Showing papers by "University of Colorado Colorado Springs published in 1996"

Coexisting communication systems

Abstract: An integrated communication system supporting multiple TDMA or TDD communication protocols, and includes means for selectively communicating according to either protocol. Each protocol defines time frames and/or time slots of a different duration (901, 911), from which is derived a composite time frame (925) having a predefined timing structure. A first base station unit (104) communicates in a first set of time slots of the composite time frame according to a first TDMA or TDD protocol, and a second base station unit (104) (which may be collocated with the first base station unit) communicates in a second set of time slots of the composite time frame according to a second TDMA or TDD protocol. Coordinating electronics (such as a GPS receiver in one or both base station units) are provided so as to prevent collisions between communications occurring between each base station unit and its respective users. In a particular embodiment, a first protocol is GSM protocol, and a second protocol is a TDD protocol utilizing spread spectrum techniques. The TDD protocol is structured so that each time slot is twice the duration of a GSM time slot, and each time frame is four times the duration of a GSM time frame. The system may comprise a number of 'stacked' base stations in a single cell, each operating over a different frequency or using different spreading codes.

Application of localized molecular orbitals to the solution of semiempirical self-consistent field equations

Abstract: When conventional matrix algebra is used to solve the semiempirical self-consistent field equations for large systems, the time required rises as the third power of the size of the system. A consequence of this is that self-consistent calculations of large systems such as enzymes are impractical. By using localized molecular orbitals instead of matrix methods, the time required for these systems can be made almost proportional to the size of the system. In partial geometry optimizations, the time required depends only upon the size of the fragment being optimized and is almost independent of the size of the whole system. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Whistling in the Dark: Exaggerated Consensus Estimates in Response to Incidental Reminders of Mortality

Abstract: Terror management theory posits that cultural worldviews function to provide protection against anxiety concerning human vulnerability and mortality and that their effectiveness as buffers against such anxiety is maintained through a process of consensual validation Two field experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that incidental reminders of one's mortality increase the need to believe that others share one's worldview In both studies, passersby on city streets were asked to estimate the extent of social consensus for culturally relevant attitudes, 100 m before passing a funeral home, 100 m after passing a funeral home, or directly in front of a funeral home In the first study, conducted in Germany, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Germans who shared their opinions about a proposal to change the German constitution to restrict the immigration of foreigners, in the second study, conducted in the United States, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Americans who shar...

Timing adjustment control for efficient time division duplex communication

Abstract: A system for time division duplex communication over a single frequency band wherein guard time overhead is reduced by active adjustment of reverse link transmission timing as a function of round trip propagation delay. Responding to a polling message from the base station, a user station seeking to establish communication transmits a reply message. The base station using a propagation delay calculator (812) calculates the distance of the user station by measuring the propagation delay with respect to receipt of the reply message and a timing control unit (806) and transmitter (807) for sending a timing adjustment command to the user station instructing it to advance or retard its timing. Thereafter, the base station monitors the user station transmissions and periodically commands it to adjust its timing in a like manner. The user station transmits a control preamble at the start of each time slot to allow the base station to perform round trip timing calculations and adjustment of the user station's power or antenna selection.

Competitive strategy in the market-focused business

Abstract: Market orientation is a business culture which enlists the participation of all employees for the purpose of creating superior value for its customers and superior performance for itself. A substantial body of research finds a positive relationship between a business's magnitude of market orientation and its performance. However, there has been no research into the competitive strategies through which a market-oriented business creates customer value. This paper extends previous work by showing that market-oriented businesses aggressively develop new products and services, focus on opportunities in market segments rather than in the mass market, and attempt to achieve competitive advantage both by increasing customer benefits and by reducing costs.

Struggling to gain meaning: living with the uncertainty of breast cancer.

Abstract: Uncertainty is a common experience for women living with breast cancer, particularly when treatment cannot assure disease cure. The study described in this article sought to provide insight into uncertainty experiences for women living with breast cancer. Hermeneutic phenomenology and photographic hermeneutics were used to describe and interpret uncertainty for nine women between 2 and 6 years posttreatment for breast cancer. Data were collected using interviews and interpretations of photographs. Five themes of uncertainty among women were uncovered. Major study findings included support for a reconceptualization of Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Theory and the explication of growth-producing aspects of uncertainty.

Data storage subsystem with block based data management

Abstract: The block based data storage subsystem combines the functions of data storage/retrieval with block based data management functions, including but not limited to: Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM), Live Data Backup, Fault Tolerance, Capacity Planning, Performance Optimization and Dynamic Load Balancing. This system solves many storage management problems with a single technology and is completely independent from, and non intrusive to, the system it attaches to and has resources specifically designed to perform data management functions. The perspective of block data management is a much finer granularity and much simpler than existing data file based technologies.

Method and apparatus for analyzing neurological response to emotion-inducing stimuli

Abstract: A method of determining the extent of the emotional response of a test subject to stimului having a time-varying visual content, for example, an advertising presentation. The test subject is positioned to observe the presentation for a given duration, and a path of communication is established between the subject and a brain wave detector/analyzer. The intensity component of each of at least two different brain wave frequencies is measured during the exposure, and each frequency is associated with a particular emotion. While the subject views the presentation, periodic variations in the intensity component of the brain waves of each of the particular frequencies selected is measured. The change rates in the intensity at regular periods during the duration are also measured. The intensity change rates are then used to construct a graph of plural coordinate points, and these coordinate points graphically establish the composite emotional reaction of the subject as the presentation continues.

Preamble code structure and detection method and apparatus

Abstract: In a first embodiment of the invention, a concatenated preamble code is formed by a kronecker product between two subcodes of the same or different lengths. The subcodes have favorable correlation properties and may be Barker codes, minimum peak sidelobe codes, Gold codes, Kasami codes, Boztas codes, or other codes. At the receiver a two-stage processor is used to detect the concatenated preamble code. The two-stage processor comprises a series of two filters, one of which is preferably a mismatched filter. In another aspect of the invention, a repeated codeword preamble is formed from a series of the same repeated short subcode. The short subcode may be an augmented or truncated odd-length code. At the receiver a single matched filter is preferably used to generate a series of spikes separated by the period of the subcode. An alert/confirm detector non-coherently adds together individual correlation spikes and reject false alarms. The alert function measures total correlation energy and adjusts detection thresholds based thereon, while the confirm function ensures that the proper number of correlation spikes exceed a detection threshold at the correct times. The preamble codes and their means for detection are preferably employed in a TDMA spread spectrum communication system, wherein a plurality of user stations communicate with a base station, one in each time slot (or virtual time slot).

Single poly memory cell and array

Abstract: A non-volatile memory cell array using only a single level of polysilicon and a single level of metal has programmable single transistor memory cells on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, a well of a second conductivity type in the substrate, parallel bitlines oriented in a first direction, and reference line segments oriented in the first direction. Each reference line is paired with one of each bitline. The array also has parallel word lines oriented in a second direction to form an array of intersections with the pairs of bitline/reference line pairs, and a rewriteable single transistor memory cell at each intersection point.

Bone regeneration with resorbable polymeric membranes. III. Effect of poly(L‐lactide) membrane pore size on the bone healing process in large defects

Abstract: Poly(l-lactide) membranes of various pore sizes: microporous, medium pore size (10–20 μm), and large pore size (20–200 μm) were implanted in 15 mature New Zealand female rabbits to cover a 10-mm diaphyseal defect created in the radius. Five rabbits were implanted with each membrane. No internal fixation was used, as it was assumed that the intact ulna splints the radius adequately. Postoperative radiographs revealed the formation of hematoma within the bone defect. At the 2nd week after surgery, the hematoma was resorbed and the formation of new bone was noted radiologically either at the ends of the bone fragments or as osteophytes on the proximal and distal edges of the membrane. At 4 weeks, the newly formed bone was growing centripetally from the fragment ends. The bone regeneration took place in the majority of the cases under investigation, regardless of the pore size of the polymeric membranes used. There were, however, some differences in the intensity of the bone regeneration process. Although at 2 weeks after surgery bone formation was seen radiographically in all animals, at 6 months five rabbits of five, four rabbits of five, and three rabbits of five implanted respectively with microporous membrane, medium pore-size membrane, and large pore-size membrane showed complete regeneration of bone within the defects. It is suggested that the primary function of the membrane used to cover bone defects is to preserve the osteogenic components present in the space under the membrane from escaping and support the growth of cells within the “medullary cavity” formed by the tubular implant. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Fencing the Forest: Conservation and Ecological Change in India's Central Provinces 1860-1914

Abstract: The extensive woodlands of the Central Provinces of India became vital to imperial interests in the late nineteenth century, and this book argues that it was protection of these interests, rather than conservation per se that was at the heart of imperial forestry in India.

Mild Depression, Mortality Salience and Defense of the Worldview Evidence of Intensified Terror Management in the Mildly Depressed:

Abstract: Based on a terror management analysis of depression, the authors hypothesized that mildly depressed individuals would engage in especially vigorous worldview defense after mortality salience. Two studies were conducted in which mildly depressed and nondepressed American college students contemplated their own mortality or a neutral topic and then evaluated targets who supported or threatened aspects of their worldviews. Replicating previous research, subjects who contemplated their own mortality engaged in more defense of the worldview (more positive reactions to worldview supporters and more negative reactions to worldview threateners). Moreover, as predicted, mildly depressed subjects in both studies responded to mortality salience with significantly more worldview defense than did nondepressed subjects. Implications of these results for understanding and treating depression are briefly considered.

Chemo-mechanical expansion delivery system

Abstract: System for delivery of a biologically active substance into an environment. First and second chambers are separated by a moveable partition. The first chamber includes a polymer gel network which undergoes a volume change in response to an environmental condition such as pH. The first compartment includes a screen or membrane for confining the polymer gel network while allowing communication with fluid in an environment. The second compartment contains a biologically active compound or drug which is delivered to the environment through an orifice in the second compartment. Upon the occurrence of the triggering environmental condition, the polymer gel network undergoes a volume change which moves the moveable partition expelling the drug through the orifice. Drug delivery is initiated and continues only when the appropriate environmental condition or trigger is met.

Diagnosis and assessment of personality disorders in older adults: A critical review.

Abstract: Personality disorders in older adults only recently were identified as significant clinical problems, with little empirical attention having been directed to this diagnostic classification. In light of the burgeoning population of older adults, clinicians and researchers are now beginning to recognize the importance of evaluating specific diagnostic and assessment strategies for such personality-disordered older adults. From our critical review of the extant literature, it is apparent that personality disorders traditionally have been underdiagnosed in older adults. Moreover, some of the diagnostic criteria in use appear to be inadequate for this population. In addition, failure to recognize the moderating impact of a characterological component to Axis I symptom presentation in older individuals may result in faulty treatment decision making. Appropriateness and utility of measures for evaluating personality disturbances in older adults are discussed, and comparisons between instruments are provided. Con...

Three-Year Follow-Up of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)

Abstract: The long-term effectiveness of D.A.R.E. was assessed by contrasting 9th-grade students who received the program in the 6th grade with others who did not receive the program. Of 38 elementary schools eligible for D.A.R.E. programs, 21 received the program and 17 did not. A follow-up survey assessed central D.A.R.E. concepts such as self-esteem, resistance to peer pressure, delay of experimentation with drugs, and drug use. Employing latent variables to represent the concepts, no significant differences were found between D.A.R.E. participants and controls. The authors discuss attenuation of effects and the generally antidrug context of schools.

Wireless local loop system and method

Abstract: A system and method for setting up a telephone call over a communication path having at least one wireless communication link comprises a universal radio converter (URC) connected to a standard non-wireless device by way of a standard analog interface over which DTMF tone signals are transmitted. Upon receiving the first tone signal, the URC establishes a wireless communication link with a base station. After the communication link is established, the URC transmits to the base station the dialed numbers as they are received from the standard non-wireless device. The base station performs digit analysis as the dialed numbers are received according to a local call numbering format, and sends a call setup request message to the network. A preferred URC is equipped with means to detect an emergency call request, such as a "911" call, upon which the URC establishes a wireless communication link over an emergency call channel. The invention is illustrated in one embodiment with respect to a preferred TDMA over-the-air protocol.

Plaintiff injury and defendant reprehensibility: Implications for compensatory and punitive damage awards.

Abstract: A criticism of the civil jury is that jurors' decisions about damages are capricious and arbitrary. In particular, critics point to the skyrocketing nature of punitive damage assessments as evidence of a system run amok. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence jurors' decisions about compensatory and punitive awards. We assess whether, as the law intends, jurors' decisions about compensation are influenced by the severity of the plaintiff's injury but not by the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct, and whether assessments of punitive damages are related to the defendant's conduct but not to the plaintiff's injury. Across three cases, mock jurors generally utilized relevant information and ignored irrelevant factors in their decisions about damages. Results are discussed in terms of the extent to which juror decision making comports with legal doctrine.

Pixel hashing image recognition system

Abstract: A character recognition system employs a "hashing" technique of imaged pixels wherein a digital image constituting an array of pixels is divided into a series of sub-arrays. The sub-array digital signal patterns themselves correspond directly to addresses in associated system memories. Each memory address indicates a predetermined set of the possible characters. There is an apparatus for combining the list of possible characters so that signals corresponding to only one character are output.

Method of forming capacitors and interconnect lines

Abstract: A multi-region material structure and process for forming capacitors and interconnect lines for use with integrated circuits provides (1) capacitor first or bottom electrodes comprising a transition-metal nitride; (2) a capacitor dielectric comprising a transition-metal oxide; (3) capacitor second or top electrodes comprising a transition-metal nitride, a metal or multiple conductive layers; (4) one or more levels of interconnect lines; (5) electrical insulation between adjacent regions as required by the application; and (6) bonding between two regions when such bonding is required to achieve strong region-to-region adhesion or to achieve a region-to-region interface that has a low density of electrical defects. The process for forming the material structures involves formation of the capacitor dielectric on the first electrode surfaces by conversion of a conductive transition-metal nitride to an insulating transition-metal oxide and formation of low-defect-density interfaces between capacitor second electrodes and the capacitor dielectric.

A comparative study of line design approaches for serial production systems

Abstract: Over the past decade two approaches, just‐in‐time (JIT) and theory of constraints (TOC), for designing and operating production lines have developed, each claiming to be the “correct” way. In addition there are still those who maintain that line balanced (whenever possible) is the optimal method. This study uses simulation to compare each of these approaches for designing and operating production lines under various levels of processing time variability, station downtime, and total system inventory. Not surprisingly, the JIT approach appears to work best when system variability is low. The TOC approach works best when system variability is high. This shows that lines designed using TOC principles perform significantly better than JIT lines when inventory is low, and JIT lines perform significantly better than TOC lines as inventory is added to the system. The traditionally balanced line did not perform best under any of the conditions used in this study.

Photography: an aesthetic technique for nursing inquiry.

Abstract: Photographs visually capture experiences within life that are often not captured by language alone. Photography is a powerful tool for understanding human experience and a useful healing strategy. When photographs are used as an entree for interviewing participants, stories are elicited and a new view of their lives is revealed. As a person relates the story behind a photograph, new insights emerge about his or her human experience. With photography, other dimensions of observation and knowledge surrounding human experience emerge. This article discusses the use of photography as an aesthetic technique for nursing inquiry. A discussion of the uses of photography within nursing inquiry and suggestions for its use within method are presented.

Data warehouse for EIS: some issues and impacts

Abstract: The data warehouse is one of the most rapidly growing areas in management information systems. With this approach, data for EIS and DSS applications is separated from operational data and stored in a separate database called a data warehouse. Some of the advantages of this approach are improved performance, better data quality, and the ability to consolidate and summarize data from heterogeneous legacy systems. A data warehouse is part of a larger infrastructure that includes legacy data sources, external data sources, a repository, data acquisition software, and user interface and related analytical tools. A powerful form of data analysis, called multidimensional data analysis, is often performed by users of a data warehouse. Data warehouses can be organized into two-tier or three-tier client/server systems. Despite the complexity of the data warehouse environment little academic research has been performed in this area. This paper identifies a number of issues that arise in the context of developing and using a data warehouse. It develops a proposed research model to determine the impact of factors such as organizational factors, warehouse infrastructure, and management support on user satisfaction and development characteristics of a data warehouse.

Multi-use cap with accessories pocket

Abstract: A type of lightweight, multi-use headware is provided which has an aperture on one or both sides of the headware for temporarily receiving a small illuminating device in a non-obstructive manner that allows the handle of the illuminating device to be securely held within the interior of the headware. When the illuminating device is removed from the aperture the headware may be more traditionally used to shield the user's face and eyes from sunlight.

Integrated circuits having mixed layered superlattice materials and precursor solutions for use in a process of making the same

Abstract: Metal alkoxycarboxylate-based liquid precursor solutions are used to form electronic devices (100) that include mixed layered superlattice materials (112) of a type having discrete oxygen octahedral layers (124 and 128) collated with a superlattice-generator layer (116) The precursor solutions include a plurality of metal moieties in effective amounts for yielding the layered superlattice materials These metal moieties are mixed to include an A/B portion capable of forming an A/B layer (124), a perovskite-like AB layer portion capable of forming a perovskite-like AB octahedral layer (128), and a superlattice-generator portion capable of forming the superlattice-generator layer (116) The precursors are deposited in liquid form upon a substrate and annealed to provide the layered superlattice materials

ISAAC: integrated silicon automotive accelerometer

Abstract: The pervasiveness of automotive passive restraint systems has emphasized the need for improving system reliability while simultaneously reducing the cost and size of the system. This paper describes the integrated silicon automative accelerometer (ISAAC), which consists of a silicon micromachined die fabricated in a dissolved-wafer process and a CMOS ASIC trial are combined in a standard plastic package. The resultant device meets the functional, cost, and reliability requirements of the next generation of automotive passive restraint systems.

Environmentally controlled camera housing assembly

Abstract: A camera housing assembly for protecting a camera from potentially-damaging environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, humidity and corrosive air-borne particulates, has a housing and an internal heat sink received within the housing. The internal heat sink defines a hollow body extending in the elongated direction of the housing and forming an internal chamber for receiving the camera and for transferring heat away from the chamber and camera. A polymeric insulating material is disposed within an annular space formed between the internal heat sink and housing in order to thermally insulate the internal heat sink from the housing. A thermoelectric cooling device extends through an aperture formed in a wall of the housing, and is thermally coupled between the internal heat sink and an external heat sink mounted to an external wall of the housing for transferring heat from the internal heat sink to the external heat sink. An optically-reflective shroud is mounted to the external heat sink by a plurality of thermal-isolation mounts to thermally insulate the shroud from the external heat sink. The shroud extends over the top surfaces of the external heat sink and housing and extends downwardly adjacent to the sides of the housing in order to reflect radiant energy away from the housing assembly.