WorldWideScience

Sample records for held influential positions

  1. The availability of relatively cheap hand-held Global Positioning ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    spamer

    conditions, so the approach failed to produce results ... Hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers provide opportunities for detailed and rapid mapping of features ..... TICKELL, W. L. N. 1968 — The biology of the great albatrosses,.

  2. Position statement on use of hand-held portable dental X-ray equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-06-01

    The position statement focuses on justification in the medical field, in particular on the use of hand-held portable dental x-ray equipment. It supplements another HERCA position paper, providing a general overview of the use of all hand-held portable X-ray equipment. Key Messages: - HERCA finds that the use of hand-held portable X-ray devices should be discouraged except in special circumstances. - As a general rule, these devices should only be used in scenarios where an intraoral radiograph is deemed necessary for a patient and the use of a fixed or semi-mobile x-ray unit is impractical, e.g.: - nursing homes, residential care facilities or homes for persons with disabilities; - forensic odontology, - military operations abroad without dental facilities

  3. Identification of influential users by neighbors in online social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheikhahmadi, Amir; Nematbakhsh, Mohammad Ali; Zareie, Ahmad

    2017-11-01

    Identification and ranking of influential users in social networks for the sake of news spreading and advertising has recently become an attractive field of research. Given the large number of users in social networks and also the various relations that exist among them, providing an effective method to identify influential users has been gradually considered as an essential factor. In most of the already-provided methods, those users who are located in an appropriate structural position of the network are regarded as influential users. These methods do not usually pay attention to the interactions among users, and also consider those relations as being binary in nature. This paper, therefore, proposes a new method to identify influential users in a social network by considering those interactions that exist among the users. Since users tend to act within the frame of communities, the network is initially divided into different communities. Then the amount of interaction among users is used as a parameter to set the weight of relations existing within the network. Afterward, by determining the neighbors' role for each user, a two-level method is proposed for both detecting users' influence and also ranking them. Simulation and experimental results on twitter data shows that those users who are selected by the proposed method, comparing to other existing ones, are distributed in a more appropriate distance. Moreover, the proposed method outperforms the other ones in terms of both the influential speed and capacity of the users it selects.

  4. Identifying influential spreaders in interconnected networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Dawei; Li, Lixiang; Huo, Yujia; Yang, Yixian; Li, Shudong

    2014-01-01

    Identifying the most influential spreaders in spreading dynamics is of the utmost importance for various purposes for understanding or controlling these processes. The existing relevant works are limited to a single network. Most real networks are actually not isolated, but typically coupled and affected by others. The properties of epidemic spreading have recently been found to have some significant differences in interconnected networks from those in a single network. In this paper, we focus on identifying the influential spreaders in interconnected networks. We find that the well-known k-shell index loses effectiveness; some insignificant spreaders in a single network become the influential spreaders in the whole interconnected networks while some influential spreaders become no longer important. The simulation results show that the spreading capabilities of the nodes not only depend on their influence for the network topology, but also are dramatically influenced by the spreading rate. Based on this perception, a novel index is proposed for measuring the influential spreaders in interconnected networks. We then support the efficiency of this index with numerical simulations. (paper)

  5. An evidential opinion dynamics model based on heterogeneous social influential power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Xi; Mo, Hongming; Deng, Yong

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: •We use Dempster–Shafer evidence theory to handle the uncertainty of the communication. •An ice-breaking uncertainty elimination process in opinion evolution is demonstrated. •The influential power of individuals and the feedback mechanism are considered. •The power-law characteristic of the final influential power distribution is depicted. -- Abstract: This paper introduces an evidential opinion dynamics model combing Dempster–Shafer evidence theory to explore the opinion evolution. Our model is an improvement of the Continuous Opinions and Discrete Actions (CODA) model. The process of people updating their opinions is regarded as a decision making process. The unavoidable uncertainty of the opinion evolution is handled by Dempster–Shafer evidence theory. Thereby, a new opinion group, i.e.the neutrals, is introduced into the system. Simulations show the neutral group plays a significant part in the opinion evolution. An opinion ice-breaking process at the early stage of the opinion evolution is observed. It is found that the consensus is not always reached then clusters emerge instead, which depends on the proportions of supporters, neutrals and opponents. The individual’s influential power is taken into account. With the positive feedback mechanism of people’s influential power, the obtained results are in accordance with people’s daily cognition such as the Authority Effect and the Matthew Effect. The final influential power distribution of all individuals in our model presents power-law characteristic

  6. Enhancing China’s energy security: Determining influential factors and effective strategic measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, Jingzheng; Sovacool, Benjamin K.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The most influential factors affecting China’s energy security are identified. • Fuzzy AHP is used to quantify the importance of influential factors. • Strategic measures for enhancing China’s energy security are prioritized. • Fuzzy AHP is used to determine the priorities of the strategic measures. - Abstract: This study investigates the most influential factors affecting China’s energy security. It also identifies the most effective strategic measures for enhancing it. Fuzzy AHP has been used to determine weights for ranking the importance of Chinese energy security factors, and it has also been used to determine the priorities of the strategic measures with respect to enhancing those same factors. The study argues that a low proportion of renewable energy penetration is the most severe factor threatening China’s energy security, and that conducting research and development on energy technologies and improving energy efficiency is the most salient, positive, and necessary strategic measure

  7. Women in leadership positions within obstetrics and gynecology: does the past explain the present?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baecher-Lind, Laura

    2012-12-01

    To determine whether the proportion of leadership positions in obstetrics and gynecology held by women is consistent with expectations based on the proportion of women entering residency at the time of current leaders. Leadership positions were considered as department chairs affiliated with the Council of University Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology, editors of the 20 obstetrics and gynecology journals with the highest impact factors [corrected],and presidents of influential professional societies. Publically available data were accessed to determine sex and the year of medical school graduation for each individual holding each leadership position, as well as to determine the number of men and women entering residency in obstetrics and gynecology per year. Actual and expected proportions of leadership positions held by women were compared using χ² tests. Women should hold 71 of the total 194 leadership positions based on the proportion of women entering residency during the mean graduation year among leaders. Women actually hold 41 of these leadership positions (21.1%; Pwomen should hold 28 of these 74 leadership positions. Women actually hold 20 of the leadership positions from this subset (27.0%; P=.05). Women are underrepresented in leadership positions in obstetrics and gynecology, and this cannot be explained by historical sex imbalances among physicians entering our specialty.

  8. Influential sources affecting Bangkok adolescent body image perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thianthai, Chulanee

    2006-01-01

    The study of body image-related problems in non-Western countries is still very limited. Thus, this study aims to identify the main influential sources and show how they affect the body image perceptions of Bangkok adolescents. The researcher recruited 400 Thai male and female adolescents in Bangkok, attending high school to freshmen level, ranging from 16-19 years, to participate in this study. Survey questionnaires were distributed to every student and follow-up interviews conducted with 40 students. The findings showed that there are eight main influential sources respectively ranked from the most influential to the least influential: magazines, television, peer group, familial, fashion trend, the opposite gender, self-realization and health knowledge. Similar to those studies conducted in Western countries, more than half of the total percentage was the influence of mass media and peer groups. Bangkok adolescents also internalized Western ideal beauty through these mass media channels. Alike studies conducted in the West, there was similarities in the process of how these influential sources affect Bangkok adolescent body image perception, with the exception of familial source. In conclusion, taking the approach of identifying the main influential sources and understanding how they affect adolescent body image perceptions can help prevent adolescents from having unhealthy views and taking risky measures toward their bodies. More studies conducted in non-Western countries are needed in order to build a cultural sensitive program, catered to the body image problems occurring in adolescents within that particular society.

  9. [Appraisal of occupational stress and its influential factors in nurses].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xin-wei; Wang, Zhi-ming; Wang, Mian-zhen; Lan, Ya-jia

    2004-04-01

    To assess the occupational stress and its influential factors in nurses. A test of occupational stress, its influential factors, work ability were carried out for 248 nurses and 319 controls with revised occupational stress inventory (OSI-R) and work ability index (WAI). The scores of personal cope resource (131.266 +/- 17.176) and work ability index (32.581 +/- 3.158) in nurse group were significantly higher than those in control group (126.931 +/- 19.108, 31.840 +/- 4.069) (P < 0.05). The main occupational stressors scores (role insufficiency, role clash, and responsibility) in nurses were higher than those in controls (P < 0.05). The stress response of interpersonal relationship in nurses was also higher. The items of personal cope resource, such as recreation, self-care and social support of nurses were superior to those of controls (P < 0.05). Stress response was positively correlated with occupational role (r = 0.512, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with the personal cope resource (r = -0.475, P < 0.01). The primary influential factors of personal stress were recreation, social support, rational conduct, role insufficiency, role clash, responsibility, and poor work environment. To strengthen social support, to improve work condition for nurses, so as to reduce the occupational stress and to enhance the work ability of nurses are important task in occupational health field.

  10. Leveraging percolation theory to single out influential spreaders in networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radicchi, Filippo; Castellano, Claudio

    2016-06-01

    Among the consequences of the disordered interaction topology underlying many social, technological, and biological systems, a particularly important one is that some nodes, just because of their position in the network, may have a disproportionate effect on dynamical processes mediated by the complex interaction pattern. For example, the early adoption of a commercial product by an opinion leader in a social network may change its fate or just a few superspreaders may determine the virality of a meme in social media. Despite many recent efforts, the formulation of an accurate method to optimally identify influential nodes in complex network topologies remains an unsolved challenge. Here, we present the exact solution of the problem for the specific, but highly relevant, case of the susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) model for epidemic spreading at criticality. By exploiting the mapping between bond percolation and the static properties of the SIR model, we prove that the recently introduced nonbacktracking centrality is the optimal criterion for the identification of influential spreaders in locally tree-like networks at criticality. By means of simulations on synthetic networks and on a very extensive set of real-world networks, we show that the nonbacktracking centrality is a highly reliable metric to identify top influential spreaders also in generic graphs not embedded in space and for noncritical spreading.

  11. Evolution of cooperation in a heterogeneous population with influential individuals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, Qian; Wang, Dong; Fan, Ying; Di, Zengru

    2012-02-01

    Influential individuals are introduced and integrated with the public goods game (PGG) to investigate their influence on the emergence and evolution of cooperation. In the model, some influential individuals whose behaviors can be controlled by us are introduced into a homogeneous population on a square lattice. The influential individuals can play three kinds of roles: I. exemplar, II. supervisor with the power to punish defectors, and III. supervisor with the power to reward cooperative co-players. It is found that the existence of influential individuals who play Role I turns out to be detrimental to cooperation and that the larger the number of influential individuals is, the more difficult it is for cooperation to be maintained. For those playing supervisory roles, both punishment and reward are found to be effective ways for the influential individuals to promote and stabilize cooperative behavior. By comparing the critical costs and the mean payoffs for a low multiplication factor under the role of punishment and the role of reward, it is found that reward is a more effective intervention measure than punishment for influential individuals seeking to improve cooperation and that reward leads to a higher mean payoff.

  12. Identifying multiple influential spreaders in term of the distance-based coloring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Lei; Lin, Jian-Hong; Guo, Qiang [Research Center of Complex Systems Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093 (China); Liu, Jian-Guo, E-mail: liujg004@ustc.edu.cn [Research Center of Complex Systems Science, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093 (China); Data Science and Cloud Service Research Centre, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433 (China)

    2016-02-22

    Identifying influential nodes is of significance for understanding the dynamics of information diffusion process in complex networks. In this paper, we present an improved distance-based coloring method to identify the multiple influential spreaders. In our method, each node is colored by a kind of color with the rule that the distance between initial nodes is close to the average distance of a network. When all nodes are colored, nodes with the same color are sorted into an independent set. Then we choose the nodes at the top positions of the ranking list according to their centralities. The experimental results for an artificial network and three empirical networks show that, comparing with the performance of traditional coloring method, the improvement ratio of our distance-based coloring method could reach 12.82%, 8.16%, 4.45%, 2.93% for the ER, Erdős, Polblogs and Routers networks respectively. - Highlights: • We present an improved distance-based coloring method to identify the multiple influential spreaders. • Each node is colored by a kind of color where the distance between initial nodes is close to the average distance. • For three empirical networks show that the improvement ratio of our distance-based coloring method could reach 8.16% for the Erdos network.

  13. Identifying multiple influential spreaders in term of the distance-based coloring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Lei; Lin, Jian-Hong; Guo, Qiang; Liu, Jian-Guo

    2016-01-01

    Identifying influential nodes is of significance for understanding the dynamics of information diffusion process in complex networks. In this paper, we present an improved distance-based coloring method to identify the multiple influential spreaders. In our method, each node is colored by a kind of color with the rule that the distance between initial nodes is close to the average distance of a network. When all nodes are colored, nodes with the same color are sorted into an independent set. Then we choose the nodes at the top positions of the ranking list according to their centralities. The experimental results for an artificial network and three empirical networks show that, comparing with the performance of traditional coloring method, the improvement ratio of our distance-based coloring method could reach 12.82%, 8.16%, 4.45%, 2.93% for the ER, Erdős, Polblogs and Routers networks respectively. - Highlights: • We present an improved distance-based coloring method to identify the multiple influential spreaders. • Each node is colored by a kind of color where the distance between initial nodes is close to the average distance. • For three empirical networks show that the improvement ratio of our distance-based coloring method could reach 8.16% for the Erdos network.

  14. Finding Influential Spreaders from Human Activity beyond Network Location.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Byungjoon; Liljeros, Fredrik; Makse, Hernán A

    2015-01-01

    Most centralities proposed for identifying influential spreaders on social networks to either spread a message or to stop an epidemic require the full topological information of the network on which spreading occurs. In practice, however, collecting all connections between agents in social networks can be hardly achieved. As a result, such metrics could be difficult to apply to real social networks. Consequently, a new approach for identifying influential people without the explicit network information is demanded in order to provide an efficient immunization or spreading strategy, in a practical sense. In this study, we seek a possible way for finding influential spreaders by using the social mechanisms of how social connections are formed in real networks. We find that a reliable immunization scheme can be achieved by asking people how they interact with each other. From these surveys we find that the probabilistic tendency to connect to a hub has the strongest predictive power for influential spreaders among tested social mechanisms. Our observation also suggests that people who connect different communities is more likely to be an influential spreader when a network has a strong modular structure. Our finding implies that not only the effect of network location but also the behavior of individuals is important to design optimal immunization or spreading schemes.

  15. Analysis on Influential Functions in the Weighted Software Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haitao He

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Identifying influential nodes is important for software in terms of understanding the design patterns and controlling the development and the maintenance process. However, there are no efficient methods to discover them so far. Based on the invoking dependency relationships between the nodes, this paper proposes a novel approach to define the node importance for mining the influential software nodes. First, according to the multiple execution information, we construct a weighted software network (WSN to denote the software execution dependency structure. Second, considering the invoking times and outdegree about software nodes, we improve the method PageRank and put forward the targeted algorithm FunctionRank to evaluate the node importance (NI in weighted software network. It has higher influence when the node has lager value of NI. Finally, comparing the NI of nodes, we can obtain the most influential nodes in the software network. In addition, the experimental results show that the proposed approach has good performance in identifying the influential nodes.

  16. Finding Influential Spreaders from Human Activity beyond Network Location.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byungjoon Min

    Full Text Available Most centralities proposed for identifying influential spreaders on social networks to either spread a message or to stop an epidemic require the full topological information of the network on which spreading occurs. In practice, however, collecting all connections between agents in social networks can be hardly achieved. As a result, such metrics could be difficult to apply to real social networks. Consequently, a new approach for identifying influential people without the explicit network information is demanded in order to provide an efficient immunization or spreading strategy, in a practical sense. In this study, we seek a possible way for finding influential spreaders by using the social mechanisms of how social connections are formed in real networks. We find that a reliable immunization scheme can be achieved by asking people how they interact with each other. From these surveys we find that the probabilistic tendency to connect to a hub has the strongest predictive power for influential spreaders among tested social mechanisms. Our observation also suggests that people who connect different communities is more likely to be an influential spreader when a network has a strong modular structure. Our finding implies that not only the effect of network location but also the behavior of individuals is important to design optimal immunization or spreading schemes.

  17. Ontology Design of Influential People Identification Using Centrality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maulana Awangga, Rolly; Yusril, Muhammad; Setyawan, Helmi

    2018-04-01

    Identifying influential people as a node in a graph theory commonly calculated by social network analysis. The social network data has the user as node and edge as relation forming a friend relation graph. This research is conducting different meaning of every nodes relation in the social network. Ontology was perfect match science to describe the social network data as conceptual and domain. Ontology gives essential relationship in a social network more than a current graph. Ontology proposed as a standard for knowledge representation for the semantic web by World Wide Web Consortium. The formal data representation use Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology Language (OWL) which is strategic for Open Knowledge-Based website data. Ontology used in the semantic description for a relationship in the social network, it is open to developing semantic based relationship ontology by adding and modifying various and different relationship to have influential people as a conclusion. This research proposes a model using OWL and RDF for influential people identification in the social network. The study use degree centrality, between ness centrality, and closeness centrality measurement for data validation. As a conclusion, influential people identification in Facebook can use proposed Ontology model in the Group, Photos, Photo Tag, Friends, Events and Works data.

  18. Identifying influential spreaders in complex networks based on kshell hybrid method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namtirtha, Amrita; Dutta, Animesh; Dutta, Biswanath

    2018-06-01

    Influential spreaders are the key players in maximizing or controlling the spreading in a complex network. Identifying the influential spreaders using kshell decomposition method has become very popular in the recent time. In the literature, the core nodes i.e. with the largest kshell index of a network are considered as the most influential spreaders. We have studied the kshell method and spreading dynamics of nodes using Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) epidemic model to understand the behavior of influential spreaders in terms of its topological location in the network. From the study, we have found that every node in the core area is not the most influential spreader. Even a strategically placed lower shell node can also be a most influential spreader. Moreover, the core area can also be situated at the periphery of the network. The existing indexing methods are only designed to identify the most influential spreaders from core nodes and not from lower shells. In this work, we propose a kshell hybrid method to identify highly influential spreaders not only from the core but also from lower shells. The proposed method comprises the parameters such as kshell power, node's degree, contact distance, and many levels of neighbors' influence potential. The proposed method is evaluated using nine real world network datasets. In terms of the spreading dynamics, the experimental results show the superiority of the proposed method over the other existing indexing methods such as the kshell method, the neighborhood coreness centrality, the mixed degree decomposition, etc. Furthermore, the proposed method can also be applied to large-scale networks by considering the three levels of neighbors' influence potential.

  19. Using Local Climate Science to Educate "Key Influentials" and their Communities in the San Diego Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boudrias, M. A.; Estrada, M.; Anders, S.; Silva-Send, N. J.; Yin, Z.; Schultz, P.; Young, E.

    2012-12-01

    The San Diego Regional Climate Education Partnership has formed an innovative and collaborative team whose mission is to implement a research-based climate science education and communications program to increase knowledge about climate science among highly-influential leaders and their communities and foster informed decision making based on climate science and impacts. The team includes climate scientists, behavioral psychologists, formal and informal educators and communication specialists. The Partnership's strategic plan has three major goals: (1) raise public understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change; (2) identify the most effective educational methods to educate non-traditional audiences (Key Influentials) about the causes and consequences of climate change; and (3) develop and implement a replicable model for regional climate change education. To implement this strategic plan, we have anchored our project on three major pillars: (1) Local climate science (causes, impacts and long-term consequences); (2) theoretical, research-based evaluation framework (TIMSI); and (3) Key! Influentials (KI) as primary audience for messages (working w! ith and through them). During CCEP-I, the Partnership formed and convened an advisory board of Key Influentials, completed interviews with a sample of Key Influentials, conducted a public opinion survey, developed a website (www.sandiego.edu/climate) , compiled inventories on literature of climate science education resources and climate change community groups and local activities, hosted stakeholder forums, and completed the first phase of on an experiment to test the effects of different messengers delivering the same local climate change message via video. Results of 38 KI Interviews provided evidence of local climate knowledge, strong concern about climate change, and deeply held values related to climate change education and regional leadership. The most intriguing result was that while 90% of Key

  20. A hand-held 3D laser scanning with global positioning system of subvoxel precision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arias, Nestor; Meneses, Nestor; Meneses, Jaime; Gharbi, Tijani

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we propose a hand-held 3D laser scanner composed of an optical head device to extract 3D local surface information and a stereo vision system with subvoxel precision to measure the position and orientation of the 3D optical head. The optical head is manually scanned over the surface object by the operator. The orientation and position of the 3D optical head is determined by a phase-sensitive method using a 2D regular intensity pattern. This phase reference pattern is rigidly fixed to the optical head and allows their 3D location with subvoxel precision in the observation field of the stereo vision system. The 3D resolution achieved by the stereo vision system is about 33 microns at 1.8 m with an observation field of 60cm x 60cm.

  1. Board composition and firm reputation: The role of business experts, support specialists and community influentials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma García-Meca

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of board resource diversity on firm reputation. We classify board members as business experts, support specialists, political directors and other community influentials, in an effort to address whether business, technical expertise or political ties in the boardroom affect stakeholders’ opinion and, therefore, firm reputation.This study confirms that not all outside directors are equally effective in improving firm reputation, and that certain kinds of outside directors, especially business experts, help increase it. However, the findings note an inverted U-shaped non-linear relationship with these directors, which means that the effect of business experts on reputation is positive up to a point, after which the relationship becomes negative. The findings also evidence that, contrary to popular beliefs, directors with previous experience as politicians are not negatively viewed by stakeholders. Moreover, this type of community influential directors has positive effects on firm reputation in regulated firms as well as in those of the public work sector. JEL classification: G30, Keywords: Reputation, Board, Expertise, Corporate governance, Directors

  2. An improved model for identifying influential bloggers on the web ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The benefits of achieving competitive advantages in a blog community by identify influential blogger have created several research gaps and the popularity of these services has make the problem of identifying the most influential bloggers noteworthy, since its solution can lead to major benefits for the users of this services ...

  3. Finding Influential Users in Social Media Using Association Rule Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrik Erlandsson

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Influential users play an important role in online social networks since users tend to have an impact on one other. Therefore, the proposed work analyzes users and their behavior in order to identify influential users and predict user participation. Normally, the success of a social media site is dependent on the activity level of the participating users. For both online social networking sites and individual users, it is of interest to find out if a topic will be interesting or not. In this article, we propose association learning to detect relationships between users. In order to verify the findings, several experiments were executed based on social network analysis, in which the most influential users identified from association rule learning were compared to the results from Degree Centrality and Page Rank Centrality. The results clearly indicate that it is possible to identify the most influential users using association rule learning. In addition, the results also indicate a lower execution time compared to state-of-the-art methods.

  4. Social network analysis in identifying influential webloggers: A preliminary study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasmuni, Noraini; Sulaiman, Nor Intan Saniah; Zaibidi, Nerda Zura

    2014-12-01

    In recent years, second generation of internet-based services such as weblog has become an effective communication tool to publish information on the Web. Weblogs have unique characteristics that deserve users' attention. Some of webloggers have seen weblogs as appropriate medium to initiate and expand business. These webloggers or also known as direct profit-oriented webloggers (DPOWs) communicate and share knowledge with each other through social interaction. However, survivability is the main issue among DPOW. Frequent communication with influential webloggers is one of the way to keep survive as DPOW. This paper aims to understand the network structure and identify influential webloggers within the network. Proper understanding of the network structure can assist us in knowing how the information is exchanged among members and enhance survivability among DPOW. 30 DPOW were involved in this study. Degree centrality and betweenness centrality measurement in Social Network Analysis (SNA) were used to examine the strength relation and identify influential webloggers within the network. Thus, webloggers with the highest value of these measurements are considered as the most influential webloggers in the network.

  5. Evaluation of influential factors on food risk perception

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirai, Kosuke; Kurisu, Kiyo; Hanaki, Keisuke

    2015-01-01

    Influential factors on food risk perception were investigated from the viewpoints of socio-demographics, lifestyles and personalities. The anxieties about 24 types of food based on six product areas and four food types were investigated through the questionnaire survey getting 16,650 respondents in Japan. Besides, 60 questions were prepared to investigate the personalities based on 14 sub-scales. The anxiety was influenced mainly by the product areas instead of food types; the highest anxiety was observed for the foods from China, followed by those from developing countries (except for China), developed countries, and Fukushima. For personality, nine factors were extracted. The results of multiple regression analysis incorporating socio-demographic, lifestyle, and personality variables were not influenced by the food types but influenced by the product areas. The most influential variable on the anxiety for all product areas was 'habits to check product areas.' It was also indicated that 'general trust' and 'being strict in discipline' were most influential personalities on the anxiety about foods from Fukushima and foods from China, respectively. (author)

  6. [Major influential factors of the micturition alert device dedicated to neurogenic bladders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianhuo; Hou, Chunlin; Zheng, Xianyou; Xu, Zhen; Wang, Wanhong; Lin, Haodong

    2008-08-01

    To study major influential factors of the micturition alert device dedicated to neurogenic bladders for the product design and clinical application of the device. One ferrite permanent magnet with thickness and diameter of 3 mm and 10 mm, respectively, and three NdFeB permanent magnets with the thickness of 3 mm and diameter of 10, 15 and 20 mm, respectively, were used. The effects of thickness of the abdominal wall as well as the position and type of permanent magnets on the micturition alert device dedicated to neurogenic bladders were measured in vitro simulated test, when the abdominal wall was set to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 cm, respectively, and the position of permanent magnets was 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 cm, respectively. The effect of the geomagnetic field on the device was measured under the condition that the thickness of the simulated abdominal wall was set to 2, 3, 4 and 5 cm, respectively, and the position of permanent magnets was 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 cm, respectively. The value showed in the warning unit was positively correlated with the position of the ferrite permanent magnet only when the thickness of the simulated abdominal wall was 2 cm (r=0.632, P NdFeB permanent magnets was significant (r > 0.622, P NdFeB permanent magnets, but weakened with the increasing thickness of the simulated abdominal wall. The effect of the geomagnetic field was correlated with the exposition of the body, the position of the permanent magnet and the thickness of the abdominal wall. The major influential factors of the micturition alert device dedicated to neurogenic bladder include the magnetism and location of the permanent magnet, the thickness of the abdominal wall and the geomagnetic field. These factors are correlated with and affect each other. Reasonable allocation of these factors may optimize the device.

  7. Content Analysis of the 20 Most Influential Articles in "PIQ"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Yonjoo; Park, Sunyoung

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine key research themes in human performance technology (HPT) through content analysis of the 20 most influential articles identified in Cho, Jo, Park, Kang, and Chen (2011). Three questions guiding this inquiry are: (1) What are the key themes of the 20 most influential articles in "PIQ", (2) What information…

  8. The most influential people in healthcare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robbins RA

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available No abstract available. Article truncated at 150 words. Recently Modern Healthcare released the 2016 listing of their annual most influential people in Healthcare (1. Leading the list is President Barack Obama for his Affordable Care Act. The list consists of a monotonous list of bureaucrats, politicians, large healthcare chain CEOs , insurance company CEOs, health interest organizations (American Hospital Association, America's Health Insurance Plans Healthcare, etc., professional organizations (American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, etc., nongovernmental healthcare interest organizations (Joint Commission, National Quality Forum, etc. and vendors (Epic, McKesson, etc.. From the Southwest the list includes at least 11 hospital chain CEOs including 1 from Arizona, 3 from Colorado and 7 from California. Striking is the lack of influential healthcare professionals who made the list. Only two are leading academicians-Atul Gawande, a surgeon and author at Harvard, and Robert Wachter, an internist and pioneer in the hosptialist movement at University of California San Francisco. John Noseworthy (Mayo Clinic ...

  9. [Distribution and main influential factors of mental workload of middle school teachers in Nanchang City].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Yuanmei; Li, Weijuan; Ren, Qingfeng; Ren, Xiaohui; Wang, Zhiming; Wang, Mianzhen; Lan, Yajia

    2015-01-01

    To investigate the distribution and main influential factors of mental workload of middle school teachers in Nanchang City. A total of 504 middle school teachers were sampled by random cluster sampling from middle schools in Nanchang City, and the mental workload level was assessed with National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) which was verified in reliability and validity. The mental workload scores of middle school teachers in Nanchang was approximately normal distribution. The mental workload level of middle school teachers aged 31 -35 years old was the highest. For those no more than 35 years old, there was positive correlation between mental workload and age (r = 0.146, P teachers with lower educational level seemed to have a higher mental workload (P teacher worked per day, the higher the mental workload was. Working hours per day was the most influential factor on mental workload in all influential factors (P teachers was closely related to age, educational level and work hours per day. Working hours per day was the important risk factor of mental workload. Reducing working hours per day, especially reducing it to be no more than 8 hours per day, may be a significant and useful approach alleviating mental workload of middle school teachers in Nanchang City.

  10. A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xing Tang

    Full Text Available Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank algorithm to identify the multi

  11. A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Xing; Miao, Qiguang; Yu, Shangshang; Quan, Yining

    2016-01-01

    Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID) based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank) algorithm to identify the multi-topic influential users

  12. Identifying influential neighbors in animal flocking.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Jiang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Schools of fish and flocks of birds can move together in synchrony and decide on new directions of movement in a seamless way. This is possible because group members constantly share directional information with their neighbors. Although detecting the directionality of other group members is known to be important to maintain cohesion, it is not clear how many neighbors each individual can simultaneously track and pay attention to, and what the spatial distribution of these influential neighbors is. Here, we address these questions on shoals of Hemigrammus rhodostomus, a species of fish exhibiting strong schooling behavior. We adopt a data-driven analysis technique based on the study of short-term directional correlations to identify which neighbors have the strongest influence over the participation of an individual in a collective U-turn event. We find that fish mainly react to one or two neighbors at a time. Moreover, we find no correlation between the distance rank of a neighbor and its likelihood to be influential. We interpret our results in terms of fish allocating sequential and selective attention to their neighbors.

  13. Identifying influential neighbors in animal flocking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Li; Giuggioli, Luca; Perna, Andrea; Escobedo, Ramón; Lecheval, Valentin; Sire, Clément; Han, Zhangang; Theraulaz, Guy

    2017-11-01

    Schools of fish and flocks of birds can move together in synchrony and decide on new directions of movement in a seamless way. This is possible because group members constantly share directional information with their neighbors. Although detecting the directionality of other group members is known to be important to maintain cohesion, it is not clear how many neighbors each individual can simultaneously track and pay attention to, and what the spatial distribution of these influential neighbors is. Here, we address these questions on shoals of Hemigrammus rhodostomus, a species of fish exhibiting strong schooling behavior. We adopt a data-driven analysis technique based on the study of short-term directional correlations to identify which neighbors have the strongest influence over the participation of an individual in a collective U-turn event. We find that fish mainly react to one or two neighbors at a time. Moreover, we find no correlation between the distance rank of a neighbor and its likelihood to be influential. We interpret our results in terms of fish allocating sequential and selective attention to their neighbors.

  14. [Influential factors on psychosocial health of the migrant workers in Guangzhou].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Qiu-hong; Liu, Yi-min; Zhou, Jing-dong; Cao, Nai-qiong; Fang, Yuan-yu

    2012-03-01

    To study the influential factors on psychosocial health of the migrant workers in Guangzhou. The Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) were used to investigate 518 migrant workers in Guangzhou. The rate of migrant workers with psychosocial problems was 36.5%. The scores of SCL-90 and positive rates in migrant workers with the different personality types had significant difference (P workers was significantly associated with the personality. The results of present study indicated that different vocation, sex, working years, smoking and drinking might interfere with the psychological states. The migrant workers with the personality of psychoticism, neuroticism and introversion may have unhealthy mental reaction.

  15. Finding the top influential bloggers based on productivity and popularity features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Hikmat Ullah; Daud, Ali

    2017-07-01

    A blog acts as a platform of virtual communication to share comments or views about products, events and social issues. Like other social web activities, blogging actions spread to a large number of people. Users influence others in many ways, such as buying a product, having a particular political or social opinion or initiating new activity. Finding the top influential bloggers is an active research domain as it helps us in various fields, such as online marketing, e-commerce, product search and e-advertisements. There exist various models to find the influential bloggers, but they consider limited features using non-modular approach. This paper proposes a new model, Popularity and Productivity Model (PPM), based on a modular approach to find the top influential bloggers. It consists of popularity and productivity modules which exploit various features. We discuss the role of each proposed and existing features and evaluate the proposed model against the standard baseline models using datasets from the real-world blogs. The analysis using standard performance evaluation measures verifies that both productivity and popularity modules play a vital role to find influential bloggers in blogging community in an effective manner.

  16. Influential Factors Affecting Materials Management in Construction Projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jusoh Zairra Mat

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Construction projects are more often than not plagued by poor performances such as delays, cost overrun, low productivity, construction wastes and compromised quality. Amongst the critical contributory factors of poor project performances, is the ineffectiveness of materials management occurring in the construction sites. Indeed, materials management is a very important component for construction projects. However, there are only limited numbers of research available regarding this topic. Thus, this research focuses its study on materials management, specifically in identifying the influential factors that affect materials management in the construction project activities. Literatures from books, journal articles and conference papers related to poor project performances and materials management have been reviewed. Consequently, this study sorted the salient influential factors and categorized them based on their specific group. Out of 47 factors identified, they are classified into 8 groups. They are (1 site condition; (2 planning and handling on site; (3 management; (4 materials; (5 supplier and manufacturer default; (6 transportation; (7 contractual; and (8 governmental interferences. In conclusion, this study contends that by identifying the influential factors affecting materials management, it will help construction players to avoid the occurrence of those factors and will minimize the negative impacts on the overall performance of construction projects. Hence, the handling-over of project will be according to schedule and not delayed by materials mismanagement.

  17. STIGLER’S INFLUENTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO ECONOMIC THOUGHT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Artidiatun Adji

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes George J. Stigler’s influential contributions to economic ideas, specifically on industrial structures, the functioning of markets, the causes and effects of public regulation, the economics of information, and on the development of economic thought. Stigler’s most influential contribution to economic thought came in his work on information theory. Treating information as a valuable commodity, he explained why prices differ for identical goods. From his work, many other theories have been built to explain economic behavior. A considerable number of works on decision making under uncertainty could not have progressed without an understanding of the role of information. His swing of the pendulum in economic regulation constitutes a great turnabout. He started research, known as public choice, which assumes that government policymakers are driven by self-interest rather than pure concern for the public’s welfare. His views have now become those of the mainstream.

  18. A Study of the Educationally Influential Physician.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, David M.; Ryan, Kurt; Hodder, Ian

    1999-01-01

    A survey of 172 family doctors found that they approached educationally influential (EI) physicians they knew through their hospitals; only 20% used e-mail and 40% the Internet for medical information; EI physicians helped extend their knowledge and validate innovations found in the literature; and health care reform was negatively affecting…

  19. Industrial Consumers’ Smart Grid Adoption: Influential Factors and Participation Phases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Ma

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The participation of industrial consumers in smart grid transition is important due to their consumption footprint, heavy energy use and complexity in the implementation of smart energy technologies. Active involvement of industrial consumers in the development of smart grid solutions is important to ensure the energy system transformation. Despite the importance of industrial consumers has been identified, the empirical studies on the smart grid still mainly address residential and commercial consumers. Therefore, based on four case studies with two industrial consumers, one energy consulting company and one electricity retailer, this paper investigates the factors that influence industrial consumers’ acceptance of smart grid solutions, and how the influential factors are relevant to the smart grid adoption phases. Eleven influential factors are identified that impact on four stages for industrial consumers’ adoption of smart grid solutions (inscription, translation, framing, and stabilization stages. The eleven influential factors are: awareness of multiple contexts, shared support, return-of-investment, ease of use, flexibility and dynamic pricing, liberalization and energy tariff structure, customer focus, solution integration, process improvement, service quality, and company’s green image.

  20. [Analysis of influential factors for job burnout among managers in a joint venture in Guangzhou, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Qiu-hong; Jiang, Chao-qiang; Liu, Yi-min; Guo, Jing-yi; Lam, Tai Hing

    2013-12-01

    To investigate the influential factors for job burnout among the managerial staff in a Sino-Japanese joint venture automobile manufacturer in Guangzhou, China. A total of 288 managers in a Sino-Japanese joint venture automobile manufacturer were surveyed using the Occupational Stress Indicator, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, and Social Support Rating Scale. On the depersonalization dimension, the male managers had significantly higher scores than the female managers. The scores of emotion exhaustion and depersonalization of MBI showed significant differences among the managers with different levels of occupational stress. The path analysis showed that occupational stress, neuroticism, and psychoticism had negative effects on emotion exhaustion, while job satisfaction and utilization of social support had direct positive effects on emotion exhaustion. Occupational stress, psychoticism, and passive coping style had direct negative effects on depersonalization, while job satisfaction, objective support, and utilization of social support had positive effects on depersonalization. Job satisfaction and active coping style had positive effects on sense of personal accomplishment, while passive coping style had a negative effect on sense of personal accomplishment. Personality exerted its effect on social support through coping style and thus on job satisfaction and job burnout. Male managers have a greater propensity to depersonalization than their female counterparts. High occupational stress is a risk factor for job burnout. Personality, social support, and coping style are influential factors for job burnout.

  1. Unsupervised Scalable Statistical Method for Identifying Influential Users in Online Social Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azcorra, A; Chiroque, L F; Cuevas, R; Fernández Anta, A; Laniado, H; Lillo, R E; Romo, J; Sguera, C

    2018-05-03

    Billions of users interact intensively every day via Online Social Networks (OSNs) such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. This makes OSNs an invaluable source of information, and channel of actuation, for sectors like advertising, marketing, or politics. To get the most of OSNs, analysts need to identify influential users that can be leveraged for promoting products, distributing messages, or improving the image of companies. In this report we propose a new unsupervised method, Massive Unsupervised Outlier Detection (MUOD), based on outliers detection, for providing support in the identification of influential users. MUOD is scalable, and can hence be used in large OSNs. Moreover, it labels the outliers as of shape, magnitude, or amplitude, depending of their features. This allows classifying the outlier users in multiple different classes, which are likely to include different types of influential users. Applying MUOD to a subset of roughly 400 million Google+ users, it has allowed identifying and discriminating automatically sets of outlier users, which present features associated to different definitions of influential users, like capacity to attract engagement, capacity to attract a large number of followers, or high infection capacity.

  2. MIIB: A Metric to Identify Top Influential Bloggers in a Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Hikmat Ullah; Daud, Ali; Malik, Tahir Afzal

    2015-01-01

    Social networking has revolutionized the use of conventional web and has converted World Wide Web into the social web as users can generate their own content. This change has been possible due to social web platforms like forums, wikis, and blogs. Blogs are more commonly being used as a form of virtual communication to express an opinion about an event, product or experience and can reach a large audience. Users can influence others to buy a product, have certain political or social views, etc. Therefore, identifying the most influential bloggers has become very significant as this can help us in the fields of commerce, advertisement and product knowledge searching. Existing approaches consider some basic features, but lack to consider some other features like the importance of the blog on which the post has been created. This paper presents a new metric, MIIB (Metric for Identification of Influential Bloggers), based on various features of bloggers' productivity and popularity. Productivity refers to bloggers' blogging activity and popularity measures bloggers' influence in the blogging community. The novel module of BlogRank depicts the importance of blog sites where bloggers create their posts. The MIIB has been evaluated against the standard model and existing metrics for finding the influential bloggers using dataset from the real-world blogosphere. The obtained results confirm that the MIIB is able to find the most influential bloggers in a more effective manner.

  3. MIIB: A Metric to Identify Top Influential Bloggers in a Community.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hikmat Ullah Khan

    Full Text Available Social networking has revolutionized the use of conventional web and has converted World Wide Web into the social web as users can generate their own content. This change has been possible due to social web platforms like forums, wikis, and blogs. Blogs are more commonly being used as a form of virtual communication to express an opinion about an event, product or experience and can reach a large audience. Users can influence others to buy a product, have certain political or social views, etc. Therefore, identifying the most influential bloggers has become very significant as this can help us in the fields of commerce, advertisement and product knowledge searching. Existing approaches consider some basic features, but lack to consider some other features like the importance of the blog on which the post has been created. This paper presents a new metric, MIIB (Metric for Identification of Influential Bloggers, based on various features of bloggers' productivity and popularity. Productivity refers to bloggers' blogging activity and popularity measures bloggers' influence in the blogging community. The novel module of BlogRank depicts the importance of blog sites where bloggers create their posts. The MIIB has been evaluated against the standard model and existing metrics for finding the influential bloggers using dataset from the real-world blogosphere. The obtained results confirm that the MIIB is able to find the most influential bloggers in a more effective manner.

  4. Path diversity improves the identification of influential spreaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Duan-Bing; Xiao, Rui; Zeng, An; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

    2013-12-01

    Identifying influential spreaders in complex networks is a crucial problem which relates to wide applications. Many methods based on the global information such as K-shell and PageRank have been applied to rank spreaders. However, most of the related previous works overwhelmingly focus on the number of paths for propagation, while whether the paths are diverse enough is usually overlooked. Generally, the spreading ability of a node might not be strong if its propagation depends on one or two paths while the other paths are dead ends. In this letter, we introduced the concept of path diversity and find that it can largely improve the ranking accuracy. We further propose a local method combining the information of path number and path diversity to identify influential nodes in complex networks. This method is shown to outperform many well-known methods in both undirected and directed networks. Moreover, the efficiency of our method makes it possible to apply it to very large systems.

  5. Analysis of influential factors on haze pollution in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao-Hong; Jiang, Keshen

    2018-05-01

    This study tests the hypothesis of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) between PM10 concentrations and economic growth and analyzes the influential factors of PM10 concentrations from the economic perspective by using the panel data on the PM10 concentrations of 30 provinces from 2003 to 2015 in China. Results of the regression estimation from the fully modified OLS (FMOLS) method show that a relationship characterized by an inverted U-shaped curve is observed between PM10 concentrations and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and that an EKC exists in China’s haze pollution problem. PM10 concentrations have the most sensitive response to GDP. The elastic coefficients of the possession of civilian vehicles, urbanization and trade openness are positive values. More importantly, the elastic coefficient of the tertiary industry proportion is less than 0. Increase in the proportion of tertiary industry can effectively alleviate China’s problem on haze pollution. Lastly, relevant countermeasures and suggestions are presented.

  6. Influential input parameters for reflood model of MARS code

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Deog Yeon; Bang, Young Seok [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-10-15

    Best Estimate (BE) calculation has been more broadly used in nuclear industries and regulations to reduce the significant conservatism for evaluating Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). Reflood model has been identified as one of the problems in BE calculation. The objective of the Post BEMUSE Reflood Model Input Uncertainty Methods (PREMIUM) program of OECD/NEA is to make progress the issue of the quantification of the uncertainty of the physical models in system thermal hydraulic codes, by considering an experimental result especially for reflood. It is important to establish a methodology to identify and select the parameters influential to the response of reflood phenomena following Large Break LOCA. For this aspect, a reference calculation and sensitivity analysis to select the dominant influential parameters for FEBA experiment are performed.

  7. Positive Psychology and Career Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Peter J.

    2018-01-01

    Positive psychology has been an influential movement within psychology in the early years of the twenty-first century. It is now timely to assess the value of its contribution to career education and guidance. This paper provides a critique of this perspective. Positive psychology can enrich approaches to career development. It can provide a…

  8. Identifying influential factors of business process performance using dependency analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetzstein, Branimir; Leitner, Philipp; Rosenberg, Florian; Dustdar, Schahram; Leymann, Frank

    2011-02-01

    We present a comprehensive framework for identifying influential factors of business process performance. In particular, our approach combines monitoring of process events and Quality of Service (QoS) measurements with dependency analysis to effectively identify influential factors. The framework uses data mining techniques to construct tree structures to represent dependencies of a key performance indicator (KPI) on process and QoS metrics. These dependency trees allow business analysts to determine how process KPIs depend on lower-level process metrics and QoS characteristics of the IT infrastructure. The structure of the dependencies enables a drill-down analysis of single factors of influence to gain a deeper knowledge why certain KPI targets are not met.

  9. The detection of influential subsets in linear regression using an influence matrix

    OpenAIRE

    Peña, Daniel; Yohai, Víctor J.

    1991-01-01

    This paper presents a new method to identify influential subsets in linear regression problems. The procedure uses the eigenstructure of an influence matrix which is defined as the matrix of uncentered covariance of the effect on the whole data set of deleting each observation, normalized to include the univariate Cook's statistics in the diagonal. It is shown that points in an influential subset will appear with large weight in at least one of the eigenvector linked to the largest eigenvalue...

  10. Influence maximization in social networks under an independent cascade-based model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiyao; Jin, Yuehui; Lin, Zhen; Cheng, Shiduan; Yang, Tan

    2016-02-01

    The rapid growth of online social networks is important for viral marketing. Influence maximization refers to the process of finding influential users who make the most of information or product adoption. An independent cascade-based model for influence maximization, called IMIC-OC, was proposed to calculate positive influence. We assumed that influential users spread positive opinions. At the beginning, users held positive or negative opinions as their initial opinions. When more users became involved in the discussions, users balanced their own opinions and those of their neighbors. The number of users who did not change positive opinions was used to determine positive influence. Corresponding influential users who had maximum positive influence were then obtained. Experiments were conducted on three real networks, namely, Facebook, HEP-PH and Epinions, to calculate maximum positive influence based on the IMIC-OC model and two other baseline methods. The proposed model resulted in larger positive influence, thus indicating better performance compared with the baseline methods.

  11. Assuming a Pharmacy Organization Leadership Position: A Guide for Pharmacy Leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shay, Blake; Weber, Robert J

    2015-11-01

    Important and influential pharmacy organization leadership positions, such as president, board member, or committee chair, are volunteer positions and require a commitment of personal and professional time. These positions provide excellent opportunities for leadership development, personal promotion, and advancement of the profession. In deciding to assume a leadership position, interested individuals must consider the impact on their personal and professional commitments and relationships, career planning, employer support, current and future department projects, employee support, and personal readiness. This article reviews these factors and also provides an assessment tool that leaders can use to determine their readiness to assume leadership positions. By using an assessment tool, pharmacy leaders can better understand their ability to assume an important and influential leadership position while achieving job and personal goals.

  12. Industrial Consumers’ Smart Grid Adoption: Influential Factors and Participation Phases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Zheng; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard; Asmussen, Alla

    2018-01-01

    The participation of industrial consumers in smart grid transition is important due to their consumption footprint, heavy energy use and complexity in the implementation of smart energy technologies. Active involvement of industrial consumers in the development of smart grid solutions is important...... to ensure the energy system transformation. Despite the importance of industrial consumers has been identified, the empirical studies on the smart grid still mainly address residential and commercial consumers. Therefore, based on four case studies with two industrial consumers, one energy consulting...... company and one electricity retailer, this paper investigates the factors that influence industrial consumers’ acceptance of smart grid solutions, and how the influential factors are relevant to the smart grid adoption phases. Eleven influential factors are identified that impact on four stages...

  13. Job Satisfaction and its Influential Factors in Dental Academic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Job Satisfaction and its Influential Factors in Dental Academic Members in Tehran, Iran. ... The impact of age, gender, academic rank, employment status and the date of ... policies, job security, educational environment, equipments, and facilities. ... are dissatisfied with their work environments in Tehran Dental Schools.

  14. Identifying marketing communication media that are influential to consumers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Safura M. Kallier

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Marketing communication is essential for any business as it informs the consumer about the business and the products and services that it offers. The way in which the retailer decides to communicate with the customer is important as it can influence the consumer to purchase from the retailer. With the rapid increase in new communication mediums, retailers now have much more mediums at their disposal to communicate and interact with their customers. This study thus aimed to determine which mediums of marketing communication media is most influential for the consumer. Convenience sampling was used for this study and a self-administered web-based questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was collected from available consumers in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The results indicated that consumers regard marketing communication mediums such as television, radio as influential and would react to marketing communication that included discounts and vouchers.

  15. Hermann Bondi (1919–2005)

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    Afer four years he became a mathematics lecturer, a position which he held till 1954. ... influential astrophysical contribution by Bondi during this Cambridge period ... Bondi took this up in a later paper at a quantitative level, so the argument.

  16. Systems Perturbation Analysis of a Large-Scale Signal Transduction Model Reveals Potentially Influential Candidates for Cancer Therapeutics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puniya, Bhanwar Lal; Allen, Laura; Hochfelder, Colleen; Majumder, Mahbubul; Helikar, Tomáš

    2016-01-01

    Dysregulation in signal transduction pathways can lead to a variety of complex disorders, including cancer. Computational approaches such as network analysis are important tools to understand system dynamics as well as to identify critical components that could be further explored as therapeutic targets. Here, we performed perturbation analysis of a large-scale signal transduction model in extracellular environments that stimulate cell death, growth, motility, and quiescence. Each of the model’s components was perturbed under both loss-of-function and gain-of-function mutations. Using 1,300 simulations under both types of perturbations across various extracellular conditions, we identified the most and least influential components based on the magnitude of their influence on the rest of the system. Based on the premise that the most influential components might serve as better drug targets, we characterized them for biological functions, housekeeping genes, essential genes, and druggable proteins. The most influential components under all environmental conditions were enriched with several biological processes. The inositol pathway was found as most influential under inactivating perturbations, whereas the kinase and small lung cancer pathways were identified as the most influential under activating perturbations. The most influential components were enriched with essential genes and druggable proteins. Moreover, known cancer drug targets were also classified in influential components based on the affected components in the network. Additionally, the systemic perturbation analysis of the model revealed a network motif of most influential components which affect each other. Furthermore, our analysis predicted novel combinations of cancer drug targets with various effects on other most influential components. We found that the combinatorial perturbation consisting of PI3K inactivation and overactivation of IP3R1 can lead to increased activity levels of apoptosis

  17. PhysarumSpreader: A New Bio-Inspired Methodology for Identifying Influential Spreaders in Complex Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongping; Zhang, Yajuan; Zhang, Zili; Mahadevan, Sankaran; Deng, Yong

    2015-01-01

    Identifying influential spreaders in networks, which contributes to optimizing the use of available resources and efficient spreading of information, is of great theoretical significance and practical value. A random-walk-based algorithm LeaderRank has been shown as an effective and efficient method in recognizing leaders in social network, which even outperforms the well-known PageRank method. As LeaderRank is initially developed for binary directed networks, further extensions should be studied in weighted networks. In this paper, a generalized algorithm PhysarumSpreader is proposed by combining LeaderRank with a positive feedback mechanism inspired from an amoeboid organism called Physarum Polycephalum. By taking edge weights into consideration and adding the positive feedback mechanism, PhysarumSpreader is applicable in both directed and undirected networks with weights. By taking two real networks for examples, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing with other standard centrality measures.

  18. Job Satisfaction and its Influential Factors in Dental Academic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    of Herzberg; motivational factors such as recognition, work tasks, responsibilities ... Aim: This study assessed job satisfaction and its influential factors in dental academic members in ..... a significant influence of gender with the overall balance of work and other ... Rose W, et al. The quality of dental faculty work‑life: Report.

  19. A comparative study on the influential factors of China's provincial energy intensity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Guangfei; Li, Wenli; Wang, Jianliang; Zhang, Dongqing

    2016-01-01

    China has become the largest energy consumer worldwide, and it is important to study the energy intensity to realize the sustainable development goal of China. This paper focuses on investigating the influential factors of China's energy intensity using provincial-level panel data from 1985 to 2012. More specifically, we try to identify which factor is relatively more important to pay attention to. A novel approach based on evolutionary computation is proposed to intelligently mine the intrinsic relations between observed phenomena and to let the important factors automatically emerge from the discovered nonlinear models. However, due to China's vast territory and significant heterogeneities, this approach may fail to examine some detailed or hidden information when analyzing the country as a whole. Instead, we concentrate on the provincial level because the provinces play vital roles in reducing energy intensity in China. From our analytical results, the main findings are as follows: (1) the Total Population is the most important influential factor across China's provinces, while the Energy Price Index has the least impact; and (2) the provinces could be naturally classified into four categories based on the primary factors emerged from data, and such classification could reveal more about the true underlying features of each area. - Highlights: • Identify the important factors of China's energy intensity by symbolic regression. • Analyze China's energy intensity using provincial-level panel data from 1985 to 2012. • Intelligently investigate nonlinear models and the emergence of important factors. • The Total Population is discovered to be the most important influential factor. • Provinces are naturally classified into four categories by the influential factors.

  20. Determining the influential depth for surface reflectance of sediment by BRDF measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, H; Voss, K; Reid, R

    2003-10-20

    We measure the Bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of ooid sand layers with three particle size distributions (0.5-1mm, 0.25-0.5mm and 0.125-0.25mm) and layer thicknesses on a reflecting mirror to determine the influential depth in the optical region at wavelengths of 658 nm (red), 570 nm (green) and 457 nm (blue). The hemispherical reflectance (albedo) was used as an indicator of BRDF changes between different layers. Measurements are carried out on both dry and water wetted grains. The results indicate that for both dry and wet and all size distributions, the influential depth is at most 2mm.

  1. PhysarumSpreader: A New Bio-Inspired Methodology for Identifying Influential Spreaders in Complex Networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongping Wang

    Full Text Available Identifying influential spreaders in networks, which contributes to optimizing the use of available resources and efficient spreading of information, is of great theoretical significance and practical value. A random-walk-based algorithm LeaderRank has been shown as an effective and efficient method in recognizing leaders in social network, which even outperforms the well-known PageRank method. As LeaderRank is initially developed for binary directed networks, further extensions should be studied in weighted networks. In this paper, a generalized algorithm PhysarumSpreader is proposed by combining LeaderRank with a positive feedback mechanism inspired from an amoeboid organism called Physarum Polycephalum. By taking edge weights into consideration and adding the positive feedback mechanism, PhysarumSpreader is applicable in both directed and undirected networks with weights. By taking two real networks for examples, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing with other standard centrality measures.

  2. A bio-inspired methodology of identifying influential nodes in complex networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cai Gao

    Full Text Available How to identify influential nodes is a key issue in complex networks. The degree centrality is simple, but is incapable to reflect the global characteristics of networks. Betweenness centrality and closeness centrality do not consider the location of nodes in the networks, and semi-local centrality, leaderRank and pageRank approaches can be only applied in unweighted networks. In this paper, a bio-inspired centrality measure model is proposed, which combines the Physarum centrality with the K-shell index obtained by K-shell decomposition analysis, to identify influential nodes in weighted networks. Then, we use the Susceptible-Infected (SI model to evaluate the performance. Examples and applications are given to demonstrate the adaptivity and efficiency of the proposed method. In addition, the results are compared with existing methods.

  3. Emotions and Activity Profiles of Influential Users in Product Reviews Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorian eTanase

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Viral marketing seeks to maximize the spread of a campaignthrough an online social network, often targeting influential nodes with highcentrality. In this article, we analyze behavioral aspects of influentialusers in trust-based product reviews communities, quantifying emotionalexpression, helpfulness, and user activity level. We focus on two independentproduct review communities, Dooyoo and Epinions, in whichusers can write product reviews and define trust links to filter productrecommendations. Following the patterns of social contagion processes, wemeasure user social influence by means of the k-shell decomposition of trustnetworks. For each of these users, we apply sentiment analysis to extracttheir extent of positive, negative, and neutral emotional expression. Inaddition, we quantify the level of feedback they received in their reviews,the length of their contributions, and their level of activity over theirlifetime in the community. We find that users of both communities exhibit alarge heterogeneity of social influence, and that helpfulness votes and ageare significantly better predictors of the influence of an individual thansentiment. The most active of the analyzed communities shows a particularstructure, in which the inner core of users is qualitatively different fromits periphery in terms of a stronger positive and negative emotionalexpression. These results suggest that both objective and subjective aspectsof reviews are relevant to the communication of subjective experience.

  4. Identifying influential individuals on intensive care units: using cluster analysis to explore culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Allan; Clark, Lindsey; Cheng, Tianyi; Franklin, Ella; Fernandez, Nicole; Ratwani, Raj; Parker, Sarah Henrickson

    2017-07-01

    The objective of this paper is to identify attribute patterns of influential individuals in intensive care units using unsupervised cluster analysis. Despite the acknowledgement that culture of an organisation is critical to improving patient safety, specific methods to shift culture have not been explicitly identified. A social network analysis survey was conducted and an unsupervised cluster analysis was used. A total of 100 surveys were gathered. Unsupervised cluster analysis was used to group individuals with similar dimensions highlighting three general genres of influencers: well-rounded, knowledge and relational. Culture is created locally by individual influencers. Cluster analysis is an effective way to identify common characteristics among members of an intensive care unit team that are noted as highly influential by their peers. To change culture, identifying and then integrating the influencers in intervention development and dissemination may create more sustainable and effective culture change. Additional studies are ongoing to test the effectiveness of utilising these influencers to disseminate patient safety interventions. This study offers an approach that can be helpful in both identifying and understanding influential team members and may be an important aspect of developing methods to change organisational culture. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Evaluation of Oral Health status and influential factors in children ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aims: The aim of the present study was to comparatively analyze oral health status and influential factors in children with autism living in the Western Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Subjects and Methods: This cross‑sectional study was conducted in two steps: 1 ‑ questionnaire and 2 ‑ interview. This study was conducted ...

  6. Finding the Influentials that Drive the Diffusion of New Technologies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C. Hernández-Mireles (Carlos)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractIn this article we put forward a model where aggregate sales are a function of the online search of potential consumers at many locations. We argue that a location may be influential because of its power to drive aggregate sales and this power may be dynamic and evolving in time. Second,

  7. Ultrasonography with a hand-held device for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kameda, Toru; Takahashi, Isao

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of ultrasonography (US) with a hand-held device for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in the emergency room. US with a hand-held device was performed by the first author in 33 patients suspected of having appendicitis in the emergency room. From these 33 patients, 24 who subsequently underwent computed tomography (CT) or surgery were included in this study. The accuracy of US with the hand-held device for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis was evaluated based on the findings of CT or surgery. CT and surgery were performed in 22 and 12 patients, respectively. Final diagnoses were acute appendicitis (n=18), terminal ileitis (n=2), pelvic inflammatory disease (n=2), diverticulitis (n=1), and ureterolithiasis (n=1). The US yielded a sensitivity of 78% and a positive predictive value of 100%. The shortest distance between the abdominal wall and the appendix measured on CT was less than 40 mm in 11 patients. In ten (91%) of the 11 patients US with the hand-held device showed the swollen appendix. US with a hand-held device is potentially useful in the positive identification of acute appendicitis, but further investigation is needed to prove its utility in the routine diagnosis of acute appendicitis. (author)

  8. Transmissibility of the Ice Bucket Challenge among globally influential celebrities: retrospective cohort study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Brandford H Y; Leung, Gabriel M; Lau, Eric H Y; Pang, Herbert

    2014-01-01

    Objectives To estimate the transmissibility of the Ice Bucket Challenge among globally influential celebrities and to identify associated risk factors. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Participants David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Hawking, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Homer Simpson, and Kermit the Frog were defined as index cases. We included contacts up to the fifth generation seeded from each index case and enrolled a total of 99 participants into the cohort. Main outcome measures Basic reproduction number R0, serial interval of accepting the challenge, and odds ratios of associated risk factors based on fully observed nomination chains; R0 is a measure of transmissibility and is defined as the number of secondary cases generated by a single index in a fully susceptible population. Serial interval is the duration between onset of a primary case and onset of its secondary cases. Results Based on the empirical data and assuming a branching process we estimated a mean R0 of 1.43 (95% confidence interval 1.23 to 1.65) and a mean serial interval for accepting the challenge of 2.1 days (median 1 day). Higher log (base 10) net worth of the participants was positively associated with transmission (odds ratio 1.63, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.50), adjusting for age and sex. Conclusions The Ice Bucket Challenge was moderately transmissible among a group of globally influential celebrities, in the range of the pandemic A/H1N1 2009 influenza. The challenge was more likely to be spread by richer celebrities, perhaps in part reflecting greater social influence. PMID:25514905

  9. Transmissibility of the Ice Bucket Challenge among globally influential celebrities: retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Michael Y; Chan, Brandford H Y; Leung, Gabriel M; Lau, Eric H Y; Pang, Herbert

    2014-12-16

    To estimate the transmissibility of the Ice Bucket Challenge among globally influential celebrities and to identify associated risk factors. Retrospective cohort study. Social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Hawking, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Homer Simpson, and Kermit the Frog were defined as index cases. We included contacts up to the fifth generation seeded from each index case and enrolled a total of 99 participants into the cohort. Basic reproduction number R0, serial interval of accepting the challenge, and odds ratios of associated risk factors based on fully observed nomination chains; R0 is a measure of transmissibility and is defined as the number of secondary cases generated by a single index in a fully susceptible population. Serial interval is the duration between onset of a primary case and onset of its secondary cases. Based on the empirical data and assuming a branching process we estimated a mean R0 of 1.43 (95% confidence interval 1.23 to 1.65) and a mean serial interval for accepting the challenge of 2.1 days (median 1 day). Higher log (base 10) net worth of the participants was positively associated with transmission (odds ratio 1.63, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.50), adjusting for age and sex. The Ice Bucket Challenge was moderately transmissible among a group of globally influential celebrities, in the range of the pandemic A/H1N1 2009 influenza. The challenge was more likely to be spread by richer celebrities, perhaps in part reflecting greater social influence. © Ni et al 2014.

  10. Identification and evaluation of influential criteria for the selection of an environmental shipping carrier using DEMATEL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jia, Peng; Govindan, Kannan; Kannan, Devika

    2015-01-01

    The current environmental pollution is a major factor in economic development and vehicle pollution is ranked next to industrial emissions in total emissions worldwide. This study focuses on the selection of a suitable shipping carrier from an economic and environmental perspective. In practice......, there are many criteria's available to select a suitable shipping container. But, shipping container companies are struggling to identify the most influential criteria to select a shipping container as it requires in-depth analysis. So, the objective of this paper is to analyse the criteria and identify the most...... influential criteria from an environmental practices perspective. In this study, seventeen factors are identified from literature aimed at locating the most influential criteria to select a suitable shipping carrier using the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). This procedure helps...

  11. RE@21 spotlight: most influential papers from the requirements engineering conference

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glinz, Martin; Wieringa, Roelf J.

    Since 2003, an award has been presented annually at the IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference for the Most Influential Paper presented at the conference 10 years previously. In 2013, we celebrate 21 years of the Requirements Engineering Conference, and we use this as an opportunity

  12. DYNAMICS OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL POLITICIANS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KHAKASSIA (BY RESULTS OF MONITORING EXPERT POLLS OF 1998–2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Il’ich Zlotkovskij

    2017-02-01

    The following conclusions are drawn by results of the conducted researches. First, line items of heads of managerial and economic structures in the top ten of the most influential republican politicians during the researched period underwent to essential transformation. In 1998, there was a rare situation in the Russian practice heavily on the political elite of the economic elite in the name of the representatives of the leading industrial enterprises of Khakassia – Sayan Aluminum Plant. Over time, the situation has changed in 2009. was set up regional “party of power” in the face of the Republican government and the party “United Russia”, around which all the relevant actors of regional political process. Secondly, engaging the top positions in the power structures necessary but not sufficient condition for the occurrence of the most influential Republican politicians. This number does not include bank and trade union officials, media executives and university leaders of political parties, with the exception of “United Russia”, public organizations and associations. Third, in recent years, as part of the 30 most influential politicians intensified the “political weight” of the leaders of the republican government and the law enforcement system and decreased – employees legislative authorities, media leaders and heads of local self-government. Fourthly, results of monitoring expert polls on determination of the leading republican politicians act as the effective tool for understanding and forecasting of regional political process.

  13. Identification of influential spreaders in online social networks using interaction weighted K-core decomposition method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-garadi, Mohammed Ali; Varathan, Kasturi Dewi; Ravana, Sri Devi

    2017-02-01

    Online social networks (OSNs) have become a vital part of everyday living. OSNs provide researchers and scientists with unique prospects to comprehend individuals on a scale and to analyze human behavioral patterns. Influential spreaders identification is an important subject in understanding the dynamics of information diffusion in OSNs. Targeting these influential spreaders is significant in planning the techniques for accelerating the propagation of information that is useful for various applications, such as viral marketing applications or blocking the diffusion of annoying information (spreading of viruses, rumors, online negative behaviors, and cyberbullying). Existing K-core decomposition methods consider links equally when calculating the influential spreaders for unweighted networks. Alternatively, the proposed link weights are based only on the degree of nodes. Thus, if a node is linked to high-degree nodes, then this node will receive high weight and is treated as an important node. Conversely, the degree of nodes in OSN context does not always provide accurate influence of users. In the present study, we improve the K-core method for OSNs by proposing a novel link-weighting method based on the interaction among users. The proposed method is based on the observation that the interaction of users is a significant factor in quantifying the spreading capability of user in OSNs. The tracking of diffusion links in the real spreading dynamics of information verifies the effectiveness of our proposed method for identifying influential spreaders in OSNs as compared with degree centrality, PageRank, and original K-core.

  14. Identifying influential data points in hydrological model calibration and their impact on streamflow predictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, David; Thyer, Mark; Westra, Seth

    2015-04-01

    Highly influential data points are those that have a disproportionately large impact on model performance, parameters and predictions. However, in current hydrological modelling practice the relative influence of individual data points on hydrological model calibration is not commonly evaluated. This presentation illustrates and evaluates several influence diagnostics tools that hydrological modellers can use to assess the relative influence of data. The feasibility and importance of including influence detection diagnostics as a standard tool in hydrological model calibration is discussed. Two classes of influence diagnostics are evaluated: (1) computationally demanding numerical "case deletion" diagnostics; and (2) computationally efficient analytical diagnostics, based on Cook's distance. These diagnostics are compared against hydrologically orientated diagnostics that describe changes in the model parameters (measured through the Mahalanobis distance), performance (objective function displacement) and predictions (mean and maximum streamflow). These influence diagnostics are applied to two case studies: a stage/discharge rating curve model, and a conceptual rainfall-runoff model (GR4J). Removing a single data point from the calibration resulted in differences to mean flow predictions of up to 6% for the rating curve model, and differences to mean and maximum flow predictions of up to 10% and 17%, respectively, for the hydrological model. When using the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency in calibration, the computationally cheaper Cook's distance metrics produce similar results to the case-deletion metrics at a fraction of the computational cost. However, Cooks distance is adapted from linear regression with inherit assumptions on the data and is therefore less flexible than case deletion. Influential point detection diagnostics show great potential to improve current hydrological modelling practices by identifying highly influential data points. The findings of this

  15. Identifying the most influential spreaders in complex networks by an Extended Local K-Shell Sum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Zhang, Ruisheng; Yang, Zhao; Hu, Rongjing; Li, Mengtian; Yuan, Yongna; Li, Keqin

    Identifying influential spreaders is crucial for developing strategies to control the spreading process on complex networks. Following the well-known K-Shell (KS) decomposition, several improved measures are proposed. However, these measures cannot identify the most influential spreaders accurately. In this paper, we define a Local K-Shell Sum (LKSS) by calculating the sum of the K-Shell indices of the neighbors within 2-hops of a given node. Based on the LKSS, we propose an Extended Local K-Shell Sum (ELKSS) centrality to rank spreaders. The ELKSS is defined as the sum of the LKSS of the nearest neighbors of a given node. By assuming that the spreading process on networks follows the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model, we perform extensive simulations on a series of real networks to compare the performance between the ELKSS centrality and other six measures. The results show that the ELKSS centrality has a better performance than the six measures to distinguish the spreading ability of nodes and to identify the most influential spreaders accurately.

  16. Characteristics of qualitative studies in influential journals of general medicine: a critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamazaki, Hiroshi; Slingsby, Brian Taylor; Takahashi, Miyako; Hayashi, Yoko; Sugimori, Hiroki; Nakayama, Takeo

    2009-12-01

    Although qualitative studies have increased since the 1990s, some reports note that relatively few influential journals published them up until 2000. This study critically reviewed the characteristics of qualitative studies published in top tier medical journals since 2000. We assessed full texts of qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2004 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine. We found 80 qualitative studies, of which 73 (91%) were published in BMJ. Only 10 studies (13%) combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Sixty-two studies (78%) used only one method of data collection. Interviews dominated the choice of data collection. The median sample size was 36 (range: 9-383). Thirty-three studies (41%) did not specify the type of analysis used but rather described the analytic process in detail. The rest indicated the mode of data analysis, in which the most prevalent methods were the constant comparative method (23%) and the grounded theory approach (22%). Qualitative data analysis software was used by 33 studies (41%). Among influential journals of general medicine, only BMJ consistently published an average of 15 qualitative study reports between 2000 and 2004. These findings lend insight into what qualities and characteristics make a qualitative study worthy of consideration to be published in an influential journal, primarily BMJ.

  17. Identification of Influential Points in a Linear Regression Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Grosz

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the detection and identification of influential points in the linear regression model. Three methods of detection of outliers and leverage points are described. These procedures can also be used for one-sample (independentdatasets. This paper briefly describes theoretical aspects of several robust methods as well. Robust statistics is a powerful tool to increase the reliability and accuracy of statistical modelling and data analysis. A simulation model of the simple linear regression is presented.

  18. [Which are the most influential journals, books and scientists in Latin American biology?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monge-Nájera, Julián; Benavides-Varela, Catalina; Morera, Bernal

    2004-03-01

    A survey was distributed by e-mail to 553 biologists who study the Neotropics, in order to identify the journals, books and researchers with the greatest influence over Latin American biology. The biologists' database of the Revista de Biología Tropical was used to obtain their addresses. One third of them answered. The Revista de Biología Tropical is considered the most influential journal in the region. The majority of other influential journals are published in developed countries. The thematic distribution of answers, as well as independent assessments found in the literature, indicate that these and other survey results are not biased by the use of the journal's database. By subject, marine and ecological journals are the most influential. In contrast with American science, there are no researchers or books that clearly dominate the field. These results hint to the subjectivity of many awards and qualifications and possibly reflect a lack of tradition regarding appearance of local scientists in the mass media, the small capacity of world wide diffusion for local research and the low priority of science in the Iberoamerican culture. Latin American journals should improve, specially through efficient communication with authors, stringent rejection of inferior manuscripts and through widespread and timely distribution. The marked dominance by male researchers may reflect the lower number of women in the field, and social inequality. Despite the absence of "superstars", there was a correlation: most scientists in the "list of outstanding researchers" were from large countries. The publication of the most influential journal in one of the smallest countries of the region might reflect the relatively long period of existence of the Revista (half a century), the lack of other alternatives in the region and the journal's inclusion in international indices. Recommendations for Latin American science include a selection of the best journals to receive financial

  19. Role of centrality for the identification of influential spreaders in complex networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Arruda, Guilherme Ferraz; Barbieri, André Luiz; Rodríguez, Pablo Martín; Rodrigues, Francisco A; Moreno, Yamir; Costa, Luciano da Fontoura

    2014-09-01

    The identification of the most influential spreaders in networks is important to control and understand the spreading capabilities of the system as well as to ensure an efficient information diffusion such as in rumorlike dynamics. Recent works have suggested that the identification of influential spreaders is not independent of the dynamics being studied. For instance, the key disease spreaders might not necessarily be so important when it comes to analyzing social contagion or rumor propagation. Additionally, it has been shown that different metrics (degree, coreness, etc.) might identify different influential nodes even for the same dynamical processes with diverse degrees of accuracy. In this paper, we investigate how nine centrality measures correlate with the disease and rumor spreading capabilities of the nodes in different synthetic and real-world (both spatial and nonspatial) networks. We also propose a generalization of the random walk accessibility as a new centrality measure and derive analytical expressions for the latter measure for simple network configurations. Our results show that for nonspatial networks, the k-core and degree centralities are the most correlated to epidemic spreading, whereas the average neighborhood degree, the closeness centrality, and accessibility are the most related to rumor dynamics. On the contrary, for spatial networks, the accessibility measure outperforms the rest of the centrality metrics in almost all cases regardless of the kind of dynamics considered. Therefore, an important consequence of our analysis is that previous studies performed in synthetic random networks cannot be generalized to the case of spatial networks.

  20. The auditory cortex hosts network nodes influential for emotion processing: An fMRI study on music-evoked fear and joy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koelsch, Stefan; Skouras, Stavros; Lohmann, Gabriele

    2018-01-01

    Sound is a potent elicitor of emotions. Auditory core, belt and parabelt regions have anatomical connections to a large array of limbic and paralimbic structures which are involved in the generation of affective activity. However, little is known about the functional role of auditory cortical regions in emotion processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and music stimuli that evoke joy or fear, our study reveals that anterior and posterior regions of auditory association cortex have emotion-characteristic functional connectivity with limbic/paralimbic (insula, cingulate cortex, and striatum), somatosensory, visual, motor-related, and attentional structures. We found that these regions have remarkably high emotion-characteristic eigenvector centrality, revealing that they have influential positions within emotion-processing brain networks with "small-world" properties. By contrast, primary auditory fields showed surprisingly strong emotion-characteristic functional connectivity with intra-auditory regions. Our findings demonstrate that the auditory cortex hosts regions that are influential within networks underlying the affective processing of auditory information. We anticipate our results to incite research specifying the role of the auditory cortex-and sensory systems in general-in emotion processing, beyond the traditional view that sensory cortices have merely perceptual functions.

  1. Don Quixote and Roque Guinart against the way of life of the influential people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel M. Roger

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The apocryphal Second part of don Quixote altered many of the purposes of Cervantes. He changed the destination of his hero. As observed by don Quixote when visiting a printinghouse, its publication took place in Barcelona. The author gave prominence to a town as in picaresque novels. However, he did not modify his attitude towards the behaviour of the influential people, in keeping with Erasmus’ concept of stupidity. Surely, Cervantes reaffirmed his approach to the golden age through the presence of Roque Guinart, the only historical character who appears in the novel. This paper examines how the influential people behave in front of don Quixote, and how his performance is similar to that of Roque Guinart.

  2. Post-BEMUSE Reflood Model Input Uncertainty Methods (PREMIUM) Benchmark Phase II: Identification of Influential Parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovtonyuk, A.; Petruzzi, A.; D'Auria, F.

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the Post-BEMUSE Reflood Model Input Uncertainty Methods (PREMIUM) benchmark is to progress on the issue of the quantification of the uncertainty of the physical models in system thermal-hydraulic codes by considering a concrete case: the physical models involved in the prediction of core reflooding. The PREMIUM benchmark consists of five phases. This report presents the results of Phase II dedicated to the identification of the uncertain code parameters associated with physical models used in the simulation of reflooding conditions. This identification is made on the basis of the Test 216 of the FEBA/SEFLEX programme according to the following steps: - identification of influential phenomena; - identification of the associated physical models and parameters, depending on the used code; - quantification of the variation range of identified input parameters through a series of sensitivity calculations. A procedure for the identification of potentially influential code input parameters has been set up in the Specifications of Phase II of PREMIUM benchmark. A set of quantitative criteria has been as well proposed for the identification of influential IP and their respective variation range. Thirteen participating organisations, using 8 different codes (7 system thermal-hydraulic codes and 1 sub-channel module of a system thermal-hydraulic code) submitted Phase II results. The base case calculations show spread in predicted cladding temperatures and quench front propagation that has been characterized. All the participants, except one, predict a too fast quench front progression. Besides, the cladding temperature time trends obtained by almost all the participants show oscillatory behaviour which may have numeric origins. Adopted criteria for identification of influential input parameters differ between the participants: some organisations used the set of criteria proposed in Specifications 'as is', some modified the quantitative thresholds

  3. Visualizing Influential Observations in Dependent Data

    KAUST Repository

    Genton, Marc G.

    2010-01-01

    We introduce the hair-plot to visualize influential observations in dependent data. It consists of all trajectories of the value of an estimator when each observation is modified in turn by an additive perturbation. We define two measures of influence: the local influence which describes the rate of departure from the original estimate due to a small perturbation of each observation; and the asymptotic influence which indicates the influence on the original estimate of the most extreme contamination for each observation. The cases of estimators defined as quadratic forms or ratios of quadratic forms are investigated in detail. Sample autocovariances, covariograms, and variograms belong to the first case. Sample autocorrelations, correlograms, and indices of spatial autocorrelation such as Moran\\'s I belong to the second case.We illustrate our approach on various datasets from time series analysis and spatial statistics. This article has supplementary material online. © 2010 American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and Interface Foundation of North America.

  4. Attentionally splitting the mass distribution of hand-held rods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, G; Turvey, M T

    1991-08-01

    Two experiments on the length-perception capabilities of effortful or dynamic touch differed only in terms of what the subject intended to perceive, while experimental conditions and apparatus were held constant. In each trial, a visually occluded rod was held as still as possible by the subject at an intermediate position. For two thirds of the trials, a weight was attached to the rod above or below the hand. In Experiment 1, in which the subject's task was to perceive the distance reachable with the portion of the rod forward of the hand, perceived extent was a function of the first moment of the mass distribution associated with the forward portion of the rod, and indifferent to the first moment of the entire rod. In Experiment 2, in which the task was to perceive the distance reachable with the entire rod if it was held at an end, the pattern of results was reversed. These results indicate the capability of selective sensitivity to different aspects of a hand-held object's mass distribution, without the possibility of differential exploration specific to these two tasks. Results are discussed in relation to possible roles of differential information, intention, and self-organization in the explanations of selective perceptual abilities.

  5. Interactive topology optimization on hand-held devices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aage, Niels; Nobel-Jørgensen, Morten; Andreasen, Casper Schousboe

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents an interactive topology optimization application designed for hand-held devices running iOS or Android. The TopOpt app solves the 2D minimum compliance problem with interactive control of load and support positions as well as volume fraction. Thus, it is possible to change......OS devices from the Apple App Store, at Google Play for the Android platform, and a web-version can be run from www.topopt.dtu.dk....

  6. Evaluating the influential priority of the factors on insurance loss of public transit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Yongmin; Chen, Xinqiang

    2018-01-01

    Understanding correlation between influential factors and insurance losses is beneficial for insurers to accurately price and modify the bonus-malus system. Although there have been a certain number of achievements in insurance losses and claims modeling, limited efforts focus on exploring the relative role of accidents characteristics in insurance losses. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the influential priority of transit accidents attributes, such as the time, location and type of accidents. Based on the dataset from Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP) in USA, we implement several key algorithms to achieve the objectives. First, K-means algorithm contributes to cluster the insurance loss data into 6 intervals; second, Grey Relational Analysis (GCA) model is applied to calculate grey relational grades of the influential factors in each interval; in addition, we implement Naive Bayes model to compute the posterior probability of factors values falling in each interval. The results show that the time, location and type of accidents significantly influence the insurance loss in the first five intervals, but their grey relational grades show no significantly difference. In the last interval which represents the highest insurance loss, the grey relational grade of the time is significant higher than that of the location and type of accidents. For each value of the time and location, the insurance loss most likely falls in the first and second intervals which refers to the lower loss. However, for accidents between buses and non-motorized road users, the probability of insurance loss falling in the interval 6 tends to be highest. PMID:29298337

  7. Examination of influential observations in penalized spline regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Türkan, Semra

    2013-10-01

    In parametric or nonparametric regression models, the results of regression analysis are affected by some anomalous observations in the data set. Thus, detection of these observations is one of the major steps in regression analysis. These observations are precisely detected by well-known influence measures. Pena's statistic is one of them. In this study, Pena's approach is formulated for penalized spline regression in terms of ordinary residuals and leverages. The real data and artificial data are used to see illustrate the effectiveness of Pena's statistic as to Cook's distance on detecting influential observations. The results of the study clearly reveal that the proposed measure is superior to Cook's Distance to detect these observations in large data set.

  8. Identifying multiple influential spreaders by a heuristic clustering algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bao, Zhong-Kui; Liu, Jian-Guo; Zhang, Hai-Feng

    2017-01-01

    The problem of influence maximization in social networks has attracted much attention. However, traditional centrality indices are suitable for the case where a single spreader is chosen as the spreading source. Many times, spreading process is initiated by simultaneously choosing multiple nodes as the spreading sources. In this situation, choosing the top ranked nodes as multiple spreaders is not an optimal strategy, since the chosen nodes are not sufficiently scattered in networks. Therefore, one ideal situation for multiple spreaders case is that the spreaders themselves are not only influential but also they are dispersively distributed in networks, but it is difficult to meet the two conditions together. In this paper, we propose a heuristic clustering (HC) algorithm based on the similarity index to classify nodes into different clusters, and finally the center nodes in clusters are chosen as the multiple spreaders. HC algorithm not only ensures that the multiple spreaders are dispersively distributed in networks but also avoids the selected nodes to be very “negligible”. Compared with the traditional methods, our experimental results on synthetic and real networks indicate that the performance of HC method on influence maximization is more significant. - Highlights: • A heuristic clustering algorithm is proposed to identify the multiple influential spreaders in complex networks. • The algorithm can not only guarantee the selected spreaders are sufficiently scattered but also avoid to be “insignificant”. • The performance of our algorithm is generally better than other methods, regardless of real networks or synthetic networks.

  9. Identifying multiple influential spreaders by a heuristic clustering algorithm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bao, Zhong-Kui [School of Mathematical Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230601 (China); Liu, Jian-Guo [Data Science and Cloud Service Research Center, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, 200133 (China); Zhang, Hai-Feng, E-mail: haifengzhang1978@gmail.com [School of Mathematical Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230601 (China); Department of Communication Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, Shan' xi 030051 (China)

    2017-03-18

    The problem of influence maximization in social networks has attracted much attention. However, traditional centrality indices are suitable for the case where a single spreader is chosen as the spreading source. Many times, spreading process is initiated by simultaneously choosing multiple nodes as the spreading sources. In this situation, choosing the top ranked nodes as multiple spreaders is not an optimal strategy, since the chosen nodes are not sufficiently scattered in networks. Therefore, one ideal situation for multiple spreaders case is that the spreaders themselves are not only influential but also they are dispersively distributed in networks, but it is difficult to meet the two conditions together. In this paper, we propose a heuristic clustering (HC) algorithm based on the similarity index to classify nodes into different clusters, and finally the center nodes in clusters are chosen as the multiple spreaders. HC algorithm not only ensures that the multiple spreaders are dispersively distributed in networks but also avoids the selected nodes to be very “negligible”. Compared with the traditional methods, our experimental results on synthetic and real networks indicate that the performance of HC method on influence maximization is more significant. - Highlights: • A heuristic clustering algorithm is proposed to identify the multiple influential spreaders in complex networks. • The algorithm can not only guarantee the selected spreaders are sufficiently scattered but also avoid to be “insignificant”. • The performance of our algorithm is generally better than other methods, regardless of real networks or synthetic networks.

  10. [Quality of life and its influential factors of children and adolescents with congenital cleft lip and palate].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Meng; Liu, Zong-xiang; Wang, Peng-lai; Liu, Chao

    2016-02-01

    To investigate the quality of life of children undergoing clef lip or and palate repair as well as the influential factors of the quality of life, and provide theoretical foundation for future studies such as psychological interventions. Totally 164 children and young adolescent patients with cleft lip and palate undergoing maxillofacial surgery and orthodontic treatment in Xuzhou Stomatology Hospital were selected as experimental group, and 102 normal children and young adolescents were selected as control group. Both groups were investigated by general information questionnaire and child and adolescents' quality of life scale (CAQOL). The results were analyzed and the influential factors on quality of life were evaluated by multivariate regression analysis with SPSS 19.0 software package. The overall CAQOL scores and most of the subscale scores (teacher-student relationship, peer relationships, parent-child relationship, self-awareness, physical discomfort, negative emotions, attitude about homework, access to transportation from home, extra curricular activities, self-esteem) in the experimental group were significantly lower compared with the control group (Ppalate category, family income, the main caregivers and residential areas were the important influential factors on children' quality of life. Among them, the type of disease was the most important influential factor (beta=0.260), followed by mother's education level (beta=0.215). The quality of life of children with cleft lip/palate is poor. Patients' scores of CAQOL are closely related with mothers' education level, type of cleft lip/palate, family income, the main caregivers and residential areas.

  11. The effect of leverage and/or influential on structure-activity relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolboacă, Sorana D; Jäntschi, Lorentz

    2013-05-01

    In the spirit of reporting valid and reliable Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models, the aim of our research was to assess how the leverage (analysis with Hat matrix, h(i)) and the influential (analysis with Cook's distance, D(i)) of QSAR models may reflect the models reliability and their characteristics. The datasets included in this research were collected from previously published papers. Seven datasets which accomplished the imposed inclusion criteria were analyzed. Three models were obtained for each dataset (full-model, h(i)-model and D(i)-model) and several statistical validation criteria were applied to the models. In 5 out of 7 sets the correlation coefficient increased when compounds with either h(i) or D(i) higher than the threshold were removed. Withdrawn compounds varied from 2 to 4 for h(i)-models and from 1 to 13 for D(i)-models. Validation statistics showed that D(i)-models possess systematically better agreement than both full-models and h(i)-models. Removal of influential compounds from training set significantly improves the model and is recommended to be conducted in the process of quantitative structure-activity relationships developing. Cook's distance approach should be combined with hat matrix analysis in order to identify the compounds candidates for removal.

  12. Identifying influential spreaders in complex networks through local effective spreading paths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaojie; Zhang, Xue; Yi, Dongyun; Zhao, Chengli

    2017-05-01

    How to effectively identify a set of influential spreaders in complex networks is of great theoretical and practical value, which can help to inhibit the rapid spread of epidemics, promote the sales of products by word-of-mouth advertising, and so on. A naive strategy is to select the top ranked nodes as identified by some centrality indices, and other strategies are mainly based on greedy methods and heuristic methods. However, most of those approaches did not concern the connections between nodes. Usually, the distances between the selected spreaders are very close, leading to a serious overlapping of their influence. As a consequence, the global influence of the spreaders in networks will be greatly reduced, which largely restricts the performance of those methods. In this paper, a simple and efficient method is proposed to identify a set of discrete yet influential spreaders. By analyzing the spreading paths in the network, we present the concept of effective spreading paths and measure the influence of nodes via expectation calculation. The numerical analysis in undirected and directed networks all show that our proposed method outperforms many other centrality-based and heuristic benchmarks, especially in large-scale networks. Besides, experimental results on different spreading models and parameters demonstrates the stability and wide applicability of our method.

  13. Positivity VII (Zaanen Centennial Conference)

    CERN Document Server

    Pagter, Ben; Gaans, Onno; Veraar, Mark

    2016-01-01

    This book presents the proceedings of Positivity VII, held from 22-26 July 2013, in Leiden, the Netherlands. Positivity is the mathematical field concerned with ordered structures and their applications in the broadest sense of the word. A biyearly series of conferences is devoted to presenting the latest developments in this lively and growing discipline. The lectures at the conference covered a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from order-theoretic approaches to stochastic processes, positive solutions of evolution equations and positive operators on vector lattices, to order structures in the context of algebras of operators on Hilbert spaces. The contributions in the book reflect this variety and appeal to university researchers in functional analysis, operator theory, measure and integration theory and operator algebras. Positivity VII was also the Zaanen Centennial Conference to mark the 100th birth year of Adriaan Cornelis Zaanen, who held the chair of Analysis in Leiden for more than 25 years and was ...

  14. Through a Gender Lens: A View of Gender and Leadership Positions in a Department of Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monroe, Anne K; Levine, Rachel B; Clark, Jeanne M; Bickel, Janet; MacDonald, Susan M; Resar, Linda M S

    2015-10-01

    Despite increasing numbers in academic medicine, women remain underrepresented in top leadership positions. The objectives of this study were to characterize leadership positions held by department of medicine (DOM) faculty at all ranks at one Academic Health Center and to compare leadership positions held by male and female faculty. This was a cross-sectional survey to collect information on all leadership positions from 16 divisions in the DOM at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in early 2012, including type of position, method used to fill the position, and financial compensation. Chi-square testing was used to compare leadership position characteristics by rank and gender. The study included 474 DOM faculty at the rank of instructor or higher; 38% were women. Of the 258 leadership positions identified, 35% were held by women. More leadership positions among assistant professors were held by women compared with men (56% of positions vs. 44%), with women assistant professors more likely to hold a leadership position than men (p=0.03). Numbers of women faculty declined at higher ranks, with leadership positions remaining proportionate to faculty representation. Most division director positions (88%) were held by men, and most leadership positions were compensated (89%) and appointed by the DOM chair or a division director (80%). Leadership positions held by women and men were proportionate to faculty representation, although the top leadership positions were held almost exclusively by men. While female assistant professors were more likely to hold leadership positions than male assistant professors, these positions appear to be low status positions and it is not clear that they contribute to professional advancement, as few women hold the rank of full professor. Effective interventions are needed to address the gender disparity in top leadership positions.

  15. Most Influential Literature in Spinal Tuberculosis: A Global Disease Without Global Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Held, Michael; Castelein, Sophie; Bruins, Marie-Fien; Laubscher, Maritz; Dunn, Robert; Keel, Marius; Ahmad, Sufian; Hoppe, Sven

    2018-02-01

    Bibliometric review of the literature. This bibliometric analysis aims to give an overview of the most influential academic literature written on spinal tuberculosis. All databases included in the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge were searched for the most influential publications in spinal tuberculosis. The most cited articles published between 1950 and 2015, with the main focus on orthopedic surgery, were identified using a multistep approach, and a total of 100 articles were included. The publications were then analyzed in this bibliometric analysis. The number of citations ranged from 243 to 36, with an average of 77.11. The articles were published in 34 different journals, and the studies were conducted in 20 different countries. The top 3 countries, India, the United States, and China, published a total of 51% (n = 51) of all articles. Low-burden countries produced 60% (n = 60) of all articles in our list. African centers produced only 4% (n = 4) of all included articles. Indian and Chinese researchers dominate evidence in spinal tuberculosis. Other areas with high disease burden, such as Africa, do not feature. Most publications are retrospective studies with a low level of evidence.

  16. Identifying influential directors in the United States corporate governance network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xuqing; Vodenska, Irena; Wang, Fengzhong; Havlin, Shlomo; Stanley, H. Eugene

    2011-10-01

    The influence of directors has been one of the most engaging topics recently, but surprisingly little research has been done to quantitatively evaluate the influence and power of directors. We analyze the structure of the US corporate governance network for the 11-year period 1996-2006 based on director data from the Investor Responsibility Research Center director database, and we develop a centrality measure named the influence factor to estimate the influence of directors quantitatively. The US corporate governance network is a network of directors with nodes representing directors and links between two directors representing their service on common company boards. We assume that information flows in the network through information-sharing processes among linked directors. The influence factor assigned to a director is based on the level of information that a director obtains from the entire network. We find that, contrary to commonly accepted belief that directors of large companies, measured by market capitalization, are the most powerful, in some instances, the directors who are influential do not necessarily serve on boards of large companies. By applying our influence factor method to identify the influential people contained in the lists created by popular magazines such as Fortune, Networking World, and Treasury and Risk Management, we find that the influence factor method is consistently either the best or one of the two best methods in identifying powerful people compared to other general centrality measures that are used to denote the significance of a node in complex network theory.

  17. Identifying influential directors in the United States corporate governance network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xuqing; Vodenska, Irena; Wang, Fengzhong; Havlin, Shlomo; Stanley, H Eugene

    2011-10-01

    The influence of directors has been one of the most engaging topics recently, but surprisingly little research has been done to quantitatively evaluate the influence and power of directors. We analyze the structure of the US corporate governance network for the 11-year period 1996-2006 based on director data from the Investor Responsibility Research Center director database, and we develop a centrality measure named the influence factor to estimate the influence of directors quantitatively. The US corporate governance network is a network of directors with nodes representing directors and links between two directors representing their service on common company boards. We assume that information flows in the network through information-sharing processes among linked directors. The influence factor assigned to a director is based on the level of information that a director obtains from the entire network. We find that, contrary to commonly accepted belief that directors of large companies, measured by market capitalization, are the most powerful, in some instances, the directors who are influential do not necessarily serve on boards of large companies. By applying our influence factor method to identify the influential people contained in the lists created by popular magazines such as Fortune, Networking World, and Treasury and Risk Management, we find that the influence factor method is consistently either the best or one of the two best methods in identifying powerful people compared to other general centrality measures that are used to denote the significance of a node in complex network theory.

  18. Engagement in the electoral processes: scaling laws and the role of political positions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mantovani, M C; Ribeiro, H V; Lenzi, E K; Picoli, S; Mendes, R S

    2013-08-01

    We report on a statistical analysis of the engagement in the electoral processes of all Brazilian cities by considering the number of party memberships and the number of candidates for mayor and councillor. By investigating the relationships between the number of party members and the population of voters, we have found that the functional forms of these relationships are well described by sublinear power laws (allometric scaling) surrounded by a multiplicative log-normal noise. We have observed that this pattern is quite similar to those we previously reported for the relationships between the number of candidates (mayor and councillor) and population of voters [Europhys. Lett. 96, 48001 (2011)], suggesting that similar universal laws may be ruling the engagement in the electoral processes. We also note that the power-law exponents display a clear hierarchy, where the more influential is the political position the smaller is the value of the exponent. We have also investigated the probability distributions of the number of candidates (mayor and councillor), party memberships, and voters. The results indicate that the most influential positions are characterized by distributions with very short tails, while less influential positions display an intermediate power-law decay before showing an exponential-like cutoff. We discuss the possibility that, in addition to the political power of the position, limitations in the number of available seats can also be connected with this changing of behavior. We further believe that our empirical findings point out to an under-representation effect, where the larger the city is, the larger are the obstacles for more individuals to become directly engaged in the electoral process.

  19. What Otaku consumers care about: The factors influential to online purchase intention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Che-Chang

    2013-10-01

    Chinese customers and those in the rest of world share the same two principal concerns about e-commerce: inadequate information from website and inadequate legal protection for Internet purchases. This study shows that trust, information adequacy and Otakus' characteristics have a significant effect on online purchase intention. Moreover, Otakus' characteristics demonstrate an interference effect on purchasing intention online for the influential factors: information provision and trust in the website.

  20. Rural influentials' perceptions of tourism and its potential for economic development: a qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steven W. Burr

    1995-01-01

    Rural residents' perceptions of tourism and its associated impacts are likely to be important in planning, development, marketing, and operation of existing and future tourism projects. This study examines rural influentials' perceptions of tourism as a tool for economic revitalization in Pennsylvania's rural counties, its present impact, and its...

  1. How the tobacco industry responded to an influential study of the health effects of secondhand smoke

    OpenAIRE

    Hong, Mi-Kyung; Bero, Lisa A

    2002-01-01

    In 1981 an influential Japanese study showed an association between passive smoking and lung cancer. This article documents the tobacco industry's attempts to refute this study by producing a credible alternative study.

  2. Hand-held medical robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Christopher J; Yang, Guang-Zhong

    2014-08-01

    Medical robots have evolved from autonomous systems to tele-operated platforms and mechanically-grounded, cooperatively-controlled robots. Whilst these approaches have seen both commercial and clinical success, uptake of these robots remains moderate because of their high cost, large physical footprint and long setup times. More recently, researchers have moved toward developing hand-held robots that are completely ungrounded and manipulated by surgeons in free space, in a similar manner to how conventional instruments are handled. These devices provide specific functions that assist the surgeon in accomplishing tasks that are otherwise challenging with manual manipulation. Hand-held robots have the advantages of being compact and easily integrated into the normal surgical workflow since there is typically little or no setup time. Hand-held devices can also have a significantly reduced cost to healthcare providers as they do not necessitate the complex, multi degree-of-freedom linkages that grounded robots require. However, the development of such devices is faced with many technical challenges, including miniaturization, cost and sterility, control stability, inertial and gravity compensation and robust instrument tracking. This review presents the emerging technical trends in hand-held medical robots and future development opportunities for promoting their wider clinical uptake.

  3. Identifying Factors That Are Most Influential in Veteran Teachers Seriously Considering Leaving the Profession

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culkin, Michaela A.

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the factors most influential when veteran teachers seriously consider leaving the teaching profession. Teachers in the education profession who are in the later stages of their careers hold the experience that benefits all who teach in schools. There is ample literature discussing why new teachers leave the profession, but…

  4. Estimation of influential points in any data set from coefficient of determination and its leave-one-out cross-validated counterpart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tóth, Gergely; Bodai, Zsolt; Héberger, Károly

    2013-10-01

    Coefficient of determination (R (2)) and its leave-one-out cross-validated analogue (denoted by Q (2) or R cv (2) ) are the most frequantly published values to characterize the predictive performance of models. In this article we use R (2) and Q (2) in a reversed aspect to determine uncommon points, i.e. influential points in any data sets. The term (1 - Q (2))/(1 - R (2)) corresponds to the ratio of predictive residual sum of squares and the residual sum of squares. The ratio correlates to the number of influential points in experimental and random data sets. We propose an (approximate) F test on (1 - Q (2))/(1 - R (2)) term to quickly pre-estimate the presence of influential points in training sets of models. The test is founded upon the routinely calculated Q (2) and R (2) values and warns the model builders to verify the training set, to perform influence analysis or even to change to robust modeling.

  5. Energy shocks and detecting influential industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Dongsuk; Lee, Duk Hee

    2017-01-01

    An industry's relationship of supply and demand with the energy sector can be a critical factor in the stability of its economic performance. Furthermore, the patterns of industry dependence on energy industries can be a major characteristic of entire industrial structure. This research evaluates industries' impact scores for their overall influence on other industries and vulnerability to supply and demand shocks from the energy sector. The study utilizes a sample of Korea's industrial input–output tables from 2010 to 2012. Using a chain of complementary methodologies, this study finds that among four clusters, energy, services, and raw materials are key members that can spread energy shocks to other industries. Therefore, governments need to prepare effective energy efficiency policies for these target industries. - Highlights: • We analyze an industry's impact score of its vulnerability to energy shock and inter-industrial effects. • We utilize the sample of input-output tables in Korea from 2010 to 2012. • We implement simulation, PCA, TOPSIS, cluster analysis about energy shock and industrial trades. • Subsectors of energy, services, raw material are subject to energy shock and influential to others. • These bridge industries can be targets that require policies for effective energy efficiency.

  6. Theoretical optimum of implant positional index design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semper, W; Kraft, S; Krüger, T; Nelson, K

    2009-08-01

    Rotational freedom of the implant-abutment connection influences its screw joint stability; for optimization, influential factors need to be evaluated based on a previously developed closed formula. The underlying hypothesis is that the manufacturing tolerances, geometric pattern, and dimensions of the index do not influence positional stability. We used the dimensions of 5 commonly used implant systems with a clearance of 20 microm to calculate the extent of rotational freedom; a 3D simulation (SolidWorks) validated the analytical findings. Polygonal positional indices showed the highest degrees of rotational freedom. The polygonal profile displayed higher positional stability than the polygons, but less positional accuracy than the cam-groove connection. Features of a maximal rotation-safe positional index were determined. The analytical calculation of rotational freedom of implant positional indices is possible. Rotational freedom is dependent on the geometric design of the index and may be decreased by incorporating specific aspects into the positional index design.

  7. Influential Factors and Strategy of Sustainable Product Development under Corporate Social Responsibility in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jui-Che Tu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to adopt the perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR to explore the intention of sustainable product development in Taiwan, as well as leading to the creation of influential factors that affect corporate sustainable product development intention. In this research, the induction analysis was conducted to understand the implementation of sustainable product development, and this was supplemented with questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews to evaluate developmental intention. In addition, principal component analysis was used for factor analysis and content analysis in the 6 W expression method, leading to the creation of the influential factors. The research results have demonstrated that the factors affecting the intention of corporate sustainable product development include having a sustainable design and a development purpose, a corporate development purpose, sustainable development concepts, a sustainable design value, a sustainability concept, and a manufacturing process quality. For sustainable product development, corporate social responsibility needs to be most concerned with the added value of products, regulation requirements, and accommodation of the industrial chain, costs, and quality.

  8. A generalized Grubbs-Beck test statistic for detecting multiple potentially influential low outliers in flood series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, T.A.; England, J.F.; Berenbrock, C.E.; Mason, R.R.; Stedinger, J.R.; Lamontagne, J.R.

    2013-01-01

    he Grubbs-Beck test is recommended by the federal guidelines for detection of low outliers in flood flow frequency computation in the United States. This paper presents a generalization of the Grubbs-Beck test for normal data (similar to the Rosner (1983) test; see also Spencer and McCuen (1996)) that can provide a consistent standard for identifying multiple potentially influential low flows. In cases where low outliers have been identified, they can be represented as “less-than” values, and a frequency distribution can be developed using censored-data statistical techniques, such as the Expected Moments Algorithm. This approach can improve the fit of the right-hand tail of a frequency distribution and provide protection from lack-of-fit due to unimportant but potentially influential low flows (PILFs) in a flood series, thus making the flood frequency analysis procedure more robust.

  9. Interprofessional collaboration regarding patients' care plans in primary care : a focus group study into influential factors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stephanie Anna Lenzen; Trudy van der Weijden; Anna Beurskens; Marloes Amantia van Bokhoven; Ramon Daniëls; Jerôme Jean Jacques van Dongen

    2016-01-01

    Background: The number of people with multiple chronic conditions demanding primary care services is increasing. To deal with the complex health care demands of these people, professionals from different disciplines collaborate. This study aims to explore influential factors regarding

  10. Interprofessional collaboration regarding patients' care plans in primary care: a focus group study into influential factors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dongen, J.J. van; Lenzen, S.A.; Bokhoven, M.A. van; Daniels, R.; Weijden, T.T. van der; Beurskens, A.

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The number of people with multiple chronic conditions demanding primary care services is increasing. To deal with the complex health care demands of these people, professionals from different disciplines collaborate. This study aims to explore influential factors regarding

  11. The Legacy of Manfred Held with Critique

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-01

    President Executive Vice President and Provost The report entitled “The Legacy of Manfred Held with Critique” contains the results of research...xxii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK xxiii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Prof (Dr) Manfred Held...de choc des explosifs solides. Propellants and Explosives, 6, 63-66. [013] Held, M. (1987). Experiments of initiation of covered, but unconfined

  12. Was Feyerabend an anarchist? The structure(s) of 'anything goes'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Jamie

    2017-08-01

    The near consensus in the secondary literature on Feyerabend is that his epistemological anarchism, characterized by the slogan 'anything goes', was not a positive proposal but the conclusion of a reductio argument against his opponents (Lloyd 1997; Staley 1999; Munévar 2000; Farrell 2003; Tsou 2003; Oberheim 2006; Roe 2009). This makes anarchism a mere criticism rather than a substantive position in its own right. In this paper, I argue that Feyerabend held anarchism as a positive thesis. Specifically, I present two possible interpretations of anarchism: one where anarchism is entailed by Feyerabend's radical view of pluralism and another where scientists must be 'methodological opportunists', which Feyerabend held simultaneously from at least 1970. I then consider how these positions fare against the more influential criticisms of anarchism (Nagel 1977; Worrall 1978; Godfrey-Smith 2003). I conclude by suggesting two avenues to constraining a literal interpretation of 'anything goes' on Feyerabendian grounds. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Influential Parameters and Numerical Simulation of Heat Generated in the Process of Friction Stir Welding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilija KOVACEVIC

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes the problem of friction stir welding (FSW technology. The mechanism of thermo-mechanical process of the FSW method has been identified and a correlation between the weld zone and its microstructure established. Presented are the basic analytical formulations for the definition of temperature fields. Analysis of influential parameters of welding FSW technology at the zone of the weld material and mechanical properties of the realized joint was performed. Influential welding parameters were defined based on tool geometry, technological parameters of processing and the axial load of tool. Specific problems with the FSW process are related to gaps (holes left behind by a tool at the end of the process and inflexibility of welding regarding the degree of variation of material thickness. Numerical simulation of process welding FSW proceeding was carried out on the example of Aluminum Alloy (AA 2219 using the ANSYS Mechanical ADPL (Transient Thermal software package. The defined was the temperature field in the welding process at specified time intervals.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.22.3.10022

  14. Enhancing China’s Energy Security: Determining Influential Factors and Effective Strategic Measures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ren, Jingzheng; Sovacool, Benjamin

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates the most influential factors affecting China’s energy security. It also identifies the most effective strategic measures for enhancing it. Fuzzy AHP has been used to determine weights for ranking the importance of Chinese energy security factors, and it has also been used...... to determine the priorities of the strategic measures with respect to enhancing those same factors. The study argues that a low proportion of renewable energy penetration is the most severe factor threatening China’s energy security, and that conducting research and development on energy technologies...

  15. [Correspondence analysis of association between types of unintentional injuries and influential factors among rural rear pupils].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dou, Dongmei; Wang, Peixi

    2015-07-01

    To explore the association between types of unintentional injuries and influential factors among rural rear pupils. The multistage stratified sampling method was used to select the study participant and thus 594 rural pupils were sampled, 292 rear pupils were confirmed and measured with unintentional injuries and influential factors of rural rear pupils scale. Binary logistic regression analysis indicate that the risk facts related to unintentional injury were left-behind status (OR = 2.68, 95% CI 1.06-6.79), gender (OR = 5.12, 95% C2.68-9.79) and surrounding environment (OR = 3.44, 95% CI 1.37-8.70). Correspondence analysis showed living with father, middle personality and low age were related possibly with traffic accident injury. Living with grandparents, extrovert personality and elder pupils were related possibly with unintentional falls injury. Living with mother, introvert personality and middle-age pupils were related possibly with animmal injury. The personality, ages and guardian types of rural rear pupils are correlated with types of unintentional injuries.

  16. Sense of security felt by the armed police with different service length and influential factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing CHEN

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Objective To investigate the status of sense of security felt by the armed police and the influential factors thereof.Methods The sense of security,stress level,comprehension of social supports and the coping styles were measured and evaluated by use of Security Questionnaire(SQ,Psychological Stress Self-Evaluation Test(PSET,Perceived Social Support Scale(PSSS and Coping Style Scale(CSS in 725 armed police,and the differences were compared between the servicemen with different service length(1,2 and 3 years.The correlation between security sense(expressed as personal safety and determination of control and comprehension of social supports,coping styles and T score on stress level were analyzed.A stepwise regression analysis was done to screen the factors influencing the security sense of servicemen with the overall score of security sense as the dependent variable and the comprehension of social supports(expressed as inside-and outside-family support,coping styles(expressed as illusion,resignation,rationalization,self-condemned determinant,resort and problem-solving capacity and T score on stress level as the independent variables.Results Compared with the armed police with 1 year of military service,those with 2 or 3 years of military service got lower scores in personal safety,determination of control,inside-and outside-family support,and resort and problem-solving capacity(P 0.05.The two factors of comprehension of social supports(inside-and outside-family support,and the two factors of coping styles(resort and problem-solving capacity were positively correlated with the sense of security(personal safety and determination of control(P < 0.001;while the four factors of coping styles(illusion,resignation,rationalization and self-condemned determinant and the T score on stress level were negatively correlated with the sense of security(P < 0.001.It was proved by multivariate linear regression analysis that outside-family support

  17. A Comment on Language Is a Complex Adaptive System:Position Paper

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    单妍

    2014-01-01

    Language not only functions as a communication tool, it has fundamental functions. People ’s social interaction and their past experience can affect people’s choice of language, as language is a complex, adaptive system. The paper tries to com-ment on“A comment on Language Is a Complex Adaptive System: Position Paper”from several aspects to conclude that Lan-guage Is a Complex Adaptive System:Position Paper is a comprehensive, creative and influential academic paper which is charac-teristic of high originality, well-compact organization, detailed literature review.

  18. Identifying influential user communities on the social network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weishu; Gong, Zhiguo; Hou U, Leong; Guo, Jingzhi

    2015-10-01

    Nowadays social network services have been popularly used in electronic commerce systems. Users on the social network can develop different relationships based on their common interests and activities. In order to promote the business, it is interesting to explore hidden relationships among users developed on the social network. Such knowledge can be used to locate target users for different advertisements and to provide effective product recommendations. In this paper, we define and study a novel community detection problem that is to discover the hidden community structure in large social networks based on their common interests. We observe that the users typically pay more attention to those users who share similar interests, which enable a way to partition the users into different communities according to their common interests. We propose two algorithms to detect influential communities using common interests in large social networks efficiently and effectively. We conduct our experimental evaluation using a data set from Epinions, which demonstrates that our method achieves 4-11.8% accuracy improvement over the state-of-the-art method.

  19. Positive mood broadens visual attention to positive stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadlinger, Heather A; Isaacowitz, Derek M

    2006-03-01

    In an attempt to investigate the impact of positive emotions on visual attention within the context of Fredrickson's (1998) broaden-and-build model, eye tracking was used in two studies to measure visual attentional preferences of college students (n=58, n=26) to emotional pictures. Half of each sample experienced induced positive mood immediately before viewing slides of three similarly-valenced images, in varying central-peripheral arrays. Attentional breadth was determined by measuring the percentage viewing time to peripheral images as well as by the number of visual saccades participants made per slide. Consistent with Fredrickson's theory, the first study showed that individuals induced into positive mood fixated more on peripheral stimuli than did control participants; however, this only held true for highly-valenced positive stimuli. Participants under induced positive mood also made more frequent saccades for slides of neutral and positive valence. A second study showed that these effects were not simply due to differences in emotional arousal between stimuli. Selective attentional broadening to positive stimuli may act both to facilitate later building of resources as well as to maintain current positive affective states.

  20. Integrating positive psychology into health-related quality of life research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Crystal L

    2015-07-01

    Positive psychology is an increasingly influential force in theory and research within psychology and many related fields, including behavioral medicine, sociology, and public health. This article aims to review the ways in which positive psychology and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) research currently interface and to suggest fruitful future directions. This article reviews the basic elements of positive psychology and provides an overview of conceptual and empirical links between positive psychology and HRQOL. The role of one central aspect of positive psychology (meaning) within HRQOL is highlighted, and unresolved issues (e.g., lack of definitional clarity) are discussed. Some research on HRQOL has taken a positive psychology perspective, demonstrating the usefulness of taking a positive psychology approach. However, many areas await integration. Once conceptual and methodological issues are resolved, positive psychology may profitably inform many aspects of HRQOL research and, perhaps, clinical interventions to promote HRQOL as well.

  1. Pipelines and Dead Ends: Jobs Held by Minorities and Women in Broadcast News.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Vernon A.

    Because of the problem of lack of progress by minorities and women in the newsrooms of television and radio stations, a survey investigated the types of positions held by minority and non-minority men and women in broadcast news. Subjects, 730 news directors from non-satellite commercial TV stations and commercial radio stations, answered…

  2. A biography and obituary of Alfred Traverse (1925–2015)

    OpenAIRE

    Riding, James B.; Chaloner FRS, William G.; Farley, Martin B.; Rich, Fredrick J.; Strother, Paul K.

    2016-01-01

    Professor Alfred (‘Al’) Traverse passed away following a long illness at 90 years of age on September 15th 2015 at Juniper Village, State College, Pennsylvania, USA. With his death, the twin sciences of palaeobotany and palynology have lost one of their most influential and productive of practitioners and teachers. He had a stellar student career, was a coal petrologist, an industrial palynologist and held parallel positions in the Episcopal (Anglican) church. However he is principally define...

  3. 30 CFR 56.12033 - Hand-held electric tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Hand-held electric tools. 56.12033 Section 56.12033 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL....12033 Hand-held electric tools. Hand-held electric tools shall not be operated at high potential...

  4. Exploring field-of-view non-uniformities produced by a hand-held spectroradiometer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamir Caras

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The shape of a spectroradiometer’s field of view (FOV affects the way spectral measurements are acquired. Knowing this property is a prerequisite for the correct use of the spectrometer. If the substrate is heterogeneous, the ability to accurately know what is being measured depends on knowing the FOV location, shape, spectral and spatial sensitivity. The GER1500 is a hand-held spectrometer with a fixed lens light entry slit and has a laser guide that allows control over the target by positioning the entire unit. In the current study, the FOV of the GER1500 was mapped and analysed. The spectral and spatial non-uniformities of the FOV were examined and were found to be spectrally independent. The relationship between the FOV and the built-in laser guide was tested and found to have a linear displacement dependent on the distance to the target. This allows an accurate prediction of the actual FOV position. A correction method to improve the agreement between the expected and measured reflectance over heterogeneous targets was developed and validated. The methods described are applicable and may be of use with other hand-held spectroradiometers.

  5. 30 CFR 57.12033 - Hand-held electric tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Hand-held electric tools. 57.12033 Section 57.12033 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL... Surface and Underground § 57.12033 Hand-held electric tools. Hand-held electric tools shall not be...

  6. How to engage small retail businesses in workplace violence prevention: Perspectives from small businesses and influential organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruening, Rebecca A; Strazza, Karen; Nocera, Maryalice; Peek-Asa, Corinne; Casteel, Carri

    2015-06-01

    Small retail businesses experience high robbery and violent crime rates leading to injury and death. Workplace violence prevention programs (WVPP) based on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design reduce this risk, but low small business participation limits their effectiveness. Recent dissemination models of occupational safety and health information recommend collaborating with an intermediary organization to engage small businesses. Qualitative interviews with 70 small business operators and 32 representatives of organizations with small business influence were conducted to identify factors and recommendations for improving dissemination of a WVPP. Both study groups recommended promoting WVPPs through personal contacts but differed on other promotion methods and the type of influential groups to target. Small business operators indicated few connections to formal business networks. Dissemination of WVPPs to small businesses may require models inclusive of influential individuals (e.g., respected business owners) as intermediaries to reach small businesses with few formal connections. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. A hand-held robotic device for peripheral intravenous catheterization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Zhuoqi; Davies, Brian L; Caldwell, Darwin G; Barresi, Giacinto; Xu, Qinqi; Mattos, Leonardo S

    2017-12-01

    Intravenous catheterization is frequently required for numerous medical treatments. However, this process is characterized by a high failure rate, especially when performed on difficult patients such as newborns and infants. Very young patients have small veins, and that increases the chances of accidentally puncturing the catheterization needle directly through them. In this article, we present the design, development and experimental evaluation of a novel hand-held robotic device for improving the process of peripheral intravenous catheterization by facilitating the needle insertion procedure. To our knowledge, this design is the first hand-held robotic device for assisting in the catheterization insertion task. Compared to the other available technologies, it has several unique advantages such as being compact, low-cost and able to reliably detect venipuncture. The system is equipped with an electrical impedance sensor at the tip of the catheterization needle, which provides real-time measurements used to supervise and control the catheter insertion process. This allows the robotic system to precisely position the needle within the lumen of the target vein, leading to enhanced catheterization success rate. Experiments conducted to evaluate the device demonstrated that it is also effective to deskill the task. Naïve subjects achieved an average catheterization success rate of 88% on a 1.5 mm phantom vessel with the robotic device versus 12% with the traditional unassisted system. The results of this work prove the feasibility of a hand-held assistive robotic device for intravenous catheterization and show that such device has the potential to greatly improve the success rate of these difficult operations.

  8. 27 CFR 46.207 - Articles held in bond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Articles held in bond. 46... Tubes Held for Sale on April 1, 2009 Inventories § 46.207 Articles held in bond. If the dealer is a manufacturer or an export warehouse proprietor and holds articles in TTB bond on April 1, 2009, the floor...

  9. A-KAM, bracket positioning device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anand Ambekar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Bracket positioning is the heart of preadjusted edgewise appliance. Accuracy of bracket positioning directly affects the treatment outcome. A number of hand-held instruments are available for bracket positioning accuracy including Boon's gauge, MBT gauges, and various other modifications. However, the most commonly used MBT gauges come in a set of two or four jigs with gauges on each end of the instrument making it difficult to carry in the instrument tray for the orthodontists. Our new bracket positioning instrument, A-KAM, bracket positioning device surpasses these difficulties and can be used for reproducible bracket placement from 2.5 mm to 5.5 mm from the base of bracket.

  10. Marine Bioinorganic Chemistry Workshop Held in Heron Island on 28 June - 2nd July 1989

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-02-09

    Vilter, H. Phytochemistry, 1984, 23, 1387-1390. 2. Vilter, H. Botanica Marina, 1983, 26, 451-455. 3. Wever, R., Plat, H. and De Boer, E., Biochim. Biophys...and DSc (1977) Vf degrees from the University of Melbourne, where he held teaching and research positions. His major research interests involve the

  11. The Research of Self-Management Team and Superior-Direction Team in Team Learning Influential Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang Wei

    2013-01-01

    Team learning is a cure for bureaucracy; it facilitates team innovation and team performance. But team learning occurs only when necessary conditions were met. This research focused on differences of team learning influential factors between self-management team and superior-direction team. Four variables were chosen as predictors of team learning though literature review and pilot interview. The 4 variables are team motivation, team trust, team conflict and team leadership. Selected 54 self ...

  12. Identifying and ranking influential spreaders in complex networks by combining a local-degree sum and the clustering coefficient

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mengtian; Zhang, Ruisheng; Hu, Rongjing; Yang, Fan; Yao, Yabing; Yuan, Yongna

    2018-03-01

    Identifying influential spreaders is a crucial problem that can help authorities to control the spreading process in complex networks. Based on the classical degree centrality (DC), several improved measures have been presented. However, these measures cannot rank spreaders accurately. In this paper, we first calculate the sum of the degrees of the nearest neighbors of a given node, and based on the calculated sum, a novel centrality named clustered local-degree (CLD) is proposed, which combines the sum and the clustering coefficients of nodes to rank spreaders. By assuming that the spreading process in networks follows the susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) model, we perform extensive simulations on a series of real networks to compare the performances between the CLD centrality and other six measures. The results show that the CLD centrality has a competitive performance in distinguishing the spreading ability of nodes, and exposes the best performance to identify influential spreaders accurately.

  13. Youth work in the registered religious communities from the positive youth development perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Snoj, Emilija

    2016-01-01

    This Master’s Thesis presents the theory behind a contemporary perspective called positive youth development. This perspective, paradigm, approach or concept touches different fields and draws from interdisciplinary research, philosophy, policy formation, Youth program description and others. Its theoretical background consists of developmental system theories combined with the idea that the fundamental process of development is marked by mutually influential relations between the developing ...

  14. Identifying a set of influential spreaders in complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jian-Xiong; Chen, Duan-Bing; Dong, Qiang; Zhao, Zhi-Dan

    2016-06-01

    Identifying a set of influential spreaders in complex networks plays a crucial role in effective information spreading. A simple strategy is to choose top-r ranked nodes as spreaders according to influence ranking method such as PageRank, ClusterRank and k-shell decomposition. Besides, some heuristic methods such as hill-climbing, SPIN, degree discount and independent set based are also proposed. However, these approaches suffer from a possibility that some spreaders are so close together that they overlap sphere of influence or time consuming. In this report, we present a simply yet effectively iterative method named VoteRank to identify a set of decentralized spreaders with the best spreading ability. In this approach, all nodes vote in a spreader in each turn, and the voting ability of neighbors of elected spreader will be decreased in subsequent turn. Experimental results on four real networks show that under Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) and Susceptible-Infected (SI) models, VoteRank outperforms the traditional benchmark methods on both spreading rate and final affected scale. What’s more, VoteRank has superior computational efficiency.

  15. [Information processing speed and influential factors in multiple sclerosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, M L; Xu, E H; Dong, H Q; Zhang, J W

    2016-04-19

    To study the information processing speed and the influential factors in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A total of 36 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 21 patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and 50 healthy control subjects from Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between April 2010 and April 2012 were included into this cross-sectional study.Neuropsychological tests was conducted after the disease had been stable for 8 weeks, including information processing speed, memory, executive functions, language and visual perception.Correlation between information processing speed and depression, fatigue, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) were studied. (1)MS patient groups demonstrated cognitive deficits compared to healthy controls.The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) (control group 57±12; RRMS group 46±17; SPMS group 35±10, Pinformation processing (Pinformation processing speed, verbal memory and executive functioning are seen in MS patients, especially in SPMS subtype, while visual-spatial function is relatively reserved.Age, white matter change scales, EDSS scores, depression are negatively associated with information processing speed.

  16. Selenium Content, Influential Factors Within the Plant and the Transformation of Different Selenium Specification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LIU Yuan-yuan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper collected relevant literatures on selenium and explored the function to plant, selenium content, influential factors and selenium specification and transformation. We believed that there should be more deep researches on function of selenium to plant. Approaches of molecular, genetic engineering and isotope could be employed to breed selenium rich crops and possibilities in practice. More efforts should be spent on the technologies research for improving selenium level in crops under natural soil conditions to sustainably utilize the selenium resources.

  17. [Analysis on influential factors in China's exports of primary and semi-finished products of traditional Chinese medicine to ASEAN].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Yun-Xu; Yang, Yue; Zhao, Wei; Bi, Kai-Shun

    2014-04-01

    Two regression models, based on panel data over the period of 2000-2011, are built and used to analyze what factors determine China's exports of primary and semi-finished products of traditional Chinese medicine to ASEAN. The results indicate that, China GDP, the ratio of ASEAN to China GDP per capita, average export price, the ratio of state-owned assets to total assets, have a significant positive influence on the export volumes of primary products of Chinese medicine. At the same time, RMB appreciation, the ratio of three kinds of foreign-invested assets to total assets, China-ASEAN Early Harvest Program, ASEAN-China Free Trade Area have a significant negative influence. In respect of the export volumes of semi-finished products of Chinese medicine, the significant influential factors are ASEAN GDP and the ratio of ASEAN to China GDP per capita. The former is positive and the latter is negative. In order to optimize the commodity composition of experts, it is needed to increase export volumes of both primary and semi-finished products of Chinese medicine. According to the analysis above, some proposals are put forward, such as, improving the performance of foreign capital, playing an exemplary and leading role in technological innovation by state-owned enterprises, taking advantage of bargaining power of suppliers, increasing outward foreign direct investment.

  18. Potential air contamination during CO2 angiography using a hand-held syringe: theoretical considerations and gas chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, David R; Cho, Kyung J; Hawkins, Irvin F

    2006-01-01

    To assess air contamination in the hand-held syringes currently used for CO2 delivery and to determine whether there is an association between their position and the rate of air contamination. Assessment of air contamination in the syringe (20 ml) included theoretical modeling, mathematical calculation, and gas chromatography (GC). The model was used with Fick's first law to calculate the diffusion of CO2 and the amount of air contamination. For GC studies, the syringes were placed in the upright, horizontal, and inverted positions and gas samples were obtained after 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 min. All trials with each position for each sampling time were performed five times. The amounts of air contamination with time calculated mathematically were 5-10% less than those of GC. With the diffusivity of air-CO2 at 0.1599 cm2/sec (9.594 cm2/min), air contamination was calculated to be 60% at 60 min. With GC air contamination was 13% at 5 min, 31% at 20 min, 43% at 30 min, and 68% at 60 min. There was no difference in air contamination between the different syringe positions. Air contamination occurs in hand-held syringes filled with CO2 when they are open to the ambient air. The amounts of air contamination over time are similar among syringes placed in the upright, horizontal, and inverted positions.

  19. From "our world" to the "real world": Exploring the views and behaviour of policy-influential Australian public health researchers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes, Abby S; Derrick, Gjemma E; Chapman, Simon; Redman, Sally; Hall, Wayne D; Gillespie, James; Sturk, Heidi

    2011-04-01

    Research and researchers influence the genesis and development of public health policy in limited but essential ways. Surveys and interviews with 36 peer-nominated "highly influential" Australian public health researchers found they engaged in a breadth of strategies that included rigorous but targeted research design, multilateral collaboration, multiple methods of research dissemination and promotion (including tactical use of the media), and purposeful development of bridging relationships. Researchers' ability to understand the worlds of research, policy and the media and to speak their languages (or to work with others who fulfilled this role) was a key factor. Advocacy was seen as fundamental by some but was disparaged by others. Influential behaviours were guided by values and beliefs about the principles underlying traditional science and the contrasting ethos of contemporary research. This study may help researchers consider their own policy-related roles, strategies and relationships in the context of increasing calls for research that serves economic and/or social goals. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Growth and profitability in small privately held biotech firms: preliminary findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brännback, Malin; Carsrud, Alan; Renko, Maija; Ostermark, Ralf; Aaltonen, Jaana; Kiviluoto, Niklas

    2009-06-01

    This paper reports on preliminary findings on a study of the relationship of growth and profitability among small privately held Finnish Life Science firms. Previous research results concerning growth and profitability are mixed, ranging from strongly positive to a negative relationship. The conventional wisdom states that growth is a prerequisite for profitability. Our results suggest that the reverse is the case. A high profitability-low growth biotech firm is more probably to make the transition to high profitability-high growth than a firm that starts off with low profitability and high growth.

  1. [Study on the current situation and influential factors of anxiety sensitivity among middle school students in Chongqing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qian-Qian; Zhang, Da-Jun; Guo, Lan-Ting; Feng, Zheng-Zhi; Wu, Ming-Xia

    2007-09-01

    To explore the status and influencing factors on anxiety sensitivity among middle school students in Chongqing. 58 classes from 12 schools were randomly selected in four administrative districts of Chongqing city. A total number of 2700 students was included for final analysis including 48.5% from junior high school and 51.5% from senior high school students with 49.2% boys and 50.8% girls. The Chinese version of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revision, Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used. (1) There was no significant difference between grade groups (P = 0.49). (2) The level of girl's anxiety sensitivity was always higher than boy's (P < 0.001). (3) Data from multiple linear regression showed that the influential factors to the degree of anxiety sensitivity were: state of anxiety, trait anxiety, life events, sex, stress from learning, etc (standard coefficients of regression were 0.258, 0.163, 0.112, 0.093, 0.124, -0.096, 0.096). The major influential factors of anxiety sensitivity would include: sex, stress from learning, life events, interpersonal relationship, state of anxiety and trait anxiety.

  2. Who Owns America: Strategic Ownership Positions in Industrial Corporations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dye, Thomas R.

    1983-01-01

    In 1981, families and individuals held the largest dollar share of strategic ownership positions in the Fortune 500, surpassing banks, financial firms, employee stock plans, insurance companies, pension funds, and foreign owners. (RM)

  3. ON THE INFLUENTIAL POINTS IN THE FUNCTIONAL CIRCULAR RELATIONSHIP MODELS WITH AN APPLICATION ON WIND DATA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALi Hassan Abuzaid

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available If the interest is to calibrate two instruments then the functional relationship model is more appropriate than regression models. Fitting a straight line when both variables are circular and subject to errors has not received much attention. In this paper, we consider the problem of detecting influential points in two functional relationship models for circular variables. The first is based on the simple circular regression the (SC, while the last is derived from the complex linear regression the (CL.   The covariance matrices are derived and then the COVRATIO statistics are formulated for both models. The cut-off points are obtained and the power of performance is assessed via simulation studies.   The performance of COVRATIO statistics depends on the concentration of error, sample size and level of contamination. In the case of linear relationship between two circular variables COVRATIO statistics of the (SC model performs better than the (CL.  On the other hand, a novel diagram, the so-called spoke plot, is utilized to detect possible influential points For illustration purposes, the proposed procedures are applied on real data of wind directions measured by two different instruments. COVRATIO statistics and the spoke plot were able to identify two observations as influential points. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"جدول عادي"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

  4. A bibliometric analysis of the 100 most influential papers in burns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joyce, C W; Kelly, J C; Sugrue, C

    2014-02-01

    The importance of a published paper to a particular area is reflected in the quantity of citations obtained from peers. In burns, it is unknown which papers have been the most influential on this specialty. The purpose of our study was to identify the 100 most cited papers in burns and to analyze their characteristics. Twenty-seven journals were chosen for analysis. These included high impact factor scientific journals and journals dedicated to burns and trauma. Only twelve of these journals contributed to the 100 most cited papers in burns and we analyzed each paper individually looking at its subject matter, authorship, article type, institution, country and year of publication. Our citation analysis revealed an interesting mix of clinical and scientific papers that documents the key landmarks in burn care over the past 66 years. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

  5. Potential Air Contamination During CO2 Angiography Using a Hand-Held Syringe: Theoretical Considerations and Gas Chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, David R.; Cho, Kyung J.; Hawkins, Irvin F.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose. To assess air contamination in the hand-held syringes currently used for CO 2 delivery and to determine whether there is an association between their position and the rate of air contamination. Methods. Assessment of air contamination in the syringe (20 ml) included theoretical modeling, mathematical calculation, and gas chromatography (GC). The model was used with Fick's first law to calculate the diffusion of CO 2 and the amount of air contamination. For GC studies, the syringes were placed in the upright, horizontal, and inverted positions and gas samples were obtained after 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 min. All trials with each position for each sampling time were performed five times. Results. The amounts of air contamination with time calculated mathematically were 5-10% less than those of GC. With the diffusivity of air-CO 2 at 0.1599 cm 2 /sec (9.594 cm 2 /min), air contamination was calculated to be 60% at 60 min. With GC air contamination was 13% at 5 min, 31% at 20 min, 43% at 30 min, and 68% at 60 min. There was no difference in air contamination between the different syringe positions. Conclusion. Air contamination occurs in hand-held syringes filled with CO 2 when they are open to the ambient air. The amounts of air contamination over time are similar among syringes placed in the upright, horizontal, and inverted positions

  6. 29 CFR 2520.103-11 - Assets held for investment purposes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or quoted on NASDAQ; (3) Assets held for investment purposes shall not... assets held for investment purposes the 1,000 shares of stock S under paragraph (b)(1) of this section... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Assets held for investment purposes. 2520.103-11 Section...

  7. Downsizing of health-system pharmacist positions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahaleh, A A; Siganga, W; Holiday-Goodman, M; Lively, B T

    1998-11-15

    The effects of downsizing on institutional pharmacists were studied. A national mail survey was sent to a random sample of 533 members of ASHP in January 1997. The questionnaire was designed to determine (1) the influence of selected factors on the downsizing of pharmacist positions and (2) pharmacists' attitudes about downsizing. A total of 256 usable questionnaires were received, for a net response rate of 48%. Forty-four pharmacists, or 17%, had personally been affected by downsizing. Sixty-one percent of the pharmacists affected by downsizing had had administrative positions. After downsizing, only 32% of the pharmacists had an administrative position. Most of the pharmacists were currently employed. Thirty-five (79%) described their current job responsibilities as substantially changed. Two thirds made the same salaries or higher salaries. Pharmacists who had been downsized rated mergers, the impact of managed care, and the profit motive as the most influential causes of downsizing of pharmacist positions. The three most common negative comments about the impact of downsizing cited reduction in the quality of patient care, increased stress, and lowered morale. Most of the pharmacists believed that communication skills, education, cross-training, and clinical skills are keys to surviving downsizing. Most pharmacists whose positions were downsized said they went on to jobs with similar or higher salaries and substantially different responsibilities.

  8. The necessity of Darwin: this journal's tribute to the most influential scientist of all time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sessions, Stanley K; Macgregor, Herbert C

    2009-01-01

    Charles Darwin is considered by many to be one of the most influential scientists of all time. His theory of evolution via natural selection was astonishingly prescient in terms of what modern biology has revealed in the 150 years since the publication of The Origin of Species, especially since Darwin was unaware of even the most fundamental aspects of transmission genetics, not to mention molecular biology. Here we speculate what impact it would have had on Darwin's thinking if he had known what we now know about molecular biology and cytogenetics.

  9. [Job satisfaction and its influential factors in oil production workers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Ya-hui; Meng, Xian-hai; Yu, Shan-fa; Qi, Xiu-ying

    2008-03-01

    To investigate the job satisfaction and its influential factors in oil production workers. 423 oil production workers were investigated using the Occupational Stress Instrument. The job satisfaction, job organization satisfaction, job itself satisfaction in the workers aged or = 30 years old (49.34 +/- 10.12, 24.60 +/- 5.40, 24.74 +/- 5.36 respectively) (P job satisfaction in the groups of different service length was significantly different. The job satisfaction in the workers of service length 5-10 years was the lowest compared with those of service length 10 years (P job satisfaction. The relationship between psychological health, work locus of control, coping strategies, affective balance and social support showed a statistical significance difference (P job satisfaction as strain and personal characters, occupational stress factors, coping as independent variables. Five variables entered regression equation. They were work locus of control, affective balance, social support, psychological health and coping strategies. The job satisfaction of oil production workers is affected by multiple factors such as the age, work length and social support.

  10. 12 CFR 745.5 - Accounts held by executors or administrators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Accounts held by executors or administrators... § 745.5 Accounts held by executors or administrators. Funds of a decedent held in the name of the decedent or in the name of the executor or administrator of the decedent's estate and deposited in one or...

  11. Determining Influential Users in Social Networks (The Case of: Word of Mouth on Digikala Company Instagram Page

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohammad reza karimi alavijeh

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of social networks is one of the most influential phenomena of the 21st century. Social networking cyberspace creates a broad area of information and a variety of semantic representations. Social networks connect different people with different interests and ideas together. Due to the huge amount of intellectual potential and human thought in social networks, a great number of businessmen or retailors and commerce managers are attracted to such networks. The main objective of this study is to identify the most effective members in the cycle of content propagation on social networks and to propose solutions to improve the propagation of advertising and marketing on social networks to help business owners and managers. The case study of this research is "DigiKala" Instagram social network. At first, using the NodeXL software, the general content of DigiKala Instagram pages were collected. In the next step, applying clustering methods we found effective people using AlSuwaidan framework. Then, the collected data were processed using Matlab software. Finally, the obtained results were evaluated and based on the tests, 9 of the most influential people in accordance with the highest coefficient in publishing content on the social network were introduced.

  12. Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison M. Perez

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1 to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2 to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3 to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28–79 years of age were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations.

  13. Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Alison M; Spence, Jeffrey Scott; Kiel, L D; Venza, Erin E; Chapman, Sandra B

    2018-01-01

    Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1) to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2) to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3) to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28-79 years of age) were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations.

  14. Influential Cognitive Processes on Framing Biases in Aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Alison M.; Spence, Jeffrey Scott; Kiel, L. D.; Venza, Erin E.; Chapman, Sandra B.

    2018-01-01

    Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1) to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2) to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3) to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28–79 years of age) were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations. PMID:29867641

  15. Positive affect and markers of inflammation: discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stellar, Jennifer E; John-Henderson, Neha; Anderson, Craig L; Gordon, Amie M; McNeil, Galen D; Keltner, Dacher

    2015-04-01

    Negative emotions are reliably associated with poorer health (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002), but only recently has research begun to acknowledge the important role of positive emotions for our physical health (Fredrickson, 2003). We examine the link between dispositional positive affect and one potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health-proinflammatory cytokines, specifically levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). We hypothesized that greater trait positive affect would be associated with lower levels of IL-6 in a healthy sample. We found support for this hypothesis across two studies. We also explored the relationship between discrete positive emotions and IL-6 levels, finding that awe, measured in two different ways, was the strongest predictor of lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines. These effects held when controlling for relevant personality and health variables. This work suggests a potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health through proinflammatory cytokines. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Influential factors of 2-chlorobiphenyl reductive dechlorination by highly dispersed bimetallic nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiang Junrong

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Highly dispersed Pd-Fe0 bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared in the presence of 40 kHz ultrasonic irradiation in order to enhance disparity and reactivity, and simultaneously avoid agglomeration. Influential factors of 2-chlorobiphenyl (2-Cl BP reductive dechlorination by highly dispersed Pd-Fe0 nanoparticles were investigated. Experimental results showed that highly dispersed Pd-Fe0 nanoparticles prepared in the in the presence of ultrasound could further improve the dechlorination efficiency of 2-Cl BP, meanwhile the biphenyl (BP formation rates increased obviously and increased from 47.4% (in the absence of ultrasound to 95.3% (in the presence of ultrasound within 300 min. The catalytic reductive dechlorination effciency of 2-Cl BP was dependent on Pd-Fe0 nanoparticles prepared methods, Pd-Fe0 nanoparticles dosage, Pd loading percentage over Fe0 and initial pH values

  17. Finding influential nodes for integration in brain networks using optimal percolation theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Ferraro, Gino; Moreno, Andrea; Min, Byungjoon; Morone, Flaviano; Pérez-Ramírez, Úrsula; Pérez-Cervera, Laura; Parra, Lucas C; Holodny, Andrei; Canals, Santiago; Makse, Hernán A

    2018-06-11

    Global integration of information in the brain results from complex interactions of segregated brain networks. Identifying the most influential neuronal populations that efficiently bind these networks is a fundamental problem of systems neuroscience. Here, we apply optimal percolation theory and pharmacogenetic interventions in vivo to predict and subsequently target nodes that are essential for global integration of a memory network in rodents. The theory predicts that integration in the memory network is mediated by a set of low-degree nodes located in the nucleus accumbens. This result is confirmed with pharmacogenetic inactivation of the nucleus accumbens, which eliminates the formation of the memory network, while inactivations of other brain areas leave the network intact. Thus, optimal percolation theory predicts essential nodes in brain networks. This could be used to identify targets of interventions to modulate brain function.

  18. The Romanian Social Democratic Party versus the authoritarian monarchy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florin Grecu

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The article approaches the Romanian social-democratic collaboration during 1938-1940 with the authoritarian monarch regime. Even though the party leaders had diverging political views, regards to the acceptance or the non-acceptance of the authoritarian regime, the influential PSDR members held leading positions within the single party and the corporate parliament and within the union structures. The positions were offered by the regime, so that the union leaders would stop instigating workers to go on strike, and to accept the governmental policies. The freedom of speech and the political actions were ceded to the monarch, who governed at the place of the political parties and he controlled the unions, by using the guilds.

  19. Gunshot induced injuries in orthopaedic trauma research. A bibliometric analysis of the most influential literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Held, M; Engelmann, E; Dunn, R; Ahmad, S S; Laubscher, M; Keel, M J B; Maqungo, S; Hoppe, S

    2017-09-01

    A growing burden of gunshot injuries demands evidence-based ballistic trauma management. No comprehensive systematic overview of the current knowledge is available to date. This study aims to identify and analyze the most influential publications in the field of orthopedic ballistic trauma research. All databases available in the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge were searched to conduct this bibliometrical study. The most cited orthopedic ballistic trauma articles published between 1950 and 2015 were identified by use of a multi-step approach. Publications with ten citations and more were analyzed for citations, journal, authorship, geographic origin, area of research, anatomical site, study type, study category, and level of evidence. Citations of the 128 included studies ranged from 113 to 10. These were published in fifty different journals between 1953 and 2011. Most publications (n=106; 83%) originated from the USA, were retrospective (n=85; 66.4%), level IV studies (n=90; 70.3%), reported on spinal gunshot injuries (n=49; 38.33%) and were published between 1980 and 2000 (n=111; 86.7%). This bibliometric study provides the first comprehensive overview of influential publications in the field of orthopedic ballistic trauma research. More prospective studies and high-quality systematic reviews are needed. Centres with a high burden of gunshot injuries from the developing world need to share their experience in form of international publications, to provide a more comprehensive picture of the global gun-related orthopedic injury burden. bibliometric analysis: level III. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  20. Asthmatic/wheezing phenotypes in preschool children: Influential factors, health care and urban-rural differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutzora, Susanne; Weber, Alisa; Heinze, Stefanie; Hendrowarsito, Lana; Nennstiel-Ratzel, Uta; von Mutius, Erika; Fuchs, Nina; Herr, Caroline

    2018-03-01

    Different wheezing and asthmatic phenotypes turned out to indicate differences in etiology, risk factors and health care. We examined influential factors and urban-rural differences for different phenotypes. Parents of 4732 children filled out a questionnaire concerning children's health and environmental factors administered within the Health Monitoring Units (GME) in a cross-sectional study in Bavaria, Germany (2014/2015). To classify respiratory symptoms, five phenotype groups were built: episodic, unremitting and frequent wheeze, ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children) - asthma and physician-diagnosed asthma (neither of the groups are mutually exclusive). For each phenotype, health care variables were presented and stratified for residence. Urban-rural differences were tested by Pearson's chi-squared tests. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to analyze associations between influential factors and belonging to a phenotype group, and to compare groups with regard to health care variables as outcome. Risk factors for wheezing phenotypes were male gender (OR = 2.02, 95%-CI = [1.65-2.48]), having older siblings (OR = 1.24, 95%-CI = [1.02-1.51]), and preterm delivery (OR = 1.61, 95%-CI = [1.13-2.29]) (ORs for unremitting wheeze). 57% of children with ISAAC asthma and 74% with physician-diagnosed asthma had performed allergy tests. Medication intake among all groups was more frequent in rural areas, and physician's asthma diagnoses were more frequent in urban areas. In accordance with previous research this study confirms that male gender, older siblings and preterm delivery are associated with several wheezing phenotypes. Overall, low numbers of allergy tests among children with physician's diagnoses highlight a discrepancy between common practice and current knowledge and guidelines. Residential differences in health care might encourage further research and interventions strategies. Copyright © 2017

  1. 5th International Symposium on Positive Systems

    CERN Document Server

    Farina, Lorenzo; Setola, Roberto; Germani, Alfredo

    2017-01-01

    This book presents high-quality original contributions on positive systems, including topics such as: monotone dynamical systems in mathematical biology and game theory; mathematical developments for networked systems in biology, chemistry and the social sciences; linear and nonlinear positive operators; dynamical analysis, observation and control of positive distributed parameter systems; stochastic realization theory; biological systems with positive variables and positive controls; iterated function systems; nonnegative dynamic processes; and dimensioning problems for collaborative systems. The book comprises a selection of the best papers presented at the POSTA 2016, the 5th International Symposium on Positive Systems, which was held in Rome, Italy, in September 2016. This conference series represents a targeted response to the growing need for research that reports on and critically discusses a wide range of topics concerning the theory and applications of positive systems.

  2. 13 CFR 120.1850 - Will the Collateral be held by SBA?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Loan Program) § 120.1850 Will the Collateral be held by SBA? Yes, SBA or its expressly authorized agent... all Collateral for SISMBD Loans in a custodial account. Certificates held as Collateral must be in... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Will the Collateral be held by SBA...

  3. PHYSICS UPDATE: The global positioning system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walton, Alan J.; Black, Richard J.

    1999-01-01

    A hand-held global positioning system receiver displays the operator's latitude, longitude and velocity. Knowledge of GCSE-level physics will allow the basic principles of the system to be understood; knowledge of A-level physics will allow many important aspects of their implementation to be comprehended. A discussion of the system provides many simple numerical calculations relevant to school and first-year undergraduate syllabuses.

  4. The neurological legacy of John Russell Reynolds (1828-1896).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eadie, M J

    2007-04-01

    Sir John Russell Reynolds was an eminent and highly influential physician in the Victorian era who held the Presidencies of the Royal College of Physicians of London, and of the British Medical Association. He was the protégée of the great experimental physiologist, Marshall Hall, who discovered the reflex arc, and succeeded to Hall's clinical practice in London. Reynolds' thought and clinical activities linked the emerging British neurology of the first half of the 19th century with its blossoming, particularly in London, from 1860 onwards. In his writings Reynolds was the first English author to apply the approach to classification of neurological disorders that is still often used, though now in modified form. He was also the first to enunciate the notion of positive and negative symptoms arising from neurological disease and to suggest their pathogenesis, and was arguably the originator of the influential concept that an idiopathic disease, epilepsy, existed, one to be distinguished from 'epileptiform' seizures due to brain pathology.

  5. Influential Factors in Choosing Higher Education Institutions Among Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zlata Kastelic

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose and Originality:The purpose of this article is to determine which factors are influential for students inchoosinga specific higher education institution. Method:By analyzing available literature and existing surveys, we gained in-depthknowledgeof key theoretical conceptsof the researched problem. The latter represents the basis on which we have designed our own research algorithm and conducted a proper survey. The purpose of the research was to analyze, which factors affect the most individuals to enroll in aspecific higher education institution, and to what extent our findings coincide with other studies’ findings. Results:The results showed a significant degree of correlation between factors that motivate foreign students to enrol in a higher education institution. Society:By knowing which areinfluential factors for students’ enrollment in HEIs the latterwill be able to recognize and satisfy needs and desires of potential students and subsequently design attractive studying programmes and thus equip them with knowledge in order to become competent individuals to successfully compete on labour market. Limitations/Future Research: Generalisation of results was limited due to the small size of the sample, and since all respondents came from only one Slovenian region. But since this is the first such surveyit represents a complex and remarkable preliminary study that can be upgradedand generate important contribution in understanding the key factors, which stimultae students for enrollment in higher education institutions.

  6. 77 FR 12106 - 88th Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-28

    ... 159, Global Positioning System (GPS) AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning System (GPS). SUMMARY: The..., Global Positioning System (GPS). DATES: The meeting will be held March 13-16, 2012, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m...

  7. 9 CFR 354.126 - Carcasses held for further examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Carcasses held for further examination. 354.126 Section 354.126 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... Inspection § 354.126 Carcasses held for further examination. Each carcass, including all parts thereof, in...

  8. 9 CFR 381.77 - Carcasses held for further examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Carcasses held for further examination. 381.77 Section 381.77 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... Carcasses and Parts § 381.77 Carcasses held for further examination. Each carcass, including all parts...

  9. Accounting Practices Regarding the Non-Current Assets Held for Sale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marinela Manea

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Generally the non-current assets, and especially the tangible assets, are held by the entity (as it results from their very definition in order to be used in the production of goods or for services, to be rented to the thirds or to be used for administrative purposes during several periods. For the time interval that a non-current asset is not classified as being held for sale, its recognition and implicitly its assessment will be done in accordance with the provisions of the applicable International Financial Reporting Standards; after the classification of the respective asset as being held with the intention of subsequent sale there will be applicable the provisions of the contemporary IFRS norm 5 “Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued activities”.

  10. Using LTI Dynamics to Identify the Influential Nodes in a Network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goran Murić

    Full Text Available Networks are used for modeling numerous technical, social or biological systems. In order to better understand the system dynamics, it is a matter of great interest to identify the most important nodes within the network. For a large set of problems, whether it is the optimal use of available resources, spreading information efficiently or even protection from malicious attacks, the most important node is the most influential spreader, the one that is capable of propagating information in the shortest time to a large portion of the network. Here we propose the Node Imposed Response (NiR, a measure which accurately evaluates node spreading power. It outperforms betweenness, degree, k-shell and h-index centrality in many cases and shows the similar accuracy to dynamics-sensitive centrality. We utilize the system-theoretic approach considering the network as a Linear Time-Invariant system. By observing the system response we can quantify the importance of each node. In addition, our study provides a robust tool set for various protective strategies.

  11. Getting the word out on Twitter: the role of influentials, information brokers and strong ties in building word-of-mouth for brands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Araujo, T.; Neijens, P.; Vliegenthart, R.

    2017-01-01

    Using a sample of over 5300 tweets from top global brands, this study investigated how different types of users can influence brand content diffusion via retweets. Twitter users who influenced followers to retweet brand content were categorized as (1) influentials, because of their above average

  12. Carrying Position Independent User Heading Estimation for Indoor Pedestrian Navigation with Smartphones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhi-An Deng

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel heading estimation approach for indoor pedestrian navigation using the built-in inertial sensors on a smartphone. Unlike previous approaches constraining the carrying position of a smartphone on the user’s body, our approach gives the user a larger freedom by implementing automatic recognition of the device carrying position and subsequent selection of an optimal strategy for heading estimation. We firstly predetermine the motion state by a decision tree using an accelerometer and a barometer. Then, to enable accurate and computational lightweight carrying position recognition, we combine a position classifier with a novel position transition detection algorithm, which may also be used to avoid the confusion between position transition and user turn during pedestrian walking. For a device placed in the trouser pockets or held in a swinging hand, the heading estimation is achieved by deploying a principal component analysis (PCA-based approach. For a device held in the hand or against the ear during a phone call, user heading is directly estimated by adding the yaw angle of the device to the related heading offset. Experimental results show that our approach can automatically detect carrying positions with high accuracy, and outperforms previous heading estimation approaches in terms of accuracy and applicability.

  13. Positioning the endoscope in laparoscopic surgery by foot: Influential factors on surgeons' performance in virtual trainer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdi, Elahe; Bouri, Mohamed; Burdet, Etienne; Himidan, Sharifa; Bleuler, Hannes

    2017-07-01

    We have investigated how surgeons can use the foot to position a laparoscopic endoscope, a task that normally requires an extra assistant. Surgeons need to train in order to exploit the possibilities offered by this new technique and safely manipulate the endoscope together with the hands movements. A realistic abdominal cavity has been developed as training simulator to investigate this multi-arm manipulation. In this virtual environment, the surgeon's biological hands are modelled as laparoscopic graspers while the viewpoint is controlled by the dominant foot. 23 surgeons and medical students performed single-handed and bimanual manipulation in this environment. The results show that residents had superior performance compared to both medical students and more experienced surgeons, suggesting that residency is an ideal period for this training. Performing the single-handed task improves the performance in the bimanual task, whereas the converse was not true.

  14. A qualitative exploration of HIV-positive pregnant women's decision ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HIV-positive women's abortion decisions were explored by: (i) investigating influencing factors; (ii) determining knowledge of abortion policy and public health services; and (iii) exploring abortion experiences. In-depth interviews were held with 24 HIVpositive women (15 had an abortion; 9 did not), recruited at public health ...

  15. 76 FR 67019 - Eighty-Seventh: RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-28

    ... Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS) AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S... System (GPS). SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS) 87th meeting. DATES: The meeting will be held November 14-18...

  16. Moving from theory to practice: A participatory social network mapping approach to address unmet need for family planning in Benin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igras, Susan; Diakité, Mariam; Lundgren, Rebecka

    2017-07-01

    In West Africa, social factors influence whether couples with unmet need for family planning act on birth-spacing desires. Tékponon Jikuagou is testing a social network-based intervention to reduce social barriers by diffusing new ideas. Individuals and groups judged socially influential by their communities provide entrée to networks. A participatory social network mapping methodology was designed to identify these diffusion actors. Analysis of monitoring data, in-depth interviews, and evaluation reports assessed the methodology's acceptability to communities and staff and whether it produced valid, reliable data to identify influential individuals and groups who diffuse new ideas through their networks. Results indicated the methodology's acceptability. Communities were actively and equitably engaged. Staff appreciated its ability to yield timely, actionable information. The mapping methodology also provided valid and reliable information by enabling communities to identify highly connected and influential network actors. Consistent with social network theory, this methodology resulted in the selection of informal groups and individuals in both informal and formal positions. In-depth interview data suggest these actors were diffusing new ideas, further confirming their influence/connectivity. The participatory methodology generated insider knowledge of who has social influence, challenging commonly held assumptions. Collecting and displaying information fostered staff and community learning, laying groundwork for social change.

  17. Examining related influential factors for dental calculus scaling utilization among people with disabilities in Taiwan, a nationwide population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Hsien-Tang; Kung, Pei-Tseng; Su, Hsun-Pi; Tsai, Wen-Chen

    2014-09-01

    Limited studies with large samples have been conducted on the utilization of dental calculus scaling among people with physical or mental disabilities. This study aimed to investigate the utilization of dental calculus scaling among the national disabled population. This study analyzed the utilization of dental calculus scaling among the disabled people, using the nationwide data between 2006 and 2008. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed to analyze related influential factors for dental calculus scaling utilization. The dental calculus scaling utilization rate among people with physical or mental disabilities was 16.39%, and the annual utilization frequency was 0.2 times. Utilization rate was higher among the female and non-aboriginal samples. Utilization rate decreased with increased age and disability severity while utilization rate increased with income, education level, urbanization of residential area and number of chronic illnesses. Related influential factors for dental calculus scaling utilization rate were gender, age, ethnicity (aboriginal or non-aboriginal), education level, urbanization of residence area, income, catastrophic illnesses, chronic illnesses, disability types, and disability severity significantly influenced the dental calculus scaling utilization rate. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. A state of the science on influential factors related to sun protective behaviors to prevent skin cancer in adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy F. Bruce, MSN, RN, NE-BC

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Skin cancer rates have risen over the past decades, making it imperative that adults understand the need for protection from sun exposure. Though some risk factors have been identified as predictive for skin cancers, there is a lack of synthesized information about factors that influence adults in their decisions to engage in sun protective behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to present the current state of the science on influential factors for sun protective behaviors in the general adult population. A rigorous literature search inclusive of a generally White, Caucasian, and non-Hispanic adult population was performed, and screening yielded 18 quantitative studies for inclusion in this review. Findings indicate that modifiable and non-modifiable factors are interdependent and play a role in sun protective behaviors. This study resulted in a proposed conceptual model for affecting behavioral change in sun protection including the following factors: personal characteristics, cognitive factors, family dynamics, and social/peer group influences. These factors are introduced to propose tailored nursing interventions that would change current sun protective behavior practice. Key implications for nursing research and practice focus on feasibility of annual skin cancer screening facilitated by advanced practice nurses, incorporating the identified influential factors to reduce skin cancer risk and unnecessary sun exposure.

  19. Attitudes of pregnant women towards personally controlled electronic, hospital-held, and patient-held medical record systems: a survey study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinlivan, Julie A; Lyons, Sarah; Petersen, Rodney W

    2014-09-01

    On July 1, 2012 the Australian Government launched the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR). This article surveys obstetric patients about their medical record preferences and identifies barriers to adoption of the PCEHR. A survey study was conducted of antenatal patients attending a large Australian metropolitan hospital. Consecutive patients completed questionnaires during the launch phase of the PCEHR system. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on demographics, computer access and familiarity, preference for medical record system, and perceived benefits and concerns. Of 528 women eligible to participate, 474 completed the survey (89.8%). Respondents had high levels of home access to a computer (90.5%) and the Internet (87.1%) and were familiar with using computers in daily life (median Likert scale of 9 out of 10). Despite this, respondents preferred hospital-held paper records, and only one-third preferred a PCEHR; the remainder preferred patient-held records. Compared with hospital-held paper records, respondents felt a PCEHR would reduce the risk of lost records (padvantages and disadvantages with the PCEHR, although the majority still prefer existing record systems. To increase uptake, confidentiality, privacy, and control concerns need to be addressed.

  20. Comparison of two single-breath-held 3-D acquisitions with multi-breath-held 2-D cine steady-state free precession MRI acquisition in children with single ventricles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atweh, Lamya A.; Dodd, Nicholas A.; Krishnamurthy, Ramkumar; Chu, Zili D. [Texas Children' s Hospital, EB Singleton Department of Pediatric Radiology, Cardiovascular Imaging, Houston, TX (United States); Pednekar, Amol [Philips Healthcare, Houston, TX (United States); Krishnamurthy, Rajesh [Texas Children' s Hospital, EB Singleton Department of Pediatric Radiology, Cardiovascular Imaging, Houston, TX (United States); Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Houston, TX (United States); Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Houston, TX (United States)

    2016-05-15

    Breath-held two-dimensional balanced steady-state free precession cine acquisition (2-D breath-held SSFP), accelerated with parallel imaging, is the method of choice for evaluating ventricular function due to its superior blood-to-myocardial contrast, edge definition and high intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio throughout the cardiac cycle. The purpose of this study is to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the two different single-breath-hold 3-D cine SSFP acquisitions using 1) multidirectional sensitivity encoding (SENSE) acceleration factors (3-D multiple SENSE SSFP), and 2) k-t broad-use linear acceleration speed-up technique (3-D k-t SSFP) with the conventional 2-D breath-held SSFP in non-sedated asymptomatic volunteers and children with single ventricle congenital heart disease. Our prospective study was performed on 30 non-sedated subjects (9 healthy volunteers and 21 functional single ventricle patients), ages 12.5 +/- 2.8 years. Two-dimensional breath-held SSFP with SENSE acceleration factor of 2, eight-fold accelerated 3-D k-t SSFP, and 3-D multiple SENSE SSFP with total parallel imaging factor of 4 were performed to evaluate ventricular volumes and mass in the short-axis orientation. Image quality scores (blood myocardial contrast, edge definition and interslice alignment) and volumetric analysis (end systolic volume, end diastolic volume and ejection fraction) were performed on the data sets by experienced users. Paired t-test was performed to compare each of the 3-D k-t SSFP and 3-D multiple SENSE SSFP clinical scores against 2-D breath-held SSFP. Bland-Altman analysis was performed on left ventricle (LV) and single ventricle volumetry. Interobserver and intraobserver variability in volumetric measurements were determined using intraclass coefficients. The clinical scores were highest for the 2-D breath-held SSFP images. Between the two 3-D sequences, 3-D multiple SENSE SSFP performed better than 3-D k-t SSFP. Bland-Altman analysis for volumes

  1. Positive spatial curvature does not falsify the landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, B.

    2017-12-01

    We present a simple cosmological model where the quantum tunneling of a scalar field rearranges the energetics of the matter sector, sending a stable static ancestor vacuum with positive spatial curvature into an inating solution with positive curvature. This serves as a proof of principle that an observation of positive spatial curvature does not falsify the hypothesis that our current observer patch originated from false vacuum tunneling in a string or field theoretic landscape. This poster submission is a summary of the work, and was presented at the 3rd annual ICPPA held in Moscow from October 2 to 5, 2017, by Prof. Rostislav Konoplich on behalf of the author.

  2. Examining key factors and influential actors involved in the decision to relocate into assisted living: A sample funding proposal

    OpenAIRE

    Wilson, Ashleigh Leah Davidson

    2013-01-01

    This capstone project presents a conceptually grounded, methodologically appropriate and logistically feasible Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funding proposal. By examining key factors and influential actors involved in the decision to relocate into an assisted living facility (ALF), the proposed study will provide insight into and a rich description of the decision making process as it unfolds. Presented in the format of a CIHR pilot study grant, the proposal details a qualita...

  3. Positive Psychology in Cancer Care: Bad Science, Exaggerated Claims, and Unproven Medicine

    OpenAIRE

    Coyne, James C.; Tennen, Howard

    2010-01-01

    Background Claims of positive psychology about people with cancer enjoy great popularity because they seem to offer scientific confirmation of strongly held cultural beliefs and values. Purpose Our goal is to examine critically four widely accepted claims in the positive psychology literature regarding adaptational outcomes among individuals living with cancer. Methods We examine: (1) the role of positive factors, such as a ?fighting spirit? in extending the life of persons with cancer; (2) e...

  4. 20 CFR 416.1208 - How funds held in financial institution accounts are counted.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How funds held in financial institution accounts are counted. 416.1208 Section 416.1208 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION... held in financial institution accounts are counted. (a) General. Funds held in a financial institution...

  5. 75 FR 2581 - Eighty-First Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-15

    ... Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS) AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 159 meeting: Global Positioning System (GPS). SUMMARY: The FAA is... System (GPS). DATES: The meeting will be held February 2-5, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (unless stated...

  6. 76 FR 27744 - Eighty-Fifth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-12

    ... Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS) AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 159 meeting: Global Positioning System (GPS). SUMMARY: The FAA is... System (GPS). DATES: The meeting will be held May 26, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. ADDRESSES: The...

  7. 76 FR 33022 - Eighty-Sixth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-07

    ... Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS) AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of RTCA Special Committee 159 meeting: Global Positioning System (GPS). SUMMARY: The FAA is... System (GPS). DATES: The meeting will be held June 13-17, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ADDRESSES: The...

  8. Driver hand-held cellular phone use: a four-year analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eby, David W; Vivoda, Jonathon M; St Louis, Renée M

    2006-01-01

    The use of hand-held cellular (mobile) phones while driving has stirred more debate, passion, and research than perhaps any other traffic safety issue in the past several years. There is ample research showing that the use of either hand-held or hands-free cellular phones can lead to unsafe driving patterns. Whether or not these performance deficits increase the risk of crash is difficult to establish, but recent studies are beginning to suggest that cellular phone use elevates crash risk. The purpose of this study was to assess changes in the rate of hand-held cellular phone use by motor-vehicle drivers on a statewide level in Michigan. This study presents the results of 13 statewide surveys of cellular phone use over a 4-year period. Hand-held cellular phone use data were collected through direct observation while vehicles were stopped at intersections and freeway exit ramps. Data were weighted to be representative of all drivers traveling during daylight hours in Michigan. The study found that driver hand-held cellular phone use has more than doubled between 2001 and 2005, from 2.7% to 5.8%. This change represents an average increase of 0.78 percentage points per year. The 5.8% use rate observed in 2005 means that at any given daylight hour, around 36,550 drivers were conversing on cellular phones while driving on Michigan roadways. The trend line fitted to these data predicts that by the year 2010, driver hand-held cellular phone use will be around 8.6%, or 55,000 drivers at any given daylight hour. These results make it clear that cellular phone use while driving will continue to be an important traffic safety issue, and highlight the importance of continued attempts to generate new ways of alleviating this potential hazard.

  9. Positioning device for fuel rods of nuclear reactor fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    The positioning device consists of individual containers, similar to cases, for the fuel elements. These cases are arranged vertically next to one another and are held by means of vertical support posts and horizontal arms. The openings of the cases can be individually approached by the trolleys. (DG) [de

  10. 20 CFR 418.3420 - How are funds held in financial institution accounts counted?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How are funds held in financial institution... SUBSIDIES Medicare Part D Subsidies Resources § 418.3420 How are funds held in financial institution accounts counted? (a) Owner of the account. Funds held in a financial institution account (including...

  11. A metric of influential spreading during contagion dynamics through the air transportation network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christos Nicolaides

    Full Text Available The spread of infectious diseases at the global scale is mediated by long-range human travel. Our ability to predict the impact of an outbreak on human health requires understanding the spatiotemporal signature of early-time spreading from a specific location. Here, we show that network topology, geography, traffic structure and individual mobility patterns are all essential for accurate predictions of disease spreading. Specifically, we study contagion dynamics through the air transportation network by means of a stochastic agent-tracking model that accounts for the spatial distribution of airports, detailed air traffic and the correlated nature of mobility patterns and waiting-time distributions of individual agents. From the simulation results and the empirical air-travel data, we formulate a metric of influential spreading--the geographic spreading centrality--which accounts for spatial organization and the hierarchical structure of the network traffic, and provides an accurate measure of the early-time spreading power of individual nodes.

  12. Assessing production characteristics, influential factors and administrative policies in a multicenter dental organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Charles W

    2012-06-01

    In multicenter service organizations, managers often make centralized decisions without considering the effects of differing production characteristics and influential factors on each center. In this study, the author examines differences in production characteristics and factors that influence production, as well as their likely effect on policy formulation, in a large, six-center dental group in the Chicago area. The results of the study show that the six centers (in two groups) exhibited two distinct production patterns, with three having logarithmic distributions and three having normal distributions. Production differences between the groups likely resulted from differences in managed care, staffing and dental procedures performed. Instead of being monolithic, the organization exhibited two types of centers, each with its own production characteristics and factors that influenced production. The study results suggest that large service corporations and }partnerships would benefit from conducting analyses of production characteristics and factors that influence production before making policy decisions that affect the entire organization.

  13. Discarding Discards: Identification of influential factors and possible mitigation tools in demersal trawl fisheries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feekings, Jordan P.

    Discarding of aquatic organisms is a global problem in the world’s fisheries, where more than 7 million tonnes are caught and subsequently discarded each year. The understanding of what drives discarding can help provide mitigation measures in the future. Altering management measures which result...... in high discard rates/ratios may prove beneficial not only to the economic viability of the fishery but also to the biological functioning of the ecosystem. The present Ph.D. thesis, titled “Discarding Discards: Identification of influential factors and possible mitigation tools in demersal trawl...... an examination of the efficiency of technical regulations currently in force and retrospective analyses of the efficiency of such measures in the past. The thesis consists of a review and 4 papers. Paper I is an investigation of the factors that can potentially influence the discarding of commercial species...

  14. 47 CFR 32.3200 - Accumulated depreciation-held for future telecommunications use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accumulated depreciation-held for future... Balance Sheet Accounts § 32.3200 Accumulated depreciation—held for future telecommunications use. (a) This account shall include the accumulated depreciation associated with the investment contained in Account...

  15. Studies on some influential factors of the zinc-activated carbon composite adsorbent on adsorptivity for uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyai, Yoshitaka; Kitamura, Takao; Takagi, Norio; Katoh, Shunsaku; Miyazaki, Hidetoshi

    1978-01-01

    Factors, which influence the uranium adsorption of powdery composite adsorbent of basic zinc carbonate and activated carbon were studied. In the range studied, zinc content of the adsorbent was the most influential factor on the uranium adsorption, and the second influential factor was sea water volume and the third factor was adsorption period. Interactive effects were observed between zinc content and sea water volume, and between zinc content and adsorption period, and it was deduced that there existed the optimum value of sea water volume and adsorption period respectively for the zinc content of the adsorbent. Maximum uranium adsorption of adsorbent with 40% zinc content was observed at sea water volume of 15 liters and adsorption period of 25 hrs. As for temperature in the range of 15 - 35 0 C, the lower the temperature, the larger amount of adsorbed uranium was. The powdery adsorbent was made into granule, and its strength and its uranium adsorptivity were studied in relation to the granulating conditions. By use of PVA with degree of polymerization above 1,700 as binder, the granular adsorbent with the same strength as commercial granular activated carbon was obtained. PVA amount and its degree of polymerization gave only small effect on uranium adsorption of the adsorbent. Effect of granule size on the uranium adsorption rate in the range of 1 - 4 mm was that the uranium adsorption rate changed proportionally to surface area of assumed sphere. As a test for practical use, five times repetitions of adsorption and desorption were carried out on the same granular adsorbent. During the repetition the amount of adsorbed uranium rather increased, and desorption ratio of adsorbed uranium was constant at 91 - 93%. The weight loss of the adsorbent in a cycle of adsorption and desorption was about 3%. (author)

  16. 75 FR 57844 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-23

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.): Amendment 39-16438. Docket No. FAA-2010-0555... (Type Certificate previously held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Galaxy and Gulfstream 200...

  17. 77 FR 64767 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-23

    ... Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Airplanes AGENCY... airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate previously held by Israel... Certificate previously held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Galaxy and Gulfstream 200 airplanes...

  18. 78 FR 11567 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-19

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Gulfstream G150... Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.): Amendment 39...

  19. 76 FR 70040 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-10

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... Aerospace LP (type certificate previously held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Galaxy and... new AD: 2011-23-07 Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft...

  20. 76 FR 6525 - Airworthiness Directives; Cessna Aircraft Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-07

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Cessna Aircraft Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia Aircraft... following new AD: 2011-03-04 Cessna Aircraft Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia Aircraft... the following Cessna Aircraft Company (type certificate previously held by Columbia Aircraft...

  1. 75 FR 27504 - Substantial Product Hazard List: Hand-Held Hair Dryers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-17

    ... immersion during their use. Section 15(a) of the CPSA defines ``substantial product hazard'' to include, a....'' Hand-held hair dryers routinely contain open-coil heating elements that are, in essence, uninsulated..., bathtub, or lavatory). The proposed rule would define ``hand-held hair dryer'' as ``an electrical...

  2. [Current situation related to antiretroviral therapy and related influential factors on HIV infected injection drug users in the methadone maintenance treatment clinics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Xiao-Qing; Pang, Lin; Cao, Xiao-Bin; Wang, Chang-He; Luo, Wei; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Hua; Li, Rong-Jian; Rou, Ke-Ming; Wu, Zun-You

    2013-08-01

    To find out the current coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV positive subjects and to identify the major influential factors associated with the participation in ART among them. 291 HIV positive subjects from 6 methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in Guangxi and Yunnan province were surveyed by questionnaires. 217 males (74.6%) and 74 females (25.4%) were under investigation, with the average age of 38.4 +/- 5.9. Most of them received less than senior high school education, married and unemployed. Results from the single factor logistic regression analysis showed that: working status, living alone, self-reported history of drinking alcohol in the last month, negative attitude towards MMT among family members,poor self-reported compliance to MMT in the last month,lack of incentives in the MMT clinics, reluctance on disclosure of their own HIV status, good self-perception on their health status, lack of communication on ART related topics among family members in the last 6 months, lack of correct attitude and knowledge on ART etc. appeared as the main factors that influencing the participation in ART program among the patients. Data from the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that factors as: living alone, unwilling to tell others about the status of HIV infection, poor self-perception on HIV infection, lack of discussion of ART related topics within family members in the last 6 months and poor awareness towards ART among the family members etc., were associated with the low participation rate of ART. Conclusion Strengthening the publicity and education programs on HIV positive patients and their family members at the MMT clinics seemed to be effective in extending the ART coverage. Attention should also be paid to increase the family support to the patients.

  3. 75 FR 28485 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-21

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.): Amendment 39... previously held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Gulfstream 100 airplanes; and Model Astra SPX and...

  4. A new approach for the screening of carotid lesions: a 'fast-track' method with the use of new generation hand-held ultrasound devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aboyans, V; Lacroix, P; Jeannicot, A; Guilloux, J; Bertin, F; Laskar, M

    2004-09-01

    We assessed the usefulness of fast-track neck sonography with a new-generation hand-held ultrasound scanner in the detection of > or =60% carotid stenosis. Patients with a past history of atherosclerotic disease or presence of risk factors were enrolled. All had fast-track carotid screening with a hand-held ultrasound scanner. Initial assessment was performed with our quick imaging protocol. A second examiner performed a conventional complete carotid duplex as gold-standard. We enrolled 197 consecutive patients with a mean age of 67 years (range 35-94). A carotid stenosis >60% was detected in 13 cases (6%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of fast-track sonography was 100%, 64%, 17% and 100%, respectively. Concomitant power Doppler imaging during the fast-track method did not improve accuracy. The use of a fast-track method with a hand-held ultrasound device can reduce the number of unnecessary carotid Duplex and enhance the screening efficiency without missing significant carotid stenoses.

  5. Influential Factors of Mother-Infant Skin-to-Skin Contact Based on the Precede-Proceed Model from the Perspective of Midwives in Torbat Heydariyeh Hospitals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohadeseh Adeli

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background & aim: Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth plays a pivotal role in proper breastfeeding and mother-infant interaction. Despite numerous benefits of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact, this health behavior is not performed by many midwives. This study aimed to evaluate the influential factors for mother-infant skin-to-skin contact based on the Precede-Proceed model from the perspective of midwives in Torbat Heydariyeh hospitals. Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 midwives working in hospitals of Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran in 2015. Demographic data of all participants were collected, and Mother-Newborn Skin-to-Skin Contact Questionnaire was also used based on the Precede-Proceed model. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.16 using descriptive statistics, tables and graphs. Results: In this study, 88.1% of the midwives had positive attitudes towards skin-to-skin contact, and 90.5% had high perceived self-efficacy in performing the procedure. Major obstacles against establishing proper skin-to-skin contact were neonatal diseases and maternal fatigue (83.3% from the perspective of midwives. Moreover, 87.5% and 90.5% of the midwives emphasized the pivotal role of social support and motivation, respectively in implementing skin-to-skin contact. Also, more than 90% of the midwives considered training programs, service access and adequate facilities to be influential in the proper establishment of skin-to-skin contact. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the majority of midwives believed that enabling and reinforcing factors had significant effects on the proper establishment of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact. Therefore, it is recommended thateducational interventions be planned for parents, their family members and health care personnel involved in processes of childbirth and infant care. Furthermore, organizational planning and executive procedures should be developed to study the

  6. Potential role of a new hand-held miniature gamma camera in performing minimally invasive parathyroidectomy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ortega, Joaquin; Lledo, Salvador [University of Valencia, Clinic University Hospital, Department of Surgery, Valencia (Spain); Ferrer-Rebolleda, Jose [Clinic University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Valencia (Spain); Cassinello, Norberto [Clinic University Hospital, Unit of Endocrinologic and Bariatric Surgery, Valencia (Spain)

    2007-02-15

    Sestamibi scans have increased the use of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) to treat primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) when caused by a parathyroid single adenoma. The greatest concern for surgeons remains the proper identification of pathological glands in a limited surgical field. We have studied the usefulness of a new hand-held miniature gamma camera (MGC) when used intraoperatively to locate parathyroid adenomas. To our knowledge this is the first report published on this subject in the scientific literature. Five patients with PHPT secondary to a single adenoma, positively diagnosed by preoperative sestamibi scans, underwent a MIP. A gamma probe for radioguided surgery and the new hand-held MGC were used consecutively to locate the pathological glands. This new MGC has a module composed of a high-resolution interchangeable collimator and a CsI(Na) scintillating crystal. It has dimensions of around 15 cm x 8 cm x 9 cm and weighs 1 kg. The intraoperative assay of PTH (ioPTH) was used to confirm the complete resection of pathological tissue. All cases were operated on successfully by a MIP. The ioPTH confirmed the excision of all pathological tissues. The MGC proved its usefulness in all patients, even in a difficult case in which the first attempt with the gamma probe failed. In all cases it offered real-time accurate intraoperative images. The hand-held MGC is a useful instrument in MIP for PHPT. It may be used to complement the standard tools used to date, or may even replace them, at least in selected cases of single adenomas. (orig.)

  7. Potential role of a new hand-held miniature gamma camera in performing minimally invasive parathyroidectomy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega, Joaquin; Lledo, Salvador; Ferrer-Rebolleda, Jose; Cassinello, Norberto

    2007-01-01

    Sestamibi scans have increased the use of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) to treat primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) when caused by a parathyroid single adenoma. The greatest concern for surgeons remains the proper identification of pathological glands in a limited surgical field. We have studied the usefulness of a new hand-held miniature gamma camera (MGC) when used intraoperatively to locate parathyroid adenomas. To our knowledge this is the first report published on this subject in the scientific literature. Five patients with PHPT secondary to a single adenoma, positively diagnosed by preoperative sestamibi scans, underwent a MIP. A gamma probe for radioguided surgery and the new hand-held MGC were used consecutively to locate the pathological glands. This new MGC has a module composed of a high-resolution interchangeable collimator and a CsI(Na) scintillating crystal. It has dimensions of around 15 cm x 8 cm x 9 cm and weighs 1 kg. The intraoperative assay of PTH (ioPTH) was used to confirm the complete resection of pathological tissue. All cases were operated on successfully by a MIP. The ioPTH confirmed the excision of all pathological tissues. The MGC proved its usefulness in all patients, even in a difficult case in which the first attempt with the gamma probe failed. In all cases it offered real-time accurate intraoperative images. The hand-held MGC is a useful instrument in MIP for PHPT. It may be used to complement the standard tools used to date, or may even replace them, at least in selected cases of single adenomas. (orig.)

  8. Influence in times of crisis: how social and financial resources affect men's and women's evaluations of glass-cliff positions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rink, Floor; Ryan, Michelle K; Stoker, Janka I

    2012-01-01

    In two scenario-based studies, we found that women and men evaluate glass-cliff positions (i.e., precarious leadership positions at organizations in crisis) differently depending on the social and financial resources available. Female and male participants evaluated a hypothetical leadership position in which they would have both social and financial resources, financial resources but no social resources, or social resources but no financial resources. Women evaluated the position without social resources most negatively, whereas men evaluated the position without financial resources most negatively. In study 2, we found that women and men considered different issues when evaluating these leadership positions. Women's evaluations and expected levels of influence as leaders depended on the degree to which they expected to be accepted by subordinates. In contrast, men's evaluations and expected levels of acceptance by subordinates depended on the degree to which they expected to be influential in the position. Our findings have implications for the understanding of the glass-cliff phenomenon and gendered leadership stereotypes.

  9. Social Influence on Positive Youth Development: A Developmental Neuroscience Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telzer, Eva H; van Hoorn, Jorien; Rogers, Christina R; Do, Kathy T

    2018-01-01

    Susceptibility to social influence is associated with a host of negative outcomes during adolescence. However, emerging evidence implicates the role of peers and parents in adolescents' positive and adaptive adjustment. Hence, in this chapter we highlight social influence as an opportunity for promoting social adjustment, which can redirect negative trajectories and help adolescents thrive. We discuss influential models about the processes underlying social influence, with a particular emphasis on internalizing social norms, embedded in social learning and social identity theory. We link this behavioral work to developmental social neuroscience research, rooted in neurobiological models of decision making and social cognition. Work from this perspective suggests that the adolescent brain is highly malleable and particularly oriented toward the social world, which may account for heightened susceptibility to social influences during this developmental period. This chapter underscores the need to leverage social influences during adolescence, even beyond the family and peer context, to promote positive developmental outcomes. By further probing the underlying neural mechanisms as an additional layer to examining social influence on positive youth development, we will be able to gain traction on our understanding of this complex phenomenon. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. 17 CFR 300.102 - Accounts held by executors, administrators, guardians, etc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Accounts held by executors... CORPORATION Accounts of âseparateâ Customers of Sipc Members § 300.102 Accounts held by executors... estate or in the name of the executor or administrator of the estate of the decedent shall be combined so...

  11. THE IMPORTANCE OF PRICE IN THE POSITIONING OF FOOD BRANDS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghassan SHAKHSHIR

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In the food industry, price is an influential and a key factor in product brand positioning. This importance is even greater as the market analyzed is that of Romania. Since it is at the beginning of its relations with foreign markets compared to other countries, whether they are in the European Union or in Northern America, until a few years ago by Romanian consumers used to choose food products only based on the price and generally just buy the cheapest product, without taking into account other selection criteria. Now the market has developed, however, and there were many changes in behavior. This paper is a theoretical analysis on the influence of prices in the food market, the evolution of its importance due to the effects of the recession, the repercussions of changes in price and variation in behavior due to promotions. Preliminary results show that price is the main benefit by which consumers position food in their mind and that price promotions have an impact on positioning.

  12. Discovering the influential users oriented to viral marketing based on online social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Zhiguo

    2013-08-01

    The target of viral marketing on the platform of popular online social networks is to rapidly propagate marketing information at lower cost and increase sales, in which a key problem is how to precisely discover the most influential users in the process of information diffusion. A novel method is proposed in this paper for helping companies to identify such users as seeds to maximize information diffusion in the viral marketing. Firstly, the user trust network oriented to viral marketing and users’ combined interest degree in the network including isolated users are extensively defined. Next, we construct a model considering the time factor to simulate the process of information diffusion in viral marketing and propose a dynamic algorithm description. Finally, experiments are conducted with a real dataset extracted from the famous SNS website Epinions. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm has better scalability and is less time-consuming. Compared with the classical model, the proposed algorithm achieved a better performance than does the classical method on the two aspects of network coverage rate and time-consumption in our four sub-datasets.

  13. 47 CFR 32.6562 - Depreciation expense-property held for future telecommunications use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Depreciation expense-property held for future... Expense Accounts § 32.6562 Depreciation expense—property held for future telecommunications use. This account shall include the depreciation expense of capitalized costs included in Account 2002, Property...

  14. Making the world a better place to live through positive psychology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Jan Brødslev

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to outline a theoretical and practical model for the role of positive psychology at a societal level. Although the world is facing tremendous problems in terms of lack of natural resources, poverty, pollution, conflicts and the consequences of global warming, there se......The purpose of this paper is to outline a theoretical and practical model for the role of positive psychology at a societal level. Although the world is facing tremendous problems in terms of lack of natural resources, poverty, pollution, conflicts and the consequences of global warming......, there seems to be indecision among world leaders and international organisations. This lack of action makes one wonder how we can facilitate positive psychology to become a truly influential factor in society. With emphasis on virtues and character strengths, we can help people to become aware...... of the essential human values such as hope, dignity, kindness, trust and temperance. Furthermore, the conclusions of happiness research teach us that these qualities are fundamental aspects of people’s well-being. Happiness is improved through genuine and close social relations, trust in other people...

  15. 29 CFR 453.21 - Interests held in agents, brokers, and surety companies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Interests held in agents, brokers, and surety companies... LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959 Qualified Agents, Brokers, and Surety Companies for the Placing of Bonds § 453.21 Interests held in agents, brokers, and surety companies. (a) Section...

  16. Developments in Structuring of Reformed Theology : The Synopsis Purioris Theologiae as Example

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Belt, Hendrik; Selderhuis, Herman J.; Waschke, Ernst-Joachim

    2015-01-01

    The Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625), an influential handbook of Reformed dogmatics, began as a cycle of disputations. A comparison of it with the cycles that were held previously in Leiden reveals some shifts in the structure of Reformed dogmatics. After introducing the Synopsis, this paper

  17. Does perceived risk influence the effects of message framing? A new investigation of a widely held notion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Riet, J.P. van 't; Cox, A.D.; Cox, D.; Zimet, G.D.; Bruijn, G.J. de; Putte, B. van den; Vries, H. de; Werrij, M.Q.; Ruiter, R.A.C.

    2014-01-01

    Health-promoting messages can be framed in terms of the beneficial consequences of healthy behaviour (gain-framed messages) or the detrimental consequences of unhealthy behaviour (loss-framed messages). An influential notion holds that the perceived risk associated with the recommended behaviour

  18. Epilepsy Forewarning Using A Hand-Held Device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hively, LM

    2005-02-21

    Over the last decade, ORNL has developed and patented a novel approach for forewarning of a large variety of machine and biomedical events. The present implementation uses desktop computers to analyze archival data. This report describes the next logical step in this effort, namely use of a hand-held device for the analysis.

  19. Influential factors in individual differences in reading comprehension: cognitive inhibition and working memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Wilfrido Guevara Toledo

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available To read involves understanding of what it is read; automation of the processes involved in reading, lead us to believe that it is a simple process. Thepeople, to read uses encoding and decoding processes: recognizing and decoding words graphemes allowing lexical access; and comprehension processes: syntactic and semantic analysis, to give meaning to the text they read. Any disturbance in these processes compromise text comprehension and learning, including expert readers. Reading is the gateway to knowledge, science and good living.The analysis of reading comprehension should be analyzed from neuroscience. A review of the neurophysiological factors: cognitive inhibition and working memory, that influenced individual differences in reading comprehension in expert readers, was performed. Starting from a bibliographical review, the theoretical proposals of Megan Boudewyn and Debra Long, researchers from the Universities of California – Davis and Wisconsin – Madison, were considered. It was concluded that cognitive inhibition and working memory are influential factors for individual differences in reading comprehension in expert readers. The PROLEC - SE (reader process evaluation, the reading amplitude (PAL test, the Stroop effect and experimental tests of sentences with prime words, associated and non - associated can help to investigate these factors.

  20. Plans for Hand-Held/Portable Oil Assessment Devices

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Urbansky, Edward

    2005-01-01

    At the request of the U.S. Army Oil Analysis Program, the JOAP TSC conducted a market study, assembled a plan of action, and prepared a worksheet for the evaluation of portable or hand-held oil assessment devices...

  1. New portable hand-held radiation instruments for measurements and monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fehlau, P.E.

    1987-01-01

    Hand-held radiation monitors are often used to search pedestrians and motor vehicles for special nuclear material (SNM) as part of a physical protection plan for nuclear materials. Recently, the Los Alamos Advanced Nuclear Technology group has commercialized an improved hand-held monitor that can be used for both physical-protection monitoring and verification measurements in nuclear material control and waste management. The new monitoring instruments are smaller and lighter; operate much longer on a battery charge; are available with NaI(Tl) or neutron and gamma-ray sensitive plastic scintillation detectors; and are less expensive than other comparable instruments. They also have a second operating mode for making precise measurements over counting times as long as 99 s. This mode permits making basic verification measurements that may be needed before transporting nuclear material or waste outside protected areas. Improved verification measurements can be made with a second new hand-held instrument that has a stabilized detector and three separate gamma-ray energy windows to obtain spectral information for SNM quantity, enrichment, or material-type verification

  2. Influential psychotherapy figures, authors, and books: An Internet survey of over 2,000 psychotherapists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Joan M; Biyanova, Tatyana; Coyne, James C

    2009-03-01

    In a partial replication and extension of a survey conducted 25 years ago (Smith, 1982), over 2,400 North American psychotherapists completed a Web-based survey in which they identified prominent figures in the psychotherapy field who have most influenced their practice and the best psychotherapy books they had read in the past 3 years. There is a continued prominence to leaders of the field from 25 years ago but who are now deceased, notably the top-ranked Carl Rogers. Three books on the top-10 list represent empirically supported therapies (ESTs); two are treatment manuals for an EST, and one is a self-help book derived from an EST that has itself been shown to be efficacious bibliotherapy. Differences between psychologist and nonpsychologist therapists in the choice of influential figures, authors, and books are negligible. Implications are discussed in terms of the contemporary context into which therapeutic innovations are disseminated, as well as the conditions that may be necessary for successful dissemination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Automatic feeder for small fish held in tanks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joeris, Leonard S.

    1965-01-01

    The Northville (Michigan) Biological Station has been a center for study of the developmental morphology of coregonid fishes. This work requires the production of numerous individual series of lake herring, lake whitefish, and several species of chubs from parent fish of positively known identity. The offspring of individual pairs or groups of fish must be held in individual tanks from the time they hatch until they reach maturity. One of the important problems in this project has been the poor growth of most fish. Though some have grown well, their growth has been less than that of the same species in nature, and a few fish from each hatch have grown very slowly. Irregularity of feeding may contribute to the slow growth of laboratory fish. The hatchery caretaker feeds them several times during his 8-hour workday, but they must go without food during the remaining 16 hours. The high metabolic rate of small fish, however, appears to make them strongly inclined toward almost continual feeding. Belief that greater, more regular food consumption would result from a mechanical feeder providing a continuous supply of food over a longer period of the day led to development of the equipment described in this paper.

  4. Prejudice Masquerading as Praise: The Negative Echo of Positive Stereotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siy, John Oliver; Cheryan, Sapna

    2016-07-01

    Five studies demonstrate the powerful connection between being the target of a positive stereotype and expecting that one is also being ascribed negative stereotypes. In Study 1, women who heard a man state a positive stereotype were more likely to believe that he held negative stereotypes of them than women who heard no stereotype. Beliefs about being negatively stereotyped mediated the relationship between hearing a positive stereotype and believing that the stereotyper was prejudiced. Studies 2 to 4 extended these results to Asian Americans and accounted for alternative explanations (e.g., categorization threat). In Study 5, the same positive stereotype (e.g., good at math) was directed to Asian American men's racial or gender identity. Their perceptions about whether negative racial or gender stereotypes were being applied to them depended on the identity referenced by the positive stereotype. Positive stereotypes signal a latent negativity about one's group, thereby explaining why they can feel like prejudice. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  5. An Intelligent Hand-Held Microsurgical Instrument for Improved Accuracy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ang, Wei

    2001-01-01

    This paper presents the development and initial experimental results of the first prototype of Micron, an active hand-held instrument to sense and compensate physiological tremor and other unwanted...

  6. 77 FR 56254 - 89th Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-12

    ... held March 16, 2012. Review Working Group (WG) Progress and Identify Issues for Resolution. GPS/3nd... Standards for Global Positioning System/Wide Area Augmentation System Airborne Equipment Assignment/Review of Future Work. Other Business. Date and Place of Next Meeting. Adjourn Attendance is open to the...

  7. We shall Overcome? Bob Dylan, Complicity, and the March on Washington 1963

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mehring, F.

    2016-01-01

    Contemporary reports had been surprisingly quiet about the sounds and soundtrack of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on 27 August 1963 where Martin Luther King, Jr. held his famous “I have a dream” speech. When journalist Lerone Bennett Jr. from the influential magazine for the

  8. The Use of the Vernacular in Early Modern Philosophy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L. van Bunge (Wiep)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractFew modern philosophers have determined our understanding of early modern philosophy in the way Hegel has. More in particular, Hegel held highly influential views on the real significance of the language in which Philosophy came into its own after the Middle Ages. In his Lectures on the

  9. Atelier paludisme: an international malaria training course held in Madagascar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Vincent

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The Atelier Paludisme (Malaria Workshop is an international training course organized by the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, which has been held annually for the past five years. The course was designed for both young and experienced researchers, as well as for healthcare professionals, mostly from malaria-endemic countries. Its objective is to provide participants with a broad knowledge of all features of malaria, to improve their skills in project management, to break geographical isolation by using the Internet as a source of documentary information. This six-week course makes use of concepts of andragogy and problem-based learning, i.e. a relationship between participants and tutors, which promotes a process of exchange rather than the simple transmission of knowledge, where participants have to search actively for information. This approach to training, combined with the wide background and experience of those involved, creates positive dynamics and enables participants to acquire new skills, develop their critical and analytical abilities. This paper describes the course and the lessons learned from its evaluation.

  10. Historical Data for Average Processing Time Until Hearing Held

    Data.gov (United States)

    Social Security Administration — This dataset provides historical data for average wait time (in days) from the hearing request date until a hearing was held. This dataset includes data from fiscal...

  11. 29 CFR 2580.412-22 - Interests held in agents, brokers and surety companies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Interests held in agents, brokers and surety companies... SECURITY ACT OF 1974 TEMPORARY BONDING RULES Qualified Agents, Brokers and Surety Companies for the Placing of Bonds § 2580.412-22 Interests held in agents, brokers and surety companies. Section 13(c...

  12. China Wind Power 2010 Will Be Held Soon

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2010-01-01

    China Wind Power 2010 (CWP) will be held on October 13 in the New Venue of the China International Exhibition Center (New CIEC). The exhibition is hosted by the Global Wind Energy Council, Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association and the Chinese Wind Energy Association.

  13. 75 FR 66009 - Airworthiness Directives; Cessna Aircraft Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-27

    ... Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing (Previously the Lancair... Company (Type Certificate Previously Held by Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing (Previously The Lancair...-15895. Applicability (c) This AD applies to the following Cessna Aircraft Company (type certificate...

  14. 26 CFR 301.6332-3 - The 21-day holding period applicable to property held by banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... property held by banks. 301.6332-3 Section 301.6332-3 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... set forth in this section, to a levy on property held by banks. (b) Definition of bank. For purposes... customer. (3) Transactions affecting accounts. A levy on deposits held by a bank applies to those funds on...

  15. 24 CFR 3282.309 - Formal and informal presentations of views held by SAAs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Formal and informal presentations of views held by SAAs. 3282.309 Section 3282.309 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating... held by SAAs. (a) When an SAA is the appropriate agency to hold a Formal or Informal Presentation of...

  16. 78 FR 47546 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-06

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model... Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), which is the aviation authority for Israel, has issued Israeli...

  17. Hand-held electronic data collection and procedure environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennedy, E.; Doniz, K.

    1996-01-01

    As part of a CANDU Owners Group project, AECL has developed a hand-held electronic data collection and procedure environment. Integral to this environment is the C omputerized Procedure Engine . The development of the CPE allows operators, maintainers, and technical support staff to execute virtually any type of station procedure on a general-purpose PC-compatible hand-held computer. There are several advantages to using the computerized procedures: less paper use and handling, reduction in human error, reduction in rework in the field, an increase in procedural compliance, and immediate availability of data to download to databases and plant information systems. The paper describes: the advantages of using computerized procedures, why early forms of computerized procedures were inadequate, the features that the C omputerized Procedure Engine o ffers to the user, the streamlined life cycle of a computerized procedure, and field experience. The paper concludes that computerized procedures are ready for pilot applications at stations. (author)

  18. Measuring thyroid uptake with hand-held radiation monitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deschamps, M.

    1987-04-01

    With the use of Iodine 123, 125 and 131 and some compounds of Technetium-99 m, a fraction of the isotopes can be trapped in the thyroid of the technicians. We used the hand-held radiation contamination or survey meters of the nine (9) Nuclear medicine departments we visited to see if they were adequate for the evaluation of thyroid uptake of the users. Measurements on a neck-phanton helped us to determine a minimum detectable activity for each isotope. We were then able to check if the measurements of investigations and action levels were possible. None of the hand-held radiation monitors are completely satisfactory for the measure of thyroid uptake of the user. We discuss a class of equipment capable of measuring radiation emissions at the investigation level. Measurement at the action level is possible with meters having scintillation or proportional probes but none of them permits the discrimination in energy required for a quantitative evaluation of the radioisotopes used

  19. Positioning accuracy of the neurotron 1000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, Richard S.; Murphy, Martin J.

    1995-01-01

    great circle arcs about the isocenter. The RMS transverse displacement of the beam from the isocenter was 0.63 cm. 2) The tracking tests were performed for (x,y,z) displacements over a range of +/- 10 mm along each axis, with the phantom orientation held fixed. (The 20 mm displacement range is the intended tracking window of the system. The system cannot presently measure orientation of the phantom.) The system measured the phantom position with less than 1.0 mm error over the full range of allowable motion. 3) In four trials of the combined pointing and tracking test, the center of the delivered dose distribution deviated from 0.6 to 3.9 mm from the targeted center of the radiochromic film package, with an average deviation of 2.4 mm. Conclusions: The system is presently capable of measuring the translational position and motion of a target phantom while its orientation is held fixed, with an overall precision comparable to that achieved in conventional frame-based stereotaxic radiosurgery. The capability of the system is presently being extended to measure the orientation of the subject as well, at which point it will be capable of fully frameless stereotaxy

  20. 47 CFR 36.504 - Accumulated depreciation-Property held for future telecommunications use-Account 3200.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accumulated depreciation-Property held for future telecommunications use-Account 3200. 36.504 Section 36.504 Telecommunication FEDERAL... TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES 1 Reserves and Deferrals § 36.504 Accumulated depreciation—Property held for future...

  1. Causality: School Libraries and Student Success (CLASS). White Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Association of School Librarians, 2014

    2014-01-01

    On April 11 and 12, 2014, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) held "Causality: School Libraries and Student Success" (CLASS), an IMLS-funded national forum. Dr. Thomas Cook, one of the most influential methodologists in education research, and a five member panel of expert scholars and practitioners led 50 established…

  2. Element patterns in albatrosses and petrels: Influence of trophic position, foraging range, and prey type

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, O.R.J.; Phillips, R.A.; Shore, R.F.; McGill, R.A.R.; McDonald, R.A.; Bearhop, S.

    2010-01-01

    We investigated the concentrations of 22 essential and non-essential elements among a community of Procellariiformes (and their prey) to identify the extent to which trophic position and foraging range governed element accumulation. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) was used to characterise trophic (δ 15 N) and spatial patterns (δ 13 C) among species. Few consistent patterns were observed in element distributions among species and diet appeared to be highly influential in some instances. Arsenic levels in seabird red blood cells correlated with δ 15 N and δ 13 C, demonstrating the importance of trophic position and foraging range for arsenic distribution. Arsenic concentrations in prey varied significantly across taxa, and in the strength of association with δ 15 N values (trophic level). In most instances, element patterns in Procellariiformes showed the clearest separation among species, indicating that a combination of prey selection and other complex species-specific characteristics (e.g. moult patterns) were generally more important determining factors than trophic level per se. - Trophic position, foraging range, and prey type were found to influence element compositions and concentrations in Procellariiformes from South Georgia.

  3. 77 FR 44113 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-27

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... Aerospace LP (Type Certificate previously held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Gulfstream G150... to the manufacturer. This action was prompted by a report from the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel...

  4. 77 FR 58323 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-20

    ... Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Airplanes AGENCY... Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Gulfstream G150 airplanes. This proposed AD was.... Discussion The Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), which is the aviation authority for Israel, has...

  5. 77 FR 32069 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-31

    ... Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Airplanes AGENCY... previously held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Galaxy and Gulfstream 200 airplanes. This proposed... receive about this proposed AD. Discussion The Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), which is the...

  6. An integrated portable hand-held analyser for real-time isothermal nucleic acid amplification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Matthew C.; Steimle, George; Ivanov, Stan; Holly, Mark; Fries, David P.

    2007-01-01

    A compact hand-held heated fluorometric instrument for performing real-time isothermal nucleic acid amplification and detection is described. The optoelectronic instrument combines a Printed Circuit Board/Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (PCB/MEMS) reaction detection/chamber containing an integrated resistive heater with attached miniature LED light source and photo-detector and a disposable glass waveguide capillary to enable a mini-fluorometer. The fluorometer is fabricated and assembled in planar geometry, rolled into a tubular format and packaged with custom control electronics to form the hand-held reactor. Positive or negative results for each reaction are displayed to the user using an LED interface. Reaction data is stored in FLASH memory for retrieval via an in-built USB connection. Operating on one disposable 3 V lithium battery >12, 60 min reactions can be performed. Maximum dimensions of the system are 150 mm (h) x 48 mm (d) x 40 mm (w), the total instrument weight (with battery) is 140 g. The system produces comparable results to laboratory instrumentation when performing a real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) reaction, and also displayed comparable precision, accuracy and resolution to laboratory-based real-time nucleic acid amplification instrumentation. A good linear response (R 2 = 0.948) to fluorescein gradients ranging from 0.5 to 10 μM was also obtained from the instrument indicating that it may be utilized for other fluorometric assays. This instrument enables an inexpensive, compact approach to in-field genetic screening, providing results comparable to laboratory equipment with rapid user feedback as to the status of the reaction

  7. An integrated portable hand-held analyser for real-time isothermal nucleic acid amplification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Matthew C. [College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, FL (United States)], E-mail: msmith@marine.usf.edu; Steimle, George; Ivanov, Stan; Holly, Mark; Fries, David P. [College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, FL (United States)

    2007-08-29

    A compact hand-held heated fluorometric instrument for performing real-time isothermal nucleic acid amplification and detection is described. The optoelectronic instrument combines a Printed Circuit Board/Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (PCB/MEMS) reaction detection/chamber containing an integrated resistive heater with attached miniature LED light source and photo-detector and a disposable glass waveguide capillary to enable a mini-fluorometer. The fluorometer is fabricated and assembled in planar geometry, rolled into a tubular format and packaged with custom control electronics to form the hand-held reactor. Positive or negative results for each reaction are displayed to the user using an LED interface. Reaction data is stored in FLASH memory for retrieval via an in-built USB connection. Operating on one disposable 3 V lithium battery >12, 60 min reactions can be performed. Maximum dimensions of the system are 150 mm (h) x 48 mm (d) x 40 mm (w), the total instrument weight (with battery) is 140 g. The system produces comparable results to laboratory instrumentation when performing a real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) reaction, and also displayed comparable precision, accuracy and resolution to laboratory-based real-time nucleic acid amplification instrumentation. A good linear response (R{sup 2} = 0.948) to fluorescein gradients ranging from 0.5 to 10 {mu}M was also obtained from the instrument indicating that it may be utilized for other fluorometric assays. This instrument enables an inexpensive, compact approach to in-field genetic screening, providing results comparable to laboratory equipment with rapid user feedback as to the status of the reaction.

  8. Positioning patient-perceived medical services to develop a marketing strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Minsoo; Hong, Myung-Sun

    2012-01-01

    In today's medical market, marketing philosophy is being rapidly transformed from customer searching to patient satisfaction and service improvement. The principal objective of this study was to contribute to the establishment of a desirable medical marketing strategy, through the factors of customer satisfaction and the positioning of patients' perceptions by marketing institutions. The data were collected from 282 students of the College of Public Health and Medicine in Seoul. The survey tools were developed using the SERVQUAL scale. Analysis in this study involved both statistical and network analysis. The former was used to verify the determinants of service satisfaction as perceived by respondents, via factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. The latter was obtained using a positioning map and 2-mode network analysis with the matrix data converted from raw data. The determining factors for patient satisfaction were identified as facilities, accessibility, process, physicians, and medical staff. The regression equation was significant (R = 0.606), and the most influential variable was the service quality of physicians (β = .569). According to multidimensional scaling, the positioning of medical institutions indicated that patients' perceptions were affected by hospital size and specialization. By recognizing and managing patient satisfaction, medical institutions are able to foster customer loyalty and, in turn, to enhance service quality. It is necessary to develop an adequate marketing mix to provide better medical services and to overcome medical competition among institutions.

  9. The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adrián-Martínez, S.; Ageron, M.; Aguilar, J. A.; Samarai, I. Al; Albert, A.; André, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Anton, G.; Anvar, S.; Ardid, M.; Assis Jesus, A. C.; Astraatmadja, T.; Aubert, J.-J.; Baret, B.; Basa, S.; Bertin, V.; Biagi, S.; Bigi, A.; Bigongiari, C.; Bogazzi, C.; Bou-Cabo, M.; Bouhou, B.; Bouwhuis, M. C.; Brunner, J.; Busto, J.; Camarena, F.; Capone, A.; Cârloganu, C.; Carminati, G.; Carr, J.; Cecchini, S.; Charif, Z.; Charvis, Ph; Chiarusi, T.; Circella, M.; Coniglione, R.; Costantini, H.; Coyle, P.; Curtil, C.; De Bonis, G.; Decowski, M. P.; Dekeyser, I.; Deschamps, A.; Distefano, C.; Donzaud, C.; Dornic, D.; Dorosti, Q.; Drouhin, D.; Eberl, T.; Emanuele, U.; Enzenhöfer, A.; Ernenwein, J.-P.; Escoffier, S.; Fermani, P.; Ferri, M.; Flaminio, V.; Folger, F.; Fritsch, U.; Fuda, J.-L.; Galatà, S.; Gay, P.; Giacomelli, G.; Giordano, V.; Gómez-González, J. P.; Graf, K.; Guillard, G.; Halladjian, G.; Hallewell, G.; van Haren, H.; Hartman, J.; Heijboer, A. J.; Hello, Y.; Hernández-Rey, J. J.; Herold, B.; Hößl, J.; Hsu, C. C.; de Jong, M.; Kadler, M.; Kalekin, O.; Kappes, A.; Katz, U.; Kavatsyuk, O.; Keller, P.; Kooijman, P.; Kopper, C.; Kouchner, A.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kulikovskiy, V.; Lahmann, R.; Lamare, P.; Larosa, G.; Lattuada, D.; Lefèvre, D.; Le Van Suu, A.; Lim, G.; Lo Presti, D.; Loehner, H.; Loucatos, S.; Mangano, S.; Marcelin, M.; Margiotta, A.; Martínez-Mora, J. A.; Meli, A.; Montaruli, T.; Moscoso, L.; Motz, H.; Neff, M.; Nezri, E.; Niess, V.; Palioselitis, D.; Păvălaş, G. E.; Payet, K.; Payre, P.; Petrovic, J.; Piattelli, P.; Picot-Clemente, N.; Popa, V.; Pradier, T.; Presani, E.; Racca, C.; Real, D.; Reed, C.; Riccobene, G.; Richardt, C.; Richter, R.; Rivière, C.; Robert, A.; Roensch, K.; Rostovtsev, A.; Ruiz-Rivas, J.; Rujoiu, M.; Russo, G. V.; Salesa, F.; Samtleben, D. F. E.; Schöck, F.; Schuller, J.-P.; Schüssler, F.; Seitz, T.; Shanidze, R.; Simeone, F.; Spies, A.; Spurio, M.; Steijger, J. J. M.; Stolarczyk, Th; Sánchez-Losa, A.; Taiuti, M.; Tamburini, C.; Toscano, S.; Vallage, B.; Van Elewyck, V.; Vannoni, G.; Vecchi, M.; Vernin, P.; Wagner, S.; Wijnker, G.; Wilms, J.; de Wolf, E.; Yepes, H.; Zaborov, D.; Zornoza, J. D.; Zúñiga, J.

    2012-08-01

    The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40 km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475 m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged secondary particles (typically muons) coming from neutrino interactions. As these lines are flexible structures fixed to the sea bed and held taut by a buoy, sea currents cause the lines to move and the storeys to rotate. The knowledge of the position of the optical modules with a precision better than 10 cm is essential for a good reconstruction of particle tracks. In this paper the ANTARES positioning system is described. It consists of an acoustic positioning system, for distance triangulation, and a compass-tiltmeter system, for the measurement of the orientation and inclination of the storeys. Necessary corrections are discussed and the results of the detector alignment procedure are described.

  10. The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adrián-Martínez, S; Ardid, M; Ageron, M; Samarai, I Al; Aubert, J-J; Bertin, V; Aguilar, J A; Albert, A; André, M; Anghinolfi, M; Anton, G; Anvar, S; Jesus, A C Assis; Astraatmadja, T; Baret, B; Basa, S; Biagi, S

    2012-01-01

    The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40 km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475 m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged secondary particles (typically muons) coming from neutrino interactions. As these lines are flexible structures fixed to the sea bed and held taut by a buoy, sea currents cause the lines to move and the storeys to rotate. The knowledge of the position of the optical modules with a precision better than 10 cm is essential for a good reconstruction of particle tracks. In this paper the ANTARES positioning system is described. It consists of an acoustic positioning system, for distance triangulation, and a compass-tiltmeter system, for the measurement of the orientation and inclination of the storeys. Necessary corrections are discussed and the results of the detector alignment procedure are described.

  11. Explaining standard dominance : The effect of influential network positions and structural holes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van de Kaa, G.

    2017-01-01

    Innovative systems and infrastructures such as smart grids, the internet of things, cities, or highways require generally accepted common compatibility standards to enable components of such systems to interoperate. In some cases, various standards aredeveloped by competing standards organizations,

  12. Lead in New York City community garden chicken eggs: influential factors and health implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spliethoff, Henry M; Mitchell, Rebecca G; Ribaudo, Lisa N; Taylor, Owen; Shayler, Hannah A; Greene, Virginia; Oglesby, Debra

    2014-08-01

    Raising chickens for eggs in urban areas is becoming increasingly common. Urban chickens may be exposed to lead, a common urban soil contaminant. We measured lead concentrations in chicken eggs from New York City (NYC) community gardens and collected information on factors that might affect those concentrations. Lead was detected between 10 and 167 μg/kg in 48 % of NYC eggs. Measures of lead in eggs from a henhouse were significantly associated (p 50 % of eggs from a henhouse would exceed store-bought egg concentrations (120 mg/kg and that the concentration in one of six eggs from a henhouse would exceed a 100 μg/kg guidance value at soil lead concentrations >410 mg/kg. Our models also suggested that the availability of dietary calcium supplements was another influential factor that reduced egg lead concentrations. Estimates of health risk from consuming eggs with the lead concentrations we measured generally were not significant. However, soil lead concentrations in this study were <600 mg/kg, and considerably higher concentrations are not uncommon. Efforts to reduce lead transfer to chicken eggs and associated exposure are recommended for urban chicken keepers.

  13. 76 FR 41432 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-14

    ... Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.) Model Galaxy, Gulfstream... proposed AD. Discussion The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is the aviation authority for Israel, has... Held by Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.): Docket No. FAA-2011-0716; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-013...

  14. Guidance of attention by information held in working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calleja, Marissa Ortiz; Rich, Anina N

    2013-05-01

    Information held in working memory (WM) can guide attention during visual search. The authors of recent studies have interpreted the effect of holding verbal labels in WM as guidance of visual attention by semantic information. In a series of experiments, we tested how attention is influenced by visual features versus category-level information about complex objects held in WM. Participants either memorized an object's image or its category. While holding this information in memory, they searched for a target in a four-object search display. On exact-match trials, the memorized item reappeared as a distractor in the search display. On category-match trials, another exemplar of the memorized item appeared as a distractor. On neutral trials, none of the distractors were related to the memorized object. We found attentional guidance in visual search on both exact-match and category-match trials in Experiment 1, in which the exemplars were visually similar. When we controlled for visual similarity among the exemplars by using four possible exemplars (Exp. 2) or by using two exemplars rated as being visually dissimilar (Exp. 3), we found attentional guidance only on exact-match trials when participants memorized the object's image. The same pattern of results held when the target was invariant (Exps. 2-3) and when the target was defined semantically and varied in visual features (Exp. 4). The findings of these experiments suggest that attentional guidance by WM requires active visual information.

  15. Leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental x-ray unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Eun Kyung

    2007-01-01

    To compare the leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental X-ray unit with radiation from fixed dental X-ray unit. For evaluation we used one hand-held dental X-ray unit and Oramatic 558 (Trophy Radiologie, France), a fixed dental X-ray unit. Doses were measured with Unfors Multi-O-Meter 512L at the right and left hand levels of X-ray tube head part for the scattered and leakage radiation when human skull DXTTR ΙΙΙ was exposed to both dental X-ray units. And for the leakage radiation only, doses were measured at the immediately right, left, superior and posterior side of the tube head part when air was exposed. Exposure parameters of hand-held dental X-ray unit were 70 kVp, 3 mA , 0.1 second, and of fixed X-ray unit 70 kVp, 8 mA, 0.45 second. The mean dose at the hand level when human skull DXTTR ΙΙΙ was exposed with portable X-ray unit 6.39 μGy, and the mean dose with fixed X-ray unit 3.03 μGy (p<0.001). The mean dose at the immediate side of the tube head part when air was exposed with portable X-ray unit was 2.97 μGy and with fixed X-ray unit the mean dose was 0.68 μGy (p<0.01). The leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental radiography was greater than from fixed dental radiography

  16. Leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental x-ray unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Eun Kyung [Dankook Univ. School of Dentistry, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-06-15

    To compare the leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental X-ray unit with radiation from fixed dental X-ray unit. For evaluation we used one hand-held dental X-ray unit and Oramatic 558 (Trophy Radiologie, France), a fixed dental X-ray unit. Doses were measured with Unfors Multi-O-Meter 512L at the right and left hand levels of X-ray tube head part for the scattered and leakage radiation when human skull DXTTR {iota}{iota}{iota} was exposed to both dental X-ray units. And for the leakage radiation only, doses were measured at the immediately right, left, superior and posterior side of the tube head part when air was exposed. Exposure parameters of hand-held dental X-ray unit were 70 kVp, 3 mA , 0.1 second, and of fixed X-ray unit 70 kVp, 8 mA, 0.45 second. The mean dose at the hand level when human skull DXTTR {iota}{iota}{iota} was exposed with portable X-ray unit 6.39 {mu}Gy, and the mean dose with fixed X-ray unit 3.03 {mu}Gy (p<0.001). The mean dose at the immediate side of the tube head part when air was exposed with portable X-ray unit was 2.97 {mu}Gy and with fixed X-ray unit the mean dose was 0.68 {mu}Gy (p<0.01). The leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental radiography was greater than from fixed dental radiography.

  17. A Common Neural Substrate for Language Production and Verbal Working Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acheson, Daniel J.; Hamidi, Massihullah; Binder, Jeffrey R.; Postle, Bradley R.

    2011-01-01

    Verbal working memory (VWM), the ability to maintain and manipulate representations of speech sounds over short periods, is held by some influential models to be independent from the systems responsible for language production and comprehension [e.g., Baddeley, A. D. "Working memory, thought, and action." New York, NY: Oxford University Press,…

  18. The 100 most influential papers about cataract surgery: a bibliometric analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ze-Nan Lin

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To identify the 100 most cited papers in cataract surgery, we performed a comprehensive bibliometric analysis basing on the literature search on the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge. METHODS: The number of citations, including the total citations, latest 5y citations and average citation number per year (ACY, authorship, year of publication, major topics, journal of publication, country and institution of origin of each paper were recorded and then analyzed. Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the correlation between the published year and the number of citations. The correlation between journal’s impact factor (IF and number of citations was assessed as well. RESULTS: The most cited paper was the classic paper done by the European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS group. This paper focused on the topic of endophthalmitis. Not only the most cited papers originated from the USA, but also some American institutions like Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, etc. had the most citations. Pearson’s correlation analysis indicated that the latest 5y citations and ACY were significantly related with the published year (5y citations: r=0.615, P<0.001; ACY: r=0.657, P<0.001, whereas no association between the total number of citations and published year was found (r=0.045. Moreover, the IFs of journals were found to have no significant effect on the number of total citations. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study on the most influential papers in cataract surgery after a comprehensive research of relevant literatures. The present work may provide us concise information concerning the development history of cataract surgery over the past 66y.

  19. Three-dimensional modeling of physiological tremor for hand-held surgical robotic instruments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatinati, Sivanagaraja; Yan Naing Aye; Pual, Anand; Wei Tech Ang; Veluvolu, Kalyana C

    2016-08-01

    Hand-held robotic instruments are developed to compensate physiological tremor in real-time while augmenting the required precision and dexterity into normal microsurgical work-flow. The hardware (sensors and actuators) and software (causal linear filters) employed for tremor identification and filtering introduces time-varying unknown phase-delay that adversely affects the device performance. The current techniques that focus on three-dimensions (3D) tip position control involves modeling and canceling the tremor in 3-axes (x, y, and z axes) separately. Our analysis with the tremor data recorded from surgeons and novice subjects show that there exists significant correlation in tremor motion across the dimensions. Motivated by this, a new multi-dimensional modeling approach based on extreme learning machines (ELM) is proposed in this paper to correct the phase delay and to accurately model tremulous motion in three dimensions simultaneously. A study is conducted with tremor data recorded from the microsurgeons to analyze the suitability of proposed approach.

  20. Hand-held and automated breast ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bassett, L.W.; Gold, R.H.; Kimme-Smith, C.

    1985-01-01

    The book is a guide for physicians and technologists who use US as an adjunct to mammography; it carefully outlines the pros and cons of US of the breast and its role in the diagnosis of benign and malignant diseases. After an introduction that discusses the philosophy of breast US, the chapters cover the physics of US and instrumentation (both hand-held transducers as well as automated water path scanners), then proceed to a discussion of the normal breast. Sections on benign disorders, malignant lesions, and pitfalls of diagnosis are followed by quiz cases

  1. Justification rather than truth: Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s defence of positive religion in the ring-parable

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grube, D.M.

    2005-01-01

    Positive religion is not held in high esteem since the time of the Enlightenment. Then its claims, e.g. revelatory claims or claims to absolute, i.e. unique validity , were considered to be incapable of being historically verifiable or to contradict rationality, moral as well as cognitive

  2. 77 FR 67865 - Enhancing Protections Afforded Customers and Customer Funds Held by Futures Commission Merchants...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-14

    ... Parts 1, 3, 22 et al. Enhancing Protections Afforded Customers and Customer Funds Held by Futures... Customers and Customer Funds Held by Futures Commission Merchants and Derivatives Clearing Organizations... amend existing regulations to require enhanced customer protections, risk management programs, internal...

  3. Validity of maximal isometric knee extension strength measurements obtained via belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry in healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ushiyama, Naoko; Kurobe, Yasushi; Momose, Kimito

    2017-11-01

    [Purpose] To determine the validity of knee extension muscle strength measurements using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry with and without body stabilization compared with the gold standard isokinetic dynamometry in healthy adults. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-nine healthy adults (mean age, 21.3 years) were included. Study parameters involved right side measurements of maximal isometric knee extension strength obtained using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry with and without body stabilization and the gold standard. Measurements were performed in all subjects. [Results] A moderate correlation and fixed bias were found between measurements obtained using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry with body stabilization and the gold standard. No significant correlation and proportional bias were found between measurements obtained using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry without body stabilization and the gold standard. The strength identified using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry with body stabilization may not be commensurate with the maximum strength individuals can generate; however, it reflects such strength. In contrast, the strength identified using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry without body stabilization does not reflect the maximum strength. Therefore, a chair should be used to stabilize the body when performing measurements of maximal isometric knee extension strength using belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry in healthy adults. [Conclusion] Belt-stabilized hand-held dynamometry with body stabilization is more convenient than the gold standard in clinical settings.

  4. Analysis of influential factors for the relationship between PM2.5 and AOD in Beijing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Caiwang; Zhao, Chuanfeng; Zhu, Yannian; Wang, Yang; Shi, Xiaoqin; Wu, Xiaolin; Chen, Tianmeng; Wu, Fang; Qiu, Yanmei

    2017-11-01

    The relationship between aerosol optical depth (AOD) and PM2.5 is often investigated in order to obtain surface PM2.5 from satellite observation of AOD with a broad area coverage. However, various factors could affect the AOD-PM2.5 regressions. Using both ground and satellite observations in Beijing from 2011 to 2015, this study analyzes the influential factors including the aerosol type, relative humidity (RH), planetary boundary layer height (PBLH), wind speed and direction, and the vertical structure of aerosol distribution. The ratio of PM2.5 to AOD, which is defined as η, and the square of their correlation coefficient (R2) have been examined. It shows that η varies from 54.32 to 183.14, 87.32 to 104.79, 95.13 to 163.52, and 1.23 to 235.08 µg m-3 with aerosol type in spring, summer, fall, and winter, respectively. η is smaller for scattering-dominant aerosols than for absorbing-dominant aerosols, and smaller for coarse-mode aerosols than for fine-mode aerosols. Both RH and PBLH affect the η value significantly. The higher the RH, the smaller the η, and the higher the PBLH, the smaller the η. For AOD and PM2.5 data with the correction of RH and PBLH compared to those without, R2 of monthly averaged PM2.5 and AOD at 14:00 LT increases from 0.63 to 0.76, and R2 of multi-year averaged PM2.5 and AOD by time of day increases from 0.01 to 0.93, 0.24 to 0.84, 0.85 to 0.91, and 0.84 to 0.93 in four seasons respectively. Wind direction is a key factor for the transport and spatial-temporal distribution of aerosols originated from different sources with distinctive physicochemical characteristics. Similar to the variation in AOD and PM2.5, η also decreases with the increasing surface wind speed, indicating that the contribution of surface PM2.5 concentrations to AOD decreases with surface wind speed. The vertical structure of aerosol exhibits a remarkable change with seasons, with most particles concentrated within about 500 m in summer and within 150 m in winter

  5. 26 CFR 1.1231-2 - Livestock held for draft, breeding, dairy, or sporting purposes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Livestock held for draft, breeding, dairy, or... Losses § 1.1231-2 Livestock held for draft, breeding, dairy, or sporting purposes. (a)(1) In the case of cattle, horses, or other livestock acquired by the taxpayer after December 31, 1969, section 1231 applies...

  6. On Engaging with Others: A Wittgensteinian Approach to (Some) Problems with Deeply Held Beliefs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowell, Tracy

    2018-01-01

    My starting point for this paper is a problem in critical thinking pedagogy--the difficult of bringing students to a point where they are able, and motivated, critically to evaluate their own deeply held beliefs. I first interrogate the very idea of a deeply held belief, drawing upon Wittgenstein's idea of a framework belief--a belief that forms…

  7. Identifying influential nodes in large-scale directed networks: the role of clustering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Duan-Bing; Gao, Hui; Lü, Linyuan; Zhou, Tao

    2013-01-01

    Identifying influential nodes in very large-scale directed networks is a big challenge relevant to disparate applications, such as accelerating information propagation, controlling rumors and diseases, designing search engines, and understanding hierarchical organization of social and biological networks. Known methods range from node centralities, such as degree, closeness and betweenness, to diffusion-based processes, like PageRank and LeaderRank. Some of these methods already take into account the influences of a node's neighbors but do not directly make use of the interactions among it's neighbors. Local clustering is known to have negative impacts on the information spreading. We further show empirically that it also plays a negative role in generating local connections. Inspired by these facts, we propose a local ranking algorithm named ClusterRank, which takes into account not only the number of neighbors and the neighbors' influences, but also the clustering coefficient. Subject to the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) spreading model with constant infectivity, experimental results on two directed networks, a social network extracted from delicious.com and a large-scale short-message communication network, demonstrate that the ClusterRank outperforms some benchmark algorithms such as PageRank and LeaderRank. Furthermore, ClusterRank can also be applied to undirected networks where the superiority of ClusterRank is significant compared with degree centrality and k-core decomposition. In addition, ClusterRank, only making use of local information, is much more efficient than global methods: It takes only 191 seconds for a network with about [Formula: see text] nodes, more than 15 times faster than PageRank.

  8. Identifying influential nodes in large-scale directed networks: the role of clustering.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duan-Bing Chen

    Full Text Available Identifying influential nodes in very large-scale directed networks is a big challenge relevant to disparate applications, such as accelerating information propagation, controlling rumors and diseases, designing search engines, and understanding hierarchical organization of social and biological networks. Known methods range from node centralities, such as degree, closeness and betweenness, to diffusion-based processes, like PageRank and LeaderRank. Some of these methods already take into account the influences of a node's neighbors but do not directly make use of the interactions among it's neighbors. Local clustering is known to have negative impacts on the information spreading. We further show empirically that it also plays a negative role in generating local connections. Inspired by these facts, we propose a local ranking algorithm named ClusterRank, which takes into account not only the number of neighbors and the neighbors' influences, but also the clustering coefficient. Subject to the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR spreading model with constant infectivity, experimental results on two directed networks, a social network extracted from delicious.com and a large-scale short-message communication network, demonstrate that the ClusterRank outperforms some benchmark algorithms such as PageRank and LeaderRank. Furthermore, ClusterRank can also be applied to undirected networks where the superiority of ClusterRank is significant compared with degree centrality and k-core decomposition. In addition, ClusterRank, only making use of local information, is much more efficient than global methods: It takes only 191 seconds for a network with about [Formula: see text] nodes, more than 15 times faster than PageRank.

  9. Identifying Influential Nodes in Large-Scale Directed Networks: The Role of Clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Duan-Bing; Gao, Hui; Lü, Linyuan; Zhou, Tao

    2013-01-01

    Identifying influential nodes in very large-scale directed networks is a big challenge relevant to disparate applications, such as accelerating information propagation, controlling rumors and diseases, designing search engines, and understanding hierarchical organization of social and biological networks. Known methods range from node centralities, such as degree, closeness and betweenness, to diffusion-based processes, like PageRank and LeaderRank. Some of these methods already take into account the influences of a node’s neighbors but do not directly make use of the interactions among it’s neighbors. Local clustering is known to have negative impacts on the information spreading. We further show empirically that it also plays a negative role in generating local connections. Inspired by these facts, we propose a local ranking algorithm named ClusterRank, which takes into account not only the number of neighbors and the neighbors’ influences, but also the clustering coefficient. Subject to the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) spreading model with constant infectivity, experimental results on two directed networks, a social network extracted from delicious.com and a large-scale short-message communication network, demonstrate that the ClusterRank outperforms some benchmark algorithms such as PageRank and LeaderRank. Furthermore, ClusterRank can also be applied to undirected networks where the superiority of ClusterRank is significant compared with degree centrality and k-core decomposition. In addition, ClusterRank, only making use of local information, is much more efficient than global methods: It takes only 191 seconds for a network with about nodes, more than 15 times faster than PageRank. PMID:24204833

  10. [Effects of a Positive Psychotherapy Program on Positive Affect, Interpersonal Relations, Resilience, and Mental Health Recovery in Community-Dwelling People with Schizophrenia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jinhee; Na, Hyunjoo

    2017-10-01

    Recently, the interest in positive psychotherapy is growing, which can help to encourage positive relationships and develop strengths of people. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a positive psychotherapy program on positive affect, interpersonal relations, resilience, and mental health recovery in community-dwelling people with schizophrenia. The research was conducted using a randomized control group pretest-posttest design. A total of 57 adults with schizophrenia participated in this study. The study participants in experimental group received a positive psychotherapy program (n=28) and the participants in control group received only the usual treatment in community centers (n=29). The positive psychotherapy program was provided for 5 weeks (of 10 sessions, held twice/week, for 60 minutes). The study outcomes included positive affect, interpersonal relations, resilience, and mental health recovery. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA for examining study hypothesis. Results showed that interpersonal relations (F=11.83, p=.001) and resilience (F=9.62, p=.003) significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. Although experimental group showed a slight increase in positive affect, it was not significant. The study findings confirm that the positive psychotherapy program is effective for improving interpersonal relations and resilience of community-dwelling people with schizophrenia. Based on the findings, we believe that the positive psychotherapy program would be acceptable and helpful to improve recovery of mental health in schizophrenia. © 2017 Korean Society of Nursing Science

  11. A hand-held beta imaging probe for FDG.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Bipin; Stack, Brendan C; Thacker, Samta; Gaysinskiy, Valeriy; Bartel, Twyla; Lowe, Val; Cool, Steven; Entine, Gerald; Nagarkar, Vivek

    2013-04-01

    Advances in radiopharmaceuticals and clinical understanding have escalated the use of intraoperative gamma probes in surgery. However, most probes on the market are non-imaging gamma probes that suffer from the lack of ancillary information of the surveyed tissue area. We have developed a novel, hand-held digital Imaging Beta Probe™ (IBP™) to be used in surgery in conjunction with beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals such as (18)FDG, (131)I and (32)P for real-time imaging of a surveyed area with higher spatial resolution and sensitivity and greater convenience than existing instruments. We describe the design and validation of a hand-held beta probe intended to be used as a visual mapping device to locate and confirm excision of (18)FDG-avid primary tumors and metastases in an animal model. We have demonstrated a device which can generate beta images from (18)FDG avid lesions in an animal model. It is feasible to image beta irradiation in animal models of cancer given (18)FDG. This technology may be applied to clinical mapping of tumors and/or their metastases in the operating room. Visual image depiction of malignancy may aid the surgeon in localization and excision of lesions of interest.

  12. Understanding influential factors on implementing green supply chain management practices: An interpretive structural modelling analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agi, Maher A N; Nishant, Rohit

    2017-03-01

    In this study, we establish a set of 19 influential factors on the implementation of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and analyse the interaction between these factors and their effect on the implementation of GSCM practices using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) method and the "Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement" (MICMAC) analysis on data compiled from interviews with supply chain (SC) executives based in the Gulf countries (Middle East region). The study reveals a strong influence and driving power of the nature of the relationships between SC partners on the implementation of GSCM practices. We especially found that dependence, trust, and durability of the relationship with SC partners have a very high influence. In addition, the size of the company, the top management commitment, the implementation of quality management and the employees training and education exert a critical influence on the implementation of GSCM practices. Contextual elements such as the industry sector and region and their effect on the prominence of specific factors are also highlighted through our study. Finally, implications for research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Public health officials and MECs should be held liable for harm ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Public health officials and MECs should be held liable for harm caused to patients through incompetence, indifference, maladministration or negligence regarding the availability of hospital equipment.

  14. 26 CFR 1.1031(a)-1 - Property held for productive use in trade or business or for investment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ....1031(a)-1 Property held for productive use in trade or business or for investment. (a) In general—(1... business or for investment is exchanged solely for property of a like kind to be held either for productive use in a trade or business or for investment. Under section 1031(a)(1), property held for productive...

  15. Do lightning positive leaders really "step"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, D.

    2015-12-01

    It has been known for some time that positive leaders exhibit impulsive charge motion and optical emissions as they extend. However, laboratory and field observations have not produced any evidence of a process analogous to the space leader mechanism of negative leader extension. Instead, observations have suggested that the positive leader tip undergoes a continuous to intermittent series of corona streamer bursts, each burst resulting in a small forward extension of the positive leader channel. Traditionally, it has been held that lightning positive leaders extend in a continuous or quasi-continuous fashion. Lately, however, many have become concerned that this position is incongruous with observations of impulsive activity during lightning positive leader extension. It is increasingly suggested that this impulsive activity is evidence that positive leaders also undergo "stepping". There are two issues that must be addressed. The first issue concerns whether or not the physical processes underlying impulsive extension in negative and positive leaders are distinct. We argue that these processes are in fact physically distinct, and offer new high-speed video evidence to support this position. The second issue regards the proper use of the term "step" as an identifier for the impulsive forward extension of a leader. Traditional use of this term has been applied only to negative leaders, due primarily to their stronger impulsive charge motions and photographic evidence of clearly discontinuous forward progression of the luminous channel. Recently, due to the increasing understanding of the distinct "space leader" process of negative leader extension, the term "step" has increasingly come to be associated with the space leader process itself. Should this emerging association, "step" = space leader attachment, be canonized? If not, then it seems reasonable to use the term "step" to describe impulsive positive leader extension. If, however, we do wish to associate the

  16. Discussing mental illness in Chinese social media: the impact of influential sources on stigmatization and support among their followers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Weirui; Liu, Yu

    2016-01-01

    A content analysis was conducted to examine depression-related discourses by public opinion leaders and mainstream media in the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, as well as the impact of these discourses on their followers. The study revealed that stereotypical presentations of people with depression by influential sources often promoted stigmatization of or reduced support for depressed individuals among their followers. Environmental and genetic attributions for the disease in the original posts reduced stigmatization in the response posts. Information about recovery and treatment proved to be a double-edged sword, reducing stigmatization and support among followers at the same time. The use of a crime context to discuss depression in the original posts often promoted stigmatization, while discussing it in a health context increased support in the response posts.

  17. Geosciences Information for Teachers (GIFT) Workshops held in Conjunction with Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) EGU Conferences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laj, Carlo; Cifelli, Francesca

    2015-04-01

    The Alexander von Humboldt Conference Series of the European Geosciences Union are a series of meetings held outside of Europe, in particular in South America, Africa or Asia, on selected topics of geosciences with a socio-economic impact for regions on these continents, jointly organised with the scientists and their institutes and the institutions of these regions. Given the increasing success of the GIFT workshops held in conjunction with the General Assemblies, since 2010 EGU has also developed a series of GIFT workshops held in conjunction with AvH conferences. Associated GIFT workshops were held in Merida, Yucatan, on the theme of Climate Change, Natural Hazards and Societies (March 2010), then in Penang, Malaysia (June 2011) on the theme of Ocean Acidification, in November 2012 in Cusco (Peru) on the theme of Natural Disasters, Global Change and the Preservation of World Heritage Sites, finally in Istanbul (March 2014) on "High Impact Natural Hazards Related to the Euro-Mediterranean Region. The next GIFT workshop is already planned for October 2015 in Adis Ababa (Ethiopia) on the theme "Water". In each case, the GIFT workshop was held on the last two days of the AvH conference and reunited 40-45 teachers from the nation where the AvH was held. Keynote speakers from AvH were speakers to the GIFT workshops which also included hands-on activities animated by sciences educators. These GIFT workshops represented the first workshops specifically aimed at teachers held in the country, and therefore represents a significant Earth Sciences contribution to secondary education in non European countries.

  18. Design of a system of reference for positioning of patients in radiotherapy of breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nebot, P.; Reinado, D.; Salvador, R.; Gonzalez-Pena, R.; Dalmases, F.; Romero, C.; Rosello, J.; Diez, S.; Cibrian, R.

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this work is the design of a system of repositioning of the patient allowing to minimize errors both in everyday's the same placement as in the position held during the session, so that treatment would be intensified in the area to be treated, avoiding possible damage to other healthy areas. (Author)

  19. Hand-held cell phone use while driving legislation and observed driver behavior among population sub-groups in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudisill, Toni M; Zhu, Motao

    2017-05-12

    Cell phone use behaviors are known to vary across demographic sub-groups and geographic locations. This study examined whether universal hand-held calling while driving bans were associated with lower road-side observed hand-held cell phone conversations across drivers of different ages (16-24, 25-59, ≥60 years), sexes, races (White, African American, or other), ruralities (suburban, rural, or urban), and regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West). Data from the 2008-2013 National Occupant Protection Use Survey were merged with states' cell phone use while driving legislation. The exposure was presence of a universal hand-held cell phone ban at time of observation. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of drivers having a hand-held cell phone conversation. Sub-groups differences were assessed using models with interaction terms. When universal hand-held cell phone bans were effective, hand-held cell phone conversations were lower across all driver demographic sub-groups and regions. Sub-group differences existed among the sexes (p-value, phone bans, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of a driver hand-held phone conversation was 0.34 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28, 0.41] for females versus 0.47 (CI 0.40, 0.55) for males and 0.31 (CI 0.25, 0.38) for drivers in Western states compared to 0.47 (CI 0.30, 0.72) in the Northeast and 0.50 (CI 0.38, 0.66) in the South. The presence of universal hand-held cell phone bans were associated lower hand-held cell phone conversations across all driver sub-groups and regions. Hand-held phone conversations were particularly lower among female drivers and those from Western states when these bans were in effect. Public health interventions concerning hand-held cell phone use while driving could reasonably target all drivers.

  20. Faculty Scholarship Has a Profound Positive Association with Student Evaluations of Teaching--Except When It Doesn't

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Robert E.

    2016-01-01

    Conventional wisdom holds that research-productive faculty are also the finest instructors. But, is this commonly held belief correct? In the current study, the notion that faculty scholarship exhibits a positive association with teaching evaluations is investigated. Reflecting the data structure of faculty nested within university, the current…

  1. Hand-held cell phone use while driving legislation and observed driver behavior among population sub-groups in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toni M. Rudisill

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cell phone use behaviors are known to vary across demographic sub-groups and geographic locations. This study examined whether universal hand-held calling while driving bans were associated with lower road-side observed hand-held cell phone conversations across drivers of different ages (16–24, 25–59, ≥60 years, sexes, races (White, African American, or other, ruralities (suburban, rural, or urban, and regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Methods Data from the 2008–2013 National Occupant Protection Use Survey were merged with states’ cell phone use while driving legislation. The exposure was presence of a universal hand-held cell phone ban at time of observation. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of drivers having a hand-held cell phone conversation. Sub-groups differences were assessed using models with interaction terms. Results When universal hand-held cell phone bans were effective, hand-held cell phone conversations were lower across all driver demographic sub-groups and regions. Sub-group differences existed among the sexes (p-value, <0.0001 and regions (p-value, 0.0003. Compared to states without universal hand-held cell phone bans, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR of a driver hand-held phone conversation was 0.34 [95% confidence interval (CI: 0.28, 0.41] for females versus 0.47 (CI 0.40, 0.55 for males and 0.31 (CI 0.25, 0.38 for drivers in Western states compared to 0.47 (CI 0.30, 0.72 in the Northeast and 0.50 (CI 0.38, 0.66 in the South. Conclusions The presence of universal hand-held cell phone bans were associated lower hand-held cell phone conversations across all driver sub-groups and regions. Hand-held phone conversations were particularly lower among female drivers and those from Western states when these bans were in effect. Public health interventions concerning hand-held cell phone use while driving could reasonably target all drivers.

  2. 47 CFR 32.2002 - Property held for future telecommunications use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Property held for future telecommunications use. 32.2002 Section 32.2002 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES Instructions for Balance...

  3. Personal patient-held 'health books' – should everyone have one?

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ann Burgess

    In this age of electronic media, here is an idea for South Sudan's health services. ... Dr Serventi remembers that the 'natural' opponents to patient-held records were ... Files left in the hospitals are easily lost and privacy is not guaranteed. 2.

  4. A sensitivity analysis of a personalized pulse wave propagation model for arteriovenous fistula surgery. Part A: Identification of most influential model parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huberts, W; de Jonge, C; van der Linden, W P M; Inda, M A; Tordoir, J H M; van de Vosse, F N; Bosboom, E M H

    2013-06-01

    Previously, a pulse wave propagation model was developed that has potential in supporting decision-making in arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surgery for hemodialysis. To adapt the wave propagation model to personalized conditions, patient-specific input parameters should be available. In clinics, the number of measurable input parameters is limited which results in sparse datasets. In addition, patient data are compromised with uncertainty. These uncertain and incomplete input datasets will result in model output uncertainties. By means of a sensitivity analysis the propagation of input uncertainties into output uncertainty can be studied which can give directions for input measurement improvement. In this study, a computational framework has been developed to perform such a sensitivity analysis with a variance-based method and Monte Carlo simulations. The framework was used to determine the influential parameters of our pulse wave propagation model applied to AVF surgery, with respect to parameter prioritization and parameter fixing. With this we were able to determine the model parameters that have the largest influence on the predicted mean brachial flow and systolic radial artery pressure after AVF surgery. Of all 73 parameters 51 could be fixed within their measurement uncertainty interval without significantly influencing the output, while 16 parameters importantly influence the output uncertainty. Measurement accuracy improvement should thus focus on these 16 influential parameters. The most rewarding are measurement improvements of the following parameters: the mean aortic flow, the aortic windkessel resistance, the parameters associated with the smallest arterial or venous diameters of the AVF in- and outflow tract and the radial artery windkessel compliance. Copyright © 2012 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Comparative Survey of Holding Positions for Reducing Vaccination Pain in Young Infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Chu Yin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Infant holding position may reduce vaccination pain. However, the optimal position for young infants remains controversial. Objectives. To compare the effectiveness of holding infants in the supine position and the effectiveness of holding infants in upright position for relieving acute pain from vaccine injection. Methods. This prospective cohort study enrolled 6–12-week-old healthy infants. We examined infant pain responses by evaluating the following three categories: (1 crying, (2 irritability, and (3 facial expression. Results. In total, 282 infants were enrolled, with 103 and 179 held in the supine and upright positions, respectively. At 30 s after vaccination, the infants in the supine position showed a larger decrease in crying (p<0.001, irritability (p=0.002, and pained facial expression (p=0.001 than did those in the upright position. However, there was no significant difference in pain response between two groups at 180 s after intervention. Conclusion. In 2-month-old infants, the supine position may reduce acute pain more effectively than does the upright position. Our findings provide a clinical strategy for relieving vaccination pain in young infants.

  6. [Influential factors on congenital gastrointestinal malformation:a hospital-based case-control study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Xuejin; Xu, Guang; Shen, Lijun; Wu, Jing; Chen, Hui; Wang, Youjie

    2014-01-01

    To investigate the influential factors on congenital gastrointestinal malformation and to provide evidences for prevention. A hospital-based case-control study was conducted among infants with or without congenital gastrointestinal malformation at Children's hospital of Hunan province, from April 2011 to August 2012. Parents of 120 cases with congenital gastrointestinal malformation and another 170 controls were asked to fill in a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 18.0 software. Congenital gastrointestinal malformation was associated with intakes of maternal medication (OR = 3.35, 95%CI:1.51-7.41) and folic acid (OR = 0.28, 95%CI:0.15-0.52), exposure to paints (OR = 5.05, 95%CI:1.32-19.29) and pesticides (OR = 15.20, 95%CI:1.55-148.99) prior to or during pregnancy, and also associated with medication intake of the father (OR = 3.70, 95% CI:1.13-12.10), smoking (OR = 2.39, 95% CI:1.24-4.62), drinking alcohol (OR = 2.47, 95% CI:1.20-5.07), exposure to the agents for indoor cleaning (OR = 16.42, 95% CI:1.71-157.92) and exposure to paints (OR = 9.92, 95% CI:2.66-36.98) before conception. Congenital gastrointestinal malformation was affected by multiple factors. Potential risk factors for congenital gastrointestinal malformation would include intakes of medication by the pregnant mother, exposure to paints exposure and pesticide exposure before or during pregnancy, and medication intake by the father, smoking, drinking alcohol, exposure to indoor cleaning agents/paint before conception. The amount of folic acid intake by mother before or during pregnancy was likely to reduce the risk for congenital gastrointestinal malformation.

  7. 31 CFR 351.60 - How are book-entry Series EE savings bonds purchased and held?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are book-entry Series EE savings... OFFERING OF UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS, SERIES EE Book-Entry Series EE Savings Bonds § 351.60 How are book-entry Series EE savings bonds purchased and held? Book-entry bonds must be purchased and held online...

  8. 26 CFR 20.6166A-2 - Definition of an interest in a closely held business.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Procedure and Administration § 20.6166A-2 Definition of an interest in a closely held business. (a) In... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Definition of an interest in a closely held business. 20.6166A-2 Section 20.6166A-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE...

  9. Land Subsidence International Symposium held in Venice

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Third International Symposium on Land Subsidence was held March 18-25, 1984, in Venice, Italy. Sponsors were the Ground-Water Commission of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Italian National Research Council (CNR), the Italian Regions of Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, the Italian Municipalities of Venice, Ravenna, and Modena, the Venice Province, and the European Research Office. Cosponsors included the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE), and the Association of Geoscientists for International Development (AGID).Organized within the framework of UNESCO's International Hydrological Program, the symposium brought together over 200 international interdisciplinary specialists in the problems of land subsidence due to fluid and mineral withdrawal. Because man's continuing heavy development of groundwater, gas, oil, and minerals is changing the natural regime and thus causing more and more subsiding areas in the world, there had been sufficient new land subsidence occurrence, problems, research, and remedial measures since the 1976 Second International Symposium held in Anaheim, California, to develop a most interesting program of nearly 100 papers from about 30 countries. The program consisted of papers covering case histories of fluid and mineral withdrawal, engineering theory and analysis, karst “sink-hole”-type subsidence, subsidence due to dewatering of organic deposits or due to application of water (hydrocompaction), instrumentation, legal, socioeconomic, and environmental effects of land subsidence, and remedial works.

  10. Mobility of Academic Women in Decision-making Positions: The Case of the National University of Costa Rica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doris Fernández-Carvajal

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This article arises from a research work entitled “Institutional Diagnosis: Equity Relations between Men and Women at the National University: Second Phase,” performed in 2011 by the Institute of Women’s Studies. This study aims at “Analyzing, from a gender perspective, the social and labor conditions and positioning of those academic employees at the National University in order to determine the gender inequity gaps that restrict the full development of men and women.” This research was conducted by reviewing listings of people elected for decision-making positions from 1976 to mid-2009. This information was provided by the National University Elections Commission (TEUNA3, for its Spanish acronym. Interviews were made to women who, for the first time, held senior positions at this university and who are still working here. Among the main findings of this research is the gradual increase of women holding senior positions such as Rector, Dean and Director. Once the interviews had been transcribed, we proceeded to prepare the categories of analysis. When the university was first founded, most Dean’s positions were held by men. But throughout time –in the 2000s, equity regarding the number of men and women in this category was observed. In terms of management positions, faculties with a significant number of male academic employees   -such as Social Sciences, Earth and Ocean Sciences, and Natural Sciences, have little representation of women in these positions. This article finds that women positively evaluate their experience in senior positions since it has helped them grow and gain personal and professional confidence. They also highlighted a number of achievements and contributions made to their corresponding academic units.

  11. Implementation of synthetic aperture imaging on a hand-held device

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hemmsen, Martin Christian; Kjeldsen, Thomas; Larsen, Lee

    2014-01-01

    -held devices all with different chipsets and a BK Medical UltraView 800 ultrasound scanner emulating a wireless probe. The wireless transmission is benchmarked using an imaging setup consisting of 269 scan lines x 1472 complex samples (1.58 MB pr. frame, 16 frames per second). The measured data throughput...... reached an average of 28.8 MB/s using a LG G2 mobile device, which is more than the required data throughput of 25.3 MB/s. Benchmarking the processing performance for B-mode imaging showed a total processing time of 18.9 ms (53 frames/s), which is less than the acquisition time (62.5 ms).......This paper presents several implementations of Syn- thetic Aperture Sequential Beamforming (SASB) on commer- cially available hand-held devices. The implementations include real-time wireless reception of ultrasound radio frequency sig- nals and GPU processing for B-mode imaging. The proposed...

  12. Acupuncture Deqi Intensity and Propagated Sensation along Channels May, Respectively, Differ due to Different Body Positions of Subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang-Zhu Chen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Acupuncture as an essential component of complementary and alternative medicine is gradually recognized and accepted by the mainstream of contemporary medicine. For obtaining preferable clinical effectiveness, Deqi is commonly regarded as efficacy predictor and parameter which is necessary to be achieved. Influential factors for acupuncture efficacy, like Deqi sensation as well as propagated sensation along channels (PSCs, enjoyed a long history in acupuncture basic research. Concerning this study, taking into account different positions on acupuncture Deqi sensation and PSCs, we would like to attest whether different body positions for subjects during needling procedure yield differed acupuncture Deqi sensation, particularly in terms of intensity, and PSCs. Methods. We used self-controlled method and selected 30 healthy subjects to perform needle insertion at Futu point (ST32 bilaterally. Then they were instructed to record the value of intensity of acupuncture sensation and the length and width of PSCs after removing the needle. Results. In regard to intensity of Deqi, kneeling seat position is stronger than supine position, accounting for 90% of the total number of subjects. In length of PSCs, kneeling seat position is greater than supine position, accounting for 56.7%. In width of PSCs, kneeling seat position is greater than supine position, accounting for 66.7%. Conclusion. Our findings show that needle inserting at Futu point (ST32 in kneeling seat position achieve better needle sensation and provide reference for clinical.

  13. Hand held data collection and monitoring system for nuclear facilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brayton, D.D.; Scharold, P.G.; Thornton, M.W.; Marquez, D.L.

    1999-01-26

    Apparatus and method is disclosed for a data collection and monitoring system that utilizes a pen based hand held computer unit which has contained therein interaction software that allows the user to review maintenance procedures, collect data, compare data with historical trends and safety limits, and input new information at various collection sites. The system has a means to allow automatic transfer of the collected data to a main computer data base for further review, reporting, and distribution purposes and uploading updated collection and maintenance procedures. The hand held computer has a running to-do list so sample collection and other general tasks, such as housekeeping are automatically scheduled for timely completion. A done list helps users to keep track of all completed tasks. The built-in check list assures that work process will meet the applicable processes and procedures. Users can hand write comments or drawings with an electronic pen that allows the users to directly interface information on the screen. 15 figs.

  14. Hand held data collection and monitoring system for nuclear facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brayton, D.D.; Scharold, P.G.; Thornton, M.W.; Marquez, D.L.

    1999-01-01

    Apparatus and method is disclosed for a data collection and monitoring system that utilizes a pen based hand held computer unit which has contained therein interaction software that allows the user to review maintenance procedures, collect data, compare data with historical trends and safety limits, and input new information at various collection sites. The system has a means to allow automatic transfer of the collected data to a main computer data base for further review, reporting, and distribution purposes and uploading updated collection and maintenance procedures. The hand held computer has a running to-do list so sample collection and other general tasks, such as housekeeping are automatically scheduled for timely completion. A done list helps users to keep track of all completed tasks. The built-in check list assures that work process will meet the applicable processes and procedures. Users can hand write comments or drawings with an electronic pen that allows the users to directly interface information on the screen. 15 figs

  15. An analysis of influential factors on outdoor thermal comfort in summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, JiFu; Zheng, YouFei; Wu, RongJun; Tan, JianGuo; Ye, DianXiu; Wang, Wei

    2012-09-01

    A variety of research has linked high temperature to outdoor thermal comfort in summer, but it remains unclear how outdoor meteorological environments influence people's thermal sensation in subtropical monsoon climate areas, especially in China. In order to explain the process, and to better understand the related influential factors, we conducted an extensive survey of thermally comfortable conditions in open outdoor spaces. The goal of this study was to gain an insight into the subjects' perspectives on weather variables and comfort levels, and determine the factors responsible for the varying human thermal comfort response in summer. These perceptions were then compared to actual ambient conditions. The database consists of surveys rated by 205 students trained from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm outdoors from 21 to 25 August 2009, at Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), Nanjing, China. The multiple regression approach and simple factor analysis of variance were used to investigate the relationships between thermal comfort and meteorological environment, taking into consideration individual mood, gender, level of regular exercise, and previous environmental experiences. It was found that males and females have similar perceptions of maximum temperature; in the most comfortable environment, mood appears to have a significant influence on thermal comfort, but the influence of mood diminishes as the meteorological environment becomes increasingly uncomfortable. In addition, the study confirms the strong relationship between thermal comfort and microclimatic conditions, including solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, maximum temperature, wind speed and relative humidity, ranked by importance. There are also strong effects of illness, clothing and exercise, all of which influence thermal comfort. We also find that their former place of residence influences people's thermal comfort substantially by setting expectations. Finally, some relationships

  16. An analysis of influential factors on outdoor thermal comfort in summer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, JiFu; Zheng, YouFei; Wu, RongJun; Tan, JianGuo; Ye, DianXiu; Wang, Wei

    2012-09-01

    A variety of research has linked high temperature to outdoor thermal comfort in summer, but it remains unclear how outdoor meteorological environments influence people's thermal sensation in subtropical monsoon climate areas, especially in China. In order to explain the process, and to better understand the related influential factors, we conducted an extensive survey of thermally comfortable conditions in open outdoor spaces. The goal of this study was to gain an insight into the subjects' perspectives on weather variables and comfort levels, and determine the factors responsible for the varying human thermal comfort response in summer. These perceptions were then compared to actual ambient conditions. The database consists of surveys rated by 205 students trained from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm outdoors from 21 to 25 August 2009, at Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), Nanjing, China. The multiple regression approach and simple factor analysis of variance were used to investigate the relationships between thermal comfort and meteorological environment, taking into consideration individual mood, gender, level of regular exercise, and previous environmental experiences. It was found that males and females have similar perceptions of maximum temperature; in the most comfortable environment, mood appears to have a significant influence on thermal comfort, but the influence of mood diminishes as the meteorological environment becomes increasingly uncomfortable. In addition, the study confirms the strong relationship between thermal comfort and microclimatic conditions, including solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, maximum temperature, wind speed and relative humidity, ranked by importance. There are also strong effects of illness, clothing and exercise, all of which influence thermal comfort. We also find that their former place of residence influences people's thermal comfort substantially by setting expectations. Finally, some relationships

  17. Job satisfaction and its influential factors in dental academic members in tehran, iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seraj, B; Ghadimi, S; Mirzaee, M; Ahmadi, R; Bashizadeh, H; Ashofteh-Yazdi, K; Sahebjamee, M; Kharazi, Mj; Jahanmehr, M

    2014-03-01

    Assessment of job satisfaction of the faculty members and its underlying factors may increase career fulfillment and raise the educational and research productivity, leading to higher quality of dental services at the community level, ultimately improving public oral health status. This study assessed job satisfaction and its influential factors in dental academic members in Tehran. The job satisfaction level of 203 faculty members was assessed using a Likert scale questionnaire from 0 to 4, with 4 representing very satisfied and 0 not at all satisfied. The analysis of variance was used to compare the responses among dental faculty members of three different universities. The impact of age, gender, academic rank, employment status and the date of employment on the overall faculty job satisfaction was identified by multiple linear regression analysis. The mean professional satisfaction score among faculty members was 1.5 (0.5) out of four. Among the studied underlying factors, only the date of employment was seen to have a statistically significant impact on the faculties' overall job satisfaction (P= 0.05). There was no difference in job compensation observed between the three dental faculties. Dissatisfying aspects of the academic work included educational and research policies, monetary strategies, quality of leadership and administration, promotion and tenure policies, job security, educational environment, equipments, and facilities. The only satisfying factor was the interaction between faculty colleagues and students. Faculty members of Tehran Dental Schools are dissatisfied with their work environments in Tehran Dental Schools. Issues such as salary and remuneration, facilities, equipments, promotion and tenure policies are strongly believed to account for the dissatisfaction.

  18. Positive psychology in cancer care: bad science, exaggerated claims, and unproven medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyne, James C; Tennen, Howard

    2010-02-01

    Claims of positive psychology about people with cancer enjoy great popularity because they seem to offer scientific confirmation of strongly held cultural beliefs and values. Our goal is to examine critically four widely accepted claims in the positive psychology literature regarding adaptational outcomes among individuals living with cancer. We examine: (1) the role of positive factors, such as a "fighting spirit" in extending the life of persons with cancer; (2) effects of interventions cultivating positive psychological states on immune functioning and cancer progression and mortality; and evidence concerning (3) benefit finding and (4) post-traumatic growth following serious illness such as cancer and other highly threatening experiences. Claims about these areas of research routinely made in the positive psychology literature do not fit with available evidence. We note in particular the incoherence of claims about the adaptational value of benefit finding and post-traumatic growth among cancer patients, and the implausibility of claims that interventions that enhance benefit finding improve the prognosis of cancer patients by strengthening the immune system. We urge positive psychologists to rededicate themselves to a positive psychology based on scientific evidence rather than wishful thinking.

  19. Effect of Ankle Positioning During Hamstring Stretches for Improving Straight Leg Hip Flexion Motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laudner, Kevin G; Benjamin, Peter J; Selkow, Noelle M

    2016-03-01

    To compare the effects of stretching the hamstrings with the ankle in either a plantar-flexed (PF) or dorsiflexed (DF) position for improving straight leg hip flexion range of motion (ROM) over a 4-week period. Randomized, single-blinded, pretest, posttest design. Athletic training facility. Each limb of 34 asymptomatic individuals (15 males, 19 females) was randomly assigned to one of the 3 groups. Twenty-four limbs received hamstring stretches with the ankle in DF, 24 limbs received hamstring stretches with the ankle in PF, and 20 limbs received no stretch (control). Ankle position (PF, DF) during hamstring stretching. We measured pretest and posttest passive straight leg hip flexion ROM with the test ankle in a neutral position. For the intervention groups, the test limb was passively stretched with the ankle held in end range DF or PF for their respective group. Each stretch was held for 30 seconds for a total of 3 applications. Two treatment sessions were completed per week for a total of 4 weeks. The control limbs received no stretching during the 4-week period. We conducted 1-way analyses of covariance to determine significant changes in ROM between groups (P hamstrings in either PF or DF improve straight leg hip ROM compared with a control group. The results of this study should be considered by clinicians when determining the optimal stretching techniques aimed at increasing hamstring length.

  20. The Image of Mathematics Held by Irish Post-Primary Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Ciara; Stynes, Martin; O'Donoghue, John

    2014-01-01

    The image of mathematics held by Irish post-primary students was examined and a model for the image found was constructed. Initially, a definition for "image of mathematics" was adopted with image of mathematics hypothesized as comprising attitudes, beliefs, self-concept, motivation, emotions and past experiences of mathematics. Research…

  1. Fatigue of Chinese railway employees and its influential factors: Structural equation modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsao, Liuxing; Chang, Jing; Ma, Liang

    2017-07-01

    Fatigue is an identifiable and preventable cause of accidents in transport operations. Regarding the railway sector, incident logs and simulation studies show that employee fatigue leads to lack of alertness, impaired performance, and occurrence of incidents. China has one of the largest rail systems in the world, and Chinese railway employees work under high fatigue risks; therefore, it is important to assess their fatigue level and find the major factors leading to fatigue. We designed a questionnaire that uses Multidimensional Fatigue Instrument (MFI-20), NASA-TLX and subjective rating of work overtime feelings to assess employee fatigue. The contribution of each influential factor of fatigue was analysed using structural equation modelling. In total, 297 employees from the rail maintenance department and 227 employees from the locomotive department returned valid responses. The average scores and standard deviations for the five subscales of MFI-20, namely General Fatigue, Physical Fatigue, Reduced Activity, Reduced Motivation, and Mental Fatigue, were 2.9 (0.8), 2.8 (0.8), 2.5 (0.8), 2.5 (0.7), and 2.4 (0.8) among the rail maintenance employees and 3.5 (0.8), 3.5 (0.7), 3.3 (0.7), 3.0 (0.6), and 3.1 (0.7), respectively, among the locomotive employees. The fatigue of the locomotive employees was influenced by feelings related to working overtime (standardized r = 0.22) and workload (standardized r = 0.27). The work overtime control and physical working environment significantly influenced subjective feelings (standardized r = -0.25 and 0.47, respectively), while improper work/rest rhythms and an adverse physical working environment significantly increased the workload (standardized r = 0.48 and 0.33, respectively). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Does perceived risk influence the effects of message framing? A new investigation of a widely held notion

    OpenAIRE

    Riet, J.P. van 't; Cox, A.D.; Cox, D.; Zimet, G.D.; Bruijn, G.J. de; Putte, B. van den; Vries, H. de; Werrij, M.Q.; Ruiter, R.A.C.

    2014-01-01

    Health-promoting messages can be framed in terms of the beneficial consequences of healthy behaviour (gain-framed messages) or the detrimental consequences of unhealthy behaviour (loss-framed messages). An influential notion holds that the perceived risk associated with the recommended behaviour determines the relative persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed messages. This ‘risk-framing hypothesis’, as we call it, was derived from prospect theory, has been central to health message framing re...

  3. Development of dual sensor hand-held detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sezgin, Mehmet

    2010-04-01

    In this paper hand-held dual sensor detector development requirements are considered dedicated to buried object detection. Design characteristics of such a system are categorized and listed. Hardware and software structures, ergonomics, user interface, environmental and EMC/EMI tests to be applied and performance test issues are studied. Main properties of the developed system (SEZER) are presented, which contains Metal Detector (MD) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The realized system has ergonomic structure and can detect both metallic and non-metallic buried objects. Moreover classification of target is possible if it was defined to the signal processing software in learning phase.

  4. Performance of a new hand-held device for exhaled nitric oxide measurement in adults and children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janson C

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Exhaled nitric oxide (NO measurement has been shown to be a valuable tool in the management of patients with asthma. Up to now, most measurements have been done with stationary, chemiluminescence-based NO analysers, which are not suitable for the primary health care setting. A hand-held NO analyser which simplifies the measurement would be of value both in specialized and primary health care. In this study, the performance of a new electrochemical hand-held device for exhaled NO measurements (NIOX MINO was compared with a standard stationary chemiluminescence unit (NIOX. Methods A total of 71 subjects (6–60 years; 36 males, both healthy controls and atopic patients with and without asthma were included. The mean of three approved exhalations (50 ml/s in each device, and the first approved measurement in the hand-held device, were compared with regard to NO readings (Bland-Altman plots, measurement feasibility (success rate with 6 attempts and repeatability (intrasubject SD. Results Success rate was high (≥ 84% in both devices for both adults and children. The subjects represented a FENO range of 8–147 parts per billion (ppb. When comparing the mean of three measurements (n = 61, the median of the intrasubject difference in exhaled NO for the two devices was -1.2 ppb; thus generally the hand-held device gave slightly higher readings. The Bland-Altman plot shows that the 95% limits of agreement were -9.8 and 8.0 ppb. The intrasubject median difference between the NIOX and the first approved measurement in the NIOX MINO was -2.0 ppb, and limits of agreement were -13.2 and 10.2 ppb. The median repeatability for NIOX and NIOX MINO were 1.1 and 1.2 ppb, respectively. Conclusion The hand-held device (NIOX MINO and the stationary system (NIOX are in clinically acceptable agreement both when the mean of three measurements and the first approved measurement (NIOX MINO is used. The hand-held device shows good repeatability, and it

  5. Performance of a new hand-held device for exhaled nitric oxide measurement in adults and children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alving, K; Janson, C; Nordvall, L

    2006-04-20

    Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) measurement has been shown to be a valuable tool in the management of patients with asthma. Up to now, most measurements have been done with stationary, chemiluminescence-based NO analysers, which are not suitable for the primary health care setting. A hand-held NO analyser which simplifies the measurement would be of value both in specialized and primary health care. In this study, the performance of a new electrochemical hand-held device for exhaled NO measurements (NIOX MINO) was compared with a standard stationary chemiluminescence unit (NIOX). A total of 71 subjects (6-60 years; 36 males), both healthy controls and atopic patients with and without asthma were included. The mean of three approved exhalations (50 ml/s) in each device, and the first approved measurement in the hand-held device, were compared with regard to NO readings (Bland-Altman plots), measurement feasibility (success rate with 6 attempts) and repeatability (intrasubject SD). Success rate was high (> or = 84%) in both devices for both adults and children. The subjects represented a FENO range of 8-147 parts per billion (ppb). When comparing the mean of three measurements (n = 61), the median of the intrasubject difference in exhaled NO for the two devices was -1.2 ppb; thus generally the hand-held device gave slightly higher readings. The Bland-Altman plot shows that the 95% limits of agreement were -9.8 and 8.0 ppb. The intrasubject median difference between the NIOX and the first approved measurement in the NIOX MINO was -2.0 ppb, and limits of agreement were -13.2 and 10.2 ppb. The median repeatability for NIOX and NIOX MINO were 1.1 and 1.2 ppb, respectively. The hand-held device (NIOX MINO) and the stationary system (NIOX) are in clinically acceptable agreement both when the mean of three measurements and the first approved measurement (NIOX MINO) is used. The hand-held device shows good repeatability, and it can be used successfully on adults and most children

  6. Factors influencing H1N1 vaccine behavior among Manitoba Metis in Canada: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Driedger, S Michelle; Maier, Ryan; Furgal, Chris; Jardine, Cindy

    2015-02-12

    During the first wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, Aboriginal populations in Canada experienced disproportionate rates of infection, particularly in the province of Manitoba. To protect those thought to be most at-risk, health authorities in Manitoba listed all Aboriginal people, including Metis, among those able to receive priority access to the novel vaccine when it first became available. Currently, no studies exist that have investigated the attitudes, influences, and vaccine behaviors among Aboriginal communities in Canada. This paper is the first to systematically connect vaccine behavior with the attitudes and beliefs that influenced Metis study participants' H1N1 vaccine decision-making. Researchers held focus groups (n = 17) with Metis participants in urban, rural, and remote locations of Manitoba following the conclusion of the H1N1 pandemic. Participants were asked about their vaccination decisions and about the factors that influenced their decisions. Following data collection, responses were coded into the broad categories of a social-ecological model, nuanced by categories stemming from earlier research. Responses were then quantified to show the most influential factors in positively or negatively affecting the vaccine decision. Media reporting, the influence of peer groups, and prioritization all had positive and negative influential effects on decision making. Whether vaccinated or not, the most negatively influential factors cited by participants were a lack of knowledge about the vaccine and the pandemic as well as concerns about vaccine safety. Risk of contracting H1N1 influenza was the biggest factor in positively influencing a vaccine decision, which in many cases trumped any co-existing negative influencers. Metis experiences of colonialism in Canada deeply affected their perceptions of the vaccine and pandemic, a context that health systems need to take into account when planning response activities in the future. Participants

  7. Instrumentation for Position Sensitive Detector-Powder diffractometer at CENM-Maamora

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Messous, M.-Y.; Belhorma, B.; Labrim, H.; El-Bakkari, B.; Jabri, H.

    2013-06-01

    Linear position sensitive detectors are widely used to configure neutron diffractometer and other instruments. Necessary front-end electronics and data acquisition system was developed to fulfil such instruments built around the research reactor. In this paper, the front-end electronics dedicated to the neutron powder diffractometer which will be installed in the axial beam port of the Triga Mark II research reactor (Center of Nuclear Studies of Maamora) is described. It consists of High voltage power supply, a Position-decoder and a Multichannel analyzer and data acquisition software. The 3 He-PSD detector response exposed to the neutron flow emitted by 252 Cf source held in paraffin spheres with distinct thicknesses for moderation effect, is shown. Monte-Carlo N Particles code (MCNP) simulations were also performed to study both the detector performance and the paraffin efficiency. (authors)

  8. 21 CFR 610.68 - Exceptions or alternatives to labeling requirements for biological products held by the Strategic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... requirements for biological products held by the Strategic National Stockpile. 610.68 Section 610.68 Food and... requirements for biological products held by the Strategic National Stockpile. (a) The appropriate FDA Center... Strategic National Stockpile. (b)(1)(i) A Strategic National Stockpile official or any entity that...

  9. 21 CFR 801.128 - Exceptions or alternatives to labeling requirements for medical devices held by the Strategic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... requirements for medical devices held by the Strategic National Stockpile. 801.128 Section 801.128 Food and... requirements for medical devices held by the Strategic National Stockpile. (a) The appropriate FDA Center... Strategic National Stockpile. (b)(1)(i) A Strategic National Stockpile official or any entity that...

  10. 26 CFR 1.817-3 - Gain on property held on December 31, 1958, and certain substituted property acquired after 1958.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Gain on property held on December 31, 1958, and... Provisions § 1.817-3 Gain on property held on December 31, 1958, and certain substituted property acquired after 1958. (a) Limitation on gain recognized on property held on December 31, 1958. (1) Section 817(b...

  11. 47 CFR 32.6511 - Property held for future telecommunications use expense.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Property held for future telecommunications use expense. 32.6511 Section 32.6511 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES UNIFORM SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES Instructions for Expense...

  12. How to use hand-held computers to evaluate wood drying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard N. Rosen; Darrell S. Martin

    1985-01-01

    Techniques have been developed to evaluate end generate wood drying curves with hand-held computers (3-5K memory). Predictions of time to dry to a specific moisture content, drying rates, and other characteristics of wood drying curves can be made. The paper describes the development of programs and illustrates their use.

  13. Attitudes held by Setswana L1-speaking university students toward ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Respondents believed that their L1 had limitations in wider society; and that it had prestige, albeit a covert one. Generally, they held favourable attitudes toward their L1. Further comprehensive research needs to be done to explore these new variables, as well as to explore their statistical significance in language attitude ...

  14. Report: Fourth International Conference on Gas Hydrates, held at Yokohama, Japan, 19-23 May 2002

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Karisiddaiah, S.M.

    formations, while Dr. L. Stern presented ne insights into the phenomena of anomalous or self- preservation of gas hydrates. JOUR.GEOL.SOC.INDIA, VOL.61, JAN. 2001 Posters on hydrate formation and prevention in pipelines and hydrate based...-1 REPORT ON THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GAS HYDRATES The fourth International Conference on Gas Hydrates was recently held at Yokohama, Japan, between 19-23 May 2002 following the earlier conferences held in USA (1993...

  15. Advanced placement math and science courses: Influential factors and predictors for success in college STEM majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoepner, Cynthia Colon

    President Obama has recently raised awareness on the need for our nation to grow a larger pool of students with knowledge in science mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM). Currently, while the number of women pursuing college degrees continues to rise, there remains an under-representation of women in STEM majors across the country. Although research studies offer several contributing factors that point to a higher attrition rate of women in STEM than their male counterparts, no study has investigated the role that high school advanced placement (AP) math and science courses play in preparing students for the challenges of college STEM courses. The purpose of this study was to discover which AP math and science courses and/or influential factors could encourage more students, particularly females, to consider pursuing STEM fields in college. Further, this study examined which, if any, AP math or science courses positively contribute to a student's overall preparation for college STEM courses. This retrospective study combined quantitative and qualitative research methods. The survey sample consisted of 881 UCLA female and male students pursuing STEM majors. Qualitative data was gathered from four single-gender student focus groups, two female groups (15 females) and two male groups (16 males). This study examined which AP math and science courses students took in high school, who or what influenced them to take those courses, and which particular courses influenced student's choice of STEM major and/or best prepared her/him for the challenges of STEM courses. Findings reveal that while AP math and science course-taking patterns are similar of female and male STEM students, a significant gender-gap remains in five of the eleven AP courses. Students report four main influences on their choice of AP courses; self, desire for math/science major, higher grade point average or class rank, and college admissions. Further, three AP math and science courses were

  16. 78 FR 27441 - NIJ Evaluation of Hand-Held Cell Phone Detector Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-10

    ...The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is soliciting interest in supplying hand-held cell phone detector devices for participation in an evaluation by the NIJ Corrections Technology Center of Excellence (CXCoE).

  17. Surgical wound healing in radio-tagged adult Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus held on different substrata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesa, M.G.; Magie, R.J.; Copeland, E.S.; Christiansen, H.E.

    2011-01-01

    Radio-tagged adult Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus held in a raceway with Plexiglas-lined walls and bottom healed more slowly and retained sutures longer than fish held in an all-concrete raceway or one with Plexiglas walls and a cobble-lined bottom. On all substrata, healing depended on when sutures were lost, and fish that lost their sutures in healed faster than those that kept sutures longer. Long-term suture retention led to tissue trauma, infection and poor survival.

  18. 78 FR 52872 - Airworthiness Directives; 328 Support Services GmbH (Type Certificate Previously Held by AvCraft...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-27

    ... Services GmbH (Type Certificate Previously Held by AvCraft Aerospace GmbH; Fairchild Dornier GmbH; Dornier... certain 328 Support Services GmbH (Type Certificate Previously Held by AvCraft Aerospace GmbH; Fairchild... send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposed AD. Send your comments to an...

  19. The Shiite Pluralistic Position on Human Cloning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayyid Hasan Islami Ardekani

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available With regard to human cloning or artificial human reproduction – and contrary to the opinions of Sunni scholars - Shiite thinkers have not held a unified position. After having surveyed a number of Shiite fatwas and analyses on the subject, this essay will classify them into four groups. The first group states that we are granted absolute permission to engage in human cloning; while the second group believes that there is limited permission; the third group argues that cloning as such is primarily permitted but because of its consequences and secondary grounds it is prohibited and unlawful; and the fourth group is of the view that cloning as such and by itself is prohibited and unlawful. In what follows, the author has examined these four views, ending in support of the permission theory.

  20. 78 FR 73415 - Safety Standard for Hand-Held Infant Carriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-06

    ... modifications to the ASTM test procedure set forth in ASTM F2050-12 so that the test produces more repeatable... skills necessary for the preparation of reports or records; and a description of the steps the agency has... the Rule on Small Business There are at least 47 firms currently known to be marketing hand- held...

  1. The Weak Link HP-41C hand-held calculator program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross A. Phillips; Penn A. Peters; Gary D. Falk

    1982-01-01

    The Weak Link hand-held calculator program (HP-41C) quickly analyzes a system for logging production and costs. The production equations model conventional chain saw, skidder, loader, and tandemaxle truck operations in eastern mountain areas. Production of each function of the logging system may be determined so that the system may be balanced for minimum cost. The...

  2. A synopsis of recent influential papers published in psychiatric journals (2010-2011) from the Arab world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okasha, Tarek; Elkholy, Hussien

    2012-06-01

    Six recent and influential papers that have appeared in the three leading psychiatry journals from the Arab region are summarized in this review. The first paper examined the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) in rural and urban secondary school girls in Sharkia; more EDs were found among urban than rural population. The second study reported the high prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in primary school children in Iraq in context of the present situation in Iraq dominated by violence creating a traumatizing atmosphere for the population, especially children. The third paper reported that substance dependent patients manifest elevated traits of impulsivity; emotionally driven impulsivity in particular predicted substance related problems. The fourth study reported significant cognitive impairments at illness onset in a large sample of patients with a first psychotic episode. The fifth paper, investigated the cultural imprint on symptom profile of mood disorders. Culture effect on mood disorder was more prominent in depression than in mania. The last article examined the relations between social circumstances, medical morbidity, locus of control and depression in elderly patients suffering from medical conditions. Overall, the papers describe a wide spectrum of research initiatives in the Arab World that are likely to have implications for global mental health. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Characterizing Positive and Negative Emotional Experiences in Young Adults With Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Carol; Victor, Sarah E; Klonsky, E David

    2016-09-01

    Some researchers suggest that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by elevated negative emotion; others argue that BPD involves both reduced positive and increased negative emotion. This study characterizes the emotional experiences of individuals with BPD symptoms in a combined university and community sample. Participants (N = 150) completed a clinical interview assessing BPD symptoms and self-report measures of positive and negative emotion. A subset (n = 106) completed a measure of emotion daily for 2 weeks. Pearson's correlations and multilevel modeling were used to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between BPD symptoms and emotions. BPD symptoms were robustly related to increased negative emotion; this relationship remained after accounting for positive emotion. BPD symptoms were weakly related to decreased positive emotion; this relationship was no longer significant after accounting for negative emotion. BPD symptoms predicted higher levels of negative and not positive emotion over 14 days. These patterns held for subscales assessing intensity, frequency, and duration of negative and positive emotions. Findings suggest that individuals with BPD features are chiefly distinguished by elevated negative emotional experience. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Adaptive RF front-ends for hand-held applications

    CERN Document Server

    van Bezooijen, Andre; van Roermund, Arthur

    2010-01-01

    The RF front-end - antenna combination is a vital part of a mobile phone because its performance is very relevant to the link quality between hand-set and cellular network base-stations. The RF front-end performance suffers from changes in operating environment, like hand-effects, that are often unpredictable. ""Adaptive RF Front-Ends for Hand-Held Applications"" presents an analysis on the impact of fluctuating environmental parameters. In order to overcome undesired behavior two different adaptive control methods are treated that make RF frond-ends more resilient: adaptive impedance control,

  5. Professor Janet Wasko: An Interview with the President of the IAMCR and one of the Key Representatives of the Political Economy of Communication Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jernej Amon Prodnik

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an interview with Janet Wasko. She is a Professor and Knight Chair in Communication Research at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication and widely considered as one of the key authors working in the tradition of the political economy of communication. Currently she is serving as the President of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR, one of the key international associations in the field of media and communication studies. She previously held several other positions in the IAMCR and served as the head of the Political Economy-section, which she also helped to establish. Professor Wasko published several influential books on the film industry, especially on Hollywood and the Disney Corporation. We talked especially about the influences on her approach, about her position in the IAMCR, her understanding of how the cultural and media industries work, the political economy approach in media and communication studies, and issues related to the film industry, which she mostly tackles in her own research.

  6. Public health officials and MECs should be held liable for harm ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There have been several reports of state hospitals not having functional equipment such as radiological equipment. Where these are due to incompetence, indifference, maladministration or negligence by the public officials concerned, they may be held personally liable for the resulting harm to patients. However, the courts ...

  7. Clinical utility and diagnostic accuracy of palm-held, mini-sized ultrasonocardiographic scanner in congenital heart disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mao-Hung Lo

    2018-02-01

    Conclusion: The diagnostic sensitivity of palm-held scanner in detecting CHD was very good. Despite both instruments having a high diagnostic score in detecting CHD, standard echocardiography had better quality. Traditional echocardiography is still the standard tool for CHD evaluation. However, the palm-held scanner can support physical examination for initial screening and follow-up, and offer cardiologists an opportunity to visualize and listen to the heart at any time.

  8. Lead in New York City Community Garden Chicken Eggs: Influential Factors and Health Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spliethoff, Henry M.; Mitchell, Rebecca G.; Ribaudo, Lisa N.; Taylor, Owen; Shayler, Hannah A.; Greene, Virginia; Oglesby, Debra

    2014-01-01

    Raising chickens for eggs in urban areas is becoming increasingly common. Urban chickens may be exposed to lead, a common urban soil contaminant. We measured lead concentrations in chicken eggs from New York City (NYC) community gardens and collected information on factors that might affect those concentrations. Lead was detected between 10 and 167 μg/kg in 48% of NYC eggs. Measures of lead in eggs from a henhouse were significantly associated (plead concentrations in soil. The association between soil and egg lead has been evaluated only once before, by a study of a rural region in Belgium. In our study, the apparent lead soil-to-egg transfer efficiency was considerably lower than that found in Belgium, suggesting that there may be important geographic differences in this transfer. We developed models that suggested that, for sites like ours, lead concentrations in >50% of eggs from a henhouse would exceed store-bought egg concentrations (lead concentrations >120 mg/kg, and that the concentration in one of six eggs from a henhouse would exceed a 100 μg/kg guidance value at soil lead concentrations >410 mg/kg. Our models also suggested that the availability of dietary calcium supplements was another influential factor that reduced egg lead concentrations. Estimates of health risk from consuming eggs with the lead concentrations we measured generally were not significant. However, soil lead concentrations in this study were lead transfer to chicken eggs and associated exposure are recommended for urban chicken keepers. PMID:24287691

  9. 21 CFR 201.26 - Exceptions or alternatives to labeling requirements for human drug products held by the Strategic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... requirements for human drug products held by the Strategic National Stockpile. 201.26 Section 201.26 Food and... drug products held by the Strategic National Stockpile. (a) The appropriate FDA Center Director may... safety, effectiveness, or availability of such product that is or will be included in the Strategic...

  10. EU Climate Change Exhibition Held

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2008-01-01

    <正>On April 25, the CPAFFC, the China-EU Association (CEUA) and the Delegation of the European Commission to China jointly held the opening ceremony for the EU Exhibition on Climate Change in the CPAFFC. He Luli, former vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee and honorary president of the CEUA, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Li Jianping, vice president of the CPAFFC, attended the opening ceremony and made speeches. Honorary President He Luli highly praised the achievements made by China and the EU in their longtime cooperation of mutual benefits in various fields including environmental protection. She said, for many years China and EU have both committed to the development of all-round strategic partnership and establishment of a multi-level mechanism of political dialogue. She expressed, with increasing enthusiasm the CEUA would continue to actively carry out nongovernmental exchanges between China and the EU, and promote cooperation between the two sides in the fields of economy, society, environmental protection, science and technology, culture, etc.

  11. 41 CFR 102-36.460 - Do we report excess medical shelf-life items held for national emergency purposes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... medical shelf-life items held for national emergency purposes? 102-36.460 Section 102-36.460 Public... Disposal Requires Special Handling Shelf-Life Items § 102-36.460 Do we report excess medical shelf-life items held for national emergency purposes? When the remaining shelf life of any medical materials or...

  12. World Renewable Energy Congress - To Be Held In Denver In 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    ) announced today that they will host the World Renewable Energy Congress IV in Denver from June 15-21, 1996 to be held outside of the United Kingdom. The World Renewable Energy Congress, which meets every two include world leaders in renewable energy, banking and business. The Congress' objectives are to support

  13. 9 CFR 500.5 - Notification, appeals, and actions held in abeyance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Notification, appeals, and actions held in abeyance. 500.5 Section 500.5 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE...; (4) Advise the establishment of its right to contact FSIS to contest the basis for the proposed...

  14. Helping Patrons Find Locally Held Electronic Resources: An Interlibrary Loan Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Pamela

    2016-01-01

    The University of North Texas Libraries provide extensive online access to academic journals through major vendor databases. As illustrated by interlibrary loan borrowing requests for items held in our databases, patrons often have difficulty navigating the available resources. In this study, the Interlibrary Loan staff used data gathered from the…

  15. IsoBank workshop held at IsoEcol10 - University of Tokyo 2016

    OpenAIRE

    Hayden, Brian

    2016-01-01

    IsoBank is a repository for stable isotope values and relevant metadata. These slides were presented at a workshop held during IsoEcol10 to refine and design the IsoBank for the needs of a diverse group of researchers.

  16. 26 CFR 1.582-1 - Bad debts, losses, and gains with respect to securities held by financial institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... securities held by financial institutions. 1.582-1 Section 1.582-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... § 1.582-1 Bad debts, losses, and gains with respect to securities held by financial institutions. (a... financial institutions. For taxable years beginning after July 11, 1969, the sale or exchange of a security...

  17. Predicting Short-Term Subway Ridership and Prioritizing Its Influential Factors Using Gradient Boosting Decision Trees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chuan Ding

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the relationship between short-term subway ridership and its influential factors is crucial to improving the accuracy of short-term subway ridership prediction. Although there has been a growing body of studies on short-term ridership prediction approaches, limited effort is made to investigate the short-term subway ridership prediction considering bus transfer activities and temporal features. To fill this gap, a relatively recent data mining approach called gradient boosting decision trees (GBDT is applied to short-term subway ridership prediction and used to capture the associations with the independent variables. Taking three subway stations in Beijing as the cases, the short-term subway ridership and alighting passengers from its adjacent bus stops are obtained based on transit smart card data. To optimize the model performance with different combinations of regularization parameters, a series of GBDT models are built with various learning rates and tree complexities by fitting a maximum of trees. The optimal model performance confirms that the gradient boosting approach can incorporate different types of predictors, fit complex nonlinear relationships, and automatically handle the multicollinearity effect with high accuracy. In contrast to other machine learning methods—or “black-box” procedures—the GBDT model can identify and rank the relative influences of bus transfer activities and temporal features on short-term subway ridership. These findings suggest that the GBDT model has considerable advantages in improving short-term subway ridership prediction in a multimodal public transportation system.

  18. Special Year held at the University of Maryland

    CERN Document Server

    1988-01-01

    The papers in this volume reflect the richness and diversity of the subject of dynamics. Some are lectures given at the three conferences (Ergodic Theory and Topological Dynamics, Symbolic Dynamics and Coding Theory and Smooth Dynamics, Dynamics and Applied Dynamics) held in Maryland between October 1986 and March 1987; some are work which was in progress during the Special Year, and some are work which was done because of questions and problems raised at the conferences. In addition, a paper of John Milnor and William Thurston, versions of which had been available as notes but not yet published, is included.

  19. Dynamics of values held by future sports teachers: a longitudinal study

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The dynamics of personal values and values pertaining to the meaning of life held by future sport teachers was investigated. The two surveys used were the Rokeach Value Survey for identification of the most important personal values and the Leontiev Life Meaning Orientations Test for the evaluation of values pertaining to ...

  20. Climate change and respiratory disease: European Respiratory Society position statement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayres, J G; Forsberg, B; Annesi-Maesano, I; Dey, R; Ebi, K L; Helms, P J; Medina-Ramón, M; Windt, M; Forastiere, F

    2009-08-01

    Climate change will affect individuals with pre-existing respiratory disease, but the extent of the effect remains unclear. The present position statement was developed on behalf of the European Respiratory Society in order to identify areas of concern arising from climate change for individuals with respiratory disease, healthcare workers in the respiratory sector and policy makers. The statement was developed following a 2-day workshop held in Leuven (Belgium) in March 2008. Key areas of concern for the respiratory community arising from climate change are discussed and recommendations made to address gaps in knowledge. The most important recommendation was the development of more accurate predictive models for predicting the impact of climate change on respiratory health. Respiratory healthcare workers also have an advocatory role in persuading governments and the European Union to maintain awareness and appropriate actions with respect to climate change, and these areas are also discussed in the position statement.

  1. Technical Training Seminar: Laser Trackers: the Local Positioning Technology (LPT)

    CERN Document Server

    Davide Vitè

    2005-01-01

    Friday 20 May from 10:00 to 16:00, Training Centre (bldg. 593) Laser Trackers: the Local Positioning Technology (LPT) Simon Moser, Michael Lettau, Achim Lupus, Niklaus Suter, Leica GEOSYSTEMS AG, Switzerland Laser trackers are used at CERN for different applications within the LHC Project. Leica Geosystems AG have been developing during the last four years the revolutionary Local Positioning Technology (LPT). Laser trackers are increasingly used to ensure accuracy of large fabrications, and alignment in the final assembly process. Competing portable Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) with articulated arms require a frequent repositioning, known to lead to a loss of accuracy and efficiency. Leica Geosystems developed armless solutions, the T-Probe and T-Scan, for use with its laser trackers. The combination of the tracker technology with photogrammetry is the base of LPT, enabling real time measurements with free hand-held devices, such as the T-Probe and T-Scan. T-Probe and T-Scan overcome the proble...

  2. Hand-held transendoscopic robotic manipulators: A transurethral laser prostate surgery case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrick, Richard J; Mitchell, Christopher R; Herrell, S Duke; Webster, Robert J

    2015-11-01

    Natural orifice endoscopic surgery can enable incisionless approaches, but a major challenge is the lack of small and dexterous instrumentation. Surgical robots have the potential to meet this need yet often disrupt the clinical workflow. Hand-held robots that combine thin manipulators and endoscopes have the potential to address this by integrating seamlessly into the clinical workflow and enhancing dexterity. As a case study illustrating the potential of this approach, we describe a hand-held robotic system that passes two concentric tube manipulators through a 5 mm port in a rigid endoscope for transurethral laser prostate surgery. This system is intended to catalyze the use of a clinically superior, yet rarely attempted, procedure for benign prostatic hyperplasia. This paper describes system design and experiments to evaluate the surgeon's functional workspace and accuracy using the robot. Phantom and cadaver experiments demonstrate successful completion of the target procedure via prostate lobe resection.

  3. Hand held lasers, a hazard to aircraft: How do we address this?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barat, K.

    2015-10-01

    The availability of hand held lasers, commonly termed "laser pointers" is easy and wide spread, through commercial web sites and brick & mortar stores. The output of these hand held devices ranges from 1-5 milliWatts (mW) the legal laser pointer output limit, to 5000mW (5Watts). This is thousand times the maximum limit for pointers. Sadly the abuse of these devices is also wide spread. Over the last few years over 3000 aircraft are exposed to laser hits per year. While these aircraft exposures are of no danger to the aircraft frame but they can cause pilot distractions with the potential to cause a serve accident. The presentation will discuss the problem review visual effects, the regulatory response and how educators need to be aware of the problem and can take steps to educate students in the hope of having an effect.

  4. Our trial to improve patient positioning during mammography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakayama, Takashi; Kotsuma, Yoshikazu; Hiramatsu, Sawako

    2007-01-01

    For effective breast cancer screening, reading of high-quality mammograms is essential, and for this purpose proper patient positioning during mammography is important. At our Shin-Osaka Mammography Seminar, which includes eight institutions, a physician and nine radiology technicians get together weekly in order to critically review mammogram reading and techniques for obtaining good mammograms. We have recognized that patient positioning has a great effect on mammogram quality, particularly for women in their 40 s who have dense mammary glands, and we have adopted a digital mammography system, or comparative mammography for such patients. Since July 2005, we have critically reviewed positioning every 3 or 4 months with the aim of improving our technique. Eight institutions have participated in this trial, each contributing mammograms taken recently from 20 to 30 consecutive participants, and the grade of positioning has been determined according to the Institutional Mammogram Estimation Standard (6 items, each scoring a maximum of 4 points, total 24 points) proposed by the Central Committee for Quality Control of Mammography Screening. The estimation has been done by both ourselves and committee members. When a total of 20 points or more is obtained and all 6 items score 3 points or more, it is considered that the positioning has been good, and this is termed ''Positioning A'' (P-A). On the other hand, if the total score is less than 20 points, and any one of the 6 items scores less than 3 points, it is considered that positioning has been inadequate, and this is termed ''Positioning-D'' (P-D). At the first review meeting, which was held before our critical study, P-A accounted for 48% of cases, and this had improved to 72% at the second meeting, and to 66% at the third. P-D accounted for 41% of cases at the first meeting, 20% at the second, and 21% at the third. Thus our trial involving discussion between a physician and technicians to critically review good

  5. Multisensory Tracking of Objects in Darkness: Capture of Positive Afterimages by the Tactile and Proprioceptive Senses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian W Stone

    Full Text Available This paper reports on three experiments investigating the contribution of different sensory modalities to the tracking of objects moved in total darkness. Participants sitting in the dark were exposed to a brief, bright flash which reliably induced a positive visual afterimage of the scene so illuminated. If the participants subsequently move their hand in the darkness, the visual afterimage of that hand fades or disappears; this is presumably due to conflict between the illusory visual afterimage (of the hand in its original location and other information (e.g., proprioceptive from a general mechanism for tracking body parts. This afterimage disappearance effect also occurs for held objects which are moved in the dark, and some have argued that this represents a case of body schema extension, i.e. the rapid incorporation of held external objects into the body schema. We demonstrate that the phenomenon is not limited to held objects and occurs in conditions where incorporation into the body schema is unlikely. Instead, we propose that the disappearance of afterimages of objects moved in darkness comes from a general mechanism for object tracking which integrates input from multiple sensory systems. This mechanism need not be limited to tracking body parts, and thus we need not invoke body schema extension to explain the afterimage disappearance. In this series of experiments, we test whether auditory feedback of object movement can induce afterimage disappearance, demonstrate that the disappearance effect scales with the magnitude of proprioceptive feedback, and show that tactile feedback alone is sufficient for the effect. Together, these data demonstrate that the visual percept of a positive afterimage is constructed not just from visual input of the scene when light reaches the eyes, but in conjunction with input from multiple other senses.

  6. 29 CFR 101.24 - Final disposition of a charge which has been held pending investigation of the petition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Final disposition of a charge which has been held pending investigation of the petition. 101.24 Section 101.24 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor NATIONAL LABOR...)(7) and 9(c) of the Act § 101.24 Final disposition of a charge which has been held pending...

  7. Identified Phases in the Building and Maintaining of Positive Teacher-Student Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newberry, Melissa

    2010-01-01

    Teacher-student relationships are accepted as influential but the dynamics of those relationships are not well understood, especially with difficult students. A series of interviews were combined with classroom observations and written reflections to understand in what ways a teacher negotiated her relationship with a behaviorally challenging…

  8. Influential factors on treatment decision making among patients with colorectal cancer: A scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cranley, Nicole M; Curbow, Barbara; George, Thomas J; Christie, Juliette

    2017-09-01

    In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on shared decision-making (SDM) techniques between providers and patients with the goal of helping patients make informed decisions about their care and subsequently to improve patient health outcomes. Previous research has shown variability in treatment decision-making among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), and there is little comprehensive information available to help explain this variability. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the current state of the literature on factors that are influential in treatment decision-making among patients with CRC. A priori search terms using Boolean connectors were used to examine PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and MEDLINE for relevant studies. Eligibility criteria for inclusion in the study included patients with CRC and examination of influences on CRC treatment decision-making. All relevant data were extracted including, author, title and year, study methodology, and study results. Findings (n = 13) yielded influences in four areas: informational, patient treatment goals, patient role preferences, and relationship with provider. Quality of life and trust in physician were rated a high priority among patients when making decisions between different therapeutic options. Several studies found that patients wanted to be informed and involved but did not necessarily want to make autonomous treatment choices, with many preferring a more passive role. Providers who initiate a dialog to better understand their patients' treatment goals can establish rapport, increase patient understanding of treatment options, and help patients assume their desired role in their decision-making. Overall, there were a small number of studies that met all inclusion criteria with most used a cross-sectional design.

  9. Fabrication data package for HEDL-RI dosimetry in the Maine Yankee Replacement Surveillance Capsule 263 and cavity positions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kellogg, L.S.; Ulseth, J.A.; Lippincott, E.P.; Oliver, B.; Farrar, H.

    1982-12-01

    This document provides a complete description of dosimetry fabricated for the Maine Yankee Surveillance Capsule Number 263 and three azimuthal positions in the reactor cavity. Surveillance Capsule 263 was originally scheduled for insertion in October 1982, but will be held in reserve for future use, pending establishment of an equilibrium low leakage core burnup distribution. The cavity dosimetry is scheduled for insertion in November 1982

  10. 27 CFR 19.349 - Mingled spirits or wines held in tanks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Mingled spirits or wines... of Spirits § 19.349 Mingled spirits or wines held in tanks. When spirits of less than 190 degrees of proof or wines are mingled in a tank, the proprietor shall gauge the spirits or wines in the tank and...

  11. Gen-2 Hand-Held Optical Imager towards Cancer Imaging: Reflectance and Transillumination Phantom Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anuradha Godavarty

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Hand-held near-infrared (NIR optical imagers are developed by various researchers towards non-invasive clinical breast imaging. Unlike these existing imagers that can perform only reflectance imaging, a generation-2 (Gen-2 hand-held optical imager has been recently developed to perform both reflectance and transillumination imaging. The unique forked design of the hand-held probe head(s allows for reflectance imaging (as in ultrasound and transillumination or compressed imaging (as in X-ray mammography. Phantom studies were performed to demonstrate two-dimensional (2D target detection via reflectance and transillumination imaging at various target depths (1–5 cm deep and using simultaneous multiple point illumination approach. It was observed that 0.45 cc targets were detected up to 5 cm deep during transillumination, but limited to 2.5 cm deep during reflectance imaging. Additionally, implementing appropriate data post-processing techniques along with a polynomial fitting approach, to plot 2D surface contours of the detected signal, yields distinct target detectability and localization. The ability of the gen-2 imager to perform both reflectance and transillumination imaging allows its direct comparison to ultrasound and X-ray mammography results, respectively, in future clinical breast imaging studies.

  12. The reliability and validity of hand-held refractometry water content measures of hydrogel lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Jason J; Mitchell, G Lynn; Good, Gregory W

    2003-06-01

    To investigate within- and between-examiner reliability and validity of hand-held refractometry water content measures of hydrogel lenses. Nineteen lenses of various nominal water contents were examined by two examiners on two occasions separated by 1 hour. An Atago N2 hand-held refractometer was used for all water content measures. Lenses were presented in a random order to each examiner by a third party, and examiners were masked to any potential lens identifiers. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), 95% limits of agreement, and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to characterize the within- and between-examiner reliability and validity of lens water content measures. Within-examiner reliability was excellent (ICC, 0.97; 95% limits of agreement, -3.6% to +5.7%), and the inter-visit mean difference of 1.1 +/- 2.4% was not biased (p = 0.08). Between-examiner reliability was also excellent (ICC, 0.98; 95% limits of agreement, -4.1% to +3.9%). The mean difference between examiners was -0.1 +/- 2.1% (p = 0.83). The mean difference between the nominally reported water content and our water content measures was -2.1 +/- 1.7% (p refractometry and is material dependent. Therefore, investigators may need to account for bias when measuring hydrogel lens water content via hand-held refractometry.

  13. Assessing the Effectiveness of the Meetings Held in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdolvahed Khodamoradi

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives : Meetings are inseparable part of organizational world which cost high. The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the meetings held in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences from personnel’s perspective in management setting. Material and Methods : This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The study community consisted of 207 managers in different directorship positions in which 82 of them were selected as the sample by using Kookran formula. Data were collected using researcher-made which its validity and reliability were achieved according to Likert spectrum. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16. The applied tests included independent T test and Anova. Results : Personnel dedicated 75% of total score for pre meeting processes and meeting management and 32% for the effectiveness of the meetings in the process of achieving the goals, satisfaction from holding the meetings and effective participation in the meetings. In other words, they were compliant with the quality of the meetings but disagreed on the effectiveness of the meetings. Also, these findings showed meaningful relationship between effectiveness and quality of the meetings with age and educational courses. However, there was no meaningful difference between effectiveness and quality of the meetings with gender, level of education and field of study (p>0.05. Conclusion : In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of the meetings, it is necessary to hold meetings’ invitation, beginning and finishing on-time. In addition, participants should be focused and informed about the subjects of the meeting. Furthermore, empowering managers and personnel in different management positions by holding educational packages and workshops is suggested.

  14. Citation bias and selective focus on positive findings in the literature on the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR), life stress and depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vries, Y A; Roest, A M; Franzen, M; Munafò, M R; Bastiaansen, J A

    2016-10-01

    Caspi et al.'s 2003 report that 5-HTTLPR genotype moderates the influence of life stress on depression has been highly influential but remains contentious. We examined whether the evidence base for the 5-HTTLPR-stress interaction has been distorted by citation bias and a selective focus on positive findings. A total of 73 primary studies were coded for study outcomes and focus on positive findings in the abstract. Citation rates were compared between studies with positive and negative results, both within this network of primary studies and in Web of Science. In addition, the impact of focus on citation rates was examined. In all, 24 (33%) studies were coded as positive, but these received 48% of within-network and 68% of Web of Science citations. The 38 (52%) negative studies received 42 and 23% of citations, respectively, while the 11 (15%) unclear studies received 10 and 9%. Of the negative studies, the 16 studies without a positive focus (42%) received 47% of within-network citations and 32% of Web of Science citations, while the 13 (34%) studies with a positive focus received 39 and 51%, respectively, and the nine (24%) studies with a partially positive focus received 14 and 17%. Negative studies received fewer citations than positive studies. Furthermore, over half of the negative studies had a (partially) positive focus, and Web of Science citation rates were higher for these studies. Thus, discussion of the 5-HTTLPR-stress interaction is more positive than warranted. This study exemplifies how evidence-base-distorting mechanisms undermine the authenticity of research findings.

  15. Balancing fast-rotating parts of hand-held machine drive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korotkov, V. S.; Sicora, E. A.; Nadeina, L. V.; Yongzheng, Wang

    2018-03-01

    The article considers the issues related to the balancing of fast rotating parts of the hand-held machine drive including a wave transmission with intermediate rolling elements, which is constructed on the basis of the single-phase collector motor with a useful power of 1 kW and a nominal rotation frequency of 15000 rpm. The forms of balancers and their location are chosen. The method of balancing is described. The scheme for determining of residual unbalance in two correction planes is presented. Measurement results are given in tables.

  16. Hand-held spectrophotometer design for textile fabrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böcekçi, Veysel Gökhan; Yıldız, Kazım

    2017-09-01

    In this study, a hand-held spectrophotometer was designed by taking advantage of the developments in modern optoelectronic technology. Spectrophotometer devices are used to determine the color information from the optic properties of the materials. As an alternative to a desktop spectrophotometer device we have implemented, it is the first prototype, low cost and portable. The prototype model designed for the textile industry can detect the color tone of any fabric. The prototype model consists of optic sensor, processor, display floors. According to the color applied on the optic sensor, it produces special frequency information on its output at that color value. In Arduino type processor, the frequency information is evaluated by the program we have written and the color tone information between 0-255 ton is decided and displayed on the screen.

  17. Comparative Geometrical Accuracy Investigations of Hand-Held 3d Scanning Systems - AN Update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kersten, T. P.; Lindstaedt, M.; Starosta, D.

    2018-05-01

    Hand-held 3D scanning systems are increasingly available on the market from several system manufacturers. These systems are deployed for 3D recording of objects with different size in diverse applications, such as industrial reverse engineering, and documentation of museum exhibits etc. Typical measurement distances range from 0.5 m to 4.5 m. Although they are often easy-to-use, the geometric performance of these systems, especially the precision and accuracy, are not well known to many users. First geometrical investigations of a variety of diverse hand-held 3D scanning systems were already carried out by the Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning Lab of the HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU Hamburg) in cooperation with two other universities in 2016. To obtain more information about the accuracy behaviour of the latest generation of hand-held 3D scanning systems, HCU Hamburg conducted further comparative geometrical investigations using structured light systems with speckle pattern (Artec Spider, Mantis Vision PocketScan 3D, Mantis Vision F5-SR, Mantis Vision F5-B, and Mantis Vision F6), and photogrammetric systems (Creaform HandySCAN 700 and Shining FreeScan X7). In the framework of these comparative investigations geometrically stable reference bodies were used. The appropriate reference data was acquired by measurements with two structured light projection systems (AICON smartSCAN and GOM ATOS I 2M). The comprehensive test results of the different test scenarios are presented and critically discussed in this contribution.

  18. Quality of life and its influential factors in outpatients with chronic hepatitis B or C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JIA Ying

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveTo study the quality of life (QoL and its influential factors among outpatients with chronic hepatitis B or C. MethodsPatients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B or C between March 2012 and March 2014 were included in the hepatitis group, whereas volunteers presenting with neither significant physical nor mental diseases, who accompanied visiting patients or underwent physical examination, were involved in the control group. A survey using the Short Form-36 (SF-36 Chinese version, the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ, and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS were performed within the above groups. ResultsThe SF-36 scores of the hepatitis group were significantly lower than those of the control group in physical role, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional role, and mental health (P<0.05. The CLDQ scores of the hepatitis group were significantly lower than those of the control group in systemic symptoms, role emotion, and anxiety (P<0.05. The hepatitis patients displayed significantly lower scores in all four scales of SSRS (P<0.05. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that age, sex, occupation, marital status, income, subjective support, and social support utilization significantly influenced the QoL among hepatitis patients. ConclusionThe QoL of outpatients with chronic hepatitis B or C is poor. The QoL of patients showing the characteristics of old age, female sex, divorce, farmer, lower income, less subjective support, and poor social support utilization require more attention to their QoL. Medical workers should provide proper individualized health guidance for those patients.

  19. Radiation safety evaluation of a hand-held, battery operated image intensifier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, O.J.; Young, B.F.

    1987-01-01

    A portable, hand-held, fluoroscopic unit intended for medical and industrial use was tested to verify the claim of the manufacturers that the radiation doses to the patient and user are low, and comparable to those received from standard radiographic procedures. The first claim was substantiated but not the second. A number of concerns arising from the use of this unit are discussed

  20. DOD Future Energy Resources. Proceedings of Workshops Held at the National Defense University

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2003-01-01

    .... In response to concerns about U.S. and global depletion of cheap petroleum resources and the particular impact of this on future DOD energy resource needs, a series of workshops were held during 2002 and 2003 at National Defense University...

  1. Viewpoint held by the -Robin des bois- environment protection association regarding radioactive waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonnemains, J.

    2011-01-01

    For twenty years, the 'Robin des Bois' association has held the belief that every country must manage the hazardous waste, including radioactive waste, that it produces. The vehemence of German anti-nuclear activists in rejecting the return of waste produced by recycling irradiated fuel from German nuclear power plants runs counter to the principles of responsibility and proximity to which ecologists claim to adhere. There are more reasonable means available than refusing to manage end-of-cycle nuclear waste, such as blockading power plants or the uranium enrichment plant in Gronau which supplies the nuclear power industry worldwide. In Lower Saxony, the La Hague plant located on this West European headland is therefore thought of as the ideal hideaway for this waste. It is true that the list of radioactive scrap, hospital waste, asbestos from the steamer, the Norway, and WEEE exported by Germany is long. Robin des Bois is against recycling irradiated fuel as it facilitates the proliferation and dispersion of plutonium and other radionuclides into the environment. The association has revealed many scandals and lies related to recycling in areas other than the nuclear industry, which have been concealed behind the false good ecological and systematically positive image of recycling. (author)

  2. Spatial-temporal eco-environmental vulnerability assessment and its influential factors based on Landsat data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anh, N. K.; Liou, Y. A.; Ming-Hsu, L.

    2016-12-01

    Regional land use/land cover (LULC) changes lead to various changes in ecological processes and, in turn, alter regional micro-climate. To understand eco-environmental responses to LULC changes, eco-environmental evaluation is thus required with aims to identify vulnerable regions and influential factors, so that practical measures for environmental protection and management may be proposed. The Thua Thien - Hue Province has been experiencing urbanization at a rapid rate in both population and physical size. The urban land, agricultural land, and aquaculture activities have been invasively into natural space and caused eco-environment deterioration by land desertification, soil erosion, shrinking forest resources,…etc. In this study, an assessment framework that is composed by 11 variables with 9 of them constructed from Landsat time series is proposed to serve as basis to examine eco-environmental vulnerability in the Thua Thien - Hue Province in years 1989, 2003, and 2014. An eco-environmental vulnerability map is assorted into six vulnerability levels consisting of potential, slight, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy vulnerabilities. Result shows that there is an increasing trend in eco-environmental vulnerability in general with expected evolving distributions in heavy and very heavy vulnerability levels, which mainly lying on developed land, bare land, semi bare land, agricultural land, and poor and recovery forests. In contrast, there is a significant decline in potential vulnerability level. The contributing factors of an upward trend in medium, heavy, and very heavy levels include: (i) a large natural forest converted to plantation forest and agriculture land; and (ii) significant expansion of developed land leading to difference in thermal signatures in urban areas as compared with those of the surrounding areas. It is concluded that anthropogenic processes with transformation on LULC has amplified the vulnerability of eco-environment in the study

  3. Integrating a Hand Held computer and Stethoscope into a Fetal Monitor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad Soltani, Mitra

    2009-01-01

    This article presents procedures for modifying a hand held computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) into a versatile device functioning as an electronic stethoscope for fetal monitoring. Along with functioning as an electronic stethoscope, a PDA can provide a useful information source for a medical trainee. Feedback from medical students, residents and interns suggests the device is well accepted by medical trainees. PMID:20165517

  4. On the gender-science stereotypes held by scientists: explicit accord with gender-ratios, implicit accord with scientific identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, Frederick L; Nosek, Brian A

    2015-01-01

    Women's representation in science has changed substantially, but unevenly, over the past 40 years. In health and biological sciences, for example, women's representation among U.S. scientists is now on par with or greater than men's, while in physical sciences and engineering they remain a clear minority. We investigated whether variation in proportions of women in scientific disciplines is related to differing levels of male-favoring explicit or implicit stereotypes held by students and scientists in each discipline. We hypothesized that science-is-male stereotypes would be weaker in disciplines where women are better represented. This prediction was tested with a sample of 176,935 college-educated participants (70% female), including thousands of engineers, physicians, and scientists. The prediction was supported for the explicit stereotype, but not for the implicit stereotype. Implicit stereotype strength did not correspond with disciplines' gender ratios, but, rather, correlated with two indicators of disciplines' scientific intensity, positively for men and negatively for women. From age 18 on, women who majored or worked in disciplines perceived as more scientific had substantially weaker science-is-male stereotypes than did men in the same disciplines, with gender differences larger than 0.8 standard deviations in the most scientifically-perceived disciplines. Further, particularly for women, differences in the strength of implicit stereotypes across scientific disciplines corresponded with the strength of scientific values held by women in the disciplines. These results are discussed in the context of dual process theory of mental operation and balanced identity theory. The findings point to the need for longitudinal study of the factors' affecting development of adults' and, especially, children's implicit gender stereotypes and scientific identity.

  5. On the gender–science stereotypes held by scientists: explicit accord with gender-ratios, implicit accord with scientific identity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, Frederick L.; Nosek, Brian A.

    2015-01-01

    Women's representation in science has changed substantially, but unevenly, over the past 40 years. In health and biological sciences, for example, women's representation among U.S. scientists is now on par with or greater than men's, while in physical sciences and engineering they remain a clear minority. We investigated whether variation in proportions of women in scientific disciplines is related to differing levels of male-favoring explicit or implicit stereotypes held by students and scientists in each discipline. We hypothesized that science-is-male stereotypes would be weaker in disciplines where women are better represented. This prediction was tested with a sample of 176,935 college-educated participants (70% female), including thousands of engineers, physicians, and scientists. The prediction was supported for the explicit stereotype, but not for the implicit stereotype. Implicit stereotype strength did not correspond with disciplines' gender ratios, but, rather, correlated with two indicators of disciplines' scientific intensity, positively for men and negatively for women. From age 18 on, women who majored or worked in disciplines perceived as more scientific had substantially weaker science-is-male stereotypes than did men in the same disciplines, with gender differences larger than 0.8 standard deviations in the most scientifically-perceived disciplines. Further, particularly for women, differences in the strength of implicit stereotypes across scientific disciplines corresponded with the strength of scientific values held by women in the disciplines. These results are discussed in the context of dual process theory of mental operation and balanced identity theory. The findings point to the need for longitudinal study of the factors' affecting development of adults' and, especially, children's implicit gender stereotypes and scientific identity. PMID:25964765

  6. On the Gender-Science Stereotypes held by Scientists: Explicit accord with Gender-Ratios, Implicit accord with Scientific Identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederick L Smyth

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Women’s representation in science has changed substantially, but unevenly, over the past 40 years. In health and biological sciences, for example, women’s representation among U.S. scientists is now on par with or greater than men’s, while in physical sciences and engineering they remain a clear minority. We investigated whether variation in proportions of women in scientific disciplines is related to differing levels of male-favoring explicit or implicit stereotypes held by students and scientists in each discipline. We hypothesized that science-is-male stereotypes would be weaker in disciplines where women are better represented. This prediction was tested with a sample of 176,935 college-educated participants (70% female, including thousands of engineers, physicians, and scientists. The prediction was supported for the explicit stereotype, but not for the implicit stereotype. Implicit stereotype strength did not correspond with disciplines’ gender ratios, but, rather, correlated with two indicators of disciplines’ scientific intensity, positively for men and negatively for women. From age 18 on, women who majored or worked in disciplines perceived as more scientific had substantially weaker science-is-male stereotypes than did men in the same disciplines, with gender differences larger than 0.8 standard deviations in the most scientifically-perceived disciplines. Further, particularly for women, differences in the strength of implicit stereotypes across scientific disciplines corresponded with the strength of scientific values held by women in the disciplines. These results are discussed in the context of dual process theory of mental operation and balanced identity theory. The findings point to the need for longitudinal study of the factors’ affecting development of adults’ and, especially, children’s implicit gender stereotypes and scientific identity.

  7. Gender differences of the influential factors on the mental health condition of teachers in the A university.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kataoka, Mika; Ozawa, Kazuhiro; Tanioka, Tetsuya; Okuda, Kikuko; Chiba, Shinichi; Tomotake, Masahito; King, Beth

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to investigate the gender differences of the influential factors on the mental health condition among university teachers in the A university in Japan. A questionnaire survey was mailed to 924 university teachers in Japan, with a survey return rate of 43.8% (N=405). The General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ-28), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Japanese version of the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) and the Work Situation Questionnaire (WSQ) developed by the authors were administered to subjects. The GHQ-28 total score and all of sub-score of the woman was significantly higher than men. In the correlated factor of mental health, level of job satisfaction and job control, social support of significant others was observed in the both sexes. However, gender differences was observed in the coping style. Some copings including self-distraction and self-blame were related to the men, but the woman was related to the substance use. University teachers had some gender differences in the factors affecting their mental health condition. In order to improve university teacher's mental health condition, it is necessary to increase their level of job satisfaction and feeling of job control in the workplace. Especially, it was considered women's coping using substance use was important.

  8. Standard guide to In-Plant performance evaluation of Hand-Held SNM monitors

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    1999-01-01

    1.1 This guide is one of a series on the application and evaluation of special nuclear material (SNM) monitors. Other guides in the series are listed in Section 2, and the relationship of in-plant performance evaluation to other procedures described in the series is illustrated in Fig. 1. Hand-held SNM monitors are described in of Guide C1112, and performance criteria illustrating their capabilities can be found in Appendix X1. 1.2 The purpose of this guide to in-plant performance evaluation is to provide a comparatively rapid procedure to verify that a hand-held SNM monitor performs as expected for detecting SNM or alternative test sources or to disclose the need for repair. The procedure can be used as a routine operational evaluation or it can be used to verify performance after a monitor is calibrated. 1.3 In-plant performance evaluations are more comprehensive than daily functional tests. They take place less often, at intervals ranging from weekly to once every three months, and derive their result fr...

  9. 78 FR 76050 - Airworthiness Directives; EADS CASA (Type Certificate Previously Held by Construcciones...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-16

    ... Airworthiness Directives; EADS CASA (Type Certificate Previously Held by Construcciones Aeron[aacute]uticas, S.A... rule. SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain EADS CASA (Type...., Washington, DC. For EADS-CASA service information identified in this AD, contact EADS-CASA, Military...

  10. Domains of State-Owned, Privately Held, and Publicly Traded Firms in International Competition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascarenhas, Briance

    1989-01-01

    Hypotheses relating ownership to domain differences among state-owned, publicly traded, and privately held firms in international competition were examined in a controlled field study of the offshore drilling industry. Ownership explained selected differences in domestic market dominance, international presence, and customer orientation, even…

  11. On the position of the Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on the Agrarian Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Drakić Gordana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most important issues in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was the process of the agrarian reform. The agrarian reform was a complex state measure with an economic, social and political aspect. All political parties, due to political reasons, spoke in favor of the resolution of the agrarian issue through agrarian reform. Political parties kept in mind the large number of those individuals interested in the agrarian reform, as well as the fact that majority of the voters were farmers, when they formulated their position towards the reform. The Democratic Party was one of the most influential political party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The paper presents the basic concepts related to the agrarian reform and agricultural policy in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that represented the Democratic Party.

  12. 12 CFR 1500.2 - What are the limitations on managing or operating a portfolio company held as a merchant banking...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of the portfolio company. Examples of the types of actions that may be subject to these types of... operating a portfolio company held as a merchant banking investment? 1500.2 Section 1500.2 Banks and Banking... on managing or operating a portfolio company held as a merchant banking investment? (a) May a...

  13. Optimism predicts positive health in repatriated prisoners of war.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segovia, Francine; Moore, Jeffrey L; Linnville, Steven E; Hoyt, Robert E

    2015-05-01

    "Positive health," defined as a state beyond the mere absence of disease, was used as a model to examine factors for enhancing health despite extreme trauma. The study examined the United States' longest detained American prisoners of war, those held in Vietnam in the 1960s through early 1970s. Positive health was measured using a physical and a psychological composite score for each individual, based on 9 physical and 9 psychological variables. Physical and psychological health was correlated with optimism obtained postrepatriation (circa 1973). Linear regressions were employed to determine which variables contributed most to health ratings. Optimism was the strongest predictor of physical health (β = -.33, t = -2.73, p = .008), followed by fewer sleep complaints (β = -.29, t = -2.52, p = .01). This model accounted for 25% of the variance. Optimism was also the strongest predictor of psychological health (β = -.41, t = -2.87, p = .006), followed by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Psychopathic Deviate (MMPI-PD; McKinley & Hathaway, 1944) scores (β = -.23, t = -1.88, p = .07). This model strongly suggests that optimism is a significant predictor of positive physical and psychological health, and optimism also provides long-term protective benefits. These findings and the utility of this model suggest a promising area for future research and intervention. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Metallurgical sessions. Second ALAMET congress (held in) Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6-10 May 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    This congress was held in Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic, on May 6-10, 1991, gathering experts from all over the world. The present volume includes the papers presented at the Metallurgical Sessions - II. ALAMET Congress [es

  15. Change of water consumption and its potential influential factors in Shanghai: A cross-sectional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Different water choices affect access to drinking water with different quality. Previous studies suggested social-economic status may affect the choice of domestic drinking water. The aim of this study is to investigate whether recent social economic changes in China affect residents’ drinking water choices. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey to investigate residents’ water consumption behaviour in 2011. Gender, age, education, personal income, housing condition, risk perception and personal preference of a certain type of water were selected as potential influential factors. Univariate and backward stepwise logistic regression analyses were performed to analyse the relation between these factors and different drinking water choices. Basic information was compared with that of a historical survey in the same place in 2001. Self-reported drinking-water-related diarrhoea was found correlated with different water choices and water hygiene treatment using chi-square test. Results The percentage of tap water consumption remained relatively stable and a preferred choice, with 58.99% in 2001 and 58.25% in 2011. The percentage of bottled/barrelled water consumption was 36.86% in 2001 and decreased to 25.75% in 2011. That of household filtrated water was 4.15% in 2001 and increased to 16.00% in 2011. Logistic regression model showed strong correlation between one’s health belief and drinking water choices (P water-related diarrhoea was found in all types of water and improper water hygiene behaviours still existed among residents. Conclusions Personal health belief, housing condition, age, personal income, education, taste and if worm ever founded in tap water affected domestic drinking water choices in Shanghai. PMID:22708830

  16. Maintaining radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) for dental personnel operating portable hand-held x-ray equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGiff, Thomas J; Danforth, Robert A; Herschaft, Edward E

    2012-08-01

    Clinical experience indicates that newly available portable hand-held x-ray units provide advantages compared to traditional fixed properly installed and operated x-ray units in dental radiography. However, concern that hand-held x-ray units produce higher operator doses than fixed x-ray units has caused regulatory agencies to mandate requirements for use of hand-held units that go beyond those recommended by the manufacturer and can discourage the use of this technology. To assess the need for additional requirements, a hand-held x-ray unit and a pair of manikins were used to measure the dose to a simulated operator under two conditions: exposures made according to the manufacturer's recommendations and exposures made according to manufacturer's recommendation except for the removal of the x-ray unit's protective backscatter shield. Dose to the simulated operator was determined using an array of personal dosimeters and a pair of pressurized ion chambers. The results indicate that the dose to an operator of this equipment will be less than 0.6 mSv y⁻¹ if the device is used according to the manufacturer's recommendations. This suggests that doses to properly trained operators of well-designed, hand-held dental x-ray units will be below 1.0 mSv y⁻¹ (2% of the annual occupational dose limit) even if additional no additional operational requirements are established by regulatory agencies. This level of annual dose is similar to those reported as typical dental personnel using fixed x-ray units and appears to satisfy the ALARA principal for this class of occupational exposures.

  17. Utility of hand-held echocardiography in outpatient pediatric cardiology management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Alan; Sable, Craig; Prasad, Aparna; Spurney, Christopher; Harahsheh, Ashraf; Clauss, Sarah; Colyer, Jessica; Gierdalski, Marcin; Johnson, Ashley; Pearson, Gail D; Rosenthal, Joanna

    2014-12-01

    Adult patient series have shown hand-held echocardiography (echo) units (HHE) to be accurate for rapid diagnosis and triage. This is the first study to evaluate the ability of HHE to inform decision making in outpatient pediatric cardiology. New pediatric cardiology patients in outpatient clinics staffed by six pediatric cardiologists (experience 1-17 years) were prospectively enrolled if an echocardiogram (echo) was ordered during their initial visit. After history and physical examination and before a standard echo, the cardiologists performed a bedside HHE examination (GE Vscan 1.7-3.8 MHz), documented findings, and made a clinical decision. Diagnoses and decisions based on HHE were compared with final management after the standard echo. The study enrolled 101 subjects (ages 9 days to 19 years). The cardiologists considered HHE imaging adequate for decision making for 80 of the 101 subjects. For 77 of the 80 subjects with acceptable HHE imaging (68/68 normal and 9/12 abnormal standard echoes), the HHE-based primary diagnoses and decisions agreed with the final management. The sensitivity of HHE was 75 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 43-94 %) and the positive predictive value 100 % (95 % CI 66-100 %) for pediatric heart disease. The agreement between standard echocardiography and HHE imaging was substantial (κ = 0.82). Excluding one of the least experienced cardiologists, HHE provided the basis for correct cardiac diagnoses and management for all the subjects with acceptable HHE imaging (58/58 normal and 9/9 abnormal echoes). In outpatient pediatric cardiology, HHE has potential as a tool to complement physical examination. Further investigation is needed to evaluate how value improves with clinical experience.

  18. AN APPLICATION ON BRAND POSITIONING ACTIVITIES OF POLITICAL PARTIES: GAZIANTEP SAMPLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bülent DEMİRAĞ

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim in political marketing is to be able to determine the needs and desires of the voters correctly, to form and implement the policies towards the electorate and finally to be able to sustain the electorate in the political process and to form the electoral loyalty accordingly. Particularly, regardless of the voting rate, in the elections, the second party is considered to have lost the election, and for this reason, it is very important for the political parties that are political practitioners to come to the forefront in the politically high society where competition is experienced in the ruthless dimensions. In order to create this differentiation, it is crucial that the competitors, the market and other variables are analyzed well, the segmentation of the market, the formation and application of positioning-related policies and recertification-related strategies. The aim of the work is to measure perceptions of the characteristics of voters who are thought to be influential in political party preferences. In this context, it has been investigated whether 11 different characteristics determined by voters make a meaningful difference with their demographic characteristics. The identification of these characteristics and their importance will provide significant advantages for political parties in their positioning strategies. Within this scope, face to face surveys and data were collected from the voters voting in the province of Gaziantep. The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis. In this context, it was concluded that the factors affecting political party election differed significantly with demographic criteria.

  19. 77 FR 5998 - Airworthiness Directives; EADS CASA (Type Certificate Previously Held by Construcciones...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-07

    ... Airworthiness Directives; EADS CASA (Type Certificate Previously Held by Construcciones Aeronauticas, S.A... proposed to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products. The MCAI states: EADS-CASA received... address this condition, EADS-CASA has developed an engine condition control cable P/N 35-56382-0005 with...

  20. Workshop Builds Strategies to Address Global Positioning System Vulnerabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Genene

    2011-01-01

    When we examine the impacts of space weather on society, do we really understand the risks? Can past experiences reliably predict what will happen in the future? As the complexity of technology increases, there is the potential for it to become more fragile, allowing for a single point of failure to bring down the entire system. Take the Global Positioning System (GPS) as an example. GPS positioning, navigation, and timing have become an integral part of daily life, supporting transportation and communications systems vital to the aviation, merchant marine, cargo, cellular phone, surveying, and oil exploration industries. Everyday activities such as banking, mobile phone operations, and even the control of power grids are facilitated by the accurate timing provided by GPS. Understanding the risks of space weather to GPS and the many economic sectors reliant upon it, as well as how to build resilience, was the focus of a policy workshop organized by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and held on 13-14 October 2010 in Washington, D. C. The workshop brought together a select group of policy makers, space weather scientists, and GPS experts and users.

  1. Timescale Halo: Average-Speed Targets Elicit More Positive and Less Negative Attributions than Slow or Fast Targets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, Ivan; Preston, Jesse Lee; Hepler, Justin

    2014-01-01

    Research on the timescale bias has found that observers perceive more capacity for mind in targets moving at an average speed, relative to slow or fast moving targets. The present research revisited the timescale bias as a type of halo effect, where normal-speed people elicit positive evaluations and abnormal-speed (slow and fast) people elicit negative evaluations. In two studies, participants viewed videos of people walking at a slow, average, or fast speed. We find evidence for a timescale halo effect: people walking at an average-speed were attributed more positive mental traits, but fewer negative mental traits, relative to slow or fast moving people. These effects held across both cognitive and emotional dimensions of mind and were mediated by overall positive/negative ratings of the person. These results suggest that, rather than eliciting greater perceptions of general mind, the timescale bias may reflect a generalized positivity toward average speed people relative to slow or fast moving people. PMID:24421882

  2. The El Mundo hosts a mass-media duel between Chavez's mediation and Uribe position in relation to the release of hostages held by FARC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrique A. Perera García, eperera@ull.es

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Special interests leading press editorial policies prevail over objectivity and neutrality. José Manuel de Pablos Coello, Professor of Journalism at the University of La Laguna, has devised a method to quantify and objectify degrees of neutrality in those cases in which two outstanding characters compete for a privileged position in the news. This kind of media duels usually last a relative long period, one of the contenders being eventually favoured. This paper examines the information published by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo within the period beginning on November 23rd, 2007, when the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and the Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba were disavowed by the Colombian president Álvaro Uribe to continue negotiating with FARC, and ending on January 11th, 2008, one day after the release of a group of hostages held by the FARC. 32 information pieces collected from El Mundo and containing references to this political process have been analyzed and quantified with respect to location, size, accompanying pictures, front page, editorial commentaries and compensation news.Los intereses de todo tipo que marcan las líneas editoriales de la prensa acaban imponiéndose a la objetividad y la neutralidad informativa. El catedrático de Periodismo de la Universidad de La Laguna José Manuel de Pablos Coello ha elaborado un método innovador para cuantificar y objetivizar la neutralidad informativa en ocasiones, como la reflejada en este artículo, cuando hay por medio una controversia entre dos personajes, que llega a convertirse en un ‘duelo mediático’ por ocupar las página de un periódico en un espacio de tiempo relativamente amplio y porque la neutralidad informativa se acaba desequilibrando a favor de uno de los contendientes. Los autores han estudiado las informaciones aparecidas en el diario español El Mundo del siglo XXI, entre el día 23 de noviembre de 2007, cuando Hugo Chávez y la senadora colombiana Piedad C

  3. CAS Accelerator Physics held in Erice, Italy

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Accelerator School

    2013-01-01

    The CERN Accelerator School (CAS) recently organised a specialised course on Superconductivity for Accelerators, held at the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, Italy from 24 April-4 May, 2013.   Photo courtesy of Alessandro Noto, Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture. Following a handful of summary lectures on accelerator physics and the fundamental processes of superconductivity, the course covered a wide range of topics related to superconductivity and highlighted the latest developments in the field. Realistic case studies and topical seminars completed the programme. The school was very successful with 94 participants representing 23 nationalities, coming from countries as far away as Belorussia, Canada, China, India, Japan and the United States (for the first time a young Ethiopian lady, studying in Germany, attended this course). The programme comprised 35 lectures, 3 seminars and 7 hours of case study. The case studies were p...

  4. Algorithms for a hand-held miniature x-ray fluorescence analytical instrument

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elam, W.T.; Newman, D.; Ziemba, F.

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this joint program was to provide technical assistance with the development of a Miniature X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analytical Instrument. This new XRF instrument is designed to overcome the weaknesses of spectrometers commercially available at the present time. Currently available XRF spectrometers (for a complete list see reference 1) convert spectral information to sample composition using the influence coefficients technique or the fundamental parameters method. They require either a standard sample with composition relatively close to the unknown or a detailed knowledge of the sample matrix. They also require a highly-trained operator and the results often depend on the capabilities of the operator. In addition, almost all existing field-portable, hand-held instruments use radioactive sources for excitation. Regulatory limits on such sources restrict them such that they can only provide relatively weak excitation. This limits all current hand-held XRF instruments to poor detection limits and/or long data collection times, in addition to the licensing requirements and disposal problems for radioactive sources. The new XRF instrument was developed jointly by Quantrad Sensor, Inc., the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), and the Department of Energy (DOE). This report describes the analysis algorithms developed by NRL for the new instrument and the software which embodies them

  5. The concept of spirituality and its relation to religion in positive psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana Fernandes Marques

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This is a theoretical study that aims to provide a review of current scientific studies on the concept of spirituality and proposes some issues for future research. The article brings a literature review on the subject, including several areas of positive psychology. Articles and books in Portuguese, Spanish and English were examined  and held a computerized search in the SciELO (www.scielo.br and electronic Indexer Google Scholar, and the references of materials examined. The descriptors were: conceit, espirit, religion, and their counterparts in Spanish and English. The purpose of this review is outline some definitions to set limits and help in conducting research when the researcher should choose constructs and measurement instruments. Comment some classical authors such as Wundt, Maslow and James. After there is a difference about religion and spirituality, discussing their similarities and antagonisms that are mentioned in the reviewed literature and how the concept of spirituality appears in Positive Psychology. 

  6. Conceptions of Teaching Science Held by Novice Teachers in an Alternative Certification Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koballa, Thomas R.; Glynn, Shawn M.; Upson, Leslie

    2005-01-01

    Case studies to investigate the conceptions of teaching science held by three novice teachers participating in an alternative secondary science teacher certification program were conducted, along with the relationships between their conceptions of science teaching and their science teaching practice. Data used to build the cases included the…

  7. A study of cladding technology on tube wall surface by a hand-held laser torch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terada, Takaya; Nishimura, Akihiko; Oka, Kiyoshi; Moriyama, Taku; Matsuda, Hiroyasu

    2015-01-01

    New maintenance technique was proposed using a hand-held laser torch for aging chemical plants and power plants. The hand-held laser torch was specially designed to be able to access limited tubular space in various cases. A composite-type optical fiberscope was composed of a center fiber for beam delivery and surrounded fibers for visible image delivery. Laser irradiation on a work pieces with the best accuracy of filler wire was carried out. And, we found that the optimized wire-feed speed was 2 mm/s in laser cladding. We succeeded to make a line clad on the inner wall of 23 mm tube. This technique was discussed to be applied to the maintenance for cracks or corrosions of tubes in various harsh environments. (author)

  8. Neurosurgical hand-held optical coherence tomography (OCT) forward-viewing probe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Cuiru; Lee, Kenneth K. C.; Vuong, Barry; Cusimano, Michael; Brukson, Alexander; Mariampillai, Adrian; Standish, Beau A.; Yang, Victor X. D.

    2012-02-01

    A prototype neurosurgical hand-held optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging probe has been developed to provide micron resolution cross-sectional images of subsurface tissue during open surgery. This new ergonomic hand-held probe has been designed based on our group's previous work on electrostatically driven optical fibers. It has been packaged into a catheter probe in the familiar form factor of the clinically accepted Bayonet shaped neurosurgical non-imaging Doppler ultrasound probes. The optical design was optimized using ZEMAX simulation. Optical properties of the probe were tested to yield an ~20 um spot size, 5 mm working distance and a 3.5 mm field of view. The scan frequency can be increased or decreased by changing the applied voltage. Typically a scan frequency of less than 60Hz is chosen to keep the applied voltage to less than 2000V. The axial resolution of the probe was ~15 um (in air) as determined by the OCT system. A custom-triggering methodology has been developed to provide continuous stable imaging, which is crucial for clinical utility. Feasibility of this probe, in combination with a 1310 nm swept source OCT system was tested and images are presented to highlight the usefulness of such a forward viewing handheld OCT imaging probe. Knowledge gained from this research will lay the foundation for developing new OCT technologies for endovascular management of cerebral aneurysms and transsphenoidal neuroendoscopic treatment of pituitary tumors.

  9. Critique of influential epistemological presuppositions in clinical reasoning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorgård, Keld

    2013-01-01

    , better clinical reasoning is typically linked to detachment, neutrality and monological conceptions of rationality. In this article, it is argued that rational clinical decision-making must also include position-dependent experiences, values and dialogical deliberation.......Evidence-based medicine is an important resource in modern clinical reasoning. It is, however, widely discussed how judgement, experience and patient perspectives are supposed to be integrated in evidence-based decision-making. They are recognised as important aspects, but their epistemological...... status has remained unclarified. In this article, it is argued that we need to consider three different yet related epistemological problems in order to obtain a better understanding of these aspects in clinical reasoning. Even though judgement and values are mentioned in the decision-making procedure...

  10. Absorption Related to Hand-Held Devices in Data Mode

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Jørgen Bach; Nielsen, Jesper Ødum; Pedersen, Gert F.

    2016-01-01

    The human body has an influence on the radiation from handheld devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops, part of the energy is absorbed and the spatial distribution of the radiated part is modified. Previous studies of whole body absorp- tion have mainly been numerical or related to talk mode....... In the present paper an experimental study involving four volunteers and three different devices is performed from 0.5 to 3 GHz. The devices are a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone all held in the lap. The 3D distribution of radiation is measured. Comparing the integrated power in the case of a person present...

  11. Elbow joint position sense after neuromuscular training with handheld vibration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripp, Brady L; Faust, Donald; Jacobs, Patrick

    2009-01-01

    Clinicians use neuromuscular control exercises to enhance joint position sense (JPS); however, because standardizing such exercises is difficult, validations of their use are limited. To evaluate the acute effects of a neuromuscular training exercise with a handheld vibrating dumbbell on elbow JPS acuity. Crossover study. University athletic training research laboratory. Thirty-one healthy, college-aged volunteers (16 men, 15 women, age = 23 + or - 3 years, height = 173 + or - 8 cm, mass = 76 + or - 14 kg). We measured and trained elbow JPS using an electromagnetic tracking device that provided auditory and visual biofeedback. For JPS testing, participants held a dumbbell and actively identified the target elbow flexion angle (90 degrees ) using the software-generated biofeedback, followed by 3 repositioning trials without feedback. Each neuromuscular training protocol included 3 exercises during which participants held a 2.55-kg dumbbell vibrating at 15, 5, or 0 Hz and used software-generated biofeedback to locate and maintain the target elbow flexion angle for 15 seconds. We calculated absolute (accuracy) and variable (variability) errors using the differences between target and reproduced angles. Training protocols using 15-Hz vibration enhanced accuracy and decreased variability of elbow JPS (P or = .200). Our results suggest these neuromuscular control exercises, which included low-magnitude, low-frequency handheld vibration, may enhance elbow JPS. Future researchers should examine vibration of various durations and frequencies, should include injured participants and functional multijoint and multiplanar measures, and should examine long-term effects of training protocols on JPS and injury.

  12. Electron excitation collision strengths for positive atomic ions: a collection of theoretical data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merts, A.L.; Mann, J.B.; Robb, W.D.; Magee, N.H. Jr.

    1980-03-01

    This report contains data on theoretical and experimental cross sections for electron impact excitation of positive atomic ions. It is an updated and corrected version of a preliminary manuscript which was used during an Atomic Data Workshop on Electron Excitation of Ions held at Los Alamos in November 1978. The current status of quantitative knowledge of collisional excitation collision strengths is shown for highly stripped ions where configuration mixing, relativistic and resonance effects may be important. The results show a reasonably satisfactory state for first-row isoelectronic ions and indicate that a considerable amount of work remains to be done for second-row and heavier ions

  13. Leg strength or velocity of movement: which is more influential on the balance of mobility limited elders?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayson, Douglas J; Kiely, Dan K; LaRose, Sharon I; Bean, Jonathan F

    2008-12-01

    To determine which component of leg power (maximal limb strength or limb velocity) is more influential on balance performance in mobility limited elders. In this cross-sectional analysis we evaluated 138 community-dwelling older adults with mobility limitation. Balance was measured using the Unipedal Stance Test, the Berg Balance Test (BERG), the Dynamic Gait Index, and the performance-oriented mobility assessment. We measured one repetition maximum strength and power at 40% one repetition maximum strength, from which velocity was calculated. The associations between maximal estimated leg strength and velocity with balance performance were examined using separate multivariate logistic regression models. Strength was found to be associated [odds ratio of 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.11)] with performance on the Unipedal Stance Test, whereas velocity showed no statistically significant association. In contrast, velocity was consistently associated with performance on all composite measures of balance (BERG 14.23 [1.84-109.72], performance-oriented mobility assessment 33.92 [3.69-312.03], and Dynamic Gait Index 35.80 [4.77-268.71]). Strength was only associated with the BERG 1.08 (1.01-1.14). Higher leg press velocity is associated with better performance on the BERG, performance-oriented mobility assessment, and Dynamic Gait Index, whereas greater leg strength is associated with better performance on the Unipedal Stance Test and the BERG. These findings are likely related to the intrinsic qualities of each test and emphasize the relevance of limb velocity.

  14. 75 FR 68185 - Airworthiness Directives; EADS CASA (Type Certificate Previously Held by Construcciones...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-05

    ... Airworthiness Directives; EADS CASA (Type Certificate Previously Held by Construcciones Aeronauticas, S.A...) that were, at that moment, defined in issue C of EADS-CASA document DT-0-C00-05001. That document has... implementation of the revised Fuel Airworthiness Limitations contained in issue D of EADS- CASA document DT-0-C00...

  15. 78 FR 36089 - Airworthiness Directives; Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (Type Certificate Previously Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-17

    ... Corporation (Type Certificate Previously Held by Raytheon Aircraft Company) Model BAe.125 Series 800A... structural damage or lead to divergent flutter, and result in loss of integrity of the wing, loss of control... to divergent flutter, and result in loss of integrity of the wing, loss of control of the airplane...

  16. Should cryptocurrencies be included in the portfolio of international reserves held by central banks?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Winston Moore

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In most countries, the central bank is required to hold reserve assets as a means of providing credibility for the value of the fiat currency. These assets can be in the form of gold, foreign exchange or some other internationally recognised reserve asset and are held to permit the country to engage in international transactions. Within recent years, cryptocurrencies have been increasingly utilised for international transactions, and it is possible that the use of these cryptocurrencies might expand in the future. This paper therefore examines the potential role of digital currency balances as part of the portfolio of external assets held by a central bank. Using the case of Barbados, the paper also provides a simulation of the effect holding some proportion of their asset-base would have had on the stability of the foreign reserves as well as the return on the portfolio of assets.

  17. Barriers to women's representation in academic excellence and positions of power

    OpenAIRE

    Yousaf, Rizwana; Schmiede, Rudi

    2017-01-01

    "Nearly for half a century women's advancement in the workplace has been in a debate. Women’s under-represented in higher education institutions and universities across the globe, and especially in the most powerful or influential posts, is well established. Despite gender equality commitments and women's educational attainment, still, they are underrepresented. Regions and countries may vary in term of culture, achievements and development, but barriers for women's representation in academia...

  18. [In process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaasch, Michael; Kaasch, Joachim

    Two of the most important life scientists in the GDR were the botanist, plant biochemist and pharmacist Kurt MOTHES (1900-1983) and the geneticist and plant breeder Hans STUBBE (1902-1989). Both started their successful careers during the period of NS dictatorship. MOTHES was a full professor of botany at the University of K6nigsberg from 1935 to 1945. After working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Mincheberg and at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology in Berlin-Dahlem, STUBBE oversaw the establishment of a Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Crop Plant Research near Vienna in 1943, which was moved to Stecklenberg in the Harz Mountains in 1945 and later to Gatersleben. While MOTHEs was being held as a Soviet prisoner of war from 1945 to 1949, STUBBE was able to set up his institute in Gatersleben in the eastern part of Germany and held influential positions at Martin Luther University in Halle (Saale) as a professor for genetics and as the founding dean of the Faculty of Agriculture. After his release from war captivity, MOTHES, with STUBBE'S support, was able to continue his research at STUBBE'S institute in Gatersleben as the head of the Department for Chemical Physiology. There MOTHES was offered espe- cially favourable conditions by East German standards which led him to turn down other job offers, like the position of professor of botany at the University of Leipzig which was vacant at the time. In addition, MOTHES was also of- fered teaching opportunities in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Halle, again thanks to STUBBE'S support. In 1951 STUBBE became a founding member and president of the German Academy of Agricultural Sciences at Berlin, and in 1954 MOTHEs became president of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Both were also influential members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin (later the GDR's Academy of Sciences). This article investigates how their collaboration developed into an ever

  19. The Practical Integration of Action Research into Building Climate Literacy and Partnership with Key Influentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estrada, M.

    2015-12-01

    Climate Education Partners (CEP) has been using an action research approach to build climate literacy and partnership with key influential (KI) leaders in the San Diego community. After identifying 6 key sectors that either (a) could reduce green house gas emissions and adapt to impacts, or (b) would be highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, we conducted 89 interviews with KIs from the San Diego region -- including elected officials, academics, laborers, and representatives from local businesses, non-profits, ethnic and cultural communities, faith-based groups, and special interest groups -- to assess their science knowledge and opinions about climate change and the impacts of climate change. Other questions asked were about KIs' personal efficacy, identity, values and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors related to climate change. The results of the interviews contributed to CEP's action research approach in two ways: 1) it provided critical data regarding which leaders wanted further engagement with CEP and what that engagement should entail (e.g., being a connector to other leaders, a spokesperson, or a participant in future educational activities), and 2) it provided key information about the extent to which "knowledge deficit" is related to use of climate change knowledge to inform engagement in mitigation and adaptive behaviors. Practically, the results were used to create a database that is being used to inform the contact and education of KIs. We were able to show, consistent with previous research and identity theory, that liberal leaders were more likely than conservatives to believe in, feel concern for, and be knowledgeable about climate change. However, engagement in mitigation behaviors- specifically making decisions that would reduce electricity, gas, or water use- were similar for both groups. These results are being used to create resources and direct climate education activities going forward.

  20. Steel Rack Connections: Identification of Most Influential Factors and a Comparison of Stiffness Design Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, S. N. R.; Sulong, N. H. Ramli; Shariati, Mahdi; Jumaat, M. Z.

    2015-01-01

    Steel pallet rack (SPR) beam-to-column connections (BCCs) are largely responsible to avoid the sway failure of frames in the down-aisle direction. The overall geometry of beam end connectors commercially used in SPR BCCs is different and does not allow a generalized analytic approach for all types of beam end connectors; however, identifying the effects of the configuration, profile and sizes of the connection components could be the suitable approach for the practical design engineers in order to predict the generalized behavior of any SPR BCC. This paper describes the experimental behavior of SPR BCCs tested using a double cantilever test set-up. Eight sets of specimens were identified based on the variation in column thickness, beam depth and number of tabs in the beam end connector in order to investigate the most influential factors affecting the connection performance. Four tests were repeatedly performed for each set to bring uniformity to the results taking the total number of tests to thirty-two. The moment-rotation (M-θ) behavior, load-strain relationship, major failure modes and the influence of selected parameters on connection performance were investigated. A comparative study to calculate the connection stiffness was carried out using the initial stiffness method, the slope to half-ultimate moment method and the equal area method. In order to find out the more appropriate method, the mean stiffness of all the tested connections and the variance in values of mean stiffness according to all three methods were calculated. The calculation of connection stiffness by means of the initial stiffness method is considered to overestimate the values when compared to the other two methods. The equal area method provided more consistent values of stiffness and lowest variance in the data set as compared to the other two methods. PMID:26452047

  1. Steel Rack Connections: Identification of Most Influential Factors and a Comparison of Stiffness Design Methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S N R Shah

    Full Text Available Steel pallet rack (SPR beam-to-column connections (BCCs are largely responsible to avoid the sway failure of frames in the down-aisle direction. The overall geometry of beam end connectors commercially used in SPR BCCs is different and does not allow a generalized analytic approach for all types of beam end connectors; however, identifying the effects of the configuration, profile and sizes of the connection components could be the suitable approach for the practical design engineers in order to predict the generalized behavior of any SPR BCC. This paper describes the experimental behavior of SPR BCCs tested using a double cantilever test set-up. Eight sets of specimens were identified based on the variation in column thickness, beam depth and number of tabs in the beam end connector in order to investigate the most influential factors affecting the connection performance. Four tests were repeatedly performed for each set to bring uniformity to the results taking the total number of tests to thirty-two. The moment-rotation (M-θ behavior, load-strain relationship, major failure modes and the influence of selected parameters on connection performance were investigated. A comparative study to calculate the connection stiffness was carried out using the initial stiffness method, the slope to half-ultimate moment method and the equal area method. In order to find out the more appropriate method, the mean stiffness of all the tested connections and the variance in values of mean stiffness according to all three methods were calculated. The calculation of connection stiffness by means of the initial stiffness method is considered to overestimate the values when compared to the other two methods. The equal area method provided more consistent values of stiffness and lowest variance in the data set as compared to the other two methods.

  2. Comments of the PRA Senior Review Panel on the meeting held December 1--3, 1987

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharp, D.A.

    1988-01-01

    This memorandum records the minutes of the PRA Senior Review Panel meeting held at Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) on December 1--3, 1987, and the report on that meeting written subsequently by the panel members. The minutes are contained as Attachment 2 of this memorandum, and the report as Attachment 1. The Panel indicated two principal concerns in their report: (1) that insufficient emphasis is being placed on the reliability data development program, and (2) that excessive detail is being built into the fault trees. These concerns have been addressed in a subsequent meeting with the Panel, held March 2--4, 1988. In addition, the members have been provided with a program document (Reference 1) indicating the extent, the timing, and the limitations of the data analysis effort for the PRA

  3. The 100 Most Influential Papers in the Field of Thrombolytic Therapy: A Bibliometric Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddiqi, Tariq Jamal; Usman, Muhammad Shariq; Khan, Muhammad Shahzeb; Fatima, Kaneez; Norbash, Alexander; Qureshi, Adnan Iqbal; Khan, Abdur Rahman; Khosa, Faisal

    2017-08-01

    Bibliometric analyses are used by researchers and research funding agencies to help determine areas of greatest interest, and consequently which topics and domains warrant increased research attention. Bibliometric analyses have similarly been published in a number of clinical subspecialties concerning areas of specific medical interest; however, a thorough literature search revealed that such a study has been absent in the field of thrombolytics to date. To bridge this gap, we conducted a citation analysis of the 100 most influential articles on thrombolytics. Scopus was selected as the database of choice. Two independent researchers explored the database to extract relevant articles. The articles were ranked according to the number of citations, and a sequential list of the top 100 original articles was prepared in descending order. A detailed analysis was carried out to identify trends and uncover significant discriminators. A second list containing the top 10 review articles was also separately prepared. The 100 most-cited articles regarding thrombolytics were published between 1973 and 2015, with the most articles (n = 29) published in the 5-year period extending from 1996 to 2000. The total number of citations of these 100 most-cited articles ranged from a low of 389 to a high of 6971, with a median of 612.5 citations. These 100 most-cited articles originated from 26 different countries, with more than half from the USA (n = 54), followed by the next most popular countries of origin Germany (n = 20) and France (n = 15). The New England Journal of Medicine (n = 26) and The Lancet (n = 26) contributed the majority of the articles. Our analysis provides insight into the span of research activity and the nature of inquiry dealing with 'thrombolytic therapy,' with the hope that such analysis may help to effectively guide future research. Our analysis also yielded a list of the most highly cited and presumably most impactful guideline articles within

  4. Survey reveals public open to ban on hand-held cell phone use and texting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    A study performed by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reveals that the public is open to a ban on hand-held cell phone use while driving. The study is based on data from 2009s Omnibus Household Survey (OHS), which is administered by B...

  5. 77 FR 33622 - Airworthiness Directives; Alpha Aviation Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-07

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Alpha Aviation Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by Alpha Aviation... Aviation Concept Limited Model R2160 Airplanes. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness... condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as oil lines fitted to affected...

  6. Applying Hand-Held 3D Printing Technology to the Teaching of VSEPR Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Natalie L.; Ewan, Corrina; McIndoe, J. Scott

    2016-01-01

    The use of hand-held 3D printing technology provides a unique and engaging approach to learning VSEPR theory by enabling students to draw three-dimensional depictions of different molecular geometries, giving them an appreciation of the shapes of the building blocks of complex molecular structures. Students are provided with 3D printing pens and…

  7. Position and role of a woman in national social and economic development of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Torlak Nada

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Since the beginning of the 20th century it is a demographic fact that women represent over half of the population, while in public sphere they are marginalized. Even Hannah Arendt concluded that 'in modern society women are the biggest minority' there is. In the domain of rights (in subjective and objective sense of the notion women of the 20th century have reached an equal status with men in principle, but in the 21st century between formal and actual right there is considerable discrepancy. Her right to work is obstructed, in political, economic or cultural level as well as in any given professional activity, regardles formally and legally ensured equality and basically accepted reality of the need for an enhanced participation of less represented gender on decision-making positions. Printed media in Serbia makes clear they are marginalized, since they appear as expert collocutors almost nine times fewer than men (89.2 : 10.8 percent in favor of men experts. The effect of 'glass ceiling' implies invisible yet efficacious obstacle in advancement to the highest organizational positions of women. Statistical data clearly shows that there are still no women in places of actual decision-making, and that they are less paid for the same work in comparison to men, her unequal position is evident from the insight to the company ownership structure, as well as remarkably lower representation on leading positions. Moreover, women have fewer possibilities of advancement in career, and get dismissed more often than men in the process of transition. A woman is sometimes in an inequitable position when it comes to earning income for the exact same work carried out by a man, and she is actually not granted access to all positions and functions in the organization of a society. Therefore it is often a case of using 'woman-alibi' in practice, that is directing certain women to high and influential public positions in order to prove there is no discrimination

  8. Dynamic positional fate map of the primary heart-forming region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Cheng; Cheuvront, Tracey J; Lansford, Rusty D; Moreno-Rodriguez, Ricardo A; Schultheiss, Thomas M; Rongish, Brenda J

    2009-08-15

    Here we show the temporal-spatial orchestration of early heart morphogenesis at cellular level resolution, in vivo, and reconcile conflicting positional fate mapping data regarding the primary heart-forming field(s). We determined the positional fates of precardiac cells using a precision electroporation approach in combination with wide-field time-lapse microscopy in the quail embryo, a warm-blooded vertebrate (HH Stages 4 through 10). Contrary to previous studies, the results demonstrate the existence of a "continuous" circle-shaped heart field that spans the midline, appearing at HH Stage 4, which then expands to form a wide arc of progenitors at HH Stages 5-7. Our time-resolved image data show that a subset of these cardiac progenitor cells do not overlap with the expression of common cardiogenic factors, Nkx-2.5 and Bmp-2, until HH Stage 10, when a tubular heart has formed, calling into question when cardiac fate is specified and by which key factors. Sub-groups and anatomical bands (cohorts) of heart precursor cells dramatically change their relative positions in a process largely driven by endodermal folding and other large-scale tissue deformations. Thus, our novel dynamic positional fate maps resolve the origin of cardiac progenitor cells in amniotes. The data also establish the concept that tissue motion contributes significantly to cellular position fate - i.e., much of the cellular displacement that occurs during assembly of a midline heart tube (HH Stage 9) is NOT due to "migration" (autonomous motility), a commonly held belief. Computational analysis of our time-resolved data lays the foundation for more precise analyses of how cardiac gene regulatory networks correlate with early heart tissue morphogenesis in birds and mammals.

  9. Gamma-ray detectors for intelligent, hand-held radiation monitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fehlau, P.E.

    1983-01-01

    Small radiation detectors based on HgI 2 , bismuth germanate (BGO), plastic, or NaI(Tl) detector materials were evaluated for use in small, lighweight radiation monitors. The two denser materials, HgI 2 and BGO, had poor resolution at low-energy and thus performed less well than NaI(Tl) in detecting low-energy gamma rays from bare, enriched uranium. The plastic scintillator, a Compton recoil detector, also performed less well at low gamma-ray energy. Two small NaI(Tl) detectors were suitable for detecting bare uranium and sheilded plutonium. One became part of a new lightweight hand-held monitor and the other found uses as a pole-mounted detector for monitoring hard-to-reach locations

  10. Investment Incentives in Closely Held Corporations and Finland's 2005 Tax Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Seppo Kari; Hietala; Harri

    2006-01-01

    This paper analyses the effects of the recent Finnish income tax reform on the behaviour of a closely held corporation (CHC) and its owners. The main elements of the reform are cuts in corporate and capital income tax rates and the replacement of the current full imputation system by a partial double taxation of distributed profits. Considerable exemptions are applied to relieve the taxation of dividends from CHCs. The analysis indicates that the change in the CHC?s cost of capital depends on...

  11. Infant feeding practices among HIV-positive mothers at Tembisa hospital, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armelia Chaponda

    2017-07-01

    Conclusion: In the postnatal hospital setting of this study, the feeding choices of mothers were influenced by nursing personnel. Nursing personnel could marry the influential ‘authority’ they have with correct and consistent information, in order to change feeding behaviour. Significant ‘others’ like grandmothers and other relatives also influenced decisions on infant feeding. As such, family dynamics need to be considered when encouraging breastfeeding.

  12. 77 FR 15980 - Airworthiness Directives; Alpha Aviation Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-19

    ... Concept Limited (Type Certificate Previously Held by Alpha Aviation Design Limited) Airplanes AGENCY... rulemaking (NPRM). SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Alpha Aviation Concept... condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as oil lines fitted to affected...

  13. 75 FR 36296 - Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-25

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace LP (Type Certificate Previously Held by Israel Aircraft... contact we receive about this proposed AD. Discussion The Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), which is the aviation authority for Israel, has issued Israeli Airworthiness Directive 01-10-01-07R1, dated...

  14. Interprofessional collaboration regarding patients' care plans in primary care: a focus group study into influential factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Dongen, Jerôme Jean Jacques; Lenzen, Stephanie Anna; van Bokhoven, Marloes Amantia; Daniëls, Ramon; van der Weijden, Trudy; Beurskens, Anna

    2016-05-28

    The number of people with multiple chronic conditions demanding primary care services is increasing. To deal with the complex health care demands of these people, professionals from different disciplines collaborate. This study aims to explore influential factors regarding interprofessional collaboration related to care plan development in primary care. A qualitative study, including four semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 4). In total, a heterogeneous group of experts (n = 16) and health care professionals (n = 15) participated. Participants discussed viewpoints, barriers, and facilitators regarding interprofessional collaboration related to care plan development. The data were analysed by means of inductive content analysis. The findings show a variety of factors influencing the interprofessional collaboration in developing a care plan. Factors can be divided into 5 key categories: (1) patient-related factors: active role, self-management, goals and wishes, membership of the team; (2) professional-related factors: individual competences, domain thinking, motivation; (3) interpersonal factors: language differences, knowing each other, trust and respect, and motivation; (4) organisational factors: structure, composition, time, shared vision, leadership and administrative support; and (5) external factors: education, culture, hierarchy, domain thinking, law and regulations, finance, technology and ICT. Improving interprofessional collaboration regarding care plan development calls for an integral approach including patient- and professional related factors, interpersonal, organisational, and external factors. Further, the leader of the team seems to play a key role in watching the patient perspective, organising and coordinating interprofessional collaborations, and guiding the team through developments. The results of this study can be used as input for developing tools and interventions targeted at executing and improving interprofessional

  15. What predicts recovery orientation in county departments of mental health? A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Timothy T; Mahoney, Christine B; Adams, Neal; Felton, Mistique; Pareja, Candy

    2010-09-01

    In this pilot study we examined the determinants of recovery orientation among employees and influential stakeholders in a sample of 12 county departments of mental health in California. A two-level hierarchical linear model with random intercepts was estimated. Analyses show that recovery orientation has a U-shaped relationship with the age of staff/influential stakeholders and is negatively related to the difference between the desired level of adhocracy and the current level of adhocracy. Recovery orientation is positively related to the education level of staff/influential stakeholders, satisfying transformational leadership outcomes, and larger mental health budgets per capita. Policy implications are discussed.

  16. ANCCLI White Paper VI. Which conditions for an influential participation of CLIs and ANCCLI to the territorial and national follow-up of dismantling works

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delalonde, Jean-Claude; Eimer, Michel; Boutin, Dominique

    2017-01-01

    After a brief presentation of the different phases of nuclear installation dismantling, and a statement about the interest of CLIs (Local information commissions) and ANCCLI (National association of local information commissions and committees), the first part of this white paper addresses the regulatory framework of dismantling, its process, and outlines roles of CLIs and ANCCLI in this process, and remaining issues. It describes the role CLIs already had in issues related to dismantling for different sites (Tricastin, Gard, Monts d'Arree, Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux). A set of proposals is formulated for an influential participation of CLIs and ANCCLI to the national and territorial follow-up of dismantling works. A road-map is proposed for CLIs who want to tackle the dismantling issue. An amendment is proposed for a decree related to the definitive stoppage and dismantling of basic nuclear installations and to subcontracting

  17. Problematic smartphone use and relations with negative affect, fear of missing out, and fear of negative and positive evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolniewicz, Claire A; Tiamiyu, Mojisola F; Weeks, Justin W; Elhai, Jon D

    2018-04-01

    For many individuals, excessive smartphone use interferes with everyday life. In the present study, we recruited a non-clinical sample of 296 participants for a cross-sectional survey of problematic smartphone use, social and non-social smartphone use, and psychopathology-related constructs including negative affect, fear of negative and positive evaluation, and fear of missing out (FoMO). Results demonstrated that FoMO was most strongly related to both problematic smartphone use and social smartphone use relative to negative affect and fears of negative and positive evaluation, and these relations held when controlling for age and gender. Furthermore, FoMO (cross-sectionally) mediated relations between both fear of negative and positive evaluation with both problematic and social smartphone use. Theoretical implications are considered with regard to developing problematic smartphone use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Pengaruh Curah Hujan Dan Hari Hujan Terhadap Produksi Kelapa Sawit Berumur 12,15,18 Tahun Di PTPN II Unit Sawit Seberang – Babalan Kecamatan Sawit Seberang Kabupaten Langkat

    OpenAIRE

    Depari, Cecilia Natalenta; Irsal, Irsal; Ginting, Jonis

    2015-01-01

    The climate factor is very influential to the growth and productivity of palm oil. Rainfall is animportant climatic element observed. Where the palm oil is a plant that requires large amounts ofwater than other crops. Purpose of this research was to determine the effect of rainfall and rain dayas well as the correlation of both on palm oil production in plants aged 12, 15 and 18 years. Thisresearch was held at PTPN II Unit Sawit Seberang–Babalan Sub-district Sawit Seberang DistrictLangkat Pro...

  19. Investment Incentives in Closely Held Corporations and Finland's 2005 Tax Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Hietala, Harri; Kari, Seppo

    2005-01-01

    This paper analyses the effects of the recent Finnish income tax reform on the behaviour of a closely held corporation (CHC) and its owners. The main elements of the reform are cuts in corporate and capital income tax rates and the replacement of the full imputation system by a partial double taxation of distributed profits. Considerable exemptions are applied to relieve the taxation of dividends from CHCs. The analysis indicates that the change in the CHC’s cost of capital depends on the mar...

  20. 47 CFR 36.171 - Property held for future telecommunications use-Account 2002; Telecommunications plant under...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Property held for future telecommunications use-Account 2002; Telecommunications plant under construction-Account 2003; and Telecommunications plant adjustment-Account 2005. 36.171 Section 36.171 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED...

  1. Interviews held with engineers who have graduated from the Faculty of Engineering

    OpenAIRE

    Antonio Mejía; Marcelo Riveros; Alberto Mayor

    2012-01-01

    This section presents interviews held with two eminent engineers who have graduated from the Faculty of Engineering. Marcelo Riveros and Alberto Mayor interviewed the distinguished engineer Guillermina Uribe who was the first woman to graduate from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia’s Faculty of Engineering whilst Antonio Mejía and Alberto Mayor interviewed José Fernando Isaza Delgado, mathematician, businessman, columnist, teacher and rector of Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, who graduated...

  2. Leg Strength or Velocity of Movement Which Is More Influential on the Balance of Mobility Limited Elders?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayson, Douglas J.; Kiely, Dan K.; LaRose, Sharon I.; Bean, Jonathan F.

    2009-01-01

    Objective To determine which component of leg power (maximal limb strength or limb velocity) is more influential on balance performance in mobility limited elders. Design In this cross-sectional analysis we evaluated 138 community-dwelling older adults with mobility limitation. Balance was measured using the Unipedal Stance Test, the Berg Balance Test (BERG), the Dynamic Gait Index, and the performance-oriented mobility assessment. We measured one repetition maximum strength and power at 40% one repetition maximum strength, from which velocity was calculated. The associations between maximal estimated leg strength and velocity with balance performance were examined using separate multivariate logistic regression models. Results Strength was found to be associated [odds ratio of 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.11)] with performance on the Unipedal Stance Test, whereas velocity showed no statistically significant association. In contrast, velocity was consistently associated with performance on all composite measures of balance [BERG 14.23 (1.84–109.72), performance-oriented mobility assessment 33.92 (3.69–312.03), and Dynamic Gait Index 35.80 (4.77–268.71))]. Strength was only associated with the BERG 1.08 (1.01–1.14). Conclusions Higher leg press velocity is associated with better performance on the BERG, performance-oriented mobility assessment, and Dynamic Gait Index, whereas greater leg strength is associated with better performance on the Unipedal Stance Test and the BERG. These findings are likely related to the intrinsic qualities of each test and emphasize the relevance of limb velocity. PMID:19033758

  3. Hand-held optical fuel pin scanner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirchner, T.L.; Powers, H.G.

    1987-01-01

    A portable, hand-held apparatus is described for optically scanning indicia imprinted about a planar end face of an article having an outer wall surface, the apparatus comprising: a supporting frame; light detector means fixed to the frame for digitizing light patterns directed thereto; indexing means on the frame for engaging the planar end face and locating the end face in a preselected focal plane on the frame. The indexing means has an inner wall surface complementary to the article wall surface for disposition thereabout and terminates in an end portion beyond the planar end face. The inner wall surface has a radially inwardly extending shoulder spaced from the end portion and engageable with the planar end face; light means directed onto the preselected focal plane; optical means mounted on the frame about a central axis, the optical means being optically interposed between the indexing means and the light detector means for directing reflected light from the preselected focal plane to the light detector means and including a dove prism centrally aligned along the central axis; and means for selectively rotating the dove prism relative to the frame about the central axis to thereby rotate the image from the focal plane as transmitted to the light detector means

  4. DOE public hearing held at the Calais High School, Calais, Maine, April 8, 1986: Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This document contains a transcript of the comments of 20 witnesses. These meetings were held to hear public comments regarding the selection of a site for a second high-level nuclear waste repository

  5. The perceptions of inquiry held by greater Houston area science supervisors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoki, Jon Michael

    The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of inquiry held by responding greater Houston area science supervisors. Leading science organizations proposed that students might be better served if students are mentally and physically engaged in the process of finding out about natural phenomena rather than by didactic modes of teaching and learning. During the past fifty years, inquiry-based instruction has become a significant theme of new science programs. Students are more likely to make connections between classroom exercises and their personal lives through the use of inquiry-based instruction. Learning becomes relevant to students. Conversely, traditional science instruction often has little or no connection to students' everyday lives (Papert, 1980). In short, inquiry-based instruction empowers students to become independent thinkers. The utilization of inquiry-based instruction is essential to a successful reform in science education. However, a reform's success is partly determined by the extent to which science supervisors know and understand inquiry and consequently promote its integration in the district's science curricula. Science supervisors have the role of providing curriculum and instructional support to science teachers and for implementing science programs. There is a fundamental need to assess the perceptions of inquiry held by greater Houston area science supervisors. Science supervisor refers to a class of job titles that include department chairperson, science specialist, science consultant, and science coordinator. The target population was greater Houston area science supervisors in Texas. This study suggests that there are three major implications for educational practice. First, there is the implication that responding greater Houston area science supervisors need an inclusive perception of inquiry. Second, responding greater Houston area science supervisors' perception of inquiry may affect the perceptions and understandings

  6. JCI Tokyo convention is held; JCI tokyo taikai wo kaisai

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-08-10

    For 3 days on 15{approx}17 of Julies, Japan Concrete Inst. (Toyokazu Shiire chairman) held concrete technology annual meeting in the Tokyo big site in Tokyo and Ariake. Various events such as ready-mixed concrete seminar (participant: 562 person), joint seminar with the Korea concrete institute, observation were developed 20th concrete technology lecture (paper the report: 521 case participant real number: 1400 person), 12th concrete fair (exhibit: 95 case attendance number: 10150 person) center on present convention. The opinion in which the party of the first line of various quarters became heated on the direction in which the ready-mixed concrete will ought to advance based on performance definition and internationalization in the ready-mixed concrete seminar in this inside in future was exchanged. Whether it is the JIS ready-mixed concrete and whether quality audit system are necessary why. The severe order of more cheaply supplying the better concrete in the responsibility of the factory, also came out. Within the special lecture (participant: 548 person), it was an interest of the nation who obtained the time too, the fact of the president election that it does secret story especially and comes out happily heard it. In the new planning, 'the concrete which the primary school child makes' (it is introduced in this journal No. 614) was exhibited in the tip in the fair place. The figure of parent and child companion who gazed at the masterpiece which broke through the preliminary in each place was conspicuous. The still, schedule that the annual meeting in next time is held in the Sendai City on July 7{approx}9, 1999. (translated by NEDO)

  7. Combining heterogenous features for 3D hand-held object recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Xiong; Wang, Shuang; Li, Xiangyang; Jiang, Shuqiang

    2014-10-01

    Object recognition has wide applications in the area of human-machine interaction and multimedia retrieval. However, due to the problem of visual polysemous and concept polymorphism, it is still a great challenge to obtain reliable recognition result for the 2D images. Recently, with the emergence and easy availability of RGB-D equipment such as Kinect, this challenge could be relieved because the depth channel could bring more information. A very special and important case of object recognition is hand-held object recognition, as hand is a straight and natural way for both human-human interaction and human-machine interaction. In this paper, we study the problem of 3D object recognition by combining heterogenous features with different modalities and extraction techniques. For hand-craft feature, although it reserves the low-level information such as shape and color, it has shown weakness in representing hiconvolutionalgh-level semantic information compared with the automatic learned feature, especially deep feature. Deep feature has shown its great advantages in large scale dataset recognition but is not always robust to rotation or scale variance compared with hand-craft feature. In this paper, we propose a method to combine hand-craft point cloud features and deep learned features in RGB and depth channle. First, hand-held object segmentation is implemented by using depth cues and human skeleton information. Second, we combine the extracted hetegerogenous 3D features in different stages using linear concatenation and multiple kernel learning (MKL). Then a training model is used to recognize 3D handheld objects. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and gerneralization ability of the proposed method.

  8. Hand-held cell phone use while driving legislation and observed driver behavior among population sub-groups in the United States

    OpenAIRE

    Rudisill, Toni M.; Zhu, Motao

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background Cell phone use behaviors are known to vary across demographic sub-groups and geographic locations. This study examined whether universal hand-held calling while driving bans were associated with lower road-side observed hand-held cell phone conversations across drivers of different ages (16–24, 25–59, ≥60 years), sexes, races (White, African American, or other), ruralities (suburban, rural, or urban), and regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West). Methods Data from the...

  9. Positional and Dimensional Accuracy Assessment of Drone Images Geo-referenced with Three Different GPSs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, C.; Lee, X.; Xu, J.

    2017-12-01

    Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones have been widely used in environmental, ecological and engineering applications in recent years. These applications require assessment of positional and dimensional accuracy. In this study, positional accuracy refers to the accuracy of the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of locations on the mosaicked image in reference to the coordinates of the same locations measured by a Global Positioning System (GPS) in a ground survey, and dimensional accuracy refers to length and height of a ground target. Here, we investigate the effects of the number of Ground Control Points (GCPs) and the accuracy of the GPS used to measure the GCPs on positional and dimensional accuracy of a drone 3D model. Results show that using on-board GPS and a hand-held GPS produce a positional accuracy on the order of 2-9 meters. In comparison, using a differential GPS with high accuracy (30 cm) improves the positional accuracy of the drone model by about 40 %. Increasing the number of GCPs can compensate for the uncertainty brought by the GPS equipment with low accuracy. In terms of the dimensional accuracy of the drone model, even with the use of a low resolution GPS onboard the vehicle, the mean absolute errors are only 0.04 m for height and 0.10 m for length, which are well suited for some applications in precision agriculture and in land survey studies.

  10. Comparative Geometrical Investigations of Hand-Held Scanning Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kersten, T. P.; Przybilla, H.-J.; Lindstaedt, M.; Tschirschwitz, F.; Misgaiski-Hass, M.

    2016-06-01

    An increasing number of hand-held scanning systems by different manufacturers are becoming available on the market. However, their geometrical performance is little-known to many users. Therefore the Laboratory for Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning of the HafenCity University Hamburg has carried out geometrical accuracy tests with the following systems in co-operation with the Bochum University of Applied Sciences (Laboratory for Photogrammetry) as well as the Humboldt University in Berlin (Institute for Computer Science): DOTProduct DPI-7, Artec Spider, Mantis Vision F5 SR, Kinect v1 + v2, Structure Sensor and Google's Project Tango. In the framework of these comparative investigations geometrically stable reference bodies were used. The appropriate reference data were acquired by measurement with two structured light projection systems (AICON smartSCAN and GOM ATOS I 2M). The comprehensive test results of the different test scenarios are presented and critically discussed in this contribution.

  11. 12 CFR 330.7 - Accounts held by an agent, nominee, guardian, custodian or conservator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Accounts held by an agent, nominee, guardian..., nominee, guardian, custodian or conservator. (a) Agency or nominee accounts. Funds owned by a principal or... coverage shall be governed by the provisions of § 330.13. (b) Guardian, custodian or conservator accounts...

  12. The Woods Hole Partnership Education Program: Increasing Diversity in the Ocean and Environmental Sciences in One Influential Science Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jearld, A.

    2011-12-01

    To increase diversity in one influential science community, a consortium of public and private institutions created the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program, or PEP, in 2008. Participating institutions are the Marine Biological Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Science Center of NOAA's Fisheries Service, Sea Education Association, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Woods Hole Research Center, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Aimed at college juniors and seniors with some course work in marine and/or environmental sciences, PEP is a four-week course and a six-to-eight-week individual research project under the guidance of a research mentor. Forty-six students have participated to date. Investigators from the science institutions serve as course faculty and research mentors. We listened to experts regarding critical mass, mentoring, adequate support, network recruitment, and then built a program based on those features. Three years in we have a program that works and that has its own model for choosing applicants and for matching with mentors. We continue fine-tuning our match process, enhancing mentoring skills, preparing our students for a variety of lab cultures, and setting expectations high while remaining supportive. Our challenges now are to keep at it, using leverage instead of capacity to make a difference. Collaboration, not competition, is key since a rising tide floats all boats.

  13. Sixth Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations Held in Bangkok

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    <正>With the theme of "Opportunities and Challenges of China-ASEAN Friendly Cooperation", the Sixth Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations organized by the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association was held in Bangkok August 18 and 19. A delegation of China-ASEAN Association led by its president Gu Xiulian joined about 200 representatives from friendship-with-China organizations in 10 ASEAN countries.

  14. Evaluation of a focussed protocol for hand-held echocardiography and computer-assisted auscultation in detecting latent rheumatic heart disease in scholars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zühlke, Liesl J; Engel, Mark E; Nkepu, Simpiwe; Mayosi, Bongani M

    2016-08-01

    Introduction Echocardiography is the diagnostic test of choice for latent rheumatic heart disease. The utility of echocardiography for large-scale screening is limited by high cost, complex diagnostic protocols, and time to acquire multiple images. We evaluated the performance of a brief hand-held echocardiography protocol and computer-assisted auscultation in detecting latent rheumatic heart disease with or without pathological murmur. A total of 27 asymptomatic patients with latent rheumatic heart disease based on the World Heart Federation criteria and 66 healthy controls were examined by standard cardiac auscultation to detect pathological murmur. Hand-held echocardiography using a focussed protocol that utilises one view - that is, the parasternal long-axis view - and one measurement - that is, mitral regurgitant jet - and a computer-assisted auscultation utilising an automated decision tool were performed on all patients. The sensitivity and specificity of computer-assisted auscultation in latent rheumatic heart disease were 4% (95% CI 1.0-20.4%) and 93.7% (95% CI 84.5-98.3%), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the focussed hand-held echocardiography protocol for definite rheumatic heart disease were 92.3% (95% CI 63.9-99.8%) and 100%, respectively. The test reliability of hand-held echocardiography was 98.7% for definite and 94.7% for borderline disease, and the adjusted diagnostic odds ratios were 1041 and 263.9 for definite and borderline disease, respectively. Computer-assisted auscultation has extremely low sensitivity but high specificity for pathological murmur in latent rheumatic heart disease. Focussed hand-held echocardiography has fair sensitivity but high specificity and diagnostic utility for definite or borderline rheumatic heart disease in asymptomatic patients.

  15. Extra-oral dental radiography for disaster victims using a flat panel X-ray detector and a hand-held X-ray generator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohtani, M; Oshima, T; Mimasaka, S

    2017-12-01

    Forensic odontologists commonly incise the skin for post-mortem dental examinations when it is difficult to open the victim's mouth. However, it is prohibited by law to incise dead bodies without permission in Japan. Therefore, we attempted using extra-oral dental radiography, using a digital X-ray equipment with rechargeable batteries, to overcome this restriction. A phantom was placed in the prone position on a table, and three plain dental radiographs were used per case: "lateral oblique radiographs" for left and right posterior teeth and a "contact radiograph" for anterior teeth were taken using a flat panel X-ray detector and a hand-held X-ray generator. The resolving power of the images was measured by a resolution test chart, and the scattered X-ray dose was measured using an ionization chamber-type survey meter. The resolving power of the flat panel X-ray detector was 3.0 lp/mm, which was less than that of intra-oral dental methods, but the three extra-oral plain dental radiographs provided the overall dental information from outside of the mouth, and this approach was less time-consuming. In addition, the higher dose of scattered X-rays was laterally distributed, but the dose per case was much less than that of intra-oral dental radiographs. Extra-oral plain dental radiography can be used for disaster victim identification by dental methods even when it is difficult to open the mouth. Portable and rechargeable devices, such as a flat panel X-ray detector and a hand-held X-ray generator, are convenient to bring and use anywhere, even at a disaster scene lacking electricity and water.

  16. Recommendations following the meetings of September 18--19, 1989 held in DeSoto, Texas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1989-10-11

    This report summarizes recommendations made by the Underground Technology Advisory Panel (UTAP) to the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Laboratory, subsequent to meetings held on September 18 and 19, 1989. The panel was convened at the request of Mr. Robert Crawley. Deputy Manager of the Conventional Construction Division for the SSC. A list of UTAP members and meeting agenda are appended to this report. The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn, DeSoto, TX, during which time presentations were made by members of the SSC Laboratory staff on the Texas site geology, site exploration, ring placement, experimental halls, and main beam tunnels and shafts. Information conveyed at the meetings is in the public domain, and has been collected and filed as part of the SSC Laboratory Notes which are available through the SSC Laboratory. Recommendations pertaining to the geotechnical program, presentation of geotechnical information, startup tunnel, groundwater and subsidence monitoring, location of the ring, tunnel and special tunnel areas, and experimental halls are summarized under the headings which follow.

  17. Hand-held tidal breathing nasal nitric oxide measurement--a promising targeted case-finding tool for the diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marthin, June Kehlet; Nielsen, Kim Gjerum

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) measurement is an established first line test in the work-up for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Tidal breathing nNO (TB-nNO) measurements require minimal cooperation and are potentially useful even in young children. Hand-held NO devices are becoming...... increasingly widespread for asthma management. Therefore, we chose to assess whether hand-held TB-nNO measurements reliably discriminate between PCD, and Healthy Subjects (HS) and included Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients as a disease control group known to have intermediate nNO levels. METHODS: In this cross...... sectional, single centre, single occasion, proof-of-concept study in children and adults with PCD and CF, and in HS we compared feasibility, success rates, discriminatory capacity, repeatability and agreement between a hand-held electrochemical device equipped with a nNO software application sampling...

  18. Reaching "an audience that you would never dream of speaking to": influential public health researchers' views on the role of news media in influencing policy and public understanding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Simon; Haynes, Abby; Derrick, Gemma; Sturk, Heidi; Hall, Wayne D; St George, Alexis

    2014-01-01

    While governments and academic institutions urge researchers to engage with news media, traditional academic values of public disengagement have inhibited many from giving high priority to media activity. In this interview-based study, the authors report on the views about news media engagement and strategies used by 36 peer-voted leading Australian public health researchers in 6 fields. The authors consider their views about the role and importance of media in influencing policy, their reflections on effective or ineffective media communicators, and strategies used by these researchers about how to best retain their credibility and influence while engaging with the news media. A willingness and capacity to engage with the mass media was seen as an essential attribute of influential public health researchers.

  19. Rapid and automatic chemical identification of the medicinal flower buds of Lonicera plants by the benchtop and hand-held Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jianbo; Guo, Baolin; Yan, Rui; Sun, Suqin; Zhou, Qun

    2017-07-01

    With the utilization of the hand-held equipment, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is a promising analytical technique to minimize the time cost for the chemical identification of herbal materials. This research examines the feasibility of the hand-held FT-IR spectrometer for the on-site testing of herbal materials, using Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (LJF) and Lonicerae Flos (LF) as examples. Correlation-based linear discriminant models for LJF and LF are established based on the benchtop and hand-held FT-IR instruments. The benchtop FT-IR models can exactly recognize all articles of LJF and LF. Although a few LF articles are misjudged at the sub-class level, the hand-held FT-IR models are able to exactly discriminate LJF and LF. As a direct and label-free analytical technique, FT-IR spectroscopy has great potential in the rapid and automatic chemical identification of herbal materials either in laboratories or in fields. This is helpful to prevent the spread and use of adulterated herbal materials in time.

  20. Impact of Vertical Canopy Position on Leaf Spectral Properties and Traits across Multiple Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tawanda W. Gara

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the vertical pattern of leaf traits across plant canopies provide critical information on plant physiology, ecosystem functioning and structure and vegetation response to climate change. However, the impact of vertical canopy position on leaf spectral properties and subsequently leaf traits across the entire spectrum for multiple species is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the ability of leaf optical properties to track variability in leaf traits across the vertical canopy profile using Partial Least Square Discriminatory Analysis (PLS-DA. Leaf spectral measurements together with leaf traits (nitrogen, carbon, chlorophyll, equivalent water thickness and specific leaf area were studied at three vertical canopy positions along the plant stem: lower, middle and upper. We observed that foliar nitrogen (N, chlorophyll (Cab, carbon (C, and equivalent water thickness (EWT were higher in the upper canopy leaves compared with lower shaded leaves, while specific leaf area (SLA increased from upper to lower canopy leaves. We found that leaf spectral reflectance significantly (P ≤ 0.05 shifted to longer wavelengths in the ‘red edge’ spectrum (685–701 nm in the order of lower > middle > upper for the pooled dataset. We report that spectral bands that are influential in the discrimination of leaf samples into the three groups of canopy position, based on the PLS-DA variable importance projection (VIP score, match with wavelength regions of foliar traits observed to vary across the canopy vertical profile. This observation demonstrated that both leaf traits and leaf reflectance co-vary across the vertical canopy profile in multiple species. We conclude that canopy vertical position has a significant impact on leaf spectral properties of an individual plant’s traits, and this finding holds for multiple species. These findings have important implications on field sampling protocols, upscaling leaf traits to canopy level

  1. International Conference held at the University of Alberta

    CERN Document Server

    Strobeck, Curtis

    1983-01-01

    This volume contains the Proceedings of the International Conference in Population Biology held at The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada from June 22 to June 30, 1982. The Conference was sponsored by The University of Alberta and The Canadian Applied Mathematics Society, and overlapped with the summer meeting of CAMS. The main objectives of this Conference were: to bring mathematicians and biologists together so that they may interact for their mutual benefit; to bring those researchers interested in modelling in ecology and those interested in modelling in genetics together; to bring in keynote speakers in the delineated areas; to have sessions of contributed papers; and to present the opportunity for researchers to conduct workshops. With the exception of the last one, the objec­ tives were carried out. In order to lend some focus to the Conference, the following themes were adopted: models of species growth, predator-prey, competition, mutualism, food webs, dispersion, age structure, stability, evol...

  2. COMPARATIVE GEOMETRICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF HAND-HELD SCANNING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. P. Kersten

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available An increasing number of hand-held scanning systems by different manufacturers are becoming available on the market. However, their geometrical performance is little-known to many users. Therefore the Laboratory for Photogrammetry & Laser Scanning of the HafenCity University Hamburg has carried out geometrical accuracy tests with the following systems in co-operation with the Bochum University of Applied Sciences (Laboratory for Photogrammetry as well as the Humboldt University in Berlin (Institute for Computer Science: DOTProduct DPI-7, Artec Spider, Mantis Vision F5 SR, Kinect v1 + v2, Structure Sensor and Google’s Project Tango. In the framework of these comparative investigations geometrically stable reference bodies were used. The appropriate reference data were acquired by measurement with two structured light projection systems (AICON smartSCAN and GOM ATOS I 2M. The comprehensive test results of the different test scenarios are presented and critically discussed in this contribution.

  3. Positive Mental Health from the perspective of Iranian society: A qualitative study [version 2; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash Mirabzadeh

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: According to the World Health Organization, mental health relates, not only to the absence of mental disorder, but also to Positive Mental Health. Studies have shown that promoting positive mental health, not only reduces the prevalence and incidence of mental disorders, but also affects the process of treatment and reduces related burden. However, this concept has different interpretations in different cultures, and in many societies, mental health is still considered the absence of mental illness. Thus, the present study was conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of Iranian adults` perspective towards the concept of positive mental health. Materials and Methods: In the present qualitative study, eight focus group discussions (6 to 8 adults in each session were held consisting of 30 to 60 year-old men and women from Tehran. Data were analyzed in "DeDoose" qualitative software using content analysis. Results: According to the data obtained, participants found no difference between positive mental health and mental health, mostly equating it to the absence of mental disorders and having positive energy, peace in and satisfaction with life. According to the results, positive mental health has four domains of emotional/psychological, spiritual, social, and life skills. Conclusion: Understanding an individual’s positive mental health concepts culturally and providing appropriate community based programs can significantly promote the mental health of the community.

  4. Positive Mental Health from the perspective of Iranian society: A qualitative study [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash Mirabzadeh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: According to the World Health Organization, mental health relates, not only to the absence of mental disorder, but also to Positive Mental Health. Studies have shown that promoting positive mental health, not only reduces the prevalence and incidence of mental disorders, but also affects the process of treatment and reduces related burden. However, this concept has different interpretations in different cultures, and in many societies, mental health is still considered the absence of mental illness. Thus, the present study was conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of Iranian adults` perspective towards the concept of positive mental health. Materials and Methods: In the present qualitative study, eight focus group discussions (6 to 8 adults in each session were held consisting of 30 to 60 year-old men and women from Tehran. Data were analyzed in "DeDoose" qualitative software using content analysis. Results: According to the data obtained, participants found no difference between positive mental health and mental health, mostly equating it to the absence of mental disorders and having positive energy, peace in and satisfaction with life. According to the results, positive mental health has four domains of emotional/psychological, spiritual, social, and life skills. Conclusion: Understanding an individual’s positive mental health concepts culturally and providing appropriate community based programs can significantly promote the mental health of the community.

  5. The Study of Two Psychotherapy Approaches (Rogers Self Theory and Ellis Rational Theory) in Improvement of Bowen Self-differentiation and Intimacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousefi, Naser; Kiani, Mohammad Ali

    2014-01-01

    To compare the effectiveness of rational, behavioral and emotive therapy (REBT) and person-centered therapy (PCT) on self-differentiation and intimacy among divorce clients. In quasi-experimental study, 42 divorce clients (both males and females) who presented to the Counsling Center of Sanandaj, Iran were sampled. They were categorized into three groups of PCT, REBT, and control group (each group contained 14 subjects). The recovery indices (dependent variables) employed were the subject of self-differentiation and intimacy, which were measured twice before and after intervention of Differentiation of Self Inventory-2 (DSI-2) and intimacy. The therapy involved 8 one-hour sessions. It was held twice a week and therapeutic effects were traced after 8 months. The results showed that REBT and PCT were effective on self-differentiation scale and intimacy. Also they were influential in recovery self-differentiation scale and intimacy follow up stage. REBT and PCT were effective on self-differentiation and its subscales (Emotional reactivity, "I" position, Emotional cut off and Fusion with other) and general intimacy. None.

  6. The Impact of an International Cultural Experience on Previously Held Stereotypes by American Student Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heuer, Loretta; Bengiamin, Marlene; Downey, Vicki Wessman

    2001-01-01

    Examined stereotypes held by U.S. student nurses before and after participating in an educational experience in Russia. The experience was intended to prepare them to be effective nurses in multicultural health care settings. Data from student interviews indicated that the experience changed students' stereotyped attitudes about Russian culture…

  7. 41 CFR 50-204.72 - Safe practices for welding and cutting on containers which have held combustibles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... combustibles. Welding or cutting, or both, on containers which have held flammable or combustible solids, liquids, or gases, or have contained substances which may produce flammable vapors or gases will not be...

  8. Hand-held indirect calorimeter offers advantages compared with prediction equations, in a group of overweight women, to determine resting energy expenditures and estimated total energy expenditures during research screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spears, Karen E; Kim, Hyunsook; Behall, Kay M; Conway, Joan M

    2009-05-01

    To compare standardized prediction equations to a hand-held indirect calorimeter in estimating resting energy and total energy requirements in overweight women. Resting energy expenditure (REE) was measured by hand-held indirect calorimeter and calculated by prediction equations Harris-Benedict, Mifflin-St Jeor, World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization/United Nations University (WHO), and Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI). Physical activity level, assessed by questionnaire, was used to estimate total energy expenditure (TEE). Subjects (n=39) were female nonsmokers older than 25 years of age with body mass index more than 25. Repeated measures analysis of variance, Bland-Altman plot, and fitted regression line of difference. A difference within +/-10% of two methods indicated agreement. Significant proportional bias was present between hand-held indirect calorimeter and prediction equations for REE and TEE (Pvalues and underestimated at higher values. Mean differences (+/-standard error) for REE and TEE between hand-held indirect calorimeter and Harris-Benedict were -5.98+/-46.7 kcal/day (P=0.90) and 21.40+/-75.7 kcal/day (P=0.78); between hand-held indirect calorimeter and Mifflin-St Jeor were 69.93+/-46.7 kcal/day (P=0.14) and 116.44+/-75.9 kcal/day (P=0.13); between hand-held indirect calorimeter and WHO were -22.03+/-48.4 kcal/day (P=0.65) and -15.8+/-77.9 kcal/day (P=0.84); and between hand-held indirect calorimeter and DRI were 39.65+/-47.4 kcal/day (P=0.41) and 56.36+/-85.5 kcal/day (P=0.51). Less than 50% of predictive equation values were within +/-10% of hand-held indirect calorimeter values, indicating poor agreement. A significant discrepancy between predicted and measured energy expenditure was observed. Further evaluation of hand-held indirect calorimeter research screening is needed.

  9. Implications of Thyroglobulin Antibody Positivity in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Verburg, Frederik A; Luster, Markus; Cupini, Cristina

    2013-01-01

    Background: Even though the presence of antithyroglobulin antibodies (TgAbs) represents a significant problem in the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), the current guidelines on the management of DTC that have been published in recent years contain no text concerning...... the methods to be used for detecting such antibody-related interference in thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement or how to manage TgAb-positive patients in whom Tg cannot be used reliably as a tumor marker. Aim: An international group of experts from the European Thyroid Association Cancer Research Network who...... insufficient evidence was available, a thorough discussion by a group of physician-scientists, all of whom have a distinguished track record in thyroid cancer care, was held to arrive at a consensus expert opinion. The questions and answers discussed were then summarized into an algorithm for the management...

  10. Muskuloskeletal radiography as a specialty. A quality improvement project on positioning of musculoskeletal x-rays with a multimethodology and multidisciplinary approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Janni; Torfing, Trine

    treatment and/or unfavorable outcome for the patient. Guidelines developed by “European Guidelines on Quality Criteria for Diagnostic Radiographic Images” provide quality assessment tools regarding the technical aspect of x-rays (i.e. noise and resolution). One could argue what the quality of a perfectly......, i.e. the radiographers working with muskuloskeletal x-rays are specialized within this field. The primary purposes of this project are to perform continuous quantitative quality assessment and improvement of positioning of muskuloskeletal x-rays. Methods It has not yet been possible to find any...... of muskuloskeletal x-rays held by a radiologist, a reporting radiographer and an orthopedic surgeon, all from OUH • Radiographers are offered one-hour individual sessions with a reporting radiographer reviewing their own X-rays discussing positioning and pathology focusing on the association between positioning...

  11. DOE public hearing held at the Lake Region High School, Bridgton, Maine: Volume 2, April 6, 1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This document contains a transcript of the comments of 13 witnesses. These meetings were held to hear public comments regarding the selection of a site for a second high-level nuclear waste repository

  12. Validation of Ankle Strength Measurements by Means of a Hand-Held Dynamometer in Adult Healthy Subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Ancillao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Uniaxial Hand-Held Dynamometer (HHD is a low-cost device widely adopted in clinical practice to measure muscle force. HHD measurements depend on operator’s ability and joint movements. The aim of the work is to validate the use of a commercial HHD in both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion ankle strength measurements quantifying the effects of HHD misplacements and unwanted foot’s movements on the measurements. We used an optoelectronic system and a multicomponent load cell to quantify the sources of error in the manual assessment of the ankle strength due to both the operator’s ability to hold still the HHD and the transversal components of the exerted force that are usually neglected in clinical routine. Results showed that foot’s movements and angular misplacements of HHD on sagittal and horizontal planes were relevant sources of inaccuracy on the strength assessment. Moreover, ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion force measurements presented an inaccuracy less than 2% and higher than 10%, respectively. In conclusion, the manual use of a uniaxial HHD is not recommended for the assessment of ankle plantarflexion strength; on the contrary, it can be allowed asking the operator to pay strong attention to the HHD positioning in ankle dorsiflexion strength measurements.

  13. Virtues, Vices, and Political Influence in the U.S. Senate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    ten Brinke, Leanne; Liu, Christopher C; Keltner, Dacher; Srivastava, Sameer B

    2016-01-01

    What qualities make a political leader more influential or less influential? Philosophers, political scientists, and psychologists have puzzled over this question, positing two opposing routes to political power--one driven by human virtues, such as courage and wisdom, and the other driven by vices, such as Machiavellianism and psychopathy. By coding nonverbal behaviors displayed in political speeches, we assessed the virtues and vices of 151 U.S. senators. We found that virtuous senators became more influential after they assumed leadership roles, whereas senators who displayed behaviors consistent with vices--particularly psychopathy--became no more influential or even less influential after they assumed leadership roles. Our results inform a long-standing debate about the role of morality and ethics in leadership and have important implications for electing effective government officials. Citizens would be wise to consider a candidate's virtue in casting their votes, which might increase the likelihood that elected officials will have genuine concern for their constituents and simultaneously promote cooperation and progress in government. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. New mine projects, positive outlook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M. Cremer

    2006-12-15

    Speaking on the first day at the Mining 2006 Resources Convention the Deputy Director General, Mining and Petroleum gave an optimistic outlook for mining in 2007 based on the number of new projects under consideration or construction. The convention was held in early November in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 3 figs., 1 photo.

  15. Taxation and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Position of Dietitians of Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    Dietitians of Canada recommends that an excise tax of at least 10-20% be applied to sugar-sweetened beverages sold in Canada given the negative impact of these products on the health of the population and the viability of taxation as a means to reduce consumption. For the greatest impact, taxation measures should be combined with other policy interventions such as increasing access to healthy foods while decreasing access to unhealthy foods in schools, daycares, and recreation facilities; restrictions on the marketing of foods and beverages to children; and effective, long-term educational initiatives. This position is based on a comprehensive review of the literature. The Canadian population is experiencing high rates of obesity and excess weight. There is moderate quality evidence linking consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to excess weight, obesity, and chronic disease onset in children and adults. Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages holds substantiated potential for decreasing its consumption. Based on economic models and results from recent taxation efforts, an excise tax can lead to a decline in sugar-sweetened beverage purchase and consumption. Taxation of up to 20% can lead to a consumption decrease by approximately 10% in the first year of its implementation, with a postulated 2.6% decrease in weight per person on average. Revenue generated from taxation can be used to fund other obesity reduction initiatives. A number of influential national organizations support a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

  16. Summary of the workshop on HOM in SPL, held at CERN June 25-26.

    CERN Document Server

    Lombardi, A; Weingarten, W

    2009-01-01

    A mini-workshop on the subject of HOMs in a superconducting proton linac was held at CERN on the 25th and 26th June 2009. The purpose of this workshop was to discuss more specifically the effects of HOMs on beam dynamics in the SPL and comparable accelerators and to provide guidelines for the specification of HOM dampers, if necessary.

  17. 77 FR 14316 - Airworthiness Directives; Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate Previously Held by The New Piper...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-09

    ...-0251; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-002-AD] RIN 2120-AA64 Airworthiness Directives; Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate Previously Held by The New Piper Aircraft Inc.) Airplanes AGENCY: Federal... supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Piper Aircraft, Inc. (type...

  18. Gaining Competitive Advantage by Emphasizing the Positive Attributes of Resources Held

    OpenAIRE

    Avrigeanu Alina Florentina

    2012-01-01

    This paper aims to present the elements of the internal environment of firms and how they contribute to achieve a relative advantage. Altough VRIO framework is a precious strategic management tool it can be effective only in correlation with analysis of the external environment given, for example, need to find external references for estimating the value, scarcity and inimitability of a resource and selection of reference elements from the same market or the same strategic group.

  19. Proceedings of the workshop on severe accident research held in Japan (SARJ-98)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sugimoto, Jun [ed.

    1999-07-01

    The Workshop on Severe Accident Research held in Japan (SARJ-98) was taken place at Hotel Lungwood on November 4-6, 1998, and attended by 181 participants from 13 countries. The 63 papers, which cover wide areas of severe accident research both in experiments and analyses, such as in-vessel melt retention, fuel-coolant interaction, fission products behavior, structural integrity, containment behavior, computer simulations, and accident management, are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

  20. The PHARMS (Patient Held Active Record of Medication Status) feasibility study: a research proposal.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Walsh, Elaine

    2018-01-08

    Medication errors are a major source of preventable morbidity, mortality and cost and many occur at the times of hospital admission and discharge. Novel interventions (such as new methods of recording medication information and conducting medication reconciliation) are required to facilitate accurate transfer of medication information. With existing evidence supporting the use of information technology and the patient representing the one constant in the care process, an electronic patient held medication record may provide a solution. This study will assess the feasibility of introducing a patient held electronic medication record in primary and secondary care using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).This feasibility study is a mixed method study of community dwelling older adult patients admitted to an urban secondary care facility comprising a non-randomised intervention and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders. Outcomes of interest include clinical outcomes and process evaluation.This study will yield insights pertaining to feasibility, acceptability and participation for a more definitive evaluation of the intervention. The study also has the potential to contribute to knowledge of implementation of technology in a healthcare context and to the broader area of implementation science.

  1. Analysis of Information Remaining on Hand Held Devices Offered for Sale on the Second Hand Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andy Jones

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The ownership and use of mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants and other hand held devices is now ubiquitous both for home and business use. The majority of these devices have a high initial cost, a relatively short period before they become obsolescent and a relatively low second hand value.  As a result of this, when the devices are replaced, there are indications that they tend to be discarded.  As technology has continued to develop, it has led to an increasing diversity in the number and type of devices that are available, and the processing power and the storage capacity of the digital storage in the device. All organisations, whether in the public or private sector increasingly use hand held devices that contain digital media for the storage of information relating to their business, their employees or their customers. Similarly, individual private users increasingly use hand held devices containing digital media for the storage of information relating to their private lives.The research revealed that a significant number of organisations and private users are ignorant or misinformed about the volume and type of information that is stored on the hand held devices and the media on which it is stored.  It is apparent that they have either not considered, or are unaware of, the potential impact of this information becoming available to their competitors or those with criminal intent.This main purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the volume and type of information that may remain on hand held devices that are offered for sale on the second hand market.  A second aim of the research was to determine the level of damage that could, potentially be caused, if the information that remains on the devices fell into the wrong hands.  The study examined a number of hand held devices that had been obtained from sources in the UK and Australia that ranged from internet auction sites, to private sales and commercial

  2. The effect of body position on the 'hanging drop' method for identifying the extradural space in anaesthetized dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naganobu, Kiyokazu; Hagio, Mitsuyoshi

    2007-01-01

    To assess the accuracy of the 'hanging drop method' for identifying the extradural space in anaesthetized dogs positioned in sternal or lateral recumbency. Prospective randomized-experimental study. Seventeen clinically healthy adult dogs, 10 females and seven males weighing 8.4-26.2 kg. Dogs were positioned in either sternal (n = 8) or lateral (n = 9) recumbency under general anaesthesia. A 20 SWG spinal needle pre-filled with 0.9% saline was advanced through the skin into the lumbosacral extradural space and the response of the saline drop recorded, i.e. whether it: 1) was aspirated from the hub into the needle; 2) remained within the hub, or 3) moved synchronously with i) spontaneous respiration, ii) heart beat or iii) manual lung inflation. The position of the needle tip was ultimately determined by positive contrast radiography. One dog positioned in lateral recumbency was excluded from the study because bleeding occurred from the needle hub. Saline was aspirated into the needle in seven of eight dogs held in sternal recumbency but in none of the dogs positioned in lateral recumbency. Accurate needle tip placement in the extradural space was confirmed by positive contrast radiography in all dogs. The 'hanging drop' method, when performed with a spinal needle, appears to be a useful technique for identifying the location of the extradural space in anaesthetized medium-sized dogs positioned in sternal, but not in lateral recumbency. The technique may yield 'false negative' results when performed in dogs positioned in sternal recumbency.

  3. Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase: An Influential Mediator of Neuropathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parrott, Jennifer M; O'Connor, Jason C

    2015-01-01

    Mounting evidence demonstrates that kynurenine metabolism may play an important pathogenic role in the development of multiple neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The kynurenine pathway consists of two functionally distinct branches that generate both neuroactive and oxidatively reactive metabolites. In the brain, the rate-limiting enzyme for one of these branches, kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), is predominantly expressed in microglia and has emerged as a pivotal point of metabolic regulation. KMO substrate and expression levels are upregulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and altered by functional genetic mutations. Increased KMO metabolism results in the formation of metabolites that activate glutamate receptors and elevate oxidative stress, while recent evidence has revealed neurodevelopmental consequences of reduced KMO activity. Together, the evidence suggests that KMO is positioned at a critical metabolic junction to influence the development or trajectory of a myriad of neurological diseases. Understanding the mechanism(s) by which alterations in KMO activity are able to impair neuronal function, and viability will enhance our knowledge of related disease pathology and provide insight into novel therapeutic opportunities. This review will discuss the influence of KMO on brain kynurenine metabolism and the current understanding of molecular mechanisms by which altered KMO activity may contribute to neurodevelopment, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric diseases.

  4. Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase: an influential mediator of neuropathology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer M Parrott

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Mounting evidence demonstrates that kynurenine metabolism may play an important pathogenic role in the development of multiple neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The kynurenine pathway consists of two functionally distinct branches that generate both neuroactive and oxidatively reactive metabolites. In the brain, the rate-limiting enzyme for one of these branches, kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO, is predominantly expressed in microglia and has emerged as a pivotal point of metabolic regulation. KMO substrate and expression levels are up-regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and altered by functional genetic mutations. Increased KMO metabolism results in the formation of metabolites that activate glutamate receptors and elevate oxidative stress, while recent evidence has revealed neurodevelopmental consequences of reduced KMO activity. Together, the evidence suggests that KMO is positioned at a critical metabolic junction to influence the development or trajectory of a myriad of neurological diseases. Understanding the mechanism(s by which alterations in KMO activity are able to impair neuronal function and viability will enhance our knowledge of related disease pathology and provide insight into novel therapeutic opportunities. This review will discuss the influence of KMO on brain kynurenine metabolism and the current understanding of molecular mechanisms by which altered KMO activity may contribute to neurodevelopment, neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases.

  5. Influential opinion leaders

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Loeper, A.; Steiner, Jakub; Stewart, C.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 124, č. 581 (2014), s. 1147-1167 ISSN 0013-0133 Institutional support: RVO:67985998 Keywords : two-stage coordination game * equilibrium outcome * expert influence Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 2.336, year: 2014

  6. Influential opinion leaders

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Loeper, A.; Steiner, Jakub; Stewart, C.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 124, č. 581 (2014), s. 1147-1167 ISSN 0013-0133 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA13-34759S Grant - others:UK(CZ) UNCE 204005/2012 Institutional support: PRVOUK-P23 Keywords : two-stage coordination game * equilibrium outcome * expert influence Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 2.336, year: 2014

  7. Positive Feed-Bach: A Motivation Game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, William G.

    1984-01-01

    Classroom scrip emblazoned with a picture of Johann Sebastian Bach is used to motivate junior high school students. Students are paid for cooperation and performance. Two auctions are held during the school year, at which students can spend the scrip on musical items. (CS)

  8. The Effect of Traditional and Electronic Word-of-mouth on Purchase Decision

    OpenAIRE

    Sanger, Chintya Amelia Nelly

    2013-01-01

    Word-of-mouth (WOM) Marketing is widely considered the most influential source of information for consumer purchase decisions, and the explosion of social media has stirred interest in the communication.The relation of Traditional Word-of-Mouth and electronic word-of-mouth ( e-wom ) on purchase decision are positively influential. Research to 100 respondents of student in International Business Administration program, Economic and Business faculty in SamRatulangi university. The most of stude...

  9. Social positions and political recruitment: a study of Brazilian senators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriano Codato

    Full Text Available Abstract This article discusses the methodology for the definition, classification, and measurement of social positions of the parliamentary political elite. We present some theoretical and methodological strategies for classifying the variable “occupation held prior to political career”, and suggest the use of more than one indicator for this measurement. We argue that a typology of both social and political characteristics of parliament members is the best way to grasp the transformations on the patterns of political recruitment throughout the 20th century. The first model we tested classified Brazilian senators elected between 1918 and 2010 among occupations conventionally used in studies on political elites. The second applied model seeks to change the coding of occupations so as to grasp this group’s sociopolitical transformations over time. We conclude with a new classification suggestion, which results from a typology sensitive to the varying values ascribed to professional occupations throughout history.

  10. Proceedings of the workshop on severe accident research held in Japan (SARJ-97)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sugimoto, Jun [ed.

    1998-05-01

    The Workshop on Severe Accident Research held in Japan (SARJ-97) was taken place at Pacifico Yokohama on October 6 - 8, 1997, and attended by 180 participants from 15 countries and one international organizations. The 59 papers, which cover wide areas of severe accident research both in experiments and analysis, such as in-vessel melt retention, fuel-coolant interaction, fission products behavior, structural integrity, containment behavior, computer simulations, and accident management, are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

  11. Design of hand held RID's monitoring system based on embedded system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Hongwei; Wei Yixiang

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we introduce the design of monitoring system for the hand held radionuclide identification device (RID), constructed under the embedded operating system of WinCE. At first, we introduce the design of hardware and software platform, and following is the major part of technical view of the software system, including the driver development, P/Invoke mechanism to call the C/C++ subroutines, multi-thread technology. In the experimental hardware platform, we have developed a front-end monitoring system for portable device targeted nuclide identification and orientation. It's a full-featured and flexible system, with the functions of data acquisition, radioactivity locating, data import and export, etc. (authors)

  12. Accuracy of velocities from repeated GPS surveys: relative positioning is concerned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duman, Huseyin; Ugur Sanli, D.

    2016-04-01

    Over more than a decade, researchers have been interested in studying the accuracy of GPS positioning solutions. Recently, reporting the accuracy of GPS velocities has been added to this. Researchers studying landslide motion, tectonic motion, uplift, sea level rise, and subsidence still report results from GPS experiments in which repeated GPS measurements from short sessions are used. This motivated some other researchers to study the accuracy of GPS deformation rates/velocities from various repeated GPS surveys. In one of the efforts, the velocity accuracy was derived from repeated GPS static surveys using short observation sessions and Precise Point Positioning mode of GPS software. Velocities from short GPS sessions were compared with the velocities from 24 h sessions. The accuracy of velocities was obtained using statistical hypothesis testing and quantifying the accuracy of least squares estimation models. The results reveal that 45-60 % of the horizontal and none of the vertical solutions comply with the results from 24 h solutions. We argue that this case in which the data was evaluated using PPP should also apply to the case in which the data belonging to long GPS base lengths is processed using fundamental relative point positioning. To test this idea we chose the two IGS stations ANKR and NICO and derive their velocities from the reference stations held fixed in the stable EURASIAN plate. The University of Bern's GNSS software BERNESE was used to produce relative positioning solutions, and the results are compared with those of GIPSY/OASIS II PPP results. First impressions indicate that it is worth designing a global experiment and test these ideas in detail.

  13. Towards evidence-based classification in wheelchair sports: impact of seating position on wheelchair acceleration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanlandewijck, Yves C; Verellen, Joeri; Tweedy, Sean

    2011-07-01

    In most Paralympic wheelchair sports, active trunk range of movement is assessed by observing shoulder girdle excursion during active trunk movements and is a key determinant of an athlete's class. However, to date research evaluating the impact of reduced trunk range of movement on wheelchair sports performance has not been conducted. In the present study, 15 non-disabled male participants performed two 20-s sprints on a wheelchair ergometer in each of three seating positions. Positions were typical of those used to enhance sitting stability in wheelchair sport and each impacted available trunk range of movement differently: condition-90 (seated with thighs horizontal; unrestricted range of movement) condition-45 (seated with thighs in 45°), and condition-0 (seated with hips maximally flexed; minimum range of movement). In condition-90, the trunk only actively contributed to the first push; for the remainder of the sprint, the trunk was held almost isometrically at 48.2° to the horizontal (range 42.1-56.4°). Similar patterns were observed for both condition-45 and condition-0. Compared with condition-90, participants in condition-0 had reduced capacity to accelerate of statistical (P sports performance, including strapping, seating position, and impairments of trunk muscle power and coordination.

  14. Hand-Held Sunphotometers for High School Student Construction and Measuring Aerosol Optical Thickness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almonor, Linda; Baldwin, C.; Craig, R.; Johnson, L. P.

    2000-01-01

    Science education is taking the teaching of science from a traditional (lecture) approach to a multidimensional sense-making approach which allows teachers to support students by providing exploratory experiences. Using projects is one way of providing students with opportunities to observe and participate in sense-making activity. We created a learning environment that fostered inquiry-based learning. Students were engaged in a variety of Inquiry activities that enabled them to work in cooperative planning teams where respect for each other was encouraged and their ability to grasp, transform and transfer information was enhanced. Summer, 1998: An air pollution workshop was conducted for high school students in the Medgar Evers College/Middle College High School Liberty Partnership Summer Program. Students learned the basics of meteorology: structure and composition of the atmosphere and the processes that cause weather. The highlight of this workshop was the building of hand-held sunphotometers, which measure the intensity of the sunlight striking the Earth. Summer, 1999: high school students conducted a research project which measured the mass and size of ambient particulates and enhanced our ability to observe through land based measurements changes in the optical depth of ambient aerosols over Brooklyn. Students used hand held Sunphotometers to collect data over a two week period and entered it into the NASA GISS database by way of the internet.

  15. 76 FR 10220 - Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate No. A-815 Formerly Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-24

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate No. A-815 Formerly Held by Bombardier Inc. and de...-approved maintenance/inspection program identified in this AD, contact Viking Air Ltd., 9574 Hampden Road... Sec. 39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD): 2011-05-02 Viking Air Limited...

  16. Position detectors, methods of detecting position, and methods of providing positional detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinberg, David M.; Harding, L. Dean; Larsen, Eric D.

    2002-01-01

    Position detectors, welding system position detectors, methods of detecting various positions, and methods of providing position detectors are described. In one embodiment, a welding system positional detector includes a base that is configured to engage and be moved along a curved surface of a welding work piece. At least one position detection apparatus is provided and is connected with the base and configured to measure angular position of the detector relative to a reference vector. In another embodiment, a welding system positional detector includes a weld head and at least one inclinometer mounted on the weld head. The one inclinometer is configured to develop positional data relative to a reference vector and the position of the weld head on a non-planar weldable work piece.

  17. DOE public hearing held at the Penobscot Nation Community Building, Indian Island, Maine: Volume 3, April 1, 1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This document contains a transcript of the comments of 24 witnesses. These meetings were held to hear public comments regarding the selection of a site for a second high-level nuclear waste repository

  18. DOE hearing held at the New England College, Henniker, New Hampshire, April 1, 1986: Session 1, Volume 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This document contains a transcript of the comments of 23 witnesses. These meetings were held to hear public comments regarding the selection of a site for a second high-level nuclear waste repository

  19. Uniquely positioned for future success

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorn, D.

    2001-01-01

    The author began this presentation by giving a corporate profile of PanCanadian, discussing its evolution over time to it being spun-off of PanCanadian Petroleum Limited from Canadian Pacific to form PanCanadian Energy Corporation in 2001. The worldwide activities were mentioned. PanCanadian Petroleum Limited is one of the country's largest producers, experiencing emerging international exploration success, and marketing energy throughout North America. It is also a company that is financially strong. PanCanadian is involved in natural gas, crude, natural gas liquids, and power. An outline of PanCanadian Energy Services was provided, along with its strategic positioning. The next section of the presentation focused on Nova Scotia natural gas, beginning with a map displaying the Eastern Canada development. The focus shifted to the Deep Panuke field, where exploration began in early 1999. PanCanadian holds 20 per cent of the Scotian Shelf. The industry activity offshore Nova Scotia began with the first well in 1967, and to date 178 wells have been drilled, of which 106 were exploration wells. There have been 21 significant discoveries. Production in the Deep Panuke is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2005. The various approval agencies were listed. With large interests held in the offshore Nova Scotia and extensive exploration plans, PanCanadian opportunity in Eastern Canada, New England and the Mid-Atlantic markets has greatly increased. refs., tabs., figs

  20. VIII Spanish meeting on statistical physics: Proceeding of the Meeting held at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuesta, J.A.; Sanchez, A.

    1998-01-01

    This book contains the Proceedings of ''Fisica Estadistica'97'' (FisEs'97, VIII Spanish Meeting on Statistical Physics), held at the Campus of Getafe (Madrid, Spain) of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on September 25 through 27, 1997. Although this is the first time the Proceedings of a Meeting in this series are published, ''Fisica Estasdistica'' dates back to 1986, when about fifty Spanish scientists attended the first edition in Barcelona. That first Meeting was organized by a group of young and not so young physicists who wanted to set up a national conference of an international level and with a broader, more interdisciplinary scope than others held at that time. Their idea quickly got off the ground and following the first edition, sequels took place every year and a half: Palma de Mallorca (1988), Badajoz (1990), Cabuenas, Asturies (1991), El Escorial, Madrid (1993), Sevilla (1994), and Zaragoza (1996)

  1. We maintain a strong market position

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blahutova, Z.

    2010-01-01

    Increasing efficiency, continuous improvement, ambitious investment plans. How we (Slovenske elektrarne) succeeded in overcoming crisis impacts and achieved excellent results, about the necessity to increase the company's safety culture - these issues were discussed at the Goal Setting Meeting 2010. The introductory meeting was held on 9 March 2010 in Bratislava. (author)

  2. 76 FR 18033 - Airworthiness Directives; Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate Previously Held by The New Piper...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-01

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate Previously Held by The New Piper Aircraft, Inc... applies to certain Piper Aircraft, Inc. Models PA-46-310P and PA- 46-350P airplanes that are equipped with... information identified in this AD, contact Piper Aircraft, Inc., 2926 Piper Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32960...

  3. Behavioral approach to leadership

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piccolo, R.F.; Buengeler, C.; Griffin, R.W.

    2013-01-01

    After several decades of leadership research that attempted to identify the specific and unique traits characteristic of those in supervisory positions, academic research shifted to pursue the patterns of behavior exhibited by those who were influential in and around positions of formal leadership.

  4. Precise intraoperative location of gastrointestinal bleeding with a hand-held counter. Work in progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williamson, M.R.; Boyd, C.M.; McGuire, E.L.

    1986-01-01

    The nuclear medicine bleeding scan is frequently insufficient to locate sites of bleeding precisely, in spite of its great sensitivity. A small, hand-held Geiger-Mueller counter, placed directly on exposed intestine in the operating room, enables precise location of the probable bleeding site. In three patients, the technique allowed a minimal amount of intestine to be resected, distinguished between large- and small-intestinal hemorrhage, and eliminated other foci as sites of bleeding.A

  5. Conference on Representation Theory, Number Theory and Invariant Theory: on the Occasion of Roger Howe’s 70th Birthday

    CERN Document Server

    Kim, Ju-Lee; Zhu, Chen-Bo

    2017-01-01

    This book contains selected papers based on talks given at the "Representation Theory, Number Theory, and Invariant Theory" conference held at Yale University from June 1 to June 5, 2015. The meeting and this resulting volume are in honor of Professor Roger Howe, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, whose work and insights have been deeply influential in the development of these fields. The speakers who contributed to this work include Roger Howe's doctoral students, Roger Howe himself, and other world renowned mathematicians. Topics covered include automorphic forms, invariant theory, representation theory of reductive groups over local fields, and related subjects.

  6. Survey of lands held for uranium exploration, development, and production in fourteen western states in the six month period ending December 31, 1975

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1976-04-01

    Details and data compilation on uranium exploration and mining are reported for Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Comprehensive tables are furnished for distribution by ownership, distribution by states, and distribution by land category. A graph is given that shows the acres held by the uranium industry. Data are compiled on acreage held by each county and land category in each of the fourteen states

  7. Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 7) - Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members

    CERN Multimedia

    2015-01-01

    Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 7), entitled "Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members", approved by the Director-General following discussion at the Standing Concertation Committee meeting held on 17 February 2015 is available via the following link: AC No. 2 (Rev.7).   This revised circular cancels and replaces Administrative Circular No. 2 (Rev. 6), entitled "Recruitment, appointment and possible developments regarding the contractual position of staff members" and dated January 2015. The circular was revised in order to implement the amendment to Article R II 1.17 of the Staff Regulations, which introduces the possibility of extending limited-duration (LD) contracts up to a maximum total duration of eight years from the previous duration of five years. The award of indefinite contracts will continue to be subject to the outcome of a competitive process. Department Head Of...

  8. Predictor Relationships between Values Held by Married Individuals, Resilience and Conflict Resolution Styles: A Model Suggestion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosun, Fatma; Dilmac, Bulent

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present research is to reveal the predictor relationships between the values held by married individuals, resilience and conflict resolution styles. The research adopts a relational screening model that is a sub-type of the general screening model. The sample of the research consists of 375 married individuals, of which 173 are…

  9. 76 FR 53633 - Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate No. A-815 Formerly Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-29

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate No. A-815 Formerly Held by Bombardier Inc. and de... superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for all Viking Air Limited (type certificate No. A-815..., contact Viking Air Ltd., 9574 Hampden Road, Sidney, BC Canada V8L 5V5; telephone: (800) 663-8444; Internet...

  10. 75 FR 75932 - Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate No. A-815 Formerly Held by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-07

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited (Type Certificate No. A-815 Formerly Held by Bombardier Inc. and de..., contact Viking Air Ltd., 9574 Hampden Road, Sidney, BC Canada V8L 5V5; telephone: (800) 663-8444; Internet... proposed AD. Discussion Viking Aircraft Limited has issued revisions to the DHC-3 Otter maintenance manual...

  11. Design of a system of reference for positioning of patients in radiotherapy of breast cancer; Diseno de un sistema de referencia para el posicionamiento de pacientes en tratamiento radioterapico del cancer de mama

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nebot, P.; Reinado, D.; Salvador, R.; Gonzalez-Pena, R.; Dalmases, F.; Romero, C.; Rosello, J.; Diez, S.; Cibrian, R.

    2013-07-01

    The objective of this work is the design of a system of repositioning of the patient allowing to minimize errors both in everyday's the same placement as in the position held during the session, so that treatment would be intensified in the area to be treated, avoiding possible damage to other healthy areas. (Author)

  12. The prior conceptions about force and motion held by grade 8 students in educational opportunity expansion schools of Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buaraphan, Khajornsak

    2018-01-01

    According to the constructivist theory, students' prior conceptions play an important role in their process of knowledge construction and teachers must take those prior conceptions into account when designing learning activities. The interpretive study was conducted to explore grade 8 students' conceptions about force and motion. The research participants were 42 students (21 male, 21 female) from seven Educational Opportunity Expansion Schools in Nakhon Pathom province located at the central region of Thailand. In each school, two low, two medium and two high achievers were selected. The Interview-About-Instance (IAI) technique was used to collect data. All interviews were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. The students' conceptions were interpreted into scientific conception (SC), partial scientific conception (PC) and alternative conception (AC). The frequency of each category was counted and calculated for percentage. The results revealed that the students held a variety of prior conceptions about force and motion ranged from SC, PC to AC. Each students, including the high achievers, held mixed conceptions of force and motion. Interesting, the two dominant ACs held by the students were: a) force-implies-motion or motion-implies-force, and b) force coming only from an active agent. The science teachers need to take these ACs into account when designing the learning activities to cope with them. The implications regarding teaching and learning about force and motion are also discussed.

  13. Effect of passenger position on fear of danger experienced during sudden bus stops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoki, Takeo; Uetake, Teruo; Shimoda, Masahiro

    2009-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of bus passengers' positions on their fear of danger when a bus stopped suddenly. A temporary bus running course with one bus stop was set up on the campus of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). The bus ran the course 14 times with the bus stopping twice during the course, once at the bus stop and again just after re-starting from the bus stop. The driver was asked to brake more strongly than usual when stopping. Sixteen students (15 males and 1 female) between the ages of 18 and 21 years participated. In turn, all participants were asked to take 14 different postures in the bus. Participants were also asked to report their level of fear on a rating scale each time the bus stopped. The study showed that (1) passengers' fear of danger at the first sudden stop was typically higher than that at the second stop, (2) standing passengers who held hand straps experienced more fear than those who held fixed safety devices, (3) bus passengers sitting on the centre of the rear seat had a great risk of injury if the bus stopped suddenly, and (4) when passengers faced the window and stood transversely with respect to from the moving direction of the bus and the bus stopped suddenly, passengers' fear of danger was affected by the side of the bus on which they stood as well as which hand they used to grasp a safety device.

  14. 75 FR 82329 - Airworthiness Directives; Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate Previously Held by The New Piper...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-30

    ...-1295; Directorate Identifier 2010-CE-060-AD] RIN 2120-AA64 Airworthiness Directives; Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate Previously Held by The New Piper Aircraft, Inc.) Models PA-46-310P, PA- 46-350P... applies to certain Piper Aircraft, Inc. Models PA-46-310P and PA-46-350P airplanes that are equipped with...

  15. Modelling of the X , Y , Z positioning errors and uncertainty evaluation for the LNE’s mAFM using the Monte Carlo method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceria, Paul; Ducourtieux, Sebastien; Boukellal, Younes; Feltin, Nicolas; Allard, Alexandre; Fischer, Nicolas

    2017-01-01

    In order to evaluate the uncertainty budget of the LNE’s mAFM, a reference instrument dedicated to the calibration of nanoscale dimensional standards, a numerical model has been developed to evaluate the measurement uncertainty of the metrology loop involved in the XYZ positioning of the tip relative to the sample. The objective of this model is to overcome difficulties experienced when trying to evaluate some uncertainty components which cannot be experimentally determined and more specifically, the one linked to the geometry of the metrology loop. The model is based on object-oriented programming and developed under Matlab. It integrates one hundred parameters that allow the control of the geometry of the metrology loop without using analytical formulae. The created objects, mainly the reference and the mobile prism and their mirrors, the interferometers and their laser beams, can be moved and deformed freely to take into account several error sources. The Monte Carlo method is then used to determine the positioning uncertainty of the instrument by randomly drawing the parameters according to their associated tolerances and their probability density functions (PDFs). The whole process follows Supplement 2 to ‘The Guide to the Expression of the Uncertainty in Measurement’ (GUM). Some advanced statistical tools like Morris design and Sobol indices are also used to provide a sensitivity analysis by identifying the most influential parameters and quantifying their contribution to the XYZ positioning uncertainty. The approach validated in the paper shows that the actual positioning uncertainty is about 6 nm. As the final objective is to reach 1 nm, we engage in a discussion to estimate the most effective way to reduce the uncertainty. (paper)

  16. Modelling of the X,Y,Z positioning errors and uncertainty evaluation for the LNE’s mAFM using the Monte Carlo method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceria, Paul; Ducourtieux, Sebastien; Boukellal, Younes; Allard, Alexandre; Fischer, Nicolas; Feltin, Nicolas

    2017-03-01

    In order to evaluate the uncertainty budget of the LNE’s mAFM, a reference instrument dedicated to the calibration of nanoscale dimensional standards, a numerical model has been developed to evaluate the measurement uncertainty of the metrology loop involved in the XYZ positioning of the tip relative to the sample. The objective of this model is to overcome difficulties experienced when trying to evaluate some uncertainty components which cannot be experimentally determined and more specifically, the one linked to the geometry of the metrology loop. The model is based on object-oriented programming and developed under Matlab. It integrates one hundred parameters that allow the control of the geometry of the metrology loop without using analytical formulae. The created objects, mainly the reference and the mobile prism and their mirrors, the interferometers and their laser beams, can be moved and deformed freely to take into account several error sources. The Monte Carlo method is then used to determine the positioning uncertainty of the instrument by randomly drawing the parameters according to their associated tolerances and their probability density functions (PDFs). The whole process follows Supplement 2 to ‘The Guide to the Expression of the Uncertainty in Measurement’ (GUM). Some advanced statistical tools like Morris design and Sobol indices are also used to provide a sensitivity analysis by identifying the most influential parameters and quantifying their contribution to the XYZ positioning uncertainty. The approach validated in the paper shows that the actual positioning uncertainty is about 6 nm. As the final objective is to reach 1 nm, we engage in a discussion to estimate the most effective way to reduce the uncertainty.

  17. Position statement on ethics, equipoise and research on charged particle radiation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheehan, Mark; Timlin, Claire; Peach, Ken; Binik, Ariella; Puthenparampil, Wilson; Lodge, Mark; Kehoe, Sean; Brada, Michael; Burnet, Neil; Clarke, Steve; Crellin, Adrian; Dunn, Michael; Fossati, Piero; Harris, Steve; Hocken, Michael; Hope, Tony; Ives, Jonathan; Kamada, Tadashi; London, Alex John; Miller, Robert; Parker, Michael; Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon; Savulescu, Julian; Short, Susan; Skene, Loane; Tsujii, Hirohiko; Tuan, Jeffrey; Weijer, Charles

    2014-08-01

    The use of charged-particle radiation therapy (CPRT) is an increasingly important development in the treatment of cancer. One of the most pressing controversies about the use of this technology is whether randomised controlled trials are required before this form of treatment can be considered to be the treatment of choice for a wide range of indications. Equipoise is the key ethical concept in determining which research studies are justified. However, there is a good deal of disagreement about how this concept is best understood and applied in the specific case of CPRT. This report is a position statement on these controversies that arises out of a workshop held at Wolfson College, Oxford in August 2011. The workshop brought together international leaders in the relevant fields (radiation oncology, medical physics, radiobiology, research ethics and methodology), including proponents on both sides of the debate, in order to make significant progress on the ethical issues associated with CPRT research. This position statement provides an ethical platform for future research and should enable further work to be done in developing international coordinated programmes of research. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  18. DOE public hearing held at the New England College, Henniker, New Hampshire: Session 2, Volume 6, April 1, 1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This document contains a transcript of the comments of 15 witnesses. These meetings were held to hear public comments regarding the selection of a site for a second high-level nuclear waste repository

  19. The impact of arm position on the measurement of orthostatic blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guss, David A; Abdelnur, Diego; Hemingway, Thomas J

    2008-05-01

    Blood pressure is a standard vital sign in patients evaluated in an Emergency Department. The American Heart Association has recommended a preferred position of the arm and cuff when measuring blood pressure. There is no formal recommendation for arm position when measuring orthostatic blood pressure. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of different arm positions on the measurement of postural changes in blood pressure. This was a prospective, unblinded, convenience study involving Emergency Department patients with complaints unrelated to cardiovascular instability. Repeated blood pressure measurements were obtained using an automatic non-invasive device with each subject in a supine and standing position and with the arm parallel and perpendicular to the torso. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a difference of >or= 20 mm Hg systolic or >or= 10 mm Hg diastolic when subtracting standing from supine measurements. There were four comparisons made: group W, arm perpendicular supine and standing; group X, arm parallel supine and standing; group Y, arm parallel supine and perpendicular standing; and group Z, arm perpendicular supine and parallel standing. There were 100 patients enrolled, 55 men, mean age 44 years. Four blood pressure measurements were obtained on each patient. The percentage of patients meeting orthostatic hypotension criteria in each group was: W systolic 6% (95% CI 1%, 11%), diastolic 4% (95% CI 0%, 8%), X systolic 8% (95% CI 3%, 13%), diastolic 9% (95% CI 3%, 13%), Y systolic 19% (95% CI 11%, 27%), diastolic 30% (95% CI 21%, 39%), Z systolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%), diastolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%). Comparison of Group Y vs. X, Z, and W was statistically significant (p postural changes in blood pressure. The combination of the arm parallel when supine and perpendicular when standing may significantly overestimate the orthostatic change. Arm position should be held constant in supine and standing positions when assessing for orthostatic

  20. 31 CFR 306.23 - Securities eligible to be held in the TREASURY DIRECT Book-entry Securities System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... TREASURY DIRECT Book-entry Securities System. 306.23 Section 306.23 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations... Securities eligible to be held in the TREASURY DIRECT Book-entry Securities System. (a) Eligible issues. The... conversion to the TREASURY DIRECT Book-entry Securities System. The notice shall specify the period during...