Management gaps analysis: a case study of groundwater resource management in New Zealand

The primary objective of this project is to identify gaps, whether real or perceived, that hinder effective groundwater management in New Zealand. These gaps show as gaps in information, gaps in implementation, gaps in technological and management tools, and gaps in understanding of fundamental processes. The secondary objective is to propose a management strategy to close the identified gaps. Several methods are used to meet these objectives: surveys distributed to selected staff in each regional council; the review of various written reports; the analysis of land-use databases; and private consultation within each regional council. Results show that groundwater management in New Zealand is generally reactionary with the main gaps being in strategic planning and national guidelines. Most gaps appear to be predominantly information and implementation issues. In some cases there are gaps in the understanding of fundamental processes within an aquifer system, including the long-term effects of land-use on groundwater quality. An adaptive management approach is suggested as a means of closing these gaps.     

Role of Perceived Importance in Intergroup Contact.

Furthering G. W. Allport's (1954) contentions for optimal contact, the authors introduce a new construct: the perceived importance of contact. They propose that perceived importance is the best proximal predictor of contact's reduction of prejudice. If individuals have opportunities for contact at work or in the neighborhood, their chances to have intergroup acquaintances and friends increase. Intergroup contact among acquaintances and friends can be perceived as more or less important, which in turn determines intergroup evaluations. A 1st study shows that the new measure of perceived importance is indeed distinct from established quantity and quality indicators. The results are cross-validated in a 2nd study that also sheds light on the meaning of importance. In 3rd and 4th studies, structural equation analyses and a meta-analysis support the hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling subthreshold SOI logic for static timing analysis

A simple, yet realistic physics-based model is introduced to describe the subthreshold drain current of a MOSFET taking into account the body- and drain-voltage dependencies, including the short channel effects. This model, verified by SPICE simulations, describes adequately the pseudotriode and pseudosaturation regions of MOS transistors operated below V/sub T/. It can be applied for predicting bulk- or partially depleted (PD) SOI CMOS circuit operation. Analytical expressions derived for the logic switching threshold and delay are applied to predict the performance of CMOS-SOI inverters.     

A Revised Methodology for Research on Metamemory: Pre-judgment Recall And Monitoring (PRAM).

A revised methodology is described for research on metacognitive monitoring, especially judgments of learning (JOLs), to investigate psychological processing that previously has been only hypothetical and unobservable. During data collection a new stage of recall occurs just prior to the JOL, so that during data analysis the items can be partitioned into subcategories to measure the degree of JOL accuracy in ways that are more analytic than was previously possible. A weighted-average combinatorial rule allows the component measures of JOL accuracy to be combined into the usual overall measure of metacognitive accuracy. An example using the revised methodology offers a new explanation for the delayed-JOL effect, in which delayed JOLs are more accurate than immediate JOLs for predicting recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterization and optimization of copper chemical mechanical planarization

The feature scale planarization of the copper chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process has been characterized for two copper processes using Hitachi 430-TU/Hitachi T605 and Cabot 5001/Arch Cu10K consumables. The first process is an example of an abrasive-free polish with a high-selectivity barrier slurry, while the second is an example of a conventional abrasive slurry with a low-selectivity barrier slurry. Copper fill planarization has been characterized for structures with conformal deposition as well as with bumps resulting from bottom-up fill. Dishing and erosion were characterized for several structures after clearing. The abrasive-free polish resulted in low sensitivity to overpolish and low saturation levels for dishing and erosion. Consequently, this demonstrated superior performance when compared to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) 2000 roadmap targets for planarization. While the conventional slurry could achieve the 0.13-μm technology node requirements, the abrasive-free polish met the planarization requirements beyond the 0.10-μm technology node.     

Filter matrix estimation in automated DNA sequencing

In four-color fluorescence-based automated DNA sequencing, a 4×4 filter matrix parameterizes the relationship between the dye-intensity signals of interest and the data collected by an optical imaging system. The filter matrix is important because the estimated DNA sequence is based on the dye intensities that can only be recovered via inversion of the matrix. Here, the authors present a calibration method for the estimation of the columns of this matrix, using data generated through a special experiment in which DNA samples are labeled with only one fluorescent dye at a time. Simulations and applications of the method to real data are provided, with promising results     

Phrase-spaced formats improve comprehension in average readers.

College readers read and answered questions on 12 short essays. Essays formatted so that points between phrases had fractional extra space added to them were comprehended better than normally formatted text. These improvements were specific to average readers. Practically, the results justify classroom research on the benefits of phrase-sensitive formatting; theoretically, the results add to existing evidence that poor to average readers specifically lack perceptual strategies for grouping word sequences into phrases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intra- and inter-laboratory reproducibility of estrogen and progesterone receptor enzyme immunoassay in breast cancer cytosol samples--a Swedish multicenter study. Swedish Society of Cancer Study Group

Estrogen and progesterone receptor analysis results were compared within and between six laboratories in Sweden using frozen breast cancer cytosol samples, and the same technique (enzyme immunoassay, Abbott Laboratories). The concordance in receptor status (positive vs. negative) was excellent (98.4% (571/580)). The discordant results were attributable to values near cut-off (n = 4) or outliers (n = 5), the latter probably being due to analytical errors. One laboratory reported significantly higher ER concentrations than the others; thus caution should be observed when comparing absolute values from different centers. For PgR there were similar differences between the laboratories. However, the intra- and inter-laboratory differences were small compared with the overall variability in ER and PgR content between different samples in a large database. The range of the median intra-laboratory coefficient of variation was 11-23% for ER and 12-19% for PgR, indicating that there is room for improvement in the quality of assay performance.     

Scientific and artistic investigation of multi-dimensional fractals on the AT & T pixel machine

The pipelined architecture and parallel organization of the AT&T Pixel Machine image computer are described and demonstrated with applications for the visualization of multidimensional fractals, particularly linear fractals and quaternion/ stacked Julia sets. Techniques for pushing the Pixel Machine to its peak abilities are described and apply to more recent parallel image computers as well.     

Bacteriophage lambda: transactivation, positive control and other odd findings

The purpose for this study was to evaluate the results of silicone oil use in patients who have undergone vitrectomy for proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). The authors reviewed the 5-year results of 50 consecutive patients (52 eyes) with grade C1/D3 PVR operated on in 1987. Silicone oil has been removed in 42 eyes. The retina remained attached in 38 eyes. Visual acuities were finger counting in 12 eyes and 0.1 or greater in 19 eyes. Glaucoma was thought to be the major cause of loss of visual acuity after an initial improvement (9 eyes), as well as the most frequent complication of surgery (13 eyes). Silicone oil was deemed nonremovable in 10 operated eyes. A questionnaire was developed to determine the patients' perceptions of the use of silicone oil, and 46 patients responded to the questionnaire. Four patients indicated that they would not have elected to have surgery again. Six patients thought that surgery was not worthwhile, but would permit treatment again. Most patients thought that a modest amount of improvement had taken place and that vision was stable. Subjectively, most patients believed that surgery was worthwhile.