Sample records for control condition participants
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42 CFR 482.42 - Condition of participation: Infection control.
2010-10-01
... Hospital Functions § 482.42 Condition of participation: Infection control. The hospital must provide a... be an active program for the prevention, control, and investigation of infections and communicable... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Infection control. 482...
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42 CFR 482.30 - Condition of participation: Utilization review.
2010-10-01
... circumstances: (1) A Utilization and Quality Control Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) has assumed binding... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR HOSPITALS Basic Hospital Functions § 482.30 Condition of participation: Utilization review. The hospital must have in...
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42 CFR 403.734 - Condition of participation: Food services.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Food services. 403.734...-Benefits, Conditions of Participation, and Payment § 403.734 Condition of participation: Food services. The RNHCI must have an organized food service that is directed and adequately staffed by qualified personnel...
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Measuring Effectiveness of Persuasive Games Using an Informative Control Condition
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mara Soekarjo
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Research about the effectiveness of persuasive games is still emerging. This article presents a literature review of studies that empirically evaluate the effectiveness of persuasive games. The review concluded that limited empirical evidence is currently available to prove their effectiveness in attitude change. It further revealed that almost no study employed an informative control condition, making it difficult to conclude that the game was more effective than a control condition. Next, in a pretest-posttest design an empirical study tested whether change in attitude was different for people playing the persuasive game "EnerCities" compared to a control condition where participants read a document with highly similar information. No significant differences in increase of attitude or knowledge between participants that played the game and participants in the informative control condition were found. Based on the results of the literature review and the empirical study presented, it hence cannot be concluded that playing a game leads to a greater change in attitude or knowledge acquisition than experiencing conventional media would. Future work should employ designs with proper control conditions and focus on which game features lead to significant effects.
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42 CFR 485.709 - Condition of participation: Administrative management.
2010-10-01
... Condition of participation: Administrative management. The clinic or rehabilitation agency has an effective... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Administrative management. 485.709 Section 485.709 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...
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42 CFR 483.470 - Condition of participation: Physical environment.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Physical environment... Condition of participation: Physical environment. (a) Standard: Client living environment. (1) The facility... sanitary environment to avoid sources and transmission of infections. There must be an active program for...
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Community participation in disease control.
Bermejo, A; Bekui, A
1993-05-01
The main determinants of community participation in disease control programmes are identified and a framework with eleven variables is developed. Attention is drawn to the political background, community characteristics, the managerial capacity of the provider and the epidemiology of the disease. The framework is designed to guide health professionals in the systematic assessment and monitoring of participation in disease control programmes. Analysis of the Ghanaian Guinea Worm Eradication Programme and the Nicaraguan Tuberculosis Control Programme are presented as case studies. They show that political support does not guarantee community participation in disease control programmes and stress the importance of other determinants such as commitment to PHC, intersectoral coordination, the project approach and human resources. The relevance of the epidemiology of the disease in determining what degree of community participation will be most effective is highlighted by the case studies.
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42 CFR 482.98 - Condition of participation: Human resources.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Human resources. 482.98 Section 482.98 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Specialty Hospitals Transplant Center Process Requirements § 482.98 Condition of participation: Human...
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42 CFR 483.420 - Condition of participation: Client protections.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Client protections. 483... Condition of participation: Client protections. (a) Standard: Protection of clients' rights. The facility must ensure the rights of all clients. Therefore, the facility must— (1) Inform each client, parent (if...
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42 CFR 482.74 - Condition of participation: Notification to CMS.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Notification to CMS... participation: Notification to CMS. (a) A transplant center must notify CMS immediately of any significant... conditions of participation. Instances in which CMS should receive information for follow up, as appropriate...
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42 CFR 482.22 - Condition of participation: Medical staff.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Medical staff. 482.22... Functions § 482.22 Condition of participation: Medical staff. The hospital must have an organized medical staff that operates under bylaws approved by the governing body and is responsible for the quality of...
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2010-10-01
... (CONTINUED) MEDICARE PROGRAM HOSPICE CARE Conditions of participation: Organizational Environment § 418.116... regarding disclosure of ownership and control information. All hospice multiple locations must be approved...
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42 CFR 485.715 - Condition of participation: Speech pathology services.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Speech pathology... Agencies as Providers of Outpatient Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Services § 485.715 Condition of participation: Speech pathology services. If speech pathology services are offered, the...
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42 CFR 485.713 - Condition of participation: Physical therapy services.
2010-10-01
... Agencies as Providers of Outpatient Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Services § 485.713 Condition of participation: Physical therapy services. If the organization offers physical therapy services... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Physical therapy...
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42 CFR 418.102 - Condition of participation: Medical director.
2010-10-01
... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICARE PROGRAM HOSPICE CARE Conditions of participation: Organizational... determination: (1) The primary terminal condition; (2) Related diagnosis(es), if any; (3) Current subjective and...
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Effect of Participation in Performance Pay Systems and Employees’ Satisfaction with Job Conditions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Arman Ismail
2017-10-01
Full Text Available The aim of this research is to evaluate the association between participation in performance pay systems and employees’ satisfaction with job conditions. A survey method was utilized to collect data from subordinates who serve at disaster management agencies in West Malaysia. The findings of SmartPLS path model analysis display four important outcomes: first, the relationship between participation in pay plans and satisfaction with intrinsic job conditions was not significant. Second, relationship between participation in pay operations and satisfaction with intrinsic job conditions was not significant. Third, the relationship between participation in pay plans and satisfaction with extrinsic job conditions was significance. Finally, the relationship between participation in pay operations and satisfaction with extrinsic job conditions was significance. This finding demonstrates that participation in pay plans and participation in pay operations do not act as important predictors of employees’ satisfaction with intrinsic job conditions. Conversely, participation in pay plans and participation in pay operations do act as important predictors of employees’ satisfaction with extrinsic job conditions. Further, this research delivers discussion, implications and conclusion.
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42 CFR 485.723 - Condition of participation: Physical environment.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Physical environment... participation: Physical environment. The building housing the organization is constructed, equipped, and..., sanitary, and comfortable environment. (a) Standard: Safety of patients. The organization satisfies the...
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42 CFR 485.62 - Condition of participation: Physical environment.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Physical environment... of participation: Physical environment. The facility must provide a physical environment that...) Standard: Sanitary environment. The facility must maintain a sanitary environment and establish a program...
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Understanding the situated conditions for participation in lifelong formal education
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kondrup, Sissel
and participation and the relation among these. I argue for the necessity of analyzing motivation as historical and social phenomena and hereby increase the awareness of the specific subjective, historical and social conditions for motivation and participation. By outlining and analyzing the work life story...... of Martin I discuss the fruitfulness of employing a concept of experience, informed by critical theory, in order to understand the ‘potential participant’ as a specific social and historical subject with certain conditions for perceiving needs and opportunities for participation in formal education...
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42 CFR 485.627 - Condition of participation: Organizational structure.
2010-10-01
... participation: Organizational structure. (a) Standard: Governing body or responsible individual. The CAH has a... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Organizational structure. 485.627 Section 485.627 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...
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Lindström, Martin
2006-01-01
Social capital is often claimed to be promoted by stable social structures such as low migration rates between neighbourhoods and social networks that remain stable over time. However, stable social structures may also inhibit the formation of social capital in the form of social networks and social participation. One example is psychosocial conditions at work, which may be determined by characteristics such as demand and control in the work situation. The study examines the active workforce subpopulation within the Swedish Malmö Shoulder Neck Study. A total of 7836 individuals aged 45-69 years, were interviewed at baseline between 1992 and 1994, and at a 1-year follow-up. Four groups of baseline psychosocial work conditions categories defined by the Karasek-Theorell model (jobstrain, passive, active, relaxed) were analysed according to 13 different social participation items during the past year reported at the 1-year follow-up. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals with the jobstrain group as a reference were estimated. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess differences in different aspects of social participation between the four psychosocial work conditions groups. The results show that the respondents within the active category in particular but also the relaxed category, have significantly higher participation in many of the 13 social participation items, even after multivariate adjustments. The results strongly suggest that psychosocial work conditions may be an important determinant of social capital measured as social participation, a finding of immediate public health relevance because of the well known positive association between social participation and health-related behaviours.
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Age-related effects on postural control under multi-task conditions.
Granacher, Urs; Bridenbaugh, Stephanie A; Muehlbauer, Thomas; Wehrle, Anja; Kressig, Reto W
2011-01-01
Changes in postural sway and gait patterns due to simultaneously performed cognitive (CI) and/or motor interference (MI) tasks have previously been reported and are associated with an increased risk of falling in older adults. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of a CI and/or MI task on static and dynamic postural control in young and elderly subjects, and to find out whether there is an association between measures of static and dynamic postural control while concurrently performing the CI and/or MI task. A total of 36 healthy young (n = 18; age: 22.3 ± 3.0 years; BMI: 21.0 ± 1.6 kg/m(2)) and elderly adults (n = 18; age: 73.5 ± 5.5 years; BMI: 24.2 ± 2.9 kg/m(2)) participated in this study. Static postural control was measured during bipedal stance, and dynamic postural control was obtained while walking on an instrumented walkway. Irrespective of the task condition, i.e. single-task or multiple tasks, elderly participants showed larger center-of-pressure displacements and greater stride-to-stride variability than younger participants. Associations between measures of static and dynamic postural control were found only under the single-task condition in the elderly. Age-related deficits in the postural control system seem to be primarily responsible for the observed results. The weak correlations detected between static and dynamic measures could indicate that fall-risk assessment should incorporate dynamic measures under multi-task conditions, and that skills like erect standing and walking are independent of each other and may have to be trained complementarily. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Participation and Well-Being among Older Adults Living with Chronic Conditions
Anaby, Dana; Miller, William C.; Eng, Janice J.; Jarus, Tal; Noreau, Luc
2011-01-01
This study explored the unique contribution of participation (daily activities and social roles) in explaining well-being of older adults living with chronic conditions and examined which aspect of participation (accomplishment of participation or satisfaction with participation) was more important in describing their well-being. Two hundred older…
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42 CFR 483.450 - Condition of participation: Client behavior and facility practices.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Client behavior and... Retarded § 483.450 Condition of participation: Client behavior and facility practices. (a) Standard: Facility practices—Conduct toward clients. (1) The facility must develop and implement written policies and...
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42 CFR 482.90 - Condition of participation: Patient and living donor selection.
2010-10-01
... selected to receive a transplant, the center must document in the patient's medical record the patient... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Patient and living... Condition of participation: Patient and living donor selection. The transplant center must use written...
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42 CFR 455.304 - Condition for Federal financial participation (FFP).
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition for Federal financial participation (FFP... financial participation (FFP). (a) General rule. (1) The State must submit an independent certified audit to... developed cost reporting tool during an audit year, that tool must be used for the Medicaid State plan rate...
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Moeller, James L.
1996-01-01
Discusses contraindications to athletic participation, examining the cardiac, respiratory, and central nervous system conditions that warrant activity disqualification. Provides guidelines about when it is safe for individuals to participate, and discusses the physician's responsibility. (SM)
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A Closed-Loop Control Strategy for Air Conditioning Loads to Participate in Demand Response
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xiaoqing Hu
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs, such as air conditioners (ACs, are important demand response resources—they have a certain heat storage capacity. A change in the operating status of an air conditioner in a small range will not noticeably affect the users’ comfort level. Load control of TCLs is considered to be equivalent to a power plant of the same capacity in effect, and it can significantly reduce the system pressure to peak load shift. The thermodynamic model of air conditioning can be used to study the aggregate power of a number of ACs that respond to the step signal of a temperature set point. This paper analyzes the influence of the parameters of each AC in the group to the indoor temperature and the total load, and derives a simplified control model based on the two order linear time invariant transfer function. Then, the stability of the model and designs its Proportional-Integral-Differential (PID controller based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO algorithm is also studied. The case study presented in this paper simulates both scenarios of constant ambient temperature and changing ambient temperature to verify the proposed transfer function model and control strategy can closely track the reference peak load shifting curves. The study also demonstrates minimal changes in the indoor temperature and the users’ comfort level.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bakanauskienė Irena
2017-12-01
Full Text Available This article is intended to theoretically justify the decision-making process model for the cases, when active participation of investing entities in controlling the activities of an organisation and their results is noticeable. Based on scientific literature analysis, a concept of controlled conditions is formulated, and using a rational approach to the decision-making process, a model of the 11-steps decision-making process under controlled intervention is presented. Also, there have been unified conditions, describing the case of controlled interventions thus providing preconditions to ensure the adequacy of the proposed decision-making process model.
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Oude Voshaar, R.C.; Gorgels, W.J.M.J.; Mol, A.J.J.; Balkom, A.J.L.M. van; Mulder, J.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Breteler, M.H.M.; Zitman, F.G.
2006-01-01
OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of resumed benzodiazepine use after participation in a benzodiazepine discontinuation trial. METHOD: We performed multiple Cox regression analyses to predict the long-term outcome of a 3-condition, randomized, controlled benzodiazepine discontinuation trial in
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Oude Voshaar, R.C.; Gorgels, W.J.M.J.; Mol, A.J.J.; Balkom, A.J.L.M. van; Mulder, J.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Breteler, M.H.M.; Zitman, F.G.
2006-01-01
Objective: To identify predictors of resumed benzodiazepine use after participation in a benzodiazepine discontinuation trial. Method: We performed multiple Cox regression analyses to predict the long-term outcome of a 3-condition, randomized, controlled benzodiazepine discontinuation trial in
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42 CFR 482.52 - Condition of participation: Anesthesia services.
2010-10-01
... of Medicine and Nursing about issues related to access to and the quality of anesthesia services in... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Anesthesia services. 482.52 Section 482.52 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND...
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42 CFR 403.742 - Condition of participation: Physical environment.
2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Physical environment... environment. A RNHCI must be designed, constructed, and maintained to ensure the safety of the patients, staff, and the public. (a) Standard: Buildings. The physical plant and the overall environment must be...
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Lions, Cynthia; Bucci, Maria Pia; Bonnet, Cédrick
2016-01-01
To challenge the validity of existing cognitive models of postural control, we recorded eye movements and postural sway during two visual tasks (a control free-viewing task and a difficult searching task), and two postural tasks (one static task in which the platform was maintained stable and a dynamic task in which the platform moved in a sway-referenced manner.) We expected these models to be insufficient to predict the results in postural control both in static-as already shown in the literature reports-and in dynamic platform conditions. Twelve healthy, young adults (17.3 to 34.1 years old) participated in this study. Postural performances were evaluated using the Multitest platform (Framiral®) and ocular recording was performed with Mobile T2 (e(ye)BRAIN®). In the free-viewing task, the participants had to look at an image, without any specific instruction. In the searching task, the participants had to look at an image and also to locate the position of an object in the scene. Postural sway was only significantly higher in the dynamic free-viewing condition than in the three other conditions with no significant difference between these three other conditions. Visual task performance was slightly higher in dynamic than in static conditions. As expected, our results did not confirm the main assumption of the current cognitive models of postural control-i.e. that the limited attentional resources of the brain should explain changes in postural control in our conditions. Indeed, 1) the participants did not sway significantly more in the sway-referenced dynamic searching condition than in any other condition; 2) the participants swayed significantly less in both static and dynamic searching conditions than in the dynamic free-viewing condition. We suggest that a new cognitive model illustrating the adaptive, functional role of the brain to control upright stance is necessary for future studies.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cynthia Lions
Full Text Available To challenge the validity of existing cognitive models of postural control, we recorded eye movements and postural sway during two visual tasks (a control free-viewing task and a difficult searching task, and two postural tasks (one static task in which the platform was maintained stable and a dynamic task in which the platform moved in a sway-referenced manner. We expected these models to be insufficient to predict the results in postural control both in static-as already shown in the literature reports-and in dynamic platform conditions.Twelve healthy, young adults (17.3 to 34.1 years old participated in this study. Postural performances were evaluated using the Multitest platform (Framiral® and ocular recording was performed with Mobile T2 (e(yeBRAIN®. In the free-viewing task, the participants had to look at an image, without any specific instruction. In the searching task, the participants had to look at an image and also to locate the position of an object in the scene.Postural sway was only significantly higher in the dynamic free-viewing condition than in the three other conditions with no significant difference between these three other conditions. Visual task performance was slightly higher in dynamic than in static conditions.As expected, our results did not confirm the main assumption of the current cognitive models of postural control-i.e. that the limited attentional resources of the brain should explain changes in postural control in our conditions. Indeed, 1 the participants did not sway significantly more in the sway-referenced dynamic searching condition than in any other condition; 2 the participants swayed significantly less in both static and dynamic searching conditions than in the dynamic free-viewing condition. We suggest that a new cognitive model illustrating the adaptive, functional role of the brain to control upright stance is necessary for future studies.
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42 CFR 485.618 - Condition of participation: Emergency services.
2010-10-01
... Boards of Medicine and Nursing about issues related to access to and the quality of emergency services in... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Emergency services. 485.618 Section 485.618 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND...
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42 CFR 485.639 - Condition of participation: Surgical services.
2010-10-01
... Nursing about issues related to access to and the quality of anesthesia services in the State and has... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Surgical services. 485.639 Section 485.639 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND...
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Bakanauskienė Irena; Baronienė Laura
2017-01-01
This article is intended to theoretically justify the decision-making process model for the cases, when active participation of investing entities in controlling the activities of an organisation and their results is noticeable. Based on scientific literature analysis, a concept of controlled conditions is formulated, and using a rational approach to the decision-making process, a model of the 11-steps decision-making process under controlled intervention is presented. Also, there have been u...
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42 CFR 485.56 - Condition of participation: Governing body and administration.
2010-10-01
...: SPECIALIZED PROVIDERS Conditions of Participation: Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities § 485.56...: Institutional budget plan. The facility must have an institutional budget plan that meets the following...
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Effect of Participation in Performance Pay Systems and Employees’ Satisfaction with Job Conditions
Arman Ismail; Aimi Anuar
2017-01-01
The aim of this research is to evaluate the association between participation in performance pay systems and employees’ satisfaction with job conditions. A survey method was utilized to collect data from subordinates who serve at disaster management agencies in West Malaysia. The findings of SmartPLS path model analysis display four important outcomes: first, the relationship between participation in pay plans and satisfaction with intrinsic job conditions was not significant. Second, relatio...
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Psychosocial work conditions, unemployment and health locus of control: a population-based study.
Sadiq Mohammad Ali; Lindström, Martin
2008-06-01
To investigate the association between psychosocial work conditions, unemployment and lack of belief in the possibility of influencing one's own health. The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with a 59% participation rate. In total, 5180 persons aged 18-64 years who belonged to the workforce and the unemployed were included in this study. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors at work and unemployment, and lack of belief in the possibility of influencing one's own health (external locus of control). Psychosocial conditions at work were defined according to the Karasek-Theorell demand-control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive, and job strain categories. The multivariate analyses included age, country of birth, education, economic stress, and social participation. In total, 26.6% of all men and 26.9% of all women lack an internal locus of control. The passive, job strain and unemployed categories have significantly higher odds ratios of lack of internal locus of control, as compared to the relaxed reference category. No such significant differences are observed for the active category. These patterns remain in the multivariate models, with the exception of the passive and unemployed categories among men, in which the significant differences disappear. Psychosocial work conditions and unemployment may affect health locus of control. The control dimension in the Karasek-Theorell model seems to be of greatest importance.
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2010-04-01
... and safety standards apply to the working conditions of participants in activities under title I of... working conditions of participants in activities under title I of WIA? 667.274 Section 667.274 Employees... working conditions of employees are equally applicable to working conditions of participants engaged in...
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The design of remote participation platform for EAST plasma control
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Yuan, Q.P., E-mail: qpyuan@ipp.ac.cn [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China); Xiao, B.J. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China); University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei (China); Zhang, R.R. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China); Chai, W.T.; Liu, J.; Xiao, R.; Zhou, Z.C.; Pei, X.F. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China); University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei (China)
2016-11-15
Highlights: • The remote participation platform for EAST plasma control is composed of real time control service and scenario management. • The web based interface has been developed for supporting remote participation. • The functionality module has been designed and assistant tools have been developed. - Abstract: EAST has become a physics experimental platform for high parameter and steady-state long-pulse plasma operation. A new remote participation platform for EAST plasma control is designed, which is composed of gatekeeper system, web-based user interface system, discharge scenario management system, online simulation system and data interface with on-site plasma control system (PCS). The identification and access privilege of remote participator is validated by the gatekeeper system. Only authorized users can set control parameters for next shot plasma control or making discharge scenario for future shot through WebPCS which is a web-based user interface and designed based on B/S structure. The systematic architecture design and preliminary deployment of such remote platform will be presented in this paper.
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Brunyé, Tad T; Cantelon, Julie; Holmes, Amanda; Taylor, Holly A; Mahoney, Caroline R
2014-01-01
Cutaneous sensations at electrode sites during the administration of direct current brain stimulation may inadvertently influence participants' subjective experience and task performance. The present study evaluated the utility of a methodological variation that substitutes sham administration with very low intensity (0.5 mA) current delivery. We used a 4 × 1 high-definition ring electrode transcranial direct current (HD-tDCS) system to target the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann's Area 9). Four stimulation conditions were compared in a repeated-measures design: sham 2.0 mA and 0.5 mA intensity, versus active 2.0 mA and 0.5 mA intensity. During stimulation participants performed a cognitive interference task that activates the cingulo-frontal-parietal network, and periodically provided perceived sensation ratings. We demonstrate that a relatively low intensity control condition attenuates otherwise large differences in perceived sensation between active and sham conditions. Critically, behavioral task differences maintained between the two active conditions. A low intensity control stimulation condition may prove a viable methodological alternative to conventional sham techniques used in repeated-measures designs, though important limitations are discussed. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Participative planning and information flow within management control
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tomasz Dyczkowski
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The paper examines the relationships between two different approaches to planning processes (participa- tive and non-participative and information flows within management control in companies. It augments the existing theoretical and empirical research by coupling management control and management infor- mation with participative planning, not only in operational but also in the strategic perspective. The re- sults presented in the paper stem from two consecutive studies, conducted between November 2010 and January 2012 and between November 2013 and January 2014. The studies comprised 397 and 179 Polish companies respectively. The authors formulated two hypotheses linking participative planning with upward and downward management information flows. The paper employed a quantitative approach, using the Spearman rank correlation analysis and hierarchical clustering using the Ward method, which enabled comparative analyses both in reference to various groups of companies included in particular research samples and over time. The results obtained showed the positive influence of participative plan- ning both on upward and downward information flows in enterprises. In particular, participative planning reduced information imbalances between top (the management and lower (employees of functional departments tiers in organisation structures.
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42 CFR 418.100 - Condition of Participation: Organization and administration of services.
2010-10-01
..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICARE PROGRAM HOSPICE CARE Conditions of participation... orientation about the hospice philosophy to all employees and contracted staff who have patient and family...
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42 CFR 482.28 - Condition of participation: Food and dietetic services.
2010-10-01
... HOSPITALS Basic Hospital Functions § 482.28 Condition of participation: Food and dietetic services. The... employee who— (i) Serves as director of the food and dietetic service; (ii) Is responsible for the daily... must be readily available to all medical, nursing, and food service personnel. ...
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Ming-Tak Chung, Dennis; Jerram, Matthew W; Lee, Jonathan K; Katz, Harvey; Gansler, David A
2013-12-30
The associations between brain matter volume in the cerebral cortex and set shifting and attentional control as operationalized by the Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST) and Condition Three of the Delis-Kaplan version of the Color Word Interference Test (CWIT) were investigated in 15 healthy controls and 16 heterogeneously diagnosed psychiatric patients with self-control problems using voxel based morphometry. Both groups underwent standardized magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological assessment. WCST and CWIT variables, and a composite, were regressed across the whole brain. Although CWIT performance levels were the same in both groups, neuroanatomic correlates for the psychiatric participants invoked the left hemisphere language system, but the bilateral dorsal attention system in the healthy controls. On its own, no neuroanatomic correlates were observed for the WCST. But when part of a composite with CWIT, neuroanatomic correlates in the dorsal attention system emerged for the psychiatric participants. Psychometric combinations of manifest executive task variables may best represent higher level latent neuro-cognitive control systems. Factor analytic studies of neuropsychological test performances suggest the constructs being measured are the same across psychiatric and non-diagnosed participants, however, imaging modalities indicate the relevant neural architecture can vary by group. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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"Jumping to conclusions" in delusion-prone participants: an experimental economics approach.
van der Leer, Leslie; McKay, Ryan
2014-01-01
That delusional and delusion-prone individuals "jump to conclusions" on probabilistic reasoning tasks is a key finding in cognitive neuropsychiatry. Here we focused on a less frequently investigated aspect of "jumping to conclusions" (JTC): certainty judgments. We incorporated rigorous procedures from experimental economics to eliminate potential confounds of miscomprehension and motivation and systematically investigated the effect of incentives on task performance. Low- and high-delusion-prone participants (n = 109) completed a series of computerised trials; on each trial, they were shown a black or a white fish, caught from one of the two lakes containing fish of both colours in complementary ratios. In the betting condition, participants were given £4 to distribute over the two lakes as they wished; in the control condition, participants simply provided an estimate of how probable each lake was. Deviations from Bayesian probabilities were investigated. Whereas high-delusion-prone participants in both the control and betting conditions underestimated the Bayesian probabilities (i.e. were conservative), low-delusion-prone participants in the control condition underestimated but those in the betting condition provided accurate estimates. In the control condition, there was a trend for high-delusion-prone participants to give higher estimates than low-delusion-prone participants, which is consistent with previous reports of "jumping to conclusions" in delusion-prone participants. However, our findings in the betting condition, where high-delusion-prone participants provided lower estimates than low-delusion-prone participants (who were accurate), are inconsistent with the jumping-to-conclusions effect in both a relative and an absolute sense. Our findings highlight the key role of task incentives and underscore the importance of comparing the responses of delusion-prone participants to an objective rational standard as well as to the responses of non
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Aigner, Annette; Grittner, Ulrike; Becher, Heiko
2018-01-01
Low response rates in epidemiologic research potentially lead to the recruitment of a non-representative sample of controls in case-control studies. Problems in the unbiased estimation of odds ratios arise when characteristics causing the probability of participation are associated with exposure and outcome. This is a specific setting of selection bias and a realistic hazard in many case-control studies. This paper formally describes the problem and shows its potential extent, reviews existing approaches for bias adjustment applicable under certain conditions, compares and applies them. We focus on two scenarios: a characteristic C causing differential participation of controls is linked to the outcome through its association with risk factor E (scenario I), and C is additionally a genuine risk factor itself (scenario II). We further assume external data sources are available which provide an unbiased estimate of C in the underlying population. Given these scenarios, we (i) review available approaches and their performance in the setting of bias due to differential participation; (ii) describe two existing approaches to correct for the bias in both scenarios in more detail; (iii) present the magnitude of the resulting bias by simulation if the selection of a non-representative sample is ignored; and (iv) demonstrate the approaches' application via data from a case-control study on stroke. The bias of the effect measure for variable E in scenario I and C in scenario II can be large and should therefore be adjusted for in any analysis. It is positively associated with the difference in response rates between groups of the characteristic causing differential participation, and inversely associated with the total response rate in the controls. Adjustment in a standard logistic regression framework is possible in both scenarios if the population distribution of the characteristic causing differential participation is known or can be approximated well.
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Yeo, Si-Ning; Zainal, Hani; Tang, Catherine S; Tong, Eddie M; Ho, Cyrus S; Ho, Roger C
2017-08-02
There remains a paucity of research on control attribution and depression within Asian populations. This study examines: (1) Success/Failure condition as a moderator between depression and negative affect or shame, and (2) differences in control attribution between patients with depression and healthy controls in Singapore. Seventy one patients with depression and 71 healthy controls went through a digit-span memory task where they were randomized into either the Success or Failure condition. Participants in the Success condition had to memorize and recall 5-digit strings, while participants in the Failure condition did the same for 12-digit strings. They then completed self-report measures of negative affect, shame, and attribution of control. One-way ANCOVA was performed to examine task condition as a moderator of association between mental health status and post-task negative affect or shame. Test of simple effects was carried out on significant interactions. Sign test and Mann-Whitney U test were employed to investigate differences in attribution of control. Mental health status and Success/Failure condition had significant effects on reported negative affect and shame. Healthy controls reported less post-task negative affect and shame in the Success than in the Failure condition while patients with depression reported similar levels of post-task negative affect and shame in both conditions. However, these differences were not significant in the test of simple effects. In addition, healthy controls felt a stronger sense of personal control in success than in failure and were more likely to blame external factors in failure than in success. Conversely, patients with depression were more inclined to credit external factors in success than in failure and ascribed greater personal control in failure than in success. The results suggest that successful conditions may not necessitate the reduction of negative affect in Asians with depression, indicating possible
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42 CFR 418.52 - Condition of participation: Patient's rights.
2010-10-01
... alleged violations involving mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse... free from mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse, including injuries of... pain management and symptom control from the hospice for conditions related to the terminal illness; (2...
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Controlling patient participation during robot-assisted gait training
2011-01-01
Background The overall goal of this paper was to investigate approaches to controlling active participation in stroke patients during robot-assisted gait therapy. Although active physical participation during gait rehabilitation after stroke was shown to improve therapy outcome, some patients can behave passively during rehabilitation, not maximally benefiting from the gait training. Up to now, there has not been an effective method for forcing patient activity to the desired level that would most benefit stroke patients with a broad variety of cognitive and biomechanical impairments. Methods Patient activity was quantified in two ways: by heart rate (HR), a physiological parameter that reflected physical effort during body weight supported treadmill training, and by a weighted sum of the interaction torques (WIT) between robot and patient, recorded from hip and knee joints of both legs. We recorded data in three experiments, each with five stroke patients, and controlled HR and WIT to a desired temporal profile. Depending on the patient's cognitive capabilities, two different approaches were taken: either by allowing voluntary patient effort via visual instructions or by forcing the patient to vary physical effort by adapting the treadmill speed. Results We successfully controlled patient activity quantified by WIT and by HR to a desired level. The setup was thereby individually adaptable to the specific cognitive and biomechanical needs of each patient. Conclusion Based on the three successful approaches to controlling patient participation, we propose a metric which enables clinicians to select the best strategy for each patient, according to the patient's physical and cognitive capabilities. Our framework will enable therapists to challenge the patient to more activity by automatically controlling the patient effort to a desired level. We expect that the increase in activity will lead to improved rehabilitation outcome. PMID:21429200
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2010-01-01
... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Conditions affecting issuers of... Terms of Leverage § 107.1820 Conditions affecting issuers of Preferred Securities and/or Participating... investor. (6) Fraudulent transfers. You make any transfer or incur any obligation that is fraudulent under...
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42 CFR 482.102 - Condition of participation: Patient and living donor rights.
2010-10-01
... health, disability, or life insurance may be affected; (8) The donor's right to opt out of donation at... donor rights. 482.102 Section 482.102 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR...
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Intensive Versus Standard Blood Pressure Control in SPRINT-Eligible Participants of ACCORD-BP.
Buckley, Leo F; Dixon, Dave L; Wohlford, George F; Wijesinghe, Dayanjan S; Baker, William L; Van Tassell, Benjamin W
2017-12-01
We sought to determine the effect of intensive blood pressure (BP) control on cardiovascular outcomes in participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study was a post hoc, multivariate, subgroup analysis of ACCORD-BP (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Blood Pressure) participants. Participants were eligible for the analysis if they were in the standard glucose control arm of ACCORD-BP and also had the additional CVD risk factors required for SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) eligibility. We used a Cox proportional hazards regression model to compare the effect of intensive versus standard BP control on CVD outcomes. The "SPRINT-eligible" ACCORD-BP participants were pooled with SPRINT participants to determine whether the effects of intensive BP control interacted with T2DM. The mean baseline Framingham 10-year CVD risk scores were 14.5% and 14.8%, respectively, in the intensive and standard BP control groups. The mean achieved systolic BP values were 120 and 134 mmHg in the intensive and standard BP control groups ( P control reduced the composite of CVD death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke, any revascularization, and heart failure (hazard ratio 0.79; 95% CI 0.65-0.96; P = 0.02). Intensive BP control also reduced CVD death, nonfatal MI, and nonfatal stroke (hazard ratio 0.69; 95% CI 0.51-0.93; P = 0.01). Treatment-related adverse events occurred more frequently in participants receiving intensive BP control (4.1% vs. 2.1%; P = 0.003). The effect of intensive BP control on CVD outcomes did not differ between patients with and without T2DM ( P > 0.62). Intensive BP control reduced CVD outcomes in a cohort of participants with T2DM and additional CVD risk factors. © 2017 by the American Diabetes Association.
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Participants' perception of pharmaceutical clinical research: a cross-sectional controlled study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
González-Saldivar G
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Gerardo González-Saldivar,1 René Rodríguez-Gutiérrez,2 José Luis Viramontes-Madrid,3 Alejandro Salcido-Montenegro,2 Kevin Erick Gabriel Carlos-Reyna,2 Andrés Marcelo Treviño-Alvarez,2 Neri Alejandro Álvarez-Villalobos,4 José Gerardo González-González2 1Ophthalmology Department, 2Endocrinology Division, Hospital Universitario “Dr. José E. González”, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Nuevo León, 3Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 4Medical Statistics Department, Hospital Universitario “Dr. José E. González”, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico Background: There is scarce scientific information assessing participants’ perception of pharmaceutical research in developed and developing countries concerning the risks, safety, and purpose of clinical trials.Methods: To assess the perception that 604 trial participants (cases and 604 nonparticipants (controls of pharmaceutical clinical trials have about pharmaceutical clinical research, we surveyed participants with one of four chronic diseases from 12 research sites throughout Mexico.Results: Participation in clinical trials positively influences the perception of pharmaceutical clinical research. More cases (65.4% than controls (50.7% perceived that the main purpose of pharmaceutical research is to cure more diseases and to do so more effectively. In addition, more cases considered that there are significant benefits when participating in a research study, such as excellent medical care and extra free services, with this being the most important motivation to participate for both groups (cases 52%, controls 54.5%. We also found a sense of trust in their physicians to deal with adverse events, and the perception that clinical research is a benefit to their health, rather than a risk. More controls believed that clinical trial participants’ health is put at risk
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Fenton, Rory; Nyamukapa, Constance; Gregson, Simon; Robertson, Laura; Mushati, Phyllis; Thomas, Ranjeeta; Eaton, Jeffrey W
2016-12-01
We investigated (1) how household wealth affected the relationship between conditional cash transfers (CCT) and unconditional cash transfers (UCT) and school attendance, (2) whether CCT and UCT affected educational outcomes (repeating a year of school), (3) if baseline school attendance and transfer conditions affected how much of the transfers participants spent on education and (4) if CCT or UCT reduced child labour in recipient households. Data were analysed from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of CCT and UCT in 4043 households from 2009 to 2010. Recipient households received $18 dollars per month plus $4 per child. CCT were conditioned on above 80% school attendance, a full vaccination record and a birth certificate. In the poorest quintile, the odds ratio of above 80% school attendance at follow-up for those with below 80% school attendance at baseline was 1.06 (p = .67) for UCT vs. CCT. UCT recipients reported spending slightly more (46.1% (45.4-46.7)) of the transfer on school expenses than did CCT recipients (44.8% (44.1-45.5)). Amongst those with baseline school attendance of below 80%, there was no statistically significant difference between CCT and UCT participants in the proportion of the transfer spent on school expenses (p = .63). Amongst those with above 80% baseline school attendance, CCT participants spent 3.5% less (p = .001) on school expenses than UCT participants. UCT participants were no less likely than those in the control group to repeat a grade of school. CCT participants had .69 (.60-.79) lower odds vs. control of repeating the previous school grade. Children in CCT recipient households spent an average of .31 fewer hours in paid work than those in the control group (p control arm (p = .06).
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Blikman, Lyan Jm; van Meeteren, Jetty; Twisk, Jos Wr; de Laat, Fred Aj; de Groot, Vincent; Beckerman, Heleen; Stam, Henk J; Bussmann, Johannes Bj
2017-10-01
Fatigue is a frequently reported and disabling symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). To investigate the effectiveness of an individual energy conservation management (ECM) intervention on fatigue and participation in persons with primary MS-related fatigue. A total of 86 severely fatigued and ambulatory adults with a definite diagnosis of MS were randomized in a single-blind, two-parallel-arm randomized clinical trial to the ECM group or the information-only control group in outpatient rehabilitation departments. Blinded assessments were carried out at baseline and at 8, 16, 26 and 52 weeks after randomization. Primary outcomes were fatigue (fatigue subscale of Checklist Individual Strength - CIS20r) and participation (Impact on Participation and Autonomy scale - IPA). Modified intention-to-treat analysis was based on 76 randomized patients (ECM, n = 36; MS nurse, n=40). No significant ECM effects were found for fatigue (overall difference CIS20r between the groups = -0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI), -3.71 to 2.11) or for four out of five IPA domains. An overall unfavourable effect was found in the ECM group for the IPA domain social relations (difference between the groups = 0.19; 95% CI, 0.03 to 0.35). The individual ECM format used in this study did not reduce MS-related fatigue and restrictions in participation more than an information-only control condition.
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Living under a democracy: participation and its impact on the living conditions of the poor.
Avritzer, Leonardo
2010-01-01
The Brazilian democratization took place between 1985 and 1988. In 1985, the authoritarian power holders transferred political power to civilians, and in 1988, a new democratic constitution was enacted, thus finalizing the transition. The end of the transition triggered processes of participation in different Brazilian cities, such as São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. However, only in Porto Alegre could the political context in the postdemocratization period generate a process of reverting priorities, that is to say, of inverting the pattern of democratic participation and the pattern of public investment at the urban level. In this article, I show the social conditions of the poor in the city of Porto Alegre in 1985, explain the emergence of participatory budgeting in the city, and show how democracy made a difference in the living conditions of the urban poor in the city of Porto Alegre. In the second part of the article, I analyze the recent expansion of participatory budgeting in Brazil and its recent expansion to midsize cities. In the final part of the article, I show how new participatory institutions are being introduced at the federal level of government. Participation at the local and national levels is making a difference in the living conditions of the Brazilian poor.
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Constantinou, Panayotis; Dray-Spira, Rosemary; Menvielle, Gwenn
2016-03-31
Comorbidity at the time of diagnosis is an independent prognostic factor for survival among women suffering from cervical or breast cancer. Although cancer screening practices have proven their efficacy for mortality reduction, little is known about adherence to screening recommendations for women suffering from chronic conditions. We investigated the association between eleven chronic conditions and adherence to cervical and breast cancer screening recommendations in France. Using data from a cross-sectional national health survey conducted in 2008, we analyzed screening participation taking into account self-reported: inflammatory systemic disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, depression, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, osteoarthritis and thyroid disorders. We first computed age-standardized screening rates among women who reported each condition. We then estimated the effect of having reported each condition on adherence to screening recommendations in logistic regression models, with adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic position, health behaviours, healthcare access and healthcare use. Finally, we investigated the association between chronic conditions and opportunistic versus organized breast cancer screening using multinomial logistic regression. The analyses were conducted among 4226 women for cervical cancer screening and 2056 women for breast cancer screening. Most conditions studied were not associated with screening participation. Adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations was higher for cancer survivors (OR = 1.73 [0.98-3.05]) and lower for obese women (OR = 0.73 [0.57-0.93]), when accounting for our complete range of screening determinants. Women reporting chronic respiratory disease or diabetes participated less in cervical cancer screening, except when adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics. Adherence to breast cancer screening recommendations was lower for
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joseph Jennifer
2011-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Low and middle income countries are ageing at a much faster rate than richer countries, especially in Asia. This is happening at a time of globalisation, migration, urbanisation, and smaller families. Older people make significant contributions to their families and communities, but this is often undermined by chronic disease and preventable disability. Social participation can help to protect against morbidity and mortality. We argue that social participation deserves much greater attention as a protective factor, and that older people can play a useful role in the prevention and management of chronic conditions. We present, as an example, a low-cost, sustainable strategy that has increased social participation among elders in Sri Lanka. Discussion Current international policy initiatives to address the increasing prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases are focused on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and cancers, responsible for much premature mortality. Interventions to modify their shared risk factors of high salt and fat diets, inactivity, smoking and alcohol use are advocated. But older people also suffer chronic conditions that primarily affect quality of life, and have a wider range of risk factors. There is strong epidemiological and physiological evidence that social isolation, in particular, is as important a risk factor for chronic diseases as the 'lifestyle' risk factors, yet it is currently neglected. There are useful experiences of inexpensive and sustainable strategies to improve social participation among older people in low and lower middle income countries. Our experience with forming Elders' Clubs with retired tea estate workers in Sri Lanka suggests many benefits, including social support and participation, inter-generational contact, a collective voice, and facilitated access to health promotion activities, and to health care and social welfare services. Summary Policies to
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Effect of Electronic Messaging on Physical Activity Participation among Older Adults
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chantrell Antoine Parker
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine if electronic messaging would increase min of aerobic physical activity (PA among older adults. Participants were active older adults (n=28; M age = 60 years, SD = 5.99, and range = 51–74 years. Using an incomplete within-subjects crossover design, participants were randomly assigned to begin the 4-week study receiving the treatment condition (a morning and evening text message or the control condition (an evening text message. Participants self-reported min of completed aerobic PA by cell phone text. The 1-way within-subjects ANOVA showed significant group differences (p<0.05. Specifically, when participants were in the treatment condition, they reported significantly greater average weekly min of aerobic PA (M = 96.88 min, SD = 62.9 compared to when they completed the control condition (M = 71.68 min, SD = 40.98. Electronic messaging delivered via cell phones was effective at increasing min of aerobic PA among older adults.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Flávia Couto de Oliveira Contigli
2015-12-01
Full Text Available The current article aims to seek the correlation between popular participation and social control in public administration in the consolidation of the Brazilian democratic process, from the perspective of participatory democracy, as well as conditions for increasing this participation. In participatory democracy, having as the theoretical framework Bobbio (2006, p.30 and Santos (2002, p.62 and 63, it emphasizes public participation as one of the forms of management, where it plays an important role, as legitimating the decisions. This article discusses the ways of popular participation in government, with no claim to exhaust the subject, and was based on Perez settings (2004, Enterría (1998 and Di Pietro (1993, plus other institutes of participation popular. Search thus contribute including other popular participation instruments besides those already mentioned by these authors, emphasize the difficulties and to suggest some measures to minimize them. The methodology used to develop the work, dogmatic and legal, was developed through bibliographic research, done through a literature review and analytical reading on the subject.
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Newitt, Rosemarie; Barnett, Fiona; Crowe, Melissa
2016-01-01
This review aims to describe the factors that influence participation in physical activity (PA) in people with neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) conditions. A systematic search of six databases was conducted. Articles were included if the study qualitatively explored factors that influence participation in PA by individuals with a NMS condition. Fifteen peer-reviewed articles published between 2003 and 2013 were analysed for common themes and critically appraised. Results were categorised using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework. The most common demotivators reported for the three areas of functioning, body function and structures, activities and participation were lack of walking balance, muscle weakness, pain, stiffness, bladder and blower problems, depression, thermoregulation and fear of injury. Fluctuating symptoms and fatigue were mentioned as demotivators in all of the progressive conditions. Maintaining independence, function and weight, and the prevention of secondary conditions were the leading motivators reported in this domain. Most common environmental barriers include accessibility, costs, transport and insufficient information and knowledge from health professionals. Social support is a consistent determinate of PA and is reported as a facilitator in every study. The most common personal demotivators include lack of motivation, feelings of self-consciousness and embarrassment in public, anxiety, frustration and anger. Personal motivators include goal setting and achieving, enjoyment, feeling good, feeling "normal", motivation and optimism, redefining self and escapism from everyday boundaries. Individuals with NMS conditions report complex common barriers, facilitators, demotivators and motivators to participation in PA. The way these factors influence participation in PA is unique to the individual; therefore, it is necessary to adopt an individually tailored approach when designing interventions. Individuals
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Constantinou, Panayotis; Dray-Spira, Rosemary; Menvielle, Gwenn
2016-01-01
Comorbidity at the time of diagnosis is an independent prognostic factor for survival among women suffering from cervical or breast cancer. Although cancer screening practices have proven their efficacy for mortality reduction, little is known about adherence to screening recommendations for women suffering from chronic conditions. We investigated the association between eleven chronic conditions and adherence to cervical and breast cancer screening recommendations in France. Using data from a cross-sectional national health survey conducted in 2008, we analyzed screening participation taking into account self-reported: inflammatory systemic disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, depression, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, osteoarthritis and thyroid disorders. We first computed age-standardized screening rates among women who reported each condition. We then estimated the effect of having reported each condition on adherence to screening recommendations in logistic regression models, with adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic position, health behaviours, healthcare access and healthcare use. Finally, we investigated the association between chronic conditions and opportunistic versus organized breast cancer screening using multinomial logistic regression. The analyses were conducted among 4226 women for cervical cancer screening and 2056 women for breast cancer screening. Most conditions studied were not associated with screening participation. Adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations was higher for cancer survivors (OR = 1.73 [0.98–3.05]) and lower for obese women (OR = 0.73 [0.57–0.93]), when accounting for our complete range of screening determinants. Women reporting chronic respiratory disease or diabetes participated less in cervical cancer screening, except when adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics. Adherence to breast cancer screening recommendations was lower for
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Radioactive wastes and residues: government participation in a control policy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gelli, Guido
1993-01-01
This paper discusses the politic aspects of the State participation in inspection and control of the radioactive wastes residues with the supervise of Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), by a national program
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Pot-Kolder, Roos; Veling, Wim; Geraets, Chris; van der Gaag, Mark
2016-01-13
Many patients with a psychotic disorder participate poorly in society. When psychotic disorders are in partial remission, feelings of paranoia, delusions of reference, social anxiety and self-stigmatization often remain at diminished severity and may lead to avoidance of places and people. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is an evidence-based treatment for several anxiety disorders. For patients with a psychotic disorder, the VRETp was developed to help them experience exposure to feared social situations. The present study aims to investigate the effects of VRETp on social participation in real life among patients with a psychotic disorder. The study is a single-blind randomized controlled trial with two conditions: the active condition, in which participants receive the virtual reality treatment together with treatment as usual (TAU), and the waiting list condition, in which participants receive TAU only. The two groups are compared at baseline, at 3 months posttreatment and at 6 months follow-up. All participants on the waiting list are also offered the virtual reality treatment after the follow-up measurements are completed. The primary outcome is social participation. Secondary outcomes are quality of life, interaction anxiety, depression and social functioning in general. Moderator and mediator analyses are conducted with stigma, cognitive schemata, cognitive biases, medication adherence, simulator sickness and presence in virtual reality. If effective, a cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted. Results from the posttreatment measurement can be considered strong empirical indicators of the effectiveness of VRETp. The 6-month follow-up data may provide reliable documentation of the long-term effects of the treatment on the outcome variables. Data from pre-treatment and mid-treatment can be used to reveal possible pathways of change. Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN12929657 . Date of registration: 8 September 2015.
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2010-10-01
..., clinical experience, and outcome requirements for initial approval of transplant centers. 482.80 Section... Hospitals Transplant Center Data Submission, Clinical Experience, and Outcome Requirements § 482.80 Condition of participation: Data submission, clinical experience, and outcome requirements for initial...
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Bartolke, Klaus; And Others
1982-01-01
A survey of 601 managers and workers in 10 German manufacturing companies studied the implications of workers' participation for the exercise of control. Statistical analysis of data on control over work environments, production organization, personnel, and finance indicated that, in more participative companies, distribution of control is more…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rongxiang Zhang
2015-09-01
Full Text Available Air conditioners have great potential to participate in power system frequency control. This paper proposes a control strategy to facilitate the active participation of air conditioners. For each air conditioner, a decentralized control law is designed to adjust its temperature set point in response to the system frequency deviation. The decentralized control law accounts for the user’s thermal comfort that is evaluated by a fuzzy algorithm. The aggregation of air conditioners’ response is conducted by using the Monte Carlo simulation method. A structure preserving model is applied to the multi-bus power system, in which air conditioners are aggregated at certain load buses. An inner-outer iteration scheme is adopted to solve power system dynamics. An experiment is conducted on a test air conditioner to examine the performance of the proposed decentralized control law. Simulation results on a test power system verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy for air conditioners participating in frequency control.
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Aasa, Ulrika; Paulin, Johan; Madison, Guy
2017-02-01
Aasa, U, Paulin, J, and Madison, G. Correspondence between physical self-concept and participation in, and fitness change after, biweekly body conditioning classes in sedentary women. J Strength Cond Res 31(2): 451-461, 2017-The aims of the study were (a) to investigate the effects of participation in low impact body conditioning classes on physical fitness in sedentary women at different ages and (b) to examine the correspondence between physical self-concept and participation in, and fitness change after, the participation. Ninety-two sedentary women (mean age 44.2 years) participated in 11 weeks of biweekly classes that included cardiovascular, strength, core, endurance, and mobility exercises, all performed in synchrony with music. Cardiorespiratory fitness, maximal lifting strength, mobility, and balance tests were performed before and after the exercise period and the short-form of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ-S) was completed. Zero-order Spearman correlation analyses showed that women who rated the PSDQ-S dimension sport competence higher participated in a larger number of sessions (rs = 0.24, p = 0.040). At posttests, all participants had increased their balance, the participants aged 20-34 years had increased their lifting strength, and the participants aged 35-65 years had increased their cardiorespiratory fitness and mobility. Most PSDQ-S dimensions did not affect performance change, but the perception of being physically active was related to increased cardiovascular fitness. We conclude that women with a sedentary lifestyle who wish to increase their physical capacity benefit from music exercise and that inquiries about perceived sport competence and physical activity can improve recommendations made by strength and conditioning professionals.
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Effect of Electronic Messaging on Physical Activity Participation among Older Adults
Antoine Parker, Chantrell; Ellis, Rebecca
2016-01-01
The purpose of this study was to determine if electronic messaging would increase min of aerobic physical activity (PA) among older adults. Participants were active older adults (n = 28; M age = 60 years, SD = 5.99, and range = 51?74 years). Using an incomplete within-subjects crossover design, participants were randomly assigned to begin the 4-week study receiving the treatment condition (a morning and evening text message) or the control condition (an evening text message). Participants sel...
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An Automatic Control System for Conditioning 30 GHz Accelerating Structures
Dubrovskiy, A
2008-01-01
A software application programme has been developed to allow fast and automatic high-gradient conditioning of accelerating structures at 30 GHz in CTF3. The specificity of the application is the ability to control the high-power electron beam which produces the 30 GHz RF power used to condition the accelerating structures. The programme permits operation round the clock with minimum manpower requirements. In this paper the fast control system, machine control system, logging system, graphical user control interface and logging data visualization are described. An outline of the conditioning control system itself and of the feedback controlling peak power and pulse length is given. The software allows different types of conditioning strategies to be programmed
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2010-04-01
... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Under what conditions may non low-income Indian families participate in the program? 1000.110 Section 1000.110 Housing and Urban... ACTIVITIES Affordable Housing Activities § 1000.110 Under what conditions may non low-income Indian families...
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Understanding unskilled work as a condition for participation in adult education and training
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kondrup, Sissel
2015-01-01
This article discusses how to comprehend why people working unskilled jobs are less likely than other groups to position themselves as educable subjects and engage in adult education and training. This article outlines how different research traditions examining recruitment to and participation...... in adult education and training reveal and explain distinctive participation patterns. These traditions are critically reviewed in order to identify how they provide certain understandings and entail certain blind spots. The review reveals a striking absence of research into unskilled work and thus...... a tendency to overlook how engagement in specific kinds of work condition people’s perception of adult education and training. It is finally argued that future research must pay closer attention to people’s specific work-life and examine how engagement in specific historical, social and material (changing...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Whittaker Maxine
2011-08-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Community engagement and participation has played a critical role in successful disease control and elimination campaigns in many countries. Despite this, its benefits for malaria control and elimination are yet to be fully realized. This may be due to a limited understanding of the influences on participation in developing countries as well as inadequate investment in infrastructure and resources to support sustainable community participation. This paper reports the findings of an atypical systematic review of 60 years of literature in order to arrive at a more comprehensive awareness of the constructs of participation for communicable disease control and elimination and provide guidance for the current malaria elimination campaign. Methods Evidence derived from quantitative research was considered both independently and collectively with qualitative research papers and case reports. All papers included in the review were systematically coded using a pre-determined qualitative coding matrix that identified influences on community participation at the individual, household, community and government/civil society levels. Colour coding was also carried out to reflect the key primary health care period in which community participation programmes originated. These processes allowed exhaustive content analysis and synthesis of data in an attempt to realize conceptual development beyond that able to be achieved by individual empirical studies or case reports. Results Of the 60 papers meeting the selection criteria, only four studies attempted to determine the effect of community participation on disease transmission. Due to inherent differences in their design, interventions and outcome measures, results could not be compared. However, these studies showed statistically significant reductions in disease incidence or prevalence using various forms of community participation. The use of locally selected volunteers provided with
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Four linked genes participate in controlling sporulation efficiency in budding yeast.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Giora Ben-Ari
2006-11-01
Full Text Available Quantitative traits are conditioned by several genetic determinants. Since such genes influence many important complex traits in various organisms, the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs is of major interest, but still encounters serious difficulties. We detected four linked genes within one QTL, which participate in controlling sporulation efficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Following the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms by comparing the sequences of 145 genes between the parental strains SK1 and S288c, we analyzed the segregating progeny of the cross between them. Through reciprocal hemizygosity analysis, four genes, RAS2, PMS1, SWS2, and FKH2, located in a region of 60 kilobases on Chromosome 14, were found to be associated with sporulation efficiency. Three of the four "high" sporulation alleles are derived from the "low" sporulating strain. Two of these sporulation-related genes were verified through allele replacements. For RAS2, the causative variation was suggested to be a single nucleotide difference in the upstream region of the gene. This quantitative trait nucleotide accounts for sporulation variability among a set of ten closely related winery yeast strains. Our results provide a detailed view of genetic complexity in one "QTL region" that controls a quantitative trait and reports a single nucleotide polymorphism-trait association in wild strains. Moreover, these findings have implications on QTL identification in higher eukaryotes.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tiffani Kittilstved
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Objective: To determine whether changes in sensorimotor control resulting from speaking conditions that induce fluency in people who stutter (PWS can be measured using electroencephalographic (EEG mu rhythms in neurotypical speakers.Methods: Non-stuttering (NS adults spoke in one control condition (solo speaking and four experimental conditions (choral speech, delayed auditory feedback (DAF, prolonged speech and pseudostuttering. Independent component analysis (ICA was used to identify sensorimotor μ components from EEG recordings. Time-frequency analyses measured μ-alpha (8–13 Hz and μ-beta (15–25 Hz event-related synchronization (ERS and desynchronization (ERD during each speech condition.Results: 19/24 participants contributed μ components. Relative to the control condition, the choral and DAF conditions elicited increases in μ-alpha ERD in the right hemisphere. In the pseudostuttering condition, increases in μ-beta ERD were observed in the left hemisphere. No differences were present between the prolonged speech and control conditions.Conclusions: Differences observed in the experimental conditions are thought to reflect sensorimotor control changes. Increases in right hemisphere μ-alpha ERD likely reflect increased reliance on auditory information, including auditory feedback, during the choral and DAF conditions. In the left hemisphere, increases in μ-beta ERD during pseudostuttering may have resulted from the different movement characteristics of this task compared with the solo speaking task. Relationships to findings in stuttering are discussed.Significance: Changes in sensorimotor control related feedforward and feedback control in fluency-enhancing speech manipulations can be measured using time-frequency decompositions of EEG μ rhythms in neurotypical speakers. This quiet, non-invasive, and temporally sensitive technique may be applied to learn more about normal sensorimotor control and fluency enhancement in PWS.
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Intention of dog owners to participate in rabies control measures in Flores Island, Indonesia.
Wera, Ewaldus; Mourits, Monique C M; Hogeveen, Henk
2016-04-01
The success of a rabies control strategy depends on the commitment and collaboration of dog owners. In this study the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to identify the factors, which are associated with the intention of dog owners to participate in rabies control measures in the Manggarai and Sikka regencies of Flores Island, Indonesia. Questionnaires were administered to 450 dog owners from 44 randomly selected villages in the two regencies. Ninety-six percent of the dog owners intended to participate in a free-of-charge vaccination campaign. The intention decreased to 24% when dog owners were asked to pay a vaccination fee equal to the market price of the vaccine (Rp 18.000 per dose=US$2). Approximately 81% of the dog owners intended to keep their dogs inside their house or to leash them day and night during a period of at least three months in case of an incidence of rabies in the dog population within their village. Only 40% intended to cull their dogs in case of a rabies incident within their village. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, the attitude item 'vaccinating dogs reduces rabies cases in humans', and the perceived behavioural control items 'availability of time' and 'ability to confine dogs' were shown to be significantly associated with the intention to participate in a free-of-charge vaccination campaign. The attitude item 'culling dogs reduces rabies cases in humans' was significantly associated with the intention to participate in a culling measure. The attitude item 'leashing of dogs reduces human rabies cases' and perceived behavioural controls 'availability of time' and 'money to buy a leash' were associated with the intention to leash dogs during a rabies outbreak. As the attitude variables were often significantly associated with intention to participate in a rabies control measure, an educational rabies campaign focusing on the benefit of rabies control measures is expected to increase the intention of dog owners to
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Participation Patterns of Preschool Children With Intellectual Developmental Disabilities.
Gilboa, Yafit; Fuchs, Reut
2018-04-01
We aim to examine the pattern of participation of children with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) or global developmental delay (GDD) in comparison with typically developing preschoolers. In addition, to identify environmental and personal factors associated with their participation, 20 children with mild to moderate GDD or IDD, and 24 age- and gender-matched controls, aged 3 to 6 years, were assessed using the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation and the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire. Significant differences were found between the groups, both for general scales of participation and for each activity area. For the IDD/GDD group, participation was significantly negatively correlated with environmental restrictions at home. For the control group, participation was correlated with demographic variables. Typically developing children participate at a higher frequency and in a more diverse range of activities compared with children with IDD/GDD. Associations between participation and contextual factors varied depending on the child's health condition.
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Mazloum, Marie; Bailey, Helen D; Heiden, Tamika; Armstrong, Bruce K; de Klerk, Nicholas; Milne, Elizabeth
2012-05-01
An Australian study of childhood leukaemia (Aus-ALL) previously reported that control participation was positively associated with socio-economic status (SES). A similar study of childhood brain tumours (Aus-CBT) was carried out 4 years later, and this paper compares control participation and its relationship with SES in the two studies. To assess the representativeness of controls in terms of SES, the addresses of controls were linked to Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2006 Collection Districts (CDs), and hence to area-based indices of SES. Independent sample t-tests and chi-squared tests were used to compare the SES indices of CDs where Aus-CBT controls lived with those where Aus-ALL controls lived and with those of all CDs where Australian families lived. The overall percentage of eligible families who agreed to participate was lower in Aus-CBT (53.9%) than in Aus-ALL (70.3%). Control families in both studies were of higher SES than the general population, while the distribution of SES among recruited controls was similar in both studies. These findings provide some reassurance that the observed decline in research participation over time may not be associated with an increasingly unrepresentative participant population. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Evaluative conditioning of food technologies in China
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Loebnitz, Natascha; Grunert, Klaus G
2014-01-01
This study provides an initial examination of the evaluative conditioning (EC) of consumers’ attitudes toward food technologies in China, including how EC can affect consumer acceptance of new technology when participants possess different levels of social trust. In a study using the EC paradigm...... and a combination of between-subjects control groups and within-subjects control conditions, participants considered three food technologies (conventional, enzyme, and genetic), paired with affectively positive, neutral, and negative images. Subsequent evaluative measurements revealed that EC can explain attitude...... formation toward food technologies in China when consumers see affective images, but the strength of the effects varies at different levels of social trust. Participants with a high level of trust in the institutions that promote and regulate the technologies can be conditioned both positively...
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Benefits of EMU Participation : Estimates using the Synthetic Control Method
Verstegen, Loes; van Groezen, Bas; Meijdam, Lex
2017-01-01
This paper investigates quantitatively the benefits from participation in the Economic and Monetary Union for individual Euro area countries. Using the synthetic control method, we estimate how real GDP per capita would have developed for the EMU member states, if those countries had not joined the
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Control, data acquisition and remote participation for steady-state operation in LHD
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sudo, S.; Nagayama, Y.; Emoto, M.; Nakanishi, H.; Chikaraishi, H.; Imazu, S.; Iwata, C.; Kogi, Y.; Kojima, M.; Komada, S.; Kubo, S.; Kumazawa, R.; Mase, A.; Miyazawa, J.; Mutoh, T.; Nakamura, Y.; Nonomura, M.; Ohsuna, M.; Saito, K.; Sakamoto, R.; Seki, T.; Shoji, M.; Tsuda, K.; Yoshida, M.
2006-01-01
Control, data acquisition, plasma monitoring and remote participation for steady state operation in the large helical device (LHD) are reviewed. By controlling the impedance matching of ICH, the plasma position and the electron density, high temperature plasma is confined for 1905s. The plasma parameters are monitored in real time. Data are continuously sampled by the YOKOGAWA WE7000 system and by the NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS CompactPCI system. Those data are managed by the object-oriented database system based on ObjectStore in distributed servers with mass storage. By using the multi protocol label switching-virtual private network (MPLS-VPN) technology, the local area network of LHD is expanded to the Japanese fusion community. This provides the remote participants with the same environment of the LHD control room
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Control, data acquisition and remote participation for steady-state operation in LHD
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Sudo, S. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan)]. E-mail: sudo@nifs.ac.jp; Nagayama, Y. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Emoto, M. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Nakanishi, H. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Chikaraishi, H. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Imazu, S. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Iwata, C. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Kogi, Y. [KASTEC, Kyushu University, Kasuga 816-8580 (Japan); Kojima, M. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Komada, S. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Kubo, S. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Kumazawa, R. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Mase, A. [KASTEC, Kyushu University, Kasuga 816-8580 (Japan); Miyazawa, J. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Mutoh, T. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Nakamura, Y. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Nonomura, M. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Ohsuna, M. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Saito, K. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan); Sakamoto, R.; Seki, T.; Shoji, M.; Tsuda, K.; Yoshida, M. [National Institute of Natural Sciences, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki 509-5292 (Japan)
2006-07-15
Control, data acquisition, plasma monitoring and remote participation for steady state operation in the large helical device (LHD) are reviewed. By controlling the impedance matching of ICH, the plasma position and the electron density, high temperature plasma is confined for 1905s. The plasma parameters are monitored in real time. Data are continuously sampled by the YOKOGAWA WE7000 system and by the NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS CompactPCI system. Those data are managed by the object-oriented database system based on ObjectStore in distributed servers with mass storage. By using the multi protocol label switching-virtual private network (MPLS-VPN) technology, the local area network of LHD is expanded to the Japanese fusion community. This provides the remote participants with the same environment of the LHD control room.
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van Genderen, Simon; Plasqui, Guy; Landewé, Robert; Lacaille, Diane; Arends, Suzanne; van Gaalen, Floris; van der Heijde, Désirée; Heuft, Liesbeth; Luime, Jolanda; Spoorenberg, Anneke; Gignac, Monique; Boonen, Annelies
2016-12-01
Participation in social roles for persons with chronic disease is important for their quality of life, but interpretation of the data on participation is difficult in the absence of a benchmark. This study aimed to compare social role participation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to population controls using the Social Role Participation Questionnaire (SRPQ). There were 246 AS patients and 510 population controls who completed the SRPQ, which assesses participation in 11 roles (with scores ranging 1-5) across 4 dimensions (importance, satisfaction with performance, satisfaction with time, and physical difficulty), and additionally ranked their 3 most important roles. The ranking of role importance, the SRPQ dimension scores, and the gap between importance and satisfaction with performance of roles were compared between patients and controls. Patients (62% male; mean ± SD age 51 ± 12 years) and controls (70% male; mean ± SD 42 ± 15 years) ranked intimate relationships, relationships with children/stepchildren/grandchildren, and employment as the most important roles. Compared to controls, patients gave higher scores on the SRPQ to importance (3.75 versus 3.43), but reported lower satisfaction with performance (3.19 versus 3.58) and greater physical difficulty (3.87 versus 4.67) (P ≤ 0.05 for all). The largest differences in gaps between importance and satisfaction with performance for patients compared to controls were seen in the physical leisure, hobbies, and traveling and vacation categories, in which patients assigned higher importance but reported especially low satisfaction. As society places increasing emphasis on individual responsibility to participate fully in social roles, the current data suggest that health care providers should pay more attention to participation restrictions experienced by patients with AS. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Volodymyr Kharchenko
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Purpose: the aim of this study is to research applied models of air traffic controllers’ errors prevention in terminal control areas (TMA under uncertainty conditions. In this work the theoretical framework descripting safety events and errors of air traffic controllers connected with the operations in TMA is proposed. Methods: optimisation of terminal control area formal description based on the Threat and Error management model and the TMA network model of air traffic flows. Results: the human factors variables associated with safety events in work of air traffic controllers under uncertainty conditions were obtained. The Threat and Error management model application principles to air traffic controller operations and the TMA network model of air traffic flows were proposed. Discussion: Information processing context for preventing air traffic controller errors, examples of threats in work of air traffic controllers, which are relevant for TMA operations under uncertainty conditions.
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Teng, Ya-Ling; Chen, Chiung-Ling; Lou, Shu-Zon; Wang, Wei-Tsan; Wu, Jui-Yen; Ma, Hui-Ing; Chen, Vincent Chin-Hung
2016-01-01
Postural dysfunctions are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia and affect their daily life and ability to work. In addition, sensory functions and sensory integration that are crucial for postural control are also compromised. This study intended to examine how patients with schizophrenia coordinate multiple sensory systems to maintain postural stability in dynamic sensory conditions. Twenty-nine patients with schizophrenia and 32 control subjects were recruited. Postural stability of the participants was examined in six sensory conditions of different level of congruency of multiple sensory information, which was based on combinations of correct, removed, or conflicting sensory inputs from visual, somatosensory, and vestibular systems. The excursion of the center of pressure was measured by posturography. Equilibrium scores were derived to indicate the range of anterior-posterior (AP) postural sway, and sensory ratios were calculated to explore ability to use sensory information to maintain balance. The overall AP postural sway was significantly larger for patients with schizophrenia compared to the controls [patients (69.62±8.99); controls (76.53±7.47); t1,59 = -3.28, pmaintain balance compared to the controls.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huang Gongsheng; Wang Shengwei; Xu Xinhua
2009-01-01
This paper presents a robust model predictive control strategy for improving the supply air temperature control of air-handling units by dealing with the associated uncertainties and constraints directly. This strategy uses a first-order plus time-delay model with uncertain time-delay and system gain to describe air-conditioning process of an air-handling unit usually operating at various weather conditions. The uncertainties of the time-delay and system gain, which imply the nonlinearities and the variable dynamic characteristics, are formulated using an uncertainty polytope. Based on this uncertainty formulation, an offline LMI-based robust model predictive control algorithm is employed to design a robust controller for air-handling units which can guarantee a good robustness subject to uncertainties and constraints. The proposed robust strategy is evaluated in a dynamic simulation environment of a variable air volume air-conditioning system in various operation conditions by comparing with a conventional PI control strategy. The robustness analysis of both strategies under different weather conditions is also presented.
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Morris, Jacqui H; Kelly, Chris; Joice, Sara; Kroll, Thilo; Mead, Gillian; Donnan, Peter; Toma, Madalina; Williams, Brian
2017-08-30
To examine the feasibility of undertaking a pragmatic single-blind randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a visual arts participation programme to evaluate effects on survivor wellbeing within stroke rehabilitation. Stroke survivors receiving in-patient rehabilitation were randomised to receive eight art participation sessions (n = 41) or usual care (n = 40). Recruitment, retention, preference for art participation and change in selected outcomes were evaluated at end of intervention outcome assessment and three-month follow-up. Of 315 potentially eligible participants 81 (29%) were recruited. 88% (n = 71) completed outcome and 77% (n = 62) follow-up assessments. Of eight intervention group non-completers, six had no preference for art participation. Outcome completion varied between 97% and 77%. Running groups was difficult because of randomisation timing. Effectiveness cannot be determined from this feasibility study but effects sizes suggested art participation may benefit emotional wellbeing, measured on the positive and negative affect schedule, and self-efficacy for Art (d = 0.24-0.42). Undertaking a RCT of art participation within stroke rehabilitation was feasible. Art participation may enhance self-efficacy and positively influence emotional wellbeing. These should be outcomes in a future definitive trial. A cluster RCT would ensure art groups could be reliably convened. Fewer measures, and better retention strategies are required. Implications for Rehabilitation This feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) showed that recruiting and retaining stroke survivors in an RCT of a visual arts participation intervention within stroke rehabilitation was feasible. Preference to participate in art activities may influence recruitment and drop-out rates, and should be addressed and evaluated fully. Art participation as part of rehabilitation may improve some aspects of post-stroke wellbeing, including positive affect and self-efficacy for art
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Participation in the workforce after a traumatic brain injury: a matter of control.
Johansson, Annica E M; Haugstad, Tor; Berg, Marie; Johansson, Ulla
2016-01-01
This study sought to explore individual experience in developing a mastery of daily activities and roles after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the objective of returning to work. Eight 30-60-year-old men, employed at the time of injury, were each interviewed three times over a 6-month period. Ten to 21 months after the injuries, four participants had returned to work at least part time. Grounded theory was adapted for analyses. A single core category emerged: a desire for control: focusing on high-priority issues. Still, 2 years after injury, the participants were uncertain about their abilities with respect to what was expected of them at work. They felt they would do better as time progressed. The participants' uncertainty about their efficacy cast doubt on their beliefs in improving their skills, balancing daily activities and work. They wondered about the sustainability of their health and efficacy at work. Wanting to control their own improvement, the participants asked for counselling in strategies and techniques to help with their progress. This issue could be taken into account in follow-up rehabilitation programmes. Additionally, the workplace might be the ideal context in which to develop the structures and routines necessary to master life in general. Two years after injury, the participants remained uncertain about their abilities with respect to what was expected of them at work. The participants felt they would do better as time progressed. The participants, wanting to control their own improvement, sought counselling to help sort out their priorities and found it could contribute to help with their progress in finding a suitable balance between daily activities and work. A consequence of our main finding, in a multidisciplinary context, is that counselling in structures and routines with respect to work-related tasks should be considered to be an integral part of any rehabilitation programme after TBI.
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Psychosocial work conditions, social capital, and daily smoking: a population based study.
Lindström, M
2004-09-01
To investigate the associations between psychosocial conditions at work, social capital/social participation, and daily smoking. The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross sectional postal questionnaire study with a 59% participation rate. A total of 5180 persons aged 18-64 years that belonged to the work force and the unemployed were included in this study. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors at work/unemployment, social participation, and daily smoking. Psychosocial conditions at work were defined according to the Karasek-Theorell demand-control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive, and jobstrain categories. The multivariate analyses included age, country of origin, education and economic stress. 17.2% proportion of all men and 21.9% of all women were daily smokers. The jobstrain (high demands/low control) and unemployed categories had significantly higher odds ratios of daily smoking among both men and women compared to the relaxed (low demands/high control) reference category. The passive (low demands/low control), jobstrain, and unemployed categories were also significantly associated with low social participation. Low social participation was significantly and positively associated with daily smoking within each of the psychosocial work conditions and unemployed categories. The positive association between low social capital/low social participation and daily smoking is well known. However, both social participation and daily smoking are associated with psychosocial work conditions and unemployment. Psychosocial work conditions and unemployment may affect daily smoking both directly and through a pathway including social participation.
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Bennett, Sophie; Heyman, Isobel; Coughtrey, Anna; Simmonds, Jess; Varadkar, Sophia; Stephenson, Terence; DeJong, Margaret; Shafran, Roz
2016-11-04
Rates of mental health disorders are significantly greater in children with physical illnesses than in physically well children. Children with neurological conditions, such as epilepsy, are known to have particularly high rates of mental health disorders. Despite this, mental health problems in children with neurological conditions have remained under-recognised and under-treated in clinical settings. Evidence-based guided self-help interventions are efficacious in reducing symptoms of mental health disorders in children, but their efficacy in reducing symptoms of common mental health disorders in children with neurological conditions has not been investigated. We aim to pilot a guided self-help intervention for the treatment of mental health disorders in children with neurological conditions. A pilot randomised controlled trial with 18 patients with neurological conditions and mental health disorders will be conducted. Participants attending specialist neurology clinics at a National UK Children's Hospital will be randomised to receive guided self-help for common mental health disorders or to a 12-week waiting list control. Participants in the treatment group will receive 10 sessions of guided self-help delivered over the telephone. The waiting list control group will receive the intervention after a waiting period of 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure is reduction in symptoms of mental health disorders. Exclusion criteria are limited to those at significant risk of harm to self or others, the presence of primary mental health disorder other than anxiety, depression or disruptive behaviour (e.g. psychosis, eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder) or intellectual disability at a level meaning potential participants would be unable to access the intervention. The study has ethical approval from the Camden and Islington NHS Research Ethics Committee, registration number 14.LO.1353. Results will be disseminated to patients, the wider public, clinicians and
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Lee, Jing-Nang; Lin, Tsung-Min; Chen, Chien-Chih
2014-01-01
This study constructs an energy based model of thermal system for controlled temperature and humidity air conditioning system, and introduces the influence of the mass flow rate, heater and humidifier for proposed control criteria to achieve the controlled temperature and humidity of air conditioning system. Then, the reliability of proposed thermal system model is established by both MATLAB dynamic simulation and the literature validation. Finally, the PID control strategy is applied for controlling the air mass flow rate, humidifying capacity, and heating, capacity. The simulation results show that the temperature and humidity are stable at 541 sec, the disturbance of temperature is only 0.14 °C, 0006 kg(w)/kg(da) in steady-state error of humidity ratio, and the error rate is only 7.5%. The results prove that the proposed system is an effective controlled temperature and humidity of an air conditioning system.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jing-Nang Lee
2014-01-01
Full Text Available This study constructs an energy based model of thermal system for controlled temperature and humidity air conditioning system, and introduces the influence of the mass flow rate, heater and humidifier for proposed control criteria to achieve the controlled temperature and humidity of air conditioning system. Then, the reliability of proposed thermal system model is established by both MATLAB dynamic simulation and the literature validation. Finally, the PID control strategy is applied for controlling the air mass flow rate, humidifying capacity, and heating, capacity. The simulation results show that the temperature and humidity are stable at 541 sec, the disturbance of temperature is only 0.14°C, 0006 kgw/kgda in steady-state error of humidity ratio, and the error rate is only 7.5%. The results prove that the proposed system is an effective controlled temperature and humidity of an air conditioning system.
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The role of community participation in the control of bird hazards at ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... of measures to prevent bird hazards from occurring. One of the most important methods of bird hazard control involves participation of local communities around the airport. This paper illustrates the different ways in which the airport works with the community to control bird collisions with aircraft at Entebbe International ...
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2010-10-01
..., clinical experience, and outcome requirements for re-approval of transplant centers. 482.82 Section 482.82... Hospitals Transplant Center Data Submission, Clinical Experience, and Outcome Requirements § 482.82 Condition of participation: Data submission, clinical experience, and outcome requirements for re-approval...
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Operant conditioning of autobiographical memory retrieval.
Debeer, Elise; Raes, Filip; Williams, J Mark G; Craeynest, Miet; Hermans, Dirk
2014-01-01
Functional avoidance is considered as one of the key mechanisms underlying overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM). According to this view OGM is regarded as a learned cognitive avoidance strategy, based on principles of operant conditioning; i.e., individuals learn to avoid the emotionally painful consequences associated with the retrieval of specific negative memories. The aim of the present study was to test one of the basic assumptions of the functional avoidance account, namely that autobiographical memory retrieval can be brought under operant control. Here 41 students were instructed to retrieve personal memories in response to 60 emotional cue words. Depending on the condition, they were punished with an aversive sound for the retrieval of specific or nonspecific memories in an operant conditioning procedure. Analyzes showed that the course of memory specificity significantly differed between conditions. After the procedure participants punished for nonspecific memories retrieved significantly more specific memories compared to participants punished for specific memories. However, whereas memory specificity significantly increased in participants punished for specific memories, it did not significantly decrease in participants punished for nonspecific memories. Thus, while our findings indicate that autobiographical memory retrieval can be brought under operant control, they do not support a functional avoidance view on OGM.
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Orbitofrontal participation in sign- and goal-tracking conditioned responses: Effects of nicotine.
Stringfield, Sierra J; Palmatier, Matthew I; Boettiger, Charlotte A; Robinson, Donita L
2017-04-01
Pavlovian conditioned stimuli can acquire incentive motivational properties, and this phenomenon can be measured in animals using Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior. Drugs of abuse can influence the expression of this behavior, and nicotine in particular exhibits incentive amplifying effects. Both conditioned approach behavior and drug abuse rely on overlapping corticolimbic circuitry. We hypothesize that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) regulates conditioned approach, and that one site of nicotine action is in the OFC where it reduces cortical output. To test this, we repeatedly exposed rats to 0.4 mg/kg nicotine (s.c.) during training and then pharmacologically inactivated the lateral OFC or performed in vivo electrophysiological recordings of lateral OFC neurons in the presence or absence of nicotine. In Experiment 1, animals were trained in a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm and behavior was evaluated after inactivation of the OFC by microinfusion of the GABA agonists baclofen and muscimol. In Experiment 2, we monitored phasic firing of OFC neurons during Pavlovian conditioning sessions. Nicotine reliably enhanced conditioned responding to the conditioned cue, and inactivation of the OFC reduced conditioned responding, especially the sign-tracking response. OFC neurons exhibited phasic excitations to cue presentation and during goal tracking, and nicotine acutely blunted this phasic neuronal firing. When nicotine was withheld, both conditioned responding and phasic firing in the OFC returned to the level of controls. These results suggest that the OFC is recruited for the expression of conditioned responses, and that nicotine acutely influences this behavior by reducing phasic firing in the OFC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D. A. Fetisov
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The controllability conditions are well known if we speak about linear stationary systems: a linear stationary system is controllable if and only if the dimension of the state vector is equal to the rank of the controllability matrix. The concept of the controllability matrix is extended to affine systems, but relations between affine systems controllability and properties of this matrix are more complicated. Various controllability conditions are set for affine systems, but they deal as usual either with systems of some special form or with controllability in some small neighborhood of the concerned point. An affine system is known to be controllable if the system is equivalent to a system of a canonical form, which is defined and regular in the whole space of states. In this case, the system is said to be feedback linearizable in the space of states. However there are examples, which illustrate that a system can be controllable even if it is not feedback linearizable in any open subset in the space of states. In this article we deal with such systems.Affine systems with two-dimensional control are considered. The system in question is assumed to be equivalent to a system of a quasicanonical form with two-dimensional zero dynamics which is defined and regular in the whole space of states. Therefore the controllability of the original system is equivalent to the controllability of the received system of a quasicanonical form. In this article the sufficient condition for an available solution of the terminal problem is proven for systems of a quasicanonical form with two-dimensional control and two-dimensional zero dynamics. The condition is valid in the case of an arbitrary time interval and arbitrary initial and finite states of the system. Therefore the controllability condition is set for systems of a quasicanonical form with two-dimensional control and two-dimensional zero dynamics. An example is given which illustrates how the proved
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães de Abreu
2017-11-01
Full Text Available International guidelines have pointed out the importance of the physical environment of health care facilities in preventing and controlling infection. We aimed to describe the physical environment of dental care facilities in Brazil in 2014, focusing on characteristics designed to control infections. Exactly 16,202 dental offices in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS participated in this survey. Trained researchers extracted information about the infection control characteristics of health facilities by using a structured instrument. We used data from 12 dichotomous questions that evaluated the wall, floor, sink and tap conditions, and the presence and condition of sterilization equipment. We calculated a score by summing the number of characteristics handled appropriately for infection control, which could range from 0 to 12. Hierarchical cluster analyses were developed. None of the 12 criteria were met by all the oral health teams. Only 208 (1.3% dental offices correctly performed all 12-infection control practices. Two clusters, with different frequencies of structure for infection control in dental offices, were identified. South and Southeast regions had the highest frequencies for Cluster 1, with better structure of infection control in dental offices. Dental care facilities of oral health teams were not typically meeting the infection control guidelines regarding clinic design and equipment. Adherence to the guidelines varied among the Brazilian geographic regions.
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Evaluative conditioning of food technologies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Loebnitz, Natascha; Grunert, Klaus G
2015-01-01
Consumer attitudes play an important role in the acceptance of new technologies. The success of food innovations depends on understanding how consumers form and change attitudes toward food technologies. Earlier post hoc explanations suggest that evaluative conditioning can change consumer...... attitudes toward food technologies. The present study tests how evaluative conditioning can affect consumer acceptance of new food technologies. Furthermore, authors investigate whether evaluative conditioning is resistant to extinction after a two-month period and whether the evaluative conditioning effect...... prevails in a product-related context. Within an evaluative conditioning paradigm including between-subjects control groups in addition to standard within-subjects control conditions, participants were presented with three food technologies (conventional, enzyme, and genetic technology) paired...
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Heijmans, N.; Lieshout, J. van; Wensing, M.J.
2015-01-01
BACKGROUND: Low participation rates reduce effective sample size, statistical power and can increase risk for selection bias. Previous research suggests that offering choice of participation mode can improve participation rates. However, few head-to-head trials compared choice of participation mode
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Quality control in public participation assessments of water quality: the OPAL Water Survey.
Rose, N L; Turner, S D; Goldsmith, B; Gosling, L; Davidson, T A
2016-07-22
Public participation in scientific data collection is a rapidly expanding field. In water quality surveys, the involvement of the public, usually as trained volunteers, generally includes the identification of aquatic invertebrates to a broad taxonomic level. However, quality assurance is often not addressed and remains a key concern for the acceptance of publicly-generated water quality data. The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Water Survey, launched in May 2010, aimed to encourage interest and participation in water science by developing a 'low-barrier-to-entry' water quality survey. During 2010, over 3000 participant-selected lakes and ponds were surveyed making this the largest public participation lake and pond survey undertaken to date in the UK. But the OPAL approach of using untrained volunteers and largely anonymous data submission exacerbates quality control concerns. A number of approaches were used in order to address data quality issues including: sensitivity analysis to determine differences due to operator, sampling effort and duration; direct comparisons of identification between participants and experienced scientists; the use of a self-assessment identification quiz; the use of multiple participant surveys to assess data variability at single sites over short periods of time; comparison of survey techniques with other measurement variables and with other metrics generally considered more accurate. These quality control approaches were then used to screen the OPAL Water Survey data to generate a more robust dataset. The OPAL Water Survey results provide a regional and national assessment of water quality as well as a first national picture of water clarity (as suspended solids concentrations). Less than 10 % of lakes and ponds surveyed were 'poor' quality while 26.8 % were in the highest water quality band. It is likely that there will always be a question mark over untrained volunteer generated data simply because quality assurance is uncertain
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Brain responses to sound intensity changes dissociate depressed participants and healthy controls.
Ruohonen, Elisa M; Astikainen, Piia
2017-07-01
Depression is associated with bias in emotional information processing, but less is known about the processing of neutral sensory stimuli. Of particular interest is processing of sound intensity which is suggested to indicate central serotonergic function. We tested weather event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to occasional changes in sound intensity can dissociate first-episode depressed, recurrent depressed and healthy control participants. The first-episode depressed showed larger N1 amplitude to deviant sounds compared to recurrent depression group and control participants. In addition, both depression groups, but not the control group, showed larger N1 amplitude to deviant than standard sounds. Whether these manifestations of sensory over-excitability in depression are directly related to the serotonergic neurotransmission requires further research. The method based on ERPs to sound intensity change is fast and low-cost way to objectively measure brain activation and holds promise as a future diagnostic tool. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Conditional reasoning in Asperger's syndrome and depersonalization disorder.
Lawrence, Emma Jane; Dumigan, Rachael; Schoenberg, Poppy; Mauricio, Sierra; Murphy, Declan G; David, Anthony S
2012-09-01
Conditional reasoning premises can be systematically manipulated to elicit specific response patterns. This is useful for investigating the reasoning style of people who report clinical symptoms. We administered a standardized conditional reasoning task to 16 participants with a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome (AS), 16 participants with a diagnosis of depersonalization disorder (DPD), and 32 intelligence-quotient-matched controls. Premises were manipulated for a) context, with some being embedded within extra statements, and b) content, neutral or emotional. Both the AS and DPD participants were less likely to incorporate exceptions to the given premises than the controls, indicating difficulties with mental flexibility, although this effect was less marked in the DPD group. It seems the AS participants were also less influenced than the controls by statements that highlight possible alternative consequences. However, this effect was less robust than that observed with statements detailing exceptions, suggesting it may be because of general problems with executive function rather than difficulties in processing contextual information. We did not observe the expected difference between the DPD participants and the controls when reasoning with emotional premises. Overall, these data suggest that the DPD and AS participants have distinct reasoning styles, which may be of use for interventions based on cognitive change.
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A safety control device for detecting undesirable conditions
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
1974-09-26
The invention relates to safety control devices. It deals with a device adapted to transmit a warning signal and to the detection of an undesirable condition in an associated apparatus, said device comprising switching means comprising transistors mounted in a reaction path, feeding means for opening the switching means whenever an undesirable condition has been detected by sensors, whereby an oscillator is caused to stop oscillating, and an outlet device controlled by the oscillator stoppage. This can be applied to the supervision of nuclear reactor.
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Krause, James S.; Broderick, Lynne
2006-01-01
We investigated relationships among personality, locus of control, and current post-injury employment status for 1,391 participants with spinal cord injury. Participants with higher internality locus-of-control scores and activity scores (personality) reported more favorable employment outcomes. Higher scores on chance and powerful others (locus…
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Hofman, Gwen M; Summers, C Gail; Ward, Nicholas; Bhargava, Esha; Rakauskas, Michael E; Holleschau, Ann M
2012-04-01
Participants with albinism have reduced vision and nystagmus with reduced foveation times. This prospective study evaluated driving in 12 participants with albinism and 12 matched controls. Participants drove a vehicle simulator through a virtual rural course in sunny and foggy conditions. Under sunny conditions, participants with albinism showed a narrower preferred minimum safety boundary during car-following tasks than did controls, but there was no difference under foggy conditions. Their driving did not differ significantly from that of controls when approaching a stop sign or when choosing gap size between oncoming vehicles when crossing an intersection. However, when compared to control drivers, participants with albinism had a decreased minimum safety boundary for car-following that should be included in counseling regarding driving safety.
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2010-10-01
..., and medical supervision. Patients are accepted for treatment on the basis of a reasonable expectation that the patient's medical, nursing, and social needs can be met adequately by the agency in the... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Acceptance of patients...
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Blood Pressure Treatment Adherence and Control after Participation in the ReHOT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nathália Silva de Jesus
Full Text Available Abstract Background: Lack of adherence to pharmacological treatment is one of the main causes of low control rates in hypertension. Objective: To verify treatment adherence and associated factors, as well as blood pressure (BP control in participants of the Resistant Hypertension Optimal Treatment (ReHOT clinical trial. Method: Cross-sectional study including all 109 patients who had completed the ReHOT for at least 6 months. We excluded those participants who failed to respond to the new recruitment after three phone contact attempts. We evaluated the BP control by ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM; controlled levels: 24-hour systolic and diastolic BP < 130 x 80 mmHg and analyzed the patients' treatment adherence using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS questionnaire validated by Bloch, Melo, and Nogueira (2008. The statistical analysis was performed with the software IBM SPSS statistics 21.0. We tested the normality of the data distribution with kurtosis and skewness. The variables tested in the study are presented with descriptive statistics. Comparisons between treatment adherence and other variables were performed with Student's t test for independent variables and Pearson's chi-square or Fisher's exact test. To conduct analyses among patients considering adherence to treatment and BP control, we created four groups: G0, G1, G2, and G3. We considered a 5% significance level in all tests. Results: During the ReHOT, 80% of the patients had good BP control and treatment adherence. Of 96 patients reevaluated in the present study, only 52.1% had controlled hypertension when assessed by ABPM, while 31.3% were considered adherent by the MMAS. Regarding other ABPM measures, we observed an absence of a nocturnal dip in 64.6% of the patients and a white-coat effect and false BP control in 23% and 12.5%, respectively. Patients' education level showed a trend towards being a determinant factor associated with lack of adherence (p = 0
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Valiente, Carlos; Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn; Swanson, Jodi; Reiser, Mark
2008-01-01
The authors examined the relations among children's effortful control, school relationships, classroom participation, and academic competence with a sample of 7- to 12-year-old children (N = 264). Parents and children reported on children's effortful control, and teachers and children reported on children's school relationships and classroom…
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Soref, Assaf; Liberman, Nira; Abramovitch, Amitai; Dar, Reuven
2018-04-01
Previous studies have shown that individuals diagnosed with OCD tend to rely on explicit processing while performing implicit learning tasks. We sought to investigate whether individuals with OCD are capable of implicit learning, but would demonstrate improved performance when explicit processing strategies are enhanced. Twenty-four participants with OCD and 24 non-psychiatric control (NPC) participants performed an implicit learning task in which they responded to a single target stimulus that successively appears at one of four locations according to an underlying sequence. We manipulated the learning strategy by informing half of the participants that the target stimulus location was determined by an underlying sequence, which they should identify (intentional learning). The other half of the participants was not informed of the existence of the underlying sequence, and was expected to learn the sequence implicitly (standard learning). We predicted that OCD participants will exhibit inferior performance compared to NPC participants in the standard learning condition, and that intentional learning instructions would impair the performance of NPC participants, but enhance the performance of OCD participants. The results supported these predictions and suggest that individuals with OCD prefer controlled to automatic processing. We discuss the implications of this conclusion to our understanding of OCD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Morley, David; Dummett, Sarah; Kelly, Laura; Fitzpatrick, Ray; Jenkinson, Crispin
2018-02-17
Comparisons between neurological conditions have the potential to inform service providers by identifying particular areas of difficulty experienced by affected individuals. This study aimed to identify predictors of activity and participation in people with motor neurone disease (MND), people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and people with Parkinson's Disease (PD). The Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire (Ox-PAQ) and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Survey (MOS SF-36) were administered by postal survey to 386 people with a confirmed diagnosis of MND, MS or PD. Data analyses focused on stepwise regression analyses in order to identify predictors of activity and participation in the three conditions assessed. Three hundred and thirty four participants completed the survey, a response rate of 86.5%. Regression analyses identified multiple predictors of activity and participation dependent on Ox-PAQ domain and disease group, the most prominent being social and physical functioning as measured by the MOS SF-36. Results indicate that the physical and social consequences of neurological illness are of greatest relevance to people experiencing the conditions assessed. Whilst the largely inevitable physical implications of disease take hold, emphasis should be placed on the avoidance of social withdrawal and isolation, and the maintenance of social engagement should become a significant priority.
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2010-10-01
... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Nursing services-Waiver.... 418.66 Section 418.66 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... central office. The hospice must provide evidence to CMS that it has made a good faith effort to hire a...
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Bergmann, J; Krewer, C; Müller, F; Koenig, A; Riener, R
2011-01-01
Virtual Reality (VR) provides a promising medium to enrich robot assisted rehabilitation. VR applications present the opportunity to engage patients in therapy and control participation. The aim of this study was to investigate two strategies to control active participation of a stroke patient focusing on the involvement of the paretic leg in task solution. A subacute stroke patient with a severe hemiparesis performed two experiments on the driven gait orthosis Lokomat. Patient activity was quantified by weighted interaction torques measured in both legs (experiment A) and the paretic leg only (experiment B). The patient was able to successfully implement both the bilateral and unilateral control modality. Both control modes increased the motor output of the paretic leg, however the paretic leg control mode resulted in a much more differentiated regulation of the activity in the leg. Both control modes are appropriate approaches to enhance active participation and increase motor output in the paretic leg. Further research should evaluate the therapeutic benefit of patients with hemiparesis using the unilateral control mode depending on the severity of their impairment. © 2011 IEEE
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Palliative care team visits. Qualitative study through participant observation.
Alfaya Góngora, Maria Del Mar; Bueno Pernias, Maria José; Hueso Montoro, César; Guardia Mancilla, Plácido; Montoya Juárez, Rafael; García Caro, Maria Paz
2016-03-30
To describe the clinical encounters that occur when a palliative care team provides patient care and the features that influence these encounters and indicate whether they are favorable or unfavorable depending on the expectations and feelings of the various participants. A qualitative case study conducted via participant observation. A total of 12 observations of the meetings of palliative care teams with patients and families in different settings (home, hospital and consultation room) were performed. The visits were follow-up or first visits, either scheduled or on demand. Content analysis of the observation was performed. The analysis showed the normal follow-up activity of the palliative care unit that was focused on controlling symptoms, sharing information and providing advice on therapeutic regimens and care. The environment appeared to condition the patients' expressions and the type of patient relationship. Favorable clinical encounter conditions included kindness and gratitude. Unfavorable conditions were deterioration caused by approaching death, unrealistic family objectives and limited resources. Home visits from basic palliative care teams play an important role in patient and family well-being. The visits seem to focus on controlling symptoms and are conditioned by available resources.
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2010-10-01
... physical therapy and speech pathology services to be performed by other than salaried organization... Agencies as Providers of Outpatient Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Services § 485.719 Condition of participation: Arrangements for physical therapy and speech pathology services to be performed...
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Control in chronic condition self-care management
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lawn, Sharon; Delany, Toni; Sweet, Linda
2014-01-01
of their communication style and the power of their role must improve for client chronic condition self-care management to be achieved. Training on the impacts of control in worker communication and systems where they work must be provided if unbeneficial forms of client dependency are to be overcome and true self......Aim: To examine health worker-client interactions during care planning to understand processes that foster client empowerment and disempowerment. Background: It is unclear how health worker-client exchanges and information sharing through chronic condition care planning currently operate in primary...... health care. Moreover, it is unclear how control in these exchanges either enhances collaborative decision-making, partnership and client empowerment, or works to create client disempowerment and dependency on workers and health services. Design: Critical discourse analysis of qualitative data from...
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Guillemin, Marilys; Barnard, Emma; Walker, Hannah; Bennell, Kim; Hinman, Rana; Gillam, Lynn
2015-12-01
This study explored participants' experiences of randomized controlled trial (RCT) participation to examine their understanding of the trial design and whether their consent was indeed informed. A nested qualitative interview study was conducted with 38 participants from a sample of 282 who participated in a complex RCT evaluating the effectiveness of laser compared with needle acupuncture for chronic knee pain. Overall participants had a good understanding of the RCT, and concepts such as randomization and placebo. Their experiences of being in the trial were largely positive, even if they did not experience any knee pain improvement. Their responses to unblinding at the end of the study were accepting. Participants had a good functional understanding of the RCT, sufficient for valid informed consent. © The Author(s) 2015.
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Haramoto, Ken-Ichi
In general, air conditioning control in a building is operated mainly by indoor air temperature control. Although the operators of the machine in the building accepted a claim for indoor air temperature presented by the building inhabitants, the indoor conditions have been often too cool or warm. Therefore, in an attempt to create better thermal environments, the author paid attention to the PMV that is a thermal comfort index. And then, the possibility of air conditioning control using the PMV directly as the set point was verified by employing actual equipment in an air conditioning testing room and an office building. Prior to the execution of this control, the operation program of the PMV was installed in a DDC controller for the air conditioning control. And information from indoor sensors and so on was inputted to the controller, and the computed PMV was used as the feedback variable.
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Severi, Ettore; Free, Caroline; Knight, Rosemary; Robertson, Steven; Edwards, Philip; Hoile, Elizabeth
2011-10-01
Loss to follow-up of trial participants represents a threat to research validity. To date, interventions designed to increase participants' awareness of benefits to society of completing follow-up, and the impact of a telephone call from a senior female clinician and researcher requesting follow-up have not been evaluated robustly. Trial 1 aimed to evaluate the effect on trial follow-up of written information regarding the benefits of participation to society. Trial 2 aimed to evaluate the effect on trial follow-up of a telephone call from a senior female clinician and researcher. Two single-blind randomized controlled trials were nested within a larger trial, Txt2stop. In Trial 1, participants were allocated using minimization to receive a refrigerator magnet and a text message emphasizing the benefits to society of completing follow-up, or to a control group receiving a simple reminder regarding follow-up. In Trial 2, participants were randomly allocated to receive a telephone call from a senior female clinician and researcher, or to a control group receiving standard Txt2stop follow-up procedures. Trial 1: 33.5% (327 of 976) of the intervention group and 33.8% (329 of 974) of the control group returned the questionnaire within 26 weeks of randomization, risk ratio (RR) 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88-1.12. In all, 83.3% (813 of 976) of the intervention group and 82.2% (801 of/974) of the control group sent back the questionnaire within 30 weeks of randomization, RR 1.01; 95% CI 0.97, 1.05. Trial 2: 31% (20 of 65) of the intervention group and 32% (20 of 62) of the control group completed trial follow-up, RR 0.93; 95%CI 0.44, 1.98. In presence of other methods to increase follow-up neither experimental method (refrigerator magnet and text message emphasizing participation's benefits to society nor a telephone call from study's principal investigator) increased participant follow-up in the Txt2stop trial.
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Harris, Jodie; Lack, Leon; Kemp, Kristyn; Wright, Helen; Bootzin, Richard
2012-01-01
Study Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of intensive sleep retraining in comparison and combination with traditional behavioral intervention for chronic primary insomnia. Participants: Seventy-nine volunteers with chronic sleep-onset insomnia (with or without sleep maintenance difficulties) were randomly assigned either to intensive sleep retraining (ISR), stimulus control therapy (SCT), ISR plus SCT, or the control (sleep hygiene) treatment condition. Intervention: ISR treatment consisted of 50 sleep onset trials over a 25-h sleep deprivation period. Measurements and Results: Treatment response was assessed with sleep diary, activity monitoring, and questionnaire measures. The active treatment groups (ISR, SCT, ISR+SCT) all resulted in significant improvements in sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency, with moderate to large effect sizes from pre- to post-treatment. Wake time after sleep onset decreased significantly in the SCT and ISR+SCT groups. Total sleep time increased significantly in the ISR and ISR+SCT treatment groups. Participants receiving ISR (ISR, ISR+SCT) experienced rapidly improved SOL and TST during treatment, suggesting an advantage of rapid improvements in sleep in response to ISR. Although there were few statistically significant differences between groups on individual variables, ISR+SCT resulted in consistently larger effect sizes of change than other treatments, including questionnaire measures of sleep quality, sleep self-efficacy, and daytime functioning. The combination treatment group (ISR+SCT) showed trends to outperform other active treatment groups with fewer treatment dropouts, and a greater proportion of treatment responders with 61% reaching “good sleeper” status. Treatment gains achieved at post-treatment in the active treatment groups were largely maintained throughout follow-up periods to 6 months. Conclusion: This 25-hour intensive conditioning treatment for chronic insomnia can produce rapid improvements in
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Loeber, Sabine; Duka, Theodora
2009-12-01
To investigate whether acute alcohol would affect performance of a conditioned behavioural response to obtain a reward outcome and impair performance in a task measuring inhibitory control to provide new knowledge of how the acute effects of alcohol might contribute to the transition from alcohol use to dependence. A randomized controlled between-subjects design was employed. The laboratory of experimental psychology at the University of Sussex. Thirty-two light to moderate social drinkers recruited from the undergraduate and postgraduate population. After the administration of alcohol (0.8 g/kg) or placebo participants underwent an instrumental reward-seeking procedure, with abstract stimuli serving as S+ (always predicting a win of 10 pence) and S- (always predicting a loss of 10 pence). In addition, a Stop Signal task was administered before and after the administration of alcohol. Participants of the alcohol group performed the behavioural response to obtain the reward outcome more often than placebo subjects in trials associated with loss of money. This finding was observed, although alcohol was not affecting explicit knowledge of stimulus-response outcome contingencies and acquisition of conditioned attentional and emotional responses. In addition, alcohol increased Stop Signal reaction time indicating disinhibiting effects of alcohol, and this was associated positively with response probability to the S-. These results demonstrate that alcohol is affecting inhibitory control of behavioural responses to external signals even when associated with punishment, contributing in this way to the transition from alcohol use to dependence.
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Scales, Charles D; Moin, Tannaz; Fink, Arlene; Berry, Sandra H; Afsar-Manesh, Nasim; Mangione, Carol M; Kerfoot, B Price
2016-04-01
Several barriers challenge resident engagement in learning quality improvement (QI). We investigated whether the incorporation of team-based game mechanics into an evidence-based online learning platform could increase resident participation in a QI curriculum. Randomized, controlled trial. Tertiary-care medical center residency training programs. Resident physicians (n = 422) from nine training programs (anesthesia, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pediatrics, psychiatry and general surgery) randomly allocated to a team competition environment (n = 200) or the control group (n = 222). Specialty-based team assignment with leaderboards to foster competition, and alias assignment to de-identify individual participants. Participation in online learning, as measured by percentage of questions attempted (primary outcome) and additional secondary measures of engagement (i.e. response time). Changes in participation measures over time between groups were assessed with a repeated measures ANOVA framework. Residents in the intervention arm demonstrated greater participation than the control group. The percentage of questions attempted at least once was greater in the competition group (79% [SD ± 32] versus control, 68% [SD ± 37], P= 0.03). Median response time was faster in the competition group (P= 0.006). Differences in participation continued to increase over the duration of the intervention, as measured by average response time and cumulative percent of questions attempted (each Ponline course delivering QI content. Medical educators should consider game mechanics to optimize participation when designing learning experiences. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care 2016. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
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Microcomputer control of a residential photovoltaic power conditioning system
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bose, B.K.; Steigerwald, R.L.; Szczesny, P.M.
1984-01-01
Microcomputer-based control of a residential photovoltaic power conditioning system is described. The microcomputer is responsible for array current feedback control, maximum power tracking control, array safe zone steering control, phase-locked reference wave synthesis, sequencing control, and some diagnostics. The control functions are implemented using Intel 8751 single-chip microcomputer-based hardware and software. The controller has been tested in the laboratory with the prototype power conditioner and shows excellent performance.
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Microcomputer control of a residential photovoltaic power conditioning system
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bose, B.K.; Steigerwald, R.L.; Szczesny, P.M.
1985-09-01
Microcomputer-based control of a residential photovoltaic power conditioning system is described. The microcomputer is responsible for array current feedback control, maximum power tracking control, array safe zone steering control, phase-locked reference wave synthesis, sequencing control, and some diagnostics. The control functions are implemented using Intel 8751 single-chip microcomputer-based hardware and software. The controller has been tested in the laboratory with the prototype power conditioner and shows excellent performance.
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Murshid, Nadine Shaanta
2016-04-13
A high percentage of men and women are purported to justify intimate partner violence (IPV) in countries that are steeped in patriarchy even in the presence of programs such as microfinance that aim to address gender equity. This article examines two assertions that emerge from the literature on microfinance and its potential for positive outcomes for women who participate in it: (a) Microfinance participation is associated with reduced justification of IPV, and (b) microfinance participants with control over their own resources are less likely to justify IPV when compared with microfinance participants who do not have control over their resources. Couples data from a nationally representative survey, the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, were used in the present study. Propensity score matching and logistic regression analyses were conducted to reveal that (a) microfinance participation was not associated with justification of IPV and that (b) women who participated in microfinance were less likely to justify IPV when they had no control over their resources. Implications for practitioners and policymakers are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.
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Karyotaki, Eirini; Kemmeren, Lise; Riper, Heleen; Twisk, Jos; Hoogendoorn, Adriaan; Kleiboer, Annet; Mira, Adriana; Mackinnon, Andrew; Meyer, Björn; Botella, Cristina; Littlewood, Elizabeth; Andersson, Gerhard; Christensen, Helen; Klein, Jan P; Schröder, Johanna; Bretón-López, Juana; Scheider, Justine; Griffiths, Kathy; Farrer, Louise; Huibers, Marcus J H; Phillips, Rachel; Gilbody, Simon; Moritz, Steffen; Berger, Thomas; Pop, Victor; Spek, Viola; Cuijpers, Pim
2018-03-15
Little is known about potential harmful effects as a consequence of self-guided internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT), such as symptom deterioration rates. Thus, safety concerns remain and hamper the implementation of self-guided iCBT into clinical practice. We aimed to conduct an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of clinically significant deterioration (symptom worsening) in adults with depressive symptoms who received self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions. Several socio-demographic, clinical and study-level variables were tested as potential moderators of deterioration. Randomised controlled trials that reported results of self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions in adults with symptoms of depression were selected. Mixed effects models with participants nested within studies were used to examine possible clinically significant deterioration rates. Thirteen out of 16 eligible trials were included in the present IPD meta-analysis. Of the 3805 participants analysed, 7.2% showed clinically significant deterioration (5.8% and 9.1% of participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively). Participants in self-guided iCBT were less likely to deteriorate (OR 0.62, p guided iCBT has a lower rate of negative outcomes on symptoms than control conditions and could be a first step treatment approach for adult depression as well as an alternative to watchful waiting in general practice.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ya-Ling Teng
Full Text Available Postural dysfunctions are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia and affect their daily life and ability to work. In addition, sensory functions and sensory integration that are crucial for postural control are also compromised. This study intended to examine how patients with schizophrenia coordinate multiple sensory systems to maintain postural stability in dynamic sensory conditions. Twenty-nine patients with schizophrenia and 32 control subjects were recruited. Postural stability of the participants was examined in six sensory conditions of different level of congruency of multiple sensory information, which was based on combinations of correct, removed, or conflicting sensory inputs from visual, somatosensory, and vestibular systems. The excursion of the center of pressure was measured by posturography. Equilibrium scores were derived to indicate the range of anterior-posterior (AP postural sway, and sensory ratios were calculated to explore ability to use sensory information to maintain balance. The overall AP postural sway was significantly larger for patients with schizophrenia compared to the controls [patients (69.62±8.99; controls (76.53±7.47; t1,59 = -3.28, p<0.001]. The results of mixed-model ANOVAs showed a significant interaction between the group and sensory conditions [F5,295 = 5.55, p<0.001]. Further analysis indicated that AP postural sway was significantly larger for patients compared to the controls in conditions containing unreliable somatosensory information either with visual deprivation or with conflicting visual information. Sensory ratios were not significantly different between groups, although small and non-significant difference in inefficiency to utilize vestibular information was also noted. No significant correlations were found between postural stability and clinical characteristics. To sum up, patients with schizophrenia showed increased postural sway and a higher rate of falls during challenging sensory
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2010-10-01
... reimbursement control systems or demonstration projects. 489.34 Section 489.34 Public Health CENTERS FOR... CERTIFICATION PROVIDER AGREEMENTS AND SUPPLIER APPROVAL Allowable Charges § 489.34 Allowable charges: Hospitals participating in State reimbursement control systems or demonstration projects. A hospital receiving payment for...
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Jackson, Sandra L; Staimez, Lisa R; Safo, Sandra; Long, Qi; Rhee, Mary K; Cunningham, Solveig A; Olson, Darin E; Tomolo, Anne M; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Narayan, Venkat K M; Phillips, Lawrence S
2017-09-01
Clinical trials show lifestyle change programs are beneficial, yet large-scale, successful translation of these programs is scarce. We investigated the association between participation in the largest U.S. lifestyle change program, MOVE!, and diabetes control outcomes. This longitudinal, retrospective cohort study used Veterans Health Administration databases of patients with diabetes who participated in MOVE! between 2005 and 2012, or met eligibility criteria (BMI ≥25kg/m 2 ) but did not participate. Main outcomes were diabetic eye disease, renal disease, and medication intensification. There were 400,170 eligible patients with diabetes, including 87,366 (22%) MOVE! Included patients were 96% male, 77% white, with mean age 58years and BMI 34kg/m 2 . Controlling for baseline measurements and age, race, sex, BMI, and antidiabetes medications, MOVE! participants had lower body weight (-0.6kg), random plasma glucose (-2.8mg/dL), and HbA1c (-0.1%) at 12months compared to nonparticipants (each plifestyle change programs in U.S. health systems may improve health among the growing patient population with diabetes. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rajagopalan Parameshwaran
2008-01-01
Full Text Available In the quest for energy conservative building design, there is now a great opportunity for a flexible and sophisticated air conditioning system capable of addressing better thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency, that are strongly desired. The variable refrigerant volume air conditioning system provides considerable energy savings, cost effectiveness and reduced space requirements. Applications of intelligent control like fuzzy logic controller, especially adapted to variable air volume air conditioning systems, have drawn more interest in recent years than classical control systems. An experimental analysis was performed to investigate the inherent operational characteristics of the combined variable refrigerant volume and variable air volume air conditioning systems under fixed ventilation, demand controlled ventilation, and combined demand controlled ventilation and economizer cycle techniques for two seasonal conditions. The test results of the variable refrigerant volume and variable air volume air conditioning system for each techniques are presented. The test results infer that the system controlled by fuzzy logic methodology and operated under the CO2 based mechanical ventilation scheme, effectively yields 37% and 56% per day of average energy-saving in summer and winter conditions, respectively. Based on the experimental results, the fuzzy based combined system can be considered to be an alternative energy efficient air conditioning scheme, having significant energy-saving potential compared to the conventional constant air volume air conditioning system.
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Bal, Marjolijn I; Sattoe, Jane N T; Miedema, Harald S; van Staa, AnneLoes
2018-03-01
Little is known about any differences between young people with chronic physical conditions who do and do not apply for disability benefits in young adulthood for providing insights for future policy and rehabilitation care. We aimed to identify predictors during adolescence of receiving disability benefits in young adulthood and to compare recipients and non-recipients of benefits in social participation and psychosocial outcomes in young adulthood. Follow-up study of 18 to 25 year olds with various chronic conditions who at adolescent age completed a web-based survey (n=518; T0). The outcome was receiving disability benefits (yes or no). Associations with background characteristics, social participation, and impact of the chronic condition were explored with stepwise multivariate modelling, using T0 variables. Differences between recipients and non-recipients were explored using chi-square tests and t-tests. Receiving disability benefits in young adulthood was associated with greater extent of physical disability, receiving less special education, absenteeism at school/work, and low health-related quality of life during adolescence. In young adulthood, recipients of benefits reported higher perceived impact of the chronic condition on their school/work career and lower quality of life than non-recipients. Social participation varied across domains. This study provides important insights into the characteristics of a vulnerable subgroup of young people with chronic physical conditions. Disability benefit recipients experienced more impact of their chronic condition and reported a lower health-related quality of life over time than non-recipients. Rehabilitation professionals are encouraged to use patient-reported outcomes to address the lived experiences and screen the need for psychosocial support of this vulnerable subgroup of young people with chronic physical conditions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
David B. Nicholas PhD
2010-03-01
Full Text Available In this study the authors examined Internet-mediated qualitative data collection methods among a sample of children with chronic health conditions. Specifically, focus groups via Internet technology were contrasted to traditional face-to-face focus groups. Internet focus groups consisted of asynchronous text-based chat rooms lasting a total of one week in duration. Participants comprised 23 children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or cystic fibrosis, who were assigned to either an Internet or face-to-face focus group. Focus group analysis and follow-up participant interviews identified a range of content outcomes and processes as well as participant experiences and preferences. Findings yielded differences in terms of the volume and nature of online and face-to-face data, and participants' affinity to focus group modality appeared to reflect differences in participant expectations for social engagement and interaction. This study identifies both benefits and limitations of asynchronous, text-based online focus groups. Implications and recommendations are discussed.
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Experimental Study on Intelligent Control Scheme for Fan Coil Air-Conditioning System
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yanfeng Li
2013-01-01
Full Text Available An intelligent control scheme for fan coil air-conditioning systems has been put forward in order to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional proportion-integral-derivative (PID control scheme. These shortcomings include the inability of anti-interference and large inertia. An intelligent control test rig of fan coil air-conditioning system has been built, and MATLAB/Simulink dynamics simulation software has been adopted to implement the intelligent control scheme. A software for data exchange has been developed to combine the intelligence control system and the building automation (BA system. Experimental tests have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different control schemes including the traditional PID control, fuzzy control, and fuzzy-PID control for fan coil air-conditioning system. The effects of control schemes have been compared and analyzed in robustness, static and dynamic character, and economy. The results have shown that the developed data exchange interface software can induce the intelligent control scheme of the BA system more effectively. Among the proposed control strategies, fuzzy-PID control scheme which has the advantages of both traditional PID and fuzzy schemes is the optimal control scheme for the fan coil air-conditioning system.
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Clark, Imogen N; Baker, Felicity A; Peiris, Casey L; Shoebridge, Georgie; Taylor, Nicholas F
2017-03-01
To evaluate effects of participant-selected music on older adults' achievement of activity levels recommended in the physical activity guidelines following cardiac rehabilitation. A parallel group randomized controlled trial with measurements at Weeks 0, 6 and 26. A multisite outpatient rehabilitation programme of a publicly funded metropolitan health service. Adults aged 60 years and older who had completed a cardiac rehabilitation programme. Experimental participants selected music to support walking with guidance from a music therapist. Control participants received usual care only. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants achieving activity levels recommended in physical activity guidelines. Secondary outcomes compared amounts of physical activity, exercise capacity, cardiac risk factors, and exercise self-efficacy. A total of 56 participants, mean age 68.2 years (SD = 6.5), were randomized to the experimental ( n = 28) and control groups ( n = 28). There were no differences between groups in proportions of participants achieving activity recommended in physical activity guidelines at Week 6 or 26. Secondary outcomes demonstrated between-group differences in male waist circumference at both measurements (Week 6 difference -2.0 cm, 95% CI -4.0 to 0; Week 26 difference -2.8 cm, 95% CI -5.4 to -0.1), and observed effect sizes favoured the experimental group for amounts of physical activity (d = 0.30), exercise capacity (d = 0.48), and blood pressure (d = -0.32). Participant-selected music did not increase the proportion of participants achieving recommended amounts of physical activity, but may have contributed to exercise-related benefits.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yan, Huaxia; Deng, Shiming; Chan, Ming-yin
2016-01-01
Highlights: • A novel capacity controller for TEAC systems for improved indoor humidity control is developed. • The novel controller was developed by integrating two previous control algorithms. • Experimental controllability tests were carried out. • Improved control over indoor humidity levels and higher energy efficiency can be achieved. - Abstract: Using a multi-evaporator air conditioning (MEAC) system to correctly control indoor air temperatures only in a multi-room application is already a challenging and difficult task, let alone the control of both indoor air temperature and humidity. This is because in an MEAC system, a number of indoor units are connected to a common condensing unit. Hence, the interferences among operation parameters of different indoor units would make the desired control of an MEAC system hard to realize. Limited capacity control algorithms for MEAC systems have been developed, with most of them focusing only on the control of indoor air temperature, and no previous studies involving control of indoor air humidity using MEAC systems can be identified. In this paper, the development of a novel capacity controller for a three-evaporator air conditioning (TEAC) system for improved indoor air humidity control is reported. The novel controller was developed by integrating two previous control algorithms for a dual-evaporator air conditioning system for temperature control and for a single-evaporator air conditioning system for improved indoor humidity control. Experimental controllability tests were carried out and the controllability test results showed that, with the novel controller, improved control over indoor humidity levels and better energy efficiency for a TEAC system could be obtained as compared to the traditional On–Off controllers extensively used by MEAC systems.
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Saunders, C; Byrne, C D; Guthrie, B; Lindsay, R S; McKnight, J A; Philip, S; Sattar, N; Walker, J J; Wild, S H
2013-03-01
To describe the proportion of people with Type 2 diabetes living in Scotland who meet eligibility criteria for inclusion in several large randomized controlled trials of glycaemic control to inform physicians and guideline developers about the generalizibility of trial results. A literature review was performed to identify large trials assessing the impact of glycaemic control on risk of macrovascular disease. Inclusion and exclusion criteria from each trial were applied to data on the population of people with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes living in Scotland in 2008 (n = 180,590) in a population-based cross-sectional study and the number and proportion of people eligible for each trial was determined. Seven trials were identified. The proportion of people with Type 2 diabetes who met the eligibility criteria for the trials ranged from 3.5 to 50.7%. Trial participants were younger at age of diagnosis of diabetes and at time of trial recruitment than in the Scottish study population. The application of upper age criteria excluded the largest proportion of patients, with up to 39% of people with Type 2 diabetes ineligible for a trial with the most stringent criteria based on age alone. We found that many of the large trials of glycaemic control among people with Type 2 diabetes have limited external validity when applied to a population-based cohort of people with Type 2 diabetes. In particular, the age distribution of trial participants often does not reflect that of people with Type 2 diabetes in a contemporary British population. © 2012 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine © 2012 Diabetes UK.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chen Aimin; Cho Samyoung
2011-01-01
Conditional quantum oscillations are investigated for quantum gate operations in superconducting flux qubits. We present an effective Hamiltonian which describes a conditional quantum oscillation in two-qubit systems. Rabi-type quantum oscillations are discussed in implementing conditional quantum oscillations to quantum gate operations. Two conditional quantum oscillations depending on the states of control qubit can be synchronized to perform controlled-gate operations by varying system parameters. It is shown that the conditional quantum oscillations with their frequency synchronization make it possible to operate the controlled-NOT and -U gates with a very accurate gate performance rate in interacting qubit systems. Further, this scheme can be applicable to realize a controlled multi-qubit operation in various solid-state qubit systems. (author)
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Intelligent energy management control of vehicle air conditioning system coupled with engine
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Khayyam, Hamid; Abawajy, Jemal; Jazar, Reza N.
2012-01-01
Vehicle Air Conditioning (AC) systems consist of an engine powered compressor activated by an electrical clutch. The AC system imposes an extra load to the vehicle's engine increasing the vehicle fuel consumption and emissions. Energy management control of the vehicle air conditioning is a nonlinear dynamic system, influenced by uncertain disturbances. In addition, the vehicle energy management control system interacts with different complex systems, such as engine, air conditioning system, environment, and driver, to deliver fuel consumption improvements. In this paper, we describe the energy management control of vehicle AC system coupled with vehicle engine through an intelligent control design. The Intelligent Energy Management Control (IEMC) system presented in this paper includes an intelligent algorithm which uses five exterior units and three integrated fuzzy controllers to produce desirable internal temperature and air quality, improved fuel consumption, low emission, and smooth driving. The three fuzzy controllers include: (i) a fuzzy cruise controller to adapt vehicle cruise speed via prediction of the road ahead using a Look-Ahead system, (ii) a fuzzy air conditioning controller to produce desirable temperature and air quality inside vehicle cabin room via a road information system, and (iii) a fuzzy engine controller to generate the required engine torque to move the vehicle smoothly on the road. We optimised the integrated operation of the air conditioning and the engine under various driving patterns and performed three simulations. Results show that the proposed IEMC system developed based on Fuzzy Air Conditioning Controller with Look-Ahead (FAC-LA) method is a more efficient controller for vehicle air conditioning system than the previously developed Coordinated Energy Management Systems (CEMS). - Highlights: ► AC interacts: vehicle, environment, driver components, and the interrelationships between them. ► Intelligent AC algorithm which uses
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Hagger, M.S.; Hardcastle, S.J.; Chater, A.; Mallett, C.; Pal, S.; Chatzisarantis, N.L.D.
2014-01-01
Self-determination theory has been applied to the prediction of a number of health-related behaviors with self-determined or autonomous forms of motivation generally more effective in predicting health behavior than non-self-determined or controlled forms. Research has been confined to examining the motivational predictors in single health behaviors rather than comparing effects across multiple behaviors. The present study addressed this gap in the literature by testing the relative contribution of autonomous and controlling motivation to the prediction of a large number of health-related behaviors, and examining individual differences in self-determined motivation as a moderator of the effects of autonomous and controlling motivation on health behavior. Participants were undergraduate students (N = 140) who completed measures of autonomous and controlled motivational regulations and behavioral intention for 20 health-related behaviors at an initial occasion with follow-up behavioral measures taken four weeks later. Path analysis was used to test a process model for each behavior in which motivational regulations predicted behavior mediated by intentions. Some minor idiosyncratic findings aside, between-participants analyses revealed significant effects for autonomous motivational regulations on intentions and behavior across the 20 behaviors. Effects for controlled motivation on intentions and behavior were relatively modest by comparison. Intentions mediated the effect of autonomous motivation on behavior. Within-participants analyses were used to segregate the sample into individuals who based their intentions on autonomous motivation (autonomy-oriented) and controlled motivation (control-oriented). Replicating the between-participants path analyses for the process model in the autonomy- and control-oriented samples did not alter the relative effects of the motivational orientations on intention and behavior. Results provide evidence for consistent effects
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Modelling and Control of Ionic Electroactive Polymer Actuators under Varying Humidity Conditions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Sunjai Nakshatharan
2018-02-01
Full Text Available In this work, we address the problem of position control of ionic electroactive polymer soft actuators under varying relative humidity conditions. The impact of humidity on the actuation performance of ionic actuators is studied through frequency response and impedance spectroscopy analysis. Considering the uncertain performance of the actuator under varying humidity conditions, an adaptable model using the neural network method is developed. The model uses relative humidity magnitude as one of the model parameters, making it robust to different environmental conditions. Utilizing the model, a closed-loop controller based on the model predictive controller is developed for position control of the actuator. The developed model and controller are experimentally verified and found to be capable of predicting and controlling the actuators with excellent tracking accuracy under relative humidity conditions varying in the range of 10–90%.
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Intention of dog owners to participate in rabies control measures in Flores Island, Indonesia
Wera, Ewaldus; Mourits, Monique C.M.; Hogeveen, Henk
2016-01-01
The success of a rabies control strategy depends on the commitment and collaboration of dog owners. In this study the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to identify the factors, which are associated with the intention of dog owners to participate in rabies control measures in the
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jacqueline Kerr
Full Text Available Prolonged sitting is associated with cardiometabolic and vascular disease. Despite emerging evidence regarding the acute health benefits of interrupting prolonged sitting time, the effectiveness of different modalities in older adults (who sit the most is unclear.In preparation for a future randomized controlled trial, we enrolled 10 sedentary, overweight or obese, postmenopausal women (mean age 66 years ±9; mean body mass index 30.6 kg/m2 ±4.2 in a 4-condition, 4-period crossover feasibility pilot study in San Diego to test 3 different sitting interruption modalities designed to improve glucoregulatory and vascular outcomes compared to a prolonged sitting control condition. The interruption modalities included: a 2 minutes standing every 20 minutes; b 2 minutes walking every hour; and c 10 minutes standing every hour. During each 5-hr condition, participants consumed two identical, standardized meals. Blood samples, blood pressure, and heart rate were collected every 30 minutes. Endothelial function of the superficial femoral artery was measured at baseline and end of each 5-hr condition using flow-mediated dilation (FMD. Participants completed each condition on separate days, in randomized order. This feasibility pilot study was not powered to detect statistically significant differences in the various outcomes, however, analytic methods (mixed models were used to test statistical significance within the small sample size.Nine participants completed all 4 study visits, one participant completed 3 study visits and then was lost to follow up. Net incremental area under the curve (iAUC values for postprandial plasma glucose and insulin during the 5-hr sitting interruption conditions were not significantly different compared to the control condition. Exploratory analyses revealed that the 2-minute standing every 20 minutes and the 2-minute walking every hour conditions were associated with a significantly lower glycemic response to the second
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Chen, Donna T; Ko, Tomohiro M; Allen, Ashleigh A; Bonnie, Richard J; Suratt, Colleen E; Appelbaum, Paul S; Nunes, Edward V; Friedmann, Peter D; Lee, Joshua D; Gordon, Michael S; McDonald, Ryan; Wilson, Donna; Boney, Tamara Y; Murphy, Sean M; O'Brien, Charles P
2018-04-01
Individuals must feel free to exert personal control over decisions regarding research participation. We present an examination of participants' perceived personal control over, as well as reported pressures and threats from others, influencing their decision to join a study assessing the effectiveness of extended-release naltrexone in preventing opioid dependence relapse. Most participants endorsed a strong sense of control over the decision; few reported pressures or threats. Although few in number, participants' brief narrative descriptions of the pressures and threats are illuminating and provide context for their perceptions of personal control. Based on this work, we propose a useful set of tools to help ascertain participants' sense of personal control in joining research.
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Strategy for increasing the participation of masyarakat peduli api in forest fire control
Ni’mah, N. L. K.; Herdiansyah, H.; Soesilo, T. E. B.; Mutia, E. F.
2018-03-01
Forest fires have negative impact on ecology, health, and damage economic activities. One of conservation areas facing the threat of forest fire is Gunung Ciremai National Park. This research aims to formulate a strategy to increase the participation of Masyarakat Peduli Api in the effort of forest fire control. This research use quantitative method with SWOT analysis. Expert consisting of representatives from the national park, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and BPBD Kuningan Regency. An alternative strategy based on SWOT analysis is in quadrant 1 with coordinate point (0,39; 1,23). The position shows that sustainability of national park management through forest fire control can be done with an aggressive strategy. That is maximizing the strength that is owned with its potential as an ecotourism area to increase community motivation to engage in forest fire control activities. Provision of tourism management licenses will create employment opportunities and increase income for the community so it is expected to increase community participation to prevent the occurrence of forest fires rather than forest fire prevention.
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Stressor controllability modulates fear extinction in humans
Hartley, Catherine A.; Gorun, Alyson; Reddan, Marianne C.; Ramirez, Franchesca; Phelps, Elizabeth A.
2014-01-01
Traumatic events are proposed to play a role in the development of anxiety disorders, however not all individuals exposed to extreme stress experience a pathological increase in fear. Recent studies in animal models suggest that the degree to which one is able to control an aversive experience is a critical factor determining its behavioral consequences. In this study, we examined whether stressor controllability modulates subsequent conditioned fear expression in humans. Participants were randomly assigned to an escapable stressor condition, a yoked inescapable stressor condition, or a control condition involving no stress exposure. One week later, all participants underwent fear conditioning, fear extinction, and a test of extinction retrieval the following day. Participants exposed to inescapable stress showed impaired fear extinction learning and increased fear expression the following day. In contrast, escapable stress improved fear extinction and prevented the spontaneous recovery of fear. Consistent with the bidirectional controllability effects previously reported in animal models, these results suggest that one's degree of control over aversive experiences may be an important factor influencing the development of psychological resilience or vulnerability in humans. PMID:24333646
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Delay discounting, self-control, and substance use among adult drug court participants.
Jones, Craig G A; Fearnley, Helen; Panagiotopoulos, Barbara; Kemp, Richard I
2015-08-01
The current study examined the relationship between two measures of impulsiveness and the odds of substance use among a sample of participants on an Australian drug court (n=80). Participants completed a computer-based delay discounting task, a paper-based delay discounting task, and a questionnaire-based measure of self-control. The delay discounting tasks measured individual differences in the value attributed to distal outcomes, which is one aspect of impulsive behavior that has been found to be over-represented among illicit drug users. The relationship between the measures of impulsiveness and the odds of substance use was assessed by fitting longitudinal panel regression models with adjustment for informative treatment dropout. Consistent with previous research, drug court participants were found to have higher discount rates (i.e. were more impulsive) than a noncriminal population of university students (n=101). Drug court participants also discounted delayed gains more than delayed losses. Delay discounting was not significantly associated with the odds of substance use on the drug court program. There was a positive relationship between the survey-based measure of impulsivity and the mean substance use frequency. The authors conclude that impulsivity is correlated with substance use among drug court participants but not when measuring impulsivity using a delay discounting paradigm.
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The speed control of DC motor under the load condition using PI and PID controllers
Corapsiz, Muhammed Reşit; Kahveci, Hakan
2017-04-01
In this study, it was aimed to compare PI (Proportional-Integral) and PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controllers for speed control of Permanent Magnet Direct Current (PMDC) motor under both load and without load. For this purpose, firstly, the mathematical model was obtained from the dynamic equations of the PMDC motor and the obtained mathematical model was transferred to the simulation environment and modeled using Matlab/SIMULINK. Following the modeling process, PI and PID controller structures were formed, respectively. Secondly, after these structures were formed, the PMDC motor was run without any controller. Then, the control of the PMDC motor with no load was provided by using PI and PID controllers. Finally, the PMDC motor were loaded under the constant load (TL = 3 N.m.) for each condition and selected time period (t = 3 s). The obtained result for each control operations was comparatively given by observing effects of loading process on systems. When the obtained results were evaluated for each condition, it was observed that PID controller have the best performance with respect to PI controller.
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CORBA-based solution for remote participation in SST-1 tokamak control and operation
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mahajan, Kirti [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India)]. E-mail: kirti@ipr.res.in; Ravikiran, M. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Gulati, Hitesh [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Dave, H.J. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Kumar, Neeraj [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Patel, Kirit [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Kumar, Aveg [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Raju, D. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Bhandarkar, M. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Chudasama, H. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Kulkarni, S.V. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India); Saxena, Y.C. [Institute for Plasma Research, Near Indira Bridge, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428 (India)
2006-07-15
The steady state superconducting tokamak (SST-1) central control system is a distributed heterogeneous process communication system built on socket programming. It consists of machine, experiment and discharge control plus timing and a database. The software controls and monitors SST-1 subsystems: water-cooling, power supplies, cryogenics and vacuum over a local area network (LAN). The SST-1 control room is the place where all the activities like session announcement, machine control, experiment control, discharge control and monitoring are performed. We have realized that, instead of having a single monitoring place, we should have multiple monitoring points and it should be made possible to control the experiment from any PC over the LAN. In order to meet such requirements for remote participation in tokamak operation, we are upgrading the existing software. The upgraded software is based on Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) technology. The software is utilizing CORBA-services such as event service, naming services, interface repository and security services. The inherent features of CORBA make the software, platform and language independent. The software supports a variety of communication paradigms including publish-subscribe, peer-to-peer, and request-reply. Based on this software, one can participate in SST-1 tokamak operation from the LAN, or a wide area network (WAN) connection anywhere on the Internet. Each user can customize plasma parameters and diagnostics data that he wants to monitor, at any time without any change in the software and a copy of these parameters will be available to him. This paper focuses on the publish-subscribe communication paradigm and its application for a machine monitoring system.
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CORBA-based solution for remote participation in SST-1 tokamak control and operation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mahajan, Kirti; Ravikiran, M.; Gulati, Hitesh; Dave, H.J.; Kumar, Neeraj; Patel, Kirit; Kumar, Aveg; Raju, D.; Bhandarkar, M.; Chudasama, H.; Kulkarni, S.V.; Saxena, Y.C.
2006-01-01
The steady state superconducting tokamak (SST-1) central control system is a distributed heterogeneous process communication system built on socket programming. It consists of machine, experiment and discharge control plus timing and a database. The software controls and monitors SST-1 subsystems: water-cooling, power supplies, cryogenics and vacuum over a local area network (LAN). The SST-1 control room is the place where all the activities like session announcement, machine control, experiment control, discharge control and monitoring are performed. We have realized that, instead of having a single monitoring place, we should have multiple monitoring points and it should be made possible to control the experiment from any PC over the LAN. In order to meet such requirements for remote participation in tokamak operation, we are upgrading the existing software. The upgraded software is based on Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) technology. The software is utilizing CORBA-services such as event service, naming services, interface repository and security services. The inherent features of CORBA make the software, platform and language independent. The software supports a variety of communication paradigms including publish-subscribe, peer-to-peer, and request-reply. Based on this software, one can participate in SST-1 tokamak operation from the LAN, or a wide area network (WAN) connection anywhere on the Internet. Each user can customize plasma parameters and diagnostics data that he wants to monitor, at any time without any change in the software and a copy of these parameters will be available to him. This paper focuses on the publish-subscribe communication paradigm and its application for a machine monitoring system
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Carter, Anouska; Humphreys, Liam; Snowdon, Nicky; Sharrack, Basil; Daley, Amanda; Petty, Jane; Woodroofe, Nicola; Saxton, John
2015-10-15
The success of a clinical trial is often dependant on whether recruitment targets can be met in the required time frame. Despite an increase in research into the benefits of exercise in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), no trial has reported detailed data on effective recruitment strategies for large-scale randomised controlled trials. The main purpose of this report is to provide a detailed outline of recruitment strategies, rates and estimated costs in the Exercise Intervention for Multiple Sclerosis (ExIMS) trial to identify best practices for future trials involving multiple sclerosis (MS) patient recruitment. The ExIMS researchers recruited 120 PwMS to participate in a 12-week exercise intervention. Participants were randomly allocated to either exercise or usual-care control groups. Participants were sedentary, aged 18-65 years and had Expanded Disability Status Scale scores of 1.0-6.5. Recruitment strategies included attendance at MS outpatient clinics, consultant mail-out and trial awareness-raising activities. A total of 120 participants were recruited over the course of 34 months. To achieve this target, 369 potentially eligible and interested participants were identified. A total of 60 % of participants were recruited via MS clinics, 29.2 % from consultant mail-outs and 10.8 % through trial awareness. The randomisation yields were 33.2 %, 31.0 % and 68.4 % for MS clinic, consultant mail-outs and trial awareness strategies, respectively. The main reason for ineligibility was being too active (69.2 %), whilst for eligible participants the most common reason for non-participation was the need to travel to the study site (15.8 %). Recruitment via consultant mail-out was the most cost-effective strategy, with MS clinics being the most time-consuming and most costly. To reach recruitment targets in a timely fashion, a variety of methods were employed. Although consultant mail-outs were the most cost-effective recruitment strategy, use of this
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Blackwell, Simon E; Woud, Marcella L; MacLeod, Colin
2017-10-26
While control conditions are vitally important in research, selecting the optimal control condition can be challenging. Problems are likely to arise when the choice of control condition is not tightly guided by the specific question that a given study aims to address. Such problems have become increasingly apparent in experimental psychopathology research investigating the experimental modification of cognitive biases, particularly as the focus of this research has shifted from theoretical questions concerning mechanistic aspects of the association between cognitive bias and emotional vulnerability, to questions that instead concern the clinical efficacy of 'cognitive bias modification' (CBM) procedures. We discuss the kinds of control conditions that have typically been employed in CBM research, illustrating how difficulties can arise when changes in the types of research questions asked are not accompanied by changes in the control conditions employed. Crucially, claims made on the basis of comparing active and control conditions within CBM studies should be restricted to those conclusions allowed by the specific control condition employed. CBM studies aiming to establish clinical utility are likely to require quite different control conditions from CBM studies aiming to illuminate mechanisms. Further, conclusions concerning the clinical utility of CBM interventions cannot necessarily be drawn from studies in which the control condition has been chosen to answer questions concerning mechanisms. Appreciating the need to appropriately alter control conditions in the transition from basic mechanisms-focussed investigations to applied clinical research could greatly facilitate the translational process.
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Participation in Southeast Asian pollution control policies
Hofman, Peter; Coenen, Franciscus H.J.M.; Huitema, Dave; O'Toole, Laurence J.
1998-01-01
Although public awareness of environmental issues in Southeast Asian countries has increased dramatically during the nineties, there has not been a corresponding rise in the level of participation in environmental decision-making. Public participation often takes places at the end of a
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Control, data acquisition, data analysis and remote participation in LHD
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nagayama, Y.; Emoto, M.; Nakanishi, H.; Sudo, S.; Imazu, S.; Inagaki, S.; Iwata, C.; Kojima, M.; Nonomura, M.; Ohsuna, M.; Tsuda, K.; Yoshida, M.; Chikaraishi, H.; Funaba, H.; Horiuchi, R.; Ishiguro, S.; Ito, Y.; Kubo, S.; Mase, A.; Mito, T.
2008-01-01
This paper presents the control, data acquisition, data analysis and remote participation facilities of the Large Helical Device (LHD), which is designed to confine the plasma in steady state. In LHD the plasma duration exceeds 3000 s by controlling the plasma position, the density and the ICRF heating. The 'LABCOM' data acquisition system takes both the short-pulse and the steady-state data. A two-layer Mass Storage System with RAIDs and Blu-ray Disk jukeboxes in a storage area network has been developed to increase capacity of storage. The steady-state data can be monitored with a Web browser in real time. A high-level data analysis system with Web interfaces is being developed in order to provide easier usage of LHD data and large FORTRAN codes in a supercomputer. A virtual laboratory system for the Japanese fusion community has been developed with Multi-protocol Label Switching Virtual Private Network Technology. Collaborators at remote sites can join the LHD experiment or use the NIFS supercomputer system as if they were working in the LHD control room
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Developed adaptive neuro-fuzzy algorithm to control air conditioning ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The paper developed artificial intelligence technique adaptive neuro-fuzzy controller for air conditioning systems at different pressures. The first order Sugeno fuzzy inference system was implemented and utilized for modeling and controller design. In addition, the estimation of the heat transfer rate and water mass flow rate ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dučić Bojan
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Working memory is activated in situations which require active control of directing attention, processing information and making it available for a short time. Its content is limited in capacity and changes with regard to the context of a performed activity. Self-control is the capacity of a voluntary conscious effort to persist in achieving a previously set goal. The aim of this research was to determine the relation of verbal and visuospatial aspects of working memory with self-control skills in persons with mild intellectual disability (ID. The sample included 40 participants 8-12 years of age (M=10.65, SD=1.19. Memorizing a Maze task, adapted for participants with ID, was used to determine the capacity of visuospatial aspect of working memory. Memorizing Animals task was used to assess verbal aspect of working memory, and Self-Control Rating Scale was used to determine the acquisition level of self-control skills. It was determined that verbal aspects of working memory were significantly related to the acquired level of self-control skills (p=0.002. There was no significant relation between the results of tasks assessing the capacity of visuospatial working memory and the success on the scale assessing self-control capacity (p=0.089. The relation between self-control and verbal aspect of working memory may be explained by close links between using speech and applying self-regulation strategies.
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Microcredit participation and women's health: results from a cross-sectional study in Peru.
Hamad, Rita; Fernald, Lia C H
2015-08-05
Social and economic conditions are powerful determinants of women's health status. Microcredit, which involves the provision of small loans to low-income women in the hopes of improving their living conditions, is an increasingly popular intervention to improve women's socioeconomic status. Studies examining the health effects of microcredit programs have had mixed results. We conduct a cross-sectional study among female clients of a non-profit microcredit program in Peru (N = 1,593). The predictor variable is length of microcredit participation. We conduct bivariate and multivariate linear regressions to examine the associations between length of microcredit participation and a variety of measures of women's health. We control for participants' sociodemographic characteristics. We find that longer participation is associated with decreased depressive symptoms, increased social support, and increased perceived control, but these differences are attenuated with the inclusion of covariates. We find no association between length of participation and contraception use, cancer screening, or self-reported days sick. These results demonstrate a positive association between length of microcredit participation and measures of women's psychological health, but not physical health. These findings contribute to the discussion on the potential of microcredit programs to address the socioeconomic determinants of health, and suggest that addressing socioeconomic status may be a key way to improve women's health worldwide.
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Gain control network conditions in early sensory coding.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eduardo Serrano
Full Text Available Gain control is essential for the proper function of any sensory system. However, the precise mechanisms for achieving effective gain control in the brain are unknown. Based on our understanding of the existence and strength of connections in the insect olfactory system, we analyze the conditions that lead to controlled gain in a randomly connected network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. We consider two scenarios for the variation of input into the system. In the first case, the intensity of the sensory input controls the input currents to a fixed proportion of neurons of the excitatory and inhibitory populations. In the second case, increasing intensity of the sensory stimulus will both, recruit an increasing number of neurons that receive input and change the input current that they receive. Using a mean field approximation for the network activity we derive relationships between the parameters of the network that ensure that the overall level of activity of the excitatory population remains unchanged for increasing intensity of the external stimulation. We find that, first, the main parameters that regulate network gain are the probabilities of connections from the inhibitory population to the excitatory population and of the connections within the inhibitory population. Second, we show that strict gain control is not achievable in a random network in the second case, when the input recruits an increasing number of neurons. Finally, we confirm that the gain control conditions derived from the mean field approximation are valid in simulations of firing rate models and Hodgkin-Huxley conductance based models.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Helen M Kirkby
Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To assess: 1 the feasibility of electronic information provision; 2 gather evidence on the topics and level of detail of information potential research participant's accessed; 3 to assess satisfaction and understanding. DESIGN: Observational study with an embedded randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Low risk intervention study based in primary care. PARTICIPANTS: White British & Irish, South Asian and African-Caribbean subjects aged between 40-74 years eligible for a blood pressure monitoring study. INTERVENTIONS: PDF copy of the standard paper participant information sheet (PDF-PIS and an electronic Interactive Information Sheet (IIS where participants could choose both the type and level of detail accessed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 1 Proportion of participants providing an email address and accessing electronic information 2 Willingness to participate in a recruitment clinic. 3 Type and depth of information accessed on the IIS. 4 Participant satisfaction and understanding. RESULTS: 1160 participants were eligible for the study. Of these, 276 (24% provided an active email address, of whom 84 did not respond to the email. 106 responded to the email but chose not to access any electronic information and were therefore ineligible for randomisation. 42 were randomised to receive the PDF-PIS and 44 to receive the IIS (with consent rates of 48% and 36%, respectively; odds ratio 0.6, 95% confidence interval 0.25 to 1.4. Electronic observation of information accessed by potential participants showed 41% chose to access no information and only 9% accessed the detail presented on the Research Ethics Committee approved participant information sheet before booking to attend a recruitment clinic for the intervention study. 63 of the 106 participants (59% who chose not to access any electronic information also booked an appointment. CONCLUSIONS: Current written information about research may not be read, emphasising the importance of the consent
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Fuzzy logic control of air-conditioning system in residential buildings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abdel-Hamid Attia
2015-09-01
Full Text Available There has been a rising concern in reducing the energy consumption in building. Heating ventilation and air condition system is the biggest consumer of energy in building. In this study, fuzzy logic control of the air conditioning system of building for efficient energy operation and comfortable environment is investigated. A theoretical model of the fan coil unit (FCU and the heat transfer between air and coolant fluid is derived. The controlled variables are the room temperature and relative humidity and control consequents are the percentage of chilled and hot water flow rates at summer and the percentage of hot water and steam injected flow rates at winter. A computer simulation has been conducted and fuzzy control results are compared with that of conventional Proportional-Integral-Derivative control. It was found that the proposed control strategy satisfies the space load and at the same time to achieve the comfort zone, as defined by the ASHRAE code. Meanwhile PID control fails to adjust the room temperature at part-load operations. It has been demonstrated that fuzzy controller operation is more efficient and consumes less energy than PID control.
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Dynamic participation of doubly fed induction generator in automatic generation control
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bhatt, Praghnesh [Department of Electrical Engineering, Charotar Institute of Technology, Changa, Gujarat-388421 (India); Roy, Ranjit [Department of Electrical Engineering, S.V. National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat-395007 (India); Ghoshal, S.P. [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal-713209 (India)
2011-04-15
Increasing levels of wind generation have resulted in an urgent need for the assessment of their impact on frequency control of power systems. The displacement of conventional generation with wind generation will result in erosion of system frequency. The paper analyzed the dynamic participation of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) to system frequency responses of two-area interconnected power system having variety of conventional generating units. Frequency control support function responding proportionally to frequency deviation is proposed to take out the kinetic energy of turbine blades in order to improve the frequency response of the system. Impacts of different wind penetrations in the system and varying active power support from wind farm on frequency control have been investigated. Integral gains of AGC loop are optimized through craziness-based particle swarm optimization (CRPSO) in order to have optimal transient responses of area frequencies, tie-line power deviation and DFIG parameters. (author)
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ellehauge, K. (Ellehauge og Kildemoes, Aarhus (Denmark)); Muenster, E. (PlanEnergi, Skoerping (Denmark)); Reinholdt, L. (Teknologisk Institut, Aarhus (Denmark)); Minds, S. (AC-Sun Aps, Horsens (Denmark))
2011-03-15
Skive City Hall. The Technological Institute has participated closely in preparing the report for subtask A 'Small Systems'. Furthermore The Technological Institute had the role as coordinator of activities around the optimization of 'heat rejection'. In this context it is especially the derived electricity for pumps and fans in the heat emitter (cooling tower, dry cooler, etc.) that are looked at. Traditionally heat driven refrigeration machines are controlled by regulating the driving heat flow (lower regeneration temperature). This has however, for most types of sys-tems, negative impact on the system efficiency and thus the power consumption of auxiliary equipment. This has led to the development of an alternative regulation strategy tested at Skive City Hall plant. In 2009 it was planned to attach adiabatic pre-cooling of the air cooling coils at Skive City Hall, however the solution proved to be quite expensive. Further optimization of the solution was therefore not implemented. The study of adiabatic pre-cooling was instead made in a laboratory setting at the Technological Institute. This was combined with the test of a new air cooling system, based on indirect evaporation of water. The test was conducted on a cooler purchased from the Netherlands and a MST project was demonstrating this technology to heat driven air conditioning in a supermarket. AC Sun has designed and produced an optimized prototype 2 and begun data collection. Prototype (2) is flexibly designed for testing different bearing solutions. The prototype is installed in a buffer tank connected to the heating elements as external heat source acting as a collector. Prototype 2 will be used as the final internal testing station before the final design and manufacture of test facilities for 'field' test in 5 test stations Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain and Malaysia, respectively. Most of the testing stations are expected operating in spring 2011. Ellehauge and Kildemoes
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A multimedia consent tool for research participants in the Gambia: a randomized controlled trial.
Afolabi, Muhammed Olanrewaju; McGrath, Nuala; D'Alessandro, Umberto; Kampmann, Beate; Imoukhuede, Egeruan B; Ravinetto, Raffaella M; Alexander, Neal; Larson, Heidi J; Chandramohan, Daniel; Bojang, Kalifa
2015-05-01
To assess the effectiveness of a multimedia informed consent tool for adults participating in a clinical trial in the Gambia. Adults eligible for inclusion in a malaria treatment trial (n = 311) were randomized to receive information needed for informed consent using either a multimedia tool (intervention arm) or a standard procedure (control arm). A computerized, audio questionnaire was used to assess participants' comprehension of informed consent. This was done immediately after consent had been obtained (at day 0) and at subsequent follow-up visits (days 7, 14, 21 and 28). The acceptability and ease of use of the multimedia tool were assessed in focus groups. On day 0, the median comprehension score in the intervention arm was 64% compared with 40% in the control arm (P = 0.042). The difference remained significant at all follow-up visits. Poorer comprehension was independently associated with female sex (odds ratio, OR: 0.29; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.12-0.70) and residing in Jahaly rather than Basse province (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13-0.82). There was no significant independent association with educational level. The risk that a participant's comprehension score would drop to half of the initial value was lower in the intervention arm (hazard ratio 0.22, 95% CI: 0.16-0.31). Overall, 70% (42/60) of focus group participants from the intervention arm found the multimedia tool clear and easy to understand. A multimedia informed consent tool significantly improved comprehension and retention of consent information by research participants with low levels of literacy.
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Some aspects of public associations’ participation in implementing public control at municipal level
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Roman V. Gornev
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Objective to clarify the status of public associations as subjects of public control and to analyze the problems of participation of citizens 39 associations in conducting public expertise and public audits. Methods the methodology of research includes general scientific methods such as dialectic method. Specific jurisprudence methods of scientific cognition have also been used. Systematic method was used for the analysis of forms of public control by citizens39 associations at the municipal level. The principle of scientific objectivity has allowed for a comprehensive and objective analysis of the factual material the totality of factors affecting the interaction of public associations with local authorities in the implementation of public control. The formallegal method allowed to analyze the normativelegal acts to reveal the signs of fixing of such public control forms as public expertise and public audit. In the present study other research methods were also applied allowing to study the theme in detail. Results the study identified the lack of legal regulation of the legal status of public associations as subjects of public control as well as some forms of public control. The additions to the list of subjects of public control by public associations were proposed as well as improvements in the implementation of public expertise and public audit by the citizens39 associations as forms of social control. Scientific novelty the author found a lack of regulation of public associationsrsquo participation in some forms of social control and justified proposals for their improvement from a scientific point of view. Practical significance the possibility to apply the research results in legislative activity aimed at improving the provisions of the Federal Laws quotOn fundamentals of public control in the Russian Federationquot and quotOn the general principles of local selfgovernment organization in the Russian Federationquot. In addition the
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Development of Fuzzy Logic Control for Vehicle Air Conditioning System
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Henry Nasution
2008-08-01
Full Text Available A vehicle air conditioning system is experimentally investigated. Measurements were taken during the experimental period at a time interval of one minute for a set point temperature of 22, 23 and 24oC with internal heat loads of 0, 1 and 2 kW. The cabin temperature and the speed of the compressor were varied and the performance of the system, energy consumption and energy saving ware analyzed. The main objective of the experimental work is to evaluate the energy saving obtained when the fuzzy logic control (FLC algorithm, through an inverter, continuously regulates the compressor speed. It demonstrates better control of the compressor operation in terms of energy consumption as compared to the control by using a thermostat imposing On/Off cycles on the compressor at the nominal frequency of 50 Hz. The experimental set-up consists of original components from the air conditioning system of a compact passenger vehicle. The experimental results indicate that the proposed technique can save energy and improve indoor comfort significantly for vehicle air conditioning systems compared to the conventional (On/Off control technique.
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Larsson, Ellinor; Larsson-Lund, Maria; Nilsson, Ingeborg
2013-01-01
The digital gap is a threat to the participation of senior citizens in society, as a large proportion of seniors are not involved in Internet based activities (IBAs). To be able to overcome this disadvantage for seniors, there is a need to both learn more about the conditions that make seniors start performing IBAs and to be able to provide them…
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2-regularity and 2-normality conditions for systems with impulsive controls
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pavlova Natal'ya
2007-01-01
Full Text Available In this paper a controlled system with impulsive controls in the neighborhood of an abnormal point is investigated. The set of pairs (u,μ is considered as a class of admissible controls, where u is a measurable essentially bounded function and μ is a finite-dimensional Borel measure, such that for any Borel set B, μ(B is a subset of the given convex closed pointed cone. In this article the concepts of 2-regularity and 2-normality for the abstract mapping Ф, operating from the given Banach space into a finite-dimensional space, are introduced. The concepts of 2-regularity and 2-normality play a great role in the course of derivation of the first and the second order necessary conditions for the optimal control problem, consisting of the minimization of a certain functional on the set of the admissible processes. These concepts are also important for obtaining the sufficient conditions for the local controllability of the nonlinear systems. The convenient criterion for 2-regularity along the prescribed direction and necessary conditions for 2-normality of systems, linear in control, are introduced in this article as well.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yan Wang
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Evaluative conditioning (EC procedures can be used to form and change attitudes toward a wide variety of objects. The current study examined the effects of a negative EC procedure on attitudes toward chocolate, and whether it influenced chocolate evaluation and consumption. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental condition in which chocolate images were paired with negative stimuli, or the control condition in which chocolate images were randomly paired with positive stimuli (50% and negative stimuli (50%. Explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images were collected. During an ostensible taste test, chocolate evaluation and consumption were assessed. Results revealed that compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition showed more negative explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images and evaluated chocolate more negatively during the taste test. However, chocolate consumption did not differ between experimental and control conditions. These findings suggest that pairing chocolate with negative stimuli can influence attitudes toward chocolate, though behavioral effects are absent. Intervention applications of EC provide avenues for future research and practices.
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Wang, Yan; Wang, Guosen; Zhang, Dingyuan; Wang, Lei; Cui, Xianghua; Zhu, Jinglei; Fang, Yuan
2017-01-01
Evaluative conditioning (EC) procedures can be used to form and change attitudes toward a wide variety of objects. The current study examined the effects of a negative EC procedure on attitudes toward chocolate, and whether it influenced chocolate evaluation and consumption. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental condition in which chocolate images were paired with negative stimuli, or the control condition in which chocolate images were randomly paired with positive stimuli (50%) and negative stimuli (50%). Explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images were collected. During an ostensible taste test, chocolate evaluation and consumption were assessed. Results revealed that compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition showed more negative explicit and implicit attitudes toward chocolate images and evaluated chocolate more negatively during the taste test. However, chocolate consumption did not differ between experimental and control conditions. These findings suggest that pairing chocolate with negative stimuli can influence attitudes toward chocolate, though behavioral effects are absent. Intervention applications of EC provide avenues for future research and practices.
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Motion control, motion sickness, and the postural dynamics of mobile devices.
Stoffregen, Thomas A; Chen, Yi-Chou; Koslucher, Frank C
2014-04-01
Drivers are less likely than passengers to experience motion sickness, an effect that is important for any theoretical account of motion sickness etiology. We asked whether different types of control would affect the incidence of motion sickness, and whether any such effects would be related to participants' control of their own bodies. Participants played a video game on a tablet computer. In the Touch condition, the device was stationary and participants controlled the game exclusively through fingertip inputs via the device's touch screen. In the Tilt condition, participants held the device in their hands and moved the device to control some game functions. Results revealed that the incidence of motion sickness was greater in the Touch condition than in the Tilt condition. During game play, movement of the head and torso differed as a function of the type of game control. Before the onset of subjective symptoms of motion sickness, movement of the head and torso differed between participants who later reported motion sickness and those that did not. We discuss implications of these results for theories of motion sickness etiology.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Man Zaigang; Wang Renbo; Zhang Xiongjie; Zhu Zhifu; Tang Bin
2009-01-01
Radon chamber can be widely used in various radon measurement instruments for calibration, testing and radon environment experiment. According to requisition, radon chamber temperature should be controllable from +10 degree C to +30 degree C, and the temperature control accuracy of the system reaches ±1 degree C. The design of automatic temperature controlled by air-condition based on 485 BUS is introduced. The software and hardware techniques of how the ATMEL89S52 micro controller controls air-condition and communicates with computer are elaborated on. (authors)
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Employee choice of flexible spending account participation and health plan.
Hamilton, Barton H; Marton, James
2008-07-01
Despite the fact that flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are becoming an increasingly popular employer-provided health benefit, there has been very little empirical study of FSA use among employees at the individual level. This study contributes to the literature on FSAs using a unique data set that provides three years of employee-level-matched benefits data. Motivated by the theoretical model of FSA choice presented in Cardon and Showalter (J. Health Econ. 2001; 20(6):935-954), we examine the determinants of FSA participation and contribution levels using cross-sectional and random-effect two-part models. FSA participation and health plan choice are also modeled jointly in each year using conditional logit models. We find that, even after controlling for a number of other demographic characteristics, non-whites are less likely to participate in the FSA program, have lower contributions conditional on participation, and have a lower probability of switching to new lower cost share, higher premium plans when they were introduced. We also find evidence that choosing health plans with more expected out-of-pocket expenses is correlated with participation in the FSA program. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Meyerbröker, K; Morina, N; Emmelkamp, P M G
2018-05-04
Recent research indicates that pharmacological agents may enhance psychotherapeutic outcome. Yet, empirical results have not been conclusive with respect to two pharmacological agents, yohimbine hydrochloride (YOH) and propranolol. YOH is suggested to enhance emotional memory by elevating norepinephrine, whereas the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol might help better cope with feared situations by reducing accompanying bodily sensations. In this controlled trial, fifty-six participants with specific phobia were randomly assigned to either 1) virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) plus YOH, 2) VRET plus Propranolol, or 3) VRET plus placebo. Participants in all conditions received three sessions of VRET over a period of two weeks. We conducted 2 × 3 repeated measures MANOVA's. Results showed a significant effect for time, with partial eta squared ranging from ηp2 = 0.647 to ηp2 = 0.692, for specific phobia, yet no significant interaction effects were found. No significant differences were found when VRET with YOH or a beta-blocker was compared to VRET with a non-active placebo. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Levasseur, Mélanie; Dubois, Marie-France; Filliatrault, Johanne; Vasiliadis, Helen-Maria; Lacasse-Bédard, Joanie; Tourigny, André; Levert, Marie-Josée; Gabaude, Catherine; Lefebvre, Hélène; Berger, Valérie; Eymard, Chantal
2018-03-31
The challenges of global ageing and the growing burden of chronic diseases require innovative interventions acting on health determinants like social participation. Many older adults do not have equitable opportunities to achieve full social participation, and interventions might underempower their personal and environmental resources and only reach a minority. To optimise current practices, the Accompagnement-citoyen Personnalisé d'Intégration Communautaire (APIC), an intervention demonstrated as being feasible and having positive impacts, needs further evaluation. A pragmatic multicentre, prospective, two-armed, randomised controlled trial will evaluate: (1) the short-term and long-term effects of the APIC on older adults' health, social participation, life satisfaction and healthcare services utilisation and (2) its cost-effectiveness. A total of 376 participants restricted in at least one instrumental activity of daily living and living in three large cities in the province of Quebec, Canada, will be randomly assigned to the experimental or control group using a centralised computer-generated random number sequence procedure. The experimental group will receive weekly 3-hour personalised stimulation sessions given by a trained volunteer over the first 12 months. Sessions will encourage empowerment, gradual mobilisation of personal and environmental resources and community integration. The control group will receive the publicly funded universal healthcare services available to all Quebecers. Over 2 years (baseline and 12, 18 and 24 months later), self-administered questionnaires will assess physical and mental health (primary outcome; version 2 of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey, converted to SF-6D utility scores for quality-adjusted life years), social participation (Social Participation Scale) and life satisfaction (Life Satisfaction Index-Z). Healthcare services utilisation will be recorded and costs of each intervention calculated. The Research
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Hughes, Stephen; Lewis, Sophie; Willis, Karen; Rogers, Anne; Wyke, Sally; Smith, Lorraine
2017-12-01
Our aim was to systematically review the qualitative literature about the experiences of both facilitators and participants in a range of group-based programmes to support the self-management of long-term conditions. We searched 7 databases using the terms 'self-management', 'group' and 'qualitative'. Full text articles meeting the inclusion criteria were retrieved for review. A thematic synthesis approach was used to analyse the studies. 2126 articles were identified and 24 were included for review. Group participants valued being with similar others and perceived peer support benefits. Facilitators (HCP and lay) had limited group specific training, were uncertain of purpose and prioritised education and medical conformity over supportive group processes and the promotion of self-management agency and engagement. Overall, studies prioritised positive descriptions. Group programmes' medical self-management focus may reduce their ability to contribute to patient-valued outcomes. Further research is needed to explore this disconnect. This review supports broadening the scope of group-based programmes to foreground shared learning, social support and development of agency. It is of relevance to developers and facilitators of group self-management programmes and their ability to address the burden of long-term conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Using spatial context to support prospective memory in simulated air traffic control.
Loft, Shayne; Finnerty, Dannielle; Remington, Roger W
2011-12-01
The aim was to examine whether prospective memory error and response costs to ongoing tasks in an air traffic control simulation could be reduced by providing spatial context. Prospective memory refers to remembering to perform an intended action at an appropriate point in the future. Failures of prospective memory can occur in air traffic control. For this study, three conditions of participants performed an air traffic control task that required them to accept and hand off aircraft and to prevent conflicts. The prospective memory task required participants to remember to press an alternative key rather than the routine key when accepting target aircraft. A red line separated the display into upper and lower regions. Participants in the context condition were told that the prospective memory instruction would apply only to aircraft approaching from one region (upper or lower). Those in the standard condition were not provided this information. In the control condition, participants did not have to perform the prospective memory task. In the context condition, participants made fewer prospective memory errors than did those in the standard condition and made faster acceptance decisions for aircraft approaching from irrelevant compared with relevant regions. Costs to hand-off decision time were also reduced in the context condition. Spatial context provided no benefit to conflict detection. Participants could partially localize their allocation of attentional resources to the prospective memory task to relevant display regions. The findings are potentially applicable to air traffic control, whereby regularities in airspace structure and standard traffic flows allow controllers to anticipate the location of specific air traffic events.
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On Conditions of Participation. The Deficits of Public Reason
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Hrubec, Marek
-, č. 1 (2008), s. 81-91 ISSN 1210-3055 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06013 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z90090514 Keywords : participation * public reason * liberalism * John Rawls * critical Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion
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Alignment Condition-Based Robust Adaptive Iterative Learning Control of Uncertain Robot System
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Guofeng Tong
2014-04-01
Full Text Available This paper proposes an adaptive iterative learning control strategy integrated with saturation-based robust control for uncertain robot system in presence of modelling uncertainties, unknown parameter, and external disturbance under alignment condition. An important merit is that it achieves adaptive switching of gain matrix both in conventional PD-type feedforward control and robust adaptive control in the iteration domain simultaneously. The analysis of convergence of proposed control law is based on Lyapunov's direct method under alignment initial condition. Simulation results demonstrate the faster learning rate and better robust performance with proposed algorithm by comparing with other existing robust controllers. The actual experiment on three-DOF robot manipulator shows its better practical effectiveness.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zlygostev A.N.
2017-09-01
Full Text Available according to the author, the corporate structure of economic entities is objective need today owing to the fact that the created conditions of acceleration of economic development of the country often demand association of several legal entities and individuals conducting an entrepreneurial activity to achieve the required result. At the same time, the corporation is not independent legal form and its activity is not regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In this regard, there is a set of various interrelations and the relations of economic entities which are based on a basis of self-government and membership of participants of corporation on long-term contractual and contract conditions. This, in turn, predetermines the search of new, most effective forms and methods of formation and development of control systems of corporations including increases in level of their personnel potential.
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42 CFR 485.638 - Conditions of participation: Clinical records.
2010-10-01
... participation: Clinical records. (a) Standard: Records system—(1) The CAH maintains a clinical records system in..., readily accessible, and systematically organized. (4) For each patient receiving health care services, the CAH maintains a record that includes, as applicable— (i) Identification and social data, evidence of...
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Overview of impurity control and wall conditioning in NSTX
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kugel, H.W.; Maingi, R.; Wampler, W.; Barry, R.E.; Bell, M.; Blanchard, W.; Gates, D.; Johnson, D.; Kaita, R.; Kaye, S.; Maqueda, R.; Menard, J.; Menon, M.M.; Mueller, D.; Ono, M.; Paul, S.; Peng, Y-K.M.; Raman, R.; Roquemore, A.; Skinner, C. H.; Sabbagh, S.; Stratton, B.; Stutman, D.; Wilson, J. R.; Zweben, S.
2000-01-01
The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) started plasma operations i n February 1999. In the first extended period of experiments, NSTX achieved high current, inner wall limited, double null, and single null plasma discharges, initial Coaxial Helicity Injection, and High Harmonic Fast Wave results. As expected, discharge reproducibility and performance were strongly affected by wall conditions. In this paper, the authors describe the internal geometry, and initial plasma discharge, impurity control, wall conditioning, erosion, and deposition results
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de Rose, Julio C.; Hidalgo, Matheus; Vasconcellos, Mariliz
2013-01-01
Variation in baseline controlling relations is suggested as one of the factors determining variability in stimulus equivalence outcomes. This study used single- comparison trials attempting to control such controlling relations. Four children learned AB, BC, and CD conditional discriminations, with 2 samples and 2 comparison stimuli. In Condition…
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Modified atmospheric conditions controlling fungal growth on cheese
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Per Væggemose
1997-01-01
Effective control of fungal growth on cheese under storage conditions is of great concern for the dairy industry. Therefore we designed a research project together with the Danish dairy industry on modelling fungal growth on cheese as affected by the combined effect of storage conditions (O2 and CO......2 level, relative humidity and temperature) and the composition of the cheese. All fungal species commonly found on cheese, starter cultures as well as contaminants, were examined.The most important factors influencing fungal growth are temperature, water activity of the medium and the carbon...... a competitive advantage over other fungi in moist conditions with high carbon dioxide levels, such as inside a roquefort cheese or in gas tight grain storage. The key to success in food packaging is to recognise the food ecosystem, as it enables us to identify which micro...
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Self-controlled feedback facilitates motor learning in both high and low activity individuals.
Fairbrother, Jeffrey T; Laughlin, David D; Nguyen, Timothy V
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study was to determine if high and low activity individuals differed in terms of the effects of self-controlled feedback on the performance and learning of a movement skill. The task consisted of a blindfolded beanbag toss using the non-preferred arm. Participants were pre-screened according to their physical activity level using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. An equal number of high activity (HA) and low activity (LA) participants were assigned to self-control (SC) and yoked (YK) feedback conditions, creating four groups: Self-Control-High Activity; Self-Control-Low Activity; Yoked-High Activity; and Yoked-Low Activity. SC condition participants were provided feedback whenever they requested it, while YK condition participants received feedback according to a schedule created by their SC counterpart. Results indicated that the SC condition was more accurate than the YK condition during acquisition and transfer phases, and the HA condition was more accurate than the LA condition during all phases of the experiment. A post-training questionnaire indicated that participants in the SC condition asked for feedback mostly after what they perceived to be "good" trials; those in the YK condition indicated that they would have preferred to receive feedback after "good" trials. This study provided further support for the advantages of self-controlled feedback when learning motor skills, additionally showing benefits for both active and less active individuals. The results suggested that the provision of self-controlled feedback to less active learners may be a potential avenue to teaching motor skills necessary to engage in greater amounts of physical activity.
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A new method for controlling refrigerant flow in automobile air conditioning
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Xuquan Li; Jiangping Chen; Zhijiu Chen [Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China). Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics Engineering; Weihua Liu; Wei Hu; Xiaobing Liu [Shanghai Delphi Automotive Air Conditiong Systems Co. Ltd., Changhai (China)
2004-05-01
This paper describes the improvement of the refrigerant flow control method by using an electronic expansion valve (EEV) which is driven by a stepper motor in automobile air conditioning system. An EEV can make a quick response to the abrupt change in the refrigerant flow rate during the change in automobile speed and the thermostatic on/off operation. The flow rate characteristic of the EEV for automobile air conditioning was presented. A microcontroller is used to receive the input signal and generate the output signal to control the opening of the EEV. The fuzzy self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control method is employed. Experimental results show that the new control method can feed adequate refrigerant flow into the evaporator in various operations. The evaporator discharge air temperature has dropped by approximately 3{sup o}C as compared with that of the conventional PID control system. (author)
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Lardeux, Frédéric; Depickère, Stéphanie; Aliaga, Claudia; Chavez, Tamara; Zambrana, Lilian
2015-02-01
Triatoma infestans is the main vector of Chagas disease in the southern cone countries. Present control strategies based on indoor and outdoor residual insecticide spraying are not sufficient to control disease transmission, particularly in Bolivia. Techniques based on the management of the human environment may be good alternatives or supplements. Social and entomological surveys were carried out in four villages of Bolivia situated in the dry inter-Andean Valleys and the Chaco region. Risk factors for house infestation by T. infestans were identified, and an eco-health intervention based on education and community participation was carried out to reduce the risks of house infestation. It consisted of implementing simple and low cost vector control techniques such as coating of mud walls, cleaning activities and removal of poultry that enter rooms to lay eggs. The eco-health intervention significantly reduced the number of infested bedrooms, the mean abundance of T. infestans in bedrooms and beds, especially in the Chaco region. Mud wall coating was well accepted and could be proposed as a supplementary tool to the National Program of Chagas Disease Control to enhance the effects of insecticide sprayings. Even if cleaning activities were still neglected, community participation proved to be effective in reducing house infestation. © The author 2015. The World Health Organization has granted Oxford University Press permission for the reproduction of this article.
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Investigating parameters participating in the infant respiratory control system attractor.
Terrill, Philip I; Wilson, Stephen J; Suresh, Sadasivam; Cooper, David M; Dakin, Carolyn
2008-01-01
Theoretically, any participating parameter in a non-linear system represents the dynamics of the whole system. Taken's time delay embedding theory provides the fundamental basis for allowing non-linear analysis to be performed on physiological, time-series data. In practice, only one measurable parameter is required to be measured to convey an accurate representation of the system dynamics. In this paper, the infant respiratory control system is represented using three variables-a digitally sampled respiratory inductive plethysmography waveform, and the derived parameters tidal volume and inter-breath interval time series data. For 14 healthy infants, these data streams were analysed using recurrence plot analysis across one night of sleep. The measured attractor size of these variables followed the same qualitative trends across the nights study. Results suggest that the attractor size measures of the derived IBI and tidal volume are representative surrogates for the raw respiratory waveform. The extent to which the relative attractor sizes of IBI and tidal volume remain constant through changing sleep state could potentially be used to quantify pathology, or maturation of breathing control.
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Air Traffic Controllers' Control Strategies in the Terminal Area Under Off-Nominal Conditions
Martin, Lynne; Mercer, Joey; Callantine, Todd; Kupfer, Michael; Cabrall, Christopher
2012-01-01
A human-in-the-loop simulation investigated the robustness of a schedule-based terminal-area air traffic management concept, and its supporting controller tools, to off-nominal events - events that led to situations in which runway arrival schedules required adjustments and controllers could no longer use speed control alone to impose the necessary delays. The main research question was exploratory: to assess whether controllers could safely resolve and control the traffic during off-nominal events. A focus was the role of the supervisor - how he managed the schedules, how he assisted the controllers, what strategies he used, and which combinations of tools he used. Observations and questionnaire responses revealed supervisor strategies for resolving events followed a similar pattern: a standard approach specific to each type of event often resolved to a smooth conclusion. However, due to the range of factors influencing the event (e.g., environmental conditions, aircraft density on the schedule, etc.), sometimes the plan required revision and actions had a wide-ranging effect.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2009-01-01
The main objective of this meeting is to present and discuss new developments and perspectives in the areas of control, data acquisition and remote participation for nuclear research around the world. The following topics have been covered: 1) plasma control, 2) machine control, monitoring, safety and remote manipulation, 3) data acquisition and signal processing, 4) database techniques for information storage and retrieval, 5) advanced computing and massive data analysis, 6) remote participation and virtual laboratory, 7) fast network technology and its application, and 8) ITER
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Frankowska, Hélène; Hoehener, Daniel
2017-06-01
This paper is devoted to pointwise second-order necessary optimality conditions for the Mayer problem arising in optimal control theory. We first show that with every optimal trajectory it is possible to associate a solution p (ṡ) of the adjoint system (as in the Pontryagin maximum principle) and a matrix solution W (ṡ) of an adjoint matrix differential equation that satisfy a second-order transversality condition and a second-order maximality condition. These conditions seem to be a natural second-order extension of the maximum principle. We then prove a Jacobson like necessary optimality condition for general control systems and measurable optimal controls that may be only ;partially singular; and may take values on the boundary of control constraints. Finally we investigate the second-order sensitivity relations along optimal trajectories involving both p (ṡ) and W (ṡ).
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Participation under Compulsion
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Franco Rau
2010-12-01
Full Text Available Benefits of Social Software in teaching and learning are a research subject of great interest, especially in higher education. Even though the opportunities to encourage students’ participation are promising, there is a neglected area we intend to illuminate: heteronomy. Compulsion and external control are used to foster participation. In our study we examined 16 international evaluation and research papers which describe the implementation of Social Software to enhance students’ participation within courses. Several contradictions within these descriptions were revealed. One may realise that students pretend to “play the game” due to assessment regulations. The tension between students’ self-responsibility and external control in education needs to be reflected systematically.
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Olstad, Dana Lee; Crawford, David A; Abbott, Gavin; McNaughton, Sarah A; Le, Ha Nd; Ni Mhurchu, Cliona; Pollard, Christina; Ball, Kylie
2017-08-25
The impacts of supermarket-based nutrition promotion interventions might be overestimated if participants shift their proportionate food purchasing away from their usual stores. This study quantified whether participants who received price discounts on fruits and vegetables (FV) in the Supermarket Healthy Eating for Life (SHELf) randomized controlled trial (RCT) shifted their FV purchasing into study supermarkets during the intervention period. Participants were 642 females randomly assigned to a 1) skill-building (n = 160), 2) price reduction (n = 161), 3) combined skill-building and price reduction (n = 160), or 4) control (n = 161) group. Participants self-reported the proportion of FV purchased in study supermarkets at baseline, 3- and 6-months post-intervention. Fisher's exact and χ 2 tests assessed differences among groups in the proportion of FV purchased in study supermarkets at each time point. Multinomial logistic regression assessed differences among groups in the change in proportionate FV purchasing over time. Post-intervention, 49% of participants purchased ≥50% of their FV in study supermarkets. Compared to all other groups, the price reduction group was approximately twice as likely (RRR: 1.8-2.2) to have increased proportionate purchasing of FV in study supermarkets from baseline to post-intervention (psupermarkets during the intervention period. Unless food purchasing data are available for all sources, differential changes in purchasing patterns can make it difficult to discern the true impacts of nutrition interventions. The SHELf trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials Registration ISRCTN39432901, Registered 30 June 2010, Retrospectively registered ( http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN39432901 ).
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The Double Conditioning of Political Participation: Grassroots Politics on Facebook. Conjunctions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schou, Jannick; Farkas, Johan; Hjelholt, Morten
2015-01-01
Th e emergence of social network sites as a part of everyday life has given rise to a number of debates on the demo-cratic potential aff orded by these technologies. Th is paper addresses political participation facilitated through Facebook from a practice-oriented perspective and presents a case...... of Facebook to facilitate political participation. Th e study fi nds that user participation on the Facebook page is ‘ double conditioned’ by the material structure of the social network site on the one hand and by the discourses articulated by the organisation and users on the other. Finally, the paper...... discusses the fi ndings and raises a number of problems and obstacles facing participatory grassroots organisations, such as Fight For Th e Future, when using Facebook....
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The Use of Social Media to Recruit Participants With Rare Conditions: Lynch Syndrome as an Example.
Burton-Chase, Allison M; Parker, Wendy M; Hennig, Kelsey; Sisson, Faith; Bruzzone, Linda L
2017-01-23
Social media is increasingly being used as a means of recruiting participants, particularly for investigators whose areas of interest involve rare conditions or hard-to-reach populations. However, much of the literature to date has focused on paid advertisement recruitment. We used Lynch syndrome (LS), a rare hereditary cancer syndrome, as a model to demonstrate the successful partnership between researchers and a Web-based patient education and advocacy organization to facilitate participant recruitment. Recruitment was undertaken in partnership with Lynch Syndrome International (LSI), an advocacy organization with a strong social media presence. After LSI published our study information, participants followed up via email or phone call. Following prescreening and consent, interested and eligible participants were then sent a secure survey link. Within 36 hours of a single Facebook post by the site administrators for LSI, over 150 individuals responded via phone or email. Sixty-five individuals were sent the survey link and 57 individuals completed the survey (88% response rate). Of note, these 57 individuals were geographically diverse within the Unites States, representing LS patients from 26 different states. This approach has several advantages, including recruitment through a trusted source outside of a clinical setting, higher response rates, and cost-effectiveness with a small research team in a relatively short amount of time. Overall, social media recruitment with a trusted online partner can be highly effective in hard-to-reach clinical populations, such as patients with LS. However, this approach requires additional effort for eligibility screening. ©Allison M Burton-Chase, Wendy M Parker, Kelsey Hennig, Faith Sisson, Linda L Bruzzone. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 23.01.2017.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bonnemay-Juricek, L [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires
1968-07-01
The existence of solutions in the optimal control problems with free endpoints is studied in this report and existence conditions are established without the usual assumption that the control region is convex. Furthermore the results, in order to be of some utility in physical applications, are expressed only by means of conditions on the parameters defining the system. (author) [French] Ce rapport etudie l'existence de solutions optimales dans les problemes de commande ou le point terminal est libre et ou la duree de l'evolution du systeme a optimiser est connue. Des conditions d'existence y sont formulees sans recourir a l'hypothese usuelle de convexite du domaine des valeurs des commandes. De plus on a cherche a rendre utilisables les resultats en ne faisant porter les conditions que sur les parametres directement accessibles du systeme. (auteur)
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Social proof in the supermarket : Promoting healthy choices under low self-control conditions
Salmon, Stefanie J.; De Vet, Emely; Adriaanse, Marieke A.; Fennis, Bob M.; Veltkamp, Martijn; De Ridder, Denise T. D.
2015-01-01
Under low self-control conditions, people often favor tempting but unhealthy food products. Instead of fighting against low self-control to reduce unhealthy food choices, we aim to demonstrate in a field study that heuristic decision tendencies can be exploited under these conditions. To do so a
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Social proof in the supermarket: Promoting healthy choices under low self-control conditions
Salmon, S.J.; Vet, de E.; Adriaanse, M.A.; Fennis, B.M.; Veltkamp, M.; Ridder, de D.T.D.
2015-01-01
Under low self-control conditions, people often favor tempting but unhealthy food products. Instead of fighting against low self-control to reduce unhealthy food choices, we aim to demonstrate in a field study that heuristic decision tendencies can be exploited under these conditions. To do so a
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Expectations contribute to reduced pain levels during prayer in highly religious participants.
Jegindø, Else-Marie Elmholdt; Vase, Lene; Skewes, Joshua Charles; Terkelsen, Astrid Juhl; Hansen, John; Geertz, Armin W; Roepstorff, Andreas; Jensen, Troels Staehelin
2013-08-01
Although the use of prayer as a religious coping strategy is widespread and often claimed to have positive effects on physical disorders including pain, it has never been tested in a controlled experimental setting whether prayer has a pain relieving effect. Religious beliefs and practices are complex phenomena and the use of prayer may be mediated by general psychological factors known to be related to the pain experience, such as expectations, desire for pain relief, and anxiety. Twenty religious and twenty non-religious healthy volunteers were exposed to painful electrical stimulation during internal prayer to God, a secular contrast condition, and a pain-only control condition. Subjects rated expected pain intensity levels, desire for pain relief, and anxiety before each trial and pain intensity and pain unpleasantness immediately after on mechanical visual analogue scales. Autonomic and cardiovascular measures provided continuous non-invasive objective means for assessing the potential analgesic effects of prayer. Prayer reduced pain intensity by 34 % and pain unpleasantness by 38 % for religious participants, but not for non-religious participants. For religious participants, expectancy and desire predicted 56-64 % of the variance in pain intensity scores, but for non-religious participants, only expectancy was significantly predictive of pain intensity (65-73 %). Conversely, prayer-induced reduction in pain intensity and pain unpleasantness were not followed by autonomic and cardiovascular changes.
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Shallcross, Amanda J.; Gross, James J.; Visvanathan, Pallavi D.; Kumar, Niketa; Palfrey, Amy; Ford, Brett Q.; Dimidjian, Sona; Shirk, Stephen; Holm-Denoma, Jill; Goode, Kari M.; Cox, Erica; Chaplin, William; Mauss, Iris B.
2015-01-01
Objective We evaluated the comparative effectiveness of Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) versus an active control condition (ACC) for depression relapse prevention, depressive symptom reduction, and improvement in life satisfaction. Method Ninety-two participants in remission from Major Depressive Disorder with residual depressive symptoms were randomized to either an 8-week MBCT or a validated ACC that is structurally equivalent to MBCT and controls for non-specific effects (e.g., interaction with a facilitator, perceived social support, treatment outcome expectations). Both interventions were delivered according to their published manuals. Results Intention-to-treat analyses indicated no differences between MBCT and ACC in depression relapse rates or time to relapse over a 60-week follow-up. Both groups experienced significant and equal reductions in depressive symptoms and improvements in life satisfaction. A significant quadratic interaction (group x time) indicated that the pattern of depressive symptom reduction differed between groups. The ACC experienced immediate symptom reduction post-intervention and then a gradual increase over the 60-week follow-up. The MBCT group experienced a gradual linear symptom reduction. The pattern for life satisfaction was identical but only marginally significant. Conclusions MBCT did not differ from an ACC on rates of depression relapse, symptom reduction, or life satisfaction, suggesting that MBCT is no more effective for preventing depression relapse and reducing depressive symptoms than the active components of the ACC. Differences in trajectory of depressive symptom improvement suggest that the intervention-specific skills acquired may be associated with differential rates of therapeutic benefit. This study demonstrates the importance of comparing psychotherapeutic interventions to active control conditions. PMID:26371618
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Amino acid and vitamin supplementation improved health conditions in elderly participants
Ohtani, Masaru; Kawada, Shigeo; Seki, Taizo; Okamoto, Yasuyuki
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of supplementation with amino acids and vitamins on health conditions in unhealthy older people. One bedridden inpatient group (n = 10; mean age, 79.8 ± 8.5 y) and one outpatient group (n = 9; mean age, 72.9 ± 12.2 y) participated in this study. A mixture supplementation with amino acids containing arginine (500 mg/day), glutamine (600 mg/day), and leucine (1200 mg/day), and 11 kinds of vitamins was daily administrated for 8 weeks. In both groups, general blood biomarkers such as white blood cell count, natural killer cell activity, and C-reactive protein levels were measured. All measurements were taken before (baseline), at 4 weeks (mid-point), and after each trial (post-point). At mid-point, natural killer cell activity in the outpatient group increased significantly compared to baseline. At post-point, natural killer cell activity in the outpatient and inpatient groups increased significantly compared to baseline. The other blood biomarkers did not show any significant change throughout the trial. This pilot study suggested that a mixture of arginine, glutamine, leucine, and vitamins is useful to support innate immunity in unhealthy older people, even if their diseases, symptoms, and prescribed medicines are different. PMID:22448099
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Two-condition within-participant statistical mediation analysis: A path-analytic framework.
Montoya, Amanda K; Hayes, Andrew F
2017-03-01
Researchers interested in testing mediation often use designs where participants are measured on a dependent variable Y and a mediator M in both of 2 different circumstances. The dominant approach to assessing mediation in such a design, proposed by Judd, Kenny, and McClelland (2001), relies on a series of hypothesis tests about components of the mediation model and is not based on an estimate of or formal inference about the indirect effect. In this article we recast Judd et al.'s approach in the path-analytic framework that is now commonly used in between-participant mediation analysis. By so doing, it is apparent how to estimate the indirect effect of a within-participant manipulation on some outcome through a mediator as the product of paths of influence. This path-analytic approach eliminates the need for discrete hypothesis tests about components of the model to support a claim of mediation, as Judd et al.'s method requires, because it relies only on an inference about the product of paths-the indirect effect. We generalize methods of inference for the indirect effect widely used in between-participant designs to this within-participant version of mediation analysis, including bootstrap confidence intervals and Monte Carlo confidence intervals. Using this path-analytic approach, we extend the method to models with multiple mediators operating in parallel and serially and discuss the comparison of indirect effects in these more complex models. We offer macros and code for SPSS, SAS, and Mplus that conduct these analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Controlled damping of a physical pendulum: experiments near critical conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gonzalez, Manuel I; Bol, Alfredo
2006-01-01
This paper presents an experimental device for the study of damped oscillatory motion along with three associated experiments. Special emphasis is given on both didactic aspects and the interactivity of the experimental set-up, in order to assist students in understanding fundamental aspects of damped oscillatory motion and allow them to directly compare their experimental results with the well-known theory they can find in textbooks. With this in mind, a physical pendulum was selected with an eddy-current damping system that allows the damping conditions to be controlled with great precision. The three experiments examine accurate control of damping, frequency shift near critical damping and the transition from underdamped to overdamped conditions
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Sprofera, Joseph D.; Clark, Robert L.; Cabell, Randolph H.; Gibbs, Gary P.
2005-05-01
Turbulent boundary layer (TBL) noise is considered a primary contribution to the interior noise present in commercial airliners. There are numerous investigations of interior noise control devoted to aircraft panels; however, practical realization is a potential challenge since physical boundary conditions are uncertain at best. In most prior studies, pinned or clamped boundary conditions were assumed; however, realistic panels likely display a range of boundary conditions between these two limits. Uncertainty in boundary conditions is a challenge for control system designers, both in terms of the compensator implemented and the location of transducers required to achieve the desired control. The impact of model uncertainties, specifically uncertain boundaries, on the selection of transducer locations for structural acoustic control is considered herein. The final goal of this work is the design of an aircraft panel structure that can reduce TBL noise transmission through the use of a completely adaptive, single-input, single-output control system. The feasibility of this goal is demonstrated through the creation of a detailed analytical solution, followed by the implementation of a test model in a transmission loss apparatus. Successfully realizing a control system robust to variations in boundary conditions can lead to the design and implementation of practical adaptive structures that could be used to control the transmission of sound to the interior of aircraft. Results from this research effort indicate it is possible to optimize the design of actuator and sensor location and aperture, minimizing the impact of boundary conditions on the desired structural acoustic control.
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Control Strategy for Microgrid Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Voltage Conditions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Guo, Xiaoqiang; Liu, Wenzhao; Zhang, X.
2014-01-01
This paper presents the theoretical analysis of the inherent reason of current harmonic and power oscillation phenomena in case of operating the microgrid inverter under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. In order to flexibly control the current harmonic and power oscillation, a new stationary...... inverter. Finally, the performance evaluation tests are carried out under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. Results verify the effectiveness of the propose method....
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Self-controlled feedback facilitates motor learning in both high and low activity individuals
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jeffrey T. Fairbrother
2012-08-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine if high and low activity individuals differed in terms of the effects of self-controlled feedback on the performance and learning of a movement skill. The task consisted of a blindfolded beanbag toss using the non-preferred arm. Participants were pre-screened according to their physical activity level using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. An equal number of high activity (HA and low activity (LA participants were assigned to self-control (SC and yoked (YK feedback conditions, creating four groups: Self-Control High Activity (SC-HA; Self-Control Low Activity (SC-LA; Yoked High Activity (YK-HA; and Yoked Low Activity (YK-LA. SC condition participants were provided feedback whenever they requested it, while YK condition participants received feedback according to a schedule created by their SC counterpart. Results indicated that the SC condition was more accurate than the YK condition during acquisition and transfer phases, and the HA condition was more accurate than the LA condition during all phases of the experiment. A post-training questionnaire indicated that participants in the SC condition asked for feedback mostly after what they perceived to be good trials; those in the YK condition indicated that they would have preferred to receive feedback after good trials. This study provided further support for the advantages of self-controlled feedback when learning motor skills, additionally showing benefits for both active and less active individuals. The results suggested that the provision of self-controlled feedback to less active learners may be a potential avenue to teaching motor skills necessary to engage in greater amounts of physical activity.
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Shaw, William S; Besen, Elyssa; Pransky, Glenn; Boot, Cécile R L; Nicholas, Michael K; McLellan, Robert K; Tveito, Torill H
2014-05-28
The percentage of older and chronically ill workers is increasing rapidly in the US and in many other countries, but few interventions are available to help employees overcome the workplace challenges of chronic pain and other physical health conditions. While most workers are eligible for job accommodation and disability compensation benefits, other workplace strategies might improve individual-level coping and problem solving to prevent work disability. In this study, we hypothesize that an employer-sponsored group intervention program employing self-management principles may improve worker engagement and reduce functional limitation associated with chronic disorders. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), workers participating in an employer-sponsored self-management group intervention will be compared with a no-treatment (wait list) control condition. Volunteer employees (n = 300) will be recruited from five participating employers and randomly assigned to intervention or control. Participants in the intervention arm will attend facilitated group workshop sessions at work (10 hours total) to explore methods for improving comfort, adjusting work habits, communicating needs effectively, applying systematic problem solving, and dealing with negative thoughts and emotions about work. Work engagement and work limitation are the principal outcomes. Secondary outcomes include fatigue, job satisfaction, self-efficacy, turnover intention, sickness absence, and health care utilization. Measurements will be taken at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. A process evaluation will be performed alongside the randomized trial. This study will be most relevant for organizations and occupational settings where some degree of job flexibility, leeway, and decision-making autonomy can be afforded to affected workers. The study design will provide initial assessment of a novel workplace approach and to understand factors affecting its feasibility and effectiveness
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Monitoring parameters of technical condition and safety of aircraft using control charts
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
В.І. Чепіженко
2007-03-01
Full Text Available The opportunity of control cards use for monitoring of a technical condition parameters and reliability of aviation techniques is considered at its operation on a technical condition.
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Smart Sensors Enable Smart Air Conditioning Control
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chin-Chi Cheng
2014-06-01
Full Text Available In this study, mobile phones, wearable devices, temperature and human motion detectors are integrated as smart sensors for enabling smart air conditioning control. Smart sensors obtain feedback, especially occupants’ information, from mobile phones and wearable devices placed on human body. The information can be used to adjust air conditioners in advance according to humans’ intentions, in so-called intention causing control. Experimental results show that the indoor temperature can be controlled accurately with errors of less than ±0.1 °C. Rapid cool down can be achieved within 2 min to the optimized indoor capacity after occupants enter a room. It’s also noted that within two-hour operation the total compressor output of the smart air conditioner is 48.4% less than that of the one using On-Off control. The smart air conditioner with wearable devices could detect the human temperature and activity during sleep to determine the sleeping state and adjusting the sleeping function flexibly. The sleeping function optimized by the smart air conditioner with wearable devices could reduce the energy consumption up to 46.9% and keep the human health. The presented smart air conditioner could provide a comfortable environment and achieve the goals of energy conservation and environmental protection.
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42 CFR 418.62 - Condition of participation: Licensed professional services.
2010-10-01
... assessments, developing and evaluating the plan of care, and contributing to patient and family counseling and education; and (c) Licensed professionals must participate in the hospice's quality assessment and...
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Distributed automatic control of technological processes in conditions of weightlessness
Kukhtenko, A. I.; Merkulov, V. I.; Samoylenko, Y. I.; Ladikov-Royev, Y. P.
1986-01-01
Some problems associated with the automatic control of liquid metal and plasma systems under conditions of weightlessness are examined, with particular reference to the problem of stability of liquid equilibrium configurations. The theoretical fundamentals of automatic control of processes in electrically conducting continuous media are outlined, and means of using electromagnetic fields for simulating technological processes in a space environment are discussed.
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Reactive gas control of non-stable plasma conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bellido-Gonzalez, V.; Daniel, B.; Counsell, J.; Monaghan, D.
2006-01-01
Most industrial plasma processes are dependant upon the control of plasma properties for repeatable and reliable production. The speed of production and range of properties achieved depend on the degree of control. Process control involves all the aspects of the vacuum equipment, substrate preparation, plasma source condition, power supplies, process drift, valves (inputs/outputs), signal and data processing and the user's understanding and ability. In many cases, some of the processes which involve the manufacturing of interesting coating structures, require a precise control of the process in a reactive environment [S.J. Nadel, P. Greene, 'High rate sputtering technology for throughput and quality', International Glass Review, Issue 3, 2001, p. 45. ]. Commonly in these circumstances the plasma is not stable if all the inputs and outputs of the system were to remain constant. The ideal situation is to move a process from set-point A to B in zero time and maintain the monitored signal with a fluctuation equal to zero. In a 'real' process that's not possible but improvements in the time response and energy delivery could be achieved with an appropriate algorithm structure. In this paper an advanced multichannel reactive plasma gas control system is presented. The new controller offers both high-speed gas control combined with a very flexible control structure. The controller uses plasma emission monitoring, target voltage or any process sensor monitoring as the input into a high-speed control algorithm for gas input. The control algorithm and parameters can be tuned to different process requirements in order to optimize response times
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Adaptive neural network motion control for aircraft under uncertainty conditions
Efremov, A. V.; Tiaglik, M. S.; Tiumentsev, Yu V.
2018-02-01
We need to provide motion control of modern and advanced aircraft under diverse uncertainty conditions. This problem can be solved by using adaptive control laws. We carry out an analysis of the capabilities of these laws for such adaptive systems as MRAC (Model Reference Adaptive Control) and MPC (Model Predictive Control). In the case of a nonlinear control object, the most efficient solution to the adaptive control problem is the use of neural network technologies. These technologies are suitable for the development of both a control object model and a control law for the object. The approximate nature of the ANN model was taken into account by introducing additional compensating feedback into the control system. The capabilities of adaptive control laws under uncertainty in the source data are considered. We also conduct simulations to assess the contribution of adaptivity to the behavior of the system.
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Wong, Y Joel; Owen, Jesse; Gabana, Nicole T; Brown, Joshua W; McInnis, Sydney; Toth, Paul; Gilman, Lynn
2018-03-01
Although the past decade has witnessed growing research interest in positive psychological interventions (PPIs), their potential as adjunctive interventions for psychotherapy remains relatively unexplored. Therefore, this article expands the frontiers of PPI research by reporting the first randomized controlled trial to test a gratitude writing adjunctive intervention for psychotherapy clients. Participants were 293 adults seeking university-based psychotherapy services. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) control (psychotherapy only), (b) a psychotherapy plus expressive writing, and (c) a psychotherapy plus gratitude writing. Participants in the gratitude condition wrote letters expressing gratitude to others, whereas those in the expressive writing condition wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings about stressful experiences. About 4 weeks as well as 12 weeks after the conclusion of the writing intervention, participants in the gratitude condition reported significantly better mental health than those in the expressive and control conditions, whereas those in the expressive and control conditions did not differ significantly. Moreover, lower proportions of negative emotion words in participants' writing mediated the positive effect of condition (gratitude versus expressive writing) on mental health. These findings are discussed in light of the use of gratitude interventions as adjunctive interventions for psychotherapy clients.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jae-Ahm Park
2016-09-01
SEM indicated a significant effect of sports participation on Internet addiction mediated by self-control. The results suggest the effectiveness of and need for sport and physical activity in Internet addiction treatment programs and for other addictions as well. Moreover, sports participation has a wider variety of psychological and physical benefits unlike intervention strategies or pharmacological treatments. Thus, the adoption of sports needs to be broadened from physical development to treating diverse psychological problems among adolescents.
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Both the "What" and "Why" of Youth Sports Participation Matter; a Conditional Process Analysis.
Gjesdal, Siv; Appleton, Paul R; Ommundsen, Yngvar
2017-01-01
This study builds on previous research combining achievement goal orientation from Achievement Goal Theory and motivational regulation from Self-Determination Theory. The aim was to assess the combination of the "what" and "why" of youth sport activity, and how it relates to the need for competence and self-esteem. Achievement goal orientation, specifically task and ego, was employed to represent the "what", whilst intrinsic and external regulation reflected the "why". Based on a sample of 496 youth sports participants, structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping procedure was used to examine whether the indirect relationship between achievement goal orientation and self-esteem was conditional to motivational regulation. The results show partial support for the conditional process models. Specifically, task orientation was indirectly linked with self-esteem through competence need, and the relationship was stronger with higher levels of intrinsic regulation for sport. Furthermore, ego orientation was negatively associated with self-esteem through a positive relationship with competence frustration. However, this relationship emerged only for those higher in intrinsic regulation. External regulation did not emerge as a moderator, but presented a positive relationship with competence frustration. Findings are discussed in light of both Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and underline the importance of considering both the "what" and "why" when attempting to understand motivation in youth sport.
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Bukhari, Asma; Roberts, Susan B; Young, Andrew J; McGraw, Susan; Dallal, Gerard E; Das, Sai Krupa
2014-03-01
Adult civilian dependents of active duty military personnel (ADMP) may play a central role in influencing the home food environment and the risk of overweight and obesity in American Warfighters and military families. However, there is no information on whether this group would be receptive to weight control programs. We conducted a survey to determine the level of interest of adult civilian dependents of ADMP in participating in a group weight control program. Subjects were a convenience sample of 191 adult civilian dependents of ADMP (94% women, 6% men) based in Massachusetts and aged 33.8 ± 8.4 years, body mass index 25.5 ± 5.5 kg/m(2). Overall, there was a significant effect of body mass index on interest in program participation (p = 0.004). Eighty five percent of overweight participants and 100% of obese participants reported being Moderately Likely or Very Likely to participate in a provided weight control program. In overweight and obese survey respondents there was no significant effect of ADMP rank on interest in program participation (p = 0.34). These findings suggest that overweight and obese adult civilian dependents of ADMP may be very receptive targets for programs to control overweight and obesity in military families. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.
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Oh, Bumjo; Yi, Ga-Hye; Han, Min Kyu; Kim, Jong Seung; Lee, Chang Hee; Cho, Belong; Kang, Hee Cheol
2018-01-03
Due to the prevalence of the westernized dietary pattern and lack of physical activity, the numbers of overweight or obese individuals are increasing, resulting in a growing health burden because of various related diseases. A lifestyle modification approach has additional advantages compared with pharmacological therapies or bariatric surgery. In our randomized controlled trial conducted in 2015, we successfully used a ubiquitous health care (SmartCare) service for patients with metabolic syndrome to achieve a significant weight loss effect. Various useful apps have been developed for the SmartCare Service, which involves using a mobile phone to manage chronic diseases, minimizing time and space restrictions. Many studies have demonstrated weight loss effects using a SmartCare service, but limited data are available regarding the effect of active participation in relation to weight loss. We aimed to assess the weight loss effect achieved after using the SmartCare service in terms of adherence and participation. We divided the intervention group of the previous study according to participation level, and analyzed whether there was a significant difference in the outcome. We classified participants into 3 groups according to their adherence. Within the intervention group using the SmartCare service, the active group comprised those transmitting anthropometric measurement data using a mobile phone 3 or more times per week or who had a health consultation 5 or more times during a 24-week period. The passive group comprised those who did not adhere to these levels of engagement. The control group comprised those who did not use the SmartCare service. We compared changes in body weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, waist circumference, and lipid profile among the 3 groups. We identified 422 participants and analyzed 405, excluding 17 who were missing necessary data for analysis. The active group consisted of 116 participants, compared with 80 in the
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Surya Devkota
2016-08-01
Full Text Available AbstractIntroduction: Despite the established evidence on benefits of controlling raised blood pressure and development of several guidelines on detection and management of hypertension, people often have untreated or uncontrolled hypertension. In this context, we undertook this study to identify the barriers existing in hypertension treatment and control in the municipalities of Kathmandu district in Nepal. Methods: This was a community based, cross-sectional mixed method study conducted in the municipalities of Kathmandu district in Nepal between January and July 2015. Among 587 randomly selected participants, the aware hypertensive participants were further assessed for the treatment and control of hypertension. For qualitative component, 20 participants having uncontrolled hypertension took part in two focused group discussions and two cardiac physicians participated in in-depth interviews.Results: Out of 587 participants screened, 191 (32.5% were identified as hypertensive. Among 191 hypertensive participants, 118 (61.8% were aware of their problem. Of the 118 aware hypertensive participants, 93 (78.8% were taking medicines, and among those treated, 46 (49.6% had controlled hypertension. Proportions of participants taking anti-hypertensive medications varied significantly with age groups, ethnicity, occupation and income. Hypertension control was significantly associated with use of combination therapy, adherence to medication, follow-up care, counseling by healthcare providers and waiting time in hospital. Being worried that the medicine needs to be taken life-long, perceived side effects of drugs, non-adherence to medication, lost to follow-up, inadequate counseling from physician, and lack of national guidelines for hypertension treatment were the most commonly cited barriers for treatment and control of hypertension in qualitative component of the research.Conclusion: Large proportion of the hypertensive population has the untreated and
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An Innovative Adaptive Control System to Regulate Microclimatic Conditions in a Greenhouse
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Giuseppina Nicolosi
2017-05-01
Full Text Available In the recent past home automation has been expanding its objectives towards new solutions both inside the smart home and in its outdoor spaces, where several new technologies are available. This work has developed an approach to integrate intelligent microclimatic greenhouse control into integrated home automation. Microclimatic control of greenhouses is a critical issue in agricultural practices, due to often common sudden daily variation of climatic conditions, and to its potentially detrimental effect on plant growth. A greenhouse is a complex thermodynamic system where indoor temperature and relative humidity have to be closely monitored to facilitate plant growth and production. This work shows an adaptive control system tailored to regulate microclimatic conditions in a greenhouse, by using an innovative combination of soft computing applications. In particular, a neural network solution has been proposed in order to forecast the climatic behavior of greenhouse, while a parallel fuzzy scheme approach is carried out in order to adjust the air speed of fan-coil and its temperature. The proposed combined approach provides a better control of greenhouse climatic conditions due to the system’s capability to base instantaneous solutions both on real measured variables and on forecasted climatic change. Several simulation campaigns were carried out to perform accurate neural network and fuzzy schemes, aimed at obtaining respectively a minimum forecasted error value and a more appropriate fuzzification and de-fuzzification process. A Matlab/Simulink solution implemented with a combined approach and its relevant obtained performance is also shown in present study, demonstrating that through controlled parameters it will be possible to maintain a better level of indoor climatic conditions. In the present work we prove how with a forecast of outside temperature at the next time-instant and rule-based controller monitoring of cooling or heating air
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Budianto, A; Tawi, K B; Hussein, M; Supriyo, B; Kob, M S Che; Zulkifli, Mohd Ezlamy; Khairuldean A K; Daraoh, Aishah; Ariyono, S
2012-01-01
Electro-Mechanical Dual Acting Pulley (EMDAP) Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is a transmission utilized by electro-mechanical actuated system. It has a potential to reduce energy consumption because it only needs power during changing CVT ratio and no power is needed to maintain CVT ratio due to self lock mechanism design. This paper proposed simple proportional derivative plus conditional integral (PDCI) controller to control EMDAP CVT ratio which can be simply implemented on a microcontroller. This proposed controller used Astrom-Hagglund method and Ziegler-Nichols formula to tune PDCI gain. The Proportional Derivative controller is directly activated from the start but Integral controller is only activated when the error value reaches error value setting point. Simulation using Matlab/Simulink software was conducted to evaluate PDCI system performance. The simulation results showed PDCI controller has ability to perform maximum overshoot 0.1%, 0.001 steady state error and 0.5s settling time. For clamping condition, settling time is about 11.46s during changing ratio from 2.0 to 0.7, while for release condition, settling time is about 8.33s during changing ratio from 0.7 to 2.0.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bonnemay-Juricek, L. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires
1968-07-01
The existence of solutions in the optimal control problems with free endpoints is studied in this report and existence conditions are established without the usual assumption that the control region is convex. Furthermore the results, in order to be of some utility in physical applications, are expressed only by means of conditions on the parameters defining the system. (author) [French] Ce rapport etudie l'existence de solutions optimales dans les problemes de commande ou le point terminal est libre et ou la duree de l'evolution du systeme a optimiser est connue. Des conditions d'existence y sont formulees sans recourir a l'hypothese usuelle de convexite du domaine des valeurs des commandes. De plus on a cherche a rendre utilisables les resultats en ne faisant porter les conditions que sur les parametres directement accessibles du systeme. (auteur)
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Developed adaptive neuro-fuzzy algorithm to control air conditioning ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
user
... conditioning system is highly appreciated and essential in most of our daily life. ... (Hossien and Karla, 2012) presented an overview work which provides an .... energy balance for SSSF and the mass flow balance for the water in the air are ..... of Automatic Control and Electrical Engineering at Siegen University, Germany.
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Nazareth, Meaghan; Richards, Jordan; Javalkar, Karina; Haberman, Cara; Zhong, Yi; Rak, Eniko; Jain, Nina; Ferris, Maria; van Tilburg, Miranda A L
2016-07-21
Health locus of control refers to the belief that health is in one's control (internal control) or is not in one's control (external control). Among adults, external locus of control is associated with negative health outcomes, whereas internal locus of control is associated with favorable outcomes. Few studies examined these associations among youths. The objective of our study was to determine how locus of control relates to health care use, medication adherence, missed school, and readiness for transition to adult medical care for youths with chronic conditions. Participants at a camp for youths aged 6 to 17 years with chronic health conditions completed a survey measuring locus of control, readiness for transition to adult care, and medication adherence. Their parents completed a separate part of the survey about health care use and missed school days in the past year. A total of 163 youths completed the survey (78.5% white; 52.1% female; mean age, 12.3 y). Internal locus of control (β = 0.196; P = .013) and external Doctor locus of control with doctors controlling disease (β = 0.181; P = .025) were positively associated with transition readiness. External control by chance or with others controlling disease was negatively associated with transition readiness (β = -0.248; P = .002) and positively associated with emergency department visits (β = 0.225; P = .004) and with number of hospital inpatient nights at hospital (β = 0.166; P = .04). Adolescents with external control of their health by chance or by other people are at increased risk for negative health outcomes and may fail to develop the self-management skills needed for successful transitioning to adult care. Future studies should examine effects of changes in locus of control on health outcomes among youths.
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Potential electricity savings by variable speed control of compressor for air conditioning systems
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nasution, Henry [Bung Hatta University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Padang, West Sumatera (Indonesia); Wan Hassan, Mat Nawi [Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Skudai, Johor Bahru-Darul Ta' zim (Malaysia)
2006-05-15
The potential of a variable-speed compressor running on a controller to provide enhanced load-matching capability, energy saving and thermal comfort for application in air-conditioning system is demonstrated. An air-conditioning system, originally operated on a constant speed mode, is retrofitted with an inverter and a PID controller. The system was installed to a thermal environmental room together with a data acquisition system to monitor energy consumption and temperature of the room. Measurements were taken 2 h daily at a time interval of 5 min for an on/off and an inverter variable-speed conditions. The results indicate that thermal comfort of the room together with energy saving can be obtained through a proper selection of K for the controller. At a temperature setting of 22 C, the energy saving for the system is estimated to reach 25.3% for PID controllers. (orig.)
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kotarski, W.; Kowalewski, A.
1982-03-01
In this paper we consider an optimal control problem for a system described by a linear partial differential equation of the parabolic type with Dirichlet's boundary condition. We impose some constraints on the control. The performance functional has the integral form. The control time T is fixed. The initial condition is not given by a known function but belongs to a certain set (incomplete information about the initial state). The problem formulated in this paper describes the process of optimal heating, of which we do not have exact information about the initial temperature on the heated object. We present an example in which the set of admissible controls and one of initial conditions are given by means of the norm constraints too. The application of the well-known projective gradient method in the Hilbert space allows us to obtain the numerical solution for our optimization problem. (author)
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Kelleher, Erin; Moreno, Megan; Wilt, Megan Pumper
2018-04-12
Adolescents and young adults frequently post depression symptom references on social media; previous studies show positive associations between depression posts and self-reported depression symptoms. Depression is common among young people and this population often experiences many barriers to mental health care. Thus, social media may be a new resource to identify, recruit, and intervene with young people at risk for depression. The purpose of this pilot study was to test a social media intervention on Tumblr. We used social media to identify and recruit participants and to deliver the intervention of online depression resources. This randomized pilot intervention identified Tumblr users age 15-23 who posted about depression using the search term "#depress". Eligible participants were recruited via Tumblr messages; consented participants completed depression surveys and were then randomized to an intervention of online mental health resources delivered via a Tumblr message, while control participants did not receive resources. Postintervention online surveys assessed resource access and usefulness and control groups were asked whether they would have liked to receive resources. Analyses included t tests. A total of 25 participants met eligibility criteria. The mean age of the participants was 17.5 (SD 1.9) and 65% were female with average score on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 of 17.5 (SD 5.9). Among the 11 intervention participants, 36% (4/11) reported accessing intervention resources and 64% (7/11) felt the intervention was acceptable. Among the 14 control participants, only 29% (4/14) of reported that receiving resources online would be acceptable (P=.02). Participants suggested anonymity and ease of use as important characteristics in an online depression resource. The intervention was appropriately targeted to young people at risk for depression, and recruitment via Tumblr was feasible. Most participants in the intervention group felt the social media
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MacNeill, Virginia; Foley, Marian; Quirk, Alan; McCambridge, Jim
2016-01-29
The sequence of events in a behaviour change trial involves interactions between research participants and the trial process. Taking part in such a study has the potential to influence the behaviour of the participant, and if it does, this can engender bias in trial outcomes. Since participants' experience has received scant attention, the aim of this study is thus to generate hypotheses about which aspects of the conduct of behaviour change trials might matter most to participants, and thus have potential to alter subsequent behaviours and bias trial outcomes Twenty participants were opportunistically screened for a health compromising behaviour (unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption) and recruited if eligible. Semi structured face to face interviews were conducted, after going through the usual processes involved in trial recruitment, baseline assessment and randomisation. Participants were given information on the contents of an intervention or control condition in a behaviour change trial, which was not actually implemented. Three months later they returned to reflect on these experiences and whether they had any effect on their behaviour during the intervening period. Data from the latter interview were analysed thematically using a modified grounded theory approach. The early processes of trial participation raised awareness of unhealthy behaviours, although most reported having had only fleeting intentions to change their behaviour as a result of taking part in this study, in the absence of interventions. However, careful examination of the accounts revealed evidence of subtle research participation effects, which varied according to the health behaviour, and its perceived social acceptability. Participants' relationships with the research study were viewed as somewhat important in stimulating thinking about whether and how to make lifestyle changes. These participants described no dramatic impacts attributable to taking part in
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Ajzenman, Heather F; Standeven, John W; Shurtleff, Tim L
2013-01-01
The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether hippotherapy increased function and participation in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We hypothesized improvements in motor control, which might increase adaptive behaviors and participation in daily activities. Six children with ASD ages 5-12 participated in 12 weekly 45-min hippotherapy sessions. Measures pre- and post-hippotherapy included the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II and the Child Activity Card Sort. Motor control was measured preintervention and postintervention using a video motion capture system and force plates. Postural sway significantly decreased postintervention. Significant increases were observed in overall adaptive behaviors (receptive communication and coping) and in participation in self-care, low-demand leisure, and social interactions. These results suggest that hippotherapy has a positive influence on children with ASD and can be a useful treatment tool for this population. Copyright © 2013 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
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Operating wind turbines in strong wind conditions by using feedforward-feedback control
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Feng, Ju; Sheng, Wen Zhong
2014-01-01
Due to the increasing penetration of wind energy into power systems, it becomes critical to reduce the impact of wind energy on the stability and reliability of the overall power system. In precedent works, Shen and his co-workers developed a re-designed operation schema to run wind turbines in strong wind conditions based on optimization method and standard PI feedback control, which can prevent the typical shutdowns of wind turbines when reaching the cut-out wind speed. In this paper, a new control strategy combing the standard PI feedback control with feedforward controls using the optimization results is investigated for the operation of variable-speed pitch-regulated wind turbines in strong wind conditions. It is shown that the developed control strategy is capable of smoothening the power output of wind turbine and avoiding its sudden showdown at high wind speeds without worsening the loads on rotor and blades
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The influence of articulatory suppression on the control of implicit sequence knowledge
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vinciane eGaillard
2012-07-01
Full Text Available The present study investigated the consciousness-control relationship by suppressing the possibility to exert executive control on incidentally acquired knowledge. Participants performed a serial reaction time (SRT task, followed by a sequence generation task under inclusion and exclusion instructions and a sequence recognition task. The generation task requires control on the sequential knowledge that has been incidentally acquired. We manipulated the possibility for participants to recruit control processes in the generation task in three different conditions. In addition to a control condition, participants generated sequences under inclusion and exclusion concurrently with either articulatory suppression or foot tapping. Results suggest that articulatory suppression specifically impairs exclusion performance by interfering with inner speech. Because participants were nevertheless able to successfully recognize fragments of the training sequence in a final recognition task, this is suggestive of a dissociation between control and recognition memory.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sarris Jerome
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background While many randomised controlled trials have been conducted on multivitamins, to our knowledge no qualitative research exploring the subjective experience of taking a multivitamin during a clinical trial has been reported. Methods Semi-structured and open-ended written questions were incorporated into a 16-week double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel groups trial of once-daily multivitamin administration. At the final study visit (week 16, three open-ended questions were posed to elucidate any positive, negative or unusual experiences from taking either the multivitamin or matched placebo. Qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken by researchers who were blind as to treatment condition of participants, and triangulation (independent analysis from three researchers was employed to ensure methodological rigour. Participant’s experiences were categorised as “positive” or “negative” and a Chi Square analysis was then applied to each of the experiential themes, to compare experiences between the multivitamin and placebo groups, (subdividing the groups by gender. Usual experiences were categorised and discussed separately. Results Of the 182 participants enrolled, 116 completed the study and qualitative data were available from 114 participants. Thematic analysis revealed significant effects in favour of the multivitamin over placebo for participants experiencing increased energy levels (p=.022 and enhanced mood (p=.027. The beneficial effect on energy levels was particularly evident among female participants. A trend was found for participants reporting better sleep in the multivitamin over placebo. The multivitamin and placebo groups did not significantly differ in perceived positive or negative effects in areas relating to other aspects of mental function or physical health. No significant negative effects were revealed, although there was a non-significant trend for more people in the multivitamin
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Soyeon Cheon
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background While full disclosure of information on placebo control in participant information leaflets (PILs in a clinical trial is ethically required during informed consent, there have been concerning voices such complete disclosures may increase unnecessary nocebo responses, breach double-blind designs, and/or affect direction of trial outcomes. Taking an example of acupuncture studies, we aimed to examine what participants are told about placebo controls in randomized, placebo-controlled trials, and how it may affect blinding and trial outcomes. Methods Authors of published randomized, placebo-controlled trials of acupuncture were identified from PubMed search and invited to provide PILs for their trials. The collected PILs were subjected to content analysis and categorized based on degree of information disclosure on placebo. Blinding index (BI as a chance-corrected measurement of blinding was calculated and its association with different information disclosure was examined. The impact of different information disclosure from PILs on primary outcomes was estimated using a random effects model. Results In 65 collected PILs, approximately 57% of trials fully informed the participants of placebo control, i.e. full disclosure, while the rest gave deceitful or no information on placebo, i.e. no disclosure. Placebo groups in the studies with no disclosure tended to make more opposite guesses on the type of received intervention than those with disclosure, which may reflect wishful thinking (BI −0.21 vs. −0.16; p = 0.38. In outcome analysis, studies with no disclosure significantly favored acupuncture than those with full disclosure (standardized mean difference − 0.43 vs. −0.12; p = 0.03, probably due to enhanced expectations. Conclusions How participants are told about placebos can be another potential factor that may influence participant blinding and study outcomes by possibly modulating patient expectation. As we
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Johannessen, Anne-Kari; Tveiten, Sidsel; Werner, Anne
2017-08-23
User participation has become an increasingly important principle in health care over the last few decades. Healthcare professionals are expected to involve patients in treatment decisions. Clear guidance as to what this should entail for professionals in clinical work is not accounted for in legislation. In this study, we explore how healthcare professionals in a Municipal Acute Ward perceived, experienced and performed user participation. The ward represents a new short-time service model for emergency assistance in Norway. We focused on the challenges the professionals faced in clinical work and how they dealt with these. Data were drawn from qualitative interviews with 11 healthcare professionals and from 10 observations in relation to previsits and physician's rounds in the ward. Transcripts of interviews and observations were analysed using a method for systematic text condensation. In the analysis, we applied Lipsky's perspective on dilemmas of street-level bureaucrats. The results show that that the professionals perceived user participation as an important and natural part of their work. They experienced difficulties related to collaboration with patients, caregivers, and professionals in other services, and with framework conditions that caused conflicting expectations, responsibility, and priorities. The professionals seemed to take a pragmatic approach to user participation, managing it within narrow perspectives. Our study indicates that the participants dealt with the dilemmas at the cost of user participation. The results demonstrate that there is a gap between the outlined health policy and the professionals' opportunities to fulfil this policy in clinical work regarding user participation. The policy decision-makers should recognise the balancing work required of healthcare professionals to deal with difficulties in clinical work. The knowledge that professionals possess as performers of services and the need for valuing in policy processes should
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The Transformation of Employee Participation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Busck, Ole Gunni; Knudsen, Herman; Lind, Jens
2010-01-01
-model. However, more recent research into psychosocial work environment problems questions the model’s assumption of high job control compensating for high job demands. Taking its point of departure in a `deconstruction´ of the concept of participation based on research on employee participation from the past......This article reviews the research literature on the relationship between employee participation, influence and the work environment. The main part of the literature points to a positive connection in line with how it has been almost institutionalised in Karasek and Theorell´s demand control...... few decades, the article discuss what factors and changes have resulted in that increased employee participation does not seem to result in a healthy work environment. The article concludes on the limitations of the demand control-model in modern working life given contextual changes in the employer...
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Fuzzy logic controller implementation for a solar air-conditioning system
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lygouras, J.N.; Botsaris, P.N.; Vourvoulakis, J.; Kodogiannis, V.
2007-01-01
The implementation of a variable structure fuzzy logic controller for a solar powered air conditioning system and its advantages are investigated in this paper. Two DC motors are used to drive the generator pump and the feed pump of the solar air-conditioner. Two different control schemes for the DC motors rotational speed adjustment are implemented and tested: the first one is a pure fuzzy controller, its output being the control signal for the DC motor driver. A 7 x 7 fuzzy matrix assigns the controller output with respect to the error value and the derivative of the error. The second scheme is a two-level controller. The lower level is a conventional PID controller, and the higher level is a fuzzy controller acting over the parameters of the low level controller. Step response of the two control loops are presented as experimental results. The contribution of this design is that in the control system, the fuzzy logic is implemented through software in a common, inexpensive, 16-bit microcontroller, which does not have special abilities for fuzzy control
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Fuzzy logic controller implementation for a solar air-conditioning system
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lygouras, J.N.; Vourvoulakis, J. [Laboratory of Electronics, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Vas. Sofias 12, 67100 Xanthi (Greece); Botsaris, P.N. [Laboratory of Materials, Processes and Mechanical Design, School of Production and Management Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace 67100 Xanthi (Greece); Kodogiannis, V. [Centre for Systems Analysis, School of Computer Science, University of Westminster, London, HA1 3TP (United Kingdom)
2007-12-15
The implementation of a variable structure fuzzy logic controller for a solar powered air conditioning system and its advantages are investigated in this paper. Two DC motors are used to drive the generator pump and the feed pump of the solar air-conditioner. Two different control schemes for the DC motors rotational speed adjustment are implemented and tested: the first one is a pure fuzzy controller, its output being the control signal for the DC motor driver. A 7 x 7 fuzzy matrix assigns the controller output with respect to the error value and the derivative of the error. The second scheme is a two-level controller. The lower level is a conventional PID controller, and the higher level is a fuzzy controller acting over the parameters of the low level controller. Step response of the two control loops are presented as experimental results. The contribution of this design is that in the control system, the fuzzy logic is implemented through software in a common, inexpensive, 16-bit microcontroller, which does not have special abilities for fuzzy control. (author)
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Falkmer, Marita; Granlund, Mats; Nilholm, Claes; Falkmer, Torbjörn
2012-01-01
To examine perceived participation in students with ASC and their classmates in mainstream schools and to investigate correlations between activities the students wanted to do and actually participated in. Twenty-two students with ASC and their 382 classmates responded to a 46-item questionnaire regarding perceived participation in mainstream schools. On 57% of the items, students with ASC perceived lower participation than their classmates. These results emphasize the importance of knowledge about students' perceived participation. However, positive correlations between what the students wanted to do and actually did indicate that students with ASC may be participating to the extent that they wanted. Students with ASC perceived lower overall participation in mainstream school than their classmates. The correlations between "I want to" and "I do" statements in students with ASC indicated that aspects of autonomy are important to incorporate when studying, and interpreting, self-rated participation in mainstream schools.
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Control of hybrid AC/DC microgrid under islanding operational conditions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ding, G.; Gao, F.; Zhang, S.
2014-01-01
This paper presents control methods for hybrid AC/DC microgrid under islanding operation condition. The control schemes for AC sub-microgrid and DC sub-microgrid are investigated according to the power sharing requirement and operational reliability. In addition, the key control schemes...... of interlinking converter with DC-link capacitor or energy storage, which will devote to the proper power sharing between AC and DC sub-microgrids to maintain AC and DC side voltage stable, is reviewed. Combining the specific control methods developed for AC and DC sub-microgrids with interlinking converter......, the whole hybrid AC/DC microgrid can manage the power flow transferred between sub-microgrids for improving on the operational quality and efficiency....
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhu Na; Wang Shengwei; Ma Zhenjun; Sun Yongjun
2011-01-01
Highlights: → Impact of PCM on the energy consumption and peak load demand as well as electricity cost of air-conditioned buildings. → Impact of load shifting control on energy consumption, peak load and electricity cost of air-conditioned PCM buildings. → Impact of demand limiting control on energy consumption, peak load and electricity cost of air-conditioned PCM buildings. → Energy/cost effects of different control strategies and use of PCM in energy-plus-demand-based pricing policy. → Energy/cost effects of different control strategies and use of PCM in time-based pricing policy. - Abstract: Studies are conducted to investigate the impacts of shape-stabilized phase change material (SSPCM) and different control strategies on the energy consumption and peak load demand as well as electricity cost of building air-conditioning systems at typical summer conditions in two climates (subtropical and dry continental climates). An office building using a typical variable air volume (VAV) air-conditioning system was selected and simulated as the reference building in this study. Its envelopes were enhanced by integrating the SSPCM layers into its walls while the air-conditioning system and other configurations of the building remained unchanged. The building system was tested under two typical weather conditions and two typical electricity pricing policies (i.e. time-based pricing and energy-plus-demand-based pricing). Test results show that the use of SSPCM in the building could reduce the building electricity cost significantly (over 11% in electricity cost reduction and over 20% in peak load reduction), under two pricing policies by using load shifting control and demand limiting control respectively. This paper presents the test results and the evaluation on the energy performance and the optimal control strategies of air-conditioned commercial buildings with envelopes enhanced by SSPCM.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1993-07-01
The purpose of this Public Participation Plan is to describe the US Department of Energy's (DOE) plan for involving the public in the decision-making process for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The plan describes how the DOE will meet the public participation requirements of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978, as amended, and of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. It includes the UMTRA Project Office plans for complying with DOE Order 5440.1D and for implementing the DOE's Public Participation Policy for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (1992) and Public Participation Guidance for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (1993)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lawton Beverley
2007-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Guidelines recommend multifactorial intervention programmes to prevent falls in older adults but there are few randomised controlled trials in a real life health care setting. We describe the rationale, intervention, study design, recruitment strategies and baseline characteristics of participants in a randomised controlled trial of a multifactorial falls prevention programme in primary health care. Methods Participants are patients from 19 primary care practices in Hutt Valley, New Zealand aged 75 years and over who have fallen in the past year and live independently. Two recruitment strategies were used – waiting room screening and practice mail-out. Intervention participants receive a community based nurse assessment of falls and fracture risk factors, home hazards, referral to appropriate community interventions, and strength and balance exercise programme. Control participants receive usual care and social visits. Outcome measures include number of falls and injuries over 12 months, balance, strength, falls efficacy, activities of daily living, quality of life, and physical activity levels. Results 312 participants were recruited (69% women. Of those who had fallen, 58% of people screened in the practice waiting rooms and 40% when screened by practice letter were willing to participate. Characteristics of participants recruited using the two methods are similar (p > 0.05. Mean age of all participants was 81 years (SD 5. On average participants have 7 medical conditions, take 5.5 medications (29% on psychotropics with a median of 2 falls (interquartile range 1, 3 in the previous year. Conclusion The two recruitment strategies and the community based intervention delivery were feasible and successful, identifying a high risk group with multiple falls. Recruitment in the waiting room gave higher response rates but was less efficient than practice mail-out. Testing the effectiveness of an evidence based intervention in a
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Mode switching control of dual-evaporator air-conditioning systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lin, J.-L.; Yeh, T.-J.
2009-01-01
Modern air-conditioners incorporate variable-speed compressors and variable-opening expansion valves as the actuators for improving cooling performance and energy efficiency. These actuators have to be properly feedback-controlled; otherwise the systems may exhibit even poorer performance than the conventional machines which use fixed-speed compressors and mechanical expansion valves. Particularly for an air-conditioner with multiple evaporators, there are occasions that the machine is operated in a mode that only selected evaporator(s) is(are) turned on, and switching(s) between modes occurs(occur) during the control process. In this case, one needs to have more carefully designed control and switching strategies to ensure the system performance. In this paper, a framework for mode switching control of the dual-evaporator air-conditioning (DEAC) system is proposed. The framework is basically an integration of a controller and a dynamic compensator. The controller, which possesses the flow-distribution capability and assumes both evaporators are on throughout the control process, is intended to provide nominal performance. While mode switching is achieved by varying the reference settings in the controller, the dynamic compensator is used to improve the transient responses immediately after the switching. Experiments indicate that the proposed framework can achieve satisfactory indoor temperature regulation and provide bumpless switching between different modes of operation.
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Plotnikova, Evgeniya; Hill, Sarah E; Collin, Jeff
2014-03-01
The increasingly inequitable impacts of tobacco use highlight the importance of ensuring developing countries' ongoing participation in global tobacco control. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has been widely regarded as reflecting the high engagement and effective influence of developing countries. We examined participation in FCTC governance based on records from the first four meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP), comparing representation and delegate diversity across income levels and WHO regions. While attendance at the COP sessions is high, there are substantial disparities in the relative representation of different income levels and regions, with lower middle and low income countries contributing only 18% and 10% of total meeting delegates, respectively. In regional terms, Europe provided the single largest share of delegates at all except the Durban (2008) meeting. Thirty-nine percent of low income countries and 27% of those from Africa were only ever represented by a single person delegation compared with 10% for high income countries and 11% for Europe. Rotation of the COP meeting location outside of Europe is associated with better representation of other regions and a stronger presence of delegates from national ministries of health and focal points for tobacco control. Developing countries face particular barriers to participating in the COP process, and their engagement in global tobacco control is likely to diminish in the absence of specific measures to support their effective participation.
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Heine, Martin; Verschuren, Olaf; Hoogervorst, Erwin Lj; van Munster, Erik; Hacking, Hub Ga; Visser-Meily, Anne; Twisk, Jos Wr; Beckerman, Heleen; de Groot, Vincent; Kwakkel, Gert
2017-10-01
Evidence supporting the effectiveness of aerobic training, specific for fatigue, in severely fatigued patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is lacking. To estimate the effectiveness of aerobic training on MS-related fatigue and societal participation in ambulant patients with severe MS-related fatigue. Patients ( N = 90) with severe MS-related fatigue were allocated to 16-week aerobic training or control intervention. Primary outcomes were perceived fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength (CIS20r) fatigue subscale) and societal participation. An improvement of ⩾8 points on the CIS20r fatigue subscale was considered clinically relevant. Outcomes were assessed by a blinded observer at baseline, 2, 4, 6 and 12 months. Of the 89 patients that started treatment (median Expanded Disability Status Scale (interquartile range), 3.0 (2.0-3.6); mean CIS20r fatigue subscale (standard deviation (SD)), 42.6 (8.0)), 43 received aerobic training and 46 received the control intervention. A significant post-intervention between-group mean difference (MD) on the CIS20r fatigue subscale of 4.708 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.003-8.412; p = 0.014) points was found in favour of aerobic training that, however, was not sustained during follow-up. No effect was found on societal participation. Aerobic training in MS patients with severe fatigue does not lead to a clinically meaningful reduction in fatigue or societal participation when compared to a low-intensity control intervention.
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Hershberger, Patricia E; Gallo, Agatha M; Molokie, Robert; Thompson, Alexis A; Suarez, Marie L; Yao, Yingwei; Wilkie, Diana J
2016-06-01
To gain an in-depth understanding of the perceptions of young adults with sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait about parenthood and participating in the CHOICES randomized controlled trial that used computer-based, educational programmes. In the USA, there is insufficient education to assure that all young adults with sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait understand genetic inheritance risks and reproductive options to make informed reproductive decisions. To address this educational need, we developed a computer-based, multimedia program (CHOICES) and reformatted usual care into a computer-based (e-Book) program. We then conducted a two-year randomized controlled trial that included a qualitative component that would deepen understanding of young adults' perceptions of parenthood and use of computer-based, educational programmes. A qualitative descriptive approach completed after a randomized controlled trial. Sixty-eight men and women of childbearing age participated in semi-structured interviews at the completion of the randomized controlled trial from 2012-2013. Thematic content analysis guided the qualitative description. Three main themes were identified: (1) increasing knowledge and new ways of thinking and behaving; (2) rethinking parenting plans; and (3) appraising the program design and delivery. Most participants reported increased knowledge and rethinking of their parenting plans and were supportive of computer-based learning. Some participants expressed difficulty in determining individual transmission risks. Participants perceived the computer programs as beneficial to their learning. Future development of an Internet-based educational programme is warranted, with emphasis on providing tailored education or memory boosters about individual transmission risks. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Reliable Grid Condition Detection and Control of Single-Phase Distributed Power Generation Systems
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ciobotaru, Mihai
standards addressed to the grid-connected systems will harmonize the combination of the DPGS and the classical power plants. Consequently, the major tasks of this thesis were to develop new grid condition detection techniques and intelligent control in order to allow the DPGS not only to deliver power...... to the utility grid but also to sustain it. This thesis was divided into two main parts, namely "Grid Condition Detection" and "Control of Single-Phase DPGS". In the first part, the main focus was on reliable Phase Locked Loop (PLL) techniques for monitoring the grid voltage and on grid impedance estimation...... techniques. Additionally, a new technique for detecting the islanding mode has been developed and successfully tested. In the second part, the main reported research was concentrated around adaptive current controllers based on the information provided by the grid condition detection techniques. To guarantee...
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Psychodrama Participants' Perception of Therapeutic Factors.
Kellermann, Peter Felix
1987-01-01
Administered questionnaire to 40 psychodrama participants and 42 controls with no psychotherapy experience to assess which specific events they would find helpful in psychotherapy. Psychodrama participants perceived emotional abreaction and cognitive insight most helpful while controls considered nonspecific healing aids most helpful. Suggests…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Asha K Pratinidhi
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Context: Satara district of western Maharashtra is in late expanding phase of demographic cycle. Postponement of first pregnancy with the use of reversible contraceptives is the need of the hour. Since 2007, Satara district is implementing a conditional cash transfer scheme second honeymoon package (SHP. Objectives: The objectives of this study are: (1 To find out the effect of conditional cash transfer on choice and utilization of contraceptives among participants of SHP. (2 To identify various barriers to the use of contraceptives. Materials and Methods: This was an evaluation study of a community based interventional program. Cases were the participants of SHP program while the controls were the couples residing in the same village as that of participants and married in the same year. Enquiries were made about their knowledge of contraceptives, reasons of postponement, choice of contraceptives, problems faced while using them, perceived benefits of participation, reasons for non-participation and non-use of contraceptives, etc. Results: This study has found out that 24.8% controls and 57.6% participant couples were having knowledge of contraception before their marriage. Amongst the participants of the scheme and controls, male condom was the most popular method used by 80.8% participants, followed by oral pills by 9.22% couples. Contraception prevalence rate among control couples was 17.6%, while that in participants was 91.8%. Resistance from family members, side-effects and failure of contraceptives were some of the barriers to their use. Conclusions: Conditional cash transfer has encouraged the use of contraceptives in acceptors of SHP. By participating in SHP and postponing first pregnancy 15.8% could complete their education, job/career betterment achieved by 16.4% and 19.3% adored marital pleasure.
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Soshi, Takahiro; Ando, Kumiko; Noda, Takamasa; Nakazawa, Kanako; Tsumura, Hideki; Okada, Takayuki
2014-01-01
Post-error slowing (PES) is an error recovery strategy that contributes to action control, and occurs after errors in order to prevent future behavioral flaws. Error recovery often malfunctions in clinical populations, but the relationship between behavioral traits and recovery from error is unclear in healthy populations. The present study investigated the relationship between impulsivity and error recovery by simulating a speeded response situation using a Go/No-go paradigm that forced the participants to constantly make accelerated responses prior to stimuli disappearance (stimulus duration: 250 ms). Neural correlates of post-error processing were examined using event-related potentials (ERPs). Impulsivity traits were measured with self-report questionnaires (BIS-11, BIS/BAS). Behavioral results demonstrated that the commission error for No-go trials was 15%, but PES did not take place immediately. Delayed PES was negatively correlated with error rates and impulsivity traits, showing that response slowing was associated with reduced error rates and changed with impulsivity. Response-locked error ERPs were clearly observed for the error trials. Contrary to previous studies, error ERPs were not significantly related to PES. Stimulus-locked N2 was negatively correlated with PES and positively correlated with impulsivity traits at the second post-error Go trial: larger N2 activity was associated with greater PES and less impulsivity. In summary, under constant speeded conditions, error monitoring was dissociated from post-error action control, and PES did not occur quickly. Furthermore, PES and its neural correlate (N2) were modulated by impulsivity traits. These findings suggest that there may be clinical and practical efficacy of maintaining cognitive control of actions during error recovery under common daily environments that frequently evoke impulsive behaviors.
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Optimal control of the process of cultivation in the conditions of infection
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
N. V. Sukhanova
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The article presents a way of solving of the optimal control problem of antibiotic feeding under condition of infection, consisting in the selection of the optimal control in the field of admissible control, with the aim of achieving a compromise between the losses in production due to the presence of foreign microflora, and the cost of its suppression due to the application of antibiotic. The presence of other microorganisms in the finished product, in particular of the “wild“ ones, considerably impairs the quality indicators of the final product (in particular, it reduces the storage time. In peculiar conditions of production it is possible to improve the quality of target product due to elimination of infection, including, when used antibiotics in the process of cultivation, but due to the lack of efficient algorithms and control systems of their supply the question is still open. We use the system of Lotka-Volterra adapted for microbiological process as a mathematical model adequately describing the situation of competitive interaction of two populations of microorganisms (useful and “wild“ ones due to the consumption of one resource. The aim is to find a control law U(t belonging to the field of admissible control. The control that affords minimum to the optimization criterion in accordance with the principle of maximum is defined by the condition of the maximum of Hamilton function and the resulting canonical system of equations. The modified conjugated system of equations in matrix form is obtained. The solution of system of differential-different equations in the analytical form is found using the method of coordinate transformation. As a result an optimal control law is found (with regard to the selected criterion. This is the control law of application of the antibiotic, allowing to control the concentration of foreign microflora in the process of cultivation of microorganisms and accounting for the specific
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Measuring strategic control in artificial grammar learning.
Norman, Elisabeth; Price, Mark C; Jones, Emma
2011-12-01
In response to concerns with existing procedures for measuring strategic control over implicit knowledge in artificial grammar learning (AGL), we introduce a more stringent measurement procedure. After two separate training blocks which each consisted of letter strings derived from a different grammar, participants either judged the grammaticality of novel letter strings with respect to only one of these two grammars (pure-block condition), or had the target grammar varying randomly from trial to trial (novel mixed-block condition) which required a higher degree of conscious flexible control. Random variation in the colour and font of letters was introduced to disguise the nature of the rule and reduce explicit learning. Strategic control was observed both in the pure-block and mixed-block conditions, and even among participants who did not realise the rule was based on letter identity. This indicated detailed strategic control in the absence of explicit learning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Overview of impurity control and wall conditioning in NSTX
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
KUGEL,H.W.; MAINGI,R.; BELL,M.; BLANCHARD,W.; GATES,D.; JOHNSON,D.; KAITA,R.; KAYE,S.; MARQUEDA,R.; MENARD,J.; MUELLER,D.; ONO,M.; PENG,Y-K.M.; RAMAN,R.; RAMSEY,A.; ROQUEMORE,A.; SKINNER,C.; SABBAGH,S.; STUTMAN,D.; WAMPLER,WILLIAM R.; WILSON,J.R.; ZWEBEN,S.
2000-05-25
The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) started plasma operations in February 1999, and promptly achieved high current, inner wall limited, double null, and single null plasma discharges, initial Coaxial Helicity Injection, and High Harmonic Fast Wave results. NSTX is designed to study the physics of Spherical Tori (ST) in a device that can produce non-inductively sustained high-{beta} discharges in the 1 MA regime and to explore approaches toward a small, economical high power density ST reactor core. As expected, discharge reproducibility and performance were strongly affected by wall conditions. In this paper, the authors describe the internal geometry, and initial plasma discharge, impurity control, wall conditioning, erosion, and deposition results.
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Leisure Sport Participation in Cyprus
Nicos Kartakoullis; Evan Webb; George Karlis; Stavros Pouloukas; Christina Loizou
2015-01-01
This study contributes to the limited existing research on the participation patterns of Cypriots in leisure and sports. Leisure and sport are viewed collectively while adapting the notion put forth by The Council of Europe (2007) defining leisure sports as sports activities aimed at the preservation and improvement of physical condition, health and fun. The purpose of this paper is to examine the leisure sport participation patterns of Cypriots, specifically: (1) participation patterns in le...
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Power systems control complex optimization in the new market conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Krumm, L.; Kurrel, U.; Tauts, A.; Terno, O.; Zeidmanis, I.; Krisans, Z.
2000-01-01
A generalization and development of the theory and methods for complex optimisation of the performance and development control of an interconnected system (IPS) under new market conditions (mainly multicriterial and game approaches) is given considering the specifics of IPS at the international level in post-socialist countries and in particular in the Baltic states. Thereby the kernel of the mathematical apparatus of this theory the Generalized Reduced Gradient Method (GRGM) is further generalised and developed with the application of multicriterial and game methods to meet various market conditions. (author)
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Liu, Jason; Lezama, Nicholas; Gasper, Joseph; Kawata, Jennifer; Morley, Sybil; Helmer, Drew; Ciminera, Paul
2016-07-01
The aim of this study was to determine how burn pit emissions exposure is associated with the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. We examined the associations between assumed geographic and self-reported burn pit emissions exposure and respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes in participants of the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. We found significant dose-response associations for higher risk of self-reported emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with increased days of deployment within 2 miles of selected burn pits (P-trend = 0.01) and self-reported burn pit smoke exposure (P-trend = 0.0005). We found associations between burn pit emissions exposure and higher incidence of post-deployment self-reported respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, but these findings should be interpreted with caution because the surrogate measurements of burn pit emissions exposure in this analysis may not reflect individual exposure levels.
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Doherty, Cailbhe; Bleakley, Chris; Hertel, Jay; Caulfield, Brian; Ryan, John; Delahunt, Eamonn
2015-02-01
Laboratory analyses of chronic ankle instability populations during gait have elucidated a number of anomalous movement patterns. No current research exists analysing these movement patterns in a group in the acute phase of lateral ankle sprain (LAS) injury. It is possible that participants with an acute LAS display movement patterns continuous with their chronically impaired counterparts. Sixty eight participants with acute LAS and nineteen non-injured participants completed five gait trials. 3D lower extremity temporal kinematic and kinetic data were collected from 200 ms pre- to 200 ms post-heel strike (period 1) and from 200 ms pre- to 200 ms post-toe off (period 2). During period 1, the LAS group displayed increased knee flexion with increased net extensor pattern at the knee joint, increased ankle inversion with a greater inversion moment, and reduced ankle plantar flexion, compared to the non-injured control group. During period 2, the LAS group displayed decreased hip extension with a decrease in the flexor moment at the hip, and decreased ankle plantar flexion with a decrease in the net plantar flexion moment, compared to the non-injured control group. These results indicate that participants with acute LAS display coordination strategies which may play a role in the onset of chronicity or recovery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Scram characteristics of the control rods of a pressurized water reactor under seismic conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fujita, Katsuhisa; Shinohara, Yoshikazu; Nakatogawa, Tetsuto; Nanbu, Kiyoshi; Nomura, Tomonori.
1987-01-01
Control rod drop verification experiments of a pressurized water reactor under seismic conditions are performed to confirm the insertion function of control rods into a core. To evaluate these tests, computer simulations are performed. A fuel assembly, control rods, guide tube and other associated structures are immersed in a water tank, and shaken by four hydraulic shakers. The scram time of control rods under seismic conditions was measured, and confirmed to meet the scram function. Moreover, vibrational response characteristics of core structures and dropping behavior of control rods in consideration of collisions are calculated by using a finite difference method. The behavior of the dropping control rods and the scram time obtained by the computer simulation show a very good agreement with the verification experimental results. (author)
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Sibutramine promotes amygdala activity under fasting conditions in obese women.
Oltmanns, Kerstin M; Heldmann, Marcus; Daul, Susanne; Klose, Silke; Rotte, Michael; Schäfer, Michael; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Münte, Thomas F; Lehnert, Hendrik
2012-06-01
Sibutramine, a centrally-acting selective monoamine reuptake inhibitor, has been used as an appetite suppressant drug in obesity. To gain insight into the central nervous actions of sibutramine, brain responses to pictures of food items after sibutramine vs placebo application were assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in obese women. In a randomized double-blind crossover design, 10 healthy obese women (BMI 31.8-39.9 kg/m(2)) received 15 mg/d of sibutramine vs placebo for 14 d. Obese participants, and a group of 10 age-matched normal weight controls, viewed pictures of food items and control objects in hungry and satiated states while lying in the MR scanner. The paradigm followed a block design. In obese participants, fMRI measurements were conducted prior and after two weeks of daily sibutramine or placebo administration, whereas control participants were scanned only at one point in time. Upon food item presentation, obese participants showed increased brain activity in areas related to emotional and reward processing, perceptual processing, and cognitive control as compared to normal weight controls. Sibutramine exerted a divergent satiety-dependent effect on amygdala activity in obese participants, increasing activity in the hungry state while decreasing it under conditions of satiation. Our results demonstrate a modulatory influence of sibutramine on amygdala activity in obese women which may underlie the appetite suppressant effects of the drug.
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Jøranson, Nina; Pedersen, Ingeborg; Rokstad, Anne Marie Mork; Ihlebaek, Camilla
2016-12-01
The aim of this study was to investigate effects of robot-assisted group activity with Paro on quality of life in older people with dementia. Nursing home residents with severe dementia often experience social withdrawal and lower quality of life, which are suggested to be enhanced by non-pharmacological interventions. A cluster-randomized controlled trial. Ten nursing home units were randomized to robot-assisted intervention or control group (treatment as usual). Data were collected between March 2013-September 2014. 27 participants participated in group activity for 30 minutes twice a week over 12 weeks, 26 participated in the control group. Change in quality of life was assessed by local nurses through the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia scale at baseline, after end of intervention and at 3 months follow-up. The scale and regular psychotropic medication were analysed stratified by dementia severity. Analysis using mixed model, one-way anova and linear regression were performed. An effect was found among participants with severe dementia from baseline to follow-up showing stable quality of life in the intervention group compared with a decrease in the control group. The intervention explained most of the variance in change in the total scale and in the subscales describing Tension and Well-being for the group with severe dementia. The intervention group used significantly less psychotropic medication compared with the control group after end of intervention. Pleasant and engaging activities facilitated by nursing staff, such as group activity with Paro, could improve quality of life in people with severe dementia. The trial is in adherence with the CONSORT statement and is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (study ID number: NCT02008630). © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Palinkas, Lawrence A; Holloway, Ian W; Rice, Eric; Brown, C Hendricks; Valente, Thomas W; Chamberlain, Patricia
2013-11-14
Given the importance of influence networks in the implementation of evidence-based practices and interventions, it is unclear whether such networks continue to operate as sources of information and advice when they are segmented and disrupted by randomization to different implementation strategy conditions. The present study examines the linkages across implementation strategy conditions of social influence networks of leaders of youth-serving systems in 12 California counties participating in a randomized controlled trial of community development teams (CDTs) to scale up use of an evidence-based practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 directors, assistant directors, and program managers of county probation, mental health, and child welfare departments. A web-based survey collected additional quantitative data on information and advice networks of study participants. A mixed-methods approach to data analysis was used to create a sociometric data set (n = 176) to examine linkages between treatment and standard conditions. Of those network members who were affiliated with a county (n = 137), only 6 (4.4%) were directly connected to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 19 (13.9%) were connected by two steps or fewer to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 64 (46.7%) were connected by three or fewer steps to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition. Most of the indirect steps between individuals who were in different implementation strategy conditions were connections involving a third non-county organizational entity that had an important role in the trial in keeping the implementation strategy conditions separate. When these entities were excluded, the CDT network exhibited fewer components and significantly higher betweenness centralization than did the standard condition network. Although the integrity of the RCT in this instance was not compromised by study participant influence
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Elsinga, Jelte; van der Veen, Henry T; Gerstenbluth, Izzy; Burgerhof, Johannes G M; Dijkstra, Arie; Grobusch, Martin P; Tami, Adriana; Bailey, Ajay
2017-09-19
As the arboviral diseases dengue, chikungunya and Zika emerge in the Americas, so does the need for sustainable vector control policies. To successfully achieve mosquito control, joint efforts of both communities and governments are essential. This study investigates this important, but by-and-large neglected topic. In June and July 2015, a cross-sectional mixed methods study applying a survey questionnaire (response rate of 82.5%; n = 339), in-depth interviews (n = 20) and focus group discussions (n = 7; 50 participants) was performed in Curaçao. The study was designed based on an integrated theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Participants showed a good knowledge of, and a high-level performance of mosquito breeding site control (MBSC) practices. Personal protection against mosquitoes (e.g. topical repellents) was perceived as relatively less effective thus practiced to lower extent compared to MBSC practices (i.e. larval source management). A lower intention to perform MBSC was independently associated with: (i) satisfaction on governmental MBSC (P = 0.012); (ii) barriers to perform MBSC practices, i.e. 'Government doesn't control other breeding sites' (P = 0.005), 'Don't know how to control breeding sites' (P = 0.041), and 'a mosquito does not transmit dengue' (P = 0.016), (iii) attitudes towards MBSC (P = 0.001) and self-efficacy (person's perceived ability to act) to perform MBSC (P = 0.002). Mixed-methods evidence highlights three possible ways of improving community participation in MBSC. First, it highlights the need for ongoing media coverage, targeting (i) communities' perceptions on transmission routes of dengue and chikungunya, and (ii) presence of car tires in yards. Secondly, it shows that promotion of governmental activities in MBSC can enhance MBSC of communities, if people develop a sense of responsibility to perform MBSC at their own properties. Thirdly, this study describes
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Xu Xiangguo; Pan Yan; Deng Shiming; Xia Liang; Chan Mingyin
2013-01-01
The use of a multi-evaporator air conditioning (MEAC) system is advantageous in terms of installation convenience, high design flexibility, being easy to maintain and commission, better indoor thermal comfort control and higher energy efficiency. While MEAC units worth billions of dollars are sold worldwide, the detailed accounts on compressor capacity control and refrigeration flow distribution amongst evaporators remain unavailable in public domain, mainly due to commercial confidentiality. Limited control algorithms for MEAC systems have been developed based on system simulation, and no experimental-based capacity controller developments and their controllability tests may be identified in open literature. In the study reported in this paper, a novel capacity control algorithm, which imitated On–Off control of a single evaporator air conditioning (A/C) system in each indoor unit of a MEAC system by using variable speed compressor and electronic expansion valves (EEVs), was developed. Controllability tests under various settings for experimentally validating the novel capacity control algorithm were carried out and the control algorithm was further improved based on the experimental results. - Highlights: ► A capacity control algorithm for a multi-evaporator air conditioning system was developed. ► Experimental controllability tests under various settings were carried out. ► The control algorithm was further improved based on the experimental results.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rashad O. Mastaliev
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The optimal control problem of nonlinear stochastic systems which mathematical model is given by Ito stochastic differential equation with delay argument is considered. Assuming that the concerned region is open for the control by the first and the second variation (classical sense of the quality functional we obtain the necessary optimality condition of the first and the second order. In the particular case we receive the stochastic analog of the Legendre—Clebsch condition and some constructively verified conclusions from the second order necessary condition. We investigate the Legendre–Clebsch conditions for the degeneration case and obtain the necessary conditions of optimality for a special control, in the classical sense.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Østergaard, Kasper Zinck; Stoustrup, Jakob; Brath, Per
2009-01-01
operations tend to be ill-conditioned. The paper proposes a controller construction algorithm together with various remedies for improving the numerical conditioning the algorithm.The proposed algorithm is applied to the design of a LPV controller for wind turbines, and a comparison is made with a controller...... designed using classical techniques to conclude that an improvement in performance is obtained for the entire operating envelope....
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Wang, Yan; Wang, Lei; Cui, Xianghua; Fang, Yuan; Chen, Qianqiu; Wang, Ya; Qiang, Yao
2015-12-01
Self-regulatory resources and trait self-control have been found to moderate the impulse-behavior relationship. The current study investigated whether the interaction of self-regulatory resources and trait self-control moderates the association between implicit attitudes and food consumption. One hundred twenty female participants were randomly assigned to either a depletion condition in which their self-regulatory resources were reduced or a no-depletion condition. Participants' implicit attitudes for chocolate were measured with the Single Category Implicit Association Test and self-report measures of trait self-control were collected. The dependent variable was chocolate consumption in an ostensible taste and rate task. Implicit attitudes predicted chocolate consumption in depleted participants but not in non-depleted participants. However, this predictive power of implicit attitudes on eating in depleted condition disappeared in participants with high trait self-control. Thus, trait self-control and self-regulatory resources interact to moderate the prediction of implicit attitude on eating behavior. Results suggest that high trait self-control buffers the effect of self-regulatory depletion on impulsive eating. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Alquist, Jessica L; Baumeister, Roy F; McGregor, Ian; Core, Tammy J; Benjamin, Ilil; Tice, Dianne M
2018-01-01
People have the ability to make important choices in their lives, but deliberating about these choices can have costs. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that writing about conflicted personal goals and values (conflict condition) would impair self-control on an unrelated subsequent task as compared to writing about clear personal goals and values (clarity condition). Personal conflict activates the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; Hirsh, Mar, & Peterson, 2012), which may make it harder for participants to successfully execute self-control. In this large ( N =337), pre-registered study participants in the conflict condition performed worse on anagrams than participants in the clarity condition, and the effect of condition on anagram performance was mediated by a subjective uncertainty measure of BIS activation. This suggests that BIS activation leads to poor self-control. Moreover, given that conflict is inherent in the exercise of self-control, results point to BIS activation as a mechanism for why initial acts of self-control impair self-control on subsequent, unrelated tasks.
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38 CFR 52.110 - Participant assessment.
2010-07-01
... nurse with responsibility for the participant, social worker, recreational therapist and other... in the participant's physical, mental, or social condition. (3) Review of assessments. Program... plan related to changes in service needs and changes in functional status that prompted another level...
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Pourkazemi, Fereshteh; Hiller, Claire; Raymond, Jacqueline; Black, Deborah; Nightingale, Elizabeth; Refshauge, Kathryn
2016-03-01
The first step to identifying factors that increase the risk of recurrent ankle sprains is to identify impairments after a first sprain and compare performance with individuals who have never sustained a sprain. Few researchers have restricted recruitment to a homogeneous group of patients with first sprains, thereby introducing the potential for confounding. To identify impairments that differ in participants with a recent index lateral ankle sprain versus participants with no history of ankle sprain. Cross-sectional study. We recruited a sample of convenience from May 2010 to April 2013 that included 70 volunteers (age = 27.4 ± 8.3 years, height = 168.7 ± 9.5 cm, mass = 65.0 ± 12.5 kg) serving as controls and 30 volunteers (age = 31.1 ± 13.3 years, height = 168.3 ± 9.1 cm, mass = 67.3 ± 13.7 kg) with index ankle sprains. We collected demographic and physical performance variables, including ankle-joint range of motion, balance (time to balance after perturbation, Star Excursion Balance Test, foot lifts during single-legged stance, demi-pointe balance test), proprioception, motor planning, inversion-eversion peak power, and timed stair tests. Discriminant analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between explanatory variables and sprain status. Sequential discriminant analysis was performed to identify the most relevant variables that explained the greatest variance. The average time since the sprain was 3.5 ± 1.5 months. The model, including all variables, correctly predicted a sprain status of 77% (n = 23) of the sprain group and 80% (n = 56) of the control group and explained 40% of the variance between groups ([Formula: see text] = 42.16, P = .03). Backward stepwise discriminant analysis revealed associations between sprain status and only 2 tests: Star Excursion Balance Test in the anterior direction and foot lifts during single-legged stance ([Formula: see text] = 15.2, P = .001). These 2 tests explained 15% of the between-groups variance
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Levinger, Pazit; Nagano, Hanatsu; Downie, Calum; Hayes, Alan; Sanders, Kerrie M; Cicuttini, Flavia; Begg, Rezaul
2016-07-01
People with knee osteoarthritis (OA) are at twice the risk of falling compared to older people without knee OA, however the mechanism for this is poorly understood. This study investigated the biomechanical response of the trunk and lower limb joints during a forward induced fall under different task conditions in people with and without knee OA. Twenty-four participants with OA (68.6±6.2 years) and 15 asymptomatic controls (72.4±4.8 years) participated in the study. Forward fall was induced by releasing participants from a static forward leaning position. Participants were required to recover balance during three conditions: normal, physical (obstacle clearance) and cognitive dual tasks (counting backwards). Spatiotemporal parameters, lower limb joint kinematics and kinetics of the recovery limb were compared between the two groups and across the three task conditions. The OA group demonstrated slower spatio-temporal characteristics and reduced hip and knee flexion angles, joint moments/powers and reduced muscle negative work at the knee and ankle (pfall, participants with OA demonstrated difficulty in absorbing the impact and slowing down the forward momentum of the body during a recovery step. Moreover, poor dynamic postural control was demonstrated as task complexity increased. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hett, F.T.
1994-01-01
Section 7 of the Atomic Energy Act (AtG), section 4 of the Federal Emission Control Act (BImSchG), the Nuclear Installations Licensing Ordinance (AtVfV), and the Ninth Ordinance on the Implementation of the BImSchG (Principles of the licensing procedure) require participation of the public in the procedure before administrative provisions or decisions are issued. The book presents the legally prescribed steps at which participation of the public is mandatory, for the simple case (only one license on the agenda), and for the multi-stage licensing procedure: preliminary negotiations / filling of applications for a license and filing of documents / public announcement of projects / access to files / objections / preclusion of delayed objections / public hearing and other expert discussions / termination of procedure, decision-making by the authorities / decisions on subdivision of procedure into defined stages / modification of the procedure. The analysis of the functions of participation of the public examines the following goals: information / representation of interests / reconciliation of interests / legitimation / control / protection of rights / support. Finally, the book explains the principles of the Constitution demanding participation of the public: human dignity / democracy / rule of law / anticipated effects of the right to have recourse to the courts / civil rights. (orig./HP) [de
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Anderson, Deverick J; Miller, Becky A; Chen, Luke F; Adcock, Linda H; Cook, Evelyn; Cromer, A Lynn; Louis, Susan; Thacker, Paul A; Sexton, Daniel J
2011-04-01
To describe the rates of several key outcomes and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) among hospitals that participated in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network (DICON). Prospective, observational cohort study of patients admitted to 24 community hospitals from 2003 through 2009. The following data were collected and analyzed: incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and HAIs caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); employee exposures to bloodborne pathogens (EBBPs); physician EBBPs; patient-days; central line-days; ventilator-days; and urinary catheter-days. Poisson regression was used to determine whether incidence rates of these HAIs and exposures changed during the first 5 and 7 years of participation in DICON; nonrandom clustering of each outcome was controlled for. Cost saved and lives saved were calculated on the basis of published estimates. In total, we analyzed 6.5 million patient-days, 4,783 EBPPs, 2,948 HAIs due to MRSA, and 2,076 device-related infections. Rates of employee EBBPs, HAIs due to MRSA, and device-related infections decreased significantly during the first 5 years of participation in DICON (Pprevented. Each hospital saved approximately $100,000 per year of participation, and collectively the hospitals may have prevented 52-105 deaths from CLABSI or VAP. The 7-year analysis demonstrated that these trends continued with further participation. Hospitals with long-term participation in an infection control network decreased rates of significant HAIs by approximately 50%, decreased costs, and saved lives.
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Rotor experiments in controlled conditions continued: New Mexico
Boorsma, K.; Schepers, J. G.
2016-09-01
To validate and reduce the large uncertainty associated with rotor aerodynamic and acoustic models, there is a need for detailed force, noise and surrounding flow velocity measurements on wind turbines under controlled conditions. However, high quality wind tunnel campaigns on horizontal axis wind turbine models are scarce due to the large wind tunnel size needed and consequently high associated costs. To serve this purpose an experiment using the Mexico turbine was set-up in the large low speed facility of the DNW wind tunnel. An overview of the experiments is given including a selection of results. A comparison of calculations to measurements for design conditions shows a satisfactory agreement. In summary, after years of preparation, ECN and partners have performed very successful aerodynamic experiments in the largest wind tunnel in Europe. The comprehensive high quality database that has been obtained will be used in the international Mexnext consortium to further develop wind energy aerodynamic and acoustic modeling.
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Fallahpour, Mandana; Tham, Kerstin; Joghataei, Mohammad Taghi; Jonsson, Hans
2011-04-01
To describe perceived participation and autonomy among a sample of persons with stroke in Iran and to identify different aspects of functioning and contextual factors predicting participation after stroke. A cross-sectional study. A total of 102 persons, between 27 and 75 years of age, diagnosed with first-ever stroke. Participants were assessed for different aspects of functioning, contextual factors and health conditions. Participation was assessed using the Persian version of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy questionnaire. This study demonstrated that the majority of the study population perceived their participation and autonomy to be good to fair in the different domains of their participation, but not with respect to the autonomy outdoors domain. In addition, physical function was found to be the most important variable predicting performance-based participation, whereas mood state was the most important variable predicting social-based participation. The results emphasize the importance of physical function, mood state and access to caregiving services as predictors of participation in everyday life after stroke. Whilst there are two dimensions of participation in this Persian sample of persons with stroke, the factors explaining participation seem to be the same across the cultures.
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Unified Subharmonic Oscillation Conditions for Peak or Average Current Mode Control
Fang, Chung-Chieh
2013-01-01
This paper is an extension of the author's recent research in which only buck converters were analyzed. Similar analysis can be equally applied to other types of converters. In this paper, a unified model is proposed for buck, boost, and buck-boost converters under peak or average current mode control to predict the occurrence of subharmonic oscillation. Based on the unified model, the associated stability conditions are derived in closed forms. The same stability condition can be applied to ...
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Is Participation in Certain Sports Associated With Knee Osteoarthritis? A Systematic Review.
Driban, Jeffrey B; Hootman, Jennifer M; Sitler, Michael R; Harris, Kyle P; Cattano, Nicole M
2017-06-02
Information regarding the relative risks of developing knee osteoarthritis (OA) as a result of sport participation is critical for shaping public health messages and for informing knee-OA prevention strategies. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the association between participation in specific sports and knee OA. We completed a systematic literature search in September 2012 using 6 bibliographic databases (PubMed; Ovid MEDLINE; Journals@Ovid; American College of Physicians Journal Club; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects; and Ovid HealthStar), manual searches (4 journals), and reference lists (56 articles). Studies were included if they met the following 4 criteria: (1) an aim was to investigate an association between sport participation and knee OA; (2) the outcome measure was radiographic knee OA, clinical knee OA, total knee replacement, self-reported diagnosis of knee OA, or placement on a waiting list for a total knee replacement; (3) the study design was case control or cohort; and (4) the study was written in English. Articles were excluded if the study population had an underlying condition other than knee OA. One investigator extracted data (eg, group descriptions, knee OA prevalence, source of nonexposed controls). The overall knee-OA prevalence in sport participants (n = 3759) was 7.7%, compared with 7.3% among nonexposed controls (referent group n = 4730, odds ratio [OR] = 1.1). Specific sports with a significantly higher prevalence of knee OA were soccer (OR = 3.5), elite-level long-distance running (OR = 3.3), competitive weight lifting (OR = 6.9), and wrestling (OR = 3.8). Elite-sport (soccer or orienteering) and nonelite-sport (soccer or American football) participants without a history of knee injury had a greater prevalence of knee OA than nonexposed participants. Participants in soccer (elite and nonelite
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Lim, Edwin Choon Wyn; Sterling, Michele; Vicenzino, Bill
2017-10-01
The impaired attenuation of pain by the application of a noxious conditioning stimulus at a segmentally distinct site, known as conditioned pain modulation (CPM), has been implicated in clinical pain states. Chronic lateral epicondylalgia (LE), which is characterized by lower pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) at sites remote to the affected elbow and spinal cord hyperexcitability, is a clinical pain state that might plausibly involve less efficacious CPM. This study aimed to determine whether LE exhibits a less efficacious CPM compared with that in pain-free controls. Results: Twenty participants with LE, aged 50.7 years (SD=7.05) and who had their condition for 10.2 months (range: 2 to 80 mo), were matched by age and sex to 22 pain-free participants. All participants indicated their PPT over the lateral epicondyle(s) before and during a conditioning noxious heat stimulus that was applied over the calf. A CPM score was calculated as the difference between the PPT before and during the heat pain-conditioning stimulus expressed as a percentage of PPT before the heat pain-conditioning stimulus. The condition (LE vs. control) by side (affected vs. unaffected) analysis of variance revealed a significant condition effect (P=0.001), but not side effect (P=0.192) or side-by-condition interaction effect (P=0.951). Follow-up tests for the effect of condition revealed a mean deficit in CPM of -24.5% (95% confidence interval, -38.0 to -11.0) in LE compared with that in pain-free participants. The results that suggest an impaired ability to modulate pain might be associated with the previously observed spinal cord hyperexcitability and the mechanical hyperalgesia that characterizes LE.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Domazet, Sidsel L; Tarp, Jakob; Huang, Tao
2016-01-01
OBJECTIVES: To examine objectively measured physical activity level, organized sports participation and active commuting to school in relation to mathematic performance and inhibitory control in adolescents. METHODS: The design was cross-sectional. A convenient sample of 869 sixth and seventh gra...
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From conservative to reactive transport under diffusion-controlled conditions
Babey, Tristan; de Dreuzy, Jean-Raynald; Ginn, Timothy R.
2016-05-01
We assess the possibility to use conservative transport information, such as that contained in transit time distributions, breakthrough curves and tracer tests, to predict nonlinear fluid-rock interactions in fracture/matrix or mobile/immobile conditions. Reference simulated data are given by conservative and reactive transport simulations in several diffusive porosity structures differing by their topological organization. Reactions includes nonlinear kinetically controlled dissolution and desorption. Effective Multi-Rate Mass Transfer models (MRMT) are calibrated solely on conservative transport information without pore topology information and provide concentration distributions on which effective reaction rates are estimated. Reference simulated reaction rates and effective reaction rates evaluated by MRMT are compared, as well as characteristic desorption and dissolution times. Although not exactly equal, these indicators remain very close whatever the porous structure, differing at most by 0.6% and 10% for desorption and dissolution. At early times, this close agreement arises from the fine characterization of the diffusive porosity close to the mobile zone that controls fast mobile-diffusive exchanges. At intermediate to late times, concentration gradients are strongly reduced by diffusion, and reactivity can be captured by a very limited number of rates. We conclude that effective models calibrated solely on conservative transport information like MRMT can accurately estimate monocomponent kinetically controlled nonlinear fluid-rock interactions. Their relevance might extend to more advanced biogeochemical reactions because of the good characterization of conservative concentration distributions, even by parsimonious models (e.g., MRMT with 3-5 rates). We propose a methodology to estimate reactive transport from conservative transport in mobile-immobile conditions.
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Emotional conditioning to masked stimuli and modulation of visuospatial attention.
Beaver, John D; Mogg, Karin; Bradley, Brendan P
2005-03-01
Two studies investigated the effects of conditioning to masked stimuli on visuospatial attention. During the conditioning phase, masked snakes and spiders were paired with a burst of white noise, or paired with an innocuous tone, in the conditioned stimulus (CS)+ and CS- conditions, respectively. Attentional allocation to the CSs was then assessed with a visual probe task, in which the CSs were presented unmasked (Experiment 1) or both unmasked and masked (Experiment 2), together with fear-irrelevant control stimuli (flowers and mushrooms). In Experiment 1, participants preferentially allocated attention to CS+ relative to control stimuli. Experiment 2 suggested that this attentional bias depended on the perceived aversiveness of the unconditioned stimulus and did not require conscious recognition of the CSs during both acquisition and expression. Copyright 2005 APA, all rights reserved.
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Democracy and shareholder's participation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Radulović Vuk
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Democracy and participation of shareholders or the demand for their active participation in the meetings of the Assemblyhas increasingly gained in importance in modern conditions. This is because, negative trends of passivation, the limitations of democratic potential of shareholders and shareholders' rights abuse by the management body, especially in the work control and compensation policy of shareholders, have been observed in a detailed analysis of the application and results of the Shareholder Rights Directive. The passivity of shareholders, as one of the most striking features of their position in the joint stock company today, is the biggest problem and threat to democratic processes within the company. If we bear in mind that the most common definition of shareholder democracy is 'ability of shareholders to influence the management of the company', we can notice a clear picture of the seriousness and importance of the lack of shareholder participation. This is the reason why the author of this paper gradually examines the causes and consequences of the passivity of shareholders, the proposed changes in this context in the Law of the European Union and the practical implications of such solutions in practice. In addition, the author examines contemporary forms and conditions for shareholder democracy and the legal framework in the European Union and the Republic of Serbia. In this way, we analyze the situation in this area and point out shortcomings of certain solutions, as well as the implications they cause in practice. The main thesis from which starts the scientific work and which will be gradually proven through theoretical and practical analysis is that the wider social processes directly reflect on the state of the joint-stock companies, or the state of corporate governance. This means that the negative trends of modern democracy (in the constitutional sense are almost mirrored in economic capital (EC and our attempt in this paper
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Citizen participation and citizen initiatives
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Matthoefer, H.
1977-01-01
Contents: Social conditions for citizen initiatives - technical change and employment - crisis behaviour - socio-psychological analysis of political planning; legitimation - presentation and criticism - conditions for citizen initiatives coming into being within the field of tension citizen : administration - legal problems of citizen initiatives - environmental protection in the energy discussion; participation; models. (HP) [de
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Hyperglycemic conditions inhibit C3-mediated immunologic control of Staphylococcus aureus
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hair Pamela S
2012-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Diabetic patients are at increased risk for bacterial infections; these studies provide new insight into the role of the host defense complement system in controlling bacterial pathogens in hyperglycemic environments. Methods The interactions of complement C3 with bacteria in elevated glucose were assayed for complement activation to opsonic forms, phagocytosis and bacterial killing. C3 was analyzed in euglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions by mass spectrometry to measure glycation and structural differences. Results Elevated glucose inhibited S. aureus activation of C3 and deposition of C3b and iC3b on the bacterial surface. S. aureus-generated C5a and serum-mediated phagocytosis by neutrophils were both decreased in elevated glucose conditions. Interestingly, elevated glucose increased the binding of unactivated C3 to S. aureus, which was reversible on return to normal glucose concentrations. In a model of polymicrobial infection, S. aureus in elevated glucose conditions depleted C3 from serum resulting in decreased complement-mediated killing of E. coli. To investigate the effect of differing glucose concentration on C3 structure and glycation, purified C3 incubated with varying glucose concentrations was analyzed by mass spectrometry. Glycation was limited to the same three lysine residues in both euglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions over one hour, thus glycation could not account for observed changes between glucose conditions. However, surface labeling of C3 with sulfo-NHS-biotin showed significant changes in the surface availability of seven lysine residues in response to increasing glucose concentrations. These results suggest that the tertiary structure of C3 changes in response to hyperglycemic conditions leading to an altered interaction of C3 with bacterial pathogens. Conclusions These results demonstrate that hyperglycemic conditions inhibit C3-mediated complement effectors important in the immunological
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A Descriptive Survey of Weight Control Participants at a U.S. Army Community Hospital.
1983-08-01
participation in the survey was strictly voluntary; 3. only active duty Army personnel who were on the Army’s weight control program could volunteer ...A.R. 600-9 limit 2 I was singled out because I looked overweight 3 I volunteered for the program 4 Other, specify 18. Where was your initial weight...33. Wing, Rena R., and Epstein, Leonard H. "Prescribed Level of Caloric Restriction in Bahavioral Weight Loss Programs. Addictive Behaviors 6
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Emery, Charles F; Hsiao, Evana T; Hill, Scott M; Frid, David J
2003-01-01
Exercise has been associated with improved cognitive performance among patients with coronary artery disease. Music listening has been associated with enhanced cognitive functioning among healthy adults. This study evaluated the combined influence of exercise and music listening on cognitive performance among patients in cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Using a within-subjects repeated measures design, this study was conducted in an outpatient University-based CR facility. Thirty-three men and women (mean age = 62.6 +/- 10.5 years) participated in this study. Participants completed 1 exercise session accompanied by music and a second exercise session without music. Order of conditions was assigned randomly. Before and after each exercise session, participants completed a brief assessment of depression and anxiety, and a cognitive test of verbal fluency. The music condition was associated with significant improvements in verbal fluency, but the no-music control condition was not associated with cognitive change. The study provides preliminary evidence of the combined benefit of exercise and music listening for cognitive performance among patients in CR.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Takahiro eSoshi
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Post-error slowing is an error recovery strategy that contributes to action control, and occurs after errors in order to prevent future behavioral flaws. Error recovery often malfunctions in clinical populations, but the relationship between behavioral traits and recovery from error is unclear in healthy populations. The present study investigated the relationship between impulsivity and error recovery by simulating a speeded response situation using a Go/No-go paradigm that forced the participants to constantly make accelerated responses prior to stimuli disappearance (stimulus duration: 250 ms. Neural correlates of post-error processing were examined using event-related potentials (ERPs. Impulsivity traits were measured with self-report questionnaires (BIS-11, BIS/BAS. Behavioral results demonstrated that the commission error for No-go trials was 15%, but post-error slowing did not take place immediately. Delayed post-error slowing was negatively correlated with error rates and impulsivity traits, showing that response slowing was associated with reduced error rates and changed with impulsivity. Response-locked error ERPs were clearly observed for the error trials. Contrary to previous studies, error ERPs were not significantly related to post-error slowing. Stimulus-locked N2 was negatively correlated with post-error slowing and positively correlated with impulsivity traits at the second post-error Go trial: larger N2 activity was associated with greater post-error slowing and less impulsivity. In summary, under constant speeded conditions, error monitoring was dissociated from post-error action control, and post-error slowing did not occur quickly. Furthermore, post-error slowing and its neural correlate (N2 were modulated by impulsivity traits. These findings suggest that there may be clinical and practical efficacy of maintaining cognitive control of actions during error recovery under common daily environments that frequently evoke
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No Evidence That Gratitude Enhances Neural Performance Monitoring or Conflict-Driven Control.
Saunders, Blair; He, Frank F H; Inzlicht, Michael
2015-01-01
It has recently been suggested that gratitude can benefit self-regulation by reducing impulsivity during economic decision making. We tested if comparable benefits of gratitude are observed for neural performance monitoring and conflict-driven self-control. In a pre-post design, 61 participants were randomly assigned to either a gratitude or happiness condition, and then performed a pre-induction flanker task. Subsequently, participants recalled an autobiographical event where they had felt grateful or happy, followed by a post-induction flanker task. Despite closely following existing protocols, participants in the gratitude condition did not report elevated gratefulness compared to the happy group. In regard to self-control, we found no association between gratitude--operationalized by experimental condition or as a continuous predictor--and any control metric, including flanker interference, post-error adjustments, or neural monitoring (the error-related negativity, ERN). Thus, while gratitude might increase economic patience, such benefits may not generalize to conflict-driven control processes.
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Control of Root Rot and Wilt Diseases of Roselle under Field Conditions
Hassan, Naglaa; Elsharkawy, Mohsen Mohamed; Shimizu, Masafumi
2014-01-01
Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is one of the most important medicinal crops in many parts of the world. In this study, the effects of microelements, antioxidants, and bioagents on Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, and Macrophomina phaseolina, the causal pathogens of root rot and wilt diseases in roselle, were examined under field conditions. Preliminary studies were carried out in vitro in order to select the most effective members to be used in field control trials. Our results showed that microelements (copper and manganese), antioxidants (salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, and EDTA), a fungicide (Dithane M45) and biological control agents (Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus subtilis) were significantly reduced the linear growth of the causal pathogens. Additionally, application of the previous microelements, antioxidants, a fungicide and biological control agents significantly reduced disease incidence of root rot and wilt diseases under field conditions. Copper, salicylic acid, and T. harzianum showed the best results in this respect. In conclusion, microelements, antioxidants, and biocontrol agents could be used as alternative strategies to fungicides for controlling root rot and wilt diseases in roselle. PMID:25606010
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Nikoo, Mohammadali; Vogel, Marc; Choi, Fiona; Song, Michael J; Burghardt, Jensen; Zafari, Zafar; Tabi, Katarina; Frank, Anastasia; Barbic, Skye; Schütz, Christian; Jang, Kerry; Krausz, Michael
2018-04-12
Employment is one of the less studied but a significant outcome of medication-assisted treatment. Thus, we aimed to explore employment outcomes of medication-assisted treatment with hydromorphone (HDM) or diacetylmorphine (DAM). The secondary aim was to estimate characteristics of this population as well as treatment-related factors associated with these outcomes. This was a secondary analysis of a randomized, double blind controlled trial. A total of 102 and 100 participants were randomized to receive injectable DAM or HDM for 6 months respectively. In stage 2, 144 participants were randomized again to receive either oral or injectable forms of the medication they received for another 6 months. Participants were interviewed at 5 timepoints: before and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after treatment assignment. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with a logit link was fitted to determine factors related to paid work in the past 30 days. Mean age of participants was 44.3 (SD = 9.6) and 59 (29.2%) participants were men. At each timepoint, 6-8 (3.6%-4.1%) participants reported employment in the past 30 days and 40 to 52 (19.7%-26.7%) reported minimum 1 day of paid work. University or college education [OR = 2.12: 95% CI = (1.25, 3.62), P = 0.01] was significantly associated with paid work after adjustment for age, gender, treatment arms, timepoints, days receiving study treatment, physical health, psychological health and crack cocaine use in the past 30 days. The rate of employment was lower among participants of this study compared to similar studies on heroin-assisted treatment. Higher education was associated with increased odds of paid work. A large gap exists between employment rate and the proportion of participants who reported paid work. Supported employment and occupational therapy could optimize the employment outcomes of this population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Ireland, Michael J; Clough, Bonnie; Gill, Kim; Langan, Fleur; O'Connor, Angela; Spencer, Lyndall
2017-04-01
Stress and burnout are highly prevalent among medical doctors, and are associated with negative consequences for doctors, patients, and organizations. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness training intervention in reducing stress and burnout among medical practitioners, by means of a Randomised Controlled Trial design. Participants were 44 intern doctors completing an emergency department rotation in a major Australian hospital. Participants were randomly assigned to either an active control (one hour extra break per week) or the 10-week mindfulness training intervention. Measures of stress and burnout were taken pre-, mid- and post intervention. Participants undergoing the 10-week mindfulness training program reported greater improvements in stress and burnout relative to participants in the control condition. Significant reduction in stress and burnout was observed for participants in the mindfulness condition. No such reductions were observed for participants in the control condition. Mindfulness interventions may provide medical practitioners with skills to effectively manage stress and burnout, thereby reducing their experience of these symptoms. It is likely that doctors would benefit from the inclusion of such a training program as a part of their general medical education.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Virginia MacNeill
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The sequence of events in a behaviour change trial involves interactions between research participants and the trial process. Taking part in such a study has the potential to influence the behaviour of the participant, and if it does, this can engender bias in trial outcomes. Since participants’ experience has received scant attention, the aim of this study is thus to generate hypotheses about which aspects of the conduct of behaviour change trials might matter most to participants, and thus have potential to alter subsequent behaviours and bias trial outcomes Methods Twenty participants were opportunistically screened for a health compromising behaviour (unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption and recruited if eligible. Semi structured face to face interviews were conducted, after going through the usual processes involved in trial recruitment, baseline assessment and randomisation. Participants were given information on the contents of an intervention or control condition in a behaviour change trial, which was not actually implemented. Three months later they returned to reflect on these experiences and whether they had any effect on their behaviour during the intervening period. Data from the latter interview were analysed thematically using a modified grounded theory approach. Results The early processes of trial participation raised awareness of unhealthy behaviours, although most reported having had only fleeting intentions to change their behaviour as a result of taking part in this study, in the absence of interventions. However, careful examination of the accounts revealed evidence of subtle research participation effects, which varied according to the health behaviour, and its perceived social acceptability. Participants’ relationships with the research study were viewed as somewhat important in stimulating thinking about whether and how to make lifestyle changes. Conclusion These
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Health education and community participation in the control of urinary schistosomiasis in Ghana.
Aryeetey, M E; Aholu, C; Wagatsuma, Y; Bentil, G; Nkrumah, F K; Kojima, S
1999-06-01
To study the role of health education and community participation for the provision of facilities necessary for the control of urinary schistosomiasis in southern Ghana. Health education facilitates community participation in the provision of facilities for the control of bilharzia. Three rural communities drained by the Densu river in southern Ghana. Individuals aged 14 years and above formed groups of 10-12 persons by age, sex, ethnic and educational background; 15-16 groups were formed. Based on existing structures, one community received active, another passive health education and the third had no education. All three communities received chemotherapy. Study was carried out in three phases: pre-intervention phase--during which baseline data on residents' knowledge, attitude, beliefs and perception about bilharzia were collected using focus group discussions (FGD) prior to the second phase, intervention. Another FGD was held after 18 months to evaluate the intervention--third phase. This study suggests that most community members were aware of schistosomiasis but not as a disease. Before the health education, some residents believed bilharzia was a sign of manhood while others attributed the red colour of the urine to the red colour of a variety of sugar cane eaten in the area. After the health education, residents in the three areas constructed hand-dug wells. In addition, those who received active health education constructed two toilets for the schools and weeded the banks of the rivers. Residents also associated the disease with the water snail. Health education was useful in changing community perception on bilharzia.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chaojiao Sun
2016-01-01
Full Text Available An adaptive neural control scheme is proposed for nonaffine nonlinear system without using the implicit function theorem or mean value theorem. The differential conditions on nonaffine nonlinear functions are removed. The control-gain function is modeled with the nonaffine function probably being indifferentiable. Furthermore, only a semibounded condition for nonaffine nonlinear function is required in the proposed method, and the basic idea of invariant set theory is then constructively introduced to cope with the difficulty in the control design for nonaffine nonlinear systems. It is rigorously proved that all the closed-loop signals are bounded and the tracking error converges to a small residual set asymptotically. Finally, simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed method.
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Modeling and fuzzy control of the engine coolant conditioning system in an IC engine test bed
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mohtasebi, Seyed Saeid; Shirazi, Farzad A.; Javaheri, Ahmad; Nava, Ghodrat Hamze
2010-01-01
Mechanical and thermodynamical performance of internal combustion engines is significantly affected by the engine working temperature. In an engine test bed, the internal combustion engines are tested in different operating conditions using a dynamometer. It is required that the engine temperature be controlled precisely, particularly in transient states. This precise control can be achieved by an engine coolant conditioning system mainly consisting of a heat exchanger, a control valve, and a controller. In this study, constitutive equations of the system are derived first. These differential equations show the second- order nonlinear time-varying dynamics of the system. The model is validated with the experimental data providing satisfactory results. After presenting the dynamic equations of the system, a fuzzy controller is designed based on our prior knowledge of the system. The fuzzy rules and the membership functions are derived by a trial and error and heuristic method. Because of the nonlinear nature of the system the fuzzy rules are set to satisfy the requirements of the temperature control for different operating conditions of the engine. The performance of the fuzzy controller is compared with a PI one for different transient conditions. The results of the simulation show the better performance of the fuzzy controller. The main advantages of the fuzzy controller are the shorter settling time, smaller overshoot, and improved performance especially in the transient states of the system
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Domazet, Sidsel L; Tarp, Jakob; Huang, Tao; Gejl, Anne Kær; Andersen, Lars Bo; Froberg, Karsten; Bugge, Anna
2016-01-01
To examine objectively measured physical activity level, organized sports participation and active commuting to school in relation to mathematic performance and inhibitory control in adolescents. The design was cross-sectional. A convenient sample of 869 sixth and seventh grade students (12-14 years) was invited to participate in the study. A total of 568 students fulfilled the inclusion criteria and comprised the final sample for this study. Mathematic performance was assessed by a customized test and inhibitory control was assessed by a modified Eriksen flanker task. Physical activity was assessed with GT3X and GT3X+ accelerometers presented in sex-specific quartiles of mean counts per minute and mean minutes per day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Active commuting and sports participation was self-reported. Mixed model regression was applied. Total physical activity level was stratified by bicycling status in order to bypass measurement error subject to the accelerometer. Non-cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute displayed a higher mathematic score, so did cyclists in the 2nd and 3rd quartile of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity relative to the least active quartile. Non-cyclists in the 3rd quartile of counts per minute had an improved reaction time and cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity displayed an improved accuracy, whereas non-cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute showed an inferior accuracy relative to the least active quartile. Bicycling to school and organized sports participation were positively associated with mathematic performance. Sports participation and bicycling were positively associated with mathematic performance. Results regarding objectively measured physical activity were mixed. Although, no linear nor dose-response relationship was observed there was no indication of a higher activity level impairing the scholastic or cognitive performance.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sidsel L Domazet
Full Text Available To examine objectively measured physical activity level, organized sports participation and active commuting to school in relation to mathematic performance and inhibitory control in adolescents.The design was cross-sectional. A convenient sample of 869 sixth and seventh grade students (12-14 years was invited to participate in the study. A total of 568 students fulfilled the inclusion criteria and comprised the final sample for this study. Mathematic performance was assessed by a customized test and inhibitory control was assessed by a modified Eriksen flanker task. Physical activity was assessed with GT3X and GT3X+ accelerometers presented in sex-specific quartiles of mean counts per minute and mean minutes per day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Active commuting and sports participation was self-reported. Mixed model regression was applied. Total physical activity level was stratified by bicycling status in order to bypass measurement error subject to the accelerometer.Non-cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute displayed a higher mathematic score, so did cyclists in the 2nd and 3rd quartile of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity relative to the least active quartile. Non-cyclists in the 3rd quartile of counts per minute had an improved reaction time and cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity displayed an improved accuracy, whereas non-cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute showed an inferior accuracy relative to the least active quartile. Bicycling to school and organized sports participation were positively associated with mathematic performance.Sports participation and bicycling were positively associated with mathematic performance. Results regarding objectively measured physical activity were mixed. Although, no linear nor dose-response relationship was observed there was no indication of a higher activity level impairing the scholastic or cognitive
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Improving Work Participation of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities
Verhoef, J.A.C.
2015-01-01
markdownabstract__Abstract__ This thesis addresses the work participation of young adults with physical disabilities caused by a chronic condition. With increasing numbers of young people with a chronic physical condition living into adulthood, knowledge about the development of work participation in these young adults and the support they need to achieve suitable employment is needed. Interventions to improve the work participation of young adults with physical disabilities were lacking. The...
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Improving Work Participation of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities
Dr. J.A.C. Verhoef
2015-01-01
This thesis addresses the work participation of young adults with physical disabilities caused by a chronic condition. With increasing numbers of young people with a chronic physical condition living into adulthood, knowledge about the development of work participation in these young adults and the
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Simplified model-based optimal control of VAV air-conditioning system
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nassif, N.; Kajl, S.; Sabourin, R. [Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Construction Engineering
2005-07-01
The improvement of Variable Air Volume (VAV) system performance is one of several attempts being made to minimize the high energy use associated with the operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. A Simplified Optimization Process (SOP) comprised of controller set point strategies and a simplified VAV model was presented in this paper. The aim of the SOP was to determine supply set points. The advantage of the SOP over previous methods was that it did not require a detailed VAV model and optimization program. In addition, the monitored data for representative local-loop control can be checked on-line, after which controller set points can be updated in order to ensure proper operation by opting for real situations with minimum energy use. The SOP was validated using existing monitoring data and a model of an existing VAV system. Energy use simulations were compared to that of the existing VAV system. At each simulation step, 3 controller set point values were proposed and studied using the VAV model in order to select a value for each point which corresponded to the best performance of the VAV system. Simplified VAV component models were presented. Strategies for controller set points were described, including zone air temperature, duct static pressure set points; chilled water supply set points and supply air temperature set points. Simplified optimization process calculations were presented. Results indicated that the SOP provided significant energy savings when applied to specific AHU systems. In a comparison with a Detailed Optimization Process (DOP), the SOP was capable of determining set points close to those obtained by the DOP. However, it was noted that the controller set points determined by the SOP need a certain amount of time to reach optimal values when outdoor conditions or thermal loads are significantly changed. It was suggested that this disadvantage could be overcome by the use of a dynamic incremental value, which
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jingwen Zhang, PhD
2016-12-01
Full Text Available To identify what features of online social networks can increase physical activity, we conducted a 4-arm randomized controlled trial in 2014 in Philadelphia, PA. Students (n = 790, mean age = 25.2 at an university were randomly assigned to one of four conditions composed of either supportive or competitive relationships and either with individual or team incentives for attending exercise classes. The social comparison condition placed participants into 6-person competitive networks with individual incentives. The social support condition placed participants into 6-person teams with team incentives. The combined condition with both supportive and competitive relationships placed participants into 6-person teams, where participants could compare their team's performance to 5 other teams' performances. The control condition only allowed participants to attend classes with individual incentives. Rewards were based on the total number of classes attended by an individual, or the average number of classes attended by the members of a team. The outcome was the number of classes that participants attended. Data were analyzed using multilevel models in 2014. The mean attendance numbers per week were 35.7, 38.5, 20.3, and 16.8 in the social comparison, the combined, the control, and the social support conditions. Attendance numbers were 90% higher in the social comparison and the combined conditions (mean = 1.9, SE = 0.2 in contrast to the two conditions without comparison (mean = 1.0, SE = 0.2 (p = 0.003. Social comparison was more effective for increasing physical activity than social support and its effects did not depend on individual or team incentives.
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Koonrungsesomboon, Nut; Tharavanij, Thipaporn; Phiphatpatthamaamphan, Kittichet; Vilaichone, Ratha-Korn; Manuwong, Sudsayam; Curry, Parichat; Siramolpiwat, Sith; Punchaipornpon, Thanachai; Kanitnate, Supakit; Tammachote, Nattapol; Yamprasert, Rodsarin; Chanvimalueng, Waipoj; Kaewkumpai, Ruchirat; Netanong, Soiphet; Kitipawong, Peerapong; Sritipsukho, Paskorn; Karbwang, Juntra
2017-02-01
This study aimed to test the applicability and effectiveness of the principles and informed consent form (ICF) template proposed by the Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review (SIDCER) across multiple clinical trials involving Thai research participants with various conditions. A single-center, randomized-controlled study nested with eight clinical trials was conducted at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand. A total of 258 participants from any of the eight clinical trials were enrolled and randomly assigned to read either the SIDCER ICF (n = 130) or the conventional ICF (n = 128) of the respective trial. Their understanding of necessary information was assessed using the post-test questionnaire; they were allowed to consult a given ICF while completing the questionnaire. The primary endpoint was the proportion of the participants who had the post-test score of ≥80%, and the secondary endpoint was the total score of the post-test. The proportion of the participants in the SIDCER ICF group who achieved the primary endpoint was significantly higher than that of the conventional ICF group (60.8 vs. 41.4%, p = 0.002). The total score of the post-test was also significantly higher among the participants who read the SIDCER ICF than those who read the conventional ICF (83.3 vs. 76.0%, p study demonstrated that the SIDCER ICF was applicable and effective to improve Thai research participants' understanding of research information in diverse clinical trials. Using the SIDCER ICF methodology, clinical researchers can improve the quality of ICFs for their trials.
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Yazicioglu, Kamil; Yavuz, Ferdi; Goktepe, Ahmet Salim; Tan, Arif Kenan
2012-10-01
The lack of controlled trials in the relationship between participation in adapted sports, and quality of life (QoL) and life satisfaction in people with physical disabilities encouraged us to consider conducting this study. The aim of this study was to compare the QoL and life satisfaction scores between people with physical disabilities who participated in adapted sports and those who did not participate in any adapted sports. This cross-sectional controlled study included 60 individuals with physical disabilities (paraplegia and amputee). Participants were divided into two groups based on sports participation and non-sports participation. Group one included 30 disabled elite athletes who participated in adapted sports. The control group included 30 disabled individuals not involved in any adapted sports. We compared scores on the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale (WHOQoL-BREF) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) between the two groups. Participation in the community and QoL was examined as a reflection of participant's priority on sports participation. We found that WHOQoL-BREF physical, psychological, and social domain scores were significantly higher in group one than in the control group (p sports had significantly higher QoL and life satisfaction scores compared to people with physical disabilities not involved in any adapted sports. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Oswiecinska, A.; Hibbs, J.; Zajic, I.; Burnham, K. J.
2015-11-01
This paper presents conceptual control solution for reliable and energy efficient operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems used in large volume building applications, e.g. warehouse facilities or exhibition centres. Advanced two-level scalable control solution, designed to extend capabilities of the existing low-level control strategies via remote internet connection, is presented. The high-level, supervisory controller is based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) architecture, which is the state-of-the-art for indoor climate control systems. The innovative approach benefits from using passive heating and cooling control strategies for reducing the HVAC system operational costs, while ensuring that required environmental conditions are met.
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2010-10-01
... not be considered a breach of contract in cases where such terminations are beyond the control of the... a breach of contract and monetary damages will not be assessed. (2) Occasionally, a participant's... required under the Program contract will be considered to have breached the contract and will be subject to...
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Simulation Evaluation of Controller-Managed Spacing Tools under Realistic Operational Conditions
Callantine, Todd J.; Hunt, Sarah M.; Prevot, Thomas
2014-01-01
Controller-Managed Spacing (CMS) tools have been developed to aid air traffic controllers in managing high volumes of arriving aircraft according to a schedule while enabling them to fly efficient descent profiles. The CMS tools are undergoing refinement in preparation for field demonstration as part of NASA's Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration-1 (ATD-1). System-level ATD-1 simulations have been conducted to quantify expected efficiency and capacity gains under realistic operational conditions. This paper presents simulation results with a focus on CMS-tool human factors. The results suggest experienced controllers new to the tools find them acceptable and can use them effectively in ATD-1 operations.
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Computation of reactor control rod drop time under accident conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dou Yikang; Yao Weida; Yang Renan; Jiang Nanyan
1998-01-01
The computational method of reactor control rod drop time under accident conditions lies mainly in establishing forced vibration equations for the components under action of outside forces on control rod driven line and motion equation for the control rod moving in vertical direction. The above two kinds of equations are connected by considering the impact effects between control rod and its outside components. Finite difference method is adopted to make discretization of the vibration equations and Wilson-θ method is applied to deal with the time history problem. The non-linearity caused by impact is iteratively treated with modified Newton method. Some experimental results are used to validate the validity and reliability of the computational method. Theoretical and experimental testing problems show that the computer program based on the computational method is applicable and reliable. The program can act as an effective tool of design by analysis and safety analysis for the relevant components
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maggie S. Eppelheimer
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Purpose: Researchers have sought to better understand Chiari type I malformation (CMI through morphometric measurements beyond tonsillar position (TP. Soft tissue and bone structures within the brain and craniocervical junction have been shown to be different for CMI patients compared to healthy controls. Yet, several morphological characteristics have not been consistently associated with CMI. CMI is also associated with different prevalent conditions (PCs such as syringomyelia, pseudotumor, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS, scoliosis, and craniocervical instability. The goal of this study was two-fold: (1 to identify unique morphological characteristics of PCs, and (2 to better explain inconsistent results from case-control comparisons of CMI.Methods: Image, demographic, and PC information was obtained through the Chiari1000, a self-report web-accessed database. Twenty-eight morphometric measurements (MMs were performed on the cranial MR images of 236 pre-surgery adult female CMI participants and 140 female healthy control participants. Custom software was used to measure 28 structures within the posterior cranial fossa (PCF compartment, craniocervical junction, oral cavity, and intracranial area on midsagittal MR images for each participant.Results: Morphometric analysis of adult females indicated a smaller McRae line length in CMI participants with syringomyelia compared to those without syringomyelia. TP was reduced in CMI participants with EDS than those without EDS. Basion to posterior axial line was significantly longer in CMI participants with scoliosis compared to those without scoliosis. No additional MMs were found to differ between CMI participants with and without a specific PC. Four morphometric differences were found to be consistently different between CMI participants and healthy controls regardless of PC: larger TP and a smaller clivus length, fastigium, and corpus callosum height in CMI participants.Conclusion: Syringomyelia, EDS
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Indigenous participation and representation in Venezuelan electoral processes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Luis Fernando ANGOSTO FERRÁNDEZ
2012-06-01
Full Text Available This article examines the Venezuelan regional elections of 2008 as a contextual event for the analysis of electoral strategies and results associated with the indigenous representation. Three factors intertwined in the electoral moment are analyzed: 1. the existence of minimum guaranteed representation for indigenous population in legislative organs; 2. the participation of indigenous candidates and electors; 3. the maneuvers of political parties and civil organizations that attempt to channel and/or benefit from such indigenous representation and participation. The description of the electoral context facilitates the identification of factors that, beyond the normative structure of the State, condition the agency of individuals and parties involved in electoral processes. Among those factors are the symbolic value of indigeneity in the current process of national identity re-definition, the interest of political parties in controlling the vote of the indigenous representation and the tendency towards the consolidation of professionalized elites within the indigenous activism.
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Both the “What” and “Why” of Youth Sports Participation Matter; a Conditional Process Analysis
Gjesdal, Siv; Appleton, Paul R.; Ommundsen, Yngvar
2017-01-01
This study builds on previous research combining achievement goal orientation from Achievement Goal Theory and motivational regulation from Self-Determination Theory. The aim was to assess the combination of the “what” and “why” of youth sport activity, and how it relates to the need for competence and self-esteem. Achievement goal orientation, specifically task and ego, was employed to represent the “what”, whilst intrinsic and external regulation reflected the “why”. Based on a sample of 496 youth sports participants, structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping procedure was used to examine whether the indirect relationship between achievement goal orientation and self-esteem was conditional to motivational regulation. The results show partial support for the conditional process models. Specifically, task orientation was indirectly linked with self-esteem through competence need, and the relationship was stronger with higher levels of intrinsic regulation for sport. Furthermore, ego orientation was negatively associated with self-esteem through a positive relationship with competence frustration. However, this relationship emerged only for those higher in intrinsic regulation. External regulation did not emerge as a moderator, but presented a positive relationship with competence frustration. Findings are discussed in light of both Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and underline the importance of considering both the “what” and “why” when attempting to understand motivation in youth sport. PMID:28491048
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Both the “What” and “Why” of Youth Sports Participation Matter; a Conditional Process Analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Siv Gjesdal
2017-04-01
Full Text Available This study builds on previous research combining achievement goal orientation from Achievement Goal Theory and motivational regulation from Self-Determination Theory. The aim was to assess the combination of the “what” and “why” of youth sport activity, and how it relates to the need for competence and self-esteem. Achievement goal orientation, specifically task and ego, was employed to represent the “what”, whilst intrinsic and external regulation reflected the “why”. Based on a sample of 496 youth sports participants, structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping procedure was used to examine whether the indirect relationship between achievement goal orientation and self-esteem was conditional to motivational regulation. The results show partial support for the conditional process models. Specifically, task orientation was indirectly linked with self-esteem through competence need, and the relationship was stronger with higher levels of intrinsic regulation for sport. Furthermore, ego orientation was negatively associated with self-esteem through a positive relationship with competence frustration. However, this relationship emerged only for those higher in intrinsic regulation. External regulation did not emerge as a moderator, but presented a positive relationship with competence frustration. Findings are discussed in light of both Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and underline the importance of considering both the “what” and “why” when attempting to understand motivation in youth sport.
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Zheng, Yingjun; Wu, Chao; Li, Juanhua; Li, Ruikeng; Peng, Hongjun; She, Shenglin; Ning, Yuping; Li, Liang
2018-04-04
Speech recognition under noisy "cocktail-party" environments involves multiple perceptual/cognitive processes, including target detection, selective attention, irrelevant signal inhibition, sensory/working memory, and speech production. Compared to health listeners, people with schizophrenia are more vulnerable to masking stimuli and perform worse in speech recognition under speech-on-speech masking conditions. Although the schizophrenia-related speech-recognition impairment under "cocktail-party" conditions is associated with deficits of various perceptual/cognitive processes, it is crucial to know whether the brain substrates critically underlying speech detection against informational speech masking are impaired in people with schizophrenia. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study investigated differences between people with schizophrenia (n = 19, mean age = 33 ± 10 years) and their matched healthy controls (n = 15, mean age = 30 ± 9 years) in intra-network functional connectivity (FC) specifically associated with target-speech detection under speech-on-speech-masking conditions. The target-speech detection performance under the speech-on-speech-masking condition in participants with schizophrenia was significantly worse than that in matched healthy participants (healthy controls). Moreover, in healthy controls, but not participants with schizophrenia, the strength of intra-network FC within the bilateral caudate was positively correlated with the speech-detection performance under the speech-masking conditions. Compared to controls, patients showed altered spatial activity pattern and decreased intra-network FC in the caudate. In people with schizophrenia, the declined speech-detection performance under speech-on-speech masking conditions is associated with reduced intra-caudate functional connectivity, which normally contributes to detecting target speech against speech masking via its functions of suppressing masking-speech signals.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Boecher Poulsen, K.; Christensen, Torkild; Mortensen, Jan; Runge Kristoffersen, J.; Kristmundsson, E. [Tech-wise A/S (Denmark); Moekbak, T.; Mortensen, Hans Peter [Elsam A/S (Denmark)
2002-12-15
This report focuses on the model-building part of the PSO project, 'Control Conditions Bio-boiler'. In the project, which treats dynamic simulation of biomass fired power plants via the MMS software, a certain number of straw/wood chip modules have been built, together with a combustion module which, when connected to the existing MMS modules, can be used for dynamic simulation. Furthermore, a certain number of continuous and discrete components have been built which, together with the remaining MMS modules will create a complete model of the active part of the control structure under the most common operation conditions. By means of the developed straw, combustion and control modules, a model of Enstedvaerket's bio-boiler is built (without wood chip super-heater), including practically all auxiliary control mechanisms. In the report the primary problems caused by the development of the model are discussed, typically numerical problems. First of all it is discussed how a steady state condition can be reached from a nonphysical condition at the start-up of the simulation. After reaching a steady state condition at full load, the boiler load is reduced by adjusting the desired live steam flow setpoint value and the load gradient (as it would be done from the control room). While reducing to part load, one straw line is closed down, as it would be done in 'real life'. From part load, the boiler load is once again in the same way increased to full. (BA) The simulation results are then compared to measurements made on the same boiler during load reduction and load increase.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Iqbal, Muhammad; Rehan, Muhammad; Hong, Keum-Shik; Khaliq, Abdul; Saeed-ur-Rehman
2015-01-01
This paper addresses the design of adaptive feedback controllers for two problems (namely, stabilization and synchronization) of chaotic systems with unknown parameters by considering input saturation constraints. A novel generalized sector condition is developed to deal with the saturation nonlinearities for synthesizing the nonlinear and the adaptive controllers for the stabilization and synchronization control objectives. By application of the proposed sector condition and rigorous regional stability analysis, control and adaptation laws are formulated to guarantee local stabilization of a nonlinear system under actuator saturation. Further, simple control and adaptation laws are developed to synchronize two chaotic systems under uncertain parameters and input saturation nonlinearity. Numerical simulation results for Rössler and FitzHugh–Nagumo models are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive stabilization and synchronization control methodologies
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Nafati, Gilel; Vuillerme, Nicolas
2011-01-01
This experiment was designed to investigate whether and how decreasing the amount of attentional focus invested in postural control could affect bipedal postural control. Twelve participants were asked to stand upright as immobile as possible on a force platform in one control condition and one cognitive condition. In the latter condition, they…
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Internet trials: participant experiences and perspectives.
Mathieu, Erin; Barratt, Alexandra; Carter, Stacy M; Jamtvedt, Gro
2012-10-23
Use of the Internet to conduct randomised controlled trials is increasing, and provides potential to increase equity of access to medical research, increase the generalisability of trial results and decrease the costs involved in conducting large scale trials. Several studies have compared response rates, completeness of data, and reliability of surveys using the Internet and traditional methods, but very little is known about participants' attitudes towards Internet-based randomised trials or their experience of participating in an Internet-based trial. To obtain insights into the experiences and perspectives of participants in an Internet-based randomised controlled trial, their attitudes to the use of the Internet to conduct medical research, and their intentions regarding future participation in Internet research. All English speaking participants in a recently completed Internet randomised controlled trial were invited to participate in an online survey. 1246 invitations were emailed. 416 participants completed the survey between May and October 2009 (33% response rate). Reasons given for participating in the Internet RCT fell into 4 main areas: personal interest in the research question and outcome, ease of participation, an appreciation of the importance of research and altruistic reasons. Participants' comments and reflections on their experience of participating in a fully online trial were positive and less than half of participants would have participated in the trial had it been conducted using other means of data collection. However participants identified trade-offs between the benefits and downsides of participating in Internet-based trials. The main trade-off was between flexibility and convenience - a perceived benefit - and a lack connectedness and understanding - a perceived disadvantage. The other tradeoffs were in the areas of: ease or difficulty in use of the Internet; security, privacy and confidentiality issues; perceived benefits and
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Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: Implications for Family Leisure Participation
Radina, M. Elise
2009-01-01
An estimated 20% of breast cancer survivors face the chronic condition of breast cancer-related lymphedema. This study explored the ways in which women with this condition experienced changes in their participation in family leisure as one indicator of family functioning. Participants (N = 27) were interviewed regarding lifestyles before and after…
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Who participates in tax avoidance?
Alstadsæter, Annette; Jacob, Martin
2013-01-01
This paper analyzes the sources of heterogeneity in legal tax avoidance strategies across individuals. Three conditions are required for a taxpayer to participate in tax avoidance: incentive, access, and awareness. Using rich Swedish administrative panel data with a unique link between corporate and individual tax returns, we analyze individual participation in legal tax planning around the 2006 Swedish tax reform. Our results suggest that closely held corporations are utilized to facilitate ...
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Assessing a cognitive music training for older participants: a randomised controlled trial.
Biasutti, Michele; Mangiacotti, Anthony
2018-02-01
In a randomised controlled trial, we investigated whether a cognitive training based on rhythm-music and music improvisation exercises had positive effects on executive functions in older participants. Thirty-five residents in a guest home with mild-moderate cognitive impairment and healthy ageing were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 18) featuring cognitive music training composed of 12 bi-weekly 70-min sessions, and a control group (n = 17) attended 12 bi-weekly 45-min sessions of gymnastic activities offered by the institute. A neuropsychological test battery was administered at baseline and at the end of treatment, including the Mini-Mental State Examination, verbal fluency test, Trail Making Test A, attentional matrices test and clock-drawing test. Pre-test and post-test comparison showed a significant improvement for the experimental group reflected in the Mini-Mental State Examination (F(1,33) = 13.906; p music-rhythmic exercises and music improvisation exercises is associated with improved cognitive functions in older people with mild-moderate cognitive impairment regardless of the individual's degree of cognitive reserve. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Schaaf, van der T.W.; Kragt, H.; Kragt, H.
1992-01-01
A field study in a chemical industry was conducted to redesign a control room with panel instrumentation into one with visual display units (VDUs). The authors had been asked to advise the project team and to participate in the application. First, a general evaluation of the central control room
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The effects of stereotype threat and contextual cues on alcohol users' inhibitory control.
Pennington, Charlotte R; Qureshi, Adam; Monk, Rebecca L; Heim, Derek
2016-03-01
Previous research indicates that users of illicit substances exhibit diminished cognitive function under stereotype threat. Advancing this research, the current study aimed to examine the effects of stereotype threat on alcohol users' inhibitory control. It also examined whether drinkers demonstrate a greater approach bias towards alcohol-related relative to neutral stimuli. Fifty-five participants were assigned randomly to a stereotype threat condition, in which they were primed with a negative stereotype linking drinking behavior to cognitive decline, or a non-threat control condition. All participants then completed a modified version of the Cued Go/No-Go Association Test that exposed participants to alcohol-related and neutral pictorial stimuli and sound cues. Stereotype threatened participants demonstrated a speed-accuracy trade off, taking significantly longer to respond to go-trials with equivalent accuracy to the control condition. They also showed reduced response accuracy to both alcohol-related and neutral stimuli in reversed instruction trials. Participants in the control condition were both more accurate and quicker to respond to alcohol-related stimuli compared to neutral stimuli. These results suggest that awareness of negative stereotypes pertaining to alcohol-related impulsivity may have a harmful effect on inhibitive cognitive performance. This may have implications for public health campaigns and for methodological designs with high levels of procedural signaling with respect to not inadvertently inducing stereotype threat and impacting impulsivity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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A high control bandwidth design method for aalborg inverter under weak grid condition
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wu, Weimin; Zhou, Cong; Wang, Houqin
2017-01-01
Aalborg Inverter is a kind of high efficient Buck-Boost inverter. Since it may work in “Buck-Boost” mode, the control bandwidth should be high enough to ensure a good performance under any grid condition. However, during the “Boost” operation, the control bandwidth depends much on the grid...
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Schwember, Andrés R; Bradford, Kent J
2010-10-01
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds have poor shelf life and exhibit thermoinhibition (fail to germinate) above ∼25°C. Seed priming (controlled hydration followed by drying) alleviates thermoinhibition by increasing the maximum germination temperature, but reduces lettuce seed longevity. Controlled deterioration (CD) or accelerated ageing storage conditions (i.e. elevated temperature and relative humidity) are used to study seed longevity and to predict potential seed lifetimes under conventional storage conditions. Seeds produced in 2002 and 2006 of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between L. sativa cv. Salinas×L. serriola accession UC96US23 were utilized to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with seed longevity under CD and conventional storage conditions. Multiple longevity-associated QTLs were identified under both conventional and CD storage conditions for control (non-primed) and primed seeds. However, seed longevity was poorly correlated between the two storage conditions, suggesting that deterioration processes under CD conditions are not predictive of ageing in conventional storage conditions. Additionally, the same QTLs were not identified when RIL populations were grown in different years, indicating that lettuce seed longevity is strongly affected by production environment. Nonetheless, a major QTL on chromosome 4 [Seed longevity 4.1 (Slg4.1)] was responsible for almost 23% of the phenotypic variation in viability of the conventionally stored control seeds of the 2006 RIL population, with improved longevity conferred by the Salinas allele. QTL analyses may enable identification of mechanisms responsible for the sensitivity of primed seeds to CD conditions and breeding for improved seed longevity.
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Watanabe, Masahito; Ozawa, Shumpei; Mizuno, Akotoshi; Hibiya, Taketoshi; Kawauchi, Hiroya; Murai, Kentaro; Takahashi, Suguru
2012-01-01
Microgravity conditions have advantages of measurement of surface tension and viscosity of metallic liquids by the oscillating drop method with an electromagnetic levitation (EML) device. Thus, we are preparing the experiments of thermophysical properties measurements using the Materials-Science Laboratories ElectroMagnetic-Levitator (MSL-EML) facilities in the international Space station (ISS). Recently, it has been identified that dependence of surface tension on oxygen partial pressure (Po2) must be considered for industrial application of surface tension values. Effect of Po2 on surface tension would apparently change viscosity from the damping oscillation model. Therefore, surface tension and viscosity must be measured simultaneously in the same atmospheric conditions. Moreover, effect of the electromagnetic force (EMF) on the surface oscillations must be clarified to obtain the ideal surface oscillation because the EMF works as the external force on the oscillating liquid droplets, so extensive EMF makes apparently the viscosity values large. In our group, using the parabolic flight levitation experimental facilities (PFLEX) the effect of Po2 and external EMF on surface oscillation of levitated liquid droplets was systematically investigated for the precise measurements of surface tension and viscosity of high temperature liquids for future ISS experiments. We performed the observation of surface oscillations of levitated liquid alloys using PFLEX on board flight experiments by Gulfstream II (G-II) airplane operated by DAS. These observations were performed under the controlled Po2 and also under the suitable EMF conditions. In these experiments, we obtained the density, the viscosity and the surface tension values of liquid Cu. From these results, we discuss about as same as reported data, and also obtained the difference of surface oscillations with the change of the EMF conditions.
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Model predictions and control of conditions in a CA-reefer container
Sman, van der R.G.M.; Verdijck, G.J.C.
2003-01-01
In this paper a concept for energy saving for refrigerated container transport is presented. The concept is based on model-predictive control of the set points of the cooling unit. These models predict energy consumption of the cooling unit, climatic conditions inside the cargo space, and the change
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Tomlin, Zelda; deSalis, Isabel; Toerien, Merran; Donovan, Jenny L
2014-10-01
With the routinization of evidence-based medicine and of the randomized-controlled trial (RCT), more patients are becoming 'sites of evidence production' yet, little is known about how they are recruited as participants; there is some evidence that 'substantively valid consent' is difficult to achieve. To explore the views and experiences of nurses recruiting patients to randomized-controlled trials and to examine the extent to which their recruitment practices were patient-centred and patient empowering. Semi-structured in-depth interviews; audio recording of recruitment appointments; thematic interactional analysis (drawing on discourse and conversation analysis). Nurses recruiting patients to five publicly funded RCTs and patients consenting to the recording of their recruitment sessions. The views of recruiting nurses about their recruitment role; the extent to which nurse-patient interactions were patient-centred; the nature of the nurses' interactional strategies and the nature and extent of patient participation in the discussion. The nurses had a keen sense of themselves as clinicians and patient advocates and their perceptions of the trial and its interventions were inextricably linked to those of the patients. However, many of their recruitment practices made it difficult for patients to play an active and informed part in the discussion about trial participation, raising questions over the quality of consent decisions. Nurses working in patient recruitment to RCTs need to reconcile two different worlds with different demands and ethics. Evidence production, a central task in evidence-based medicine, poses a challenge to patient-centred practice and more research and relevant training are needed. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Asyraf, S. M.; Heerwan, P. M.; Izhar, I. M.
2018-04-01
During descending on a slope, the speed of Electric Powered Wheelchair (EPW) tends to changed rapidly. Normally, most EPW is provided with mechanical braking system which transfers human pulling force of the lever creating friction at the tire. However, the task is difficult for the users are elderly or paralyses. However, even for normal user with good strength, in fear condition they tend to give sudden braking which leads to tire locking up and skidding, eventually EPW unstable. These problems will cause accident and injuries to the users if speed does not properly control. In this paper, the automated braking torque control method was proposed in EPW as alternative to solve this problem and increase the mobility and stability especially during descending on slope in other to help the user of the EPW as their daily transportation. In this research, Proportional-Integral-Derivative and Sliding Mode Control controller are compared to determine the best response for torque braking control. The rapid change of speed can be controlled by the braking torque using proposed controllers based on the desired constant speed set by the control designer. Moreover, the sudden braking that caused tire to lock up and skid can be avoided. Furthermore, result from SMC shows this controller have good time respond to maintain the speed based on desired value when descending at slope condition by controlling the braking torque compared to the PID controller.
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Participation in novelty-seeking leisure activities and Alzheimer's disease.
Fritsch, Thomas; Smyth, Kathleen A; Debanne, Sara M; Petot, Grace J; Friedland, Robert P
2005-09-01
The objective was to study the associations between participation in different types of mentally stimulating leisure activities and status as Alzheimer's disease (AD) case or normal control. Research suggests that participation in leisure activities, especially mentally stimulating activities, is associated with a lower risk for AD. However, no study has yet evaluated associations between AD and different types of mental leisure activities, especially those involving "novelty seeking." The authors used a case-control design to compare participation in activities across the life span in persons with AD and normal controls. Cases (n = 264) were recruited from clinical settings and from the community. Controls were drawn from 2 populations. Control group A members (n = 364) were the friends or neighbors of the cases or members of the same organizations to which the cases belonged. Control group B members (n = 181) were randomly drawn from the community. The 2 control groups did not differ in their responses to most activity questions, so they were combined. Factor analysis of activity questions identified 3 activity factors: (1) novelty seeking; (2) exchange of ideas; and (3) social. Logistic regression analysis indicated that, adjusting for control variables, greater participation in novelty-seeking and exchange-of-ideas activities was significantly associated with decreased odds of AD. The odds of AD were lower among those who more often participated in activities involving exchange of ideas and were lower yet for those who more frequently participated in novelty-seeking activities. We conclude that participation in a variety of mental activities across the life span may lower one's chances of developing AD.
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Operant conditioning of facial displays of pain.
Kunz, Miriam; Rainville, Pierre; Lautenbacher, Stefan
2011-06-01
The operant model of chronic pain posits that nonverbal pain behavior, such as facial expressions, is sensitive to reinforcement, but experimental evidence supporting this assumption is sparse. The aim of the present study was to investigate in a healthy population a) whether facial pain behavior can indeed be operantly conditioned using a discriminative reinforcement schedule to increase and decrease facial pain behavior and b) to what extent these changes affect pain experience indexed by self-ratings. In the experimental group (n = 29), the participants were reinforced every time that they showed pain-indicative facial behavior (up-conditioning) or a neutral expression (down-conditioning) in response to painful heat stimulation. Once facial pain behavior was successfully up- or down-conditioned, respectively (which occurred in 72% of participants), facial pain displays and self-report ratings were assessed. In addition, a control group (n = 11) was used that was yoked to the reinforcement plans of the experimental group. During the conditioning phases, reinforcement led to significant changes in facial pain behavior in the majority of the experimental group (p .136). Fine-grained analyses of facial muscle movements revealed a similar picture. Furthermore, the decline in facial pain displays (as observed during down-conditioning) strongly predicted changes in pain ratings (R(2) = 0.329). These results suggest that a) facial pain displays are sensitive to reinforcement and b) that changes in facial pain displays can affect self-report ratings.
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Hegel, Mark T; Lyons, Kathleen D; Hull, Jay G; Kaufman, Peter; Urquhart, Laura; Li, Zhongze; Ahles, Tim A
2011-10-01
Breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy often experience functional effects of treatment that limit participation in life activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a novel intervention for these restrictions, determine acceptability of the intervention, and preliminarily assess its effects. A pilot RCT of a telephone-delivered Problem-solving and Occupational Therapy intervention (PST-OT) to improve participation restrictions in rural breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Thirty-one participants with Stages 1-3 breast cancer were randomized to 6 weekly sessions of PST-OT (n = 15) and usual care (n = 16). The primary study outcome was the feasibility of conducting the trial. Secondary outcomes were functional, quality of life and emotional status as assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. Of 46 patients referred 31 were enrolled (67% recruitment rate), of which 6 participants withdrew (81% retention rate). Twenty-four participants completed all study-related assessments (77%). Ninety-two percent of PST-OT participants were highly satisfied with the intervention, and 92% reported PST-OT to be helpful/very helpful for overcoming participation restrictions. Ninety-seven percent of planned PST-OT treatment sessions were completed. Completion rates for PST-OT homework tasks were high. Measures of functioning, quality of life, and emotional state favored the PST-OT condition. This pilot study suggests that an RCT of the PST-OT intervention is feasible to conduct with rural breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy and that PST-OT may have positive effects on function, quality of life, and emotional state. 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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2012-09-17
... Flight Control System: Control Surface Awareness and Mode Annunciation AGENCY: Federal Aviation... a fly-by-wire electronic flight control system and no direct coupling from the flightdeck controller... nuisance alerting. This special condition also addresses flight control system mode annunciation. It...
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Bilingual Contexts Modulate the Inhibitory Control Network
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jing Yang
2018-03-01
Full Text Available The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study investigated influences of language contexts on inhibitory control and the underlying neural processes. Thirty Cantonese–Mandarin–English trilingual speakers, who were highly proficient in Cantonese (L1 and Mandarin (L2, and moderately proficient in English (L3, performed a picture-naming task in three dual-language contexts (L1-L2, L2-L3, and L1-L3. After each of the three naming tasks, participants performed a flanker task, measuring contextual effects on the inhibitory control system. Behavioral results showed a typical flanker effect in the L2-L3 and L1-L3 condition, but not in the L1-L2 condition, which indicates contextual facilitation on inhibitory control performance by the L1-L2 context. Whole brain analysis of the fMRI data acquired during the flanker tasks showed more neural activations in the right prefrontal cortex and subcortical areas in the L2-L3 and L1-L3 condition on one hand as compared to the L1-L2 condition on the other hand, suggesting greater involvement of the cognitive control areas when participants were performing the flanker task in L2-L3 and L1-L3 contexts. Effective connectivity analyses displayed a cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuitry for inhibitory control in the trilinguals. However, contrary to the right-lateralized network in the L1-L2 condition, functional networks for inhibitory control in the L2-L3 and L1-L3 condition are less integrated and more left-lateralized. These findings provide a novel perspective for investigating the interaction between bilingualism (multilingualism and inhibitory control by demonstrating instant behavioral effects and neural plasticity as a function of changes in global language contexts.
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Duncan, Amy; Zajac, Ian; Flight, Ingrid; Stewart, Benjamin J R; Wilson, Carlene; Turnbull, Deborah
2013-07-31
Men have a significantly increased risk of being diagnosed with, and dying from, colorectal cancer (CRC) than women. Men also participate in fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening at a lower rate than women. This study will determine whether strategies that target men's attitudes toward screening, and matched to stage of readiness to screen, increase men's FOBT participation compared to a standard approach. Eligible trial participants will be a national sample of 9,200 men aged 50 to 74 years, living in urban Australia and randomly selected from the Australian electoral roll. Trial participants will be mailed an advance notification letter, followed 2 weeks later by an invitation letter and a free fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit. The intervention is a factorial design, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with four trial arms, including a control. The content of the advance notification and invitation letters will differ by trial arm as follows: 1) standard advance notification and standard invitation (control arm); 2) targeted advance notification and standard invitation; 3) standard advance notification and targeted invitation; and 4) targeted advance notification and targeted invitation. The standard letters will replicate as closely as possible the letters included in the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP). Modified advance notification and invitation letters will incorporate additional messages to target men in the precontemplation (advance notification) and contemplation stages (invitation). The primary outcome is return of the completed FIT within 12 weeks of invitation. Analysts will be blinded to trial assignment and participants will be blinded to the use of varying invitational materials. Subsamples from each trial arm will complete baseline and endpoint surveys to measure the psychological impact of the intervention, and qualitative interviews will be conducted to evaluate attitudes toward the intervention. The outcomes of
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Cognitive Control Over Immediate Reward in Binge Alcohol Drinkers.
Poulton, Antoinette; Mackenzie, Caitlyn; Harrington, Kaitlyn; Borg, Sarah; Hester, Robert
2016-02-01
Cognitive control deficits, as captured by inhibitory control measures, are indicative of increased impulsivity and are considered a marker for substance use disorder vulnerability. While individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) typically exhibit inhibitory control dysfunction, evidence of impaired inhibitory control among harmful drinkers, who are at increased risk of developing an AUD, is mixed. This study examined the response inhibition of binge drinkers using a task that employed neutral, as well as both immediate and delayed reward contingencies, to determine whether reward induced heightened impulsivity in this population. Binge alcohol users (n = 42) and controls (n = 42) were administered a Monetary Incentive Control Task that required participants to successfully inhibit a prepotent motor response to both neutral and immediately rewarding stimuli in order to secure a large delayed reward. Binge drinkers had significantly worse response inhibition than controls irrespective of trial condition and even after controlling for differences in weekly intake. Although both binge and control participants exhibited significantly worse inhibitory control in the presence of immediate reward, the control group showed a greater reduction in inhibition accuracy compared to the binge group in reward relative to neutral conditions. Both groups demonstrated significantly enhanced control when forewarned there was an increased chance response inhibition would be required. Control participants secured the delayed reward more often than binge participants. Despite the variability in the literature, this study demonstrated consistent generalized impulse control deficits among binge-drinking individuals that were unrelated to reward manipulations. These findings point to mechanisms that may confer vulnerability for transition from binge drinking to AUD. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.
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Lessons in participant retention in the course of a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Idoko, Olubukola T; Owolabi, Olumuyiwa A; Odutola, Aderonke A; Ogundare, Olatunde; Worwui, Archibald; Saidu, Yauba; Smith-Sanneh, Alison; Tunkara, Abdoulie; Sey, Gibbi; Sanyang, Assan; Mendy, Philip; Ota, Martin O C
2014-10-09
Clinical trials are increasingly being conducted as new products seek to enter the market. Deployment of such interventions is based on evidence obtained mainly from the gold standard of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCCT). A crucial factor in the ability of RCCTs to provide credible and generalisable data is sample size and retention of the required number of subjects at completion of the follow-up period. However, recruitment and retention in clinical trials are hindered by prevalent peculiar challenges in Africa that need to be circumvented. This article shares experiences from a phase II trial that recorded a high retention rate at 14 months follow-up at a new clinical trial site. Mothers bringing children less than two months of age to the health facility were given information and invited to have their child enrolled if the inclusion criteria were fulfilled. Participants were enrolled over 8 months. Trial procedures, duration and risks/benefits were painstakingly and sequentially explained to the communities, parents and relevant relatives before and during the trial period. The proportions of participants that completed or did not complete the trial were analyzed including the reasons for failure to complete all trial procedures. 1044 individuals received information regarding the trial of which 371 returned for screening. 300 (81%) of them who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and did not meet any exclusion criteria were enrolled and 94% of these completed the trial. Consent withdrawal was the main reason for not completing the trial largely (75%) due to the father not being involved at the point of consenting or parents no longer being comfortable with blood sampling. Participant retention in clinical trials remains a crucial factor in ensuring generalisability of trial data. Appropriate measures to enhance retention should include continuous community involvement in the process, adequate explanation of trial procedures and risks/benefits; and
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Huang, Tao; Gejl, Anne Kær; Froberg, Karsten
2016-01-01
Objectives To examine objectively measured physical activity level, organized sports participation and active commuting to school in relation to mathematic performance and inhibitory control in adolescents. Methods The design was cross-sectional. A convenient sample of 869 sixth and seventh grade students (12–14 years) was invited to participate in the study. A total of 568 students fulfilled the inclusion criteria and comprised the final sample for this study. Mathematic performance was assessed by a customized test and inhibitory control was assessed by a modified Eriksen flanker task. Physical activity was assessed with GT3X and GT3X+ accelerometers presented in sex-specific quartiles of mean counts per minute and mean minutes per day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Active commuting and sports participation was self-reported. Mixed model regression was applied. Total physical activity level was stratified by bicycling status in order to bypass measurement error subject to the accelerometer. Results Non-cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute displayed a higher mathematic score, so did cyclists in the 2nd and 3rd quartile of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity relative to the least active quartile. Non-cyclists in the 3rd quartile of counts per minute had an improved reaction time and cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity displayed an improved accuracy, whereas non-cyclists in the 2nd quartile of counts per minute showed an inferior accuracy relative to the least active quartile. Bicycling to school and organized sports participation were positively associated with mathematic performance. Conclusions Sports participation and bicycling were positively associated with mathematic performance. Results regarding objectively measured physical activity were mixed. Although, no linear nor dose-response relationship was observed there was no indication of a higher activity level impairing the
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Controlled cooling of an electronic system based on projected conditions
David, Milnes P.; Iyengar, Madhusudan K.; Schmidt, Roger R.
2015-08-18
Energy efficient control of a cooling system cooling an electronic system is provided based, in part, on projected conditions. The control includes automatically determining an adjusted control setting(s) for an adjustable cooling component(s) of the cooling system. The automatically determining is based, at least in part, on projected power consumed by the electronic system at a future time and projected temperature at the future time of a heat sink to which heat extracted is rejected. The automatically determining operates to reduce power consumption of the cooling system and/or the electronic system while ensuring that at least one targeted temperature associated with the cooling system or the electronic system is within a desired range. The automatically determining may be based, at least in part, on an experimentally obtained model(s) relating the targeted temperature and power consumption of the adjustable cooling component(s) of the cooling system.
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1985-07-30
This final rule provides the additional requirements to the conditions and procedures for initial approval and reapproval of Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) that were added by section 1903(r) of the Social Security Act (as amended by section 901 of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980, Pub. L. 96-398). These provisions are intended to improve States' MMIS, ensure efficient system operations, and make the procedures for detection of fraud, waste, and abuse more effective. In addition, this final rule specifies the procedures we follow in reducing the level of Federal financial participation in State administrative expenditures if a State fails to meet the conditions for initial operation, initial approval, or reapproval of an MMIS.
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Consequences of fathers' participation in family work: parents' role strain and well-being.
Baruch, G K; Barnett, R C
1986-11-01
The relation of fathers' participation in family work (child care and home chores) to parents' role strain and well-being was examined in an interview study of 160 Caucasian middle-class fathers and mothers of kindergarten and fourth-grade children. In half of the families, mothers were employed. Four forms of paternal participation were examined. Role-strain items referred to immediate and specific problems such as time and energy constraints and role conflicts. Well-being measures assessed self-esteem, life satisfaction, and quality of experience in the parental and marital roles. Regression analyses, carried out separately for fathers and for mothers, indicated that, contrary to expectation, when the level of fathers' participation was controlled maternal employment did not condition the relation between participation and the outcome variables. Findings varied for the different forms of participation. For fathers, higher levels of participation were associated with feeling more involved and competent as a parent and with being more critical of wives' patterns and parenting. For mothers, those whose husbands were more participant praised their husbands' parenting, but they were lower in life satisfaction and were more self-critical about their balance of work and family responsibilities.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Gniazdowski, J.
1995-12-31
JOHNSON CONTROLS manufactures measuring and control equipment (800 types) and is as well a {open_quotes}turn-key{close_quotes} supplier of complete automatic controls systems for heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigerating engineering branches. The Company also supplies Buildings` Computer-Based Supervision and Monitoring Systems that may be applied in both small and large structures. Since 1990 the company has been performing full-range trade and contracting activities on the Polish market. We have our own well-trained technical staff and we collaborate with a series of designing and contracting enterprises that enable us to have our projects carried out all over Poland. The prices of our supplies and services correspond with the level of the Polish market.
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Hultgren, Lennart S.; Ashpis, David E.
2003-01-01
Modem low-pressure turbines, in general, utilize highly loaded airfoils in an effort to improve efficiency and to lower the number of airfoils needed. Typically, the airfoil boundary layers are turbulent and fully attached at takeoff conditions, whereas a substantial fraction of the boundary layers on the airfoils may be transitional at cruise conditions due to the change of density with altitude. The strong adverse pressure gradients on the suction side of these airfoils can lead to boundary-layer separation at the latter low Reynolds number conditions. Large separation bubbles, particularly those which fail to reattach, cause a significant degradation of engine efficiency. A component efficiency drop of the order 2% may occur between takeoff and cruise conditions for large commercial transport engines and could be as large as 7% for smaller engines at higher altitude. An efficient means of of separation elimination/reduction is, therefore, crucial to improved turbine design. Because the large change in the Reynolds number from takeoff to cruise leads to a distinct change in the airfoil flow physics, a separation control strategy intended for cruise conditions will need to be carefully constructed so as to incur minimum impact/penalty at takeoff. A complicating factor, but also a potential advantage in the quest for an efficient strategy, is the intricate interplay between separation and transition for the situation at hand. Volino gives a comprehensive discussion of several recent studies on transition and separation under low-pressure-turbine conditions, among them one in the present facility. Transition may begin before or after separation, depending on the Reynolds number and other flow conditions. If the transition occurs early in the boundary layer then separation may be reduced or completely eliminated. Transition in the shear layer of a separation bubble can lead to rapid reattachment. This suggests using control mechanisms to trigger and enhance early
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Cooling water conditioning and quality control for tokamaks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gootgeld, A.M.
1995-10-01
Designers and operators of Tokamaks and all associated water cooled, peripheral equipment, are faced with the task of providing and maintaining closed-loop, low conductivity, low impurity, cooling water systems. Most of these systems must provide large volumes of high quality cooling water at reasonable cost and comply with local and state government orders and EPA mandated national pretreatment standards and regulations. This paper discusses the DIII-D water quality requirements, the means used to obtain the necessary quality and the instrumentation used for control and monitoring. Costs to mechanically and chemically condition and maintain water quality are discussed as well as the various aspects of complying with government standards and regulations
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What's Driving Faculty Participation in Distance Education?
Cook, Ruth Gannon; Ley, Kathryn
2004-01-01
This paper reviews more than a decade of investigations undertaken to determine what motivates and what discourages faculty participation in distance education. The presenters describe the evidence that faculty extrinsic and intrinsic conditions both influence willingness to participate. The researchers compare the findings of this study with…
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Managing patients with neurologic disorders who participate in sports activities.
Crutchfield, Kevin E
2014-12-01
Patients with neurologic conditions have been discouraged from participating in organized sports because of theoretical detrimental effects of these activities to their underlying conditions. The purpose of this article is to review known risks associated with three specific clinical conditions most commonly encountered in a sports neurology clinic (epilepsy, migraines, and multiple sclerosis and to add to the neurologist's toolkit suggested interventions regarding management of athletes with these disorders. Increased participation in sports and athletics has positive benefits for patients with neurologic conditions and can be safely integrated into the lives of these patients with proper supervision from their treating neurologists. Patients with neurologic conditions can and should be encouraged to participate in organized sports as a method of maintaining their overall fitness, improving their overall level of function, and reaping the physical and psychological benefits that athletic competition has to offer.
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Inhibitory Control in Speech Comprehension among Dai–Han Bilingual Children
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yun Tao
2017-08-01
Full Text Available We aimed to investigate differences in inhibitory control ability between proficient and non-proficient Dai–Han bilinguals. Two experiments used a combined stimulus–stimulus and stimulus–response compatibility paradigm for this purpose. Participants were Dai–Han bilingual primary-school students selected from a Dai-speaking town in Yunnan province, China. In Dai language interference condition, participants were asked to complete a picture category task. Results showed that the effect of attentional control for non-proficient bilinguals (NPBs was significantly greater than that for proficient bilinguals (PBs, while the effect of response inhibition was not. This implied that a difference in inhibitory control between PBs and NPBs appeared at the attention control stage when interference by the Dai lexicon emerged. In Han language interference condition, however, participants were also asked to complete the same task. Results showed that the effect of response inhibition for NPBs was significantly greater than that for PBs, but the effect of attentional control was not. This demonstrated that a difference in inhibitory control emerged at the response inhibition stage when interference by the Han lexicon emerged. This pattern of results is opposite to previous researches, which indicated that the difference between PBs and NPBs occurred at the response inhibition stage under first language condition, whereas at the attentional control stage under second language (L2 condition. Based on these, this study suggests that Dai–Han bilinguals showed a remarkable L2 advantage. In addition, results showed that response times (RTs of PBs were faster than RTs of NPBs while confounding variables (e.g., intelligence, etc. were under control. This indicates that the inhibitory control ability of the PBs is superior to that of NPBs in this study.
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Conditionally controlling nuclear trafficking in yeast by chemical-induced protein dimerization.
Xu, Tao; Johnson, Cole A; Gestwicki, Jason E; Kumar, Anuj
2010-11-01
We present here a protocol to conditionally control the nuclear trafficking of target proteins in yeast. In this system, rapamycin is used to heterodimerize two chimeric proteins. One chimera consists of a FK506-binding protein (FKBP12) fused to a cellular 'address' (nuclear localization signal or nuclear export sequence). The second chimera consists of a target protein fused to a fluorescent protein and the FKBP12-rapamycin-binding (FRB) domain from FKBP-12-rapamycin associated protein 1 (FRAP1, also known as mTor). Rapamycin induces dimerization of the FKBP12- and FRB-containing chimeras; these interactions selectively place the target protein under control of the cell address, thereby directing the protein into or out of the nucleus. By chemical-induced dimerization, protein mislocalization is reversible and enables the identification of conditional loss-of-function and gain-of-function phenotypes, in contrast to other systems that require permanent modification of the targeted protein. Yeast strains for this analysis can be constructed in 1 week, and the technique allows protein mislocalization within 15 min after drug treatment.
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Jae-Ahm Park; Mi-Hyang Park; Ji-Hye Shin; Bo Li; David Thomas Rolfe; Jong-Yeol Yoo; Stephen W. Dittmore
2016-01-01
Internet addiction among adolescents has become a major social problem. Thus, more effective Internet addiction treatment programs through sports are required. This study tried to identify the relationship among sports participation, self-control, and Internet addiction among Korean adolescents. In total, 345 students (aged 15–18 years) from two middle schools and two high schools in South Korea were analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). ...
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The active learning hypothesis of the job-demand-control model: an experimental examination.
Häusser, Jan Alexander; Schulz-Hardt, Stefan; Mojzisch, Andreas
2014-01-01
The active learning hypothesis of the job-demand-control model [Karasek, R. A. 1979. "Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign." Administration Science Quarterly 24: 285-307] proposes positive effects of high job demands and high job control on performance. We conducted a 2 (demands: high vs. low) × 2 (control: high vs. low) experimental office workplace simulation to examine this hypothesis. Since performance during a work simulation is confounded by the boundaries of the demands and control manipulations (e.g. time limits), we used a post-test, in which participants continued working at their task, but without any manipulation of demands and control. This post-test allowed for examining active learning (transfer) effects in an unconfounded fashion. Our results revealed that high demands had a positive effect on quantitative performance, without affecting task accuracy. In contrast, high control resulted in a speed-accuracy tradeoff, that is participants in the high control conditions worked slower but with greater accuracy than participants in the low control conditions.
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Conditions for the existence of control functions in nonseparable simultaneous equations models
Blundell, Richard; Matzkin, Rosa L.
2010-01-01
The control function approach (Heckman and Robb (1985)) in a system of linear simultaneous equations provides a convenient procedure to estimate one of the functions in the system using reduced form residuals from the other functions as additional regressors. The conditions on the structural system under which this procedure can be used in nonlinear and nonparametric simultaneous equations has thus far been unknown. In this note, we define a new property of functions called control function s...
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Controlling the site density of multiwall carbon nanotubes via growth conditions
Siegal, M. P.; Overmyer, D. L.; Kaatz, F. H.
2004-06-01
We present two complementary methods for controlling the site density of multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) directly as a function of growth conditions from 1011to107CNTs/cm2. Several potential applications require significant spacing between individual CNTs. The first method shows that the site density varies with the heat of formation of the hydrocarbon gas used during CNT growth by thermal chemical vapor deposition. The second method demonstrates that the site density decreases with increasing residual stress of the metal catalyst/diffusion barrier layers. These methods are combined for wide-range control of CNT site density.
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Energy Analysis for Air Conditioning System Using Fuzzy Logic Control
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Henry Nasution
2011-04-01
Full Text Available Reducing energy consumption and to ensure thermal comfort are two important considerations for the designing an air conditioning system. An alternative approach to reduce energy consumption proposed in this study is to use a variable speed compressor. The control strategy will be proposed using the fuzzy logic controller (FLC. FLC was developed to imitate the performance of human expert operators by encoding their knowledge in the form of linguistic rules. The system is installed on a thermal environmental room with a data acquisition system to monitor the temperature of the room, coefficient of performance (COP, energy consumption and energy saving. The measurements taken during the two hour experimental periods at 5-minutes interval times for temperature setpoints of 20oC, 22oC and 24oC with internal heat loads 0, 500, 700 and 1000 W. The experimental results indicate that the proposed technique can save energy in comparison with On/Off and proportional-integral-derivative (PID control.
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Internet trials: participant experiences and perspectives
2012-01-01
Background Use of the Internet to conduct randomised controlled trials is increasing, and provides potential to increase equity of access to medical research, increase the generalisability of trial results and decrease the costs involved in conducting large scale trials. Several studies have compared response rates, completeness of data, and reliability of surveys using the Internet and traditional methods, but very little is known about participants’ attitudes towards Internet-based randomised trials or their experience of participating in an Internet-based trial. Objective To obtain insights into the experiences and perspectives of participants in an Internet-based randomised controlled trial, their attitudes to the use of the Internet to conduct medical research, and their intentions regarding future participation in Internet research. Methods All English speaking participants in a recently completed Internet randomised controlled trial were invited to participate in an online survey. Results 1246 invitations were emailed. 416 participants completed the survey between May and October 2009 (33% response rate). Reasons given for participating in the Internet RCT fell into 4 main areas: personal interest in the research question and outcome, ease of participation, an appreciation of the importance of research and altruistic reasons. Participants’ comments and reflections on their experience of participating in a fully online trial were positive and less than half of participants would have participated in the trial had it been conducted using other means of data collection. However participants identified trade-offs between the benefits and downsides of participating in Internet-based trials. The main trade-off was between flexibility and convenience – a perceived benefit – and a lack connectedness and understanding – a perceived disadvantage. The other tradeoffs were in the areas of: ease or difficulty in use of the Internet; security, privacy and
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Internet trials: participant experiences and perspectives
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mathieu Erin
2012-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Use of the Internet to conduct randomised controlled trials is increasing, and provides potential to increase equity of access to medical research, increase the generalisability of trial results and decrease the costs involved in conducting large scale trials. Several studies have compared response rates, completeness of data, and reliability of surveys using the Internet and traditional methods, but very little is known about participants’ attitudes towards Internet-based randomised trials or their experience of participating in an Internet-based trial. Objective To obtain insights into the experiences and perspectives of participants in an Internet-based randomised controlled trial, their attitudes to the use of the Internet to conduct medical research, and their intentions regarding future participation in Internet research. Methods All English speaking participants in a recently completed Internet randomised controlled trial were invited to participate in an online survey. Results 1246 invitations were emailed. 416 participants completed the survey between May and October 2009 (33% response rate. Reasons given for participating in the Internet RCT fell into 4 main areas: personal interest in the research question and outcome, ease of participation, an appreciation of the importance of research and altruistic reasons. Participants’ comments and reflections on their experience of participating in a fully online trial were positive and less than half of participants would have participated in the trial had it been conducted using other means of data collection. However participants identified trade-offs between the benefits and downsides of participating in Internet-based trials. The main trade-off was between flexibility and convenience – a perceived benefit – and a lack connectedness and understanding – a perceived disadvantage. The other tradeoffs were in the areas of: ease or difficulty in use of the Internet
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rodolfo Andrade de Gouveia Vilela
2010-12-01
the activity of chemical control of vectors in the State of São Paulo. OBJECTIVE: To describe the participative management system, the actions that were taken and the main accomplished results. METHODS: Report on what was experienced by the team using qualitative approach, document analysis and report on quantitative data. RESULTS: Eleven COMSAT's (Workers Health Committees were elected, which, together with the technical team, started to identify the occupational risks and proposals to prevent and control them. The investigation resulted in 650 suggestions, 45.7% of which were carried out. Work-related diseases were identified as allergic reactions to pesticides, muscular pain linked to repetitive movements, hearing disorders and back pain caused by excessive weight carrying. A total of 1003 workers participated in the basic courses on workers health, 90.8% of whom classified them as good or excellent. CONCLUSIONS: The participative management system puts into practice the democratic management principles of SUS (Brazil's National Health System; by means of risk mapping, it incorporates workers' experiences; it regards workers as agents in the change and negotiation process; it puts into practice the right to information. The COMSAT's proved to be adequate places for negotiating improvements in working conditions. The approval of the Management System ended up in legal validation through a three-party agreement signed in March 2002.
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Lindström, Martin
2005-10-01
To investigate the association between psychosocial conditions at work, unemployment and self-reported psychological health. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire for the 2000 public health survey in Scania was administered to both working and unemployed people aged 18-64 years. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between psychosocial factors at work/unemployment and self-reported psychological health (General Health Questionnaire 12). Psychosocial conditions at work were classified according to the Karasek-Theorell demand-control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive and job strain. The multivariate analyses included age, country of origin, education, economic stress and social participation. A total of 5180 people returned their questionnaire, giving a participation rate of 59%. Fifteen per cent of men and 20% of women reported poor psychological health. Those with high demands and high control (active category), those with high demands and low control (job strain category) and the unemployed had significantly higher odds ratios of poor psychological health compared to those with low demands and high control (relaxed category). Those with low demands and low control (passive category) did not differ significantly from the relaxed category. The associations remained in the multivariate analyses. The study found that certain psychosocial work factors are associated with higher levels of self-reported psychological ill-health and illustrates the great importance of psychosocial conditions in determining psychological health at the population level. As found elsewhere, being unemployed was an even stronger predictor of psychological ill-health.
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Data-Driven Participation: Algorithms, Cities, Citizens, and Corporate Control
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Matthew Tenney
2016-07-01
Full Text Available In this paper, we critically explore the interplay of algorithms and civic participation in visions of a city governed by equation, sensor and tweet. We begin by discussing the rhetoric surrounding techno-enabled paths to participatory democracy. This leads to us interrogating how the city is impacted by a discourse that promises to harness social/human capital through data science. We move to a praxis level and examine the motivations of local planners to adopt and increasingly automate forms of VGI as a form of citizen engagement. We ground theory and praxis with a report on the uneven impacts of algorithmic civic participation underway in the Canadian city of Toronto.
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Lin, Hui-Yan; Zhao, Yan-Ping; Xu, Gui-Ping; Li, Yun-Si; Xie, Wei-Yun; Bai, Li-Hua; Jin, Hua
2017-07-28
To investigate whether Pi (Spleen) qi-deficiency affected psychological and neural responses in relevance to cognitive control. Pi qi-deficient and balanced participants were asked to perform the Stroop task, a classical cognitive control paradigm. In this paradigm, participants had to judge the color of the prompted word. The word's meaning indicated the color (the consistent condition) or not (the inconsistent condition), or were unrelated to the color (the neutral condition). Electroencephalograph (EEG) was recorded during the task. Event-related potential (ERP) results showed that Pi qi-deficient individuals failed to exhibit a normal Stroop effect as Balanced individuals did, such as the accuracy differences between the consistent and the inconsistent conditions as well as the N450 effect (P>0.05). Meanwhile, Pi qi-deficient individuals displayed larger P2 and P3 amplitudes than balanced individuals did during performing the cognitive control task (Pcognitive control aspect.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Wang, Weimin; Katipamula, Srinivas; Huang, Yunzhi; Brambley, Michael R.
2011-12-31
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program (BTP) evaluated a number of control strategies that can be implemented in a controller, to improve the operational efficiency of the packaged air conditioning units. The two primary objectives of this research project are: (1) determine the magnitude of energy savings achievable by retrofitting existing packaged air conditioning units with advanced control strategies not ordinarily used for packaged units and (2) estimating what the installed cost of a replacement control with the desired features should be in various regions of the U.S. This document reports results of the study.
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Validation of the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire.
Morley, David; Dummett, Sarah; Kelly, Laura; Dawson, Jill; Fitzpatrick, Ray; Jenkinson, Crispin
2016-01-01
There is growing interest in the management of long-term conditions and in keeping people active and participating in the community. Testing the effectiveness of interventions that aim to affect activities and participation can be challenging without a well-developed, valid, and reliable instrument. This study therefore aims to develop a patient-reported outcome measure, the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire (Ox-PAQ), which is theoretically grounded in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and fully compliant with current best practice guidelines. Questionnaire items generated from patient interviews and based on the nine chapters of the ICF were administered by postal survey to 386 people with three neurological conditions: motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Participants also completed the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and EQ-5D-5L. Thus, 334 participants completed the survey, a response rate of 86.5%. Factor analysis techniques identified three Ox-PAQ domains, consisting of 23 items, accounting for 72.8% of variance. Internal reliability for the three domains was high (Cronbach's α: 0.81-0.96), as was test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation: 0.83-0.92). Concurrent validity was demonstrated through highly significant relationships with relevant domains of the MOS SF-36 and the EQ- 5D-5L. Assessment of known-groups validity identified significant differences in Ox-PAQ scores among the three conditions included in the survey. Results suggest that the Ox-PAQ is a valid and reliable measure of participation and activity. The measure will now be validated in a range of further conditions, and additional properties, such as responsiveness, will also be assessed in the next phase of the instrument's development.
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Controls of multi-modal wave conditions in a complex coastal setting
Hegermiller, Christie; Rueda, Ana C.; Erikson, Li H.; Barnard, Patrick L.; Antolinez, J.A.A.; Mendez, Fernando J.
2017-01-01
Coastal hazards emerge from the combined effect of wave conditions and sea level anomalies associated with storms or low-frequency atmosphere-ocean oscillations. Rigorous characterization of wave climate is limited by the availability of spectral wave observations, the computational cost of dynamical simulations, and the ability to link wave-generating atmospheric patterns with coastal conditions. We present a hybrid statistical-dynamical approach to simulating nearshore wave climate in complex coastal settings, demonstrated in the Southern California Bight, where waves arriving from distant, disparate locations are refracted over complex bathymetry and shadowed by offshore islands. Contributions of wave families and large-scale atmospheric drivers to nearshore wave energy flux are analyzed. Results highlight the variability of influences controlling wave conditions along neighboring coastlines. The universal method demonstrated here can be applied to complex coastal settings worldwide, facilitating analysis of the effects of climate change on nearshore wave climate.
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Anti-seismic air condition's cooling capability increase of the second control area
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pan Qiang
2008-01-01
Secondary area (SCA) air-conditioning system is an important ventilation system in plant. It should achieve the indoor temperature controllable. To resolve the problem of cooling capacity insufficiency, on the basis of ventilation and refrigeration theory, the thesis analyzes the design modification plan. (author)
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Wall conditioning and particle control in Extrap T2
Bergsåker, H.; Larsson, D.; Brunsell, P.; Möller, A.; Tramontin, L.
1997-02-01
The Extrap T2 reversed field pinch experiment is operated with the former OHTE vacuum vessel, of dimensions R = 1.24 m and a = 0.18 m and with a complete graphite liner. It is shown that a rudimentary density control can be achieved by means of frequent helium glow discharge conditioning of the wall. The standard He-GDC is well characterized and reproducible. The trapping and release of hydrogen and impurities at the wall surfaces have been studied by mass spectrometry and surface analysis. The shot to shot particle exchange between wall and plasma can be approximately accounted for.
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Experiences of patients with chronic gastrointestinal conditions: in their own words
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
McCormick Jennifer B
2012-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD are chronic conditions affecting millions of individuals in the United States. The symptoms are well-documented and can be debilitating. How these chronic gastrointestinal (GI conditions impact the daily lives of those afflicted is not well documented, especially from a patient's perspective. Methods Here we describe data from a series of 22 focus groups held at three different academic medical centers with individuals suffering from chronic GI conditions. All focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed. Two research team members independently analyzed transcripts from each focus group following an agreed upon coding scheme. Results One-hundred-thirty-six individuals participated in our study, all with a chronic GI related condition. They candidly discussed three broad themes that characterize their daily lives: identification of disease and personal identity, medications and therapeutics, and daily adaptations. These all tie to our participants trying to deal with symptoms on a daily basis. We find that a recurrent topic underlying these themes is the dichotomy of experiencing uncertainty and striving for control. Conclusions Study participants' open dialogue and exchange of experiences living with a chronic GI condition provide insight into how these conditions shape day-to-day activities. Our findings provide fertile ground for discussions about how clinicians might best facilitate, acknowledge, and elicit patients' stories in routine care to better address their experience of illness.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Barlas, Athanasios
The report describes the development of flap controllers applied on the OffshoreWindChina (OWC) 5MW reference wind turbine for Chinese typhoon conditions. Optimal flap controllers are designed and tuned based on linear aeroelastic models from HawcStab2. The controllers are evaluated in normal......, parked and storm conditions, targeting the alleviation of fatigue and extreme loads....
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Validation of the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Morley D
2016-06-01
Full Text Available David Morley, Sarah Dummett, Laura Kelly, Jill Dawson, Ray Fitzpatrick, Crispin Jenkinson Health Services Research Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Purpose: There is growing interest in the management of long-term conditions and in keeping people active and participating in the community. Testing the effectiveness of interventions that aim to affect activities and participation can be challenging without a well-developed, valid, and reliable instrument. This study therefore aims to develop a patient-reported outcome measure, the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire (Ox-PAQ, which is theoretically grounded in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF and fully compliant with current best practice guidelines. Methods: Questionnaire items generated from patient interviews and based on the nine chapters of the ICF were administered by postal survey to 386 people with three neurological conditions: motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Participants also completed the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36 and EQ-5D-5L. Results: Thus, 334 participants completed the survey, a response rate of 86.5%. Factor analysis techniques identified three Ox-PAQ domains, consisting of 23 items, accounting for 72.8% of variance. Internal reliability for the three domains was high (Cronbach's α: 0.81–0.96, as was test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation: 0.83–0.92. Concurrent validity was demonstrated through highly significant relationships with relevant domains of the MOS SF-36 and the EQ-5D-5L. Assessment of known-groups validity identified significant differences in Ox-PAQ scores among the three conditions included in the survey. Conclusion: Results suggest that the Ox-PAQ is a valid and reliable measure of participation and activity. The measure will now be validated in
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In-school neurofeedback training for ADHD: sustained improvements from a randomized control trial.
Steiner, Naomi J; Frenette, Elizabeth C; Rene, Kirsten M; Brennan, Robert T; Perrin, Ellen C
2014-03-01
To evaluate sustained improvements 6 months after a 40-session, in-school computer attention training intervention using neurofeedback or cognitive training (CT) administered to 7- to 11-year-olds with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One hundred four children were randomly assigned to receive neurofeedback, CT, or a control condition and were evaluated 6 months postintervention. A 3-point growth model assessed change over time across the conditions on the Conners 3-Parent Assessment Report (Conners 3-P), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Parent Form (BRIEF), and a systematic double-blinded classroom observation (Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools). Analysis of variance assessed community-initiated changes in stimulant medication. Parent response rates were 90% at the 6-month follow-up. Six months postintervention, neurofeedback participants maintained significant gains on Conners 3-P (Inattention effect size [ES] = 0.34, Executive Functioning ES = 0.25, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity ES = 0.23) and BRIEF subscales including the Global Executive Composite (ES = 0.31), which remained significantly greater than gains found among children in CT and control conditions. Children in the CT condition showed delayed improvement over immediate postintervention ratings only on Conners 3-P Executive Functioning (ES = 0.18) and 2 BRIEF subscales. At the 6-month follow-up, neurofeedback participants maintained the same stimulant medication dosage, whereas participants in both CT and control conditions showed statistically and clinically significant increases (9 mg [P = .002] and 13 mg [P < .001], respectively). Neurofeedback participants made more prompt and greater improvements in ADHD symptoms, which were sustained at the 6-month follow-up, than did CT participants or those in the control group. This finding suggests that neurofeedback is a promising attention training treatment for children with ADHD.
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Reveley, Mary s.; Briggs, Jeffrey L.; Leone, Karen M.; Kurtoglu, Tolga; Withrow, Colleen A.
2010-01-01
Literature from academia, industry, and other Government agencies was surveyed to assess the state of the art in current Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) aircraft technologies. Over 100 papers from 25 conferences from the time period 2004 to 2009 were reviewed. An assessment of the general state of the art in adaptive flight control is summarized first, followed by an assessment of the state of the art as applicable to 13 identified adverse conditions. Specific areas addressed in the general assessment include flight control when compensating for damage or reduced performance, retrofit software upgrades to flight controllers, flight control through engine response, and finally test and validation of new adaptive controllers. The state-of-the-art assessment applicable to the adverse conditions include technologies not specifically related to flight control, but may serve as inputs to a future flight control algorithm. This study illustrates existing gaps and opportunities for additional research by the NASA IRAC Project
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Verification of the karst flow model under laboratory controlled conditions
Gotovac, Hrvoje; Andric, Ivo; Malenica, Luka; Srzic, Veljko
2016-04-01
Karst aquifers are very important groundwater resources around the world as well as in coastal part of Croatia. They consist of extremely complex structure defining by slow and laminar porous medium and small fissures and usually fast turbulent conduits/karst channels. Except simple lumped hydrological models that ignore high karst heterogeneity, full hydraulic (distributive) models have been developed exclusively by conventional finite element and finite volume elements considering complete karst heterogeneity structure that improves our understanding of complex processes in karst. Groundwater flow modeling in complex karst aquifers are faced by many difficulties such as a lack of heterogeneity knowledge (especially conduits), resolution of different spatial/temporal scales, connectivity between matrix and conduits, setting of appropriate boundary conditions and many others. Particular problem of karst flow modeling is verification of distributive models under real aquifer conditions due to lack of above-mentioned information. Therefore, we will show here possibility to verify karst flow models under the laboratory controlled conditions. Special 3-D karst flow model (5.6*2.6*2 m) consists of concrete construction, rainfall platform, 74 piezometers, 2 reservoirs and other supply equipment. Model is filled by fine sand (3-D porous matrix) and drainage plastic pipes (1-D conduits). This model enables knowledge of full heterogeneity structure including position of different sand layers as well as conduits location and geometry. Moreover, we know geometry of conduits perforation that enable analysis of interaction between matrix and conduits. In addition, pressure and precipitation distribution and discharge flow rates from both phases can be measured very accurately. These possibilities are not present in real sites what this model makes much more useful for karst flow modeling. Many experiments were performed under different controlled conditions such as different
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Reedman, Sarah Elizabeth; Boyd, Roslyn N; Elliott, Catherine; Sakzewski, Leanne
2017-08-07
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) participate in leisure-time physical activities (PA) less often, with less intensity and reduced diversity than their typically developing peers. Participation in leisure-time physical activities may be an important source of habitual physical activity (HPA) for children with CP, who as a group have lower levels of HPA and increased sedentary time compared with their typically developing peers. The proposed study aims to compare the efficacy of a participation focused therapy (ParticiPAte CP) to usual care in a pragmatic, randomised waitlist controlled trial. Thirty-six children with CP (18 in each group), classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I to III, aged between 8 and 12 years will be recruited across South East Queensland, Australia. Children will be randomised to receive either ParticiPAte CP or waitlist usual care using concealed allocation. ParticiPAte CP is an individually tailored, goal-directed intervention model of pragmatic participation-focused therapy using a toolbox of evidence-based strategies in the treatment of children with CP. This will include goal-setting; identification of barriers and facilitators to participation goals, strategy formation and planning and communication guided by principles of Self-Determination Theory using strategies of Motivational Interviewing. The intervention comprises 8 weekly sessions of 1 hour duration conducted by a physiotherapist in the child's home or community. ACTRN12615001064594. © 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 unless otherwise expressly granted.
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Ong, Sim Y; Gurrin, Lyle C; Dolling, Lara; Dixon, Jeanette; Nicoll, Amanda J; Wolthuizen, Michelle; Wood, Erica M; Anderson, Gregory J; Ramm, Grant A; Allen, Katrina J; Olynyk, John K; Crawford, Darrell; Ramm, Louise E; Gow, Paul; Durrant, Simon; Powell, Lawrie W; Delatycki, Martin B
2017-12-01
The iron overload disorder hereditary haemochromatosis is most commonly caused by HFE p.Cys282Tyr homozygosity. In the absence of results from any randomised trials, current evidence is insufficient to determine whether individuals with hereditary haemochromatosis and moderately elevated serum ferritin, should undergo iron reduction treatment. This trial aimed to establish whether serum ferritin normalisation in this population improved symptoms and surrogate biomarkers. This study was a multicentre, participant-blinded, randomised controlled trial done at three centres in Australia. We enrolled people who were homozygous for HFE p.Cys282Tyr, aged between 18 and 70 years, with moderately elevated serum ferritin, defined as 300-1000 μg/L, and raised transferrin saturation. Participants were randomly assigned, via a computer-generated random number, to undergo either iron reduction by erythrocytapheresis (treatment group) or sham treatment by plasmapheresis (control group). Randomisation was stratified by baseline serum ferritin (cognitive subcomponent (-3·6, -5·9 to -1·3, p=0·0030), but not in the physical (-1·90 -4·5 to 0·63, p=0·14) and psychosocial (-0·54, -1·2 to 0·11, p=0·10) subcomponents. No serious adverse events occurred in either group. One participant in the control group had a vasovagal event and 17 participants (14 in the treatment group and three in the control group) had transient symptoms assessed as related to hypovolaemia. Mild citrate reactions were more common in the treatment group (32 events [25%] in 129 procedures) compared with the control group (one event [1%] in 93 procedures). To our knowledge, this study is the first to objectively assess the consequences of iron removal in individuals with hereditary haemochromatosis and moderately elevated serum ferritin. Our results suggest that serum ferritin normalisation by iron depletion could be of benefit for all individuals with hereditary haemochromatosis and elevated serum
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Vemulakonda, Vijaya M; Jones, Jacqueline
2016-06-01
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard for assessing treatment efficacy. However, pediatric surgical RCTs have been limited in their ability to recruit patients. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and motivators to pediatric participation in surgical RCTs. We conducted a series of two focus groups with parents and one focus group with urology providers for children aged analysis of focus group findings. Theme analysis was used for all qualitative transcribed text data obtained from focus groups and open-ended survey questions using team-based inductive approaches. Descriptive statistics were obtained for the remainder of the provider survey. Using qualitative text from stakeholders (n = 38) we identified four key themes across the data: responsibility to my child; responsibility to my patient; responsibility to the field; and irreversibility of surgery. Participants felt there was an obligation to be informed of relevant scientific research within a clinic research culture. However, there remains a disconnect for parents between randomized research studies that may ultimately benefit their child, depending on their age and concern their child is being treated as a 'guinea pig'. Some parents were willing to participate in RCTs but all were more open to participate in an observational study where the treatment decisions were felt to be under their control even when there was no "right answer" or multiple equivalent options for treatment. There was mixed opinion across the parents and providers whether research trial education and enrollment should be provided by the pediatrician or urologist. Active physician decisions were seen as critical within the context of a long term clinical relationship and provision of information of risks and benefits without pressure were considered essential for ethical research by both parents and providers. While some parents are open to participation in surgical RCTs, providers and
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gellis, J.
1989-01-01
The goal was to examine the effects of abstract and concrete anti-nuclear images and previous political activity on interest in the topic of nuclear war and participation in an anti-nuclear petition campaign. Subjects were 254 undergraduate students at Hofstra University in three political science classes, three psychology classes and three communication classes: 128 males and 126 females. They were assigned by class to one of three image conditions: concrete, abstract, or no image. After completing a questionnaire measuring their previous level of political activity, students in the concrete condition saw The Last Epidemic, a 30-minute video depicting the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Subjects in the abstract condition saw Preventing Nuclear War-First Step, a 30 minute video conveying factual information about missile systems and the arms race. Subjects in the no-image condition were not exposed to a video and served as controls. They were asked to respond to a short questionnaire that elicited emotional and intellectual reactions to the topic of nuclear war. After viewing the video tape, subjects in the abstract and concrete conditions responded to a brief questionnaire that elicited emotional and intellectual reactions to the videos. Subjects in all three conditions were asked to provide their names addresses if they were interested in receiving more information on this topic. Subjects who provided their name and addresses were mailed, within 24-hours, a one page petition advocating an anti-nuclear position. Recipients were asked to sign the petition, gather as many signature as possible, and return the petition. Participation was measured by the number of signatures gathered. Data were analyzed by analyzes of variance. The type of image had no effect on either interest or participation in the petition campaign. A modest positive relationship was found between previous political activity and interest
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Participation patterns in adult education
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Desjardins, Richard; Rubenson, Kjell
2013-01-01
This article focuses on evidence regarding cross-national patterns of participation in adult education and an interpretation of these patterns from an institutional and public policy perspective. The interpretation follows from the perspective that sustaining high and widely distributed levels...... problems that otherwise lead to underinvestment in skills and/or inequity in the distribution of access to education and training and hence skills. Hence, it is argued that institutional contexts and public policy measures condition participation patterns in adult education, and are thus worthwhile...
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Sun, Fan-Ko; Long, Ann; Yu, Pei-Jane; Huang, Hui-Man; Chiang, Chun-Ying; Yao, YuChun
2017-08-01
This study was designed to explore Category 3 and 4 controlled drug users' perceptions of participating in health-prevention lectures. A phenomenological approach was used. Twelve participants were interviewed after completing the lectures. Findings revealed five themes (1) mixed emotions; (2) self-development; (3) finding the lectures lacked practicality and relevance; (4) highlighting three stages for discontinuing drug-usage; and, (5) suggesting tips for the advancement of lectures. These findings could be used as a map to help health professionals understand drug users' perceptions of attending health prevention lectures and provide insight into how young people might stop using drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Andersen, Christopher T; Reynolds, Sarah A; Behrman, Jere R; Crookston, Benjamin T; Dearden, Kirk A; Escobal, Javier; Mani, Subha; Sánchez, Alan; Stein, Aryeh D; Fernald, Lia C H
2015-10-01
It is unclear what effects a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program would have on child anthropometry, language development, or school achievement in the context of the nutrition transition experienced by many low- and middle-income countries. We estimated the association of participation in Peru's Juntos CCT with anthropometry, language development, and school achievement among children aged 7-8 y. We used data from the Young Lives Study of a cohort born between 2001 and 2002. We estimated associations of the Juntos program with height-for-age z score (HAZ), body mass index-for-age z score (BAZ), stunting, and overweight at age 7-8 y separately for children participating in the program for ≥2 y (n = 169) and children participating for overweight (ATT: -22.0 percentage points; 95% CI: -42.5, -2.7 percentage points; P = 0.03). We observed no significant associations of Juntos participation with receptive vocabulary or grade attainment. CCT program participation in Peru was associated with better linear growth among boys and decreased BAZ among girls, highlighting that a large-scale poverty-alleviation intervention may influence anthropometric outcomes in the context of the nutrition transition. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.
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Control of Auditory Attention in Children With Specific Language Impairment.
Victorino, Kristen R; Schwartz, Richard G
2015-08-01
Children with specific language impairment (SLI) appear to demonstrate deficits in attention and its control. Selective attention involves the cognitive control of attention directed toward a relevant stimulus and simultaneous inhibition of attention toward irrelevant stimuli. The current study examined attention control during a cross-modal word recognition task. Twenty participants with SLI (ages 9-12 years) and 20 age-matched peers with typical language development (TLD) listened to words through headphones and were instructed to attend to the words in 1 ear while ignoring the words in the other ear. They were simultaneously presented with pictures and asked to make a lexical decision about whether the pictures and auditory words were the same or different. Accuracy and reaction time were measured in 5 conditions, in which the stimulus in the unattended channel was manipulated. The groups performed with similar accuracy. Compared with their peers with TLD, children with SLI had slower reaction times overall and different within-group patterns of performance by condition. Children with TLD showed efficient inhibitory control in conditions that required active suppression of competing stimuli. Participants with SLI had difficulty exerting control over their auditory attention in all conditions, with particular difficulty inhibiting distractors of all types.
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Fuel conditioning facility zone-to-zone transfer administrative controls
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pope, C. L.
2000-01-01
The administrative controls associated with transferring containers from one criticality hazard control zone to another in the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Fuel Conditioning Facility (FCF) are described. FCF, located at the ANL-West site near Idaho Falls, Idaho, is used to remotely process spent sodium bonded metallic fuel for disposition. The process involves nearly forty widely varying material forms and types, over fifty specific use container types, and over thirty distinct zones where work activities occur. During 1999, over five thousand transfers from one zone to another were conducted. Limits are placed on mass, material form and type, and container types for each zone. Ml material and containers are tracked using the Mass Tracking System (MTG). The MTG uses an Oracle database and numerous applications to manage the database. The database stores information specific to the process, including material composition and mass, container identification number and mass, transfer history, and the operators involved in each transfer. The process is controlled using written procedures which specify the zone, containers, and material involved in a task. Transferring a container from one zone to another is called a zone-to-zone transfer (ZZT). ZZTs consist of four distinct phases, select, request, identify, and completion
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Hydrogen-control systems for severe LWR accident conditions - a state-of-technology report
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hilliard, R.K.; Postma, A.K.; Jeppson, D.W.
1983-03-01
This report reviews the current state of technology regarding hydrogen safety issues in light water reactor plants. Topics considered in this report relate to control systems and include combustion prevention, controlled combustion, minimization of combustion effects, combination of control concepts, and post-accident disposal. A companion report addresses hydrogen generation, distribution, and combustion. The objectives of the study were to identify the key safety issues related to hydrogen produced under severe accident conditions, to describe the state of technology for each issue, and to point out ongoing programs aimed at resolving the open issues
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lezius, A. [Staefa Control System GmbH, Leinfelden-Echterdingen (Germany)
1995-12-31
In chapter 14 of the anthology about building control the single room control for achieving user-optimised room air conditions is described. The following aspects are discussed: What is comfort? What is economic efficiency? Systems for secondary air treatment, adapted functions of the measurement and control technique, management functions, orientation of the demand at the use, investment and amortisation. (BWI) [Deutsch] Kapitel 14 des Sammelbandes ueber Building control ist dem Thema der Einzelraumregelung zur Erzielung eines nutzungsoptimierten Raumklimas gewidmet. In diesem Zusammenhang werden folgende Themenbereiche angesprochen: Was ist Komfort? Was ist Wirtschaftlichkeit? Systeme fuer sekundaere Luftbehandlung; Angepasste Funktionen der MSR-Technik; Managementfunktionen; Bedarfsorientierung an der Nutzung; Investition und Amortisation. (BWI)
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Clinical decision-making: predictors of patient participation in nursing care.
Florin, Jan; Ehrenberg, Anna; Ehnfors, Margareta
2008-11-01
To investigate predictors of patients' preferences for participation in clinical decision-making in inpatient nursing care. Patient participation in decision-making in nursing care is regarded as a prerequisite for good clinical practice regarding the person's autonomy and integrity. A cross-sectional survey of 428 persons, newly discharged from inpatient care. The survey was conducted using the Control Preference Scale. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used for testing the association of patient characteristics with preferences for participation. Patients, in general, preferred adopting a passive role. However, predictors for adopting an active participatory role were the patient's gender (odds ratio = 1.8), education (odds ratio = 2.2), living condition (odds ratio = 1.8) and occupational status (odds ratio = 2.0). A probability of 53% was estimated, which female senior citizens with at least a high school degree and who lived alone would prefer an active role in clinical decision-making. At the same time, a working cohabiting male with less than a high school degree had a probability of 8% for active participation in clinical decision making in nursing care. Patient preferences for participation differed considerably and are best elicited by assessment of the individual patient. Relevance to clinical practice. The nurses have a professional responsibility to act in such a way that patients can participate and make decisions according to their own values from an informed position. Access to knowledge of patients'basic assumptions and preferences for participation is of great value for nurses in the care process. There is a need for nurses to use structured methods and tools for eliciting individual patient preferences regarding participation in clinical decision-making.
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Wang, Yan; Wang, Guosen; Zhang, Dingyuan; Wang, Lei; Cui, Xianghua; Zhu, Jinglei; Fang, Yuan
2017-01-01
Evaluative conditioning (EC) procedures can be used to form and change attitudes toward a wide variety of objects. The current study examined the effects of a negative EC procedure on attitudes toward chocolate, and whether it influenced chocolate evaluation and consumption. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental condition in which chocolate images were paired with negative stimuli, or the control condition in which chocolate images were randomly paired with positive stimuli ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wenjing Zhang
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Vehicle-borne battery condition is an important factor affecting the efficiency of the maglev train operation and other connected ones. To effectively eliminate the influence of the battery condition and improve the operation efficiency of the connected maglev trains, an operation control strategy is proposed to guarantee train operation safety. First, based on Internet of Things, a sensor network is designed to monitor vehicle-borne battery condition in each vehicle of the train. Second, the train Operation Control System collects battery data of all vehicles in a maglev train by Train Communication Network. Third, all connected maglev trains share the battery data via a 38 GHz directional Radio Communication System and adjust operation control strategy accordingly. Simulation results indicate that the proposed strategy can guarantee the operation safety of the connected maglev trains.
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Christou-Champi, Spyros; Farrow, Tom F D; Webb, Thomas L
2015-01-01
Emotion regulation (ER) is vital to everyday functioning. However, the effortful nature of many forms of ER may lead to regulation being inefficient and potentially ineffective. The present research examined whether structured practice could increase the efficiency of ER. During three training sessions, comprising a total of 150 training trials, participants were presented with negatively valenced images and asked either to "attend" (control condition) or "reappraise" (ER condition). A further group of participants did not participate in training but only completed follow-up measures. Practice increased the efficiency of ER as indexed by decreased time required to regulate emotions and increased heart rate variability (HRV). Furthermore, participants in the ER condition spontaneously regulated their negative emotions two weeks later and reported being more habitual in their use of ER. These findings indicate that structured practice can facilitate the automatic control of negative emotions and that these effects persist beyond training.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Waters Lauren
2012-08-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Unanticipated control group improvements have been observed in intervention trials targeting various health behaviours. This phenomenon has not been studied in the context of behavioural weight loss intervention trials. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-regression of behavioural weight loss interventions to quantify control group weight change, and relate the size of this effect to specific trial and sample characteristics. Methods Database searches identified reports of intervention trials meeting the inclusion criteria. Data on control group weight change and possible explanatory factors were abstracted and analysed descriptively and quantitatively. Results 85 trials were reviewed and 72 were included in the meta-regression. While there was no change in control group weight, control groups receiving usual care lost 1 kg more than control groups that received no intervention, beyond measurement. Conclusions There are several possible explanations why control group changes occur in intervention trials targeting other behaviours, but not for weight loss. Control group participation may prevent weight gain, although more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
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Sattoe, J.N.T.; Hilberink, S.R.; Staa, A. van; Bal, R.
2014-01-01
Purpose: Typical childhood and adolescent development and acquiring self-management skills are crucial for a satisfying adult life and autonomy in social participation. The aims of this study were to identify patterns of autonomy in social participation and to explore differences between these
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Duct corrosion in the ventilating air conditioning system for Main Control Room
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yamada, Kohei; Kobayashi, Takashi; Minami, Akiko; Fukuba, Kazushi
2014-01-01
Higashidori Nuclear Power Station, start-of-operation in December 2005, is a relatively new plant. We decided to get original data of air duct condition to determine maintenance policy of air duct, because planned maintenance of air duct has never been done and the corrosion of air duct has occurred in other plant. In January 2014, we found a corrosion-hole at the downstream of the inlet damper in the ventilating air conditioning system for Main Control Room (MCR). We supposed that the cause of rapid corrosion is related to the characteristic environment of this site. (author)
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhu, Yonghua; Jin, Xinqiao; Du, Zhimin; Fang, Xing
2015-01-01
The variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and variable air volume (VAV) combined air conditioning system can solve the problem of the VRF system in outdoor air ventilation while taking advantage of its high part load energy efficiency. Energy performance of the combined air conditioning system can also be optimized by joint control of both the VRF and the VAV parts. A model-based online optimal control strategy for the combined air conditioning system is presented. Simplified adaptive models of major components of the combined air conditioning system are firstly developed for predicting system performances. And a cost function in terms of energy consumption and thermal comfort is constructed. Genetic algorithm is used to search for the optimal control sets. The optimal control strategy is tested and evaluated through two case studies based on the simulation platform. Results show that the optimal strategy can effectively reduce energy consumption of the combined air conditioning system while maintaining acceptable thermal comfort. - Highlights: • A VRF and VAV combined system is proposed. • A model-based online optimal control strategy is proposed for the combined system. • The strategy can reduce energy consumption without sacrificing thermal comfort. • Novel simplified adaptive models are firstly developed for the VRF system
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Mechanisms of attention for appetitive and aversive outcomes in Pavlovian conditioning.
Austin, A J; Duka, T
2010-11-12
Different mechanisms of attention controlling learning have been proposed in appetitive and aversive conditioning. The aim of the present study was to compare attention and learning in a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm using visual stimuli of varying predictive value of either monetary reward (appetitive conditioning; 10p or 50p) or blast of white noise (aversive conditioning; 97 dB or 102 dB). Outcome values were matched across the two conditions with regard to their emotional significance. Sixty-four participants were allocated to one of the four conditions matched for age and gender. All participants underwent a discriminative learning task using pairs of visual stimuli that signalled a 100%, 50%, or 0% probability of receiving an outcome. Learning was measured using a 9-point Likert scale of expectancy of the outcome, while attention using an eyetracker device. Arousal and emotional conditioning were also evaluated. Dwell time was greatest for the full predictor in the noise groups, while in the money groups attention was greatest for the partial predictor over the other two predictors. The progression of learning was the same for both groups. These findings suggest that in aversive conditioning attention is driven by the predictive salience of the stimulus while in appetitive conditioning attention is error-driven, when emotional value of the outcome is comparable. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Participation of Flexible Loads in Load Frequency Control to Support High Wind Penetration
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Uslu, Umur; Zhang, Boyang; Pillai, Jayakrishnan Radhakrishna
2016-01-01
The increasing amount of fluctuating wind power penetration in power systems presents many challenges to its operation and control. The new wind power plants are replacing many of the conventional large power plants that ensure power balancing and ancillary services for stable and reliable...... operation of the grid. Therefore, new solutions for power balancing reserves have to be explored and utilized by the grid utilities. To meet these challenges, large sizable loads like alkaline electrolysers, heat pumps and electric vehicles which are gaining popularity can provide system support to the grid...... through their inherent flexibility and energy storage characteristics. This paper investigates the possibilities and potential of such flexible loads to participate in power system frequency regulation in a wind dominated power system. The results show that these consumption units provide better...
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Ellenbogen, Mark A; Schwartzman, Alex E
2009-02-01
Although it is well established that attentional biases exist in anxious populations, the specific components of visual orienting towards and away from emotional stimuli are not well delineated. The present study was designed to examine these processes. We used a modified spatial cueing task to assess the speed of engagement and disengagement from supraliminal and masked pictorial cues depicting threat, dysphoria, or neutral content in 36 clinically anxious, 41 depressed and 41 control participants. Participants were randomly assigned to a stress or neutral condition. During stress, anxious participants were slow to disengage from masked left hemifield pictures depicting threat or dysphoria, but were quick to disengage from supraliminal threat pictures. Information processing in anxious participants during stress was characterized by early selective attention of emotional stimuli, occurring prior to full conscious awareness, followed by effortful avoidance of threat. Depressed participants were distinct from the anxious group, displaying selective attention for stimuli depicting dysphoria, but not threat, during the neutral condition. In sum, attentional biases in clinical populations are associated with difficulties in the disengagement component of visual orienting. Further, a vigilant-avoidant pattern of attentional bias may represent a strategic attempt to compensate for the early activation of a fear response.
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1983-03-03
This proposal adds to regulations new conditions and procedures for initial approval and for reapproval of Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) to update the regulations to reflect additional requirements added by section 901 of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-398). The proposal specifies procedures for reducing the level of Federal financial participation in a State's administrative expenditures when a State fails to meet the conditions for initial operation, initial approval or reapproval of an MMIS. It also proposes procedures with respect to waivers of the conditions of approval and reapproval and to appeals of adverse decisions. These provisions are intended to improve States' MMIS, and to ensure efficient system operations, and to detect cases of fraud, waste, and abuse effectively.
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Tekin, Ali; Tekin, Gülcan; Çalisir, Melih
2017-01-01
The aim of this study is to determine the locus of control (LC) and sensation seeking (SS) levels of university female students according to regular exercise participation (REP) and gender (G). This descriptive study was initiated in 2016 and finished in 2017. A total of 623 students, 306 females and 317 males, from different academic departments…
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Participant Satisfaction with a Food Benefit Program with Restrictions and Incentives.
Rydell, Sarah A; Turner, Rachael M; Lasswell, Tessa A; French, Simone A; Oakes, J Michael; Elbel, Brian; Harnack, Lisa J
2018-02-01
Policy makers are considering changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Proposed changes include financially incentivizing the purchase of healthier foods and prohibiting the use of funds for purchasing foods high in added sugars. SNAP participant perspectives may be useful in understanding the consequences of these proposed changes. To determine whether food restrictions and/or incentives are acceptable to food benefit program participants. Data were collected as part of an experimental trial in which lower-income adults were randomly assigned to one of four financial food benefit conditions: (1) Incentive: 30% financial incentive on eligible fruits and vegetables purchased using food benefits; (2) Restriction: not allowed to buy sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet baked goods, or candies with food benefits; (3) Incentive plus Restriction; or (4) Control: no incentive/restriction. Participants completed closed- and open-ended questions about their perceptions on completion of the 12-week program. Adults eligible or nearly eligible for SNAP were recruited between 2013 and 2015 by means of events or flyers in the Minneapolis/St Paul, MN, metropolitan area. Of the 279 individuals who completed baseline measures, 265 completed follow-up measures and are included in these analyses. χ 2 analyses were conducted to assess differences in program satisfaction. Responses to open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed using principles of content analysis. There were no statistically significant or meaningful differences between experimental groups in satisfaction with the program elements evaluated in the study. Most participants in all conditions found the food program helpful in buying nutritious foods (94.1% to 98.5%) and in buying the kinds of foods they wanted (85.9% to 95.6%). Qualitative data suggested that most were supportive of restrictions, although a few were dissatisfied. Participants were uniformly supportive of incentives. Findings
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Influence of working conditions on job satisfaction in anaesthetists.
Kinzl, J F; Knotzer, H; Traweger, C; Lederer, W; Heidegger, T; Benzer, A
2005-02-01
We studied job satisfaction, physical health, emotional well-being and working conditions in 125 Austrian and Swiss anaesthetists. Responses to self-reporting questionnaires were evaluated. Dependent variables included job satisfaction, emotional well-being and physical health. Independent variables included age, sex, marital status, position and working conditions as assessed by the Instrument for Stress-related Job Analysis. Control over work shows a strong effect on job satisfaction in anaesthetists, for example influence on handling tasks (P=0.001), time control (P=0.002) and participation (P=0.001), whereas task demands and task-related problems did not have any effect. Anaesthetists in leading positions and specialists reported lower job satisfaction (P=0.012) than did anaesthetists in non-leading positions. Job satisfaction was associated with better physical health (P=0.001) and better emotional well-being (P=0.005). Our results suggest that a high level of job satisfaction in anaesthetists correlates with interesting work demands and the opportunity to contribute skills and ideas. To improve job satisfaction, more attention should be paid to improving working conditions, including control over decision-making, and allowing anaesthetists to have more influence on their own work pace and work schedule.
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Sopena-Galindo, Nieves; Hornero-Lopez, Anna; Freixas-Sala, Núria; Bella-Cueto, Feliu; Pérez-Jové, Josefa; Limon-Cáceres, Enric; Gudiol-Munté, Francesc
2016-01-01
VINCat is a nosocomial infection surveillance program in hospitals in Catalonia. The aim of the study was to determine the surveillance and control measures of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in these centres. An e-mail survey was carried out from January to March 2013 with questions related to the characteristics of the hospitals and their control measures for MRSA. A response was received from 53 hospitals (>500 beds: 7; 200-500 beds: 14;prevent MRSA in hospitals participating in the VINCat program. Most of the centres have an MRSA protocol, however compliance with it should be improved, especially in areas such as active detection on admission in patients at risk, hand hygiene adherence, cleaning frequency and optimising the use of antibiotics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Casas, E.; Troeltzsch, F.
1999-01-01
In this paper we are concerned with some optimal control problems governed by semilinear elliptic equations. The case of a boundary control is studied. We consider pointwise constraints on the control and a finite number of equality and inequality constraints on the state. The goal is to derive first- and second-order optimality conditions satisfied by locally optimal solutions of the problem
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Xunjing, L.
1981-12-01
The vector-valued measure defined by the well-posed linear boundary value problems is discussed. The maximum principle of the optimal control problem with non-convex constraint is proved by using the vector-valued measure. Especially, the necessary conditions of the optimal control of elliptic systems is derived without the convexity of the control domain and the cost function. (author)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fumio Mizuno
2011-10-01
Full Text Available To investigate flexible adaptation of visual system, we developed a system to provide a user an artificial oculomotor function to control directions of both eyes. The system named “Virtual Chameleon” consists of two CCD cameras independently controlled and a head-mounted display. The user can control each tracking directions of two cameras with sensors set to both hands so that the user can get independent arbitrary view fields for both eyes. We performed fundamental experiments to evaluate capability to evaluate adaptation to use of Virtual Chameleon and effects on the user's capabilities. Eleven healthy volunteers with normal and corrected-to-normal vision participated in the experiments. The experiments were tests to find out each position of targets put in both side of a subject. In the experiments, a condition using Virtual Chameleon and a condition without it was adopted. We obtained accuracy rates and time intervals to find out target positions as experimental results. The experiments showed all of volunteers became able to actively control independent visual axes and correctly understood two different views by using Virtual Chameleon, even though two independent view fields yielded binocular rivalry to volunteers and binocular rivalry reduced human capabilities compared to cases without Virtual Chameleon.
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Incentives and participation in a medical survey.
Gjøstein, Dagrun Kyte; Huitfeldt, Anders; Løberg, Magnus; Adami, Hans-Olov; Garborg, Kjetil; Kalager, Mette; Bretthauer, Michael
2016-07-01
BACKGROUND Questionnaire surveys are important for surveying the health and disease behaviour of the population, but recent years have seen a fall in participation. Our study tested whether incentives can increase participation in these surveys.MATERIAL AND METHOD We sent a questionnaire on risk factors for colorectal cancer (height, weight, smoking, self-reported diagnoses, family medical history) to non-screened participants in a randomised colonoscopy screening study for colorectal cancer: participants who were invited but did not attend for colonoscopy examination (screening-invited) and persons who were not offered colonoscopy (control group). The persons were randomised to three groups: no financial incentive, lottery scratch cards included with the form, or a prize draw for a tablet computer when they responded to the form. We followed up all the incentive groups with telephone reminder calls, and before the prize draw for the tablet computer.RESULTS Altogether 3 705 of 6 795 persons (54.5 %) responded to the questionnaire; 43.5 % of those invited for screening and 65.6 % of the control group (p reminder calls, 39.2 % responded. A further 15.3 % responded following telephone reminder calls (14.1 % of the screening-invited and 16.5 % of the control group; p increase participation in this medical questionnaire survey. Use of telephone reminder calls and telephone interviews increased participation, but whether this is more effective than other methods requires further study.
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Staiano, Amanda E; Abraham, Anisha A; Calvert, Sandra L
2013-03-01
Overweight and obese youth, who face increased risk of medical complications including heart disease and type II diabetes, can benefit from sustainable physical activity interventions that result in weight loss. This study examined whether a 20-week exergame (i.e., videogame that requires gross motor activity) intervention can produce weight loss and improve psychosocial outcomes for 54 overweight and obese African-American adolescents. Participants were recruited from a public high school and randomly assigned to competitive exergame, cooperative exergame, or control conditions. All exergame participants were encouraged to play the Nintendo Wii Active game for 30-60 min per school day in a lunch-time or after-school program. Cooperative exergame participants worked with a peer to expend calories and earn points together, whereas competitive exergame participants competed against a peer. Control participants continued regular daily activities. Outcome measures included changes in weight, peer support, self-efficacy, and self-esteem, measured at baseline, and at ∼10 and 20 weeks. Growth curve analysis revealed that cooperative exergame players lost significantly more weight (mean = 1.65 kg; s.d. = 4.52) than the control group, which did not lose weight. The competitive exergame players did not differ significantly from the other conditions. Cooperative exergame players also significantly increased in self-efficacy compared to the control group, and both exergame conditions significantly increased in peer support more than the control group. Exergames, especially played cooperatively, can be an effective technological tool for weight loss among youth. Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.
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Burgess, Jacqueline D; Kimble, Roy M; Watt, Kerrianne; Cameron, Cate M
2017-10-24
Using social media to recruit specific populations for research studies is gaining popularity. Given that mothers of young children are the most active on social media, and young children are the most at risk of preventable burn injuries, social media was used to recruit mothers of young children to a burn prevention intervention. The aim of this paper was to describe the social media recruitment methods used to enroll mothers of young children to the app-based burn prevention intervention Cool Runnings. Participants were recruited via paid Facebook and Instagram advertisements to a 2-group, parallel, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT). The advertisements were targeted at women 18 years and older, living in Queensland, Australia, with at least 1 child aged 5 to 12 months at the time of recruitment. Over the 30-day recruitment period from January to February 2016, Facebook and Instagram advertisements reached 65,268 people, generating 2573 link clicks, 1161 app downloads, and 498 enrolled participants to the Cool Runnings RCT. The cost per enrolled participant was Aus $13.08. Saturdays were the most effective day of the week for advertising results. The most popular time of day for enrolments was between 5 to 11 PM. This recruitment strategy campaign resulted in a broad reach of participants from regional, rural, and remote Queensland. Participants were representative of the population in regard to age and education levels. To our knowledge, this is the first use of social media recruitment for an injury prevention campaign. This recruitment method resulted in the rapid and cost-effective recruitment of participants with social, geographic, and economic diversity that were largely representative of the population. ©Jacqueline D Burgess, Roy M Kimble, Kerrianne Watt, Cate M Cameron. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 24.10.2017.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Weipeng Yang
2017-10-01
Full Text Available An integral plus resonant sliding mode direct power control (IRSMC DPC strategy for voltage source converter high voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC systems under unbalanced grid voltage conditions is proposed in this paper. Through detailed instantaneous power flow analysis, a generalized power compensation method, by which the ratio between the amplitude of active and reactive power ripples can be controlled continuously, is obtained. This enables the system to provide flexible power control, so that the desired performance of the system on both the ac and dc sides can be attained under different operating conditions. When the grid voltage is unbalanced, one or both of the active and reactive power terms contain ripples, oscillating at twice the grid frequency, to obtain non-distorted ac current. A power controller consisting of the proportional, integral and resonant control laws is designed using the sliding mode control approach, to achieve accurate power control objective. Simulation studies on a two-terminal VSC-HVDC system using MATLAB/SIMULINK (R2013b, Mathworks, Natick, MA, USA are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the IRSMC DPC strategy. The results show that this strategy ensures satisfactory performance of the system over a wide range of operating conditions.
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Wu, Chunyuan; Ray, Roberta M; Lin, Ming Gang; Gao, Dao Li; Horner, Neilann K; Nelson, Zakia C; Lampe, Johanna W; Hu, Yong Wei; Shannon, Jackilen; Stalsberg, Helge; Li, Wenjin; Fitzgibbons, Dawn; Porter, Peggy; Patterson, Ruth E; Satia, Jessie A; Thomas, David B
2004-11-15
This study was conducted to identify reproductive and dietary factors associated with benign proliferative mammary epithelial cell changes. Subjects were women enrolled in a randomized trial of breast self-examination in Shanghai, China. Women who developed fibrocystic breast conditions classified as nonproliferative (175 women), proliferative (181 women), or proliferative with atypia (33 women) between 1995 and 2000 and 1,070 unaffected trial participants were administered general risk factor and food frequency questionnaires. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. High parity and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables were more strongly associated with a reduced risk of proliferative and atypical lesions than with nonproliferative conditions. For the fourth quartile of consumption versus the first, odds ratios for lesions diagnosed as nonproliferative, proliferative, and proliferative with atypia were 0.4 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2, 0.7), 0.2 (95% CI: 0.1, 0.4), and 0.1 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.5), respectively, for fruit intake and 0.6 (95% CI: 0.3, 1.1), 0.4 (95% CI: 0.2, 0.7), and 0.1 (95% CI: 0.1, 0.9), respectively, for vegetable intake. Reduced but nonsignificant risks in relation to soy products were observed for proliferative and atypical lesions. No single nutrient or botanical family was appreciably more strongly associated with proliferative conditions than with nonproliferative conditions, after results were controlled for total fruit and vegetable consumption. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce cellular proliferation in the mammary epithelium; this is one mechanism by which such a diet could reduce risk of breast cancer.
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Kota, Venkata Reddy; Vinnakoti, Sudheer
2017-12-01
Today, maintaining Power Quality (PQ) is very important in the growing competent world. With new equipments and devices, new challenges are also being put before power system operators. Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) is proposed to mitigate many power quality problems and to improve the performance of the power system. In this paper, an UPQC with Fuzzy Logic controller for capacitor voltage balancing is proposed in Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) based control with Modified Phased Locked Loop (MPLL). The proposed controller with SRF-MPLL based control is tested under non-linear and unbalanced load conditions. The system is developed in Matlab/Simulink and its performance is analyzed under various conditions like non-linear, unbalanced load and polluted supply voltage including voltage sag/swells. Active and reactive power flow in the system, power factor and %THD of voltages and currents before and after compensation are also analyzed in this work. Results prove the applicability of the proposed scheme for power quality improvement. It is observed that the fuzzy controller gives better performance than PI controller with faster capacitor voltage balancing and also improves the dynamic performance of the system.
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Gauchard, Gérome C; Gangloff, Pierre; Jeandel, Claude; Perrin, Philippe P
2003-09-01
Balance disorders increase considerably with age due to a decrease in posture regulation quality, and are accompanied by a higher risk of falling. Conversely, physical activities have been shown to improve the quality of postural control in elderly individuals and decrease the number of falls. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of two types of exercise on the visual afferent and on the different parameters of static balance regulation. Static postural control was evaluated in 44 healthy women aged over 60 years. Among them, 15 regularly practiced proprioceptive physical activities (Group I), 12 regularly practiced bioenergetic physical activities (Group II), and 18 controls walked on a regular basis (Group III). Group I participants displayed lower sway path and area values, whereas Group III participants displayed the highest, both in eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. Group II participants displayed intermediate values, close to those of Group I in the eyes-open condition and those of Group III in the eyes-closed condition. Visual afferent contribution was more pronounced for Group II and III participants than for Group I participants. Proprioceptive exercise appears to have the best impact on balance regulation and precision. Besides, even if bioenergetic activity improves postural control in simple postural tasks, more difficult postural tasks show that this type of activity does not develop a neurosensorial proprioceptive input threshold as well, probably on account of the higher contribution of visual afferent.
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Granbom, Marianne; Kristensson, Jimmie; Sandberg, Magnus
2017-07-01
Frailty causes disability and restrictions on older people's ability to engage in leisure activities and for social participation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 1-year case management intervention for frail older people living at home in Sweden in terms of social participation and leisure activities. The study was a randomised controlled trial with repeated follow-ups. The sample (n = 153) was consecutively and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 80) or control groups (n = 73). The intervention group received monthly home visits over the course of a year by nurses and physiotherapists working as case managers, using a multifactorial preventive approach. Data collections on social participation, leisure activities and rating of important leisure activities were performed at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, with recruitment between October 2006 and April 2011. The results did not show any differences in favour of the intervention on social participation. However, the intervention group performed leisure activities in general, and important physical leisure activities, to a greater extent than the control group at the 3-month follow-up (median 13 vs. 11, P = 0.034 and median 3 vs. 3, P = 0.031 respectively). A statistically significantly greater proportion of participants from the intervention group had an increased or unchanged number of important social leisure activities that they performed for the periods from baseline to 3 months (93.2% vs. 75.4%, OR = 4.48, 95% CI: 1.37-14.58). Even though statistically significant findings in favour of the intervention were found, more research on activity-focused case management interventions is needed to achieve clear effects on social participation and leisure activities. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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2011-06-17
... Community Mental Health Centers; Proposed Rule #0;#0;Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 117 / Friday June 17... (CoPs) for Community Mental Health Centers AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS... participation (CoPs) that community mental health centers (CMHCs) would have to meet in order to participate in...
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Why is it difficult to embed employee participation in the factory practice?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Buhl, Henrik
1997-01-01
for the establishment of employee participation. This will propably lead to a more innovative practice, a learning organization. In this way the discussion about conditions for the establishment of participation turn in to a discussion about how to use participation to develope an innovative practice, realized......The purpose of my study is to evaluate projects with employee participation and to analyze the conditions for employee participation and the way in which it can be rooted in a factory. My hypothesis is that communicative actions have to be developed and supported as a precondition...... in a learning organization....
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The effect of combined avoidance and control training on implicit food evaluation and choice.
Kakoschke, Naomi; Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika
2017-06-01
Continual exposure to food cues in the environment contributes to unhealthy eating behaviour. According to dual-process models, such behaviour is partly determined by automatic processing of unhealthy food cues (e.g., approach bias), which fails to be regulated by controlled processing (e.g., inhibitory control). The current study aimed to investigate the effect of combined avoidance and control training on implicit evaluation (liking), choice, and consumption of unhealthy snack food. Participants were 240 undergraduate women who were randomly allocated to one of four experimental conditions of a 2 (avoidance training: training versus control) x 2 (control training: training versus control) between-subjects design. The combined training group had a more negative implicit evaluation of unhealthy food than either of the two training conditions alone or the control condition. In addition, participants trained to avoid unhealthy food cues subsequently made fewer unhealthy snack food choices. No significant group differences were found for food intake. Participants were women generally of a healthy weight. Overweight or obese individuals may derive greater benefit from combined training. Results lend support to the theoretical predictions of dual-process models, as the combined training reduced implicit liking of unhealthy food. At a practical level, the findings have implications for the effectiveness of interventions targeting unhealthy eating behaviour. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Danilin, A. I.; Chernyavsky, A. Zh.; Danilin, S. A.; Neverov, V. V.; Voroh, D. A.; Blagin, E. V.
2018-03-01
New methods and means for monitoring working condition of the rotating elements of steam compressor unit such as blade ring of the impeller and gears of multiplier are considered. Blade control is carried out by the signalling device of pre-emergency deformation of impeller blades. Control of the gears condition is carried out by apparatus system which allows to analyse change of the signal form caused by the gears wear. Influence of the wear types on the typical information parameters of the analysed signals is described. Technical characteristics of the devices and experimental research results are presented. Described control systems allow to detect deviations equal to 1-2% from initial condition. Application of such systems gives the opportunity to improve fault diagnosis and maintenance in 2-3 times.
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Van Blyderveen, Sherry; Lafrance, Adele; Emond, Michael; Kosmerly, Stacey; O'Connor, Megan; Chang, Felicia
2016-12-01
Stress has been associated with deviations from typical eating patterns, with respect to both food choice and overall caloric intake. Both increases and decreases in dietary intake have been previously noted in response to stress. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the affect regulation strategies of emotional control and impulsivity predict susceptibility to eating in response to stress. Specifically, it was anticipated that emotional suppression would predict decreases in caloric intake, whereas impulsivity would predict increases in caloric intake, in response to a stressor. Participants were randomly assigned to view either a video designed to elicit stress or a control video. Food was provided during the video and the amount and type of food consumed was measured. Participants' nutritional intake was greater in the stress condition than in the control condition. One aspect of affect regulation, impulsivity, moderated this relationship, with a tendency for greater impulsivity to be associated with greater caloric intake in the stress condition. The degree of negative affect that participants experienced in the stress condition predicted food choice and overall caloric intake. Both emotional control and impulsivity moderated the relationship between negative affect and both food choice and caloric intake in the stress condition. The present study highlights the importance of considering the personality attributes of both impulsivity and emotional suppression in understanding stress eating. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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SIRT participates at DNA damage response
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Yun, Mi Yong; Joeng, Jae Min; Lee, Kee Ho [Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Gil Hong [College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
2009-05-15
Sir2 maintains genomic stability in multiple ways in yeast. As a NAD{sup +}-dependent histone deacetylase, Sir2 has been reported to control chromatin silencing. In both budding yeast and Drosophila, overexpression of Sir2 extends life span. Previous reports have also demonstrated that Sir2 participate at DNA damage repair. A protein complex containing Sir2 has been reported to translocate to DNA double-strand breaks. Following DNA damage response, SIRT1 deacetylates p53 protein and attenuates its ability as a transcription factor. Consequently, SIRT1 over-expression increases cell survival under DNA damage inducing conditions. These previous observations mean a possibility that signals generated during the process of DNA repair are delivered through SIRT1 to acetylated p53. We present herein functional evidence for the involvement of SIRT1 in DNA repair response to radiation. In addition, this modulation of DNA repair activity may be connected to deacetylation of MRN proteins.
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Granot, Michal; Weissman-Fogel, Irit; Crispel, Yonathan; Pud, Dorit; Granovsky, Yelena; Sprecher, Elliot; Yarnitsky, David
2008-05-01
Descending modulation of pain can be demonstrated psychophysically by dual pain stimulation. This study evaluates in 31 healthy subjects the association between parameters of the conditioning stimulus, gender and personality, and the endogenous analgesia (EA) extent assessed by diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC) paradigm. Contact heat pain was applied as the test stimulus to the non-dominant forearm, with stimulation temperature at a psychophysical intensity score of 60 on a 0-100 numerical pain scale. The conditioning stimulus was a 60s immersion of the dominant hand in cold (12, 15, 18 degrees C), hot (44 and 46.5 degrees C), or skin temperature (33 degrees C) water. The test stimulus was repeated on the non-dominant hand during the last 30s of the conditioning immersion. EA extent was calculated as the difference between pain scores of the two test stimuli. State and trait anxiety and pain catastrophizing scores were assessed prior to stimulation. EA was induced only for the pain-generating conditioning stimuli at 46.5 degrees C (p=0.011) and 12 degrees C (p=0.003). EA was independent of conditioning pain modality, or personality, but a significant gender effect was found, with greater EA response in males. Importantly, pain scores of the conditioning stimuli were not correlated with EA extent. The latter is based on both our study population, and on additional 82 patients, who participated in another study, in which EA was induced by immersion at 46.5 degrees C. DNIC testing, thus, seems to be relatively independent of the stimulation conditions, making it an easy to apply tool, suitable for wide range applications in pain psychophysics.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Judit Konya
2018-02-01
Full Text Available AimsTo determine if clotting, platelet, and endothelial function were affected by simulated short-haul commercial air flight conditions (SF in participants with type 2 diabetes (T2DM compared to controls.Methods10 participants with T2DM (7 females, 3 males and 10 controls (3 females, 7 males completed the study. Participants were randomized to either spend 2 h in an environmental chamber at sea level conditions (temperature: 23°C, oxygen concentration 21%, humidity 45%, or subject to a simulated 2-h simulated flight (SF: temperature: 23°C, oxygen concentration 15%, humidity 15%, and crossed over 7 days later. Main outcome measures: clot formation and clot lysis parameters, functional platelet activation markers, and endothelial function measured by reactive hyperemia index (RHI by EndoPAT and serum microparticles.ResultsComparing baseline with SF conditions, clot maximal absorption was increased in controls (0.375 ± 0.05 vs. 0.39 ± 0.05, p < 0.05 and participants with T2DM (0.378 ± 0.089 vs. 0.397 ± 0.089, p < 0.01, while increased basal platelet activation for both fibrinogen binding and P-selectin expression (p < 0.05 was seen in participants with T2DM. Parameters of clot formation and clot lysis, stimulated platelet function (stimulated platelet response to ADP and sensitivity to prostacyclin, and endothelial function were unchanged.ConclusionWhile SF resulted in the potential of denser clot formation with enhanced basal platelet activation in T2DM, the dynamic clotting, platelet, and endothelial markers were not affected, suggesting that short-haul commercial flying adds no additional hazard for venous thromboembolism for participants with T2DM compared to controls.
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The Open Format and Citizen Participation in Transportation Planning
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Flyvbjerg, Bent
1984-01-01
Recent developments in transportation planning and policy indicate that citizen participation and openness may receive less emphasis in the future in favor of more closed methods of decision making and control. Have the merits and drawbacks of citizen participation and openness changed significan......Recent developments in transportation planning and policy indicate that citizen participation and openness may receive less emphasis in the future in favor of more closed methods of decision making and control. Have the merits and drawbacks of citizen participation and openness changed...... with the trend for considering social, environmental, and ethical issues in transportation planning and policy....
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Hofstadter-Duke, Kristi L; Daly, Edward J
2015-03-01
This study investigated a method for conducting experimental analyses of academic responding. In the experimental analyses, academic responding (math computation), rather than problem behavior, was reinforced across conditions. Two separate experimental analyses (one with fluent math computation problems and one with non-fluent math computation problems) were conducted with three elementary school children using identical contingencies while math computation rate was measured. Results indicate that the experimental analysis with non-fluent problems produced undifferentiated responding across participants; however, differentiated responding was achieved for all participants in the experimental analysis with fluent problems. A subsequent comparison of the single-most effective condition from the experimental analyses replicated the findings with novel computation problems. Results are discussed in terms of the critical role of stimulus control in identifying controlling consequences for academic deficits, and recommendations for future research refining and extending experimental analysis to academic responding are made. © The Author(s) 2014.
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2013-12-17
...-0899; Notice No. 25-13-15-SC] Special Conditions: Airbus, Model A350-900 Series Airplane; Control... of proposed special conditions. SUMMARY: This action proposes special conditions for the Airbus Model..., data, or views. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the proposed special...
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The effect of weight controllability beliefs on prejudice and self-efficacy
Loi, Natasha M.; Breadsell, Dana
2016-01-01
An experiment was conducted to test for the presence of prejudice towards obesity and whether weight controllability beliefs information reduces this prejudice and impacts on a person’s own healthy eating self-efficacy. The experiment randomly allocated 346 participants (49 males) into one of three conditions: controllable contributors toward obesity condition (e.g., information about personal control about diet and exercise); uncontrollable contributors toward obesity condition (e.g., information about genes, factors in society); and a control condition with no information given. Prejudice was present in 81% of the sample. High prejudice was predicted by low self-efficacy for exercise and weight. Weight controllability beliefs information had no significant effect on prejudice levels or exercise or healthy eating self-efficacy levels. Future research directions are discussed. PMID:26966679
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Managers’ Perception on Budget Participation, Procedural Justice and Managerial Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sady Mazzioni
2014-08-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is analyzing the influence of budget participation on the relationship between procedural justice and managerial performance in organizations in Santa Catarina. In order to achieve the objective, a descriptive quantitative research was carried out, based on a questionnaire, with 5 and 7-pont Likert scale, answered by 44 managers. For data treatment, it was used the statistical package Smart PLS to determine, by regression technique, the contribution of each variable (participation and procedural justice on the dependent variable (performance. Descriptive statistics points to a greater awareness regarding the possibility of participation in budgeting process and a less meaningful feeling regarding superiors’ procedural justice, leaving the assessment of managerial performance in an intermediate condition. Initially, it was found that the correlations between independent (procedural justice and intervening (budget participation variables, and between intervening and dependent (managerial performance variables are statistically meaningful. However, the correlation between independent and dependent variables was not statistically meaningful. The results of using structural equation (path analysis indicated that one of the assumptions of the indirect effect was not confirmed, that is, the relationship between independent and dependent variables should diminish after being controlled by the intervening variable. In the present study, the reverse situation was observed, starting from a non-significant correlation and reaching a significant negative correlation, after the effect of the intervening variable.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nikita Agarwal
2017-07-01
Full Text Available In this article, we study the approximate controllability and homegenization results of a semi-linear elliptic problem with Robin boundary condition in a periodically perforated domain. We prove the existence of minimal norm control using Lions constructive approach, which is based on Fenchel-Rockafeller duality theory, and by means of Zuazua's fixed point arguments. Then, as the homogenization parameter goes to zero, we link the limit of the optimal controls (the limit of fixed point of the controllability problems with the optimal control of the corresponding homogenized problem.
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Remote Supervision and Control of Air Conditioning Systems in Different Modes
Rafeeq, Mohammed; Afzal, Asif; Rajendra, Sree
2018-01-01
In the era of automation, most of the application of engineering and science are interrelated with system for optimal operation. To get the efficient result of an operation and desired response, interconnected systems should be controlled by directing, regulating and commanding. Here, air conditioning (AC) system is considered for experimentation, to supervise and control its functioning in both, automated and manual mode. This paper reports the work intended to design and develop an automated and manual AC system working in remote and local mode, to increase the level of comfort, easy operation, reducing human intervention and faults occurring in the system. The Programmable Logical Controller (PLC) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system were used for remote supervision and monitoring of AC systems using series ninety protocol and remote terminal unit modbus protocol as communication module to operate in remote mode. PLC was used as remote terminal for continuous supervision and control of AC system. SCADA software was used as a tool for designing user friendly graphical user interface. The proposed SCADA AC system successfully monitors and controls in accordance within the parameter limits like temperature, pressure, humidity and voltage. With all the features, this designed system is capable of efficient handling of the resources like the compressor, humidifier etc., with all the levels of safety and durability. This system also maintains the temperature and controls the humidity of the remote location and also looks after the health of the compressor.
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IgE sensitization and sociodemographic conditions as determinant factors in asthma severity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rodrigo Gaviria
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Background: In Latin America there are few data about the factors that influence the control and severity of asthma. Objective: To describe the association between IgE sensitization to intra-home allergens and housing conditions in the severity of asthma. Methods: Sensitization to aero-allergens was evaluated by skin prick test and socio-demographic data by a questionnaire in a population between 6 and 14 years of age with diagnosis of asthma. Asthma control was measured according to spirometric results and to the application of the ACT (Asthma Control Test; the severity and symptom control was evaluated according to the GINA guideline. Results: A total of 150 resident patients from the Aburra Valley (Colombia were included. The median age of participants was 11 years, 95 (63.3 % male. 92 % of the patients resided in the urban area. Mite sensitization was the most prevalent in controlled and uncontrolled patients. Sensitization to cockroach and some poverty conditions were risk factors for asthma severity. Conclusion: Poverty conditions appear to favor the development of severe asthma and in turn IgE sensitization to cockroaches. This sensitization could serve as a biomarker of severity.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rucht, D.
1982-01-01
This study is trying to give a vast survey of the political and administrative system. It is to demonstrate the relations between its secular development trends, the necessity and the limits of political planning under the present conditions and, finally, the increasing demands for participation as expressed especially by citizens' initiatives. These stages, however, are certainly not presented in a smooth manner. Yet the author claims to have kept a certain continuity and inner logic of presentation and argumentation. (orig./DG) [de
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Merrill, Ray M; Bowen, Elise; Hager, Ron L
2015-01-01
This study assesses chronic disease or disease-related conditions as motivators of physical activity. It also compares these and other motivators of physical activity between Senior Games participants (SGPs) and the general population. Analyses are based on an anonymous cross-sectional survey conducted among 666 SGPs and 177 individuals from the general population. SGPs experienced better general health and less obesity, diabetes, and depression, as well as an average of 14.7 more years of regular physical activity ( p mental health in the present, to prevent physical and cognitive decline in the future, and to increase social opportunities. The Senior Games reinforces extrinsic motivators to positively influence intrinsic promoters such as skill development, satisfaction of learning, enjoyment, and fun.
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Psychiatric and Medical Conditions in Transition-Aged Individuals With ASD.
Davignon, Meghan N; Qian, Yinge; Massolo, Maria; Croen, Lisa A
2018-04-01
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions and an increased use of health care services. There is limited information about the prevalence of psychiatric and medical conditions in adolescents and young adults with ASD. Our objective was to describe the frequency of medical and psychiatric conditions in a large population of diverse, insured transition-aged individuals with ASD. Participants included Kaiser Permanente Northern California members who were enrolled from 2013 to 2015 and who were 14 to 25 years old. Individuals with ASD ( n = 4123) were compared with peers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( n = 20 615), diabetes mellitus ( n = 2156), and typical controls with neither condition ( n = 20 615). Over one-third (34%) of individuals with ASD had a co-occurring psychiatric condition; the most commonly reported medical conditions included infections (42%), obesity (25%), neurologic conditions (18%), allergy and/or immunologic conditions (16%), musculoskeletal conditions (15%), and gastrointestinal (11%) conditions. After controlling for sex, age, race, and duration of Kaiser Permanente Northern California membership, most psychiatric conditions were significantly more common in the ASD group than in each comparison group, and most medical conditions were significantly more common in the ASD group than in the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typical control groups but were similar to or significantly less common than the diabetes mellitus group. Although more research is needed to identify factors contributing to this excess burden of disease, there is a pressing need for all clinicians to approach ASD as a chronic health condition requiring regular follow-up and routine screening and treatment of medical and psychiatric issues. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Reyes, M.; Rodriguez, Pedro; Vazquez, S.
2012-01-01
. In these codes, the injection of positive- and negative-sequence current components becomes necessary for fulfilling, among others, the low-voltage ride-through requirements during balanced and unbalanced grid faults. However, the performance of classical dq current controllers, applied to power converters......, under unbalanced grid-voltage conditions is highly deficient, due to the unavoidable appearance of current oscillations. This paper analyzes the performance of the double synchronous reference frame controller and improves its structure by adding a decoupling network for estimating and compensating...
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Preference towards Control in Risk Taking: Control, No Control, or Randomize?
Li, King King
2010-01-01
This paper experimentally investigates preference towards different methods of control in risk taking. Participants are asked to choose between different ways for choosing which numbers to bet on for a gamble. They can choose the numbers themselves (control), let the experimenter choose (no control), or randomize. It is found that in addition to the more conventional preference for control, some participants prefer not to control, or randomization. These preferences are robust as participants...
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ni, L.-X; Sun, K.; Zhang, L.
2011-01-01
The thermoelectric generation (TEG) system has its special charactristics of high stablility, low voltage and high current output, which is different from PV modules. The power conditioning system and control schemes used in PV applications cannot be directly applied to TEG applications. A power...... conditioning system for TEG based on interleaved Boost converter with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control is investigated in this paper. Since an internal resistance exists inside TEG modules, an improved perturbation and observation (P&O) MPPT control scheme with power limit is proposed to extract...... maximum power from TEG by matching the load with internal resistance. Since the battery is usually employed as the load for TEG systems, the interleaved Boost converter operates in two different modes for battery charging: before the battery is fully charged, the system outputs the maximum power (MPPT...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Otilia Driga
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Recent research into the economic performance of women-controlled firms suggests that their underperformance may not be the result of differences in the managerial ability of women as compared to men, and that it may in fact be a consequence of differing levels of start-up resources. Using accounting data, we examine the effects that selected start-up conditions have had on the observed economic performance of a sample of 4450 Spanish manufacturing firms. The results, which indicate significant differences in the initial conditions and show lower levels of assets and employee numbers in women-controlled firms, have implications for the economic performance of such firms.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
R. Ramaprabha
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Mismatching effects due to partial shaded conditions are the major drawbacks existing in today’s photovoltaic (PV systems. These mismatch effects are greatly reduced in distributed PV system architecture where each panel is effectively decoupled from its neighboring panel. To obtain the optimal operation of the PV panels, maximum power point tracking (MPPT techniques are used. In partial shaded conditions, detecting the maximum operating point is difficult as the characteristic curves are complex with multiple peaks. In this paper, a neural network control technique is employed for MPPT. Detailed analyses were carried out on MPPT controllers in centralized and distributed architecture under partial shaded environments. The efficiency of the MPPT controllers and the effectiveness of the proposed control technique under partial shaded environments was examined using MATLAB software. The results were validated through experimentation.
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Tseng, Wo-Jan; Hung, Li-Wei; Shieh, Jiann-Shing; Abbod, Maysam F; Lin, Jinn
2013-07-15
Osteoporotic hip fractures with a significant morbidity and excess mortality among the elderly have imposed huge health and economic burdens on societies worldwide. In this age- and sex-matched case control study, we examined the risk factors of hip fractures and assessed the fracture risk by conditional logistic regression (CLR) and ensemble artificial neural network (ANN). The performances of these two classifiers were compared. The study population consisted of 217 pairs (149 women and 68 men) of fractures and controls with an age older than 60 years. All the participants were interviewed with the same standardized questionnaire including questions on 66 risk factors in 12 categories. Univariate CLR analysis was initially conducted to examine the unadjusted odds ratio of all potential risk factors. The significant risk factors were then tested by multivariate analyses. For fracture risk assessment, the participants were randomly divided into modeling and testing datasets for 10-fold cross validation analyses. The predicting models built by CLR and ANN in modeling datasets were applied to testing datasets for generalization study. The performances, including discrimination and calibration, were compared with non-parametric Wilcoxon tests. In univariate CLR analyses, 16 variables achieved significant level, and six of them remained significant in multivariate analyses, including low T score, low BMI, low MMSE score, milk intake, walking difficulty, and significant fall at home. For discrimination, ANN outperformed CLR in both 16- and 6-variable analyses in modeling and testing datasets (p?hip fracture are more personal than environmental. With adequate model construction, ANN may outperform CLR in both discrimination and calibration. ANN seems to have not been developed to its full potential and efforts should be made to improve its performance.
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Professions and Working Conditions Associated With Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
Almirall, Jordi; Serra-Prat, Mateu; Bolíbar, Ignasi; Palomera, Elisabet; Roig, Jordi; Boixeda, Ramon; Bartolomé, Maria; de la Torre, Mari; Parra, Olga; Torres, Antoni
2015-12-01
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is not considered a professional disease, and the effect of different occupations and working conditions on susceptibility to CAP is unknown. The aim of this study is to determine whether different jobs and certain working conditions are risk factors for CAP. Over a 1-year period, all radiologically confirmed cases of CAP (n=1,336) and age- and sex-matched controls (n=1,326) were enrolled in a population-based case-control study. A questionnaire on CAP risk factors, including work-related questions, was administered to all participants during an in-person interview. The bivariate analysis showed that office work is a protective factor against CAP, while building work, contact with dust and sudden changes of temperature in the workplace were risk factors for CAP. The occupational factor disappeared when the multivariate analysis was adjusted for working conditions. Contact with dust (previous month) and sudden changes of temperature (previous 3 months) were risk factors for CAP, irrespective of the number of years spent working in these conditions, suggesting reversibility. Some recent working conditions such as exposure to dust and sudden changes of temperature in the workplace are risk factors for CAP. Both factors are reversible and preventable. Copyright © 2014 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
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Nafati, Gilel; Vuillerme, Nicolas
2011-12-01
This experiment was designed to investigate whether and how decreasing the amount of attentional focus invested in postural control could affect bipedal postural control. Twelve participants were asked to stand upright as immobile as possible on a force platform in one control condition and one cognitive condition. In the latter condition, they performed a short-term digit-span memory task. Decreased center-of-gravity displacements and decreased center-of-foot-pressure displacements minus center-of-gravity displacements were observed in the cognitive condition relative to the control condition. These results suggest that shifting the attentional focus away from postural control by executing a concurrent attention-demanding task could increase postural performance and postural efficiency.
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Dyslexic Participants Show Intact Spontaneous Categorization Processes
Nikolopoulos, Dimitris S.; Pothos, Emmanuel M.
2009-01-01
We examine the performance of dyslexic participants on an unsupervised categorization task against that of matched non-dyslexic control participants. Unsupervised categorization is a cognitive process critical for conceptual development. Existing research in dyslexia has emphasized perceptual tasks and supervised categorization tasks (for which…
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Wolf, R; Clement, F; Barkema, H W; Orsel, K
2014-05-01
The Alberta Johne's Disease Initiative (AJDI) is a Johne's disease (JD) control program with the goal of reducing the spread of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) through implementation of best management practices. The objective was to estimate the economic benefit of participation in the AJDI. A decision tree was constructed in which disease prevalence, test characteristics, and probabilities for implementation of best management practices suggested by herd veterinarians were implemented. Analysis was performed using a Markov analysis, and input data were assigned using estimates from the AJDI and published data. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed and the net benefit of participation (from the perspective of a dairy farmer) in the AJDI compared with no participation was calculated. A series of 1-way sensitivity analyses were used to control for uncertainty. Farms participating in the AJDI were estimated to have a net benefit of Can$74 per cow over the course of 10 yr. If project costs were covered by the participating farm, the net benefit was Can$27. In addition to the effects on MAP infection, a reduction in calf diarrhea was modeled for farms that improved their calf management through the use of pasteurizers. In that case, the additional costs outweighed additional revenues compared with the baseline analysis, resulting in a reduced net benefit of Can$19. Participation would not be cost effective if cows in early stages of MAP infection did not have decreased production and if prevalence of MAP infection did not increase on farms with poor management. A limitation of the study, despite high uncertainty in some input parameters, was the lack of knowledge regarding changes in prevalence on farms with various management strategies. In conclusion, participation in the AJDI was cost effective for the average Alberta dairy farm. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Baker, Katharine S; Georgiou-Karistianis, Nellie; Lampit, Amit; Valenzuela, Michael; Gibson, Stephen J; Giummarra, Melita J
2018-04-01
Chronic pain is associated with reduced efficiency of cognitive performance, and few studies have investigated methods of remediation. We trialled a computerised cognitive training protocol to determine whether it could attenuate cognitive difficulties in a chronic pain sample. Thirty-nine adults with chronic pain (mean age = 43.3, 61.5% females) were randomised to an 8-week online course (3 sessions/week from home) of game-like cognitive training exercises, or an active control involving watching documentary videos. Participants received weekly supervision by video call. Primary outcomes were a global neurocognitive composite (tests of attention, speed, and executive function) and self-reported cognition. Secondary outcomes were pain (intensity; interference), mood symptoms (depression; anxiety), and coping with pain (catastrophising; self-efficacy). Thirty participants (15 training and 15 control) completed the trial. Mixed model intention-to-treat analyses revealed significant effects of training on the global neurocognitive composite (net effect size [ES] = 0.43, P = 0.017), driven by improved executive function performance (attention switching and working memory). The control group reported improvement in pain intensity (net ES = 0.65, P = 0.022). Both groups reported subjective improvements in cognition (ES = 0.28, P = 0.033) and catastrophising (ES = 0.55, P = 0.006). Depression, anxiety, self-efficacy, and pain interference showed no change in either group. This study provides preliminary evidence that supervised cognitive training may be a viable method for enhancing cognitive skills in persons with chronic pain, but transfer to functional and clinical outcomes remains to be demonstrated. Active control results suggest that activities perceived as relaxing or enjoyable contribute to improved perception of well-being. Weekly contact was pivotal to successful program completion.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Xiao, Lei; Huang, Shoudao; Lu, Kaiyuan
2013-01-01
Unbalanced grid voltage will cause large dc-bus voltage ripple and introduce high harmonic current components on the grid side. This will severely threaten the safety of the grid-connected voltage source converter (VSC) and consequently, affect the healthy operation condition of the load. In this......Unbalanced grid voltage will cause large dc-bus voltage ripple and introduce high harmonic current components on the grid side. This will severely threaten the safety of the grid-connected voltage source converter (VSC) and consequently, affect the healthy operation condition of the load....... In this study, a new proportional-integral-resonant (PI-RES) controller-based, space vector modulated direct power control topology is proposed to suppress the dc-bus voltage ripple and in the same time, controlling effectively the instantaneous power of the VSC. A special ac reactive power reference component...... is introduced in the controller, which is necessary in order to reduce the dc-bus voltage ripple and active power harmonics at the same time. The proposed control topology is implemented in the lab. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate its performance and the analysis presented...
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Spaceflight participant visits CERN!
Kathryn Coldham
2016-01-01
On 15 July, CERN welcomed spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari. Anousheh Ansari’s grin stretches from ear to ear, during an intriguing conversation with Nobel laureate Samuel C.C. Ting at AMS POCC. (Image: Maximilien Brice/CERN) Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari was the first-ever female spaceflight participant, spending eight days on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2006. She now has a new addition to her list of extraordinary sights – the home of the world’s largest particle accelerator: CERN. On 15 July, Anousheh Ansari came to CERN and, unsurprisingly, visited the control room of the experiment attached to the ISS: the AMS. At the AMS Payload Operations Control Centre (AMS POCC) on CERN’s Prévessin site, she met the Nobel laureate Samuel Ting, spokesperson of the AMS experiment. Ansari and her accompanying guests were thrilled to expand their knowledge about CERN, its research and its...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1990-01-01
This is a report concerning the participation of the Instituto de Pesquisas Espaciais in the national program for plasma physics and controlled thermonuclear fusion. The report lists all the personnel enroled in research activities, both theoretical and experimental. The research subjects are the following: relativistic electron beams; plasma produced by laser; plasma theory; quiescent plasma; plasma centrifugal; ionic propulsion. (A.C.A.S.) [pt
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gao, Jiajia; Huang, Gongsheng; Xu, Xinhua
2016-01-01
Highlights: • An optimization strategy for a small-scale air-conditioning system is developed. • The optimization strategy aims at optimizing the overall system energy consumption. • The strategy may guarantee the robust control of the space air temperature. • The performance of the optimization strategy was tested on a simulation platform. - Abstract: This paper studies the optimization of a small-scale central air-conditioning system, in which the cooling is provided by a ground source heat pump (GSHP) equipped with an on/off capacity control. The optimization strategy aims to optimize the overall system energy consumption and simultaneously guarantee the robustness of the space air temperature control without violating the allowed GSHP maximum start-ups number per hour specified by customers. The set-point of the chilled water return temperature and the width of the water temperature control band are used as the decision variables for the optimization. The performance of the proposed strategy was tested on a simulation platform. Results show that the optimization strategy can save the energy consumption by 9.59% in a typical spring day and 2.97% in a typical summer day. Meanwhile it is able to enhance the space air temperature control robustness when compared with a basic control strategy without optimization.
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Enhanced attention to context: An intervention that increases perceived control in mild depression.
Msetfi, R M; Brosnan, L; Cavus, H A
2016-01-01
People perceive that they have control over events to the extent that the same events do not occur outside of their control, randomly, in the environment or context. Therefore, perceived control should be enhanced if there is a large contrast between one's own control and the control that the context itself seems to exert over events. Given that depression is associated with low perceived control, we tested the hypothesis that enhanced attentional focus to context will increase perceived control in people with and without depression. A total of 106 non-depressed and mildly depressed participants completed a no control zero-contingency task with low and high outcome probability conditions. In the experimental context-focus group, participants were instructed to attend to the context, whereas in the control group, participants were instructed to attend to their thoughts. Irrespective of attentional focus, non-depressed participants displayed illusory control. However, people with mild depression responded strongly to the attention focus manipulation. In the control group, they evidenced low perceived control with classic depressive realism effects. In the experimental group, when asked to focus on the context in which events took place, participants with mild depression displayed enhanced perceived control or illusory control, similar to non-depressed participants. Findings are discussed in relation to whether depression effects on perceived control represent tendencies towards realism or attentional aspects of depressive thoughts.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jessica C Lee
Full Text Available In human causal learning, excitatory and inhibitory learning effects can sometimes be found in the same paradigm by altering the learning conditions. This study aims to explore whether learning in the feature negative paradigm can be dissociated by emphasising speed over accuracy. In two causal learning experiments, participants were given a feature negative discrimination in which the outcome caused by one cue was prevented by the addition of another. Participants completed training trials either in a self-paced fashion with instructions emphasising accuracy, or under strict time constraints with instructions emphasising speed. Using summation tests in which the preventative cue was paired with another causal cue, participants in the accuracy groups correctly rated the preventative cue as if it reduced the probability of the outcome. However, participants in the speed groups rated the preventative cue as if it increased the probability of the outcome. In Experiment 1, both speed and accuracy groups later judged the same cue to be preventative in a reasoned inference task. Experiment 2 failed to find evidence of similar dissociations in retrospective revaluation (release from overshadowing vs. mediated extinction or learning about a redundant cue (blocking vs. augmentation. However in the same experiment, the tendency for the accuracy group to show conditioned inhibition and the speed group to show second-order conditioning was consistent even across sub-sets of the speed and accuracy groups with equivalent accuracy in training, suggesting that second-order conditioning is not merely a consequence of poorer acquisition. This dissociation mirrors the trade-off between second-order conditioning and conditioned inhibition observed in animal conditioning when training is extended.
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Naess, Eva Elisabeth; Bahr, David; Gravholt, Claus H
2010-05-01
Turner syndrome (TS) is a complex medical condition with specific cognitive and psychosocial characteristics and frequent medical morbidity. Few studies have investigated the influence this has on health status, education and ability to work. To explore health status, level of education, work participation, medical conditions, physical activity, satisfaction with life and aspects of sexual functioning in adult TS women and compare with a matched control group. A questionnaire was sent to 168 adult women with TS >18 years registered in a database of Frambu Resource Centre for Rare Disorders and The TS Association in Norway. We assessed health status with Short Form 36, education with Norwegian Standard Classification of Education, and employment with The General Nordic Questionnaire. Life satisfaction was measured with LiSat-9, and questions on psychological strain during life phases were included. Eighty women with TS (34.0 +/- 11.7 years) and 214 controls (32.9 +/- 10.6) responded. The TS group reported significantly more health problems and impaired health status in the two subscales "physical functioning" and "general health" (P education and work participation was similar among TS and controls. TS moved away from their parents' home later than controls (20.4 +/- 4.0 vs. 18.7 +/- 2.1, P = 0.001). Age at sexual debut differed significantly (21.2 +/- 4.3 vs. 17.3 +/- 2.4 years, P education and level of employment as controls, they report more frequent occurrence of medical conditions, but scored lower on only two subscales in the SF-36. Despite considerable medical morbidity, TS seem to cope well with life.
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Courneya, Kerry S; Friedenreich, Christine M; Sela, Rami A; Quinney, H Arthur; Rhodes, Ryan E; Jones, Lee W
2004-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine postprogram exercise motivation and adherence in cancer survivors who participated in the Group Psychotherapy and Home-Based Physical Exercise (GROUP-HOPE; Courneya, Friedenreich, Sela, Quinney, & Rhodes, 2002) trial. At the completion of the GROUP-HOPE trial, 46 of 51 (90%) participants in the exercise group completed measures of attribution theory constructs. A 5-week follow-up self-report of exercise was then completed by 30 (65%) participants. Correlational analyses indicated that program exercise, perceived success, expected success, and affective reactions were strong predictors of postprogram exercise. In multivariate stepwise regression analyses, program exercise and perceived success were the strongest predictors of postprogram exercise. Additionally, perceived success was more important than objective success in understanding the attribution process, and it interacted with personal control to influence expected success and negative affect. Finally, postprogram quality of life and changes in physical fitness were correlates of perceived success. We concluded that attribution theory may have utility for understanding postprogram exercise motivation and adherence in cancer survivors.
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Periodic spring–mass running over uneven terrain through feedforward control of landing conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
III, Luther R Palmer; Eaton, Caitrin E
2014-01-01
This work pursues a feedforward control algorithm for high-speed legged locomotion over uneven terrain. Being able to rapidly negotiate uneven terrain without visual or a priori information about the terrain will allow legged systems to be used in time-critical applications and alongside fast-moving humans or vehicles. The algorithm is shown here implemented on a spring-loaded inverted pendulum model in simulation, and can be configured to approach fixed running height over uneven terrain or self-stable terrain following. Offline search identifies unique landing conditions that achieve a desired apex height with a constant stride period over varying ground levels. Because the time between the apex and touchdown events is directly related to ground height, the landing conditions can be computed in real time as continuous functions of this falling time. Enforcing a constant stride period reduces the need for inertial sensing of the apex event, which is nontrivial for physical systems, and allows for clocked feedfoward control of the swing leg. (paper)
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Periodic spring-mass running over uneven terrain through feedforward control of landing conditions.
Palmer, Luther R; Eaton, Caitrin E
2014-09-01
This work pursues a feedforward control algorithm for high-speed legged locomotion over uneven terrain. Being able to rapidly negotiate uneven terrain without visual or a priori information about the terrain will allow legged systems to be used in time-critical applications and alongside fast-moving humans or vehicles. The algorithm is shown here implemented on a spring-loaded inverted pendulum model in simulation, and can be configured to approach fixed running height over uneven terrain or self-stable terrain following. Offline search identifies unique landing conditions that achieve a desired apex height with a constant stride period over varying ground levels. Because the time between the apex and touchdown events is directly related to ground height, the landing conditions can be computed in real time as continuous functions of this falling time. Enforcing a constant stride period reduces the need for inertial sensing of the apex event, which is nontrivial for physical systems, and allows for clocked feedfoward control of the swing leg.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jarmov, Gjorgi; Popovski, Ljubin; Aleksoski, Borko
2001-01-01
In this paper the basic characteristics of the electric power consumption in the R. Macedonia for the 2000 year are given. The large electric power consumers are presented, as well as possibilities of their participation in the conditions of an open electricity market in Macedonia and the Region
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Service users' experiences of participation in decision making in mental health services.
Dahlqvist Jönsson, P; Schön, U-K; Rosenberg, D; Sandlund, M; Svedberg, P
2015-11-01
category that emerged in the analysis described a 'struggle to be perceived as a competent and equal person' while three related categories including being the underdog, being controlled and being omitted described the difficulties of participating in decisions. The data analysis resulted in a model that describes internal and external conditions that influence the promotion of participation in decision making. The findings offer new insights from a user perspective and these can be utilized to develop and investigate concrete methods in order to promote user's participation in decisions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Reimer, R A; Pelletier, X; Carabin, I G; Lyon, M R; Gahler, R J; Wood, S
2012-08-01
Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) are produced by the bacterial fermentation of dietary fibre and have been linked with intestinal health. The present study examined faecal SCFA concentrations in subjects consuming a novel soluble highly viscous polysaccharide (HVP) or control for 3 weeks. A total of 54 healthy adults participated in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects were randomised to consume HVP or control (skim milk powder). A dose of 5 g day(-1) was consumed in the first week, followed by 10 g day(-1) in the second and third weeks (n = 27 per group). The primary outcome was SCFA concentrations in faecal samples collected at baseline (visit 1, V1), at 1 week (V2) and at 3 week (V3). The reduction in faecal acetate from V1 to V3 in control subjects was not observed in subjects consuming HVP. There were no differences in propionate, butyrate, valerate or caproate concentrations. There was a significant treatment effect (P = 0.03) for total SCFA, with higher concentrations observed in subjects consuming HVP versus control. HVP is a viscous functional fibre that may influence gut microbial fermentation. Further work is warranted to examine the fermentative properties of HVP and possible links with appetite regulation and reduced serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2012 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.
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Nondestructive techniques for the control of conditioned radioactive wastes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Delprato, U.
1987-01-01
The final product of the radwaste conditioning process must satisfy certain requirments and physico-chemical properties in order to assure its safe long-term behaviour. Of course, the foreseen quality assurance and quality control should be conducted by means of non-destructive techniques. This work presents an over-view of various applicable non-destructive methods of analysis, showing their fields of investigation in testing waste packages, together with some arising practical problems. The most promising methods, such as eddy current testing, ultrasonic testing, γ-scanning, γ-spectroscopy, neutron counting and computerized tomography, are treated more deeply and some applications are presented. Particular attention is devoted to the development of a device based on computerized tomography; its essential components are reported and some design problems are also discussed
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Zhu, Na
This thesis presents an overview of the previous research work on dynamic characteristics and energy performance of buildings due to the integration of PCMs. The research work on dynamic characteristics and energy performance of buildings using PCMs both with and without air-conditioning is reviewed. Since the particular interest in using PCMs for free cooling and peak load shifting, specific research efforts on both subjects are reviewed separately. A simplified physical dynamic model of building structures integrated with SSPCM (shaped-stabilized phase change material) is developed and validated in this study. The simplified physical model represents the wall by 3 resistances and 2 capacitances and the PCM layer by 4 resistances and 2 capacitances respectively while the key issue is the parameter identification of the model. This thesis also presents the studies on the thermodynamic characteristics of buildings enhanced by PCM and on the investigation of the impacts of PCM on the building cooling load and peak cooling demand at different climates and seasons as well as the optimal operation and control strategies to reduce the energy consumption and energy cost by reducing the air-conditioning energy consumption and peak load. An office building floor with typical variable air volume (VAV) air-conditioning system is used and simulated as the reference building in the comparison study. The envelopes of the studied building are further enhanced by integrating the PCM layers. The building system is tested in two selected cities of typical climates in China including Hong Kong and Beijing. The cold charge and discharge processes, the operation and control strategies of night ventilation and the air temperature set-point reset strategy for minimizing the energy consumption and electricity cost are studied. This thesis presents the simulation test platform, the test results on the cold storage and discharge processes, the air-conditioning energy consumption and demand
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Thosar, Archana; Patra, Amit; Bhattacharyya, Souvik
2008-07-01
Design of a nonlinear control system for a Variable Air Volume Air Conditioning (VAVAC) plant through feedback linearization is presented in this article. VAVAC systems attempt to reduce building energy consumption while maintaining the primary role of air conditioning. The temperature of the space is maintained at a constant level by establishing a balance between the cooling load generated in the space and the air supply delivered to meet the load. The dynamic model of a VAVAC plant is derived and formulated as a MIMO bilinear system. Feedback linearization is applied for decoupling and linearization of the nonlinear model. Simulation results for a laboratory scale plant are presented to demonstrate the potential of keeping comfort and maintaining energy optimal performance by this methodology. Results obtained with a conventional PI controller and a feedback linearizing controller are compared and the superiority of the proposed approach is clearly established.
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A randomized controlled trial of interim methadone maintenance.
Schwartz, Robert P; Highfield, David A; Jaffe, Jerome H; Brady, Joseph V; Butler, Carol B; Rouse, Charles O; Callaman, Jason M; O'Grady, Kevin E; Battjes, Robert J
2006-01-01
Effective alternatives to long waiting lists for entry into methadone hydrochloride maintenance treatment are needed to reduce the complications of continuing heroin dependence and to increase methadone treatment entry. To compare the effectiveness of interim methadone maintenance with that of the usual waiting list condition in facilitating methadone treatment entry and reducing heroin and cocaine use and criminal behavior. Randomized, controlled, clinical trial using 2 conditions, with treatment assignment on a 3:2 basis to interim maintenance-waiting list control. A methadone treatment program in Baltimore. A total of 319 individuals meeting the criteria for current heroin dependence and methadone maintenance treatment. Participants were randomly assigned to either interim methadone maintenance, consisting of an individually determined methadone dose and emergency counseling only for up to 120 days, or referral to community-based methadone treatment programs. Entry into comprehensive methadone maintenance therapy at 4 months from baseline; self-reported days of heroin use, cocaine use, and criminal behavior; and number of urine drug test results positive for heroin and cocaine at the follow-up interview conducted at time of entry into comprehensive methadone treatment (or at 4 months from baseline for participants who did not enter regular treatment). Significantly more participants assigned to the interim methadone maintenance condition entered comprehensive methadone maintenance treatment by the 120th day from baseline (75.9%) than those assigned to the waiting list control condition (20.8%) (Pmethadone maintenance results in a substantial increase in the likelihood of entry into comprehensive treatment, and is an effective means of reducing heroin use and criminal behavior among opioid-dependent individuals awaiting entry into a comprehensive methadone treatment program.
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External access to ALICE controls conditions data
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jadlovský, J; Jadlovská, A; Sarnovský, J; Jajčišin, Š; Čopík, M; Jadlovská, S; Papcun, P; Bielek, R; Čerkala, J; Kopčík, M; Chochula, P; Augustinus, A
2014-01-01
ALICE Controls data produced by commercial SCADA system WINCCOA is stored in ORACLE database on the private experiment network. The SCADA system allows for basic access and processing of the historical data. More advanced analysis requires tools like ROOT and needs therefore a separate access method to the archives. The present scenario expects that detector experts create simple WINCCOA scripts, which retrieves and stores data in a form usable for further studies. This relatively simple procedure generates a lot of administrative overhead – users have to request the data, experts needed to run the script, the results have to be exported outside of the experiment network. The new mechanism profits from database replica, which is running on the CERN campus network. Access to this database is not restricted and there is no risk of generating a heavy load affecting the operation of the experiment. The developed tools presented in this paper allow for access to this data. The users can use web-based tools to generate the requests, consisting of the data identifiers and period of time of interest. The administrators maintain full control over the data – an authorization and authentication mechanism helps to assign privileges to selected users and restrict access to certain groups of data. Advanced caching mechanism allows the user to profit from the presence of already processed data sets. This feature significantly reduces the time required for debugging as the retrieval of raw data can last tens of minutes. A highly configurable client allows for information retrieval bypassing the interactive interface. This method is for example used by ALICE Offline to extract operational conditions after a run is completed. Last but not least, the software can be easily adopted to any underlying database structure and is therefore not limited to WINCCOA.
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Harburguer, Laura; Beltrán, Gaston; Goldberg, Lucila; Goldberg, Laura; Zerba, Eduardo; Licastro, Susana; Masuh, Héctor
2011-05-01
Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are mosquito-borne viral diseases that coincide with the distribution of Aedes aegypti (L.), the primary vector in the tropical and semitropical world. With no available vaccine, controlling the dengue vector is essential to avoid epidemics. This study evaluates the efficacy of a new smoke-generating formulation containing pyriproxyfen and permethrin in Puerto Libertad, Misiones, Argentina. A fumigant tablet (FT) was applied inside the houses by the community members and compared with a professional application. A treatment combining the application of fumigant tablets indoors and ultralow volume fumigation outdoors was also assessed. The community perceptions and practices about dengue disease and the acceptance of this new nonprofessional FT were evaluated through surveys. Results show >90% adult emergence inhibition and 100% adult mortality with these treatments. More than 80% of the residents applied the FT and preferred participating in a vector control program by using a nonprofessional mosquito control tool, instead of attending meetings and workshops promoting cultural changes.
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Trudeau, Kimberlee J; Hildebrand, Cristina; Garg, Priyanka; Chiauzzi, Emil; Zacharoff, Kevin L
2017-04-01
To improve pain management practices, we developed an online interactive continuing education (CE) program for primary care providers (PCPs). This program follows the flow of clinical decision-making through simulated cases at critical pain treatment points along the pain treatment continuum. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the efficacy of this program. Participants were randomized to either the experimental condition or the control condition (online, text-based CE program). A total of 238 primary care providers were recruited through hospitals, professional newsletters, and pain conferences. Participants in both conditions reported significantly improved scores on knowledge (KNOW-PAIN 50), attitudes (CAOS), and pain practice behaviors (PPBS) scales over the four-month study. The experimental condition showed significantly greater change over time on the tamper-resistant formulations (TRFs) of opioids and dosing CAOS subscale compared with the control condition. Post hoc comparisons suggested that participants in the experimental condition were less likely to endorse use of opioid TRFs over time compared with the control condition. Exploratory analyses for potential moderators indicated a significant three-way interaction with time, condition, and discipline (i.e., physician vs other) for the impediments and concerns attitudes subscale and the early refill behaviors subscale. Post hoc comparisons indicated that physicians in the experimental condition exhibited the greatest change in attitudes and the nonphysicians exhibited the greatest change in reported behaviors in response to requests for early refills. Findings suggest online CE programs may positively impact PCPs' knowledge, attitudes, and pain practice behaviors but provide minimal evidence for the value of including interactivity. © 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
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Beesley, Vanessa L; Vallance, Jeff K; Mihala, Gabor; Lynch, Brigid M; Gordon, Louisa G
2017-09-01
This study aimed to examine the association between change in employment participation for a 12-month period and quality of life among individuals with colorectal cancer compared with general population controls. This was a prospective, registry-based study that enrolled middle-aged (45-64 years) residents of Queensland, Australia, who were in the paid workforce, and newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Participants completed structured telephone interviews at 6 and 12 months after diagnosis assessing quality of life and employment status ("retired/ceased work," "increased work," "decreased work," and "maintained work"). Survivors were matched on demographic and occupation characteristics in a 1:2 ratio with individuals from the general population who had participated in both Wave 10 (2010) and 11 (2011) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. Almost half (66/148, 45%) of colorectal cancer survivors ceased or decreased work during the study period, compared with 27% in the control group (79/295, P = .001). Physical and mental well-being did not fluctuate over time in the general population. However, there were significant improvements in physical well-being, functional well-being, and overall quality of life during the study period for participants with colorectal cancer. At 12 months postdiagnosis, participants with colorectal cancer who maintained or increased work had significantly better functional well-being and overall quality of life compared with those who decreased work or retired. A diagnosis of colorectal cancer often impairs the ability of a person to maintain work. The impairments are predominantly physical and functional. Interventions to assist with occupational rehabilitation should be trialed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Variable structure TITO fuzzy-logic controller implementation for a solar air-conditioning system
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lygouras, J.N.; Pachidis, Th. [Laboratory of Electronics, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, GR-67100 Xanthi (Greece); Kodogiannis, V.S. [Centre for Systems Analysis, School of Computer Science, University of Westminster, London HA1 3TP (United Kingdom); Tarchanidis, K.N. [Department of Petroleum Technology, Technological Education Institute of Kavala, GR-65404, Kavala (Greece); Koukourlis, C.S. [Laboratory of Telecommunications, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, GR-67100 Xanthi (Greece)
2008-04-15
The design and implementation of a Two-Input/Two-Output (TITO) variable structure fuzzy-logic controller for a solar-powered air-conditioning system is described in this paper. Two DC motors are used to drive the generator pump and the feed pump of the solar air-conditioner. The first affects the temperature in the generator of the solar air-conditioner, while the second, the pressure in the power loop. The difficulty of Multi-Input/Multi-Output (MIMO) systems control is how to overcome the coupling effects among each degree of freedom. First, a traditional fuzzy-controller has been designed, its output being one of the components of the control signal for each DC motor driver. Secondly, according to the characteristics of the system's dynamics coupling, an appropriate coupling fuzzy-controller (CFC) is incorporated into a traditional fuzzy-controller (TFC) to compensate for the dynamic coupling among each degree of freedom. This control strategy simplifies the implementation problem of fuzzy control, but can also improve the control performance. This mixed fuzzy controller (MFC) can effectively improve the coupling effects of the systems, and this control strategy is easy to design and implement. Experimental results from the implemented system are presented. (author)
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Participation & the power from within
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Lars Bo; Danholt, Peter; Lauritsen, Peter
their removed from home. The observed situation thus complicates both the ambition of participation and the need for a surveillant welfare practice. Consequently, this paper explores three questions: a) how do social workers manage to surveil the wellbeing of children, b) how do children relate to social...... for surveilling, controlling and caring for the wellbeing of placed children. Similarly, social workers are also obliged to include children as participants in their own case. To this end, social workers are dependent on intimate and trustworthy knowledge of children's everyday life. However, as Latour argued...... workers' surveillance, and c) how could we conceptualise the relation between welfare and surveillance in an age of participation....
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Andersen, Christopher T; Reynolds, Sarah A; Behrman, Jere R; Crookston, Benjamin T; Dearden, Kirk A; Escobal, Javier; Mani, Subha; Sánchez, Alan; Stein, Aryeh D; Fernald, Lia CH
2015-01-01
Background: It is unclear what effects a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program would have on child anthropometry, language development, or school achievement in the context of the nutrition transition experienced by many low- and middle-income countries. Objective: We estimated the association of participation in Peru’s Juntos CCT with anthropometry, language development, and school achievement among children aged 7–8 y. Methods: We used data from the Young Lives Study of a cohort born between 2001 and 2002. We estimated associations of the Juntos program with height-for-age z score (HAZ), body mass index–for–age z score (BAZ), stunting, and overweight at age 7–8 y separately for children participating in the program for ≥2 y (n = 169) and children participating for overweight (ATT: –22.0 percentage points; 95% CI: –42.5, –2.7 percentage points; P = 0.03). We observed no significant associations of Juntos participation with receptive vocabulary or grade attainment. Conclusions: CCT program participation in Peru was associated with better linear growth among boys and decreased BAZ among girls, highlighting that a large-scale poverty-alleviation intervention may influence anthropometric outcomes in the context of the nutrition transition. PMID:26269237
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bergholdt, SH; Søndergaard, J; Larsen, PV
2013-01-01
by their GP reported by the patients and GPs, respectively, and patients' participation in rehabilitation activities. Methods. Cluster randomised controlled trial. All general practices in Denmark were randomised to an intervention group or to a control group (usual procedures). Patients were subsequently...
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Particle control in DIII-D with helium glow discharge conditioning
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jackson, G.L.; Taylor, T.S.; Taylor, P.L.
1990-01-01
Helium glow discharge conditioning of DIII-D is routinely used before every tokamak discharge to desorb hydrogen from the graphite tiles, which are the plasma facing surfaces for the floor, inner wall and top of the vessel. In addition to reducing hydrogen fuelling of the plasma by the graphite surfaces, helium glow discharges are also effective in removing low-Z impurities, primarily in the form of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, and this has permitted higher current divertor operation and more rapid recovery from tokamak disruptions. Since the implementation of repetitive helium glow wall conditioning, the parameter space in which tokamak discharges in DIII-D can be obtained has been expanded to include the first observations of limiter H-mode confinement, the Ohmic H-mode with periods of up to 150 ms that are free of edge localized modes, more reliable low q operation with volume averaged beta of up to 9.3%, improved control over locked modes and plasma discharges at lower electron density. (author). 37 refs, 12 figs, 1 tab
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yeongsu Bak
2016-12-01
Full Text Available This paper proposes a balanced current control strategy for the current source rectifier (CSR stage of an indirect matrix converter (IMC under unbalanced grid voltage conditions. If the three-phase grid connected to the voltage source inverter (VSI of the IMC has unbalanced voltage conditions, it affects the currents of the CSR stage and VSI stage, and the currents are distorted. Above all, the distorted currents of the CSR stage cause instability in the overall system, which can affect the life span of the system. Therefore, in this paper, a control strategy for balanced currents in the CSR stage is proposed. To achieve balanced currents in the CSR stage, the VSI stage should receive DC power without ripple components from the CSR stage. This is implemented by controlling the currents in the VSI stage. Therefore, the proposed control strategy decouples the positive and negative phase-sequence components existing in the unbalanced voltages and currents of the VSI stage. Using the proposed control strategy under unbalanced grid voltage conditions, the stability and life span of the overall system can be improved. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified by simulation and experimental results.
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Improving Work Participation of Young Adults with Physical Disabilities
J.A.C. Verhoef (Joan)
2015-01-01
markdownabstract__Abstract__ This thesis addresses the work participation of young adults with physical disabilities caused by a chronic condition. With increasing numbers of young people with a chronic physical condition living into adulthood, knowledge about the development of work
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Neural correlates of conflict control on facial expressions with a flanker paradigm.
Liu, Tongran; Xiao, Tong; Shi, Jian-Nong
2013-01-01
Conflict control is an important cognitive control ability and it is also crucial for human beings to execute conflict control on affective information. To address the neural correlates of cognitive control on affective conflicts, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a revised Eriksen Flanker Task. Participants were required to indicate the valence of the central target expression while ignoring the flanker expressions in the affective congruent condition, affective incongruent condition and neutral condition (target expressions flanked by scramble blocks). Behavioral results manifested that participants exhibited faster response speed in identifying neutral target face when it was flanked by neutral distractors than by happy distractors. Electrophysiological results showed that happy target expression induced larger N2 amplitude when flanked by sad distractors than by happy distractors and scramble blocks during the conflict monitoring processing. During the attentional control processing, happy target expression induced faster P3 response when it was flanked by happy distractors than by sad distractors, and sad target expression evoked larger P3 amplitude when it was flanked by happy distractors comparing with sad distractors. Taken together, the current findings of temporal dynamic of brain activity during cognitive control on affective conflicts shed light on the essential relationship between cognitive control and affective information processing.
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Neural correlates of conflict control on facial expressions with a flanker paradigm.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tongran Liu
Full Text Available Conflict control is an important cognitive control ability and it is also crucial for human beings to execute conflict control on affective information. To address the neural correlates of cognitive control on affective conflicts, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs during a revised Eriksen Flanker Task. Participants were required to indicate the valence of the central target expression while ignoring the flanker expressions in the affective congruent condition, affective incongruent condition and neutral condition (target expressions flanked by scramble blocks. Behavioral results manifested that participants exhibited faster response speed in identifying neutral target face when it was flanked by neutral distractors than by happy distractors. Electrophysiological results showed that happy target expression induced larger N2 amplitude when flanked by sad distractors than by happy distractors and scramble blocks during the conflict monitoring processing. During the attentional control processing, happy target expression induced faster P3 response when it was flanked by happy distractors than by sad distractors, and sad target expression evoked larger P3 amplitude when it was flanked by happy distractors comparing with sad distractors. Taken together, the current findings of temporal dynamic of brain activity during cognitive control on affective conflicts shed light on the essential relationship between cognitive control and affective information processing.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Schmidt Anna
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background This study analyses the effect of active participation in a sports club, physical activity and social networks on the development of lung cancer in patients who smoke. Our hypothesis is that study participants who lack social networks and do not actively participate in a sports club are at a greater risk for lung cancer than those who do. Methods Data for the study were taken from the Cologne Smoking Study (CoSmoS, a retrospective case-control study examining potential psychosocial risk factors for the development of lung cancer. Our sample consisted of n = 158 participants who had suffered lung cancer (diagnosis in the patient document and n = 144 control group participants. Both groups had a history of smoking. Data on social networks were collected by asking participants whether they participated in a sports club and about the number of friends and relatives in their social environment. In addition, sociodemographic data (gender, age, education, marital status, residence and religion, physical activity and data on pack years (the cumulative number of cigarettes smoked by an individual, calculated by multiplying the number of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked divided by 20 were collected to control for potential confounders. Logistic regression was used for the statistical analysis. Results The results reveal that participants who are physically active are at a lower risk of lung cancer than those who are not (adjusted OR = 0.53*; CI = 0.29-0.97. Older age and lower education seem also to be risk factors for the development of lung cancer. The extent of smoking, furthermore, measured by pack years is statistically significant. Active participation in a sports club, number of friends and relatives had no statistically significant influence on the development of the cancer. Conclusions The results of the study suggest that there is a lower risk for physically active participants to develop
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Neural Correlates of Conflict Control on Facial Expressions with a Flanker Paradigm
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Liu, T.; Xiao, T; Shi, Jiannong
2013-01-01
it was flanked by happy distractors comparing with sad distractors. Taken together, the current findings of temporal dynamic of brain activity during cognitive control on affective conflicts shed light on the essential relationship between cognitive control and affective information processing.......Conflict control is an important cognitive control ability and it is also crucial for human beings to execute conflict control on affective information. To address the neural correlates of cognitive control on affective conflicts, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during...... a revised Eriksen Flanker Task. Participants were required to indicate the valence of the central target expression while ignoring the flanker expressions in the affective congruent condition, affective incongruent condition and neutral condition (target expressions flanked by scramble blocks). Behavioral...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Markiewicz, M.
1999-01-01
The reactivity control system for the MPR reactor (Multi Purpose Reactor) is a critical component regarding safety, it must ensure a fast shut down, maintaining the reactor in subcritical condition under normal or accidental operation condition. For this purpose, this core component must be designed to maintain its operating capacity during all the residence time and under any foreseen operation condition. The mechanical design of control plates and guide boxes must comply with structural integrity, maintaining its geometric and dimensional stability within the pre-established limits to prevent interferences with other core components. For this, the heat generation effect, mechanical loads and environment and irradiation effects were evaluated during the mechanical design. The reactivity control system is composed of guide boxes, manufactured from Aluminium alloy, located between the fuel elements, and control absorber plates of Ag-In-Cd alloy hermetically enclosed by a cladding of stainless steel sliding inside de guide boxes. The upward-downward movement is transmitted by a rod from the motion device located at the reactor lower part. The design requirements, criteria and limits were established to fulfill with the normal and abnormal operation conditions. The design verifications were performed by analytical method, estimating the guide box and control plates residence time. The result of the analysis performed, shows that the design of the reactivity control system and the material selected, are appropriate to fulfill the functional requirements, with no failures attributed to the mechanical design. (author)
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50 CFR 22.32 - Conditions and limitations on taking under depredation control order.
2010-10-01
... Golden Eagles § 22.32 Conditions and limitations on taking under depredation control order. (a) Whenever the taking of golden eagles without a permit is authorized for the seasonal protection of livestock, such birds may be taken by firearms, traps, or other suitable means except by poison or from aircraft...
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Mobility devices to promote activity and participation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Salminen, Anna-Liisa; Brandt, Ase; Samuelsson, Kersti A M
2009-01-01
were included if they covered both baseline and follow-up data and focused on activity and participation. Study participants had to be aged over 18 years with mobility limitations. Mobility device interventions encompassed crutches, walking frames, rollators, manual wheelchairs and powered wheelchairs......, and 3 follow-up studies that included before and after data. Two studies dealt with the effects of powered wheelchair interventions and the other studies with various other types of mobility device. Two studies were of high, internal and external methodological quality. Interventions were found......OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of mobility device interventions in terms of activity and participation for people with mobility limitations. DESIGN: Systematic review. Search of 7 databases during the period 1996 to 2008. METHODS: Controlled studies and non-controlled follow-up studies...
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[What hinders the political participation of women?].
Ramirez, S
1994-06-01
Forty years after gaining the right to vote, Colombian women comprise scarcely 8% of persons recently elected to the Colombian Congress. At the municipal and departmental level, women occupy even fewer of the positions. Explanations of women's marginal political participation in terms of stereotypes such as their presumed disinterest or emotionalism reflect androcentric prejudices. Their lack of preparation and social conditioning is also a suspect argument, given that there are no objective forms of measuring preparation for political office, such as examinations or specific requirements. Centers for women's studies have sought explanation in terms of aspects of the social and political organization of society that impede access by women to positions of power. Laws assuring women their political rights have not been sufficient to allow them to participate under equal conditions. The assignment of responsibility for domestic labor exclusively to women is a powerful handicap to their full participation. Moreover, public life has become a costly career in terms of resources, time, and energy. The problem is not that women do not participate in politics, but that they are underrepresented in the centers of power. They comprise half of voters and the majority of members of community and civic associations dealing with problems of everyday life. But the number of women declines as the scale of power increases. Feminists suggest that the problem will not be solved by women assuming the behavior patterns of men. Rather, the governmental and civil elites must overcome norms and practices that perpetuate the subordination of women. Women achieving positions of power should maintain a gender perspective and assist in transforming conditions.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Martin Härter
Full Text Available Chronic diseases, like diabetes mellitus, heart disease and cancer are leading causes of death and disability. These conditions are at least partially preventable or modifiable, e.g. by enhancing patients' self-management. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of telephone-based health coaching (TBHC in chronically ill patients.This prospective, pragmatic randomized controlled trial compares an intervention group (IG of participants in TBHC to a control group (CG without TBHC. Endpoints were assessed two years after enrolment. Three different groups of insurees with 1 multiple conditions (chronic campaign, 2 heart failure (heart failure campaign, or 3 chronic mental illness conditions (mental health campaign were targeted. The telephone coaching included evidence-based information and was based on the concepts of motivational interviewing, shared decision-making, and collaborative goal setting. Patients received an average of 12.9 calls. Primary outcome was time from enrolment until hospital readmission within a two-year follow-up period. Secondary outcomes comprised the probability of hospital readmission, number of daily defined medication doses (DDD, frequency and duration of inability to work, and mortality within two years. All outcomes were collected from routine data provided by the statutory health insurance. As informed consent was obtained after randomization, propensity score matching (PSM was used to minimize selection bias introduced by decliners. For the analysis of hospital readmission and mortality, we calculated Kaplan-Meier curves and estimated hazard ratios (HR. Probability of hospital readmission and probability of death were analysed by calculating odds ratios (OR. Quantity of health service use and inability to work were analysed by linear random effects regression models. PSM resulted in patient samples of 5,309 (IG: 2,713; CG: 2,596 in the chronic campaign, of 660 (IG: 338; CG: 322 in the heart failure campaign, and of
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Benefits and Burdens of Participation in a Longitudinal Clinical Trial
Lazovski, Jaime; Losso, Marcelo; Krohmal, Benjamin; Emanuel, Ezekiel J.; Grady, Christine; Wendler, David
2010-01-01
systematic data on the impact that longitudinal clinical trials have on patient participants are needed to ensure that all the risks and potential benefits of participating in clinical research are properly evaluated and disclosed. Recognizing the lack of systematic data on this topic, we surveyed 582 individuals from Argentina, Brazil, and Thailand who were participating in the ESPRIT study, a Phase III randomized trial of interleukin-2 in HIV disease. Respondents were asked about the benefits and burdens of participating in ESPRIT using a self-administered survey. We found that 91% of respondents in the IL-2 treatment arm and 79% in the no IL-2 control arm reported medical benefits from their participation. In addition, 68% in the IL-2 treatment arm and 60% of the no IL-2 controls reported non-medical benefits. Thirteen percent of the IL-2 respondents and 5% of the non-IL2 respondents reported problems with their jobs due to study participation. Given that respondents, including those in the control arm, reported medical and non-medical benefits and burdens from their research participation, investigators and review committees should be aware of and respond to the potential for research participants to experience benefits and burdens that are unrelated to the intervention being tested. PMID:19754238
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Diesel soot oxidation under controlled conditions
Song, Haiwen
2003-01-01
This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 11/12/2003. In order to improve understanding of diesel soot oxidation, an experimental rig was designed and set up, in which the soot oxidation conditions, such as temperature, oxygen partial pressure, and CO2 partial pressure, could be varied independently of each other. The oxidizing gas flow in the oxidizer was under laminar condition. This test rig comprised a naturally-aspirated single ...
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Söderlund, Anne; Sterling, Michele
2016-01-01
The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in cold pain threshold (CTh), pressure pain threshold (PPT), cold pain tolerance (CPTo) tests, and the level of self-efficacy when self-efficacy for diagnostic sensory testing was manipulated by verbal persuasion before a testing situation in persons with neck pain and in healthy controls. A randomized experimental design was used. Twenty-one healthy volunteers and 22 individuals with either traumatic or nontraumatic chronic neck pain were recruited to participate in the study. The intervention consisted of two experimental verbal persuasion conditions: Increase self-efficacy and Decrease self-efficacy. The PPT was measured using a pressure algometer, the CTh was measured using a thermo test system, and CPTo was measured by submerging the participant's hand in ice water up to the elbow joint. On three occasions, the participants reported their self-efficacy level in performing the sensory tests. In the chronic neck pain group, there were no differences in pain threshold or tolerance. There was a difference in the self-efficacy level after verbal persuasion between the experimental conditions. In the healthy control group, the CThs increased following the condition that aimed to increase self-efficacy. No other differences were observed in the healthy controls. A short verbal persuasion in the form of manipulative instructions seems to have a marginal effect on the individual's self-efficacy levels in the chronic neck pain group and a slight influence on the results of sensory testing in healthy controls.
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Pope, Lizzy; Harvey, Jean
2014-01-01
To determine whether fitness-center attendance established with the provision of weekly monetary incentives persisted after the discontinuation, or decreased frequency, of incentives. One hundred seventeen first-year college students participated during the 2011-2012 academic year. A randomized controlled trial with control, discontinued-incentive, and continued-incentive conditions was conducted. During fall semester, students in incentive conditions received weekly monetary payments for meeting fitness-center attendance goals. During spring semester, discontinued-incentive condition participants no longer received incentives, whereas continued-incentive condition participants received payments on a variable-interval schedule. ID-card attendance records tracked fitness-center attendance. Goal completion decreased from 63% in the incentive groups during the fall semester to 3% in the discontinued-incentive condition, and 39% in the continued-incentive condition during the spring semester. There was not a significant interaction between condition and body mass index change, F(6, 332) = 0.67, p = .68. Incentive discontinuation resulted in students no longer meeting fitness-center attendance goals. A variable-interval reward schedule better maintained attendance.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vahid Raissi Dehkordi
2009-01-01
Full Text Available This paper deals with the robust performance problem of a linear time-invariant control system in the presence of robust controller uncertainty. Assuming that plant uncertainty is modeled as an additive perturbation, a geometrical approach is followed in order to find a necessary and sufficient condition for robust performance in the form of a bound on the magnitude of controller uncertainty. This frequency domain bound is derived by converting the problem into an optimization problem, whose solution is shown to be more time-efficient than a conventional structured singular value calculation. The bound on controller uncertainty can be used in controller order reduction and implementation problems.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Amjad Ali
2015-01-01
Full Text Available A new simple moving voltage average (SMVA technique with fixed step direct control incremental conductance method is introduced to reduce solar photovoltaic voltage (VPV oscillation under nonuniform solar irradiation conditions. To evaluate and validate the performance of the proposed SMVA method in comparison with the conventional fixed step direct control incremental conductance method under extreme conditions, different scenarios were simulated. Simulation results show that in most cases SMVA gives better results with more stability as compared to traditional fixed step direct control INC with faster tracking system along with reduction in sustained oscillations and possesses fast steady state response and robustness. The steady state oscillations are almost eliminated because of extremely small dP/dV around maximum power (MP, which verify that the proposed method is suitable for standalone PV system under extreme weather conditions not only in terms of bus voltage stability but also in overall system efficiency.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Colli, Pierluigi; Farshbaf-Shaker, M. Hassan; Sprekels, Jürgen
2015-01-01
In this paper, we investigate optimal control problems for Allen-Cahn variational inequalities with a dynamic boundary condition involving double obstacle potentials and the Laplace-Beltrami operator. The approach covers both the cases of distributed controls and of boundary controls. The cost functional is of standard tracking type, and box constraints for the controls are prescribed. We prove existence of optimal controls and derive first-order necessary conditions of optimality. The general strategy is the following: we use the results that were recently established by two of the authors for the case of (differentiable) logarithmic potentials and perform a so-called “deep quench limit”. Using compactness and monotonicity arguments, it is shown that this strategy leads to the desired first-order necessary optimality conditions for the case of (non-differentiable) double obstacle potentials
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Being active supports client control over health care.
Fiveash, Barb; Nay, Rhonda
2004-10-01
The purpose of this study was to identify how healthcare clients achieve and maintain a sense of control over their health. The literature review conducted refers to: (i) key definitions of control, (ii) locus of control, and (iii) control and wellbeing. Participants with a range of acute and chronic health conditions and who had been hospitalised at some point were selected for the study. Symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) and modified grounded theory of Strauss & Corbin (1998) provided the frameworks for this study. During the six month study period, data were collected from sixty participants and included interviews, participant observation, reviewing participants' records (nursing care plans, nursing notes and case histories), the nursing units' philosophy, organisational charts, policies and procedures, annual reports, consumer brochures and any other relevant information sources. Findings from the study indicated that participants moved from feeling vulnerable to having a sense of control through to being purposefully active. Vulnerability was associated with: (i) having limited choices in respect to their health, (ii) lacking adequate health information to make choices, (iii) being ignored by health providers with respect to their needs, and (iv) lacking friend/family supports. Purposefully activating was associated with three major categories: (i) reflecting, (ii) being self-determiningly involved and (iii) normalising. Findings from this study could be used by health care clients who want a sense of control over their health care, and also by health care providers who wish to support clients in the healthcare process.
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Fukao, A; Hisamichi, S; Komatsu, S; Shimizu, H; Satoh, H; Nakatsuka, H; Watanabe, T; Fujisaku, S; Ichinowatari, Y; Kuroda, S
1992-04-01
To clarify the differences in characteristics between participants and non-participants in the screening program for stomach cancer, life-style and medical histories were compared among 20, 169 subjects who lived in an urban area (Sendai) and a rural area (Wakuya and Tajiri) in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. All subjects were classified into three groups according to the frequency of participation in the screening program during the last 5 years; i.e., frequent participating group (FPG) for 4 or 5 times, reference group (RG) for 1-3 times and non-participating group (NPG) for 0 times. Subjects in the FPG consumed more milk and green-yellow vegetable whereas those in the NPG consumed less these foods. The age-adjusted proportions of present smokers were higher in the NPG but lower in the FPG significantly. The proportions of subjects who had parental histories of all cancers and stomach cancer and past history of gastro-duodenal ulcer were higher in the FPG and lower in the NPG. To control influences among the variables a stepwise multiple regression analysis was done, and it revealed that smoking and parental history of cancers were strong predictors to explain the frequency of participation.
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Super, Sabina; Hermens, Niels; Verkooijen, Kirsten; Koelen, Maria
2014-07-09
Sport participation has been associated with improved life prospects such as academic performance and employability prospects. As such, promoting sport participation might be a way to increase life prospects, especially for socially vulnerable youth because they are less physically active than their peers. However, the evidence for the causal effect of sport participation on these outcomes is still limited and little is known about factors that play a role in this possible effect. The aim of this study is four-fold. First, the causal effect of sport participation on life prospects is studied and the underlying mechanisms of this relation are explored. Secondly, the life experiences of the youngsters in the sport context, that may contribute to skill development, are studied. Thirdly, social conditions for a positive effect are explored, as sport is likely to have a positive effect under specific conditions. Fourthly, this study aims to provide insights on the elements of successful partnerships between youth care organisations and local sport clubs. This protocol reports on a mixed method study. An intervention that aims to increase the sport participation of socially vulnerable youth, between 12-23 years old, is implemented in three regions of a Rotterdam youth care organisation. The youngsters in the two control regions receive care-as-usual. The main outcome variables, collected via questionnaires, are the life prospect, sense of coherence and self-regulation skills of the youngsters after 6 and 18 months of follow-up. The Motivational Climate Scale is administered to explore the social conditions for a positive effect and interviews are conducted with sport coaches to explore their role in skill development. Interviews with the youngsters are conducted to gain insight on the life experiences that may lead to skill development. The elements of successful partnerships are collected during interviews with youth care professionals, sport coaches and other
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2014-01-01
Background Sport participation has been associated with improved life prospects such as academic performance and employability prospects. As such, promoting sport participation might be a way to increase life prospects, especially for socially vulnerable youth because they are less physically active than their peers. However, the evidence for the causal effect of sport participation on these outcomes is still limited and little is known about factors that play a role in this possible effect. The aim of this study is four-fold. First, the causal effect of sport participation on life prospects is studied and the underlying mechanisms of this relation are explored. Secondly, the life experiences of the youngsters in the sport context, that may contribute to skill development, are studied. Thirdly, social conditions for a positive effect are explored, as sport is likely to have a positive effect under specific conditions. Fourthly, this study aims to provide insights on the elements of successful partnerships between youth care organisations and local sport clubs. Methods and design This protocol reports on a mixed method study. An intervention that aims to increase the sport participation of socially vulnerable youth, between 12–23 years old, is implemented in three regions of a Rotterdam youth care organisation. The youngsters in the two control regions receive care-as-usual. The main outcome variables, collected via questionnaires, are the life prospect, sense of coherence and self-regulation skills of the youngsters after 6 and 18 months of follow-up. The Motivational Climate Scale is administered to explore the social conditions for a positive effect and interviews are conducted with sport coaches to explore their role in skill development. Interviews with the youngsters are conducted to gain insight on the life experiences that may lead to skill development. The elements of successful partnerships are collected during interviews with youth care professionals
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Pichierri, Giuseppe; Murer, Kurt; de Bruin, Eling D
2012-12-14
Computer-based interventions have demonstrated consistent positive effects on various physical abilities in older adults. This study aims to compare two training groups that achieve similar amounts of strength and balance exercise where one group receives an intervention that includes additional dance video gaming. The aim is to investigate the different effects of the training programs on physical and psychological parameters in older adults. Thirty-one participants (mean age ± SD: 86.2 ± 4.6 years), residents of two Swiss hostels for the aged, were randomly assigned to either the dance group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 16). The dance group absolved a twelve-week cognitive-motor exercise program twice weekly that comprised progressive strength and balance training supplemented with additional dance video gaming. The control group performed only the strength and balance exercises during this period. Outcome measures were foot placement accuracy, gait performance under single and dual task conditions, and falls efficacy. After the intervention between-group comparison revealed significant differences for gait velocity (U = 26, P = .041, r = .45) and for single support time (U = 24, P = .029, r = .48) during the fast walking dual task condition in favor of the dance group. No significant between-group differences were observed either in the foot placement accuracy test or in falls efficacy. There was a significant interaction in favor of the dance video game group for improvements in step time. Significant improved fast walking performance under dual task conditions (velocity, double support time, step length) was observed for the dance video game group only. These findings suggest that in older adults a cognitive-motor intervention may result in more improved gait under dual task conditions in comparison to a traditional strength and balance exercise program. This trial has been registered under ISRCTN05350123 (www.controlled-trials.com)
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Sportel, B Esther; de Hullu, Eva; de Jong, Peter J; Nauta, Maaike H
2013-01-01
Social anxiety is a common mental disorder among adolescents and is associated with detrimental long term outcomes. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of two possible early interventions for adolescent social anxiety and test anxiety. An internet-based cognitive bias modification (CBM; n = 86) was compared to a school-based cognitive behavioral group training (CBT; n = 84) and a control group (n = 70) in reducing symptoms of social and test anxiety in high socially and/or test anxious adolescents aged 13-15 years. Participants (n = 240) were randomized at school level over the three conditions. CBM consisted of a 20-session at home internet-delivered training; CBT was a 10-session at school group training with homework assignments; the control group received no training. Participants were assessed before and after the intervention and at 6 and 12 month follow-up. At 6 month follow-up CBT resulted in lower social anxiety than the control condition, while for CBM, this effect was only trend-significant. At 12 month follow-up this initial benefit was no longer present. Test anxiety decreased more in the CBT condition relative to the control condition in both short and long term. Interestingly, in the long term, participants in the CBM condition improved more with regard to automatic threat-related associations than both other conditions. The results indicate that the interventions resulted in a faster decline of social anxiety symptoms, whereas the eventual end point of social anxiety was not affected. Test anxiety was influenced in the long term by the CBT intervention, and CBM lead to increased positive automatic threat-related associations. TrialRegister.nl NTR965.
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Feeney, Oliver; Borry, Pascal; Felzmann, Heike; Galvagni, Lucia; Haukkala, Ari; Loi, Michele; Nordal, Salvör; Rakic, Vojin; Riso, Brígida; Sterckx, Sigrid; Vears, Danya
2018-04-01
The introduction of Web 2.0 technology, along with a population increasingly proficient in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), coupled with the rapid advancements in genetic testing methods, has seen an increase in the presence of participant-centred research initiatives. Such initiatives, aided by the centrality of ICT interconnections, and the ethos they propound seem to further embody the ideal of increasing the participatory nature of research, beyond what might be possible in non-ICT contexts alone. However, the majority of such research seems to actualise a much narrower definition of 'participation'-where it is merely the case that such research initiatives have increased contact with participants through ICT but are otherwise non-participatory in any important normative sense. Furthermore, the rhetoric of participant-centred initiatives tends to inflate this minimalist form of participation into something that it is not, i.e. something genuinely participatory, with greater connections with both the ICT-facilitated political contexts and the largely non-ICT participatory initiatives that have expanded in contemporary health and research contexts. In this paper, we highlight that genuine (ICT-based) 'participation' should enable a reasonable minimum threshold of participatory engagement through, at least, three central participatory elements: educative, sense of being involved and degree of control. While we agree with criticisms that, at present, genuine participation seems more rhetoric than reality, we believe that there is clear potential for a greater ICT-facilitated participatory engagement on all three participatory elements. We outline some practical steps such initiatives could take to further develop these elements and thereby their level of ICT-facilitated participatory engagement.
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Dingle, Genevieve A; Williams, Elyse; Jetten, Jolanda; Welch, Jonathon
2017-11-01
Adults with mental health conditions commonly experience difficulties with emotion regulation which affect their social functioning. Arts-based groups provide opportunities for shared emotional experiences and emotion regulation. This study explores emotion regulation strategies and the emotional effects of arts-based group participation in adults with mental health problems and in controls. The 62 participants included 39 adults with chronic mental health problems who were members of arts-based groups (ABG) and 23 comparison choir (CC) members who were not specifically experiencing mental health problems. The repeated measures design included self-reports of emotion upon waking (T1), the hour before group (T2), end of the group (T3), and evening (T4), as well as participant notes to explain their emotion ratings at each time. They also completed measures of individual and interpersonal emotion regulation. The ABG participants engaged marginally more in affect worsening strategies than CC (p = .057 and .08), but there were no other group differences. All participants reported a significant increase in positive emotions, F (3, 180) = 28.044, p emotions during the arts-based activity: F (2.637, 155.597) = 21.09, p emotions was short-lived, while the effect on negative emotions lasted until evening. Findings show that participation in arts-based groups benefits the emotions of both healthy adults and those experiencing mental health conditions through individual and interpersonal processes. Individuals with chronic mental health conditions often experience difficulties in emotion processing Participation in arts-based groups was associated with significant increases in positive emotions although these were short-lived Negative emotion was significantly decreased during arts-based group activities, and sustained to the evening assessment Adults with chronic mental health conditions were equally able to derive emotional benefits as healthy adults. © 2017 The
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1978-12-01
removal of the horoscope . Diagnostic Conoctor - E4 Th10 E4 23-pin connoctor on the electrical control unit Is provided for ground- checking electrical...confidenou in engine condition monitoring * 1min general. Thi9 has boon especially true in~ eases where fUse signal s have c~aused engine shutdowns. Where ECWI
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nina Kaseva
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adults born preterm at very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g have elevated levels of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Preliminary observations suggest that this could partly be explained by lower rates of physical activity. The aim of this study was to assess physical activity in healthy young adults born preterm at very low birth weight compared with term-born controls. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We studied 94 unimpaired young adults, aged 21-29 years, born at VLBW and 101 age-, sex-, and birth hospital-matched term-born controls from one regional center in Southern Finland. The participants completed a validated 30-item 12-month physical activity questionnaire and the NEO-Personality Inventory based on the Big Five taxonomy, the most commonly used classification of personality traits. Yearly frequency, total time, total volume and energy expenditure of conditioning and non-conditioning leisure-time physical activity (LTPA and commuting physical activity were compared between VLBW and term-born subjects. A subset of participants underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry for body composition measurement. Data were analyzed by multiple linear regression. Compared with controls, VLBW participants had lower frequency [-38.5% (95% CI; -58.9, -7.7], total time [-47.4% (95% CI; -71.2, -4.1], total volume [-44.3% (95% CI; -65.8, -9.2] and energy expenditure [-55.9% (95% CI; -78.6, -9.4] of conditioning LTPA when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, parental education and personality traits. Adjusting for lean body mass instead of body mass index attenuated the difference. There were no differences in non-conditioning LTPA or commuting physical activity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Compared with term-born controls, unimpaired VLBW adults undertake less frequent LTPA with lower total time and volume of exercise resulting in lower energy expenditure. Differences in personality that exist between the
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Reveley, Mary S.; Briggs, Jeffrey L.; Evans, Joni K.; Sandifer, Carl E.; Jones, Sharon Monica
2010-01-01
The causal factors of accidents from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) database and incidents from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database associated with loss of control (LOC) were examined for four types of operations (i.e., Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121, Part 135 Scheduled, Part 135 Nonscheduled, and Part 91) for the years 1988 to 2004. In-flight LOC is a serious aviation problem. Well over half of the LOC accidents included at least one fatality (80 percent in Part 121), and roughly half of all aviation fatalities in the studied time period occurred in conjunction with LOC. An adverse events table was updated to provide focus to the technology validation strategy of the Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) Project. The table contains three types of adverse conditions: failure, damage, and upset. Thirteen different adverse condition subtypes were gleaned from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), the FAA Accident and Incident database, and the NTSB database. The severity and frequency of the damage conditions, initial test conditions, and milestones references are also provided.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yun-Su Kim
2015-02-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a method to seek the PI controller parameters of a PMSG wind turbine to improve control performance. Since operating conditions vary with the wind speed, therefore the PI controller parameters should be determined as a function of the wind speed. Small-signal modeling of a PMSG WT is implemented to analyze the stability under various operating conditions and with eigenvalues obtained from the small-signal model of the PMSG WT, which are coordinated by adjusting the PI controller parameters. The parameters to be tuned are chosen by investigating participation factors of state variables, which simplifies the problem by reducing the number of parameters to be tuned. The process of adjusting these PI controller parameters is carried out using particle swarm optimization (PSO. To characterize the improvements in the control method due to the PSO method of tuning the PI controller parameters, the PMSG WT is modeled using the MATLAB/SimPowerSystems libraries with the obtained PI controller parameters.
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Johnson, A; Silburn, K
2000-01-01
This article briefly describes recent initiatives to improve consumer participation in health services that have led to the establishment of the National Resource Centre for Consumer Participation in Health. The results of a component of the needs assessment undertaken by the newly established Centre are presented. They provide a 'snapshot' of the types of feedback and participation processes mainly being utilised by Australian health services at the different levels of seeking information, information sharing and consultation, partnership, delegated power and consumer control. They also allow identification of the organisational commitment made by Australian health services to support a more coordinated approach to community and consumer feedback and participation at different levels of health services such as particular emphasis on determining the presence of community and consumer participation in key organisational statements, specific consumer policies and plans, identifiable leadership, inclusion into job descriptions, allocation of resources, and staff development and consumer training. Discussion centres around four key observations and some of the key perceived external barriers.
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Control Efficacy of Fungicides on Chinese Cabbage Clubroot under Several Conditions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Min-Yong Eom
2011-08-01
Full Text Available To develop the efficient screening methods for antifungal compound active to Chinese cabbage clubroot caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, the control efficacy of three fungicides fluazinam, ethaboxam, and cyazofamid on the disease was tested under several conditions such as soil types, cultivars of Chinese cabbage, growth stages of the host, and inoculum concentrations. The in vivo antifungal activities of the fungicides on clubroot of two Chinese cabbage cultivars were hardly different. At 7- and 14-day-old seedlings, the fungicides were more effective to control of clubroot than at 21-day-old seedlings. In a commercial horticulture media soil (CNS, disease severity of untreated controls was higher and control activity of the fungicides was less than in a mixture of CNS and upland soil (1:1, v/v. Disease development of the seedlings inoculated with P. brassicae at 1.8×10(7 spores/pot to 1.1×10(9 spores/pot was almost same, but control efficacy of the fungicides was negatively correlated with inoculum dosages. To effectively select in vivo antifungal compound on Chinese cabbage clubroot, 14-day-old seedlings need to be inoculated with P. brassicae by drenching the spore suspension to give 1×10(8 spores/pot 1 day after chemical treatment. To develop clubroot, the inoculated plants are incubated in a growth chamber at 20℃ for 2 days, and then cultivated in a greenhouse (20±5℃ for four weeks.
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Kajikawa, T; Shiraishi, K; Ohmori, M; Hirai, T
1999-01-01
Thermoelectric performance is determined with three factors, namely, Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity. For metal and single crystalline semiconductor, those factors have close interrelation each $9 other. However, as the sintered thermoelectric element has various levels of superstructure from macro scale and micro scale in terms of the thermoelectric mechanism, the relationship among them is more complex than that for the $9 melt- grown element, so it is suggested that the control of the temperature dependence of thermoelectric properties is possible to enhance the thermoelectric performance for wide temperature range due to FGM approach. The research $9 objective is to investigate the characteristics of the thermoelectric properties for various doping levels and hot-pressed conditions to make the thermoelectric elements for which the temperature dependence of the performance is $9 controlled due to FGM approach varying the doping levels and sintering conditions. By usage ...
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Conditioned food aversion is used to train livestock to avoid the ingestion of toxic plants. This technique was used to control Turbina cordata poisoning in goats in one farm, and to control Ipomoea carnea subsp. istulosa poisoning in another farm. The goats were penned at night and the next mornin...
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Controlling the anodizing conditions in preparation of an nanoporous anodic aluminium oxide template
Nazemi, Azadeh; Abolfazl, Seyed; Sadjadi, Seyed
2014-12-01
Porous anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) template is commonly used in the synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructures, such as nanowires and nanorods, due to its simple fabrication process. Controlling the anodizing conditions is important because of their direct influence on the size of AAO template pores; it affects the size of nanostructures that are fabricated in AAO template. In present study, several alumina templates were fabricated by a two-step electrochemical anodization in different conditions, such as the time of first process, its voltage, and electrolyte concentration. The effect of these factors on pore diameters of AAO templates was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jim Lumsden
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Computerised cognitive assessments are a vital tool in the behavioural sciences, but participants often view them as effortful and unengaging. One potential solution is to add gamelike elements to these tasks in order to make them more intrinsically enjoyable, and some researchers have posited that a more engaging task might produce higher quality data. This assumption, however, remains largely untested. We investigated the effects of gamelike features and test location on the data and enjoyment ratings from a simple cognitive task. We tested three gamified variants of the Go-No-Go task, delivered both in the laboratory and online. In the first version of the task participants were rewarded with points for performing optimally. The second version of the task was framed as a cowboy shootout. The third version was a standard Go-No-Go task, used as a control condition. We compared reaction time, accuracy and subjective measures of enjoyment and engagement between task variants and study location. We found points to be a highly suitable game mechanic for gamified cognitive testing because they did not disrupt the validity of the data collected but increased participant enjoyment. However, we found no evidence that gamelike features could increase engagement to the point where participant performance improved. We also found that while participants enjoyed the cowboy themed task, the difficulty of categorising the gamelike stimuli adversely affected participant performance, increasing No-Go error rates by 28% compared to the non-game control. Responses collected online vs. in the laboratory had slightly longer reaction times but were otherwise very similar, supporting other findings that online crowdsourcing is an acceptable method of data collection for this type of research.
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Chronic inhibition, self-control and eating behavior: test of a 'resource depletion' model.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Martin S Hagger
Full Text Available The current research tested the hypothesis that individuals engaged in long-term efforts to limit food intake (e.g., individuals with high eating restraint would have reduced capacity to regulate eating when self-control resources are limited. In the current research, body mass index (BMI was used as a proxy for eating restraint based on the assumption that individuals with high BMI would have elevated levels of chronic eating restraint. A preliminary study (Study 1 aimed to provide evidence for the assumed relationship between eating restraint and BMI. Participants (N = 72 categorized into high or normal-range BMI groups completed the eating restraint scale. Consistent with the hypothesis, results revealed significantly higher scores on the weight fluctuation and concern for dieting subscales of the restraint scale among participants in the high BMI group compared to the normal-range BMI group. The main study (Study 2 aimed to test the hypothesized interactive effect of BMI and diminished self-control resources on eating behavior. Participants (N = 83 classified as having high or normal-range BMI were randomly allocated to receive a challenging counting task that depleted self-control resources (ego-depletion condition or a non-depleting control task (no depletion condition. Participants then engaged in a second task in which required tasting and rating tempting cookies and candies. Amount of food consumed during the taste-and-rate task constituted the behavioral dependent measure. Regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect of these variables on amount of food eaten in the taste-and-rate task. Individuals with high BMI had reduced capacity to regulate eating under conditions of self-control resource depletion as predicted. The interactive effects of BMI and self-control resource depletion on eating behavior were independent of trait self-control. Results extend knowledge of the role of self-control in regulating eating