NTIS

The National Technical Information Service serves as the largest central resource for government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information available today. For more than 60 years NTIS has assured businesses, universities, and the public timely access to approximately 3 million publications covering over 350 subject areas. Our mission supports the Department of Commerce mission to promote the nation's economic growth by providing access to information that stimulates innovation and discovery.

Response of Lower Atmospheric Ozone to ENSO in Aura Measurements and a Chemistry-Climate Simulation

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images[7]The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant mode of tropical variability on interannual time scales. ENSO appears to extend its influence into the chemical composition of the tropical troposphere. Recent work has revealed an ENSO-induced wave-1 anomaly in observed tropical tropospheric column ozone. This results in a dipole over the western and eastern tropical Pacific, whereby differencing the two regions produces an ozone anomaly with an extremely high correlation to the Nino 3.4 Index. We have successfully reproduced this feature using the Goddard Earth Observing System Version 5 (GEOS-5) general circulation model coupled to a comprehensive stratospheric and tropospheric chemical mechanism forced with observed sea surface temperatures over the past 25 years. An examination of the modeled ozone field reveals the vertical contributions of tropospheric ozone to the column over the western and eastern Pacific region. We will show composition sensitivity in observations from NASA’s Aura satellite Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the Tropospheric Emissions Spectrometer (TES) and a simulation to provide insight into the vertical structure of these ENSO-induced ozone changes. The ozone changes due to the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) in the extra-polar upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in MLS measurements will also be discussed.
Personal Author A. R. Douglass D. W. Waugh J. E. Nielsen J. M. Rodriquez J. R. Ziemke L. D. Oman
For more info go to: http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=N20120016385 or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 Mon – Fri 8am – 5pm est.

Estimation of Age at Death Using Cortical Bone Histomorphometry

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images[2]Estimating the age at death in the adult skeleton is problematic owing to the biological variability in age indictors and the differential skeletal response to environmental factors over an individual.s life. It is particularly difficult to accurately estimate age for individuals over 50 years of age. Thus, it is becoming increasingly important for anthropologists to improve age estimates through the use of multiple age indicators and various modalities of assessment (e.g., macroscopic and microscopic). Previously developed histological methods of age estimation using the femur demonstrate significant methodological issues that affect their reliability and accuracy. This research evaluates histological age estimation using the anterior femur and explores the biological limitations of bone turnover as an age indicator.
Personal Author C. Crowder
For more info go to: http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2013104445 or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 Mon – Fri 8am – 5pm est.

Critical Needs and Gaps in Understanding Prevention, Amelioration, and Resolution of Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases: The Short-Term and Long-Term Outcomes: Workshop Report.

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images[5]Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) represent some of the worlds most rapidly expanding arthropod-borne infectious diseases, yet significant gaps remain in our understanding and knowledge about them. In the United States, many tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis and the borrelioses, ehrlichioses, and rickettsioses are on the rise. Reasons include shifts in the prevalence and distribution of animal reservoirs and tick vectors as well as the movement of humans into areas where the animal hosts and tick populations are abundant. From a public health standpoint, the burden of disease is of growing concern, as is the incomplete understanding of the complex interactions of ticks, hosts, pathogens, and habitats that underlie changing disease patterns and the potential for climate change to exacerbate these trends.
Personal Author N/A
For more info go to: http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2011109604 or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 Mon – Fri 8am – 5pm est.

Technological Challenges in Antibiotic Discovery and Development. A Workshop Summary. Held on September 23, 2013

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imagesCA4CU58BOn September 23, 2013, the CSR held a one-day workshop on the technical challenges in antibiotic discovery and development that explored the current state of antibiotic discovery, examined the technology available to facilitate development, discussed the technical challenges present, identified novel approaches to antibiotic discovery, and discussed the incentives and disincentives industry faces in antibiotic development. The workshop featured both formal presentations and panel discussions among participants from academia, industry, and federal research agencies. The workshop program consisted of three themes: The challenges and approaches in overcoming antibiotic resistance; The challenges and approaches in screening for new chemical entities with antibiotic properties; and The challenges and approaches in delivering antibiotics to their intended site of action, particularly with regard to surmounting biophysical barriers.
Personal Author N/A
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Factors Affecting Public-Supply-Well Vulnerability to Contamination: Understanding Observed Water Quality and Anticipating Future Water Quality

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imagesCAF37L45As part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, a study was conducted from 2001 to 2011 to shed light on factors that affect the vulnerability of water from public-supply wells* to contamination. The study was designed as a follow-up to earlier NAWQA studies that found mixtures of contaminants at low concentrations in groundwater near the water table in urban areas across the Nation and, less frequently, in deeper groundwater typically used for public supply. Although contaminants were less frequently detected in public-supply wells than in shallower monitoring wells, a separate study showed that contaminant concentrations were greater than drinking-water standards or other human health benchmarks in about 22 percent of public-supply-well samples.
Personal Author M. A. Thomas M. L. Jagucki S. M. Eberts
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Targeted Nanoparticles for Kidney Cancer Therapy

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images[2]The objective of this proposal is to test targeted carbon nanotubes for their ability to thermally ablate kidney cancer. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are efficient transducers of near-infrared radiation (NIR) for laser-induced thermal therapy of kidney cancer in mouse models. Our goal is to improve the anti-tumor efficacy of CNTs by designing them to target cancer cells and surrounding endothelial cells following systemic administration. Specifically, we will develop carbon nanotubes that bind to uPAR, a surface receptor overexpressed in kidney cancers and supporting endothelium. We will use D5, a peptide designed in the laboratory, as the targeting ligand. In the past year, we developed a new chemical approach to conjugating the targeting peptide to nanotubes. We demonstrated that the peptide is cytotoxic to kidney cancer cells. We also showed that the combination of nanotubes and NIR is effective in inhibiting the clonogenic survival of cultured kidney cancer cells. Next year, we will assess the flow of nanotubes in the vasculature and their ability to accumulate and exert an anti-tumor effect in a mouse tumor model. This grant is a mentor/predoctoral award that also focuses on training of a predoctoral candidate. The predoctoral fellow carried out the experiments described in this progress report, attended the national AACR cancer meeting, presented his work in seminars, and was co-first author on an article on nanotubes as thermal ablation agents.
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Personal Author S. V. Torti

Precision Mass Property Measurements Using a Five-Wire Torsion Pendulum.

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images[7]A method for measuring the moment of inertia of an object using a five-wire torsion pendulum design is described here. Typical moment of inertia measurement devices are capable of 1 part in 10(exp 3) accuracy and current state of the art techniques have capabilities of about one part in 10(exp 4). The five-wire apparatus design shows the prospect of improving on current state of the art. Current measurements using a laboratory prototype indicate a moment of inertia measurement precision better than a part in 10(exp 4). In addition, the apparatus is shown to be capable of measuring the mass center offset from the geometric center. Typical mass center measurement devices exhibit a measurement precision up to approximately 1 micrometer. Although the five-wire pendulum was not originally designed for mass center measurements, preliminary results indicate an apparatus with a similar design may have the potential of achieving state of the art precision.
A method for measuring the moment of inertia of an object using a five-wire torsion pendulum design is described here. Typical moment of inertia measurement devices are capable of 1 part in 10(exp 3) accuracy and current state of the art techniques have capabilities of about one part in 10(exp 4). The five-wire apparatus design shows the prospect of improving on current state of the art. Current measurements using a laboratory prototype indicate a moment of inertia measurement precision better than a part in 10(exp 4). In addition, the apparatus is shown to be capable of measuring the mass center offset from the geometric center. Typical mass center measurement devices exhibit a measurement precision up to approximately 1 micrometer. Although the five-wire pendulum was not originally designed for mass center measurements, preliminary results indicate an apparatus with a similar design may have the potential of achieving state of the art precision.
For more info go to: http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=N20120016864 or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 M – F 8am – 5pm est.

Personal Author A. J. Swank

Hand in Hand: A Training Series for Nursing Homes on Person-Centered Care of Persons with Dementia and Prevention of Abuse

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hcfa_product[1]Section 6121 of the Affordable Care Act requires CMS to ensure that nurse aides receive regular training on caring for residents with dementia and on preventing abuse. CMS, supported by a team of instructional designers and subject matter experts, created Hand in Hand, to address the annual requirement for nurse aide training on these important topics. Person-centerd care is an approach to care that focuses on residents as individuals and supports caregives working most closely with them. It involves a continual process of listening, testing new approaches, and changing routines and organizational approaches in an effort to individualize and de-institutionalize the care environment. Person-centered care is the central theme of the Hand in Hand training.
Source Agency Department of Health and Human Services, General – Audiovisual
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Eliminating Crystals in Non-Oxide Optical Fiber Preforms and Optical Fibers

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images[7]Non-oxide fiber optics such as heavy metal fluoride and chalcogenide glasses are extensively used in infrared transmitting applications such as communication systems, chemical sensors, and laser fiber guides for cutting, welding and medical surgery. The addition of rare earths such as erbium, enable these materials to be used as fiber laser and amplifiers. Some of these glasses however are very susceptible to crystallization. Even small crystals can lead to light scatter and a high attenuation coefficient, limiting their usefulness. Previously two research teams found that microgravity suppressed crystallization in heavy metal fluoride glasses. Looking for a less expensive method to suppress crystallization, ground based research was performed utilizing an axial magnetic field. The experiments revealed identical results to those obtained via microgravity processing. This research then led to a patented process for eliminating crystals in optical fiber preforms and the resulting optical fibers. In this paper, the microgravity results will be reviewed as well as patents and papers relating to the use of magnetic fields in various material and glass processing applications. Finally our patent to eliminate crystals in non-oxide glasses utilizing a magnetic field will be detailed.
Personal Author D. S. Tucker M. R. LaPointe http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=N20120016709 or call NTIS 800-553-6847 M – F 8am – 5pm est
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Compact, Low-Cost Body Cavity Screening Device. Final Report

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Electric field tomography (EFT) was investigated as a method for developing a low-cost, non-invasive body cavity screening device. Initial detection and operational requirements were developed from discussions with California Department of Corrections personnel and their counterparts in the western United States. A laboratory prototype system was developed with fixed receive and transmit nodes. Images were reconstructed from both experimental and simulated data and were shown to be in good agreement. In order to overcome the inherent low resolution of EFT, a novel multi-frequency method was developed where images acquired over frequency range of 1 MHz to 20 MHz were used to build a linear model and decompose the different object types (for example: muscle, bone, plastic) in the image. The feasibility of the multi-frequency EFT method was demonstrated with simulated data, and finally with actual images. The designs for new prototype employing switching transceiver nodes were finalized.
Personal Author E. Magnuson
For more info go to: http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2013108268