The Influence of Job Characteristics and Self-Directed Learning Orientation on Workplace Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Raemdonck, Isabel; Gijbels, David; van Groen, Willemijn

2014-01-01

Given the increasing importance of learning at work, we set out to examine the factors which influence workplace learning behaviour. The study investigated the influence of the job characteristics from Karasek's Job Demand Control Support model and the personal characteristic self-directed learning orientation on workplace learning. A total…

Influence of course characteristics, student characteristics, and behavior in learning management systems on student performance

OpenAIRE

Conijn, Rianne; Kleingeld, Ad; Matzat, Uwe; Snijders, Chris; van Zaanen, Menno

2016-01-01

The use of learning management systems (LMS) in education make it possible to track students’ online behavior. This data can be used for educational data mining and learning analytics, for example, by predicting student performance. Although LMS data might contain useful predictors, course characteristics and student characteristics have shown to influence student performance as well. However, these different sets of features are rarely combined or compared. Therefore, in the current study we...

Socio-economic characteristics of small-holder farmers influencing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Socio-economic characteristics of small-holder farmers influencing their utilisation of microcredit in the central agricultural zone of Cross River state. ... The findings revealed that about thirty – four percent (33.6%) of the crop farmers fell between 41-50 years while about 51% of the livestock farmers fell between 31-40 years.

Modelling characteristics of ferromagnetic cores with the influence of temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Górecki, K; Rogalska, M; Zarȩbski, J; Detka, K

2014-01-01

The paper is devoted to modelling characteristics of ferromagnetic cores with the use of SPICE software. Some disadvantages of the selected literature models of such cores are discussed. A modified model of ferromagnetic cores taking into account the influence of temperature on the magnetizing characteristics and the core losses is proposed. The form of the elaborated model is presented and discussed. The correctness of this model is verified by comparing the calculated and the measured characteristics of the selected ferromagnetic cores.

Influence of Voltage on Main Characteristics of Electric Lighting Lamps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. B. Kozlovskaya

2009-01-01

Full Text Available An analysis and systemization of data on influence of voltage value on main lighting engineering, electric and economic characteristics of incandescent lamps, gaseous-discharge lamps of low and high pressure have been made in the paper.Analytical and graphical dependences have been obtained that ensure to evaluate quantitative changes of corresponding lamp characteristics at voltage deviation from nominal value.

Work ability of Chinese migrant workers: the influence of migration characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Lu; Shi, Leiyu; Lu, Liming; Ling, Li

2014-04-13

Migrant workers have become a vital labor supply to China's economy. Their migration process and work conditions may influence their health and work ability. The work ability of migrant workers in China and the influence of the migration process on work ability have not been explored extensively in previous studies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of migration characteristics and work-related factors with work ability among migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta. In this cross-sectional survey, the study population consisted of 907 migrant workers from ten factories in the Pearl River Delta who were exposed to organic solvents during work. The primary dependent variable of the study was work ability, measured by the Work Ability Index (WAI). The independent variables were individual characteristics, migration characteristics, and work-related factors. Logistic regression models were used to determine the influence of different factors on work ability and three dimensions of WAI. The result shows that among migration characteristics, social support was significantly associated with all three dimensions of the work ability index. Permanent migration intention and longer length of migration were negatively associated with the mental resource dimension of WAI. WAI was also influenced by individual and work-related factors. The findings of this study suggest that expanding migrants' social networks and social support systems in their work place or living community, (i.e. expanding the functions of labor unions) would be an effective way to improve migrant workers' work ability. Improving of migrant workers' physical and psychosocial related work environments would also increase their work ability.

Influence of prey body characteristics and performance on predator selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Thomas H; McCormick, Mark I

2009-03-01

At the time of settlement to the reef environment, coral reef fishes differ in a number of characteristics that may influence their survival during a predatory encounter. This study investigated the selective nature of predation by both a multi-species predator pool, and a single common predator (Pseudochromis fuscus), on the reef fish, Pomacentrus amboinensis. The study focused on the early post-settlement period of P. amboinensis, when mortality, and hence selection, is known to be highest. Correlations between nine different measures of body condition/performance were examined at the time of settlement, in order to elucidate the relationships between different traits. Single-predator (P. fuscus) choice trials were conducted in 57.4-l aquaria with respect to three different prey characteristics [standard length (SL), body weight and burst swimming speed], whilst multi-species trials were conducted on open patch reefs, manipulating prey body weight only. Relationships between the nine measures of condition/performance were generally poor, with the strongest correlations occurring between the morphological measures and within the performance measures. During aquaria trials, P. fuscus was found to be selective with respect to prey SL only, with larger individuals being selected significantly more often. Multi-species predator communities, however, were selective with respect to prey body weight, with heavier individuals being selected significantly more often than their lighter counterparts. Our results suggest that under controlled conditions, body length may be the most important prey characteristic influencing prey survival during predatory encounters with P. fuscus. In such cases, larger prey size may actually be a distinct disadvantage to survival. However, these relationships appear to be more complex under natural conditions, where the expression of prey characteristics, the selectivity fields of a number of different predators, their relative abundance, and

Validation experiments of nuclear characteristics of the fast-thermal system HERBE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pesic, M.; Zavaljevski, N.; Marinkovic, P.; Stefanovis, D.; Nikolic, D.; Avdic, S.

1992-01-01

In 1988/90 a coupled fast-thermal system HERBE at RB reactor, based on similar facilities, is designed and realized. Fast core of HERBE is built of natural U fuel in RB reactor center surrounded by the neutron filter and neutron converter located in an independent Al tank. Fast zone is surrounded by thermal neutron core driver. Designed nuclear characteristics of HERBE core are validated in the experiments described in the paper. HERBE cell parameters were calculated with developed computer codes: VESNA and DENEB. HERBE system criticality calculation are performed with 4G 2D RZ computer codes GALER and TWENTY GRAND, 1D multi-group AVERY code and 3D XYZ few-group TRITON computer code. The experiments for determination of critical level, dρ/dH, and reactivity of safety rods are accomplished in order to validate calculation results. Specific safety experiment is performed in aim to determine reactivity of flooded fast zone in possible accident. A very good agreements with calculation results are obtained and the validation procedures are presented. It is expected that HERBE will offer qualitative new opportunities for work with fast neutrons at RB reactor including nuclear data determination. (author)

Wellness Tourism among Seniors in Taiwan: Previous Experience, Service Encounter Expectations, Organizational Characteristics, Employee Characteristics, and Customer Satisfaction

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Kaung-Hwa Chen

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate the influence of the service encounter expectations of senior customers during wellness tours on customer satisfaction. The organizational attributes of hotels, organizational characteristics and employee characteristics, were adopted as mediating variables. A total of 346 valid questionnaires were retrieved from 50 year-old and above seniors in Taiwan. The results showed that the service encounter expectations of seniors had an indirect influence on customer satisfaction and the organizational attributes mediated the service encounter expectations of seniors and customer satisfaction. The moment of truth in the interactions between service staff members and seniors represents the pivotal management implication of this study.

A validity generalization procedure to test relations between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and influence tactics.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbuto, John E; Moss, Jennifer A

2006-08-01

The relations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation with use of consultative, legitimating, and pressure influence tactics were examined using validity generalization procedures. 5 to 7 field studies with cumulative samples exceeding 800 were used to test each relationship. Significance was found for relation between agents' intrinsic motivation and their use of consultative influence tactics and agents' extrinsic motivation and their use of legitimating influence tactics.

The influence of perceived characteristics of management development programs on employee outcomes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ardts, J.C.A.; van der Velde, M.E.G.; Maurer, T.

2010-01-01

Employees’ perceptions of Management Development (MD) programs is the topic of this study. The purpose is to examine the influence of three important perceived characteristics of MD programs on relevant MD outcomes. The MD characteristics are: availability of role models, perceived control, and

A discrete element model for the influence of surfactants on sedimentation characteristics of magnetorheological fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Kwon Joong

2018-02-01

Hindering particle agglomeration and re-dispersion processes, gravitational sedimentation of suspended particles in magnetorheological (MR) fluids causes inferior performance and controllability of MR fluids in response to a user-specified magnetic field. Thus, suspension stability is one of the principal factors to be considered in synthesizing MR fluids. However, only a few computational studies have been reported so far on the sedimentation characteristics of suspended particles under gravity. In this paper, the settling dynamics of paramagnetic particles suspended in MR fluids was investigated via discrete element method (DEM) simulations. This work focuses particularly on developing accurate fluid-particle and particle-particle interaction models which can account for the influence of stabilizing surfactants on the MR fluid sedimentation. Effect of the stabilizing surfactants on interparticle interactions was incorporated into the derivation of a reliable contact-impact model for DEM computation. Also, the influence of the stabilizing additives on fluid-particle interactions was considered by incorporating Stokes drag with shape and wall correction factors into DEM formulation. The results of simulations performed for model validation purposes showed a good agreement with the published sedimentation measurement data in terms of an initial sedimentation velocity and a final sedimentation ratio.

The Influence of Contextual Cues in Judgment Formation: An Ecologically Valid Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacoby, Jacob; Galak, Jeff

2016-01-01

An ecologically valid experiment investigated the propositions that (a) people's judgments are influenced by contextual cues, (b) that they are often unaware that those cues influenced them, and (c) that even when they know the cues should influence them, they do not readily incorporate those cues into their judgment formation. After participating in a realistic simulation of a shopping experience, 405 consumers made judgments about whether the product they examined contained fresh or preserved grapefruit sections. Our findings show that despite being aware that contextual cues (such as the location within a store where the product is sold, the type of container it is sold in, and whether the container is chilled or not) generally influence the judgment at hand, people generally fail to realize that their specific judgments were influenced at all. These findings replicate prior studies, thereby extending the generalizability and robustness of prior research.

Influence of dietary lipid sources on sensory characteristics of broiler

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Influence of dietary lipid sources on sensory characteristics of broiler meat ... fatty acid profile of poultry products such as eggs and meat by means of dietary inclusion of ..... Designer eggs: From improvement of egg composition to functional.

Sonochemically synthesized iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles: Influence of precursor composition on characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Anirban; Maitra, Saikat; Ghosh, Sobhan; Chakrabarti, Sampa

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Sonochemical synthesis of iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. • Green synthesis without alkali at room temperature. • Characterization by UV–vis spectroscopy, FESEM, XRD and EDX. • Influence of precursor composition on characteristics. • Composition and characteristics are correlated. - Abstract: Iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized sonochemically from aqueous acetyl acetonate precursors of different proportions. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized with UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and microscopy. Influences of precursor mixture on the characteristics have been examined and modeled. Linear correlations have been proposed between dopant dosing, extent of doping and band gap energy. Experimental data corroborated with the proposed models.

Do Neighborhood Characteristics in Amsterdam Influence Adiposity at Preschool Age?

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E. Jessica Hrudey

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Neighborhood characteristics may contribute to adiposity in young children, but results in the current literature are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate whether objective (socioeconomic status (SES and subjective (perceived safety, satisfaction with green spaces and perceived physical disorder neighborhood characteristics directly influence child adiposity (as measured by BMI, percent body fat (%BF and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR. Methods: Data on child BMI, %BF and WHtR were obtained from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development cohort at 5–6 years of age. Three thousand four hundred and sixty nine (3469 children were included in the analyses. Mixed models, using random intercepts for postal code area to account for neighborhood clustering effects, were used to analyze the relationships of interest. Results: Associations were observed for both perceived safety and neighborhood SES with %BF after adjustment for maternal education and ethnicity. All relationships were eliminated with the inclusion of individual covariates and parental BMI into the models. Conclusions: In general, child adiposity at age 5–6 years was not independently associated with neighborhood characteristics, although a small relationship between child %BF and both neighborhood SES and perceived safety cannot be ruled out. At this young age, familial and individual factors probably play a more important role in influencing child adiposity than neighborhood characteristics.

The evaluation of rainfall influence on combined sewer overflows characteristics: the Berlin case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandoval, S; Torres, A; Pawlowsky-Reusing, E; Riechel, M; Caradot, N

2013-01-01

The present study aims to explore the relationship between rainfall variables and water quality/quantity characteristics of combined sewer overflows (CSOs), by the use of multivariate statistical methods and online measurements at a principal CSO outlet in Berlin (Germany). Canonical correlation results showed that the maximum and average rainfall intensities are the most influential variables to describe CSO water quantity and pollutant loads whereas the duration of the rainfall event and the rain depth seem to be the most influential variables to describe CSO pollutant concentrations. The analysis of partial least squares (PLS) regression models confirms the findings of the canonical correlation and highlights three main influences of rainfall on CSO characteristics: (i) CSO water quantity characteristics are mainly influenced by the maximal rainfall intensities, (ii) CSO pollutant concentrations were found to be mostly associated with duration of the rainfall and (iii) pollutant loads seemed to be principally influenced by dry weather duration before the rainfall event. The prediction quality of PLS models is rather low (R² < 0.6) but results can be useful to explore qualitatively the influence of rainfall on CSO characteristics.

Influence of Different Diffuser Angle on Sedan's Aerodynamic Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xingjun; Zhang, Rui; Ye, Jian; Yan, Xu; Zhao, Zhiming

The aerodynamic characteristics have a great influence on the fuel economics and the steering stability of a high speed vehicle. The underbody rear diffuser is one of important aerodynamic add-on devices. The parameters of the diffuser, including the diffuser angle, the number and the shape of separators, the shape of the end plate and etc, will affect the underbody flow and the wake. Here, just the influence of the diffuser angle was investigated without separator and the end plate. The method of Computational Fluid Dynamics was adopted to study the aerodynamic characteristics of a simplified sedan with a different diffuser angle respectively. The diffuser angle was set to 0°, 3°, 6°, 9.8° and 12° respectively. The diffuser angle of the original model is 9.8°. The conclusions were drawn that when the diffuser angle increases, the underbody flow and especially the wake change greatly and the pressure change correspondingly; as a result, the total aerodynamic drag coefficients of car first decrease and then increases, while the total aerodynamic lift coefficients decrease.

The influence of shop characteristics on workload control

OpenAIRE

Oosterman, Bas; Land, Martin

1998-01-01

The magic word of the last years is internationalization. Researchers more and more focus on export market information and the relationship between this information and export performance. Just a few studies take into account the impact of firm characteristics on these topics. This study shows that country-of-origin, sector and size class (both individually and simultaneously) influence both the number of information sources consulted, and the type of information provider consulted. Besides, ...

Effects of leadership characteristics on pediatric registered nurses' job satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts-Turner, Reneé; Hinds, Pamela S; Nelson, John; Pryor, Juanda; Robinson, Nellie C; Wang, Jichuan

2014-01-01

Job satisfaction levels among registered nurses (RNs) influence RN recruitment, retention, turnover, and patient outcomes. Researchers examining the relationship between characteristics of nursing leadership and RN job satisfaction have treated RNs as a monolithic group with little research on the satisfaction of hospital-based pediatric RNs. This study assessed the relationship of transformational and transactional nursing leadership characteristics and RN job satisfaction reported by pediatric RNs. This single site study included 935 hospital-based pediatric RNs who completed validated survey items regarding nursing leadership and job satisfaction. A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to assess how autonomy (transformational leadership) and distributive justice (transactional leadership) influence RN job satisfaction, and how RN socio-demographic characteristics influence job satisfaction via autonomy and distributive justice. Findings revealed that both autonomy and distributive justice had significant positive effects on RN job satisfaction but the largest source of influence was autonomy.

The Influence of Top Management Team Characteristics on BPD Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joy Elly Tulung

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Based on ”upper echelons theory”, this paper investigates the relation between top management team composition and BPD performance. For top management team characteristics, we employ age, level of education, background of education, gender, and functional background, while for measured the BPD performance we employ return on asset (ROA, return on equity (ROE, capital adequacy ratio (CAR, net interest margin (NIM, loan to deposit ratio (LDR, non-performing loan (NPL and operation expenses to operation income (BOPO. The results show that all characteristics have positive significant influences on BPD performance.

Research on Harmonic Characteristics Influence for Distribution Network with Renewable Energy

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Huang Wei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In order to study the influence on harmonic characteristics of distribution network with renewable energy, a simplified model of distribution network is established to analyse theory while considering the influence of cable on the system capacitive current. Establishing an actual distribution network model by Digsilent to research the harmonic characteristics impact when photovoltaic power with PV incorporated the distribution network in a variety of different access , while using constant current source model as harmonic source model which often been used in engineering practices. The simulation results show that: optimizing the access location and dispersion of PV can decrease the waveform distortion levels in distribution network and a certain number of high-order harmonic will magnify by a specific grid structure, deteriorating the distribution network power quality.

Shaft Position Influence on Technical Characteristics of Universal Two-Stages Helical Speed Reducers

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Мilan Rackov

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Purchasers of speed reducers decide on buying those reducers, that can the most approximately satisfy their demands with much smaller costs. Amount of used material, ie. mass and dimensions of gear unit influences on gear units price. Mass and dimensions of gear unit, besides output torque, gear unit ratio and efficiency, are the most important parameters of technical characteristics of gear units and their quality. Centre distance and position of shafts have significant influence on output torque, gear unit ratio and mass of gear unit through overall dimension of gear unit housing. Thus these characteristics are dependent on each other. This paper deals with analyzing of centre distance and shaft position influence on output torque and ratio of universal two stages gear units.

Identification of characteristics which influence repository design domal salt, Task 1. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rawlings, G.; Antonnen, G.; Chamness, M.

1984-04-01

The purpose of the complete project is to provide NRC with technical assistance to enable the focused, adequate review by NRC of the aspects related to design and construction of an underground test facility and final geologic repository as presented by the Department of Energy (DOE). The study presented in this report covers the identification of characteristics which influence design and construction of a geologic repository in domal salt. This report has identified five key issues, i.e., constructibility, thermal response, mechanical response, hydrologic response, and geochemical response. This report involves both short-term (up to closure) and long-term (post closure) effects. The characteristics of domal salt and its environment are described under the headings of stratigraphic/structural, tectonic, mechanical, thermal and hydrologic. Characteristics are separated into parameters (quantified and measured) and factors (qualitative). The characteristics are then subjectively ranked by their influence on the key issues. This takes into account the availability and suitability of conservative design/construction techniques, uncertainty in model and model sensitivity to the characteristic

Radiometric investigation of factors, influencing the spray characteristics of aerosol flasks filled with propellants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benkoe, Gy.; Stampf, Gy.; Csontos, A.; Gyarmati, L.

1976-01-01

The role of 16 sprayheads, 5 valve systems and 3 propellant mixtures has been investigated in influencing the spray characteristics of pharmaceuticals. The distribution of matter has been determined with the aid of radiometry. The 14 C activity of spray spots has been measured in a mosaic-like way determining the activity of each area of 1 cm 2 in the right-angles spot-coordinate system. A Frieseke-Hoepfner type, PB gas current scaler has been used for measuring activity. According to the results spray heads play a decisive role in influencing the spray characteristics of aerosol flasks filled with propellants. The different propellant mixtures and valve systems influence the spray characteristics only in a small degree and only when adjusted to a given spray head. The method is well applicable for qualification of spray heads in practice of both factories and hospitals. (K.A.)

Influencing factors of domestic waste characteristics in rural areas of developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Zhiyong; Liu, Yong; Zhong, Min; Shi, Guozhong; Li, Qibin; Zeng, Dan; Zhang, Yu; Fei, Yongqiang; Xie, Yanhua

2018-02-01

Waste management in rural areas has become a major challenge for governments of developing countries. The success of waste management decisions directly lies in the accuracy and reliability of the data on which choices are based; many factors influence these data. Here, we examined the factors influencing domestic waste in rural areas of developing countries (RADIC), using both field surveys and by reviewing previous literature. The social factors included population, education and culture. There was a positive linear relationship between waste generation amount and population size (R 2  = 0.9405). Environmental education, training and demonstration projects played a positive role in improving people's awareness of the benefits of recycling and reducing waste. Traditional and national cultures, consumption and living habits contributed to variations in the generation and composition of domestic waste. Generally, practices related to conservation of and reverence for nature and green consumption encourage people to reduce, reuse and recycle waste in their daily life. Economic factors included household income and expenditure, energy and fuel structure, and types of industry that occurred in villages. A Kuznets inverted "U" curve relationship existed between domestic waste generation and people's income in rural areas of China. However, the waste generation rate had a linear relationship with the gross national income per capita in RADIC. The composition, bulk density and calorific value of domestic waste were variously affected by the energy and fuel structure and the types of industry that occurred. The natural factors included geography and climate (including rainfall, humidity, temperature and harvest seasons). The moisture content of waste was directly influenced by rainfall and humidity. Temperature affected waste characteristics by influencing residential heating modes. The waste characteristics were also influenced by the mixing of agricultural and

Influence of the ramp angle on levitation characteristics of HTS maglev

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Qingyong; Wang Jiasu; Zhang Longcai; Wang Suyu; Pan Siting

2008-01-01

The gradeability is one of the advantages of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev vehicle, and it is relative to the levitation characteristic of the maglev system on the ramp. The influence of the ramp angle on the levitation characteristics of the HTS maglev model was investigated. Some levitation characteristic parameters on the uphill guideway with different ramp angles were studied by the equivalent experiment, such as the levitation force, the levitation gap, the levitation stiffness and the guidance force. Compared with the experimental results on the horizontal guideway, it was found that the levitation gap increased, but the levitation force and the levitation stiffness decreased. The levitation gap and the levitation stiffness are considered as the main maglev characteristic parameters needed to be taken into account

The influences of consumer characteristics on the amount of rice consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Supriana, T.; Pane, TC

2018-02-01

This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of rice consumers and the influences of consumer characteristics on the amount of rice consumption. The research areas were determined purposively in the sub-districts with the most significant population in Medan City. The analytical methods used were descriptive and multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that consumers in the study areas have various characteristics, concerning age, income, family size, health, and education. Simultaneously, characteristics of rice consumers have the significant effect on the amount of rice consumed. Partially, age and the number of family members have the significant effect on the amount of rice consumed. The implications of this research are, need different policies toward consumers of rice based on their income strata. Rice policies cannot be generalized.

Influence of stacking sequence on scattering characteristics of the fundamental anti-symmetric Lamb wave at through holes in composite laminates.

Science.gov (United States)

Veidt, Martin; Ng, Ching-Tai

2011-03-01

This paper investigates the scattering characteristics of the fundamental anti-symmetric (A(0)) Lamb wave at through holes in composite laminates. Three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) simulations and experimental measurements are used to study the physical phenomenon. Unidirectional, bidirectional, and quasi-isotropic composite laminates are considered in the study. The influence of different hole diameter to wavelength aspect ratios and different stacking sequences on wave scattering characteristics are investigated. The results show that amplitudes and directivity distribution of the scattered Lamb wave depend on these parameters. In the case of quasi-isotropic composite laminates, the scattering directivity patterns are dominated by the fiber orientation of the outer layers and are quite different for composite laminates with the same number of laminae but different stacking sequence. The study provides improved physical insight into the scattering phenomena at through holes in composite laminates, which is essential to develop, validate, and optimize guided wave damage detection and characterization techniques. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Work ability of Chinese migrant workers: the influence of migration characteristics

OpenAIRE

Han, Lu; Shi, Leiyu; Lu, Liming; Ling, Li

2014-01-01

Background Migrant workers have become a vital labor supply to China’s economy. Their migration process and work conditions may influence their health and work ability. The work ability of migrant workers in China and the influence of the migration process on work ability have not been explored extensively in previous studies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of migration characteristics and work-related factors with work ability among migrant workers in the Pearl Ri...

THE INFLUENCE OF TOP MANAGEMENT DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ON DECISION MAKING APPROACHES

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Ivana Bulog

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Today’s organizational environment requires managers to be an excellent decision maker with the ability to make effective decisions which will shape business performance. Because of the role that managers have in today’s business settings, research interest in the relationship between individual characteristics and managerial decision making in all its aspects has increased over the last decade. This paper aims to provide an overview and discussion of how individuals make choices and decisions by examining the influence of top management demographic characteristics on decision making approaches. Findings suggest that demographic characteristics appear to be valuable for predicting which decision making approach managers prefer. The results of the study show that the average age and education level of decision makers is positively related to the rational decision making approach and negatively to the intuitive decision making approach. Tenure is positively related to the intuitive decision making approach, but the influence is not statistically significant. Also, a difference in the decision making approach was found with respect to gender. In light of the research findings, implications and limitations were discussed and some possibilities for future research are suggested.

Anxiety among Adolescents : Measurement, Clinical Characteristics, and Influences of Parenting and Genetics

OpenAIRE

Olofsdotter, Susanne

2017-01-01

Anxiety is the most commonly reported mental health problem among adolescents. Still, many adolescents in need of treatment are not detected and the clinical characteristics and etiological pathways of adolescent anxiety are under-researched topics. This thesis examined the clinical utility of the Swedish versions of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the clinical characteristics of multiple anxiety disorders among psychiatrically referred adolescents, and the influence of parenti...

Approximate characteristics for one-dimensional two-phase flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarayloo, A.; Peddleson, J.

1985-01-01

An approximate method for determining the characteristics associated with one-dimensional particulate two-phase flow models is presented. The method is based on iteration and is valid for small particulate volume fractions. The method is applied to several special cases involving incompressible particles suspended in a gas. The influences of certain changes in the physical model are investigated

The influence of personal and trip characteristics on habitual parking behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waerden, van der P.J.H.J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Da Silva, A.N.R.

2015-01-01

This paper discusses some results of a study on the influence of car drivers' characteristics on habitual parking behavior. First, the level of habitual parking behavior is determined in two ways: car drivers' regularity in choosing a parking facility and car drivers' self-reporting scores for

Entrepreneurial alertness: Study of the Influence of Individual Characteristics and Entrepreneurship

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Hilka Pelizza Vier Machado

2016-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This research tried to understand which statistical variables associated to the individual and the company influence the entrepreneurial alertness. The sample was constituted by 180 entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial alertness was measured in agreement with the model of Tang, Kacmar and Busenitz (2012. Descriptive statistical tests and normality exam were developed; as well as checked the validity and reliability of the scale through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA. In order to identify the factors that influenced the alertness we developed multiple linear regression and the ANOVA test to determine possible differences among groups (gender, education. The results showed the negative influence of the educational level and the size of enterprises on alertness level; as well as the negative relationship between age and entrepreneurial experience, furthermore, shows that alert level is not determined by gender difference. One of the main implications of this research is to present factors that can potentiate the effects of the entrepreneurial alertness, enlarging the possibilities of identification of opportunities for individuals.

Bran characteristics influencing quality attributes of whole wheat Chinese steamed bread

Science.gov (United States)

This study investigated the variations in the characteristics of brans obtained from a pilot-scale milling of 17 soft red winter wheat varieties and their influences on the quality of whole wheat northern-style Chinese steamed bread (CSB) prepared from blends of a base flour and brans of different w...

The task of validation of gas-dynamic characteristics of a multistage centrifugal compressor for a natural gas booster compressor station

Science.gov (United States)

Danilishin, A. M.; Kozhukhov, Y. V.; Neverov, V. V.; Malev, K. G.; Mironov, Y. R.

2017-08-01

The aim of this work is the validation study for the numerical modeling of characteristics of a multistage centrifugal compressor for natural gas. In the research process was the analysis used grid interfaces and software systems. The result revealed discrepancies between the simulated and experimental characteristics and outlined the future work plan.

How characteristic routines of clinical departments influence students' self-regulated learning : A grounded theory study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, J J; Slootweg, I. A.; Helmich, Esther; Teunissen, P W; van der Vleuten, C. P. M.; Jaarsma, A. D. C.

2017-01-01

Background: In clerkships, students are expected to self-regulate their learning. How clinical departments and their routine approach on clerkships influences students' self-regulated learning (SRL) is unknown.Aim: This study explores how characteristic routines of clinical departments influence

Influence of feedback characteristics on perceived learning value of feedback in clerkships : does culture matter?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suhoyo, Yoyo; Van Hell, Elisabeth A.; Kerdijk, Wouter; Emilia, Ova; Schonrock-Adema, Johanna; Kuks, Jan B. M.; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

2017-01-01

Background: Various feedback characteristics have been suggested to positively influence student learning. It is not clear how these feedback characteristics contribute to students' perceived learning value of feedback in cultures classified low on the cultural dimension of individualism and high on

Influence of feedback characteristics on perceived learning value of feedback in clerkships : does culture matter?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suhoyo, Yoyo; Van Hell, Elisabeth A; Kerdijk, Wouter; Emilia, Ova; Schönrock-Adema, Johanna; Kuks, Jan B M; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Various feedback characteristics have been suggested to positively influence student learning. It is not clear how these feedback characteristics contribute to students' perceived learning value of feedback in cultures classified low on the cultural dimension of individualism and high on

Tinnitus Patients with Comorbid Headaches: The Influence of Headache Type and Laterality on Tinnitus Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berthold Langguth

2017-08-01

Full Text Available BackgroundBoth clinical experience and clinical studies suggest a relationship between tinnitus and headache. Here, we aimed to investigate the influence of comorbid headache type and headache laterality on tinnitus characteristics.MethodThe Tinnitus Research Initiative database was screened for patients of the Tinnitus Center of the University Regensburg who reported comorbid headaches. These patients were contacted to complete additional validated questionnaires. Based on these data, patients were categorized according to headache type and headache laterality, and their clinical characteristics were compared with tinnitus patients, who did not report comorbid headaches.ResultsData from 193 patients with tinnitus and comorbid headaches were compared with those from 765 tinnitus patients without comorbid headaches. Tinnitus patients with comorbid headache have higher scores in tinnitus questionnaires, a lower quality of life and more frequently comorbidities such as painful sensation to loud sounds, vertigo, pain (neck, temporomandibular, and general, and depressive symptoms when compared with tinnitus patients without headaches. Both headache laterality and headache type interact with the degree of comorbidity with higher impairment in patients with left-sided and bilateral headaches as well as in patients with migraine or cluster headache.ConclusionThe observed increased impairment in tinnitus patients with comorbid headache can be explained as an additive effect of both disorders on health-related quality of life. The more frequent occurrence of further comorbidities suggests a generally increased amplification of sensory signals in a subset of tinnitus patients with comorbid headaches.

Influence of wastewater characteristics on methane potential in food-processing industry wastewaters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maya Altamira, Larisa; Baun, Anders; Angelidaki, Irini

2008-01-01

) were compared to the theoretical methane yields (Bo,th) in order to evaluate the biodegradability of the tested wastewaters and the influence of their physico-chemical characteristics. The analytical method applied to quantify the wastewaters’ organic content proved to influence the estimation...... of their theoretical yields. The substrate:inoculum ratio as well as the dilution factor of the wastewaters influenced the ultimate practical methane yields differently in each of the wastewaters assessed. Substrate chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations did not present any influence on ultimate practical methane...... yields; on the other hand, it was found that they were affected positively by concentrations of total inorganic carbon when wastewaters were 25% and 50% diluted and affected negatively by concentrations of total acetate when wastewaters were undiluted. Carbohydrate and protein concentrations affected...

The influence of adhesive joint characteristics of the bonded samples of PUR-foam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josef Pacovský

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Upholstered chairs and upholstered furniture in general, is largely produced primarily using PUR-foams, and it largely in the form of gluing several types of foam and himself on a firm surface - usually plywood or the agglomerated material – for the qualitative increase of upholstered furniture (including seating. Work deals with properties of the bond in connection with the influence on the final properties of the finished product, or even a change of functional properties in use over time. This work deals with: The influence of the characteristics of the adhesive used on samples bonded polyurethane foams. This work deals with properties of the bond in connection with an influence on the final properties of the finished product, or changes in functional properties when used at the time. The work is focused on: Effect of glue applied to the characteristics of the bonded samples of PUR foam. To determine the effects observed were used as the basis for the methodology based on the standard EN 1957, which was further modified as necessary. The results of the tests and conclusions can be stated that the incidence of bonded joints, ultimately, has a negligible effect on the resulting observed characteristics and therefore can cut and paste samples of smaller sizes into larger blocks without a fundamental change of the original features.

Program Characteristics Influencing Allopathic Students' Residency Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Stillman, Michael D; Miller, Karen Hughes; Ziegler, Craig H; Upadhyay, Ashish; Mitchell, Charlene K

2016-04-01

Medical students must consider many overt variables when entering the National Resident Matching Program. However, changes with the single graduate medical education accreditation system have caused a gap in knowledge about more subtle considerations, including what, if any, influence the presence of osteopathic physician (ie, DO) and international medical graduate (IMG) house officers has on allopathic students' residency program preferences. Program directors and selection committee members may assume students' implicit bias without substantiating evidence. To reexamine which program characteristics affect US-trained allopathic medical students' residency selection, and to determine whether the presence of DO and IMG house officers affects the program choices of allopathic medical students. Fourth-year medical students from 4 allopathic medical schools completed an online survey. The Pearson χ(2) statistic was used to compare demographic and program-specific traits that influence ranking decisions and to determine whether school type (private vs public), valuing a residency program's prestige, or interest in a competitive specialty dictated results. Qualitative data were analyzed using the Pandit variation of the Glaser and Strauss constant comparison. Surveys were completed by 323 of 577 students (56%). Students from private vs public institutions were more likely to value a program's prestige (160 [93%] vs 99 [72%]; P<.001) and research opportunities (114 [66%] vs 57 [42%]; P<.001), and they were less likely to consider their prospects of being accepted (98 [57%] vs 111 [81%]; P<.001). A total of 33 (10%) and 52 (16%) students reported that the presence of DO or IMG trainees, respectively, would influence their final residency selection, and these percentages were largely unchanged among students interested in programs' prestige or in entering a competitive specialty. Open-ended comments were generally optimistic about diversification of the physician

The genetic influences on oxycodone response characteristics in human experimental pain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Anne Estrup; Sato, Hiroe; Nielsen, Lecia M

2015-01-01

Human experimental pain studies are of value to study basic pain mechanisms under controlled conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate whether genetic variation across selected mu-, kappa- and delta-opioid receptor genes (OPRM1, OPRK1and OPRD1, respectively) influenced analgesic respon......; therefore, variation in opioid receptor genes may partly explain responder characteristics to oxycodone....

Numerical Model to Quantify the Influence of the Cellulosic Substrate on the Ignition Propensity Tests

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Guindos Pablo

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A numerical model based on the finite element method has been constructed to simulate the ignition propensity (IP tests. The objective of this mathematical model was to quantify the influence of different characteristics of the cellulosic substrate on the results of the IP-tests. The creation and validation of the model included the following steps: (I formulation of the model based on experimental thermodynamic characteristics of the cellulosic substrate; (ii calibration of the model according to cone calorimeter tests; (iii validation of the model through mass loss and temperature profiling during IP-testing. Once the model was validated, the influence of each isolated parameter of the cellulosic substrate was quantified via a parametric study. The results revealed that the substrate heat capacity, the cigarette temperature and the pyrolysis activation energy are the most influencing parameters on the thermodynamic response of the substrates, while other parameters like heat of the pyrolysis reaction, density and roughness of the substrate showed little influence. Also the results indicated that the thermodynamic mechanisms involved in the pyrolysis and combustion of the cellulosic substrate are complex and show low repeatability which might impair the reliability of the IP-tests.

How characteristic routines of clinical departments influence students' self-regulated learning: A grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkhout, J J; Slootweg, I A; Helmich, E; Teunissen, P W; van der Vleuten, C P M; Jaarsma, A D C

2017-11-01

In clerkships, students are expected to self-regulate their learning. How clinical departments and their routine approach on clerkships influences students' self-regulated learning (SRL) is unknown. This study explores how characteristic routines of clinical departments influence medical students' SRL. Six focus groups including 39 purposively sampled participants from one Dutch university were organized to study how characteristic routines of clinical departments influenced medical students' SRL from a constructivist paradigm, using grounded theory methodology. The focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and were analyzed iteratively using constant comparison and open, axial and interpretive coding. Students described that clinical departments influenced their SRL through routines which affected the professional relationships they could engage in and affected their perception of a department's invested effort in them. Students' SRL in a clerkship can be supported by enabling them to engage others in their SRL and by having them feel that effort is invested in their learning. Our study gives a practical insight in how clinical departments influenced students' SRL. Clinical departments can affect students' motivation to engage in SRL, influence the variety of SRL strategies that students can use and how meaningful students perceive their SRL experiences to be.

The influence of housing characteristics on rural migrants’ living condition in Beijing Fengtai District

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Liu Wen Tao

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The study analyzes the influence of housing characteristics on rural migrants’ living condition in Beijing Fengtai District, China. The researcher will identify rural migrants in Beijing, examine their housing characteristics (housing crowding, housing privacy and housing facility and the influence on their living condition. Also, some suggestions are given to improve their housing characteristics and living condition. The government should revise the migrant housing policy and hukou management. Also, the rural migrants should try to increase their education level and social skills. For the occupation, the local government should give the rural migrants more job opportunity. These issues are analyzed in relation to local government attitudes toward the rural migrants. The analysis is based on data collected from two types of interviews: rural migrants and management interviews which examine the rural migrants’ housing and managerial aspects of this research, respectively. It is also supported by the utilization of secondary data. The findings of the study indicate that the rural migrants’ housing characteristics (housing crowding, housing privacy and housing facility highly influence their living condition in Beijing Fengtai District. Therefore, the local government should give some assistance to this group people in the big cities. This paper reports on the findings of a study to seek acknowledged definitions of the terms Project and Project Management. The study was based on a conventional review and analysis of the definitions from a series of texts.

Influence of coupling parameter on current-voltage characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-T c superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shukrinov, Yu.M.; Mahfouzi, F.

2006-01-01

We study the current-voltage characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-T c superconductors by numerical calculations and in framework of capacitively coupled Josephson junctions model we obtain the total number of branches. The influence of the coupling parameter α on the current-voltage characteristics at fixed parameter β (β 2 1/β c , where β c is McCumber parameter) and the influence of α on β-dependence of the current-voltage characteristics are investigated. We obtain the α-dependence of the branch's slopes and branch's endpoints. The presented results show new features of the coupling effect on the scheme of hysteresis jumps in current-voltage characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-T c superconductors

Influence of limestone fillers on combustion characteristics of asphalt mortar for pavements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ke, Wu; Kai, Zhu; Wu, Hao

2014-01-01

Asphalt materials will be ignited and release significant toxic fumes within tunnel fires. Thus, combustion characteristics of asphalt materials used in road tunnel should be studied in order to limit such an adverse effect. In the present work we study the influence of limestone fillers on combu...

Influence of heat treatment on physicochemical and rheological characteristics of natural yogurts

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Juliana Aparecida Célia

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the influence of heat treatment on physicochemical and rheological characteristics of natural yogurts, as well as the influence of lyophilization process on natural yogurts after reconstitution. In the first experiment, three yogurt treatments were processed, as follows: Treatment 1, yogurt produced with raw refrigerated milk; Treatment 2, yogurt produced with refrigerated pasteurized milk; and Treatment 3, yogurt produced with UHT (ultra-high temperature milk, in addition to analyses of fat, protein, moisture, titratable acidity, and pH. The shelf life of yogurts at 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 days of storage, as well as pH, acidity, syneresis, viscosity, viable lactic bacteria, and total coliforms were also assessed. In the second experiment, yogurts were submitted to lyophilization process, performed by scanning electron microscopy analysis and subsequently in those reconstituted, in addition to being assessed the physicochemical, rheological, and viable lactic bacteria characteristics. The results found in the first experiment showed that heat treatment was positive for viscosity, syneresis, and lactic bacteria, being viable until the 15th day of storage only for yogurts submitted to heat treatment. In the second experiment, lyophilization preserved the physicochemical characteristics of yogurts, but the number of initial lactic bacteria was different, also negatively affecting yogurt viscosity.

The influence of education on chosen typographical characteristics perception in documents

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Petra Talandová

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper concentrates on the problems of documents quality evaluation and perception. It presents the results of our own research which was made at our faculty in last months. The research was aimed at marketing materials, their quality and their evaluation by customers. After another comparative research we have concentrated on the question of typography and its evaluation by customers. It has been proved that typography, although not very visible for many readers, does influence readers' evaluation of the whole document.Quality evaluation is influenced by what readers usually see around them but also by what are they taught at schools. For that reason we should influence readers and teach them how should be documents designed. Future specialist should know about this problem.Aim of the research was to find how typography influences readers and whether is the typographic quality evaluation influenced by teaching at school. We have been comparing two groups of respondents, of which one was influenced by typography education and one was not. Respondent were asked to fill in a questionnaire which concentrated on right and wrong characteristic of the text. Result analysis has proved that the group influenced by typography lessons had better results. These conclusions will be applied in the new education plan for an innovation of education courses.

Validity of self-reported periodontal measures, demographic characteristics and systemic medical conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatzopoulos, Georgios S; Cisneros, Alejandro; Sanchez, Miguel; Lunos, Scott; Wolff, Larry F

2018-04-06

The objective of the present study was to assess self-reported periodontal screening questions, demographic characteristics, systemic medical conditions and tobacco use for predicting periodontal disease among individuals seeking dental therapy in a university dental clinic. In this retrospective study, a total of 4,890 randomly selected dental charts were evaluated from among patients who had attended the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry clinics for treatment. Radiographic bone loss measurements were utilized to assess the severity of periodontal disease. Demographic characteristics as well as medical history of the patients were also recorded. Five self-reported periodontal screening questions were included with the range of answers limited to Yes/No. Generalized logit models were used to assess the association between bone loss and the predictors. The sample mean age was 54.1 years and included 52.6% males and 14.9% smokers with a mean number of missing teeth of 3.5. Self-reported tooth mobility, history of "gum treatment" and the importance to keep the teeth as well as age, tobacco use and cancer were statistically significant (p brushing", gender, diabetes, anxiety and arthritis. Self-reported periodontal screening questions as well as demographic characteristics, smoking and systemic medical conditions were significant predictors of periodontal disease and they could be used as valid, economical and practical measures. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 American Academy of Periodontology.

Validation of a mathematical model of the bovine estrous cycle for cows with different estrous cycle characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Boer, H M T; Butler, S T; Stötzel, C; Te Pas, M F W; Veerkamp, R F; Woelders, H

2017-11-01

A recently developed mechanistic mathematical model of the bovine estrous cycle was parameterized to fit empirical data sets collected during one estrous cycle of 31 individual cows, with the main objective to further validate the model. The a priori criteria for validation were (1) the resulting model can simulate the measured data correctly (i.e. goodness of fit), and (2) this is achieved without needing extreme, probably non-physiological parameter values. We used a least squares optimization procedure to identify parameter configurations for the mathematical model to fit the empirical in vivo measurements of follicle and corpus luteum sizes, and the plasma concentrations of progesterone, estradiol, FSH and LH for each cow. The model was capable of accommodating normal variation in estrous cycle characteristics of individual cows. With the parameter sets estimated for the individual cows, the model behavior changed for 21 cows, with improved fit of the simulated output curves for 18 of these 21 cows. Moreover, the number of follicular waves was predicted correctly for 18 of the 25 two-wave and three-wave cows, without extreme parameter value changes. Estimation of specific parameters confirmed results of previous model simulations indicating that parameters involved in luteolytic signaling are very important for regulation of general estrous cycle characteristics, and are likely responsible for differences in estrous cycle characteristics between cows.

Shaft Position Influence on Technical Characteristics of Universal Two-Stages Helical Speed Reducers

OpenAIRE

Мilan Rackov; Zeljko Kanovic; Sinisa Kuzmanovic; Ruzica Trbojevic

2005-01-01

Purchasers of speed reducers decide on buying those reducers, that can the most approximately satisfy their demands with much smaller costs. Amount of used material, ie. mass and dimensions of gear unit influences on gear units price. Mass and dimensions of gear unit, besides output torque, gear unit ratio and efficiency, are the most important parameters of technical characteristics of gear units and their quality. Centre distance and position of shafts have significant influence on output t...

INFLUENCE OF LEGRAD THRESHOLD STRUCTURE ON HYDROGEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN KOPRIVNICA AREA

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Željko Duić

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Koprivnička Podravina area in structural sense belongs to structural unit of Drava basin. Special role in research area has structure of Legrad which is formed along Ludbreg-Nagykanizsa fault, and together with Drava fault as dominant structure in formation of Drava basin, represent most important structure in area. This is specially important when observing hydraulic characteristics of main well field in Koprivnica area-Ivanščak and Lipovec. Both of them are formated in quternary deposits, but have very different hydraulic and spatial characteristics. Intensive movement along structures has also dominant influence on sedimantation conditions, and consequently to groundwater quality (the paper is published in Croatian.

Influence of physicochemical characteristics and high pressure processing on the volatile fraction of Iberian dry-cured ham.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Onandi, Nerea; Rivas-Cañedo, Ana; Ávila, Marta; Garde, Sonia; Nuñez, Manuel; Picon, Antonia

2017-09-01

The volatile fraction of 30 Iberian dry-cured hams of different physicochemical characteristics and the effect of high pressure processing (HPP) at 600MPa on volatile compounds were investigated. According to the analysis of variance carried out on the levels of 122 volatile compounds, intramuscular fat content influenced the levels of 8 benzene compounds, 5 carboxylic acids, 2 ketones, 2 furanones, 1 alcohol, 1 aldehyde and 1 sulfur compound, salt concentration influenced the levels of 1 aldehyde and 1 ketone, salt-in-lean ratio had no effect on volatile compounds, and water activity influenced the levels of 3 sulfur compounds, 1 alcohol and 1 aldehyde. HPP-treated samples of Iberian ham had higher levels of 4 compounds and lower levels of 31 compounds than untreated samples. A higher influence of HPP treatment on volatile compounds than physicochemical characteristics was observed for Iberian ham. Therefore, HPP treatment conditions should be optimized in order to diminish its possible effect on Iberian ham odor and aroma characteristics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Work Characteristics in the Quality of Life of Mental Health Professionals

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Andreia Paula

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Mental health professionals are the main instrument for intervention in this area considered as a priority in Public Health and are subject to emotional exhaustion and stress that can negatively affect their quality of life. Aims: This study aims to assess the influence of job characteristics on health-related quality of life of health professionals.Methods: To address this it was decided to conduct a cross-sectional analytical study with a quantitative approach. SF-36v2 was used as a generic instrument for assessing quality of life, which is already validated for Portuguese population, complemented by a social and professional survey. Data collection took place from 28 January to 30 April 2013.Results and Conclusions: The sample comprised 201 mental health professionals in Portugal. Health-related quality of life shows statistically significant differences in the groups of studied professionals, according to the number of hours worked per week (p=0.04 and the degree of job satisfaction (p<0.001. The assessment of the quality of life of mental health professionals allows the implementation of changes in the organization of mental health services and may contribute to an improvement in the provision of healthcare services.

The influence of system quality characteristics on health care providers’ performance: Empirical evidence from Malaysia

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Mohd Idzwan Mohd Salleh

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Summary: Background: The Ministry of Health Malaysia initiated the total hospital information system (THIS as the first national electronic health record system for use in selected public hospitals across the country. Since its implementation 15 years ago, there has been the critical requirement for a systematic evaluation to assess its effectiveness in coping with the current system, task complexity, and rapid technological changes. The study aims to assess system quality factors to predict the performance of electronic health in a single public hospital in Malaysia. Methods: Non-probability sampling was employed for data collection among selected providers in a single hospital for two months. Data cleaning and bias checking were performed before final analysis in partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Results and conclusions: Convergent and discriminant validity assessments were satisfied the required criterions in the reflective measurement model. The structural model output revealed that the proposed adequate infrastructure, system interoperability, security control, and system compatibility were the significant predictors, where system compatibility became the most critical characteristic to influence an individual health care provider’s performance. The previous DeLone and McLean information system success models should be extended to incorporate these technological factors in the medical system research domain to examine the effectiveness of modern electronic health record systems. In this study, care providers’ performance was expected when the system usage fits with patients’ needs that eventually increased their productivity. Keywords: Electronic health records system, System quality characteristics, Care providers’ performance, Evaluation, Partial least squares-structural equation modeling

The influence of losses in the core of an inductor on characteristics of the boost converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Górecki, Krzysztof; Detka, Kalina

2016-01-01

In the paper the influence of core losses on characteristics of the boost converter is considered. In calculations, the average electrothermal models of the diode-transistor switch and of the inductor are used. The applied electrothermal models and the obtained results of calculations are presented. The selected results of calculations are compared with the results of measurements. The influence of such factors as converter load resistance and frequency of the control signal and lossiness of the core on characteristics of the considered converter and the loss of energy in the inductor are discussed

Evaluation of the influence of seasonality and landscape on the physicochemical characteristics of propolis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaine Maria Loureiro

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at verifying the influence of the seasonality and landscape of the place of apiaries in the production and physicochemical quality of propolis produced in Cáceres-MT. Within August/2006 and July/2007 twenty-three propolis samples were collected monthly. The physicochemical quality of propolis was determined by the characteristic: loss by drying, wax, mechanical mass, oxidation activity, dry extract, flavonoids and total phenolics. The production of propolis was analyzed through correlation with seasonality (dry and wet. The same statistic model was used to correlate the production with the landscape (highland and flood plain. For each physicochemical characteristic were used statistic model of correlation described for the production of propolis. The seasonality did not influence on propolis production and on physicochemical quality. The landscape did not influence on propolis production and physicochemical quality loss by drying and mechanical mass, however, it determined the physicochemical quality for wax (x=22.44%, oxidation activity (x=9.73'', dry extract (x=22.31%, flavonoids (x=1.94% and total phenolics (x=0.02% in the highland of the Pantanal of Cáceres. This way it concludes that the production and physicochemical quality of propolis were not influenced by seasonality. The landscape influenced positively on physicochemical quality of propolis in the highland of the Pantanal of Cáceres.

Wave Reflection and Characteristic Impedance in the Conscious Dog as Influenced by Adrenergic Intervention

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kerkhof, P

2001-01-01

.... Therefore, the specific aims of this study are first to delineate the characteristics of the systemic circulation and second to analyze the influence of adrenergic agonists and blockers on C and Zo...

INFLUENCE OF PLANNING, ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND REGULATION ON ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY OF PEDESTRIANS

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G. M. Kuharenok

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents results of research on planning, organizational characteristics and regulation modes at  the regulated pedestrian crossings, located out of crossroads in the street and road network of Minsk. Some regularities pertaining to the influence of the investigated characteristics on road traffic safety of pedestrians are revealed in the paper. Practical offers on increase of road traffic safety of pedestrians in the Republic of Belarus have been developed on the basis of the executed investigations and cited in the paper. 

Concurrent Validity of a Portable Force Plate Using Vertical Jump Force-Time Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lake, Jason; Mundy, Peter; Comfort, Paul; McMahon, John J; Suchomel, Timothy J; Carden, Patrick

2018-05-29

This study examined concurrent validity of countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) reactive strength index modified and force-time characteristics recorded using a one dimensional portable and laboratory force plate system. Twenty-eight men performed bilateral CMJs on two portable force plates placed on top of two in-ground force plates, both recording vertical ground reaction force at 1000 Hz. Time to take-off, jump height, reactive strength index modified, braking and propulsion impulse, mean net force, and duration were calculated from the vertical force from both force plate systems. Results from both systems were highly correlated (r≥.99). There were small (dbraking impulse, braking mean net force, propulsion impulse, and propulsion mean net force (psystem (95% CL: .9% to 2.5%), indicating very good agreement across all of the dependent variables. The largest limits of agreement belonged to jump height (2.1%), time to take-off (3.4%), and reactive strength index modified (3.8%). The portable force plate system provides a valid method of obtaining reactive strength measures, and several underpinning force-time variables, from unloaded CMJ and practitioners can use both force plates interchangeably.

Spreadsheet design and validation for characteristic limits determination in gross alpha and beta measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prado, Rodrigo G.P. do; Dalmazio, Ilza

2013-01-01

The identification and detection of ionizing radiation are essential requisites of radiation protection. Gross alpha and beta measurements are widely applied as a screening method in radiological characterization, environmental monitoring and industrial applications. As in any other analytical technique, test performance depends on the quality of instrumental measurements and reliability of calculations. Characteristic limits refer to three specific statistics, namely, decision threshold, detection limit and confidence interval, which are fundamental to ensuring the quality of determinations. This work describes a way to calculate characteristic limits for measurements of gross alpha and beta activity applying spreadsheets. The approach used for determination of decision threshold, detection limit and limits of the confidence interval, the mathematical expressions of measurands and uncertainty followed standards guidelines. A succinct overview of this approach and examples are presented and spreadsheets were validated using specific software. Furthermore, these spreadsheets could be used as tool to instruct beginner users of methods for ionizing radiation measurements. (author)

Adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer: influence of care structures' characteristics on a controversial clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Alter, Eléonore; Phelip, Jean-Marc; Guilhot, Jean-Noel; Matysiak, Michel; Vermorel, Michel; Roblin, Xavier

2007-11-01

Adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer is a controversial practice and is not recommended by the French Consensus Conference outside of therapeutic trial. To assess, within a well-defined population, the influence of hospital characteristics in this practice. In the Rhône-Alpes region (10% of the French population), 534 patients presenting with colon cancer stage II were operated on in 81 hospitals in the year 2000. The influence of hospital characteristics on the use of adjuvant chemotherapy was assessed using a multivariate logistic regression. Overall, 19.5% of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Younger age, T4 tumour, hospital volume lower than 20 colon cancer surgeries [odds ratio (OR) 2.96; Pclinical complications at diagnosis were independently associated with higher rates of chemotherapy. On the other hand, a number of examined lymph nodes lower than recommendations did not have any influence on chemotherapy use. Hospital characteristics had independently influenced the practice of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II colon cancer. The more important institutional factor was the hospital procedure volume. The decisions of the multidisciplinary committees appeared at times paradoxical; a more comprehensive evaluation of this practice is needed.

Original article The Imagination in Sport Questionnaire – reliability and validity characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dagmara Budnik-Przybylska

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background Imagery is an effective performance enhancement technique. Imagery has been described previously in a range of psychological domains. Measuring imagery is critical in research and practice in sport. Self-report questionnaires are the most regularly used method. The aim of the present study was to examine reliability and validity characteristics of the Imagination in Sport Questionnaire (Kwestionariusz Wyobraźni w Sporcie – KWS. Participants and procedure Five and hundred eight (N = 326 – study I; N = 182 – study II Polish athletes completed questionnaires (169 male, 156 female – study I; 139 male, 43 female – study II, aged between 12 and 57 years (M = 22.08, SD = 8.18 – study I; age 19-24, M = 20.46, SD = 1.1 – study II, at different competitive levels and recruited from various sports disciplines. Results Results indicated the maintained good stability and internal consistency over a 3-week period. Results of confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the 7-factor structure of the KWS resulted in acceptable model fit indices (NC = 2416.63, df = 1203, GFI = 0.944, AGFI = 0.944, CFI = 0.786, RMSEA = 0.056, p (RMSEA < 0.05 = 0.002 – first study; NC = 2234.39, df = 1203, GFI = 0.673, AGFI = = 0.640, CFI = 0.691, RMSEA = 0.069, p (RMSEA < 0.05 = = 0.000 – second study. Concurrent validity was supported by examination of the relationships between the KWS subscales and the SIAM (Sport Imagery Ability Measure in Polish adaptation. In addition, differences in athletes’ imagery ability were examined across competitive levels, and in relation to both gender and age. Conclusions Overall, the results supported the reliability and construct validity of the KWS.

The influence of maternal psychosocial characteristics on infant feeding styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Katherine J; Thompson, Amanda L; Bentley, Margaret E

2016-08-01

Maternal feeding styles in infancy and early childhood are associated with children's later risk for overweight and obesity. Maternal psychosocial factors that influence feeding styles during the complementary feeding period, the time during which infants transition from a milk-based diet to one that includes solid foods and other non-milk products, have received less attention. The present study explores how maternal psychosocial factors-specifically self-esteem, parenting self-efficacy, parenting satisfaction, and depression symptoms-influence mothers' infant feeding styles at nine months of age, a time during which solid foods eating habits are being established. Participants included 160 low-income, African-American mother-infant pairs in central North Carolina who were enrolled in the Infant Care and Risk of Obesity Study. Regression models tested for associations between maternal psychosocial characteristics and pressuring and restrictive feeding styles. Models were first adjusted for maternal age, education, marital status and obesity status. To account for infant characteristics, models were then adjusted for infant weight-for-length, distress to limitations and activity level scores. Maternal self-esteem was negatively associated with pressuring to soothe. Maternal parenting self-efficacy was positively associated with restriction-diet quality. Maternal parenting satisfaction and depression symptoms were not associated with feeding styles in the final models. Focusing on strengthening maternal self-esteem and parenting self-efficacy may help to prevent the development of less desirable infant feeding styles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of core model parameters on the characteristics of neutron beams of the research reactor

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N. A. Khafizova

2013-12-01

Full Text Available IRT MEPhI reactor is equipped with a number of facilities at horizontal experimental channels (HEC. Knowing of parameters influencing spatio-angular distribution of irradiation fields is essential for each application area. The research for neutron capture therapy (NCT facility at HEC of the reactor was made. Calculation methods have been used to estimate how the reactor core parameters influence neutron beam characteristics at the HEC output. The impact of neutron source model in Monte Carlo calculations by MCNP code on the parameters of neutron and secondary photon field at the output of irradiation beam tubes of research reactor is estimated. The study shows that specifying neutron source with fission reaction rate distribution in SDEF option gives almost the same results as criticality calculation considered the most accurate. Our calculations show that changes of the core operational parameters have insignificant influence on characteristics of neutron beams at HEC output.

Numerical analysis and experimental validation of heat transfer characteristic for flat-plate solar air collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Tzu-Chen; Huang, Tsung-Jie; Lee, Duen-Sheng; Lin, Chih-Hung; Pei, Bau-Shei; Li, Zeng-Yao

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Various types of solar air collectors are discussed. • CFD has been used to validate the characteristics of heat transfer. • Solar Ray Tracing has been successfully used for thermal radiation flux. - Abstract: This study combines both concepts of solar ventilation technology and solar air collector. This is a quite innovative and potential facility to effectively use thermal energy and reduce the accumulation of heat in the indoor space simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to create a prototype and implement the experiments. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach is employed to validate the characteristics of the flow and heat transfer. For the accuracy of numerical predictions, the method of Solar Ray Tracing was used for thermal radiation flux as boundary condition on the wall. The local heat transfer correlation was investigated to predict surrounding wind speed upon device cover. Three sorts of glasses and several aspect ratios of flow channels have been compared to conclude the optimal configuration. In addition, four important factors, such as the stagnant layer thickness, emissivity on the illustrated surface, mass flow rate and the height of the device, are also considered and discussed in detail. The result showed that the optimal design is dominated by the combination of an aspect ratio of 50 mm:10 mm, and appropriate mass flow rate to the height of the device. The present work on thermal energy collection can assist us in designing a powerful solar air collector in some potential applications.

Family and Religious Characteristics' Influence on Delinquency Trajectories from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Science.gov (United States)

Petts, Richard J.

2009-01-01

This study takes a life-course approach to examine whether family and religious characteristics influence individual-level delinquency trajectories from early adolescence through young adulthood. Based on data from the NLSY79, results suggest that residing with two parents deters youths from becoming delinquent and that supportive parenting…

Quantification of Runoff as Influenced by Morphometric Characteristics in a Rural Complex Catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulkareem, Jabir Haruna; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Sulaiman, Wan Nor Azmin; Jamil, Nor Rohaizah

2018-03-01

This study addresses the critical scientific question of assessing the relationship between morphometric features and the hydrological factors that increase the risk of flooding in Kelantan River basin, Malaysia. Two hypotheses were developed to achieve this aim, namely: the alternate hypothesis (runoff, is influenced by morphometric characteristics in the study watershed) and the null hypothesis (runoff is not influenced by morphometric characteristics). First, the watershed was delineated into four major catchments, namely: Galas, Pergau, Lebir, and Nenggiri. Next, quantitative morphometric characters such as linear aspects, areal aspects, and relief aspects were determined on each of these catchments. Furthermore, HEC-HMS and flood response analyses were employed to simulate the hydrological response of the catchments. From the results of morphometric analysis, profound spatial changes were observed between runoff features of Kelantan River and the morphometric characteristics. The length of overflow that was related to drainage density and constant channel maintenance was found to be 0.12 in Pergau, 0.04 in both Nenggiri and Lebir, and 0.03 in Galas. Drainage density as influenced by geology and vegetation density was found to be low in all the catchments (0.07-0.24). Results of hydrological response indicated that Lebir, Nenggiri, Galas, and Pergau recorded a flood response factor of 0.75, 0.63, 0.40, and 0.05, respectively. Therefore, Lebir and Nenggiri are more likely to be flooded during a rainstorm. There was no clear indication with regard to the catchment that emerged as the most prevailing in all the morphological features. Hence, the alternate hypothesis was affirmed. This study can be replicated in other catchments with different hydrologic setup.

The influence of oil leak in modern vehicle shock absorber on its dumping characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafał BURDZIK

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents results of the modern vehicle shock absorbers’ researches on indicator test stand. On this stand can be determined the diagrams of force versus displacement and force versus velocity. These diagrams can be determined for changeable strokes and constant velocities or the opposite way round. In researches the modern hydraulic twin-tube vehicle shock absorber was modificated and the changes of oil volume were possible. There was determined the influence of oil volume changes on force versus displacement and force versus velocity diagrams. On the basis of force versus velocity diagrams, the dumping characteristics were determined (value of force for maximum velocity on this diagram. The influence of oil volume changes on dumping characteristics was determined too. The results of this investigation can be used in simulation researches of vehicle suspension dynamic.

Assessment of spatial and physical neighborhood characteristics that influence sound quality and herewith well-being and health.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Devilee, Jeroen; Kempen, Elise van; Swart, Wim; Kamp, Irene van; Ameling, Caroline

2018-01-01

Environmental noise and health studies seldom address the positive effect of environments with high acoustic quality. Sound quality, in turn, is influenced by a large number of factors, including the spatial-physical characteristics of a neighborhood. In general, these characteristics cannot be

Comparison of influence of ageing on low-temperature characteristics of asphalt mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Vacková, Pavla; Valentin, Jan; Benešová, Lucie

2017-09-01

Ability of relaxation of asphalt mixtures and thus its resilience to climate change and traffic load is decreasing by influence of aging - in this case aging of bituminous binder. Binder exposed to climate and UV ages and becomes more fragile and susceptible to damage. The results of the research presented in this paper are aimed to finding a correlation between low-temperature properties of referential and aged asphalt mixture specimens and characteristics (not low-temperature) of bituminous binders. In this research there were used conventional road binders, commonly used modified binders and binders additionally modified in the laboratory. The low-temperature characteristics were determined by strength flexural test, commonly used in the Czech Republic for High Modulus Asphalt Mixtures (TP 151), and semi-cylindrical bending test (EN 12697-44). Both of the tests were extended by specimens exposed to artificial long-term aging (EN 12697-52) - storing at 85° C for 5 days. The results were compared with characteristics of binders for finding a suitable correlation between characteristics of binders and asphalt mixtures.

The defining characteristics of Web 2.0 and their potential influence in the online vaccination debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Witteman, Holly O; Zikmund-Fisher, Brian J

2012-05-28

The emergence of Web 2.0 has led to more and more Web-based resources demonstrating three defining characteristics: user participation, openness and network effects. This paper discusses these characteristics in the context of the online vaccination debate, explores how they structurally alter the way people might interact with vaccination information online, and describes ways in which such characteristics support particular tendencies in human decision making processes. Specifically, user participation supports the influence of narratives and personal accounts, openness shapes expectations for greater levels of detail and movement toward models of informed decision making, and network effects demonstrate the social nature of decision making, the influence of like-minded others and thus, the pitfalls of polarization in the online vaccination debate. Web 2.0 means that concerns about vaccination information online must expand beyond simply the possibility that people might access information of varying quality to incorporate a more comprehensive understanding of how people use current Web functionality, how such usage influences expectations about information sources and decision making processes, and the implications for communication strategies about vaccination. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Authentic sheep meat in the European Union: Factors influencing and validating its unique meat quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Erasmus, Sara W; Muller, Magdalena; Hoffman, Louwrens C

2017-05-01

Authentic meat products are gaining attention through their unique quality characteristics linked to their origin. Various factors are known to influence the quality of fresh meat. This review describes the different Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) lamb types and discusses the factors which influences its unique sensory and chemical characteristics. Flavour, aroma, texture and colour play an integral part in the sensory quality of denomination of origin fresh meat products. For authentic fresh sheep meat the sensory (as well as chemical) quality is largely influenced by diet followed by breed, age and gender. However, diet forms the link with the geographical area of origin, which together with the traditional production system and sheep breeds used, lends the product its authentic nature. This review shows how diet linked to origin can affect the quality of the meat and furthermore how other factors such as breed can also have an effect. Research relating to the authentic lamb types were evaluated and the shortcomings highlighted in order to assist with the development of PDO and PGI specifications in the future. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Influence of Top Management Team Characteristics on BPD Performance (P.155-166

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joy Elly Tulung

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Based on ”upper echelons theory”, this paper investigates the relation between top management team composition and BPD performance. For top management team characteristics, we employ age, level of education, background of education, gender, and functional background, while for measured the BPD performance we employ return on asset (ROA, return on equity (ROE, capital adequacy ratio (CAR, net interest margin (NIM, loan to deposit ratio (LDR, non-performing loan (NPL and operation expenses to operation income (BOPO. The results show that all characteristics have positive significant influences on BPD performance.Keywords: Top Management Team,BPD Performance, Upper Echelons Theory 

Sediment deposition from forest roads at stream crossings as influenced by road characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

A.J. Lang; W.M. Aust; M.C. Bolding; K.J. McGuire

2015-01-01

Recent controversies associated with ditched forest roads and stream crossings in the Pacific Northwest have focused national attention on sediment production and best management practices (BMPs) at stream crossings. Few studies have quantified soil erosion rates at stream crossings as influenced by road characteristics and compared them to modeled rates. Soil erosion...

Who is responsible for food risks? The influence of risk type and risk characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leikas, Sointu; Lindeman, Marjaana; Roininen, Katariina

2009-01-01

The influence of food risk type and risk characteristics on food risk responsibility judgments was studied. A total of 1270 Finnish consumers judged their personal responsibility and the responsibility of three non-personal targets, industry, retail, and society, in relation to six food...

Computational study: The influence of omni-directional guide vane on the flow pattern characteristic around Savonius wind turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Wicaksono, Yoga Arob; Tjahjana, D. D. D. P.

2017-01-01

Standart Savonius wind turbine have a low performance such as low coefficient of power and low coefficient of torque compared with another type of wind turbine. This phenomenon occurs because the wind stream can cause the negative pressure at the returning rotor. To solve this problem, standard Savonius combined with Omni Directional Guide Vane (ODGV) proposed. The aim of this research is to study the influence of ODGV on the flow pattern characteristic around of Savonius wind turbine. The numerical model is based on the Navier-Stokes equations with the standard k-ɛ turbulent model. This equation solved by a finite volume discretization method. This case was analyzed by commercial computational fluid dynamics solver such as SolidWorks Flow Simulations. Simulations were performed at the different wind directions; there are 0°, 30°,60° at 4 m/s wind speed. The numerical method validated with the past experimental data. The result indicated that the ODGV able to augment air flow to advancing rotor and decrease the negative pressure in the upstream of returning rotor compared to the bare Savonius wind turbine.

Influence of work-related characteristics and work ability on changing employer or leaving the profession among nursing staff

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rongen, Anne; Robroek, Suzan; van der Heijden, Beatrice; Schouteten, Roel L.J.; Hasselhorn, Hans Martin; Burdorf, Alex

2014-01-01

Aim To investigate how work-related characteristics and work ability influence nursing staff decisions to change employer or leave the profession. Background Previous cross-sectional studies have indicated that decreased work ability and unfavourable work-related characteristics are important

The Influence of Brittle Daniels System Characteristics on the Value of Load Monitoring Information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thöns, Sebastian; Schneider, Ronald

This paper addresses the influence of deteriorating brittle Daniels system characteristics on the value of structural health monitoring (SHM). The value of SHM is quantified as the difference between the life cycle benefits with and without SHM. A value of SHM analysis is performed within...

Bus Rapid Transit system’s influence on urban development: An inquiry to Boston and Seoul BRT systems’ technical characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Prayogi, Lutfi

2018-03-01

This article explores the relation between bus rapid transit (BRT) system and urban development. This article was written through a multi-staged comprehensive literature review. It includes a general overview of widely acknowledged BRT technical characteristics. It explains the approach taken in understanding the relation between BRT system provision and urban development around the system. Findings regarding the influence of Boston Silver Line 4 and 5 and Seoul BRT systems on urban development around the systems are quoted and used as case studies. Investigation on the technical characteristics of Boston SL4/5 and Seoul BRT systems are provided. This article shows that the two BRT systems that influence urban development around the systems have technical characteristics that enable the BRT systems to have high performance. However, while the quoted BRT systems can influence urban development, they have significantly different performance.

Influence of stress factors and socio-demographic characteristics on the sleep quality of nursing students

OpenAIRE

Benavente, Sonia Betzabeth Ticona; Silva, Rodrigo Marques da; Higashi, Aline Baraldi; Guido, Laura de Azevedo; Costa, Ana Lucia Siqueira

2014-01-01

Objective:To analyze the influence of stress factors and socio-demographic characteristics on the sleep quality of nursing students. Method: An analytical cross-sectional and quantitative study, conducted with 151 nursing students in São Paulo between March and April of 2012. A form for socio-demographic characteristics, the Instrument to Evaluate Stress in Nursing Students and the Pittsburgh Sleep Index were applied. Results: High levels of stress was predominant for Time Management (27.8%) ...

Do firm characteristics influence mutual fund performance? An empirical study for European mutual funds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, F.C.J.M.; Wingens, L.

2013-01-01

This study investigates the influence of fund management firm characteristics on mutual fund performance. Using a sample of European domiciled open-end equity funds for the period 1998-2008, this study finds that the funds of private companies have performed better than the funds of public

Noninvasive electrical conductivity measurement by MRI: a test of its validity and the electrical conductivity characteristics of glioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Tha, Khin Khin; Katscher, Ulrich; Yamaguchi, Shigeru; Stehning, Christian; Terasaka, Shunsuke; Fujima, Noriyuki; Kudo, Kohsuke; Kazumata, Ken; Yamamoto, Toru; Van Cauteren, Marc; Shirato, Hiroki

2018-01-01

This study noninvasively examined the electrical conductivity (σ) characteristics of diffuse gliomas using MRI and tested its validity. MRI including a 3D steady-state free precession (3D SSFP) sequence was performed on 30 glioma patients. The σ maps were reconstructed from the phase images of the 3D SSFP sequence. The σ histogram metrics were extracted and compared among the contrast-enhanced (CET) and noncontrast-enhanced tumour components (NCET) and normal brain parenchyma (NP). Difference in tumour σ histogram metrics among tumour grades and correlation of σ metrics with tumour grades were tested. Validity of σ measurement using this technique was tested by correlating the mean tumour σ values measured using MRI with those measured ex vivo using a dielectric probe. Several σ histogram metrics of CET and NCET of diffuse gliomas were significantly higher than NP (Bonferroni-corrected p ≤ .045). The maximum σ of NCET showed a moderate positive correlation with tumour grade (r = .571, Bonferroni-corrected p = .018). The mean tumour σ measured using MRI showed a moderate positive correlation with the σ measured ex vivo (r = .518, p = .040). Tissue σ can be evaluated using MRI, incorporation of which may better characterise diffuse gliomas. • This study tested the validity of noninvasive electrical conductivity measurements by MRI. • This study also evaluated the electrical conductivity characteristics of diffuse glioma. • Gliomas have higher electrical conductivity values than the normal brain parenchyma. • Noninvasive electrical conductivity measurement can be helpful for better characterisation of glioma.

Influence of magnet eddy current on magnetization characteristics of variable flux memory machine

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hui; Lin, Heyun; Zhu, Z. Q.; Lyu, Shukang

2018-05-01

In this paper, the magnet eddy current characteristics of a newly developed variable flux memory machine (VFMM) is investigated. Firstly, the machine structure, non-linear hysteresis characteristics and eddy current modeling of low coercive force magnet are described, respectively. Besides, the PM eddy current behaviors when applying the demagnetizing current pulses are unveiled and investigated. The mismatch of the required demagnetization currents between the cases with or without considering the magnet eddy current is identified. In addition, the influences of the magnet eddy current on the demagnetization effect of VFMM are analyzed. Finally, a prototype is manufactured and tested to verify the theoretical analyses.

Influence of distribution characteristics and associated seabed features on exploitation of cobalt-rich manganese deposits

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Yamazaki, T.; Sharma, R.; Tsurusaki, K.

Method of exploitation, selection of mine site and desing of mining system of cobalt-rich manganese deposits on seamounts would be greatly influenced by the distribution characteristics as well as the associated seabed features, wuch as the seabed...

Influences of motorcycle rider and driver characteristics and road environment on red light running behavior at signalized intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensupakarn, Auearree; Kanitpong, Kunnawee

2018-04-01

In Thailand, red light running is considered as one of the most dangerous behaviors at intersection. Red light running (RLR) behavior is the failure to obey the traffic control signal. However, motorcycle riders and car drivers who are running through red lights could be influenced by human factors or road environment at intersection. RLR could be advertent or inadvertent behavior influenced by many factors. Little research study has been done to evaluate the contributing factors influencing the red-light violation behavior. This study aims to determine the factors influencing the red light running behavior including human characteristics, physical condition of intersection, traffic signal operation, and traffic condition. A total of 92 intersections were observed in Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Chonburi, the major provinces in each region of Thailand. In addition, the socio-economic characteristics of red light runners were obtained from self-reported questionnaire survey. The Binary Logistic Regression and the Multiple Linear Regression models were used to determine the characteristics of red light runners and the factors influencing rates of red light running respectively. The results from this study can help to understand the characteristics of red light runners and factors affecting them to run red lights. For motorcycle riders and car drivers, age, gender, occupation, driving license, helmet/seatbelt use, and the probability to be penalized when running the red light significantly affect RLR behavior. In addition, the results indicated that vehicle travelling direction, time of day, existence of turning lane, number of lanes, lane width, intersection sight distance, type of traffic signal pole, type of traffic signal operation, length of yellow time interval, approaching speed, distance from intersection warning sign to stop line, and pavement roughness significantly affect RLR rates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decision support aids with anthropomorphic characteristics influence trust and performance in younger and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Pak, Richard; Fink, Nicole; Price, Margaux; Bass, Brock; Sturre, Lindsay

2012-01-01

This study examined the use of deliberately anthropomorphic automation on younger and older adults' trust, dependence and performance on a diabetes decision-making task. Research with anthropomorphic interface agents has shown mixed effects in judgments of preferences but has rarely examined effects on performance. Meanwhile, research in automation has shown some forms of anthropomorphism (e.g. etiquette) have effects on trust and dependence on automation. Participants answered diabetes questions with no-aid, a non-anthropomorphic aid or an anthropomorphised aid. Trust and dependence in the aid was measured. A minimally anthropomorphic aide primarily affected younger adults' trust in the aid. Dependence, however, for both age groups was influenced by the anthropomorphic aid. Automation that deliberately embodies person-like characteristics can influence trust and dependence on reasonably reliable automation. However, further research is necessary to better understand the specific aspects of the aid that affect different age groups. Automation that embodies human-like characteristics may be useful in situations where there is under-utilisation of reasonably reliable aids by enhancing trust and dependence in that aid. Practitioner Summary: The design of decision-support aids on consumer devices (e.g. smartphones) may influence the level of trust that users place in that system and their amount of use. This study is the first step in articulating how the design of aids may influence user's trust and use of such systems.

Influence of magnetic field on the electrical breakdown characteristics in cylindrical diode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shouzhe; Uhm, Han S.

2004-01-01

The influence of magnetic field on the electrical breakdown properties is investigated by applying a magnetic field along the longitudinal direction in a cylindrical diode for two electrical polarities. Breakdown characteristics in a crossed magnetic field are analyzed with the equivalentreduced-electric-field concept and Townsend criterion. The discharge experiment at reduced pressure is carried out in the moderate magnetic field. Experimental investigation is concentrated on the magnetic dependent behavior of the electrical breakdown in the lower pressure side of Paschen's minimum. It is found that the electrical breakdown characteristics with respect to the magnetic field depend on electrical polarity of the cylindrical diode, which is interpreted by taking the gyromotion of the individual electrons in the diode into accounts under the moderate magnetic field in the lower pressure side of Paschen's minimum

Influence of Social and Behavioural Characteristics of Users on Their Evaluation of Subjective Loudness and Acoustic Comfort in Shopping Malls

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Qi; Kang, Jian

2013-01-01

A large-scale subjective survey was conducted in six shopping malls in Harbin City, China, to determine the influence of social and behavioural characteristics of users on their evaluation of subjective loudness and acoustic comfort. The analysis of social characteristics shows that evaluation of subjective loudness is influenced by income and occupation, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.40 (pshopping malls more than once a month show higher evaluation of acoustic comfort. On the contrary, the influence of the period of visit and the accompanying persons are found insignificant. PMID:23336003

A nationwide register study of the characteristics, incidence and validity of diagnosed Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Leivonen, Susanna; Voutilainen, Arja; Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, Susanna; Timonen-Soivio, Laura; Chudal, Roshan; Gissler, Mika; Huttunen, Jukka; Sourander, Andre

2014-09-01

The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and incidence rates of diagnosed tic disorders in the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register, including changing incidence rates between 1991 and 2010. We also aimed to validate the diagnoses of Tourette's syndrome recorded in the register. Children born between January 1, 1991 and December 31, 2010, who were diagnosed with tic disorders, were identified from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (n = 3003). We studied the validity of the Tourette's syndrome diagnoses by reviewing the medical charts of 88 children born since 1997 and carrying out telephone interviews with 55 of their guardians. The incidence rates of all diagnosed tic disorders increased during the study period. A comorbid diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder diagnosis was recorded in 28.2% of the children with Tourette's syndrome, and the validity of the register-based Tourette's syndrome diagnosis was approximately 95%. This is the first nationwide study to demonstrate the increasing incidence of all register-based tic disorder diagnoses. The validity of the Tourette's syndrome diagnoses in the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register was good, and the data provided are suitable for use in further register-based studies of tic disorders. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics at the impact of valvular heart disease.

Science.gov (United States)

dos Anjos, Daniela Brianne Martins; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; Padilha, Kátia Melissa; Pedrosa, Rafaela Batista dos Santos; Gallani, Maria Cecília Bueno Jayme

2016-01-01

to analyze the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with valvular heart disease and to verify the influence of these variables on the impact of valve disease in daily life. the study involved 86 outpatients. Data collection was performed in two stages - face-to-face interview for sociodemographic and clinical characterization and through telephone contact for the application of the Instrument to Measure the Impact of Valvular Heart Disease on Patient's Everyday Life (IDCV). Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. it was noticed that the total score of IDCV and its domains were influenced by age, schooling, presence or absence of symptoms, use or not of diuretic. The impact of the disease was influenced by sociodemographic and clinical variables. The results provide subsidies for the design of nursing interventions aimed at reducing the impact of the disease on the patient's daily life with valve disease.

A Systematic Review of the Reliability and Validity of Behavioural Tests Used to Assess Behavioural Characteristics Important in Working Dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Karen; Cracknell, Nina; Zulch, Helen; Mills, Daniel Simon

2018-01-01

Working dogs are selected based on predictions from tests that they will be able to perform specific tasks in often challenging environments. However, withdrawal from service in working dogs is still a big problem, bringing into question the reliability of the selection tests used to make these predictions. A systematic review was undertaken aimed at bringing together available information on the reliability and predictive validity of the assessment of behavioural characteristics used with working dogs to establish the quality of selection tests currently available for use to predict success in working dogs. The search procedures resulted in 16 papers meeting the criteria for inclusion. A large range of behaviour tests and parameters were used in the identified papers, and so behaviour tests and their underpinning constructs were grouped on the basis of their relationship with positive core affect (willingness to work, human-directed social behaviour, object-directed play tendencies) and negative core affect (human-directed aggression, approach withdrawal tendencies, sensitivity to aversives). We then examined the papers for reports of inter-rater reliability, within-session intra-rater reliability, test-retest validity and predictive validity. The review revealed a widespread lack of information relating to the reliability and validity of measures to assess behaviour and inconsistencies in terminologies, study parameters and indices of success. There is a need to standardise the reporting of these aspects of behavioural tests in order to improve the knowledge base of what characteristics are predictive of optimal performance in working dog roles, improving selection processes and reducing working dog redundancy. We suggest the use of a framework based on explaining the direct or indirect relationship of the test with core affect.

Biological characteristics that influence the SEUROP system classification for Czech fleckvieh and Holstein bull carcasses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radek Filipčík

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work was to analyse the influence of certain characteristics (aptitude, age, carcass weight, net daily gain, feeding on the final carcass classification in the SEUROP system. 703 Czech Fleckvieh bulls and 642 Holstein bulls were studied. The animals were slaughtered and evaluated at a designated beef processing company. Combine aptitude carcasses shown significant differences between characteristics. Remarkable differences of group averages (P>0, 01 were established between farms and they were due to various rearing conditions. Also the levels of net daily gain between aptitudes were proved significantly. Holstein breed showed significant difference among The net daily gain < 500 g.day–1 and levels 551–600; 601–650 and above 651 g.day–1. The SEUROP system is influenced the most by the feeding regime, which is described by a net daily gain in this work, and farm impact.

INFLUENCE OF POLYMERIC-DISPERSED REINFORCEMENT ADDITIVES ON THE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF ASPHALT CONCRETE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chernov Sergey Anatolevych

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The technique and results of the studies of the influence of a polymeric-dispersed reinforcement additive on the performance characteristics of road hot asphalt concrete, namely, its resistance to fatigue failures, rutting and development of residual deformation are described. It is shown that the proposed method of modification of asphalt-concrete mixtures ensures an increase in the durability of layers of pavement road surface.

Interpersonal Privacy Management in Distributed Collaboration: Situational Characteristics and Interpretive Influences

Science.gov (United States)

Patil, Sameer; Kobsa, Alfred; John, Ajita; Brotman, Lynne S.; Seligmann, Doree

To understand how collaborators reconcile the often conflicting needs of awareness and privacy, we studied a large software development project in a multinational corporation involving individuals at sites in the U.S. and India. We present a theoretical framework describing privacy management practices and their determinants that emerged from field visits, interviews, and questionnaire responses. The framework identifies five relevant situational characteristics: issue(s) under consideration, physical place(s) involved in interaction(s), temporal aspects, affordances and limitations presented by technology, and nature of relationships among parties. Each actor, in turn, interprets the situation based on several simultaneous influences: self, team, work site, organization, and cultural environment. This interpretation guides privacy management action(s). Past actions form a feedback loop refining and/or reinforcing the interpretive influences. The framework suggests that effective support for privacy management will require that designers follow a socio-technical approach incorporating a wider scope of situational and interpretive differences.

Numerical study of influence of biofuels on the combustion characteristics and performance of aircraft engine system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Li; Liu, Zeng-wen; Wang, Zhan-xue

2015-01-01

The atomization and combustion flowfield of the combustion chamber with swirl-nozzle were simulated using different biofuels; the thermodynamic cycle of the aircraft engine system were also analyzed, influences of biofuels on the combustion characteristics and performance of aircraft engine system were explored. Results show that viscosity and caloric value are key factors affecting the atomization and combustion characteristics of biofuels, and then dominate the distribution of the temperature and NO concentration. Due to the characteristic of low viscosity and low caloric value for biofuels adopted, the biofuels accumulate near the head of combustion chamber, and the corresponding NO emission is lower than that it has for conventional kerosene. When biofuels with low caloric value are used under the operation condition which is same as the condition for the conventional kerosene, lower turbine inlet temperature, lower thrust and higher specific fuel consumption would be achieved for the aircraft engine. - Highlights: • Influences of biofuels properties on combustion characteristic are explored. • Effects of biofuels on cycle parameters of aircraft engine are discussed. • Viscosity and caloric value are key factors affecting combustion of biofuels. • NO emission becomes lower when biofuels with low caloric value is adopted. • The performance of aircraft engine becomes worse for biofuels with low caloric value.

Validation of the force and frequency characteristics of the activator adjusting instrument: effectiveness as a mechanical impedance measurement tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, T S; Colloca, C J; Fuhr, A W

1999-02-01

To determine the dynamic force-time and force-frequency characteristics of the Activator Adjusting Instrument and to validate its effectiveness as a mechanical impedance measurement device; in addition, to refine or optimize the force-frequency characteristics of the Activator Adjusting Instrument to provide enhanced dynamic structural measurement reliability and accuracy. An idealized test structure consisting of a rectangular steel beam with a static stiffness similar to that of the human thoracolumbar spine was used for validation of a method to determine the dynamic mechanical response of the spine. The Activator Adjusting Instrument equipped with a load cell and accelerometer was used to measure forces and accelerations during mechanical excitation of the steel beam. Driving point and transfer mechanical impedance and resonant frequency of the beam were determined by use of a frequency spectrum analysis for different force settings, stylus masses, and stylus tips. Results were compared with beam theory and transfer impedance measurements obtained by use of a commercial electronic PCB impact hammer. The Activator Adjusting Instrument imparted a very complex dynamic impact comprising an initial high force (116 to 140 N), short duration pulse (analysis of the Activator Adjusting Instrument impulse indicated that the Activator Adjusting Instrument has a variable force spectrum and delivers its peak energy at a frequency of 20 Hz. Added masses and different durometer stylus tips had very little influence on the Activator Adjusting Instrument force spectrum. The resonant frequency of the beam was accurately predicted by both the Activator Adjusting Instrument and electronic PCB impact hammer, but variations in the magnitude of the driving point impedance at the resonant frequency were high (67%) compared with the transfer impedance measurements obtained with the electronic PCB impact hammer, which had a more uniform force spectrum and was more repeatable (frequency

Influence of illumination on the output characteristics in pentacene thin film transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Yow-Jon, E-mail: rzr2390@yahoo.com.tw; Huang, Bo-Chieh

2013-10-01

The influence of illumination on the output characteristics of pentacene-based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) was researched in this study. It is shown that light illumination may lead to an increase in the drain current, shifting the threshold voltage towards positive gate–source voltages. This is because of the light-induced acceptor activation, which is a new concept for illumination-dependent output characteristics of OTFTs. However, the field-effect mobility is insensitive to light illumination. It is found that electron trapping is responsible for the experimentally observed illumination-dependent output behavior of charge transport in OTFTs. - Highlights: • Light illumination may lead to an increase in the drain current. • This is because of the light-induced acceptor activation. • The field-effect mobility is insensitive to light illumination. • Electron trapping is responsible for the illumination-dependent output behavior.

The Classroom Environment Questionnaire (CEQ): Development and preliminary structural validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, Carissa; Brown, Ted; Bourke-Taylor, Helen

2018-04-16

Occupational therapists offer a unique perspective regarding the contribution of the environment to occupational performance. Therefore, a scale that measures the unique characteristics of the primary school classroom environment where children complete their daily schoolwork occupations is needed. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a new teacher-report questionnaire that measures a number of environmental characteristics of primary school classrooms. Participants (N = 117) completed the Classroom Environment Questionnaire (CEQ), which utilises a 4-point Likert scale where teachers rate 51 environmental characteristics of their classroom. Teachers also rate the extent to which they believe the physical, social, temporal, institutional and cultural classroom environmental domains contribute to students' schoolwork performance using a 10-point scale. The structural validity of the CEQ was examined using principal component analysis (PCA). Inter-item correlations were examined using Pearson r correlations, while the internal consistency of the CEQ was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. PCA revealed the CEQ to be multidimensional, with 31 items loading onto nine viable factors, representing the unique nature of classroom environments. Based on the PCA results, 20 items were removed from the CEQ. Cronbach's alpha and correlation analysis indicated that most CEQ subsections had acceptable internal consistency (alpha range 0.70-0.82), with four subsections demonstrating a lower level of internal consistency (alpha range 0.55-0.69). Preliminary structural validity and internal consistency analysis findings confirm that the CEQ has potential to be a useful scale for professionals wishing to examine the unique characteristics of primary school classrooms that influence the occupational performance of students. Ongoing analyses will be undertaken to further explore the CEQ's validity and reliability. © 2018 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Factors that influence public awareness of domestic waste characteristics and management in rural areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Zhiyong; Duan, Qingqing; Fei, Yongqiang; Zeng, Dan; Shi, Guozhong; Li, Haimei; Hu, Meilun

2018-05-01

Public awareness of domestic waste characteristics and management (PADWCM) is a prerequisite for a domestic waste management (DWM) plan. In this study, we considered China as a typical example of developing countries to investigate the public perception of environmental pollution (PEP), its PADWCM, and its socioeconomic factors, using questionnaires and statistical methods. The results indicated that the public PEP was mainly due to obvious environmental contamination in local villages, and the PADWCM is still inadequate in rural areas. However, 83.9% of the respondents agreed that DWM is highly necessary. The PADWCM, including the hazard, recyclability, and characteristic pollution caused by domestic waste, was learned mainly from people's direct PEP, experiences, and repurchasing by recyclers. Education period had highly significant positive correlations and regressions with PEP and PADWCM, respectively. Additionally, education directly affected public awareness in different income and age groups. Demonstration projects had a significant positive effect on the awareness of characteristic pollution caused by domestic waste, which was readily perceived. Propaganda had a significant positive influence on the awareness of treatment necessity. Age and gender had no obvious effects on public PEP and PADWCM. Some aspects of PADWCM requiring a deep understanding became stronger as income increased; however, the PADWCM located close to poor people became weaker. Some aspects of PEP could significantly influence the awareness of characteristic pollution caused by domestic waste and awareness of treatment necessity. Therefore, improving environmental education, performing demonstration projects and effective environmental propaganda, increasing people's income, and attracting young people to participate in DWM will be important for enhancing environmental awareness and DWM in rural areas. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:395-406. © 2018 SETAC. © 2018 SETAC.

The Analysis of Company Characteristic Influence Toward CSR Disclosure: Empirical Evidence of Manufacturing Companies Listed in Jsx

OpenAIRE

Rahman, Arief; Widyasari, Kurnia Nur

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the influence of company characteristic toward Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure. The research is using the proxy of management ownership, leverage, size, profitability and company profile as the variable of company characteristic, while the CSR disclosure, unlike the previous researches, is proxied by dummy score from the companies' mandatory disclosure based on the items of Public Environmental Reporting Initiative (PERI) and Global Reporting Initiative Soci...

Temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of air quality index in Xuchang

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhenghua; Tian, Zhihui

2018-01-01

In recent years, the problem of air pollution becomes more and more serious. Based on the geographic and seasonal climatic characteristics of Xuchang City, this paper studies the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of air quality index. The results show that: from the time point of view, air quality index shows seasonal difference. Air quality index is highest in winter and is lowest in summer. From the space point of view, there are differences between the north and the south to a certain extent. Changge City, Yuzhou city and central Xuchang county is higher than the southeast of Xiangcheng county and Yanling county. The spatial and temporal variation characteristics of air quality index in Xuchang are influenced by natural factors and human activities, and the economic development and population are the important factors affecting the urban air quality.

Assessing the environmental characteristics of cycling routes to school: a study on the reliability and validity of a Google Street View-based audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanwolleghem, Griet; Van Dyck, Delfien; Ducheyne, Fabian; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Cardon, Greet

2014-06-10

Google Street View provides a valuable and efficient alternative to observe the physical environment compared to on-site fieldwork. However, studies on the use, reliability and validity of Google Street View in a cycling-to-school context are lacking. We aimed to study the intra-, inter-rater reliability and criterion validity of EGA-Cycling (Environmental Google Street View Based Audit - Cycling to school), a newly developed audit using Google Street View to assess the physical environment along cycling routes to school. Parents (n = 52) of 11-to-12-year old Flemish children, who mostly cycled to school, completed a questionnaire and identified their child's cycling route to school on a street map. Fifty cycling routes of 11-to-12-year olds were identified and physical environmental characteristics along the identified routes were rated with EGA-Cycling (5 subscales; 37 items), based on Google Street View. To assess reliability, two researchers performed the audit. Criterion validity of the audit was examined by comparing the ratings based on Google Street View with ratings through on-site assessments. Intra-rater reliability was high (kappa range 0.47-1.00). Large variations in the inter-rater reliability (kappa range -0.03-1.00) and criterion validity scores (kappa range -0.06-1.00) were reported, with acceptable inter-rater reliability values for 43% of all items and acceptable criterion validity for 54% of all items. EGA-Cycling can be used to assess physical environmental characteristics along cycling routes to school. However, to assess the micro-environment specifically related to cycling, on-site assessments have to be added.

Factors influencing a problem-based learning implementation: A case study of IT courses

Science.gov (United States)

Darus, Norida Muhd; Mohd, Haslina; Baharom, Fauziah; Saip, Mohamed Ali; Puteh, Nurnasran; Marzuki @ Matt, Zaharin; Husain, Mohd Zabidin; Yasin, Azman

2016-08-01

IT students must be trained to work efficiently as teamwork. One of the techniques that can be used to train them is through Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach. The PBL implementation can be influenced by various factors depending on the ultimate goal of the study. This study is focusing on the IT students' perception of the PBL implementation. The student's perception is important to ensure the successfulness of the PBL implementation. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that might influence the implementation of PBL of IT courses. This study aims to identify some catalyst factors that may influence the PBL implementation of IT courses. The study involved three (3) main phases: identifying PBL implementation factors, constructing a PBL model, and PBL model validation using statistical analysis. Four main factors are identified: PBL Characteristics, PBL Course Assessment, PBL Practices, and PBL Perception. Based on these four factors, a PBL model is constructed. Then, based on the proposed PBL model, four hypotheses are formulated and analyzed to validate the model. All hypotheses are significantly acceptable. The result shows that the PBL Characteristics and PBL Course Assessment factors are significantly influenced the PBL Practices and indirectly influenced the Students' Perception of the PBL Implementation for IT courses. This PBL model can assist decision makers in enhancing the PBL teaching and learning strategy for IT courses. It is also can be tested to other courses in the future.

Influence of remaining fission products in low-decontaminated fuel on reactor core characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohki, Shigeo

2002-07-01

Design study of core, fuel and related fuel cycle system with low-decontaminated fuel has been performed in the framework of the feasibility study (F/S) on commercialized fast reactor cycle systems. This report summarizes the influence on core characteristics of remaining fission products (FPs) in low-decontaminated fuel related to the reprocessing systems nominated in F/S phase I. For simple treatment of the remaining FPs in core neutronics calculation the representative nuclide method parameterized by the FP equivalent coefficient and the FP volume fraction was developed, which enabled an efficient evaluation procedure. As a result of the investigation on the sodium cooled fast reactor with MOX fuel designed in fiscal year 1999, it was found that the pyrochemical reprocessing with molten salt (the RIAR method) brought the largest influence. Nevertheless, it was still within the allowable range. Assuming an infinite-times recycling, the alternations in core characteristics were evaluated as follows: increment of burnup reactivity by 0.5%Δk/kk', decrement of breeding ratio by 0.04, increment of sodium void reactivity by 0.1x10 -2 Δk/kk' and decrement of Doppler constant (in absolute value) by 0.7x10 -3 Tdk/dT. (author)

Influence of the association of the EVA and NBR on the characteristics of modified bitumen

Science.gov (United States)

Bensaada, A.; Soudani, K.; Haddadi, S.; Saoula, S.

2015-03-01

Durability and the performance of pavement depend mainly on the characteristics of materials which change over time like all other organic substances. They are subject to significant changes due to environmental conditions during the different phases of use. In the present work we investigated experimentally the influence of the association of ethyl vinyl acetate polymer (EVA) with an industrial waste, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) on the modification of bitumen AC 35-50 and its rheological behavior. The incorporation of NBR and EVA in the bitumen improved its intrinsic characteristics (softening point, penetration and ductility). In addition to improving the characteristics of bituminous binders that will affect the durability of bituminous structures, the environment will be preserved by the recycling of industrial waste.

Do Individual and Neighborhood Characteristics Influence Perceived Air Quality?

Science.gov (United States)

Deguen, Séverine; Padilla, Manon; Padilla, Cindy; Kihal-Talantikite, Wahida

2017-12-12

subjective and objective measures of air pollution in many population sub-groups with different combinations of individual characteristics. The relationship is less clear among the oldest population, which confirms previous findings. Our finding highlights that age combined with low level of education and unemployment, or women or health problems as well as the neighborhood deprivation index influence the level of air quality satisfaction.

Influence of prepreg characteristics on stamp consolidation

Science.gov (United States)

Slange, T. K.; Warnet, L. L.; Grouve, W. J. B.; Akkerman, R.

2017-10-01

Stamp forming is a rapid manufacturing technology used to shape flat blanks of thermoplastic composite material into three-dimensional components. The development of automated lay-up technologies further extends the applicability of stamp forming by allowing rapid lay-up of tailored blanks and partial preconsolidation. This partial preconsolidation makes the influence of prepreg more critical compared to conventional preconsolidation methods which provide full preconsolidation. This paper aims to highlight consolidation challenges that can appear when stamp forming blanks manufactured by automated lay-up. Important prepreg characteristics were identified based on an experimental study where a comparison was made between various prepreg in their as-received, deconsolidated and stamp consolidated state. It was found that adding up small thickness variations across the width of a prepreg when stacking plies into a blank by automated lay-up can cause non-uniform consolidation. Additionally, deconsolidation of the prepreg does not seem to obstruct interlaminar bonding, while intralaminar voids initially present in a prepreg cannot be removed during stamp forming. An additional preconsolidation step after automated lay-up seems necessary to remove blank thickness variations and intralaminar voids for the current prepregs. Eliminating this process step and the successful combination of rapid automated lay-up and stamp forming requires prepregs which are void-free and have less thickness variation.

The influence of farmer demographic characteristics on environmental behaviour: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Rob J F

2014-03-15

Many agricultural studies have observed a relationship between farmer demographic characteristics and environmental behaviours. These relationships are frequently employed in the construction of models, the identification of farmer types, or as part of more descriptive analyses aimed at understanding farmers' environmental behaviour. However, they have also often been found to be inconsistent or contradictory. Although a considerable body of literature has built up around the subject area, research has a tendency to focus on factors such as the direction, strength and consistency of the relationship - leaving the issue of causality largely to speculation. This review addresses this gap by reviewing literature on 4 key demographic variables: age, experience, education, and gender for hypothesised causal links. Overall the review indicates that the issue of causality is a complex one. Inconsistent relationships can be attributed to the presence of multiple causal pathways, the role of scheme factors in determining which pathway is important, inadequately specified measurements of demographic characteristics, and the treatment of non-linear causalities as linear. In addition, all demographic characteristics were perceived to be influenced (to varying extents) by cultural-historical patterns leading to cohort effects or socialised differences in the relationship with environmental behaviour. The paper concludes that more work is required on the issue of causality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variation in habitat soundscape characteristics influences settlement of a reef-building coral.

Science.gov (United States)

Lillis, Ashlee; Bohnenstiehl, DelWayne; Peters, Jason W; Eggleston, David

2016-01-01

Coral populations, and the productive reef ecosystems they support, rely on successful recruitment of reef-building species, beginning with settlement of dispersing larvae into habitat favourable to survival. Many substrate cues have been identified as contributors to coral larval habitat selection; however, the potential for ambient acoustic cues to influence coral settlement responses is unknown. Using in situ settlement chambers that excluded other habitat cues, larval settlement of a dominant Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata , was compared in response to three local soundscapes, with differing acoustic and habitat properties. Differences between reef sites in the number of larvae settled in chambers isolating acoustic cues corresponded to differences in sound levels and reef characteristics, with sounds at the loudest reef generating significantly higher settlement during trials compared to the quietest site (a 29.5 % increase). These results suggest that soundscapes could be an important influence on coral settlement patterns and that acoustic cues associated with reef habitat may be related to larval settlement. This study reports an effect of soundscape variation on larval settlement for a key coral species, and adds to the growing evidence that soundscapes affect marine ecosystems by influencing early life history processes of foundational species.

Video game addiction test: validity and psychometric characteristics.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rooij, A.J. van; Schoenmakers, T.M.; Eijnden, R.J.J.M. van den; Vermulst, A.A.; Mheen, D. van de

2012-01-01

The study explores the reliability, validity, and measurement invariance of the Video game Addiction Test (VAT). Game-addiction problems are often linked to Internet enabled online games; the VAT has the unique benefit that it is theoretically and empirically linked to Internet addiction. The study

Video Game Addiction Test: Validity and Psychometric Characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rooij, A.J. van; Schoenmakers, T.M.; Eijnden, R.J.J.M. van den; Vermulst, A.A.; Mheen, H. van de

2012-01-01

The study explores the reliability, validity, and measurement invariance of the Video game Addiction Test (VAT). Game-addiction problems are often linked to Internet enabled online games; the VAT has the unique benefit that it is theoretically and empirically linked to Internet addiction. The study

Military Families’ Perceptions of Neighborhood Characteristics Affecting Reintegration: Development of an Aggregate Measure

Science.gov (United States)

Beehler, Sarah; Ahern, Jennifer; Balmer, Brandi; Kuhlman, Jennifer

2017-01-01

This pilot study evaluated the validity and reliability of an Experience of Neighborhood (EON) measure developed to assess neighborhood characteristics that shape reintegration opportunities for returning service members and their families. A total of 91 post-9/11 veterans and spouses completed a survey administered at the Minnesota State Fair. Participants self-reported on their reintegration status (veterans), social functioning (spouses), social support, and mental health. EON factor structure, internal consistency reliability, and validity (discriminant, content, criterion) were analyzed. The EON measure showed adequate reliability, discriminant validity, and content validity. More work is needed to assess criterion validity because EON scores were not correlated with scores on a Census-based index used to measure quality of military neighborhoods. The EON may be useful in assessing broad local factors influencing health among returning veterans and spouses. More research is needed to understand geographic variation in neighborhood conditions and how those affect reintegration and mental health for military families. PMID:28936370

The influence of system quality characteristics on health care providers' performance: Empirical evidence from Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohd Salleh, Mohd Idzwan; Zakaria, Nasriah; Abdullah, Rosni

The Ministry of Health Malaysia initiated the total hospital information system (THIS) as the first national electronic health record system for use in selected public hospitals across the country. Since its implementation 15 years ago, there has been the critical requirement for a systematic evaluation to assess its effectiveness in coping with the current system, task complexity, and rapid technological changes. The study aims to assess system quality factors to predict the performance of electronic health in a single public hospital in Malaysia. Non-probability sampling was employed for data collection among selected providers in a single hospital for two months. Data cleaning and bias checking were performed before final analysis in partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Convergent and discriminant validity assessments were satisfied the required criterions in the reflective measurement model. The structural model output revealed that the proposed adequate infrastructure, system interoperability, security control, and system compatibility were the significant predictors, where system compatibility became the most critical characteristic to influence an individual health care provider's performance. The previous DeLone and McLean information system success models should be extended to incorporate these technological factors in the medical system research domain to examine the effectiveness of modern electronic health record systems. In this study, care providers' performance was expected when the system usage fits with patients' needs that eventually increased their productivity. Copyright © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How valid are parents' questionnaire responses regarding building characteristics, mouldy odour, and signs of moisture problems in Swedish homes?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engman, L.H.; Bornehag, Carl-Gustaf; Sundell, Jan

2007-01-01

that included moisture problems. The aim of this study was to validate information received from a questionnaire survey regarding building characteristics, mouldy odour, and signs of moisture problems in 390 Swedish homes. Method: In a case control study on the association between home environmental factors......Aim: Questionnaires are a cheap means of studying large populations but the information obtained from them is seldom validated. Earlier studies have reported both high and low levels of agreements between inspectors' observations and occupants' reports regarding home environmental factors...... and indications of dampness and mouldy odour. However, the stronger the mouldy odour experienced by the inspector, the higher the level of agreement. Conclusions: The questionnaire was a quite reliable source regarding technical parameters of the home but not for dampness problems. The questionnaire was better...

Influence of technological factors on characteristics of hybrid fluid-film bearings

Science.gov (United States)

Koltsov, A.; Prosekova, A.; Rodichev, A.; Savin, L.

2017-08-01

The influence of the parameters of micro- and macrounevenness on the characteristics of a hybrid bearing with slotted throttling is considered in the present paper. The quantitative assumptions of calculation of pressure distribution, load capacity, lubricant flow rate and power loss due to friction in a radial hybrid bearing with slotted throttling are taken into account, considering the shape, dimensions and roughness of the support surfaces inaccuracies. Numerical simulation of processes in the lubricating layer is based on the finite-difference solution of the Reynolds equation using an uneven orthogonal computational grid with adaptive condensation. The results of computational and physical experiments are presented.

Gamma radiation influence on technological characteristics of wheat flour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teixeira, Christian A.H.M.; Inamura, Patricia Y.; Uehara, Vanessa B.; Mastro, Nelida L.d.

2012-01-01

This study aimed at determining the influence of gamma radiation on technological characteristics of wheat (Triticum sativum) flour and physical properties of pan breads made with this flour. The bread formulation included wheat flour, water, milk, salt, sugar, yeast and butter. The α-amylase activity of wheat flour irradiated with 1, 3 and 9 kGy in a Gammacell 220 (AECL), one day, five days and one month after irradiation was evaluated. Deformation force, height and weight of breads prepared with the irradiated flour were also determined. The enzymatic activity increased—reduction of falling number time—as radiation dose increased, their values being 397 s (0 kGy), 388 s (1 kGy), 343 s (3 kGy) and 293 s (9 kGy) respectively, remaining almost constant over the period of one month. Pan breads prepared with irradiated wheat flour showed increased weight. Texture analysis showed that bread made of irradiated flour presented an increase in maximum deformation force. The results indicate that wheat flour ionizing radiation processing may confer increased enzymatic activity on bread making and depending on the irradiation dose, an increase in weight, height and deformation force parameters of pan breads made of it. - Highlights: ► We study the influence of gamma radiation on wheat flour and properties of breads. ► Falling number decreased with radiation remaining almost constant up to one month. ► Ionizing radiation may confer an increase in texture parameters, weight and height on the bread.

Study on team characteristics influencing on nuclear safety culture in Korea based on Bayesian networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young-gab, K.; Chan-ho, S.; Jeong-jin, P.

2014-01-01

The safety culture of Korean nuclear power plants has been settled down as an organizational culture since the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Reason (1997) proposed that safety culture is a sub-culture of corporate culture and sub-culture is a term that can be used interchangeably to a sub-group of people (i.e., department, workgroup). Therefore, the safety culture of organization comprised of various teams can be told as a culture to reflect team characteristics and interact with each other. Team characteristics have something to do with a successful task performance and task efficiency. However, the team characteristics in nuclear power plant have to consider safety preferentially rather than performance. Team characteristics for a safety are necessary to ensure and enhance the safety of safety-critical system. This paper proposed team characteristics for a safety which influence on the strong and vulnerable area of safety culture. These characteristics were analyzed on the basis of the safety culture evaluation which was performed to measure the level of plant workers' safety culture in 2013. The model of team characteristics was constructed considering Bayesian inference and the result was proposed according to workers' awareness. Safety team characteristics have a direct or indirect effect on the safety of nuclear power plants. Therefore, if they are improved and trained continuously, the safety of nuclear power plants might be enhanced. (author)

Study on team characteristics influencing on nuclear safety culture in Korea based on Bayesian networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Young-gab, K.; Chan-ho, S.; Jeong-jin, P., E-mail: iamkyg@khnp.co.kr, E-mail: chsung@khnp.co.kr, E-mail: jjpark82@khnp.co.kr [Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Central Research Inst., Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-01

The safety culture of Korean nuclear power plants has been settled down as an organizational culture since the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Reason (1997) proposed that safety culture is a sub-culture of corporate culture and sub-culture is a term that can be used interchangeably to a sub-group of people (i.e., department, workgroup). Therefore, the safety culture of organization comprised of various teams can be told as a culture to reflect team characteristics and interact with each other. Team characteristics have something to do with a successful task performance and task efficiency. However, the team characteristics in nuclear power plant have to consider safety preferentially rather than performance. Team characteristics for a safety are necessary to ensure and enhance the safety of safety-critical system. This paper proposed team characteristics for a safety which influence on the strong and vulnerable area of safety culture. These characteristics were analyzed on the basis of the safety culture evaluation which was performed to measure the level of plant workers' safety culture in 2013. The model of team characteristics was constructed considering Bayesian inference and the result was proposed according to workers' awareness. Safety team characteristics have a direct or indirect effect on the safety of nuclear power plants. Therefore, if they are improved and trained continuously, the safety of nuclear power plants might be enhanced. (author)

Influence of infrared stimulation on spectroscopy characteristics of co-planar grid CdZnTe detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fjodorov, V.; Ivanov, V.; Loutchanski, A.

2015-01-01

It was previously found that illumination with monochromatic infrared (IR) light with wavelengths close to the absorption edge of the CdZnTe exert significant positive influence on the spectrometric characteristics of quasi-hemispherical CdZnTe detectors at room temperature. In this paper, preliminary results of IR stimulation on the spectrometric characteristics of coplanar-grid CdZnTe detectors as well as results of further studies of planar and quasi-hemispherical detectors are presented. Coplanar-grid detectors of 10 mm x 10 mm x 10 mm from Redlen Technologies and commercial available IR LEDs with different wavelengths of 800-1000 nm were used in the experiments. Influence of intensity and direction of IR illumination on the detector's characteristics was studied. Analysis of signals shapes from the preamplifiers outputs at registration of alpha particles showed that IR illumination leads to a change in the shapes of these signals. This may indicate changes in electric fields distributions. An improvement in energy resolution at gamma-energy of 662 keV was observed with quasi-hemispherical and co-planar detectors at the certain levels of IR illumination intensity. The most noticeable effect of IR stimulation was observed with quasi-hemispherical detectors. It is due with optimization of charge collection conditions in the quasi-hemispherical detectors under IT stimulation. (authors)

CYGNSS Surface Wind Validation and Characteristics in the Maritime Continent

Science.gov (United States)

Asharaf, S.; Waliser, D. E.; Zhang, C.; Wandala, A.

2017-12-01

Surface wind over tropical oceans plays a crucial role in many local/regional weather and climate processes and helps to shape the global climate system. However, there is a lack of consistent high quality observations for surface winds. The newly launched NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission provides near surface wind speed over the tropical ocean with sampling that accounts for the diurnal cycle. In the early phase of the mission, validation is a critical task, and over-ocean validation is typically challenging due to a lack of robust validation resources that a cover a variety of environmental conditions. In addition, it can also be challenging to obtain in-situ observation resources and also to extract co-located CYGNSS records for some of the more scientifically interesting regions, such as the Maritime Continent (MC). The MC is regarded as a key tropical driver for the mean global circulation as well as important large-scale circulation variability such as the Madian-Julian Oscillation (MJO). The focus of this project and analysis is to take advantage of local in-situ resources from the MC regions (e.g. volunteer shipping, marine buoys, and the Year of Maritime Continent (YMC) campaign) to quantitatively characterize and validate the CYGNSS derived winds in the MC region and in turn work to unravel the complex multi-scale interactions between the MJO and MC. This presentation will show preliminary results of a comparison between the CYGNSS and the in-situ surface wind measurements focusing on the MC region. Details about the validation methods, uncertainties, and planned work will be discussed in this presentation.

Reactor core modeling practice: Operational requirements, model characteristics, and model validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zerbino, H.

1997-01-01

The physical models implemented in power plant simulators have greatly increased in performance and complexity in recent years. This process has been enabled by the ever increasing computing power available at affordable prices. This paper describes this process from several angles: First the operational requirements which are more critical from the point of view of model performance, both for normal and off-normal operating conditions; A second section discusses core model characteristics in the light of the solutions implemented by Thomson Training and Simulation (TT and S) in several full-scope simulators recently built and delivered for Dutch, German, and French nuclear power plants; finally we consider the model validation procedures, which are of course an integral part of model development, and which are becoming more and more severe as performance expectations increase. As a conclusion, it may be asserted that in the core modeling field, as in other areas, the general improvement in the quality of simulation codes has resulted in a fairly rapid convergence towards mainstream engineering-grade calculations. This is remarkable performance in view of the stringent real-time requirements which the simulation codes must satisfy as well as the extremely wide range of operating conditions that they are called upon to cover with good accuracy. (author)

Influence of Age and Aerobic Fitness on the Multifractal Characteristics of Electrocardiographic RR Time-Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael James Lewis

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Multifractal properties of electrocardiographic inter-beat (RR time-series offer insight into its long-term correlation structure, independently of RR variability. Here we quantify multifractal characteristics of RR data during 24-hour diurnal-nocturnal activity in healthy participants. We tested the hypotheses that (1 age, gender and aerobic fitness influence RR multifractal properties, and that (2 these are influenced by circadian variation.Seventy adults (39 males aged 19-58 years and of various fitness levels were monitored using 24-hour ECG. Participants were dichotomised by median age and fitness for sub-group analysis. Gender and fitness were independent of age (p=0.1, p>0.5. Younger/older group ages were substantially different (p<0.0005 and were independent of gender and fitness. Multifractality was quantified using the probability spectrum of Hölder exponents (h, from which modal h (h* and the full-width and half-widths at half-maximum measures (FWHM, HWHM+ and HWHM- were derived. FWHM decreased (p=0.004 and h* increased (p=0.011 in older people, indicating diminished long-range RR correlations and weaker anti-persistent behavior. Anti-persistent correlation (h* was strongest in the youngest/fittest individuals and weakest in the oldest/least fit individuals (p=0.015. Long-range correlation (HWHM+/FWHM was strongest in the fittest males and weakest in the least fit females (p=0.007-0.033.Multifractal RR characteristics in our healthy participants showed strong age-dependence with diminished long-range anti-persistent correlation in older people. Circadian variation of these characteristics was influenced by fitness and gender: fitter males and females of all ages had the greatest degree of multifractality or long-range order. Multifractal characterisation appears to be a useful method for exploring the physiological basis of long-term correlation structure in RR time-series as well as the benefits thereon of physical fitness training.

Measurement of characteristic to total spectrum ratio of tungsten X-ray spectra for the validation of the modified Tbc model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez G, A. H.; Costa, P. R.; Tomal, A.

2014-08-01

Primary X-ray spectra were measured in the range of 80 to 150 kV in order to validate a computer program based on a semiempirical model for X-ray spectra evaluation(tbc and mod). The ratio between the characteristic lines and total spectrum was considered for comparing the simulated results and experimental data. The raw spectra measured by the Cd Te detector were corrected by the detector efficiency, Compton effects and characteristic Cd and Te X-rays escape peaks, using a software specifically developed. The software Origin 8.5.1 was used to calculate the spectra and characteristic peaks areas. The obtained result shows that the experimental spectra have higher effective energy than the simulated spectra computed with tbc and mod software. The behavior of the ratio between the characteristic lines and total spectrum for simulated data presents discrepancy with the experimental result. Computed results are in good agreement with theoretical data published by Green, for spectra obtained with 3.04 mm of additional aluminum filtration. The difference of characteristic to total spectrum ratio between experimental and simulated data increases with the tube voltage. (Author)

Measurement of characteristic to total spectrum ratio of tungsten X-ray spectra for the validation of the modified Tbc model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez G, A. H.; Costa, P. R. [University of Sao Paulo, Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Radiation Dosimetry and Medical Physics, Matao Street, alley R, 187, 66318 Sao Paulo (Brazil); Tomal, A., E-mail: ahlopezg@usp.br [Universidade Federal de Goias, Physics Institute, Campus Samambaia, 131 Goiania, Goias (Brazil)

2014-08-15

Primary X-ray spectra were measured in the range of 80 to 150 kV in order to validate a computer program based on a semiempirical model for X-ray spectra evaluation(tbc and mod). The ratio between the characteristic lines and total spectrum was considered for comparing the simulated results and experimental data. The raw spectra measured by the Cd Te detector were corrected by the detector efficiency, Compton effects and characteristic Cd and Te X-rays escape peaks, using a software specifically developed. The software Origin 8.5.1 was used to calculate the spectra and characteristic peaks areas. The obtained result shows that the experimental spectra have higher effective energy than the simulated spectra computed with tbc and mod software. The behavior of the ratio between the characteristic lines and total spectrum for simulated data presents discrepancy with the experimental result. Computed results are in good agreement with theoretical data published by Green, for spectra obtained with 3.04 mm of additional aluminum filtration. The difference of characteristic to total spectrum ratio between experimental and simulated data increases with the tube voltage. (Author)

Correlating cement characteristics with rheology of paste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vikan, H.; Justnes, H.; Winnefeld, F.; Figi, R.

2007-01-01

The influence of cement characteristics such as cement fineness and clinker composition on the 'flow resistance' measured as the area under the shear stress-shear rate flow curve has been investigated. Three different types of plasticizers namely naphthalene sulphonate-formaldehyde condensate, polyether grafted polyacrylate, and lignosulphonate have been tested in this context on 6 different cements. The flow resistance correlated well with the cement characteristic (Blaine.{d.cC 3 A + [1 - d].C 3 S}) where the factor d represents relative reactivity of cubic C 3 A and C 3 S while cC 3 A and C 3 S represent the content of these minerals. It was found to be either a linear or exponential function of the combined cement characteristic depending on plasticizer type and dosage. The correlation was valid for a mix of pure cement and cement with fly ash, limestone filler (4%), as well as pastes with constant silica fume dosage, when the mineral contents were determined by Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffractograms

Video game addiction test: validity and psychometric characteristics.

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van Rooij, Antonius J; Schoenmakers, Tim M; van den Eijnden, Regina J J M; Vermulst, Ad A; van de Mheen, Dike

2012-09-01

The study explores the reliability, validity, and measurement invariance of the Video game Addiction Test (VAT). Game-addiction problems are often linked to Internet enabled online games; the VAT has the unique benefit that it is theoretically and empirically linked to Internet addiction. The study used data (n=2,894) from a large-sample paper-and-pencil questionnaire study, conducted in 2009 on secondary schools in Netherlands. Thus, the main source of data was a large sample of schoolchildren (aged 13-16 years). Measurements included the proposed VAT, the Compulsive Internet Use Scale, weekly hours spent on various game types, and several psychosocial variables. The VAT demonstrated excellent reliability, excellent construct validity, a one-factor model fit, and a high degree of measurement invariance across gender, ethnicity, and learning year, indicating that the scale outcomes can be compared across different subgroups with little bias. In summary, the VAT can be helpful in the further study of video game addiction, and it contributes to the debate on possible inclusion of behavioral addictions in the upcoming DSM-V.

An early validation of the Society for Vascular Surgery lower extremity threatened limb classification system.

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Cull, David L; Manos, Ginger; Hartley, Michael C; Taylor, Spence M; Langan, Eugene M; Eidt, John F; Johnson, Brent L

2014-12-01

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) recently established the Lower Extremity Threatened Limb Classification System, a staging system using Wound characteristic, Ischemia, and foot Infection (WIfI) to stratify the risk for limb amputation at 1 year. Although intuitive in nature, this new system has not been validated. The purpose of the following study was to determine whether the WIfI system is predictive of limb amputation and wound healing. Between 2007 and 2010, we prospectively obtained data related to wound characteristics, extent of infection, and degree of postrevascularization ischemia in 139 patients with foot wounds who presented for lower extremity revascularization (158 revascularization procedures). After adapting those data to the WIfI classifications, we analyzed the influence of wound characteristics, extent of infection, and degree of ischemia on time to wound healing; empirical Kaplan-Meier survival curves were compared with theoretical outcomes predicted by WIfI expert consensus opinion. Of the 158 foot wounds, 125 (79%) healed. The median time to wound healing was 2.7 months (range, 1-18 months). Factors associated with wound healing included presence of diabetes mellitus (P = .013), wound location (P = .049), wound size (P = .007), wound depth (P = .004), and degree of ischemia (P valid. Further validation of the WIfI classification system with multicenter data is justified. Copyright © 2014 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics on the quality of life

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Grbić Gordana

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The quality of life is a multidimensional concept, which is best expressed by the subjective well-being. Evaluation of the quality of life is the basis for measuring the well-being, and the determination of factors that determine the quality of life quality is the basis for its improvement Objective. To evaluate and assess the determinants of the perceived quality of life of group distinguishing features which characterize demographic and socioeconomic factors. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the population in Serbia aged over 20 years (9479 examinees. The quality of life was expressed by the perception of well-being (pleasure of life. Data on the examinees (demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were collected by using a questionnaire for adults of each household. To process, analyze and present the data, we used the methods of parametric descriptive statistics (mean value, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, variance analysis and factor analysis. Results. Although men evaluated the quality of life with a slightly higher grading, there was no statistically significant difference in the evaluation of the quality of life in relation to the examinee’s gender (p>0.005. Among the examinees there was a high statistically significant difference in grading the quality of life depending on age, level of education, marital status and type of job (p<0.001. In relation to the number of children, there was no statistically significant difference in he grading of the quality of life (p>0.005. Conclusion. The quality of life is influenced by numerous factors that characterize each person (demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of individual. Determining factors of the quality of life are numerous and diverse, and the manner and the strength of their influence are variable.

The factors influencing nonlinear characteristics of the short-circuit current in dye-sensitized solar cells investigated by a numerical model.

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Shi, Yushuai; Dong, Xiandui

2013-06-24

A numerical model for interpretation of the light-intensity-dependent nonlinear characteristics of the short-circuit current in dye-sensitized solar cells is suggested. The model is based on the continuity equation and includes the influences of the nongeminate recombination between electrons and electron acceptors in the electrolyte and the geminate recombination between electrons and oxidized dye molecules. The influences of the order and rate constant of the nongeminate recombination reaction, the light-absorption coefficient of the dye, the film thickness, the rate constant of geminate recombination, and the regeneration rate constant on the nonlinear characteristics of the short-circuit current are simulated and analyzed. It is proposed that superlinear and sublinear characteristics of the short-circuit current should be attributed to low electron-collection efficiency and low dye-regeneration efficiency, respectively. These results allow a deep understanding of the origin of the nonlinear characteristics of the short-circuit current in solar cells. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

MODEL OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NURSE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT BASED ON ASSOCIATION OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTIC, ORGANIZATION CHARACTERISTIC AND JOB CHARACTERISTIC

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Maria Margaretha Bogar

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nursing care is integral part of health care and having important role in management of patient with emergency condition. The purpose of this research was to develop nurse performance improvement model based on individual, organization and job characteristics association in Emergency Department of RSUD dr TC Hillers Maumere. Method: This was an explanative survey by cross sectional approach held on July -August 2012. Respondents in this study were 22 nurses and 44 patients were obtained by purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed by partial least square test and signi fi cant t value > 1.64 (alpha 10%. Result: Results showed that individual characteristic had effect on nurse performance (t = 7.59, organization characteristic had effect on nurse performance (t = 2.03 and job characteristic didn’t have effect on nurse performance (t = 0.88. Nurse performance had effect on patient satisfaction (t = 6.54 but nurse satisfaction didn’t have effect on nurse performance (t = 1.31, and nurse satisfaction didn’t have effect either on patient satisfaction (t = 0.94. Discussion: This research concluded that individual characteristics which in fl uence nurse performance in nursing care were ability and skill, experience, age, sex, attitude and motivation. Organization characteristic that influence nurse performance was reward while job characteristic that include job design and feedback didn’t influence nurse performance in nursing care. Nurse performance influenced patient satisfaction but nurse satisfaction didn’t influence patient satisfaction and nurse performance.

Influence of the surface layer characteristics on the regularities of the cutting process

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Krainev Dmitriy V.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the influence of the surface layer characteristics on the regularities of the cutting process and the formation of the quality of the surface machined. This effect has been confirmed by the study results of the combined cutting method with advanced plastic deformation (APD. The work estimates the impact of the change in the surface layer properties on the forces and temperature of cutting, stability of the chip formation and quality parameters of the surface machined.

The diffusion of microgeneration technologies - assessing the influence of perceived product characteristics on home owners' willingness to pay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Claudy, Marius C.; Michelsen, Claus; O'Driscoll, Aidan

2011-01-01

This study presents empirical insight into willingness to pay (WTP) for microgeneration technologies and the relative influence of subjective consumer perceptions. First, we apply a double-bounded contingent valuation method to elicit Irish home owners' WTP for micro wind turbines, wood pellet boilers, solar panels and solar water heaters. Utilizing findings from the adoption of innovation literature, in a second step we assess the influence of antecedents on WTP for each of the four technologies, including (1) home owners' perception of product characteristics, (2) normative influences and (3) sociodemographic characteristics. Our results show that WTP varies significantly among the four technologies. More importantly, however, home owners hold different beliefs about the respective technologies, which significantly influence their WTP. The results provide valuable information for marketers and policy makers aiming to promote microgeneration technologies more effectively in consumer markets. - Research highlights: → This study presents empirical insight into Irish home owners' willingness to pay (WTP) for microgeneration technologies and the relative influence of subjective consumer perceptions. → The findings presented in this study clearly show that a major reason for the slow uptake is home owners' WTP, which is significantly below market prices. WTP for solar water heaters, which matches current sales figures in Ireland, is the only exception. → In this context, public policy in the form of financial incentives such as grant aid or tax incentives can be very costly and might not provide a viable support mechanism for policy makers who aim to promote the diffusion of microgeneration. → However, the results also suggest that home owners' WTP is not solely based on rational financial reasoning but is also influenced by people's subjective perception of the technologies' characteristics. → The findings can be used by marketers and policy makers to design

Variation in habitat soundscape characteristics influences settlement of a reef-building coral

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Ashlee Lillis

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Coral populations, and the productive reef ecosystems they support, rely on successful recruitment of reef-building species, beginning with settlement of dispersing larvae into habitat favourable to survival. Many substrate cues have been identified as contributors to coral larval habitat selection; however, the potential for ambient acoustic cues to influence coral settlement responses is unknown. Using in situ settlement chambers that excluded other habitat cues, larval settlement of a dominant Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata, was compared in response to three local soundscapes, with differing acoustic and habitat properties. Differences between reef sites in the number of larvae settled in chambers isolating acoustic cues corresponded to differences in sound levels and reef characteristics, with sounds at the loudest reef generating significantly higher settlement during trials compared to the quietest site (a 29.5 % increase. These results suggest that soundscapes could be an important influence on coral settlement patterns and that acoustic cues associated with reef habitat may be related to larval settlement. This study reports an effect of soundscape variation on larval settlement for a key coral species, and adds to the growing evidence that soundscapes affect marine ecosystems by influencing early life history processes of foundational species.

The influences of soil and nearby structures on dispersion characteristics of wave propagating along buried plastic pipes

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Liu, Shuyong; Jiang, J.; Parr, Nicola

2016-09-01

Water loss in distribution systems is a global problem for the water industry and governments. According to the international water supply association (IWSA), as a result of leaks from distribution pipes, 20% to 30% of water is lost while in transit from treatment plants to consumers. Although governments have tried to push the water industry to reduce the water leaks, a lot of experts have pointed out that a wide use of plastic pipes instead of metal pipes in recent years has caused difficulties in the detection of leaks using current acoustic technology. Leaks from plastic pipes are much quieter than traditional metal pipes and comparing to metal pipes the plastic pipes have very different coupling characteristics with soil, water and surrounding structures, such as other pipes, road surface and building foundations. The dispersion characteristics of wave propagating along buried plastic pipes are investigated in this paper using finite element and boundary element based models. Both empty and water- filled pipes were considered. Influences from nearby pipes and building foundations were carefully studied. The results showed that soil condition and nearby structures have significant influences on the dispersion characteristics of wave propagating along buried plastic pipes.

THE INFLUENCE OF RECREATIVE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING ON MUSIC AND INTELLECTUAL FACTORS AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

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Jadranka Kocić

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Synchronized swimming is way of acivitie connected with music. Emotional character in it could be very efficiency mean of childs` and youth` sport-recreative activities. The research was lead on 60 girls 7-15 years old, elementary schools pupils in Niš, members „Sirene“ Niš synchronized swimming clyb. Music abilities research was obtained using Seashore test for basic music abilities. For testing input procesors, perceptive reason, it was used IT-1 test. For testing efficiency parallel prosecor it was used S-1 test. For testing serial procesors, symbolic reason, it was used AL-4 test sinonime-atimime. For testing personal characteristics it was used instruments for testing dimensions of functional konnative regulatione mechanisms model. It was used bases statistics for every researcg area (music abilities, intellectual abilities, konnative characteristics and criteria variable; to estimate influence each predictor variable on criteria variable, it was used regression analysis. Results showed statistic efficiency in music and konnative factors. Synchronized swimming activities influence on growing spontaneous, independence developing, tense releases, and it is exellent area for emotional health and society desirable behaveour norm. These activities are reached by music, which in melodie and rithm diversity, gives complete enjoyment, and psychosisical relax and refreshment.

The influence of the mechanical properties on fuel rod support characteristics – A case study of dual cooled fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jae Yong; Kim, Hyung Kyu; Ko, Sung Ho

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Spring characterization test and analysis were performed to obtain characteristic curves of modified H-type spring. • Using an actual mechanical property is needed to correctly predict the spring characteristics. • The characteristics during unloading should be used for a spacer grid support design. - Abstract: This paper concerns a finite element analysis for a spacer grid support (spring and dimple) design. An accurate prediction of the support characteristics (contact force vs. deflection) is the most crucial in the design by analysis. It is found that the mechanical properties are the key parameter to simulate the characteristics as close as the experimental results after using three different sets of mechanical property data including the actual tensile test results of the present material for a spacer grid of a dual cooled fuel. Besides, the validity of using the characteristics during unloading process is also discussed incorporating a possible overshoot of the support. The coincidence between the present finite element prediction and experimental results is quite good: less than 3.09% at most

Influence of various manufacturing parameters on some characteristics of UO2 powders and their sintering behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mintz, M.H.; Vaknin, Sh.; Kremener, A.; Hadari, Z.

1977-02-01

Various parameters in the process of manufacturing uranium dioxide are examined and their influence on the characteristics and sintering behaviour of the powders obtained established. In addition some correlations between the powder aggregates microstructure and their adhesion properties and sintering behaviour are indicated. Shrinkage during the sintering process is also discussed

The influence of population characteristics on variation in general practice based morbidity estimations

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van den Dungen C

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background General practice based registration networks (GPRNs provide information on morbidity rates in the population. Morbidity rate estimates from different GPRNs, however, reveal considerable, unexplained differences. We studied the range and variation in morbidity estimates, as well as the extent to which the differences in morbidity rates between general practices and networks change if socio-demographic characteristics of the listed patient populations are taken into account. Methods The variation in incidence and prevalence rates of thirteen diseases among six Dutch GPRNs and the influence of age, gender, socio economic status (SES, urbanization level, and ethnicity are analyzed using multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results are expressed in median odds ratios (MOR. Results We observed large differences in morbidity rate estimates both on the level of general practices as on the level of networks. The differences in SES, urbanization level and ethnicity distribution among the networks' practice populations are substantial. The variation in morbidity rate estimates among networks did not decrease after adjusting for these socio-demographic characteristics. Conclusion Socio-demographic characteristics of populations do not explain the differences in morbidity estimations among GPRNs.

Do general practice characteristics influence uptake of an information technology (IT innovation in primary care?

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Josie Evans

2008-05-01

Conclusions The analyses show that structural characteristics of a practice are not associated with uptake of a new IT facility, but that its use may be influenced by post-graduate education in the relevant clinical condition. For this diabetes system at least, practice nurse use was critical in spreading uptake beyond initial GP enthusiasts and for sustained and rising use in subsequent years.

Numerical simulation and experimental study of factors influencing the optical characteristics of a spatial target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Dingqiang; Shen Wentao; Cai Guobiao; Ke Weina

2013-01-01

The optical properties of a spatial target are important characteristics for its detection, identification, tracking and interception. A homeostatic model of the temperature and infrared characteristics of the target has been developed considering the radiation of the environmental background. The heat conduction inside the wall and the effect of an internal heat source are included in the model. The reflection characteristics of the target are calculated with bi-directional reflection distribution function (BRDF) models. The temperature and infrared radiation have been measured in the simulating space environment in the ground tests. The comparisons between the theoretical results and experimental data demonstrate a good agreement. Applying the developed model, the influences of several parameters (such as spin frequency, absorptivity/emissivity and thermal conductivity) of the target have been investigated. Highlights: ► A mathematical model was developed to predict the optical characteristics of a spatial target. ► The temperature and infrared radiation are measured in ground tests. ► The simulation results and the test results are consistent. ► The effects of several target parameters were analysed.

Validation of the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) in Substance use Disorder Treatment Organizations.

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Aarons, Gregory A; Ehrhart, Mark G; Torres, Elisa M; Finn, Natalie K; Roesch, Scott C

2016-09-01

There have been recent calls for pragmatic measures to assess factors that influence evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation processes and outcomes. The Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) is a brief and efficient measure that can be used for research or organizational development purposes to assess leader behaviors and actions that actively support effective EBP implementation. The ILS was developed and validated in mental health settings. This study validates the ILS factor structure with providers in alcohol and other drug (AOD) use treatment agencies. Participants were 323 service providers working in 72 workgroups from three AOD use treatment agencies. Confirmatory factor analyses and reliability analyses were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the ILS. Convergent and discriminant validity were also assessed. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated good fit to the hypothesized first and second order factor structure. Internal consistency reliability was excellent. Convergent and discriminant validity was supported. The ILS psychometric characteristics, reliability, and validity were supported in AOD use treatment agencies. The ILS is a brief and pragmatic measure that can be used for research and practice to assess leadership for EBP implementation in AOD use treatment agencies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrhart, Mark G.; Torres, Elisa M.; Finn, Natalie K.; Roesch, Scott C.

2016-01-01

There have been recent calls for pragmatic measures to assess factors that influence evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation processes and outcomes. The Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) is a brief and efficient measure that can be used for research or organizational development purposes to assess leader behaviors and actions that actively support effective EBP implementation. The ILS was developed and validated in mental health settings. This study validates the ILS factor structure with providers in alcohol and other drug (AOD) use treatment agencies. Participants were 323 service providers working in 72 workgroups from three AOD use treatment agencies. Confirmatory factor analyses and reliability analyses were conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the ILS. Convergent and discriminant validity were also assessed. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated good fit to the hypothesized first and second order factor structure. Internal consistency reliability was excellent. Convergent and discriminant validity was supported. The ILS psychometric characteristics, reliability, and validity were supported in AOD use treatment agencies. The ILS is a brief and pragmatic measure that can be used for research and practice to assess leadership for EBP implementation in AOD use treatment agencies. PMID:27431044

Modeling of the Channel Thickness Influence on Electrical Characteristics and Series Resistance in Gate-Recessed Nanoscale SOI MOSFETs

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A. Karsenty

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Ultrathin body (UTB and nanoscale body (NSB SOI-MOSFET devices, sharing a similar W/L but with a channel thickness of 46 nm and lower than 5 nm, respectively, were fabricated using a selective “gate-recessed” process on the same silicon wafer. Their current-voltage characteristics measured at room temperature were found to be surprisingly different by several orders of magnitude. We analyzed this result by considering the severe mobility degradation and the influence of a huge series resistance and found that the last one seems more coherent. Then the electrical characteristics of the NSB can be analytically derived by integrating a gate voltage-dependent drain source series resistance. In this paper, the influence of the channel thickness on the series resistance is reported for the first time. This influence is integrated to the analytical model in order to describe the trends of the saturation current with the channel thickness. This modeling approach may be useful to interpret anomalous electrical behavior of other nanodevices in which series resistance and/or mobility degradation is of a great concern.

Generalized closed form solutions for feasible dimension limit and pull-in characteristics of nanocantilever under the Influences of van der Waals and Casimir forces

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Mukherjee, Banibrata; Sen, Siddhartha

2018-04-01

This paper presents generalized closed form expressions for determining the dimension limit for the basic design parameters as well as the pull-in characteristics of a nanocantilever beam under the influences of van der Waals and Casimir forces. The coupled nonlinear electromechanical problem of electrostatic nanocantilever is formulated in nondimensional form with Galerkin’s approximation considering the effects of these intermolecular forces and fringe field. The resulting integrals and higher order polynomials are solved numerically to derive the closed form expressions for maximum permissible detachment length, minimum feasible gap spacing and critical pull-in limit. The derived expressions are compared and validated as well with several reported literature showing reasonable agreement. The major advantages of the proposed closed form expressions are that, they do not contain any complex mathematical term or operation unlike in reported literature and thus they will serve as convenient tools for the NEMS community in successful design of various electrostatically actuated nanosystems.

The Monosyllable Imitation Test for Toddlers: Influence of Stimulus Characteristics on Imitation, Compliance and Diagnostic Accuracy

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Hodges, Rosemary; Munro, Natalie; Baker, Elise; McGregor, Karla; Heard, Rob

2017-01-01

Background: Although verbal imitation can provide a valuable window into the developing language abilities of toddlers, some toddlers find verbal imitation challenging and will not comply with tests that involve elicited verbal imitation. The characteristics of stimuli that are offered to toddlers for imitation may influence how easy or hard it is…

Influence of oxygen partial pressure on the characteristics of human hepatocarcinoma cells.

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Trepiana, Jenifer; Meijide, Susana; Navarro, Rosaura; Hernández, M Luisa; Ruiz-Sanz, José Ignacio; Ruiz-Larrea, M Begoña

2017-08-01

Most of the in vitro studies using liver cell lines have been performed under atmospheric oxygen partial pressure (21% O 2 ). However, the oxygen concentrations in the liver and cancer cells are far from this value. In the present study, we have evaluated the influence of oxygen on 1) the tumor cell lines features (growth, steady-state ROS levels, GSH content, activities of antioxidant enzymes, p66 Shc and SOD expressions, metalloproteinases secretion, migration, invasion, and adhesion) of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, and b) the response of the cells to an oxidant stimulus (aqueous leaf extract of the V. baccifera plant species). For this purpose, three hepatocarcinoma cell lines with different p53 status, HepG2 (wild-type), Huh7 (mutated), and Hep3B (deleted), were cultured (6-30 days) under atmospheric (21%) and more physiological (8%) pO 2 . Results showed that after long-term culturing at 8% versus 21% O 2 , the cellular proliferation rate and the steady-state levels of mitochondrial O 2 - were unaffected. However, the intracellular basal ROS levels were higher independently of the characteristics of the cell line. Moreover, the lower pO 2 was associated with lower glutathione content, the induction of p66 Shc and Mn-SOD proteins, and increased SOD activity only in HepG2. This cell line also showed a higher migration rate, secretion of active metalloproteinases, and a faster invasion. HepG2 cells were more resistant to the oxidative stress induced by V. baccifera. Results suggest that the long-term culturing of human hepatoma cells at a low, more physiological pO 2 induces antioxidant adaptations that could be mediated by p53, and may alter the cellular response to a subsequent oxidant challenge. Data support the necessity of validating outcomes from studies performed with hepatoma cell cultures under ambient O 2 . Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of certain tooth characteristics on the esthetic evaluation of a smile

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Andréa Fonseca Jardim da Motta

2012-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of certain dental characteristics on the perception of smile esthetics by undergraduate dentistry students. METHODS: Ten digital photographs of a woman's smile were modified using Adobe Photoshop software. The following changes were performed: stain removal; incisal edge straightening; gingival leveling; closure of black triangles. A group of 60 undergraduate dental students evaluated the original photograph and the altered images using a visual analog scale to evaluate smile esthetics. Intraexaminer agreement was checked for 30 examiners using the Student t test; for casual error, the Dahlberg formula was used. Data were described as means and standard deviations, and reported in tables. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the first and second scores assigned by examiners (p>0.05 in any of the comparisons made. The results of systematic error for the method indicated that the measures obtained were reliable. ANOVA was used to test equality of means, and the level of significance was set at 5%. Equality of variances was evaluated using Levene's test, and results revealed that variances were equal. Multiple comparisons using the Tukey's test revealed statistical significance at a 5%level for the presence of black triangular space. No significant values were found for other comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Some dental characteristics were perceived by undergraduate students, and the black triangular space was classified as the most unfavorable characteristic.

Characteristics and Validation Techniques for PCA-Based Gene-Expression Signatures

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Anders E. Berglund

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Many gene-expression signatures exist for describing the biological state of profiled tumors. Principal Component Analysis (PCA can be used to summarize a gene signature into a single score. Our hypothesis is that gene signatures can be validated when applied to new datasets, using inherent properties of PCA. Results. This validation is based on four key concepts. Coherence: elements of a gene signature should be correlated beyond chance. Uniqueness: the general direction of the data being examined can drive most of the observed signal. Robustness: if a gene signature is designed to measure a single biological effect, then this signal should be sufficiently strong and distinct compared to other signals within the signature. Transferability: the derived PCA gene signature score should describe the same biology in the target dataset as it does in the training dataset. Conclusions. The proposed validation procedure ensures that PCA-based gene signatures perform as expected when applied to datasets other than those that the signatures were trained upon. Complex signatures, describing multiple independent biological components, are also easily identified.

INFLUENCE OF SOLVENT AND SORBENT CHARACTERISTICS ON DISTRIBUTION OF PENTACHLOROPHENOL IN OCTANOL-WATER AND SOIL-WATER SYSTEMS

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Sorbent and solvent characteristics influencing sorption of pentachlorophenol (PCP) were investigated. Analysis of aqueous sorption data for several sorbents over a broad pH range suggested hydrophobic sorption of neutral PCP predominates at pH 7. At pH > 7, sorption of the penta...

INFLUENCE OF WAY OF FARMING AND TYPES OF FOOD ON THE MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SMALL AND LARGE INTESTINES IN BROILER TURKEY

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Rizah Avdić

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Morphological characteristics of the digestive systems in birds are direct reflection of evolutionary adaptations of these animals to different type and way of diet. The research conducted on domestic and some wild birds indicate that besides the evolutionary factors, time of start of food intake after the hatching, and amount and composition of food in the period of intensive growth also influence morphological characteristics of digestive systems in birds. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of extensive and intensive way of farming, and different types and amount of food on the morphometric characteristics of the small and large intestines in 45 broiler turkeys (BIG BUT 600. Statistical analysis shows that the way of breeding and the type and quantity of food all have significant impact on the body weight in turkeys but do not influence the length of the intestinal tract in these animals.Key words: turkey, digestive system, morphology

The influence of travel time on breast cancer characteristics, receipt of primary therapy, and surveillance mammography.

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Onega, Tracy; Cook, Andrea; Kirlin, Beth; Shi, Xun; Alford-Teaster, Jennifer; Tuzzio, Leah; Buist, Diana S M

2011-08-01

Travel time has been shown to influence some aspects of cancer characteristics at diagnosis and care for women with breast cancer, but important gaps remain in our understanding of its impact. We examined the influence of travel time to the nearest radiology facility on breast cancer characteristics, treatment, and surveillance for women with early-stage invasive breast cancer. We included 1,012 women with invasive breast cancer (stages I and II) who had access to care within an integrated health care delivery system in western Washington State. The travel times to the nearest radiology facility were calculated for all the U.S. Census blocks within the study area and assigned to women based on residence at diagnosis. We collected cancer characteristics, primary and adjuvant therapies, and surveillance mammography for at least 2.5 years post diagnosis and used multivariable analyses to test the associations of travel time. The majority of women (68.6%) lived within 20 min of the nearest radiology facility, had stage I disease (72.7%), received breast conserving therapy (68.7%), and had annual surveillance mammography the first 2 years after treatment (73.7%). The travel time was not significantly associated with the stage or surveillance mammography after adjusting for covariates. Primary therapy was significantly related to travel time, with greater travel time (>30 min vs. ≤ 10 min) associated with a higher likelihood of mastectomy compared to breast conserving surgery (RR = 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16-2.01). The travel time was not associated with the stage at diagnosis or surveillance mammography receipt. The travel time does seem to influence the type of primary therapy among women with breast cancer, suggesting that women may prefer low frequency services, such as mastectomy, if geographic access to a radiology facility is limited.

Influence of social and behavioural characteristics of users on their evaluation of subjective loudness and acoustic comfort in shopping malls.

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Qi Meng

Full Text Available A large-scale subjective survey was conducted in six shopping malls in Harbin City, China, to determine the influence of social and behavioural characteristics of users on their evaluation of subjective loudness and acoustic comfort. The analysis of social characteristics shows that evaluation of subjective loudness is influenced by income and occupation, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.40 (p<0.05 or p<0.01. Meanwhile, evaluation of acoustic comfort evaluation is influenced by income, education level, and occupation, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.60 (p<0.05 or p<0.01. The effect of gender and age on evaluation of subjective loudness and acoustic comfort is statistically insignificant. The effects of occupation are mainly caused by the differences in income and education level, in which the effects of income are greater than that of education level. In terms of behavioural characteristics, evaluation of subjective loudness is influenced by the reason for visit, frequency of visit, and length of stay, with correlation coefficients or contingency coefficients of 0.10 to 0.40 (p<0.05 or p<0.01. Evaluation of acoustic comfort is influenced by the reason for visit to the site, the frequency of visit, length of stay, and also season of visit, with correlation coefficients of 0.10 to 0.30 (p<0.05 or p<0.01. In particular, users who are waiting for someone show lower evaluation of acoustic comfort, whereas users who go to shopping malls more than once a month show higher evaluation of acoustic comfort. On the contrary, the influence of the period of visit and the accompanying persons are found insignificant.

Organizational- and system-level characteristics that influence implementation of shared decision-making and strategies to address them - a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholl, Isabelle; LaRussa, Allison; Hahlweg, Pola; Kobrin, Sarah; Elwyn, Glyn

2018-03-09

Shared decision-making (SDM) is poorly implemented in routine care, despite being promoted by health policies. No reviews have solely focused on an in-depth synthesis of the literature around organizational- and system-level characteristics (i.e., characteristics of healthcare organizations and of healthcare systems) that may affect SDM implementation. A synthesis would allow exploration of interventions to address these characteristics. The study aim was to compile a comprehensive overview of organizational- and system-level characteristics that are likely to influence the implementation of SDM, and to describe strategies to address those characteristics described in the literature. We conducted a scoping review using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. The search strategy included an electronic search and a secondary search including gray literature. We included publications reporting on projects that promoted implementation of SDM or other decision support interventions in routine healthcare. We screened titles and abstracts, and assessed full texts for eligibility. We used qualitative thematic analysis to identify organizational- and system-level characteristics. After screening 7745 records and assessing 354 full texts for eligibility, 48 publications on 32 distinct implementation projects were included. Most projects (N = 22) were conducted in the USA. Several organizational-level characteristics were described as influencing the implementation of SDM, including organizational leadership, culture, resources, and priorities, as well as teams and workflows. Described system-level characteristics included policies, clinical guidelines, incentives, culture, education, and licensing. We identified potential strategies to influence the described characteristics, e.g., examples how to facilitate distribution of decision aids in a healthcare institution. Although infrequently studied, organizational- and system-level characteristics appear to play a role in the

The diffusion of microgeneration technologies - assessing the influence of perceived product characteristics on home owners' willingness to pay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Claudy, Marius C., E-mail: marius.claudy@dit.i [Faculty of Business, Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street, Dublin 2 (Ireland); Michelsen, Claus [Department of Urban Economics, Halle Institute for Economic Research, D-06017 Halle (Saale) (Germany); O' Driscoll, Aidan [Faculty of Business, Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier Street, Dublin 2 (Ireland)

2011-03-15

This study presents empirical insight into willingness to pay (WTP) for microgeneration technologies and the relative influence of subjective consumer perceptions. First, we apply a double-bounded contingent valuation method to elicit Irish home owners' WTP for micro wind turbines, wood pellet boilers, solar panels and solar water heaters. Utilizing findings from the adoption of innovation literature, in a second step we assess the influence of antecedents on WTP for each of the four technologies, including (1) home owners' perception of product characteristics, (2) normative influences and (3) sociodemographic characteristics. Our results show that WTP varies significantly among the four technologies. More importantly, however, home owners hold different beliefs about the respective technologies, which significantly influence their WTP. The results provide valuable information for marketers and policy makers aiming to promote microgeneration technologies more effectively in consumer markets. - Research highlights: {yields} This study presents empirical insight into Irish home owners' willingness to pay (WTP) for microgeneration technologies and the relative influence of subjective consumer perceptions. {yields} The findings presented in this study clearly show that a major reason for the slow uptake is home owners' WTP, which is significantly below market prices. WTP for solar water heaters, which matches current sales figures in Ireland, is the only exception. {yields} In this context, public policy in the form of financial incentives such as grant aid or tax incentives can be very costly and might not provide a viable support mechanism for policy makers who aim to promote the diffusion of microgeneration. {yields} However, the results also suggest that home owners' WTP is not solely based on rational financial reasoning but is also influenced by people's subjective perception of the technologies' characteristics. {yields} The

SGC Tests for Influence of Material Composition on Compaction Characteristic of Asphalt Mixtures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qun Chen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Compaction characteristic of the surface layer asphalt mixture (13-type gradation mixture was studied using Superpave gyratory compactor (SGC simulative compaction tests. Based on analysis of densification curve of gyratory compaction, influence rules of the contents of mineral aggregates of all sizes and asphalt on compaction characteristic of asphalt mixtures were obtained. SGC Tests show that, for the mixture with a bigger content of asphalt, its density increases faster, that there is an optimal amount of fine aggregates for optimal compaction and that an appropriate amount of mineral powder will improve workability of mixtures, but overmuch mineral powder will make mixtures dry and hard. Conclusions based on SGC tests can provide basis for how to adjust material composition for improving compaction performance of asphalt mixtures, and for the designed asphalt mixture, its compaction performance can be predicted through these conclusions, which also contributes to the choice of compaction schemes.

Influence of oil and mineral characteristics on oil-mineral interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, P.A.; Lunel, T.; Daniel, F.; Swannell, R.; Lee, K.; Stoffyn-Egli, P.

1998-01-01

A laboratory study was conducted to simulate the process of oil-mineral interaction in seawater. Thirteen different crudes, emulsions and oil products were used in the study. The objective was to improve the fundamental understanding of the characteristics of oils and minerals that influence the process. The findings of an initial phase of studies based on the swirling flask and marine simulation procedures were also described. Oil content associated with flocs to oil and mineral characteristics were discussed. Emulsions were prepared at 10 degrees C by vigorously mixing the oil with excess artificial seawater in a Kilner jar using a high shear homogenizer. Topped oils were prepared by distillation to 250 degrees C. The biodegraded oil was prepared from the topped crude oil. Biodegradation was achieved over a 28 day period using natural seawater and naturally occurring hydrocarbon degraders. The relationships between oil concentration, oil density and mineral exchange capacity were determined. The study showed that greater oil concentrations in the water column could be expected with (1) the presence of mineral fines, (2) minerals with greater cation exchange rates, (3) minerals with finer sizes, and (4) oils of lower viscosity and density. It was determined that in coastal waters the viscosity of the oil/emulsion will likely be the main factor affecting oil-mineral interactions. The viscosity limit for allowing oil fines interaction is likely to be dependent on the energy in the coastal zone affected by the oil pollution. 18 refs., 5 tabs., 13 figs

The influence of climate change on meteorological drought characteristic in Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pao-Shan Yu; Chun-Chao Kuo; Chi-Wen Sung

2004-01-01

Global climate change and its influence on water resource are the worldwide issues. This study aims at investigating the impacts of climate change on drought characteristic in western Taiwan. This analysis on local climate change, may provide the reference for climate change study on Asia region. Thirty-one rainfall stations with at least 80 years records over western Taiwan provide the data set to analysis trend and change in the long term rainfall series. As the area of Taiwan is too small, the GCM is not suitable for our investigation on climate change. Therefore, the statistical methods of Cumulative Deviations test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney-Pettitt test were applied to detect the change points of annual rainfall depth and detect whether the long-term rainfall series exist variation and tendency in the historical records. The analytical results reveal that a significant change point occurs during about 1960s for annual rainfall series. Two samples in the long- tern rainfall series are further divided based on this change point. Yearly rainfall depth increases in northern Taiwan and decreases in middle and southern Taiwan. Average values and standard deviation of monthly rainfall depth in these two samples are compared. A stable reducing tendency of average rainfall in the wet seasons (May to October) is found in middle and southern Taiwan and increasing tendency in northern Taiwan. We further investigate whether drought characteristic is difference before and after 1960. Nine irrigation areas in Taiwan are divided based on its irrigation system. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is estimated and compared with historical agriculture drought. It is found that 3-month SPI has better characteristic than 1-month SPI to respond the agriculture drought characteristic. Therefore, 3-month SPI for each irrigation area is estimated both before and after 1960. It is found that the frequency and duration of moderate dry (3-month SPI<-1.0) and severely dry

External Validation Study of First Trimester Obstetric Prediction Models (Expect Study I): Research Protocol and Population Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Meertens, Linda Jacqueline Elisabeth; Scheepers, Hubertina Cj; De Vries, Raymond G; Dirksen, Carmen D; Korstjens, Irene; Mulder, Antonius Lm; Nieuwenhuijze, Marianne J; Nijhuis, Jan G; Spaanderman, Marc Ea; Smits, Luc Jm

2017-10-26

A number of first-trimester prediction models addressing important obstetric outcomes have been published. However, most models have not been externally validated. External validation is essential before implementing a prediction model in clinical practice. The objective of this paper is to describe the design of a study to externally validate existing first trimester obstetric prediction models, based upon maternal characteristics and standard measurements (eg, blood pressure), for the risk of pre-eclampsia (PE), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), spontaneous preterm birth (PTB), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants among Dutch pregnant women (Expect Study I). The results of a pilot study on the feasibility and acceptability of the recruitment process and the comprehensibility of the Pregnancy Questionnaire 1 are also reported. A multicenter prospective cohort study was performed in The Netherlands between July 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015. First trimester obstetric prediction models were systematically selected from the literature. Predictor variables were measured by the Web-based Pregnancy Questionnaire 1 and pregnancy outcomes were established using the Postpartum Questionnaire 1 and medical records. Information about maternal health-related quality of life, costs, and satisfaction with Dutch obstetric care was collected from a subsample of women. A pilot study was carried out before the official start of inclusion. External validity of the models will be evaluated by assessing discrimination and calibration. Based on the pilot study, minor improvements were made to the recruitment process and online Pregnancy Questionnaire 1. The validation cohort consists of 2614 women. Data analysis of the external validation study is in progress. This study will offer insight into the generalizability of existing, non-invasive first trimester prediction models for various obstetric outcomes in a Dutch obstetric population

Influence of High Hydrostatic Pressure Technology on Wine Chemical and Sensorial Characteristics: Potentialities and Drawbacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Cláudia; Santos, Mickael C; Saraiva, Jorge A; Rocha, Sílvia M; Coimbra, Manuel A

During last years, scientific research on high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) as a nonthermal processing technology for preservation or aging of wine has increased substantially. HHP between 200 and 500MPa is able to inactivate bacteria and yeasts in red and white wines, suggesting that it may be used for wine preservation. However, these treatments have been shown to promote changes on sensorial and physicochemical characteristics in both red and white wines, not immediately in the first month, but along storage. The changes are observed in wine color, aroma, and taste due mainly to reactions of phenolic compounds, sugars, and proteins. These reactions have been associated with those observed during wine aging, leading to aged-like wine characteristics perceived by sensorial analysis. This chapter will present the influence of HHP technology on wine chemical and sensorial characteristics, criticaly discussing its potentialities and drawbacks. The appropriate use of HHP, based on the scientific knowledge of the reactions occuring in wine promoted by HHP, will allow to exploit this technology for wine production achieving distinct characteristics to address particular market and consumer demands. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence the Rubber Seed Type and Altitude on Characteristic of Seed, Oil and Biodiesel

OpenAIRE

Salni Salni; Poedji Loekitowati Hariani; Hanifa Marisa Hanifa

2017-01-01

This research studies the influence of the type of rubber seed that is superior and local, altitude plant in South Sumatra province to the characteristic of seed, oil and biodiesel (methyl ester). Rubber plants planted from local rubber seed by seeds seedlings and superior rubber seed by selected clones. In the study, rubber plants planted at a different altitude, namely in Banyuasin district (18 m above sea level), Prabumulih District (176 m above sea level) and Lahat District (627 m above s...

The Influence of the Physical Environment and Sociodemographic Characteristics on Children's Mode of Travel to and From School

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Kristian; Hess, Paul; Tucker, Patricia; Irwin, Jennifer; He, Meizi

2009-01-01

Objectives. We examined whether certain characteristics of the social and physical environment influence a child's mode of travel between home and school. Methods. Students aged 11 to 13 years from 21 schools throughout London, Ontario, answered questions from a travel behavior survey. A geographic information system linked survey responses for 614 students who lived within 1 mile of school to data on social and physical characteristics of environments around the home and school. Logistic regression analysis was used to test the influence of environmental factors on mode of travel (motorized vs “active”) to and from school. Results. Over 62% of students walked or biked to school, and 72% from school to home. The likelihood of walking or biking to school was positively associated with shorter trips, male gender, higher land use mix, and presence of street trees. Active travel from school to home was also associated with lower residential densities and lower neighborhood incomes. Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that active travel is associated with environmental characteristics and suggest that school planners should consider these factors when siting schools in order to promote increased physical activity among students. PMID:19106422

Trauma Center Staffing, Infrastructure, and Patient Characteristics that Influence Trauma Center Need

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Faul, Mark

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The most effective use of trauma center resources helps reduce morbidity and mortality, while saving costs. Identifying critical infrastructure characteristics, patient characteristics and staffing components of a trauma center associated with the proportion of patients needing major trauma care will help planners create better systems for patient care.   Methods: We used the 2009 National Trauma Data Bank-Research Dataset to determine the proportion of critically injured patients requiring the resources of a trauma center within each Level I-IV trauma center (n=443. The outcome variable was defined as the portion of treated patients who were critically injured. We defined the need for critical trauma resources and interventions (“trauma center need” as death prior to hospital discharge, admission to the intensive care unit, or admission to the operating room from the emergency department as a result of acute traumatic injury. Generalized Linear Modeling (GLM was used to determine how hospital infrastructure, staffing Levels, and patient characteristics contributed to trauma center need.     Results: Nonprofit Level I and II trauma centers were significantly associated with higher levels of trauma center need. Trauma centers that had a higher percentage of transferred patients or a lower percentage of insured patients were associated with a higher proportion of trauma center need.  Hospital infrastructure characteristics, such as bed capacity and intensive care unit capacity, were not associated with trauma center need. A GLM for Level III and IV trauma centers showed that the number of trauma surgeons on staff was associated with trauma center need. Conclusion: Because the proportion of trauma center need is predominantly influenced by hospital type, transfer frequency, and insurance status, it is important for administrators to consider patient population characteristics of the catchment area when planning the

Experimental validation of the influence of white matter anisotropy on the intracranial EEG forward solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Bangera, Nitin B; Schomer, Donald L; Dehghani, Nima; Ulbert, Istvan; Cash, Sydney; Papavasiliou, Steve; Eisenberg, Solomon R; Dale, Anders M; Halgren, Eric

2010-12-01

Forward solutions with different levels of complexity are employed for localization of current generators, which are responsible for the electric and magnetic fields measured from the human brain. The influence of brain anisotropy on the forward solution is poorly understood. The goal of this study is to validate an anisotropic model for the intracranial electric forward solution by comparing with the directly measured 'gold standard'. Dipolar sources are created at known locations in the brain and intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) is recorded simultaneously. Isotropic models with increasing level of complexity are generated along with anisotropic models based on Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). A Finite Element Method based forward solution is calculated and validated using the measured data. Major findings are (1) An anisotropic model with a linear scaling between the eigenvalues of the electrical conductivity tensor and water self-diffusion tensor in brain tissue is validated. The greatest improvement was obtained when the stimulation site is close to a region of high anisotropy. The model with a global anisotropic ratio of 10:1 between the eigenvalues (parallel: tangential to the fiber direction) has the worst performance of all the anisotropic models. (2) Inclusion of cerebrospinal fluid as well as brain anisotropy in the forward model is necessary for an accurate description of the electric field inside the skull. The results indicate that an anisotropic model based on the DTI can be constructed non-invasively and shows an improved performance when compared to the isotropic models for the calculation of the intracranial EEG forward solution.

Living Kidney Donation Questionnaire (PCID-DVR-Ríos): Validation and Psychometric Characteristics in a Spanish-Speaking Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Ríos, A; López-Navas, A I; De-Francisco, C; Sánchez, Á; Hernández, A M; Ramírez, P; Parrilla, P

2018-03-01

The attitude toward living kidney donation is important for certain promotion campaigns, however, there are few validated questionnaires in this regard. The aim of this work was to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the attitudes questionnaire about living renal donation, PCID-DVR-Ríos (Cuestionario del Proyecto Colaborativo Internacional Donante sobre Donación de Vivo Renal [Questionnaire of the International Collaborative Donor Project on Living Kidney Donation] developed by Dr Ríos) for the validation of the questionnaire in population of Spanish speakers. The sample studied represented the population >18 years of age, native and resident of Spain, stratified by age and sex. The measurement instrument was the PCID-DVR-Ríos questionnaire. Analysis of data was structured in several stages: an initial description of the data, exploratory factor analysis, item analysis, and internal consistency of the factors. The questionnaire consists of 11 items, distributed in 3 factors of 6, 3, and 2 items. This structure accounts for 63.995% of the total variance. By factors, the variance is distributed as follows: factor 1: 38.461%; factor 2: 14.228%; and factor 3: 11.306%. The analysis of items and internal consistency supported the trifactorial composition. Each factor is internally consistent (α1 = .80; α2 = .70; α3 = .55). The analyzed dimensions of the PCID-DVR Ríos questionnaire to analyze attitude toward living kidney donation showed a good fit in terms of factorial validity and internal consistency values. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of Disease and Patient Characteristics on Daratumumab Exposure and Clinical Outcomes in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yan, Xiaoyu; Clemens, Pamela L; Puchalski, Thomas

2018-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to understand the influence of disease and patient characteristics on exposure to daratumumab, an immunoglobulin Gκ (IgGκ) monoclonal antibody, and clinical outcomes in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Baseline myeloma type, ...

INFLUENCE OF MODIFICATION ON THE STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STAINLESS STEEL 12X18H10TL

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I. V. Zemskov

2004-01-01

Full Text Available There are given the results of investigation of influence of modification by ferrocerium, FS30RZM30B, FSMG, modifier MN, developed in BNTU, ferromolybdenum on the structure and characteristics of the steel 12X18H10TL.

Influence of biomechanical characteristics on pain and function outcomes from exercise in medial knee osteoarthritis and varus malalignment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennell, Kim L.; Dobson, Fiona; Roos, Ewa M.

2015-01-01

and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index). Candidate biomechanical characteristics measured at baseline included: i) visually-observed varus thrust during walking; ii) obesity determined by body mass index; iii) static varus alignment; and iv) isometric quadriceps strength. Data were analysed...... between type of exercise and both varus thrust (p=0.001) and obesity (p=0.023). Neuromuscular exercise was more effective for non-obese participants (mean(95%CI) change=29.5(20.5-38.5)mm) and for those with a varus thrust (mean change=28.7(19.4-38.1)mm), whereas quadriceps strengthening was more effective...... for obese people (mean change=24.7(14.9-34.4)mm) and for those without a varus thrust (mean change=29.4(21.2-37.7)mm). Biomechanical characteristics did not influence the effect of exercise on physical function (p>0.05). Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest varus thrust and obesity influence...

Life-history characteristics of an age-validated established invasive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

By counting post-fluorescent mark increments on otoliths from 21 chemically tagged wild fish recaptured 244–537 days later, the deposition of growth zones, comprising alternating opaque and translucent bands, was validated as annual. Examination of sectioned otoliths from 175 fish revealed that the oldest fish, two males ...

Who perceives they are smarter? Exploring the influence of student characteristics on student academic self-concept in physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Katelyn M; Krieg, Anna; Brownell, Sara E

2018-06-01

Academic self-concept is one's perception of his or her ability in an academic domain and is formed by comparing oneself to other students. As college biology classrooms transition from lecturing to active learning, students interact more with each other and are likely comparing themselves more to other students in the class. Student characteristics can impact students' academic self-concept; however, this has been unexplored in the context of undergraduate biology. In this study, we explored whether student characteristics can affect academic self-concept in the context of an active learning college physiology course. Using a survey, students self-reported how smart they perceived themselves to be in the context of physiology relative to the whole class and relative to their groupmate, the student with whom they worked most closely in class. Using linear regression, we found that men and native English speakers had significantly higher academic self-concept relative to the whole class compared with women and nonnative English speakers. Using logistic regression, we found that men had significantly higher academic self-concept relative to their groupmate compared with women. Using constant comparison methods, we identified nine factors that students reported influenced how they determined whether they were more or less smart than their groupmate. Finally, we found that students were more likely to report participating more than their groupmate if they had a higher academic self-concept. These findings suggest that student characteristics can influence students' academic self-concept, which in turn may influence their participation in small-group discussion and their academic achievement in active learning classes.

Influence of oxygen doping on resistive-switching characteristic of a-Si/c-Si device

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiahua; Chen, Da; Huang, Shihua

2017-12-01

The influence of oxygen doping on resistive-switching characteristics of Ag/a-Si/p+-c-Si device was investigated. By oxygen doping in the growth process of amorphous silicon, the device resistive-switching performances, such as the ON/OFF resistance ratios, yield and stability were improved, which may be ascribed to the significant reduction of defect density because of oxygen incorporation. The device I-V characteristics are strongly dependent on the oxygen doping concentration. As the oxygen doping concentration increases, the Si-rich device gradually transforms to an oxygen-rich device, and the device yield, switching characteristics, and stability may be improved for silver/oxygen-doped a-Si/p+-c-Si device. Finally, the device resistive-switching mechanism was analyzed. Project supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LY17F040001), the Open Project Program of Surface Physics Laboratory (National Key Laboratory) of Fudan University (No. KF2015_02), the Open Project Program of National Laboratory for Infrared Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. M201503), the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Key Innovation Team (No. 2011R50012), and the Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory (No. 2013E10022).

Certification Testing as an Illustration of Argument-Based Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Michael

2004-01-01

The theories of validity developed over the past 60 years are quite sophisticated, but the methodology of validity is not generally very effective. The validity evidence for major testing programs is typically much weaker than the evidence for more technical characteristics such as reliability. In addition, most validation efforts have a strong…

MMPI-2 Symptom Validity (FBS) Scale: psychometric characteristics and limitations in a Veterans Affairs neuropsychological setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Gass, Carlton S; Odland, Anthony P

2014-01-01

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Symptom Validity (Fake Bad Scale [FBS]) Scale is widely used to assist in determining noncredible symptom reporting, despite a paucity of detailed research regarding its itemmetric characteristics. Originally designed for use in civil litigation, the FBS is often used in a variety of clinical settings. The present study explored its fundamental psychometric characteristics in a sample of 303 patients who were consecutively referred for a comprehensive examination in a Veterans Affairs (VA) neuropsychology clinic. FBS internal consistency (reliability) was .77. Its underlying factor structure consisted of three unitary dimensions (Tiredness/Distractibility, Stomach/Head Discomfort, and Claimed Virtue of Self/Others) accounting for 28.5% of the total variance. The FBS's internal structure showed factoral discordance, as Claimed Virtue was negatively related to most of the FBS and to its somatic complaint components. Scores on this 12-item FBS component reflected a denial of socially undesirable attitudes and behaviors (Antisocial Practices Scale) that is commonly expressed by the 1,138 males in the MMPI-2 normative sample. These 12 items significantly reduced FBS reliability, introducing systematic error variance. In this VA neuropsychological referral setting, scores on the FBS have ambiguous meaning because of its structural discordance.

Corporate governance and firm characteristics as explanatory factors of shareholder activism: Validation through the French context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siala Bouaziz Souha

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study deals with the major determinants of company shareholder activism investigated with according to a set of SBF 120 listed firms. Based on a sample of 77 companies, observed over the period 2008–2012, we are led to conclude that some firm governance characteristics do appear to affect shareholding activism. In addition, it has been revealed that the presence of institutional investors, ownership concentration, leaders’ presence in the capital, control structure, leadership change, firm growth as well as leverage level appear to have a significant influence on the probability of activism to take place.

The influence of carbon and oxygen on the magnetic characteristics of press-less sintered NdFeB magnets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xia, Manlong; Abrahamsen, Asger Bech; Bahl, Christian

2017-01-01

The Pressless Process (PLP) was adopted to manufacture NdFeB sintered magnets, where the investigations on carbon and oxygen residues from heptane milling liquid media and graphite crucibles used for sintering were quantified to evaluate the influence on the magnetic characteristics. The carbon...

On intermittent flow characteristics of gas–liquid two-phase flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thaker, Jignesh; Banerjee, Jyotirmay, E-mail: jbaner@gmail.com

2016-12-15

Highlights: • Unified correlations for intermittent flow characteristics are developed. • Influence of inflow conditions on intermittent flow characteristics is analysed. • Developed correlations can be used for effective design of piping components. - Abstract: Flow visualisation experiments are reported for intermittent regime of gas–liquid two-phase flow. Intermittent flow characteristics, which include plug/slug frequency, liquid plug/slug velocity, liquid plug/slug length, and plug/slug bubble length are determined by image processing of flow patterns captured at a rate of 1600 frames per second (FPS). Flow characteristics are established as a function of inlet superficial velocity of both the phases (in terms of Re{sub SL} and Re{sub SG}). The experimental results are first validated with the existing correlations for slug flow available in literature. It is observed that the correlations proposed in literature for slug flow do not accurately predict the flow characteristics in the plug flow regime. The differences are clearly highlighted in this paper. Based on the measured database for both plug and slug flow regime, modified correlations for the intermittent flow regime are proposed. The correlations reported in the present paper, which also include plug flow characteristics will aid immensely to the effective design and optimization of operating conditions for safer operation of two-phase flow piping systems.

The influence of incontinence on the characteristic properties of the skin in bedridden elderly subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujimura, Tsutomu; Makino, Mayumi; Takagi, Miyuki; Maki, Kumiko; Murakami, Emiko; Tasaka, Yoshiko; Sato, Noriko; Akiba, Shunichi; Hotta, Mitsuyuki; Kitahara, Takashi; Ando, Kikue

2016-05-01

The mechanisms of skin breakdown induced by incontinence have been proposed from a variety of experimental studies. However, studies on the influence of skin properties caused by incontinence of bedridden subjects are very limited. This work was conducted to reveal how incontinence influences skin properties by comparing bedridden incontinent elderly subjects with age-matched healthy continent elderly and middle-aged subjects. Bedridden incontinent elderly subjects (n = 35, 83.5 ± 9.7 years, mean age ± SD), healthy continent elderly (n = 41, 75.9 ± 5.6 years), and middle-aged (n = 20, 41.3 ± 2.8 years) were recruited for this study. Skin surface pH, capacitance/hydration, transepidermal water loss, and bacteria on forearm and buttock skin were measured. Hydration and transepidermal water loss values between healthy elderly subjects and incontinent elderly subjects were significantly different on buttock skin. Significant differences between those two groups were also observed regarding pH and total bacteria levels on buttock skin. The forearm skin showed no significant difference in these parameters. No significant influence was observed between with and without urination at the measurement time except for the pH of buttock skin. No significant correlation was observed except between pH and bacteria levels on buttock skin of incontinent elderly subjects. In this study, we clarified the characteristic features of skin induced by incontinence. Our results indicate that these parameters are adequate not only to evaluate the characteristic skin features of bedridden incontinent subjects but also to develop new diapers to avoid the diaper dermatitis caused by incontinence. © 2015 The International Society of Dermatology.

Gamma radiation influence on technological characteristics of wheat flour

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Christian A. H. M.; Inamura, Patricia Y.; Uehara, Vanessa B.; Mastro, Nelida L. d.

2012-08-01

This study aimed at determining the influence of gamma radiation on technological characteristics of wheat (Triticum sativum) flour and physical properties of pan breads made with this flour. The bread formulation included wheat flour, water, milk, salt, sugar, yeast and butter. The α-amylase activity of wheat flour irradiated with 1, 3 and 9 kGy in a Gammacell 220 (AECL), one day, five days and one month after irradiation was evaluated. Deformation force, height and weight of breads prepared with the irradiated flour were also determined. The enzymatic activity increased—reduction of falling number time—as radiation dose increased, their values being 397 s (0 kGy), 388 s (1 kGy), 343 s (3 kGy) and 293 s (9 kGy) respectively, remaining almost constant over the period of one month. Pan breads prepared with irradiated wheat flour showed increased weight. Texture analysis showed that bread made of irradiated flour presented an increase in maximum deformation force. The results indicate that wheat flour ionizing radiation processing may confer increased enzymatic activity on bread making and depending on the irradiation dose, an increase in weight, height and deformation force parameters of pan breads made of it.

INFLUENCE OF HONEYBEE QUEENS ORIGIN TO THE PRODUCTION CHARACTERISTICS OF CARNIOLAN BEES (APIS MELLIFERA CARNICA IN SLOVENIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J POKLUKAR

2002-05-01

Full Text Available Total amount of 4.355 records of honeybee colonies production characteristics was estimated on the 251 bee yards in Slovenia from 1993 to 2001. Queens were produced on 29 queen producing yards. The average lsmeans of honey yields increased by 0,41 kg a year. The swarming behaviour and the defensive behaviour of bees increased as well by - 0,091 points, and –0,038 points respectively. According to the last two years records, the honey yields of bee colonies were significantly influenced by the drone gene pool at queen production yards. The swarming behaviour was in contrary more influenced by the queen mothers on queen production yards. The defensive behaviour of bee colonies and the daily varroa mite fall were not significantly influenced by parents.

Influence of torrefaction on the characteristics and pyrolysis behavior of cellulose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Shurong; Dai, Gongxin; Ru, Bin; Zhao, Yuan; Wang, Xiaoliu; Xiao, Gang; Luo, Zhongyang

2017-01-01

The influence of torrefaction on cellulose structural characteristics and the resulting pyrolysis behavior was investigated in this study. Torrefaction reduced O/C ratio in cellulose and increased its high heating value. The crystallinity of cellulose increased slightly first and then decreased sharply with the increase of torrefaction temperature, which could be ascribed to competitive degradation between crystalline region and amorphous region, as indicated by "1"3C CP/MAS NMR analysis. Besides, the cleavage of β-1,4-glycosidic bond and the dehydration of hydroxyl were the major reactions occurring in torrefaction. Avrami-Erofeev model was found to be the most suitable kinetic reaction model for explaining the thermogravimetric weight loss during the pyrolysis of the raw and torrefied cellulose. A distributed activation energy model based on Avrami-Erofeev model was subsequently used to reveal the pyrolytic kinetics. It was found that the changes in cellulose structure influenced the kinetic parameters greatly. Torrefaction also changed pyrolytic product distribution. The yields of furfural, alicyclic ketones and anhydrosugars increased while that of 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural decreased as torrefaction temperature increased. - Highlights: • Competitive degradation of crystalline and amorphous regions caused CrI change. • Cleavage of glycosidic bond and dehydration of hydroxyl occurred during torrefaction. • Am-DAEM was used to analyze the raw and torrefied cellulose pyrolysis kinetics. • Torrefaction changed cellulose pyrolytic products distribution greatly.

Analysis of the Influence of Compensation Capacitance Errors of a Wireless Power Transfer System with SS Topology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Wang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, in order to determine the reasonable accuracy of the compensation capacitances satisfying the requirements on the output characteristics for a wireless power transfer (WPT system, taking the series-series (SS compensation structure as an example, the calculation formulas of the output characteristics, such as the power factor, output power, coil transfer efficiency, and capacitors’ voltage stress, are given under the condition of incomplete compensation according to circuit theory. The influence of compensation capacitance errors on the output characteristics of the system is then analyzed. The Taylor expansions of the theoretical formulas are carried out to simplify the formulas. The influence degrees of compensation capacitance errors on the output characteristics are calculated according to the simplified formulas. The reasonable error ranges of the compensation capacitances are then determined according to the requirements of the output characteristics of the system in the system design. Finally, the validity of the theoretical analysis and the simplified processing is verified through experiments. The proposed method has a certain guiding role for practical engineering design, especially in mass production.

Insights into the IASB due process: the influence of country characteristics on constituents’ formal participation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karsten Eisenschmidt

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper explores the impact of country characteristics on constituents’ formal participation in the IASB’s due process. We hypothesize that there is an association between the level of constituents’ partic- ipation and (1 the level of economic development, and (2 the cultural characteristics of the country of origin. We use a number of comment letters (CLs and their length as proxies for constituents’ formal participation in the IASB’s due process. The results indicate that economic development (equity market capitalization is the most important explanatory factor for the different levels of participation. In con- trast, the cultural characteristics measured by Hofstede’s cultural framework can only partially explain that differences. Only individualism is a significant positive influence factor for the level of constituents’ participation. The results of our descriptive analysis for the CLs and the information input provided show that there is still a lack of participation in the IASB’s due process. Despite the huge impact of accounting norms on societies, only a limited number of constituents participate, and some constituent groups, like users or academics, participate less.

CHAracteristics of research studies that iNfluence practice: a GEneral survey of Canadian orthopaedic Surgeons (CHANGES): a pilot survey.

Science.gov (United States)

de Sa, Darren; Thornley, Patrick; Evaniew, Nathan; Madden, Kim; Bhandari, Mohit; Ghert, Michelle

2015-01-01

Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) is increasingly being applied to inform clinical decision-making in orthopaedic surgery. Despite the promotion of EBM in Orthopaedic Surgery, the adoption of results from high quality clinical research seems highly unpredictable and does not appear to be driven strictly by randomized trial data. The objective of this study was to pilot a survey to determine if we could identify surgeon opinions on the characteristics of research studies that are perceived as being most likely to influence clinical decision-making among orthopaedic surgeons in Canada. A 28-question electronic survey was distributed to active members of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA) over a period of 11 weeks. The questionnaire sought to analyze the influence of both extrinsic and intrinsic characteristics of research studies and their potential to influence practice patterns. Extrinsic factors included the perceived journal quality and investigator profiles, economic impact, peer/patient/industry influence and individual surgeon residency/fellowship training experiences. Intrinsic factors included study design, sample size, and outcomes reported. Descriptive statistics are provided. Of the 109 members of the COA who opened the survey, 95 (87%) completed the survey in its entirety. The overall response rate was 11% (95/841). Surgeons achieved consensus on the influence of three key designs on their practices: 1) randomized controlled trials 94 (99%), 2) meta-analysis 83 (87%), and 3) systematic reviews 81 (85%). Sixty-seven percent of surgeons agreed that studies with sample sizes of 101-500 or more were more likely to influence clinical practice than smaller studies (n = design influencing adoption included 1) reputation of the investigators (99%) and 2) perceived quality of the journal (75%). Although study design and sample size (i.e. minimum of 100 patients) have some influence on clinical decision making, surgeon respondents are equally influenced

Influence of heat treatment on field emission characteristics of boron nitride thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Weiqing; Gu Guangrui; Li Yingai; He Zhi; Feng Wei; Liu Lihua; Zhao Chunhong; Zhao Yongnian

2005-01-01

Boron nitride (BN) nanometer thin films are synthesized on Si (1 0 0) substrates by RF reactive magnetron sputtering. Then the film surfaces are treated in the case of the base pressure below 5 x 10 -4 Pa and the temperature of 800 and 1000 deg. C, respectively. And the films are studied by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), atomic force microscopic (AFM) and field emission characteristics at different annealing temperature. The results show that the surface heat treatment makes no apparent influence on the surface morphology of the BN films. The transformations of the sample emission characteristics have to do with the surface negative electron affinity (NEA) of the films possibly. The threshold electric fields are lower for BN samples without heat-treating than the treated films, which possibly ascribed to the surface negative electron affinity effect. A threshold field of 8 V/μm and the emission current of 80 μA are obtained. The surface NEA is still presence at the heat treatment temperature of 800 deg. C and disappeared at temperature of 1000 deg. C

Satisfaction with Online Commercial Group Chat: The Influence of Perceived Technology Attributes, Chat Group Characteristics, and Advisor Communication Style

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dolen, W.M.; Dabholkar, P.A.; de Ruyter, J.C.

2007-01-01

This study examines online commercial group chat from a structuration theory perspective. The findings support the influence of perceived technology attributes (control, enjoyment, reliability, speed, and ease of use) and chat group characteristics (group involvement, similarity, and receptivity) on

How do characteristics of donors and their children influence volume and composition of banked milk?

OpenAIRE

Pasqua Anna Quitadamo; Giuseppina Palumbo; Alberto Gatta; Liliana Cianti; Massimiliano Copetti; Maria Assunta Gentile; Pierpaolo Cristalli

2018-01-01

When own mother’s milk is not available, donor human milk (DHM) is the first choice in preterm infant feeding. Although worldwide strong efforts have been made to implement human milk (HM) donation, there is currently little available research on donors characteristics and their influence on volume and composition of DHM. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between social-demographic variables of donating mothers (age, residence, job, number of children), as well as gestation...

A validity study of self-reported daily texting frequency, cell phone characteristics, and texting styles among young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Judith E; Rauscher, Kimberly J; Zhu, Motao

2015-04-02

Texting is associated with adverse health effects including musculoskeletal disorders, sleep disturbances, and traffic crashes. Many studies have relied on self-reported texting frequency, yet the validity of self-reports is unknown. Our objective was to provide some of the first data on the validity of self-reported texting frequency, cell phone characteristics including input device (e.g. touchscreen), key configuration (e.g., QWERTY), and texting styles including phone orientation (e.g., horizontal) and hands holding the phone while texting. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and observation of a texting task among college students ages 18 to 24. To gauge agreement between self-reported and phone bill-derived categorical number of daily text messages sent, we calculated percent of agreement, Spearman correlation coefficient, and a linear weighted kappa statistic. For agreement between self-reported and observed cell phone characteristics and texting styles we calculated percentages of agreement. We used chi-square tests to detect significant differences (α = 0.05) by gender and study protocol. There were 106 participants; 87 of which had complete data for texting frequency analyses. Among these 87, there was 26% (95% CI: 21-31) agreement between self-reported and phone bill-derived number of daily text messages sent with a Spearman's rho of 0.48 and a weighted kappa of 0.17 (95% CI: 0.06-0.27). Among those who did not accurately report the number of daily texts sent, 81% overestimated this number. Among the full sample (n = 106), there was high agreement between self-reported and observed texting input device (96%, 95% CI: 91-99), key configuration (89%, 95% CI: 81-94), and phone orientation while texting (93%, 95% CI: 86-97). No differences were found by gender or study protocol among any items. While young adults correctly reported their cell phone's characteristics and phone orientation while texting, most incorrectly

Content validation of the nursing diagnosis acute pain in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeleníková, Renáta; Žiaková, Katarína; Čáp, Juraj; Jarošová, Darja

2014-10-01

The main purpose of the study was to validate the defining characteristics of the nursing diagnosis acute pain in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This is a descriptive study. The validation process involved was based on Fehring's diagnostic content validity model. Four defining characteristics were classified as major by Slovak nurses and eight defining characteristics were classified as major by Czech nurses. Validation of the nursing diagnosis acute pain in the Czech and Slovak sociocultural context has shown that nurses prioritize characteristics that are behavioral in nature as well as patients' verbal reports of pain. Verbal reports of pain and behavioral indicators are important for arriving at the nursing diagnosis acute pain. © 2014 NANDA International, Inc.

Level validity of self-report whole-family measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Manders, Willeke A; Cook, William L; Oud, Johan H L; Scholte, Ron H J; Janssens, Jan M A M; De Bruyn, Eric E J

2007-12-01

This article introduces an approach to testing the level validity of family assessment instruments (i.e., whether a family instrument measures family functioning at the level of the system it purports to assess). Two parents and 2 adolescents in 69 families rated the warmth in each of their family relationships and in the family as a whole. Family members' ratings of whole-family warmth assessed family functioning not only at the family level (i.e., characteristics of the family as a whole) but also at the individual level of analysis (i.e., characteristics of family members as raters), indicating a lack of level validity. Evidence was provided for the level validity of a latent variable based on family members' ratings of whole-family warmth. The findings underscore the importance of assessing the level validity of individual ratings of whole-family functioning.

Influence of the Rubber Seed Type and Altitude on Characteristic of Seed, Oil and Biodiesel

OpenAIRE

Salni, Salni; Hariani, Poedji Loekitowati; Hanifa, Hanifa Marisa

2017-01-01

This research studies the influence of the type of rubber seed that is superior and local, altitude plant in South Sumatra province to the characteristic of seed, oil and biodiesel (methyl ester). Rubber plants planted from local rubber seed by seeds seedlings and superior rubber seed by selected clones. In the study, rubber plants planted at a different altitude, namely in Banyuasin district (18 m above sea level), Prabumulih District (176 m above sea level) and Lahat District (627 m above s...

Impacts of patient characteristics on hospital care experience in 34,000 Swedish patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolf Axel

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Standardized patient surveys are widely used for assessing quality of healthcare from the patient perspective. An important purpose of such surveys is to identify disparities in care among different patient groups. The purpose of this study was to 1. evaluate aspects of the validity of the adapted Swedish version of the Picker Patient Care Experience -15 (PPE-15 survey and 2. examine the explanatory value of various socio-demographic and health characteristics in predicting patients’ care experiences. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study design was used. Patients discharged from internal medicine wards at regional and university hospitals in different parts of Sweden during 2010 were invited to participate in the regularly administered national care-experience survey for hospital care. The internal validity of the PPE-15 was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha and item-scale correlations. Pearson product–moment correlation coefficients were used to compare PPE-15 total scores with overall care satisfaction ratings and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to compare PPE-15 total scores with various patient characteristics. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to examine the influence of various patient characteristics on PPE-15 scores. Results The response rate was 66% (n = 34 603. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.87. The correlation between the PPE-15 total score and overall care satisfaction was high (0.62, p  Conclusions Our results supported the internal validity of the Swedish adapted version of the PPE-15. The explanatory value of the examined patient socio-demographic and health characteristics was low, suggesting the need for exploring other patient-related determinants of care experiences. Our findings also suggest a care paradox: patients in greatest need of hospital care are least satisfied with the quality of the care they receive.

Influence of grain activation conditions on functional characteristics of brown rice flour.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Arashdeep; Sharma, Savita; Singh, Baljit

2017-09-01

Grain activation is a natural processing technique that can be used to produce modified flours without chemical modification. Functional characteristics of brown rice flour as influenced by grain activation time and temperatures were investigated. Germination temperatures at 25 ℃, 30 ℃ and 35 ℃ and time for 12, 24, 36 and 48 h significantly influenced the functional properties of flour with modification of starch, protein and high enzymatic activity. Significant decrease in the bulk density, water absorption and swelling power of brown rice flour was observed in comparison to non-germinated flour. Gel consistency and oil absorption capacity of brown rice flour increased as the grain activation time and temperature were increased. Native flour had lowest emulsion and foaming properties, while increase in grain activation time and temperature enhanced the emulsifying and foaming properties of flour. Paste clarity of native flour was 54% which was reduced to 25.17%; however, increase in germination time and temperature increased the % synersis values of germinated flour. Native flour had least gelation concentration of 12% which increased to 25% after 48 h of germination at 35 ℃. Overall, germination can be used as a natural way to modify the functional properties of brown rice flours for their utilization in variety food products.

Sociodemographic Factors and Health-Related Characteristics That Influence the Quality of Life of Grandparent Caregivers in Zimbabwe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magen Mhaka-Mutepfa PhD

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Very few studies have examined quality of life (QOL in elderly carers of orphaned children in African settings. This study explored sociodemographic factors and health-related characteristics that influence QOL of grandparent carers in Zimbabwe. A cross-sectional study stratified by district was done to collect information on socioeconomic factors, health-related characteristics, and QOL of grandparent carers ( N = 327; age: M = 62.4, SD = 11.2. Data were collected on socioeconomic factors, self-perceived health, health care access, chronic disease condition, health insurance status, types of health care services, and medications taken using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate the associations between QOL and the predictor variables. Caregivers’ level of education (odds ratio [OR] = 3.0; confidence interval [95% CI] = [1.0, 27], fostering orphans only (OR = 0.4; 95% CI = [0.2, 0.7], self-perceived health (OR = 10.2; 95% CI = [4.5, 25], medical insurance (OR = 9.8; 95% CI = [1.9, 54], and satisfaction with health care services (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = [1.2, 4.4] were associated with QOL, after adjusting for all influencing factors. The results confirm that QOL is compromised by specific demographic and self-rated health characteristics. Thus, eradicating poverty and providing services and changing caregiver’s perceptions about self-rated health may enhance QOL among grandparent caregivers.

Influence of meson-exchange currents of the second kind on the characteristics of the β/sup +- / decay of light nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samsonenko, N.V.; Samgin, A.L.; Katkhat, C.L.

1988-01-01

We study the influence of meson-exchange currents of the second kind on the e-ν angular correlation, on the coefficients of charge asymmetry, and on the degree of longitudinal polarization of electrons (positrons) in the β/sup +- / decay of mirror light nuclei. The expressions for these characteristics obtained within the framework of the Kubodera-Delorme-Rho model are compared with the results of the impulse approximation. The mutual influence of the currents of the second kind and the neutrino mass is considered. The expected effects due to the influence of the Kubodera-Delorme-Rho parameters zeta and λ are estimated

Influence of selected water quality characteristics on the toxicity of lambda-cyhalothrin and gamma-cyhalothrin to Hyalella azteca.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S; Lizotte, R E

2007-11-01

This study was conducted to assess the influence of suspended solids, dissolved organic carbon, and phytoplankton (as chlorophyll a) water quality characteristics on lambda-cyhalothrin and gamma-cyhalothrin aqueous toxicity to Hyalella azteca using natural water from 12 ponds and lakes in Mississippi, USA with varying water quality characteristics. H. azteca 48-h immobilization EC50 values ranged from 1.4 to 15.7 ng/L and 0.6 to 13.4 ng/L for lambda-cyhalothrin and gamma-cyhalothrin, respectively. For both pyrethroids, EC50 values linearly increased as turbidity, suspended solids, dissolved organic carbon and chlorophyll a concentrations increased.

Computer-aided detection of pulmonary nodules: influence of nodule characteristics on detection performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marten, K.; Engelke, C.; Seyfarth, T.; Grillhoesl, A.; Obenauer, S.; Rummeny, E.J.

2005-01-01

AIM: To evaluate prospectively the influence of pulmonary nodule characteristics on detection performances of a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool and experienced chest radiologists using multislice CT (MSCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: MSCT scans of 20 consecutive patients were evaluated by a CAD system and two independent chest radiologists for presence of pulmonary nodules. Nodule size, position, margin, matrix characteristics, vascular and pleural attachments and reader confidence were recorded and data compared with an independent standard of reference. Statistical analysis for predictors influencing nodule detection or reader performance included chi-squared, retrograde stepwise conditional logistic regression with odds ratios and nodule detection proportion estimates (DPE), and ROC analysis. RESULTS: For 135 nodules, detection rates for CAD and readers were 76.3, 52.6 and 52.6%, respectively; false-positive rates were 0.55, 0.25 and 0.15 per examination, respectively. In consensus with CAD the reader detection rate increased to 93.3%, and the false-positive rate dropped to 0.1/scan. DPEs for nodules ≤5 mm were significantly higher for ICAD than for the readers (p<0.05). Absence of vascular attachment was the only significant predictor of nodule detection by CAD (p=0.0006-0.008). There were no predictors of nodule detection for reader consensus with CAD. In contrast, vascular attachment predicted nodule detection by the readers (p=0.0001-0.003). Reader sensitivity was higher for nodules with vascular attachment than for unattached nodules (sensitivities 0.768 and 0.369; 95% confidence intervals=0.651-0.861 and 0.253-0.498, respectively). CONCLUSION: CAD increases nodule detection rates, decreases false-positive rates and compensates for deficient reader performance in detection of smallest lesions and of nodules without vascular attachment

Influence of probiotics on rumen liquor characteristics and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Probiotics has been noted to work synergistically with rumen microbes and improved rumen liquor characteristics. In this study, we investigated the effect of probiotics inclusion on rumen liquor characteristics (physical, chemical and fermentative qualities) and microbiology in WAD goats. In a completely randomised design, ...

Influence of the nucleobase on the physicochemical characteristics and biological activities of Sb{sup V}-ribonucleoside complexes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferreira, Claudio S.; Demicheli, Cynthia, E-mail: demichel@netuno.lcc.ufmg.b [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica; Rocha, Iara C.M. da; Melo, Maria N. [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Parasitologia; Monte Neto, Rubens L.; Frezard, Frederic [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Fisiologia e Biofisica

2010-07-01

The influence of the nucleobase (uracyl, U; cytosine, C; adenine, A; guanine, G) on the physicochemical characteristics and in vitro biological activities of Sb{sup V}-ribonucleoside complexes has been investigated. The 1:1 Sb-U and Sb-C complexes were characterized by NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopies and elemental analysis. The stability constant and the apparent association and dissociation rate constants of 1:1 Sb{sup V}-U, Sb{sup V}-C and Sb{sup V}-A complexes were determined. Although Sb{sup V} most probably binds via oxygen atoms to the same 2' and 3' positions in the different nucleosides, the ribose conformational changes and the physicochemical characteristics of the complex depend on the nucleobase. The nucleobase had a strong influence on the cytotoxicity against macrophages and the antileishmanial activity of the Sb{sup V}-ribonucleoside complexes. The Sb{sup V}-purine complexes were more cytotoxic and more effective against Leishmania chagasi than the Sb{sup V}-pyrimidine complexes, supporting the model that the interaction of Sb{sup V} with purine nucleosides may mediate the antileishmanial activity of pentavalent antimonial drugs. (author)

Phantom-based experimental validation of computational fluid dynamics simulations on cerebral aneurysms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun Qi; Groth, Alexandra; Bertram, Matthias; Waechter, Irina; Bruijns, Tom; Hermans, Roel; Aach, Til [Philips Research Europe, Weisshausstrasse 2, 52066 Aachen (Germany) and Institute of Imaging and Computer Vision, RWTH Aachen University, Sommerfeldstrasse 24, 52074 Aachen (Germany); Philips Research Europe, Weisshausstrasse 2, 52066 Aachen (Germany); Philips Healthcare, X-Ray Pre-Development, Veenpluis 4-6, 5684PC Best (Netherlands); Institute of Imaging and Computer Vision, RWTH Aachen University, Sommerfeldstrasse 24, 52074 Aachen (Germany)

2010-09-15

Purpose: Recently, image-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has been applied to investigate the hemodynamics inside human cerebral aneurysms. The knowledge of the computed three-dimensional flow fields is used for clinical risk assessment and treatment decision making. However, the reliability of the application specific CFD results has not been thoroughly validated yet. Methods: In this work, by exploiting a phantom aneurysm model, the authors therefore aim to prove the reliability of the CFD results obtained from simulations with sufficiently accurate input boundary conditions. To confirm the correlation between the CFD results and the reality, virtual angiograms are generated by the simulation pipeline and are quantitatively compared to the experimentally acquired angiograms. In addition, a parametric study has been carried out to systematically investigate the influence of the input parameters associated with the current measuring techniques on the flow patterns. Results: Qualitative and quantitative evaluations demonstrate good agreement between the simulated and the real flow dynamics. Discrepancies of less than 15% are found for the relative root mean square errors of time intensity curve comparisons from each selected characteristic position. The investigated input parameters show different influences on the simulation results, indicating the desired accuracy in the measurements. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive validation method of CFD simulation for reproducing the real flow field in the cerebral aneurysm phantom under well controlled conditions. The reliability of the CFD is well confirmed. Through the parametric study, it is possible to assess the degree of validity of the associated CFD model based on the parameter values and their estimated accuracy range.

Phantom-based experimental validation of computational fluid dynamics simulations on cerebral aneurysms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Qi; Groth, Alexandra; Bertram, Matthias; Waechter, Irina; Bruijns, Tom; Hermans, Roel; Aach, Til

2010-01-01

Purpose: Recently, image-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has been applied to investigate the hemodynamics inside human cerebral aneurysms. The knowledge of the computed three-dimensional flow fields is used for clinical risk assessment and treatment decision making. However, the reliability of the application specific CFD results has not been thoroughly validated yet. Methods: In this work, by exploiting a phantom aneurysm model, the authors therefore aim to prove the reliability of the CFD results obtained from simulations with sufficiently accurate input boundary conditions. To confirm the correlation between the CFD results and the reality, virtual angiograms are generated by the simulation pipeline and are quantitatively compared to the experimentally acquired angiograms. In addition, a parametric study has been carried out to systematically investigate the influence of the input parameters associated with the current measuring techniques on the flow patterns. Results: Qualitative and quantitative evaluations demonstrate good agreement between the simulated and the real flow dynamics. Discrepancies of less than 15% are found for the relative root mean square errors of time intensity curve comparisons from each selected characteristic position. The investigated input parameters show different influences on the simulation results, indicating the desired accuracy in the measurements. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive validation method of CFD simulation for reproducing the real flow field in the cerebral aneurysm phantom under well controlled conditions. The reliability of the CFD is well confirmed. Through the parametric study, it is possible to assess the degree of validity of the associated CFD model based on the parameter values and their estimated accuracy range.

A review on airborne microorganisms in particulate matters: Composition, characteristics and influence factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Yunbo; Li, Xue; Wang, Tengfei; Wang, Bei; Li, Caiting; Zeng, Guangming

2018-04-01

Airborne microorganisms (AM), vital components of particulate matters (PM), are widespread in the atmosphere. Since some AM have pathogenicity, they can lead to a wide range of diseases in human and other organisms, meanwhile, some AM act as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nuclei which let them can affect the climate. The inherent characteristics of AM play critical roles in many aspects which, in turn, can decide microbial traits. The uncertain factors bring various influences on AM, which make it difficult to elaborate effect trends as whole. Because of the potential roles of AM in environment and potent effects of factors on AM, detailed knowledge of them is of primary significance. This review highlights the issues of composition and characteristics of AM with size-distribution, species diversity, variation and so on, and summarizes the main factors which affect airborne microbial features. This general information is a knowledge base for further thorough researches of AM and relevant aspects. Besides, current knowledge gaps and new perspectives are offered to roundly understand the impacts and application of AM in nature and human health. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of New Product Characteristics on Rate of Adoption: Increasing Student Comprehension with the "Bidding for Buyers" Game

Science.gov (United States)

Vander Schee, Brian A.

2012-01-01

The five characteristics that influence new product rate of adoption are routinely covered in the Principles of Marketing course. Any particular marketing concept such as relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, divisibility, and communicability may not capture interest or engagement among students who take the course as a graduation…

Influence of the permafrost boundary on dissolved organic matter characteristics in rivers within the Boreal and Taiga plains of western Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olefeldt, D; Turetsky, M R; Persson, A

2014-01-01

Catchment export of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its downstream degradation in aquatic ecosystems are important components of landscape scale carbon balances. In order to assess the influence of peatland permafrost on river DOM characteristics, we sampled 65 rivers along a 900 km transect crossing into the southern discontinuous permafrost zone on the Boreal and Tundra Plains of western Canada. Catchment peatland cover and catchment location north or south of the permafrost boundary were found together to have strong influences on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and DOM chemical composition. River DOC concentrations increased with catchment peatland cover, but were consistently lower for catchments north of the permafrost boundary. In contrast, protein fluorescence (PARAFAC analysis), was unrelated to catchment peatland cover but increased significantly in rivers north of the permafrost boundary. Humic and fulvic acid contribution to DOM fluorescence was lower in rivers draining catchments with large lakes than in other rivers, consistent with extensive photodegradation, but humic and fulvic acid fluorescence were also lower in rivers north of the permafrost boundary than in rivers to the south. We hypothesize that shifts in river DOM characteristics when crossing the permafrost boundary are related to the influence of permafrost on peatland hydrological connectivity to stream networks, peatland DOM characteristics and differences in DOM degradation within aquatic ecosystems. (paper)

Influence of surface charge on the transport characteristics of nanowire-field effect transistors in liquid environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nozaki, Daijiro, E-mail: daijiro.nozaki@gmail.com, E-mail: research@nano.tu-dresden.de [Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Kunstmann, Jens [Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Theoretical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Zörgiebel, Felix [Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfAED), TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Cuniberti, Gianaurelio [Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfAED), TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science (DCCMS), TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany)

2015-05-18

One dimensional nanowire field effect transistors (NW-FETs) are a promising platform for sensor applications. The transport characteristics of NW-FETs are strongly modified in liquid environment due to the charging of surface functional groups accompanied with protonation or deprotonation. In order to investigate the influence of surface charges and ionic concentrations on the transport characteristics of Schottky-barrier NW-FETs, we have combined the modified Poisson-Boltzmann theory with the Landauer-Büttiker transport formalism. For a typical device, the model is able to capture the reduction of the sensitivity of NW-FETs in ionic solutions due to the screening from counter ions as well as a local gating from surface functional groups. Our approach allows to model, to investigate, and to optimize realistic Schottky-barrier NW-FET devices in liquid environment.

Validating a measure to assess factors that affect assistive technology use by students with disabilities in elementary and secondary education.

Science.gov (United States)

Zapf, Susan A; Scherer, Marcia J; Baxter, Mary F; H Rintala, Diana

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to measure the predictive validity, internal consistency and clinical utility of the Matching Assistive Technology to Child & Augmentative Communication Evaluation Simplified (MATCH-ACES) assessment. Twenty-three assistive technology team evaluators assessed 35 children using the MATCH-ACES assessment. This quasi-experimental study examined the internal consistency, predictive validity and clinical utility of the MATCH-ACES assessment. The MATCH-ACES assessment predisposition scales had good internal consistency across all three scales. A significant relationship was found between (a) high student perseverance and need for assistive technology and (b) high teacher comfort and interest in technology use (p = (0).002). Study results indicate that the MATCH-ACES assessment has good internal consistency and validity. Predisposition characteristics of student and teacher combined can influence the level of assistive technology use; therefore, assistive technology teams should assess predisposition factors of the user when recommending assistive technology. Implications for Rehabilitation Educational and medical professionals should be educated on evidence-based assistive technology assessments. Personal experience and psychosocial factors can influence the outcome use of assistive technology. Assistive technology assessments must include an intervention plan for assistive technology service delivery to measure effective outcome use.

Toward Development of a Stochastic Wake Model: Validation Using LES and Turbine Loads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Sang Moon

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Wind turbines within an array do not experience free-stream undisturbed flow fields. Rather, the flow fields on internal turbines are influenced by wakes generated by upwind unit and exhibit different dynamic characteristics relative to the free stream. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC standard 61400-1 for the design of wind turbines only considers a deterministic wake model for the design of a wind plant. This study is focused on the development of a stochastic model for waked wind fields. First, high-fidelity physics-based waked wind velocity fields are generated using Large-Eddy Simulation (LES. Stochastic characteristics of these LES waked wind velocity field, including mean and turbulence components, are analyzed. Wake-related mean and turbulence field-related parameters are then estimated for use with a stochastic model, using Multivariate Multiple Linear Regression (MMLR with the LES data. To validate the simulated wind fields based on the stochastic model, wind turbine tower and blade loads are generated using aeroelastic simulation for utility-scale wind turbine models and compared with those based directly on the LES inflow. The study’s overall objective is to offer efficient and validated stochastic approaches that are computationally tractable for assessing the performance and loads of turbines operating in wakes.

The influence of the dimensions of electrodes on the frequency-temperature characteristics of at and BT-cut quartz resonators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelenka, J.

1996-01-01

The comparison of the measured resonant frequency-temperature characteristics of the AT-and BT-cut square and circular quartz resonators with the computed ones is given in the paper. The curves which express the frequency-temperature behavior of the resonators are compared. The influence of the thickness of the silver and gold electrodes on the first order frequency temperature coefficient is presented. The influence of the dimension ratio of the wafer on the orientation for which the zero first order temperature coefficient occurs at the temperature T O = 25 O C are given. (authors)

Experimental Study on the Influence on Vibration Characteristics of Thin Cylindrical Shell with Hard Coating under Cantilever Boundary Condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This research has experimentally investigated the influence on vibration characteristics of thin cantilever cylindrical shell (TCS with hard coating under cantilever boundary condition. Firstly, the theoretical model of TCS with hard coating is established to calculate its natural frequencies and modal shapes so as to roughly understand vibration characteristic of TCS when it is coated with hard coating material. Then, by considering its nonlinear stiffness and damping influences, an experiment system is established to accurately measure vibration parameters of the shell, and the corresponding test methods and identification techniques are also proposed. Finally, based on the measured data, the influences on natural frequencies, modal shapes, damping ratios, and vibration responses of TCS with hard coating are analyzed and discussed in detail. It can be found that hard coating can play an important role in vibration reduction of TCS, and for the most modes of TCS, hard coating will result in the decrease of natural frequencies, but the decreased level is not very big, and its damping effects on the higher frequency range of the shell are weak and ineffective. Therefore, in order to make better use of this coating material, we must carefully choose the concerned antivibration frequency range of the shell; otherwise it may lead to some negative effects.

A cross-sectional study of the influence of neighborhood environment on childhood overweight and obesity: Variation by age, gender, and environment characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yong; Jiang, Yu; Xu, Yanqing; Mzayek, Fawaz; Levy, Marian

2018-03-01

To examine the influence of neighborhood environment on childhood overweight and obesity in Shelby County Schools, Tennessee, and whether and to what extent that influence varies by age, gender, and the specific environment characteristics. 41,283 students were surveyed covering both individual-level covariates and several objective measures of neighborhood environment. Multilevel logistic regressions were used to examine the influence of neighborhood-level variables on overweight+obesity and obesity with adjustment of individual-level covariates. Further, a stratified analysis for each of the six groups by school level and gender. For both overweight+obesity and obesity, younger children were less sensitive to neighborhood characteristics than older children, and boys are less sensitive than girls. For girls in middle and high schools, the risk of overweight+obesity and obesity were positively associated with population density, and negatively associated with percent of poverty and percent of unhealthy food. Boys' risk of overweight+obesity and obesity were positively associated with distance to park. Neighborhood environment plays an important role in childhood overweight and obesity, and the effects vary by age, gender, and the specific neighborhood characteristic. Intervention programs tailored to specific groups may be more effective than ones targeted to children as a whole. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Noninvasive electrical conductivity measurement by MRI. A test of its validity and the electrical conductivity characteristics of glioma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tha, Khin Khin; Kudo, Kohsuke [Hokkaido University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, N-14, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo (Japan); Hokkaido University, Global Station for Quantum Medical Science and Engineering, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Sapporo (Japan); Katscher, Ulrich; Stehning, Christian [Philips Research Laboratories, Hamburg (Germany); Yamaguchi, Shigeru; Terasaka, Shunsuke; Kazumata, Ken [Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Department of Neurosurgery, Sapporo (Japan); Fujima, Noriyuki [Hokkaido University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, N-14, W-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo (Japan); Yamamoto, Toru [Hokkaido University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Sapporo (Japan); Van Cauteren, Marc [Clinical Science Philips Healthtech Asia Pacific, Tokyo (Japan); Shirato, Hiroki [Hokkaido University, Global Station for Quantum Medical Science and Engineering, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Sapporo (Japan); Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Department of Radiation Medicine, Sapporo (Japan)

2018-01-15

This study noninvasively examined the electrical conductivity (σ) characteristics of diffuse gliomas using MRI and tested its validity. MRI including a 3D steady-state free precession (3D SSFP) sequence was performed on 30 glioma patients. The σ maps were reconstructed from the phase images of the 3D SSFP sequence. The σ histogram metrics were extracted and compared among the contrast-enhanced (CET) and noncontrast-enhanced tumour components (NCET) and normal brain parenchyma (NP). Difference in tumour σ histogram metrics among tumour grades and correlation of σ metrics with tumour grades were tested. Validity of σ measurement using this technique was tested by correlating the mean tumour σ values measured using MRI with those measured ex vivo using a dielectric probe. Several σ histogram metrics of CET and NCET of diffuse gliomas were significantly higher than NP (Bonferroni-corrected p ≤.045). The maximum σ of NCET showed a moderate positive correlation with tumour grade (r =.571, Bonferroni-corrected p =.018). The mean tumour σ measured using MRI showed a moderate positive correlation with the σ measured ex vivo (r =.518, p =.040). Tissue σ can be evaluated using MRI, incorporation of which may better characterise diffuse gliomas. (orig.)

Gender influences headache characteristics with increasing age in migraine patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolay, Hayrunnisa; Ozge, Aynur; Saginc, Petek; Orekici, Gulhan; Uludüz, Derya; Yalın, Osman; Siva, Aksel; Bıçakçi, Şebnem; Karakurum, Başak; Öztürk, Musa

2015-08-01

Migraine headache is one of the most common primary headache disorders and is three times more prevalent in women than in men, especially during the reproductive ages. The neurobiological basis of the female dominance has been partly established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of gender on the headache manifestations in migraine patients. The study group consisted of 2082 adult patients from five different hospitals' tertiary care-based headache clinics. The relationship between headache characteristics and gender was evaluated in migraine with aura (MwA) and migraine without aura (MwoA). The duration, severity, frequency of headache and associated symptoms were evaluated in both genders and age-dependent variations and analyzed in two subgroups. Women with migraine were prone to significantly longer duration and intensity of headache attacks. Nausea, phonophobia and photophobia were more prevalent in women. Median headache duration was also longer in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.013) and MwoA (p < 0.001). Median headache intensity was higher in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.010) and MwoA (p = 0.009). The frequency of nausea was significantly higher in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.049). Throbbing headache quality and associated features (nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia) were significantly more frequent in women than in men in MwoA. The gender impact varied across age groups and significant changes were seen in female migraineurs after age 30. No age-dependent variation was observed in male migraineurs. Gender has an influence on the characteristics of the headache as well as on the associated symptoms in migraine patients, and this impact varies across the age groups, particularly in women. © International Headache Society 2014.

Rheological properties of biscuit dough from different cultivars, and relationship to baking characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, L.; Kaack, K.; Bergsøe, M.N.

2004-01-01

differences in structural properties with genetic control. Multivariate regression of flour physiochemical, dough theological, and biscuit baking characteristics showed that a decrease in biscuit length was correlated under several theological parameters, including phase angle delta, Farinograph and creep......Rheological properties of semi-sweet biscuit doughs from eight wheat cultivars were studied, and related to the dimensional changes of biscuits after cutting and baking. The tested cultivars were selected in order to represent a wide diversity in biscuit baking performance, and were grown with low...... recovery parameters. Sedimentation value was the only physiochernical flour characteristic with considerable influence on the model. Validation of the partial least squares-model including all samples from the 3 years gave only a weak correlation (r = 0.58), whereas when each single year was evaluated...

Fault Current Characteristics of the DFIG under Asymmetrical Fault Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Xiao

2015-09-01

Full Text Available During non-severe fault conditions, crowbar protection is not activated and the rotor windings of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG are excited by the AC/DC/AC converter. Meanwhile, under asymmetrical fault conditions, the electrical variables oscillate at twice the grid frequency in synchronous dq frame. In the engineering practice, notch filters are usually used to extract the positive and negative sequence components. In these cases, the dynamic response of a rotor-side converter (RSC and the notch filters have a large influence on the fault current characteristics of the DFIG. In this paper, the influence of the notch filters on the proportional integral (PI parameters is discussed and the simplified calculation models of the rotor current are established. Then, the dynamic performance of the stator flux linkage under asymmetrical fault conditions is also analyzed. Based on this, the fault characteristics of the stator current under asymmetrical fault conditions are studied and the corresponding analytical expressions of the stator fault current are obtained. Finally, digital simulation results validate the analytical results. The research results are helpful to meet the requirements of a practical short-circuit calculation and the construction of a relaying protection system for the power grid with penetration of DFIGs.

Investigation on forces in frictional kinematic pairs to assess their influence on shock absorber characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janusz GARDULSKI

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In telescopic shock absorbers there are two kinematic pairs where dry,semi-dry or fluid friction is most likely to occur. Higher values of friction forces are noted in piston rod-slideway pair due to its sealing function and consequently worse lubricating conditions. The aim of the tests was to assess the influence of forces occurring in frictional kinematic pairs on damping characteristics of shock absorbers. The tests were performed on new and fluid-free shock absorbers for various working strokes and various extortion frequencies.

Research on characteristics of communication content of operation crew in digital main control room of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Li; Ye Haifeng; Qing Tao; Li Pengcheng

2015-01-01

Communication content, communication mode and timeliness of communication are the main three factors that influence the effectiveness of the communication between team members. Based on the work domain analysis to execution of state-oriented procedures (SOP), the assumptions for operation crews' characteristics of the communication content in executing SOP were proposed, which supposed that the power plant status and parameters, power plant system functions and equipment, and SOP as well were the main communication contents. On a full-scope simulator of nuclear power plant, three operation crews performed experiments simulating accident scenarios. The results show that the assumptions of characteristics of the communication content are valid. (authors)

Assessment of spatial and physical neighborhood characteristics that influence sound quality and herewith well-being and health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeroen Devilee

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental noise and health studies seldom address the positive effect of environments with high acoustic quality. Sound quality, in turn, is influenced by a large number of factors, including the spatial–physical characteristics of a neighborhood. In general, these characteristics cannot be retrieved from existing databases. In this article, we describe the design of an audit instrument and demonstrate its value for gathering information about these characteristics of neighborhoods. The audit instrument used was derived from research in other fields than environmental health. The instrument was tested in 33 neighborhoods in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Arnhem. In these neighborhoods, more or less homogeneous subareas were identified that were subject of the audit. The results show that the audit approach is suitable to gather neighborhood data that are relevant for the sound quality of neighborhoods. Together with survey data, they provide information that could further the field of soundscape and health. Several suggestions for improvement of the audit instrument were made.

Australian perspectives on surrogacy: the influence of cognitions, psychological and demographic characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Constantinidis, Deborah; Cook, Roger

2012-04-01

The aim of the present study was to explore current Australian support levels for surrogacy treatments and also whether this support differed between traditional surrogacy and gestational surrogacy. The focus was also on understanding the underlying influences on surrogacy attitudes. It was hypothesized that cognitions, psychological and demographic characteristics would all predict attitudes to surrogacy and that cognitive concerns about surrogacy would be the strongest predictor. Participants (N = 195: 79 male, 116 female; age range 18-76 years) were first-year psychology undergraduates (47%) and friends and associates of the authors (53%). They completed a survey pack which assessed attitudes and knowledge about surrogacy, as well as empathy and other personality characteristics. The results indicated that there has been a marked increase in support for surrogacy treatment in recent years, with nearly 80% of participants supporting surrogacy, and that support for gestational surrogacy was greater than that for traditional surrogacy (Psurrogacy were the strongest predictors of surrogacy attitudes (R(2)= 0.393). A limitation of the present study was the use of a non-representative, self-selected sample that tended to be well educated and perhaps liberal minded. Despite this, given the high levels of support, it could be concluded that the recent, more permissive legislative changes, which were finalized in 2010, are reflective of the values of Australian society.

Magnetic behaviour of densely packed hexagonal arrays of Ni nanowires: Influence of geometric characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vazquez, M.; Pirota, K.; Torrejon, J.; Navas, D.; Hernandez-Velez, M.

2005-01-01

Densely packed arrays of magnetic nanowires with hexagonal symmetry have been prepared by electrodeposition filling of the nanopores in alumina membranes previously formed by self-assembling induced by anodization. The influence of geometrical characteristics of arrays of Ni nanowires on their hysteresis loops have been studied. These characteristics are controlled by suitable choosing of preparation parameters: nanowires diameter ranges between 18 and 80 nm for lattice parameter of hexagonal symmetry of 65 and 105 nm, while length of nanowires is taken between 500 and 2000 nm. Additionally, the temperature dependence of coercivity when applying the field parallel to the nanowires or in-plane of the membrane has been measured. All these results allows us to conclude that magnetic behaviour is determined by the balance between different energy contributions, namely, the shape anisotropy of individual nanowires, the magnetostatic interaction among nanowires (confirmed to play a decisive role), and seemingly the magnetoelastic anisotropy induced in the nanowires by the alumina matrix through temperature changes as a consequence of their different thermal expansion coefficients

Study about the influence of cavitation on the dynamic characteristics for the sliding bearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai, L M; Luo, Y Y; Wang, Z W

2015-01-01

Sliding bearings are employed to support the rotor system and limit the vibration amplitude. In high speed rotor system, cavitation often occurs in the oil film and affects the dynamic characteristics of the sliding bearing greatly. In this paper, numerical method is adopted to simulate the cavitation in the oil film with homogeneous two-phase mixture flow using Singhal-et-al cavitation model in the commercial code FLUENT-solver. Cases without cavitation model were also calculated at the same time. Many computations with different frequency ratios were conducted. Then the rotor dynamic characteristics of the sliding bearing were retrieved. The results show that the cavitation has great influences on the pressure distribution in the oil film. As the rotational speed or whirling speed of the journal increases, the cavitation will become prominent. The dynamic coefficients of the bearing such as stiffness and damping with cavitation model considered are quite different from that without cavitation. So it is worth to pay attention to and do further study about the cavitation in the sliding bearing in the high speed rotor system

Research on resistance characteristics of YBCO tape under short-time DC large current impact

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhifeng; Yang, Jiabin; Qiu, Qingquan; Zhang, Guomin; Lin, Liangzhen

2017-06-01

Research of the resistance characteristics of YBCO tape under short-time DC large current impact is the foundation of the developing DC superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) for voltage source converter-based high voltage direct current system (VSC-HVDC), which is one of the valid approaches to solve the problems of renewable energy integration. SFCL can limit DC short-circuit and enhance the interrupting capabilities of DC circuit breakers. In this paper, under short-time DC large current impacts, the resistance features of naked tape of YBCO tape are studied to find the resistance - temperature change rule and the maximum impact current. The influence of insulation for the resistance - temperature characteristics of YBCO tape is studied by comparison tests with naked tape and insulating tape in 77 K. The influence of operating temperature on the tape is also studied under subcooled liquid nitrogen condition. For the current impact security of YBCO tape, the critical current degradation and top temperature are analyzed and worked as judgment standards. The testing results is helpful for in developing SFCL in VSC-HVDC.

Germination Characteristics of Marshmallow (Althea officinalis L. as Influenced by Drought and Salinity Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Yazdani Biuki

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Drought and salinity are two important environmental stresses limiting the crop production. In order to study the influence of drought and salinity stresses on germination characteristics of Marshmallow plant seeds, two separate experiments were conducted based on completely randomized design with four replications in controlled conditions. Drought stress levels were 0, -2, -4, -6 and -8 bar in the first experiment and salinity stress levels were 0, -2, -4, -6, -8 and -10 bar in the second experiment which were accomplished using PEG 6000 and sodium chloride, respectively. The results indicated a decrease in germination rate and percentage, as well as in lengths and fresh and dry weights of both plumules and radicles, as the osmotic potential was reduced in both experiments. Marshmallow seeds showed an overall higher tolerance against salinity stress compared to drought stress, with germination occurring at as low osmotic potentials as -10 bars in salinity treatments, while only until -8 bar drought stress. In osmotic potentials of -2 and -4 bar the decrease in germination percentage was more sever in the salinity stress compared to drought stress; whereas in higher levels of stress (-6 and -8 bar drought stress brought about a higher decrease in germination percentage than did the salinity stress; illustrated by the percentage of germination decrease at -6 bar, i.e. 63% for drought and 80% for salinity treatments. At the treatments of higher potential (-2, -4 and -6 bar the decrease in radicle length was greater in response to salinity than to drought stress, but the length of plumule was more influenced by drought stress and also showed the highest sensitivity to drought, among all measured characteristics.

Which characteristics of nursing home residents influence differences in malnutrition prevalence? An international comparison of The Netherlands, Germany and Austria.

Science.gov (United States)

van Nie-Visser, Noémi C; Meijers, Judith; Schols, Jos; Lohrmann, Christa; Bartholomeyczik, Sabine; Spreeuwenberg, Marieke; Halfens, Ruud

2014-03-28

Prevalence rates of malnutrition vary considerably internationally, partly due to differences in measurement methodology and instruments. In the present study, the same measurement methodology and instruments were used in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether resident characteristics influence possible differences in malnutrition prevalence between countries. The study followed a cross-sectional, multi-centre design that measured malnutrition in nursing home residents from The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Resident data were gathered using a standardised questionnaire. Malnutrition was operationalised using BMI, unintentional weight loss and nutritional intake. Data were analysed using an association model. The prevalence rates of malnutrition in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria were 18·3, 20·1 and 22·5 %, respectively. The multivariate generalised estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression analysis showed that sex, age, care dependency, the mean number of diseases and some specific diseases were influencing factors for whether the resident was malnourished or not. The OR of malnutrition in the three countries declined after including the influencing factors resulting from the multivariate GEE analysis. The present study reveals that differences in the prevalence rates of malnutrition in nursing homes in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria are influenced by different resident characteristics. Since other country-related factors could also play an important role in influencing differences in the prevalence rates of malnutrition between the countries (structural and process factors of malnutrition care policy). We recommend the investigation of these factors in future studies.

The influence of VERTTM characteristics on the development of skills in skin apposition techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, David; Appleyard, Robert

2011-01-01

The introduction of the Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training (VERT TM ) has enabled pre-registration students to prepare for practice placements. The novelty of this resource means that its impact upon human performance in certain radiotherapy techniques has yet to be tested. This study investigated the influence of virtual environment characteristics on the development of skills previously honed exclusively in the clinical environment. Specifically the development of the electron treatment skin apposition technique. A specific treatment site was selected on the virtual patient and student performance, in terms of set-up to the treatment site, was determined by dataset software indicators. Forty four year 1 and 2 pre-registration radiotherapy students were involved in the study. Their perceptions with regard to confidence and skills development in terms of electron skin apposition were analysed with questionnaires. Respondents found the resource intrinsically motivating and perceived enhanced skin apposition skills (80%) and confidence levels (89%) as a consequence of using VERT TM . Further study of this resource is on-going to examine its influence on student performance within the clinical environment.

The Influence Of Dead Layer Effect On The Characteristics Of The High Purity Germanium P-Type Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo Quang Huy

2011-01-01

The present work aims at reviewing the studies of the influence of dead layer effect on the characteristics of a high purity germanium (HPGe) p-type detector, obtained by the author and his colleagues in the recent years. The object for study was the HPGe GC1518 detector-based gamma spectrometer of the Center for Nuclear Techniques, Ho Chi Minh City. The studying problems were: The modeling of an HPGe detector-based gamma spectrometer with using the MCNP code; the method of determining the thickness of dead layer by experimental measurements of gamma spectra and the calculations using MCNP code; the influence of material parameters and dead layer on detector efficiency; the increase of dead layer thickness over the operating time of the GC1518 detector; the influence of dead layer thickness increase on the decrease of detector efficiency; the dead layer effect for the gamma spectra measured in the GC1518 detector. (author)

Identification of influencing municipal characteristics regarding household waste generation and their forecasting ability in Biscay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oribe-Garcia, Iraia, E-mail: iraia.oribe@deusto.es; Kamara-Esteban, Oihane; Martin, Cristina; Macarulla-Arenaza, Ana M.; Alonso-Vicario, Ainhoa

2015-05-15

Highlights: • We have modelled household waste generation in Biscay municipalities. • We have identified relevant characteristics regarding household waste generation. • Factor models are used in order to identify the best subset of explicative variables. • Biscay’s municipalities are grouped by means of hierarchical clustering. - Abstract: The planning of waste management strategies needs tools to support decisions at all stages of the process. Accurate quantification of the waste to be generated is essential for both the daily management (short-term) and proper design of facilities (long-term). Designing without rigorous knowledge may have serious economic and environmental consequences. The present works aims at identifying relevant socio-economic features of municipalities regarding Household Waste (HW) generation by means of factor models. Factor models face two main drawbacks, data collection and identifying relevant explanatory variables within a heterogeneous group. Grouping similar characteristics observations within a group may favour the deduction of more robust models. The methodology followed has been tested with Biscay Province because it stands out for having very different municipalities ranging from very rural to urban ones. Two main models are developed, one for the overall province and a second one after clustering the municipalities. The results prove that relating municipalities with specific characteristics, improves the results in a very heterogeneous situation. The methodology has identified urban morphology, tourism activity, level of education and economic situation as the most influencing characteristics in HW generation.

Identification of influencing municipal characteristics regarding household waste generation and their forecasting ability in Biscay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oribe-Garcia, Iraia; Kamara-Esteban, Oihane; Martin, Cristina; Macarulla-Arenaza, Ana M.; Alonso-Vicario, Ainhoa

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We have modelled household waste generation in Biscay municipalities. • We have identified relevant characteristics regarding household waste generation. • Factor models are used in order to identify the best subset of explicative variables. • Biscay’s municipalities are grouped by means of hierarchical clustering. - Abstract: The planning of waste management strategies needs tools to support decisions at all stages of the process. Accurate quantification of the waste to be generated is essential for both the daily management (short-term) and proper design of facilities (long-term). Designing without rigorous knowledge may have serious economic and environmental consequences. The present works aims at identifying relevant socio-economic features of municipalities regarding Household Waste (HW) generation by means of factor models. Factor models face two main drawbacks, data collection and identifying relevant explanatory variables within a heterogeneous group. Grouping similar characteristics observations within a group may favour the deduction of more robust models. The methodology followed has been tested with Biscay Province because it stands out for having very different municipalities ranging from very rural to urban ones. Two main models are developed, one for the overall province and a second one after clustering the municipalities. The results prove that relating municipalities with specific characteristics, improves the results in a very heterogeneous situation. The methodology has identified urban morphology, tourism activity, level of education and economic situation as the most influencing characteristics in HW generation

Flow-Field Characteristics of High-Temperature Annular Buoyant Jets and Their Development Laws Influenced by Ventilation System

OpenAIRE

Wang, Yi; Huang, Yanqiu; Liu, Jiaping; Wang, Hai; Liu, Qiuhan

2013-01-01

The flow-field characteristics of high-temperature annular buoyant jets as well as the development laws influenced by ventilation system were studied using numerical methods to eliminate the pollutants effectively in this paper. The development laws of high-temperature annular buoyant jets were analyzed and compared with previous studies, including radial velocity distribution, axial velocity and temperature decay, reattachment position, cross-section diameter, volumetric flow rate, and veloc...

KNGR core proection calculator, software, verification and validation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jang Yeol; Park, Jong Kyun; Lee, Ki Young; Lee, Jang Soo; Cheon, Se Woo

2001-05-01

This document describes the Software Verification and Validation Plan(SVVP) Guidance to be used in reviewing the Software Program Manual(SPM) in Korean Next Generation Reactor(KNGR) projects. This document is intended for a verifier or reviewer who is involved with performing of software verification and validation task activity in KNGR projects. This document includeds the basic philosophy, performing V and V effort, software testing techniques, criteria of review and audit on the safety software V and V activity. Major review topics on safety software addresses three kinds of characteristics based on Standard Review Plan(SRP) Chapter 7, Branch Technical Position(BTP)-14 : management characteristics, implementation characteristics and resources characteristics when reviewing on SVVP. Based on major topics of this document, we have produced the evaluation items list such as checklist in Appendix A

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF TRUST TOWARDS E-WOM ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIG FIVE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND INFLUENCE BY E-WOM

OpenAIRE

algur, mehmet selami; erden, nil selenay

2015-01-01

Abstract: Aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of trust towards e-WOM on the relationship between big five personality characteristics (extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, conscientiousness, openness to experience) and influence by e-WOM in order to provide insight for the role of individual differences, one of which is a neglected domain in e-WOM studies. Results indicate that the relationships between agreeableness, conscientiousness and influence by e-WOM ar...

Atovaquone-loaded nanocapsules: influence of the nature of the polymer on their in vitro characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cauchetier, Emmanuelle; Deniau, M; Fessi, H; Astier, A; Paul, M

2003-01-02

Nanocapsules with atovaquone concentration of 1,000 micrograms/ml were prepared according to the interfacial deposition technique using different polymers: poly- epsilon -caprolactone (PECL), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLAGA). The following characteristics of nanoparticles were determined: percentage of encapsulation of atovaquone, percentage of encapsulation of benzyl benzoate (BB), nanoparticle size, nanoparticle wall thickness, suspension pH, and in vitro stability. The different formulations showed similar characteristics: maximal percentage of encapsulation (100%), particle size of approximately 230 nm, neutral pH and wall thickness of approximately 20 nm. The type of polymer used was the main factor influencing stability, in decreasing order: PECL>PLA>PLAGA. No release of atovaquone or benzylbenzoate was noted with PECL nanoparticles over 4 months. Release of atovaquone (25.9%) was found with PLA nanoparticles at 4 months. Release of both atovaquone (18.9%) and benzylbenzoate (54.2%) was noted with PLAGA nanoparticles from the third month, indicating a disruption of the nanoparticle membrane.

URANS simulations of the tip-leakage cavitating flow with verification and validation procedures

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Huai-yu; Long, Xin-ping; Liang, Yun-zhi; Long, Yun; Ji, Bin

2018-04-01

In the present paper, the Vortex Identified Zwart-Gerber-Belamri (VIZGB) cavitation model coupled with the SST-CC turbulence model is used to investigate the unsteady tip-leakage cavitating flow induced by a NACA0009 hydrofoil. A qualitative comparison between the numerical and experimental results is made. In order to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of the numerical data, the verification and validation (V&V) procedures are used in the present paper. Errors of numerical results are estimated with seven error estimators based on the Richardson extrapolation method. It is shown that though a strict validation cannot be achieved, a reasonable prediction of the gross characteristics of the tip-leakage cavitating flow can be obtained. Based on the numerical results, the influence of the cavitation on the tip-leakage vortex (TLV) is discussed, which indicates that the cavitation accelerates the fusion of the TLV and the tip-separation vortex (TSV). Moreover, the trajectory of the TLV, when the cavitation occurs, is close to the side wall.

Teacher Incentive Pay Programs in the United States: Union Influence and District Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guodong Liang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study examined the characteristics of teacher incentive pay programs in the United States. Using the 2007–08 SASS data set, it found an inverse relationship between union influence and districts’ incentive pay offerings. Large and ethnically diverse districts in urban areas that did not meet the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress as defined under the No Child Left Behind Act are more likely to offer a larger number of economic incentives. Although rural districts are likely to reward teachers in hard-to-staff schools, they are not more likely to reward teachers who are certified by the National Board or who teach in the subject areas of shortage, nor are they more likely to offer multiple financial incentives.

Process validation for radiation processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, A.

1999-01-01

Process validation concerns the establishment of the irradiation conditions that will lead to the desired changes of the irradiated product. Process validation therefore establishes the link between absorbed dose and the characteristics of the product, such as degree of crosslinking in a polyethylene tube, prolongation of shelf life of a food product, or degree of sterility of the medical device. Detailed international standards are written for the documentation of radiation sterilization, such as EN 552 and ISO 11137, and the steps of process validation that are described in these standards are discussed in this paper. They include material testing for the documentation of the correct functioning of the product, microbiological testing for selection of the minimum required dose and dose mapping for documentation of attainment of the required dose in all parts of the product. The process validation must be maintained by reviews and repeated measurements as necessary. This paper presents recommendations and guidance for the execution of these components of process validation. (author)

INFLUENCE ОF MODIFIER THERMAL TREATMENT ОN CHARACTERISTICS ОF COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR PROTECTIVE COATINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Ivashko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents results that reveal influence of modifiers characterized by different nature and composition and subjected to heat treatment on operational characteristics of single and binary compositions. Interaction between dispersed clay particles and dependence of  coating properties on  their mass content in oligomeric and polymeric matrices have been justified in the paper. The paper contains data that prove an increase of coating hardness by 15–20 %. The coating composition includes thermally-treated dispersed clay particles.

Chronic Pain: Content Validation of Nursing Diagnosis in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeleníková, Renáta; Maniaková, Lenka

2015-10-01

The main purpose of the study was to validate the defining characteristics and related factors of the nursing diagnosis "chronic pain" in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. This is a descriptive study. The validation process involved was based on Fehring's Diagnostic Content Validity Model. Three defining characteristics (reports pain, altered ability to continue previous activities, and depression) were classified as major by Slovak nurses, and one defining characteristic (reports pain) was classified as major by Czech nurses. The results of the study provide guidance in devising strategies of pain assessment and can aid in the formulation of accurate nursing diagnoses. The defining characteristic "reports pain" is important for arriving at the nursing diagnosis "chronic pain." © 2014 NANDA International, Inc.

Identification of influencing municipal characteristics regarding household waste generation and their forecasting ability in Biscay.

Science.gov (United States)

Oribe-Garcia, Iraia; Kamara-Esteban, Oihane; Martin, Cristina; Macarulla-Arenaza, Ana M; Alonso-Vicario, Ainhoa

2015-05-01

The planning of waste management strategies needs tools to support decisions at all stages of the process. Accurate quantification of the waste to be generated is essential for both the daily management (short-term) and proper design of facilities (long-term). Designing without rigorous knowledge may have serious economic and environmental consequences. The present works aims at identifying relevant socio-economic features of municipalities regarding Household Waste (HW) generation by means of factor models. Factor models face two main drawbacks, data collection and identifying relevant explanatory variables within a heterogeneous group. Grouping similar characteristics observations within a group may favour the deduction of more robust models. The methodology followed has been tested with Biscay Province because it stands out for having very different municipalities ranging from very rural to urban ones. Two main models are developed, one for the overall province and a second one after clustering the municipalities. The results prove that relating municipalities with specific characteristics, improves the results in a very heterogeneous situation. The methodology has identified urban morphology, tourism activity, level of education and economic situation as the most influencing characteristics in HW generation. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Relationship between Clinicians' Confidence and Accuracy, and the Influence of Child Characteristics, in the Screening of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Hedley, Darren; Brewer, Neil; Nevill, Rose; Uljarevic, Mirko; Butter, Eric; Mulick, James A.

2016-01-01

The study examined the confidence accuracy relationship, and the influence of child characteristics on clinician confidence, when predicting a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder during screening of 125 referred children aged under 3.5 years. The diagnostic process included observation, interview, language and developmental testing. Clinical…

Modeling of surge in free-spool centrifugal compressors : experimental validation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gravdahl, J.T.; Willems, F.P.T.; Jager, de A.G.; Egeland, O.

2004-01-01

The derivation of a compressor characteristic, and the experimental validation of a dynamic model for a variable speed centrifugal compressor using this characteristic, are presented. The dynamic compressor model of Fink et al. is used, and a variable speed compressor characteristic is derived by

Creativity-Relevant Personal Characteristics among Indonesia Creative Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nugroho J. Setiadi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The study aims to identify Creativity-relevant Personal Characteristics among creative workers in Indonesia’s creative industry. Identification of the constituent elements of the nature of the changes needs to be measured. Researchers have advocated replacing creativity-relevant personal characteristics based on the five-factor model to investigate how individual differences stimulate creativity. This study presents data supporting reliability (internal consistency and validity (criterion and construct of the instrument. Validity of the instrument is based on the content validity involving art and design experts. The 220 creative workers from several creative industry firms in Indonesia participated as samples in this research. Results of a factor analysis indicated a five factor solution of creative characteristics and behavior. Discussion of findings and the most important ways in which individuals differ in their enduring emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles for stimulating creativity are presented.

Influence of Fiber Volume Fraction on the Tensile Properties and Dynamic Characteristics of Coconut Fiber Reinforced Composite

OpenAIRE

Izzuddin Zaman; Al Emran Ismail; Muhamad Khairudin Awang

2011-01-01

The utilization of coconut fibers as reinforcement in polymer composites has been increased significantly due to their low cost and high specific mechanical properties. In this paper, the mechanical properties and dynamic characteristics of a proposed combined polymer composite which consist of a polyester matrix and coconut fibers are determined. The influence of fibers volume fraction (%) is also evaluated and composites with volumetric amounts of coconut fiber up to 15% are fabricated. In ...

Influence of thin film thickness of working electrodes on photovoltaic characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lai Yeong-Lin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the study of the influence of thin film thickness of working electrodes on the photovoltaic characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells. Titanium dioxide (TiO2 thin films, with the thickness from 7.67 to 24.3 μm, were used to fabricate the working electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs. A TiO2 film was coated on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO conductive glass substrate and then sintered in a high-temperature furnace. On the other hand, platinum (Pt solution was coated onto an FTO substrate for the fabrication of the counter electrode of a DSSC. The working electrode immersed in a dye, the counter electrode, and the electrolyte were assembled to complete a sandwich-structure DSSC. The material analysis of the TiO2 films of DSSCs was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis spectroscopy, while the photovoltaic characteristics of DSSCs were measured by an AM-1.5 sunlight simulator. The light transmittance characteristics of the TiO2 working electrode depend on the TiO2 film thickness. The thin film thickness of the working electrode also affects the light absorption of a dye and results in the photovoltaic characteristics of the DSSC, including open-circuited voltage (VOC, short-circuited current density (JSC, fill factor, and photovoltaic conversion efficiency.

Influencing Work-Related Learning: The Role of Job Characteristics and Self-Directed Learning Orientation in Part-Time Vocational Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gijbels, David; Raemdonck, Isabel; Vervecken, Dries

2010-01-01

Based on the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) model, the present paper aims to investigate the influence of job characteristics such as job demands, job control, social support at work and self-directed learning orientation on the work-related learning behaviour of workers. The present study was conducted in a centre for part-time vocational education…

Study of defect characteristics essential for NDT testing methods ET, UT and RT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirdelius, H.; Oesterberg, Elena

2000-10-01

This paper presents results from a literature review of defect characteristics essential for nondestructive testing (NDT). Most of the major NDT methods are included in the study - ultrasonic testing (UT), radiography (RT) and eddy current testing (ET). The study was performed by means of searching in scientific databases, technical journals, conference proceedings etc. Mainly the following databases were used: CHANS (Chalmers database), INSPEC, NTIS, Ei Compendex, World Surface Coating Abs, METADEX, JICST-Eplus, Aerospace database, Pascal, Eng Materials, SciSearch and Weldasearch. It is concluded that for eddy current testing, the defect geometry, the defect size and the defect orientation influence the outcome signal. A number of investigations address the relationships between the defect parameters like defect depth, length and width and the outcome signal parameters like amplitude, phase and signal shape. Also the phenomena of the electrical contacts between the defect surfaces (for a crack) was studied. Defect parameters that are essential to the quality of ultrasonic testing are defect position in the object (includes the depth), orientation, size, crack surface roughness, closure and tip radius. This investigation has been focused on those parameters that are not that easy to reconstruct and only briefly discussed the influence on the signal response due to defect position, orientation and size. When it comes to radiographic techniques, the most important defect related parameters that influence the quality are the difference in radio opacity of the specimen and defect and the angle between the volumetric extension of the defect and the direction of projection. The defect gape and the morphology of the crack are also very essential parameters. A very simple model of the detectability as a function of depth, width and misorientation (angle to the radiation beam) has been validated and to some extent also verified in a number of papers. Even for defects with

Convective heat transfer in MHD channels and its influence on channel performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahluwalia, R.K.; Doss, E.D.

1980-01-01

The limitations of the integral boundary layer methods and the potential of the differential boundary layer method in analyzing MHD channel flows are assessed. The sensitivity of results from the integral method to the parametrization of boundary layer profiles and calculation of wall heat transfer is established. A mixing-length type turbulence model for flow on rough walls is developed and validated by comparison with experimental data. The turbulence model is used in a quasi-three-dimensional boundary layer model to evaluate the influence of wall roughness and pressure gradients on the flow characteristics and performance of MHD channels. The behaviors of skin friction and Stanton number calculated from the analytical model are found to differ considerably from the empirical correlations valid for non-MHD flows without pressure gradients

Advancement of a Job- and Personal- Characteristics Placement Model

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Frink, Dwight

2001-01-01

Research toward validation of a comprehensive model mapping personal characteristics onto differentiated job characteristics for effective placement, development, and retention of Navy personnel is described...

Detectability in Audio-Visual Surveys of Tropical Rainforest Birds: The Influence of Species, Weather and Habitat Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Alexander S.; Marques, Tiago A.; Shoo, Luke P.; Williams, Stephen E.

2015-01-01

Indices of relative abundance do not control for variation in detectability, which can bias density estimates such that ecological processes are difficult to infer. Distance sampling methods can be used to correct for detectability, but in rainforest, where dense vegetation and diverse assemblages complicate sampling, information is lacking about factors affecting their application. Rare species present an additional challenge, as data may be too sparse to fit detection functions. We present analyses of distance sampling data collected for a diverse tropical rainforest bird assemblage across broad elevational and latitudinal gradients in North Queensland, Australia. Using audio and visual detections, we assessed the influence of various factors on Effective Strip Width (ESW), an intuitively useful parameter, since it can be used to calculate an estimate of density from count data. Body size and species exerted the most important influence on ESW, with larger species detectable over greater distances than smaller species. Secondarily, wet weather and high shrub density decreased ESW for most species. ESW for several species also differed between summer and winter, possibly due to seasonal differences in calling behavior. Distance sampling proved logistically intensive in these environments, but large differences in ESW between species confirmed the need to correct for detection probability to obtain accurate density estimates. Our results suggest an evidence-based approach to controlling for factors influencing detectability, and avenues for further work including modeling detectability as a function of species characteristics such as body size and call characteristics. Such models may be useful in developing a calibration for non-distance sampling data and for estimating detectability of rare species. PMID:26110433

The influence of carbon and oxygen on the magnetic characteristics of press-less sintered NdFeB magnets

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, M.; Abrahamsen, A. B.; Bahl, C. R. H.; Veluri, B.; Søegaard, A. I.; Bøjsøe, P.; Millot, S.

2017-01-01

The Pressless Process (PLP) was adopted to manufacture NdFeB sintered magnets, where the investigations on carbon and oxygen residues from heptane milling liquid media and graphite crucibles used for sintering were quantified to evaluate the influence on the magnetic characteristics. The carbon and oxygen content in the magnets produced from wet ball milling of strip cast flakes was found to be of the order 104 ppm and 4·104 ppm respectively, which resulted in soft magnetic behavior. However using jet milling the carbon and oxygen concentration were decreased by an order of magnitude resulting in coercivity of up to 829 kA/m. Thus the influence of the carbon from the graphite crucibles is small.

Influence of Waveform Characteristics on LiDAR Ranging Accuracy and Precision

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Bingwei; Xie, Xinhao; Li, Duan

2018-01-01

Time of flight (TOF) based light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a technology for calculating distance between start/stop signals of time of flight. In lab-built LiDAR, two ranging systems for measuring flying time between start/stop signals include time-to-digital converter (TDC) that counts time between trigger signals and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that processes the sampled start/stop pulses waveform for time estimation. We study the influence of waveform characteristics on range accuracy and precision of two kinds of ranging system. Comparing waveform based ranging (WR) with analog discrete return system based ranging (AR), a peak detection method (WR-PK) shows the best ranging performance because of less execution time, high ranging accuracy, and stable precision. Based on a novel statistic mathematical method maximal information coefficient (MIC), WR-PK precision has a high linear relationship with the received pulse width standard deviation. Thus keeping the received pulse width of measuring a constant distance as stable as possible can improve ranging precision. PMID:29642639

Influence of Waveform Characteristics on LiDAR Ranging Accuracy and Precision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaolu Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Time of flight (TOF based light detection and ranging (LiDAR is a technology for calculating distance between start/stop signals of time of flight. In lab-built LiDAR, two ranging systems for measuring flying time between start/stop signals include time-to-digital converter (TDC that counts time between trigger signals and analog-to-digital converter (ADC that processes the sampled start/stop pulses waveform for time estimation. We study the influence of waveform characteristics on range accuracy and precision of two kinds of ranging system. Comparing waveform based ranging (WR with analog discrete return system based ranging (AR, a peak detection method (WR-PK shows the best ranging performance because of less execution time, high ranging accuracy, and stable precision. Based on a novel statistic mathematical method maximal information coefficient (MIC, WR-PK precision has a high linear relationship with the received pulse width standard deviation. Thus keeping the received pulse width of measuring a constant distance as stable as possible can improve ranging precision.

The relative influence of road characteristics and habitat on adjacent lizard populations in arid shrublands

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbard, Kaylan A.; Chalfoun, Anna D.; Gerow, Kenneth G.

2016-01-01

As road networks continue to expand globally, indirect impacts to adjacent wildlife populations remain largely unknown. Simultaneously, reptile populations are declining worldwide and anthropogenic habitat loss and fragmentation are frequently cited causes. We evaluated the relative influence of three different road characteristics (surface treatment, width, and traffic volume) and habitat features on adjacent populations of Northern Sagebrush Lizards (Sceloporus graciosus graciosus), Plateau Fence Lizards (S. tristichus), and Greater Short-Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma hernandesi) in mixed arid shrubland habitats in southwest Wyoming. Neither odds of lizard presence nor relative abundance was significantly related to any of the assessed road characteristics, although there was a trend for higher Sceloporus spp. abundance adjacent to paved roads. Sceloporus spp. relative abundance did not vary systematically with distance to the nearest road. Rather, both Sceloporus spp. and Greater Short-Horned Lizards were associated strongly with particular habitat characteristics adjacent to roads. Sceloporus spp. presence and relative abundance increased with rock cover, relative abundance was associated positively with shrub cover, and presence was associated negatively with grass cover. Greater Short-Horned Lizard presence increased with bare ground and decreased marginally with shrub cover. Our results suggest that habitat attributes are stronger correlates of lizard presence and relative abundance than individual characteristics of adjacent roads, at least in our system. Therefore, an effective conservation approach for these species may be to consider the landscape through which new roads and their associated development would occur, and the impact that placement could have on fragment size and key habitat elements.

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF 2-D AIRFIOL IN GROUND COLLISION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AK KARTIGESH A/L KALAI CHELVEN

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Near ground operation of airplanes represents a critical and an important aerodynamic practical problem due to the wing-ground collision. The aerodynamic characteristics of the wing are subjected to dramatic changes due to the flow field interference with the ground. In the present paper, the wing-ground collision was investigated experimentally and numerically. The investigation involved a series of wind tunnel measurements of a 2-D wing model having NACA4412 airfoil section. An experimental set up has been designed and constructed to simulate the collision phenomena in a low speed wind tunnel. The investigations were carried out at different Reynolds numbers ranging from 105 to 4×105, various model heights to chord ratios, H/C ranging from 0.1 to 1, and different angles of attack ranging from -4o to 20o. Numerical simulation of the wing-ground collision has been carried out using FLUENT software. The results of the numerical simulation have been validated by comparison with previous and recent experimental data and it was within acceptable agreement. The results have shown that the aerodynamic characteristics are considerably influenced when the wing is close to the ground, mainly at angles of attacks 4o to 8o. The take off and landing speeds are found to be very influencing parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing in collision status, mainly the lift.

Borehole heat exchangers: Longterm operational characteristics of a decentral geothermal heating system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rybach, L.; Eugster, W.J.; Hopkirk, R.J.; Kaelin, B.

1992-01-01

The heat pump-coupled borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is an efficient and small geothermal energy system for supplying heat typically to a single dwelling house. The long-term performance characteristics have been investigated by computer simulations. The numerical models were validated by measurements at instrumented BHE facilities. The results show the development of a new thermal equilibrium state after the first few years of BHE operation. The thermal influence is limited to the first few meters of the ground surrounding the BHE. The BHE could be scaled up in order to be installed in deep 'failed' holes (e.g. dry geothermal or hydrocarbon exploration holes)

Validation of an instrument to assess toddler feeding practices of Latino mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaidez, Virginia; Kaiser, Lucia L

2011-08-01

This paper describes qualitative and quantitative aspects of testing a 34-item Toddler-Feeding Questionnaire (TFQ), designed for use in Latino families, and the associations between feeding practices and toddler dietary outcomes. Qualitative methods included review by an expert panel for content validity and cognitive testing of the tool to assess face validity. Quantitative analyses included use of exploratory factor analysis for construct validity; Pearson's correlations for test-retest reliability; Cronbach's alpha (α) for internal reliability; and multivariate regression for investigating relationships between feeding practices and toddler diet and anthropometry. Interviews were conducted using a convenience sample of 94 Latino mother and toddler dyads obtained largely through the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Data collection included household characteristics, self-reported early-infant feeding practices, the toddler's dietary intake, and anthropometric measurements. Factor analysis suggests the TFQ contains three subscales: indulgent; authoritative; and environmental influences. The TFQ demonstrated acceptable reliability for most measures. As hypothesized, indulgent practices in Latino toddlers were associated with increased energy consumption and higher intakes of total fat, saturated fat, and sweetened beverages. This tool may be useful in future research exploring the relationship of toddler feeding practices to nutritional outcomes in Latino families. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An exploration study to find important factors influencing on brand in car accessory market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naser Azad

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Supplying car accessory is one of the most important growing industries in the world. Every year, millions of cars are produced and people need to have the access to necessary car accessory. In this paper, we present an exploration study to detect important factors influencing car accessory market. The proposed study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale consists of 16 questions, distributes it among 200 experts and analyses it using factor analysis. Cronbach alpha and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy are calculated as 0.823 and 0.863, which validate the overall questionnaire. The results indicate that there are three influencing factors including brand capability, brand characteristics and consumers’ believe.

Influences of Stacking Architectures of TiO2 Nanoparticle Layers on Characteristics of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Hung Tsai

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated the influences of stacking architectures of the TiO2 nanoparticle layers on characteristics and performances of DSSCs. TiO2 nanoparticles of different sizes and compositions were characterized for their morphological and optical/scattering properties in thin films. They were used to construct different stacking architectures of the TiO2 nanoparticle layers for use as working electrodes of DSSCs. Characteristics and performances of DSSCs were examined to establish correlation of the stacking architectures of TiO2 nanoparticle layers with characteristics of DSSCs. The results suggest that the three-layer DSSC architecture, with sandwiching a 20 nm TiO2 nanoparticle layer between a 37 nm TiO2 nanoparticle layer and a hundred nm sized TiO2 back scattering/reflection layer, is effective in enhancing DSSC efficiencies. The high-total-transmittance 37 nm TiO2 nanoparticle layer with a larger haze can serve as an effective front scattering layer to scatter a portion of the incident light into larger oblique angles and therefore increase optical paths and absorption.

Flow-Field Characteristics of High-Temperature Annular Buoyant Jets and Their Development Laws Influenced by Ventilation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The flow-field characteristics of high-temperature annular buoyant jets as well as the development laws influenced by ventilation system were studied using numerical methods to eliminate the pollutants effectively in this paper. The development laws of high-temperature annular buoyant jets were analyzed and compared with previous studies, including radial velocity distribution, axial velocity and temperature decay, reattachment position, cross-section diameter, volumetric flow rate, and velocity field characteristics with different pressures at the exhaust hood inlet. The results showed that when the ratio of outer diameter to inner diameter of the annulus was smaller than 5/2, the flow-field characteristics had significant difference compared to circular buoyant jets with the same outer diameter. For similar diameter ratios, reattachment in this paper occurred further downstream in contrast to previous study. Besides, the development laws of volumetric flow rate and cross-section diameter were given with different initial parameters. In addition, through analyzing air distribution characteristics under the coupling effect of high-temperature annular buoyant jets and ventilation system, it could be found that the position where maximum axial velocity occurred was changing gradually when the pressure at the exhaust hood inlet changed from 0 Pa to −5 Pa.

Flow-field characteristics of high-temperature annular buoyant jets and their development laws influenced by ventilation system.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yi; Huang, Yanqiu; Liu, Jiaping; Wang, Hai; Liu, Qiuhan

2013-01-01

The flow-field characteristics of high-temperature annular buoyant jets as well as the development laws influenced by ventilation system were studied using numerical methods to eliminate the pollutants effectively in this paper. The development laws of high-temperature annular buoyant jets were analyzed and compared with previous studies, including radial velocity distribution, axial velocity and temperature decay, reattachment position, cross-section diameter, volumetric flow rate, and velocity field characteristics with different pressures at the exhaust hood inlet. The results showed that when the ratio of outer diameter to inner diameter of the annulus was smaller than 5/2, the flow-field characteristics had significant difference compared to circular buoyant jets with the same outer diameter. For similar diameter ratios, reattachment in this paper occurred further downstream in contrast to previous study. Besides, the development laws of volumetric flow rate and cross-section diameter were given with different initial parameters. In addition, through analyzing air distribution characteristics under the coupling effect of high-temperature annular buoyant jets and ventilation system, it could be found that the position where maximum axial velocity occurred was changing gradually when the pressure at the exhaust hood inlet changed from 0 Pa to -5 Pa.

Study on the Influence of Blade Roughnesson Axial Flow Compressor Stage Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi Xudong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A typically actual inlet stage NASA Stage 36 is chosen to study the influence of surface roughness on axial compressor performance. Firstly, a geometry model is created by blade design software BladeGen using transferred coordinates data of blade profile and flow path. Secondly, validation of simulation model is conducted by comparing computational data and field experiment data. Lastly, SST k-ω turbulence model is chosen to study the influence of blade surface roughness on performance parameters under different work points. It shows that adding roughness will significantly reduce axial compressor stage’s adiabatic efficiency and total pressure ratio and cause stage characteristic map shift toward left. It should not neglect the influence of surface roughness of stator near stall region under 100% design speed; Mach number shows a big difference after adding surface roughness, and it can be considered as a sensibility parameter of roughness.

Nursing diagnosis of grieving: content validity in perinatal loss situations.

Science.gov (United States)

Paloma-Castro, Olga; Romero-Sánchez, José Manuel; Paramio-Cuevas, Juan Carlos; Pastor-Montero, Sonia María; Castro-Yuste, Cristina; Frandsen, Anna J; Albar-Marín, María Jesús; Bas-Sarmiento, Pilar; Moreno-Corral, Luis Javier

2014-06-01

To validate the content of the NANDA-I nursing diagnosis of grieving in situations of perinatal loss. Using the Fehring's model, 208 Spanish experts were asked to assess the adequacy of the defining characteristics and other manifestations identified in the literature for cases of perinatal loss. The content validity index was 0.867. Twelve of the 18 defining characteristics were validated, seven as major and five as minor. From the manifestations proposed, "empty inside" was considered as major. The nursing diagnosis of grieving fits in content to the cases of perinatal loss according to experts. The results have provided evidence to support the use of the diagnosis in care plans for said clinical situation. © 2013 NANDA International.

DEM modeling of ball mills with experimental validation: influence of contact parameters on charge motion and power draw

Science.gov (United States)

Boemer, Dominik; Ponthot, Jean-Philippe

2017-01-01

Discrete element method simulations of a 1:5-scale laboratory ball mill are presented in this paper to study the influence of the contact parameters on the charge motion and the power draw. The position density limit is introduced as an efficient mathematical tool to describe and to compare the macroscopic charge motion in different scenarios, i.a. with different values of the contact parameters. While the charge motion and the power draw are relatively insensitive to the stiffness and the damping coefficient of the linear spring-slider-damper contact law, the coefficient of friction has a strong influence since it controls the sliding propensity of the charge. Based on the experimental calibration and validation by charge motion photographs and power draw measurements, the descriptive and predictive capabilities of the position density limit and the discrete element method are demonstrated, i.e. the real position of the charge is precisely delimited by the respective position density limit and the power draw can be predicted with an accuracy of about 5 %.

Habitat characteristics and environmental parameters influencing fish assemblages of karstic pools in southern Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Eugenia Vega-Cendejas

Full Text Available Fish assemblage structure was evaluated and compared among 36 karstic pools located within protected areas of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (southern Mexico and unprotected adjacent areas beyond the Reserve. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS, indicator species analysis (ISA, and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA were used to identify which environmental factors reflected local influences and to evaluate the correlation of these variables with fish assemblages structure. Thirty-one species were encountered in these karstic pools, some for the first time within the Reserve. These aquatic environments were separated into three groups based on physico-chemical characteristics. Although CCA identified significant associations between several fish species (based on their relative abundance and environmental variables (K, NH4, NO3, and conductivity, the most abundant species (Astyanax aeneus, Poecilia mexicana, and Gambusia sexradiata occur in most pools and under several environmental conditions. Baseline data on fish diversity along with a continued monitoring program are essential in order to evaluate the conservation status of fish assemblages and their habitats, as well as to measure the influence of anthropogenic impacts on pristine habitats such as the karstic pools of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.

Influence of non-adherent yeast cells on electrical characteristics of diamond-based field-effect transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Procházka, Václav, E-mail: prochazkav@fzu.cz [Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, 16627 Prague (Czech Republic); Institute of Physics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10/112, 162 00 Prague (Czech Republic); Cifra, Michal [Institute of Photonics and Electronics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská 57, 182 51 Prague (Czech Republic); Kulha, Pavel [Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, 16627 Prague (Czech Republic); Institute of Physics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10/112, 162 00 Prague (Czech Republic); Ižák, Tibor [Institute of Physics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10/112, 162 00 Prague (Czech Republic); Rezek, Bohuslav [Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, 16627 Prague (Czech Republic); Institute of Physics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10/112, 162 00 Prague (Czech Republic); Kromka, Alexander [Institute of Physics, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10/112, 162 00 Prague (Czech Republic); Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 16629 Prague (Czech Republic)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Interaction of non-adherent yeast cells with H-terminated diamond described. • Effect of cell culture solutions on H-diamond SGFET (positive potential shifts). • H-diamond sensitive to metabolic activity of yeast cells (negative potential shift). - Abstract: Diamond thin films provide unique features as substrates for cell cultures and as bio-electronic sensors. Here we employ solution-gated field effect transistors (SGFET) based on nanocrystalline diamond thin films with H-terminated surface which exhibits the sub-surface p-type conductive channel. We study an influence of yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on electrical characteristics of the diamond SGFETs. Two different cell culture solutions (sucrose and yeast peptone dextrose–YPD) are used, with and without the cells. We have found that transfer characteristics of the SGFETs exhibit a negative shift of the gate voltage by −26 mV and −42 mV for sucrose and YPD with cells in comparison to blank solutions without the cells. This effect is attributed to a local pH change in close vicinity of the H-terminated diamond surface due to metabolic processes of the yeast cells. The pH sensitivity of the diamond-based SGFETs, the role of cell and protein adhesion on the gate surface and the role of negative surface charge of yeast cells on the SGFETs electrical characteristics are discussed as well.

Influence of sample geometry and microstructure on the hydrogen induced cracking characteristics under uniaxial load

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laureys, A., E-mail: aurelie.laureys@ugent.be [Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Ghent University (UGent), Tech Lane Ghent Science Park - Campus A, Technologie park 903, B-9052 Gent (Belgium); Depover, T., E-mail: tom.depover@ugent.be [Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Ghent University (UGent), Tech Lane Ghent Science Park - Campus A, Technologie park 903, B-9052 Gent (Belgium); Petrov, R., E-mail: roumen.petrov@ugent.be [Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Ghent University (UGent), Tech Lane Ghent Science Park - Campus A, Technologie park 903, B-9052 Gent (Belgium); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft (Netherlands); Verbeken, K., E-mail: kim.verbeken@ugent.be [Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Ghent University (UGent), Tech Lane Ghent Science Park - Campus A, Technologie park 903, B-9052 Gent (Belgium)

2017-04-06

The present work evaluates hydrogen induced cracking in a TRIP (transformation induced plasticity) assisted steel and pure iron. The goal of this work is to understand the effect of the macroscopic stress distribution in the material on the hydrogen induced cracking phenomenon. Additionally, the effect of a complex multiphase microstructure on the characteristics of hydrogen induced cracking was investigated by comparing results for TRIP-assisted steel and pure iron as reference material. Tensile tests on notched and unnotched samples combined with in-situ electrochemical hydrogen charging were conducted. Tests were performed until the tensile strength was reached and until fracture. The resulting hydrogen induced cracks were studied by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Hydrogen induced cracks showed a typical S-shape and crack propagation was mainly transgranular, independently of the presence of a notch or the material's microstructure. This was also the case for the V-shaped secondary crack network and resulting stepped crack morphology characteristic for hydrogen induced damage. These observations indicate that the stress state surrounding the crack tip has a very large impact on the hydrogen induced cracking characteristics. The use of a notch or the presence of a different microstructure did not influence the overall hydrogen induced cracking features, but did change the kinetics of the hydrogen induced cracking process.

Influence of non-adherent yeast cells on electrical characteristics of diamond-based field-effect transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Procházka, Václav; Cifra, Michal; Kulha, Pavel; Ižák, Tibor; Rezek, Bohuslav; Kromka, Alexander

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Interaction of non-adherent yeast cells with H-terminated diamond described. • Effect of cell culture solutions on H-diamond SGFET (positive potential shifts). • H-diamond sensitive to metabolic activity of yeast cells (negative potential shift). - Abstract: Diamond thin films provide unique features as substrates for cell cultures and as bio-electronic sensors. Here we employ solution-gated field effect transistors (SGFET) based on nanocrystalline diamond thin films with H-terminated surface which exhibits the sub-surface p-type conductive channel. We study an influence of yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on electrical characteristics of the diamond SGFETs. Two different cell culture solutions (sucrose and yeast peptone dextrose–YPD) are used, with and without the cells. We have found that transfer characteristics of the SGFETs exhibit a negative shift of the gate voltage by −26 mV and −42 mV for sucrose and YPD with cells in comparison to blank solutions without the cells. This effect is attributed to a local pH change in close vicinity of the H-terminated diamond surface due to metabolic processes of the yeast cells. The pH sensitivity of the diamond-based SGFETs, the role of cell and protein adhesion on the gate surface and the role of negative surface charge of yeast cells on the SGFETs electrical characteristics are discussed as well.

Influence of sample geometry and microstructure on the hydrogen induced cracking characteristics under uniaxial load

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laureys, A.; Depover, T.; Petrov, R.; Verbeken, K.

2017-01-01

The present work evaluates hydrogen induced cracking in a TRIP (transformation induced plasticity) assisted steel and pure iron. The goal of this work is to understand the effect of the macroscopic stress distribution in the material on the hydrogen induced cracking phenomenon. Additionally, the effect of a complex multiphase microstructure on the characteristics of hydrogen induced cracking was investigated by comparing results for TRIP-assisted steel and pure iron as reference material. Tensile tests on notched and unnotched samples combined with in-situ electrochemical hydrogen charging were conducted. Tests were performed until the tensile strength was reached and until fracture. The resulting hydrogen induced cracks were studied by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Hydrogen induced cracks showed a typical S-shape and crack propagation was mainly transgranular, independently of the presence of a notch or the material's microstructure. This was also the case for the V-shaped secondary crack network and resulting stepped crack morphology characteristic for hydrogen induced damage. These observations indicate that the stress state surrounding the crack tip has a very large impact on the hydrogen induced cracking characteristics. The use of a notch or the presence of a different microstructure did not influence the overall hydrogen induced cracking features, but did change the kinetics of the hydrogen induced cracking process.

Impact of role-, job- and organizational characteristics on Nursing Unit Managers' work related stress and well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Bogaert, Peter; Adriaenssens, Jef; Dilles, Tinne; Martens, Daisy; Van Rompaey, Bart; Timmermans, Olaf

2014-11-01

To study the impact of role, job- and organizational characteristics on nurse managers' work related stress and well-being such as feelings of emotional exhaustion, work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Various studies investigated role-, job- and organizational characteristics influencing nurse-related work environments. Research on nurse managers' related work environments define influencing factors, but, a clear understanding of the impact of nurse-managers' work-environment characteristics on their work related stress and well-being is limited. A cross-sectional design with a survey. A cross-sectional survey (N = 365) was carried out between December 2011-March 2012. The questionnaire was based on various validated measurement instruments identified by expert meetings (e.g. staff nurses, nurse managers and executives and physicians). Hierarchical regression analyses were performed using emotional exhaustion, work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions as outcome variables. Study results showed one out of six nursing unit managers have high to very high feelings of emotional exhaustion and two out of three respondents have high to very high work engagement. Hierarchical regression models showed that role conflict and role meaningfulness were strong predictors of nursing unit managers' work related stress and well-being, alongside with job- and organizational characteristics. Several risk factors and stimulating factors influencing nurse unit managers' work related stress and well-being were identified. Further challenges will be to develop proper interventions and strategies to support nursing unit managers and their team in daily practice to deliver the best and safest patient care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A framework for an on-line diagnostic expert system with intelligent sensor validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Jin

1997-01-01

This paper outlines a framework for performing two different but inter-related functions in diagnosis, i.e. sensor validation and reasoning under uncertainty. Sensor validation plays a vital role in the ability of the overall system to correctly determine the state of a plant monitored by imperfect sensors (Sopocy, 1990). Two subsystems, Algorithmic(ASV) and Heuristic(HSV) Sensor Validation, separate activities according to the degree of plant knowledge required and represent Sensor Validation Expert System when combined. Uncertain information in sensory values is represented through probability assignments on three discrete states, High, Normal, and Low, and additional sensor confidence measures in ASV. HSV exploits deeper knowledge about parameter interaction within the plant to cull sensor faults from the data stream. Finally the modified probability distributions and validated data are used as input to the reasoning scheme which is the run-time version of the influence diagram. The influence diagram represents the backbone of reasoning under uncertainty in Influence Diagram Knowledge Base. (author)

Type of dietary fibre (soluble versus insoluble) influences digestion, faeces characteristics and faecal waste production in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amirkolaie, A.K.; Leenhouwers, J.I.; Verreth, J.A.J.; Schrama, J.W.

2005-01-01

The physico-chemical properties of nutrients influence the physical characteristics of faeces and thus may affect waste removal efficiency. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of type of non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) on digesta viscosity, faeces recovery and nutrient digestibility in

Influence of Individual Values Dissimilarity in the Outcome of top Management Teams: a study in a management lab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Ramon D'Acosta Rivera

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Several studies relate organizational outcomes to the performance of top management teams (TMT. Some of these studies suggest that the process of strategic choice is influenced by the cognitive background and values of the executives in those teams, and have focused on the composition of TMT, using demographic variables as proxies for deep-level characteristics. The aim of this descriptive and exploratory study was to verify directly the influence of deep-level characteristics – the dissimilarities of TMT members’ individual values – on the team outcomes. This research was carried out using a quantitative method within a public university management lab environment located in the city of São Paulo, applying two value surveys validated in Brazil on TMT composed of Business Management and Accounting undergraduates submitted to a business game situation, resulting in a non-probabilistic sample formed of 32 teams comprising 186 students with valid responses. Through multiple linear regression technique, two statistically significant regression models were found. It was found that the improved performance of TMT occurs when members differ in the importance assigned to values related to openness to change and have similar appreciation of values related to rules and to security in life (conservation values and the pursuit of power (prestige, giving evidence that this can occur not only in a laboratory environment, but also in the business environment, where time pressures and competition are even more severe and, therefore, more subject to deep-level subjective characteristics.

Influence of patient characteristics on care time in patients hospitalized with schizophrenia

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Sugibayashi Y

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Yukiko Sugibayashi,1 Kimio Yoshimura,1 Keita Yamauchi,1,2 Ataru Inagaki,3 Naoki Ikegami1 1Department of Health Policy and Management, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, 2Keio University Graduate School of Health Management, Kanagawa, 3Aoyama Gakuin University, School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Tokyo, Japan Background: In the current Japanese payment system for the treatment of psychiatric inpatients, the length of hospital stay and nurse staffing levels are key determinants of the amount of payment. These factors do not fully reflect the costs of care for each patient. The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between patient characteristics and their care costs as measured by “care time” for patients with schizophrenia.Methods: Patient characteristics and care time were investigated in 14,557 inpatients in 102 psychiatric hospitals in Japan. Of these 14,557 inpatients, data for 8,379 with schizophrenia were analyzed using a tree-based model.Results: The factor exerting the greatest influence on care time was ”length of stay”, so subjects were divided into 2 groups, a “short stay group” with length of stay ≦104 days, and “long stay group” ≧105 days. Each group was further subdivided according to dependence with regard to “activities of daily living”, “psychomotor agitation”, “verbal abuse”, and “frequent demands/repetitive complaints”, which were critical variables affecting care time. The mean care time was shorter in the long-stay group; however, in some long-stay patients, the mean care time was considerably longer than that in patients in the short-stay group.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to construct a new payment system reflecting not only length of stay and nurse staffing levels, but also individual patient characteristics. Keywords: psychiatric hospital, schizophrenia, care time, case mix, tree-based model

The Legality and Validity of Administrative Enforcement

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Sergei V. Iarkovoi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the concept and content of the validity of adopted by the executive authorities and other bodies of public administration legal acts and committed by them legal actions as an important characteristic of law enforcement by these bodies. The Author concludes that the validity of the administrative law enforcement is not an independent requirement for it, and acts as an integral part of its legal requirements.

Validation of a regional distribution model in environmental risk assessment of substances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berding, V.

2000-06-26

The regional distribution model SimpleBox proposed in the TGD (Technical Guidance Document) and implemented in the EUSES software (European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances) was validated. The aim of this investigation was to determine the applicability and weaknesses of the model and to make proposals for improvement. The validation was performed using the scheme set up by SCHWARTZ (2000) of which the main aspects are the division into internal and external validation, i.e. into generic and task-specific properties of the model. These two validation parts contain the scrutiny of theory, sensitivity analyses, comparison of predicted environmental concentrations with measured ones by means of scenario analyses, uncertainty analyses and comparison with alternative models. Generally, the model employed is a reasonable compromise between complexity and simplification. Simpler models are applicable, too, but in many cases the results can deviate considerably from the measured values. For the sewage treatment model, it could be shown that its influence on the predicted concentration is very low and a much simpler model fulfils its purpose in a similar way. It is proposed to improve the model in several ways, e.g. by including the pH/pK-correction for dissociating substances or by alternative estimations functions for partition coefficients. But the main focus for future improvements should be on the amelioration of release estimations and substance characteristics as degradation rates and partition coefficients.

Influence of current and temperature on discharge characteristics of electrochemical nickel−cadmium system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todorović Andreja

2010-01-01

level. An overview of the obtained characteristics for analyzed battery and their comparison with the producers prescribed values and standards led to gaining of the valuable data that show how and in what measure do current and temperature influence the discharge characteristic of non-hermetic nickel-cadmium batteries with an especial observation of internal electrical resistance and battery efficiency level. Obtained results show that electrochemical power sources may provide electric energy with prescribed quality and quantity, with high level of work reliability, as well as with all other positive technical and economic effects within the given current-temperature range.

The Influence of the Characteristics of Mathematical Outdoor Activities in Mobile Environments on Students' Emotions

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Wajeeh M. Daher

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This research attempted to find out how the characteristics of outdoor activities carried out with the mobile phone influence students' emotions. The research findings point at the following components related to the activity as influencing students' emotions: The activity novelty, the activity theme (related to everyday life, related to a new subject related to the students themselves or to an issue or a subject that the students like to do, etc., the activity conditions (its physical part is easy/uneasy to perform, resources are available, etc., the outer environment conditions (hot, warm, cold, etc., the roles which the activity enables (these roles may or may not satisfy a student, the learning method enabled in the activity (exploring mathematical ideas independently, exploring mathematics collaboratively, etc., the challenge or competition associated with the activity (it needs persistence, attention, etc.. These components show that taking care of students' leaning emotions in outdoor mathematical activities can be achieved through paying attention to different aspects of the activity which are outlined above.

Influence the Rubber Seed Type and Altitude on Characteristic of Seed, Oil and Biodiesel

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Salni Salni

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This research studies the influence of the type of rubber seed that is superior and local, altitude plant in South Sumatra province to the characteristic of seed, oil and biodiesel (methyl ester. Rubber plants planted from local rubber seed by seeds seedlings and superior rubber seed by selected clones. In the study, rubber plants planted at a different altitude, namely in Banyuasin district (18 m above sea level, Prabumulih District (176 m above sea level and Lahat District (627 m above sea level. The results showed that the weight of the flour, the water content and ash content in the local rubber seeds larger than the superior rubber seed for all altitude, but oil content a large in the superior rubber seeds. The major of fatty acids in the rubber seed oil in all types and altitude are a linoleic acid with a different percentage except local rubber seed oil from Lahat district with the large percentage of octadecanoic acid. Free fatty acids in the oil from the superior seeds rubber of 13.897-15.494 % large than local rubber seed oil was found 9.786-10.399 % for all altitude. By esterification process using sulfuric acid catalyst, Free Fatty Acid (FFA can be reduced to ≤ 2 %. The methyl ester made from the transesterification process of rubber seed oil after esterification using methanol and sodium hydroxide as catalyst. Analysis of methyl esters includes cetane index, flash point, kinematic viscosity, carbon residue, density, moisture content, water and sediment content and distillation compared with SNI 7182 and ASTM 6751-02.  The result indicated that the quality of methyl ester from superior rubber seed oil in the Banyuasin and Prabumulih district better than another methyl ester. The types of rubber seed altitude affect the characteristics of the seed, oil and methyl ester  but the altitude are not significantly different. Keywords: rubber seed, type, altitude, oil, biodiesel Article History: Received March 21st 2017; Received in

Practical procedure for method validation in INAA- A tutorial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petroni, Robson; Moreira, Edson G.

2015-01-01

This paper describes the procedure employed by the Neutron Activation Laboratory at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP) for validation of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) methods. According to recommendations of ISO/IEC 17025 the method performance characteristics (limit of detection, limit of quantification, trueness, repeatability, intermediate precision, reproducibility, selectivity, linearity and uncertainties budget) were outline in an easy, fast and convenient way. The paper presents step by step how to calculate the required method performance characteristics in a process of method validation, what are the procedures, adopted strategies and acceptance criteria for the results, that is, how to make a method validation in INAA. In order to exemplify the methodology applied, obtained results for the method validation of mass fraction determination of Co, Cr, Fe, Rb, Se and Zn in biological matrix samples, using an internal reference material of mussel tissue were presented. It was concluded that the methodology applied for validation of INAA methods is suitable, meeting all the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, and thereby, generating satisfactory results for the studies carried at LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP. (author)

Practical procedure for method validation in INAA- A tutorial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petroni, Robson; Moreira, Edson G., E-mail: robsonpetroni@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

This paper describes the procedure employed by the Neutron Activation Laboratory at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP) for validation of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) methods. According to recommendations of ISO/IEC 17025 the method performance characteristics (limit of detection, limit of quantification, trueness, repeatability, intermediate precision, reproducibility, selectivity, linearity and uncertainties budget) were outline in an easy, fast and convenient way. The paper presents step by step how to calculate the required method performance characteristics in a process of method validation, what are the procedures, adopted strategies and acceptance criteria for the results, that is, how to make a method validation in INAA. In order to exemplify the methodology applied, obtained results for the method validation of mass fraction determination of Co, Cr, Fe, Rb, Se and Zn in biological matrix samples, using an internal reference material of mussel tissue were presented. It was concluded that the methodology applied for validation of INAA methods is suitable, meeting all the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, and thereby, generating satisfactory results for the studies carried at LAN, IPEN - CNEN/SP. (author)

The influence of design characteristics on statistical inference in nonlinear estimation: A simulation study based on survival data and hazard modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, J.S.; Bedaux, J.J.M.; Kooijman, S.A.L.M.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the influence of design characteristics on the statistical inference for an ecotoxicological hazard-based model using simulated survival data. The design characteristics of interest are the number and spacing of observations (counts) in time, the number and spacing of exposure...... concentrations (within c(min) and c(max)), and the initial number of individuals at time 0 in each concentration. A comparison of the coverage probabilities for confidence limits arising from the profile-likelihood approach and the Wald-based approach is carried out. The Wald-based approach is very sensitive...

Incubation Temperature during Fetal Development Influences Morphophysiological Characteristics and Preferred Ambient Temperature of Chicken Hatchlings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viviane de Souza Morita

Full Text Available Skin and feather characteristics, which play a critical role in body temperature maintenance, can be affected by incubation circumstances, such as incubation temperature. However, no study to date has assessed the influence of incubation temperature during the fetal stage on morphometric characteristics and vascular development of the skin, feather characteristics, and their relationship to hormone levels and preferred temperature in later life in chickens. Broiler breeder eggs were exposed to low (36°C, control (37.5°C, or high (39°C temperatures (treatments LT, CK, and HT, respectively from day 13 of incubation onward, because it is known that the endocrine axes are already established at this time. During this period, eggshell temperature of HT eggs (38.8±0.33°C was higher than of LT (37.4±0.08°C and CK eggs (37.8 ±0.15°C. The difference between eggshell and incubator air temperature diminished with the increasing incubation temperature, and was approximately zero for HT. HT hatchlings had higher surface temperature on the head, neck, and back, and thinner and more vascularized skin than did CK and LT hatchlings. No differences were found among treatments for body weight, total feather weight, number and length of barbs, barbule length, and plasma T4 concentration. LT hatchlings showed lower plasma T3 and GH, as well as lower T3/T4 ratio and decreased vascularity in the neck, back, and thigh skin compared to CK hatchlings. On the other hand, HT hatchlings had decreased skin thickness and increased vascularity, and preferred a higher ambient temperature compared to CK and HT hatchlings. In addition, for all treatments, surface temperature on the head was higher than of the other body regions. We conclude that changes in skin thickness and vascularity, as well as changes in thyroid and growth hormone levels, are the result of embryonic strategies to cope with higher or lower than normal incubation temperatures. Additionally exposure to

Dive characteristics can predict foraging success in Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus as validated by animal-borne video

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Beth L. Volpov

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Dive characteristics and dive shape are often used to infer foraging success in pinnipeds. However, these inferences have not been directly validated in the field with video, and it remains unclear if this method can be applied to benthic foraging animals. This study assessed the ability of dive characteristics from time-depth recorders (TDR to predict attempted prey capture events (APC that were directly observed on animal-borne video in Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus, n=11. The most parsimonious model predicting the probability of a dive with ≥1 APC on video included only descent rate as a predictor variable. The majority (94% of the 389 total APC were successful, and the majority of the dives (68% contained at least one successful APC. The best model predicting these successful dives included descent rate as a predictor. Comparisons of the TDR model predictions to video yielded a maximum accuracy of 77.5% in classifying dives as either APC or non-APC or 77.1% in classifying dives as successful verses unsuccessful. Foraging intensity, measured as either total APC per dive or total successful APC per dive, was best predicted by bottom duration and ascent rate. The accuracy in predicting total APC per dive varied based on the number of APC per dive with maximum accuracy occurring at 1 APC for both total (54% and only successful APC (52%. Results from this study linking verified foraging dives to dive characteristics potentially opens the door to decades of historical TDR datasets across several otariid species.

Psychological and interactional characteristics of patients with somatoform disorders: Validation of the Somatic Symptoms Experiences Questionnaire (SSEQ) in a clinical psychosomatic population.

Science.gov (United States)

Herzog, Annabel; Voigt, Katharina; Meyer, Björn; Wollburg, Eileen; Weinmann, Nina; Langs, Gernot; Löwe, Bernd

2015-06-01

The new DSM-5 Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) emphasizes the importance of psychological processes related to somatic symptoms in patients with somatoform disorders. To address this, the Somatic Symptoms Experiences Questionnaire (SSEQ), the first self-report scale that assesses a broad range of psychological and interactional characteristics relevant to patients with a somatoform disorder or SSD, was developed. This prospective study was conducted to validate the SSEQ. The 15-item SSEQ was administered along with a battery of self-report questionnaires to psychosomatic inpatients. Patients were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV to confirm a somatoform, depressive, or anxiety disorder. Confirmatory factor analyses, tests of internal consistency and tests of validity were performed. Patients (n=262) with a mean age of 43.4 years, 60.3% women, were included in the analyses. The previously observed four-factor model was replicated and internal consistency was good (Cronbach's α=.90). Patients with a somatoform disorder had significantly higher scores on the SSEQ (t=4.24, pquality of life. Sensitivity to change was shown by significantly higher effect sizes of the SSEQ change scores for improved patients than for patients without improvement. The SSEQ appears to be a reliable, valid, and efficient instrument to assess a broad range of psychological and interactional features related to the experience of somatic symptoms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use cognitive enhancement drugs: the influence of drug characteristics, social environment, and personal characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sattler, Sebastian; Mehlkop, Guido; Graeff, Peter; Sauer, Carsten

2014-02-01

The use of cognitive enhancement (CE) by means of pharmaceutical agents has been the subject of intense debate both among scientists and in the media. This study investigates several drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use prescription drugs non-medically for augmenting brain capacity. We conducted a web-based study among 2,877 students from randomly selected disciplines at German universities. Using a factorial survey, respondents expressed their willingness to take various hypothetical CE-drugs; the drugs were described by five experimentally varied characteristics and the social environment by three varied characteristics. Personal characteristics and demographic controls were also measured. We found that 65.3% of the respondents staunchly refused to use CE-drugs. The results of a multivariate negative binomial regression indicated that respondents' willingness to use CE-drugs increased if the potential drugs promised a significant augmentation of mental capacity and a high probability of achieving this augmentation. Willingness decreased when there was a high probability of side effects and a high price. Prevalent CE-drug use among peers increased willingness, whereas a social environment that strongly disapproved of these drugs decreased it. Regarding the respondents' characteristics, pronounced academic procrastination, high cognitive test anxiety, low intrinsic motivation, low internalization of social norms against CE-drug use, and past experiences with CE-drugs increased willingness. The potential severity of side effects, social recommendations about using CE-drugs, risk preferences, and competencies had no measured effects upon willingness. These findings contribute to understanding factors that influence the willingness to use CE-drugs. They support the assumption of instrumental drug use and may contribute to the development of prevention, policy, and educational strategies.

Initial Validation of the Mental Health Provider Stigma Inventory

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Stephanie C.; Abell, Neil; Mennicke, Annelise

2017-01-01

Objective: To conduct an initial validation of the mental health provider stigma inventory (MHPSI). The MHPSI assesses stigma within the service provider--client relationship on three domains--namely, attitudes, behaviors, and coworker influence. Methods: Initial validation of the MHPSI was conducted with a sample of 212 mental health employees…

Achieving external validity in home advantage research: generalizing crowd noise effects

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Tony D Myers

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Different factors have been postulated to explain the home advantage phenomenon in sport. One plausible explanation investigated has been the influence of a partisan home crowd on sports officials’ decisions. Different types of studies have tested the crowd influence hypothesis including purposefully designed experiments. However, while experimental studies investigating crowd influences have high levels of internal validity, they suffer from a lack of external validity; decision-making in a laboratory setting bearing little resemblance to decision-making in live sports settings. This focused review initially considers threats to external validity in applied and theoretical experimental research. Discussing how such threats can be addressed using representative design by focusing on a recently published study that arguably provides the first experimental evidence of the impact of live crowd noise on officials in sport. The findings of this controlled experiment conducted in a real tournament setting offer some confirmation of the validity of laboratory experimental studies in the area. Finally directions for future research and the future conduct of crowd noise studies are discussed.

Turkish Validity Examination of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Irmak, Sezgin; Kuruuzum, Ayse

2009-01-01

The validation studies of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) have been conducted with samples from different nations but mostly from western individualistic cultures. Life satisfaction and its constructs could differ depending on cultural characteristics and life satisfaction scales should be validated in different…

Site characterization and validation - validation drift fracture data, stage 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bursey, G.; Gale, J.; MacLeod, R.; Straahle, A.; Tiren, S.

1991-08-01

This report describes the mapping procedures and the data collected during fracture mapping in the validation drift. Fracture characteristics examined include orientation, trace length, termination mode, and fracture minerals. These data have been compared and analysed together with fracture data from the D-boreholes to determine the adequacy of the borehole mapping procedures and to assess the nature and degree of orientation bias in the borehole data. The analysis of the validation drift data also includes a series of corrections to account for orientation, truncation, and censoring biases. This analysis has identified at least 4 geologically significant fracture sets in the rock mass defined by the validation drift. An analysis of the fracture orientations in both the good rock and the H-zone has defined groups of 7 clusters and 4 clusters, respectively. Subsequent analysis of the fracture patterns in five consecutive sections along the validation drift further identified heterogeneity through the rock mass, with respect to fracture orientations. These results are in stark contrast to the results form the D-borehole analysis, where a strong orientation bias resulted in a consistent pattern of measured fracture orientations through the rock. In the validation drift, fractures in the good rock also display a greater mean variance in length than those in the H-zone. These results provide strong support for a distinction being made between fractures in the good rock and the H-zone, and possibly between different areas of the good rock itself, for discrete modelling purposes. (au) (20 refs.)

Validation of MOPITT carbon monoxide using ground-based Fourier transform infrared spectrometer data from NDACC

Science.gov (United States)

Buchholz, Rebecca R.; Deeter, Merritt N.; Worden, Helen M.; Gille, John; Edwards, David P.; Hannigan, James W.; Jones, Nicholas B.; Paton-Walsh, Clare; Griffith, David W. T.; Smale, Dan; Robinson, John; Strong, Kimberly; Conway, Stephanie; Sussmann, Ralf; Hase, Frank; Blumenstock, Thomas; Mahieu, Emmanuel; Langerock, Bavo

2017-06-01

The Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) satellite instrument provides the longest continuous dataset of carbon monoxide (CO) from space. We perform the first validation of MOPITT version 6 retrievals using total column CO measurements from ground-based remote-sensing Fourier transform infrared spectrometers (FTSs). Validation uses data recorded at 14 stations, that span a wide range of latitudes (80° N to 78° S), in the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). MOPITT measurements are spatially co-located with each station, and different vertical sensitivities between instruments are accounted for by using MOPITT averaging kernels (AKs). All three MOPITT retrieval types are analyzed: thermal infrared (TIR-only), joint thermal and near infrared (TIR-NIR), and near infrared (NIR-only). Generally, MOPITT measurements overestimate CO relative to FTS measurements, but the bias is typically less than 10 %. Mean bias is 2.4 % for TIR-only, 5.1 % for TIR-NIR, and 6.5 % for NIR-only. The TIR-NIR and NIR-only products consistently produce a larger bias and lower correlation than the TIR-only. Validation performance of MOPITT for TIR-only and TIR-NIR retrievals over land or water scenes is equivalent. The four MOPITT detector element pixels are validated separately to account for their different uncertainty characteristics. Pixel 1 produces the highest standard deviation and lowest correlation for all three MOPITT products. However, for TIR-only and TIR-NIR, the error-weighted average that includes all four pixels often provides the best correlation, indicating compensating pixel biases and well-captured error characteristics. We find that MOPITT bias does not depend on latitude but rather is influenced by the proximity to rapidly changing atmospheric CO. MOPITT bias drift has been bound geographically to within ±0.5 % yr-1 or lower at almost all locations.

Validating Teacher Commitment Scale Using a Malaysian Sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Mee Thien

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This study attempts to validate an integrative Teacher Commitment scale using rigorous scale validation procedures. An adapted questionnaire with 17 items was administered to 600 primary school teachers in Penang, Malaysia. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA with SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 19.0, respectively. The results support Teacher Commitment as a multidimensional construct with its four underlying dimensions: Commitment to Student, Commitment to Teaching, Commitment to School, and Commitment to Profession. A validated Teacher Commitment scale with 13 items measured can be proposed to be used as an evaluative tool to assess the level to which teachers are committed to their students’ learning, teaching, school, and profession. The Teacher Commitment scale would also facilitate the identifications of factors that influence teachers’ quality of work life and school effectiveness. The practical implications, school cultural influence, and methodological limitations are discussed.

Statistical validation of normal tissue complication probability models.

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Xu, Cheng-Jian; van der Schaaf, Arjen; Van't Veld, Aart A; Langendijk, Johannes A; Schilstra, Cornelis

2012-09-01

To investigate the applicability and value of double cross-validation and permutation tests as established statistical approaches in the validation of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. A penalized regression method, LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator), was used to build NTCP models for xerostomia after radiation therapy treatment of head-and-neck cancer. Model assessment was based on the likelihood function and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Repeated double cross-validation showed the uncertainty and instability of the NTCP models and indicated that the statistical significance of model performance can be obtained by permutation testing. Repeated double cross-validation and permutation tests are recommended to validate NTCP models before clinical use. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical Validation of Normal Tissue Complication Probability Models

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Xu Chengjian, E-mail: c.j.xu@umcg.nl [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Schaaf, Arjen van der; Veld, Aart A. van' t; Langendijk, Johannes A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Schilstra, Cornelis [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Radiotherapy Institute Friesland, Leeuwarden (Netherlands)

2012-09-01

Purpose: To investigate the applicability and value of double cross-validation and permutation tests as established statistical approaches in the validation of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. Methods and Materials: A penalized regression method, LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator), was used to build NTCP models for xerostomia after radiation therapy treatment of head-and-neck cancer. Model assessment was based on the likelihood function and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: Repeated double cross-validation showed the uncertainty and instability of the NTCP models and indicated that the statistical significance of model performance can be obtained by permutation testing. Conclusion: Repeated double cross-validation and permutation tests are recommended to validate NTCP models before clinical use.

Validation of Serious Games

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Katinka van der Kooij

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The application of games for behavioral change has seen a surge in popularity but evidence on the efficacy of these games is contradictory. Anecdotal findings seem to confirm their motivational value whereas most quantitative findings from randomized controlled trials (RCT are negative or difficult to interpret. One cause for the contradictory evidence could be that the standard RCT validation methods are not sensitive to serious games’ effects. To be able to adapt validation methods to the properties of serious games we need a framework that can connect properties of serious game design to the factors that influence the quality of quantitative research outcomes. The Persuasive Game Design model [1] is particularly suitable for this aim as it encompasses the full circle from game design to behavioral change effects on the user. We therefore use this model to connect game design features, such as the gamification method and the intended transfer effect, to factors that determine the conclusion validity of an RCT. In this paper we will apply this model to develop guidelines for setting up validation methods for serious games. This way, we offer game designers and researchers handles on how to develop tailor-made validation methods.

Influence of Microstructure and Composition Changes on Mechanical Characteristics of Aluminium Alloy After Heating and Cooling Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigit; Nuraini, E; Martoyo

1998-01-01

Influences of microstructure and chemical composition changes on mechanical characteristics of AIMg2 which were heated at 85-500 0 C and cooled with sands, water or air have been studied. Microstructure observation was carried out using optical microscope, while chemical composition determination by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). AIMg2 which has been heated at the relatively low temperature i. e, 200 0 C during 6 hours and cooled using sands showed a small change microstructure, but those will be clearly observed on the treatment at 300 0 C. The microstructure change is in agreement with the change of mechanical characteristic, I. e., the decreasing of tensile strength and hardness and increasing of elongation. After the temperature of treatment is higher than 300 0 C, the decreasing of the tensile strength was relatively constant, while the hardness increased. The microstructure of AIMg2 resulted from the heat treatment at temperature of 500 0 C was different with that of 300 0 C. Heat treatment at 500 0 C following by cooling in the sands, water or air respectively gave similar microstructure. Those also caused the change of alloying element content which was in agreement with decreasing of mechanical characteristics

TRU composition changes and their influence on FBR core characteristics in the LWR-to-FBR transition period

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maruyama, Shuhei; Ohki, Shigeo; Mizuno, Tomoyasu

2009-01-01

In the conceptual core and fuel design studies in Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development Project (FaCT Project) in Japan, much interest has been taken in the fuel nuclide compositions for a transition period from light water reactor to fast breeder reactor (FBR). In this paper, the range of transuranic (TRU) nuclide composition to be provided to FBR is evaluated with extended recycling scenario calculations. The influence of TRU composition changes on FBR core characteristics are also discussed with explanations of major contributing factors. (author)

Construct Validation of Wenger's Support Network Typology.

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Szabo, Agnes; Stephens, Christine; Allen, Joanne; Alpass, Fiona

2016-10-07

The study aimed to validate Wenger's empirically derived support network typology of responses to the Practitioner Assessment of Network Type (PANT) in an older New Zealander population. The configuration of network types was tested across ethnic groups and in the total sample. Data (N = 872, Mage = 67 years, SDage = 1.56 years) from the 2006 wave of the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement study were analyzed using latent profile analysis. In addition, demographic differences among the emerging profiles were tested. Competing models were evaluated based on a range of fit criteria, which supported a five-profile solution. The "locally integrated," "community-focused," "local self-contained," "private-restricted," and "friend- and family-dependent" network types were identified as latent profiles underlying the data. There were no differences between Māori and non-Māori in final profile configurations. However, Māori were more likely to report integrated network types. Findings confirm the validity of Wenger's network types. However, the level to which participants endorse accessibility of family, frequency of interactions, and community engagement can be influenced by sample and contextual characteristics. Future research using the PANT items should empirically verify and derive the social support network types, rather than use a predefined scoring system. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Influence of Tire Characteristics of Interurban Taxis on Exposure Level to Drivers Whole-Body Vibrations

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Milad Derakhshanjazari

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Taxi drivers’ exposure to repeat whole-body vibrations can cause back pain and digestive disorders. Since this type of vibration depends on the car components, this study was carried out to determine the influence of tire characteristics on the amount of whole-body vibrations transmitted to the Peugeot 405 taxi drivers. Methods: In this experimental study, vibration characteristics were measured according to the ISO2631-1 with each of the statuses: tubeless tires fixed and fluid in it (normal air or nitrogen and also the fluid in the tires fixed with tubes or tubeless on asphalt-paved road. Other variables including tire pressure, engine speed, road gradient, number of passengers, springs, and shock absorbers were kept constant. Then the effect of changes was analyzed using an appropriate statistical test. Results: After changing nitrogen to normal air and tubeless tires to tube, the average of RMS in Z-axis, eight-hour equivalent acceleration A(8 and crest factor were reduced (P 0.9 m/s2 to caution zone (0.45-0.9 m/s2 with a value of 0.8 m/s2. Conclusions: The amount of vibration transmitted to the whole body is sensitive to existence of tubes and tires inflation so that we can reduce the amount of whole-body vibration to lower than the upper limit of the health risk by changing the characteristics of the tire

Validation of the Cultural Influence on Helping Scale among Chinese Adolescents

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Law, Ben M. F.; Shek, Daniel T. L.

2011-01-01

The influence of culture on adolescent prosocial behavior is a neglected aspect in existing studies. Objectives: This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Cultural Influence on Helping Scale (CIHS) among Chinese adolescents. CIHS is an instrument that assesses Chinese cultural influence on helping other people. Method: The CIHS was…

Influence of production technology and design on characteristics neutron-sensitive P-I-N diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perevertaylo, V.L.; Kovrygin, V.I.

2012-01-01

This paper presents the results of tests on neutron-sensitive p-i-n diode with local p-n junction, which allows to measure not only the integral dose by nonionizing energy loss (NIEL), but also the real-time dose and dose rate because of ionizing energy losses (IEL). The influence of design and process parameters and the lifetime of minority carriers on the radiation characteristics of the device considered. Sensitivity at low doses (from one to ten rad) is limited due to a decrease in the lifetime because of influence of lateral sides of cut. The sensitivity and accuracy of dose can be increased by moving of p-n junction away from the cut surface. The dependence of the voltage drop across the diode on the neutron dose irradiation up to 5 krad received, and the sensitivity was 2 - 3 mV/rad. We have demonstrated that replacement of the bulk p-i-n diode with total p-n junction by new diodes with local p-n junction allow for increase sensitivity, accuracy of dose and application in NIEL and IEL measurements simultaneously. Explanation for the extinction of a direct current through the diode with increasing doses of neutron irradiation proposed

Age-Differences in Work Motivation and Job Satisfaction. The Influence of Age on the Relationships between Work Characteristics and Workers' Outcomes

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Boumans, Nicolle P. G.; de Jong, Ad H. J.; Janssen, Sara M.

2011-01-01

This study investigated the influence of age on the relationship between work characteristics and workers' work motivation and job satisfaction. In total, 1036 workers of a Dutch division of a multinational organization participated. Data were collected by a digital questionnaire. Two interaction terms in the regression on work motivation were…

[Executive functions and stressful characteristics of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: influence on behavioral problems during adolescence].

Science.gov (United States)

Colomer-Diago, Carla; Miranda-Casas, Ana; Herdoiza-Arroyo, Paulina; Presentación-Herrero, M Jesús

2012-02-29

The identification of possible factors that are influencing the course of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will allow the development of more effective early intervention strategies. AIMS. This research, which used a longitudinal and correlational design, set out to examine the temporal consistency of the primary symptoms and ADHD associated problems. In addition, the relationships and predictive power of working memory, inhibition and stressful characteristics of children with ADHD on the disorder symptoms and behavioral problems in adolescence was analyzed. This study included 65 families with children diagnosed with ADHD. In phase 1 children performed verbal working memory, visuo-spatial and inhibition tests, and information from parents about stressful characteristics of children was collected. In phase 1 and in the follow-up phase, which took place three years later, parents and teachers reported on the primary symptoms of ADHD and behavioral problems. Inattention symptoms as well as most behavioral problems were stable over time, while hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms decreased. Moreover, neither working memory nor inhibition showed power to predict the central manifestations of ADHD or behavioral problems, while stressful characteristics of demandingness, low adaptability and negative mood had a moderate predictive capacity. These results confirm the role of stressful child characteristics as a risk factor in the course of ADHD.

Influence of Wind Pressure on the Carbonation of Concrete

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Dujian Zou

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Carbonation is one of the major deteriorations that accelerate steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Many mathematical/numerical models of the carbonation process, primarily diffusion-reaction models, have been established to predict the carbonation depth. However, the mass transfer of carbon dioxide in porous concrete includes molecular diffusion and convection mass transfer. In particular, the convection mass transfer induced by pressure difference is called penetration mass transfer. This paper presents the influence of penetration mass transfer on the carbonation. A penetration-reaction carbonation model was constructed and validated by accelerated test results under high pressure. Then the characteristics of wind pressure on the carbonation were investigated through finite element analysis considering steady and fluctuating wind flows. The results indicate that the wind pressure on the surface of concrete buildings results in deeper carbonation depth than that just considering the diffusion of carbon dioxide. In addition, the influence of wind pressure on carbonation tends to increase significantly with carbonation depth.

Influence of Wind Pressure on the Carbonation of Concrete.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Dujian; Liu, Tiejun; Du, Chengcheng; Teng, Jun

2015-07-24

Carbonation is one of the major deteriorations that accelerate steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures. Many mathematical/numerical models of the carbonation process, primarily diffusion-reaction models, have been established to predict the carbonation depth. However, the mass transfer of carbon dioxide in porous concrete includes molecular diffusion and convection mass transfer. In particular, the convection mass transfer induced by pressure difference is called penetration mass transfer. This paper presents the influence of penetration mass transfer on the carbonation. A penetration-reaction carbonation model was constructed and validated by accelerated test results under high pressure. Then the characteristics of wind pressure on the carbonation were investigated through finite element analysis considering steady and fluctuating wind flows. The results indicate that the wind pressure on the surface of concrete buildings results in deeper carbonation depth than that just considering the diffusion of carbon dioxide. In addition, the influence of wind pressure on carbonation tends to increase significantly with carbonation depth.

INFLUENCE ANALYSES OF DESIGNED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ELEVATOR TO THE PARAMETERS OF ITS DRIVE

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V. M. Bohomaz

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose. A drive behaves to the basic elements of scoop band elevators. To determine the drive power calculations are carried out according to standard methods, which take plenty of time. It is necessary to conduct the analysis of influence of project characteristics on the parameters of high-speed drive in a scoop bent elevator and to build the improved algorithm of speed-up determination of its drive power on project descriptions, that will take into account the type of load, rise height, necessary productivity, standard parameters of scoops and tape. Methodology. Using parametric dependences of elevators drive power on its project characteristics, received by the author earlier, the improved algorithm of speed-up determination of elevators high-speed drive power with deep and shallow scoops at set type of load, productivity, rise height was offered. Findings. The algorithm of drive power speed-up determination of high-speed vertical elevators with deep and shallow scoops depending on project parameters was offered. The example of such algorithm application is considered for an elevator that is intended for transporting of cement. Analytical dependences of drive power of such elevator are determined on the productivity and rise height. Corresponding graphic dependences were built and character of drive power changes during the size changing of any project characteristics was determined. Originality. The improved algorithm of drive power elevator determination at the given project characteristics (type of load, rise height, productivity that takes into account standard sizes, parameters of scoops and ribbons, was built at first time. Practical value. The use of an offered algorithm of calculation gives the possibility of relatively fast determination of reference value of high-speed elevators drive power with deep and shallow scoops, to build graphic dependences of drive power on the values of the productivity and rise height at the certain

Characteristics of microbial community involved in early biofilms formation under the influence of wastewater treatment plant effluent.

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Peng, Yuke; Li, Jie; Lu, Junling; Xiao, Lin; Yang, Liuyan

2018-04-01

Effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) containing microorganisms and residual nutrients can influence the biofilm formation. Although the process and mechanism of bacterial biofilm formation have been well characterized, little is known about the characteristics and interaction of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes in the early colonization, especially under the influence of WWTP effluent. The aim of this study was to characterize the important bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic species in the early stage of biofilm formation downstream of the WWTP outlet. Water and biofilm samples were collected 24 and 48hr after the deposition of bio-cords in the stream. Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16S and 18S rDNA showed that, among the three domains, the bacterial biofilm community had the largest alpha and beta diversity. The early bacterial colonizers appeared to be "biofilm-specific", with only a few dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) shared between the biofilm and the ambient water environment. Alpha-proteobacteria and Ciliophora tended to dominate the bacterial and eukaryotic communities, respectively, of the early biofilm already at 24hr, whereas archaea played only a minor role during the early stage of colonization. The network analysis showed that the three domains of microbial community connected highly during the early colonization and it might be a characteristic of the microbial communities in the biofilm formation process where co-occurrence relationships could drive coexistence and diversity maintenance within the microbial communities. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Improvements and validation of the linear surface characteristics scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santandrea, S.; Jaboulay, J.C.; Bellier, P.; Fevotte, F.; Golfier, H.

2009-01-01

In this paper we present the last improvements of the recently proposed linear surface (LS) characteristics scheme for unstructured meshes. First we introduce a new numerical tracking technique, specifically adapted to the LS method, which tailors transverse integration weights to take into account the geometrical discontinuities that appear along the pipe affected to every trajectory in classical characteristics schemes. Another development allows using the volumetric flux variation of the LS method to re-compute step-wise constant fluxes to be used in other parts of a computational scheme. This permits to take greater advantage of the higher precision of the LS method without necessarily conceiving specialized theories for all the modular functionalities of a spectral code such as APOLLO2. Moreover we present a multi-level domain decomposition method for solving the synthetic acceleration operator that is used to accelerate the free iterations for the LS method. We discuss all these new developments by illustrating some benchmarks results obtained with the LS method. This is done by detailed comparisons with Monte-Carlo calculations. In particular we show that the new method can be used not only as a reference tool, but also inside a suitable industrial calculation scheme

ADVERTISING BRANDS BY MEANS OF SOUNDS SYMBOLISM: THE INFLUENCE OF VOWELS ON PERCEIVED BRAND CHARACTERISTICS

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Alina Catalina Duduciuc

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to test the influence of sound symbolism on perceived characteristics of a brand as well as to highlight the importance of applied social psychology to current practice of advertising. Previous research showed that the phonetic structure of brand name communicates its characteristics, i.e. it drives consumers to assess certain features and performance of the product. I assumed that when consumers encounter an unknown brand name, they automatically infer characteristics from the meaning conveyed by the sounds (e.g. phonemes. Therefore, I supposed that a brand name for a shampoo (artificially created on experimental purpose containing back vowel is evaluated better by consumers when they compare it to another brand name with front vowels. Furthermore, for the accuracy of responses, I used the semantic differential scale to measure the differences between two brands in terms of certain attributes of product. To this end, fifty students (N=50 participated in a research based on questionnaire. As the results of the current research showed, the brand name with back vowel outnumbered the brand name with front vowel on two dimension, i.e. on brand activity and brand efficiency. The brand name containing front vowel was rated better when subjects evaluated the product in generally. Last, but not least, when it comes to convey meanings, the sound of back vowels [a] could be used more when marketers promote products that communicate its characteristics such as efficiency, velocity and health. The back vowel could be also assessed to products with larger packing or special sailing such as extra quantity. Meanwhile, the brand names with front vowels [ie] could be created for more expensive products with good quality, mainly addressed to men.

Morphological Influence of Solution-Processed Zinc Oxide Films on Electrical Characteristics of Thin-Film Transistors

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Hyeonju Lee

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We report on the morphological influence of solution-processed zinc oxide (ZnO semiconductor films on the electrical characteristics of ZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs. Different film morphologies were produced by controlling the spin-coating condition of a precursor solution, and the ZnO films were analyzed using atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and Hall measurement. It is shown that ZnO TFTs have a superior performance in terms of the threshold voltage and field-effect mobility, when ZnO crystallites are more densely packed in the film. This is attributed to lower electrical resistivity and higher Hall mobility in a densely packed ZnO film. In the results of consecutive TFT operations, a positive shift in the threshold voltage occurred irrespective of the film morphology, but the morphological influence on the variation in the field-effect mobility was evident. The field-effect mobility in TFTs having a densely packed ZnO film increased continuously during consecutive TFT operations, which is in contrast to the mobility decrease observed in the less packed case. An analysis of the field-effect conductivities ascribes these results to the difference in energetic traps, which originate from structural defects in the ZnO films. Consequently, the morphological influence of solution-processed ZnO films on the TFT performance can be understood through the packing property of ZnO crystallites.

The influence of carbon and oxygen on the magnetic characteristics of press-less sintered NdFeB magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, M.; Abrahamsen, A.B.; Bahl, C.R.H.; Veluri, B.; Søegaard, A.I.; Bøjsøe, P.; Millot, S.

2017-01-01

The Pressless Process (PLP) was adopted to manufacture NdFeB sintered magnets, where the investigations on carbon and oxygen residues from heptane milling liquid media and graphite crucibles used for sintering were quantified to evaluate the influence on the magnetic characteristics. The carbon and oxygen content in the magnets produced from wet ball milling of strip cast flakes was found to be of the order 10 4 ppm and 4·10 4 ppm respectively, which resulted in soft magnetic behavior. However using jet milling the carbon and oxygen concentration were decreased by an order of magnitude resulting in coercivity of up to 829 kA/m. Thus the influence of the carbon from the graphite crucibles is small. - Highlights: • It is found that the carbon from graphite crucibles will not influence the NdFeB. • The carbon from heptane mixed with NdFeB powder will react with the NdFeB, which breaks the magnetic properties of NdFeB. • Pressless process works well with graphite crucibles, without worrying that carbon has damage on magnets.

The influence of carbon and oxygen on the magnetic characteristics of press-less sintered NdFeB magnets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xia, M., E-mail: maxi@dtu.dk [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, DTU Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde (Denmark); Abrahamsen, A.B. [Department of Wind Energy, DTU Risø campus, Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde (Denmark); Bahl, C.R.H. [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, DTU Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde (Denmark); Veluri, B.; Søegaard, A.I. [Grundfos A/S, DK-8850 Bjerringbro (Denmark); Bøjsøe, P. [Holm Magnetics APS, 2800 Kongens Lyngby (Denmark); Millot, S. [FJ Industries A/S, 5863 Ferritslev (Denmark)

2017-01-15

The Pressless Process (PLP) was adopted to manufacture NdFeB sintered magnets, where the investigations on carbon and oxygen residues from heptane milling liquid media and graphite crucibles used for sintering were quantified to evaluate the influence on the magnetic characteristics. The carbon and oxygen content in the magnets produced from wet ball milling of strip cast flakes was found to be of the order 10{sup 4} ppm and 4·10{sup 4} ppm respectively, which resulted in soft magnetic behavior. However using jet milling the carbon and oxygen concentration were decreased by an order of magnitude resulting in coercivity of up to 829 kA/m. Thus the influence of the carbon from the graphite crucibles is small. - Highlights: • It is found that the carbon from graphite crucibles will not influence the NdFeB. • The carbon from heptane mixed with NdFeB powder will react with the NdFeB, which breaks the magnetic properties of NdFeB. • Pressless process works well with graphite crucibles, without worrying that carbon has damage on magnets.

Fuel temperature influence on the performance of a last generation common-rail diesel ballistic injector. Part II: 1D model development, validation and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payri, R.; Salvador, F.J.; Carreres, M.; De la Morena, J.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A 1D model of a solenoid common-rail ballistic injector is implemented in AMESim. • A detailed dimensional and a hydraulic characterization lead to a fair validation. • Fuel temperature influence on injector dynamics is assessed through 1D simulations. • Temperature impacts through changes in inlet orifice regime and viscous friction. • Cold fuel temperature leads to a slower injection opening due to high viscosity. - Abstract: A one-dimensional model of a solenoid-driven common-rail diesel injector has been developed in order to study the influence of fuel temperature on the injection process. The model has been implemented after a thorough characterization of the injector, both from the dimensional and the hydraulic point of view. In this sense, experimental tools for the determination of the geometry of the injector lines and orifices have been described in the paper, together with the hydraulic setup introduced to characterize the flow behaviour through the calibrated orifices. An extensive validation of the model has been performed by comparing the modelled mass flow rate against the experimental results introduced in the first part of the paper, which were performed for different engine-like operating conditions involving a wide range of fuel temperatures, injection pressures and energizing times. In that first part of the study, an important influence of the fuel temperature was reported, especially in terms of the dynamic behaviour of the injector, due to its ballistic nature. The results from the model have allowed to explain and further extend the findings of the experimental study by analyzing key features of the injector dynamics, such as the pressure drop established in the control volume due to the control orifices performance or the forces due to viscous friction, also assessing their influence on the needle lift laws.

Which need characteristics influence healthcare service utilization in home care arrangements in Germany?

Science.gov (United States)

Dorin, Lena; Turner, Suzi C; Beckmann, Lea; große Schlarmann, Jörg; Faatz, Andreas; Metzing, Sabine; Büscher, Andreas

2014-05-22

We see a growing number of older adults receiving long-term care in industrialized countries. The Healthcare Utilization Model by Andersen suggests that individual need characteristics influence utilization. The purpose of this study is to analyze correlations between need characteristics and service utilization in home care arrangements. 1,152 respondents answered the questionnaire regarding their integration of services in their current and future care arrangements. Care recipients with high long-term care needs answered the questionnaire on their own, the family caregiver assisted the care recipient in answering the questions, or the family caregiver responded to the questionnaire on behalf of the care recipient. They were asked to rank specific needs according to their situation. We used descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Respondents are widely informed about services. Nursing services and counseling are the most used services. Short-term care and guidance and training have a high potential for future use. Day care, self-help groups, and mobile services were the most frequently rejected services in our survey. Women use more services than men and with rising age utilization increases. Long waiting times and bad health of the primary caregiver increases the chance of integrating services into the home care arrangements. The primary family caregiver has a high impact on service utilization. This indicates that the whole family should be approached when offering services. Professionals should react upon the specific needs of care dependents and their families.

What hinders healthcare professionals in promoting physical activity towards cancer patients? The influencing role of healthcare professionals' concerns, perceived patient characteristics and perceived structural factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Haussmann, Alexander; Gabrian, Martina; Ungar, Nadine; Jooß, Stefan; Wiskemann, Joachim; Sieverding, Monika; Steindorf, Karen

2018-05-09

Despite a large body of evidence showing that physical activity (PA) is beneficial to patients with cancer, healthcare professionals (HCPs) are promoting it too scarcely. Factors that hinder HCPs from promoting PA have remained understudied so far. Using a qualitative approach, this study aimed at a comprehensive description of influencing factors for HCPs' PA promotion behaviour and at identifying the reasons and mechanisms behind them. Semi-structured interviews with 30 HCPs were undertaken with a focus on concerns, patient characteristics and structural factors. Answers were analysed using thematic analysis. Results revealed that HCPs had concerns regarding a physical overexertion and psychological stress for patients with cancer. A patient's physical condition and the assumed interest in PA, often derived from former PA, turned out to be the most crucial patient characteristics influencing if PA is addressed. Structural factors relevant for PA promotion pertained to in-house structures, HCPs' workload, timing and coordination, information material for HCPs and patients and availability of exercise programs. In conclusion, this study revealed undetected concerns of HCPs and underlined the relevance of patient characteristics and structural conditions for HCPs' PA promotion towards patients with cancer. A broader perspective is needed to assess these factors in their influence on HCPs' PA promotion. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Analysis of some fuel characteristics deviations and their influence over WWER-440 fuel cycle design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoyanova, I.; Kamenov, K.

2001-01-01

The aim of this study is to estimate the influence of some deviations in WWER-440 fuel assemblies (FA) characteristics upon fuel core design. A large number of different fresh fuel assemblies with enrichment of 3.5 t % are examined related to the enrichment, mass of initial metal Uranium and assembly shroud thickness. Infinite multiplication factor (Kinf) in fuel assembly has been calculated by HELIOS spectral code for basic assembly and for different FA with deviation of a single parameter. The effects from single parameter deviation (enrichment) and from two parameter deviations (enrichment and wall thickness) on the neutron-physics characteristics of the core are estimated for different fuel assemblies. Relatively week burnup dependence on Kinf is observed as result of deviation in the enrichment of the fuel and in the wall thickness of the assembly. An assessment of a FA single and two parameter deviations effects on design fuel cycle duration and relative power peaking factor is also considers in the paper. As a final conclusion can be settled that the maximum relative shortness of fuel cycle can be observed in the case of two FA parameters deviations

INFLUENCE OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION ON MICROBIOLOGICAL AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF VEGETABLES PRODUCTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION LIFE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danilevici Constantin

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Research paper aims to highlight the scientific correlation between the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UV onsensory and microbiological characteristics of plant products in the category of leaves (lettuce and other types ofvegetables or fruit (bananas and their preservation’s duration, through their UV irradiation under certain conditions.The literature indicates a germicidal action of UV (medium UV on micro-organisms, optimal for λ = 254 nm. Theeffectiveness of radiation is influenced by duration of irradiation, the distance between the radiation source and thesample product and radiant power source.The action of microbial cell inactivation or destruction can be explained by changes in cellular structure andpermeability with changes at the level of mitochondria and the genetic material as a result of photochemical effects ofUV products. Research highlights the preservative effect of UV radiation (with λ = 254 nm and also their influence onsensory properties and positive to negative for leafy vegetables and fruits (bananas in our case.

Impact of the surface wind flow on precipitation characteristics over the southern Himalayas: GPM observations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Aoqi; Fu, Yunfei; Chen, Yilun; Liu, Guosheng; Zhang, Xiangdong

2018-04-01

The distribution and influence of precipitation over the southern Himalayas have been investigated on regional and global scales. However, previous studies have been limited by the insufficient emphasis on the precipitation triggers or the lack of droplet size distribution (DSD) data. Here, precipitating systems were identified using Global Precipitation Mission dual-frequency radar data, and then categorized into five classes according to surface flow from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast Interim data. The surface flow is introduced to indicate the precipitation triggers, which is validated in this study. Using case and statistical analysis, we show that the precipitating systems with different surface flow had different precipitation characteristics, including spatio-temporal features, reflectivity profile, DSD, and rainfall intensity. Furthermore, the results show that the source of the surface flow influences the intensity and DSD of precipitation. The terrain exerts different impacts on the precipitating systems of five categories, leading to various distributions of precipitation characteristics over the southern Himalayas. Our results suggest that the introduction of surface flow and DSD for precipitating systems provides insight into the complex precipitation of the southern Himalayas. The different characteristics of precipitating systems may be caused by the surface flow. Therefore, future study on the orographic precipitations should take account the impact of the surface flow and its relevant dynamic mechanism.

THE AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A SOFT TYPE AIRSHIP NEAR TO A SCREEN IN VIEW OF A PROPELLER JETS INFLUENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le Quoc Dinh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The results of numerical research of a soft type airship aerodynamic characteristics in subsonic flow of viscous gas are received for the airship locating near to a screen and having the working propellers. The influence of propeller rotation and relative distance of the airship to the screen on values of its aerodynamic normal and longitudinal forces, and also pitching moment is shown at various airship angles of attack.

Evaluating the drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use cognitive enhancement drugs: the influence of drug characteristics, social environment, and personal characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The use of cognitive enhancement (CE) by means of pharmaceutical agents has been the subject of intense debate both among scientists and in the media. This study investigates several drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use prescription drugs non-medically for augmenting brain capacity. Methods We conducted a web-based study among 2,877 students from randomly selected disciplines at German universities. Using a factorial survey, respondents expressed their willingness to take various hypothetical CE-drugs; the drugs were described by five experimentally varied characteristics and the social environment by three varied characteristics. Personal characteristics and demographic controls were also measured. Results We found that 65.3% of the respondents staunchly refused to use CE-drugs. The results of a multivariate negative binomial regression indicated that respondents’ willingness to use CE-drugs increased if the potential drugs promised a significant augmentation of mental capacity and a high probability of achieving this augmentation. Willingness decreased when there was a high probability of side effects and a high price. Prevalent CE-drug use among peers increased willingness, whereas a social environment that strongly disapproved of these drugs decreased it. Regarding the respondents’ characteristics, pronounced academic procrastination, high cognitive test anxiety, low intrinsic motivation, low internalization of social norms against CE-drug use, and past experiences with CE-drugs increased willingness. The potential severity of side effects, social recommendations about using CE-drugs, risk preferences, and competencies had no measured effects upon willingness. Conclusions These findings contribute to understanding factors that influence the willingness to use CE-drugs. They support the assumption of instrumental drug use and may contribute to the development of prevention, policy, and educational strategies. PMID:24484640

Influences of coal slag on electrical characteristics of a Faraday MHD generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, M.; Umoto, J.

1989-01-01

In order to clarify the influence of coal slag on the electrical characteristics of a large scale Faraday MHD generator, numerical analysis by a new equivalent circuit method is performed. At first, an equivalent circuit for a space element in the Faraday channel and a slag layer element are derived. Next, the numerical results are compared with the experimental ones obtained from the ETL Mark VII. The results are: (1) when the thickness, conductivity, etc. of the slag are nonuniform the distribution of not only the load voltage, but also the voltage between adjacent electrodes, becomes nonuniform, and the latter may cause interelectrode breakdown; (2) when shorting over several cathodes occurs a typical distribution of the load voltage appears near the shorted region, in which, at first, the load voltage rises a little, then decreases gradually, and finally, recovers rapidly to the normal voltage along the gas flow. As a result of the short-circuit, the distribution of the voltage between adjacent electrodes is made significantly nonuniform, and this may lead to another inter-electrode breakdown. (author)

Projection of own on others' job characteristics: evidence for the false consensus effect in job characteristics information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oliver, J.; Bakker, A.B.; Demerouti, E.; Jong, De R.D.

2005-01-01

The present study is an examination of the influence of rater characteristics as a source of bias in job characteristics information, as gleaned from the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). Participants (N=133) completed an initial JDS for own job characteristics. Non-incumbents (n = 104) then completed a

Influence of geometric and hydro-dynamic parameters of injector on calculation of spray characteristics of diesel engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipović Ivan

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The main role in air/fuel mixture formation at the IC diesel engines has the energy introduced by fuel into the IC engine that is the characteristics of spraying fuel into the combustion chamber. The characteristic can be defined by the spray length, the spray cone angle, the physical and the chemical structure of fuel spray by different sections. Having in mind very complex experimental setups for researching in this field, the mentioned characteristics are mostly analyzed by calculations. There are two methods in the literature, the first based on use of the semi-empirical expressions (correlations and the second, the calculations of spray characteristics by use of very complex mathematical methods. The second method is dominant in the modern literature. The main disadvantage of the calculation methods is a correct definition of real state at the end of the nozzle orifice (real boundary conditions. The majority of the researchers in this field use most frequently the coefficient of total losses inside the injector. This coefficient depends on injector design, as well as depends on the level of fuel energy and fuel energy transformation along the injector. Having in mind the importance of the real boundary conditions, the complex methods for calculation of the fuel spray characteristics should have the calculation of fuel flows inside the injector and the calculation of spray characteristics together. This approach is a very complex numerical problem and there are no existing computer programs with satisfactory calculation results. Analysis of spray characteristics by use of the semi-empirical expressions (correlations is presented in this paper. The special attention is dedicated to the analysis of the constant in the semi-empirical expressions and influence parameters on this constant. Also, the method for definition of realistic boundary condition at the end of the nozzle orifice is presented in the paper. By use of this method completely

Influência das características estruturais sobre a processabilidade do polibutadieno alto cis Influence of structural characteristics on the high-cis polybutadiene processability

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Ivana L. Mello

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Características físicas, tais como peso molecular, distribuição de peso molecular e ramificações, têm importância significativa na processabilidade do polibutadieno. Assim, deve haver um balanceamento dessas características a fim de se obter boas propriedades mecânicas e boa processabilidade. Este Trabalho apresenta uma breve revisão sobre a influência das características estruturais na processabilidade do polibutadieno produzido por diferentes sistemas catalíticos. São apresentadas também algumas técnicas encontradas na literatura para melhorar a processabilidade desse elastômero.Physical characteristics, such as, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and branching, have a significant influence on polybutadiene processability. Thus, a balance should exist in these characteristics for good mechanical properties and processability. This work brings a brief review of the influence of structural characteristics on the processability of polybutadiene produced by different catalyst systems. Also presented are some techniques from the literature aimed at improving processability of this elastomer.

Validation of the comprehensive feeding practices questionnaire in parents of preschool children in Brazil

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Sarah Warkentin

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent national surveys in Brazil have demonstrated a decrease in the consumption of traditional food and a parallel increase in the consumption of ultra-processed food, which has contributed to a rise in obesity prevalence in all age groups. Environmental factors, especially familial factors, have a strong influence on the food intake of preschool children, and this has led to the development of psychometric scales to measure parents’ feeding practices. The aim of this study was to test the validity of a translated and adapted Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire in a sample of Brazilian preschool-aged children enrolled in private schools. Methods A transcultural adaptation process was performed in order to develop a modified questionnaire (43 items. After piloting, the questionnaire was sent to parents, along with additional questions about family characteristics. Test-retest reliability was assessed in one of the schools. Factor analysis with oblique rotation was performed. Internal reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha and correlations between factors, discriminant validity using marker variables of child’s food intake, and convergent validity via correlations with parental perceptions of perceived responsibility for feeding and concern about the child’s weight were also performed. Results The final sample consisted of 402 preschool children. Factor analysis resulted in a final questionnaire of 43 items distributed over 6 factors. Cronbach alpha values were adequate (0.74 to 0.88, between-factor correlations were low, and discriminant validity and convergent validity were acceptable. Conclusions The modified CFPQ demonstrated significant internal reliability in this urban Brazilian sample. Scale validation within different cultures is essential for a more comprehensive understanding of parental feeding practices for preschoolers.

Identification and characteristics of vaccine refusers

OpenAIRE

Wei, Feifei; Mullooly, John P; Goodman, Mike; McCarty, Maribet C; Hanson, Ann M; Crane, Bradley; Nordin, James D

2009-01-01

Abstract Background This study evaluated the utility of immunization registries in identifying vaccine refusals among children. Among refusers, we studied their socioeconomic characteristics and health care utilization patterns. Methods Medical records were reviewed to validate refusal status in the immunization registries of two health plans. Racial, education, and income characteristics of children claiming refusal were collected based on the census tract of each child. Health care utilizat...

Influence of Fe{sup 3+} substitution on the dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics of Lead Indium Niobate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Divya, A.S.; Kumar, V., E-mail: vkumar10@yahoo.com

2015-07-15

Highlights: • Prepared phase-pure Fe{sup 3+}-substituted Lead Indium Niobate, Pb[(In{sub 0.50−x}Fe{sub x})Nb{sub 0.50}]O{sub 3} by sol–gel method. • Spontaneous Relaxor (R) → Ferroelectric (FE) transition observed for the composition with x = 0.20. • Local structural rearrangement responsible for R → FE transition has been confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. - Abstract: Lead Indium Niobate, Pb(In{sub 0.50}Nb{sub 0.50})O{sub 3} (PIN) is a complex perovskite that exhibits Relaxor (R) characteristics. In this study, we report the synthesis of phase-pure compositions in the system Pb[(In{sub 0.50−x}Fe{sub x})Nb{sub 0.50}]O{sub 3} by sol–gel method and discuss the influence of isovalent substitution of Indium by Iron on the dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics. Spontaneous transition to the Ferroelectric (FE) phase has been observed for the composition having x = 0.20. Local structural rearrangements responsible for R → FE transition have also been studied by Raman spectroscopy and are discussed in detail.

Validation of Metrics for Collaborative Systems

OpenAIRE

Ion IVAN; Cristian CIUREA

2008-01-01

This paper describe the new concepts of collaborative systems metrics validation. The paper define the quality characteristics of collaborative systems. There are proposed a metric to estimate the quality level of collaborative systems. There are performed measurements of collaborative systems quality using a specially designed software.

The Short Health Scale: a valid and reliable measure of health related quality of life in English speaking inflammatory bowel disease patients.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McDermott, Edel

2013-09-01

Health related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease is influenced both by disease activity as well as by the psychosocial characteristics of the individual patient. The Short Health Scale (SHS) is a four-part visual analogue scale questionnaire using open-ended questions that are designed to assess the impact of inflammatory bowel disease on a health related quality of life. The four dimensions include bowel symptoms, activities of daily life, worry and general wellbeing. It has previously been validated in Swedish and Norwegian speaking patients.

Pengaruh Job Characteristic Terhadap Cyberloafing pada Karyawan Telekomunikasi

OpenAIRE

Pane, Efrianty Shaila

2015-01-01

Cyberloafing is abehavior of employees that using the internet to do work unrelated to the job during working hours which uses both company‟s facility or personal equipment. The emergence of cyberloafing can influence the productivity and performance of the employees. There are several factors that influence cyberloafing, one of them is the job characteristic. This study aimed to determine the influence of job characteristic toward cyberloafing. The subjects were 82 employees in the Telecommu...

Development and Validation of WebQuests in Teaching Epics

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Ronald Candy Santos Lasaten

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Using the Research Development (R&D methodology, the study aimed to develop and validate WebQuests which can be used in literature subjects, particularly in the tertiary level to address the need of literature teachers for pedagogy in the teaching of epic s. The development of the Web Quests was anchored on the Theory of Constructivism. Two groups of experts validated the Web Quests – the literature experts and the ICT experts. The Content Validation Checklist, used by the literature experts, was utilized t o evaluate the content of the Web Quests. Meanwhile, the Rubric for Evaluating Web Quests, used by the ICT experts, was utilized to evaluate the design characteristics of the Web Quests. Computed weighted means using range interval of point scores were emp loyed to treat the data gathered from the evaluation conducted by both group of experts. The Web Quests developed contain five major parts which include: 1 introduction; 2 task; 3 process; 4 evaluation; and 5 conclusion. Based on the findings, the con tent of the Web Quests developed are valid in terms of objectives, activities and instructional characteristics. Likewise, the design characteristics of the Web Quests are excellent in terms of introductions, tasks, processes, resources, evaluations, concl usions and overall designs. Thus, the Web Quests developed are acceptable and can be utilized as instructional materials by literature teachers in the teaching of epics.

[Factors influencing nurses' organizational citizenship behavior].

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Junhee; Yun, Eunkyung; Han, Sangsook

2009-08-01

This study was conducted to identify the factors that influence nurses' organizational citizenship behavior. A cross-sectional design was used, with a convenience sample of 547 nurses from four university hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey done from September 22 to October 10, 2008. The tools used for this study were scales on organizational citizenship behavior (14 items), self-leadership (14 items), empowerment (10 items), organizational commitment (7 items), job satisfaction (8 items) and transformational.transactional leadership (14 items). Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis were examined to test reliability and construct validity of the scale. The data collected were processed using SPSS Window 15.0 Program for actual numbers and percentages, differences in the dependent variable according to general characteristics, and means, standard deviations, correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis. The factors influencing nurses' organizational citizenship behavior were identified as self-leadership(beta=.247), empowerment (beta=.233), job satisfaction (beta=.209), organizational commitment (beta=.158), and transactional leadership (beta=.142). Five factors explained 42.0% of nurses' organizational citizenship behavior. The results of this study can be used to develop further management strategies for enhancement of nurses' organizational citizenship behavior.

Socioeconomic Characteristics Influencing Level of Awareness of Aflatoxin Contamination of Feeds among Livestock Farmers in Meru District of Tanzania

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E. M. Ayo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Aflatoxins occurrence in feeds challenges human and animal health. Farmers’ awareness status of these toxins has an effect on their level of exposure. The study assessed the influence of socioeconomic characteristics of farmers on their awareness of aflatoxin contamination of feeds. Data were collected from 258 households and analysed by SPSS program for descriptive statistics and association between socioeconomic characteristics and awareness of aflatoxin contamination of feeds. Over seventy percent of the farmers had never heard about aflatoxins. Education level, specialization, and period of keeping animals had significant influence on aflatoxin awareness. Hearing about aflatoxins was six times higher among farmers who studied life or social sciences than those without specialization and those who studied other fields. Awareness that aflatoxins may occur in feeds was twice higher among farmers with higher education than those with lower education. Perception that aflatoxins in feeds are detoxifiable was threefold higher among young people (with ≤10-year period of keeping animals than among older ones. Awareness of aflatoxins was particularly low among farmers with low education and those without exposure to life or social sciences and vice versa. Sensitization is recommended to raise farmers’ awareness on aflatoxin contamination of feeds and incorporating aflatoxin knowledge in school curricula.

Are the attitudes of exercise instructors who work with older adults influenced by training and personal characteristics?

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Helen; Skelton, Dawn A; Campbell, Malcolm; Todd, Chris

2012-01-01

Little is known about the relationship between attitudes and characteristics of instructors and uptake and adherence of older people to exercise classes. This article explores these issues. The authors surveyed 731 UK exercise instructors with specialist older adult exercise qualifications. A questionnaire investigated instructors' characteristics and attitudes toward older adults' participation in exercise. For mostly seated classes, EXTEND qualification (B = 0.36, p = .005) had a positive effect on instructors' attitudes. Later Life Training qualification (B = -2.80, p = .003), clinical background (B = -3.99, p = .005), and delivering classes in National Health Services (B = -3.12, p attitudes. For mostly standing classes, experience (B = 0.20, p = .003) and delivering in leisure centers (B = 0.46, p = .032) had a positive and clinical background (B = -1.78, p = .018) had a negative effect on instructors' attitudes. Most instructors have positive attitudes, but training and work context can influence attitudes toward older people's participation in exercise classes both positively and negatively.

Post- and peritraumatic stress in disaster survivors: an explorative study about the influence of individual and event characteristics across different types of disasters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Grimm

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Background : Examination of existing research on posttraumatic adjustment after disasters suggests that survivors’ posttraumatic stress levels might be better understood by investigating the influence of the characteristics of the event experienced on how people thought and felt, during the event as well as afterwards. Objective : To compare survivors’ perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions across different types of disasters. Additionally, to investigate individual and event characteristics. Design : In a European multi-centre study, 102 survivors of different disasters terror attack, flood, fire and collapse of a building were interviewed about their responses during the event. Survivors’ perceived posttraumatic stress levels were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R. Peritraumatic emotional stress and risk perception were rated retrospectively. Influences of individual characteristics, such as socio-demographic data, and event characteristics, such as time and exposure factors, on post- and peritraumatic outcomes were analyzed. Results : Levels of reported post- and peritraumatic outcomes differed significantly between types of disasters. Type of disaster was a significant predictor of all three outcome variables but the factors gender, education, time since event, injuries and fatalities were only significant for certain outcomes. Conclusion : Results support the hypothesis that there are differences in perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions after experiencing different types of disasters. However, it should be noted that these findings were not only explained by the type of disaster itself but also by individual and event characteristics. As the study followed an explorative approach, further research paths are discussed to better understand the relationships between variables.

Regulatory perspectives on human factors validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrison, F.; Staples, L.

2001-01-01

Validation is an important avenue for controlling the genesis of human error, and thus managing loss, in a human-machine system. Since there are many ways in which error may intrude upon system operation, it is necessary to consider the performance-shaping factors that could introduce error and compromise system effectiveness. Validation works to this end by examining, through objective testing and measurement, the newly developed system, procedure or staffing level, in order to identify and eliminate those factors which may negatively influence human performance. It is essential that validation be done in a high-fidelity setting, in an objective and systematic manner, using appropriate measures, if meaningful results are to be obtained, In addition, inclusion of validation work in any design process can be seen as contributing to a good safety culture, since such activity allows licensees to eliminate elements which may negatively impact on human behaviour. (author)

Effects of Leading Edge Defect on the Aerodynamic and Flow Characteristics of an S809 Airfoil.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yan; Zheng, Xiaojing; Hu, Ruifeng; Wang, Ping

Unexpected performance degradation occurs in wind turbine blades due to leading edge defect when suffering from continuous impacts with rain drops, hails, insects, or solid particles during its operation life. To assess this issue, this paper numerically investigates the steady and dynamic stall characteristics of an S809 airfoil with various leading edge defects. More leading edge defect sizes and much closer to practical parameters are investigated in the paper. Numerical computation is conducted using the SST k-ω turbulence model, and the method has been validated by comparison with existed published data. In order to ensure the calculation convergence, the residuals for the continuity equation are set to be less than 10-7 and 10-6 in steady state and dynamic stall cases. The simulations are conducted with the software ANSYS Fluent 13.0. It is found that the characteristics of aerodynamic coefficients and flow fields are sensitive to leading edge defect both in steady and dynamic conditions. For airfoils with the defect thickness of 6%tc, leading edge defect has a relative small influence on the aerodynamics of S809 airfoil. For other investigated defect thicknesses, leading edge defect has much greater influence on the flow field structures, pressure coefficients and aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil at relative small defect lengths. For example, the lift coefficients decrease and drag coefficients increase sharply after the appearance of leading edge defect. However, the aerodynamic characteristics could reach a constant value when the defect length is large enough. The flow field, pressure coefficient distribution and aerodynamic coefficients do not change a lot when the defect lengths reach to 0.5%c,1%c, 2%c and 3%c with defect thicknesses of 6%tc, 12%tc,18%tc and 25%tc, respectively. In addition, the results also show that the critical defect length/thickness ratio is 0.5, beyond which the aerodynamic characteristics nearly remain unchanged. In

Influence of Food Characteristics and Food Additives on the Antimicrobial Effect of Garlic and Oregano Essential Oils.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Díez, Juan; Alheiro, Joana; Pinto, Ana Luisa; Soares, Luciana; Falco, Virgilio; Fraqueza, Maria João; Patarata, Luis

2017-06-10

Utilization of essential oils (EOs) as antimicrobial agents against foodborne disease has gained importance, for their use as natural preservatives. Since potential interactions between EOs and food characteristics may affect their antimicrobial properties, the present work studies the influence of fat, protein, pH, a w and food additives on the antimicrobial effect of oregano and garlic EOs against Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Results showed that protein, pH, a w , presence of beef extract, sodium lactate and nitrates did not influence their antimicrobial effect. In contrast, the presence of pork fat had a negative effect against both EOs associated with their dilution of the lipid content. The addition of food phosphates also exerts a negative effect against EOs probably associated with their emulsification properties as observed with the addition of fat. The results may help the food industry to select more appropriate challenges to guarantee the food safety of foodstuffs.

[Validation of the IBS-SSS].

Science.gov (United States)

Betz, C; Mannsdörfer, K; Bischoff, S C

2013-10-01

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by abdominal pain, associated with stool abnormalities and changes in stool consistency. Diagnosis of IBS is based on characteristic symptoms and exclusion of other gastrointestinal diseases. A number of questionnaires exist to assist diagnosis and assessment of severity of the disease. One of these is the irritable bowel syndrome - severity scoring system (IBS-SSS). The IBS-SSS was validated 1997 in its English version. In the present study, the IBS-SSS has been validated in German language. To do this, a cohort of 60 patients with IBS according to the Rome III criteria, was compared with a control group of healthy individuals (n = 38). We studied sensitivity and reproducibility of the score, as well as the sensitivity to detect changes of symptom severity. The results of the German validation largely reflect the results of the English validation. The German version of the IBS-SSS is also a valid, meaningful and reproducible questionnaire with a high sensitivity to assess changes in symptom severity, especially in IBS patients with moderate symptoms. It is unclear if the IBS-SSS is also a valid questionnaire in IBS patients with severe symptoms because this group of patients was not studied. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Medically unexplained physical symptoms and work functioning over 2 years: their association and the influence of depressive and anxiety disorders and job characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boeft, M. den; Twisk, J.W.; Hoekstra, T.; Terluin, B.; Penninx, B.W.; Wouden, J.C. van der; Numans, M.E.; Horst, H.E. van der

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are highly prevalent and may affect work functioning. In this study we aimed to assess the longitudinal association between MUPS and work functioning over 2 years and the influence of job characteristics and depressive and anxiety disorders

Validation of Metrics for Collaborative Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion IVAN

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describe the new concepts of collaborative systems metrics validation. The paper define the quality characteristics of collaborative systems. There are proposed a metric to estimate the quality level of collaborative systems. There are performed measurements of collaborative systems quality using a specially designed software.

Evolution of spatio-temporal drought characteristics: validation, projections and effect of adaptation scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, J.-P.; Martin, E.; Kitova, N.; Najac, J.; Soubeyroux, J.-M.

2012-08-01

Drought events develop in both space and time and they are therefore best described through summary joint spatio-temporal characteristics, such as mean duration, mean affected area and total magnitude. This paper addresses the issue of future projections of such characteristics of drought events over France through three main research questions: (1) Are downscaled climate projections able to simulate spatio-temporal characteristics of meteorological and agricultural droughts in France over a present-day period? (2) How such characteristics will evolve over the 21st century? (3) How to use standardized drought indices to represent theoretical adaptation scenarios? These questions are addressed using the Isba land surface model, downscaled climate projections from the ARPEGE General Circulation Model under three emissions scenarios, as well as results from a previously performed 50-yr multilevel and multiscale drought reanalysis over France. Spatio-temporal characteristics of meteorological and agricultural drought events are computed using the Standardized Precipitation Index and the Standardized Soil Wetness Index, respectively, and for time scales of 3 and 12 months. Results first show that the distributions of joint spatio-temporal characteristics of observed events are well simulated by the downscaled hydroclimate projections over a present-day period. All spatio-temporal characteristics of drought events are then found to dramatically increase over the 21st century, with stronger changes for agricultural droughts. Two theoretical adaptation scenarios are eventually built based on hypotheses of adaptation to evolving climate and hydrological normals, either retrospective or prospective. The perceived spatio-temporal characteristics of drought events derived from these theoretical adaptation scenarios show much reduced changes, but they call for more realistic scenarios at both the catchment and national scale in order to accurately assess the combined effect of

Identification of basin characteristics influencing spatial variation of river flows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mazvimavi, D.; Burgers, S.L.G.E.; Stein, A.

2006-01-01

The selection of basin characteristics that explain spatial variation of river flows is important for hydrological regionalization as this enables estimation of flow statistics of ungauged basins. A direct gradient analysis method, redundancy analysis, is used to identify basin characteristics,

Bloggers’ Community Characteristics and Influence within Greek Political Blogosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios Vagianos

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the properties of central or core political blogs. They can be located as clusters of blogs whose members have many incoming links. Other blogs form clouds around them in the sense that they link the core blogs. A case study records Greek political blogs and their incoming links reported through their blogrolls. The adjacency matrix from the blogs’ social network is analyzed and clusters are located. Three of them, those with the larger numbers of incoming links, may be considered to be central. Next, four measures of influence are used to test the influence of the central blogs. The findings suggest that there are many kinds of central blogs, influential and non-influential, and high influence does not always involve high hyperlinking.

Black deaf individuals' reading skills: influence of ASL, culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Candace; Clark, M Diane; Musyoka, Millicent M; Anderson, Melissa L; Gilbert, Gizelle L; Agyen, Selina; Hauser, Peter C

2010-01-01

Previous research on the reading abilities of Deaf individuals from various cultural groups suggests that Black Deaf and Hispanic Deaf individuals lag behind their White Deaf peers. The present study compared the reading skills of Black Deaf and White Deaf individuals, investigating the influence of American Sign Language (ASL), culture, family characteristics, reading experience, and education. (The descriptor Black is used throughout the present article, as Black Deaf individuals prefer this term to African American. For purposes of parallel construction, the term White is used instead of European American.) It was found that Black Deaf study participants scored lower on measures of both reading and ASL. These findings provide implications for possible interventions at the primary, secondary, and college levels of education.

Influence of the microwave irradiation dewatering on the combustion characteristics of Chinese brown coals

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Lichao; Feng, Hongcui; Xu, Chang; Zhang, Yanwei; Wang, Zhihua

2018-02-01

This study investigates the influence of microwave irradiation on coal composition, pore structure, coal rank, and combustion characteristics of typical brown coals in China. Results show that the upgrading process significantly decreased the inherent moisture, and increased calorific value and fixed carbon content. After upgrading, pore distribution extended to micropore region, oxygen functional groups were reduced and destroyed, and the apparent aromaticity increased suggesting an improvement in the coal rank. Based on thermogravimetric analysis, the combustion processes of upgraded coals were delayed toward the high temperature region, and the temperatures of ignition, peak and burnout increased. Based on the average combustion rate and comprehensive combustion parameter, the upgraded coals performed better compared with raw brown coals and a high rank coal. In ignition and burnout segments, the activation energy increased but exhibited a decrease in the combustion stage.

Analysis of the Scattering Characteristics of Sea Surface with the Influence from Internal Wave

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Yi-wen

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The internal wave travels beneath the sea surface and modulate the roughness of the sea surface through the wave-current interaction. This makes some dark and bright bands can be observed in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR images. In this paper, we first establish the profile of the internal wave based on the KdV equations; then, the action balance equation and the wave-current interaction source function are used to modify the sea spectrum; finally, the two-scale theory based facet model is combined with the modified sea spectrum to calculate the scattering characteristics of the sea. We have simulated the scattering coefficient distribution of the sea with an internal wave traveling through. The influence on the scattering coefficients and the Doppler spectra under different internal wave parameters and sea state parameters are analyzed.

The changes of spectroscopic characteristics of sulfurreducing bacteria Desulfuromonas acetoxidans under the influence of different metal ions

Science.gov (United States)

Vasyliv, Oresta M.; Bilyy, Olexandr I.; Getman, Vasyl B.; Kushkevych, Ivan V.; Hnatush, Svitlana O.

2011-10-01

Desulfuromonas acetoxidans, which is regarded to the oldest microorganisms that exist in the Earth, are uncoloured gram-negative obligatory anaerobic bacteria that have an ability to reduce S0 to H2S. This process supports bacteria with sufficient amount of energy which they need for growth. At the same time high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide are very toxic towards all living organisms. Different metal ions that exist in surrounding environment in small concentrations are essential for microorganisms because they support normal functionality of them. But in high concentrations they have a detrimental influence on cell structure and it functions. Srains of D. acetoxidans bacteria that have high toxic metals resistance can neutralize the toxicity of hydrogen sulfide, which is the final product of dissimilative sulfurreduction, and these metals as the result of their particular binding and forming the insoluble precipitations. Light scattering changes and metals accumulation ability of D. acetoxidans bacterial cells under the influence of CuSO4, PbNO3, ZnSO4 and CdSO4 have been investigated. The changes of light scattering characteristics of bacterial D. acetoxidans cells on the base of their size distribution and relative content under the influence of investigated metal salts have been observed by the new method of measurement.

Factors Influencing the Career Planning and Development of University Students in Jordan

Science.gov (United States)

Khasawneh, Samer

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to translate and validate an Arabic version of the career influence inventory for use in Jordan. The study also investigated perceptions of university students of the influential factors that have influenced their career planning and development. The validated career influence inventory was administered to 558…

The influence of oxidation properties on the electron emission characteristics of porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Li; Zhang, Xiaoning; Wang, Wenjiang; Wei, Haicheng

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Evaluated the oxidation properties of porous silicon from semi-quantitative methods. • Discovered the relationship between oxidation properties and emission characteristics. • Revealed the micro-essence of the electron emission of the porous silicon. - Abstract: In order to investigate the influence of oxidation properties such as oxygen content and its distribution gradient on the electron emission characteristics of porous silicon (PS) emitters, emitters with PS thickness of 8 μm, 5 μm, and 3 μm were prepared and then oxidized by electrochemical oxidation (ECO) and ECO-RTO (rapid thermal oxidation) to get different oxidation properties. The experimental results indicated that the emission current density, efficiency, and stability of the PS emitters are mainly determined by oxidation properties. The higher oxygen content and the smaller oxygen distribution gradient in the PS layer, the larger emission current density and efficiency we noted. The most favorable results occurred for the PS emitter with the smallest oxygen distribution gradient and the highest level of oxygen content, with an emission current density of 212.25 μA/cm"2 and efficiency of 59.21‰. Additionally, it also demonstrates that thick PS layer benefits to the emission stability due to its longer electron acceleration tunnel. The FN fitting plots indicated that the effective emission areas of PS emitters can be enlarged and electron emission thresholds is decreased because of the higher oxygen content and smaller distribution gradient, which were approved by the optical micrographs of top electrode of PS emitters before and after electron emission.

The influence of oxidation properties on the electron emission characteristics of porous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Li [Key Laboratory of Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Zhang, Xiaoning, E-mail: znn@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Wang, Wenjiang [Key Laboratory of Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Wei, Haicheng [School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Beifang University of Nationalities, Yinchuan750021 (China)

2016-09-30

Highlights: • Evaluated the oxidation properties of porous silicon from semi-quantitative methods. • Discovered the relationship between oxidation properties and emission characteristics. • Revealed the micro-essence of the electron emission of the porous silicon. - Abstract: In order to investigate the influence of oxidation properties such as oxygen content and its distribution gradient on the electron emission characteristics of porous silicon (PS) emitters, emitters with PS thickness of 8 μm, 5 μm, and 3 μm were prepared and then oxidized by electrochemical oxidation (ECO) and ECO-RTO (rapid thermal oxidation) to get different oxidation properties. The experimental results indicated that the emission current density, efficiency, and stability of the PS emitters are mainly determined by oxidation properties. The higher oxygen content and the smaller oxygen distribution gradient in the PS layer, the larger emission current density and efficiency we noted. The most favorable results occurred for the PS emitter with the smallest oxygen distribution gradient and the highest level of oxygen content, with an emission current density of 212.25 μA/cm{sup 2} and efficiency of 59.21‰. Additionally, it also demonstrates that thick PS layer benefits to the emission stability due to its longer electron acceleration tunnel. The FN fitting plots indicated that the effective emission areas of PS emitters can be enlarged and electron emission thresholds is decreased because of the higher oxygen content and smaller distribution gradient, which were approved by the optical micrographs of top electrode of PS emitters before and after electron emission.

Parenting Stress in CHARGE Syndrome and the Relationship with Child Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Wulffaert, Josette; Scholte, Evert M; Dijkxhoorn, Yvette M; Bergman, Jorieke E H; van Ravenswaaij-Arts, Conny M A; van Berckelaer-Onnes, Ina A

2009-08-01

This study investigates the parental perception of stress related to the upbringing of children with CHARGE syndrome and its association with behavioral and physical child characteristics. Parents of 22 children completed the Nijmegen Parenting Stress Index-Short, Developmental Behavior Checklist, and Dutch Vineland Screener 0-12 and reported their child's problems with hearing, vision and ability to speak. Parenting stress was high in 59% of the subjects. Behavioral problems on the depression, autism, self-absorbed and disruptive behavior scales correlated positively with parenting stress. A non-significant trend was found, namely higher stress among the parents of non-speaking children. No associations were found with other child characteristics, i.e. level of adaptive functioning and intellectual disability, auditory and visual problems, deafblindness, gender, and age. Raising a child with CHARGE syndrome is stressful; professional support is therefore essential for this population. More research into other possible influencing characteristics is needed to improve family-oriented interventions. Since CHARGE is a rare syndrome, closer international collaboration is needed, not only to expand the group of study subjects to increase statistical power, but also to harmonize research designs and measurement methods to improve the validity, the reliability, and the generalization of the findings.

Influence of slab length on dynamic characteristics of subway train-steel spring floating slab track-tunnel coupled system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qing-yuan Xu

Full Text Available A subway train-steel spring floating slab track-tunnel coupling dynamic model, considering short and middle-long wavelength random track irregularities, and longitudinal connection between adjacent slabs of steel spring floating slab track, was developed. And the influence of slab length on dynamic characteristics of the system under different track conditions and train speeds are theoretically studied. The calculated results show: (1 In general, the acceleration of each component of the coupled system decreases with the increase of slab length under the perfectly smooth track condition; (2 Slab length has different influence laws on acceleration of each component of subway train-steel spring floating slab track-tunnel coupled system under random irregularity of track condition. The lower the dominant frequency distribution of vibration acceleration is, the higher influence slab length has; (3 With the increase of slab length, the force of rail, fastener and steel spring also decreases significantly, which helps to lengthen the service life of these components; (4 With the increase of slab length, the longitudinal bending moment of slab increases sharply at first, then it begins to drop slightly. When slab length exceeds the distance between two bogies of a vehicle, the longitudinal bending moment of slab changes little; (5 Slab length has significant influence on the dynamic force and displacement of the coupled system when train speed is higher.

Design Characteristics of Soft Control for APR+

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yongsoo; Sung, Chanho; Jung, Yeonsub [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In the global nuclear industry, the design requirements have been largely divided into the US and the European ones. The APR+ design, based on the proven APR1400 design, was developed to fully comply with the US regulatory and utility requirements. It was also developed to improve the technical competitiveness and enlarge the export market share through design uniqueness and the improvement of safety. The robust design of safety and its validation were requested Post-Fukushima accident. So MMIS design and validation for reinforcing safety were accomplished in APR+ development project. In this paper, the design characteristics of soft control for APR+ are presented to enhance the safety of MMIS design. In this paper, the major design characteristics of soft control for APR+ were introduced to increase the safety of MMIS design. In addition to the design characteristics of soft control described above, the following should be investigated closely for APR+ to get into the global nuclear industry.

Design Characteristics of Soft Control for APR+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yongsoo; Sung, Chanho; Jung, Yeonsub

2016-01-01

In the global nuclear industry, the design requirements have been largely divided into the US and the European ones. The APR+ design, based on the proven APR1400 design, was developed to fully comply with the US regulatory and utility requirements. It was also developed to improve the technical competitiveness and enlarge the export market share through design uniqueness and the improvement of safety. The robust design of safety and its validation were requested Post-Fukushima accident. So MMIS design and validation for reinforcing safety were accomplished in APR+ development project. In this paper, the design characteristics of soft control for APR+ are presented to enhance the safety of MMIS design. In this paper, the major design characteristics of soft control for APR+ were introduced to increase the safety of MMIS design. In addition to the design characteristics of soft control described above, the following should be investigated closely for APR+ to get into the global nuclear industry

Session-RPE Method for Training Load Monitoring: Validity, Ecological Usefulness, and Influencing Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monoem Haddad

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this review is to (1 retrieve all data validating the Session-rating of perceived exertion (RPE-method using various criteria, (2 highlight the rationale of this method and its ecological usefulness, and (3 describe factors that can alter RPE and users of this method should take into consideration.Method: Search engines such as SPORTDiscus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases in the English language between 2001 and 2016 were consulted for the validity and usefulness of the session-RPE method. Studies were considered for further analysis when they used the session-RPE method proposed by Foster et al. in 2001. Participants were athletes of any gender, age, or level of competition. Studies using languages other than English were excluded in the analysis of the validity and reliability of the session-RPE method. Other studies were examined to explain the rationale of the session-RPE method and the origin of RPE.Results: A total of 950 studies cited the Foster et al. study that proposed the session RPE-method. 36 studies have examined the validity and reliability of this proposed method using the modified CR-10.Conclusion: These studies confirmed the validity and good reliability and internal consistency of session-RPE method in several sports and physical activities with men and women of different age categories (children, adolescents, and adults among various expertise levels. This method could be used as “standing alone” method for training load (TL monitoring purposes though some recommend to combine it with other physiological parameters as heart rate.

Multi-scale factors influencing the characteristics of avian communities in urban parks across Beijing during the breeding season

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Shilin; Lu, Fei; Cao, Lei; Zhou, Weiqi; Ouyang, Zhiyun

2016-07-01

Understanding the factors that influence the characteristics of avian communities using urban parks at both the patch and landscape level is important to focus management effort towards enhancing bird diversity. Here, we investigated this issue during the breeding season across urban parks in Beijing, China, using high-resolution satellite imagery. Fifty-two bird species were recorded across 29 parks. Analysis of residence type of birds showed that passengers were the most prevalent (37%), indicating that Beijing is a major node in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Park size was crucial for total species abundance, but foliage height diversity was the most important factor influencing avian species diversity. Thus, optimizing the configuration of vertical vegetation structure in certain park areas is critical for supporting avian communities in urban parks. Human visitation also showed negative impact on species diversity. At the landscape level, the percentage of artificial surface and largest patch index of woodland in the buffer region significantly affected total species richness, with insectivores and granivores being more sensitive to the landscape pattern of the buffer region. In conclusion, urban birds in Beijing are influenced by various multi-scale factors; however, these effects vary with different feeding types.

[Carbon density distribution characteristics and influencing factors in aerially seeded Pinus massoniana plantations].

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Ping; Han, Tian Yi; OuYang, Xun Zhi; Liu, Yuan Qiu; Zang, Hao; Ning, Jin Kui; Yang, Yang

2017-12-01

The distribution characteristics of carbon density under aerially seeded Pinus massoniana plantations in Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province were studied. Total 15 factors, including site, stand, understory vegetation, litter and so on were selected to establish a relationship model between stand carbon density and influencing factors, and the main influencing factors were also screened. The results showed that the average carbon density was 98.29 t·hm -2 at stand level with soil layer (49.58 t·hm -2 ) > tree layer (45.25 t·hm -2 ) > understory vegetation layer (2.23 t·hm -2 ) > litter layer (1.23 t·hm -2 ). Significantly positive correlations were found among the tree, litter and soil layers, but not among the other layers. The main factors were tree density, avera-ge diameter at breast height (DBH), soil thickness, slope position, stand age and canopy density to affect carbon density in aerially seeded P. massoniana plantations. The partial correlation coefficients of the six main factors ranged from 0.331 to 0.434 with significance by t test. The multiple correlation coefficient of quantitative model I reached 0.796 with significance by F test (F=9.28). For stand density, the best tree density and canopy density were 1500-2100 plants·hm -2 and 0.4-0.7, respectively. The moderate density was helpful to improve ecosystem carbon sequestration. The carbon density increased with increasing stand age, DBH and soil thickness, and was higher in lower than middle and upper slope positions.

Differences in Learning Characteristics Between Students With High, Average, and Low Levels of Academic Procrastination: Students’ Views on Factors Influencing Their Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lennart Visser

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Within the field of procrastination, much research has been conducted on factors that have an influence on academic procrastination. Less is known about how such factors may differ for various students. In addition, not much is known about differences in the process of how factors influence students’ learning and what creates differences in procrastination behavior between students with different levels of academic procrastination. In this study learning characteristics and the self-regulation behavior of three groups of students with different levels of academic procrastination were compared. The rationale behind this was that certain learning characteristics and self-regulation behaviors may play out differently in students with different levels of academic procrastination. Participants were first-year students (N = 22 with different levels of academic procrastination enrolled in an elementary teacher education program. The selection of the participants into three groups of students (low procrastination, n = 8; average procrastination, n = 8; high procrastination, n = 6 was based on their scores on a questionnaire measuring the students’ levels of academic procrastination. From semi-structured interviews, six themes emerged that describe how students in the three groups deal with factors that influence the students’ learning: degree program choice, getting started with study activities, engagement in study activities, ways of reacting to failure, view of oneself, and study results. This study shows the importance of looking at differences in how students deal with certain factors possibly negatively influencing their learning. Within the group of students with average and high levels of academic procrastination, factors influencing their learning are regularly present. These factors lead to procrastination behavior among students with high levels of academic procrastination, but this seems not the case among students with an average

Differences in Learning Characteristics Between Students With High, Average, and Low Levels of Academic Procrastination: Students' Views on Factors Influencing Their Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Visser, Lennart; Korthagen, Fred A J; Schoonenboom, Judith

2018-01-01

Within the field of procrastination, much research has been conducted on factors that have an influence on academic procrastination. Less is known about how such factors may differ for various students. In addition, not much is known about differences in the process of how factors influence students' learning and what creates differences in procrastination behavior between students with different levels of academic procrastination. In this study learning characteristics and the self-regulation behavior of three groups of students with different levels of academic procrastination were compared. The rationale behind this was that certain learning characteristics and self-regulation behaviors may play out differently in students with different levels of academic procrastination. Participants were first-year students ( N = 22) with different levels of academic procrastination enrolled in an elementary teacher education program. The selection of the participants into three groups of students (low procrastination, n = 8; average procrastination, n = 8; high procrastination, n = 6) was based on their scores on a questionnaire measuring the students' levels of academic procrastination. From semi-structured interviews, six themes emerged that describe how students in the three groups deal with factors that influence the students' learning: degree program choice, getting started with study activities, engagement in study activities, ways of reacting to failure, view of oneself, and study results. This study shows the importance of looking at differences in how students deal with certain factors possibly negatively influencing their learning. Within the group of students with average and high levels of academic procrastination, factors influencing their learning are regularly present. These factors lead to procrastination behavior among students with high levels of academic procrastination, but this seems not the case among students with an average level of academic

Differences in Learning Characteristics Between Students With High, Average, and Low Levels of Academic Procrastination: Students’ Views on Factors Influencing Their Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Visser, Lennart; Korthagen, Fred A. J.; Schoonenboom, Judith

2018-01-01

Within the field of procrastination, much research has been conducted on factors that have an influence on academic procrastination. Less is known about how such factors may differ for various students. In addition, not much is known about differences in the process of how factors influence students’ learning and what creates differences in procrastination behavior between students with different levels of academic procrastination. In this study learning characteristics and the self-regulation behavior of three groups of students with different levels of academic procrastination were compared. The rationale behind this was that certain learning characteristics and self-regulation behaviors may play out differently in students with different levels of academic procrastination. Participants were first-year students (N = 22) with different levels of academic procrastination enrolled in an elementary teacher education program. The selection of the participants into three groups of students (low procrastination, n = 8; average procrastination, n = 8; high procrastination, n = 6) was based on their scores on a questionnaire measuring the students’ levels of academic procrastination. From semi-structured interviews, six themes emerged that describe how students in the three groups deal with factors that influence the students’ learning: degree program choice, getting started with study activities, engagement in study activities, ways of reacting to failure, view of oneself, and study results. This study shows the importance of looking at differences in how students deal with certain factors possibly negatively influencing their learning. Within the group of students with average and high levels of academic procrastination, factors influencing their learning are regularly present. These factors lead to procrastination behavior among students with high levels of academic procrastination, but this seems not the case among students with an average level of academic

Bibliometric Analysis of Manuscript Characteristics That Influence Citations: A Comparison of Six Major Radiology Journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Shekhani, Haris Naseem; Shariff, Shoaib; Bhulani, Nizar; Khosa, Faisal; Hanna, Tarek Noel

2017-12-01

The objective of our study was to investigate radiology manuscript characteristics that influence citation rate, capturing features of manuscript construction that are discrete from study design. Consecutive articles published from January 2004 to June 2004 were collected from the six major radiology journals with the highest impact factors: Radiology (impact factor, 5.076), Investigative Radiology (2.320), American Journal of Neuroradiology (AJNR) (2.384), RadioGraphics (2.494), European Radiology (2.364), and American Journal of Roentgenology (2.406). The citation count for these articles was retrieved from the Web of Science, and 29 article characteristics were tabulated manually. A point-biserial correlation, Spearman rank-order correlation, and multiple regression model were performed to predict citation number from the collected variables. A total of 703 articles-211 published in Radiology, 48 in Investigative Radiology, 106 in AJNR, 52 in RadioGraphics, 129 in European Radiology, and 157 in AJR-were evaluated. Punctuation was included in the title in 55% of the articles and had the highest statistically significant positive correlation to citation rate (point-biserial correlation coefficient [r pb ] = 0.85, p radiology. Using bibliometric knowledge, authors can craft a title, abstract, and text that may enhance visibility and citation count over what they would otherwise experience.

The Influence of Self-Esteem and Selected Demographic Characteristics on First Semester Academic Achievement of Students Enrolled in a College of Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspard, Mae B.; Burnett, Michael F.; Gaspard, Camile P.

2011-01-01

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of self-esteem and selected demographic characteristics on academic achievement among students at the freshman level in the College of Agriculture at Louisiana State University. The sample of the study was all students at Louisiana State University enrolled in the Introduction to…

Influence of additives on microstructures, mechanical properties and shock-induced reaction characteristics of Al/Ni composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiong, Wei; Zhang, Xianfeng, E-mail: lynx@mail.njust.edu.cn; Wu, Yang; He, Yong; Wang, Chuanting; Guo, Lei

2015-11-05

Granular composites containing aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni) are typical structural energetic materials, which possess ideal combination of both mechanical properties and energy release capability. The influence of two additives, namely Teflon (PTFE) and copper (Cu), on mechanical properties and shock-induced chemical reaction (SICR) characteristics of Al/Ni material system has been investigated. Three composites, namely Al/Ni, Al/Ni/PTFE and Al/Ni/Cu with same volumetric ratio of Al powder to Ni powder, were processed by means of static pressing. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the microstructure of the mentioned three composites. Quasi static compression tests were also conducted to determine the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of the mentioned three composites. It was shown that the additives affected both compressive strength and fracture mode of the three composites. Impact initiation experiments on the mentioned three composites were performed to determine their shock-induced chemical reaction characteristics by considering pressure histories measured in the test chamber. The experimental results showed that the additives had significant effects on critical initiation velocity, reaction rate, reaction efficiency and post-reaction behavior. - Highlights: • .Al/Ni, Al/Ni/PTFE and Al/Ni/Cu were processed by means of static pressing. • .Microstructures, mechanical properties and shock-induced reactions were studied. • .Microstructures affect both compressive strength and fracture mode. • .Impact velocity is an important factor in shock-induced chemical characteristics. • .Each additive has significant effects on energy release behavior.

Influence of additives on microstructures, mechanical properties and shock-induced reaction characteristics of Al/Ni composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong, Wei; Zhang, Xianfeng; Wu, Yang; He, Yong; Wang, Chuanting; Guo, Lei

2015-01-01

Granular composites containing aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni) are typical structural energetic materials, which possess ideal combination of both mechanical properties and energy release capability. The influence of two additives, namely Teflon (PTFE) and copper (Cu), on mechanical properties and shock-induced chemical reaction (SICR) characteristics of Al/Ni material system has been investigated. Three composites, namely Al/Ni, Al/Ni/PTFE and Al/Ni/Cu with same volumetric ratio of Al powder to Ni powder, were processed by means of static pressing. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the microstructure of the mentioned three composites. Quasi static compression tests were also conducted to determine the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of the mentioned three composites. It was shown that the additives affected both compressive strength and fracture mode of the three composites. Impact initiation experiments on the mentioned three composites were performed to determine their shock-induced chemical reaction characteristics by considering pressure histories measured in the test chamber. The experimental results showed that the additives had significant effects on critical initiation velocity, reaction rate, reaction efficiency and post-reaction behavior. - Highlights: • .Al/Ni, Al/Ni/PTFE and Al/Ni/Cu were processed by means of static pressing. • .Microstructures, mechanical properties and shock-induced reactions were studied. • .Microstructures affect both compressive strength and fracture mode. • .Impact velocity is an important factor in shock-induced chemical characteristics. • .Each additive has significant effects on energy release behavior

Dynamic characteristics of hydrocarbon fuel within the channel at supercritical and pyrolysis condition

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Bin; Zhou, Weixing; Qin, Jiang; Bao, Wen

2017-12-01

Regenerative cooling with fuel as the coolant is used in the scramjet engine. In order to grasp the dynamic characteristics of engine fuel supply processes, this article studies the dynamic characteristics of hydrocarbon fuel within the channel. A one-dimensional dynamic model was proved, the thermal energy storage effect, fuel volume effect and chemical dynamic effect have been considered in the model, the ordinary differential equations were solved using a 4th order Runge-Kutta method. The precision of the model was validated by three groups of experimental data. The effects of input signal, working condition, tube size on the dynamic characteristics of pressure, flow rate, temperature have been simulated. It is found that cracking reaction increased the compressibility of the fuel pyrolysis mixture and lead to longer responding time of outlet flow. The responding time of outlet flow can reach 3s when tube is 5m long which will greatly influence the control performance of the engine thrust system. Meanwhile, when the inlet flow rate appears the step change, the inlet pressure leads to overshoot, the overshoot can reach as much as 100%, such highly transient impulse will result in detrimental effect on fuel pump.

Influence of feedstock chemical composition on product formation and characteristics derived from the hydrothermal carbonization of mixed feedstocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xiaowei; Berge, Nicole D

2014-08-01

As the exploration of the carbonization of mixed feedstocks continues, there is a distinct need to understand how feedstock chemical composition and structural complexity influence the composition of generated products. Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the carbonization of pure compounds, mixtures of the pure compounds, and complex feedstocks comprised of the pure compounds (e.g., paper, wood). Results indicate that feedstock properties do influence carbonization product properties. Carbonization product characteristics were predicted using results from the carbonization of the pure compounds and indicate that recovered solids energy contents are more accurately predicted than solid yields and the carbon mass in each phase, while predictions associated with solids surface functional groups are more difficult to predict using this linear approach. To more accurately predict carbonization products, it may be necessary to account for feedstock structure and/or additional feedstock properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of the Characteristics of the National Business System in the Disclosure of Gender-Related Corporate Social Responsibility Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelle Colares Oliveira

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We analysed the influence of the characteristics of national business systems on the disclosure of gender-related corporate social responsibility practices by 150 companies in Latin America that signed the Declaration of Support for Women’s Empowerment Principles. The highest level of disclosure was related to the establishment of high-level corporate leadership for gender equality. Results show that the country’s level of “concentration of power” and “individualism”, and the “orientation towards femininity” have a negative influence on the disclosure of gender-related practices; in addition, the country’s level of “economic development” and the “pressure of unions” exert a positive influence. The results highlight the important role that some national and local institutions play in the women’s empowerment, leading companies to report information on adopted practices. The study innovates and contributes by introducing the explanation of gender-related social disclosure with the national business system approach in Latin America.

Energy characteristics of Darrieus rotor ( review)

Science.gov (United States)

Gorelov, D. N.

2010-09-01

Presented below is the review of the results of experimental studies of energy characteristics of Darrieus rotor with vertical rotation axis. Influence of main geometry parameters of the rotor on its energy characteristics has been analyzed. It is shown that Darrieus rotor may have the higher level of energy characteristics than the best propeller wind turbines.

Characteristics explaining performance in downhill mountain biking.

Science.gov (United States)

Chidley, Joel B; MacGregor, Alexandra L; Martin, Caoimhe; Arthur, Calum A; Macdonald, Jamie H

2015-03-01

To identify physiological, psychological, and skill characteristics that explain performance in downhill (DH) mountain-bike racing. Four studies were used to (1) identify factors potentially contributing to DH performance (using an expert focus group), (2) develop and validate a measure of rider skill (using video analysis and expert judge evaluation), (3) evaluate whether physiological, psychological, and skill variables contribute to performance at a DH competition, and (4) test the specific contribution of aerobic capacity to DH performance. STUDY 1 identified aerobic capacity, handgrip endurance, anaerobic power, rider skill, and self-confidence as potentially important for DH. In study 2 the rider-skill measure displayed good interrater reliability. Study 3 found that rider skill and handgrip endurance were significantly related to DH ride time (β=-0.76 and -0.14, respectively; R2=.73), with exploratory analyses suggesting that DH ride time may also be influenced by self-confidence and aerobic capacity. Study 4 confirmed aerobic capacity as an important variable influencing DH performance (for a DH ride, mean oxygen uptake was 49±5 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), and 90% of the ride was completed above the 1st ventilatory threshold). In order of importance, rider skill, handgrip endurance, self-confidence, and aerobic capacity were identified as variables influencing DH performance. Practically, this study provides a novel assessment of rider skill that could be used by coaches to monitor training and identify talent. Novel intervention targets to enhance DH performance were also identified, including self-confidence and aerobic capacity.

Validating Acquisition IS Integration Readiness with Drills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wynne, Peter J.

2017-01-01

To companies, mergers and acquisitions are important strategic tools, yet they often fail to deliver their expected value. Studies have shown the integration of information systems is a significant roadblock to the realisation of acquisition benefits, and for an IT department to be ready......), to understand how an IT department can use them to validate their integration plans. The paper presents a case study of two drills used to validate an IT department’s readiness to carry out acquisition IS integration, and suggests seven acquisition IS integration drill characteristics others could utilise when...

Crop farmers and pastoralists' socio-economic characteristics ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Crop farmers and pastoralists' socio-economic characteristics influencing ... Journal of Agricultural Research and Development ... family size and farm size) influenced positively and significantly crop farmers and pastoralists land use conflict.

Influence of characteristics of time series on short-term forecasting error parameter changes in real time

Science.gov (United States)

Klevtsov, S. I.

2018-05-01

The impact of physical factors, such as temperature and others, leads to a change in the parameters of the technical object. Monitoring the change of parameters is necessary to prevent a dangerous situation. The control is carried out in real time. To predict the change in the parameter, a time series is used in this paper. Forecasting allows one to determine the possibility of a dangerous change in a parameter before the moment when this change occurs. The control system in this case has more time to prevent a dangerous situation. A simple time series was chosen. In this case, the algorithm is simple. The algorithm is executed in the microprocessor module in the background. The efficiency of using the time series is affected by its characteristics, which must be adjusted. In the work, the influence of these characteristics on the error of prediction of the controlled parameter was studied. This takes into account the behavior of the parameter. The values of the forecast lag are determined. The results of the research, in the case of their use, will improve the efficiency of monitoring the technical object during its operation.

The influence of housing characteristics on leisure-time sitting. A prospective cohort study in Danish adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Saidj, Madina; Jørgensen, Torben; Jacobsen, Rikke Kart; Linneberg, Allan; Aadahl, Mette

2015-12-01

Built environmental attributes have been studied in relation to domestic time spent sedentary. An indoor behaviour has thus been linked to an outdoor setting. Yet, attributes of the actual domestic environment may also influence the time spent sedentary at home. Therefore, the aim was to examine if housing characteristics were cross-sectionally and prospectively related to leisure-time sitting in adults. In the Danish Health2006 cohort, 2308 adults were followed for 5 years. At baseline, subjects self-reported housing characteristics (habitat type, habitat surface area and household size), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and socio-demographic factors. Leisure-time sitting was self-reported at baseline and 5-year follow-up. Multiple linear regression was used to assess cross-sectional and prospective associations. At baseline habitat surface area and household size were inversely associated with leisure-time sitting (pleisure-time sitting compared to living in a house (pleisure-time sitting (pleisure-time sitting in adults, while especially household size was a predictor of leisure-time sitting five years later. The findings highlight the importance of home-environmental attributes when targeting a reduction in sedentary behaviours. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Medically unexplained physical symptoms and work functioning over 2 years : their association and the influence of depressive and anxiety disorders and job characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Boeft, Madelon; Twisk, Jos W R; Hoekstra, T.; Terluin, Berend; Penninx, Brenda W J H; van der Wouden, Johannes C; Numans, Mattijs E.; van der Horst, Henriette E

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are highly prevalent and may affect work functioning. In this study we aimed to assess the longitudinal association between MUPS and work functioning over 2 years and the influence of job characteristics and depressive and anxiety disorders

Influence of the external heating type in the morphological and structural characteristics of alumina powder prepared by combustion reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordeiro, V.V.; Freitas, N.L.; Viana, K.M.S.; Dias, G.; Costa, A.C.F.M.; Lira, H.L.

2009-01-01

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of the external heating in the morphological and structural characteristics of the alumina powder prepared by combustion reaction. It was evaluated different types of external heating: muffle oven, microwave oven and ceramic plate with electrical spiral resistance. The powders were prepared according to the propellants and explosives theory, using urea in the stoichiometric proportion (Φe = 1). During the synthesis parameters such as flame combustion time and temperature were measured. The structural and morphological characteristics of the powders were evaluate by XRD, particle size distribution, SEM and nitrogen adsorption (BET). The results showed the production of a-alumina as unique phase and formed by agglomerates with irregular plate shape of thin particles for all studied conditions. The powders prepared by electrical oven presented small particle size, with narrow agglomerates size distribution. (author)

The construct of food involvement in behavioral research: scale development and validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Rick; Marshall, David W

2003-06-01

The construct of involvement has been found to influence brand loyalty, product information search processing, responses to advertising communications, diffusion of innovations, and ultimately, product choice decisions. Traditionally, involvement has been defined as being a characteristic of either a product or of an individual. In the present research, we make an assumption that an individual's 'food involvement' is a somewhat stable characteristic and we hypothesized that involvement with foods would vary between individuals, that individuals who are more highly involved with food would be better able to discriminate between a set of food samples than would less food involved individuals, and that this discrimination would operate both in affective and perceptive relative judgments. Using standard scale construction techniques, we developed a measure of the characteristic of food involvement, based on activities relating to food acquisition, preparation, cooking, eating and disposal. After several iterations, a final 12-item measure was found to have good test-retest reliability and internal consistency within two subscales. A behavioral validation study demonstrated that measures of food involvement were associated with discrimination and hedonic ratings for a range of foods in a laboratory setting. These findings suggest that food involvement, as measured by the Food Involvement Scale, may be an important mediator to consider when undertaking research with food and food habits.

Validation of the Physician Teaching Motivation Questionnaire (PTMQ).

Science.gov (United States)

Dybowski, Christoph; Harendza, Sigrid

2015-10-02

Physicians play a major role as teachers in undergraduate medical education. Studies indicate that different forms and degrees of motivation can influence work performance in general and that teachers' motivation to teach can influence students' academic achievements in particular. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and to validate an instrument measuring teaching motivations in hospital-based physicians. We chose self-determination theory as a theoretical framework for item and scale development. It distinguishes between different dimensions of motivation depending on the amount of self-regulation and autonomy involved and its empirical evidence has been demonstrated in other areas of research. To validate the new instrument (PTMQ = Physician Teaching Motivation Questionnaire), we used data from a sample of 247 physicians from internal medicine and surgery at six German medical faculties. Structural equation modelling was conducted to confirm the factorial structure, correlation analyses and linear regressions were performed to examine concurrent and incremental validity. Structural equation modelling confirmed a good global fit for the factorial structure of the final instrument (RMSEA = .050, TLI = .957, SRMR = .055, CFI = .966). Cronbach's alphas indicated good internal consistencies for all scales (α = .75 - .89) except for the identified teaching motivation subscale with an acceptable internal consistency (α = .65). Tests of concurrent validity with global work motivation, perceived teaching competence, perceived teaching involvement and voluntariness of lesson allocation delivered theory-consistent results with slight deviations for some scales. Incremental validity over global work motivation in predicting perceived teaching involvement was also confirmed. Our results indicate that the PTMQ is a reliable, valid and therefore suitable instrument for assessing physicians' teaching motivation.

Validation of Hindi version of oral health impact profile-14 for adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manu Batra

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Oral health has an impact on overall general health. It is important to assess the influence of these oral disorders on quality of life. Aim: To validate a Hindi version of the oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14 and to assess the instrument's psychometric properties in the Indian population. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in Moradabad city with a sample of 186 participants. The same individuals underwent clinical examinations by a calibrated dentist for recording simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S index. The OHIP was initially translated and cross-culturally adapted to Hindi following guidelines; then, subsequently validated for the psychometric characteristics of reliability and validity. The reliability of the OHIP-14 was assessed by the use of Cronbach's coefficient. Reproducibility was evaluated by measuring test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: The overall value of Cronbach's alpha (α coefficient of the OHIP-14 was estimated to be 0.8. The corrected item-total correlation coefficients values were above 0.2 that has been recommended for including an item in a scale. All Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were statistically significant, whereas the highest association was detected within the physical disability subscale (rs = 0.37, and the lowest within the social disability (rs = 0.08. It was seen that the OHIP-14 scores were higher for those individuals who had higher OHI-S scores and vice-versa. Conclusion: The translated Hindi version of OHIP-14 questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the oral health-related quality of life in the Indian adult population.

Achieving external validity in home advantage research: generalizing crowd noise effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Tony D

2014-01-01

Different factors have been postulated to explain the home advantage phenomenon in sport. One plausible explanation investigated has been the influence of a partisan home crowd on sports officials' decisions. Different types of studies have tested the crowd influence hypothesis including purposefully designed experiments. However, while experimental studies investigating crowd influences have high levels of internal validity, they suffer from a lack of external validity; decision-making in a laboratory setting bearing little resemblance to decision-making in live sports settings. This focused review initially considers threats to external validity in applied and theoretical experimental research. Discussing how such threats can be addressed using representative design by focusing on a recently published study that arguably provides the first experimental evidence of the impact of live crowd noise on officials in sport. The findings of this controlled experiment conducted in a real tournament setting offer a level of confirmation of the findings of laboratory studies in the area. Finally directions for future research and the future conduct of crowd noise studies are discussed.

[Correlation of substrate structure and hydraulic characteristics in subsurface flow constructed wetlands].

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shao-Yuan; Song, Zhi-Xin; Ding, Yan-Li; You, Shao-Hong; He, Shan

2014-02-01

The correlation of substrate structure and hydraulic characteristics was studied by numerical simulation combined with experimental method. The numerical simulation results showed that the permeability coefficient of matrix had a great influence on hydraulic efficiency in subsurface flow constructed wetlands. The filler with a high permeability coefficient had a worse flow field distribution in the constructed wetland with single layer structure. The layered substrate structure with the filler permeability coefficient increased from surface to bottom could avoid the short-circuited flow and dead-zones, and thus, increased the hydraulic efficiency. Two parallel pilot-scale constructed wetlands were built according to the numerical simulation results, and tracer experiments were conducted to validate the simulation results. The tracer experiment result showed that hydraulic characteristics in the layered constructed wetland were obviously better than that in the single layer system, and the substrate effective utilization rates were 0.87 and 0.49, respectively. It was appeared that numerical simulation would be favorable for substrate structure optimization in subsurface flow constructed wetlands.

Germination characteristics of Rhinanthus minor influence field emergence, competitiveness and potential use in restoration projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Marin, M; Laverack, G; Matthews, S; Powell, A A

2018-02-10

The facultative root hemi-parasite Rhinanthus minor is often used in grassland habitat restoration projects to regulate ecosystem structure and function. Its impact on community productivity and diversity as a function of resource supply, sward composition and management has been widely investigated. However, there is a lack of information about the possible influence of seed quality on the efficacy of the hemi-parasite. Ten seed lots from commercial sources were sown in the field and their germination characteristics were investigated in the laboratory. Seeds from four lots were also germinated and sown in pots alongside plants of two host species, Lotus corniculatus and Holcus lanatus. Plant establishment, height and flowering density were evaluated for the hemi-parasite, while plant biomass was measured for both R. minor and its host. Two aspects of seed quality influenced the field emergence of seed lots of R. minor, the radicle emergence (%) and the length of the lag period from the beginning of imbibition to germination (mean germination time), which indicates seed vigour. A longer lag period (lower vigour) was associated with higher levels of seedling mortality and lower plant vigour, in terms of plant height and biomass accumulation and was also reflected in the parasitic impact of the seed lots. Seed quality, specifically germination and vigour, can influence the establishment, survival, subsequent plant productivity and parasitic impact of R. minor in vegetation restoration projects. Seed quality is discussed as a key factor to consider when predicting the impact of the hemi-parasite on community productivity and diversity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Numerical simulation and experimental validation of internal heat exchanger influence on CO{sub 2} trans-critical cycle performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rigola, Joaquim; Ablanque, Nicolas; Perez-Segarra, Carlos D.; Oliva, Assensi [Centre Tecnologic de Transferencia de Calor (CTTC), Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), ETSEIAT, C. Colom 11, 08222 Terrassa (Barcelona) (Spain)

2010-06-15

The present paper is a numerical and experimental comparative study of the whole vapour compression refrigerating cycle in general, and reciprocating compressors in particular, with the aim of showing the possibilities that CO{sub 2} offers for commercial refrigeration, considering a single-stage trans-critical cycle using semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors under small cooling capacity systems. The present work is focussed on the influence of using an internal heat exchanger (IHX) in order to improve the cycle performance under real working conditions. In order to validate the numerical results, an experimental unit specially designed and built to analyze trans-critical refrigerating equipments considering IHX has been built. Both numerical results and experimental data show reasonable good agreement, while the comparative global values conclude the improvement of cooling capacity and COP when IHX is considered in the CO{sub 2} trans-critical cycle. (author)

Investigating the construct validity of quality measures influencing online shopping in a South African context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hung-Joubert Yu-ting

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Online shopping has become popular over the years and is a widely used way to purchase goods and services. For online retailers to succeed, it is important that they have a quality website to attract and retain customers. The aim of this study was to investigate the construct validity of three respective measurement instruments related to website quality factors, namely; system, information and service quality factors, which may influence consumers within the online shopping environment in a South African context. Primary data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. The demographic and online shopping profile of the sample are presented and followed by confirmatory and exploratory factors analyses on the three instruments. The confirmatory factor analysis found poor fit for the original hypothesised models for each of the scales; further exploratory factor analyses revealed slightly different dimensionalities underlying the scales, yet these were still somewhat aligned with the theoretical framework from which the original scales were derived. Despite this, the study provides a platform for future revision of the scales and future research into website quality factors within the online shopping environment in a South African context.

The influence of shop characteristics on workload control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterman, Bas; Land, Martin

1998-01-01

The magic word of the last years is internationalization. Researchers more and more focus on export market information and the relationship between this information and export performance. Just a few studies take into account the impact of firm characteristics on these topics. This study shows that

Structure and combustion characteristics of turbulent, pre-mixed high-pressure flames; Projekt 'Struktur und Brenneigenschaften von turbulenten, vorgemischten Hochdruckflammen'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Griebel, P.; Boschek, E.; Erne, D.; Siewert, P.

2005-12-15

This illustrated annual report for 2005 for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) reports on the work done in 2005 at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) on the structure and combustion characteristics of turbulent, pre-mixed high-pressure flames. The aims of the project are described in detail, which include, among other things, the completion of previous work, the validation of simulations and the influence of turbulence on the flame front. Work done on the project in 2005 is described and commented on. Experimental installations are described and the results obtained are presented. Also, the influence of adding hydrogen to the methane fuel is commented on. National and international co-operation is reviewed and future work to be carried out is noted.

Prevalence and characteristics of non-syndromic orofacial clefts and the influence of consanguinity.

Science.gov (United States)

Alamoudi, N M; Sabbagh, H J; Innes, N P T; El Derwi, D; Hanno, A Z; Al-Aama, J Y; Habiballah, A H; Mossey, P A

2014-01-01

The Objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and describe the characteristics of non-syndromic orofacial cleft (NSOFC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and examine the influence of consanguinity. Six hospitals were selected to represent Jeddah's five municipal districts. New born infants with NSOFC born between 1st of January 2010 to 31st of December 2011 were clinically examined and their number compared to the total number of infants born in these hospitals to calculate the prevalence of NSOFC types and sub-phenotypes. Referred Infants were included for the purpose of studying NSOFC characteristics and their relationship to consanguinity. Information on NSOFC infants was gathered through parents' interviews, infants 'files and patient examinations. Prospective surveillance of births resulted in identifying 37 NSOFC infants born between 1st of January 2010 to 31st of December 2011 giving a birth prevalence of 0.80/1000 living births. The total infants seen, including referred cases, were 79 children. Consanguinity among parents of cleft palate (CP) cases was statistically higher than that among cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) patients (P = 0.039). Although there appears to be a trend in the relationship between consanguinity and severity of CL/P sub-phenotype, it was not statistically significant (P = 0.248). Birth prevalence of NSOFC in Jeddah City was 0.8/1000 live births with CL/P: 0.68/1000 and CP: 0.13/1000. Both figures were low compared to the global birth prevalence (NSOFC: 1.25/1000, CL/P: 0.94/1000 and CP: 0.31/1000 live births). Consanguineous parents were statistically higher among CP cases than among other NSOFC phenotypes.

Structural Health Monitoring under Nonlinear Environmental or Operational Influences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jyrki Kullaa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Vibration-based structural health monitoring is based on detecting changes in the dynamic characteristics of the structure. It is well known that environmental or operational variations can also have an influence on the vibration properties. If these effects are not taken into account, they can result in false indications of damage. If the environmental or operational variations cause nonlinear effects, they can be compensated using a Gaussian mixture model (GMM without the measurement of the underlying variables. The number of Gaussian components can also be estimated. For the local linear components, minimum mean square error (MMSE estimation is applied to eliminate the environmental or operational influences. Damage is detected from the residuals after applying principal component analysis (PCA. Control charts are used for novelty detection. The proposed approach is validated using simulated data and the identified lowest natural frequencies of the Z24 Bridge under temperature variation. Nonlinear models are most effective if the data dimensionality is low. On the other hand, linear models often outperform nonlinear models for high-dimensional data.

Insider Trading B-side: relevance, timeliness and position influence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Felipe de A. Pontes Girão

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective – Our main objective is to analyze the impacto f insider trading on stock investments’ decision. Design/methodology/approach – We used an online survey, obtaining 271 valid answers. To analyze our data, we used some parametric (t and F Anova, and non-parametric techniques (Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis. Findings – We find that insider tradings are relevant to investment decisions, and the timeliness also exert an influence to this kind of decision, especially abnormal trades. Practical implications – In practical terms, our results suggests that the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM must update the Brazilian insider trading regulation to achieve the objective to protect investors. In the investors point of view, this possible update could improve investors’ ability to control insiders and follow his activities as well as to mimic his trades. Originality/value – The originality of our paper is an analysis of relevance, timeliness and influence of position in a firm as “determinants” of investment decisions. We use these three specific characteristics to criticize the Brazilian insider trading regulation.

Influence of the geometrical characteristics of an HpGe detector on its efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas, M.J.; Timon, A.F.; Sanchez, D.P.

2002-01-01

Computer codes based on Monte Carlo calculations have been extensively developed for the computation of the efficiency in gamma-ray spectrometry. The errors in the specific parameters of the detector due to the lack of precise knowledge of its characteristics usually represent one of the most important sources of inaccuracy in this simulation technique. Influence of several detector parameters on the efficiency for a typical coaxial n-type HpGe detector is presented. Calculations of the full-energy peak efficiencies were performed by means of a Monte Carlo code in the range 122-1836 keV for several types of source configuration: point source, cellulose filter, and two different cylindrical boxes containing a solid matrix of SiO 2 . The detector parameters varied were the crystal diameter, crystal height, diameter of the internal core, and the position of the crystal with respect to the beryllium window. Significant deviations in the efficiency, depending on the source geometry and the photon energy, can be produced by varying only slightly some of the detector parameters. (author)

Influence of the device geometry on the Schottky gate characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, C Y; Chang, E Y; Bahat-Treidel, E; Hilt, O; Lossy, R; Chaturvedi, N; Würfl, J; Tränkle, G

2010-01-01

In this work, we investigate the relevance of device geometry to the Schottky gate characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Changes of three-terminal gate turn-on voltage and gate leakage current on the gate—drain spacing, source—gate spacing and recess depth have been observed. Further examinations comparing device simulations and measurements suggest that gate turn-on voltage is influenced by the distribution of electric potential under the gate region which is related to the geometry. By proper design of the device, high gate turn-on voltage can be obtained for both depletion-mode and recessed enhancement-mode devices

Test of Flow Characteristics in Tubular Fuel Assembly I - Establishment of test loop and measurement validation test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jong Hark; Chae, H. T.; Park, C.; Kim, H.

2005-12-01

Tubular type fuel has been developed as one of candidates for Advanced HANARO Reactor(AHR). It is necessary to test the flow characteristics such as velocity in each flow channels and pressure drop of tubular type fuel. A hydraulic test-loop to examine the hydraulic characteristics for a tubular type fuel has been designed and constructed. It consists of three parts; a) piping-loop including pump and motor, magnetic flow meter and valves etc, b) test-section part where a simulated tubular type fuel is located, and 3) data acquisition system to get reading signals from sensors or instruments. In this report, considerations during the design and installation of the facility and the selection of data acquisition sensors and instruments are described in detail. Before doing the experiment to measure the flow velocities in flow channels, a preliminary tests have been done for measuring the coolant velocities using pitot-tube and for validating the measurement accuracy as well. Local velocities of the radial direction in circular tubes are measured at regular intervals of 60 degrees by three pitot-tubes. Flow rate inside the circular flow channel can be obtained by integrating the velocity distribution in radial direction. The measured flow rate was compared to that of magnetic flow meter. According to the results, two values had a good agreement, which means that the measurement of coolant velocity by using pitot-tube and the flow rate measured by the magnetic flow meter are reliable. Uncertainty analysis showed that the error of velocity measurement by pitot-tube is less than ±2.21%. The hydraulic test-loop also can be adapted to others such as HANARO 18 and 36 fuel, in-pile system of FTL(Fuel Test Loop), etc

Sleep Bruxism-Tooth Grinding Prevalence, Characteristics and Familial Aggregation: A Large Cross-Sectional Survey and Polysomnographic Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Khoury, Samar; Carra, Maria Clotilde; Huynh, Nelly; Montplaisir, Jacques; Lavigne, Gilles J.

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: Sleep bruxism (SB) is characterized by tooth grinding and jaw clenching during sleep. Familial factors may contribute to the occurrence of SB. This study aims are: (1) revisit the prevalence and characteristics of SB in a large cross-sectional survey and assess familial aggregation of SB, (2) assess comorbidity such as insomnia and pain, (3) compare survey data in a subset of subjects diagnosed using polysomnography research criteria. Methods: A sample of 6,357 individuals from the general population in Quebec, Canada, undertook an online survey to assess the prevalence of SB, comorbidities, and familial aggregation. Data on familial aggregation were compared to 111 SB subjects diagnosed using polysomnography. Results: Regularly occurring SB was reported by 8.6% of the general population, decreases with age, without any gender difference. SB awareness is concomitant with complaints of difficulties maintaining sleep in 47.6% of the cases. A third of SB positive probands reported pain. A 2.5 risk ratio of having a first-degree family member with SB was found in SB positive probands. The risk of reporting SB in first-degree family ranges from 1.4 to 2.9 with increasing severity of reported SB. Polysomnographic data shows that 37% of SB subjects had at least one first-degree relative with reported SB with a relative risk ratio of 4.625. Conclusions: Our results support the heritability of SB-tooth grinding and that sleep quality and pain are concomitant in a significant number of SB subjects. Citation: Khoury S, Carra MC, Huynh N, Montplaisir J, Lavigne GJ. Sleep bruxism-tooth grinding prevalence, characteristics and familial aggregation: a large cross-sectional survey and polysomnographic validation. SLEEP 2016;39(11):2049–2056. PMID:27568807

Influence of organizational characteristics and context on research utilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, Greta G; Estabrooks, Carole A; Midodzi, William K; Wallin, Lars; Hayduk, Leslie

2007-01-01

Despite three decades of empirical investigation into research utilization and a renewed emphasis on evidence-based medicine and evidence-based practice in the past decade, understanding of factors influencing research uptake in nursing remains limited. There is, however, increased awareness that organizational influences are important. To develop and test a theoretical model of organizational influences that predict research utilization by nurses and to assess the influence of varying degrees of context, based on the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework, on research utilization and other variables. The study sample was drawn from a census of registered nurses working in acute care hospitals in Alberta, Canada, accessed through their professional licensing body (n = 6,526 nurses; 52.8% response rate). Three variables that measured PARIHS dimensions of context (culture, leadership, and evaluation) were used to sort cases into one of four mutually exclusive data sets that reflected less positive to more positive context. Then, a theoretical model of hospital- and unit-level influences on research utilization was developed and tested, using structural equation modeling, and 300 cases were randomly selected from each of the four data sets. Model test results were as follows--low context: chi2= 124.5, df = 80, p low: chi2= 144.2, p high: chi2= 157.3, df = 80, p low: chi2= 146.0, df = 80, p contexts with more positive culture, leadership, and evaluation also reported significantly more research utilization, staff development, and lower rates of patient and staff adverse events than did nurses working in less positive contexts (i.e., those that lacked positive culture, leadership, or evaluation). The findings highlight the combined importance of culture, leadership, and evaluation to increase research utilization and improve patient safety. The findings may serve to strengthen the PARIHS framework and to suggest that, although

User's guide for signal validation software: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swisher, V.I.

1987-09-01

Northeast Utilities has implemented a real-time signal validation program into the safety parameter display systems (SPDS) at Millstone Units 2 and 3. Signal validation has been incorporated to improve the reliability of the information being used in the SPDS. Signal validation uses Parity Space Vector Analysis to process SPDS sensor data. The Parity Space algorithm determines consistency among independent, redundant input measurements. This information is then used to calculate a validated estimate of that parameter. Additional logic is incorporated to compare partially redundant measurement data. In both plants the SPDS has been designed to monitor the status of critical safety functions (CSFs) and provide information that can be used with plant-specific emergency operating procedures (EOPs). However the CSF logic, EOPs, and complement of plant sensors vary for these plants due to their different design characteristics (MP2 - 870 MWe Combustion Engineering PWR, MP3 - 1150 MWe Westinghouse PWR). These differences in plant design and information requirements result in a variety of signal validation applications

Influence of granular material characteristics in the behaviour of “Bouregreg Valley” soft ground improved with stone columns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nehab Noura

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The use of finite element analysis has become widespread in geotechnical practice as means of optimizing engineering tasks; it can be easily applied to the treated areas by stone columns, which are a method of improving the soil having low geotechnical properties and likely to deform significantly under load action, by incorporating granular material (commonly called ballast compacted by remounting passes, so they act mainly as inclusions with a higher stiffness, shear strength than the natural soil. Moreover the stone columns are highly permeable and act as vertical drains facilitating consolidation of the soft soil improving the performance of the foundation. However the characteristics of this granular material influence the behavior of soft soils treated by the stone columns technique, especially: the friction angle, the cohesion, the modular ratio and the constitutive model. The choice of the constitutive model depends on many factors but, in general, it is related to the type of analysis that we intend to perform. Numerical modeling must consider the diversity of the materials nature, the complex geometry of structures-land and the behavior of materials generally nonlinear (permanent deformation. It is a simple and effective alternative to approach the real behavior of soils reinforced by stone columns and the influence of materials characteristics, it allows settlement analysis, lateral deformation, vertical and horizontal stresses in order to understand the behavior of columns and soil. It also has the advantage of integrating the settlements of the underlying layers. This paper aims to study the mechanisms of functioning and interactions of stone columns with the surrounding ground, and vis-à-vis the various parameters characterizing the granular material "ballast" and the surrounding soil, which influence the behavior of the improved soil, The paper presents, in the first part, soil conditions and the parameters associated with

Population characteristics and the influence of discharge on Bluehead Sucker and Flannelmouth Sucker

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Zachary B.; Breen, Matthew J.; Quist, Michael C.

2017-01-01

Rivers are among some of the most complex and important ecosystems in the world. Unfortunately, many fishes endemic to rivers have suffered declines in abundance and distribution suggesting that alterations to lotic environments have negatively influenced native fish populations. Of the 35 fishes native to the Colorado River basin (CRB), seven are considered either endangered, threatened, or species of special concern. As such, the conservation of fishes native to the CRB is a primary interest for natural resource management agencies. One of the major factors limiting the conservation and management of fishes endemic to the CRB is the lack of basic information on their ecology and population characteristics. We sought to describe the population dynamics and demographics of three populations of Bluehead Suckers (Catostomus discobolus) and Flannelmouth Suckers (C. latipinnis) in Utah. Additionally, we evaluated the potential influence of altered flow regimes on the recruitment and growth of Bluehead Suckers and Flannelmouth Suckers. Mortality of Bluehead Suckers and Flannelmouth Suckers from the Green, Strawberry, and White rivers was comparable to other populations. Growth of Bluehead Suckers and Flannelmouth Suckers was higher in the Green, Strawberry, and White rivers when compared to other populations in the CRB. Similarly, recruitment indices suggested that Bluehead Suckers and Flannelmouth Suckers in the Green, Strawberry, and White rivers had more stable recruitment than other populations in the CRB. Models relating growth and recruitment to hydrological indices provided little explanatory power. Notwithstanding, our results indicate that Bluehead Suckers and Flannelmouth Suckers in the Green, Strawberry, and White rivers represent fairly stable populations and provide baseline information that will be valuable for the effective management and conservation of the species.

The influence of the vane on the lubrication characteristics between the vane and the rolling piston of a rotary compressor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Ihn Sung; Jung, Jae Youn

2006-01-01

The rolling piston type rotary compressor has been widely used for refrigeration and air -conditioning systems due to its compactness and high-speed operation. The present analysis is part of a research program directed toward maximizing the advantages of refrigerant compressors. The study of lubrication characteristics in the critical sliding component is essential for the design of refrigerant compressors. Therefore, theoretical investigation of the lubrication characteristics of a rotary compressor being used for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems was investigated. The Newton-Raphson method was used for a partial elastohydrodynamic lubrication analysis between the vane and the rolling piston of a rotary compressor. The results demonstrated that the vane thickness and the center line position of the vane significantly influenced the friction force and the energy loss between the vane and the rolling piston

Some considerations for validation of repository performance assessment models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisenberg, N.

1991-01-01

Validation is an important aspect of the regulatory uses of performance assessment. A substantial body of literature exists indicating the manner in which validation of models is usually pursued. Because performance models for a nuclear waste repository cannot be tested over the long time periods for which the model must make predictions, the usual avenue for model validation is precluded. Further impediments to model validation include a lack of fundamental scientific theory to describe important aspects of repository performance and an inability to easily deduce the complex, intricate structures characteristic of a natural system. A successful strategy for validation must attempt to resolve these difficulties in a direct fashion. Although some procedural aspects will be important, the main reliance of validation should be on scientific substance and logical rigor. The level of validation needed will be mandated, in part, by the uses to which these models are put, rather than by the ideal of validation of a scientific theory. Because of the importance of the validation of performance assessment models, the NRC staff has engaged in a program of research and international cooperation to seek progress in this important area. 2 figs., 16 refs

The influence of work personality on job satisfaction: incremental validity and mediation effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, Daniel; Ferris, D Lance; Brown, Douglas; Watson, David

2009-08-01

Drawing from recent developments regarding the contextual nature of personality (e.g., D. Wood & B. W. Roberts, 2006), we conducted 2 studies (1 cross-sectional and 1 longitudinal over 1 year) to examine the validity of work personality in predicting job satisfaction and its mediation of the effect of global personality on job satisfaction. Study 1 showed that (a) individuals vary systematically in their personality between roles- they were significantly more conscientious and open to experience and less extraverted at work compared to at home; (b) work personality was a better predictor of job satisfaction than both global personality and home personality; and (c) work personality demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond the other two personality measures. Study 2 further showed that each of the work personality dimensions fully mediated the association between its corresponding global personality trait and job satisfaction. Evidence for the discriminant validity of the findings is also presented.

The influence of the non-Newtonian properties of blood on blood-hammer through the posterior cerebral artery.

Science.gov (United States)

Tazraei, Pedram; Riasi, Alireza; Takabi, Behrouz

2015-06-01

This work investigates a two dimensional numerical analysis of blood hammer through the posterior cerebral artery. The non-Newtonian and usual Newtonian blood models are compared in the case of blood hammer through the posterior cerebral artery to quantify the differences between the models. In this way, a validated CFD simulation is used to study non-Newtonian shear-thinning effects of blood. The governing equations for the modeling of two-dimensional transient flow are solved using a combination of characteristics and central finite difference methods, respectively for the hyperbolic and parabolic parts. Herein, the non-Newtonian viscosity characteristic of blood is incorporated by using the Carreau model. To convert the nonlinear terms available in the characteristics equation into the linear ones, the Newton-Kantorovich method is implemented. The verification and validation of the numerical results are carried out in detail. Hemodynamic characteristics of blood hammer through the posterior cerebral artery are derived with both the Newtonian and non-Newtonian models, and the results are meticulously compared and discussed. The results show that when blood hammer occurs, the non-Newtonian properties greatly influence the velocity and shear stress profiles. At the early stages of blood hammer, there is a 64% difference between magnitudes of wall shear stress in these two models, and the magnitude of the wall shear stress for the shear-thinning blood flow is lower than the Newtonian one. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study on evaluation methods for Rayleigh wave dispersion characteristic

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Shi, L.; Tao, X.; Kayen, R.; Shi, H.; Yan, S.

2005-01-01

The evaluation of Rayleigh wave dispersion characteristic is the key step for detecting S-wave velocity structure. By comparing the dispersion curves directly with the spectra analysis of surface waves (SASW) method, rather than comparing the S-wave velocity structure, the validity and precision of microtremor-array method (MAM) can be evaluated more objectively. The results from the China - US joint surface wave investigation in 26 sites in Tangshan, China, show that the MAM has the same precision with SASW method in 83% of the 26 sites. The MAM is valid for Rayleigh wave dispersion characteristic testing and has great application potentiality for site S-wave velocity structure detection.

Effects of Leading Edge Defect on the Aerodynamic and Flow Characteristics of an S809 Airfoil.

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Yan Wang

Full Text Available Unexpected performance degradation occurs in wind turbine blades due to leading edge defect when suffering from continuous impacts with rain drops, hails, insects, or solid particles during its operation life. To assess this issue, this paper numerically investigates the steady and dynamic stall characteristics of an S809 airfoil with various leading edge defects. More leading edge defect sizes and much closer to practical parameters are investigated in the paper.Numerical computation is conducted using the SST k-ω turbulence model, and the method has been validated by comparison with existed published data. In order to ensure the calculation convergence, the residuals for the continuity equation are set to be less than 10-7 and 10-6 in steady state and dynamic stall cases. The simulations are conducted with the software ANSYS Fluent 13.0.It is found that the characteristics of aerodynamic coefficients and flow fields are sensitive to leading edge defect both in steady and dynamic conditions. For airfoils with the defect thickness of 6%tc, leading edge defect has a relative small influence on the aerodynamics of S809 airfoil. For other investigated defect thicknesses, leading edge defect has much greater influence on the flow field structures, pressure coefficients and aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil at relative small defect lengths. For example, the lift coefficients decrease and drag coefficients increase sharply after the appearance of leading edge defect. However, the aerodynamic characteristics could reach a constant value when the defect length is large enough. The flow field, pressure coefficient distribution and aerodynamic coefficients do not change a lot when the defect lengths reach to 0.5%c,1%c, 2%c and 3%c with defect thicknesses of 6%tc, 12%tc,18%tc and 25%tc, respectively. In addition, the results also show that the critical defect length/thickness ratio is 0.5, beyond which the aerodynamic characteristics nearly remain

Characteristics of wood ash and influence on soil properties and nutrient uptake: an overview.

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Demeyer, A; Voundi Nkana, J C; Verloo, M G

2001-05-01

Wood industries and power plants generate enormous quantities of wood ash. Disposal in landfills has been for long a common method for removal. New regulations for conserving the environment have raised the costs of landfill disposal and added to the difficulties for acquiring new sites for disposal. Over a few decades a number of studies have been carried out on the utilization of wood ashes in agriculture and forestry as an alternative method for disposal. Because of their properties and their influence on soil chemistry the utilization of wood ashes is particularly suited for the fertility management of tropical acid soils and forest soils. This review principally focuses on ash from the wood industry and power plants and considers its physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics, its effect on soil properties, on the availability of nutrient elements and on the growth and chemical composition of crops and trees, as well as its impact on the environment.

Influence of water-soaking time on the acoustic emission characteristics and spatial fractal dimensions of coal under uniaxial compression

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Jia Zheqiang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The water-soaking time affects the physical and mechanical properties of coals, and the temporal and spatial evolution of acoustic emissions reflects the fracture damage process of rock. This study conducted uniaxial compression acoustic emissions tests of coal samples with different water-soaking times to investigate the influence of water-soaking time on the acoustic emissions characteristics and spatial fractal dimensions during the deformation and failure process of coals. The results demonstrate that the acoustic emissions characteristics decrease with increases in the water-soaking time. The acoustic emissions spatial fractal dimension changes from a single dimensionality reduction model to a fluctuation dimensionality reduction model, and the stress level of the initial descending point of the fractal dimension increases. With increases in the water-soaking time, the destruction of coal transitions from continuous intense failure throughout the process to a lower release of energy concentrated near the peak strength.

Possible influence of the voltage dependence of the Josephson tunneling current I(V,psi) on the corresponding current-voltage characteristic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahlbohm, H.D.; Luebbig, H.; Luther, H.

1975-01-01

Analog computer calculations of the current-voltage characteristic involving the voltage dependence of the amplitudes of the tunneling current equation explicitly, for the case of a current driven tunneling junction at different temperatures are reported on. These studies are based upon the adiabatic representation of the current-phase relation. The influence of retarding effects is not included. Therefore the computational results can lead to practical consequences at best in the range near the transition temperature. (Auth.)

The influence of hydrostatic pressure on the I-U characteristic of Pb/sub 1-x/Sn/sub x/Te diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoerstel, W.; Kraak, W.; Rudolph, A.F.

1983-01-01

The influence of hydrostatic pressure and temperature on the I-U characteristic of Pb/sub 1-x/Sn/sub x/Te diodes has been investigated. The measurements have been carried out under hydrostatic pressure of 95 to 1070 MPa. The experimental results obtained differ from the predictions of the recombination-tunneling model. Formally it is possible to describe the deviation by a voltage dependence of the concentration of the active traps per unit area in the junction

The personal and workplace characteristics of uninsured expatriate males in Saudi Arabia.

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Alkhamis, Abdulwahab; Cosgrove, Peter; Mohamed, Gamal; Hassan, Amir

2017-01-19

A major concern by the health decision makers in Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries is the burden of financing healthcare. While other GCC countries have been examining different options, Saudi Arabia has endeavoured to reform its private healthcare system and control expatriate access to government resources through the provision of Compulsory Employment-Based Health Insurance (CEBHI). The objective of this research was to investigate, in a natural setting, the characteristics of uninsured expatriates based on their personal and workplace characteristics. Using a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from a sample of 4,575 male expatriate employees using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize all variables, and the dependent variable was tabulated by access to health insurance and tested using Chi-square. Logistic analysis was performed, guided by the conceptual model. Of survey respondents, 30% were either uninsured or not yet enrolled in a health insurance scheme, 79.4% of these uninsured expatriates did not have valid reasons for being uninsured, with Iqama renewal accounting for 20.6% of the uninsured. The study found both personal and workplace characteristics were important factors influencing health insurance status. Compared with single expatriates, married expatriates (accompanied by their families) are 30% less likely to be uninsured. Moreover, workers occupying technical jobs requiring high school level of education or above were two-thirds more likely to be insured compared to unskilled workers. With regard to firm size, respondents employed in large companies (more than 50 employees) are more likely to be insured compared to those employed in small companies (less than ten employees). In relation to business type, the study found that compared to workers from the agricultural sector, industrial/manufacturing, construction and trading sectors, workers were, respectively, 76%, 85

The Influence of Characteristics of Men’s Job on the Timing of the First Birth in Canada

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Germain Bingoly-Liworo

2010-12-01

by a greater likelihood of having a first child for men whose job shows stability, compared with those whose first job is unstable and precarious. The data used are derived from the Statistics Canada 2001 General Social Survey, to which applied methods are used in event history analysis. The results validate the hypothesis, in indicating that full-time wage earners and self-employed workers have a greater likelihood of having a first child than part-time wage-earners. Results also show that the effect of characteristics of the job is limited in the first five years spent on the job. In addition, the job seems to accelerate the transition to parenthood for men married before being hired. All of the results suggest the need for family support to help young couples become established and for governments to adopt measures to encourage young people’s work integration.

Validation of the Online version of the Previous Day Food Questionnaire for schoolchildren

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Raquel ENGEL

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the validity of the web-based version of the Previous Day Food Questionnaire Online for schoolchildren from the 2nd to 5th grades of elementary school. Methods Participants were 312 schoolchildren aged 7 to 12 years of a public school from the city of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Validity was assessed by sensitivity, specificity, as well as by agreement rates (match, omission, and intrusion rates of food items reported by children on the Previous Day Food Questionnaire Online, using direct observation of foods/beverages eaten during school meals (mid-morning snack or afternoon snack on the previous day as the reference. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of participants’ characteristics on omission and intrusion rates. Results The results showed adequate sensitivity (67.7% and specificity (95.2%. There were low omission and intrusion rates of 22.8% and 29.5%, respectively when all food items were analyzed. Pizza/hamburger showed the highest omission rate, whereas milk and milk products showed the highest intrusion rate. The participants who attended school in the afternoon shift presented a higher probability of intrusion compared to their peers who attended school in the morning. Conclusion The Previous Day Food Questionnaire Online possessed satisfactory validity for the assessment of food intake at the group level in schoolchildren from the 2nd to 5th grades of public school.

Specific image characteristics influence attitudes about chimpanzee conservation and use as pets.

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Stephen R Ross

Full Text Available Chimpanzees are endangered in their native Africa but in the United States, they are housed not only in zoos and research centers but owned privately as pets and performers. In 2008, survey data revealed that the public is less likely to think that chimpanzees are endangered compared to other great apes, and that this is likely the result of media misportrayals in movies, television and advertisements. Here, we use an experimental survey paradigm with composite images of chimpanzees to determine the effects of specific image characteristics. We found that those viewing a photograph of a chimpanzee with a human standing nearby were 35.5% more likely to consider wild populations to be stable/healthy compared to those seeing the exact same picture without a human. Likewise, the presence of a human in the photograph increases the likelihood that they consider chimpanzees as appealing as a pet. We also found that respondents seeing images in which chimpanzees are shown in typically human settings (such as an office space were more likely to perceive wild populations as being stable and healthy compared to those seeing chimpanzees in other contexts. These findings shed light on the way that media portrayals of chimpanzees influence public attitudes about this important and endangered species.

Specific image characteristics influence attitudes about chimpanzee conservation and use as pets.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Stephen R; Vreeman, Vivian M; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V

2011-01-01

Chimpanzees are endangered in their native Africa but in the United States, they are housed not only in zoos and research centers but owned privately as pets and performers. In 2008, survey data revealed that the public is less likely to think that chimpanzees are endangered compared to other great apes, and that this is likely the result of media misportrayals in movies, television and advertisements. Here, we use an experimental survey paradigm with composite images of chimpanzees to determine the effects of specific image characteristics. We found that those viewing a photograph of a chimpanzee with a human standing nearby were 35.5% more likely to consider wild populations to be stable/healthy compared to those seeing the exact same picture without a human. Likewise, the presence of a human in the photograph increases the likelihood that they consider chimpanzees as appealing as a pet. We also found that respondents seeing images in which chimpanzees are shown in typically human settings (such as an office space) were more likely to perceive wild populations as being stable and healthy compared to those seeing chimpanzees in other contexts. These findings shed light on the way that media portrayals of chimpanzees influence public attitudes about this important and endangered species.

Quantifying the influence of land-use and surface characteristics on spatial variability in the urban heat island

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Hart, Melissa A.; Sailor, David J.

2009-03-01

The urban thermal environment varies not only from its rural surroundings but also within the urban area due to intra-urban differences in land-use and surface characteristics. Understanding the causes of this intra-urban variability is a first step in improving urban planning and development. Toward this end, a method for quantifying causes of spatial variability in the urban heat island has been developed. This paper presents the method as applied to a specific test case of Portland, Oregon. Vehicle temperature traverses were used to determine spatial differences in summertime ~2 m air temperature across the metropolitan area in the afternoon. A tree-structured regression model was used to quantify the land-use and surface characteristics that have the greatest influence on daytime UHI intensity. The most important urban characteristic separating warmer from cooler regions of the Portland metropolitan area was canopy cover. Roadway area density was also an important determinant of local UHI magnitudes. Specifically, the air above major arterial roads was found to be warmer on weekdays than weekends, possibly due to increased anthropogenic activity from the vehicle sector on weekdays. In general, warmer regions of the city were associated with industrial and commercial land-use. The downtown core, whilst warmer than the rural surroundings, was not the warmest part of the Portland metropolitan area. This is thought to be due in large part to local shading effects in the urban canyons.

INFLUENCE OF RAW IMAGE PREPROCESSING AND OTHER SELECTED PROCESSES ON ACCURACY OF CLOSE-RANGE PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SYSTEMS ACCORDING TO VDI 2634

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J. Reznicek

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the influence of raw image preprocessing and other selected processes on the accuracy of close-range photogrammetric measurement. The examined processes and features includes: raw image preprocessing, sensor unflatness, distance-dependent lens distortion, extending the input observations (image measurements by incorporating all RGB colour channels, ellipse centre eccentricity and target detecting. The examination of each effect is carried out experimentally by performing the validation procedure proposed in the German VDI guideline 2634/1. The validation procedure is based on performing standard photogrammetric measurements of high-accurate calibrated measuring lines (multi-scale bars with known lengths (typical uncertainty = 5 μm at 2 sigma. The comparison of the measured lengths with the known values gives the maximum length measurement error LME, which characterize the accuracy of the validated photogrammetric system. For higher reliability the VDI test field was photographed ten times independently with the same configuration and camera settings. The images were acquired with the metric ALPA 12WA camera. The tests are performed on all ten measurements which gives the possibility to measure the repeatability of the estimated parameters as well. The influences are examined by comparing the quality characteristics of the reference and tested settings.

Influence of the hydrothermal dewatering on the combustion characteristics of Chinese low-rank coals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge, Lichao; Zhang, Yanwei; Xu, Chang; Wang, Zhihua; Zhou, Junhu; Cen, Kefa

2015-01-01

This study investigates the influence of hydrothermal dewatering performed at different temperatures on the combustion characteristics of Chinese low-rank coals with different coalification maturities. It was found that the upgrading process significantly decreased the inherent moisture and oxygen content, increased the calorific value and fixed carbon content, and promoted the damage of the hydrophilic oxygen functional groups. The results of oxygen/carbon atomic ratio indicated that the upgrading process converted the low-rank coals near to high-rank coals which can also be gained using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the combustion processes of upgraded coals were delayed toward the high temperature region, and the upgraded coals had higher ignition and burnout temperature. On the other hand, based on the higher average combustion rate and comprehensive combustion parameter, the upgraded coals performed better compared with raw brown coals and the Da Tong bituminous coal. In ignition segment, the activation energy increased after treatment but decreased in the combustion stage. The changes in coal compositions, microstructure, rank, and combustion characteristics were more notable as the temperature in hydrothermal dewatering increased from 250 to 300 °C or coals of lower ranks were used. - Highlights: • Typical Chinese lignites with various ranks are upgraded by hydrothermal dewatering. • Upgraded coals exhibit chemical compositions comparable with that of bituminous coal. • FTIR show the change of microstructure and improvement in coal rank after upgrading. • Upgraded coals exhibit difficulty in ignition but combust easily. • More evident effects are obtained for raw brown coal with relative lower rank.

Influence of skin surface roughness degree on energy characteristics of light scattered by a biological tissue

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Barun, V. V.; Ivanov, A. P.

2017-05-01

We present the results of modelling of photometric characteristics of light in soft tissues illuminated by a parallel beam along the normal to the surface, obtained with allowance for the skin roughness parameters and the angular structure of radiation approaching the surface from within the tissue. The depth structure of the fluence rate and the spectra of the diffuse reflection of light by the tissue in the interval of wavelengths 300 - 1000 nm are considered. We discuss the influence of the tilt angle variance of rough surface microelements and light refraction on the studied characteristics. It is shown that these factors lead to the reduction of the radiation flux only in the near-surface tissue layer and practically do not affect the depth of light penetration into the tissue. On the other hand, the degree of the surface roughness and the conditions of its illumination from within the tissue essentially affect the coefficient of diffuse reflection of light and lead to its considerable growth compared to the cases of a smooth interface and completely diffuse illumination, often considered to simplify the theoretical problem solution. The role of the roughness of skin surface is assessed in application to the solution of different direct and inverse problems of biomedical optics.

Bridging the gap between neurocognitive processing theory and performance validity assessment among the cognitively impaired: a review and methodological approach.

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Leighton, Angela; Weinborn, Michael; Maybery, Murray

2014-10-01

Bigler (2012) and Larrabee (2012) recently addressed the state of the science surrounding performance validity tests (PVTs) in a dialogue highlighting evidence for the valid and increased use of PVTs, but also for unresolved problems. Specifically, Bigler criticized the lack of guidance from neurocognitive processing theory in the PVT literature. For example, individual PVTs have applied the simultaneous forced-choice methodology using a variety of test characteristics (e.g., word vs. picture stimuli) with known neurocognitive processing implications (e.g., the "picture superiority effect"). However, the influence of such variations on classification accuracy has been inadequately evaluated, particularly among cognitively impaired individuals. The current review places the PVT literature in the context of neurocognitive processing theory, and identifies potential methodological factors to account for the significant variability we identified in classification accuracy across current PVTs. We subsequently evaluated the utility of a well-known cognitive manipulation to provide a Clinical Analogue Methodology (CAM), that is, to alter the PVT performance of healthy individuals to be similar to that of a cognitively impaired group. Initial support was found, suggesting the CAM may be useful alongside other approaches (analogue malingering methodology) for the systematic evaluation of PVTs, particularly the influence of specific neurocognitive processing components on performance.

Computational assessment of the influence of the overlap ratio on the power characteristics of a Classical Savonius wind turbine

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Kacprzak Konrad

2015-09-01

Full Text Available An influence of the overlap on the performance of the Classical Savonius wind turbine was investigated. Unsteady two-dimensional numerical simulations were carried out for a wide range of overlap ratios. For selected configurations computation quality was verified by comparison with three-dimensional simulations and the wind tunnel experimental data available in literature. A satisfactory agreement was achieved. Power characteristics were determined for all the investigated overlap ratios for selected tip speed ratios. Obtained results indicate that the maximum device performance is achieved for the buckets overlap ratio close to 0.

Design of experiments in medical physics: Application to the AAA beam model validation.

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Dufreneix, S; Legrand, C; Di Bartolo, C; Bremaud, M; Mesgouez, J; Tiplica, T; Autret, D

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the design of experiments in the analysis of multiparametric problems related to the quality assurance in radiotherapy. The main motivation is to use this statistical method to optimize the quality assurance processes in the validation of beam models. Considering the Varian Eclipse system, eight parameters with several levels were selected: energy, MLC, depth, X, Y 1 and Y 2 jaw dimensions, wedge and wedge jaw. A Taguchi table was used to define 72 validation tests. Measurements were conducted in water using a CC04 on a TrueBeam STx, a TrueBeam Tx, a Trilogy and a 2300IX accelerator matched by the vendor. Dose was computed using the AAA algorithm. The same raw data was used for all accelerators during the beam modelling. The mean difference between computed and measured doses was 0.1±0.5% for all beams and all accelerators with a maximum difference of 2.4% (under the 3% tolerance level). For all beams, the measured doses were within 0.6% for all accelerators. The energy was found to be an influencing parameter but the deviations observed were smaller than 1% and not considered clinically significant. Designs of experiment can help define the optimal measurement set to validate a beam model. The proposed method can be used to identify the prognostic factors of dose accuracy. The beam models were validated for the 4 accelerators which were found dosimetrically equivalent even though the accelerator characteristics differ. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of Queensland physicians and the influence of rural exposure on practice location.

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Runge, C E; MacKenzie, A; Loos, C; Waller, M; Gabbett, M; Mills, R; Eley, D

2016-08-01

The Queensland branch of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) commissioned this study to update their workforce profile and examine rural practice. The present investigation aimed to describe characteristics of Queensland physicians and determine the influence of childhood and training locations on current rural practice. A cross-sectional online survey, conducted 4 July-4 November 2013, was administered to Fellows of The RACP, Queensland. Descriptive statistics report characteristics and logistic regression analyses identify associations and interactions. The outcome measure was current practice location using the Australian Standard Geographic Classification - Remoteness Area. Data were obtained for 633 physicians. Their average age was 49.5 years, a third was female and a quarter was in rural practice. Rural practice was associated with a rural childhood (odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval, CI) 1.89 (1.10, 3.27) P = 0.02) and any time spent as an intern (OR 4.07 (2.12, 7.82) P < 0.001) or registrar (OR 4.00 (2.21, 7.26) P < 0.001) in a rural location. Physicians with a rural childhood and rural training were most likely to be in rural practice. However, those who had a metropolitan childhood and a rural internship were approximately five times more likely to be working in rural practice than physicians with no rural exposure (OR 5.33 (1.61, 17.60) P < 0.01). The findings demonstrate the positive effect of rural vocational training on rural practice. A prospective study would determine if recent changes to the Basic Physician Training Pathway and the Basic Paediatric Training Network (more rural training than previous pathways) increases the rate of rural practice. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Analysis of a high-resolution regional climate simulation for Alpine temperature. Validation and influence of the NAO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Proemmel, K. [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Kuestenforschung

2008-11-06

To determine whether the increase in resolution of climate models improves the representation of climate is a crucial topic in regional climate modelling. An improvement over coarser-scale models is expected especially in areas with complex orography or along coastlines. However, some studies have shown no clear added value for regional climate models. In this study a high-resolution regional climate model simulation performed with REMO over the period 1958-1998 is analysed for 2m temperature over the orographically complex European Alps and their surroundings called the Greater Alpine Region (GAR). The model setup is in hindcast mode meaning that the simulation is driven with perfect boundary conditions by the ERA40 reanalysis through prescribing the values at the lateral boundaries and spectral nudging of the large-scale wind field inside the model domain. The added value is analysed between the regional climate simulation with a resolution of 1/6 and the driving reanalysis with a resolution of 1.125 . Before analysing the added value both the REMO simulation and the ERA40 reanalysis are validated against different station datasets of monthly and daily mean 2m temperature. The largest dataset is the dense, homogenised and quality controlled HISTALP dataset covering the whole GAR, which gave the opportunity for the validation undertaken in this study. The temporal variability of temperature, as quantified by correlation, is well represented by both REMO and ERA40. However, both show considerable biases. The REMO bias reaches 3 K in summer in regions known to experience a problem with summer drying in a number of regional models. In winter the bias is strongly influenced by the choice of the temperature lapse rate, which is applied to compare grid box and station data at different altitudes, and has the strongest influence on inner Alpine subregions where the altitude differences are largest. By applying a constant lapse rate the REMO bias in winter in the high

Physiological stress response to loss of social influence and threats to masculinity.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Catherine J

2014-02-01

Social influence is an important component of contemporary conceptualizations of masculinity in the U.S. Men who fail to achieve masculinity by maintaining social influence in the presence of other men may be at risk of stigmatization. As such, men should be especially likely to exhibit a stress response to loss of social influence in the presence of other men. This study assesses whether men who lose social influence exhibit more of a stress response than men who gain social influence, using data collected in a laboratory setting where participants were randomly assigned into four-person groups of varying sex compositions. The groups were videotaped working on two problem-solving tasks. Independent raters assessed change in social influence using a well-validated measure borrowed from experimental work in the Status Characteristics Theory tradition. Cortisol is used as a measure of stress response because it is known to increase in response to loss of social esteem. Results show that young men who lose social influence while working with other young men exhibit cortisol response. In contrast women do not exhibit cortisol response to loss of social influence, nor do men working with women. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that loss of social influence in men may be associated with a physiological stress response because maintaining social influence is very important to men while in the presence of other men. This physiological response to loss of social influence underscores the importance to men of achieving masculinity through gaining and maintaining social influence, and avoiding the stigma associated with the failure to do so. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of an Accelerometer to Quantify a Comprehensive Battery of Gait Characteristics in Healthy Older Adults and Parkinson's Disease: Toward Clinical and at Home Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Din, Silvia; Godfrey, Alan; Rochester, Lynn

2016-05-01

Measurement of gait is becoming important as a tool to identify disease and disease progression, yet to date its application is limited largely to specialist centers. Wearable devices enables gait to be measured in naturalistic environments, however questions remain regarding validity. Previous research suggests that when compared with a laboratory reference, measurement accuracy is acceptable for mean but not variability or asymmetry gait characteristics. Some fundamental reasons for this have been presented, (e.g., synchronization, different sampling frequencies) but to date this has not been systematically examined. The aims of this study were to: 1) quantify a comprehensive range of gait characteristics measured using a single triaxial accelerometer-based monitor; 2) examine outcomes and monitor performance in measuring gait in older adults and those with Parkinson's disease (PD); and 3) carry out a detailed comparison with those derived from an instrumented walkway to account for any discrepancies. Fourteen gait characteristics were quantified in 30 people with incident PD and 30 healthy age-matched controls. Of the 14 gait characteristics compared, agreement between instruments was excellent for four (ICCs 0.913-0.983); moderate for four (ICCs 0.508-0.766); and poor for six characteristics (ICCs 0.637-0.370). Further analysis revealed that differences reflect an increased sensitivity of accelerometry to detect motion, rather than measurement error. This is most likely because accelerometry measures gait as a continuous activity rather than discrete footfall events, per instrumented tools. The increased sensitivity shown for these characteristics will be of particular interest to researchers keen to interpret "real-world" gait data. In conclusion, use of a body-worn monitor is recommended for the measurement of gait but is likely to yield more sensitive data for asymmetry and variability features.

Instructional Quality Features in Videotaped Biology Lessons: Content-Independent Description of Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Dorfner, Tobias; Förtsch, Christian; Boone, William; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2017-09-01

A number of studies on single instructional quality features have been reported for mathematics and science instruction. For summarizing single instructional quality features, researchers have created a model of three basic dimensions (classroom management, supportive climate, and cognitive activation) of instructional quality mainly through observing mathematics instruction. Considering this model as valid for all subjects and as usable for describing instruction, we used it in this study which aimed to analyze characteristics of instructional quality in biology lessons of high-achieving and low-achieving classes, independently of content. Therefore, we used the data of three different previous video studies of biology instruction conducted in Germany. From each video study, we selected three high-achieving and three low-achieving classes (N = 18 teachers; 35 videos) for our multiple-case study, in which conspicuous characteristics of instructional quality features were qualitatively identified and qualitatively analyzed. The amount of these characteristics was counted in a quantitative way in all the videos. The characteristics we found could be categorized using the model of three basic dimensions of instructional quality despite some subject-specific differences for biology instruction. Our results revealed that many more characteristics were observable in high-achieving classes than in low-achieving classes. Thus, we believe that this model could be used to describe biology instruction independently of the content. We also make the claims about the qualities for biology instruction—working with concentration in a content-structured environment, getting challenged in higher order thinking, and getting praised for performance—that could have positive influence on students' achievement.

Influence of temperature, precipitation, and cultivar characteristics on changes in the spectrum of pathogenic fungi in winter wheat.

Science.gov (United States)

Hýsek, Josef; Vavera, Radek; Růžek, Pavel

2017-06-01

In view of the threat posed by climate change, we studied the influence of temperature, precipitation, cultivar characteristics, and technical management measures on the occurrence of phytopathogenic fungi in wheat during 2009-2013. This work involved experiments at two sites differing in average temperatures and precipitation. Temperature and precipitation appear to influence differences in the spectrum of phytopathogenic fungi at the individual sites. In 2009 (the warmest year), Alternaria triticina was dominant. In 2010 (having the smallest deviations from the average for individual years), Septoria tritici dominated. In 2011, Puccinia triticina was most prominent, while in 2012, the genus Drechslera (Pyrenophora) and in 2013, S. tritici and Drechslera tritici-repentis (DTR) dominated. Temperature and precipitation levels in the individual spring months (warmer March to May) played a large role, especially for the leaf rust P. triticina in 2011. A change of only 1 °C with different precipitation during a year played a significant role in changing wheat's fungal spectrum. Cluster analysis showed the differences between single pathogenic fungi on wheat in a single year due to temperature and precipitation. Alternaria abundance was strongly influenced by year (p < 0.001) while locality was significant only in certain years (2012, 2013; p = 0.004 and 0.015, respectively). The same factors were revealed to be significant in the case of Puccinia, but locality played a role (p < 0.001) in different years (2011, 2013). The abundance of S. tritici and Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Drechslera tritici-repentis) was influenced only by year (p < 0.001).

Characteristics-based modelling of flow problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saarinen, M.

1994-02-01

The method of characteristics is an exact way to proceed to the solution of hyperbolic partial differential equations. The numerical solutions, however, are obtained in the fixed computational grid where interpolations of values between the mesh points cause numerical errors. The Piecewise Linear Interpolation Method, PLIM, the utilization of which is based on the method of characteristics, has been developed to overcome these deficiencies. The thesis concentrates on the computer simulation of the two-phase flow. The main topics studied are: (1) the PLIM method has been applied to study the validity of the numerical scheme through solving various flow problems to achieve knowledge for the further development of the method, (2) the mathematical and physical validity and applicability of the two-phase flow equations based on the SFAV (Separation of the two-phase Flow According to Velocities) approach has been studied, and (3) The SFAV approach has been further developed for particular cases such as stratified horizontal two-phase flow. (63 refs., 4 figs.)

Subsequent influences of feeding intact green seaweed Ulva lactuca to growing lambs on the seminal and testicular characteristics in rams.

Science.gov (United States)

Samara, E M; Okab, A B; Abdoun, K A; El-Waziry, A M; Al-Haidary, A A

2013-12-01

The present experiment was designed to investigate the subsequent influences of supplementing different levels of intact green seaweed Ulva lactuca (0%, 3%, and 5% DM) to growing sexually immature lambs during the growth period (74 d) on the seminal and testicular characteristics of sexually mature rams. Ulva lactuca was manually collected, adequately prepared, and then incorporated into lambs' diets. Eighteen male 3-mo-old lambs of the Awassi breed with a mean BW of 22.57 kg (SD = 1.08) were randomly assigned into treatments. The obtained results indicate that offering Ulva lactuca at the level of 3% or 5% DM to lambs during the growth period had no subsequent impacts (P > 0.05) on liver and kidney functions as well as blood water balance in rams, thereby suggesting that Ulva lactuca can be safely supplemented to lambs during growing. However, our findings point out that feeding a lamb diet supplemented with intact Ulva lactuca failed to demonstrate any subsequent benefit (P > 0.05) on the growth performance, thermoregulatory responses, and plasma oxidative status in rams. Above all, it was clearly evident that supplementing intact Ulva lactuca to lambs had demonstrated subsequent negative influences (P Ulva lactuca during the growth period compared to control rams. The deleterious impacts of feeding intact Ulva lactuca on spermatogenesis and germ cell loss were proven to be attributed to the dysfunction of Sertoli cells. Collectively, these results provide novel insights on the subsequent influences of dietary supplementation of intact Ulva lactuca to lambs. The consistent evidence of profound negative impacts on seminal and testicular characteristics as well as the resulting data of no improvement of subsequent growth, thermoregulation, and plasma oxidative status in rams prompts us to tentatively recommend the avoidance of feeding intact Ulva lactuca to lambs.

Taking the Grading Leniency Story to the Edge. The Influence of Student, Teacher, and Course Characteristics on Student Evaluations of Teaching in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Brockx, Bert; Spooren, Pieter; Mortelmans, Dimitri

2011-01-01

The use of student evaluation of teaching (SET) to evaluate and improve teaching is widespread amongst institutions of higher education. Many authors have searched for a conclusive understanding about the influence of student, course, and teacher characteristics on SET. One hotly debated discussion concerns the interpretation of the positive and…

Entropy Evaluation Based on Value Validity

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Tarald O. Kvålseth

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Besides its importance in statistical physics and information theory, the Boltzmann-Shannon entropy S has become one of the most widely used and misused summary measures of various attributes (characteristics in diverse fields of study. It has also been the subject of extensive and perhaps excessive generalizations. This paper introduces the concept and criteria for value validity as a means of determining if an entropy takes on values that reasonably reflect the attribute being measured and that permit different types of comparisons to be made for different probability distributions. While neither S nor its relative entropy equivalent S* meet the value-validity conditions, certain power functions of S and S* do to a considerable extent. No parametric generalization offers any advantage over S in this regard. A measure based on Euclidean distances between probability distributions is introduced as a potential entropy that does comply fully with the value-validity requirements and its statistical inference procedure is discussed.

Failure Characteristics of Granite Influenced by Sample Height-to-Width Ratios and Intermediate Principal Stress Under True-Triaxial Unloading Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xibing; Feng, Fan; Li, Diyuan; Du, Kun; Ranjith, P. G.; Rostami, Jamal

2018-05-01

The failure modes and peak unloading strength of a typical hard rock, Miluo granite, with particular attention to the sample height-to-width ratio (between 2 and 0.5), and the intermediate principal stress was investigated using a true-triaxial test system. The experimental results indicate that both sample height-to-width ratios and intermediate principal stress have an impact on the failure modes, peak strength and severity of rockburst in hard rock under true-triaxial unloading conditions. For longer rectangular specimens, the transition of failure mode from shear to slabbing requires higher intermediate principal stress. With the decrease in sample height-to-width ratios, slabbing failure is more likely to occur under the condition of lower intermediate principal stress. For same intermediate principal stress, the peak unloading strength monotonically increases with the decrease in sample height-to-width. However, the peak unloading strength as functions of intermediate principal stress for different types of rock samples (with sample height-to-width ratio of 2, 1 and 0.5) all present the pattern of initial increase, followed by a subsequent decrease. The curves fitted to octahedral shear stress as a function of mean effective stress also validate the applicability of the Mogi-Coulomb failure criterion for all considered rock sizes under true-triaxial unloading conditions, and the corresponding cohesion C and internal friction angle φ are calculated. The severity of strainburst of granite depends on the sample height-to-width ratios and intermediate principal stress. Therefore, different supporting strategies are recommended in deep tunneling projects and mining activities. Moreover, the comparison of test results of different σ 2/ σ 3 also reveals the little influence of minimum principal stress on failure characteristics of granite during the true-triaxial unloading process.

Frequency Response Analysis of Hydroelectric Power Plants with Influence From a Non-Linearized Frictional Damping and the Turbine Characteristics

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H. Brekke

1985-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of the dissertation has been to establish a complete stability analysis of a hydroelectric power plant. The most important part in this study has been to establish a theory for the damping of oscillatory flow in tunnels and pipes. The influence of the turbine characteristics is also important and has been included by differentiation of the turbine equation. The partial derivative values can be found by means of the characteristic diagram of the turbine. Special attention is paid to establishing an empirical friction function for tunnels with rough walls. The author has based his theory on experimental tests carried out for damping of sea waves on rough beds, and the friction factor is a function of both frequency, amplitudes, cross section area and roughness of the wall (Jonsson 1978. Further, the damping of oscillations in shafts leading to tunnels taking into account the mean velocity in the tunnel has been established.

Interrelation of the concepts «legal influence» and «administrative-legal influence»

OpenAIRE

Голуб, Віктор Олександрович

2014-01-01

The author analyzes the concept of «legal influence» and «administrative-legal influence» and examines their interrelation. Also the scientific positions related to understanding the essence of these concepts are analyzed. The author gives characteristic of the features, structural elements and forms of the administrative-legal influence. English abstract V. Golub Interrelation of the concepts «legal influence» and «administrative-legal influence» The author analyzes the concept of «legal inf...

The development of a self-administered dementia checklist: the examination of concurrent validity and discriminant validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamae, Fumiko; Ura, Chiaki; Sakuma, Naoko; Niikawa, Hirotoshi; Inagaki, Hiroki; Ijuin, Mutsuo; Okamura, Tsuyoshi; Sugiyama, Mika; Awata, Shuichi

2016-01-01

The present study aims to develop a self-administered dementia checklist to enable community-residing older adults to realize their declining functions and start using necessary services. A previous study confirmed the factorial validity and internal reliability of the checklist. The present study examined its concurrent validity and discriminant validity. The authors conducted a 3-step study (a self-administered survey including the checklist, interviews by nurses, and interviews by doctors and psychologists) of 7,682 community-residing individuals who were over 65 years of age. The authors calculated Spearman's correlation coefficients between the scores of the checklist and the results of a psychological test to examine the concurrent validity. They also compared the average total scores of the checklist between groups with different Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scores to examine discriminant validity and conducted a receiver operating characteristic analysis to examine the discriminative power for dementia. The authors analyzed the data of 131 respondents who completed all 3 steps. The checklist scores were significantly correlated with the respondents' Mini-Mental State Examination and Frontal Assessment Battery scores. The checklist also significantly discriminated the patients with dementia (CDR = 1+) from those without dementia (CDR = 0 or 0.5). The optimal cut-off point for the two groups was 17/18 (sensitivity, 72.0%; specificity, 69.2%; positive predictive value, 69.2%; negative predictive value, 72.0%). This study confirmed the concurrent validity and discriminant validity of the self-administered dementia checklist. However, due to its insufficient discriminative power as a screening tool for older people with declining cognitive functions, the checklist is only recommended as an educational and public awareness tool.

Safety characteristics of hydrogen at super ambient conditions: lubricant contamination influencing the auto ignition temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liebner, C.; Schroder, V.; Holtappels, K.

2006-01-01

Inventing hydrogen as a commonly used future energy carrier the long term social acceptance as well as the clean energy image strongly depends upon the safety of its applications. The safety characteristics of hydrogen build a special challenge e.g. in the field of combustion engine development. Small impurities from lubricants used in motors and pumps, may serve as radical source, strongly influencing the auto ignition temperature of hydrogen. Auto Ignition Temperature (AIT) of Hydrogen-Air mixtures were measured in closed autoclaves made from stainless steel, similar to the closed bomb method described in the European standard EN 1839. Initial pressures of 10 bar(a) and 30 bar(a) of a premixed stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture were investigated. Auto ignition can be obtained about 100 K below the standard AIT (560 deg C, atmospheric pressure) and 300 K below the standard AIT when contaminated through motor oil. (authors)

Influence at work and the desire for more influence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markey, Raymond; Ravenswood, Katherine; Webber, Don J.

2013-01-01

What determines whether workers want more influence in their workplace? Much of the literature on employee voice assumes that employees desire a say in how they do their work, and that where they lack influence they are more likely to desire a greater say. This econometric study of 536 Danish...... and New Zealand employees in four industries indicates that workers’ desire for more influence was not dependent on how much influence they thought they already had. What mattered was age, length of service and specific organisational characteristics. Those who wanted more influence were not learning new...... things and did not feel that they received sufficient information about the workplace, and those who felt appreciated by management did not desire more influence. The results support human resource management literature that suggests the importance of integrated and mutually supportive ‘bundles...

The validity of using ROC software for analysing visual grading characteristics data: an investigation based on the novel software VGC analyzer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansson, Jonny; Maansson, Lars Gunnar; Baath, Magnus

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present work was to investigate the validity of using single-reader-adapted receiver operating characteristics (ROC) software for analysis of visual grading characteristics (VGC) data. VGC data from four published VGC studies on optimisation of X-ray examinations, previously analysed using ROCFIT, were reanalysed using a recently developed software dedicated to VGC analysis (VGC Analyzer), and the outcomes [the mean and 95 % confidence interval (CI) of the area under the VGC curve (AUC VGC ) and the p-value] were compared. The studies included both paired and non-paired data and were reanalysed both for the fixed-reader and the random-reader situations. The results showed good agreement between the softwares for the mean AUC VGC . For non-paired data, wider CIs were obtained with VGC Analyzer than previously reported, whereas for paired data, the previously reported CIs were similar or even broader. Similar observations were made for the p-values. The results indicate that the use of single-reader-adapted ROC software such as ROCFIT for analysing non-paired VGC data may lead to an increased risk of committing Type I errors, especially in the random-reader situation. On the other hand, the use of ROC software for analysis of paired VGC data may lead to an increased risk of committing Type II errors, especially in the fixed-reader situation. (authors)

A multinational case-control study on childhood brain tumours, anthropogenic factors, birth characteristics and prenatal exposures: A validation of interview data.

Science.gov (United States)

Vienneau, Danielle; Infanger, Denis; Feychting, Maria; Schüz, Joachim; Schmidt, Lisbeth Samsø; Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Tettamanti, Giorgio; Klæboe, Lars; Kuehni, Claudia E; Tynes, Tore; Von der Weid, Nicolas; Lannering, Birgitta; Röösli, Martin

2016-02-01

Little is known about the aetiology of childhood brain tumours. We investigated anthropometric factors (birth weight, length, maternal age), birth characteristics (e.g. vacuum extraction, preterm delivery, birth order) and exposures during pregnancy (e.g. maternal: smoking, working, dietary supplement intake) in relation to risk of brain tumour diagnosis among 7-19 year olds. The multinational case-control study in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland (CEFALO) included interviews with 352 (participation rate=83.2%) eligible cases and 646 (71.1%) population-based controls. Interview data were complemented with data from birth registries and validated by assessing agreement (Cohen's Kappa). We used conditional logistic regression models matched on age, sex and geographical region (adjusted for maternal age and parental education) to explore associations between birth factors and childhood brain tumour risk. Agreement between interview and birth registry data ranged from moderate (Kappa=0.54; worked during pregnancy) to almost perfect (Kappa=0.98; birth weight). Neither anthropogenic factors nor birth characteristics were associated with childhood brain tumour risk. Maternal vitamin intake during pregnancy was indicative of a protective effect (OR 0.75, 95%-CI: 0.56-1.01). No association was seen for maternal smoking during pregnancy or working during pregnancy. We found little evidence that the considered birth factors were related to brain tumour risk among children and adolescents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance Analysis of an Evaporator for a Diesel Engine–Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Combined System and Influence of Pressure Drop on the Diesel Engine Operating Characteristics

OpenAIRE

Chen Bei; Hongguang Zhang; Fubin Yang; Songsong Song; Enhua Wang; Hao Liu; Ying Chang; Hongjin Wang; Kai Yang

2015-01-01

The main purpose of this research is to analyze the performance of an evaporator for the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system and discuss the influence of the evaporator on the operating characteristics of diesel engine. A simulation model of fin-and-tube evaporator of the ORC system is established by using Fluent software. Then, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of the exhaust at the evaporator shell side are obtained, and then the performance of the fin-and-tube evaporator of the ORC...

The smartphone addiction scale: development and validation of a short version for adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Min; Kim, Dai-Jin; Cho, Hyun; Yang, Soo

2013-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the revised and short version of the smartphone addiction scale and the proof of its validity in adolescents. In addition, it suggested cutting off the values by gender in order to determine smartphone addiction and elaborate the characteristics of smartphone usage in adolescents. A set of questionnaires were provided to a total of 540 selected participants from April to May of 2013. The participants consisted of 343 boys and 197 girls, and their average age was 14.5 years old. The content validity was performed on a selection of shortened items, while an internal-consistency test was conducted for the verification of its reliability. The concurrent validity was confirmed using SAS, SAPS and KS-scale. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was conducted to suggest cut-off. The 10 final questions were selected using content validity. The internal consistency and concurrent validity of SAS were verified with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.911. The SAS-SV was significantly correlated with the SAS, SAPS and KS-scale. The SAS-SV scores of gender (psmartphone addiction (psmartphone addiction. The smartphone addiction scale short version, which was developed and validated in this study, could be used efficiently for the evaluation of smartphone addiction in community and research areas.

Development and Initial Validation of the Need Satisfaction and Need Support at Work Scales: A Validity-Focused Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Tafvelin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Although the relevance of employee need satisfaction and manager need support have been examined, the integration of self-determination theory (SDT into work and organizational psychology has been hampered by the lack of validated measures. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate measures of employees’ perception of need satisfaction (NSa-WS and need support (NSu-WS at work that were grounded in SDT. We used three Swedish samples (total 'N' = 1,430 to develop and validate our scales. We used a confirmatory approach including expert panels to assess item content relevance, confirmatory factor analysis for factorial validity, and associations with theoretically warranted outcomes to assess criterion-related validity. Scale reliability was also assessed. We found evidence of content, factorial, and criterion-related validity of our two scales of need satisfaction and need support at work. Further, the scales demonstrated high internal consistency. Our newly developed scales may be used in research and practice to further our understanding regarding how satisfaction and support of employee basic needs influence employee motivation, performance, and well-being. Our study makes a contribution to the current literature by providing (1 scales that are specifically designed for the work context, (2 an example of how expert panels can be used to assess content validity, and (3 testing of theoretically derived hypotheses that, although SDT is built on them, have not been examined before.

The Influence of Puff Characteristics, Nicotine Dependence, and Rate of Nicotine Metabolism on Daily Nicotine Exposure in African American Smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Kathryn C; Dempsey, Delia A; St Helen, Gideon; Delucchi, Kevin; Benowitz, Neal L

2016-06-01

African American (AA) smokers experience greater tobacco-related disease burden than Whites, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day (CPD). Understanding factors that influence daily nicotine intake in AA smokers is an important step toward decreasing tobacco-related health disparities. One factor of interest is smoking topography, or the study of puffing behavior. (i) to create a model using puff characteristics, nicotine dependence, and nicotine metabolism to predict daily nicotine exposure, and (ii) to compare puff characteristics and nicotine intake from two cigarettes smoked at different times to ensure the reliability of the puff characteristics included in our model. Sixty AA smokers smoked their preferred brand of cigarette at two time points through a topography device. Plasma nicotine, expired CO, and changes in subjective measures were measured before and after each cigarette. Total nicotine equivalents (TNE) was measured from 24-hour urine collected during ad libitum smoking. In a model predicting daily nicotine exposure, total puff volume, CPD, sex, and menthol status were significant predictors (R(2) = 0.44, P smokers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(6); 936-43. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Quality of life after cancer-How the extent of impairment is influenced by patient characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Elisabeth; Mendoza Schulz, Laura; Reuss-Borst, Monika

2016-10-10

Although this effect is well known, tailored treatment methods have not yet been broadly adopted. The aim of this study was to identify those patient characteristics that most influence the impairment of quality of life and thus to identify those patients who need and can benefit most from specific intervention treatment. 1879 cancer patients were given the EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire at the beginning and end of their inpatient rehabilitation. Patients' scores were compared to those of 2081 healthy adults (Schwarz and Hinz, Eur J Cancer 37:1345-1351, 2001). Furthermore, differences in quality of life corresponding to sex, age, tumor site, TNM stage, interval between diagnosis and rehabilitation, and therapy method were examined. Compared to the healthy population, the study group showed a decreased quality of life in all analyzed domains. This difference diminished with increasing age. Women reported a lower quality of life then men in general. Patients with prostate cancer showed the least impairment in several domains. Patients having undergone chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy were impaired the most. Surprisingly, TNM stage and interval between diagnosis and rehabilitation did not significantly influence quality of life. Global quality of life and all functional domains significantly improved after a 3-week rehabilitation program. Despite an individualized and increasingly better tolerable therapy, the quality of life of cancer patients is still considerably impaired. However, systematic screening of psychosocial aspects of cancer, e.g. quality of life, could enable improved intervention.

Estimating uncertainty of inference for validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Booker, Jane M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Langenbrunner, James R [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hemez, Francois M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Ross, Timothy J [UNM

2010-09-30

We present a validation process based upon the concept that validation is an inference-making activity. This has always been true, but the association has not been as important before as it is now. Previously, theory had been confirmed by more data, and predictions were possible based on data. The process today is to infer from theory to code and from code to prediction, making the role of prediction somewhat automatic, and a machine function. Validation is defined as determining the degree to which a model and code is an accurate representation of experimental test data. Imbedded in validation is the intention to use the computer code to predict. To predict is to accept the conclusion that an observable final state will manifest; therefore, prediction is an inference whose goodness relies on the validity of the code. Quantifying the uncertainty of a prediction amounts to quantifying the uncertainty of validation, and this involves the characterization of uncertainties inherent in theory/models/codes and the corresponding data. An introduction to inference making and its associated uncertainty is provided as a foundation for the validation problem. A mathematical construction for estimating the uncertainty in the validation inference is then presented, including a possibility distribution constructed to represent the inference uncertainty for validation under uncertainty. The estimation of inference uncertainty for validation is illustrated using data and calculations from Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). The ICF measurements of neutron yield and ion temperature were obtained for direct-drive inertial fusion capsules at the Omega laser facility. The glass capsules, containing the fusion gas, were systematically selected with the intent of establishing a reproducible baseline of high-yield 10{sup 13}-10{sup 14} neutron output. The deuterium-tritium ratio in these experiments was varied to study its influence upon yield. This paper on validation inference is the

Verification & Validation of High-Order Short-Characteristics-Based Deterministic Transport Methodology on Unstructured Grids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azmy, Yousry; Wang, Yaqi

2013-01-01

The research team has developed a practical, high-order, discrete-ordinates, short characteristics neutron transport code for three-dimensional configurations represented on unstructured tetrahedral grids that can be used for realistic reactor physics applications at both the assembly and core levels. This project will perform a comprehensive verification and validation of this new computational tool against both a continuous-energy Monte Carlo simulation (e.g. MCNP) and experimentally measured data, an essential prerequisite for its deployment in reactor core modeling. Verification is divided into three phases. The team will first conduct spatial mesh and expansion order refinement studies to monitor convergence of the numerical solution to reference solutions. This is quantified by convergence rates that are based on integral error norms computed from the cell-by-cell difference between the code's numerical solution and its reference counterpart. The latter is either analytic or very fine- mesh numerical solutions from independent computational tools. For the second phase, the team will create a suite of code-independent benchmark configurations to enable testing the theoretical order of accuracy of any particular discretization of the discrete ordinates approximation of the transport equation. For each tested case (i.e. mesh and spatial approximation order), researchers will execute the code and compare the resulting numerical solution to the exact solution on a per cell basis to determine the distribution of the numerical error. The final activity comprises a comparison to continuous-energy Monte Carlo solutions for zero-power critical configuration measurements at Idaho National Laboratory's Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Results of this comparison will allow the investigators to distinguish between modeling errors and the above-listed discretization errors introduced by the deterministic method, and to separate the sources of uncertainty.

The Influence of Social Network Characteristics on Peer Clustering in Smoking: A Two-Wave Panel Study of 19- and 23-Year-Old Swedes.

Science.gov (United States)

Miething, Alexander; Rostila, Mikael; Edling, Christofer; Rydgren, Jens

2016-01-01

The present study examines how the composition of social networks and perceived relationship content influence peer clustering in smoking, and how the association changes during the transition from late adolescence to early adulthood. The analysis was based on a Swedish two-wave survey sample comprising ego-centric network data. Respondents were 19 years old in the initial wave, and 23 when the follow-up sample was conducted. 17,227 ego-alter dyads were included in the analyses, which corresponds to an average response rate of 48.7 percent. Random effects logistic regression models were performed to calculate gender-specific average marginal effects of social network characteristics on smoking. The association of egos' and alters' smoking behavior was confirmed and found to be stronger when correlated in the female sample. For females, the associations decreased between age 19 and 23. Interactions between network characteristics and peer clustering in smoking showed that intense social interactions with smokers increase egos' smoking probability. The influence of network structures on peer clustering in smoking decreased during the transition from late adolescence to early adulthood. The study confirmed peer clustering in smoking and revealed that females' smoking behavior in particular is determined by social interactions. Female smokers' propensity to interact with other smokers was found to be associated with the quality of peer relationships, frequent social interactions, and network density. The influence of social networks on peer clustering in smoking decreased during the transition from late adolescence to early adulthood.

Steady-State Characteristics Analysis of Hybrid-Excited Flux-Switching Machines with Identical Iron Laminations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gan Zhang

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Since the air-gap field of flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM machines is difficult to regulate as it is produced by the stator-magnets alone, a type of hybrid-excited flux-switching (HEFS machine is obtained by reducing the magnet length of an original FSPM machine and introducing a set of field windings into the saved space. In this paper, the steady-state characteristics, especially for the loaded performances of four prototyped HEFS machines, namely, PM-top, PM-middle-1, PM-middle-2, and PM-bottom, are comprehensively compared and evaluated based on both 2D and 3D finite element analysis. Also, the influences of PM materials including ferrite and NdFeB, respectively, on the characteristics of HEFS machines are covered. Particularly, the impacts of magnet movement in the corresponding slot on flux-regulating performances are studied in depth. The best overall performances employing NdFeB can be obtained when magnets are located near the air-gap. The FEA predictions are validated by experimental measurements on corresponding machine prototypes.