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Sample records for safety domain bse

  1. BSE Practice and BSE Self-Efficacy among Nursing Students in Aceh, Indonesia

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    Juanita Juanita

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To survey the level of BSE practice among female nursing students in Aceh, and the degree of self-efficacy in those who did practice it.Method: Seventy-six nursing students from the Public Nursing College, Syiah Kuala University in Aceh who met the inclusion criteria were recruited. Stratified proportionate random sampling was used to determine the required number of first, second, and third year students. BSE self-efficacy of the students was measured by the BSE Self-Efficacy Questionnaire which was modified from an existing tool developed by Khatun (2010. In addition, the students’ doing BSE or not was measured by BSE Practice Questionnaire which was developed by the researcher. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics.Result: Only 39.5% of the students practiced BSE with more than half of the students saying they did not practice BSE (60.5%. The main factors that influenced the students’ performing BSE were not having a family history of breast cancer, single, and no history of breast illness. Among the thirty students who practiced BSE, most of them did not practice it routinely (70%, nor at the correct time (86.7%, and their confidence in performing BSE was at a moderate level overall, with a high level for BSE procedural efficacy and moderate level for barrier management efficacy.Conclusion: A majority of the Acehnese nursing students did not practice BSE, and those who did had only a moderate level of BSE self-efficacy. Therefore, the results of this study suggest emphasizing the need to teach nursing students about BSE in their undergraduate courses, with future follow-up research regarding the success of the educational program.Keywords: practice, self-efficacy, breast self-examination (BSE, nursing students

  2. Relationship with BSE (Mad Cow Disease)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Disease (CWD) Prion Diseases Relationship with BSE (Mad Cow Disease) Evidence Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir ... macaque monkeys inoculated with brain tissue obtained from cattle with BSE had clinical and neuropathological features strikingly ...

  3. A major genetic component of BSE susceptibility

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    Juling, Katrin; Schwarzenbacher, Hermann; Williams, John L; Fries, Ruedi

    2006-01-01

    Background Coding variants of the prion protein gene (PRNP) have been shown to be major determinants for the susceptibility to transmitted prion diseases in humans, mice and sheep. However, to date, the effects of polymorphisms in the coding and regulatory regions of bovine PRNP on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) susceptibility have been considered marginal or non-existent. Here we analysed two insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP in BSE affected animals and controls of four independent cattle populations from UK and Germany. Results In the present report, we show that two previously reported 23- and 12-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP are strongly associated with BSE incidence in cattle. Genotyping of BSE-affected and control animals of UK Holstein, German Holstein, German Brown and German Fleckvieh breeds revealed a significant overrepresentation of the deletion alleles at both polymorphic sites in diseased animals (P = 2.01 × 10-3 and P = 8.66 × 10-5, respectively). The main effect on susceptibility is associated with the 12-bp indel polymorphism. Compared with non-carriers, heterozygous and homozygous carriers of the 12-bp deletion allele possess relatively higher risks of having BSE, ranging from 1.32 to 4.01 and 1.74 to 3.65 in the different breeds. These values correspond to population attributable risks ranging from 35% to 53%. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a substantial genetic PRNP associated component for BSE susceptibility in cattle. Although the BSE risk conferred by the deletion allele of the 12-bp indel in the regulatory region of PRNP is substantial, the main risk factor for BSE in cattle is environmental, i.e. exposure to feedstuffs contaminated with the infectious agent. PMID:17014722

  4. A major genetic component of BSE susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Williams John L

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Coding variants of the prion protein gene (PRNP have been shown to be major determinants for the susceptibility to transmitted prion diseases in humans, mice and sheep. However, to date, the effects of polymorphisms in the coding and regulatory regions of bovine PRNP on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE susceptibility have been considered marginal or non-existent. Here we analysed two insertion/deletion (indel polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP in BSE affected animals and controls of four independent cattle populations from UK and Germany. Results In the present report, we show that two previously reported 23- and 12-bp insertion/deletion (indel polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP are strongly associated with BSE incidence in cattle. Genotyping of BSE-affected and control animals of UK Holstein, German Holstein, German Brown and German Fleckvieh breeds revealed a significant overrepresentation of the deletion alleles at both polymorphic sites in diseased animals (P = 2.01 × 10-3 and P = 8.66 × 10-5, respectively. The main effect on susceptibility is associated with the 12-bp indel polymorphism. Compared with non-carriers, heterozygous and homozygous carriers of the 12-bp deletion allele possess relatively higher risks of having BSE, ranging from 1.32 to 4.01 and 1.74 to 3.65 in the different breeds. These values correspond to population attributable risks ranging from 35% to 53%. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a substantial genetic PRNP associated component for BSE susceptibility in cattle. Although the BSE risk conferred by the deletion allele of the 12-bp indel in the regulatory region of PRNP is substantial, the main risk factor for BSE in cattle is environmental, i.e. exposure to feedstuffs contaminated with the infectious agent.

  5. A country that never had a BSE crisis: consensus and tensions in transforming the Norwegian food system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terragni, Laura

    2006-09-01

    Norway is often described as a country where the safety of domestically produced food is not questioned and where there is a prevailing consensus about the division of responsibility for food safety. For this reason it was surprising to find that Norwegian consumers trust the safety of their meat less than do their British counterparts. This result is particularly interesting, as Norway is one of the few countries that has never experienced BSE, while Britain has been the country most affected by it. The data discussed in the article suggest that not having to cope with a BSE crisis meant that some problems within the Norwegian food safety system remained unresolved. This in turn has affected patterns of consumer trust. The article is based on the data collected for a comparative study on European consumers' confidence in food safety.

  6. Review on the epidemiology and dynamics of BSE epidemics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ducrot, C.; Calavas, D.; Arnold, M.; Koeijer, de A.A.; Heim, D.

    2008-01-01

    The paper describes how the comprehensive surveillance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and studies carried out on these data has enhanced our knowledge of the epidemiology of BSE. Around 7 000 BSE cases were detected through the screening of about 50 million cattle with rapid tests in

  7. [Effects of BSE on consumer attitudes and behavior].

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    von Alvenisleben, R

    2002-08-01

    The extremely high media emphasis of the BSE issue during the period December 2000 to February 2001 has caused considerable short term public concern. A significant amount of this concern was due to an intensive communication of pictures. Pictures are "fast shots into the brain" (Kroeber-Riel). Pictured stimuli run under the cognitive control of the recipients effecting the consumer below the threshold of consciousness. However, the issue has fallen into oblivion very soon. In summer 2001 the public concern was not higher than before the BSE crisis. The perception of product quality regained a "normal level". The public concern has caused a considerable decline of the demand for beef and an increase of demand for substitutes and organic meat. When the media emphasis of the BSE issue diminished, the beef demand recovered but did not reach the pre-crisis level again. However, the BSE crisis has intensified animal welfare concerns, polarized public opinion about food and agriculture and had big effects in the political sphere. Furthermore, the BSE crisis has led to additional--politically supported--activities of the organic food suppliers causing a further growth of this market segment.

  8. Modelling BSE trend over time in Europe, a risk assessment perspective.

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    Ducrot, Christian; Sala, Carole; Ru, Giuseppe; de Koeijer, Aline; Sheridan, Hazel; Saegerman, Claude; Selhorst, Thomas; Arnold, Mark; Polak, Miroslaw P; Calavas, Didier

    2010-06-01

    BSE is a zoonotic disease that caused the emergence of variant Creuzfeldt-Jakob disease in the mid 1990s. The trend of the BSE epidemic in seven European countries was assessed and compared, using Age-Period-Cohort and Reproduction Ratio modelling applied to surveillance data 2001-2007. A strong decline in BSE risk was observed for all countries that applied control measures during the 1990s, starting at different points in time in the different countries. Results were compared with the type and date of the BSE control measures implemented between 1990 and 2001 in each country. Results show that a ban on the feeding of meat and bone meal (MBM) to cattle alone was not sufficient to eliminate BSE. The fading out of the epidemic started shortly after the complementary measures targeted at controlling the risk in MBM. Given the long incubation period, it is still too early to estimate the additional effect of the ban on the feeding of animal protein to all farm animals that started in 2001. These results provide new insights in the risk assessment of BSE for cattle and Humans, which will especially be useful in the context of possible relaxing BSE surveillance and control measures.

  9. Pruritus is a common feature in sheep infected with the BSE agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konold, Timm; Bone, Gemma; Vidal-Diez, Alberto; Tortosa, Raul; Davis, Andrew; Dexter, Glenda; Hill, Peter; Jeffrey, Martin; Simmons, Marion M; Chaplin, Melanie J; Bellworthy, Susan J; Berthelin-Baker, Christine

    2008-04-29

    The variability in the clinical or pathological presentation of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in sheep, such as scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has been attributed to prion protein genotype, strain, breed, clinical duration, dose, route and type of inoculum and the age at infection. The study aimed to describe the clinical signs in sheep infected with the BSE agent throughout its clinical course to determine whether the clinical signs were as variable as described for classical scrapie in sheep. The clinical signs were compared to BSE-negative sheep to assess if disease-specific clinical markers exist. Forty-seven (34%) of 139 sheep, which comprised 123 challenged sheep and 16 undosed controls, were positive for BSE. Affected sheep belonged to five different breeds and three different genotypes (ARQ/ARQ, VRQ/VRQ and AHQ/AHQ). None of the controls or BSE exposed sheep with ARR alleles were positive. Pruritus was present in 41 (87%) BSE positive sheep; the remaining six were judged to be pre-clinically infected. Testing of the response to scratching along the dorsum of a sheep proved to be a good indicator of clinical disease with a test sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 98% and usually coincided with weight loss. Clinical signs that were displayed significantly earlier in BSE positive cases compared to negative cases were behavioural changes, pruritic behaviour, a positive scratch test, alopecia, skin lesions, teeth grinding, tremor, ataxia, loss of weight and loss of body condition. The frequency and severity of each specific clinical sign usually increased with the progression of disease over a period of 16-20 weeks. Our results suggest that BSE in sheep presents with relatively uniform clinical signs, with pruritus of increased severity and abnormalities in behaviour or movement as the disease progressed. Based on the studied sheep, these clinical features appear to be independent of breed, affected genotype, dose, route

  10. Pruritus is a common feature in sheep infected with the BSE agent

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    Jeffrey Martin

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The variability in the clinical or pathological presentation of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs in sheep, such as scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, has been attributed to prion protein genotype, strain, breed, clinical duration, dose, route and type of inoculum and the age at infection. The study aimed to describe the clinical signs in sheep infected with the BSE agent throughout its clinical course to determine whether the clinical signs were as variable as described for classical scrapie in sheep. The clinical signs were compared to BSE-negative sheep to assess if disease-specific clinical markers exist. Results Forty-seven (34% of 139 sheep, which comprised 123 challenged sheep and 16 undosed controls, were positive for BSE. Affected sheep belonged to five different breeds and three different genotypes (ARQ/ARQ, VRQ/VRQ and AHQ/AHQ. None of the controls or BSE exposed sheep with ARR alleles were positive. Pruritus was present in 41 (87% BSE positive sheep; the remaining six were judged to be pre-clinically infected. Testing of the response to scratching along the dorsum of a sheep proved to be a good indicator of clinical disease with a test sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 98% and usually coincided with weight loss. Clinical signs that were displayed significantly earlier in BSE positive cases compared to negative cases were behavioural changes, pruritic behaviour, a positive scratch test, alopecia, skin lesions, teeth grinding, tremor, ataxia, loss of weight and loss of body condition. The frequency and severity of each specific clinical sign usually increased with the progression of disease over a period of 16–20 weeks. Conclusion Our results suggest that BSE in sheep presents with relatively uniform clinical signs, with pruritus of increased severity and abnormalities in behaviour or movement as the disease progressed. Based on the studied sheep, these clinical features appear to

  11. Impact of BSE on livestock production system.

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    Nardone, A

    2003-09-01

    The small number of BSE cases diagnosed in Italy from January 2001 to 12 September 2001 (a total of 28, one every 9000 head) does not allow for a statistical analysis of the relationship between this disease and the livestock systems. However, some indications can be noted: (a) only dairy cattle, which represent three-quarters of the cattle raised in Italy, are involved; (b) 58% of the cases belong to medium-large farms that breed 27% of all head; (c) 13 out of 28 cases are 5-year-old animals and 26 out of 28 are between 5 and 7 years of age; (d) 15 of 28 cases come from Lombardia, where 27% of Italian dairy cattle are raised. The following factors may have affected the livestock system: (1) trends of beef meat consumption; (2) changes in livestock management; (3) changes in animal feeding; (4) possible effects on selection. A strong decline in beef meat consumption (4 kg/year) has been observed in the UK and other European countries since 1996 (the year of the discovery of the relationship between BSE and nvCJD). In Italy, from January 2001 the consumption of beef meat has declined as well as slaughter: a drop of 31% in the total slaughtered head in the period January-February, a drop of 14% in January-May. A fall in the price of calves has promoted, in some dairy farms, the start of the production of light beef less than one year old (advantages in the marketing of meat favour this initiative), a phenomenon which is not yet well established. Traceability and certification of meat have improved, thanks to breeders' associations and interprofessional agreements. The breeders associations have also started insurance initiatives against BSE risks. In Italy the employment of plant protein meals would increase the total feedstuff consumption by about 7%. Direct effects of BSE could slow down the genetic progress (GP) of cattle populations within breed and country. Indirect effects on GP may also happen as a consequence of an increase in the replacement rate (rr). This

  12. [Basic research on BSE transmission to people].

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    Bodemer, W; Kaup, F J

    2002-08-01

    Prion diseases of animal and man belong to neurological diseases with amyloidal deposition of the respective proteins. As to prion disease, the cellular prionprotein is in its abnormal isoform(s) an essential component of prionprotein aggregates found in affected tissue. In contrast to all neurodegenerative diseases like Morbus Alzheimer or Huntington's disease, prion diseases are transmissible. Therefore, prion diseases were designated Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE). The diseases are well known since decades. Scrapie was first described around 1750, a BSE case was reported in the 1850, most likely a misdiagnosis, and in 1920/1930 the human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) had been described. Transmission of CJD i.e. Kuru had been suspected in the early 1950s and erronously classified as slow virus disease. The CJD transmission posed a problem to humans when transplants from CJD cases were used for treatment. Fortunately, these iatrogenic transmissions remained limited. But with the advent of BSE and appearance of variant CJD cases in the UK and some places in Europe scientists suspected that transmission from cattle to man could have happened. From animal models we know of successful transmission via several routes. Species barriers do not completely prevent transmission. Rather transmission barriers might exist controlling individual susceptibility against prions. Modes of transmission, susceptibility for transmission, identification of receptor molecules as well as molecular mechanisms of the transmission process are intensely investigated. Current knowledge let us to assume that inapparent stages of prion infection pretend a (not existing) species barrier. This inapparent infection preceeds overt disease and, thus, most re-search focuses on the development of highly sensitive assay systems for detection of minute amounts of pathological prionprotein in suspected cases. Inapparence also should warn us to underestimate BSE or human vCJD cases; at

  13. Factors affecting the accuracy of urine-based biomarkers of BSE

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    Ruddat Viola

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases are untreatable, uniformly fatal degenerative syndromes of the central nervous system that can be transmitted both within as well as between species. The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE epidemic and the emergence of a new human variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD, have profoundly influenced beef production processes as well as blood donation and surgical procedures. Simple, robust and cost effective diagnostic screening and surveillance tools are needed for both the preclinical and clinical stages of TSE disease in order to minimize both the economic costs and zoonotic risk of BSE and to further reduce the risk of secondary vCJD. Objective Urine is well suited as the matrix for an ante-mortem test for TSE diseases because it would permit non-invasive and repeated sampling. In this study urine samples collected from BSE infected and age matched control cattle were screened for the presence of individual proteins that exhibited disease specific changes in abundance in response to BSE infection that might form the basis of such an ante-mortem test. Results Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE was used to identify proteins exhibiting differential abundance in two sets of cattle. The known set consisted of BSE infected steers and age matched controls throughout the course of the disease. The blinded unknown set was composed of BSE infected and control samples of both genders, a wide range of ages and two different breeds. Multivariate analyses of individual protein abundance data generated classifiers comprised of the proteins best able to discriminate between the samples based on disease state, breed, age and gender. Conclusion Despite the presence of confounding factors, the disease specific changes in abundance exhibited by a panel of urine proteins permitted the creation of classifiers able to discriminate between control and infected cattle

  14. Generation of a persistently infected MDBK cell line with natural bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE.

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    Dongseob Tark

    Full Text Available Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE is a zoonotic transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE thought to be caused by the same prion strain as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD. Unlike scrapie and chronic wasting disease there is no cell culture model allowing the replication of proteinase K resistant BSE (PrPBSE and the further in vitro study of this disease. We have generated a cell line based on the Madin-Darby Bovine Kidney (MDBK cell line over-expressing the bovine prion protein. After exposure to naturally BSE-infected bovine brain homogenate this cell line has shown to replicate and accumulate PrPBSE and maintain infection up to passage 83 after initial challenge. Collectively, we demonstrate, for the first time, that the BSE agent can infect cell lines over-expressing the bovine prion protein similar to other prion diseases. These BSE infected cells will provide a useful tool to facilitate the study of potential therapeutic agents and the diagnosis of BSE.

  15. Review on the epidemiology and dynamics of BSE epidemics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ducrot, Christian; Arnold, Mark; de Koeijer, Aline; Heim, Dagmar; Calavas, Didier

    2008-01-01

    The paper describes how the comprehensive surveillance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and studies carried out on these data has enhanced our knowledge of the epidemiology of BSE. Around 7, 000 BSE cases were detected through the screening of about 50 million cattle with rapid tests in Europe. It confirmed that the clinical surveillance had a poor capacity to detect cases, and also showed the discrepancy of this passive surveillance efficiency between regions and production types (dairy/beef). Other risk factors for BSE were being in a dairy herd (three times more than beef), having a young age at first calving (for dairy cattle), being autumn-born (dairy and beef), and being in a herd with a very high milk yield. These findings focus the risk on the feeding regimen of calves/heifers. Several epidemiological studies across countries suggest that the feedborne source related to meat and bone meal (MBM) is the only substantiated route of infection - even after the feed ban -, while it is not possible to exclude maternal transmission or milk replacers as a source of some infections. In most European countries, the average age of the cases is increasing over time and the prevalence decreasing, which reflects the effectiveness of control measures. Consistent results on the trend of the epidemic were obtained using back-calculation modelling, the R(0) approach and Age-Period-Cohort models. Furthermore, active surveillance also resulted in the finding of atypical cases. These are distinct from previously found BSE and classified in two different forms based on biochemical characteristics; their prevalence is very low (36 cases up to 1st September 2007), affected animals were old and some of them displayed clinical signs. The origin and possibility of natural transmission is unknown.

  16. Modelling BSE trend over time in Europe, a risk assessment perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ducrot, C.; Sala, C.; Ru, G.; Koeijer, de A.A.; Sheridan, H.; Saegerman, C.; Selhorst, T.; Arnold, M.; Polak, M.P.; Calavas, D.

    2010-01-01

    BSE is a zoonotic disease that caused the emergence of variant Creuzfeldt-Jakob disease in the mid 1990s. The trend of the BSE epidemic in seven European countries was assessed and compared, using Age-Period-Cohort and Reproduction Ratio modelling applied to surveillance data 2001-2007. A strong

  17. The Development of a Cultural-Based Educational Program to Enhance Breast Self-Examination (BSE Self-Efficacy

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    Juanita Juanita

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To develop the educational program which is appropriate with Islamic culture in order to enhance BSE self-efficacy of nursing students and thus promote BSE practice. Method: This study is a development research study which is consisting of three phases including: 1 reviewing several existing BSE educational programs; 2 program design based on SCT and Islamic culture; and 3 program validation by three experts. Result: Based on previous studies, the most appropriate theory to enhance self-efficacy was Social Cognitive Theory (SCT because this theory provides several strategies to increase the self-efficacy. Further, the program that used Islamic culture was more appropriate to increase BSE practice among Muslim women. As a result, the newly developed program was developed used SCT and Islamic culture. This program was comprised of four sessions including: 1 exploring Islamic mandate on prevention and individual responsibility in health promotion, and culture-related beliefs toward BSE, 2 health education by conducting lecturing session and watching a video about BSE procedures, 3 BSE training activities including BSE demonstration and return demonstration, 4 follow-up by conducting a meeting. Conclusion: The cultural-based educational program for enhancing BSE self-efficacy and promoting BSE is a program using multifaceted methods. It designed based on a review of the literature from previous studies and were supported by research findings on experimental studies in other population. Keywords: Cultural, Educational program development, Breast self-examination, Self-efficacy.

  18. Evaluation of the cumulative evidence for freedom from BSE in birth cohorts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Böhning, Dankmar; Greiner, Matthias

    2006-01-01

    Substantial resources are used for surveillance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) despite an extremely low detection rate, especially in healthy slaughtered cattle. We have developed a method based on the geometric waiting time distribution to establish and update the statistical evidence...... for BSE-freedom for defined birth cohorts using continued surveillance data. The results suggest that currently (data included till September 2004) a birth cohort of Danish cattle born after March 1999 is free from BSE with probability (power) of 0.8746 or 0.8509, depending on the choice of a model...

  19. The price of the precautionary principle: cost-effectiveness of BSE intervention strategies in The Netherlands.

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    Benedictus, A; Hogeveen, H; Berends, B R

    2009-06-01

    Since 1996, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle has been linked to a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), a fatal brain disease in man. This paper assessed the cost-effectiveness of BSE control strategies instituted by the European Commission. In a Monte Carlo simulation model, a non-intervention baseline scenario was compared to three intervention strategies: removal of specified risk materials from slaughter animals, post-mortem testing for BSE and the culling of feed and age cohorts of BSE cases. The food risk in the baseline scenario ranged from 16.98 lost life years in 2002 to 2.69 lost life years in 2005. Removing specified risk materials removal practices, post-mortem testing and post-mortem testing plus cohort culling reduced this risk with 93%, 82.7% and 83.1%. The estimated cost-effectiveness of all BSE measures in The Netherlands ranged from 4.3 million euros per life year saved in 2002 to 17.7 million euros in 2005. It was discussed that the cost-effectiveness of BSE control strategies will further deviate from regular health economics thresholds as BSE prevalence and incidence declines.

  20. Causality and correlations between BSE and NYSE indexes: A Janus faced relationship

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    Neeraj; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

    2017-09-01

    We study the multi-scale temporal correlations and causality connections between the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) monthly average closing price indexes for a period of 300 months, encompassing the time period of the liberalisation of the Indian economy and its gradual global exposure. In multi-scale analysis; clearly identifiable 1, 2 and 3 year non-stationary periodic modulations in NYSE and BSE have been observed, with NYSE commensurating changes in BSE at 3 years scale. Interestingly, at one year time scale, the two exchanges are phase locked only during the turbulent times, while at the scale of three year, in-phase nature is observed for a much longer time frame. The two year time period, having characteristics of both one and three year variations, acts as the transition regime. The normalised NYSE's stock value is found to Granger cause those of BSE, with a time lag of 9 months. Surprisingly, observed Granger causality of high frequency variations reveals BSE behaviour getting reflected in the NYSE index fluctuations, after a smaller time lag. This Janus faced relationship, shows that smaller stock exchanges may provide a natural setting for simulating market fluctuations of much bigger exchanges. This possibly arises due to the fact that high frequency fluctuations form an universal part of the financial time series, and are expected to exhibit similar characteristics in open market economies.

  1. Multi-domain comparison of safety standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baufreton, Ph.; Derrien, J.C.; Ricque, B.; Blanquart, J.P.; Boulanger, J.L.; Delseny, H.; Gassino, J.; Ladier, G.; Ledinot, E.; Leeman, M.; Quere, Ph.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of safety standards and their implementation in certification strategies from different domains such as aeronautics, automation, automotive, nuclear, railway and space. This work, performed in the context of the CG2E ('Club des Grandes Entreprises de l'Embarque'), aims at identifying the main similarities and dissimilarities, for potential cross-domain harmonization. We strive to find the most comprehensive 'trans-sectorial' approach, within a large number of industrial domains. Exhibiting the 'true goals' of their numerous applicable standards, related to the safety of system and software, is a first important step towards harmonization, sharing common approaches, methods and tools whenever possible. (authors)

  2. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... the CDC Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease Note: Javascript is disabled or is not ... spongiform encephalopathy) is a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that results from infection by an unusual transmissible ...

  3. Monitoring and analysis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) testing in Denmark using statistical models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paisley, Larry

    2002-01-01

    The evolution of monitoring and surveillance for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from the phase of passive surveillance that began in the United Kingdom in 1988 until the present is described. Currently, surveillance for BSE in Europe consists of mass testing of cattle slaughtered for human...

  4. CNS histopathology on bovines with clinical suspicion of BSE in Denmark 2001 to 2011

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Tim Kåre

    During2001 to 2011 a total of 195 bovines were submitted to the instutute with clinical suspicion of having BSE. In two cases BSE was confirmed. The most common differential diagnosis was listeriosis, found in 54% of the cases. Listeriosis was characterized by multifocal, necrotizing, non-suppura...

  5. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: is it time to relax BSE-related measures in the context of international trade?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, D; Adkin, A

    2011-04-01

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has presented serious challenges to both the World Organisation for Animal Health and national governments, in defining and implementing appropriate national control measures, and in agreeing trade rules that permit safe trade in cattle and bovine products. Precautionary trade rules were initially necessary, based upon the science of sheep scrapie, but research into BSE later enabled BSE-specific trade rules to be developed. As a result, current rules on trade are underpinned by a sound body of knowledge on BSE. Declining epidemics in most affected countries confirm the appropriateness of current precautions. Nevertheless, risk is primarily dependent on the prevalence of infection with BSE. In the face of low prevalence scenarios, certain precautionary measures in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code may now be considered excessive. A thorough review is therefore deemed appropriate.

  6. Rapid and discriminatory diagnosis of scrapie and BSE in retro-pharyngeal lymph nodes of sheep

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    van Zijderveld Fred G

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Diagnosis based on prion detection in lymph nodes of sheep and goats can improve active surveillance for scrapie and, if it were circulating, for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE. With sizes that allow repetitive testing and a location that is easily accessible at slaughter, retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN are considered suitable organs for testing. Western blotting (WB of brain homogenates is, in principle, a technique well suited to both detect and discriminate between scrapie and BSE. In this report, WB is developed for rapid diagnosis in RLN and to study biochemical characteristics of PrPres. Results Optimal PrPres detection in RLN by WB was achieved by proper tissue processing, antibody choice and inclusion of a step for PrPresconcentration. The analyses were performed on three different sheep sources. Firstly, in a study with preclinical scrapie cases, WB of RLN from infected sheep of VRQ/VRQ genotype – VRQ represents, respectively, polymorphic PrP amino acids 136, 154, and 171 – allowed a diagnosis 14 mo earlier compared to WB of brain stem. Secondly, samples collected from sheep with confirmed scrapie in the course of passive and active surveillance programmes in the period 2002–2003 yielded positive results depending on genotype: all sheep with genotypes ARH/VRQ, VRQ/VRQ, and ARQ/VRQ scored positive for PrPres, but ARQ/ARQ and ARR/VRQ were not all positive. Thirdly, in an experimental BSE study, detection of PrPres in all 11 ARQ/ARQ sheep, including 7 preclinical cases, was possible. In all instances, WB and IHC were almost as sensitive. Moreover, BSE infection could be discriminated from scrapie infection by faster electrophoretic migration of the PrPres bands. Using dual antibody staining with selected monoclonal antibodies like 12B2 and L42, these differences in migration could be employed for an unequivocal differentiation between BSE and scrapie. With respect to glycosylation of PrPres, BSE cases

  7. Does the Amazon suffer from BSE prevention?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elferink, E.V.; Nonhebel, S.; Schoot Uiterkamp, A.J.M.

    In the last decade, large-scale production of soybeans has been a major driver of the enhanced deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. We show that these soybeans are mainly exported to the EU to substitute for the BSE related banned meat and bone meal in livestock feed. This strongly suggests a link

  8. Experimental sheep BSE prions generate the vCJD phenotype when serially passaged in transgenic mice expressing human prion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joiner, Susan; Asante, Emmanuel A; Linehan, Jacqueline M; Brock, Lara; Brandner, Sebastian; Bellworthy, Susan J; Simmons, Marion M; Hope, James; Collinge, John; Wadsworth, Jonathan D F

    2018-03-15

    The epizootic prion disease of cattle, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), causes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans following dietary exposure. While it is assumed that all cases of vCJD attributed to a dietary aetiology are related to cattle BSE, sheep and goats are susceptible to experimental oral challenge with cattle BSE prions and farmed animals in the UK were undoubtedly exposed to BSE-contaminated meat and bone meal during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although no natural field cases of sheep BSE have been identified, it cannot be excluded that some BSE-infected sheep might have entered the European human food chain. Evaluation of the zoonotic potential of sheep BSE prions has been addressed by examining the transmission properties of experimental brain isolates in transgenic mice that express human prion protein, however to-date there have been relatively few studies. Here we report that serial passage of experimental sheep BSE prions in transgenic mice expressing human prion protein with methionine at residue 129 produces the vCJD phenotype that mirrors that seen when the same mice are challenged with vCJD prions from patient brain. These findings are congruent with those reported previously by another laboratory, and thereby strongly reinforce the view that sheep BSE prions could have acted as a causal agent of vCJD within Europe. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. A modeling approach to support safety assurance in the automotive domain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luo, Y.; Brand, van den M.G.J.; Engelen, L.J.P.; Klabbers, M.D.; Selvaraj, H.; Zydek, D.; Chmaj, G.

    2015-01-01

    As safety standards are widely used in safety-critical domains, such as ISO 26262 in the automotive domain, the use of safety cases to demonstrate product safety is stimulated. It is crucial to ensure that a safety case is both correct and clear. To support this, we proposed to make use of modeling

  10. CNS histopathology on 203 bovines with clinical suspicion of BSE in Denmark 2001 to 2016

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Tim Kåre

    2017-01-01

    During 2001 to 2016 a total of 203 bovines were submitted to the instutute with clinical suspicion of having BSE. In two cases BSE was confirmed. The most common differential diagnosis was listeriosis, found in 54% of the cases. Listeriosis was characterized by multifocal, necrotizing, non-suppur...

  11. Domain 2: Sport Safety and Injury Prevention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurchiek, Larry; Mokha, Monique Butcher

    2004-01-01

    Most coaches recognize the importance of creating a safe environment and preventing injuries of their athletes. Domain 2 is dedicated to this important aspect of coaching, and outlines specific areas within safety and injury prevention that coaches should address. Domain 2 sets the standards for facility, equipment, and environmental safety…

  12. Poly-γ-glutamic acid productivity of Bacillus subtilis BsE1 has positive function in motility and biocontrol against Fusarium graminearum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Luyao; Wang, Ning; Mi, Dandan; Luo, Yuming; Guo, Jianhua

    2017-07-01

    In this study, we investigate the relationship between γ-PGA productivity and biocontrol capacity of Bacillus subtilis BsE1; one bacterial isolate displayed 62.14% biocontrol efficacy against Fusarium root rot. The γ-PGA yield assay, motility assay, wheat root colonization assay, and biological control assay were analysed in different γ-PGA yield mutants of BsE1. The pgsB (PGA-synthase-CapB gene) deleted mutant of BsE1 reduced γ-PGA yield and exhibited apparent decline of in vitro motile ability. Deletion of pgsB impaired colonizing capacity of BsE1 on wheat root in 30 days, also lowered biocontrol efficacies from 62.08% (wild type BsE1) to 14.22% in greenhouse experiment against Fusarium root rot. The knockout of pgdS and ggt (genes relate to two γ-PGA degrading enzymes) on BsE1, leads to a considerable improvement in polymer yield and biocontrol efficacy, which attains higher level compared with wild type BsE1. Compared with ΔpgsB mutant, defense genes related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phytoalexin expressed changes by notable levels on wheat roots treated with BsE1, demonstrating the functional role γ-PGA plays in biocontrol against Fusarium root rot. γ-PGA is not only important to the motile and plant root colonization ability of BsE1, but also essential to the biological control performed by BsE1 against Fusarium root rot. Our goal in this study is to reveals a new perspective of BCAs screening on bacterial isolates, without good performance during pre-assays of antagonism ability.

  13. The BSE risk of processing meat and bone meal in nonruminant feed: a quantitative assessment for the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vos, Clazien J; Heres, Lourens

    2009-04-01

    The total ban on use of meat and bone meal (MBM) in livestock feed has been very successful in reducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) spread, but also implies a waste of high-quality proteins resulting in economic and ecological loss. Now that the BSE epidemic is fading out, a partial lifting of the MBM ban might be considered. The objective of this study was to assess the BSE risk for the Netherlands if MBM derived from animals fit for human consumption, i.e., category 3 MBM, would be used in nonruminant feed. A stochastic simulation model was constructed that calculates (1) the probability that infectivity of undetected BSE-infected cows ends up with calves and (2) the quantity of infectivity (Q(inf)) consumed by calves in case of such an incident. Three pathways were considered via which infectivity can reach cattle: (1) cross-contamination in the feed mill, (2) cross-contamination on the primary farm, and (3) pasture contamination. Model calculations indicate that the overall probability that infectivity ends up with calves is 3.2%. In most such incidents the Q(inf) is extremely small (median = 6.5 x 10(-12) ID(50); mean = 1.8 x 10(-4) ID(50)), corresponding to an average probability of 1.3 x 10(-4) that an incident results in >or=1 new BSE infections. Cross-contamination in the feed mill is the most risky pathway. Combining model results with Dutch BSE prevalence estimates for the coming years, it can be concluded that the BSE risk of using category 3 MBM derived from Dutch cattle in nonruminant feed is very low.

  14. Functional safety measurement in the automotive domain : adaptation of PSM

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luo, Y.; Stelma, J.; Brand, van den M.G.J.

    2015-01-01

    In the safety domain, safety standards are used as a development guideline to keep the risk at an acceptable level. Safety of the safety-critical systems can be assessed according to those safety standards. This assessment process is called safety assurance. Due to the manual work, the safety

  15. BSE in the UK

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karsten Klint

    2004-01-01

    assessment by the Southwood Working Party. This lack of transparency ensured that the working party's risk characterization and recommendations were ambiguous and thus hard to interpret. It also meant that uncertainties were not addressed in a satisfactory way. In the recommendations, the attitude...... to uncertainty was implicit rather than explicit. The risk communication based on the report amplified these flaws. Most importantly, it did not address the uncertainty at all. Apparently, the reason for this was fear of overreaction by the public. However, the result was counter-productive, because the risk....... There seemed to be little faith in the public's ability to reach a balanced judgment regarding the uncertainties. In the concluding section of the paper, this analysis is compared with the food standards agency's (FSA's) approach to BSE. The intervention of this agency was seen as one of the more important...

  16. ANALISIS SOAL JENJANG KOGNITIF TAKSONOMI BLOOM REVISI PADA BUKU SEKOLAH ELEKTRONIK (BSE BIOLOGI SMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aa Juhanda

    2016-11-01

    Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kemunculan soal jenjang kognitif Bloom Revisi pada Buku Sekolah Elektronik (BSE Biologi SMA. Subjek penelitian adalah 1.650 soal yang terdapat pada BSE Edisi 2009. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah lembar analisis dokumen yang di dalamnya memuat informasi seperti kode soal, soal, dan jenis tingkatan kognitif taksonomi Bloom Revisi. Analisis data dilakukan secara kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rerata persentase kemunculan cukup tinggi diperoleh pada soal yang mengembangkan keterampilan berpikir tingkat rendah (Lower-Order Thinking Skills yaitu soal C1 (mengingat sebesar 46,60% dan C2 (memahami sebesar 47,99%, meskipun untuk C3 (menerapkan persentasenya masih rendah (0,28%. Rerata persentase kemunculan soal yang mengembangkan keterampilan tingkat tinggi (Higher-Order Thinking Skills mulai dari soal C4 (menganalisis sampai dengan C6 (mencipta memiliki rerata persentase yang rendah. Oleh karena itu, kemunculan soal jenjang kognitif Bloom Revisi pada BSE khususnya yang mengembangkan Higher-Order Thinking Skills masih perlu untuk ditingkatkan.

  17. Improvement of goat TSE discriminative diagnosis and susceptibility based assessment of BSE infectivity in goat milk and meat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bossers, A.; Langeveld, J.P.M.

    2012-01-01

    In light of the known ability of the BSE agent to cross the animal/human species barrier, the evidence establishing the presence of BSE in goat is especially alarming, as it represents a potential risk of food-born contamination to human consumers of goat milk and meat products. The main objective

  18. The BSE Risk of Processing Meat and Bone Meal in Nonruminant Feed: A Quantitative Assessment for the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vos, de C.J.; Heres, L.

    2009-01-01

    The total ban on use of meat and bone meal (MBM) in livestock feed has been very successful in reducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) spread, but also implies a waste of high-quality proteins resulting in economic and ecological loss. Now that the BSE epidemic is fading out, a partial

  19. Multi-domain comparison of safety standards; Comparaison de normes de securite-innocuite de plusieurs domaines industriels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baufreton, Ph.; Derrien, J.C.; Ricque, B. [Sagem Defense Securite, 75 - Paris (France); Blanquart, J.P. [Astrium Satellites, France (France); Boulanger, J.L. [CERTIFER, 75 - Paris (France); Delseny, H. [Airbus, 31 - Toulouse (France); Gassino, J. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, 92 - Fontenay aux Roses (France); Ladier, G. [Airbus / Aerospace Valley, 31 - Toulouse (France); Ledinot, E. [Dassault Aviation, 92 - Saint Cloud (France); Leeman, M. [Valeo, 75 - Paris (France); Quere, Ph. [Renault, 75 - Paris (France)

    2011-07-01

    This paper presents an analysis of safety standards and their implementation in certification strategies from different domains such as aeronautics, automation, automotive, nuclear, railway and space. This work, performed in the context of the CG2E ('Club des Grandes Entreprises de l'Embarque'), aims at identifying the main similarities and dissimilarities, for potential cross-domain harmonization. We strive to find the most comprehensive 'trans-sectorial' approach, within a large number of industrial domains. Exhibiting the 'true goals' of their numerous applicable standards, related to the safety of system and software, is a first important step towards harmonization, sharing common approaches, methods and tools whenever possible. (authors)

  20. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, Mad Cow Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. K. Bruckner

    1997-07-01

    Full Text Available Mad Cow Disease or BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy became a household name internationally and also in South Africa. International hysteria resulted following reports of a possible link between a disease diagnosed in cattle in Britain and a variant of the disease diagnosed in humans after the presumed ingestion or contact with meat from infected cattle. The European Union instituted a ban on the importation of beef from the United Kingdom during March 1996 that had a severe effect on the beef industry in the UK and also resulted in a world wide consumer resistance against beef consumption.

  1. EFSA BIOHAZ Panel (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards), 2014. Scientific Opinion on BSE risk in bovine intestines and mesentery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hald, Tine; Baggesen, Dorte Lau

    infected cattle entering undetected in the food and feed chain yearly. A model named TSEi was developed to estimates the BSE infectious load in tissues from infected animals at different ages and the total yearly infectious load that could enter the food and feed chain in the EU27. In BSE infected cattle...

  2. Safety Domain Measurement for Vessels in an Overtaking Situation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua-Zhi Hsu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Marine traffic engineering has been pushed to the limits due to a rising demand in the shipping business. Merchant ships are growing dramatically, both in numbers and in size. To keep pace with current developments, automation seems to be one viable option when it comes to keeping ships running with fewer seafarers available. The aim of this paper is to monitor a modern day mariners’ performance while working in a tense situation. The objective is to define the size of the safety domain whilst overtaking a vessel. The approach was to assess the ship's domain area within a 3 nm wide traffic separation scheme by using a ship handling simulator. From the simulation results, an overtaking domain was determined as 1.36 nm long and 0.4 nm wide. Safety domains in real-life situations were experienced on a much smaller scale compared to the previous findings. The working load for this particular operation is expected to be stressful and highly skilled orientated.

  3. Safety Culture Assessment Tools in Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mkrtchyan, L.; Turcanu, C.

    2012-01-01

    Over the last decades, in many domains especially in high risk industries, the authorities paid increasing attention to safety management systems and, in particular, to safety culture. Consequently, in the applied and academic literature a huge amount of studies explored the main challenges, issues and obstacles related with safety culture. We undertake a survey of safety culture experiences in the main safety-critical industries such as nuclear, railways, offshore, aviation, airlines, health care, etc. We review both academic and applied literature up to the year 2011. Our results help to establish a comprehensive view on the subject, its main terminologies, existing tools, and main difficulties. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the current tools of safety culture assessment, both in the nuclear as well as in the non-nuclear domain. The report provides also practical recommendations about the possible use of each tool given different circumstances and different factors. We do not aim to rank the tools pointing the best one, but we highlight instead the unique features of these tools, pointing their strong and weak sides

  4. Safety Culture Assessment Tools in Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Domains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mkrtchyan, L; Turcanu, C

    2012-03-15

    Over the last decades, in many domains especially in high risk industries, the authorities paid increasing attention to safety management systems and, in particular, to safety culture. Consequently, in the applied and academic literature a huge amount of studies explored the main challenges, issues and obstacles related with safety culture. We undertake a survey of safety culture experiences in the main safety-critical industries such as nuclear, railways, offshore, aviation, airlines, health care, etc. We review both academic and applied literature up to the year 2011. Our results help to establish a comprehensive view on the subject, its main terminologies, existing tools, and main difficulties. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the current tools of safety culture assessment, both in the nuclear as well as in the non-nuclear domain. The report provides also practical recommendations about the possible use of each tool given different circumstances and different factors. We do not aim to rank the tools pointing the best one, but we highlight instead the unique features of these tools, pointing their strong and weak sides.

  5. Absence of Evidence for a Causal Link between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Strain Variant L-BSE and Known Forms of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in Human PrP Transgenic Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaumain, Emilie; Quadrio, Isabelle; Herzog, Laetitia; Reine, Fabienne; Rezaei, Human; Andréoletti, Olivier; Laude, Hubert; Perret-Liaudet, Armand; Haïk, Stéphane; Béringue, Vincent

    2016-12-01

    Prions are proteinaceous pathogens responsible for subacute spongiform encephalopathies in animals and humans. The prions responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are zoonotic agents, causing variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. The transfer of prions between species is limited by a species barrier, which is thought to reflect structural incompatibilities between the host cellular prion protein (PrP C ) and the infecting pathological PrP assemblies (PrP Sc ) constituting the prion. A BSE strain variant, designated L-BSE and responsible for atypical, supposedly spontaneous forms of prion diseases in aged cattle, demonstrates zoonotic potential, as evidenced by its capacity to propagate more easily than classical BSE in transgenic mice expressing human PrP C and in nonhuman primates. In humanized mice, L-BSE propagates without any apparent species barrier and shares similar biochemical PrP Sc signatures with the CJD subtype designated MM2-cortical, thus opening the possibility that certain CJD cases classified as sporadic may actually originate from L-type BSE cross-transmission. To address this issue, we compared the biological properties of L-BSE and those of a panel of CJD subtypes representative of the human prion strain diversity using standard strain-typing criteria in human PrP transgenic mice. We found no evidence that L-BSE causes a known form of sporadic CJD. Since the quasi-extinction of classical BSE, atypical BSE forms are the sole BSE variants circulating in cattle worldwide. They are observed in rare cases of old cattle, making them difficult to detect. Extrapolation of our results suggests that L-BSE may propagate in humans as an unrecognized form of CJD, and we urge both the continued utilization of precautionary measures to eliminate these agents from the human food chain and active surveillance for CJD phenotypes in the general population. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  6. A spatio-temporal analysis of BSE cases born before and after the reinforced feed ban in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ducrot, Christian; Abrial, David; Calavas, Didier; Carpenter, Tim

    2005-01-01

    A spatio-temporal analysis was carried out to see how the risk distribution of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in France changed depending on the period of birth. The data concerned the 539 BSE cases born in France after the ban (BAB) of meat and bone meal (MBM) in 1990 and detected between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2003, when the surveillance of BSE was comprehensive. Seventy-two of these cases were born after the reinforced (second) ban (BASB) in 1996, which involved the removal of BSE-risk materials and cadavers from the processing of MBM. The Ederer-Myers-Mantel (EMM) time and space cluster test was applied, after classifying the cases by trimester and region of birth, BAB or BASB status, and dairy or beef status. Then disease mapping was performed for four successive birth periods, three for the BAB cases (January 1991 through June 1994, July 1994 through June 1995, July 1995 through June 1996), and one for the BASB (July 1996 through October 1998). It was elaborated with the Bayesian graphical modelling methods and based on a Poisson distribution with spatial smoothing. The parameters were estimated by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation method. The main finding was that the areas with the highest risk of BSE changed largely from one birth period to another; from the west, it reached the east of France for birth cohort 1994-1995 and the southwest for birth cohort 1995-1996. The EMM test identified a peak risk in this region both for dairy and beef cattle in the fall 1995. The spatial distribution of the risk for the BASB cases matched the spatial pattern of risk for the preceding BAB birth cohort quite well; this was in favour of a common origin of the infection of the BAB and BASB cases, despite the complementary control measures.

  7. Simulation research to enhance patient safety and outcomes: recommendations of the Simnovate Patient Safety Domain Group

    OpenAIRE

    Pucher, PH; Tamblyn, R; Boorman, D; Dixon-Woods, Mary Margaret; Donaldson, L; Draycott, T; Forster, A; Nadkarni, V; Power, C; Sevdalis, N; Aggarwal, R

    2017-01-01

    The use of simulation-based training has established itself in healthcare but its implementation has been varied and mostly limited to technical and non-technical skills training. This article discusses the possibilities of the use of simulation as part of an overarching approach to improving patient safety, and represents the views of the Simnovate Patient Safety Domain Group, an international multidisciplinary expert group dedicated to the improvement of patient safety. The application and ...

  8. 9 CFR 93.436 - Ruminants from regions of minimal risk for BSE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... each animal's right hip, high on the tail-head (over the junction of the sacral and first cocygeal... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ruminants from regions of minimal risk for BSE. 93.436 Section 93.436 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE...

  9. Poultry, pig and the risk of BSE following the feed ban in France--a spatial analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrial, David; Calavas, Didier; Jarrige, Nathalie; Ducrot, Christian

    2005-01-01

    A spatial analysis was carried out in order to analyse the reason why the risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was spatially heterogeneous in France, during the period following the feed ban of Meat and Bone Meal to cattle. The hypothesis of cross-contamination between cattle feedstuff and monogastric feedstuff, which was strongly suggested from previous investigations, was assessed, with the assumption that the higher the pig or poultry density is in a given area, the higher the risk of cross-contamination and cattle infection might be. The data concerned the 467 BSE cases born in France after the ban of meat and bone meal (July 1990) and detected between July 1st, 2001 and December 31, 2003, when the surveillance system was optimal and not spatially biased. The disease mapping models were elaborated with the Bayesian graphical modelling methods and based on a Poisson distribution with spatial smoothing (hierarchical approach) and covariates. The parameters were estimated by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation method. The main result was that the poultry density did not significantly influence the risk of BSE whereas the pig density was significantly associated with an increase in the risk of 2.4% per 10 000 pigs. The areas with a significant pig effect were located in regions with a high pig density as well as a high ratio of pigs to cattle. Despite the absence of a global effect of poultry density on the BSE risk, some areas had a significant poultry effect and the risk was better explained in some others when considering both pig and poultry densities. These findings were in agreement with the hypothesis of cross-contamination, which could take place at the feedstuff factory, during the shipment of food or on the farm. Further studies are needed to more precisely explore how the cross-contamination happened.

  10. Trends in food safety standards and regulation implications for developing countries

    OpenAIRE

    Caswell, Julie A.

    2003-01-01

    "Food safety is affected by the decisions of producers, processors, distributors, food service operators, and consumers, as well as by government regulations. In developed countries, the demand for higher levels of food safety has led to the implementation of regulatory programs that address more types of safety-related attributes (such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), microbial pathogens, environmental contaminants, and animal drug and pesticide residues) and impose stricter standa...

  11. PCR-RFLP Using BseDI Enzyme for Pork Authentication in Sausage and Nugget Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Erwanto

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available A polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP using BseDI restriction enzyme had been applied for identifying the presence of pork in processed meat (beef sausage and chicken nugget including before and after frying. Pork sample in various levels (1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, and 25 % was prepared in a mixture with beef and chicken meats and processed for sausage and nugget. The primers CYTb1 and CYTb2 were designed in the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b gene and PCR successfully amplified fragments of 359 bp. To distinguish existence of porcine species, the amplified PCR products of mitochondrial DNA were cut by BseDI restriction enzyme. The result showed pig mitochondrial DNA was cut into 131 and 228 bp fragments. The PCR-RFLP species identification assay yielded excellent results for identification of porcine species. It is a potentially reliable technique for pork detection in animal food processed products for Halal authentication.

  12. Evidence for more cost-effective surveillance options for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie in Great Britain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Ben A; Arnold, Mark E; Radia, Devi; Gilbert, Will; Ortiz-Pelaez, Angel; Stärk, Katharina Dc; Van Klink, Ed; Guitian, Javier

    2017-08-10

    Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are an important public health concern. Since the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) during the 1980s and its link with human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, active surveillance has been a key element of the European Union's TSE control strategy. Success of this strategy means that now, very few cases are detected compared with the number of animals tested. Refining surveillance strategies would enable resources to be redirected towards other public health priorities. Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed on several alternative strategies involving reducing the number of animals tested for BSE and scrapie in Great Britain and, for scrapie, varying the ratio of sheep sampled in the abattoir to fallen stock (which died on the farm). The most cost-effective strategy modelled for BSE involved reducing the proportion of fallen stock tested from 100% to 75%, producing a cost saving of ca GBP 700,000 per annum. If 50% of fallen stock were tested, a saving of ca GBP 1.4 million per annum could be achieved. However, these reductions are predicted to increase the period before surveillance can detect an outbreak. For scrapie, reducing the proportion of abattoir samples was the most cost-effective strategy modelled, with limited impact on surveillance effectiveness. This article is copyright of The Authors, 2017.

  13. A test of safety, violence prevention, and civility climate domain-specific relationships with relevant workplace hazards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazica, Michele W; Spector, Paul E

    2016-01-01

    Safety climate, violence prevention climate, and civility climate were independently developed and linked to domain-specific workplace hazards, although all three were designed to promote the physical and psychological safety of workers. To test domain specificity between conceptually related workplace climates and relevant workplace hazards. Data were collected from 368 persons employed in various industries and descriptive statistics were calculated for all study variables. Correlational and relative weights analyses were used to test for domain specificity. The three climate domains were similarly predictive of most workplace hazards, regardless of domain specificity. This study suggests that the three climate domains share a common higher order construct that may predict relevant workplace hazards better than any of the scales alone.

  14. SOA and Web Technology for Building BSE Market Map

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudiu VINTE

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Visual representation as a map of the stock market data can offer access, in a quick and rele-vant manner for human participants, to the overall state of the market at a given point in time. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of our academic research upon building the market map for Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE. We will focus on the algorithm for generat-ing the market map, the system architecture, and web technology employed for capturing the required data and making the map publicly available through the portal www.bursa.ase.ro. Mathematics Subject Classification: 68M14 (Distributed Systems

  15. ESEM-BSE coupled with rapid nano-scratching for micro-physicochemical analysis of marine exposed concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Palin, D.; Thijssen, A.; Wiktor, V.; Jonkers, H.M.; Schlangen, H.E.J.G.

    2015-01-01

    Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortar specimens submerged in sea-water were analysed through environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) in back scattered electron (BSE) mode and nano-scratching. Results from both sets of analysis show the presence of distinct phases associated with aragonite,

  16. Factors related to the practice of breast self examination (BSE and Pap smear screening among Malaysian women workers in selected electronics factories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamsuddin K

    2003-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Malaysian Ministry of Health promotes breast self-examination (BSE for all women, and Pap smear screening every three years for all sexually active women ages 20 years and above. The objectives of this paper were to examine the practice of these two screening tests among women production workers in electronics factories, and to identify factors related to practice. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey of women production workers from ten electronics factories. Data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 1,720 women. The chi-square test, odds ratio and binomial logistic regression were used in bivariate and multivariate analysis. Results Prevalence rates were 24.4% for BSE once a month, and 18.4% for Pap smear examination within the last three years. Women who were significantly more likely to perform BSE every month were 30 years and older, Malays, with upper secondary education and above, answered the BSE question correctly, and had a Pap smear within the last three years. The proportion of women who had a Pap smear within the last three years were significantly higher among those who were older, married, with young children, on the contraceptive pill or intra-uterine device, had a medical examination within the last five years, answered the Pap smear question correctly, and performed BSE monthly. Conclusion Screening practice rates in this study were low when compared to national rates. Socio-demographic and health care factors significantly associated with screening practice are indicative of barriers which should be further understood so that more effective educational and promotional strategies could be developed.

  17. Development of Neutron Interferometer with Wide-Gapped ''BSE''s for Precision Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seki, Y.; Kitaguchi, M.; Hino, M.; Funahashi, H.; Taketani, K.; Otake, Y.; Shimizu, H. M.

    2007-01-01

    We are developing large-dimensional cold-neutron interferometers with multilayer mirrors in order to investigate small interactions. In particular Jamin type interferometers composed of wide-gapped 'BSE's, which divide the beam completely, can realize the precision measurement of topological Aharonov-Casher effect. We have made a prototype with 200 μm gapped BSEs and confirmed the spatial separation of its two paths at monochromatic cold-neutron beamline MINE2 on JRR-3M reactor in JAEA

  18. Health communication and consumer behavior on meat in Belgium: from BSE until dioxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeke, W; Viaene, J; Guiot, O

    1999-01-01

    This article focuses on the impact of mass media meat-health information on consumer perception, attitude, and behavior toward fresh meat in Belgium. In a situation similar to that which occurred in most other European countries, Belgian fresh meat consumption fell considerably during 1995-1999. A multitude of messages linking meat consumption to human health risks were reported by mass media. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) since 1996 and dioxin in 1999 constituted the major issues. Empirical research, conducted in April 1998, revealed the tremendous negative impact of mass media coverage of meat-health issues on consumer risk perception, health concern, and attitude and behavior toward fresh meat. Oppositely, personal communication through butchers had only a small effect on consumer decision-making in this era dominated by alarming meat-health press. Implications are threefold. First, mass media should be aware of its social responsibilities, which include spreading reliable and correct information to the society. This is especially the case as human health risks are involved. Second, the meat industry urgently needs to reorient itself toward quality, safety, and transparency. Finally, future communication dealing with similar crises situations requires cooperation across the meat chain, government, and those who are responsible for public health promotion and communication.

  19. [Animal feeding and feed legislation after the detection of the first indigenous BSE cases in Germany].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamphues, J

    2002-08-01

    In Great Britain, even the earliest tangible signs indicating the epidemiologic significance of meat and bone meal in the spreading of BSE soon gave rise to increasingly rigorous legislative measures regulating animal feedstuffs. In 1994 a ban on the feeding of animal proteins to ruminants was implemented throughout the entire EU. But until the first BSE cases were actually confirmed in locally raised cattle (November 2000), feeding practice and legislation more or less in Germany remained unaffected by the efforts undertaken in Great Britain. This situation was suddenly changed on 1 December, 2000, when the so-called "Verfütterungsverbot" was put into effect, a law which drastically extended bans regarding the feedstuffs (including fishmeal and animal fats) as well as the species concerned (all animals used in food production). In 2001 the "contamination" phenomenon (ingredients of animal origin were detected in mixed feeds) became a vital issue for the feed industry; through the media, the subject "feedstuff safety" gained a previously unseen level of public awareness. Those circles concerned with mixed feed production and animal husbandry were increasingly confronted with the consequences of the "Verfütterungsverbot" (availability and pricing of substitute ingredients; the demand for amino acids and inorganic sources of phosphorus; problems finding adequate substitutes for animal fats; poor digestibility of alternative components such as indigenous legumes or vegetable fats in calf diets; lower utilization rate of original phosphorus in mixed feeds with negative consequences for skeletal development). With the conditional approval of fishmeal (except in feeds for ruminants) the situation has eased again to a certain degree; on the EU level there are increasing signals pointing toward a political intention to reinstate the utilization of by-products of slaughtered animals qualified for human consumption (with the exception of fallen/dead animals and specific

  20. Thought for food (safety) in the EU: a discourse-analytical approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paul, K.T.

    2008-01-01

    This paper seeks to explain the development of a transnational food safety policy approach in the context of the European Union (EU). The diverse reactions to the series of food scares over the past decade, such as the discovery of the link between BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) and the

  1. Food for thought: change and continuity in German food safety policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paul, K.T.

    2007-01-01

    This paper examines German food safety policy from a discourse‐theoretically informed perspective. It draws on qualitative research, including textual analysis and in‐depth interviews. Its aim is to understand why the occurrence of ‘mad‐cow‐disease’ (BSE) in Germany in the year 2000 led to what some

  2. Bankruptcy Risk in IFRS Era. Case Study on BSE Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentin BURCA

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The path of international accounting convergence is, unanimously accepted by all decision makers of the international financial reporting environment, as being the best solution towards reducing differences in international accounting. The idea of core standards is embraced by our country, too, the proof being the last legislative changes in Romanian accounting framework. This study aims to highlight a small part of the economic consequences of the decision to extend the mandatory use of IFRS standards to the statutory financial statements, also. More exactly we will underline the changes registered at the level of bankruptcy risk measureson a samples of companies listed on BSE.

  3. Electronic structures and optical properties of wurtzite type LiBSe2 (B=Al, Ga, In): A first-principles study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Longhua; Li Junqian; Wu Liming

    2008-01-01

    The electronic structures of three wurtzite type isostructural compounds LiBSe 2 (B=Al, Ga, In) are studied by the density functional theory (DFT). The results reveal that the presence of Li cations has direct influence on neither the band gaps (Eg) nor the bonding levels, but plays an important role in the stabilization of the structures. The band structures and densities of states (DOS) are analyzed in detail, and the band gaps of LiBSe 2 adhere to the following trend Eg (LiAlSe2) >Eg (LiGaSe2) >Eg (LiInSe2) , which is in agreement with the decrease of the bond energy of the corresponding Se 4p-B s antibonding orbitals. The role of the active s electrons of B element on the band gaps is also discussed. Finally, the optical properties are predicted, and the results would be a guide to understand the experiments. - Graphical abstract: The electronic structures and optical properties of wurtzite type LiBSe 2 (B=Al, Ga, In) have been studied by the DFT calculations. And the correlation of the electronegative of B element and the band gap decrease-trend are discussed. The comparison between different calculation methods and the experimental results is presented

  4. Control methods for cattle feedstuffs aimed at prevention of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nešić Ksenija

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In the course of the last decades of the twentieth century, more than 30 new diseases were determined for the first time in history. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease" is one of them. The disease implies the subacute neurodegenerative transmission of spongiform encephalopathy and it was diagnosed and described for the first time in Great Britain in 1986. A theory has been established that BSE is spread through feedstuffs, more precisely, meat-bone flour which contains infective proteins of ruminants, and legislature has been passed throughout the world with the objective of preventing the entry of meat-bone flour into the food chain. The complete ban of the use of meat-bone flour for all farm animals (with the exception of fish flour for non-ruminants and an adequate thermal treatment in the production of meat-bone flour (133ºC, 3 bar, 20 min are the elements on which the European Union (EU legislature is based. The regulations in our country include a ban on the use of meat-bone flour in cattle feedstuffs and a ban on imports of beef proteins. The implementation of this legislature throughout the world requires the corresponding analytical means. At the present time, there are several available possibilities: optic microscopy, PCR, immunoprobes, spectroscopic methods, and several others which are still being examined for use for this purpose. All the analytical methods are being applied with the objective of controlling the implementation of the current regulations, but also in order to discover possible cross contamination that could take place in factories of animal feedstuffs, during transportation, storage, or on farms, in particular when there are no separate lines for feedstuffs that contains meat-bone flour and others in which even its traces are banned. In order to secure the successful control and prevention of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in our country, as well as to secure the unhindered continuation of

  5. How do US and Canadian consumers value credence attributes associated with beef labels after the North American BSE crisis of 2003?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steiner, Bodo; Yang, Jun

    2010-01-01

    A consumer survey conducted in 2006 (n = 419), and therefore after the first confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases in North America in 2003, employs attribute-based choice experiments for a cross-country comparison of consumers' valuation of credence attributes associated with be....... Effective supply-chain responses to consumers' valuation of credence attributes, for example, in the form of labelling, should therefore take consumers' heterogeneity into account.......A consumer survey conducted in 2006 (n = 419), and therefore after the first confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cases in North America in 2003, employs attribute-based choice experiments for a cross-country comparison of consumers' valuation of credence attributes associated with beef...

  6. THE EVALUATION OF BSE BAHASA INGGRIS FOR GRADE VII: WHEN ENGLISH RINGS A BELL

    OpenAIRE

    Doddy Dwi Wahyuwono; I Gusti Ngurah Aditya Liem Aria; Tandya Anggergian

    2017-01-01

    Coursebooks are core parts of any curriculum as the unique contributors to content learning (Demir & Ertas, 2014). Currently, in Indonesian curriculum, K13, the government develops coursebooks that can be used by students nationally. The developed coursebooks, Buku Sekolah Elektronik (BSE), vary for different level of education, starting from elementary schools up to senior and vocational high schools. In developing the coursebooks, the government needs to implement the coursebooks to the rea...

  7. Understanding the pattern of the BSE Sensex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, I.; Chatterjee, Soumya; Giri, A.; Barat, P.

    2017-09-01

    An attempt is made to understand the pattern of behaviour of the BSE Sensex by analysing the tick-by-tick Sensex data for the years 2006 to 2012 on yearly as well as cumulative basis using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and its nonlinear variant Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA). The latter technique ensures that the nonlinear character of the interactions present in the system gets captured in the analysis. The analysis is carried out by constructing vector spaces of varying dimensions. The size of the data set ranges from a minimum of 360,000 for one year to a maximum of 2,520,000 for seven years. In all cases the prices appear to be highly correlated and restricted to a very low dimensional subspace of the original vector space. An external perturbation is added to the system in the form of noise. It is observed that while standard PCA is unable to distinguish the behaviour of the noise-mixed data from that of the original, KPCA clearly identifies the effect of the noise. The exercise is extended in case of daily data of other stock markets and similar results are obtained.

  8. Correlation between the Insertion/Deletion Mutations of Prion Protein Gene and BSE Susceptibility and Milk Performance in Dairy Cows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hu Shen-rong

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective To investigate the 23 bp and 12 bp insertion/deletion (indel mutations within the bovine prion protein (PRNP gene in Chinese dairy cows, and to detect the associations of two indel mutations with BSE susceptibility and milk performance.

  9. DOMAINS OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, WHICH NEED THE SAFETY IMPROVEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dana Procházková

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the railway accidents sources in the Czech Republic on the basis of knowledge on complex system behaviour. It derives seven categories of sources of railway accidents. The individual categories include the accident sources from the same field domain. These domains are: technical related to rail traffic vehicles; technical related to rail infrastructure and railway station; railway operation control – organizational causes; railway operation control – cyber causes; control of rail traffic vehicles; attack on the train; domain legislative and other. The results show that for railway traffic safety improvement, it is necessary to pay attention to all categories, and especially to these that lead to organizational accidents origination.

  10. Positioning Continuing Education: Boundaries and Intersections between the Domains Continuing Education, Knowledge Translation, Patient Safety and Quality Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitto, Simon; Bell, Mary; Peller, Jennifer; Sargeant, Joan; Etchells, Edward; Reeves, Scott; Silver, Ivan

    2013-01-01

    Public and professional concern about health care quality, safety and efficiency is growing. Continuing education, knowledge translation, patient safety and quality improvement have made concerted efforts to address these issues. However, a coordinated and integrated effort across these domains is lacking. This article explores and discusses the…

  11. Assessment of the PrPc Amino-Terminal Domain in Prion Species Barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davenport, Kristen A; Henderson, Davin M; Mathiason, Candace K; Hoover, Edward A

    2016-12-01

    Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle are prion diseases that are caused by the same protein-misfolding mechanism, but they appear to pose different risks to humans. We are interested in understanding the differences between the species barriers of CWD and BSE. We used real-time, quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to model the central molecular event in prion disease, the templated misfolding of the normal prion protein, PrP c , to a pathogenic, amyloid isoform, scrapie prion protein, PrP Sc We examined the role of the PrP c amino-terminal domain (N-terminal domain [NTD], amino acids [aa] 23 to 90) in cross-species conversion by comparing the conversion efficiency of various prion seeds in either full-length (aa 23 to 231) or truncated (aa 90 to 231) PrP c We demonstrate that the presence of white-tailed deer and bovine NTDs hindered seeded conversion of PrP c , but human and bank vole NTDs did the opposite. Additionally, full-length human and bank vole PrP c s were more likely to be converted to amyloid by CWD prions than were their truncated forms. A chimera with replacement of the human NTD by the bovine NTD resembled human PrP c The requirement for an NTD, but not for the specific human sequence, suggests that the NTD interacts with other regions of the human PrP c to increase promiscuity. These data contribute to the evidence that, in addition to primary sequence, prion species barriers are controlled by interactions of the substrate NTD with the rest of the substrate PrP c molecule. We demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of the normal prion protein, PrP c , hinders seeded conversion of bovine and white-tailed deer PrP c s to the prion forms, but it facilitates conversion of the human and bank vole PrP c s to the prion forms. Additionally, we demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of human and bank vole PrP c s requires interaction with the rest of the molecule to facilitate conversion by CWD

  12. Fundamental principles of earthquake resistance calculation to be reflected in the next generation regulations

    OpenAIRE

    Mkrtychev Oleg; Dzhinchvelashvili Guram

    2016-01-01

    The article scrutinizes the pressing issues of regulation in the domain of seismic construction. The existing code of rules SNIP II-7-81* “Construction in seismic areas” provides that earthquake resistance calculation be performed on two levels of impact: basic safety earthquake (BSE) and maximum considered earthquake (MCE). However, the very nature of such calculation cannot be deemed well-founded and contradicts the fundamental standards of foreign countries. The authors of the article have...

  13. Consumer Food Safety Risk Attitudes and Perceptions Over Time: The Case of BSE Crisis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kalogeras, N.; Pennings, J.M.E.; Ittersum, van K.

    2009-01-01

    Recent research has shown that by decoupling the risk response behaviour of consumers into the separate components of risk perception and risk attitude, a more robust conceptualization and prediction of consumers’ reactions to food safety issues is possible. Furthermore, it has been argued that the

  14. Evaluation of the effectiveness of selected measures against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Switzerland by use of the basic reproduction ratio R0

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwermer, H.; Brülisauer, F.; Koeijer, de A.A.; Heim, D.

    2007-01-01

    The effectiveness of two measures against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), the compulsory processing of animal by products to meat and bone mea (MBM) at 133 °C under 3 bars of pressure for 20 minutes in February 1993 and the exclusion offallen stock, heads with eyes and spinal cord of cattle

  15. The Trade-Off between Phosphorus Recycling and Health Protection during the BSE Crisis in Switzerland. A “Disposal Dilemma”

    OpenAIRE

    Lamprecht, Heinz; Lang, Daniel J.; Binder, Claudia R.; Scholz, Roland W.

    2011-01-01

    Phosphorus (P) is an essential, finite resource whose geological, economic, and geopolitical accessibility may become critical in the future. Because P losses from agriculture, sewage and waste have serious environmental impacts such as eutrophication, it would be desirable to close P cycles. However, there may arise dilemmas due to trade-offs with other issues. For instance, recycling of animal bones – containing relatively high amounts of P – was prohibited in Switzerland after the BSE cris...

  16. Risk, science and policy: definitional struggles, information management, the media and BSE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, D

    1999-11-01

    This article examines the role of definitional struggles in the science policy interface using the example of the cattle disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in the UK. A central contention is that an explicit focus on definition illuminates the processes by which scientific judgements are made, promoted, communicated, assessed and judged and gives an improved picture of policy making. Neglected areas such as the role of secrecy, public relations and the mass media in the science-policy interface are brought into sharper focus as an intrinsic part of the wider operation of definitional struggles. The focus on definitional struggles also sheds light on some current work on risk in social theory. It is argued that the neglect of questions of agency which are central to definitional struggles has led to some theorists presenting risks as inevitable concomitants of technological and cultural developments leaving them in the grip of political quietism.

  17. Consumer Food Safety Risk Attitudes and Perceptions Over Time: The Case of BSE Crisis

    OpenAIRE

    Kalogeras, Nikos; Pennings, Joost M.E.; van Ittersum, Koert

    2008-01-01

    Recent research has shown that by decoupling the risk response behaviour of consumers into the separate components of risk perception and risk attitude, a more robust conceptualization and prediction of consumers’ reactions to food safety issues is possible. Furthermore, it has been argued that the influence of risk attitudes and risk perceptions on consumer risk behaviour for contaminated food products can be used to formulate effective agricultural policies and strategies in case of a food ...

  18. Application of the Integrated Safety Assessment methodology to safety margins. Dynamic Event Trees, Damage Domains and Risk Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibánez, L.; Hortal, J.; Queral, C.; Gómez-Magán, J.; Sánchez-Perea, M.; Fernández, I.; Meléndez, E.; Expósito, A.; Izquierdo, J.M.; Gil, J.; Marrao, H.; Villalba-Jabonero, E.

    2016-01-01

    The Integrated Safety Assessment (ISA) methodology, developed by the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, has been applied to an analysis of Zion NPP for sequences with Loss of the Component Cooling Water System (CCWS). The ISA methodology proposal starts from the unfolding of the Dynamic Event Tree (DET). Results from this first step allow assessing the sequence delineation of standard Probabilistic Safety Analysis results. For some sequences of interest of the outlined DET, ISA then identifies the Damage Domain (DD). This is the region of uncertain times and/or parameters where a safety limit is exceeded, which indicates the occurrence of certain damage situation. This paper illustrates application of this concept obtained simulating sequences with MAAP and with TRACE. From information of simulation results of sequence transients belonging to the DD and the time-density probability distributions of the manual actions and of occurrence of stochastic phenomena, ISA integrates the dynamic reliability equations proposed to obtain the sequence contribution to the global Damage Exceedance Frequency (DEF). Reported results show a slight increase in the DEF for sequences investigated following a power uprate from 100% to 110%. This demonstrates the potential use of the method to help in the assessment of design modifications. - Highlights: • This paper illustrates an application of the ISA methodology to safety margins. • Dynamic Event Trees are useful tool for verifying the standard PSA Event Trees. • The ISA methodology takes into account the uncertainties in human action times. • The ISA methodology shows the Damage Exceedance Frequency increase in power uprates.

  19. Model checking of safety-critical software in the nuclear engineering domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahtinen, J.; Valkonen, J.; Björkman, K.; Frits, J.; Niemelä, I.; Heljanko, K.

    2012-01-01

    Instrumentation and control (I and C) systems play a vital role in the operation of safety-critical processes. Digital programmable logic controllers (PLC) enable sophisticated control tasks which sets high requirements for system validation and verification methods. Testing and simulation have an important role in the overall verification of a system but are not suitable for comprehensive evaluation because only a limited number of system behaviors can be analyzed due to time limitations. Testing is also performed too late in the development lifecycle and thus the correction of design errors is expensive. This paper discusses the role of formal methods in software development in the area of nuclear engineering. It puts forward model checking, a computer-aided formal method for verifying the correctness of a system design model, as a promising approach to system verification. The main contribution of the paper is the development of systematic methodology for modeling safety critical systems in the nuclear domain. Two case studies are reviewed, in which we have found errors that were previously not detected. We also discuss the actions that should be taken in order to increase confidence in the model checking process.

  20. The association between EMS workplace safety culture and safety outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weaver, Matthew D; Wang, Henry E; Fairbanks, Rollin J; Patterson, Daniel

    2012-01-01

    Prior studies have highlighted wide variation in emergency medical services (EMS) workplace safety culture across agencies. To determine the association between EMS workplace safety culture scores and patient or provider safety outcomes. We administered a cross-sectional survey to EMS workers affiliated with a convenience sample of agencies. We recruited these agencies from a national EMS management organization. We used the EMS Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (EMS-SAQ) to measure workplace safety culture and the EMS Safety Inventory (EMS-SI), a tool developed to capture self-reported safety outcomes from EMS workers. The EMS-SAQ provides reliable and valid measures of six domains: safety climate, teamwork climate, perceptions of management, working conditions, stress recognition, and job satisfaction. A panel of medical directors, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and occupational epidemiologists developed the EMS-SI to measure self-reported injury, medical errors and adverse events, and safety-compromising behaviors. We used hierarchical linear models to evaluate the association between EMS-SAQ scores and EMS-SI safety outcome measures. Sixteen percent of all respondents reported experiencing an injury in the past three months, four of every 10 respondents reported an error or adverse event (AE), and 89% reported safety-compromising behaviors. Respondents reporting injury scored lower on five of the six domains of safety culture. Respondents reporting an error or AE scored lower for four of the six domains, while respondents reporting safety-compromising behavior had lower safety culture scores for five of the six domains. Individual EMS worker perceptions of workplace safety culture are associated with composite measures of patient and provider safety outcomes. This study is preliminary evidence of the association between safety culture and patient or provider safety outcomes.

  1. Design of safety-critical systems using the complementarities of success and failure domains with a case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, Rizwan; Koo, June Mo; Jeong, Yong Hoon; Heo, Gyunyoung

    2011-01-01

    A safety-critical system has to qualify the performance-related requirements and the safety-related requirements simultaneously. Conceptually, design processes should consider both of them simultaneously but the practices do not and/or cannot follow such a theoretical approach due to the limitation of design resources. From our experience, we found that safety-related functions must be simultaneously resolved with the development of performance-related functions, particularly, in case of safety-critical systems. Since, success and failure domain analyses are essential for the investigation of performance-related and safety-related requirements, respectively, we articulated our perception to Axiomatic Design (AD), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and TRIZ. A design evolution procedure considering feedbacks from AD to identify functional couplings, TRIZ methodology to explore uncoupling solutions and FTA to improve reliability in a systematic way is presented here. A case study regarding design of safety injection tank installed in a nuclear power plant is also included to illustrate the proposed framework. It is expected that several iterations between AD-TRIZ-FTA would result into an optimized design which could be tested against the desired performance and safety criteria.

  2. Design of safety-critical systems using the complementarities of success and failure domains with a case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmed, Rizwan; Koo, June Mo [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Yong Hoon [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Heo, Gyunyoung, E-mail: gheo@khu.ac.k [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-01-15

    A safety-critical system has to qualify the performance-related requirements and the safety-related requirements simultaneously. Conceptually, design processes should consider both of them simultaneously but the practices do not and/or cannot follow such a theoretical approach due to the limitation of design resources. From our experience, we found that safety-related functions must be simultaneously resolved with the development of performance-related functions, particularly, in case of safety-critical systems. Since, success and failure domain analyses are essential for the investigation of performance-related and safety-related requirements, respectively, we articulated our perception to Axiomatic Design (AD), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and TRIZ. A design evolution procedure considering feedbacks from AD to identify functional couplings, TRIZ methodology to explore uncoupling solutions and FTA to improve reliability in a systematic way is presented here. A case study regarding design of safety injection tank installed in a nuclear power plant is also included to illustrate the proposed framework. It is expected that several iterations between AD-TRIZ-FTA would result into an optimized design which could be tested against the desired performance and safety criteria.

  3. Traceability technique of isotopic application in food safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Boli; Wei Yimin; Pan Jiarong

    2006-01-01

    Epidemics such as BSE, mouth and foot disease, avian influenza have brought new pressure to food safety management, constituted a extreme threat to people health, and caused serious economic loss and social scare to countries with outbreaks of above diseases. Isotopic tracing technology is an effect tool for tracing food origin and implementing the preservation of production premise in the world at present, and it is promising in the field of food safety traceability, so some developed countries have put a lot of effort on establishment of isotopic technology for food traceability. In this paper, the basic principles of isotopic tracing technology and the recent research advancement were be expounded, and the differentiate and connection was be compared between isotopic tracing technology and others. Furthermore, the suggestion about study of isotopic tracing technology in China was put forward. The aim of the paper is to promote the establishment and improvement of food traceability system, and ensure the consumer health. (authors)

  4. A systematic approach for safety evidence collection in the safety-critical domain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lin, H.; Wu, Ji; Yuan, C.; Luo, Y.; Brand, van den M.G.J.; Engelen, L.J.P.

    2015-01-01

    In order to show that the required safety objectives are met, it is necessary to collect safety evidence in the form of consistent and complete data. However, manual safety evidence collection is usually tedious and time-consuming, due to a large number of artifacts and implicit relations between

  5. Congruency within rural social networks as an indicator of interpersonal influence on risk judgments: the great stir caused by BSE in a village in northern Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmkuhl, Markus J

    2008-10-01

    In the following survey, congruency within a sample of 150 rural social networks ascertained by comparing independently gathered data is used as an indicator of interpersonal influence concerning BSE-related current knowledge and consumption habits. Our findings suggest that friends, relatives and acquaintances mutually orientated each other about what was worth knowing about BSE. Concerning the behavioral dimension of risk judgments, our findings indicate that social networks obtained within the village explored have activated collective resistance against fear. This is explained by the character of the risk source. Positive attitudes towards conventional farming obviously contributed to the social identity of villagers. The devaluation of conventional farming as a source of societal threat by the mass media touched on an integral part of the self-definitions of villagers and activated resistance within their social networks. It is argued that a central point in explaining the role of interpersonal influence in risk judgments is not only the dimension of risk judgments but the character of the risk source. If attitudes concerning a risk source contribute positively to one's identity, the devaluation of the risk source by mass media coverage may enhance the probability of collective resistance against fear.

  6. Dynamic Safety Cases for Through-Life Safety Assurance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh; Habli, Ibrahim

    2015-01-01

    We describe dynamic safety cases, a novel operationalization of the concept of through-life safety assurance, whose goal is to enable proactive safety management. Using an example from the aviation systems domain, we motivate our approach, its underlying principles, and a lifecycle. We then identify the key elements required to move towards a formalization of the associated framework.

  7. Quantitative analysis of wet-heat inactivation in bovine spongiform encephalopathy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuura, Yuichi; Ishikawa, Yukiko; Bo, Xiao; Murayama, Yuichi; Yokoyama, Takashi; Somerville, Robert A.; Kitamoto, Tetsuyuki; Mohri, Shirou

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► We quantitatively analyzed wet-heat inactivation of the BSE agent. ► Infectivity of the BSE macerate did not survive 155 °C wet-heat treatment. ► Once the sample was dehydrated, infectivity was observed even at 170 °C. ► A quantitative PMCA assay was used to evaluate the degree of BSE inactivation. - Abstract: The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent is resistant to conventional microbial inactivation procedures and thus threatens the safety of cattle products and by-products. To obtain information necessary to assess BSE inactivation, we performed quantitative analysis of wet-heat inactivation of infectivity in BSE-infected cattle spinal cords. Using a highly sensitive bioassay, we found that infectivity in BSE cattle macerates fell with increase in temperatures from 133 °C to 150 °C and was not detected in the samples subjected to temperatures above 155 °C. In dry cattle tissues, infectivity was detected even at 170 °C. Thus, BSE infectivity reduces with increase in wet-heat temperatures but is less affected when tissues are dehydrated prior to the wet-heat treatment. The results of the quantitative protein misfolding cyclic amplification assay also demonstrated that the level of the protease-resistant prion protein fell below the bioassay detection limit by wet-heat at 155 °C and higher and could help assess BSE inactivation. Our results show that BSE infectivity is strongly resistant to wet-heat inactivation and that it is necessary to pay attention to BSE decontamination in recycled cattle by-products

  8. Quantitative analysis of wet-heat inactivation in bovine spongiform encephalopathy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsuura, Yuichi; Ishikawa, Yukiko; Bo, Xiao; Murayama, Yuichi; Yokoyama, Takashi [Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856 (Japan); Somerville, Robert A. [The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9PS (United Kingdom); Kitamoto, Tetsuyuki [Division of CJD Science and Technology, Department of Prion Research, Center for Translational and Advanced Animal Research on Human Diseases, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba, Sendai 980-8575 (Japan); Mohri, Shirou, E-mail: shirou@affrc.go.jp [Prion Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0856 (Japan)

    2013-03-01

    Highlights: ► We quantitatively analyzed wet-heat inactivation of the BSE agent. ► Infectivity of the BSE macerate did not survive 155 °C wet-heat treatment. ► Once the sample was dehydrated, infectivity was observed even at 170 °C. ► A quantitative PMCA assay was used to evaluate the degree of BSE inactivation. - Abstract: The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent is resistant to conventional microbial inactivation procedures and thus threatens the safety of cattle products and by-products. To obtain information necessary to assess BSE inactivation, we performed quantitative analysis of wet-heat inactivation of infectivity in BSE-infected cattle spinal cords. Using a highly sensitive bioassay, we found that infectivity in BSE cattle macerates fell with increase in temperatures from 133 °C to 150 °C and was not detected in the samples subjected to temperatures above 155 °C. In dry cattle tissues, infectivity was detected even at 170 °C. Thus, BSE infectivity reduces with increase in wet-heat temperatures but is less affected when tissues are dehydrated prior to the wet-heat treatment. The results of the quantitative protein misfolding cyclic amplification assay also demonstrated that the level of the protease-resistant prion protein fell below the bioassay detection limit by wet-heat at 155 °C and higher and could help assess BSE inactivation. Our results show that BSE infectivity is strongly resistant to wet-heat inactivation and that it is necessary to pay attention to BSE decontamination in recycled cattle by-products.

  9. Metrics design for safety assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luo, Yaping; van den Brand, M.G.J.

    2016-01-01

    Context:In the safety domain, safety assessment is used to show that safety-critical systems meet the required safety objectives. This process is also referred to as safety assurance and certification. During this procedure, safety standards are used as development guidelines to keep the risk at an

  10. Measuring and benchmarking safety culture: application of the safety attitudes questionnaire to an acute medical admissions unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Relihan, E; Glynn, S; Daly, D; Silke, B; Ryder, S

    2009-12-01

    To assess the safety culture in an acute medical admissions unit (AMAU) of a teaching hospital in order to benchmark results against international data and guide a unit-based, integrated, risk management strategy. The safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ), a validated instrument for the measurement of safety culture was applied to an AMAU. All AMAU healthcare staff (n = 92) were surveyed: doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants (HCAs) and allied healthcare professionals (AHPs). Safety attitude scores for the overall unit and individual caregiver types were assessed across six domains of safety culture. When compared against an international benchmark, the AMAU scored significantly higher for four of the six safety domains: p < 0.01 for 'teamwork climate', 'safety climate' and 'stress recognition' and p < 0.05 for 'job satisfaction'. The difference between nurse manager scores and the overall mean for the study group was statistically significant for the domains of 'teamwork climate' (p < 0.05) and 'safety climate' (p < 0.01). HCAs scored significantly lower relative to staff overall with regard to 'working conditions' (p < 0.05) and 'perceptions of management' (p < 0.01). The SAQ was successfully applied to an AMAU setting giving a valuable insight into staff issues of concern across the safety spectrum: employee and environmental safety, clinical risk management and medication safety.

  11. Energy engineering. Standardization in the domain of coldness production; Genie energetique. Normalisation dans le domaine du froid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Legent, N. [Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR), 92 - Paris-la-Defense (France)

    2000-10-01

    This paper deals with the recent advances in the domain of standardization and regulation of refrigeration and cold production systems used in the industry and in the commercial sector: 1 - international standardization; 2 - European standardization; 3 - international standardization in the domain of cold production (ISO/TC 86 'coldness and air conditioning', CEI 61C 'domestic refrigerating appliances', CEI 61D 'air-conditioning appliances for domestic and similar use', ISO/TC 104 'goods transportation containers'); 4 - European standardization in the domain of cold production (CEN/TC 182 'refrigerating systems - safety and environment requirements', CEN/TC 44 'household refrigerating appliances and refrigerating furniture for stores', CEN/TC 113 'heat pumps and air-conditioners', CEN/TC 141 'manometers and thermometers, measuring and recording means', CENELEC 61 'safety of domestic electrical appliances'); 5 - French standardization (international file, European file, French file, French standardization system); 6 - national standardization in other countries; 7 - regulations in the domain of cold production. (J.S.)

  12. Power learning or path dependency? Investigating the roots of the European Food Safety Authority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roederer-Rynning, Christilla; Daugbjerg, Carsten

    2010-01-01

    A key motive for establishing the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was restoring public confidence in the wake of multiplying food scares and the BSE crisis. Scholars, however, have paid little attention to the actual political and institutional logics that shaped this new organization. This article explores the dynamics underpinning the making of EFSA. We examine the way in which learning and power shaped its organizational architecture. It is demonstrated that the lessons drawn from the past and other models converged on the need to delegate authority to an external agency, but diverged on its mandate, concretely whether or not EFSA should assume risk management responsibilities. In this situation of competitive learning, power and procedural politics conditioned the mandate granted to EFSA. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council shared a common interest in preventing the delegation of regulatory powers to an independent EU agency in food safety policy.

  13. Nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarride, Bruno

    2015-10-01

    The author proposes an overview of methods and concepts used in the nuclear industry, at the design level as well as at the exploitation level, to ensure an acceptable safety level, notably in the case of nuclear reactors. He first addresses the general objectives of nuclear safety and the notion of acceptable risk: definition and organisation of nuclear safety (relationships between safety authorities and operators), notion of acceptable risk, deterministic safety approach and main safety principles (safety functions and confinement barriers, concept of defence in depth). Then, the author addresses the safety approach at the design level: studies of operational situations, studies of internal and external aggressions, safety report, design principles for important-for-safety systems (failure criterion, redundancy, failure prevention, safety classification). The next part addresses safety during exploitation and general exploitation rules: definition of the operation domain and of its limits, periodic controls and tests, management in case of incidents, accidents or aggressions

  14. THE EVALUATION OF BSE BAHASA INGGRIS FOR GRADE VII: WHEN ENGLISH RINGS A BELL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doddy Dwi Wahyuwono

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Coursebooks are core parts of any curriculum as the unique contributors to content learning (Demir & Ertas, 2014. Currently, in Indonesian curriculum, K13, the government develops coursebooks that can be used by students nationally. The developed coursebooks, Buku Sekolah Elektronik (BSE, vary for different level of education, starting from elementary schools up to senior and vocational high schools. In developing the coursebooks, the government needs to implement the coursebooks to the real life situation and also evaluate them. In this paper, the researchers try to evaluate a coursebook used in English class for Junior High School students grade VII. The evaluation is done through two ways, the theory-based analysis and checklist-based analysis. The used evaluative theories are made by Cunningsworth and the Checklist is made by Mukundan, Nimehchisalem, and Hajimohammadi. The findings show that the coursebook has met the requirements of learners‘ needs stated in the K13; however, there are still some aspects that can use some further improvement, such as the design, materials‘ authenticity, and so on. Ergo, in corresponding to the findings, the suggestions can be given to two parties, the developers and the teachers. The developers are hoped to take the evaluation results into account as the crucial points for future improvement and the teachers are hoped to not solely depend on the coursebook itself, but creatively look for extra materials.

  15. Framework of nuclear safety and safety assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furuta, Kazuo

    2007-01-01

    Since enormous energy is released by nuclear chain reaction mainly as a form of radiation, a great potential risk accompanies utilization of nuclear energy. Safety has been continuously a critical issue therefore from the very beginning of its development. Though the framework of nuclear safety that has been established at an early developmental stage of nuclear engineering is still valid, more comprehensive approaches are required having experienced several events such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and JCO. This article gives a brief view of the most basic principles how nuclear safety is achieved, which were introduced and sophisticated in nuclear engineering but applicable also to other engineering domains in general. (author)

  16. Safety for all: bringing together patient and employee safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, R Lynn; Moss, Lesley; Newlands, Tracey; Archer, Jana

    2013-01-01

    The safety of patients and of employees in healthcare have historically been separately managed and regulated. Despite efforts to reduce injury rates for employees and adverse events for patients, healthcare organizations continue to see less-than-optimal outcomes in both domains. This article challenges readers to consider how the traditional siloed approach to patient and employee safety can lead to duplication of effort, confusion, missed opportunities and unintended consequences. The authors propose that only through integrating patient and employee safety activities and challenging the paradigms that juxtapose the two will healthcare organizations experience sustained and improved safety practice and outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Longwoods Publishing.

  17. Natural Language Interface for Safety Certification of Safety-Critical Software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denney, Ewen; Fischer, Bernd

    2011-01-01

    Model-based design and automated code generation are being used increasingly at NASA. The trend is to move beyond simulation and prototyping to actual flight code, particularly in the guidance, navigation, and control domain. However, there are substantial obstacles to more widespread adoption of code generators in such safety-critical domains. Since code generators are typically not qualified, there is no guarantee that their output is correct, and consequently the generated code still needs to be fully tested and certified. The AutoCert generator plug-in supports the certification of automatically generated code by formally verifying that the generated code is free of different safety violations, by constructing an independently verifiable certificate, and by explaining its analysis in a textual form suitable for code reviews.

  18. On the future of safety in the manufacturing industry

    OpenAIRE

    Reniers, G.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract: This paper argues that a new paradigm is needed in the manufacturing industry to further substantially advance safety as part of the industry 4.0 concept. The different domains that need to be focused upon are Cluster-thinking and cooperation, High transparency and efficient inspections, Education and training, Security integration, and Safety innovation. Since society has fundamentally changed over the last two decades, revolutionizing safety via these domains is truly needed in th...

  19. Architecture Level Safety Analyses for Safety-Critical Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. S. Kushal

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The dependency of complex embedded Safety-Critical Systems across Avionics and Aerospace domains on their underlying software and hardware components has gradually increased with progression in time. Such application domain systems are developed based on a complex integrated architecture, which is modular in nature. Engineering practices assured with system safety standards to manage the failure, faulty, and unsafe operational conditions are very much necessary. System safety analyses involve the analysis of complex software architecture of the system, a major aspect in leading to fatal consequences in the behaviour of Safety-Critical Systems, and provide high reliability and dependability factors during their development. In this paper, we propose an architecture fault modeling and the safety analyses approach that will aid in identifying and eliminating the design flaws. The formal foundations of SAE Architecture Analysis & Design Language (AADL augmented with the Error Model Annex (EMV are discussed. The fault propagation, failure behaviour, and the composite behaviour of the design flaws/failures are considered for architecture safety analysis. The illustration of the proposed approach is validated by implementing the Speed Control Unit of Power-Boat Autopilot (PBA system. The Error Model Annex (EMV is guided with the pattern of consideration and inclusion of probable failure scenarios and propagation of fault conditions in the Speed Control Unit of Power-Boat Autopilot (PBA. This helps in validating the system architecture with the detection of the error event in the model and its impact in the operational environment. This also provides an insight of the certification impact that these exceptional conditions pose at various criticality levels and design assurance levels and its implications in verifying and validating the designs.

  20. New food policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Tove; Andersen, Lill

    The urbanisation, technical changes, and the industrialisation of the food systems on one hand and increased income and changes in lifestyles on the other hand transform the way food is produced, marketed and consumed - those changes call for changes in the nature of food policy. Concerns over food...... safety have become an important driver of reform of food policy. In particular, the BSE crisis in 1996 had a significant impact on the formulation of a change in food safety policy in the EU. The White Paper on Food Safety was prepared by the EU commision as a response to the BSE scandal as the EU felt...... a need for restablishing public confidence in its food supply, its food science, its laws and its food control. In addition, the White Paper on Food Safety points towards a farm to fork policy in that 'as the food production chain is becoming increasingly complex, the health of consumers can ony...

  1. Declarative Rule-based Safety for Robotic Perception Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

    2017-01-01

    Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

  2. Safety Computer Vision Rules for Improved Sensor Certification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

    2017-01-01

    Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

  3. Metamodel comparison and model comparison for safety assurance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luo, Y.; Engelen, L.J.P.; Brand, van den M.G.J.; Bondavelli, A.; Ceccarelli, A.; Ortmeier, F.

    2014-01-01

    In safety-critical domains, conceptual models are created in the form of metamodels using different concepts from possibly overlapping domains. Comparison between those conceptual models can facilitate the reuse of models from one domain to another. This paper describes the mappings detected when

  4. Performance Assessment in CTE: Focusing on the Cognitive, Psychomotor ...and Affective Domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washer, Bart; Cochran, Lori

    2012-01-01

    When a student is performing in the psychomotor domain, the authors believe the student is also performing in the cognitive domain (sequencing steps, evaluating the situation) and in the affective domain (appreciating a job well done, quality control, safety). As Dabney Doty, former instructor at the University of Central Missouri, stated, "There…

  5. Formal Methods and Safety Certification: Challenges in the Railways Domain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fantechi, Alessandro; Ferrari, Alessio; Gnesi, Stefania

    2016-01-01

    The railway signalling sector has historically been a source of success stories about the adoption of formal methods in the certification of software safety of computer-based control equipment.......The railway signalling sector has historically been a source of success stories about the adoption of formal methods in the certification of software safety of computer-based control equipment....

  6. Learning curves, taking instructions, and patient safety: using a theoretical domains framework in an interview study to investigate prescribing errors among trainee doctors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duncan Eilidh M

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Prescribing errors are a major source of morbidity and mortality and represent a significant patient safety concern. Evidence suggests that trainee doctors are responsible for most prescribing errors. Understanding the factors that influence prescribing behavior may lead to effective interventions to reduce errors. Existing investigations of prescribing errors have been based on Human Error Theory but not on other relevant behavioral theories. The aim of this study was to apply a broad theory-based approach using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF to investigate prescribing in the hospital context among a sample of trainee doctors. Method Semistructured interviews, based on 12 theoretical domains, were conducted with 22 trainee doctors to explore views, opinions, and experiences of prescribing and prescribing errors. Content analysis was conducted, followed by applying relevance criteria and a novel stage of critical appraisal, to identify which theoretical domains could be targeted in interventions to improve prescribing. Results Seven theoretical domains met the criteria of relevance: “social professional role and identity,” “environmental context and resources,” “social influences,” “knowledge,” “skills,” “memory, attention, and decision making,” and “behavioral regulation.” From critical appraisal of the interview data, “beliefs about consequences” and “beliefs about capabilities” were also identified as potentially important domains. Interrelationships between domains were evident. Additionally, the data supported theoretical elaboration of the domain behavioral regulation. Conclusions In this investigation of hospital-based prescribing, participants’ attributions about causes of errors were used to identify domains that could be targeted in interventions to improve prescribing. In a departure from previous TDF practice, critical appraisal was used to identify additional domains

  7. Learning curves, taking instructions, and patient safety: using a theoretical domains framework in an interview study to investigate prescribing errors among trainee doctors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Eilidh M; Francis, Jill J; Johnston, Marie; Davey, Peter; Maxwell, Simon; McKay, Gerard A; McLay, James; Ross, Sarah; Ryan, Cristín; Webb, David J; Bond, Christine

    2012-09-11

    Prescribing errors are a major source of morbidity and mortality and represent a significant patient safety concern. Evidence suggests that trainee doctors are responsible for most prescribing errors. Understanding the factors that influence prescribing behavior may lead to effective interventions to reduce errors. Existing investigations of prescribing errors have been based on Human Error Theory but not on other relevant behavioral theories. The aim of this study was to apply a broad theory-based approach using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to investigate prescribing in the hospital context among a sample of trainee doctors. Semistructured interviews, based on 12 theoretical domains, were conducted with 22 trainee doctors to explore views, opinions, and experiences of prescribing and prescribing errors. Content analysis was conducted, followed by applying relevance criteria and a novel stage of critical appraisal, to identify which theoretical domains could be targeted in interventions to improve prescribing. Seven theoretical domains met the criteria of relevance: "social professional role and identity," "environmental context and resources," "social influences," "knowledge," "skills," "memory, attention, and decision making," and "behavioral regulation." From critical appraisal of the interview data, "beliefs about consequences" and "beliefs about capabilities" were also identified as potentially important domains. Interrelationships between domains were evident. Additionally, the data supported theoretical elaboration of the domain behavioral regulation. In this investigation of hospital-based prescribing, participants' attributions about causes of errors were used to identify domains that could be targeted in interventions to improve prescribing. In a departure from previous TDF practice, critical appraisal was used to identify additional domains that should also be targeted, despite participants' perceptions that they were not relevant to

  8. SafetyNet. Human factors safety training on the Internet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauland, G.; Pedrali, M.

    2002-01-01

    This report describes user requirements to an Internet based distance learning system of human factors training, i.e. the SafetyNet prototype, within the aviation (pilots and air traffic control), maritime and medical domains. User requirements totraining have been elicited through 19 semi...

  9. Producing health, producing safety. Developing a collective safety culture in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nascimento, Adelaide

    2009-01-01

    This research thesis aims at a better understanding of safety management in radiotherapy and at proposing improvements for patient safety through the development of a collective safety culture. A first part presents the current context in France and abroad, addresses the transposition of other safety methods to the medical domain, and discusses the peculiarities of radiotherapy in terms of risks and the existing quality-assurance approaches. The second part presents the theoretical framework by commenting the intellectual evolution with respect to system safety and the emergence of the concept of safety culture, and by presenting the labour collective aspects and their relationship with system safety. The author then comments the variety of safety cultures among the different professions present in radiotherapy, highlights the importance of the collective dimension in correcting discrepancies at the end of the treatment process, and highlights how physicians take their colleagues work into account. Recommendations are made to improve patient safety in radiotherapy

  10. An Interoperability Consideration in Selecting Domain Parameters for Elliptic Curve Cryptography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivancic, Will (Technical Monitor); Eddy, Wesley M.

    2005-01-01

    Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) will be an important technology for electronic privacy and authentication in the near future. There are many published specifications for elliptic curve cryptosystems, most of which contain detailed descriptions of the process for the selection of domain parameters. Selecting strong domain parameters ensures that the cryptosystem is robust to attacks. Due to a limitation in several published algorithms for doubling points on elliptic curves, some ECC implementations may produce incorrect, inconsistent, and incompatible results if domain parameters are not carefully chosen under a criterion that we describe. Few documents specify the addition or doubling of points in such a manner as to avoid this problematic situation. The safety criterion we present is not listed in any ECC specification we are aware of, although several other guidelines for domain selection are discussed in the literature. We provide a simple example of how a set of domain parameters not meeting this criterion can produce catastrophic results, and outline a simple means of testing curve parameters for interoperable safety over doubling.

  11. Does Employee Safety Matter for Patients Too? Employee Safety Climate and Patient Safety Culture in Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohr, David C; Eaton, Jennifer Lipkowitz; McPhaul, Kathleen M; Hodgson, Michael J

    2015-04-22

    We examined relationships between employee safety climate and patient safety culture. Because employee safety may be a precondition for the development of patient safety, we hypothesized that employee safety culture would be strongly and positively related to patient safety culture. An employee safety climate survey was administered in 2010 and assessed employees' views and experiences of safety for employees. The patient safety survey administered in 2011 assessed the safety culture for patients. We performed Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between a composite measure of employee safety with subdimensions of patient safety culture. The regression models controlled for size, geographic characteristics, and teaching affiliation. Analyses were conducted at the group level using data from 132 medical centers. Higher employee safety climate composite scores were positively associated with all 9 patient safety culture measures examined. Standardized multivariate regression coefficients ranged from 0.44 to 0.64. Medical facilities where staff have more positive perceptions of health care workplace safety climate tended to have more positive assessments of patient safety culture. This suggests that patient safety culture and employee safety climate could be mutually reinforcing, such that investments and improvements in one domain positively impacts the other. Further research is needed to better understand the nexus between health care employee and patient safety to generalize and act upon findings.

  12. National Plan to Achieve Maritime Domain Awareness for the National Strategy for Maritime Security

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2005-01-01

    Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is the effective understanding of anything associated with the global maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment of the United States...

  13. Ecological Automation Design, Extending Work Domain Analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Amelink, M.H.J.

    2010-01-01

    In high–risk domains like aviation, medicine and nuclear power plant control, automation has enabled new capabilities, increased the economy of operation and has greatly contributed to safety. However, automation increases the number of couplings in a system, which can inadvertently lead to more

  14. Safety culture perceptions of pharmacists in Malaysian hospitals and health clinics: a multicentre assessment using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samsuri, Srima Elina; Pei Lin, Lua; Fahrni, Mathumalar Loganathan

    2015-01-01

    Objective To assess the safety attitudes of pharmacists, provide a profile of their domains of safety attitude and correlate their attitudes with self-reported rates of medication errors. Design A cross-sectional study utilising the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). Setting 3 public hospitals and 27 health clinics. Participants 117 pharmacists. Main outcome measure(s) Safety culture mean scores, variation in scores across working units and between hospitals versus health clinics, predictors of safety culture, and medication errors and their correlation. Results Response rate was 83.6% (117 valid questionnaires returned). Stress recognition (73.0±20.4) and working condition (54.8±17.4) received the highest and lowest mean scores, respectively. Pharmacists exhibited positive attitudes towards: stress recognition (58.1%), job satisfaction (46.2%), teamwork climate (38.5%), safety climate (33.3%), perception of management (29.9%) and working condition (15.4%). With the exception of stress recognition, those who worked in health clinics scored higher than those in hospitals (psafety culture. As perceptions improved, the number of medication errors reported decreased. Group-specific interventions that target specific domains are necessary to improve the safety culture. PMID:26610761

  15. The relationship between patient safety climate and occupational safety climate in healthcare - A multi-level investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pousette, Anders; Larsman, Pernilla; Eklöf, Mats; Törner, Marianne

    2017-06-01

    Patient safety climate/culture is attracting increasing research interest, but there is little research on its relation with organizational climates regarding other target domains. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between patient safety climate and occupational safety climate in healthcare. The climates were assessed using two questionnaires: Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture and Nordic Occupational Safety Climate Questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 1154 nurses, 886 assistant nurses, and 324 physicians, organized in 150 work units, within hospitals (117units), primary healthcare (5units) and elderly care (28units) in western Sweden, which represented 56% of the original sample contacted. Within each type of safety climate, two global dimensions were confirmed in a higher order factor analysis; one with an external focus relative the own unit, and one with an internal focus. Two methods were used to estimate the covariation between the global climate dimensions, in order to minimize the influence of bias from common method variance. First multilevel analysis was used for partitioning variances and covariances in a within unit part (individual level) and a between unit part (unit level). Second, a split sample technique was used to calculate unit level correlations based on aggregated observations from different respondents. Both methods showed associations similar in strength between the patient safety climate and the occupational safety climate domains. The results indicated that patient safety climate and occupational safety climate are strongly positively related at the unit level, and that the same organizational processes may be important for the development of both types of organizational climate. Safety improvement interventions should not be separated in different organizational processes, but be planned so that both patient safety and staff safety are considered concomitantly. Copyright © 2017 National Safety

  16. Quantitative Risk Assessment of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsutsui, Toshiyuki; Kasuga, Fumiko

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a progressive neurological disease of cattle affecting the central nervous system and was first diagnosed in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1986 (Wells et al., 1987). This disease is one of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) which includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans and scrapie in sheep. The causative agent of TSE is considered to be an abnormal form of prion protein. However, the details of its pathogenic mechanism have not been fully identified. Scrapie, which causes neurological symptoms in sheep and goats, has existed in the UK for 200 years (Hoinville, 1996) and spread across the rest of the world in the 1900s (Detwiler & Baylis, 2003). There has been no report so far that scrapie can be transmitted to humans. Initially, BSE was also considered as a disease affecting only animals. However, a variant type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) was first reported in the UK, and exposure to a BSE agent was suspected (Collinge, Sidle, Meads, Ironside, & Hill, 1996). vCJD is clinically and pathologically different from the sporadic type of CJD, and age at clinical onset of vCJD is younger than sporadic type (Will et al., 1996). Since the UK government announced the possible association between BSE and vCJD in 1996, BSE has become a huge public health concern all over the world. Of particular concern about vCJD, the fatal disease in younger age, distorted consumer confidence in beef safety, and as a result reduced beef consumption has been seen in many BSE-affected countries.

  17. Surgical resident education in patient safety: where can we improve?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putnam, Luke R; Levy, Shauna M; Kellagher, Caroline M; Etchegaray, Jason M; Thomas, Eric J; Kao, Lillian S; Lally, Kevin P; Tsao, KuoJen

    2015-12-01

    Effective communication and patient safety practices are paramount in health care. Surgical residents play an integral role in the perioperative team, yet their perceptions of patient safety remain unclear. We hypothesized that surgical residents perceive the perioperative environment as more unsafe than their faculty and operating room staff despite completing a required safety curriculum. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and perioperative nurses in a large academic children's hospital participated in multifaceted, physician-led workshops aimed at enhancing communication and safety culture over a 3-y period. All general surgery residents from the same academic center completed a hospital-based online safety curriculum only. All groups subsequently completed the psychometrically validated safety attitudes questionnaire to evaluate three domains: safety culture, teamwork, and speaking up. Results reflect the percent of respondents who slightly or strongly agreed. Chi-square analysis was performed. Sixty-three of 84 perioperative personnel (75%) and 48 of 52 surgical residents (92%) completed the safety attitudes questionnaire. A higher percentage of perioperative personnel perceived a safer environment than the surgical residents in all three domains, which was significantly higher for safety culture (68% versus 46%, P = 0.03). When stratified into two groups, junior residents (postgraduate years 1-2) and senior residents (postgraduate years 3-5) had lower scores for all three domains, but the differences were not statistically significant. Surgical residents' perceptions of perioperative safety remain suboptimal. With an enhanced safety curriculum, perioperative staff demonstrated higher perceptions of safety compared with residents who participated in an online-only curriculum. Optimal surgical education on patient safety remains unknown but should require a dedicated, systematic approach. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Evaluations of and reasoning about normative and deviant ingroup and outgroup members: development of the black sheep effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrams, Dominic; Palmer, Sally B; Rutland, Adam; Cameron, Lindsey; Van de Vyver, Julie

    2014-01-01

    Research with adults has demonstrated a "black sheep effect" (BSE) whereby, relative to evaluations of normative group members, ingroup deviants are derogated more than outgroup deviants. The developmental subjective group dynamics (DSGD) model holds that the BSE should develop during middle childhood when children apply wider social norms. Three hundred and thirty-eight children who were between 5 and 12 years old judged a normative (socially desirable) and a deviant (socially undesirable) member from an ingroup or an outgroup school. Results confirmed a developmental increase in the BSE, the first time this has been demonstrated. Children's own evaluations of group members were mediated by their expectations about ingroup peers' evaluations. In line with DSGD and social domain theories, with age, children's explanations of peer evaluations for ingroup deviance focused relatively more on loyalty. Practical and theoretical implications for peer inclusion and exclusion are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  19. EU-approved rapid tests for bovine spongiform encephalopathy detect atypical forms: a study for their sensitivities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Meloni

    Full Text Available Since 2004 it become clear that atypical bovine spongiform encephalopthies (BSEs exist in cattle. Whenever their detection has relied on active surveillance plans implemented in Europe since 2001 by rapid tests, the overall and inter-laboratory performance of these diagnostic systems in the detection of the atypical strains has not been studied thoroughly to date. To fill this gap, the present study reports on the analytical sensitivity of the EU-approved rapid tests for atypical L- and H-type and classical BSE in parallel. Each test was challenged with two dilution series, one created from a positive pool of the three BSE forms according to the EURL standard method of homogenate preparation (50% w/v and the other as per the test kit manufacturer's instructions. Multilevel logistic models and simple logistic models with the rapid test as the only covariate were fitted for each BSE form analyzed as directed by the test manufacturer's dilution protocol. The same schemes, but excluding the BSE type, were then applied to compare test performance under the manufacturer's versus the water protocol. The IDEXX HerdChek ® BSE-scrapie short protocol test showed the highest sensitivity for all BSE forms. The IDEXX® HerdChek BSE-scrapie ultra short protocol, the Prionics®--Check WESTERN and the AJ Roboscreen® BetaPrion tests showed similar sensitivities, followed by the Roche® PrionScreen, the Bio-Rad® TeSeE™ SAP and the Prionics®--Check PrioSTRIP in descending order of analytical sensitivity. Despite these differences, the limit of detection of all seven rapid tests against the different classes of material set within a 2 log(10 range of the best-performing test, thus meeting the European Food Safety Authority requirement for BSE surveillance purposes. These findings indicate that not many atypical cases would have been missed surveillance since 2001 which is important for further epidemiological interpretations of the sporadic character of

  20. Major accident prevention through applying safety knowledge management approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalatpour, Omid

    2016-01-01

    Many scattered resources of knowledge are available to use for chemical accident prevention purposes. The common approach to management process safety, including using databases and referring to the available knowledge has some drawbacks. The main goal of this article was to devise a new emerged knowledge base (KB) for the chemical accident prevention domain. The scattered sources of safety knowledge were identified and scanned. Then, the collected knowledge was formalized through a computerized program. The Protégé software was used to formalize and represent the stored safety knowledge. The domain knowledge retrieved as well as data and information. This optimized approach improved safety and health knowledge management (KM) process and resolved some typical problems in the KM process. Upgrading the traditional resources of safety databases into the KBs can improve the interaction between the users and knowledge repository.

  1. [Development of domain specific search engines].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takai, T; Tokunaga, M; Maeda, K; Kaminuma, T

    2000-01-01

    As cyber space exploding in a pace that nobody has ever imagined, it becomes very important to search cyber space efficiently and effectively. One solution to this problem is search engines. Already a lot of commercial search engines have been put on the market. However these search engines respond with such cumbersome results that domain specific experts can not tolerate. Using a dedicate hardware and a commercial software called OpenText, we have tried to develop several domain specific search engines. These engines are for our institute's Web contents, drugs, chemical safety, endocrine disruptors, and emergent response for chemical hazard. These engines have been on our Web site for testing.

  2. A quantitative assessment of the BSE risk associated with fly ash and slag from the incineration of meat-and-bone meal in a gas-fired power plant in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paisley, Larry; Hostrup-Pedersen, J.

    2005-01-01

    and slag are incorporated into the cement or concrete. Our goal was to assess with a Monte Carlo simulation model the bovine spongiform, encephalopathy (BSE) risk to cattle and humans posed by the ash and slag. The results will be used by decision makers to evaluate the need for disposal of the fly ash......It has been recommended that meat-and-bone meal (MBM) be incinerated at 850 degrees C for at least 2 s and the ashes and slag disposed of in controlled landfills, to dispose of animal-derived proteins. Most commonly, the MBM is incinerated in cement works or coal-fired power plants and the ashes...

  3. A systematic approach and tool support for GSN-based safety case assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luo, Y.; Brand, M. van den; Li, Z.; Saberi, A.K.

    2017-01-01

    Context. In safety-critical domains, safety cases are widely used to demonstrate the safety of systems. A safety case is an argumentation for showing confidence in the claimed safety assurance of a system, which should be comprehensible and well-structured. Typically, safety cases can be represented

  4. Cattle traceability system in Japan for bovine spongiform encephalopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katsuaki Sugiura

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available To promote consumer confidence in the safety of beef and to ensure the proper implementation of eradication measures against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, the Cattle Traceability Law was approved by the Diet in June 2003 and a cattle traceability system has been in operation in Japan since December 2003. The system enables tracing the cohort and offspring animals of a BSE case within 24 h of its detection. The traceability database system also provides distributors, restaurants and consumers with information on the cattle from which the beef that they sell, serve and consume originate.

  5. Exploring the Impact of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 Certification on Financial Performance: The Case of Companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela Ionașcu

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification on the financial performance of Romanian companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE. Based on audited financial statements of a population of 67 non-financial companies listed during 2013-2015 and using regression models, this paper shows, for the first time in Romania, that companies listed on BSE, implementing complex management systems (quality – environmental and/or occupational health and safety perform better, and that their performance is directly linked to the complexity of the management systems implemented.

  6. Safety culture perceptions of pharmacists in Malaysian hospitals and health clinics: a multicentre assessment using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samsuri, Srima Elina; Pei Lin, Lua; Fahrni, Mathumalar Loganathan

    2015-11-26

    To assess the safety attitudes of pharmacists, provide a profile of their domains of safety attitude and correlate their attitudes with self-reported rates of medication errors. A cross-sectional study utilising the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). 3 public hospitals and 27 health clinics. 117 pharmacists. Safety culture mean scores, variation in scores across working units and between hospitals versus health clinics, predictors of safety culture, and medication errors and their correlation. Response rate was 83.6% (117 valid questionnaires returned). Stress recognition (73.0±20.4) and working condition (54.8±17.4) received the highest and lowest mean scores, respectively. Pharmacists exhibited positive attitudes towards: stress recognition (58.1%), job satisfaction (46.2%), teamwork climate (38.5%), safety climate (33.3%), perception of management (29.9%) and working condition (15.4%). With the exception of stress recognition, those who worked in health clinics scored higher than those in hospitals (pculture. As perceptions improved, the number of medication errors reported decreased. Group-specific interventions that target specific domains are necessary to improve the safety culture. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  7. Assessment of Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative in Three Hospitals Affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Firoozeh Bairami

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the status of patient safety in three hospitals, affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, based on the critical standards of Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative (PSFHI. Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, conducted in 2014, we used PSFHI assessment tool to evaluate the status of patient safety in three hospitals, affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences; these general referral hospitals were selected purposefully. PSFHI assessment tool is comprised of 140 patient safety standards in five domains, categorized in 24 sub-domains. The five major domains include leadership and management, patient and public involvement, safe evidence-based clinical practices, safe environment, and lifelong learning. Results: All three hospitals met more than 70% of the critical standards. The highest score in critical standards (> 80% was related to the domain of leadership and management in all hospitals. The average score in the domain of safe evidence-based clinical practices was 70% in the studied hospitals. Finally, all the hospitals met 50% of the critical standards in the domains of patient and public involvement and safe environment. Conclusion: Based on the findings, PSFHI is a suitable program for meeting patient safety goals. The selected hospitals in this survey all had a high managerial commitment to patient safety; therefore, they could obtain high scores on critical standards.

  8. On safety management and nuclear safety - A frame of reference for studies of safety management with examples from non-nuclear contects of relevance for nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svenson, O.; Allwin, P.; Salo, I.

    2004-03-01

    The report includes three case studies of safety management. The studies are presented as chapters, but are written in a format that makes them easy to read separately. Two of the studies cover regulators (the Swedish Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Luftfartsinspektionen) and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate) and one a regulated activity/industry (a car manufacturer, Volvo Car). The introduction outlines a living system framework and relates this to concepts used in organizational management. The report concludes with some findings with potential relevance for safety management in the nuclear power domain. In the next phase of the work, the regulated counterparts of the regulators here will be investigated in addition to a fourth case study of a regulated activity/industry. (au)

  9. Can the Aviation Industry be Useful in Teaching Oncology about Safety?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, J M; Delaney, G

    2017-10-01

    Healthcare practitioners have long considered aviation as a domain from which much can be learned about safety. Over the past 30 years, attempts have been made to apply aviation safety-related concepts to healthcare. Although some applications have been successful, a few decades later, many healthcare safety experts have learned that the appeal of the aviation-healthcare analogy is an illusion. Both domains are so basically dissimilar that simple adoption of aviation concepts will not be successful. However, what has succeeded is healthcare's adaptation of specific aviation safety concepts. Three concepts, investment in safety, human factors and safety management systems, are described and examples are given of adapted applications to healthcare/clinical oncology. Finally, there is a need to ensure that these concepts are applied systematically throughout healthcare rather than sporadically and without a centralised mandate, to help ensure success and improved patient and provider safety. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Liang Chen; Yang Gong

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed domain knowledge base and text processing functionality. To improve patient safety reporting, the present paper suggests an ontological representation of patient safety knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a framework for constructing an ontological knowledge base of patient safety. The present paper describes our desig...

  11. Operation safety of complex industrial systems. Main concepts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwingelstein, G.

    2009-01-01

    Operation safety consists in knowing, evaluating, foreseeing, measuring and mastering the technological system and human failures in order to avoid their impacts on health and people's safety, on productivity, and on the environment, and to preserve the Earth's resources. This article recalls the main concepts of operation safety: 1 - evolutions in the domain; 2 - failures, missions and functions of a system and of its components: functional failure, missions and functions, industrial processes, notions of probability; 3 - basic concepts and operation safety: reliability, unreliability, failure density, failure rate, relations between them, availability, maintainability, safety. (J.S.)

  12. The state of quality improvement and patient safety teaching in health professional education in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robb, Gillian; Stolarek, Iwona; Wells, Susan; Bohm, Gillian

    2017-10-27

    To investigate how quality and patient safety domains are being taught in the pre-registration curricula of health profession education programmes in New Zealand. All tertiary institutions providing training for medicine, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, dietetics and 11 other allied health professions in New Zealand were contacted and a person with relevant curriculum knowledge was invited to participate. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide to explore nine quality and safety domains; improvement science, patient safety, quality and safety culture, evidence-based practice, patient-centred care, teamwork and communication, leadership for change, systems thinking and use of information technology (IT). Transcribed data were extracted and categorised by discipline and domain. Two researchers independently identified and categorised themes within each domain, using a general inductive approach. Forty-nine institutions were contacted and 43 (88%) people were interviewed. The inclusion and extent of quality and safety teaching was variable. Evidence-based practice, patient-centred care and teamwork and communication were the strongest domains and well embedded in programmes, while leadership, systems thinking and the role of IT were less explicitly included. Except for two institutions, improvement science was absent from pre-registration curricula. Patient safety teaching was focused mainly around incident reporting, and to a lesser extent learning from adverse events. Although a 'no blame' culture was articulated as important, the theme of individual accountability was still apparent. While participants agreed that all domains were important, the main barriers to incorporating improvement science and patient safety concepts into existing programmes included an 'already stretched curriculum' and having faculty with limited expertise in these areas. Although the building blocks for improving the quality and safety of

  13. International cooperation for operating safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupuis, M.C.

    1989-03-01

    The international-cooperation organization in nuclear safety domain is discussed. The nuclear energy Direction Committee is helped by the Security Committee for Nuclear Power Plants in the cooperation between security organizations of member countries and in the safety and nuclear activity regulations. The importance of the cooperation between experts in human being and engine problems is underlined. The applied methods, exchange activities and activity analysis, and the cooperation of the Nuclear Energy Agency and international organizations is analysed [fr

  14. Fundamental principles of earthquake resistance calculation to be reflected in the next generation regulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mkrtychev Oleg

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article scrutinizes the pressing issues of regulation in the domain of seismic construction. The existing code of rules SNIP II-7-81* “Construction in seismic areas” provides that earthquake resistance calculation be performed on two levels of impact: basic safety earthquake (BSE and maximum considered earthquake (MCE. However, the very nature of such calculation cannot be deemed well-founded and contradicts the fundamental standards of foreign countries. The authors of the article have identified the main problems of the conceptual foundation underlying the current regulation. The first and foremost step intended to overcome the discrepancy in question is renunciation of the K1 damage tolerance factor when calculating the BSE. The second measure to be taken is implementing the response spectrum method of calculation, but the β spectral curve of the dynamic response factor must be replaced by a spectrum of worst-case accelerograms for this particular structure or a spectrum of simulated accelerograms obtained for the specific construction site. Application of the response spectrum method when calculating the MCE impact level makes it possible to proceed into the frequency domain and to eventually obtain spectra of the accelerograms. As a result we get to know the response of the building to some extent, i.e. forces, the required reinforcement, and it can be checked whether the conditions of the ultimate limit state apply. Then, the elements under the most intense load are excluded from the design model the way it is done in case of progressive collapse calculations, because the assumption is that these elements are destroyed locally by seismic load. This procedure is based on the already existing design practices of progressive collapse calculation.

  15. Organizational culture and climate for patient safety in Intensive Care Units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santiago, Thaiana Helena Roma; Turrini, Ruth Natalia Teresa

    2015-02-01

    Objective To assess the perception of health professionals about patient safety climate and culture in different intensive care units (ICUs) and the relationship between scores obtained on the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) and the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). Method A cross-sectional study conducted at a teaching hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in March and April 2014. As data gathering instruments, the HSOPSC, SAQ and a questionnaire with sociodemographic and professional information about the staff working in an adult, pediatric and neonatal ICU were used. Data analysis was conducted with descriptive statistics. Results The scales presented good reliability. Greater weaknesses in patient safety were observed in the Working conditions andPerceptions of management domains of the SAQ and in the Nonpunitive response to error domain of the HSOPSC. The strengths indicated by the SAQ wereTeamwork climate and Job satisfactionand by the HSOPC, Supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting safety and Organizational learning-continuous improvement. Job satisfaction was higher among neonatal ICU workers when compared with the other ICUs. The adult ICU presented lower scores for most of the SAQ and HSOPSC domains. The scales presented moderate correlation between them (r=0.66). Conclusion There were differences in perception regarding patient safety among ICUs, which corroborates the existence of local microcultures. The study did not demonstrate equivalence between the SAQ and the HSOPSC.

  16. Aviation Safety Risk Modeling: Lessons Learned From Multiple Knowledge Elicitation Sessions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luxhoj, J. T.; Ancel, E.; Green, L. L.; Shih, A. T.; Jones, S. M.; Reveley, M. S.

    2014-01-01

    Aviation safety risk modeling has elements of both art and science. In a complex domain, such as the National Airspace System (NAS), it is essential that knowledge elicitation (KE) sessions with domain experts be performed to facilitate the making of plausible inferences about the possible impacts of future technologies and procedures. This study discusses lessons learned throughout the multiple KE sessions held with domain experts to construct probabilistic safety risk models for a Loss of Control Accident Framework (LOCAF), FLightdeck Automation Problems (FLAP), and Runway Incursion (RI) mishap scenarios. The intent of these safety risk models is to support a portfolio analysis of NASA's Aviation Safety Program (AvSP). These models use the flexible, probabilistic approach of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) and influence diagrams to model the complex interactions of aviation system risk factors. Each KE session had a different set of experts with diverse expertise, such as pilot, air traffic controller, certification, and/or human factors knowledge that was elicited to construct a composite, systems-level risk model. There were numerous "lessons learned" from these KE sessions that deal with behavioral aggregation, conditional probability modeling, object-oriented construction, interpretation of the safety risk results, and model verification/validation that are presented in this paper.

  17. A systems perspective of managing error recovery and tactical re-planning of operating teams in safety critical domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontogiannis, Tom

    2011-04-01

    Research in human error has provided useful tools for designing procedures, training, and intelligent interfaces that trap errors at an early stage. However, this "error prevention" policy may not be entirely successful because human errors will inevitably occur. This requires that the error management process (e.g., detection, diagnosis and correction) must also be supported. Research has focused almost exclusively on error detection; little is known about error recovery, especially in the context of safety critical systems. The aim of this paper is to develop a research framework that integrates error recovery strategies employed by experienced practitioners in handling their own errors. A control theoretic model of human performance was used to integrate error recovery strategies assembled from reviews of the literature, analyses of near misses from aviation and command & control domains, and observations of abnormal situations training at air traffic control facilities. The method of system dynamics has been used to analyze and compare error recovery strategies in terms of patterns of interaction, system affordances, and types of recovery plans. System dynamics offer a promising basis for studying the nature of error recovery management in the context of team interactions and system characteristics. The proposed taxonomy of error recovery strategies can help human factors and safety experts to develop resilient system designs and training solutions for managing human errors in unforeseen situations; it may also help incident investigators to explore why people's actions and assessments were not corrected at the time. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Organizational and safety culture in Canadian intensive care units: relationship to size of intensive care unit and physician management model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodek, Peter M; Wong, Hubert; Jaswal, Danny; Heyland, Daren K; Cook, Deborah J; Rocker, Graeme M; Kutsogiannis, Demetrios J; Dale, Craig; Fowler, Robert; Ayas, Najib T

    2012-02-01

    The objectives of this study are to describe organizational and safety culture in Canadian intensive care units (ICUs), to correlate culture with the number of beds and physician management model in each ICU, and to correlate organizational culture and safety culture. In this cross-sectional study, surveys of organizational and safety culture were administered to 2374 clinical staff in 23 Canadian tertiary care and community ICUs. For the 1285 completed surveys, scores were calculated for each of 34 domains. Average domain scores for each ICU were correlated with number of ICU beds and with intensivist vs nonintensivist management model. Domain scores for organizational culture were correlated with domain scores for safety culture. Culture domain scores were generally favorable in all ICUs. There were moderately strong positive correlations between number of ICU beds and perceived effectiveness at recruiting/retaining physicians (r = 0.58; P organizational and safety culture. Differences in perceptions between staff in larger and smaller ICUs highlight the importance of teamwork across units in larger ICUs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. DIVERSIFICATION OF A SAFETY FOOTWEAR PRODUCT

    OpenAIRE

    HARNAGEA Marta Cătălina; SECAN Cristina

    2017-01-01

    Product diversification is a usual strategy of footwear producers. As a requirement related to competitiveness in this domain, diversification can be done by practical application of some criteria. Considering this aspect, the paper proposes a research on the diversification in the case of a safety footwear product by modifying its component patterns, while keeping the initial shape of the product. Thus, starting from a safety shoe model, diversification was performed by changing the configur...

  20. Validation of the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale in Chinese college students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoxiao Hu

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Using college student samples, two studies were conducted to validate the Chinese version of the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT Scale. The results replicated important findings reported by Weber et al. (2002 in the Chinese culture. Risk-taking and risk perception were domain-specific, whereas perceived-risk attitudes were relatively stable across domains, supporting the risk-return model of risk taking. Results of both exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA showed that the ethical, recreational, health/safety, and gambling domains were preserved in the Chinese version of DOSPERT and that the items from social and investment domains formed one factor. This result may be explained by Weber and Hsee's (1998 cushion hypothesis. Other possible reasons for this cross-cultural difference in the factor structure were also discussed.

  1. Integration and self regulation of quality management in Dutch agri-food supply chains : a cross-chain analysis of the poultry meat, the fruit and vegetable and the flower and potted plant chains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Plaggenhoef, van W.

    2007-01-01

    Introduction During the last decade, concerns about quality and safety in agri-food supply chains have been raised. Several sector-wide crises, such as the BSE and the dioxin crises, classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease and Aviaire Influenza have fuelled these concerns. These

  2. Some Challenges in the Design of Human-Automation Interaction for Safety-Critical Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feary, Michael S.; Roth, Emilie

    2014-01-01

    Increasing amounts of automation are being introduced to safety-critical domains. While the introduction of automation has led to an overall increase in reliability and improved safety, it has also introduced a class of failure modes, and new challenges in risk assessment for the new systems, particularly in the assessment of rare events resulting from complex inter-related factors. Designing successful human-automation systems is challenging, and the challenges go beyond good interface development (e.g., Roth, Malin, & Schreckenghost 1997; Christoffersen & Woods, 2002). Human-automation design is particularly challenging when the underlying automation technology generates behavior that is difficult for the user to anticipate or understand. These challenges have been recognized in several safety-critical domains, and have resulted in increased efforts to develop training, procedures, regulations and guidance material (CAST, 2008, IAEA, 2001, FAA, 2013, ICAO, 2012). This paper points to the continuing need for new methods to describe and characterize the operational environment within which new automation concepts are being presented. We will describe challenges to the successful development and evaluation of human-automation systems in safety-critical domains, and describe some approaches that could be used to address these challenges. We will draw from experience with the aviation, spaceflight and nuclear power domains.

  3. Aviation and healthcare: a comparative review with implications for patient safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapur, Narinder; Parand, Anam; Soukup, Tayana; Reader, Tom; Sevdalis, Nick

    2016-01-01

    Safety in aviation has often been compared with safety in healthcare. Following a recent article in this journal, the UK government set up an Independent Patient Safety Investigation Service, to emulate a similar well-established body in aviation. On the basis of a detailed review of relevant publications that examine patient safety in the context of aviation practice, we have drawn up a table of comparative features and a conceptual framework for patient safety. Convergence and divergence of safety-related behaviours across aviation and healthcare were derived and documented. Key safety-related domains that emerged included Checklists, Training, Crew Resource Management, Sterile Cockpit, Investigation and Reporting of Incidents and Organisational Culture. We conclude that whilst healthcare has much to learn from aviation in certain key domains, the transfer of lessons from aviation to healthcare needs to be nuanced, with the specific characteristics and needs of healthcare borne in mind. On the basis of this review, it is recommended that healthcare should emulate aviation in its resourcing of staff who specialise in human factors and related psychological aspects of patient safety and staff wellbeing. Professional and post-qualification staff training could specifically include Cognitive Bias Avoidance Training, as this appears to play a key part in many errors relating to patient safety and staff wellbeing.

  4. Anatomy of safety-critical computing problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swu Yih; Fan Chinfeng; Shirazi, Behrooz

    1995-01-01

    This paper analyzes the obstacles faced by current safety-critical computing applications. The major problem lies in the difficulty to provide complete and convincing safety evidence to prove that the software is safe. We explain this problem from a fundamental perspective by analyzing the essence of safety analysis against that of software developed by current practice. Our basic belief is that in order to perform a successful safety analysis, the state space structure of the analyzed system must have some properties as prerequisites. We propose the concept of safety analyzability, and derive its necessary and sufficient conditions; namely, definability, finiteness, commensurability, and tractability. We then examine software state space structures against these conditions, and affirm that the safety analyzability of safety-critical software developed by current practice is severely restricted by its state space structure and by the problem of exponential growth cost. Thus, except for small and simple systems, the safety evidence may not be complete and convincing. Our concepts and arguments successfully explain the current problematic situation faced by the safety-critical computing domain. The implications are also discussed

  5. Bureau Veritas: 1995 realizations in the petroleum domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1996-01-01

    The completion of the Bureau Veritas (BV) company reorganization in France led to a stabilization of its main activities which fall into five engineering domains: sea service, building and exploitation safety, industry, international trade, aeronautics. The petroleum industry remains a great consumer of the offshore and onshore services provided by this company worldwide. This short paper briefly describes some recent contracts signed between BV and famous petroleum and service companies for the inspection and the safety analyses of industrial materials devoted to offshore exploitation, drilling and lodging, of gas transportation and storage systems (pipelines, reservoirs, tankers), and for the research and development studies related to deep-sea operations. (J.S.)

  6. Patient safety in primary care: a survey of general practitioners in The Netherlands.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gaal, S.; Verstappen, W.H.J.M.; Wensing, M.J.P.

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Primary care encompasses many different clinical domains and patient groups, which means that patient safety in primary care may be equally broad. Previous research on safety in primary care has focused on medication safety and incident reporting. In this study, the views of general

  7. Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Chen

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed domain knowledge base and text processing functionality. To improve patient safety reporting, the present paper suggests an ontological representation of patient safety knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a framework for constructing an ontological knowledge base of patient safety. The present paper describes our design, implementation, and evaluation of the ontology at its initial stage. Findings: We describe the design and initial outcomes of the ontology implementation. The evaluation results demonstrate the clinical validity of the ontology by a self-developed survey measurement. Research limitations: The proposed ontology was developed and evaluated using a small number of information sources. Presently, US data are used, but they are not essential for the ultimate structure of the ontology. Practical implications: The goal of improving patient safety can be aided through investigating patient safety reports and providing actionable knowledge to clinical practitioners. As such, constructing a domain specific ontology for patient safety reports serves as a cornerstone in information collection and text mining methods. Originality/value: The use of ontologies provides abstracted representation of semantic information and enables a wealth of applications in a reporting system. Therefore, constructing such a knowledge base is recognized as a high priority in health care.

  8. Functional safety of health information technology.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Chadwick, Liam

    2012-03-01

    In an effort to improve patient safety and reduce adverse events, there has been a rapid growth in the utilisation of health information technology (HIT). However, little work has examined the safety of the HIT systems themselves, the methods used in their development or the potential errors they may introduce into existing systems. This article introduces the conventional safety-related systems development standard IEC 61508 to the medical domain. It is proposed that the techniques used in conventional safety-related systems development should be utilised by regulation bodies, healthcare organisations and HIT developers to provide an assurance of safety for HIT systems. In adopting the IEC 61508 methodology for HIT development and integration, inherent problems in the new systems can be identified and corrected during their development. Also, IEC 61508 should be used to develop a healthcare-specific standard to allow stakeholders to provide an assurance of a system\\'s safety.

  9. Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Henry E; Lou-Meda, Randall; Saxton, Anthony T; Johnston, Bria E; Ramirez, Carla C; Mendez, Sindy; Rice, Eli N; Aidar, Bernardo; Taicher, Brad; Baumgartner, Joy Noel; Milne, Judy; Frankel, Allan S; Sexton, J Bryan

    2018-01-01

    Programmes to modify the safety culture have led to lasting improvements in patient safety and quality of care in high-income settings around the world, although their use in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been limited. This analysis explores (1) how to measure the safety culture using a health culture survey in an LMIC and (2) how to use survey data to develop targeted safety initiatives using a paediatric nephrology unit in Guatemala as a field test case. We used the Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability, and Engagement survey to assess staff views towards 13 health climate and engagement domains. Domains with low scores included personal burnout, local leadership, teamwork and work-life balance. We held a series of debriefings to implement interventions targeted towards areas of need as defined by the survey. Programmes included the use of morning briefings, expansion of staff break resources and use of teamwork tools. Implementation challenges included the need for education of leadership, limited resources and hierarchical work relationships. This report can serve as an operational guide for providers in LMICs for use of a health culture survey to promote a strong safety culture and to guide their quality improvement and safety programmes.

  10. Does the concept of safety culture help or hinder systems thinking in safety?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiman, Teemu; Rollenhagen, Carl

    2014-07-01

    The concept of safety culture has become established in safety management applications in all major safety-critical domains. The idea that safety culture somehow represents a "systemic view" on safety is seldom explicitly spoken out, but nevertheless seem to linger behind many safety culture discourses. However, in this paper we argue that the "new" contribution to safety management from safety culture never really became integrated with classical engineering principles and concepts. This integration would have been necessary for the development of a more genuine systems-oriented view on safety; e.g. a conception of safety in which human, technological, organisational and cultural factors are understood as mutually interacting elements. Without of this integration, researchers and the users of the various tools and methods associated with safety culture have sometimes fostered a belief that "safety culture" in fact represents such a systemic view about safety. This belief is, however, not backed up by theoretical or empirical evidence. It is true that safety culture, at least in some sense, represents a holistic term-a totality of factors that include human, organisational and technological aspects. However, the departure for such safety culture models is still human and organisational factors rather than technology (or safety) itself. The aim of this paper is to critically review the various uses of the concept of safety culture as representing a systemic view on safety. The article will take a look at the concepts of culture and safety culture based on previous studies, and outlines in more detail the theoretical challenges in safety culture as a systems concept. The paper also presents recommendations on how to make safety culture more systemic. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Safety Commission databases support

    CERN Document Server

    Petit, S; CERN. Geneva. TS Department

    2005-01-01

    A collaboration project between the Safety Commission (SC) and the Controls, Safety and Engineering databases group (TS/CSE) started last year. The aim of this collaboration is to transfer several SC applications from their local environments onto the D7i-MTF EDMS framework, for which the TS/CSE group is responsible. Different domains of activity and projects have been defined in the areas of equipment management, safety inspections, accidents and risks management. Priorities have been established in collaboration with SC. This paper presents the new Safety Inspections Management system (SIM) which will be put in production before the summer 2005 and reviews the constraints of both the users and the development and operational framework that needed to be taken into account. The technical solutions adopted to assure a successful production start-up and operation of the SIM system are described. Progress on other on-going projects and plans for the next year are also reported.

  12. To improve the safety of treatments in radiotherapy by developing a safety culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    Following the radiotherapy accidents between 2004 and 2006, the I.R.S.N. deemed necessary to lead a study on the safety of treatments in radiotherapy and on the use and the adaptation to the medical domain of safety analysis approach developed for the nuclear installations. Of this study, six mains lines of investigation appear: Endow the radiotherapy services with real referential of safety, reinforce the robustness of the organization of radiotherapy services, improve the safety of the equipment and software at the design and operating stages, improve the management of the expertise and reinforce the operating feed back on incidents and accidents. The main learning from this study is the benefit that could be gained by fitting the safety analysis concepts and methods to the specificities of radiotherapy considering the organization of it collective work, the cooperation between actors stemming from different jobs as well as the interactions between actors and technical systems in the process of the treatments, when they are put into service and during their periodic checks. (author)

  13. Individual factors associated with L- and H-type Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in France

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sala Carole

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cattle with L-type (L-BSE and H-type (H-BSE atypical Bovine Spongiform encephalopathy (BSE were identified in 2003 in Italy and France respectively before being identified in other countries worldwide. As of December 2011, around 60 atypical BSE cases have currently been reported in 13 countries, with over one third in France. While the epidemiology of classical BSE (C-BSE has been widely described, atypical BSEs are still poorly documented, but appear to differ from C-BSE. We analysed the epidemiological characteristics of the 12 cases of L-BSE and 11 cases of H-BSE detected in France from January 2001 to late 2009 and looked for individual risk factors. As L-BSE cases did not appear to be homogeneously distributed throughout the country, two complementary methods were used: spatial analysis and regression modelling. L-BSE and H-BSE were studied separately as both the biochemical properties of their pathological prion protein and their features differ in animal models. Results The median age at detection for L-BSE and H-BSE cases was 12.4 (range 8.4-18.7 and 12.5 (8.3-18.2 years respectively, with no significant difference between the two distributions. However, this median age differed significantly from that of classical BSE (7.0 (range 3.5-15.4 years. A significant geographical cluster was detected for L-BSE. Among animals over eight years of age, we showed that the risk of being detected as a L-BSE case increased with age at death. This was not the case for H-BSE. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to describe the epidemiology of the two types of atypical BSE. The geographical cluster detected for L-BSE could be partly due to the age structure of the background-tested bovine population. Our regression analyses, which adjusted for the effect of age and birth cohort showed an age effect for L-BSE and the descriptive analysis showed a particular age structure in the area where the cluster was

  14. NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connell, Linda J.

    2017-01-01

    The NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) collects, analyzes, and distributes de-identified safety information provided through confidentially submitted reports from frontline aviation personnel. Since its inception in 1976, the ASRS has collected over 1.4 million reports and has never breached the identity of the people sharing their information about events or safety issues. From this volume of data, the ASRS has released over 6,000 aviation safety alerts concerning potential hazards and safety concerns. The ASRS processes these reports, evaluates the information, and provides selected de-identified report information through the online ASRS Database at http:asrs.arc.nasa.gov. The NASA ASRS is also a founding member of the International Confidential Aviation Safety Systems (ICASS) group which is a collection of other national aviation reporting systems throughout the world. The ASRS model has also been replicated for application to improving safety in railroad, medical, fire fighting, and other domains. This presentation will discuss confidential, voluntary, and non-punitive reporting systems and their advantages in providing information for safety improvements.

  15. Patient safety climate in a hospital specialized in oncology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Helena Barbosa

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The study’s objective was to assess the safety climate from the perspective of a health team from a hospital specialized in oncology. An observational sectional study, conducted with 66 health professionals, using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. For analysis, Student’s t test and Sperman’s correlation (α=0.05 were used. The instrument’s general score was 70.28. The domain with best score was satisfaction at work (86.74 and, the domains with lower scores were perception from management (64.99 and stress perception (61.74. There was no differences of means statistically significant between genders, but it was present between those who had gone through graduate school or not. There was no correlation between scores and career time in the specialty at the institution. The final assessment demonstrated fragilities in the perception of health professionals related to questions involving the institutional climate of safety.

  16. Characterization strategy report for the organic safety issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goheen, S.C.; Campbell, J.A.; Fryxell, G.E.

    1997-08-01

    This report describes a logical approach to resolving potential safety issues resulting from the presence of organic components in hanford tank wastes. The approach uses a structured logic diagram (SLD) to provide a pathway for quantifying organic safety issue risk. The scope of the report is limited to selected organics (i.e., solvents and complexants) that were added to the tanks and their degradation products. The greatest concern is the potential exothermic reactions that can occur between these components and oxidants, such as sodium nitrate, that are present in the waste tanks. The organic safety issue is described in a conceptual model that depicts key modes of failure-event reaction processes in tank systems and phase domains (domains are regions of the tank that have similar contents) that are depicted with the SLD. Applying this approach to quantify risk requires knowing the composition and distribution of the organic and inorganic components to determine (1) how much energy the waste would release in the various domains, (2) the toxicity of the region associated with a disruptive event, and (3) the probability of an initiating reaction. Five different characterization options are described, each providing a different level of quality in calculating the risks involved with organic safety issues. Recommendations include processing existing data through the SLD to estimate risk, developing models needed to link more complex characterization information for the purpose of estimating risk, and examining correlations between the characterization approaches for optimizing information quality while minimizing cost in estimating risk

  17. Drug detection by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Ruixin; Zhu Yiming; Zhao Hongwei

    2013-01-01

    Due to unique spectral region, functional imaging ability, excellent penetration and safety characteristics of terahertz radiation, the terahertz technology rapidly becomes a vital method to detect and analyze drugs. In this paper, firstly, we identify the functional groups of anti-diabetic drugs by density functional theory (DFT), HIPHOP models and experimental results from terahertz time-domain spectroscopy measurements. Secondly, we identify four kinds of herbs of radix curcumae by using the support vector machine (SVM) analysis. Besides, we analyze the absorption of anhydrous and hydrous glucose, and determine the state of water in the crystalized D-glucose·H 2 O through the results of differential scanning calorimetry measurement. Finally, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy method in drug detection and analyzing. (authors)

  18. Automated safety control by video cameras

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lefter, I.; Rothkrantz, L.; Somhorst, M.

    2012-01-01

    At this moment many surveillance systems are installed in public domains to control the safety of people and properties. They are constantly watched by human operators who are easily overloaded. To support the human operators, a surveillance system model is designed that detects suspicious behaviour

  19. Clinical risk management and patient safety education for nurses: a critique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnstone, Megan-Jane; Kanitsaki, Olga

    2007-04-01

    Nurses have a pivotal role to play in clinical risk management (CRM) and promoting patient safety in health care domains. Accordingly, nurses need to be prepared educationally to manage clinical risk effectively when delivering patient care. Just what form the CRM and safety education of nurses should take, however, remains an open question. A recent search of the literature has revealed a surprising lack of evidence substantiating models of effective CRM and safety education for nurses. In this paper, a critical discussion is advanced on the question of CRM and safety education for nurses and the need for nurse education in this area to be reviewed and systematically researched as a strategic priority, nationally and internationally. It is a key contention of this paper that without 'good' safety education research it will not be possible to ensure that the educational programs that are being offered to nurses in this area are evidence-based and designed in a manner that will enable nurses to develop the capabilities they need to respond effectively to the multifaceted and complex demands that are inherent in their ethical and professional responsibilities to promote and protect patient safety and quality care in health care domains.

  20. Patient safety risk factors in minimally invasive surgery : A validation study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodrigues, S.P.; Ter Kuile, M.; Dankelman, J.; Jansen, F.W.

    2012-01-01

    This study was conducted to adapt and validate a patient safety (PS) framework for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) as a first step in understanding the clinical relevance of various PS risk factors in MIS. Eight patient safety risk factor domains were identified using frameworks from a systems

  1. Nuclear Safety. 1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    A quick review of the nuclear safety at EDF may be summarized as follows: - the nuclear safety at EDF maintains at a rather good standard; - none of the incidents that took place has had any direct impact upon safety; - the availability remained good; - initiation of the floor 4 reactor generation (N4 unit - 1450 MW) ensued without major difficulties (the Civaux 1 NPP has been coupled to the power network at 24 december 1997); - the analysis of the incidents interesting from the safety point of view presents many similarities with earlier ones. Significant progress has been recorded in promoting actively and directly a safe operation by making visible, evident and concrete the exertion of the nuclear operation responsibility and its control by the hierarchy. The report develops the following chapters and subjects: 1. An overview on 1997; 1.1. The technical issues of the nuclear sector; 1.2. General performances in safety; 1.3. The main incidents; 1.4. Wastes and radiation protection; 2. Nuclear safety management; 2.1. Dynamics and results; 2.2. Ameliorations to be consolidated; 3. Other important issues in safety; 3.1. Probabilistic safety studies; 3.2. Approach for safety re-evaluation; 3.3. The network safety; 3.4. Crisis management; 3.5. The Lifetime program; 3.6. PWR; 3.7. Documentation; 3.8. Competence; 4. Safety management in the future; 4.1. An open future; 4.2. The fast neutron NPP at Creys-Malville; 4.3. Stabilization of the PWR reference frame; 4.4. Implementing the EURATOM directive regarding the radiation protection standards; 4.5. Development of biomedical research and epidemiological studies; 4.6. New regulations concerning the liquid and gaseous effluents; 5. Visions of an open future; 5.1. Alternative views upon safety ay EDF; 5.2. Safety authority; 5.3. International considerations; 5.4. What happens abroad; 5.5. References from non-nuclear domain. Four appendices are added referring to policy of safety management, policy of human factors in NPPs

  2. The patient safety climate in healthcare organizations (PSCHO) survey: Short-form development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benzer, Justin K; Meterko, Mark; Singer, Sara J

    2017-08-01

    Measures of safety climate are increasingly used to guide safety improvement initiatives. However, cost and respondent burden may limit the use of safety climate surveys. The purpose of this study was to develop a 15- to 20-item safety climate survey based on the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey, a well-validated 38-item measure of safety climate. The Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations was administered to all senior managers, all physicians, and a 10% random sample of all other hospital personnel in 69 private sector hospitals and 30 Veterans Health Administration hospitals. Both samples were randomly divided into a derivation sample to identify a short-form subset and a confirmation sample to assess the psychometric properties of the proposed short form. The short form consists of 15 items represented 3 overarching domains in the long-form scale-organization, work unit, and interpersonal. The proposed short form efficiently captures 3 important sources of variance in safety climate: organizational, work-unit, and interpersonal. The short-form development process was a practical method that can be applied to other safety climate surveys. This safety climate short form may increase response rates in studies that involve busy clinicians or repeated measures. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  3. Politicization and institutional unclarity: the case of the Portuguese food agency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domingues, Mafalda

    2006-09-01

    Recent changes in the institutional framework of food safety in Portugal have been initiated by BSE scandals and by EU legislative impact. Portuguese consumers have only recently moved from a poverty-related fear of food scarcity to modern fears of safety-related problems with food. Food safety is now highly politicized in Portugal, and the organization of food safety policies has been the topic of several parliamentary debates and of governmental reform. The chapter describes the political conflicts generated by the planned establishment of a new Food Agency-controversies which have so far hindered institutional change.

  4. Safety Aspects of Sustainable Storage Dams and Earthquake Safety of Existing Dams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Wieland

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The basic element in any sustainable dam project is safety, which includes the following safety elements: ① structural safety, ② dam safety monitoring, ③ operational safety and maintenance, and ④ emergency planning. Long-term safety primarily includes the analysis of all hazards affecting the project; that is, hazards from the natural environment, hazards from the man-made environment, and project-specific and site-specific hazards. The special features of the seismic safety of dams are discussed. Large dams were the first structures to be systematically designed against earthquakes, starting in the 1930s. However, the seismic safety of older dams is unknown, as most were designed using seismic design criteria and methods of dynamic analysis that are considered obsolete today. Therefore, we need to reevaluate the seismic safety of existing dams based on current state-of-the-art practices and rehabilitate deficient dams. For large dams, a site-specific seismic hazard analysis is usually recommended. Today, large dams and the safety-relevant elements used for controlling the reservoir after a strong earthquake must be able to withstand the ground motions of a safety evaluation earthquake. The ground motion parameters can be determined either by a probabilistic or a deterministic seismic hazard analysis. During strong earthquakes, inelastic deformations may occur in a dam; therefore, the seismic analysis has to be carried out in the time domain. Furthermore, earthquakes create multiple seismic hazards for dams such as ground shaking, fault movements, mass movements, and others. The ground motions needed by the dam engineer are not real earthquake ground motions but models of the ground motion, which allow the safe design of dams. It must also be kept in mind that dam safety evaluations must be carried out several times during the long life of large storage dams. These features are discussed in this paper.

  5. Experimental Infection of Cattle With a Novel Prion Derived From Atypical H-Type Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Hiroyuki; Masujin, Kentaro; Miyazawa, Kohtaro; Iwamaru, Yoshihumi; Imamura, Morikazu; Matsuura, Yuichi; Arai, Shozo; Fukuda, Shigeo; Murayama, Yuichi; Yokoyama, Takashi

    2017-11-01

    H-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy (H-BSE) is an atypical form of BSE in cattle. During passaging of H-BSE in transgenic bovinized (TgBoPrP) mice, a novel phenotype of BSE, termed BSE-SW emerged and was characterized by a short incubation time and host weight loss. To investigate the biological and biochemical properties of the BSE-SW prion, a transmission study was conducted in cattle, which were inoculated intracerebrally with brain homogenate from BSE-SW-infected TgBoPrP mice. The disease incubation period was approximately 15 months. The animals showed characteristic neurological signs of dullness, and severe spongiform changes and a widespread, uniform distribution of disease-associated prion protein (PrP Sc ) were observed throughout the brain of infected cattle. Immunohistochemical PrP Sc staining of the brain revealed the presence of intraglial accumulations and plaque-like deposits. No remarkable differences were identified in vacuolar lesion scores, topographical distribution patterns, and staining types of PrP Sc in the brains of BSE-SW- vs H-BSE-infected cattle. PrP Sc deposition was detected in the ganglia, vagus nerve, spinal nerve, cauda equina, adrenal medulla, and ocular muscle. Western blot analysis revealed that the specific biochemical properties of the BSE-SW prion, with an additional 10- to 12-kDa fragment, were well maintained after transmission. These findings indicated that the BSE-SW prion has biochemical properties distinct from those of H-BSE in cattle, although clinical and pathologic features of BSW-SW in cattle are indistinguishable from those of H-BSE. The results suggest that the 2 infectious agents, BSE-SW and H-BSE, are closely related strains.

  6. Generic Safety Requirements for Developing Safe Insulin Pump Software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yi; Jetley, Raoul; Jones, Paul L; Ray, Arnab

    2011-01-01

    Background The authors previously introduced a highly abstract generic insulin infusion pump (GIIP) model that identified common features and hazards shared by most insulin pumps on the market. The aim of this article is to extend our previous work on the GIIP model by articulating safety requirements that address the identified GIIP hazards. These safety requirements can be validated by manufacturers, and may ultimately serve as a safety reference for insulin pump software. Together, these two publications can serve as a basis for discussing insulin pump safety in the diabetes community. Methods In our previous work, we established a generic insulin pump architecture that abstracts functions common to many insulin pumps currently on the market and near-future pump designs. We then carried out a preliminary hazard analysis based on this architecture that included consultations with many domain experts. Further consultation with domain experts resulted in the safety requirements used in the modeling work presented in this article. Results Generic safety requirements for the GIIP model are presented, as appropriate, in parameterized format to accommodate clinical practices or specific insulin pump criteria important to safe device performance. Conclusions We believe that there is considerable value in having the diabetes, academic, and manufacturing communities consider and discuss these generic safety requirements. We hope that the communities will extend and revise them, make them more representative and comprehensive, experiment with them, and use them as a means for assessing the safety of insulin pump software designs. One potential use of these requirements is to integrate them into model-based engineering (MBE) software development methods. We believe, based on our experiences, that implementing safety requirements using MBE methods holds promise in reducing design/implementation flaws in insulin pump development and evolutionary processes, therefore improving

  7. Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Gao, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2014-02-01

    Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Breast self-examination among female nurses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salem, O.A.; Hassan, M.A.

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify and investigate the knowledge and practice of breast self- examination (BSE) with the influencing factors on its compliance among female nurses. This study was conducted between January and December 2002 on 80 female nurses from Prince Rashid Military Hospital, Jordan. The questionnaire contained items on the demographic characteristics of the respondents, knowledge of breast cancer, attitudes toward BSE and questions regarding the practice of BSE. The survey was conducted on a voluntary basis. Out of 80 subjects, 42 (52%) performed BSE. Approximately 30% of those who performed BSE said they learned BSE during their work experience. A significant relationship was found between higher levels in work experience and BSE practice. Except for age, no significant relation was found between the socio-demographic factors and BSE practice. The sample showed strong belief in breast lump as a causing factor of breast cancer and had significant correlation with BSE practice. Positive correlation was found between nursing work experience and their practice in BSE as working nurses. Studies like these can enhance the knowledge regarding BSE among nurses and other medical professionals. (author)

  10. Safety culture in the gynecology robotics operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zullo, Melissa D; McCarroll, Michele L; Mendise, Thomas M; Ferris, Edward F; Roulette, G D; Zolton, Jessica; Andrews, Stephen J; von Gruenigen, Vivian E

    2014-01-01

    To measure the safety culture in the robotics surgery operating room before and after implementation of the Robotic Operating Room Computerized Checklist (RORCC). Prospective study. Gynecology surgical staff (n = 32). An urban community hospital. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire domains examined were teamwork, safety, job satisfaction, stress recognition, perceptions of management, and working conditions. Questions and domains were described using percent agreement and the Cronbach alpha. Paired t-tests were used to describe differences before and after implementation of the checklist. Mean (SD) staff age was 46.7 (9.5) years, and most were women (78%) and worked full-time (97%). Twenty respondents (83% of nurses, 80% of surgeons, 66% of surgical technicians, and 33% of certified registered nurse anesthetists) completed the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire; 6 were excluded because of non-matching identifiers. Before RORCC implementation, the highest quality of communication and collaboration was reported by surgeons and surgical technicians (100%). Certified registered nurse anesthetists reported only adequate levels of communication and collaboration with other positions. Most staff reported positive responses for teamwork (48%; α = 0.81), safety (47%; α = 0.75), working conditions (37%; α = 0.55), stress recognition (26%; α = 0.71), and perceptions of management (32%; α = 0.52). No differences were observed after RORCC implementation. Quality of communication and collaboration in the gynecology robotics operating room is high between most positions; however, safety attitude responses are low overall. No differences after RORCC implementation and low response rates may highlight lack of staff support. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. Results of activities of the State Office for Nuclear Safety in state supervision of nuclear safety of nuclear facilities and radiation protection in 2003

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovar, P.

    2004-01-01

    The report summarises results of activities of the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SUJB) in the supervision of nuclear safety and radiation protection in the Czech Republic. The first part of the report evaluates nuclear safety of nuclear installations and contains information concerning the results of supervision of radiation protection in 2003 in the Czech Republic. The second part of the report describes new responsibilities of the SUJB in the domain of nuclear, chemical, bacteriological (biological) and toxin weapons ban. (author)

  12. Not all risks are created equal: A twin study and meta-analyses of risk taking across seven domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, X T Xiao-Tian; Zheng, Rui; Xuan, Yan-Hua; Chen, Jie; Li, Shu

    2016-11-01

    Humans routinely deal with both traditional and novel risks. Different kinds of risks have been a driving force for both evolutionary adaptations and personal development. This study explored the genetic and environmental influences on human risk taking in different task domains. Our approach was threefold. First, we integrated several scales of domain-specific risk-taking propensity and developed a synthetic scale, including both evolutionarily typical and modern risks in the following 7 domains: cooperation/competition, safety, reproduction, natural/physical risk, moral risk, financial risk, and gambling. Second, we conducted a twin study using the scale to estimate the contributions of genes and environment to risk taking in each of these 7 domains. Third, we conducted a series of meta-analyses of extant twin studies across the 7 risk domains. The results showed that individual differences in risk-taking propensity and its consistency across domains were mainly regulated by additive genetic influences and individually unique environmental experiences. The heritability estimates from the meta-analyses ranged from 29% in financial risk taking to 55% in safety. Supporting the notion of risk-domain specificity, both the behavioral and genetic correlations among the 7 domains were generally low. Among the relatively few correlations between pairs of risk domains, our analysis revealed a common genetic factor that regulates moral, financial, and natural/physical risk taking. This is the first effort to separate genetic and environmental influences on risk taking across multiple domains in a single study and integrate the findings of extant twin studies via a series of meta-analyses conducted in different task domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy by Transmission of H-Type Prion in Homologous Prion Protein Context

    OpenAIRE

    Torres, Juan-María; Andréoletti, Olivier; Lacroux, Caroline; Prieto, Irene; Lorenzo, Patricia; Larska, Magdalena; Baron, Thierry; Espinosa, Juan-Carlos

    2011-01-01

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and BSErelated disorders have been associated with a single major prion strain. Recently, 2 atypical, presumably sporadic forms of BSE have been associated with 2 distinct prion strains that are characterized mainly by distinct Western blot profi les of abnormal protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres), named high-type (BSE-H) and low-type (BSE-L), that also differed from classical BSE. We characterized 5 atypical BSE-H isolates by analyzing their molec...

  14. Assessing the culture of safety in cardiovascular perfusion: attitudes and perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Chad; Predella, Megan; Rowden, Allison; Goldstein, Jamie; Sistino, Joseph J; Fitzgerald, David C

    2017-10-01

    The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture was developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to assess the culture of safety in hospitals. The purpose of this study was to identify specific domains of perfusion that are indicators of a high quality culture of safety. Perfusionists were recruited to participate in the survey through email invitation through Perflist, Perfmail and LinkedIn. The survey consisted of 37 questions across six safety domains. Questions were developed using the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. 'Positive scores' were defined as a response that either agreed or strongly agreed with a safety standard. Survey responses that resulted in a 75 percent or higher positive response rate were identified as vital components of a high culture of safety. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine importance components of perceived safety. Four responses were found to have a significant predictive level of a positive safety environment in the work unit: (1) in this unit, we discuss ways to prevent errors from happening again; OR=3.09, (2) in this unit, we treat others with respect; OR=1.09 (3) my supervisor/manager seriously considers staff suggestions for improving patient safety; OR=1.89 and (4) there is good cooperation among hospital units that need to work together; OR=1.77. There were two predictors of a negative work unit safety environment: (1) staff are afraid to ask questions when something does not seem right; OR=0.62 and (2) it is just by chance that more serious mistakes don't happen around here; OR=0.55. The results from this survey indicate that effective communication secondary to both incident and near-miss reporting is associated with a higher perceived culture of safety. A positive safety environment is associated with being able to speak up regarding safety issues without fear of negative repercussions.

  15. Physical design correlates of efficiency and safety in emergency departments: a qualitative examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pati, Debajyoti; Harvey, Thomas E; Pati, Sipra

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this study was to explore and identify physical design correlates of safety and efficiency in emergency department (ED) operations. This study adopted an exploratory, multimeasure approach to (1) examine the interactions between ED operations and physical design at 4 sites and (2) identify domains of physical design decision-making that potentially influence efficiency and safety. Multidisciplinary gaming and semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders at each site. Study data suggest that 16 domains of physical design decisions influence safety, efficiency, or both. These include (1) entrance and patient waiting, (2) traffic management, (3) subwaiting or internal waiting areas, (4) triage, (5) examination/treatment area configuration, (6) examination/treatment area centralization versus decentralization, (7) examination/treatment room standardization, (8) adequate space, (9) nurse work space, (10) physician work space, (11) adjacencies and access, (12) equipment room, (13) psych room, (14) staff de-stressing room, (15) hallway width, and (16) results waiting area. Safety and efficiency from a physical environment perspective in ED design are mutually reinforcing concepts--enhancing efficiency bears positive implications for safety. Furthermore, safety and security emerged as correlated concepts, with security issues bearing implications for safety, thereby suggesting important associations between safety, security, and efficiency.

  16. Electronic health records and patient safety: co-occurrence of early EHR implementation with patient safety practices in primary care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanner, C; Gans, D; White, J; Nath, R; Pohl, J

    2015-01-01

    The role of electronic health records (EHR) in enhancing patient safety, while substantiated in many studies, is still debated. This paper examines early EHR adopters in primary care to understand the extent to which EHR implementation is associated with the workflows, policies and practices that promote patient safety, as compared to practices with paper records. Early adoption is defined as those who were using EHR prior to implementation of the Meaningful Use program. We utilized the Physician Practice Patient Safety Assessment (PPPSA) to compare primary care practices with fully implemented EHR to those utilizing paper records. The PPPSA measures the extent of adoption of patient safety practices in the domains: medication management, handoffs and transition, personnel qualifications and competencies, practice management and culture, and patient communication. Data from 209 primary care practices responding between 2006-2010 were included in the analysis: 117 practices used paper medical records and 92 used an EHR. Results showed that, within all domains, EHR settings showed significantly higher rates of having workflows, policies and practices that promote patient safety than paper record settings. While these results were expected in the area of medication management, EHR use was also associated with adoption of patient safety practices in areas in which the researchers had no a priori expectations of association. Sociotechnical models of EHR use point to complex interactions between technology and other aspects of the environment related to human resources, workflow, policy, culture, among others. This study identifies that among primary care practices in the national PPPSA database, having an EHR was strongly empirically associated with the workflow, policy, communication and cultural practices recommended for safe patient care in ambulatory settings.

  17. Classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy by Transmission of H-Type Prion in Homologous Prion Protein Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andréoletti, Olivier; Lacroux, Caroline; Prieto, Irene; Lorenzo, Patricia; Larska, Magdalena; Baron, Thierry; Espinosa, Juan-Carlos

    2011-01-01

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and BSE-related disorders have been associated with a single major prion strain. Recently, 2 atypical, presumably sporadic forms of BSE have been associated with 2 distinct prion strains that are characterized mainly by distinct Western blot profiles of abnormal protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres), named high-type (BSE-H) and low-type (BSE-L), that also differed from classical BSE. We characterized 5 atypical BSE-H isolates by analyzing their molecular and neuropathologic properties during transmission in transgenic mice expressing homologous bovine prion protein. Unexpectedly, in several inoculated animals, strain features emerged that were highly similar to those of classical BSE agent. These findings demonstrate the capability of an atypical bovine prion to acquire classical BSE–like properties during propagation in a homologous bovine prion protein context and support the view that the epidemic BSE agent could have originated from such a cattle prion. PMID:21888788

  18. Selection and Evaluation of Priority Domains in Global Energy Internet Standard Development Based on Technology Foresight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yang; Ciwei, Gao; Jing, Zhang; Min, Sun; Jie, Yu

    2017-05-01

    The selection and evaluation of priority domains in Global Energy Internet standard development will help to break through limits of national investment, thus priority will be given to standardizing technical areas with highest urgency and feasibility. Therefore, in this paper, the process of Delphi survey based on technology foresight is put forward, the evaluation index system of priority domains is established, and the index calculation method is determined. Afterwards, statistical method is used to evaluate the alternative domains. Finally the top four priority domains are determined as follows: Interconnected Network Planning and Simulation Analysis, Interconnected Network Safety Control and Protection, Intelligent Power Transmission and Transformation, and Internet of Things.

  19. Indicators of safety culture - selection and utilization of leading safety performance indicators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reiman, Teemu; Pietikaeinen, Elina (VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland))

    2010-03-15

    Safety indicators play a role in providing information on organizational performance, motivating people to work on safety and increasing organizational potential for safety. The aim of this report is to provide an overview on leading safety indicators in the domain of nuclear safety. The report explains the distinction between lead and lag indicators and proposes a framework of three types of safety performance indicators - feedback, monitor and drive indicators. Finally the report provides guidance for nuclear energy organizations for selecting and interpreting safety indicators. It proposes the use of safety culture as a leading safety performance indicator and offers an example list of potential indicators in all three categories. The report concludes that monitor and drive indicators are so called lead indicators. Drive indicators are chosen priority areas of organizational safety activity. They are based on the underlying safety model and potential safety activities and safety policy derived from it. Drive indicators influence control measures that manage the socio technical system; change, maintain, reinforce, or reduce something. Monitor indicators provide a view on the dynamics of the system in question; the activities taking place, abilities, skills and motivation of the personnel, routines and practices - the organizational potential for safety. They also monitor the efficacy of the control measures that are used to manage the socio technical system. Typically the safety performance indicators that are used are lagging (feedback) indicators that measure the outcomes of the socio technical system. Besides feedback indicators, organizations should also acknowledge the important role of monitor and drive indicators in managing safety. The selection and use of safety performance indicators is always based on an understanding (a model) of the socio technical system and safety. The safety model defines what risks are perceived. It is important that the safety

  20. Indicators of safety culture - selection and utilization of leading safety performance indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiman, Teemu; Pietikaeinen, Elina

    2010-03-01

    Safety indicators play a role in providing information on organizational performance, motivating people to work on safety and increasing organizational potential for safety. The aim of this report is to provide an overview on leading safety indicators in the domain of nuclear safety. The report explains the distinction between lead and lag indicators and proposes a framework of three types of safety performance indicators - feedback, monitor and drive indicators. Finally the report provides guidance for nuclear energy organizations for selecting and interpreting safety indicators. It proposes the use of safety culture as a leading safety performance indicator and offers an example list of potential indicators in all three categories. The report concludes that monitor and drive indicators are so called lead indicators. Drive indicators are chosen priority areas of organizational safety activity. They are based on the underlying safety model and potential safety activities and safety policy derived from it. Drive indicators influence control measures that manage the socio technical system; change, maintain, reinforce, or reduce something. Monitor indicators provide a view on the dynamics of the system in question; the activities taking place, abilities, skills and motivation of the personnel, routines and practices - the organizational potential for safety. They also monitor the efficacy of the control measures that are used to manage the socio technical system. Typically the safety performance indicators that are used are lagging (feedback) indicators that measure the outcomes of the socio technical system. Besides feedback indicators, organizations should also acknowledge the important role of monitor and drive indicators in managing safety. The selection and use of safety performance indicators is always based on an understanding (a model) of the socio technical system and safety. The safety model defines what risks are perceived. It is important that the safety

  1. Cognitive functioning differentially predicts different dimensions of older drivers' on-road safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksan, Nazan; Anderson, Steve W; Dawson, Jeffrey; Uc, Ergun; Rizzo, Matthew

    2015-02-01

    The extent to which deficits in specific cognitive domains contribute to older drivers' safety risk in complex real-world driving tasks is not well understood. We selected 148 drivers older than 70 years of age both with and without neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer disease-AD and Parkinson disease-PD) from an existing driving database of older adults. Participant assessments included on-road driving safety and cognitive functioning in visuospatial construction, speed of processing, memory, and executive functioning. The standardized on-road drive test was designed to examine multiple facets of older driver safety including navigation performance (e.g., following a route, identifying landmarks), safety errors while concurrently performing secondary navigation tasks ("on-task" safety errors), and safety errors in the absence of any secondary navigation tasks ("baseline" safety errors). The inter-correlations of these outcome measures were fair to moderate supporting their distinctiveness. Participants with diseases performed worse than the healthy aging group on all driving measures and differences between those with AD and PD were minimal. In multivariate analyses, different domains of cognitive functioning predicted distinct facets of driver safety on road. Memory and set-shifting predicted performance in navigation-related secondary tasks, speed of processing predicted on-task safety errors, and visuospatial construction predicted baseline safety errors. These findings support broad assessments of cognitive functioning to inform decisions regarding older driver safety on the road and suggest navigation performance may be useful in evaluating older driver fitness and restrictions in licensing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. No 2943. Project of law relative to nuclear transparency and safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-03-01

    This project of law comprises 5 titles dealing with: 1 - general dispositions: definition and scope of nuclear safety, security, radiation protection, operators liability, facilities in concern; 2 - the high nuclear safety authority: role and duties; 3 - public information in the domain of nuclear safety and radiation protection: information right of the public, local information commissions, high committee for nuclear safety transparency and information; 4 - basic nuclear facilities and transport of radioactive materials: applicable rules, police controls and measures, penal dispositions (investigations, sanctions); 5 - miscellaneous dispositions: changes made with respect to previous legislative texts. (J.S.)

  3. Domains and domain loss

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haberland, Hartmut

    2005-01-01

    politicians and in the media, especially in the discussion whether some languages undergo ‘domain loss’ vis-à-vis powerful international languages like English. An objection that has been raised here is that domains, as originally conceived, are parameters of language choice and not properties of languages...

  4. Improving the performance of DomainDiscovery of protein domain boundary assignment using inter-domain linker index

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zomaya Albert Y

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge of protein domain boundaries is critical for the characterisation and understanding of protein function. The ability to identify domains without the knowledge of the structure – by using sequence information only – is an essential step in many types of protein analyses. In this present study, we demonstrate that the performance of DomainDiscovery is improved significantly by including the inter-domain linker index value for domain identification from sequence-based information. Improved DomainDiscovery uses a Support Vector Machine (SVM approach and a unique training dataset built on the principle of consensus among experts in defining domains in protein structure. The SVM was trained using a PSSM (Position Specific Scoring Matrix, secondary structure, solvent accessibility information and inter-domain linker index to detect possible domain boundaries for a target sequence. Results Improved DomainDiscovery is compared with other methods by benchmarking against a structurally non-redundant dataset and also CASP5 targets. Improved DomainDiscovery achieves 70% accuracy for domain boundary identification in multi-domains proteins. Conclusion Improved DomainDiscovery compares favourably to the performance of other methods and excels in the identification of domain boundaries for multi-domain proteins as a result of introducing support vector machine with benchmark_2 dataset.

  5. CESAR cost-efficient methods and processes for safety-relevant embedded systems

    CERN Document Server

    Wahl, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    The book summarizes the findings and contributions of the European ARTEMIS project, CESAR, for improving and enabling interoperability of methods, tools, and processes to meet the demands in embedded systems development across four domains - avionics, automotive, automation, and rail. The contributions give insight to an improved engineering and safety process life-cycle for the development of safety critical systems. They present new concept of engineering tools integration platform to improve the development of safety critical embedded systems and illustrate capacity of this framework for end-user instantiation to specific domain needs and processes. They also advance state-of-the-art in component-based development as well as component and system validation and verification, with tool support. And finally they describe industry relevant evaluated processes and methods especially designed for the embedded systems sector as well as easy adoptable common interoperability principles for software tool integratio...

  6. The nuclear safety in France, in 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-08-01

    In the scope of the nuclear safety program, in France, a state of the art of the projects on the 1st August 1988, is given. The different domains related to the nuclear safety are summarized. The purposes, the actions and the available means of the nuclear safety interministerial committee, are examined. The problems concerning the radiation protection of the personnel and reactor components, the application of the regulations and the nuclear materials management, are also examined. In the case of a nuclear accident, the protection operations depend on the responsibilities and on the different fields of action. In the world scale, the international cooperation and the example of the Tchernobyl accident are of relevant importance [fr

  7. Detection and partial discrimination of atypical and classical bovine spongiform encephalopathies in cattle and primates using real-time quaking-induced conversion assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levavasseur, Etienne; Biacabe, Anne-Gaëlle; Comoy, Emmanuel; Culeux, Audrey; Grznarova, Katarina; Privat, Nicolas; Simoneau, Steve; Flan, Benoit; Sazdovitch, Véronique; Seilhean, Danielle; Baron, Thierry; Haïk, Stéphane

    2017-01-01

    The transmission of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (C-BSE) through contaminated meat product consumption is responsible for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. More recent and atypical forms of BSE (L-BSE and H-BSE) have been identified in cattle since the C-BSE epidemic. Their low incidence and advanced age of onset are compatible with a sporadic origin, as are most cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. Transmissions studies in primates and transgenic mice expressing a human prion protein (PrP) indicated that atypical forms of BSE may be associated with a higher zoonotic potential than classical BSE, and require particular attention for public health. Recently, methods designed to amplify misfolded forms of PrP have emerged as promising tools to detect prion strains and to study their diversity. Here, we validated real-time quaking-induced conversion assay for the discrimination of atypical and classical BSE strains using a large series of bovine samples encompassing all the atypical BSE cases detected by the French Centre of Reference during 10 years of exhaustive active surveillance. We obtained a 100% sensitivity and specificity for atypical BSE detection. In addition, the assay was able to discriminate atypical and classical BSE in non-human primates, and also sporadic CJD and vCJD in humans. The RT-QuIC assay appears as a practical means for a reliable detection of atypical BSE strains in a homologous or heterologous PrP context.

  8. Safety Culture: A Requirement for New Business Models — Lessons Learned from Other High Risk Industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kecklund, L.

    2016-01-01

    Technical development and changes on global markets affects all high risk industries creating opportunities as well as risks related to the achievement of safety and business goals. Changes in legal and regulatory frameworks as well as in market demands create a need for major changes. Several high risk industries are facing a situation where they have to develop new business models. Within the transportation domain, e.g., aviation and railways, there is a growing concern related to how the new business models may affects safety issues. New business models in aviation and railways include extensive use of outsourcing and subcontractors to reduce costs resulting in, e.g., negative changes in working conditions, work hours, employment conditions and high turnover rates. The energy sector also faces pressures to create new business models for transition to renewable energy production to comply with new legal and regulatory requirements and to make best use of new reactor designs. In addition, large scale phase out and decommissioning of nuclear facilities have to be managed by the nuclear industry. Some negative effects of new business models have already arisen within the transportation domain, e.g., the negative effects of extensive outsourcing and subcontractor use. In the railway domain the infrastructure manager is required by European and national regulations to assure that all subcontractors are working according to the requirements in the infrastructure managers SMS (Safety Management System). More than ten levels of subcontracts can be working in a major infrastructure project making the system highly complex and thus difficult to control. In the aviation domain, tightly coupled interacting computer networks supplying airport services, as well as air traffic control, are managed and maintained by several different companies creating numerous interfaces which must be managed by the SMS. There are examples where a business model with several low

  9. Sociotechnical systems as a framework for regulatory system design and evaluation: Using Work Domain Analysis to examine a new regulatory system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carden, Tony; Goode, Natassia; Read, Gemma J M; Salmon, Paul M

    2017-03-15

    Like most work systems, the domain of adventure activities has seen a series of serious incidents and subsequent calls to improve regulation. Safety regulation systems aim to promote safety and reduce accidents. However, there is scant evidence they have led to improved safety outcomes. In fact there is some evidence that the poor integration of regulatory system components has led to adverse safety outcomes in some contexts. Despite this, there is an absence of methods for evaluating regulatory and compliance systems. This article argues that sociotechnical systems theory and methods provide a suitable framework for evaluating regulatory systems. This is demonstrated through an analysis of a recently introduced set of adventure activity regulations. Work Domain Analysis (WDA) was used to describe the regulatory system in terms of its functional purposes, values and priority measures, purpose-related functions, object-related processes and cognitive objects. This allowed judgement to be made on the nature of the new regulatory system and on the constraints that may impact its efficacy following implementation. Importantly, the analysis suggests that the new system's functional purpose of ensuring safe activities is not fully supported in terms of the functions and objects available to fulfil them. Potential improvements to the design of the system are discussed along with the implications for regulatory system design and evaluation across the safety critical domains generally. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. On the rationale of resilience in the domain of safety: A literature review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergström, Johan; Winsen, Roel van; Henriqson, Eder

    2015-01-01

    Resilience is becoming a prevalent agenda in safety research and organisational practice. In this study we examine how the peer-reviewed safety science literature (a) formulates the rationale behind the study of resilience; (b) constructs resilience as a scientific object; and (c) constructs and locates the resilient subject. The results suggest that resilience engineering scholars typically motivate the need for their studies by referring to the inherent complexities of modern socio-technical systems; complexities that make these systems inherently risky. The object of resilience then becomes the capacity to adapt to such emerging risks in order to guarantee the success of the inherently risky system. In the material reviewed, the subject of resilience is typically the individual, either at the sharp end or at higher managerial levels. The individual is called-upon to adapt in the face of risk to secure the continuous performance of the system. Based on the results from how resilience has been introduced in safety sciences we raise three ethical questions for the field to address: (1) should resilience be seen as people thriving despite of, or because of, risk?; (2) should resilience theory form a basis for moral judgement?; and finally (3) how much should resilience be approached as a trait of the individual? - Highlights: • The article reviews the object of resilience in the safety science literature. • The literature offers a clear link between the notions of complexity and danger. • Danger is managed through adaptive capacity (resilience), typically at the sharp end. • The ethical implications of accepting danger at the sharp end need to be debated

  11. Transmissibility of H-Type Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy to Hamster PrP Transgenic Mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyuki Okada

    Full Text Available Two distinct forms of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathies (H-BSE and L-BSE can be distinguished from classical (C- BSE found in cattle based on biochemical signatures of disease-associated prion protein (PrPSc. H-BSE is transmissible to wild-type mice-with infected mice showing a long survival period that is close to their normal lifespan-but not to hamsters. Therefore, rodent-adapted H-BSE with a short survival period would be useful for analyzing H-BSE characteristics. In this study, we investigated the transmissibility of H-BSE to hamster prion protein transgenic (TgHaNSE mice with long survival periods. Although none of the TgHaNSE mice manifested the disease during their lifespan, PrPSc accumulation was observed in some areas of the brain after the first passage. With subsequent passages, TgHaNSE mice developed the disease with a mean survival period of 220 days. The molecular characteristics of proteinase K-resistant PrPSc (PrPres in the brain were identical to those observed in first-passage mice. The distribution of immunolabeled PrPSc in the brains of TgHaNSE mice differed between those infected with H-BSE as compared to C-BSE or L-BSE, and the molecular properties of PrPres in TgHaNSE mice infected with H-BSE differed from those of the original isolate. The strain-specific electromobility, glycoform profiles, and proteolytic cleavage sites of H-BSE in TgHaNSE mice were indistinguishable from those of C-BSE, in which the diglycosylated form was predominant. These findings indicate that strain-specific pathogenic characteristics and molecular features of PrPres in the brain are altered during cross-species transmission. Typical H-BSE features were restored after back passage from TgHaNSE to bovinized transgenic mice, indicating that the H-BSE strain was propagated in TgHaNSE mice. This could result from the overexpression of the hamster prion protein.

  12. Evaluating the Clinical Learning Environment: Resident and Fellow Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bump, Gregory M; Calabria, Jaclyn; Gosman, Gabriella; Eckart, Catherine; Metro, David G; Jasti, Harish; McCausland, Julie B; Itri, Jason N; Patel, Rita M; Buchert, Andrew

    2015-03-01

    The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has begun to evaluate teaching institutions' learning environments with Clinical Learning Environment Review visits, including trainee involvement in institutions' patient safety and quality improvement efforts. We sought to address the dearth of metrics that assess trainee patient safety perceptions of the clinical environment. Using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC), we measured resident and fellow perceptions of patient safety culture in 50 graduate medical education programs at 10 hospitals within an integrated health system. As institution-specific physician scores were not available, resident and fellow scores on the HSOPSC were compared with national data from 29 162 practicing providers at 543 hospitals. Of the 1337 residents and fellows surveyed, 955 (71.4%) responded. Compared with national practicing providers, trainees had lower perceptions of patient safety culture in 6 of 12 domains, including teamwork within units, organizational learning, management support for patient safety, overall perceptions of patient safety, feedback and communication about error, and communication openness. Higher perceptions were observed for manager/supervisor actions promoting patient safety and for staffing. Perceptions equaled national norms in 4 domains. Perceptions of patient safety culture did not improve with advancing postgraduate year. Trainees in a large integrated health system have variable perceptions of patient safety culture, as compared with national norms for some practicing providers. Administration of the HSOPSC was feasible and acceptable to trainees, and may be used to track perceptions over time.

  13. Breast self-examination: resistance to change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Giudice, M Elisabeth; Tannenbaum, David; Goodwin, Pamela J

    2005-05-01

    To investigate whether Canadian family practitioners routinely teach breast self-examination (BSE) after publication of the 2001 Canadian Preventive Health Task Force guideline advising them to exclude teaching BSE from periodic health examinations. Self-administered cross-sectional mailed survey. Canada. A random sample of English-speaking general practitioners and physicians certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Current and past BSE practices and opinions on the value of BSE. Response rate was 47.4%. Most respondents (88%) were aware of the new recommendations, yet only 16% had changed their usual practice of routinely teaching BSE. Most physicians agreed that before the recommendation they almost always taught BSE (74.3%). Only 9.5% agreed that physicians should follow the recommendation and not routinely teach BSE. A few also agreed that they now spend less time discussing BSE (25.7%) and that the recommendation has influenced them to stop teaching (12.4%) and encouraging (12.9%) women to practise BSE. Physicians who had changed their BSE practices were less likely to agree that BSE increases early detection of breast cancer and more likely to agree that BSE increases benign breast biopsies. They were also more likely to agree that screening mammography in women older than 50 decreases mortality from breast cancer. This survey, which assessed routine teaching of BSE, revealed poor adherence by Canadian family physicians to a well publicized evidence-based guideline update. Resistance to change could in part be attributed to a lack of knowledge of the supporting evidence, a lack of confidence in the evidence to date, and personal experiences with patients within their practices.

  14. Squale: evaluation criteria of functioning safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deswarte, Y.; Kaaniche, M.; Benoit, P.

    1998-05-01

    The SQUALE (security, safety and quality evaluation for dependable systems) project is part of the ACTS (advanced communications, technologies and services) European program. Its aim is to develop confidence evaluation criteria to test the functioning safety of systems. All industrial sectors that use critical applications (nuclear, railway, aerospace..) are concerned. SQUALE evaluation criteria differ from the classical evaluation methods: they are independent of the application domains and industrial sectors, they take into account the overall functioning safety attributes, and they can progressively change according to the level of severity required. In order to validate the approach and to refine the criteria, a first experiment is in progress with the METEOR automatic underground railway and another will be carried out on a telecommunication system developed by Bouygues company. (J.S.)

  15. Safety culture and the 5 steps to safer surgery: an intervention study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, M R; Roberts, M J; Alderson, M L; Gale, T C E

    2015-06-01

    Improvements in safety culture have been postulated as one of the mechanisms underlying the association between the introduction of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist with perioperative briefings and debriefings, and enhanced patient outcomes. The 5 Steps to Safer Surgery (5SSS) incorporates pre-list briefings, the three steps of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) and post-list debriefings in one framework. We aimed to identify any changes in safety culture associated with the introduction of the 5SSS in orthopaedic operating theatres. We assessed the safety culture in the elective orthopaedic theatres of a large UK teaching hospital before and after introduction of the 5SSS using a modified version of the Safety Attitude Questionnaire - Operating Room (SAQ-OR). Primary outcome measures were pre-post intervention changes in the six safety culture domains of the SAQ-OR. We also analysed changes in responses to two items regarding perioperative briefings. The SAQ-OR survey response rate was 80% (60/75) at baseline and 74% (53/72) one yr later. There were significant improvements in both the reported frequency (Pculture domain scores (Working Conditions, Perceptions of Management, Job Satisfaction, Safety Climate and Teamwork Climate) of the SAQ-OR (Pculture of elective orthopaedic operating theatres. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Effects of peer education, social support and self esteem on breast self examination performance and knowledge level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malak, Arzu Tuna; Bektash, Murat; Turgay, Ayshe San; Tuna, Asli; Genç, Rabia Ekti

    2009-01-01

    To estimate associations among peer education, social support and self-esteem and their influences on performance of breast self-examination (BSE). Seven volunteer peer educators were given the BSE training programme and in turn educated 65 women students in the university. BSE knowledge evaluation forms developed by Maurer were applied for evaluation. Other data were collected with questionnaires for the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and Scale of Perceived Social Support over three months. Knowledge level points of students and the BSE practice ratio were increased by peer support. There was a positive relationship between average BSE knowledge points and social support and self-esteem. The results showed positive relationships among BSE knowledge, social support and self-esteem, these affecting the BSE performance level.

  17. National Partnership for Maternal Safety: Consensus Bundle on Obstetric Hemorrhage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Main, Elliott K; Goffman, Dena; Scavone, Barbara M; Low, Lisa Kane; Bingham, Debra; Fontaine, Patricia L; Gorlin, Jed B; Lagrew, David C; Levy, Barbara S

    2015-07-01

    Hemorrhage is the most frequent cause of severe maternal morbidity and preventable maternal mortality and therefore is an ideal topic for the initial national maternity patient safety bundle. These safety bundles outline critical clinical practices that should be implemented in every maternity unit. They are developed by multidisciplinary work groups of the National Partnership for Maternal Safety under the guidance of the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care. The safety bundle is organized into four domains: Readiness, Recognition and Prevention, Response, and Reporting and System Learning. Although the bundle components may be adapted to meet the resources available in individual facilities, standardization within an institution is strongly encouraged. References contain sample resources and "Potential Best Practices" to assist with implementation.

  18. The evolution of risk perceptions related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy--Canadian consumer and producer behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jun; Goddard, Ellen

    2011-01-01

    In this study the dynamics of risk perceptions related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) held by Canadian consumers and cow-calf producers were evaluated. Since the first domestic case of BSE in 2003, Canadian consumers and cow-calf producers have needed to make decisions on whether or not their purchasing/production behavior should change. Such changes in their behavior may relate to their levels of risk perceptions about BSE, risk perceptions that may be evolving over time and be affected by BSE media information available. An econometric analysis of the behavior of consumers and cow-calf producers might identify the impacts of evolving BSE risk perceptions. Risk perceptions related to BSE are evaluated through observed market behavior, an approach that differs from traditional stated preference approaches to eliciting risk perceptions at a particular point in time. BSE risk perceptions may be specified following a Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) derived from sociology, psychology, and economics. Based on the SARF, various quality and quantity indices related to BSE media information are used as explanatory variables in risk perception equations. Risk perceptions are approximated using a predictive difference approach as defined by Liu et al. (1998). Results showed that Canadian consumer and cow-calf producer risk perceptions related to BSE have been amplified or attenuated by both quantity and quality of BSE media information. Government policies on risk communications need to address the different roles of BSE information in Canadian consumers' and cow-calf producers' behavior.

  19. Measuring and improving patient safety through health information technology: The Health IT Safety Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Hardeep; Sittig, Dean F

    2016-04-01

    Health information technology (health IT) has potential to improve patient safety but its implementation and use has led to unintended consequences and new safety concerns. A key challenge to improving safety in health IT-enabled healthcare systems is to develop valid, feasible strategies to measure safety concerns at the intersection of health IT and patient safety. In response to the fundamental conceptual and methodological gaps related to both defining and measuring health IT-related patient safety, we propose a new framework, the Health IT Safety (HITS) measurement framework, to provide a conceptual foundation for health IT-related patient safety measurement, monitoring, and improvement. The HITS framework follows both Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and sociotechnical approaches and calls for new measures and measurement activities to address safety concerns in three related domains: 1) concerns that are unique and specific to technology (e.g., to address unsafe health IT related to unavailable or malfunctioning hardware or software); 2) concerns created by the failure to use health IT appropriately or by misuse of health IT (e.g. to reduce nuisance alerts in the electronic health record (EHR)), and 3) the use of health IT to monitor risks, health care processes and outcomes and identify potential safety concerns before they can harm patients (e.g. use EHR-based algorithms to identify patients at risk for medication errors or care delays). The framework proposes to integrate both retrospective and prospective measurement of HIT safety with an organization's existing clinical risk management and safety programs. It aims to facilitate organizational learning, comprehensive 360 degree assessment of HIT safety that includes vendor involvement, refinement of measurement tools and strategies, and shared responsibility to identify problems and implement solutions. A long term framework goal is to enable rigorous measurement that helps achieve the safety

  20. A longitudinal study of an intervention to improve road safety climate: climate as an organizational boundary spanner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naveh, Eitan; Katz-Navon, Tal

    2015-01-01

    This study presents and tests an intervention to enhance organizational climate and expands existing conceptualization of organizational climate to include its influence on employee behaviors outside the organization's physical boundaries. In addition, by integrating the literatures of climate and work-family interface, the study explored climate spillover and crossover from work to the home domain. Focusing on an applied practical problem within organizations, we investigated the example of road safety climate and employees' and their families' driving, using a longitudinal study design of road safety intervention versus control groups. Results demonstrated that the intervention increased road safety climate and decreased the number of traffic violation tickets and that road safety climate mediated the relationship between the intervention and the number of traffic violation tickets. Road safety climate spilled over to the family domain but did not cross over to influence family members' driving. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  1. A Domain-specific Framework for Automated Construction and Verification of Railway Control Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haxthausen, Anne Elisabeth

    2009-01-01

    in a demand for a higher degree of automation for the development verification, validation and test phases of projects, without impairing the thoroughness of safety-related quality measures and certification activities. Motivated by these considerations, this presentation describes an approach for automated...... elaborate safety mechanisms in order to keep the risk at the same low level that has been established for European railways until today. The challenge is further increased by the demand for shorter time-to-market periods and higher competition among suppliers of the railway domain; both factors resulting...

  2. User-Centered Collaborative Design and Development of an Inpatient Safety Dashboard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mlaver, Eli; Schnipper, Jeffrey L; Boxer, Robert B; Breuer, Dominic J; Gershanik, Esteban F; Dykes, Patricia C; Massaro, Anthony F; Benneyan, James; Bates, David W; Lehmann, Lisa S

    2017-12-01

    Patient safety remains a key concern in hospital care. This article summarizes the iterative participatory development, features, functions, and preliminary evaluation of a patient safety dashboard for interdisciplinary rounding teams on inpatient medical services. This electronic health record (EHR)-embedded dashboard collects real-time data covering 13 safety domains through web services and applies logic to generate stratified alerts with an interactive check-box function. The technological infrastructure is adaptable to other EHR environments. Surveyed users perceived the tool as highly usable and useful. Integration of the dashboard into clinical care is intended to promote communication about patient safety and facilitate identification and management of safety concerns. Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. All rights reserved.

  3. The role of behavioral, normative and control beliefs in breast self-examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Tania E; White, Katherine M

    2008-01-01

    A limited number of studies have been conducted examining the role of beliefs in the prediction of breast self-examination (BSE) behavior in Australian women, particularly women under 50 years of age for which it is the primary method of early detection of breast cancer. The present research investigated the differences in behavioral, normative and control beliefs between BSE performers and non-performers, within a theory of planned behavior framework, to assist in the development of specific education programs aimed at increasing BSE amongst this demographic group. Two hundred and fifty-three women enrolled in an undergraduate psychology course completed a questionnaire assessing beliefs regarding BSE. One month later, these women reported their BSE behavior during the previous month. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify belief-based differences between BSE performers and non-performers. Underlying behavioral and control, but not normative, beliefs about BSE distinguished between BSE performers and non-performers. Performers were more likely than non-performers to believe that engaging in BSE would be associated with identifying a lump or breast change sooner and detecting a breast cancer earlier in its course. Non-performers were more likely to perceive factors such as forgetting to perform the behavior, lack of time, lack of knowledge about how to perform the behavior, laziness, and a lack of confidence in their ability to identify lumps and breast changes as factors preventing their control over the performance of BSE. The belief-based differences between BSE performers and non-performers found in this study can be used to inform health promotion strategies aimed at increasing BSE behavior in women less than 50 years of age.

  4. Safety Risk Knowledge Elicitation in Support of Aeronautical R and D Portfolio Management: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shih, Ann T.; Ancel, Ersin; Jones, Sharon Monica; Reveley, Mary S.; Luxhoj, James T.

    2012-01-01

    Aviation is a problem domain characterized by a high level of system complexity and uncertainty. Safety risk analysis in such a domain is especially challenging given the multitude of operations and diverse stakeholders. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects that by 2025 air traffic will increase by more than 50 percent with 1.1 billion passengers a year and more than 85,000 flights every 24 hours contributing to further delays and congestion in the sky (Circelli, 2011). This increased system complexity necessitates the application of structured safety risk analysis methods to understand and eliminate where possible, reduce, and/or mitigate risk factors. The use of expert judgments for probabilistic safety analysis in such a complex domain is necessary especially when evaluating the projected impact of future technologies, capabilities, and procedures for which current operational data may be scarce. Management of an R&D product portfolio in such a dynamic domain needs a systematic process to elicit these expert judgments, process modeling results, perform sensitivity analyses, and efficiently communicate the modeling results to decision makers. In this paper a case study focusing on the application of an R&D portfolio of aeronautical products intended to mitigate aircraft Loss of Control (LOC) accidents is presented. In particular, the knowledge elicitation process with three subject matter experts who contributed to the safety risk model is emphasized. The application and refinement of a verbal-numerical scale for conditional probability elicitation in a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) is discussed. The preliminary findings from this initial step of a three-part elicitation are important to project management practitioners as they illustrate the vital contribution of systematic knowledge elicitation in complex domains.

  5. (Mis)Perceptions of Continuing Education: Insights from Knowledge Translation, Quality Improvement, and Patient Safety Leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitto, Simon C.; Bell, Mary; Goldman, Joanne; Peller, Jennifer; Silver, Ivan; Sargeant, Joan; Reeves, Scott

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Minimal attention has been given to the intersection and potential collaboration among the domains of continuing education (CE), knowledge translation (KT), quality improvement (QI), and patient safety (PS), despite their overlapping objectives. A study was undertaken to examine leaders' perspectives of these 4 domains and their…

  6. Sun safety knowledge and practice in UK postal delivery workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houdmont, J; Davis, S; Griffiths, A

    2016-06-01

    Postal delivery workers spend a large proportion of their work time outdoors, placing them at increased risk of skin cancer. To date, no studies have examined occupational sun safety knowledge and practice within this group in the UK. To describe the occupational sun safety knowledge and practice of UK postal delivery workers and to investigate the association of demographic, personal and occupational factors with knowledge and practice in order to identify potential strategies for improving sun safety in this occupational group. Postal delivery workers completed a questionnaire that collected data on occupational sun safety knowledge and practice in addition to demographic, personal and workplace characteristics. One-way analysis of variances were applied to assess differences in knowledge and practice by these characteristics. A total of 1153 postal delivery workers completed the questionnaire, a 60% response rate. Thirty-three per cent reported receiving sun safety training within the previous 12 months. The majority of respondents reported correct knowledge on three of the six domains and good practice on four of the six behavioural domains. However, only one-fifth of respondents reported wearing sunglasses and ensuring a plentiful intake of water. Knowledge and practice differed significantly according to demographic, personal and workplace characteristics. There is a need to raise the profile of occupational skin cancer in this occupational group and to increase the priority given to occupational sun safety policies alongside targeted and tailored interventions, the effect of which can be evaluated. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

  7. The Risky Side of Creativity: Domain Specific Risk Taking in Creative Individuals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyagi, Vaibhav; Hanoch, Yaniv; Hall, Stephen D.; Runco, Mark; Denham, Susan L.

    2017-01-01

    Risk taking is often associated with creativity, yet little evidence exists to support this association. The present article aimed to systematically explore this association. In two studies, we investigated the relationship between five different domains of risk taking (financial, health and safety, recreational, ethical and social) and five different measures of creativity. Results from the first (laboratory-based) offline study suggested that creativity is associated with high risk taking tendencies in the social domain but not the other domains. Indeed, in the second study conducted online with a larger and diverse sample, the likelihood of social risk taking was the strongest predictor of creative personality and ideation scores. These findings illustrate the necessity to treat creativity and risk taking as multi-dimensional traits and the need to have a more nuanced framework of creativity and other related cognitive functions. PMID:28217103

  8. Rational quantitative safety goals: a summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unwin, S.D.; Hayns, M.R.

    1984-08-01

    We introduce the notion of a Rational Quantitative Safety Goal. Such a goal reflects the imprecision and vagueness inherent in any reasonable notion of adequate safety and permits such vagueness to be incorporated into the formal regulatory decision-making process. A quantitative goal of the form, the parameter x, characterizing the safety level of the nuclear plant, shall not exceed the value x 0 , for example, is of a non-rational nature in that it invokes a strict binary logic in which the parameter space underlying x is cut sharply into two portions: that containing those values of x that comply with the goal and that containing those that do not. Here, we utilize an alternative form of logic which, in accordance with any intuitively reasonable notion of safety, permits a smooth transition of a safety determining parameter between the adequately safe and inadequately safe domains. Fuzzy set theory provides a suitable mathematical basis for the formulation of rational quantitative safety goals. The decision-making process proposed here is compatible with current risk assessment techniques and produces results in a transparent and useful format. Our methodology is illustrated with reference to the NUS Corporation risk assessment of the Limerick Generating Station

  9. Revolutionizing safety and security in the chemical and process industry: applying the CHESS concept

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reniers, G.L.L.M.E.; Khakzad Rostami, N.

    2017-01-01

    This paper argues that a new concept, summarized as ‘CHESS’, should be used in the chemical industry to further substantially advance safety (where we use the term in a broad sense, that is, safety and physical security, amongst others). The different domains that need to be focused upon, and where

  10. A research agenda on patient safety in primary care. Recommendations by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verstappen, Wim; Gaal, Sander; Bowie, Paul; Parker, Diane; Lainer, Miriam; Valderas, Jose M.; Wensing, Michel; Esmail, Aneez

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: Healthcare can cause avoidable serious harm to patients. Primary care is not an exception, and the relative lack of research in this area lends urgency to a better understanding of patient safety, the future research agenda and the development of primary care oriented safety programmes. Objective: To outline a research agenda for patient safety improvement in primary care in Europe and beyond. Methods: The LINNEAUS collaboration partners analysed existing research on epidemiology and classification of errors, diagnostic and medication errors, safety culture, and learning for and improving patient safety. We discussed ideas for future research in several meetings, workshops and congresses with LINNEAUS collaboration partners, practising GPs, researchers in this field, and policy makers. Results: This paper summarizes and integrates the outcomes of the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care. It proposes a research agenda on improvement strategies for patient safety in primary care. In addition, it provides background information to help to connect research in this field with practicing GPs and other healthcare workers in primary care. Conclusion: Future research studies should target specific primary care domains, using prospective methods and innovative methods such as patient involvement. PMID:26339841

  11. A research agenda on patient safety in primary care. Recommendations by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verstappen, Wim; Gaal, Sander; Bowie, Paul; Parker, Diane; Lainer, Miriam; Valderas, Jose M; Wensing, Michel; Esmail, Aneez

    2015-09-01

    Healthcare can cause avoidable serious harm to patients. Primary care is not an exception, and the relative lack of research in this area lends urgency to a better understanding of patient safety, the future research agenda and the development of primary care oriented safety programmes. To outline a research agenda for patient safety improvement in primary care in Europe and beyond. The LINNEAUS collaboration partners analysed existing research on epidemiology and classification of errors, diagnostic and medication errors, safety culture, and learning for and improving patient safety. We discussed ideas for future research in several meetings, workshops and congresses with LINNEAUS collaboration partners, practising GPs, researchers in this field, and policy makers. This paper summarizes and integrates the outcomes of the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care. It proposes a research agenda on improvement strategies for patient safety in primary care. In addition, it provides background information to help to connect research in this field with practicing GPs and other healthcare workers in primary care. Future research studies should target specific primary care domains, using prospective methods and innovative methods such as patient involvement.

  12. National Partnership for Maternal Safety Consensus Bundle on Obstetric Hemorrhage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Main, Elliott K; Goffman, Dena; Scavone, Barbara M; Low, Lisa Kane; Bingham, Debra; Fontaine, Patricia L; Gorlin, Jed B; Lagrew, David C; Levy, Barbara S

    2015-01-01

    Hemorrhage is the most frequent cause of severe maternal morbidity and preventable maternal mortality and therefore is an ideal topic for the initial national maternity patient safety bundle. These safety bundles outline critical clinical practices that should be implemented in every maternity unit. They are developed by multidisciplinary work groups of the National Partnership for Maternal Safety under the guidance of the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Health Care. The safety bundle is organized into 4 domains: Readiness, Recognition and Prevention, Response, and Reporting and Systems Learning. Although the bundle components may be adapted to meet the resources available in individual facilities, standardization within an institution is strongly encouraged. References contain sample resources and "Potential Best Practices" to assist with implementation. © 2015 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

  13. The BRCT domain is a phospho-protein binding domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiaochun; Chini, Claudia Christiano Silva; He, Miao; Mer, Georges; Chen, Junjie

    2003-10-24

    The carboxyl-terminal domain (BRCT) of the Breast Cancer Gene 1 (BRCA1) protein is an evolutionarily conserved module that exists in a large number of proteins from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Although most BRCT domain-containing proteins participate in DNA-damage checkpoint or DNA-repair pathways, or both, the function of the BRCT domain is not fully understood. We show that the BRCA1 BRCT domain directly interacts with phosphorylated BRCA1-Associated Carboxyl-terminal Helicase (BACH1). This specific interaction between BRCA1 and phosphorylated BACH1 is cell cycle regulated and is required for DNA damage-induced checkpoint control during the transition from G2 to M phase of the cell cycle. Further, we show that two other BRCT domains interact with their respective physiological partners in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Thirteen additional BRCT domains also preferentially bind phospho-peptides rather than nonphosphorylated control peptides. These data imply that the BRCT domain is a phospho-protein binding domain involved in cell cycle control.

  14. A new method for the assessment of patient safety competencies during a medical school clerkship using an objective structured clinical examination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Mahfuz Daud-Gallotti

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Patient safety is seldom assessed using objective evaluations during undergraduate medical education. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of fifth-year medical students using an objective structured clinical examination focused on patient safety after implementation of an interactive program based on adverse events recognition and disclosure. METHODS: In 2007, a patient safety program was implemented in the internal medicine clerkship of our hospital. The program focused on human error theory, epidemiology of incidents, adverse events, and disclosure. Upon completion of the program, students completed an objective structured clinical examination with five stations and standardized patients. One station focused on patient safety issues, including medical error recognition/disclosure, the patient-physician relationship and humanism issues. A standardized checklist was completed by each standardized patient to assess the performance of each student. The student's global performance at each station and performance in the domains of medical error, the patient-physician relationship and humanism were determined. The correlations between the student performances in these three domains were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 95 students participated in the objective structured clinical examination. The mean global score at the patient safety station was 87.59 ± 1.24 points. Students' performance in the medical error domain was significantly lower than their performance on patient-physician relationship and humanistic issues. Less than 60% of students (n = 54 offered the simulated patient an apology after a medical error occurred. A significant correlation was found between scores obtained in the medical error domains and scores related to both the patient-physician relationship and humanistic domains. CONCLUSIONS: An objective structured clinical examination is a useful tool to evaluate patient safety competencies during the medical

  15. Big data in food safety: An overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marvin, Hans J P; Janssen, Esmée M; Bouzembrak, Yamine; Hendriksen, Peter J M; Staats, Martijn

    2017-07-24

    Technology is now being developed that is able to handle vast amounts of structured and unstructured data from diverse sources and origins. These technologies are often referred to as big data, and open new areas of research and applications that will have an increasing impact in all sectors of our society. In this paper we assessed to which extent big data is being applied in the food safety domain and identified several promising trends. In several parts of the world, governments stimulate the publication on internet of all data generated in public funded research projects. This policy opens new opportunities for stakeholders dealing with food safety to address issues which were not possible before. Application of mobile phones as detection devices for food safety and the use of social media as early warning of food safety problems are a few examples of the new developments that are possible due to big data.

  16. Perception of breast health amongst Malaysian female adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Che, Chong Chin; Coomarasamy, Jeya Devi; Suppayah, Balakrishnan

    2014-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Malaysia, about one in 19 women being at risk. This study aimed to investigate knowledge and practice of breast self-examination (BSE), as well as knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer amongst female adolescents in Malaysia. Subsequently, relationships between demographic characteristics and knowledge level of BSE, risk factors for breast cancer and BSE practice were assessed. A descriptive, cross sectional survey was conducted using a sample of 500 Malaysian adolescents from the age of 15 to 19 years. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather socio- demographic characteristics, knowledge of BSE, knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer and BSE practices. The findings of this study indicated that female adolescents in Malaysia demonstrated an inadequate knowledge level of BSE and risk factors for breast cancer. Only 27.8% of female adolescents performed BSE regularly. BSE practice, knowledge of BSE and knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer showed significant positive relationships. The study highlighted the importance of planning and implementing breast health education programs for female students in secondary schools in Malaysia. It will also provide the health care providers an avenue to stress on the importance of imparting breast health education to adolescents.

  17. Domain analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjørland, Birger

    2017-01-01

    The domain-analytic approach to knowledge organization (KO) (and to the broader field of library and information science, LIS) is outlined. The article reviews the discussions and proposals on the definition of domains, and provides an example of a domain-analytic study in the field of art studies....... Varieties of domain analysis as well as criticism and controversies are presented and discussed....

  18. The role of the ward manager in promoting patient safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinnock, David

    In this article the role of the ward manager in promoting patient safety is explored. The background to the development of the patient safety agenda is briefly discussed and the relationship between quality and safety is illustrated. The pivotal importance of the role of the ward manager in delivering services to patients is underlined and literature on patient safety is examined to identify what a ward manager can do to make care safer. Possible actions of the ward manager to improve safety discussed in the literature are structured around the Leadership Framework. This framework identifies seven domains for the leadership of service delivery. Ward managers use their personal qualities, and network and work within teams, while managing performance and facilitating innovation, change and measurement for improvement. The challenge of promoting patient safety for ward managers is briefly explored and recommendations for further research are made.

  19. Safety Culture and Senior Leadership Behavior: Using Negative Safety Ratings to Align Clinical Staff and Senior Leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Shawn; Carlson, Elizabeth

    2016-04-01

    This report describes how staff-designed behavior changes among senior leaders can have a positive impact on clinical nursing staff and enhance the culture of safety in a community hospital. A positive culture of safety in a hospital improves outcomes for patients and staff. Senior leaders are accountable for developing an environment that supports a culture of safety. At 1 community hospital, surveys demonstrated that staff members did not view senior leaders as supportive of or competent in creating a culture of safety. After approval from the hospital's institutional review board was obtained, clinical nurses generated and selected ideas for senior leader behavior change. The new behaviors were assessed by a convenience sample survey of clinical nurses. In addition, culture of safety survey results were compared. Risk reports and harm events were also measured before and after behavior changes. The volume of risk and near-miss reports increased, showing that clinical staff were more inclined to report events after senior leader communication, access, and visibility increased. Harm events went down. The culture of safety survey demonstrated an improvement in the senior leadership domain in 4 of 6 units. The anonymous convenience survey demonstrated that staff members recognized changes that senior leaders had made and felt that these changes positively impacted the culture of safety. By developing skills in communication, advocacy, visibility, and access, senior leaders can enhance a hospital's culture of safety and create stronger ties with clinical staff.

  20. The SACSESS hydrometallurgy domain - an overview

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geist, A. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - KIT, Institute for Nuclear Wsaste Disposal - INE, Karlsruhe (Germany); Taylor, R. [National Nuclear Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, CA20 1PG (United Kingdom); Ekberg, C. [Chalmers University of Technology, Nuclear Chemistry/Industrial Materials Recycling, SE-412 96 Goeteborg (Sweden); Guilbaud, P.; Bourg, S. [CEA, Centre de Marcoule, Nuclear Energy Division, F-30207 Bagnols-sur-Ceze (France); Modolo, G. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH - FZJ, Institut fuer Energie- und Klimaforschung - IEK-6, Juelich (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    The EURATOM FP7 project SACSESS (Safety of Actinide Separation Processes) is in continuity of a long line of preceding EURATOM projects. SACSESS is organised along four domains, one of them related to the development of hydrometallurgical (i.e. solvent extraction based) actinide separations processes. Within this domain, the most promising processes developed in previous projects are further developed, improving their technology readiness level (TRL) towards the point at which safe industrial implementation will be achievable. The SACSESS reference compounds are: TODGA, CyMe{sub 4}-BTBP, SO{sub 3}-Ph-BTP, HEDTA and DTPA. TODGA is used to co-extract actinides and lanthanides from high-acidity raffinate solutions, separating from the non-lanthanide fission products. TODGA is also used to accelerate the extraction kinetics of CyMe{sub 4}-BTBP. CyMe{sub 4}-BTBP extracts actinides selectively over lanthanides and many other fission products. HEDTA and DTPA are used to strip actinides selectively over lanthanides from an organic phase containing both actinides and lanthanides. SO{sub 3}-Ph-BTP was developed to overcome some of the drawbacks of HEDTA and DTPA, such as the narrow pH window they are effective in.

  1. Inferring domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions with formal concept analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Khor

    Full Text Available Identifying reliable domain-domain interactions will increase our ability to predict novel protein-protein interactions, to unravel interactions in protein complexes, and thus gain more information about the function and behavior of genes. One of the challenges of identifying reliable domain-domain interactions is domain promiscuity. Promiscuous domains are domains that can occur in many domain architectures and are therefore found in many proteins. This becomes a problem for a method where the score of a domain-pair is the ratio between observed and expected frequencies because the protein-protein interaction network is sparse. As such, many protein-pairs will be non-interacting and domain-pairs with promiscuous domains will be penalized. This domain promiscuity challenge to the problem of inferring reliable domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions has been recognized, and a number of work-arounds have been proposed. This paper reports on an application of Formal Concept Analysis to this problem. It is found that the relationship between formal concepts provides a natural way for rare domains to elevate the rank of promiscuous domain-pairs and enrich highly ranked domain-pairs with reliable domain-domain interactions. This piggybacking of promiscuous domain-pairs onto less promiscuous domain-pairs is possible only with concept lattices whose attribute-labels are not reduced and is enhanced by the presence of proteins that comprise both promiscuous and rare domains.

  2. Inferring Domain-Domain Interactions from Protein-Protein Interactions with Formal Concept Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khor, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Identifying reliable domain-domain interactions will increase our ability to predict novel protein-protein interactions, to unravel interactions in protein complexes, and thus gain more information about the function and behavior of genes. One of the challenges of identifying reliable domain-domain interactions is domain promiscuity. Promiscuous domains are domains that can occur in many domain architectures and are therefore found in many proteins. This becomes a problem for a method where the score of a domain-pair is the ratio between observed and expected frequencies because the protein-protein interaction network is sparse. As such, many protein-pairs will be non-interacting and domain-pairs with promiscuous domains will be penalized. This domain promiscuity challenge to the problem of inferring reliable domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions has been recognized, and a number of work-arounds have been proposed. This paper reports on an application of Formal Concept Analysis to this problem. It is found that the relationship between formal concepts provides a natural way for rare domains to elevate the rank of promiscuous domain-pairs and enrich highly ranked domain-pairs with reliable domain-domain interactions. This piggybacking of promiscuous domain-pairs onto less promiscuous domain-pairs is possible only with concept lattices whose attribute-labels are not reduced and is enhanced by the presence of proteins that comprise both promiscuous and rare domains. PMID:24586450

  3. Safety certification of airborne software: An empirical study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dodd, Ian; Habli, Ibrahim

    2012-01-01

    Many safety-critical aircraft functions are software-enabled. Airborne software must be audited and approved by the aerospace certification authorities prior to deployment. The auditing process is time-consuming, and its outcome is unpredictable, due to the criticality and complex nature of airborne software. To ensure that the engineering of airborne software is systematically regulated and is auditable, certification authorities mandate compliance with safety standards that detail industrial best practice. This paper reviews existing practices in software safety certification. It also explores how software safety audits are performed in the civil aerospace domain. The paper then proposes a statistical method for supporting software safety audits by collecting and analysing data about the software throughout its lifecycle. This method is then empirically evaluated through an industrial case study based on data collected from 9 aerospace projects covering 58 software releases. The results of this case study show that our proposed method can help the certification authorities and the software and safety engineers to gain confidence in the certification readiness of airborne software and predict the likely outcome of the audits. The results also highlight some confidentiality issues concerning the management and retention of sensitive data generated from safety-critical projects.

  4. Measurement of the knowledge level about breast self-exam among the female employees of a university hospital, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamide Şişman

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Periodic mammography, clinical breast examination and breast self-exam (BSE facilitate getting a therapeutic response and improve disease prognosis, by leading to early diagnosis of the breast cancer. Methods: The study included a total of 618 women working in Çukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, as technician, secretary, staff, midwife and doctor. They answered a 22-items questionnaire consisting of questions about general knowledge, 8 of these were about BSE. Results: While it was statistically significant that the education was not correlated with the age of onset of BSE and timing of BSE, the education was significantly efficient in terms of knowing the aim of the BSE, its frequency, post-menopausal BSE time, nipple discharge properties in the case of breast cancer, diagnostic methods and the risks. While it was statistically significant that the profession was not related to age of onset of BSE and knowing the right day of the month on which BSE should be performed, the education was likely to be efficient in knowing the frequency, post-menopausal BSE time, aim of the BSE, nipple discharge properties in the case of breast cancer, diagnostic methods and the risks. When the percentage of giving right answers to the questions and educational background and professional groups were compared, it was seen that the difference of the number of right answers and professional groups was significant. Conclusion: Based on our results, we concluded that the education about BSE is warranted in order to increase the likelihood of female healthcare personnel to diagnose breast cancer at an earlier stage, given their role in raising the awareness of the population.

  5. Patient Safety, Present and Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amalberti, R.

    2016-01-01

    Health care tends to oversimplify patient safety concepts. We tend to think about patient safety as a linear dimension that is only associated with the progressive reduction in the number of errors and accidents, with the simple notion that fewer are always better. We consider figures in isolation from the underlying context and prerequisites that drive safety models and the reality of the clinical fields. There is no one ultimate reference model of safety, but many models that can be adapted to fit the various clinical fields requirements and constraints. It is therefore not necessarily a bad result to observe a lower safety figure in a medical domain compared to the figures obtained in nonmedical ultra-safe models. The poor figures may represent the best local safety optimization while coping with the special health care requirements such as a high frequency of unplanned and nonstandard challenges. The paper distinguishes three classes of safety models that fit different field demands: the resilient and adaptive model, the high reliability (HRO) model, and the ultra-safe model. The lecture benchmarks the traits of each model while highlighting the specific dimensions for optimization. The conclusion is that firstly, that since the task requirements dictate the relevance and choice of the model and not the other way around, it is counterproductive to impose a model that is inadequate for the task requirements. Either you move the requirements and change the model, or you keep the constraints, and try to locally optimize the model to the clinical and organizational needs. (author)

  6. Boswellia serrata Preserves Intestinal Epithelial Barrier from Oxidative and Inflammatory Damage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Catanzaro

    Full Text Available Aminosalicylates, corticosteroids and immunosuppressants are currently the therapeutic choices in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD, however, with limited remission and often serious side effects. Meanwhile complementary and alternative medicine (CAM use is increasing, particularly herbal medicine. Boswellia serrata is a traditional Ayurvedic remedy with anti-inflammatory properties, of interest for its usefulness in IBDs. The mechanism of this pharmacological potential of Boswellia serrata was investigated in colonic epithelial cell monolayers exposed to H2O2 or INF-γ+TNF-α, chosen as in vitro experimental model of intestinal inflammation. The barrier function was evaluated by the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER and paracellular permeability assay, and by the tight junction proteins (zonula occludens-1, ZO-1 and occludin immunofluorescence. The expression of phosphorylated NF-κB and reactive oxygen species (ROS generation were determined by immunoblot and cytofluorimetric assay, respectively. Boswellia serrata oleo-gum extract (BSE and its pure derivative acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA, were tested at 0.1-10 μg/ml and 0.027 μg/ml, respectively. BSE and AKBA safety was demonstrated by no alteration of intestinal cell viability and barrier function and integrity biomarkers. H2O2 or INF-γ+TNF-α treatment of Caco-2 cell monolayers significantly reduced TEER, increased paracellular permeability and caused the disassembly of tight junction proteins occludin and ZO-1. BSE and AKBA pretreatment significantly prevented functional and morphological alterations and also the NF-κB phosphorylation induced by the inflammatory stimuli. At the same concentrations BSE and AKBA counteracted the increase of ROS caused by H2O2 exposure. Data showed the positive correlation of the antioxidant activity with the mechanism involved in the physiologic maintenance of the integrity and function of the intestinal epithelium. This study

  7. Multi-sectoral action for child safety-a European study exploring implicated sectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholtes, Beatrice; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Förster, Katharina; MacKay, Morag; Vincenten, Joanne; Brand, Helmut

    2017-06-01

    Injury to children in Europe, resulting in both death and disability, constitutes a significant burden on individuals, families and society. Inequalities between high and low-income countries are growing. The World Health Organisation Health 2020 strategy calls for inter-sectoral collaboration to address injury in Europe and advocates the whole of government and whole of society approaches to wicked problems. In this study we explore which sectors (e.g. health, transport, education) are relevant for four domains of child safety (intentional injury, water, road and home safety). We used the organigraph methodology, originally developed to demonstrate how organizations work, to describe the governance of child safety interventions. Members of the European Child Safety Alliance, working in the field of child safety in 24 European countries, drew organigraphs of evidence-based interventions. They included the different actors involved and the processes between them. We analyzed the organigraphs by counting the actors presented and categorizing them into sectors using a pre-defined analysis framework. We received 44 organigraphs from participants in 24 countries. Twenty-seven sectors were identified across the four domains. Nine of the 27 identified sectors were classified as 'core sectors' (education, health, home affairs, justice, media, recreation, research, social/welfare services and consumers). This study reveals the multi-sectoral nature of child safety in practice. It provides information for stakeholders working in child safety to help them implement inter-sectoral child safety interventions taking a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to health governance. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  8. Patient safety competence for final-year health professional students: Perceptions of effectiveness of an interprofessional education course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Jee-In; Yoon, Tai-Young; Jin, Hyeon-Jeong; Park, Yikyun; Park, Ju-Young; Lee, Beom-Joon

    2016-11-01

    As final-year medical and nursing students will soon play key roles in frontline patient care, their preparedness for safe, reliable care provision is of special importance. We assessed patient safety competencies of final-year health profession students, and the effect of a 1-day patient safety education programme on these competencies. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 233 students in three colleges of medicine, nursing, and traditional medicine in Seoul. A before-and-after study followed to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. Patient safety competency was measured using the Health-Professional Education for Patients Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) and an objective patient safety knowledge test. The mean scores were 3.4 and 1.7 out of 5.0, respectively. The communication domain was rated the highest and the teamwork domain was rated the lowest. H-PEPSS scores significantly differed between the students from three colleges. The 1-day patient safety education curriculum significantly improved H-PEPSS and knowledge test scores. These results indicated that strengthening patient safety competencies, especially teamwork, of students is required in undergraduate healthcare curricula. A 1-day interprofessional patient safety education programme may be a promising strategy. The findings suggest that interprofessional patient safety education needs to be implemented as a core undergraduate course to improve students' safety competence.

  9. Predicting Intention Perform Breast Self-Examination: Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewi, Triana Kesuma; Zein, Rizqy Amelia

    2017-11-26

    Objective: The present study aimed to examine the applicability of the theory of reasoned action to explain intention to perform breast self-examination (BSE). Methods: A questionnaire was constructed to collect data. The hypothesis was tested in two steps. First, to assess the strength of the correlation among the constructs of theory of reasoned action (TRA), Pearson’s product moment correlations were applied. Second, multivariate relationships among the constructs were examined by performing hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis. Result: The findings supported the TRA model, explaining 45.8% of the variance in the students’ BSE intention, which was significantly correlated with attitude (r = 0.609, p = 0.000) and subjective norms (r = 0.420, p =0 .000). Conclusion: TRA could be a suitable model to predict BSE intentions . Participants who believed that doing BSE regularly is beneficial for early diagnosis of breast cancer and also believed that their significant referents think that doing BSE would significantly detect breast cancer earlier, were more likely to intend to perform BSE regularly. Therefore, the research findings supported the conclusion that promoting the importance of BSE at the community/social level would enhance individuals to perform BSE routinely. Creative Commons Attribution License

  10. Formal faculty observation and assessment of bedside skills for 3rd-year neurology clerks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson Stone, Robert; Mooney, Christopher; Wexler, Erika; Mink, Jonathan; Post, Jennifer; Jozefowicz, Ralph F

    2016-11-22

    To evaluate the feasibility and utility of instituting a formalized bedside skills evaluation (BSE) for 3rd-year medical students on the neurology clerkship. A neurologic BSE was developed for 3rd - year neurology clerks at the University of Rochester for the 2012-2014 academic years. Faculty directly observed 189 students completing a full history and neurologic examination on real inpatients. Mock grades were calculated utilizing the BSE in the final grade, and number of students with a grade difference was determined when compared to true grade. Correlation was explored between the BSE and clinical scores, National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) scores, case complexity, and true final grades. A survey was administered to students to assess their clinical skills exposure and the usefulness of the BSE. Faculty completed and submitted a BSE form for 88.3% of students. There was a mock final grade change for 13.2% of students. Correlation coefficients between BSE score and clinical score/NBME score were 0.36 and 0.35, respectively. A statistically significant effect of BSE was found on final clerkship grade (F 2,186 = 31.9, p neurology clerkship was feasible. Low correlation between BSE score and other evaluations indicated a unique measurement to contribute to student grade. Using real patients with differing case complexity did not alter the grade. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

  11. The effect of message framing on breast self-examination attitudes, intentions, and behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyerowitz, B E; Chaiken, S

    1987-03-01

    In this study we tested the framing hypothesis that a pamphlet stressing the negative consequences of not performing breast self-examination (BSE) would be more persuasive than a pamphlet emphasizing BSE's positive consequences. College-aged female subjects were exposed to a loss-frame pamphlet, a gain-frame pamphlet, or a no-arguments pamphlet, or they received no pamphlet describing the importance of and the techniques for performing BSE. Attitudes toward BSE and intentions to perform BSE were assessed immediately after this intervention and again 4 months later. The follow-up also assessed subjects' postexperimental BSE behavior. Consistent with predictions, subjects who read a pamphlet with arguments framed in loss language manifested more positive BSE attitudes, intentions, and behaviors than did subjects in the other three conditions. The greater impact of the loss pamphlet could not be attributed to greater fear arousal, better memory for pamphlet content, greater perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, or stronger beliefs in BSE's efficacy on the part of the loss subjects. Only measures of perceived self-efficacy in performing BSE were differentially affected by the framing manipulation, with loss subjects reporting the greatest levels of self-confidence. The results are discussed in terms of prospect theory's framing postulate and a simpler negativity-bias conceptualization, and underlying mechanisms such as differential salience and vividness are considered. Clinical implications of the findings are also explored.

  12. Light tetraquarks and mesons in a DSE/BSE approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heupel, Walter

    2015-07-01

    quark propagator and it's dressing functions. This enables one to derive closed expressions for the interaction kernel beyond the rainbow-ladder approximation. This technique is very general, and in principle applicable to any vertex that is given in terms of quark dressing functions. As an improvement over previous approaches this technique allows one to determine not only the masses of the bound-states but also their Bethe-Salpeter wave functions. As examples, this technique was applied to two type of vertices, the Ball-Chiu vertex and the Munczek vertex that both respect the constraints due to the vector Ward-Takahashi identity but contain additional structures related to spin-orbit forces. Upon solving the BSE for pseudo-scalar, scalar, vector and axial-vector mesons it was found that these structures alone are not sufficient to generate a physical spectrum of light mesons while keeping the pion properties intact.

  13. Practice of breast self-examination among women in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Naggar, Redhwan Ahmed; Bobryshev, Yuri V; Al-Jashamy, Karim

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the practice and associated factors of breast self- examination (BSE) among Malaysian women. For this cross-sectional study 250 women were selected by a simple random sampling technique. The questionnaire was consisted of three parts: socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge about BSE, and practice of BSE. Obtained data was analyzed using SPSS version 13. T-test and ANOVA test were used to explore the relation between socio-demographic characteristics and the practice of BSE. About 32% of the participants reported that they have had family history of cancer and about 20% of the participants reported that they have had family history of breast cancer. The majority of the participants (88.8%) have heard about breast cancer and 78.4% of the participants have heard about BSE. Race, marital status, residency, regular exercise, awareness about breast cancer, belief that breast cancer can be detected early, belief that early detection improves the chance of survival, family history of cancer, family history of breast cancer, awareness about BSE, and belief that BSE is necessary, significantly influenced the practice of BSE among women. Practice of BSE on monthly basis was found to be 47.2% among the study participants. The socio-demographic characteristics significantly influence the practice of BSA among women in Malaysia. The findings of this study might not only influence the planning of specific screening interventions and strategies in Malaysia but might also be important for the relevant international communities, interested in the peculiarities of BSE incidence in different countries.

  14. Neuropsychological assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurologic disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Steven W; Aksan, Nazan; Dawson, Jeffrey D; Uc, Ergun Y; Johnson, Amy M; Rizzo, Matthew

    2012-01-01

    Decline in cognitive abilities can be an important contributor to the driving problems encountered by older adults, and neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical approach to evaluating this aspect of driving safety risk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate several commonly used neuropsychological tests in the assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurological disease. A further goal of this study was to identify brief combinations of neuropsychological tests that sample performances in key functional domains and thus could be used to efficiently assess driving safety risk. A total of 345 legally licensed and active drivers over the age of 50, with no neurologic disease (N = 185), probable Alzheimer's disease (N = 40), Parkinson's disease (N = 91), or stroke (N = 29), completed vision testing, a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests, and an 18-mile drive on urban and rural roads in an instrumented vehicle. Performances on all neuropsychological tests were significantly correlated with driving safety errors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify 3 key cognitive domains assessed by the tests (speed of processing, visuospatial abilities, and memory), and several brief batteries consisting of one test from each domain showed moderate corrected correlations with driving performance. These findings are consistent with the notion that driving places demands on multiple cognitive abilities that can be affected by aging and age-related neurological disease, and that neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical off-road window into the functional status of these cognitive systems.

  15. The YARHG domain: an extracellular domain in search of a function.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penny Coggill

    Full Text Available We have identified a new bacterial protein domain that we hypothesise binds to peptidoglycan. This domain is called the YARHG domain after the most highly conserved sequence-segment. The domain is found in the extracellular space and is likely to be composed of four alpha-helices. The domain is found associated with protein kinase domains, suggesting it is associated with signalling in some bacteria. The domain is also found associated with three different families of peptidases. The large number of different domains that are found associated with YARHG suggests that it is a useful functional module that nature has recombined multiple times.

  16. Benchmarking Global Food Safety Performances: The Era of Risk Intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valleé, Jean-Charles Le; Charlebois, Sylvain

    2015-10-01

    Food safety data segmentation and limitations hamper the world's ability to select, build up, monitor, and evaluate food safety performance. Currently, there is no metric that captures the entire food safety system, and performance data are not collected strategically on a global scale. Therefore, food safety benchmarking is essential not only to help monitor ongoing performance but also to inform continued food safety system design, adoption, and implementation toward more efficient and effective food safety preparedness, responsiveness, and accountability. This comparative study identifies and evaluates common elements among global food safety systems. It provides an overall world ranking of food safety performance for 17 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, illustrated by 10 indicators organized across three food safety risk governance domains: risk assessment (chemical risks, microbial risks, and national reporting on food consumption), risk management (national food safety capacities, food recalls, food traceability, and radionuclides standards), and risk communication (allergenic risks, labeling, and public trust). Results show all countries have very high food safety standards, but Canada and Ireland, followed by France, earned excellent grades relative to their peers. However, any subsequent global ranking study should consider the development of survey instruments to gather adequate and comparable national evidence on food safety.

  17. .Gov Domains API

    Data.gov (United States)

    General Services Administration — This dataset offers the list of all .gov domains, including state, local, and tribal .gov domains. It does not include .mil domains, or other federal domains outside...

  18. Nuclear Safety. 1997; Surete Nucleaire. 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-01-19

    A quick review of the nuclear safety at EDF may be summarized as follows: - the nuclear safety at EDF maintains at a rather good standard; - none of the incidents that took place has had any direct impact upon safety; - the availability remained good; - initiation of the floor 4 reactor generation (N4 unit - 1450 MW) ensued without major difficulties (the Civaux 1 NPP has been coupled to the power network at 24 december 1997); - the analysis of the incidents interesting from the safety point of view presents many similarities with earlier ones. Significant progress has been recorded in promoting actively and directly a safe operation by making visible, evident and concrete the exertion of the nuclear operation responsibility and its control by the hierarchy. The report develops the following chapters and subjects: 1. An overview on 1997; 1.1. The technical issues of the nuclear sector; 1.2. General performances in safety; 1.3. The main incidents; 1.4. Wastes and radiation protection; 2. Nuclear safety management; 2.1. Dynamics and results; 2.2. Ameliorations to be consolidated; 3. Other important issues in safety; 3.1. Probabilistic safety studies; 3.2. Approach for safety re-evaluation; 3.3. The network safety; 3.4. Crisis management; 3.5. The Lifetime program; 3.6. PWR; 3.7. Documentation; 3.8. Competence; 4. Safety management in the future; 4.1. An open future; 4.2. The fast neutron NPP at Creys-Malville; 4.3. Stabilization of the PWR reference frame; 4.4. Implementing the EURATOM directive regarding the radiation protection standards; 4.5. Development of biomedical research and epidemiological studies; 4.6. New regulations concerning the liquid and gaseous effluents; 5. Visions of an open future; 5.1. Alternative views upon safety ay EDF; 5.2. Safety authority; 5.3. International considerations; 5.4. What happens abroad; 5.5. References from non-nuclear domain. Four appendices are added referring to policy of safety management, policy of human factors in NPPs

  19. Same but not alike: Structure, flexibility and energetics of domains in multi-domain proteins are influenced by the presence of other domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishwanath, Sneha; de Brevern, Alexandre G; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy

    2018-02-01

    The majority of the proteins encoded in the genomes of eukaryotes contain more than one domain. Reasons for high prevalence of multi-domain proteins in various organisms have been attributed to higher stability and functional and folding advantages over single-domain proteins. Despite these advantages, many proteins are composed of only one domain while their homologous domains are part of multi-domain proteins. In the study presented here, differences in the properties of protein domains in single-domain and multi-domain systems and their influence on functions are discussed. We studied 20 pairs of identical protein domains, which were crystallized in two forms (a) tethered to other proteins domains and (b) tethered to fewer protein domains than (a) or not tethered to any protein domain. Results suggest that tethering of domains in multi-domain proteins influences the structural, dynamic and energetic properties of the constituent protein domains. 50% of the protein domain pairs show significant structural deviations while 90% of the protein domain pairs show differences in dynamics and 12% of the residues show differences in the energetics. To gain further insights on the influence of tethering on the function of the domains, 4 pairs of homologous protein domains, where one of them is a full-length single-domain protein and the other protein domain is a part of a multi-domain protein, were studied. Analyses showed that identical and structurally equivalent functional residues show differential dynamics in homologous protein domains; though comparable dynamics between in-silico generated chimera protein and multi-domain proteins were observed. From these observations, the differences observed in the functions of homologous proteins could be attributed to the presence of tethered domain. Overall, we conclude that tethered domains in multi-domain proteins not only provide stability or folding advantages but also influence pathways resulting in differences in

  20. Liquidity ratios. A structural and dynamic analysis, during 2006-2012, of the companies having the business line in industry and construction, listed and traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange

    OpenAIRE

    Diana Elena VASIU; Nicolae BALTEȘ; Iulian Nicolae GHEORGHE

    2015-01-01

    Liquidity ratios are used to measure a company’s ability to pay short-term debt, assessing the amount of cash and cash equivalents that it has on the short term. Considering the companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange among the best performing, due to the high requirements imposed by a stock market, in this paper has been analyzed the way the financial crisis affected the liquidity of companies listed on BSE, acting in industry and construction domains.

  1. Exploration of barriers to breast-self examination among urban women in Shah Alam, Malaysia: a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Dubai, Sami Abdo Radman; Ganasegeran, Kurubaran; Alabsi, Aied M; Abdul Manaf, Mohd Rizal; Ijaz, Sharea; Kassim, Saba

    2012-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Malaysia. Barriers for practicing breast self examination (BSE) await exploration. To assess the practice of BSE and its correlated factors and particularly barriers amongst urban women in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 222 Malaysian women using a self-administered questionnaire. The mean (SD) age was 28.5 (±9.2) years, 59.0% were university graduates. Of the total, 81.1% were aware of breast cancer and 55% practiced BSE. Amongst 45% of respondents who did not practice BSE, 79.8% did not know how to do it, 60.6% feared being diagnosed with breast cancer, 59.6% were worried about detecting breast cancer, 22% reported that they should not touch their bodies, 44% and 28% reported BSE is embarrassing or unpleasant, 29% time consuming, 22% thought they would never have breast cancer or it is ineffective and finally 20% perceived BSE as unimportant. Logistic regression modeling showed that respondents aged ≥45 years, being Malay, married and having a high education level were more likely to practice BSE (pcultural, perception and environmental factors were identified as barriers. BSE practice was associated significantly with socio-demographic factors and socioeconomic status.

  2. Predictors affecting breast self-examination practice among undergraduate female students in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh; Lattif, Latiffah A; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah; Md Said, Salmiah; Ismail, Irmi Zarina

    2015-12-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, including Malaysia. In developing countries, predictors affecting breast self-examination (BSE) practice are different. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of BSE practice and the predictors affecting BSE practice among undergraduate female students in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 820 female undergraduate students to assess the BSE performance and related determinants of BSE practice in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data were collected via a self-administered structured questionnaire that was developed for this study. The mean age of the respondents was 21.7 ± 1.2 years old. Most of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 19.6% of the participants performed BSE regularly. Multivariate logistic regression modeling revealed that BSE performance was more likely among women who have checked their breast with a doctor (odds ratio = 2.04, P = 0.00), and women who have personal history of breast disease (odds ratio = 4.43, P = 0.03). The findings showed a low BSE practice rate among young Malaysian women. Hence, the community's breast health awareness is needed to improve breast cancer prevention among young Malaysian women. © 2015 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  3. Bayesian approach and application to operation safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Procaccia, H.; Suhner, M.Ch.

    2003-01-01

    The management of industrial risks requires the development of statistical and probabilistic analyses which use all the available convenient information in order to compensate the insufficient experience feedback in a domain where accidents and incidents remain too scarce to perform a classical statistical frequency analysis. The Bayesian decision approach is well adapted to this problem because it integrates both the expertise and the experience feedback. The domain of knowledge is widen, the forecasting study becomes possible and the decisions-remedial actions are strengthen thanks to risk-cost-benefit optimization analyzes. This book presents the bases of the Bayesian approach and its concrete applications in various industrial domains. After a mathematical presentation of the industrial operation safety concepts and of the Bayesian approach principles, this book treats of some of the problems that can be solved thanks to this approach: softwares reliability, controls linked with the equipments warranty, dynamical updating of databases, expertise modeling and weighting, Bayesian optimization in the domains of maintenance, quality control, tests and design of new equipments. A synthesis of the mathematical formulae used in this approach is given in conclusion. (J.S.)

  4. Introduction: Situation Awareness, Systems of Systems, and Maritime Safety and Security

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tretmans, G.J.; Laar, P.J.L.J. van de

    2013-01-01

    This book presents and discusses various challenges and solutions for developing systems-of-systems for attaining situation awareness, with applications in the domain of maritime safety and security. This chapter introduces the book, describes the Dutch research project Poseidon from which it

  5. Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 2000. Volume IV: Nuclear Energy and Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Brian; Gschwend, Beatrice

    2001-03-01

    Nuclear energy related research in Switzerland is concentrated at PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES). The activities of the department are concentrated on three main domains of: Safety and related problems of operating plants; safety features of future reactor and fuel cycles; waste management. Comprehensive assessments of energy systems are carried out in cooperation with PSI's General Energy Research Department. Many of the programs are part of collaborations with universities, industry, or international organisations. Progress in 2000 in these topical areas is described in this report. A list of scientific publications in 2000 is also provided

  6. Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 2000. Volume IV: Nuclear Energy and Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Brian; Gschwend, Beatrice [eds.

    2001-03-01

    Nuclear energy related research in Switzerland is concentrated at PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES). The activities of the department are concentrated on three main domains of: Safety and related problems of operating plants; safety features of future reactor and fuel cycles; waste management. Comprehensive assessments of energy systems are carried out in cooperation with PSI's General Energy Research Department. Many of the programs are part of collaborations with universities, industry, or international organisations. Progress in 2000 in these topical areas is described in this report. A list of scientific publications in 2000 is also provided.

  7. Investigating Simulated Driving Errors in Amnestic Single- and Multiple-Domain Mild Cognitive Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hird, Megan A; Vesely, Kristin A; Fischer, Corinne E; Graham, Simon J; Naglie, Gary; Schweizer, Tom A

    2017-01-01

    The areas of driving impairment characteristic of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remain unclear. This study compared the simulated driving performance of 24 individuals with MCI, including amnestic single-domain (sd-MCI, n = 11) and amnestic multiple-domain MCI (md-MCI, n = 13), and 20 age-matched controls. Individuals with MCI committed over twice as many driving errors (20.0 versus 9.9), demonstrated difficulty with lane maintenance, and committed more errors during left turns with traffic compared to healthy controls. Specifically, individuals with md-MCI demonstrated greater driving difficulty compared to healthy controls, relative to those with sd-MCI. Differentiating between different subtypes of MCI may be important when evaluating driving safety.

  8. Immunohistochemical distinction between preclinical bovine spongiform encephalopathy and scrapie infection in sheep

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thuring, C.M.A.; Keulen, van L.J.M.; Langeveld, J.P.M.; Vromans, M.E.W.; Zijderveld, van F.G.; Sweeney, T.

    2005-01-01

    Sheep are susceptible experimentally to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the clinical signs being indistinguishable from those of scrapie. Because of the possibility of natural ovine BSE infection, laboratory tests are needed to distinguish between scrapie and BSE infection. The objectives of

  9. Safety management and risk assessment in chemical laboratories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marendaz, Jean-Luc; Friedrich, Kirstin; Meyer, Thierry

    2011-01-01

    The present paper highlights a new safety management program, MICE (Management, Information, Control and Emergency), which has been specifically adapted for the academic environment. The process starts with an exhaustive hazard inventory supported by a platform assembling specific hazards encountered in laboratories and their subsequent classification. A proof of concept is given by a series of implementations in the domain of chemistry targeting workplace health protection. The methodology is expressed through three examples to illustrate how the MICE program can be used to address safety concerns regarding chemicals, strong magnetic fields and nanoparticles in research laboratories. A comprehensive chemical management program is also depicted.

  10. Nurse perceptions of safety climate in Australian acute hospitals: a cross-sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soh, Sze-Ee; Morello, Renata; Rifat, Sheral; Brand, Caroline; Barker, Anna

    2017-03-16

    Objectives The aim of the present study was to explore nurse perceptions of safety climate in acute Australian hospitals. Methods Participants included 420 nurses who have worked on 24 acute wards from six Australian hospitals. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) Short Form was used to quantify nurse perceptions of safety climate and benchmarked against international data. Generalised linear mixed models were used to explore factors that may influence safety climate. Results On average, 53.5% of nurses held positive attitudes towards job satisfaction followed by teamwork climate (50.5%). There was variability in SAQ domain scores across hospitals. The safety climate and perceptions of hospital management domains also varied across wards within a hospital. Nurses who had worked longer at a hospital were more likely to have poorer perceptions of hospital management (β=-5.2; P=0.014). Overall, nurse perceptions of safety climate appeared higher than international data. Conclusions The perceptions of nurses working in acute Victorian and New South Wales hospitals varied between hospitals as well as across wards within each hospital. This highlights the importance of surveying all hospital wards and examining the results at the ward level when implementing strategies to improve patient safety and the culture of safety in organisations. What is known about the topic? Prior studies in American nursing samples have shown that hospitals with higher levels of safety climate have a lower relative incidence of preventable patient complications and adverse events. Developing a culture of safety in hospitals may be useful in targeting efforts to improve patient safety. What does this paper add? This paper has shown that the perceptions of safety climate among nurses working in acute Australian hospitals varied between hospitals and across wards within a hospital. Only half the nurses also reported positive attitudes towards job satisfaction and teamwork climate. What are

  11. Domain Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørner, Dines

    Before software can be designed we must know its requirements. Before requirements can be expressed we must understand the domain. So it follows, from our dogma, that we must first establish precise descriptions of domains; then, from such descriptions, “derive” at least domain and interface requirements; and from those and machine requirements design the software, or, more generally, the computing systems.

  12. Validation test case generation based on safety analysis ontology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan, Chin-Feng; Wang, Wen-Shing

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Current practice in validation test case generation for nuclear system is mainly ad hoc. ► This study designs a systematic approach to generate validation test cases from a Safety Analysis Report. ► It is based on a domain-specific ontology. ► Test coverage criteria have been defined and satisfied. ► A computerized toolset has been implemented to assist the proposed approach. - Abstract: Validation tests in the current nuclear industry practice are typically performed in an ad hoc fashion. This study presents a systematic and objective method of generating validation test cases from a Safety Analysis Report (SAR). A domain-specific ontology was designed and used to mark up a SAR; relevant information was then extracted from the marked-up document for use in automatically generating validation test cases that satisfy the proposed test coverage criteria; namely, single parameter coverage, use case coverage, abnormal condition coverage, and scenario coverage. The novelty of this technique is its systematic rather than ad hoc test case generation from a SAR to achieve high test coverage.

  13. Relationship between the physical environment and different domains of physical activity in European adults: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Van Holle Veerle

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the past decade, various reviews described the relationship between the physical environment and different physical activity (PA domains. Yet, the majority of the current review evidence relies on North American/Australian studies, while only a small proportion of findings refer to European studies. Given some clear environmental differences across continents, this raises questions about the applicability of those results in European settings. This systematic review aimed at summarizing Europe-specific evidence on the relationship between the physical environment and different PA domains in adults. Methods Seventy eligible papers were identified through systematic searches across six electronic databases. Included papers were observational studies assessing the relationship between several aspects of the physical environment and PA in European adults (18-65y. Summary scores were calculated to express the strength of the relationship between each environmental factor and different PA domains. Results Convincing evidence on positive relationships with several PA domains was found for following environmental factors: walkability, access to shops/services/work and the composite factor environmental quality. Convincing evidence considering urbanization degree showed contradictory results, dependent on the observed PA domain. Transportation PA was more frequently related to the physical environment than recreational PA. Possible evidence for a positive relationship with transportation PA emerged for walking/cycling facilities, while a negative relationship was found for hilliness. Some environmental factors, such as access to recreational facilities, aesthetics, traffic- and crime-related safety were unrelated to different PA domains in Europe. Conclusions Generally, findings from this review of European studies are in accordance with results from North American/Australian reviews and may contribute to a generalization of the

  14. Modeling patient safety incidents knowledge with the Categorial Structure method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souvignet, Julien; Bousquet, Cédric; Lewalle, Pierre; Trombert-Paviot, Béatrice; Rodrigues, Jean Marie

    2011-01-01

    Following the WHO initiative named World Alliance for Patient Safety (PS) launched in 2004 a conceptual framework developed by PS national reporting experts has summarized the knowledge available. As a second step, the Department of Public Health of the University of Saint Etienne team elaborated a Categorial Structure (a semi formal structure not related to an upper level ontology) identifying the elements of the semantic structure underpinning the broad concepts contained in the framework for patient safety. This knowledge engineering method has been developed to enable modeling patient safety information as a prerequisite for subsequent full ontology development. The present article describes the semantic dissection of the concepts, the elicitation of the ontology requirements and the domain constraints of the conceptual framework. This ontology includes 134 concepts and 25 distinct relations and will serve as basis for an Information Model for Patient Safety.

  15. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and spatial analysis of the feed industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Mathilde; Abrial, David; Jarrige, Nathalie; Rican, Stéphane; Garrido, Myriam; Calavas, Didier; Ducrot, Christian

    2007-06-01

    In France, despite the ban of meat-and-bone meal (MBM) in cattle feed, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected in hundreds of cattle born after the ban. To study the role of MBM, animal fat, and dicalcium phosphate on the risk for BSE after the feed ban, we conducted a spatial analysis of the feed industry. We used data from 629 BSE cases as well as data on use of each byproduct and market area of the feed factories. We mapped risk for BSE in 951 areas supplied by the same factories and connection with use of byproducts. A disease map of BSE with covariates was built with the hierarchical Bayesian modeling methods, based on Poisson distribution with spatial smoothing. Only use of MBM was spatially linked to risk for BSE, which highlights cross-contamination as the most probable source of infection after the feed ban.

  16. Independent accident investigation: a modern safety tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoop, John A.

    2004-01-01

    Historically, safety has been subjected to a fragmented approach. In the past, every department has had its own responsibility towards safety, focusing either on working conditions, internal safety, external safety, rescue and emergency, public order or security. They each issued policy documents, which in their time were leading statements for elaboration and regulation. They also addressed safety issues with tools of various nature, often specifically developed within their domain. Due to a series of major accidents and disasters, the focus of attention is shifting from complying with quantitative risk standards towards intervention in primary operational processes, coping with systemic deficiencies and a more integrated assessment of safety in its societal context. In The Netherlands recognition of the importance of independent investigations has led to an expansion of this philosophy from the transport sector to other sectors. The philosophy now covers transport, industry, defense, natural disaster, environment and health and other major occurrences such as explosions, fires, and collapse of buildings or structures. In 2003 a multi-sector covering law will establish an independent safety board in The Netherlands. At a European level, mandatory investigation agencies are recognized as indispensable safety instruments for aviation, railways and the maritime sector, for which EU Directives are in place or being progressed [Transport accident and incident investigation in the European Union, European Transport Safety Council, ISBN 90-76024-10-3, Brussel, 2001]. Due to a series of major events, attention has been drawn to the consequences of disasters, highlighting the involvement of rescue and emergency services. They also have become subjected to investigative efforts, which in return, puts demands on investigation methodology. This paper comments on an evolutionary development in safety thinking and of safety boards, highlighting some consequences for strategic

  17. Bojesodok-eum, a Herbal Prescription, Ameliorates Acute Inflammation in Association with the Inhibition of NF-κB-Mediated Nitric Oxide and ProInflammatory Cytokine Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kook Ho Sohn

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Bojesodok-eum (BSE is a herbal prescription consisting of Coptidis Rhizoma and Scutellariae Radix as main components. This paper investigated the effects of BSE on the induction of nitric oxide (NO, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2, and proinflammatory cytokines that are caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS in murine macrophage cell line and on the paw edema formation in animals. Administration of BSE (0.3 g/kg and 1 g/kg in rats significantly inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema formation, as did dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory positive control drug. In cell model, treatment of BSE decreased the production of NO and PGE2 in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by LPS. BSE also inhibited the expression of iNOS and COX-2 protein as well as COX activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Consistently, BSE suppressed the ability of LPS to produce TNF-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6. LPS treatment induced nuclear NF-κB level and I-κBα phosphorylation, which were inhibited subsequent treatment of BSE, suggesting its repression of LPS-inducible NF-κB activation. BSE abrogated the induction of NO, PGE2, and proinflammatory cytokines, as well as iNOS and COX-2 protein expression in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by LPS as mediated with NF-κB inhibition.

  18. Domain decomposition method for solving elliptic problems in unbounded domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khoromskij, B.N.; Mazurkevich, G.E.; Zhidkov, E.P.

    1991-01-01

    Computational aspects of the box domain decomposition (DD) method for solving boundary value problems in an unbounded domain are discussed. A new variant of the DD-method for elliptic problems in unbounded domains is suggested. It is based on the partitioning of an unbounded domain adapted to the given asymptotic decay of an unknown function at infinity. The comparison of computational expenditures is given for boundary integral method and the suggested DD-algorithm. 29 refs.; 2 figs.; 2 tabs

  19. The SHOCT domain: a widespread domain under-represented in model organisms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Y Eberhardt

    Full Text Available We have identified a new protein domain, which we have named the SHOCT domain (Short C-terminal domain. This domain is widespread in bacteria with over a thousand examples. But we found it is missing from the most commonly studied model organisms, despite being present in closely related species. It's predominantly C-terminal location, co-occurrence with numerous other domains and short size is reminiscent of the Gram-positive anchor motif, however it is present in a much wider range of species. We suggest several hypotheses about the function of SHOCT, including oligomerisation and nucleic acid binding. Our initial experiments do not support its role as an oligomerisation domain.

  20. Knowledge of Female Undergraduate Students on Breast Cancer and Breast Self-examination in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh; Latiff, Latiffah A; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah; Said, Salmiah Md; Ismail, Irmi Zarina

    2015-01-01

    In Malaysia, breast cancer is the first cancer among females regardness of race. The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge and BSE practice among undergraduate female students at four public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 820 undergraduate female students using a self-administered questionnaire covering socio-demographic data, knowledge of breast cancer and BSE practice. The mean age of the respondents was 21.7±1.2 years. The majority of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 16.5% of respondents had a family history of breast cancer. This study showed low level of knowledge on breast cancer and breast self-examination among participants. Only 19.6% participants were performing BSE regularly. Knowledge of breast self-examination was significantly associated with BSE practice (p=0.00). Also, there were significant associations between performing BSE with age, marital status and being trained by a doctor for doing BSE (p<0.05). Our findings showed that the rate of BSE practice and knowledge of breast cancer is inadequate among young Malaysian females. A public health education program is essential to improve breast cancer prevention among this group.

  1. Patient safety improvement programmes for primary care. Review of a Delphi procedure and pilot studies by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verstappen, Wim; Gaal, Sander; Esmail, Aneez; Wensing, Michel

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: To improve patient safety it is necessary to identify the causes of patient safety incidents, devise solutions and measure the (cost-) effectiveness of improvement efforts. Objective: This paper provides a broad overview with practical guidance on how to improve patient safety. Methods: We used modified online Delphi procedures to reach consensus on methods to improve patient safety and to identify important features of patient safety management in primary care. Two pilot studies were carried out to assess the value of prospective risk analysis (PRA), as a means of identifying the causes of a patient safety incident. Results: A range of different methods can be used to improve patient safety but they have to be contextually specific. Practice organization, culture, diagnostic errors and medication safety were found to be important domains for further improvement. Improvement strategies for patient safety could benefit from insights gained from research on implementation of evidence-based practice. Patient involvement and prospective risk analysis are two promising and innovative strategies for improving patient safety in primary care. Conclusion: A range of methods is available to improve patient safety, but there is no ‘magic bullet.’ Besides better use of the available methods, it is important to use new and potentially more effective strategies, such as prospective risk analysis. PMID:26339837

  2. Domain-to-domain coupling in voltage-sensing phosphatase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakata, Souhei; Matsuda, Makoto; Kawanabe, Akira; Okamura, Yasushi

    2017-01-01

    Voltage-sensing phosphatase (VSP) consists of a transmembrane voltage sensor and a cytoplasmic enzyme region. The enzyme region contains the phosphatase and C2 domains, is structurally similar to the tumor suppressor phosphatase PTEN, and catalyzes the dephosphorylation of phosphoinositides. The transmembrane voltage sensor is connected to the phosphatase through a short linker region, and phosphatase activity is induced upon membrane depolarization. Although the detailed molecular characteristics of the voltage sensor domain and the enzyme region have been revealed, little is known how these two regions are coupled. In addition, it is important to know whether mechanism for coupling between the voltage sensor domain and downstream effector function is shared among other voltage sensor domain-containing proteins. Recent studies in which specific amino acid sites were genetically labeled using a fluorescent unnatural amino acid have enabled detection of the local structural changes in the cytoplasmic region of Ciona intestinalis VSP that occur with a change in membrane potential. The results of those studies provide novel insight into how the enzyme activity of the cytoplasmic region of VSP is regulated by the voltage sensor domain.

  3. MIT domain of Vps4 is a Ca2+-dependent phosphoinositide-binding domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwaya, Naoko; Takasu, Hirotoshi; Goda, Natsuko; Shirakawa, Masahiro; Tanaka, Toshiki; Hamada, Daizo; Hiroaki, Hidekazu

    2013-05-01

    The microtubule interacting and trafficking (MIT) domain is a small protein module that is conserved in proteins of diverged function, such as Vps4, spastin and sorting nexin 15 (SNX15). The molecular function of the MIT domain is protein-protein interaction, in which the domain recognizes peptides containing MIT-interacting motifs. Recently, we identified an evolutionarily related domain, 'variant' MIT domain at the N-terminal region of the microtubule severing enzyme katanin p60. We found that the domain was responsible for binding to microtubules and Ca(2+). Here, we have examined whether the authentic MIT domains also bind Ca(2+). We found that the loop between the first and second α-helices of the MIT domain binds a Ca(2+) ion. Furthermore, the MIT domains derived from Vps4b and SNX15a showed phosphoinositide-binding activities in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. We propose that the MIT domain is a novel membrane-associating domain involved in endosomal trafficking.

  4. Conversion of Dielectric Data from the Time Domain to the Frequency Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Durman

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Polarisation and conduction processes in dielectric systems can be identified by the time domain or the frequency domain measurements. If the systems is a linear one, the results of the time domain measurements can be transformed into the frequency domain, and vice versa. Commonly, the time domain data of the absorption conductivity are transformed into the frequency domain data of the dielectric susceptibility. In practice, the relaxation are mainly evaluated by the frequency domain data. In the time domain, the absorption current measurement were prefered up to now. Recent methods are based on the recovery voltage measurements. In this paper a new method of the recovery data conversion from the time the frequency domain is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of the recovery voltage transient based on the Maxwell equation for the current density in a dielectric. Unlike the previous published solutions, the Laplace fransform was used to derive a formula suitable for practical purposes. the proposed procedure allows also calculating of the insulation resistance and separating the polarisation and conduction losses.

  5. Predicting detection performance with model observers: Fourier domain or spatial domain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Baiyu; Yu, Lifeng; Leng, Shuai; Kofler, James; Favazza, Christopher; Vrieze, Thomas; McCollough, Cynthia

    2016-02-27

    The use of Fourier domain model observer is challenged by iterative reconstruction (IR), because IR algorithms are nonlinear and IR images have noise texture different from that of FBP. A modified Fourier domain model observer, which incorporates nonlinear noise and resolution properties, has been proposed for IR and needs to be validated with human detection performance. On the other hand, the spatial domain model observer is theoretically applicable to IR, but more computationally intensive than the Fourier domain method. The purpose of this study is to compare the modified Fourier domain model observer to the spatial domain model observer with both FBP and IR images, using human detection performance as the gold standard. A phantom with inserts of various low contrast levels and sizes was repeatedly scanned 100 times on a third-generation, dual-source CT scanner at 5 dose levels and reconstructed using FBP and IR algorithms. The human detection performance of the inserts was measured via a 2-alternative-forced-choice (2AFC) test. In addition, two model observer performances were calculated, including a Fourier domain non-prewhitening model observer and a spatial domain channelized Hotelling observer. The performance of these two mode observers was compared in terms of how well they correlated with human observer performance. Our results demonstrated that the spatial domain model observer correlated well with human observers across various dose levels, object contrast levels, and object sizes. The Fourier domain observer correlated well with human observers using FBP images, but overestimated the detection performance using IR images.

  6. [Patient safety and errors in medicine: development, prevention and analyses of incidents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rall, M; Manser, T; Guggenberger, H; Gaba, D M; Unertl, K

    2001-06-01

    "Patient safety" and "errors in medicine" are issues gaining more and more prominence in the eyes of the public. According to newer studies, errors in medicine are among the ten major causes of death in association with the whole area of health care. A new era has begun incorporating attention to a "systems" approach to deal with errors and their causes in the health system. In other high-risk domains with a high demand for safety (such as the nuclear power industry and aviation) many strategies to enhance safety have been established. It is time to study these strategies, to adapt them if necessary and apply them to the field of medicine. These strategies include: to teach people how errors evolve in complex working domains and how types of errors are classified; the introduction of critical incident reporting systems that are free of negative consequences for the reporters; the promotion of continuous medical education; and the development of generic problem-solving skills incorporating the extensive use of realistic simulators wherever possible. Interestingly, the field of anesthesiology--within which realistic simulators were developed--is referred to as a model for the new patient safety movement. Despite this proud track record in recent times though, there is still much to be done even in the field of anesthesiology. Overall though, the most important strategy towards a long-term improvement in patient safety will be a change of "culture" throughout the entire health care system. The "culture of blame" focused on individuals should be replaced by a "safety culture", that sees errors and critical incidents as a problem of the whole organization. The acceptance of human fallability and an open-minded non-punitive analysis of errors in the sense of a "preventive and proactive safety culture" should lead to solutions at the systemic level. This change in culture can only be achieved with a strong commitment from the highest levels of an organization. Patient

  7. LOADS INTERACTION DOMAINS METHODOLOGY FOR THE DESIGN OF STEEL GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Castellano

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim of this research is to develop a design methodology which correlates main structural design parameters, whose production is characterised by high levels of standardization, such as the height of gutter or the distance between frames, with actions on the greenhouse. The methodology, based on the use of charts and abacus, permits a clear and a direct interpretation of the structural response to design load combinations and allows the design of structural improvements with the aim of the optimization of the ratio benefits (structural strength/costs. The study of structural interaction domains allowed a clear and a direct interpretation of the structural response to design load combinations. The diagrams highlight not only if the structure fulfils the standard requirements but also the safety levels with respect to design load combinations and allow the structural designer how to operate in order to optimize the structural response with standard requirements achieving the best ratio benefits (structural safety/ costs. The methodology was developed basing on criteria assigned by EN13031 on two different kinds of greenhouse structures: an arched greenhouse with a film plastic covering and a duo pitched roof greenhouse cover with rigid plastic membranes. Structural interaction domains for arched greenhouse showed a better capability of the structure to resist to vertical loads then to horizontal one. Moreover, the climatic load distribution on the structure assigned by EN13031 is such that the combination of climatic actions is less dangerous for the structure then their individual application. Whilst, duo pitched roof steel greenhouse interaction domains, showed a better capability of the structure to resist to vertical loads then to horizontal one and that, in any case, the serviceability limit states analysis is more strict then the ULS one. The shape of structural domains highlighted that the combination of actions is more dangerous for the

  8. The French-German common safety approach for future reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birkhofer, A.; Chevet, P.F.

    1995-01-01

    A common safety approach has been defined for future electronuclear plants in the framework of the French-German European Pressurised water Reactor (EPR) project. Improvements in the domain of containment are required in future reactors conception to prevent any risk of core fusion under high and low pressure. Another objective is to reduce significantly the radioactive releases due to other accidents in order to reduce spatial and temporal environmental and human protection procedures. Protection against external aggressions (plane fall, explosions, earthquakes,..), prevention of pipe rupture in the primary circuits, limitation of hydrogen production in the case of water-zirconium complete reaction, cooling of the reactor in the case of core fusion, and radiologic consequences of accidents are the main points discussed by the French-German safety authorities to define the common safety standards of the EPR project. (J.S.)

  9. Concrete domains

    OpenAIRE

    Kahn, G.; Plotkin, G.D.

    1993-01-01

    This paper introduces the theory of a particular kind of computation domains called concrete domains. The purpose of this theory is to find a satisfactory framework for the notions of coroutine computation and sequentiality of evaluation.

  10. Nuclear safety training program (NSTP) for dismantling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cretskens, Pieter; Lenie, Koen; Mulier, Guido

    2014-01-01

    European Control Services (GDF Suez) has developed and is still developing specific training programs for the dismantling and decontamination of nuclear installations. The main topic in these programs is nuclear safety culture. We therefore do not focus on technical training but on developing the right human behavior to work in a 'safety culture' environment. The vision and techniques behind these programs have already been tested in different environments: for example the dismantling of the BN MOX Plant in Dessel (Belgium), Nuclear Safety Culture Training for Electrabel NPP Doel..., but also in the non-nuclear industry. The expertise to do so was found in combining the know-how of the Training and the Nuclear Department of ECS. In training, ECS is one of the main providers of education in risky tasks, like elevation and manipulation of charges, working in confined spaces... but it does also develop training on demand to improve safety in a certain topic. Radiation Protection is the core business in the Nuclear Department with a presence on most of the nuclear sites in Belgium. Combining these two domains in a nuclear safety training program, NSTP, is an important stage in a dismantling project due to specific contamination, technical and other risks. It increases the level of safety and leads to a harmonization of different working cultures. The modular training program makes it possible to evaluate constantly as well as in group or individually. (authors)

  11. Static correlation beyond the random phase approximation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Thomas; Thygesen, Kristian Sommer

    2014-01-01

    derived from Hedin's equations (Random Phase Approximation (RPA), Time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF), Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE), and Time-Dependent GW) all reproduce the correct dissociation limit. We also show that the BSE improves the correlation energies obtained within RPA and TDHF significantly...... and confirms that BSE greatly improves the RPA and TDHF results despite the fact that the BSE excitation spectrum breaks down in the dissociation limit. In contrast, second order screened exchange gives a poor description of the dissociation limit, which can be attributed to the fact that it cannot be derived...

  12. A Logic for Inclusion of Administrative Domains and Administrators in Multi-domain Authorization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iranmanesh, Zeinab; Amini, Morteza; Jalili, Rasool

    Authorization policies for an administrative domain or a composition of multiple domains in multi-domain environments are determined by either one administrator or multiple administrators' cooperation. Several logic-based models for multi-domain environments' authorization have been proposed; however, they have not considered administrators and administrative domains in policies' representation. In this paper, we propose the syntax, proof theory, and semantics of a logic for multi-domain authorization policies including administrators and administrative domains. Considering administrators in policies provides the possibility of presenting composite administration having applicability in many collaborative applications. Indeed, administrators and administrative domains stated in policies can be used in authorization. The presented logic is based on modal logic and utilizes two calculi named the calculus of administrative domains and the calculus of administrators. It is also proved that the logic is sound. A case study is presented signifying the logic application in practical projects.

  13. Effects of a smartphone application on breast self-examination: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, Jaesung; Chun, Mison; Lee, Ki Young; Oh, Young-Taek; Noh, O Kyu; Park, Rae Woong

    2013-12-01

    The aims of this study were to develop a smartphone application to encourage breast self-examination (BSE), and to evaluate the effects of this application in terms of modifying BSE behavior. A smartphone application, based on the Android OS, was developed with functions including a BSE date alarm, a reminder to encourage mother and daughter to practice BSE together, record keeping, and educational content with video clips. Females aged 19 and over were enrolled to evaluate the effectiveness of the application. Two series of questionnaires were carried out (before and after use of the application) by e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face interviews between July and September 2012. Forty-five subjects were enrolled in the study (age 29.5-5.9 years). Of the participants, only 28 (62.2%) had ever practiced BSE and only one of these (2.2%) was carried out at the appropriate time, based on the results of the baseline survey. After using the application, the number of participants practicing BSE increased from 28 to 32 (62.2% to 71.1%, p = 0.503). In subgroup analysis (age application increased BSE in females younger than 30 years. To confirm the long-term benefits of the mobile application, additional studies must be carried out.

  14. Breast cancer prevention knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among college women and mother-daughter communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kratzke, Cynthia; Vilchis, Hugo; Amatya, Anup

    2013-06-01

    Although breast cancer prevention targets mostly women ages 40 and older, little is known about breast cancer prevention for young women and mother's advice. The purpose of this study was to examine breast cancer prevention knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among college women and mother-daughter communication. Hispanic and non-Hispanic students at a southwestern university completed a breast cancer prevention survey with items for mother's advice, breast self-awareness and risk reduction knowledge, self-efficacy, susceptibility, family history, provider breast self-exam (BSE) recommendation, peer norms, BSE practice, and demographics. An openended item was also used to elicit types of mother's advice. Logistic regression was used to assess predictors for receiving mother's advice for breast cancer prevention and BSE practice. Self-reported data using a survey were obtained from 546 college women with a mean age of 23.3 (SD = 7.75). Nearly 36 % received mothers' advice and 55 % conducted BSE. Predictors for receiving mother's advice were age, self-efficacy, and family history of breast cancer. Predictors for BSE practice were mother's advice, age, self-efficacy, and provider BSE recommendation. Family history of breast cancer and knowledge were not significant predictors for BSE practice. Findings support the need for clinicians, community health educators, and mothers to provide breast cancer prevention education targeting college women.

  15. The Effect of Breast Cancer Fatalism on Breast Cancer Awareness Among Turkish Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altintas, Hulya Kulakci; Ayyildiz, Tulay Kuzlu; Veren, Funda; Topan, Aysel Kose

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of breast cancer fatalism and other factors on breast cancer awareness among Turkish women. This cross-sectional and comparative descriptive study was conducted with 894 women. Data were collected by Personal Information Form, Powe Fatalism Inventory and Champion's Health Belief Model Scale. Seriousness, health motivation, BSE benefits and BSE self-efficacy perceptions of the women were moderate, and susceptibility and BSE barriers perceptions were low. It was determined that awareness of breast cancer of the women was affected by breast cancer fatalism, age, education level, employment status, marital status, family type, economic status, social assurance, menopause status, family history of cancer, family history of breast cancer, knowledge on BSE, source of information on BSE, performing of BSE, frequency of BSE performing, having a problem with breast, having a breast examination in hospital, feeling during breast examination by healthcare professional, sex of healthcare professional for breast examination and their health beliefs (p breast cancer of the women was affected by breast cancer fatalism. In providing breast cancer early diagnosis behaviors, it is recommended to evaluate fatalism perceptions and health beliefs of the women and to arrange educational programs for this purpose.

  16. Prions spread via the autonomic nervous system from the gut to the central nervous system in cattle incubating bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Christine; Ziegler, Ute; Buschmann, Anne; Weber, Artur; Kupfer, Leila; Oelschlegel, Anja; Hammerschmidt, Baerbel; Groschup, Martin H

    2007-03-01

    To elucidate the still-unknown pathogenesis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), an oral BSE challenge and sequential kill study was carried out on 56 calves. Relevant tissues belonging to the peripheral and central nervous system, as well as to the lymphoreticular tract, from necropsied animals were analysed by highly sensitive immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting techniques to reveal the presence of BSE-associated pathological prion protein (PrPSc) depositions. Our results demonstrate two routes involving the autonomic nervous system through which BSE prions spread by anterograde pathways from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) to the central nervous system (CNS): (i) via the coeliac and mesenteric ganglion complex, splanchnic nerves and the lumbal/caudal thoracic spinal cord (representing the sympathetic GIT innervation); and (ii) via the Nervus vagus (parasympathetic GIT innervation). The dorsal root ganglia seem to be subsequently affected, so it is likely that BSE prion invasion of the non-autonomic peripheral nervous system (e.g. sciatic nerve) is a secondary retrograde event following prion replication in the CNS. Moreover, BSE-associated PrPSc was already detected in the brainstem of an animal 24 months post-infection, which is 8 months earlier than reported previously. These findings are important for the understanding of BSE pathogenesis and for the development of new diagnostic strategies for this infectious disease.

  17. Status of Breast Self-Examination Performance among Women Referring to Health Centers of Tabriz, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farshbaf-Khalili Azizeh

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the second principal cause of deaths from cancer in women. Breast self-examination (BSE is an inexpensive screening method and is carried out by women themselves. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of breast self-examination performance among women referring to health centers of Tabriz, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive/ cross-sectional research carried out on 400 women aged 20-50 years. The samples were recruited randomly from among female clients of health centers in Tabriz. A questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to elicit socio-demographic information and status of BSE performance among women. Content validity was used for validation and Cronbach’s alpha was calculated (0.80 for reliability of instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data through SPSS software. Results: The findings of this research showed that only 18.8% of women performed BSE. Among them, 46.67% performed BSE monthly, and 40% at the end of menstruation. The initiation age of BSE in 77% was between 21-30 years of age. It is considerable that 54.7% of them had received no advice on BSE from physicians and midwives. The majority of women did not perform the various steps of BSE. The quality of this screening was very desirable in 2 (0.5 %, desirable in 5 (1.3%, average in 19 (4.8%, undesirable in 36 (9%, and very undesirable in 338 (84.5% women. Chi-square test showed a significant relationship between the quality of BSE performance and level of education, employment, breastfeeding quality, and family history of breast cancer (P < 0.05. Conclusion: The findings showed that the status of BSE performance was very poor. Therefore, to encourage women to use BSE correctly and regularly, education programs should be performed through various media including television, radio, and leaflets. The role of Health personnel in this

  18. Guinea Pig Prion Protein Supports Rapid Propagation of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Prions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Joel C; Giles, Kurt; Saltzberg, Daniel J; Dugger, Brittany N; Patel, Smita; Oehler, Abby; Bhardwaj, Sumita; Sali, Andrej; Prusiner, Stanley B

    2016-11-01

    The biochemical and neuropathological properties of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) prions are faithfully maintained upon transmission to guinea pigs. However, primary and secondary transmissions of BSE and vCJD in guinea pigs result in long incubation periods of ∼450 and ∼350 days, respectively. To determine if the incubation periods of BSE and vCJD prions could be shortened, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice expressing guinea pig prion protein (GPPrP). Inoculation of Tg(GPPrP) mice with BSE and vCJD prions resulted in mean incubation periods of 210 and 199 days, respectively, which shortened to 137 and 122 days upon serial transmission. In contrast, three different isolates of sporadic CJD prions failed to transmit disease to Tg(GPPrP) mice. Many of the strain-specified biochemical and neuropathological properties of BSE and vCJD prions, including the presence of type 2 protease-resistant PrP Sc , were preserved upon propagation in Tg(GPPrP) mice. Structural modeling revealed that two residues near the N-terminal region of α-helix 1 in GPPrP might mediate its susceptibility to BSE and vCJD prions. Our results demonstrate that expression of GPPrP in Tg mice supports the rapid propagation of BSE and vCJD prions and suggest that Tg(GPPrP) mice may serve as a useful paradigm for bioassaying these prion isolates. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) prions are two of the prion strains most relevant to human health. However, propagating these strains in mice expressing human or bovine prion protein has been difficult because of prolonged incubation periods or inefficient transmission. Here, we show that transgenic mice expressing guinea pig prion protein are fully susceptible to vCJD and BSE prions but not to sporadic CJD prions. Our results suggest that the guinea pig prion protein is a better, more rapid substrate than either bovine or human prion protein for

  19. Motion simulation of hydraulic driven safety rod using FSI method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Jaeho; Kim, Sanghaun; Yoo, Yeonsik; Cho, Yeonggarp; Kim, Jong In

    2013-01-01

    Hydraulic driven safety rod which is one of them is being developed by Division for Reactor Mechanical Engineering, KAERI. In this paper the motion of this rod is simulated by fluid structure interaction (FSI) method before manufacturing for design verification and pump sizing. A newly designed hydraulic driven safety rod which is one of reactivity control mechanism is simulated using FSI method for design verification and pump sizing. The simulation is done in CFD domain with UDF. The pressure drop is changed slightly by flow rates. It means that the pressure drop is mainly determined by weight of moving part. The simulated velocity of piston is linearly proportional to flow rates so the pump can be sized easily according to the rising and drop time requirement of the safety rod using the simulation results

  20. Feature-level domain adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kouw, Wouter M.; Van Der Maaten, Laurens J P; Krijthe, Jesse H.

    2016-01-01

    -level domain adaptation (flda), that models the dependence between the two domains by means of a feature-level transfer model that is trained to describe the transfer from source to target domain. Subsequently, we train a domain-adapted classifier by minimizing the expected loss under the resulting transfer...... modeled via a dropout distribution, which allows the classiffier to adapt to differences in the marginal probability of features in the source and the target domain. Our experiments on several real-world problems show that flda performs on par with state-of-the-art domainadaptation techniques.......Domain adaptation is the supervised learning setting in which the training and test data are sampled from different distributions: training data is sampled from a source domain, whilst test data is sampled from a target domain. This paper proposes and studies an approach, called feature...

  1. Quality of healthcare services and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akram Ghahramanian

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study investigated quality of healthcare services from patients’ perspectives and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 surgery patients and 101 nurses caring them in a public hospital in Tabriz–Iran. Data were collected using the service quality measurement scale (SERVQUAL, hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC and nurse physician professional communication questionnaire. Results: The highest and lowest mean (±SD scores of the patients’ perception on the healthcare services quality belonged to the assurance 13.92 (±3.55 and empathy 6.78 (±1.88 domains,respectively. With regard to the patient safety culture, the mean percentage of positive answers ranged from 45.87% for "non-punitive response to errors" to 68.21% for "organizational continuous learning" domains. The highest and lowest mean (±SD scores for the nurse physician professional communication were obtained for "cooperation" 3.44 (±0.35 and "non participative decision-making" 2.84 (±0.34 domains, respectively. The "frequency of reported errors by healthcare professionals" (B=-4.20, 95% CI = -7.14 to -1.27, P<0.01 and "respect and sharing of information" (B=7.69, 95% CI=4.01 to 11.36, P<0.001 predicted the patients’perceptions of the quality of healthcare services. Conclusion: Organizational culture in dealing with medical error should be changed to non punitive response. Change in safety culture towards reporting of errors, effective communication and teamwork between healthcare professionals are recommended.

  2. Quality of healthcare services and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghahramanian, Akram; Rezaei, Tayyebeh; Abdullahzadeh, Farahnaz; Sheikhalipour, Zahra; Dianat, Iman

    2017-01-01

    Background: This study investigated quality of healthcare services from patients' perspectives and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 surgery patients and 101 nurses caring them in a public hospital in Tabriz-Iran. Data were collected using the service quality measurement scale (SERVQUAL), hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC) and nurse physician professional communication questionnaire. Results: The highest and lowest mean (±SD) scores of the patients' perception on the healthcare services quality belonged to the assurance 13.92 (±3.55) and empathy 6.78 (±1.88) domains,respectively. With regard to the patient safety culture, the mean percentage of positive answers ranged from 45.87% for "non-punitive response to errors" to 68.21% for "organizational continuous learning" domains. The highest and lowest mean (±SD) scores for the nurse physician professional communication were obtained for "cooperation" 3.44 (±0.35) and "non-participative decision-making" 2.84 (±0.34) domains, respectively. The "frequency of reported errors by healthcare professionals" (B=-4.20, 95% CI = -7.14 to -1.27, P<0.01) and "respect and sharing of information" (B=7.69, 95% CI=4.01 to 11.36, P<0.001) predicted the patients'perceptions of the quality of healthcare services. Conclusion: Organizational culture in dealing with medical error should be changed to non-punitive response. Change in safety culture towards reporting of errors, effective communication and teamwork between healthcare professionals are recommended.

  3. PREFACE: Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrows, C. H.; Meier, G.

    2012-01-01

    Domain structures in magnetic materials are ubiquitous and have been studied for decades. The walls that separate them are topological defects in the magnetic order parameter and have a wide variety of complex forms. In general, their investigation is difficult in bulk materials since only the domain structure on the surface of a specimen is visible. Cutting the sample to reveal the interior causes a rearrangement of the domains into a new form. As with many other areas of magnetism, the study of domain wall physics has been revitalised by the advent of nanotechnology. The ability to fabricate nanoscale structures has permitted the formation of simplified and controlled domain patterns; the development of advanced microscopy methods has permitted them to be imaged and then modelled; subjecting them to ultrashort field and current pulses has permitted their dynamics to be explored. The latest results from all of these advances are described in this special issue. Not only has this led to results of great scientific beauty, but also to concepts of great applicability to future information technologies. In this issue the reader will find the latest results for these domain wall dynamics and the high-speed processes of topological structures such as domain walls and magnetic vortices. These dynamics can be driven by the application of magnetic fields, or by flowing currents through spintronic devices using the novel physics of spin-transfer torque. This complexity has been studied using a wide variety of experimental techniques at the edge of the spatial and temporal resolution currently available, and can be described using sophisticated analytical theory and computational modelling. As a result, the dynamics can be engineered to give rise to finely controlled memory and logic devices with new functionality. Moreover, the field is moving to study not only the conventional transition metal ferromagnets, but also complex heterostructures, novel magnets and even other

  4. Unmanned aerial vehicles in construction and worker safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, John; Murashov, Vladimir; Branche, Christine M

    2018-01-01

    Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, recreational, public, and commercial uses have expanded significantly in recent years. In the construction industry, UAVs are used primarily for monitoring of construction workflow and job site logistics, inspecting construction sites to assess structural integrity, and for maintenance assessments. As is the case with other emerging technologies, occupational safety assessments of UAVs lag behind technological advancements. UAVs may create new workplace hazards that need to be evaluated and managed to ensure their safe operation around human workers. At the same time, UAVs can perform dangerous tasks, thereby improving workplace safety. This paper describes the four major uses of UAVs, including their use in construction, the potential risks of their use to workers, approaches for risk mitigation, and the important role that safety and health professionals can play in ensuring safe approaches to the their use in the workplace. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  5. Experimental H-type and L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle: observation of two clinical syndromes and diagnostic challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konold Timm

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The majority of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE cases so far identified worldwide have been detected by active surveillance. Consequently the volume and quality of material available for detailed characterisation is very limiting. Here we report on a small transmission study of both atypical forms, H- and L-type BSE, in cattle to provide tissue for test evaluation and research, and to generate clinical, molecular and pathological data in a standardised way to enable more robust comparison of the two variants with particular reference to those aspects most relevant to case ascertainment and confirmatory diagnosis within existing regulated surveillance programmes. Results Two groups of four cattle, intracerebrally inoculated with L-type or H-type BSE, all presented with a nervous disease form with some similarities to classical BSE, which progressed to a more dull form in one animal from each group. Difficulty rising was a consistent feature of both disease forms and not seen in two BSE-free, non-inoculated cattle that served as controls. The pathology and molecular characteristics were distinct from classical BSE, and broadly consistent with published data, but with some variation in the pathological characteristics. Both atypical BSE types were readily detectable as BSE by current confirmatory methods using the medulla brain region at the obex, but making a clear diagnostic distinction between the forms was not consistently straightforward in this brain region. Cerebellum proved a more reliable sample for discrimination when using immunohistochemistry. Conclusions The prominent feature of difficulty rising in atypical BSE cases may explain the detection of naturally occurring cases in emergency slaughter cattle and fallen stock. Current confirmatory diagnostic methods are effective for the detection of such atypical cases, but consistently and correctly identifying the variant forms may require modifications to

  6. Who is in control of road safety? A STAMP control structure analysis of the road transport system in Queensland, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Paul M; Read, Gemma J M; Stevens, Nicholas J

    2016-11-01

    Despite significant progress, road trauma continues to represent a global safety issue. In Queensland (Qld), Australia, there is currently a focus on preventing the 'fatal five' behaviours underpinning road trauma (drug and drink driving, distraction, seat belt wearing, speeding, and fatigue), along with an emphasis on a shared responsibility for road safety that spans road users, vehicle manufacturers, designers, policy makers etc. The aim of this article is to clarify who shares the responsibility for road safety in Qld and to determine what control measures are enacted to prevent the fatal five behaviours. This is achieved through the presentation of a control structure model that depicts the actors and organisations within the Qld road transport system along with the control and feedback relationships that exist between them. Validated through a Delphi study, the model shows a diverse set of actors and organisations who share the responsibility for road safety that goes beyond those discussed in road safety policies and strategies. The analysis also shows that, compared to other safety critical domains, there are less formal control structures in road transport and that opportunities exist to add new controls and strengthen existing ones. Relationships that influence rather than control are also prominent. Finally, when compared to other safety critical domains, the strength of road safety controls is brought into question. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Time-domain modeling of electromagnetic diffusion with a frequency-domain code

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, W.A.; Wirianto, M.; Slob, E.C.

    2007-01-01

    We modeled time-domain EM measurements of induction currents for marine and land applications with a frequency-domain code. An analysis of the computational complexity of a number of numerical methods shows that frequency-domain modeling followed by a Fourier transform is an attractive choice if a

  8. Differences in safety margins between nuclear and conventional design standards with regards to seismic hazard definition and design criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elgohary, M.; Saudy, A.; Orbovic, N.; Dejan, D.

    2006-01-01

    With the surging interest in new build nuclear all over the world and a permanent interest in earthquake resistance of nuclear plants, there is a need to quantify the safety margins in nuclear buildings design in comparison to conventional buildings in order to increase the public confidence in the safety of nuclear power plants. Nuclear (CAN3-N289 series) and conventional (NBCC 2005) seismic standards have different approaches regarding the design of civil structures. The origin of the differences lays in the safety philosophy behind the seismic nuclear and conventional standards. Conventional seismic codes contain the minimal requirement destined primarily to safeguard against major structural failure and loss of life. It doesn't limit damage to a certain acceptable degree or maintain function. Nuclear seismic code requires that structures, systems and components important to safety, withstand the effects of earthquakes. The requirement states that for equipment important to safety, both integrity and functionality should be ascertained. The seismic hazard is generally defined on the basis of the annual probability of exceedence (return period). There is a major difference on the return period and the confidence level for design earthquakes between the conventional and the nuclear seismic standards. The seismic design criteria of conventional structures are based on the use of Force Modification Factors to take into account the energy dissipation by incursion in non-elastic domain and the reserve of strength. The use of such factors to lower intentionally the seismic input is consistent with the safety philosophy of the conventional seismic standard which is the 'non collapse' rather than the integrity and/or the operability of the structures or components. Nuclear seismic standard requires that the structure remain in the elastic domain; energy dissipation by incursion in non-elastic domain is not allowed for design basis earthquake conditions. This is

  9. Real-Time Evaluation of Breast Self-Examination Using Computer Vision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eman Mohammadi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and breast self-examination (BSE is considered as the most cost-effective approach for early breast cancer detection. The general objective of this paper is to design and develop a computer vision algorithm to evaluate the BSE performance in real-time. The first stage of the algorithm presents a method for detecting and tracking the nipples in frames while a woman performs BSE; the second stage presents a method for localizing the breast region and blocks of pixels related to palpation of the breast, and the third stage focuses on detecting the palpated blocks in the breast region. The palpated blocks are highlighted at the time of BSE performance. In a correct BSE performance, all blocks must be palpated, checked, and highlighted, respectively. If any abnormality, such as masses, is detected, then this must be reported to a doctor to confirm the presence of this abnormality and proceed to perform other confirmatory tests. The experimental results have shown that the BSE evaluation algorithm presented in this paper provides robust performance.

  10. Real-time evaluation of breast self-examination using computer vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadi, Eman; Dadios, Elmer P; Gan Lim, Laurence A; Cabatuan, Melvin K; Naguib, Raouf N G; Avila, Jose Maria C; Oikonomou, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and breast self-examination (BSE) is considered as the most cost-effective approach for early breast cancer detection. The general objective of this paper is to design and develop a computer vision algorithm to evaluate the BSE performance in real-time. The first stage of the algorithm presents a method for detecting and tracking the nipples in frames while a woman performs BSE; the second stage presents a method for localizing the breast region and blocks of pixels related to palpation of the breast, and the third stage focuses on detecting the palpated blocks in the breast region. The palpated blocks are highlighted at the time of BSE performance. In a correct BSE performance, all blocks must be palpated, checked, and highlighted, respectively. If any abnormality, such as masses, is detected, then this must be reported to a doctor to confirm the presence of this abnormality and proceed to perform other confirmatory tests. The experimental results have shown that the BSE evaluation algorithm presented in this paper provides robust performance.

  11. Feedback from incident reporting: information and action to improve patient safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benn, J; Koutantji, M; Wallace, L; Spurgeon, P; Rejman, M; Healey, A; Vincent, C

    2009-02-01

    Effective feedback from incident reporting systems in healthcare is essential if organisations are to learn from failures in the delivery of care. Despite the wide-scale development and implementation of incident reporting in healthcare, studies in the UK suggest that information concerning system vulnerabilities could be better applied to improve operational safety within organisations. In this article, the findings and implications of research to identify forms of effective feedback from incident reporting are discussed, to promote best practices in this area. The research comprised a mixed methods review to investigate mechanisms of effective feedback for healthcare, drawing upon experience within established reporting programmes in high-risk industry and transport domains. Systematic searches of published literature were undertaken, and 23 case studies describing incident reporting programmes with feedback were identified for analysis from the international healthcare literature. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with 19 subject matter experts across a range of domains, including: civil aviation, maritime, energy, rail, offshore production and healthcare. In analysis, qualitative information from several sources was synthesised into practical requirements for developing effective feedback in healthcare. Both action and information feedback mechanisms were identified, serving safety awareness, improvement and motivational functions. The provision of actionable feedback that visibly improved systems was highlighted as important in promoting future reporting. Fifteen requirements for the design of effective feedback systems were identified, concerning: the role of leadership, the credibility and content of information, effective dissemination channels, the capacity for rapid action and the need for feedback at all levels of the organisation, among others. Above all, the safety-feedback cycle must be closed by ensuring that reporting, analysis and

  12. Non-reporting of work injuries and aspects of jobsite safety climate and behavioral-based safety elements among carpenters in Washington State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipscomb, Hester J; Schoenfisch, Ashley L; Cameron, Wilfrid

    2015-04-01

    Declining work injury rates may reflect safer work conditions as well as under-reporting. Union carpenters were invited to participate in a mailed, cross-sectional survey designed to capture information about injury reporting practices. Prevalence of non-reporting and fear of repercussions for reporting were compared across exposure to behavioral-based safety elements and three domains of the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50). The majority (>75%) of the 1,155 participants felt they could report work-related injuries to their supervisor without fear of retribution, and most felt that the majority of injuries on their jobsites got reported. However, nearly half indicated it was best not to report minor injuries, and felt pressures to use their private insurance for work injury care. The prevalence of non-reporting and fear of reporting increased markedly with poorer measures of management safety justice (NOSACQ-50). Formal and informal policies and practices on jobsites likely influence injury reporting. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Separated matter and antimatter domains with vanishing domain walls

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolgov, A.D.; Godunov, S.I.; Rudenko, A.S.; Tkachev, I.I., E-mail: dolgov@fe.infn.it, E-mail: sgodunov@itep.ru, E-mail: a.s.rudenko@inp.nsk.su, E-mail: tkachev@ms2.inr.ac.ru [Physics Department and Laboratory of Cosmology and Elementary Particle Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova st. 2, Novosibirsk, 630090 (Russian Federation)

    2015-10-01

    We present a model of spontaneous (or dynamical) C and CP violation where it is possible to generate domains of matter and antimatter separated by cosmologically large distances. Such C(CP) violation existed only in the early universe and later it disappeared with the only trace of generated baryonic and/or antibaryonic domains. So the problem of domain walls in this model does not exist. These features are achieved through a postulated form of interaction between inflaton and a new scalar field, realizing short time C(CP) violation.

  14. Integrating evidence-based practices for increasing cancer screenings in safety net health systems: a multiple case study using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Shuting; Kegler, Michelle C; Cotter, Megan; Emily, Phillips; Beasley, Derrick; Hermstad, April; Morton, Rentonia; Martinez, Jeremy; Riehman, Kara

    2016-08-02

    Implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) to increase cancer screenings in safety net primary care systems has great potential for reducing cancer disparities. Yet there is a gap in understanding the factors and mechanisms that influence EBP implementation within these high-priority systems. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), our study aims to fill this gap with a multiple case study of health care safety net systems that were funded by an American Cancer Society (ACS) grants program to increase breast and colorectal cancer screening rates. The initiative funded 68 safety net systems to increase cancer screening through implementation of evidence-based provider and client-oriented strategies. Data are from a mixed-methods evaluation with nine purposively selected safety net systems. Fifty-two interviews were conducted with project leaders, implementers, and ACS staff. Funded safety net systems were categorized into high-, medium-, and low-performing cases based on the level of EBP implementation. Within- and cross-case analyses were performed to identify CFIR constructs that influenced level of EBP implementation. Of 39 CFIR constructs examined, six distinguished levels of implementation. Two constructs were from the intervention characteristics domain: adaptability and trialability. Three were from the inner setting domain: leadership engagement, tension for change, and access to information and knowledge. Engaging formally appointed internal implementation leaders, from the process domain, also distinguished level of implementation. No constructs from the outer setting or individual characteristics domain differentiated systems by level of implementation. Our study identified a number of influential CFIR constructs and illustrated how they impacted EBP implementation across a variety of safety net systems. Findings may inform future dissemination efforts of EBPs for increasing cancer screening in similar settings. Moreover

  15. A critical overview of safety-related and technological criteria for nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahodova, M.; Valach, M.

    2000-10-01

    A detailed overview of the safety criteria, methods of analysis and computer codes used in OECD countries is presented. A critical analysis of the validity of criteria in the high burnup domain was performed, and recommendations for testing their validity based on available experimental data are put forth. (author)

  16. The Effect of Peer Education upon Breast Self-Examination Behaviors and Self-Esteem among University Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayran, Gulsun; Fırat, Meryem; Kucukakca, Gulden; Cuneydioğlu, Beyazıt; Tahta, Kubra; Avcı, Esra

    2017-07-01

    The current study was semi-experimentally designed in order to identify the effect of peer education upon breast self-examination (BSE) behaviors and self-esteem among university students. The study was undertaken with 100 female students who studied at Erzincan University. Peer educators were recruited from the 4th year students. The data were collected with a questionnaire form, BSE skill form and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale in two phases one month before and after the BSE peer education. For the data assessment; percentage distributions, frequency, mean, standard deviation and Simple T test were employed. The mean age of the participant students was 20.45±1.67 year and all of them were single. It was found that during the first data collection phase, only 16 % of the students performed BSE while during the final data collection phase, the rate of the students performing BSE rose to 77 %. During the first data collection phase, students received a mean score of 2.36±4.13 from BSE skill form while during the last data collection phase they had a mean score of 10.70±3.40 from BSE skill form. When the scores obtained from Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale by the students were examined, it was seen that they received a mean score of 1.20±1.34 during the first data collection phase while they had a mean score of 0.84±1.07 during the final data collection phase. Although short-term feedback was obtained, it was noted that students' BSE knowledge and skills increased considerably.

  17. Providing feedback following Leadership WalkRounds is associated with better patient safety culture, higher employee engagement and lower burnout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sexton, J Bryan; Adair, Kathryn C; Leonard, Michael W; Frankel, Terri Christensen; Proulx, Joshua; Watson, Sam R; Magnus, Brooke; Bogan, Brittany; Jamal, Maleek; Schwendimann, Rene; Frankel, Allan S

    2018-04-01

    There is a poorly understood relationship between Leadership WalkRounds (WR) and domains such as safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance. This cross-sectional survey study evaluated associations between receiving feedback about actions taken as a result of WR and healthcare worker assessments of patient safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance, across 829 work settings. 16 797 of 23 853 administered surveys were returned (70.4%). 5497 (32.7% of total) reported that they had participated in WR, and 4074 (24.3%) reported that they participated in WR with feedback. Work settings reporting more WR with feedback had substantially higher safety culture domain scores (first vs fourth quartile Cohen's d range: 0.34-0.84; % increase range: 15-27) and significantly higher engagement scores for four of its six domains (first vs fourth quartile Cohen's d range: 0.02-0.76; % increase range: 0.48-0.70). This WR study of patient safety and organisational outcomes tested relationships with a comprehensive set of safety culture and engagement metrics in the largest sample of hospitals and respondents to date. Beyond measuring simply whether WRs occur, we examine WR with feedback, as WR being done well . We suggest that when WRs are conducted, acted on, and the results are fed back to those involved, the work setting is a better place to deliver and receive care as assessed across a broad range of metrics, including teamwork, safety, leadership, growth opportunities, participation in decision-making and the emotional exhaustion component of burnout. Whether WR with feedback is a manifestation of better norms, or a cause of these norms, is unknown, but the link is demonstrably potent. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  18. Providing feedback following Leadership WalkRounds is associated with better patient safety culture, higher employee engagement and lower burnout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sexton, J Bryan; Adair, Kathryn C; Leonard, Michael W; Frankel, Terri Christensen; Proulx, Joshua; Watson, Sam R; Magnus, Brooke; Bogan, Brittany; Jamal, Maleek; Schwendimann, Rene; Frankel, Allan S

    2018-01-01

    Background There is a poorly understood relationship between Leadership WalkRounds (WR) and domains such as safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance. Methods This cross-sectional survey study evaluated associations between receiving feedback about actions taken as a result of WR and healthcare worker assessments of patient safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance, across 829 work settings. Results 16 797 of 23 853 administered surveys were returned (70.4%). 5497 (32.7% of total) reported that they had participated in WR, and 4074 (24.3%) reported that they participated in WR with feedback. Work settings reporting more WR with feedback had substantially higher safety culture domain scores (first vs fourth quartile Cohen’s d range: 0.34–0.84; % increase range: 15–27) and significantly higher engagement scores for four of its six domains (first vs fourth quartile Cohen’s d range: 0.02–0.76; % increase range: 0.48–0.70). Conclusion This WR study of patient safety and organisational outcomes tested relationships with a comprehensive set of safety culture and engagement metrics in the largest sample of hospitals and respondents to date. Beyond measuring simply whether WRs occur, we examine WR with feedback, as WR being done well. We suggest that when WRs are conducted, acted on, and the results are fed back to those involved, the work setting is a better place to deliver and receive care as assessed across a broad range of metrics, including teamwork, safety, leadership, growth opportunities, participation in decision-making and the emotional exhaustion component of burnout. Whether WR with feedback is a manifestation of better norms, or a cause of these norms, is unknown, but the link is demonstrably potent. PMID:28993441

  19. Domain Walls and Matter-Antimatter Domains in the Early Universe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolgov A.D.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We suggest a scenario of spontaneous (or dynamical C and CP violation according to which it is possible to generate domains of matter and antimatter separated by cosmologically large distances. Such C(CP violation existed only in the early universe and later it disappeared with the only trace of generated matter and antimatter domains. So this scenario does not suffer from the problem of domain walls. According to this scenario the width of the domain wall should grow exponentially to prevent annihilation at the domain boundaries. Though there is a classical result obtained by Basu and Vilenkin that the width of the wall tends to the one of the stationary solution (constant physical width. That is why we considered thick domain walls in a de Sitter universe following paper by Basu and Vilenkin. However, we were interested not only in stationary solutions found therein, but also investigated the general case of domain wall evolution with time. When the wall thickness parameter, δ0 , is smaller than H−1/2 where H is the Hubble parameter in de Sitter space-time, then the stationary solutions exist, and initial field configurations tend with time to the stationary ones. However, there are no stationary solutions for δ0>H−1/2 We have calculated numerically the rate of the wall expansion in this case and have found that the width of the wall grows exponentially fast for δ0≫H−1 An explanation for the critical value δ0c=H−1/2 is also proposed.

  20. Law no. 2001-398 of the 9 may 2001 creating a french Agency of sanitary and environmental safety (1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-05-01

    This law text indicates the goal and the missions of the french sanitary and environmental safety Agency, defined by the law no.2001-398: to assure the public health the Agency has to contribute to the the sanitary safety in the environment domain and to evaluate the risk bonded to the environment. (A.L.B)

  1. Occupational health and safety among commercial sex workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Michael W; Crisp, Beth R; Månsson, Sven-Axel; Hawkes, Sarah

    2012-03-01

    The concept of occupational health and safety (OHS) for commercial sex workers has rarely been investigated, perhaps because of the often informal nature of the workplace, the associated stigma, and the frequently illegal nature of the activity. We reviewed the literature on health, occupational risks, and safety among commercial sex workers. Cultural and local variations and commonalities were identified. Dimensions of OHS that emerged included legal and policing risks, risks associated with particular business settings such as streets and brothels, violence from clients, mental health risks and protective factors, alcohol and drug use, repetitive strain injuries, sexually transmissible infections, risks associated with particular classes of clients, issues associated with male and transgender commercial sex workers, and issues of risk reduction that in many cases are associated with lack of agency or control, stigma, and legal barriers. We further discuss the impact and potential of OHS interventions for commercial sex workers. The OHS of commercial sex workers covers a range of domains, some potentially modifiable by OHS programs and workplace safety interventions targeted at this population. We argue that commercial sex work should be considered as an occupation overdue for interventions to reduce workplace risks and enhance worker safety.

  2. A Systematic Analysis of Functional Safety Certification Practices in Industrial Robot Software Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Xie

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available For decades, industry robotics have delivered on the promise of speed, efficiency and productivity. The last several years have seen a sharp resurgence in the orders of industrial robots in China, and the areas addressed within industrial robotics has extended into safety-critical domains. However, safety standards have not yet been implemented widely in academia and engineering applications, particularly in robot software development. This paper presents a systematic analysis of functional safety certification practices in software development for the safety-critical software of industrial robots, to identify the safety certification practices used for the development of industrial robots in China and how these practices comply with the safety standard requirements. Reviewing from Chinese academic papers, our research shows that safety standards are barely used in software development of industrial robot. The majority of the papers propose various solutions to achieve safety, but only about two thirds of the papers refer to non-standardized approaches that mainly address the systematic level rather than the software development level. In addition, our research shows that with the development of artificial intelligent, an emerging field is still on the quest for standardized and suitable approaches to develop safety-critical software.

  3. Qualitative Content Analysis of Coworkers' Safety Reports of Unprofessional Behavior by Physicians and Advanced Practice Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, William; Pichert, James W; Hickson, Gerald B; Braddy, Casey H; Brown, Amy J; Catron, Thomas F; Moore, Ilene N; Stampfle, Morgan R; Webb, Lynn E; Cooper, William O

    2018-03-15

    The aims of the study were to develop a valid and reliable taxonomy of coworker reports of alleged unprofessional behavior by physicians and advanced practice professionals and determine the prevalence of reports describing particular types of unprofessional conduct. We conducted qualitative content analysis of coworker reports of alleged unprofessional behavior by physicians and advanced practice professionals to create a standardized taxonomy. We conducted a focus group of experts in medical professionalism to assess the taxonomy's face validity. We randomly selected 120 reports (20%) of the 590 total reports submitted through the medical center's safety event reporting system between June 2015 and September 2016 to measure interrater reliability of taxonomy codes and estimate the prevalence of reports describing particular types of conduct. The initial taxonomy contained 22 codes organized into the following four domains: competent medical care, clear and respectful communication, integrity, and responsibility. All 10 experts agreed that the four domains reflected essential elements of medical professionalism. Interrater reliabilities for all codes and domains had a κ value greater than the 0.60 threshold for good reliability. Most reports (60%, 95% confidence interval = 51%-69%) described disrespectful or offensive communication. Nine codes had a prevalence of less than 1% and were folded into their respective domains resulting in a final taxonomy composed of 13 codes. The final taxonomy represents a useful tool with demonstrated validity and reliability, opening the door for reliable analysis and systems to promote accountability and behavior change. Given the safety implications of unprofessional behavior, understanding the typology of coworker observations of unprofessional behavior may inform organization strategies to address this threat to patient safety.

  4. Functional renormalization group approach to electronic structure calculations for systems without translational symmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seiler, Christian; Evers, Ferdinand

    2016-10-01

    A formalism for electronic-structure calculations is presented that is based on the functional renormalization group (FRG). The traditional FRG has been formulated for systems that exhibit a translational symmetry with an associated Fermi surface, which can provide the organization principle for the renormalization group (RG) procedure. We here advance an alternative formulation, where the RG flow is organized in the energy-domain rather than in k space. This has the advantage that it can also be applied to inhomogeneous matter lacking a band structure, such as disordered metals or molecules. The energy-domain FRG (ɛ FRG) presented here accounts for Fermi-liquid corrections to quasiparticle energies and particle-hole excitations. It goes beyond the state of the art G W -BSE , because in ɛ FRG the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) is solved in a self-consistent manner. An efficient implementation of the approach that has been tested against exact diagonalization calculations and calculations based on the density matrix renormalization group is presented. Similar to the conventional FRG, also the ɛ FRG is able to signalize the vicinity of an instability of the Fermi-liquid fixed point via runaway flow of the corresponding interaction vertex. Embarking upon this fact, in an application of ɛ FRG to the spinless disordered Hubbard model we calculate its phase boundary in the plane spanned by the interaction and disorder strength. Finally, an extension of the approach to finite temperatures and spin S =1 /2 is also given.

  5. Safety assessment of non-animal chondroitin sulfate sodium: Subchronic study in rats, genotoxicity tests and human bioavailability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miraglia, Niccolò; Bianchi, Davide; Trentin, Antonella; Volpi, Nicola; Soni, Madhu G

    2016-07-01

    Chondroitin sulfate, an amino sugar polymer made of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-galactosamine, is used in dietary supplements to promote joint health. Commonly used chondroitin sulfate is of animal origin and can pose potential safety problems including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The objective of the present study was to investigate potential adverse effects, if any, of microbial derived chondroitin sulfate sodium (CSS) in subchronic toxicity, genotoxicity and bioavailability studies. In the toxicity study, Sprague Dawley rats (10/sex/group) were gavaged with CSS at dose levels of 0, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight (bw)/day for 90-days. No mortality or significant changes in clinical signs, body weights, body weight gain or feed consumption were noted. Similarly, no toxicologically relevant treatment-related changes in hematological, clinical chemistry, urinalysis and organ weights were noted. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations did not reveal treatment-related abnormalities. In vitro mutagenic and clastogenic potentials as evaluated by Ames assay, chromosomal aberration test and micronucleus assay did not reveal genotoxicity of CSS. In pharmacokinetic study in human, CSS showed higher absorption as compared to chondroitin sulfate of animal origin. The results of subchronic toxicity study supports the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for CSS as 1000 mg/kg bw/day, the highest dose tested. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Safety and Efficacy of BAY 94-9027, a Prolonged-Half-Life Factor VIII

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reding, M T; Ng, H J; Poulsen, Lone Hvitfeldt

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: BAY 94-9027 is a B-domain-deleted prolonged-half-life recombinant factor VIII (FVIII) conjugates in a site-specific manner with polyethylene glycol. OBJECTIVE: Assess efficacy and safety of BAY 94-9027 for prophylaxis and treatment of bleeds in patients with severe hemophilia A PATIEN...

  7. Regulatory Body Safety Culture in Non-nuclear HROs: Lessons for Nuclear Regulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleming, M.; Bowers, K.

    2016-01-01

    Regulator safety culture is a relatively new area of investigation, even though deficiencies in regulatory oversight have been identified in a number of public inquiries (e.g., Piper Alpha, Deep Water Horizon). More recently the IAEA report into the Fukushima disaster specifically identified the need for regulatory bodies to have a positive safety culture. While there are clear parallels between duty holder safety culture and regulator safety culture there are also likely to be differences. To date they have been no published studies investigating regulator safety culture. In order to develop a framework to understand regulator safety culture we conducted a literature review and interviewed safety culture subject matter experts from a range of HRO domains (e.g., offshore oil and gas). There was general consensus among participants that regulatory safety culture was an important topic that was worthy of further investigation. That there was general agreement that regulatory safety culture was multi-dimensional and that some of the elements of existing safety culture models applied to regulator culture (e.g., learning and leadership). The participants also identified unique dimensions of regulator safety culture including commitment to high standards and ethics, transparency and perceived role of the regulator. In this paper we will present the results of the interviews and present a model of regulator safety culture. This model will be contrasted with models being used in the nuclear industry. Implications for assessing regulatory safety culture will be discussed. (author)

  8. Domain Decomposition Solvers for Frequency-Domain Finite Element Equations

    KAUST Repository

    Copeland, Dylan

    2010-10-05

    The paper is devoted to fast iterative solvers for frequency-domain finite element equations approximating linear and nonlinear parabolic initial boundary value problems with time-harmonic excitations. Switching from the time domain to the frequency domain allows us to replace the expensive time-integration procedure by the solution of a simple linear elliptic system for the amplitudes belonging to the sine- and to the cosine-excitation or a large nonlinear elliptic system for the Fourier coefficients in the linear and nonlinear case, respectively. The fast solution of the corresponding linear and nonlinear system of finite element equations is crucial for the competitiveness of this method. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  9. Domain Decomposition Solvers for Frequency-Domain Finite Element Equations

    KAUST Repository

    Copeland, Dylan; Kolmbauer, Michael; Langer, Ulrich

    2010-01-01

    The paper is devoted to fast iterative solvers for frequency-domain finite element equations approximating linear and nonlinear parabolic initial boundary value problems with time-harmonic excitations. Switching from the time domain to the frequency domain allows us to replace the expensive time-integration procedure by the solution of a simple linear elliptic system for the amplitudes belonging to the sine- and to the cosine-excitation or a large nonlinear elliptic system for the Fourier coefficients in the linear and nonlinear case, respectively. The fast solution of the corresponding linear and nonlinear system of finite element equations is crucial for the competitiveness of this method. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  10. Public safety investigations-A new evolutionary step in safety enhancement?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoop, John; Roed-Larsen, Sverre

    2009-01-01

    A historical overview highlights the evolutionary nature of developments in accident investigations in the transport industry. Based on a series of major events outside transportation, the concept of accident investigations has broadened to other domains and to a widening of the scope of the investigation. Consequently, existing investigation boards are forced to adapt their mandates, missions and methods. With the introduction of social risk perception and application of the concept of safety investigation in the public sector, a change of focus towards the aftermath and non-technical issues of a more generic nature emerges. This expansion has also gained the interest of social sciences and public governance, generating new underlying models and theories on risk and responsibility. The evolutionary development of safety investigations is demonstrated by the various organisational forms which shaped accident investigations in different countries. Underneath these organisational differences, a need for a common methodology and a reflection on fundamental notions is discussed. In particular differences among human operator models, the allocation of responsibilities in design concepts and methodological issue are elaborated. The needs and opportunities for a transition from accident prevention towards systems change are indicated. At present, the situation is ambiguous. An encompassing inventory can only provide a general oversight over emerging trends and lacks analytic rigor on specific topics. The societal dimensions, institutional changes at the level of governance and control and the powers that advocate or challenge investigations are not yet fully described. Therefore, in the conclusions a small number of critical challenges and threats are identified that should be open to scrutiny in order to facilitate a new, evolutionary step in safety enhancement.

  11. PrP-C1 fragment in cattle brains reveals features of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated PrPsc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serra, Fabienne; Müller, Joachim; Gray, John; Lüthi, Ramona; Dudas, Sandor; Czub, Stefanie; Seuberlich, Torsten

    2017-03-15

    Three different types of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are known and supposedly caused by distinct prion strains: the classical (C-) BSE type that was typically found during the BSE epidemic, and two relatively rare atypical BSE types, termed H-BSE and L-BSE. The three BSE types differ in the molecular phenotype of the disease associated prion protein, namely the N-terminally truncated proteinase K (PK) resistant prion protein fragment (PrP res ). In this study, we report and analyze yet another PrP res type (PrP res-2011 ), which was found in severely autolytic brain samples of two cows in the framework of disease surveillance in Switzerland in 2011. Analysis of brain tissues from these animals by PK titration and PK inhibitor assays ruled out the process of autolysis as the cause for the aberrant PrP res profile. Immunochemical characterization of the PrP fragments present in the 2011 cases by epitope mapping indicated that PrP res-2011 corresponds in its primary sequence to the physiologically occurring PrP-C1 fragment. However, high speed centrifugation, sucrose gradient assay and NaPTA precipitation revealed biochemical similarities between PrP res-2011 and the disease-associated prion protein found in BSE affected cattle in terms of detergent insolubility, PK resistance and PrP aggregation. Although it remains to be established whether PrP res-2011 is associated with a transmissible disease, our results point out the need of further research on the role the PrP-C1 aggregation and misfolding in health and disease. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. The Effect of Peer Education upon Breast Self-Examination Behaviors and Self-Esteem among University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayran, Gulsun; Fırat, Meryem; Kucukakca, Gulden; Cuneydioğlu, Beyazıt; Tahta, Kubra; Avcı, Esra

    2017-01-01

    Objective The current study was semi-experimentally designed in order to identify the effect of peer education upon breast self-examination (BSE) behaviors and self-esteem among university students. Materials and methods The study was undertaken with 100 female students who studied at Erzincan University. Peer educators were recruited from the 4th year students. The data were collected with a questionnaire form, BSE skill form and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale in two phases one month before and after the BSE peer education. For the data assessment; percentage distributions, frequency, mean, standard deviation and Simple T test were employed. Results The mean age of the participant students was 20.45±1.67 year and all of them were single. It was found that during the first data collection phase, only 16 % of the students performed BSE while during the final data collection phase, the rate of the students performing BSE rose to 77 %. During the first data collection phase, students received a mean score of 2.36±4.13 from BSE skill form while during the last data collection phase they had a mean score of 10.70±3.40 from BSE skill form. When the scores obtained from Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale by the students were examined, it was seen that they received a mean score of 1.20±1.34 during the first data collection phase while they had a mean score of 0.84±1.07 during the final data collection phase. Conclusion Although short-term feedback was obtained, it was noted that students’ BSE knowledge and skills increased considerably. PMID:28894853

  13. Multiple Stage Ore Formation in the Chadormalu Iron Deposit, Bafq Metallogenic Province, Central Iran: Evidence from BSE Imaging and Apatite EPMA and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb Geochronology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Heidarian

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The Chadormalu magnetite-apatite deposit in Bafq metallogenic province, Central Iran, is hosted in the late Precambrian-lower Cambrian volcano-sedimentary rocks with sodic, calcic, and potassic alterations characteristic of iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG and iron oxide-apatite (IOA ore systems. Apatite occurs as scattered irregular veinlets and disseminated grains, respectively, within and in the marginal parts of the main ore-body, as well as apatite-magnetite veins in altered wall rocks. Textural evidence (SEM-BSE images of these apatites shows primary bright, and secondary dark areas with inclusions of monazite/xenotime. The primary, monazite-free fluorapatite contains higher concentrations of Na, Si, S, and light rare earth elements (LREE. The apatite was altered by hydrothermal events that led to leaching of Na, Si, and REE + Y, and development of the dark apatite. The bright apatite yielded two U-Pb age populations, an older dominant age of 490 ± 21 Ma, similar to other iron deposits in the Bafq district and associated intrusions, and a younger age of 246 ± 17 Ma. The dark apatite yielded a U-Pb age of 437 ± 12 Ma. Our data suggest that hydrothermal magmatic fluids contributed to formation of the primary fluorapatite, and sodic and calcic alterations. The primary apatite reequilibrated with basinal brines in at least two regional extensions and basin developments in Silurian and Triassic in Central Iran.

  14. Domain shape instabilities and dendrite domain growth in uniaxial ferroelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shur, Vladimir Ya.; Akhmatkhanov, Andrey R.

    2018-01-01

    The effects of domain wall shape instabilities and the formation of nanodomains in front of moving walls obtained in various uniaxial ferroelectrics are discussed. Special attention is paid to the formation of self-assembled nanoscale and dendrite domain structures under highly non-equilibrium switching conditions. All obtained results are considered in the framework of the unified kinetic approach to domain structure evolution based on the analogy with first-order phase transformation. This article is part of the theme issue `From atomistic interfaces to dendritic patterns'.

  15. Organizational factors in nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilpert, Bernhard

    2000-01-01

    The overall picture of factors which contributed to the event presents a panorama of a NPP where organizational and managerial characteristics were intricately intertwined and emerged as crucial for a general deterioration of the plant's capabilities to continually correct its deficiencies and optimize its operations. In the following author shall attempt to first cover various important efforts to modeling organizational factors relevant to safety. The second part of my presentation will offer an attempt towards an integrative model. The third part concludes with an agenda for research and practice. Most of the twelve different approaches above attempt to consider safety relevant organizational factors by way of pragmatic classifications. Together with their sub-categories we can count close to 160 different factors on various levels of abstraction. This is tantamount to say that most approaches lack systematic theoretical underpinnings. Thus then arises the question whether we need to develop a generic model, which promises to encompass these three major approaches altogether. Practical issues emerge particularly in the domain of organizational development, i.e. the goal oriented efforts to change the structures and the functioning of nuclear operations in such a way that the desired outputs in terms safety and reliability result in a sustained fashion. Again, these practical concerns are intimately related to developments and advances in theory and methodology. Only a close cooperation among scientists from various disciplines and of practitioners holds the promise of adequately understanding and use of organizational factors in future improving the safety record of nuclear industry worldwide. (S.Y.)

  16. Domain structure and texture in fine grained symplectite from garnet breakdown in peridotite xenoliths (Zinst, Bavaria, Bohemian Massif)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habler, G.; Špaček, P.; Abart, R.

    2012-04-01

    Lherzolite xenoliths entrained in Oligocene basanite at the locality of Zinst (Bavaria, western Bohemian Massif) contain rare fine-grained symplectites forming about 5 millimeter sized patches comprising several microstructurally and chemically distinct concentric zones. The symplectites reflect a complex reaction history of lherzolite during decompression and interaction with melt. Here we focus on ultra-fine grained symplectite with an integrated bulk composition expressed in terms of garnet end-member component percentages as Prp(69-71)Alm(11-13)Grs(2.5-5)And(7.5-10)Uvr(4). According to the composition and the microstructural occurrence in lherzolite the ultra-fine grained symplectite is interpreted as a product of isochemical garnet breakdown, although the precursor phase is not preserved. Under cross polarized light patches with similar extinction show a domain microstructure in symplectite. BSE images reveal an intimate intergrowth of orthopyroxene, spinel and plagioclase. All phases have a shape preferred orientation within distinct domains, whereas discontinuous SPO changes occur at microstructural domain boundaries. Three types of symplectite were microstructurally discerned: The most pristine type A occurs in a 10-30 micrometers wide zone along the symplectite margin. Spinel forms several tens of nanometers wide rods or lamellae within Opx, whereas Pl and Opx represent the symplectite matrix. All phases show a strong SPO with the maximum elongation perpendicular to the symplectite boundary. At edges of this interface, the SPO of the symplectite phases changes accordingly. Discontinuities in SPO may coincide with changes in crystallographic orientation. EBSD data showed that symplectite phases have strict crystallographic orientation relations with Opx(100)//Spl(111) and Opx(010)//Spl(110). Whereas the initial lattice orientation is controlled by adjacent phases at the symplectite boundary, the crystallographic orientation within symplectite domains

  17. Socio-technological study for establishing comprehensive nuclear safety system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furuta, Kazuo; Kanno, Taro; Yagi, Ekou; Shuto, Yuki

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents an overview and preliminary results of a research project on social-technology for nuclear safety, which started in October 2001. In particular, emergency response preparedness against nuclear disaster and consensus development will be discussed. The architecture of an emergency response simulator will be given, which is for assessing design of disaster prevention systems. A conceptual model of evacuation behavior of a resident has been constructed from analysis of past disaster cases. As for consensus development, deliberation spaces of actual committee meetings were constructed by analyzing transcripts of the meetings based on an opinion schema. A model of consensus development process has been proposed from the traces of participants' opinions over the deliberation spaces. Such a socio-technological approach will be useful not only for nuclear safety but also for safety of non-nuclear domains and human activities of a high hazard potential; it is expected to contribute to establishing risk-aware society of the future. (author)

  18. Aviation Safety Concerns for the Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Brian E.; Roelen, Alfred L. C.; den Hertog, Rudi

    2016-01-01

    The Future Aviation Safety Team (FAST) is a multidisciplinary international group of aviation professionals that was established to identify possible future aviation safety hazards. The principle was adopted that future hazards are undesirable consequences of changes, and a primary activity of FAST became identification and prioritization of possible future changes affecting aviation. Since 2004, FAST has been maintaining a catalogue of "Areas of Change" (AoC) that could potentially influence aviation safety. The horizon for such changes is between 5 to 20 years. In this context, changes must be understood as broadly as possible. An AoC is a description of the change, not an identification of the hazards that result from the change. An ex-post analysis of the AoCs identified in 2004 demonstrates that changes catalogued many years previous were directly implicated in the majority of fatal aviation accidents over the past ten years. This paper presents an overview of the current content of the AoC catalogue and a subsequent discussion of aviation safety concerns related to these possible changes. Interactions among these future changes may weaken critical functions that must be maintained to ensure safe operations. Safety assessments that do not appreciate or reflect the consequences of significant interaction complexity will not be fully informative and can lead to inappropriate trade-offs and increases in other risks. The FAST strongly encourages a system-wide approach to safety risk assessment across the global aviation system, not just within the domain for which future technologies or operational concepts are being considered. The FAST advocates the use of the "Areas of Change" concept, considering that several possible future phenomena may interact with a technology or operational concept under study producing unanticipated hazards.

  19. Safety, mobility and comfort assessment methodologies of intelligent transport systems for vulnerable road users

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Malone, K.; Silla, A.; Johanssen, C.; Bell, D.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: This paper describes the modification and development of methodologies to assess the impacts of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications for Vulnerable Road users (VRUs) in the domains of safety, mobility and comfort. This effort was carried out in the context of the VRUITS

  20. Delivering a radiation protection dividend: systemic capacity-building for the radiation safety profession in Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julian Hilton

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Many African countries planning to enter the nuclear energy “family” have little or no experience of meeting associated radiation safety demands, whether operational or regulatory. Uses of radiation in medicine in the continent, whether for diagnostic or clinical purposes, are rapidly growing while the costs of equipment, and hence of access to services, are falling fast. In consequence, many patients and healthcare workers are facing a wide array of unfamiliar challenges, both operational and ethical, without any formal regulatory or professional framework for managing them safely. This, combined with heighted awareness of safety issues post Fukushima, means the already intense pressure on radiation safety professionals in such domains as NORM industries and security threatens to reach breaking point. A systematic competency-based capacity-building programme for RP professionals in Africa is required (Resolution of the Third AFRIRPA13 Regional Conference, Nairobi, September 2010. The goal is to meet recruitment and HR needs in the rapidly emerging radiation safety sector, while also addressing stakeholder concerns in respect of promoting and meeting professional and ethical standards. The desired outcome is an RP “dividend” to society as a whole. A curriculum model is presented, aligned to safety procedures and best practices such as Safety Integrity Level and Layer of Protection analysis; it emphasizes proactive risk communication both with direct and indirect stakeholders; and it outlines disciplinary options and procedures for managers and responsible persons for dealing with unsafe or dangerous behavior at work. This paper reports on progress to date. It presents a five-tier development pathway starting from a generic foundation course, suitable for all RP professionals, accompanied by specialist courses by domain, activity or industry. Delivery options are discussed. Part of the content has already been developed and delivered as

  1. Development and Validation of a Safety Attitude Scale for Coal Miners in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Wu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Safety attitude is of vital importance to accident prevention, and the high accident rate in the coal mining industry makes it urgent to undertake research on coal miners’ safety attitude. However, the current literature still lacks a valid and reliable safety attitude measurement scale for coal miners, which stands as a barrier against their safety attitude improvement. In this study, a scale is developed that can be used to measure coal miners’ safety attitude. The preliminary scale was based on an extended literature review. Empirical data were then collected from 725 coal miners using the preliminary scale. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were undertaken to validate and improve the scale. The final scale, which consists of 17 items, contains four dimensions: management safety commitment, team safety climate, fatalism and work pressure. Results show that this safety attitude scale can effectively measure the safety attitude of coal miners, showing high psychological measurement validity. This paper contributes to the occupational safety research by developing the factor structure and indicator system of coal miners’ safety attitude, thus providing more profound interpretation of this crucial construct in the safety research domain. The measurement scale serves as an important tool for safety attitude benchmarking among different coal mining enterprises and, thus, can boost the overall safety improvement of the whole industry. These findings can facilitate improvement of both theories and practices related to occupational safety attitude.

  2. Jahn-teller domains and magnetic domains in Mn2FeO4

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kub, J.; Brabers, V.A.M.; Novák, P.; Gemperle, R.; Simsova, J.

    2000-01-01

    Elastic (Jahn–Teller) domains and magnetic domains in the tetragonal spinel Mn2FeO4 were studied using X-ray double-crystal topography, X-ray diffractometry and the colloid-SEM method. The Jahn–Teller domains of the measured samples are tetragonal with the [0 0 1] c-axis alternating perpendicularly

  3. The extended-domain-eigenfunction method for solving elliptic boundary value problems with annular domains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aarao, J; Bradshaw-Hajek, B H; Miklavcic, S J; Ward, D A, E-mail: Stan.Miklavcic@unisa.edu.a [School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia)

    2010-05-07

    Standard analytical solutions to elliptic boundary value problems on asymmetric domains are rarely, if ever, obtainable. In this paper, we propose a solution technique wherein we embed the original domain into one with simple boundaries where the classical eigenfunction solution approach can be used. The solution in the larger domain, when restricted to the original domain, is then the solution of the original boundary value problem. We call this the extended-domain-eigenfunction method. To illustrate the method's strength and scope, we apply it to Laplace's equation on an annular-like domain.

  4. Between-Domain Relations of Students’ Academic Emotions and Their Judgments of School Domain Similarity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas eGoetz

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available With the aim to deepen our understanding of the between-domain relations of academic emotions, a series of three studies was conducted. We theorized that between-domain relations of trait (i.e., habitual emotions reflected students’ judgments of domain similarities, whereas between-domain relations of state (i.e., momentary emotions did not. This supposition was based on the accessibility model of emotional self-report, according to which individuals’ beliefs tend to strongly impact trait, but not state emotions. The aim of Study 1 (interviews; N = 40; 8th and 11th graders was to gather salient characteristics of academic domains from students’ perspective. In Study 2 (N=1709; 8th and 11th graders the 13 characteristics identified in Study 1 were assessed along with academic emotions in four different domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English using a questionnaire-based trait assessment. With respect to the same domains, state emotions were assessed in Study 3 (N = 121; 8th and 11th graders by employing an experience sampling approach. In line with our initial assumptions, between-domain relations of trait but not state academic emotions reflected between-domain relations of domain characteristics. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

  5. Between-domain relations of students' academic emotions and their judgments of school domain similarity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goetz, Thomas; Haag, Ludwig; Lipnevich, Anastasiya A.; Keller, Melanie M.; Frenzel, Anne C.; Collier, Antonie P. M.

    2014-01-01

    With the aim to deepen our understanding of the between-domain relations of academic emotions, a series of three studies was conducted. We theorized that between-domain relations of trait (i.e., habitual) emotions reflected students' judgments of domain similarities, whereas between-domain relations of state (i.e., momentary) emotions did not. This supposition was based on the accessibility model of emotional self-report, according to which individuals' beliefs tend to strongly impact trait, but not state emotions. The aim of Study 1 (interviews; N = 40; 8th and 11th graders) was to gather salient characteristics of academic domains from students' perspective. In Study 2 (N = 1709; 8th and 11th graders) the 13 characteristics identified in Study 1 were assessed along with academic emotions in four different domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English) using a questionnaire-based trait assessment. With respect to the same domains, state emotions were assessed in Study 3 (N = 121; 8th and 11th graders) by employing an experience sampling approach. In line with our initial assumptions, between-domain relations of trait but not state academic emotions reflected between-domain relations of domain characteristics. Implications for research and practice are discussed. PMID:25374547

  6. Expansion of protein domain repeats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asa K Björklund

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available Many proteins, especially in eukaryotes, contain tandem repeats of several domains from the same family. These repeats have a variety of binding properties and are involved in protein-protein interactions as well as binding to other ligands such as DNA and RNA. The rapid expansion of protein domain repeats is assumed to have evolved through internal tandem duplications. However, the exact mechanisms behind these tandem duplications are not well-understood. Here, we have studied the evolution, function, protein structure, gene structure, and phylogenetic distribution of domain repeats. For this purpose we have assigned Pfam-A domain families to 24 proteomes with more sensitive domain assignments in the repeat regions. These assignments confirmed previous findings that eukaryotes, and in particular vertebrates, contain a much higher fraction of proteins with repeats compared with prokaryotes. The internal sequence similarity in each protein revealed that the domain repeats are often expanded through duplications of several domains at a time, while the duplication of one domain is less common. Many of the repeats appear to have been duplicated in the middle of the repeat region. This is in strong contrast to the evolution of other proteins that mainly works through additions of single domains at either terminus. Further, we found that some domain families show distinct duplication patterns, e.g., nebulin domains have mainly been expanded with a unit of seven domains at a time, while duplications of other domain families involve varying numbers of domains. Finally, no common mechanism for the expansion of all repeats could be detected. We found that the duplication patterns show no dependence on the size of the domains. Further, repeat expansion in some families can possibly be explained by shuffling of exons. However, exon shuffling could not have created all repeats.

  7. Phytotoxic mechanisms of bur cucumber seed extracts on lettuce with special reference to analysis of chloroplast proteins, phytohormones, and nutritional elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Seok-Min; Radhakrishnan, Ramalingam; Kang, Sang-Mo; Kim, Jin-Hyo; Lee, In-Yong; Moon, Bong-Kyu; Yoon, Byung-Wook; Lee, In-Jung

    2015-12-01

    Bioherbicides from plant extracts are an effective and environmentally friendly method to prevent weed growth. The present investigation was aimed at determining the inhibitory effect of bur cucumber seed extracts (BSE) on lettuce plant growth. Bur cucumber seeds were ground with water, and two different concentrations of seed extracts (10% and 20%) were prepared and applied to lettuce plants. Decreased plant height, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, anProd. Type: FTPd leaf area were found in lettuce exposed to BSE as compared with controls. A significant reduction in lettuce biomass was observed in 20% BSE-treated plants due to the presence of higher amounts of phenolic content in the extracts. Moreover, a significant inhibitory chemical, 2-linoleoyl glycerol, was identified in BSE extracts. The mechanism of plant growth inhibition was assayed in lettuce proteins by 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and the LC-MS/MS method. In total, 57 protein spots were detected in plants treated with 20% BSE and control plants. Among these, 39 proteins were down-regulated and 18 proteins were up-regulated in plants exposed to 20% BSE as compared with controls. The presence of low levels of chlorophyll a/b binding protein and oxygen-evolving enhancer protein 1 in BSE-exposed plants reduced photosynthetic pigment synthesis and might be a reason for stunted plant growth. Indeed, the plant-growth stimulating hormone gibberellin was inhibited, and synthesis of stress hormones such as abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid were triggered in lettuce by the effects of BSE. Uptake of essential nutrients, Ca, Fe, Mg, K, S, and Mo, was deficient and accumulation of the toxic ions Cu, Zn, and Na was higher in BSE-treated plants. The results of this study suggest that extracts of bur cucumber seeds can be an effective eco-friendly bioherbicide for weed control that work by inhibiting mechanisms of photosynthesis and regulating phytohormones and nutritional elements

  8. Glucosinolates and isothiocyanates from broccoliseed extractsuppressproteinglycationand carbonylation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Hirano,

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Glucosinolates from brassica plants are hydrolyzed by internal or salivary myrosinase to produce isothiocyanates. Glucoraphanin, a major glucosinolate in broccoli, is hydrolyzed to sulforaphane (SFN, which exhibits antitumor and detoxification activities. Regarding the influence of broccoli and its constituents on the skin, a few studies have reported anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Recently, advanced glycation end products (AGEs and carbonyl proteins have been reported to accelerate skin aging. Objective: We evaluated the effects of broccoli seed extract (BSE and glucosinolates on protein glycation and carbonylation in vitro. Methods: To evaluate the effects of BSE and its constituents, protein glycation and carbonylation were induced by mixing fructose with bovine serum albumin (BSA and then measuring production of AGEs, fructosamine, and carbonyl proteins (CP. Production of CP after mixing fatty acids with BSA was also assessed. Furthermore, the effect of BSE and its constituents on CP production by human fibroblasts (TIG103 was examined. Results: BSE suppressed the production of AGEs, fructosamine, and CP after mixing fructose and BSA. BSE also suppressed production of CP when oxidized linoleic acid was mixed with BSA. Isothiocyanates, including SFN and iberin, suppressed fructose-based CP production, but SFN had no effect on CP production stimulated by oxidized linoleic acid. In contrast, glucosinolates from BSE did not suppress fructose-based CP production, but suppressed CP production due to oxidized linoleic acid. Among the glucosinolates in BSE, glucoberteroin showed the strongest suppression of CP production. CP production in fibroblasts was also suppressed by glucosinolates, including glucoiberin and glucoberteroin. Conclusions: BSE demonstrated anti-glycation and anti-carbonylation effects on protein reactions with fructose and oxidized fatty acids. Isothiocyanates suppressed protein carbonylation induced by

  9. Analysing context-dependent deviations in interacting with safety-critical systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paterno, Fabio; Santoro, Carmen

    2006-01-01

    Mobile technology is penetrating many areas of human life. This implies that the context of use can vary in many respects. We present a method that aims to support designers in managing the complex design space when considering applications with varying contexts and help them to identify solutions that support users in performing their activities while preserving usability and safety. The method is a novel combination of an analysis of both potential deviations in task performance and most suitable information representations based on distributed cognition. The originality of the contribution is in providing a conceptual tool for better understanding the impact of context of use on user interaction in safety-critical domains. In order to present our approach we provide an example in which the implications of introducing new support through mobile devices in a safety-critical system are identified and analysed in terms of potential hazards

  10. Interoperable domain models : The ISO land administration domain model LADM and its external classes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lemmen, C.H.J.; Van Oosterom, P.J.M.; Uitermark, H.T.; Zevenbergen, J.A.; Cooper, A.K.

    2011-01-01

    This paper provides a brief overview of one of the first spatial domain standards: a standard for the domain of Land Administration (LA). This standard is in the draft stage of development now (May 2011). The development of domain standards is a logical follow up after domain-independent standards,

  11. Domain architecture conservation in orthologs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background As orthologous proteins are expected to retain function more often than other homologs, they are often used for functional annotation transfer between species. However, ortholog identification methods do not take into account changes in domain architecture, which are likely to modify a protein's function. By domain architecture we refer to the sequential arrangement of domains along a protein sequence. To assess the level of domain architecture conservation among orthologs, we carried out a large-scale study of such events between human and 40 other species spanning the entire evolutionary range. We designed a score to measure domain architecture similarity and used it to analyze differences in domain architecture conservation between orthologs and paralogs relative to the conservation of primary sequence. We also statistically characterized the extents of different types of domain swapping events across pairs of orthologs and paralogs. Results The analysis shows that orthologs exhibit greater domain architecture conservation than paralogous homologs, even when differences in average sequence divergence are compensated for, for homologs that have diverged beyond a certain threshold. We interpret this as an indication of a stronger selective pressure on orthologs than paralogs to retain the domain architecture required for the proteins to perform a specific function. In general, orthologs as well as the closest paralogous homologs have very similar domain architectures, even at large evolutionary separation. The most common domain architecture changes observed in both ortholog and paralog pairs involved insertion/deletion of new domains, while domain shuffling and segment duplication/deletion were very infrequent. Conclusions On the whole, our results support the hypothesis that function conservation between orthologs demands higher domain architecture conservation than other types of homologs, relative to primary sequence conservation. This supports the

  12. Effects of sub-domain structure on initial magnetization curve and domain size distribution of stacked media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, S.; Kumagai, S.; Sugita, R.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, in order to confirm the sub-domain structure in stacked media demagnetized with in-plane field, initial magnetization curves and magnetic domain size distribution were investigated. Both experimental and simulation results showed that an initial magnetization curve for the medium demagnetized with in-plane field (MDI) initially rose faster than that for the medium demagnetized with perpendicular field (MDP). It is inferred that this is because the MDI has a larger number of domain walls than the MDP due to the existence of the sub-domains, resulting in an increase in the probability of domain wall motion. Dispersion of domain size for the MDI was larger than that for the MDP. This is because sub-domains are formed not only inside the domain but also at the domain boundary region, and they change the position of the domain boundary to affect the domain size. - Highlights: • An initial magnetization curve for MDI initially rose faster than that for MDP. • Dispersion of domain size for the MDI was larger than that for the MDP. • Experimental and simulation results can be explained by existence of sub-domains

  13. A Review of Domain Modelling and Domain Imaging Techniques in Ferroelectric Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John E. Huber

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The present paper reviews models of domain structure in ferroelectric crystals, thin films and bulk materials. Common crystal structures in ferroelectric materials are described and the theory of compatible domain patterns is introduced. Applications to multi-rank laminates are presented. Alternative models employing phase-field and related techniques are reviewed. The paper then presents methods of observing ferroelectric domain structure, including optical, polarized light, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray and neutron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and piezo-force microscopy. Use of more than one technique for unambiguous identification of the domain structure is also described.

  14. Atypical scrapie prions from sheep and lack of disease in transgenic mice overexpressing human prion protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadsworth, Jonathan D F; Joiner, Susan; Linehan, Jacqueline M; Balkema-Buschmann, Anne; Spiropoulos, John; Simmons, Marion M; Griffiths, Peter C; Groschup, Martin H; Hope, James; Brandner, Sebastian; Asante, Emmanuel A; Collinge, John

    2013-11-01

    Public and animal health controls to limit human exposure to animal prions are focused on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), but other prion strains in ruminants may also have zoonotic potential. One example is atypical/Nor98 scrapie, which evaded statutory diagnostic methods worldwide until the early 2000s. To investigate whether sheep infected with scrapie prions could be another source of infection, we inoculated transgenic mice that overexpressed human prion protein with brain tissue from sheep with natural field cases of classical and atypical scrapie, sheep with experimental BSE, and cattle with BSE. We found that these mice were susceptible to BSE prions, but disease did not develop after prolonged postinoculation periods when mice were inoculated with classical or atypical scrapie prions. These data are consistent with the conclusion that prion disease is less likely to develop in humans after exposure to naturally occurring prions of sheep than after exposure to epizootic BSE prions of ruminants.

  15. Determinants of public phobia about infectious diseases in South Korea: effect of health communication and gender difference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Minsoo; Choi, Mankyu; Lee, Tae-Ro

    2015-03-01

    This study investigated the individual and social determinants of the public's phobia of infectious diseases in South Korea, where collective action was recently fueled by the public phobia over mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE]). Gender-specific multivariate regression was used to compare the public perception of BSE and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The analysis results differentiated between the determinants of the phobia for the 2 diseases, BSE and HPAI (N = 1002). As with HIV/AIDS and leprosy, the public fear of HPAI was expressed as a disease phobia that seeks to ensure the social exclusion of infection sources, whereas the fear of BSE was influenced by social and communication factors. Therefore, BSE, unlike previous HPAI, can be rapidly amplified amid the growing distrust in health communication, in which case the social determinants of disease phobia are associated with communicator trust, social values, and political attitude toward diseases rather than disease perception. © 2013 APJPH.

  16. Chemical Shift Assignments of the C-terminal Eps15 Homology Domain-3 EH Domain*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, Steve; Sorgen, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    The C-terminal Eps15 homology (EH) domain 3 (EHD3) belongs to a eukaryotic family of endocytic regulatory proteins and is involved in the recycling of various receptors from the early endosome to the endocytic recycling compartment or in retrograde transport from the endosomes to the Golgi. EH domains are highly conserved in the EHD family and function as protein-protein interaction units that bind to Asn-Pro-Phe (NPF) motif-containing proteins. The EH domain of EHD1 was the first C-terminal EH domain from the EHD family to be solved by NMR. The differences observed between this domain and proteins with N-terminal EH domains helped describe a mechanism for the differential binding of NPF-containing proteins. Here, structural studies were expanded to include the EHD3 EH domain. While the EHD1 and EHD3 EH domains are highly homologous, they have different protein partners. A comparison of these structures will help determine the selectivity in protein binding between the EHD family members and lead to a better understanding of their unique roles in endocytic regulation. PMID:23754701

  17. OECD/NEA working party on nuclear criticality safety: Challenge of new realities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomura, Y.; Brady, M.C.; Briggs, J.B.; Sartori, E.

    1998-01-01

    New issues in criticality safety continue to emerge as spent fuel storage facilities reach the saturation point, fuel enrichments and burn-ups increase and new types of plutonium-carrying fuels are being developed. The new challenges related to the manipulation, transportation and storage of fuel demand further work to improve models predicting behavior through new experiments, especially where there is a lack of data in the present databases. This article summarizes the activities of the OECD/NEA working groups that coordinate and carry out work in the domain of criticality safety. Particular attention is devoted to establishing sound databases required in this area and to addressing issues of high relevance such as burn-up credit. This is aimed toward improving safety and identifying economic solutions to issues concerning the back end of the fuel cycle

  18. Knowledge of breast cancer and its risk and protective factors among women in Riyadh

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alam, Awatif Ali

    2006-01-01

    We conducted this study to assess the knowledge of breast cancer and sources of information about breast cancer among women in Riyadh. We also analyzed whether associations existed between demographic variables. Knowledge of breast cancer and, and the practice of breast self examination and use of mammography screening. Women interested in participating in this community based descriptive study provided data by completing a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Of 864 participating women, 84% were Saudi 45% were married and 67.8% had a university level education*0% were between the ages of 20 to 50 years. Knowledge of breast self examination (BSE) was high 82% (95% CI, 79.2%-84.4%) knew about BSE, 61% (95% CI confidence intervals [CI], 79.2%-84.4%) knew about BSE , while 61% [95%CI, 57.9%-64.5%] knew about mammography but only 41.2% [95% CI, 37.9%-44.5%] had performed BSE and 18.2% (95% CI, 15.5%-20.8%)had had mammography screening Knowledge of breast cancer, risk factors and protective factors for breast cancer was moderate. There was a statistically significant association between demographic characteristics (marital status, educational status and family history of breast cancer) and knowledge and practice of BSE and mammography. Though it has limitations, this study revealed an imbalance between the knowledge and practice of BSE among women. It also showed that there is only that there is only moderate knowledge of risks and protective factors for breast cancer and that knowledge and practice of BSE and mammography vary according to marital and educational status. Hence, frequent community based awareness programs are needed so that all women can know and practice BSE, which in turn helps to prevent breast cancer. (author)

  19. Simplicity and Specificity in Language: Domain-General Biases Have Domain-Specific Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culbertson, Jennifer; Kirby, Simon

    2016-01-01

    The extent to which the linguistic system—its architecture, the representations it operates on, the constraints it is subject to—is specific to language has broad implications for cognitive science and its relation to evolutionary biology. Importantly, a given property of the linguistic system can be “specific” to the domain of language in several ways. For example, if the property evolved by natural selection under the pressure of the linguistic function it serves then the property is domain-specific in the sense that its design is tailored for language. Equally though, if that property evolved to serve a different function or if that property is domain-general, it may nevertheless interact with the linguistic system in a way that is unique. This gives a second sense in which a property can be thought of as specific to language. An evolutionary approach to the language faculty might at first blush appear to favor domain-specificity in the first sense, with individual properties of the language faculty being specifically linguistic adaptations. However, we argue that interactions between learning, culture, and biological evolution mean any domain-specific adaptations that evolve will take the form of weak biases rather than hard constraints. Turning to the latter sense of domain-specificity, we highlight a very general bias, simplicity, which operates widely in cognition and yet interacts with linguistic representations in domain-specific ways. PMID:26793132

  20. Patient safety in practical nurses' education: A cross-sectional survey of newly registered practical nurses in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanDenKerkhof, Elizabeth; Sears, Nancy; Edge, Dana S; Tregunno, Deborah; Ginsburg, Liane

    2017-04-01

    Practical nurses have experienced an increasing scope of practice, including an expectation to care for complex patients and function on interdisciplinary teams. Little is known about the degree to which patient safety principles are addressed in practical nursing education. To examine self-reported patient safety competencies of practical nurses. A cross-sectional online survey (July 2014) and face-to-face interviews (June 2015). Ontario, Canada. Survey participants were practical nurses newly registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario between January 2012 and December 2013. Interview participants were faculty and students in a practical nursing program in Ontario. Survey respondents completed the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey online. Self-reported competencies in various patient safety domains were compared between classroom and clinical settings. Faculty members were interviewed about educational preparation of practical nurses and students were interviewed to provide insight into interpretation of survey questions. The survey response rate was 28.4% (n=1104/3883). Mean domain scores indicated a high level of confidence in patient safety competence (Nurses of Ontario >2years and in those who obtained their education outside of Canada. Faculty believed their approach to teaching and learning instilled a deep understanding of the limits to practical nurse autonomous practice. Practical nurses were confident in what they learned about patient safety in their educational programs. The high degree of patient safety competence may be a true reflection of practical nurses understanding of, and comfort with, the limits of their knowledge and, ultimately, the limits of their individual autonomous practice. Further exploration as to whether the questionnaire requires additional modification for use with practical nurse populations is warranted. However, this study provides the first examination of practical nurses' perspectives and

  1. Lessons learned from measuring safety culture: an Australian case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Suellen; Chiarella, Mary; Homer, Caroline S E

    2010-10-01

    adverse events in maternity care are relatively common but often avoidable. International patient safety strategies advocate measuring safety culture as a strategy to improve patient safety. Evidence suggests it is necessary to fully understand the safety culture of an organisation to make improvements to patient safety. this paper reports a case study examining the safety culture in one maternity service in Australia and considers the benefits of using surveys and interviews to understand safety culture as an approach to identify possible strategies to improve patient safety in this setting. the study took place in one maternity service in two public hospitals in NSW, Australia. Concurrently, both hospitals were undergoing an organisational restructure which was part of a major health reform agenda. The priorities of the reform included improving the quality of care and patient safety; and, creating a more efficient health system by reducing administration inefficiencies and duplication. a descriptive case study using three approaches: the safety culture was identified to warrant improvement across all six safety culture domains. There was reduced infrastructure and capacity to support incident management activities required to improve safety, which was influenced by instability from the organisational restructure. There was a perceived lack of leadership at all levels to drive safety and quality and improving the safety culture was neither a key priority nor was it valued by the organisation. the safety culture was complex as was undertaking this study. We were unable to achieve a desired 60% response rate highlighting the limitations of using safety culture surveys in isolation as a strategy to improve safety culture. Qualitative interviews provided greater insight into the factors influencing the safety culture. The findings of this study provide evidence of the benefits of including qualitative methods with quantitative surveys when examining safety culture

  2. The framing of scientific domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dam Christensen, Hans

    2014-01-01

    domains, and UNISIST helps understanding this navigation. Design/methodology/approach The UNISIST models are tentatively applied to the domain of art history at three stages, respectively two modern, partially overlapping domains, as well as an outline of an art historical domain anno c1820...

  3. Protein domain organisation: adding order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kummerfeld, Sarah K; Teichmann, Sarah A

    2009-01-29

    Domains are the building blocks of proteins. During evolution, they have been duplicated, fused and recombined, to produce proteins with novel structures and functions. Structural and genome-scale studies have shown that pairs or groups of domains observed together in a protein are almost always found in only one N to C terminal order and are the result of a single recombination event that has been propagated by duplication of the multi-domain unit. Previous studies of domain organisation have used graph theory to represent the co-occurrence of domains within proteins. We build on this approach by adding directionality to the graphs and connecting nodes based on their relative order in the protein. Most of the time, the linear order of domains is conserved. However, using the directed graph representation we have identified non-linear features of domain organization that are over-represented in genomes. Recognising these patterns and unravelling how they have arisen may allow us to understand the functional relationships between domains and understand how the protein repertoire has evolved. We identify groups of domains that are not linearly conserved, but instead have been shuffled during evolution so that they occur in multiple different orders. We consider 192 genomes across all three kingdoms of life and use domain and protein annotation to understand their functional significance. To identify these features and assess their statistical significance, we represent the linear order of domains in proteins as a directed graph and apply graph theoretical methods. We describe two higher-order patterns of domain organisation: clusters and bi-directionally associated domain pairs and explore their functional importance and phylogenetic conservation. Taking into account the order of domains, we have derived a novel picture of global protein organization. We found that all genomes have a higher than expected degree of clustering and more domain pairs in forward and

  4. Protein domain organisation: adding order

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kummerfeld Sarah K

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Domains are the building blocks of proteins. During evolution, they have been duplicated, fused and recombined, to produce proteins with novel structures and functions. Structural and genome-scale studies have shown that pairs or groups of domains observed together in a protein are almost always found in only one N to C terminal order and are the result of a single recombination event that has been propagated by duplication of the multi-domain unit. Previous studies of domain organisation have used graph theory to represent the co-occurrence of domains within proteins. We build on this approach by adding directionality to the graphs and connecting nodes based on their relative order in the protein. Most of the time, the linear order of domains is conserved. However, using the directed graph representation we have identified non-linear features of domain organization that are over-represented in genomes. Recognising these patterns and unravelling how they have arisen may allow us to understand the functional relationships between domains and understand how the protein repertoire has evolved. Results We identify groups of domains that are not linearly conserved, but instead have been shuffled during evolution so that they occur in multiple different orders. We consider 192 genomes across all three kingdoms of life and use domain and protein annotation to understand their functional significance. To identify these features and assess their statistical significance, we represent the linear order of domains in proteins as a directed graph and apply graph theoretical methods. We describe two higher-order patterns of domain organisation: clusters and bi-directionally associated domain pairs and explore their functional importance and phylogenetic conservation. Conclusion Taking into account the order of domains, we have derived a novel picture of global protein organization. We found that all genomes have a higher than expected

  5. Patient safety culture in obstetrics and gynecology and neonatology units: the nurses' and the midwives' opinion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeliene, Janina; Blazeviciene, Aurelija; Nadisauskiene, Ruta Jolanta; Tameliene, Rasa; Kudreviciene, Ausrele; Nedzelskiene, Irena; Macijauskiene, Jurate

    2018-04-22

    Patients treated in health care facilities that provide services in the fields of obstetrics, gynecology, and neonatology are especially vulnerable. Large multidisciplinary teams of physicians, multiple invasive and noninvasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the use of advanced technologies increase the probability of adverse events. The evaluation of knowledge about patient safety culture among nurses and midwives working in such units and the identification of critical areas at a health care institution would reduce the number of adverse events and improve patient safety. The aim of the study was to evaluate the opinion of nurses and midwives working in clinical departments that provide services in the fields of obstetrics, gynecology, and neonatology about patient safety culture and to explore potential predictors for the overall perception of safety. We used the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) to evaluate nurses' and midwives' opinion about patient safety issues. The overall response rate in the survey was 100% (n = 233). The analysis of the dimensions of safety on the unit level showed that the respondents' most positive evaluations were in the Organizational Learning - Continuous Improvement (73.2%) and Feedback and Communication about Error (66.8%) dimensions, and the most negative evaluations in the Non-punitive Response to Error (33.5%) and Staffing (44.6%) dimensions. On the hospital level, the evaluation of the safety dimensions ranged between 41.4 and 56.8%. The percentage of positive responses in the outcome dimensions Frequency of Events Reported was 82.4%. We found a significant association between the outcome dimension Frequency of Events Reported and the Hospital Management Support for Patient Safety and Feedback and Communication about Error Dimensions. On the hospital level, the critical domains in health care facilities that provide services in the fields of obstetrics, gynecology, and neonatology were Teamwork

  6. Impact of workflow on the use of the Surgical Safety Checklist: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillespie, Brigid M; Marshall, Andrea P; Gardiner, Therese; Lavin, Joanne; Withers, Teresa K

    2016-11-01

    Regardless of the benefits associated of the Surgical Safety Checklist, adherence across its three phases remains inconsistent. The aim of this study was to systematically identify issues around workflow that impact on surgical teams' ability to use the Surgical Safety Checklist in a large tertiary facility in Queensland, Australia. Observational audit of 10 surgical teams and 33 semi-structured interviews with 70 participants from nursing, medicine and the community were conducted. Data were collected during 2014-2015. Inductive and deductive approaches were used to analyse field observations and interview transcripts. The domain, impact of workflow on checklist utilization, was identified. Within this domain, seven categories illustrated the causal conditions which determined the ways in which workflow influenced checklist use. These categories included: 'busy doing the task'; 'clashing task priorities'; 'being pressured, running out of time'; 'adapting processes to work patterns'; 'doubling up on work'; 'a domino effect, leading to delays' and 'reality of the workflow'. One of the greatest systemic challenges to checklist use in surgery is workflow. Process changes in the way that surgical safety checklists are used need to incorporate the temporal demands of the workflow. Any changes made must ensure the process is reliable, is easily embedded into existing work routines and is not disruptive. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  7. The deep geologic repository technology programme: toward a geoscience basis for understanding repository safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jensen, M.R.

    2007-01-01

    Within the Deep Geologic Repository Technology Programme (DGRTP) several Geoscience activities are focused on advancing the understanding of groundwater flow system evolution and geochemical stability in a Canadian Shield setting as affected by long-term climate change. A key aspect is developing confidence in predictions of groundwater flow patterns and residence times as they relate to the safety of a deep geologic repository for used nuclear fuel waste. This is being achieved through a coordinated multi-disciplinary approach intent on: i) demonstrating coincidence between independent geo-scientific data; ii) improving the traceability of geo-scientific data and its interpretation within a conceptual descriptive model(s); iii) improving upon methods to assess and demonstrate robustness in flow domain prediction(s) given inherent flow domain uncertainties (i.e. spatial chemical/physical property distributions, boundary conditions) in time and space; and iv) improving awareness amongst geo-scientists as to the utility of various geo-scientific data in supporting a safety case for a deep geologic repository. This multi-disciplinary DGRTP approach is yielding an improved understanding of groundwater flow system evolution and stability in Canadian Shield settings that is further contributing to the geo-scientific basis for understanding and communicating aspects of DGR safety. (author)

  8. Development of an evaluation framework for African-European hospital patient safety partnerships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutter, Paul; Syed, Shamsuzzoha B; Storr, Julie; Hightower, Joyce D; Bagheri-Nejad, Sepideh; Kelley, Edward; Pittet, Didier

    2014-04-01

    Patient safety is recognised as a significant healthcare problem worldwide, and healthcare-associated infections are an important aspect. African Partnerships for Patient Safety is a WHO programme that pairs hospitals in Africa with hospitals in Europe with the objective to work together to improve patient safety. To describe the development of an evaluation framework for hospital-to-hospital partnerships participating in the programme. The framework was structured around the programme's three core objectives: facilitate strong interhospital partnerships, improve in-hospital patient safety and spread best practices nationally. Africa-based clinicians, their European partners and experts in patient safety were closely involved in developing the evaluation framework in an iterative process. The process defined six domains of partnership strength, each with measurable subdomains. We developed a questionnaire to measure these subdomains. Participants selected six indicators of hospital patient safety improvement from a short-list of 22 based on their relevance, sensitivity to intervention and measurement feasibility. Participants proposed 20 measures of spread, which were refined into a two-part conceptual framework, and a data capture tool created. Taking a highly participatory approach that closely involved its end users, we developed an evaluation framework and tools to measure partnership strength, patient safety improvements and the spread of best practice.

  9. R&D Challenges for SFR Design and Safety Analysis – Opportunities for International Cooperations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devictor, Nicolas

    2013-01-01

    Examples of R&D challenges related to safety have been presented. For any domain, R&D activities includes modelling, codes development and their V&V process, with the support of experimental programs. The success in the R&D will help the safety case and the acceptability of SFR. Some of these activities are relevant for international cooperation especially benchmarks and sharing of experimental facilities. This last point could take benefit of recent catalogues experimental facilities (already operational or in project), for example from the TAREF Task Force of OECD/NEA and the European project ADRIANA

  10. Using systematic review in occupational safety and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, John; Piacentino, John; MacMahon, Kathleen; Schulte, Paul

    2017-11-01

    Evaluation of scientific evidence is critical in developing recommendations to reduce risk. Healthcare was the first scientific field to employ a systematic review approach for synthesizing research findings to support evidence-based decision-making and it is still the largest producer and consumer of systematic reviews. Systematic reviews in the field of occupational safety and health are being conducted, but more widespread use and adoption would strengthen assessments. In 2016, NIOSH asked RAND to develop a framework for applying the traditional systematic review elements to the field of occupational safety and health. This paper describes how essential systematic review elements can be adapted for use in occupational systematic reviews to enhance their scientific quality, objectivity, transparency, reliability, utility, and acceptability. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  11. A novel dual-wavelength, Nd:YAG, picosecond-domain laser safely and effectively removes multicolor tattoos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Eric F; Schomacker, Kevin T; Basilavecchio, Lisa D; Plugis, Jessica M; Bhawalkar, Jayant D

    2015-07-14

    Although nanosecond-domain lasers have been the mainstay of laser tattoo removal for decades, recent disruptive innovations in laser design have introduced a new class of commercial Q-switched lasers that generate picosecond-domain pulses. A picosecond-domain, Nd:YAG laser with a KTP frequency-doubling crystal was used to treat 31 decorative tattoos in 21 subjects. Safety and effectiveness were determined by blinded evaluation of digital images in this prospective clinical study. The average clearance overall as evaluated by blinded observers evaluating randomized digital photographs was 79 ± 0.9% (mean ± sem) after an average of 6.5 treatments. Of the 31 tattoos completing treatment, 6 had evidence of mild hyper- or hypo-pigmentation by evaluation of photographs. The 350 picosecond, 532 nm, and 450 picosecond 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser is safe and effective for removing decorative tattoos. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2015 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. A novel dual‐wavelength, Nd:YAG, picosecond‐domain laser safely and effectively removes multicolor tattoos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schomacker, Kevin T.; Basilavecchio, Lisa D.; Plugis, Jessica M.; Bhawalkar, Jayant D.

    2015-01-01

    Background and Objectives Although nanosecond‐domain lasers have been the mainstay of laser tattoo removal for decades, recent disruptive innovations in laser design have introduced a new class of commercial Q‐switched lasers that generate picosecond‐domain pulses. Study A picosecond‐domain, Nd:YAG laser with a KTP frequency‐doubling crystal was used to treat 31 decorative tattoos in 21 subjects. Safety and effectiveness were determined by blinded evaluation of digital images in this prospective clinical study. Results The average clearance overall as evaluated by blinded observers evaluating randomized digital photographs was 79 ± 0.9% (mean ± sem) after an average of 6.5 treatments. Of the 31 tattoos completing treatment, 6 had evidence of mild hyper‐ or hypo‐pigmentation by evaluation of photographs. Conclusion The 350 picosecond, 532 nm, and 450 picosecond 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser is safe and effective for removing decorative tattoos. Lasers Surg. Med. 47:542–548, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26175187

  13. Insights into function of PSI domains from structure of the Met receptor PSI domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlov, Guennadi; Perreault, Audrey; Schrag, Joseph D.; Park, Morag; Cygler, Miroslaw; Gehring, Kalle; Ekiel, Irena

    2004-01-01

    PSI domains are cysteine-rich modules found in extracellular fragments of hundreds of signaling proteins, including plexins, semaphorins, integrins, and attractins. Here, we report the solution structure of the PSI domain from the human Met receptor, a receptor tyrosine kinase critical for proliferation, motility, and differentiation. The structure represents a cysteine knot with short regions of secondary structure including a three-stranded antiparallel β-sheet and two α-helices. All eight cysteines are involved in disulfide bonds with the pattern consistent with that for the PSI domain from Sema4D. Comparison with the Sema4D structure identifies a structurally conserved core comprising the N-terminal half of the PSI domain. Interestingly, this part links adjacent SEMA and immunoglobulin domains in the Sema4D structure, suggesting that the PSI domain serves as a wedge between propeller and immunoglobulin domains and is responsible for the correct positioning of the ligand-binding site of the receptor

  14. Patient safety: Safety culture and patient safety ethics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Marlene Dyrløv

    2006-01-01

    ,demonstrating significant, consistent and sometimes large differences in terms of safety culture factors across the units participating in the survey. Paper 5 is the results of a study of the relation between safety culture, occupational health andpatient safety using a safety culture questionnaire survey......Patient safety - the prevention of medical error and adverse events - and the initiative of developing safety cultures to assure patients from harm have become one of the central concerns in quality improvement in healthcare both nationally andinternationally. This subject raises numerous...... challenging issues of systemic, organisational, cultural and ethical relevance, which this dissertation seeks to address through the application of different disciplinary approaches. The main focus of researchis safety culture; through empirical and theoretical studies to comprehend the phenomenon, address...

  15. Resource Unavailability (RU) Per Domain Behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karagiannis, Georgios; Westberg, L.; Bader, A.; Tschofenig, Hannes; Tschofenig, H.

    2006-01-01

    This draft specifies a Per Domain Behavior that provides the ability to Diffserv nodes located outside Diffserv domain(s), e.g., receiver or other Diffserv enabled router to detect when the resources provided by the Diffserv domain(s) are not available. The unavailability of resources in the domain

  16. Employee Safety Motivation: perspectives and measures on the basis of the Self-Determination theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariani, M G; Soldà, Bianca Lara; Curcuruto, M

    2015-09-09

    There is a growing body of literature demonstrating that employee's safety behaviour is largely influenced by their motivation to work safely. The Self-Determination Theory, which proposes a multidimensional conceptualization of motivation, is now established in various domains of the academic field (Healthcare, Education, Psychopathology, Organizations, Sport etc.). However, there are few publications concerning its use in the analysis of motivation in a safety context, where it constitutes a new topic of study. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Italian version of the Self-Determined Safety Motivation Scale and analyze the psychometric properties of the scale in terms of construct validity. The research involved 387 Italian employees from three companies, who occupied medium-low levels in the organizational hierarchy. A good level of psychometric properties was shown. The Italian version of the Self-Determined Safety Motivation Scale is a reliable and valid instrument to assess safety motivation.

  17. Paul Scherrer Institut annual report 1996. Annex IV: PSI nuclear energy and safety research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birchley, J.; Roesel, R.; Wellner, A.

    1997-01-01

    The department 'Nuclear Energy and Safety Research' (F4) at PSI carries the responsibility of performing the essential nuclear energy research in Switzerland. This research is part of the remit of PSI and follows government directive; about one-fifth of the Institute's Federal budget is allocated to this task. Currently about 190 persons are working in this field. Approximately 45% of the salary and investment costs (5.5 million CHF in the budget period 1996/97) are externally funded. This funding is provided primarily by the Swiss Utilities, the NAGRA and the safety authority HSK. The activities in nuclear research concentrate on three main domains: safety and safety related problems of operating plants, safety features of future reactor and fuel cycle concepts and waste management; another 4% of staff are addressing broader aspects of energy. At the end of 1996, a policy evaluation with the laboratory heads took place in order to redefine the direction of F4 activities. (author) figs., tabs., refs

  18. Safety evaluation for the prototype Fast Breeder Reactor MONJU as a Japanese TSO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, Hiroshi

    2010-01-01

    In the safety field of fast breeder reactors (FBRs), JNES is conducting an evaluation work of the safety regulation by Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA) for the re-start of a prototype FBR MONJU. MONJU has been stopped over 14 years since 1995 due to a sodium leakage accident at a secondary heat transport system, and is now reached to the criticality on 8th of May, 2010. JNES is supporting the safety regulation work conducted by NISA based on the following activities: i) Support of the technical evaluation of the application for the establishment license prepared by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), ii) Support of the description of the safety review report by NISA based on independent safety analyses for the major accident events such as unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) by employing the latest findings on the study of core disruptive accidents (CDAs) independently conducted by JNES, iii) Support of the risk-informed-regulation (RIR) such as an accident management (AM) review, iv), and Consideration on the safety regulation policy from the points of severe accidents and source-term behaviors including the cesium (Cs). The objective of this paper is to introduce the major activities of JNES in the safety domain of MONJU regulations. (author)

  19. Recovering protein-protein and domain-domain interactions from aggregation of IP-MS proteomics of coregulator complexes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin R Mazloom

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Coregulator proteins (CoRegs are part of multi-protein complexes that transiently assemble with transcription factors and chromatin modifiers to regulate gene expression. In this study we analyzed data from 3,290 immuno-precipitations (IP followed by mass spectrometry (MS applied to human cell lines aimed at identifying CoRegs complexes. Using the semi-quantitative spectral counts, we scored binary protein-protein and domain-domain associations with several equations. Unlike previous applications, our methods scored prey-prey protein-protein interactions regardless of the baits used. We also predicted domain-domain interactions underlying predicted protein-protein interactions. The quality of predicted protein-protein and domain-domain interactions was evaluated using known binary interactions from the literature, whereas one protein-protein interaction, between STRN and CTTNBP2NL, was validated experimentally; and one domain-domain interaction, between the HEAT domain of PPP2R1A and the Pkinase domain of STK25, was validated using molecular docking simulations. The scoring schemes presented here recovered known, and predicted many new, complexes, protein-protein, and domain-domain interactions. The networks that resulted from the predictions are provided as a web-based interactive application at http://maayanlab.net/HT-IP-MS-2-PPI-DDI/.

  20. Access Safety Systems – New Concepts from the LHC Experience

    CERN Document Server

    Ladzinski, T; di Luca, S; Hakulinen, T; Hammouti, L; Riesco, T; Nunes, R; Ninin, P; Juget, J-F; Havart, F; Valentini, F; Sanchez-Corral Mena, E

    2011-01-01

    The LHC Access Safety System has introduced a number of new concepts into the domain of personnel protection at CERN. These can be grouped into several categories: organisational, architectural and concerning the end-user experience. By anchoring the project on the solid foundations of the IEC 61508/61511 methodology, the CERN team and its contractors managed to design, develop, test and commission on time a SIL3 safety system. The system uses a successful combination of the latest Siemens redundant safety programmable logic controllers with a traditional relay logic hardwired loop. The external envelope barriers used in the LHC include personnel and material access devices, which are interlocked door-booths introducing increased automation of individual access control, thus removing the strain from the operators. These devices ensure the inviolability of the controlled zones by users not holding the required credentials. To this end they are equipped with personnel presence detectors and th...

  1. Naturalistic distraction and driving safety in older drivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksan, Nazan; Dawson, Jeffrey D; Emerson, Jamie L; Yu, Lixi; Uc, Ergun Y; Anderson, Steven W; Rizzo, Matthew

    2013-08-01

    In this study, we aimed to quantify and compare performance of middle-aged and older drivers during a naturalistic distraction paradigm (visual search for roadside targets) and to predict older drivers performance given functioning in visual, motor, and cognitive domains. Distracted driving can imperil healthy adults and may disproportionally affect the safety of older drivers with visual, motor, and cognitive decline. A total of 203 drivers, 120 healthy older (61 men and 59 women, ages 65 years and older) and 83 middle-aged drivers (38 men and 45 women, ages 40 to 64 years), participated in an on-road test in an instrumented vehicle. Outcome measures included performance in roadside target identification (traffic signs and restaurants) and concurrent driver safety. Differences in visual, motor, and cognitive functioning served as predictors. Older drivers identified fewer landmarks and drove slower but committed more safety errors than did middle-aged drivers. Greater familiarity with local roads benefited performance of middle-aged but not older drivers.Visual cognition predicted both traffic sign identification and safety errors, and executive function predicted traffic sign identification over and above vision. Older adults are susceptible to driving safety errors while distracted by common secondary visual search tasks that are inherent to driving. The findings underscore that age-related cognitive decline affects older drivers' management of driving tasks at multiple levels and can help inform the design of on-road tests and interventions for older drivers.

  2. Full waveform inversion in the frequency domain using classified time-domain residual wavefields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Woohyun; Koo, Nam-Hyung; Kim, Byoung-Yeop; Lee, Ho-Young; Joo, Yonghwan

    2017-04-01

    We perform the acoustic full waveform inversion in the frequency domain using residual wavefields that have been separated in the time domain. We sort the residual wavefields in the time domain according to the order of absolute amplitudes. Then, the residual wavefields are separated into several groups in the time domain. To analyze the characteristics of the residual wavefields, we compare the residual wavefields of conventional method with those of our residual separation method. From the residual analysis, the amplitude spectrum obtained from the trace before separation appears to have little energy at the lower frequency bands. However, the amplitude spectrum obtained from our strategy is regularized by the separation process, which means that the low-frequency components are emphasized. Therefore, our method helps to emphasize low-frequency components of residual wavefields. Then, we generate the frequency-domain residual wavefields by taking the Fourier transform of the separated time-domain residual wavefields. With these wavefields, we perform the gradient-based full waveform inversion in the frequency domain using back-propagation technique. Through a comparison of gradient directions, we confirm that our separation method can better describe the sub-salt image than the conventional approach. The proposed method is tested on the SEG/EAGE salt-dome model. The inversion results show that our algorithm is better than the conventional gradient based waveform inversion in the frequency domain, especially for deeper parts of the velocity model.

  3. Health Beliefs Concerning Breast Self-examination of Nurses in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sevinc Tastan, RN, PhD

    2011-09-01

    Conclusion: It is important to be aware of the health beliefs of nurses regarding BSE so that their own health can be protected and improved. Beneficial attitudes and behaviors of nurses regarding BSE will enable them to provide more effective services to women regarding breast cancer. Understanding the nurses’ health beliefs, attitude and behavior that are influential to make BSE will guide nursing practices towards early diagnosis of breast cancer at the societal level.

  4. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy: the effect of oral exposure dose on attack rate and incubation period in cattle ? an update

    OpenAIRE

    Konold, Timm; Arnold, Mark E; Austin, Anthony R; Cawthraw, Saira; Hawkins, Steve AC; Stack, Michael J; Simmons, Marion M; Sayers, A Robin; Dawson, Michael; Wilesmith, John W; Wells, Gerald AH

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Background To provide information on dose–response and aid in modelling the exposure dynamics of the BSE epidemic in the United Kingdom groups of cattle were exposed orally to a range of different doses of brainstem homogenate of known infectious titre from clinical cases of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Interim data from this study was published in 2007. This communication documents additional BSE cases, which occurred subsequently, examines possible influence of...

  5. Apoplastic domains and sub-domains in the shoots of etiolated corn seedlings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epel, B. L.; Bandurski, R. S.

    1990-01-01

    Light Green, an apoplastic probe, was applied to the cut mesocotyl base or to the cut coleoptile apex of etiolated seedlings of Zea mays L. cv. Silver Queen. Probe transport was measured and its tissue distribution determined. In the mesocotyl, there is an apoplastic barrier between cortex and stele. This barrier creates two apoplastic domains which are non-communicating. A kinetic barrier exists between the apoplast of the mesocotyl stele and that of the coleoptile. This kinetic barrier is not absolute and there is limited communication between the apoplasts of the two regions. This kinetic barrier effectively creates two sub-domains. In the coleoptile, there is communication between the apoplast of the vascular strands and that of the surrounding cortical tissue. No apoplastic communication was observed between the coleoptile cortex and the mesocotyl cortex. Thus, the apoplastic space of the coleoptile cortex is a sub-domain of the integrated coleoptile domain and is separate from that of the apoplastic domain of the mesocotyl cortex.

  6. The use of environmental, health and safety research in nanotechnology research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youtie, Jan; Porter, Alan; Shapira, Philip; Tang, Li; Benn, Troy

    2011-01-01

    Environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns are receiving considerable attention in nanoscience and nanotechnology (nano) research and development (R&D). Policymakers and others have urged that research on nano's EHS implications be developed alongside scientific research in the nano domain rather than subsequent to applications. This concurrent perspective suggests the importance of early understanding and measurement of the diffusion of nano EHS research. The paper examines the diffusion of nano EHS publications, defined through a set of search terms, into the broader nano domain using a global nanotechnology R&D database developed at Georgia Tech. The results indicate that nano EHS research is growing rapidly although it is orders of magnitude smaller than the broader nano S&T domain. Nano EHS work is moderately multidisciplinary, but gaps in biomedical nano EHS's connections with environmental nano EHS are apparent. The paper discusses the implications of these results for the continued monitoring and development of the cross-disciplinary utilization of nano EHS research.

  7. Taxonomic analysis of perceived risk: modeling individual and group perceptions within homogeneous hazard domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kraus, N.N.; Slovic, P.

    1988-01-01

    Previous studies of risk perception have typically focused on the mean judgments of a group of people regarding the riskiness (or safety) of a diverse set of hazardous activities, substances, and technologies. This paper reports the results of two studies that take a different path. Study 1 investigated whether models within a single technological domain were similar to previous models based on group means and diverse hazards. Study 2 created a group taxonomy of perceived risk for only one technological domain, railroads, and examined whether the structure of that taxonomy corresponded with taxonomies derived from prior studies of diverse hazards. Results from Study 1 indicated that the importance of various risk characteristics in determining perceived risk differed across individuals and across hazards, but not so much as to invalidate the results of earlier studies based on group means and diverse hazards. In Study 2, the detailed analysis of railroad hazards produced a structure that had both important similarities to, and dissimilarities from, the structure obtained in prior research with diverse hazard domains. The data also indicated that railroad hazards are really quite diverse, with some approaching nuclear reactors in their perceived seriousness. These results suggest that information about the diversity of perceptions within a single domain of hazards could provide valuable input to risk-management decisions

  8. Ecological Design of Cooperative Human-Machine Interfaces for Safety of Intelligent Transport Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orekhov Aleksandr

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper describes research results in the domain of cooperative intelligent transport systems. The requirements for human-machine interface considering safety issue of for intelligent transport systems (ITSare analyzed. Profiling of the requirements to cooperative human-machine interface (CHMI for such systems including requirements to usability and safety is based on a set of standards for ITSs. An approach and design technique of cooperative human-machine interface for ITSs are suggested. The architecture of cloud-based CHMI for intelligent transport systems has been developed. The prototype of software system CHMI4ITSis described.

  9. A proactive method for safety management in nuclear facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grecco, Claudio Henrique dos Santos; Carvalho, Paulo Victor Rodrigues de; Santos, Isaac Antonio Luquetti dos

    2014-01-01

    Due to the modern approach to address the safety of nuclear facilities which highlights that these organizations must be able to assess and proactively manage their activities becomes increasingly important the need for instruments to evaluate working conditions. In this context, this work presents a proactive method of managing organizational safety, which has three innovative features: 1) the use of predictive indicators that provide current information on the performance of activities, allowing preventive actions and not just reactive in safety management, different from safety indicators traditionally used (reactive indicators) that are obtained after the occurrence of undesired events; 2) the adoption of resilience engineering approach in the development of indicators - indicators are based on six principles of resilience engineering: top management commitment, learning, flexibility, awareness, culture of justice and preparation for the problems; 3) the adoption of the concepts and properties of fuzzy set theory to deal with subjectivity and consistency of human trials in the evaluation of the indicators. The fuzzy theory is used primarily to map qualitative models of decision-making, and inaccurate representation methods. The results of this study aim an improvement in performance and safety in organizations. The method was applied in a radiopharmaceutical shipping sector of a nuclear facility. The results showed that the method is a good monitoring tool objectively and proactively of the working conditions of an organizational domain

  10. Access safety systems - New concepts from the LHC experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ladzinski, T.; Delamare, C.; Luca, S. di; Hakulinen, T.; Hammouti, L.; Havart, F.; Juget, J.F.; Ninin, P.; Nunes, R.; Riesco, T.; Sanchez-Corral Mena, E.; Valentini, F.

    2012-01-01

    The LHC Access Safety System has introduced a number of new concepts into the domain of personnel protection at CERN. These can be grouped into several categories: organisational, architectural and concerning the end-user experience. By anchoring the project on the solid foundations of the IEC 61508/61511 methodology, the CERN team and its contractors managed to design, develop, test and commission on time a SIL3 safety system. The system uses a successful combination of the latest Siemens redundant safety programmable logic controllers with a traditional relay logic hard wired loop. The external envelope barriers used in the LHC include personnel and material access devices, which are interlocked door-booths introducing increased automation of individual access control, thus removing the strain from the operators. These devices ensure the inviolability of the controlled zones by users not holding the required credentials. To this end they are equipped with personnel presence detectors and the access control includes a state of the art bio-metry check. Building on the LHC experience, new projects targeting the refurbishment of the existing access safety infrastructure in the injector chain have started. This paper summarises the new concepts introduced in the LHC access control and safety systems, discusses the return of experience and outlines the main guiding principles for the renewal stage of the personnel protection systems in the LHC injector chain in a homogeneous manner. (authors)

  11. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire: psychometric properties, benchmarking data, and emerging research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boyden James

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is widespread interest in measuring healthcare provider attitudes about issues relevant to patient safety (often called safety climate or safety culture. Here we report the psychometric properties, establish benchmarking data, and discuss emerging areas of research with the University of Texas Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Methods Six cross-sectional surveys of health care providers (n = 10,843 in 203 clinical areas (including critical care units, operating rooms, inpatient settings, and ambulatory clinics in three countries (USA, UK, New Zealand. Multilevel factor analyses yielded results at the clinical area level and the respondent nested within clinical area level. We report scale reliability, floor/ceiling effects, item factor loadings, inter-factor correlations, and percentage of respondents who agree with each item and scale. Results A six factor model of provider attitudes fit to the data at both the clinical area and respondent nested within clinical area levels. The factors were: Teamwork Climate, Safety Climate, Perceptions of Management, Job Satisfaction, Working Conditions, and Stress Recognition. Scale reliability was 0.9. Provider attitudes varied greatly both within and among organizations. Results are presented to allow benchmarking among organizations and emerging research is discussed. Conclusion The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties. Healthcare organizations can use the survey to measure caregiver attitudes about six patient safety-related domains, to compare themselves with other organizations, to prompt interventions to improve safety attitudes and to measure the effectiveness of these interventions.

  12. DIMA 3.0: Domain Interaction Map.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Qibin; Pagel, Philipp; Vilne, Baiba; Frishman, Dmitrij

    2011-01-01

    Domain Interaction MAp (DIMA, available at http://webclu.bio.wzw.tum.de/dima) is a database of predicted and known interactions between protein domains. It integrates 5807 structurally known interactions imported from the iPfam and 3did databases and 46,900 domain interactions predicted by four computational methods: domain phylogenetic profiling, domain pair exclusion algorithm correlated mutations and domain interaction prediction in a discriminative way. Additionally predictions are filtered to exclude those domain pairs that are reported as non-interacting by the Negatome database. The DIMA Web site allows to calculate domain interaction networks either for a domain of interest or for entire organisms, and to explore them interactively using the Flash-based Cytoscape Web software.

  13. Domain fusion analysis by applying relational algebra to protein sequence and domain databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truong, Kevin; Ikura, Mitsuhiko

    2003-05-06

    Domain fusion analysis is a useful method to predict functionally linked proteins that may be involved in direct protein-protein interactions or in the same metabolic or signaling pathway. As separate domain databases like BLOCKS, PROSITE, Pfam, SMART, PRINTS-S, ProDom, TIGRFAMs, and amalgamated domain databases like InterPro continue to grow in size and quality, a computational method to perform domain fusion analysis that leverages on these efforts will become increasingly powerful. This paper proposes a computational method employing relational algebra to find domain fusions in protein sequence databases. The feasibility of this method was illustrated on the SWISS-PROT+TrEMBL sequence database using domain predictions from the Pfam HMM (hidden Markov model) database. We identified 235 and 189 putative functionally linked protein partners in H. sapiens and S. cerevisiae, respectively. From scientific literature, we were able to confirm many of these functional linkages, while the remainder offer testable experimental hypothesis. Results can be viewed at http://calcium.uhnres.utoronto.ca/pi. As the analysis can be computed quickly on any relational database that supports standard SQL (structured query language), it can be dynamically updated along with the sequence and domain databases, thereby improving the quality of predictions over time.

  14. The Effect of Top-Level Domains and Advertisements on Health Web Site Credibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zuoming; Loh, Tracy

    2004-01-01

    Background Concerns over health information on the Internet have generated efforts to enhance credibility markers; yet how users actually assess the credibility of online health information is largely unknown. Objective This study set out to (1) establish a parsimonious and valid questionnaire instrument to measure credibility of Internet health information by drawing on various previous measures of source, news, and other credibility scales; and (2) to identify the effects of Web-site domains and advertising on credibility perceptions. Methods Respondents (N = 156) examined one of 12 Web-site mock-ups and completed credibility scales in a 3 x 2 x 2 between-subjects experimental design. Factor analysis and validity checks were used for item reduction, and analysis of variance was employed for hypothesis testing of Web-site features' effects. Results In an attempt to construct a credibility instrument, three dimensions of credibility (safety, trustworthiness, and dynamism) were retained, reflecting traditional credibility sub-themes, but composed of items from disparate sources. When testing the effect of the presence or absence of advertising on a Web site on credibility, we found that this depends on the site's domain, with a trend for advertisements having deleterious effects on the credibility of sites with .org domain, but positive effects on sites with .com or .edu domains. Conclusions Health-information Web-site providers should select domains purposefully when they can, especially if they must accept on-site advertising. Credibility perceptions may not be invariant or stable, but rather are sensitive to topic and context. Future research may employ these findings in order to compare other forms of health-information delivery to optimal Web-site features. PMID:15471750

  15. Code conversion for system design and safety analysis of NSSS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Hae Cho; Kim, Young Tae; Choi, Young Gil; Kim, Hee Kyung [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-01-01

    This report describes overall project works related to conversion, installation and validation of computer codes which are used in NSSS design and safety analysis of nuclear power plants. Domain/os computer codes for system safety analysis are installed and validated on Apollo DN10000, and then Apollo version are converted and installed again on HP9000/700 series with appropriate validation. Also, COOLII and COAST which are cyber version computer codes are converted into versions of Apollo DN10000 and HP9000/700, and installed with validation. This report details whole processes of work involved in the computer code conversion and installation, as well as software verification and validation results which are attached to this report. 12 refs., 8 figs. (author)

  16. Single-domain versus two-domain configuration in thin ferromagnetic prisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pini, Maria Gloria; Politi, Paolo

    2007-01-01

    Thin ferromagnetic elements in the form of rectangular prisms are theoretically investigated in order to study the transition from single-domain to two-domain state, with changing the in-plane aspect ratio p. We address two main questions: first, how general is the transition; second, how the critical value p c depends on the physical parameters. We use two complementary methods: discrete-lattice calculations and a micromagnetic continuum approach. Ultrathin films do not appear to split in two domains. Instead, thicker films may undergo the above transition. We have used the continuum approach to analyze recent magnetic force microscopy observations in 30nm-thick patterned permalloy elements, finding a good agreement for p c

  17. Topological domain walls in helimagnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenherr, P.; Müller, J.; Köhler, L.; Rosch, A.; Kanazawa, N.; Tokura, Y.; Garst, M.; Meier, D.

    2018-05-01

    Domain walls naturally arise whenever a symmetry is spontaneously broken. They interconnect regions with different realizations of the broken symmetry, promoting structure formation from cosmological length scales to the atomic level1,2. In ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials, domain walls with unique functionalities emerge, holding great promise for nanoelectronics and spintronics applications3-5. These walls are usually of Ising, Bloch or Néel type and separate homogeneously ordered domains. Here we demonstrate that a wide variety of new domain walls occurs in the presence of spatially modulated domain states. Using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, we show three fundamental classes of domain walls to arise in the near-room-temperature helimagnet iron germanium. In contrast to conventional ferroics, the domain walls exhibit a well-defined inner structure, which—analogous to cholesteric liquid crystals—consists of topological disclination and dislocation defects. Similar to the magnetic skyrmions that form in the same material6,7, the domain walls can carry a finite topological charge, permitting an efficient coupling to spin currents and contributions to a topological Hall effect. Our study establishes a new family of magnetic nano-objects with non-trivial topology, opening the door to innovative device concepts based on helimagnetic domain walls.

  18. Drunk identification using far infrared imagery based on DCT features in DWT domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Zhihua; Jiang, Peng; Xiong, Ying; Li, Ke

    2016-10-01

    Drunk driving problem is a serious threat to traffic safety. Automatic drunk driver identification is vital to improve the traffic safety. This paper copes with automatic drunk driver detection using far infrared thermal images by the holistic features. To improve the robustness of drunk driver detection, instead of traditional local pixels, a holistic feature extraction method is proposed to attain compact and discriminative features for infrared face drunk identification. Discrete cosine transform (DCT) in discrete wavelet transform (DWT) domain is used to extract the useful features in infrared face images for its high speed. Then, the first six DCT coefficients are retained for drunk classification by means of "Z" scanning. Finally, SVM is applied to classify the drunk person. Experimental results illustrate that the accuracy rate of proposed infrared face drunk identification can reach 98.5% with high computation efficiency, which can be applied in real drunk driver detection system.

  19. Prediction Reweighting for Domain Adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuang Li; Shiji Song; Gao Huang

    2017-07-01

    There are plenty of classification methods that perform well when training and testing data are drawn from the same distribution. However, in real applications, this condition may be violated, which causes degradation of classification accuracy. Domain adaptation is an effective approach to address this problem. In this paper, we propose a general domain adaptation framework from the perspective of prediction reweighting, from which a novel approach is derived. Different from the major domain adaptation methods, our idea is to reweight predictions of the training classifier on testing data according to their signed distance to the domain separator, which is a classifier that distinguishes training data (from source domain) and testing data (from target domain). We then propagate the labels of target instances with larger weights to ones with smaller weights by introducing a manifold regularization method. It can be proved that our reweighting scheme effectively brings the source and target domains closer to each other in an appropriate sense, such that classification in target domain becomes easier. The proposed method can be implemented efficiently by a simple two-stage algorithm, and the target classifier has a closed-form solution. The effectiveness of our approach is verified by the experiments on artificial datasets and two standard benchmarks, a visual object recognition task and a cross-domain sentiment analysis of text. Experimental results demonstrate that our method is competitive with the state-of-the-art domain adaptation algorithms.

  20. A localized interaction surface for voltage-sensing domains on the pore domain of a K+ channel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li-Smerin, Y; Hackos, D H; Swartz, K J

    2000-02-01

    Voltage-gated K+ channels contain a central pore domain and four surrounding voltage-sensing domains. How and where changes in the structure of the voltage-sensing domains couple to the pore domain so as to gate ion conduction is not understood. The crystal structure of KcsA, a bacterial K+ channel homologous to the pore domain of voltage-gated K+ channels, provides a starting point for addressing this question. Guided by this structure, we used tryptophan-scanning mutagenesis on the transmembrane shell of the pore domain in the Shaker voltage-gated K+ channel to localize potential protein-protein and protein-lipid interfaces. Some mutants cause only minor changes in gating and when mapped onto the KcsA structure cluster away from the interface between pore domain subunits. In contrast, mutants producing large changes in gating tend to cluster near this interface. These results imply that voltage-sensing domains interact with localized regions near the interface between adjacent pore domain subunits.

  1. OECD/NEA working party on nuclear criticality safety: challenge of new realities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomura, Y.; Brady, M.C.; Briggs, J.B.; Sartori, E.

    1998-01-01

    New issues in critically safety continue to emerge as spent fuel storage facilities reach the saturation point, fuel enrichments and burn-ups increase and new types of plutonium-carrying fuels are being developed. The new challenges related to the manipulation, transportation and storage of fuel demand further work to improve models predicting behaviour through new experiments, especially where there is a lack of data the present databases. This article summarizes the activities of the OECD/NEA working groups that co-ordinate and carry out work in the domain of criticality safety. Particular attention is devoted to establishing sound databases required in this area and to addressing issues of high relevance such as burn-up credit. This is aimed toward improving safety and identifying economic solutions to issues concerning the back end of the fuel cycle. (authors)

  2. Supersymmetric domain walls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergshoeff, Eric A.; Kleinschmidt, Axel; Riccioni, Fabio

    2012-01-01

    We classify the half-supersymmetric "domain walls," i.e., branes of codimension one, in toroidally compactified IIA/IIB string theory and show to which gauged supergravity theory each of these domain walls belong. We use as input the requirement of supersymmetric Wess-Zumino terms, the properties of

  3. Use of expert systems in the structural safety assessment of of pressurized nuclear components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jovanovic, A.; Sturm, D.

    1990-01-01

    The paper describes research currently performed at MPA Stuttgart on development of expert systems and application of artificial intelligence methods and techniques, for structural safety assessment of power plant pressurized components. The research is done as an extension of preceding and existing large research programs of MPA, in the domain of structural safety of components. In this preceding research a waste amount of practical engineering knowledge and experience has been accumulated: development in the direction of AI-based systems is a way to use this knowledge more efficiently in future research and in the nuclear power plant practice. Applications on which the current research is focussed are expert systems applied for the leak-before-break analysis for the structural safety evaluation in high temperature regimes

  4. Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 4. Enhancing Safety Culture Through the Establishment of Safety Goals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tateiwa, Kenji; Miyata, Koichi; Yahagi, Kimitoshi

    2001-01-01

    Safety culture is the perception of each individual and organization of a nuclear power plant that safety is the first priority, and at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), we have been practicing it in everyday activities. On the other hand, with the demand for competitiveness of nuclear power becoming even more intense these days, we need to pursue efficient management while maintaining the safety level at the same time. Below, we discuss how to achieve compatibility between safety culture and efficient management as well as enhance safety culture. Discussion at Tepco: safety culture-nurturing activities such as the following are being implemented: 1. informing the employees of the 'Declaration of Safety Promotion' by handing out brochures and posting it on the intranet home page; 2. publishing safety culture reports covering stories on safety culture of other industry sectors, recent movements on safety culture, etc.; 3. conducting periodic questionnaires to employees to grasp how deeply safety culture is being established; 4. carrying out educational programs to learn from past cases inside and outside the nuclear industry; 5. committing to common ownership of information with the public. The current status of safety culture in Japan sometimes seems to be biased to the quest of ultimate safety; rephrasing it, there have been few discussions regarding the sufficiency of the quantitative safety level in conjunction with the safety culture. Safety culture is one of the most crucial foundations guaranteeing the plant's safety, and for example, the plant safety level evaluated by probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) could be said to be valid only on the ground that a sound and sufficient safety culture exists. Although there is no doubt that the safety culture is a fundamental and important attitude of an individual and organization that keeps safety the first priority, the safety culture in itself should not be considered an obstruction to efforts to implement

  5. Patient participation in patient safety and nursing input - a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaismoradi, Mojtaba; Jordan, Sue; Kangasniemi, Mari

    2015-03-01

    This systematic review aims to synthesise the existing research on how patients participate in patient safety initiatives. Ambiguities remain about how patients participate in routine measures designed to promote patient safety. Systematic review using integrative methods. Electronic databases were searched using keywords describing patient involvement, nursing input and patient safety initiatives to retrieve empirical research published between 2007 and 2013. Findings were synthesized using the theoretical domains of Vincent's framework for analysing risk and safety in clinical practice: "patient", "healthcare provider", "task", "work environment", "organisation & management". We identified 17 empirical research papers: four qualitative, one mixed-method and 12 quantitative designs. All 17 papers indicated that patients can participate in safety initiatives. Improving patient participation in patient safety necessitates considering the patient as a person, the nurse as healthcare provider, the task of participation and the clinical environment. Patients' knowledge, health conditions, beliefs and experiences influence their decisions to engage in patient safety initiatives. An important component of the management of long-term conditions is to ensure that patients have sufficient knowledge to participate. Healthcare providers may need further professional development in patient education and patient care management to promote patient involvement in patient safety, and ensure that patients understand that they are 'allowed' to inform nurses of adverse events or errors. A healthcare system characterised by patient-centredness and mutual acknowledgement will support patient participation in safety practices. Further research is required to improve international knowledge of patient participation in patient safety in different disciplines, contexts and cultures. Patients have a significant role to play in enhancing their own safety while receiving hospital care. This

  6. Scrapie infectivity is quickly cleared in tissues of orally-infected farmed fish

    OpenAIRE

    Ingrosso, Loredana; Novoa, Beatriz; Valle, Andrea Z Dalla; Cardone, Franco; Aranguren, Raquel; Sbriccoli, Marco; Bevivino, Simona; Iriti, Marcello; Liu, Quanguo; Vetrugno, Vito; Lu, Mei; Faoro, Franco; Ciappellano, Salvatore; Figueras, Antonio; Pocchiari, Maurizio

    2006-01-01

    Abstract Background Scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) belongs to the group of animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). BSE epidemic in the UK and elsewhere in Europe has been linked to the use of bovine meat and bone meals (MBM) in the feeding of cattle. There is concern that pigs, poultry and fish bred for human consumption and fed with infected MBM would eventually develop BSE or carry residual infectivity without disease. Although there has been no evidence of...

  7. 2011 Annual Meeting of the Safety Pharmacology Society: an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavero, Icilio

    2012-03-01

    The keynote address of 2011 Annual Meeting of the Safety Pharmacology Society examined the known and the still to be known on drug-induced nephrotoxicity. The nominee of the Distinguished Service Award Lecture gave an account of his career achievements particularly on the domain of chronically instrumented animals for assessing cardiovascular safety. The value of Safety Pharmacology resides in the benefits delivered to Pharma organizations, regulators, payers and patients. Meticulous due diligence concerning compliance of Safety Pharmacology studies to best practices is an effective means to ensure that equally stringent safety criteria are applied to both in-licensed and in-house compounds. Innovative technologies of great potential for Safety Pharmacology presented at the meeting are organs on chips (lung, heart, intestine) displaying mechanical and biochemical features of native organs, electrical field potential (MEA) or impedance (xCELLigence Cardio) measurements in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for unveiling cardiac electrophysiological and mechanical liabilities, functional human airway epithelium (MucilAir™) preparations with unique 1-year shelf-life for acute and chronic in vitro evaluation of drug efficacy and toxicity. Custom-designed in silico and in vitro assay platforms defining the receptorome space occupied by chemical entities facilitate, throughout the drug discovery phase, the selection of candidates with optimized safety profile on organ function. These approaches can now be complemented by advanced computational analysis allowing the identification of compounds with receptorome, or clinically adverse effect profiles, similar to those of the drug candidate under scrutiny for extending the safety assessment to potential liability targets not captured by classical approaches. Nonclinical data supporting safety can be quite reassuring for drugs with a discovered signal of risk. However, for marketing authorization

  8. The Spillover Effects on Employees’ Life of Construction Enterprises’ Safety Climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Wu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Organizational safety climate will produce spillover effects and thus affect the individuals’ performance in their family life. As a mainstay industry in many countries, the construction industry has a considerable number of employees and the research on the spillover effects from the safety climate of construction enterprises has important theoretical and practical significance to improve the safety behavior of construction employees in their family life. In this study, we thoroughly reviewed the literature to identify the dimensions of the safety climate spillover, obtain empirical data of the construction employees through a questionnaire survey, and use the data analysis method to study the spillover effects of the safety climate of the construction enterprises from the perspective of work–family integration, and reveal its influence mechanism. This study developed a questionnaire to measure the safety climate spillover of the construction enterprises including two dimensions, namely values and behaviors, with nine measured items. Management commitment and safety attitude in the safety climate were positively related to the spillover, and management commitment had the greatest impact on the spillover, while the other components were not significantly related to the spillover. The two forms of spillover, values and behaviors, were mutually influential, and the safety climate had a more significant impact on the values. This paper contributes to the current safety research by developing a factor structure of spillover effects of the safety climate on the lives of construction employees, thus providing a more profound interpretation of this crucial construct in the safety research domain. The spillover effects of the safety climate’s measurement questionnaire serve as an important tool for spillover among construction enterprises. Findings can facilitate improvement in both theories and practices related to the spillover effects of the

  9. Interoperable domain models: the ISO land administration domain model LADM and its external classes

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Lemmen, CHJ

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a brief overview of one of the first spatial domain standards: a standard for the domain of Land Administration (LA). This standard is in the draft stage of development now (May 2011). The development of domain standards is a...

  10. ASN report of the status of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chevet, Pierre-Franck; Delmestre, Alain; Bardet, Marie-Christine; Covard, Fabienne; Landrin, Sophie

    2013-01-01

    After a presentation of the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), its missions, some key figures illustrating its activities and its organisation, this report proposes an overview of marking events and of actions undertaken by the ASN after the Fukushima accident. Then, the report proposes a detailed and commented overview of actions undertaken by the ASN in different fields and domains: nuclear activities, principles and actors of nuclear safety and radiation protection control, regulation, control of nuclear activities and of exposures to ionizing radiations, radiological and post-accidental emergency situations, public information and transparency, international relationships, regional overview of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The last part addresses activities controlled by the ASN: medical use of ionizing radiations, industrial, research and veterinary uses and source safety, transport of radioactive materials, electronuclear plants, installations related to nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear research and other nuclear installations, safety of dismantling of base nuclear installations, radioactive wastes and polluted sites

  11. Multifunctionalities driven by ferroic domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, J. C.; Huang, Y. L.; He, Q.; Chu, Y. H.

    2014-08-01

    Considerable attention has been paid to ferroic systems in pursuit of advanced applications in past decades. Most recently, the emergence and development of multiferroics, which exhibit the coexistence of different ferroic natures, has offered a new route to create functionalities in the system. In this manuscript, we step from domain engineering to explore a roadmap for discovering intriguing phenomena and multifunctionalities driven by periodic domain patters. As-grown periodic domains, offering exotic order parameters, periodic local perturbations and the capability of tailoring local spin, charge, orbital and lattice degrees of freedom, are introduced as modeling templates for fundamental studies and novel applications. We discuss related significant findings on ferroic domain, nanoscopic domain walls, and conjunct heterostructures based on the well-organized domain patterns, and end with future prospects and challenges in the field.

  12. Text Processing of Domain-Related Information for Individuals with High and Low Domain Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spilich, George J.; And Others

    1979-01-01

    The way in which previously acquired knowledge affects the processing on new domain-related information was investigated. Text processing was studied in two groups differing in knowledge of the domain of baseball. A knowledge structure for the domain was constructed, and text propositions were classified. (SW)

  13. System analysis of vehicle active safety problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buznikov, S. E.

    2018-02-01

    The problem of the road transport safety affects the vital interests of the most of the population and is characterized by a global level of significance. The system analysis of problem of creation of competitive active vehicle safety systems is presented as an interrelated complex of tasks of multi-criterion optimization and dynamic stabilization of the state variables of a controlled object. Solving them requires generation of all possible variants of technical solutions within the software and hardware domains and synthesis of the control, which is close to optimum. For implementing the task of the system analysis the Zwicky “morphological box” method is used. Creation of comprehensive active safety systems involves solution of the problem of preventing typical collisions. For solving it, a structured set of collisions is introduced with its elements being generated also using the Zwicky “morphological box” method. The obstacle speed, the longitudinal acceleration of the controlled object and the unpredictable changes in its movement direction due to certain faults, the road surface condition and the control errors are taken as structure variables that characterize the conditions of collisions. The conditions for preventing typical collisions are presented as inequalities for physical variables that define the state vector of the object and its dynamic limits.

  14. Safety physics inter-comparison of advanced concepts of critical reactors and ADS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slessarev, I.

    2001-01-01

    Enhanced safety based on the principle of the natural ''self-defence'' is one of the most desirable features of innovative nuclear systems (critical or sub-critical) regarding both TRU transmutation and ''clean'' energy producer concepts. For the evaluation of the ''self-defence'' domain, the method of the asymptotic reactivity balance has been generalised. The promising option of Hybrids systems (that use a symbiosis of fission and spallation in sub-critical cores) which could benefit the advantages of both Accelerated Driven Systems of the traditional type and regular critical systems, has been advocated. General features of Hybrid dynamics have been presented and analysed. It was demonstrated that an external neutron source of Hybrids can expand the inherent safety potential significantly. This analysis has been applied to assess the safety physics potential of innovative concepts for prospective nuclear power both for energy producers and for transmutation. It has been found, that safety enhancement goal defines a choice of sub-criticality of Hybrids. As for energy producers with Th-fuel cycle, a significant sub-criticality level is required due to a necessity of an improvement of neutronics together with safety enhancement task. (author)

  15. Physical activity interventions differentially affect exercise task and barrier self-efficacy: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Torrance J; Middleton, Kathryn R; Winner, Larry; Janelle, Christopher M

    2014-08-01

    Researchers have yet to establish how interventions to increase physical activity influence specific self-efficacy beliefs. The current study sought to quantify the effect of interventions to increase physical activity among healthy adults on exercise task (EXSE) and barrier self-efficacy (BSE) via meta-analysis. Intervention characteristics associated with self-efficacy and physical activity changes were also identified. A systematic database search and manual searches through reference lists of related publications were conducted for articles on randomized, controlled physical activity interventions. Published intervention studies reporting changes in physical activity behavior and either EXSE or BSE in healthy adults were eligible for inclusion. Of the 1,080 studies identified, 20 were included in the meta-analyses. Interventions had a significant effect of g = 0.208, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.027, 0.388], p exercise sessions effectively increased EXSE and physical activity, whereas long interventions improved BSE. Interventions that did not provide support increased BSE and physical activity levels. Further, interventions that did not require the use of daily exercise logs improved EXSE and physical activity behavior. Interventions designed to increase physical activity differentially influenced EXSE and BSE. EXSE appeared to play a more significant role during exercise adoption, whereas BSE was involved in the maintenance of exercise behavior. Recommendations are offered for the design of future interventions.

  16. Motivations and reasons for women attending a breast self-examination training program: A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Rea-Jeng; Huang, Lian-Hua; Hsieh, Yeu-Sheng; Chung, Ue-Lin; Huang, Chiun-Sheng; Bih, Herng-Dar

    2010-07-10

    Breast cancer is a major threat to Taiwanese women's health. Despite the controversy surrounding the effectiveness of breast self-examination (BSE) in reducing mortality, BSE is still advocated by some health departments. The aim of the study is to provide information about how women decide to practice BSE and their experiences through the training process. Sixty-six women aged 27-50 were recruited. A descriptive study was conducted using small group and individual in-depth interviews to collect data, and using thematic analysis and constant comparison techniques for data analysis. It was found that a sense of self-security became an important motivator for entering BSE training. The satisfaction in obtaining a sense of self-security emerged as the central theme. Furthermore, a ladder motivation model was developed to explain the participants' motivations for entering BSE training. The patterns of motivation include opportunity taking, clarifying confusion, maintaining health, and illness monitoring, which were connected with the risk perception for breast cancer. We recognize that the way women decide to attend BSE training is influenced by personal and social factors. Understanding the different risk assessments women rely on in making their health decisions is essential. This study will assist researchers and health professionals to gain a better understanding of alternative ways to deal with breast health, and not to be limited by the recommendations of the health authorities.

  17. Curcumin and Boswellia serrata Modulate the Glyco-Oxidative Status and Lipo-Oxidation in Master Athletes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nino Cristiano Chilelli

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Chronic intensive exercise is associated with a greater induction of oxidative stress and with an excess of endogenous advanced glycation end-products (AGEs. Curcumin can reduce the accumulation of AGEs in vitro and in animal models. We examined whether supplementation with curcumin and Boswellia serrata (BSE gum resin for 3 months could affect plasma levels of markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and glycation in healthy master cyclists. Methods. Forty-seven healthy male athletes were randomly assigned to Group 1, consisting of 22 subjects given a Mediterranean diet (MD alone (MD group, and Group 2 consisted of 25 subjects given a MD plus curcumin and BSE (curcumin/BSE group. Interleukin-6 (IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα, high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP, total AGE, soluble receptor for AGE (sRAGE, malondialdehyde (MDA, plasma phospholipid fatty acid (PPFA composition, and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA were tested at baseline and after 12 weeks. Results: sRAGE, NEFA, and MDA decreased significantly in both groups, while only the curcumin/BSE group showed a significant decline in total AGE. Only the changes in total AGE and MDA differed significantly between the curcumin/BSE and MD groups. Conclusions. Our data suggest a positive effect of supplementation with curcumin and BSE on glycoxidation and lipid peroxidation in chronically exercising master athletes.

  18. Functional interchangeability of late domains, late domain cofactors and ubiquitin in viral budding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Zhadina

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The membrane scission event that separates nascent enveloped virions from host cell membranes often requires the ESCRT pathway, which can be engaged through the action of peptide motifs, termed late (L- domains, in viral proteins. Viral PTAP and YPDL-like L-domains bind directly to the ESCRT-I and ALIX components of the ESCRT pathway, while PPxY motifs bind Nedd4-like, HECT-domain containing, ubiquitin ligases (e.g. WWP1. It has been unclear precisely how ubiquitin ligase recruitment ultimately leads to particle release. Here, using a lysine-free viral Gag protein derived from the prototypic foamy virus (PFV, where attachment of ubiquitin to Gag can be controlled, we show that several different HECT domains can replace the WWP1 HECT domain in chimeric ubiquitin ligases and drive budding. Moreover, artificial recruitment of isolated HECT domains to Gag is sufficient to stimulate budding. Conversely, the HECT domain becomes dispensable if the other domains of WWP1 are directly fused to an ESCRT-1 protein. In each case where budding is driven by a HECT domain, its catalytic activity is essential, but Gag ubiquitination is dispensable, suggesting that ubiquitin ligation to trans-acting proteins drives budding. Paradoxically, however, we also demonstrate that direct fusion of a ubiquitin moiety to the C-terminus of PFV Gag can also promote budding, suggesting that ubiquitination of Gag can substitute for ubiquitination of trans-acting proteins. Depletion of Tsg101 and ALIX inhibits budding that is dependent on ubiquitin that is fused to Gag, or ligated to trans-acting proteins through the action of a PPxY motif. These studies underscore the flexibility in the ways that the ESCRT pathway can be engaged, and suggest a model in which the identity of the protein to which ubiquitin is attached is not critical for subsequent recruitment of ubiquitin-binding components of the ESCRT pathway and viral budding to proceed.

  19. KEJAHATAN NAMA DOMAIN BERKAITAN DENGAN MEREK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Nizar

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia already has an ITE Law governing domain names in general terms and on certain provisions in chapter VI, but the regulation of domain name crimes is not regulated in the ITE Law as mandated in the academic draft of the ITE Bill. The absence of regulation of domain name norm in the ITE Law creates problems with registrant of domain name (registrant which deliberately register the domain name is bad faith. The characteristic of a crime in a domain name relating to the mark is that the registered domain name has an equation in essence with another party’s well-known brand, the act of doing so by exploiting a reputation for well-known or previously commercially valuable names as domain names for addresses for sites (websites it manages. The Prosecutor may include articles of the KUHP in filing his indictment before the Court during the absence of special regulatory provisions concerning domain name crime.

  20. Effectiveness of structured nutrition education on maternal breastfeeding self‐efficacy and exclusive breastfeeding duration in Kiandutu health centre, Thika – Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mituki D.M

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Optimal breastfeeding practices can help prevent under‐nutrition among under five children and WHO recommends Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF for the first half of infancy. Rates of EBF are however low globally with Kenya at 61.2% against the projected rate of 80% by end of 2017. Aims Factors that may influence the success of EBF interventions are unclear. The study aimed at assessing the effect of a structured nutrition education intervention (SNEI on maternal breastfeeding self‐efficacy (BSE and EBF. Methods A cluster randomized study in which pregnant mothers attending two health facilities (Mangongeni and Kiandutu in a resource restricted urban area of Thika –West, Kenya were randomized into either intervention or comparison groups. Maternal BSE was assessed at baseline (34 weeks at midline (37 weeks and at 6 months post‐partum using the Dennis cindy breastfeeding self‐efficacy scale‐short form (BSES‐SF.Those in the intervention went through four sessions of a structured nutrition education intervention (SNEI that sought to improve BSE and taught the importance of EBF. Results There were no significant differences at 34th weeks gestation between the intervention versus comparison groups in the BSE scores but the findings were significant at midline and end‐line (t=3.816, df 351 p=0.001, t=4.095, df 316 p=0.001 respectively. The intervention had an effect on BSE. p=0.001 (log odds 2.089 and 95% CI of 0.823‐3.356. The survival distributions for the two groups were significantly different, log rank 20.277, (1, n=314 p < 0.001 for duration of EBF at 6 months post‐partum. Those in the intervention were more likely to EBF, p=0.008 (OR 0.17 95% CI of 0.05‐0.62. Conclusions and Recommendations A SNEI can improve BSE scores during anti‐natal clinics and BSE is predictive of EBF duration. Health care providers can use the BSES‐SF to identify mothers with low BSE scores and design interventions to assist in promoting

  1. Subcritical Water Hydrolysis Effectively Reduces the In Vitro Seeding Activity of PrPSc but Fails to Inactivate the Infectivity of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Prions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuichi Murayama

    Full Text Available The global outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE has been attributed to the recycling of contaminated meat and bone meals (MBMs as feed supplements. The use of MBMs has been prohibited in many countries; however, the development of a method for inactivating BSE prions could enable the efficient and safe use of these products as an organic resource. Subcritical water (SCW, which is water heated under pressure to maintain a liquid state at temperatures below the critical temperature (374°C, exhibits strong hydrolytic activity against organic compounds. In this study, we examined the residual in vitro seeding activity of protease-resistant prion protein (PrPSc and the infectivity of BSE prions after SCW treatments. Spinal cord homogenates prepared from BSE-infected cows were treated with SCW at 230-280°C for 5-7.5 min and used to intracerebrally inoculate transgenic mice overexpressing bovine prion protein. Serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification (sPMCA analysis detected no PrPSc in the SCW-treated homogenates, and the mice treated with these samples survived for more than 700 days without any signs of disease. However, sPMCA analyses detected PrPSc accumulation in the brains of all inoculated mice. Furthermore, secondary passage mice, which inoculated with brain homogenates derived from a western blotting (WB-positive primary passage mouse, died after an average of 240 days, similar to mice inoculated with untreated BSE-infected spinal cord homogenates. The PrPSc accumulation and vacuolation typically observed in the brains of BSE-infected mice were confirmed in these secondary passage mice, suggesting that the BSE prions maintained their infectivity after SCW treatment. One late-onset case, as well as asymptomatic but sPMCA-positive cases, were also recognized in secondary passage mice inoculated with brain homogenates from WB-negative but sPMCA-positive primary passage mice. These results indicated that SCW

  2. Result of randomized control trial to increase breast health awareness among young females in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrnoosh Akhtari-Zavare

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second principal cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide as well as in Malaysia. Breast self-examination (BSE has a role in raising breast cancer awareness among women and educational programs play an important role in breast cancer preventive behavior. The aim of this study is to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of Breast Health Awareness program based on health belief model on knowledge of breast cancer and breast-selfexamination and BSE practice among female students in Malaysia. Methods A single-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out among 370 female undergraduate students from January 2011 to April 2012 in two selected public universities in Malaysia. Participants were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. The educational program was delivered to the intervention group. The outcome measures were assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 months after implementing the health educational program. Chi-square, independent samples t-test and two-way repeated measures ANOVA (GLM were conducted in the course of the data analyses. Results Mean scores of knowledge on breast cancer (p<0.003, knowledge on breast self examination (p<0.001, benefits of BSE (p<0.00, barrier of BSE (0.01 and confidence of BSE practice (p<0.00 in the intervention group had significant differences in comparison with those of the control group 6 and 12 months after the intervention. Also, among those who never practiced BSE at baseline, frequency of BSE practice increased 6 and 12 months after the intervention (p<0.05. Conclusion The Breast Health Awareness program based on health the belief model had a positive effect on knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination and practice of BSE among females in Malaysia. Trial registration The ANZCTR clinical trial registry ( ACTRN12616000831482 , retrospectively registered on Jun 23, 2016 in ANZCTR.org.au.

  3. Ligand binding by PDZ domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chi, Celestine N.; Bach, Anders; Strømgaard, Kristian

    2012-01-01

    , for example, are particularly rich in these domains. The general function of PDZ domains is to bring proteins together within the appropriate cellular compartment, thereby facilitating scaffolding, signaling, and trafficking events. The many functions of PDZ domains under normal physiological as well...... as pathological conditions have been reviewed recently. In this review, we focus on the molecular details of how PDZ domains bind their protein ligands and their potential as drug targets in this context....

  4. Bringing structure into road safety evaluation: a hierarchy of indicators

    OpenAIRE

    HERMANS, Elke; BRIJS, Tom; WETS, Geert; SHEN, Yongjun

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in indicators in several domains. This reflects growing recognition of the important role indicators can play as a tool for enhancing the quality of decision making. Indicators express an aspect of a phenomenon in an understandable and relevant way and are useful in terms of monitoring, evaluation and communication. Like other policies, road safety policy could benefit from the use of indicators able to measure changes and progress towa...

  5. Bringing structure into road safety evaluation: a hierarchy of indicators

    OpenAIRE

    HERMANS, Elke; BRIJS, Tom; WETS, Geert

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in indicators in several domains. This reflects growing recognition of the important role indicators can play as a tool for enhancing the quality of decision making. Indicators express an aspect of a phenomenom in an understandable and relevant way and are useful in terms of monitoring, evaluation and communication. Like other policies, road safety policy could benefit from the use of indicators able to measure changes and progress towa...

  6. Risk analysis of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies in animals: state-of-the-art

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paisley, Larry; de Koeijer, Aline; Hagenaars, Thomas J.

    2008-01-01

    The Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis of the last two decades has shown that proper interaction of risk assessment, risk management and risk communication is essential. Mathematical models and risk assessments have been used as a basis for BSE risk management options and much...... of the legislation regarding the control and eradication of BSE. Much uncertainty regarding important input parameters remains a major constraint in risk assessment. Uncertainty is one of the most critical and most difficult aspects of communication of risks about Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs......). Nevertheless, the decline in the BSE epidemic in the UK and most European countries demonstrates that management has been, for the most part, sucessful. Literature pertaining to the three inter-related facets of risk analysis: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication of TSE's of animal origin...

  7. Evaluation of PCMH Model Adoption on Teamwork and Impact on Patient Access and Safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khanna, Niharika; Shaya, Fadia T; Gaitonde, Priyanka; Abiamiri, Andrea; Steffen, Ben; Sharp, David

    2017-04-01

    Each of the participating patient-centered medical home (PCMH) received coaching and participated in learning collaborative for improving teamwork. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of trainings on patient-centered teamwork. The Teamwork Perception Questionnaire (TPQ) was administered once in spring 2014 and then in fall 2015. The TPQ consists of 35 questions across 5 domains: mutual support, situation monitoring, communication, team structure, and leadership. Based on our objective we compared the frequencies of strongly agree/agree by domain. The difference was tested using chi-square test. We compared the scores on each domain (strongly agree/agree = 1; maximum score = 7) via Wilcoxon rank sum test. The response rate for this survey was n = 29 (80.6%) in spring 2014, and n = 31 (86.1%) in fall 2015. We found that the practice members significantly ( P safety.

  8. Safety culture assessment in petrochemical industry: a comparative study of two algerian plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boughaba, Assia; Hassane, Chabane; Roukia, Ouddai

    2014-06-01

    To elucidate the relationship between safety culture maturity and safety performance of a particular company. To identify the factors that contribute to a safety culture, a survey questionnaire was created based mainly on the studies of Fernández-Muñiz et al. The survey was randomly distributed to 1000 employees of two oil companies and realized a rate of valid answer of 51%. Minitab 16 software was used and diverse tests, including the descriptive statistical analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, mean analysis, and correlation, were used for the analysis of data. Ten factors were extracted using the analysis of factor to represent safety culture and safety performance. The results of this study showed that the managers' commitment, training, incentives, communication, and employee involvement are the priority domains on which it is necessary to stress the effort of improvement, where they had all the descriptive average values lower than 3.0 at the level of Company B. Furthermore, the results also showed that the safety culture influences the safety performance of the company. Therefore, Company A with a good safety culture (the descriptive average values more than 4.0), is more successful than Company B in terms of accident rates. The comparison between the two petrochemical plants of the group Sonatrach confirms these results in which Company A, the managers of which are English and Norwegian, distinguishes itself by the maturity of their safety culture has significantly higher evaluations than the company B, who is constituted of Algerian staff, in terms of safety management practices and safety performance.

  9. Polar Domain Discovery with Sparkler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duerr, R.; Khalsa, S. J. S.; Mattmann, C. A.; Ottilingam, N. K.; Singh, K.; Lopez, L. A.

    2017-12-01

    The scientific web is vast and ever growing. It encompasses millions of textual, scientific and multimedia documents describing research in a multitude of scientific streams. Most of these documents are hidden behind forms which require user action to retrieve and thus can't be directly accessed by content crawlers. These documents are hosted on web servers across the world, most often on outdated hardware and network infrastructure. Hence it is difficult and time-consuming to aggregate documents from the scientific web, especially those relevant to a specific domain. Thus generating meaningful domain-specific insights is currently difficult. We present an automated discovery system (Figure 1) using Sparkler, an open-source, extensible, horizontally scalable crawler which facilitates high throughput and focused crawling of documents pertinent to a particular domain such as information about polar regions. With this set of highly domain relevant documents, we show that it is possible to answer analytical questions about that domain. Our domain discovery algorithm leverages prior domain knowledge to reach out to commercial/scientific search engines to generate seed URLs. Subject matter experts then annotate these seed URLs manually on a scale from highly relevant to irrelevant. We leverage this annotated dataset to train a machine learning model which predicts the `domain relevance' of a given document. We extend Sparkler with this model to focus crawling on documents relevant to that domain. Sparkler avoids disruption of service by 1) partitioning URLs by hostname such that every node gets a different host to crawl and by 2) inserting delays between subsequent requests. With an NSF-funded supercomputer Wrangler, we scaled our domain discovery pipeline to crawl about 200k polar specific documents from the scientific web, within a day.

  10. Blocking-resistant communication through domain fronting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fifield David

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We describe “domain fronting,” a versatile censorship circumvention technique that hides the remote endpoint of a communication. Domain fronting works at the application layer, using HTTPS, to communicate with a forbidden host while appearing to communicate with some other host, permitted by the censor. The key idea is the use of different domain names at different layers of communication. One domain appears on the “outside” of an HTTPS request—in the DNS request and TLS Server Name Indication—while another domain appears on the “inside”—in the HTTP Host header, invisible to the censor under HTTPS encryption. A censor, unable to distinguish fronted and nonfronted traffic to a domain, must choose between allowing circumvention traffic and blocking the domain entirely, which results in expensive collateral damage. Domain fronting is easy to deploy and use and does not require special cooperation by network intermediaries. We identify a number of hard-to-block web services, such as content delivery networks, that support domain-fronted connections and are useful for censorship circumvention. Domain fronting, in various forms, is now a circumvention workhorse. We describe several months of deployment experience in the Tor, Lantern, and Psiphon circumvention systems, whose domain-fronting transports now connect thousands of users daily and transfer many terabytes per month.

  11. Information System Hazard Analysis: A Method for Identifying Technology-induced Latent Errors for Safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Jens H; Mason-Blakley, Fieran; Price, Morgan

    2015-01-01

    Many health information and communication technologies (ICT) are safety-critical; moreover, reports of technology-induced adverse events related to them are plentiful in the literature. Despite repeated criticism and calls to action, recent data collected by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and other organization do not indicate significant improvements with respect to the safety of health ICT systems. A large part of the industry still operates on a reactive "break & patch" model; the application of pro-active, systematic hazard analysis methods for engineering ICT that produce "safe by design" products is sparse. This paper applies one such method: Information System Hazard Analysis (ISHA). ISHA adapts and combines hazard analysis techniques from other safety-critical domains and customizes them for ICT. We provide an overview of the steps involved in ISHA and describe.

  12. Patient involvement in patient safety: Protocol for developing an intervention using patient reports of organisational safety and patient incident reporting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armitage Gerry

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients have the potential to provide a rich source of information on both organisational aspects of safety and patient safety incidents. This project aims to develop two patient safety interventions to promote organisational learning about safety - a patient measure of organisational safety (PMOS, and a patient incident reporting tool (PIRT - to help the NHS prevent patient safety incidents by learning more about when and why they occur. Methods To develop the PMOS 1 literature will be reviewed to identify similar measures and key contributory factors to error; 2 four patient focus groups will ascertain practicality and feasibility; 3 25 patient interviews will elicit approximately 60 items across 10 domains; 4 10 patient and clinician interviews will test acceptability and understanding. Qualitative data will be analysed using thematic content analysis. To develop the PIRT 1 individual and then combined patient and clinician focus groups will provide guidance for the development of three potential reporting tools; 2 nine wards across three hospital directorates will pilot each of the tools for three months. The best performing tool will be identified from the frequency, volume and quality of reports. The validity of both measures will be tested. 300 patients will be asked to complete the PMOS and PIRT during their stay in hospital. A sub-sample (N = 50 will complete the PMOS again one week later. Health professionals in participating wards will also be asked to complete the AHRQ safety culture questionnaire. Case notes for all patients will be reviewed. The psychometric properties of the PMOS will be assessed and a final valid and reliable version developed. Concurrent validity for the PIRT will be assessed by comparing reported incidents with those identified from case note review and the existing staff reporting scheme. In a subsequent study these tools will be used to provide information to wards/units about their

  13. SH3 Domains Differentially Stimulate Distinct Dynamin I Assembly Modes and G Domain Activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sai Krishnan

    Full Text Available Dynamin I is a highly regulated GTPase enzyme enriched in nerve terminals which mediates vesicle fission during synaptic vesicle endocytosis. One regulatory mechanism involves its interactions with proteins containing Src homology 3 (SH3 domains. At least 30 SH3 domain-containing proteins bind dynamin at its proline-rich domain (PRD. Those that stimulate dynamin activity act by promoting its oligomerisation. We undertook a systematic parallel screening of 13 glutathione-S-transferase (GST-tagged endocytosis-related SH3 domains on dynamin binding, GTPase activity and oligomerisation. No correlation was found between dynamin binding and their potency to stimulate GTPase activity. There was limited correlation between the extent of their ability to stimulate dynamin activity and the level of oligomerisation, indicating an as yet uncharacterised allosteric coupling of the PRD and G domain. We examined the two variants, dynamin Iab and Ibb, which differ in the alternately splice middle domain α2 helix. They responded differently to the panel of SH3s, with the extent of stimulation between the splice variants varying greatly between the SH3s. This study reveals that SH3 binding can act as a heterotropic allosteric regulator of the G domain via the middle domain α2 helix, suggesting an involvement of this helix in communicating the PRD-mediated allostery. This indicates that SH3 binding both stabilises multiple conformations of the tetrameric building block of dynamin, and promotes assembly of dynamin-SH3 complexes with distinct rates of GTP hydrolysis.

  14. Creation and preliminary validation of the screening for self-medication safety post-stroke scale (S-5).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaizer, Franceen; Kim, Angela; Van, My Tram; Korner-Bitensky, Nicol

    2010-03-01

    Patients with stroke should be screened for safety prior to starting a self-medication regime. An extensive literature review revealed no standardized self-medication tool tailored to the multi-faceted needs of the stroke population. The aim of this study was to create and validate a condition-specific tool to be used in screening for self-medication safety in individuals with stroke. Items were generated using expert consultation and review of the existing tools. The draft tool was pilot-tested on expert stroke clinicians to receive feedback on content, clarity, optimal cueing and domain omissions. The final version was piloted on patients with stroke using a structured interviewer-administered interview. The tool was progressively refined and validated according to feedback from the 11 expert reviewers. The subsequent version was piloted on patients with stroke. The final version includes 16 questions designed to elicit information on 5 domains: cognition, communication, motor, visual-perception and, judgement/executive function/self-efficacy. The Screening for Safe Self-medication post-Stroke Scale (S-5) has been created and validated for use by health professionals to screen self-medication safety readiness of patients after stroke. Its use should also help to guide clinicians' recommendations and interventions aimed at enhancing self-medication post-stroke.

  15. An ontological approach to domain engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Falbo, R.A.; Guizzardi, G.; Duarte, K.

    2002-01-01

    Domain engineering aims to support systematic reuse, focusing on modeling common knowledge in a problem domain. Ontologies have also been pointed as holding great promise for software reuse. In this paper, we present ODE (Ontology-based Domain Engineering), an ontological approach for domain

  16. Ferroelectric negative capacitance domain dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Michael; Khan, Asif Islam; Serrao, Claudy; Lu, Zhongyuan; Salahuddin, Sayeef; Pešić, Milan; Slesazeck, Stefan; Schroeder, Uwe; Mikolajick, Thomas

    2018-05-01

    Transient negative capacitance effects in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 capacitors are investigated with a focus on the dynamical switching behavior governed by domain nucleation and growth. Voltage pulses are applied to a series connection of the ferroelectric capacitor and a resistor to directly measure the ferroelectric negative capacitance during switching. A time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach is used to investigate the underlying domain dynamics. The transient negative capacitance is shown to originate from reverse domain nucleation and unrestricted domain growth. However, with the onset of domain coalescence, the capacitance becomes positive again. The persistence of the negative capacitance state is therefore limited by the speed of domain wall motion. By changing the applied electric field, capacitor area or external resistance, this domain wall velocity can be varied predictably over several orders of magnitude. Additionally, detailed insights into the intrinsic material properties of the ferroelectric are obtainable through these measurements. A new method for reliable extraction of the average negative capacitance of the ferroelectric is presented. Furthermore, a simple analytical model is developed, which accurately describes the negative capacitance transient time as a function of the material properties and the experimental boundary conditions.

  17. Functional domains of plant chimeric calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase: regulation by autoinhibitory and visinin-like domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandiran, S.; Takezawa, D.; Wang, W.; Poovaiah, B. W.

    1997-01-01

    A novel calcium-binding calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CCaMK) with a catalytic domain, calmodulin-binding domain, and a neural visinin-like domain was cloned and characterized from plants [Patil et al., (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 4797-4801; Takezawa et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 8126-8132]. The mechanisms of CCaMK activation by calcium and calcium/calmodulin were investigated using various deletion mutants. The use of deletion mutants of CCaMK lacking either one, two, or all three calcium-binding EF hands indicated that all three calcium-binding sites in the visinin-like domain were crucial for the full calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase activity. As each calcium-binding EF hand was deleted, there was a gradual reduction in calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase activity from 100 to 4%. Another mutant (amino acids 1-322) which lacks both the visinin-like domain containing three EF hands and the calmodulin-binding domain was constitutively active, indicating the presence of an autoinhibitory domain around the calmodulin-binding domain. By using various synthetic peptides and the constitutively active mutant, we have shown that CCaMK contains an autoinhibitory domain within the residues 322-340 which overlaps its calmodulin-binding domain. Kinetic studies with both ATP and the GS peptide substrate suggest that the autoinhibitory domain of CCaMK interacts only with the peptide substrate binding motif of the catalytic domain, but not with the ATP-binding motif.

  18. Summarization by domain ontology navigation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Troels; Bulskov, Henrik

    2013-01-01

    of the subject. In between these two extremes, conceptual summaries encompass selected concepts derived using background knowledge. We address in this paper an approach where conceptual summaries are provided through a conceptualization as given by an ontology. The ontology guiding the summarization can...... be a simple taxonomy or a generative domain ontology. A domain ontology can be provided by a preanalysis of a domain corpus and can be used to condense improved summaries that better reflects the conceptualization of a given domain....

  19. Harnessing implementation science to improve care quality and patient safety: a systematic review of targeted literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Marks, Danielle; Taylor, Natalie

    2014-06-01

    Getting greater levels of evidence into practice is a key problem for health systems, compounded by the volume of research produced. Implementation science aims to improve the adoption and spread of research evidence. A linked problem is how to enhance quality of care and patient safety based on evidence when care settings are complex adaptive systems. Our research question was: according to the implementation science literature, which common implementation factors are associated with improving the quality and safety of care for patients? We conducted a targeted search of key journals to examine implementation science in the quality and safety domain applying PRISMA procedures. Fifty-seven out of 466 references retrieved were considered relevant following the application of exclusion criteria. Included articles were subjected to content analysis. Three reviewers extracted and documented key characteristics of the papers. Grounded theory was used to distil key features of the literature to derive emergent success factors. Eight success factors of implementation emerged: preparing for change, capacity for implementation-people, capacity for implementation-setting, types of implementation, resources, leverage, desirable implementation enabling features, and sustainability. Obstacles in implementation are the mirror image of these: for example, when people fail to prepare, have insufficient capacity for implementation or when the setting is resistant to change, then care quality is at risk, and patient safety can be compromised. This review of key studies in the quality and safety literature discusses the current state-of-play of implementation science applied to these domains. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

  20. Ferroelectric domain continuity over grain boundaries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mantri, Sukriti; Oddershede, Jette; Damjanovic, Dragan

    2017-01-01

    Formation and mobility of domain walls in ferroelectric materials is responsible for many of their electrical and mechanical properties. Domain wall continuity across grain boundaries has been observed since the 1950's and is speculated to affect the grain boundary-domain interactions, thereby...... impacting macroscopic ferroelectric properties in polycrystalline systems. However detailed studies of such correlated domain structures across grain boundaries are limited. In this work, we have developed the mathematical requirements for domain wall plane matching at grain boundaries of any given...... orientation. We have also incorporated the effect of grain boundary ferroelectric polarization charge created when any two domains meet at the grain boundary plane. The probability of domain wall continuity for three specific grain misorientations is studied. Use of this knowledge to optimize processing...

  1. Domain-specific languages in perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Heering (Jan); M. Mernik (Marjan)

    2007-01-01

    textabstractDomain-specific languages (DSLs) are languages tailored to a specific application domain. They offer substantial gains in expressiveness and ease of use compared with general-purpose languages in their domain of application. Although the use of DSLs is by no means new, it is receiving

  2. Detecting atypical examples of known domain types by sequence similarity searching: the SBASE domain library approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhir, Somdutta; Pacurar, Mircea; Franklin, Dino; Gáspári, Zoltán; Kertész-Farkas, Attila; Kocsor, András; Eisenhaber, Frank; Pongor, Sándor

    2010-11-01

    SBASE is a project initiated to detect known domain types and predicting domain architectures using sequence similarity searching (Simon et al., Protein Seq Data Anal, 5: 39-42, 1992, Pongor et al, Nucl. Acids. Res. 21:3111-3115, 1992). The current approach uses a curated collection of domain sequences - the SBASE domain library - and standard similarity search algorithms, followed by postprocessing which is based on a simple statistics of the domain similarity network (http://hydra.icgeb.trieste.it/sbase/). It is especially useful in detecting rare, atypical examples of known domain types which are sometimes missed even by more sophisticated methodologies. This approach does not require multiple alignment or machine learning techniques, and can be a useful complement to other domain detection methodologies. This article gives an overview of the project history as well as of the concepts and principles developed within this the project.

  3. EH domain of EHD1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kieken, Fabien; Jovic, Marko; Naslavsky, Naava; Caplan, Steve, E-mail: scaplan@unmc.edu; Sorgen, Paul L. [University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Eppley Cancer Center (United States)], E-mail: psorgen@unmc.edu

    2007-12-15

    EHD1 is a member of the mammalian C-terminal Eps15 homology domain (EH) containing protein family, and regulates the recycling of various receptors from the endocytic recycling compartment to the plasma membrane. The EH domain of EHD1 binds to proteins containing either an Asn-Pro-Phe or Asp-Pro-Phe motif, and plays an important role in the subcellular localization and function of EHD1. Thus far, the structures of five N-terminal EH domains from other proteins have been solved, but to date, the structure of the EH domains from the four C-terminal EHD family paralogs remains unknown. In this study, we have assigned the 133 C-terminal residues of EHD1, which includes the EH domain, and solved its solution structure. While the overall structure resembles that of the second of the three N-terminal Eps15 EH domains, potentially significant differences in surface charge and the structure of the tripeptide-binding pocket are discussed.

  4. EH domain of EHD1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kieken, Fabien; Jovic, Marko; Naslavsky, Naava; Caplan, Steve; Sorgen, Paul L.

    2007-01-01

    EHD1 is a member of the mammalian C-terminal Eps15 homology domain (EH) containing protein family, and regulates the recycling of various receptors from the endocytic recycling compartment to the plasma membrane. The EH domain of EHD1 binds to proteins containing either an Asn-Pro-Phe or Asp-Pro-Phe motif, and plays an important role in the subcellular localization and function of EHD1. Thus far, the structures of five N-terminal EH domains from other proteins have been solved, but to date, the structure of the EH domains from the four C-terminal EHD family paralogs remains unknown. In this study, we have assigned the 133 C-terminal residues of EHD1, which includes the EH domain, and solved its solution structure. While the overall structure resembles that of the second of the three N-terminal Eps15 EH domains, potentially significant differences in surface charge and the structure of the tripeptide-binding pocket are discussed

  5. Towards a binding international governance of nuclear safety: an impossible quest?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finon, Dominique

    2014-01-01

    The Fukushima accident again raises the question of the social and economic viability of nuclear technology. On an international basis, it should be necessary to reach the maximum level of safety for every nuclear power plant (NPP) to avoid any further accident in order to preserve the acceptability of the technology. To obtain a significant orientation in upgrading safety standards in matter of NPP design and operation and institutional practices for control and safety in all countries with nuclear facilities, the ideal would be to succeed in setting up a binding international governance. This article examines the incentives and the conditions to achieve it. These incentives on the States appear not to be strong enough at the global level in order that they delegate part of their sovereignty in this domain. It seems that we must be content with a weak governance. This governance combining the role of the IAEA as a facilitator, and different peer pressures mechanisms at the level of the NPP operators, the reactors vendors and the safety authority. We observe that each of these mechanisms is presently being reinforced. But how strong this weak governance is strong enough? (author)

  6. Safety Training: places available in the forthcoming sessions in May

    CERN Multimedia

    Safety Commission

    2010-01-01

    There are places available in the forthcoming Safety courses. For updates and registrations, please refer to the Safety Training Catalogue. MAY 2010: Confined spaces – for supervisors, 4 May, in French, 1 day, 09:00 – 17:30 Laser safety, 5 May, in French, 4 hours, 13:30 – 17:30 Radiological Protection, 7 May, in English, 4 hours, 13:30 – 17:30 Secourisme - Cours de recyclage, 7 May, in French, 4 hours, 08:30 – 12:30 Secourisme - Cours de recyclage, 7 May, in French, 4 hours, 12:30 – 17:30 Cherry-picker driving (basic course), 10-11 May, in French, 2 days, 08:00 – 17:30 Habilitation électrique : Personnel électricien effectuant des opérations du domaine de tension BTA, 10-11 May, in English, 2 days, 09:00 – 17:30 Biocell Training, 11 May, in French, 1.5 hour, 08:30 – 10:00 Biocell Training, 11 May, in French, 1.5 hour, 10:30 – 12:00 Radiological Protection, 11 May, in English, ...

  7. Nuclear safety culture and nuclear safety supervision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chai Jianshe

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, the author reviews systematically and summarizes up the development process and stage characteristics of nuclear safety culture, analysis the connotation and characteristics of nuclear safety culture, sums up the achievements of our country's nuclear safety supervision, dissects the challenges and problems of nuclear safety supervision. This thesis focused on the relationship between nuclear safety culture and nuclear safety supervision, they are essential differences, but there is a close relationship. Nuclear safety supervision needs to introduce some concepts of nuclear safety culture, lays emphasis on humanistic care and improves its level and efficiency. Nuclear safety supervision authorities must strengthen nuclear safety culture training, conduct the development of nuclear safety culture, make sure that nuclear safety culture can play significant roles. (author)

  8. A Highly Accurate Regular Domain Collocation Method for Solving Potential Problems in the Irregular Doubly Connected Domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao-Qing Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Embedding the irregular doubly connected domain into an annular regular region, the unknown functions can be approximated by the barycentric Lagrange interpolation in the regular region. A highly accurate regular domain collocation method is proposed for solving potential problems on the irregular doubly connected domain in polar coordinate system. The formulations of regular domain collocation method are constructed by using barycentric Lagrange interpolation collocation method on the regular domain in polar coordinate system. The boundary conditions are discretized by barycentric Lagrange interpolation within the regular domain. An additional method is used to impose the boundary conditions. The least square method can be used to solve the overconstrained equations. The function values of points in the irregular doubly connected domain can be calculated by barycentric Lagrange interpolation within the regular domain. Some numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the presented method.

  9. Structure and dynamics of the human pleckstrin DEP domain: distinct molecular features of a novel DEP domain subfamily.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Civera, Concepcion; Simon, Bernd; Stier, Gunter; Sattler, Michael; Macias, Maria J

    2005-02-01

    Pleckstrin1 is a major substrate for protein kinase C in platelets and leukocytes, and comprises a central DEP (disheveled, Egl-10, pleckstrin) domain, which is flanked by two PH (pleckstrin homology) domains. DEP domains display a unique alpha/beta fold and have been implicated in membrane binding utilizing different mechanisms. Using multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic tree reconstructions, we find that 6 subfamilies of the DEP domain exist, of which pleckstrin represents a novel and distinct subfamily. To clarify structural determinants of the DEP fold and to gain further insight into the role of the DEP domain, we determined the three-dimensional structure of the pleckstrin DEP domain using heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. Pleckstrin DEP shares main structural features with the DEP domains of disheveled and Epac, which belong to different DEP subfamilies. However, the pleckstrin DEP fold is distinct from these structures and contains an additional, short helix alpha4 inserted in the beta4-beta5 loop that exhibits increased backbone mobility as judged by NMR relaxation measurements. Based on sequence conservation, the helix alpha4 may also be present in the DEP domains of regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins, which are members of the same DEP subfamily. In pleckstrin, the DEP domain is surrounded by two PH domains. Structural analysis and charge complementarity suggest that the DEP domain may interact with the N-terminal PH domain in pleckstrin. Phosphorylation of the PH-DEP linker, which is required for pleckstrin function, could regulate such an intramolecular interaction. This suggests a role of the pleckstrin DEP domain in intramolecular domain interactions, which is distinct from the functions of other DEP domain subfamilies found so far.

  10. Safety balance: Analysis of safety systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delage, M.; Giroux, C.

    1990-12-01

    Safety analysis, and particularly analysis of exploitation of NPPs is constantly affected by EDF and by the safety authorities and their methodologies. Periodic safety reports ensure that important issues are not missed on daily basis, that incidents are identified and that relevant actions are undertaken. French safety analysis method consists of three principal steps. First type of safety balance is analyzed at the normal start-up phase for each unit including the final safety report. This enables analysis of behaviour of units ten years after their licensing. Second type is periodic operational safety analysis performed during a few years. Finally, the third step consists of safety analysis of the oldest units with the aim to improve the safety standards. The three steps of safety analysis are described in this presentation in detail with the aim to present the objectives and principles. Examples of most recent exercises are included in order to illustrate the importance of such analyses

  11. Ferromagnetic and twin domains in LCMO manganites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, G.; Markovich, V.; Mogilyanski, D.; Beek, C. van der; Mukovskii, Y.M.

    2005-01-01

    Ferromagnetic and twin domains in lightly Ca-doped La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 single crystals have been visualized and investigated by means of the magneto-optical technique. Both types of domains became visible below the Curie temperature. The dominant structures seen in applied magnetic field are associated with magneto-crystalline anisotropy and twin domains. In a marked difference to the twin domains which appear only in applied magnetic field, ferromagnetic domains show up in zero applied field and are characterized by oppositely oriented spontaneous magnetization in adjacent domains. Ferromagnetic domains take form of almost periodic, corrugated strip-like structures. The corrugation of the ferromagnetic domain pattern is enforced by the underlying twin domains

  12. Teamwork and Safety in the Maritime Industry: A SWOT Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Vestad, Anne-Lise

    2010-01-01

    Abstract The past few decades the use of teams has increased, also in complex sociotechnical systems such as the maritime industry. Safety issues involve a wide range of elements, including human factors, and pose a number of challenges to organisations in the shipping industry. The primary aim of this study was to examine the Big Five of teamwork model and its ability to capture teamwork aspects of all kinds of teams, independent of team type, organisational level and domain. The collect...

  13. Advanced technique for ultra-thin residue inspection with sub-10nm thickness using high-energy back-scattered electrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jin-Hee

    2018-03-01

    Recently the aspect ratio of capacitor and via hole of memory semiconductor device has been dramatically increasing in order to store more information in a limited area. A small amount of remained residues after etch process on the bottom of the high aspect ratio structure can make a critical failure in device operation. Back-scattered electrons (BSE) are mainly used for inspecting the defect located at the bottom of the high aspect ratio structure or analyzing the overlay of the multi-layer structure because these electrons have a high linearity with the direction of emission and a high kinetic energy above 50eV. However, there is a limitation on that it cannot detect ultra-thin residue material having a thickness of several nanometers because the surface sensitivity is extremely low. We studied the characteristics of BSE spectra using Monte Carlo simulations for several cases which the high aspect ratio structures have extreme microscopic residues. Based on the assumption that most of the electrons emitted without energy loss are localized on the surface, we selected the detection energy window which has a range of 20eV below the maximum energy of the BSE. This window section is named as the high-energy BSE region. As a result of comparing the detection sensitivity of the conventional and the high-energy BSE detection mode, we found that the detection sensitivity for the residuals which have 2nm thickness is improved by more than 10 times in the high-energy BSE mode. This BSE technology is a new inspection method that can greatly be improved the inspection sensitivity for the ultra-thin residual material presented in the high aspect ratio structure, and its application will be expanded.

  14. Geographic exposure risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in US blood donors: a risk-ranking model to evaluate alternative donor-deferral policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hong; Huang, Yin; Gregori, Luisa; Asher, David M; Bui, Travis; Forshee, Richard A; Anderson, Steven A

    2017-04-01

    Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) has been transmitted by blood transfusion (TTvCJD). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends deferring blood donors who resided in or traveled to 30 European countries where they may have been exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through beef consumption. Those recommendations warrant re-evaluation, because new cases of BSE and vCJD have markedly abated. The FDA developed a risk-ranking model to calculate the geographic vCJD risk using country-specific case rates and person-years of exposure of US blood donors. We used the reported country vCJD case rates, when available, or imputed vCJD case rates from reported BSE and UK beef exports during the risk period. We estimated the risk reduction and donor loss should the deferral be restricted to a few high-risk countries. We also estimated additional risk reduction by leukocyte reduction (LR) of red blood cells (RBCs). The United Kingdom, Ireland, and France had the greatest vCJD risk, contributing approximately 95% of the total risk. The model estimated that deferring US donors who spent extended periods of time in these three countries, combined with currently voluntary LR (95% of RBC units), would reduce the vCJD risk by 89.3%, a reduction similar to that achieved under the current policy (89.8%). Limiting deferrals to exposure in these three countries would potentially allow donations from an additional 100,000 donors who are currently deferred. Our analysis suggests that a deferral option focusing on the three highest risk countries would achieve a level of blood safety similar to that achieved by the current policy. © 2016 AABB.

  15. Motivations and reasons for women attending a Breast Self-Examination training program: A qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Chiun-Sheng

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Breast cancer is a major threat to Taiwanese women's health. Despite the controversy surrounding the effectiveness of breast self-examination (BSE in reducing mortality, BSE is still advocated by some health departments. The aim of the study is to provide information about how women decide to practice BSE and their experiences through the training process. Sixty-six women aged 27-50 were recruited. Methods A descriptive study was conducted using small group and individual in-depth interviews to collect data, and using thematic analysis and constant comparison techniques for data analysis. Results It was found that a sense of self-security became an important motivator for entering BSE training. The satisfaction in obtaining a sense of self-security emerged as the central theme. Furthermore, a ladder motivation model was developed to explain the participants' motivations for entering BSE training. The patterns of motivation include opportunity taking, clarifying confusion, maintaining health, and illness monitoring, which were connected with the risk perception for breast cancer. Conclusions We recognize that the way women decide to attend BSE training is influenced by personal and social factors. Understanding the different risk assessments women rely on in making their health decisions is essential. This study will assist researchers and health professionals to gain a better understanding of alternative ways to deal with breast health, and not to be limited by the recommendations of the health authorities.

  16. Physical activity interventions differentially affect exercise task and barrier self-efficacy: A meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Torrance J.; Middleton, Kathryn R.; Winner, Larry; Janelle, Christopher M.; Middleton, Kathryn R.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Researchers have yet to establish how interventions to increase physical activity influence specific self-efficacy beliefs. The current study sought to quantify the effect of interventions to increase physical activity among healthy adults on exercise task (EXSE) and barrier self-efficacy (BSE) via meta-analysis. Intervention characteristics associated with self-efficacy and physical activity changes were also identified. Methods A systematic database search and manual searches through reference lists of related publications were conducted for articles on randomized, controlled physical activity interventions. Published intervention studies reporting changes in physical activity behavior and either EXSE or BSE in healthy adults were eligible for inclusion. Results Of the 1,080 studies identified, 20 were included in the meta-analyses. Interventions had a significant effect of g = 0.208, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.027, 0.388], p physical activity. Moderator analyses indicated shorter interventions that did not include structured exercise sessions effectively increased EXSE and physical activity, whereas long interventions improved BSE. Interventions that did not provide support increased BSE and physical activity levels. Further, interventions that did not require the use of daily exercise logs improved EXSE and physical activity behavior. Conclusion Interventions designed to increase physical activity differentially influenced EXSE and BSE. EXSE appeared to play a more significant role during exercise adoption, whereas BSE was involved in the maintenance of exercise behavior. Recommendations are offered for the design of future interventions. PMID:23957904

  17. Technology and Tool Development to Support Safety and Mission Assurance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh

    2017-01-01

    The Assurance Case approach is being adopted in a number of safety-mission-critical application domains in the U.S., e.g., medical devices, defense aviation, automotive systems, and, lately, civil aviation. This paradigm refocuses traditional, process-based approaches to assurance on demonstrating explicitly stated assurance goals, emphasizing the use of structured rationale, and concrete product-based evidence as the means for providing justified confidence that systems and software are fit for purpose in safely achieving mission objectives. NASA has also been embracing assurance cases through the concepts of Risk Informed Safety Cases (RISCs), as documented in the NASA System Safety Handbook, and Objective Hierarchies (OHs) as put forth by the Agency's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). This talk will give an overview of the work being performed by the SGT team located at NASA Ames Research Center, in developing technologies and tools to engineer and apply assurance cases in customer projects pertaining to aviation safety. We elaborate how our Assurance Case Automation Toolset (AdvoCATE) has not only extended the state-of-the-art in assurance case research, but also demonstrated its practical utility. We have successfully developed safety assurance cases for a number of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations, which underwent, and passed, scrutiny both by the aviation regulator, i.e., the FAA, as well as the applicable NASA boards for airworthiness and flight safety, flight readiness, and mission readiness. We discuss our efforts in expanding AdvoCATE capabilities to support RISCs and OHs under a project recently funded by OSMA under its Software Assurance Research Program. Finally, we speculate on the applicability of our innovations beyond aviation safety to such endeavors as robotic, and human spaceflight.

  18. Safety guidebook relative to the disposal of radioactive wastes in deep geologic formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The French nuclear safety authority (ASN) initiated in 2003 a revision process of the objectives to be considered during the research and work steps of the implementation of a radioactive waste storage facility in deep geologic formations. The purpose of this document is to define the safety objectives that have to be retained at each step of this implementation, from the site characterization to the closure of the facility. This update takes into account the works carried out by the ANDRA (French national agency of radioactive wastes) in the framework of the law from December 30, 1991, and the advices of the permanent experts group about these works. It takes also into consideration the international research works in this domain and the choices defined in the program law no 2006-739 from June 28, 2006 relative to the sustainable management of radioactive materials and wastes. The main modifications concern: the notion of reversibility, the definition of the safety functions of disposal components, the safety goals and the design principles assigned to waste packages, the control of nuclear materials and the monitoring objectives of the facility. The documents treats of the following points: 1 - the objectives of public health and environment protection; 2 - the safety principles and the safety-related design bases of the facility; and 3 - the method used for demonstrating the disposal safety. (J.S.)

  19. Beliefs and behavior of Malaysia undergraduate female students in a public university toward breast self-examination practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh; Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah; Said, Salmiah Md; Ismail, Irmi Zarina

    2013-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second principal cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, including Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 262 female undergraduate students in University Putra Malaysia using a validated questionnaire which was developed for this study. The mean age of respondents was 22∓2.3 years. Most of them were single (83.1%), Malay (42.3%) and 20.7% reported having a family history of breast cancer. Eighty-seven (36.7%) claimed they had practiced BSE. Motivation and self-efficacy of the respondents who performed BSE were significantly higher compared with women who did not (p<0.05).There was no association between BSE practice and demographic details (p<0.05). Logistic regression analysis indicated that women who perceived greater motivation (OR=1.089, 95%CI: 1.016-1.168) and had higher confidence of BSE (OR=1.076, 95%CI: 1.028-1.126) were more likely to perform the screening. The findings show that Malaysian young female's perception regarding breast cancer and the practice of BSE is low. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.

  20. Domain-Specific Control of Selective Attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Szu-Hung; Yeh, Yei-Yu

    2014-01-01

    Previous research has shown that loading information on working memory affects selective attention. However, whether the load effect on selective attention is domain-general or domain-specific remains unresolved. The domain-general effect refers to the findings that load in one content (e.g. phonological) domain in working memory influences processing in another content (e.g., visuospatial) domain. Attentional control supervises selection regardless of information domain. The domain-specific effect refers to the constraint of influence only when maintenance and processing operate in the same domain. Selective attention operates in a specific content domain. This study is designed to resolve this controversy. Across three experiments, we manipulated the type of representation maintained in working memory and the type of representation upon which the participants must exert control to resolve conflict and select a target into the focus of attention. In Experiments 1a and 1b, participants maintained digits and nonverbalized objects, respectively, in working memory while selecting a target in a letter array. In Experiment 2, we presented auditory digits with a letter flanker task to exclude the involvement of resource competition within the same input modality. In Experiments 3a and 3b, we replaced the letter flanker task with an object flanker task while manipulating the memory load on object and digit representation, respectively. The results consistently showed that memory load modulated distractibility only when the stimuli of the two tasks were represented in the same domain. The magnitude of distractor interference was larger under high load than under low load, reflecting a lower efficacy of information prioritization. When the stimuli of the two tasks were represented in different domains, memory load did not modulate distractibility. Control of processing priority in selective attention demands domain-specific resources. PMID:24866977

  1. Economic evaluation in patient safety: a literature review of methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Rezende, Bruna Alves; Or, Zeynep; Com-Ruelle, Laure; Michel, Philippe

    2012-06-01

    Patient safety practices, targeting organisational changes for improving patient safety, are implemented worldwide but their costs are rarely evaluated. This paper provides a review of the methods used in economic evaluation of such practices. International medical and economics databases were searched for peer-reviewed publications on economic evaluations of patient safety between 2000 and 2010 in English and French. This was complemented by a manual search of the reference lists of relevant papers. Grey literature was excluded. Studies were described using a standardised template and assessed independently by two researchers according to six quality criteria. 33 articles were reviewed that were representative of different patient safety domains, data types and evaluation methods. 18 estimated the economic burden of adverse events, 3 measured the costs of patient safety practices and 12 provided complete economic evaluations. Healthcare-associated infections were the most common subject of evaluation, followed by medication-related errors and all types of adverse events. Of these, 10 were selected that had adequately fulfilled one or several key quality criteria for illustration. This review shows that full cost-benefit/utility evaluations are rarely completed as they are resource intensive and often require unavailable data; some overcome these difficulties by performing stochastic modelling and by using secondary sources. Low methodological transparency can be a problem for building evidence from available economic evaluations. Investing in the economic design and reporting of studies with more emphasis on defining study perspectives, data collection and methodological choices could be helpful for strengthening our knowledge base on practices for improving patient safety.

  2. Domain wall engineering through exchange bias

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albisetti, E.; Petti, D.

    2016-01-01

    The control of the structure and position of magnetic domain walls is at the basis of the development of different magnetic devices and architectures. Several nanofabrication techniques have been proposed to geometrically confine and shape domain wall structures; however, a fine tuning of the position and micromagnetic configuration is hardly achieved, especially in continuous films. This work shows that, by controlling the unidirectional anisotropy of a continuous ferromagnetic film through exchange bias, domain walls whose spin arrangement is generally not favored by dipolar and exchange interactions can be created. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that the domain wall width, position and profile can be tuned by establishing an abrupt change in the direction and magnitude of the exchange bias field set in the system. - Highlights: • Micromagnetic simulations study domain walls in exchange biased thin films. • Novel domain wall configurations can be stabilized via exchange bias. • Domain walls nucleate at the boundary of regions with different exchange bias. • Domain wall width and spin profile are controlled by tuning the exchange bias.

  3. Frequency Domain Image Filtering Using CUDA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Awais Rajput

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the implementation of image filtering in frequency domain using NVIDIA?s CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture. In contrast to signal and image filtering in spatial domain which uses convolution operations and hence is more compute-intensive for filters having larger spatial extent, the frequency domain filtering uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform which is much faster and significantly reduces the computational complexity of the filtering. We implement the frequency domain filtering on CPU and GPU respectively and analyze the speed-up obtained from the CUDA?s parallel processing paradigm. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of frequency domain filtering on CUDA, we implement three frequency domain filters, i.e., Butterworth, low-pass and Gaussian for processing different sizes of images on CPU and GPU respectively and perform the GPU vs. CPU benchmarks. The results presented in this paper show that the frequency domain filtering with CUDA achieves significant speed-up over the CPU processing in frequency domain with the same level of (output image quality on both the processing architectures

  4. Frequency domain image filtering using cuda

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajput, M.A.; Khan, U.A.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the implementation of image filtering in frequency domain using NVIDIA's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture). In contrast to signal and image filtering in spatial domain which uses convolution operations and hence is more compute-intensive for filters having larger spatial extent, the frequency domain filtering uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) which is much faster and significantly reduces the computational complexity of the filtering. We implement the frequency domain filtering on CPU and GPU respectively and analyze the speed-up obtained from the CUDA's parallel processing paradigm. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of frequency domain filtering on CUDA, we implement three frequency domain filters, i.e., Butter worth, low-pass and Gaussian for processing different sizes of images on CPU and GPU respectively and perform the GPU vs. CPU benchmarks. The results presented in this paper show that the frequency domain filtering with CUDA achieves significant speed-up over the CPU processing in frequency domain with the same level of (output) image quality on both the processing architectures. (author)

  5. Survey of laboratory findings in suspected cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Denmark from 1990 to 2000

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agerholm, J.S.; Tegtmeier, C.L.; Nielsen, T.K.

    2002-01-01

    A survey of the laboratory findings in suspected cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Denmark from I June 1990 to '31 December 2000 is presented. During this period BSE was a notifiable disease, and the heads of suspected cases were submitted according to the legislation on BSE....... A total of 176 submissions were made, mostly from bovines with neurological disorders and mainly during the last 3 years of this period. Lesions or other laboratory findings consistent with severe neurological disorders were found in 115 cases. The most frequent diagnosis was encephalic 41 p listeriosis...

  6. Individual globular domains and domain unfolding visualized in overstretched titin molecules with atomic force microscopy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zsolt Mártonfalvi

    Full Text Available Titin is a giant elastomeric protein responsible for the generation of passive muscle force. Mechanical force unfolds titin's globular domains, but the exact structure of the overstretched titin molecule is not known. Here we analyzed, by using high-resolution atomic force microscopy, the structure of titin molecules overstretched with receding meniscus. The axial contour of the molecules was interrupted by topographical gaps with a mean width of 27.7 nm that corresponds well to the length of an unfolded globular (immunoglobulin and fibronectin domain. The wide gap-width distribution suggests, however, that additional mechanisms such as partial domain unfolding and the unfolding of neighboring domain multimers may also be present. In the folded regions we resolved globules with an average spacing of 5.9 nm, which is consistent with a titin chain composed globular domains with extended interdomain linker regions. Topographical analysis allowed us to allocate the most distal unfolded titin region to the kinase domain, suggesting that this domain systematically unfolds when the molecule is exposed to overstretching forces. The observations support the prediction that upon the action of stretching forces the N-terminal ß-sheet of the titin kinase unfolds, thus exposing the enzyme's ATP-binding site and hence contributing to the molecule's mechanosensory function.

  7. Quantifying information transfer by protein domains: Analysis of the Fyn SH2 domain structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serrano Luis

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Efficient communication between distant sites within a protein is essential for cooperative biological response. Although often associated with large allosteric movements, more subtle changes in protein dynamics can also induce long-range correlations. However, an appropriate formalism that directly relates protein structural dynamics to information exchange between functional sites is still lacking. Results Here we introduce a method to analyze protein dynamics within the framework of information theory and show that signal transduction within proteins can be considered as a particular instance of communication over a noisy channel. In particular, we analyze the conformational correlations between protein residues and apply the concept of mutual information to quantify information exchange. Mapping out changes of mutual information on the protein structure then allows visualizing how distal communication is achieved. We illustrate the approach by analyzing information transfer by the SH2 domain of Fyn tyrosine kinase, obtained from Monte Carlo dynamics simulations. Our analysis reveals that the Fyn SH2 domain forms a noisy communication channel that couples residues located in the phosphopeptide and specificity binding sites and a number of residues at the other side of the domain near the linkers that connect the SH2 domain to the SH3 and kinase domains. We find that for this particular domain, communication is affected by a series of contiguous residues that connect distal sites by crossing the core of the SH2 domain. Conclusion As a result, our method provides a means to directly map the exchange of biological information on the structure of protein domains, making it clear how binding triggers conformational changes in the protein structure. As such it provides a structural road, next to the existing attempts at sequence level, to predict long-range interactions within protein structures.

  8. Safety Research Opportunities Post-Fukushima. Initial Report of the Senior Expert Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baek, Won-Pil; Yang, Joon-Eon; Ball, Joanne; Glowa, Glenn; Bisconti, Giulia; Peko, Damian; Bolshov, Leonid; Burgazzi, Luciano; De Rosa, Felice; Conde, Jose M.; Cook, Gary; Evrard, Jean-Michel; Jacquemain, Didier; Funaki, Kentaro; Uematsu, Mari Marianne; Miyoshi, Katsumasa; Tatematsu, Atsushi; Hirano, Masashi; Hoshi, Harutaka; Kawaragi, Chie; Kobayashi, Youko; Sakamoto, Kazunobu; Journeau, Christophe; Kim, Han-Chul; Klein-Hessling, Walter; Sonnenkalb, Martin; Koganeya, Toshiyuki; White, Andrew; ); Lind, Terttaliisa; Zimmermann, Martin; Lindholm, Ilona; Castelo Lopez, Carlos; Nagase, Fumihisa; Washiya, Tadahiro; Oima, Hirofumi; Okada, Hiro; Richards, Stuart; West, Steven; Sandberg, Nils; Suzuki, Shunichi; Vitanza, Carlo; Yamanaka, Yasunori

    2017-02-01

    One of the imperatives following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is for the nuclear science and industry communities to ensure that knowledge gaps in nuclear safety are identified and that research programs to address these gaps are being instituted. In recognition of broad international interest in additional information that could be gained from post-accident examinations related to Fukushima Daiichi, Japan recommended to the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) in June 2013 that a process be developed to identify and follow up on opportunities to address safety research gaps. Consequently, a Senior Expert Group (SEG) on Safety Research Opportunities post-Fukushima (SAREF) was formed. The members of the group are senior technical experts from technical support organisations, nuclear regulatory authorities and Japanese organisations responsible for planning and execution of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning. The domain of interest for the group is activities that address safety research knowledge gaps and also the needs of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning. SEG on SAREF identified areas where these two interests intersect or overlap, and activities that could be undertaken to generate information of common benefit. The group's output is documented in this report; Chapter 2 describes the current status of the damaged units at Fukushima Daiichi NPS; Chapter 3 summarises safety research areas of common interest; Chapter 4 summarises the safety research activities recommended as short-term projects; Chapter 5 summarises those as long-term considerations; Chapter 6 supplies conclusions and recommendations. The appendix contains detailed information compiled by the SEG members on all safety research areas of interest

  9. EVALUATING THE CONTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL PARAMETERS ON THE SAFETY OF UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. AHMED

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Safety of any particular Road way facility cannot be attributed to set of parameters specific to a certain domain. Unsignalized intersections are no exceptions, thus, making them an important area of study. This paper presents the results of the analysis of four parameters, namely road width, traffic control, lane marking and landuse; and their sub-class on the safety of unsignalized intersections. The raw accident data was obtained from MIROS (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research. It was then reduced for descriptive analysis. Hypothesis testing was performed to assess the significance of all parameters and severity analysis was done to accomplish micro scale examination of each sub-class. The results show that landuse and lane marking are statistically significant. They are important variables to predict accidents whereas traffic control and road width are not significant. Intersections located in city with single line lane marking having no control and major road width greater than 9 meters were found to have the highest severity indices.

  10. Safety physics inter-comparison of advanced concepts of critical reactors and ADS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slessarev, I. [CEA Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France). Dept. d' Etudes des Reacteurs

    2001-07-01

    Enhanced safety based on the principle of the natural ''self-defence'' is one of the most desirable features of innovative nuclear systems (critical or sub-critical) regarding both TRU transmutation and ''clean'' energy producer concepts. For the evaluation of the ''self-defence'' domain, the method of the asymptotic reactivity balance has been generalised. The promising option of Hybrids systems (that use a symbiosis of fission and spallation in sub-critical cores) which could benefit the advantages of both Accelerated Driven Systems of the traditional type and regular critical systems, has been advocated. General features of Hybrid dynamics have been presented and analysed. It was demonstrated that an external neutron source of Hybrids can expand the inherent safety potential significantly. This analysis has been applied to assess the safety physics potential of innovative concepts for prospective nuclear power both for energy producers and for transmutation. It has been found, that safety enhancement goal defines a choice of sub-criticality of Hybrids. As for energy producers with Th-fuel cycle, a significant sub-criticality level is required due to a necessity of an improvement of neutronics together with safety enhancement task. (author)

  11. Safety aspects of nuclear power plant component aging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conte, M.; Deletre, G.; Henry, J.Y.

    1988-01-01

    The safety of nuclear plants depends on the capacity of the systems they are composed to perform the functions they were designed for. The identification and understanding of phenomena liable to degrade this operational capacity thus constitute one of the safety problems for which allowance must be made at the earliest stage of a project. Aging, a natural and hence unavoidable process affecting all the components of an installation, was identified at a very early stage as being one of these phenomena. The investigation and implementation of solutions to the safety problems associated to aging make it necessary to: defining the domain in which the consequences of aging are to be evaluated, identifying the parameters involved, identifying the components sensitive to these parameters, understanding the mechanisms which govern its evolution. The results of qualification tests, and of tests and checks carried out at different stages of construction and operation, as well as allowance for operating experience, constitute the necessary basis for establishing or improving the regulatory requirements. The procedures for validating components and systems of the installation are also drawn up on the basis of these tests. Finally, the actions initiated within the scope of research and development programmes supply the additional data necessary for such validation, and provide the indispensable support for knowledge improvement

  12. Phylogeny of the TRAF/MATH domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapata, Juan M; Martínez-García, Vanesa; Lefebvre, Sophie

    2007-01-01

    The TNF-receptor associated factor (TRAF) domain (TD), also known as the meprin and TRAF-C homology (MATH) domain is a fold of seven anti-parallel p-helices that participates in protein-protein interactions. This fold is broadly represented among eukaryotes, where it is found associated with a discrete set of protein-domains. Virtually all protein families encompassing a TRAF/MATH domain seem to be involved in the regulation of protein processing and ubiquitination, strongly suggesting a parallel evolution of the TRAF/MATH domain and certain proteolysis pathways in eukaryotes. The restricted number of living organisms for which we have information of their genetic and protein make-up limits the scope and analysis of the MATH domain in evolution. However, the available information allows us to get a glimpse on the origins, distribution and evolution of the TRAF/MATH domain, which will be overviewed in this chapter.

  13. A micromagnetic study of domain structure modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Tetsuji; Mimuro, Naoki; Shimasaki, Masaaki

    2008-01-01

    To develop a mesoscopic model for magnetic-domain behavior, a domain structure model (DSM) was examined and compared with a micromagnetic simulation. The domain structure of this model is given by several domains with uniform magnetization vectors and domain walls. The directions of magnetization vectors and the locations of domain walls are determined so as to minimize the magnetic total energy of the magnetic material. The DSM was modified to improve its representation capability for domain behavior. The domain wall energy is multiplied by a vanishing factor to represent the disappearance of magnetic domain. The sequential quadratic programming procedure is divided into two steps to improve an energy minimization process. A comparison with micromagnetic simulation shows that the modified DSM improves the representation accuracy of the magnetization process

  14. DIVERSIFICATION OF A SAFETY FOOTWEAR PRODUCT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HARNAGEA Marta Cătălina

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Product diversification is a usual strategy of footwear producers. As a requirement related to competitiveness in this domain, diversification can be done by practical application of some criteria. Considering this aspect, the paper proposes a research on the diversification in the case of a safety footwear product by modifying its component patterns, while keeping the initial shape of the product. Thus, starting from a safety shoe model, diversification was performed by changing the configuration in the joining area of two patterns of the product. By joining the tongue with the bellows tongue, the upper with the quarter, the heel counter with the quarter and the collar and heel counter with quarter has resulted a family of models characterized by a reduction of the number of patterns in the product. The size of the set presents a significant influence on the theoretical nesting factor and implicitly on the size of the wastes. The analysis of the resulting new model types lead to highlighting the influence of the patterns number of the uppers and the area of the set on the usage index of the leather surface when cutting the parts and on the specific consumption.

  15. Squale: evaluation criteria of functioning safety; Squale: criteres d`evaluation de la surete de fonctionnement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deswarte, Y; Kaaniche, M [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 31 - Toulouse (France). Laboratoire d` Analyse et d` Architecture des Systemes; Corneillie, P [CE2A-DI, 92 - Courbevoie (France); Benoit, P [Matra Transport International, 92 - Montrouge (France)

    1998-05-01

    The SQUALE (security, safety and quality evaluation for dependable systems) project is part of the ACTS (advanced communications, technologies and services) European program. Its aim is to develop confidence evaluation criteria to test the functioning safety of systems. All industrial sectors that use critical applications (nuclear, railway, aerospace..) are concerned. SQUALE evaluation criteria differ from the classical evaluation methods: they are independent of the application domains and industrial sectors, they take into account the overall functioning safety attributes, and they can progressively change according to the level of severity required. In order to validate the approach and to refine the criteria, a first experiment is in progress with the METEOR automatic underground railway and another will be carried out on a telecommunication system developed by Bouygues company. (J.S.) 15 refs.

  16. Texture of lipid bilayer domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Uffe Bernchou; Brewer, Jonathan R.; Midtiby, Henrik Skov

    2009-01-01

    We investigate the texture of gel (g) domains in binary lipid membranes composed of the phospholipids DPPC and DOPC. Lateral organization of lipid bilayer membranes is a topic of fundamental and biological importance. Whereas questions related to size and composition of fluid membrane domain...... are well studied, the possibility of texture in gel domains has so far not been examined. When using polarized light for two-photon excitation of the fluorescent lipid probe Laurdan, the emission intensity is highly sensitive to the angle between the polarization and the tilt orientation of lipid acyl...... chains. By imaging the intensity variations as a function of the polarization angle, we map the lateral variations of the lipid tilt within domains. Results reveal that gel domains are composed of subdomains with different lipid tilt directions. We have applied a Fourier decomposition method...

  17. Safety margins in deterministic safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viktorov, A.

    2011-01-01

    The concept of safety margins has acquired certain prominence in the attempts to demonstrate quantitatively the level of the nuclear power plant safety by means of deterministic analysis, especially when considering impacts from plant ageing and discovery issues. A number of international or industry publications exist that discuss various applications and interpretations of safety margins. The objective of this presentation is to bring together and examine in some detail, from the regulatory point of view, the safety margins that relate to deterministic safety analysis. In this paper, definitions of various safety margins are presented and discussed along with the regulatory expectations for them. Interrelationships of analysis input and output parameters with corresponding limits are explored. It is shown that the overall safety margin is composed of several components each having different origins and potential uses; in particular, margins associated with analysis output parameters are contrasted with margins linked to the analysis input. While these are separate, it is possible to influence output margins through the analysis input, and analysis method. Preserving safety margins is tantamount to maintaining safety. At the same time, efficiency of operation requires optimization of safety margins taking into account various technical and regulatory considerations. For this, basic definitions and rules for safety margins must be first established. (author)

  18. On the structure of order domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geil, Olav; Pellikaan, Ruud

    2002-01-01

    The notion of an order domain is generalized. The behaviour of an order domain by taking a subalgebra, the extension of scalars, and the tensor product is studied. The relation of an order domain with valuation theory, Gröbner algebras, and graded structures is given. The theory of Gröbner bases...... for order domains is developed and used to show that the factor ring theorem and its converse, the presentation theorem, hold. The dimension of an order domain is related to the rank of its value semigroup....

  19. Pathogenesis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in sheep

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keulen, van L.J.M.; Vromans, M.E.W.; Dolstra, C.H.; Bossers, A.; Zijderveld, van F.G.

    2008-01-01

    The pathogenesis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in sheep was studied by immunohistochemical detection of scrapie-associated prion protein (PrPSc) in the gastrointestinal, lymphoid and neural tissues following oral inoculation with BSE brain homogenate. First accumulation of PrPSc was

  20. Prion Protein Devoid of the Octapeptide Repeat Region Delays Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Pathogenesis in Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hara, Hideyuki; Miyata, Hironori; Das, Nandita Rani; Chida, Junji; Yoshimochi, Tatenobu; Uchiyama, Keiji; Watanabe, Hitomi; Kondoh, Gen; Yokoyama, Takashi; Sakaguchi, Suehiro

    2018-01-01

    Conformational conversion of the cellular isoform of prion protein, PrP C , into the abnormally folded, amyloidogenic isoform, PrP Sc , is a key pathogenic event in prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in animals. We previously reported that the octapeptide repeat (OR) region could be dispensable for converting PrP C into PrP Sc after infection with RML prions. We demonstrated that mice transgenically expressing mouse PrP with deletion of the OR region on the PrP knockout background, designated Tg(PrPΔOR)/ Prnp 0 / 0 mice, did not show reduced susceptibility to RML scrapie prions, with abundant accumulation of PrP Sc ΔOR in their brains. We show here that Tg(PrPΔOR)/ Prnp 0 / 0 mice were highly resistant to BSE prions, developing the disease with markedly elongated incubation times after infection with BSE prions. The conversion of PrPΔOR into PrP Sc ΔOR was markedly delayed in their brains. These results suggest that the OR region may have a crucial role in the conversion of PrP C into PrP Sc after infection with BSE prions. However, Tg(PrPΔOR)/ Prnp 0 / 0 mice remained susceptible to RML and 22L scrapie prions, developing the disease without elongated incubation times after infection with RML and 22L prions. PrP Sc ΔOR accumulated only slightly less in the brains of RML- or 22L-infected Tg(PrPΔOR)/ Prnp 0 / 0 mice than PrP Sc in control wild-type mice. Taken together, these results indicate that the OR region of PrP C could play a differential role in the pathogenesis of BSE prions and RML or 22L scrapie prions. IMPORTANCE Structure-function relationship studies of PrP C conformational conversion into PrP Sc are worthwhile to understand the mechanism of the conversion of PrP C into PrP Sc We show here that, by inoculating Tg(PrPΔOR)/ Prnp 0 / 0 mice with the three different strains of RML, 22L, and BSE prions, the OR region could play a differential role in the conversion of

  1. Identification of features of electronic prescribing systems to support quality and safety in primary care using a modified Delphi process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweidan, Michelle; Williamson, Margaret; Reeve, James F; Harvey, Ken; O'Neill, Jennifer A; Schattner, Peter; Snowdon, Teri

    2010-04-15

    Electronic prescribing is increasingly being used in primary care and in hospitals. Studies on the effects of e-prescribing systems have found evidence for both benefit and harm. The aim of this study was to identify features of e-prescribing software systems that support patient safety and quality of care and that are useful to the clinician and the patient, with a focus on improving the quality use of medicines. Software features were identified by a literature review, key informants and an expert group. A modified Delphi process was used with a 12-member multidisciplinary expert group to reach consensus on the expected impact of the features in four domains: patient safety, quality of care, usefulness to the clinician and usefulness to the patient. The setting was electronic prescribing in general practice in Australia. A list of 114 software features was developed. Most of the features relate to the recording and use of patient data, the medication selection process, prescribing decision support, monitoring drug therapy and clinical reports. The expert group rated 78 of the features (68%) as likely to have a high positive impact in at least one domain, 36 features (32%) as medium impact, and none as low or negative impact. Twenty seven features were rated as high positive impact across 3 or 4 domains including patient safety and quality of care. Ten features were considered "aspirational" because of a lack of agreed standards and/or suitable knowledge bases. This study defines features of e-prescribing software systems that are expected to support safety and quality, especially in relation to prescribing and use of medicines in general practice. The features could be used to develop software standards, and could be adapted if necessary for use in other settings and countries.

  2. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

    2012-11-19

    Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

  3. Integration of radiation protection in safety management: sharing best practices between radiation protection and other safety areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kockerols, Pierre; Fessler, Andreas

    2008-01-01

    Full text: The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) located in Geel is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC, DG JRC). The institute was founded in 1960 as a nuclear research centre, but has gradually shifted its activities to also include 'non-nuclear' domains, mainly in the areas of food safety and environmental surveillance. As the activities on the IRMM site are currently quite diversified, they necessitate the operation of nuclear controlled areas, accelerators, as well as bio safety restricted areas and chemical laboratories. Therefore, the care for occupational health and safety and for environmental protection has to take into consideration various types of hazards and threats. Recently an integrated management system according to ISO-9001, ISO-14001 and OHSAS-18001 was implemented. The integrated system combines 'vertically' quality, occupational health and safety and environmental issues and covers 'horizontally' the nuclear, biological and chemical fields. The paper outlines how the radiation protection can be included in an overall health, safety and environmental management system. It will give various practical examples where synergies can be applied: 1-) the overall policy; 2-) The assessment and ranking of all risks and the identification, in a combined way, of the appropriate prevention measures; 3-) The planning and review of related actions; 4-) The monitoring, auditing and registration of anomalies and incidents and the definition of corrective actions; 5-) The training of personnel based on lessons learned from past experiences; 6-) The organisation of an internal emergency plan dealing with nuclear and non-nuclear hazards. Based on these examples, the benefits of having an integrated approach are commented. In addition, the paper will illustrate how the recent ICRP fundamental recommendations and more particularly some of the principles of radiation protection such as

  4. Diagrammatic Representations in Domain-Specific Languages

    OpenAIRE

    Tourlas, Konstantinos

    2002-01-01

    One emerging approach to reducing the labour and costs of software development favours the specialisation of techniques to particular application domains. The rationale is that programs within a given domain often share enough common features and assumptions to enable the incorporation of substantial support mechanisms into domain-specific programming languages and associated tools. Instead of being machine-oriented, algorithmic implementations, programs in many domain-speci...

  5. An assessment system for the system safety engineering capability maturity model in the case of spent fuel reprocessing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Xiaohua; Liu Zhenghai; Liu Zhiming; Wan Yaping; Bai Xiaofeng

    2012-01-01

    We can improve the processing, the evaluation of capability and promote the user's trust by using system security engineering capability maturity model (SSE-CMM). SSE-CMM is the common method for organizing and implementing safety engineering, and it is a mature method for system safety engineering. Combining capability maturity model (CMM) with total quality management and statistic theory, SSE-CMM turns systems security engineering into a well-defined, mature, measurable, advanced engineering discipline. Lack of domain knowledge, the size of data, the diversity of evidences, the cumbersomeness of processes, and the complexity of matching evidences with problems are the main issues that SSE-CMM assessment has to face. To improve effectively the efficiency of assessment of spent fuel reprocessing system security engineering capability maturity model (SFR-SSE-CMM), in this paper we de- signed an intelligent assessment software based on domain ontology and that uses methods such as ontology, evidence theory, semantic web, intelligent information retrieval and intelligent auto-matching techniques. This software includes four subsystems, which are domain ontology creation and management system, evidence auto collection system, and a problem and evidence matching system. The architecture of the software is divided into five layers: a data layer, an oncology layer, a knowledge layer, a service layer arid a presentation layer. (authors)

  6. System safety education focused on flight safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, E.

    1971-01-01

    The measures necessary for achieving higher levels of system safety are analyzed with an eye toward maintaining the combat capability of the Air Force. Several education courses were provided for personnel involved in safety management. Data include: (1) Flight Safety Officer Course, (2) Advanced Safety Program Management, (3) Fundamentals of System Safety, and (4) Quantitative Methods of Safety Analysis.

  7. Domain wall networks on solitons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutcliffe, Paul

    2003-01-01

    Domain wall networks on the surface of a soliton are studied in a simple theory. It consists of two complex scalar fields, in 3+1 dimensions, with a global U(1)xZ n symmetry, where n>2. Solutions are computed numerically in which one of the fields forms a Q ball and the other field forms a network of domain walls localized on the surface of the Q ball. Examples are presented in which the domain walls lie along the edges of a spherical polyhedron, forming junctions at its vertices. It is explained why only a small restricted class of polyhedra can arise as domain wall networks

  8. Labor unions and safety climate: perceived union safety values and retail employee safety outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinclair, Robert R; Martin, James E; Sears, Lindsay E

    2010-09-01

    Although trade unions have long been recognized as a critical advocate for employee safety and health, safety climate research has not paid much attention to the role unions play in workplace safety. We proposed a multiple constituency model of workplace safety which focused on three central safety stakeholders: top management, ones' immediate supervisor, and the labor union. Safety climate research focuses on management and supervisors as key stakeholders, but has not considered whether employee perceptions about the priority their union places on safety contributes contribute to safety outcomes. We addressed this gap in the literature by investigating unionized retail employee (N=535) perceptions about the extent to which their top management, immediate supervisors, and union valued safety. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that perceived union safety values could be distinguished from measures of safety training, workplace hazards, top management safety values, and supervisor values. Structural equation analyses indicated that union safety values influenced safety outcomes through its association with higher safety motivation, showing a similar effect as that of supervisor safety values. These findings highlight the need for further attention to union-focused measures related to workplace safety as well as further study of retail employees in general. We discuss the practical implications of our findings and identify several directions for future safety research. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Evaluation of patient safety culture among Malaysian retail pharmacists: results of a self-reported survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivanandy, Palanisamy; Maharajan, Mari Kannan; Rajiah, Kingston; Wei, Tan Tyng; Loon, Tan Wee; Yee, Lim Chong

    2016-01-01

    Background Patient safety is a major public health issue, and the knowledge, skills, and experience of health professionals are very much essential for improving patient safety. Patient safety and medication error are very much associated. Pharmacists play a significant role in patient safety. The function of pharmacists in the medication use process is very different from medical and nursing colleagues. Medication dispensing accuracy is a vital element to ensure the safety and quality of medication use. Objective To evaluate the attitude and perception of the pharmacist toward patient safety in retail pharmacies setup in Malaysia. Methods A Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was used to assess patient safety culture, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the convenience sampling method was adopted. Results The overall positive response rate ranged from 31.20% to 87.43%, and the average positive response rate was found to be 67%. Among all the eleven domains pertaining to patient safety culture, the scores of “staff training and skills” were less. Communication openness, and patient counseling are common, but not practiced regularly in the Malaysian retail pharmacy setup compared with those in USA. The overall perception of patient safety of an acceptable level in the current retail pharmacy setup. Conclusion The study revealed that staff training, skills, communication in patient counseling, and communication across shifts and about mistakes are less in current retail pharmacy setup. The overall perception of patient safety should be improved by educating the pharmacists about the significance and essential of patient safety. PMID:27524887

  10. Evaluation of patient safety culture among Malaysian retail pharmacists: results of a self-reported survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivanandy, Palanisamy; Maharajan, Mari Kannan; Rajiah, Kingston; Wei, Tan Tyng; Loon, Tan Wee; Yee, Lim Chong

    2016-01-01

    Patient safety is a major public health issue, and the knowledge, skills, and experience of health professionals are very much essential for improving patient safety. Patient safety and medication error are very much associated. Pharmacists play a significant role in patient safety. The function of pharmacists in the medication use process is very different from medical and nursing colleagues. Medication dispensing accuracy is a vital element to ensure the safety and quality of medication use. To evaluate the attitude and perception of the pharmacist toward patient safety in retail pharmacies setup in Malaysia. A Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was used to assess patient safety culture, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the convenience sampling method was adopted. The overall positive response rate ranged from 31.20% to 87.43%, and the average positive response rate was found to be 67%. Among all the eleven domains pertaining to patient safety culture, the scores of "staff training and skills" were less. Communication openness, and patient counseling are common, but not practiced regularly in the Malaysian retail pharmacy setup compared with those in USA. The overall perception of patient safety of an acceptable level in the current retail pharmacy setup. The study revealed that staff training, skills, communication in patient counseling, and communication across shifts and about mistakes are less in current retail pharmacy setup. The overall perception of patient safety should be improved by educating the pharmacists about the significance and essential of patient safety.

  11. A methodology for a quantitative assessment of safety culture in NPPs based on Bayesian networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Young Gab; Lee, Seung Min; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A safety culture framework and a quantitative methodology to assess safety culture were proposed. • The relation among Norm system, Safety Management System and worker's awareness was established. • Safety culture probability at NPPs was updated by collecting actual organizational data. • Vulnerable areas and the relationship between safety culture and human error were confirmed. - Abstract: For a long time, safety has been recognized as a top priority in high-reliability industries such as aviation and nuclear power plants (NPPs). Establishing a safety culture requires a number of actions to enhance safety, one of which is changing the safety culture awareness of workers. The concept of safety culture in the nuclear power domain was established in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety series, wherein the importance of employee attitudes for maintaining organizational safety was emphasized. Safety culture assessment is a critical step in the process of enhancing safety culture. In this respect, assessment is focused on measuring the level of safety culture in an organization, and improving any weakness in the organization. However, many continue to think that the concept of safety culture is abstract and unclear. In addition, the results of safety culture assessments are mostly subjective and qualitative. Given the current situation, this paper suggests a quantitative methodology for safety culture assessments based on a Bayesian network. A proposed safety culture framework for NPPs would include the following: (1) a norm system, (2) a safety management system, (3) safety culture awareness of worker, and (4) Worker behavior. The level of safety culture awareness of workers at NPPs was reasoned through the proposed methodology. Then, areas of the organization that were vulnerable in terms of safety culture were derived by analyzing observational evidence. We also confirmed that the frequency of events involving human error

  12. Towards Domain-specific Flow-based Languages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zarrin, Bahram; Baumeister, Hubert; Sarjoughian, Hessam S.

    2018-01-01

    describe their problems and solutions, instead of using general purpose programming languages. The goal of these languages is to improve the productivity and efficiency of the development and simulation of concurrent scientific models and systems. Moreover, they help to expose parallelism and to specify...... the concurrency within a component or across different independent components. In this paper, we introduce the concept of domain-specific flowbased languages which allows domain experts to use flow-based languages adapted to a particular problem domain. Flow-based programming is used to support concurrency, while......Due to the significant growth of the demand for data-intensive computing, in addition to the emergence of new parallel and distributed computing technologies, scientists and domain experts are leveraging languages specialized for their problem domain, i.e., domain-specific languages, to help them...

  13. WASTE CONTAINMENT OVERVIEW

    Science.gov (United States)

    BSE waste is derived from diseased animals such as BSE (bovine spongiform encepilopothy, also known as Mad Cow) in cattle and CWD (chronic wasting disease) in deer and elk. Landfilling is examined as a disposal option and this presentation introduces waste containment technology...

  14. Evaluation of the zoonotic potential of transmissible mink encephalopathy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Successful transmission of Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy (TME) to cattle supports the bovine hypothesis to the still controversial origin of TME outbreaks. Human and primate susceptibility to classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (c-BSE) and the transmissibility of L-type BSE to macaques as...

  15. Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 1999. Volume IV: Nuclear Energy and Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Brian; Gschwend, Beatrice

    2000-01-01

    Nuclear energy related research in Switzerland is concentrated at PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES). The total effort invested in nuclear energy research in 1999 amounted to about 185 py/a and 4.7 MCHF of investment and maintenance costs. Approximately half of the salary, investment and maintenance costs are externally funded, primarily by the Swiss Utilities, the national co-operative for the disposal of nuclear waste (NAGRA), the Federal Office of Energy (BFE) through the nuclear safety inspectorate (HSK) and the Federal Office for Science and Education (BBW) in connection with the EU Framework Programmes; an increasing part of external funding is coming from domestic and foreign industry (nuclear component and fuel suppliers). The activities of the department are concentrated on three main domains of: Safety and related problems of operating plants; safety features of future reactor and fuel cycles; waste management. 4 % of the total resources are invested in addressing more global aspects of energy. Many of the programs are part of collaborations with universities, industry, or international organisations. Progress in 1999 in these topical areas is described in this report. A list of scientific publications in 1999 is also provided

  16. Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 1998. Volume IV: Nuclear Energy and Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birchley, Jon; Ringele, Ruth [eds.

    1999-09-01

    Nuclear energy related research in Switzerland is concentrated at PSI`s Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES). The total effort invested in nuclear energy research in 1998 amounted to about 195 py/a and 4.5 millions CHF of investment and maintenance costs. Approximately half of the salary, investment and maintenance costs are externally funded, primarily by the Swiss Utilities, the national co-operative for the disposal of nuclear waste (NAGRA), the Federal Office of Energy (BFE) through the nuclear safety inspectorate (HSK) and the Federal Office for Science and Education (BBW) in connection with the EC Framework Programmes; an increasing part of external funding is coming from domestic and foreign industry (nuclear component and fuel suppliers). The activities of the department are concentrated on three main domains of: Safety and related problems of operating plants; safety features of future reactor and fuel cycles; waste management. 4 % of the total resources are invested in addressing more global aspects of energy. Many of the programs are part of collaborations with universities, industry, or international organisations. A list of scientific publications in 1998 is included. (author) figs., tabs., refs.

  17. Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 1998. Volume IV: Nuclear Energy and Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birchley, Jon; Ringele, Ruth

    1999-01-01

    Nuclear energy related research in Switzerland is concentrated at PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES). The total effort invested in nuclear energy research in 1998 amounted to about 195 py/a and 4.5 millions CHF of investment and maintenance costs. Approximately half of the salary, investment and maintenance costs are externally funded, primarily by the Swiss Utilities, the national co-operative for the disposal of nuclear waste (NAGRA), the Federal Office of Energy (BFE) through the nuclear safety inspectorate (HSK) and the Federal Office for Science and Education (BBW) in connection with the EC Framework Programmes; an increasing part of external funding is coming from domestic and foreign industry (nuclear component and fuel suppliers). The activities of the department are concentrated on three main domains of: Safety and related problems of operating plants; safety features of future reactor and fuel cycles; waste management. 4 % of the total resources are invested in addressing more global aspects of energy. Many of the programs are part of collaborations with universities, industry, or international organisations. A list of scientific publications in 1998 is included. (author)

  18. Paul Scherrer Institute Scientific Report 1999. Volume IV: Nuclear Energy and Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Brian; Gschwend, Beatrice [eds.

    2000-07-01

    Nuclear energy related research in Switzerland is concentrated at PSI's Nuclear Energy and Safety Research Department (NES). The total effort invested in nuclear energy research in 1999 amounted to about 185 py/a and 4.7 MCHF of investment and maintenance costs. Approximately half of the salary, investment and maintenance costs are externally funded, primarily by the Swiss Utilities, the national co-operative for the disposal of nuclear waste (NAGRA), the Federal Office of Energy (BFE) through the nuclear safety inspectorate (HSK) and the Federal Office for Science and Education (BBW) in connection with the EU Framework Programmes; an increasing part of external funding is coming from domestic and foreign industry (nuclear component and fuel suppliers). The activities of the department are concentrated on three main domains of: Safety and related problems of operating plants; safety features of future reactor and fuel cycles; waste management. 4 % of the total resources are invested in addressing more global aspects of energy. Many of the programs are part of collaborations with universities, industry, or international organisations. Progress in 1999 in these topical areas is described in this report. A list of scientific publications in 1999 is also provided.

  19. A Fast, Efficient Domain Adaptation Technique for Cross-Domain Electroencephalography(EEG-Based Emotion Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Chai

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Electroencephalography (EEG-based emotion recognition is an important element in psychiatric health diagnosis for patients. However, the underlying EEG sensor signals are always non-stationary if they are sampled from different experimental sessions or subjects. This results in the deterioration of the classification performance. Domain adaptation methods offer an effective way to reduce the discrepancy of marginal distribution. However, for EEG sensor signals, both marginal and conditional distributions may be mismatched. In addition, the existing domain adaptation strategies always require a high level of additional computation. To address this problem, a novel strategy named adaptive subspace feature matching (ASFM is proposed in this paper in order to integrate both the marginal and conditional distributions within a unified framework (without any labeled samples from target subjects. Specifically, we develop a linear transformation function which matches the marginal distributions of the source and target subspaces without a regularization term. This significantly decreases the time complexity of our domain adaptation procedure. As a result, both marginal and conditional distribution discrepancies between the source domain and unlabeled target domain can be reduced, and logistic regression (LR can be applied to the new source domain in order to train a classifier for use in the target domain, since the aligned source domain follows a distribution which is similar to that of the target domain. We compare our ASFM method with six typical approaches using a public EEG dataset with three affective states: positive, neutral, and negative. Both offline and online evaluations were performed. The subject-to-subject offline experimental results demonstrate that our component achieves a mean accuracy and standard deviation of 80.46% and 6.84%, respectively, as compared with a state-of-the-art method, the subspace alignment auto-encoder (SAAE, which

  20. Linking Safety Analysis to Safety Requirements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kirsten Mark

    Software for safety critical systems must deal with the hazards identified by safety analysistechniques: Fault trees, event trees,and cause consequence diagrams can be interpreted as safety requirements and used in the design activity. We propose that the safety analysis and the system design use...

  1. Safety of Research Reactors. Safety Requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    The main objective of this Safety Requirements publication is to provide a basis for safety and a basis for safety assessment for all stages in the lifetime of a research reactor. Another objective is to establish requirements on aspects relating to regulatory control, the management of safety, site evaluation, design, operation and decommissioning. Technical and administrative requirements for the safety of research reactors are established in accordance with these objectives. This Safety Requirements publication is intended for use by organizations engaged in the site evaluation, design, manufacturing, construction, operation and decommissioning of research reactors as well as by regulatory bodies

  2. Improving the Effectiveness of Speaker Verification Domain Adaptation With Inadequate In-Domain Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-20

    M speakers. We seek a probabilistic solution to domain adap- tation, and so we encode knowledge of the out-of-domain data in prior distributions...the VB solution from (16)-(21) becomes: µ =αȳ + (1− α)µout, (24) Σa =α ( 1 NT NT∑ n=1 〈ynyTn 〉 − ȳȳT ) + (1− α) Σouta (25) + α (1− α) ( ȳ − µout...non- English languages and from unseen channels. An inadequate in-domain set was provided, which consisted of 2272 samples from 1164 speakers, and

  3. No 2943. Project of law relative to nuclear transparency and safety; N. 2943. Projet de loi relatif a la transparence et a la securite en matiere nucleaire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2006-03-15

    This project of law comprises 5 titles dealing with: 1 - general dispositions: definition and scope of nuclear safety, security, radiation protection, operators liability, facilities in concern; 2 - the high nuclear safety authority: role and duties; 3 - public information in the domain of nuclear safety and radiation protection: information right of the public, local information commissions, high committee for nuclear safety transparency and information; 4 - basic nuclear facilities and transport of radioactive materials: applicable rules, police controls and measures, penal dispositions (investigations, sanctions); 5 - miscellaneous dispositions: changes made with respect to previous legislative texts. (J.S.)

  4. Breast self-examination pamphlets: a content analysis grounded in fear appeal research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kline, K N; Mattson, M

    2000-01-01

    In this study, we used the topic of breast self-examination (BSE) to illustrate how content analysis of promotional texts (already in existence, in the process of being created, or both) can provide supplementary data to that derived from audience analysis. Specifically, we used content analysis to isolate messages in BSE pamphlets that are consistent with the variables of severity, susceptibility, response efficacy, and self-efficacy, identified by existing fear appeal research and supported by other persuasion research as critical to the construction of effective health promotion messages. We then used statistical analyses to describe the relation among these 4 message variables. Our findings suggested that BSE pamphlets contain an unbalanced proportion of threat to efficacy arguments. Additionally, the efficacy messages were substantively weak. We contrasted these messages against the relatively strong mammography arguments contained in these pamphlets. We then provided recommendations for formulating stronger persuasive arguments in BSE promotional materials.

  5. Advanced characterization techniques of nonuniform indium distribution within InGaN/GaN heterostructures grown by MOCVD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, D.; Florescu, D.I.; Lee, D.S.; Ramer, J.C.; Parekh, A.; Merai, V.; Li, S.; Begarney, M.J.; Armour, E.A.; Gardner, J.J.

    2005-01-01

    Nonuniform indium distribution within InGaN/GaN single quantum well (SQW) structures with nanoscale islands grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) have been characterized by advanced characterization techniques. Robinson backscattered electron (BSE) measurements show cluster-like BSE contrast of high brightness regions, which are not centered at small dark pits in a SQW structure of spiral growth mode. By comparing with the secondary electron (SE) images, the bright cluster areas from the BSE images were found to have higher indium content compared to the surrounding dark areas. Temperature dependant photoluminescence (PL) measurement shows typical ''S-shape'' curve, which shows good correlation with nonuniform indium distribution from BSE measurement. Optical evaluation of the samples show increased PL slope efficiency of the spiral mode SQW, which can be attributed to the presence of Indium inhomogeneities. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  6. Bethe-salpeter equation from many-body perturbation theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sander, Tobias; Starke, Ronald; Kresse, Georg [Computational Materials Physics, University of Vienna, Sensengasse 8/12, 1090 Vienna (Austria)

    2013-07-01

    The Green function formalism is a powerful tool to calculate not only electronic structure within the quasi-particle (QP) picture, but it also gives access to optical absorption spectra. Starting from QP energies within the GW method, the polarizability, as central quantity, is calculated from the solution of a Bethe-Salpeter-like equation (BSE). It is usually solved within the Tamm-Dancoff Approximation (TDA) which neglects the coupling of resonant (positive frequency branch) and anti-resonant (negative frequency branch) excitations. In this work we solve the full BSE (beyond TDA) based on self-consistently calculated QP orbitals and energies for typical systems. The dielectric function is averaged over many low dimensional shifted k-meshes to obtain k-point converged results. We compare the results to recently introduced approximation to the BSE kernel. Additionally, the time-evolution ansatz is employed to calculate the polarizability, which avoids the direct solution of the BSE.

  7. The SPOR Domain, a Widely Conserved Peptidoglycan Binding Domain That Targets Proteins to the Site of Cell Division.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahashiri, Atsushi; Jorgenson, Matthew A; Weiss, David S

    2017-07-15

    Sporulation-related repeat (SPOR) domains are small peptidoglycan (PG) binding domains found in thousands of bacterial proteins. The name "SPOR domain" stems from the fact that several early examples came from proteins involved in sporulation, but SPOR domain proteins are quite diverse and contribute to a variety of processes that involve remodeling of the PG sacculus, especially with respect to cell division. SPOR domains target proteins to the division site by binding to regions of PG devoid of stem peptides ("denuded" glycans), which in turn are enriched in septal PG by the intense, localized activity of cell wall amidases involved in daughter cell separation. This targeting mechanism sets SPOR domain proteins apart from most other septal ring proteins, which localize via protein-protein interactions. In addition to SPOR domains, bacteria contain several other PG-binding domains that can exploit features of the cell wall to target proteins to specific subcellular sites. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  8. Frequency-domain and time-domain methods for feedback nonlinear systems and applications to chaos control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Zhisheng; Wang Jinzhi; Yang Ying; Huang Lin

    2009-01-01

    This paper surveys frequency-domain and time-domain methods for feedback nonlinear systems and their possible applications to chaos control, coupled systems and complex dynamical networks. The absolute stability of Lur'e systems with single equilibrium and global properties of a class of pendulum-like systems with multi-equilibria are discussed. Time-domain and frequency-domain criteria for the convergence of solutions are presented. Some latest results on analysis and control of nonlinear systems with multiple equilibria and applications to chaos control are reviewed. Finally, new chaotic oscillating phenomena are shown in a pendulum-like system and a new nonlinear system with an attraction/repulsion function.

  9. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2012-11-19

    Background: Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods.Results: To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods.Conclusion: The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. 2012 Wang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  10. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

    2012-01-01

    Background: Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods.Results: To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods.Conclusion: The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. 2012 Wang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  11. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Jim

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. Results To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. Conclusion The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

  12. Prions and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juntes Polona

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs or prion diseases are a unique group of neurodegenerative diseases of animals and humans, which always have a fatal outcome and are transmissible among animals of the same or different species. Scope and Approach. The aim of this work is to review some recent data about animal TSEs, with the emphasis on their causative agents and zoonotic potential, and to discuss why the surveillance and control measures over animal TSEs should remain in force. Key Findings and Conclusions. We still have incomplete knowledge of prions and prion diseases. Scrapie has been present for a very long time and controlled with varied success. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE emerged unnoticed, and spread within a few years to epidemic proportions, entailing enormous economic consequences and public concerns. Currently, the classical BSE epidemic is under control, but atypical cases do, and probably will, persist in bovine populations. The Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD of the cervids has been spreading in North America and has recently been detected in Europe. Preventive measures for the control of classical BSE remain in force, including the feed ban and removal of specified risk materials. However, active BSE surveillance has considerably decreased. In the absence of such preventive and control measures, atypical BSE cases in healthy slaughtered bovines might persist in the human food chain, and BSE prions might resurface. Moreover, other prion strains might emerge and spread undetected if the appropriate preventive and surveillance measures were to cease, leaving behind inestimable consequences.

  13. Safety Training: scheduled sessions in September and October 2011

    CERN Multimedia

    2011-01-01

    The following training courses are scheduled in September – October. You can find the full Safety Training programme on the Safety Training online catalogue. If you are interested in attending any of the below courses, please talk to your supervisor, then apply electronically via EDH from the course description pages, by clicking on SIGN-UP. Registration for all courses is always open – sessions for the less-requested courses are organized on a demand-basis only. Depending on the demand, a session will be organised later in the year. Alphabetical order (original course titles are maintained) Conduite de chariots élévateurs 17-OCT-11 to 18-OCT-11, 8.00 – 17.30, in French * Ergonomics - Applying ergonomic principles in the workplace 15-SEP-11, 9.00 – 12.30, in French 15-SEP-11, 14.00 – 17.30, in English Habilitation électrique : Personnel électricien effectuant des opérations du domaine de tension BTA...

  14. Anisotropy of domain wall resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viret; Samson; Warin; Marty; Ott; Sondergard; Klein; Fermon

    2000-10-30

    The resistive effect of domain walls in FePd films with perpendicular anisotropy was studied experimentally as a function of field and temperature. The films were grown directly on MgO substrates, which induces an unusual virgin magnetic configuration composed of 60 nm wide parallel stripe domains. This allowed us to carry out the first measurements of the anisotropy of domain wall resistivity in the two configurations of current perpendicular and parallel to the walls. At 18 K, we find 8.2% and 1.3% for the domain wall magnetoresistance normalized to the wall width (8 nm) in these two respective configurations. These values are consistent with the predictions of Levy and Zhang.

  15. Human-computer interface incorporating personal and application domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Thomas G [Albuquerque, NM

    2011-03-29

    The present invention provides a human-computer interface. The interface includes provision of an application domain, for example corresponding to a three-dimensional application. The user is allowed to navigate and interact with the application domain. The interface also includes a personal domain, offering the user controls and interaction distinct from the application domain. The separation into two domains allows the most suitable interface methods in each: for example, three-dimensional navigation in the application domain, and two- or three-dimensional controls in the personal domain. Transitions between the application domain and the personal domain are under control of the user, and the transition method is substantially independent of the navigation in the application domain. For example, the user can fly through a three-dimensional application domain, and always move to the personal domain by moving a cursor near one extreme of the display.

  16. Non-slipping domains of a pulled spool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, Clemens; Vaterlaus, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    We have investigated the pulled spool by considering pulling angles up to 360 ∘ . Our focus was on downward pulling forces with pulling angles in the range of 180 ∘ to 360 ∘ . In this range we have found a domain of pulling angles where the spool never starts to slip independent of the strength of the pulling force. The size of the domain depends on the static friction coefficient and on the moment of inertia of the spool. The non-slipping domain is mainly formed around the critical angle where the static friction force becomes zero. For low static friction the non-slipping domain decays into two different domains. We have determined the limiting angles of the non-slipping domains and explored the transitions from a single domain to two separated domains in parameter space. (paper)

  17. Image-domain full waveform inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sanzong

    2013-08-20

    The main difficulty with the data-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) is that it tends to get stuck in the local minima associated with the waveform misfit function. This is because the waveform misfit function is highly nonlinear with respect to changes in velocity model. To reduce this nonlinearity, we define the image-domain objective function to minimize the difference of the suboffset-domain common image gathers (CIGs) obtained by migrating the observed data and the calculated data. The derivation shows that the gradient of this new objective function is the combination of the gradient of the conventional FWI and the image-domain differential semblance optimization (DSO). Compared to the conventional FWI, the imagedomain FWI is immune to cycle skipping problems by smearing the nonzero suboffset images along wavepath. It also can avoid the edge effects and the gradient artifacts that are inherent in DSO due to the falsely over-penalized focused images. This is achieved by subtracting the focused image associated with the calculated data from the unfocused image associated with the observed data in the image-domain misfit function. The numerical results of the Marmousi model show that image-domain FWI is less sensitive the initial model than the conventional FWI. © 2013 SEG.

  18. Image-domain full waveform inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sanzong; Schuster, Gerard T.

    2013-01-01

    The main difficulty with the data-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) is that it tends to get stuck in the local minima associated with the waveform misfit function. This is because the waveform misfit function is highly nonlinear with respect to changes in velocity model. To reduce this nonlinearity, we define the image-domain objective function to minimize the difference of the suboffset-domain common image gathers (CIGs) obtained by migrating the observed data and the calculated data. The derivation shows that the gradient of this new objective function is the combination of the gradient of the conventional FWI and the image-domain differential semblance optimization (DSO). Compared to the conventional FWI, the imagedomain FWI is immune to cycle skipping problems by smearing the nonzero suboffset images along wavepath. It also can avoid the edge effects and the gradient artifacts that are inherent in DSO due to the falsely over-penalized focused images. This is achieved by subtracting the focused image associated with the calculated data from the unfocused image associated with the observed data in the image-domain misfit function. The numerical results of the Marmousi model show that image-domain FWI is less sensitive the initial model than the conventional FWI. © 2013 SEG.

  19. ''Safety rules of fatigue damage for nuclear facilities pressurized equipment at the sizing and the operation stage''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grandemange, J.M.; Faidy, C.

    2001-01-01

    This paper presents the method applied in the nuclear industry in the domain of the fatigue risk safety. It recalls the fatigue curves origins and presents the technical requirements implemented during the design and the construction. It also presents the follow-up of transients in service and the periodical examinations. (A.L.B.)

  20. A quantitative assessment of the risk of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy by tallow-based calf milk-replacer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paisley, Larry; Hostrup-Pedersen, J.

    2004-01-01

    three different levels of impurities, six different distributions of the BSE infectivity titers of CNS tissues and with and without inclusion of specified risk material (SRM). Our results suggest that tallow-based CMR could have been responsible for some BSE infections in nearly all simulations...