic Evaluations: A Clinical Tool for Occupational Therapists

When 1 touch a human hand, 1 touch heaven. - Malebranche Holistic, occupation-based treatment in a hand therapy setting is associated with enhanced patient outcomes (Chan & Spencer, 2004), yet it is easy for occupational therapists working in hand and upper extremity orthopedic settings to become fixated on the pathology and anatomy of medical diagnoses and inadvertently ignore psychosocial and contextual influences on rehabilitation. Although there is research that identifies how physical disease may lead to psychosocial role changes, there is a paucity of literature that addresses how hand and upper extremity injuries affect these roles (Schier & Chan, 2007). This scholarly project culminated in a clinical reference guide intended for use as a quick reference to assist occupational therapy providers in client centered and evidence based assessment and intervention for patients with upper extremity orthopedic injuries. Guided by the biopsychosocial and occupational adaptation frames of reference, this product supports an integrated care model that considers unique characteristics of physical anatomy, personal beliefs, and pertinent context for each and every patient seeking rehabilitation for upper extremity injury

Estimating Engineering Cost Risk Using Logistic and Multiple Regression

This study explores a two-step procedure for assessing defense acquisition program cost growth using historical data. Specifically, we seek to predict whether a program will experience cost growth and, if applicable, how much costs will increase. We compile programmatic data from the Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) between 1990 and 2000 for programs from all defense departments. We focus our analysis on cost growth in research and development dollars for the Engineering Manufacturing Development phase of acquisition. We further limit our study to only one of the seven SAR categories of cost growth engineering cost growth. We explore the use of logistic regression in cost analysis to predict whether cost growth will occur. Using this methodology, we produce a statistically significant model that accurately predicts approximately 70 percent of our validation data. For those programs that have cost growth, we use a multiple regression model (an adjusted R2 of 0.4645), with a natural log transformation, to predict the expected amount of cost growth. We discover the two-step logistic and multiple regression approach produces desirable results. Finally, we find schedule variables to have the most predictive ability from the 78 candidate independent variables analyzed

Proposing a Theory for the Categorization of Self Disclosure Strategies

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Self disclosure, or sharing personal details about oneself with another, is an important communication construct that can impact relationship development, workplace satisfaction, mental health, and physical health, among other aspects of an individual’s life (Clevinger, Ablert & Raiche, 2019; Hyman, & McQuitty, 2000; Jourard, 1971; Rosenfeld, Civikly, & Herron, 1979). Much of the research on self disclosure has focused on why people choose to self disclose, how self disclosure impacts relationship development, or the risks individuals experience in regards to self disclosure (Greene, Derlega & Matthews, 2006; Smith & Brunner, 2017). The levels of self disclosure have also been studied (Harper & Harper, 2006; Morton, 1978). What has been overlooked thus far in academic research is the manner which individuals disclose information to one another. The benefits of filling this gap in self disclosure research by establishing self disclosure categories is multi-faceted. First, understanding how individuals self disclose increases the accessibility of self disclosure for non-academic circles. Categorizing self disclosure will provide individuals with the language to talk about how they make themselves known to others. Understanding how individual’s self disclose also creates new opportunities for self disclosure research among the academic realm

Parallel Tempering Algorithm for Conformational Studies of Biological Molecules

The effectiveness of a new algorithm, parallel tempering, is studied for numerical simulations of biological molecules. These molecules suffer from a rough energy landscape. The resulting slowing down in numerical simulations is overcome by the new method. This is demonstrated by performing simulations with high statistics for one of the simplest peptides, Met-enkephalin. The numerical effectiveness of the new technique was found to be much better than traditional methods and is comparable to sophisticated methods like generalized ensemble techniques.Comment: Latex, ps-files included; to appear in Chem. Phys. Let