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

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

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
For more info go to: http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=AVA21573DVD8 or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 M – F 8am – 5pm est.

Eliminating Crystals in Non-Oxide Optical Fiber Preforms and Optical Fibers

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
For more info:

Compact, Low-Cost Body Cavity Screening Device. Final Report

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

Future Climate Change, Sea-Level Rise, and Ocean Acidification: Implications for Hawaii and Western Pacific Fisheries Management

images[1]The culture, subsistence, and welfare of tropical Pacific Island Nation people are all in some way tied to their proximate fishery resources. Many of these fisheries are already under considerable stress and duress due to human practices such as overfishing, pollution and runoff, habitat destruction and degradation, lack of proper management protocols, and coastal and global population pressures. Other human activities such as fossil fuel use, deforestation and changes in land use and consequent emissions of gases and particulates, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane, etc., to the atmosphere are contributing to alteration of the global climate by a general overall warming of the planetary atmosphere. The warming of the overlying atmosphere in turn warms the underlying surface ocean. In addition to the surface ocean warming, there is also the problem of ocean acidification owing to absorption of anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the surface waters of the ocean. This input of atmospheric carbon dioxide into the surface ocean reduces the surface water pH, which is detrimental to calcifying organisms such as those that are integral to coral reefs or the planktonic calcareous coccolithophoridae and foraminifera. Climate change and ocean acidification both have the capacity to impact simultaneously all organism trophic levels and so the possible negative ramifications can and should not be underestimated.

For info please go to:  http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2014100366 or call 1-800-553-6847 Mon – Fri 8am – 5pm est.

 

Personal Author F. T. Mackenzie M. W. Guidry

Current State of Agricultural Health Research and Practice: Critical Review. Final Report

For this study, emerging health issues in agricultural populations as described by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishing Sector Council were examined to outline and summarize the present state of agricultural health research. Current and emerging issues related to agricultural safety and health are discussed by agricultural industry sub-sector. Prevention and treatment strategies initiated at the community, workplace, and clinical levels to serve agricultural workers are also outlined. For more info please go

to:  http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2014101051 or

call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 M – F 8am – 5pm est.

Personal Author L. Kurth M. Hendryx

From Phyto-Remediation to Phyto-Mining: Maximizing Value in Producing Bio-diesel from Pennycress.

A series of pennycress seeds were germinated hydroponically in solutions spiked with varying amounts of lead (II) nitrate. Uptake of the lead into roots and stalks of the plants were examined via Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). Results and findings show promise for larger scale use of this phyto-remediation technique and the use of EDXRF to quantify it. Additionally, a plant sample provided by The Power Alternative (TPA) was examined by EDXRF for the presence of lead in the stalk material.

For more info go to:  http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2012114335 or call NTIS 800-553-6847 M – F 8am – 5pm est.images[11]

 

Personal Author A. Rihana-Abdalla M. A. Benvenuto S. Baker

Observations of C-Band Brightness Temperatures and Ocean Surface Wind Speed and Rain Rate from the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) during GRIP and HS3

HIRAD is a new technology developed by NASA/MSFC, in partnership with NOAA and the Universities of Central Florida, Michigan, and Alabama-Huntsville. HIRAD is designed to measure wind speed and rain rate over a wide swath in heavy-rain, strong-wind conditions. HIRAD is expected to eventually fly routinely on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as Global Hawk over hurricanes threatening the U.S. coast and other Atlantic basin areas, and possibly in the Western Pacific as well. HIRAD first flew on GRIP in 2010 and is part of the 2012-14 NASA Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) mission on the Global Hawk, a high-altitude UAV. The next-generation HIRAD will include wind direction observations, and the technology can eventually be used on a satellite platform to extend the dynamical range of Ocean Surface Wind (OSV) observations from space.

For more info go to:  http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=N20130010242  or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 M – F 8am – 5pm

Personal Author C. S. Ruf E. W. Uhlhorn J. Johnson J. B. Roberts M. W. James P. G. Black R. Atlas S. Biswas S. Farrar T. L. Miller W. L. Jones

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

imagesOn 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.  For more info go to:  http://www.ntis.gov/search/product.aspx?ABBR=PB2014103865 or call NTIS 1-800-553-6847 Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

Personal Author N/A