Abstract The interrelationship between variables involved in focusing schlieren systems is fairly well understood, however how changing the variables affects the resultant images is not. In addition, modified grids and arrangements, such as two dimensional, colour and retroreflective systems have never been directly compared to a standard system. The existing theory is developed from first principles to its current state. An apparatus was specifically designed to test grid and arrangement issues while keeping the system geometry, optical components and the test object identical. Source grid line spacing and clear line width to dark line width ratio were varied to investigate the limits of diffraction and banding and to find an optimum grid for this apparatus. Two dimensional, colour, retroreflective and a novel projected arrangement were then compared to this optimum case. In conclusion, the diffraction limit is accurately modelled by the mathematical equations. The banding limit is slightly less well modelled as additional factors seem to affect the final image. Inherent problems with the two dimensional and colour systems indicate that while they can be useful, they are not worth developing further though chromatism in the system meant that colour systems were not fully investigated. The retroreflective and projected systems have the most potential for large scale use and should be developed further.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects race, sex and sleep disturbance have on the severity of Parkinson’s disease as assessed by the Hoehn Yahr (HY) score in both the medicated (ON) and non-medicated (OFF) states. The potentially confounding variables of age, time in years from the onset of symptoms to database entry, and education were taken into account. Secondary analysis was also conducted to determine how the non-motor symptoms of dementia, hallucinations and autonomic dysfunction impacted Hoehn Yahr ON and OFF scores. This study used the statistical techniques of the Student’s t-test, ANOVA, Tukey-Kramer test, univariate linear regression, and multivariate regression. The t-tests and ANOVA test revealed that there was no significant differences in mean HY ON and OFF scores between the sexes, patients with and without sleep disturbance, and between the different races analyzed in this study. Patients with and without sleep disturbance did show significantly higher HY ON scores as compared to HY OFF scores, which is peculiar as this finding suggests that these patients are not responding to their medication. The univariate linear regression models did show, however, that time in years from the onset of symptoms to database entry did significantly impact both HY ON and OFF scores, whereas age is only shown to have a significant impact on HY OFF scores. Additionally, the univariate linear regression model analyzing the association between education and HY OFF scores showed that having some high school education, but not receiving a degree, was associated with an increase in HY OFF scores. Several multivariate linear regression models where built to assess the impact different predictor variables had on HY ON and HY OFF scores. The first two multivariate models used the predictor variables of age, race, and time in years from the onset of symptoms until database entry. These models showed that only time in years from the onset of symptoms until database entry impacted HY ON scores, whereas all three of these predictor variables impacted HY OFF scores. Two additional multivariate linear regression models were built to assess how age, race, time in years from the onset of symptoms until database entry, dementia, autonomic dysfunction and hallucinations all impacted HY ON and OFF scores. These models revealed that all of these predictors, when taken together, significantly impacted HY OFF scores, but not HY ON scores. Finally a scatter plot was made comparing HY ON and HY OFF scores. A LOWESS scatter plot smooth line was also superimposed on top of this plot to show the overall trend these scores had on one another. This scatter plot was interesting because it suggested that there were two spate groups of patients contained in this database, those that responded well to medication and those that did not. Overall, this study showed that age, time in years from the onset of symptoms until database entry, education and race impacted HY OFF scores. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that patients who were asked about sleep disturbance did not appear to be responding to medication. There are several limitations to this study, however, with the most important being missing data and the cross-sectional design. Missing data prevented sleep disturbance from being thoroughly analyzed and the cross-sectional design does not allow for any causal relationships to be determined.

Biomass is a renewable, carbon-neutral resource that produces minimal pollution when used to generate electricity, fuel vehicles, and provide heat for industry. Every year in Iowa, millions of bushels of treated seed corn go unused, and are wasted (sent to the landfill). Old treated seed corn goes unplanted because of low germination rates, but it goes unused because of the toxicity associated with the pesticides and fungicides applied to it. If the toxic additives could be destroyed through gasification with a long, high-temperature residence time, the producer gas from treated seed corn could then be used as a fuel source in regular power plants. The temperature and reactivity required to destroy these chemicals is best achieved in a reactive bed, like one formed by carbon char. This makes a char producing combustion system an ideal candidate for this type of fuel. In this work, a char-producing downdraft gasification system is used to examine system behavior for seed corn fuel. The system is pilot-scale and the producer gas is of primary interest for power production. Both experiments and numerical simulations are carried out and a range of parameters are examined, including the thermal profile, equivalence ratio, bed depth, and producer gas composition. A second downdraft gasifier, with two-stage gasification, is also studied to compare the systems’ behaviors. From these results, a 1-d hybrid model was developed and utilized to predict optimal gas production in these systems. Results show that above the minimal char bed level, higher equivalence ratio (ER) value results in a higher combustion zone temperature and a higher gas yield while leading to a lower CO concentration in the producer gas. Bed height consumes more heat in the combustion zone which brings about a lower combustion zone temperature. In general, ER plays a more dominating role in determining gas yield and combustion zone temperature. The two-stage system, which expands the combustion zone, effectively increases carbon conversion rate and hence generates a producer gas with high cold gas efficiency, although this makes maintaining sufficient char depth difficult.

Each year, approximately 3 million people in the United States develop a pressure ulcer. Although a preventable complication, pressure ulcers are among the top 5 adverse outcomes in the acute care setting with the prevalence as high as 42% in the intensive care unit (ICU). The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the inclusion of the Braden Scale as part of a multicomponent pressure ulcer intervention protocol, or care bundle, to identify geriatric patients hospitalized in the ICU who were at risk for pressure ulcers. The Cochrane protocol guided this review; findings were reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis statement. Through a structured search strategy in 6 electronic databases, 409 studies were reviewed, of which 11 studies were analyzed and the data included in a literature review matrix for synthesis. Four key findings emerged from the data analysis: effective pressure ulcer prevention programs use a risk assessment, daily reassessment of risk, daily skin inspections, moisture removal strategies, nutritional support and hydration, and offloading pressure; the Braden Scale is effective in detecting pressure ulcer risk in the ICU; an evidence-based bundle is effective in preventing pressure ulcer development; and decreased risk for pressure ulcer development increases patient safety, improves quality of care, and reduces the overall cost of care. The findings from this project can result in positive change by providing the evidence to guide improvements in pressure ulcer protocols to increase the quality of care and decrease the incidence of pressure ulcers in the ICU.

acase@tulane.edu / The current study examined the impact of a professional development training in trauma-informed approaches on teacher attitudes. The current study had two main purposes: first, to determine whether two components of attitudes, perception of the problem and self-efficacy, became more trauma-informed among teachers following a professional development training; and second, to investigate whether that change in attitudes was linked to initial levels of familiarity with trauma-informed approaches and/or years of experience. Teachers from 6 schools that are part of the New Orleans Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative participated in the study (N = 163; 68.7% female, 58.9% White). Teachers filled out demographic information and completed the ARTIC scale (Baker, Brown, Wilcox, Overstreet & Arora, 2015) both before and after training. A paired-samples t-test revealed that perception of a problem and self-efficacy among teachers did become significantly more aligned with trauma-informed approaches following the training. However, contrary to the hypothesis, familiarity and years of experience did not moderate perception of a problem or self-efficacy. Regardless, these results have important implications for the trauma-informed schools movement as they show that PD trainings can positively impact teacher attitudes, potentially increasing teacher motivation to carry out trauma-informed practices in the classroom. / 1 / Juliana Vanderburg

Tensor scale (t-scale) is a parametric representation of local structure morphology that simultaneously describes its orientation, shape and isotropic scale. At any image location, t-scale is the parametric representation of the largest ellipse (an ellipsoid in 3D) centered at that location and contained in the same homogeneous region. Recently, we have improved the t-scale computation algorithm by: (1) optimizing digital representations for LoG and DoG kernels for edge detection and (2) ellipse fitting by using minimization of both algebraic and geometric distance errors. Also, t-scale has been applied to computing the deformation vector field with applications to medical image registration. Currently, the method is implemented in two-dimension (2D) and the deformation vector field is directly computed from t-scale-derived normal vectors at matching locations in two images to be registered. Also, the method has been used to develop a simple algorithm for computing 2D warping from one shape onto another. Meanwhile, t-scale has been applied to generating interpolation lines with applications to medical image interpolation using normal vector. Normal vector yields local structure orientation pointing to the closest edge. However, this information is less reliable along the medial axis of a shape as it may be associated with either of the two opposite edges of the local shape. This problem is overcome using a shape-linearity measure estimating relative changes in scale along the orthogonal direction. Preliminary results demonstrate the method's potential in estimating deformation between two images and interpolating between neighboring slices in a grey scale image.

This study uses ordered logistic regression models with data collected from eighty-six online surveys completed by small-scale producers in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming to assess factors which most contribute to the overall success and profitability of small-scale diversified farms. Results indicate success and profitability may be partially explained by the number of acres owned/leased, use of wholesale outlets, farming as a primary occupation, years of experience, and use of outside business related services. Results may be useful as they indicate producer and operation characteristics that are lead to more profitable and successful operations and thus indicate areas in which a producer may most improve his or her business.

Gibbsite scale growth in pipe fittings is a major problem for an alumina refinery. A recent investigation into the scale growth mechanism at an alumina refinery found almost 60 % more scale growth in a reducer when compared with the connecting straight pipe sections for similar flow conditions. Scale growth occurs where liquor (supersaturated solutions) come in contact with solid surfaces and it is affected by the liquor flow velocity besides other physical and chemical parameters. The present work is dedicated to study the hydro-dynamical aspects of the mechanism of scale growth. In particular, the role of the phenomenon of turbulent bursting, stream wise and cross stream fluctuating velocity components (Ux and Uy) was investigated as the flow moves through the reducer. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was used to get a full view of the reducer and the readings close-to-the-wall of the reducer at Reynolds number of 27,000 and 44,000 upstream which corresponds to Reynolds number of 41,500 and 66,000 downstream of the reducer respectively. The results showed an increase in cross stream and a decrease in magnitude of stream wise fluctuating velocity components, whereby we presume that the increased cross stream fluctuating velocity component increases the frequency of impacts of the scaling particles on the wall thus initiating excessive scale growth in the reducer when compared with the connecting straight pipe sections, for similar flow conditions.

Many risk factors have been put forward to account for the significant increase in adolescent male suicide over the last 20 years, and the pronounced sex difference in suicide statistics. In particular, hopelessness has been shown to be a strong indicator of suicidality. This study investigated the relationship of gender role, stress, and coping to hopelessness in a normal adolescent population. It was hypothesized that stress, coping and a masculine gender role would contribute to hopelessness. 288 adolescent students between the ages of 15 and 18 were surveyed using the Adolescent Stress Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Australian Sex Role Scale, and the Adolescent Coping Scale. Contrary to expectation, having a masculine gender role was not related to hopelessness; students with an undifferentiated gender role had higher levels of hopelessness than androgynous, masculine, and feminine students. However, the majority of students who had an undifferentiated gender role were male. Hopelessness was also associated with high levels of stress and the use of avoidance coping strategies. The results are discussed within the transactional stress model and the stress-diathesis model.

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985), the motivation of sports coaches and the development of the Coach Motivation Questionnaire (CMQ) are the subject of this thesis. Motivation contributes to the way in which people think, feel, and act, and is therefore a central issue in the study of psychology (Ryan & Deci, 2000b). The motivational sequence (Vallerand, 1997) suggests that coaches’ motivations influence their behaviours, which subsequently have an effect on their athletes’ perceptions of the motivational climate. In the sport domain, the coach-athlete relationship is one of the most important influences on athletes’ motivation and subsequent performance (Mageau & Vallerand, 2003). Nevertheless, while there is much research concentrating on the impact of coaching behaviours on athletes’ perceptions and performance, little thought seems to have been given to the coaches’ needs themselves (Mageau & Vallerand, 2003). Following previous work with athletes (e.g., Frederick-Recascino & Schuster-Smith, 2003), the motives and motivational styles of coaches should be related to how they behave within the coaching environment (Frederick & Morrison, 1999). In other words, why coaches coach should influence how coaches coach. The present investigation was conducted to further research and understanding of coach motivation. In the pursuit of this aim, the following three studies were conducted. In Study 1, the motivation of Australian coaches was examined, with a view to informing the development of a valid measurement tool. Employing a qualitative methodology, 13 coaches from different sports and levels of competition participated in semi-structured interviews. Inductive content analysis of the interview transcripts yielded four key dimensions: (a) connection with sport, (b) coach and athlete development, (c) external influences, and (d) internal motives. Overall, SDT appeared to be a useful lens for understanding the data and the existence of multiple forms of motivation were discussed. Study 2 involved the development and pilot testing of a pool of potential items for the CMQ. These items reflected each of the six forms of motivation as conceptualised in SDT, and were designed to be broad and applicable to a wide range of coaches and coaching scenarios. Coaches (N = 86) completed the extended version of the CMQ online, and were requested to respond to two open-ended questions designed to gauge the face validity and general clarity of the questionnaire content. Results suggested that motivation factors were internally consistent, however empirical and qualitative feedback suggested the adaptation of one item for conceptual clarity and the removal of a second item resulting in the CMQ-41. The psychometric properties of the CMQ were examined in Study 3. Coaches (N = 556) completed an online questionnaire package that included the CMQ and measures of psychological needs, goal orientation, and well-being. Examination using CFA produced a 22-item measure with good model fit. Further evaluation produced preliminary evidence for the scale’s validity and reliability. The implications of these results for researchers and practitioners are discussed. Directions for research concerning coach motivation, SDT, and the coach-athlete performance relationship are also highlighted.