Space shuttle orbiter vehicle star tracker test program plan

The development model test program was written to provide guidance for essential star tracker test support to the Space Shuttle Orbiter Program. The program organization included test equipment preparation, prototype baseline/acceptance tests, prototype total performance tests, and prototype special tests. Test configurations, preparation phase, documentation, scheduling, and manpower requirements are discussed. The test program permits an early evaluation of the tracker's performance prior to completion and testing of the final flight models

Reading Muscles: Preparation for Standardized Testing in High School Students

As educators, it is our responsibility to help students in their journey to academic growth and discovery. Being such, many teachers find themselves struggling for that perfect balance between making students more comfortable and pushing them outside of their comfort zones. Many Language Arts teachers, if asked, would likely state that when they hold test preparation activities, the class is run in a relatively similar manner as it might be on any other given day. Yes, the reading material and subsequent questions might have been acquired from a test preparation booklet appropriate to the students’ grade level, but most other circumstances remain stable, unchanged. Students are often only expected to complete one reading and one coinciding set of questions with minimal limitations on where and from whom they might attain assistance when a problem occurs. The material is test preparation-worthy but the situation is not

Engaging Students and Faculty in the Evaluation of a USMLE Review Product: Implications for Library Collection Development

Introduction: Study materials for USMLE exams are some of the most commonly requested materials at Dana Medical Library. In Fall 2015, the Dana Medical Library received several student requests for online USMLE preparation materials. Librarians arranged for a trial of a new USMLE test preparation software available for library licensing. Librarians designed a plan for soliciting student and faculty feedback to inform the purchasing decision. Methods: The Dana Medical Library ran a 4-week trial of the USMLE preparation software. Students and faculty were notified of the product trial through meetings, e-mail, signs in the library and social media. Trial participants were invited to complete an anonymous survey at the end of the trial. Survey questions addressed ease of use, quality of content, effectiveness in test preparation, and recommendation for or against purchase. Results: Forty students and faculty members participated in the trial. Eighteen responded to the survey (45% response rate). Survey respondents were divided over a recommendation for purchase, with 50% advising against purchase, 37.5% advising for purchase with reservations and 12.5% recommending purchase. Twenty-five percent indicated there were errors in the content. Feedback on the ease of use, quality of questions, and overall performance was also mixed. Conclusions: Engaging students and faculty in an online trial provided valuable feedback. Librarians will continue to evaluate and trial new exam review products in collaboration with students and faculty

Fluorescent amplification for next generation sequencing (FA-NGS) library preparation.

BACKGROUND:Next generation sequencing (NGS) has become a universal practice in modern molecular biology. As the throughput of sequencing experiments increases, the preparation of conventional multiplexed libraries becomes more labor intensive. Conventional library preparation typically requires quality control (QC) testing for individual libraries such as amplification success evaluation and quantification, none of which occur until the end of the library preparation process. RESULTS:In this study, we address the need for a more streamlined high-throughput NGS workflow by tethering real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) to conventional workflows to save time and implement single tube and single reagent QC. We modified two distinct library preparation workflows by replacing PCR and quantification with qPCR using SYBR Green I. qPCR enabled individual library quantification for pooling in a single tube without the need for additional reagents. Additionally, a melting curve analysis was implemented as an intermediate QC test to confirm successful amplification. Sequencing analysis showed comparable percent reads for each indexed library, demonstrating that pooling calculations based on qPCR allow for an even representation of sequencing reads. To aid the modified workflow, a software toolkit was developed and used to generate pooling instructions and analyze qPCR and melting curve data. CONCLUSIONS:We successfully applied fluorescent amplification for next generation sequencing (FA-NGS) library preparation to both plasmids and bacterial genomes. As a result of using qPCR for quantification and proceeding directly to library pooling, the modified library preparation workflow has fewer overall steps. Therefore, we speculate that the FA-NGS workflow has less risk of user error. The melting curve analysis provides the necessary QC test to identify and troubleshoot library failures prior to sequencing. While this study demonstrates the value of FA-NGS for plasmid or gDNA libraries, we speculate that its versatility could lead to successful application across other library types

Overview of FAA's aircraft icing program

An overview of the FAA's icing program is presented. The program involves certification of various types of aircraft for flight in known icing conditions, the study of icing conditions, and the preparation of certification standards. Test and technology transfer programs are also included

Quantum state preparation and macroscopic entanglement in gravitational-wave detectors

Long-baseline laser-interferometer gravitational-wave detectors are operating at a factor of 10 (in amplitude) above the standard quantum limit (SQL) within a broad frequency band. Such a low classical noise budget has already allowed the creation of a controlled 2.7 kg macroscopic oscillator with an effective eigenfrequency of 150 Hz and an occupation number of 200. This result, along with the prospect for further improvements, heralds the new possibility of experimentally probing macroscopic quantum mechanics (MQM) - quantum mechanical behavior of objects in the realm of everyday experience - using gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, we provide the mathematical foundation for the first step of a MQM experiment: the preparation of a macroscopic test mass into a nearly minimum-Heisenberg-limited Gaussian quantum state, which is possible if the interferometer's classical noise beats the SQL in a broad frequency band. Our formalism, based on Wiener filtering, allows a straightforward conversion from the classical noise budget of a laser interferometer, in terms of noise spectra, into the strategy for quantum state preparation, and the quality of the prepared state. Using this formalism, we consider how Gaussian entanglement can be built among two macroscopic test masses, and the performance of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometers in quantum-state preparation

Procedure for reliable preparation of shock tube test gas mixtures containing water vapor

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