Understanding the C-pulse device and its potential to treat heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Sales, Virna L; McCarthy, Patrick M

2010-03-01

The Sunshine Heart C-Pulse (C-Pulse; Sunshine Heart Inc., Tustin, CA) device is an extra-aortic implantable counterpulsation pump designed as a non-blood contacting ambulatory heart assist device, which may provide relief from symptoms for class II-III congestive heart failure patients. It has a comparable hemodynamic augmentation to intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation devices. The C-Pulse cuff is implanted through a median sternotomy, secured around the ascending aorta, and pneumatically driven by an external system controller. Pre-clinical studies in the acute pig model, and initial temporary clinical studies in patients undergoing off-pump coronary bypass surgery have shown substantial increase in diastolic perfusion of the coronary vessels, which translated to a favorable improvement in ventricular function. A U.S. prospective multi-center trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the C-Pulse in class III patients with moderate heart failure is now in progress.

Improving power for rare-variant tests by integrating external controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Seunggeun; Kim, Sehee; Fuchsberger, Christian

2017-11-01

Due to the drop in sequencing cost, the number of sequenced genomes is increasing rapidly. To improve power of rare-variant tests, these sequenced samples could be used as external control samples in addition to control samples from the study itself. However, when using external controls, possible batch effects due to the use of different sequencing platforms or genotype calling pipelines can dramatically increase type I error rates. To address this, we propose novel summary statistics based single and gene- or region-based rare-variant tests that allow the integration of external controls while controlling for type I error. Our approach is based on the insight that batch effects on a given variant can be assessed by comparing odds ratio estimates using internal controls only vs. using combined control samples of internal and external controls. From simulation experiments and the analysis of data from age-related macular degeneration and type 2 diabetes studies, we demonstrate that our method can substantially improve power while controlling for type I error rate. © 2017 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Paraplegia following intraaortic balloon circulatory assistance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benício Anderson

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Intraaortic balloon counterpulsation is frequently used in patients experiencing severe ventricular dysfunction following maximal drug therapy. However, even with the improvement of percutaneous insertion techniques, the procedure has always been followed by vascular, infectious, and neurological complications. This article describes a case of paraplegia due to intraaortic balloon counterpulsation in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery.

ExternE transport methodology for external cost evaluation of air pollution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, S. S.; Berkowicz, R.; Brandt, J.

The report describes how the human exposure estimates based on NERI's human exposure modelling system (AirGIS) can improve the Danish data used for exposure factors in the ExternE Transport methodology. Initially, a brief description of the ExternE Tranport methodology is given and it is summarised...

Pulsatile operation of a continuous-flow right ventricular assist device (RVAD) to improve vascular pulsatility.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Boon C; Kleinheyer, Matthias; Smith, Peter A; Timms, Daniel; Cohn, William E; Lim, Einly

2018-01-01

Despite the widespread acceptance of rotary blood pump (RBP) in clinical use over the past decades, the diminished flow pulsatility generated by a fixed speed RBP has been regarded as a potential factor that may lead to adverse events such as vasculature stiffening and hemorrhagic strokes. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of generating physiological pulse pressure in the pulmonary circulation by modulating the speed of a right ventricular assist device (RVAD) in a mock circulation loop. A rectangular pulse profile with predetermined pulse width has been implemented as the pump speed pattern with two different phase shifts (0% and 50%) with respect to the ventricular contraction. In addition, the performance of the speed modulation strategy has been assessed under different cardiovascular states, including variation in ventricular contractility and pulmonary arterial compliance. Our results indicated that the proposed pulse profile with optimised parameters (Apulse = 10000 rpm and ωmin = 3000 rpm) was able to generate pulmonary arterial pulse pressure within the physiological range (9-15 mmHg) while avoiding undesirable pump backflow under both co- and counter-pulsation modes. As compared to co-pulsation, stroke work was reduced by over 44% under counter-pulsation, suggesting that mechanical workload of the right ventricle can be efficiently mitigated through counter-pulsing the pump speed. Furthermore, our results showed that improved ventricular contractility could potentially lead to higher risk of ventricular suction and pump backflow, while stiffening of the pulmonary artery resulted in increased pulse pressure. In conclusion, the proposed speed modulation strategy produces pulsatile hemodynamics, which is more physiologic than continuous blood flow. The findings also provide valuable insight into the interaction between RVAD speed modulation and the pulmonary circulation under various cardiovascular states.

Improving Keyhole Stability by External Magnetic Field in Full Penetration Laser Welding

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Min; Xu, Jiajun; Huang, Yu; Rong, Youmin

2018-05-01

An external magnetic field was used to improve the keyhole stability in full penetration laser welding 316L steel. The increase of magnetic field strength gave rise to a shorter flying time of the spatter, a weaker size and brightness of the spatter, and a larger spreading area of vapor plume. This suggested that the dynamic behavior of the keyhole was stabilized by the external magnetic field. In addition, a stronger magnetic field could result in a more homogeneous distribution of laser energy, which increased the width of the weld zone, and the height of the bottom weld zone from 381 μm (0 mT) to 605 μm (50 mT). Dendrite and cellular crystal near the weld center disappeared, and grain size was refined. The external magnetic field was beneficial to the keyhole stability and improved the joint quality, because the weld pool was stirred by a Lorentz force resulting from the coupling effect of the magnetic field and inner thermocurrent.

Australasian trends in intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation weaning: results of a postal survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Peter A; Mullany, Daniel V; Courtney, Mary; Coyer, Fiona

2006-12-01

To generate baseline data describing Australasian intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) weaning practice. A five-part questionnaire was mailed in April 2005 to all 192 intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand. 116 ICUs responded (response rate, 60%), and 54 reported using IABP. Most of the 54 were in hospitals which were public government-funded (65%), had between 100 and 500 beds (69%), and treated a minimum of 11 patients annually with IABP (60%). The most common method of withdrawing IABP support was ratio reduction alone (61%). ICUs most likely to undertake ratio weaning were higherend users of IABP (> 20 cases per annum) (P = 0.04). Other weaning practices involved a combination of ratio followed by volume reduction (17%), volume then ratio (11%), and volume only (4%). Approaching statistical significance, ratio reduction weaning less frequently required IABP reinsertion or inotropic increase after balloon removal (P = 0.07). ICUs with documented weaning policies were less likely to require IABP reinsertion or inotropic increase after balloon removal (P = 0.06). Criteria considered important before IABP weaning or removal were: blood pressure (92%); heart rate (76%); pulmonary artery wedge pressure (59%); noradrenaline dose (78%); adrenaline dose (57%); and dobutamine dose (57%). Ninety per cent of ICUs reported increasing inotropes after balloon removal only rarely (1:50 patients) or occasionally (1:10 patients), while 87% of ICUs reported never needing to reinsert the balloon or only rarely. The Australasian approach to IABP weaning is eclectic. While ratio reduction weaning appears the most successful manner of support withdrawal, it may be a consequence of a volume-outcome relationship, with high- end users achieving better results through IABP familiarity.

Improvements to the internal and external antenna H(-) ion sources at the Spallation Neutron Source.

Science.gov (United States)

Welton, R F; Dudnikov, V G; Han, B X; Murray, S N; Pennisi, T R; Pillar, C; Santana, M; Stockli, M P; Turvey, M W

2014-02-01

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), a large scale neutron production facility, routinely operates with 30-40 mA peak current in the linac. Recent measurements have shown that our RF-driven internal antenna, Cs-enhanced, multi-cusp ion sources injects ∼55 mA of H(-) beam current (∼1 ms, 60 Hz) at 65-kV into a Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator through a closely coupled electrostatic Low-Energy Beam Transport system. Over the last several years a decrease in RFQ transmission and issues with internal antennas has stimulated source development at the SNS both for the internal and external antenna ion sources. This report discusses progress in improving internal antenna reliability, H(-) yield improvements which resulted from modifications to the outlet aperture assembly (applicable to both internal and external antenna sources) and studies made of the long standing problem of beam persistence with the external antenna source. The current status of the external antenna ion source will also be presented.

SU-E-J-235: Audiovisual Biofeedback Improves the Correlation Between Internal and External Respiratory Motion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, D; Pollock, S; Keall, P [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW (Australia); Greer, P [School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Department of Radiation Oncology, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Ludbrook, J [Department of Radiation Oncology, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Paganelli, C [Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano (Italy); Kim, T [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW (Australia); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, NC (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: External respiratory surrogates are often used to predict internal lung tumor motion for beam gating but the assumption of correlation between external and internal surrogates is not always verified resulting in amplitude mismatch and time shift. To test the hypothesis that audiovisual (AV) biofeedback improves the correlation between internal and external respiratory motion, in order to improve the accuracy of respiratory-gated treatments for lung cancer radiotherapy. Methods: In nine lung cancer patients, 2D coronal and sagittal cine-MR images were acquired across two MRI sessions (pre- and mid-treatment) with (1) free breathing (FB) and (2) AV biofeedback. External anterior-posterior (AP) respiratory motions of (a) chest and (b) abdomen were simultaneously acquired with physiological measurement unit (PMU, 3T Skyra, Siemens Healthcare Erlangen, Germany) and real-time position management (RPM) system (Varian, Palo Alto, USA), respectively. Internal superior-inferior (SI) respiratory motions of (c) lung tumor (i.e. centroid of auto-segmented lung tumor) and (d) diaphragm (i.e. upper liver dome) were measured from individual cine-MR images across 32 dataset. The four respiratory motions were then synchronized with the cine-MR image acquisition time. Correlation coefficients were calculated in the time variation of two nominated respiratory motions: (1) chest-abdomen, (2) abdomen-diaphragm and (3) diaphragm-lung tumor. The three combinations were compared between FB and AV biofeedback. Results: Compared to FB, AV biofeedback improved chest-abdomen correlation by 17% (p=0.005) from 0.75±0.23 to 0.90±0.05 and abdomen-diaphragm correlation by 4% (p=0.058) from 0.91±0.11 to 0.95±0.05. Compared to FB, AV biofeedback improved diaphragm-lung tumor correlation by 12% (p=0.023) from 0.65±0.21 to 0.74±0.16. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that AV biofeedback significantly improved the correlation of internal and external respiratory motion, thus

SU-E-J-235: Audiovisual Biofeedback Improves the Correlation Between Internal and External Respiratory Motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D; Pollock, S; Keall, P; Greer, P; Ludbrook, J; Paganelli, C; Kim, T

2015-01-01

Purpose: External respiratory surrogates are often used to predict internal lung tumor motion for beam gating but the assumption of correlation between external and internal surrogates is not always verified resulting in amplitude mismatch and time shift. To test the hypothesis that audiovisual (AV) biofeedback improves the correlation between internal and external respiratory motion, in order to improve the accuracy of respiratory-gated treatments for lung cancer radiotherapy. Methods: In nine lung cancer patients, 2D coronal and sagittal cine-MR images were acquired across two MRI sessions (pre- and mid-treatment) with (1) free breathing (FB) and (2) AV biofeedback. External anterior-posterior (AP) respiratory motions of (a) chest and (b) abdomen were simultaneously acquired with physiological measurement unit (PMU, 3T Skyra, Siemens Healthcare Erlangen, Germany) and real-time position management (RPM) system (Varian, Palo Alto, USA), respectively. Internal superior-inferior (SI) respiratory motions of (c) lung tumor (i.e. centroid of auto-segmented lung tumor) and (d) diaphragm (i.e. upper liver dome) were measured from individual cine-MR images across 32 dataset. The four respiratory motions were then synchronized with the cine-MR image acquisition time. Correlation coefficients were calculated in the time variation of two nominated respiratory motions: (1) chest-abdomen, (2) abdomen-diaphragm and (3) diaphragm-lung tumor. The three combinations were compared between FB and AV biofeedback. Results: Compared to FB, AV biofeedback improved chest-abdomen correlation by 17% (p=0.005) from 0.75±0.23 to 0.90±0.05 and abdomen-diaphragm correlation by 4% (p=0.058) from 0.91±0.11 to 0.95±0.05. Compared to FB, AV biofeedback improved diaphragm-lung tumor correlation by 12% (p=0.023) from 0.65±0.21 to 0.74±0.16. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that AV biofeedback significantly improved the correlation of internal and external respiratory motion, thus

Improvement of the density limit with an external helical field on JFT-2M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamai, H.; Shoji, T.; Nagashima, K.; Miura, Y.; Yamauchi, T.; Ogawa, H.; Kawashima, H.; Matsuda, T.; Mori, M.; Ida, K.; Ohdachi, S.

1995-01-01

The density limit is increased by the application of an external helical field in the JFT-2M tokamak. The effect of the magnetic stochasticity due to the external field is investigated to study the mechanism of the improved density limit related to the edge plasma behaviour. The improvement is correlated with the retardation of the increase in the plasma inductance. At the improved density limit, local radiation loss is modified by the helical field, in which that from the vicinity of separatrix X-point is remarkably reduced, while that from outboard edge is slightly increased. The formation of a positive radial electric field at the plasma edge is also observed in the presence of the helical field. ((orig.))

Six-Month Outcomes After High-Risk Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery and Preoperative Intra-aortic Balloon Counterpulsation Use: An Inception Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Litton, Edward; Bass, Frances; Delaney, Anthony; Hillis, Graham; Marasco, Silvana; McGuinness, Shay; Myles, Paul S; Reid, Christopher M; Smith, Julian A

2018-01-05

To inform the design of a pivotal randomized controlled trial of prophylactic intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) at high risk of postoperative low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS). Inception cohort study. A total of 13 established cardiac centers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Adult patients were eligible for inclusion if they were listed for CABG surgery and had 2 or more LCOS risk factors (low ejection fraction, severe left main coronary artery disease, redo sternotomy, unstable angina). Outcomes of interest were a composite outcome of in-hospital mortality, postoperative acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute kidney injury (AKI), or stroke as well as 6-month vital status and quality of life using the EuroQol 5-dimensional questionnaire (EQ5D). The study included 136 participants over a 29-month period. Overall, in-hospital and 6-month mortality occurred in 7 (5%) and 11 (8%) participants, respectively. The composite outcome occurred in 60 (44%). The mean increase in EQ5D summary index at 6 months was 0.10 (standard deviation 0.24, p = 0.01). Perioperative AMI, AKI, or stroke significantly decreased the odds of a clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life (odds ratio 0.32; 95% confidence interval 0.13-0.79; p = 0.014). Preoperative IABC was used in 39 participants and did not predict postoperative outcomes. The study identified a group of patients at risk of LCOS in whom CABG surgery was associated with a substantial burden of perioperative morbidity. Preoperative IABC use was variable, supporting the need for further research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Piezosurgery in External Dacryocystorhinostomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Czyz, Craig N; Fowler, Amy M; Dutton, Jonathan J; Cahill, Kenneth V; Foster, Jill A; Hill, Robert H; Everman, Kelly R; Nabavi, Cameron B

Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) can be performed via an external or endoscopic approach. The use of ultrasonic or piezosurgery has been well described for endoscopic DCRs but is lacking for external DCRs. This study presents a case series of external DCRs performed using piezosurgery evaluating results and complications. Prospective, consecutive case series of patients undergoing primary external DCR for lacrimal drainage insufficiency. A standard external DCR technique was used using 1 of 2 piezosurgery systems for all bone incision. All patients received silicone intubation to the lacrimal system. Surgical outcome was measured in terms of patient-reported epiphora as follows: 1) complete resolution, 2) improvement >50%, 3) improvement 50% improvement. There were 4 patients (7%) who had <50% improvement. There was 1 (2%) intraoperative complication and 2 (4%) postoperative complications recorded. Piezourgery is a viable modality for performing external DCRs. The lack of surgical complications shows a potential for decreased soft tissues damage. The surgical success rate based on patient-reported epiphora is similar to those published for mechanical external DCRs. This modality may benefit the novice surgeon in the reduction of soft and mucosal tissue damage.

Improved External Base Resistance Extraction for Submicrometer InP/InGaAs DHBT Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Tom Keinicke; Krozer, Viktor; Nodjiadjim, Virginie

2011-01-01

An improved direct parameter extraction method is proposed for III–V heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) external base resistance $R_{\\rm bx}$ extraction from forward active $S$-parameters. The method is formulated taking into account the current dependence of the intrinsic base–collector cap......An improved direct parameter extraction method is proposed for III–V heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) external base resistance $R_{\\rm bx}$ extraction from forward active $S$-parameters. The method is formulated taking into account the current dependence of the intrinsic base...... factor given as the ratio of the emitter to the collector area. The determination of the parameters $I_{p}$ and $X_{0}$ from experimental $S$-parameters is described. The method is applied to high-speed submicrometer InP/InGaAs DHBT devices and leads to small-signal equivalent circuit models, which...

Flow dynamics of a novel counterpulsation device characterized by CFD and PIV modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Giridharan, G A; Lederer, C; Berthe, A; Goubergrits, L; Hutzenlaub, J; Slaughter, M S; Dowling, R D; Spence, P A; Koenig, S C

2011-12-01

Historically, single port valveless pneumatic blood pumps have had a high incidence of thrombus formation due to areas of blood stagnation and hemolysis due to areas of high shear stress. To ensure minimal hemolysis and favorable blood washing characteristics, particle image velocimetry (PIV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were used to evaluate the design of a new single port, valveless counterpulsation device (Symphony). The Symphony design was tested in 6-h acute (n=8), 5-day (n=8) and 30-day (n=2) chronic experiments in a calf model (Jersey, 76 kg). Venous blood samples were collected during acute (hourly) and chronic (weekly) time courses to analyze for temporal changes in biochemical markers and quantify plasma free hemoglobin. At the end of the study, animals were euthanized and the Symphony and end-organs (brain, liver, kidney, lungs, heart, and spleen) were examined for thrombus formations. Both the PIV and the CFD showed the development of a strong moving vortex during filling phase and that blood exited the Symphony uniformly from all areas during ejection phase. The laminar shear stresses estimated by CFD remained well below the hemolysis threshold of 400 Pa inside the Symphony throughout filling and ejection phases. No areas of persistent blood stagnation or flow separation were observed. The maximum plasma free hemoglobin (<10mg/dl), average platelet count (pre-implant = 473 ± 56 K/μl and post-implant = 331 ± 62 K/μl), and average hematocrit (pre-implant = 31 ± 2% and post-implant = 29 ± 2%) were normal at all measured time-points for each test animal in acute and chronic experiments. There were no changes in measures of hepatic function (ALP, ALT) or renal function (creatinine) from pre-Symphony implantation values. The necropsy examination showed no signs of thrombus formation in the Symphony or end organs. These data suggest that the designed Symphony has good washing characteristics without persistent areas of blood stagnation sites

Can Dual Task Walking Improve in Parkinson's Disease After External Focus of Attention Exercise? A Single Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Eric N; Intzandt, Brittany N; Almeida, Quincy J

2018-01-01

It may be possible to use attention-based exercise to decrease demands associated with walking in Parkinson's disease (PD), and thus improve dual task walking ability. For example, an external focus of attention (focusing on the effect of an action on the environment) may recruit automatic control processes degenerated in PD, whereas an internal focus (limb movement) may recruit conscious (nonautomatic) control processes. Thus, we aimed to investigate how externally and internally focused exercise influences dual task walking and symptom severity in PD. Forty-seven participants with PD were randomized to either an Externally (n = 24) or Internally (n = 23) focused group and completed 33 one-hour attention-based exercise sessions over 11 weeks. In addition, 16 participants were part of a control group. Before, after, and 8 weeks following the program (pre/post/washout), gait patterns were measured during single and dual task walking (digit-monitoring task, ie, walking while counting numbers announced by an audio-track), and symptom severity (UPDRS-III) was assessed ON and OFF dopamine replacement. Pairwise comparisons (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) and repeated-measures analyses of variance were conducted. Pre to post: Dual task step time decreased in the external group (Δ = 0.02 seconds, CI 0.01-0.04). Dual task step length (Δ = 2.3 cm, CI 0.86-3.75) and velocity (Δ = 4.5 cm/s, CI 0.59-8.48) decreased (became worse) in the internal group. UPDRS-III scores (ON and OFF) decreased (improved) in only the External group. Pre to washout: Dual task step time ( P = .005) and percentage in double support ( P = .014) significantly decreased (improved) in both exercise groups, although only the internal group increased error on the secondary counting task (ie, more errors monitoring numbers). UPDRS-III scores in both exercise groups significantly decreased ( P = .001). Since dual task walking improvements were found immediately, and 8 weeks after the cessation of an

Improving TL dosimetry for external radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bustos, S.R.; Velez, G.; Rubio, M.

1998-01-01

Full text: In vivo thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) has always been one of the most accurate dosimetry method for external radiotherapy control, but the delay in the response is a well know drawback when it is applied. In this work we show some improvements and demonstrate that keeping the precision and accuracy of this technique, it is possible to obtain a response in few hours. Harshaw 4000 TL reader and LiF TLD-100 dosimeters, chips (3,1 x 3,1 x 0,9 mm 3 ) and rods (1 x 1 x 6 mm 3 ) have been used. The thermal treatment necessary to reuse the TLD is only 1h at 400 degree C, by using a glow curve analyser developed at the Ciemat (Spain), that allows a complete, prompt and precise identification of the individuals peaks. The dosimeters are periodically and individually calibrated. We also have study the factors contributing to the relation TL-dose like linearity, energy correction, directional response and fading. All those results are included into an Excel worksheet which automatically give us the dose resulting from the TL reading (peaks areas 4 and 5). The obtained uncertainty is better than 5%. The TLD already irradiated in radiotherapy institutions distant 30-40 Km from our centre can be read and analysed in about 3-4 hours. These facts render our methods rapid and allow a better control of radiotherapy treatment even if it is bi-fractionated. (author) [es

Improvement of fatigue resistance for multilayer lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based ceramic actuators by external mechanical loads

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Gang; Yue, Zhenxing; Ji, Ye; Chu, Xiangcheng; Li, Longtu

2008-12-01

The influence of external compressive loads, applied along a direction perpendicular to polarization, on fatigue behaviors of multilayer lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based ceramic actuators was investigated. Under no external mechanical load, a normal fatigue behavior was observed, demonstrating that both switching polarization (Pswitching) and remnant polarization (Pr) progressively decreased with increasing switching cycles due to domain pinning by charge point defects. However, an anomalous enhancement in both switching and remnant polarizations was observed upon application of the external compressive loads. After 5×106 cycles of polarization switching, Pswitching and Pr increase by about 13% and 6% at 40 MPa, respectively, while Pswitching and Pr increase by about 11% and 21% at 60 MPa, respectively. The improvement of fatigue resistance can be attributed to non-180° domain switching and suppression of microcracking, triggered by external mechanical loads.

Improved self- and external assessment of the clinical abilities of medical students through structured improvement measures in an internal medicine bedside course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fünger, S. M.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Bedside courses are of outstanding importance when training medical students. The fact that less and less teaching is taking place nowadays at the patient's bedside makes it all the more important that the available time be put to effective use. The aim of this study was to check whether structured improvement measures in the course (scripts, lecturer briefing, e-learning cases would improve the abilities of the students on the basis of a subjective self-assessment as well as an external assessment by the lecturers with respect to clinical abilities. Methods: Bedside teaching takes place in the fourth study year in the Medical Clinics of the TU Munich. Both students and lecturers had the chance to hand in an anonymous, quantitative self- and external assessment of the clinical abilities of the students (German grading system after every course date. This assessment took place online in the three categories "Medical history & examination", "Diagnosis" and "Therapy". An overall period of four semesters, each with 6 course dates, was investigated. After two of the total of four semesters in the study, the course was changed by introducing scripts, lecturer briefing as well as interactive e-learning cases. The self- and external assessment was compared both within the semester (date 1-3: A; date 4-6: B, during the course as well as before and after introducing the improvement measures ("before" (T0: SS 2012, SS 2013, "after" (T1: WS 2013/2014, SS 2014.Results: There was a significant improvement in one's own abilities on the basis of the self-assessment within each semester when comparing the first (A and the last (B course dates. Moreover, there was a significant improvement in the performances in all three categories when T0 was compared with T1, from both the point of view of the students ("Medical history & examination": T0 =2.5±0.9, T1=2.2±0.7, pp<0.001; "Diagnosis" T0=3.1±1.0, T1=2.8 ±0.9, pp<0.001; "Therapy": T0=3.8±1.3, T1

Implementation of client versus care-provider strategies to improve external cephalic version rates: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Vlemmix, Floortje; Rosman, Ageeth N; Rijnders, Marlies E; Beuckens, Antje; Opmeer, Brent C; Mol, Ben W J; Kok, Marjolein; Fleuren, Margot A H

2015-05-01

To determine the effectiveness of a client or care-provider strategy to improve the implementation of external cephalic version. Cluster randomized controlled trial. Twenty-five clusters; hospitals and their referring midwifery practices randomly selected in the Netherlands. Singleton breech presentation from 32 weeks of gestation onwards. We randomized clusters to a client strategy (written information leaflets and decision aid), a care-provider strategy (1-day counseling course focused on knowledge and counseling skills), a combined client and care-provider strategy and care-as-usual strategy. We performed an intention-to-treat analysis. Rate of external cephalic version in various strategies. Secondary outcomes were the percentage of women counseled and opting for a version attempt. The overall implementation rate of external cephalic version was 72% (1169 of 1613 eligible clients) with a range between clusters of 8-95%. Neither the client strategy (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.4-1.5) nor the care-provider strategy (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.6-2.3) showed significant improvements. Results were comparable when we limited the analysis to those women who were actually offered intervention (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-1.4 and OR 2.0, 95% CI 0.7-4.5). Neither a client nor a care-provider strategy improved the external cephalic version implementation rate for breech presentation, neither with regard to the number of version attempts offered nor the number of women accepting the procedure. © 2015 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Welding deformation analysis based on improved equivalent strain method to cover external constraint during cooling stage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae-Jun Kim

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In the present study, external restraints imposed normal to the plate during the cooling stage were determined to be effective for reduction of the angular distortion of butt-welded or fillet-welded plate. A welding analysis model under external force during the cooling stage was idealized as a prismatic member subjected to pure bending. The external restraint was represented by vertical force on both sides of the work piece and bending stress forms in the transverse direction. The additional bending stress distribution across the plate thickness was reflected in the improved inherent strain model, and a set of inherent strain charts with different levels of bending stress were newly calculated. From an elastic linear FE analysis using the inherent strain values taken from the chart and comparing them with those from a 3D thermal elasto-plastic FE analysis, welding deformation can be calculated.

Discriminative ability of two different external anchors: improvement appears better than importance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Henrik Hein

2009-01-01

interpretable statistics such as proportions and numbers needed to treat can be reported based on the MIC. Estimating the MIC using the anchor-based method is, however, not without difficulties. For instance issues relating to calculation methods, measurement error, rater perspective, population specificity...... and baseline dependence have been raised, and little attention has been paid to how improvement and importance of a treatment outcome should be interpreted. The purpose of this study is to explore the adequateness of two different external anchors using the anchor-based MIC distribution method and probability...... of improvement/importance curves. Methods Two hundred and twenty-four patients with chronic low back pain and/or leg pain were recruited from an out-patient hospital back pain clinic and followed over an 8-week period. Participants received the Danish Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the numeric rating scale...

Feasibility of external rhythmic cueing with the Google Glass for improving gait in people with Parkinson's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Y; Nonnekes, J.H.; Storcken, E.J.; Janssen, S.; Wegen, E. van; Bloem, B.R.; Dorresteijn, L.D.A.; Vugt, J.P.P. van; Heida, T.; Wezel, R.J.A. van

2016-01-01

New mobile technologies like smartglasses can deliver external cues that may improve gait in people with Parkinson's disease in their natural environment. However, the potential of these devices must first be assessed in controlled experiments. Therefore, we evaluated rhythmic visual and auditory

The effectiveness of external sensory cues in improving functional performance in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassimatis, Constantine; Liu, Karen P Y; Fahey, Paul; Bissett, Michelle

2016-09-01

A systematic review with meta-analysis was performed to investigate the effect external sensory cued therapy on activities of daily living (ADL) performance that include walking and daily tasks such as dressing for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). A detailed computer-aided search of the literature was applied to MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE and PubMed. Studies investigating the effects of external sensory cued therapy on ADL performance for individuals with PD in all stages of disease progression were collected. Relevant articles were critically reviewed and study results were synthesized by two independent researchers. A data-analysis method was used to extract data from selected articles. A meta-analysis was carried out for all randomized-controlled trials. Six studies with 243 individuals with PD were included in this review. All six studies yielded positive findings in favour of external sensory cues. The meta-analysis showed that external sensory cued therapy improved statistically after treatment (P=0.011) and at follow-up (Psensory into a training programme focused on improving daily task performance.

Increasing Absorptive Capacity to Improve Internal and External Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Companies: A Multiple Case Study Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Béla-Gergely RÁCZ

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigates how the absorptive capacity could be increased to improve internal and external knowledge transfer in subsidiaries of multinational companies. We look at the way in which the literature on absorptive capacity has evolved, and how it links the internal and external knowledge transfer. Based on 3 case studies conducted at Romanian subsidiaries of multinational companies, we find some patterns, which could explain how the successful knowledge flows should be managed within the multinational company and outside of it, in the supply chain network.

Accessing external innovation in drug discovery and development.

Science.gov (United States)

Tufféry, Pierre

2015-06-01

A decline in the productivity of the pharmaceutical industry research and development (R&D) pipeline has highlighted the need to reconsider the classical strategies of drug discovery and development, which are based on internal resources, and to identify new means to improve the drug discovery process. Accepting that the combination of internal and external ideas can improve innovation, ways to access external innovation, that is, opening projects to external contributions, have recently been sought. In this review, the authors look at a number of external innovation opportunities. These include increased interactions with academia via academic centers of excellence/innovation centers, better communication on projects using crowdsourcing or social media and new models centered on external providers such as built-to-buy startups or virtual pharmaceutical companies. The buzz for accessing external innovation relies on the pharmaceutical industry's major challenge to improve R&D productivity, a conjuncture favorable to increase interactions with academia and new business models supporting access to external innovation. So far, access to external innovation has mostly been considered during early stages of drug development, and there is room for enhancement. First outcomes suggest that external innovation should become part of drug development in the long term. However, the balance between internal and external developments in drug discovery can vary largely depending on the company strategies.

Hybrid external fixation of the proximal tibia: strategies to improve frame stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Craig S; Dodds, James C; Perry, Kelvin; Beck, Dennis; Seligson, David; Voor, Michael J

2003-07-01

To determine the specific frame construction strategies that can increase the stability of hybrid (ring with tensioned wires proximally connected by bars to half-pins distally) external fixation of proximal tibia fractures. DESIGN Repeated measures biomechanical testing. Laboratory. Composite fiberglass tibias. Using the Heidelberg and Ilizarov systems, external fixators were tested on composite fiberglass tibias with a 1-cm proximal osteotomy (OTA fracture classification 41-A3.3) in seven frame configurations: unilateral frames with 5-mm diameter half-pins and 6-mm diameter half-pins; hybrid (as described above), with and without a 6-mm anterior proximal half-pin; a "box" hybrid (additional ring group distal to the fracture connected by symmetrically spaced bars to the proximal rings) with and without an anterior, proximal half-pin; and a full, four-ring configuration. Each configuration was loaded in four positions (central, medial, posterior, and posteromedial). Displacement at point of loading of proximal fragment. The "box" hybrid was stiffer than the standard hybrid for all loading positions. The addition of an anterior half-pin stiffened the standard hybrid and the "box" hybrid. The most dramatic improvements in the stability of hybrid frames used for proximal tibial fractures result from addition of an anterior, proximal half-pin.

Implementation of client versus care-provider strategies to improve external cephalic version rates: a cluster randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlemmix, Floortje; Rosman, Ageeth N.; Rijnders, Marlies E.; Beuckens, Antje; Opmeer, Brent C.; Mol, Ben W. J.; Kok, Marjolein; Fleuren, Margot A. H.

2015-01-01

To determine the effectiveness of a client or care-provider strategy to improve the implementation of external cephalic version. Cluster randomized controlled trial. Twenty-five clusters; hospitals and their referring midwifery practices randomly selected in the Netherlands. Singleton breech

Implementation of client versus care-provider strategies to improve external cephalic version rates: a cluster randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlemmix, F.; Rosman, A.N.; Rijnders, M.E.; Beuckens, A.; Opmeer, B.C.; Mol, B.W.J.; Kok, M.; Fleuren, M.A.H.

2015-01-01

Onjective: To determine the effectiveness of a client or care-provider strategy to improve the implementation of external cephalic version. Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial.Setting: Twenty-five clusters; hospitals and their referring midwifery practices randomly selected in the

Feasibility of external rhythmic cueing with the Google Glass for improving gait in people with Parkinson’s disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Yan; Nonnekes, Johan Hendrik; Storcken, Erik J.M.; Janssen, Sabine; van Wegen, Erwin E.H.; Bloem, Bastiaan R.; Dorresteijn, Lucille D.A.; van Vugt, Jeroen P.P.; Heida, Tjitske; van Wezel, Richard Jack Anton

New mobile technologies like smartglasses can deliver external cues that may improve gait in people with Parkinson’s disease in their natural environment. However, the potential of these devices must first be assessed in controlled experiments. Therefore, we evaluated rhythmic visual and auditory

Feasibility of external rhythmic cueing with the Google Glass for improving gait in people with Parkinson’s disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Yan; Nonnekes, Jorik; Storcken, Erik J M; Janssen, Sabine; van Wegen, Erwin E H; Bloem, Bastiaan R.; Dorresteijn, Lucille D A; van Vugt, Jeroen P P; Heida, Tjitske; van Wezel, Richard J A

2016-01-01

New mobile technologies like smartglasses can deliver external cues that may improve gait in people with Parkinson’s disease in their natural environment. However, the potential of these devices must first be assessed in controlled experiments. Therefore, we evaluated rhythmic visual and auditory

Effectiveness of external inspection of compliance with standards in improving healthcare organisation behaviour, healthcare professional behaviour or patient outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Flodgren, Gerd; Pomey, Marie-Pascale; Taber, Sarah A; Eccles, Martin P

2014-01-01

Background Inspection systems are used in health care to promote quality improvements, i.e. to achieve changes in organisational structures or processes, healthcare provider behaviour and patient outcomes. These systems are based on the assumption that externally promoted adherence to evidence-based standards (through inspection/assessment) will result in higher quality of health care. However, the benefits of external inspection in terms of organisational, provider and patient level outcomes are not clear. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of external inspection of compliance with standards in improving healthcare organisation behaviour, healthcare professional behaviour and patient outcomes. Search methods We searched the following electronic databases for studies: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, Scopus, HMIC, Index to Theses and Intute from their inception dates up to May 2011. There was no language restriction and studies were included regardless of publication status. We searched the reference lists of included studies and contacted authors of relevant papers, accreditation bodies and the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO), regarding any further published or unpublished work. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs), interrupted time-series (ITSs) and controlled before and after studies (CBAs) evaluating the effect of external inspection against external standards on healthcare organisation change, healthcare professional behaviour or patient outcomes in hospitals, primary healthcare organisations and other community-based healthcare organisations. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently applied eligibility criteria, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of each included study. Since meta-analysis was

Performance Targets and External Benchmarking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Ivar; Hansen, Allan; Vámosi, Tamás S.

Research on relative performance measures, transfer pricing, beyond budgeting initiatives, target costing, piece rates systems and value based management has for decades underlined the importance of external benchmarking in performance management. Research conceptualises external benchmarking...... as a market mechanism that can be brought inside the firm to provide incentives for continuous improvement and the development of competitive advances. However, whereas extant research primarily has focused on the importance and effects of using external benchmarks, less attention has been directed towards...... the conditions upon which the market mechanism is performing within organizations. This paper aims to contribute to research by providing more insight to the conditions for the use of external benchmarking as an element in performance management in organizations. Our study explores a particular type of external...

Internalizing Externalities through Payments for Environmental Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudarsono Soedomo

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Forest ecosystems, including plantation forests, provide goods and services that are marketable and non-marketable. Positive externalities produced by forest ecosystems are rarely considered in pricing of marketable products that result in economic inefficiencies. Internalizing externalities is required to improve the economic efficiency. The traditional way to internalize an externality is by providing subsidies or imposing taxes. Recently, payments for environmental services  are receiving more attention as an instrument for internalizing externalities provided by forest ecosystems. This promising alternative to improve our environment needs to be studied more extensively. In this paper, it can be indicated theoretically that the Pigovian tax, as a traditional way of addressing environmental problems, is able to mimic the result derived from the employment of environmental services payment. The difference is that environmental services payment improves the welfare of environmental service producers, whereas the Pigovian tax reduces it. A positive Pigovian tax increases the optimal rotation, which is positively associated with environmental improvement, but certainly reduces forest owner's welfare. This difference should be taken into account in the public policymaking so that perverse incentive may be avoided. Payment for environmental services  as an additional income to forest growers, not as alternative source of income, is a potential tool to address simultaneously issues of environment and poverty that are frequently contested.Keywords: externalities, payments for environmental services, tax, perverse incentive, social welfare

Study on the change of gastrointestinal hormones and Th1/Th2 indexes of patients with gastric cancer during the perioperative period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Jie Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the effect of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation combined with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI in the prognosis of acute myocardial infarction patients complicated with cardiogenic shock. Methods: A total of 78 cases of acute myocardial infarction patients complicated with cardiogenic shock were enrolled for study and randomly divided into two groups, observation group received intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation combined with PCI therapy and control group received PCI therapy. Then heart function, nerve function, kidney function and humoral indicators of two groups were compared. Results: (1 target organ function: 3 d after treatment, serum CK-MB, cTnT, cTnI, NSE, VILIP1 and NMDA-R contents as well as urinary albumin / creatinine ratio, 24 h urinary microalbumin content, LVESD and LVEDD of observation group were lower than those of control group, LVEF and glomerular filtration rate were higher than those of control group; (2 humoral indicators: 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after treatment, serum NT-proBNP and PCT contents of both groups showed decreasing trend and serum NT-proBNP and PCT contents of observation group were lower than those of control group. Conclusions: Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation combined with PCI can improve the prognosis of acute myocardial infarction patients complicated with cardiogenic shock, specifically manifested as protecting target organ function, reducing cardiac stress and relieving inflammation.

Towards a Classification of Architecture Initiatives: Outlining the External Factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Christian Lindschou; Mortensen, Niels Henrik; Hvam, Lars

2012-01-01

or bad, without including the contextual differences. The purpose of the external factors is to improve scoping and goal setting of architecture initiatives, and improve comparability between- and transferability of knowledge from architecture initiatives. The external factors are a first step towards......This paper introduced a set of external factors capturing the contextual differences that set the stage for architecture initiatives. These are derived from a systems theoretical approach recognizing the fact that architecture initiatives should respond the challenges posed by the external...

External self-representations improve self-awareness in a child with autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Root, Nicholas B; Case, Laura K; Burrus, Caley J; Ramachandran, V S

2015-01-01

We have previously suggested that the social symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could be caused in part by a dysfunctional mirror neuron system (MNS). Since the recursive activity of a functioning MNS might enable the brain to integrate visual and motor sensations into a coherent body schema, the deficits in self-awareness often seen in ASD might be caused by the same mirror neuron dysfunction. CL is an autistic adolescent who is profoundly fascinated with his reflection, looking in mirrors at every opportunity. We demonstrate that CL's abnormal gait improves significantly when using a mirror for visual feedback. We also show that both the fascination and the happiness that CL derives from looking at a computer-generated reflection diminish when a delay is introduced between the camera input and screen output. We believe that immediate, real-time visual feedback allows CL to integrate motor sensations with external visual ones into a coherent body schema that he cannot internally generate, perhaps due to a dysfunctional MNS.

Simple improvement of consumer fit in external preference mapping

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faber, N.M.; Mojet, J.; Poelman, A.A.M.

2003-01-01

In the common implementation of external preference mapping consumer preferences are fitted as polynomial functions of the first two principal components (PCs) of the sensory data. A major weakness of the method is the relatively small number of consumers that can be significantly fitted. Several

Audiovisual biofeedback improves the correlation between internal/external surrogate motion and lung tumor motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Danny; Greer, Peter B; Paganelli, Chiara; Ludbrook, Joanna Jane; Kim, Taeho; Keall, Paul

2018-03-01

Breathing management can reduce breath-to-breath (intrafraction) and day-by-day (interfraction) variability in breathing motion while utilizing the respiratory motion of internal and external surrogates for respiratory guidance. Audiovisual (AV) biofeedback, an interactive personalized breathing motion management system, has been developed to improve reproducibility of intra- and interfraction breathing motion. However, the assumption of the correlation of respiratory motion between surrogates and tumors is not always verified during medical imaging and radiation treatment. Therefore, the aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that the correlation of respiratory motion between surrogates and tumors is the same under free breathing without guidance (FB) and with AV biofeedback guidance for voluntary motion management. For 13 lung cancer patients receiving radiotherapy, 2D coronal and sagittal cine-MR images were acquired across two MRI sessions (pre- and mid-treatment) with two breathing conditions: (a) FB and (b) AV biofeedback, totaling 88 patient measurements. Simultaneously, the external respiratory motion of the abdomen was measured. The internal respiratory motion of the diaphragm and lung tumor was retrospectively measured from 2D coronal and sagittal cine-MR images. The correlation of respiratory motion between surrogates and tumors was calculated using Pearson's correlation coefficient for: (a) abdomen to tumor (abdomen-tumor) and (b) diaphragm to tumor (diaphragm-tumor). The correlations were compared between FB and AV biofeedback using several metrics: abdomen-tumor and diaphragm-tumor correlations with/without ≥5 mm tumor motion range and with/without adjusting for phase shifts between the signals. Compared to FB, AV biofeedback improved abdomen-tumor correlation by 11% (p = 0.12) from 0.53 to 0.59 and diaphragm-tumor correlation by 13% (p = 0.02) from 0.55 to 0.62. Compared to FB, AV biofeedback improved abdomen-tumor correlation by 17% (p = 0

Crossing boundaries : Involving external parties in innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slot, J.H.

2013-01-01

To improve the return on investments in innovation, firms increasingly open up their new product development (NPD) processes by inviting external parties to participate. This dissertation focuses on the involvement of three different types of external parties in the NPD process: suppliers,

Improving external beam radiotherapy by combination with internal irradiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, A; Koi, L; Zöphel, K; Sihver, W; Kotzerke, J; Baumann, M; Krause, M

2015-07-01

The efficacy of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is dose dependent, but the dose that can be applied to solid tumour lesions is limited by the sensitivity of the surrounding tissue. The combination of EBRT with systemically applied radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is a promising approach to increase efficacy of radiotherapy. Toxicities of both treatment modalities of this combination of internal and external radiotherapy (CIERT) are not additive, as different organs at risk are in target. However, advantages of both single treatments are combined, for example, precise high dose delivery to the bulk tumour via standard EBRT, which can be increased by addition of RIT, and potential targeting of micrometastases by RIT. Eventually, theragnostic radionuclide pairs can be used to predict uptake of the radiotherapeutic drug prior to and during therapy and find individual patients who may benefit from this treatment. This review aims to highlight the outcome of pre-clinical studies on CIERT and resultant questions for translation into the clinic. Few clinical data are available until now and reasons as well as challenges for clinical implementation are discussed.

A 12-week rehabilitation program improves body composition, pain sensation, and internal/external torques of baseball pitchers with shoulder impingement symptom.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Jun-Youl; Kim, Jae-Hak; Hong, Ju; Choi, Young-Tae; Kim, Min-Ho; Cho, Ji-Hyun; Ko, Il-Gyu; Jee, Yong-Seok

2014-02-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week rehabilitation program on body composition, shoulder pain, and isokinetic internal/external torques of pitchers with impingement syndrome. A total of 30 pitchers were divided into 2 groups: experimental group (EG, n = 16) and control group (CG, n= 14). The rehabilitation program consisted of physical therapy, warm-up, work-out, and cool-down. As results, body weight and fat mass of EG were decreased whereas muscle mass of EG was significantly increased after the experiment. The pain degrees in resting, normal daily activity, and strenuous activity on the numeric pain rating scale were significantly decreased in the EG. The internal and external peak torques (PTs) of uninvolved and involved sides of EG were increased in EG after 12 weeks. Such results provide a deficit ratio of both sides in EG close to normal values. The ratios of internal/external PTs in EG were also close to the reference values. The internal and external total works of both sides in EG were similar to the values of PT. The fatigue indices of internal and external rotators of both sides in EG were decreased. As a conclusion, a 12-week rehabilitation program reduced the shoulder pain, improved the body composition and enhanced the isokinetic shoulder internal/external rotators in EG with impingement symptoms. Also the study suggested that the rehabilitation program evened out the ratio between internal and external rotators and lowered the fatigue level after the experiment.

Externalities of energy. Swedish implementation of the ExternE methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Maans; Gullberg, M.

1998-01-01

The growing interest for developing economic instruments for efficient environmental policies has opened up a large area of multi-disciplinary research. ExternE is an example of this research, combining disciplines such as engineering, ecology, immunology and economics expertise to create new knowledge about how environmental pressures from energy production affect our nature and society. The ExternE Project aims to identify and, as far as possible quantify the externalities of energy production in Europe. The Stockholm Environment Institute has carried out a preliminary aggregation: -Coal Fuel Cycle: centred around Vaesteraas Kraftvaermeverk, Vaesteraas. This is the largest co-generation plant in Sweden, with four blocks and a maximum co-generation output of 520 MW electricity and 950 MW heat. The analysis is carried out on boiler B4. -Biomass Fuel Cycle: centred around Haendeloeverket, Norrkoeping. This plant predominately burns forestry residues, but a variety of fuels are combusted. Haendeloeverket has an installed capacity of 100 MW electricity and 375 MW heat, in a total of three boilers and two back-pressure turbines. The analysis is carried out on boiler P13. -Hydro Fuel Cycle: Klippens Kraftstation, Storuman. Built in 1990-1994, it is the youngest hydro power station in Sweden. It has been designed and built with significant efforts to account for and protect environmental values. Installed capacity is 28 MW. The environmental impact assessment from the construction of this plant is carried out, but the evaluation is still not finalized. The preliminary aggregation aimed to test whether ExternE results could be used to make estimates for the entire Swedish electricity production system. Hence, national results as well as results from other partner countries in ExternE has been applied

Customer satisfaction survey to improve the European cystic fibrosis external quality assessment scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Berwouts, Sarah; Dequeker, Elisabeth

2011-08-01

The Cystic Fibrosis European Network, coordinated from within the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, is the provider of the European cystic fibrosis external quality assessment (EQA) scheme. The network aimed to seek feedback from laboratories that participated in the cystic fibrosis scheme in order to improve services offered. In this study we analysed responses to an on-line customer satisfaction survey conducted between September and November 2009. The survey was sent to 213 laboratories that participated in the cystic fibrosis EQA scheme of 2008; 69 laboratories (32%) responded. Scores for importance and satisfaction were obtained from a five-point Likert scale for 24 attributes. A score of one corresponded to very dissatisfied/very unimportant and five corresponded to very satisfied/very important. Means were calculated and placed in a two-dimensional grid (importance-satisfaction analysis). Means were subtracted from each other to obtain gap values (gap-analysis). No attribute had a mean score below 3.63. The overall mean of satisfaction was 4.35. Opportunities for improvement enclosed clarity, usefulness and completeness of the general report and individual comments, and user-friendliness of the electronic datasheet. This type of customer satisfaction survey was a valuable instrument to identify opportunities to improve the cystic fibrosis EQA scheme. It should be conducted on a regular basis to reveal new opportunities in the future and to assess effectiveness of actions taken. Moreover, it could be a model for other EQA providers seeking feedback from participants. Overall, the customer satisfaction survey provided a powerful quality of care improvement tool.

Comparison of infection between internal-external and external percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage in treating patients with malignant obstructive jaundice.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Chuan; Huang, Xin-En; Wang, Shu-Xiang; Lv, Peng-Hua; Sun, Ling; Wang, Fu-An

2015-01-01

Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) is a form of palliative care for patients with malignant obstructive jaundice. We here compared the infection incidence between internal-external and external drainage for patients with malignant obstructive jaundice. Patients with malignant obstructive jaundice without infection before surgery receiving internal-external or external drainage from January 2008 to July 2014 were recruited. According to percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC), if the guide wire could pass through the occlusion and enter the duodenum, we recommended internal-external drainage, and external drainage biliary drainage was set up if the occlusion was not crossed. All patients with infection after procedure received a cultivation of blood and a bile bacteriological test. Among 110 patients with malignant obstructive jaundice, 22 (52.4%) were diagnosed with infection after the procedure in the internal-external drainage group, whereas 19 (27.9%) patients were so affected in the external drainage group, the difference being significant (pinternal-external group infection was controlled, as compared to 12 (63.1%) in the external group (pinternal-external group in one month was 42.8%, while this rate in external group was 28.6% (pExternal drainage is a good choice, which could significantly reduce the chance of biliary infection caused by bacteria, and decrease the mortality rate at one month and improve the long-term prognosis.

Environmental external effects from wind power based on the EU ExternE methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner; Nielsen, Per Sieverts

1998-01-01

of the Danish part of the project is to implement the framework for externality evaluation, for three different power plants located in Denmark. The paper will focus on the assessment of the impacts of the whole fuel cycles for wind, natural gas and biogas. Priority areas for environmental impact assessment......The European Commission has launched a major study project, ExternE, to develop a methodology to quantify externalities. A “National Implementation Phase”, was started under the Joule II programme with the purpose of implementing the ExternE methodology in all member states. The main objective...

ExternE National Implementation Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pingoud, K; Maelkki, H; Wihersaari, M; Pirilae, P [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Hongisto, M [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland); Siitonen, S [Ekono Energy Ltd, Espoo (Finland); Johansson, M [Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki (Finland)

1999-07-01

ExternE National Implementation is a continuation of the ExternE Project, funded in part by the European Commission's Joule III Programme. This study is the result of the ExternE National Implementation Project for Finland. Three fuel cycles were selected for the Finnish study: coal, peat and wood-derived biomass, which together are responsible for about 40% of total electricity generation in Finland and about 75% of the non-nuclear fuel based generation. The estimated external costs or damages were dominated by the global warming (GW) impacts in the coal and peat fuel cycles, but knowledge of the true GW impacts is still uncertain. From among other impacts that were valued in monetary terms the human health damages due to airborne emissions dominated in all the three fuel cycles. Monetary valuation for ecosystem impacts is not possible using the ExternE methodology at present. The Meri-Pori power station representing the coal fuel cycle is one of the world's cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants with a condensing turbine. The coal is imported mainly from Poland. The estimated health damages were about 4 mECU/kWh, crop damages an order of magnitude lower and damages caused to building materials two orders of magnitude lower. The power stations of the peat and biomass fuel cycles are of CHP type, generating electricity and heat for the district heating systems of two cities. Their fuels are of domestic origin. The estimated health damages allocated to electricity generation were about 5 and 6 mECU/kWh, respectively. The estimates were case-specific and thus an generalisation of the results to the whole electricity generation in Finland is unrealistic. Despite the uncertainties and limitations of the methodology, it is a promising tool in the comparison of similar kinds of fuel cycles, new power plants and pollution abatement technologies and different plant locations with each other. (orig.)

ExternE National Implementation Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pingoud, K.; Maelkki, H.; Wihersaari, M.; Pirilae, P. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Hongisto, M. [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland); Siitonen, S. [Ekono Energy Ltd, Espoo (Finland); Johansson, M. [Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki (Finland)

1999-07-01

ExternE National Implementation is a continuation of the ExternE Project, funded in part by the European Commission's Joule III Programme. This study is the result of the ExternE National Implementation Project for Finland. Three fuel cycles were selected for the Finnish study: coal, peat and wood-derived biomass, which together are responsible for about 40% of total electricity generation in Finland and about 75% of the non-nuclear fuel based generation. The estimated external costs or damages were dominated by the global warming (GW) impacts in the coal and peat fuel cycles, but knowledge of the true GW impacts is still uncertain. From among other impacts that were valued in monetary terms the human health damages due to airborne emissions dominated in all the three fuel cycles. Monetary valuation for ecosystem impacts is not possible using the ExternE methodology at present. The Meri-Pori power station representing the coal fuel cycle is one of the world's cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants with a condensing turbine. The coal is imported mainly from Poland. The estimated health damages were about 4 mECU/kWh, crop damages an order of magnitude lower and damages caused to building materials two orders of magnitude lower. The power stations of the peat and biomass fuel cycles are of CHP type, generating electricity and heat for the district heating systems of two cities. Their fuels are of domestic origin. The estimated health damages allocated to electricity generation were about 5 and 6 mECU/kWh, respectively. The estimates were case-specific and thus an generalisation of the results to the whole electricity generation in Finland is unrealistic. Despite the uncertainties and limitations of the methodology, it is a promising tool in the comparison of similar kinds of fuel cycles, new power plants and pollution abatement technologies and different plant locations with each other. (orig.)

ExternE National Implementation Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pingoud, K.; Maelkki, H.; Wihersaari, M.; Pirilae, P.; Hongisto, M.; Siitonen, S.; Johansson, M.

1999-01-01

ExternE National Implementation is a continuation of the ExternE Project, funded in part by the European Commission's Joule III Programme. This study is the result of the ExternE National Implementation Project for Finland. Three fuel cycles were selected for the Finnish study: coal, peat and wood-derived biomass, which together are responsible for about 40% of total electricity generation in Finland and about 75% of the non-nuclear fuel based generation. The estimated external costs or damages were dominated by the global warming (GW) impacts in the coal and peat fuel cycles, but knowledge of the true GW impacts is still uncertain. From among other impacts that were valued in monetary terms the human health damages due to airborne emissions dominated in all the three fuel cycles. Monetary valuation for ecosystem impacts is not possible using the ExternE methodology at present. The Meri-Pori power station representing the coal fuel cycle is one of the world's cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants with a condensing turbine. The coal is imported mainly from Poland. The estimated health damages were about 4 mECU/kWh, crop damages an order of magnitude lower and damages caused to building materials two orders of magnitude lower. The power stations of the peat and biomass fuel cycles are of CHP type, generating electricity and heat for the district heating systems of two cities. Their fuels are of domestic origin. The estimated health damages allocated to electricity generation were about 5 and 6 mECU/kWh, respectively. The estimates were case-specific and thus an generalisation of the results to the whole electricity generation in Finland is unrealistic. Despite the uncertainties and limitations of the methodology, it is a promising tool in the comparison of similar kinds of fuel cycles, new power plants and pollution abatement technologies and different plant locations with each other. (orig.)

Regional Externalities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heijman, W.J.M.

2007-01-01

The book offers practical and theoretical insights in regional externalities. Regional externalities are a specific subset of externalities that can be defined as externalities where space plays a dominant role. This class of externalities can be divided into three categories: (1) externalities

Flexible deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes for significant improvement of quantum efficiencies by external bending

KAUST Repository

Shervin, Shahab

2018-01-26

Deep ultraviolet (DUV) light at the wavelength range of 250‒280 nm (UVC spectrum) is essential for numerous applications such as sterilization, purification, sensing, and communication. III-nitride-based DUV light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs), like other solid-state lighting sources, offer a great potential to replace the conventional gas-discharged lamps with short lifetimes and toxic-element-bearing nature. However, unlike visible LEDs, the DUV LEDs are still suffering from low quantum efficiencies (QEs) and low optical output powers. In this work, reported is a new route to improve QEs of AlGaN-based DUV LEDs using mechanical flexibility of recently developed bendable thin-film structures. Numerical studies show that electronic band structures of AlGaN heterostructures and resulting optical and electrical characteristics of the devices can be significantly modified by external bending through active control of piezoelectric polarization. Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is enhanced higher than three times, when the DUV LEDs are moderately bent to induce in-plane compressive strain in the heterostructure. Furthermore, efficiency droop at high injection currents is mitigated and turn-on voltage of diodes decreases with the same bending condition. The concept of bendable DUV LEDs with a controlled external strain can provide a new path for high-output-power and high-efficiency devices.

Flexible deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes for significant improvement of quantum efficiencies by external bending

KAUST Repository

Shervin, Shahab; Oh, Seung Kyu; Park, Hyun Jung; Lee, Keon Hwa; Asadirad, Mojtaba; Kim, Seung Hwan; Kim, Jeomoh; Pouladi, Sara; Lee, Sung-Nam; Li, Xiaohang; Kwak, Joon-Seop; Ryou, Jae-Hyun

2018-01-01

Deep ultraviolet (DUV) light at the wavelength range of 250‒280 nm (UVC spectrum) is essential for numerous applications such as sterilization, purification, sensing, and communication. III-nitride-based DUV light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs), like other solid-state lighting sources, offer a great potential to replace the conventional gas-discharged lamps with short lifetimes and toxic-element-bearing nature. However, unlike visible LEDs, the DUV LEDs are still suffering from low quantum efficiencies (QEs) and low optical output powers. In this work, reported is a new route to improve QEs of AlGaN-based DUV LEDs using mechanical flexibility of recently developed bendable thin-film structures. Numerical studies show that electronic band structures of AlGaN heterostructures and resulting optical and electrical characteristics of the devices can be significantly modified by external bending through active control of piezoelectric polarization. Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is enhanced higher than three times, when the DUV LEDs are moderately bent to induce in-plane compressive strain in the heterostructure. Furthermore, efficiency droop at high injection currents is mitigated and turn-on voltage of diodes decreases with the same bending condition. The concept of bendable DUV LEDs with a controlled external strain can provide a new path for high-output-power and high-efficiency devices.

Externalities - an analysis using the EU ExternE-results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-10-01

The EU project ExternE quantified the externalities for the different energy technologies. In this work, the ExternE results are used in a MARKAL-analysis for the Nordic countries. The analysis does not go into detail, but gives some interesting indications: The external costs are not fully covered in the Nordic energy systems, the present taxes and charges are not high enough. The emissions from the energy systems would be strongly reduced, if taxes/environmental charges were set at the level ExternE calculate. The emissions from power production would be reduced most. Renewable energy sources and natural gas dominate the energy systems in the ExternE case

External Monitoring and Dynamic Behavior in Mutual Funds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the impact of external monitoring on the behavior in mutual funds. Specifically, we investigate how and why external monitoring can alleviate contracting inefficiency caused by information asymmetry between investors and the manager. It is shown that efficiency loss emerges when investors contract with the manager just relying on her investment return history. The establishment of external monitoring that provides investors more information about the manager’s ability can improve contracting efficiency, which converges to first-best as external monitoring strengthens. These results provide strong support for tightening supervision in mutual fund industry.

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 1. Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.; Berry, J.

1995-01-01

There is a growing requirement for policy analysts to take account of the environment in their decision making and to undertake the specified cost-benefit analysis. Within the European Union this is reflected in the 5th Environmental Action Programme, and the Commission's White Paper entitled 'Growth, competitiveness, employment and the ways forward to the 21st century'. This has led to a need for evaluation of environmental externalities. The ExternE Project commenced in 1991 as the European part of a collaborative study between the European Commission and the US Department of Energy. It aims to be the first systematic approach to the evaluation of external costs of a wide range of different fuel cycles. The project will result in an operational accounting framework for the quantification and monetarisation of priority environmental and other externalities. This framework will allow the calculation of the marginal external costs and benefits for specific power plants, at specific sites using specified technologies. There are three major phases in the project. Phase 1 was undertaken in collaboration with the US Department of Energy. In this phase the teams jointly developed the conceptual approach and methodology and shared scientific information for application to a number of fuel cycles. On the European side work concentrated on the nuclear and coal fuel cycles which together were expected to raise many of the fundamental issues in fuel cycle analysis. The project is currently nearing completion of Phase 2. During this phase the methodology has been applied to a wide range of different fossil, nuclear and renewable fuel cycles for power generation and energy conservation options. Also a series of National Implementation Programmes is underway in which the methodology and accounting framework are being applied to reference sites throughout Europe. In addition the general methodology is being extended to address the evaluation of externalities associated with

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 2. Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, J.; Holland, M.; Watkiss, P.

1995-01-01

This report describes the methodology used by the ExternE Project of the European Commission (DGXII) JOULE Programme for assessment of the external costs of energy. It is one of a series of reports describing analysis of nuclear, fossil and renewable fuel cycles for assessment of the externalities associated with electricity generation. Part I of the report deals with analysis of impacts, and Part II with the economic valuation of those impacts. Analysis is conducted on a marginal basis, to allow the effect of an incremental investment in a given technology to be quantified. Attention has been paid to the specificity of results with respect to the location of fuel cycle activities, the precise technologies used, and the type and source of fuel. The main advantages of this detailed approach are as follows: It takes full and proper account of the variability of impacts that might result from different power projects; It is more transparent than analysis based on hypothetically 'representative' cases for each of the different fuel cycles; It provides a framework for consistent comparison between fuel cycles. A wide variety of impacts have been considered. These include the effects of air pollution on the natural and human environment, consequences of accidents in the workplace, impacts of noise and visual intrusion on amenity, and the effects of climate change arising from the release of greenhouse gases. Wherever possible we have used the 'impact pathway' or 'damage function' approach to follow the analysis from identification of burdens (e.g. emissions) through to impact assessment and then valuation in monetary terms. This has required a detailed knowledge of the technologies involved, pollutant dispersion, analysis of effects on human and environmental health, and economics. In view of this the project brought together a multi-disciplinary team with experts from many European countries and the USA. The spatial and temporal ranges considered in the analysis are

Improving tribological and anti-bacterial properties of titanium external fixation pins through surface ceramic conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Huan; Mukinay, Tatiana; Li, Maojun; Hood, Richard; Soo, Sein Leung; Cockshott, Simon; Sammons, Rachel; Li, Xiaoying

2017-01-01

In this study, an advanced ceramic conversion surface engineering technology has been applied for the first time to self-drilling Ti6Al4V external fixation pins to improve their performance in terms of biomechanical, bio-tribological and antibacterial properties. Systematic characterisation of the ceramic conversion treated Ti pins was carried out using Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy, nano- and micro-indentation and scratching; the biomechanical and bio-tribological properties of the surface engineered Ti pins were evaluated by insertion into high density bone simulation material; and the antibacterial behaviour was assessed with Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 6571. The experimental results have demonstrated that the surfaces of Ti6Al4V external fixation pins were successfully converted into a TiO 2 rutile layer (~2 μm in thickness) supported by an oxygen hardened case (~15 μm in thickness) with very good bonding due to the in-situ conversion nature. The maximum insertion force and temperature were reduced from 192N and 31.2 °C when using the untreated pins to 182N and 26.1 °C when the ceramic conversion treated pins were tested. This is mainly due to the significantly increased hardness (more than three times) and the effectively enhanced wear resistance of the cutting edge of the self-drilling Ti pins following the ceramic conversion treatment. The antibacterial tests also revealed that there was a significantly reduced number of bacteria isolated from the ceramic conversion treated pins compared to the untreated pins of around 50 % after 20 h incubation, P < 0.01 (0.0024). The results reported are encouraging and could pave the way towards high-performance anti-bacterial titanium external fixation pins with reduced pin-track infection and pin loosing.

External hazards analysis approach to level 1 PSA of Mochovce NPP - Slovakia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stojka, Tibor

2000-01-01

Analyses of external events had been first time performed at the design stage of the Mochovce NPP showing sufficiently low contribution of external hazards to core damage frequency. But, based on IAEA document 'Safety problems of WWER-440/213 NPPs and the categorization' (IAEA-EBP-WWER-03, 1996), the need of new reassessment arose due to discrepancy of some origin recommendations in compare with present IAEA ones. Mochovce NPP Nuclear Safety Improvements Program elaborated at the same time included the IAEA recommendations and following improvements were proposed to perform in context of external events. 1. Seismic project and new locality seismic evaluation This safety improvement includes also some 'on site' technical improvements in seismic stability of structures and equipment. 2. Unit specific analyses of extreme meteorologic conditions. This safety improvement focuses on impact of feasible extreme conditions on NPP systems caused by rain, snow and hail storms, frost, winds, low and high temperatures. 3. Analyses of external hazards caused by humans. In this safety improvement were specified: feasible sources of explosions; analyses of hydrogen, gas and propane-calor gas depots; air crash risk. The results of these implemented safety improvements were considered in the PSA study. The External hazards analysis is also part of Level 1 PSA Mochovce NPP performed by PSA Department of VUJE Trnava Inc., Engineering, Design and Research Organization, Slovakia. Some partial analyses are performed in cooperation with following companies DS and S - SAIC, USA and Geophysical Institute Academy of Science, Slovakia Relko, Slovakia. Basic documents are: NUREG/CR-2300 'PRA Procedures Guide - A Guide to the Performance of Probabilistic Risk Assessments for Nuclear Power Plants' and IAEA SS No. 50-P-7 'Treatment of External Hazards in PSA for NPPs. The external hazards analysis consists of following parts: 1. Geography and plant locality; 2. Nearby industry; 3. Extreme

RECOMMENDATIONS OF PILOTING A HELICOPTER AND FIGHTING AGAINST EXTERNAL GOODS OSCILLATIONS DURING THE CONDUCT OF URGENT AERIAL WORKS WITH EXTERNAL SUSPENSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Lebedev

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Сonsidered question of reducing oscillations of cargo on helicopter external sling to improve the safety and efficiency of flight operations during the conduct of urgent aerial works. Offered practical recommendations of piloting a helicopter and effective maneuvers to eliminate oscillations of cargo on external sling.

Neuraxial blockade for external cephalic version: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sultan, P; Carvalho, B

2011-10-01

The desire to decrease the number of cesarean deliveries has renewed interest in external cephalic version. The rationale for using neuraxial blockade to facilitate external cephalic version is to provide abdominal muscular relaxation and reduce patient discomfort during the procedure, so permitting successful repositioning of the fetus to a cephalic presentation. This review systematically examined the current evidence to determine the safety and efficacy of neuraxial anesthesia or analgesia when used for external cephalic version. A systematic literature review of studies that examined success rates of external cephalic version with neuraxial anesthesia was performed. Published articles written in English between 1945 and 2010 were identified using the Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE and Web of Sciences databases. Six, randomized controlled studies were identified. Neuraxial blockade significantly improved the success rate in four of these six studies. A further six non-randomized studies were identified, of which four studies with control groups found that neuraxial blockade increased the success rate of external cephalic version. Despite over 850 patients being included in the 12 studies reviewed, placental abruption was reported in only one patient with a neuraxial block, compared with two in the control groups. The incidence of non-reassuring fetal heart rate requiring cesarean delivery in the anesthesia groups was 0.44% (95% CI 0.15-1.32). Neuraxial blockade improved the likelihood of success during external cephalic version, although the dosing regimen that provides optimal conditions for successful version is unclear. Anesthetic rather than analgesic doses of local anesthetics may improve success. The findings suggest that neuraxial blockade does not compromise maternal or fetal safety during external cephalic version. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, L; Sieverts Nielsen, P [eds.

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results, to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the detailed information concerning the ExternE methodology. Importance is attached to the computer system used in the project and the assessment of air pollution effects on health, materials and ecological effects. Also the assessment of global warming damages are described. Finally the report covers the detailed information concerning the national implementation for Denmark for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant base on biogas. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 79 tabs., 11 ills., 201 refs.

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, L.; Sieverts Nielsen, P.

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results, to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the detailed information concerning the ExternE methodology. Importance is attached to the computer system used in the project and the assessment of air pollution effects on health, materials and ecological effects. Also the assessment of global warming damages are described. Finally the report covers the detailed information concerning the national implementation for Denmark for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant base on biogas. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 79 tabs., 11 ills., 201 refs

Is there a role for upper-extremity intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation as a bridge-to-recovery or a bridge-to-transplant in the treatment of end-stage heart failure?

Science.gov (United States)

Nwaejike, Nnamdi; Son, Andre Y; Milano, Carmelo A; Daneshmand, Mani A

2017-10-01

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was: Is there a role for upper-extremity intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation (UE-IABP) in the treatment of end-stage heart failure? Altogether 230 papers were found using the reported search, of which 6 papers represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. Of the 163 bridge-to-transplantation (BTT) patients, 141 (86.5%) were successfully transplanted and of the 9 bridge-to-recovery (BTR) patients, 6 (66.7%) were successfully weaned from the device. Length of support ranged from 3 to 152 days, and the most frequent complications were device malfunction or migration necessitating exchange or repositioning, occurring at a collective rate of 37.3%. UE-IABP is a minimally invasive and cost-effective strategy that provides haemodynamic support while preserving both the mediastinum and the functional status in BTR and BTT patients who may not tolerate more invasive modes of mechanical circulatory support. We conclude that UE-IABP can be used as a bridge-to-recovery (BTR) or transplant (BTT) in patients with end-stage heart failure. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Tocolysis in term breech external cephalic version.

Science.gov (United States)

Nor Azlin, M I; Haliza, H; Mahdy, Z A; Anson, I; Fahya, M N; Jamil, M A

2005-01-01

To study the effect of ritodrine tocolysis on the success of external cephalic version (ECV) and to assess the role of ECV in breech presentation at our centre. A prospective randomized double-blind-controlled trial comparing ritodrine and placebo in ECV of singleton term breech pregnancy at a tertiary hospital. Among the 60 patients who were recruited, there was a success rate of 36.7%. Ritodrine tocolysis significantly improved the success rate of ECV (50% vs. 23%; P=0.032). There was a marked effect of ritodrine tocolysis on the ECV success in nulliparae (36.4% vs. 13.0%) and multiparae (87.5% vs. 57.1%). External cephalic version has shown to reduce the rate of cesarean section for breech presentation by 33.5% in our unit. External cephalic version significantly reduced the rate of cesarean section in breech presentation, and ritodrine tocolysis improved the success of ECV and should be offered to both nulliparous and parous women in the case of term breech presentation.

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.; Berry, J.

1994-01-01

There is a growing requirement for policy analysts to take account of the environment in their decision making and to undertake the specified cost-benefit analysis. Within the European Union this is reflected in the 5th Environmental Action Programme, and the Commission's White Paper entitled 'Growth, competitiveness, employment and the ways forward to the 21st century'. This has led to a need for evaluation of environmental externalities. The ExternE Project commenced in 1991 as the European part of a collaborative study between the European Commission and the US Department of Energy. It aims to be the first systematic approach to the evaluation of external costs of a wide range of different fuel cycles. The project will result in an operational accounting framework for the quantification and monetarisation of priority environmental and other externalities. This framework will allow the calculation of the marginal external costs and benefits for specific power plants, at specific sites using specified technologies. There are three major phases in the project. Phase I was undertaken in collaboration with the US Department of Energy. In this phase the teams jointly developed the conceptual approach and methodology and shared scientific information for application to a number of fuel cycles. On the European side work concentrated on the nuclear and coal fuel cycles which together were expected to raise many of the fundamental issues in fuel cycle analysis. The project is currently nearing completion of Phase 2. During this phase the methodology has been applied to a wide range of different fossil, nuclear and renewable fuel cycles for power generation and energy conservation options. Also a series of National Implementation Programmes are underway in which the methodology and accounting framework are being applied to reference sites throughout Europe. In addition the general methodology is being extended to address the evaluation of externalities associated with

Lead-chalcogenide mid-infrared vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers with improved threshold: Theory and experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Fill, Matthias; Debernardi, Pierluigi; Felder, Ferdinand; Zogg, Hans

2013-11-01

Mid-infrared Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VECSEL) based on narrow gap lead-chalcogenide (IV-VI) semiconductors exhibit strongly reduced threshold powers if the active layers are structured laterally for improved optical confinement. This is predicted by 3-d optical calculations; they show that lateral optical confinement is needed to counteract the anti-guiding features of IV-VIs due to their negative temperature dependence of the refractive index. An experimental proof is performed with PbSe quantum well based VECSEL grown on a Si-substrate by molecular beam epitaxy and emitting around 3.3 μm. With proper mesa-etching, the threshold intensity is about 8-times reduced.

Lead-chalcogenide mid-infrared vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers with improved threshold: Theory and experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fill, Matthias [ETH Zurich, Laser Spectroscopy and Sensing Lab, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Phocone AG, 8005 Zurich (Switzerland); Debernardi, Pierluigi [IEIIT-CNR, Torino 10129 (Italy); Felder, Ferdinand [Phocone AG, 8005 Zurich (Switzerland); Zogg, Hans [ETH Zurich (Switzerland)

2013-11-11

Mid-infrared Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VECSEL) based on narrow gap lead-chalcogenide (IV-VI) semiconductors exhibit strongly reduced threshold powers if the active layers are structured laterally for improved optical confinement. This is predicted by 3-d optical calculations; they show that lateral optical confinement is needed to counteract the anti-guiding features of IV-VIs due to their negative temperature dependence of the refractive index. An experimental proof is performed with PbSe quantum well based VECSEL grown on a Si-substrate by molecular beam epitaxy and emitting around 3.3 μm. With proper mesa-etching, the threshold intensity is about 8-times reduced.

External costs of energy - do the answers match the questions? Looking back at 10 years of ExternE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krewitt, W.

2002-01-01

While the claim for 'getting prices right' is quite popular in conceptual policy papers, the implementation of appropriate internalisation strategies is still hampered by a lack of reliable external cost data. Great expectations were set into the ExternE project, a major research programme launched by the European Commission at the beginning of the 1990s to provide a scientific basis for the quantification of energy related externalities and to give guidance supporting the design of internalisation measures. After more than a decade of research, the ExternE label became a well recognised standard source for external cost data. Looking back into the ExternE history, the paper pursues how emerging new scientific insights and changing background assumptions affected external cost estimates and related recommendations to policy over time. Based on ExternE results, the usefulness and inherent limitations of external cost estimates for impact categories like climate change or nuclear waste disposal is discussed. The paper also gives examples on how external costs in spite of remaining uncertainties are successfully used to support environmental policy. (Author)

Improving the thermal, radial, and temporal accuracy of the analytical ultracentrifuge through external references.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghirlando, Rodolfo; Balbo, Andrea; Piszczek, Grzegorz; Brown, Patrick H; Lewis, Marc S; Brautigam, Chad A; Schuck, Peter; Zhao, Huaying

2013-09-01

Sedimentation velocity (SV) is a method based on first principles that provides a precise hydrodynamic characterization of macromolecules in solution. Due to recent improvements in data analysis, the accuracy of experimental SV data emerges as a limiting factor in its interpretation. Our goal was to unravel the sources of experimental error and develop improved calibration procedures. We implemented the use of a Thermochron iButton temperature logger to directly measure the temperature of a spinning rotor and detected deviations that can translate into an error of as much as 10% in the sedimentation coefficient. We further designed a precision mask with equidistant markers to correct for instrumental errors in the radial calibration that were observed to span a range of 8.6%. The need for an independent time calibration emerged with use of the current data acquisition software (Zhao et al., Anal. Biochem., 437 (2013) 104-108), and we now show that smaller but significant time errors of up to 2% also occur with earlier versions. After application of these calibration corrections, the sedimentation coefficients obtained from 11 instruments displayed a significantly reduced standard deviation of approximately 0.7%. This study demonstrates the need for external calibration procedures and regular control experiments with a sedimentation coefficient standard. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Internal and External Imagery Effects on Tennis Skills Among Novices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dana, Amir; Gozalzadeh, Elmira

2017-10-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of internal and external visual imagery perspectives on performance accuracy of open and closed tennis skills (i.e., serve, forehand, and backhand) among novices. Thirty-six young male novices, aged 15-18 years, from a summer tennis program participated. Following initial skill acquisition (12 sessions), baseline assessments of imagery ability and imagery perspective preference were used to assign participants to one of three groups: internal imagery ( n = 12), external imagery ( n = 12), or a no-imagery (mental math exercise) control group ( n = 12). The experimental interventions of 15 minutes of mental imagery (internal or external) or mental math exercises followed by 15 minutes of physical practice were held three times a week for six weeks. The performance accuracy of the groups on the serve, forehand, and backhand strokes was measured at pre- and post-test using videotaping. Results showed significant increases in the performance accuracy of all three tennis strokes in all three groups, but serve accuracy in the internal imagery group and forehand accuracy in the external imagery group showed greater improvements, while backhand accuracy was similarly improved in all three groups. These findings highlight differential efficacy of internal and external visual imagery for performance improvement on complex sport skills in early stage motor learning.

Cluster-based query expansion using external collections in medical information retrieval.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Heung-Seon; Jung, Yuchul

2015-12-01

Utilizing external collections to improve retrieval performance is challenging research because various test collections are created for different purposes. Improving medical information retrieval has also gained much attention as various types of medical documents have become available to researchers ever since they started storing them in machine processable formats. In this paper, we propose an effective method of utilizing external collections based on the pseudo relevance feedback approach. Our method incorporates the structure of external collections in estimating individual components in the final feedback model. Extensive experiments on three medical collections (TREC CDS, CLEF eHealth, and OHSUMED) were performed, and the results were compared with a representative expansion approach utilizing the external collections to show the superiority of our method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The ExternE project: methodology, objectives and limitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabl, A.; Spadaro, J.V.

2002-01-01

This paper presents a summary of recent studies on external costs of energy systems, in particular the ExternE (External Costs of Energy) Project of the European Commission. To evaluate the impact and damage cost of a pollutant, one needs to carry out an impact pathway analysis; this involves the calculation of increased pollutant concentrations in all affected regions due to an incremental emission (e.g. μg/m 3 of particles, using models of atmospheric dispersion and chemistry), followed by the calculation of physical impacts (e.g. number of cases of asthma due to these particles, using a dose-response function). The entire so-called fuel chain (or fuel cycle) is evaluated and compared on the basis of delivered end use energy. Even though the uncertainties are large, the results provide substantial evidence that the classical air pollutants (particles, NO x and SO x ) from the combustion of fossil fuels impose a heavy toll, in addition to the cost of global warming. The external costs are especially large for coal; even for 'good current technology' they may be comparable to the price of electricity. For natural gas the external costs are about a third to a half of coal. The external costs of nuclear are small compared to the price of electricity (at most a few %), and so are the external costs of most renewable energy systems. (authors)

A countermeasure for external stress corrosion cracking in piping components by means of residual stress improvement on the outer surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Yasuhiro; Umemoto, Tadahiro

1988-01-01

Many techniques have been proposed as countermeasures for the External Stress Corrosion Cracking (ESCC) on austenitic stainless steel piping caused by sea salt particles. However, not one seems perfect. The method proposed here is an expansion of IHSI (Induction Heating Stress Improvement) which has been successfully implemented in many nuclear power plants as a remedy for Intergranular Stress Corrossion Cracking. The proposed method named EIHSI (External IHSI) can make the residual stress compressive on the outer surface of the piping components. In order to confirm the effectiveness of EIHSI, one series of tests were conducted on a weld joint between the pipe flange and the straight pipe. The measured residual stresses and also the results of the cracking test revealed that EIHSI is a superior method to suppress the ESCC. The outline of EIHSI and the verification tests are presented in this paper. (author)

Control instrumentation and data handling of heavy current inductive load interrupter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calpin, J.E.

1983-01-01

The heavy duty DC interrupter is a switching system with the ability to interrupt very high inductive currents with precise timing, work in concert with an additional number of similar systems, and withstand fast recovery voltages (30 kV) after interruption. Further, it is required to be self-protecting and the high current busses isolated to 50 kV DC and subjected to 95 kV BIL test voltages. Interruption is accomplished by the separation of vacuum interrupter contacts, which prior to counterpulse arc for milliseconds, generating horrendous noise signals of frequencies from DC to ultraviolet. Neutralization of such signals on the computer interface was effected by unique BALUN filters on 25 control and status lines. The noise abatement circuitry rationale will be discussed along with triple shielding, Hall effect current level sensing and light pipe communication between high level busses and interface HTL cards. Triggering of the isolated counterpulse circuitry will be outlined. The self-protective aspects of the system employ current sensors to reclose the interrupter if current persists for two milliseconds after counterpulse

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, L.; Sieverts Nielsen, P.

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results; to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the results of the national implementation for Denmark. Three different fuel cycles have been chosen as case studies. These are fuel cycles for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant based on biogas. The report covers all the details of the application of the methodology to these fuel cycles aggregation to a national level. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 59 tabs., 25 ills., 61 refs

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, L; Sieverts Nielsen, P

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results; to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the results of the national implementation for Denmark. Three different fuel cycles have been chosen as case studies. These are fuel cycles for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant based on biogas. The report covers all the details of the application of the methodology to these fuel cycles aggregation to a national level. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 59 tabs., 25 ills., 61 refs.

Environmental externalities related to power production on biogas and natural gas based on the EU ExternE methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Per Sieverts; Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner

1998-01-01

This paper assesses the environmental impacts and external costs from selected electricity generation systems in Denmark. The assessment is carried out as part of the ExternE National Implementation, which is the second phase of the ExternE project and involves case studies from all Western...... European countries. The project use a “bottom-up” methodology to evaluate the external costs associated with a wide range of different fuel cycles. The project has identified priority impacts, where most are impacts from air emissions. Externalities due to atmospheric emissions are calculated through...

Improving the efficiency of quantitative (1)H NMR: an innovative external standard-internal reference approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yande; Su, Bao-Ning; Ye, Qingmei; Palaniswamy, Venkatapuram A; Bolgar, Mark S; Raglione, Thomas V

2014-01-01

The classical internal standard quantitative NMR (qNMR) method determines the purity of an analyte by the determination of a solution containing the analyte and a standard. Therefore, the standard must meet the requirements of chemical compatibility and lack of resonance interference with the analyte as well as a known purity. The identification of such a standard can be time consuming and must be repeated for each analyte. In contrast, the external standard qNMR method utilizes a standard with a known purity to calibrate the NMR instrument. The external standard and the analyte are measured separately, thereby eliminating the matter of chemical compatibility and resonance interference between the standard and the analyte. However, the instrumental factors, including the quality of NMR tubes, must be kept the same. Any deviations will compromise the accuracy of the results. An innovative qNMR method reported herein utilizes an internal reference substance along with an external standard to assume the role of the standard used in the traditional internal standard qNMR method. In this new method, the internal reference substance must only be chemically compatible and be free of resonance-interference with the analyte or external standard whereas the external standard must only be of a known purity. The exact purity or concentration of the internal reference substance is not required as long as the same quantity is added to the external standard and the analyte. The new method reduces the burden of searching for an appropriate standard for each analyte significantly. Therefore the efficiency of the qNMR purity assay increases while the precision of the internal standard method is retained. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

External and internal geometry of European adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand, Samuel; Skalli, Wafa; Delacherie, Laurent; Bonneau, Dominique; Kalifa, Gabriel; Mitton, David

2006-12-15

The primary objective of the study was to bring a deeper knowledge of the human anthropometry, investigating the external and internal body geometry of small women, mid-sized men and tall men. Sixty-four healthy European adults were recruited. External measurements were performed using classical anthropometric instruments. Internal measurements of the trunk bones were performed using a stereo-radiographic 3D reconstruction technique. Besides the original procedure presented in this paper for performing in vivo geometrical data acquisition on numerous volunteers, this study provides an extensive description of both external and internal (trunk skeleton) human body geometry for three morphotypes. Moreover, this study proposes a global external and internal geometrical description of 5th female 50th male and 95th male percentile subjects. This study resulted in a unique geometrical database enabling improvement for numerical models of the human body for crash test simulation and offering numerous possibilities in the anthropometry field.

Checklists for external validity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dyrvig, Anne-Kirstine; Kidholm, Kristian; Gerke, Oke

2014-01-01

to an implementation setting. In this paper, currently available checklists on external validity are identified, assessed and used as a basis for proposing a new improved instrument. METHOD: A systematic literature review was carried out in Pubmed, Embase and Cinahl on English-language papers without time restrictions....... The retrieved checklist items were assessed for (i) the methodology used in primary literature, justifying inclusion of each item; and (ii) the number of times each item appeared in checklists. RESULTS: Fifteen papers were identified, presenting a total of 21 checklists for external validity, yielding a total...... of 38 checklist items. Empirical support was considered the most valid methodology for item inclusion. Assessment of methodological justification showed that none of the items were supported empirically. Other kinds of literature justified the inclusion of 22 of the items, and 17 items were included...

Improving efficiency and safety in external beam radiation therapy treatment delivery using a Kaizen approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapur, Ajay; Adair, Nilda; O'Brien, Mildred; Naparstek, Nikoleta; Cangelosi, Thomas; Zuvic, Petrina; Joseph, Sherin; Meier, Jason; Bloom, Beatrice; Potters, Louis

Modern external beam radiation therapy treatment delivery processes potentially increase the number of tasks to be performed by therapists and thus opportunities for errors, yet the need to treat a large number of patients daily requires a balanced allocation of time per treatment slot. The goal of this work was to streamline the underlying workflow in such time-interval constrained processes to enhance both execution efficiency and active safety surveillance using a Kaizen approach. A Kaizen project was initiated by mapping the workflow within each treatment slot for 3 Varian TrueBeam linear accelerators. More than 90 steps were identified, and average execution times for each were measured. The time-consuming steps were stratified into a 2 × 2 matrix arranged by potential workflow improvement versus the level of corrective effort required. A work plan was created to launch initiatives with high potential for workflow improvement but modest effort to implement. Time spent on safety surveillance and average durations of treatment slots were used to assess corresponding workflow improvements. Three initiatives were implemented to mitigate unnecessary therapist motion, overprocessing of data, and wait time for data transfer defects, respectively. A fourth initiative was implemented to make the division of labor by treating therapists as well as peer review more explicit. The average duration of treatment slots reduced by 6.7% in the 9 months following implementation of the initiatives (P = .001). A reduction of 21% in duration of treatment slots was observed on 1 of the machines (P Kaizen approach has the potential to improve operational efficiency and safety with quick turnaround in radiation therapy practice by addressing non-value-adding steps characteristic of individual department workflows. Higher effort opportunities are identified to guide continual downstream quality improvements. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Published by

The collateral circulation of the heart

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

The coronary arteries have been regarded as end arteries for decades. However, there are functionally relevant anastomotic vessels, known as collateral arteries, which interconnect epicardial coronary arteries. These vessels provide an alternative source of blood supply to the myocardium in cases of occlusive coronary artery disease. The relevance of these collateral arteries is a matter of ongoing debate, but increasing evidence indicates a relevant protective role in patients with coronary artery disease. The collateral circulation can be assessed by different methods; the gold standard involves intracoronary pressure measurements. While the first clinical trials to therapeutically induce growth of collateral arteries have been unavailing, recent pilot studies using external counterpulsation or growth factors such as granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) have shown promising results. PMID:23735225

Short-term Androgen-Deprivation Therapy Improves Prostate Cancer-Specific Mortality in Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Dose-Escalated External Beam Radiation Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zumsteg, Zachary S.; Spratt, Daniel E.; Pei, Xin; Yamada, Yoshiya; Kalikstein, Abraham; Kuk, Deborah; Zhang, Zhigang; Zelefsky, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Purpose: We investigated the benefit of short-term androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PC) receiving dose-escalated external beam radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: The present retrospective study comprised 710 intermediate-risk PC patients receiving external beam radiation therapy with doses of ≥81 Gy at a single institution from 1992 to 2005, including 357 patients receiving neoadjuvant and concurrent ADT. Prostate-specific antigen recurrence-free survival (PSA-RFS) and distant metastasis (DM) were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models. PC-specific mortality (PCSM) was assessed using competing-risks analysis. Results: The median follow-up was 7.9 years. Despite being more likely to have higher PSA levels, Gleason score 4 + 3 = 7, multiple National Comprehensive Cancer Network intermediate-risk factors, and older age (P≤.001 for all comparisons), patients receiving ADT had improved PSA-RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.598; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.435-0.841; P=.003), DM (HR, 0.424; 95% CI, 0.219-0.819; P=.011), and PCSM (HR, 0.380; 95% CI, 0.157-0.921; P=.032) on univariate analysis. Using multivariate analysis, ADT was an even stronger predictor of improved PSA-RFS (adjusted HR [AHR], 0.516; 95% CI, 0.360-0.739; P<.001), DM (AHR, 0.347; 95% CI, 0.176-0.685; P=.002), and PCSM (AHR, 0.297; 95% CI, 0.128-0.685; P=.004). Gleason score 4 + 3 = 7 and ≥50% positive biopsy cores were other independent predictors of PCSM. Conclusions: Short-term ADT improves PSA-RFS, DM, and PCSM in patients with intermediate-risk PC undergoing dose-escalated external beam radiation therapy

Using Quality Improvement to Improve Internal and External Coordination and Referrals.

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Katherine L; Collins, Ragan P

As part of accreditation, Public Health Accreditation Board site visitors recommended that the New Orleans Health Department strengthen its quality improvement program. With support from the Public Health Accreditation Board, the New Orleans Health Department subsequently embarked on a data-driven planning process through which it prioritized quality improvement projects for 2016. One of these projects aimed to improve referrals to New Orleans Health Department's direct services programs from local clinics and hospitals to better provide our most vulnerable residents with a continuum of care. After completing a cause-and-effect analysis, we implemented a solution involving increased outreach to health care institutions and saw annual participation increase in 3 out of 4 of our programs. We leveraged this work to successfully apply for funding to create a centralized referral system, which will facilitate partnerships among local health and human service agencies and improve access to services. This is one example of how accreditation has benefited our health department and our community. We have found that the accreditation process promotes a culture of quality and helps health departments identify and address areas for improvement.

Electric utility resource expansion planning using environmental externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, D.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the recent experience of San Diego Gas ampersand Electric Company using environmental externalities in the expansion planning of its electrical system. This is the first time that this method of planning has been used in the electric utility industry in California. The paper reviews the conceptual development of the monetary values for environmental externalities and shows how the application of these values modifies the resource selection process. This paper should be of interest to professionals involved in policy issues relating to the use of environmental externalities as a means to improve the environment. The experience gained through this analyses should also benefit electric utility personnel involved in planning, and regulators interested in planning

Regulating multiple externalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waldo, Staffan; Jensen, Frank; Nielsen, Max

2016-01-01

Open access is a well-known externality problem in fisheries causing excess capacity and overfishing. Due to global warming, externality problems from CO2 emissions have gained increased interest. With two externality problems, a first-best optimum can be achieved by using two regulatory instrume......Open access is a well-known externality problem in fisheries causing excess capacity and overfishing. Due to global warming, externality problems from CO2 emissions have gained increased interest. With two externality problems, a first-best optimum can be achieved by using two regulatory...

The Prevention Program for Externalizing Problem Behavior (PEP) Improves Child Behavior by Reducing Negative Parenting: Analysis of Mediating Processes in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Hanisch, Charlotte; Hautmann, Christopher; Plück, Julia; Eichelberger, Ilka; Döpfner, Manfred

2014-01-01

Background: Our indicated Prevention program for preschool children with Externalizing Problem behavior (PEP) demonstrated improved parenting and child problem behavior in a randomized controlled efficacy trial and in a study with an effectiveness design. The aim of the present analysis of data from the randomized controlled trial was to identify…

Analysis of external flooding events occurred in foreign nuclear power plant sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Dan; Cai Hankun; Xiao Zhi; An Hongzhen; Mao Huan

2013-01-01

This paper screens and studies 17 external flooding events occurred in foreign NPP sites, analysis the characteristic of external flooding events based on the source of the flooding, the impact on the building, systems and equipment, as well as the threat to nuclear safety. Furthermore, based on the experiences and lessons learned from Fukushima nuclear accident relating to external flooding and countermeasures carried out in the world, some suggestions are proposed in order to improve external flooding response capacity for Chinese NPPs. (authors)

Risk and sensitivity analysis in relation to external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alzbutas, R.; Urbonas, R.; Augutis, J.

2001-01-01

This paper presents risk and sensitivity analysis of external events impacts on the safe operation in general and in particular the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant safety systems. Analysis is based on the deterministic and probabilistic assumptions and assessment of the external hazards. The real statistic data are used as well as initial external event simulation. The preliminary screening criteria are applied. The analysis of external event impact on the NPP safe operation, assessment of the event occurrence, sensitivity analysis, and recommendations for safety improvements are performed for investigated external hazards. Such events as aircraft crash, extreme rains and winds, forest fire and flying parts of the turbine are analysed. The models are developed and probabilities are calculated. As an example for sensitivity analysis the model of aircraft impact is presented. The sensitivity analysis takes into account the uncertainty features raised by external event and its model. Even in case when the external events analysis show rather limited danger, the sensitivity analysis can determine the highest influence causes. These possible variations in future can be significant for safety level and risk based decisions. Calculations show that external events cannot significantly influence the safety level of the Ignalina NPP operation, however the events occurrence and propagation can be sufficiently uncertain.(author)

Approaches in estimation of external cost for fuel cycles in the ExternE project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afanas'ev, A.A.; Maksimenko, B.N.

1998-01-01

The purposes, content and main results of studies realized within the frameworks of the International Project ExternE which is the first comprehensive attempt to develop general approach to estimation of external cost for different fuel cycles based on utilization of nuclear and fossil fuels, as well as on renewable power sources are discussed. The external cost of a fuel cycle is treated as social and environmental expenditures which are not taken into account by energy producers and consumers, i.e. these are expenditures not included into commercial cost nowadays. The conclusion on applicability of the approach suggested for estimation of population health hazards and environmental impacts connected with electric power generation growth (expressed in money or some other form) is made

Bursting pressure of autofrettaged cylinders with inclined external cracks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seifi, Rahman; Babalhavaeji, Majid

2012-01-01

Autofrettaging a pressure vessel improves its pressure capacity. This is reliable if there isn’t any crack or other type of flaws. In this paper, the effects of external surface cracks on bursting pressure of autofrettaged cylinders are studied. It is observed that bursting pressure decreases considerably (up to 30%) due to external cracks in the cylinders without autofrettage. This reduction increases for high levels of the applied autofrettage. External axial cracks have more effects than inclined cracks. Comparing experimental and numerical results show that the numerical methods can acceptably predict the bursting pressure of the autofrettaged cracked cylinders. These predictions are valid when the fracture parameter (J-Integral) is calculated from the modified equation that takes into account the effects of residual stresses. - Highlights: ► Modified J-Integral can be used for study of autofrettaged cracked cylinders. ► External axial cracks reduce considerably the pressure capacity of cylinders. ► External circumferential cracks have not considerable effects on bursting pressure. ► Autofrettage has contrary effects on external crack in compared with internal crack.

Failure analysis and shock protection of external hard disk drive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Technology for processing and storage of data in portable external storage hard disks has increasingly improved over the years. Currently, terabytes of data can be stored in one portable external storage hard disk drive. Storing such amount of data on a single disk on itself is a risk. Several instances of data lost by big ...

External query expansion in the blogosphere

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weerkamp, W.; de Rijke, M.; Voorhees, E.M.; Buckland, L.P.

2009-01-01

We describe the participation of the University of Amsterdam’s ILPS group in the blog track at TREC 2008. We mainly explored different ways of using external corpora to expand the original query. In the blog post retrieval task we did not succeed in improving over a simple baseline (equal weights

Contracting for Competitive Supply Chains under Network Externalities and Demand Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojing Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Based on network externalities and demand uncertainty environment, supply chain competition model is built; we identify the valid mechanism for the alternative range of profit-sharing contracts and also analyze the effect of product substitutability coefficient and network externalities on the alliance and profit-sharing contract. The results show that the vertical alliance contributes profit improvement to both the manufacturer and the retailer when the impact of network externalities on the product substitutability is not strong. However, vertical alliance will be out of operation when the effect of network externalities on the product substitutability is strong.

An external domino effects investment approach to improve cross-plant safety within chemical clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reniers, Genserik

2010-01-01

Every company situated within a chemical cluster faces the risk of being struck by an escalating accident at one of its neighbouring plants (the so-called external domino effect risks). These cross-plant risks can be reduced or eliminated if neighbouring companies are willing to invest in systems and measures to prevent them. However, since reducing such multi-plant risks does not lead to direct economic benefits, enterprises tend to be reluctant to invest more than needed for meeting minimal legal requirements and they tend to invest without collaborating. The suggested approach in this article indicates what information is required to evaluate the available investment options in external domino effects prevention. To this end, game theory is used as a promising scientific technique to investigate the decision-making process on investments in prevention measures simultaneously involving several plants. The game between two neighbouring chemical plants and their strategic investment behaviour regarding the prevention of external domino effects is described and an illustrative example is provided. Recommendations are formulated to advance cross-plant prevention investments in a two-company cluster.

Nifedipine as a uterine relaxant for external cephalic version: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kok, Marjolein; Bais, Joke M; van Lith, Jan M; Papatsonis, Dimitri M; Kleiverda, Gunilla; Hanny, Dahrs; Doornbos, Johannes P; Mol, Ben W; van der Post, Joris A

2008-08-01

To estimate the effectiveness of nifedipine as a uterine relaxant during external cephalic version to correct breech presentation. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, women with a singleton fetus in breech presentation and a gestational age of 36 weeks or more were eligible for enrollment. Participating women received two doses of either nifedipine 10 mg or placebo, 30 and 15 minutes before the external cephalic version attempt. The primary outcome was a cephalic-presenting fetus immediately after the procedure. Secondary outcome measures were cephalic presentation at delivery, mode of delivery, and adverse events. A sample size of 292 was calculated to provide 80% power to detect a 17% improvement of the external cephalic version success rate, assuming a placebo group rate of 40% and alpha of .05. Outcome data for 310 of 320 randomly assigned participants revealed no significant difference in external cephalic version success rates between treatment (42%) and control group (37%) (relative risk 1.1, 95%; 95% confidence interval 0.85-1.5). The cesarean delivery rate was 51% in the treatment group and 46% in the control group (relative risk 1.1, 95% confidence interval 0.88-1.4). Nifedipine did not significantly improve the success of external cephalic version. Future use of nifedipine to improve the outcome of external cephalic version should be limited to large clinical trials.

Analysis of External Treatment Methods and Technical Characteristics of External Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui; Miao, Mingsan; Bai, Ming

2018-01-01

Chinese medicine external therapy is a treatment method of Chinese medicine with Chinese characteristics. The effect of traditional Chinese medicine external treatment, convenient operation, external treatment and technology has great prospects for development. The traditional Chinese medicine external treatment method and technical characteristics were analyzed.

A concept of external aerodynamic elements in improving the performance of natural smoke ventilation in wind conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Wegrzyński, Wojciech; Krajewski, Grzegorz; Kimbar, Grzegorz

2018-01-01

This paper is a proposal of a new device that may be used as a component of natural smoke ventilation systems - an external aerodynamic baffle used to limit the wind effect at the most adverse angle. Natural ventilation is not only affected by the external wind, but also dependent on the angle of wind attack. It has been proven, that at angles between 45° to 60° the performance of such device is the lowest. This is the reason why additional device is proposed - external baffle that could hypothetically increase the performance at chosen angles. The purpose of this paper is to explore this idea by numerical modelling of such external elements on a validated natural ventilator model, with use of ANSYS® Fluent® CFD model.

Lessons learned from EU stress tests evaluations with regard to external hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misak, J.

2014-01-01

The presentation was oriented to critical review of the lessons learned from the European Union (EU) Stress Test focusing on NPP robustness against external hazards. These lessons addressed: - organization of the stress tests, - scope and objectives of the stress tests, - peer review findings, recommendations and implications on the design in the area of external hazards, - further studies recommended in the area of external hazards and PSA, - relevant research areas identified by the SNETP Task Group in response to Fukushima accident. Some important conclusions were made in the final part of the presentation: - Vulnerability to the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accidents caused by external hazards and including their secondary effects was underestimated, - Lessons learned from Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accidents, from the EU Stress Test and from peer reviews are to be reflected in safety improvements of operating plants and considered in new designs, - while no completely new phenomena were revealed from the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accidents, improvements in specific research areas (including external hazards and use of PSA) should be considered with high priority

Improvement in the performance of external quality assessment in Korean HIV clinical laboratories using unrecalcified human plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jin-Sook; Kee, Mee-Kyung; Choi, Byeong-Sun; Kim, Chan-Wha; Kim, Hyon-Suk; Kim, Sung Soon

2012-01-01

The external quality assessment schemes (EQAS) organizer provides a suitable program to monitor and improve the quality of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing laboratories with EQAS panels prepared under various conditions. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of human plasma samples on the EQAS results of HIV obtained from hospital-based clinical laboratories. From 2007 to 2009, HIV EQAS panels consisted of four to six samples that consisted of undiluted positive and negative samples and were provided to laboratories twice per year. Up until the first half EQAS in 2008, EQAS panel materials were obtained by converting acid citrate dextrose treated plasma to serum via chemical treatment with CaCl2. Beginning with the second EQAS in 2008, all materials were prepared without the defibrination process. Approximately 300 HIV clinical laboratories participated in this program. The overall performance of clinical laboratories was shown to be improved when using unrecalcified plasma panels compared with recalcified panels. Significant differences were observed in EIA analyses of plasma for both positive (plaboratories.

External hazards considered for Paks NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiss, Tibor

2000-01-01

PAKS NPP was built according to Soviet construction standards which took into account meteorological aspects but no documents for other external hazards were available. Main activities concerning earthquakes cover reevaluation of the plant site, seismic safety technological concept, improving the seismic resistance, installation of seismic monitoring and protection system, and seismic PSA

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 5. Nuclear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreicer, M.; Tort, V.; Manen, P.

1995-01-01

Since the early 1970s, there has been increased interest in the environmental impacts that are caused by the generation of electricity. The comparative risk assessment studies at that time used mainly deaths and injuries as impact indicators. By the end of the 1980s studies changed to the assessment of the costs imposed on society and the environment that were not included in the market price of the energy produced, the so-called external costs. The preliminary studies that were published set the conceptual basis, grounded in neo-classical economics, for the valuation of the health and environmental impacts that could be assessed. As a consequence of the many questions raised by the methodologies employed by these early studies, Directorate General XII (DG XII) of the Commission of the European Communities established a collaborative research programme with the United States Department of Energy to identify an appropriate methodology for this type of work. Following the completion of this collaboration, the DG XII programme has continued as the ExternE project. The main objective of the work carried out at CEPN was to develop an impact pathway methodology for the nuclear fuel cycle that would be consistent with the methodologies developed for other fuel cycles, without loosing the nuclear-specific techniques required for a proper evaluation. In this way, comparisons between the different fuel cycles would be possible. This report presents the methodology and demonstration of the results in the context of the French nuclear fuel cycle. The United States team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has previously issued a draft report on the results of their assessment. The French fuel cycle was broken down into 8 separate stages. Reference sites and 1990s technology were chosen to represent the total nuclear fuel cycle, as it exists today. In addition, the transportation of material between the sites was considered. The facilities are assessed for routine operation, except

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 4. Oil and gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, R.; Krewitt, W.; Mayerhofer, P.

1995-01-01

Awareness of the environmental damage resulting from human activity, particularly commencing energy use, has grown greatly in recent years. Effects such as global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain are now the subjects of much research and public debate. It is now known that these and other effects damage a wide range of receptors, including human health, forests, crops, freshwater ecosystems and buildings. Such damages are typically not accounted for by the producers and consumers of the good in question (in this case energy). They are thus referred to as 'external costs' or 'externalities', to distinguish them from the private costs which account for the construction of plant, cost of fuel, wages, etc. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the assessment of the environmental and health impacts of energy, and the related external costs. This concern is driven by a number of different factors: the need to integrate environmental concerns in decision making over the choice between different fuels and energy technologies; the need to evaluate the costs and benefits of stricter environmental standards; increased attention to the use of economic instruments for environmental policy, the need to develop overall indicators of environmental performance of different technologies; major changes in the energy sector, including privatisation, liberalisation of markets, reduction of subsidies, etc. An agreed methodology for calculation and integration of external costs has not been established. Earlier work is typically of a preliminary nature and tends to be deficient with respect to both the methods employed and the quality of models and data used. In consequence of this a collaborative project, the EC/US Fuel Cycles Study, was established between Directorate General XLI (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy. This ran for the period 1991 to 1993, and good agreement on a variety of

Evolution of external genitalia: insights from reptilian development.

Science.gov (United States)

Gredler, Marissa L; Larkins, Christine E; Leal, Francisca; Lewis, A Kelsey; Herrera, Ana M; Perriton, Claire L; Sanger, Thomas J; Cohn, Martin J

2014-01-01

External genitalia are found in each of the major clades of amniotes. The phallus is an intromittent organ that functions to deliver sperm into the female reproductive tract for internal fertilization. The cellular and molecular genetic mechanisms of external genital development have begun to be elucidated from studies of the mouse genital tubercle, an embryonic appendage adjacent to the cloaca that is the precursor of the penis and clitoris. Progress in this area has improved our understanding of genitourinary malformations, which are among the most common birth defects in humans, and created new opportunities for comparative studies of other taxa. External genitalia evolve rapidly, which has led to a striking diversity of anatomical forms. Within the past year, studies of external genital development in non-mammalian amniotes, including birds, lizards, snakes, alligators, and turtles, have begun to shed light on the molecular and morphogenetic mechanisms underlying the diversification of phallus morphology. Here, we review recent progress in the comparative developmental biology of external genitalia and discuss the implications of this work for understanding external genital evolution. We address the question of the deep homology (shared common ancestry) of genital structures and of developmental mechanisms, and identify new areas of investigation that can be pursued by taking a comparative approach to studying development of the external genitalia. We propose an evolutionary interpretation of hypospadias, a congenital malformation of the urethra, and discuss how investigations of non-mammalian species can provide novel perspectives on human pathologies.

High Power Diode Lasers with External Feedback: Overview and Prospects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chi, Mingjun; Petersen, Paul Michael

2012-01-01

In summary, different external-cavity feedback techniques to improve the spatial beam quality and narrow the linewidth of the output beam from both BALs and TDLs are presented. Broad-area diode laser system with external-cavity feedback around 800 nm can produce several Watts of output power...... with a good beam quality. Tapered diode laser systems with external-cavity feedback around 800 and 1060 nm can deliver more than 2 W output power with diffraction-limited beam quality and can be operated in single-longitudinal mode. These high-brightness, narrow linewidth, and tunable external-cavity diode...... lasers emerge as the next generation of compact lasers that have the potential of replacing conventional high power laser systems in many existing applications....

Bursting pressure of autofrettaged cylinders with inclined external cracks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seifi, Rahman, E-mail: rseifi@basu.ac.ir [Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Babalhavaeji, Majid [Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-01-15

Autofrettaging a pressure vessel improves its pressure capacity. This is reliable if there isn't any crack or other type of flaws. In this paper, the effects of external surface cracks on bursting pressure of autofrettaged cylinders are studied. It is observed that bursting pressure decreases considerably (up to 30%) due to external cracks in the cylinders without autofrettage. This reduction increases for high levels of the applied autofrettage. External axial cracks have more effects than inclined cracks. Comparing experimental and numerical results show that the numerical methods can acceptably predict the bursting pressure of the autofrettaged cracked cylinders. These predictions are valid when the fracture parameter (J-Integral) is calculated from the modified equation that takes into account the effects of residual stresses. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Modified J-Integral can be used for study of autofrettaged cracked cylinders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer External axial cracks reduce considerably the pressure capacity of cylinders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer External circumferential cracks have not considerable effects on bursting pressure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Autofrettage has contrary effects on external crack in compared with internal crack.

Findings Brief External Review of the Ecosystem Approaches to ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

External Review of the Ecosystem Approaches to Human. Health Program ... Improved understanding of social, political, economic, and ecological interactions and .... global learning, communication among partners and others stakeholders.

An external domino effects investment approach to improve cross-plant safety within chemical clusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Reniers, Genserik

2010-05-15

Every company situated within a chemical cluster faces the risk of being struck by an escalating accident at one of its neighbouring plants (the so-called external domino effect risks). These cross-plant risks can be reduced or eliminated if neighbouring companies are willing to invest in systems and measures to prevent them. However, since reducing such multi-plant risks does not lead to direct economic benefits, enterprises tend to be reluctant to invest more than needed for meeting minimal legal requirements and they tend to invest without collaborating. The suggested approach in this article indicates what information is required to evaluate the available investment options in external domino effects prevention. To this end, game theory is used as a promising scientific technique to investigate the decision-making process on investments in prevention measures simultaneously involving several plants. The game between two neighbouring chemical plants and their strategic investment behaviour regarding the prevention of external domino effects is described and an illustrative example is provided. Recommendations are formulated to advance cross-plant prevention investments in a two-company cluster. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Management and sustainability of external debt: A focus on the emerging economies of Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stella Muhanji

2011-07-01

Full Text Available African countries have had the notoriety of being characterized by unsustainable external debt. Despite several announced intents by world development agencies to reverse this trend, there appears to be only minimal progress. This paper points to failure to determine appropriate levels of sustainable external debt, inadequate effective governance infrastructure, and ineffective management of external shocks, as important reasons why Africa's external debt problems have persisted. We derive African-relevant thresholds for sustainable external debt, and highlight quantifiable improvements African countries can experience if they were to adopt better governance infrastructures and effective management of external shocks.

An exploration of the relations between external representations and working memory.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiajie Zhang

Full Text Available It is commonly hypothesized that external representations serve as memory aids and improve task performance by means of expanding the limited capacity of working memory. However, very few studies have directly examined this memory aid hypothesis. By systematically manipulating how information is available externally versus internally in a sequential number comparison task, three experiments were designed to investigate the relation between external representations and working memory. The experimental results show that when the task requires information from both external representations and working memory, it is the interaction of information from the two sources that determines task performance. In particular, when information from the two sources does not match well, external representations hinder instead of enhance task performance. The study highlights the important role the coordination among different representations plays in distributed cognition. The general relations between external representations and working memory are discussed.

Image denoising by exploring external and internal correlations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Huanjing; Sun, Xiaoyan; Yang, Jingyu; Wu, Feng

2015-06-01

Single image denoising suffers from limited data collection within a noisy image. In this paper, we propose a novel image denoising scheme, which explores both internal and external correlations with the help of web images. For each noisy patch, we build internal and external data cubes by finding similar patches from the noisy and web images, respectively. We then propose reducing noise by a two-stage strategy using different filtering approaches. In the first stage, since the noisy patch may lead to inaccurate patch selection, we propose a graph based optimization method to improve patch matching accuracy in external denoising. The internal denoising is frequency truncation on internal cubes. By combining the internal and external denoising patches, we obtain a preliminary denoising result. In the second stage, we propose reducing noise by filtering of external and internal cubes, respectively, on transform domain. In this stage, the preliminary denoising result not only enhances the patch matching accuracy but also provides reliable estimates of filtering parameters. The final denoising image is obtained by fusing the external and internal filtering results. Experimental results show that our method constantly outperforms state-of-the-art denoising schemes in both subjective and objective quality measurements, e.g., it achieves >2 dB gain compared with BM3D at a wide range of noise levels.

Externalities of the energy. The nuclear case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Notari, Carla; Perl, Hugo

2005-01-01

When referring to private energy cost, which reflects the market value of energy, important elements are left aside in the evaluation process. These elements or externalities have an impact on third parties. The impact can be positive or negative and nowadays it is increasingly relevant to take them into account and include them in the project evaluation, specially when we are looking for sustainable development. The environmental impact and health effects are the most visible items but not the unique which generate externalities. The supply security, prices stability, employment impact and trade balance, are also important factors, although not much improvement has been achieved in their quantitative evaluation. (author) [es

Initial results of shoulder MRI in external rotation after primary shoulder dislocation and after immobilization in external rotation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pennekamp, W.; Nicolas, V.; Gekle, C.; Seybold, D.

2006-01-01

Purpose: A change in the strategy for treating primary anterior traumatic dislocation of the shoulder has occurred. To date, brief fixation of internal rotation via a Gilchrist bandage has been used. Depending on the patient's age, a redislocation is seen in up to 90% of cases. This is due to healing of the internally rotated labrum-ligament tear in an incorrect position. In the case of external rotation of the humerus, better repositioning of the labrum ligament complex is achieved. Using MRI of the shoulder in external rotation, the extent of the improved labrum-ligament adjustment can be documented, and the indication of immobilization of the shoulder in external rotation can be derived. The aim of this investigation is to describe the degree of position changing of the labrum-ligament tear in internal and external rotation. Materials and Methods: 10 patients (9 male, 1 female, mean age 30.4 years, range 15-43 years) with a primary anterior dislocation of the shoulder without hyper laxity of the contra lateral side and labrum-ligament lesion substantiated by MRI were investigated using a standard shoulder MRI protocol (PD-TSE axial fs, PD-TSE coronar fs, T2-TSE sagittal, T1-TSE coronar) by an axial PD-TSE sequence in internal and external rotation. The dislocation and separation of the anterior labrum-ligament complex were measured. The shoulders were immobilized in 10 external rotation for 3 weeks. After 6 weeks a shoulder MRI in internal rotation was performed. Results: In all patients there was a significantly better position of the labrum-ligament complex of the inferior rim in external rotation, because of the tension of the ventral capsule and the subscapular muscle. In the initial investigation, the separation of the labrum-ligament complex in internal rotation was 0.44±0.27 mm and the dislocation was 0.45±0.33 mm. In external rotation the separation was 0.01±0.19 mm and the dislocation was -0.08±0.28 mm. After 6 weeks of immobilization in 10 external

Modal response of interior mass based upon external measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chow, C T; Eli, M; Jorgensen, B R; Woehrle, T.

1999-01-01

Modal response testing has been used to predict the motion of interior masses of a system in which only external instrumentation is allowed. Testing of this form may occasionally be necessary in validation of a computer model, but also has potential as a tool for validating individual assemblies in a QA process. Examination of the external frequency response and mode shapes can offer insight into interior response. The interpretation of these results is improved through parallel analytical solutions. A simple, three-mass model has been examined experimentally and analytically to demonstrate modal theory. These results show the limitations of the external measurement in predicting internal response due to transmissibility. A procedure for utilizing external testing is described. The question posed through this research is whether or not modal correlation analysis can be adapted for use in systems for which instrumentation of critical components is missing

A comparative study of external radiotherapy alone versus external radiotherapy + brachytherapy in carcinoma cervix stage III B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bardia, M.R.; Bhargava, S.C.; Chaudhary, R.K.; Agrawal, V.K.; Singh, K.; Vyas, R.

1987-01-01

Carcinoma of the cervix is the commonest cancer seen in women at Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner (Rajasthan). In the present study external radio-therapy and brachytherapy are used in carcinoma cervix stage III B. After 4000 to 4500 rads to pelvis by external radio-therapy, patient was assessed for intra cavitary application. Total given dose to point A was 7500 rads, to point B was 5000 rads. If patient was not suitable a split course was given where patient was asked to come after 3 weeks for intracavitary application. A comparative study of both methods was done. There was significant improvement in the control of central disease by applying intracavitary source. Radiation reactions were comparable. (author). 4 tables, 10 refs

ExternE - valuation of hydro power in Klippen. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Maans

1998-08-01

ExternE is a pan E uropean project aimed at identifying and quantifying external effects from different energy production technologies around Europe. The Swedish implementation carried out case studies on a biomass plant, a coal plant and a hydro power plant. The conventional approach within the ExternE project is to estimate impacts for each priority pathway associated with the fuel cycle, and then economic methods to obtain estimates for the economic damage of each particular impact pathway. However, in the case of hydro power, it is generally not possible to estimate the most important impacts quantitatively. Therefore, a contingent valuation (CV) study was initiated. In a typical CV-study, a selection of individuals are asked to state their willingness to pay for a certain environmental improvement or to avoid an environmental damage. Welfare economic theory suggests that the well-being effects on people from a change from one situation to another can be measured as their willingness to pay or to accept an economic transaction for this change. Environmental services, such as those provided by a river system, are public services and have generally no market price, but the analyst can use people's stated preferences to determine the correct prices of environmental goods and services. The CV study was initiated to obtain an externality value for Klippens Kraftstation. The performed study was of Ex Ante type, which means estimating the values before the exploitation. For this purpose, a site similar to Klippen but without exploitation, was selected: Vojmaan. Three groups of respondents; the local population, the tourists, and the average Swede, were asked to state their perspective on hydro power development their WTP for preserving Vojmaan in its current condition. The results indicate that Locals and Tourists differ significantly from Swedes. The average willingness to pay is calculated from the respondents who absolutely will pay, and those who maybe pay. The

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for externalizing disorders: A meta-analysis of treatment effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Battagliese, Gemma; Caccetta, Maria; Luppino, Olga Ines; Baglioni, Chiara; Cardi, Valentina; Mancini, Francesco; Buonanno, Carlo

2015-12-01

Externalizing disorders are the most common and persistent forms of maladjustment in childhood. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis evaluating the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to reduce externalizing symptoms in two disorders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositive Defiant Disorder (ODD). The efficacy of CBT to improve social competence and positive parenting and reduce internalizing behaviors, parent stress and maternal depression was also explored. The database PsycInfo, PsycARTICLES, Medline and PubMed were searched to identify relevant studies. Twenty-one trials met the inclusion criteria. Results showed that the biggest improvement, after CBT, was in ODD symptoms (-0.879) followed by parental stress (-0.607), externalizing symptoms (-0.52), parenting skills (-0.381), social competence (-0.390) and ADHD symptoms (-0.343). CBT was also associated with improved attention (-0.378), aggressive behaviors (-0.284), internalizing symptoms (-0.272) and maternal depressive symptoms (-0.231). Overall, CBT is an effective treatment option for externalizing disorders and is also associated with reduced parental distress and maternal depressive symptoms. Multimodal treatments targeting both children and caregivers' symptoms (e.g. maternal depressive symptoms) appear important to produce sustained and generalized benefits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Logistics-production, logistics-marketing and external integration: Their impact on performance

OpenAIRE

Giménez, Cristina; Ventura, Eva

2003-01-01

Highly competitive environments are leading companies to implement Supply Chain Management (SCM) to improve performance and gain a competitive advantage. SCM involves integration, co-ordination and collaboration across organisations and throughout the supply chain. It means that SCM requires internal (intraorganisational) and external (interorganisational) integration. This paper examines the Logistics-Production and Logistics- Marketing interfaces and their relation with the external integra...

Weighing environmental externalities: Let's do it right

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joskow, P.L.

1992-01-01

Should we as a society adopt policies to internalize external environmental costs? Of course we should. But we should do it correctly. State public utility commissions (PUCs) that are using numerical 'externality adders' reflecting global and regional environmental impacts in the resource planning and selection process are doing it wrong. The use of these adders is likely to lead to higher electricity prices without a commensurate improvement in environmental impacts in the resource planning and selection process are doing it wrong. The use of these adders is likely to lead to higher electricity prices without a commensurate improvement in environmental quality. Alternative approaches for dealing with environmental damages or externalities exist that can lead utilities to take account of the environmental costs associated with the generation of electricity more effectively and at lower cost. This article discusses what an externality is and why the use of environmental adders by PUCs in the resource selection process, while well intentioned, is a bad idea. The author discusses how the most egregious errors associated with the use of adders can be corrected if PUCs insist on using them. Finally, he outlines an alternative approach that state PUCs can pursue which will better serve the electricity customers they are supposed to protect and promote a cleaner environment at the lowest reasonable cost. The author emphasizes that this is not a debate about whether or not environmental costs should be factored into the investment and operating decisions of firms that produce pollution. Rather, it is about how it should be done and whether state PUCs are in a particularly good position to do it well, given their expertise, legal authorities, other responsibilities and scarce resources

Stabilization of the external kink and the resistive wall mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, M S; Okabayashi, M

2010-01-01

The pursuit of steady-state economic production of thermonuclear fusion energy has led to research on the stabilization of the external kink and the resistive wall mode. Advances in both experiment and theory, together with improvements in diagnostics, heating and feedback methods have led to substantial and steady progress in the understanding and stabilization of these instabilities. Many of the theory and experimental techniques and results that have been developed are useful not only for the stabilization of the resistive wall mode. They can also be used to improve the general performance of fusion confinement devices. The conceptual foundations and experimental results on the stabilization of the external kink and the resistive wall mode are reviewed. (topical review)

Internal and external validation of an ESTRO delineation guideline

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eldesoky, Ahmed R.; Yates, Esben Svitzer; Nyeng, Tine B

2016-01-01

Background and purpose To internally and externally validate an atlas based automated segmentation (ABAS) in loco-regional radiation therapy of breast cancer. Materials and methods Structures of 60 patients delineated according to the ESTRO consensus guideline were included in four categorized...... and axillary nodal levels and poor agreement for interpectoral, internal mammary nodal regions and LADCA. Correcting ABAS significantly improved all the results. External validation of ABAS showed comparable results. Conclusions ABAS is a clinically useful tool for segmenting structures in breast cancer loco...

Feasibility of external rhythmic cueing with the Google Glass for improving gait in people with Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yan; Nonnekes, Jorik; Storcken, Erik J M; Janssen, Sabine; van Wegen, Erwin E H; Bloem, Bastiaan R; Dorresteijn, Lucille D A; van Vugt, Jeroen P P; Heida, Tjitske; van Wezel, Richard J A

2016-06-01

New mobile technologies like smartglasses can deliver external cues that may improve gait in people with Parkinson's disease in their natural environment. However, the potential of these devices must first be assessed in controlled experiments. Therefore, we evaluated rhythmic visual and auditory cueing in a laboratory setting with a custom-made application for the Google Glass. Twelve participants (mean age = 66.8; mean disease duration = 13.6 years) were tested at end of dose. We compared several key gait parameters (walking speed, cadence, stride length, and stride length variability) and freezing of gait for three types of external cues (metronome, flashing light, and optic flow) and a control condition (no-cue). For all cueing conditions, the subjects completed several walking tasks of varying complexity. Seven inertial sensors attached to the feet, legs and pelvis captured motion data for gait analysis. Two experienced raters scored the presence and severity of freezing of gait using video recordings. User experience was evaluated through a semi-open interview. During cueing, a more stable gait pattern emerged, particularly on complicated walking courses; however, freezing of gait did not significantly decrease. The metronome was more effective than rhythmic visual cues and most preferred by the participants. Participants were overall positive about the usability of the Google Glass and willing to use it at home. Thus, smartglasses like the Google Glass could be used to provide personalized mobile cueing to support gait; however, in its current form, auditory cues seemed more effective than rhythmic visual cues.

External financing of projects on cogeneration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contreras Olmedo, D.

1993-01-01

The Spanish Institute for Energy Saving and Diversification (IDAE), provides technical advisement and economical support to those industries requiring an improvement in the energy efficiency of their production chain. This paper focusses on administrative procedures to get external financing as one way to undertake the construction of cogeneration plants. Relationships among user, promoter and financier should be developed according to the outlined procedures. (Author)

The internal-external respiratory motion correlation is unaffected by audiovisual biofeedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Steel, Harry; Pollock, Sean; Lee, Danny; Keall, Paul; Kim, Taeho

2014-03-01

This study evaluated if an audiovisual (AV) biofeedback causes variation in the level of external and internal correlation due to its interactive intervention in natural breathing. The internal (diaphragm) and external (abdominal wall) respiratory motion signals of 15 healthy human subjects under AV biofeedback and free breathing (FB) were analyzed and measures of correlation and regularity taken. Regularity metrics (root mean square error and spectral power dispersion metric) were obtained and the correlation between these metrics and the internal and external correlation was investigated. For FB and AV biofeedback assisted breathing the mean correlations found between internal and external respiratory motion were 0.96±0.02 and 0.96±0.03, respectively. This means there is no evidence to suggest (p-value=0.88) any difference in the correlation between internal and external respiratory motion with the use of AV biofeedback. Our results confirmed the hypothesis that the internal-external correlation with AV biofeedback is the same as for free breathing. Should this correlation be maintained for patients, AV biofeedback can be implemented in the clinic with confidence as regularity improvements using AV biofeedback with an external signal will be reflected in increased internal motion regularity.

[External cephalic version].

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro-Santana, B; Duarez-Coronado, M; Plaza-Arranz, J

2016-08-01

To analyze the rate of successful external cephalic versions in our center and caesarean sections that would be avoided with the use of external cephalic versions. From January 2012 to March 2016 external cephalic versions carried out at our center, which were a total of 52. We collected data about female age, gestational age at the time of the external cephalic version, maternal body mass index (BMI), fetal variety and situation, fetal weight, parity, location of the placenta, amniotic fluid index (ILA), tocolysis, analgesia, and newborn weight at birth, minor adverse effects (dizziness, hypotension and maternal pain) and major adverse effects (tachycardia, bradycardia, decelerations and emergency cesarean section). 45% of the versions were unsuccessful and 55% were successful. The percentage of successful vaginal delivery in versions was 84% (4% were instrumental) and 15% of caesarean sections. With respect to the variables studied, only significant differences in birth weight were found; suggesting that birth weight it is related to the outcome of external cephalic version. Probably we did not find significant differences due to the number of patients studied. For women with breech presentation, we recommend external cephalic version before the expectant management or performing a cesarean section. The external cephalic version increases the proportion of fetuses in cephalic presentation and also decreases the rate of caesarean sections.

Prevalence, Outcome, and Women's Experiences of External Cephalic Version in a Low-Risk Population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijnders, Marlies; Offerhaus, Pien; van Dommelen, Paula; Wiegers, Therese; Buitendijk, Simone

2010-01-01

Background: Until recently, external cephalic version to prevent breech presentation at birth was not widely accepted. The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence, outcomes, and women's experiences of external cephalic version to improve the implementation of the procedure in the

Prevalence, outcome, and women's experiences of external cephalic version in a low-risk population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijnders, M.; Offerhaus, P.; Dommelen, P. van; Wiegers, T.; Buitendijk, S.

2010-01-01

Background: Until recently, external cephalic version to prevent breech presentation at birth was not widely accepted. The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence, outcomes, and women's experiences of external cephalic version to improve the implementation of the procedure in the

External radiation surveillance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antonio, E.J.

1995-06-01

This section of the 1994 Hanford Site Environmental Report describes how external radiation was measured, how surveys were performed, and the results of these measurements and surveys. External radiation exposure rates were measured at locations on and off the Hanford Site using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD). External radiation and contamination surveys were also performed with portable radiation survey instruments at locations on and around the Hanford Site.

External radiation surveillance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonio, E.J.

1995-01-01

This section of the 1994 Hanford Site Environmental Report describes how external radiation was measured, how surveys were performed, and the results of these measurements and surveys. External radiation exposure rates were measured at locations on and off the Hanford Site using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD). External radiation and contamination surveys were also performed with portable radiation survey instruments at locations on and around the Hanford Site

Luminous flux improvement of xenon fluorescent lamps by applying synchronized high-voltage pulse to the auxiliary external electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Motomura, Hideki; Oka, Kojiro; Sogabe, Toru; Jinno, Masafumi, E-mail: hmoto@mayu.ee.ehime-u.ac.jp [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ehime University 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577 (Japan)

2011-06-08

As the environmental awareness of people becomes stronger, the demand for mercury-free light sources also becomes stronger. The authors have been developing cold cathode fluorescent lamps in which xenon gas is filled as an ultraviolet radiator instead of mercury. Previously the authors reported the luminous flux enhancement method using a grounded auxiliary external electrode (AEE). In this paper, in order to improve the luminous flux much more, a positive voltage pulse which was synchronized to the main driving negative voltage pulse was applied to the AEE. As a result, the maximum input power increased under which the positive column did not constrict and the luminous flux improved by 70% at the xenon filling pressure of 6.7 kPa. It is proved that the positive voltage pulse application to the AEE with the amplitude of more than 2 kV expands the positive column in the radial direction. It is attributed to the phenomenon that the residual ions and electrons, which are generated by dielectric barrier discharge between the AEE and the anode during the falling edge of the negative pulse to the cathode, spread the discharge path from the anode towards the AEE during the cold cathode discharge mode. By increasing the xenon filling pressure, luminous efficacy was improved to 25 lm W{sup -1}.

Maternal Depression Mediates the Link Between Therapeutic Alliance and Improvements in Adolescent Externalizing Behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Granic, I.; Otten, R.; Blokland, K.; Solomon, T.; Engels, R.C.M.E.; Ferguson, B.

2012-01-01

The current study: (1) examined the relation between therapeutic alliance and changes in adolescent externalizing behavior in Multisystemic Therapy; (2) tested whether maternal depression mediates this relation; and (3) determined whether mothers' and clinicians' perceptions of the alliance

Two decades of external peer review of cancer care in general hospitals; the Dutch experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilsdonk, Melvin J; Siesling, Sabine; Otter, Rene; van Harten, Wim H

2016-03-01

External peer review was introduced in general hospitals in the Netherlands in 1994 to assess and improve the multidisciplinary team approach in cancer care. This paper aims to explore the value, perceived impact, and (future) role of external peer review in cancer care. Semistructured interviews were held with clinicians, oncology nurses, and managers from fifteen general hospitals that participated in three rounds of peer review over a period of 16 years. Interviewees reflected on the goals and expectations, experiences, perceived impact, and future role of external peer review. Transcriptions of the interviews were coded to discover recurrent themes. Improving clinical care and organization were the main motives for participation. Positive impact was perceived on multiple aspects of care such as shared responsibilities, internal prioritization of cancer care, improved communication, and a clear structure and position of cancer care within general hospitals. Establishing a direct relationship between the external peer review and organizational or clinical impact proved to be difficult. Criticism was raised on the content of the program being too theoretical and organization-focussed after three rounds. According to most stakeholders, external peer review can improve multidisciplinary team work in cancer care; however, the acceptance is threatened by a perceived disbalance between effort and visible clinical impact. Leaner and more clinically focused programs are needed to keep repeated peer reviews challenging and worthwhile. © 2015 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ten Years of External Quality Audit in Australia: Evaluating Its Effectiveness and Success

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Mahsood

2012-01-01

External quality audits are now being used in universities across the world to improve quality assurance, accountability for quality education and transparency of public funding of higher education. Some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark have had external quality audits for more than a decade but there…

Purposefulness of early application of physical rehabilitation means for improvement of external respiration system functional state of women with post mastectomies syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y.A. Briskin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to determine purposefulness of early application of physical rehabilitation means for improvement of external respiration system functional state of women with post mastectomies syndrome. Material: in the research 135 women with post mastectomies syndrome, who endured radical mastectomy by Madden, participated. Women of main groups were trained in compliance with appropriate programs during one year. Effectiveness of trainings was controlled after half of year. Admission to trainings was given by oncologist. Patients of these groups belonged to third clinical group. At the beginning of dispensary period the groups were equal by all indicators of external system function. Results: it was found that early rehabilitation is more effective exclusively for indicators of bronchial patency. Complex, personality oriented program included: aqua-fitness; conditional swimming; health related aerobic and Pilates. It was found that after half year training advantages of early physical rehabilitation were noticed only in indicators of forced exhale volume at first second. Conclusions: we stated importance of early rehabilitation trainings of women with post mastectomies syndrome.

Comparison and improvements of different Bayesian procedures to integrate external information into genetic evaluations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vandenplas, J.; Gengler, N.

2012-01-01

The aim of this research was to compare different Bayesian procedures to integrate information from outside a given evaluation system, hereafter called external information, and in this context estimated breeding values (EBV), into this genetic evaluation, hereafter called internal evaluation, and

Improving domestic wastewater treatment efficiency with constructed wetland microbial fuel cells: Influence of anode material and external resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Corbella, Clara; Puigagut, Jaume

2018-08-01

For the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the operation of constructed wetlands as microbial fuel cells (CW-MFCs) for both the improvement of wastewater treatment efficiency and the production of energy. However, there is still scarce information on design and operation aspects to maximize CW-MFCs efficiency, especially for the treatment of real domestic wastewater. The aim of this study was to quantify the extent of treatment efficiency improvement carried out by membrane-less MFCs simulating a core of a shallow un-planted horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland. The influence of the external resistance (50, 220, 402, 604 and 1000Ω) and the anode material (graphite and gravel) on treatment efficiency improvement were addressed. To this purpose, 6 lab-scale membrane-less MFCs were set-up and loaded in batch mode with domestic wastewater for 13weeks. Results showed that 220Ω was the best operation condition for maximising MFCs treatment efficiency, regardless the anode material employed. Gravel-based anode MFCs operated at closed circuit showed ca. 18%, 15%, 31% and 25% lower effluent concentration than unconnected MFCs to the COD, TOC, PO 4 -3 and NH 4 + -N, respectively. Main conclusion of the present work is that constructed wetlands operated as MFCs is a promising strategy to improve domestic wastewater treatment efficiency. However, further studies at pilot scale under more realistic conditions (such as planted systems operated under continuous mode) shall be performed to confirm the findings here reported. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trance, Transparency and Transformation: The Impact of External Quality Monitoring on Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Stensaker, Bjorn

2003-01-01

Discusses the impact of external quality monitoring (EQM) on higher education and identifies areas in which changes have taken place as a result of such external initiatives. Suggests that the lack of effects related directly to quality improvement should not be conceived as an EQM design error, but rather as a misconception of how organizational…

Protecting exposed tissues with external ultrasonic super-hydration.

Science.gov (United States)

Silberg, Barry Neil

2006-01-01

The author contends that a technique preventing dehydration of exposed tissues, such as external ultrasonic super-hydration, will result in a lower morbidity rate, decreasing deep tissue pain, susceptibility to infection, fat necrosis, wound dehiscence, and improving recovery times. He discusses how he uses this technique in his aesthetic surgery practice.

Increased pain relief with remifentanil does not improve the success rate of external cephalic version: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Burgos, Jorge; Pijoan, José I; Osuna, Carmen; Cobos, Patricia; Rodriguez, Leire; Centeno, María del Mar; Serna, Rosa; Jimenez, Antonia; Garcia, Eugenia; Fernandez-Llebrez, Luis; Melchor, Juan C

2016-05-01

Our objective was to compare the effect of two pain relief methods (remifentanil vs. nitrous oxide) on the success rate of external cephalic version. We conducted a randomized open label parallel-group controlled single-center clinical trial with sequential design, at Cruces University Hospital, Spain. Singleton pregnancies in noncephalic presentation at term that were referred for external cephalic version were assigned according to a balanced (1:1) restricted randomization scheme to analgesic treatment with remifentanil or nitrous oxide during the procedure. The primary endpoint was external cephalic version success rate. Secondary endpoints were adverse event rate, degree of pain, cesarean rate and perinatal outcomes. The trial was stopped early after the second interim analysis due to a very low likelihood of finding substantial differences in efficacy (futility). The external cephalic version success rate was the same in the two arms (31/60, 51.7%) with 120 women recruited, 60 in each arm. The mean pain score was significantly lower in the remifentanil group (3.2 ± 2.4 vs. 6.0 ± 2.3; p external cephalic version-related complications. There was a trend toward a higher frequency of adverse effects in the remifentanil group (18.3% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.10), with a significantly higher incidence rate (21.7 events/100 women vs. 6.7 events/100 women with nitrous oxide, p = 0.03). All reported adverse events were mild and reversible. Remifentanil for analgesia decreased external cephalic version-related pain but did not increase the success rate of external cephalic version at term and appeared to be associated with an increased frequency of mild adverse effects. © 2016 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Parent training: equivalent improvement in externalizing behavior for children with and without familial risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Presnall, Ned; Webster-Stratton, Carolyn H; Constantino, John N

2014-08-01

The Incredible Years Series intervention has demonstrated efficacy for decreasing conduct disorder (CD) symptomatology in clinically affected youth in multiple randomized controlled trials. Because children with family psychiatric histories of antisocial behavior are at markedly increased risk for enduring symptoms of antisocial behavior (compared with their counterparts with a negative family history), the authors examined whether intervention effects across studies would prevail in that subgroup or would be relatively restricted to children without genetic risk. A reanalysis was conducted of 5 randomized controlled trials of Incredible Years involving 280 clinically affected children 3 to 8 years of age for whom a family psychiatric history of externalizing behavior in first- and second-degree relatives was ascertained from at least 1 parent. Incredible Years equally benefitted children with CD with and without family psychiatric histories of externalizing behavior. Family psychiatric history of externalizing behavior and parental depressive symptomatology predicted greater severity of CD symptomatology at baseline. The beneficial effects of IY are evident in children with CD, irrespective of whether their conditions are more or less attributable to inherited susceptibility to enduring antisocial syndromes. A next phase of research should address whether earlier implementation of group-based education for parents of young children at increased familial risk for antisocial behavior syndromes-before the development of disruptive patterns of behavior-would result in even more pronounced effects and thereby constitute a cost-effective, targeted, preventive intervention for CD. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testing links between childhood positive peer relations and externalizing outcomes through a randomized controlled intervention study.

Science.gov (United States)

Witvliet, Miranda; van Lier, Pol A C; Cuijpers, Pim; Koot, Hans M

2009-10-01

In this study, the authors used a randomized controlled trial to explore the link between having positive peer relations and externalizing outcomes in 758 children followed from kindergarten to the end of 2nd grade. Children were randomly assigned to the Good Behavior Game (GBG), a universal classroom-based preventive intervention, or a control condition. Children's acceptance by peers, their number of mutual friends, and their proximity to others were assessed annually through peer ratings. Externalizing behavior was annually rated by teachers. Reductions in children's externalizing behavior and improvements in positive peer relations were found among GBG children, as compared with control-group children. Reductions in externalizing behavior appeared to be partly mediated by the improvements in peer acceptance. This mediating role of peer acceptance was found for boys only. The results suggest that positive peer relations are not just markers, but they are environmental mediators of boys' externalizing behavior development. Implications for research and prevention are discussed. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

External Events PSA for the Paks NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareith, Attila; Karsa, Zoltan; Siklossy, Tamas; Vida, Zoltan

2014-01-01

quantification and interpretation of results. The risk of core damage induced by natural external hazards was quantified to the extent seen feasible. In addition to risk quantification, unresolved issues and necessary follow-on analyses were identified and proposed. At present an action plan is being developed for these analyses. Core damage risk has been assessed quantitatively for wind, snow and frost hazards. Detailed importance, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were conducted. Moreover the main risk contributors induced by these external events were also identified. Additional follow-on analyses were proposed to enable an improved risk quantification by means of reducing uncertainties, establishing a better technical basis for the applied analytical assumptions, or decreasing unnecessarily high conservatism. Based on the findings of hazard assessment and plant response analysis, the core damage risk induced by extreme rainfall and lightning was found to be insignificant. However, some follow-on analyses were proposed and safety enhancement measures were conceptualised to fully underpin this conclusion. Due to lack of appropriate data and supporting analysis on the capacity of plant systems and components no PSA model has been developed yet for extreme temperatures. Follow-on analyses necessary for quantifying the risk of core damage induced by extreme temperatures have been identified. (authors)

Enhancement of modified solar still integrated with external condenser using nanofluids: An experimental approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabeel, A.E.; Omara, Z.M.; Essa, F.A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The effect of using nanofluids on the solar still performance is investigated. • The solar still with external condenser increases the productivity by about 53.2%. • Using nanofluids improves the solar still water productivity by about 116%. - Abstract: The distilled water productivity of the single basin solar still is very limited. In this context, the design modification of a single basin solar still has been investigated to improve the solar still performance through increasing the productivity of distilled water. The experimental attempts are made to enhance the solar still productivity by using nanofluids and also by integrating the still basin with external condenser. The used nanofluid is the suspended nanosized solid particles of aluminum-oxide in water. Nanofluids change the transport properties, heat transfer characteristics and evaporative properties of the water. Nanofluids are expected to exhibit superior evaporation rate compared with conventional water. The effect of adding external condenser to the still basin is to decrease the heat loss by convection from water to glass as the condenser acts as an additional and effective heat and mass sink. So, the effect of drawn vapor at different speeds was investigated. The results show that integrating the solar still with external condenser increases the distillate water yield by about 53.2%. And using nanofluids improves the solar still water productivity by about 116%, when the still integrated with the external condenser

Shear behavior of concrete beams externally prestressed with Parafil ropes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.H. Ghallab

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Although extensive work has been carried out investigating the use of external prestressing system for flexural strengthening, a few studies regarding the shear behavior of externally prestressed beams can be found. Five beams, four of them were externally strengthened using Parafil rope, were loaded up to failure to investigate the effect of shear span/depth ratio, external prestressing force and concrete strength on their shear behavior. Test results showed that the shear span to depth ratio has a significant effect on both the shear strength and failure mode of the strengthened beams and the presence of external prestressing force increased the ultimate load of the tested beams by about 75%. Equations proposed by different codes for both the conventional reinforced concrete beams and for ordinary prestressed beams were used to evaluate the obtained experimental results. In general, codes equations showed a high level of conservatism in predicting the shear strength of the beams. Also, using the full strength rather than half of the concrete shear strength in the Egyptian code PC-method improves the accuracy of the calculated ultimate shear strength.

Improving external cephalic version for foetal breech presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zandstra, H; Mertens, H J M M

2013-01-01

If success rate of external cephalic version (ECV) increases, the rate of primary caesarean sections -declines. The aims of this retrospective cohort study were to evaluate the ECV and to identify factors associated with the success rate of ECV for breech presentation at term. The second aim of this study was to analyse the outcome of labour of all patients with a foetus in breech near term. All women with a foetus in breech near or at term were included. Logistic regression analyses were -performed to identify the association between patient characteristics and success rate of ECV. The overall rate of successful ECV's was 19%. Foetal and maternal complications after ECV were negligible. BMI, type of breech and amount of amniotic fluid were significantly correlated with a successful ECV. The rate of primary caesarean sections for the group of patients who underwent an ECV was lower than the rate in the group who did not (52.9% vs. 79.6%). The rate of spontaneous deliveries was increased after ECV (36% versus 12%). After successful ECV the rate of spontaneous deliveries was 75%; after unsuccessful ECV 26.8%. The overall rate of successful ECV was low (19%). BMI, type of breech and amount of amniotic fluid were significantly correlated with a successful ECV. The rate of primary caesarean sections was significantly lower in patients with ECV (52.9% versus 79.6%). The rate of spontaneous deliveries was significantly higher (36% -versus 12%).

Assessment of external dose indoors in Lithuania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilkyte, L.; Butkus, D.; Morkunas, G.

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper was an assessment of external exposure indoors and its dependence on construction materials and indoor radon concentrations in Lithuanian living houses. Relationship of absorbed dose rate in air indoors and activity indexes of the most commonly used construction materials (wood, concrete and bricks) have been studied using results received in measurements done in >4700 rooms in 1995-2005. Possible connections of dose rate indoors with indoor radon concentrations are also discussed. Findings of this study helped to make an assessment of the mean value of effective dose of Lithuanian population due to external exposure indoors which is equal to 0.58 mSv y -1 . The received data might also be used in improvement of quality of personal dosimetric measurements done in premises constructed of different construction materials. (authors)

Prevalence, outcome, and women’s experiences of external cephalic version in a low-risk population.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijnders, M.; Offerhaus, P.; Dommelen, P. van; Wiegers, T.; Buitendijk, S.

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Until recently, external cephalic version to prevent breech presentation at birth was not widely accepted. The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence, outcomes, and women's experiences of external cephalic version to improve the implementation of the procedure in the

How Does Breadth of External Stakeholder Co-creation Influence Innovation Performance?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markovic, Stefan; Bagherzadeh, Mehdi

2018-01-01

. This contradictory empirical evidence highlights the need to unpack this relationship and examine which mediating variables can ensure that co-creating with various types of external stakeholders results in improved innovation performance. Accordingly, this article investigates the impact of breadth of external...... stakeholder co-creation on innovation performance, considering the mediating roles of knowledge sharing and product innovation. The paper draws on a cross-industrial sample of 1516 Spanish firms. Data are analyzed using a set of ordinary-least-squares regression models. Results show that breadth of external...... stakeholder co-creation is not directly related to innovation performance. Instead, this relationship is either fully mediated by product innovation, or follows the path through knowledge sharing and then product innovation....

What motivates money donation? A study on external motivators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nivea Coelho Degasperi

Full Text Available Abstract The objective of this study is to identify external motivating factors that favor individual money donation. Methodologically, we adopted a descriptive and quantitative cross-sectional study. In order to collect data, we prepared a questionnaire containing 49 statements based on external motivating variables of regular individual money donation found in the literature on the subject. After testing the questionnaire, we applied it to 1073 Brazilians, regular money donors and we performed an exploratory factor analysis. Conclusively, we identified 8 external factors that motivate individual money donation: Trust, Reward, Leadership influences, Characteristics of the organization, Environmental influences, Personal benefits, Characteristics of beneficiaries and Future Interests. We expect that these 8 factors combined, could become a useful tool to improve the management of charitable organizations, especially in defining campaigns or other marketing strategies to attract new donors and raise funds on occasions that are favorable to individual money donation.

Gating based on internal/external signals with dynamic correlation updates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Huanmei; Zhao Qingya; Berbeco, Ross I; Nishioka, Seiko; Shirato, Hiroki; Jiang, Steve B

2008-01-01

Precise localization of mobile tumor positions in real time is critical to the success of gated radiotherapy. Tumor positions are usually derived from either internal or external surrogates. Fluoroscopic gating based on internal surrogates, such as implanted fiducial markers, is accurate however requiring a large amount of imaging dose. Gating based on external surrogates, such as patient abdominal surface motion, is non-invasive however less accurate due to the uncertainty in the correlation between tumor location and external surrogates. To address these complications, we propose to investigate an approach based on hybrid gating with dynamic internal/external correlation updates. In this approach, the external signal is acquired at high frequency (such as 30 Hz) while the internal signal is sparsely acquired (such as 0.5 Hz or less). The internal signal is used to validate and update the internal/external correlation during treatment. Tumor positions are derived from the external signal based on the newly updated correlation. Two dynamic correlation updating algorithms are introduced. One is based on the motion amplitude and the other is based on the motion phase. Nine patients with synchronized internal/external motion signals are simulated retrospectively to evaluate the effectiveness of hybrid gating. The influences of different clinical conditions on hybrid gating, such as the size of gating windows, the optimal timing for internal signal acquisition and the acquisition frequency are investigated. The results demonstrate that dynamically updating the internal/external correlation in or around the gating window will reduce false positive with relatively diminished treatment efficiency. This improvement will benefit patients with mobile tumors, especially greater for early stage lung cancers, for which the tumors are less attached or freely floating in the lung.

Gating based on internal/external signals with dynamic correlation updates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Huanmei [Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, Indiana University School of Informatics, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Zhao Qingya [School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (United States); Berbeco, Ross I [Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Womens Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Nishioka, Seiko [NTT East-Japan Sapporo Hospital, Sapporo (Japan); Shirato, Hiroki [Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan); Jiang, Steve B [Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA (United States)], E-mail: hw9@iupui.edu, E-mail: sbjiang@ucsd.edu

2008-12-21

Precise localization of mobile tumor positions in real time is critical to the success of gated radiotherapy. Tumor positions are usually derived from either internal or external surrogates. Fluoroscopic gating based on internal surrogates, such as implanted fiducial markers, is accurate however requiring a large amount of imaging dose. Gating based on external surrogates, such as patient abdominal surface motion, is non-invasive however less accurate due to the uncertainty in the correlation between tumor location and external surrogates. To address these complications, we propose to investigate an approach based on hybrid gating with dynamic internal/external correlation updates. In this approach, the external signal is acquired at high frequency (such as 30 Hz) while the internal signal is sparsely acquired (such as 0.5 Hz or less). The internal signal is used to validate and update the internal/external correlation during treatment. Tumor positions are derived from the external signal based on the newly updated correlation. Two dynamic correlation updating algorithms are introduced. One is based on the motion amplitude and the other is based on the motion phase. Nine patients with synchronized internal/external motion signals are simulated retrospectively to evaluate the effectiveness of hybrid gating. The influences of different clinical conditions on hybrid gating, such as the size of gating windows, the optimal timing for internal signal acquisition and the acquisition frequency are investigated. The results demonstrate that dynamically updating the internal/external correlation in or around the gating window will reduce false positive with relatively diminished treatment efficiency. This improvement will benefit patients with mobile tumors, especially greater for early stage lung cancers, for which the tumors are less attached or freely floating in the lung.

Laparoscopic ventral rectopexy for external rectal prolapse improves constipation and avoids de novo constipation.

Science.gov (United States)

Boons, P; Collinson, R; Cunningham, C; Lindsey, I

2010-06-01

Abdominal rectopexy is ideal for otherwise healthy patients with rectal prolapse because of low recurrence, yet after posterior rectopexy, half of the patients complain of severe constipation. Resection mitigates this dysfunction but risks a pelvic anastomosis. The novel nerve-sparing ventral rectopexy appears to avoid postero-lateral rectal dissection denervation and thus postoperative constipation. We aimed to evaluate our functional results with laparoscopic ventral rectopexy. Consecutive rectal prolapse patients undergoing laparoscopic ventral rectopexy were prospectively assessed (Wexner Constipation and Faecal Incontinence Severity Index scores) pre-, 3 months postoperatively, and late (> 12 months). Sixty-five consecutive patients with external rectal prolapse (median age 72 years, 34% > 80 years, median follow up 19 months) underwent laparoscopic ventral rectopexy. There was one recurrence (2%) and one conversion. Morbidity (17%) and mortality (0%) were low. Median operating time was 140 min and median length of stay 2 days. At 3 months, constipation was improved in 72% and mildly induced in 2% (median pre-and postoperative Wexner scores 9 vs 4, P constipation and incontinence (P constipation and avoidance of de novo constipation appear superior to historical functional results of posterior rectopexy. A laparoscopic approach allows low morbidity and short hospital stay, even in those patients over 80 years of age in whom a perineal approach is usually preferred for safety.

Fundamental and future prospects of printed ambipolar fluorene-type polymer light-emitting transistors for improved external quantum efficiency, mobility, and emission pattern

Science.gov (United States)

Kajii, Hirotake

2018-05-01

In this review, we focus on the improved external quantum efficiency, field-effect mobility, and emission pattern of top-gate-type polymer light-emitting transistors (PLETs) based on ambipolar fluorene-type polymers. A low-temperature, high-efficiency, printable red phosphorescent PLET based on poly(alkylfluorene) with modified alkyl side chains fabricated by a film transfer process is demonstrated. Device fabrication based on oriented films leads to an improved EL intensity owing to the increase in field-effect mobility. There are three factors that affect the transport of carriers, i.e., the energy level, threshold voltage, and mobility of each layer for heterostructure PLETs, which result in various emission patterns such as the line-shaped, multicolor and in-plane emission pattern in the full-channel area between source and drain electrodes. Fundamentals and future prospects in heterostructure devices are discussed and reviewed.

Using institutional theory to analyse hospital responses to external demands for finance and quality in five European countries

Science.gov (United States)

Mendel, Peter; Nunes, Francisco; Wiig, Siri; van den Bovenkamp, Hester; Karltun, Anette; Robert, Glenn; Anderson, Janet; Vincent, Charles; Fulop, Naomi

2015-01-01

Objectives Given the impact of the global economic crisis, delivering better health care with limited finance grows more challenging. Through the lens of institutional theory, this paper explores pressures experienced by hospital leaders to improve quality and constrain spending, focusing on how they respond to these often competing demands. Methods An in-depth, multilevel analysis of health care quality policies and practices in five European countries including longitudinal case studies in a purposive sample of ten hospitals. Results How hospitals responded to the financial and quality challenges was dependent upon three factors: the coherence of demands from external institutions; managerial competence to align external demands with an overall quality improvement strategy, and managerial stability. Hospital leaders used diverse strategies and practices to manage conflicting external pressures. Conclusions The development of hospital leaders’ skills in translating external requirements into implementation plans with internal support is a complex, but crucial, task, if quality is to remain a priority during times of austerity. Increasing quality improvement skills within a hospital, developing a culture where quality improvement becomes embedded and linking cost reduction measures to improving care are all required. PMID:26683885

Using institutional theory to analyse hospital responses to external demands for finance and quality in five European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnett, Susan; Mendel, Peter; Nunes, Francisco; Wiig, Siri; van den Bovenkamp, Hester; Karltun, Anette; Robert, Glenn; Anderson, Janet; Vincent, Charles; Fulop, Naomi

2016-04-01

Given the impact of the global economic crisis, delivering better health care with limited finance grows more challenging. Through the lens of institutional theory, this paper explores pressures experienced by hospital leaders to improve quality and constrain spending, focusing on how they respond to these often competing demands. An in-depth, multilevel analysis of health care quality policies and practices in five European countries including longitudinal case studies in a purposive sample of ten hospitals. How hospitals responded to the financial and quality challenges was dependent upon three factors: the coherence of demands from external institutions; managerial competence to align external demands with an overall quality improvement strategy, and managerial stability. Hospital leaders used diverse strategies and practices to manage conflicting external pressures. The development of hospital leaders' skills in translating external requirements into implementation plans with internal support is a complex, but crucial, task, if quality is to remain a priority during times of austerity. Increasing quality improvement skills within a hospital, developing a culture where quality improvement becomes embedded and linking cost reduction measures to improving care are all required. © The Author(s) 2015.

Intensive educational efforts combined with external quality assessment improve the preanalytical phase in general practitioner offices and nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sølvik, Una Ørvim; Bjelkarøy, Wenche Iren; Berg, Kari van den; Saga, Anne Lise; Hager, Helle Borgstrøm; Sandberg, Sverre

2017-10-26

Errors in the preanalytical phase in clinical laboratories affect patient safety. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of intensive educational efforts together with external quality assessment (EQA) of the preanalytical phase from 2013 to 2015 to improve patient identification in primary health care in Norway. In addition, routines for venous and capillary blood sampling were investigated. A preanalytical EQA was circulated in 2013 by the Norwegian Quality Improvement of Laboratory Examinations (Noklus) to general practitioner offices and nursing homes (n=2000) to obtain information about important issues to focus on before launching an intensive educational program with courses, posters and visits in 2013-2015. Preanalytical EQA surveys were further circulated in 2014 and 2015. The response rate varied between 42% and 55%. The percentages of participants asking for the patients' name and the Norwegian identification number increased from about 8% in 2013 to about 35% in 2015. The increase was similar for those participating in only one EQA survey and for those who participated in EQA surveys both in 2013 and 2015. Guidelines for venous and capillary blood sampling were not always followed. Educational efforts more than the preanalytical EQA influenced the actions and resulted in an increase in the percentages of participants that followed the guidelines for patient identification. Some aspects of blood sampling routines need improvement.

ASH External Web Portal (External Portal) -

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — The ASH External Web Portal is a web-based portal that provides single sign-on functionality, making the web portal a single location from which to be authenticated...

The human coronary collateral circulation: development and clinical importance.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiler, Christian; Stoller, Michael; Pitt, Bertram; Meier, Pascal

2013-09-01

Coronary collaterals are an alternative source of blood supply to myocardium jeopardized by ischaemia. In comparison with other species, the human coronary collateral circulation is very well developed. Among individuals without coronary artery disease (CAD), there are preformed collateral arteries preventing myocardial ischaemia during a brief vascular occlusion in 20-25%. Determinants of such anastomoses are low heart rate and the absence of systemic arterial hypertension. In patients with CAD, collateral arteries preventing myocardial ischaemia during a brief occlusion are present in every third individual. Collateral flow sufficient to prevent myocardial ischaemia during coronary occlusion amounts to one-fifth to one-fourth the normal flow through the open vessel. Myocardial infarct size, the most important prognostic determinant after such an event, is the product of coronary artery occlusion time, area at risk for infarction, and the inverse of collateral supply. Well-developed coronary collateral arteries in patients with CAD mitigate myocardial infarcts and improve survival. Approximately one-fifth of patients with CAD cannot be revascularized by percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting. Therapeutic promotion of collateral growth is a valuable treatment strategy in those patients. It should aim at growth of large conductive collateral arteries (arteriogenesis). Potential arteriogenic approaches include the treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, physical exercise training, and external counterpulsation.

External cephalic version before elective caesarean section for breech presentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zafar, F.; Sanusi, A.

2008-01-01

unsuccessful external cephalic version were abdominal discomfort (5), inability to disengage fetus from pelvis (4), fetal bradycardia (3) and uterine irritability (3). External cephalic version was not successful in any of the cases in this study. However, to reduce the Number of elective caesarean sections for breech presentation external cephalic version should be offered to all women with uncomplicated breech presentation continuing medical education, dissemination of guidelines and regular clinical audit are necessary to improve the success rates of external cephalic version. (author)

Bike Sharing and the Economy, the Environment, and Health-Related Externalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu-Yi Qiu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years, bike-sharing has experienced rapid development; however, controversies about the externalities of bike-sharing programs have arisen as well. While bike-sharing programs have impacts on traffic, the environment, and public health, the social impacts, the management, and sustainable development of bike-sharing has also been of interest. The debate regards whether there are externalities, as well as whether and how such externalities can be determined. Based on the rapidly diffused bike-sharing in China, this paper quantitatively explores bike-sharing externalities. Specifically, this paper estimates the impacts of bike-sharing on the economy, energy use, the environment, and public health. The empirical results show that bike-sharing programs have significant positive externalities. The bike-sharing systems can provide urban residents with a convenient and time-saving travel mode. We find that the bike-sharing dramatically decreases traffic, reduces energy consumption, decreasing harmful gas emissions, improves public health generally, and promotes economic growth. This study contributes to a better comprehension of the externalities of bike-sharing and provides empirical evidence of the impacts of bike-sharing. Findings suggest that bike-sharing can play a critical role in the process of urban transportation development and provide information useful for urban transportation policies.

Assessment of Technologies for the Space Shuttle External Tank Thermal Protection System and Recommendations for Technology Improvement - Part III: Material Property Characterization, Analysis, and Test Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, Thomas S.; Johnson, Theodore F.; Whitley, Karen S.

2005-01-01

The objective of this report is to contribute to the independent assessment of the Space Shuttle External Tank Foam Material. This report specifically addresses material modeling, characterization testing, data reduction methods, and data pedigree. A brief description of the External Tank foam materials, locations, and standard failure modes is provided to develop suitable background information. A review of mechanics based analysis methods from the open literature is used to provide an assessment of the state-of-the-art in material modeling of closed cell foams. Further, this report assesses the existing material property database and investigates sources of material property variability. The report presents identified deficiencies in testing methods and procedures, recommendations for additional testing as required, identification of near-term improvements that should be pursued, and long-term capabilities or enhancements that should be developed.

Improved estimates of external gamma dose rates in the environs of Hinkley Point Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macdonald, H.F.; Thompson, I.M.G.

1988-07-01

The dominant source of external gamma dose rates at centres of population within a few kilometres of Hinkley Point Power Station is the routine discharge of 41-Ar from the 'A' station magnox reactors. Earlier estimates of the 41-Ar radiation dose rates were based upon measured discharge rates, combined with calculations using standard plume dispersion and cloud-gamma integration models. This report presents improved dose estimates derived from environmental gamma dose rate measurements made at distances up to about 1 km from the site, thus minimising the degree of extrapolation introduced in estimating dose rates at locations up to a few kilometres from the site. In addition, results from associated chemical tracer measurements and wind tunnel simulations covering distances up to about 4 km from the station are outlined. These provide information on the spatial distribution of the 41-Ar plume during the initial stages of its dispersion, including effects due to plume buoyancy and momentum and behaviour under light wind conditions. In addition to supporting the methodology used for the 41-Ar dose calculations, this information is also of generic interest in the treatment of a range of operational and accidental releases from nuclear power station sites and will assist in the development and validation of existing environmental models. (author)

Speech perception for adult cochlear implant recipients in a realistic background noise: effectiveness of preprocessing strategies and external options for improving speech recognition in noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Gifford, René H; Revit, Lawrence J

2010-01-01

Although cochlear implant patients are achieving increasingly higher levels of performance, speech perception in noise continues to be problematic. The newest generations of implant speech processors are equipped with preprocessing and/or external accessories that are purported to improve listening in noise. Most speech perception measures in the clinical setting, however, do not provide a close approximation to real-world listening environments. To assess speech perception for adult cochlear implant recipients in the presence of a realistic restaurant simulation generated by an eight-loudspeaker (R-SPACE) array in order to determine whether commercially available preprocessing strategies and/or external accessories yield improved sentence recognition in noise. Single-subject, repeated-measures design with two groups of participants: Advanced Bionics and Cochlear Corporation recipients. Thirty-four subjects, ranging in age from 18 to 90 yr (mean 54.5 yr), participated in this prospective study. Fourteen subjects were Advanced Bionics recipients, and 20 subjects were Cochlear Corporation recipients. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in semidiffuse restaurant noise originating from an eight-loudspeaker array were assessed with the subjects' preferred listening programs as well as with the addition of either Beam preprocessing (Cochlear Corporation) or the T-Mic accessory option (Advanced Bionics). In Experiment 1, adaptive SRTs with the Hearing in Noise Test sentences were obtained for all 34 subjects. For Cochlear Corporation recipients, SRTs were obtained with their preferred everyday listening program as well as with the addition of Focus preprocessing. For Advanced Bionics recipients, SRTs were obtained with the integrated behind-the-ear (BTE) mic as well as with the T-Mic. Statistical analysis using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) evaluated the effects of the preprocessing strategy or external accessory in reducing the SRT in noise. In addition

External Validation of a Prediction Model for Successful External Cephalic Version

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Hundt, Marcella; Vlemmix, Floortje; Kok, Marjolein; van der Steeg, Jan W.; Bais, Joke M.; Mol, Ben W.; van der Post, Joris A.

2012-01-01

We sought external validation of a prediction model for the probability of a successful external cephalic version (ECV). We evaluated the performance of the prediction model with calibration and discrimination. For clinical practice, we developed a score chart to calculate the probability of a

A preventive maintenance model for leased equipment subject to internal degradation and external shock damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Xiaojun; Wu, Changjie; Li, Yanting; Xi, Lifeng

2016-01-01

A periodic preventive maintenance modeling method is proposed for leased equipment with continuous internal degradation and stochastic external shock damage considered simultaneously, which can facilitate the equipment lessor to optimize the maintenance schedule for the same kind of equipment rented by different lessees. A novel interactive mechanism between the continuous internal degradation and the stochastic external shock damage is established on the hazard rate of the equipment with integrating the imperfect effect of maintenance. Two improvement factors are defined for the modeling of imperfect maintenance. The number of failures resulting from internal degradation and from external shocks are both mathematically deduced based on this interactive mechanism. The optimal preventive maintenance scheme is obtained by minimizing the cumulative maintenance cost throughout the lease period. Numerical example shows that the proposed preventive maintenance model not only can reflect the reliability status of the equipment but also can clearly distinguish between the impact from internal degradation and that from external shocks. - Highlights: • We propose an imperfect periodic preventive maintenance model for leased equipment. • It can distinguish between the impact from internal degradation and that from external shocks. • An internal–external interactive mechanism is proposed. • Two improvement factors are introduced into the modeling of imperfect maintenance. • The model is helpful for the PM scheduling of the same equipment rented by different lessees.

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 3. Coal and lignite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, J.; Holland, M.; Lee, D.

1995-01-01

Awareness of the environmental damage resulting from human activity, particularly concerning energy use, has grown greatly in recent years. Effects such as global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain are now the subjects of much research and public debate. It is now known that these and other effects damage a wide range of receptors, including human health, forests, crops, freshwater ecosystems and buildings. Such damages are typically not accounted for by the producers and consumers of the good in question (in this case energy). They are thus referred to as 'external costs' or 'externalities', to distinguish them from the private costs which account for the construction of plant, cost of fuel, wages, etc. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the assessment of the environmental and health impacts of energy, and the related external costs. This concern is driven by a number of different factors: the need to integrate environmental concerns in decision making over the choice between different fuels and energy technologies; the need to evaluate the costs and benefits of stricter environmental standards; increased attention to the use of economic instruments for environmental policy; the need to develop overall indicators of environmental performance of different technologies; major changes in the energy sector, including privatisation, liberalisation of markets, reduction of subsidies, etc. An agreed methodology for calculation and integration of external costs has not been established. Earlier work is typically of a preliminary nature and tends to be deficient with respect to both the methods employed and the quality of models and data used. In consequence of this a collaborative project, the EC/US Fuel Cycles Study, was established between Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy. This ran for the period 1991 to 1993, and good agreement on a variety of

Diminished neural responses predict enhanced intrinsic motivation and sensitivity to external incentive.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsden, Karen E; Ma, Wei Ji; Deci, Edward L; Ryan, Richard M; Chiu, Pearl H

2015-06-01

The duration and quality of human performance depend on both intrinsic motivation and external incentives. However, little is known about the neuroscientific basis of this interplay between internal and external motivators. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation, operationalized as the free-choice time spent on a task when this was not required, and tested the neural and behavioral effects of external reward on intrinsic motivation. We found that increased duration of free-choice time was predicted by generally diminished neural responses in regions associated with cognitive and affective regulation. By comparison, the possibility of additional reward improved task accuracy, and specifically increased neural and behavioral responses following errors. Those individuals with the smallest neural responses associated with intrinsic motivation exhibited the greatest error-related neural enhancement under the external contingency of possible reward. Together, these data suggest that human performance is guided by a "tonic" and "phasic" relationship between the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation (tonic) and the impact of external incentives (phasic).

External corners as heat bridges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berber, J.

1984-08-01

The maximum additional heat loss in vertical external corners depending on wall thickness is determined. In order to amire at a low k-value, a much smaller wall thickness is required in externally insulated walls than in monolithic constructions; the greater loss of heat bridge with external insulation stands in contrast to a higher loss in thick, monolithic walls. In relation to total losses, the additional losses through external corners are practically negligible.

WHO global salm-surv external quality assurance system (EQAS): an important step toward improving the quality of Salmonella serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility testing worldwide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, A.; Aarestrup, Frank Møller; Angulo, F. J.

2002-01-01

% of the results were correct. For susceptibility testing, 92% of the results were in agreement with the expected results. However, only 78% of the performed tests with the E. coli ATCC 25922 reference strain were within the quality control range specified by National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards...... susceptibility testing through international training courses and an External Quality Assurance System (EQAS). In 2000, 44 WHO Global Salm-Surv member laboratories from 35 countries determined the serotype and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern for eight "blinded" Salmonella isolates. For serotyping, 73...... (NCCLS) guidelines. These EQAS results demonstrate the need for further training to improve the performance of some of the laboratories. WHO Global Salm-Surv activities, including international training courses and EQAS, represent an important step toward improving the quality of Salmonella serotyping...

Influence of Internal and External Noise on Spontaneous Visuomotor Synchronization.

Science.gov (United States)

Varlet, Manuel; Schmidt, R C; Richardson, Michael J

2016-01-01

Historically, movement noise or variability is considered to be an undesirable property of biological motor systems. In particular, noise is typically assumed to degrade the emergence and stability of rhythmic motor synchronization. Recently, however, it has been suggested that small levels of noise might actually improve the functioning of motor systems and facilitate their adaptation to environmental events. Here, the authors investigated whether noise can facilitate spontaneous rhythmic visuomotor synchronization. They examined the influence of internal noise in the rhythmic limb movements of participants and external noise in the movement of an oscillating visual stimulus on the occurrence of spontaneous synchronization. By indexing the natural frequency variability of participants and manipulating the frequency variability of the visual stimulus, the authors demonstrated that both internal and external noise degrade synchronization when the participants' and stimulus movement frequencies are similar, but can actually facilitate synchronization when the frequencies are different. Furthermore, the two kinds of noise interact with each other. Internal noise facilitates synchronization only when external noise is minimal and vice versa. Too much internal and external noise together degrades synchronization. These findings open new perspectives for better understanding the role of noise in human rhythmic coordination.

A case of the hepatic hilar bile duct cancer with external radiation. Efficacy and severe side effect of external radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andoh, Hideaki; Yasui, Ouki; Ise, Norihito

2003-01-01

Hepatic hilar bile duct cancer was difficult to cure by surgical treatment and its prognosis was very poor. We present the case of non-curative resection of hepatic hilar bile duct cancer, controlled with external radiation. 72 years-old-female, she complained jaundice and diagnosed hepatic hilar bile duct cancer with abdominal ultrasonography. Hepatic hilar resection was performed but curative resection could not be done, because cancer was diffusely spreaded to the hepatic and duodenal ends of the bile duct. After surgery, external radiation (1.8 Gy/day; total 50.4 Gy) was performed. Three months after operation, sometimes, cholangitis was occurred but we could not detect the intrahepatic bile duct dilatation and improved with antibiotics. After seven months, she was dead for sepsis, liver abscess and biliary cirrhosis. From autopsy findings, severe hepatic hilar fibrosis around the irradiation area, stenosis of the hepatico-jejunostomy and portal vein were existed but could not detect the remnant cancer cells. External radiation was sometimes effective, especially for this case. But we should consider the side effect of fibrosis and preventive treatments such as biliary stenting or early biliary drainage. (author)

A case of the hepatic hilar bile duct cancer with external radiation. Efficacy and severe side effect of external radiation therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andoh, Hideaki; Yasui, Ouki; Ise, Norihito [Akita Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine

2003-04-01

Hepatic hilar bile duct cancer was difficult to cure by surgical treatment and its prognosis was very poor. We present the case of non-curative resection of hepatic hilar bile duct cancer, controlled with external radiation. 72 years-old-female, she complained jaundice and diagnosed hepatic hilar bile duct cancer with abdominal ultrasonography. Hepatic hilar resection was performed but curative resection could not be done, because cancer was diffusely spreaded to the hepatic and duodenal ends of the bile duct. After surgery, external radiation (1.8 Gy/day; total 50.4 Gy) was performed. Three months after operation, sometimes, cholangitis was occurred but we could not detect the intrahepatic bile duct dilatation and improved with antibiotics. After seven months, she was dead for sepsis, liver abscess and biliary cirrhosis. From autopsy findings, severe hepatic hilar fibrosis around the irradiation area, stenosis of the hepatico-jejunostomy and portal vein were existed but could not detect the remnant cancer cells. External radiation was sometimes effective, especially for this case. But we should consider the side effect of fibrosis and preventive treatments such as biliary stenting or early biliary drainage. (author)

Internal and external attention and the default mode network.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheibner, Hannah J; Bogler, Carsten; Gleich, Tobias; Haynes, John-Dylan; Bermpohl, Felix

2017-03-01

Focused attention meditations have been shown to improve psychological health and wellbeing and are nowadays an integral part of many psychotherapies. While research on the neural correlates of focused attention meditation is increasing, findings vary on whether meditations are associated with high or low activity in the default mode network (DMN). To clarify the relationship between focused attention meditation and the activity in DMN regions, it may be helpful to distinguish internal and external attention as well as different phases within one meditation: During focused attention meditation, the practitioner switches between mindful attention, mind-wandering and refocusing. Here, we employed a thought-probe paradigm to study the neural correlates of these different phases. Twenty healthy, meditation naïve participants were introduced to external (mindfulness of sound) and internal (mindfulness of breathing) attention meditation and then practiced the meditation at home for four consecutive days. They then performed the same focused attention meditations during fMRI scanning, in four runs alternating between internal and external attention. At pseudorandom intervals, participants were asked whether they had just been focused on the task (mindful attention) or had been distracted (mind-wandering). During mindful attention, brain regions typically associated with the DMN, such as the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and left temporoparietal junction showed significantly less neural activation compared to mind-wandering phases. Reduced activity of the DMN was found during both external and internal attention, with stronger deactivation in the posterior cingulate cortex during internal attention compared to external attention. Moreover, refocusing after mind-wandering was associated with activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Our results support the theory that mindful attention is associated with reduced DMN activity compared to mind

Parenting Stress, Parental Reactions, and Externalizing Behavior From Ages 4 to 10.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackler, Jennifer S; Kelleher, Rachael T; Shanahan, Lilly; Calkins, Susan D; Keane, Susan P; O'Brien, Marion

2015-04-01

The association between parenting stress and child externalizing behavior, and the mediating role of parenting, has yielded inconsistent findings; however, the literature has typically been cross-sectional and unidirectional. In the current study the authors examined the longitudinal transactions among parenting stress, perceived negative parental reactions, and child externalizing at 4, 5, 7, and 10 years old. Models examining parent effects (parenting stress to child behavior), child effects (externalizing to parental reactions and stress), indirect effects of parental reactions, and the transactional associations among all variables, were compared. The transactional model best fit the data, and longitudinal reciprocal effects emerged between parenting stress and externalizing behavior. The mediating role of parental reactions was not supported; however, indirect effects suggest that parenting stress both is affected by and affects parent and child behavior. The complex associations among parent and child variables indicate the importance of interventions to improve the parent-child relationship and reducing parenting stress.

On optimization of internal/external spur gears tooth bending strength

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Niels Leergaard

2014-01-01

level at the tooth root. As with most machine elements the design/geometry is defined in standards (ISO). The present work focuses on changing the tooth root design of both external and internal gears, in order to improve the stress concentration factor. The design changes made are compliant...

Implementation of the external cephalic version in breech delivery. Dutch national implementation study of external cephalic version.

Science.gov (United States)

Vlemmix, Floortje; Rosman, Ageeth N; Fleuren, Margot A H; Rijnders, Marlies E B; Beuckens, Antje; Haak, Monique C; Akerboom, Bettina M C; Bais, Joke M J; Kuppens, Simone M I; Papatsonis, Dimitri N; Opmeer, Brent C; van der Post, Joris A M; Mol, Ben Willem J; Kok, Marjolein

2010-05-10

Breech presentation occurs in 3 to 4% of all term pregnancies. External cephalic version (ECV) is proven effective to prevent vaginal breech deliveries and therefore it is recommended by clinical guidelines of the Royal Dutch Organisation for Midwives (KNOV) and the Dutch Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NVOG). Implementation of ECV does not exceed 50 to 60% and probably less.We aim to improve the implementation of ECV to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality due to breech presentations. This will be done by defining barriers and facilitators of implementation of ECV in the Netherlands. An innovative implementation strategy will be developed based on improved patient counselling and thorough instructions of health care providers for counselling. The ultimate purpose of this implementation study is to improve counselling of pregnant women and information of clinicians to realize a better implementation of ECV.The first phase of the project is to detect the barriers and facilitators of ECV. The next step is to develop an implementation strategy to inform and counsel pregnant women with a breech presentation, and to inform and educate care providers. In the third phase, the effectiveness of the developed implementation strategy will be evaluated in a randomised trial. The study population is a random selection of midwives and gynaecologists from 60 to 100 hospitals and practices. Primary endpoints are number of counselled women. Secondary endpoints are process indicators, the amount of fetes in cephalic presentation at birth, complications due to ECV, the number of caesarean sections and perinatal condition of mother and child. Cost effectiveness of the implementation strategy will be measured. This study will provide evidence for the cost effectiveness of a structural implementation of external cephalic versions to reduce the number of breech presentations at term. Dutch Trial Register (NTR): 1878.

Implementation of the external cephalic version in breech delivery. Dutch national implementation study of external cephalic version

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Papatsonis Dimitri N

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Breech presentation occurs in 3 to 4% of all term pregnancies. External cephalic version (ECV is proven effective to prevent vaginal breech deliveries and therefore it is recommended by clinical guidelines of the Royal Dutch Organisation for Midwives (KNOV and the Dutch Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NVOG. Implementation of ECV does not exceed 50 to 60% and probably less. We aim to improve the implementation of ECV to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality due to breech presentations. This will be done by defining barriers and facilitators of implementation of ECV in the Netherlands. An innovative implementation strategy will be developed based on improved patient counselling and thorough instructions of health care providers for counselling. Method/design The ultimate purpose of this implementation study is to improve counselling of pregnant women and information of clinicians to realize a better implementation of ECV. The first phase of the project is to detect the barriers and facilitators of ECV. The next step is to develop an implementation strategy to inform and counsel pregnant women with a breech presentation, and to inform and educate care providers. In the third phase, the effectiveness of the developed implementation strategy will be evaluated in a randomised trial. The study population is a random selection of midwives and gynaecologists from 60 to 100 hospitals and practices. Primary endpoints are number of counselled women. Secondary endpoints are process indicators, the amount of fetes in cephalic presentation at birth, complications due to ECV, the number of caesarean sections and perinatal condition of mother and child. Cost effectiveness of the implementation strategy will be measured. Discussion This study will provide evidence for the cost effectiveness of a structural implementation of external cephalic versions to reduce the number of breech presentations at term. Trial

OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY WORKING GROUP ON EXTERNAL EVENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakoski, John A.; Smith, Curtis L.; Kim, Min Kyu

2016-10-01

The Orgranisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has established a Working Group on External Events (WGEV) that provides a forum for subject matter experts from the nuclear industry and regulators to improve the understanding and treatment of external hazards that would support the continued safety performance of nuclear installations, and improve the effectiveness of regulatory practices, in NEA member countries. This report provides a description of the ongoing work of the WGEV. The work of the WGEV includes the collection of information and conducting a workshop on severe weather and storm surge that brought together a diverse group of subject matter experts to identify commendable practices related to the treatment of severe weather and storm surge consideration in regulatory and operational decision-making. Other work of the WGEV includes looking at science-based screening of external events that are factored into decisions on the safe operation of nuclear facilities; and identification of commendable practices and knowledge gaps on riverine flooding.

EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS IN LOMCE: TRANSPARENCY IN RURAL EDUCATION?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rogeli Santamaría Luna

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This document is intended to reflect on some articles of the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3 May on Education last modified by Organic Law 8/2013, of 9 December, to improve educational quality. We have selected those linked to external evaluation and transparency were discussed. In turn, the publication of Law 19/2013, of December 9, transparency, access to public information and good governance, imposes new obligations on the administrations and should result in the availability and dissemination of reports, as well as results. Both laws can promote knowledge of rural school if current approaches to external evaluation in Spain who do not usually attend rural uniqueness or do so partially. Thus they contribute to hiding the rural school or show a negative image of it because they have poorly contextualized results.

Humeral lengthening and proximal deformity correction with monorail external fixator in young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruan, Hongjiang; Zhu, Yi; Liu, Shen; Kang, Qinglin

2018-05-01

Several humeral lengthening or simultaneous deformity corrections through one osteotomy using various external fixators were reported, while literature regarding correction of shortening and proximal varus deformity is scarce. This retrospective clinical study evaluated the results of preforming an acute correction and delayed lengthening in young adults through two osteotomies using monorail external fixator. We report seven patients with various pathologies who underwent humeral proximal deformity correction and lengthening between 2009 and 2015. Pre-operative and post-operative clinical and radiographic data were collected. The mean follow-up time was 33.4 months (25-46 months). The humeral neck-shaft angle improved from 97.9° (85-110°) to 138.6° (135-145°). The magnitude of lengthening achieved was average 7.6 cm (range, 6-10 cm) at an average healing index of lengthening of 30.2 days/cm (range, 27.7-35.4 days/cm). There was a significant increase in range of shoulder abduction, and active abduction improved from pre-operative 136.4° (range, 95-160°) to post-operative 166.4° (range, 150-180°). The DASH score improved significance from 23.29 ± 8.36 to 6.57 ± 3.65 (t = 4.848; p monorail external fixator can be used for humeral shortening and proximal varus angular deformity. Functional improvement is expected after surgery and post-operative therapy.

Building Protection Against External Ionizing Fallout Radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dillon, Michael B. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Homann, Steven G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-12-01

A nuclear explosion has the potential to injure or kill tens to hundreds of thousands of people through exposure to fallout (external gamma) radiation. Existing buildings can protect their occupants (reducing external radiation exposures) by placing material and distance between fallout particles and indoor individuals. This protection is not well captured in current fallout risk assessment models and so the US Department of Defense is implementing the Regional Shelter Analysis methodology to improve the ability of the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) model to account for building protection. This report supports the HPAC improvement effort by identifying a set of building attributes (next page) that, when collectively specified, are sufficient to calculate reasonably accurate, i.e., within a factor of 2, fallout shelter quality estimates for many individual buildings. The set of building attributes were determined by first identifying the key physics controlling building protection from fallout radiation and then assessing which building attributes are relevant to the identified physics. This approach was evaluated by developing a screening model (PFscreen) based on the identified physics and comparing the screening model results against the set of existing independent experimental, theoretical, and modeled building protection estimates. In the interests of transparency, we have developed a benchmark dataset containing (a) most of the relevant primary experimental data published by prior generations of fallout protection scientists as well as (b) the screening model results.

External Otitis (Swimmer's Ear)

Science.gov (United States)

... otitis. Fungal external otitis (otomycosis), typically caused by Aspergillus niger or Candida albicans, is less common. Boils are ... in the ear. Fungal external otitis caused by Aspergillus niger usually causes grayish black or yellow dots (called ...

Hydropower externalities: A meta-analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattmann, Matteo; Logar, Ivana; Brouwer, Roy

2016-01-01

This paper presents a meta-analysis of existing research related to the economic valuation of the external effects of hydropower. A database consisting of 81 observations derived from 29 studies valuing the non-market impacts of hydropower electricity generation is constructed with the main aim to quantify and explain the economic values for positive and negative hydropower externalities. Different meta-regression model specifications are used to test the robustness of significant determinants of non-market values, including different types of hydropower impacts. The explanatory and predictive power of the estimated models is relatively high. Whilst controlling for sample and study characteristics, we find significant evidence for public aversion towards deteriorations of landscape, vegetation and wildlife caused by hydropower projects. There is however only weak evidence of willingness to pay for mitigating these effects. The main positive externality of hydropower generation, the avoidance of greenhouse gas emission, positively influences welfare estimates when combined with the share of hydropower in national energy production. Sensitivity to scope is detected, but not linked to specific externalities or non-market valuation methods. - Highlights: • A global meta-analysis of valuation studies of hydropower externalities is presented. • Positive and negative externalities are distinguished. • Welfare losses due to environmental deteriorations outweigh gains of GHG reductions. • There is only weak evidence of public WTP for mitigating negative externalities. • The non-market values of hydropower externalities are sensitive to scope.

Congenital External Carotid-External Jugular Arteriovenous Fistula: Diagnosis With Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faghihi Langroudi, Taraneh; Arjmand Shabestari, Abbas; Pourghorban, Ramin; Khalili Pouya, Ensi

2015-01-01

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) between the external carotid artery and external jugular vein is extremely rare, with only few cases reported in the literature so far. Most of these AVFs have been either iatrogenic or secondary to previous trauma. Herein, we report a 42-year-old woman with congenital AVF between the external carotid artery and external jugular vein, presenting with palpitation and dyspnea. The patient was suffering from mitral and tricuspid regurgitation. On physical examination, a thrill on the left side of the neck and an audible bruit over the left mandibular angle were detected. The possibility of abnormal AVF was considered and it was confirmed on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), inferring that this modality is not only fast and non-invasive, but also accurate in detecting vascular abnormalities

Energy policy and externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertel, E.; Fraser, P.

2002-01-01

External costs of energy have been assessed in a number of authoritative and reliable studies based upon widely accepted methodologies such as life cycle analysis (LCA). However, although those costs are recognised by most stakeholders and decision makers, results from analytical work on externalities and LCA studies are seldom used in policy making. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) convened a joint workshop in November 2001 to offer experts and policy makers an opportunity to present state-of-the-art results from analytical work on externalities and debate issues related to the relevance of external costs and LCA for policy-making purposes. The findings from the workshop highlight the need for further work in the field and the potential rote of international organisations like the IEA and the NEA in this context. (authors)

Externally Verifiable Oblivious RAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gancher Joshua

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We present the idea of externally verifiable oblivious RAM (ORAM. Our goal is to allow a client and server carrying out an ORAM protocol to have disputes adjudicated by a third party, allowing for the enforcement of penalties against an unreliable or malicious server. We give a security definition that guarantees protection not only against a malicious server but also against a client making false accusations. We then give modifications of the Path ORAM [15] and Ring ORAM [9] protocols that meet this security definition. These protocols both have the same asymptotic runtimes as the semi-honest original versions and require the external verifier to be involved only when the client or server deviates from the protocol. Finally, we implement externally verified ORAM, along with an automated cryptocurrency contract to use as the external verifier.

Malignant external otitis: CT evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtin, H.D.; Wolfe, P.; May, M.

1982-01-01

Malignant external otitis is an aggressive infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that most often occurs in elderly diabetics. Malignant external otitis often spreads inferiorly from the external canal to involve the subtemporal area and progresses medially towards the petrous apex leading to multiple cranial nerve palsies. The computed tomographic (CT) findings in malignant external otitis include obliteration of the normal fat planes in the subtemporal area as well as patchy destruction of the bony cortex of the mastoid. The point of exit of the various cranial nerves can be identified on CT scans, and the extent of the inflammatory mass correlates well with the clinical findings. Four cases of malignant external otitis are presented. In each case CT provided a good demonstration of involvement of the soft tissues at the base of the skull

Serotonin transporter genotype linked to adolescent substance use treatment outcome through externalizing behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tammy eChung

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Meta-analyses suggest that the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR short (S allele, relative to the long (L allele, is associated with risk for alcohol dependence, particularly among individuals with early onset antisocial alcoholism. Youth in substance use treatment tend to show antisocial or externalizing behaviors, such as conduct problems, which predict worse treatment outcome. This study examined a pathway in which 5-HTTLPR genotype is associated with externalizing behavior, and the intermediate phenotype of externalizing behavior serves as a link between 5-HTTLPR genotype and substance use treatment outcome in youth. Adolescents (n=142 who were recruited from addictions treatment were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms (S and LG carriers vs. LALA, assessed for externalizing and internalizing behaviors shortly after starting treatment, and followed over 6-months. 5-HTTLPR genotype was not associated with internalizing behaviors, and was not directly associated with 6-month substance use outcomes. However, 5-HTTLPR genotype was associated with externalizing behaviors (S and LG > LALA, and externalizing behaviors predicted alcohol and marijuana problem severity at 6-month follow-up. Results indicated an indirect (p<.05 and non-specific (i.e., both alcohol and marijuana severity effect of 5-HTTLPR genotype on youth substance use treatment outcomes, with externalizing behaviors as an important linking factor. Adolescents in substance use treatment with low expressing (S and LG 5-HTTLPR alleles and externalizing behavior might benefit from intervention that addresses serotonergic functioning, externalizing behaviors, and substance use to improve outcomes.

External costs of electricity; Les couts externes de l'electricite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabl, A. [Ecole des Mines de Paris, 75 (France); Spadaro, J.V. [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna (Austria)

2005-07-01

This article presents a synthesis of the ExternE project (External costs of Energy) of the European community about the external costs of power generation. Pollution impacts are calculated using an 'impact pathways' analysis, i.e. an analysis of the emission - dispersion - dose-response function - cost evaluation chain. Results are presented for different fuel cycles (with several technological variants) with their confidence intervals. The environmental impact costs are particularly high for coal: for instance, in France, for coal-fired power plants it is of the same order as the electricity retail price. For natural gas, this cost is about a third of the one for coal. On the contrary, the environmental impact costs for nuclear and renewable energies are low, typically of few per cent of the electricity price. The main part of these costs corresponds to the sanitary impacts, in particular the untimely mortality. In order to avoid any controversy about the cost evaluation of mortality, the reduction of the expectation of life due to the different fuel cycles is also indicated and the risks linked with nuclear energy are presented using several comparisons. (J.S.)

Emergency department external fixation for provisional treatment of pilon and unstable ankle fractures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig R Lareau

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Unstable ankle fractures and impacted tibial pilon fractures often benefit from provisional external fixation as a temporizing measure prior to definitive fixation. Benefits of external fixation include improved articular alignment, decreased articular impaction, and soft tissue rest. Uniplanar external fixator placement in the Emergency Department (ED ex-fix is a reliable and safe technique for achieving ankle reduction and stability while awaiting definitive fixation. This procedure involves placing transverse proximal tibial and calcaneal traction pins and connecting the pins with two external fixator rods. This technique is particularly useful in austere environments or when the operating room is not immediately available. Additionally, this bedside intervention prevents the patient from requiring general anesthesia and may be a cost-effective strategy for decreasing valuable operating time. The ED ex-fix is an especially valuable procedure in busy trauma centers and during mass casualty events, in which resources may be limited.

Particle-in-cell simulations of plasma opening switch with external magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yulan; Zeng Zhengzhong; Sun Fengju

2003-01-01

Fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations are performed to study the effects of an external magnetic field on coaxial plasma opening switch (POS). The simulation results show that POS opening performance can be significantly improved only when external longitudinal magnetic field coils are placed at the cathode side, and an additional azimuthal magnetic field is effective whether the central electrode is of positive or negative polarity. Voltage multiplication coefficient K rises with the additional magnetic field increasing till the electron current is completely magnetically insulated during the opening of POS

The Brazilian external individual monitoring scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauricio, Claudia L.P.; Silva, Claudio R. da; Cunha, Paulo G. da

2015-01-01

In order to improve radiation protection it is necessary to have knowledge of the occupational radiation dose levels in all radiation facilities. This information comes from individual monitoring services, which are responsible for measuring and providing information about workers' radiation exposure. In 1981, the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN) of Brazil starts to develop a comprehensive system for regulation and storage of occupational radiation dose. This paper starts with an overview of the evolution of the Brazilian authorization and data storage system for external individual monitoring. It starts with a rule for authorization of all Brazilian photon individual monitoring services and the obligation for them to send the measured dose to CNEN. Up to now there is no regulation for neutron individual monitoring. The aim of this paper is to present the current scenario of the Brazilian external monitoring system, reinforcing its importance and remaining problems. The number of monitored workers greatly increases every year, having surpassed 150,000 people monitored. The stored data show that the mean annual occupational external dose is decreasing from 2.4 mSv in 1987 to about 0.6 mSv, in 2012, but there is still some not realistic very high dose measured (higher than 100 mSv), without investigation. About 80% of the annual dose values are lower than the monthly register level. As expected, the higher real photon doses are found in Nuclear Medicine, Industrial Radiology and Interventional Radiology. All recorded annual neutron dose values are lower than 20 mSv. (author)

Health-related external cost assessment in Europe: methodological developments from ExternE to the 2013 Clean Air Policy Package.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Kamp, Jonathan; Bachmann, Till M

2015-03-03

"Getting the prices right" through internalizing external costs is a guiding principle of environmental policy making, one recent example being the EU Clean Air Policy Package released at the end of 2013. It is supported by impact assessments, including monetary valuation of environmental and health damages. For over 20 years, related methodologies have been developed in Europe in the Externalities of Energy (ExternE) project series and follow-up activities. In this study, we aim at analyzing the main methodological developments over time from the 1990s until today with a focus on classical air pollution-induced human health damage costs. An up-to-date assessment including the latest European recommendations is also applied. Using a case from the energy sector, we identify major influencing parameters: differences in exposure modeling and related data lead to variations in damage costs of up to 21%; concerning risk assessment and monetary valuation, differences in assessing long-term exposure mortality risks together with assumptions on particle toxicity explain most of the observed changes in damage costs. These still debated influencing parameters deserve particular attention when damage costs are used to support environmental policy making.

Clinical experience of using metronidazole as an external therapy of acne

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Statsenko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Metrogyl gel for external use (metronidazole 1% has an antioxidant activity and substantially reduces the production of active oxygen compounds by neutrophilic leukocytes in the skin. A combination therapy of light to moderate acne with the use of external retinoids and metronidazole can be more efficient than a monotherapy with the use of these drugs alone. Goal. To assess the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of Metrogyl gel for external use in a combination with Klenzit gel (adapalene 0.1% for treatment of patients with acne vulgaris. Materials and methods. The authors conducted an open-label controlled study of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Metrogyl gel for external use in a combination with Klenzit gel for external use. As many as 50 patients suffering from acne vulgaris took part in the study, which lasted for eight weeks. The subjects were subdivided into two groups: combination therapy (Group 1, n = 15 and monotherapy with the use of external retinoids (Group 2, n = 15. Results. Adverse effects such as dry skin and peeling were observed among the patients from Group 1 less often (by 3.3 times - 5/35 (14.3% of cases than in Group 2 (7/15 (46.7% of cases (p = 0.036. The total share of acne patients with clinical recovery and substantial improvement in Group 1 was 33/35 (94.3%, which is 41.4% as much as in Group 2 (10/15 (66.7% (p = 0.033. Conclusions. A combination of Metrogyl gel and external retinoids is more efficient than a monotherapy with the use of topical retinoid alone, and such a therapy demonstrates higher tolerability.

Technical basis document for external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

OBERG, B.D.

2003-01-01

This document supports the Tank Farms Documented Safety Analysis and presents the technical basis for the FR-equencies of externally initiated accidents. The consequences of externally initiated events are discussed in other documents that correspond to the accident that was caused by the external event. The external events include aircraft crash, vehicle accident, range fire, and rail accident

Start-up performance and granular sludge features of an improved external circulating anaerobic reactor for algae-laden water treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yaqin; Lu, Xiwu

2017-09-01

The microbial characteristics of granular sludge during the rapid start of an enhanced external circulating anaerobic reactor were studied to improve algae-laden water treatment efficiency. Results showed that algae laden water was effectively removed after about 35 d, and the removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and algal toxin were around 85% and 92%, respectively. Simultaneously, the gas generation rate was around 380 mL/gCOD. The microbial community structure in the granular sludge of the reactor was complicated, and dominated by coccus and filamentous bacteria. Methanosphaera , Methanolinea , Thermogymnomonas , Methanoregula , Methanomethylovorans , and Methanosaeta were the major microorganisms in the granular sludge. The activities of protease and coenzyme F 420 were high in the granular sludge. The intermittent stirring device and the reverse-flow system were further found to overcome the disadvantage of the floating and crusting of cyanobacteria inside the reactor. Meanwhile, the effect of mass transfer inside the reactor can be accelerated to help give the reactor a rapid start.

Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: Familial risk to externalizing behaviors and perceived parenting styles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.J.M. Buschgens (Cathelijne); M.A.G. van Aken (Marcel); S.H.N. Swinkels (Sophie); J. Ormel (Johan Hans); F.C. Verhulst (Frank); J.K. Buitelaar (Jan)

2010-01-01

textabstractThe aim was to investigate the contribution of familial risk to externalizing behaviors (FR-EXT), perceived parenting styles, and their interactions to the prediction of externalizing behaviors in preadolescents. Participants were preadolescents aged 10-12 years who participated in

Effects of internalising external production costs in a North European power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munksgaard, J.; Ramskov, J.

2002-01-01

The aim of integrating national power markets is to improve the overall efficiency thereby making a potential for reducing electricity prices. However, efficiency is not necessarily improved if external environmental protection costs are neglected. In this paper, we analyse the effects of regulating an integrated power market by using environmental producer taxes based on external production costs. The analysis is based on an empirical equilibrium model for the North European power market. The results show that internalising costs will increase electricity producer prices by 40-50% in the period from 1995 to 2020. Further, demand for electricity will be reduced by 10%. We conclude, however, that in order to achieve the national Kyoto targets of reducing CO 2 emissions, further regulation is needed, such as national CO 2 taxes or cost efficient mechanisms like tradeable permits and joint implementation. (author)

Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents : familial risk to externalizing behaviors and perceived parenting styles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buschgens, Cathelijne J. M.; van Aken, Marcel A. G.; Swinkels, Sophie H. N.; Ormel, Johan; Verhulst, Frank C.; Buitelaar, Jan K.

The aim was to investigate the contribution of familial risk to externalizing behaviors (FR-EXT), perceived parenting styles, and their interactions to the prediction of externalizing behaviors in preadolescents. Participants were preadolescents aged 10-12 years who participated in TRAILS, a large

Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: familial risk to externalizing behaviors and perceived parenting styles.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buschgens, C.J.M.; Aken, M.A.G. van; Swinkels, S.H.N.; Ormel, J.; Verhulst, F.C.; Buitelaar, J.K.

2010-01-01

The aim was to investigate the contribution of familial risk to externalizing behaviors (FR-EXT), perceived parenting styles, and their interactions to the prediction of externalizing behaviors in preadolescents. Participants were preadolescents aged 10-12 years who participated in TRAILS, a large

Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: familial risk to externalizing behaviors and perceived parenting styles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buschgens, C.J.M.; van Aken, M.A.G.; Swinkels, S.H.N.; Ormel, J.; Verhulst, F.C.; Buitelaar, J.K.

2010-01-01

The aim was to investigate the contribution of familial risk to externalizing behaviors (FR-EXT), perceived parenting styles, and their interactions to the prediction of externalizing behaviors in preadolescents. Participants were preadolescents aged 10-12 years who participated in TRAILS, a large

The contemporary management of intracranial atherosclerotic disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Leng, Xinyi; Wong, Ka Sing; Leung, Thomas W

2016-06-01

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease is the most common cause of cerebral vasculopathy and an important stroke etiology worldwide, with a higher prevalence in Asian, Hispanic and African ethnicities. Symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease portends a recurrent stroke risk as high as 18% at one year. The key to secondary prevention is an understanding of the underlying stroke mechanism and aggressive control of conventional cardiovascular risks. Contemporary treatment includes antiplatelet therapy, optimal glycemic and blood pressure control, statin therapy and lifestyle modifications. For patients with high-grade (70-99%) symptomatic steno-occlusion, short-term dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel followed by life-long single antiplatelet therapy may reduce the recurrent risk. Current evidence does not advocate percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting as an initial treatment. External counterpulsation, encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis and remote limb ischemic preconditioning are treatments under investigation. Future studies should aim at predicting patients prone to recurrence despite of medical therapies and testing the efficacy of emerging therapies.

Continuous quality improvement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rohlin, Madeleine; Schaub, Rob M.H.; Holbrook, Peter; Leibur, Edvitar; Lévy, Gérard; Roubalikova, Lenka; Nilner, Maria; Roger-Leroi, Valerie; Danner, Gunter; Iseri, Haluk; Feldman, Cecile

2002-01-01

Versch. in: Eur J Dent Educ; 6 (Suppl. 3): 67–77 Continuous quality improvement (CQI) can be envisaged as a circular process of goal-setting, followed by external and internal evaluations resulting in improvements that can serve as goals for a next cycle. The need for CQI is apparent, because of

Energy policy and externalities: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearce, D.

2002-01-01

Substantial progress has been made in estimating the monetary value of the environmental impacts of different energy systems. Perhaps the best known study in Europe is that sponsored by the European Commission and known as the ExternE programme. In the USA a comparable project is that jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the European Commission. There are many others. In each case what is sought is a monetary value of an environmental impact arising from a unit of energy, usually standardised as a kilowatt hour. These environmental impacts are usually termed 'externalities'. An externality exists if two conditions are met. First, some negative (or positive) impact is generated by an economic activity and imposed on third parties. Second, that impact must not be priced in the market place, i.e. if the effect is negative, no compensation is paid by the generator of the externality to the sufferer. If the effect is positive, the generator of the externality must not appropriate the gains to the third party, e.g. via some price that is charged. In the energy externality literature, the procedure of expressing the externalities in, say, cents or milli-euros (1000 th of an Euro = m-euro) per kWh results in an 'adder'. An adder is simply the unit externality cost added to the standard resource cost of energy. Thus, if an electricity source costs X m/euros to produce or deliver, the final social cost of it is (X+y) m-euros where y is the externality adder. While externality adders have been researched most in the context of energy, they are increasingly being estimated for other economic sectors, notably transport and agriculture. This paper presents the uses of such figures. (author)

Adaptive plasticity in speech perception: Effects of external information and internal predictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Guediche, Sara; Fiez, Julie A; Holt, Lori L

2016-07-01

When listeners encounter speech under adverse listening conditions, adaptive adjustments in perception can improve comprehension over time. In some cases, these adaptive changes require the presence of external information that disambiguates the distorted speech signals, whereas in other cases mere exposure is sufficient. Both external (e.g., written feedback) and internal (e.g., prior word knowledge) sources of information can be used to generate predictions about the correct mapping of a distorted speech signal. We hypothesize that these predictions provide a basis for determining the discrepancy between the expected and actual speech signal that can be used to guide adaptive changes in perception. This study provides the first empirical investigation that manipulates external and internal factors through (a) the availability of explicit external disambiguating information via the presence or absence of postresponse orthographic information paired with a repetition of the degraded stimulus, and (b) the accuracy of internally generated predictions; an acoustic distortion is introduced either abruptly or incrementally. The results demonstrate that the impact of external information on adaptive plasticity is contingent upon whether the intelligibility of the stimuli permits accurate internally generated predictions during exposure. External information sources enhance adaptive plasticity only when input signals are severely degraded and cannot reliably access internal predictions. This is consistent with a computational framework for adaptive plasticity in which error-driven supervised learning relies on the ability to compute sensory prediction error signals from both internal and external sources of information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Externality-correcting taxes and regulation

OpenAIRE

Christiansen, V.; Smith, S.

2009-01-01

Much of the literature on externalities has considered taxes and direct regulation as alternative policy instruments. Both instruments may in practice be imperfect, reflecting informational deficiencies and other limitations. We analyse the use of taxes and regulation in combination, to control externalities arising from individual consumption behaviour. We consider cases where taxes are either imperfectly differentiated to reflect individual differences in externalities, or where some consum...

Human Sound Externalization in Reverberant Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Catic, Jasmina

In everyday environments, listeners perceive sound sources as externalized. In listening conditions where the spatial cues that are relevant for externalization are not represented correctly, such as when listening through headphones or hearing aids, a degraded perception of externalization may...... occur. In this thesis, the spatial cues that arise from a combined effect of filtering due to the head, torso, and pinna and the acoustic environment were analysed and the impact of such cues for the perception of externalization in different frequency regions was investigated. Distant sound sources...... were simulated via headphones using individualized binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs). An investigation of the influence of spectral content of a sound source on externalization showed that effective externalization cues are present across the entire frequency range. The fluctuation of interaural...

Integrated reservoir characterization: Improvement in heterogeneities stochastic modelling by integration of additional external constraints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doligez, B.; Eschard, R. [Institut Francais du Petrole, Rueil Malmaison (France); Geffroy, F. [Centre de Geostatistique, Fontainebleau (France)] [and others

1997-08-01

The classical approach to construct reservoir models is to start with a fine scale geological model which is informed with petrophysical properties. Then scaling-up techniques allow to obtain a reservoir model which is compatible with the fluid flow simulators. Geostatistical modelling techniques are widely used to build the geological models before scaling-up. These methods provide equiprobable images of the area under investigation, which honor the well data, and which variability is the same than the variability computed from the data. At an appraisal phase, when few data are available, or when the wells are insufficient to describe all the heterogeneities and the behavior of the field, additional constraints are needed to obtain a more realistic geological model. For example, seismic data or stratigraphic models can provide average reservoir information with an excellent areal coverage, but with a poor vertical resolution. New advances in modelisation techniques allow now to integrate this type of additional external information in order to constrain the simulations. In particular, 2D or 3D seismic derived information grids, or sand-shale ratios maps coming from stratigraphic models can be used as external drifts to compute the geological image of the reservoir at the fine scale. Examples are presented to illustrate the use of these new tools, their impact on the final reservoir model, and their sensitivity to some key parameters.

Enhancement of crystal homogeneity of protein crystals under application of an external alternating current electric field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koizumi, H.; Uda, S.; Fujiwara, K.; Nozawa, J. [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577 (Japan); Tachibana, M. [Graduate School of Nanobioscience, Yokohama City University, 22-2 Seto, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0027 (Japan); Kojima, K. [Department of Education, Yokohama Soei University, 1 Miho-tyou, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-0015 (Japan)

2014-10-06

X-ray diffraction rocking-curve measurements were performed on tetragonal hen egg white (HEW) lysozyme crystals grown with and without the application of an external alternating current (AC) electric field. The crystal quality was assessed by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) value for each rocking curve. For two-dimensional maps of the FWHMs measured on the 440 and the 12 12 0 reflection, the crystal homogeneity was improved under application of an external electric field at 1 MHz, compared with that without. In particular, the significant improvement of the crystal homogeneity was observed for the 12 12 0 reflection.

Malignant external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupuch, K.M.; Iryboz, T.; Firat, M.; Levy, C.; Tubiana, J.M.

1991-01-01

This paper illustrates the value of CT and MR in early diagnosis and spread of malignant external otitis. The authors retrospectively analyzed 15 patients with proved malignant external otitis examined with postcontrast high-resolution CT (15/15) and MR (6/15) (T1- and T2-weighting). Gallium studies were done in 6/15 patients. Early diagnosis was made when CT demonstrated a soft-tissue mass of the external auditory canal associated with scattered zones of cortical bone erosions (13/15). Spread of the disease was better delineated by MR than CT, especially skull base extension (6/15). Temporomandibular joint involvement with extension into parotid or/and masticator spaces 6/15 was as well detected with CT as with MR. If CT remains the first and best procedure for diagnosis, MR - despite its cost - appears a good procedure to depict exact anatomic spread, allowing therapeutic management

External pallidal stimulation improves parkinsonian motor signs and modulates neuronal activity throughout the basal ganglia thalamic network.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitek, Jerrold L; Zhang, Jianyu; Hashimoto, Takao; Russo, Gary S; Baker, Kenneth B

2012-01-01

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) are effective for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). We have shown previously that DBS of the external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe) is associated with improvements in parkinsonian motor signs; however, the mechanism of this effect is not known. In this study, we extend our findings on the effect of STN and GPi DBS on neuronal activity in the basal ganglia thalamic network to include GPe DBS using the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1.2.3.6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) monkey model. Stimulation parameters that improved bradykinesia were associated with changes in the pattern and mean discharge rate of neuronal activity in the GPi, STN, and the pallidal [ventralis lateralis pars oralis (VLo) and ventralis anterior (VA)] and cerebellar [ventralis lateralis posterior pars oralis (VPLo)] receiving areas of the motor thalamus. Population post-stimulation time histograms revealed a complex pattern of stimulation-related inhibition and excitation for the GPi and VA/VLo, with a more consistent pattern of inhibition in STN and excitation in VPLo. Mean discharge rate was reduced in the GPi and STN and increased in the VPLo. Effective GPe DBS also reduced bursting in the STN and GPi. These data support the hypothesis that therapeutic DBS activates output from the stimulated structure and changes the temporal pattern of neuronal activity throughout the basal ganglia thalamic network and provide further support for GPe as a potential therapeutic target for DBS in the treatment of PD. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One-year follow-up of a parent management training for children with externalizing behaviour problems in the real world.

Science.gov (United States)

Hautmann, Christopher; Hoijtink, Herbert; Eichelberger, Ilka; Hanisch, Charlotte; Plück, Julia; Walter, Daniel; Döpfner, Manfred

2009-07-01

The long-term effectiveness of parent training for children with externalizing behaviour problems under routine care within the German health care system is unclear. We report the 1-year follow-up results of the parent training component of the Prevention Program for Externalizing Problem Behaviour (PEP) for 270 children aged 3-10 years with externalizing behaviour problems. Outcome measures included child behaviour problems (externalizing behaviour problems, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms and Oppositional Defiant Disorder symptoms) and parenting (self efficacy of parenting and perceived ability to solve difficult parenting situations). Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. Comparison of the changes during the 3-month waiting and treatment periods revealed significantly stronger treatment effects on all outcome measures, indicating a substantial decrease in child behaviour problems and a significant increase in parenting due to treatment. At 1-year follow-up, initial treatment effects on child behaviour problems were maintained, while parenting continued to improve. Families whose children exhibited externalizing problem behaviour profit from PEP and improvements are maintained for at least one year.

Photochemical Internalization of Bleomycin Before External-Beam Radiotherapy Improves Locoregional Control in a Human Sarcoma Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norum, Ole-Jacob; Bruland, Oyvind Sverre; Gorunova, Ludmila; Berg, Kristian

2009-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the tumor growth response of the combination photochemical internalization and external-beam radiotherapy. Photochemical internalization is a technology to improve the utilization of therapeutic macromolecules in cancer therapy by photochemical release of endocytosed macromolecules into the cytosol. Methods and Materials: A human sarcoma xenograft TAX-1 was inoculated subcutaneously into nude mice. The photosensitizer AlPcS 2a and bleomycin were intraperitoneally administrated 48 h and 30 min, respectively, before diode laser light exposure at 670 nm (20 J/cm 2 ). Thirty minutes or 7 days after photochemical treatment, the animals were subjected to 4 Gy of ionizing radiation. Results: Using photochemical internalization of bleomycin as an adjunct to ionizing radiation increased the time to progression for the tumors from 17 to 33 days as compared with that observed with photodynamic therapy combined with ionizing radiation as well as for radiochemotherapy with bleomycin. The side effects observed when photochemical internalization of bleomycin was given shortly before ionizing radiation were eliminated by separating the treatment modalities in time. Conclusion: Photochemical internalization of bleomycin combined with ionizing radiation increased the time to progression and showed minimal toxicity and may therefore reduce the total radiation dose necessary to obtain local tumor control while avoiding long-term sequelae from radiotherapy.

the effect of external knowledge on brand equity

OpenAIRE

sajad khani; abdolhamid ebrahimi

2014-01-01

Most traditional organizations managers focus on tangible and financial assets such as land, money, labor and ... One of the industries where competition is intense day by day the concept of competitive advantage and value creation in its resolution finds the banking industry. In this regard, the present study sought to examine the impact of intangible assets (external knowledge) to improve service quality and brand equity in the banking industry and the Export Development Bank of Iran. ...

Individual Differences Influencing Immediate Effects of Internal and External Focus Instructions on Children's Motor Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

van Abswoude, Femke; Nuijen, Nienke B; van der Kamp, John; Steenbergen, Bert

2018-06-01

A large pool of evidence supports the beneficial effect of an external focus of attention on motor skill performance in adults. In children, this effect has been studied less and results are inconclusive. Importantly, individual differences are often not taken into account. We investigated the role of working memory, conscious motor control, and task-specific focus preferences on performance with an internal and external focus of attention in children. Twenty-five children practiced a golf putting task in both an internal focus condition and external focus condition. Performance was defined as the average distance toward the hole in 3 blocks of 10 trials. Task-specific focus preference was determined by asking how much effort it took to apply the instruction in each condition. In addition, working memory capacity and conscious motor control were assessed. Children improved performance in both the internal focus condition and external focus condition (ŋ p 2  = .47), with no difference between conditions (ŋ p 2  = .01). Task-specific focus preference was the only factor moderately related to the difference between performance with an internal focus and performance with an external focus (r = .56), indicating better performance for the preferred instruction in Block 3. Children can benefit from instruction with both an internal and external focus of attention to improve short-term motor performance. Individual, task-specific focus preference influenced the effect of the instructions, with children performing better with their preferred focus. The results highlight that individual differences are a key factor in the effectiveness in children's motor performance. The precise mechanisms underpinning this effect warrant further research.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CONSERVATIVE MANAGEMENT VS. EXTERNAL FIXATION OF COMMINUTED DISTAL RADIUS FRACTURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjeev Kumar Kare

2016-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Fracture of the distal radius (‘broken wrist’ is a common clinical problem. It can be treated conservatively usually involving wrist immobilisation in a plaster cast or surgically. A key method of surgical fixation is external fixation. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective study was carried out on 66 patients admitted between June 2014 to May 2016 for evaluation of conservative and surgical management of distal radius fractures. RESULTS Excellent, fair or good result was noticed in around 85% of cases managed conservatively and in above 90% of cases managed by external fixator. CONCLUSION There is some evidence to support the use of external fixation for dorsally displaced fractures of the distal radius in adults. Though, there is insufficient evidence to confirm a better functional outcome, external fixation reduces redisplacement gives improved anatomical results and most of the excess surgically-related complications are minor.

Bone scanning in severe external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, W.J.; Shary, J.H. III; Nichols, L.T.; Lucente, F.E.

1986-01-01

Technetium99 Methylene Diphosphate bone scanning has been considered an early valuable tool to diagnose necrotizing progressive malignant external otitis. However, to our knowledge, no formal studies have actually compared bone scans of otherwise young, healthy patients with severe external otitis to scans of patients with clinical presentation of malignant external otitis. Twelve patients with only severe external otitis were studied with Technetium99 Diphosphate and were compared to known cases of malignant otitis. All scans were evaluated by two neuroradiologists with no prior knowledge of the clinical status of the patients. Nine of the 12 patients had positive bone scans with many scans resembling those reported with malignant external otitis. Interestingly, there was no consistent correlation between the severity of clinical presentation and the amount of Technetium uptake. These findings suggest that a positive bone scan alone should not be interpreted as indicative of malignant external otitis

Externalities in a life cycle model with endogenous survival☆

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Michael; Wrzaczek, Stefan; Prskawetz, Alexia; Feichtinger, Gustav

2011-01-01

We study socially vs individually optimal life cycle allocations of consumption and health, when individual health care curbs own mortality but also has a spillover effect on other persons’ survival. Such spillovers arise, for instance, when health care activity at aggregate level triggers improvements in treatment through learning-by-doing (positive externality) or a deterioration in the quality of care through congestion (negative externality). We combine an age-structured optimal control model at population level with a conventional life cycle model to derive the social and private value of life. We then examine how individual incentives deviate from social incentives and how they can be aligned by way of a transfer scheme. The age-patterns of socially and individually optimal health expenditures and the transfer rate are derived. Numerical analysis illustrates the working of our model. PMID:28298810

The external cruising costs of parking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Inci, E.; van Ommeren, J.N.; Kobus, Martijn

2017-01-01

Existing work emphasizes the importance of traffic congestion externalities, but typically ignores cruising-for-parking externalities. We estimate the marginal external cruising costs of parking—that is, the time costs that an additional parked car imposes on drivers by inducing them to cruise for

Emotion Regulation, Coping, and Decision Making: Three Linked Skills for Preventing Externalizing Problems in Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Modecki, Kathryn L; Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J; Guerra, Nancy

2017-03-01

Research on executive control during the teenage years points to shortfalls in emotion regulation, coping, and decision making as three linked capabilities associated with youth's externalizing behavior problems. Evidence gleaned from a detailed review of the literature makes clear that improvement of all three capabilities is critical to help young people better navigate challenges and prevent or reduce externalizing and related problems. Moreover, interventions can successfully improve these three capabilities and have been found to produce behavioral improvements with real-world significance. Examples of how successful interventions remediate more than one of these capabilities are provided. Future directions in research and practice are also proposed to move the field toward the development of more comprehensive programs for adolescents to foster their integration. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Clinical governance and external audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Glazebrook, S G; Buchanan, J G

2001-01-01

This paper describes a model of clinical governance that was developed at South Auckland Health during the period 1995 to 2000. Clinical quality and safety are core objectives. A multidisciplinary Clinical Board is responsible for the development and publicising of sound clinical policies together with monitoring the effects of their implementation on quality and safety. The Clinical Board has several committees, including an organization-wide Continuous Quality Improvement Committee to enhance the explicit nature of the quality system in terms of structure, staff awareness and involvement, and to develop the internal audit system. The second stream stems from the Chief Medical Officer and clinical directors in a clinical management sense. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors covers both clinical and financial audit. The reporting lines back to that committee are described and the role of the external auditor of clinical standards is explained. The aim has been to create a supportive culture where quality initiatives and innovation can flourish, and where the emphasis is not on censure but improvement.

Metasurface external cavity laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Luyao, E-mail: luyaoxu.ee@ucla.edu; Curwen, Christopher A.; Williams, Benjamin S. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); Hon, Philip W. C.; Itoh, Tatsuo [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); Chen, Qi-Sheng [Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California 90278 (United States)

2015-11-30

A vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting-laser is demonstrated in the terahertz range, which is based upon an amplifying metasurface reflector composed of a sub-wavelength array of antenna-coupled quantum-cascade sub-cavities. Lasing is possible when the metasurface reflector is placed into a low-loss external cavity such that the external cavity—not the sub-cavities—determines the beam properties. A near-Gaussian beam of 4.3° × 5.1° divergence is observed and an output power level >5 mW is achieved. The polarized response of the metasurface allows the use of a wire-grid polarizer as an output coupler that is continuously tunable.

[Comparison study on locking compress plate external fixator and standard external fixator for treatment of tibial open fractures].

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Gang; Luo, Xiaozhong; Tan, Lun; Lin, Xu; Wu, Chao; Guo, Yong; Zhong, Zewei

2013-11-01

To compare the clinical results of locking compress plate (LCP) as an external fixator and standard external fixator for treatment of tibial open fractures. Between May 2009 and June 2012, 59 patients with tibial open fractures were treated with LCP as an external fixator in 36 patients (group A), and with standard external fixator in 23 patients (group B). There was no significant difference in gender, age, cause of injury, affected side, type of fracture, location, and interval between injury and surgery between 2 groups (P > 0.05). The time of fracture healing and incision healing, the time of partial weight-bearing, the range of motion (ROM) of knee and ankle, and complications were compared between 2 groups. The incidence of pin-track infection in group A (0) was significantly lower than that in group B (21.7%) (P=0.007). No significant difference was found in the incidence of superficial infection and deep infection of incision, and the time of incision healing between 2 groups (P > 0.05). Deep vein thrombosis occurred in 5 cases of group A and 2 cases of group B, showing no significant difference (Chi(2)=0.036, P=0.085). All patients were followed up 15.2 months on average (range, 9-28 months) in group A, and 18.6 months on average (range, 9-47 months) in group B. The malunion rate and nonunion rate showed no significant difference between groups A and B (0 versus 13.0% and 0 versus 8.7%, P > 0.05); the delayed union rate of group A (2.8%) was significantly lower than that of group B (21.7%) (Chi(2)=5.573, P=0.018). Group A had shorter time of fracture healing, quicker partial weight-bearing, greater ROM of the knee and ankle than group B (P fracture, and has good patients' compliance, so it is helpful to do functional exercise, improve fracture healing and function recovery, and reduce the complication incidence.

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Oil fuel cycle. Estimation of physical impacts and monetary valuation for priority impact pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, R.; Krewitt, W.; Mayerhofer, P.; Trukenmueller, A.; Gressmann, A.; Runte, K.-H.; Kortum, G.; Weltschev, M.

1994-01-01

Fuel cycle externalities are the costs imposed on society and the environment that are not accounted for by the producers and consumers of energy. They include damage to health, forests, crops, natural ecosystems and the built environment. Traditional assessment of fuel cycles has ignored these effects and the energy sector is consequently distorted in favor of technologies with significant environmental burdens. Concern over widespread degradation of the environment resulting from fuel cycle emissions has mounted since the late 1960s. In the early 1970s the potential for long range atmospheric transport of certain pollutants was recognized. The effects of acidifying pollutants, ozone precursors and greenhouse gases have caused particular concern. This is reflected in recent trends in economic thought, particularly the emphasis on sustainable development and the use of market mechanisms for environmental regulation. It has thus become increasingly clear that the external impacts of energy use are significant and should be considered by energy planners. Although the theoretical basis for including external costs in decision making processes has been generally agreed, an acceptable methodology for their calculation and integration has not been established. The studies of Hohmeyer (1988), Ottinger et al. (1990) and Friedrich and Voss (1993) provide the background for such work, though they are of a somewhat preliminary nature. We need to improve the methods employed and the quality of models and data used so that planning decisions can be based at least partly on the results. It is particularly important that the site and project specificity of many impacts is recognized. In consequence of this a collaborative project between Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy has been established to identify the most appropriate methodology for this type of work. The current study has three

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Lignite fuel cycle. Estimation of physical impacts and monetary valuation for priority impact pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, R.; Krewitt, W.; Mayerhofer, P.; Trukenmueller, A.; Gressmann, A.

1994-01-01

Fuel cycle externalities are the costs imposed on society and the environment that are not accounted for by the producers and consumers of energy. They include damage to health, forests, crops, natural ecosystems and the built environment. Traditional assessment of fuel cycles has ignored these effects and the energy sector is consequently distorted in favor of technologies with significant environmental burdens. Concern over widespread degradation of the environment resulting from fuel cycle emissions has mounted since the late 1960s. In the early 1970s the potential for long range atmospheric transport of certain pollutants was recognized. The effects of acidifying pollutants, ozone precursors and greenhouse gases have caused particular concern. This is reflected in recent trends in economic thought, particularly the emphasis on sustainable development and the use of market mechanisms for environmental regulation. It has thus become increasingly clear that the external impacts of energy use are significant and should be considered by energy planners. Although the theoretical basis for including external costs in decision making processes has been generally agreed, an acceptable methodology for their calculation and integration has not been established. The studies of Hohmeyer (1988] and Ottinger et al. [1990] provide the background for such work, though they are of a somewhat preliminary nature [Friedrich, Voss, 1993]. We need to improve the methods employed and the quality of models and data used so that planning decisions can be based at least partly on the results. If is particularly important that the site and project specificity of many impacts is recognized. In consequence of this a collaborative project between Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy has been established to identify the most appropriate methodology for this type of work. The current study has three

External fixation for closed pediatric femoral shaft fractures: where are we now?

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Heather; Sabharwal, Sanjeev

2014-12-01

Recent advances in external fixation technique and pin design have sought to minimize complications such as pin site infection and premature removal of the external fixator. Although newer forms of internal fixation have gained popularity, external fixation may still have a role in managing pediatric femoral shaft fractures. We sought to assess the time to healing, limb alignment, and complications observed in a cohort of pediatric patients with closed femoral shaft fractures who were treated with external fixation. Over a 15-year period, one surgeon treated 289 pediatric patients with femur fractures, 31 (11%) of whom received an external fixator. The general indications for use of an external fixator during the period in question included length-unstable fractures, metadiaphyseal location, refracture, and pathologic fracture. Six patients (19%) had inadequate followup data and four patients (13%) were treated with a combination of flexible intramedullary nails and external fixation, leaving 21 patients for analysis. Mean age at injury was 10 years (range, 6-15 years) and followup averaged 22 months (range, 5-45 months) after removal of the fixator. Radiographs were examined for alignment and limb length discrepancy. Complications were recorded from a chart review. Mean time in the fixator was 17 weeks (range, 9-24 weeks). One patient sustained a refracture and one patient with an isolated femur fracture had a leg length discrepancy > 2 cm. There were no pin site infections requiring intravenous antibiotics or additional surgery. One patient with Blount disease and previous tibial osteotomy developed transient peroneal nerve palsy. Despite improvements in pin design and predictable fracture healing, complications such as refracture and leg length discrepancy after external fixation of pediatric femoral shaft fractures can occur. However, external fixation remains a viable alternative for certain fractures such as length-unstable fractures, metadiaphyseal

Bingo! Externally-Supported Performance Intervention for Deficient Visual Search in Normal Aging, Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Laudate, Thomas M.; Neargarder, Sandy; Dunne, Tracy E.; Sullivan, Karen D.; Joshi, Pallavi; Gilmore, Grover C.; Riedel, Tatiana M.; Cronin-Golomb, Alice

2011-01-01

External support may improve task performance regardless of an individual’s ability to compensate for cognitive deficits through internally-generated mechanisms. We investigated if performance of a complex, familiar visual search task (the game of bingo) could be enhanced in groups with suboptimal vision by providing external support through manipulation of task stimuli. Participants were 19 younger adults, 14 individuals with probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 13 AD-matched healthy adults, 17 non-demented individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and 20 PD-matched healthy adults. We varied stimulus contrast, size, and visual complexity during game play. The externally-supported performance interventions of increased stimulus size and decreased complexity resulted in improvements in performance by all groups. Performance improvement through increased stimulus size and decreased complexity was demonstrated by all groups. AD also obtained benefit from increasing contrast, presumably by compensating for their contrast sensitivity deficit. The general finding of improved performance across healthy and afflicted groups suggests the value of visual support as an easy-to-apply intervention to enhance cognitive performance. PMID:22066941

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Hydro fuel cycle. Estimation of physical impacts and monetary valuation for priority impact pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navrud, S.; Riise, J.; Strand, J.

1994-01-01

The aim of the External Costs of Fuel Cycles (ExternE) study is to develop methods to measure and monetize all the externalities associated with incremental investments in electric power production, taking account of the different stages of the fuel cycles. Since fuel cycle externalities are characterised by being very site-specific, the impact pathway damage function approach, developed in ExternE, has been implemented in different European countries for each of the selected fuel cycles. This is done to demonstrate that this methodological framework can be used at different locations, to motivate further development of the methods, and to look at the sensitivity of the estimates to different locations. Electricite de France (EdF) in France and ENCO Environmental Consultants a.s. in Norway have taken on a joint responsibility for adapting the methodological framework for hydroelectric fuel cycle analyses in Europe. We report the first implementation of the hydroelectric fuel cycle within ExternE. Choice of reference site and technology Two stages of the hydroelectric fuel cycle have been identified: 1. Electricity generation 2. Transmission There are three phases of each of these stages: construction, operation and dismantling. We have assumed a construction period of 5 years (starting in 1990) and an operation period of 40 years. Dismantling after 40 years is not a realistic option. Therefore, we have focused on the construction and operation phases, of both electricity generation and transmission. The Sauda Hydroelectric Development Project (SHDP) was selected, because it illustrates upgrading and extention of an existing hydro power project. Such projects are likely to be the dominating strategy for future hydroelectric development in Norway, many other European countries and in the U.S., due to the lack of new sites available for development. SHDP consists of an extention of a previously developed area (Basis project) and six new diversion projects. The

Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: familial risk to externalizing behaviors and perceived parenting styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Buschgens, Cathelijne J M; van Aken, Marcel A G; Swinkels, Sophie H N; Ormel, Johan; Verhulst, Frank C; Buitelaar, Jan K

2010-07-01

The aim was to investigate the contribution of familial risk to externalizing behaviors (FR-EXT), perceived parenting styles, and their interactions to the prediction of externalizing behaviors in preadolescents. Participants were preadolescents aged 10-12 years who participated in TRAILS, a large prospective population-based cohort study in the Netherlands (N = 2,230). Regression analyses were used to determine the relative contribution of FR-EXT and perceived parenting styles to parent and teacher ratings of externalizing behaviors. FR-EXT was based on lifetime parental externalizing psychopathology and the different parenting styles (emotional warmth, rejection, and overprotection) were based on the child's perspective. We also investigated whether different dimensions of perceived parenting styles had different effects on subdomains of externalizing behavior. We found main effects for FR-EXT (vs. no FR-EXT), emotional warmth, rejection, and overprotection that were fairly consistent across rater and outcome measures. More specific, emotional warmth was the most consistent predictor of all outcome measures, and rejection was a stronger predictor of aggression and delinquency than of inattention. Interaction effects were found for FR-EXT and perceived parental rejection and overprotection; other interactions between FR-EXT and parenting styles were not significant. Correlations between FR-EXT and perceived parenting styles were absent or very low and were without clinical significance. Predominantly main effects of FR-EXT and perceived parenting styles independently contribute to externalizing behaviors in preadolescents, suggesting FR-EXT and parenting styles to be two separate areas of causality. The relative lack of gene-environment interactions may be due to the epidemiological nature of the study, the preadolescent age of the subjects, the measurement level of parenting and the measurement level of FR-EXT, which might be a consequence of both genetic and

Externalities of energy and atomic power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-09-01

Energy technology ensures not only energy supply but also has great impacts on society and environments. Economical value and effect evaluation alone doesn't mean appropriate so the evaluation of 'externalities' should be appreciated. In order to assess atomic power in this context, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan set up a research committee on 'externalities of energy and atomic power' from April 2002 to March 2006, whose activities were described in this report. In addition to environmental effects and environmental externalities, four areas were newly studied as follows: (1) biological effects of low dose rate exposure and externalities, (2) externalities as social/economical effects including stable supply and security, (3) energy technologies evaluation and (4) social choice and decision-making. (T. Tanaka)

Effects of external focus of attention on balance: a short review.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sun Hee; Yi, Chae Woo; Shin, Ju Yong; Ryu, Young Uk

2015-12-01

[Purpose] The present study reviewed studies that examined the effects of attentional focus on balance. [Methods] Keywords such as "attentional", "focus", and "balance" were used to find relevant research papers in PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed). Forty-five papers were found, and 18 of them were used for this study, excluding review papers and papers irrelevant to the topic of this study. [Results] Among the papers used for the review, the number of papers in which external focus produced effective outcomes was 15 (83.3%). The number of papers in which both external and internal focus produced effective outcomes was 2 (11.1%). The number of paper in which no instruction about attentional focus was effective was 1 (5.5%), and the number of papers in which internal focus was effective was zero. [Conclusion] This short review suggests clinical implications about how physical therapists can use attentional focus for balance rehabilitation of patients. Instructions about external focus of attention can generally be useful as a method to improve posture and balance control. Furthermore, the present reviews indicates that external focus of attention would be more useful in a rehabilitation stage in which the difficulty level of balance performance is gradually increased.

The External Mind

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

, Extended Mind and Distributed Cognition by Claudio Paolucci pp. 69-96 The Social Horizon of Embodied Language and Material Symbols by Riccardo Fusaroli pp. 97-123 Semiotics and Theories of Situated/Distributed Action and Cognition: a Dialogue and Many Intersections by Tommaso Granelli pp. 125-167 Building......The External Mind: an Introduction by Riccardo Fusaroli, Claudio Paolucci pp. 3-31 The sign of the Hand: Symbolic Practices and the Extended Mind by Massimiliano Cappuccio, Michael Wheeler pp. 33-55 The Overextended Mind by Shaun Gallagher pp. 57-68 The "External Mind": Semiotics, Pragmatism...

Scattering and radiative properties of semi-external versus external mixtures of different aerosol types

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishchenko, Michael I.; Liu Li; Travis, Larry D.; Lacis, Andrew A.

2004-01-01

The superposition T-matrix method is used to compute the scattering of unpolarized light by semi-external aerosol mixtures in the form of polydisperse, randomly oriented two-particle clusters with touching components. The results are compared with those for composition-equivalent external aerosol mixtures, in which the components are widely separated and scatter light in isolation from each other. It is concluded that aggregation is likely to have a relatively weak effect on scattering and radiative properties of two-component tropospheric aerosols and can be replaced by the much simpler external-mixture model in remote sensing studies and atmospheric radiation balance computations

Containment atmosphere response to external sprays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, J.; Almenas, K.

1995-01-01

The application of external sprays to a containment steel shell can be an effective energy removal method and has been proposed in the passive AP-600 design. Reduction of the steel shell temperature in contact with the containment atmosphere enhances both heat and mass transfer driving forces. Large scale experimental data in this area is scarce, therefore the measurements obtained from the E series tests conducted at the German HDR facility deserve special attention. These long term tests simulated various severe accident conditions, including external spraying of the hemispherical steel shell. This investigation focuses upon the integral response of the HDR containment atmosphere during spray periods and upon methods by which lumped parameter system codes, like CONTAIN, model the underlying condensation phenomena. Increases in spray water flowrates above a minimum value were ineffective at improving containment pressure reduction since the limiting resistance for energy transfer lies in the noncondensable-vapor boundary layer at the inner condensing surface. The spray created an unstable condition by cooling the upper layers of a heated atmosphere and thus inducing global natural circulation flows in the facility and subsequently, abrupt changes in lighter-than-air noncondensable (J 2 /He) concentrations. Modeling results using the CONTAIN code are outlined and code limitations are delineated

Containment atmosphere response to external sprays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, J.; Almenas, K. [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

1995-09-01

The application of external sprays to a containment steel shell can be an effective energy removal method and has been proposed in the passive AP-600 design. Reduction of the steel shell temperature in contact with the containment atmosphere enhances both heat and mass transfer driving forces. Large scale experimental data in this area is scarce, therefore the measurements obtained from the E series tests conducted at the German HDR facility deserve special attention. These long term tests simulated various severe accident conditions, including external spraying of the hemispherical steel shell. This investigation focuses upon the integral response of the HDR containment atmosphere during spray periods and upon methods by which lumped parameter system codes, like CONTAIN, model the underlying condensation phenomena. Increases in spray water flowrates above a minimum value were ineffective at improving containment pressure reduction since the limiting resistance for energy transfer lies in the noncondensable-vapor boundary layer at the inner condensing surface. The spray created an unstable condition by cooling the upper layers of a heated atmosphere and thus inducing global natural circulation flows in the facility and subsequently, abrupt changes in lighter-than-air noncondensable (J{sub 2}/He) concentrations. Modeling results using the CONTAIN code are outlined and code limitations are delineated.

Investigating the improver mechanisms of agricultural water ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Investigating the improver mechanisms of agricultural water management in karaj county from the viewpoints of the farmers. ... farmers and people, technical improvement of hydraulic structures, improvement of local people participation, improvement of water management, controlling the disturbance of external factors and ...

[The application of vibrant sound bridge in microtia whose reconstructive external auditory canal occurred atresia].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Shouqin; Gong, Shusheng; Han, Demin; Chen, Shubin; Li, Yi; Ma, Xiaobo; Liu, Haihong

2012-05-01

To investigate the effect of vibrant sound bridge implantation in microtia whose reconstructive external auditory canal occurred atresia. Three cases (2 males and 1 female) of microtia had underwent hearing reconstruction operation (Include the external ear canal reconstructive surgery and tympanoplasty). The age ranged from 15 to 18 years and the average age was 17 years. All the 3 cases suffered from conductive hearing loss with the air-bone gap ranging from 51.6 to 65.0 dB HL and the average value being 56. 3 dB HL. All the 3 cases underwent vibrant sound bridge implantation, including the floating mass transducer implanted in the head of stapes in 2 cases and in the niche of round window in 1 case. The postoperative hearing level improved from 21.6 to 52.5 dB HL with an average of 32.2 dB HL. There were no complications such as vertigo, tinnitus and facial paralysis. Through vibrant sound bridge implantation, the hearing level of microtia whose reconstructive external auditory canal occurred atresia was improved effectively.

External costs of electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabl, A.; Spadaro, J.V.

2005-01-01

This article presents a synthesis of the ExternE project (External costs of Energy) of the European community about the external costs of power generation. Pollution impacts are calculated using an 'impact pathways' analysis, i.e. an analysis of the emission - dispersion - dose-response function - cost evaluation chain. Results are presented for different fuel cycles (with several technological variants) with their confidence intervals. The environmental impact costs are particularly high for coal: for instance, in France, for coal-fired power plants it is of the same order as the electricity retail price. For natural gas, this cost is about a third of the one for coal. On the contrary, the environmental impact costs for nuclear and renewable energies are low, typically of few per cent of the electricity price. The main part of these costs corresponds to the sanitary impacts, in particular the untimely mortality. In order to avoid any controversy about the cost evaluation of mortality, the reduction of the expectation of life due to the different fuel cycles is also indicated and the risks linked with nuclear energy are presented using several comparisons. (J.S.)

Political Measures for Strategic Environmental Policy with External Effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohyama, A. [Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan); Tsujimura, M. [Faculty of Economics, Ryukoku University, Otsu (Japan)

2006-10-15

This paper investigates an environmental policy designed to reduce the emission of pollutants under uncertainty, with the agent problem as an optimal stopping problem. We first analyze the two cases in which there are one agent and two competing agents by following Ohyama and Tsujimura (2005). When we consider a model of strategic agents, we need to analyze the external economic effect that is peculiar to an agent's environmental policy implementation. Then, to improve and resolve these external effects, we examine three alternative political measures, comprising an environmental subsidy, an environmental tax and an emission trading system. The results of the analysis indicate that the environmental subsidy and environmental tax promote environmental policy. However, they do not create an incentive to be the leader. On the other hand, an emissions trading system not only promotes environmental policy but also creates an incentive for leadership.

Political Measures for Strategic Environmental Policy with External Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohyama, A.; Tsujimura, M.

2006-01-01

This paper investigates an environmental policy designed to reduce the emission of pollutants under uncertainty, with the agent problem as an optimal stopping problem. We first analyze the two cases in which there are one agent and two competing agents by following Ohyama and Tsujimura (2005). When we consider a model of strategic agents, we need to analyze the external economic effect that is peculiar to an agent's environmental policy implementation. Then, to improve and resolve these external effects, we examine three alternative political measures, comprising an environmental subsidy, an environmental tax and an emission trading system. The results of the analysis indicate that the environmental subsidy and environmental tax promote environmental policy. However, they do not create an incentive to be the leader. On the other hand, an emissions trading system not only promotes environmental policy but also creates an incentive for leadership

External locus of control contributes to racial disparities in memory and reasoning training gains in ACTIVE

Science.gov (United States)

Zahodne, Laura B.; Meyer, Oanh L.; Choi, Eunhee; Thomas, Michael L.; Willis, Sherry L.; Marsiske, Michael; Gross, Alden L.; Rebok, George W.; Parisi, Jeanine M.

2015-01-01

Racial disparities in cognitive outcomes may be partly explained by differences in locus of control. African Americans report more external locus of control than non-Hispanic Whites, and external locus of control is associated with poorer health and cognition. The aims of this study were to compare cognitive training gains between African American and non-Hispanic White participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study and determine whether racial differences in training gains are mediated by locus of control. The sample comprised 2,062 (26% African American) adults aged 65 and older who participated in memory, reasoning, or speed training. Latent growth curve models evaluated predictors of 10-year cognitive trajectories separately by training group. Multiple group modeling examined associations between training gains and locus of control across racial groups. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans evidenced less improvement in memory and reasoning performance after training. These effects were partially mediated by locus of control, controlling for age, sex, education, health, depression, testing site, and initial cognitive ability. African Americans reported more external locus of control, which was associated with smaller training gains. External locus of control also had a stronger negative association with reasoning training gain for African Americans than for Whites. No racial difference in training gain was identified for speed training. Future intervention research with African Americans should test whether explicitly targeting external locus of control leads to greater cognitive improvement following cognitive training. PMID:26237116

External effects in Swiss hydropower

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauenstein, W.; Bonvin, J.; Vouillamoz, J.

1999-01-01

The article discusses the external costs and benefits of hydropower that are not internalised in normal book-keeping. Several negative and positive effects are discussed. The results of a study that addressed the difficult task of quantifying these external effects are presented. An assessment of the results gained shows that difficulties are to be met regarding system limits, methods of expressing the effects in monetary terms and ethical factors. The report also examines the consideration of external effects as a correction factor for falsified market prices for electricity

Tests of vacuum interrupters for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, R.; Parsons, M.; Honig, E.; Lindsay, J.

1979-04-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) project at Princeton University requires the insertion of a resistor in an excited ohmic-heating coil circuit to produce a plasma initiation pulse (PIP). It is expected that the maximum duty for the switching system will be an interruption of 24 kA with an associated recovery voltage of 25 kV. Vacuum interrupters were selected as the most economical means to satisfy these requirements. However, it was felt that some testing of available systems should be performed to determine their reliability under these conditions. Two interrupter systems were tested for over 1000 interruptions each at 24 kA and 25 kV. One system employed special Westinghouse type WL-33552 interrupters in a circuit designed by LASL. This circuit used a commercially available actuator and a minimum size counterpulse bank and saturable reactor. The other used Toshiba type VGB2-D20 interrupters actuated by a Toshiba mechanism in a Toshiba circuit using a larger counterpulse bank and saturable reactor

Radiolabeled anti-EGFR-antibody improves local tumor control after external beam radiotherapy and offers theragnostic potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koi, Lydia; Bergmann, Ralf; Brüchner, Kerstin; Pietzsch, Jens; Pietzsch, Hans-Jürgen; Krause, Mechthild

2014-01-01

Purpose: The effect of radioimmunotherapy (RIT) using the therapeutic radionuclide Y-90 bound to the anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab combined with external beam irradiation (EBRT) (EBRIT) on permanent local tumor control in vivo was examined. Methods: Growth delay was evaluated in three human squamous cell carcinoma models after RIT with [ 90 Y]Y-(CHX-A′′-DTPA) 4 -cetuximab (Y-90-cetuximab). The EBRT dose required to cure 50% of the tumors (TCD 50 ) for EBRT alone or EBRIT was evaluated in one RIT-responder (FaDu) and one RIT-non-responder (UT-SCC-5). EGFR expression and microenvironmental parameters were evaluated in untreated tumors, bioavailability was visualized by PET using ([ 86 Y]Y-(CHX-A′′-DTPA) 4 -cetuximab (Y-86-cetuximab) and biodistribution using Y-90-cetuximab. Results: In UT-SCC-8 and FaDu but not in UT-SCC-5 radiolabeled cetuximab led to significant tumor growth delay. TCD 50 after EBRT was significantly decreased by EGFR-targeted RIT in FaDu but not in UT-SCC-5. In contrast to EGFR expression, parameters of the tumor micromilieu and in particular the Y-90-cetuximab biodistribution or Y-86-cetuximab visualization in PET correlated with the responsiveness to RIT or EBRIT. Conclusion: EGFR-targeted EBRIT can improve permanent local tumor control compared to EBRT alone. PET imaging of bioavailability of labeled cetuximab appears to be a suitable predictor for response to EBRIT. This theragnostic approach should be further explored for clinical translation

Internal and External Readings of Same

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hardt, Daniel

2016-01-01

Same is an anaphoric element that performs a comparison, which can either be external or internal to a sentence. Hardt and Mikkelsen (2015) show that same, unlike other anaphoric expressions, imposes a parallelism constraint, and they present three types of examples showing that same...... is infelicitous in the absence of parallelism. Hardt and Mikkelsen propose an account that applies uniformly to internal and external readings; however, the evidence they present largely targets external readings – they don’t offer empirical evidence that clearly supports the uniform approach. Furthermore, Barker...... (2007) argues that internal readings must be treated differently than external readings. In this paper, I show that the parallelism effects observed by Hardt and Mikkelsen in fact apply to internal readings as well. This provides support for a uniform treatment of internal and external readings of same...

Using global magnetospheric models for simulation and interpretation of Swarm external field measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moretto, T.; Vennerstrøm, Susanne; Olsen, Nils

2006-01-01

simulated external contributions relevant for internal field modeling. These have proven very valuable for the design and planning of the up-coming multi-satellite Swarm mission. In addition, a real event simulation was carried out for a moderately active time interval when observations from the Orsted...... it consistently underestimates the dayside region 2 currents and overestimates the horizontal ionospheric closure currents in the dayside polar cap. Furthermore, with this example we illustrate the great benefit of utilizing the global model for the interpretation of Swarm external field observations and......, likewise, the potential of using Swarm measurements to test and improve the global model....

Externality or sustainability economics?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M. van den

2010-01-01

In an effort to develop 'sustainability economics' Baumgaertner and Quaas (2010) neglect the central concept of environmental economics-'environmental externality'. This note proposes a possible connection between the concepts of environmental externality and sustainability. In addition, attention is asked for other aspects of 'sustainability economics', namely the distinction weak/strong sustainability, spatial sustainability and sustainable trade, distinctive sustainability policy, and the ideas of early 'sustainability economists'. I argue that both sustainability and externalities reflect a systems perspective and propose that effective sustainability solutions require that more attention is given to system feedbacks, notably other-regarding preferences and social interactions, and energy and environmental rebound. The case of climate change and policy is used to illustrate particular statements. As a conclusion, a list of 20 insights and suggestions for research is offered. (author)

Optimal distance of an external focus of attention in standing long jump performance of athletes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gh. Lotfi

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Study Aim: Recently, studies have shown that an external focus of attention improves the performance of individuals. Some studies have also confirmed the superiority of distances away from body for external focus of attention. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal distance of an external focus of attention when performing athletes' standing long jump. Material and Method: 51 volunteer students (M age= 23.31 ± 5.26 years were selected as sample. At first all they performed a standing long jump in control status (without instruction for focus of attention. Then in an interpersonal counterbalanced design, a pair of jumps was performed with four different distances of an external focus of attention. These distances included 0.5, 2.5, 4 and 8 meters from the jump start line marked with colored tapes on the ground. Results: The results showed that having an external focus of attention compare to the control conditions has a significant advantage in the performance of the athlete's standing long jump. Also, the performance of athletes at different distances of an external focus of attention was compared. Results showed that the four-meter distance was significantly better performance than the half-meter distance of an external focus of attention. Conclusion: Four-meter distance can be introduced as the optimal distance of an external focus of attention in the performance of athletes’ standing long jump.

EXTERNAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MECHANISMS: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS ON THE BRAZILIAN MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Augusto Parente Monteiro

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The research aims to answer the following question: What is the effectiveness of mergers and acquisitions in the Brazilian market as external corporate governance mechanism? The main objective of the study is to verify if mergers and acquisitions operations in Brazilian market may act as an external mechanism of corporate governance, replacing managers and, as a consequence of changes in management, improving financial performance. The study is exploratory, qualitative in its approach, supported by documentary research on secondary data concerning an intentional sample of Brazilian companies aiming to identify the effect of M&A operations on the corporate governance structure of the acquired firm and on its financial results. Data obtained on the website of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM, related to Brazilian M&A operations in the period 2005-2010, were analyzed. Although M&A operations in Brazil were found to have disciplinary nature in our sample of firms in the studied period, our results are inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of these transactions and external governance mechanisms.

Nuclear medicine external individual occupational doses in Rio de Janeiro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauricio, Claudia L.P.; Lima, Ana Luiza S.; Silva, Herica L.R. da; Santos, Denison Souza; Silva, Claudio Ribeiro da

2009-01-01

According to the Brazilian National Database there are about 300 Nuclear Medicine Services (NMS) in Brazil, 44 of them located in the State of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Individual dose measurements are an important input for the evaluation of occupational exposure in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of radioprotection implementation and to keep individual doses as low as possible. In Brazil, most nuclear medicine (NM) staff is routinely monitored for external dose. The internal committed dose is estimated only in abnormal conditions. This paper makes a statistics analysis of all the RJ NMS annual external occupational doses in year 2005. A study of the evolution of monthly external individual doses higher than 4.00 mSv from 2004 to 2008 is also presented. The number of registered thorax monthly dose higher than 4.0 mSv is increasing, as its value. In this period the highest dose measured reaches 56.9 mSv, in one month, in 2008. About 50% of the annual doses are smaller than the monthly record level of 0.20 mSv. In 2005, around 100 professionals of RJ NMS received annual doses higher than 4.0 mSv, considering only external doses, but no one receives doses higher than 20.0 mSv. Extremities dosimeters are used by about 15% of the staff. In some cases, these doses are more than 10 times higher than the dose in thorax. This study shows the importance to improve radiation protection procedures in NM. (author)

A retrospective review of how nonconformities are expressed and finalized in external inspections of health-care facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hovlid, Einar; Høifødt, Helge; Smedbråten, Bente; Braut, Geir Sverre

2015-09-23

External inspections are widely used in health care as a means of improving the quality of care. However, the way external inspections affect the involved organization is poorly understood. A better understanding of these processes is important to improve our understanding of the varying effects of external inspections in different organizations. In turn, this can contribute to the development of more effective ways of conducting inspections. The way the inspecting organization states their grounds for noncompliant behavior and subsequently follows up to enforce the necessary changes can have implications for the inspected organization's change process. We explore how inspecting organizations express and state their grounds for noncompliant behavior and how they follow up to enforce improvements. We conducted a retrospective review, in which we performed a content analysis of the documents from 36 external inspections in Norway. Our analysis was guided by Donabedian's structure, process, and outcome model. Deficiencies in the management system in combination with clinical work processes was considered as nonconformity by the inspecting organizations. Two characteristic patterns were identified in the way observations led to a statement of nonconformity: one in which it was clearly demonstrated how deficiencies in the management system could affect clinical processes, and one in which this connection was not demonstrated. Two characteristic patterns were also identified in the way the inspecting organization followed up and finalized their inspection: one in which the inspection was finalized solely based on the documented changes in structural deficiencies addressed in the nonconformity statement, and one based on the documented changes in structural and process deficiencies addressed in the nonconformity statement. External inspections are performed to improve the quality of care. To accomplish this aim, we suggest that nonconformities should be grounded by

Does the Incredible Years reduce child externalizing problems through improved parenting? The role of child negative affectivity and serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype.

Science.gov (United States)

Weeland, Joyce; Chhangur, Rabia R; Jaffee, Sara R; Van Der Giessen, Danielle; Matthys, Walter; Orobio De Castro, Bram; Overbeek, Geertjan

2018-02-01

In a randomized controlled trial, the Observational Randomized Controlled Trial of Childhood Differential Susceptibility (ORCHIDS study), we tested whether observed parental affect and observed and reported parenting behavior are mechanisms of change underlying the effects of the behavioral parent training program the Incredible Years (IY). Furthermore, we tested whether some children are more susceptible to these change mechanisms because of their temperamental negative affectivity and/or serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype. Participants were 387 Dutch children between 4 and 8 years of age (M age = 6.31, SD = 1.33; 55.3% boys) and their parents. Results showed that although IY was successful in improving parenting behavior and increasing parental positive affect, these effects did not explain the significant decreases in child externalizing problems. We therefore found no evidence for changes in parenting behavior or parental affect being the putative mechanisms of IY effectiveness. Furthermore, intervention effects on child externalizing behavior were not moderated by child negative affectivity or 5-HTTLPR genotype. However, child 5-HTTLPR genotype did moderate intervention effects on negative parenting behavior. This suggests that in research on behavioral parent training programs, "what works for which parents" might also be an important question.

Retrofitting Systems for External Walls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rose, Jørgen

1997-01-01

In this report, 9 different external and internal retrofitting systems are analyzed using numerical calculations. The analysis focuses on the thermal bridge effects in the different systems, and on this basis it is discussed whether internal or external retrofitting has the most advantages...

Effects of 6-week sling-based training of the external-rotator muscles on the shoulder profile in elite female high school handball players.

Science.gov (United States)

Genevois, Cyril; Berthier, Philippe; Guidou, Vincent; Muller, Franck; Thiebault, Boris; Rogowski, Isabelle

2014-11-01

In women's handball, the large numbers of throws and passes make the shoulder region vulnerable to overuse injuries. Repetitive throwing motions generate imbalance between shoulder internal- and external-rotator muscles. It has not yet been established whether sling-based training can improve shoulder external-rotator muscle strength. This study investigated the effectiveness of a 6-wk strengthening program in improving shoulder functional profile in elite female high school handball players. Crossover study. National elite handball training center. 25 elite female high school handball players. The program, completed twice per week for 6 wk, included sling-based strengthening exercises using a suspension trainer for external rotation with scapular retraction and scapular retraction alone. Maximal shoulder external- and internal-rotation strength, shoulder external- and internal-rotation range of motion (ROM), and maximal throwing velocity were assessed preintervention and postintervention for dominant and nondominant sides. After sling training, external- and internal-rotation strength increased significantly for both sides (P ≤ .001, and P = .004, respectively), with the result that there was no significant change in external- and internal-rotation strength ratios for either the dominant or the nondominant shoulder. No significant differences were observed for external-rotation ROM, while internal-rotation ROM decreased moderately, in particular in the dominant shoulder (P = .005). Maximal throwing velocity remained constant for the dominant arm, whereas a significant increase was found for the nondominant arm (P = .017). This 6-wk strengthening program was effective in improving shoulder external-rotator muscle strength but resulted in a decrease in the ROM in shoulder internal rotation, while throwing velocity remained stable. Adding a stretching program to this type of sling-based training program might help avoid potential detrimental effects on shoulder ROM.

3D Simulation of External Flooding Events for the RISMC Pathway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prescott, Steven; Mandelli, Diego; Sampath, Ramprasad; Smith, Curtis; Lin, Linyu

2015-01-01

Incorporating 3D simulations as part of the Risk-Informed Safety Margins Characterization (RISMIC) Toolkit allows analysts to obtain a more complete picture of complex system behavior for events including external plant hazards. External events such as flooding have become more important recently – however these can be analyzed with existing and validated simulated physics toolkits. In this report, we describe these approaches specific to flooding-based analysis using an approach called Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. The theory, validation, and example applications of the 3D flooding simulation are described. Integrating these 3D simulation methods into computational risk analysis provides a spatial/visual aspect to the design, improves the realism of results, and can prove visual understanding to validate the analysis of flooding.

3D Simulation of External Flooding Events for the RISMC Pathway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prescott, Steven [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Mandelli, Diego [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Sampath, Ramprasad [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Smith, Curtis [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lin, Linyu [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-09-01

Incorporating 3D simulations as part of the Risk-Informed Safety Margins Characterization (RISMIC) Toolkit allows analysts to obtain a more complete picture of complex system behavior for events including external plant hazards. External events such as flooding have become more important recently – however these can be analyzed with existing and validated simulated physics toolkits. In this report, we describe these approaches specific to flooding-based analysis using an approach called Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. The theory, validation, and example applications of the 3D flooding simulation are described. Integrating these 3D simulation methods into computational risk analysis provides a spatial/visual aspect to the design, improves the realism of results, and can prove visual understanding to validate the analysis of flooding.

Interventions to help external cephalic version for breech presentation at term.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmeyr, G J

2004-01-01

Breech presentation places a fetus at increased risk. The outcome for the baby is improved by planned caesarean section compared with planned vaginal delivery. External cephalic version attempts to reduce the chances of breech presentation at birth, but is not always successful. Tocolytic drugs to relax the uterus as well as other methods have been used in an attempt to facilitate external cephalic version at term. To assess the effects of routine tocolysis, fetal acoustic stimulation, epidural or spinal analgesia and transabdominal amnioinfusion for external cephalic version at term on successful version and measures of pregnancy outcome. The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (September 2003) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2003) were searched. Randomised and quasi-randomised trials comparing routine versus selective or no tocolysis; fetal acoustic stimulation in midline fetal spine positions versus dummy or no stimulation; epidural or spinal analgesia versus no regional analgesia; or transabdominal amnioinfusion versus no amnioinfusion for external cephalic version at term. The reviewer assessed eligibility and trial quality. In six trials, routine tocolysis with beta-stimulants was associated with fewer failures of external cephalic version (relative risk (RR) 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64 to 0.87). The reduction in non-cephalic presentations at birth was not statistically significant. Caesarean sections were reduced (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.99). In four small trials, sublingual nitroglycerine used as a tocolytic was associated with significant side-effects, and was not found to be effective. Fetal acoustic stimulation in midline fetal spine positions was associated with fewer failures of external cephalic version at term (RR 0.17, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.60). With epidural or spinal analgesia, external cephalic version failure, non-cephalic births and caesarean sections were

Risk analysis of external radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arvidsson, Marcus

2011-09-01

External radiation therapy is carried out via a complex treatment process in which many different groups of staff work together. Much of the work is dependent on and in collaboration with advanced technical equipment. The purpose of the research task has been to identify a process for external radiation therapy and to identify, test and analyze a suitable method for performing risk analysis of external radiation therapy

Productivity Change and Externalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kravtsova, Victoria

2014-01-01

This paper contributes to the analysis of the impact of externalities on the host country's total factor productivity by taking into account different dimensions of spillover effects. Namely, engagement in exporting and foreign ownership is generally perceived as being beneficial to individual...... firms and the economy as a whole. The approach used in the current research accounts for different internal as well as external factors that individual firms face and evaluates the effect on changes in productivity, technology as well as the efficiency of domestic firms. The empirical analysis focuses...... on Hungary. While the country leads the group of post-socialist countries in the amount of attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) the effect of this policy on the economy remains unclear. The research finds that different externalities play a different role in productivity, technological and efficiency...

The application characteristics of Zhongjing external prescription medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Zhao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the application characteristics of Zhongjing prescription topical Chinese medicine. Methods: in this paper, according to the dosage form, Zhongjing topical agent will be divided into suppository, smoked lotion, apply is scattered, plug nasal powder four categories. Through an analysis on its books, records, and clinical applications, we are able to sum up the application characteristics of the zhongjing agent for external use. Results: in the clinical medicine, topical Zhongjing prescription cure of the disease has a long history of the role, through the analysis of Zhongjing topical prescription whole thinking, dialectical thinking, and thinking and characteristics of treatment technology that has the characteristics of topical drugs, dosage form differentiation flexible, external treatment for internal diseases, both inside and outside. Conclusion: topical medicine not only in the clinical treatment effect is good, and to inherit and develop Zhang Zhongjing thought of medicine, medical practice, law, strengthen Zhong Jing prescription and medicine, to enrich TCM clinical diagnosis and treatment methods to improve the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine clinics provide high standards of service for patients.

Characterization of functional biopolymers under various external stimuli

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maleki, Atoosa

2008-07-01

Polymers are large molecules composed of repeating structural units connected by covalent chemical bonds. Biopolymers are a class of polymers produced by living organisms, which exhibit both biocompatible and biodegradable properties. The behavior of a biopolymer in solution is strongly dependent on the chemical and physical structure of the polymer chain, as well as external environmental conditions. To improve biopolymers in the direction of higher performance and better functionality, understanding of their physicochemical behavior and their response to external stimuli are of great importance. Rheology, rheo-small angle light scattering, dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron scattering, and asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation were utilized in this thesis to investigate the properties of hydroxyethyl cellulose and its hydrophobically modified analogue, as well as dextran, hyaluronan, and mucin under different conditions such as temperature, solvent, mechanical stress and strain, and radiation. Different novel hydrogels were prepared by using various chemical cross-linking agents. Specific features of these macromolecules provide them to be used as 'functional' materials, e.g., sensors, actuators, personal care products, enhanced oil recovery, and controlled drug delivery systems (author)

External Volume Expansion in Irradiated Tissue: Effects on the Recipient Site.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Michael S; Lujan-Hernandez, Jorge; Babchenko, Oksana; Bannon, Elizabeth; Perry, Dylan J; Chappell, Ava G; Lo, Yuan-Chyuan; Fitzgerald, Thomas J; Lalikos, Janice F

2016-05-01

External volume expansion prepares recipient sites to improve outcomes of fat grafting. For patients receiving radiotherapy after mastectomy, results with external volume expansion vary, and the relationship between radiotherapy and expansion remains unexplored. Thus, the authors developed a new translational model to investigate the effects in chronic skin fibrosis after radiation exposure. Twenty-four SKH1-E mice received 50 Gy of β-radiation to each flank and were monitored until fibrosis developed (8 weeks). External volume expansion was then applied at -25 mmHg to one side for 6 hours for 5 days. The opposite side served as the control. Perfusion changes were assessed with hyperspectral imaging. Mice were euthanized at 5 (n = 12) and 15 days (n = 12) after the last expansion application. Tissue samples were analyzed with immunohistochemistry for CD31 and Ki67, Masson trichrome for skin thickness, and picrosirius red to analyze collagen composition. All animals developed skin fibrosis 8 weeks after radiotherapy and became hypoperfused based on hyperspectral imaging. Expansion induced edema on treated sides after stimulation. Perfusion was decreased by 13 percent on the expansion side (p External volume expansion temporarily reduces perfusion, likely because of transient ischemia or edema. Together with mechanotransduction, these effects encourage a proangiogenic and proliferative environment in fibrotic tissue after radiotherapy in the authors' mouse model. Further studies are needed to assess these changes in fat graft retention.

Externalizing behaviors in preadolescents: familial risk to externalizing behaviors and perceived parenting styles

OpenAIRE

2009-01-01

Abstract The aim was to investigate the contribution of familial risk to externalizing behaviors (FR-EXT), perceived parenting styles, and their interactions to the prediction of externalizing behaviors in preadolescents. Participants were preadolescents aged 10?12 years who participated in TRAILS, a large prospective population-based cohort study in the Netherlands (N = 2,230). Regression analyses were used to determine the relative contribution of FR-EXT and perceived parenting s...

External coating of colonic anastomoses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Achiam, Michael Patrick; Rosenberg, Jacob

2012-01-01

Colon anastomotic leakage remains both a frequent and serious complication in gastrointestinal surgery. External coating of colonic anastomoses has been proposed as a means to lower the rate of this complication. The aim of this review was to evaluate existing studies on external coating of colonic...

Effect of an 8-week practice of externally triggered speech on basal ganglia activity of stuttering and fluent speakers.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyomura, Akira; Fujii, Tetsunoshin; Kuriki, Shinya

2015-04-01

The neural mechanisms underlying stuttering are not well understood. It is known that stuttering appears when persons who stutter speak in a self-paced manner, but speech fluency is temporarily increased when they speak in unison with external trigger such as a metronome. This phenomenon is very similar to the behavioral improvement by external pacing in patients with Parkinson's disease. Recent imaging studies have also suggested that the basal ganglia are involved in the etiology of stuttering. In addition, previous studies have shown that the basal ganglia are involved in self-paced movement. Then, the present study focused on the basal ganglia and explored whether long-term speech-practice using external triggers can induce modification of the basal ganglia activity of stuttering speakers. Our study of functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that stuttering speakers possessed significantly lower activity in the basal ganglia than fluent speakers before practice, especially when their speech was self-paced. After an 8-week speech practice of externally triggered speech using a metronome, the significant difference in activity between the two groups disappeared. The cerebellar vermis of stuttering speakers showed significantly decreased activity during the self-paced speech in the second compared to the first experiment. The speech fluency and naturalness of the stuttering speakers were also improved. These results suggest that stuttering is associated with defective motor control during self-paced speech, and that the basal ganglia and the cerebellum are involved in an improvement of speech fluency of stuttering by the use of external trigger. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

IMPACT OF EXTERNAL REIMBURSABLE FINANING ON VAT RECEIPTS IN THE STATE BUDGET OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcel OLARI

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Under the current conditions, where rapid economic growth is an important prerequisite for improving the well-being of the population and reducing poverty, the state, being an important player on the economic arena of the Republic of Moldova, attracts external sources of reimbursable financing to support the budget and to carry out investment projects. Taking into account that these external sources increase the Central Government debt, generate the payment of certain interest, commissions, directly affect the expenditures of the state budget, I intended to investigate the impact of these reimbursable external sources on the one category of revenues of the state budget of the Republic of Moldova, (Value Added Tax receipts, in the light of the service and merchandise deliveries according to the transactions emerged from the contracted external reimbursable financing sources.

Socio-economic research on fusion. SERF 1997-98. Macro Tast E2: External costs and benefits. Task 2: Comparison of external costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, Lotte; Korhonen, Riitta

1998-12-01

This report is part of the SERF (Socio-Economic Research on Fusion) project, Macro Task E2, which covers External Costs and Benefits. The report is the documentation of Task 2, Comparison of External Costs. The aim of Task 2 Comparison of External Costs, has been to compare the external costs of the fusion energy with those from other alternative energy generation technologies. In this task identification and quantification of the external costs for wind energy and photovoltaic have been performed by Risoe, while identification and quantification of the external cost for nuclear fission and fossil fuels have been discussed by VTT. The methodology used for the assessment of the externalities of the fuel cycles selected has been the one developed within the ExternE Project. First estimates for the externalities of fusion energy have been under examination in Macrotask E2. Externalities of fossil fuels and nuclear fission have already been evaluated in the ExternE project and a vast amount of material for different sites in various countries is available. This material is used in comparison. In the case of renewable wind energy and photovoltaic are assessed separately. External costs of the various alternatives may change as new technologies are developed and costs can to a high extent be avoided (e.g. acidifying impacts but also global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions). Also fusion technology can experience major progress and some important cost components probably can be avoided already by 2050. (EG)

Socio-economic research on fusion. SERF 1997-98. Macro Tast E2: External costs and benefits. Task 2: Comparison of external costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, Lotte; Korhonen, Riitta

1998-12-01

This report is part of the SERF (Socio-Economic Research on Fusion) project, Macro Task E2, which covers External Costs and Benefits. The report is the documentation of Task 2, Comparison of External Costs. The aim of Task 2 Comparison of External Costs, has been to compare the external costs of the fusion energy with those from other alternative energy generation technologies. In this task identification and quantification of the external costs for wind energy and photovoltaic have been performed by Risoe, while identification and quantification of the external cost for nuclear fission and fossil fuels have been discussed by VTT. The methodology used for the assessment of the externalities of the fuel cycles selected has been the one developed within the ExternE Project. First estimates for the externalities of fusion energy have been under examination in Macrotask E2. Externalities of fossil fuels and nuclear fission have already been evaluated in the ExternE project and a vast amount of material for different sites in various countries is available. This material is used in comparison. In the case of renewable wind energy and photovoltaic are assessed separately. External costs of the various alternatives may change as new technologies are developed and costs can to a high extent be avoided (e.g. acidifying impacts but also global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions). Also fusion technology can experience major progress and some important cost components probably can be avoided already by 2050. (EG) 36 refs.

Proceedings: National conference on environmental externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This report is the proceedings of the National Conference on Environmental Externalities. A environmental externality is the environmental impact of a process or a plant that society must endure. It is a social cost and is paid, but not by the company who produced it or the company's customers who endure it. The main purpose of this report is to gather the many designs and ideas of how and why to internalize the externalities into the pricing systems of the public utility commissions, especially that of the electric utilities. Economic and sociological aspects of the internalization of these externalities are given in these proceedings. Individual papers are processed separately for databases. (MB)

Proceedings: National conference on environmental externalities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1990-12-31

This report is the proceedings of the National Conference on Environmental Externalities. A environmental externality is the environmental impact of a process or a plant that society must endure. It is a social cost and is paid, but not by the company who produced it or the company`s customers who endure it. The main purpose of this report is to gather the many designs and ideas of how and why to internalize the externalities into the pricing systems of the public utility commissions, especially that of the electric utilities. Economic and sociological aspects of the internalization of these externalities are given in these proceedings. Individual papers are processed separately for databases. (MB)

NCCDS configuration management process improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Shay, Kathy

1993-01-01

By concentrating on defining and improving specific Configuration Management (CM) functions, processes, procedures, personnel selection/development, and tools, internal and external customers received improved CM services. Job performance within the section increased in both satisfaction and output. Participation in achieving major improvements has led to the delivery of consistent quality CM products as well as significant decreases in every measured CM metrics category.

External locus of control contributes to racial disparities in memory and reasoning training gains in ACTIVE.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahodne, Laura B; Meyer, Oanh L; Choi, Eunhee; Thomas, Michael L; Willis, Sherry L; Marsiske, Michael; Gross, Alden L; Rebok, George W; Parisi, Jeanine M

2015-09-01

Racial disparities in cognitive outcomes may be partly explained by differences in locus of control. African Americans report more external locus of control than non-Hispanic Whites, and external locus of control is associated with poorer health and cognition. The aims of this study were to compare cognitive training gains between African American and non-Hispanic White participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study and determine whether racial differences in training gains are mediated by locus of control. The sample comprised 2,062 (26% African American) adults aged 65 and older who participated in memory, reasoning, or speed training. Latent growth curve models evaluated predictors of 10-year cognitive trajectories separately by training group. Multiple group modeling examined associations between training gains and locus of control across racial groups. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans evidenced less improvement in memory and reasoning performance after training. These effects were partially mediated by locus of control, controlling for age, sex, education, health, depression, testing site, and initial cognitive ability. African Americans reported more external locus of control, which was associated with smaller training gains. External locus of control also had a stronger negative association with reasoning training gain for African Americans than for Whites. No racial difference in training gain was identified for speed training. Future intervention research with African Americans should test whether explicitly targeting external locus of control leads to greater cognitive improvement following cognitive training. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

External school evaluation in Portugal : a glance at the impacts on curricular and pedagogical practices

OpenAIRE

Leite, Carlinda; Morgado, José Carlos; Seabra, Filipa

2014-01-01

Conferência realizada na Universidade do Minho, em Braga de 18-19 de outubro de 2013 Answering demands for an increase of accountability in terms of public education, and intending to lead to an improvement of the quality of education (Conselho Nacional de Educação, 2010), external school evaluation has been taking place in the continental territory of Portugal since 2006. All the schools having been evaluated once, in what is known as the 1st cycle of external evaluation, and a 2nd cycle ...

Evaluation of external hazards to nuclear power plants in the United States: Other external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, C.Y.; Prassinos, P.G.

1989-02-01

In support of implementation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Severe Accident Policy, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has performed a study of the risk of core damage to nuclear power plants in the United States due to ''other external events.'' The broad objective has been to gain an understanding of whether ''other external events'' (the hazards not covered by previous reports) are among the major potential accident initiators that may pose a threat of severe reactor core damage or of large radioactive release to the environment from the reactor. The ''other external events'' covered in this report are nearby industrial/military facility accidents, on site hazardous material storage accidents, severe temperature transients, severe weather storms, lightning strikes, external fires, extraterrestrial activity, volcanic activity, earth movement, and abrasive windstorms. The analysis was based on two figures-of-merit, one based on core damage frequency and the other based on the frequency of large radioactive releases. 37 refs., 8 tabs

External costs of nuclear-generated electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotaru, I.; Glodeanu, F.; Popescu, D.; Andrei, V.

2004-01-01

External costs of nuclear power include: future financial liabilities arising from decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities, health and environmental impacts of radioactivity releases in routine operation, radioactive waste disposal and effects of severe accidents. The nuclear energy industry operates under regulations that impose stringent limits to atmospheric emissions and liquid effluents from nuclear facilities as well as requiring the containment and confinement of solid radioactive waste to ensure its isolation from the biosphere as long as it may be harmful for human health and the environment. The capital and operating costs of nuclear power plants and fuel cycle facilities already internalize a major portion of the above-mentioned potential external costs, and these are reflected in the prices paid by consumers of nuclear-generated electricity. The externality related to potential health and environmental impacts of radioactive releases during routine operations have been assessed in a large number of comprehensive studies, in particular the ExternE project that was created in the framework of the European Commission. With regard to effects of severe nuclear accidents, a special legal regime, the third-party liability system, has been implemented to provide limited third party liability coverage in the event of a nuclear accident. The nuclear plant owners are held liable for some specified first substantial part of damages to third parties, and must secure insurance coverage adequate to cover this part. The Government provides coverage for some specified substantial second part of the damages, with any remaining damages to be considered by the national legislation. Thus, the costs of an incident or accident are fully internalized in the costs borne by the nuclear plant owners. Externalities of energy are not limited to environmental and health related impacts, but may result also from macro-economic, policy or strategic factors not reflected

External effects and social costs of road transport

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoef, E.T.

1994-01-01

The article contains a welfare economic analysis of road transport's external effects. First, we discuss the definition of external effects. Applying this definition, it is concluded that road transport activities give rise to a wide range of external costs. However, there are no external benefits

ESTIMATION OF EXTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCE ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND RESOURCE SUPPORT OF ENGINEERING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. V. Gusak

2013-09-01

influence on the formation and implementation indexes of the engineering industry’s organizationalresource support was improved, which allows identifying the most influenced external factors and the amount of the formation’s and implementation’s indexes of the engineering industry’s organizational-resource support’s change. Practical value. The estimation of the external factors influence on the formation and implementation indexes of the engineering industry’s organizational-resource support allows detecting, developing and adjusting the necessary and effective levers of government regulation.

The Role of Maternal Depression on Treatment Outcome for Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loon, L.M.A. van; Granic, I.; Engels, R.C.M.E.

2011-01-01

Studies have shown that, on average, Parent Management Training combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy decreases children's externalizing behavior, but some children do not improve through treatment. The current study aimed to examine the role of maternal depression in understanding this

Use of implantable and external loop recorders in syncope with unknown causes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaoru Tanno

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The gold standard for diagnosing syncope is to elucidate the symptom-electrocardiogram (ECG correlation. The ECG recordings during syncope allow physicians to either confirm or exclude an arrhythmia as the mechanism of syncope. Many studies have investigated the use of internal loop recorder (ILR, while few studies have used external loop recorder (ELR for patients with unexplained syncope. The aim of this review is to clarify the clinical usefulness of ILR and ELR in the diagnosis and management of patients with unexplained syncope. Many observational and four randomized control studies have shown that ILR for patients with unknown syncope is a useful tool for early diagnosis and improving diagnosis rate. ILR also provides important information on the mechanism of syncope and treatment strategy. However, there is no evidence of total mortality or quality of life improvements with ILR. The diagnostic yield of ELR in patients with syncope was similar to that with ILR within the same timeframe. Therefore, ELR could be considered for long-term ECG monitoring before a patient switches to using ILR. A systematic approach and selection of ECG monitoring tools reduces health care costs and improves the selection of patients for optimal treatment possibilities. Keywords: Internal loop recorder, External loop recorder, Unknown Syncope

Analysis of Sustainable Performance in Romania’s Local Public Administrations: An External Stakeholders Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana MIHAIU

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Building a sustainable performance system at the level of the local public administrations must have as starting point the local public administration’s (LPA mission and must go down to the level of the individual. This system must follow the external performance that it delivers to the citizens, the outcomes generated, but also the internal performance which suggests how to achieve the external performance. We propose in this regard the simultaneous use of the Balanced Scorecard tool for managing the internal performance and the Public Service Value Model for measuring the external performance measurement which derives from the organization's mission. In the second part of the work we analyzed comparatively the external performance created by the county capitals of Romania in the year 2013 using the Public Service Value Model (PSVM. Based on this analysis, the county capitals of Romania can be divided in the following categories: high performance organizations (value driven, budget conscious organizations, low performance organizations (sleeping giants and quality conscious organizations. This classification is useful both for the external and internal stakeholders because it shows the efficiency of public money spending and the areas in which the LPA is performing well, and also the ones that need to be improved.

External flooding event analysis in a PWR-W with MAAP5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez-Cosials, Mikel Kevin; Jimenez, Gonzalo; Barreira, Pilar; Queral, Cesar

2015-01-01

Highlights: • External flooding preceded by a SCRAM is simulated with MAAP5.01. • Sensitivities include AFW-TDP, SLOCA and operator preventive actions. • SLOCA flow is the dominant factor in the sequences. • Vessel failure is avoidable with operator preventive actions. - Abstract: The Fukushima accident has drawn attention even more to the importance of external events and loss of energy supply on safety analysis. Since 2011, several Station Blackout (SBO) analyses have been done for all type of reactors. The most post-Fukushima studies analyze a pure and straight SBO transient, but the Fukushima accident was more complex than a standard SBO. At Fukushima accident, the SBO was a consequence of an external flooding from the tsunami and occurred 40 min after an emergency shutdown (SCRAM) caused by the earthquake. The first objective of this paper is to assume the consequences of an external flooding accident in a PWR site caused by a river flood, a dam break or a tsunami, where all the plant is damaged, not only the diesel generators. The second objective is to analyze possible actions to be performed in the time between the earthquake event (that causes a SCRAM) and the external flooding arrival, which could be applicable to accidents such as dam failures or river flooding in order to avoid more severe consequences, delay the core damage and improve the accident management. The results reveal how the actuation of the different systems and equipments affect the core damage time and how some actions could delay the core damage time enough to increase the possibility of AC power recovery

Nonlinear ultrasonic imaging method for closed cracks using subtraction of responses at different external loads.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohara, Yoshikazu; Horinouchi, Satoshi; Hashimoto, Makoto; Shintaku, Yohei; Yamanaka, Kazushi

2011-08-01

To improve the selectivity of closed cracks for objects other than cracks in ultrasonic imaging, we propose an extension of a novel imaging method, namely, subharmonic phased array for crack evaluation (SPACE) as well as another approach using the subtraction of responses at different external loads. By applying external static or dynamic loads to closed cracks, the contact state in the cracks varies, resulting in an intensity change of responses at cracks. In contrast, objects other than cracks are independent of external load. Therefore, only cracks can be extracted by subtracting responses at different loads. In this study, we performed fundamental experiments on a closed fatigue crack formed in an aluminum alloy compact tension (CT) specimen using the proposed method. We examined the static load dependence of SPACE images and the dynamic load dependence of linear phased array (PA) images by simulating the external loads with a servohydraulic fatigue testing machine. By subtracting the images at different external loads, we show that this method is useful in extracting only the intensity change of responses related to closed cracks, while canceling the responses of objects other than cracks. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Externalities on Patterns of Exchange

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, J.; van Assen, M.A.L.M.

Many real−life examples of exchanges with externalities exist. Externalities of exchange are defined as direct consequences of exchanges for the payoff of actors who are not involved in the exchange. This paper focuses on how externalities influence the partner choice in exchange networks. In an

Comparison of external udder measurements of the sheep breeds Improved Valachian, Tsigai, Lacaune and their crosses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavol Makovický

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Morphological udder traits have recently become of greater interest from farmers to researchers. In dairy ewes, the udder is very important due to its physiological and conformational characteristics. External udder traits were measured in ewes (Ovis aries L. of nine genotypes (355 ewes created of the basis of Improved Valachian (IV, Tsigai (T, and Lacaune (LC breeds (six traits; 1185 data for each trait during the milking period 2002-2008. Udder measurements were assessed for: udder length (UL, udder width (UW, rear udder depth (RUD, cistern depth (CDE, teat length (TL, and teat angle (TA. Data were processed by restricted maximum likelihood (REML methodology using a MIXED procedure from the SAS statistical package. All studied parameters were influenced by the genotype (P < 0.001, many of them also by the effect of parity and lactation stage. The exactly detected UL, UW and RUD during the lactation and with the age of ewes expand gradually (P < 0.001. Teat length was greater in older ewes (expanding, with the parity. Indicator TA during lactation worsened. Crosses with 25 to 75% share of genetic dairy breeds (in particular with LC, to a lesser extent 'East Friesian' -EF were in most cases larger than the udder cisterns of purebred ewes T and IV. Purebred LC had the largest udders, with the largest cisterns. In conclusion, crosses with specialized dairy breeds have more suitable udders for machine milking than purebred default breeds (T, IV, LC and are suitable for machine milking.

Signal amelioration of electrophoretically deposited whole-cell biosensors using external electric fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ben-Yoav, Hadar, E-mail: benyoav@post.tau.ac.il [Department of Physical Electronics, School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978 (Israel); Amzel, Tal [Department of Physical Electronics, School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978 (Israel); Sternheim, Marek [Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978 (Israel); Belkin, Shimshon [Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904 (Israel); Rubin, Adi [Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978 (Israel); Shacham-Diamand, Yosi [Department of Physical Electronics, School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978 (Israel); Freeman, Amihay [Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978 (Israel)

2011-11-01

Highlights: > We present an electrochemical whole-cell biochip that can apply electric fields. > We examine the integration of cells on a biochip using electrophoretic deposition. > The effect of electric fields on the whole-cell biosensor has been demonstrated. > Relatively short DC electric pulse improves the performance of whole-cell biosensors. > Prolonged AC electric fields deteriorated the whole-cell biosensor performance. - Abstract: This paper presents an integrated whole-cell biochip system where functioning cells are deposited on the solid micro-machined surfaces while specially designed indium tin oxide electrodes that can be used to apply controllable electric fields during various stages; for example during cell deposition. The electrodes can be used also for sensing currents associated with the sensing mechanisms of electrochemical whole-cell biosensors. In this work a new approach integrating live bacterial cells on a biochip using electrophoretic deposition is presented. The biomaterial deposition technique was characterized under various driving potentials and chamber configurations. An analytical model of the electrophoretic deposition kinetics was developed and presented here. The deposited biomass included genetically engineered bacterial cells that may respond to toxic material exposure by expressing proteins that react with specific analytes generating electrochemically active byproducts. In this study the effect of external electric fields on the whole-cell biochips has been successfully developed and tested. The research hypothesis was that by applying electric fields on bacterial whole-cells, their permeability to the penetration of external analytes can be increased. This effect was tested and the results are shown here. The effect of prolonged and short external electric fields on the bioelectrochemical signal generated by sessile bacterial whole-cells in response to the presence of toxins was studied. It was demonstrated that relatively

Signal amelioration of electrophoretically deposited whole-cell biosensors using external electric fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben-Yoav, Hadar; Amzel, Tal; Sternheim, Marek; Belkin, Shimshon; Rubin, Adi; Shacham-Diamand, Yosi; Freeman, Amihay

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We present an electrochemical whole-cell biochip that can apply electric fields. → We examine the integration of cells on a biochip using electrophoretic deposition. → The effect of electric fields on the whole-cell biosensor has been demonstrated. → Relatively short DC electric pulse improves the performance of whole-cell biosensors. → Prolonged AC electric fields deteriorated the whole-cell biosensor performance. - Abstract: This paper presents an integrated whole-cell biochip system where functioning cells are deposited on the solid micro-machined surfaces while specially designed indium tin oxide electrodes that can be used to apply controllable electric fields during various stages; for example during cell deposition. The electrodes can be used also for sensing currents associated with the sensing mechanisms of electrochemical whole-cell biosensors. In this work a new approach integrating live bacterial cells on a biochip using electrophoretic deposition is presented. The biomaterial deposition technique was characterized under various driving potentials and chamber configurations. An analytical model of the electrophoretic deposition kinetics was developed and presented here. The deposited biomass included genetically engineered bacterial cells that may respond to toxic material exposure by expressing proteins that react with specific analytes generating electrochemically active byproducts. In this study the effect of external electric fields on the whole-cell biochips has been successfully developed and tested. The research hypothesis was that by applying electric fields on bacterial whole-cells, their permeability to the penetration of external analytes can be increased. This effect was tested and the results are shown here. The effect of prolonged and short external electric fields on the bioelectrochemical signal generated by sessile bacterial whole-cells in response to the presence of toxins was studied. It was demonstrated that

Technical review of externalities issues. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niemeyer, V.

1994-12-01

Externalities has become the catchword for a major experiment in electric utility regulation. Together with increased competition as a means for economic regulation, this experiment represents a potential revolution in how electric utilities are regulated. It is very important for utilities and policy makers to understand the technical issues and arguments driving the externality experiment. This Technical Review presents four papers covering topics in economics that may play important roles in this revolution. The four papers are: Economic Issues in the Application of Externalities to Electricity Resource Selection; Climate Change, the Marginal Cost of Carbon Dioxide Emissions and the Implications for Carbon Dioxide Emissions Adders; Positive Externalities and Benefits from Electricity; and Socioeconomic Effects of Externality Adders for Electric Utility Emissions

External Reviews, Internal Influences: Consultations and the Undergraduate Neuroscience Curriculum

OpenAIRE

Wiertelak, Eric P.

2012-01-01

In 2007 FUN established the FUN Program and Department Consultations Service, or FUN-PDCS. Since that founding, the service has provided numerous consultation recommendations to undergraduate programs seeking assistance with external program reviews, designing and improving courses and many other programmatic needs. FUN-PDCS, like FUN, is primarily a grassroots organization and draws on the expertise of the FUN membership to aid programs in their more personalized pursuit of the FUN mission: ...

The internal and external customer focused process improvement and the performance analysis studies in healthcare systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piril Tekin

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The main contribution of this paper is to generate an optimum solution for capacity planning and appointment scheduling issues, which are frequently encountered in clinical flows with various route and treatment periods at dental hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: It is essential to define the system well in order to ensure that the working staff and patients use their time very efficiently and that the process flows continuously. By having examined a sample healthcare system through the help of a study addressed in such context, studies on process improvement in line with the dissatisfactions of the working staff and patients have been carried out. Within the scope of the study, the operation of 7 Departments in a dental hospital undergoing a treatment process have been reviewed and examined. The problems encountered as result of the observations made are discussed in detail, and formerly and recently designed system performance analyses are conducted by having performed the respective process improvement studies. The relevant samplings of this study are modeled via the Arena Simulation Program. The data of the previous four months is used in the parameters, which are used through the modellings. The system data are entered by taking into account seasonal characteristics of the data. Findings: The analyses are made as a consequence of such study that has been addressed, it is established that the efficiency of the internal customers of the hospital increases substantially, and that the waiting durations of the dental patients decrease and in turn, the external customer satisfaction increases drastically. Research limitations/implications: Under the scope of the present study, 7 different treatment processes are analysed in a dental hospital in Cukurova Region with a significant patient potential. The treatment clinics present in the hospital are radiology, periodontology, surgery, treatment, orthodontics and prosthesis. These

Effects of external rotation on anteroposterior translations in the shoulder: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Andrew J; Debski, Richard E; Voycheck, Carrie A; McMahon, Patrick J

2014-08-01

Using physical examination to make the diagnosis of shoulder instability can be difficult, because typical examination maneuvers are qualitative, difficult to standardize, and not reproducible. Measuring shoulder translation is especially difficult, which is a particular problem, because measuring it inaccurately may result in improper treatment of instability. The objective of this study was to use a magnetic motion tracking system to quantify the effects of external rotation of the abducted shoulder on a simulated simple translation test in healthy subjects. Specifically, we hypothesized that (1) increasing external rotation of the abducted shoulder would result in decreasing translation; (2) intraobserver repeatability would be less than 2 mm at all external rotation positions; and (3) mean side-to-side differences would be less than 2 mm at all external rotation positions. The intraobserver repeatability and side-to-side differences of AP translation were quantified with a noninvasive magnetic motion tracking system and automated data analysis routine in nine healthy subjects at four positions of external rotation with the arm abducted. A shoulder positioning apparatus was used to maintain the desired arm position. No differences in translations between the positions of external rotation were found (p = 0.48). Intraobserver repeatability was 1.1 mm (SD, 0.8 mm) and mean side-to-side differences were small: 2.7 mm (SD, 2.8 mm), 2.8 mm (SD, 1.8 mm), 2.5 mm (SD, 1.8 mm), and 4.0 mm (SD, 2.6 mm) at 0°, 20°, 40°, and 60° of external rotation, respectively. The intraobserver repeatability was strong and the side-to-side differences in translation were small with the magnetic motion tracking system, which is encouraging for development of an improved quantitative test to assess shoulder translation for fast and low-cost diagnosis of shoulder instability. Clinicians may not have to position the contralateral, normal, abducted shoulder in precisely the same position

Socio-economic research on fusion: SERF 2 (1999-2000). Task 1: Externalities of fusion. Exploitation and improvement of work performed under SERF 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, T.; Lepicard, S. [Centre d' Etude sur l' Evaluation de la Protection dans le Domaine Nucleaire, 92 - Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Hamacher, T. [Euratom/IPP Fusion Association (Germany); Hallberg, B.; Aquilonius, K. [Studsvik Eco and Safety AB, Association Euratom-NFR (Sweden); Ward, D. [Euratom/UKAEA Fusion Association (United Kingdom); Korhonen, R. [VTT, Association Euratom-Tekes (Finland); Lechon, Y.; Cabal, H.; Saez, R. [Euratom/CIEMAT Fusion Association (Spain)

2001-01-01

In the previous phase of the SERF project an assessment of the external costs of two conceptual models of a fusion power plant was performed, as well as a comparison with other energy options. Results obtained ranged from 1,29 mEURO/kWh to 2,71 mEURO/kWh for the two models analysed respectively, well below those obtained for fossil-fuelled power and nuclear fission power plants confirming the role of fusion as a sustainable energy source in the long term. Some elements were identified as the predominant cause of external costs. The most important of them was collective doses produced by the global dispersion of C-14. Additional work has been carried out in the framework of the SEAFP (Safety and Environmental Assessment of Fusion Power) and SEAL within SEAFP-2 programme. In the present phase of the SERF project the effects of all of these technological advances in the external costs of fusion power have been evaluated. An analysis of the key variables influencing the external cost aiming to set some recommendations for the design of fusion power plants with minimum external costs has been also carried out. Furthermore, the effects of a scenario of intensive use of fusion power to meet energy requirement in future have been analysed in terms of its incidence in global radiation level and global warming. (author)

[The external evaluation of study quality: the role in maintaining the reliability of laboratory information].

Science.gov (United States)

Men'shikov, V V

2013-08-01

The external evaluation of quality of clinical laboratory examinations was gradually introduced in USSR medical laboratories since 1970s. In Russia, in the middle of 1990 a unified all-national system of external evaluation quality was organized known as the Federal center of external evaluation of quality at the basis of laboratory of the state research center of preventive medicine. The main positions of policy in this area were neatly formulated in the guidance documents of ministry of Health. Nowadays, the center of external evaluation of quality proposes 100 and more types of control studies and permanently extends their specter starting from interests of different disciplines of clinical medicine. The consistent participation of laboratories in the cycles of external evaluation of quality intrinsically promotes improvement of indicators of properness and precision of analysis results and increases reliability of laboratory information. However, a significant percentage of laboratories does not participate at all in external evaluation of quality or takes part in control process irregularly and in limited number of tests. The managers of a number of medical organizations disregard the application of the proposed possibilities to increase reliability of laboratory information and limit financing of studies in the field of quality control. The article proposes to adopt the national standard on the basis of ISO 17043 "Evaluation of compliance. The common requirements of professional competence testing".

Noninvasive external cardiac pacing for thallium-201 scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldman, M.D.; Warren, S.E.; Gervino, E.V.

1988-01-01

Improvements in noninvasive external cardiac pacing have led to a technique with reliable electrical capture and tolerable patient discomfort. To assess the use of this modality of pacing in combination with thallium scintigraphy as a noninvasive pacing stress test, we applied simultaneous noninvasive cardiac pacing, hemodynamic monitoring, and thallium-201 scintigraphy in 14 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization for chest pain syndromes. Two patients had normal coronary arteries, while the remaining 12 had significant coronary artery disease. Thallium scintigraphic responses to pacing were compared to routine exercise thallium stress testing in nine of these 14 patients. All patients were noninvasively paced to more than 85% of the age-predicted maximum heart rate. Twelve patients demonstrated reversible thallium defects, which corresponded in 11 cases to significant lesions seen on coronary angiography. Of nine patients who underwent both pacing and exercise thallium stress tests, comparable maximal rate-pressure products were achieved. Moreover, thallium imaging at peak pacing and during delayed views did not differ significantly from exercise thallium scintigraphy. A limiting factor associated with the technique was local patient discomfort, which occurred to some degree in all patients. We conclude that noninvasive external cardiac pacing together with thallium scintigraphy is capable of detecting significant coronary artery disease and may be comparable to routine exercise thallium stress testing. This new modality of stress testing could be useful in patients unable to undergo the exercise required for standard exercise tolerance testing, particularly if improvements in the technology can be found to reduce further the local discomfort

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Coal fuel cycle. Estimation of physical impacts and monetary valuation for priority impact pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, J.E.; Holland, M.R.; Watkiss, P.R.

1994-01-01

Background to the ExternE Project Awareness of the environmental damage resulting from human activity, particularly concerning energy use, has grown greatly in recent years. Effects such as global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain are now the subjects of much research and public debate. It is now known that these and other effects damage a wide range of receptors, including human health, forests, crops, freshwater ecosystems and buildings. Such damages are typically not accounted for by the producers and consumers of the good in question (in this case energy). They are thus referred to as 'external costs' or 'externalities', to distinguish them from the private costs which account for the construction of plant, cost of fuel, wages, etc. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the assessment of the environmental and health impacts of energy, and the related external costs. This concern is driven by a number of different factors; The need to integrate environmental concerns in decision making over the choice between different fuels and energy technologies. The need to evaluate the costs and benefits of stricter environmental standards. Increased attention to the use of economic instruments for environmental policy. The need to develop overall indicators of environmental performance of different technologies. Major changes in the energy sector, including privatisation, liberalisation of markets, reduction of subsidies, etc. An agreed methodology for calculation and integration of external costs has not been established. Earlier work is typically of a preliminary nature and tends to be deficient with respect to both the methods employed and the quality of models and data used. In consequence of this a collaborative project, the EC/US Fuel Cycles Study, was established between Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy. This ran for the period 1991 to 1993, and good

Waveguide based external cavity semiconductor lasers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oldenbeuving, Ruud; Klein, E.J.; Offerhaus, Herman L.; Lee, Christopher James; Verhaegen, M.; Boller, Klaus J.

2012-01-01

We report on progress of the project waveguide based external cavity semiconductor laser (WECSL) arrays. Here we present the latest results on our efforts to mode lock an array of tunable, external cavity semiconductor lasers.

Improving sample recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, R.J.

1995-09-01

This Engineering Task Plan (ETP) describes the tasks, i.e., tests, studies, external support and modifications planned to increase the recovery of the recovery of the waste tank contents using combinations of improved techniques, equipment, knowledge, experience and testing to better the recovery rates presently being experienced

The avoided external costs of using wind energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markandya, A [Harvard Inst. for International Development, Cambridge, MA (United States)

1996-12-31

This article discusses the external costs of electricity generated by conventional fossil fuel sources, such as coal and nuclear power. It compares the costs of electricity generated with coal with that generated with wind. A measure of the benefits of wind energy is the difference between these two external costs. The methodology used for the estimation of the external costs, as well as the estimates of these costs, are taken from the EC ExternE study, financed by DGXII of the European Commission. The present author was a lead economist for that study. (author)

The avoided external costs of using wind energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markandya, A. [Harvard Inst. for International Development, Cambridge, MA (United States)

1995-12-31

This article discusses the external costs of electricity generated by conventional fossil fuel sources, such as coal and nuclear power. It compares the costs of electricity generated with coal with that generated with wind. A measure of the benefits of wind energy is the difference between these two external costs. The methodology used for the estimation of the external costs, as well as the estimates of these costs, are taken from the EC ExternE study, financed by DGXII of the European Commission. The present author was a lead economist for that study. (author)

The avoided external costs of using wind energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markandya, A.

1995-01-01

This article discusses the external costs of electricity generated by conventional fossil fuel sources, such as coal and nuclear power. It compares the costs of electricity generated with coal with that generated with wind. A measure of the benefits of wind energy is the difference between these two external costs. The methodology used for the estimation of the external costs, as well as the estimates of these costs, are taken from the EC ExternE study, financed by DGXII of the European Commission. The present author was a lead economist for that study. (author)

Parasitic infections of the external eye.

Science.gov (United States)

Pahuja, Shivani; Puranik, Charuta; Jelliti, Bechir; Khairallah, Moncef; Sangwan, Virender S

2013-08-01

To review the published literature on parasitic infections of external eye. Published articles and case reports on parasitic infections of external eye were reviewed and relevant information was collected. Parasitic infections of the eye are rare. However, being more commonly seen in developing nations, they require active measures for screening, diagnosis, and therapy. Parasites of importance causing external ocular disease are protozoan parasites, such as Leishmania; metazoans, such as nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms), and trematodes (flatworms); or ectoparasites, such as Phthirus pubis and Demodex.

Environment and externalization; Environnement et externalisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kremlis, G.; Renaud, R. [Association francaise des ingenieurs et techniciens de l' environnement, AFITE, 75 - Paris (France); Touron, M. [Veritas, 75 - Paris (France)] [and others

2001-07-01

This document presents the discussions of the 16 may 2000, concerning the externalization and the environment and proposes to answer the following questions: is the externalization a new strategy to better perceive, hopeful engineering department, the technological risks problems, the environment or the land pollution? Does the externalization allow a better organization of the enterprise? To analyse the situation, the document presents the white book of the environmental liability, the administration point of view, some enterprises examples and the importance of the environmental management. (A.L.B.)

External events analysis of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liaukonis, Mindaugas; Augutis, Juozas

1999-01-01

This paper presents analysis of external events impact on the safe operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) safety systems. Analysis was based on the probabilistic estimation and modelling of the external hazards. The screening criteria were applied to the number of external hazards. The following external events such as aircraft failure on the INPP, external flooding, fire, extreme winds requiring further bounding study were analysed. Mathematical models were developed and event probabilities were calculated. External events analysis showed rather limited external events danger to Ignalina NPP. Results of the analysis were compared to analogous analysis in western NPPs and no great differences were specified. Calculations performed show that external events can not significantly influence the safety level of the Ignalina NPP operation. (author)

The Effectiveness of Parent Management Training-Oregon Model in Clinically Referred Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems in The Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Thijssen, Jill; Vink, Gerko; Muris, Peter; de Ruiter, Corine

2017-02-01

The present study examined the effectiveness of parent management training-Oregon model (PMTO) as a treatment for children with externalizing behavior problems in The Netherlands. Clinically referred children (N = 146) aged 4-11 years and their parents were partly randomized to either PMTO (n = 91) or Care As Usual (CAU; n = 55). Families were assessed at four time points: at pretreatment, and after 6, 12, and 18 months. Results showed that both PMTO and CAU were effective in reducing child externalizing behavior, parenting stress and parental psychopathology, with no significant differences between the two treatment conditions. PMTO and CAU interventions also produced some improvements in self-reported parenting skills, but not in observed parenting skills. According to the Reliable Change Index, 16.9 and 45.8 % of the children within the PMTO group showed full recovery or improvement in externalizing behavior, respectively, versus 9.7 and 42.8 % in the CAU condition. Finally, the effect size of PMTO on parent-reported externalizing behavior problems as found in the present study was comparable to that found in previous studies evaluating PMTO as an intervention for this type of child psychopathology.

Testing specificity among parents' depressive symptoms, parenting, and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruhn, Meredith A; Dunbar, Jennifer P; Watson, Kelly H; Reising, Michelle M; McKee, Laura; Forehand, Rex; Cole, David A; Compas, Bruce E

2016-04-01

The present study examined the specificity in relations between observed withdrawn and intrusive parenting behaviors and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms in an at-risk sample of children (ages 9 to 15 years old) of parents with a history of depression (N = 180). Given past findings that parental depression and parenting behaviors may differentially impact boys and girls, gender was examined as a moderator of the relations between these factors and child adjustment. Correlation and linear regression analyses showed that parental depressive symptoms were significantly related to withdrawn parenting for parents of boys and girls and to intrusive parenting for parents of boys only. When controlling for intrusive parenting, preliminary analyses demonstrated that parental depressive symptoms were significantly related to withdrawn parenting for parents of boys, and this association approached significance for parents of girls. Specificity analyses yielded that, when controlling for the other type of problem (i.e., internalizing or externalizing), withdrawn parenting specifically predicted externalizing problems but not internalizing problems in girls. No evidence of specificity was found for boys in this sample, suggesting that impaired parenting behaviors are diffusely related to both internalizing and externalizing symptoms for boys. Overall, results highlight the importance of accounting for child gender and suggest that targeting improvement in parenting behaviors and the reduction of depressive symptoms in interventions with parents with a history of depression may have potential to reduce internalizing and externalizing problems in this high-risk population. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Testing Specificity Among Parents’ Depressive Symptoms, Parenting, and Child Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Science.gov (United States)

Gruhn, Meredith A.; Dunbar, Jennifer P.; Watson, Kelly H.; Reising, Michelle M.; McKee, Laura; Forehand, Rex; Cole, David A.; Compas, Bruce E.

2016-01-01

The present study examined the specificity in relations between observed withdrawn and intrusive parenting behaviors and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms in an at risk sample of children (ages 9 to 15-years-old) of parents with a history of depression (N = 180). Given past findings that parental depression and parenting behaviors may differentially impact boys and girls, gender was examined as a moderator of the relations between these factors and child adjustment. Correlation and linear regression analyses showed that parental depressive symptoms were significantly related to withdrawn parenting for parents of boys and girls and to intrusive parenting for parents of boys only. When controlling for intrusive parenting, preliminary analyses demonstrated that parental depressive symptoms were significantly related to withdrawn parenting for parents of boys, and this association approached significance for parents of girls. Specificity analyses yielded that, when controlling for the other type of problem (i.e., internalizing or externalizing), withdrawn parenting specifically predicted externalizing problems but not internalizing problems in girls. No evidence of specificity was found for boys in this sample, suggesting that impaired parenting behaviors are diffusely related to both internalizing and externalizing symptoms for boys. Overall, results highlight the importance of accounting for child gender and suggest that targeting improvement in parenting behaviors and the reduction of depressive symptoms in interventions with parents with a history of depression may have potential to reduce internalizing and externalizing problems in this high-risk population. PMID:26882467

Fetomaternal hemorrhage during external cephalic version.

Science.gov (United States)

Boucher, Marc; Marquette, Gerald P; Varin, Jocelyne; Champagne, Josette; Bujold, Emmanuel

2008-07-01

To estimate the frequency and volume of fetomaternal hemorrhage during external cephalic version for term breech singleton fetuses and to identify risk factors involved with this complication. A prospective observational study was performed including all patients undergoing a trial of external cephalic version for a breech presentation of at least 36 weeks of gestation between 1987 and 2001 in our center. A search for fetal erythrocytes using the standard Kleihauer-Betke test was obtained before and after each external cephalic version. The frequency and volume of fetomaternal hemorrhage were calculated. Putative risk factors for fetomaternal hemorrhage were evaluated by chi(2) test and Mann-Whitney U test. A Kleihauer-Betke test result was available before and after 1,311 trials of external cephalic version. The Kleihauer-Betke test was positive in 67 (5.1%) before the procedure. Of the 1,244 women with a negative Kleihauer-Betke test before external cephalic version, 30 (2.4%) had a positive Kleihauer-Betke test after the procedure. Ten (0.8%) had an estimated fetomaternal hemorrhage greater than 1 mL, and one (0.08%) had an estimated fetomaternal hemorrhage greater than 30 mL. The risk of fetomaternal hemorrhage was not influenced by parity, gestational age, body mass index, number of attempts at version, placental location, or amniotic fluid index. The risk of detectable fetomaternal hemorrhage during external cephalic version was 2.4%, with fetomaternal hemorrhage more than 30 mL in less than 0.1% of cases. These data suggest that the performance of a Kleihauer-Betke test is unwarranted in uneventful external cephalic version and that in Rh-negative women, no further Rh immune globulin is necessary other than the routine 300-microgram dose at 28 weeks of gestation and postpartum. II.

Davidson's Externalism and Swampman's Troublesome Biography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Leclerc

2005-12-01

Full Text Available After the seminal works of Putnam (1975, Burge (1979, and Kripke (1982, the next important contribution to externalism is certainly Davidson’s (mainly 1987, 1988, 1989, 2001. By criticizing the posi-tions of these philosophers, Davidson elaborated his own brand of exter-nalism. We shall first present some features of Davidson’s externalism (the importance of historical-causal connections for the foundation of language and thought, for the explanation of how language can be learned, and how attitudes can be identified by the interpreter, and fi-nally how mental content is determined by appealing to the idea of trian-gulation, to prepare the discussion of a few problems. We then discuss two questions in Davidson’s externalism. First, how to reconcile the fact that external factors determine mental content, as Putnam, Burge and Davidson himself argued convincingly, with token-physicalism, the thesis that mental events are identical with physical events occurring “in the head” (or the thesis that mental events supervenes locally on brain ac-tivities? The second main problem is how to reconcile the first person authority with some prima facie consequences of externalism, mainly that we should know the relevant parts of our (natural and social envi-ronment in order to know the content of our own thoughts? We argue that Davidson’s answer to the first question is not successful, while his answer to the second was a breakthrough.

Perceived external prestige as a mediator between quality of work life and organisational commitment of public sector employees in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oluyinka Ojedokun

2015-04-01

Research purpose: This research seeks to close a research gap by determining the role of perceived external prestige in the relationship between quality of work life and organisational commitment amongst public sector employees in Ghana. Research approach, design and method: Theoretically guided hypotheses and models were formulated and tested with hierarchical multiple regression statistics using data from a sample of 137 employees from two public sector organisations in Ghana. Main findings: The results support the hypothesis that quality of work life is positively related to both perceived external prestige and organisational commitment. Also, perceived external prestige was found to predict organisational commitment and partially mediate the relationship between quality of work life and organisational commitment. Practical/managerial implications: The findings imply that one sure way to enhance organisational commitment of employees is by improving their quality of work life and boosting their perceptions of external prestige of the organisation. These results will be of particular interest to policymakers, public organisations and stakeholders interested in increasing organisational commitment of their employees. Contribution/value-add: The findings extend previous research by establishing the mediating role of perceived external prestige in the relationship between quality of work life and organisational commitment. If managers of organisations wish to improve organisational commitment, it is wise to institutionalise an organisational culture that promotes good quality of work life and boost the external prestige of the organisation in the employees’ mind.

Relaxed plasmas in external magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spies, G.O.; Li, J.

1991-08-01

The well-known theory of relaxed plasmas (Taylor states) is extended to external magnetic fields whose field lines intersect the conducting toroidal boundary. Application to an axially symmetric, large-aspect-ratio torus with circular cross section shows that the maximum pinch ratio, and hence the phenomenon of current saturation, is independent of the external field. The relaxed state is explicitly given for an external octupole field. In this case, field reversal is inhibited near parts of the boundary if the octupole generates magnetic x-points within the plasma. (orig.)

Estimation of Externalities for Juragua Nuclear Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora, H. R.; Carbonell, L. T.

2002-01-01

Estimation of externalities allows taking into account environmental impacts due to any activity in total costs calculation. In the present work, the external costs of electricity generation from nuclear energy were calculated considering three scenarios: normal operation (routine releases), accident situation and solid waste disposal. A comparison between these results and those obtained for electricity generation from fossil fuels was made. IAEA proposals of Simplified methodologies were used for externality calculations. The Juragua project was selected as a study case; it is based in two energetic blocks both PWR, VVER 440/318 type with a plant capacity of 417 MWe each. Four impact ways were considered for all scenarios: (1) Inhalation of radionuclides in the air, (2) External irradiation from radionuclides immersed in clouds, (3) External irradiation from deposited radionuclides and (4) Ingestion of radionuclides in agricultural products. Besides, two impact categories (local and regional) for all scenarios were considered. The total cost of externalities was 0.01425 c/kWh, value smaller than the one obtained for electricity generation from fossil fuel (0.256 c/kWh). For the normal operation scenario, the external cost calculated was 0.00112 c/kWh, for accident situation 0.01103 c/kWh, and for the solid wastes management scenario 0.0021 c/kWh. The high value obtained for solid waste disposal scenario is due to repository placement features. (author)

Implementation of a system for external audits beam radiation therapy in terms of reference no

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso Samper, Jose Luis; Dominguez, Lourdes; Alert Silva, Jose; Alfonso Laguardia, Rodolfo; Larrinaga Cortina, Eduardo; Garcia Yip, Fernando; Rodriguez Machado, Jorge; Morales Lopez, Jorge Luis; Silvestre Patallo, Ileana

2009-01-01

This paper presents our experience in implementing a external audit system for radiotherapy beam in no reference conditions with the use of CIRS and a summary of the measurements with him made.This paper presents our experience in implementing a external audit system for radiotherapy beam in no reference conditions with the use of CIRS and a summary of the measurements with him made. Centers were audited with external beam high-energy Co-60, 6 MV and 15 MV and were considered 4 treatment planning systems (TPS): AMEPLAN, Theraplan Plus, Precise Plan and MIRS to calculate doses prescribed in each test case. All measurements were acquired by the audit team using the anthropomorphic phantom CIRS, Semiflex chamber PTW 31010 and PTW electrometer STATES. The implementation and development of the external audits of beams radiotherapy in terms of 'no reference' has brought an improvement in both clinical aspects of treatment and the radiation safety and the quality control, has given us greater confidence and for this reason we believe has become essential. (Author)

External effects related to biogas and wind power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner; Nielsen, Per Sieverts

1998-01-01

Energy produced by wind power and biogas is today more expensive than energy produced by fossil fuels. However, by including external costs related to the technologies, the renewable technologies are expected to result in social benefits compared to the conventional power technologies. The paper...... will focus on estimates of externalities related to wind and biogas energy supplies using the ExternE methodology developed in a major study launched by the European Comission. External costs are the costs imporsed on society that are not included in the market price (e.g. effects of air pollution on health...

Multiple external hazards compound level 3 PSA methods research of nuclear power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Handing; Liang, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Xiaoming; Yang, Jianfeng; Liu, Weidong; Lei, Dina

2017-01-01

2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant severe accident was caused by both earthquake and tsunami, which results in large amount of radioactive nuclides release. That accident has caused the radioactive contamination on the surrounding environment. Although this accident probability is extremely small, once such an accident happens that is likely to release a lot of radioactive materials into the environment, and cause radiation contamination. Therefore, studying accidents consequences is important and essential to improve nuclear power plant design and management. Level 3 PSA methods of nuclear power plant can be used to analyze radiological consequences, and quantify risk to the public health effects around nuclear power plants. Based on multiple external hazards compound level 3 PSA methods studies of nuclear power plant, and the description of the multiple external hazards compound level 3 PSA technology roadmap and important technical elements, as well as taking a coastal nuclear power plant as the reference site, we analyzed the impact of off-site consequences of nuclear power plant severe accidents caused by multiple external hazards. At last we discussed the impact of off-site consequences probabilistic risk studies and its applications under multiple external hazards compound conditions, and explained feasibility and reasonableness of emergency plans implementation.

A piecewise-integration method for simulating the influence of external forcing on climate

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhifu Zhang; Chongjian Qiu; Chenghai Wang

2008-01-01

Climate drift occurs in most general circulation models (GCMs) as a result of incomplete physical and numerical representation of the complex climate system,which may cause large uncertainty in sensitivity experiments evaluating climate response to changes in external forcing.To solve this problem,we propose a piecewise-integration method to reduce the systematic error in climate sensitivity studies.The observations are firstly assimilated into a numerical model by using the dynamic relaxation technique to relax to the current state of atmosphere,and then the assimilated fields are continuously used to reinitialize the simulation to reduce the error of climate simulation.When the numerical model is integrated with changed external forcing,the results can be split into two parts,background and perturbation fields,and the background is the state before the external forcing is changed.The piecewise-integration method is used to continuously reinitialize the model with the assimilated field,instead of the background.Therefore,the simulation error of the model with the external forcing can be reduced.In this way,the accuracy of climate sensitivity experiments is greatly improved.Tests with a simple low-order spectral model show that this approach can significantly reduce the uncertainty of climate sensitivity experiments.

Early discharge after external anal sphincter repair

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenberg, J; Kehlet, H

1999-01-01

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe an accelerated-stay program for repair of the external anal sphincter. METHODS: Twenty consecutive patients undergoing overlapping repair of the external anal sphincter were included in the study. Effect parameters were length of hospitalization....... CONCLUSION: We have described a safe accelerated-stay program (24 to 48 hours) for overlapping repair of external anal sphincter....

Automated External Defibrillator

Science.gov (United States)

... leads to a 10 percent reduction in survival. Training To Use an Automated External Defibrillator Learning how to use an AED and taking a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) course are helpful. However, if trained ...

Evaluation of Group Intervention for Mothers/Caretakers of Kindergarten Children with Externalizing Behavioral Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandra Turini Bolsoni-Silva

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Negative parental practices may influence the onset and maintenance of externalizing behavior problems, and positive parenting seem to improve children's social skills and reduce behavior problems. The objective of the present study was to describe the effects of an intervention designed to foster parents' social skills related to upbringing practices in order to reduce externalizing problems in children aged 4 to 6 years. Thirteen mothers and two care taker grandmothers took part in the study with an average of four participants per group. To assess intervention effects, we used a repeated measure design with control, pre, and post intervention assessments. Instruments used were: (a An interview schedule that evaluates the social interactions between parents and children functionally, considering each pair of child¿s and parent's behaviors as context for one another; (b A Social Skills Inventory; (c Child Behavior Checklist - CBCL. Intervention was effective in improving parent general social skills, decreasing negative parental practices and decreasing child behavior problems.

Functional outcome of knee arthrodesis with a monorail external fixator.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Alfred Cyril; Albert, Sandeep; Gouse, Mohamad; Inja, Dan Barnabas

2016-04-01

Several methods for obtaining knee arthrodesis have been described in the literature and world; over, the commonest cause for arthrodesis is a failed arthroplasty. Less commonly, as in this series, post-infective or traumatic causes may also require a knee fusion wherein arthroplasty may not be indicated. We present salient advantages along with the radiological and functional outcome of twenty four patients treated with a single monorail external fixator. All patients went on develop fusion at an average of 5.4 months with an average limb length discrepancy of 3 cm (1.5-6 cm). Improvements in functional outcome as assessed by the lower extremity functional score (LEFS), and the SF-36 was significant (p = 0.000). Knee arthrodesis with a single monorail external fixator is a reasonable single-staged salvage option in patients wherein arthroplasty may not be the ideal choice. The outcome, though far from ideal, is definitely positive and predictable.

IMPORTANCE OF DELIVERY CONDITIONS IN THE EXTERNAL PRICE CALCULATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Violeta ISAI

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The delivery conditions of the merchandise at export, established by the rules INCOTERMS2000, influence the external price structure. There are some conditions in which the external priceincludes only the value of the merchandise and other conditions in which, besides the value of themerchandise, the price includes also the external transport and insurance. In the case of the exportson commercial credit, when it appears the notion of external interest, this one may be included in theprice or may be invoiced separately, thus defining gross external prices and net external prices.

External Evaluation Measures for Subspace Clustering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Günnemann, Stephan; Färber, Ines; Müller, Emmanuel

2011-01-01

research area of subspace clustering. We formalize general quality criteria for subspace clustering measures not yet addressed in the literature. We compare the existing external evaluation methods based on these criteria and pinpoint limitations. We propose a novel external evaluation measure which meets...

Procedure for following external nuclear power plant operating experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostadinov, V.

2003-01-01

Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) has developed computer database and the procedure for following-up and investigating external nuclear operating experience and administrative requirements. The SNSA's primary goal is to investigate safety significant events in due time, to analyze them from the regulatory point of view and to ensure that meaningful lessons be learned and used for improvement of the safe operation of Slovenian Nuclear Power Plant Krsko. Moreover, we intend to make uniform format and method for reporting broader spectrum of events analyzed including low level event reporting. (author)

The external cost of the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schieber, C.; Schneider, T.

2002-01-01

The external cost of the nuclear fuel cycle has been evaluated in the particular context of France as part of the European Commission's ExternE project. All the steps in the fuel cycle which involve the use of cutting edge technology were taken into consideration, from mining of uranium ores to waste disposal, via construction, dismantling of nuclear power plants and the transport of radioactive materials. The general methodology adopted in the study, known as the 'Impact Pathway Analysis', is based on a sequence of evaluations from source terms to the potential= effects on man and the environment, and then to their monetary evaluation, using a single framework devised for all the fuel cycles considered in the ExternE project. The resulting external cost is in the range of 2 to 3 mEuro/kWh when no discount rate is applied, and around 0.1 mEuro/kWh when a discount rate of 3% is considered. Further developments have been made on the external cost of a nuclear accident and on the integration of risk aversion in its evaluation. It appeared that the external cost of a nuclear accident would be about 0.04 mEuro/kWh, instead of 0.002 mEuro/kWh without taking risk aversion into account. (authors)

Improvement of the quality of BRAF testing in melanomas with nationwide external quality assessment, for the BRAF EQA group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emile, Jean-François; Hofman, Paul; Sabourin, Jean-Christophe; Laurent-Puig, Pierre; Tisserand, Julie; Bergougnoux, Loic; Nowak, Frédérique; Faucher, Gladwys; Surel, Sylvie; Lamy, Aude; Lecorre, Delphine; Helias-Rodzewicz, Zofia

2013-01-01

Knowledge about tumour gene mutation status is essential for the treatment of increasing numbers of cancer patients, and testing quality has a major impact on treatment response and cost. In 2012, 4,629 tests for BRAF p.V600 were performed in France, in patients with melanomas. Two batches of unstained melanoma sections were sent, in May and November 2012, to the 46 laboratories supported by the French National Institute of Cancer (INCa). An external quality assessment (EQA) evaluated mutation status, response times and compliance with INCa recommendations. All the French laboratories involved in testing participated in the EQA. Fourteen different methods were used to detect BRAF mutations, most consisting of combinations of in-house techniques. False responses were noted in 25/520 cases (4.8%), 11 of which concerned confusion between p.V600E and p.V600K. Thus, 2.7% of responses would have led to inappropriate treatment. Within six months, mean response times decreased from 22 to 12 days (P<0.001), and the percentage of samples evaluated by a pathologist for tumour cell content increased, from 75.2% to 96.9% (P<0.001). Despite the use of non-certified methods, the false response rate was low. Nationwide EQA can improve the quality of molecular pathology tests on tumours

49 CFR 192.461 - External corrosion control: Protective coating.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false External corrosion control: Protective coating... for Corrosion Control § 192.461 External corrosion control: Protective coating. (a) Each external protective coating, whether conductive or insulating, applied for the purpose of external corrosion control...

RELATIVECONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NIGERIAN CAPITALMARKETTO THE GROWTH OF EXTERNAL RESERVES (2005-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akaninyene Udo Akpan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Virtually all aspects of human endeavour entail the use of money either selfgenerated or borrowed. In capital market, the stock in trade is money which couldbe raised through various instruments under well governed rules and regulationscarefully administered and followed by different institutions or market operators.External reserves constitute an integral part of the wealth of the nation such thatthe lack of it brings worry to most nations and can limit the ability of the countryto make foreign currency denominated payments and limits its spending abroad.Hence,countries are induced to hold reserves to allow monetary authorities tointervene in markets to control the exchange rate and inflation. Adequate reservesalso allow the country to borrow from abroad and to hedge against instability anduncertainty of external capital flows.Therefore, the objective of this paper is toaccess the relative contribution of the Nigerian capital market if any to the growthof her external reserve.The methodology used is purely descriptive and narrative and the data used is secondary. The evidence provided in the study based on thestatistical analysis, revealed that the Nigerian capital market can induce thegrowthof external reserve but it has not contributed to the growth of externalreserve in Nigeria. Furthermore, the study recommendedamong otherstheneedfor availability of more investment instruments such as derivatives, futures,swaps, options in the market and theexpansion of the Nigerian capital Market bythe government creating an enabling investable environment that will increaseboth the volume of transactions and number of securities traded in the market.This will improve their ability to mobilize resources and efficiently allocate themto the most productive sectors of the economy hence, contributing its portion tothe growth of her external reserve.

Computing betweenness centrality in external memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars; Goodrich, Michael T.; Walderveen, Freek van

2013-01-01

Betweenness centrality is one of the most well-known measures of the importance of nodes in a social-network graph. In this paper we describe the first known external-memory and cache-oblivious algorithms for computing betweenness centrality. We present four different external-memory algorithms...

External Beam Radiation Therapy for Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

External beam radiation therapy is used to treat many types of cancer. it is a local treatment, where a machine aims radiation at your cancer. Learn more about different types of external beam radiation therapy, and what to expect if you're receiving treatment.

Urban Sprawl and Transportation Externalities

OpenAIRE

Holcombe, Randall G.; Williams, DeEdgra W.

2010-01-01

One argument in support of minimizing urban sprawl is that sprawl creates transportation externalities. A problem with empirically examining the relationship between sprawl and transportation externalities is that sprawl is a difficult concept to quantify. This paper uses a measure of sprawl designed by Ewing, Pendall, and Chen (2002) to examine the relationship between sprawl and commute times, automobile ownership, miles driven, fatal auto accidents, air pollution, and highway expenditures....

Improvements in Pyrolysis of Wastes in an Externally Heated Rotary Kiln

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Tomoko; Okazaki, Teruyuki; Yamamoto, Kenji; Nakata, Hiroyuki; Fujita, Osamu

The effects of rotating speed and internal structure on the performance of an externally heated rotary kiln for waste pyrolysis were investigated. A newly developed method was adopted to evaluate the overall heat transfer coefficient km-w from the inner wall to the wastes for this purpose. The experimental results revealed that km-w monotonically increased with the number of lifters and their height. When six lifters 200 mm in height were attached to the inner wall of the kiln, the mean value of km-w increased from 38.6 W/m2K to 45.3 W/m2K at 2.7 rpm. In addition, km-w increased to 50.1 W/m2K when the rotating speed was increased to 4.0 rpm. In the water vaporization phase during the course of the pyrolysis process, the height of the lifters had a significant influence on km-w. However, the number of lifters had a significant impact on km-w in the pyrolysis phase of the plastic-based wastes. According to measurements, a 10 % increase in km-w could be obtained when installing lifters to attain a ratio of lifter height Hl to the thickness of the waste layer Hw larger than 0.45 or when arc length between two lifters Ll to the arc length of the interface between the wastes and the kiln wall Lw was larger than 1.

A Proposal of a Method to Measure and Evaluate the Effect to Apply External Support Measures for Owners by Construction Management Method, etc

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Hiroshi; Miyatake, Ichiro; Mouri, Junji; Ajiki, Norihiko; Fueta, Toshiharu

In Japan, various approaches have been taken to ensure the quality of public works or to support the procurement regime of the governmental agencies, as a means to utilize external resources, which include the procurement support service or the construction management (CM) method. Although discussions on these measures to utilize external resources (hereinafter referred to as external support measure) have been going on, as well as the follow-up surveys showing the positive effects of such measures have been conducted, the surveys only deal with the matters concerning the overall effects of the external support measure on the whole, meaning that the effect of each item of the tasks have not been addressed, and that the extent it dealt with the expectations of the client is unknown. However, the effective use of the external support measure in future cannot be achieved without knowing what was the purpose to introduce the external support measure, and what effect was expected on each task item, and what extent the expectation fulfilled. Furthermore, it is important to clarify not only the effect as compared to the client's expectation (performance), but also the public benefit of this measure (value improvement). From this point of view, there is not an established method to figure out the effect of the client's measure to utilize external resources. In view of this background, this study takes the CM method as an example of the external support measure, and proposes a method to measure and evaluate the effect by each task item, and suggests the future issues and possible responses, in the aim of contributing the promotion, improvement, and proper implementation of the external support measures in future.

External GSM phone calls now made simpler

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

On 2 July, the IT/CS Telecom Service introduced a new service making external calls from CERN GSM phones easier. A specific prefix is no longer needed for calls outside CERN. External calls from CERN GSM phones are to be simplified. It is no longer necessary to use a special prefix to call an external number from the CERN GSM network.The Telecom Section of the IT/CS Group is introducing a new system that will make life easier for GSM users. It is no longer necessary to use a special prefix (333) to call an external number from the CERN GSM network. Simply dial the number directly like any other Swiss GSM customer. CERN currently has its own private GSM network with the Swiss mobile operator, Sunrise, covering the whole of Switzerland. This network was initially intended exclusively for calls between CERN numbers (replacing the old beeper system). A special system was later introduced for external calls, allowing them to pass thr...

Technique of stepwise intracranial decompression combined with external ventricular drainage catheters improve the prognosis of acute post-traumatic hemispheric brain swelling patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei eShi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Acute post-traumatic cerebral hemispheric brain swelling (ACHS is a serious disorder that occurs after traumatic brain injury (TBI, and it often requires immediate treatment. The aim of our clinical study was to assess the effects of stepwise intracranial decompression combined with external ventricular drainage catheters on the prognosis of ACHS patients.Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 172 cases of severe craniocerebral trauma patients with acute cerebral hemispheric swelling. The patients were divided into two groups: unilateral stepwise standard large trauma craniectomy (S-SLTC combined with external ventricular drainage (EVD catheter implants (n = 86 and unilateral routine frontal temporal parietal SLTC (control group, n = 86.Result: No significant differences in age, sex, or preoperative Glasgow Coma Scale score were observed between groups (P < 0.05. There were no significant differences in the ipsilateral subdural effusion incidence rates between the S-SLTC+EVD treatment group and the routine SLTC group. However, the incidence rates of intraoperative acute encephalocele and contralateral epidural and subdural hematoma in the S-SLTC+EVD group were significantly lower than those in the SLTC group (17.4% and 3.5% vs. 37.2% and 23.3%, respectively. The mean intracranial pressure (ICP values of patients in the S-SLTC+EVD group were also lower than those in the SLTC group at days 1 through7 (P<0.05. A positive neurological outcome (GOS score 4 to 5, 50.0% and decreased mortality (15.1% was observed in the S-SLTC+EVD group compared to the neurological outcome (GOS score 4 to 5, 33.8%; 36.0% in the SLTC group (P<0.05.Conclusions: Our data suggest that S-SLTC+EVD is more effective for controlling ICP, improving neurological outcome, and decreasing mortality rate compared with routine SLTC.

The role of postoperative external irradiation for the incompletely resected meningiomas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae Hyun; Yang, Dae Sik; Kim, Chul Young; Choi, Myung Sun

2000-01-01

The aim of this study is to look for the possible efficacy of postoperative external irradiation for incompletely resected meningiomas. From August 1981 to January 1997, forty-four patients with intracranial meningioma were treated by postoperative external irradiation. Of the 44 meningiomas, 18 transitional, 13 meningotheliomatous, 6 hemangiopericytic, 4 atypical, 2 fibroblastic and 1 malignant meningioma were identified. We classified all patients into two groups by the histology. The benign group was consisted of the meningotheliomatous, transitional and fibroblastic types. The malignant group was consisted of the atypical, hemangiopericytic and malignant types.In the means of surgery, 37 patients were resected incompletely and 7 patients were managed by biopsy only. After surgery, all patients were received postoperative external irradiation. Radiotherapy was delivered using Co-60 or 4 MV photon beam to a total dose of 50 to 66 Gy (mean dose:57.4 Gy) with a 1.8 to 2 Gy per fraction. The median follow-up was 48 months (range:21-101 months). Multivariate analysis of the influence by age, sex, location, histology and radiation dose on local control has been done using Cox's proportional hazard model. 5-year local control rate was 93.8% for the benign histology and 51.8% for the malignant histology (p=0.0110) and overall local control rate at 5 years was 87.4%. The analysis of the prognostic factors, such as age, sex, location, and radiation dose were not significant except for the histology. Adjuvant postoperative external irradiation appears to be significantly improved local control in the patients with incompletely resected meningiomas

Energy security externalities and fuel cycle comparisons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohi, D.; Toman, M.

1994-01-01

Externalities related to 'energy security' may be one way in which the full social costs of energy use diverge from the market prices of energy commodities. Such divergences need to be included in reckoning the full costs of different fuel cycles. In this paper we critically examine potential externalities related to energy security and issues related to the measurement of 2 these externalities, in the context of fuel cycle comparisons

Energy security externalities and fuel cycle comparisons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bohi, D; Toman, M

1994-07-01

Externalities related to 'energy security' may be one way in which the full social costs of energy use diverge from the market prices of energy commodities. Such divergences need to be included in reckoning the full costs of different fuel cycles. In this paper we critically examine potential externalities related to energy security and issues related to the measurement of 2 these externalities, in the context of fuel cycle comparisons.

Wind power externalities: A meta-analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mattmann, M.; Logar, I.; Brouwer, R.

2016-01-01

This study presents the first quantitative meta-analysis of the non-market valuation literature on the external effects associated with wind power production. A data set of 60 observations drawn from 32 studies is constructed. The relative economic values of different types of externalities as well

Introducing external cephalic version in a Malaysian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Stephen P Y

2007-02-01

To assess the outcome of external cephalic version for routine management of malpresenting foetuses at term. Prospective observational study. Tertiary teaching hospital, Malaysia. From September 2003 to June 2004, a study involving 41 pregnant women with malpresentation at term was undertaken. An external cephalic version protocol was implemented. Data were collected for identifying characteristics associated with success or failure of external cephalic version. Maternal and foetal outcome measures including success rate of external cephalic version, maternal and foetal complications, and characteristics associated with success or failure; engagement of presenting part, placental location, direction of version, attempts at version, use of intravenous tocolytic agent, eventual mode of delivery, Apgar scores, birth weights, and maternal satisfaction with the procedure. Data were available for 38 women. External cephalic version was successful in 63% of patients; the majority (75%) of whom achieved a vaginal delivery. Multiparity (odds ratio=34.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.67-1730) and high amniotic fluid index (4.9; 1.3-18.2) were associated with successful external cephalic version. Engagement of presenting part (odds ratio=0.0001; 95% confidence interval, 0.00001-0.001) and a need to resort to backward somersault (0.02; 0.00001-0.916) were associated with poor success rates. Emergency caesarean section rate for foetal distress directly resulting from external cephalic version was 8%, but there was no perinatal or maternal adverse outcome. The majority (74%) of women were satisfied with external cephalic version. External cephalic version has acceptable success rates. Multiparity, liquor volume, engagement of presenting part, and the need for backward somersault were strong predictors of outcome. External cephalic version is relatively safe, simple to learn and perform, and associated with maternal satisfaction. Modern obstetric units should routinely offer the

Movement of the external ear in human embryo.

Science.gov (United States)

Kagurasho, Miho; Yamada, Shigehito; Uwabe, Chigako; Kose, Katsumi; Takakuwa, Tetsuya

2012-02-01

External ears, one of the major face components, show an interesting movement during craniofacial morphogenesis in human embryo. The present study was performed to see if movement of the external ears in a human embryo could be explained by differential growth. In all, 171 samples between Carnegie stage (CS) 17 and CS 23 were selected from MR image datasets of human embryos obtained from the Kyoto Collection of Human Embryos. The three-dimensional absolute position of 13 representative anatomical landmarks, including external and internal ears, from MRI data was traced to evaluate the movement between the different stages with identical magnification. Two different sets of reference axes were selected for evaluation and comparison of the movements. When the pituitary gland and the first cervical vertebra were selected as a reference axis, the 13 anatomical landmarks of the face spread out within the same region as the embryo enlarged and changed shape. The external ear did move mainly laterally, but not cranially. The distance between the external and internal ear stayed approximately constant. Three-dimensionally, the external ear located in the caudal ventral parts of the internal ear in CS 17, moved mainly laterally until CS 23. When surface landmarks eyes and mouth were selected as a reference axis, external ears moved from the caudal lateral ventral region to the position between eyes and mouth during development. The results indicate that movement of all anatomical landmarks, including external and internal ears, can be explained by differential growth. Also, when the external ear is recognized as one of the facial landmarks and having a relative position to other landmarks such as the eyes and mouth, the external ears seem to move cranially. © 2012 Kagurasho et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Electroweak processes in external active media

CERN Document Server

Kuznetsov, Alexander

2013-01-01

Expanding on the concept of the authors’ previous book “Electroweak Processes in External Electromagnetic Fields,” this new book systematically describes the investigation methods for the effects of external active media, both strong electromagnetic fields and hot dense plasma, in quantum processes. Solving the solar neutrino puzzle in a unique experiment conducted with the help of the heavy-water detector at the Sudbery Neutrino Observatory, along with another neutrino experiments, brings to the fore electroweak physics in an active external medium. It is effectively demonstrated that processes of neutrino interactions with active media of astrophysical objects may lead, under some physical conditions, to such interesting effects as neutrino-driven shockwave revival in a supernova explosion, a “cherry stone shooting” mechanism for pulsar natal kick, and a neutrino pulsar. It is also shown how poor estimates of particle dispersion in external active media sometimes lead to confusion. The book...

Externally studentized normal midrange distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ben Dêivide de Oliveira Batista

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The distribution of externally studentized midrange was created based on the original studentization procedures of Student and was inspired in the distribution of the externally studentized range. The large use of the externally studentized range in multiple comparisons was also a motivation for developing this new distribution. This work aimed to derive analytic equations to distribution of the externally studentized midrange, obtaining the cumulative distribution, probability density and quantile functions and generating random values. This is a new distribution that the authors could not find any report in the literature. A second objective was to build an R package for obtaining numerically the probability density, cumulative distribution and quantile functions and make it available to the scientific community. The algorithms were proposed and implemented using Gauss-Legendre quadrature and the Newton-Raphson method in R software, resulting in the SMR package, available for download in the CRAN site. The implemented routines showed high accuracy proved by using Monte Carlo simulations and by comparing results with different number of quadrature points. Regarding to the precision to obtain the quantiles for cases where the degrees of freedom are close to 1 and the percentiles are close to 100%, it is recommended to use more than 64 quadrature points.

A Review of Last Mile Logistics Innovations in an Externalities Cost Reduction Vision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luigi Ranieri

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a review of the recent scientific literature contributions on innovative strategies for last mile logistics, focusing on externalities cost reduction, is presented. Transport is causing problems in urban areas, in particular in freight transport: modern cities need solutions to reduce externalities costs such as congestion, pollution and others, which have increased in the last few years, especially due to the growth of goods delivery. Online sales and globalization lead to new trends in freight transport, and moreover, a larger quantity of goods is expected to be delivered in the next future. In this context, most of the delivered goods end up in the city centers. Last mile logistics is the least efficient stage of the supply chain and comprises up to 28% of the total delivery cost. Therefore, the improvement of last mile logistics and a significant externalities reduction are very important challenges for researchers. New technologies and transport means, innovative techniques and organizational strategies allow handling in a more effective way the last mile delivery in urban areas. Based on the Systematic Literature Review (SLR method, recent papers that significantly contributed, with original proposals, to the reduction of externalities in urban logistics are identified and analyzed in this work. Furthermore, a classification of the papers dealing with the externality reduction problem is presented. It is consistent with a general formulation proposed to evaluate external costs in urban area. The innovative contributions are classified into five main categories: innovative vehicles, proximity stations or points, collaborative and cooperative urban logistics, optimization of transport management and routing, innovations in public policies and infrastructures. The new paradigm of smart logistics is based on the combination of these concepts and on the proposed innovations.

External carotid compression: a novel technique to improve cerebral perfusion during selective antegrade cerebral perfusion for aortic arch surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Grocott, Hilary P; Ambrose, Emma; Moon, Mike

2016-10-01

Selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (SACP) involving cannulation of either the axillary or innominate artery is a commonly used technique for maintaining cerebral blood flow (CBF) during the use of hypothermic cardiac arrest (HCA) for operations on the aortic arch. Nevertheless, asymmetrical CBF with hypoperfusion of the left cerebral hemisphere is a common occurrence during SACP. The purpose of this report is to describe an adjunctive maneuver to improve left hemispheric CBF during SACP by applying extrinsic compression to the left carotid artery. A 77-yr-old male patient with a history of aortic valve replacement presented for emergent surgical repair of an acute type A aortic dissection of a previously known ascending aortic aneurysm. His intraoperative course included cannulation of the right axillary artery, which was used as the aortic inflow during cardiopulmonary bypass and also allowed for subsequent SACP during HCA. After the onset of HCA, the innominate artery was clamped at its origin to allow for SACP. Shortly thereafter, however, the left-sided cerebral oxygen saturation (SrO2) began to decrease. Augmenting the PaO2, PaCO2 and both SACP pressure and flow failed to increase left hemispheric SrO2. Following the use of ultrasound guidance to confirm the absence of atherosclerotic disease in the carotid artery, external pressure was applied partially compressing the artery. With the carotid compression, the left cerebral saturation abruptly increased, suggesting pressurization of the left cerebral hemispheric circulation and augmentation of CBF. Direct ultrasound visualization and cautious partial compression of the left carotid artery may address asymmetrical CBF that occurs with SACP during HCA for aortic arch surgery. This strategy may lead to improved symmetry of CBF and corresponding cerebral oximetry measurements during aortic arch surgery.

Effect of static deformation and external forces on the oscillations of levitated droplets

Science.gov (United States)

Suryanarayana, P. V. R.; Bayazitoglu, Y.

1991-01-01

The oscillations of an aspherical droplet subjected to different external forces are considered. For an arbitrary shape deformation, it is shown that the frequency spectrum splits into (2l - 1) peaks for a mode l oscillation, and the splitting of the frequency spectrum is calculated for mode 2, 3, and 4 oscillations. The deformation is then treated as a consequence of a general external force, and the frequency split is obtained in terms of the external force parameters. Droplets levitated by acoustic, electromagnetic, and combined acoustic-electromagnetic forces are considered in particular, and it is shown that the effects of asphericity adequately explain the splitting of the frequency spectrum observed commonly in experiments. The interpretation of spectra with regard to accurate surface tension measurement using the oscillations of levitated droplets is discussed, and the results applied to some previous experimental results. It is shown that the accuracy of surface tension measurements can improve if the asphericity caused by the levitating force, and the resulting frequency split, are taken into account.

21 CFR 878.3800 - External aesthetic restoration prosthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false External aesthetic restoration prosthesis. 878... External aesthetic restoration prosthesis. (a) Identification. An external aesthetic restoration prosthesis... (general controls). The device is exempt from the premarket notification procedures in subpart E of part...

PSA approach for the evaluation of external hazards as part of CNSC Fukushima action items

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Michael; Yalaoui, Smain

2014-01-01

severe accident (short term) - increasing capabilities to control hydrogen and other combustible gases (e.g., procurement of passive autocatalytic recombiners (PARs) and monitoring equipment to be installed in reactor buildings and spent fuel pool areas; PARs can prevent hydrogen concentration from rising to combustible or explosive levels (medium term) - improving containment so as to prevent unfiltered releases of radioactivity resulting from an accident not previously considered credible (e.g., installing emergency filtered containment venting) (long term) It is expected that once these safety enhancements are implemented, the safety of the nuclear power plants will be further improved. Based on the available information, the authors have the following conclusions: 1) The CNSC FAIs in regard to external hazard analysis are in line with both the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA) Stress test specifications and the US NRC letter to the licensees; 2) The methodologies developed by the Canadian licensees generally follow international consensus guidance and best practices; 3) Lessons learned from international community have been implemented in the development of Canadian methodologies for external hazard analyses; 4) The results of the FAIs will improve the understanding of the actual external hazard risks and will provide assurance about the capability of nuclear power plants (NPPs) to withstand conditions similar to those that triggered the Fukushima accident. (authors)

Parallel External Memory Graph Algorithms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars Allan; Goodrich, Michael T.; Sitchinava, Nodari

2010-01-01

In this paper, we study parallel I/O efficient graph algorithms in the Parallel External Memory (PEM) model, one o f the private-cache chip multiprocessor (CMP) models. We study the fundamental problem of list ranking which leads to efficient solutions to problems on trees, such as computing lowest...... an optimal speedup of ¿(P) in parallel I/O complexity and parallel computation time, compared to the single-processor external memory counterparts....

External evaluation in municipal level: The impacts of an experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luana Ferrarotto

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The external evaluation is a consolidated reality in our country. Besides the state and federal ones, there are some municipalities that develop their own evaluation programs. To contribute with the debate about the external evaluations, this article presents data from a research which aim was to identify the actions from the Educational Secretariat from a city in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, opposite to the results of PROMASE (Municipal Assessment of the Educational System and its impact in school’s units. It is still being analyzed the path taken by the program with the aim of explaining its conception of the teaching quality. This way, the qualitative research was chosen based on the interviews with the Educational Secretary, teachers and school’s managers. Accordingly with the Secretary, after PROMASE, actions since improvements in the buildings to curricular restructuring and continuing educational were made. Even without the rankings and performance payments, it is noticeable in schools the built of what is called “hidden” and “adjustment” rankings of the pedagogical and evaluative practices to the matrix and to the evaluative instrument of the program to improve the teaching quality and improve the index. For an evaluative system to bring contributions to the network, it is noticeable that the quality must be anchored to the social quality, which more than the index, establishes its own scale as a protagonist in the process of looking to itself, adverse to the blaming of the teachers for the standards tests results and that, consequently, favors the social, political, cultural and human formation of the students.

TAM-based external factors related to ERP solutions acceptance in organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Zabukovsek

2013-01-01

Full Text Available To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ERP solutions use, understanding of critical success factors of ERP solutions assimilation in organizations is crucial. The technology acceptance model (TAM proposed by Davis (1989 has been the most widely used model for researching user acceptance and usage of IT/IS. The purpose of this paper is to extend the original TAM with groups of external factors which impact actual ERP system use. First, we focus on ERP system use in companies’ maturity phase. Second, we expose and examine three groups of external factors which influence ERP usage. The model was empirically tested using data collected from a survey of ERP users in 44 organizations. Survey data have been collected from ERP users who have been exposed to an ERP system which has operated for more than one year. The proposed research model was analyzed using the PLS approach.

External dimension of Ukraine’s security policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. S. Vonsovych

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Investigation of the external dimension of security policy of Ukraine is stipulated for the need to analyse the current state of relations with organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and The Collective Security Treaty Organization, and relations within the Common European Security and Defence Policy. Ukraine’s European Integration means inclusion in the global space security with countries that it shares common values and principles. It does not exclude the collaboration with the countries that belong to other systems of collective security in the scope that is appropriate to basic national interests of Ukraine. It is proved that the activities of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is an important contribution to the process of peaceful conflict resolution, and helps to develop democratic principles and foundations of foreign policy. It is determined that the further development of the constructive cooperation between the EU advisory mission under CSDP will provide an opportunity to improve and increase the security of national borders from external threats and challenges, and help to accelerate the process of integration into the European security space. The attention is paid to the fact that, taken into consideration the state of relations with Russia, the further cooperation with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO may adversely affect the overall security situation in Ukraine and lead to further tension with Russia today.

Reconceptualising the external validity of discrete choice experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancsar, Emily; Swait, Joffre

2014-10-01

External validity is a crucial but under-researched topic when considering using discrete choice experiment (DCE) results to inform decision making in clinical, commercial or policy contexts. We present the theory and tests traditionally used to explore external validity that focus on a comparison of final outcomes and review how this traditional definition has been empirically tested in health economics and other sectors (such as transport, environment and marketing) in which DCE methods are applied. While an important component, we argue that the investigation of external validity should be much broader than a comparison of final outcomes. In doing so, we introduce a new and more comprehensive conceptualisation of external validity, closely linked to process validity, that moves us from the simple characterisation of a model as being or not being externally valid on the basis of predictive performance, to the concept that external validity should be an objective pursued from the initial conceptualisation and design of any DCE. We discuss how such a broader definition of external validity can be fruitfully used and suggest innovative ways in which it can be explored in practice.

Tolerance measurements on internal- and external-hexagon implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Braian, Michael; De Bruyn, Hugo; Fransson, Håkan; Christersson, Cecilia; Wennerberg, Ann

2014-01-01

To measure the horizontal machining tolerances of the interface between internal- and external-hexagon implants and analogs with corresponding components after delivery from the manufacturer. These values may be a valuable tool for evaluating increasing misfit caused by fabrication, processing, and wear. Seven implants and seven analogs with external- and internal-hexagon connections (Biomet 3i) with corresponding prefabricated gold cylinders and gold screws, prefabricated cylindric plastic cylinders, and laboratory screws were studied. One set of components from the external and internal groups was measured manually and digitally. Measurements from the test subjects were compared with identical measurements from the virtual model to obtain threshold values. The virtual model was then used to obtain optimally oriented cuts. The horizontal machining tolerances for castable plastic abutments on external implants were 12 ± 89 μm, and for internal implants they were 86 ± 47 μm. Tolerance measurements on prefabricated gold abutments for external implants were 44 ± 9 μm, and for internal implants they were 58 ± 28 μm. The groups with metallic components showed the smallest tolerance at external group and internal group. The prefabricated plastic cylinder groups ranged from external and internal connection.

Measuring External Face Appearance for Face Classification

OpenAIRE

Masip, David; Lapedriza, Agata; Vitria, Jordi

2007-01-01

In this chapter we introduce the importance of the external features in face classification problems, and propose a methodology to extract the external features obtaining an aligned feature set. The extracted features can be used as input to any standard pattern recognition classifier, as the classic feature extraction approaches dealing with internal face regions in the literature. The resulting scheme follows a top-down segmentation approach to deal with the diversity inherent to the extern...

External event analysis methods for NUREG-1150

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohn, M.P.; Lambright, J.A.

1989-01-01

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sponsoring probabilistic risk assessments of six operating commercial nuclear power plants as part of a major update of the understanding of risk as provided by the original WASH-1400 risk assessments. In contrast to the WASH-1400 studies, at least two of the NUREG-1150 risk assessments will include an analysis of risks due to earthquakes, fires, floods, etc., which are collectively known as eternal events. This paper summarizes the methods to be used in the external event analysis for NUREG-1150 and the results obtained to date. The two plants for which external events are being considered are Surry and Peach Bottom, a PWR and BWR respectively. The external event analyses (through core damage frequency calculations) were completed in June 1989, with final documentation available in September. In contrast to most past external event analyses, wherein rudimentary systems models were developed reflecting each external event under consideration, the simplified NUREG-1150 analyses are based on the availability of the full internal event PRA systems models (event trees and fault trees) and make use of extensive computer-aided screening to reduce them to sequence cut sets important to each external event. This provides two major advantages in that consistency and scrutability with respect to the internal event analysis is achieved, and the full gamut of random and test/maintenance unavailabilities are automatically included, while only those probabilistically important survive the screening process. Thus, full benefit of the internal event analysis is obtained by performing the internal and external event analyses sequentially

A Methodology Proposal to Calculate the Externalities of Liquid Biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galan, A.; Gonzalez, R.; Varela, M. [Ciemat. Madrid (Spain)

1999-05-01

The aim of the survey is to propose a methodology to calculate the externalities associated with the liquid bio fuels cycle. The report defines the externalities from a theoretical point of view and classifies them. The reasons to value the externalities are explained as well as the existing methods. Furthermore, an evaluation of specific environmental and non-environmental externalities is also presented. The report reviews the current situation of the transport sector, considering its environmental effects and impacts. The progress made by the ExternE and ExternE-transport projects related the externalities of transport sector is assessed. Finally, the report analyses the existence of different economic instruments to internalize the external effects of the transport sector as well as other aspects of this internalization. (Author) 58 refs.

A new external microbeam system in Fudan University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Y.; Shen, H.; Li, Y.Q.; Li, X.Y.; Yang, M.J.; Mi, Y.

2013-01-01

A cost-effective and removable external beam system is set up based on the Oxford Microbeam system in Fudan University. In our external beam system, 7.5-μm-thick Kapton film is used as exit window with a diameter of 3.5 mm. The spatial resolution is about 18 μm full width at half maximum (FWHM) on a copper grid. As an example, calcium distribution in otolith is present by the external micro-PIXE. In addition, little change can be done to the external system mentioned above for radiobiology experiments. The exit window can be changed from the focal plane to the observation window of vacuum chamber. By calculation, the beam spot size can reach less than 30 μm. Since the Oxford type octagonal target chamber is popular among the nuclear microprobe facilities, this method can be provided to easily replace the in-vacuum system with the external system, extending the in-vacuum analysis to external beam analysis

A new external microbeam system in Fudan University

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, Y.; Shen, H., E-mail: haoshen@fudan.edu.cn; Li, Y.Q.; Li, X.Y.; Yang, M.J.; Mi, Y.

2013-07-01

A cost-effective and removable external beam system is set up based on the Oxford Microbeam system in Fudan University. In our external beam system, 7.5-μm-thick Kapton film is used as exit window with a diameter of 3.5 mm. The spatial resolution is about 18 μm full width at half maximum (FWHM) on a copper grid. As an example, calcium distribution in otolith is present by the external micro-PIXE. In addition, little change can be done to the external system mentioned above for radiobiology experiments. The exit window can be changed from the focal plane to the observation window of vacuum chamber. By calculation, the beam spot size can reach less than 30 μm. Since the Oxford type octagonal target chamber is popular among the nuclear microprobe facilities, this method can be provided to easily replace the in-vacuum system with the external system, extending the in-vacuum analysis to external beam analysis.

A new external microbeam system in Fudan University

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, Y. [Applied Ion Beam Physics Laboratory, Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Shen, H., E-mail: haoshen@fudan.edu.cn [Applied Ion Beam Physics Laboratory, Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Li, Y.Q.; Li, X.Y.; Yang, M.J.; Mi, Y. [Applied Ion Beam Physics Laboratory, Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)

2013-02-01

A cost-effective and removable external beam system is set up based on the Oxford Microbeam system in Fudan University. In our external beam system, 7.5-μm-thick Kapton film is used as exit window with a diameter of 3.5 mm. The spatial resolution is about 18 μm full width at half maximum (FWHM) on a copper grid. As an example, calcium distribution in otolith is present by the external micro-PIXE. In addition, little change can be done to the external system mentioned above for radiobiology experiments. The exit window can be changed from the focal plane to the observation window of vacuum chamber. By calculation, the beam spot size can reach less than 30 μm. Since the Oxford type octagonal target chamber is popular among the nuclear microprobe facilities, this method can be provided to easily replace the in-vacuum system with the external system, extending the in-vacuum analysis to external beam analysis.

Concurrent sourcing and external supplier opportunism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mols, Niels Peter

costs of opportunism are determined as a product of four factors. The four factors are: likelihood of discovering supplier opportunism, buyer’s internalized quantity as reaction to supplier opportunism, asset specificity of external supplier’s investments, and multiplicator effects. Each......When a firm simultaneously makes and buys the same components then the firm uses concurrent sourcing. This paper presents an agency model for explaining how and when concurrent sourcing reduces the likelihood of external supplier opportunism. In the proposed model, the external supplier’s expected...... of these factors are explained and discussed in the paper. The paper ends by offering a number of theoretical and managerial implications....

External exposure measurements at Bikini Atoll

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenhouse, N.A.; Miltenberger, R.P.; Lessard, E.T.

1979-01-01

External exposure rate surveys from 1975 to 1977 on the islands Nam, Eneu and Bikini of Bikini Atoll gave average external exposure rates of 24, 5.7, and 32 μR/hr respectively. The exposure rate on Eneu Island is uniform, whereas those on Bikini and Nam range from 7.0 to 80. μR/hr. Based on an assumed living pattern at Bikini Island, the adult male Bikinian is estimated to be in the presence of an external radiation field corresponding to 16 μR/hr due to debris and fallout from the 1954 BRAVO incident. This corresponds to a 30 year dose equivalent of 2.8 rem

Flexural Behavior of High-Volume Steel Fiber Cementitious Composite Externally Reinforced with Basalt FRP Sheet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seungwon Kim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs are characterized by unique tensile strain hardening and multiple microcracking behaviors. The HPFRCC, which demonstrates remarkable properties such as strength, ductility, toughness, durability, stiffness, and thermal resistance, is a class of fiber cement composite with fine aggregates. It can withstand tensile stresses by forming distributed microcracks owing to the embedded fibers in the concrete, which improve the energy absorption capacity and apparent ductility. This high energy absorbing capacity can be enhanced further by an external stiff fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP. Basalt fabric is externally bonded as a sheet on concrete materials to enhance the durability and resistance to fire and other environmental attacks. This study investigates the flexural performance of an HPFRCC that is externally reinforced with multiple layers of basalt FRP. The HPFRCC considered in the study contains steel fibers at a volume fraction of 8%.

Improvement of the beam quality of a diode laser with two active broad-area segments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chi, Mingjun; Thestrup, B.; Mortensen, J.L.

2003-01-01

The beam quality of a diode laser with two active segments was improved using an external cavity with collimating optics, a grating, and an output coupler. The beam quality of the output beam, which is the first-order diffractive beam from the grating, was improved by a factor of 2, and at least...... half of the freely running power of the laser was coupled out from the external cavity. The output power can be enhanced further by the feedback from the zeroth-order beam. The possibility of improving the beam quality further is discussed and a new double-external-cavity configuration is suggested....

The External Performance Appraisal of China Energy Regulation: An Empirical Study Using a TOPSIS Method Based on Entropy Weight and Mahalanobis Distance.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zheng-Xin; Li, Dan-Dan; Zheng, Hong-Hao

2018-01-30

In China's industrialization process, the effective regulation of energy and environment can promote the positive externality of energy consumption while reducing negative externality, which is an important means for realizing the sustainable development of an economic society. The study puts forward an improved technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution based on entropy weight and Mahalanobis distance (briefly referred as E-M-TOPSIS). The performance of the approach was verified to be satisfactory. By separately using traditional and improved TOPSIS methods, the study carried out the empirical appraisals on the external performance of China's energy regulation during 1999~2015. The results show that the correlation between the performance indexes causes the significant difference between the appraisal results of E-M-TOPSIS and traditional TOPSIS. The E-M-TOPSIS takes the correlation between indexes into account and generally softens the closeness degree compared with traditional TOPSIS. Moreover, it makes the relative closeness degree fluctuate within a small-amplitude. The results conform to the practical condition of China's energy regulation and therefore the E-M-TOPSIS is favorably applicable for the external performance appraisal of energy regulation. Additionally, the external economic performance and social responsibility performance (including environmental and energy safety performances) based on the E-M-TOPSIS exhibit significantly different fluctuation trends. The external economic performance dramatically fluctuates with a larger fluctuation amplitude, while the social responsibility performance exhibits a relatively stable interval fluctuation. This indicates that compared to the social responsibility performance, the fluctuation of external economic performance is more sensitive to energy regulation.

A cluster-randomised quality improvement study to improve two inpatient stroke quality indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Linda; Daggett, Virginia; Slaven, James E; Yu, Zhangsheng; Sager, Danielle; Myers, Jennifer; Plue, Laurie; Woodward-Hagg, Heather; Damush, Teresa M

2016-04-01

Quality indicator collection and feedback improves stroke care. We sought to determine whether quality improvement training plus indicator feedback was more effective than indicator feedback alone in improving inpatient stroke indicators. We conducted a cluster-randomised quality improvement trial, randomising hospitals to quality improvement training plus indicator feedback versus indicator feedback alone to improve deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis and dysphagia screening. Intervention sites received collaborative-based quality improvement training, external facilitation and indicator feedback. Control sites received only indicator feedback. We compared indicators pre-implementation (pre-I) to active implementation (active-I) and post-implementation (post-I) periods. We constructed mixed-effect logistic models of the two indicators with a random intercept for hospital effect, adjusting for patient, time, intervention and hospital variables. Patients at intervention sites (1147 admissions), had similar race, gender and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores to control sites (1017 admissions). DVT prophylaxis improved more in intervention sites during active-I period (ratio of ORs 4.90, pimproved similarly in both groups during active-I, but control sites improved more in post-I period (ratio of ORs 0.67, p=0.04). In logistic models, the intervention was independently positively associated with DVT performance during active-I period, and negatively associated with dysphagia performance post-I period. Quality improvement training was associated with early DVT improvement, but the effect was not sustained over time and was not seen with dysphagia screening. External quality improvement programmes may quickly boost performance but their effect may vary by indicator and may not sustain over time. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Rapid Optimization of External Quantum Efficiency of Thin Film Solar Cells Using Surrogate Modeling of Absorptivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya, Mine; Hajimirza, Shima

2018-05-25

This paper uses surrogate modeling for very fast design of thin film solar cells with improved solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency. We demonstrate that the wavelength-specific optical absorptivity of a thin film multi-layered amorphous-silicon-based solar cell can be modeled accurately with Neural Networks and can be efficiently approximated as a function of cell geometry and wavelength. Consequently, the external quantum efficiency can be computed by averaging surrogate absorption and carrier recombination contributions over the entire irradiance spectrum in an efficient way. Using this framework, we optimize a multi-layer structure consisting of ITO front coating, metallic back-reflector and oxide layers for achieving maximum efficiency. Our required computation time for an entire model fitting and optimization is 5 to 20 times less than the best previous optimization results based on direct Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations, therefore proving the value of surrogate modeling. The resulting optimization solution suggests at least 50% improvement in the external quantum efficiency compared to bare silicon, and 25% improvement compared to a random design.

N reactor external events probabilistic risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baxter, J.T.

1989-01-01

An external events probabilistic risk assessment of the N Reactor has been completed. The methods used are those currently being proposed for external events analysis in NUREG-1150. Results are presented for the external hazards that survived preliminary screening. They are earthquake, fire, and external flood. Core damage frequencies for these hazards are shown to be comparable to those for commercial pressurized water reactors. Dominant fire sequences are described and related to 10 CFR 50, Appendix R design requirements. Potential remedial measures that reduce fire core damage risk are described including modifications to fire protection systems, procedure changes, and addition of new administrative controls. Dominant seismic sequences are described. The effect of non-safety support system dependencies on seismic risk is presented

Developmental Mechanisms Underlying Improved Contrast Thresholds for Discriminations of Orientation Signals Embedded in Noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seong Taek eJeon

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We combined an external noise paradigm with an efficient procedure for obtaining contrast thresholds (Lesmes et al., 2006 in order to model developmental changes during childhood. Specifically, we measured the contrast thresholds of 5-, 7-, 9-year-olds and adults (n = 20/age in a two alternative forced-choice orientation discrimination task over a wide range of external noise levels and at three levels of accuracy. Overall, as age increased, contrast thresholds decreased over the entire range of external noise levels tested. The decrease was greatest between 5 and 7 years of age. The reduction in threshold after age 5 was greater in the high than the low external noise region, a pattern implying greater tolerance to the irrelevant background noise as children became older. To model the mechanisms underlying these developmental changes in terms of internal noise components, we adapted the original perceptual template model (Lu and Dosher, 1998 and normalized the magnitude of performance changes against the performance of 5-year-olds. The resulting model provided an excellent fit (r2 = 0.985 to the contrast thresholds at multiple levels of accuracy (60, 75, and 90% across a wide range of external noise levels. The improvements in contrast thresholds with age were best modelled by a combination of reductions in internal additive noise, reductions in internal multiplicative noise, and improvements in excluding external noise by template retuning. In line with the data, the improvement was greatest between 5 and 7 years of age, accompanied by a 39% reduction in additive noise, 71% reduction in multiplicative noise, and 45% improvement in external noise exclusion. The modelled improvements likely reflect developmental changes at the cortical level, rather than changes in front-end structural properties (Kiorpes et al., 2003.

An improved thermal model for the computer code NAIAD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rainbow, M.T.

1982-12-01

An improved thermal model, based on the concept of heat slabs, has been incorporated as an option into the thermal hydraulic computer code NAIAD. The heat slabs are one-dimensional thermal conduction models with temperature independent thermal properties which may be internal and/or external to the fluid. Thermal energy may be added to or removed from the fluid via heat slabs and passed across the external boundary of external heat slabs at a rate which is a linear function of the external surface temperatures. The code input for the new option has been restructured to simplify data preparation. A full description of current input requirements is presented

Lessons learned from external hazards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peinador, Miguel; Zerger, Benoit [European Commisison Joint Research Centre, Petten (Netherlands). Inst. for Energy and Transport; Ramos, Manuel Martin [European Commission Joint Research Centre, Brussels (Belgium). Nuclear Safety and Security Coordination; Wattrelos, Didier [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Maqua, Michael [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, Koeln (Germany)

2014-01-15

This paper presents a study performed by the European Clearinghouse of the Joint Research Centre on Operational Experience for nuclear power plants in cooperation with IRSN and GRS covering events reported by nuclear power plants in relation to external hazards. It summarizes the review of 235 event reports from 3 different databases. The events were grouped in 9 categories according to the nature of the external hazard involved, and the specific lessons learned and recommendations that can be derived from each of these categories are presented. Additional 'cross-cutting' recommendations covering several or all the external hazards considered are also discussed. These recommendations can be useful in preventing this type of events from happening again or in limiting their consequences. The study was launched in 2010 and therefore it does not cover the Fukushima event. This paper presents the main findings and recommendations raised by this study. (orig.)

External noise distinguishes attention mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Z L; Dosher, B A

1998-05-01

We developed and tested a powerful method for identifying and characterizing the effect of attention on performance in visual tasks as due to signal enhancement, distractor exclusion, or internal noise suppression. Based on a noisy Perceptual Template Model (PTM) of a human observer, the method adds increasing amounts of external noise (white gaussian random noise) to the visual stimulus and observes the effect on performance of a perceptual task for attended and unattended stimuli. The three mechanisms of attention yield three "signature" patterns of performance. The general framework for characterizing the mechanisms of attention is used here to investigate the attentional mechanisms in a concurrent location-cued orientation discrimination task. Test stimuli--Gabor patches tilted slightly to the right or left--always appeared on both the left and the right of fixation, and varied independently. Observers were cued on each trial to attend to the left, the right, or evenly to both stimuli, and decide the direction of tilt of both test stimuli. For eight levels of added external noise and three attention conditions (attended, unattended, and equal), subjects' contrast threshold levels were determined. At low levels of external noise, attention affected threshold contrast: threshold contrasts for non-attended stimuli were systematically higher than for equal attention stimuli, which were, in turn, higher than for attended stimuli. Specifically, when the rms contrast of the external noise is below 10%, there is a consistent 17% elevation of contrast threshold from attended to unattended condition across all three subjects. For higher levels of external noise, attention conditions did not affect threshold contrast values at all. These strong results are characteristic of a signal enhancement, or equivalently, an internal additive noise reduction mechanism of attention.

The internal and external customer focused process improvement and the performance analysis studies in health care systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tekin, P.; Erol, R.

2017-07-01

Purpose: The main contribution of this paper is to generate an optimum solution for capacity planning and appointment scheduling issues, which are frequently encountered in clinical flows with various route and treatment periods at dental hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: It is essential to define the system well in order to ensure that the working staff and patients use their time very efficiently and that the process flows continuously. By having examined a sample healthcare system through the help of a study addressed in such context, studies on process improvement in line with the dissatisfactions of the working staff and patients have been carried out. Within the scope of the study, the operation of 7 Departments in a dental hospital undergoing a treatment process have been reviewed and examined. The problems encountered as result of the observations made are discussed in detail, and formerly and recently designed system performance analyses are conducted by having performed the respective process improvement studies. The relevant samplings of this study are modeled via the Arena Simulation Program. The data of the previous four months is used in the parameters, which are used through the modellings. The system data are entered by taking into account seasonal characteristics of the data. Findings: The analyses are made as a consequence of such study that has been addressed, it is established that the efficiency of the internal customers of the hospital increases substantially, and that the waiting durations of the dental patients decrease and in turn, the external customer satisfaction increases drastically. Research limitations/implications: Under the scope of the present study, 7 different treatment processes are analysed in a dental hospital in Cukurova Region with a significant patient potential. The treatment clinics present in the hospital are radiology, periodontology, surgery, treatment, orthodontics and prosthesis. These clinics run their own

The internal and external customer focused process improvement and the performance analysis studies in health care systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tekin, P.; Erol, R.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The main contribution of this paper is to generate an optimum solution for capacity planning and appointment scheduling issues, which are frequently encountered in clinical flows with various route and treatment periods at dental hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: It is essential to define the system well in order to ensure that the working staff and patients use their time very efficiently and that the process flows continuously. By having examined a sample healthcare system through the help of a study addressed in such context, studies on process improvement in line with the dissatisfactions of the working staff and patients have been carried out. Within the scope of the study, the operation of 7 Departments in a dental hospital undergoing a treatment process have been reviewed and examined. The problems encountered as result of the observations made are discussed in detail, and formerly and recently designed system performance analyses are conducted by having performed the respective process improvement studies. The relevant samplings of this study are modeled via the Arena Simulation Program. The data of the previous four months is used in the parameters, which are used through the modellings. The system data are entered by taking into account seasonal characteristics of the data. Findings: The analyses are made as a consequence of such study that has been addressed, it is established that the efficiency of the internal customers of the hospital increases substantially, and that the waiting durations of the dental patients decrease and in turn, the external customer satisfaction increases drastically. Research limitations/implications: Under the scope of the present study, 7 different treatment processes are analysed in a dental hospital in Cukurova Region with a significant patient potential. The treatment clinics present in the hospital are radiology, periodontology, surgery, treatment, orthodontics and prosthesis. These clinics run their own

Arthroplasty of hip resection, handling with external fixation - Experience in the central military hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satizabal Azuero, Carlos E; Calderon Uribe, Oscar; Naquira Escobar, Luis F

2006-01-01

This is an observational retrospective study series of cases carried out between January 1998 and July 2004 in the central military hospital, 13 patients were treated with Girdlestone arthroplasty with external fixation, with a pursuit average of 53 months. Function, return to the daily activities and associate complications was evaluated. They were as complication; pain in the fixator site, osteitis, and fixator broke. All patients report at the end of the treatment no pain in the hip. Shortening in the patient without lenghting was 3,5 cm and in the group with lenghting was 1.5 cm. the obtained results demonstrate that Girdlestone arthroplasty with external fixation, is option, to improve the patient's pain and function of the hip

Coherent polarization driven by external electromagnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apostol, M.; Ganciu, M.

2010-01-01

The coherent interaction of the electromagnetic radiation with an ensemble of polarizable, identical particles with two energy levels is investigated in the presence of external electromagnetic fields. The coupled non-linear equations of motion are solved in the stationary regime and in the limit of small coupling constants. It is shown that an external electromagnetic field may induce a macroscopic occupation of both the energy levels of the particles and the corresponding photon states, governed by a long-range order of the quantum phases of the internal motion (polarization) of the particles. A lasing effect is thereby obtained, controlled by the external field. Its main characteristics are estimated for typical atomic matter and atomic nuclei. For atomic matter the effect may be considerable (for usual external fields), while for atomic nuclei the effect is extremely small (practically insignificant), due to the great disparity in the coupling constants. In the absence of the external field, the solution, which is non-analytic in the coupling constant, corresponds to a second-order phase transition (super-radiance), which was previously investigated.

External Validation of the HERNIAscore: An Observational Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherla, Deepa V; Moses, Maya L; Mueck, Krislynn M; Hannon, Craig; Ko, Tien C; Kao, Lillian S; Liang, Mike K

2017-09-01

The HERNIAscore is a ventral incisional hernia (VIH) risk assessment tool that uses only preoperative variables and predictable intraoperative variables. The aim of this study was to validate and modify, if needed, the HERNIAscore in an external dataset. This was a retrospective observational study of all patients undergoing resection for gastrointestinal malignancy from 2011 through 2015 at a safety-net hospital. The primary end point was clinical postoperative VIH. Patients were stratified into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups based on HERNIAscore. A revised HERNIAscore was calculated with the addition of earlier abdominal operation as a categorical variable. Cox regression of incisional hernia with stratification by risk class was performed. Incidence rates of clinical VIH formation within each risk class were also calculated. Two hundred and forty-seven patents were enrolled. On Cox regression, in addition to the 3 variables of the HERNIAscore (BMI, COPD, and incision length), earlier abdominal operation was also predictive of VIH. The revised HERNIAscore demonstrated improved predictive accuracy for clinical VIH. Although the original HERNIAscore effectively stratified the risk of an incisional radiographic VIH developing, the revised HERNIAscore provided a statistically significant stratification for both clinical and radiographic VIHs in this patient cohort. We have externally validated and improved the HERNIAscore. The revised HERNIAscore uses BMI, incision length, COPD, and earlier abdominal operation to predict risk of postoperative incisional hernia. Future research should assess methods to prevent incisional hernias in moderate-to-high risk patients. Copyright © 2017 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

External validity of post-stroke interventional gait rehabilitation studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kafri, Michal; Dickstein, Ruth

2017-01-01

Gait rehabilitation is a major component of stroke rehabilitation, and is supported by extensive research. The objective of this review was to examine the external validity of intervention studies aimed at improving gait in individuals post-stroke. To that end, two aspects of these studies were assessed: subjects' exclusion criteria and the ecological validity of the intervention, as manifested by the intervention's technological complexity and delivery setting. Additionally, we examined whether the target population as inferred from the titles/abstracts is broader than the population actually represented by the reported samples. We systematically researched PubMed for intervention studies to improve gait post-stroke, working backwards from the beginning of 2014. Exclusion criteria, the technological complexity of the intervention (defined as either elaborate or simple), setting, and description of the target population in the titles/abstracts were recorded. Fifty-two studies were reviewed. The samples were exclusive, with recurrent stroke, co-morbidities, cognitive status, walking level, and residency being major reasons for exclusion. In one half of the studies, the intervention was elaborate. Descriptions of participants in the title/abstract in almost one half of the studies included only the diagnosis (stroke or comparable terms) and its stage (acute, subacute, and chronic). The external validity of a substantial number of intervention studies about rehabilitation of gait post-stroke appears to be limited by exclusivity of the samples as well as by deficiencies in ecological validity of the interventions. These limitations are not accurately reflected in the titles or abstracts of the studies.

Primary Synovial Sarcoma of External Auditory Canal: A Case Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Devi, Aarani; Jayakumar, Krishnannair L L

2017-07-20

Synovial sarcoma is a rare malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin. Primary synovial sarcoma of the ear is extremely rare and to date only two cases have been published in English medical literature. Though the tumor is reported to have an aggressive nature, early diagnosis and treatment may improve the outcome. Here, we report a rare case of synovial sarcoma of the external auditory canal in an 18-year-old male who was managed by chemotherapy and referred for palliation due to tumor progression.

The effects of anxiety and external attentional focus on postural control in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Jazaeri, Seyede Zohreh; Azad, Akram; Mehdizadeh, Hajar; Habibi, Seyed Amirhassan; Mandehgary Najafabadi, Mahbubeh; Saberi, Zakieh Sadat; Rahimzadegan, Hawre; Moradi, Saeed; Behzadipour, Saeed; Parnianpour, Mohamad; Taghizadeh, Ghorban; Khalaf, Kinda

2018-01-01

Although anxiety is a common non-motor outcome of Parkinson's disease (PD) affecting 40% of patients, little attention has been paid so far to its effects on balance impairment and postural control. Improvement of postural control through focusing on the environment (i.e. external focus) has been reported, but the role of anxiety, as a confounding variable, remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the influence of anxiety and attentional focus instruction on the standing postural control of PD patients. Thirty-four patients with PD (17 with high anxiety (HA-PD) and 17 with low anxiety (LA-PD)), as well as 17 gender- and age-matched healthy control subjects (HC) participated in the study. Postural control was evaluated using a combination of two levels of postural difficulty (standing on a rigid force plate surface with open eyes (RO) and standing on a foam surface with open eyes (FO)), as well as three attentional focus instructions (internal, external and no focus). Only the HA-PD group demonstrated significant postural control impairment as compared to the control, as indicated by significantly greater postural sway measures. Moreover, external focus significantly reduced postural sway in all participants especially during the FO condition. The results of the current study provide evidence that anxiety influences balance control and postural stability in patients with PD, particularly those with high levels of anxiety. The results also confirmed that external focus is a potential strategy that significantly improves the postural control of these patients. Further investigation of clinical applicability is warranted towards developing effective therapeutic and rehabilitative treatment plans.

Analysis of external events - Nuclear Power Plant Dukovany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hladky, Milan

2000-01-01

PSA of external events at level 1 covers internal events, floods, fires, other external events are not included yet. Shutdown PSA takes into account internal events, floods, fires, heavy load drop, other external events are not included yet. Final safety analysis report was conducted after 10 years of operation for all Dukovany operational units. Probabilistic approach was used for analysis of aircraft drop and external man-induced events. The risk caused by man-induced events was found to be negligible and was accepted by State Office for Nuclear Safety (SONS)

Using internal and external reviewers can help to optimise neonatal mortality and morbidity conferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Assaad, Michael-Andrew; Janvier, Annie; Lapointe, Anie

2018-02-01

This study determined whether there was a difference in the conclusions reached by neonatologists in morbidity and mortality conferences based on their level of involvement in a case. All neonatal deaths occurring between August 2014 and September 2015 at the neonatal intensive care unit of Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, were reviewed by internal physicians involved in the case and external physicians who were not. The reviewers were asked to identify positive and negative clinical practice items and provide written recommendations. These were classified into eight categories and compared for each case. During the study, 55 patients died leading to 110 reviews and a total of 590 positive and negative items. Most items were in the communication (25.2%), ethical decision-making (16.7%) and clinical management (14.8%) categories. Both the internal and external reviewers were in agreement 48.5% of the time for positive items and 44.8% for negative items. There were 242 written recommendations, which differed significantly among the internal and external reviewers. Reviews of neonatal deaths by two independent reviewers, internal physicians and external physicians, led to different positive and negative practice items and recommendations. This could allow for a richer discussion and improve recommendations for patient care. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

THE IMPACT OF THE EXTERNALITIES GENERATED BY COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moraru Adrian

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The goal of the paper named “The impact of the externalities generated by Competitive Intelligence” is to describe and understand how this activity works and behaves in a competitive environment, and what are the real cost of obtaining durable competitive advantages through a process such as Competitive Intelligence. This activity creates high added value on the market and the proper use of it can have a strong influence on increasing the competitiveness on the global economic environment and, therefore, increasing the efficiency inside those environments. On the other hand, externalities play a significant part in the economic welfare and, currently, in a globalized world, must be taken into consideration in order to obtain sustainable growth of the economy. As any other economic activity, Competitive Intelligence is also causing both positive and negative externalities. A thorough analysis of those externalities effects has to be made in order to understand how this process really works, and this paper aims to be the starting point of that analysis. Of course, further studies have to deepen each impact and obtain relevant results that will add up and draw more specific conclusions. This study’s conclusions, however, will reveal if this activity can work properly in every type of economy, regardless of its state of development. Since it represents a way to improve global competitiveness and, therefore, the market’s performance, the impact Competitive Intelligence is making on the whole economic system is a main parameter for establishing its real use. All in one, by being one of the most innovative ways to obtain competitive advantages through qualitative methods of analysis, the implementation of this process into the organizational culture of firms might change the way competitors choose to respond to one another’s actions. This research has taken into consideration both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic environment, using

The effect of childhood malnutrition on externalizing behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianghong; Raine, Adrian

2006-10-01

Childhood externalizing behavior (aggression, hyperactivity, and conduct disorder) has been increasingly viewed as a public health problem because of its etiology and outcome. The association between malnutrition and externalizing behavior has begun to receive attention. This review summarizes recent empirical findings on malnutrition as a risk factor for the development of externalizing behavior, with an emphasis on micronutrient deficiency, and explores brain dysfunction as a possible mechanism. Externalizing behavior is associated with both macromalnutrition (e.g. protein) and micromalnutrition (e.g. iron and zinc). Both prenatal and postnatal malnutrition is implicated. The long-term effects of malnutrition on behavior could be reversible. The effects of docosahexaenoic acid/omega-3 long-chain essential fatty acid on externalizing behavior are more mixed. From animal and human findings, it is hypothesized that malnutrition impairs neurocognitive functioning by reducing neurons, alternating neurotransmitter functioning, and increasing neurotoxicity, and that such neurocognitive impairments predispose to externalizing behavior. Different lines of evidence support the view that poor nutrition contributes to the development of child behavior problems. More randomized, controlled trials that manipulate nutritional intake and evaluate behavior in children are needed to evaluate the etiological role of nutrition in externalizing behavior in order to inform intervention and prevention efforts.

COOPERATION AND COORDINATION BETWEEN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AUDITING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DIANA DUMITRESCU

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Between external and internal auditors it is necessary to be a good cooperation and coordination; both professionals have to be involved in building a good working relationship. Objectives of the external and internal auditors are different from the company point of view, but in the achievement of the specific goals, there are interactions and work cooperation. If the internal auditors work together with the external auditors the results will be an increasing of the quality and the effectiveness of the organization`s systems and activities. If the external auditors work together with the internal auditors will result a decreasing of the amount of the testing they do, and as consequences’ a reducing of the fees. Because there are many benefits of the cooperation between external and internal auditing it is important to find out how could be coordinated these two professional activities. This study has the purpose to examine the most important provisions that promote such kind of cooperation and work like necessary tools for coordination and to identify the Romanian`s internal and external auditors perceptions regarding that cooperation and coordination. The objective of the study is to identify the nature of the relationship between the internal audit function and the organizations’ external auditors regarding their interactions and their cooperation.

Externalities and the Coase Theorem: A Diagrammatic Presentation

Science.gov (United States)

Halteman, James

2005-01-01

In intermediate microeconomic textbooks the reciprocal nature of externalities is presented using numerical examples of costs and benefits. This treatment of the Coase theorem obscures the fact that externality costs and benefits are best understood as being on a continuum where costs vary with the degree of intensity of the externality. When…

Quantitative bone and 67Ga scintigraphy in the differentiation of necrotizing external otitis from severe external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uri, N.; Gips, S.; Front, A.; Meyer, S.W.; Hardoff, R.

1991-01-01

Qualitative technetium Tc 99m bone scintigraphy using phosphate compounds and gallium 67 scintigraphy were described as a helpful means in diagnosing necrotizing external otitis (NEO). They were, however, claimed to be nonspecific. Quantitative Tc 99m methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy and gallium 67 scintigraphy were performed in eight patients with NEO and in 20 patients with severe external otitis, in order to prove usefulness of scintigraphy in the diagnosis of NEO. Ratios of lesion to nonlesion for bone scintigraphy were 1.67 ± 0.16 in patients with NEO and 1.08 ± 0.09 in patients with severe external otitis, and for gallium 67 scintigraphy they were 1.35 ± 0.24 in NEO patients and 1.05 ± 0.03 in patients with severe external otitis. There was no difference in uptake between diabetic patients with severe external otitis and nondiabetic patients. The scintigraphic studies were also evaluated using a qualitative scoring method (scores 0 to +4), according to the intensity of the radiopharmaceutical uptake. This method was found to be inferior in the diagnosis of NEO compared with the quantitative method. We conclude that lesion-to-nonlesion ratios greater than 1.5 and 1.3 on bone and gallium 67 scintigraphy, respectively, are indicative of NEO. Quantitative bone scintigraphy, which is quicker to perform, may be used as a single imaging modality for the diagnosis of NEO

External Audit Green Deal Approach. Final report; Externe Audit Green Deal Aanpak. Eindrapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Mil, B.P.A.; Gooskens, B.J.F.; Van Schelven, R.M.; Stutje, A.

2013-10-15

External audit of the effectiveness of the Green Deals, based on the question how the Green Deal contributes to green growth. The central idea of this new tool is that the Dutch government facilitates initiatives of businesses, societal organisations, local governments and citizens by removing bottlenecks as much as possible [Dutch] Externe audit over (de effectiviteit van) de Green Deal aanpak, op basis van de volgende onderzoeksvraag: 'Hoe draagt de Green Deal aanpak bij aan het bevorderen van groene groei?' De centrale gedachte van dit nieuwe instrument is dat de overheid initiatieven van bedrijven, maatschappelijke organisaties, decentrale overheden en burgers faciliteert door het wegnemen van knelpunten.

Patterning in systems driven by nonlocal external forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Luneville, L; Mallick, K; Pontikis, V; Simeone, D

2016-11-01

This work focuses on systems displaying domain patterns resulting from competing external and internal dynamics. To this end, we introduce a Lyapunov functional capable of describing the steady states of systems subject to external forces, by adding nonlocal terms to the Landau Ginzburg free energy of the system. Thereby, we extend the existing methodology treating long-range order interactions, to the case of external nonlocal forces. By studying the quadratic term of this Lyapunov functional, we compute the phase diagram in the temperature versus external field and we determine all possible modulated phases (domain patterns) as a function of the external forces and the temperature. Finally, we investigate patterning in chemical reactive mixtures and binary mixtures under irradiation, and we show that the last case opens the path toward micro-structural engineering of materials.

Conceptual challenges for internalising externalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miguel, Brandão; Weidema, Bo Pedersen

2013-01-01

We analyse a number of different externalities to identify conceptual challenges for the practical implementation of their internalisation. Three issues were identified: i) The balance between compensation and technology change and the respective effects on the nominal and real GDP; ii...... geographical and especially temporal distance between the benefitting actor and the victim of the external cost, the involvement of a non-governmental intermediate actor becomes increasingly necessary to provide the short-term capital required to ensure a successful implementation....

Demand Externalities from Co-Location

OpenAIRE

Boudhayan Sen; Jiwoong Shin; K. Sudhir

2012-01-01

We illustrate an approach to measure demand externalities from co-location by estimating household level changes in grocery spending at a supermarket among households that also buy gas at a co-located gas station, relative to those who do not. Controlling for observable and unobserved selection in the use of gas station, we find significant demand externalities; on average a household that buys gas has 7.7% to 9.3% increase in spending on groceries. Accounting for differences in gross margins...

Internal hiring or external recruitment?

OpenAIRE

DeVaro, Jed

2016-01-01

Hiring is one of a firm’s most important decisions. When an employer fills a vacancy with one of its own workers (through promotion or lateral transfer), it forgoes the opportunity to fill the position with a new hire from outside the firm. Although both internal and external hiring methods are used, firms frequently have a bias favoring insiders. Internal and external hires differ in observable characteristics (such as skill levels), as do the employers making each type of hiring decision. U...

Comparison of optimised endovaginal vs external array coil T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging techniques for detecting suspected early stage (IA/IB1) uterine cervical cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Downey, Kate; Morgan, Veronica A.; Giles, Sharon L.; MacDonald, A.; DeSouza, Nandita M. [The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, CRUK Cancer Imaging Centre, Surrey (United Kingdom); Attygalle, Ayoma D. [The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Histopathology, London (United Kingdom); Davis, M. [Kingston Hospital, Department of Gynaecology, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey (United Kingdom); Ind, Thomas E.J.; Shepherd, John H. [The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Gynecology Unit, London (United Kingdom)

2016-04-15

To compare sensitivity and specificity of endovaginal versus external-array coil T2-W and T2-W + DWI for detecting and staging small cervical tumours. Optimised endovaginal and external array coil MRI at 3.0-T was done prospectively in 48 consecutive patients with stage Ia/Ib1 cervical cancer. Sensitivity/specificity for detecting tumour and parametrial extension against histopathology for a reading radiologist were determined on coronal T2-W and T2W + DW images. An independent radiologist also scored T2-W images without and with addition of DWI for the external-array and endovaginal coils on separate occasions >2 weeks apart. Cohen's kappa assessed inter- and intra-observer agreement. Median tumour volume in 19/38 cases positive on subsequent histology was 1.75 cm{sup 3}. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV were: reading radiologist 91.3 %, 89.5 %, 91.3 %, 89.5 %, respectively; independent radiologist T2-W 82.6 %, 73.7 %, 79.1 %, 77.8 % for endovaginal, 73.9 %, 89.5 %, 89.5 %, 73.9 % for external-array coil. Adding DWI improved sensitivity and specificity of endovaginal imaging (78.2 %, 89.5 %); adding DWI to external-array imaging improved specificity (94.7 %) but reduced sensitivity (66.7 %). Inter- and intra-observer agreement on T2-W + DWI was good (kappa = 0.67 and 0.62, respectively). Endovaginal coil T2-W MRI is more sensitive than external-array coil for detecting tumours <2 cm{sup 3}; adding DWI improves specificity of endovaginal imaging but reduces sensitivity of external-array imaging. (orig.)

External cephalic version-related risks: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Grootscholten, Kim; Kok, Marjolein; Oei, S Guid; Mol, Ben W J; van der Post, Joris A

2008-11-01

To systematically review the literature on external cephalic version-related complications and to assess if the outcome of a version attempt is related to complications. In March 2007 we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Studies reporting on complications from an external cephalic version attempt for singleton breech pregnancies after 36 weeks of pregnancy were selected. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) from studies that reported both on complications as well as on the position of the fetus immediately after the procedure. We found 84 studies, reporting on 12,955 version attempts that reported on external cephalic version-related complications. The pooled complication rate was 6.1% (95% CI 4.7-7.8), 0.24% for serious complications (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.17-0.34) and 0.35% for emergency cesarean deliveries (95% CI 0.26-0.47). Complications were not related to external cephalic version outcome (OR 1.2 (95% CI 0.93-1.7). External cephalic version is a safe procedure. Complications are not related to the fetal position after external cephalic version.

External beam radiotherapy alone in advanced esophageal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Sung Ja; Chung, Woong Ki; Nah, Byung Sik; Nam, Taek Keun [College of Medicine, Chonnam National Univ., Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

1999-09-01

We performed the retrospective analysis to find the outcome of external beam radiotherapy alone in advanced esophageal cancer patients. One hundred and six patients treated with external beam radiotherapy alone between July 1990 and December 1996 were analyzed retrospectively. We limited the site of the lesions to the thoracic esophagus and cell type to the squamous cell carcinoma. Follow-up was completed in 100 patients (94%) and ranged from 1 month to 92 months (median; 6 months). The median age was 62 years old and male to female ratio was 104:2. Fifty-three percent was the middle thorax lesion and curative radiotherapy was performed in 83%. Mean tumor dose delivered with curative aim was 58.6 Gy (55-70.8 Gy) and median duration of the radiation therapy was days. The median survival of all patients was 6 months and 1-year and 2-year overall survival rate was 27% and 12%, respectively. Improvement of dysphagia was obtained in most patients except for 7 patients who underwent feeding gastrostomy. The complete response rate immediately after radiation therapy was 32% (34/106). The median survival and 2-year survival rate of the complete responder was 14 months and 30% respectively, while those of the nonresponder was 4 months and 0% respectively (p=0.000). The median survival and 2-year survival rate of the patients who could tolerate regular diet was 9 months and 16% while those of the patients who could not tolerate regular diet was 3 months and 0%, respectively (p=0.004). The survival difference between the patients with 5 cm or less tumor length and those with more than 5 cm tumor length was marginally statistically significant (p=0.06). However, the survival difference according to the periesophageal invasion or mediastinal lymphadenopathy in the chest CT imaging study was not statistically significant in this study. In a multivariate analysis, the statistically significant covariates to the survival were complete response to radiotherapy, tumor, length, and

Tumor bed delineation for external beam accelerated partial breast irradiation: A systematic review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, T. Jonathan; Tao, Randa; Elkhuizen, Paula H.M.; Vliet-Vroegindeweij, Corine van; Li, Guang; Powell, Simon N.

2013-01-01

In recent years, accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) has been considered an alternative to whole breast irradiation for patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy. APBI delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer fractions to the post-lumpectomy tumor bed with a 1–2 cm margin, targeting the area at the highest risk of local recurrence while sparing normal breast tissue. However, there are inherent challenges in defining accurate target volumes for APBI. Studies have shown that significant interobserver variation exists among radiation oncologists defining the lumpectomy cavity, which raises the question of how to improve the accuracy and consistency in the delineation of tumor bed volumes. The combination of standardized guidelines and surgical clips significantly improves an observer’s ability in delineation, and it is the standard in multiple ongoing external-beam APBI trials. However, questions about the accuracy of the clips to mark the lumpectomy cavity remain, as clips only define a few points at the margin of the cavity. This paper reviews the techniques that have been developed so far to improve target delineation in APBI delivered by conformal external beam radiation therapy, including the use of standardized guidelines, surgical clips or fiducial markers, pre-operative computed tomography imaging, and additional imaging modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, and positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Alternatives to post-operative APBI, future directions, and clinical recommendations were also discussed

The Effect of Theraband Training on Position Sense of Internal and External Rotator Muscles in Male Athletes with Shoulder Impingement Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramin Moharrami

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study evaluated the effect of theraband training on Position sense of internal and external rotator muscles in male athletes with shoulder impingement syndrome. Materials & Methods: In this semi-experimental interventional study 30 cases of men with Shoulder syndrome with age range of 20 to 30 years participated. They were divided in test and control groups, each group including 15 people through non-random and purposeful method Biodex System 3 Made in America was used to measure position sense of internal and external rotator muscles. For data analysis independent 7 paired t-test was used in SPSS software (version 21. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvement after six weeks of theraband training in the internal and external rotator muscles in three 90,45,0 degree angle at a significance level of 0.05 (P=0.05. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that of theraband training resulted in improved position sense of internal and external rotator muscles in male athletes with impingement syndrome thus, the benefits of these exercises can be used widely in team sports and also for easy and quick rehabilitation of patients.

The WHO AFRO external quality assessment programme (EQAP): Linking laboratory networks through EQA programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Boeras, Debrah I; Peeling, Rosanna W; Onyebujoh, Philip; Yahaya, Ali A; Gumede-Moeletsi, Hieronyma N; Ndihokubwayo, Jean B

2016-01-01

External Quality Assessment (EQA) surveys performed by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) revealed the need for the strengthening of public health microbiology laboratories, particularly for testing of epidemic-prone diseases in the African Region. These surveys revealed common issues such as supply chain management, skilled personnel, logistical support and overall lack of quality standards. For sustainable improvements to health systems as well as global health security, deficiencies identified need to be actively corrected through robust quality assurance programmes and implementation of laboratory quality management systems. Given all the pathogens of public health importance, an external quality assessment programme with a focus on vaccine-preventable diseases and emerging and re-emerging dangerous pathogens is important, and should not be stand-alone, but integrated within laboratory networks as seen in polio, measles, yellow fever and rubella. In 2015, WHO AFRO collaborated with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and partners in a series of consultations with countries and national and regional EQA providers for the development of quality assurance models to support HIV point-of-care testing and monitoring. These consultations revealed similar challenges as seen in the WHO AFRO surveys. WHO AFRO brought forth its experience in implementing quality standards for health programmes, and also opened discussions on how lessons learned through such established programmes can be utilised to supporting and strengthening the introduction of early infant diagnosis of HIV and viral load point-of-care testing. An optimised external quality assessment programme will impact the ability of countries to meet core capacities, providing improved quality management systems, improving the confidence of diagnostic network services in Africa, and including capacities to detect events

Comfort and acceptability of various immobilization positions using a shoulder external rotation and abduction brace.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatta, Taku; Yamamoto, Nobuyuki; Sano, Hirotaka; Itoi, Eiji

2017-03-01

Immobilization with shoulder braces is used for conservative treatment of an initial shoulder dislocation. Various arm positions have been investigated to determine optimal position in terms of the anatomical reduction of the Bankart lesion. Recently, the effect of immobilization in shoulder abduction as well as in external rotation has been reported. However, there are few studies assessing subjects' acceptability of the brace in various arm positions. We hypothesized that a certain arm position regarding abduction or external rotation for immobilization would induce significant discomfort during activities of daily living. A dominant arm of 20 healthy participants was immobilized with a shoulder brace in 4 different positions; adduction and internal rotation (Add-IR), adduction and external rotation (Add-ER), 30° of abduction and 30° of external rotation (Abd-30ER), and 30° of abduction and 60° of external rotation (Abd-60ER). After completing immobilization for 24 h, subjects were asked to assess the discomfort of bracing for overall and individual activities, using a visual analogue scale. Data were compared among the four positions. For overall activities and several activities (eating, reading books, and removing and putting on pants), Abd-60ER was significantly more uncomfortable than adducted arm positions. Abd-30ER did not show any differences compared to the other arm positions. Immobilization in abduction and external rotation seems to be acceptable although the arm position in 30° of abduction and 60° of external rotation is less comfortable than the others. Our results might be useful in determining and developing the ideal shoulder brace which could keep patients' compliance and improve their outcomes. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of records of external occupational dose records in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauricio, Claudia L.P.; Silva, Herica L.R. da; Silva, Claudio Ribeiro da

2014-01-01

Brazil, a continental country, with actually more than 150,000 workers under individual monitoring for ionizing radiation, has implemented in 1987 a centralized system for storage of external occupational dose. This database has been improved over the years and is now a web-based information system called Brazilian External Occupational Dose Management Database System - GDOSE. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian external occupational dose over the years. The estimated annual average effective dose shows a decrease from 2.4 mSv in 1987 to about 0.6 mSv, having been a marked reduction from 1987 to 1990. Analyzing by type of controlled practice, one sees that the medical and dental radiology is the area with the largest number of users of individual monitors (70%); followed by education practices (8%) and the industrial radiography (7%). Additionally to photon whole body monitoring; neutron monitors are used in maintenance (36%), reactor (30%) and education (27%); and extremity monitors, in education (27%), nuclear medicine (22%) and radiology (19%). In terms of collective dose, the highest values are also found in conventional radiology, but the highest average dose values are those of interventional radiology. Nuclear medicine, R and D and radiotherapy also have average annual effective dose higher than 1 mSv. However, there is some very high dose values registered in GDOSE that give false information. This should be better analyzed in the future. Annual doses above 500 are certainly not realistic. (author)

Optimization of External Envelope Insulation Thickness: A Parametric Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleftheria Touloupaki

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Almost four years after the implementation deadline of the energy performance of buildings Directive recast (2010/31/EU and after being referred to the Court of Justice of the EU by the European Commission, Greece has not yet proceeded with the necessary calculations and legislative measures on the minimum, cost-optimal energy performance requirements for buildings. This paper aims to identify the optimal thickness of insulation that is cost-effective to apply in urban multi-family domestic buildings in the four climate zones of Greece. A reference building is selected in order to perform calculations over ten scenarios of external insulation thickness for each climate zone on a basic and three sensitivity analysis calculations according to the EU comparative methodology framework. The resulting energy savings for each insulation scenario are calculated, and then the cost-effectiveness of the measure is examined in financial and macroeconomic perspective for an economic lifecycle of 30 years. The results demonstrate the inadequacy of the national regulation’s current insulation limits and the externalities (funding gaps that need to be addressed in order to achieve the effective improvement of energy efficiency in Greek homes.

Awareness of external costs - helps to improve environmental protection. The methodological convention for estimates of environmental externalities: the energy and transport sectors as examples; Externe Kosten kennen - Umwelt besser schuetzen. Die Methodenkonvention zur Schaetzung externer Kosten am Beispiel Energie und Verkehr

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-04-15

Today, environmental policy has to face economic considerations more than in former times. By means of an economic valuation of environmental damage, it is possible to estimate the economic utility of environmental policy measures. This is important because today's environmental policy prevents tomorrow's environmental damage. At present, there is no other field where this fact has become as obvious as in climate policy. All recent publications have provided evidence that climate protection is worthwhile because the costs of climate protection measures are lower than those resulting from inactivity. Economic valuation means to weigh a number of choices and targets against each other. Valuation requires value judgements. How to define a damage event? How to weigh different goods which deserve protection against each other and damage occurring today against that occurring in the future? How to deal with uncertainty with regard to future returns and risks? These are only a few of the problems depending on value judgements that we have to face. This applies in general and not only in economic valuation. The Methodological Convention elaborated by the Federal Environment Agency addresses these problems. It has been the intention of the authors to explain and substantiate their value judgements and the criteria underlying the valuation of environmental damage (as well as that of environmental damage that has been avoided). Thus, the Federal Environment Agency wishes to make a contribution to transparency and consistency of decision-making in environmental policy. The principles of valuation suggested may be used for example to substantiate cost rates for external costs incurred by energy production and transport. The exemplary calculations have demonstrated that the internalization of environmental costs has been achieved in part only. Policy makers may choose different ways to gradually improve this situation. Internalization does not necessarily mean that

External Dacryocystorhinostomy; Success Rate and Causes of Failure in Endoscopic and Pathologic Evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghasemi, Hassan; Asghari Asl, Sajedeh; Yarmohammadi, Mohammad Ebrahim; Jafari, Farhad; Izadi, Pupak

2017-01-01

External dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is the method of choice to treat nasolacrimal duct (NLD) obstruction and the other approaches are compared with it, with a failure rate of 4% to 13%. The current study aimed to assess the causes of failure in external DCR by postoperative endoscopic and pathological evaluation. The current retrospective cross sectional study followed-up113 patients with external DCR and silicone intubation for three months. Silicone tubes were removed after the third months. Failure was confirmed based on the clinical findings and irrigation test. Paranasal sinus computed tomography (CT) scanning, and endoscopic and pathological evaluations were performed in the failed cases. Totally, 113 patients underwent external DCR. The patients included 71 females and 42 males. The mean age of the patients was 55.91 years; ranged from 18 to 86. Epiphora was the most common complaint before surgery (90.3%). Clinically, epiphora continued in 17 cases (15%), of which 94.11% had at least one sinus CT abnormality and 82.35% had at least one endoscopic abnormality. The most common endoscopic findings were deviated septum (70.6%), scar tissue (52.94%), concha bullosa (46.9%), septal adhesion (47.05%), enlarged middle turbinate (41.2%), and sump syndrome (11.7%). The failure was significantly associated with the chronicity of the initial symptoms (P-value=0.00). Pathologically, there were significant relationship amongst the failure rate, scar formation, and allergic rhinitis (P-values =0.00 and <0.05, respectively). Preoperative endonasal evaluation and consultation with an otolaryngologist can improve surgical outcomes and help to have a better conscious to intranasal abnormalities before external DCR surgery.

External doses from radioactive fallout. Dosimetry and levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woehni, T.

1995-01-01

The design, manufacture and calibration of a TL-based dosemeter for measurement of low level external photon radiation are presented. The dosemeter is based on CaF 2 with 2 mm brass filter for energy compensation. It is able to resolve a 8% dose increase relative to natural background radiation. With this dosemeter external dose measurements were made in 6 villages in a heavily contaminated region in Russia (Chernobyl fallout), in order to assess external doses to the population. The results were analyzed in the light of additional existing information on radioactive deposition, social habits, decontamination measures and other influencing technical and physical factors. The observed dose values were lower than theoretical estimates of external doses based on published values for external dose levels relative to the level of contamination. 84 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs

External doses from radioactive fallout. Dosimetry and levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woehni, T

1996-12-31

The design, manufacture and calibration of a TL-based dosemeter for measurement of low level external photon radiation are presented. The dosemeter is based on CaF{sub 2} with 2 mm brass filter for energy compensation. It is able to resolve a 8% dose increase relative to natural background radiation. With this dosemeter external dose measurements were made in 6 villages in a heavily contaminated region in Russia (Chernobyl fallout), in order to assess external doses to the population. The results were analyzed in the light of additional existing information on radioactive deposition, social habits, decontamination measures and other influencing technical and physical factors. The observed dose values were lower than theoretical estimates of external doses based on published values for external dose levels relative to the level of contamination. 84 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs.

External doses from radioactive fallout. Dosimetry and levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woehni, T.

1995-12-31

The design, manufacture and calibration of a TL-based dosemeter for measurement of low level external photon radiation are presented. The dosemeter is based on CaF{sub 2} with 2 mm brass filter for energy compensation. It is able to resolve a 8% dose increase relative to natural background radiation. With this dosemeter external dose measurements were made in 6 villages in a heavily contaminated region in Russia (Chernobyl fallout), in order to assess external doses to the population. The results were analyzed in the light of additional existing information on radioactive deposition, social habits, decontamination measures and other influencing technical and physical factors. The observed dose values were lower than theoretical estimates of external doses based on published values for external dose levels relative to the level of contamination. 84 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs.

The use of external change agents to promote quality improvement and organizational change in healthcare organizations: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Alagoz, Esra; Chih, Ming-Yuan; Hitchcock, Mary; Brown, Randall; Quanbeck, Andrew

2018-01-25

External change agents can play an essential role in healthcare organizational change efforts. This systematic review examines the role that external change agents have played within the context of multifaceted interventions designed to promote organizational change in healthcare-specifically, in primary care settings. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Academic Search Premier Databases in July 2016 for randomized trials published (in English) between January 1, 2005 and June 30, 2016 in which external agents were part of multifaceted organizational change strategies. The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. A total of 477 abstracts were identified and screened by 2 authors. Full text articles of 113 studies were reviewed. Twenty-one of these studies were selected for inclusion. Academic detailing (AD) is the most prevalently used organizational change strategy employed as part of multi-component implementation strategies. Out of 21 studies, nearly all studies integrate some form of audit and feedback into their interventions. Eleven studies that included practice facilitation into their intervention reported significant effects in one or more primary outcomes. Our results demonstrate that practice facilitation with regular, tailored follow up is a powerful component of a successful organizational change strategy. Academic detailing alone or combined with audit and feedback alone is ineffective without intensive follow up. Provision of educational materials and use of audit and feedback are often integral components of multifaceted implementation strategies. However, we didn't find examples where those relatively limited strategies were effective as standalone interventions. System-level support through technology (such as automated reminders or alerts) is potentially helpful, but must be carefully tailored to clinic needs.

RAM-efficient external memory sorting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arge, Lars; Thorup, Mikkel

2013-01-01

In recent years a large number of problems have been considered in external memory models of computation, where the complexity measure is the number of blocks of data that are moved between slow external memory and fast internal memory (also called I/Os). In practice, however, internal memory time...... often dominates the total running time once I/O-efficiency has been obtained. In this paper we study algorithms for fundamental problems that are simultaneously I/O-efficient and internal memory efficient in the RAM model of computation....

Environmental externalities and renewables: A policy perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanghi, A.K.

1992-01-01

New York state electric utilities are required to incorporate the consideration of environmental externality costs in their bidding programs for new capacity. A natural extension of this policy would be to consider environmental externality costs in the state's implementation of federal regulations under the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). A more direct but more politically difficult approach would be the use of environmental taxes. These two approaches are discussed for more fully incorporating environmental externalities in New York's energy planning process. Under PURPA, utilities have a general obligation to purchase energy from interconnected qualifying facilities on the basis of long-run avoided cost (LRAC) estimates. The New York State Public Service Commission is currently updating the LRAC estimates, which do not account for the costs of complying with the 1990 amendments of the Clean Air Act (CAA) or for environmental externality costs associated with underlying generation sources. Environmental externality LRACs are estimated based on SO 2 , NO x , and CO 2 emissions; estimates of CAA compliance are relatively small in comparison. The use of taxes to reduce emissions by making pollution more expensive than abatement is analyzed, with reference to both general revenue and trust fund types of tax mechanisms. The ways the two mechanisms affect development of wind power resources is illustrated to provide further insight into the correct application of environmental externalities in energy planning. 8 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

Externalities from lignite mining-related dust emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papagiannis, A.; Roussos, D.; Menegaki, M.; Damigos, D.

2014-01-01

During the last three decades, several studies have been conducted in order to assess the external costs of electricity production from fossil fuels, especially coal and lignite. Nevertheless, these studies usually ignore the impacts generated by the upstream mining works. This paper contributes to existing literature and attempts to fill this gap by exploring the externalities of lignite mining owing to the emission of suspended particulate matter. To this end, a ‘bottom-up’ approach is implemented, using as case study the largest operational lignite surface mine at the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia (Greece). The results indicate that annual air pollution externalities of lignite mining are of the order of 3€/ton of lignite, which corresponds to around 5.0 €/MW h. The estimated costs are significantly lower, i.e. up to 80%, when dust deposition is considered in air dispersion models. In any case, these findings should be seen as a starting point for discussion owing to the lack of specific emission rates for Greek lignite mines. - Highlights: • Externalities from lignite mining-related dust emissions are 3 €/t of lignite. • Externalities of mining correspond to around 5.0 €/MW h. • Externalities are significantly lower, up to 80%, if dust deposition is considered. • There is lack of specific dust emission rates for lignite mining. • There are high discrepancies in existing dust emission rates for lignite mining

Goal Management Training Combined With External Cuing as a Means to Improve Emotional Regulation, Psychological Functioning, and Quality of Life in Patients With Acquired Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Tornås, Sveinung; Løvstad, Marianne; Solbakk, Anne-Kristin; Schanke, Anne-Kristine; Stubberud, Jan

2016-11-01

To investigate whether goal management training (GMT) expanded to include external cuing and an emotional regulation module is associated with improved emotional regulation, psychological functioning, and quality of life (QOL) after chronic acquired brain injury (ABI). Randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment at baseline, posttraining, and 6-month follow-up. Outpatient. Persons with ABI and executive dysfunction (N=70; 64% traumatic brain injury; 52% men; mean age ± SD, 43±13y; mean time since injury ± SD, 8.1±9.4y). Eight sessions of GMT in groups, including a new module addressing emotional regulation, and external cuing. A psychoeducative control condition (Brain Health Workshop) was matched on amount of training, therapist contact, and homework. Emotional regulation was assessed with the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust Regulation of Emotions Questionnaire, the Emotional Control subscale and the Emotion Regulation factor (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version), and the Positive and Negative Affect subscales from the Dysexecutive Questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures included psychological distress (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25) and QOL (Quality of Life After Brain Injury Scale). Findings indicated beneficial effects of GMT on emotional regulation skills in everyday life and in QOL 6 months posttreatment. No intervention effects on measures of psychological distress were registered. GMT is a promising intervention for improving emotional regulation after ABI, even in the chronic phase. More research using objective measures of emotional regulation is needed to investigate the efficacy of this type of training. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Energy and externality environmental regional model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldi, L.; Bianchi, A.; Peri, M.

2000-01-01

The use of environmental externalities in both territorial management and the direction of energy and environment, faces the difficulties arising from their calculation. The so-called MACBET regional model, which has been constructed for Lombardy, is a first brand new attempt to overcome them. MACBET is a calculation model to assess environmental and employment externalities connected to energy use [it

The Little Data Book on External Debt 2009

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2009-01-01

The little data book on external debt, a pocket edition of Global Development Finance (GDF) 2009, volume two, summary and country tables, contains statistical tables on the external debt of the 128 countries that report public and publicly guaranteed external debt under the debtor reporting system. It also includes tables of selected debt and resource flow statistics for individual reporting ...

External parallel sorting with multiprocessor computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comanceau, S.I.

1984-01-01

This article describes methods of external sorting in which the entire main computer memory is used for the internal sorting of entries, forming out of them sorted segments of the greatest possible size, and outputting them to external memories. The obtained segments are merged into larger segments until all entries form one ordered segment. The described methods are suitable for sequential files stored on magnetic tape. The needs of the sorting algorithm can be met by using the relatively slow peripheral storage devices (e.g., tapes, disks, drums). The efficiency of the external sorting methods is determined by calculating the total sorting time as a function of the number of entries to be sorted and the number of parallel processors participating in the sorting process

Anatomical entity recognition with a hierarchical framework augmented by external resources.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Xu

Full Text Available References to anatomical entities in medical records consist not only of explicit references to anatomical locations, but also other diverse types of expressions, such as specific diseases, clinical tests, clinical treatments, which constitute implicit references to anatomical entities. In order to identify these implicit anatomical entities, we propose a hierarchical framework, in which two layers of named entity recognizers (NERs work in a cooperative manner. Each of the NERs is implemented using the Conditional Random Fields (CRF model, which use a range of external resources to generate features. We constructed a dictionary of anatomical entity expressions by exploiting four existing resources, i.e., UMLS, MeSH, RadLex and BodyPart3D, and supplemented information from two external knowledge bases, i.e., Wikipedia and WordNet, to improve inference of anatomical entities from implicit expressions. Experiments conducted on 300 discharge summaries showed a micro-averaged performance of 0.8509 Precision, 0.7796 Recall and 0.8137 F1 for explicit anatomical entity recognition, and 0.8695 Precision, 0.6893 Recall and 0.7690 F1 for implicit anatomical entity recognition. The use of the hierarchical framework, which combines the recognition of named entities of various types (diseases, clinical tests, treatments with information embedded in external knowledge bases, resulted in a 5.08% increment in F1. The resources constructed for this research will be made publicly available.

External relationships and marketing practices in Serbian firms: The intangible capital perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitić Sanja

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents selected results of research on intangible capital in Serbian firms. The results are part of a broader research project, based on a survey of a sample of Serbian firms. The focus of the project is the various forms of intangible capital, and in this paper we analyse whether and to what degree firms build up their brand capital and increase marketing competencies, and what kind of external relationships they experience. The results provide the first insight into the development of the marketing resources of Serbian firms and show that this element of intangibles is gradually improving but still is at a low level. We find significant differences in the use of marketing resources between firms in regard to their size, international market experience, and ownership type. A more significant development of brand capital, external relationships, and marketing innovations and competencies is found in larger firms, firms with considerable international business experience compared to firms primarily oriented to the domestic market, and in foreign-owned firms. After identifying the strengths and weaknesses of marketing practices in Serbian enterprises we suggest some measures for overcoming the analyzed constraints in order to improve firms’ market positioning, especially in foreign markets.[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179062

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Natural gas fuel cycle. Estimation of physical impacts and monetary valuation for priority impact pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.; Watkiss, P.; Berry, J.; Johnson, C.; Lee, D.

1994-01-01

This document assesses the progress made in quantifying environmental and health damages associated with the natural gas fuel cycle for electricity generation. The methodology developed in the ExternE Project is described in more detail elsewhere (European Commission, 1994a; 1995, in preparation). The reader is referred to these earlier reports for wider discussion of many of the issues underlying this type of work. The increased desire for economic assessment of environmental damage reflects growing awareness of problems such as global warming, ozone depletion and the acidification and nutrification of ecosystems. A wide range of receptors are affected, including human health, forests, crops, and buildings. Such damages are typically not accounted for by the producers and consumers of the good in question (in this case energy). They are thus referred to as 'external costs' or 'externalities', to distinguish them from the private costs which account for the construction of plant, cost of fuel, wages, etc. At the political level there are a variety of reasons for the growing interest in the quantification of the environmental impacts of energy use and the related external costs. These include the need to integrate environmental concerns when selecting between different fuels and energy technologies and the need to evaluate the costs and benefits of stricter environmental standards. These issues are reflected in European Union policy, through, for example, the Maastricht Treaty, the 5th Environmental Action Programme 'towards sustainability', the European Commission's White Paper 'Growth, competitiveness, employment and ways forward to the 21st century' and the establishment of the European Environmental Agency. The proposal for an Energy-Carbon tax is the first concrete proposal by the European Union for the direct use of economic instruments in environmental policy in the energy sector. An agreed methodology for calculation and integration of external costs has not

Review on studies for external cost of nuclear power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Byung Heung [Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju (Korea, Republic of); Ko, Won Il [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-15

External cost is cost imposed on a third party when producing or consuming a good or service. Since the 1990s, the external costs of nuclear powered electricity production have been studied. Costs are a very important factor in policy decision and the external cost is considered for cost comparison on electricity production. As for nuclear fuel cycle, a chosen technology will determine the external cost. However, there has been little research on this issue. For this study, methods for external cost on nuclear power production have been surveyed and analyzed to develop an approach for evaluating external cost on nuclear fuel cycles. Before the Fukushima accident, external cost research had focused on damage costs during normal operation of a fuel cycle. However, accident cost becomes a major concern after the accident. Various considerations for external cost including accident cost have been used to different studies, and different methods have been applied corresponding to the considerations. In this study, the results of the evaluation were compared and analyzed to identify methodological applicability to the external cost estimation with nuclear fuel cycles.

Review on studies for external cost of nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Byung Heung; Ko, Won Il

2015-01-01

External cost is cost imposed on a third party when producing or consuming a good or service. Since the 1990s, the external costs of nuclear powered electricity production have been studied. Costs are a very important factor in policy decision and the external cost is considered for cost comparison on electricity production. As for nuclear fuel cycle, a chosen technology will determine the external cost. However, there has been little research on this issue. For this study, methods for external cost on nuclear power production have been surveyed and analyzed to develop an approach for evaluating external cost on nuclear fuel cycles. Before the Fukushima accident, external cost research had focused on damage costs during normal operation of a fuel cycle. However, accident cost becomes a major concern after the accident. Various considerations for external cost including accident cost have been used to different studies, and different methods have been applied corresponding to the considerations. In this study, the results of the evaluation were compared and analyzed to identify methodological applicability to the external cost estimation with nuclear fuel cycles

Exchange rate prediction with multilayer perceptron neural network using gold price as external factor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Fathian

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the problem of predicting the exchange rate time series in the foreign exchange rate market is going to be solved using a time-delayed multilayer perceptron neural network with gold price as external factor. The input for the learning phase of the artificial neural network are the exchange rate data of the last five days plus the gold price in two different currencies of the exchange rate as the external factor for helping the artificial neural network improving its forecast accuracy. The five-day delay has been chosen because of the weekly cyclic behavior of the exchange rate time series with the consideration of two holidays in a week. The result of forecasts are then compared with using the multilayer peceptron neural network without gold price external factor by two most important evaluation techniques in the literature of exchange rate prediction. For the experimental analysis phase, the data of three important exchange rates of EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY are used.

Lumbar lordosis angle and trunk and lower-limb electromyographic activity comparison in hip neutral position and external rotation during back squats.

Science.gov (United States)

Oshikawa, Tomoki; Morimoto, Yasuhiro; Kaneoka, Koji

2018-03-01

[Purpose] To compare the lumbar lordosis angle and electromyographic activities of the trunk and lower-limb muscles in the hip neutral position and external rotation during back squats. [Subjects and Methods] Ten healthy males without severe low back pain or lower-limb injury participated in this study. The lumbar lordosis angle and electromyographic activities were measured using three-dimensional motion-capture systems and surface electrodes during four back squats: parallel back squats in the hip neutral position and external rotation and full back squats in the hip neutral position and external rotation. A paired t-test was used to compare parallel and full back squats measurements in the hip neutral position and external rotation, respectively. [Results] During parallel back squats, the average lumbar lordosis angle was significantly larger in hip external rotation than in the hip neutral position. During full back squats, lumbar erector spinae and multifidus activities were significantly lower in hip external rotation than in the hip neutral position, whereas gluteus maximus activity was significantly higher in hip external rotation than in the hip neutral position. [Conclusion] The back squat in hip external rotation induced improvement of lumbar kyphosis, an increasing of the gluteus maximus activity and a decrease of both lumbar erector spinae and multifidus activities.

Investigation of occurrences of loss of external power supply in Spanish nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conde, J.M.; Reig, J.

1989-01-01

The paper reports on an investigation undertaken by the Nuclear Safety Council into occurrences of loss of external power supply in Spanish light water plants between 1981 and 1987. During this period all of the plants investigated (nine), with the exception of one, experienced an event of this type. The causes, effects and duration of each are studied in detail and the conclusion is drawn that the main cause of this type of occurrence is the intrinsic instability of the Spanish national grid. The response of plants to these various failures in external power supply was studied, special attention being paid to the correct operation of safety systems. In addition, the behaviour of other systems not related to safety is discussed, as are modifications and actions taken as a result of accumulated experience with a view to improving the plant response in the event of the failure of the external power supply, and reducing the frequency of such occurrences and their effective duration. The data obtained from this analysis were compared with those obtained in studies performed in other countries and the conclusion was drawn that failures in the external power supply occur slightly more frequently in Spain than in other countries. Similarly, a comparison was drawn between plant response during an actual failure and the response obtained during loss of external power nuclear tests which are carried out in all Spanish plants during the startup (commissioning) programme, in order to ascertain whether the test itself is adequate. (author). 1 fig., 3 tabs

[Concept of external reality in Freud's works].

Science.gov (United States)

Dorfman Lerner, B

1981-07-01

Three main functions of external reality (E.R.) relative to the subjecto may be mentioned. a) it is a source of stimulae that promote the structuring of te psychic apparatus. In this sense, E.F. is the place where this apparatus is charged and where it is discharged (specific action). b) it is a vehicle of gratification or frustration of necessity (Anaké). The satisfaction of necessity is gratifying, the lackof it is frustrating. c) it is the instance that heals or makes a person ill acording to its possibility of gratifying or frustrating the subject respectively. If we first take point a), we can examine the relationship between E.R. and internal (psychic) reality along the process of internalization of normal and pathologic experience. The author thinks Freud considers frustration as structuring of the psychic apparatus as long as it does not satisfy the person's needs or opposes the accomplishment of his desire. This complels the subject to recognize the existence of the external object. Also, whenfacing the external object the subject discovers his own self. Coinciding with this reognitions he tries to defend himself against it. In normal circustances the image of the external world is built by means of successive projections and introjections. The more sane the subject, the more faithfully and without distortions will he incorporate the external images. To be structuring, the frustrations must be encountered in adequate dose. If it is excessive there will be a distortion of the image due not only to projection but also to the defusion of instincts (defusion that takes place in the process of introjection of external figures). These distorted images of the external world coexist with various fantsies. But these fantasies are also marked by E.R. Even when the individual history of a subject does not give accont of this reality, there is a "filogenetic endowment" of fantasies that always recognize an external origin: they are the prehistoric fantasies. This

An association of external and internal enamel pearls.

OpenAIRE

Mahajan S; Charan C

2005-01-01

We report a rare case of an association of external enamel pearl with internal enamel pearl on the root of a molar. To the best of our knowledge, association of external and internal enamel pearls has not been previously reported. We discussed the histogenesis of enamel pearls and proposed that internal enamel pearl formation may be a continuation of formation of external enamel pearl.

Neuraxial blockade for external cephalic version: Cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamasato, Kelly; Kaneshiro, Bliss; Salcedo, Jennifer

2015-07-01

Neuraxial blockade (epidural or spinal anesthesia/analgesia) with external cephalic version increases the external cephalic version success rate. Hospitals and insurers may affect access to neuraxial blockade for external cephalic version, but the costs to these institutions remain largely unstudied. The objective of this study was to perform a cost analysis of neuraxial blockade use during external cephalic version from hospital and insurance payer perspectives. Secondarily, we estimated the effect of neuraxial blockade on cesarean delivery rates. A decision-analysis model was developed using costs and probabilities occurring prenatally through the delivery hospital admission. Model inputs were derived from the literature, national databases, and local supply costs. Univariate and bivariate sensitivity analyses and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to assess model robustness. Neuraxial blockade was cost saving to both hospitals ($30 per delivery) and insurers ($539 per delivery) using baseline estimates. From both perspectives, however, the model was sensitive to multiple variables. Monte Carlo simulation indicated neuraxial blockade to be more costly in approximately 50% of scenarios. The model demonstrated that routine use of neuraxial blockade during external cephalic version, compared to no neuraxial blockade, prevented 17 cesarean deliveries for every 100 external cephalic versions attempted. Neuraxial blockade is associated with minimal hospital and insurer cost changes in the setting of external cephalic version, while reducing the cesarean delivery rate. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2015 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

EO Model for Tacit Knowledge Externalization in Socio-Technical Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shreyas Suresh Rao

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Aim/Purpose: A vital business activity within socio-technical enterprises is tacit knowledge externalization, which elicits and explicates tacit knowledge of enterprise employees as external knowledge. The aim of this paper is to integrate diverse aspects of externalization through the Enterprise Ontology model. Background: Across two decades, researchers have explored various aspects of tacit knowledge externalization. However, from the existing works, it is revealed that there is no uniform representation of the externalization process, which has resulted in divergent and contradictory interpretations across the literature. Methodology\t: The Enterprise Ontology model is constructed step-wise through the conceptual and measurement views. While the conceptual view encompasses three patterns that model the externalization process, the measurement view employs certainty-factor model to empirically measure the outcome of the externalization process. Contribution: The paper contributes towards knowledge management literature in two ways. The first contribution is the Enterprise Ontology model that integrates diverse aspects of externalization. The second contribution is a Web application that validates the model through a case study in banking. Findings: The findings show that the Enterprise Ontology model and the patterns are pragmatic in externalizing the tacit knowledge of experts in a problem-solving scenario within a banking enterprise. Recommendations for Practitioners\t: Consider the diverse aspects (what, where, when, why, and how during the tacit knowledge externalization process. Future Research:\tTo extend the Enterprise Ontology model to include externalization from partially automated enterprise systems.

The effects of anxiety and external attentional focus on postural control in patients with Parkinson's disease

Science.gov (United States)

Jazaeri, Seyede Zohreh; Azad, Akram; Mehdizadeh, Hajar; Habibi, Seyed Amirhassan; Mandehgary Najafabadi, Mahbubeh; Saberi, Zakieh Sadat; Rahimzadegan, Hawre; Moradi, Saeed; Behzadipour, Saeed; Parnianpour, Mohamad; Khalaf, Kinda

2018-01-01

Background Although anxiety is a common non-motor outcome of Parkinson's disease (PD) affecting 40% of patients, little attention has been paid so far to its effects on balance impairment and postural control. Improvement of postural control through focusing on the environment (i.e. external focus) has been reported, but the role of anxiety, as a confounding variable, remains unclear. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the influence of anxiety and attentional focus instruction on the standing postural control of PD patients. Methods Thirty-four patients with PD (17 with high anxiety (HA-PD) and 17 with low anxiety (LA-PD)), as well as 17 gender- and age-matched healthy control subjects (HC) participated in the study. Postural control was evaluated using a combination of two levels of postural difficulty (standing on a rigid force plate surface with open eyes (RO) and standing on a foam surface with open eyes (FO)), as well as three attentional focus instructions (internal, external and no focus). Results Only the HA-PD group demonstrated significant postural control impairment as compared to the control, as indicated by significantly greater postural sway measures. Moreover, external focus significantly reduced postural sway in all participants especially during the FO condition. Conclusion The results of the current study provide evidence that anxiety influences balance control and postural stability in patients with PD, particularly those with high levels of anxiety. The results also confirmed that external focus is a potential strategy that significantly improves the postural control of these patients. Further investigation of clinical applicability is warranted towards developing effective therapeutic and rehabilitative treatment plans. PMID:29390029

The use of CT-scanning at the medicolegal external postmortem examination and at the forensic autopsy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leth, Peter Mygind

2006-01-01

Introduction: Can CT-scanning of deceased at the medico legal external examination improve the selection of cases to autopsy? Is CT-scanning a substitute or a supplement to the traditional forensic autopsy? Material: In 2006 60 deceased individuals from Southern Denmark (counties of Fyn and Sønde...

The EPR-a comprehensive design concept against external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoll, U.; Waas, U.

2006-01-01

The main objective of design provisions against external hazards is to ensure that the safety functions required to bring the plant to safe shutdown are not inadmissibly affected by any external hazards that might be postulated for the intended site of the plant. In the design of the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) particular attention was paid to external hazards such as earthquake, airplane crash, and explosion pressure wave. The standard EPR covers a large range of possible site conditions, the design earthquake enveloping safe shutdown earthquakes (SSE) to be expected for potential sites. The loads for the design basis airplane crash and - if required - for the design extension airplane crash as well as for external Explosion Pressure Wave are defined depending on site specific requirements. Protection against other external load cases such as extreme winds and external flooding is also included in the standard design

21 CFR 878.4014 - Nonresorbable gauze/sponge for external use.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Nonresorbable gauze/sponge for external use. 878... Nonresorbable gauze/sponge for external use. (a) Identification. A nonresorbable gauze/sponge for external use... include a nonresorbable gauze/sponge for external use that contains added drugs such as antimicrobial...

Performance Targets and External Market Prices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Allan; Friis, Ivar; Vámosi, Tamás S.

2012-01-01

the implementation of external market information in target setting – well known in transfer pricing, relative performance evaluation, beyond budgeting, target costing, piece rates systems and value based management – relate to challenging motivation and information problem. The analysis and discussion of those...... problems, in particular those related to accounting for the internal performance (that are going to be compared with the external target), calculating the ‘inside’ costs and defining controllability, contributes to the management accounting as well as the piece-rate literature.......In this paper we explore the processes of ‘bringing the market inside the firm’ to set performance targets and benchmark production workers productivity. We analyze attempts to use external suppliers’ bids in target setting in a Danish manufacturing company. The case study illustrates how...

Self-Similar Solutions of Variable-Coefficient Cubic-Quintic Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation with an External Potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Hongyu; Fei Jinxi; Zheng Chunlong

2010-01-01

An improved homogeneous balance principle and an F-expansion technique are used to construct exact self-similar solutions to the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schroedinger equation. Such solutions exist under certain conditions, and impose constraints on the functions describing dispersion, nonlinearity, and the external potential. Some simple self-similar waves are presented. (general)

Increased particle confinement with the use of external dc bias field in the CTX spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, C.W.; Hoida, H.W.; Henins, I.; Fernandez, J.C.; Jarboe, T.R.; Marklin, G.J.

1985-01-01

Spheromaks are formed in a mesh flux conserver in the presence of an external dc bias field. The spheromaks remain stable to tilt instabilities with ratios of bias-to-spheromak flux of up to 47 +- 7%. Normally applied bias flux puts the spheromak separatrix inside the metal mesh and improves the particle confinement

An Indicator for ecosystem externalities in fishing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn-Jonsen, Lars; Andersen, Ken Haste; Vestergaard, Niels

Ecosystem externalities arise when one use of an ecosystem affects its other uses through the production functions of the ecosystem.We use simulations from a size-spectrum ecosystem model to investigate the ecosystem externality created by fishing of multiple species. The model is based upon...

Calculation of freight externality costs for South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefaan Swarts

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to quantify the marginal external costs associated with freight transport in South Africa. Six cost elements are included as externality cost items, namely, costs related to accidents, emissions, roadway land availability, policing, noise and congestion. Inputs in the calculations were a gravity-oriented freight flow model, a road transport cost model, actual transport costs for other modes, a warehousing cost survey, an inventory delay calculation and various national sources of information such as accident statistics and government budgets. Estimation techniques resulted in advances for externality cost measurement in South Africa. The quantification of the cost elements will be used to update the South African Freight Demand Model. The results show that the cost of transportation would have been 20% more if external factors were taken into account. The marginal rates of externalities can be used to develop scenarios based on alternative choices for South Africa's freight transport infrastructure configuration.

Forms of Spanking and Children’s Externalizing Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Lansford, Jennifer E.; Wager, Laura B.; Bates, John E.; Pettit, Gregory S.; Dodge, Kenneth A.

2011-01-01

Research suggests that corporal punishment is related to higher levels of child externalizing behavior, but there has been controversy regarding whether infrequent, mild spanking predicts child externalizing or whether more severe and frequent forms of corporal punishment account for the link. Mothers rated the frequency with which they spanked and whether they spanked with a hand or object when their child was 6, 7, and 8 years old. Mothers and teachers rated children’s externalizing behaviors at each age. Analyses of covariance revealed higher levels of mother-reported externalizing behavior for children who experienced harsh spanking. Structural equation models for children who experienced no spanking or mild spanking only revealed that spanking was related to concurrent and prior, but not subsequent, externalizing. Mild spanking in one year was a risk factor for harsh spanking in the next year. Findings are discussed in the context of efforts to promote children’s rights to protection. PMID:22544988

Biologically inspired information theory: Adaptation through construction of external reality models by living systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakajima, Toshiyuki

2015-12-01

Higher animals act in the world using their external reality models to cope with the uncertain environment. Organisms that have not developed such information-processing organs may also have external reality models built in the form of their biochemical, physiological, and behavioral structures, acquired by natural selection through successful models constructed internally. Organisms subject to illusions would fail to survive in the material universe. How can organisms, or living systems in general, determine the external reality from within? This paper starts with a phenomenological model, in which the self constitutes a reality model developed through the mental processing of phenomena. Then, the it-from-bit concept is formalized using a simple mathematical model. For this formalization, my previous work on an algorithmic process is employed to constitute symbols referring to the external reality, called the inverse causality, with additional improvements to the previous work. Finally, as an extension of this model, the cognizers system model is employed to describe the self as one of many material entities in a world, each of which acts as a subject by responding to the surrounding entities. This model is used to propose a conceptual framework of information theory that can deal with both the qualitative (semantic) and quantitative aspects of the information involved in biological processes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 870.5550 - External transcutaneous cardiac pacemaker (noninvasive).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false External transcutaneous cardiac pacemaker... § 870.5550 External transcutaneous cardiac pacemaker (noninvasive). (a) Identification. An external transcutaneous cardiac pacemaker (noninvasive) is a device used to supply a periodic electrical pulse intended to...

21 CFR 870.1750 - External programmable pacemaker pulse generator.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false External programmable pacemaker pulse generator. 870.1750 Section 870.1750 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... External programmable pacemaker pulse generator. (a) Identification. An external programmable pacemaker...

Assessment of patient radiation protection in external radiotherapy departments after inspections performed by the ASN 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franchi, Vincent; Marchal, Carole

2009-10-01

This report proposes an assessment of patient radiation protection in external radiotherapy. It is based on inter-regional syntheses of inspections performed by the ASN in external radiotherapy departments during 2008. It addresses 6 main themes related to patient radiation protection: human and material resources, organisation of medical physics, training in patient radiation protection, mastering of equipment (maintenance, internal quality controls of medical devices), safety and care quality management (formalization of the patient care process and definition of responsibilities, patient identity control, treatment preparation, and treatment execution), and risk management (a priori risk analysis, declaration, recording and internal processing of dysfunctions, improvements of care quality and safety management system)

External quality assessment on detection of hepatitis C virus RNA in clinical laboratories of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lu-nan; Zhang, Rui; Shen, Zi-yu; Chen, Wen-xiang; Li, Jin-ming

2008-06-05

As with many studies carried out in European countries, a quality assurance program has been established by the National Center for Clinical Laboratories in China (NCCL). The results showed that the external quality assessment significantly improves laboratory performance for quantitative evaluation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA. Serum panels were delivered twice annually to the clinical laboratories which performed HCV RNA detection in China. Each panel made up of 5 coded samples. All laboratories were requested to carry out the detection within the required time period and report on testing results which contained qualitative and/or quantitative test findings, reagents used and relevant information about apparatus. All the positive samples were calibrated against the first International Standard for HCV RNA in a collaborative study and the range of comparison target value (TG) designated as +/- 0.5 log. The numbers of laboratories reporting on qualitative testing results for the first and second time external quality assessment were 168 and 167 in the year of 2003 and increased to 209 and 233 in 2007; the numbers of laboratories reporting on quantitative testing results were 134 and 147 in 2003 and rose to 340 and 339 in 2007. Deviation between the mean value for quantitative results at home in 2003 and the target value was above 0.5 log, which was comparatively high. By 2007, the target value was close to the national average except for the low concentrated specimens (10(3) IU/ml). The percentage of results within the range of GM +/- 0.5 log(10) varied from 8.2% to 93.5%. Some laboratories had some difficulties in the exact quantification of the lowest (3.00 log IU/ml) as well as of the highest viral levels (6.37 log IU/ml) values, very near to the limits of the dynamic range of the assays. The comparison of these results with the previous study confirms that a regular participation in external quality assessment (EQA) assures the achievement of a high

Development and validation of the ExPRESS instrument for primary health care providers' evaluation of external supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

Schriver, Michael; Cubaka, Vincent Kalumire; Vedsted, Peter; Besigye, Innocent; Kallestrup, Per

2018-01-01

External supervision of primary health care facilities to monitor and improve services is common in low-income countries. Currently there are no tools to measure the quality of support in external supervision in these countries. To develop a provider-reported instrument to assess the support delivered through external supervision in Rwanda and other countries. "External supervision: Provider Evaluation of Supervisor Support" (ExPRESS) was developed in 18 steps, primarily in Rwanda. Content validity was optimised using systematic search for related instruments, interviews, translations, and relevance assessments by international supervision experts as well as local experts in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Construct validity and reliability were examined in two separate field tests, the first using exploratory factor analysis and a test-retest design, the second for confirmatory factor analysis. We included 16 items in section A ('The most recent experience with an external supervisor'), and 13 items in section B ('The overall experience with external supervisors'). Item-content validity index was acceptable. In field test I, test-retest had acceptable kappa values and exploratory factor analysis suggested relevant factors in sections A and B used for model hypotheses. In field test II, models were tested by confirmatory factor analysis fitting a 4-factor model for section A, and a 3-factor model for section B. ExPRESS is a promising tool for evaluation of the quality of support of primary health care providers in external supervision of primary health care facilities in resource-constrained settings. ExPRESS may be used as specific feedback to external supervisors to help identify and address gaps in the supervision they provide. Further studies should determine optimal interpretation of scores and the number of respondents needed per supervisor to obtain precise results, as well as test the functionality of section B.

Effects of the number of inducer blades on the anti-cavitation characteristics and external performance of a centrifugal pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, XiaoMei; Shi, GaoPing; Zhu, ZuChao; Cui, BaoLing

2016-01-01

Installing an inducer upstream of the main impeller is an effective approach for improving the anti-cavitation performance of a high speed centrifugal pump. For a high-speed centrifugal pump with an inducer, the number of inducer blades can affect its internal flow and external performance. We studied the manner in which the number of inducer blades can affect the anti-cavitation characteristics and external performance of a centrifugal pump. We first use the Rayleigh-Plesset equation and the mixture model to simulate the vapor liquid flow in a centrifugal pump with an inducer, and then predict its external performance. Finally, we tested the external performance of a centrifugal pump with 2-, 3- and 4-bladed inducers, respectively. The results show that the simulations of external performance in a centrifugal pump are in accordance with our experiments. Based on this, we obtained vapor volume fraction distributions for the inducer, the impeller, and in the corresponding whole flow parts. We discovered that the vapor volume fraction of a centrifugal pump with a 3- bladed inducer is less than that of a centrifugal pump with 2- or 4-bladed inducers, which means that a centrifugal pump with a 3-bladed inducer has a better external and anti-cavitation performance.

Effect of external magnetic effect of external magnetic field annealing on magnetic texture of Mo containing NANOPERM-type alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanuch, T.; Miglierini, M.; Greneche, J.-M.; Skorvanek, I.; Schaaf, P.

2006-01-01

External magnetic fields are known to modify microstructure of materials during their solidification and/or crystallisation. In an external magnetic field strong particle to particle interactions lead to a highly anisotropic microstructure. If the alloy is in ferromagnetic state, stronger particle magnetization - external field interactions and also particle-to-particle couplings are expected. To reveal the magnetic texture, originally amorphous precursors of Fe 76 Mo 8 Cu 1 B 15 were annealed at 510 grad C and 550 grad C in an external longitudinal and transverse magnetic field of 0.025 T and 0.8 T, respectively. Magnetic measurements were applied to follow the changes of saturation magnetization and coercive force. Moessbauer experiments were performed at room and liquid nitrogen temperature to provide an information about orientation of with respect to an external magnetic field. The obtained results were compared with those achieved on zero field annealed samples. We can conclude that such a low external magnetic fields applied during crystallisation cause no significant changes in the magnetic microstructural anisotropy. Afterwards, magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) was applied to investigate possible changes at the surface of the ribbon as a function of annealing temperature and applied magnetic field. We observed combination of uniaxial anisotropy, which originates from the shape anisotropy, and four-fold anisotropy, which is a contribution from crystallites of nanometre size embedded in the residual amorphous matrix. We expect more pronounced effects on cobalt substituted (Fe1 -x Co x ) 76 Mo 8 Cu 1 B 15 alloy. (authors)

Internal and external axial corner flows

Science.gov (United States)

Kutler, P.; Shankar, V.; Anderson, D. A.; Sorenson, R. L.

1975-01-01

The inviscid, internal, and external axial corner flows generated by two intersecting wedges traveling supersonically are obtained by use of a second-order shock-capturing, finite-difference approach. The governing equations are solved iteratively in conical coordinates to yield the complicated wave structure of the internal corner and the simple peripheral shock of the external corner. The numerical results for the internal flows compare favorably with existing experimental data.

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Economic valuation. Economical valuation: An impact pathway approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markandya, A.

1994-01-01

The EC/US study of the external costs of fuel cycles is designed to trace through all the environmental impacts arising from the use of a particular fuel, from the 'cradle' to the 'grave'; to quantify these impacts as far as possible (giving priority to those that are the considered the most important) and to value the damages arising from them in money terms as far as possible (again keeping to the priority listing established by the physical quantification). The fuel cycle has been identified as consisting of the following elements: activities -> emissions/burdens; emissions/burdens -> physical environmental impacts; physical impacts -> external environmental impacts; external impacts -> costs of these impacts. The activities consist of all the operations that are carried out in connection with the extraction transportation, use in electricity generation and finally disposal of the fuel. The emissions or burdens arising from the cycle result in physical impacts, which in turn imply certain environmental impacts. An illustration of a typical fuel cycle (coal) audits environmental impacts is given in Figures. The work of the fuels cycle study teams is to complete the valuation of the shaded areas but giving priority to those impacts that are likely to be quantitatively important. .Each fuel cycle is evaluated in a location-specific context, so that it refers to the impacts arising from the use of coal, or gas or whatever fuel is being considered at an actual plant that is operating. The purpose of this report on economic valuation is to: (a) examine the literature or economic valuation of environmental externalities in Europe; (b) assess its relevance to the fuel cycle study and (c) make recommendations on how the detailed analysis of the individual fuel cycles should use the economic valuation. It is important to recognize that the report is not a complete survey of all the research ever done on environmental valuation. Although as complete a survey of all the

Estimating Externalities of Hydro Fuel Cycles, Report 6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnthouse, L.W.; Cada, G.F.; Cheng, M.-D.; Easterly, C.E.; Kroodsma, R.L.; Lee, R.; Shriner, D.S.; Tolbert, V.R.; Turner, R.S.

1994-12-01

There are three major objectives of this hydropower study: (1) to implement the methodological concepts that were developed in the background document (ORNL/RFF 1992) as a means of estimating the external costs and benefits of fuel cycles and, by so doing, to demonstrate their application to the hydroelectric fuel cycle (different fuel cycles have unique characteristics that need to be addressed in different ways); (2) to develop, given the time and resources, the best range of estimates of externalities associated with hydroelectric projects, using two benchmark projects at two reference sites in the US; and (3) to assess the state of the information that is available to support the estimation of externalities associated with the hydroelectric fuel cycle and, by so doing, to assist in identifying gaps in knowledge and in setting future research agendas. The main consideration in defining these objectives was a desire to have more information about externalities and a better method for estimating them. As set forth in the agreement between the US and the EC, the study is explicitly and intentionally not directed at any one audience. This study is about a methodology for estimating externalities. It is not about how to use estimates of externalities in a particular policy context.

Siblings versus parents and friends: longitudinal linkages to adolescent externalizing problems

Science.gov (United States)

Defoe, Ivy N; Keijsers, Loes; Hawk, Skyler T; Branje, Susan; Dubas, Judith Semon; Buist, Kirsten; Frijns, Tom; van Aken, Marcel AG; Koot, Hans M; van Lier, Pol AC; Meeus, Wim

2013-01-01

Background: It is well documented that friends’ externalizing problems and negative parent–child interactions predict externalizing problems in adolescence, but relatively little is known about the role of siblings. This four-wave, multi-informant study investigated linkages of siblings’ externalizing problems and sibling–adolescent negative interactions on adolescents’ externalizing problems, while examining and controlling for similar linkages with friends and parents. Methods: Questionnaire data on externalizing problems and negative interactions were annually collected from 497 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.03 years, SD = 0.52, at baseline), as well as their siblings, mothers, fathers, and friends. Results: Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed modest unique longitudinal paths from sibling externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, for male and female adolescents, and for same-sex and mixed-sex sibling dyads, but only from older to younger siblings. Moreover, these paths were above and beyond significant paths from mother–adolescent negative interaction and friend externalizing problems to adolescent externalizing problems, 1 year later. No cross-lagged paths existed between sibling–adolescent negative interaction and adolescent externalizing problems. Conclusions: Taken together, it appears that especially older sibling externalizing problems may be a unique social risk factor for adolescent externalizing problems, equal in strength to significant parents’ and friends’ risk factors. PMID:23398022

External stent for repair of secondary tracheomalacia.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, M R; Loeber, N; Hillyer, P; Stephenson, L W; Edmunds, L H

1980-09-01

Tracheomalacia was created in anesthetized piglets by submucosal resection of 3 to 5 tracheal cartilages. Measurements of airway pressure and flow showed that expiratory airway resistance is maximal at low lung volumes and is significantly increased by creation of the malacic segment. Cervical flexion increases expiratory airway resistance, whereas hyperextension of the neck reduces resistance toward normal. External stenting of the malacic segment reduces expiratory airway resistance, and the combination of external stenting and hyperextension restores airway resistance to normal except at low lung volume. Two patients with secondary tracheomalacia required tracheostomy and could not be decannulated after the indication for the tracheostomy was corrected. Both were successfully decannulated after external stenting of the malacic segment with rib grafts. Postoperative measurements of expiratory pulmonary resistance show a marked decrease from preoperative measurements. External stenting of symptomatic tracheomalacia reduces expiratory airway resistance by supporting and stretching the malacic segment and is preferable to prolonged internal stenting or tracheal resection.

Skin markings in external radiotherapy by temporary tattooing with henna: Improvement of accuracy and increased patient comfort

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wurstbauer, Karl; Sedlmayer, Felix; Kogelnik, H. Dieter

2001-01-01

Purpose: To guarantee invariable skin markings in patients undergoing a course of external radiotherapy, especially using conformal techniques. Cutaneous markings with henna also increase patient comfort, because washing and showering are allowed. Methods and Materials: Henna, a completely natural product, is a skin colorant with a history of 5,000 years. It is applied to the skin in the form of a paste. While drying, henna stains the superficial skin layers for several weeks, and the marked area can be exposed to water arbitrarily. In case of fading of the stain before the end of radiotherapy, the marking procedure can be repeated. From November 1998 until March 2000, we performed skin markings with henna in 158 patients with different tumor sites. The majority of patients received conformal radiotherapy techniques. All patients have been evaluated concerning durability of the markings, the required number of marking procedures per treatment course, and possible related side effects. Results: The median durability of henna staining is 23 days (range 12-48 days). On average, two marking procedures (range 1-4) are necessary for a patient treated with curative intent. Although washing and showering are freely permitted, no adverse cutaneous side effects (e.g., erythema, allergic reactions) have been observed. Conclusions: Skin marking by temporary tattooing with henna increases the accuracy of external radiotherapy. It yields stable and invariable markings for the entire course of radiotherapy and also increases the comfort of patients

Optimal external laryngeal manipulation versus McCoy blade in active position in patients with poor view of glottis on direct laryngoscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arumugam Vasudevan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Successful endotracheal intubation requires a clear view of glottis. Optimal external laryngeal manipulation may improve the view of glottis on direct laryngoscopy with Macintosh blade, but it requires another trained hand. Alternatively, McCoy laryngoscope with elevated tip may be useful. This study has been designed to compare the two techniques in patients with poor view of glottis. Two hundred patients with ′Grade 2 or more′ view of glottis on direct laryngoscopy with Macintosh blade are included in the study. Optimal external laryngeal manipulation was applied, followed by laryngoscopy with McCoy blade in activated position; and the view was noted in both situations. The two interventions were compared using Chi-square test. The overall changes, in the views, were analyzed with Wilcoxon signed rank test. Both the techniques improved the view of glottis significantly (P< 0.05. Optimal external laryngeal manipulation was significantly better than McCoy laryngoscope in active position, especially in patients with Grade 3 or 4 baseline view, poor oropharyngeal class, decreased head extension and decreased submandibular space (odds ratio = 2.36, 3.17, 3.22 and 26.48 respectively. To conclude, optimal external laryngeal manipulation is a better technique than McCoy laryngoscope in patients with poor view of glottis on direct laryngoscopy with Macintosh blade.

47 CFR 2.815 - External radio frequency power amplifiers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false External radio frequency power amplifiers. 2... AND RADIO TREATY MATTERS; GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS Marketing of Radio-frequency Devices § 2.815 External radio frequency power amplifiers. (a) As used in this part, an external radio frequency power...

Education within public management in South Africa: A focus on external Whole-School Evaluation process’ contribution in Mpumalanga province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Siphamandla Ryan Mathaba

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The study focused on the role played by public sector management in South Africa towards the country’s total development and improvement. This article also analyses how through the Whole School Evaluation (WSE process, the education system in South Africa seeks to ensure that the schooling is effective. This paper examines public management, public administration as well as new public management (NPM. The aim is to illustrate a view of how education fits in the broader public management and how the WSE process assists schooling in South Africa and Mpumalanga in particular. This is to ensure that the schooling is effective and contribute towards service delivery and the country’s overall development and improvement. Furthermore, WSE as a process, is viewed through five of NPM undisputable and debatable characteristics of accountability for performance; performance measurement; performance auditing; policy analysis and evaluation; and strategic planning and management. Public management functions and public management principles are discussed from a point of how the WSE process strives to ensure that it complies with these function and principles, and how this compliance benefit school improvement. This paper came to a number of conclusions regarding education within public management from a WSE perspective. Firstly, education through the external WSE process conforms to this principle of New Public Management in that evaluation is aimed at improving the quality of education. Also, the external WSE, as a process, and education in general, through the NPM principles can be performed within public management. Furthermore, external WSE conforms to public management principles as well as Batho Pele principles.

Radiotherapy in poor risk patients with stage I cancer of the endometrium: results of not giving external beam radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

DeCruze, B; Guthrie, D

1999-01-01

Poor prognosis (poorly differentiated and/or deep myometrial invasion) Stage I endometrial cancer can have a relapse rate as high as 50%. Traditionally, most clinical oncologists treat these patients with external beam radiotherapy after surgery but there is no evidence to show that this improves survival. The retrospective study looks at the results of not giving external beam radiotherapy in 25 consecutive patients and compares the results with a group of 13 consecutive patients who did have such treatment. The two groups were comparable with regard to age, degree of differentiation and degree of invasion. Survival was comparable in the two groups. There is no evidence of any obvious decrease in survival from withholding external beam radiotherapy, but this was not a prospective randomized controlled trial. This study illustrates that it is essential that the Medical Research Council ASTEC trial should be supported because this will determine the true place of external beam radiotherapy in such patients.

Forms of Spanking and Children's Externalizing Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Lansford, Jennifer E.; Wager, Laura B.; Bates, John E.; Pettit, Gregory S.; Dodge, Kenneth A.

2012-01-01

Research suggests that corporal punishment is related to higher levels of child externalizing behavior, but there has been controversy regarding whether infrequent, mild spanking predicts child externalizing or whether more severe and frequent forms of corporal punishment account for the link. Mothers rated the frequency with which they spanked…

External radiation exposure of the public

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehl, J.

1977-01-01

Results of several ten thousand measurements on external radiation (outside buildings, in living rooms) are used for illustrating by isodose charts covering the total area of the Federal Republic of Germany the exposure of the public from external radiation originating from natural radiation of the environment. Results of calculations on external radiation exposure of the public due to releases of radioactivity in air from nuclear installations are used for illustrating by coloured isodose charts the exposure of the public in the plant site vicinity. From comparison of the exposure levels it becomes obvious that if exposure levels of several 10 mrem per year are considered to be of real concern to public health, control of natural radoactivity in the environment of man would require more attention than present and foreseeable releases of radioactivity in air from nuclear inst

Management of Late Onset Perthes: Evaluation of Distraction by External Fixator—5-Year Follow-Up

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajai Singh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Hip distraction in Perthes’ disease unloads the joint, which negates the harmful effect of the stresses on the articular surfaces, which may promote the sound healing of the area of necrosis. We have examined the effect of arthrodiastasis on the preservation of the femoral head in older children with Perthes’ disease. Methods and Materials. Twelve children with age more than 8 years with Perthes’ disease of less than one year were treated with hip distraction by a hinged monolateral external fixator. Observation and Results. Mean duration of distraction was 13.9 days. These children were evaluated by clinicoradiological parameters for a mean period of 32.4 months. There was a significant improvement in the range of movements and mean epiphyseal index, but the change in the percentage of uncovered head femur was insignificant. There was significant improvement in Harris Hip score. Conclusions. Hip distraction by hinged monolateral external fixator seems to be a valid treatment option in cases with Perthes’ disease in the selected group of patients, where poor results are expected from conventional treatment.

[Worldwide experience with automated external defibrillators: What have we achieved? What else can we expect?].

Science.gov (United States)

Trappe, Hans-Joachim

2016-03-01

In Germany approximately 70,000-100,000 SCD patients die from sudden cardiac death (SCD). SCD is not caused by a single factor but is a multifactorial problem. In 50 % of SCD victims, sudden cardiac death is the first manifestation of heart disease. SCD is caused by ventricular tachyarrhythmias in approximately 90 % of patients, whereas SCD is caused by bradyarrhythmias in 5-10 % of the patients. Risk stratification is not possible in the majority of them prior to the fatal event. Early defibrillation is the method of choice to terminate ventricular fibrillation. Therefore, it is mandatory to install automatic external defibrillators (AED) in places with many people. There is general agreement that early defibrillation with automated external defibrillators (AED) is an effective tool to treat patients with ventricular fibrillation and will improve survival. It seems necessary to teach cardiocompression and AED use, also to children and adolescents. AED therapy "at home" did not improve survival in patients with cardiac arrest and can not be recommended.

Estimating Externalities of Coal Fuel Cycles, Report 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnthouse, L.W.; Cada, G.F.; Cheng, M.-D.; Easterly, C.E.; Kroodsma, R.L.; Lee, R.; Shriner, D.S.; Tolbert, V.R.; Turner, R.S.

1994-09-01

The agreement between the US DOE and the EC established the specific objectives of the study: (a) to develop a methodological framework that uses existing data and models to quantify the external costs and benefits of energy; (b) to demonstrate the application of the framework to estimate the externalities of the coal, biomass, oil, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, photovoltaic, and wind fuel cycles (by agreement with the EC, the US addressed the first six of these); and (c) to identify major gaps in the availability of information to quantify impacts, damages, benefits, and externalities of fuel cycles; and to suggest priorities for future research. The main consideration in defining these objectives was a desire to have more information about externalities, and a better method for estimating them.