In the assembly modeling of complex products, it is not unusual facing an explosive growth of assembly relations, or called combination explosion. Through integrating object-oriented methods with the knowledge template based modeling, in this paper, a new methodology is proposed to deal with the complexity of the assemblies of large-scale products. As such, the templates with various assembly r…
Fixtures are used in almost all modern manufacturing operations. In practice, there is a wide range of specifications on the manufacturing precision and thus different requirements on workpiece locating accuracy during each production process. In view of that, this paper developed a unified signed distance function framework. Under this framework, three systems of sensitivity equations, which …
From long to short term planning, decision processes inherent to operating theater organization are often subject of empiricism, leading to far from optimal results. Waiting lists for surgery have always been a societal problem, which governments have been fighting with different management and operational stimulus plans. The current hospital information systems available in Portuguese public …
Due to complex dynamic characteristics of the ball mill system, it is difficult to measure load parameters inside the ball mill. It has been noticed that the traditional single-model and ensemble-model based soft sensor approaches demonstrate weak generalization power. Also, mill motor current, feature subsets of the shell vibration and acoustical frequency spectra contain different useful in…
Frontline mental health care professionals (FMHPs) in a variety of roles such as nursing, social work, psychology, psychiatry, case managers and mental health workers are often required to provide a high degree of care to clients over time which can result in physical and psychological complaints often referred to as compassion fatigue (CF). The aim of this nonexperimental, cross sectional stud…
While combat-related loss is likely to result in the development of lingering stress responses, little is known about its impact on behavioral health. The purpose of this study was to present preliminary results on war-related losses and behavioral health among Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedomveterans. Veterans who suffered losses, to include noncombat losses (relationships back home) …
Although a wide array of the scientific literature explores the links between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, coping strategies, and social support and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as an outcome variable, their connections remain unclear. It is unknown whether PTSD symptom severity, coping strategies, and social support explain each a unique portion of variance of HRQoL…
We tested the hypothesis that early adolescents’ (N = 951) knowledge of who bullies whom is differentially distributed across peers. Knowledge of bullying was assessed by asking middle school students to nominate grademates who bullied or were bullied using physical or relational means. We hypothesized that peers who were closer to bullies and victims in the grade-level friendship network, s…
The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is a fundamental component of cellular metabolism. The PPP is important to maintain carbon homoeostasis, to provide precursors for nucleotide and amino acid biosynthesis, to provide reducing molecules for anabolism, and to defeat oxidative stress. The PPP shares reactions with the Entner–Doudoroff pathway and Calvin cycle and divides into an oxidative and n…
This review examined classroom science instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A total of 11 group and single-subject studies were analyzed. Across all group studies, a conservatively calculated mean effect size of .471 was obtained indicating the interventions as a whole had at least a small to moderate impact on students’ with EBD achievement. Findings were …
This study examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive function-based intervention applied across multiple inclusive classroom settings. The participant was a middle school student diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome who exhibited chronic off-task behaviors across all academic environments. This study was conducted across two phases: (a) A descriptive functional behavior assess…
The most characterised Dasheen mosaic virus andmany other unreported putative viruses are involved in the mixed viral mosaic infection of elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius). The in vitro propagation of corm bud tips for virus free plantlet production was carried out in three different culture phases consisting of callusing, shoot regeneration and rooting. A 100 % survival ratewas…
This paper identifies and describes two new norm-based strategies for institutional change to address intractable social problems. In both strategies, advocates “foreground” and criticize norms supporting the institutional status quo before either promoting an alternative existing norm via normative reframing of the issue, or creating and promoting an entirely new norm via normative innova…
Industrial automation is largely based on PLC-based control systems. PLCs are today mostly programmed in the languages of the IEC 61131 standard which are not ready to meet the new challenges of widely distributed automation systems. Currently, an extension of IEC 61131 which includes object oriented programming as well as the new standard IEC 61499 are available. Moreover, service-oriented pa…
Using American National Election Studies (NES) data from 1952 to 2008—a longer timespan than any analysis to date—we evaluate the leading claims about growing polarization along authoritarian/nonauthoritarian lines and the reasons for that growth. We find authoritarianism’s impact has grown for partisanship and voting but has been consistent for policy attitudes—usually present for “s…
Both arthropods and large grazing herbivores are important components and drivers of biodiversity in grassland ecosystems, but a synthesis of how arthropod diversity is affected by large herbivores has been largely missing. To fill this gap, we conducted a literature search, which yielded 141 studies on this topic of which 24 simultaneously investigated plant and arthropod diversity. Using the …
Outdoor experiential education has often been critiqued for its White, male, middle/upper-class, able-bodied history, thereby causing professionals and programs to consider issues of social justice. This state of knowledge paper will review the literature on social and environmental justice, identify gaps in current social justice literature and practice, and offer recommendations for creating …
Managing complexity and uncertainty in high-risk sociotechnical systems requires people to continuously adapt. Designing resilient systems that support adaptive behavior requires a deepened understanding of the context in which adaptations take place, of conditions and enablers to implement these adaptations, and of their effects on the overall system. Also, it requires a focus on how people …
This paper addresses the integrated multiobjective production planning and decomposing (P&D) problem for mineral processing. A novel multiobjective 0–1 mixed integer nonlinear programming model is presented for the simultaneous P&D problem (O-model). In order to reduce the computational cost for solving O-model, a rolling horizon-based two-level decomposition approach is proposed to separate…
This paper addresses the integrated multiobjective production planning and decomposing (P&D) problem for mineral processing. A novel multiobjective 0–1 mixed integer nonlinear programming model is presented for the simultaneous P&D problem (O-model). In order to reduce the computational cost for solving O-model, a rolling horizon-based two-level decomposition approach is proposed to separate…
This paper considers minimizing makespan for a blocking flowshop scheduling problem, which has important application in a variety of modern industries. A constructive heuristic is first presented to generate a good initial solution by combining the existing profile fitting (PF) approach and Nawaz–Enscore–Ham (NEH) heuristic in an effective way. Then, a memetic algorithm (MA) is proposed in…
Objective: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Revised Lifting Equation (RNLE) was adapted to derive recommended weight limits (RWLs) for pregnant workers and to develop corresponding guidelines for clinicians. Background: In the past three decades there has been a large increase in the number of women employed outside the home and remaining in the workforce dur…
Objective: This manuscript systematically quantifies multiple measures of low-back pain (LBP) prevalence by pain rating in a large, multisite cohort of workers. Background: Published LBP prevalence rates vary. Studies rely on one measure of LBP and none report prevalence stratified by pain rating. Method: Cross-sectional analyses of baseline data from a multicenter prospective cohort study w…
Objective: This study examined prospectively the effect of workplace violence on musculoskeletal symptoms among nursing home workers. Background: Previously we reported a cross-sectional relationship between physical assaults at work and musculoskeletal pain. This follow-up provides stronger evidence of the effect of workplace violence on musculoskeletal outcomes within the same workforce over…
Objective: The objective was to assess the role of cumulative spine loading measures in the development of a clinically meaningful decline in low-back function. Background: Cumulative spine loading has been a suspected risk factor for low-back pain for many years, yet the measures that characterize risk have not been well delineated. Methods: A total of 56 cumulative exposure measures were co…
Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between job physical exposure (JPE) and incidence of flexor tendon entrapment of the digits (FTED). Background: FTED, commonly known as trigger digit, is associated with age, gender, and certain health disorders. Although JPE has been suggested as a risk factor for FTED, there are no prospective cohort studies. Method: …
Objective: The objective was to evaluate the effect of wrist posture on incidence of wrist tendinosis in a prospective cohort of blue-collar workers. Background: Previous studies have identified awkward wrist posture as a risk factor for wrist tendinosis, though the magnitude of the relationship is unclear. Method: Workers (N = 413) at four industries were followed for up to 28 months with qu…
Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize associations between psychosocial and work organizational risk factors and upper-extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders. Background: Methodological limitations of previous studies of psychosocial and work organizational risk factors and musculoskeletal outcomes have produced inconsistent associations. Method: In this prospective e…
Objective: To better characterize associations between physical risk factors and upper-extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders, a prospective epidemiologic study of 386 manufacturing workers was performed. Background: Methodological limitations of previous studies have resulted in inconsistent associations. Method: An individual, task-based exposure assessment strategy was used to as…
Objective: The objective is to quantify differences in physical exposures for those who stayed on a job (survivor) versus those who left the job (turnover). Background: It has been suggested that high physical job demands lead to greater turnover and that turnover rates may supplement low-back disorder incidence rates in passive surveillance systems. Method: A prospective study with 811 parti…
Objective: We studied associations between jobtitle- based measures of force and repetition and incident carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Background: Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are not commonly used in studies of work-related upperextremity disorders. Method: We enrolled newly hired workers in a prospective cohort study. We assigned a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code to each job…
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine reference physical performance values in older aging workers. Background: Cross-sectional physical performance measures were collected for 736 manufacturing workers to assess effects of work and nonwork factors on agerelated changes in musculoskeletal function and health. Method: Participants underwent surveys and physical testing that includ…
Herbarium genomics is proving promising as next-generation sequencing approaches are well suited to deal with the usually fragmented nature of archival DNA. We show that routine assembly of partial plastome sequences from herbarium specimens is feasible, from total DNA extracts and with specimens up to 146 years old. We use genome skimming and an automated assembly pipeline, Iterative Organe…
1. Using scripting languages such as R to perform population genetic analyses can improve the reproducibility of research, but usingRcan be challenging for many researchers due to its steep learning curve. 2. POPGENREPORT is a new R package that simplifies performing population genetics analyses in R, through the use of a new report-generating function. The function POPGENREPORT allows use…
The Barringtonia asiatica is a medium size tree commonly found in Car Nicobar Island known for its ichthyotoxic property. It grows on sandy and rocky shore areas and has lantern shaped seeds, locally called Kinyav used during the calm season in shallow and low tide waters for killing fishes, octopus, etc. At every successful operation they harvest about 1–3 kg and on the whole about 10–…
Research on bullying is an important avenue for understanding the social integration of students in special education. Focused on 3,305 students who self-reported victimization of two to three times per month or more, this study compared the pattern of verbal, relational, and physical bullying among students in general education and special education. Overall, students in special education repo…
The authors used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2; SRI International, 2000) to examine the aspects of self-determination assessed in NLTS2 and measurement equivalence and latent differences across the 12 disability categories recognized in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004). NLTS2 included a direct assessment with items representing 3 of th…
Abstract—We present the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of silicon-air-silicon-based distributed Bragg reflectors, or quarter wavelength mirrors, in sizes ranging from 200 μm × 200 μm to 5 mm × 5 mm. Such mirrors can be used in conjunction with either single-element photodetectors or large-area focal plane arrays to realize tunable multispectral sensors or adaptive foca…
Abstract—This letter investigates the capillary filling in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels using 3-D printed molds to produce channels with circular cross sections. The circular cross sections are prevalent in biology and anatomy, yet they cannot readily be mimicked with existing soft-lithography techniques. The molds are printed directly from computer-aided design files, making rap…
Abstract—This paper investigates the crystallinity, microstructure, surface morphology, stress characteristics, and Young’s Modulus of ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) electron-beam (E-beam) evaporated silicon films with a low thermal budget. The films are evaporated at various substrate temperatures ranging from 200 °C–625 °C, deposition rates ranging from 50 to 400 nm/min, and annealed at 600 …
This article describes a follow-up analysis of findings from a randomized study that tested the efficacy of a blended version of Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI) designed to improve both the computation and problem-solving performances of middle school students with disabilities. The goals of the secondary analysis were to track overall error patterns of students in computing with fractions …
Abstract—We report on characterization of Si-to-Si contact microswitches fabricated in an ultraclean encapsulation process. This three-terminal microswitch relies on a curved beam (source) that actuates toward the contact terminal (drain) by charging the control terminal (gate). The operation range of this switch from −60 °C to 300 °C is investigated, which approximately yields a resistan…
Abstract—Several parameters associated with the configuration of a microliter aqueous droplet are determined by the electrical impedance measurements conducted during electrowetting. In each case, the wetted area of a dielectric-coated electrode is first determined from the impedance data, and the known dielectric thickness and permittivity. The wetted area data is then employed in a series …
Abstract—We propose a novel filter coupling scheme, which combines the merits of mechanically and electrically coupled methods to enable a well-defined narrow bandwidth and a decent stopband rejection in a CMOS-MEMS bandpass filter. In the proposed design, a previously developed free–free beam arrayed resonator is employed as a basic resonant tank for the filter concept validation. By the …
Abstract—The self-assembly of known good dies on hosting substrates using liquid surface tension is a promising technology to create highly integrated 3-D and heterogeneous microelectronic systems. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the edge structures of self-assembled chips on alignment accuracies. Nine types of 100-μm-thick Si chips (3 mm × 3 mm) with and without step geometrie…
Abstract—A vibrating micromechanical spoke-supported ring resonator employing a central peg-anchor, balanced non-intrusive quarter-wavelength extensional support beams, and notched support attachments attains high Q-factor in vacuum, posting 10 000 at 441 MHz when made of polysilicon structural material and 42 900 at 2.97 GHz when made of microcrystalline diamond. The latter marks the highes…
Abstract—This paper presents a highly sensitive tactile sensing array. Sensing elements of the array comprise multiwall carbon nanotubes and polydimethylsiloxane polymer. A novel lithography process is proposed for fabricating an SU-8 mold for shaping the sensing cells in the array. In addition, a nylon membrane filter is proposed to serve as a mold for numerous microdome patterns, which wer…
Abstract—A passive thermal micro-actuator with large area specific work and large displacement, fabricated of electroplated nickel on a silicon substrate is presented. The actuation relies on the thermal expansion of beams in a V-shaped geometry. Two V-shaped beam stacks are aligned opposite to each other and are coupled to a lever transmission. The actuator exhibits low energy losses due to …
Abstract—This paper reports on the successful demonstration of Ge/ZnS-based Fabry–Perot filters operating in the longwave infrared (LWIR). The suitability of thermally deposited Ge and ZnS as thin-film mirror materials for micromachined LWIR Fabry–Perot filters has been fully investigated, and it is shown that a film growth temperature higher than 150 °C is key to depositing durable ZnS …
Ancestrally, relatively attractive individuals and relatively formidable males may have had reduced incentives to be egalitarian (i.e., to act in accordance with norms promoting social equality). If selection calibrated one’s egalitarianism to one’s attractiveness/formidability, then such people may exhibit reduced egalitarianism (“observed egalitarianism”) and be perceived by others a…