Case Report Frequent malaria illness episodes in two Malawian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Frequent malaria in two patients on ART after stopping CPT 57. Malawi Medical Journal 29 (1): March 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/mmj.v29i1.12. Wongani J.S. Nyangulu1, Edson Mwinjiwa1, Titus H. Divala2, Randy G. Mungwira2,. Osward Nyirenda2, Maxwell Kanjala2, Gillian Mbambo3, Jane Mallewa4, Terrie E. Taylor2,.

Consumo frequente de bebidas alcoólicas por adolescentes escolares: estudo de fatores associados Frequent consumption of alcohol by school age adolescents: study of associated factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Analy Marquardt de Matos

2010-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Analisar fatores associados ao consumo frequente de bebidas alcoólicas por adolescentes escolares em Feira de Santana, BA. MÉTODO: Estudo transversal, com amostra aleatória, estratificada por conglomerado, totalizando 10 escolas de portes diferenciados e 776 estudantes de ambos os sexos que relataram consumo de bebidas alcoólicas, na faixa etária de 14 a 19 anos, assegurando representatividade das escolas e alunos. O instrumento auto-aplicável foi elaborado segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS e questionários validados em outros estudos. A coleta garantiu procedimentos para anonimato e sigilo. Foram considerados expostos adolescentes que referiram consumo frequente (em pelo menos todo final de semana. RESULTADOS: O consumo frequente/pesado mostrou associações significantes com sexo masculino, consumo precoce, parceiro sexual pouco conhecido, problemas com substâncias psicoativas (SPAs na família, coabitação com companheiro, renda própria, tráfico de drogas, consumo com amigos, atividades na escola, motivações (ansiedade, animação/prazer; e consequências (outras SPAs, brigas, inadimplência ao trabalhoescola. CONCLUSÕES: O conhecimento dos fatores pessoais, interpessoais, familiares e ambientais associados ao consumo de bebidas alcoólicas por adolescentes devem ser considerados na implementação de programas escolares e políticas públicas de prevenção, visando comportamentos que minimizem a exposição ao risco associado.OBJECTIVES: To analyze factors associated with the frequent consumption of alcohol by school age adolescents in Feira de Santana, Bahia. METHOD: Cross sectional study with random sampling, stratified by clusters, totaling 10 schools of different sizes. Although 1,409 students were included in the sample, only 776 of both genders, aged 14 to 19 years who reported alcohol drinking were included in the analysis, providing representativeness of schools and students. Data collection tools

Influence of Frequent Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis on Food Preference

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ipema, Karin; Franssen, Casper; van der Schans, Cees; Smit, Lianne; Noordman, Sabine; Haisma, Hinke

Objective: Dialysis patients frequently report a change of taste that is reversible after renal transplantation, suggesting that uremic toxins may negatively influence taste. Currently, frequent nocturnal home hemodialysis (NHHD) is the most effective method of hemodialysis, and is associated with

Short communication: Persistent socio-economic inequality in frequent headache among Danish adolescents from 1991 to 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Holstein, B E; Andersen, A; Denbaek, A M; Johansen, A; Michelsen, S I; Due, P

2018-05-01

The association between socio-economic status (SES) and headache among adolescents is an understudied issue, and no study has examined whether such an association changes over time. The aim was to examine trends in socio-economic inequality in frequent headache among 11- to 15-year-olds in Denmark from 1991 to 2014, using occupational social class (OSC) as indicator of SES. The study applies data from the Danish part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. HBSC includes nationally representative samples of 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds. This study combines data from seven data survey years from 1991 to 2014, participation rate 88.6%, n = 31,102. We report absolute inequality as per cent difference in frequent headache between high and low OSC and relative inequality as odds ratio for frequent headache by OSC. In the entire study population, 10.4% reported frequent headache. There was a significant increase in frequent headache from 8.0% in 1991 to 12.9% in 2014, test for trend, p economic inequality in frequent headache was persistent from 1991 to 2014. There was a significant and persistent socio-economic inequality, i.e. increasing prevalence of frequent headache with decreasing OSC. The association between socio-economic position and headache did not significantly change over time, i.e. the statistical interaction between OSC and survey year was insignificant. The prevalence of frequent headache among adolescents increases with decreasing SES. This socio-economic inequality has been persistent among adolescents in Denmark from 1991 to 2014. Clinicians should be aware of this social inequality. © 2018 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Characterization sampling equipment status report - April through June 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, R.J.

1996-01-01

This report is the third status report on Characterization Sampling Equipment. It covers April through June 1996 activities. Subsequent reports are intended to be issued quarterly. The degree of success in sample recovery and in the availability of equipment to take samples is reported on as are the measures being taken to track and improve recovery and availability. Planned activities are also presented

Classification and Target Group Selection Based Upon Frequent Patterns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

W.H.L.M. Pijls (Wim); R. Potharst (Rob)

2000-01-01

textabstractIn this technical report , two new algorithms based upon frequent patterns are proposed. One algorithm is a classification method. The other one is an algorithm for target group selection. In both algorithms, first of all, the collection of frequent patterns in the training set is

Frequent nonprescription stimulant use and risky behaviors in college students: the role of effortful control.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Adam M; Graziano, Paulo A; Balkhi, Amanda M; McNamara, Joseph P H; Cottler, Linda B; Meneses, Evander; Geffken, Gary R

2015-01-01

The goal of this study was to (a) investigate the association between nonprescription stimulant use (NPSU) and risky behaviors, including risky sex, driving, financial behaviors, and drug use and (b) collect preliminary evidence on mechanisms that may link NPSU to risky behaviors. A sample of 555 college students was collected between August 2010 and February 2012. Students completed several self-report measures assessing their drug use history, attention-deficit and hyperactivity symptoms, temperament, and risky behaviors beyond drug use. Those who reported more frequent NPSU were more likely to engage in high-risk behavior across all 4 domains studied. Further, effortful control abilities partially mediated the link between NPSU and risky behaviors. These results highlight the associated risks of frequent NPSU for college students as well as provide future directions for examining effortful control as a potentially important mechanism linking NPSU to other risky behaviors.

Drawing Evaluation Report for Sampling Equipment Drawings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BOGER, R.M.

1999-01-01

This document presents the results of a task to update the evaluation of River Protection Project (WP) sampling equipment drawings and updates the assigned drawings category as either essential, support, or general drawings. This report updates the drawing evaluation that was originally done per Engineering Task Plan For Truck 3 and 4 Drawing Compliance and Evaluation. The scope of this report is limited to updating the evaluation and identification of drawing category for drawings of certain tank waste sampling equipment for which the RPP Characterization Project has been assigned custody, including: vapor sampling, grab sampling, auger sampling, all core sampling equipment, and Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) (see LMHC contract No. 519, release 10). This report does not address drawings for other waste tank deployed equipment systems having similar assigned custody, such as, Cone Penetrometer system, or Long Length Contaminated Equipment (LLCE). The Cone Penetrometer system, which is depicted on vendor drawings, (not H- series), is not currently turned over to operations for deployment. The LLCE equipment was just recently assigned to Characterization Project and was not included in the original scope for this update and will be addressed in the evaluation update scheduled for later in fiscal year 1999, when equipment ownership is determined

Drawing evaluation report for sampling equipment drawings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WILSON, G.W.

1999-01-01

This document presents the results of a task to evaluate Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) sampling equipment drawings and identifies drawings category as either essential, support, or general drawings. This report completes the drawing evaluation task as outlined in Engineering Task Plan For Truck 3 and 4 Drawing Compliance and Evaluation (Wilson, 1997). The scope of this report is limited to an evaluation and identification of drawing category for drawings of certain tank waste sampling equipment for which the TRWS Characterization Project has been assigned custody, including: vapor sampling, grab sampling, auger sampling, and all core sampling equipment (see LMHC Task Order 304). This report does not address drawings for other waste tank deployed equipment systems having similar assigned custody, such as, Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA), Cone Penetrometer system, or Long Length Contaminated Equipment (LLCE). The LDUA drawings are addressed in the Characterization Equipment Essential Drawings (HNF 1998). The Cone Penetrometer system drawings which are vendor drawings (not H- series) is not currently turned over to operations for deployment. The LLCE equipment was just recently assigned to Characterization Project and were not included in the original scope for this evaluation and will be addressed in the evaluation update scheduled for fiscal year 1999

Less screen time and more frequent vigorous physical activity is associated with lower risk of reporting negative mental health symptoms among Icelandic adolescents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soffia M Hrafnkelsdottir

Full Text Available Few studies have explored the potential interrelated associations of screen time and physical activity with mental health in youth, particularly using objective methods. We examined cross-sectional associations of these variables among Icelandic adolescents, using objective and subjective measurements of physical activity.Data were collected in the spring of 2015 from 315 tenth grade students (mean age 15.8 years in six elementary schools in metropolitan Reykjavík, Iceland. Participants reported, via questionnaire, on demographics, weekly frequency of vigorous physical activity, daily hours of screen time and mental health status (symptoms of depression, anxiety and somatic complaints, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Total physical activity was measured over one week with wrist-worn accelerometers. Body composition was determined by DXA-scanning. Poisson regression analysis was used to explore independent and interactive associations of screen time and physical activity with mental health variables, adjusting for gender, body fat percentage and maternal education.Less screen time (below the group median of 5.3 h/day and more frequent vigorous physical activity (≥4x/week were each associated with reporting fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and life dissatisfaction. No significant associations were observed between objectively measured physical activity and mental health outcomes. Interactive regression analysis showed that the group reporting both less screen time and more frequent vigorous physical activity had the lowest risk of reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and life dissatisfaction.Reports of less screen time and more frequent vigorous physical activity were associated with lower risk of reporting mental health problems among Icelandic adolescents. Those who reported a combination of engaging in less screen time and more frequent vigorous physical activity had the lowest risk

Perceived Quality of Social Relations and Frequent Drunkenness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærulff, Thora M; Rivera, Francisco; Jiménez-Iglesias, Antonia

2014-01-01

in School-aged Children Study (HBSC) 2010 survey were used including 1177 female and 1126 male students aged between 15 and 16 years. RESULTS: For both genders, students reporting low school satisfaction had increased odds of frequent drunkenness. Among females, low and medium levels of classmate support...... predictors of frequent drunkenness among female than male students and that other factors than social relations may contribute to explain excessive alcohol use among Spanish adolescents....

Sample exchange/evaluation (SEE) report - Phase III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, W.I.

1996-01-01

This report describes the results from Phase III of the Sample Exchange Evaluation (SEE) program. The SEE program is used to compare analytical laboratory performance on samples from the Hanford Site's high level waste tanks

Sleep and dream habits in a sample of French college students who report no sleep disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallat, Raphael; Eskinazi, Mickael; Nicolas, Alain; Ruby, Perrine

2018-02-06

There is a lack of up-to-date data on sleep and dream habits of college students. To fill in this gap, we used an online questionnaire sent to the student mailing lists of two major universities of Lyon (Lyon 1 and Lyon 2) for the recruitment of an functional magnetic resonance imaging study with sleep disorders as exclusion criteria. In the sample (1,137 French college students, 411 males, mean age = 22.2 ± 2.4 years, body mass index = 22.0 ± 3.2 kg m -2 ), on average, the participants reported spending about 8 hr in bed during weekdays, 9 hr during the weekends, and 90.9% of them reported no difficulty falling asleep. Less than 0.4% of students reported to have sleep-walking episodes regularly, but nearly 7% reported regular sleep-talking episodes. The average dream recall frequency was about 3 mornings per week with a dream in mind. Dream recall frequency was positively correlated with the clarity of dream content and the frequency of lucid dreaming, and was negatively correlated with age. Fourteen percent of the students reported frequent lucid dreams, and 6% reported frequent recurrent dreams. We found a gender effect for several sleep and dream parameters, including dream recall frequency and time in bed, both of which were higher in women than in men. We have also observed differences between academic disciplines, namely humanities students (Lyon 2) reported spending more time in bed than sciences students (Lyon 1). These results confirm a gender difference for several sleep and dream parameters, and suggest a link between academic disciplines and sleep duration. © 2018 European Sleep Research Society.

Reporting altered test results in hemolyzed samples: is the cure worse than the disease?

Science.gov (United States)

Lippi, Giuseppe; Cervellin, Gianfranco; Plebani, Mario

2017-07-26

The management of laboratory data in unsuitable (hemolyzed) samples remains an almost unresolved dilemma. Whether or not laboratory test results obtained by measuring unsuitable specimens should be made available to the clinicians has been the matter of fierce debates over the past decades. Recently, an intriguing alternative to suppressing test results and recollecting the specimen has been put forward, entailing the definition and implementation of specific algorithms that would finally allow reporting a preanalytically altered laboratory value within a specific comment about its uncertainty of measurement. This approach carries some advantages, namely the timely communication of potentially life-threatening laboratory values, but also some drawbacks. These especially include the challenging definition of validated performance specifications for hemolyzed samples, the need to producing reliable data with the lowest possible uncertainty, the short turnaround time for repeating most laboratory tests, the risk that the comments may be overlooked in short-stay and frequently overcrowded units (e.g. the emergency department), as well as the many clinical advantages of a direct communication with the physician in charge of the patient. Despite the debate remains open, we continue supporting the suggestion that suppressing data in unsuitable (hemolyzed) samples and promptly notifying the clinicians about the need to recollect the samples remains the most (clinically and analytically) safe practice.

Frequent Pairs in Data Streams: Exploiting Parallelism and Skew

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campagna, Andrea; Kutzkow, Konstantin; Pagh, Rasmus

2011-01-01

We introduce the Pair Streaming Engine (PairSE) that detects frequent pairs in a data stream of transactions. Our algorithm finds the most frequent pairs with high probability, and gives tight bounds on their frequency. It is particularly space efficient for skewed distribution of pair supports...... items mining in data streams. We show how to efficiently scale these approaches to handle large transactions. We report experimental results showcasing precision and recall of our method. In particular, we find that often our method achieves excellent precision, returning identical upper and lower...... bounds on the supports of the most frequent pairs....

High plasma corticosterone levels persist during frequent automatic blood sampling in rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abelson, Klas S P; Adem, Bashir; Royo, Felix

2005-01-01

Corticosterone levels in blood may be used as a marker of stress in rodents, provided that the blood sampling procedure itself is non-stressful. Automated blood sampling equipment (Accusampler) allows blood sampling without any interference with the animal and might be useful as a tool for an on......-line measurement of stress markers in blood. However, the impact of the blood sampling itself on the corticosterone levels in blood is unknown. The present study was designed to evaluate whether the frequency of blood sampling influences the plasma corticosterone levels in male and female rats. During anaesthesia...... the importance of considering the frequency of blood withdrawal during automated blood sampling. This parameter may have an impact on the experimental results when using blood corticosterone levels as a stress marker, but also during any in vivo study where blood is collected, since high corticosterone levels...

Frequently Used Coping Scales: A Meta-Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Tsukasa

2015-10-01

This article reports the frequency of the use of coping scales in academic journals published from 1998 to 2010. Two thousand empirical journal articles were selected from the EBSCO database. The COPE, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, Religious-COPE and Coping Response Inventory were frequently mentioned. In particular, the COPE (20.2%) and Ways of Coping Questionnaire (13.6%) were used the most frequently. In this literature reviewed, coping scales were most often used to assess coping with health issues (e.g. illness, pain and medical diagnoses) over other types of stressors, and patients were the most frequent participants. Further, alpha coefficients were estimated for the COPE subscales, and correlations between the COPE subscales and coping outcomes were calculated, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, negative affect, psychological distress, physical symptoms and well-being. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Drawing evaluation report for sampling equipment drawings; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WILSON, G.W.

1999-01-01

This document presents the results of a task to evaluate Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) sampling equipment drawings and identifies drawings category as either essential, support, or general drawings. This report completes the drawing evaluation task as outlined in Engineering Task Plan For Truck 3 and 4 Drawing Compliance and Evaluation (Wilson, 1997). The scope of this report is limited to an evaluation and identification of drawing category for drawings of certain tank waste sampling equipment for which the TRWS Characterization Project has been assigned custody, including: vapor sampling, grab sampling, auger sampling, and all core sampling equipment (see LMHC Task Order 304). This report does not address drawings for other waste tank deployed equipment systems having similar assigned custody, such as, Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA), Cone Penetrometer system, or Long Length Contaminated Equipment (LLCE). The LDUA drawings are addressed in the Characterization Equipment Essential Drawings (HNF 1998). The Cone Penetrometer system drawings which are vendor drawings (not H- series) is not currently turned over to operations for deployment. The LLCE equipment was just recently assigned to Characterization Project and were not included in the original scope for this evaluation and will be addressed in the evaluation update scheduled for fiscal year 1999

Altered gene expression in blood and sputum in COPD frequent exacerbators in the ECLIPSE cohort.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dave Singh

Full Text Available Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD who are defined as frequent exacerbators suffer with 2 or more exacerbations every year. The molecular mechanisms responsible for this phenotype are poorly understood. We investigated gene expression profile patterns associated with frequent exacerbations in sputum and blood cells in a well-characterised cohort. Samples from subjects from the ECLIPSE COPD cohort were used; sputum and blood samples from 138 subjects were used for microarray gene expression analysis, while blood samples from 438 subjects were used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR testing. Using microarray, 150 genes were differentially expressed in blood (>±1.5 fold change, p≤0.01 between frequent compared to non-exacerbators. In sputum cells, only 6 genes were differentially expressed. The differentially regulated genes in blood included downregulation of those involved in lymphocyte signalling and upregulation of pro-apoptotic signalling genes. Multivariate analysis of the microarray data followed by confirmatory PCR analysis identified 3 genes that predicted frequent exacerbations; B3GNT, LAF4 and ARHGEF10. The sensitivity and specificity of these 3 genes to predict the frequent exacerbator phenotype was 88% and 33% respectively. There are alterations in systemic immune function associated with frequent exacerbations; down-regulation of lymphocyte function and a shift towards pro-apoptosis mechanisms are apparent in patients with frequent exacerbations.

Sample preparation in foodomic analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinović, Tamara; Šrajer Gajdošik, Martina; Josić, Djuro

2018-04-16

Representative sampling and adequate sample preparation are key factors for successful performance of further steps in foodomic analyses, as well as for correct data interpretation. Incorrect sampling and improper sample preparation can be sources of severe bias in foodomic analyses. It is well known that both wrong sampling and sample treatment cannot be corrected anymore. These, in the past frequently neglected facts, are now taken into consideration, and the progress in sampling and sample preparation in foodomics is reviewed here. We report the use of highly sophisticated instruments for both high-performance and high-throughput analyses, as well as miniaturization and the use of laboratory robotics in metabolomics, proteomics, peptidomics and genomics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Samples: Integrated Summary Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Britt, Phillip F [ORNL

2015-03-01

Analysis of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Samples: Integrated Summary Report. Summaries of conclusions, analytical processes, and analytical results. Analysis of samples taken from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico in support of the WIPP Technical Assessment Team (TAT) activities to determine to the extent feasible the mechanisms and chemical reactions that may have resulted in the breach of at least one waste drum and release of waste material in WIPP Panel 7 Room 7 on February 14, 2014. This report integrates and summarizes the results contained in three separate reports, described below, and draws conclusions based on those results. Chemical and Radiochemical Analyses of WIPP Samples R-15 C5 SWB and R16 C-4 Lip; PNNL-24003, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, December 2014 Analysis of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Underground and MgO Samples by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL); SRNL-STI-2014-00617; Savannah River National Laboratory, December 2014 Report for WIPP UG Sample #3, R15C5 (9/3/14); LLNL-TR-667015; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, January 2015 This report is also contained in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Technical Assessment Team Report; SRNL-RP-2015-01198; Savannah River National Laboratory, March 17, 2015, as Appendix C: Analysis Integrated Summary Report.

Aquifer Sampling Tube Completion Report: 100 Area and Hanford Townsite Shorelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, R.E.; Borghese, J.V.; Erb, D.B.

1998-02-01

Groundwater contamination is known or suspected along the Hanford Site shoreline of the Columbia River adjacent to the retired reactor areas. Along the shoreline away from the reactor areas, where contamination is presumed to be absent, monitoring sites are frequently widely spaced or unavailable to confirm the presumption. Previous characterizations of contamination near the river have relied on data from a limited number of near-river wells, contaminant plume migration predictions, and river bank seepage sampling to anticipate shoreline conditions. In recent years, new methods have been developed to obtain groundwater samples from the aquifer near the groundwater/river water interface. These methods include using (1) divers to obtain samples of pore water from riverbed sediment and (2) sampling tubes that are driven into the aquifer at the shoreline. The latter method also permits sampling the aquifer at multiple depths, which helps to determine the thickness of the potentially contaminated groundwater layer that discharges into the river

Sample Exchange Evaluation (SEE) Report - Phase II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winters, W.I.

1994-09-28

This report describes the results from Phase II of the Sample Exchange Evaluation (SEE) Program, a joint effort to compare analytical laboratory performance on samples from the Hanford Site`s high-level waste tanks. In Phase II, the program has been expanded to include inorganic constituents in addition to radionuclides. Results from Phase II that exceeded 20% relative percent difference criteria are identified.

Sample Exchange Evaluation (SEE) Report - Phase II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, W.I.

1994-01-01

This report describes the results from Phase II of the Sample Exchange Evaluation (SEE) Program, a joint effort to compare analytical laboratory performance on samples from the Hanford Site's high-level waste tanks. In Phase II, the program has been expanded to include inorganic constituents in addition to radionuclides. Results from Phase II that exceeded 20% relative percent difference criteria are identified

Stratospheric tritium sampling. Final progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, A.S.; Oestlund, H.G.

1985-09-01

Stratospheric tritium sampling was part of Project Airstream (sponsored by the US Department of Energy) between 1975 and 1983. Data from the final deployment in November 1983 are reported here, and the results of the 9 years of effort are summarized. 9 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Practical reporting times for environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayne, C.K.; Schmoyer, D.D.; Jenkins, R.A.

1993-02-01

Preanalytical holding times for environmental samples are specified because chemical and physical characteristics may change between sampling and chemical analysis. For example, the Federal Register prescribes a preanalytical holding time of 14 days for volatile organic compounds in soil stored at 4 degrees C. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) uses a more technical definition that the preanalytical holding time is the day when the analyte concentration for an environmental sample falls below the lower 99% confidence interval on the analyte concentration at day zero. This study reviews various holding time definitions and suggest a new preanalytical holding time approach using acceptable error rates for measuring an environmental analyte. This practical reporting time (PRT) approach has been applied to nineteen volatile organic compounds and four explosives in three environmental soil samples. A PRT nomograph of error rates has been developed to estimate the consequences of missing a preanalytical holding time. This nomograph can be applied to a large class of analytes with concentrations that decay linearly or exponentially with time regardless of sample matrices and storage conditions

Practical reporting times for environmental samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bayne, C.K.; Schmoyer, D.D.; Jenkins, R.A.

1993-02-01

Preanalytical holding times for environmental samples are specified because chemical and physical characteristics may change between sampling and chemical analysis. For example, the Federal Register prescribes a preanalytical holding time of 14 days for volatile organic compounds in soil stored at 4{degrees}C. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) uses a more technical definition that the preanalytical holding time is the day when the analyte concentration for an environmental sample falls below the lower 99% confidence interval on the analyte concentration at day zero. This study reviews various holding time definitions and suggest a new preanalytical holding time approach using acceptable error rates for measuring an environmental analyte. This practical reporting time (PRT) approach has been applied to nineteen volatile organic compounds and four explosives in three environmental soil samples. A PRT nomograph of error rates has been developed to estimate the consequences of missing a preanalytical holding time. This nomograph can be applied to a large class of analytes with concentrations that decay linearly or exponentially with time regardless of sample matrices and storage conditions.

Supporting Frequent Updates in R-Trees: A Bottom-Up Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Mong Li; Hsu, Wynne; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

2004-01-01

Advances in hardware-related technologies promise to enable new data management applications that monitor continuous processes. In these applications, enormous amounts of state samples are obtained via sensors and are streamed to a database. Further, updates are very frequent and may exhibit loca...

Analysis report for 241-BY-104 Auger samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beck, M.A.

1994-11-10

This report describes the analysis of the surface crust samples taken from single-shell tank (SST) BY-104, suspected of containing ferrocyanide wastes. This sampling and analysis will assist in ascertaining whether there is any hazard due to combustion (burning) or explosion of these solid wastes. These characteristics are important to future efforts to characterize the salt and sludge in this type of waste tank. This report will outline the methodology and detail the results of analyses performed during the characterization of this material. All analyses were performed by Westinghouse Hanford Company at the 222-S laboratory unless stated otherwise.

Analysis report for 241-BY-104 Auger samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, M.A.

1994-01-01

This report describes the analysis of the surface crust samples taken from single-shell tank (SST) BY-104, suspected of containing ferrocyanide wastes. This sampling and analysis will assist in ascertaining whether there is any hazard due to combustion (burning) or explosion of these solid wastes. These characteristics are important to future efforts to characterize the salt and sludge in this type of waste tank. This report will outline the methodology and detail the results of analyses performed during the characterization of this material. All analyses were performed by Westinghouse Hanford Company at the 222-S laboratory unless stated otherwise

Liquid effluent Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) implementation summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lueck, K.J.

1995-01-01

This report summarizes liquid effluent analytical data collected during the Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) Implementation Program, evaluates whether or not the sampling performed meets the requirements of the individual SAPs, compares the results to the WAC 173-200 Ground Water Quality Standards. Presented in the report are results from liquid effluent samples collected (1992-1994) from 18 of the 22 streams identified in the Consent Order (No. DE 91NM-177) requiring SAPs

46 CFR 280.11 - Example of calculation and sample report.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Example of calculation and sample report. 280.11 Section... OPERATORS § 280.11 Example of calculation and sample report. (a) Example of calculation. The provisions of this part may be illustrated by the following example: Company A operates several vessels engaged in...

105-DR Large sodium fire facility soil sampling data evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adler, J.G.

1996-01-01

This report evaluates the soil sampling activities, soil sample analysis, and soil sample data associated with the closure activities at the 105-DR Large Sodium Fire Facility. The evaluation compares these activities to the regulatory requirements for meeting clean closure. The report concludes that there is no soil contamination from the waste treatment activities

Moderators of the relationship between frequent family demands and inflammation among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Cynthia S; Hoffer, Lauren C; Chen, Edith

2017-05-01

Frequent demands from others in relationships are associated with worse physiological and health outcomes. The present research investigated 2 potential moderators of the relationship between frequency of demands from one's family and inflammatory profiles among adolescents: (a) closeness of adolescents' relationships with their families, and (b) the frequency with which adolescents provided help to their families. Two hundred thirty-four adolescents, ages 13-16 (Mage = 14.53; 47.83% male), completed a daily dairy in which they reported on the frequency of demands made by family members. They were also interviewed about the closeness of their family relationships and reported in the daily diary on how frequently they provided help to their families. Adolescents also underwent a blood draw to assess low-grade inflammation and proinflammatory cytokine production in response to bacterial stimulation. More frequent demands from family predicted higher levels of low-grade inflammation and cytokine production in response to bacterial stimulation in adolescents. Family closeness moderated the relationship between frequent demands and stimulated cytokine production such that more frequent demands predicted higher cytokine production among adolescents who were closer to their families. Furthermore, frequency of providing help moderated the relationship between frequent demands and both low-grade inflammation and stimulated cytokine production, such that more frequent demands predicted worse inflammatory profiles among adolescents who provided more help to their families. These findings build on previous work on family demands and health to show under what circumstances family demands might have a physiological cost. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Frequency, stability and differentiation of self-reported school fear and truancy in a community sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Metzke Christa

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Surprisingly little is known about the frequency, stability, and correlates of school fear and truancy based on self-reported data of adolescents. Methods Self-reported school fear and truancy were studied in a total of N = 834 subjects of the community-based Zurich Adolescent Psychology and Psychopathology Study (ZAPPS at two times with an average age of thirteen and sixteen years. Group definitions were based on two behavioural items of the Youth Self-Report (YSR. Comparisons included a control group without indicators of school fear or truancy. The three groups were compared across questionnaires measuring emotional and behavioural problems, life-events, self-related cognitions, perceived parental behaviour, and perceived school environment. Results The frequency of self-reported school fear decreased over time (6.9 vs. 3.6% whereas there was an increase in truancy (5.0 vs. 18.4%. Subjects with school fear displayed a pattern of associated internalizing problems and truants were characterized by associated delinquent behaviour. Among other associated psychosocial features, the distress coming from the perceived school environment in students with school fear is most noteworthy. Conclusion These findings from a community study show that school fear and truancy are frequent and display different developmental trajectories. Furthermore, previous results are corroborated which are based on smaller and selected clinical samples indicating that the two groups display distinct types of school-related behaviour.

Statistical issues in reporting quality data: small samples and casemix variation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaslavsky, A M

2001-12-01

To present two key statistical issues that arise in analysis and reporting of quality data. Casemix variation is relevant to quality reporting when the units being measured have differing distributions of patient characteristics that also affect the quality outcome. When this is the case, adjustment using stratification or regression may be appropriate. Such adjustments may be controversial when the patient characteristic does not have an obvious relationship to the outcome. Stratified reporting poses problems for sample size and reporting format, but may be useful when casemix effects vary across units. Although there are no absolute standards of reliability, high reliabilities (interunit F > or = 10 or reliability > or = 0.9) are desirable for distinguishing above- and below-average units. When small or unequal sample sizes complicate reporting, precision may be improved using indirect estimation techniques that incorporate auxiliary information, and 'shrinkage' estimation can help to summarize the strength of evidence about units with small samples. With broader understanding of casemix adjustment and methods for analyzing small samples, quality data can be analysed and reported more accurately.

Association of general psychological factors with frequent attendance in primary care: a population-based cross-sectional observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajek, André; Bock, Jens-Oliver; König, Hans-Helmut

2017-03-24

Whereas several studies have examined the association between frequent attendance in primary care and illness-specific psychological factors, little is known about the relation between frequent attendance and general psychological factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between being a frequent attender in primary care and general psychological factors. Data were used from a large, population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and above in Germany in 2014 (n = 7,446). Positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, optimism, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-regulation were included as general psychological factors. The number of self-reported GP visits in the past twelve months was used to quantify frequency of attendance; individuals with more than 9 visits (highest decile) were defined as frequent attenders. Multiple logistic regressions showed that being a frequent attender was positively associated with less life satisfaction [OR: 0.79 (0.70-0.89)], higher negative affect [OR: 1.38 (1.17-1.62)], less self-efficacy [OR: 0.74 (0.63-0.86)], less self-esteem [OR: 0.65 (0.54-0.79)], less self-regulation [OR: 0.74 (0.60-0.91)], and higher perceived stress [OR: 1.46 (1.28-1.66)], after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, morbidity and lifestyle factors. However, frequent attendance was not significantly associated with positive affect and self-regulation. The present study highlights the association between general psychological factors and frequent attendance. As frequent GP visits produce high health care costs and are potentially associated with increased referrals and use of secondary health care services, this knowledge might help to address these individuals with high needs.

33 CFR 159.317 - Sampling and reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Section 159.317 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED... Operations § 159.317 Sampling and reporting. (a) The owner, operator, master or other person in charge of a... protocols, including chain of custody; (2) Laboratory analytical information including methods used...

Legacy sample disposition project. Volume 2: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurley, R.N.; Shifty, K.L.

1998-02-01

This report describes the legacy sample disposition project at the Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), which assessed Site-wide facilities/areas to locate legacy samples and owner organizations and then characterized and dispositioned these samples. This project resulted from an Idaho Department of Environmental Quality inspection of selected areas of the INEEL in January 1996, which identified some samples at the Test Reactor Area and Idaho Chemical Processing Plant that had not been characterized and dispositioned according to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements. The objective of the project was to manage legacy samples in accordance with all applicable environmental and safety requirements. A systems engineering approach was used throughout the project, which included collecting the legacy sample information and developing a system for amending and retrieving the information. All legacy samples were dispositioned by the end of 1997. Closure of the legacy sample issue was achieved through these actions

Wilsonville wastewater sampling program. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1983-10-01

As part of its contrast to design, build and operate the SRC-1 Demonstration Plant in cooperation with the US Department of Energy (DOE), International Coal Refining Company (ICRC) was required to collect and evaluate data related to wastewater streams and wastewater treatment procedures at the SRC-1 Pilot Plant facility. The pilot plant is located at Wilsonville, Alabama and is operated by Catalytic, Inc. under the direction of Southern Company Services. The plant is funded in part by the Electric Power Research Institute and the DOE. ICRC contracted with Catalytic, Inc. to conduct wastewater sampling. Tasks 1 through 5 included sampling and analysis of various wastewater sources and points of different steps in the biological treatment facility at the plant. The sampling program ran from May 1 to July 31, 1982. Also included in the sampling program was the generation and analysis of leachate from SRC product using standard laboratory leaching procedures. For Task 6, available plant wastewater data covering the period from February 1978 to December 1981 was analyzed to gain information that might be useful for a demonstration plant design basis. This report contains a tabulation of the analytical data, a summary tabulation of the historical operating data that was evaluated and comments concerning the data. The procedures used during the sampling program are also documented.

FREQUENT SUBGRAPH MINING OF PERSONALIZED SIGNALING PATHWAY NETWORKS GROUPS PATIENTS WITH FREQUENTLY DYSREGULATED DISEASE PATHWAYS AND PREDICTS PROGNOSIS.

Science.gov (United States)

Durmaz, Arda; Henderson, Tim A D; Brubaker, Douglas; Bebek, Gurkan

2017-01-01

Large scale genomics studies have generated comprehensive molecular characterization of numerous cancer types. Subtypes for many tumor types have been established; however, these classifications are based on molecular characteristics of a small gene sets with limited power to detect dysregulation at the patient level. We hypothesize that frequent graph mining of pathways to gather pathways functionally relevant to tumors can characterize tumor types and provide opportunities for personalized therapies. In this study we present an integrative omics approach to group patients based on their altered pathway characteristics and show prognostic differences within breast cancer (p network-based classifier algorithms and showed that our unsupervised approach generates more robust and biologically relevant clustering whereas previous approaches failed to report specific functions for similar patient groups or classify patients into prognostic groups. These results could serve as a means to improve prognosis for future cancer patients, and to provide opportunities for improved treatment options and personalized interventions. The proposed novel graph mining approach is able to integrate PPI networks with gene expression in a biologically sound approach and cluster patients in to clinically distinct groups. We have utilized breast cancer and glioblastoma multiforme datasets from microarray and RNA-Seq platforms and identified disease mechanisms differentiating samples. Supplementary methods, figures, tables and code are available at https://github.com/bebeklab/dysprog.

Sample Preparation Report of the Fourth OPCW Confidence Building Exercise on Biomedical Sample Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Udey, R. N. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Corzett, T. H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Alcaraz, A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2014-07-03

Following the successful completion of the 3rd biomedical confidence building exercise (February 2013 – March 2013), which included the analysis of plasma and urine samples spiked at low ppb levels as part of the exercise scenario, another confidence building exercise was targeted to be conducted in 2014. In this 4th exercise, it was desired to focus specifically on the analysis of plasma samples. The scenario was designed as an investigation of an alleged use of chemical weapons where plasma samples were collected, as plasma has been reported to contain CWA adducts which remain present in the human body for several weeks (Solano et al. 2008). In the 3rd exercise most participants used the fluoride regeneration method to analyze for the presence of nerve agents in plasma samples. For the 4th biomedical exercise it was decided to evaluate the analysis of human plasma samples for the presence/absence of the VX adducts and aged adducts to blood proteins (e.g., VX-butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and aged BuChE adducts using a pepsin digest technique to yield nonapeptides; or equivalent). As the aging of VX-BuChE adducts is relatively slow (t1/2 = 77 hr at 37 °C [Aurbek et al. 2009]), soman (GD), which ages much more quickly (t1/2 = 9 min at 37 °C [Masson et al. 2010]), was used to simulate an aged VX sample. Additional objectives of this exercise included having laboratories assess novel OP-adducted plasma sample preparation techniques and analytical instrumentation methodologies, as well as refining/designating the reporting formats for these new techniques.

Unhappiness Intensifies the Avoidance of Frequent Losses While Happiness Overcomes It.

Science.gov (United States)

Yechiam, Eldad; Telpaz, Ariel; Krupenia, Stas; Rafaeli, Anat

2016-01-01

The implication of spontaneous and induced unhappiness to people's decision style is examined. It is postulated that unhappy individuals have a greater tendency to avoid frequent losses because these can have depleting effects, and unhappy individuals are more sensitive to such effects. This is evaluated in Study 1 by using an annoying customer call manipulation to induce negative affect; and by examining the effect of this manipulation on choices in an experiential decision task (the Iowa Gambling task). In Study 2 we examined the association between self-reported (un)happiness and choices on the same decision task. In Study 1 the induction of negative affect led to avoidance of choice alternatives with frequent losses, compared to those yielding rarer but larger losses. Specifically, this pertained to the advantageous alternatives with frequent vs. non-frequent losses. In Study 2 unhappiness was similarly associated with less exposure to frequent losses; while extreme high happiness was associated with no tendency to avoid frequent losses when these were part of an advantageous alternative. The findings clarify the role of happiness in decision making processes by indicating that unhappiness induces sensitivity to the frequency rather than to the total effect of negative events.

Delineating sampling procedures: Pedagogical significance of analysing sampling descriptions and their justifications in TESL experimental research reports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Miin-Hwa Lim

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Teaching second language learners how to write research reports constitutes a crucial component in programmes on English for Specific Purposes (ESP in institutions of higher learning. One of the rhetorical segments in research reports that merit attention has to do with the descriptions and justifications of sampling procedures. This genre-based study looks into sampling delineations in the Method-related sections of research articles on the teaching of English as a second language (TESL written by expert writers and published in eight reputed international refereed journals. Using Swales’s (1990 & 2004 framework, I conducted a quantitative analysis of the rhetorical steps and a qualitative investigation into the language resources employed in delineating sampling procedures. This investigation has considerable relevance to ESP students and instructors as it has yielded pertinent findings on how samples can be appropriately described to meet the expectations of dissertation examiners, reviewers, and supervisors. The findings of this study have furnished insights into how supervisors and instructors can possibly teach novice writers ways of using specific linguistic mechanisms to lucidly describe and convincingly justify the sampling procedures in the Method sections of experimental research reports.

[Prevalence and factors associated with frequent attendence in family medicine clinic].

Science.gov (United States)

Parejo Maestre, N; Lendínez-de la Cruz, J M; Bermúdez-Torres, F M; Gónzalez-Contero, L; Gutierrez-Espinosa de Los Monteros, M P; Espejo-Almazán María, T

2016-01-01

The use of health services has seen a steep rise. The frequent users are responsible for significant economic, human and social impact. The objective is to analyze the characteristics of frequent attenders in our Health Center, in order to evaluate the possibility of taking corrective measures to improve the quality of care and efficiency in the use of resources. Descriptive observational study of a sample of 379 patients over 18 years old. The dependent variables were attendance (number of visits to their family doctor during the previous year), frequent attendance (10 or more visits to the family doctor in the last year), and persistent frequent attenders (10 or more visits to the family doctor in each of the last two years). Data were collected from medical records and by telephone interview. The mean attendance was 6.83 (95%CI: 6.13-7.53), frequent attendance reached 25.4% (95%CI: 21.4-29.6), and persistent frequent attenders, 1.6% (95%CI: 0.5-2.9). Frequent attendance was associated with sex, age, marital status, educational level, family structure, existence of chronic disease, use of anxiolytic and antidepressants, request for additional tests, and referrals to other specialists, proximity to the health center, and level of satisfaction with their family doctor. The low persistent frequent attenders found suggests that frequent attendance could be largely due to factors related to professional and organization. Studies are required to address the high level of consumption of psychotropic drugs, and improving professional skills in dealing with mental problems. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Determinants of frequent Internet use in an urban kidney transplant population in the United States: characterizing the digital divide.

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Mark; Saunders, Milda; Josephson, Michelle A; Becker, Yolanda T; Lee, Christopher

2015-03-01

The Internet is a staple of electronic communication and is essential to the emerging telemonitoring and health information technology interventions for adults with chronic diseases. To identify determinants of frequent Internet use in an urban kidney transplant population in the United States. A single center, cross-sectional survey study. An urban Midwestern transplant center. 78 pretransplant and 177 posttransplant patients. Frequent Internet use, defined as using the Internet more than 5 hours per week. Only 38% of participants reported being frequent Internet users. Non-Hispanic blacks and participants who reported their race/ethnicity as "other" were significantly less likely than whites to report being frequent Internet users. Women were 59% less likely than men to be frequent users of the Internet. Those who reported having kidney disease for more than 3 years were more likely to report being frequent Internet users. As education increased, Internet use increased. As age increased, Internet use decreased. Alternatives to electronic information sources and/or additional resources should be considered for those who may fall in the so-called digital divide.

Frequent Exertion and Frequent Standing at Work, by Industry and Occupation Group - United States, 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Shockey, Taylor M; Luckhaupt, Sara E; Groenewold, Matthew R; Lu, Ming-Lun

2018-01-12

Repeated exposure to occupational ergonomic hazards, such as frequent exertion (repetitive bending or twisting) and frequent standing, can lead to injuries, most commonly musculoskeletal disorders (1). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders have been estimated to cost the United States approximately $2.6 billion in annual direct and indirect costs (2). A recent literature review provided evidence that prolonged standing at work also leads to adverse health outcomes, such as back pain, physical fatigue, and muscle pain (3). To determine which industry and occupation groups currently have the highest prevalence rates of frequent exertion at work and frequent standing at work, CDC analyzed data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) regarding currently employed adults in the United States. By industry, the highest prevalence of both frequent exertion and frequent standing at work was among those in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry group (70.9%); by occupation, the highest prevalence was among those in the construction and extraction occupation group (76.9%). Large differences among industry and occupation groups were found with regard to these ergonomic hazards, suggesting a need for targeted interventions designed to reduce workplace exposure.

Frequent silencing of RASSF1A by DNA methylation in thymic neuroendocrine tumours.

Science.gov (United States)

Kajiura, Koichiro; Takizawa, Hiromitsu; Morimoto, Yuki; Masuda, Kiyoshi; Tsuboi, Mitsuhiro; Kishibuchi, Reina; Wusiman, Nuliamina; Sawada, Toru; Kawakita, Naoya; Toba, Hiroaki; Yoshida, Mitsuteru; Kawakami, Yukikiyo; Naruto, Takuya; Imoto, Issei; Tangoku, Akira; Kondo, Kazuya

2017-09-01

Aberrant methylation of promoter CpG islands (CGIs) of tumour suppressor genes is a common epigenetic mechanism underlying cancer pathogenesis. The methylation patterns of thymic tumours have not been studied in detail since such tumours are rare. Herein, we sought to identify genes that could serve as epigenetic targets for thymic neuroendocrine tumour (NET) therapy. Genome-wide screening for aberrantly methylated CGIs was performed in three NET samples, seven thymic carcinoma (TC) samples, and eight type-B3 thymoma samples. The methylation status of thymic epithelial tumours (TETs) samples was validated by pyrosequencing in a larger cohort. The expression status was analysed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry. We identified a CGI on a novel gene, RASSF1A, which was strongly hypermethylated in NET, but not in thymic carcinoma or B3 thymoma. RASSF1A was identified as a candidate gene statistically and bibliographically, as it showed frequent CGI hypermethylation in NET by genome-wide screening. Pyrosequencing confirmed significant hypermethylation of a RASSF1A CGI in NET. Low-grade NET tissue was more strongly methylated than high-grade NET. Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical staining revealed that RASSF1A mRNA and protein expression levels were negatively regulated by DNA methylation. RASSF1A is a tumour suppressor gene epigenetically dysregulated in NET. Aberrant methylation of RASSF1A has been reported in various tumours, but this is the first report of RASSF1A hypermethylation in TETs. RASSF1A may represent an epigenetic therapeutic target in thymic NET. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Frequent hemodialysis with NxStage system in pediatric patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Stuart L; Silverstein, Douglas M; Leung, Jocelyn C; Feig, Daniel I; Soletsky, Beth; Knight, Cathy; Warady, Bradley A

2008-01-01

Recent evidence from adult hemodialysis (HD) patient studies reveal improved biochemical control and reported health-related quality of life after transition from conventional thrice weekly to daily home maintenance HD treatment. Published pediatric frequent dialysis experiences demonstrate similar improvement but all used conventional HD machines, which employ a treated municipal water supply, thereby frequently exposing patients to proinflammatory components. We report our pediatric experience with six-times-weekly HD using the NxStage system, which uses sterile dialysis fluid to provide dialysis in the home or center setting. Four patients (weight range 38-61.4 kg) completed the 16-week study. Patients exhibited progressive reductions in casual pretreatment systolic and diastolic blood pressures, discontinuation of antihypertensive medications, and decreased blood pressure load by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Mean serum phosphorus improved without change in phosphorus binder medication, and all three patients with a normalized protein catabolic rate 1.1 g/kg per day. Patients reported no adverse effects. Variable changes in proinflammatory cytokine levels were observed. We suggest that frequent HD with the NxStage system be considered for children who would benefit from home-based maintenance dialysis.

Acceptance test report for core sample trucks 3 and 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corbett, J.E.

1996-01-01

The purpose of this Acceptance Test Report is to provide documentation for the acceptance testing of the rotary mode core sample trucks 3 and 4, designated as HO-68K-4600 and HO-68K-4647, respectively. This report conforms to the guidelines established in WHC-IP-1026, ''Engineering Practice Guidelines,'' Appendix M, ''Acceptance Test Procedures and Reports.'' Rotary mode core sample trucks 3 and 4 were based upon the design of the second core sample truck (HO-68K-4345) which was constructed to implement rotary mode sampling of the waste tanks at Hanford. Successful completion of acceptance testing on June 30, 1995 verified that all design requirements were met. This report is divided into four sections, beginning with general information. Acceptance testing was performed on trucks 3 and 4 during the months of March through June, 1995. All testing was performed at the ''Rock Slinger'' test site in the 200 West area. The sequence of testing was determined by equipment availability, and the initial revision of the Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) was used for both trucks. Testing was directed by ICF-KH, with the support of WHC Characterization Equipment Engineering and Characterization Project Operations. Testing was completed per the ATP without discrepancies or deviations, except as noted

Relationship between accuracy and number of samples on statistical quantity and contour map of environmental gamma-ray dose rate. Example of random sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuda, Hideharu; Minato, Susumu

2002-01-01

The accuracy of statistical quantity like the mean value and contour map obtained by measurement of the environmental gamma-ray dose rate was evaluated by random sampling of 5 different model distribution maps made by the mean slope, -1.3, of power spectra calculated from the actually measured values. The values were derived from 58 natural gamma dose rate data reported worldwide ranging in the means of 10-100 Gy/h rates and 10 -3 -10 7 km 2 areas. The accuracy of the mean value was found around ±7% even for 60 or 80 samplings (the most frequent number) and the standard deviation had the accuracy less than 1/4-1/3 of the means. The correlation coefficient of the frequency distribution was found 0.860 or more for 200-400 samplings (the most frequent number) but of the contour map, 0.502-0.770. (K.H.)

30 CFR 90.210 - Respirable dust samples; report to operator.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY HEALTH STANDARDS-COAL MINERS WHO HAVE EVIDENCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PNEUMOCONIOSIS Sampling Procedures § 90.210 Respirable dust samples; report to operator. (a) The Secretary shall... for voiding any samples; and, (7) The Social Security Number of the part 90 miner. (b) Upon receipt...

Adverse childhood experiences and frequent insufficient sleep in 5 U.S. States, 2009: a retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Daniel P; Liu, Yong; Presley-Cantrell, Letitia R; Edwards, Valerie J; Wheaton, Anne G; Perry, Geraldine S; Croft, Janet B

2013-01-03

Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have previously been demonstrated to be adversely associated with a variety of health outcomes in adulthood, their specific association with sleep among adults has not been examined. To better address this issue, this study examines the relationship between eight self-reported ACEs and frequent insufficient sleep among community-dwelling adults residing in 5 U.S. states in 2009. To assess whether ACEs were associated with frequent insufficient sleep (respondent did not get sufficient rest or sleep ≥ 14 days in past 30 days) in adulthood, we analyzed ACE data collected in the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a random-digit-dialed telephone survey in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Washington. ACEs included physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, household mental illness, incarcerated household members, household substance abuse, parental separation/divorce, and witnessing domestic violence before age 18. Smoking status and frequent mental distress (FMD) (≥ 14 days in past 30 days when self-perceived mental health was not good) were assessed as potential mediators in multivariate logistic regression analyses of frequent insufficient sleep by ACEs adjusted for race/ethnicity, gender, education, and body mass index. Overall, 28.8% of 25,810 respondents reported frequent insufficient sleep, 18.8% were current smokers, 10.8% reported frequent mental distress, 59.5% percent reported ≥ 1 ACE, and 8.7% reported ≥ 5 ACEs. Each ACE was associated with frequent insufficient sleep in multivariate analyses. Odds of frequent insufficient sleep were 2.5 (95% CI, 2.1-3.1) times higher in persons with ≥ 5 ACEs compared to those with no ACEs. Most relationships were modestly attenuated by smoking and FMD, but remained significant. Childhood exposures to eight indicators of child maltreatment and household dysfunction were significantly associated with frequent insufficient sleep during

Adverse childhood experiences and frequent insufficient sleep in 5 U.S. States, 2009: a retrospective cohort study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chapman Daniel P

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs have previously been demonstrated to be adversely associated with a variety of health outcomes in adulthood, their specific association with sleep among adults has not been examined. To better address this issue, this study examines the relationship between eight self-reported ACEs and frequent insufficient sleep among community-dwelling adults residing in 5 U.S. states in 2009. Methods To assess whether ACEs were associated with frequent insufficient sleep (respondent did not get sufficient rest or sleep ≥14 days in past 30 days in adulthood, we analyzed ACE data collected in the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a random-digit-dialed telephone survey in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Washington. ACEs included physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, household mental illness, incarcerated household members, household substance abuse, parental separation/divorce, and witnessing domestic violence before age 18. Smoking status and frequent mental distress (FMD (≥14 days in past 30 days when self-perceived mental health was not good were assessed as potential mediators in multivariate logistic regression analyses of frequent insufficient sleep by ACEs adjusted for race/ethnicity, gender, education, and body mass index. Results Overall, 28.8% of 25,810 respondents reported frequent insufficient sleep, 18.8% were current smokers, 10.8% reported frequent mental distress, 59.5% percent reported ≥1 ACE, and 8.7% reported ≥ 5 ACEs. Each ACE was associated with frequent insufficient sleep in multivariate analyses. Odds of frequent insufficient sleep were 2.5 (95% CI, 2.1-3.1 times higher in persons with ≥5 ACEs compared to those with no ACEs. Most relationships were modestly attenuated by smoking and FMD, but remained significant. Conclusions Childhood exposures to eight indicators of child maltreatment and household dysfunction were significantly

Double Shell Tank (DST) Process Waste Sampling Subsystem Definition Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

RASMUSSEN, J.H.

2000-01-01

This report defines the Double-Shell Tank (DST) Process Waste Sampling Subsystem (PWSS). This subsystem definition report fully describes and identifies the system boundaries of the PWSS. This definition provides a basis for developing functional, performance, and test requirements (i.e., subsystem specification), as necessary, for the PWSS. The resultant PWSS specification will include the sampling requirements to support the transfer of waste from the DSTs to the Privatization Contractor during Phase 1 of Waste Feed Delivery

The most frequent hospital-acquired infections related to medical interventions in hospitals in Vojvodina province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ćosić Gorana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Infections associated with medical procedures, or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs, occur in all hospitals worldwide. An integrated infection-control program with HAI surveillance as its cornerstone can reduce the incidence of HAIs and contribute to economic benefits. The aim of this paper was to report the prevalence and epidemiological features of HAI in hospitals in Vojvodina, Serbia. The study population examined herein was compromised of all of the patients present in the ward at least 48 hours before the day of surveillance. It also included patients that were scheduled for discharge or transfer, and those temporarily absent from the ward for examinations or diagnostic procedures. Data were collected using uniform questionnaires, created by the scientific board of the study. Data from paper questionnaires were entered into a specially created electronic database and analyzed using standard statistical methods. A total of 2 435 patients were included in the study. The frequency of patients with HAI was 6.6% (95% CI: 5.6%-7.6%, and the prevalence of infection was 7.1% (95% CI: 6.1%-8.1%. HAI prevalence was significantly different depending on the ward, ranging from 1.7% in the gynecology department to 18.1% in intensive care departments. The most common type of HAI was pneumonia, representing 20.9% of all reported HAIs. The second most frequently reported type of HAI was surgical site infection (19.8%, followed by urinary tract infection (17.4%, gastro-intestinal infection (14.5% and bloodstream infection (11.0%. The most commonly found microorganisms were Enterococcus spp. (14.5%, Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.5%, Acinetobacter spp. (13.7%, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. (12.1%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.5% and Clostridium difficile (7.3%. The most frequently used antibiotics in therapy were third generation cephalosporins to which most of the isolates showed resistance. Although the consumption of carbapenems in this sample was only

Materials and Methods for Streamlined Laboratory Analysis of Environmental Samples, FY 2016 Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Addleman, Raymond S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Naes, Benjamin E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); McNamara, Bruce K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Olsen, Khris B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Chouyyok, Wilaiwan [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Willingham, David G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Spigner, Angel C. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-11-30

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) relies upon laboratory analysis of environmental samples (typically referred to as “swipes”) collected during on-site inspections of safeguarded facilities to support the detection and deterrence of undeclared activities. Unfortunately, chemical processing and assay of the samples is slow and expensive. A rapid, effective, and simple extraction process and analysis method is needed to provide certified results with improved timeliness at reduced costs (principally in the form of reduced labor), while maintaining or improving sensitivity and efficacy. To address these safeguard needs the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) explored and demonstrated improved methods for environmental sample (ES) analysis. Improvements for both bulk and particle analysis were explored. To facilitate continuity and adoption, the new sampling materials and processing methods will be compatible with existing IAEA protocols for ES analysis. PNNL collaborated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which performed independent validation of the new bulk analysis methods and compared performance to traditional IAEA’s Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL) protocol. ORNL efforts are reported separately. This report describes PNNL’s FY 2016 progress, which was focused on analytical application supporting environmental monitoring of uranium enrichment plants and nuclear fuel processing. In the future the technology could be applied to other safeguard applications and analytes related to fuel manufacturing, reprocessing, etc. PNNL’s FY 2016 efforts were broken into two tasks and a summary of progress, accomplishments and highlights are provided below. Principal progress and accomplishments on Task 1, Optimize Materials and Methods for ICP-MS Environmental Sample Analysis, are listed below. • Completed initial procedure for rapid uranium extraction from ES swipes based upon carbonate-peroxide chemistry (delivered to ORNL for

Lincosamide resistance is less frequent in Denmark in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius from first-time canine superficial pyoderma compared with skin isolates from clinical samples with unknown clinical background.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Rikke; Boysen, Lene; Berg, June; Guardabassi, Luca; Damborg, Peter

2015-06-01

Antimicrobial resistance may be overestimated in bacterial isolates from clinical samples because veterinarians often submit samples in cases of treatment failure or recurrent cases, which are more frequently associated with resistant strains. To assess to what extent the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolated from first-time superficial pyoderma differs from canine skin isolates from clinical samples with unknown clinical background. Two study groups were enrolled in Denmark between March 2012 and October 2013: 57 dogs with first-time superficial pyoderma and no prior antimicrobial treatment (Group A); and 289 different dogs for which skin specimens were submitted for culture during the study (Group B). One S. pseudintermedius isolate from each dog was confirmed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by broth microdilution. Resistance levels in the two groups were compared by Fisher's exact test. Clindamycin resistance was less frequent in Group A (14%) than in Group B (27%) (P = 0.02). Similar trends were observed for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (1.8 versus 4.8%), chloramphenicol (8.8 versus 14.5%), enrofloxacin (1.8 versus 3.5%), oxacillin (1.8 versus 4.8%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (3.5 versus 5.9%). Oxacillin resistance was significantly associated with resistance to six of seven non-β-lactams. The prevalence of lincosamide resistance is markedly influenced by patients' clinical and antimicrobial treatment history. To limit selection of multidrug-resistant bacteria, lincosamides are appropriate empirical choices for treatment of first-time superficial pyoderma even though resistance is not infrequent. Culture and susceptibility testing are, however, recommended for all pyoderma patients. © 2015 ESVD and ACVD.

Feasibility of Momentary Sampling Assessment of Cannabis Use in Adolescents and Young Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Shimrit K.; de Moor, Carl; Kendall, Ashley D.; Shrier, Lydia A.

2014-01-01

This study examines the feasibility of recruiting and retaining adolescents and young adults with frequent cannabis use for a 2-week momentary sampling study of cannabis use. Participants responded to random signals on a handheld computer with reports of their use. Participants also initiated reports pre- and post-cannabis use. Participants had…

Partial report and other sampling procedures overestimate the duration of iconic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Appelman, I B

1980-03-01

In three experiments, subjects estimated the duration of a brief visual image (iconic memory) either directly by adjusting onset of a click to offset of the visual image, or indirectly with a Sperling partial report (sampling) procedure. The results indicated that partial report and other sampling procedures may reflect other brief phenomena along with iconic memory. First, the partial report procedure yields a greater estimate of the duration of iconic memory than the more direct click method. Second, the partial report estimate of the duration of iconic memory is affected if the subject is required to simultaneously retain a list of distractor items (memory load), while the click method estimate of the duration of iconic memory is not affected by a memory load. Finally, another sampling procedure based on visual cuing yields different estimates of the duration of iconic memory depending on how many items are cued. It was concluded that partial report and other sampling procedures overestimate the duration of iconic memory.

Frequent food insecurity among injection drug users: correlates and concerns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Strike Carol

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Food insecurity and nutrition are two topics that are under-researched among injection drug users (IDUs. Our study examined the extent and correlates of food insecurity among a sample of IDUs and explored whether there is an association between food insecurity and injection-related HIV risk. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were collected at a needle exchange program in London, Ontario, Canada between September 2006 and January 2007. Participants included 144 English-speaking IDUs who had injected drugs in the past 30 days. Participants were asked about their socio-demographic characteristics, HIV risk behaviours, food insecurity, and health/social service use. Results In the past 6 months, 54.5% of participants reported that on a daily/weekly basis they did not have enough to eat because of a lack of money, while 22.1% reported this type of food insecurity on a monthly basis. Moreover, 60.4% and 24.3% reported that they did not eat the quality or quantity of food they wanted on a daily/weekly or a monthly basis, respectively. Participants reported re-using someone else’s injection equipment: 21% re-used a needle, 19% re-used water, and 37.3% re-used a cooker. The odds of sharing injection equipment were increased for food insecure individuals. Conclusions Findings show that IDUs have frequent and variable experiences of food insecurity and these experiences are strongly correlated with sharing of injection-related equipment. Such behaviours may increase the likelihood of HIV and HCV transmission in this population. Addressing food-related needs among IDUs is urgently needed.

Self-medication: frequent practice in adolescence? Study on a sample of high school students in Sorocaba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inês Maria Crespo Gutierres Pardo

2013-06-01

bjectives: self-medication is a practice that has been widely discussed around the world, becoming the target of several studies, including Brazil. Self-medication can cause harm. Children and adolescents are the group most inclined to irrational use of medications. The present study aims to evaluate the behavior of high school students about self-medication. Methods: a cross-sectional sample of 79 high school teenagers, aged 14 - 18 years old of both genders. The questionnaire included the following variables: age, gender, grade, frequency of use of medications, who guided the consumption and self-medication, which were evaluated using dichotomous questions, specifying the(s drug(s used and their purpose. Results: the self-medication occurred in 96.2% of the sample, with no difference between genders (p = 0.19 or age (p = 0.61. Among those who self-medicated on their own, 55.88% based on old prescriptions. The most consumed pharmacological groups were analgesics, followed by medicines for colds or flu. Almost half (48.1% participants reported using nonprescription medicines. There was association between adolescents' self-medication and maternal self-medication (p = 0.02. Conclusion: it is extremely worrying the large percentage of adolescents who engage in self-medication, in view of the potential health risks. The consumption of drugs without medical advice by mothers proved to be an influencing factor in adolescents' self-medication.

Tank 241-U-106 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-U-106. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedures that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Effect of adrenal medullectomy on metabolic responses to chronic intermittent hypoxia in the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Mi-Kyung; Han, Woobum; Joo, Hoon; Bevans-Fonti, Shannon; Shiota, Masakazu; Stefanovski, Darko; Polotsky, Vsevolod Y

2017-04-01

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with type 2 diabetes. We have previously developed a mouse model of intermittent hypoxia (IH) mimicking oxyhemoglobin desaturations in patients with sleep apnea and have shown that IH increases fasting glucose, hepatic glucose output, and plasma catecholamines. We hypothesize that adrenal medulla modulates glucose responses to IH and that such responses can be prevented by adrenal medullectomy. We performed adrenal medullectomy or sham surgery in lean C57BL/6J mice, which were exposed to IH or intermittent air (control) for 4 wk followed by the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIVGTT) in unanesthetized unrestrained animals. IH was administered during the 12-h light phase (9 AM to 9 PM) by decreasing inspired oxygen from 21 to 6.5% 60 cycles/h. Insulin sensitivity (S I ), insulin independent glucose disposal [glucose effectiveness (S G )], and the insulin response to glucose (AIR G ) were determined using the minimal model method. In contrast to our previous data obtained in restrained mice, IH did not affect fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin levels in sham-operated mice. IH significantly decreased S G but did not affect S I and AIR G Adrenal medullectomy decreased fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin levels and increased glycogen synthesis in the liver in hypoxic mice but did not have a significant effect on the FSIVGTT metrics. We conclude that, in the absence of restraints, IH has no effect on glucose metabolism in lean mice with exception of decreased S G , whereas adrenal medullectomy decreases fasting glucose and insulin levels in the IH environment. NEW & NOTEWORTHY To our knowledge, this is the first study examining the role of adrenal catecholamines in glucose metabolism during intermittent hypoxia (IH) in unanesthetized unrestrained C57BL/6J mice. We report that IH did not affect fasting glucose and insulin levels nor insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion during, whereas glucose

Operational air sampling report, July--December 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyons, C.L.

1992-11-01

Air sampling is one of the more useful ways of assessing the effectiveness of operational radiation safety programs at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air sampling programs document NTS airborne radionuclide concentrations in various work locations and environments. These concentrations generally remain well below the Derived Air Concentration (DAC) values prescribed by the Department of Energy (DOE 5480.11, Attachment 1) or the Derived Concentration Guide (DCG) values prescribed by the Department of Energy DOE 5400.5, Chapter Ill. The Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) tunnel complexes, Area 12 Test Support Compound and the Area 6 Decontamination Pad and Laundry air sampling programs are summarized in this report. Evaluations are based on Analytical Services Department (ASD) Counting Laboratory analyses and Health Protection Department (HPD)/Radiological Field Operations Section (RFOS) radiation protection technician's (RPT) or health physicists' calculations for air samples collected July 1 through December 31, 1991. Of the NTS operational air sampling programs in the tunnel complexes, the initial mining and event reentry and recovery operations represent the only real airborne radioactive inhalation potentials to personnel. Monthly filter and scintillation cell samples were taken and counted in RDA-200 Radon Detectors to document working levels of radon/thoron daughters and picocurie/liter (PCVL) concentrations of radon gas. Weekly Drierite samples for tritium analysis were taken in the active tunnel complexes to document any changes in normal background levels or reentry drifts as they are advanced toward ground zero (GZ) areas. Underground water sources are considered primary transporters of tritium from old event areas

Under-reporting of food intake is frequent among Brazilian free-living older persons: a doubly labelled water study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferriolli, Eduardo; Pfrimer, Karina; Moriguti, Julio C; Lima, Nereida K C; Moriguti, Eny K U; Formighieri, Paulo F; Scagliusi, Fernanda B; Marchini, Julio S

2010-03-15

The assessment of food intake is essential for the development of dietetic interventions. Accuracy is low when intake is assessed by questionnaires, the under-reporting of food intake being frequent. Most such studies, however, were performed in developed countries and there is little data about the older population of developing nations. This study aimed to verify the total energy expenditure (TEE) of independent older Brazilians living in an urban area, through the doubly labelled water (DLW) method and to compare it with the reported energy intake obtained through the application of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Initially, 100 volunteers aged from 60 to 75 years had their body composition determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Five volunteers of each quartile of body fat percentage had their energy expenditure determined by DLW. The mean age of the subjects included in this phase of the study was 66.4 +/- 3.5 years, and ten of the subjects were men. The mean TEE was 2565 +/- 614 and 2154 +/- 339 kcal.day(-1) for men and women, respectively. The Physical Activity Level (PAL) was 1.58 +/- 0.31 and 1.52 +/- 0.22, respectively. Under-reporting of food intake was highly prevalent, with a mean percentage of reported intake in relation to measured TEE of -17.7%. Thus, under-reporting of food intake is highly prevalent among Brazilian independent older persons. The DLW method is an important tool in nutritional studies and its use is to be recommended in developing countries. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tank 241-TY-101 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-TY-101. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedure that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-C-107 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-C-107. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedures that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-C-102 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-C-102. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedures that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-B-103 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-B-103. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedure that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-BX-104 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-BX-104. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedure that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-SX-106 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-SX-106. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedure that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-T-107 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-T-107. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedure that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Operational air sampling report, January--June 30, 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyons, C.L.

1992-09-01

Nevada Test Site postshot and tunnel events generate beta/gamma fission products. The Reynolds Electrical ampersand Engineering Co., Inc. air sampling program is designed for measurement of these radionuclides at various facilities supporting these events. Monthly radon sampling is done for documentation of working levels in the tunnel complexes, which would be expected to hove the highest radon levels for on-site facilities. Out of a total of 281 air samples taken in the tunnel complexes, 25 showed airborne fission products with concentrations well below their respective Derived Air Concentrations (DAC). All of these were related to event reentry or mineback operations. Tritiated water vapor and radon levels were very similar to previously reported levels. The 975 air samples taken at the Area-6 decontamination bays and laundry were again well below any DAC calculation standard and negative for any airborne fission products from laboratory analyses

Putative tumour-suppressor gene DAB2 is frequently down regulated by promoter hypermethylation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong, Joanna H; Lo, Kwok W; To, Ka F; Ng, David C; Chau, Shuk L; So, Ken K; Leung, Patrick P; Lee, Tin L; Lung, Raymond W; Chan, Michael W; Chan, Anthony W

2010-01-01

Human Disabled-2 (DAB2), is a multi-function signalling molecule that it is frequently down-regulated in human cancers. We aimed to investigate the possible tumour suppressor effect of DAB2 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We studied the expression of DAB2 in NPC cell lines, xenografts and primary tumour samples. The status of promoter methylation was assessed by methylation specific PCR and bisulfite sequencing. The functional role of DAB2 in NPC was investigated by re-introducing DAB2 expression into NPC cell line C666-1. Decrease or absent of DAB2 transcript was observed in NPC cell lines and xenografts. Loss of DAB2 protein expression was seen in 72% (33/46) of primary NPC as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. Aberrant DAB2 promoter methylation was detected in 65.2% (30/46) of primary NPC samples by methylation specific PCR. Treatment of the DAB2 negative NPC cell line C666-1 with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine resulted in restoration of DAB2 expression in a dose-dependent manner. Overexpression of DAB2 in NPC cell line C666-1 resulted in reduced growth rate and 35% reduction in anchorage-dependent colony formation, and inhibition of serum-induced c-Fos expression compared to vector-transfected controls. Over expression of DAB2 resulted in alterations of multiple pathways as demonstrated by expression profiling and functional network analysis, which confirmed the role of DAB2 as an adaptor molecule involved in multiple receptor-mediated signalling pathways. We report the frequent down regulation of DAB2 in NPC and the promoter hypermethylation contributes to the loss of expression of DAB2. This is the first study demonstrating frequent DAB2 promoter hypermethylation in human cancer. Our functional studies support the putative tumour suppressor effect of DAB2 in NPC cells

Operability test report for rotary mode core sampling system number 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corbett, J.E.

1996-01-01

This report documents the successful completion of operability testing for the Rotary Mode Core Sampling (RMCS) system number-sign 3. The Report includes the test procedure (WHC-SD-WM-OTP-174), exception resolutions, data sheets, and a test report summary

Frequent video game players resist perceptual interference.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron V Berard

Full Text Available Playing certain types of video games for a long time can improve a wide range of mental processes, from visual acuity to cognitive control. Frequent gamers have also displayed generalized improvements in perceptual learning. In the Texture Discrimination Task (TDT, a widely used perceptual learning paradigm, participants report the orientation of a target embedded in a field of lines and demonstrate robust over-night improvement. However, changing the orientation of the background lines midway through TDT training interferes with overnight improvements in overall performance on TDT. Interestingly, prior research has suggested that this effect will not occur if a one-hour break is allowed in between the changes. These results have suggested that after training is over, it may take some time for learning to become stabilized and resilient against interference. Here, we tested whether frequent gamers have faster stabilization of perceptual learning compared to non-gamers and examined the effect of daily video game playing on interference of training of TDT with one background orientation on perceptual learning of TDT with a different background orientation. As a result, we found that non-gamers showed overnight performance improvement only on one background orientation, replicating previous results with the interference in TDT. In contrast, frequent gamers demonstrated overnight improvements in performance with both background orientations, suggesting that they are better able to overcome interference in perceptual learning. This resistance to interference suggests that video game playing not only enhances the amplitude and speed of perceptual learning but also leads to faster and/or more robust stabilization of perceptual learning.

Frequent video game players resist perceptual interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Berard, Aaron V; Cain, Matthew S; Watanabe, Takeo; Sasaki, Yuka

2015-01-01

Playing certain types of video games for a long time can improve a wide range of mental processes, from visual acuity to cognitive control. Frequent gamers have also displayed generalized improvements in perceptual learning. In the Texture Discrimination Task (TDT), a widely used perceptual learning paradigm, participants report the orientation of a target embedded in a field of lines and demonstrate robust over-night improvement. However, changing the orientation of the background lines midway through TDT training interferes with overnight improvements in overall performance on TDT. Interestingly, prior research has suggested that this effect will not occur if a one-hour break is allowed in between the changes. These results have suggested that after training is over, it may take some time for learning to become stabilized and resilient against interference. Here, we tested whether frequent gamers have faster stabilization of perceptual learning compared to non-gamers and examined the effect of daily video game playing on interference of training of TDT with one background orientation on perceptual learning of TDT with a different background orientation. As a result, we found that non-gamers showed overnight performance improvement only on one background orientation, replicating previous results with the interference in TDT. In contrast, frequent gamers demonstrated overnight improvements in performance with both background orientations, suggesting that they are better able to overcome interference in perceptual learning. This resistance to interference suggests that video game playing not only enhances the amplitude and speed of perceptual learning but also leads to faster and/or more robust stabilization of perceptual learning.

HSMNR belongs to the most frequent types of hereditary neuropathy in the Czech Republic and is twice more frequent than HMSNL.

Science.gov (United States)

Šafka Brožková, D; Haberlová, J; Mazanec, R; Laštůvková, J; Seeman, P

2016-08-01

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type Russe (HMSNR), also called CMT4G, is an autosomal recessive inherited peripheral neuropathy (IPN) caused by a founder mutation in the HK1 gene. HMSNR affects only patients with Roma origin, similar to the better known HMSN type Lom clarified earlier. By testing IPN patients with Roma origin, we realized that HMSNR affects surprisingly many patients in the Czech Republic. HMSNR is one of the most frequent types of IPN in this country and appears to be twice more frequent than HMSNL. Pronounced lower limb atrophies and severe deformities often lead to walking inability in even young patients, but hands are usually only mildly affected even after many years of disease duration. The group of 20 patients with HMSNR presented here is the first report about the prevalence of HMSNR from central Europe. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Year 2000 compliance status report for core sampling equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BOGER, R.M.

1999-01-01

Several pieces of equipment that support core sampling activities are ''date aware'' and could be affected by the roll over to the year 2000. This report documents the testing and remedial efforts for this equipment

The more frequent types of human papillomavirus in Cuban samples of cervix cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rios Hernandez, Maria de los Angeles; Hernandez Menendez, Maite; Aguilar Vela de Oro, Francisco Orlando

2010-01-01

Cervix cancer (UCC) is considered a sexually transmitted disease due to factors involved in its appearance and development and this infection is recognized as the main etiological agent of this entity. In Cuba this type of tumor is placed in 2nd category in incidence and in 4th place in mortality among the malignant disease affecting the female sex. The objective of present study is to determine the types of human virus papilloma (HVP) present in samples of cervix tumors in Cuban women, as well as to describe the behavior of different risk factors associated with this disease. Forty five samples of cervix cancer were analyzed and the presence of 20 types of HVP was determined by polymerase chain reaction with specific primers founding in them a 91,1% of positivity. Genotype 16 was the more prevalent, followed by the 18, 45, 31, 39, 51, 56, 59, PAP23A. The low risk type 6 and 11 weren't founded in samples. Promiscuity was the more interesting risk factor in our study. Knowledge of the viral types present in cervix cancer in our patients is very important when we approach the development and the use of prophylactic and therapeutical vaccines

Epidemiology of frequent attenders: a 3-year historic cohort study comparing attendance, morbidity and prescriptions of one-year and persistent frequent attenders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ter Riet Gerben

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background General Practitioners spend a disproportionate amount of time on frequent attenders. So far, trials on the effect of interventions on frequent attenders have shown negative results. However, these trials were conducted in short-term frequent attenders. It would be more reasonable to target intervention at persistent frequent attenders. Typical characteristics of persistent frequent attenders, as opposed to 1-year frequent attenders and non-frequent attenders, may generate hypotheses regarding modifiable factors on which new randomized trials may be designed. Methods We used the data of all 28,860 adult patients from 5 primary healthcare centers. Frequent attenders were patients whose attendance rate ranked in the (age and sex adjusted top 10 percent during 1 year (1-year frequent attenders or 3 years (persistent frequent attenders. All other patients on the register over the 3-year period were referred to as non-frequent attenders. The lists of medical problems coded by the GP using the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC were used to assess morbidity. First, we determined which proportion of 1-year frequent attenders was still a frequent attender during the next two consecutive years and calculated the GPs' workload for these patients. Second, we compared morbidity and number of prescriptions for non-frequent attenders, 1-year frequent attenders and persistent frequent attenders. Results Of all 1-year frequent attenders, 15.4% became a persistent frequent attender equal to 1.6% of all patients. The 1-year frequent attenders (3,045; 10.6% were responsible for 39% of the face-to-face consultations; the 470 patients who would become persistent frequent attenders (1.6% were responsible for 8% of all consultations in 2003. Persistent frequent attenders presented more social problems, more psychiatric problems and medically unexplained physical symptoms, but also more chronic somatic diseases (especially diabetes

Frequently Asked Questions about Bunion Surgery

Science.gov (United States)

... A | Print | Share Frequently Asked Questions About Bunion Surgery Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) and ... best for you. 5. How can I avoid surgery? Sometimes observation of the bunion is all that ...

Patient-reported causes of heart failure in a large European sample

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timmermans, Ivy; Denollet, Johan; Pedersen, Susanne S.

2018-01-01

), psychosocial (35%, mainly (work-related) stress), and natural causes (32%, mainly heredity). There were socio-demographic, clinical and psychological group differences between the various categories, and large discrepancies between prevalence of physical risk factors according to medical records and patient...... distress (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 0.94–2.51, p = 0.09), and behavioral causes and a less threatening view of heart failure (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.40–1.01, p = 0.06). Conclusion: European patients most frequently reported comorbidities, smoking, stress, and heredity as heart failure causes, but their causal......Background: Patients diagnosed with chronic diseases develop perceptions about their disease and its causes, which may influence health behavior and emotional well-being. This is the first study to examine patient-reported causes and their correlates in patients with heart failure. Methods...

The Qualitative Interview Study of Persistent and Nonpersistent Substance Use in the MTA: Sample Characteristics, Frequent Use, and Reasons for Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, James M; Wigal, Timothy; Jensen, Peter S; Mitchell, John T; Weisner, Thomas S; Murray, Desiree; Arnold, L Eugene; Hechtman, Lily; Molina, Brooke S G; Owens, Elizabeth B; Hinshaw, Stephen P; Belendiuk, Katherine; Howard, Andrea; Wigal, Sharon B; Sorensen, Page; Stehli, Annamarie

2017-10-01

To evaluate participants' perceptions about frequent use and reasons for substance use (SU) in the qualitative interview study, an add-on to the multimodal treatment study of ADHD (MTA). Using the longitudinal MTA database, 39 ADHD cases and 19 peers with Persistent SU, and 86 ADHD cases and 39 peers without Persistent SU were identified and recruited. In adulthood, an open-ended interview was administered, and SU excerpts were indexed and classified to create subtopics (frequent use and reasons for use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs). For marijuana, the Persistent compared with Nonpersistent SU group had a significantly higher percentage of participants describing frequent use and giving reasons for use, and the ADHD group compared with the group of peers had a significantly higher percentage giving "stability" as a reason for use. Motivations for persistent marijuana use may differ for adults with and without a history of ADHD.

296-B-5 Stack monitoring and sampling system annual system assessment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridge, T.M.

1995-02-01

The B Plant Administration Manual requires an annual system assessment to evaluate and report the present condition of the sampling and monitoring system associated with Stack 296-B-5 at B Plant. The sampling and monitoring system associated with stack 296-B-5 is functional and performing satisfactorily. This document is an annual assessment report of the systems associated with the 296-B-5 stack

Report of testing and sampling of municipal supply well PM-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, Richard J.; Longmire, Patrick; Rogers, David B.; Mullen, Ken

1999-01-01

During drilling of regional aquifer characterization borehole R-25, located in the western part of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at Technical Area (TA) 16, groundwater samples were collected from perched zones of saturation and the regional aquifer that contained elevated levels of high explosive (HE) compounds. One of the nearest Los Alamos County municipal supply wells potentially located down gradient from borehole R-25 is PM-4, located on Mesita del Buey at the west end of TA-54. During the winter of 1998 and 1999 the pump in PM-4 had been removed from the well for scheduled maintenance by the Los Alamos County Public Utilities Department (PUD). Because the pump was removed from PM-4, the opportunity existed to enter the well to (1) perform tests to determine where within the regional aquifer groundwater entered the well and (2) collect groundwater samples from the producing zones for analyses to determine if HE contaminants were present in discrete zones within the regional aquifer. The report of the activities that were performed during March 1999 for the testing and sampling of municipal supply well PM-4 is provided. The report provides a description of the field activities associated with the two phases of the project, including (1) the results of the static and dynamic spinner log surveys, and (2) a description of the sampling activities and the field-measured groundwater quality parameters that were obtained during sampling activities. This report also provides the analytical results of the groundwater samples and a brief discussion of the results of the project

High priority tank sampling and analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, T.M.

1998-01-01

In July 1993, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Board issued Recommendation 93-5 (Conway 1993) which noted that there was insufficient tank waste technical information and the pace to obtain it was too slow to ensure that Hanford Site wastes could be safely stored, that associated operations could be conducted safely, and that future disposal data requirements could be met. In response, the US Department of Energy, in May 1996, issued Revision 1 of the Recommendation 93-5 Implementation Plan (DOE-RL 1996). The Implementation Plan presented a modified approach to achieve the original plan's objectives, concentrating on actions necessary to ensure that wastes can be safely stored, that operations can be safely conducted, and that timely characterization information for the tank waste Disposal Program could be obtained. The Implementation Plan proposed 28 High Priority tanks for near term core sampling and analysis, which along with sampling and analysis of other non-High Priority tanks, could provide the scientific and technical data to confirm assumptions, calibrate models, and.measure safety related phenomenology of the waste. When the analysis results of the High Priority and other-tank sampling were reviewed, it was expected that a series of 12 questions, 9 related to safety issues and 3 related to planning for the disposal process, should be answered allowing key decisions to be made. This report discusses the execution of the Implementation Plan and the results achieved in addressing the questions. Through sampling and analysis, all nine safety related questions have been answered and extensive data for the three disposal planning related questions have been collected, allowing for key decision making. Many more tanks than the original 28 High Priority tanks identified in the Implementation Plan were sampled and analyzed. Twenty-one High Priority tanks and 85 other tanks were core sampled and used to address the questions. Thirty-eight additional tanks were auger

Operational air sampling report, July 1--December 31, 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyons, C.L.

1993-04-01

Nevada Test Site postshot and tunnel events generate beta/gamma fission products. The REECo air sampling program is designed for measurement of these radionuclides at various facilities supporting these events. Monthly radon sampling is done for documentation of working levels in the tunnel complexes, which would be expected to have the highest radon levels for on-site facilities. Out of a total of 628 air samples taken in the tunnel complexes, 24 showed airborne fission products with concentrations well below their respective Derived Air Concentrations (DAC). All of these were related to event reentry or mineback operations. Tritiated water vapor concentrations were very similar to previously reported levels. The 838 air samples taken at the Area-6 decontamination bays and laundry were again well below any DAC calculation standard and negative for any airborne fission products from laboratory analyses

Revisiting random walk based sampling in networks: evasion of burn-in period and frequent regenerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Avrachenkov, Konstantin; Borkar, Vivek S; Kadavankandy, Arun; Sreedharan, Jithin K

2018-01-01

In the framework of network sampling, random walk (RW) based estimation techniques provide many pragmatic solutions while uncovering the unknown network as little as possible. Despite several theoretical advances in this area, RW based sampling techniques usually make a strong assumption that the samples are in stationary regime, and hence are impelled to leave out the samples collected during the burn-in period. This work proposes two sampling schemes without burn-in time constraint to estimate the average of an arbitrary function defined on the network nodes, for example, the average age of users in a social network. The central idea of the algorithms lies in exploiting regeneration of RWs at revisits to an aggregated super-node or to a set of nodes, and in strategies to enhance the frequency of such regenerations either by contracting the graph or by making the hitting set larger. Our first algorithm, which is based on reinforcement learning (RL), uses stochastic approximation to derive an estimator. This method can be seen as intermediate between purely stochastic Markov chain Monte Carlo iterations and deterministic relative value iterations. The second algorithm, which we call the Ratio with Tours (RT)-estimator, is a modified form of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) that accommodates the idea of regeneration. We study the methods via simulations on real networks. We observe that the trajectories of RL-estimator are much more stable than those of standard random walk based estimation procedures, and its error performance is comparable to that of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) which has a smaller asymptotic variance than many other estimators. Simulation studies also show that the mean squared error of RT-estimator decays much faster than that of RDS with time. The newly developed RW based estimators (RL- and RT-estimators) allow to avoid burn-in period, provide better control of stability along the sample path, and overall reduce the estimation time. Our

A tracking system for groundwater sampling and data transfer schedules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercier, T.M.

1990-12-01

Since groundwater monitoring programs at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant have become more complex and varied and as the occasions to respond to internal and external reporting requirements have become more frequent and time constrained, the need to track groundwater sampling activities and data transfer from the analytical laboratories has become imperative. If backlogs can be caught early, resources can be added or reallocated in the field and in the laboratory in a timely manner to ensure reporting deadlines are met. The tracking system discussed in this paper starts with clear definition of the groundwater monitoring program at the facility. This information is input into base datasets at the beginning of the sampling cycle. As the sampling program progresses, information about well sampling dates and data transfer dates is input into the base datasets. From the base program data and the update data, a status report is periodically generated by a computer program which identifies the type and nature of bottle necks encountered during the implementation of the groundwater monitoring program

Computing Confidence Bounds for Power and Sample Size of the General Linear Univariate Model

OpenAIRE

Taylor, Douglas J.; Muller, Keith E.

1995-01-01

The power of a test, the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis in favor of an alternative, may be computed using estimates of one or more distributional parameters. Statisticians frequently fix mean values and calculate power or sample size using a variance estimate from an existing study. Hence computed power becomes a random variable for a fixed sample size. Likewise, the sample size necessary to achieve a fixed power varies randomly. Standard statistical practice requires reporting ...

Frequent users of emergency services: associated factors and reasons for seeking care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Marques Acosta

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Aim: to identify the profile of frequent users of emergency services, to verify the associated factors and to analyze the reasons for the frequent use of the services. METHOD: An explanatory sequential type mixed method was adopted. Quantitative data were collected from the electronic medical records, with a sample of 385 users attended four or more times in an emergency service, during the year 2011. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 users, intentionally selected from the results of the quantitative stage. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and qualitative data using thematic analysis. RESULTS: It was found that 42.9% were elderly, 84.9% had chronic diseases, 63.5% were classified as urgent, 42.1% stayed for more than 24 hours in the service and 46.5% were discharged. Scheduled follow-up appointment, risk classification, length of stay and outcome were factors associated with frequent use. The reasons for seeking the services were mainly related to the exacerbation of chronic diseases, to easier access and concentration of technology, to the bond, and to the scheduled appointments. CONCLUSIONS: The results contribute to comprehending the repeated use of emergency services and provide additional data to plan alternatives to reduce frequent use.

Trench sampling report Salmon Site Lamar County, Mississippi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-07-01

This report describes trench excavation and sample-collection activities conducted by IT Corporation (IT) as part of the ongoing Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study at the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE, 1992). During construction, operation, and closure of the site wastes of unknown composition were buried in pits on site. Surface-geophysical field investigations were conducted intermittently between November 1992 and October 1993 to identify potential waste-burial sites and buried metallic materials. The geophysical investigations included vertical magnetic gradient, electromagnetic conductivity, electromagnetic in-phase component, and ground-penetrating radar surveys. A number of anomalies identified by the magnetic gradiometer survey in the Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co., Inc., (REECo) pits area indicated buried metallic objects. All of the anomalies were field checked to determine if any were caused by surface features or debris. After field checking, 17 anomalies were still unexplained; trenching was planned to attempt to identify their sources. Between December 8, 1993, and December 17, 1993, 15 trenches were excavated and soil samples were collected at the anomalies. Samples were collected, placed in 250- and 500-milliliter (m{ell}) amber glass containers, and shipped on ice to IT Analytical Services (ITAS) in St. Louis, Missouri, using standard IT chain-of-custody procedures. The samples were analyzed for various chemical and radiological parameters. Data validation has not been conducted on any of the samples. During excavation and sampling, soil samples were also collected by IT for the MSDEQ and the Mississippi Department of Radiological Health, in accordance with their instructions, and delivered into their custody.

Trench sampling report Salmon Site Lamar County, Mississippi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-07-01

This report describes trench excavation and sample-collection activities conducted by IT Corporation (IT) as part of the ongoing Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study at the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE, 1992). During construction, operation, and closure of the site wastes of unknown composition were buried in pits on site. Surface-geophysical field investigations were conducted intermittently between November 1992 and October 1993 to identify potential waste-burial sites and buried metallic materials. The geophysical investigations included vertical magnetic gradient, electromagnetic conductivity, electromagnetic in-phase component, and ground-penetrating radar surveys. A number of anomalies identified by the magnetic gradiometer survey in the Reynolds Electrical ampersand Engineering Co., Inc., (REECo) pits area indicated buried metallic objects. All of the anomalies were field checked to determine if any were caused by surface features or debris. After field checking, 17 anomalies were still unexplained; trenching was planned to attempt to identify their sources. Between December 8, 1993, and December 17, 1993, 15 trenches were excavated and soil samples were collected at the anomalies. Samples were collected, placed in 250- and 500-milliliter (m ell) amber glass containers, and shipped on ice to IT Analytical Services (ITAS) in St. Louis, Missouri, using standard IT chain-of-custody procedures. The samples were analyzed for various chemical and radiological parameters. Data validation has not been conducted on any of the samples. During excavation and sampling, soil samples were also collected by IT for the MSDEQ and the Mississippi Department of Radiological Health, in accordance with their instructions, and delivered into their custody

Self-Reported Ecstasy/MDMA/"Molly" Use in a Sample of Nightclub and Dance Festival Attendees in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Palamar, Joseph J; Acosta, Patricia; Ompad, Danielle C; Cleland, Charles M

2017-01-02

Ecstasy (MDMA) use has regained popularity in the United States, particularly in the form of "Molly," which is often marketed as pure MDMA. Surveys have generally not included "Molly" in the definition of ecstasy, so rates of use may be underestimated. As popularity of ecstasy increases, research is needed to examine use among those at highest risk for use-nightlife attendees. We surveyed 679 young adults (age 18-25) entering nightclubs and festivals holding electronic dance music (EDM) parties in New York City in 2015. A variation of time-space sampling was utilized. We examined prevalence and correlates of self-reported lifetime ecstasy use. Self-reported lifetime ecstasy use was common (42.8%, 95% CI: 32.8, 52.7). Use was most common among older participants, frequent party attendees, and those reporting higher levels of exposure to users. Those surveyed outside of festivals were less likely to report use compared to those surveyed outside of nightclubs (AOR = 0.37, p = .015). Over a third of ecstasy users (36.8%)reported use in pill, powder, and crystal form. Ecstasy users were also more likely to report use of other drugs, including novel psychoactive substances (e.g., 2C series drugs, synthetic cathinones ["bath salts"]). Half (50.4%) reported suspecting (21.9%) or finding out (28.5%) that their ecstasy had ever contained a drug other than MDMA. A large percentage of nightlife attendees in NYC report lifetime ecstasy use. Findings should inform prevention and harm reduction programming. Further research is needed as ecstasy continues to change (e.g., in form, purity, and name).

Sample summary report for ARG 1 pressure tube sample

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belinco, C.

2006-01-01

The ARG 1 sample is made from an un-irradiated Zr-2.5% Nb pressure tube. The sample has 103.4 mm ID, 112 mm OD and approximately 500 mm length. A punch mark was made very close to one end of the sample. The punch mark indicates the 12 O'clock position and also identifies the face of the tube for making all the measurements. ARG 1 sample contains flaws on ID and OD surface. There was no intentional flaw within the wall of the pressure tube sample. Once the flaws are machined the pressure tube sample was covered from outside to hide the OD flaws. Approximately 50 mm length of pressure tube was left open at both the ends to facilitate the holding of sample in the fixtures for inspection. No flaw was machined in this zone of 50 mm on either end of the pressure tube sample. A total of 20 flaws were machined in ARG 1 sample. Out of these, 16 flaws were on the OD surface and the remaining 4 on the ID surface of the pressure tube. The flaws were characterized in to various groups like axial flaws, circumferential flaws, etc

Cannabis consumption patterns among frequent consumers in Uruguay.

Science.gov (United States)

Boidi, María Fernanda; Queirolo, Rosario; Cruz, José Miguel

2016-08-01

In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to fully regulate the cannabis market, which now operates under state control. Cannabis can be legally acquired in three ways: growing it for personal use (self-cultivation), cannabis club membership, and from pharmacies (not yet implemented). Users must be entered into a confidential official registry to gain access. This article presents findings of a Respondent Driven Sample survey of 294 high-frequency cannabis consumers in the Montevideo metropolitan area. Frequent consumers resort to more than one method for acquiring cannabis, with illegal means still predominating after 1 year of the new regulation law. Cannabis users overwhelmingly support the current regulation, but many of them are reluctant to register. Some of the attitudes and behaviors of the high-frequency consumers pose a challenge to the success of the cannabis law. Individuals relying on more than one method of access defy the single access clause, a prerequisite for legal use, while the maximum amount of cannabis individuals can access monthly seems too high even for most frequent consumers, which might promote the emergence of a grey market. Reluctance to register among a significant proportion of high-frequency consumers raises doubts about the law's ability to achieve its stated objectives. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Frequent activation of EGFR in advanced chordomas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dewaele Barbara

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chordomas are rare neoplasms, arising from notochordal remnants in the midline skeletal axis, for which the current treatment is limited to surgery and radiotherapy. Recent reports suggest that receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK might be essential for the survival or proliferation of chordoma cells, providing a rationale for RTK targeted therapy. Nevertheless, the reported data are conflicting, most likely due to the assorted tumor specimens used for the studies and the heterogeneous methodological approaches. In the present study, we performed a comprehensive characterization of this rare entity using a wide range of assays in search for relevant therapeutic targets. Methods Histopathological features of 42 chordoma specimens, 21 primary and 21 advanced, were assessed by immunohistochemistry and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH using PDGFRB, CSF1R, and EGFR probes. Twenty-two of these cases, for which frozen material was available (nine primary and 13 advanced tumors, were selectively analyzed using the whole-genome 4.3 K TK-CGH-array, phospho-kinase antibody array or Western immunoblotting. The study was supplemented by direct sequencing of KIT, PDGFRB, CSF1R and EGFR. Results We demonstrated that EGFR is frequently and the most significantly activated RTK in chordomas. Furthermore, concurrent to EGFR activation, the tumors commonly reveal co-activation of alternative RTK. The consistent activation of AKT, the frequent loss of the tumor suppressor PTEN allele, the recurrent activation of upstream RTK and of downstream effectors like p70S6K and mTOR, all indicate the PI3K/AKT pathway as an important mediator of transformation in chordomas. Conclusions Given the complexity of the signaling in chordomas, combined treatment regimens targeting multiple RTK and downstream effectors are likely to be the most effective in these tumors. Personalized therapy with careful selection of the patients, based on the molecular profile of

Tank 214-AW-105, grab samples, analytical results for the final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esch, R.A.

1997-01-01

This document is the final report for tank 241-AW-105 grab samples. Twenty grabs samples were collected from risers 10A and 15A on August 20 and 21, 1996, of which eight were designated for the K Basin sludge compatibility and mixing studies. This document presents the analytical results for the remaining twelve samples. Analyses were performed in accordance with the Compatibility Grab Sampling and Analysis Plan (TSAP) and the Data Quality Objectives for Tank Farms Waste Compatibility Program (DO). The results for the previous sampling of this tank were reported in WHC-SD-WM-DP-149, Rev. 0, 60-Day Waste Compatibility Safety Issue and Final Results for Tank 241-A W-105, Grab Samples 5A W-95-1, 5A W-95-2 and 5A W-95-3. Three supernate samples exceeded the TOC notification limit (30,000 microg C/g dry weight). Appropriate notifications were made. No immediate notifications were required for any other analyte. The TSAP requested analyses for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) for all liquids and centrifuged solid subsamples. The PCB analysis of the liquid samples has been delayed and will be presented in a revision to this document

Frequent Users of Hospital Emergency Departments in Korea Characterized by Claims Data from the National Health Insurance: A Cross Sectional Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung Hoon Woo

Full Text Available The Korean National Health Insurance, which provides universal coverage for the entire Korean population, is now facing financial instability. Frequent emergency department (ED users may represent a medically vulnerable population who could benefit from interventions that both improve care and lower costs. To understand the nature of frequent ED users in Korea, we analyzed claims data from a population-based national representative sample. We performed both bivariate and multivariable analyses to investigate the association between patient characteristics and frequent ED use (4+ ED visits in a year using claims data of a 1% random sample of the Korean population, collected in 2009. Among 156,246 total ED users, 4,835 (3.1% were frequent ED users. These patients accounted for 14% of 209,326 total ED visits and 17.2% of $76,253,784 total medical expenses generated from all ED visits in the 1% data sample. Frequent ED users tended to be older, male, and of lower socio-economic status compared with occasional ED users (p < 0.001 for each. Moreover, frequent ED users had longer stays in the hospital when admitted, higher probability of undergoing an operative procedure, and increased mortality. Among 8,425 primary diagnoses, alcohol-related complaints and schizophrenia showed the strongest positive correlation with the number of ED visits. Among the frequent ED users, mortality and annual outpatient department visits were significantly lower in the alcohol-related patient subgroup compared with other frequent ED users; furthermore, the rate was even lower than that for non-frequent ED users. Our findings suggest that expanding mental health and alcohol treatment programs may be a reasonable strategy to decrease the dependence of these patients on the ED.

Self-reported Stress Problems among Teachers in Hong Kong

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Alan H. S.; Chen, K.; Chong, Elaine Y. L.

2010-10-01

The present study was developed to comprehensively investigate the occupational health problems among teachers of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. A random sample of 1,710 respondents was generated from the database of Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU) members. A self-administrated questionnaire was designed and sent by mail to the teachers of primary and secondary schools in HK. The results indicated that comparing with one year and five years ago, 91.6% and 97.3% of the responding teachers reported an increase of perceived stress level, respectively. Heavy workload and time pressure, education reforms, external school review, pursuing further education, and managing students' behaviour and learning were the most frequently reported sources of work stress. The four most frequently reported stress management activities were sleeping, talking to neighbors and friends, self-relaxing, and watching television, while the least frequently reported activity was doing more exercises or sports.

Clustering Suicide Attempters: Impulsive-Ambivalent, Well-Planned, or Frequent.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Castroman, Jorge; Nogue, Erika; Guillaume, Sebastien; Picot, Marie Christine; Courtet, Philippe

2016-06-01

Attempts to predict suicidal behavior within high-risk populations have so far shown insufficient accuracy. Although several psychosocial and clinical features have been consistently associated with suicide attempts, investigations of latent structure in well-characterized populations of suicide attempters are lacking. We analyzed a sample of 1,009 hospitalized suicide attempters that were recruited between 1999 and 2012. Eleven clinically relevant items related to the characteristics of suicidal behavior were submitted to a Hierarchical Ascendant Classification. Phenotypic profiles were compared between the resulting clusters. A decisional tree was constructed to facilitate the differentiation of individuals classified within the first 2 clusters. Most individuals were included in a cluster characterized by less lethal means and planning ("impulse-ambivalent"). A second cluster featured more carefully planned attempts ("well-planned"), more alcohol or drug use before the attempt, and more precautions to avoid interruptions. Finally, a small, third cluster included individuals reporting more attempts ("frequent"), more often serious or violent attempts, and an earlier age at first attempt. Differences across clusters by demographic and clinical characteristics were also found, particularly with the third cluster whose participants had experienced high levels of childhood abuse. Cluster analysis consistently supported 3 distinct clusters of individuals with specific features in their suicidal behaviors and phenotypic profiles that could help clinicians to better focus prevention strategies. © Copyright 2016 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Myenteric plexitis: A frequent feature in patients undergoing surgery for colonic diverticular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassotti, Gabrio; Villanacci, Vincenzo; Sidoni, Angelo; Nascimbeni, Riccardo; Dore, Maria P; Binda, Gian A; Bandelloni, Roberto; Salemme, Marianna; Del Sordo, Rachele; Cadei, Moris; Manca, Alessandra; Bernardini, Nunzia; Maurer, Christoph A; Cathomas, Gieri

2015-12-01

Diverticular disease of the colon is frequent in clinical practice, and a large number of patients each year undergo surgical procedures worldwide for their symptoms. Thus, there is a need for better knowledge of the basic pathophysiologic mechanisms of this disease entity. Because patients with colonic diverticular disease have been shown to display abnormalities of the enteric nervous system, we assessed the frequency of myenteric plexitis (i.e. the infiltration of myenteric ganglions by inflammatory cells) in patients undergoing surgery for this condition. We analyzed archival resection samples from the proximal resection margins of 165 patients undergoing left hemicolectomy (60 emergency and 105 elective surgeries) for colonic diverticulitis, by histology and immunochemistry. Overall, plexitis was present in almost 40% of patients. It was subdivided into an eosinophilic (48%) and a lymphocytic (52%) subtype. Plexitis was more frequent in younger patients; and it was more frequent in those undergoing emergency surgery (50%), compared to elective (28%) surgery (p = 0.007). All the severe cases of plexitis displayed the lymphocytic subtype. In conclusion, myenteric plexitis is frequent in patients with colonic diverticular disease needing surgery, and it might be implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Frequent Users of Hospital Emergency Departments in Korea Characterized by Claims Data from the National Health Insurance: A Cross Sectional Study

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Jung Hoon; Grinspan, Zachary; Shapiro, Jason; Rhee, Sang Youl

2016-01-01

The Korean National Health Insurance, which provides universal coverage for the entire Korean population, is now facing financial instability. Frequent emergency department (ED) users may represent a medically vulnerable population who could benefit from interventions that both improve care and lower costs. To understand the nature of frequent ED users in Korea, we analyzed claims data from a population-based national representative sample. We performed both bivariate and multivariable analyses to investigate the association between patient characteristics and frequent ED use (4+ ED visits in a year) using claims data of a 1% random sample of the Korean population, collected in 2009. Among 156,246 total ED users, 4,835 (3.1%) were frequent ED users. These patients accounted for 14% of 209,326 total ED visits and 17.2% of $76,253,784 total medical expenses generated from all ED visits in the 1% data sample. Frequent ED users tended to be older, male, and of lower socio-economic status compared with occasional ED users (p users had longer stays in the hospital when admitted, higher probability of undergoing an operative procedure, and increased mortality. Among 8,425 primary diagnoses, alcohol-related complaints and schizophrenia showed the strongest positive correlation with the number of ED visits. Among the frequent ED users, mortality and annual outpatient department visits were significantly lower in the alcohol-related patient subgroup compared with other frequent ED users; furthermore, the rate was even lower than that for non-frequent ED users. Our findings suggest that expanding mental health and alcohol treatment programs may be a reasonable strategy to decrease the dependence of these patients on the ED. PMID:26809051

Tank 241-SY-102, January 2000 Compatibility Grab Samples Analytical Results for the Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BELL, K.E.

2000-01-01

This document is the format IV, final report for the tank 241-SY-102 (SY-102) grab samples taken in January 2000 to address waste compatibility concerns. Chemical, radiochemical, and physical analyses on the tank SY-102 samples were performed as directed in Comparability Grab Sampling and Analysis Plan for Fiscal Year 2000 (Sasaki 1999). No notification limits were exceeded. Preliminary data on samples 2SY-99-5, -6, and -7 were reported in ''Format II Report on Tank 241-SY-102 Waste Compatibility Grab Samples Taken in January 2000'' (Lockrem 2000). The data presented here represent the final results

Data validation summary report for the 100-BC-5 Operable Unit Round 8 Groundwater Sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kearney, A.T.

1996-03-01

The information provided in this validation summary report includes data from the chemical analyses of samples from the 100-BC-5 Operable Unit Round 8 Groundwater Sampling Investigation. All of the data from this sampling event and their related quality assurance samples were reviewed and validated to verify that the reported sample results were of sufficient quality to support decisions regarding remedial actions performed at this site. Sample analyses included metals, general chemistry and radiochemistry

What factors are associated with frequent unhealthy snack-food consumption among Australian secondary-school students?

Science.gov (United States)

Niven, Philippa; Scully, Maree; Morley, Belinda; Baur, Louise; Crawford, David; Pratt, Iain S; Wakefield, Melanie

2015-08-01

To examine demographic and behavioural correlates of unhealthy snack-food consumption among Australian secondary-school students and the association between their perceptions of availability, convenience and intake with consumption. Cross-sectional survey of students' eating, physical activity and sedentary behaviours using validated instruments administered via an online questionnaire. Australian secondary schools across all states/territories. Secondary-school students aged 12-17 years participating in the 2009-10 National Secondary Students' Diet and Activity (NaSSDA) survey (n 12 188). Approximately one in five students (21 %) reported consuming unhealthy snack foods ≥14 times/week ('frequent snackers'). After adjusting for all covariates, older students and those with a BMI of ≥25 kg/m² were less likely to be frequent snackers, while students who reported high fast-food and high sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and those who watched television for >2 h/d were more likely to snack frequently. Furthermore, after adjusting for all covariates and demographic factors, students who agreed that snack foods are usually available at home, convenient to buy and that they eat too many snack foods were more likely to be snacking frequently. Conversely, students who agreed that fruit is a convenient snack were less likely to be frequent snackers. Frequent unhealthy snack-food consumption appears to cluster with other poor health behaviours. Perceptions of availability and convenience are factors most readily amenable to change, and findings suggest interventions should focus on decreasing the availability of unhealthy snack foods in the home and promoting healthier options such as fruit as convenient snacks.

Frequent Shifts in Aspergillus flavus Populations Associated with Maize Production in Sonora, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega-Beltran, A; Cotty, P J

2018-03-01

Aspergillus flavus frequently contaminates maize, a critical staple for billions of people, with aflatoxins. Diversity among A. flavus L morphotype populations associated with maize in Sonora, Mexico was assessed and, in total, 869 isolates from 83 fields were placed into 136 vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) using nitrate-nonutilizing mutants. VCG diversity indices did not differ in four agroecosystems (AES) but diversity significantly differed among years. Frequencies of certain VCGs changed manyfold over single years in both multiple fields and multiple AES. Certain VCGs were highly frequent (>1%) in 2006 but frequencies declined repeatedly in each of the two subsequent years. Other VCGs that had low frequencies in 2006 increased in 2007 and subsequently declined. None of the VCGs were consistently associated with any AES. Fourteen VCGs were considered dominant in at least a single year. However, frequencies often varied significantly among years. Only 9% of VCGs were detected all 3 years whereas 66% were detected in only 1 year. Results suggest that the most realistic measurements of both genetic diversity and the frequency of A. flavus VCGs are obtained by sampling multiple locations in multiple years. Single-season sampling in many locations should not be substituted for sampling over multiple years.

The quality of the reported sample size calculations in randomized controlled trials indexed in PubMed.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Paul H; Tse, Andy C Y

2017-05-01

There are limited data on the quality of reporting of information essential for replication of the calculation as well as the accuracy of the sample size calculation. We examine the current quality of reporting of the sample size calculation in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in PubMed and to examine the variation in reporting across study design, study characteristics, and journal impact factor. We also reviewed the targeted sample size reported in trial registries. We reviewed and analyzed all RCTs published in December 2014 with journals indexed in PubMed. The 2014 Impact Factors for the journals were used as proxies for their quality. Of the 451 analyzed papers, 58.1% reported an a priori sample size calculation. Nearly all papers provided the level of significance (97.7%) and desired power (96.6%), and most of the papers reported the minimum clinically important effect size (73.3%). The median (inter-quartile range) of the percentage difference of the reported and calculated sample size calculation was 0.0% (IQR -4.6%;3.0%). The accuracy of the reported sample size was better for studies published in journals that endorsed the CONSORT statement and journals with an impact factor. A total of 98 papers had provided targeted sample size on trial registries and about two-third of these papers (n=62) reported sample size calculation, but only 25 (40.3%) had no discrepancy with the reported number in the trial registries. The reporting of the sample size calculation in RCTs published in PubMed-indexed journals and trial registries were poor. The CONSORT statement should be more widely endorsed. Copyright © 2016 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Frequent hemodialysis in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Warady, Bradley A; Fischbach, Michel; Geary, Denis; Goldstein, Stuart L

2007-07-01

Frequent hemodialysis is currently conducted in a limited number of pediatric dialysis centers. However, the preliminary experience with children who have undergone procedures such as "daily" intensive hemodiafiltration and nocturnal hemodialysis has been positive, with the allowance for unrestricted diets and fluid intake, the lack of need for phosphate binders, excellent metabolic and blood pressure control, and, in the case of hemodiafiltration, excellent growth. The provision of frequent daily hemodialysis with the NxStage System has also recently been introduced to pediatrics. An overview about what is currently understood regarding the technical and clinical application of these approaches to therapy for children with end-stage renal disease form the basis for this article and highlight the impact of the procedures to date and the need for additional experience and collaborative data collection.

Scalable Frequent Subgraph Mining

KAUST Repository

Abdelhamid, Ehab

2017-01-01

Given an input graph, the Frequent Subgraph Mining (FSM) task finds all subgraphs with frequencies exceeding a given threshold. FSM is crucial for graph analysis, and it is an essential building block in a variety

Therapies most frequently used for the management of bruxism by a sample of German dentists.

Science.gov (United States)

Ommerborn, Michelle A; Taghavi, Jalleh; Singh, Preeti; Handschel, Joerg; Depprich, Rita A; Raab, Wolfgang H M

2011-03-01

At present, there is little information available on how practicing dentists manage bruxism patients with respect to conservative, reversible techniques as compared to irreversible techniques. The purpose of this study was to determine the most commonly applied therapies used for the management of bruxism by German general dentists (GDs) and dental specialists. In addition, efforts were made to gather information on the knowledge and opinion of GDs and specialists regarding the role of occlusal interferences, in particular, on the development of sleep bruxism. A 13-item questionnaire was developed and mailed to all active members of the statutory dental insurance providers of the German North Rhine (n=5500; 2006 roster) and the German Westphalia-Lippe area (n=4984; 2006 roster). Group differences were statistically analyzed using chi-square tests for the qualitative variables and Mann-Whitney U tests for the quantitative variables (α=.05). Occlusal splints were by far the most frequently prescribed therapy for the management of bruxism, followed by relaxation techniques, occlusal equilibration, physiotherapy, and prosthodontic reconstruction. The occlusal stabilization splint with canine protected articulation was the splint type most often prescribed, whereas respondents used unadjusted soft splints for approximately 8% of their bruxism patients. Comparison of the opinions of all responding practicing dentists with that of experts in regard to the statement that "sleep bruxism is caused by occlusal interferences" showed a significant difference between the 2 groups (P=.021). Eighty-five percent of the experts disagreed with this statement, and only 47.7% of the practicing dentists had the same opinion as the experts. Most practicing dentists seem to concur with current scientific recommendations, and express the opinion that the management of bruxism should predominantly be conservative and reversible; however, the findings of the present survey reveal diverse

Supporting Frequent Updates in R-Trees: A Bottom-Up Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Mong Li; Hsu, Wynne; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

2003-01-01

Advances in hardware-related technologies promise to enable new data management applications that monitor continuous processes. In these applications, enormous amounts of state samples are obtained via sensors and are streamed to a database. Further, updates are very frequent and may exhibit...... and aims to improve update performance. It has different levels of reorganization—ranging from global to local—during updates, avoiding expensive top-down updates. A compact main-memory summary structure that allows direct access to the R-tree index nodes is used together with efficient bottom...

Frequent Questions on Recycling

Science.gov (United States)

This is a list of frequent questions on recycling, broken down into five categories. These are answers to common questions that EPA has received from press and web inquiries. This list is located on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle website.

Memory complaints are frequent but qualitatively different in young and elderly healthy people

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ginó, Sandra; Mendes, Tiago; Maroco, João; Ribeiro, Filipa; Schmand, Ben A.; de Mendonça, Alexandre; Guerreiro, Manuela

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Subjective memory complaints are frequently reported by the elderly. There is less information about the characterization of subjective memory complaints in young people. OBJECTIVE: To determine different memory complaints between young and elderly people with the use of the Subjective

Memory complaints are frequent but qualitatively different in young and elderly healthy people

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ginó, S.; Mendes, T.; Maroco, J.; Ribeiro, F.; Schmand, B.A.; de Mendonca, A.; Guerreiro, M.

2010-01-01

Background: Subjective memory complaints are frequently reported by the elderly. There is less information about the characterization of subjective memory complaints in young people. Objective: To determine different memory complaints between young and elderly people with the use of the Subjective

Frequent Pattern Mining Algorithms for Data Clustering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zimek, Arthur; Assent, Ira; Vreeken, Jilles

2014-01-01

that frequent pattern mining was at the cradle of subspace clustering—yet, it quickly developed into an independent research field. In this chapter, we discuss how frequent pattern mining algorithms have been extended and generalized towards the discovery of local clusters in high-dimensional data......Discovering clusters in subspaces, or subspace clustering and related clustering paradigms, is a research field where we find many frequent pattern mining related influences. In fact, as the first algorithms for subspace clustering were based on frequent pattern mining algorithms, it is fair to say....... In particular, we discuss several example algorithms for subspace clustering or projected clustering as well as point out recent research questions and open topics in this area relevant to researchers in either clustering or pattern mining...

Methodological integrative review of the work sampling technique used in nursing workload research.

Science.gov (United States)

Blay, Nicole; Duffield, Christine M; Gallagher, Robyn; Roche, Michael

2014-11-01

To critically review the work sampling technique used in nursing workload research. Work sampling is a technique frequently used by researchers and managers to explore and measure nursing activities. However, work sampling methods used are diverse making comparisons of results between studies difficult. Methodological integrative review. Four electronic databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles published between 2002-2012. Manual scanning of reference lists and Rich Site Summary feeds from contemporary nursing journals were other sources of data. Articles published in the English language between 2002-2012 reporting on research which used work sampling to examine nursing workload. Eighteen articles were reviewed. The review identified that the work sampling technique lacks a standardized approach, which may have an impact on the sharing or comparison of results. Specific areas needing a shared understanding included the training of observers and subjects who self-report, standardization of the techniques used to assess observer inter-rater reliability, sampling methods and reporting of outcomes. Work sampling is a technique that can be used to explore the many facets of nursing work. Standardized reporting measures would enable greater comparison between studies and contribute to knowledge more effectively. Author suggestions for the reporting of results may act as guidelines for researchers considering work sampling as a research method. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tank 241-C-111 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-C-111. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedures that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Tank 241-BY-110 vapor sampling and analysis tank characterization report. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huckaby, J.L.

1995-01-01

This report presents the details of the Hanford waste tank characterization study for tank 241-BY-110. The drivers and objectives of the headspace vapor sampling and analysis were in accordance with procedures that were presented in other reports. The vapor and headspace gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine the potential risks to the tank farm workers due to fugitive emissions from the tank

Illicit drug use among rave attendees in a nationally representative sample of US high school seniors.

Science.gov (United States)

Palamar, Joseph J; Griffin-Tomas, Marybec; Ompad, Danielle C

2015-07-01

The popularity of electronic dance music and rave parties such as dance festivals has increased in recent years. Targeted samples of party-goers suggest high rates of drug use among attendees, but few nationally representative studies have examined these associations. We examined sociodemographic correlates of rave attendance and relationships between rave attendance and recent (12-month) use of various drugs in a representative sample of US high school seniors (modal age: 18) from the Monitoring the Future study (2011-2013; Weighted N=7373). One out of five students (19.8%) reported ever attending a rave, and 7.7% reported attending at least monthly. Females and highly religious students were less likely to attend raves, and Hispanics, students residing in cities, students with higher income and those who go out for fun multiple times per week were more likely to attend. Rave attendees were more likely than non-attendees to report use of an illicit drug other than marijuana (35.5% vs. 15.6%, p<0.0001). Attendees were more likely to report use of each of the 18 drugs assessed, and attendees were more likely to report more frequent use (≥6 times) of each drug (ps<0.0001). Controlling for sociodemographic covariates, frequent attendance (monthly or more often) was associated with higher odds of use of each drug (ps<0.0001). Frequent attendees were at highest risk for use of "club drugs." Findings from this study can help inform prevention and harm reduction among rave attendees at greatest risk for drug use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validating the Factor Structure of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in a Community Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmut, Mehmet K.; Menictas, Con; Stevenson, Richard J.; Homewood, Judi

2011-01-01

Currently, there is no standard self-report measure of psychopathy in community-dwelling samples that parallels the most commonly used measure of psychopathy in forensic and clinical samples, the Psychopathy Checklist. A promising instrument is the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP), which was derived from the original version the Psychopathy…

Prevalence of hypodontia in a sample of Sudanese orthodontic patients

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Duaa Abdulrahman; Abuaffan, Amal H; Hashim, Hayder A

2014-01-01

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of hypodontia in the permanent dentition in a sample of Sudanese patients who sought orthodontic treatment and to compare the results with the reported findings of other populations. Materials and Methods: Orthodontic files including orthopantomographs of 1069 patients (760 females and 309 males - more than 8 years old) were examined and inspected for evidence of hypodontia. Results: The prevalence of hypodontia of the present sample was 5.1%. Hypodontia was found considerably more frequently in the mandible than in the maxilla. The distribution of missing teeth was noticed in the left side more than in the right side. The most frequently missing teeth were the maxillary lateral incisors, followed by the mandibular second premolars, maxillary second premolars and mandibular left lateral incisor. The majority of patients had two or three teeth missing, but rarely more than 5 teeth missing. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypodontia of this study was within the range of that reported in the literature. The incidence of hypodontia in the anterior segment requires great need for orthodontic and prosthodontic treatment. With early detection of hypodontia, alternative treatment modalities can be planned and performed with a multidisciplinary team approach restoring the esthetic and function. PMID:25143929

Frequent job change and associated health.

Science.gov (United States)

Metcalfe, Chris; Davey Smith, George; Sterne, Jonathan A C; Heslop, Pauline; Macleod, John; Hart, Carole

2003-01-01

The contemporary labour market is widely regarded as having become more "flexible". It is proposed that such flexibility is a characteristic of employment histories which will have effects on psychosocial status, health-related behaviour, and physical health. Recent increases in flexibility are unlikely to have accumulated over sufficient portions of individual employment histories for any effect on health to be apparent, but a "preview" of these effects may be gained from study of older cohorts. This cross-sectional study is based on data collected in the early 1970s from 5399 men and 945 women in paid work, recruited from 27 workplaces in the west of Scotland. A flexible employment history was defined as one encompassing a large number of changes between jobs. Perceived psychological stress, health behaviour (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise), physiology (diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, forced expiratory volume, plasma cholesterol concentration) and current health (angina, myocardial ischaemia) were assessed. Those individuals who reported having experienced frequent job change were more likely to smoke, consume greater amounts of alcohol, and perhaps to exercise less. Similar findings were observed in both males and females, and for different age and socio-economic groups. We found no suggestion that this association was due to higher levels of psychosocial stress, and the expected consequences for health were not observed. Interpretation of these findings is not straightforward due to an uncertain direction of causation, and a possible selection bias. However, the observed relationship between frequent job changing and a higher incidence of health risk behaviours, in the absence of a relationship with poorer health, invites further research.

Estimated Bioaccessibility to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from Frequently Consumed Dried Fruits in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nooshin Rahimzadeh

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We sought to determine levels of oral bioaccessibility of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF from frequently consumed dried fruits in Iran. Fifty samples from frequently consumed types of dried fruits were analyzed for moisture, acidity and HMF content before and after in vitro digestion. Besides, bioaccessibility of HMF in dried fruits using an in vitro gastrointestinal digestive model and HMF intake from dried fruits based on consumption of each dried fruit groups wasdetermined. The mean estimated intake of HMF was 72.90 mg/kg and the maximum intake was 240.23 mg/kg for fruit bread. The mean bioaccessibility was 60.26%. There was a correlation between HMF and acid content of fruit bread (r= 0.98, P<0.05. In conclusion, the HMF levels in dried fruits remains high even after the in vitro digestion.

Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Lauren R; Martel, Marc L; Driver, Brian E; Reing, Mackenzie; Cole, Jon B

2018-03-01

A subset of frequent users of emergency services are those who use the emergency department (ED) for acute alcohol intoxication. This population and their ED encounters have not been previously described. This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients presenting to the ED for acute alcohol intoxication between 2012 and 2016. We collected all data from the electronic medical record. Frequent users for alcohol intoxication were defined as those with greater than 20 visits for acute intoxication without additional medical chief complaints in the previous 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate characteristics of frequent users for alcohol intoxication, as well as their ED encounters. We identified 32,121 patient encounters. Of those, 325 patients were defined as frequent users for alcohol intoxication, comprising 11,370 of the encounters during the study period. The median maximum number of encounters per person for alcohol intoxication in a one-year period was 47 encounters (range 20 to 169). Frequent users were older (47 years vs. 39 years), and more commonly male (86% vs. 71%). Frequent users for alcohol intoxication had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities including liver disease, chronic kidney disease, ischemic vascular disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. In this study, we identified a group of ED frequent users who use the ED for acute alcohol intoxication. This population had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities compared to non-frequent users.

Operability test report for core sample truck number one flammable gas modifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akers, J.C.

1997-01-01

This report primarily consists of the original test procedure used for the Operability Testing of the flammable gas modifications to Core Sample Truck No. One. Included are exceptions, resolutions, comments, and test results. This report consists of the original, completed, test procedure used for the Operability Testing of the flammable gas modifications to the Push Mode Core Sample Truck No. 1. Prior to the Acceptance/Operability test the truck No. 1 operations procedure (TO-080-503) was revised to be more consistent with the other core sample truck procedures and to include operational steps/instructions for the SR weather cover pressurization system. A draft copy of the operations procedure was used to perform the Operability Test Procedure (OTP). A Document Acceptance Review Form is included with this report (last page) indicating the draft status of the operations procedure during the OTP. During the OTP 11 test exceptions were encountered. Of these exceptions four were determined to affect Acceptance Criteria as listed in the OTP, Section 4.7 ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

Mining frequent binary expressions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calders, T.; Paredaens, J.; Kambayashi, Y.; Mohania, M.K.; Tjoa, A.M.

2000-01-01

In data mining, searching for frequent patterns is a common basic operation. It forms the basis of many interesting decision support processes. In this paper we present a new type of patterns, binary expressions. Based on the properties of a specified binary test, such as reflexivity, transitivity

Cryptosporidium Species are Frequently Present but Rarely Detected in Clinical Samples from Children with Diarrhea in a Developed Country

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovgaards, Daniel M; Hartmeyer, Gitte N; Skov, Marianne N

2018-01-01

Two studies were done on cryptosporidiosis in children. A retrospective survey showed that from 2005 to 2015 Cryptosporidium species was detected by microscopy of stool from 0.25% of children with diarrhea. In a subsequent prospective study PCR detected Cryptosporidium species in 4 (1,3%) of 304...... children. Cryptosporidium species is as frequent as other intestinal pathogens in childhood diarrhea. Testing is relevant....

Emergency Department Frequent Users for Acute Alcohol Intoxication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc L. Martel

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: A subset of frequent users of emergency services are those who use the emergency department (ED for acute alcohol intoxication. This population and their ED encounters have not been previously described. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients presenting to the ED for acute alcohol intoxication between 2012 and 2016. We collected all data from the electronic medical record. Frequent users for alcohol intoxication were defined as those with greater than 20 visits for acute intoxication without additional medical chief complaints in the previous 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate characteristics of frequent users for alcohol intoxication, as well as their ED encounters. Results: We identified 32,121 patient encounters. Of those, 325 patients were defined as frequent users for alcohol intoxication, comprising 11,370 of the encounters during the study period. The median maximum number of encounters per person for alcohol intoxication in a one-year period was 47 encounters (range 20 to 169. Frequent users were older (47 years vs. 39 years, and more commonly male (86% vs. 71%. Frequent users for alcohol intoxication had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities including liver disease, chronic kidney disease, ischemic vascular disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a group of ED frequent users who use the ED for acute alcohol intoxication. This population had higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities compared to non-frequent users.

Antibody deficiency in patients with frequent exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Science.gov (United States)

McCullagh, Brian N; Comellas, Alejandro P; Ballas, Zuhair K; Newell, John D; Zimmerman, M Bridget; Azar, Antoine E

2017-01-01

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is the third leading cause of death in the US, and is associated with periodic exacerbations, which account for the largest proportion of health care utilization, and lead to significant morbidity, mortality, and worsening lung function. A subset of patients with COPD have frequent exacerbations, occurring 2 or more times per year. Despite many interventions to reduce COPD exacerbations, there is a significant lack of knowledge in regards to their mechanisms and predisposing factors. We describe here an important observation that defines antibody deficiency as a potential risk factor for frequent COPD exacerbations. We report a case series of patients who have frequent COPD exacerbations, and who were found to have an underlying primary antibody deficiency syndrome. We also report on the outcome of COPD exacerbations following treatment in a subset with of these patients with antibody deficiency. We identified patients with COPD who had 2 or more moderate to severe exacerbations per year; immune evaluation including serum immunoglobulin levels and pneumococcal IgG titers was performed. Patients diagnosed with an antibody deficiency syndrome were treated with either immunoglobulin replacement therapy or prophylactic antibiotics, and their COPD exacerbations were monitored over time. A total of 42 patients were identified who had 2 or more moderate to severe COPD exacerbations per year. Twenty-nine patients had an underlying antibody deficiency syndrome: common variable immunodeficiency (8), specific antibody deficiency (20), and selective IgA deficiency (1). Twenty-two patients had a follow-up for at least 1 year after treatment of their antibody deficiency, which resulted in a significant reduction of COPD exacerbations, courses of oral corticosteroid use and cumulative annual dose of oral corticosteroid use, rescue antibiotic use, and hospitalizations for COPD exacerbations. This case series identifies antibody deficiency as a

Self-Reported Ecstasy/MDMA/“Molly” Use in a Sample of Nightclub and Dance Festival Attendees in New York City

Science.gov (United States)

Palamar, Joseph J.; Acosta, Patricia; Ompad, Danielle C.; Cleland, Charles M.

2016-01-01

Background Ecstasy (MDMA) use has regained popularity in the United States, particularly in the form of “Molly,” which is often marketed as pure MDMA. Surveys have generally not included “Molly” in the definition of ecstasy, so rates of use may be underestimated. As popularity of ecstasy increases, research is needed to examine use among those at highest risk for use—nightlife attendees. Methods We surveyed 679 young adults (age 18–25) entering nightclubs and festivals holding electronic dance music (EDM) parties in New York City in 2015. A variation of time-space sampling was utilized. We examined prevalence and correlates of self-reported lifetime ecstasy use. Results Self-reported lifetime ecstasy use was common (42.8%, 95% CI: 32.8, 52.7). Use was most common among older participants, frequent party attendees, and those reporting higher levels of exposure to users. Those surveyed outside of festivals were less likely to report use compared to those surveyed outside of nightclubs (AOR=0.37, p = .015). Over a third of ecstasy users (36.8%) reported use in pill, powder, and crystal form. Ecstasy users were also more likely to report use of other drugs, including novel psychoactive substances (e.g., 2C series drugs, synthetic cathinones [“bath salts”]). Half (50.4%) reported suspecting (21.9%) or finding out (28.5%) that their ecstasy had ever contained a drug other than MDMA. Conclusion A large percentage of nightlife attendees in NYC report lifetime ecstasy use. Findings should inform prevention and harm reduction programming. Further research is needed as ecstasy continues to change (e.g., in form, purity, and name). PMID:27661470

Performance Evaluation of Frequent Subgraph Discovery Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saif Ur Rehman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Due to rapid development of the Internet technology and new scientific advances, the number of applications that model the data as graphs increases, because graphs have highly expressive power to model a complicated structure. Graph mining is a well-explored area of research which is gaining popularity in the data mining community. A graph is a general model to represent data and has been used in many domains such as cheminformatics, web information management system, computer network, and bioinformatics, to name a few. In graph mining the frequent subgraph discovery is a challenging task. Frequent subgraph mining is concerned with discovery of those subgraphs from graph dataset which have frequent or multiple instances within the given graph dataset. In the literature a large number of frequent subgraph mining algorithms have been proposed; these included FSG, AGM, gSpan, CloseGraph, SPIN, Gaston, and Mofa. The objective of this research work is to perform quantitative comparison of the above listed techniques. The performances of these techniques have been evaluated through a number of experiments based on three different state-of-the-art graph datasets. This novel work will provide base for anyone who is working to design a new frequent subgraph discovery technique.

Systematic review of frequent users of emergency departments in non-US hospitals: state of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

van Tiel, Sofie; Rood, Pleunie P M; Bertoli-Avella, Aida M; Erasmus, Vicky; Haagsma, Juanita; van Beeck, Ed; Patka, Peter; Polinder, Suzanne

2015-10-01

This review focuses on frequent users (FUs) of the emergency department (ED). Elucidation of the characteristics of frequent ED users will help to improve healthcare services. A systematic review of the literature (from 1999 onwards) on frequent ED users in non-US hospitals was performed. Twenty-two studies were included. FUs are responsible for a wide variety of 1-31% of ED visits depending on the FU definition used. They have a mean age between 40 and 50 years and are older than nonfrequent users. Chronic physical and mental diseases seem to be the main reasons for frequent ED visits. In terms of social characteristics, lacking a partner is more frequently reported among FUs in some studies. The absence of a universal definition for FUs complicates the determination of the burden on emergency healthcare services. FUs are a heterogeneous group of patients with genuine medical needs and high consumption of other healthcare services.

Radiological air monitoring and sample analysis research and development progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

Sponsored by a Department Of Energy (DOE) research and development grant, the State of Idaho INEL Oversight Program (OP) personnel designed an independent air monitoring system that provides detection of the presence of priority airborne contaminants potentially migrating beyond INEL boundaries. Initial locations for off-site ambient air monitoring stations were chosen in consultation with: DOE and NOAA reports; Mesodif modeling; review of the relevant literature; and communication with private contractors and experts in pertinent fields. Idaho State University (ISU) has initiated an Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP). The EMP provides an independent monitoring function as well as a training ground for students. Students learn research techniques dedicated to environmental studies and learn analytical skills and rules of compliance related to monitoring. ISU-EMP assisted OP in specific aspects of identifying optimum permanent monitoring station locations, and in selecting appropriate sample collection equipment for each station. The authorization to establish, prepare and install sampling devices on selected sites was obtained by OP personnel in conjunction with ISU-EMP personnel. All samples described in this program are collected by OP or ISU-EMP personnel and returned to the ISU for analysis. This report represents the summary of results of those samples collected and analyzed for radioactivity during the year of 1992

Effects of frequent announced parasitology quizzes on the academic achievement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghasem Zamini

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The effect of frequent examinations on the students' learning has had inconsistent results. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of frequent announced quizzes on the learning of a representative sample of Iranian medical students.This experimental study was conducted among 37 fifth semester medical students who had taken the course in Protozoology and Helminthology, in which the same basic information were provided about different types of protozoa and worms. Initially, in the teaching of helminthology, ten routine sessions were handled with lectures and interactive questions and answers. Then at the beginning of the protozoology topic in the beginning of all of the next 9 sessions, the students were informed that they will have a quiz at the end of each session. At the end of the semester, the total scores of quizzes were compared with the mean final scores of protozoology and helminthology using paired t and repeated measure tests.The mean final scores of the protozoology lesson were not significantly different from that of the helminthology (10.45 ± 2.75 vs.11.25 ± 2.56 on the scale of 20, respectively, P=0.13. There was no significant difference in the mean score of the five quizzes compared with the mean final term score of protozoology. The overall mean scores in the helminthology lesson (11.25±2.56, protozoology lesson (10.45±2.75, and the quizzes (9.16 ± 3.55 were significantly different (P <0.0001.Frequent announced quizzes were not effective on increasing the medical students' motivation and learning.

[A comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling].

Science.gov (United States)

Suen, Lee-Jen Wu; Huang, Hui-Man; Lee, Hao-Hsien

2014-06-01

Convenience sampling and purposive sampling are two different sampling methods. This article first explains sampling terms such as target population, accessible population, simple random sampling, intended sample, actual sample, and statistical power analysis. These terms are then used to explain the difference between "convenience sampling" and purposive sampling." Convenience sampling is a non-probabilistic sampling technique applicable to qualitative or quantitative studies, although it is most frequently used in quantitative studies. In convenience samples, subjects more readily accessible to the researcher are more likely to be included. Thus, in quantitative studies, opportunity to participate is not equal for all qualified individuals in the target population and study results are not necessarily generalizable to this population. As in all quantitative studies, increasing the sample size increases the statistical power of the convenience sample. In contrast, purposive sampling is typically used in qualitative studies. Researchers who use this technique carefully select subjects based on study purpose with the expectation that each participant will provide unique and rich information of value to the study. As a result, members of the accessible population are not interchangeable and sample size is determined by data saturation not by statistical power analysis.

XML documents cluster research based on frequent subpatterns

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Tienan; Li, Wei; Li, Xiongfei

2015-12-01

XML data is widely used in the information exchange field of Internet, and XML document data clustering is the hot research topic. In the XML document clustering process, measure differences between two XML documents is time costly, and impact the efficiency of XML document clustering. This paper proposed an XML documents clustering method based on frequent patterns of XML document dataset, first proposed a coding tree structure for encoding the XML document, and translate frequent pattern mining from XML documents into frequent pattern mining from string. Further, using the cosine similarity calculation method and cohesive hierarchical clustering method for XML document dataset by frequent patterns. Because of frequent patterns are subsets of the original XML document data, so the time consumption of XML document similarity measure is reduced. The experiment runs on synthetic dataset and the real datasets, the experimental result shows that our method is efficient.

Defining And Characterizing Sample Representativeness For DWPF Melter Feed Samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shine, E. P.; Poirier, M. R.

2013-10-29

Representative sampling is important throughout the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) process, and the demonstrated success of the DWPF process to achieve glass product quality over the past two decades is a direct result of the quality of information obtained from the process. The objective of this report was to present sampling methods that the Savannah River Site (SRS) used to qualify waste being dispositioned at the DWPF. The goal was to emphasize the methodology, not a list of outcomes from those studies. This methodology includes proven methods for taking representative samples, the use of controlled analytical methods, and data interpretation and reporting that considers the uncertainty of all error sources. Numerous sampling studies were conducted during the development of the DWPF process and still continue to be performed in order to evaluate options for process improvement. Study designs were based on use of statistical tools applicable to the determination of uncertainties associated with the data needs. Successful designs are apt to be repeated, so this report chose only to include prototypic case studies that typify the characteristics of frequently used designs. Case studies have been presented for studying in-tank homogeneity, evaluating the suitability of sampler systems, determining factors that affect mixing and sampling, comparing the final waste glass product chemical composition and durability to that of the glass pour stream sample and other samples from process vessels, and assessing the uniformity of the chemical composition in the waste glass product. Many of these studies efficiently addressed more than one of these areas of concern associated with demonstrating sample representativeness and provide examples of statistical tools in use for DWPF. The time when many of these designs were implemented was in an age when the sampling ideas of Pierre Gy were not as widespread as they are today. Nonetheless, the engineers and

Defining And Characterizing Sample Representativeness For DWPF Melter Feed Samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shine, E. P.; Poirier, M. R.

2013-01-01

Representative sampling is important throughout the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) process, and the demonstrated success of the DWPF process to achieve glass product quality over the past two decades is a direct result of the quality of information obtained from the process. The objective of this report was to present sampling methods that the Savannah River Site (SRS) used to qualify waste being dispositioned at the DWPF. The goal was to emphasize the methodology, not a list of outcomes from those studies. This methodology includes proven methods for taking representative samples, the use of controlled analytical methods, and data interpretation and reporting that considers the uncertainty of all error sources. Numerous sampling studies were conducted during the development of the DWPF process and still continue to be performed in order to evaluate options for process improvement. Study designs were based on use of statistical tools applicable to the determination of uncertainties associated with the data needs. Successful designs are apt to be repeated, so this report chose only to include prototypic case studies that typify the characteristics of frequently used designs. Case studies have been presented for studying in-tank homogeneity, evaluating the suitability of sampler systems, determining factors that affect mixing and sampling, comparing the final waste glass product chemical composition and durability to that of the glass pour stream sample and other samples from process vessels, and assessing the uniformity of the chemical composition in the waste glass product. Many of these studies efficiently addressed more than one of these areas of concern associated with demonstrating sample representativeness and provide examples of statistical tools in use for DWPF. The time when many of these designs were implemented was in an age when the sampling ideas of Pierre Gy were not as widespread as they are today. Nonetheless, the engineers and

Data validation report for the 100-HR-3 Operable Unit, fifth round groundwater samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vukelich, S.E.

1994-01-01

The data from the chemical analysis of 68 samples from the 100-HR-3 Operable Unit Third Quarter 1993 Groundwater Sampling Investigation and their related quality assurance samples were reviewed and validated to verify that reported sample results were of sufficient quality to support decisions regarding remedial actions performed at the site. Sample analysis included inorganics and general chemical parameters. Fifty three samples were validated for radiochemical parameters

Data validation report for the 100-D Ponds Operable Unit: 100-D ponds sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stankovich, M.T.

1994-01-01

Westinghouse-Hanford has requested that 100 percent of the Sample Delivery Groups be validated for the 100-D Ponds Operable Unit Sampling Investigation. Therefore the data from the chemical analysis of all 30 samples from this sampling event and their related quality assurance samples were reviewed and validated to verify that reported sample results were of sufficient quality to support decisions regarding remedial actions performed at this site

IFCC guideline for sampling, measuring and reporting ionized magnesium in plasma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rayana, M.C. Ben; Burnett, R.W.; Covington, A.K.

2008-01-01

Analyzers with ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) for ionized magnesium (iMg) should yield comparable and unbiased results for iMg. This IFCC guideline on sampling, measuring and reporting iMg in plasma provides a prerequisite to achieve this goal [in this document, "plasma" refers to circulating...... plasma and the forms in which it is sampled, namely the plasma phase of anticoagulated whole blood (or "blood"), plasma separated from blood cells, or serum]. The guideline recommends measuring and reporting ionized magnesium as a substance concentration relative to the substance concentration...... of magnesium in primary aqueous calibrants with magnesium, sodium, and calcium chloride of physiological ionic strength. The recommended name is "the concentration of ionized magnesium in plasma". Based on this guideline, results will be approximately 3% higher than the true substance concentration and 4...

Data validation report for the 100-FR-3 Operable Unit, third round groundwater samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayres, J.M.

1994-01-01

Westinghouse-Hanford has requested that a minimum of 20% of the total number of Sample Delivery Groups be validated for the 100-FR-3 operable Unit Third Round Groundwater sampling investigation. Therefore, the data from the chemical analysis of 51 samples from this sampling event and their related quality assurance samples were reviewed and validated to verify that reported sample results were of sufficient quality to support decisions regarding remedial actions performed at this site. The report is broken down into sections for each chemical analysis and radiochemical analysis type. Each section addresses the data package completeness, holding time adherence, instrument calibration and tuning acceptability, blank results, accuracy, precision, system performance, as well as the compound identification and quantitation. In addition, each section has an overall assessment and summary for the data packages reviewed for the particular chemical/radiochemical analyses. Detailed backup information is provided to the reader by SDG No. and sample number. For each data package, a matrix of chemical analyses per sample number is presented, as well as data qualification summaries

Retrieval program system of Chinese Evaluated (frequently useful) Nuclear Decay Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Xiaolong; Zhou Chunmei

1995-01-01

The Chinese Evaluated (frequently useful) Nuclear Decay Database has been set up in MICRO-VAX-11 computer at Chinese Nuclear Data Center (CNDC). For users' convenience, the retrieval program system of the database is written. Retrieval can be carried out for one nucleus or multi-nucleus. The retrieved results can be displayed on terminal screen or output to M3081 printer and laser printer in ENSDF format, table report or scheme diagrams

Effect of model choice and sample size on statistical tolerance limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duran, B.S.; Campbell, K.

1980-03-01

Statistical tolerance limits are estimates of large (or small) quantiles of a distribution, quantities which are very sensitive to the shape of the tail of the distribution. The exact nature of this tail behavior cannot be ascertained brom small samples, so statistical tolerance limits are frequently computed using a statistical model chosen on the basis of theoretical considerations or prior experience with similar populations. This report illustrates the effects of such choices on the computations

Considerations for sampling nuclear materials for SNM accounting measurements. Special nuclear material accountability report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brouns, R.J.; Roberts, F.P.; Upson, U.L.

1978-05-01

This report presents principles and guidelines for sampling nuclear materials to measure chemical and isotopic content of the material. Development of sampling plans and procedures that maintain the random and systematic errors of sampling within acceptable limits for SNM(Special Nuclear Materials) accounting purposes are emphasized

36 CFR 9.42 - Well records and reports, plots and maps, samples, tests and surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Well records and reports, plots and maps, samples, tests and surveys. Any technical data gathered... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Well records and reports, plots and maps, samples, tests and surveys. 9.42 Section 9.42 Parks, Forests, and Public Property...

Climate Leadership Awards Frequent Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Climate Leadership Awards, sponsored by EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership with co-sponsorship from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and The Climate Registry.

Frequently Asked Questions in Fire Probabilistic Safety Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dae Il; Kim, Kil Yoo; Park, Gee Yong

2010-05-01

The FAQs(Frequently Asked Questions) in the Fire Probabilistic Safety Assessment(FPSA) are the issues occurred during performing the engineering evaluation based on NFPA-805. In this report, the background and resolutions are reviewed and described for 17 FAQs related to FPSA among 57 FAQs. The current FAQs related to FPSA are the issues concerning to NUREG/CR-6850, and are almost resolved but for the some FAQ, the current resolutions would be changed depending on the results of the future or on-going research. Among FAQs related to FPSA, best estimate approaches are suggested concerning to the conservative method of NUREG/CR-6850. If these best estimate solutions are used in the FPSA of nuclear power plants, realistic evaluation results of fire risk would be obtained

Differences between Internet samples and conventional samples of men who have sex with men: implications for research and HIV interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, M W; Tikkanen, R; Månsson, S A

2000-09-01

The Internet is becoming a new erotic oasis for obtaining sex online or in person. We reviewed the literature on cybersex and compared differences in data from samples of homosexually active men obtained on identical questionnaires from a conventional written questionnaire, distributed through the mailing and contact lists of a large national gay organization in Sweden, and through the same organization's website and chat room. A total of 716 written questionnaires and 678 Internet questionnaires were obtained. The Internet sample was younger, more likely to live in small towns or cities, live with parents or a girlfriend, and have lower formal education. They are less likely to have previous sexual experience solely with other men (one in three of the Internet sample vs. 1 in 14 of the written sample defined themselves as bisexual) and more likely to visit erotic oases such as bathhouses, video clubs and erotic movie houses. They also visited Internet chat rooms more frequently (86% of the Internet sample vs. 50% of the written sample). One third of the Internet sample wanted the opportunity to talk with an expert about HIV compared with a quarter of the written sample. Sexual practices between the two samples were generally similar, although the Internet sample reported significantly less body contact, kissing, hugging, mutual masturbation, and more condom use for anal intercourse with steady partners. Over four times as many of the Internet samples reported sex with women in the past year as the written sample. These data indicate that Internet data collection is feasible and that this mode of data collection, despite the nonrandom and self-selected nature of both types of samples, is likely to be more significantly oriented toward the young, geographically more isolated, and more behaviorally and self-identified bisexual respondent than conventionally distributed written questionnaires.

[Differences in momentum development when standing up from a chair between elderly with and without frequent falls history].

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán, Rodrigo Antonio; Prado, Hugo Enrique; Porcel Melián, Helvio; Cordier, Benoit

2009-01-01

The momentum of the upper body (UB) during transfer sit-to-stand (STS) could be sensitive to the deterioration of dynamic postural control, and also the risk of falls. The aim of this study is to quantify the differences in the momentum development on UB during the STS in a sample of fall and no-fall elderly subjects. MATERIAL AND MEHODS: The sample consisted of twenty three voluntary elderly subjects (n=23), six elderly adults with antecedents of frequent falls (more than two within a year period) and seventeen without histories of frequent falls. Through a motion analysis system we registered the kinematics of UB during STS, from which we calculated the momentum of UB. The determined analysis variables were: the maximum values of the vertical (P(V)M) and horizontal (P(H)M) lineal momenta, the minimum (L(Max)) and maximum (L(Min)) values of the angular momentum and maximum trunk flexion (thetaM(UB)). No difference was observed in P(H)M, L(Max) and L(Min) (P>0.05) between both groups. However, a significant difference was found for the variable P(V)M (P=0.03) and thetaM(UB) (P=0.03) between both groups. We can conclude that, for the sample studied, the frequent fall condition relates to a smaller capacity to develop vertical momentum and increase flexion of the upper body.

A Case of Frequent Arousal Following Nocturnal Dyspnea Caused by Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dae Wui Yoon

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD is a common disorder that is associated with many esophageal syndromes and complications. Most cases of reflux event occur during the day, but reflux during sleep can cause not only esophageal problems, but also sleep problems, such as arousal and poor sleep quality. We report the case of a 17-year-old man who had been referred to us with frequent arousal following sudden dyspnea. On polysomnography, no respiratory disturbances and periodic limb movements were found during the sleep study, but frequent events of arousal were reported (arousal index: 12.3/h. On a 24-hr esophageal pH monitoring test, his DeMeester score was 176.43 and the total reflux time was 1120.9 min (76.9%, indicating the presence of significant acid reflux. After treatment with a proton-pump inhibitor, the arousals following nocturnal dyspnea and fatigue in the morning disappeared in the patient. GERD should be considered as a cause of spontaneous arousal or awakening not accompanying respiratory disturbances.

Frequent price changes under menu costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Per Svejstrup

1999-01-01

, the price may be changed more frequent in the short run, and in the long run it definitely will. Hence, observing frequent price changes is not necessarily inconsistent with a firm operating under menu costs. This paper relies on an article by Dixit (1991), (Review of Economic studies, 58, 141......This paper investigates the effect of uncertainty on a single firm's pricing behaviour in a dynamic menu cost model that results in (S,s)-rules where the price is fixed inside a band. It will be demonstrated that even though the band of inaction widens in response to increased uncertainty...

Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program, 1990 report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deal, D.E.; Abitz, R.J.; Myers, J.; Case, J.B.; Martin, M.L.; Roggenthen, W.M. [International Technology Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Belski, D.S. [Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (United States). Waste Isolation Div.

1991-08-01

The data presented in this report are the result of Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program (BSEP) activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) during 1990. When excavations began in 1982, small brine seepages (weeps) were observed on the walls. These brine occurrences were initially described as part of the Site Validation Program. Brine studies were formalized in 1985. The BSEP activities document and investigate the origins, hydraulic characteristics, extent, and composition of brine occurrences in the Permian Salado Formation and seepage of that brine into the excavations at the WIPP. The brine chemistry is important because it assists in understanding the origin of the brine and because it may affect possible chemical reactions in the buried waste after sealing the repository. The volume of brine and the hydrologic system that drives the brine seepage also need to be understood to assess the long-term performance of the repository. After more than eight years of observations (1982--1990), no credible evidence exists to indicate that enough naturally occurring brine will seep into the WIPP excavations to be of practical concern. The detailed observations and analyses summarized herein and in previous BSEP reports confirm the evidence apparent during casual visits to the underground workings -- that the excavations are remarkably dry.

Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program, 1990 report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deal, D.E.; Abitz, R.J.; Myers, J.; Case, J.B.; Martin, M.L.; Roggenthen, W.M.; Belski, D.S.

1991-08-01

The data presented in this report are the result of Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program (BSEP) activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) during 1990. When excavations began in 1982, small brine seepages (weeps) were observed on the walls. These brine occurrences were initially described as part of the Site Validation Program. Brine studies were formalized in 1985. The BSEP activities document and investigate the origins, hydraulic characteristics, extent, and composition of brine occurrences in the Permian Salado Formation and seepage of that brine into the excavations at the WIPP. The brine chemistry is important because it assists in understanding the origin of the brine and because it may affect possible chemical reactions in the buried waste after sealing the repository. The volume of brine and the hydrologic system that drives the brine seepage also need to be understood to assess the long-term performance of the repository. After more than eight years of observations (1982--1990), no credible evidence exists to indicate that enough naturally occurring brine will seep into the WIPP excavations to be of practical concern. The detailed observations and analyses summarized herein and in previous BSEP reports confirm the evidence apparent during casual visits to the underground workings -- that the excavations are remarkably dry

Test-retest of computerized health status questionnaires frequently used in the monitoring of knee osteoarthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gudbergsen, Henrik; Bartels, Else M.; Krusager, Peter

2011-01-01

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To compare data based on touch screen to data based on traditional paper versions of questionnaires frequently used to examine patient reported outcomes in knee osteoarthritis patients and to examine the impact of patient characteristics on this comparison METHODS: Participa......ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To compare data based on touch screen to data based on traditional paper versions of questionnaires frequently used to examine patient reported outcomes in knee osteoarthritis patients and to examine the impact of patient characteristics on this comparison METHODS...... subgroups, completing either the paper or touch screen version first. Mean, mean differences (95% CI), median, median differences and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for all questionnaires. RESULTS: ICCs between data based on computerized and paper versions ranged from 0.86 to 0.......99. Analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between versions of the ADL Taxonomy, but not for the remaining questionnaires. Age, computer experience or education-level had no significant impact on the results. The computerized questionnaires were reported to be easier to use. CONCLUSION...

Hoe Creek 1990 quarterly sampling cumulative report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crader, S.E.; Huntington, G.S.

1991-03-01

Groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for benzene and for total phenols three times during 1990. This report summarizes the results of these sampling events and compares the results with those obtained in previous years. Possible further options for remediation of the Hoe Creek site was addressed. Three underground coal gasification (UCG) burns were performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy in 1976, 1977, and 1979 at the Hoe Creek site, which is about 20 miles south of Gillette, Wyoming. As a result of these burns, there has been considerable contamination of groundwater by various organic compounds. There have been three efforts at remediating this situation. In 1986 and again in 1987, contaminated water was pumped out, treated, and reinjected. In 1989, the water was pumped, treated, and sprayed into the atmosphere. Benzene and total phenols have been monitored at various monitoring wells as the site during 1990. The highest detected benzene concentration in 1990 was 220 {mu}g/L, and the highest total phenols concentration was 430 {mu}g/L. It is apparent that contamination is still above baseline levels, although the concentration of total phenols is far less than immediately after the burns. The burned coal seams are still releasing organic compounds into the groundwater that passes through them.

Focus Group Study Exploring Factors Related to Frequent Sickness Absence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annette Notenbomer

Full Text Available Research investigating frequent sickness absence (3 or more episodes per year is scarce and qualitative research from the perspective of frequent absentees themselves is lacking. The aim of the current study is to explore awareness, determinants of and solutions to frequent sickness absence from the perspective of frequent absentees themselves.We performed a qualitative study of 3 focus group discussions involving a total of 15 frequent absentees. Focus group discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Results were analyzed with the Graneheim method using the Job Demands Resources (JD-R model as theoretical framework.Many participants were not aware of their frequent sickness absence and the risk of future long-term sickness absence. As determinants, participants mentioned job demands, job resources, home demands, poor health, chronic illness, unhealthy lifestyles, and diminished feeling of responsibility to attend work in cases of low job resources. Managing these factors and improving communication (skills were regarded as solutions to reduce frequent sickness absence.The JD-R model provided a framework for determinants of and solutions to frequent sickness absence. Additional determinants were poor health, chronic illness, unhealthy lifestyles, and diminished feeling of responsibility to attend work in cases of low job resources. Frequent sickness absence should be regarded as a signal that something is wrong. Managers, supervisors, and occupational health care providers should advise and support frequent absentees to accommodate job demands, increase both job and personal resources, and improve health rather than express disapproval of frequent sickness absence and apply pressure regarding work attendance.

Focus Group Study Exploring Factors Related to Frequent Sickness Absence.

Science.gov (United States)

Notenbomer, Annette; Roelen, Corné A M; van Rhenen, Willem; Groothoff, Johan W

2016-01-01

Research investigating frequent sickness absence (3 or more episodes per year) is scarce and qualitative research from the perspective of frequent absentees themselves is lacking. The aim of the current study is to explore awareness, determinants of and solutions to frequent sickness absence from the perspective of frequent absentees themselves. We performed a qualitative study of 3 focus group discussions involving a total of 15 frequent absentees. Focus group discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Results were analyzed with the Graneheim method using the Job Demands Resources (JD-R) model as theoretical framework. Many participants were not aware of their frequent sickness absence and the risk of future long-term sickness absence. As determinants, participants mentioned job demands, job resources, home demands, poor health, chronic illness, unhealthy lifestyles, and diminished feeling of responsibility to attend work in cases of low job resources. Managing these factors and improving communication (skills) were regarded as solutions to reduce frequent sickness absence. The JD-R model provided a framework for determinants of and solutions to frequent sickness absence. Additional determinants were poor health, chronic illness, unhealthy lifestyles, and diminished feeling of responsibility to attend work in cases of low job resources. Frequent sickness absence should be regarded as a signal that something is wrong. Managers, supervisors, and occupational health care providers should advise and support frequent absentees to accommodate job demands, increase both job and personal resources, and improve health rather than express disapproval of frequent sickness absence and apply pressure regarding work attendance.

Lower life satisfaction related to materialism in children frequently exposed to advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Opree, Suzanna J; Buijzen, Moniek; Valkenburg, Patti M

2012-09-01

Research among adults suggests that materialism and life satisfaction negatively influence each other, causing a downward spiral. So far, cross-sectional research among children has indicated that materialistic children are less happy, but causality remains uncertain. This study adds to the literature by investigating the longitudinal relation between materialism and life satisfaction. We also investigated whether their relation depended on children's level of exposure to advertising. A sample of 466 children (aged 8-11; 55% girls) participated in a 2-wave online survey with a 1-year interval. We asked children questions about material possessions, life satisfaction, and advertising. We used structural equation modeling to study the relationship between these variables. For the children in our sample, no effect of materialism on life satisfaction was observed. However, life satisfaction did have a negative effect on materialism. Exposure to advertising facilitated this effect: We only found an effect of life satisfaction on materialism for children who were frequently exposed to advertising. Among 8- to 11-year-old children, life satisfaction leads to decreased materialism and not the other way around. However, this effect only holds for children who are frequently exposed to television advertising. It is plausible that the material values portrayed in advertising teach children that material possessions are a way to cope with decreased life satisfaction. It is important to reduce this effect, because findings among adults suggest that materialistic children may become less happy later in life. Various intervention strategies are discussed.

17 CFR Appendix B to Part 420 - Sample Large Position Report

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., and as collateral for financial derivatives and other securities transactions $ Total Memorandum 1... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Sample Large Position Report B Appendix B to Part 420 Commodity and Securities Exchanges DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY REGULATIONS UNDER...

THE FREQUENT SKIN DISEASES DIAGNOSED AT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yesim KAYMAK

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The incidence of some skin diseases are increasing at adolescent and early adulthood period. The most frequent disease at this period is acne vulgaris whereas fungal diseases, dermatitis, dermatosis which are due to stress and other reasons, oral mucosal lesions and herpetic lesions of perioral region are also frequent. In this research we aim to determine the frequent dermatologic diseases of university students and 147 female, 74 male, a total of 221 students are included. We questioned the dermatologic complaints of students, then examined dermatologically in detail and registered ages, sexes, findings of the dermatological examination and dermatological diagnostic informations. As a result it is found out that the most frequent diseases are acne vulgaris (34.1%, allergic and pruritic dermatosis (16.6%, fungal diseases ( 13.0%, and eritamatous-squamous disease (8.3%. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2005; 4(6.000: 313-320

Frequent flyer business travelers: major exposure hazards.

Science.gov (United States)

Tompkins, Olga S; Randolph, Susan A; Ostendorf, Judith S

2005-02-01

Bagshaw (2004) notes "the modern commercial aircraft cabin is maintained with adequate environmental control for the comfort of most healthy individuals" (p. 417). Occupational health nurses frequently deal with a population that may include unhealthy individuals or those with pre-existing conditions. It is critical for occupational health nurses to stay current with major hazards faced by frequent flyer business travelers to assist in identifying and preventing adverse health effects associated with these exposures.

Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program: 1988 report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deal, D.E.; Abitz, R.J.; Case, J.B.; Crawley, M.E.; Deshler, R.M.; Drez, P.E.; Givens, C.A.; King, R.B.; Myers, J.; Pietz, J.M.; Roggenthen, W.M.; Tyburski, J.R.; Belski, D.S.; Niou, S.; Wallace, M.G.

1989-12-01

The data presented in this report are the result of Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program (BSEP) activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) during 1988. These activities, which are a continuation and update of studies that began in 1982 as part of the Site Validation Program, were formalized as the BSEP in 1985 to document and investigate the origins, hydraulic characteristics, extent, and composition of brine occurrences in the Permian Salado Formation, and seepage of that brine into the excavations at the WIPP. Previous BSEP reports (Deal and Case, 1987; Deal and others, 1987) described the results of ongoing activities that monitor brine inflow into boreholes in the facility, moisture content of the Salado Formation, brine geochemistry, and brine weeps and crusts. The information provided in this report updates past work and describes progress made during the calendar year 1988. During 1988, BSEP activities focused on four major areas to describe and quantify brine activity: (1) monitoring of brine inflow parameters, e.g., measuring brines recovered from holes drilled upward from the underground drifts (upholes), downward from the underground drifts (downholes), and near-horizontal holes; (2) characterizing the brine, e.g., the geochemistry of the brine and the presence of bacteria and their possible interactions with experiments and operations; (3) characterizing formation properties associated with the occurrence of brine; e.g., determining the water content of various geologic units, examining these units in boreholes using a video camera system, and measuring their resistivity (conductivity); and (4) modeling to examine the interaction of salt deformation near the workings and brine seepage through the deforming salt. 77 refs., 48 figs., 32 tabs

Cannabis and Opium Abuse Patterns and Their Associated Complications in a Sample of Young Iranians

Science.gov (United States)

Attari, Mohammad Ali; Asgary, Sedigheh; Shahrokhi, Shahnaz; Naderi, Gholam Ali; Shariatirad, Schwann

2012-01-01

The prevalence of drug abuse has been reported to be up to 17.0% in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of two frequently abused substances--cannabis and opium--in samples of the young population in Isfahan, Iran. In a survey done from January 2005 to December 2006, 537 individuals aged 13-20 years were recruited using a…

Coital frequency and infertility: which male factors predict less frequent coitus among infertile couples?

Science.gov (United States)

Perlis, Nathan; Lo, Kirk C; Grober, Ethan D; Spencer, Leia; Jarvi, Keith

2013-08-01

To determine the coital frequency among infertile couples and which factors are associated with less frequent coitus. Cross-sectional study. Tertiary-level male infertility clinic. A total of 1,298 infertile men. Administration of computer-based survey, semen analysis, and serum hormone evaluation. Monthly coital frequency. A total of 1,298 patients presented to clinic for infertility consultation and completed the computer-based survey. The median male age was 35 years (interquartile range [IQR] 32-39 years) and the median duration of infertility was 2 years (IQR 1-4 years) before consultation. Median monthly coital frequency was seven (IQR 5-10; range 0-40); 24% of couples were having intercourse ≤ 4 times per month. Overall, 0.6%, 2.7%, 4.8%, 5.8%, and 10.8% of the men reported having intercourse 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 times per month, respectively. When simultaneously taking into account the influence of age, libido, erectile function, and semen volume on coital frequency, older patients had 1.05 times higher odds (per year of age) of less frequent coitus (odds ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.08). In addition, patients with better erectile function had 1.12 times higher odds (per point on Sexual Health Inventory for Men scale) of more frequent coitus (odds ratio 1.12, 95% confidence interval 1.09-1.18). Similar to the general population, most infertile couples report having coitus more than four times per month. Older male age and erectile dysfunction are independent risk factors for less frequent coitus among infertile men, which could have an impact on fertility. Coital frequency should be considered in infertility assessments. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Safety analysis report for packaging (onsite) sample pig transport system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MCCOY, J.C.

1999-01-01

This Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) provides a technical evaluation of the Sample Pig Transport System as compared to the requirements of the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) Order 5480.1, Change 1, Chapter III. The evaluation concludes that the package is acceptable for the onsite transport of Type B, fissile excepted radioactive materials when used in accordance with this document

Safety analysis report for packaging (onsite) sample pig transport system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MCCOY, J.C.

1999-03-16

This Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) provides a technical evaluation of the Sample Pig Transport System as compared to the requirements of the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) Order 5480.1, Change 1, Chapter III. The evaluation concludes that the package is acceptable for the onsite transport of Type B, fissile excepted radioactive materials when used in accordance with this document.

The Dutch Cannabis Dependence (CanDep) study on the course of frequent cannabis use and dependence: objectives, methods and sample characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Pol, P.; Liebregts, N.; de Graaf, R.; Korf, D.J.; van den Brink, W.; van Laar, M.

2011-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the prospective cohort design of the Dutch Cannabis Dependence (CanDep) study, which investigates (i) the three-year natural course of frequent cannabis use (≥ three days per week in the past 12 months) and cannabis dependence; and (ii) the factors involved in the

The experiences of frequent users of crisis helplines: A qualitative interview study.

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, Aves; Gunn, Jane; Bassilios, Bridget; Pirkis, Jane

2016-11-01

To understand why some users call crisis helplines frequently. Nineteen semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with callers to Lifeline Australia who reported calling 20 times or more in the past month and provided informed consent. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analysis was used to generate common themes. Approval was granted by The University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee. Three overarching themes emerged from the data and included reasons for calling, service response and calling behaviours. Respondents called seeking someone to talk to, help with their mental health issues and assistance with negative life events. When they called, they found short-term benefits in the unrestricted support offered by the helpline. Over time they called about similar issues and described reactive, support-seeking and dependent calling behaviours. Frequent users of crisis helplines call about ongoing issues. They have developed distinctive calling behaviours which appear to occur through an interaction between their reasons for calling and the response they receive from the helpline. The ongoing nature of the issues prompting frequent users to call suggests that a service model that includes a continuity of care component may be more efficient in meeting their needs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment-Based Intervention to Reduce Frequent Emergency Department Visits: A Report of Four Cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei-Chen Liao

2012-06-01

Full Text Available A small number of clustered visits by emergency department frequent users (EDFUs may over-consume emergency care resources. We report the effectiveness of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA-based multidisciplinary team (MDT care for four EDFUs, in reducing ED visits. Case 1 had visited the ED twice/month due to chest discomfort. Her ED visits were significantly reduced to 0.2 visits/month following CGA-based MDT care. Case 2 had failed back surgery syndrome and bipolar disorder. His ED visit was reduced from 2.8 visits to 0.8 visits/month following CGA-based MDT intervention. Case 3 had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and urinary incontinence, with a urinary catheter in place. He made 31 ED visits (5.1 visits/month before his lung cancer and depression were discovered by CGA. He died 2 months later. Case 4 made 27 ED visits (2.7 visits/month due to dizziness. His problems of early dementia and neglect were identified by CGA, and he visited the ED only once following MDT intervention. In conclusion, CGA-based MDT intervention successfully reduced ED visits among these EDFUs, but further investigation is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of geriatric services in the ED.

The High Altitude Sampling Program: Radioactivity in the stratosphere: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leifer, R.; Juzdan, Z.R.

1986-12-01

Radioactivity data are presented from Project Airstream (aircraft) for the year 1983 and for Project Ashcan (balloon) for the years 1982 and 1984. Due to budgetary constraints both Projects Airstream and Ashcan have been terminated. This will be the final report containing radioactivity data collected during projects airstream and ashcan. Included are gross gamma, gamma spectral and radiochemical analyses of filter samples. Quality control samples submitted along with the air filter samples were analyzed and the results are presented. Low activity on many of the filters precludes the estimation of the stratospheric inventories of /sup 239,240/Pu and 90 Sr. Based on data with count errors 90 Sr and /sup 239,240/Pu concentration for November 1983 was 0.2 +- 0.1 and 0.009 +- 0.006 Bq/1000 scm, respectively

Waste Tank Vapor Project: Vapor characterization of Tank 241-C-103: Report for SUMMA trademark canister samples received 11/29/93 (sample jobs 4 and 5)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, T.R.; Lucke, R.B.; McVeety, B.; Allwine, K.J.; Fruchter, J.S.

1994-09-01

The purpose of Sample Jobs 4 and 5 was to determine whether the organic nitrites observed on the outside of tank 241-C-103 originated in the tank or from degradation products of the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. The plan was to take samples from either side of the HE-PA filter. The relative level of organic nitrites would help determine whether they were produced in the filter or the tank. Pacific Northwest Laboratory was responsible for analyzing the SUMMA trademark canisters collected in support of this study. The laboratory was to analyze the SUMMA trademark Canister samples according to letters of instruction and report all semivolatile and volatile organic constituents detected in the tank headspace. Pacific Northwest Laboratory was also to submit a letter report to the Program Manager of all qualitative and quantitative analytical data, and estimate concentrations of any aliphatic nitrites identified. This was one of the first sampling activities for this program, and a number of errors were made both in the field and in the laboratory. Because of these errors, the samples and results were of questionable value. Therefore, Westinghouse program management asked that the analysis of the samples for this report not be completed. This report describes the few results that were generated before we were asked to stop work on this activity. In addition to analyzing SUMMA trademark canisters, PNL operates a site portable weather station near tank 241-C-103. Pacific Northwest Laboratory was required to collect atmospheric data starting 11/15/93, but the weather station was already collecting data during the time of both these two sample jobs (11/12/93 and 11/16/93). Therefore, a summary of the atmospheric data is also presented in this report

Key factors of case management interventions for frequent users of healthcare services: a thematic analysis review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudon, Catherine; Chouinard, Maud-Christine; Lambert, Mireille; Diadiou, Fatoumata; Bouliane, Danielle; Beaudin, Jérémie

2017-10-22

The aim of this paper was to identify the key factors of case management (CM) interventions among frequent users of healthcare services found in empirical studies of effectiveness. Thematic analysis review of CM studies. We built on a previously published review that aimed to report the effectiveness of CM interventions for frequent users of healthcare services, using the Medline, Scopus and CINAHL databases covering the January 2004-December 2015 period, then updated to July 2017, with the keywords 'CM' and 'frequent use'. We extracted factors of successful (n=7) and unsuccessful (n=6) CM interventions and conducted a mixed thematic analysis to synthesise findings. Chaudoir's implementation of health innovations framework was used to organise results into four broad levels of factors: (1) ,environmental/organisational level, (2) practitioner level, (3) patient level and (4) programme level. Access to, and close partnerships with, healthcare providers and community services resources were key factors of successful CM interventions that should target patients with the greatest needs and promote frequent contacts with the healthcare team. The selection and training of the case manager was also an important factor to foster patient engagement in CM. Coordination of care, self-management support and assistance with care navigation were key CM activities. The main issues reported by unsuccessful CM interventions were problems with case finding or lack of care integration. CM interventions for frequent users of healthcare services should ensure adequate case finding processes, rigorous selection and training of the case manager, sufficient intensity of the intervention, as well as good care integration among all partners. Other studies could further evaluate the influence of contextual factors on intervention impacts. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted

Does Encouragement by Others Increase Rape Reporting? Findings from a National Sample of Women

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Lisa A.; Zinzow, Heidi M.; McCauley, Jenna L.; Kilpatrick, Dean G.; Resnick, Heidi S.

2014-01-01

Our study explores the role of victims' consultation with others about whether or not to report their rape to police. Three groups were observed within this sample of 435 rape victims from a national telephone household probability sample of women: those who did not consult with anyone about reporting (n = 364), those who consulted with someone and were encouraged to report to police (n = 40), and those who consulted with someone and were not encouraged to report (n = 31). Descriptive analyses indicated that the encouraged group was more likely to report to police than either of the other two groups (which did not differ from each other). Because there were no differences between the two consulting groups on demographic or rape-related variables, they were combined in subsequent analyses. Consulting with others about whether to report, peri-traumatic fear of injury or death, assault perpetration by a stranger, and concerns about contracting a sexually transmitted disease were significant predictors of reporting to police after controlling for other significant predictors in a multivariate regression analysis. Implications of these findings are discussed, including the benefits and consequences of formal rape reporting for victims, and the role that disclosure recipients may have in assisting victims post-rape (e.g., encouragement of reporting, emotional support). PMID:25431519

Standardizing measurement, sampling and reporting for public exposure assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rochedo, Elaine R.R. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria, Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Av. Salvador Allende s/No. CEP 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], E-mail: elaine@ird.gov.br

2008-11-15

UNSCEAR assesses worldwide public exposure from natural and man-made sources of ionizing radiation based on information submitted to UNSCEAR by United Nations Member States and from peer reviewed scientific literature. These assessments are used as a basis for radiation protection programs of international and national regulatory and research organizations. Although UNSCEAR describes its assessment methodologies, the data are based on various monitoring approaches. In order to reduce uncertainties and improve confidence in public exposure assessments, it would be necessary to harmonize the methodologies used for sampling, measuring and reporting of environmental results.

The Power of Low Back Pain Trials: A Systematic Review of Power, Sample Size, and Reporting of Sample Size Calculations Over Time, in Trials Published Between 1980 and 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Froud, Robert; Rajendran, Dévan; Patel, Shilpa; Bright, Philip; Bjørkli, Tom; Eldridge, Sandra; Buchbinder, Rachelle; Underwood, Martin

2017-06-01

A systematic review of nonspecific low back pain trials published between 1980 and 2012. To explore what proportion of trials have been powered to detect different bands of effect size; whether there is evidence that sample size in low back pain trials has been increasing; what proportion of trial reports include a sample size calculation; and whether likelihood of reporting sample size calculations has increased. Clinical trials should have a sample size sufficient to detect a minimally important difference for a given power and type I error rate. An underpowered trial is one within which probability of type II error is too high. Meta-analyses do not mitigate underpowered trials. Reviewers independently abstracted data on sample size at point of analysis, whether a sample size calculation was reported, and year of publication. Descriptive analyses were used to explore ability to detect effect sizes, and regression analyses to explore the relationship between sample size, or reporting sample size calculations, and time. We included 383 trials. One-third were powered to detect a standardized mean difference of less than 0.5, and 5% were powered to detect less than 0.3. The average sample size was 153 people, which increased only slightly (∼4 people/yr) from 1980 to 2000, and declined slightly (∼4.5 people/yr) from 2005 to 2011 (P pain trials and the reporting of sample size calculations may need to be increased. It may be justifiable to power a trial to detect only large effects in the case of novel interventions. 3.

Defining frequent use of an urban emergency department

Science.gov (United States)

Locker, Thomas E; Baston, Simon; Mason, Suzanne M; Nicholl, Jon

2007-01-01

Objective This study aimed to develop a definition of frequent use of an emergency department (ED) by comparing differences in the observed frequency distribution with that of a theoretical frequency distribution. Methods A retrospective analysis of attendance of ED and minor injury unit attendances in one city over 1 year was conducted. From these data, the expected frequency distribution was determined based upon a Poisson distribution. Results During the period studied, 75 141 people attended on 98 908 occasions. The theoretical frequency distribution showed that there were 2764 (3.7%) “frequent users” presenting repeatedly due to non‐random events. These patients made 12 316 (12.4%) attendances. Frequent users were older than chance users (mean age 49.7 vs 44.5 years). A greater proportion arrived by ambulance (55.3% vs 27.5%), presented with psychiatric problems (5.8% vs 1.1%) or alcohol intoxication (1.3% vs 0.5%), and were admitted to hospital (37.4% vs 19.6%). Conclusion We have identified that there is a group of patients who present repeatedly due to non‐random events, confirming the existence of “frequent users”. Their characteristics are clearly different to other patients in the ED. We propose that “frequent users” be defined as any patient who makes more than four attendances per year. PMID:17513534

Frequent condom use with casual partners varies by sexual position among younger gay and bisexual men in New Zealand: national behavioural surveillance 2006-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachowsky, Nathan J; Saxton, Peter J W; Hughes, Anthony J; Dickson, Nigel P; Milhausen, Robin R; Dewey, Cate E; Summerlee, Alastair J S

2016-02-01

Background Condom promotion remains a cornerstone of HIV/STI control, but must be informed by evidence of uptake and address disparities in use. This study sought to determine the prevalence of, and demographic, behavioural and relational factors associated with, condom use during insertive and receptive anal intercourse with casual partners among younger gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (YMSM) in New Zealand. The 2006-2011 national HIV behavioural surveillance data for YMSM aged 16-29 years was pooled. Separately for each sexual position, frequent (always/almost always) versus infrequent condom use was regressed onto explanatory variables using manual backward stepwise multivariable logistic regression analysis. Three-quarters of YMSM reported frequent condom use during insertive (76.0%) and receptive (73.8%) anal intercourse. YMSM who were exclusively insertive were more likely to report frequent condom use than versatile YMSM. Factors positively associated with frequent condom use, irrespective of sexual position were: in-person versus web-based recruitment, testing HIV negative versus never testing or testing HIV positive, having no recent sex with women, reporting two to five versus one male sexual partner in the past 6 months, reporting no current regular partner, but if in a regular relationship, reporting a boyfriend-type versus fuckbuddy-type partner, and frequent versus infrequent regular partner condom use. Pacific ethnicity and less formal education were negatively associated with frequent condom use only during receptive anal intercourse. The findings from this study demonstrate that condom norms can be actively established and maintained among YMSM. Condom promotion efforts must increase YMSM's capacity, agency and skills to negotiate condom use, especially for the receptive partner.

Report of the Workshop for Life Detection in Samples from Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Kminek, Gerhard; Conley, Catherine; Allen, Carlton C.; Bartlett, Douglas H.; Beaty, David W.; Benning, Liane G.; Bhartia, Rohit; Boston, Penelope J.; Duchaine, Caroline; Farmer, Jack D.;

Frequent attenders without organic disease in a gastroenterology clinic. Patient characteristics and health care use.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, C; Bond, A; Gill, D; Sharpe, M

1999-01-01

We used a hospital computer to identify 50 patients (35 women, 15 men) satisfying research criteria for "frequent attenders" at a gastroenterology outpatient clinic (four or more visits to a general hospital clinic in the previous 12 months). Their mean duration of symptoms was 5 years, and 80% reported fatigue as a significant complaint. Thirteen (37%) of the women were also consulting a gynecologist, and in nine of these their status was normal. Seven (21%) of the 35 women who were interviewed had a history of childhood sexual abuse, and these patients reported significantly more lifetime somatic symptoms (9.7, SD = 3.8) than those without such a history (5.4, SD = 3.5, p = 12 visits over the previous 12 months), and the patients reported a mean number of 5.7 (SD = 2.1) specialist appointments in the previous year. There may be a case for using the hospital computer to identify frequent attenders proactively at an earlier stage of their hospital visits so that appropriate management can be instituted. If such patients can be identified in this way, their assessment and management might be more appropriately supervised in designated clinics by more experienced gastroenterology staff.

Large-scale transcriptome analysis reveals arabidopsis metabolic pathways are frequently influenced by different pathogens.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zhenhong; He, Fei; Zhang, Ziding

2017-07-01

Through large-scale transcriptional data analyses, we highlighted the importance of plant metabolism in plant immunity and identified 26 metabolic pathways that were frequently influenced by the infection of 14 different pathogens. Reprogramming of plant metabolism is a common phenomenon in plant defense responses. Currently, a large number of transcriptional profiles of infected tissues in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) have been deposited in public databases, which provides a great opportunity to understand the expression patterns of metabolic pathways during plant defense responses at the systems level. Here, we performed a large-scale transcriptome analysis based on 135 previously published expression samples, including 14 different pathogens, to explore the expression pattern of Arabidopsis metabolic pathways. Overall, metabolic genes are significantly changed in expression during plant defense responses. Upregulated metabolic genes are enriched on defense responses, and downregulated genes are enriched on photosynthesis, fatty acid and lipid metabolic processes. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) identifies 26 frequently differentially expressed metabolic pathways (FreDE_Paths) that are differentially expressed in more than 60% of infected samples. These pathways are involved in the generation of energy, fatty acid and lipid metabolism as well as secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Clustering analysis based on the expression levels of these 26 metabolic pathways clearly distinguishes infected and control samples, further suggesting the importance of these metabolic pathways in plant defense responses. By comparing with FreDE_Paths from abiotic stresses, we find that the expression patterns of 26 FreDE_Paths from biotic stresses are more consistent across different infected samples. By investigating the expression correlation between transcriptional factors (TFs) and FreDE_Paths, we identify several notable relationships. Collectively, the current study

Corporate Governance Frequently Asked Questions

OpenAIRE

International Finance Corporation

2016-01-01

This guidebook is designed to address common questionson corporate governance that are frequently asked byowners and managers of companies in the Middle Eastand North Africa (MENA) region. It familiarizes readerswith the basic concepts of corporate governance,providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter,using case studies as practical examples of corporategovernance application...

Predictors of Frequent Emergency Room Visits among a Homeless Population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kinna Thakarar

Full Text Available Homelessness, HIV, and substance use are interwoven problems. Furthermore, homeless individuals are frequent users of emergency services. The main purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for frequent emergency room (ER visits and to examine the effects of housing status and HIV serostatus on ER utilization. The second purpose was to identify risk factors for frequent ER visits in patients with a history of illicit drug use.A retrospective analysis was performed on 412 patients enrolled in a Boston-based health care for the homeless program (HCH. This study population was selected as a 2:1 HIV seronegative versus HIV seropositive match based on age, sex, and housing status. A subgroup analysis was performed on 287 patients with history of illicit drug use. Chart data were analyzed to compare demographics, health characteristics, and health service utilization. Results were stratified by housing status. Logistic models using generalized estimating equations were used to predict frequent ER visits.In homeless patients, hepatitis C was the only predictor of frequent ER visits (OR 4.49, p<0.01. HIV seropositivity was not predictive of frequent ER visits. In patients with history of illicit drug use, mental health (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.07-5.95 and hepatitis C (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.37-5.93 were predictors of frequent ER use. HIV seropositivity did not predict ER use (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.21 - 0.97.In a HCH population, hepatitis C predicted frequent ER visits in homeless patients. HIV seropositivity did not predict frequent ER visits, likely because HIV seropositive HCH patients are engaged in care. In patients with history of illicit drug use, hepatitis C and mental health disorders predicted frequent ER visits. Supportive housing for patients with mental health disorders and hepatitis C may help prevent unnecessary ER visits in this population.

Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions: Recommendations from a 2009 NRC Report

Science.gov (United States)

Race, Margaret; Farmer, Jack

A 2009 report by the National Research Council (NRC) reviewed a previous study on Mars Sample Return (1997) and provided updated recommendations for future sample return mis-sions based on our current understanding about Mars and its biological potential, as well as advances in technology and analytical capabilities. The committee* made 12 specific recommen-dations that fall into three general categories—one related to current scientific understanding, ten based on changes in the technical and/or policy environment, and one aimed at public com-munication. Substantive changes from the 1997 report relate mainly to protocols and methods, technology and infrastructure, and general oversight. This presentation provides an overview of the 2009 report and its recommendations and analyzes how they may impact mission designs and plans. The full report, Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions is available online at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?recordi d = 12576 * Study participants: Jack D. Farmer, Arizona State University (chair) James F. Bell III, Cornell University Kathleen C. Benison, Central Michigan University William V. Boynton, University of Arizona Sherry L. Cady, Portland State University F. Grant Ferris, University of Toronto Duncan MacPherson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Margaret S. Race, SETI Institute Mark H. Thiemens, University of California, San Diego Meenakshi Wadhwa, Arizona State University

Answers to frequently asked questions about cleanup activities at Three Mile Island, Unit 2. Public information report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-09-01

The document presents answers to frequently asked questions about plans for cleanup and decontamination activities at Three Mile Island, Unit 2. Answers to the questions asked are based on information in the NRC 'Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement related to decontamination and disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from March 28, 1979, accident, Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 2' NUREG-0683

296-B-10 stack monitoring and sampling system annual system assessment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridge, T.M.

1995-01-01

B Plant Administration Manual, requires an annual system assessment to evaluate and report the present condition of the sampling and monitoring system associated with stack 296-B-10 at B Plant. The ventilation system of WESF (Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility) is designed to provide airflow patterns so that air movement throughout the building is from areas of lesser radioactivity to areas of greater radioactivity. All potentially contaminated areas are maintained at a negative pressure with respect to the atmosphere so that air flows into the building at all times. The exhaust discharging through the 296-B-10 stack is continuously monitored and sampled using a sampling and monitoring probe assembly located approximately 17.4 meters (57 feet) above the base of the stack. The probe assembly consists of 5 nozzles for the sampling probe and 2 nozzles to monitor the flow. The sampling and monitoring system associated with Stack 296-B-10 is functional and performing satisfactorily

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A FREQUENT WORK-RELATED ILLNESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emanuele Cannizzaro

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD is an anxiety disorder that results from exposure to a traumatic event, and is characterized by hypermnesia of the traumatic event with frequent re-experiencing of the tragic occurrence, hyperarousal, and avoidance behaviour. Depression, anxiety, sleep dysfunction and substance abuse are also commonly reported. PTSD is highly prevalent both in the general population and in certain occupations that are particularly exposed to life-threatening situations, physically and psychological demanding activities, and physical assault, such as rescue workers, firefighters and paramedics. Recent advances in the comprehension of the epidemiology, physiopathology and clinical presentation of PTSD could push toward increased identification of this common psychiatric disorder with significant reflections on the chances of successful treatment.

The Most Frequent English Homonyms

Science.gov (United States)

Parent, Kevin

2012-01-01

This article distinguishes homonymy, homophony, homography and polysemy, and provides a list of the most frequent homonyms using corpus-derived data. For most of the homonyms, the most common meaning accounts for 90% or more of the total uses of the form. The pedagogical and research implications of these findings are discussed. (Contains 5…

Socio-economic differences in predictors of frequent dairy food consumption among Australian adolescents: a longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Lena D; McNaughton, Sarah A; Crawford, David; Ball, Kylie

2015-12-01

Sufficient dairy food consumption during adolescence is necessary for preventing disease. While socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents tend to consume few dairy foods, some eat quantities more in line with dietary recommendations despite socio-economic challenges. Socio-economic variations in factors supportive of adolescents' frequent dairy consumption remain unexplored. The present study aimed to identify cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between intrapersonal, social and environmental factors and adolescents' frequent dairy consumption at baseline and two years later across socio-economic strata, and to examine whether socio-economic position moderated observed effects. Online surveys completed at baseline (2004-2005) and follow-up (2006-2007) included a thirty-eight-item FFQ and questions based on social ecological models examining intrapersonal, social and environmental dietary influences. Thirty-seven secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. Australian adolescents (n 1201) aged 12-15 years, drawn from a sub-sample of 3264 adolescents (response rate=33%). While frequent breakfast consumption was cross-sectionally associated with frequent dairy consumption among all adolescents, additional associated factors differed by socio-economic position. Baseline dairy consumption longitudinally predicted consumption at follow-up. No further factors predicted frequent consumption among disadvantaged adolescents, while four additional factors were predictive among advantaged adolescents. Socio-economic position moderated two predictors; infrequently eating dinner alone and never purchasing from school vending machines predicted frequent consumption among advantaged adolescents. Nutrition promotion initiatives aimed at improving adolescents' dairy consumption should employ multifactorial approaches informed by social ecological models and address socio-economic differences in influences on eating behaviours; e.g., selected intrapersonal factors among all

A content validated questionnaire for assessment of self reported venous blood sampling practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Bölenius, Karin; Brulin, Christine; Grankvist, Kjell; Lindkvist, Marie; Söderberg, Johan

2012-01-19

Venous blood sampling is a common procedure in health care. It is strictly regulated by national and international guidelines. Deviations from guidelines due to human mistakes can cause patient harm. Validated questionnaires for health care personnel can be used to assess preventable "near misses"--i.e. potential errors and nonconformities during venous blood sampling practices that could transform into adverse events. However, no validated questionnaire that assesses nonconformities in venous blood sampling has previously been presented. The aim was to test a recently developed questionnaire in self reported venous blood sampling practices for validity and reliability. We developed a questionnaire to assess deviations from best practices during venous blood sampling. The questionnaire contained questions about patient identification, test request management, test tube labeling, test tube handling, information search procedures and frequencies of error reporting. For content validity, the questionnaire was confirmed by experts on questionnaires and venous blood sampling. For reliability, test-retest statistics were used on the questionnaire answered twice. The final venous blood sampling questionnaire included 19 questions out of which 9 had in total 34 underlying items. It was found to have content validity. The test-retest analysis demonstrated that the items were generally stable. In total, 82% of the items fulfilled the reliability acceptance criteria. The questionnaire could be used for assessment of "near miss" practices that could jeopardize patient safety and gives several benefits instead of assessing rare adverse events only. The higher frequencies of "near miss" practices allows for quantitative analysis of the effect of corrective interventions and to benchmark preanalytical quality not only at the laboratory/hospital level but also at the health care unit/hospital ward.

Personalized privacy-preserving frequent itemset mining using randomized response.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Chongjing; Fu, Yan; Zhou, Junlin; Gao, Hui

2014-01-01

Frequent itemset mining is the important first step of association rule mining, which discovers interesting patterns from the massive data. There are increasing concerns about the privacy problem in the frequent itemset mining. Some works have been proposed to handle this kind of problem. In this paper, we introduce a personalized privacy problem, in which different attributes may need different privacy levels protection. To solve this problem, we give a personalized privacy-preserving method by using the randomized response technique. By providing different privacy levels for different attributes, this method can get a higher accuracy on frequent itemset mining than the traditional method providing the same privacy level. Finally, our experimental results show that our method can have better results on the frequent itemset mining while preserving personalized privacy.

Frequently Occurring Reconnection Jets from Sunspot Light Bridges

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Hui; Yurchyshyn, Vasyl; Peter, Hardi; Solanki, Sami K.; Young, Peter R.; Ni, Lei; Cao, Wenda; Ji, Kaifan; Zhu, Yingjie; Zhang, Jingwen; Samanta, Tanmoy; Song, Yongliang; He, Jiansen; Wang, Linghua; Chen, Yajie

2018-02-01

Solid evidence of magnetic reconnection is rarely reported within sunspots, the darkest regions with the strongest magnetic fields and lowest temperatures in the solar atmosphere. Using the world’s largest solar telescope, the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope, we detect prevalent reconnection through frequently occurring fine-scale jets in the Hα line wings at light bridges, the bright lanes that may divide the dark sunspot core into multiple parts. Many jets have an inverted Y-shape, shown by models to be typical of reconnection in a unipolar field environment. Simultaneous spectral imaging data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph show that the reconnection drives bidirectional flows up to 200 km s‑1, and that the weakly ionized plasma is heated by at least an order of magnitude up to ∼80,000 K. Such highly dynamic reconnection jets and efficient heating should be properly accounted for in future modeling efforts of sunspots. Our observations also reveal that the surge-like activity previously reported above light bridges in some chromospheric passbands such as the Hα core has two components: the ever-present short surges likely to be related to the upward leakage of magnetoacoustic waves from the photosphere, and the occasionally occurring long and fast surges that are obviously caused by the intermittent reconnection jets.

Suicide in America: Frequently Asked Questions

Science.gov (United States)

... Trials? Finding Help Reprints For More Information Share Suicide in America: Frequently Asked Questions Download PDF Download ... a week. Text “HOME” to 741741. What Is Suicide? Suicide is when people direct violence at themselves ...

A Global Online Handwriting Recognition Approach Based on Frequent Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Gmati

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this article, the handwriting signals are represented based on geometric and spatio-temporal characteristics to increase the feature vectors relevance of each object. The main goal was to extract features in the form of a numeric vector based on the extraction of frequent patterns. We used two types of frequent motifs (closed frequent patterns and maximal frequent patterns that can represent handwritten characters pertinently. These common features patterns are generated from a raw data transformation method to achieve high relevance. A database of words consisting of two different letters was created. The proposed application gives promising results and highlights the advantages that frequent pattern extraction algorithms can achieve, as well as the central role played by the “minimum threshold” parameter in the overall description of the characters.

Self-reported oral hygiene practices among adults in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Lisa Bøge; Petersen, Poul Erik; Krustrup, Ulla

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To assess the present level of oral hygiene practices in the Danish adult population aged 16 or above, in particular to analyse how self-care practices in terms of oral hygiene habits and cleaning of dentures are affected by socio-economic factors, dental status, actual dental visiting...... habits, and the experience of oral health care during school years. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional study of 5802 persons, randomly sampled amongst the Danish population aged 16 years or above. Data were collected by means of personal interviews and self......-administered questionnaires. The response rate was 66%. RESULTS: Toothbrushing twice-a-day was reported by 68% of the dentates while 32% brushed their teeth once-a-day or less frequent. Daily use of toothpicks was reported by 28% while daily use of dental floss was reported by 11%. Oral hygiene habits were more frequent...

60 kD Ro and nRNP A frequently initiate human lupus autoimmunity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Latisha D Heinlen

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE is a clinically heterogeneous, humoral autoimmune disorder. The unifying feature among SLE patients is the production of large quantities of autoantibodies. Serum samples from 129 patients collected before the onset of SLE and while in the United States military were evaluated for early pre-clinical serologic events. The first available positive serum sample frequently already contained multiple autoantibody specificities (65%. However, in 34 SLE patients the earliest pre-clinical serum sample positive for any detectable common autoantibody bound only a single autoantigen, most commonly 60 kD Ro (29%, nRNP A (24%, anti-phospholipids (18% or rheumatoid factor (15%. We identified several recurrent patterns of autoantibody onset using these pre-diagnostic samples. In the serum samples available, anti-nRNP A appeared before or simultaneously with anti-nRNP 70 K in 96% of the patients who had both autoantibodies at diagnosis. Anti-60 kD Ro antibodies appeared before or simultaneously with anti-La (98% or anti-52 kD Ro (95%. The autoantibody response in SLE patients begins simply, often binding a single specific autoantigen years before disease onset, followed by epitope spreading to additional autoantigenic specificities that are accrued in recurring patterns.

Impact of persistent, frequent regurgitation on quality of life in heartburn responders treated with acid suppression: a multinational primary care study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahrilas, P J; Howden, C W; Wernersson, B; Denison, H; Nuevo, J; Gisbert, J P

2013-05-01

In gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD), heartburn responds well to acid suppression, but regurgitation is a common cause of incomplete treatment response. To assess the prevalence and burden of persistent, frequent regurgitation in primary care patients with GERD treated with acid suppression. We analysed observational data from 134 sites across six European countries in patients diagnosed with GERD. Within 3 months of the index visit, symptoms were assessed using the Reflux Disease Questionnaire, and their impact on sleep and work productivity with the Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia questionnaire and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire, respectively. Patients provided information on concomitant over-the-counter (OTC) GERD medication use. Persistent, frequent (3-7 days/week) regurgitation was reported by 13.2% (153/1156) of GERD patients with no heartburn on acid suppression; the prevalence was very similar for patients with up to 2 days/week of ongoing mild heartburn. Among patients without heartburn, sleep disturbance of any type was reported by 50.7-60.1% with persistent, frequent regurgitation, compared with 38.1-51.1% and 14.4-19.2% of those with less frequent or no regurgitation respectively. Persistent, frequent regurgitation was associated with increased use of OTC medication and more hours of work missed, whether mild, infrequent heartburn was present or not. Frequent regurgitation, which persisted in 12-13% of patients with no or infrequent, mild heartburn on acid suppression, negatively affected sleep and work productivity, and increased use of OTC medication. Persistent, frequent regurgitation is problematic for primary care patients with GERD. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

On Using a Pilot Sample Variance for Sample Size Determination in the Detection of Differences between Two Means: Power Consideration

Science.gov (United States)

Shieh, Gwowen

2013-01-01

The a priori determination of a proper sample size necessary to achieve some specified power is an important problem encountered frequently in practical studies. To establish the needed sample size for a two-sample "t" test, researchers may conduct the power analysis by specifying scientifically important values as the underlying population means…

Answers to frequently asked questions about cleanup activities at Three Mile Island, Unit 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-03-01

This question-and-answer report provides answers in nontechnical language to frequently asked questions about the status of cleanup activities at Three Mile Island, Unit 2. The answers update information first prepared in 1981, shortly after the cleanup got under way. Since then, a variety of important developments in the cleanup has occurred. The information in the report should be read in conjunction with NUREG 1060, a discussion of increased occupational exposure estimates for the cleanup. The questions and answers in this report cover purpose and community involvement, decontamination of water and reactor, fuel removal, radwaste transport, environmental impact, social and economic effects, worker exposures and safety, radiation monitoring, potential for accidents, and schedule and funding

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2012-03-01

This report summarizes the 2011 annual inspection, sampling, measurement, and maintenance activities performed at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site (Salmon site1). The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities with the results of sample analyses. The Salmon site consists of 1,470 acres. The site is located in Lamar County, Mississippi, approximately 10 miles west of Purvis, Mississippi, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Tank 241-SY-102 January 2000 Compatibility Grab Samples Analytical Results for the Final Report [SEC 1 and 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

BELL, K.E.

2000-05-11

This document is the format IV, final report for the tank 241-SY-102 (SY-102) grab samples taken in January 2000 to address waste compatibility concerns. Chemical, radiochemical, and physical analyses on the tank SY-102 samples were performed as directed in Comparability Grab Sampling and Analysis Plan for Fiscal Year 2000 (Sasaki 1999). No notification limits were exceeded. Preliminary data on samples 2SY-99-5, -6, and -7 were reported in ''Format II Report on Tank 241-SY-102 Waste Compatibility Grab Samples Taken in January 2000'' (Lockrem 2000). The data presented here represent the final results.

Frequently Asked Questions about Radiation Emergencies

Science.gov (United States)

... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Radiation Emergencies Language: English (US) Español (Spanish) Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir For more information on radiation, go to the Radiation Dictionary . Get Inside: Why should I get inside during ...

A content validated questionnaire for assessment of self reported venous blood sampling practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bölenius Karin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Venous blood sampling is a common procedure in health care. It is strictly regulated by national and international guidelines. Deviations from guidelines due to human mistakes can cause patient harm. Validated questionnaires for health care personnel can be used to assess preventable "near misses"--i.e. potential errors and nonconformities during venous blood sampling practices that could transform into adverse events. However, no validated questionnaire that assesses nonconformities in venous blood sampling has previously been presented. The aim was to test a recently developed questionnaire in self reported venous blood sampling practices for validity and reliability. Findings We developed a questionnaire to assess deviations from best practices during venous blood sampling. The questionnaire contained questions about patient identification, test request management, test tube labeling, test tube handling, information search procedures and frequencies of error reporting. For content validity, the questionnaire was confirmed by experts on questionnaires and venous blood sampling. For reliability, test-retest statistics were used on the questionnaire answered twice. The final venous blood sampling questionnaire included 19 questions out of which 9 had in total 34 underlying items. It was found to have content validity. The test-retest analysis demonstrated that the items were generally stable. In total, 82% of the items fulfilled the reliability acceptance criteria. Conclusions The questionnaire could be used for assessment of "near miss" practices that could jeopardize patient safety and gives several benefits instead of assessing rare adverse events only. The higher frequencies of "near miss" practices allows for quantitative analysis of the effect of corrective interventions and to benchmark preanalytical quality not only at the laboratory/hospital level but also at the health care unit/hospital ward.

Predictors of Frequent Emergency Room Visits among a Homeless Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakarar, Kinna; Morgan, Jake R; Gaeta, Jessie M; Hohl, Carole; Drainoni, Mari-Lynn

2015-01-01

Homelessness, HIV, and substance use are interwoven problems. Furthermore, homeless individuals are frequent users of emergency services. The main purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for frequent emergency room (ER) visits and to examine the effects of housing status and HIV serostatus on ER utilization. The second purpose was to identify risk factors for frequent ER visits in patients with a history of illicit drug use. A retrospective analysis was performed on 412 patients enrolled in a Boston-based health care for the homeless program (HCH). This study population was selected as a 2:1 HIV seronegative versus HIV seropositive match based on age, sex, and housing status. A subgroup analysis was performed on 287 patients with history of illicit drug use. Chart data were analyzed to compare demographics, health characteristics, and health service utilization. Results were stratified by housing status. Logistic models using generalized estimating equations were used to predict frequent ER visits. In homeless patients, hepatitis C was the only predictor of frequent ER visits (OR 4.49, phomeless patients. HIV seropositivity did not predict frequent ER visits, likely because HIV seropositive HCH patients are engaged in care. In patients with history of illicit drug use, hepatitis C and mental health disorders predicted frequent ER visits. Supportive housing for patients with mental health disorders and hepatitis C may help prevent unnecessary ER visits in this population.

Reference values of thirty-one frequently used laboratory markers for 75-year-old males and females

Science.gov (United States)

Ryden, Ingvar; Lind, Lars

2012-01-01

Background We have previously reported reference values for common clinical chemistry tests in healthy 70-year-old males and females. We have now repeated this study 5 years later to establish reference values also at the age of 75. It is important to have adequate reference values for elderly patients as biological markers may change over time, and adequate reference values are essential for correct clinical decisions. Methods We have investigated 31 frequently used laboratory markers in 75-year-old males (n = 354) and females (n = 373) without diabetes. The 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles for these markers were calculated according to the recommendations of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry. Results Reference values are reported for 75-year-old males and females for 31 frequently used laboratory markers. Conclusion There were minor differences between reference intervals calculated with and without individuals with cardiovascular diseases. Several of the reference intervals differed from Scandinavian reference intervals based on younger individuals (Nordic Reference Interval Project). PMID:22300333

Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program, 1991 report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deal, D.E.; Abitz, R.J.; Myers, J.; Martin, M.L.; Milligan, D.J.; Sobocinski, R.W.; Lipponer, P.P.J. [International Technology Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Belski, D.S. [Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (United States). Waste Isolation Div.

1993-09-01

The data presented in this report are the result of Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program (BSEP) activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan (WIPP) during 1991. These BSEP activities document and investigate the origins, hydraulic characteristics, extent, and composition of brine occurrences in the Permian Salado Formation and seepage of that brine into the excavations at the WIPP. When excavations began at the WIPP in 1982, small brine seepages (weeps) were observed on the walls. Brine studies began as part of the Site Validation Program and were formalized as a program in its own right in 1985. During nine years of observations (1982--1991), evidence has mounted that the amount of brine seeping into the WIPP excavations is limited, local, and only a small fraction of that required to produce hydrogen gas by corroding the metal in the waste drums and waste inventory. The data through 1990 is discussed in detail and summarized by Deal and others (1991). The data presented in this report describes progress made during the calendar year 1991 and focuses on four major areas: (1) quantification of the amount of brine seeping across vertical surfaces in the WIPP excavations (brine ``weeps); (2) monitoring of brine inflow, e.g., measuring brines recovered from holes drilled downward from the underground drifts (downholes), upward from the underground drifts (upholes), and from subhorizontal holes; (3) further characterization of brine geochemistry; and (4) preliminary quantification of the amount of brine that might be released by squeezing the underconsolidated clays present in the Salado Formation.

Social environment and frequent attendance in Danish general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vedsted, Peter; Olesen, Frede

2005-01-01

of 1423 (73.7%) frequent attenders and 1103 (74.9%) infrequent attenders responded. Male frequent attendance was associated, with statistical significance, with living alone and being without work or on a disability pension. Among women, lack of professional education or being without work tended...

Vaginal microbiota of women with frequent vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xia; Westman, Rachel; Hickey, Roxana; Hansmann, Melanie A; Kennedy, Colleen; Osborn, Thomas W; Forney, Larry J

2009-09-01

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is an insidious infection that afflicts a large proportion of women of all ages, and 5 to 8% of affected women experience recurrent VVC (RVVC). The aim of this study was to explore the possible importance of vaginal bacterial communities in reducing the risk of RVVC. The species composition and diversity of microbial communities were evaluated for 42 women with and without frequent VVC based on profiles of terminal restriction fragment polymorphisms of 16S rRNA genes and phylogenetic analysis of cloned 16S rRNA gene sequences from the numerically dominant microbial populations. The data showed that there were no significant differences between the vaginal microbial communities of women in the two groups (likelihood score, 5.948; bootstrap P value, 0.26). Moreover, no novel bacteria were found in the communities of women with frequent VVC. The vaginal communities of most women in both groups (38/42; 90%) were dominated by species of Lactobacillus. The results of this study failed to provide evidence for the existence of altered or unusual vaginal bacterial communities in women who have frequent VVC compared to women who do not have frequent VVC. The findings suggest that commensal vaginal bacterial species may not be able to prevent VVC.

Distinguishing the relevant features of frequent suicide attempters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Castroman, Jorge; Perez-Rodriguez, Maria de las Mercedes; Jaussent, Isabelle; Alegria, Analucia A; Artes-Rodriguez, Antonio; Freed, Peter; Guillaume, Sébastien; Jollant, Fabrice; Leiva-Murillo, Jose Miguel; Malafosse, Alain; Oquendo, Maria A; de Prado-Cumplido, Mario; Saiz-Ruiz, Jeronimo; Baca-Garcia, Enrique; Courtet, Philippe

2011-05-01

In spite of the high prevalence of suicide behaviours and the magnitude of the resultant burden, little is known about why individuals reattempt. We aim to investigate the relationships between clinical risk factors and the repetition of suicidal attempts. 1349 suicide attempters were consecutively recruited in the Emergency Room (ER) of two academic hospitals in France and Spain. Patients were extensively assessed and demographic and clinical data obtained. Data mining was used to determine the minimal number of variables that blinded the rest in relation to the number of suicide attempts. Using this set, a probabilistic graph ranking relationships with the target variable was constructed. The most common diagnoses among suicide attempters were affective disorders, followed by anxiety disorders. Risk of frequent suicide attempt was highest among middle-aged subjects, and diminished progressively with advancing age of onset at first attempt. Anxiety disorders significantly increased the risk of presenting frequent suicide attempts. Pathway analysis also indicated that frequent suicide attempts were linked to greater odds for alcohol and substance abuse disorders and more intensive treatment. Novel statistical methods found several clinical features that were associated with a history of frequent suicide attempts. The identified pathways may promote new hypothesis-driven studies of suicide attempts and preventive strategies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Frequent Experience of LGBQ Microaggression on Campus Associated With Smoking Among Sexual Minority College Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Ylioja, Thomas; Cochran, Gerald; Woodford, Michael R; Renn, Kristen A

2018-02-07

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer/questioning (LGBQ) microaggressions refer to often-unintentional insults, assaults, and invalidations that denigrate sexual minorities. While experiencing hostile discrimination and violence has previously been associated with elevated rates of smoking cigarettes for LGBQ college students, the relationship between LGBQ microaggressions and smoking is unknown. Data from a national anonymous online survey of sexual and gender minority college students were used to examine the relationship between past month cigarette smoking and interpersonal LGBQ microaggressions. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the relationship between smoking and frequent (chronic) experiences of microaggressions, using a hierarchical procedure to control for demographics, predictors of smoking, and academic factors. Past year frequent LGBQ microaggression was reported by 48% of respondents and was more common among students who smoked in past 30 days. Experiencing past year physical violence was reported by 15% and did not differ by smoking status. Past year frequent experience of microaggressions was associated with increased odds of 1.72 (95% CI 1.03-2.87) for past 30-day smoking after adjusting for age, gender, race, socioeconomic indicators, alcohol misuse, physical violence, as well as academic stress and engagement. The results indicate that frequently experiencing LGBQ microaggressions is a risk factor for LGBQ college students smoking cigarettes. The mechanisms underlying this relationship require additional research, as does identifying positive coping strategies and institutional strategies to address LGBQ microaggressions on campuses. Tobacco control efforts should consider the impact of microaggression on the social environment for the prevention and treatment of tobacco use among LGBQ individuals. Microaggressions related to sexual minority identity include subtle forms of discrimination experienced during daily interactions that can create

Tank 241-AP-103 08/1999 Compatibility Grab Samples, Analytical Results for the Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BELL, K.E.

1999-01-01

This document is the format IV, final report for the tank 241-AP-103 (AP-103) grab samples taken in August 1999 to address waste compatibility concerns. Chemical, radiochemical, and physical analyses on the tank AP-103 samples were performed as directed in ''Compatibility Grub Sampling and Analysis Plan for Fiscal Year 1999'' (Sasaki 1999a). Any deviations from the instructions provided in the tank sampling and analysis plan (TSAP) were discussed in this narrative. No notification limits were exceeded

Underground Test Area Calendar Year 2014 Annual Sampling Analysis Report Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farnham, Irene [Navarro, Las Vegas, NV (United States)

2016-12-01

This report presents the analytical data for the 2014 fiscal year (FY) and calendar year (CY) (October 1, 2013, through December 31, 2014), and an evaluation of the data to ensure that the Sampling Plan’s objectives are met. In addition to samples collected and analyzed for the Sampling Plan, some NNSS wells are monitored by NNSA/NFO to demonstrate compliance with State-issued water discharge permits; with protection of groundwater from ongoing radiological waste disposal activities (compliance wells); and to demonstrate that the onsite drinking water supply is below SDWA maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) (public water system [PWS] wells). While not all sampled locations are required by the Sampling Plan, these samples are relevant to its objectives and are therefore presented herein for completeness purposes. Special investigations that took place in 2014 that are relevant to the Sampling Plan are also presented. This is the first annual report released to support Sampling Plan implementation.

Underground Test Area Calendar Year 2014 Annual Sampling Analysis Report Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farnham, Irene

2016-01-01

This report presents the analytical data for the 2014 fiscal year (FY) and calendar year (CY) (October 1, 2013, through December 31, 2014), and an evaluation of the data to ensure that the Sampling Plan's objectives are met. In addition to samples collected and analyzed for the Sampling Plan, some NNSS wells are monitored by NNSA/NFO to demonstrate compliance with State-issued water discharge permits; with protection of groundwater from ongoing radiological waste disposal activities (compliance wells); and to demonstrate that the onsite drinking water supply is below SDWA maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) (public water system [PWS] wells). While not all sampled locations are required by the Sampling Plan, these samples are relevant to its objectives and are therefore presented herein for completeness purposes. Special investigations that took place in 2014 that are relevant to the Sampling Plan are also presented. This is the first annual report released to support Sampling Plan implementation.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine by a sample of Turkish primary headache patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Karakurum Göksel, Başak; Coşkun, Özlem; Ucler, Serap; Karatas, Mehmet; Ozge, Aynur; Ozkan, Secil

2014-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly being used as adjunctive treatment in primary headache syndromes in many countries. In the Turkish population, no epidemiologic data have been reported about awareness and usage of these treatments in patients with headache. One hundred and ten primary headache patients attending three headache clinics completed a questionnaire regarding their headaches, the known modalities and the use and effect of CAM procedures for their headaches. The mean age of the patients was 34.7±9.6 years (32.8-36.5). Almost two-thirds of patients had completed high school and university, and one-third of patients were housewives. Migraine without aura (45.5%) was the most frequently diagnosed type of headache followed by migraine with aura (19.1%) and tension-type headache (18.2%). In 43.6% of the patients, headache frequency was 5-10 per month. The most frequently known CAM modalities were massage (74.5%), acupuncture (44.5%), yoga (31.8%), exercise (28.2%), psychotherapy (25.5%), and rosemary (23.6%). The most frequently used CAM treatments were massage (51%) and exercise (11%). Only massage was reported to be beneficial in one-third of the primary headache patients; the other modalities were not. Our findings suggest that the subgroup of primary headache patients in Turkey seek and use alternative treatments, frequently in combination with standard treatments. Neurologists should become more knowledgeable regarding CAM therapies; further randomized and controlled clinical researches with large sample sizes are needed.

Plutonium measurements in Hanford DOE site waste samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dewberry, R.A.; Boyce, W.T.

1999-01-01

Development work to prepare a method to measure absolute 239 Pu content and Pu-isotopics by ICP-MS in acidified Hanford DOE-site samples which are very high in 90 Sr, 99 Tc, and 137 Cs radioactivity and which are frequently high in organic carbon content is described. Samples with very large 90 Sr and 137 Cs contents have historically been difficult to analyze for Pu content by each of three alpha-counting techniques in use at SRS, and analysis by ICP-MS in these samples is complicated by the high organics content. An ion exchange chemical preparation is reported to obtain fraction of Pu that does not contain any fission product contribution and no interfering organics to allow measure of absolute 239 Pu and of 239 Pu through 241 Pu isotopics by ICP-MS. The method uses a 242 Pu spike to measure Pu recovery and is demonstrated in this paper with three distinct commercially available resins and with over 300 samples. Measured absolute 239 Pu contents in sixty-three spiked/unspiked duplicates have agreed within 15% precision. Overall 242 Pu recoveries were near 90% with 25% precision. Comparisons of absolute 239 Pu contents measured directly on three samples agreed within the quoted 25% uncertainty. (author)

Esomeprazole treatment of frequent heartburn: two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Peura, David A; Traxler, Barry; Kocun, Christopher; Lind, Tore

2014-07-01

To determine the efficacy of a 14-day regimen of esomeprazole 20 mg for the treatment of frequent heartburn in subjects who are likely to self-treat with over-the-counter medications without consulting a health care provider. Adults with frequent heartburn ≥ 2 days per week in the past 4 weeks were randomly assigned to 14-day double-blind treatment with esomeprazole 20 mg once daily or placebo in 2 identical multicenter studies (ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT01370525, NCT01370538). The primary efficacy outcome was percentage of heartburn-free 24-hour days across 14 days. Secondary efficacy outcomes included heartburn resolution, defined as heartburn ≤ 2 days over 14 days, and percentages of subjects reporting ≤ 1 day with heartburn in the first and final weeks of treatment. Subjects recorded data in daily self-assessment diaries. The percentage of heartburn-free 24-hour days over 14 days was significantly higher (P heartburn resolution over 14 days and in the first and final weeks compared with placebo. Within the first 4 days, the proportion of subjects with heartburn-free days was significantly greater with esomeprazole 20 mg versus placebo. Treatment was generally well tolerated, with a safety pattern consistent with the known profile for esomeprazole. A 14-day regimen of esomeprazole 20 mg once daily was effective for treating frequent heartburn in subjects who are likely to self-treat with over-the-counter medications.

2015 Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program Sampling and Analysis Results Report for Project Rulison, Co

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Findlay, Rick [Navarro Research and Engineering, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kautsky, Mark [US Department of Energy, Washington, DC (United States). Office of Legacy Management

2015-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management conducted annual sampling at the Rulison, Colorado, Site for the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program (LTHMP) on May 20–22 and 27, 2015. Several of the land owners were not available to allow access to their respective properties, which created the need for several sample collection trips. This report documents the analytical results of the Rulison monitoring event and includes the trip report and the data validation package (Appendix A). The groundwater and surface water monitoring were shipped to the GEL Group Inc. laboratories for analysis. All requested analyses were successfully completed. Samples were analyzed for gamma-emitting radionuclides by high- resolution gamma spectrometry. Tritium was analyzed using two methods, the conventional tritium method, which has a detection limit on the order of 400 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), and the enriched method (for selected samples), which has a detection limit on the order of 3 pCi/L.

Frequent methodological errors in clinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva Aycaguer, L C

2018-03-07

Several errors that are frequently present in clinical research are listed, discussed and illustrated. A distinction is made between what can be considered an "error" arising from ignorance or neglect, from what stems from a lack of integrity of researchers, although it is recognized and documented that it is not easy to establish when we are in a case and when in another. The work does not intend to make an exhaustive inventory of such problems, but focuses on those that, while frequent, are usually less evident or less marked in the various lists that have been published with this type of problems. It has been a decision to develop in detail the examples that illustrate the problems identified, instead of making a list of errors accompanied by an epidermal description of their characteristics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

Guide and manual of frequent special radiological procedures pertaining frequent pediatric patient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quesada Rodriguez, Marco V.

2012-01-01

A set of instructions and / or recommendations are afforded, developed in a systematic way, whose purpose is to help treating doctors to make decisions about the mode of study appropriate for a specialized clinical circumstance. The instructions are aimed at radiologists, in order to facilitate the selection and realization of special studies in the pediatric patient images, so that in this way, guide of the best and most efficient way to the resolution of the cases before diagnostic doubts that seek to clarify the treating clinician. The studies most frequently requested are exposed, as well as those with their prompt realization will lead to a quick and timely medical care and / or surgical of a specific problem [es

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2010-10-01

This report summarizes the annual inspection, sampling, and maintenance activities performed on and near the Salmon, Mississippi, Site in calendar year 2009. The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities and the results of sample analyses. This report complies with the annual report requirement. The Salmon, MS, Site is located in Lamar County, MS, approximately 12 miles west of Purvis, MS, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, MS The site encompasses 1,470 acres and is not open to the general public. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a successor agency to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), is responsible for the long-term surveillance and maintenance of the site. The DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) was assigned responsibility for the site effective October 1, 2006

Tank 12H residuals sample analysis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oji, L. N. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Shine, E. P. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Diprete, D. P. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Coleman, C. J. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Hay, M. S. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2015-06-11

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was requested by Savannah River Remediation (SRR) to provide sample preparation and analysis of the Tank 12H final characterization samples to determine the residual tank inventory prior to grouting. Eleven Tank 12H floor and mound residual material samples and three cooling coil scrape samples were collected and delivered to SRNL between May and August of 2014.

Social capital and frequent attenders in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pasgaard, Alexander A.; Mæhlisen, Maiken H.; Overgaard, Charlotte

2018-01-01

weeks. RESULTS: Using multiple logistic regression, we found that frequent attendance was associated with a lower score in interpersonal trust [OR 0.86 (0.79-0.94)] and social network [OR 0.88 (0.79-0.98)] for women, when adjusted for age, education, income and SF12 health scores. Norms of reciprocity...... at the individual level, and includes cognitive (interpersonal trust and norms of reciprocity) as well as structural (social network and civic engagement) dimensions. Frequent attendance is defined as the upper-quartile of the total number of measured consultations with a general practitioner over a period of 148...... and civic engagement were not significantly associated with frequent attendance for women [OR 1.05 (0.99-1.11) and OR 1.01 (0.92-1.11) respectively]. None of the associations were statistically significant for men. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that for women, some aspects of social capital are associated...

Importance sampling the Rayleigh phase function

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frisvad, Jeppe Revall

2011-01-01

Rayleigh scattering is used frequently in Monte Carlo simulation of multiple scattering. The Rayleigh phase function is quite simple, and one might expect that it should be simple to importance sample it efficiently. However, there seems to be no one good way of sampling it in the literature....... This paper provides the details of several different techniques for importance sampling the Rayleigh phase function, and it includes a comparison of their performance as well as hints toward efficient implementation....

Frequent beneficial mutations during single-colony serial transfer of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen E Stevens

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The appearance of new mutations within a population provides the raw material for evolution. The consistent decline in fitness observed in classical mutation accumulation studies has provided support for the long-held view that deleterious mutations are more common than beneficial mutations. Here we present results of a study using a mutation accumulation design with the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae in which the fitness of the derived populations increased. This rise in fitness was associated specifically with adaptation to survival during brief stationary phase periods between single-colony population bottlenecks. To understand better the population dynamics behind this unanticipated adaptation, we developed a maximum likelihood model describing the processes of mutation and stationary-phase selection in the context of frequent population bottlenecks. Using this model, we estimate that the rate of beneficial mutations may be as high as 4.8×10(-4 events per genome for each time interval corresponding to the pneumococcal generation time. This rate is several orders of magnitude higher than earlier estimates of beneficial mutation rates in bacteria but supports recent results obtained through the propagation of small populations of Escherichia coli. Our findings indicate that beneficial mutations may be relatively frequent in bacteria and suggest that in S. pneumoniae, which develops natural competence for transformation, a steady supply of such mutations may be available for sampling by recombination.

Four Mile Creek semi-annual sampling report, January 1993 sampling event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-05-01

From 1955 to 1988 low-level radioactive wastewater generated by chemical separation processes within the General Separations Area (GSA) was discharged to seepage basins in the F and H Areas of the Savannah River Site (SRS). These basins were designed to permit the infiltration of the process wastewaters. As wastewater percolated downward through the basins, chemical and radioactive constituents were retained or sequestered in the subsoils. An extensive study aimed at characterizing the groundwater seeping into Four Mile Creek and its associated seepline was conducted in 1988 and 1989 (Haselow et al. 1990). Results of this study suggested that contaminants leaching from the F and H Area seepage basins were impacting the Four Mile Creek wetland system. The seepage basins were closed in 1988 and capped and sealed in 1990. This effectively eliminated the source of the contaminants and the hydraulic head driving the migration of contaminants from the basins. It has been hypothesized that, after the elimination of the source and head, annual rainfall amounts would be sufficient to dilute and flush out contaminants remaining in the subsoils and groundwaters beneath the basins. Westinghouse Savannah River Company has designed a semi-annual sampling and analytical program for the Four Mile Creek (FMC) seepline and stream water to test the hypothesis. This report summarizes field monitoring activities from January 25, 1993 to February 4, 1993

GRAMI: Generalized Frequent Subgraph Mining in Large Graphs

KAUST Repository

El Saeedy, Mohammed El Sayed

2011-07-24

Mining frequent subgraphs is an important operation on graphs. Most existing work assumes a database of many small graphs, but modern applications, such as social networks, citation graphs or protein-protein interaction in bioinformatics, are modeled as a single large graph. Interesting interactions in such applications may be transitive (e.g., friend of a friend). Existing methods, however, search for frequent isomorphic (i.e., exact match) subgraphs and cannot discover many useful patterns. In this paper we propose GRAMI, a framework that generalizes frequent subgraph mining in a large single graph. GRAMI discovers frequent patterns. A pattern is a graph where edges are generalized to distance-constrained paths. Depending on the definition of the distance function, many instantiations of the framework are possible. Both directed and undirected graphs, as well as multiple labels per vertex, are supported. We developed an efficient implementation of the framework that models the frequency resolution phase as a constraint satisfaction problem, in order to avoid the costly enumeration of all instances of each pattern in the graph. We also implemented CGRAMI, a version that supports structural and semantic constraints; and AGRAMI, an approximate version that supports very large graphs. Our experiments on real data demonstrate that our framework is up to 3 orders of magnitude faster and discovers more interesting patterns than existing approaches.

Frequent rhabdomyolysis in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Jung-Ah; Lee, Soon-Tae; Kim, Tae-Joon; Moon, Jangsup; Sunwoo, Jun-Sang; Byun, Jung-Ick; Jung, Keun-Hwa; Jung, Ki-Young; Chu, Kon; Lee, Sang Kun

2016-09-15

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical presentation and provocation factors of rhabdomyolysis in anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Among the 16 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis in our institutional cohort, nine patients had elevated CK enzyme levels and clinical evidence of rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis was more frequent after immunotherapy. The use of dopamine receptor blocker (DRB) increased the risk of rhabdomyolysis. None of the patients without rhabdomyolysis received DRBs. Rhabdomyolysis is a frequent complication in anti-NMDAR encephalitis and more common after immunotherapy and the use of DRBs increases the risk. Therefore, DRBs should be administered carefully in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The minimum information required for a glycomics experiment (MIRAGE) project: sample preparation guidelines for reliable reporting of glycomics datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Struwe, Weston B; Agravat, Sanjay; Aoki-Kinoshita, Kiyoko F; Campbell, Matthew P; Costello, Catherine E; Dell, Anne; Ten Feizi; Haslam, Stuart M; Karlsson, Niclas G; Khoo, Kay-Hooi; Kolarich, Daniel; Liu, Yan; McBride, Ryan; Novotny, Milos V; Packer, Nicolle H; Paulson, James C; Rapp, Erdmann; Ranzinger, Rene; Rudd, Pauline M; Smith, David F; Tiemeyer, Michael; Wells, Lance; York, William S; Zaia, Joseph; Kettner, Carsten

2016-09-01

The minimum information required for a glycomics experiment (MIRAGE) project was established in 2011 to provide guidelines to aid in data reporting from all types of experiments in glycomics research including mass spectrometry (MS), liquid chromatography, glycan arrays, data handling and sample preparation. MIRAGE is a concerted effort of the wider glycomics community that considers the adaptation of reporting guidelines as an important step towards critical evaluation and dissemination of datasets as well as broadening of experimental techniques worldwide. The MIRAGE Commission published reporting guidelines for MS data and here we outline guidelines for sample preparation. The sample preparation guidelines include all aspects of sample generation, purification and modification from biological and/or synthetic carbohydrate material. The application of MIRAGE sample preparation guidelines will lead to improved recording of experimental protocols and reporting of understandable and reproducible glycomics datasets. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Samples and Sampling Protocols for Scientific Investigations | Joel ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... from sampling, through sample preparation, calibration to final measurement and reporting. This paper, therefore offers useful information on practical guidance on sampling protocols in line with best practice and international standards. Keywords: Sampling, sampling protocols, chain of custody, analysis, documentation ...

45-Day safety screening report for grab samples from Tank 241-AP-107

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, G.L.

1995-01-01

Three samples; 107-AP-1C, 107-AP-2c and 107-AP-3C; were received at 222-S Laboratory for analysis of DSC, TGA and visual appearance. Four additional samples; 107-AP-1D, 107-AP-2D, 107-AP-3D and 107-AP-6; were received for visual appearance only. No results exceeded the safety screen notification criteria. This report compiles the analytical results. Tank 241-AP-107 is a double-shell tank which is not on any of the four Watch Lists

IMS Learning Design Frequently Asked Questions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tattersall, Colin; Manderveld, Jocelyn; Hummel, Hans; Sloep, Peter; Koper, Rob; De Vries, Fred

2004-01-01

This list of frequently asked questions was composed on the basis of questions asked of the Educational Technology Expertise Centrum. The questions addessed are: Where can I find the IMS Learning Design Specification? What is meant by the phrase “Learning Design”? What is the IMS LD Specification

Prevalence and correlates of vaping cannabis in a sample of young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Connor B; Hill, Melanie L; Pardini, Dustin A; Meier, Madeline H

2016-12-01

Vaping nicotine (i.e., the use of e-cigarettes and similar devices to inhale nicotine) is becoming increasingly popular among young people. Though some vaporizers are capable of vaporizing cannabis, sparse research has investigated this method of cannabis administration. The present study examines the prevalence and correlates of vaping cannabis in a sample of 482 college students. Participants reported high lifetime rates of vaping nicotine (37%) and cannabis (29%). Men (r s = 0.09, p = .047) and individuals from higher socioeconomic status families (r s = 0.14, p = .003) vaped cannabis more frequently than women and individuals from lower SES families. In addition, those who vaped cannabis more frequently were more open to new experiences (r s = 0.17, p vaping were frequent cannabis use (r s = 0.70, p vaping (r s = 0.46, p vaping cannabis, endorsed by 65% of those who had vaped cannabis, was convenience and discreetness for use in public places. Several correlates distinguished cannabis users who vaped from cannabis users who did not vape, most notably more frequent cannabis use (odds ratios [OR] = 3.68, p vaping (OR = 1.73, p vaping is prevalent among young adults, particularly among those who use other substances frequently and have more favorable attitudes toward smoking cannabis. Research is needed on the antecedents and potential harms and benefits of cannabis vaping in young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Enumerating all maximal frequent subtrees in collections of phylogenetic trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Deepak, Akshay; Fernández-Baca, David

2014-01-01

A common problem in phylogenetic analysis is to identify frequent patterns in a collection of phylogenetic trees. The goal is, roughly, to find a subset of the species (taxa) on which all or some significant subset of the trees agree. One popular method to do so is through maximum agreement subtrees (MASTs). MASTs are also used, among other things, as a metric for comparing phylogenetic trees, computing congruence indices and to identify horizontal gene transfer events. We give algorithms and experimental results for two approaches to identify common patterns in a collection of phylogenetic trees, one based on agreement subtrees, called maximal agreement subtrees, the other on frequent subtrees, called maximal frequent subtrees. These approaches can return subtrees on larger sets of taxa than MASTs, and can reveal new common phylogenetic relationships not present in either MASTs or the majority rule tree (a popular consensus method). Our current implementation is available on the web at https://code.google.com/p/mfst-miner/. Our computational results confirm that maximal agreement subtrees and all maximal frequent subtrees can reveal a more complete phylogenetic picture of the common patterns in collections of phylogenetic trees than maximum agreement subtrees; they are also often more resolved than the majority rule tree. Further, our experiments show that enumerating maximal frequent subtrees is considerably more practical than enumerating ordinary (not necessarily maximal) frequent subtrees.

Frequently relapsing anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody disease with changing clinical phenotype and antibody characteristics over time

OpenAIRE

Gu, Bobby; Magil, Alex B.; Barbour, Sean J.

2016-01-01

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody disease is a typically monophasic autoimmune disease with severe pulmonary and renal involvement. We report an atypical case of frequently relapsing anti-GBM antibody disease with both anti-GBM antibody?positive flares with pulmonary and renal involvement, and anti-GBM antibody?negative flares that were pulmonary limited with no histologic renal disease. This is the first report of alternating disease phenotype and anti-GBM antibody status over...

Reliability and validity of the Marijuana Motives Measure among young adult frequent cannabis users and associations with cannabis dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benschop, A.; Liebregts, N.; van der Pol, P.; Schaap, R.; Buisman, R.; van Laar, M.; van den Brink, W.; de Graaf, R.; Korf, D.J.

2015-01-01

The Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM) has so far been examined mainly in student populations, often with relatively limited involvement in cannabis use. This study evaluated the factor structure of the MMM in a demographically mixed sample of 600 young adult (18-30 years) frequent (≥3 days per week)

Reliability and validity of the Marijuana Motives Measure among young adult frequent cannabis users and associations with cannabis dependence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benschop, Annemieke; Liebregts, Nienke; van der Pol, Peggy; Schaap, Rick; Buisman, Renate; van Laar, Margriet; van den Brink, Wim; de Graaf, Ron; Korf, Dirk J.

2015-01-01

The Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM) has so far been examined mainly in student populations, often with relatively limited involvement in cannabis use. This study evaluated the factor structure of the MMM in a demographically mixed sample of 600 young adult (18-30 years) frequent (≥ 3 days per week)

Children's Tattling: The Reporting of Everyday Norm Violations in Preschool Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, Gordon P. D.; Bering, Jesse M.

2010-01-01

Tattling, defined as the reporting to a second party of norm violations committed by a third party, is a frequent but little-studied activity among young children. Participant observation and quantitative sampling are used to provide a detailed characterization of tattling in 2 preschools (initial mean age = 4.08 years, N = 40). In these…

The bedding environment, sleep position, and frequent wheeze in childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponsonby, Anne-Louise; Dwyer, Terence; Trevillian, Leigh; Kemp, Andrew; Cochrane, Jennifer; Couper, David; Carmichael, Allan

2004-05-01

Synthetic quilt use has been associated with increased childhood wheeze in previous studies. Our aim was to examine whether the adverse effect of synthetic quilt use on frequent wheeze differed by usual sleep position. A population-based cross-sectional study of 6378 (92% of those eligible) 7-year-olds in Tasmania, Australia, was conducted in 1995. Exercise-challenge lung function was obtained on a subset of 414 children from randomly selected schools. Child bedding including pillow and overbedding composition and usual sleep position by parental questionnaire. Frequent wheeze (>12 wheeze episodes over the past year), using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood parental questionnaire, and baseline and postexercise forced expiratory volume in 1 second lung-function measures. Frequent wheeze (n = 117) was positively associated with synthetic quilts, synthetic pillows, electric blankets, and sleeping in a bottom bunk bed but did not vary by sleep position. In a nested case-control analysis, the association between synthetic quilt use and frequent wheeze differed by sleep position. Among children who slept supine, synthetic (versus feather) quilt use was associated with frequent wheeze (adjusted odds ratio: 2.37 [1.08, 5.23]). However, among nonsupine sleepers, overlying synthetic quilt use was not associated with frequent wheeze (adjusted odds ratio: 1.06 [0.60, 1.88]). This difference in quilt effect by sleep position was highly significant. Similarly, synthetic quilt use was associated with lower postexercise forced expiratory volume in 1 second measures among supine but not nonsupine sleeping children. An increasing focus on the bedding environment immediately adjacent to the nose and mouth is required for respiratory disorders provoked by bedding, such as child asthma characterized by frequent wheeze.

[Teenage pregnancy and frequent use of alcohol and drugs in the home environment].

Science.gov (United States)

Caputo, Valéria Garcia; Bordin, Isabel Altenfelder

2008-06-01

To assess individual and family factors associated to teenage pregnancy, including frequent use of alcohol and illicit drugs by family members. Case-control study conducted with a sample of 408 sexually active female adolescents (aged 13-17 years) in school from the city of Marília (Southeastern Brazil) in 2003-2004. Cases consisted of 100 primigravid teenagers assisted in prenatal care programs in health units. Controls were 308 nulligravid students from state public schools. Standardized instruments identified demographic and educational factors, contraceptive behavior, mental health problems, and family characteristics. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests and logistic regression models. Low paternal education (p=0.01), lack of information on sexuality and fertilization (p=0.001) and the use of illicit drugs by a resident family member (p=0.006) were independent risk factors. Family income per capita and asking the partner to use a condom were confounders. The frequent use of illicit drugs by a resident family member is a factor strongly associated to teenage pregnancy, regardless of other risk factors. The expectation of going to college constitutes a protective factor, mainly in the presence of low maternal education.

Cool, callous and in control: superior inhibitory control in frequent players of video games with violent content

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Robert G; Palumbo, Robert; Garbarino, James; Silton, Rebecca L

2017-01-01

Abstract Research on the effects of media violence exposure has shown robust associations among violent media exposure, increased aggressive behavior, and decreased empathy. Preliminary research indicates that frequent players of violent video games may have differences in emotional and cognitive processes compared to infrequent or nonplayers, yet research examining the amount and content of game play and the relation of these factors with affective and cognitive outcomes is limited. The present study measured neural correlates of response inhibition in the context of implicit attention to emotion, and how these factors are related to empathic responding in frequent and infrequent players of video games with graphically violent content. Participants completed a self-report measure of empathy as well as an affective stop-signal task that measured implicit attention to emotion and response inhibition during electroencephalography. Frequent players had lower levels of empathy as well as a reduction in brain activity as indicated by P100 and N200/P300 event related potentials. Reduced P100 amplitude evoked by happy facial expressions was observed in frequent players compared to infrequent players, and this effect was moderated by empathy, such that low levels of empathy further reduced P100 amplitudes for happy facial expressions for frequent players compared to infrequent players. Compared to infrequent players, frequent players had reduced N200/P300 amplitude during response inhibition, indicating less neural resources were recruited to inhibit behavior. Results from the present study illustrate that chronic exposure to violent video games modulates empathy and related neural correlates associated with affect and cognition. PMID:29040750

Effects of frequent hemodialysis on perceived caregiver burden in the Frequent Hemodialysis Network trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Suri, Rita S; Larive, Brett; Hall, Yoshio; Kimmel, Paul L; Kliger, Alan S; Levin, Nathan; Tamura, Manjula Kurella; Chertow, Glenn M

2014-05-01

Patients receiving hemodialysis often perceive their caregivers are overburdened. We hypothesize that increasing hemodialysis frequency would result in higher patient perceptions of burden on their unpaid caregivers. In two separate trials, 245 patients were randomized to receive in-center daily hemodialysis (6 days/week) or conventional hemodialysis (3 days/week) while 87 patients were randomized to receive home nocturnal hemodialysis (6 nights/week) or home conventional hemodialysis for 12 months. Changes in overall mean scores over time in the 10-question Cousineau perceived burden scale were compared. In total, 173 of 245 (70%) and 80 of 87 (92%) randomized patients in the Daily and Nocturnal Trials, respectively, reported having an unpaid caregiver at baseline or during follow-up. Relative to in-center conventional dialysis, the 12-month change in mean perceived burden score with in-center daily hemodialysis was -2.1 (95% confidence interval, -9.4 to +5.3; P=0.58). Relative to home conventional dialysis, the 12-month change in mean perceived burden score with home nocturnal dialysis was +6.1 (95% confidence interval, -0.8 to +13.1; P=0.08). After multiple imputation for missing data in the Nocturnal Trial, the relative difference between home nocturnal and home conventional hemodialysis was +9.4 (95% confidence interval, +0.55 to +18.3; P=0.04). In the Nocturnal Trial, changes in perceived burden were inversely correlated with adherence to dialysis treatments (Pearson r=-0.35; P=0.02). Relative to conventional hemodialysis, in-center daily hemodialysis did not result in higher perceptions of caregiver burden. There was a trend to higher perceived caregiver burden among patients randomized to home nocturnal hemodialysis. These findings may have implications for the adoption of and adherence to frequent nocturnal hemodialysis.

Enumerating all maximal frequent subtrees in collections of phylogenetic trees

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background A common problem in phylogenetic analysis is to identify frequent patterns in a collection of phylogenetic trees. The goal is, roughly, to find a subset of the species (taxa) on which all or some significant subset of the trees agree. One popular method to do so is through maximum agreement subtrees (MASTs). MASTs are also used, among other things, as a metric for comparing phylogenetic trees, computing congruence indices and to identify horizontal gene transfer events. Results We give algorithms and experimental results for two approaches to identify common patterns in a collection of phylogenetic trees, one based on agreement subtrees, called maximal agreement subtrees, the other on frequent subtrees, called maximal frequent subtrees. These approaches can return subtrees on larger sets of taxa than MASTs, and can reveal new common phylogenetic relationships not present in either MASTs or the majority rule tree (a popular consensus method). Our current implementation is available on the web at https://code.google.com/p/mfst-miner/. Conclusions Our computational results confirm that maximal agreement subtrees and all maximal frequent subtrees can reveal a more complete phylogenetic picture of the common patterns in collections of phylogenetic trees than maximum agreement subtrees; they are also often more resolved than the majority rule tree. Further, our experiments show that enumerating maximal frequent subtrees is considerably more practical than enumerating ordinary (not necessarily maximal) frequent subtrees. PMID:25061474

First report of ciliate (Protozoa) epibionts on deep-sea harpacticoid copepods

Science.gov (United States)

Sedlacek, Linda; Thistle, David; Fernandez-Leborans, Gregorio; Carman, Kevin R.; Barry, James P.

2013-08-01

We report the first observations of ciliate epibionts on deep-sea, benthic harpacticoid copepods. One ciliate epibiont species belonged to class Karyorelictea, one to subclass Suctoria, and one to subclass Peritrichia. Our samples came from the continental rise off central California (36.709°N, 123.523°W, 3607 m depth). We found that adult harpacticoids carried ciliate epibionts significantly more frequently than did subadult copepodids. The reason for the pattern is unknown, but it may involve differences between adults and subadult copepodids in size or in time spent swimming. We also found that the ciliate epibiont species occurred unusually frequently on the adults of two species of harpacticoid copepod; a third harpacticoid species just failed the significance test. When we ranked the 57 harpacticoid species in our samples in order of abundance, three species identified were, as a group, significantly more abundant than expected by chance if one assumes that the abundance of the group and the presence of ciliate epibionts on them were uncorrelated. High abundance may be among the reasons a harpacticoid species carries a ciliate epibiont species disproportionately frequently. For the combinations of harpacticoid species and ciliate epibiont species identified, we found one in which males and females differed significantly in the proportion that carried epibionts. Such a sex bias has also been reported for shallow-water, calanoid copepods.

Data validation report for the 100-HR-3 Operable Unit first quarter 1994 groundwater sampling data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biggerstaff, R.L.

1994-06-24

Westinghouse-Hanford has requested that a minimum of 20% of the total number of Sample Delivery Groups be validated for the 100-HR-3 Operable Unit First Quarter 1994 Groundwater Sampling Investigation. Therefore, the data from the chemical analysis of twenty-four samples from this sampling event and their related quality assurance samples were reviewed and validated to verify that reported sample results were of sufficient quality to support decisions regarding remedial actions performed at this site. The samples were analyzed by Thermo-Analytic Laboratories (TMA) and Roy F. Weston Laboratories (WESTON) using US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CLP protocols. Sample analyses included: inorganics; and general chemical parameters. Forty-two samples were validated for radiochemical parameters by TMA and Teledyne.

Data validation report for the 100-HR-3 Operable Unit first quarter 1994 groundwater sampling data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biggerstaff, R.L.

1994-01-01

Westinghouse-Hanford has requested that a minimum of 20% of the total number of Sample Delivery Groups be validated for the 100-HR-3 Operable Unit First Quarter 1994 Groundwater Sampling Investigation. Therefore, the data from the chemical analysis of twenty-four samples from this sampling event and their related quality assurance samples were reviewed and validated to verify that reported sample results were of sufficient quality to support decisions regarding remedial actions performed at this site. The samples were analyzed by Thermo-Analytic Laboratories (TMA) and Roy F. Weston Laboratories (WESTON) using US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CLP protocols. Sample analyses included: inorganics; and general chemical parameters. Forty-two samples were validated for radiochemical parameters by TMA and Teledyne

Stability of the frequent COPD exacerbator in the general population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reilev, Mette; Lykkegaard, Jesper; Halling, Anders

2017-01-01

Exacerbation frequency is central in treatment strategies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, whether chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients from the general population with frequent exacerbations continue to have frequent exacerbations over an extended period of time is c...... considerably over time. This could hold implications for COPD treatment and challenge assumptions made about disease progression....... is currently unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the stability of the frequent exacerbator in a population-based setting. To this end, we conducted a nationwide register-based descriptive study with a 10-year follow-up period of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with at least one...... obstructive pulmonary disease treatment guidelines and their practical application. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE: VARIATIONS IN DISEASE PROGRESSION: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who suffer from frequent exacerbations do not necessarily persist with such severity over time...

Estimating the sample mean and standard deviation from the sample size, median, range and/or interquartile range.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Xiang; Wang, Wenqian; Liu, Jiming; Tong, Tiejun

2014-12-19

In systematic reviews and meta-analysis, researchers often pool the results of the sample mean and standard deviation from a set of similar clinical trials. A number of the trials, however, reported the study using the median, the minimum and maximum values, and/or the first and third quartiles. Hence, in order to combine results, one may have to estimate the sample mean and standard deviation for such trials. In this paper, we propose to improve the existing literature in several directions. First, we show that the sample standard deviation estimation in Hozo et al.'s method (BMC Med Res Methodol 5:13, 2005) has some serious limitations and is always less satisfactory in practice. Inspired by this, we propose a new estimation method by incorporating the sample size. Second, we systematically study the sample mean and standard deviation estimation problem under several other interesting settings where the interquartile range is also available for the trials. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed methods through simulation studies for the three frequently encountered scenarios, respectively. For the first two scenarios, our method greatly improves existing methods and provides a nearly unbiased estimate of the true sample standard deviation for normal data and a slightly biased estimate for skewed data. For the third scenario, our method still performs very well for both normal data and skewed data. Furthermore, we compare the estimators of the sample mean and standard deviation under all three scenarios and present some suggestions on which scenario is preferred in real-world applications. In this paper, we discuss different approximation methods in the estimation of the sample mean and standard deviation and propose some new estimation methods to improve the existing literature. We conclude our work with a summary table (an Excel spread sheet including all formulas) that serves as a comprehensive guidance for performing meta-analysis in different

Less healthy breakfast cereals are promoted more frequently in large supermarket chains in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Potvin Kent, Monique; Rudnicki, Erika; Usher, Crystal

2017-11-13

The majority of food expenditures are made in supermarkets and this environment influences our purchasing and food intake. Breakfast cereals are frequently marketed as healthy food choices. The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of in-store promotions for cold breakfast cereals in Canadian supermarkets and to determine whether healthier or less healthy breakfast cereals are promoted more frequently. Data was collected once per week over a four-week period from a convenience sample of the five largest Canadian supermarkets in the Ottawa/Gatineau area. Data collection included the number of shelf facings, promotional displays, and the cost of cereals/100 g. The UK Nutrient Profiling Model was used to determine the healthfulness of each breakfast cereal. 29.8% (n = 67) of the 225 unique cereals were classified as healthier and 70.2% (n = 158) were classified as less healthy. Less healthy cereals were displayed at eye level, in the profitable middle shelves, 2.9 times more frequently than healthier cereals. There were 5.3 times more breakfast cereal shelf facings, 4.2 more end cap displays, 1.7 more mid-aisle displays and 3.3 more special pricing signage for less healthy cereals compared to healthier cereals. Less healthy cereals had a significantly higher average total number of shelf facings compared to healthier cereals (t = -4.28 (280.8), p supermarkets need to increase the marketing of healthy breakfast cereals within their stores.

Psychiatric status, somatisation, and health care utilization of frequent attenders at the emergency department: a comparison with routine attenders.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, E R; Guthrie, E; Mackway-Jones, K; James, M; Tomenson, B; Eastham, J; McNally, D

2001-03-01

Seventy-seven frequent attenders at an emergency department (ED) in an inner-city hospital in the UK (defined as seven or more visits in the previous 12 months) were compared with 182 patients who were attending the same department on a routine basis. Patients completed the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) and the Short Form (SF)-36. Information was obtained on 64% of the frequent attenders and 45% underwent a detailed psychiatric assessment. Of the frequent attenders, 45% had psychiatric disorder and 49% had some form of an alcohol-related disorder. Compared with routine attenders, frequent attenders reported lower health status, had more psychiatric disorder (odds ratio: OR=8.2, 95% confidence interval: CI=3.8--18.1), had more general hospital admissions (OR=19.9, 95% CI=8.3--47.8), more psychiatric admissions (OR=167.5, 95% CI=9.5--2959.0), and more GP visits (95% CI for difference=-10.2 to -5.7). There was no evidence that frequent attenders had more somatisation than routine attenders. Specific treatment and management strategies need to be developed for this group of patients, although a substantial proportion may be difficult to engage in the treatment process.

[Frequently accidents and injury at school].

Science.gov (United States)

Gautier Vargas, María; Martínez González, Vanesa

2011-01-01

During the time we have been in a private company that provide schools with medical care, we were surprised by the frequent and constant phone calls received to ask for our services. This fact made us take the decision to carry out a survey to find out the accidents and the most frequent injuries. According to the retrospective study we realized throughout two different academic courses in several schools in Cantabria, the 3.23% of the students have any accidents or injuries. We found out children between 11 and 15 have the highest accident rate, being 10.8 % higher when boys (rather than girls) are involved. The most common injuries are contusions 42.85%, followed by sprains 23.45%, being blows the reason in 42% of the cases, and surprisingly acts of aggression in 1%. It was also unexpected to learn that gyms, where children are taught in physical education, have the highest percent on accident rate. All these inquiries lead us to think that age, play and sports are determinant factors in the accidents happened in the school area.

Incremental Frequent Subgraph Mining on Large Evolving Graphs

KAUST Repository

Abdelhamid, Ehab

2017-08-22

Frequent subgraph mining is a core graph operation used in many domains, such as graph data management and knowledge exploration, bioinformatics and security. Most existing techniques target static graphs. However, modern applications, such as social networks, utilize large evolving graphs. Mining these graphs using existing techniques is infeasible, due to the high computational cost. In this paper, we propose IncGM+, a fast incremental approach for continuous frequent subgraph mining problem on a single large evolving graph. We adapt the notion of “fringe” to the graph context, that is the set of subgraphs on the border between frequent and infrequent subgraphs. IncGM+ maintains fringe subgraphs and exploits them to prune the search space. To boost the efficiency, we propose an efficient index structure to maintain selected embeddings with minimal memory overhead. These embeddings are utilized to avoid redundant expensive subgraph isomorphism operations. Moreover, the proposed system supports batch updates. Using large real-world graphs, we experimentally verify that IncGM+ outperforms existing methods by up to three orders of magnitude, scales to much larger graphs and consumes less memory.

Handling Dynamic Weights in Weighted Frequent Pattern Mining

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Chowdhury Farhan; Tanbeer, Syed Khairuzzaman; Jeong, Byeong-Soo; Lee, Young-Koo

Even though weighted frequent pattern (WFP) mining is more effective than traditional frequent pattern mining because it can consider different semantic significances (weights) of items, existing WFP algorithms assume that each item has a fixed weight. But in real world scenarios, the weight (price or significance) of an item can vary with time. Reflecting these changes in item weight is necessary in several mining applications, such as retail market data analysis and web click stream analysis. In this paper, we introduce the concept of a dynamic weight for each item, and propose an algorithm, DWFPM (dynamic weighted frequent pattern mining), that makes use of this concept. Our algorithm can address situations where the weight (price or significance) of an item varies dynamically. It exploits a pattern growth mining technique to avoid the level-wise candidate set generation-and-test methodology. Furthermore, it requires only one database scan, so it is eligible for use in stream data mining. An extensive performance analysis shows that our algorithm is efficient and scalable for WFP mining using dynamic weights.

Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program: Phase 1 report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deal, D.E.; Case, J.B.

1987-01-01

This interim report presents preliminary data obtained in the course of the WIPP Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program. The investigations focus on the brine present in the near-field environment around the WIPP underground workings. Although the WIPP underground workings are considered dry, small amounts of brine are present. This amount of brine is not unexpected in rocks of marine sedimentary origin. Part of that brine can and does migrate into the repository in response to pressure gradients, at essentially isothermal conditions. These small volumes of brine have little effect on the day-to-day operations, but are pervasive throughout the repository and may contribute enough moisture over a period of years to affect resaturation and repressurization after sealing and closure. Gas bubbles are observed in many of the brine occurrences. Gas is also known to exsolve from solution as the brine is poured from container to container. 68 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs

Symptoms of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder,a clinical sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Alavi Shooshtari

2009-12-01

Full Text Available "n Objective: "n "nThe aim of this report was to study the gender role on autismsymptoms distribution and severity in a clinical sample from Iran. Then, the results were compared with the published study from the same community population sample, Iran. "nMethod: The subjects of this retrospective study were a convenient clinical sample of the referrals of children with pervasive developmental disorders. The diagnosis was made according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. "nResults: "nMost of the subjects were boys. Boys were referred for evaluation more frequently than girls. The sample included 61 children and adolescents aged 2.1 to 15 years; of whom, 49 had autism. The mean age of children with autism was 7.2(SD=3.2 years. The mean of age, the diagnosis and severity of the symptoms were not related to gender . "n "n "nConclusion: Usually, those with severe cases of autism refer to clinics for treatment. Therefore, the clinical sample of children with autism is just the tip of the iceberg and they may not be the actual representative of community sample of children with autism. Preventive programs should be more focused on the screening and referring of inflected girls for service utilization .

Social environment and frequent attendance in Danish general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vedsted, Peter; Olesen, Frede

2005-01-01

inequalities in health or whether social factors in themselves determine the use of general practice. AIM: To examine if social factors are associated with frequent attendance in general practice after adjusting for physical and psychological health variables. DESIGN OF STUDY: Population-based cross......BACKGROUND: A lack of social support is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and a decreased effect of prevention. Frequent attenders to primary care are characterised by poorer social conditions than other patients in general practice, but we do not know whether this is due to social...... during the period November 1997-October 1998. A questionnaire about physical, psychological and social factors was sent to the patients. The associations between social factors and frequent attendance were adjusted for physical and psychological health and tendency towards somatisation. RESULTS: A total...

Examination of Operation Quality for High-frequent Railway Operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Landex, Alex; Kaas, Anders H.

2009-01-01

take the first train in their direction. The article examines four different approaches to examine operation quality for high-frequent operation that are based on the experiences of the passengers. These approaches are the service frequency of the operation, travel time extension, a combination......The examination of operation quality for high-frequent operation requires other approaches than the typical evaluation of punctuality (trains on time) and reliability (operated trains). This is because passengers in high-frequent railway systems do not necessarily notice train delays as they just...... of the service frequency and travel time approaches, and passenger delays. The service frequency and travel time approaches are simple measurements with low complexity and complement each other. Therefore, the article recommends combining the service frequency and travel time approaches to get a more accurate...

Stream sediment sampling and analysis. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Means, J.L.; Voris, P.V.; Headington, G.L.

1986-04-01

The objectives were to sample and analyze sediments from upstream and downstream locations (relative to the Goodyear Atomic plant site) of three streams for selected pollutants. The three streams sampled were the Scioto River, Big Beaver Creek, and Big Run Creek. Sediment samples were analyzed for EPA's 129 priority pollutants (Clean Water Act) as well as isotopic uranium ( 234 U, 235 U, and 238 U) and technetium-99

Determinants of frequent attendance in Danish general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Jeanette Therming; Andersen, John Sahl; Tjønneland, Anne

2016-01-01

. below recommended level), and hormone therapy in women (1.52; 1.42-1.63) were all significant determinants of frequent attendance. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to pre-existing medical conditions, gender, socio-demographic and gender-specific factors, lifestyle (obesity, smoking, exercise and alcohol use.......57-0.69, >4 years higher education vs. no vocational training) and employment (0.61; 0.57-0.65) were inversely associated with frequent attendance. Finally, obesity (1.54; 1.14-2.08), smoking (1.21; 1.12-1.30, current vs. never), physical activity (0.84; 0.80-89), alcohol consumption (0.83; 0.78-0.87 above vs...

Sample size calculation for comparing two negative binomial rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Haiyuan; Lakkis, Hassan

2014-02-10

Negative binomial model has been increasingly used to model the count data in recent clinical trials. It is frequently chosen over Poisson model in cases of overdispersed count data that are commonly seen in clinical trials. One of the challenges of applying negative binomial model in clinical trial design is the sample size estimation. In practice, simulation methods have been frequently used for sample size estimation. In this paper, an explicit formula is developed to calculate sample size based on the negative binomial model. Depending on different approaches to estimate the variance under null hypothesis, three variations of the sample size formula are proposed and discussed. Important characteristics of the formula include its accuracy and its ability to explicitly incorporate dispersion parameter and exposure time. The performance of the formula with each variation is assessed using simulations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Incorrect condom use and frequent breakage among female sex workers and their clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukenge-Tshibaka, Léonard; Alary, Michel; Geraldo, Nassirou; Lowndes, Catherine M

2005-05-01

Our objective was to assess if female sex workers (FSWs) and their potential male clients in Cotonou, Benin, know how to use male condoms correctly. From April to June 2000, 314 FSWs and 208 men were interviewed, and asked to demonstrate on a wooden penis how they usually use male condoms. In all, 27.6% of both women and men tore the condom envelope on the notch; 89.3% of the women versus 75.4% of the men easily found the correct side; 17.3% of the women versus 28.3% of the men held the top of the condom to avoid air entering; 91.4% of the women versus 75.6% of the men correctly unrolled the condom. Taking all the four criteria together, only approximately 11% of participants performed a correct condom use demonstration. FSWs frequently reported condom breakage, which was significantly associated with incorrect condom demonstration (P = 0.04). Correct condom use is suboptimal in these heavy consumers of male condoms in Benin. Condom breakage is frequent and is associated with incorrect use.

Topiramate-induced paresthesia is more frequently reported by migraine than epileptic patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedighi, Behnaz; Shafiei, Kaveh; Azizpour, Iman

2016-04-01

Topiramate is an approved and effective drug in migraine prophylaxis. Paresthesia is the most commonly reported side effect. The primary objective of this study was to compare the frequency of topiramate-induced paresthesia in migraine headache to epileptic patients. Patients with migraine without aura and epilepsy were enrolled in this observational study. All cases were interviewed by telephone about their history of paresthesia. Confounding factors were controlled through logistic regression. The odds ratio of developing topiramate-induced paresthesia in migraine compared to epilepsy patients was 3.4. Three factors were independent contributors to developing topiramate-induced paresthesia: female sex (odds ratio 2.1), topiramate dosage (odds ratio 0.3) and duration of therapy. Our findings indicate an independent association between migraine and development of paresthesia. Migraineurs were more likely than epileptic patients to report paresthesia as topiramate adverse effects. Female sex, treatment duration and topiramate dosage contribute significantly to subsequent development of paresthesia.

Family physician-patient relationship and frequent attendance of primary and specialist health care: Results from a German population-based cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinkel, Andreas; Schneider, Antonius; Schmutzer, Gabriele; Brähler, Elmar; Häuser, Winfried

2016-07-01

To investigate the association between the quality of the family physician-patient relationship and frequent attendance of primary and specialist health care. Cross-sectional survey of a representative German population sample (N=2.266). Family physician-patient relationship was assessed with the Patient Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9). Determinants of frequent attendance were analyzed using logistic regression. Frequent attendance of family physicians was associated with lower income (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.02-2.00), not being in paid work (OR 1.58, CI 1.08-2.30), psychological distress (OR 1.14, CI 1.07-1.22), somatic symptoms (OR 1.07, CI 1.04-1.11), and physical comorbidity (OR 1.54, CI 1.36-1.74) in the multivariate analysis. Frequent attendance of specialists was related to psychological distress (OR 1.12, CI 1.04-1.20), somatic symptoms (OR 1.08, CI 1.04-1.11), and physical comorbidity (OR 1.69, CI 1.48-1.93) in the multivariate analysis. Quality of the relationship was associated with frequent attendance only in the univariate analyses. A stronger relationship with the family physician was not associated with reduced contact with specialists. The quality of the family physician-patient relationship is not independently associated with frequent attendance. Family physicians should be aware that need factors, i.e. symptom burden and physical comorbidities, are main drivers of frequent attendance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maternal prepregnancy obesity is an independent risk factor for frequent wheezing in infants by age 14 months.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerra, Stefano; Sartini, Claudio; Mendez, Michelle; Morales, Eva; Guxens, Mònica; Basterrechea, Mikel; Arranz, Leonor; Sunyer, Jordi

2013-01-01

Maternal prepregnancy obesity has been linked to the offspring's risk for subsequent asthma. We determined whether maternal obesity is associated with increased risk of wheezing phenotypes early in life. We used data on 1107 mother-child pairs from two birth cohorts from the INMA-INfancia y Medio Ambiente project. Maternal height was measured and prepregnancy weight self-reported at enrolment (on average at 13.7 ± 2 weeks of gestation). Maternal prepregnancy body mass index was categorised as underweight, normal, overweight and obese according to WHO recommendations. Information on child's wheezing was obtained through questionnaires up to the age of 14 (± 1) months. Wheezing was classified as infrequent (<4 reported wheezing episodes) or frequent (≥ 4 episodes). Weight and length of infants were measured by trained study staff at 14.6 (± 1) months of age and weight-for-length z-scores computed. Although maternal obesity did not increase the risk of the child to have any or infrequent wheezing, children of obese mothers were more likely to have frequent wheezing than children of normal-weight mothers (11.8% vs. 3.8%; P = 0.002). In fully adjusted multinomial logistic regression models, including infants' weight-for-length z-scores and other covariates, maternal prepregnancy obesity was associated with increased risk of frequent [adjusted relative risk (RR) 4.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.55, 11.3] but not infrequent (RR 1.05 [95% CI 0.55, 2.01]) wheezing in their children. Maternal prepregnancy obesity is independently associated with an increased risk of frequent wheezing in the infant by the age of 14 months. These findings add evidence on the potential effects of in utero exposures on asthma-related phenotypes. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Cool, callous and in control: superior inhibitory control in frequent players of video games with violent content.

Science.gov (United States)

Stockdale, Laura; Morrison, Robert G; Palumbo, Robert; Garbarino, James; Silton, Rebecca L

2017-12-01

Research on the effects of media violence exposure has shown robust associations among violent media exposure, increased aggressive behavior, and decreased empathy. Preliminary research indicates that frequent players of violent video games may have differences in emotional and cognitive processes compared to infrequent or nonplayers, yet research examining the amount and content of game play and the relation of these factors with affective and cognitive outcomes is limited. The present study measured neural correlates of response inhibition in the context of implicit attention to emotion, and how these factors are related to empathic responding in frequent and infrequent players of video games with graphically violent content. Participants completed a self-report measure of empathy as well as an affective stop-signal task that measured implicit attention to emotion and response inhibition during electroencephalography. Frequent players had lower levels of empathy as well as a reduction in brain activity as indicated by P100 and N200/P300 event related potentials. Reduced P100 amplitude evoked by happy facial expressions was observed in frequent players compared to infrequent players, and this effect was moderated by empathy, such that low levels of empathy further reduced P100 amplitudes for happy facial expressions for frequent players compared to infrequent players. Compared to infrequent players, frequent players had reduced N200/P300 amplitude during response inhibition, indicating less neural resources were recruited to inhibit behavior. Results from the present study illustrate that chronic exposure to violent video games modulates empathy and related neural correlates associated with affect and cognition. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Misrepresenting random sampling? A systematic review of research papers in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Graham R

2003-11-01

This paper discusses the theoretical limitations of the use of random sampling and probability theory in the production of a significance level (or P-value) in nursing research. Potential alternatives, in the form of randomization tests, are proposed. Research papers in nursing, medicine and psychology frequently misrepresent their statistical findings, as the P-values reported assume random sampling. In this systematic review of studies published between January 1995 and June 2002 in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, 89 (68%) studies broke this assumption because they used convenience samples or entire populations. As a result, some of the findings may be questionable. The key ideas of random sampling and probability theory for statistical testing (for generating a P-value) are outlined. The result of a systematic review of research papers published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing is then presented, showing how frequently random sampling appears to have been misrepresented. Useful alternative techniques that might overcome these limitations are then discussed. REVIEW LIMITATIONS: This review is limited in scope because it is applied to one journal, and so the findings cannot be generalized to other nursing journals or to nursing research in general. However, it is possible that other nursing journals are also publishing research articles based on the misrepresentation of random sampling. The review is also limited because in several of the articles the sampling method was not completely clearly stated, and in this circumstance a judgment has been made as to the sampling method employed, based on the indications given by author(s). Quantitative researchers in nursing should be very careful that the statistical techniques they use are appropriate for the design and sampling methods of their studies. If the techniques they employ are not appropriate, they run the risk of misinterpreting findings by using inappropriate, unrepresentative and biased samples.

Data reduction for neutron scattering from plutonium samples. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeger, P.A.

1997-01-01

An experiment performed in August, 1993, on the Low-Q Diffractometer (LQD) at the Manual Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (MLNSC) was designed to study the formation and annealing of He bubbles in aged 239 Pu metal. Significant complications arise in the reduction of the data because of the very high total neutron cross section of 239 Pu, and also because the sample are difficult to make uniform and to characterize. This report gives the details of the data and the data reduction procedures, presents the resulting scattering patterns in terms of macroscopic cross section as a function of momentum transfer, and suggests improvements for future experiments

Stability of volatile organics in environmental soil samples. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maskarinec, M.P.; Bayne, C.K.; Jenkins, R.A.; Johnson, L.H.; Holladay, S.K.

1992-11-01

This report focuses on data generated for the purpose of establishing the stability of 19 volatile organic compounds in environmental soil samples. The study was carried out over a 56 day (for two soils) and a 111 day (for one reference soil) time frame and took into account as many variables as possible within the constraints of budget and time. The objectives of the study were: 1) to provide a data base which could be used to provide guidance on pre-analytical holding times for regulatory purposes; and 2) to provide a basis for the evaluation of data which is generated outside of the currently allowable holding times.

Report on the NAT-9 quality control exercise on uranium isotopes in two soil samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bleise, Andreas

2001-04-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) section of Nutritional and Health related Environmental Studies (NAHRES) organized a quality control study for laboratories analysing samples from the UNEP field mission to Kosovo. Quality control was the major responsibility of the IAEA in the UN field assessment team. The NAT-9 quality control study consists of two soil materials from the IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf. The scope of this exercise was to determine the content of the uranium isotopes U-234, U-235 and U-238. The IAEA did not provide specific instructions, the participants were encouraged to apply their established analytical procedures to the samples. Five laboratories were invited to participate, four laboratories submitted results. For each soil sample 10 laboratory mean values were reported, using ICP-MS (3 laboratories) and α-spectrometry (1 laboratory). The participating laboratories were capable to distinguish the different uranium isotopes. All laboratories obtained the natural uranium ratio between U-235 and U-238. However, the results highlight a particular analytical weak spot. Although the methods of measuring the analytical signals are highly dependable, the sample preparation steps, in particular the sample dissolution procedure, appears to be lacking total quality control and has contributed to the deviations from the reported target values. One laboratory has documented evidence that extensive and well-controlled digestion methods can yield measurement results close to the target values. (author)

Comparison between self-report and hair analysis of illicit drug use in a community sample of middle-age men

OpenAIRE

Ledgerwood, David M.; Goldberger, Bruce A.; Risk, Nathan K.; Lewis, Collins E.; Price, Rumi Kato

2008-01-01

Discrepancies between biological assays and self-report of illicit drug use could undermine epidemiological research findings. Two objectives of the present study are to examine the degree of agreement between self-reported illicit drug use and hair analysis in a community sample of middle-aged men, and to identify factors that may predict discrepancies between self-report and hair testing. Male participants followed since 1972 were interviewed about substance use, and hair samples were analy...

Report on the intercomparison run IAEA-307 radionuclides in sea plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veglia, A.; Ballestra, S.; Vas, D.

1989-10-01

The results of an intercomparison exercise on a Mediterranean Sea plant sample, coded as IAEA-307, designed for the determination of artificial and natural radionuclide levels, are reported. This sample was collected along the shore from the vicinity of the Principality of Monaco in October 1986. The data from 66 laboratories representing 31 countries have been evaluated. The most frequently measured radionuclides: 106 Ru, 110m Ag, 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239+240 Pu, 241 Am, 40 K and 226 Ra. 10 refs, 38 tabs

Possibility of rapidly reporting 226Ra activity in 226Ra-222Rn samples with unknown equilibrium factor by γ spectrometer

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SU Qiong; ZHENG Rui; CHEN Yong; CHENG Jian-Ping

2004-01-01

This paper reports the observed changes for equilibrium factors between 226Ra and 222Rn with sealing time of the samples. The samples include soil, raw coal, mineral water, cement, rock, etc. Especially the conceptions of "pre-equilibrium time" and "pre-equilibrium factor" have been put forward and methods of measuring and processing data have been given which can be used for rapidly reporting activity of 226Ra in samples with unknown equilibrium factor. It is definitely concluded that, using methods given in the paper, a test report will be completed in 3～7days, instead of one month, after receiving the sample whose activity is not lower than LLD of the spectrometer.

Iron Deficiency In Frequent And First Time Female Blood Donors ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aim of the study: This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of iron deficiency and relevant factors in frequent and first time female blood donors at Casablanca blood transfusion centre, Morocco. Methods: Between November 2005 and April 2006, twenty-one female first time and twenty-one frequent female blood ...

The Impact of Frequent Shopper Programs in Grocery Retailing

OpenAIRE

David Bell; Rajiv Lal

2002-01-01

Frequent Shopper programs are becoming ubiquitous in retailing. Retailers seem unsure however about whether these programs are leading to higher loyalty, or to higher profits. In this paper we analyze data from a US supermarket chain that has used a number of frequent shopper rewards to improve sales and profitability. We find that while these programs are profitable, this is only because substantial incremental sales to casual shoppers (cherry pickers) oset subsidies to already loyal custome...

Mining top-k frequent closed itemsets in data streams using sliding window

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehman, Z.; Shahbaz, M.

2013-01-01

Frequent itemset mining has become a popular research area in data mining community since the last few years. T here are two main technical hitches while finding frequent itemsets. First, to provide an appropriate minimum support value to start and user need to tune this minimum support value by running the algorithm again and again. Secondly, generated frequent itemsets are mostly numerous and as a result a number of association rules generated are also very large in numbers. Applications dealing with streaming environment need to process the data received at high rate, therefore, finding frequent itemsets in data streams becomes complex. In this paper, we present an algorithm to mine top-k frequent closed itemsets using sliding window approach from streaming data. We developed a single-pass algorithm to find frequent closed itemsets of length between user's defined minimum and maximum- length. To improve the performance of algorithm and to avoid rescanning of data, we have transformed data into bitmap based tree data structure. (author)

Acute Pain Perception During Different Sampling Methods for Respiratory Culture in Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyns, Hanneke; De Wachter, Elke; Malfroot, Anne; Vaes, Peter

2018-03-01

Reliable identification of lower respiratory tract pathogens is crucial in the management of cystic fibrosis (CF). The multitude of treatments and clinical procedures are a considerable burden and are potentially provoking pain. As part of another study (NCT02363764), investigating the bacterial yield of three sampling methods, nasal swabs (NSs), cough swabs (CSs), and (induced) sputum samples ([I]SSs), in both expectorating patients (EPs) and non-expectorating patients (NEPs) with CF, the present study aimed to explore the prevalence of respiratory culture sampling-related pain as assessed by self-report within a cohort of children and adults. Literate patients with CF (aged six years or older) completed a questionnaire on pain perception related to the three aforementioned sampling methods (No/Yes; visual analogue scale for pain [VAS-Pain] [0-10 cm]). In addition, patients were asked to rank these methods by their own preference without taking into account the presumed bacterial yield. In total, 119 questionnaires were returned. In the EPs-group, CS was most frequently (n%; mean VAS-Pain if pain [range]) reported as painful method: overall (n = 101; 12.9%; 1.8 [0.2-4.8]), children (n = 41; 22.0%; 1.4 [0.2-2.7]), and adults (n = 60; 6.7%; 2.5 [0.5-4.8]). Highest pain intensity scores were observed with NS overall (3.0%; 2.4 [0.3-6.2]) and in children (4.9%; 3.3 [0.3-6.2]), but not in adults (1.7%; 0.6 [-]).NEPs-children (n = 17) reported ISS most frequently and as most painful sampling method (17.6%; 2.0 [1.0-4.0]). The only NEP-adult did not perceive pain. NEPs preferred NS > CS > ISS (61.1%, 33.3%, 5.6%, respectively [P = 0.001]) as primary sampling method, whereas EPs preferred SS > NS > CS (65.7%, 26.3%, 8.1%, respectively [P method inversely correlated to pain perception and intensity in EPs (φ = -0.155 [P = 0.007] and ρ = -0.926 [P = 0.008], respectively), but not in NEPs (φ = -0.226 [P = 0.097] and ρ = -0.135 [P = 0

Sample-based reporting of official national control of veterinary drug residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jens Hinge; Jensen, Louise Grønhøj Hørbye; Madsen, Helle L.

assessment as well as risk management. The European Food Safety Authority has been assigned with the task to set up a system for data collection based on individual analytical results. A pilot project has been launched with participants from eleven Member States for parallel reporting of monitoring results...... from 2015 in aggregated form as well as individual analytical results using a standardised data model. The challenges that face the pilot participants include provisions for categorised sample information, specific method performance data, result evaluation and follow-up actions. Experience gained...

Report for Detection of Biothreat Agents and Environmental Samples using the LLNL Virulence Array for DHS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaing, Crystal [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Gardner, Shea [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); McLoughlin, Kevin [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Thissen, James [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Jackson, Paul [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2011-04-18

The objective of this project is to provide DHS a comprehensive evaluation of the current genomic technologies including genotyping, Taqman PCR, multiple locus variable tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), microarray and high-throughput DNA sequencing in the analysis of biothreat agents from complex environmental samples. This report focuses on the design, testing and results of samples on the Virulence Array.

Pumping test and fluid sampling report, Mansfield No. 1 well, Palo Duro Basin: Report of the Geologic Project Manager, Permian Basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1983-07-01

This report describes pumping test and fluid sampling activities performed at the Mansfield No. 1 well in Oldham County about 10 miles north of Vega, Texas. The well site was selected by TBEG and is located along the northern margin of the Palo Duro Basin in an area of active dissolution with the Permian salt sections. The objectives of the pumping test and fluid sampling program were to collect data to determine the hydrologic characteristics (formation pressure and permeability) of deep water bearing formations, and to obtain formation fluid samples for analyses (gas and fluid chemistry) in order to evaluate fluid migration and age relationships in the Permian Basin. 4 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

Pumping test and fluid sampling report, Mansfield No. 1 well, Palo Duro Basin: Report of the Geologic Project Manager, Permian Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-07-01

This report describes pumping test and fluid sampling activities performed at the Mansfield No. 1 well in Oldham County about 10 miles north of Vega, Texas. The well site was selected by TBEG and is located along the northern margin of the Palo Duro Basin in an area of active dissolution with the Permian salt sections. The objectives of the pumping test and fluid sampling program were to collect data to determine the hydrologic characteristics (formation pressure and permeability) of deep water bearing formations, and to obtain formation fluid samples for analyses (gas and fluid chemistry) in order to evaluate fluid migration and age relationships in the Permian Basin. 4 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs

DeBi: Discovering Differentially Expressed Biclusters using a Frequent Itemset Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vingron Martin

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The analysis of massive high throughput data via clustering algorithms is very important for elucidating gene functions in biological systems. However, traditional clustering methods have several drawbacks. Biclustering overcomes these limitations by grouping genes and samples simultaneously. It discovers subsets of genes that are co-expressed in certain samples. Recent studies showed that biclustering has a great potential in detecting marker genes that are associated with certain tissues or diseases. Several biclustering algorithms have been proposed. However, it is still a challenge to find biclusters that are significant based on biological validation measures. Besides that, there is a need for a biclustering algorithm that is capable of analyzing very large datasets in reasonable time. Results Here we present a fast biclustering algorithm called DeBi (Differentially Expressed BIclusters. The algorithm is based on a well known data mining approach called frequent itemset. It discovers maximum size homogeneous biclusters in which each gene is strongly associated with a subset of samples. We evaluate the performance of DeBi on a yeast dataset, on synthetic datasets and on human datasets. Conclusions We demonstrate that the DeBi algorithm provides functionally more coherent gene sets compared to standard clustering or biclustering algorithms using biological validation measures such as Gene Ontology term and Transcription Factor Binding Site enrichment. We show that DeBi is a computationally efficient and powerful tool in analyzing large datasets. The method is also applicable on multiple gene expression datasets coming from different labs or platforms.

Effects of holding time and measurement error on culturing Legionella in environmental water samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Flanders, W Dana; Kirkland, Kimberly H; Shelton, Brian G

2014-10-01

Outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease require environmental testing of water samples from potentially implicated building water systems to identify the source of exposure. A previous study reports a large impact on Legionella sample results due to shipping and delays in sample processing. Specifically, this same study, without accounting for measurement error, reports more than half of shipped samples tested had Legionella levels that arbitrarily changed up or down by one or more logs, and the authors attribute this result to shipping time. Accordingly, we conducted a study to determine the effects of sample holding/shipping time on Legionella sample results while taking into account measurement error, which has previously not been addressed. We analyzed 159 samples, each split into 16 aliquots, of which one-half (8) were processed promptly after collection. The remaining half (8) were processed the following day to assess impact of holding/shipping time. A total of 2544 samples were analyzed including replicates. After accounting for inherent measurement error, we found that the effect of holding time on observed Legionella counts was small and should have no practical impact on interpretation of results. Holding samples increased the root mean squared error by only about 3-8%. Notably, for only one of 159 samples, did the average of the 8 replicate counts change by 1 log. Thus, our findings do not support the hypothesis of frequent, significant (≥= 1 log10 unit) Legionella colony count changes due to holding. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Predicting hospital mortality among frequently readmitted patients: HSMR biased by readmission

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Casemix adjusted in-hospital mortality is one of the measures used to improve quality of care. The adjustment currently used does not take into account the effects of readmission, because reliable data on readmission is not readily available through routinely collected databases. We have studied the impact of readmissions by linking admissions of the same patient, and as a result were able to compare hospital mortality among frequently, as opposed to, non-frequently readmitted patients. We also formulated a method to adjust for readmission for the calculation of hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMRs). Methods We conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis of routinely collected hospital data of six large non-university teaching hospitals in the Netherlands with casemix adjusted standardised mortality ratios ranging from 65 to 114 and a combined value of 93 over a five-year period. Participants concerned 240662 patients admitted 418566 times in total during the years 2003 - 2007. Predicted deaths by the HSMR model 2008 over a five-year period were compared with observed deaths. Results Numbers of readmissions per patient differ substantially between the six hospitals, up to a factor of 2. A large interaction was found between numbers of admissions per patient and HSMR-predicted risks. Observed deaths for frequently admitted patients were significantly lower than HSMR-predicted deaths, which could be explained by uncorrected factors surrounding readmissions. Conclusions Patients admitted more frequently show lower risks of dying on average per admission. This decline in risk is only partly detected by the current HSMR. Comparing frequently admitted patients to non-frequently admitted patients commits the constant risk fallacy and potentially lowers HSMRs of hospitals treating many frequently admitted patients and increases HSMRs of hospitals treating many non-frequently admitted patients. This misleading effect can only be demonstrated by an

Data validation summary report for the 100-BC-5 Operable Unit Round 9 Groundwater Sampling. Revision 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kearney, A.T.

1996-03-01

The information provided in this validation summary report includes chemical analyses of samples from 100-BC-5 Operable Unit Round 9 Groundwater sampling data. Data from this sampling event and their related quality assurance (QA) samples were reviewed and validated in accordance with Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) guidelines at the requested level. Sample analyses included metals, general chemistry, and radiochemistry. Sixty metals samples were analyzed by Quanterra Environmental Services (QES) and Lockheed Analytical Services (LAS). The metals samples were validated using WHC protocols specified in Data Validation Procedures for Chemical Analyses. All qualifiers assigned to the metals data were based on this guidance. The Table 1.1 lists the metals sample delivery group (SDG) that were validated for this sampling event

The relationship between health promoting resources and work participation in a sample reporting musculoskeletal pain from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, HUNT 3, Norway

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is one of the most frequent causes of sick leave from work, and is a common and potentially disabling condition. This study is based on the salutogenic perspective and investigates the relationship between personal, social, and functional health resources and work participation in a population reporting MSP. Method Analysis was performed on cross sectional data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, HUNT 3, in Norway. The sample of n= 6702 was extracted from HUNT 3, including a total of N= 50807 participants. Self-reported health (SRH) and, personal, social, and functional resources were assessed by a questionnaire. Reported sick leave was collected by interview at the point of time when the data were collected, from October 2006 until June 2008. Results Logistic regression analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences between the work group and sick leave group in self-rated health, work support, work control, work load, and feeling strong, and the model predicted 68% of the cases correctly. Females had a lower statistically significant probability (B= −.53) to be in the work group then men when suffering from MSP, with odds of 41%. Conclusion There was a statistically significant relationship between health promoting resources such as SRH, feeling strong, absence of neuroticism, work load, work control, and work participation in MSP population. PMID:23509959

The novel RASSF6 and RASSF10 candidate tumour suppressor genes are frequently epigenetically inactivated in childhood leukaemias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maher Eamonn R

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Ras-assocation family (RASSF of tumour suppressor genes (TSGs contains 10 members that encode proteins containing Ras-assocation (RA domains. Several members of the RASSF family are frequently epigenetically inactivated in cancer, however, their role in leukaemia has remained largely uninvestigated. Also, RASSF10 is a predicted gene yet to be experimentally verified. Here we cloned, characterised and demonstrated expression of RASSF10 in normal human bone marrow. We also determined the methylation status of CpG islands associated with RASSF1–10 in a series of childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemias (ALL and normal blood and bone marrow samples. Results COBRA and bisulphite sequencing revealed RASSF6 and RASSF10 were the only RASSF members with a high frequency of leukaemia-specific methylation. RASSF6 was methylated in 94% (48/51 B-ALL and 41% (12/29 T-ALL, whilst RASSF10 was methylated in 16% (8/51 B-ALL and 88% (23/26 T-ALL. RASSF6 and RASSF10 expression inversely correlated with methylation which was restored by treatment with 5-aza-2'deoxycytidine (5azaDC. Conclusion This study shows the hypermethylation profile of RASSF genes in leukaemias is distinct from that of solid tumours and represents the first report of inactivation of RASSF6 or RASSF10 in cancer. These data show epigenetic inactivation of the candidate TSGs RASSF6 and RASSF10 is an extremely frequent event in the pathogenesis of childhood leukaemia. This study also warrants further investigation of the newly identified RASSF member RASSF10 and its potential role in leukaemia.

Metacognitive beliefs as a predictor of health anxiety in a self-reporting Italian clinical sample

OpenAIRE

Melli, Gabriele; Bailey, Robin; Carraresi, Claudia; Poli, Andrea

2017-01-01

Research has supported the specific role that anxiety sensitivity, health-related dysfunctional beliefs, and metacognitive beliefs may play in the development and maintenance of health anxiety symptoms. However, the role of metacognitive beliefs in health anxiety has only been explored in analogue samples. The aim of this study was to explore for the first time the association between metacognitive beliefs and health anxiety symptoms in a sample of participants who reported having received a ...

Do suicide attempts occur more frequently in the spring too? A systematic review and rhythmic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Coimbra, Daniel Gomes; Pereira E Silva, Aline Cristine; de Sousa-Rodrigues, Célio Fernando; Barbosa, Fabiano Timbó; de Siqueira Figueredo, Diego; Araújo Santos, José Luiz; Barbosa, Mayara Rodrigues; de Medeiros Alves, Veronica; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; de Andrade, Tiago Gomes

2016-05-15

Seasonal variations in suicides have been reported worldwide, however, there may be a different seasonal pattern in suicide attempts. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review on seasonality of suicide attempts considering potential interfering variables, and a statistical analysis for seasonality with the collected data. Observational epidemiological studies about seasonality in suicide attempts were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, LILACS and Cochrane Library databases with terms attempted suicide, attempt and season. Monthly or seasonal data available were evaluated by rhythmic analysis softwares. Twenty-nine articles from 16 different countries were included in the final review. It was observed different patterns of seasonality, however, suicide attempts in spring and summer were the most frequent seasons reported. Eight studies indicated differences in sex and three in the method used for suicide attempts. Three articles did not find a seasonal pattern in suicide attempts. Cosinor analysis identified an overall pattern of seasonal variation with a suggested peak in spring, considering articles individually or grouped and independent of sex and method used. A restricted analysis with self-poisoning in hospital samples demonstrated the same profile. Grouping diverse populations and potential analytical bias due to lack of information are the main limitations. The identification of a seasonal profile suggests the influence of an important environmental modulator that can reverberate to suicide prevention strategies. Further studies controlling interfering variables and investigating the biological substrate for this phenomenon would be helpful to confirm our conclusion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Passive sampling as a tool for identifying micro-organic compounds in groundwater.

Science.gov (United States)

Mali, N; Cerar, S; Koroša, A; Auersperger, P

2017-09-01

The paper presents the use of a simple and cost efficient passive sampling device with integrated active carbon with which to test the possibility of determining the presence of micro-organic compounds (MOs) in groundwater and identifying the potential source of pollution as well as the seasonal variability of contamination. Advantage of the passive sampler is to cover a long sampling period by integrating the pollutant concentration over time, and the consequently analytical costs over the monitoring period can be reduced substantially. Passive samplers were installed in 15 boreholes in the Maribor City area in Slovenia, with two sampling campaigns covered a period about one year. At all sampling sites in the first series a total of 103 compounds were detected, and 144 in the second series. Of all detected compounds the 53 most frequently detected were selected for further analysis. These were classified into eight groups based on the type of their source: Pesticides, Halogenated solvents, Non-halogenated solvents, Domestic and personal, Plasticizers and additives, Other industrial, Sterols and Natural compounds. The most frequently detected MO compounds in groundwater were tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene from the Halogenated solvents group. The most frequently detected among the compound's groups were pesticides. Analysis of frequency also showed significant differences between the two sampling series, with less frequent detections in the summer series. For the analysis to determine the origin of contamination three groups of compounds were determined according to type of use: agriculture, urban and industry. Frequency of detection indicates mixed land use in the recharge areas of sampling sites, which makes it difficult to specify the dominant origin of the compound. Passive sampling has proved to be useful tool with which to identify MOs in groundwater and for assessing groundwater quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This report summarizes the annual inspection, sampling, measurement, and maintenance activities performed at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site in calendar year 2010. The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities with the results of sample analyses. The Salmon, MS, Site is a federally owned site located in Lamar County, MS, approximately 12 miles west of Purvis, MS, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, MS (Figure 1). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a successor agency to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), is responsible for the long-term surveillance and maintenance of the 1,470-acre site. DOE's Office of Legacy Management (LM) is the operating agent for the surface and subsurface real estate.

Performance of an app measuring spot quality in dried blood spot sampling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veenhof, Herman

2016-01-01

Introduction: The Dried Blood Spot sampling (DBS) method gives patients and health care workers the opportunity for remote sampling using a drop of blood from a fingerprick on a sampling card which can be send to the laboratory by mail. Laboratory analysts frequently reject DBS samples because of

The influence of gender on social anxiety spectrum symptoms in a sample of university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Dell'Osso, Liliana; Abelli, Marianna; Pini, Stefano; Carpita, Barbara; Carlini, Marina; Mengali, Francesco; Tognetti, Rosalba; Rivetti, Francesco; Massimetti, Gabriele

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to explore social anxiety spectrum gender differences, in a sample of university students. Overall, 823 University of Pisa students were assessed by Social Anxiety Spectrum Self-Report Questionnaire (SHYSR). Using a total score of 68 as the optimal diagnostic threshold, we classified students into two groups with levels of severity: low scorers (60%), significant gender differences emerged for 6 items: females reported higher rates of items related to “Performance fears”, that seemed to confirm the new DSM-5 specifier named “Performance only”, while males reported higher rate in a single item related to “Behavioural inhibition”. Females showed a significant higher total score and “Specific anxieties and phobic features” and “Interpersonal sensitivity” domain scores compared to males, in low severity subgroup, and males showed significant higher “Social phobic traits during childhood and adolescence” and “Behavioural inhibition and somatic symptoms” domain scores compared to females in the high severity subgroup. Finally, rate of individuals declaring to consume alcohol was significantly higher in males than females. Among university students, social anxiety spectrum seems to be more frequent in females than males. In males, social anxiety spectrum is more frequently associated with an early onset, behavioural inhibition and somatic symptoms and, consequently, with higher severity.

Prediction of retention indices for frequently reported compounds of plant essential oils using multiple linear regression, partial least squares, and support vector machine.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Jun; Huang, Jian-Hua; He, Min; Lu, Hong-Bing; Yang, Rui; Kong, Bo; Xu, Qing-Song; Liang, Yi-Zeng

2013-08-01

Retention indices for frequently reported compounds of plant essential oils on three different stationary phases were investigated. Multivariate linear regression, partial least squares, and support vector machine combined with a new variable selection approach called random-frog recently proposed by our group, were employed to model quantitative structure-retention relationships. Internal and external validations were performed to ensure the stability and predictive ability. All the three methods could obtain an acceptable model, and the optimal results by support vector machine based on a small number of informative descriptors with the square of correlation coefficient for cross validation, values of 0.9726, 0.9759, and 0.9331 on the dimethylsilicone stationary phase, the dimethylsilicone phase with 5% phenyl groups, and the PEG stationary phase, respectively. The performances of two variable selection approaches, random-frog and genetic algorithm, are compared. The importance of the variables was found to be consistent when estimated from correlation coefficients in multivariate linear regression equations and selection probability in model spaces. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

GRAMI: Frequent subgraph and pattern mining in a single large graph

KAUST Repository

Elseidy, M.; Abdelhamid, Ehab; Skiadopoulos, S.; Kalnis, Panos

2014-01-01

Mining frequent subgraphs is an important operation on graphs; it is defined as finding all subgraphs that appear frequently in a database according to a given frequency threshold. Most existing work assumes a database of many small graphs

Paleoparasitological report on Ascaris aDNA from an ancient East Asian sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Seok Oh

2010-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, Ascaris DNA was extracted and sequenced from a medieval archaeological sample in Korea. While Ascaris eggs were confirmed to be of human origin by archaeological evidence, it was not possible to pinpoint the exact species due to close genetic relationships among them. Despite this shortcoming, this is the first Ascaris ancient DNA (aDNA report from a medieval Asian country and thus will expand the scope of Ascaris aDNA research.

Frequent callers to crisis helplines: who are they and why do they call?

Science.gov (United States)

Spittal, Matthew J; Fedyszyn, Izabela; Middleton, Aves; Bassilios, Bridget; Gunn, Jane; Woodward, Alan; Pirkis, Jane

2015-01-01

Frequent callers present a challenge for crisis helplines, which strive to achieve optimal outcomes for all callers within finite resources. This study aimed to describe frequent callers to Lifeline (the largest crisis helpline in Australia) and compare them with non-frequent callers, with a view to furthering knowledge about models of service delivery that might meet the needs of frequent callers. Lifeline provided an anonymous dataset on calls made between December 2011 and May 2013. We assumed calls from the same (encrypted) phone number were made by the same person, and aggregated call level data up to the person level. Individuals who made 0.667 calls per day in any period from 1 week to the full 549 days for which we had data (i.e. 4.7 calls in 7 days, 20 calls in 30 days, 40 calls in 60 days, etc.) were regarded as frequent callers. Our analysis dataset included 411,725 calls made by 98,174 individuals, 2594 (2.6%) of whom met our definition of frequent callers. We identified a number of predictors of being a frequent caller, including being male or transgender, and never having been married. The odds increased with age until 55-64 years, and then declined. Suicidality, self-harm, mental health issues, crime, child protection and domestic violence issues all predicted being a frequent caller. Collectively, frequent callers have a significant impact on crisis lines, and solutions need to be found for responding to them that are in everybody's best interests (i.e. the frequent callers themselves, other callers, telephone crisis supporters who staff crisis lines, and those who manage crisis lines). In striking this balance, the complex and multiple needs of frequent callers must be taken into account. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2014.

[Utilization of antibiotics according to most frequent indications at Hungarian hospitals and results of surveys].

Science.gov (United States)

Ternák, G; Almási, I

1997-05-25

Antibiotic utilisation of 8 Hungarian hospitals was analyzed examining the case histories of patients who were discharged between January 1 and 31, 1995. Usage of antibiotics in the most frequent indications is reported in this paper. Majority of the prescriptions for the treatment of upper and lower respiratory tract infections were broad spectrum beta lactams. Higher rate of penicillin usage was found only in tonsillitis cases. Besides II. generation cephalosporins (22.7% of 730 prescriptions), beta-lactamase inhibitor + aminopenicillin combinations (13.4%) and III. generation cephalosporins (9.5%) considerable quantity of aminoglycosides (14.9%) and quinolones (9.5%) were found in pneumonia. Relatively high rate of aminoglycosides in the treatment of lower respiratory infections is inconsistent with therapeutic guidelines in force. Co-trimoxazol and quinolones were most frequently prescribed for the treatment of lower urinary tract infections. Traditional urodesinficients were on the first place only at one hospital. Treatment of frequently occurring nosocomial infections was compared with those of community acquired at the same site. There was not significant difference in the utilisation rates of the most of antibiotic groups regarding place of disease acquisition. 44% of the 1373 prescriptions for perioperative profilaxis was indicated for clean operations where benefit of antibiotic administration is questionable. Duration of antibiotic profilaxis was more than 48 hours in 59% of prescriptions. Drugs most frequently used for perioperative profilaxis were II. generation cephalosporins (23.7%), metronidazol (16.7%), aminoglycosides (9.6%) and III. generation cephalosporines (9.6%). The authors compare their results to the literature. They suggest the setting up of "infection control committees" to organise the antibiotic policies in hospitals.

The Role of Old-growth Forests in Frequent-fire Landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Binkley

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Classic ecological concepts and forestry language regarding old growth are not well suited to frequent-fire landscapes. In frequent-fire, old-growth landscapes, there is a symbiotic relationship between the trees, the understory graminoids, and fire that results in a healthy ecosystem. Patches of old growth interspersed with younger growth and open, grassy areas provide a wide variety of habitats for animals, and have a higher level of biodiversity. Fire suppression is detrimental to these forests, and eventually destroys all old growth. The reintroduction of fire into degraded frequent-fire, old-growth forests, accompanied by appropriate thinning, can restore a balance to these ecosystems. Several areas require further research and study: 1 the ability of the understory to respond to restoration treatments, 2 the rate of ecosystem recovery following wildfires whose level of severity is beyond the historic or natural range of variation, 3 the effects of climate change, and 4 the role of the microbial community. In addition, it is important to recognize that much of our knowledge about these old-growth systems comes from a few frequent-fire forest types.

New Generation Flask Sampling Technology Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, James R. [AOS, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO (United States)

2017-11-09

Scientists are turning their focus to the Arctic, site of one of the strongest climate change signals. A new generation of technologies is required to function within that harsh environment, chart evolution of its trace gases and provide new kinds of information for models of the atmosphere. Our response to the solicitation tracks how global atmospheric monitoring was launched more than a half century ago; namely, acquisition of discrete samples of air by flask and subsequent analysis in the laboratory. AOS is proposing to develop a new generation of flask sampling technology. It will enable the new Arctic programs to begin with objective high density sampling of the atmosphere by UAS. The Phase I program will build the prototype flask technology and show that it can acquire and store mol fractions of CH4 and CO2 and value of δ13C with good fidelity. A CAD model will be produced for the entire platform including a package with 100 flasks and the airframe with auto-pilot, electronic propulsion and ground-to-air communications. A mobile flask analysis station will be prototyped in Phase I and designed to final form in Phase II. It expends very small sample per analysis and will interface directly to the flask package integrated permanently into the UAS fuselage. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: • The New Generation Flask Sampling Technology able to provide a hundred or more samples of air per UAS mission. • A mobile analysis station expending far less sample than the existing ones and small enough to be stationed at the remote sites of Arctic operations. • A new form of validation for continuous trace gas observations from all platforms including the small UAS. • Further demonstration to potential customers of the AOS capabilities to invent, build, deploy and exploit entire platforms for observations of Earth’s atmosphere and ocean. Key Words: Flask Sampler, Mobile Analysis Station, Trace Gas, CO2, CH4, δC13, UAS, Baseline Airborne Observatory

Near-Patient Sampling to Assist Infection Control—A Case Report and Discussion

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Julian W.; Hoyle, Elizabeth; Moran, Sammy; Pareek, Manish

2018-01-01

Air sampling as an aid to infection control is still in an experimental stage, as there is no consensus about which air samplers and pathogen detection methods should be used, and what thresholds of specific pathogens in specific exposed populations (staff, patients, or visitors) constitutes a true clinical risk. This case report used a button sampler, worn or held by staff or left free-standing in a fixed location, for environmental sampling around a child who was chronically infected by a respiratory adenovirus, to determine whether there was any risk of secondary adenovirus infection to the staff managing the patient. Despite multiple air samples taken on difference days, coinciding with high levels of adenovirus detectable in the child’s nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs), none of the air samples contained any detectable adenovirus DNA using a clinically validated diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Although highly sensitive, in-house PCR assays have been developed to detect airborne pathogen RNA/DNA, it is still unclear what level of specific pathogen RNA/DNA constitutes a true clinical risk. In this case, the absence of detectable airborne adenovirus DNA using a conventional diagnostic assay removed the requirement for staff to wear surgical masks and face visors when they entered the child’s room. No subsequent staff infections or outbreaks of adenovirus have so far been identified. PMID:29385031

Near-Patient Sampling to Assist Infection Control—A Case Report and Discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian W. Tang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Air sampling as an aid to infection control is still in an experimental stage, as there is no consensus about which air samplers and pathogen detection methods should be used, and what thresholds of specific pathogens in specific exposed populations (staff, patients, or visitors constitutes a true clinical risk. This case report used a button sampler, worn or held by staff or left free-standing in a fixed location, for environmental sampling around a child who was chronically infected by a respiratory adenovirus, to determine whether there was any risk of secondary adenovirus infection to the staff managing the patient. Despite multiple air samples taken on difference days, coinciding with high levels of adenovirus detectable in the child’s nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs, none of the air samples contained any detectable adenovirus DNA using a clinically validated diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR assay. Although highly sensitive, in-house PCR assays have been developed to detect airborne pathogen RNA/DNA, it is still unclear what level of specific pathogen RNA/DNA constitutes a true clinical risk. In this case, the absence of detectable airborne adenovirus DNA using a conventional diagnostic assay removed the requirement for staff to wear surgical masks and face visors when they entered the child’s room. No subsequent staff infections or outbreaks of adenovirus have so far been identified.

Accuracy of self-reported height, weight and waist circumference in a Japanese sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Okamoto, N; Hosono, A; Shibata, K; Tsujimura, S; Oka, K; Fujita, H; Kamiya, M; Kondo, F; Wakabayashi, R; Yamada, T; Suzuki, S

2017-12-01

Inconsistent results have been found in prior studies investigating the accuracy of self-reported waist circumference, and no study has investigated the validity of self-reported waist circumference among Japanese individuals. This study used the diagnostic standard of metabolic syndrome to assess the accuracy of individual's self-reported height, weight and waist circumference in a Japanese sample. Study participants included 7,443 Japanese men and women aged 35-79 years. They participated in a cohort study's baseline survey between 2007 and 2011. Participants' height, weight and waist circumference were measured, and their body mass index was calculated. Self-reported values were collected through a questionnaire before the examination. Strong correlations between measured and self-reported values for height, weight and body mass index were detected. The correlation was lowest for waist circumference (men, 0.87; women, 0.73). Men significantly overestimated their waist circumference (mean difference, 0.8 cm), whereas women significantly underestimated theirs (mean difference, 5.1 cm). The sensitivity of self-reported waist circumference using the cut-off value of metabolic syndrome was 0.83 for men and 0.57 for women. Due to systematic and random errors, the accuracy of self-reported waist circumference was low. Therefore, waist circumference should be measured without relying on self-reported values, particularly in the case of women.

Safety analysis report for packaging (onsite) transuranic performance demonstration program sample packaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mccoy, J.C.

1997-01-01

The Transuranic Performance Demonstration Program (TPDP) sample packaging is used to transport highway route controlled quantities of weapons grade (WG) plutonium samples from the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) to the Waste Receiving and Processing (WRAP) facility and back. The purpose of these shipments is to test the nondestructive assay equipment in the WRAP facility as part of the Nondestructive Waste Assay PDP. The PDP is part of the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) National TRU Program managed by the U. S. Department of Energy, Carlsbad Area Office, Carlsbad, New Mexico. Details of this program are found in CAO-94-1045, Performance Demonstration Program Plan for Nondestructive Assay for the TRU Waste Characterization Program (CAO 1994); INEL-96/0129, Design of Benign Matrix Drums for the Non-Destructive Assay Performance Demonstration Program for the National TRU Program (INEL 1996a); and INEL-96/0245, Design of Phase 1 Radioactive Working Reference Materials for the Nondestructive Assay Performance Demonstration Program for the National TRU Program (INEL 1996b). Other program documentation is maintained by the national TRU program and each DOE site participating in the program. This safety analysis report for packaging (SARP) provides the analyses and evaluations necessary to demonstrate that the TRU PDP sample packaging meets the onsite transportation safety requirements of WHC-CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping, for an onsite Transportation Hazard Indicator (THI) 2 packaging. This SARP, however, does not include evaluation of any operations within the PFP or WRAP facilities, including handling, maintenance, storage, or operating requirements, except as they apply directly to transportation between the gate of PFP and the gate of the WRAP facility. All other activities are subject to the requirements of the facility safety analysis reports (FSAR) of the PFP or WRAP facility and requirements of the PDP

Ferrocyanide Safety Program: Data interpretation report for tank 241-T-107 core samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, L.M.; Valenzuela, B.D.

1994-08-01

Between November 1992 and March 1993, three core samples were obtained from tank 241-T-107. Analyses were performed on these core samples to support the Ferrocyanide Safety Program and the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Ecology et al. 1994) Milestone M-10-00. This document summarizes and evaluates those analytical results that are pertinent to the Ferrocyanide Safety Issue. This document compares the analytical results with the data requirements for ferrocyanide tanks as documented in Data Requirements of the Ferrocyanide Safety Issue Developed Through the Data Quality Objectives Process (Meacham et al. 1994) and provides an assessment of the safety condition of the tank. Analytes not listed in the Data Quality Objectives (DQO) document (Meacham et al. 1994) or not pertinent to the Ferrocyanide Safety Issue are not discussed in this report. Complete documentation of the analytical results can be found in the data package for the tank 241-T-107 cores (Svancara and Pool 1993). A more complete evaluation of the analytical results and an estimate of the tank inventory will be provided in a forthcoming tank characterization report for tank 241-T-107

Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria for alcohol use disorders in VA primary care patients with frequent heavy drinking enrolled in a trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Traci; Lapham, Gwen; Chavez, Laura J; Lee, Amy K; Williams, Emily C; Richards, Julie E; Greenberg, Diane; Rubinsky, Anna; Berger, Douglas; Hawkins, Eric J; Merrill, Joseph O; Bradley, Katharine A

2017-07-18

Criteria for alcohol use disorders (AUD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) were intended to result in a similar prevalence of AUD as DSM-IV. We evaluated the prevalence of AUD using DSM-5 and DSM-IV criteria, and compared characteristics of patients who met criteria for: neither DSM-5 nor DSM-IV AUD, DSM-5 alone, DSM-IV alone, or both, among Veterans Administration (VA) outpatients in the Considering Healthier drinking Options In primary CarE (CHOICE) trial. VA primary care patients who reported frequent heavy drinking and enrolled in the CHOICE trial were interviewed at baseline using the DSM-IV Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for AUD, as well as questions about socio-demographics, mental health, alcohol craving, and substance use. We compared characteristics across 4 mutually exclusive groups based on DSM-5 and DSM-IV criteria. Of 304 participants, 13.8% met criteria for neither DSM-5 nor DSM-IV AUD; 12.8% met criteria for DSM-5 alone, and 73.0% met criteria for both DSM-IV and DSM-5. Only 1 patient (0.3%) met criteria for DSM-IV AUD alone. Patients meeting both DSM-5 and DSM-IV criteria had more negative drinking consequences, mental health symptoms and self-reported readiness to change compared with those meeting DSM-5 criteria alone or neither DSM-5 nor DSM-IV criteria. In this sample of primary care patients with frequent heavy drinking, DSM-5 identified 13% more patients with AUD than DSM-IV. This group had a lower mental health symptom burden and less self-reported readiness to change compared to those meeting criteria for both DSM-IV and DSM-5 AUD. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01400581. 2011 February 17.

Predicting hospital mortality among frequently readmitted patients: HSMR biased by readmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelder Johannes C

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Casemix adjusted in-hospital mortality is one of the measures used to improve quality of care. The adjustment currently used does not take into account the effects of readmission, because reliable data on readmission is not readily available through routinely collected databases. We have studied the impact of readmissions by linking admissions of the same patient, and as a result were able to compare hospital mortality among frequently, as opposed to, non-frequently readmitted patients. We also formulated a method to adjust for readmission for the calculation of hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMRs. Methods We conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis of routinely collected hospital data of six large non-university teaching hospitals in the Netherlands with casemix adjusted standardised mortality ratios ranging from 65 to 114 and a combined value of 93 over a five-year period. Participants concerned 240662 patients admitted 418566 times in total during the years 2003 - 2007. Predicted deaths by the HSMR model 2008 over a five-year period were compared with observed deaths. Results Numbers of readmissions per patient differ substantially between the six hospitals, up to a factor of 2. A large interaction was found between numbers of admissions per patient and HSMR-predicted risks. Observed deaths for frequently admitted patients were significantly lower than HSMR-predicted deaths, which could be explained by uncorrected factors surrounding readmissions. Conclusions Patients admitted more frequently show lower risks of dying on average per admission. This decline in risk is only partly detected by the current HSMR. Comparing frequently admitted patients to non-frequently admitted patients commits the constant risk fallacy and potentially lowers HSMRs of hospitals treating many frequently admitted patients and increases HSMRs of hospitals treating many non-frequently admitted patients. This misleading effect can

Contingency inferences driven by base rates: Valid by sampling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Kutzner

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Fiedler et al. (2009, reviewed evidence for the utilization of a contingency inference strategy termed pseudocontingencies (PCs. In PCs, the more frequent levels (and, by implication, the less frequent levels are assumed to be associated. PCs have been obtained using a wide range of task settings and dependent measures. Yet, the readiness with which decision makers rely on PCs is poorly understood. A computer simulation explored two potential sources of subjective validity of PCs. First, PCs are shown to perform above chance level when the task is to infer the sign of moderate to strong population contingencies from a sample of observations. Second, contingency inferences based on PCs and inferences based on cell frequencies are shown to partially agree across samples. Intriguingly, this criterion and convergent validity are by-products of random sampling error, highlighting the inductive nature of contingency inferences.

Underground Test Area Calendar Year 2015 Annual Sampling Analysis Report Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farnham, Irene [Navarro Nevada Environmental Services (NNES), Las Vegas, NV (United States); Rehfeldt, Ken [Navarro Nevada Environmental Services (NNES), Las Vegas, NV (United States)

2017-09-01

This report presents the analytical data for the 2015 calendar year (CY) (January 1 through December 31, 2015) and an evaluation of the data to ensure that the Sampling Plan’s objectives are met. Special investigations that took place in 2015 that are relevant to the Sampling Plan are also presented.

Less healthy breakfast cereals are promoted more frequently in large supermarket chains in Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monique Potvin Kent

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The majority of food expenditures are made in supermarkets and this environment influences our purchasing and food intake. Breakfast cereals are frequently marketed as healthy food choices. The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of in–store promotions for cold breakfast cereals in Canadian supermarkets and to determine whether healthier or less healthy breakfast cereals are promoted more frequently. Methods Data was collected once per week over a four-week period from a convenience sample of the five largest Canadian supermarkets in the Ottawa/Gatineau area. Data collection included the number of shelf facings, promotional displays, and the cost of cereals/100 g. The UK Nutrient Profiling Model was used to determine the healthfulness of each breakfast cereal. Results 29.8% (n = 67 of the 225 unique cereals were classified as healthier and 70.2% (n = 158 were classified as less healthy. Less healthy cereals were displayed at eye level, in the profitable middle shelves, 2.9 times more frequently than healthier cereals. There were 5.3 times more breakfast cereal shelf facings, 4.2 more end cap displays, 1.7 more mid-aisle displays and 3.3 more special pricing signage for less healthy cereals compared to healthier cereals. Less healthy cereals had a significantly higher average total number of shelf facings compared to healthier cereals (t = −4.28 (280.8, p < .001. Conclusions Breakfast cereal manufacturers need to consider reformulation of their breakfast cereals to improve their healthfulness and supermarkets need to increase the marketing of healthy breakfast cereals within their stores.

Associations of work ability with frequent and long-term sickness absence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Notenbomer, A.; Groothoff, J. W.; van Rhenen, W.; Roelen, C. A. M.

Background Reduced work ability is related to long-term sickness absence. The relationship between work ability and frequent sickness absence has not previously been investigated. It is important to distinguish between frequent and long-term sickness absence as they are outcomes of different

Middlesex Sampling Plant environmental report for calendar year 1989, Middlesex, New Jersey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-05-01

The environmental monitoring program, which began in 1980, was continued in 1989 at the former Middlesex Sampling Plant (MSP) site, located in the Borough of Middlesex, New Jersey. The MSP site is part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), a Department of Energy (DOE) program to decontaminate or otherwise control sites where residual radioactive materials remain either from the early years of the nation's atomic energy program or from commercial operations causing conditions that Congress has authorized DOE to remedy. The monitoring program at MSP measures radon concentrations in air; external gamma radiation levels; and uranium and radium concentrations in surface water, groundwater, and sediment. Additionally, several nonradiological parameters are measured in groundwater samples. To verify that the site is in compliance with the DOE radiation protection standard (100 mrem/yr) and to assess its potential effect on public health, the radiation dose was calculated for a hypothetical maximally exposed individual. This report presents the findings of the environmental monitoring program conducted in the area of the Middlesex Sampling Plant (MSP) site during calendar year 1989. 17 refs., 16 figs., 16 tabs

Middlesex Sampling Plant environmental report for calendar year 1989, Middlesex, New Jersey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1990-05-01

The environmental monitoring program, which began in 1980, was continued in 1989 at the former Middlesex Sampling Plant (MSP) site, located in the Borough of Middlesex, New Jersey. The MSP site is part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), a Department of Energy (DOE) program to decontaminate or otherwise control sites where residual radioactive materials remain either from the early years of the nation's atomic energy program or from commercial operations causing conditions that Congress has authorized DOE to remedy. The monitoring program at MSP measures radon concentrations in air; external gamma radiation levels; and uranium and radium concentrations in surface water, groundwater, and sediment. Additionally, several nonradiological parameters are measured in groundwater samples. To verify that the site is in compliance with the DOE radiation protection standard (100 mrem/yr) and to assess its potential effect on public health, the radiation dose was calculated for a hypothetical maximally exposed individual. This report presents the findings of the environmental monitoring program conducted in the area of the Middlesex Sampling Plant (MSP) site during calendar year 1989. 17 refs., 16 figs., 16 tabs.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Criminal and Aggressive Behaviors among a National Sample of Adults in Mutual-Help Recovery Homes

OpenAIRE

Aase, Darrin M.; Jason, Leonard A.; Olson, Bradley D.; Majer, John M.; Ferrari, Joseph R.; Davis, Margaret I.; Virtue, Sandra M.

2009-01-01

Criminal and aggressive behaviors are frequently observed among those recovering from substance abuse problems. In the present one-year longitudinal study, a national sample of residents from self-governed, communal living recovery homes for substance abuse completed baseline and follow-up measures of criminal and aggressive behavior. Results indicated that a length of stay of six months or longer was associated with lower levels of self-reported criminal and aggressive behaviors at the one-y...

A frequent flyer program for nuclear mythology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, J.A.L.

1997-01-01

The anti-nuclear literature contains many erroneous and misleading allegations, collectively constituting a mythology. These are repeated endlessly, however often they are refuted, and are quoted uncritically by the media. Many are collected here, together with my rebuttals. For an explanation of the use here of the term 'frequent flyers', read on... (author)

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2011-03-01

This report summarizes the annual inspection, sampling, measurement, and maintenance activities performed at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site in calendar year 2010. The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities with the results of sample analyses. The Salmon, MS, Site is a federally owned site located in Lamar County, MS, approximately 12 miles west of Purvis, MS, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, MS (Figure 1). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a successor agency to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), is responsible for the long-term surveillance and maintenance of the 1,470-acre site. DOE's Office of Legacy Management (LM) is the operating agent for the surface and subsurface real estate.

Chest Pain: The Need to Consider Less Frequent Diagnosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Magalhães

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Chest pain is one of the most frequent patient’s complaints. The commonest underlying causes are well known, but, sometimes, in some clinical scenarios, it is necessary to consider other diagnoses. We report a case of a 68-year-old Caucasian male, chronically hypertensive, who complained of recurrent episodes of chest pain and fever with elevated acute phase reactants. The first investigation was negative for some of the most likely diagnosis and he quickly improved with anti-inflammatory drugs. Over a few months, his symptoms continued to recur periodically, his hypertension was aggravated, and he developed headaches and lower limbs claudication. After a temporal artery biopsy that was negative for vasculitis, he underwent a positron emission tomography suggestive of Takayasu Arteritis. Takayasu Arteritis is a rare chronic granulomatous vasculitis of the aorta and its first-order branches affecting mostly females up to 50 years old. Chest pain is experienced by >40% of the patients and results from the inflammation of the aorta, pulmonary artery, or coronaries.

Botulism: A Frequently Forgotten Old Malady

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teguh Thajeb

2007-09-01

Full Text Available A frequently forgotten old malady called botulism has been recognized for more than a century. This ailment occurs worldwide, afflicts human of all age groups from infants to elderly and affects Oriental people more often in several regions of China. Occurrence in Taiwan is uncommon, and therefore, it is often overlooked. The outbreaks of human botulism in various regions of the world, the clinical types, the molecular mechanisms, and the electrophysiologic findings will be highlighted.

Clinical characteristics of persistent frequent attenders in primary care: case–control study

OpenAIRE

Patel, Shireen; Kai, Joe; Atha, Christopher; Avery, Anthony; Guo, Boliang; James, Marilyn; Malins, Samuel; Sampson, Christopher James; Stubley, Michelle; Morriss, Richard K.

2015-01-01

Background. Most frequent attendance in primary care is temporary, but persistent frequent attendance is expensive and may be suitable for psychological intervention. To plan appropriate intervention and service delivery, there is a need for research involving standardized psychiatric interviews with assessment of physical health and health status.\\ud \\ud Objective. To compare the mental and physical health characteristics and health status of persistent frequent attenders (FAs) in primary ca...

Field sampling for monitoring migration and defining the areal extent of chemical contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, J.M.; Skalski, J.R.; Eberhardt, L.L.; Simmons, M.A.

1984-11-01

Initial research on compositing, field designs, and site mapping oriented toward detecting spills and migration at commercial low-level radioactive or chemical waste sites is summarized. Results indicate that the significance test developed to detect samples containing high levels of contamination when they are mixed with several other samples below detectable limits (composites), will be highly effective with large sample sizes when contaminant levels frequently or greatly exceed a maximum acceptable level. These conditions of frequent and high contaminant levels are most likely to occur in regions of a commercial waste site where the priors (previous knowledge) about a spill or migration are highest. Conversely, initial investigations of Bayes sampling strategies suggest that field sampling efforts should be inversely proportional to the priors (expressed as probabilities) for the occurrence of contamination

Parenting behaviour described by mothers in a general population sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Margaret J J; Raynor, Alex; Cornah, Deborah; Stevenson, Jim; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J S

2002-03-01

To collect mothers' reports of the range of behaviours used by them in the management of their children's difficult behaviour. A cross-sectional study using an interview with both semi-structured and open-ended question routes. SAMPLING FRAME: The population of mothers with 10-year-old children living in the New Forest region of Hampshire, UK. Mothers (n=67), selected from the sampling frame, were interviewed about the range of parenting behaviours they used in the management of their children's difficult behaviour. Mothers reported a wide range of behaviours. Both authoritative (e.g. reasoning was mentioned by 42%) and authoritarian (e.g. the use of physical punishment was mentioned by 37%) behaviours were mentioned frequently. Although the different behaviours within these domains were intercorrelated, there was little overlap between the two domains. The use of praise for good behaviour seemed to be independent of other behaviours. There was no association between mothers' parenting behaviours and the behaviour problems of their children. These data suggest that parenting takes many forms, with variations of behaviour across the 'normal' range being unlikely to represent a significant risk to children's development. Public funding for parenting education should be targeted at those children who are at significant risk from extreme forms of parenting.

The Frequent Unusual Headache Syndromes: A Proposed Classification Based on Lifetime Prevalence.

Science.gov (United States)

Valença, Marcelo M; de Oliveira, Daniella A

2016-01-01

There is no agreement on a single cutoff point or prevalence for regarding a given disease as rare. The concept of what is a rare headache disorder is even less clear and the spectrum from a very frequent, frequent, occasional to rare headache syndrome is yet to be established. An attempt has been made to estimate the lifetime prevalence of each of the headache subtypes classified in the ICHD-II. Using the ICHD-II, 199 different headache subtypes were identified. The following classification was made according to the estimated lifetime prevalence of each headache disorder: very frequent (prevalence >10%); frequent (between 1 and 10%); occasional (between 0.07 and 1%); and unusual or rare (headache disorders, 7/199 (4%) as very frequent, 9/199 (5%) as frequent, and 29/199 (15%) as occasional forms of headache disorder. The unusual headache syndromes do not appear to be as infrequent in clinical practice as has been generally believed. About three-fourths of the classified headache disorders found in the ICHD-II can be considered as rare. This narrative review article may be regarded as an introduction to the concept of unusual headaches and a proposed classification of all headaches (at least those listed in the ICHD-II). © 2015 American Headache Society.

Frequent visitors at the psychiatric emergency room - A literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Manuela

2018-03-01

Frequent visitors at the psychiatric emergency room (PER) constitute a small subgroup of patients, yet they are responsible for a disproportionate number of visits and thus claim considerable resources. Their needs are often left unmet and their repetitive visits reflect their dissatisfaction as well as that of PERs' staff. Motivated by these dilemmas, this study systematically reviews the literature about frequent visitors at PER and seeks to answer two questions: What characterizes frequent visitors at PER in the literature? and What characterizes PER in the literature? Based on 29 studies, this paper offers answers to the two questions based on a strength weakness opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. The results of the review and subsequent analysis of the literature revealed the multiplicity and complexity of frequent visitors' characteristics and how they appear to converge. Commonalities were more difficult to identify in PER characteristics. In some cases, this happened because the characteristics were poorly described or were context specific. As a result, it was not easy to compare the studies on PER. Based on SWOT and the findings of the analysis, the paper proposes new venues of research and suggests how the field of mental health might develop by taking into account its opportunities and threats.

45-Day safety screen results and final report for Tank 241-SX-113, Auger samples 94-AUG-028 and 95-AUG-029

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, L.M.

1995-01-01

This document serves as the 45-day report deliverable for tank 241-SX-113 auger samples collected on May 9 and 10, 1995. The samples were extruded, and analyzed by the 222-S Laboratory. Laboratory procedures completed include: differential scanning calorimetry; thermogravimetric analysis; and total alpha analysis. This report incudes the primary safety screening results obtained from the analyses. As the final report, the following are also included: chains of custody; the extrusion logbook; sample preparation data; and total alpha analysis raw data

Awareness of media-based antitobacco messages among a community sample of LGBT individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Alicia K; Balsam, Kimberly; Hotton, Anna; Kuhns, Lisa; Li, Chien-Ching; Bowen, Deborah J

2014-11-01

Study objectives were to measure awareness of general antitobacco messages in LGBT-focused and general media outlets among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals and to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and awareness levels. Data were based on cross-sectional survey data from a racially diverse sample of participants (N = 726). Participants were primarily male (69.3%), with smaller percentages of female (21.8%) and transgender (8.9%). The median age was 31 years. A higher proportion of participants reported awareness of antitobacco messages in general media outlets compared to LGBT-specific media outlets. Awareness of antitobacco messages in general media was positively associated with current smoking and negatively associated with female gender and Latino ethnicity. Awareness of antitobacco messages in LGBT media was positively associated with younger age, current smoking, frequent reading of LGBT newspapers or magazines, and frequent attendance at LGBT bars and negatively associated with Latino ethnicity. Despite frequent readership, awareness of antitobacco messages in LGBT newspapers/magazines was quite low. We speculate that low awareness is related to the absence of antitobacco messages in LGBT-related media. LGBT-specific media outlets provide an important opportunity for future antitobacco campaigns. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

Retrospective study of diagnostic profitability in conventional TBNA samples of thoracic adenopathies in the Servicio de Neumologia of Hospital Mexico between January 2008 to December 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botero Zaccour, Juan Antonio

2011-01-01

The thoracic lymphadenopathies have had an important change with the advent of transbronchial fine needle aspiration biopsy (TBNA), this procedure has allowed a less invasive technique for obtaining significant samples. This procedure has been used in Costa Rica several years and is important to review the result obtained until now. 110 bronchoscopy reports were reviewed where conventional TBNA was done, during the determined period of the research. Afterwards, cytological reports of the samples are sought in order to know its results and determine the factors that might influence the presence of inadequate samples and the ones with a positive diagnosis for malignancy. 110 cytological samples were obtained from 82 patients. 78.2% of the samples has been adequate, 86.4% were obtained with TBNA and radial endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), 67% of patients have been male gender and the average age was 60.9 /DE 16.4). The most frequent indication for TBNA has been suspicion of pulmonary malignancy in 51.8% of cases, followed by lymphadenopathies in 21.8%. An increase has been observed in the number of TBNA procedures per year. From the total of adequate samples in malignancy suspicion, the most common histological result has been adenocarcinoma in 70% of positive sample. The 7 station was the most frequently biopsied in 48.2% of samples. Complications were shown infrequent and mild (2.5%). None of the variables studied to define cause of negative samples have had statistically significant. TBNA at the Servicios de Neumologia of Hospital Mexico has been a study with adequate sample profitability and low complication incidence, all of them mild. From the studied factors is impossible to define those related with the presence of inadequate samples. (author) [es

Genome Analysis of Latin American Cervical Cancer: Frequent Activation of the PIK3CA Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Lou, Hong; Villagran, Guillermo; Boland, Joseph F; Im, Kate M; Polo, Sarita; Zhou, Weiyin; Odey, Ushie; Juárez-Torres, Eligia; Medina-Martínez, Ingrid; Roman-Basaure, Edgar; Mitchell, Jason; Roberson, David; Sawitzke, Julie; Garland, Lisa; Rodríguez-Herrera, Maria; Wells, David; Troyer, Jennifer; Pinto, Francisco Castillo; Bass, Sara; Zhang, Xijun; Castillo, Miriam; Gold, Bert; Morales, Hesler; Yeager, Meredith; Berumen, Jaime; Alvirez, Enrique; Gharzouzi, Eduardo; Dean, Michael

2015-12-01

Cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality for women living in poverty, causing more than 28,000 deaths annually in Latin America and 266,000 worldwide. To better understand the molecular basis of the disease, we ascertained blood and tumor samples from Guatemala and Venezuela and performed genomic characterization. We performed human papillomavirus (HPV) typing and identified somatically mutated genes using exome and ultra-deep targeted sequencing with confirmation in samples from Mexico. Copy number changes were also assessed in the exome sequence. Cervical cancer cases in Guatemala and Venezuela have an average age of diagnosis of 50 years and 5.6 children. Analysis of 675 tumors revealed activation of PIK3CA and other PI3K/AKT pathway genes in 31% of squamous carcinomas and 24% of adeno- and adenosquamous tumors, predominantly at two sites (E542K, E545K) in the helical domain of the PIK3CA gene. This distribution of PIK3CA mutations is distinct from most other cancer types and does not result in the in vitro phosphorylation of AKT. Somatic mutations were more frequent in squamous carcinomas diagnosed after the age of 50 years. Frequent gain of chromosome 3q was found, and low PIK3CA mutation fractions in many tumors suggest that PI3K mutation can be a late event in tumor progression. PI3K pathway mutation is important to cervical carcinogenesis in Latin America. Therapeutic agents that directly target PI3K could play a role in the therapy of this common malignancy. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

Valuing real options: frequently made errors

OpenAIRE

Fernández, Pablo

2002-01-01

In this paper we analyze frequently made errors when valuing real options. The best way of doing it is through examples. We start by analyzing Damodaran's proposal to value the option to expand the business of Home Depot. Some of the errors and problems of this and other approaches are: - Assuming that the option is replicable and using Black and Scholes' formula. - The estimation of the option's volatility is arbitrary and has a decisive effect on the option's value. - As there is no riskles...

Incremental Frequent Subgraph Mining on Large Evolving Graphs

KAUST Repository

Abdelhamid, Ehab; Canim, Mustafa; Sadoghi, Mohammad; Bhatta, Bishwaranjan; Chang, Yuan-Chi; Kalnis, Panos

2017-01-01

, such as social networks, utilize large evolving graphs. Mining these graphs using existing techniques is infeasible, due to the high computational cost. In this paper, we propose IncGM+, a fast incremental approach for continuous frequent subgraph mining problem

Treatment of Anthrax Disease Frequently Asked Questions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Judd, Kathleen S.; Young, Joan E.; Lesperance, Ann M.; Malone, John D.

2010-05-14

This document provides a summary of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the treatment of anthrax disease caused by a wide-area release of Bacillus anthracis spores as an act bioterrorism. These FAQs are intended to provide the public health and medical community, as well as others, with guidance and communications to support the response and long-term recovery from an anthrax event.

The standardization of an apparatus for the mixing of soil samples ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Quantitative determination of nematode populations in soils frequently necessitates the mixing of representative soil samples to form a homogeneous, compound sample from which the nematodes are extracted. A mixing apparatus was developed and standardized with the aid of a spectrophotometric technique by which ...

Sampling strategy for estimating human exposure pathways to consumer chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleni Papadopoulou

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Human exposure to consumer chemicals has become a worldwide concern. In this work, a comprehensive sampling strategy is presented, to our knowledge being the first to study all relevant exposure pathways in a single cohort using multiple methods for assessment of exposure from each exposure pathway. The selected groups of chemicals to be studied are consumer chemicals whose production and use are currently in a state of transition and are; per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs, traditional and “emerging” brominated flame retardants (BFRs and EBFRs, organophosphate esters (OPEs and phthalate esters (PEs. Information about human exposure to these contaminants is needed due to existing data gaps on human exposure intakes from multiple exposure pathways and relationships between internal and external exposure. Indoor environment, food and biological samples were collected from 61 participants and their households in the Oslo area (Norway on two consecutive days, during winter 2013-14. Air, dust, hand wipes, and duplicate diet (food and drink samples were collected as indicators of external exposure, and blood, urine, blood spots, hair, nails and saliva as indicators of internal exposure. A food diary, food frequency questionnaire (FFQ and indoor environment questionnaire were also implemented. Approximately 2000 samples were collected in total and participant views on their experiences of this campaign were collected via questionnaire. While 91% of our participants were positive about future participation in a similar project, some tasks were viewed as problematic. Completing the food diary and collection of duplicate food/drink portions were the tasks most frequent reported as “hard”/”very hard”. Nevertheless, a strong positive correlation between the reported total mass of food/drinks in the food record and the total weight of the food/drinks in the collection bottles was observed, being an indication of accurate performance

Undifferentiated spondyloarthritis is more frequently seen in women than in men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukran Erten

2015-01-01

Conclusion SpA are frequent diseases and physicians other than rheumatologists should also be aware of them. uSpA is more frequent in women than men. Early diagnosis of SpA is important because early treatment with new biological therapies may lead to much better Results than applying them in the advanced stages.

AFM tip-sample convolution effects for cylinder protrusions

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Jian; Zhang, Dan; Zhang, Fei-Hu; Gan, Yang

2017-11-01

A thorough understanding about the AFM tip geometry dependent artifacts and tip-sample convolution effect is essential for reliable AFM topographic characterization and dimensional metrology. Using rigid sapphire cylinder protrusions (diameter: 2.25 μm, height: 575 nm) as the model system, a systematic and quantitative study about the imaging artifacts of four types of tips-two different pyramidal tips, one tetrahedral tip and one super sharp whisker tip-is carried out through comparing tip geometry dependent variations in AFM topography of cylinders and constructing the rigid tip-cylinder convolution models. We found that the imaging artifacts and the tip-sample convolution effect are critically related to the actual inclination of the working cantilever, the tip geometry, and the obstructive contacts between the working tip's planes/edges and the cylinder. Artifact-free images can only be obtained provided that all planes and edges of the working tip are steeper than the cylinder sidewalls. The findings reported here will contribute to reliable AFM characterization of surface features of micron or hundreds of nanometers in height that are frequently met in semiconductor, biology and materials fields.

Sexual revictimization in a clinical sample of women reporting childhood sexual abuse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lau, Marianne; Kristensen, Ellids

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Child and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA) increases the risk for adult sexual assault (ASA), and psychological vulnerability as well as aspects of CSA and upbringing might influence the risk. AIMS: The aims of this study were to investigate whether women who reported both CSA and ASA: 1......: The results showed an increased psychological vulnerability among women with ASA, but whether the results are cause or effect of sexual revictimization or can be generalized to other clinical samples are not clear. Interventions targeting the increased risk of ASA should be developed, implemented and tested...

Gamma-ray self-attenuation corrections in environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robu, E.; Giovani, C.

2009-01-01

Gamma-spectrometry is a commonly used technique in environmental radioactivity monitoring. Frequently the bulk samples that should be measured differ with respect to composition and density from the reference sample used for efficiency calibration. Correction factors should be applied in these cases for activity measurement. Linear attenuation coefficients and self-absorption correction factors have been evaluated for soil, grass and liquid sources with different densities and geometries.(authors)

Mass Flux of Tephra Sampled Frequently During the Ongoing Halema`uma`u Eruption (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, D.; Wooten, K.; Orr, T. R.

2009-12-01

The ongoing summit eruption of Kilauea provides an unparalleled opportunity to track, almost daily, the production of tephra. The eruption began on 19 March 2008, and tephra has been erupted every day since then to the end of August 2009. Most of the time, tephra is ejected quasi-continuously from the vent accompanied by a light gray to white gas plume, occasionally broken by a more vigorous pulse (“brown plume”) richer in ejecta. In early April 2008, an array of 10 plastic buckets was placed within 400 m of the new vent in Halema`uma`u down the prevailing NE wind direction. The configuration of the array, spanning an area of about 73,000 m2, has not changed since then. Buckets are emptied frequently, initially every day and, since summer 2008, on all weekdays. The contents are dried and weighed, and an “average network accumulation rate” is calculated in g/m2/hour. In addition, componentry analyses are made of the >0.5-mm size fraction from a bucket near the vent, in order to categorize the tephra into juvenile and lithic fractions. To estimate the total mass of tephra ejected from the vent for a given collection, we first drew isomass contours for several daily collections and plotted isomass versus square root of area to obtain the total mass of the deposit. From this, we developed an empirical multiplication factor that allows us to estimate, within ~25 percent, the total ejected mass per day in kilograms from the total collected mass in grams. The tephra is a mix of vitric and lithic pyroclasts, mostly ash in size. The vitric clasts, interpreted as juvenile, include Pele’s hair and tears, hollow spherules, dumbbells, pumice, and bits of coarsely vesicular glass. All these clasts were probably produced by weak spattering at the top of the lava column, which has rarely been seen. Especially since fall 2008, some vitric clasts are partly coated with secondary minerals or rock dust. We interpret such clasts as recycled, first erupted during spattering

Northern Ireland: political violence and self-reported physical symptoms in a community sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Cairns, E; Wilson, R

1991-01-01

In order to investigate the possible relationship between physical health and political violence in Northern Ireland a random sample of residents of four electoral areas (two with relatively high violence and two with relatively low violence) was interviewed at home. Each person was asked to rate their health in terms of common physical symptoms, to indicate their use of family doctor and hospital services, and to rate the level of political violence in their neighbourhood. Analysis of covariance (with a measure of psychological well-being, a measure of trait neuroticism plus age and socioeconomic status as covariates) revealed that women reported more physical symptoms than did men, people in the 'high' violence areas reported more symptoms than did those in the 'low' violence areas, while those who rated their own neighbourhood most highly in terms of perceived violence also reported the greatest number of physical symptoms. However, a series of chi 2 tests revealed no association between political violence or perceived political violence and uptake of services.

Frequent Users of Pornography. A Population Based Epidemiological Study of Swedish Male Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Svedin, Carl Goran; Akerman, Ingrid; Priebe, Gisela

2011-01-01

Frequent use of pornography has not been sufficiently studied before. In a Swedish survey 2015 male students aged 18 years participated. A group of frequent users of pornography (N = 200, 10.5%) were studied with respect to background and psychosocial correlates. The frequent users had a more positive attitude to pornography, were more often…

Bibliography of papers, reports, and presentations related to point-sample dimensional measurement methods for machined part evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldwin, J.M. [Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States). Integrated Manufacturing Systems

1996-04-01

The Dimensional Inspection Techniques Specification (DITS) Project is an ongoing effort to produce tools and guidelines for optimum sampling and data analysis of machined parts, when measured using point-sample methods of dimensional metrology. This report is a compilation of results of a literature survey, conducted in support of the DITS. Over 160 citations are included, with author abstracts where available.

Final Report on the Analytical Results for Tank Farm Samples in Support of Salt Dissolution Evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hobbs, D.T.

1996-01-01

Recent processing of dilute solutions through the 2H-Evaporator system caused dissolution of salt in Tank 38H, the concentrate receipt tank. This report documents analytical results for samples taken from this evaporator system

Drought, tree mortality, and wildfire in forests adapted to frequent fire

Science.gov (United States)

Scott L Stephens; Brandon M Collins; Christopher J Fettig; Mark A Finney; Chad M Hoffman; Eric E Knapp; Malcolm P North; Hugh Safford; Rebecca B Wayman

2018-01-01

Massive tree mortality has occurred rapidly in frequent-fire-adapted forests of the Sierra Nevada, California. This mortality is a product of acute drought compounded by the long-established removal of a key ecosystem process: frequent, low- to moderate-intensity fire. The recent tree mortality has many implications for the future of these forests and the ecological...

Frequent hospital admissions in Singapore: clinical risk factors and impact of socioeconomic status.

Science.gov (United States)

Low, Lian Leng; Tay, Wei Yi; Ng, Matthew Joo Ming; Tan, Shu Yun; Liu, Nan; Lee, Kheng Hock

2018-01-01

Frequent admitters to hospitals are high-cost patients who strain finite healthcare resources. However, the exact risk factors for frequent admissions, which can be used to guide risk stratification and design effective interventions locally, remain unknown. Our study aimed to identify the clinical and sociodemographic risk factors associated with frequent hospital admissions in Singapore. An observational study was conducted using retrospective 2014 data from the administrative database at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. Variables were identified a priori and included patient demographics, comorbidities, prior healthcare utilisation, and clinical and laboratory variables during the index admission. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for frequent admissions. A total of 16,306 unique patients were analysed and 1,640 (10.1%) patients were classified as frequent admitters. On multivariate logistic regression, 16 variables were independently associated with frequent hospital admissions, including age, cerebrovascular disease, history of malignancy, haemoglobin, serum creatinine, serum albumin, and number of specialist outpatient clinic visits, emergency department visits, admissions preceding index admission and medications dispensed at discharge. Patients staying in public rental housing had a 30% higher risk of being a frequent admitter after adjusting for demographics and clinical conditions. Our study, the first in our knowledge to examine the clinical risk factors for frequent admissions in Singapore, validated the use of public rental housing as a sensitive indicator of area-level socioeconomic status in Singapore. These risk factors can be used to identify high-risk patients in the hospital so that they can receive interventions that reduce readmission risk. Copyright: © Singapore Medical Association

Premenstrual disorders: prevalence and associated factors in a sample of Iranian adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Delara, Mahin; Borzuei, Hamed; Montazeri, Ali

2013-08-01

Premenstrual disorders usually refer to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). This study was designed to find out the frequency of premenstrual disorders and evaluate the associated factors in a sample of Iranian adolescents. This study was conducted to investigate the frequency of premenstrual disorders (PMS and PMDD) based on Premenstrual Assessment Scale (PAS) and also to determine the association of some demographic and menstrual characteristics with these disorders in adolescent girls. This was a cross sectional study. A sample of adolescent school girls aged between 14 and 19 years were included in the study. Diagnostic assessments were based on Premenstrual Assessment Scale (PAS). The data were analyzed in a descriptive fashion and were compared among subgroups of the study sample. In addition, demographic and menstrual factors associations with premenstrual disorders were assessed. In all 1379 female students were included in the study. About 99.5 % of the students reported at least one premenstrual symptom. Of these, 66.3% was mild, 31.4% moderate and 2.3% severe. A total of 814 girls (59%) met the diagnostic criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Most frequently reported symptoms were back pain, lethargy, fatigue and anxiety. Early menarche, lower education was associated with higher scores on PAS. Premenstrual disorders are common in adolescent girls. Preventive and treatment strategies are highly recommended.

What about N? A methodological study of sample-size reporting in focus group studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsen, Benedicte; Glenton, Claire

2011-03-11

Focus group studies are increasingly published in health related journals, but we know little about how researchers use this method, particularly how they determine the number of focus groups to conduct. The methodological literature commonly advises researchers to follow principles of data saturation, although practical advise on how to do this is lacking. Our objectives were firstly, to describe the current status of sample size in focus group studies reported in health journals. Secondly, to assess whether and how researchers explain the number of focus groups they carry out. We searched PubMed for studies that had used focus groups and that had been published in open access journals during 2008, and extracted data on the number of focus groups and on any explanation authors gave for this number. We also did a qualitative assessment of the papers with regard to how number of groups was explained and discussed. We identified 220 papers published in 117 journals. In these papers insufficient reporting of sample sizes was common. The number of focus groups conducted varied greatly (mean 8.4, median 5, range 1 to 96). Thirty seven (17%) studies attempted to explain the number of groups. Six studies referred to rules of thumb in the literature, three stated that they were unable to organize more groups for practical reasons, while 28 studies stated that they had reached a point of saturation. Among those stating that they had reached a point of saturation, several appeared not to have followed principles from grounded theory where data collection and analysis is an iterative process until saturation is reached. Studies with high numbers of focus groups did not offer explanations for number of groups. Too much data as a study weakness was not an issue discussed in any of the reviewed papers. Based on these findings we suggest that journals adopt more stringent requirements for focus group method reporting. The often poor and inconsistent reporting seen in these

What about N? A methodological study of sample-size reporting in focus group studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glenton Claire

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Focus group studies are increasingly published in health related journals, but we know little about how researchers use this method, particularly how they determine the number of focus groups to conduct. The methodological literature commonly advises researchers to follow principles of data saturation, although practical advise on how to do this is lacking. Our objectives were firstly, to describe the current status of sample size in focus group studies reported in health journals. Secondly, to assess whether and how researchers explain the number of focus groups they carry out. Methods We searched PubMed for studies that had used focus groups and that had been published in open access journals during 2008, and extracted data on the number of focus groups and on any explanation authors gave for this number. We also did a qualitative assessment of the papers with regard to how number of groups was explained and discussed. Results We identified 220 papers published in 117 journals. In these papers insufficient reporting of sample sizes was common. The number of focus groups conducted varied greatly (mean 8.4, median 5, range 1 to 96. Thirty seven (17% studies attempted to explain the number of groups. Six studies referred to rules of thumb in the literature, three stated that they were unable to organize more groups for practical reasons, while 28 studies stated that they had reached a point of saturation. Among those stating that they had reached a point of saturation, several appeared not to have followed principles from grounded theory where data collection and analysis is an iterative process until saturation is reached. Studies with high numbers of focus groups did not offer explanations for number of groups. Too much data as a study weakness was not an issue discussed in any of the reviewed papers. Conclusions Based on these findings we suggest that journals adopt more stringent requirements for focus group method

An novel frequent probability pattern mining algorithm based on circuit simulation method in uncertain biological networks

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Motif mining has always been a hot research topic in bioinformatics. Most of current research on biological networks focuses on exact motif mining. However, due to the inevitable experimental error and noisy data, biological network data represented as the probability model could better reflect the authenticity and biological significance, therefore, it is more biological meaningful to discover probability motif in uncertain biological networks. One of the key steps in probability motif mining is frequent pattern discovery which is usually based on the possible world model having a relatively high computational complexity. Methods In this paper, we present a novel method for detecting frequent probability patterns based on circuit simulation in the uncertain biological networks. First, the partition based efficient search is applied to the non-tree like subgraph mining where the probability of occurrence in random networks is small. Then, an algorithm of probability isomorphic based on circuit simulation is proposed. The probability isomorphic combines the analysis of circuit topology structure with related physical properties of voltage in order to evaluate the probability isomorphism between probability subgraphs. The circuit simulation based probability isomorphic can avoid using traditional possible world model. Finally, based on the algorithm of probability subgraph isomorphism, two-step hierarchical clustering method is used to cluster subgraphs, and discover frequent probability patterns from the clusters. Results The experiment results on data sets of the Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks and the transcriptional regulatory networks of E. coli and S. cerevisiae show that the proposed method can efficiently discover the frequent probability subgraphs. The discovered subgraphs in our study contain all probability motifs reported in the experiments published in other related papers. Conclusions The algorithm of probability graph isomorphism

Assessment of selected contaminants in streambed- and suspended-sediment samples collected in Bexar County, Texas, 2007-09

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Jennifer T.

2011-01-01

Elevated concentrations of sediment-associated contaminants are typically associated with urban areas such as San Antonio, Texas, in Bexar County, the seventh most populous city in the United States. This report describes an assessment of selected sediment-associated contaminants in samples collected in Bexar County from sites on the following streams: Medio Creek, Medina River, Elm Creek, Martinez Creek, Chupaderas Creek, Leon Creek, Salado Creek, and San Antonio River. During 2007-09, the U.S. Geological Survey periodically collected surficial streambed-sediment samples during base flow and suspended-sediment (large-volume suspended-sediment) samples from selected streams during stormwater runoff. All sediment samples were analyzed for major and trace elements and for organic compounds including halogenated organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Selected contaminants in streambed and suspended sediments in watersheds of the eight major streams in Bexar County were assessed by using a variety of methods—observations of occurrence and distribution, comparison to sediment-quality guidelines and data from previous studies, statistical analyses, and source indicators. Trace elements concentrations were low compared to the consensus-based sediment-quality guidelines threshold effect concentration (TEC) and probable effect concentration (PEC). Trace element concentrations were greater than the TEC in 28 percent of the samples and greater than the PEC in 1.5 percent of the samples. Chromium concentrations exceeded sediment-quality guidelines more frequently than concentrations of any other constituents analyzed in this study (greater than the TEC in 69 percent of samples and greater than the PEC in 8 percent of samples). Mean trace element concentrations generally are lower in Bexar County samples compared to concentrations in samples collected during previous studies in the Austin and Fort Worth, Texas, areas, but considering the relatively

Frequent downregulation of miR-34 family in human ovarian cancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Corney, David C; Hwang, Chang-Il; Matoso, Andres; Vogt, Markus; Flesken-Nikitin, Andrea; Godwin, Andrew K; Kamat, Aparna A; Sood, Anil K; Ellenson, Lora H; Hermeking, Heiko; Nikitin, Alexander Yu

2010-02-15

The miR-34 family is directly transactivated by tumor suppressor p53, which is frequently mutated in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We hypothesized that miR-34 expression would be decreased in EOC and that reconstituted miR-34 expression might reduce cell proliferation and invasion of EOC cells. miR-34 expression was determined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and in situ hybridization in a panel of 83 human EOC samples. Functional characterization of miR-34 was accomplished by reconstitution of miR-34 expression in EOC cells with synthetic pre-miR molecules followed by determining changes in proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion. miR-34a expression is decreased in 100%, and miR-34b*/c in 72%, of EOC with p53 mutation, whereas miR-34a is also downregulated in 93% of tumors with wild-type p53. Furthermore, expression of miR-34b*/c is significantly reduced in stage IV tumors compared with stage III (P = 0.0171 and P = 0.0029, respectively). Additionally, we observed promoter methylation and copy number variations at mir-34. In situ hybridization showed that miR-34a expression is inversely correlated with MET immunohistochemical staining, consistent with translational inhibition by miR-34a. Finally, miR-34 reconstitution experiments in p53 mutant EOC cells resulted in reduced proliferation, motility, and invasion, the latter of which was dependent on MET expression. Our work suggests that miR-34 family plays an important role in EOC pathogenesis and reduced expression of miR-34b*/c may be particularly important for progression to the most advanced stages. Part of miR-34 effects on motility and invasion may be explained by regulation of MET, which is frequently overexpressed in EOC.

Extending cluster Lot Quality Assurance Sampling designs for surveillance programs

OpenAIRE

Hund, Lauren; Pagano, Marcello

2014-01-01

Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) has a long history of applications in industrial quality control. LQAS is frequently used for rapid surveillance in global health settings, with areas classified as poor or acceptable performance based on the binary classification of an indicator. Historically, LQAS surveys have relied on simple random samples from the population; however, implementing two-stage cluster designs for surveillance sampling is often more cost-effective than ...

Social capital and frequent attenders in general practice: a register-based cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasgaard, Alexander A; Mæhlisen, Maiken H; Overgaard, Charlotte; Ejlskov, Linda; Torp-Pedersen, Christian; Bøggild, Henrik

2018-03-02

Frequent attendance to primary care constitutes a large use of resources for the health care system. The association between frequent attendance and illness-related factors has been examined in several studies, but little is known about the association between frequent attendance and individual social capital. The aim of this study is to explore this association. The analysis is conducted on responders to the North Denmark Region Health Profile 2010 (n = 23,384), individually linked with information from administrative registers. Social capital is operationalized at the individual level, and includes cognitive (interpersonal trust and norms of reciprocity) as well as structural (social network and civic engagement) dimensions. Frequent attendance is defined as the upper-quartile of the total number of measured consultations with a general practitioner over a period of 148 weeks. Using multiple logistic regression, we found that frequent attendance was associated with a lower score in interpersonal trust [OR 0.86 (0.79-0.94)] and social network [OR 0.88 (0.79-0.98)] for women, when adjusted for age, education, income and SF12 health scores. Norms of reciprocity and civic engagement were not significantly associated with frequent attendance for women [OR 1.05 (0.99-1.11) and OR 1.01 (0.92-1.11) respectively]. None of the associations were statistically significant for men. This study suggests that for women, some aspects of social capital are associated with frequent attendance in general practice, and the statistically significant dimensions belonged to both cognitive and structural aspects of social capital. This association was not seen for men. This indicates a multifaceted and heterogeneous relationship between social capital and frequent attendance among genders.

Hair MDMA samples are consistent with reported ecstasy use: findings from a study investigating effects of ecstasy on mood and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholey, A B; Owen, L; Gates, J; Rodgers, J; Buchanan, T; Ling, J; Heffernan, T; Swan, P; Stough, C; Parrott, A C

2011-01-01

Our group has conducted several Internet investigations into the biobehavioural effects of self-reported recreational use of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or Ecstasy) and other psychosocial drugs. Here we report a new study examining the relationship between self-reported Ecstasy use and traces of MDMA found in hair samples. In a laboratory setting, 49 undergraduate volunteers performed an Internet-based assessment which included mood scales and the University of East London Drug Use Questionnaire, which asks for history and current drug use. They also provided a hair sample for determination of exposure to MDMA over the previous month. Self-report of Ecstasy use and presence in hair samples were consistent (p happiness and higher self-reported stress. Self-reported Ecstasy use, but not presence in hair, was also associated with decreased tension. Different psychoactive drugs can influence long-term mood and cognition in complex and dynamically interactive ways. Here we have shown a good correspondence between self-report and objective assessment of exposure to MDMA. These data suggest that the Internet has potentially high utility as a useful medium to complement traditional laboratory studies into the sequelae of recreational drug use. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act frequently asked questions

Science.gov (United States)

One stop shop for Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) questions. This frequently asked document will assist with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) related questions.

Frequent epigenetic inactivation of Wnt antagonist genes in breast cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, H; Toyota, M; Caraway, H; Gabrielson, E; Ohmura, T; Fujikane, T; Nishikawa, N; Sogabe, Y; Nojima, M; Sonoda, T; Mori, M; Hirata, K; Imai, K; Shinomura, Y; Baylin, S B; Tokino, T

2008-01-01

Although mutation of APC or CTNNB1 (β-catenin) is rare in breast cancer, activation of Wnt signalling is nonetheless thought to play an important role in breast tumorigenesis, and epigenetic silencing of Wnt antagonist genes, including the secreted frizzled-related protein (SFRP) and Dickkopf (DKK) families, has been observed in various tumours. In breast cancer, frequent methylation and silencing of SFRP1 was recently documented; however, altered expression of other Wnt antagonist genes is largely unknown. In the present study, we found frequent methylation of SFRP family genes in breast cancer cell lines (SFRP1, 7 out of 11, 64%; SFRP2, 11 out of 11, 100%; SFRP5, 10 out of 11, 91%) and primary breast tumours (SFRP1, 31 out of 78, 40%; SFRP2, 60 out of 78, 77%; SFRP5, 55 out of 78, 71%). We also observed methylation of DKK1, although less frequently, in cell lines (3 out of 11, 27%) and primary tumours (15 out of 78, 19%). Breast cancer cell lines express various Wnt ligands, and overexpression of SFRPs inhibited cancer cell growth. In addition, overexpression of a β-catenin mutant and depletion of SFRP1 using small interfering RNA synergistically upregulated transcriptional activity of T-cell factor/lymphocyte enhancer factor. Our results confirm the frequent methylation and silencing of Wnt antagonist genes in breast cancer, and suggest that their loss of function contributes to activation of Wnt signalling in breast carcinogenesis. PMID:18283316

Final report for tank 241-AP-108, grab samples 8AP-96-1, 8AP-96-2 and 8AP-96-FB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esch, R.A.

1996-01-01

This document is the final report deliverable for the tank 241-AP-108 grab samples. The samples were subsampled and analyzed in accordance with the TSAP. Included in this report are the results for the Waste Compatibility analyses, with the exception of DSC and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results which were presented in the 45 Day report (Part 2 of this document). The raw data for all analyses, with the exception of DSC and TGA, are also included in this report

Predicting frequent emergency department visits among children with asthma using EHR data.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Lala T; Abramson, Erika L; Stone, Anne E; Kondrich, Janienne E; Kern, Lisa M; Grinspan, Zachary M

2017-07-01

For children with asthma, emergency department (ED) visits are common, expensive, and often avoidable. Though several factors are associated with ED use (demographics, comorbidities, insurance, medications), its predictability using electronic health record (EHR) data is understudied. We used a retrospective cohort study design and EHR data from one center to examine the relationship of patient factors in 1 year (2013) and the likelihood of frequent ED use (≥2 visits) in the following year (2014), using bivariate and multivariable statistics. We applied and compared several machine-learning algorithms to predict frequent ED use, then selected a model based on accuracy, parsimony, and interpretability. We identified 2691 children. In bivariate analyses, future frequent ED use was associated with demographics, co-morbidities, insurance status, medication history, and use of healthcare resources. Machine learning algorithms had very good AUC (area under the curve) values [0.66-0.87], though fair PPV (positive predictive value) [48-70%] and poor sensitivity [16-27%]. Our final multivariable logistic regression model contained two variables: insurance status and prior ED use. For publicly insured patients, the odds of frequent ED use were 3.1 [2.2-4.5] times that of privately insured patients. Publicly insured patients with 4+ ED visits and privately insured patients with 6+ ED visits in a year had ≥50% probability of frequent ED use the following year. The model had an AUC of 0.86, PPV of 56%, and sensitivity of 23%. Among children with asthma, prior frequent ED use and insurance status strongly predict future ED use. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Why do they keep coming back? Persistent frequent attenders in primary care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smits, F.T.M.

2014-01-01

The background of frequent attenders (FAs) of the General Practitioner (GP) often remains unclear. This thesis examines persistent frequent attendance, the relationship with (medical) conditions, methods to treat FAs, the impact of FAs on the GP’s workload and costs of healthcare, which medical file

Breakfast cereal consumption and subjective reports of health.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, A P

1999-11-01

The aim of the present study was to attempt to replicate and extend a recent result which showed that breakfast cereal consumption was associated with better mental health. The general population sample studied here (262 volunteers aged between 21 and 85 years, mean age: 60.9 years) was older than the sample in the previous study. The results showed that those who consumed breakfast cereal every day reported better mental and physical health than those who consumed it less frequently. This association was still present when demographic factors, indicators of lifestyle, such as smoking, or other aspects of diet were covaried. Further research is now required to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this robust association between daily breakfast cereal consumption and well-being.

Categorizing "frequent visitors" in the psychiatric emergency room: a semistructured interview study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buus, Niels

2011-01-01

Nurses can become demoralized and hostile toward frequent visitors in psychiatric emergency rooms because of the number of visits. The aim of this study was to develop more knowledge about the ways in which nurses categorize frequent visitors. Eleven nurses were interviewed, and their categorizing...... practices were examined from a social constructionist perspective. The results showed that the nurses did not categorize frequent visitors as particularly unlikeable or difficult to treat. Like other visitors, they could be categorized as difficult if they obstructed a smooth flow of successful referrals...... through the emergency room and/or there was poor rapport with the nurses....

Childhood ADHD and addictive behaviours in adolescence: a canadian sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostojic, Dragana; Charach, Alice; Henderson, Joanna; McAuley, Tara; Crosbie, Jennifer

2014-05-01

To compare rates of early addictive behaviours in a clinic sample of youth with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with those in community populations. We surveyed 142 adolescents (14.1 ± 1.14 years), diagnosed with ADHD before age 12, about early substance use and problem gambling using questions from two cross-sectional population studies: the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Ontario subsample, (N=1,317; 10-15 years) and the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (N=9,288; 12-18 years). The ADHD sample reported using cigarettes, 17.8% (95% CI 12.1-25.5), alcohol, 27.1% (20.1-35.5), cannabis, 14.2% (8.9-21.7), at a similar or lower rate than the NLSCY (cigarettes, 28.3% (25.8-30.9), alcohol, 28.6% (26.0-31.3), cannabis, 16.5% (14.0-19.4), and OSDUHS samples (cigarettes, 21.9% (20.2-23.7), alcohol, 58.6% (56.0-61.2), cannabis, 26.0% (23.9-28.2). With regards to gambling, there is a non-significant trend for ADHD youth to report gambling more frequently than the provincial average, 7.9% (3.3-17.9) vs. 4.3% (2.9-6.3). Our findings support the emerging literature that youth diagnosed with ADHD in childhood may not be at greater risk for onset of substance use in early adolescence. The study identified two areas that warrant further investigation in this population; the possible increased risk for substance use among females and a trend toward early onset of gambling behaviours.

Detection of "bath salts" and other novel psychoactive substances in hair samples of ecstasy/MDMA/"Molly" users.

Science.gov (United States)

Palamar, Joseph J; Salomone, Alberto; Vincenti, Marco; Cleland, Charles M

2016-04-01

Ecstasy (MDMA) in the US is commonly adulterated with other drugs, but research has not focused on purity of ecstasy since the phenomenon of "Molly" (ecstasy marketed as pure MDMA) arose in the US. We piloted a rapid electronic survey in 2015 to assess use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and other drugs among 679 nightclub/festival-attending young adults (age 18-25) in New York City. A quarter (26.1%) of the sample provided a hair sample to be analyzed for the presence of select synthetic cathinones ("bath salts") and some other NPS. Samples were analyzed using fully validated UHPLC-MS/MS methods. To examine consistency of self-report, analyses focused on the 48 participants with an analyzable hair sample who reported lifetime ecstasy/MDMA/Molly use. Half (50.0%) of the hair samples contained MDMA, 47.9% contained butylone, and 10.4% contained methylone. Of those who reported no lifetime use of "bath salts", stimulant NPS, or unknown pills or powders, about four out of ten (41.2%) tested positive for butylone, methylone, alpha-PVP, 5/6-APB, or 4-FA. Racial minorities were more likely to test positive for butylone or test positive for NPS after reporting no lifetime use. Frequent nightclub/festival attendance was the strongest predictor of testing positive for MDMA, butylone, or methylone. Results suggest that many ecstasy-using nightclub/festival attendees may be unintentionally using "bath salts" or other NPS. Prevention and harm reduction education is needed for this population and "drug checking" (e.g., pill testing) may be beneficial for those rejecting abstinence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of point counts with a new acoustic sampling method ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We showed that the estimates of species richness, abundance and community composition based on point counts and post-hoc laboratory listening to acoustic samples are very similar, especially for a distance limited up to 50 m. Species that were frequently missed during both point counts and listening to acoustic samples ...

Frequent EGFR Positivity and Overexpression in High-Grade Areas of Human MPNSTs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Séverine Tabone-Eglinger

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNSTs are highly malignant and resistant. Transformation might implicate up regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR. Fifty-two MPNST samples were studied for EGFR, Ki-67, p53, and survivin expression by immunohistochemistry and for EGFR amplification by in situ hybridization. Results were correlated with clinical data. EGFR RNA was also quantified by RT-PCR in 20 other MPNSTs and 14 dermal neurofibromas. Half of the patients had a neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1. EGFR expression, detected in 86% of MPNSTs, was more frequent in NF1 specimens and closely associated with high-grade and p53-positive areas. MPNSTs expressed more EGFR transcripts than neurofibromas. No amplification of EGFR locus was observed. NF1 status was the only prognostic factor in multivariate analysis, with median survivals of 18 and 43 months for patients with or without NF1. Finally, EGFR might become a new target for MPNSTs treatment, especially in NF1-associated MPNSTs.

Stray cats are more frequently infected with zoonotic protists than pet cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Kvac, Martin; Hofmannova, Lada; Ortega, Ynes; Holubova, Nikola; Horcickova, Michaela; Kicia, Marta; Hlaskova, Lenka; Kvetonova, Dana; Sak, Bohumil; McEvoy, John

2017-12-06

Faecal samples were collected from cats kept as pets (n = 120) and stray cats (n = 135) in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia intestinalis (Kunstler, 1882), Encephalitozoon spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi Desportes, Le Charpentier, Galian, Bernard, Cochand-Priollet, Lavergne, Ravisse et Modigliani, 1985 by PCR analysis of the small-subunit of rRNA (Cryptosporidium spp. and G. intestinalis) and ITS (microsporidia) genes. Sequence analysis of targeted genes revealed the presence of C. felis Iseki, 1979, G. intestinalis assemblage F, E. cuniculi Levaditi, Nicolau et Schoen, 1923 genotype II, and E. bieneusi genotype D. There was no correlation between the occurrence of detected parasites and sex, presence of diarrhoea or drug treatment (drug containing pyrantel and praziquantel). Compared to pet cats (7%), stray cats (30%) were statistically more frequently infected with protist parasites and overall may present a greater risk to human health.

Workup and management of patients with frequent premature ventricular contractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Giles, Katie; Green, Martin S

2013-11-01

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are a frequently encountered entity in clinical cardiology. They rarely affect prognosis or management. However, they might produce bothersome symptoms and, in select individuals with a high PVC burden, they might contribute to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Workup of patients with very frequent PVCs consists of a thorough history and physical examination to screen for underlying cardiac disease and potential triggers. Routine investigations include a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram, as well as an echocardiogram. A Holter monitor should be performed in those with severe symptoms, a history of syncope, or a malignant family history. Exercise stress testing has a role in evaluating for ischemia and in the assessment of patients with exertional symptoms. More advanced testing is not warranted if these initial investigations are reassuring. Referral to an arrhythmia specialist should be considered in patients with LV dysfunction whose PVC burden exceeds 15%. Frequent ventricular ectopy represents a rare, but reversible cause of LV dysfunction and these patients should be further evaluated for possible catheter ablation. Copyright © 2013 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Restrictions of frequent frames as cues to categories: the case of Dutch

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erkelens, M.A.; Chan, H.; Kapia, E.; Jacob, H.

2008-01-01

Why Dutch 12-month-old infants do not use frequent frames in early categorization Mintz (2003) proposes that very local distributional contexts of words in the input-so-called 'frequent frames'-function as reliable cues for categories corresponding to the adult verb and noun. He shows that

Characterization of juvenile maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) ectomycorrhizal fungal community using morphotyping, direct sequencing and fruitbodies sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Pestaña Nieto, Montserrat; Santolamazza Carbone, Serena

2009-02-01

Using ectomycorrhizal root tip morphotyping (anatomical and morphological identification), molecular analysis (internal transcribed spacer region amplification and sequencing), and fruitbody sampling, we assessed diversity and composition of the ectomycorrhizal fungal community colonizing juvenile Pinus pinaster Ait. under natural conditions in NW Spain. Overall, we found 15 Basidiomycetes and two Ascomycetes. Members of the family Thelephoraceae represented up to 59.4% of the samples. The most frequent species was Tomentella sublilacina followed by Thelephora terrestris, Russula drimeia, Suillus bovinus, and Paxillus involutus, while the less frequent were Pseudotomentella tristis, Lactarius subdulcis, Russula ochroleuca, and Entoloma conferendum. From October 2007 to June 2008, we sampled 208 sporocarps belonging to seven genera and nine species: Thelephora terrestris, Paxillus involutus, Suillus bovinus, Xerocomus badius, Scleroderma verrucosum, Amanita gemmata, A. rubescens, Amanita sp., and Russula sp. The species belonging to the genus Amanita, X. badius and S. verrucosum were not found on root samples. By comparing our results with a bibliographic review of papers published from 1922 to 2006, we found five genera and six species which have not been previously reported in symbiosis with P. pinaster. This is the first time that the diversity of the ectomycorrhizal fungal community associated with P. pinaster was investigated using molecular techniques. Considering that only 38% of the genera found by sequencing were found as fruitbodies, we conclude that integrating morphotyping and sporocarps surveys with molecular analysis of ectomycorrhizas is important to documenting the ectomycorrhizal fungus community.

Characterization of Vadose Zone Sediment: Uncontaminated RCRA Borehole Core Samples and Composite Samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serne, R. Jeffrey; Bjornstad, Bruce N.; Schaef, Herbert T.; Williams, Bruce A.; Lanigan, David C.; Horton, Duane G.; Clayton, Ray E.; Mitroshkov, Alexandre V.; Legore, Virginia L.; O'Hara, Matthew J.; Brown, Christopher F.; Parker, Kent E.; Kutnyakov, Igor V.; Serne, Jennifer N.; Last, George V.; Smith, Steven C.; Lindenmeier, Clark W.; Zachara, John M.; Burke, Deborah Sd.

2001-01-01

The overall goal of the of the Tank Farm Vadose Zone Project, led by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., is to define risks from past and future single-shell tank farm activities. To meet this goal, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. asked scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to perform detailed analyses on vadose zone sediment from within the S-SX Waste Management Area. This report is the first in a series of four reports to present the results of these analyses. Specifically, this report contains all the geologic, geochemical, and selected physical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from RCRA borehole bore samples and composite samples. Intact cores from two RCRA boreholes (299-W22-48 and 299-W22-50) near the SX Tank Farm and four, large-quantity grab samples from outcrop sediment on and off the Hanford Site were sampled to better understand the fate of contaminants in the vadose zone beneath underground storage tanks at the Hanford Site. Borehole and outcrop samples analyzed for this report are located outside the tank farms, and therefore may be considered standard or background samples from which to compare contaminated sediments within the tank farms themselves. This report presents our interpretation of the physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of the uncontaminated vadose zone sediments, and variations in the vertical distribution of these properties. The information presented in this report is intended to support preparation of the S-SX Field Investigation Report to be prepared by CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc. as well as future remediation actions at the S-SX Tank Farm

GRAMI: Frequent subgraph and pattern mining in a single large graph

KAUST Repository

Elseidy, M.

2014-01-01

Mining frequent subgraphs is an important operation on graphs; it is defined as finding all subgraphs that appear frequently in a database according to a given frequency threshold. Most existing work assumes a database of many small graphs, but modern applications, such as social networks, citation graphs, or proteinprotein interactions in bioinformatics, are modeled as a single large graph. In this paper we present GRAMI, a novel framework for frequent subgraph mining in a single large graph. GRAMI undertakes a novel approach that only finds the minimal set of instances to satisfy the frequency threshold and avoids the costly enumeration of all instances required by previous approaches. We accompany our approach with a heuristic and optimizations that significantly improve performance. Additionally, we present an extension of GRAMI that mines frequent patterns. Compared to subgraphs, patterns offer a more powerful version of matching that captures transitive interactions between graph nodes (like friend of a friend) which are very common in modern applications. Finally, we present CGRAMI, a version supporting structural and semantic constraints, and AGRAMI, an approximate version producing results with no false positives. Our experiments on real data demonstrate that our framework is up to 2 orders of magnitude faster and discovers more interesting patterns than existing approaches. 2014 VLDB Endowment.

Onset of frequent dust storms in northern China at ~AD 1100.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yuxin; Zhao, Cheng; Song, Mu; Liu, Weiguo; Chen, Fahu; Zhang, Dian; Liu, Zhonghui

2015-11-26

Dust storms in northern China strongly affect the living and health of people there and the dusts could travel a full circle of the globe in a short time. Historically, more frequent dust storms occurred during cool periods, particularly the Little Ice Age (LIA), generally attributed to the strengthened Siberian High. However, limited by chronological uncertainties in proxy records, this mechanism may not fully reveal the causes of dust storm frequency changes. Here we present a late Holocene dust record from the Qaidam Basin, where hydrological changes were previously reconstructed, and examine dust records from northern China, including the ones from historical documents. The records, being broadly consistent, indicate the onset of frequent dust storms at ~AD 1100. Further, peaked dust storm events occurred at episodes of high total solar irradiance or warm-dry conditions in source regions, superimposed on the high background of frequent dust storms within the cool LIA period. We thus suggest that besides strong wind activities, the centennial-scale dust storm events over the last 1000 years appear to be linked to the increased availability of dust source. With the anticipated global warming and deteriorating vegetation coverage, frequent occurrence of dust storms in northern China would be expected to persist.

Frequently Asked Questions for Parents of Children with PH

Science.gov (United States)

... Frequently Asked Questions for Parents of Children with PH What causes pulmonary hypertension in children? I’ve ... of what I read is about adults with PH. What are the primary differences between PH in ...

Obstructive sleep apnoea is frequent in patients with type 1 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banghoej, Anne Margareta; Nerild, Henriette Holst; Kristensen, Peter Lommer

2017-01-01

mild OSA (60 patients (69%)). OSA was present in 32% of the patients with normal BMI, in 60% of overweight patients, and in 61% of obese patients. Patients with type 1 diabetes and OSA were largely asymptomatic and did not report more sleepiness than patients without OSA. At multivariate analysis, age......AIM: Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is frequent in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study is to evaluate prevalence of OSA in patients with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: In a cross-sectional design, all patients with type 1 diabetes attending the outpatient clinic were offered screening...... of 200 of 518 eligible patients with type 1 diabetes (39%) participated (68% men; age 52±15years (mean±SD), diabetes duration 24±14years and BMI 25.3±3.3kg/m(2)). OSA was diagnosed in 92 patients (46% (95% CI: 40-53)). Five patients had known OSA, and OSA was newly diagnosed in 87 patients, predominantly...

Efficacy of levamisole in children with frequently relapsing and steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekambaram, Sudha; Mahalingam, Vijayakumar; Nageswaran, Prahlad; Udani, Amish; Geminiganesan, Sangeetha; Priyadarshini, Shweta

2014-05-01

To assess the efficacy of levamisole in frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome and steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome. Retrospective analysis of hospital case records. Pediatric nephrology department of a tertiary referral pediatric hospital. 62 children with frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome and 35 children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome. Case records of children who were diagnosed as steroid-dependant or frequently-relapsing nephrotic syndrome from June 2004 to June 2011, were reviewed. Levamisole was given daily (2 mg/kg/d) along with tapering doses of alternate day steroids after remission on daily steroids. Levamisole was effective in 77.3% children with a better (80.6%) efficacy in frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome. A total of 34 children completed 1 year follow-up post levamisole therapy. The cumulative mean (SD) steroid dose 1-year before therapy was 4109(1154) mg/m2 and 1-year post therapy was 661 (11) mg/m2 (P<0.001). The relapses were also less during the period of post-levamisole therapy. Levamisole is an effective alternative therapy in frequently relapsing and steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.

Area G perimeter surface-soil and single-stage water sampling. Environmental surveillance for fiscal year 95. Progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Childs, M.; Conrad, R.

1997-09-01

ESH-19 personnel collected soil and single-stage water samples around the perimeter of Area G at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) during FY 95 to characterize possible radionuclide movement out of Area G through surface water and entrained sediment runoff. Soil samples were analyzed for tritium, total uranium, isotopic plutonium, americium-241, and cesium-137. The single-stage water samples were analyzed for tritium and plutonium isotopes. All radiochemical data was compared with analogous samples collected during FY 93 and 94 and reported in LA-12986 and LA-13165-PR. Six surface soils were also submitted for metal analyses. These data were included with similar data generated for soil samples collected during FY 94 and compared with metals in background samples collected at the Area G expansion area

Discovering More Accurate Frequent Web Usage Patterns

OpenAIRE

Bayir, Murat Ali; Toroslu, Ismail Hakki; Cosar, Ahmet; Fidan, Guven

2008-01-01

Web usage mining is a type of web mining, which exploits data mining techniques to discover valuable information from navigation behavior of World Wide Web users. As in classical data mining, data preparation and pattern discovery are the main issues in web usage mining. The first phase of web usage mining is the data processing phase, which includes the session reconstruction operation from server logs. Session reconstruction success directly affects the quality of the frequent patterns disc...

'Intelligent' approach to radioimmunoassay sample counting employing a microprocessor controlled sample counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekins, R.P.; Sufi, S.; Malan, P.G.

1977-01-01

The enormous impact on medical science in the last two decades of microanalytical techniques employing radioisotopic labels has, in turn, generated a large demand for automatic radioisotopic sample counters. Such instruments frequently comprise the most important item of capital equipment required in the use of radioimmunoassay and related techniques and often form a principle bottleneck in the flow of samples through a busy laboratory. It is therefore particularly imperitive that such instruments should be used 'intelligently' and in an optimal fashion to avoid both the very large capital expenditure involved in the unnecessary proliferation of instruments and the time delays arising from their sub-optimal use. The majority of the current generation of radioactive sample counters nevertheless rely on primitive control mechanisms based on a simplistic statistical theory of radioactive sample counting which preclude their efficient and rational use. The fundamental principle upon which this approach is based is that it is useless to continue counting a radioactive sample for a time longer than that required to yield a significant increase in precision of the measurement. Thus, since substantial experimental errors occur during sample preparation, these errors should be assessed and must be releted to the counting errors for that sample. It is the objective of this presentation to demonstrate that the combination of a realistic statistical assessment of radioactive sample measurement, together with the more sophisticated control mechanisms that modern microprocessor technology make possible, may often enable savings in counter usage of the order of 5-10 fold to be made. (orig.) [de

Rapid Surface Sampling and Archival Record (RSSAR) system. Final report, October 1995 - May 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This report describes the results of Phase 2 efforts to develop a Rapid Surface Sampling and Archival Record (RSSAR) System for the detection of semivolatile organic contaminants on concrete, transite, and metal surfaces. The characterization of equipment and building surfaces for the presence of contaminants as part of building decontamination and decommissioning activities is an immensely large task of concern to both government and industry. Because of the high cost of hazardous waste disposal, old, contaminated buildings cannot simply be demolished and scrapped. Contaminated and clean materials must be clearly identified and segregated so that the clean material can be recycled or reused, if possible, or disposed of more cheaply as nonhazardous waste. DOE has a number of sites requiring surface characterization. These sites are large, contain very heterogeneous patterns of contamination (requiring high sampling density), and will thus necessitate an enormous number of samples to be taken and analyzed. Characterization of building and equipment surfaces will be needed during initial investigations, during cleanup operations, and during the final confirmation process, increasing the total number of samples well beyond that needed for initial characterization. This multiplicity of information places a premium on the ability to handle and track data as efficiently as possible

Rapid Surface Sampling and Archival Record (RSSAR) system. Final report, October 1995--May 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-31

This report describes the results of Phase 2 efforts to develop a Rapid Surface Sampling and Archival Record (RSSAR) System for the detection of semivolatile organic contaminants on concrete, transite, and metal surfaces. The characterization of equipment and building surfaces for the presence of contaminants as part of building decontamination and decommissioning activities is an immensely large task of concern to both government and industry. Because of the high cost of hazardous waste disposal, old, contaminated buildings cannot simply be demolished and scrapped. Contaminated and clean materials must be clearly identified and segregated so that the clean material can be recycled or reused, if possible, or disposed of more cheaply as nonhazardous waste. DOE has a number of sites requiring surface characterization. These sites are large, contain very heterogeneous patterns of contamination (requiring high sampling density), and will thus necessitate an enormous number of samples to be taken and analyzed. Characterization of building and equipment surfaces will be needed during initial investigations, during cleanup operations, and during the final confirmation process, increasing the total number of samples well beyond that needed for initial characterization. This multiplicity of information places a premium on the ability to handle and track data as efficiently as possible.

Conservatives report, but liberals display, greater happiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Wojcik, Sean P; Hovasapian, Arpine; Graham, Jesse; Motyl, Matt; Ditto, Peter H

2015-03-13

Research suggesting that political conservatives are happier than political liberals has relied exclusively on self-report measures of subjective well-being. We show that this finding is fully mediated by conservatives' self-enhancing style of self-report (study 1; N = 1433) and then describe three studies drawing from "big data" sources to assess liberal-conservative differences in happiness-related behavior (studies 2 to 4; N = 4936). Relative to conservatives, liberals more frequently used positive emotional language in their speech and smiled more intensely and genuinely in photographs. Our results were consistent across large samples of online survey takers, U.S. politicians, Twitter users, and LinkedIn users. Our findings illustrate the nuanced relationship between political ideology, self-enhancement, and happiness and illuminate the contradictory ways that happiness differences can manifest across behavior and self-reports. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

High quality maize centromere 10 sequence reveals evidence of frequent recombination events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Kai Wolfgruber

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The ancestral centromeres of maize contain long stretches of the tandemly arranged CentC repeat. The abundance of tandem DNA repeats and centromeric retrotransposons (CR have presented a significant challenge to completely assembling centromeres using traditional sequencing methods. Here we report a nearly complete assembly of the 1.85 Mb maize centromere 10 from inbred B73 using PacBio technology and BACs from the reference genome project. The error rates estimated from overlapping BAC sequences are 7 x 10-6 and 5 x 10-5 for mismatches and indels, respectively. The number of gaps in the region covered by the reassembly was reduced from 140 in the reference genome to three. Three expressed genes are located between 92 and 477 kb of the inferred ancestral CentC cluster, which lies within the region of highest centromeric repeat density. The improved assembly increased the count of full-length centromeric retrotransposons from 5 to 55 and revealed a 22.7 kb segmental duplication that occurred approximately 121,000 years ago. Our analysis provides evidence of frequent recombination events in the form of partial retrotransposons, deletions within retrotransposons, chimeric retrotransposons, segmental duplications including higher order CentC repeats, a deleted CentC monomer, centromere-proximal inversions, and insertion of mitochondrial sequences. Double-strand DNA break (DSB repair is the most plausible mechanism for these events and may be the major driver of centromere repeat evolution and diversity. This repair appears to be mediated by microhomology, suggesting that tandem repeats may have evolved to facilitate the repair of frequent DSBs in centromeres.

Sampling results, DNAPL monitoring well GW-727, Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Quarterly report, 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

In January 1990, dense, non aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) were discovered at a depth of approximately 274 feet below ground surface along the southern border of the Y-12 Plant Burial Grounds. Immediately after the discovery, an investigation was conducted to assess the occurrence of DNAPL at the site and to make recommendations for further action. A major task in the work plan calls for the construction and installation of five multiport wells. This report summarizes purging and sampling activities for one of these multiport wells, GW-727, and presents analytical results for GW- 727. This report summarizes purging and sampling activities for GW-727 and presents analytical results for GW-727

Introduction of sample environment equipment for neutron scattering experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimojo, Yutaka; Ihata, Yoshiaki; Kaneko, Koji; Takeda, Masayasu

2013-02-01

Neutron scattering experiments have been frequently performed under variety of sample conditions, such as various temperatures, pressures, magnetic fields and stresses, and those complex conditions to fully utilize superior properties of neutron. To this aim, a number of sample environment equipment, refrigerators, furnaces, pressure cells, superconducting magnets are equipped in JRR-3 to be used for experiments. In this document, all available sample environment equipment in both JRR-3 reactor and guide halls are summarized. We hope this document would help neutron scattering users to perform effective and excellent experiments. (author)

Measurements of radio frequent cavity volt ages by X-ray spectrum measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toprek Dragan

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with X-ray spectrum measurement as a method for the measurement of radio frequent cavity voltage and the theory of X-ray spectrum calculation. Experimental results at 72 MHz for three different values of the radio frequent power of ACCEL K250 super conducting cyclotron are being presented.

Air sampling in the workplace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickey, E.E.; Stoetzel, G.A.; Strom, D.J.; Cicotte, G.R.; Wiblin, C.M.; McGuire, S.A.

1993-09-01

This report provides technical information on air sampling that will be useful for facilities following the recommendations in the NRC's Regulatory Guide 8.25, Revision 1, ''Air sampling in the Workplace.'' That guide addresses air sampling to meet the requirements in NRC's regulations on radiation protection, 10 CFR Part 20. This report describes how to determine the need for air sampling based on the amount of material in process modified by the type of material, release potential, and confinement of the material. The purposes of air sampling and how the purposes affect the types of air sampling provided are discussed. The report discusses how to locate air samplers to accurately determine the concentrations of airborne radioactive materials that workers will be exposed to. The need for and the methods of performing airflow pattern studies to improve the accuracy of air sampling results are included. The report presents and gives examples of several techniques that can be used to evaluate whether the airborne concentrations of material are representative of the air inhaled by workers. Methods to adjust derived air concentrations for particle size are described. Methods to calibrate for volume of air sampled and estimate the uncertainty in the volume of air sampled are described. Statistical tests for determining minimum detectable concentrations are presented. How to perform an annual evaluation of the adequacy of the air sampling is also discussed

Frequently Asked Questions about Measles in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

... Pan American Health Organization Frequently Asked Questions about Measles in the U.S. Language: English (US) Español (Spanish) ... I’ve been exposed to someone who has measles. What should I do? A: Immediately call your ...

Experimental evaluation of ontology-based HIV/AIDS frequently asked question retrieval system.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayalew, Yirsaw; Moeng, Barbara; Mosweunyane, Gontlafetse

2018-05-01

This study presents the results of experimental evaluations of an ontology-based frequently asked question retrieval system in the domain of HIV and AIDS. The main purpose of the system is to provide answers to questions on HIV/AIDS using ontology. To evaluate the effectiveness of the frequently asked question retrieval system, we conducted two experiments. The first experiment focused on the evaluation of the quality of the ontology we developed using the OQuaRE evaluation framework which is based on software quality metrics and metrics designed for ontology quality evaluation. The second experiment focused on evaluating the effectiveness of the ontology in retrieving relevant answers. For this we used an open-source information retrieval platform, Terrier, with retrieval models BM25 and PL2. For the measurement of performance, we used the measures mean average precision, mean reciprocal rank, and precision at 5. The results suggest that frequently asked question retrieval with ontology is more effective than frequently asked question retrieval without ontology in the domain of HIV/AIDS.

APC promoter is frequently methylated in pancreatic juice of patients with pancreatic carcinomas or periampullary tumors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginesta, Mireia M; Diaz-Riascos, Zamira Vanessa; Busquets, Juli; Pelaez, Núria; Serrano, Teresa; Peinado, Miquel Àngel; Jorba, Rosa; García-Borobia, Francisco Javier; Capella, Gabriel; Fabregat, Joan

2016-09-01

Early detection of pancreatic and periampullary neoplasms is critical to improve their clinical outcome. The present authors previously demonstrated that DNA hypermethylation of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), histamine receptor H2 (HRH2), cadherin 13 (CDH13), secreted protein acidic and cysteine rich (SPARC) and engrailed-1 (EN-1) promoters is frequently detected in pancreatic tumor cells. The aim of the present study was to assess their prevalence in pancreatic juice of carcinomas of the pancreas and periampullary area. A total of 135 pancreatic juices obtained from 85 pancreatic cancer (PC), 26 ampullary carcinoma (AC), 10 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and 14 chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients were analyzed. The methylation status of the APC, HRH2, CDH13, SPARC and EN-1 promoters was analyzed using methylation specific-melting curve analysis (MS-MCA). Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) mutations were also tested with allele-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction amplification. Out of the 5 promoters analyzed, APC (71%) and HRH2 (65%) were the most frequently methylated in PC juice. APC methylation was also detected at a high frequency in AC (76%) and IPMN (80%), but only occasionally observed in CP (7%). APC methylation had a high sensitivity (71-80%) for all types of cancer analyzed. The panel (where a sample scored as positive when ≥2 markers were methylated) did not outperform APC as a single marker. Finally, KRAS detection in pancreatic juice offered a lower sensitivity (50%) and specificity (71%) for detection of any cancer. APC hypermethylation in pancreatic juice, as assessed by MS-MCA, is a frequent event of potential clinical usefulness in the diagnosis of pancreatic and periampullary neoplasms.

NGSI FY15 Final Report. Innovative Sample Preparation for in-Field Uranium Isotopic Determinations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshida, Thomas M. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Meyers, Lisa [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-11-10

Our FY14 Final Report included an introduction to the project, background, literature search of uranium dissolution methods, assessment of commercial off the shelf (COTS) automated sample preparation systems, as well as data and results for dissolution of bulk quantities of uranium oxides, and dissolution of uranium oxides from swipe filter materials using ammonium bifluoride (ABF). Also, discussed were reaction studies of solid ABF with uranium oxide that provided a basis for determining the ABF/uranium oxide dissolution mechanism. This report details the final experiments for optimizing dissolution of U₃O₈ and UO₂ using ABF and steps leading to development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dissolution of uranium oxides on swipe filters.

An improved sampling system installed for reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finsterwalder, L.; Zeh, H.

1979-03-01

Sampling devices are needed for taking representative samples from individual process containers during the reprocessing of irradiated fuel. The aqueous process stream in a reprocessing plant frequently contains, in addition to the dissolved radioactive materials, more or less small quantities of solid matter fraction of fuel material still remaining undissolved, insoluble fission-, corrosion-, or degradation products as well, in exceptional cases, ion exchange resin or silica gel. The solid matter is deposited partly on the upper surfaces of the sampling system and the radiation due to this makes maintenance and repair of the sampler more difficult. The purpose of the development work was to reduce the chance of accident and the maintenance costs and to lower the radiation exposure of the personnel. A new sampling system was developed and is described. (author)

The most frequently used tests for assessing executive functions in aging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila de Assis Faria

Full Text Available There are numerous neuropsychological tests for assessing executive functions in aging, which vary according to the different domains assessed. OBJECTIVE: To present a systematic review of the most frequently used instruments for assessing executive functions in older adults with different educational levels in clinical and experimental research. METHODS: We searched for articles published in the last five years, using the PubMed database with the following terms: "neuropsychological tests", "executive functions", and "mild cognitive impairment". There was no language restriction. RESULTS: 25 articles fulfilled all the inclusion criteria. The seven neuropsychological tests most frequently used to evaluate executive functions in aging were: [1] Trail Making Test (TMT Form B; [2] Verbal Fluency Test (VFT - F, A and S; [3] VFT Animals category; [4] Clock Drawing Test (CDT; [5] Digits Forward and Backward subtests (WAIS-R or WAIS-III; [6] Stroop Test; and [7] Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST and its variants. The domains of executive functions most frequently assessed were: mental flexibility, verbal fluency, planning, working memory, and inhibitory control. CONCLUSION: The study identified the tests and domains of executive functions most frequently used in the last five years by research groups worldwide to evaluate older adults. These results can direct future research and help build evaluation protocols for assessing executive functions, taking into account the different educational levels and socio-demographic profiles of older adults in Brazil.

GraMi: Generalized Frequent Pattern Mining in a Single Large Graph

KAUST Repository

Saeedy, Mohammed El

2011-11-01

Mining frequent subgraphs is an important operation on graphs. Most existing work assumes a database of many small graphs, but modern applications, such as social networks, citation graphs or protein-protein interaction in bioinformatics, are modeled as a single large graph. Interesting interactions in such applications may be transitive (e.g., friend of a friend). Existing methods, however, search for frequent isomorphic (i.e., exact match) subgraphs and cannot discover many useful patterns. In this paper the authors propose GRAMI, a framework that generalizes frequent subgraph mining in a large single graph. GRAMI discovers frequent patterns. A pattern is a graph where edges are generalized to distance-constrained paths. Depending on the definition of the distance function, many instantiations of the framework are possible. Both directed and undirected graphs, as well as multiple labels per vertex, are supported. The authors developed an efficient implementation of the framework that models the frequency resolution phase as a constraint satisfaction problem, in order to avoid the costly enumeration of all instances of each pattern in the graph. The authors also implemented CGRAMI, a version that supports structural and semantic constraints; and AGRAMI, an approximate version that supports very large graphs. The experiments on real data demonstrate that the authors framework is up to 3 orders of magnitude faster and discovers more interesting patterns than existing approaches.

Report on the intercomparison run IAEA-306 radionuclides in Baltic Sea sediment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballestra, S.; Vas, D.; Lopez, J.J.; Noshkin, V.

1989-10-01

The results of an intercomparison exercise on a Baltic Sea sediment sample, coded as IAEA-306, designed for the determination of artificial and natural radionuclide levels, are reported. This sample was collected in the fall 1986. It was anticipated that the concentrations of the artificial radionuclides in this sediment would be higher than the environmental levels usually found and, therefore, would constitute an excellent intercomparison sample. The data from 84 laboratories representing 34 countries have been evaluated. The most frequently measured radionuclides are: 90 Sr, 125 Sb, 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239+240 Pu, 241 Am, 40 K, 210 Pb- 210 Po, 226 Ra, 228 Ra, 228 Th, 230 Th, 232 Th, 234 U and 238 U. 6 refs, 13 tabs

Do David and Goliath Play the Same Game? Explanation of the Abundance of Rare and Frequent Invasive Alien Plants in Urban Woodlands in Warsaw, Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Obidziński, Artur; Mędrzycki, Piotr; Kołaczkowska, Ewa; Ciurzycki, Wojciech; Marciszewska, Katarzyna

2016-01-01

Invasive Alien Plants occur in numbers differing by orders of magnitude at subsequent invasion stages. Effective sampling and quantifying niches of rare invasive plants are quite problematic. The aim of this paper is an estimation of the influence of invasive plants frequency on the explanation of their local abundance. We attempted to achieve it through: (1) assessment of occurrence of self-regenerating invasive plants in urban woodlands, (2) comparison of Random Forest modelling results for frequent and rare species. We hypothesized that the abundance of frequent species would be explained better than that of rare ones and that both rare and frequent species share a common hierarchy of the most important determinants. We found 15 taxa in almost two thirds of 1040 plots with a total number of 1068 occurrences. There were recorded 6 taxa of high frequency-Prunus serotina, Quercus rubra, Acer negundo, Robinia pseudoacacia, Impatiens parviflora and Solidago spp.-and 9 taxa of low frequency: Acer saccharinum, Amelanchier spicata, Cornus spp., Fraxinus spp., Parthenocissus spp., Syringa vulgaris, Echinocystis lobata, Helianthus tuberosus, Reynoutria spp. Random Forest's models' quality grows with the number of occurrences of frequent taxa but not of the rare ones. Both frequent and rare taxa share a similar hierarchy of predictors' importance: Land use > Tree stand > Seed source and, for frequent taxa, Forest properties as well. We conclude that there is an 'explanation jump' at higher species frequencies, but rare species are surprisingly similar to frequent ones in their determinant's hierarchy, with differences conforming with their respective stages of invasion.

Do David and Goliath Play the Same Game? Explanation of the Abundance of Rare and Frequent Invasive Alien Plants in Urban Woodlands in Warsaw, Poland.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Artur Obidziński

Full Text Available Invasive Alien Plants occur in numbers differing by orders of magnitude at subsequent invasion stages. Effective sampling and quantifying niches of rare invasive plants are quite problematic. The aim of this paper is an estimation of the influence of invasive plants frequency on the explanation of their local abundance. We attempted to achieve it through: (1 assessment of occurrence of self-regenerating invasive plants in urban woodlands, (2 comparison of Random Forest modelling results for frequent and rare species. We hypothesized that the abundance of frequent species would be explained better than that of rare ones and that both rare and frequent species share a common hierarchy of the most important determinants. We found 15 taxa in almost two thirds of 1040 plots with a total number of 1068 occurrences. There were recorded 6 taxa of high frequency-Prunus serotina, Quercus rubra, Acer negundo, Robinia pseudoacacia, Impatiens parviflora and Solidago spp.-and 9 taxa of low frequency: Acer saccharinum, Amelanchier spicata, Cornus spp., Fraxinus spp., Parthenocissus spp., Syringa vulgaris, Echinocystis lobata, Helianthus tuberosus, Reynoutria spp. Random Forest's models' quality grows with the number of occurrences of frequent taxa but not of the rare ones. Both frequent and rare taxa share a similar hierarchy of predictors' importance: Land use > Tree stand > Seed source and, for frequent taxa, Forest properties as well. We conclude that there is an 'explanation jump' at higher species frequencies, but rare species are surprisingly similar to frequent ones in their determinant's hierarchy, with differences conforming with their respective stages of invasion.

Do David and Goliath Play the Same Game? Explanation of the Abundance of Rare and Frequent Invasive Alien Plants in Urban Woodlands in Warsaw, Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Mędrzycki, Piotr; Kołaczkowska, Ewa; Ciurzycki, Wojciech; Marciszewska, Katarzyna

2016-01-01

Invasive Alien Plants occur in numbers differing by orders of magnitude at subsequent invasion stages. Effective sampling and quantifying niches of rare invasive plants are quite problematic. The aim of this paper is an estimation of the influence of invasive plants frequency on the explanation of their local abundance. We attempted to achieve it through: (1) assessment of occurrence of self-regenerating invasive plants in urban woodlands, (2) comparison of Random Forest modelling results for frequent and rare species. We hypothesized that the abundance of frequent species would be explained better than that of rare ones and that both rare and frequent species share a common hierarchy of the most important determinants. We found 15 taxa in almost two thirds of 1040 plots with a total number of 1068 occurrences. There were recorded 6 taxa of high frequency–Prunus serotina, Quercus rubra, Acer negundo, Robinia pseudoacacia, Impatiens parviflora and Solidago spp.–and 9 taxa of low frequency: Acer saccharinum, Amelanchier spicata, Cornus spp., Fraxinus spp., Parthenocissus spp., Syringa vulgaris, Echinocystis lobata, Helianthus tuberosus, Reynoutria spp. Random Forest’s models’ quality grows with the number of occurrences of frequent taxa but not of the rare ones. Both frequent and rare taxa share a similar hierarchy of predictors’ importance: Land use > Tree stand > Seed source and, for frequent taxa, Forest properties as well. We conclude that there is an ‘explanation jump’ at higher species frequencies, but rare species are surprisingly similar to frequent ones in their determinant’s hierarchy, with differences conforming with their respective stages of invasion. PMID:27992516

Crossett Hydrogen Sulfide Air Sampling Report

Science.gov (United States)

This report summarizes the results of the EPA’s hydrogen sulfide air monitoring conducted along Georgia Pacific’s wastewater treatment system and in surrounding Crossett, AR, neighborhoods in 2017.

Problematic Internet use and associated risks in a college sample

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Derbyshire, Katherine L; Lust, Katherine A; Schreiber, Liana R N

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The Internet is commonly used among young adults; however, Internet use may become a problematic behavior. Past research has examined Internet behavior in young adults and its relationship to other behaviors and health issues, yet further research is needed to gain a more comprehensive...... understanding of this relationship. METHOD: A sample (n=2108) of college students (56.9% female) was examined using a self-report Internet survey concerning demographic characteristics, Internet use, health behaviors, psychosocial functioning, and psychiatric comorbidities. The IAT was used to determine levels...... of problematic Internet use (limited use (none or almost no use), mild use (typical user), moderate use (occasional problems) and severe use (frequent, serious problems)) and the MINI for testing for psychiatric problems. RESULTS: We found that 237 students (12.9%) met criteria for limited Internet use, 1502 (81...

High priority tank sampling and analysis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, T.M.

1998-03-05

In July 1993, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) transmitted Recommendation 93-5 (Conway 1993) to the US Department of Energy (DOE). Recommendation 93-5 noted that there was insufficient tank waste technical information and the pace to obtain it was too slow to ensure that Hanford Site wastes could be safely stored, that associated operations could be conducted safely, and that future disposal data requirements could be met. In May 1996, the DOE issued Revision 1 of the Recommendation 93-5 Implementation Plan (DOE-RL 1996). The Implementation Plan revision presented a modified approach to achieve the original plan`s objectives. The approach concentrated on actions necessary to ensure that wastes can be safely stored, that operations can be safely conducted, and that timely characterization information for the tank waste Disposal Program could be obtained. The Implementation Plan proposed 28 High Priority tanks, which, if sampled and analyzed, were expected to provide information to answer questions regarding safety and disposal issues. The High Priority tank list was originally developed in Section 9.0 of the Tank Waste Characterization Basis (Brown et al. 1995) by integrating the needs of the various safety and disposal programs. The High Priority tank list represents a set of tanks that were expected to provide the highest information return for characterization resources expended. The High Priority tanks were selected for near-term core sampling and were not expected to be the only tanks that would provide meaningful information. Sampling and analysis of non-High Priority tanks also could be used to provide scientific and technical data to confirm assumptions, calibrate models, and measure safety related phenomenological characteristics of the waste. When the sampling and analysis results of the High Priority and other tanks were reviewed, it was expected that a series of questions should be answered allowing key decisions to be made. The first

High priority tank sampling and analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, T.M.

1998-01-01

In July 1993, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) transmitted Recommendation 93-5 (Conway 1993) to the US Department of Energy (DOE). Recommendation 93-5 noted that there was insufficient tank waste technical information and the pace to obtain it was too slow to ensure that Hanford Site wastes could be safely stored, that associated operations could be conducted safely, and that future disposal data requirements could be met. In May 1996, the DOE issued Revision 1 of the Recommendation 93-5 Implementation Plan (DOE-RL 1996). The Implementation Plan revision presented a modified approach to achieve the original plan's objectives. The approach concentrated on actions necessary to ensure that wastes can be safely stored, that operations can be safely conducted, and that timely characterization information for the tank waste Disposal Program could be obtained. The Implementation Plan proposed 28 High Priority tanks, which, if sampled and analyzed, were expected to provide information to answer questions regarding safety and disposal issues. The High Priority tank list was originally developed in Section 9.0 of the Tank Waste Characterization Basis (Brown et al. 1995) by integrating the needs of the various safety and disposal programs. The High Priority tank list represents a set of tanks that were expected to provide the highest information return for characterization resources expended. The High Priority tanks were selected for near-term core sampling and were not expected to be the only tanks that would provide meaningful information. Sampling and analysis of non-High Priority tanks also could be used to provide scientific and technical data to confirm assumptions, calibrate models, and measure safety related phenomenological characteristics of the waste. When the sampling and analysis results of the High Priority and other tanks were reviewed, it was expected that a series of questions should be answered allowing key decisions to be made. The first

Report on the intercomparison run IAEA-308 radionuclides in seaweed mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballestra, S.; Vas, D.; Lopez, J.J.; Noshkin, V.

1989-12-01

The results of an intercomparison exercise on a sample of mixed seaweeds from the Mediterranean Sea, IAEA-308, designed for the determination of artificial and natural radionuclide levels, are reported. The data from 67 laboratories representing 33 countries have been evaluated. The recommended median values, with confidence intervals, for the most frequently measured radionuclides 106 Ru, 110m Ag, 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, 239+240 Pu, 241 Am, 40 K, 210 Pb and 228 Th are given. Refs and tabs

Prevalence of self-reported specific phobia symptoms in an Israeli sample of young conscripts.

Science.gov (United States)

Iancu, Iulian; Levin, Jennifer; Dannon, Pinhas N; Poreh, Amir; Yehuda, Yoram Ben; Kotler, Moshe

2007-01-01

Specific phobia is a very prevalent disorder with high comorbidity rates. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of specific phobia symptoms in a sample of Israeli young adults. Eight hundred fifty young Israeli soldiers participated in the study. Measures included a questionnaire on specific phobias and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Data on eight specific fears representing DSM-IV-TR specific phobias were analyzed to evaluate prevalence of phobic symptoms and find potential socio-demographic correlates. Prevalence of fears and specific phobic symptoms was 49.1 and 8.7%, respectively. Most frequent phobic symptoms were from animals, being alone, heights, injury and closed places. The following variables were accompanied by more phobic symptoms: male gender, role of mechanic, not having completed the matriculation exams, lack of friends and romantic relationships, therapy prior to enlistment or during the military service and having received psychotropic drugs in the past. Based on a stepwise regression analysis, the following variables contributed significantly to the prediction of phobic symptoms: lack of friends and romantic relationships, school absenteeism and role of mechanic. Our findings corroborate results from other studies in the Western world regarding the high prevalence of specific phobia symptomatology, as well as its distribution and socio-demographic correlates.

Impact of blood sampling in very preterm infants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, L P; Rasmussen, M K; Bjerregaard, L L

2000-01-01

; the groups were then subdivided into critically ill or not. Diagnostic blood sampling and blood transfusion events were recorded. In total, 1905 blood samples (5,253 analysis) were performed, corresponding to 0.7 samples (1.9 analysis) per day per infant. The highest frequencies were found during the first....../kg. For the extremely preterm infants a significant correlation between sampled and transfused blood volume was found (mean 37.1 and 33.3 ml/kg, respectively, r = + 0.71, p = 0.0003). The most frequently requested analyses were glucose, sodium and potassium. Few blood gas analyses were requested (1.9/ infant). No blood...... losses attributable to excessive generous sampling were detected. The results show an acceptable low frequency of sampling and transfusion events for infants of GA 28-32 weeks. The study emphasizes the necessity of thorough reflection and monitoring of blood losses when ordering blood sampling...

Frequent use of emergency departments by older people: a comparative cohort study of characteristics and outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Street, Maryann; Berry, Debra; Considine, Julie

2018-04-12

To characterise older people who frequently use emergency departments (EDs) and compare patient outcomes with older non-frequent ED attenders. Retrospective comparative cohort study. Logistic regression modelling of patient characteristics and health service usage, comparing older frequent ED attenders (≥4 ED attendances in 12 months) to non-frequent ED attenders. Three Australian public hospital EDs, with a total of 143 327 emergency attendances in the 12 months. People aged ≥65 years attending the ED in financial year 2013/2014. The primary outcome was frequent ED use; secondary outcomes were ED length of stay, discharge destination from ED, hospital length of stay, re-presentation within 48 h, hospital readmission within 30 days and in-hospital mortality. Five percent of older people were frequent attenders (n = 1046/21 073), accounting for 16.9% (n = 5469/32 282) of all attendances by older people. Frequent ED attenders were more likely to be male, aged 75-84 years, arrive by ambulance and have a diagnosis relating to chronic illness. Frequent attenders stayed 0.4 h longer in ED (P < 0.001), were more likely to be admitted to hospital (69.2% vs 67.2%; P = 0.004), and had a 1 day longer hospital stay (P < 0.001). In-hospital mortality for older frequent ED attenders was double that of non-frequent attenders (7.0% vs 3.2%, P < 0.001) over 12 months. Older frequent ED attenders had more chronic disease and care needs requiring hospital admission than non-frequent attenders. A new approach to care planning and coordination is recommended, to optimise the patient journey and improve outcomes.

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2013-03-01

This report summarizes the 2012 annual inspection, sampling, measurement, and maintenance activities performed at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site (Salmon site). The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities with the results of sample analyses. A revised plan is in preparation. The Long-Term Surveillance Plan for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site is intended for release in 2013. The Salmon site consists of 1,470 acres. The site is located in Lamar County, Mississippi, approximately 10 miles west of Purvis, Mississippi, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi The State of Mississippi owns the surface real estate subject to certain restrictions related to subsurface penetration. The State is the surface operator; the Mississippi Forestry Commission is its agent. The federal government owns the subsurface real estate (including minerals and some surface features), shares right-of-entry easements with the State, and retains rights related to subsurface monitoring. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM), a successor agency to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, is responsible for the long-term surveillance of the subsurface real estate

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

This report summarizes the 2012 annual inspection, sampling, measurement, and maintenance activities performed at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site (Salmon site). The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities with the results of sample analyses. A revised plan is in preparation. The Long-Term Surveillance Plan for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site is intended for release in 2013. The Salmon site consists of 1,470 acres. The site is located in Lamar County, Mississippi, approximately 10 miles west of Purvis, Mississippi, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi The State of Mississippi owns the surface real estate subject to certain restrictions related to subsurface penetration. The State is the surface operator; the Mississippi Forestry Commission is its agent. The federal government owns the subsurface real estate (including minerals and some surface features), shares right-of-entry easements with the State, and retains rights related to subsurface monitoring. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM), a successor agency to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, is responsible for the long-term surveillance of the subsurface real estate.

Deep Ion Torrent sequencing identifies soil fungal community shifts after frequent prescribed fires in a southeastern US forest ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Shawn P; Callaham, Mac A; Oliver, Alena K; Jumpponen, Ari

2013-12-01

Prescribed burning is a common management tool to control fuel loads, ground vegetation, and facilitate desirable game species. We evaluated soil fungal community responses to long-term prescribed fire treatments in a loblolly pine forest on the Piedmont of Georgia and utilized deep Internal Transcribed Spacer Region 1 (ITS1) amplicon sequencing afforded by the recent Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM). These deep sequence data (19,000 + reads per sample after subsampling) indicate that frequent fires (3-year fire interval) shift soil fungus communities, whereas infrequent fires (6-year fire interval) permit system resetting to a state similar to that without prescribed fire. Furthermore, in nonmetric multidimensional scaling analyses, primarily ectomycorrhizal taxa were correlated with axes associated with long fire intervals, whereas soil saprobes tended to be correlated with the frequent fire recurrence. We conclude that (1) multiplexed Ion Torrent PGM analyses allow deep cost effective sequencing of fungal communities but may suffer from short read lengths and inconsistent sequence quality adjacent to the sequencing adaptor; (2) frequent prescribed fires elicit a shift in soil fungal communities; and (3) such shifts do not occur when fire intervals are longer. Our results emphasize the general responsiveness of these forests to management, and the importance of fire return intervals in meeting management objectives. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient-Reported Outcome and Quality of Life Instruments Database (PROQOLID: Frequently asked questions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perrier Laure-Lou

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The exponential development of Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO measures in clinical research has led to the creation of the Patient-Reported Outcome and Quality of Life Instruments Database (PROQOLID to facilitate the selection process of PRO measures in clinical research. The project was initiated by Mapi Research Trust in Lyon, France. Initially called QOLID (Quality of Life Instruments Database, the project's purpose was to provide all those involved in health care evaluation with a comprehensive and unique source of information on PRO and HRQOL measures available through the Internet. PROQOLID currently describes more than 470 PRO instruments in a structured format. It is available in two levels, non-subscribers and subscribers, at http://www.proqolid.org. The first level is free of charge and contains 14 categories of basic useful information on the instruments (e.g. author, objective, original language, list of existing translations, etc.. The second level provides significantly more information about the instruments. It includes review copies of over 350 original instruments, 120 user manuals and 350 translations. Most are available in PDF format. This level is only accessible to annual subscribers. PROQOLID is updated in close collaboration with the instruments' authors on a regular basis. Fifty or more new instruments are added to the database annually. Today, all of the major pharmaceutical companies, prestigious institutions (such as the FDA, the NIH's National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Veterans Administration, dozens of universities, public institutions and researchers subscribe to PROQOLID on a yearly basis. More than 800 users per day routinely visit the database.

Child maltreatment and psychological symptoms in a Portuguese adult community sample: the harmful effects of emotional abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Aida; Sales, Luísa; Hessen, David J; Kleber, Rolf J

2015-07-01

Child maltreatment (CM) is associated with poor long-term health outcomes. However, knowledge about CM prevalence and related consequences is scarce among adults in South European countries. We examined the self-reported prevalence of five different forms of CM in a community sample of 1,200 Portuguese adults; we compared the results with similar samples from three other countries, using the same instrument. We also explored the relationship between CM and psychological symptoms. Cross-sectional data using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Brief Symptom Inventory were analyzed. Moderate or severe CM exposure was self-reported by 14.7% of the sample, and 67% was exposed to more than one form of CM. Emotional neglect was the most endorsed experience, with women reporting greater emotional abuse and men reporting larger physical abuse. Physical and sexual abuse was less self-reported by Portuguese than by American or German subjects. CM exposure predicted 12.8% of the psychological distress. Emotional abuse was the strongest predictor for psychological symptoms, namely for paranoid ideation, depression, and interpersonal sensitivity. Emotional abuse overlapped with the exposure to all other CM forms, and interacted with physical abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect to predict psychological distress. Low exposure to emotional abuse was directly associated with the effects of physical abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect to predict adult psychological distress. Verbal abuse experiences were frequently reported and had the highest correlations with adult psychological distress. Our results underline the potential hurtful effects of child emotional abuse among Portuguese adults in the community. They also highlight the need to improve prevention and intervention actions to reduce exposure and consequences of CM, particularly emotional abuse.

Competence-Based Education and Training– about Frequently Asked Questions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mulder, M.

2012-01-01

This article follows the author's previous piece on practical guidelines for the development of comprehensive competence-based education and training (Mulder, 2012). It is about the questions that have been and are still frequently asked in presentations, workshops and classes about the introduction

Frequent Symptom Sets Identification from Uncertain Medical Data in Differentially Private Way

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhe Ding

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Data mining techniques are applied to identify hidden patterns in large amounts of patient data. These patterns can assist physicians in making more accurate diagnosis. For different physical conditions of patients, the same physiological index corresponds to a different symptom association probability for each patient. Data mining technologies based on certain data cannot be directly applied to these patients’ data. Patient data are sensitive data. An adversary with sufficient background information can make use of the patterns mined from uncertain medical data to obtain the sensitive information of patients. In this paper, a new algorithm is presented to determine the top K most frequent itemsets from uncertain medical data and to protect data privacy. Based on traditional algorithms for mining frequent itemsets from uncertain data, our algorithm applies sparse vector algorithm and the Laplace mechanism to ensure differential privacy for the top K most frequent itemsets for uncertain medical data and the expected supports of these frequent itemsets. We prove that our algorithm can guarantee differential privacy in theory. Moreover, we carry out experiments with four real-world scenario datasets and two synthetic datasets. The experimental results demonstrate the performance of our algorithm.

Missing data in substance abuse research? Researchers' reporting practices of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Flentje, Annesa; Bacca, Cristina L; Cochran, Bryan N

2015-02-01

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are at higher risk for substance use and substance use disorders than heterosexual individuals and are more likely to seek substance use treatment, yet sexual orientation and gender identity are frequently not reported in the research literature. The purpose of this study was to identify if sexual orientation and gender identity are being reported in the recent substance use literature, and if this has changed over time. The PsycINFO and PubMed databases were searched for articles released in 2007 and 2012 using the term "substance abuse" and 200 articles were randomly selected from each time period and database. Articles were coded for the presence or absence of sexual orientation and gender identity information. Participants' sexual orientation was reported in 3.0% and 4.9% of the 2007 and 2.3% and 6.5% of the 2012 sample, in PsycINFO and PubMed sample articles, respectively, while non-binary gender identity was reported in 0% and 1.0% of the 2007 sample and 2.3% and 1.9% of the 2012 PsycINFO and PubMed sample articles. There were no differences in rates of reporting over time. Sexual orientation and gender identity are rarely reported in the substance abuse literature, and there has not been a change in reporting practices between 2007 and 2012. Recommendations for future investigators in reporting sexual orientation and gender identity are included. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Missing data in substance abuse research? Researchers’ reporting practices of sexual orientation and gender identity

Science.gov (United States)

Bacca, Cristina L.; Cochran, Bryan N.

2014-01-01

Background Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are at higher risk for substance use and substance use disorders than heterosexual individuals and are more likely to seek substance use treatment, yet sexual orientation and gender identity are frequently not reported in the research literature. The purpose of this study was to identify if sexual orientation and gender identity are being reported in the recent substance use literature, and if this has changed over time. Method The PsycINFO and PubMed databases were searched for articles released in 2007 and 2012 using the term “substance abuse” and 200 articles were randomly selected from each time period and database. Articles were coded for the presence or absence of sexual orientation and gender identity information. Results Participants’ sexual orientation was reported in 3.0% and 4.9% of the 2007 and 2.3% and 6.5% of the 2012 sample, in PsycINFO and PubMed sample articles, respectively, while non-binary gender identity was reported in 0% and 1.0% of the 2007 sample and 2.3% and 1.9% of the 2012 PsycINFO and PubMed sample articles. There were no differences in rates of reporting over time. Conclusions Sexual orientation and gender identity are rarely reported in the substance abuse literature, and there has not been a change in reporting practices between 2007 and 2012. Recommendations for future investigators in reporting sexual orientation and gender identity are included. PMID:25496705

Superposition Enhanced Nested Sampling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Martiniani

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The theoretical analysis of many problems in physics, astronomy, and applied mathematics requires an efficient numerical exploration of multimodal parameter spaces that exhibit broken ergodicity. Monte Carlo methods are widely used to deal with these classes of problems, but such simulations suffer from a ubiquitous sampling problem: The probability of sampling a particular state is proportional to its entropic weight. Devising an algorithm capable of sampling efficiently the full phase space is a long-standing problem. Here, we report a new hybrid method for the exploration of multimodal parameter spaces exhibiting broken ergodicity. Superposition enhanced nested sampling combines the strengths of global optimization with the unbiased or athermal sampling of nested sampling, greatly enhancing its efficiency with no additional parameters. We report extensive tests of this new approach for atomic clusters that are known to have energy landscapes for which conventional sampling schemes suffer from broken ergodicity. We also introduce a novel parallelization algorithm for nested sampling.

Online sexual solicitation by adults and peers - Results from a population based German sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Sklenarova, Halina; Schulz, Anja; Schuhmann, Petya; Osterheider, Michael; Neutze, Janina

2018-02-01

Prevalence of Internet use among adolescents is high, but little is known about the online sexual activities of German adolescents. This study aimed to describe the 12-month prevalence of German adolescents' online sexual experiences with a focus on Online Sexual Solicitation (OSS, subjectively negative online sexual experiences with a peer or any sexual online experience, positive or negative, with an adult). A sample of male and female adolescents aged 14-17 (N=2238) was recruited using online survey panel. The sample was representative for gender and education. Subjects completed an online survey reporting their online sexual activities (i.e., sexual conversation, exchanging pictures, and cybersex) with peers (14-17y.) and/or adults (≥18y.). Findings illustrated that 51.3% (n=1148) of adolescents had experienced online sexual activity, which mostly involved peers (n=969; 84.4%). In contrast, 23.2% (n=519) of the adolescents experienced OSS with 2.6% (n=57) reporting subjectively negative online sexual interactions with peers and 22.2% (n=490) reporting online sexual interactions with adults, of which 10.4% (n=51) were perceived as negative. The findings suggest that adolescents frequently engage in sexual interactions on the Internet with only a relatively small number perceiving such contacts as exploitative. In addition, females and adolescents with incomplete family situation, foreign nationality, higher education, homo- or bisexual orientation, and those without perceived social support reported OSS significantly more often. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of “Bath Salts” and Other Novel Psychoactive Substances in Hair Samples of Ecstasy/MDMA/“Molly” Users

Science.gov (United States)

Palamar, Joseph J.; Salomone, Alberto; Vincenti, Marco; Cleland, Charles M.

2016-01-01

Background Ecstasy (MDMA) in the US is commonly adulterated with other drugs, but research has not focused on purity of ecstasy since the phenomenon of “Molly” (ecstasy marketed as pure MDMA) arose in the US. Methods We piloted a rapid electronic survey in 2015 to assess use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and other drugs among 679 nightclub/festival-attending young adults (age 18–25) in New York City. A quarter (26.1%) of the sample provided a hair sample to be analyzed for the presence of select synthetic cathinones (“bath salts”) and some other NPS. Samples were analyzed using fully validated UHPLC-MS/MS methods. To examine consistency of self-report, analyses focused on the 48 participants with an analyzable hair sample who reported lifetime ecstasy/MDMA/Molly use. Results Half (50.0%) of the hair samples contained MDMA, 47.9% contained butylone, and 10.4% contained methylone. Of those who reported no lifetime use of “bath salts”, stimulant NPS, or unknown pills or powders, about four out of ten (41.2%) tested positive for butylone, methylone, alpha-PVP, 5/6-APB, or 4-FA. Racial minorities were more likely to test positive for butylone or test positive for NPS after reporting no lifetime use. Frequent nightclub/festival attendance was the strongest predictor of testing positive for MDMA, butylone, or methylone. Discussion Results suggest that many ecstasy-using nightclub/festival attendees may be unintentionally using “bath salts” or other NPS. Prevention and harm reduction education is needed for this population and “drug checking” (e.g., pill testing) may be beneficial for those rejecting abstinence. PMID:26883685

Predicting the transition from frequent cannabis use to cannabis dependence: a three-year prospective study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Pol, P.; Liebregts, N.; de Graaf, R.; Korf, D.J.; van den Brink, W.; van Laar, M.

2013-01-01

Background Frequent cannabis users are at high risk of dependence, still most (near) daily users are not dependent. It is unknown why some frequent users develop dependence, whereas others do not. This study aims to identify predictors of first-incidence DSM-IV cannabis dependence in frequent

Effects of frequent cannabis use on hippocampal activity during an associative memory task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jager, Gerry; van Hell, Hendrika H.; de Win, Maartje M. L.; Kahn, Rene S.; van den Brink, Wim; van Ree, Jan M.; Ramsey, Nick F.

2007-01-01

Interest is growing in the neurotoxic potential of cannabis on human brain function. We studied non-acute effects of frequent cannabis use on hippocampus-dependent associative memory, investigated with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in 20 frequent cannabis users and 20 non-users

An 'intelligent' approach to radioimmunoassay sample counting employing a microprocessor-controlled sample counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekins, R.P.; Sufi, S.; Malan, P.G.

1978-01-01

The enormous impact on medical science in the last two decades of microanalytical techniques employing radioisotopic labels has, in turn, generated a large demand for automatic radioisotopic sample counters. Such instruments frequently comprise the most important item of capital equipment required in the use of radioimmunoassay and related techniques and often form a principle bottleneck in the flow of samples through a busy laboratory. It is therefore imperative that such instruments should be used 'intelligently' and in an optimal fashion to avoid both the very large capital expenditure involved in the unnecessary proliferation of instruments and the time delays arising from their sub-optimal use. Most of the current generation of radioactive sample counters nevertheless rely on primitive control mechanisms based on a simplistic statistical theory of radioactive sample counting which preclude their efficient and rational use. The fundamental principle upon which this approach is based is that it is useless to continue counting a radioactive sample for a time longer than that required to yield a significant increase in precision of the measurement. Thus, since substantial experimental errors occur during sample preparation, these errors should be assessed and must be related to the counting errors for that sample. The objective of the paper is to demonstrate that the combination of a realistic statistical assessment of radioactive sample measurement, together with the more sophisticated control mechanisms that modern microprocessor technology make possible, may often enable savings in counter usage of the order of 5- to 10-fold to be made. (author)

Design review report for rotary mode core sample truck (RMCST) modifications for flammable gas tanks, preliminary design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corbett, J.E.

1996-02-01

This report documents the completion of a preliminary design review for the Rotary Mode Core Sample Truck (RMCST) modifications for flammable gas tanks. The RMCST modifications are intended to support core sampling operations in waste tanks requiring flammable gas controls. The objective of this review was to validate basic design assumptions and concepts to support a path forward leading to a final design. The conclusion reached by the review committee was that the design was acceptable and efforts should continue toward a final design review

Sampling methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loughran, R.J.; Wallbrink, P.J.; Walling, D.E.; Appleby, P.G.

2002-01-01

Methods for the collection of soil samples to determine levels of 137 Cs and other fallout radionuclides, such as excess 210 Pb and 7 Be, will depend on the purposes (aims) of the project, site and soil characteristics, analytical capacity, the total number of samples that can be analysed and the sample mass required. The latter two will depend partly on detector type and capabilities. A variety of field methods have been developed for different field conditions and circumstances over the past twenty years, many of them inherited or adapted from soil science and sedimentology. The use of them inherited or adapted from soil science and sedimentology. The use of 137 Cs in erosion studies has been widely developed, while the application of fallout 210 Pb and 7 Be is still developing. Although it is possible to measure these nuclides simultaneously, it is common for experiments to designed around the use of 137 Cs along. Caesium studies typically involve comparison of the inventories found at eroded or sedimentation sites with that of a 'reference' site. An accurate characterization of the depth distribution of these fallout nuclides is often required in order to apply and/or calibrate the conversion models. However, depending on the tracer involved, the depth distribution, and thus the sampling resolution required to define it, differs. For example, a depth resolution of 1 cm is often adequate when using 137 Cs. However, fallout 210 Pb and 7 Be commonly has very strong surface maxima that decrease exponentially with depth, and fine depth increments are required at or close to the soil surface. Consequently, different depth incremental sampling methods are required when using different fallout radionuclides. Geomorphic investigations also frequently require determination of the depth-distribution of fallout nuclides on slopes and depositional sites as well as their total inventories

A Systematic Review of Surgical Randomized Controlled Trials: Part 2. Funding Source, Conflict of Interest, and Sample Size in Plastic Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Voineskos, Sophocles H; Coroneos, Christopher J; Ziolkowski, Natalia I; Kaur, Manraj N; Banfield, Laura; Meade, Maureen O; Chung, Kevin C; Thoma, Achilleas; Bhandari, Mohit

2016-02-01

The authors examined industry support, conflict of interest, and sample size in plastic surgery randomized controlled trials that compared surgical interventions. They hypothesized that industry-funded trials demonstrate statistically significant outcomes more often, and randomized controlled trials with small sample sizes report statistically significant results more frequently. An electronic search identified randomized controlled trials published between 2000 and 2013. Independent reviewers assessed manuscripts and performed data extraction. Funding source, conflict of interest, primary outcome direction, and sample size were examined. Chi-squared and independent-samples t tests were used in the analysis. The search identified 173 randomized controlled trials, of which 100 (58 percent) did not acknowledge funding status. A relationship between funding source and trial outcome direction was not observed. Both funding status and conflict of interest reporting improved over time. Only 24 percent (six of 25) of industry-funded randomized controlled trials reported authors to have independent control of data and manuscript contents. The mean number of patients randomized was 73 per trial (median, 43, minimum, 3, maximum, 936). Small trials were not found to be positive more often than large trials (p = 0.87). Randomized controlled trials with small sample size were common; however, this provides great opportunity for the field to engage in further collaboration and produce larger, more definitive trials. Reporting of trial funding and conflict of interest is historically poor, but it greatly improved over the study period. Underreporting at author and journal levels remains a limitation when assessing the relationship between funding source and trial outcomes. Improved reporting and manuscript control should be goals that both authors and journals can actively achieve.

Frequent Evaluation To Improve Compliance In Patients Treated With Occlusion For Amblyopia: A Randomized controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Iturriaga, Hernan; Zanolli, Mario; Damm, Constanza; Oporto, Jorge; Acuna, Olga; Valenzuela, Felipe

2012-01-01

The benefits of occlusion treatment for amblyopia are well established.True compliance can be difficult to assess and is usually based on patient history. We hypothesize that more visits to the physician provides more chances to improve compliance. We conducted a prospective, comparative, blind trial in which 30 children with amblyopia were randomly assigned to be followed up more frequently (every 4 to 6 weeks) (study group) or as established on our standard regular basis (month intervals based on age in years) (control group). The primary outcome was to study differences in treatment compliance between these groups. The secondary outcome was to report compliance in a group of Chilean children and to compare survey results with adherence, to assess concordance between them. Baseline clinical characteristics were similar in the two groups. 30 patients were recruited. Mean compliance for all patients was 82%. Study group compliance was 83% versus 76% in control group (p = 0.5). Without epidemiology, intention to treat analysis (ITT), study group compliance was 97% compared to 76% in control group (p = 0.049). Pearson correlation between negative responses to a parental survey after treatment, of the percentage of adherence and compliance, was -0.57 and statistically significant (p = 0.013). There were no differences in patient compliance comparing more frequent evaluation versus a follow up evaluation based in an age according scheme. There is a high compliance to occlusion therapy in this group of Chilean children. If parents reported more negative adherence aspects in the survey, the worse the compliance.

Report: Independent Environmental Sampling Shows Some Properties Designated by EPA as Available for Use Had Some Contamination

Science.gov (United States)

Report #15-P-0221, July 21, 2015. Some OIG sampling results showed contamination was still present at sites designated by the EPA as ready for reuse. This was unexpected and could signal a need to implement changes to ensure human health protection.

Barriers and facilitators to reducing frequent laboratory testing for patients who are stable on warfarin: a mixed methods study of de-implementation in five anticoagulation clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Geoffrey D; Misirliyan, Sevan; Kaatz, Scott; Jackson, Elizabeth A; Haymart, Brian; Kline-Rogers, Eva; Kozlowski, Jay; Krol, Gregory; Froehlich, James B; Sales, Anne

2017-07-14

Patients on chronic warfarin therapy require regular laboratory monitoring to safely manage warfarin. Recent studies have challenged the need for routine monthly blood draws in the most stable warfarin-treated patients, suggesting the safety of less frequent laboratory testing (up to every 12 weeks). De-implementation efforts aim to reduce the use of low-value clinical practices. To explore barriers and facilitators of a de-implementation effort to reduce the use of frequent laboratory tests for patients with stable warfarin management in nurse/pharmacist-run anticoagulation clinics, we performed a mixed-methods study conducted within a state-wide collaborative quality improvement collaborative. Using a mixed-methods approach, we conducted post-implementation semi-structured interviews with a total of eight anticoagulation nurse or pharmacist staff members at five participating clinic sites to assess barriers and facilitators to de-implementing frequent international normalized ratio (INR) laboratory testing among patients with stable warfarin control. Interview guides were based on the Tailored Implementation for Chronic Disease (TICD) framework. Informed by interview themes, a survey was developed and administered to all anticoagulation clinical staff (n = 62) about their self-reported utilization of less frequent INR testing and specific barriers to de-implementing the standard (more frequent) INR testing practice. From the interviews, four themes emerged congruent with TICD domains: (1) staff overestimating their actual use of less frequent INR testing (individual health professional factors), (2) barriers to appropriate patient engagement (incentives and resources), (3) broad support for an electronic medical record flag to identify potentially eligible patients (incentives and resources), and (4) the importance of personalized nurse/pharmacist feedback (individual health professional factors). In the survey (65% response rate), staff report offering less

Predicting the transition from frequent cannabis use to cannabis dependence: a three-year prospective study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Pol, Peggy; Liebregts, Nienke; de Graaf, Ron; Korf, Dirk J.; van den Brink, Wim; van Laar, Margriet

2013-01-01

Frequent cannabis users are at high risk of dependence, still most (near) daily users are not dependent. It is unknown why some frequent users develop dependence, whereas others do not. This study aims to identify predictors of first-incidence DSM-IV cannabis dependence in frequent cannabis users. A

Indexing thoracic CT reports using a preliminary version of a standardized radiological lexicon (RadLex).

Science.gov (United States)

Marwede, Dirk; Schulz, Thomas; Kahn, Thomas

2008-12-01

To validate a preliminary version of a radiological lexicon (RadLex) against terms found in thoracic CT reports and to index report content in RadLex term categories. Terms from a random sample of 200 thoracic CT reports were extracted using a text processor and matched against RadLex. Report content was manually indexed by two radiologists in consensus in term categories of Anatomic Location, Finding, Modifier, Relationship, Image Quality, and Uncertainty. Descriptive statistics were used and differences between age groups and report types were tested for significance using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney Test (significance level <0.05). From 363 terms extracted, 304 (84%) were found and 59 (16%) were not found in RadLex. Report indexing showed a mean of 16.2 encoded items per report and 3.2 Finding per report. Term categories most frequently encoded were Modifier (1,030 of 3,244, 31.8%), Anatomic Location (813, 25.1%), Relationship (702, 21.6%) and Finding (638, 19.7%). Frequency of indexed items per report was higher in older age groups, but no significant difference was found between first study and follow up study reports. Frequency of distinct findings per report increased with patient age (p < 0.05). RadLex already covers most terms present in thoracic CT reports based on a small sample analysis from one institution. Applications for report encoding need to be developed to validate the lexicon against a larger sample of reports and address the issue of automatic relationship encoding.