Analysis of missile trajectory measurement accuracy for data processing

"Contract no. AF 30(602)-2138, Project 5554, Task 55102."

Analysis of beach sands.

"A contract between Amphibious Branch, Office of Naval Research, U. S. Naval Photographic Interpretation Center, Monitor [and] School of Civil Engineering, Cornell University. Beach accessibility and trafficability, project no. NR 257 001, contract N6onr, task order # 11. Petrographic analysis by Francisco J. Cordova. D. J. Belcher, director."

Issue analysis as a basis for sub-state regional role delineation.

Workshop sponsored by the Illinois Bureau of the Budget and the Illinois Dept. of Local Government Affairs.

Decision analysis for abandoned mine reclamation site selection and planning : a report /

"August 1979."

Report of the Task Force on Professional Practice in the Illinois justice systems /

Includes an analysis of a survey of Illinois public defenders prepared by the Spangenberg Group.

Some key problems concerning the specification, development and use of task identification and analyses /

Photocopy.

Contributions to Physics-Based Aeroservoelastic Uncertainty Analysis

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Sexual dimorphism of the femoral neck during the adolescent growth spurt: a structural analysis

Before puberty, there are only small sex differences in body shape and composition. During adolescence, sexual dimorphism in bone, lean, and fat mass increases, giving rise to the greater size and strength of the male skeleton. The question remains as to whether there are sex differences in bone strength or simply differences in anthropometric dimensions. To test this, we applied hip structural analysis (HSA) to derive strength and geometric indices of the femoral neck using bone densitometry scans (DXA) from a 6-year longitudinal study in Canadian children. Seventy boys and sixty-eight girls were assessed annually for 6 consecutive years. At the femoral neck, cross-sectional area (CSA, an index of axial strength), subperiosteal width (SPW), and section modulus (Z, an index of bending strength) were determined, and data were analyzed using a hierarchical (random effects) modeling approach. Biological age (BA) was defined as years from age at peak height velocity (PHV). When BA, stature, and total-body lean mass (TB lean) were controlled, boys had significantly higher Z than girls at all maturity levels (P < 0.05). Controlling height and TB lean for CSA demonstrated a significant independent sex by BA interaction effect (P < 0.05). That is, CSA was greater in boys before PHV but higher in girls after PHV The coefficients contributing the greatest proportion to the prediction of CSA, SPW, and Z were height and lean mass. Because the significant sex difference in Z was relatively small and close to the error of measurement, we questioned its biological significance. The sex difference in bending strength was therefore explained by anthropometric differences. In contrast to recent hypotheses, we conclude that the CSA-lean ratio does not imply altered mechanosensitivity in girls because bending dominates loading at the neck, and the Z-lean ratio remained similar between the sexes throughout adolescence. That is, despite the greater CSA in girls, the bone is strategically placed to resist bending; hence, the bones of girls and boys adapt to mechanical challenges in a similar way. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multivariate genetic analysis of cognitive abilities in an adolescent twin sample

The sources of covariation among cognitive measures of Inspection Time, Choice Reaction Time, Delayed Response Speed and Accuracy, and IQ were examined in a classical twin design that included 245 monozygotic (MZ) and 298 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. Results indicated that a factor model comprising additive genetic and unique environmental effects was the most parsimonious. In this model, a general genetic cognitive factor emerged with factor loadings ranging from 0.28 to 0.64. Three other genetic factors explained the remaining genetic covariation between various speed and Delayed Response measures with IQ. However, a large proportion of the genetic variation in verbal (54%) and performance (25%) IQ was unrelated to these lower order cognitive measures. The independent genetic IQ variation may reflect information processes not captured by the elementary cognitive tasks, Inspection Time and Choice Reaction Time, nor our working memory task, Delayed Response. Unique environmental effects were mostly nonoverlapping, and partly represented test measurement error.

Cold periods and coronary events: an analysis of populations worldwide

Study objective: To investigate the association between cold periods and coronary events, and the extent to which climate, sex, age, and previous cardiac history increase risk during cold weather. Design: A hierarchical analyses of populations from the World Health Organisation's MONICA project. Setting: Twenty four populations from the WHO's MONICA project, a 21 country register made between 1980 and 1995. Patients: People aged 35 - 64 years who had a coronary event. Main results: Daily rates of coronary events were correlated with the average temperature over the current and previous three days. In cold periods, coronary event rates increased more in populations living in warm climates than in populations living in cold climates, where the increases were slight. The increase was greater in women than in men, especially in warm climates. On average, the odds for women having an event in the cold periods were 1.07 higher than the odds for men (95% posterior interval: 1.03 to 1.11). The effects of cold periods were similar in those with and without a history of a previous myocardial infarction. Conclusions: Rates of coronary events increased during comparatively cold periods, especially in warm climates. The smaller increases in colder climates suggest that some events in warmer climates are preventable. It is suggested that people living in warm climates, particularly women, should keep warm on cold days.

Hierarchical organisation of neuro-anatomical constraints in interlimb coordination

Based on the observation that bimanual finger tapping movements tend toward mirror symmetry with respect to the body midline, despite the synchronous activation of non-homologous muscles, F. Mechsner, D. Kerzel, G. Knoblich, and W. Prinz (2001) [Perceptual basis of bimanual coordination. Nature, 414, 69-73] suggested that the basis of rhythmic coordination is purely spatial/perceptual in nature, and independent of the neuro-anatomical constraints of the motor system. To investigate this issue further, we employed a four finger tapping task similar to that used by F. Mechsner and G. Knoblich (2004) [Do muscle matter in bimanual coordination? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 30, 490-503] in which six male participants were required to alternately tap combinations of adjacent pairs of index (1), middle (M) and ring (R) fingers of each hand in time with an auditory metronome. The metronome pace increased continuously from 1 Hz to 3 Hz over the course of a 30-s trial. Each participant performed three blocks of trials in which finger combination for each hand (IM or MR) and mode of coordination (mirror or parallel) were presented in random order. Within each block, the right hand was placed in one of three orientations; prone, neutral and supine. The order of blocks was counterbalanced across the six participants. The left hand maintained a prone position throughout the experiment. On the basis of discrete relative phase analyses between synchronised taps, the time at which the initial mode of coordination was lost was determined for each trial. When the right hand was prone, transitions occurred only from parallel symmetry to mirror symmetry, regardless of finger combination. In contrast, when the right hand was supine, transitions occurred only from mirror symmetry to parallel but no transitions were observed in the opposite direction. In the right hand neutral condition, mirror and parallel symmetry are insufficient to describe the modes of coordination since the hands are oriented orthogonally. When defined anatomically, however, the results in each of the three right hand orientations are consistent. That is, synchronisation of finger tapping is deter-mined by a hierarchy of control of individual fingers based on their intrinsic neuro-mechanical properties rather than on the basis of their spatial orientation. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Folate: Methods of analysis

Folates and its derivatives occur as polyglutamates in nature. The multiplicity of forms and the generally low levels in foods makes quantitative analysis of folate a difficult task. The assay of folates from foods generally involves three steps: liberation of folates from the cellular matrix; deconjugation from the polyglutamate to the mono and di-glutamate forms; and the detection of the biological activity or chemical concentration of the resulting folates. The detection methods used are the microbiological assay relying on the turbidimetric bacterial growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus which is by far the most commonly used method; the HPLC and LC/MS techniques and bio-specific procedures. This review attempts to describe the methods along with the merits and demerits of using each of these methods.

An examination of the dynamic relationship between self-efficacy and performance across levels of analysis and levels of specificity

This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects - these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.

Confirmatory factor analysis and psychometric properties of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised in clinical and normative populations

The present investigation aimed to critically examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index - Revised (ASI-R). Confirmatory factor analysis using a clinical sample of adults (N = 248) revealed that the ASI-R could be improved substantially through the removal of 15 problematic items in order to account for the most robust dimensions of anxiety sensitivity. This modified scale was renamed the 21-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (21-item ASI) and reanalyzed with a large sample of normative adults (N = 435), revealing configural and metric invariance across groups. Further comparisons with other alternative models, using multi-sample analysis, indicated the 21-item ASI to be the best fitting model for both groups. There was also evidence of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity for both samples suggesting that the 21-item ASI is a useful assessment device for investigating the construct of anxiety sensitivity in both clinical and normative populations.