Importance of Country-of-Origin on Different Product Categories Purchase Decision

OpenAIRE

Krupka Zoran; Arežina Darija

2017-01-01

Country of origin is an important factor in product evaluation process as well as for purchase decision. Its importance depends on the amount of information consumers have about the product and product category. This paper investigates the importance of coutry of origin in purchase decision-making process for three different product categories: high risk and high level of consumer involvement in purchasing process (car), medium risk and midium level of consumer involvement in purchasing proce...

Risk-Category Transition Patterns for Students in Grades 2 to 4. Research Brief 7

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Bitnara Jasmine

2013-01-01

Early identification of students who are at-risk for reading difficulties (RD) is critical for successful and effective RTI implementation. A large group of students were followed for three years (grades 2 to 4) to investigate transition patterns of risk-categories across three years. Results indicated that although students identified at…

DASH - Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS): High School

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1991-2015. High School Dataset. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six categories of priority health behaviors among youth and young...

Brachytherapy boost and cancer-specific mortality in favorable high-risk versus other high-risk prostate cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinayak Muralidhar

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose : Recent retrospective data suggest that brachytherapy (BT boost may confer a cancer-specific survival benefit in radiation-managed high-risk prostate cancer. We sought to determine whether this survival benefit would extend to the recently defined favorable high-risk subgroup of prostate cancer patients (T1c, Gleason 4 + 4 = 8, PSA 20 ng/ml. Material and methods: We identified 45,078 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database with cT1c-T3aN0M0 intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer diagnosed 2004-2011 treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT only or EBRT plus BT. We used multivariable competing risks regression to determine differences in the rate of prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM after EBRT + BT or EBRT alone in patients with intermediate-risk, favorable high-risk, or other high-risk disease after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. Results : EBRT + BT was not associated with an improvement in 5-year PCSM compared to EBRT alone among patients with favorable high-risk disease (1.6% vs. 1.8%; adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.21-1.52, p = 0.258, and intermediate-risk disease (0.8% vs. 1.0%, AHR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.59-1.16, p = 0.270. Others with high-risk disease had significantly lower 5-year PCSM when treated with EBRT + BT compared with EBRT alone (3.9% vs. 5.3%; AHR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.55-0.95; p = 0.022. Conclusions : Brachytherapy boost is associated with a decreased rate of PCSM in some men with high-risk prostate cancer but not among patients with favorable high-risk disease. Our results suggest that the recently-defined “favorable high-risk” category may be used to personalize therapy for men with high-risk disease.

Radiation protection in category III large gamma irradiators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Neivaldo; Furlan, Gilberto Ribeiro; Itepan, Natanael Marcio

2011-01-01

This article discusses the advantages of category III large gamma irradiator compared to the others, with emphasis on aspects of radiological protection, in the industrial sector. This category is a kind of irradiators almost unknown to the regulators authorities and the industrial community, despite its simple construction and greater radiation safety intrinsic to the model, able to maintain an efficiency of productivity comparable to those of category IV. Worldwide, there are installed more than 200 category IV irradiators and there is none of a category III irradiator in operation. In a category III gamma irradiator, the source remains fixed in the bottom of the tank, always shielded by water, negating the exposition risk. Taking into account the benefits in relation to radiation safety, the category III large irradiators are highly recommended for industrial, commercial purposes or scientific research. (author)

New information on high risk breast screening

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riedl, C.C.; Ponhold, L.; Gruber, R.; Pinker, K.; Helbich, T.H.

2010-01-01

Women with an elevated risk for breast cancer require intensified screening beginning at an early age. Such high risk screening differs considerably from screening in the general population. After an expert has evaluated the exact risk a breast MRI examination should be offered at least once a year and beginning latest at the age of 30 depending on the patients risk category. Complementary mammograms should not be performed before the age of 35. An additional ultrasound examination is no longer recommended. To ensure a high sensitivity and specificity high risk screening should be performed only at a nationally or regionally approved and audited service. Adequate knowledge about the phenotypical characteristics of familial breast cancer is essential. Besides the common malignant phenotypes, benign morphologies (round or oval shape and smooth margins) as well as a low prevalence of calcifications have been described. Using MRI benign contrast media kinetics as well as non-solid lesions with focal, regional and segmental enhancement can often be visualized. (orig.) [de

Using the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense version in sexual violence risk assessments: Updated risk categories and recidivism estimates from a multisite sample of treated sexual offenders.

Science.gov (United States)

Olver, Mark E; Mundt, James C; Thornton, David; Beggs Christofferson, Sarah M; Kingston, Drew A; Sowden, Justina N; Nicholaichuk, Terry P; Gordon, Audrey; Wong, Stephen C P

2018-04-30

The present study sought to develop updated risk categories and recidivism estimates for the Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offense version (VRS-SO; Wong, Olver, Nicholaichuk, & Gordon, 2003-2017), a sexual offender risk assessment and treatment planning tool. The overarching purpose was to increase the clarity and accuracy of communicating risk assessment information that includes a systematic incorporation of new information (i.e., change) to modify risk estimates. Four treated samples of sexual offenders with VRS-SO pretreatment, posttreatment, and Static-99R ratings were combined with a minimum follow-up period of 10-years postrelease (N = 913). Logistic regression was used to model 5- and 10-year sexual and violent (including sexual) recidivism estimates across 6 different regression models employing specific risk and change score information from the VRS-SO and/or Static-99R. A rationale is presented for clinical applications of select models and the necessity of controlling for baseline risk when utilizing change information across repeated assessments. Information concerning relative risk (percentiles) and absolute risk (recidivism estimates) is integrated with common risk assessment language guidelines to generate new risk categories for the VRS-SO. Guidelines for model selection and forensic clinical application of the risk estimates are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Successful Transitions: Making the Move to High School. PHP-c108

Science.gov (United States)

PACER Center, 2005

2005-01-01

Moving from middle school to high school can be challenging and exciting, but students with special needs may need to begin preparing for the move earlier than other students. As with other major changes in a child's life, the move to high school will go more smoothly if parents gather information and do some planning. A good time to begin…

Comprehensive Red List assessment reveals exceptionally high extinction risk to Madagascar palms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mijoro Rakotoarinivo

Full Text Available The establishment of baseline IUCN Red List assessments for plants is a crucial step in conservation planning. Nowhere is this more important than in biodiversity hotspots that are subject to significant anthropogenic pressures, such as Madagascar. Here, all Madagascar palm species are assessed using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria, version 3.1. Our results indicate that 83% of the 192 endemic species are threatened, nearly four times the proportion estimated for plants globally and exceeding estimates for all other comprehensively evaluated plant groups in Madagascar. Compared with a previous assessment in 1995, the number of Endangered and Critically Endangered species has substantially increased, due to the discovery of 28 new species since 1995, most of which are highly threatened. The conservation status of most species included in both the 1995 and the current assessments has not changed. Where change occurred, more species have moved to lower threat categories than to higher categories, because of improved knowledge of species and their distributions, rather than a decrease in extinction risk. However, some cases of genuine deterioration in conservation status were also identified. Palms in Madagascar are primarily threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture and biological resource use through direct exploitation or collateral damage. The recent extension of Madagascar's protected area network is highly beneficial for palms, substantially increasing the number of threatened species populations included within reserves. Notably, three of the eight most important protected areas for palms are newly designated. However, 28 threatened and data deficient species are not protected by the expanded network, including some Critically Endangered species. Moreover, many species occurring in protected areas are still threatened, indicating that threatening processes persist even in reserves. Definitive implementation of the new protected

Comprehensive Red List assessment reveals exceptionally high extinction risk to Madagascar palms.

Science.gov (United States)

Rakotoarinivo, Mijoro; Dransfield, John; Bachman, Steven P; Moat, Justin; Baker, William J

2014-01-01

The establishment of baseline IUCN Red List assessments for plants is a crucial step in conservation planning. Nowhere is this more important than in biodiversity hotspots that are subject to significant anthropogenic pressures, such as Madagascar. Here, all Madagascar palm species are assessed using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria, version 3.1. Our results indicate that 83% of the 192 endemic species are threatened, nearly four times the proportion estimated for plants globally and exceeding estimates for all other comprehensively evaluated plant groups in Madagascar. Compared with a previous assessment in 1995, the number of Endangered and Critically Endangered species has substantially increased, due to the discovery of 28 new species since 1995, most of which are highly threatened. The conservation status of most species included in both the 1995 and the current assessments has not changed. Where change occurred, more species have moved to lower threat categories than to higher categories, because of improved knowledge of species and their distributions, rather than a decrease in extinction risk. However, some cases of genuine deterioration in conservation status were also identified. Palms in Madagascar are primarily threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture and biological resource use through direct exploitation or collateral damage. The recent extension of Madagascar's protected area network is highly beneficial for palms, substantially increasing the number of threatened species populations included within reserves. Notably, three of the eight most important protected areas for palms are newly designated. However, 28 threatened and data deficient species are not protected by the expanded network, including some Critically Endangered species. Moreover, many species occurring in protected areas are still threatened, indicating that threatening processes persist even in reserves. Definitive implementation of the new protected areas combined with

Citizen perceptions of risks associated with moving radiological waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McBeth, M.K.; Oakes, A.S.

1996-01-01

Much has been written about public support or opposition to the siting of hazardous waste facilities and more generally about concern for radioactive contamination. Much less has been written about the perceived risks of citizens' specific concerns about the transportation of radiological waste to temporary or permanent sites. This study reviews the existing literature in the area and presents new data on the subject from an Idaho survey. The new data indicates: (1) age, gender, and knowledge are the key variables predicting opposition to the transportation of such waste, (2) the primary concern among the opposing and unsure public is the planned use of trucks to move the TRU waste, and (3) respondents have high degrees of trust in officials who make decisions based on technical knowledge, are charged with the safety of transporting TRU waste, and who respond to mishaps. These attitudes need to be understood by policy makers and administrators when designing and implementing waste-transportation programs. 19 refs., 4 tabs

Residential mobility during adolescence: Do even "upward" moves predict dropout risk?

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, Molly W; Fowler, Patrick J; Anderson, Courtney Lauren; Lindsay, Constance A

2015-09-01

This paper uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to investigate the impact of housing instability in adolescence on the likelihood of subsequent graduation from high school. Combining census data, self-reports, and information about respondents' residential changes, we use the variation in households' number of moves and neighborhood quality to predict whether participants obtain a high school diploma. Controlling for major predictors of housing mobility, students experiencing at least one move over a 12-month period have a roughly 50% decreased likelihood of obtaining a high school diploma by the age of 25. These associations are identified regardless of whether students move to a poorer or less-poor neighborhood. Our results carry implications for the development of housing policies and interventions designed for disadvantaged populations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ATR-FTIR as a potential tool for controlling high quality vinegar categories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ríos-Reina, Rocío; Callejón, Raquel M.; Oliver-Pozo, Celia

2017-01-01

potential as a rapid, cost-effective and non-destructive tool for characterizing different categories of high-quality vinegars. Spectra from 67 wine vinegars belonging to the PDOs “Vinagre de Jerez” and “Vinagre Condado de Huelva”, including their different established categories, were analyzed in the 4000......–600 cm−1 infrared region. Changes associated to categories were observed in the region 1800–900 cm−1. These changes were assigned to certain compounds that increase during aging (e.g. acetic acids, alcohols, esters) or are characteristic of Pedro Ximenez category (e.g. sugars, furfural). Principal...

Occupational injuries and sick leaves in household moving works.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwan Park, Myoung; Jeong, Byung Yong

2017-09-01

This study is concerned with household moving works and the characteristics of occupational injuries and sick leaves in each step of the moving process. Accident data for 392 occupational accidents were categorized by the moving processes in which the accidents occurred, and possible incidents and sick leaves were assessed for each moving process and hazard factor. Accidents occurring during specific moving processes showed different characteristics depending on the type of accident and agency of accidents. The most critical form in the level of risk management was falls from a height in the 'lifting by ladder truck' process. Incidents ranked as a 'High' level of risk management were in the forms of slips, being struck by objects and musculoskeletal disorders in the 'manual materials handling' process. Also, falls in 'loading/unloading', being struck by objects during 'lifting by ladder truck' and driving accidents in the process of 'transport' were ranked 'High'. The findings of this study can be used to develop more effective accident prevention policy reflecting different circumstances and conditions to reduce occupational accidents in household moving works.

Correlation between classification in risk categories and clinical aspects and outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Gabriella Novelli; Vancini-Campanharo, Cássia Regina; Lopes, Maria Carolina Barbosa Teixeira; Barbosa, Dulce Aparecida; Okuno, Meiry Fernanda Pinto; Batista, Ruth Ester Assayag

2016-12-08

to correlate classification in risk categories with the clinical profiles, outcomes and origins of patients. analytical cross-sectional study conducted with 697 medical forms of adult patients. The variables included: age, sex, origin, signs and symptoms, exams, personal antecedents, classification in risk categories, medical specialties, and outcome. The Chi-square and likelihood ratio tests were used to associate classifications in risk categories with origin, signs and symptoms, exams, personal antecedents, medical specialty, and outcome. most patients were women with an average age of 44.5 years. Pain and dyspnea were the symptoms most frequently reported while hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities. Classifications in the green and yellow categories were the most frequent and hospital discharge the most common outcome. Patients classified in the red category presented the highest percentage of ambulance origin due to surgical reasons. Those classified in the orange and red categories also presented the highest percentage of hospitalization and death. correlation between clinical aspects and outcomes indicate there is a relationship between the complexity of components in the categories with greater severity, evidenced by the highest percentage of hospitalization and death. correlacionar as categorias de classificação de risco com perfil clínico, desfechos e procedência. estudo transversal analítico realizado com 697 fichas de atendimento de pacientes adultos. Variáveis estudadas: idade, sexo, procedência, sinais e sintomas, exames, antecedentes pessoais, categorias da classificação de risco, especialidade médica de atendimento e desfecho. Para associar as categorias de classificação de risco com procedência, sinais e sintomas, exames, antecedentes pessoais, especialidade médica e desfecho, utilizaram-se o teste qui-quadrado e a razão de verossimilhança. pacientes do sexo feminino foram a maioria e com média de

Heterogeneity in Perceptual Category Learning by High Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo eMercado

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Previous research suggests that high functioning children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD sometimes have problems learning categories, but often appear to perform normally in categorization tasks. The deficits that individuals with ASD show when learning categories have been attributed to executive dysfunction, general deficits in implicit learning, atypical cognitive strategies, or abnormal perceptual biases and abilities. Several of these psychological explanations for category learning deficits have been associated with neural abnormalities such as cortical underconnectivity. The present study evaluated how well existing neurally-based theories account for atypical perceptual category learning shown by high functioning children with ASD across multiple category learning tasks involving novel, abstract shapes. Consistent with earlier results, children’s performances revealed two distinct patterns of learning and generalization associated with ASD: one was indistinguishable from performance in typically developing children; the other revealed dramatic impairments. These two patterns were evident regardless of training regimen or stimulus set. Surprisingly, some children with ASD showed both patterns. Simulations of perceptual category learning could account for the two observed patterns in terms of differences in neural plasticity. However, no current psychological or neural theory adequately explains why a child with ASD might show such large fluctuations in category learning ability across training conditions or stimulus sets.

Importance of Country-of-Origin on Different Product Categories Purchase Decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krupka Zoran

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Country of origin is an important factor in product evaluation process as well as for purchase decision. Its importance depends on the amount of information consumers have about the product and product category. This paper investigates the importance of coutry of origin in purchase decision-making process for three different product categories: high risk and high level of consumer involvement in purchasing process (car, medium risk and midium level of consumer involvement in purchasing process (TV, and low risk and low level of consumer involvement in purchasing process (confectionery products. Also, this paper investigates importance of country of manufacturing for purchase decision-making process in relation to country of origin’s importance. Research was conducted on 215 respondents from Belgium and Republic of Croatia. Results have shown that country of origin is important only for car purchase, but not for TV and confectionery products. For all product categories, country of origin has been shown to be more important in the decision-making process than country of manufacturing.

DASH - Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS): High School - Excluding Sexual Identity

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1991-2015. High School Dataset. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six categories of priority health behaviors among youth and young...

Product Category Management Issues

OpenAIRE

Żukowska, Joanna

2011-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to present the issues related to category management. It includes the overview of category management definitions and the correct process of exercising it. Moreover, attention is paid to the advantages of brand management, the benefits the supplier and retailer may obtain in this way. The risk element related to this topics is also presented herein. Joanna Żukowska

A deep learning based strategy for identifying and associating mitotic activity with gene expression derived risk categories in estrogen receptor positive breast cancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Romo-Bucheli, David; Janowczyk, Andrew; Gilmore, Hannah; Romero, Eduardo; Madabhushi, Anant

2017-06-01

The treatment and management of early stage estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer is hindered by the difficulty in identifying patients who require adjuvant chemotherapy in contrast to those that will respond to hormonal therapy. To distinguish between the more and less aggressive breast tumors, which is a fundamental criterion for the selection of an appropriate treatment plan, Oncotype DX (ODX) and other gene expression tests are typically employed. While informative, these gene expression tests are expensive, tissue destructive, and require specialized facilities. Bloom-Richardson (BR) grade, the common scheme employed in breast cancer grading, has been shown to be correlated with the Oncotype DX risk score. Unfortunately, studies have also shown that the BR grade determined experiences notable inter-observer variability. One of the constituent categories in BR grading is the mitotic index. The goal of this study was to develop a deep learning (DL) classifier to identify mitotic figures from whole slides images of ER+ breast cancer, the hypothesis being that the number of mitoses identified by the DL classifier would correlate with the corresponding Oncotype DX risk categories. The mitosis detector yielded an average F-score of 0.556 in the AMIDA mitosis dataset using a 6-fold validation setup. For a cohort of 174 whole slide images with early stage ER+ breast cancer for which the corresponding Oncotype DX score was available, the distributions of the number of mitoses identified by the DL classifier was found to be significantly different between the high vs low Oncotype DX risk groups (P machine classifier trained to separate low/high Oncotype DX risk categories using the mitotic count determined by the DL classifier yielded a 83.19% classification accuracy. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Brand importance across product categories in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Formánek Tomáš

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with customer loyalty to brands and provides an analysis of brand-related attitudes among Czech consumers. Brand loyalty is a very important aspect of competitive marketing and we contribute an empirically supported point of view on the topic. Based on primary data from a complex consumer survey carried out for the purpose of this study, we investigate the extent of brand loyalty across different product categories, mostly fast moving consumer goods (FMCG. For convenience, the analysis of our survey-data may be divided in two main areas. First, product categories are ranked according to their potential power to attract customers’ interest and loyalty towards brands. When loyalty programs are prepared, it is important to discern product categories where loyalty potential is weak from those categories that attract consumer loyalty. Second, sociodemographic features and lifestyle factors from the survey are evaluated with respect to different product categories, by means of logistic regression and subsequent average partial effect (APE analysis. A detailed and practically oriented interpretation of the empirical results is provided by the authors. However, both corporate marketers and academic readers can use the tables with empirical estimation outputs that are provided in this article to draw their own conclusions, which may be focused on the product category of interest and/or focused on any specific consumer group that is of particular interest. Among other topics, this paper emphasizes the fact that brand loyalty is a highly complex phenomenon and that it can and should be analysed from different perspectives.

Neutron transport simulation in high speed moving media using Geant4

Science.gov (United States)

Li, G.; Ciungu, B.; Harrisson, G.; Rogge, R. B.; Tun, Z.; van der Ende, B. M.; Zwiers, I.

2017-12-01

A method using Geant4 to simulate neutron transport in moving media is described. The method is implanted in the source code of the software since Geant4 does not intrinsically support a moving object. The simulation utilizes the existing physical model and data library in Geant4, combined with frame transformations to account for the effect of relative velocity between neutrons and the moving media. An example is presented involving a high speed rotating cylinder to verify this method and show the effect of moving media on neutron transport.

Risk assessment methodology for Hanford high-level waste tanks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bott, T.F.; Mac Farlane, D.R.; Stack, D.W.; Kindinger, J.

1992-01-01

A methodology is presented for applying Probabilistic Safety Assessment techniques to quantification of the health risks posed by the high-level waste (HLW) underground tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford reservation. This methodology includes hazard screening development of a list of potential accident initiators, systems fault trees development and quantification, definition of source terms for various release categories, and estimation of health consequences from the releases. Both airborne and liquid pathway releases to the environment, arising from aerosol and spill/leak releases from the tanks, are included in the release categories. The proposed methodology is intended to be applied to a representative subset of the total of 177 tanks, thereby providing a baseline risk profile for the HLW tank farm that can be used for setting clean-up/remediation priorities. Some preliminary results are presented for Tank 101-SY

Zoning the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan as to the risk of rabies among various categories of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdrakhmanov, Sarsenbay K; Sultanov, Akhmetzhan A; Beisembayev, Kanatzhan K; Korennoy, Fedor I; Кushubaev, Dosym B; Каdyrov, Ablaikhan S

2016-05-31

This paper presents the zoning of the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan with respect to the risk of rabies outbreaks in domestic and wild animals considering environmental and climatic conditions. The national database of rabies outbreaks in Kazakhstan in the period 2003-2014 has been accessed in order to find which zones are consistently most exposed to the risk of rabies in animals. The database contains information on the cases in demes of farm livestock, domestic animals and wild animals. To identify the areas with the highest risk of outbreaks, we applied the maximum entropy modelling method. Designated outbreaks were used as input presence data, while the bioclim set of ecological and climatic variables, together with some geographic factors, were used as explanatory variables. The model demonstrated a high predictive ability. The area under the curve for farm livestock was 0.782, for domestic animals -0.859 and for wild animals - 0.809. Based on the model, the map of integral risk was designed by following four categories: negligible risk (disease-free or favourable zone), low risk (surveillance zone), medium risk (vaccination zone), and high risk (unfavourable zone). The map was produced to allow developing a set of preventive measures and is expected to contribute to a better distribution of supervisory efforts from the veterinary service of the country.

Comparing two K-category assignments by a K-category correlation coefficient

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gorodkin, Jan

2004-01-01

Predicted assignments of biological sequences are often evaluated by Matthews correlation coefficient. However, Matthews correlation coefficient applies only to cases where the assignments belong to two categories, and cases with more than two categories are often artificially forced into two...... categories by considering what belongs and what does not belong to one of the categories, leading to the loss of information. Here, an extended correlation coefficient that applies to K-categories is proposed, and this measure is shown to be highly applicable for evaluating prediction of RNA secondary...

Risk reduction category (RRC-A) accident studies in the safety analysis report of the EPR trademark reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poehlmann, M.; Bleher, G.; Ismaier, A.; Knoll, A.; Levi, P.; Garcia, E. Vera; Schels, A.; Seitz, H.; Lima Campos, L.

2013-01-01

The Risk Reduction Category (RRC-A) is considered in the safety demonstration of nuclear reactors in addition to design basis operating conditions (Plant Condition Category, PCC), in order to analyze with a risk reduction approach any operating conditions with multiple failures. As extending the operating conditions of the plant 'beyond design basis', the Risk Reduction Category (RRC-A) is also denoted as Design Extension Condition (DEC-A). In the German licensing framework, the RRCA (or DEC-A) transients correspond to safety assessment level '4b' of the 'Sicherheitsanforderungen an Kernkraftwerke' (Safety Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants), Az. RS I 5 - 13303/01 of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. These RRC-A (or DEC-A) operating conditions require specific design provisions (implemented by manual or automatic action), known as RRC-A measures, intended to render consequences of accumulated failures admissible. In contrast, RRC-B constitute severe accidents that lead to core melt. Identification of RRC-A operating conditions and corresponding RRC-A measures is based on the use of results of probabilistic safety assessments. After the Fukushima accident the RRC-A accidents like Station Black Out (SBO) or Loss of Ultimate Heat Sink (LUHS) are of particular interest in the safety assessment of nuclear new builds. In several chapters of the Safety Analysis Report it is demonstrated that the AREVA EPRTM design is resistant at RRC-A accident conditions. (orig.)

Climate Risk Modelling of Balsam Woolly Adelgid Damage Severity in Subalpine Fir Stands of Western North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Hrinkevich, Kathryn H; Progar, Robert A; Shaw, David C

2016-01-01

The balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg) (Homoptera: Adelgidae)) (BWA) is a nonnative, invasive insect that threatens Abies species throughout North America. It is well established in the Pacific Northwest, but continues to move eastward through Idaho and into Montana and potentially threatens subalpine fir to the south in the central and southern Rocky Mountains. We developed a climatic risk model and map that predicts BWA impacts to subalpine fir using a two-step process. Using 30-year monthly climate normals from sites with quantitatively derived BWA damage severity index values, we built a regression model that significantly explained insect damage. The sites were grouped into two distinct damage categories (high damage and mortality versus little or no mortality and low damage) and the model estimates for each group were used to designate distinct value ranges for four climatic risk categories: minimal, low, moderate, and high. We then calculated model estimates for each cell of a 4-kilometer resolution climate raster and mapped the risk categories over the entire range of subalpine fir in the western United States. The spatial variation of risk classes indicates a gradient of climatic susceptibility generally decreasing from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington moving eastward, with the exception of some high risk areas in northern Idaho and western Montana. There is also a pattern of decreasing climatic susceptibility from north to south in the Rocky Mountains. Our study provides an initial step for modeling the relationship between climate and BWA damage severity across the range of subalpine fir. We showed that September minimum temperature and a metric calculated as the maximum May temperature divided by total May precipitation were the best climatic predictors of BWA severity. Although winter cold temperatures and summer heat have been shown to influence BWA impacts in other locations, these

Online Risk Prediction for Indoor Moving Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahmed, Tanvir; Pedersen, Torben Bach; Calders, Toon

2016-01-01

Technologies such as RFID and Bluetooth have received considerable attention for tracking indoor moving objects. In a time-critical indoor tracking scenario such as airport baggage handling, a bag has to move through a sequence of locations until it is loaded into the aircraft. Inefficiency or in...... reduce the operation cost....

Heterogeneity in perceptual category learning by high functioning children with autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercado, Eduardo; Church, Barbara A; Coutinho, Mariana V C; Dovgopoly, Alexander; Lopata, Christopher J; Toomey, Jennifer A; Thomeer, Marcus L

2015-01-01

Previous research suggests that high functioning (HF) children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) sometimes have problems learning categories, but often appear to perform normally in categorization tasks. The deficits that individuals with ASD show when learning categories have been attributed to executive dysfunction, general deficits in implicit learning, atypical cognitive strategies, or abnormal perceptual biases and abilities. Several of these psychological explanations for category learning deficits have been associated with neural abnormalities such as cortical underconnectivity. The present study evaluated how well existing neurally based theories account for atypical perceptual category learning shown by HF children with ASD across multiple category learning tasks involving novel, abstract shapes. Consistent with earlier results, children's performances revealed two distinct patterns of learning and generalization associated with ASD: one was indistinguishable from performance in typically developing children; the other revealed dramatic impairments. These two patterns were evident regardless of training regimen or stimulus set. Surprisingly, some children with ASD showed both patterns. Simulations of perceptual category learning could account for the two observed patterns in terms of differences in neural plasticity. However, no current psychological or neural theory adequately explains why a child with ASD might show such large fluctuations in category learning ability across training conditions or stimulus sets.

LEARN 2 MOVE 0-2 years: effects of a new intervention program in infants at very high risk for cerebral palsy; a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verheijden Johannes

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background It is widely accepted that infants at risk for cerebral palsy need paediatric physiotherapy. However, there is little evidence for the efficacy of physiotherapeutic intervention. Recently, a new intervention program, COPCA (Coping with and Caring for infants with special needs - a family centered program, was developed. COPCA has educational and motor goals. A previous study indicated that the COPCA-approach is associated with better developmental outcomes for infants at high risk for developmental disorders. LEARN 2 MOVE 0-2 years evaluates the efficacy and the working mechanisms of the COPCA program in infants at very high risk for cerebral palsy in comparison to the efficacy of traditional infant physiotherapy in a randomized controlled trial. The objective is to evaluate the effects of both intervention programs on motor, cognitive and daily functioning of the child and the family and to get insight in the working elements of early intervention methods. Methods/design Infants are included at the corrected age of 1 to 9 months and randomized into a group receiving COPCA and a group receiving traditional infant physiotherapy. Both interventions are given once a week during one year. Measurements are performed at baseline, during and after the intervention period and at the corrected age of 21 months. Primary outcome of the study is the Infant Motor Profile, a qualitative evaluation instrument of motor behaviour in infancy. Secondary measurements focus on activities and participation, body functions and structures, family functioning, quality of life and working mechanisms. To cope with the heterogeneity in physiotherapy, physiotherapeutic sessions are video-recorded three times (baseline, after 6 months and at the end of the intervention period. Physiotherapeutic actions will be quantified and related to outcome. Discussion LEARN 2 MOVE 0-2 years evaluates and explores the effects of COPCA and TIP. Whatever the outcome of

Association of obesity categories and high blood pressure in a rural adult Chinese population.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Y; Zhang, M; Luo, X; Yin, L; Pang, C; Feng, T; Ren, Y; Wang, B; Zhang, L; Li, L; Zhang, H; Yang, X; Han, C; Wu, D; Zhou, J; Shen, Y; Wang, C; Zhao, J; Hu, D

2016-10-01

Limited information is available on the prevalence of obesity and high blood pressure (HBP) in rural China. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a rural adult Chinese population during July to August of 2007 and 2008. The relationship between various obesity categories and HBP was analysed by gender for 20 194 participants. Obesity categories were classified as general and central obesity in terms of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), respectively; cross-classification of BMI and WC created another four groups: both BMI and WC normal (BNWN), BMI obesity and WC normal (BOWN), BMI normal and WC obesity (BNWO), and both BMI and WC obesity (BOWO). The rates of HBP for BNWN, BOWN, BNWO and BOWO groups were 20.8, 63.3, 39.8 and 48.7%, respectively, for men and 20.1, 28.0, 34.7 and 54.2%, respectively, for women. As compared with BNWN group, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of BOWN and BOWO for having HBP in men were 6.227 (2.712-14.300) and 4.842 (4.036-5.808), respectively. As compared with BNWN women, BNWO and BOWO women showed increased risk of HBP (adjusted OR=1.342, 95%CI=1.139-1.581 and adjusted OR=4.530, 95%CI=4.004-5.124, respectively). The prevalence of general and central obesity was strongly related to HBP. Men with obese BMI but normal WC may be at increased risk of HBP. Women should pay more attention to changes in visceral adipose distribution and keep both BMI and WC values within normal ranges to reduce obesity-related health problems.

Automated tubule nuclei quantification and correlation with oncotype DX risk categories in ER+ breast cancer whole slide images

Science.gov (United States)

Romo-Bucheli, David; Janowczyk, Andrew; Romero, Eduardo; Gilmore, Hannah; Madabhushi, Anant

2016-03-01

Early stage estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer (BCa) treatment is based on the presumed aggressiveness and likelihood of cancer recurrence. The primary conundrum in treatment and management of early stage ER+ BCa is identifying which of these cancers are candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy and which patients will respond to hormonal therapy alone. This decision could spare some patients the inherent toxicity associated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Oncotype DX (ODX) and other gene expression tests have allowed for distinguishing the more aggressive ER+ BCa requiring adjuvant chemotherapy from the less aggressive cancers benefiting from hormonal therapy alone. However these gene expression tests tend to be expensive, tissue destructive and require physical shipping of tissue blocks for the test to be done. Interestingly breast cancer grade in these tumors has been shown to be highly correlated with the ODX risk score. Unfortunately studies have shown that Bloom-Richardson (BR) grade determined by pathologists can be highly variable. One of the constituent categories in BR grading is the quantification of tubules. The goal of this study was to develop a deep learning neural network classifier to automatically identify tubule nuclei from whole slide images (WSI) of ER+ BCa, the hypothesis being that the ratio of tubule nuclei to overall number of nuclei would correlate with the corresponding ODX risk categories. The performance of the tubule nuclei deep learning strategy was evaluated with a set of 61 high power fields. Under a 5-fold cross-validation, the average precision and recall measures were 0:72 and 0:56 respectively. In addition, the correlation with the ODX risk score was assessed in a set of 7513 high power fields extracted from 174 WSI, each from a different patient (At most 50 high power fields per patient study were used). The ratio between the number of tubule and non-tubule nuclei was computed for each WSI. The results suggests that for BCa

Numerical simulations on a high-temperature particle moving in coolant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xiaoyan; Shang Zhi; Xu Jijun

2006-01-01

This study considers the coupling effect between film boiling heat transfer and evaporation drag around a hot-particle in cold liquid. Taking momentum and energy equations of the vapor film into account, a transient single particle model under FCI conditions has been established. The numerical simulations on a high-temperature particle moving in coolant have been performed using Gear algorithm. Adaptive dynamic boundary method is adopted during simulating to matching the dynamic boundary that is caused by vapor film changing. Based on the method presented above, the transient process of high-temperature particles moving in coolant can be simulated. The experimental results prove the validity of the HPMC model. (authors)

Moving along the risk-informed path - drivers and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrella, S.; Dermarkar, F.; Austman, D.; Chun, R.

2004-01-01

The use of risk criteria and information has always been an important component of the licensing of nuclear reactors in Ontario. Early applications included the development of Safety Design Matrices in the early 80's for more comprehensive design reviews, the use of the Darlington Probabilistic Safety Evaluation in the late-80's to support the C-6 event categorization process for the initial Darlington licensing, and the use of risk-insights, along with cost benefit criteria, to evaluate design options for the Pickering A special safety system design retrofits and modifications, such as Shutdown System (SDS) enhancement and Emergency Coolant Injection System (ECIS) upgrades. Operational uses have included the management of outage risk, the review of containment test frequencies, and the review of abnormal operating configurations such as maintenance of electrical power supplies. It is envisaged that such applications will continue, aided by the continued development of Probabilistic Risk Assessments techniques. To provide enhanced assurance of safety, to evaluate current and new safety-related issues as they arise, and to realize the full safety and economic benefits of risk-insights, OPG and Bruce Power have, along with their Industry partners, embarked on a path to further increase the use of risk-information in the operation and licensing of their reactors. Drivers include the resolution of long standing safety analysis issues surrounding LBLOCA analyses and generic action items, the application of risk-insights to guide the response to design, inspection, and analysis findings, and the optimization of operating, maintenance, and testing programs. As well, a major near term driver is input to plant refurbishment decisions. In moving to a more risk-informed approach to safety assessment, challenges include developing and implementing the required suite of concepts, tools, processes and criteria, and reconciling the current largely deterministic approach to safety

Identifying and assessing highly hazardous drugs within quality risk management programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Sussman, Robert G; Schatz, Anthony R; Kimmel, Tracy A; Ader, Allan; Naumann, Bruce D; Weideman, Patricia A

2016-08-01

Historically, pharmaceutical industry regulatory guidelines have assigned certain active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to various categories of concern, such as "cytotoxic", "hormones", and "steroids". These categories have been used to identify APIs requiring segregation or dedication in order to prevent cross-contamination and protect the quality and safety of drug products. Since these terms were never defined by regulatory authorities, and many novel pharmacological mechanisms challenge these categories, there is a recognized need to modify the historical use of these terms. The application of a risk-based approach using a health-based limit, such as an acceptable daily exposure (ADE), is more appropriate for the development of a Quality Risk Management Program (QRMP) than the use of categories of concern. The toxicological and pharmacological characteristics of these categories are discussed to help identify and prioritize compounds requiring special attention. Controlling airborne concentrations and the contamination of product contact surfaces in accordance with values derived from quantitative risk assessments can prevent adverse effects in workers and patients, regardless of specific categorical designations to which these APIs have been assigned. The authors acknowledge the movement away from placing compounds into categories and, while not yet universal, the importance of basing QRMPs on compound-specific ADEs and risk assessments. Based on the results of a risk assessment, segregation and dedication may also be required for some compounds to prevent cross contamination during manufacture of APIs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

TV MEDIA ANALYSIS FOR BANKING CATEGORY (2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Elena POȘTOACĂ

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This article represents a short overview of the media landscape for the banking category in Romania in 2012. Unlike the other categories (for example FMCG – fast moving consumer goods, the banking category is more complex because every bank can communicate for a wider range of products (credits, deposits, packages dedicated to students, pensioners and other types of banking products. In the first part of this paper, there will be presented some theoretical notions about media planning and media analyses in order for the lecturer to easily go through the second part of the article. The second part of the paper will only refer to TV analyses. This media channel owns the highest budget share in our category, and also in the media mix of every important player, active in the Romanian market. The analyses will show which bank communicated most effectively, which is the most important spender on TV, what banking products had the largest budget allocated, which is the pattern for this category when it comes to allocating audience points for each day interval and so on. The starting point of this analyses is based on the secondary data obtained from InfoSys+ which is the world’s leading TV analyses software, used in more than 29 countries by 8000+ users.

Move and eat better

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

CERN has many traditions, but in a week that’s seen the launch of the Medical Service’s  ‘Move & eat better’ campaign, it’s refreshing to note that among the oldest is a sporting one.  The CERN relay race dates back to 15 October 1971 when 21 pioneering teams set off to pound the pavements of CERN. Back then, the Focus users group came in first with a time of 12 minutes and 42 seconds. Today’s route is slightly different, and the number of teams has risen to over 100, with a new category of Nordic Walking introduced, as part of the campaign, for the first time.   The relay has provided some memorable events, and perhaps one of the longest-standing records in the history of sport, with the UA1 strollers’ 10 minutes and 13 seconds unbeaten for thirty years. In the women’s category, the UN Gazelles set the fastest time of 13 minutes and 16 seconds in 1996, while in the veterans category, you wi...

Basic level category structure emerges gradually across human ventral visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Iordan, Marius Cătălin; Greene, Michelle R; Beck, Diane M; Fei-Fei, Li

2015-07-01

Objects can be simultaneously categorized at multiple levels of specificity ranging from very broad ("natural object") to very distinct ("Mr. Woof"), with a mid-level of generality (basic level: "dog") often providing the most cognitively useful distinction between categories. It is unknown, however, how this hierarchical representation is achieved in the brain. Using multivoxel pattern analyses, we examined how well each taxonomic level (superordinate, basic, and subordinate) of real-world object categories is represented across occipitotemporal cortex. We found that, although in early visual cortex objects are best represented at the subordinate level (an effect mostly driven by low-level feature overlap between objects in the same category), this advantage diminishes compared to the basic level as we move up the visual hierarchy, disappearing in object-selective regions of occipitotemporal cortex. This pattern stems from a combined increase in within-category similarity (category cohesion) and between-category dissimilarity (category distinctiveness) of neural activity patterns at the basic level, relative to both subordinate and superordinate levels, suggesting that successive visual areas may be optimizing basic level representations.

Psychological characteristics in high-risk MSM in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Guanzhi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Men who have sex with men (MSM have become a high-risk group of HIV infection in China. To date, little is known regarding the behavioral, social and psychological characteristics in Chinese MSM, which makes the implementation of preventive and therapeutic strategies for this high-risk subpopulation of people extremely difficult. Methods A total of 714 questionnaires were retrieved from the database of a Chinese government-sponsored National Key Research Project titled "Risk Analysis and Strategic Prevention of HIV Transmission from MSM to the General Population in China". The respondents were categorized into a high-risk group and a control group. Their behavioral, social and psychological characteristics were comparatively analyzed. Results Of the 714 MSM analyzed, 59 (8.26% had high-risk homosexual behaviors. This sub-group of MSM had a higher in-marriage rate, a higher monthly income, heavier alcohol consumption and more serious problems with sexual abuse in childhood, intentional suicide attempts and mistaken assumption on condom's role in protecting HIV infection, as compared with the control group (P P > 0.05. A vast majority of the individuals in both behavior categories expressed support of legally protected gay clubs as well as gay marriage legislation in China. There was a strong correlation between high-risk behaviors and sexual abuse in childhood, alcohol drinking, income level and a mistaken belief in perfect HIV protection through the use of condoms. Conclusions MSM with and without high-risk homosexual behaviors have different social and psychological characteristics, which should be taken into account when implementing behavioral and therapeutic interventions aimed at preventing HIV/AIDS transmission among MSM as well as from MSM to the general population in China.

When do price thresholds matter in retail categories?

OpenAIRE

Pauwels, Koen; Srinivasan, Shuba; Franses, Philip Hans

2007-01-01

textabstractMarketing literature has long recognized that brand price elasticity need not be monotonic and symmetric, but has yet to provide generalizable market-level insights on threshold-based price elasticity, asymmetric thresholds, and the sign and magnitude of elasticity transitions. This paper introduces smooth transition regression models to study threshold-based price elasticity of the top 4 brands across 20 fast-moving consumer good categories. Threshold-based price elasticity is fo...

The Very High Risk Prostate Cancer – a Contemporary Update

Science.gov (United States)

Mano, Roy; Eastham, James; Yossepowitch, Ofer

2017-01-01

Background Treatment of high-risk prostate cancer has evolved considerably over the past two decades, yet patients with very high-risk features may still experience poor outcome despite aggressive therapy. We review the contemporary literature focusing on current definitions, role of modern imaging and treatment alternatives in very high-risk prostate cancer. Methods We searched the MEDLINE database for all clinical trials or practice guidelines published in English between 2000 – 2016 with the following search terms: ‘prostatic neoplasms’ (MeSH Terms) AND (‘high risk’ (keyword) OR ‘locally advanced’ (keyword) OR ‘node positive’ (keyword)). Abstracts pertaining to very high-risk prostate cancer were evaluated and 40 pertinent studies served as the basis for this review. Results The term ‘very’ high-risk prostate cancer remains ill defined. The EAU and NCCN guidelines provide the only available definitions, categorizing those with clinical stage T3-4 or minimal nodal involvement as very-high risk irrespective of PSA level or biopsy Gleason score. Modern imaging with mpMRI and PET-PSMA scans plays a role in pretreatment assessment. Local definitive therapy by external beam radiation combined with androgen deprivation is supported by several randomized clinical trials whereas the role of surgery in the very high-risk setting combined with adjuvant radiation/ androgen deprivation therapy is emerging. Growing evidence suggest neoadjuvant taxane based chemotherapy in the context of a multimodal approach may be beneficial. Conclusions Men with very high-risk tumors may benefit from local definitive treatment in the setting of a multimodal regimen, offering local control and possibly cure in well selected patients. Further studies are necessary to better characterize the ‘very’ high-risk category and determine the optimal therapy for the individual patient. PMID:27618950

Mobbing calls signal predator category in a kin group-living bird species

Science.gov (United States)

Griesser, Michael

2009-01-01

Many prey species gather together to approach and harass their predators despite the associated risks. While mobbing, prey usually utter calls and previous experiments have demonstrated that mobbing calls can convey information about risk to conspecifics. However, the risk posed by predators also differs between predator categories. The ability to communicate predator category would be adaptive because it would allow other mobbers to adjust their risk taking. I tested this idea in Siberian jays Perisoreus infaustus, a group-living bird species, by exposing jay groups to mounts of three hawk and three owl species of varying risks. Groups immediately approached to mob the mount and uttered up to 14 different call types. Jays gave more calls when mobbing a more dangerous predator and when in the presence of kin. Five call types were predator-category-specific and jays uttered two hawk-specific and three owl-specific call types. Thus, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate that mobbing calls can simultaneously encode information about both predator category and the risk posed by a predator. Since antipredator calls of Siberian jays are known to specifically aim at reducing the risk to relatives, kin-based sociality could be an important factor in facilitating the evolution of predator-category-specific mobbing calls. PMID:19474047

Mobbing calls signal predator category in a kin group-living bird species.

Science.gov (United States)

Griesser, Michael

2009-08-22

Many prey species gather together to approach and harass their predators despite the associated risks. While mobbing, prey usually utter calls and previous experiments have demonstrated that mobbing calls can convey information about risk to conspecifics. However, the risk posed by predators also differs between predator categories. The ability to communicate predator category would be adaptive because it would allow other mobbers to adjust their risk taking. I tested this idea in Siberian jays Perisoreus infaustus, a group-living bird species, by exposing jay groups to mounts of three hawk and three owl species of varying risks. Groups immediately approached to mob the mount and uttered up to 14 different call types. Jays gave more calls when mobbing a more dangerous predator and when in the presence of kin. Five call types were predator-category-specific and jays uttered two hawk-specific and three owl-specific call types. Thus, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate that mobbing calls can simultaneously encode information about both predator category and the risk posed by a predator. Since antipredator calls of Siberian jays are known to specifically aim at reducing the risk to relatives, kin-based sociality could be an important factor in facilitating the evolution of predator-category-specific mobbing calls.

General strategy for the protection of organs at risk in IMRT therapy of a moving body

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abolfath, Ramin M.; Papiez, Lech

2009-01-01

We investigated protection strategies of organs at risk (OARs) in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). These strategies apply to delivery of IMRT to moving body anatomies that show relative displacement of OAR in close proximity to a tumor target. We formulated an efficient genetic algorithm which makes it possible to search for global minima in a complex landscape of multiple irradiation strategies delivering a given, predetermined intensity map to a target. The optimal strategy was investigated with respect to minimizing the dose delivered to the OAR. The optimization procedure developed relies on variability of all parameters available for control of radiation delivery in modern linear accelerators, including adaptation of leaf trajectories and simultaneous modification of beam dose rate during irradiation. We showed that the optimization algorithms lead to a significant reduction in the dose delivered to OAR in cases where organs at risk move relative to a treatment target.

General strategy for the protection of organs at risk in IMRT therapy of a moving body

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abolfath, Ramin M.; Papiez, Lech [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390 (United States)

2009-07-15

We investigated protection strategies of organs at risk (OARs) in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). These strategies apply to delivery of IMRT to moving body anatomies that show relative displacement of OAR in close proximity to a tumor target. We formulated an efficient genetic algorithm which makes it possible to search for global minima in a complex landscape of multiple irradiation strategies delivering a given, predetermined intensity map to a target. The optimal strategy was investigated with respect to minimizing the dose delivered to the OAR. The optimization procedure developed relies on variability of all parameters available for control of radiation delivery in modern linear accelerators, including adaptation of leaf trajectories and simultaneous modification of beam dose rate during irradiation. We showed that the optimization algorithms lead to a significant reduction in the dose delivered to OAR in cases where organs at risk move relative to a treatment target.

When Do Price Thresholds Matter in Retail Categories?

OpenAIRE

Koen Pauwels; Shuba Srinivasan; Philip Hans Franses

2007-01-01

Marketing literature has long recognized that brand price elasticity need not be monotonic and symmetric, but has yet to provide generalizable market-level insights on threshold-based price elasticity, asymmetric thresholds, and the sign and magnitude of elasticity transitions. This paper introduces smooth transition regression models to study threshold-based price elasticity of the top 4 brands across 20 fast-moving consumer good categories. Threshold-based price elasticity is found for 76% ...

Disrupted pregnancies? How doctors, sonographers and pregnant couples negotiate high risk for Down’s syndrome – a qualitative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lou, Stina; Hvidman, Lone; Petersen, Olav Bjørn

2012-01-01

that 90–95% of the high-risk couples carry a foetus with normal chromosomes. How do these couples frame the disruption caused by the high risk category? Are they able to return to a ‘normal’ pregnancy or does the disruption cause subsequent worry? In the presentation, we will reflect on this important...

Risk matrix model for rotating equipment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wassan Rano Khan

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Different industries have various residual risk levels for their rotating equipment. Accordingly the occurrence rate of the failures and associated failure consequences categories are different. Thus, a generalized risk matrix model is developed in this study which can fit various available risk matrix standards. This generalized risk matrix will be helpful to develop new risk matrix, to fit the required risk assessment scenario for rotating equipment. Power generation system was taken as case study. It was observed that eight subsystems were under risk. Only vibration monitor system was under high risk category, while remaining seven subsystems were under serious and medium risk categories.

Work Sectors with High Risk for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Korean Men and Women

OpenAIRE

Jungsun Park; Yangho Kim; Boyoung Han

2018-01-01

Background: To identify work sectors with high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Korean men and women. Methods: We analyzed nationwide data to identify ergonomic risk factors in Korean employees. In particular, we analyzed data on exposure to five ergonomic risk factors (painful/tiring postures, lifting/moving heavy materials, standing/walking, repetitive hand/arm movements, and hand/arm vibration) according to employment sector, sex, and age, using the 2014 Fourth Kor...

Can height categories replace weight categories in striking martial arts competitions? A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubnov-Raz, Gal; Mashiach-Arazi, Yael; Nouriel, Ariella; Raz, Raanan; Constantini, Naama W

2015-09-29

In most combat sports and martial arts, athletes compete within weight categories. Disordered eating behaviors and intentional pre-competition rapid weight loss are commonly seen in this population, attributed to weight categorization. We examined if height categories can be used as an alternative to weight categories for competition, in order to protect the health of athletes. Height and weight of 169 child and adolescent competitive karate athletes were measured. Participants were divided into eleven hypothetical weight categories of 5 kg increments, and eleven hypothetical height categories of 5 cm increments. We calculated the coefficient of variation of height and weight by each division method. We also calculated how many participants fit into corresponding categories of both height and weight, and how many would shift a category if divided by height. There was a high correlation between height and weight (r = 0.91, p<0.001). The mean range of heights seen within current weight categories was reduced by 83% when participants were divided by height. When allocating athletes by height categories, 74% of athletes would shift up or down one weight category at most, compared with the current categorization method. We conclude that dividing young karate athletes by height categories significantly reduced the range of heights of competitors within the category. Such categorization would not cause athletes to compete against much heavier opponents in most cases. Using height categories as a means to reduce eating disorders in combat sports should be further examined.

Women's experience of hospitalized bed rest during high-risk pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubarth, Lori Baas; Schoening, Anne M; Cosimano, Amy; Sandhurst, Holly

2012-01-01

To describe the lived experience of the hospitalized pregnant woman on bed rest. A qualitative, phenomenological design. Three high-risk antepartum units in the midwestern United States. A self-selected, convenience sample of 11 high-risk pregnant women. Phenomenological study using thematic analysis of completed handwritten journals and/or online blogs. Women described the battles that they fought each day for the lives of their unborn children. Using an imagery of war, three categories emerged: (a) the war within, (b) fighting each battle, and (c) bringing in reinforcements. Women experience many different emotions and stressors during restricted bed rest. A nurse's understanding of this experience is essential to provide adequate care and coping strategies for women at this time. © 2012 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Risks, benefits, and issues in creating a behind-the-counter category of medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ried, L Douglas; Huston, Sally A; Kucukarslan, Suzan N; Sogol, Elliott M; Schafermeyer, Kenneth W; Sansgiry, Sujit S

2011-01-01

To examine the issues surrounding the development and implementation of a behind-the-counter (BTC) category of medications. Testimony from organizations submitting comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel hearings in November 2007, the 2009 final report of the U. S. General Accounting Office regarding a BTC drug category, literature review of research that has been conducted, experiences from other countries, and publically available information from agencies in charge of regulating medications similar to BTC. Based on evidence attained from the current work, the following six recommendations regarding a BTC category of medications are provided. (1) Demonstration needs to occur that the risks and/or costs of BTC are outweighed by benefits, positive measurable outcomes, and financial savings to society. (2) Sufficient resources, including personnel, equipment, and facilities, need to be available for the appropriate provision of BTC services and to ensure ongoing monitoring and controls. (3) An appropriate compensation structure needs to be developed. (4) Encounters and outcomes should be documented in an electronic record, the information should be shared with other health care providers involved in patients' care, and interprofessional collaboration and communication should occur. (5) Criteria for designating candidates for transition, ongoing review for safety, and reverse transition must be developed. (6) Applicable lessons learned from other countries should be incorporated into BTC strategies. In addition to implementation recommendations, we also summarize additional evidence that needs to be gathered to optimize the BTC model. Based on the accumulated evidence, comments to FDA's request, and information from other countries, implementation of a BTC model probably is feasible in the United States. However, the optimal model remains uncertain and various aspects of a program need to be prioritized and rigorously tested.

Numerical simulation on range of high-energy electron moving in accelerator target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao Wencheng; Sun Punan; Dai Wenjiang

2008-01-01

In order to determine the range of high-energy electron moving in accelerator target, the range of electron with the energy range of 1 to 100 MeV moving in common target material of accelerator was calculated by Monte-Carlo method. Comparison between the calculated result and the published data were performed. The results of Monte-Carlo calculation are in good agreement with the published data. Empirical formulas were obtained for the range of high-energy electron with the energy range of 1 to 100 MeV in common target material by curve fitting, offering a series of referenced data for the design of targets in electron accelerator. (authors)

High production volume chemical Amine Oxide [C8-C20] category environmental risk assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanderson, Hans; Tibazarwa, Caritas; Greggs, William

2009-01-01

and personal care products. Given the lack of persistence or bioaccumulation, and the low likelihood of these chemicals partitioning to soil, the focus of the environmental assessment is on the aquatic environment. In the United States, the E-FAST model is used to estimate effluent concentrations in the United......An environmental assessment of amine oxides has been conducted under the OECD SIDS High Production Volume (HPV) Program via the Global International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) Amine Oxides Consortium. Amine oxides are primarily used in conjunction with surfactants in cleaning...... States from manufacturing facilities and from municipal facilities resulting from consumer product uses. Reasonable worst-case ratios of predicted environmental concentration (PEC) to predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) range from 0.04 to 0.003, demonstrating that these chemicals are a low risk...

Moving State Marine SINS Initial Alignment Based on High Degree CKF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Gang Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A new moving state marine initial alignment method of strap-down inertial navigation system (SINS is proposed based on high-degree cubature Kalman filter (CKF, which can capture higher order Taylor expansion terms of nonlinear alignment model than the existing third-degree CKF, unscented Kalman filter and central difference Kalman filter, and improve the accuracy of initial alignment under large heading misalignment angle condition. Simulation results show the efficiency and advantage of the proposed initial alignment method as compared with existing initial alignment methods for the moving state SINS initial alignment with large heading misalignment angle.

National trends in statin use by coronary heart disease risk category.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Ma

2005-05-01

Full Text Available Only limited research tracks United States trends in the use of statins recorded during outpatient visits, particularly use by patients at moderate to high cardiovascular risk.Data collected between 1992 and 2002 in two federally administered surveys provided national estimates of statin use among ambulatory patients, stratified by coronary heart disease risk based on risk factor counting and clinical diagnoses. Statin use grew from 47% of all lipid-lowering medications in 1992 to 87% in 2002, with atorvastatin being the leading medication in 2002. Statin use by patients with hyperlipidemia, as recorded by the number of patient visits, increased significantly from 9% of patient visits in 1992 to 49% in 2000 but then declined to 36% in 2002. Absolute increases in the rate of statin use were greatest for high-risk patients, from 4% of patient visits in 1992 to 19% in 2002. Use among moderate-risk patients increased from 2% of patient visits in 1992 to 14% in 1999 but showed no continued growth subsequently. In 2002, 1 y after the release of the Adult Treatment Panel III recommendations, treatment gaps in statin use were detected for more than 50% of outpatient visits by moderate- and high-risk patients with reported hyperlipidemia. Lower statin use was independently associated with younger patient age, female gender, African American race (versus non-Hispanic white, and non-cardiologist care.Despite notable improvements in the past decade, clinical practice fails to institute recommended statin therapy during many ambulatory visits of patients at moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk. Innovative approaches are needed to promote appropriate, more aggressive statin use for eligible patients.

Newtonian liquid jet impaction on a high-speed moving surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keshavarz, B.; Green, S.I.; Davy, M.H.; Eadie, D.T.

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► We studied experimentally the interaction of a liquid jet with a moving surface. ► Decreasing the Reynolds number reduced the incidence of splash. ► The Weber number had a much smaller impact on splash than the Reynolds number. ► The jet impingement angle had only a small effect on the splash. ► Increasing the surface roughness substantially decreased the splash threshold. - Abstract: In the railroad industry a friction modifying agent may be applied to the rail or wheel in the form of a liquid jet. In this mode of application the interaction between the high-speed liquid jet and a fast moving surface is important. Seven different Newtonian liquids with widely varying shear viscosities were tested to isolate the effect of viscosity from other fluid properties. Tests were also done on five surfaces of different roughness heights to investigate the effects of surface roughness. High-speed video imaging was employed to scrutinize the interaction between the impacting jet and the moving surface. For all surfaces, decreasing the Reynolds number reduced the incidence of splash and consequently enhanced the transfer efficiency. At the elevated Weber numbers of the testing, the Weber number had a much smaller impact on splash than the Reynolds number. The ratio of the surface velocity to the jet velocity has only a small effect on the splash, whereas increasing the roughness-height-to-jet-diameter ratio substantially decreased the splash threshold.

DJ-1 is a reliable serum biomarker for discriminating high-risk endometrial cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Cello, Annalisa; Di Sanzo, Maddalena; Perrone, Francesca Marta; Santamaria, Gianluca; Rania, Erika; Angotti, Elvira; Venturella, Roberta; Mancuso, Serafina; Zullo, Fulvio; Cuda, Giovanni; Costanzo, Francesco

2017-06-01

New reliable approaches to stratify patients with endometrial cancer into risk categories are highly needed. We have recently demonstrated that DJ-1 is overexpressed in endometrial cancer, showing significantly higher levels both in serum and tissue of patients with high-risk endometrial cancer compared with low-risk endometrial cancer. In this experimental study, we further extended our observation, evaluating the role of DJ-1 as an accurate serum biomarker for high-risk endometrial cancer. A total of 101 endometrial cancer patients and 44 healthy subjects were prospectively recruited. DJ-1 serum levels were evaluated comparing cases and controls and, among endometrial cancer patients, between high- and low-risk patients. The results demonstrate that DJ-1 levels are significantly higher in cases versus controls and in high- versus low-risk patients. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis shows that DJ-1 has a very good diagnostic accuracy in discriminating endometrial cancer patients versus controls and an excellent accuracy in distinguishing, among endometrial cancer patients, low- from high-risk cases. DJ-1 sensitivity and specificity are the highest when high- and low-risk patients are compared, reaching the value of 95% and 99%, respectively. Moreover, DJ-1 serum levels seem to be correlated with worsening of the endometrial cancer grade and histotype, making it a reliable tool in the preoperative decision-making process.

Caffeine-Related Deaths: Manner of Deaths and Categories at Risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappelletti, Simone; Piacentino, Daria; Fineschi, Vittorio; Frati, Paola; Cipolloni, Luigi; Aromatario, Mariarosaria

2018-05-14

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive compound worldwide. It is mostly found in coffee, tea, energizing drinks and in some drugs. However, it has become really easy to obtain pure caffeine (powder or tablets) on the Internet markets. Mechanisms of action are dose-dependent. Serious toxicities such as seizure and cardiac arrhythmias, seen with caffeine plasma concentrations of 15 mg/L or higher, have caused poisoning or, rarely, death; otherwise concentrations of 3⁻6 mg/kg are considered safe. Caffeine concentrations of 80⁻100 mg/L are considered lethal. The aim of this systematic review, performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement for the identification and selection of studies, is to review fatal cases in which caffeine has been recognized as the only cause of death in order to identify potential categories at risk. A total of 92 cases have been identified. These events happened more frequently in infants, psychiatric patients, and athletes. Although caffeine intoxication is relatively uncommon, raising awareness about its lethal consequences could be useful for both clinicians and pathologists to identify possible unrecognized cases and prevent related severe health conditions and deaths.

Predicting disease risks from highly imbalanced data using random forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chakraborty Sounak

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We present a method utilizing Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP dataset for predicting disease risk of individuals based on their medical diagnosis history. The presented methodology may be incorporated in a variety of applications such as risk management, tailored health communication and decision support systems in healthcare. Methods We employed the National Inpatient Sample (NIS data, which is publicly available through Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, to train random forest classifiers for disease prediction. Since the HCUP data is highly imbalanced, we employed an ensemble learning approach based on repeated random sub-sampling. This technique divides the training data into multiple sub-samples, while ensuring that each sub-sample is fully balanced. We compared the performance of support vector machine (SVM, bagging, boosting and RF to predict the risk of eight chronic diseases. Results We predicted eight disease categories. Overall, the RF ensemble learning method outperformed SVM, bagging and boosting in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve (AUC. In addition, RF has the advantage of computing the importance of each variable in the classification process. Conclusions In combining repeated random sub-sampling with RF, we were able to overcome the class imbalance problem and achieve promising results. Using the national HCUP data set, we predicted eight disease categories with an average AUC of 88.79%.

The histologic risk model is a useful and inexpensive tool to assess risk of recurrence and death in stage I or II squamous cell carcinoma of tongue and floor of mouth.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Namita; Rigby, Matthew H; McNeil, Michael L; Taylor, S Mark; Trites, Jonathan Rb; Hart, Robert D; Bullock, Martin J

2018-02-02

Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for low-stage (stage I/II, ie, T1N0/T2N0) squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity. However, a significant percentage of low-stage squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity will develop local recurrence and disease-related mortality. In this study, we stratified 64 patients with low-stage of oral tongue and floor of mouth patients into high-, intermediate- and low-risk categories based on existing histologic risk model. The classification of these risk categories was based on presence or absence of perineural invasion and evaluation of tumor-host junction for worst pattern of invasion and lymphocytic host response. We correlated risk category and other variables with recurrence and death. In a univariate model, high-risk category tumors had a significantly higher rate of recurrence and death due to recurrence compared with low/intermediate-risk categories (P=0.000 and P=0.047, respectively). Controlling for margin status and T-stage, high-risk category had a 12.4 odds ratio of later recurrence when compared with low/intermediate-risk categories, with a P-value of 0.001. In conclusion, we found low-stage oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients with high-risk category have a significantly higher risk for recurrence when compared with patients in the low- or intermediate-risk category, even when controlling for margin status and T-stage. These patients may be suitable candidates for adjuvant treatment to decrease morbidity and mortality associated with a recurrence. Our results indicate that the histologic risk model is a useful and simple tool to assess risk of recurrence in stage I or II squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity.Modern Pathology advance online publication, 2 February 2018; doi:10.1038/modpathol.2017.183.

Prevalence of Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Association With Risk Factors in Primary Care

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Kenia Vieira da Silva

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS is a chronic, progressive disease with high morbidity and mortality. It is underdiagnosed, especially among women. Objective: To study the prevalence of high risk for OSAS globally and for the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ categories, and to evaluate the reliability of the BQ use in the population studied. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional study with individuals from the Niterói Family Doctor Program, randomly selected, aged between 45 and 99 years. The visits occurred between August/2011 and December/2012. Variables associated with each BQ category and with high risk for OSAS (global were included in logistic regression models (p < 0.05. Results: Of the total (616, 403 individuals (65.4% reported snoring. The prevalence of high risk for OSA was 42.4%, being 49.7% for category I, 10.2% for category II and 77.6% for category III. Conclusion: BQ showed an acceptable reliability after excluding the questions Has anyone noticed that you stop breathing during your sleep? and Have you ever dozed off or fallen asleep while driving?. This should be tested in further studies with samples mostly comprised of women and low educational level individuals. Given the burden of OSAS-related diseases and risks, studies should be conducted to validate new tools and to adapt BQ to better screen OSAS.

Pricing Strategy and the Formation and Evolution of Reference Price Perceptions in New Product Categories

OpenAIRE

Lowe, Ben; Alpert, Frank

2010-01-01

This study examines the formation and evolution of reference price perceptions in new product categories. It contributes to our understanding of pricing new products by integrating two important research streams in marketing-reference price theory and the theory of pioneer brand advantage. Prior research has focused solely on products in existing or incrementally new categories, and has typically examined fast-moving consumer goods. Using a cross-sectional experiment to study the formation of...

Being Moved by Unfamiliar Sad Music Is Associated with High Empathy

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Eerola, Tuomas; Vuoskoski, Jonna K.; Kautiainen, Hannu

2016-01-01

The paradox of enjoying listening to music that evokes sadness is yet to be fully understood. Unlike prior studies that have explored potential explanations related to lyrics, memories, and mood regulation, we investigated the types of emotions induced by unfamiliar, instrumental sad music, and whether these responses are consistently associated with certain individual difference variables. One hundred and two participants were drawn from a representative sample to minimize self-selection bias. The results suggest that the emotional responses induced by unfamiliar sad music could be characterized in terms of three underlying factors: Relaxing sadness, Moving sadness, and Nervous sadness. Relaxing sadness was characterized by felt and perceived peacefulness and positive valence. Moving sadness captured an intense experience that involved feelings of sadness and being moved. Nervous sadness was associated with felt anxiety, perceived scariness and negative valence. These interpretations were supported by indirect measures of felt emotion. Experiences of Moving sadness were strongly associated with high trait empathy and emotional contagion, but not with other previously suggested traits such as absorption or nostalgia-proneness. Relaxing sadness and Nervous sadness were not significantly predicted by any of the individual difference variables. The findings are interpreted within a theoretical framework of embodied emotions. PMID:27695424

Accuracy of D-Dimers to Rule Out Venous Thromboembolism Events across Age Categories

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G. Der Sahakian

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Strategies combining pretest clinical assessment and D-dimers measurement efficiently and safely rule out venous thromboembolism events (VTE in low- and intermediate-risk patients. Objectives. As process of ageing is associated with altered concentrations of coagulation markers including an increase in D-dimers levels, we investigated whether D-dimers could reliably rule out VTE across age categories. Method. We prospectively assessed the test performance in 1,004 patients visiting the emergency department during the 6-month period with low or intermediate risk of VTE who also received additional diagnostic procedures. Results. 67 patients had VTE with D-dimers levels above the threshold, and 3 patients displayed D-dimers levels below the threshold. We observed that specificity of D-dimers test decreased in an age-dependent manner. However, sensitivity and negative predictive value remained at very high level in each age category including older patients. Conclusion. We conclude that, even though D-dimers level could provide numerous false positive results in elderly patients, its high sensitivity could reliably help physicians to exclude the diagnosis of VTE in every low- and intermediate-risk patient.

Radiation protection in category III large gamma irradiators; Radioprotecao em irradiadores de grande porte de categoria III

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Neivaldo; Furlan, Gilberto Ribeiro, E-mail: neivaldo@cena.usp.b, E-mail: gilfurlan@cena.usp.b [Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/USP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil); Itepan, Natanael Marcio, E-mail: natanael.itepan@unianhanguera.edu.b [Universidade Anhanguera, Goiania, GO (Brazil)

2011-07-01

This article discusses the advantages of category III large gamma irradiator compared to the others, with emphasis on aspects of radiological protection, in the industrial sector. This category is a kind of irradiators almost unknown to the regulators authorities and the industrial community, despite its simple construction and greater radiation safety intrinsic to the model, able to maintain an efficiency of productivity comparable to those of category IV. Worldwide, there are installed more than 200 category IV irradiators and there is none of a category III irradiator in operation. In a category III gamma irradiator, the source remains fixed in the bottom of the tank, always shielded by water, negating the exposition risk. Taking into account the benefits in relation to radiation safety, the category III large irradiators are highly recommended for industrial, commercial purposes or scientific research. (author)

Radiomic modeling of BI-RADS density categories

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Jun; Chan, Heang-Ping; Helvie, Mark A.; Roubidoux, Marilyn A.; Zhou, Chuan; Hadjiiski, Lubomir

2017-03-01

Screening mammography is the most effective and low-cost method to date for early cancer detection. Mammographic breast density has been shown to be highly correlated with breast cancer risk. We are developing a radiomic model for BI-RADS density categorization on digital mammography (FFDM) with a supervised machine learning approach. With IRB approval, we retrospectively collected 478 FFDMs from 478 women. As a gold standard, breast density was assessed by an MQSA radiologist based on BI-RADS categories. The raw FFDMs were used for computerized density assessment. The raw FFDM first underwent log-transform to approximate the x-ray sensitometric response, followed by multiscale processing to enhance the fibroglandular densities and parenchymal patterns. Three ROIs were automatically identified based on the keypoint distribution, where the keypoints were obtained as the extrema in the image Gaussian scale-space. A total of 73 features, including intensity and texture features that describe the density and the parenchymal pattern, were extracted from each breast. Our BI-RADS density estimator was constructed by using a random forest classifier. We used a 10-fold cross validation resampling approach to estimate the errors. With the random forest classifier, computerized density categories for 412 of the 478 cases agree with radiologist's assessment (weighted kappa = 0.93). The machine learning method with radiomic features as predictors demonstrated a high accuracy in classifying FFDMs into BI-RADS density categories. Further work is underway to improve our system performance as well as to perform an independent testing using a large unseen FFDM set.

Use of a national hospitalization register to identify industrial sectors carrying high risk of severe injuries: a three-year cohort study of more than 900,000 Danish men.

Science.gov (United States)

Baarts, C; Mikkelsen, K L; Hannerz, H; Tüchsen, F

2000-12-01

Data indicates that Denmark has relatively high risks of occupational injuries. We evaluated all injuries resulting in hospitalization by occupation. All gainfully employed men younger than 60 in 1990 were divided into 47 industrial groups and followed using the National Inpatient Registry, for hospitalized injuries 1991-1993. Following ICD-8, injuries were grouped into six categories: head, upper extremities, back, trunk, lower extremities and ruptures, sprains and strains. Standardized industrial hospitalization ratios (SHRs) were calculated and Pearson's independence test was performed for each category. Industrial differences were ascertained for each injury category. The highest associated injury category was upper extremity injuries ranging from SHR = 43 (fire services and salvage corps) to SHR = 209 (slaughterhouse industry). Carpentry, joinery, bricklaying and construction work had significantly high SHRs for all injury categories, whereas administrative work was significantly low throughout. Occupational surveillance systems based on hospitalized injuries can be used to identify high-risk industries, and thereby suggest where to direct prevention efforts. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Move-tecture: A Conceptual Framework for Designing Movement in Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Irem

2017-10-01

Along with the technological improvements in our age, it is now possible for the movement to become one of the basic components of the architectural space. Accordingly, architectural construction of movement changes both our architectural production practices and our understanding of architectural space. However, existing design concepts and approaches are insufficient to discuss and understand this change. In this respect, this study aims to form a conceptual framework on the relationship of architecture and movement. In this sense, the conceptualization of move-tecture is developed to research on the architectural construction of movement and the potentials of spatial creation through architecturally constructed movement. Move-tecture, is a conceptualization that treats movement as a basic component of spatial creation. It presents the framework of a qualitative categorization on the design of moving architectural structures. However, this categorization is a flexible one that can evolve in the direction of the expanding possibilities of the architectural design and the changing living conditions. With this understanding, six categories have been defined within the context of the article: Topological Organization, Choreographic Formation, Kinetic Structuring, Corporeal Constitution, Technological Configuration and Interactional Patterning. In line with these categories, a multifaceted perspective on the moving architectural structures is promoted. It is aimed that such an understanding constitutes a new initiative in the design practices carried out in this area and provides a conceptual basis for the discussions to be developed.

Defining and treating the spectrum of intermediate risk nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamat, A.M.; Witjes, J.A.; Brausi, M.; Soloway, M.; Lamm, D.; Persad, R.; Buckley, R.; Bohle, A.; Colombel, M.; Palou, J.

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: Low, intermediate and high risk categories have been defined to help guide the treatment of patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (Ta, T1, CIS). However, while low and high risk disease has been well classified, the intermediate risk category has traditionally comprised a

Early indicators and risk factors for ethical issues in clinical practice.

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Pavlish, Carol; Brown-Saltzman, Katherine; Hersh, Mary; Shirk, Marilyn; Nudelman, Olga

2011-03-01

Nurses in all clinical settings encounter ethical issues that frequently lead to moral distress. This critical incident study explored nurses' descriptions of ethically difficult situations to identify risk factors and early indicators of ethical conflicts. Employing the critical incident technique, researchers developed a questionnaire that collected information on ethically difficult situations, their risk factors and early indicators, nurse actions, and situational outcomes. Two nurse researchers independently analyzed and categorized data using a constant comparison technique. Most of the ethically difficult situations pertained to end-of-life care for children and adults. Conflicts in interpersonal relationships were prevalent. Nurses were especially moved by patient and family suffering and concerned about patient vulnerability, harm-benefit ratio, and patient autonomy. Researchers discovered risk factor categories for patients, families, healthcare providers, and health systems. Additionally, researchers found subcategories in six major categories of early indicators: signs of conflict, patient suffering, nurse distress, ethics violation, unrealistic expectations, and poor communication. Nurses are keenly aware of pertinent risk factors and early indicators of unfolding ethical conflicts. Many nurses reported feeling powerless in the face of ethical conflict. Research that develops interventions to strengthen nurses' voices in ethically difficult situation is warranted. Nurses are in a key position to identify patient situations with a high risk for ethical conflict. Initiating early ethics consultation and interventions can alter the course of pending conflicts and diminish the potential for patient and family suffering and nurses' moral distress. © 2011 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Normal accidents living with high-risk technologies

CERN Document Server

Perrow, Charles

1984-01-01

Normal Accidents analyzes the social side of technological risk. Charles Perrow argues that the conventional engineering approach to ensuring safety--building in more warnings and safeguards--fails because systems complexity makes failures inevitable. He asserts that typical precautions, by adding to complexity, may help create new categories of accidents. (At Chernobyl, tests of a new safety system helped produce the meltdown and subsequent fire.) By recognizing two dimensions of risk--complex versus linear interactions, and tight versus loose coupling--this book provides a powerful framework for analyzing risks and the organizations that insist we run them.

Defining the Intrinsic Cardiac Risks of Operations to Improve Preoperative Cardiac Risk Assessments.

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Liu, Jason B; Liu, Yaoming; Cohen, Mark E; Ko, Clifford Y; Sweitzer, Bobbie J

2018-02-01

Current preoperative cardiac risk stratification practices group operations into broad categories, which might inadequately consider the intrinsic cardiac risks of individual operations. We sought to define the intrinsic cardiac risks of individual operations and to demonstrate how grouping operations might lead to imprecise estimates of perioperative cardiac risk. Elective operations (based on Common Procedural Terminology codes) performed from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2015 at hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were studied. A composite measure of perioperative adverse cardiac events was defined as either cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation or acute myocardial infarction. Operations' intrinsic cardiac risks were derived from mixed-effects models while controlling for patient mix. Resultant risks were sorted into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories, and the most commonly performed operations within each category were identified. Intrinsic operative risks were also examined using a representative grouping of operations to portray within-group variation. Sixty-six low, 30 intermediate, and 106 high intrinsic cardiac risk operations were identified. Excisional breast biopsy had the lowest intrinsic cardiac risk (overall rate, 0.01%; odds ratio, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.25) relative to the average, whereas aorto-bifemoral bypass grafting had the highest (overall rate, 4.1%; odds ratio, 6.61; 95% CI, 5.54 to 7.90). There was wide variation in the intrinsic cardiac risks of operations within the representative grouping (median odds ratio, 1.40; interquartile range, 0.88 to 2.17). A continuum of intrinsic cardiac risk exists among operations. Grouping operations into broad categories inadequately accounts for the intrinsic cardiac risk of individual operations.

Fully-coupled mathematical modeling of actomyosin-cytosolic two-phase flow in a highly deformable moving Keratocyte cell.

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Nikmaneshi, M R; Firoozabadi, B; Saidi, M S

2018-01-23

Interaction between intracellular dynamics and extracellular matrix (ECM) generally occurred into very thin fragment of moving cell, namely lamellipodia, enables all movable cells to crawl on ECM. In fast-moving cells such as fish Keratocytes, Lamellipodia including most cell area finds a fan-like shape during migration, with a variety of aspect ratio function of fish type. In this work, our purpose is to present a novel and more complete two-dimensional continuum mathematical model of actomyosin-cytosolic two-phase flow of a self-deforming Keratocyte with circular spreaded to steady fan-like shape. In the new approach, in addition to the two-phase flow of the F-actin and cytosol, the G-actin transport was spatiotemporally modeled. We also for the first time modeled the effect of variable volume fraction of the moving F-actin porous network on solute transport in the cytosolic fluid. Our novel fully-coupled mathematical model provides a better understanding of intracellular dynamics of fast-migrating Keratocytes; such as the F-actin centripetal and cytosolic fountain-like flows, free-active myosin distribution, distribution sequence of the G-actin, F-actin, and myosin, and myosin-induced pressure flied of cytoplasm as well as the map of intracellular forces like myosin contraction and adhesion traction. All these results are qualitatively and quantitatively in good agreement with experimental observations. According to a range of value of parameters used in this model, our steady state of moving Keratocyte finds fan-like shape with the same aspect ratio as wide category of fish Keratocytes. This new model can predict shape of Keratocytes in other range of parameter values. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Categories of adverse health effects from indoor air pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weetman, D.F.; Munby, J.

1994-01-01

There is a lack of precision in the definition of health, which leads to confusion in the assessment of adverse effects arising from indoor air pollution. Adverse health effects range from annoyance to life-threatening conditions. Survey responses suggest that males and females differ in their perception of a healthy person, but both sexes envisage a male in terms of positive fitness, strength, energy and the possession of an athletic body, rather than how long one was likely to live. Psychological fitness was relatively unimportant in describing the health of others, but was rates as very important with respect to one's own health. Mortality statistics tend to obscure the proportion of the population who suffer chronic illness that is not life threatening. Although health is largely determined by genetic constitution, lifestyle and environmental factors, the morale of an individual is also important. A new classification of the adverse effects on health of indoor air pollution is proposed: this includes 'comfort' responses, such as sick building syndrome (category 1); acute chemical effects, the nature of which depends upon the specific intoxicant (category 2B), and perceived chronic grave risk, including cancer causation (category 3). The magnitude of risk in this latter category is imprecise, because its measurement involves the technique of quantitative risk assessment. (author) 1 fig., 2 tabs., 158 refs

The diachronic temporality as a category in the study of contemporary cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Manoel Dias da Silva

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This article examines the possible interpretations of diachrony, as a category of social analysis, in the study of contemporary cultural differences. The author reviews some studies and surveys that show the temporalities experienced in cultural practices, interested in observing different understandings of the category, in the investigative plan. It concludes that the temporality of events present in cultures have been a privileged locus for questioning about the personal trajectories and biographies of various actors, and the same wording that several areas of social practices are expected when individuals tense or move their strategies of appropriation of cultures in their times and spaces.

40 CFR 2.105 - Exemption categories.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... the mandatory disclosure requirements of 5 U.S.C. 552(a): (1)(i) Specifically authorized under... enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk... for Disclosure of Records Under the Freedom of Information Act § 2.105 Exemption categories. (a) The...

Feature-Based versus Category-Based Induction with Uncertain Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Oren; Hayes, Brett K.; Newell, Ben R.

2012-01-01

Previous research has suggested that when feature inferences have to be made about an instance whose category membership is uncertain, feature-based inductive reasoning is used to the exclusion of category-based induction. These results contrast with the observation that people can and do use category-based induction when category membership is…

Risk of suicide in high risk pregnancy: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Benute, Gláucia Rosana Guerra; Nomura, Roseli Mieko Yamamoto; Jorge, Vanessa Marques Ferreira; Nonnenmacher, Daniele; Fráguas Junior, Renério; Lucia, Mara Cristina Souza de; Zugaib, Marcelo

2011-01-01

To identify the risk of suicidal behavior in high-risk pregnant women at a public hospital in São Paulo. We conducted a semi-structured interview with each of the participants (n = 268) through a previously prepared questionnaire. Risk of suicidal behavior was assessed by the Portuguese version of PRIME-MD. The mean age of patients was 29 years (SD = 0.507) and gestation period was 30 weeks (SD = 0.556). Of the total sample, specific risk of suicide was found in 5% (n = 14). Of these, 85% have a stable relationship (married or cohabitating), the pregnancy was planned in 50% of cases, and 71% have no religion or professional activities. The correlation of risk of suicide with data from marital status, planned birth, age, education, professional practice, risk of prematurity, and religion showed that having a religion is statistically significant (p = 0.012). There were no positive associations for any of the other selected variables when compared with the risk of suicide. By correlating the risk of suicide with other characteristic symptoms of major depression, there was statistical significance in the sample with regard to insomnia or hypersomnia (p = 0.003), fatigue or loss of energy (p = 0.001), decreased or increased appetite (p = 0.005), less interest in daily activities (p = 0.000), depressed mood (p = 0.000), feelings of worthlessness or guilt (p = 0.000), decreased concentration (p = 0.002), and agitation or psychomotor retardation (p = 0.002). We found that religion can be a protective factor against suicidal behavior. Besides providing a social support network needed by women during pregnancy, religion supports belief in life after death and in a loving God, giving purpose to life and self esteem and providing models for coping with crises. The results show the importance of prevention and early diagnosis of suicidal behavior, since suicide is an attempt to move from one sphere to another by force, seeking to solve what seems impossible.

Physical activity, the Framingham risk score and risk of coronary heart disease in men and women of the EPIC-Norfolk study.

Science.gov (United States)

Arsenault, Benoit J; Rana, Jamal S; Lemieux, Isabelle; Després, Jean-Pierre; Wareham, Nicholas J; Kastelein, John J P; Boekholdt, S Matthijs; Khaw, Kay-Tee

2010-03-01

Test the hypothesis that considering leisure-time and work-related physical activity habits in addition to the Framingham risk score (FRS) would result into better classification of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk than FRS alone. Prospective, population-based study of 9564 men and 12165 women aged 45-79 years followed for an average of 11.4 years. A modified FRS which takes into account physical activity (evaluated using a validated lifestyle questionnaire taking into account leisure-time and work-related physical activity) was computed. During follow-up, 2191 CHD events occurred. Among 3369 men who were classified as intermediate risk (event rate of 12.4%) according to the FRS, 413 were reclassified into the low-risk category and 279 were reclassified into the high-risk category after modification of the FRS. After reclassification of these men, CHD event rate was of 5.3% and 18.6%, respectively for men classified at low and high CHD risk. Among 4766 women initially classified as intermediate risk (event rate of 8.4%), 1282 were reclassified into the low-risk category whereas 1071 women were reclassified into the high-risk category. After reclassification of these women, CHD event rate was of 6.8% and 12.2%, respectively for women classified at low and high CHD risk. Results of the present study suggest that asking simple questions about leisure-time and work-related physical activity which can be rapidly obtained by any physician at no cost could be helpful in the estimation of patients' CHD risk.

Seasonal influenza vaccine coverage among high-risk populations in Thailand, 2010-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Owusu, Jocelynn T; Prapasiri, Prabda; Ditsungnoen, Darunee; Leetongin, Grit; Yoocharoen, Pornsak; Rattanayot, Jarowee; Olsen, Sonja J; Muangchana, Charung

2015-01-29

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice of Thailand prioritizes seasonal influenza vaccinations for populations who are at highest risk for serious complications (pregnant women, children 6 months-2 years, persons ≥65 years, persons with chronic diseases, obese persons), and healthcare personnel and poultry cullers. The Thailand government purchases seasonal influenza vaccine for these groups. We assessed vaccination coverage among high-risk groups in Thailand from 2010 to 2012. National records on persons who received publicly purchased vaccines from 2010 to 2012 were analyzed by high-risk category. Denominator data from multiple sources were compared to calculate coverage. Vaccine coverage was defined as the proportion of individuals in each category who received the vaccine. Vaccine wastage was defined as the proportion of publicly purchased vaccines that were not used. From 2010 to 2012, 8.18 million influenza vaccines were publicly purchased (range, 2.37-3.29 million doses/year), and vaccine purchases increased 39% over these years. Vaccine wastage was 9.5%. Approximately 5.7 million (77%) vaccine doses were administered to persons ≥65 years and persons with chronic diseases, 1.4 million (19%) to healthcare personnel/poultry cullers, 82,570 (1.1%) to children 6 months-2 years, 78,885 (1.1%) to obese persons, 26,481 (0.4%) to mentally disabled persons, and 17,787 (0.2%) to pregnant women. Between 2010 and 2012, coverage increased among persons with chronic diseases (8.6% versus 14%; pThailand. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

High temperature thermal energy storage in moving sand

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, R. H.; Awaya, H. I.

1978-01-01

Several high-temperature (to 500 C) heat-storage systems using sand as the storage medium are described. The advantages of sand as a storage medium include low cost for sand, widespread availability, non-toxicity, non-degradation characteristics, easy containment, and safety. The systems considered include: stationary sand with closely spaced tubes throughout the volume, the use of a fluidized bed, use of conveyor belt transporter, and the use of a blower rapid transport system. For a stationary sand bed, very close spacing of heat transfer tubes throughout the volume is required, manifesting as high power related system cost. The suggestion of moving sand past or around pipes is intended to reduce the power related costs at the penalty of added system complexity. Preliminary system cost estimates are offered. These rough calculations indicate that mobile sand heat storage systems cost less than the stationary sand approach.

Procedural-Based Category Learning in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: Impact of Category Number and Category Continuity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Vincent eFiloteo

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Previously we found that Parkinson's disease (PD patients are impaired in procedural-based category learning when category membership is defined by a nonlinear relationship between stimulus dimensions, but these same patients are normal when the rule is defined by a linear relationship (Filoteo et al., 2005; Maddox & Filoteo, 2001. We suggested that PD patients' impairment was due to a deficit in recruiting ‘striatal units' to represent complex nonlinear rules. In the present study, we further examined the nature of PD patients' procedural-based deficit in two experiments designed to examine the impact of (1 the number of categories, and (2 category discontinuity on learning. Results indicated that PD patients were impaired only under discontinuous category conditions but were normal when the number of categories was increased from two to four. The lack of impairment in the four-category condition suggests normal integrity of striatal medium spiny cells involved in procedural-based category learning. In contrast, and consistent with our previous observation of a nonlinear deficit, the finding that PD patients were impaired in the discontinuous condition suggests that these patients are impaired when they have to associate perceptually distinct exemplars with the same category. Theoretically, this deficit might be related to dysfunctional communication among medium spiny neurons within the striatum, particularly given that these are cholinergic neurons and a cholinergic deficiency could underlie some of PD patients’ cognitive impairment.

Are current UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) obesity risk guidelines useful? Cross-sectional associations with cardiovascular disease risk factors in a large, representative English population.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabassum, Faiza; Batty, G David

2013-01-01

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently released obesity guidelines for health risk. For the first time in the UK, we estimate the utility of these guidelines by relating them to the established cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Health Survey for England (HSE) 2006, a population-based cross-sectional study in England was used with a sample size of 7225 men and women aged ≥35 years (age range: 35-97 years). The following CVD risk factor outcomes were used: hypertension, diabetes, total and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein and Framingham risk score. Four NICE categories of obesity were created based on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC): no risk (up to normal BMI and low/high WC); increased risk (normal BMI & very high WC, or obese & low WC); high risk (overweight & very high WC, or obese & high WC); and very high risk (obese I & very high WC or obese II/III with any levels of WC. Men and women in the very high risk category had the highest odds ratios (OR) of having unfavourable CVD risk factors compared to those in the no risk category. For example, the OR of having hypertension for those in the very high risk category of the NICE obesity groupings was 2.57 (95% confidence interval 2.06 to 3.21) in men, and 2.15 (1.75 to 2.64) in women. Moreover, a dose-response association between the adiposity groups and most of the CVD risk factors was observed except total cholesterol in men and low HDL in women. Similar results were apparent when the Framingham risk score was the outcome of interest. In conclusion, the current NICE definitions of obesity show utility for a range of CVD risk factors and CVD risk in both men and women.

Contested Categories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drawing on social science perspectives, Contested Categories presents a series of empirical studies that engage with the often shifting and day-to-day realities of life sciences categories. In doing so, it shows how such categories remain contested and dynamic, and that the boundaries they create...

Moving to Jobs?

OpenAIRE

Dave Maré; Jason Timmins

2003-01-01

This paper examines whether New Zealand residents move from low-growth to high-growth regions, using New Zealand census data from the past three inter-censal periods (covering 1986-2001). We focus on the relationship between employment growth and migration flows to gauge the strength of the relationship and the stability of the relationship over the business cycle. We find that people move to areas of high employment growth, but that the probability of leaving a region is less strongly relate...

Wideband Radar Echo Frequency-domain Simulation and Analysis for High Speed Moving Targets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ning Chao

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A frequency-domain method is proposed for wideband radar echo simulation of high-speed moving targets. Based on the physical process of electromagnetic waves observing a moving target, a frequency-domain echo model of wideband radar is constructed, and the block diagram of the radar echo simulation in frequency-domain is presented. Then, the impacts of radial velocity and slant range on the matching filtering of LFM radar are analyzed, and some quantitative conclusions on the shift and expansion of the radar profiles are obtained. Simulation results illustrate the correctness and efficiency of the proposed method.

Assessment of lung cancer risks for some categories of underground workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimitrov, M.

1975-01-01

In radioactive mines as well as in hardrock mines, tunnels under construction, and other underground workings, increased atmospheric levels of radioactive-gas daughter products are associated with a potential hazard of inhalation overexposure to workers. Absorbed dose from the alpha-activity component of deposition occurring in the process of breathing manifests a maximum in the area of secondary to quarternary bronchi. In this critical tissue, radiation exposure, along with other deleterious factors, produces conditions favourable to initiation of lung cancer, with a frequency of the latter proportional to cumulative dose. An assessment was made of absolute radiation risk to workers inhaling a radon-daughter contaminated atmosphere, on the basis of an estimated cumulative dose and a dose-response relation arrived at from epidemiological studies by other authors. For a range with a lower limit representing the product of maximum permissible concentration and half of the underground experience assigned to first category labor, and an upper limit determined by the product of maximum ''hidden'' alpha-decay energy measured and a full underground experience (180 months), cumulative exposures were found to vary from 90 to 8100 WLM. Rough estimates of corresponding lung cancer incidence ranged from 2 to 150 cases per year per 10,000 workers, versus 2-5 cases per year per 10,000 members of the general male population of the country. Results, obtained from a reconnaissance statistical study on a sample of 230 underground workers, with suitable working experiences and personal cumulative exposures, indicated a predicted frequency of lung cancer development of 0.43 cases per year, leading to an estimate of 19 cases per year per 10,000 workers. Such a magnitude of risk clearly shows an urgent need for introducing effective measures to improve radiological conditions in the occupational environment for a large proportion of the underground workers. (author)

Automatic Moving Object Segmentation for Freely Moving Cameras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanli Wan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new moving object segmentation algorithm for freely moving cameras which is very common for the outdoor surveillance system, the car build-in surveillance system, and the robot navigation system. A two-layer based affine transformation model optimization method is proposed for camera compensation purpose, where the outer layer iteration is used to filter the non-background feature points, and the inner layer iteration is used to estimate a refined affine model based on the RANSAC method. Then the feature points are classified into foreground and background according to the detected motion information. A geodesic based graph cut algorithm is then employed to extract the moving foreground based on the classified features. Unlike the existing global optimization or the long term feature point tracking based method, our algorithm only performs on two successive frames to segment the moving foreground, which makes it suitable for the online video processing applications. The experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm in both of the high accuracy and the fast speed.

High-yield growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on a continuously moving substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guzman de Villoria, R; Hart, A J; Steiner, S A III; Wardle, B L; Figueredo, S L; Slocum, A H

2009-01-01

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays are grown on a moving substrate, demonstrating continuous growth of nanoscale materials with long-range order. A cold-wall chamber with an oscillating moving platform is used to locally heat a silicon growth substrate coated with an Fe/Al 2 O 3 catalyst film for CNT growth via chemical vapor deposition. The reactant gases are introduced over the substrate through a directed nozzle to attain high-yield CNT growth. Aligned multi-wall carbon nanotube arrays (or 'forests') with heights of ∼1 mm are achieved at substrate speeds up to 2.4 mm s -1 . Arrays grown on moving substrates at different velocities are studied in order to identify potential physical limitations of repeatable and fast growth on a continuous basis. No significant differences are noted between static and moving growth as characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, although overall growth height is marginally reduced at the highest substrate velocity. CNT arrays produced on moving substrates are also found to be comparable to those produced through well-characterized batch processes consistent with a base-growth mechanism. Growth parameters required for the moving furnace are found to differ only slightly from those used in a comparable batch process; thermal uniformity appears to be the critical parameter for achieving large-area uniform array growth. If the continuous-growth technology is combined with a reaction zone isolation scheme common in other types of processing (e.g., in the manufacture of carbon fibers), large-scale dense and aligned CNT arrays may be efficiently grown and harvested for numerous applications including providing interlayers for advanced composite reinforcement and improved electrical and thermal transport.

High-yield growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on a continuously moving substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzmán de Villoria, R; Figueredo, S L; Hart, A J; Steiner, S A; Slocum, A H; Wardle, B L

2009-10-07

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays are grown on a moving substrate, demonstrating continuous growth of nanoscale materials with long-range order. A cold-wall chamber with an oscillating moving platform is used to locally heat a silicon growth substrate coated with an Fe/Al2O3 catalyst film for CNT growth via chemical vapor deposition. The reactant gases are introduced over the substrate through a directed nozzle to attain high-yield CNT growth. Aligned multi-wall carbon nanotube arrays (or 'forests') with heights of approximately 1 mm are achieved at substrate speeds up to 2.4 mm s(-1). Arrays grown on moving substrates at different velocities are studied in order to identify potential physical limitations of repeatable and fast growth on a continuous basis. No significant differences are noted between static and moving growth as characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, although overall growth height is marginally reduced at the highest substrate velocity. CNT arrays produced on moving substrates are also found to be comparable to those produced through well-characterized batch processes consistent with a base-growth mechanism. Growth parameters required for the moving furnace are found to differ only slightly from those used in a comparable batch process; thermal uniformity appears to be the critical parameter for achieving large-area uniform array growth. If the continuous-growth technology is combined with a reaction zone isolation scheme common in other types of processing (e.g., in the manufacture of carbon fibers), large-scale dense and aligned CNT arrays may be efficiently grown and harvested for numerous applications including providing interlayers for advanced composite reinforcement and improved electrical and thermal transport.

What is the optimal management of high risk, clinically localized prostate cancer?

Science.gov (United States)

Eastham, James A; Evans, Christopher P; Zietman, Anthony

2010-01-01

To summarize the presentations and debate regarding the optimal treatment of localized high-risk prostate cancer as presented at the 2009 Spring Meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology. The debate was centered on presentations arguing for radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy as the optimal treatment for this condition. The meeting presentations are summarized by their respective presenters herein. Dr. James Eastham presents the varied definitions for "high-risk" prostate cancer as strongly influencing which patients end up in this cohort. Based upon this, between 3% and 38% of patients with high-risk features could be defined as "high-risk". Despite that, these men do not have a uniformly poor prognosis after RP, and attention to surgical principles as outlined improve outcomes. Disease-specific survival at 12 years is excellent and up to one-half of these men may not need adjuvant or salvage therapies, depending on their specific disease characteristics. Adjuvant or salvage radiotherapies improve outcomes and are part of a sequential approach to treating these patients. Dr. Anthony Zietman presented radiotherapy as the gold-standard based upon large, randomized clinical trials of intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer patients. Compared with androgen deprivation alone, the addition of radiotherapy provided a 12% cancer-specific survival advantage and 10% overall survival advantage. Dose escalation seems to confer further improvements in cancer control without significant escalation of toxicities, with more data forthcoming. There are no randomized trials comparing RP to radiotherapy for any risk category. In high-risk prostate cancer patients, both approaches have potential benefits and cumulative toxicities that must be matched to disease characteristics and patient expectations in selecting a treatment course. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Risk List

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

economy. The World Bank has said that “corruption creates an unfavorable business environment by undermining the operation efficiency of firms and... Bank Began as ‘Ponzi Scheme,’” 11/27/2012. 64 Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, Unfinished Business : The Follow...HIGH RISK AREA 7: Oversight 51 HIGH-RISK AREA 8: Strategy and Planning 55 CONCLUSION HIGH RISK LIST I JANUARY 11, 2017 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

High accuracy velocity control method for the french moving-coil watt balance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Topcu, Suat; Chassagne, Luc; Haddad, Darine; Alayli, Yasser; Juncar, Patrick

2004-01-01

We describe a novel method of velocity control dedicated to the French moving-coil watt balance. In this project, a coil has to move in a magnetic field at a velocity of 2 mm s -1 with a relative uncertainty of 10 -9 over 60 mm. Our method is based on the use of both a heterodyne Michelson's interferometer, a two-level translation stage, and a homemade high frequency phase-shifting electronic circuit. To quantify the stability of the velocity, the output of the interferometer is sent into a frequency counter and the Doppler frequency shift is recorded. The Allan standard deviation has been used to calculate the stability and a σ y (τ) of about 2.2x10 -9 over 400 s has been obtained

Differential impact of contraceptive methods on seizures varies by antiepileptic drug category: Findings of the Epilepsy Birth Control Registry.

Science.gov (United States)

Herzog, Andrew G; Mandle, Hannah B; Cahill, Kaitlyn E; Fowler, Kristen M; Hauser, W Allen

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether categories of contraception differ in their impact on seizures in women with epilepsy and whether the impact varies by antiepileptic drug category. Retrospective survey data came from 2712 contraceptive experiences reported by 1144 women with epilepsy. We compared risk ratios for reports of increase and decrease in seizure frequency on hormonal versus nonhormonal contraception, stratified by antiepileptic drug categories. More women with epilepsy reported a change in seizures on hormonal (28.2%) than on nonhormonal contraception (9.7%) (pcontraception (4.2%) was 4.47 (pcontraception (5.5%) was 1.71, pcontraception, the risk ratio for seizure increase was greater than for decrease (1.98, pmethod with a greater risk ratio for seizure decrease than combined pills. Seizure increase was greater for hormonal than nonhormonal contraception for each antiepileptic drug category (pcontraception, relative to the non-enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drug category which had the lowest rate, each of the other categories had significantly greater risks for seizure increase, especially the enzyme-inhibiting (valproate) category (risk ratio=2.53, p=0.0002). The findings provide community-based, epidemiological survey evidence that contraceptive methods may differ in their impact on seizures and that this impact may vary by antiepileptic drug category. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

High-precision solution to the moving load problem using an improved spectral element method

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Shu-Rui; Wu, Zhi-Jing; Lu, Nian-Li

2018-02-01

In this paper, the spectral element method (SEM) is improved to solve the moving load problem. In this method, a structure with uniform geometry and material properties is considered as a spectral element, which means that the element number and the degree of freedom can be reduced significantly. Based on the variational method and the Laplace transform theory, the spectral stiffness matrix and the equivalent nodal force of the beam-column element are established. The static Green function is employed to deduce the improved function. The proposed method is applied to two typical engineering practices—the one-span bridge and the horizontal jib of the tower crane. The results have revealed the following. First, the new method can yield extremely high-precision results of the dynamic deflection, the bending moment and the shear force in the moving load problem. In most cases, the relative errors are smaller than 1%. Second, by comparing with the finite element method, one can obtain the highly accurate results using the improved SEM with smaller element numbers. Moreover, the method can be widely used for statically determinate as well as statically indeterminate structures. Third, the dynamic deflection of the twin-lift jib decreases with the increase in the moving load speed, whereas the curvature of the deflection increases. Finally, the dynamic deflection, the bending moment and the shear force of the jib will all increase as the magnitude of the moving load increases.

Non-native and native organisms moving into high elevation and high latitude ecosystems in an era of climate change: new challenges for ecology and conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Pauchard, Aníbal; Albihn, Ann; Alexander, Jake; Burgess, Treena; Daehler, Curt; Essl, Franz; Evengard, Birgitta; Greenwood, Greg; Haider, Sylvia; Lenoir, Jonathan; McDougall, K.; Milbau, Ann; Muths, Erin L.; Nunez, Martin; Pellissier, Lois; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Rew, Lisa; Robertson, Mark; Sanders, Nathan; Kueffer, Christoph

2016-01-01

Cold environments at high elevation and high latitude are often viewed as resistant to biological invasions. However, climate warming, land use change and associated increased connectivity all increase the risk of biological invasions in these environments. Here we present a summary of the key discussions of the workshop ‘Biosecurity in Mountains and Northern Ecosystems: Current Status and Future Challenges’ (Flen, Sweden, 1–3 June 2015). The aims of the workshop were to (1) increase awareness about the growing importance of species expansion—both non-native and native—at high elevation and high latitude with climate change, (2) review existing knowledge about invasion risks in these areas, and (3) encourage more research on how species will move and interact in cold environments, the consequences for biodiversity, and animal and human health and wellbeing. The diversity of potential and actual invaders reported at the workshop and the likely interactions between them create major challenges for managers of cold environments. However, since these cold environments have experienced fewer invasions when compared with many warmer, more populated environments, prevention has a real chance of success, especially if it is coupled with prioritisation schemes for targeting invaders likely to have greatest impact. Communication and co-operation between cold environment regions will facilitate rapid response, and maximise the use of limited research and management resources.

Quantitative risk assessment for Listeria monocytogenes in selected categories of deli meats: impact of lactate and diacetate on listeriosis cases and deaths.

Science.gov (United States)

Pradhan, Abani K; Ivanek, Renata; Gröhn, Yrjö T; Geornaras, Ifigenia; Sofos, John N; Wiedmann, Martin

2009-05-01

Foodborne disease associated with consumption of ready-to-eat foods contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes represents a considerable pubic health concern. In a risk assessment published in 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service estimated that about 90% of human listeriosis cases in the United States are caused by consumption of contaminated deli meats. In this risk assessment, all deli meats were grouped into one of 23 categories of ready-to-eat foods, and only the postretail growth of L. monocytogenes was considered. To provide an improved risk assessment for L. monocytogenes in deli meats, we developed a revised risk assessment that (i) models risk for three subcategories of deli meats (i.e., ham, turkey, and roast beef) and (ii) models L. monocytogenes contamination and growth from production to consumption while considering subcategory-specific growth kinetics parameters (i.e., lag phase and exponential growth rate). This model also was used to assess how reformulation of the chosen deli meat subcategories with L. monocytogenes growth inhibitors (i.e., lactate and diacetate) would impact the number of human listeriosis cases. Use of product-specific growth parameters demonstrated how certain deli meat categories differ in the relative risk of causing listeriosis; products that support more rapid growth and have reduced lag phases (e.g., turkey) represent a higher risk. Although reformulation of deli meats with growth inhibitors was estimated to reduce by about 2.5- to 7.8-fold the number of human listeriosis cases linked to a given deli meat subcategory and thus would reduce the overall risk of human listeriosis, even with reformulation deli meats would still cause a considerable number of human listeriosis cases. A combination of strategies is thus needed to provide continued reduction of these cases. Risk assessment models such as that described here will be critical for evaluation of different control

On Learning Natural-Science Categories That Violate the Family-Resemblance Principle.

Science.gov (United States)

Nosofsky, Robert M; Sanders, Craig A; Gerdom, Alex; Douglas, Bruce J; McDaniel, Mark A

2017-01-01

The general view in psychological science is that natural categories obey a coherent, family-resemblance principle. In this investigation, we documented an example of an important exception to this principle: Results of a multidimensional-scaling study of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks (Experiment 1) suggested that the structure of these categories is disorganized and dispersed. This finding motivated us to explore what might be the optimal procedures for teaching dispersed categories, a goal that is likely critical to science education in general. Subjects in Experiment 2 learned to classify pictures of rocks into compact or dispersed high-level categories. One group learned the categories through focused high-level training, whereas a second group was required to simultaneously learn classifications at a subtype level. Although high-level training led to enhanced performance when the categories were compact, subtype training was better when the categories were dispersed. We provide an interpretation of the results in terms of an exemplar-memory model of category learning.

Toxicological risk at workplace and toxicity as Life Cycle Assessment impact category: Substitution of solvents as an example.

Science.gov (United States)

Schupp, Thomas; Georg, Philipp Alexander; Kirstein, Guenter

2017-01-01

Substitution of hazardous substances against less hazardous ones is a central requirement of the European Chemical Regulation REACH (European Regulation 1907/2006/EC). Hazardous substances emitted from products may not only affect the worker; drift off and distribution in the environment may finally result in exposure of the general population. This potential threat to health is covered by the impact category "toxicity" in Life Cycle Assessments. In this paper, we present a case of a substitution of volatile organic compounds in a reactive varnish, and compare the "old" formulation with the "new" formulation against health risk to the worker, and concerning the Life Cycle Assessment impact category "toxicity". The "old" formulation contained Naphtha (petroleum), hydrodesulfurized, heavy and Solvent naphtha (petroleum), light, aromatic. In the new formulation, both naphthas were replaced by n-Butylacetate, 1-Ethoxy-2-propyl acetate and Ethyl-3-ethoxy propionate. In the European Union, the naphthas are classified as mutagens and carcinogens category 1, officially. However, if benzene is below 0.1 %, registrants in the EU proposed to omit this classification, and todays naptha products on the market obviously have benzene contents below 0.1 %. On a first glance, the improvement for workplace safety introduced by the substitution, therefore, is comparatively small, as it is for toxicity in Life Cycle Assessment. However, when background knowledge concerning chemical production processes of naphtha is included, benzene below a content of 0.1 % needs to be taken into consideration, and the benefit of substitution is more obvious.

Designation of facility usage categories for Hanford Site facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wodrich, D.; Ellingson, D.; Scott, M.; Schade, A.

1991-01-01

This report summarizes the Hanford Site methodology used to ensure facility compliance with the natural phenomena design criteria set forth in the US Department of Energy orders and guidance. In particular, the Hanford Site approach to designating a suitable facility open-quotes Usage Category,close quotes is presented. The current Hanford Site methodology for Usage Category designation is based on an engineered feature's safety function and on the feature's assigned Safety Class. At the Hanford Site, Safety Class assignments are deterministic in nature and are based on the consequences of failure, without regard to the likelihood of occurrence. The report also proposes a risk-based approach to Usage Category designation, which is being considered for future application at the Hanford Site. To establish a proper Usage Category designation, the safety analysis and engineering design processes must be coupled. This union produces a common understanding of the safety function(s) to be accomplished by the design feature(s) and a sound basis for the assignment of Usage Categories to the appropriate systems, structures, and components

Dynamic temperature field in the ferromagnetic plate induced by moving high frequency inductor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milošević-Mitić Vesna

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The subject of the paper is the temperature distribution in the thin metallic ferromagnetic plate influenced by moving linear high frequency induction heater. As a result of high frequency electromagnetic field, conducting currents appear in the part of the plate. Distribution of the eddy-current power across the plate thickness is obtained by use of complex analysis. The influences of the heater frequency, magnetic field intensity and plate thickness on the heat power density were discussed. By treating this power as a moving heat source, differential equations governing distribution of the temperature field are formulated. Temperature across the plate thickness is assumed to be in linear form. Differential equations are analytically solved by using integral-transform technique, Fourier finite-sine and finite-cosine transform and Laplace transform. The influence of the heater velocity to the plate temperature is presented on numerical examples based on theoretically obtained results. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 35040 i br. TR 35011

Dog days of summer: Influences on decision of wolves to move pups

Science.gov (United States)

Ausband, David E.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Bassing, Sarah B.; Nordhagen, Matthew; Smith, Douglas W.; Stahler, Daniel R.

2016-01-01

For animals that forage widely, protecting young from predation can span relatively long time periods due to the inability of young to travel with and be protected by their parents. Moving relatively immobile young to improve access to important resources, limit detection of concentrated scent by predators, and decrease infestations by ectoparasites can be advantageous. Moving young, however, can also expose them to increased mortality risks (e.g., accidents, getting lost, predation). For group-living animals that live in variable environments and care for young over extended time periods, the influence of biotic factors (e.g., group size, predation risk) and abiotic factors (e.g., temperature and precipitation) on the decision to move young is unknown. We used data from 25 satellite-collared wolves ( Canis lupus ) in Idaho, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park to evaluate how these factors could influence the decision to move pups during the pup-rearing season. We hypothesized that litter size, the number of adults in a group, and perceived predation risk would positively affect the number of times gray wolves moved pups. We further hypothesized that wolves would move their pups more often when it was hot and dry to ensure sufficient access to water. Contrary to our hypothesis, monthly temperature above the 30-year average was negatively related to the number of times wolves moved their pups. Monthly precipitation above the 30-year average, however, was positively related to the amount of time wolves spent at pup-rearing sites after leaving the natal den. We found little relationship between risk of predation (by grizzly bears, humans, or conspecifics) or group and litter sizes and number of times wolves moved their pups. Our findings suggest that abiotic factors most strongly influence the decision of wolves to move pups, although responses to unpredictable biotic events (e.g., a predator encountering pups) cannot be ruled out.

High-throughput screening of a diversity collection using biodefense category A and B priority pathogens.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrow, Esther W; Clinkenbeard, Patricia A; Duncan-Decocq, Rebecca A; Perteet, Rachel F; Hill, Kimberly D; Bourne, Philip C; Valderas, Michelle W; Bourne, Christina R; Clarkson, Nicole L; Clinkenbeard, Kenneth D; Barrow, William W

2012-08-01

One of the objectives of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Biodefense Program is to identify or develop broad-spectrum antimicrobials for use against bioterrorism pathogens and emerging infectious agents. As a part of that program, our institution has screened the 10 000-compound MyriaScreen Diversity Collection of high-purity druglike compounds against three NIAID category A and one category B priority pathogens in an effort to identify potential compound classes for further drug development. The effective use of a Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute-based high-throughput screening (HTS) 96-well-based format allowed for the identification of 49 compounds that had in vitro activity against all four pathogens with minimum inhibitory concentration values of ≤16 µg/mL. Adaptation of the HTS process was necessary to conduct the work in higher-level containment, in this case, biosafety level 3. Examination of chemical scaffolds shared by some of the 49 compounds and assessment of available chemical databases indicates that several may represent broad-spectrum antimicrobials whose activity is based on novel mechanisms of action.

Analysis of moving surface structures at a laser-induced boiling front

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matti, R.S., E-mail: ramiz.matti@ltu.se [Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, S-971 87 Luleå (Sweden); University of Mosul, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mosul (Iraq); Kaplan, A.F.H. [Luleå University of Technology, Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, S-971 87 Luleå (Sweden)

2014-10-30

Highlights: • For laser-induced boiling, molten metal surfaces show a moving wave pattern. • Categorization of seven kinds of shapes enabled systematic pattern analysis. • Bright shapes changed or disappeared, giving evidence for pulsating waves. • Interpretation on the topology and on the basic laser–melt interaction was made. - Abstract: Recently ultra-high speed imaging enabled to observe moving wave patterns on metal melts that experience laser-induced boiling. In laser materials processing a vertical laser-induced boiling front governs processes like keyhole laser welding, laser remote fusion cutting, laser drilling or laser ablation. The observed waves originate from temperature variations that are closely related to the melt topology. For improved understanding of the essential front mechanisms and of the front topology, for the first time a deeper systematic analysis of the wave patterns was carried out. Seven geometrical shapes of bright or dark domains were distinguished and categorized, in particular bright peaks of three kinds and dark valleys, often inclined. Two categories describe special flow patterns at the top and bottom of the front. Dynamic and statistical analysis has revealed that the shapes often combine or separate from one category to another when streaming down the front. The brightness of wave peaks typically fluctuates during 20–50 μs. This variety of thermal wave observations is interpreted with respect to the accompanying surface topology of the melt and in turn for governing local mechanisms like absorption, shadowing, boiling, ablation pressure and melt acceleration. The findings can be of importance for understanding the key process mechanisms and for optimizing laser materials processing.

Analysis of moving surface structures at a laser-induced boiling front

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matti, R.S.; Kaplan, A.F.H.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • For laser-induced boiling, molten metal surfaces show a moving wave pattern. • Categorization of seven kinds of shapes enabled systematic pattern analysis. • Bright shapes changed or disappeared, giving evidence for pulsating waves. • Interpretation on the topology and on the basic laser–melt interaction was made. - Abstract: Recently ultra-high speed imaging enabled to observe moving wave patterns on metal melts that experience laser-induced boiling. In laser materials processing a vertical laser-induced boiling front governs processes like keyhole laser welding, laser remote fusion cutting, laser drilling or laser ablation. The observed waves originate from temperature variations that are closely related to the melt topology. For improved understanding of the essential front mechanisms and of the front topology, for the first time a deeper systematic analysis of the wave patterns was carried out. Seven geometrical shapes of bright or dark domains were distinguished and categorized, in particular bright peaks of three kinds and dark valleys, often inclined. Two categories describe special flow patterns at the top and bottom of the front. Dynamic and statistical analysis has revealed that the shapes often combine or separate from one category to another when streaming down the front. The brightness of wave peaks typically fluctuates during 20–50 μs. This variety of thermal wave observations is interpreted with respect to the accompanying surface topology of the melt and in turn for governing local mechanisms like absorption, shadowing, boiling, ablation pressure and melt acceleration. The findings can be of importance for understanding the key process mechanisms and for optimizing laser materials processing

Visualization of high speed liquid jet impaction on a moving surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yuchen; Green, Sheldon

2015-04-17

Two apparatuses for examining liquid jet impingement on a high-speed moving surface are described: an air cannon device (for examining surface speeds between 0 and 25 m/sec) and a spinning disk device (for examining surface speeds between 15 and 100 m/sec). The air cannon linear traverse is a pneumatic energy-powered system that is designed to accelerate a metal rail surface mounted on top of a wooden projectile. A pressurized cylinder fitted with a solenoid valve rapidly releases pressurized air into the barrel, forcing the projectile down the cannon barrel. The projectile travels beneath a spray nozzle, which impinges a liquid jet onto its metal upper surface, and the projectile then hits a stopping mechanism. A camera records the jet impingement, and a pressure transducer records the spray nozzle backpressure. The spinning disk set-up consists of a steel disk that reaches speeds of 500 to 3,000 rpm via a variable frequency drive (VFD) motor. A spray system similar to that of the air cannon generates a liquid jet that impinges onto the spinning disc, and cameras placed at several optical access points record the jet impingement. Video recordings of jet impingement processes are recorded and examined to determine whether the outcome of impingement is splash, splatter, or deposition. The apparatuses are the first that involve the high speed impingement of low-Reynolds-number liquid jets on high speed moving surfaces. In addition to its rail industry applications, the described technique may be used for technical and industrial purposes such as steelmaking and may be relevant to high-speed 3D printing.

High-frequency asymptotics of the emission spectrum of moving charged particles in classical electrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbasov, I.I.; Bolotovskij, B.M.; Davydov, V.A.

1986-01-01

Electromagnetic radiation appears as a result of a charged particle movement in free space and also in heterogeneous and non-stationary medium. The radiation spectrum depends on the charged particle motion law, as well as on the law of the medium property chage in space and time. The asymptotics of radiation spectrum, i.e. behaviour of spectral intensity at high frequencies, is studied. It is shown that if a charged particle moves along smooth trajectory or if the change in the medium properties takes place accordng to the law described by a smooth function, the radiation spectrum at high frequencies decreases according to exponential law. Thus, radiation spectrum of a charged particle moving along a smooth trajectory in the medium with gradual heterogeneity and (or) instability is rapidly cut, starting from a certain frequency value. The smooth trajectory means that the charge moves according to the law r = r(t), where vector-function r(t) is continuous with all its derivatives. In much the same way the medium with gradual heterogeneities (or with gradual instability) is described by the functions which are continuous with all their derivatives of any order. The method permitting to determine the upper boundary of radiation spectra is presented

Designation of facility usage categories for Hanford Site facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodrich, D.D.; Ellingson, D.R.; Scott, M.A.; Schade, A.R.

1991-10-01

This report summarizes the Hanford Site methodology used to ensure facility compliance with the natural phenomena design criteria set forth in the US Department of Energy Orders and guidance. The current Hanford Site methodology for Usage Category designation is based on an engineered feature's safety function and on the feature's assigned Safety Class. At the Hanford Site, Safety Class assignments are deterministic in nature and are based on teh consequences of failure, without regard to the likelihood of occurrence. The report also proposes a risk-based approach to Usage Category designation, which is being considered for future application at the Hanford Site. To establish a proper Usage Category designation, the safety analysis and engineering design processes must be coupled. This union produces a common understanding of the safety function(s) to be accomplished by the design feature(s) and a sound basis for the assignment of Usage Categories to the appropriate systems, structures, and components. 4 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

Categories from scratch

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poss, R.

2014-01-01

The concept of category from mathematics happens to be useful to computer programmers in many ways. Unfortunately, all "good" explanations of categories so far have been designed by mathematicians, or at least theoreticians with a strong background in mathematics, and this makes categories

Prior knowledge of category size impacts visual search.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Rachel; McGee, Brianna; Echiverri, Chelsea; Zinszer, Benjamin D

2018-03-30

Prior research has shown that category search can be similar to one-item search (as measured by the N2pc ERP marker of attentional selection) for highly familiar, smaller categories (e.g., letters and numbers) because the finite set of items in a category can be grouped into one unit to guide search. Other studies have shown that larger, more broadly defined categories (e.g., healthy food) also can elicit N2pc components during category search, but the amplitude of these components is typically attenuated. Two experiments investigated whether the perceived size of a familiar category impacts category and exemplar search. We presented participants with 16 familiar company logos: 8 from a smaller category (social media companies) and 8 from a larger category (entertainment/recreation manufacturing companies). The ERP results from Experiment 1 revealed that, in a two-item search array, search was more efficient for the smaller category of logos compared to the larger category. In a four-item search array (Experiment 2), where two of the four items were placeholders, search was largely similar between the category types, but there was more attentional capture by nontarget members from the same category as the target for smaller rather than larger categories. These results support a growing literature on how prior knowledge of categories affects attentional selection and capture during visual search. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to assessing cognitive abilities across the lifespan, given that prior knowledge typically increases with age. © 2018 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Enumerating bone marrow blasts from nonerythroid cellularity improves outcome prediction in myelodysplastic syndromes and permits a better definition of the intermediate risk category of the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R).

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Xavier; Arenillas, Leonor; Luño, Elisa; Senent, Leonor; Arnan, Montserrat; Ramos, Fernando; Pedro, Carme; Tormo, Mar; Montoro, Julia; Díez-Campelo, María; Blanco, María Laura; Arrizabalaga, Beatriz; Xicoy, Blanca; Bonanad, Santiago; Jerez, Andrés; Nomdedeu, Meritxell; Ferrer, Ana; Sanz, Guillermo F; Florensa, Lourdes

2017-07-01

The Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) has been recognized as the score with the best outcome prediction capability in MDS, but this brought new concerns about the accurate prognostication of patients classified into the intermediate risk category. The correct enumeration of blasts is essential in prognostication of MDS. Recent data evidenced that considering blasts from nonerythroid cellularity (NECs) improves outcome prediction in the context of IPSS and WHO classification. We assessed the percentage of blasts from total nucleated cells (TNCs) and NECs in 3924 MDS patients from the GESMD, 498 of whom were MDS with erythroid predominance (MDS-E). We assessed if calculating IPSS-R by enumerating blasts from NECs improves prognostication of MDS. Twenty-four percent of patients classified into the intermediate category were reclassified into higher-risk categories and showed shorter overall survival (OS) and time to AML evolution than those who remained into the intermediate one. Likewise, a better distribution of patients was observed, since lower-risk patients showed longer survivals than previously whereas higher-risk ones maintained the outcome expected in this poor prognostic group (median OS < 20 months). Furthermore, our approach was particularly useful for detecting patients at risk of dying with AML. Regarding MDS-E, 51% patients classified into the intermediate category were reclassified into higher-risk ones and showed shorter OS and time to AML. In this subgroup of MDS, IPSS-R was capable of splitting our series in five groups with significant differences in OS only when blasts were assessed from NECs. In conclusion, our easy-applicable approach improves prognostic assessment of MDS patients. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

46 CFR 153.488 - Design and equipment for tanks carrying high melting point NLSs: Category B.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES SHIPS CARRYING BULK LIQUID, LIQUEFIED GAS, OR COMPRESSED GAS... equipment for tanks carrying high melting point NLSs: Category B. Unless waived under § 153.491, for a ship to have its Certificate of Inspection or Certificate of Compliance endorsed allowing a tank to carry...

Supply chain performance attributes for the fast moving consumer goods industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhu Bala

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This research paper identifies the supply chain performance attributes that are relevant to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG industry. The FMCG supply chains are analysed from the perspective of processes, components and typology. The typical issues faced by the FMCG supply chains are also explored. Three supply chain operational models are compared and identify SCOR as the one best suited for the FMCG industry. The survey, conducted with the respondents from four research cases across two product categories, demonstrates the acceptance and the usage of the performance attributes for the FMCG supply chains. The results also include the analysis of the typology of the research cases across two product categories.

High-sulfur coal: tonnage and money at risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMahan, R.L.; Knutson, K.S.

1991-01-01

More than 286 million tons of coal exceeds the Phase I standard i.e. 2.5 lb SO 2 per mmBtu, of the US Clean Air Act (1990). 85 mmtpy goes to currently scrubbed or unaffected (i.e. small) units. This leaves 201 mmtpy of high-sulphur coal at risk. 129 mmtpy of this is moving on a spot basis or is shipped under contracts that expire by 1995. This leaves about 72 mmtpy of captive and longterm contracts which many utility fuel buyers assume will be cancelled or renegotiated at a lower price. The legal position remains uncertain. However, the massive cancellation and/or renegotiation of existing contracts will have a tremendous economic impact on the coal industry. The resultant price change will in turn influence decisions to scrub or switch to low sulphur coals. 2 figs., 2 tabs

A moving finite element model of the high density z-pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glasser, A.H.

1989-01-01

This paper presents the results of computations of the behavior of the fiber-initiated high density Z-pinch (HDZP). It purpose is twofold. One is to study the behavior of the physical system itself as an interesting controlled fusion experiment. The main result of this study is a demonstration of the relaxation of the full inertial behavior of the pinch to simplified self-similar behavior in which the forces on the system are in near balance. The moving free boundary and violent initial behavior of this configuration require carful treatment. This leads to the other purpose of the work, to use this realistic physical system as a test-bed for a general-purpose 1-dimensional code based on moving finite elements. A key step in accomplishing this goal has been the recognition that numerical stability of the discretized equations has required the use of nonconservative quantities as the fundamental dependent variables to be discretized. The main result of this work is a code which is capable of treating a very general class of nonlinear, time-dependent fluid equations. copyright 1989 Academic Press, Inc

Risk characterization data manual for Category D inactive liquid low-level waste tank systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

This manual reports the results of a risk characterization of Category D inactive liquid low-level radioactive waste (LLLW) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The risk characterization is required by the Federal Facility Agreement between the Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Operations Office, the Environmental Protection Agency-Region IV, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The intent of the risk characterization is to determine relative priorities for assessment and remediation. When the scores for all tanks had been weighted and summed, the tanks were ranked in descending order on the basis of their total scores. The highest possible score for a tank is 30. The descending order represents the recommended priorities for evaluation: the higher the score, the higher the priority for evaluation

Moved by words: Affective ratings for a set of 2,266 Spanish words in five discrete emotion categories.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferré, Pilar; Guasch, Marc; Martínez-García, Natalia; Fraga, Isabel; Hinojosa, José Antonio

2017-06-01

The two main theoretical accounts of the human affective space are the dimensional perspective and the discrete-emotion approach. In recent years, several affective norms have been developed from a dimensional perspective, including ratings for valence and arousal. In contrast, the number of published datasets relying on the discrete-emotion approach is much lower. There is a need to fill this gap, considering that discrete emotions have an effect on word processing above and beyond those of valence and arousal. In the present study, we present ratings from 1,380 participants for a set of 2,266 Spanish words in five discrete emotion categories: happiness, anger, fear, disgust, and sadness. This will be the largest dataset published to date containing ratings for discrete emotions. We also present, for the first time, a fine-grained analysis of the distribution of words into the five emotion categories. This analysis reveals that happiness words are the most consistently related to a single, discrete emotion category. In contrast, there is a tendency for many negative words to belong to more than one discrete emotion. The only exception is disgust words, which overlap least with the other negative emotions. Normative valence and arousal data already exist for all of the words included in this corpus. Thus, the present database will allow researchers to design studies to contrast the predictions of the two most influential theoretical perspectives in this field. These studies will undoubtedly contribute to a deeper understanding of the effects of emotion on word processing.

High-speed video capillaroscopy method for imaging and evaluation of moving red blood cells

Science.gov (United States)

Gurov, Igor; Volkov, Mikhail; Margaryants, Nikita; Pimenov, Aleksei; Potemkin, Andrey

2018-05-01

The video capillaroscopy system with high image recording rate to resolve moving red blood cells with velocity up to 5 mm/s into a capillary is considered. Proposed procedures of the recorded video sequence processing allow evaluating spatial capillary area, capillary diameter and central line with high accuracy and reliability independently on properties of individual capillary. Two-dimensional inter frame procedure is applied to find lateral shift of neighbor images in the blood flow area with moving red blood cells and to measure directly the blood flow velocity along a capillary central line. The developed method opens new opportunities for biomedical diagnostics, particularly, due to long-time continuous monitoring of red blood cells velocity into capillary. Spatio-temporal representation of capillary blood flow is considered. Experimental results of direct measurement of blood flow velocity into separate capillary as well as capillary net are presented and discussed.

A connectionist model of category learning by individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Dovgopoly, Alexander; Mercado, Eduardo

2013-06-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show atypical patterns of learning and generalization. We explored the possible impacts of autism-related neural abnormalities on perceptual category learning using a neural network model of visual cortical processing. When applied to experiments in which children or adults were trained to classify complex two-dimensional images, the model can account for atypical patterns of perceptual generalization. This is only possible, however, when individual differences in learning are taken into account. In particular, analyses performed with a self-organizing map suggested that individuals with high-functioning ASD show two distinct generalization patterns: one that is comparable to typical patterns, and a second in which there is almost no generalization. The model leads to novel predictions about how individuals will generalize when trained with simplified input sets and can explain why some researchers have failed to detect learning or generalization deficits in prior studies of category learning by individuals with autism. On the basis of these simulations, we propose that deficits in basic neural plasticity mechanisms may be sufficient to account for the atypical patterns of perceptual category learning and generalization associated with autism, but they do not account for why only a subset of individuals with autism would show such deficits. If variations in performance across subgroups reflect heterogeneous neural abnormalities, then future behavioral and neuroimaging studies of individuals with ASD will need to account for such disparities.

Utility of the combination of serum highly-sensitive C-reactive protein level at discharge and a risk index in predicting readmission for acute exacerbation of COPD,

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun Chang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Frequent readmissions for acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD are an independent risk factor for increased mortality and use of health-care resources. Disease severity and C-reactive protein (CRP level are validated predictors of long-term prognosis in such patients. This study investigated the utility of combining serum CRP level with the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD exacerbation risk classification for predicting readmission for AECOPD. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study of consecutive patients hospitalized for AECOPD at Peking University Third Hospital, in Beijing, China. We assessed patient age; gender; smoking status and history (pack-years; lung function; AECOPD frequency during the last year; quality of life; GOLD risk category (A-D; D indicating the greatest risk; and serum level of high-sensitivity CRP at discharge (hsCRP-D. RESULTS: The final sample comprised 135 patients. Of those, 71 (52.6% were readmitted at least once during the 12-month follow-up period. The median (interquartile time to readmission was 78 days (42-178 days. Multivariate analysis revealed that serum hsCRP-D ≥ 3 mg/L and GOLD category D were independent predictors of readmission (hazard ratio = 3.486; 95% CI: 1.968-6.175; p < 0.001 and hazard ratio = 2.201; 95% CI: 1.342-3.610; p = 0.002, respectively. The ordering of the factor combinations by cumulative readmission risk, from highest to lowest, was as follows: hsCRP-D ≥ 3 mg/L and GOLD category D; hsCRP-D ≥ 3 mg/L and GOLD categories A-C; hsCRP-D < 3 mg/L and GOLD category D; hsCRP-D < 3 mg/L and GOLD categories A-C. CONCLUSIONS: Serum hsCRP-D and GOLD classification are independent predictors of readmission for AECOPD, and their predictive value increases when they are used in combination.

Evaluation of a risk index for advanced proximal neoplasia of the colon.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruco, Arlinda; Stock, David; Hilsden, Robert J; McGregor, S Elizabeth; Paszat, Lawrence F; Saskin, Refik; Rabeneck, Linda

2015-01-01

A clinical risk index that uses distal colorectal findings at flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) in conjunction with easily determined risk factors for advanced proximal neoplasia (APN) may be useful for tailoring or prioritizing screening with colonoscopy. To conduct an external evaluation of a previously published risk index in a large, well-characterized cohort. Cross-sectional. Teaching hospital and colorectal cancer screening center. A total of 5139 asymptomatic persons aged 50 to 74 (54.9% women) with a mean age (±SD) of 58.3 (±6.2) years. Between 2003 and 2011, all participants underwent a complete screening colonoscopy and removal of all polyps. Participants were classified as low, intermediate, or high risk for APN, based on their composite risk index scores. The concordance or c-statistic was used to measure discriminating ability of the risk index. A total of 167 persons (3.2%) had APN. The prevalence of those with APN among low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories was 2.1%, 2.9%, and 6.5%, respectively. High-risk individuals were 3.2 times more likely to have APN compared with those in the low-risk category. The index did not discriminate well between those in the low- and intermediate-risk categories. The c-statistic for the overall index was 0.62 (95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.66). Distal colorectal findings were derived from colonoscopies and not FS itself. The risk index discriminated between those at low risk and those at high risk, but it had limited ability to discriminate between low- and intermediate-risk categories for prevalent APN. Information on other risk factors may be needed to tailor, or prioritize, access to screening colonoscopy. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Process for determining the remediation category of hazardous substance sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sieben, A.K.

1994-01-01

An evaluation process has been developed that aids in selecting the appropriate remediation category of hazardous substance sites. Three general remediation categories have been established: No further Action: Potential Early Action: and Defer for RI/FS or Transition/Decontamination and Decommissioning. This evaluation method is a preliminary screening process only and will not identify the most appropriate remediation alternative for each site. The remedy selection process can proceed only after a remediation category is determined for each site. All sites are evaluated at a preliminary screening level to determine the general remediation category. After the first screen, a secondary evaluation is performed on both the PEA sites and the DEFER sites. For PEAs, this secondary evaluation will incorporate additional specific factors, such as a screening level risk assessment. For the DEFER sites feasibility factors will be used to distinguish between the sites which should undergo a normal RI/FS and the sites which will be recommended to be remediated in association with D ampersand D of buildings. Ultimately, all of the sites will be placed into one of four remediation categories

Category-length and category-strength effects using images of scenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Oliver; Vromen, Joyce M G; Boddy, Adam C; Crawshaw, Eloise; Humphreys, Michael S

2018-06-21

Global matching models have provided an important theoretical framework for recognition memory. Key predictions of this class of models are that (1) increasing the number of occurrences in a study list of some items affects the performance on other items (list-strength effect) and that (2) adding new items results in a deterioration of performance on the other items (list-length effect). Experimental confirmation of these predictions has been difficult, and the results have been inconsistent. A review of the existing literature, however, suggests that robust length and strength effects do occur when sufficiently similar hard-to-label items are used. In an effort to investigate this further, we had participants study lists containing one or more members of visual scene categories (bathrooms, beaches, etc.). Experiments 1 and 2 replicated and extended previous findings showing that the study of additional category members decreased accuracy, providing confirmation of the category-length effect. Experiment 3 showed that repeating some category members decreased the accuracy of nonrepeated members, providing evidence for a category-strength effect. Experiment 4 eliminated a potential challenge to these results. Taken together, these findings provide robust support for global matching models of recognition memory. The overall list lengths, the category sizes, and the number of repetitions used demonstrated that scene categories are well-suited to testing the fundamental assumptions of global matching models. These include (A) interference from memories for similar items and contexts, (B) nondestructive interference, and (C) that conjunctive information is made available through a matching operation.

Victimization by Bullying and Harassment in High School: Findings from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in a Southwestern State

Science.gov (United States)

Bauman, Sheri

2008-01-01

This study analyzed data on victimization by bullying and harassment on school property in a large, diverse, random sample of high school students in Arizona using data from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. No gender differences in frequency of victimization were detected, but differences by grade, Body Mass Index category, academic…

Towards a comprehensive assessment and framework for low and high flow water risks

Science.gov (United States)

Motschmann, Alina; Huggel, Christian; Drenkhan, Fabian; León, Christian

2017-04-01

Driven by international organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the past years have seen a move from a vulnerability concept of climate change impacts towards a risk framework. Risk is now conceived at the intersection of climate-driven hazard and socioeconomic-driven vulnerability and exposure. The concept of risk so far has been mainly adopted for sudden-onset events. However, for slow-onset and cumulative climate change impacts such as changing water resources there is missing clarity and experience how to apply a risk framework. Research has hardly dealt with the challenge of how to integrate both low and high flow risks in a common framework. Comprehensive analyses of risks related to water resources considering climate change within multi-dimensional drivers across different scales are complex and often missing in climate-sensitive mountain regions where data scarcity and inconsistencies represent important limitations. Here we review existing vulnerability and risk assessments of low and high flow water conditions and identify critical conceptual and practical gaps. Based on this, we develop an integrated framework for low and high flow water risks which is applicable to both past and future conditions. The framework explicitly considers a water balance model simulating both water supply and demand on a daily basis. We test and apply this new framework in the highly glacierized Santa River catchment (SRC, Cordillera Blanca, Peru), representative for many developing mountain regions with both low and high flow water risks and poor data availability. In fact, in the SRC, both low and high flow hazards, such as droughts and floods, play a central role especially for agricultural, hydropower, domestic and mining use. During the dry season (austral winter) people are increasingly affected by water scarcity due to shrinking glaciers supplying melt water. On the other hand during the wet season (austral summer) high flow water

Identifying demand effects in a large network of product categories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gelper, S.E.C.; Wilms, I.; Croux, C.

2016-01-01

Planning marketing mix strategies requires retailers to understand within- as well as cross-category demand effects. Most retailers carry products in a large variety of categories, leading to a high number of such demand effects to be estimated. At the same time, we do not expect cross-category

Moving standard deviation and moving sum of outliers as quality tools for monitoring analytical precision.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jiakai; Tan, Chin Hon; Badrick, Tony; Loh, Tze Ping

2018-02-01

An increase in analytical imprecision (expressed as CV a ) can introduce additional variability (i.e. noise) to the patient results, which poses a challenge to the optimal management of patients. Relatively little work has been done to address the need for continuous monitoring of analytical imprecision. Through numerical simulations, we describe the use of moving standard deviation (movSD) and a recently described moving sum of outlier (movSO) patient results as means for detecting increased analytical imprecision, and compare their performances against internal quality control (QC) and the average of normal (AoN) approaches. The power of detecting an increase in CV a is suboptimal under routine internal QC procedures. The AoN technique almost always had the highest average number of patient results affected before error detection (ANPed), indicating that it had generally the worst capability for detecting an increased CV a . On the other hand, the movSD and movSO approaches were able to detect an increased CV a at significantly lower ANPed, particularly for measurands that displayed a relatively small ratio of biological variation to CV a. CONCLUSION: The movSD and movSO approaches are effective in detecting an increase in CV a for high-risk measurands with small biological variation. Their performance is relatively poor when the biological variation is large. However, the clinical risks of an increase in analytical imprecision is attenuated for these measurands as an increased analytical imprecision will only add marginally to the total variation and less likely to impact on the clinical care. Copyright © 2017 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Total Androgen Blockade Versus a Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Agonist Alone in Men With High-Risk Prostate Cancer Treated With Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanda, Akash; Chen, M.-H.; Moran, Brian J.; Braccioforte, Michelle H.; Dosoretz, Daniel; Salenius, Sharon; Katin, Michael; Ross, Rudi; D'Amico, Anthony V.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To assess whether short-course total androgen blockade vs. a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist alone affects the risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) in men with localized but high-risk disease treated with radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: The study cohort comprised 628 men with T1-T4, N0, M0 prostate cancer with high-risk disease (prostate-specific antigen level >20 ng/mL, Gleason score ≥8, or clinical category ≥T3) treated with 45 Gy of external beam radiotherapy followed by a brachytherapy boost in addition to receiving a median of 4.3 (interquartile range [IQR], 3.6-6.4) months of hormonal blockade with an LHRH agonist plus an antiandrogen or monotherapy with an LHRH agonist. Fine and Gray's multivariable regression analysis was used to determine whether combination androgen suppression therapy (AST) vs. monotherapy affected the risk of PCSM, adjusting for treatment year, duration of AST, age, and known prognostic factors. Results: After a median follow-up of 4.9 (IQR, 3.5-6.5) years, men receiving combination AST had a lower risk of PCSM than those treated with monotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 0.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.04-0.90; p = 0.04). An increasing prostate-specific antigen level (AHR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.64-4.45; p < 0.001) and clinical category T3/4 disease (AHR, 29.6; 95% CI, 2.88-303.5; p = 0.004) were also associated with an increased risk of PCSM. Conclusions: In men with localized but high-risk prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy, short-course AST with an LHRH agonist plus an antiandrogen is associated with a decreased risk of PCSM when compared with monotherapy with an LHRH agonist.

PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH HIGH RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF BEER DEPENDENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.G. Solov’ev

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of present trial is study of psycho physiological peculiarities of adolescents with high risk of development of beer dependence. 143 schoolchildren from 5-11 form of Archangelsk schools of general education took part in trial. 3 groups of adolescents were formed, depending of summarized indices of beer alcoholization: group of high grade of alcoholization (35.5%, medium grade (45.2% and low grade (19.3%. Adolescents with high risk of development of beer dependence are characterized with lowering of simple visual-motor and audio-motor response rate, complex visual-motor response rate, complex sensomotor response rate on moving object, decrease of stability of sensomotor processes and attention stability, stability of mental work and mental efficiency depending on time, efficiency in deficit of time and information. These disorders may be used in early diagnostics of beer dependence in structure of primary and secondary psycho prophylactic measures.Key words: adolescents, beer dependence, psycho physiological peculiarities, prophylaxis.(Voprosy sovremennoi pediatrii — Current Pediatrics. 2009;8(1:25-29

Coronary artery disease reporting and data system (CAD-RADSTM): Inter-observer agreement for assessment categories and modifiers.

Science.gov (United States)

Maroules, Christopher D; Hamilton-Craig, Christian; Branch, Kelley; Lee, James; Cury, Roberto C; Maurovich-Horvat, Pál; Rubinshtein, Ronen; Thomas, Dustin; Williams, Michelle; Guo, Yanshu; Cury, Ricardo C

The Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) provides a lexicon and standardized reporting system for coronary CT angiography. To evaluate inter-observer agreement of the CAD-RADS among an panel of early career and expert readers. Four early career and four expert cardiac imaging readers prospectively and independently evaluated 50 coronary CT angiography cases using the CAD-RADS lexicon. All readers assessed image quality using a five-point Likert scale, with mean Likert score ≥4 designating high image quality, and CAD-RADS assessment categories and modifiers were assessed using intra-class correlation (ICC) and Fleiss' Kappa (κ).The impact of reader experience and image quality on inter-observer agreement was also examined. Inter-observer agreement for CAD-RADS assessment categories was excellent (ICC 0.958, 95% CI 0.938-0.974, p CAD-RADS assessment categories and modifiers is excellent, except for high-risk plaque (modifier V) which demonstrates fair agreement. These results suggest CAD-RADS is feasible for clinical implementation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Characteristics and Categories of Risk in the Small Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Bera

2009-12-01

Full Text Available In this article risk typology in a small enterprise has been presented. In the aspect of a small enterprise’s characteristic features that have been synthetically described, the author has tried to define the crux and position of individual risk types in the operation of small market entities. In economy practice, identification and risk management conduct of risk categorization facilitates.

Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, Diane; Harris, Leanna S.

2017-01-01

Student-centered coaching is a highly-effective, evidence-based coaching model that shifts the focus from "fixing" teachers to collaborating with them to design instruction that targets student outcomes. But what does this look like in practice? "Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves" shows you the day-to-day coaching moves that…

From groups to categorial algebra introduction to protomodular and mal’tsev categories

CERN Document Server

Bourn, Dominique

2017-01-01

This book gives a thorough and entirely self-contained, in-depth introduction to a specific approach to group theory, in a large sense of that word. The focus lie on the relationships which a group may have with other groups, via “universal properties”, a view on that group “from the outside”. This method of categorical algebra, is actually not limited to the study of groups alone, but applies equally well to other similar categories of algebraic objects. By introducing protomodular categories and Mal’tsev categories, which form a larger class, the structural properties of the category Gp of groups, show how they emerge from four very basic observations about the algebraic litteral calculus and how, studied for themselves at the conceptual categorical level, they lead to the main striking features of the category Gp of groups. Hardly any previous knowledge of category theory is assumed, and just a little experience with standard algebraic structures such as groups and monoids. Examples and exercises...

Strengthening air traffic safety management by moving from outcome-based towards risk-based evaluation of runway incursions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroeve, Sybert H.; Som, Pradip; Doorn, Bas A. van; Bakker, G.J.

2016-01-01

Current safety management of aerodrome operations uses judgements of severity categories to evaluate runway incursions. Incident data show a small minority of severe incursions and a large majority of less severe incursions. We show that these severity judgements are mainly based upon the outcomes of runway incursions, in particular on the closest distances attained. As such, the severity-based evaluation leads to coincidental safety management feedback, wherein causes and risk implications of runway incursions are not well considered. In this paper we present a new framework for the evaluation of runway incursions, which effectively uses all runway incursions, which judges same types of causes similarly, and which structures causes and risk implications. The framework is based on risks of scenarios associated with the initiation of runway incursions. As a basis an inventory of scenarios is provided, which can represent almost all runway incursions involving a conflict with an aircraft. A main step in the framework is the assessment of the conditional probability of a collision given a runway incursion scenario. This can be effectively achieved for large sets of scenarios by agent-based dynamic risk modelling. The results provide detailed feedback on risks of runway incursion scenarios, thus enabling effective safety management. - Highlights: • Current evaluation of runway incursions is primarily based on their outcomes. • A new framework assesses collision risk given initiation of runway incursions. • Agent-based dynamic risk modelling can evaluate the risks of many scenarios. • A developed scenario inventory can represent almost all runway incursions. • The framework provides detailed feedback to safety management.

Effect of moving dairy cows at different stages of labor on behavior during parturition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Proudfoot, K. L.; Jensen, M. B.; Heegaard, Peter M. H.

2013-01-01

of labor would influence calving behavior or the length of the second stage of labor. Seventy-nine multiparous Holstein dairy cows were moved from 1 of 2 group pens to 1 of 10 maternity pens adjacent to each group pen either 3 d before expected calving date or when one or more behavioral or physical signs...... of labor were observed. These signs were noted, and were used to retrospectively categorize cows into 1 of 3 movement categories: (1) moved before labor, (2) moved during early stage I labor (signs of suddenly tense and enlarged udder, raised tail or relaxed pelvic ligaments; could also be immediately...... prelabor), or (3) moved during late stage I labor (signs of viscous, bloody mucus or abdominal contractions; could also be transitioning to stage II labor). Calves were weighed within 12h of birth and remained with their dam for 3 d. The length of the second stage of labor (the time between first abdominal...

A Simple Model to Rank Shellfish Farming Areas Based on the Risk of Disease Introduction and Spread.

Science.gov (United States)

Thrush, M A; Pearce, F M; Gubbins, M J; Oidtmann, B C; Peeler, E J

2017-08-01

The European Union Council Directive 2006/88/EC requires that risk-based surveillance (RBS) for listed aquatic animal diseases is applied to all aquaculture production businesses. The principle behind this is the efficient use of resources directed towards high-risk farm categories, animal types and geographic areas. To achieve this requirement, fish and shellfish farms must be ranked according to their risk of disease introduction and spread. We present a method to risk rank shellfish farming areas based on the risk of disease introduction and spread and demonstrate how the approach was applied in 45 shellfish farming areas in England and Wales. Ten parameters were used to inform the risk model, which were grouped into four risk themes based on related pathways for transmission of pathogens: (i) live animal movement, (ii) transmission via water, (iii) short distance mechanical spread (birds) and (iv) long distance mechanical spread (vessels). Weights (informed by expert knowledge) were applied both to individual parameters and to risk themes for introduction and spread to reflect their relative importance. A spreadsheet model was developed to determine quantitative scores for the risk of pathogen introduction and risk of pathogen spread for each shellfish farming area. These scores were used to independently rank areas for risk of introduction and for risk of spread. Thresholds were set to establish risk categories (low, medium and high) for introduction and spread based on risk scores. Risk categories for introduction and spread for each area were combined to provide overall risk categories to inform a risk-based surveillance programme directed at the area level. Applying the combined risk category designation framework for risk of introduction and spread suggested by European Commission guidance for risk-based surveillance, 4, 10 and 31 areas were classified as high, medium and low risk, respectively. © 2016 Crown copyright.

Frequency of Specific Categories of Aviation Accidents and Incidents During 2001-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Joni K.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the types of accidents or incidents that are most important to the aviation safety risk. All accidents and incidents from 2001-2010 were assigned occurrence categories based on the taxonomy developed by the Commercial Aviation Safety Team/International Civil Aviation Organization (CAST/ICAO) Common Taxonomy Team (CICTT). The most frequently recorded categories were selected within each of five metrics: total accidents, fatal accidents, total injuries, fatal injuries and total incidents. This analysis was done separately for events within Part 121, Scheduled Part 135, Non-Scheduled Part 135 and Part 91. Combining those five sets of categories resulted in groups of between seven and eleven occurrence categories, depending on the flight operation. These groups represent 65-85% of all accidents and 68-81% of incidents.

Iron-free moving coil high temperature displacement transducer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grindrod, A

1976-07-01

A unique, iron free, moving coil linear displacement transducer system is described, which is suitable for continuously monitoring linear movements, at varying temperatures up to 750/sup 0/C, in operational nuclear reactors. Although this device has been primarily developed for Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor Systems, it also has uses where long term measurements on conventional high temperature plant are required. Furthermore it could be particularly useful in material creep laboratories where precise linear changes in specimen length need to be monitored at elevated temperatures, over several years. Since individual transducer installations demand specific mounting arrangements to suit particular component geometries, evaluations have been made only on standard operational modules or capsules which are designed for containment in a range of housing or fixtures to suit particular applications. The behaviour of these devices has been studied at temperatures up to 750/sup 0/C for periods of over 10,000 h. An evaluation is also included of a commercially designed sensor assembly employing the same principle, for monitoring the boiler-shield wall movement at Hinkley Point 'B' AGR Station.

The impact of category structure and training methodology on learning and generalizing within-category representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ell, Shawn W; Smith, David B; Peralta, Gabriela; Hélie, Sébastien

2017-08-01

When interacting with categories, representations focused on within-category relationships are often learned, but the conditions promoting within-category representations and their generalizability are unclear. We report the results of three experiments investigating the impact of category structure and training methodology on the learning and generalization of within-category representations (i.e., correlational structure). Participants were trained on either rule-based or information-integration structures using classification (Is the stimulus a member of Category A or Category B?), concept (e.g., Is the stimulus a member of Category A, Yes or No?), or inference (infer the missing component of the stimulus from a given category) and then tested on either an inference task (Experiments 1 and 2) or a classification task (Experiment 3). For the information-integration structure, within-category representations were consistently learned, could be generalized to novel stimuli, and could be generalized to support inference at test. For the rule-based structure, extended inference training resulted in generalization to novel stimuli (Experiment 2) and inference training resulted in generalization to classification (Experiment 3). These data help to clarify the conditions under which within-category representations can be learned. Moreover, these results make an important contribution in highlighting the impact of category structure and training methodology on the generalization of categorical knowledge.

Who Is Spreading Avian Influenza in the Moving Duck Flock Farming Network of Indonesia?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joerg Henning

Full Text Available Duck populations are considered to be a reservoir of Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI virus H5N1 in some agricultural production systems, as they are able to shed the virus for several days without clinical signs. Countries endemically affected with HPAI in Asia are characterised by production systems where ducks are fed on post-harvest spilled rice. During this scavenging process it is common for ducks to come into contact with other duck flocks or wild birds, thereby providing opportunities for virus spread. Effective risk management for HPAI has been significantly compromised by a limited understanding of management of moving duck flocks in these countries, despite of a small number of recent investigations. Here, for the first time, we described the management of moving duck flocks and the structure of the moving duck flock network in quantitative terms so that factors influencing the risk of HPAIV transmission can be identified. By following moving duck flock farmers over a period of 6 months in Java, Indonesia, we were able to describe the movement of flocks and to characterise the network of various types of actors associated with the production system. We used these data to estimate the basic reproductive number for HPAI virus spread. Our results suggest that focussing HPAI prevention measures on duck flocks alone will not be sufficient. Instead, the role of transporters of moving duck flocks, hatcheries and rice paddy owners, in the spread of the HPAI virus needs to be recognised.

When does fading enhance perceptual category learning?

Science.gov (United States)

Pashler, Harold; Mozer, Michael C

2013-07-01

Training that uses exaggerated versions of a stimulus discrimination (fading) has sometimes been found to enhance category learning, mostly in studies involving animals and impaired populations. However, little is known about whether and when fading facilitates learning for typical individuals. This issue was explored in 7 experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, observers discriminated stimuli based on a single sensory continuum (time duration and line length, respectively). Adaptive fading dramatically improved performance in training (unsurprisingly) but did not enhance learning as assessed in a final test. The same was true for nonadaptive linear fading (Experiment 3). However, when variation in length (predicting category membership) was embedded among other (category-irrelevant) variation, fading dramatically enhanced not only performance in training but also learning as assessed in a final test (Experiments 4 and 5). Fading also helped learners to acquire a color saturation discrimination amid category-irrelevant variation in hue and brightness, although this learning proved transitory after feedback was withdrawn (Experiment 7). Theoretical implications are discussed, and we argue that fading should have practical utility in naturalistic category learning tasks, which involve extremely high dimensional stimuli and many irrelevant dimensions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Not all risks are equal: the risk taking inventory for high-risk sports.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodman, Tim; Barlow, Matt; Bandura, Comille; Hill, Miles; Kupciw, Dominika; Macgregor, Alexandra

2013-10-01

Although high-risk sport participants are typically considered a homogenous risk-taking population, attitudes to risk within the high-risk domain can vary considerably. As no validated measure allows researchers to assess risk taking within this domain, we validated the Risk Taking Inventory (RTI) for high-risk sport across four studies. The RTI comprises seven items across two factors: deliberate risk taking and precautionary behaviors. In Study 1 (n = 341), the inventory was refined and tested via a confirmatory factor analysis used in an exploratory fashion. The subsequent three studies confirmed the RTI's good model-data fit via three further separate confirmatory factor analyses. In Study 2 (n = 518) and in Study 3 (n = 290), concurrent validity was also confirmed via associations with other related traits (sensation seeking, behavioral activation, behavioral inhibition, impulsivity, self-esteem, extraversion, and conscientiousness). In Study 4 (n = 365), predictive validity was confirmed via associations with mean accidents and mean close calls in the high-risk domain. Finally, in Study 4, the self-report version of the inventory was significantly associated with an informant version of the inventory. The measure will allow researchers and practitioners to investigate risk taking as a variable that is conceptually distinct from participation in a high-risk sport.

[Relationships between prevalence of youth risk behaviors and sleep duration among Japanese high school students].

Science.gov (United States)

Kataoka, Chie; Nozu, Yuji; Kudo, Masako; Sato, Yuki; Kubo, Motoyoshi; Nakayama, Naoko; Iwata, Hideki; Watanabe, Motoi

2014-01-01

This study aimed to clarify relationships between prevalence of risk behaviors and sleep duration among Japanese high school students. Data from a national survey, the Japan Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011 (the subjects were 9,778 students: 5,027 males, 4,751 females, in the first grade to the third grade of 102 schools randomly selected among high schools throughout Japan) was used for this analysis. We focused on nine items of risk behavior in JYRBS: "lack of vigorous physical activity," "skipping breakfast," "current cigarette use," "current alcohol use," "lifetime thinner use," "ever had sexual intercourse," "rarely or never wore seatbelts," "in a physical fight," and "seriously considered attempting suicide." Students with less than six hours of sleep duration accounted for approximately 40% of males and females. The odds ratios of prevalence of each of the nine risk behaviors were calculated on the basis of the group "six hours or more and less than eight hours" of sleep, whose prevalence of risk behaviors was the lowest. In the group with "four hours or more and less than six hours," the odds ratios of "lack of vigorous physical activity" and "skipping breakfast" for both males and females were significantly high. Furthermore, in the group with shorter sleep duration of "less than four hours," the odds ratios of all nine risk behaviors for males (odds ratios: 1.47-3.28) and eight risk behaviors (except for "rarely or never wore seatbelts") for females (1.54-4.68) were significantly high. On the other hand, in the group with long sleep duration of "10 hours or more," the odds ratios of "current cigarette use" and "lifetime thinner use" for both males and females were significantly high. It was shown that short sleep duration of less than six hours and long sleep duration of 10 hours or more related to the prevalence of youth risk behaviors among Japanese high school students. It was suggested that sleep duration should be considered as an important category

Identifying women with dense breasts at high risk for interval cancer: a cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerlikowske, Karla; Zhu, Weiwei; Tosteson, Anna N A; Sprague, Brian L; Tice, Jeffrey A; Lehman, Constance D; Miglioretti, Diana L

2015-05-19

Twenty-one states have laws requiring that women be notified if they have dense breasts and that they be advised to discuss supplemental imaging with their provider. To better direct discussions of supplemental imaging by determining which combinations of breast cancer risk and Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) breast density categories are associated with high interval cancer rates. Prospective cohort. Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) breast imaging facilities. 365,426 women aged 40 to 74 years who had 831,455 digital screening mammography examinations. BI-RADS breast density, BCSC 5-year breast cancer risk, and interval cancer rate (invasive cancer ≤12 months after a normal mammography result) per 1000 mammography examinations. High interval cancer rate was defined as more than 1 case per 1000 examinations. High interval cancer rates were observed for women with 5-year risk of 1.67% or greater and extremely dense breasts or 5-year risk of 2.50% or greater and heterogeneously dense breasts (24% of all women with dense breasts). The interval rate of advanced-stage disease was highest (>0.4 case per 1000 examinations) among women with 5-year risk of 2.50% or greater and heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts (21% of all women with dense breasts). Five-year risk was low to average (0% to 1.66%) for 51.0% of women with heterogeneously dense breasts and 52.5% with extremely dense breasts, with interval cancer rates of 0.58 to 0.63 and 0.72 to 0.89 case per 1000 examinations, respectively. The benefit of supplemental imaging was not assessed. Breast density should not be the sole criterion for deciding whether supplemental imaging is justified because not all women with dense breasts have high interval cancer rates. BCSC 5-year risk combined with BI-RADS breast density can identify women at high risk for interval cancer to inform patient-provider discussions about alternative screening strategies. National Cancer Institute.

Utility of supplemental screening with breast ultrasound in asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue who are not at high risk for breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Klevos, Geetika A; Collado-Mesa, Fernando; Net, Jose M; Yepes, Monica M

2017-01-01

To assess the results of an initial round of supplemental screening with hand-held bilateral breast ultrasound following a negative screening mammogram in asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue who are not at high risk for breast cancer. A retrospective, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant, Institutional Research Board approved study was performed at a single academic tertiary breast center. Informed consent was waived. A systematic review of the breast imaging center database was conducted to identify and retrieve data for all asymptomatic women, who were found to have heterogeneously dense or extremely dense breast tissue on screening bilateral mammograms performed from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012 and who received a mammographic final assessment American College of Radiology's (ACR) Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category 1 or BI-RADS category 2. Hand-held screening ultrasound was performed initially by a technologist followed by a radiologist. Chi-square and t -test were used and statistical significance was considered at P ultrasound. BI-RADS category 1 or 2 was assigned to 323 women (81.9%). BI-RADS category 3 was assigned to 50 women (12.9%). A total of 26 biopsies/aspirations were recommended and performed in 26 women (6.6%). The most common finding for which biopsy was recommended was a solid mass (88.5%) with an average size of 0.9 cm (0.5-1.7 cm). Most frequent pathology result was fibroadenoma (60.8%). No carcinoma was found. Our data support the reported occurrence of a relatively high number of false positives at supplemental screening with breast ultrasound following a negative screening mammogram in asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue, who are not at a high risk of developing breast cancer, and suggests that caution is necessary in establishing wide implementation of this type of supplemental screening for all women with dense breast tissue without considering other risk factors for

Fear of moving outdoors and development of outdoor walking difficulty in older people.

Science.gov (United States)

Rantakokko, Merja; Mänty, Minna; Iwarsson, Susanne; Törmäkangas, Timo; Leinonen, Raija; Heikkinen, Eino; Rantanen, Taina

2009-04-01

To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation. Observational prospective cohort study and cross-sectional analyses. Community and research center. Seven hundred twenty-seven community-living people aged 75 to 81 were interviewed at baseline, of whom 314 took part in a 3.5-year follow-up. Fear of moving outdoors and its potential individual and environmental correlates were assessed at baseline. Perceived difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km were assessed twice a year over a 3.5-year period. At baseline, 65% of the women and 29% of the men reported fear of moving outdoors. Poor socioeconomic status; musculoskeletal diseases; slow walking speed; and the presence of poor street conditions, hills in the nearby environment, and noisy traffic correlated with fear of moving outdoors. At the first 6-month follow-up, participants with fear of moving outdoors had more than four times the adjusted risk (odds ratio (OR)=4.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.92-11.00) of developing difficulties in walking 0.5 km and a three times greater adjusted risk (OR=3.10, 95% CI=1.49-6.46) for developing difficulty in walking 2 km compared with those without fear. The difference in the prevalence of walking difficulties remained statistically significant over the 3.5-year follow-up (P=.02 and P=.009, respectively). Fear of moving outdoors is common in older adults and increases the risk of developing self-reported difficulties in walking 0.5 km and 2 km. Knowledge about individual and environmental factors underlying fear of moving outdoors and finding ways to alleviate fear of moving outdoors are important for community planning and prevention of disability.

Ultrasound image based visual servoing for moving target ablation by high intensity focused ultrasound.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Joonho; Koizumi, Norihiro; Mitsuishi, Mamoru; Sugita, Naohiko

2017-12-01

Although high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a promising technology for tumor treatment, a moving abdominal target is still a challenge in current HIFU systems. In particular, respiratory-induced organ motion can reduce the treatment efficiency and negatively influence the treatment result. In this research, we present: (1) a methodology for integration of ultrasound (US) image based visual servoing in a HIFU system; and (2) the experimental results obtained using the developed system. In the visual servoing system, target motion is monitored by biplane US imaging and tracked in real time (40 Hz) by registration with a preoperative 3D model. The distance between the target and the current HIFU focal position is calculated in every US frame and a three-axis robot physically compensates for differences. Because simultaneous HIFU irradiation disturbs US target imaging, a sophisticated interlacing strategy was constructed. In the experiments, respiratory-induced organ motion was simulated in a water tank with a linear actuator and kidney-shaped phantom model. Motion compensation with HIFU irradiation was applied to the moving phantom model. Based on the experimental results, visual servoing exhibited a motion compensation accuracy of 1.7 mm (RMS) on average. Moreover, the integrated system could make a spherical HIFU-ablated lesion in the desired position of the respiratory-moving phantom model. We have demonstrated the feasibility of our US image based visual servoing technique in a HIFU system for moving target treatment. © 2016 The Authors The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What Does the Right Hemisphere Know about Phoneme Categories?

Science.gov (United States)

Wolmetz, Michael; Poeppel, David; Rapp, Brenda

2011-01-01

Innate auditory sensitivities and familiarity with the sounds of language give rise to clear influences of phonemic categories on adult perception of speech. With few exceptions, current models endorse highly left-hemisphere-lateralized mechanisms responsible for the influence of phonemic category on speech perception, based primarily on results…

Adherence to oral contraception in women on Category X medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinkellner, Amy; Chen, William; Denison, Shannon E

2010-10-01

Over 6% of women become pregnant when taking teratogenic medications, and contraceptive counseling appears to occur at suboptimal rates. Adherence to contraception is an important component in preventing unwanted pregnancy and has not been evaluated in this population. We undertook a pharmacy claims-based analysis to evaluate the degree to which women of childbearing age who receive Category X medications adhere to their oral contraception. We evaluated the prescription medication claims for over 6 million women, age 18-44 years, with prescription benefits administered by a pharmacy benefits manager. Women with 2 or more claims for a Category X medication and 2 or more claims for oral contraception were evaluated in further detail. Adherence to oral contraception was measured by analyzing pharmacy claims. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with adherence. There were 146,758 women of childbearing age who received Category X medications, of which 26,136 also took oral contraceptive medication. Women who received Category X medications were prescribed oral contraception (18%) at rates similar to others of childbearing age (17%). Women prescribed both Category X and oral contraception demonstrated adherence similar to the overall population. Age, class of Category X medication, number of medications, prescriber's specialty, and ethnicity correlated with lower adherence rates. Despite added risk associated with unintended pregnancy, many women who receive Category X medications have refill patterns suggesting nonadherence to oral contraception. Compared with all women age 18-44 years, women receiving teratogenic medications do not have better adherence to oral contraception. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental Health Risk Assesement in Flood-prone Area in Tamangapa Sub-District Makassar

Science.gov (United States)

Haris, Ibrahim Abdul; Basir, Basir

2018-05-01

Environmental health in Indonesia is still caution to concern, poor sanitation in Indonesia is characterized by the high incidence of infectious diseases in society. The society in flood-prone area has a high-risk exposure on the disease based on the environment because they live in disaster-prone area. This research aimed to describe the condition of sanitary facilities and risky behavior on public health in flood-prone areas in Manggala district particularly in Tamangapa sub-district of Makassar. This reserach uses an observation method with a descriptive approach. The data is processed by using SPSS and Arc View GIS applications. Environmental risk category is determined by the approach of Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA). The results showed that the flood-prone area in RT 04 RW 06 was included in very high-risk category at 229 with an index value of environmental health risks 212-229. Meanwhile, RT 04 RW 05 was in the category of low risk in the amount of 155 with an index of 155-173. Environmental health hazards identified in Tamangapa flood-prone areas sub-district includes domestic sources of clean water, domestic wastewater, and household garbage.

Radon risk map of the city Brno

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansky, J.

2000-01-01

Data of radon risk mapping of the city Brno area from 1992 to 1999 were collected from databases of six private companies measuring radon risk there. The data sets are completed now. The first results are presented in this paper. In the city Brno area only low (385 measured sites) and medium (300) radon risk categories were found. The largest number of measured areas were situated in places with loess and loess loam (total quantity 344 sites, with medium radon risk category 158 sites), recent fluvial sediments (64, 32) and anthropogenous deposits (61, 23). High values of radon volume activity in soil gas were found predominantly in Quaternary sediments and in granodiorite, type Veverska Bityska, low values in leucotonalite and metabasalt. (author)

Encoding tasks dissociate the effects of divided attention on category-cued recall and category-exemplar generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Andrew; Dagnall, Neil; Munley, Gary

2012-01-01

The combined effects of encoding tasks and divided attention upon category-exemplar generation and category-cued recall were examined. Participants were presented with pairs of words each comprising a category name and potential example of that category. They were then asked to indicate either (i) their liking for both of the words or (ii) if the exemplar was a member of the category. It was found that divided attention reduced performance on the category-cued recall task under both encoding conditions. However, performance on the category-exemplar generation task remained invariant across the attention manipulation following the category judgment task. This provides further evidence that the processes underlying performance on conceptual explicit and implicit memory tasks can be dissociated, and that the intentional formation of category-exemplar associations attenuates the effects of divided attention on category-exemplar generation.

12 CFR 208.43 - Capital measures and capital category definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... RESERVE SYSTEM MEMBERSHIP OF STATE BANKING INSTITUTIONS IN THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (REGULATION H... Lending Supervision Act of 1983 (12 U.S.C. 3907), or section 38 of the FDI Act, or any regulation... categories of asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity, or sensitivity to market risk. ...

Category Formation in Autism: Can Individuals with Autism Form Categories and Prototypes of Dot Patterns?

Science.gov (United States)

Gastgeb, Holly Zajac; Dundas, Eva M.; Minshew, Nancy J.; Strauss, Mark S.

2012-01-01

There is a growing amount of evidence suggesting that individuals with autism have difficulty with categorization. One basic cognitive ability that may underlie this difficulty is the ability to abstract a prototype. The current study examined prototype and category formation with dot patterns in high-functioning adults with autism and matched…

Computing color categories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yendrikhovskij, S.N.; Rogowitz, B.E.; Pappas, T.N.

2000-01-01

This paper is an attempt to develop a coherent framework for understanding, modeling, and computing color categories. The main assumption is that the structure of color category systems originates from the statistical structure of the perceived color environment. This environment can be modeled as

Os alcances e limites da medicalização do risco para a psicose: a emergência de uma nova categoria? Scope and limits of medicalization of the risk for psychosis: emergence of a new category?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Malta Oliveira

2012-01-01

methodology was the bibliographic review. A brief account on the genealogy of risk in pshychiatry was done. The initial part of the article sought to discuss the medicalization in a more general manner, focusing on aspects of social control and technologies of the self, under a Foucault-oriented approach. Subsequently, emphasis was given to the process of medicalization of the psychosis risk, particularly to the building of a category related to such risk. Within the reach of this process, the possibility of early intervention in the psychosis in order to retard its onset was emphasized. It is still unclear whether the early intervention can reduce the severity of the clinical status once already installed or even prevent its appearance. With respect to the limitations, the risk of producing hyper-medicalization with the building of the category, leading to indiscriminated usage of neuroleptic drugs and its related risks as well as the stigmatization of individuals included in this category were addressed. The problem of the high number of "false-positive" individuals, i.e. individuals which are included in the category and later do not develop any psychotic disorder, was also addressed. This paper attempted to produce a consistent review to the building of the nosological category under discussion.

Risk as economic category: systematics scientific approach and refinement contents

OpenAIRE

V.G. Vygovskyy

2015-01-01

The paper studies the categorical-conceptual apparatus of risk and its refinement based on a critical analysis of existing systematic scientific approaches. Determined that in the refinement of the economic nature of the risk of a number of controversial issues: the definition of the objective or subjective nature of risk; matching of concepts such as «risk», «danger», «loss», «probability of loss»; definition of negative or positive consequences of risk; identification of risk with its conse...

Hanford Waste Vitrification Project Building limited scope risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, D.J.; Lindberg, S.E.; Reardon, M.F.; Wilson, G.P.

1992-10-01

A limited scope risk assessment was performed on the preliminary design of a high-level waste interim storage facility. The Canister Storage Building (CSB) facility will be built to support remediation at the US Department of Energy Hanford Site in Washington State. The CSB will be part of the support facilities for a high level Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP). The limited scope risk assessment is based on a preliminary design which uses forced air circulation systems to move air through the building vault. The current building design calls for natural circulation to move air through the building vault

Category I structures program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Endebrock, E.G.; Dove, R.C.

1981-01-01

The objective of the Category I Structure Program is to supply experimental and analytical information needed to assess the structural capacity of Category I structures (excluding the reactor cntainment building). Because the shear wall is a principal element of a Category I structure, and because relatively little experimental information is available on the shear walls, it was selected as the test element for the experimental program. The large load capacities of shear walls in Category I structures dictates that the experimental tests be conducted on small size shear wall structures that incorporates the general construction details and characteristics of as-built shear walls

Attentional Bias in Human Category Learning: The Case of Deep Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Catherine; Caglar, Leyla Roskan; Hanson, Stephen José

2018-01-01

Category learning performance is influenced by both the nature of the category's structure and the way category features are processed during learning. Shepard (1964, 1987) showed that stimuli can have structures with features that are statistically uncorrelated (separable) or statistically correlated (integral) within categories. Humans find it much easier to learn categories having separable features, especially when attention to only a subset of relevant features is required, and harder to learn categories having integral features, which require consideration of all of the available features and integration of all the relevant category features satisfying the category rule (Garner, 1974). In contrast to humans, a single hidden layer backpropagation (BP) neural network has been shown to learn both separable and integral categories equally easily, independent of the category rule (Kruschke, 1993). This "failure" to replicate human category performance appeared to be strong evidence that connectionist networks were incapable of modeling human attentional bias. We tested the presumed limitations of attentional bias in networks in two ways: (1) by having networks learn categories with exemplars that have high feature complexity in contrast to the low dimensional stimuli previously used, and (2) by investigating whether a Deep Learning (DL) network, which has demonstrated humanlike performance in many different kinds of tasks (language translation, autonomous driving, etc.), would display human-like attentional bias during category learning. We were able to show a number of interesting results. First, we replicated the failure of BP to differentially process integral and separable category structures when low dimensional stimuli are used (Garner, 1974; Kruschke, 1993). Second, we show that using the same low dimensional stimuli, Deep Learning (DL), unlike BP but similar to humans, learns separable category structures more quickly than integral category structures

Attentional Bias in Human Category Learning: The Case of Deep Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine Hanson

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Category learning performance is influenced by both the nature of the category's structure and the way category features are processed during learning. Shepard (1964, 1987 showed that stimuli can have structures with features that are statistically uncorrelated (separable or statistically correlated (integral within categories. Humans find it much easier to learn categories having separable features, especially when attention to only a subset of relevant features is required, and harder to learn categories having integral features, which require consideration of all of the available features and integration of all the relevant category features satisfying the category rule (Garner, 1974. In contrast to humans, a single hidden layer backpropagation (BP neural network has been shown to learn both separable and integral categories equally easily, independent of the category rule (Kruschke, 1993. This “failure” to replicate human category performance appeared to be strong evidence that connectionist networks were incapable of modeling human attentional bias. We tested the presumed limitations of attentional bias in networks in two ways: (1 by having networks learn categories with exemplars that have high feature complexity in contrast to the low dimensional stimuli previously used, and (2 by investigating whether a Deep Learning (DL network, which has demonstrated humanlike performance in many different kinds of tasks (language translation, autonomous driving, etc., would display human-like attentional bias during category learning. We were able to show a number of interesting results. First, we replicated the failure of BP to differentially process integral and separable category structures when low dimensional stimuli are used (Garner, 1974; Kruschke, 1993. Second, we show that using the same low dimensional stimuli, Deep Learning (DL, unlike BP but similar to humans, learns separable category structures more quickly than integral category

Attributable risk of carpal tunnel syndrome according to industry and occupation in a general population.

Science.gov (United States)

Roquelaure, Yves; Ha, Catherine; Nicolas, Guillaume; Pélier-Cady, Marie-Christine; Mariot, Camille; Descatha, Alexis; Leclerc, Annette; Raimbeau, Guy; Goldberg, Marcel; Imbernon, Ellen

2008-09-15

An epidemiologic surveillance network for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was set up in the general population of a French region to assess the proportion of CTS cases attributable to work in high-risk industries and occupations. Cases of CTS occurring among patients ages 20-59 years living in the Maine and Loire region were included prospectively from 2002 to 2004. Medical and occupation history was gathered by mailed questionnaire for 815 women and 320 men. Age-adjusted relative risks of CTS and the attributable risk fractions of CTS among exposed persons (AFEs) were computed in relation to industry sectors and occupation categories. Twenty-one industry sectors and 8 occupational categories for women and 10 sectors and 6 occupational categories for men were characterized by a significant excess risk of CTS. High AFE values were observed in the manufacturing (42-93% for both sexes), construction (66% for men), and personal service industries (66% for women) and in the trade and commerce sectors (49% for women). High AFE values were observed in lower-grade white-collar occupations for women (43-67%) and blue-collar occupations for men (60-74%) and women (48-88%). The attributable proportions of CTS cases among workers employed in industry sectors and occupation categories identified at high risk of CTS varied between 36% and 93%.

Influence of type 2 diabetes mellitus on Khorana venous thromboembolism risk in colorectal cancer patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruyao Wang

Full Text Available Background: Many studies have documented the association between venous thromboembolism (VTE and colorectal cancer (CRC. The Khorana model is a VTE risk assessment model for predicting cancer-associated thrombosis. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM has also been reported to increase the risk of VTE. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of T2DM on Khorana VTE risk in CRC patients and to explore the relationship between Khorana VTE category and CRC clinicopathological factors. Methods: This analysis included 615 CRC patients (205 with T2DM. Fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were compared within each group. A comparison was made of the proportion of patients in different Khorana VTE risk categories in CRC patients with and without T2DM. The association between Khorana VTE risk category and clinicopathological factors among all the CRC patients was evaluated. Results: Fibrinogen levels of CRC patients with T2DM were significantly higher than those of non-diabetes patients (4.13 ± 1.06 vs 3.94 ± 0.98, p < 0.001. A higher proportion of CRC patients with T2DM were in the Khorana intermediate-to-high risk category (H = 4.749, p = 0.029. Female sex, diabetes, colon location (compared with rectum, larger tumor size, advanced pT stage and pN stage were correlated with the intermediate-to-high Khorana VTE risk category, with odd ratios (95% confidence intervals [CI] of 1.537 (1.064-2.220, 1.499 (1.027-2.186, 2.313 (1.588-3.370, 2.284 (1.542-3.383, 4.429 (2.088-9.396 and 1.822 (1.230-2.698, respectively. Conclusion: T2DM increases Khorana VTE risk in CRC patients. Female sex, diabetes, colon location, large tumor size and poor stage are associated with the intermediate-to-high Khorana VTE risk category.

Can We Predict Psychosis Outside the Clinical High-Risk State? A Systematic Review of Non-Psychotic Risk Syndromes for Mental Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tae Young; Lee, Junhee; Kim, Minah; Choe, Eugenie

2018-01-01

Abstract Recent evidence has suggested that psychosis could develop not only in people at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) but also in those with clinical risk syndromes for emergent nonpsychotic mental disorders. The proportion of people with these clinical risk syndromes who will develop psychosis rather than to other nonpsychotic mental disorders is undetermined. Electronic databases were searched for studies reporting on clinical risk syndromes for the development of emergent nonpsychotic mental disorders. Incidence of emerging psychotic and nonpsychotic mental disorders defined on the ICD or DSM. Of a total of 9 studies relating to 3006 nonpsychotic at-risk individuals were included. Within prospective studies (n = 4, sample = 1051), the pooled incidence of new psychotic disorders across these clinical risk syndromes was of 12.9 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 4.3 to 38.6) and that of nonpsychotic disorders (n = 3, sample = 538) was of 43.5 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 30.9 to 61.3). Psychotic disorders may emerge outside the CHR-P paradigm, from clinical risk syndromes for incident nonpsychotic disorders, albeit at lower rates than in the CHR-P group. The clinical risk syndromes for emerging nonpsychotic disorders may exhibit a pluripotential risk of developing several types of mental disorders compared with CHR-P. If substantiated by future research, the current findings suggest that it may be useful to move beyond the current strategy of identifying individuals meeting CHR-P criteria only. PMID:29438561

High Center Volume Does Not Mitigate Risk Associated with Using High Donor Risk Organs in Liver Transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Beal, Eliza W; Black, Sylvester M; Mumtaz, Khalid; Hayes, Don; El-Hinnawi, Ashraf; Washburn, Kenneth; Tumin, Dmitry

2017-09-01

High-risk donor allografts increase access to liver transplant, but potentially reduce patient and graft survival. It is unclear whether the risk associated with using marginal donor livers is mitigated by increasing center experience. The United Network for Organ Sharing registry was queried for adult first-time liver transplant recipients between 2/2002 and 12/2015. High donor risk was defined as donor risk index >1.9, and 1-year patient and graft survival were compared according to donor risk index in small and large centers. Multivariable Cox regression estimated the hazard ratio (HR) associated with using high-risk donor organs, according to a continuous measure of annual center volume. The analysis included 51,770 patients. In 67 small and 67 large centers, high donor risk index predicted increased mortality (p = 0.001). In multivariable analysis, high-donor risk index allografts predicted greater mortality hazard at centers performing 20 liver transplants per year (HR 1.35; 95% CI 1.22, 1.49; p donor risk index and center volume was not statistically significant (p = 0.747), confirming that the risk associated with using marginal donor livers was comparable between smaller and larger centers. Results were consistent when examining graft loss. At both small and large centers, high-risk donor allografts were associated with reduced patient and graft survival after liver transplant. Specific strategies to mitigate the risk of liver transplant involving high-risk donors are needed, in addition to accumulation of center expertise.

Markers of Breast Cancer Risk in Women with Benign Breast Disease

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Mandelson, Margaret

2004-01-01

.... Although histopathology identifies women with BBD with increased risk of breast cancer, such as women with atypical hyperplasia, few women with BBD fall into these high-risk categories and most will...

Cardiovascular risk assessment in elderly adults using SCORE OP model in a Latin American population: The experience from Ecuador.

Science.gov (United States)

Sisa, Ivan

2018-02-09

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality is predicted to increase in Latin America countries due to their rapidly aging population. However, there is very little information about CVD risk assessment as a primary preventive measure in this high-risk population. We predicted the national risk of developing CVD in Ecuadorian elderly population using the Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation in Older Persons (SCORE OP) High and Low models by risk categories/CVD risk region in 2009. Data on national cardiovascular risk factors were obtained from the Encuesta sobre Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento. We computed the predicted 5-year risk of CVD risk and compared the extent of agreement and reclassification in stratifying high-risk individuals between SCORE OP High and Low models. Analyses were done by risk categories, CVD risk region, and sex. In 2009, based on SCORE OP Low model almost 42% of elderly adults living in Ecuador were at high risk of suffering CVD over a 5-year period. The extent of agreement between SCORE OP High and Low risk prediction models was moderate (Cohen's kappa test of 0.5), 34% of individuals approximately were reclassified into different risk categories and a third of the population would benefit from a pharmacologic intervention to reduce the CVD risk. Forty-two percent of elderly Ecuadorians were at high risk of suffering CVD over a 5-year period, indicating an urgent need to tailor primary preventive measures for this vulnerable and high-risk population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Risk characterization data manual for Category D inactive liquid low-level waste tank systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-09-01

This manual reports the results of a risk characterization of Category D inactive liquid low-level radioactive waste (LLLW) underground storage tanks (Uses) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The risk characterization is required by the Federal Facility Agreement between the Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Operations Office, the Environmental Protection Agency-Region IV, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The intent of the risk characterization is to determine relative priorities for assessment and remediation. A total of 55 FFA Category D inactive LLLW tanks are discussed in this manual. Of the 39 tanks at ORNL that have been accepted into the Environmental Restoration (ER) Program, all have been sampled for preliminary characterization, except for 5 tanks that were found to be empty plus I that was found not to exist. The remaining 16 tanks are in the Waste Management (WM) Program. Twelve were sampled for preliminary characterization, and four were found empty. Each sampled tank was scored on a scale of I to 5 on the basis of three criteria: (1) leak characteristics, (2) location, and (3) toxicological characteristics of residual sludges and liquids. Each criterion was assigned a weighing factor based on perceived importance. The criterion score multiplied by the weighting factor equaled the tank's total score for that criterion. The three weighted criterion scores for each tank were then summed for a total score for that tank. When the scores for all tanks had been weighted and summed, the tanks were ranked in descending order on the basis of their total scores. The highest possible score for a tank is 30. The descending rank order represents the recommended priorities for evaluation: the higher the score, the higher the priority for evaluation. Of the 54 tanks sampled in the risk characterization, 23 tanks scored 16 or higher, 11 scored between 10 and 15, 5 scored between 4 and 9, and 15 scored 3 or less

Risk characterization data manual for Category D inactive liquid low-level waste tank systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-07-01

This manual reports the results of a risk characterization of Category D inactive liquid low-level radioactive waste (LLLW) underground storage tanks (USTs) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The risk characterization is required by the Federal Facility Agreement between the Department of Energy-Oak Ridge Operations Office, the Environmental Protection Agency-Region IV, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The intent of the risk characterization is to determine relative priorities for assessment and remediation. A total of 55 FFA Category D inactive LLLW tanks are discussed in this manual. Of the 39 tanks at ORNL that have been accepted into the Environmental Restoration (ER) Pregrain, all have been sampled for preliminary characterization, except for 5 tanks that were found to be empty plus 1 that was found not to exist. The remaining 16 tanks are in the Waste Management (WM) Program. Twelve were sampled for preliminary characterization, and four were found empty. Each sampled tank was scored on a scale of I to 5 on the basis of three criteria: (1) leak characteristics, (2) location, and (3) toxicological characteristics of residual sludges and liquids. Each criterion was assigned a weighing factor based on perceived importance. The criterion score multiplied by the weighting factor equaled the tank's total score for that criterion. The three weighted criterion scores for each tank were then summed for a total score for that tank. When the scores for all tanks had been weighted and summed, the tanks were ranked in descending order on the basis of their total scores. The highest possible score for a tank is 30. The descending rank order represents the recommended priorities for evaluation: the higher the score, the higher the priority for evaluation. Of the 54 tanks sampled in the risk characterization, 23 tanks scored 16 or higher, 11 scored between 10 and 15, 5 scored between 4 and 9, and 15 scored 3 or less

Work Sectors with High Risk for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Korean Men and Women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jungsun Park

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background: To identify work sectors with high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs in Korean men and women. Methods: We analyzed nationwide data to identify ergonomic risk factors in Korean employees. In particular, we analyzed data on exposure to five ergonomic risk factors (painful/tiring postures, lifting/moving heavy materials, standing/walking, repetitive hand/arm movements, and hand/arm vibration according to employment sector, sex, and age, using the 2014 Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We also used workers' compensation data on work-related MSDs in 2010, which is available by sex. Results: The different work sectors had different gender distributions. “Manufacturing” (27.7% and “construction” (11.3% were dominated by males, whereas “human health and social work activities” (12.4%, “hotel and restaurants” (11.7%, and “education” (10.4% were dominated by females. However, “wholesale and retail trade” and “public administration and defense” employed large numbers of males and females. Furthermore, the work sectors with a greater proportion of work-related MSDs and with multiple ergonomic risk factors were different for men and women. For men, “construction” and “manufacturing” had the highest risk for work-related MSDs; for women, “hotel and restaurants” had the highest risk for work-related MSDs. Conclusion: Ergonomic interventions for workers should consider gender and should focus on work sectors with high risk for MSDs, with multiple ergonomic risk factors, and with the largest number of workers. Keywords: ergonomic, risk factor, Korean workers, musculoskeletal disorder

Arctic shipping and risks: Emergency categories and response capacities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marchenko, Nataly A.; Andreassen, Natalia; Borch, Odd Jarl

2018-01-01

The sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk significantly in the last decades. The transport pattern has as a result partly changed with more traffic in remote areas. This change may influence the risk pattern. The critical factors are harsh weather, ice conditions, remoteness and vulnerability of natur...... are rare, there are limited statistics available for Arctic maritime accidents. Hence, this study offers a qualitative analysis and an expert-based risk assessment. Implications for the emergency preparedness system of the Arctic region are discussed........ In this paper, we look into the risk of accidents in Atlantic Arctic based on previous ship accidents and the changes in maritime activity. The risk has to be assessed to ensure a proper level of emergency response. The consequences of incidents depend on the incident type, scale and location. As accidents...

Multimodality Molecular Imaging (FDG-PET/CT, US Elastography, and DWI-MRI) as Complimentary Adjunct for Enhancing Diagnostic Confidence in Reported Intermediate Risk Category Thyroid Nodules on Bethesda Thyroid Cytopathology Reporting System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, Sandip; Mahajan, Abhishek; Arya, Supreeta

2016-01-01

The potential complimentary role of various molecular imaging modalities [fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT), ultrasound (US)-elastography, and diffusion weighted imaging-magnetic resonance imaging (DWI-MRI)] in characterizing thyroid nodules, which have been designated as “intermediate risk category” on the Bethesda thyroid cytopathology reporting system (BTCRS), is illustrated in this communication. The clinical cases described (category III thyroid nodules on BTCRS) show the imaging features and the final diagnostic impressions rendered by the interpreting physicians with the modalities that have been independently compared in a tabular format at the end; of particular note is the high negative predictive value of these (specifically FDG-PET/CT), which could aid in enhancing the diagnostic confidence in the reported “intermediate risk category” thyroid nodules, a “gray zone” from the patient management viewpoint

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components among Japanese Workers by Clustered Business Category.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidaka, Tomoo; Hayakawa, Takehito; Kakamu, Takeyasu; Kumagai, Tomohiro; Hiruta, Yuhei; Hata, Junko; Tsuji, Masayoshi; Fukushima, Tetsuhito

2016-01-01

The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted to reveal the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components and describe the features of such prevalence among Japanese workers by clustered business category using big data. The data of approximately 120,000 workers were obtained from a national representative insurance organization, and the study analyzed the health checkup and questionnaire results according to the field of business of each subject. Abnormalities found during the checkups such as excessive waist circumference, hypertension or glucose intolerance, and metabolic syndrome, were recorded. All subjects were classified by business field into 18 categories based on The North American Industry Classification System. Based on the criteria of the Japanese Committee for the Diagnostic Criteria of Metabolic Syndrome, the standardized prevalence ratio (SPR) of metabolic syndrome and its components by business category was calculated, and the 95% confidence interval of the SPR was computed. Hierarchical cluster analysis was then performed based on the SPR of metabolic syndrome components, and the 18 business categories were classified into three clusters for both males and females. The following business categories were at significantly high risk of metabolic syndrome: among males, Construction, Transportation, Professional Services, and Cooperative Association; and among females, Health Care and Cooperative Association. The results of the cluster analysis indicated one cluster for each gender with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome components; among males, a cluster consisting of Manufacturing, Transportation, Finance, and Cooperative Association, and among females, a cluster consisting of Mining, Transportation, Finance, Accommodation, and Cooperative Association. These findings reveal that, when providing health guidance and support regarding metabolic syndrome, consideration must be given to its components and the variety of its

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components among Japanese Workers by Clustered Business Category.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomoo Hidaka

Full Text Available The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted to reveal the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components and describe the features of such prevalence among Japanese workers by clustered business category using big data. The data of approximately 120,000 workers were obtained from a national representative insurance organization, and the study analyzed the health checkup and questionnaire results according to the field of business of each subject. Abnormalities found during the checkups such as excessive waist circumference, hypertension or glucose intolerance, and metabolic syndrome, were recorded. All subjects were classified by business field into 18 categories based on The North American Industry Classification System. Based on the criteria of the Japanese Committee for the Diagnostic Criteria of Metabolic Syndrome, the standardized prevalence ratio (SPR of metabolic syndrome and its components by business category was calculated, and the 95% confidence interval of the SPR was computed. Hierarchical cluster analysis was then performed based on the SPR of metabolic syndrome components, and the 18 business categories were classified into three clusters for both males and females. The following business categories were at significantly high risk of metabolic syndrome: among males, Construction, Transportation, Professional Services, and Cooperative Association; and among females, Health Care and Cooperative Association. The results of the cluster analysis indicated one cluster for each gender with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome components; among males, a cluster consisting of Manufacturing, Transportation, Finance, and Cooperative Association, and among females, a cluster consisting of Mining, Transportation, Finance, Accommodation, and Cooperative Association. These findings reveal that, when providing health guidance and support regarding metabolic syndrome, consideration must be given to its components and the

Broad Categories for the Diagnosis of Eating Disorders (BCD-ED): An Alternative System for Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, B. Timothy; Sysko, Robyn

2009-01-01

Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS), a residual category in DSM-IV, is the most commonly used eating disorder diagnosis in clinical settings. However, the features of individuals with EDNOS are heterogeneous and difficult to characterize. A diagnostic scheme, termed Broad Categories for the Diagnosis of Eating Disorders (BCD-ED), is proposed to diminish use of the EDNOS category markedly while preserving the existing eating disorder categories. The BCD-ED scheme consists of three broad categories, in a hierarchical relationship, consisting of: Anorexia Nervosa and Behaviorally Similar disorders, Bulimia Nervosa and Behaviorally Similar Disorders, Binge Eating Disorder and Behaviorally Similar Disorders, and a residual category of EDNOS. The advantages and disadvantages of adopting this scheme for DSM-V are considered, and issues relevant to BCD-ED are discussed. Specifically, we review the proportion of individuals with DSM-IV EDNOS that would be re-classified under the BCD-ED system, support for the hierarchy of the three categories, and the potential risk of “overdiagnosis.” PMID:19650083

[Predicting individual risk of high healthcare cost to identify complex chronic patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Coderch, Jordi; Sánchez-Pérez, Inma; Ibern, Pere; Carreras, Marc; Pérez-Berruezo, Xavier; Inoriza, José M

2014-01-01

To develop a predictive model for the risk of high consumption of healthcare resources, and assess the ability of the model to identify complex chronic patients. A cross-sectional study was performed within a healthcare management organization by using individual data from 2 consecutive years (88,795 people). The dependent variable consisted of healthcare costs above the 95th percentile (P95), including all services provided by the organization and pharmaceutical consumption outside of the institution. The predictive variables were age, sex, morbidity-based on clinical risk groups (CRG)-and selected data from previous utilization (use of hospitalization, use of high-cost drugs in ambulatory care, pharmaceutical expenditure). A univariate descriptive analysis was performed. We constructed a logistic regression model with a 95% confidence level and analyzed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), and the area under the ROC curve (AUC). Individuals incurring costs >P95 accumulated 44% of total healthcare costs and were concentrated in ACRG3 (aggregated CRG level 3) categories related to multiple chronic diseases. All variables were statistically significant except for sex. The model had a sensitivity of 48.4% (CI: 46.9%-49.8%), specificity of 97.2% (CI: 97.0%-97.3%), PPV of 46.5% (CI: 45.0%-47.9%), and an AUC of 0.897 (CI: 0.892 to 0.902). High consumption of healthcare resources is associated with complex chronic morbidity. A model based on age, morbidity, and prior utilization is able to predict high-cost risk and identify a target population requiring proactive care. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Blocking in Category Learning

OpenAIRE

Bott, Lewis; Hoffman, Aaron B.; Murphy, Gregory L.

2007-01-01

Many theories of category learning assume that learning is driven by a need to minimize classification error. When there is no classification error, therefore, learning of individual features should be negligible. We tested this hypothesis by conducting three category learning experiments adapted from an associative learning blocking paradigm. Contrary to an error-driven account of learning, participants learned a wide range of information when they learned about categories, and blocking effe...

A highly sensitive electrostatic precipitator with no moving parts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teodosić, V.

1968-01-01

Cross correlation between a modulated precipitation voltage and the corresponding detector voltage variation gives a signal which is proportional to the fission gas concentration even when the precipitation electrode is not moving, which makes it possible to build a simple unit for fuel leakage...... detection....

A metasynthesis of risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Suzanne; Ayers, Susan; Holden, Des

2014-04-01

risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies affects their decisions about perinatal care and is of interest to anyone involved in the care of pregnant women. This paper provides a metasynthesis of qualitative studies of risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies. a systematic search of eight electronic databases was conducted. Additional papers were obtained through searching references of identified articles. Six studies were identified that reported qualitative research into risk perception in relation to high risk pregnancy. A metasynthesis was developed to describe and interpret the studies. the synthesis resulted in the identification of five themes: determinants of risk perception; not seeing it the way others do; normality versus risk; if the infant is ok, I׳m ok; managing risk. this metasynthesis suggests women at high risk during pregnancy use multiple sources of information to determine their risk status. It shows women are aware of the risks posed by their pregnancies but do not perceive risk in the same way as healthcare professionals. They will take steps to ensure the health of themselves and their infants but these may not include following all medical recommendations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of Alcohol Advertising Among High Risk Drinkers.

Science.gov (United States)

Noel, Jonathan K; Xuan, Ziming; Babor, Thomas F

2018-01-03

Individuals who are particularly vulnerable to the influence of alcohol advertising, such as youth, need special protections, yet little research has been done to determine if other vulnerable groups exist. Secondary data analysis was conducted to determine if perceptions of alcohol advertising differ between groups based on their alcohol use and whether the definition of "vulnerable" should be expanded beyond demographic categories. Students (n = 326) from 2 U.S. colleges viewed 5 alcohol ads and rated them using a scale designed to detect violations of the alcohol industry's self-regulated marketing codes. Individuals with a history of excessive alcohol use, as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), were considered potentially vulnerable to alcohol advertising and were compared against individuals without a history of excessive alcohol use. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to determine between-group differences in 4 dependent variables (ad appeal, perceived alcohol consumption, perceived excessive drinking, and perceived responsible drinking). All models were adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, sex, and parental alcohol use. AUDIT risk categories were positively associated with ad appeal (p advertising.

Resourceful or At Risk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højen-Sørensen, Anna-Katharina

Introduction: Social categories are used to determine which individuals are at an increased risk of unfavorable outcomes and they are a vital tool for the development of targeted interventions. This presentation takes a critical look at the Resourceful and At Risk categories, that are often emplo...... employed in research and social work, and investigate the possible consequences of the preconceptions born out of these categories....

Language categories in Russian morphology

OpenAIRE

زهرایی زهرایی

2009-01-01

When studying Russian morphology, one can distinguish two categories. These categories are “grammatical” and “lexico-grammatical”. Grammatical categories can be specified through a series of grammatical features of words. Considering different criteria, Russian grammarians and linguists divide grammatical categories of their language into different types. In determining lexico-grammatical types, in addition to a series of grammatical features, they also consider a series of lexico-semantic fe...

The Correlation of Initial Sputum Smear Positivity on Treatment Failure of Category 1 Therapy for Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puput Dyah Ayu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Tuberculosis is an infectious disease and is an important public health problem. Based on data from East Java Province Health Department reported that number of tuberculosis patient in Surabaya is the highest in East Java on year 2014. Early identification and good treatment based on the result of sputum identification are the strategy use to control tuberculosis widespread. So that why, microscopic observation to identify acid fast bacilli (AFB is the fundamental stage to determine recovery treatment. Initial sputum smear positivity is necessary to determine infectious graded. The objectives of the study were to identify of initial sputum smear positivity on treatment failure of category 1 therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis in RS Paru Surabaya year 2011-2014. This study used case control method with quantitative approach. Forty two samples were taken from secondary data. Case group is 21 samples who have treatment failure and control group is 21 successful treatment. Samples were selected by simple random sampling. The chi square correlation showed that highly positive initial smear (p = 0,045; OR = 5,4 have correlated and risk factor to treatment failure on category 1 therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis. The conclusion is patient’s high positive sputum smear initially correlated to treatment failure on category 1 therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis in RS Paru Surabaya year 2011–2014. Keywords: initial sputum smear positivity, treatment failure,, category 1 therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis

[Detecting high risk pregnancy].

Science.gov (United States)

Doret, Muriel; Gaucherand, Pascal

2009-12-20

Antenatal care is aiming to reduce maternal land foetal mortality and morbidity. Maternal and foetal mortality can be due to different causes. Their knowledge allows identifying pregnancy (high risk pregnancy) with factors associated with an increased risk for maternal and/or foetal mortality and serious morbidity. Identification of high risk pregnancies and initiation of appropriate treatment and/or surveillance should improve maternal and/or foetal outcome. New risk factors are continuously described thanks to improvement in antenatal care and development in biology and cytopathology, increasing complexity in identifying high risk pregnancies. Level of risk can change all over the pregnancy. Ideally, it should be evaluated prior to the pregnancy and at each antenatal visit. Clinical examination is able to screen for intra-uterin growth restriction, pre-eclampsia, threatened for preterm labour; ultrasounds help in the diagnosis of foetal morphological anomalies, foetal chromosomal anomalies, placenta praevia and abnormal foetal growth; biological exams are used to screen for pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, trisomy 21 (for which screening method just changed), rhesus immunisation, seroconversion for toxoplasmosis or rubeola, unknown infectious disease (syphilis, hepatitis B, VIH). During pregnancy, most of the preventive strategies have to be initiated during the first trimester or even before conception. Prevention for neural-tube defects, neonatal hypocalcemia and listeriosis should be performed for all women. On the opposite, some measures are concerning only women with risk factors such as prevention for toxoplasmosis, rhesus immunization (which recently changed), tobacco complications and pre-eclampsia and intra-uterine growth factor restriction.

Moving In, Moving Through, and Moving Out: The Transitional Experiences of Foster Youth College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Gamez, Sara I.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the transitional experiences of foster youth college students. The study explored how foster youth experienced moving into, moving through, and moving out of the college environment and what resources and strategies they used to thrive during their college transitions. In addition, this study…

Exploring and Expanding the Category of ‘Young Workers’ According to Situated Ways of Doing Risk and Safety—a Case Study in the Retail Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mette Lykke Nielsen

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Young adult workers aged 18–24 years have the highest risk of accidents at work. Following the work of Bourdieu and Tannock, we demonstrate that young adult workers are a highly differentiated group. Accordingly, safety prevention among young adult workers needs to be nuanced in ways that take into consideration the different positions and conditions under which young adult workers are employed. Based on single and group interviews with 26 young adult workers from six various sized supermarkets, we categorize young adult retail workers into the following five distinct groups: ‘Skilled workers,’ ‘Apprentices,’ ‘Sabbatical year workers,’ ‘Student workers,’ and ‘School dropouts.’ We argue that exposure to accidental risk is not equally distributed among them and offer an insight into the narratives of young adult workers on the subject of risk situations at work. The categorizations are explored and expanded according to the situated ways of ‘doing’ risk and safety in the working practices of the adult workers. We suggest that the understanding of ‘young’ as an age-related biological category might explain why approaches to prevent accidents among young employees first and foremost include individual factors like advice, information, and supervision and to a lesser degree the structural and cultural environment wherein they are embedded. We conclude that age cannot stand alone as the only factor in safety prevention directed at workers aged 18–24 years; if we do so, there is a risk of overemphasizing age-related individual characteristics such as awareness and cognitive limitations before structural, relational, and hierarchical dimensions at the workplace.

DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF TWO-SPAN CONTINUOUS CONCRETE BRIDGES UNDER MOVING OF HIGH-SPEED TRAINS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. H. Marinichenko

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The scientific work provides a comparison of the results of the movement of a high-speed passenger train across the bridge, obtained as a result of finite element modeling in the SAP2000 software package, and real tests of a double-span concrete railway bridge. Analysis of the rigid characteristics of flying structures. Methodology.The numerical method presented in this study shows valid results concerning the dynamic analysis of the behavior of bridges in conditions of high-speed train traffic. The factors influencing the dynamic behavior of bridges under moving loads, the influence of design parameters and rolling stock, as well as the interaction of the train and spans are determined. The system was used in the form of moving concentrated forces simulating the axes of the train. Findings. Maximum movements and accelerations were obtained as a result of the dynamic calculation for different speeds of the train and compared with practical tests. The correctness of the model of a span structure with regard to continuous ferroconcrete spans was verified. Originality. Within the framework of the work, the latest test results were used, including those with speeds calculated on the prospect of rail passenger traffic. For these tests, a model of a span structure was developed. Practical value. The results of the research can be used to plan the introduction of high-speed train traffic on existing and planned flying structures of reinforced concrete bridges. An approach to the design of span structures that will be effective when passing high-speed passenger trains is implemented.

Organizational Categories as Viewing Categories

OpenAIRE

Mik-Meyer, Nanna

2005-01-01

This paper explores how two Danish rehabilitation organizations textual guidelines for assessment of clients’ personality traits influence the actual evaluation of clients. The analysis will show how staff members produce institutional identities corresponding to organizational categories, which very often have little or no relevance for the clients evaluated. The goal of the article is to demonstrate how the institutional complex that frames the work of the organizations produces the client ...

Energy-efficient two-hop LTE resource allocation in high speed trains with moving relays

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2014-05-01

High-speed railway system equipped with moving relay stations placed on the middle of the ceiling of each train wagon is investigated. The users inside the train are served in two hops via the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The objective of this work is to maximize the number of served users by respecting a specific quality-of-service constraint while minimizing the total power consumption of the eNodeB and the moving relays. We propose an efficient algorithm based on the Hungarian method to find the optimal resource allocation over the LTE resource blocks in order to serve the maximum number of users with the minimum power consumption. Moreover, we derive a closed-form expression for the power allocation problem. Our simulation results illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme and compare it with various previously developed algorithms as well as with the direct transmission scenario. © 2014 IFIP.

Policies for Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts

Science.gov (United States)

Glickson, D.; Johnson, S.

2014-12-01

Hurricane- and coastal storm-related economic losses have increased substantially over the past century, largely due to expanding population and development in susceptible coastal areas. Concurrent with this growth, the federal government has assumed an increasing proportion of the financial responsibility associated with U.S. coastal storms, which may discourage state and local governments from taking appropriate actions to reduce risk and enhance resilience. Strategies to manage coastal storm risks fall into two categories: reducing the probability of flooding or wave impact (such as seawalls, storm surge barriers, beach nourishment, dune building, restoration/expansion of oyster reefs, salt marshes, and mangroves) and reducing the number or vulnerability of people or structures (such as relocation, land-use planning, and elevating or floodproofing buildings). Over the past century, most coastal risk management programs have emphasized coastal armoring, while doing little to decrease development in harm's way. This National Research Council report calls for the development of a national vision for managing coastal risks that includes a long-term view, regional solutions, and recognition of all benefits. A national coastal risk assessment is needed to identify high priority areas. Benefit-cost analysis provides a reasonable framework to evaluate national investments in coastal risk reduction, if constrained by other important environmental, social, and life-safety factors. Extensive collaboration and additional policy changes will be necessary to move from a nation that is primarily reactive to coastal disasters to one that invests wisely in coastal risk reduction and builds resilience among coastal communities.

The Role of Feedback Contingency in Perceptual Category Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Ashby, F. Gregory; Vucovich, Lauren E.

2016-01-01

Feedback is highly contingent on behavior if it eventually becomes easy to predict, and weakly contingent on behavior if it remains difficult or impossible to predict even after learning is complete. Many studies have demonstrated that humans and nonhuman animals are highly sensitive to feedback contingency, but no known studies have examined how feedback contingency affects category learning, and current theories assign little or no importance to this variable. Two experiments examined the effects of contingency degradation on rule-based and information-integration category learning. In rule-based tasks, optimal accuracy is possible with a simple explicit rule, whereas optimal accuracy in information-integration tasks requires integrating information from two or more incommensurable perceptual dimensions. In both experiments, participants each learned rule-based or information-integration categories under either high or low levels of feedback contingency. The exact same stimuli were used in all four conditions and optimal accuracy was identical in every condition. Learning was good in both high-contingency conditions, but most participants showed little or no evidence of learning in either low-contingency condition. Possible causes of these effects are discussed, as well as their theoretical implications. PMID:27149393

Prevalence, sleep characteristics, and comorbidities in a population at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea: A nationwide questionnaire study in South Korea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun-Sang Sunwoo

Full Text Available To determine the prevalence, sleep characteristics, and comorbidities associated with a high risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA in the Korean adult population.We analyzed data from 2,740 subjects who responded to a nationwide questionnaire survey of sleep characteristics. Those who qualified under two or more symptom categories of the Berlin questionnaire were defined as "at high risk for OSA". We investigated their socio-demographic information, sleep habits, and medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors and consequences significantly associated with a high risk for OSA.The prevalence of a high risk for OSA was 15.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 14.5-17.2%. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that old age (≥ 70 years, odds ratio [OR] 2.68 and body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2 (OR 10.75 were significantly related with a high risk for OSA, whereas regular physical activity (OR 0.70 had a protective effect. Subjective sleep characteristics associated with a high risk for OSA were perceived insufficient sleep (OR 1.49, excessive daytime sleepiness (OR 1.88, and insomnia (OR 3.70. In addition, hypertension (OR 5.83, diabetes mellitus (OR 2.54, hyperlipidemia (OR 2.85, and anxiety (OR 1.63 were comorbid conditions independently associated with a high risk for OSA.This is the first study to demonstrate the prevalence of a high risk for OSA in a nationwide representative sample of the Korean adult population. These findings elucidate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of those at high risk for OSA.

DIFFERENCES IN EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH OF LEGS OF FOOTBALLERS OF CADET CATEGORIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nebojša Nedeljkov

2011-09-01

Full Text Available In structure football is very complicated and complex activity. Today's level of development of football game requires of players a high level and rhythm of the game, excellent physical condition, high technical standards in motion that depend on many motor skills. Various beginnings of movement, acceleration, stopping at high speed, changing direction, jumping, ball hitting are the most common movings in which explosive power of players is exhibited. Observing the activities of the game, players need most, the form of power, which is reflected in the shortest possible interval, ie. explosive strength. The study aims to determine the difference in explosive strength of legs of footballers of cadet category. The sample consisted of 60 players, divided into two groups of 30 subjects, aged 15 ± 1 years. One group was composed of Serbian national team and the other football players of FC ‘Vojvodina’ from Novi Sad. Sample tests consisted of six tests, as follows: running speed of 10 meters from a standing start, running speed 20 meters from a standing start, running speed 30 meters from a standing start, a jump up from the spot, standing long jump and triple jump. To examine whether statistically significant differences between groups of players we used t-test for two independent groups. Generally it can be concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between the two treatment groups of respondents in favor of the representatives of Serbi

Scattering characteristics of relativistically moving concentrically layered spheres

Science.gov (United States)

Garner, Timothy J.; Lakhtakia, Akhlesh; Breakall, James K.; Bohren, Craig F.

2018-02-01

The energy extinction cross section of a concentrically layered sphere varies with velocity as the Doppler shift moves the spectral content of the incident signal in the sphere's co-moving inertial reference frame toward or away from resonances of the sphere. Computations for hollow gold nanospheres show that the energy extinction cross section is high when the Doppler shift moves the incident signal's spectral content in the co-moving frame near the wavelength of the sphere's localized surface plasmon resonance. The energy extinction cross section of a three-layer sphere consisting of an olivine-silicate core surrounded by a porous and a magnetite layer, which is used to explain extinction caused by interstellar dust, also depends strongly on velocity. For this sphere, computations show that the energy extinction cross section is high when the Doppler shift moves the spectral content of the incident signal near either of olivine-silicate's two localized surface phonon resonances at 9.7 μm and 18 μm.

Subject categories and scope descriptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This document is one in a series of publications known as the ETDE/INIS Joint Reference Series. It defines the subject categories and provides the scope descriptions to be used for categorization of the nuclear literature for the preparation of INIS and ETDE input by national and regional centres. Together with the other volumes of the INIS Reference Series it defines the rules, standards and practices and provides the authorities to be used in the International Nuclear Information System and ETDE. A complete list of the volumes published in the INIS Reference Series may be found on the inside front cover of this publication. This INIS/ETDE Reference Series document is intended to serve two purposes: to define the subject scope of the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) and the Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) and to define the subject classification scheme of INIS and ETDE. It is thus the guide to the inputting centres in determining which items of literature should be reported, and in determining where the full bibliographic entry and abstract of each item should be included in INIS or ETDE database. Each category is identified by a category code consisting of three alphanumeric characters. A scope description is given for each subject category. The scope of INIS is the sum of the scopes of all the categories. With most categories cross references are provided to other categories where appropriate. Cross references should be of assistance in finding the appropriate category; in fact, by indicating topics that are excluded from the category in question, the cross references help to clarify and define the scope of the category to which they are appended. A Subject Index is included as an aid to subject classifiers, but it is only an aid and not a means for subject classification. It facilitates the use of this document, but is no substitute for the description of the scope of the subject categories

Risk perception in women with high-risk pregnancies

OpenAIRE

Lee, S.

2014-01-01

Risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies affects the decisions they make about antenatal care and so may therefore influence the wellbeing of mother and baby. This article addresses the factors which influence women when making risk assessments and how these assessments may differ from those of healthcare professionals.\\ud \\ud Women use multiple sources of information to determine their risk status including advice from professionals, from other trusted sources, and their own intui...

Color categories only affect post-perceptual processes when same- and different-category colors are equally discriminable.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xun; Witzel, Christoph; Forder, Lewis; Clifford, Alexandra; Franklin, Anna

2014-04-01

Prior claims that color categories affect color perception are confounded by inequalities in the color space used to equate same- and different-category colors. Here, we equate same- and different-category colors in the number of just-noticeable differences, and measure event-related potentials (ERPs) to these colors on a visual oddball task to establish if color categories affect perceptual or post-perceptual stages of processing. Category effects were found from 200 ms after color presentation, only in ERP components that reflect post-perceptual processes (e.g., N2, P3). The findings suggest that color categories affect post-perceptual processing, but do not affect the perceptual representation of color.

Utility of supplemental screening with breast ultrasound in asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue who are not at high risk for breast cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geetika A Klevos

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess the results of an initial round of supplemental screening with hand-held bilateral breast ultrasound following a negative screening mammogram in asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue who are not at high risk for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant, Institutional Research Board approved study was performed at a single academic tertiary breast center. Informed consent was waived. A systematic review of the breast imaging center database was conducted to identify and retrieve data for all asymptomatic women, who were found to have heterogeneously dense or extremely dense breast tissue on screening bilateral mammograms performed from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012 and who received a mammographic final assessment American College of Radiology's (ACR Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS category 1 or BI-RADS category 2. Hand-held screening ultrasound was performed initially by a technologist followed by a radiologist. Chi-square and t-test were used and statistical significance was considered at P< 0.05. Results: A total of 1210 women were identified. Of these, 394 underwent the offered supplemental screening ultrasound. BI-RADS category 1 or 2 was assigned to 323 women (81.9%. BI-RADS category 3 was assigned to 50 women (12.9%. A total of 26 biopsies/aspirations were recommended and performed in 26 women (6.6%. The most common finding for which biopsy was recommended was a solid mass (88.5% with an average size of 0.9 cm (0.5–1.7 cm. Most frequent pathology result was fibroadenoma (60.8%. No carcinoma was found. Conclusion: Our data support the reported occurrence of a relatively high number of false positives at supplemental screening with breast ultrasound following a negative screening mammogram in asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue, who are not at a high risk of developing breast cancer, and suggests that caution

Bed rest from the perspective of the high-risk pregnant woman.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupton, A; Heaman, M; Ashcroft, T

1997-01-01

To describe the experience of prolonged bed rest from the perspective of women during high-risk pregnancies. A focused ethnographic study that used interviews, participant diaries, and field notes as data sources. Participants were obtained from an acute-care hospital antepartum unit and an antepartum home care program. Twenty-four women with complications of pregnancy requiring prolonged bed rest (range, 7-50 days). A model of the stress process in pregnant women on bed rest emerged from the data analysis. Stressors were grouped into situational (sick role, lack of control, uncertainty, concerns regarding fetus's well-being, and being tired of waiting), environmental (feeling like a prisoner, being bored, and having a sense of missing out), and family (role reversal and worry about older children) categories. Two main mediators of stress were social support and coping. Families, friends, and professionals were perceived as sources of support. Women used coping strategies, such as keeping a positive attitude, taking it 1 day at a time, doing it for the baby, getting used to it, setting goals, and keeping busy. Manifestations of stress were evidenced by adverse physical symptoms, emotional reactions, and altered social relationships. Prolonged bed rest is a stressful experience for pregnant women at high risk. Understanding the stress process in pregnant women confined to bed rest may assist nurses in developing interventions to reduce stressors and enhance mediators.

Bleeding Risk Profile in Patients With Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Frederic; Husmann, Marc; Benenati, James F; Katzen, Barry T; Del Conde, Ian

2016-06-01

To assess the bleeding risk profile using the HAS-BLED score in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD). A post hoc analysis was performed using data from a series of 115 consecutive patients (mean age 72.4±11.4 years; 68 men) with symptomatic PAD undergoing endovascular revascularization. The endpoint of the study was to assess bleeding risk using the 9-point HAS-BLED score, which was previously validated in cohorts of patients with and without atrial fibrillation. For the purpose of this study, the low (0-1), intermediate (2), and high-risk (≥3) scores were stratified as low/intermediate risk (HAS-BLED risk (HAS-BLED ≥3). The mean HAS-BLED score was 2.76±1.16; 64 (56%) patients had a HAS-BLED score ≥3.0. Patients with PAD Rutherford category 5/6 ischemia had an even higher mean HAS-BLED score (3.20±1.12). Logistic regression analysis revealed aortoiliac or femoropopliteal segment involvement, chronic kidney disease, as well as Rutherford category 5/6, to be independent risk factors associated with a HAS-BLED score ≥3. Patients with PAD, especially those presenting with Rutherford category 5/6 ischemic symptoms, have high HAS-BLED scores, suggesting increased risk for major bleeding. Prospective clinical validation of the HAS-BLED score in patients with PAD may help with the risk-benefit assessment when prescribing antithrombotic therapy. © The Author(s) 2016.

Adaptive moving mesh methods for simulating one-dimensional groundwater problems with sharp moving fronts

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, W.; Zheng, Lingyun; Zhan, X.

2002-01-01

Accurate modelling of groundwater flow and transport with sharp moving fronts often involves high computational cost, when a fixed/uniform mesh is used. In this paper, we investigate the modelling of groundwater problems using a particular adaptive mesh method called the moving mesh partial differential equation approach. With this approach, the mesh is dynamically relocated through a partial differential equation to capture the evolving sharp fronts with a relatively small number of grid points. The mesh movement and physical system modelling are realized by solving the mesh movement and physical partial differential equations alternately. The method is applied to the modelling of a range of groundwater problems, including advection dominated chemical transport and reaction, non-linear infiltration in soil, and the coupling of density dependent flow and transport. Numerical results demonstrate that sharp moving fronts can be accurately and efficiently captured by the moving mesh approach. Also addressed are important implementation strategies, e.g. the construction of the monitor function based on the interpolation error, control of mesh concentration, and two-layer mesh movement. Copyright ?? 2002 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Moving Forwards with the Aim of Going Backwards Fast: High-Performance Rowing as a Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Rossi, Tony; Rynne, Steven B.; Rabjohns, Martin

2016-01-01

Background and purpose: This paper focuses on the learning culture within the high-performance levels of rowing. In doing so, we explore the case of an individual's learning as he moves across athletic, coaching and administrative functions. This exploration draws on a cultural learning framework and complementary theorisings related to…

Cancer and the risk for taking early retirement pension: a Danish cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlsen, Kathrine; Oksbjerg Dalton, Susanne; Frederiksen, Kirsten

2008-01-01

, physical and psychological comorbidity, low education and low income. Three risk categories were identified (high, medium and low) by cancer site and we found that in the high risk category, people diagnosed with leukemia, prostate cancer or ovary cancer had a more than two-fold increased risk for ERP......AIMS: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk for taking early retirement pension (ERP) in cancer survivors who were working at the time of diagnosis. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide and population based cohort study including 44,905 persons aged 30-60 years diagnosed with selected...... cancers in the period 1981-2000 and 211,562 randomly sampled cancer-free controls. Information on socioeconomic status, demography and physical and psychiatric comorbidity was obtained from Danish administrative registries. RESULTS: We analyzed the risk for ERP adjusted for known risk factors and found...

Stand up and move forward

OpenAIRE

de Jong, Johan; Shokoohi, Roya

2017-01-01

Insufficient physical activity or being inactive is one of the leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases worldwide. Globally between 6-10% of premature mortality, caused by non-communicable diseases, could be avoided if people adhered to general physical activity guidelines. Besides that, studies link sitting for prolonged periods of time with many serious health concerns. The solution seems simple: Stand up and move forward. However, human behavior is difficult to change – due to th...

Triangulated categories (AM-148)

CERN Document Server

Neeman, Amnon

2014-01-01

The first two chapters of this book offer a modern, self-contained exposition of the elementary theory of triangulated categories and their quotients. The simple, elegant presentation of these known results makes these chapters eminently suitable as a text for graduate students. The remainder of the book is devoted to new research, providing, among other material, some remarkable improvements on Brown''s classical representability theorem. In addition, the author introduces a class of triangulated categories""--the ""well generated triangulated categories""--and studies their properties. This

Three-dimensional local ALE-FEM method for fluid flow in domains containing moving boundaries/objects interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carrington, David Bradley [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Monayem, A. K. M. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mazumder, H. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Heinrich, Juan C. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-03-05

A three-dimensional finite element method for the numerical simulations of fluid flow in domains containing moving rigid objects or boundaries is developed. The method falls into the general category of Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian methods; it is based on a fixed mesh that is locally adapted in the immediate vicinity of the moving interfaces and reverts to its original shape once the moving interfaces go past the elements. The moving interfaces are defined by separate sets of marker points so that the global mesh is independent of interface movement and the possibility of mesh entanglement is eliminated. The results is a fully robust formulation capable of calculating on domains of complex geometry with moving boundaries or devises that can also have a complex geometry without danger of the mesh becoming unsuitable due to its continuous deformation thus eliminating the need for repeated re-meshing and interpolation. Moreover, the boundary conditions on the interfaces are imposed exactly. This work is intended to support the internal combustion engines simulator KIVA developed at Los Alamos National Laboratories. The model's capabilities are illustrated through application to incompressible flows in different geometrical settings that show the robustness and flexibility of the technique to perform simulations involving moving boundaries in a three-dimensional domain.

Job Surfing: Move On to Move Up.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Justin

1997-01-01

Looks at the process of switching jobs and changing careers. Discusses when to consider options and make the move as well as the need to be flexible and open minded. Provides a test for determining the chances of promotion and when to move on. (JOW)

Coronary Artery Calcium Screening: Does it Perform Better than Other Cardiovascular Risk Stratification Tools?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irfan Zeb

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Coronary artery calcium (CAC has been advocated as one of the strongest cardiovascular risk prediction markers. It performs better across a wide range of Framingham risk categories (6%–10% and 10%–20% 10-year risk categories and also helps in reclassifying the risk of these subjects into either higher or lower risk categories based on CAC scores. It also performs better among population subgroups where Framingham risk score does not perform well, especially young subjects, women, family history of premature coronary artery disease and ethnic differences in coronary risk. The absence of CAC is also associated with excellent prognosis, with 10-year event rate of 1%. Studies have also compared with other commonly used markers of cardiovascular disease risk such as Carotid intima-media thickness and highly sensitive C-reactive protein. CAC also performs better compared with carotid intima-media thickness and highly sensitive C-reactive protein in prediction of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease events. CAC scans are associated with relatively low radiation exposure (0.9–1.1 mSv and provide information that can be used not only for risk stratification but also can be used to track the progression of atherosclerosis and the effects of statins.

A randomized trial of family focused therapy with populations at clinical high risk for psychosis: effects on interactional behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Mary P; Miklowitz, David J; Candan, Kristin A; Marshall, Catherine; Domingues, Isabel; Walsh, Barbara C; Zinberg, Jamie L; De Silva, Sandra D; Woodberry, Kristen A; Cannon, Tyrone D

2014-02-01

This study investigated whether family focused therapy (FFT-CHR), an 18-session intervention that consisted of psychoeducation and training in communication and problem solving, brought about greater improvements in family communication than enhanced care (EC), a 3-session psychoeducational intervention, among individuals at clinical high risk for developing psychosis. This study was conducted within a randomized controlled trial across 8 sites. We examined 10-min problem-solving discussions at baseline and 6-month reassessment among 66 adolescents and young adults and their parents. Trained coders who were blind to treatment and time of assessment achieved high levels of interrater reliability when evaluating family discussions on categories of calm-constructive and critical-conflictual behavior. Individuals at high risk and their family members who participated in FFT-CHR demonstrated greater improvement from baseline to 6-month reassessment in constructive communication and decreases in conflictual behaviors during family interactions than those in EC. Participants in FFT-CHR showed greater increases from baseline to 6 months in active listening and calm communication and greater decreases in irritability and anger, complaints and criticism, and off-task comments compared to participants in EC. These changes occurred equally in high-risk participants and their family members. A 6-month family skills training treatment can bring about significant improvement in family communication among individuals at high risk for psychosis and their parents. Future studies should examine the association between enhancements in family communication and reduced risk for the onset of psychosis among individuals at high risk. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The composition of category conjunctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutter, Russell R C; Crisp, Richard J

2005-05-01

In three experiments, the authors investigated the impression formation process resulting from the perception of familiar or unfamiliar social category combinations. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to generate attributes associated with either a familiar or unfamiliar social category conjunction. Compared to familiar combinations, the authors found that when the conjunction was unfamiliar, participants formed their impression less from the individual constituent categories and relatively more from novel emergent attributes. In Experiment 2, the authors replicated this effect using alternative experimental materials. In Experiment 3, the effect generalized to additional (orthogonally combined) gender and occupation categories. The implications of these findings for understanding the processes involved in the conjunction of social categories, and the formation of new stereotypes, are discussed.

Risk factors of falls in inpatients and their practical use in identifying high-risk persons at admission: Fukushima Medical University Hospital cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayakawa, Takehito; Hashimoto, Shigeatsu; Kanda, Hideyuki; Hirano, Noriko; Kurihara, Yumi; Kawashima, Takako; Fukushima, Tetsuhito

2014-01-01

To clarify the risk factors for falls in hospital settings and to propose the use of such factors to identify high-risk persons at admission. Prospective cohort study. Fukushima Medical University Hospital, Japan, from August 2008 and September 2009. 9957 adult consecutive inpatients admitted to our hospital. Information was collected at admission from clinical records obtained from a structured questionnaire conducted in face-to-face interviews with subjects by nurses and doctors and fall events were collected from clinical records. The proportion of patients who fell during follow-up was 2.5% and the incidence of falls was 3.28 per 100 person-days. There were significant differences in age, history of falling, cognitive dysfunction, planned surgery, wheelchair use, need for help to move, use of a remote caring system, rehabilitation, use of laxative, hypnotic or psychotropic medications and need for help with activities of daily living (ADL) between patients who did and did not fall. Multivariable adjusted ORs for falls showed that age, history of falls and need for help with ADL were common risk factors in both men and women. Using psychotropic medication also increased the risk of falling in men while cognitive dysfunction and use of hypnotic medication increased the risk of falling in women. Planned surgery was associated with a low risk of falls in women. To prevent falls in inpatients it is important to identify high-risk persons. Age, history of falling and the need for help with ADL are the most important pieces of information to be obtained at admission. Care plans for patients including fall prevention should be clear and considered.

PREPARATION AIDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORY I QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS

Science.gov (United States)

Data collection activities performed for the Risk Reduction Engineering aboratory (RREL) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are divided into tour categories, depending on the intended use of the data. uality Assurance (QA) Project Plans are written to ensure that project...

PREPARATION AIDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORY IV QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS

Science.gov (United States)

Data collection activities performed for the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (RREL) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are divided into four categories, depending on the intended use of the data. uality Assurance (QA) Project Plans are written to ensure that projec...

PREPARATION AIDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORY III QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS

Science.gov (United States)

Data collection activities performed for the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (RREL) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are divided into four categories, depending on the intended use of the data. uality Assurance (QA) Project Plans are written to ensure that projec...

PREPARATION AIDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATEGORY II QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS

Science.gov (United States)

Data collection activities performed for the Risk Reduction Engineering aboratory (RREL) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are divided into tour categories, depending on the intended use of the data. uality Assurance (QA) Project Plans are written to ensure that project...

From Perceptual Categories to Concepts: What Develops?

Science.gov (United States)

Sloutsky, Vladimir M.

2010-01-01

People are remarkably smart: they use language, possess complex motor skills, make non-trivial inferences, develop and use scientific theories, make laws, and adapt to complex dynamic environments. Much of this knowledge requires concepts and this paper focuses on how people acquire concepts. It is argued that conceptual development progresses from simple perceptual grouping to highly abstract scientific concepts. This proposal of conceptual development has four parts. First, it is argued that categories in the world have different structure. Second, there might be different learning systems (sub-served by different brain mechanisms) that evolved to learn categories of differing structures. Third, these systems exhibit differential maturational course, which affects how categories of different structures are learned in the course of development. And finally, an interaction of these components may result in the developmental transition from perceptual groupings to more abstract concepts. This paper reviews a large body of empirical evidence supporting this proposal. PMID:21116483

Risk-ranking IST components into two categories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowley, C.W.

1996-01-01

The ASME has utilized several schemes for identifying the appropriate scope of components for inservice testing (IST). The initial scope was ASME Code Class 1/2/3, with all components treated equally. Later the ASME Operations and Maintenance (O ampersand M) Committee decided to use safe shutdown and accident mitigation as the scoping criteria, but continued to treat all components equal inside that scope. Recently the ASME O ampersand M Committee decided to recognize service condition of the component, hence the comprehensive pump test. Although probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) are incredibly complex plant models and computer hardware and software intensive, they are a tool that can be utilized by many plant engineering organizations to analyze plant system and component applications. In 1992 the ASME O ampersand M Committee got interested in using the PRA as a tool to categorize its pumps and valves. In 1994 the ASME O ampersand M Committee commissioned the ASME Center for Research and Technology Development (CRTD) to develop a process that adapted the PRA technology to IST. In late 1995 that process was presented to the ASME O ampersand M Committee. The process had three distinct portions: (1) risk-rank the IST components; (2) develop a more effective testing strategy for More Safety Significant Components; and (3) develop a more economic testing strategy for Less Safety Significant Components

Risk-ranking IST components into two categories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowley, C.W.

1996-12-01

The ASME has utilized several schemes for identifying the appropriate scope of components for inservice testing (IST). The initial scope was ASME Code Class 1/2/3, with all components treated equally. Later the ASME Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Committee decided to use safe shutdown and accident mitigation as the scoping criteria, but continued to treat all components equal inside that scope. Recently the ASME O&M Committee decided to recognize service condition of the component, hence the comprehensive pump test. Although probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) are incredibly complex plant models and computer hardware and software intensive, they are a tool that can be utilized by many plant engineering organizations to analyze plant system and component applications. In 1992 the ASME O&M Committee got interested in using the PRA as a tool to categorize its pumps and valves. In 1994 the ASME O&M Committee commissioned the ASME Center for Research and Technology Development (CRTD) to develop a process that adapted the PRA technology to IST. In late 1995 that process was presented to the ASME O&M Committee. The process had three distinct portions: (1) risk-rank the IST components; (2) develop a more effective testing strategy for More Safety Significant Components; and (3) develop a more economic testing strategy for Less Safety Significant Components.

Using a Topological Model in Psychology: Developing Sense and Choice Categories.

Science.gov (United States)

Mammen, Jens

2016-06-01

A duality of sense categories and choice categories is introduced to map two distinct but co-operating ways in which we as humans are relating actively to the world. We are sensing similarities and differences in our world of objects and persons, but we are also as bodies moving around in this world encountering, selecting, and attaching to objects beyond our sensory interactions and in this way also relating to the individual objects' history. This duality is necessary if we shall understand man as relating to the historical depth of our natural and cultural world, and to understand our cognitions and affections. Our personal affections and attachments, as well as our shared cultural values are centered around objects and persons chosen as reference points and landmarks in our lives, uniting and separating, not to be understood only in terms of sensory selections. The ambition is to bridge the gap between psychology as part of Naturwissenschaft and of Geisteswissenschaft, and at the same time establish a common frame for understanding cognition and affection, and our practical and cultural life (Mammen and Mironenko 2015). The duality of sense and choice categories can be described formally using concepts from modern mathematics, primarily topology, surmounting the reductions rooted in the mechanistic concepts from Renaissance science and mathematics. The formal description is based on 11 short and simple axioms held in ordinary language and visualized with instructive figures. The axioms are bridging psychology and mathematics and not only enriching psychology but also opening for a new interpretation of parts of the foundation of mathematics and logic.

Prescription of the High Risk Narcotics and Trading or Illicit Purchasing of High Risk Narcotics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta-Elena Buzatu

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The present essay will analyze the offence of prescribing high risk narcotics and trading or illicit purchasing of high risk narcotics, as it was regulated - together with other offences - by Law no 143 of July 26, 2000 on preventing and fighting against the traffic and illicit consumption of narcotics. The same law defines the meaning of such a phrase “substances which are under national control” by mentioning the fact that they are the narcotics and their precursors listed in Annexes I-IV of the law. The analysis of the offence of prescribing the high risk narcotics and trading or illicit purchasing of high risk narcotics is following the already known structure mentioned in the doctrine and which consists of: object and subjects of the offence, its constituent content: the objective side with its material element, the immediate consequence and causality connections; the subjective side of the offence, as well as forms and modalities of these offences, and the applicable sanctions, of course.

How categories come to matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leahu, Lucian; Cohn, Marisa; March, Wendy

2013-01-01

In a study of users' interactions with Siri, the iPhone personal assistant application, we noticed the emergence of overlaps and blurrings between explanatory categories such as "human" and "machine". We found that users work to purify these categories, thus resolving the tensions related to the ...... initial data analysis, due to our own forms of latent purification, and outline the particular analytic techniques that helped lead to this discovery. We thus provide an illustrative case of how categories come to matter in HCI research and design.......In a study of users' interactions with Siri, the iPhone personal assistant application, we noticed the emergence of overlaps and blurrings between explanatory categories such as "human" and "machine". We found that users work to purify these categories, thus resolving the tensions related...

14 CFR 23.3 - Airplane categories.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Airplane categories. 23.3 Section 23.3... STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES General § 23.3 Airplane categories. (a) The normal category is limited to airplanes that have a seating configuration, excluding pilot...

Instability of a vehicle moving on an elastic structure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veritchev, S.N.

2002-01-01

Vibrations of a vehicle that moves on a long elastic structure can become unstable because of elastic waves that the vehicle generates in the structure. A typical example of the vehicle that can experience such instability is a high-speed train. Moving with a sufficiently high speed, this train

The Psychosis High-Risk State

Science.gov (United States)

Fusar-Poli, Paolo; Borgwardt, Stefan; Bechdolf, Andreas; Addington, Jean; Riecher-Rössler, Anita; Schultze-Lutter, Frauke; Keshavan, Matcheri; Wood, Stephen; Ruhrmann, Stephan; Seidman, Larry J.; Valmaggia, Lucia; Cannon, Tyrone; Velthorst, Eva; De Haan, Lieuwe; Cornblatt, Barbara; Bonoldi, Ilaria; Birchwood, Max; McGlashan, Thomas; Carpenter, William; McGorry, Patrick; Klosterkötter, Joachim; McGuire, Philip; Yung, Alison

2014-01-01

Context During the past 2 decades, a major transition in the clinical characterization of psychotic disorders has occurred. The construct of a clinical high-risk (HR) state for psychosis has evolved to capture the prepsychotic phase, describing people presenting with potentially prodromal symptoms. The importance of this HR state has been increasingly recognized to such an extent that a new syndrome is being considered as a diagnostic category in the DSM-5. Objective To reframe the HR state in a comprehensive state-of-the-art review on the progress that has been made while also recognizing the challenges that remain. Data Sources Available HR research of the past 20 years from PubMed, books, meetings, abstracts, and international conferences. Study Selection and Data Extraction Critical review of HR studies addressing historical development, inclusion criteria, epidemiologic research, transition criteria, outcomes, clinical and functional characteristics, neurocognition, neuroimaging, predictors of psychosis development, treatment trials, socioeconomic aspects, nosography, and future challenges in the field. Data Synthesis Relevant articles retrieved in the literature search were discussed by a large group of leading worldwide experts in the field. The core results are presented after consensus and are summarized in illustrative tables and figures. Conclusions The relatively new field of HR research in psychosis is exciting. It has the potential to shed light on the development of major psychotic disorders and to alter their course. It also provides a rationale for service provision to those in need of help who could not previously access it and the possibility of changing trajectories for those with vulnerability to psychotic illnesses. PMID:23165428

Bundles of C*-categories and duality

OpenAIRE

Vasselli, Ezio

2005-01-01

We introduce the notions of multiplier C*-category and continuous bundle of C*-categories, as the categorical analogues of the corresponding C*-algebraic notions. Every symmetric tensor C*-category with conjugates is a continuous bundle of C*-categories, with base space the spectrum of the C*-algebra associated with the identity object. We classify tensor C*-categories with fibre the dual of a compact Lie group in terms of suitable principal bundles. This also provides a classification for ce...

Radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Yossepowitch, Ofer; Eastham, James A

2008-06-01

Consensus recommendations for the identification and treatment of men whose apparent organ confined prostate cancer has high risk features are lacking. Despite ongoing refinements in surgical technique and improvements in morbidity and functional outcomes, the tradition of steering high-risk patients away from radical prostatectomy (RP) remains steadfast. We performed a medical literature search in English using MEDLINE/PubMed that addressed high risk prostate cancer. We analyzed the literature with respect to the historical evolution of this concept, current risk stratification schemes and treatment guidelines and related short and long term outcomes following RP. Contemporary evidence suggest that patients classified with high-risk prostate cancer by commonly used definitions do not have a uniformly poor prognosis after RP. Many cancers categorized clinically as high risk are actually pathologically confined to the prostate, and most men with such cancers who undergo RP are alive and free of additional therapy long after surgery. RP in the high-risk setting appears to be associated with a similar morbidity as in lower-risk patients. Men with clinically localized high-risk prostate cancer should not be categorically disqualified from local definitive therapy with RP. With careful attention to surgical technique, cancer control rates should improve further, and adverse effects on quality of life after RP should continue to decrease.

Models as Relational Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Kokkonen, Tommi

2017-11-01

Model-based learning (MBL) has an established position within science education. It has been found to enhance conceptual understanding and provide a way for engaging students in authentic scientific activity. Despite ample research, few studies have examined the cognitive processes regarding learning scientific concepts within MBL. On the other hand, recent research within cognitive science has examined the learning of so-called relational categories. Relational categories are categories whose membership is determined on the basis of the common relational structure. In this theoretical paper, I argue that viewing models as relational categories provides a well-motivated cognitive basis for MBL. I discuss the different roles of models and modeling within MBL (using ready-made models, constructive modeling, and generative modeling) and discern the related cognitive aspects brought forward by the reinterpretation of models as relational categories. I will argue that relational knowledge is vital in learning novel models and in the transfer of learning. Moreover, relational knowledge underlies the coherent, hierarchical knowledge of experts. Lastly, I will examine how the format of external representations may affect the learning of models and the relevant relations. The nature of the learning mechanisms underlying students' mental representations of models is an interesting open question to be examined. Furthermore, the ways in which the expert-like knowledge develops and how to best support it is in need of more research. The discussion and conceptualization of models as relational categories allows discerning students' mental representations of models in terms of evolving relational structures in greater detail than previously done.

RESIDUAL RISK ASSESSMENT: ETHYLENE OXIDE ...

Science.gov (United States)

This document describes the residual risk assessment for the Ethylene Oxide Commercial Sterilization source category. For stationary sources, section 112 (f) of the Clean Air Act requires EPA to assess risks to human health and the environment following implementation of technology-based control standards. If these technology-based control standards do not provide an ample margin of safety, then EPA is required to promulgate addtional standards. This document describes the methodology and results of the residual risk assessment performed for the Ethylene Oxide Commercial Sterilization source category. The results of this analyiss will assist EPA in determining whether a residual risk rule for this source category is appropriate.

Perspectives on a 'Sit Less, Move More' Intervention in Australian Emergency Call Centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Chau, Josephine Y; Engelen, Lina; Burks-Young, Sarah; Daley, Michelle; Maxwell, Jen-Kui; Milton, Karen; Bauman, Adrian

2016-01-01

Prolonged sitting is associated with increased risk of chronic diseases. Workplace programs that aim to reduce sitting time (sit less) and increase physical activity (move more) have targeted desk-based workers in corporate and university settings with promising results. However, little is known about 'move more, sit less' programs for workers in other types of jobs and industries, such as shift workers. This formative research examines the perceptions of a 'sit less, move more' program in an Australian Emergency Call Centre that operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Participants were employees (N = 39, 72% female, 50% aged 36-55 years) recruited from Emergency Services control centres located in New South Wales, Australia. The 'sit less, move more' intervention, consisting of emails, posters and timer lights, was co-designed with the management team and tailored to the control centre environment and work practices, which already included electronic height-adjustable sit-stand workstations for all call centre staff. Participants reported their perceptions and experiences of the intervention in a self-report online questionnaire, and directly to the research team during regular site visits. Questionnaire topics included barriers and facilitators to standing while working, mental wellbeing, effects on work performance, and workplace satisfaction. Field notes and open-ended response data were analysed in an iterative process during and after data collection to identify the main themes. Whilst participants already had sit-stand workstations, use of the desks in the standing position varied and sometimes were contrary to expectations (e.g, less tired standing than sitting; standing when experiencing high call stress). Participants emphasised the "challenging" and "unrelenting" nature of their work. They reported sleep issues ("always tired"), work stress ("non-stop demands"), and feeling mentally and physically drained due to shift work and length of shifts

Categories and logical syntax

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klev, Ansten Morch

2014-01-01

The notions of category and type are here studied through the lens of logical syntax: Aristotle's as well as Kant's categories through the traditional form of proposition `S is P', and modern doctrines of type through the Fregean form of proposition `F(a)', function applied to argument. Topics

Data categories for marine planning

Science.gov (United States)

Lightsom, Frances L.; Cicchetti, Giancarlo; Wahle, Charles M.

2015-01-01

The U.S. National Ocean Policy calls for a science- and ecosystem-based approach to comprehensive planning and management of human activities and their impacts on America’s oceans. The Ocean Community in Data.gov is an outcome of 2010–2011 work by an interagency working group charged with designing a national information management system to support ocean planning. Within the working group, a smaller team developed a list of the data categories specifically relevant to marine planning. This set of categories is an important consensus statement of the breadth of information types required for ocean planning from a national, multidisciplinary perspective. Although the categories were described in a working document in 2011, they have not yet been fully implemented explicitly in online services or geospatial metadata, in part because authoritative definitions were not created formally. This document describes the purpose of the data categories, provides definitions, and identifies relations among the categories and between the categories and external standards. It is intended to be used by ocean data providers, managers, and users in order to provide a transparent and consistent framework for organizing and describing complex information about marine ecosystems and their connections to humans.

Client experiences with perinatal healthcare for high-risk and low-risk women

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Stenus, Cherelle M.V.; Boere-Boonekamp, Magda M.; Kerkhof, Erna F.G.M.; Need, Ariana

2018-01-01

Problem: It is unknown if client experiences with perinatal healthcare differ between low-risk and high-risk women. Background: In the Netherlands, risk selection divides pregnant women into low- and high-risk groups. Receiving news that a pregnancy or childbirth has an increased likelihood of

A methodology for the transfer of probabilities between accident severity categories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitlow, J.D.; Neuhauser, K.S.

1992-01-01

Evaluation of the radiological risks of accidents involving vehicles transporting radioactive materials requires consideration of both accident probability and consequences. The probability that an accident will occur may be estimated from historical accident data for the given mode of transport. In addition to an overall accident rate, information regarding accident severity and the resulting package environments across the range of all credible accidents is needed to determine the potential for a release of radioactive material from the package or for an increase in direct radiation from the package caused by damage to packaging shielding. This information is usually obtained from a variety of sources such as historical data, experimental data, analyses of accident and package environments, and expert opinion. The consequences of an accident depend on a number of factors including the type, quantity, and physical form of radioactive material being transported; the response of the package to accident environments; the fraction of material released from the package; and the dispersion of any released material. One approach for the classification and treatment of transportation accidents in risk analysis divides the complete range of critical accident environments resulting from all credible accidents into some number of accident-severity categories. The types of accident environments that a package may be subjected to in transportation are often classified into the following five groups: impact, fire, crush, puncture, and immersion. A open-quotes criticalclose quotes accident environment is one of a type that could present a plausible threat to a package. Each severity category represents a portion of all credible accidents, and the total of all severity categories covers the complete range of critical accident environments. This approach is used in the risk assessment codes RADTRAN (Neuhauser and Kanipe 1992) and INTERTRAN (Ericsson and Elert 1983)

Candida spp. biotypes in the oral cavity of school children from different socioeconomic categories in Piracicaba - SP, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MOREIRA Daniella

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Two hundred and thirty-nine (239 Brazilian children, distributed into five distinct socioeconomic categories (A to E were studied. Saliva samples were analyzed as to flow rate, pH, buffer capacity and microbial parameters. The results revealed the presence of Candida spp. in 47.3% of the samples. The most commonly isolated species was C. albicans, in all socioeconomic categories, followed by C. tropicalis, C. krusei and C. parapsilosis. There was no statistical correlation between secretion rate, buffer capacity and Candida spp. CFU/ml. The prevalence of Candida spp. did not differ substantially among the groups; however the microorganisms were more detected in categories B and C. Among all species, C. albicans was the most prevalent. Only 5% of the sample presented more than one species - C. albicans associated with C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis or C. krusei. It was possible to detect a significant correlation between caries indices and the socioeconomic categories. All categories presented increased caries indices; however the studied population was considered of low caries risk. There was no positive correlation between the presence of Candida and caries risk in the analyzed population.

Moving away from local-based flood risk policy in Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Thaler

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Floodplain areas across the world have always played an attractive role for residential and non-residential developments. The Alpine regions have a strong pressure to develop new residential and non-residential buildings in hazard areas due to lack of other areas suitable for development. Consequently, the number of elements at risk and vulnerability to flood hazards increased. In order to reduce the vulnerability, the focus of mitigation flood hazards was for decades on structural engineering measures with the problem of spatial misfits between the threat and management strategy. Since the late 1990s/early 2000s, Austrian policy makers have been trying to overcome this spatial misfit with the implementation of an inter-local co-operation approach with the use of so-called ‘new spatial planning’ (Heley, 2013 in the planning process. Therefore, the paper examines what the actors and stakeholders are doing in practice and how the concept of fuzziness helps. Although a partnership approach may be seen as a promising solution, in practice there are many limitations and barriers in establishing these collaborations and making them effective (especially in the long term. Rhetoric may not be matched by reality and a ‘partnership’ agenda may bring more problems (i.e. high transactions costs, high risk of failure, uncertainty in the long term than it solves.

Moving related to separation : who moves and to what distance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mulder, Clara H.; Malmberg, Gunnar

We address the issue of moving from the joint home on the occasion of separation. Our research question is: To what extent can the occurrence of moves related to separation, and the distance moved, be explained by ties to the location, resources, and other factors influencing the likelihood of

Improving antenatal risk assessment in women exposed to high risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Natasha; Newman, Louise K; Hunter, Mick; Dunlop, Adrian

2015-01-01

Antenatal substance use and related psychosocial risk factors are known to increase the likelihood of child protection involvement; less is known about the predictive nature of maternal reflective functioning (RF) in this population. This preliminary study assessed psychosocial and psychological risk factors for a group of substance dependent women exposed to high risks in pregnancy, and their impact on child protection involvement. Pregnant women on opiate substitution treatment (n = 11) and a comparison group (n = 15) were recruited during their third trimester to complete measures of RF (Pregnancy Interview), childhood trauma, mental health and psychosocial assessments. At postnatal follow-up, RF was reassessed (Parent Development Interview - Revised Short Version) and mother-infant dyads were videotaped to assess emotional availability (EA). Child protection services were contacted to determine if any concerns had been raised for infant safety. Significant between-group differences were observed for demographics, psychosocial factors, trauma and mental health symptoms. Unexpectedly, no significant differences were found for RF or EA between groups. Eight women in the 'exposed to high risks' group became involved with child protection services. Reflective functioning was not significantly associated with psychosocial risk factors, and therefore did not mediate the outcome of child protection involvement. Women 'exposed to high risks' were equally able to generate a model of their own and their infants' mental states and should not be seen within a deficit perspective. Further research is required to better understand the range of risk factors that predict child protection involvement in high risk groups. © The Author(s) 2013.

Cone-beam computed tomography: Time to move from ALARA to ALADA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaju, Prashant P.; Jaju, Sushma P. [Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Bhopa(Indonesia)

2015-12-15

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is routinely recommended for dental diagnosis and treatment planning. CBCT exposes patients to less radiation than does conventional CT. Still, lack of proper education among dentists and specialists is resulting in improper referral for CBCT. In addition, aiming to generate high-quality images, operators may increase the radiation dose, which can expose the patient to unnecessary risk. This letter advocates appropriate radiation dosing during CBCT to the benefit of both patients and dentists, and supports moving from the concept of 'as low as reasonably achievable' (ALARA) to 'as low as diagnostically acceptable' (ALADA.

Critical review of methods for risk ranking of food related hazards, based on risks for human health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Fels-Klerx, H. J.; van Asselt, E. D.; Raley, M.

2018-01-01

This study aimed to critically review methods for ranking risks related to food safety and dietary hazards on the basis of their anticipated human health impacts. A literature review was performed to identify and characterize methods for risk ranking from the fields of food, environmental science......, and the risk ranking method characterized. The methods were then clustered - based on their characteristics - into eleven method categories. These categories included: risk assessment, comparative risk assessment, risk ratio method, scoring method, cost of illness, health adjusted life years, multi......-criteria decision analysis, risk matrix, flow charts/decision trees, stated preference techniques and expert synthesis. Method categories were described by their characteristics, weaknesses and strengths, data resources, and fields of applications. It was concluded there is no single best method for risk ranking...

Designing and evaluating risk-based surveillance systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willeberg, Preben; Nielsen, Liza Rosenbaum; Salman, Mo

2012-01-01

Risk-based surveillance systems reveal occurrence of disease or infection in a sample of population units, which are selected on the basis of risk factors for the condition under study. The purpose of such systems for supporting practical animal disease policy formulations and management decisions...... with prudent use of resources while maintaining acceptable system performance. High-risk category units are selected for testing by identification of the presence of specific high-risk factor(s), while disregarding other factors that might also influence the risk. On this basis we argue that the most...... applicable risk estimate for use in designing and evaluating a risk-based surveillance system would be a crude (unadjusted) relative risk, odds ratio or apparent prevalence. Risk estimates found in the published literature, however, are often the results of multivariable analyses implicitly adjusting...

[A model list of high risk drugs].

Science.gov (United States)

Cotrina Luque, J; Guerrero Aznar, M D; Alvarez del Vayo Benito, C; Jimenez Mesa, E; Guzman Laura, K P; Fernández Fernández, L

2013-12-01

«High-risk drugs» are those that have a very high «risk» of causing death or serious injury if an error occurs during its use. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has prepared a high-risk drugs list applicable to the general population (with no differences between the pediatric and adult population). Thus, there is a lack of information for the pediatric population. The main objective of this work is to develop a high-risk drug list adapted to the neonatal or pediatric population as a reference model for the pediatric hospital health workforce. We made a literature search in May 2012 to identify any published lists or references in relation to pediatric and/or neonatal high-risk drugs. A total of 15 studies were found, from which 9 were selected. A model list was developed mainly based on the ISMP one, adding strongly perceived pediatric risk drugs and removing those where the pediatric use was anecdotal. There is no published list that suits pediatric risk management. The list of pediatric and neonatal high-risk drugs presented here could be a «reference list of high-risk drugs » for pediatric hospitals. Using this list and training will help to prevent medication errors in each drug supply chain (prescribing, transcribing, dispensing and administration). Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

A retrospective study on changes in residents' physical activities, social interactions, and neighborhood cohesion after moving to a walkable community.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xuemei; Yu, Chia-Yuan; Lee, Chanam; Lu, Zhipeng; Mann, George

2014-12-01

This study is to examine changes in residents' physical activities, social interactions, and neighborhood cohesion after they moved to a walkable community in Austin, Texas. Retrospective surveys (N=449) were administered in 2013-2014 to collect pre- and post-move data about the outcome variables and relevant personal, social, and physical environmental factors. Walkability of each resident's pre-move community was measured using the Walk Score. T tests were used to examine the pre-post move differences in the outcomes in the whole sample and across sub-groups with different physical activity levels, neighborhood conditions, and neighborhood preferences before the move. After the move, total physical activity increased significantly in the whole sample and all sub-groups except those who were previously sufficiently active; lived in communities with high walkability, social interactions, or neighborhood cohesion; or had moderate preference for walkable neighborhoods. Walking in the community increased in the whole sample and all subgroups except those who were previously sufficiently active, moved from high-walkability communities, or had little to no preference for walkable neighborhoods. Social interactions and neighborhood cohesion increased significantly after the move in the whole sample and all sub-groups. This study explored potential health benefits of a walkable community in promoting physically and socially active lifestyles, especially for populations at higher risk of obesity. The initial result is promising, suggesting the need for more work to further examine the relationships between health and community design using pre-post assessments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Network Provisioning for High Speed Vehicles Moving along Predictable Routes - Part 1: Spiderman Handover

OpenAIRE

Maureira , Juan-Carlos; Dujovne , Diego; Dalle , Olivier

2009-01-01

This report presents our on-going work on a new system designed to provide a continuous network connectivity to communicating devices located on-board a vehicle moving at ”high speed” with a predictable trajectory such as trains, subways or buses. The devices on-board the vehicle form a sub-network called the ”in-motion network”. This system we propose is composed of two parts. The mobile part, called Spiderman Device (SD), installed on the roof of the vehicle, and the fixed part is composed ...

A metasynthesis of risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies

OpenAIRE

Lee, S.; Ayers, S.; Holden, D.

2014-01-01

Introduction: Risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies affects their decisions about perinatal care and is of interest to anyone involved in the care of pregnant women. This paper provides a metasynthesis of qualitative studies of risk perception in women with high risk pregnancies.\\ud \\ud Methods: A systematic search of eight electronic databases was conducted. Additional papers were obtained through searching references of identified articles. Six studies were identified that rep...

Categories by Heart: Shortcut Reasoning in a Cardiology Clinic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarina Jacobsson

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This article examines the practice of doctors and nurses to invoke the categories of age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle factors when discussing individual patients and patient groups. In what situations are such references explicitly made, and what does this practice accomplish? The material consists of field notes from a cardiology clinic in Sweden, and a theory of descriptive practice guided the analysis. When professionals describe patients, discuss decisions, or explain why a patient is ill, age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle serve as contextualization cues, often including widespread results from epidemiological research about groups of patients at higher or lower risk for cardiac disease. These categories work as shortcut reasoning to nudge interpretations in a certain direction, legitimize decisions, and strengthen arguments. In general, studying the descriptions of patients/clients/students provides an entrance to professional methods of reasoning, including their implicit moral assumptions.

Continuous glucose monitoring system and new era of early diagnosis of diabetes in high risk groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashraf Soliman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM systems are an emerging technology that allows frequent glucose measurements to monitor glucose trends in real time. Their use as a diagnostic tool is still developing and appears to be promising. Combining intermittent glucose self-monitoring (SGM and CGM combines the benefits of both. Significant improvement in the treatment modalities that may prevent the progress of prediabetes to diabetes have been achieved recently and dictates screening of high risk patients for early diagnosis and management of glycemic abnormalities. The use of CGMS in the diagnosis of early dysglycemia (prediabetes especially in high risk patients appears to be an attractive approach. In this review we searched the literature to investigate the value of using CGMS as a diagnostic tool compared to other known tools, namely oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT and measurement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C in high risk groups. Those categories of patients include adolescents and adults with obesity especially those with family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO, gestational diabetes, cystic fibrosis, thalassemia major, acute coronary syndrome (ACS, and after renal transplantation. It appears that the ability of the CGMS for frequently monitoring (every 5 min glucose changes during real-life settings for 3 to 5 days stretches the chance to detect more glycemic abnormalities during basal and postprandial conditions compared to other short-timed methods.

Risk perception versus seismic risk: An introduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cubeddu, Francesca

2015-01-01

A seismic event generally has consequences on the social relationships, economy and culture of the impacted territory. As Mary Douglas quotes, a change into the social perception of risk as consequence of an earthquake may have effects on the lifestyle of the local community. The above mentioned statement is the starting point of this article. illustrating the difference between peril and risk is the second point. According to the Aristotelian theory of categories, risk can be considered as a human characteristic depending on social and cultural factors. Risk is here intended as a social category and cannot be de facto reported as a statistical or stochastic function based on a mathematical formula, as long assumed in the past. This approach, then, requires a deep revision. In this sense, and following the concept of risk perception, seismic risk is analysed in this article in terms of impacts, precautionary measures, risk assessment and management. Knowledge of this topic cannot be intended as a simple philosophical exercise, since right on awareness depend risk reduction, humans and goods too [it

Brand Mentions in Social Media as a Key Performance Indicator in the German Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga AZARKINA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This research aims to explore correlations between consumer-generated social media activity and the level of sales of German brands from the fast moving consumer goods industry. In particular, the objective was to examine whether there is a correlation between the number of brand mentions in social media and the sales of these products. The results indicate that the number of brand mentions and sales correlate positively in relation to products from the food and beverages category while this is not the case with respect to the non-food product category. Hence, marketers need to promote consumer-generated social media activity particularly for food and beverages.

Prospective in-patient cohort study of moves between levels of therapeutic security: the DUNDRUM-1 triage security, DUNDRUM-3 programme completion and DUNDRUM-4 recovery scales and the HCR-20

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davoren Mary

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We examined whether new structured professional judgment instruments for assessing need for therapeutic security, treatment completion and recovery in forensic settings were related to moves from higher to lower levels of therapeutic security and added anything to assessment of risk. Methods This was a prospective naturalistic twelve month observational study of a cohort of patients in a forensic hospital placed according to their need for therapeutic security along a pathway of moves from high to progressively less secure units in preparation for discharge. Patients were assessed using the DUNDRUM-1 triage security scale, the DUNDRUM-3 programme completion scale and the DUNDRUM-4 recovery scale and assessments of risk of violence, self harm and suicide, symptom severity and global function. Patients were subsequently observed for positive moves to less secure units and negative moves to more secure units. Results There were 86 male patients at baseline with mean follow-up 0.9 years, 11 positive and 9 negative moves. For positive moves, logistic regression indicated that along with location at baseline, the DUNDRUM-1, HCR-20 dynamic and PANSS general symptom scores were associated with subsequent positive moves. The receiver operating characteristic was significant for the DUNDRUM-1 while ANOVA co-varying for both location at baseline and HCR-20 dynamic score was significant for DUNDRUM-1. For negative moves, logistic regression showed DUNDRUM-1 and HCR-20 dynamic scores were associated with subsequent negative moves, along with DUNDRUM-3 and PANSS negative symptoms in some models. The receiver operating characteristic was significant for the DUNDRUM-4 recovery and HCR-20 dynamic scores with DUNDRUM-1, DUNDRUM-3, PANSS general and GAF marginal. ANOVA co-varying for both location at baseline and HCR-20 dynamic scores showed only DUNDRUM-1 and PANSS negative symptoms associated with subsequent negative moves. Conclusions

Prospective in-patient cohort study of moves between levels of therapeutic security: the DUNDRUM-1 triage security, DUNDRUM-3 programme completion and DUNDRUM-4 recovery scales and the HCR-20.

Science.gov (United States)

Davoren, Mary; O'Dwyer, Sarah; Abidin, Zareena; Naughton, Leena; Gibbons, Olivia; Doyle, Elaine; McDonnell, Kim; Monks, Stephen; Kennedy, Harry G

2012-07-13

We examined whether new structured professional judgment instruments for assessing need for therapeutic security, treatment completion and recovery in forensic settings were related to moves from higher to lower levels of therapeutic security and added anything to assessment of risk. This was a prospective naturalistic twelve month observational study of a cohort of patients in a forensic hospital placed according to their need for therapeutic security along a pathway of moves from high to progressively less secure units in preparation for discharge. Patients were assessed using the DUNDRUM-1 triage security scale, the DUNDRUM-3 programme completion scale and the DUNDRUM-4 recovery scale and assessments of risk of violence, self harm and suicide, symptom severity and global function. Patients were subsequently observed for positive moves to less secure units and negative moves to more secure units. There were 86 male patients at baseline with mean follow-up 0.9 years, 11 positive and 9 negative moves. For positive moves, logistic regression indicated that along with location at baseline, the DUNDRUM-1, HCR-20 dynamic and PANSS general symptom scores were associated with subsequent positive moves. The receiver operating characteristic was significant for the DUNDRUM-1 while ANOVA co-varying for both location at baseline and HCR-20 dynamic score was significant for DUNDRUM-1. For negative moves, logistic regression showed DUNDRUM-1 and HCR-20 dynamic scores were associated with subsequent negative moves, along with DUNDRUM-3 and PANSS negative symptoms in some models. The receiver operating characteristic was significant for the DUNDRUM-4 recovery and HCR-20 dynamic scores with DUNDRUM-1, DUNDRUM-3, PANSS general and GAF marginal. ANOVA co-varying for both location at baseline and HCR-20 dynamic scores showed only DUNDRUM-1 and PANSS negative symptoms associated with subsequent negative moves. Clinicians appear to decide moves based on combinations of current and

A Real-World Community Health Worker Care Coordination Model for High-Risk Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Molly A; Perry-Bell, Kenita; Minier, Mark; Glassgow, Anne Elizabeth; Van Voorhees, Benjamin W

2018-04-01

Health care systems across the United States are considering community health worker (CHW) services for high-risk patients, despite limited data on how to build and sustain effective CHW programs. We describe the process of providing CHW services to 5,289 at-risk patients within a state-run health system. The program includes 30 CHWs, six care coordinators, the Director of Care Coordination, the Medical Director, a registered nurse, mental health specialists, and legal specialists. CHWs are organized into geographic and specialized teams. All CHWs receive basic training that includes oral and mental health; some receive additional disease-specific training. CHWs develop individualized care coordination plans with patients. The implementation of these plans involves delivery of a wide range of social service and coordination support. The number of CHW contacts is determined by patient risk. CHWs spend about 60% of their time in an office setting. To deliver the program optimally, we had to develop multiple CHW job categories that allow for CHW specialization. We created new technology systems to manage operations. Field issues resulted in program changes to improve service delivery and ensure safety. Our experience serves as a model for how to integrate CHWs into clinical and community systems.

Converging modalities ground abstract categories: the case of politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Farias, Ana Rita; Garrido, Margarida V; Semin, Gün R

2013-01-01

Three studies are reported examining the grounding of abstract concepts across two modalities (visual and auditory) and their symbolic representation. A comparison of the outcomes across these studies reveals that the symbolic representation of political concepts and their visual and auditory modalities is convergent. In other words, the spatial relationships between specific instances of the political categories are highly overlapping across the symbolic, visual and auditory modalities. These findings suggest that abstract categories display redundancy across modal and amodal representations, and are multimodal.

Meat intake and risk of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chaojun; Jiang, Hai

2012-06-01

Meat consumption is inconsistently associated with the development of bladder cancer in several epidemiological studies. We performed a meta-analysis of evidence for relationships of meat consumption with risk of bladder cancer. Literature searches were conducted to identify peer-reviewed manuscripts published up to October 2010. Twenty publications from 10 cohort studies and 11 case-control studies were included in the analyses. We quantified associations with bladder cancer using meta-analysis of relative risk (RR) associated with the highest versus the lowest category of meat intake using random effect model. Pooled results indicate that overall meat intake was not related to the risk of bladder cancer (RR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.80-1.27), while high red and processed meat consumer had a significantly increased 17 and 10% risk, respectively, when comparing the highest with the lowest category of meat intake. In subgroup analyses, studies conduced in Unites States/Canada exhibited a positive relationship between high meat intake and bladder cancer risk, and studies using self-administered questionnaires for exposure assessment also showed a significant increased relative risk for high meat consumers. However, because of borderline significance and small number of publications in individual analyses, more studies, particularly well-designed prospective studies, are needed to confirm these findings.

Move up,Move out

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Guo Yan

2007-01-01

@@ China has already become the world's largest manufacturer of cement,copper and steel.Chinese producers have moved onto the world stage and dominated the global consumer market from textiles to electronics with amazing speed and efficiency.

The entanglement of two moving atoms interacting with a single-mode field via a three-photon process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao, Wu; Mao-Fa, Fang

2010-01-01

In this paper, the entanglement of two moving atoms induced by a single-mode field via a three-photon process is investigated. It is shown that the entanglement is dependent on the category of the field, the average photon number N, the number p of half-wave lengths of the field mode and the atomic initial state. Also, the sudden death and the sudden birth of the entanglement are detected in this model and the results show that the existence of the sudden death and the sudden birth depends on the parameter and the category of the mode field. In addition, the three-photon process is a higher order nonlinear process. (general)

High blood pressure and associated risk factors as indicator of preclinical hypertension in rural West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Jobe, Modou; Agbla, Schadrac C.; Prentice, Andrew M.; Hennig, Branwen J.

2017-01-01

Abstract Hypertension is fast becoming a major public health problem across sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to determine the prevalence of high blood pressure (BP) and associated risk factors as indicator of preclinical hypertension in a rural Gambian population. We analyzed data on 6160 healthy Gambians cross-sectionally. Attention was given to 5 to <18-year olds (N = 3637), as data from sub-Saharan Africa on this young age group are scarce. High BP was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) above the 95th percentile for age-sex specific height z scores in <18-year olds employing population-specific reference values. Standard high BP categories were applied to ≥18-year olds. In <18-year olds, the multivariable analysis gave an adjusted high BP prevalence ratio of 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92–0.98; P = 0.002) for age and 1.13 (95% CI 1.06–1.19; P < 0.0001) for weight-for-height z score (zWT-HT); sex and hemoglobin were not shown to affect high BP. In adults age 1.05 (95% CI 1.04–1.05; P < 0.0001), body mass index z score 1.28 (95% CI 1.16–1.40; P < 0.0001), hemoglobin 0.90 (95% CI 0.85–0.96; P < 0.0001) and high fasting glucose 2.60 (95% CI 2.02–3.36; P < 0.0001, though the number was very low) were confirmed as risk factors for high BP prevalence; sex was not associated. The reported high BP prevalence and associated risk factors in adults are comparable to other studies conducted in the region. The observed high BP prevalence of 8.2% (95% CI 7.4–9.2) in our generally lean young Gambians (<18 years) is alarming, given that high BP tracks from childhood to adulthood. Hence there is an urgent need for further investigation into risk factors of pediatric high BP/hypertension even in rural African settings. PMID:28353557

Resuscitation of newborn in high risk deliveries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yousaf, U.F.; Hayat, S.

2015-01-01

High risk deliveries are usually associated with increased neonatal mortality and morbidity. Neonatal resuscitation can appreciably affect the outcome in these types of deliveries. Presence of personnel trained in basic neonatal resuscitation at the time of delivery can play an important role in reducing perinatal complications in neonates at risk. The study was carried out to evaluate the effects of newborn resuscitation on neonatal outcome in high risk deliveries. Methods: This descriptive case series was carried out at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. Ninety consecutive high risk deliveries were included and attended by paediatricians trained in newborn resuscitation. Babies delivered by elective Caesarean section, normal spontaneous vaginal deliveries and still births were excluded. Neonatal resuscitation was performed in babies who failed to initiate breathing in the first minute after birth. Data was analyzed using SPSS-16.0. Results: A total of 90 high risk deliveries were included in the study. Emergency caesarean section was the mode of delivery in 94.4% (n=85) cases and spontaneous vaginal delivery in 5.6% (n=5). Preterm pregnancy was the major high risk factor. Newborn resuscitation was required in 37.8% (n=34) of all high risk deliveries (p=0.013). All the new-borns who required resuscitation survived. Conclusion: New-born resuscitation is required in high risk pregnancies and personnel trained in newborn resuscitation should be available at the time of delivery. (author)

Right away: A late, right-lateralized category effect complements an early, left-lateralized category effect in visual search.

Science.gov (United States)

Constable, Merryn D; Becker, Stefanie I

2017-10-01

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, learned semantic categories can influence early perceptual processes. A central finding in support of this view is the lateralized category effect-namely, the finding that categorically different colors (e.g., blue and green hues) can be discriminated faster than colors within the same color category (e.g., different hues of green), especially when they are presented in the right visual field. Because the right visual field projects to the left hemisphere, this finding has been popularly couched in terms of the left-lateralization of language. However, other studies have reported bilateral category effects, which has led some researchers to question the linguistic origins of the effect. Here we examined the time course of lateralized and bilateral category effects in the classical visual search paradigm by means of eyetracking and RT distribution analyses. Our results show a bilateral category effect in the manual responses, which is combined of an early, left-lateralized category effect and a later, right-lateralized category effect. The newly discovered late, right-lateralized category effect occurred only when observers had difficulty locating the target, indicating a specialization of the right hemisphere to find categorically different targets after an initial error. The finding that early and late stages of visual search show different lateralized category effects can explain a wide range of previously discrepant findings.

Maternal characteristics associated with pregnancy exposure to FDA category C, D, and X drugs in a Canadian population.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tubao; Walker, Mark C; Krewski, Daniel; Yang, Qiuying; Nimrod, Carl; Garner, Peter; Fraser, William; Olatunbosun, Olufemi; Wen, Shi Wu

2008-03-01

To estimate the frequency of exposure to prescription Food and Drug Administration (FDA) category C, D, and X drugs in pregnant women, and to analyze the maternal characteristics associated with such an exposure. A 50% random sample of women who gave a birth in Saskatchewan between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2000 was chosen for the study. The rate of exposure to FDA category C, D, or X drugs recorded in the pharmacist database was estimated. Associations of exposure to FDA category C, D, and X drugs with maternal characteristics were evaluated using multiple logistical regression, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as the association measures. A total of 18 575 women were included in this study. Among them, 3604 (19.4%) had exposure to one or more FDA category C, D, and X drugs during pregnancy. Category C drugs were the most frequently used drugs (15.8%), followed by D drugs (5.2%), and X drugs (3.9%). Women with chronic health conditions had fourfold at increased risk of exposure than women without. Regardless of health status, women who were or =3, and who were on social assistance plan were at increased risk of pregnancy exposure to these drugs. About 19.4% pregnant women are exposed to FDA C, D or X drugs during pregnancy. Women with chronic diseases, younger age, increased parity, and under social assistance are at increased risk of exposure to FDA C, D, or X drugs. Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

RISK MANAGEMENT OF GERMAN FRUIT PRODUCERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annkatrin PORSCH

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Horticultural farms in Germany face substantial business risks. However, fruit farms often struggle to implement appropriate risk management processes, and the risk management literature widely has ignored this farm type. The aim of the study was to improve the assessment of risks by farmers and the choice of suitable risk management instruments. Therefore, a risk management process based on subjective probabilities and suitable for small and medium-sized farms was developed, considering the specific needs of family run businesses. An online survey was conducted to achieve a comprehensive view of the risk perception and risk management practices of German fruit producers. Price and production risks are the most relevant risk categories for fruit farmers. However, among single risk sources, those in the people risk category were seen as the most important. Results show significant interactions among risk categories and a significant correlation between loss experience and the rating of risk categories. The assumption that risk averse farmers generally rate risks higher than risk neutral or risk seeking farmers cannot be confirmed. Diversification seems to be the most important risk management instrument for many fruit producers, especially diversification of marketing channels, farm income, and production activities. Further research should focus on the apparent inconsistency between the satisfaction with instruments reported by farmers and the actual implementation of many of them (e.g., hail insurance and anti-hail net. Furthermore, there is a need for research, to develop decision models considering the interactions of risks and risk management instruments, loss experience and risk seeking attitudes.

The diabetic foot risks profile in Selebi Phikwe Government Hospital, Botswana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephane Tshitenge

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The present study aimed: (1 to evaluate the proportion of each diabetic foot (DF risk category, according to the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF consensus, in patients attending the diabetic clinic in Selebi Phikwe Government Hospital (SPGH and (2 to examine some of the factors that may be associated with the progression to higher risk categories such as anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c and lipid profile.Methods: A retrospective, cross sectional chart review of patients who had attended the diabetic clinic in SPGH from January 2013 to December 2013 was performed. Patients were included if they had undergone a foot examination. Patients with amputation due to accident were excluded. The DF risk category was assessed by determining the proportion of patients in each of four risk categories, as described by the IWGDF consensus.Results: The study encompassed 144 records from patients reviewed for foot examination from January to December 2013. Patients’ ages were between 16 and 85 years, 46 (40% were male and 98 (60% were female. The majority (122, [85%] of patients were in DF risk category 0, whilst a limited number of patients were classified in risk category 1 (10, [6.9%], risk category 2 (7, [4.9%] and risk category 3 (5, [3.5%]. Most of the patients had the type 2 diabetes mellitus (139, [97%; 95% CI 92% − 99%]. Patients’ ages were associated with the progressively higher DF risk categories. The adjusted odd ratio was 1.1 (95% CI 1.03−1.14; p = 0.004.Conclusion: The present study revealed that about 15% of patients attending the SPGH diabetic clinic were categorised in higher risk groups for diabetic foot; patients’ ages were linked to the higher DF risk categories.

The helpfulness of category labels in semi-supervised learning depends on category structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Vong, Wai Keen; Navarro, Daniel J; Perfors, Amy

2016-02-01

The study of semi-supervised category learning has generally focused on how additional unlabeled information with given labeled information might benefit category learning. The literature is also somewhat contradictory, sometimes appearing to show a benefit to unlabeled information and sometimes not. In this paper, we frame the problem differently, focusing on when labels might be helpful to a learner who has access to lots of unlabeled information. Using an unconstrained free-sorting categorization experiment, we show that labels are useful to participants only when the category structure is ambiguous and that people's responses are driven by the specific set of labels they see. We present an extension of Anderson's Rational Model of Categorization that captures this effect.

Vital signs: food categories contributing the most to sodium consumption - United States, 2007-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-10

Most of the U.S. population consumes sodium in excess of daily guidelines (consumption raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, the nation's first and fourth leading causes of death. Identifying food categories contributing the most to daily sodium consumption can help reduction. Population proportions of sodium consumption from specific food categories and sources were estimated among 7,227 participants aged ≥2 years in the What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2008. Mean daily sodium consumption was 3,266 mg, excluding salt added at the table. Forty-four percent of sodium consumed came from 10 food categories: bread and rolls, cold cuts/cured meats, pizza, poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta mixed dishes, meat mixed dishes, and savory snacks. For most of these categories, >70% of the sodium consumed came from foods obtained at a store. For pizza and poultry, respectively, 51% and 27% of sodium consumed came from foods obtained at fast food/pizza restaurants. Mean sodium consumption per calorie consumed was significantly greater for foods and beverages obtained from fast food/pizza or other restaurants versus stores. Average sodium consumption is too high, reinforcing the importance of implementing strategies to reduce U.S. sodium intake. Nationwide, food manufacturers and restaurants can strive to reduce excess sodium added to foods before purchase. States and localities can implement policies to reduce sodium in foods served in institutional settings (e.g., schools, child care settings, and government cafeterias). Clinicians can counsel most patients to check food labels and select foods lower in sodium.

Proportion of categories of associates and structure of the mental lexicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savić Irena

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a systematic distinction between associate pairs that constitute categories of lexical relations (e.g. synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms etc. and categories of associate pairs that have no obvious lexical relation. Proportion of categories of associates were estimated on 80 nouns from "Associative Dictionary of Serbian Language" (Piper, Dragićević & Stefanović, 2005, while frequencies of associates were estimated from "Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary Serbian Language" (Kostić, Đ., 1999. Categories of associates were divided into two groups: group of categories that included standard lexical relations and group that included idiosyncratic associates. Proportions of categories were analyzed with respect to a frequency of a noun to which associates were generated and b whether it was an abstract or concrete noun. Three measures were used to estimate proportion of categories: a number of associates, b sum frequency of associates and c the average frequency per associate. When estimated with respect to number of associates and sum frequency of associates proportion of categories that included standard lexical relations were negligible (6% and 18%, but they become dominant when estimated with respect to the average frequency per associate. Such an outcome suggests that categories that include standard lexical relations are characterized by small number of associates (due to the fact that they are closed classes with high frequency associates. Distinction between abstract and concrete nouns did not affect number of associates per category, which was not the case when proportions were estimated with respect to sum frequency of associates. Frequency of a noun to which associates were generated has no effect on productivity of associates, nor does it affects sum frequency per category. However, it has significant effect on the average frequency per associate within a given category.

Men at risk; a qualitative study on HIV risk, gender identity and violence among men who have sex with men who report high risk behavior in Kampala, Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Rachel; Barker, Joseph; Nakayiwa, Sylvia; Katuntu, David; Lubwama, George; Bagenda, Danstan; Lane, Tim; Opio, Alex; Hladik, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

In Uganda, men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for HIV. Between May 2008 and February 2009 in Kampala, Uganda, we used respondent driven sampling (RDS) to recruit 295 MSM≥18 years who reported having had sex with another man in the preceding three months. The parent study conducted HIV and STI testing and collected demographic and HIV-related behavioral data through audio computer-assisted self-administered interviews. We conducted a nested qualitative sub-study with 16 men purposively sampled from among the survey participants based on responses to behavioral variables indicating higher risk for HIV infection. Sub-study participants were interviewed face-to-face. Domains of inquiry included sexual orientation, gender identity, condom use, stigma, discrimination, violence and health seeking behavior. Emergent themes included a description of sexual orientation/gender identity categories. All groups of men described conflicting feelings related to their sexual orientation and contextual issues that do not accept same-sex identities or behaviors and non-normative gender presentation. The emerging domains for facilitating condom use included: lack of trust in partner and fear of HIV infection. We discuss themes in the context of social and policy issues surrounding homosexuality and HIV prevention in Uganda that directly affect men's lives, risk and health-promoting behaviors.

Men at risk; a qualitative study on HIV risk, gender identity and violence among men who have sex with men who report high risk behavior in Kampala, Uganda.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel King

Full Text Available In Uganda, men who have sex with men (MSM are at high risk for HIV. Between May 2008 and February 2009 in Kampala, Uganda, we used respondent driven sampling (RDS to recruit 295 MSM≥18 years who reported having had sex with another man in the preceding three months. The parent study conducted HIV and STI testing and collected demographic and HIV-related behavioral data through audio computer-assisted self-administered interviews. We conducted a nested qualitative sub-study with 16 men purposively sampled from among the survey participants based on responses to behavioral variables indicating higher risk for HIV infection. Sub-study participants were interviewed face-to-face. Domains of inquiry included sexual orientation, gender identity, condom use, stigma, discrimination, violence and health seeking behavior. Emergent themes included a description of sexual orientation/gender identity categories. All groups of men described conflicting feelings related to their sexual orientation and contextual issues that do not accept same-sex identities or behaviors and non-normative gender presentation. The emerging domains for facilitating condom use included: lack of trust in partner and fear of HIV infection. We discuss themes in the context of social and policy issues surrounding homosexuality and HIV prevention in Uganda that directly affect men's lives, risk and health-promoting behaviors.

Testing the Efficiency of Markov Chain Monte Carlo with People Using Facial Affect Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Jay B.; Griffiths, Thomas L.; Sanborn, Adam N.

2012-01-01

Exploring how people represent natural categories is a key step toward developing a better understanding of how people learn, form memories, and make decisions. Much research on categorization has focused on artificial categories that are created in the laboratory, since studying natural categories defined on high-dimensional stimuli such as…

Contactles power supply for moving sensors and actuators in high-precision mechatronic systems with long-stroke power transfer capability in the x-y plane

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boeij, de J.; Lomonova, E.A.; Duarte, J.L.; Vandenput, A.J.A.

2008-01-01

In this paper, a new topology for contactless energy transfer is proposed and tested that can transfer energy to a moving load using inductive coupling. This contactless energy transfer topology is designed to supply power to the moving parts in high-precision mechatronic systems without cable

Concentration risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matić Vesna

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Concentration risk has been gaining a special dimension in the contemporary financial and economic environment. Financial institutions are exposed to this risk mainly in the field of lending, mostly through their credit activities and concentration of credit portfolios. This refers to the concentration of different exposures within a single risk category (credit risk, market risk, operational risk, liquidity risk.

Identifying Aboriginal-specific AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 cutoff scores for at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent drinkers using measures of agreement with the 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Calabria, Bianca; Clifford, Anton; Shakeshaft, Anthony P; Conigrave, Katherine M; Simpson, Lynette; Bliss, Donna; Allan, Julaine

2014-09-01

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a 10-item alcohol screener that has been recommended for use in Aboriginal primary health care settings. The time it takes respondents to complete AUDIT, however, has proven to be a barrier to its routine delivery. Two shorter versions, AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3, have been used as screening instruments in primary health care. This paper aims to identify the AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 cutoff scores that most closely identify individuals classified as being at-risk drinkers, high-risk drinkers, or likely alcohol dependent by the 10-item AUDIT. Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted from June 2009 to May 2010 and from July 2010 to June 2011. Aboriginal Australian participants (N = 156) were recruited through an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service, and a community-based drug and alcohol treatment agency in rural New South Wales (NSW), and through community-based Aboriginal groups in Sydney NSW. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of each score on the AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 were calculated, relative to cutoff scores on the 10-item AUDIT for at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent drinkers. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were conducted to measure the detection characteristics of AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 for the three categories of risk. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves were high for drinkers classified as being at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent. Recommended cutoff scores for Aboriginal Australians are as follows: at-risk drinkers AUDIT-C ≥ 5, AUDIT-3 ≥ 1; high-risk drinkers AUDIT-C ≥ 6, AUDIT-3 ≥ 2; and likely dependent drinkers AUDIT-C ≥ 9, AUDIT-3 ≥ 3. Adequate sensitivity and specificity were achieved for recommended cutoff scores. AUROC curves were above 0.90.

Converging modalities ground abstract categories: the case of politics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Rita Farias

Full Text Available Three studies are reported examining the grounding of abstract concepts across two modalities (visual and auditory and their symbolic representation. A comparison of the outcomes across these studies reveals that the symbolic representation of political concepts and their visual and auditory modalities is convergent. In other words, the spatial relationships between specific instances of the political categories are highly overlapping across the symbolic, visual and auditory modalities. These findings suggest that abstract categories display redundancy across modal and amodal representations, and are multimodal.

Mortality at older ages and moves in residential and sheltered housing: evidence from the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Robards, James; Evandrou, Maria; Falkingham, Jane; Vlachantoni, Athina

2014-01-01

Background The study examines the relationship between transitions to residential and sheltered housing and mortality. Past research has focused on housing moves over extended time periods and subsequent mortality. In this paper, annual housing transitions allow the identification of the patterning of housing moves, the duration of stay in each sector and the assessment of the relationship of preceding moves to a heightened risk of dying. Methods The study uses longitudinal data constructed from pooled observations from the British Household Panel Survey (waves 1993–2008). Records were pooled for all cases where the survey member is 65 years or over and living in private housing at baseline and observed at three consecutive time points, including baseline (N=23 727). Binary logistic regression (death as outcome three waves after baseline) explored the relative strength of different housing transitions, controlling for sociodemographic predictors. Results (1) Transition to residential housing within the previous 12 months was associated with the highest mortality risk. (2) Results support existing findings showing an interaction between marital status and mortality, whereby unmarried persons were more likely to die. (3) Higher male mortality was observed across all housing transitions. Conclusions An older person's move to residential housing is associated with a higher risk of mortality within 12 months of the move. Survivors living in residential housing for more than a year, show a similar probability of dying to those living in sheltered housing. Results highlight that it is the type of accommodation that affects an older person's mortality risk, and the length of time they spend there. PMID:24638058

On the (un)suitability of semantic categories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rijkhoff, Jan

2009-01-01

Since Greenberg’s groundbreaking publication on universals of grammar, typologists have used semantic categories to investigate (constraints on) morphological and syntactic variation in the world’s languages and this tradition has been continued in the WALS project. It is argued here that the emp......Since Greenberg’s groundbreaking publication on universals of grammar, typologists have used semantic categories to investigate (constraints on) morphological and syntactic variation in the world’s languages and this tradition has been continued in the WALS project. It is argued here...... that the employment of semantic categories has some serious drawbacks, however, suggesting that semantic categories, just like formal categories, cannot be equated across languages in morphosyntactic typology. Whereas formal categories are too narrow in that they do not cover all structural variants attested across...... languages, semantic categories can be too wide, including too many structural variants. Furthermore, it appears that in some major typological studies semantic categories have been confused with formal categories. A possible solution is pointed out: typologists first need to make sure that the forms...

High-rate wastewater treatment combining a moving bed biofilm reactor and enhanced particle separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Helness, H; Melin, E; Ulgenes, Y; Järvinen, P; Rasmussen, V; Odegaard, H

2005-01-01

Many cities around the world are looking for compact wastewater treatment alternatives since space for treatment plants is becoming scarce. In this paper development of a new compact, high-rate treatment concept with results from experiments in lab-scale and pilot-scale are presented. The idea behind the treatment concept is that coagulation/floc separation may be used to separate suspended and colloidal matter (resulting in > 70% organic matter removal in normal wastewater) while a high-rate biofilm process (based on Moving Bed biofilm reactors) may be used for removing low molecular weight, easily biodegradable, soluble organic matter. By using flotation for floc/biomass separation, the total residence time for a plant according to this concept will normally be treatment) and sufficient P-removal.

Role of moving planes and moving spheres following Dupin cyclides

KAUST Repository

Jia, Xiaohong

2014-03-01

We provide explicit representations of three moving planes that form a μ-basis for a standard Dupin cyclide. We also show how to compute μ-bases for Dupin cyclides in general position and orientation from their implicit equations. In addition, we describe the role of moving planes and moving spheres in bridging between the implicit and rational parametric representations of these cyclides. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Role of moving planes and moving spheres following Dupin cyclides

KAUST Repository

Jia, Xiaohong

2014-01-01

We provide explicit representations of three moving planes that form a μ-basis for a standard Dupin cyclide. We also show how to compute μ-bases for Dupin cyclides in general position and orientation from their implicit equations. In addition, we describe the role of moving planes and moving spheres in bridging between the implicit and rational parametric representations of these cyclides. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

The Micro-Category Account of Analogy

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Adam E.; Fugelsang, Jonathan A.; Kraemer, David J. M.; Dunbar, Kevin N.

2008-01-01

Here, we investigate how activation of mental representations of categories during analogical reasoning influences subsequent cognitive processing. Specifically, we present and test the central predictions of the "Micro-Category" account of analogy. This account emphasizes the role of categories in aligning terms for analogical mapping. In a…

Alpha slow-moving high-density-lipoprotein subfraction in serum of a patient with radiation enteritis and peritoneal carcinosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peynet, J.; Legrand, A.; Messing, B.; Thuillier, F.; Rousselet, F.

1989-01-01

An alpha slow-moving high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) subfraction was seen in a patient presenting with radiation enteritis and peritoneal carcinosis, who was given long-term cyclic parenteral nutrition. This subfraction, observed in addition to normal HDL, was precipitated with low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) by sodium phosphotungstate-magnesium chloride. The patient's serum lipoproteins were analyzed after fractionation by density gradient ultracentrifugation. The alpha slow-moving HDL floated in the ultracentrifugation subfractions with densities ranging from 1.028 to 1.084 kg/L, and their main apolipoproteins included apolipoprotein E in addition to apolipoprotein A-I. These HDL were larger than HDL2. The pathogenesis of this unusual HDL subfraction is hypothesized

Monoidal categories and topological field theory

CERN Document Server

Turaev, Vladimir

2017-01-01

This monograph is devoted to monoidal categories and their connections with 3-dimensional topological field theories. Starting with basic definitions, it proceeds to the forefront of current research. Part 1 introduces monoidal categories and several of their classes, including rigid, pivotal, spherical, fusion, braided, and modular categories. It then presents deep theorems of Müger on the center of a pivotal fusion category. These theorems are proved in Part 2 using the theory of Hopf monads. In Part 3 the authors define the notion of a topological quantum field theory (TQFT) and construct a Turaev-Viro-type 3-dimensional state sum TQFT from a spherical fusion category. Lastly, in Part 4 this construction is extended to 3-manifolds with colored ribbon graphs, yielding a so-called graph TQFT (and, consequently, a 3-2-1 extended TQFT). The authors then prove the main result of the monograph: the state sum graph TQFT derived from any spherical fusion category is isomorphic to the Reshetikhin-Turaev surgery gr...

Taxation categories for long-term care insurance premiums and mortality among elderly Japanese: a cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujino, Yoshihisa; Tanaka, Ryuichi; Kubo, Tatsuhiko; Matsuda, Shinya

2013-01-01

This cohort study examined the association between taxation categories of long-term care insurance premiums and survival among elderly Japanese. A total of 3000 participants aged 60 years or older were randomly recruited in Y City, Japan in 2002, of whom 2964 provided complete information for analysis. Information on income level, mobility status, medical status, and vital status of each participant was collected annually from 2002 to 2006. Follow-up surveys on survival were conducted until August 2007. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by a Cox model, using taxation categories at baseline. In these analyses, age-adjusted and age- and mobility-adjusted models were used. A significantly higher mortality risk was seen only in the lowest taxation category among men: as compared with men in the second highest taxation category, the HR in the lowest category was 2.53 (95% CI, 1.26-5.08, P = 0.009). This significant association between taxation category and mortality was lost after adjustment for mobility. There was no other difference in mortality among taxation categories in men or women. The present findings only partly supported our hypothesis that taxation category is a good indicator of socioeconomic status in examining health inequalities among elderly Japanese.

Modular categories and 3-manifold invariants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tureav, V.G.

1992-01-01

The aim of this paper is to give a concise introduction to the theory of knot invariants and 3-manifold invariants which generalize the Jones polynomial and which may be considered as a mathematical version of the Witten invariants. Such a theory was introduced by N. Reshetikhin and the author on the ground of the theory of quantum groups. here we use more general algebraic objects, specifically, ribbon and modular categories. Such categories in particular arise as the categories of representations of quantum groups. The notion of modular category, interesting in itself, is closely related to the notion of modular tensor category in the sense of G. Moore and N. Seiberg. For simplicity we restrict ourselves in this paper to the case of closed 3-manifolds

An Insight into the Effect of Exercises on the Prevention of Osteoporosis and Associated Fractures in High-Risk Individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen Senderovich

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this review was to investigate what type of exercises can potentially prevent osteoporosis (OP and its associated fractures in high-risk populations. MEDLINE was searched for work relevant to various types of exercises used to prevent osteoporotic fractures in high-risk population, from the year 1995 onwards. Twelve articles were identified, and, from them, four were deemed suitable to the objective. The studies reviewed show that various types of exercise are effective and safe in preventing the onset of OP. For example, high-intensity progressive resistance training (HiPRT has been shown to increase vertebral height and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD, in addition to improving functional performance. Additional studies reviewed suggested that bone reabsorption levels may be positively impacted by low-impact exercise, such as walking. This review provides insight into the effectiveness of various types of exercise to combat and possibly prevent OP for high-risk individuals, which include postmenstrual Caucasian females, people with multiple comorbidities, individuals who smoke or consume alcohol, and the frail elderly population. The prevention of OP should reduce both the social (emotional and economic burdens faced by patients, caregivers, and health-care systems. Moving forward, research that identifies and bridges pharmaceutical treatment and exercise should be conducted, in addition to the comparison of passive versus active forms of exercise to determine which treatment best prevents OP in high-risk populations.

Moving event and moving participant in aspectual conceptions

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Izutsu Katsunobu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study advances an analysis of the event conception of aspectual forms in four East Asian languages: Ainu, Japanese, Korean, and Ryukyuan. As earlier studies point out, event conceptions can be divided into two major types: the moving-event type and the moving-participant type, respectively. All aspectual forms in Ainu and Korean, and most forms in Japanese and Ryukyuan are based on that type of event conception. Moving-participant oriented Ainu and movingevent oriented Japanese occupy two extremes, between which Korean and Ryukyuan stand. Notwithstanding the geographical relationships among the four languages, Ryukyuan is closer to Ainu than to Korean, whereas Korean is closer to Ainu than to Japanese.

Finding biomedical categories in Medline®

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeganova Lana

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are several humanly defined ontologies relevant to Medline. However, Medline is a fast growing collection of biomedical documents which creates difficulties in updating and expanding these humanly defined ontologies. Automatically identifying meaningful categories of entities in a large text corpus is useful for information extraction, construction of machine learning features, and development of semantic representations. In this paper we describe and compare two methods for automatically learning meaningful biomedical categories in Medline. The first approach is a simple statistical method that uses part-of-speech and frequency information to extract a list of frequent nouns from Medline. The second method implements an alignment-based technique to learn frequent generic patterns that indicate a hyponymy/hypernymy relationship between a pair of noun phrases. We then apply these patterns to Medline to collect frequent hypernyms as potential biomedical categories. Results We study and compare these two alternative sets of terms to identify semantic categories in Medline. We find that both approaches produce reasonable terms as potential categories. We also find that there is a significant agreement between the two sets of terms. The overlap between the two methods improves our confidence regarding categories predicted by these independent methods. Conclusions This study is an initial attempt to extract categories that are discussed in Medline. Rather than imposing external ontologies on Medline, our methods allow categories to emerge from the text.

Heterogeneous CPU-GPU moving targets detection for UAV video

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Li, Maowen; Tang, Linbo; Han, Yuqi; Yu, Chunlei; Zhang, Chao; Fu, Huiquan

2017-07-01

Moving targets detection is gaining popularity in civilian and military applications. On some monitoring platform of motion detection, some low-resolution stationary cameras are replaced by moving HD camera based on UAVs. The pixels of moving targets in the HD Video taken by UAV are always in a minority, and the background of the frame is usually moving because of the motion of UAVs. The high computational cost of the algorithm prevents running it at higher resolutions the pixels of frame. Hence, to solve the problem of moving targets detection based UAVs video, we propose a heterogeneous CPU-GPU moving target detection algorithm for UAV video. More specifically, we use background registration to eliminate the impact of the moving background and frame difference to detect small moving targets. In order to achieve the effect of real-time processing, we design the solution of heterogeneous CPU-GPU framework for our method. The experimental results show that our method can detect the main moving targets from the HD video taken by UAV, and the average process time is 52.16ms per frame which is fast enough to solve the problem.

How do Category Managers Manage?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hald, Kim Sundtoft; Sigurbjornsson, Tomas

2013-01-01

The aim of this research is to explore the managerial role of category managers in purchasing. A network management perspective is adopted. A case based research methodology is applied, and three category managers managing a diverse set of component and service categories in a global production...... firm is observed while providing accounts of their progress and results in meetings. We conclude that the network management classification scheme originally deve loped by Harland and Knight (2001) and Knight and Harland (2005) is a valuable and fertile theoretical framework for the analysis...

Maximal Oxygen Uptake--Risk Predictor of NSCLC Resection in Patients With Comorbid Emphysema: Lessons From NETT.

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Makey, Ian; Berger, Robert L; Cabral, Howard J; Celli, Bartolome; Folch, Erik; Whyte, Richard I

2015-01-01

We compared VO2 max values from ACCP Guidelines and from NETT's homogenous NULPD surrogate for predicting operative mortalities. Estimated mid and long-term non-cancer related survival in NETT's subset was also obtained. NETT and ACCP Guideline VO2 max values were similar in the "low" and "mid" risk operative mortality categories but NETT's "high" risk subset showed lower mortality (14% vs. 26%). Estimated non-cancer related survival in NETT "low", "mid" and "high" risk VO2 max categories at two and eight years were 100%, 74%, 59% and 48%, 26%, 14%, respectively. The lower predicted risk in NETT's "high- risk" subset raises the possibility of extending indications for potential curative resection in selected patients. The NETT surrogate also provides hitherto unavailable estimate on long-term non-cancer related survival after potential curative resection of NSCLC and suggests that the operation does not shorten eight-year longevity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Typicality Mediates Performance during Category Verification in Both Ad-Hoc and Well-Defined Categories

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Sandberg, Chaleece; Sebastian, Rajani; Kiran, Swathi

2012-01-01

Background: The typicality effect is present in neurologically intact populations for natural, ad-hoc, and well-defined categories. Although sparse, there is evidence of typicality effects in persons with chronic stroke aphasia for natural and ad-hoc categories. However, it is unknown exactly what influences the typicality effect in this…

76 FR 27609 - Reduction of Foreign Tax Credit Limitation Categories Under Section 904(d); Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-12

... Reduction of Foreign Tax Credit Limitation Categories Under Section 904(d); Correction AGENCY: Internal... foreign tax credit limitation categories under section 904(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. DATES: This... in and Losses With Respect to the Pre-2007 Separate Category for High Withholding Tax Interest...

The high-risk plaque initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falk, Erling; Sillesen, Henrik; Muntendam, Pieter

2011-01-01

The High-Risk Plaque (HRP) Initiative is a research and development effort to advance the understanding, recognition, and management of asymptomatic individuals at risk for a near-term atherothrombotic event such as myocardial infarction or stroke. Clinical studies using the newest technologies...... have been initiated, including the BioImage Study in which novel approaches are tested in a typical health plan population. Asymptomatic at-risk individuals were enrolled, including a survey-only group (n = 865), a group undergoing traditional risk factor scoring (n = 718), and a group in which all...

Interim guidance risk assessment of the device assembly facility at the Nevada test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altenbach, T.J.

1996-05-01

The risks of plutonium dispersal and/or high explosive detonation from nuclear explosive operations at the Device Assembly Facility were examined in accordance with DOE Order 5610.11 and the Interim Guidance. The assessment consisted of a qualitative task and hazards analysis, and a quantitative risk screening. Results are displayed on risk matrices for the major types of operations. Most accident scenarios were considered to have Low risk; a few scenarios have Moderate risk; and none have High risk. The highest risk scenarios (Moderate category) consist of a high explosive detonation during assembly operations in a cell, with bare conventional high explosive surrounding the pit

Wild Fire Risk Map in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia Using Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Nasanbat, Elbegjargal; Lkhamjav, Ochirkhuyag

2016-06-01

Grassland fire is a cause of major disturbance to ecosystems and economies throughout the world. This paper investigated to identify risk zone of wildfire distributions on the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia. The study selected variables for wildfire risk assessment using a combination of data collection, including Social Economic, Climate, Geographic Information Systems, Remotely sensed imagery, and statistical yearbook information. Moreover, an evaluation of the result is used field validation data and assessment. The data evaluation resulted divided by main three group factors Environmental, Social Economic factor, Climate factor and Fire information factor into eleven input variables, which were classified into five categories by risk levels important criteria and ranks. All of the explanatory variables were integrated into spatial a model and used to estimate the wildfire risk index. Within the index, five categories were created, based on spatial statistics, to adequately assess respective fire risk: very high risk, high risk, moderate risk, low and very low. Approximately more than half, 68 percent of the study area was predicted accuracy to good within the very high, high risk and moderate risk zones. The percentages of actual fires in each fire risk zone were as follows: very high risk, 42 percent; high risk, 26 percent; moderate risk, 13 percent; low risk, 8 percent; and very low risk, 11 percent. The main overall accuracy to correct prediction from the model was 62 percent. The model and results could be support in spatial decision making support system processes and in preventative wildfire management strategies. Also it could be help to improve ecological and biodiversity conservation management.

Commentary: Moving towards policy coherence in trade and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Walls, Helen; Baker, Phillip; Smith, Richard

2015-11-01

International trade has brought economic benefits to many countries, but the association of trade and investment liberalisation with poor health outcomes concerns the public health community. The need to secure more 'healthy' trade is a recognised priority, especially as countries move from global to regional/bilateral trade agreements - with greater public health risks. However, a transition towards 'healthier trade' may be hindered by worldview differences between the trade and health communities. There is a tendency for health actors to perceive trade as a threat to population health, and for trade actors to view health as a constraint to trade objectives of reducing barriers to cross-border commercial flows and economic growth. Unless such differing worldviews can be aligned, finding ways forward for addressing public health in trade policy is likely to be difficult. Moving forward will involve understanding the values and drivers of the respective groups, and developing solutions palatable to their various interests. Given the power imbalances between the two areas, it is likely that the health community will have to make the first moves in this respect. This article outlines the key issues involved and suggests areas where such moves have been, and may be made.

Categories of transactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

This chapter discusses the types of wholesale sales made by utilities. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which regulates inter-utility sales, divides these sales into two broad categories: requirements and coordination. A variety of wholesale sales do not fall neatly into either category. For example, power purchased to replace the Three Mile Island outage is in a sense a reliability purchase, since it is bought on a long-term firm basis to meet basic load requirements. However, it does not fit the traditional model of a sale considered as part of each utility's long range planning. In addition, this chapter discusses transmission services, with a particular emphasis on wheeling

Marburg biosafety and biosecurity scale (MBBS): a framework for risk assessment and risk communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickmann, Petra; Apfel, Franklin; Biedenkopf, Nadine; Eickmann, Markus; Becker, Stephan

2015-01-01

Current risk assessment and risk communication of biosafety and biosecurity concerns lack a convenient metric and conceptual framework. The absence of such a systematic tool makes communication more difficult and can lead to ambiguous public perception of and response to laboratory biosafety incidents and biosecurity threats. A new 7-category scoring scale is proposed for incidents and situations in laboratories related to the handling of human and animal pathogens. The scale aims to help clarify risk categories, facilitate coordination and communication, and improve public understanding of risk related to biosafety and biosecurity.

Prevalence of coronary heart disease risk factors and screening for high cholesterol levels among young adults, United States, 1999-2006.

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Kuklina, Elena V; Yoon, Paula W; Keenan, Nora L

2010-01-01

Previous studies have reported low rates of screening for high cholesterol levels among young adults in the United States. Although recommendations for screening young adults without risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) differ, all guidelines recommend screening adults with CHD, CHD equivalents, or 1 or more CHD risk factors. This study examined national prevalence of CHD risk factors and compliance with the cholesterol screening guidelines among young adults. National estimates were obtained using results for 2,587 young adults (men aged 20 to 35 years; women aged 20 to 45 years) from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. We defined high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as levels higher than the goal specific for each CHD risk category outlined in the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. About 59% of young adults had CHD or CHD equivalents, or 1 or more of the following CHD risk factors: family history of early CHD, smoking, hypertension, or obesity. In our study, the overall screening rate in this population was less than 50%. Moreover, no significant difference in screening rates between young adults with no risk factors and their counterparts with 1 or more risk factors was found even after adjustment for sociodemographic and health care factors. Approximately 65% of young adults with CHD or CHD equivalents, 26% of young adults with 2 or more risk factors, 12% of young adults with 1 risk factor, and 7% with no risk factor had a high level of LDL-C. CHD risk factors are common in young adults but do not appear to alter screening rates. Improvement of risk assessment and management for cardiovascular disease among young adults is warranted.

ELECTROMAGNETIC APPARATUS FOR MOVING A ROD

Science.gov (United States)

Young, J.N.

1958-04-22

An electromagnetic apparatus for moving a rod-like member in small steps in either direction is described. The invention has particular application in the reactor field where the reactor control rods must be moved only a small distance and where the use of mechanical couplings is impractical due to the high- pressure seals required. A neutron-absorbing rod is mounted in a housing with gripping uaits that engage the rod, and coils for magnetizing the gripping units to make them grip, shift, and release the rod are located outside the housing.

Work postural analysis and musculoskeletal injury risk in critical working station at XYZ Ceramics Yogyakarta

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Sari Amarria Dila

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Companies that have manual work, muscle injury is one of the major health issues that often occur when working. XYZ Ceramics Yogyakarta is still doing work activities involving manual processes and there has been identified that worker posture has the potential to cause injury. From the Nordic Body Map questionnaire, complaint was identified in the back were 88%, the knees were 80%, the upper arm 75%, and the right shoulder by 70% from 15 workers. The Ovako Work Posture Analysis System (OWAS method is used to evaluate and analyze work attitudes so that improved categories of work methods and recommendations could be obtained. Plan for Identifiering av Belastningsfaktorer (PLIBEL was used to identify the factors that cause muscle injury or harmful effect. In addition, the Nordic Body Map was applied to determine the critical work station. The purpose of this research is to analyze work posture and description of risk level related to musculoskeletal injury at critical work station. The three highest percentage of risk of muscle injury identified at raw material processing station, based on calculation result of PLIBEL Checklist, were on elbow, forearm, and hand. Based on the assessment of working posture using OWAS, the highest action category is identified in the activity of moving the cart containing the soil to the automatic pest that is the action category of 4, which means that this activity is very dangerous for the musculoskeletal system.

Economic analysis of pandemic influenza mitigation strategies for five pandemic severity categories

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The threat of emergence of a human-to-human transmissible strain of highly pathogenic influenza A(H5N1) is very real, and is reinforced by recent results showing that genetically modified A(H5N1) may be readily transmitted between ferrets. Public health authorities are hesitant in introducing social distancing interventions due to societal disruption and productivity losses. This study estimates the effectiveness and total cost (from a societal perspective, with a lifespan time horizon) of a comprehensive range of social distancing and antiviral drug strategies, under a range of pandemic severity categories. Methods An economic analysis was conducted using a simulation model of a community of ~30,000 in Australia. Data from the 2009 pandemic was used to derive relationships between the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) and hospitalization rates for each of five pandemic severity categories, with CFR ranging from 0.1% to 2.5%. Results For a pandemic with basic reproduction number R0 = 1.8, adopting no interventions resulted in total costs ranging from $441 per person for a pandemic at category 1 (CFR 0.1%) to $8,550 per person at category 5 (CFR 2.5%). For severe pandemics of category 3 (CFR 0.75%) and greater, a strategy combining antiviral treatment and prophylaxis, extended school closure and community contact reduction resulted in the lowest total cost of any strategy, costing $1,584 per person at category 5. This strategy was highly effective, reducing the attack rate to 5%. With low severity pandemics costs are dominated by productivity losses due to illness and social distancing interventions, whereas higher severity pandemic costs are dominated by healthcare costs and costs arising from productivity losses due to death. Conclusions For pandemics in high severity categories the strategies with the lowest total cost to society involve rigorous, sustained social distancing, which are considered unacceptable for low severity pandemics due to societal

Disability and Exposure to High Levels of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Effect on Health and Risk Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Anna; Herrick, Harry; Proescholdbell, Scott; Simmons, Jacqueline

2016-01-01

Health disparities among persons with disabilities have been previously documented. However, there is little research specific to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in this population and how ACE exposure affects health outcomes in adulthood. Data from the 2012 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey were analyzed to compare the prevalence of ACEs between adults with and without disabilities and high ACE exposure (3-8 ACEs). Adjusted risk ratios of health risks and perceived poor health by disability status were calculated using predicted marginals. A higher percentage of persons with disabilities (36.5%) than those without disabilities (19.6%) reported high ACE exposure. Among those with high ACE exposure, persons with disabilities were more likely to report several ACE categories, particularly childhood sexual abuse. In adjusted analyses, persons with disabilities had an increased risk of smoking (relative risk [RR] = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.10-1.51), poor physical health (RR = 4.34; 95% CI, 3.08-6.11), poor mental health (RR = 4.69; 95% CI, 3.19-6.87), and doctor-diagnosed depression (RR = 2.16; 95% CI, 1.82-2.56) compared to persons without disabilities. The definition of disability derived from the BRFSS survey does not allow for those with disabilities to be categorized according to physical disabilities versus mental or emotional disabilities. In addition, we were unable to determine the timing of ACE exposure in relation to disability onset. A better understanding of the life course associations between ACEs and disability and the impact of exposure to multiple types of childhood adversity on disability and health is needed to inform research and services specific to this vulnerable population. ©2016 by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and The Duke Endowment. All rights reserved.

Patients at High-Risk for Surgical Site Infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Mueck, Krislynn M; Kao, Lillian S

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a significant healthcare quality issue, resulting in increased morbidity, disability, length of stay, resource utilization, and costs. Identification of high-risk patients may improve pre-operative counseling, inform resource utilization, and allow modifications in peri-operative management to optimize outcomes. Review of the pertinent English-language literature. High-risk surgical patients may be identified on the basis of individual risk factors or combinations of factors. In particular, statistical models and risk calculators may be useful in predicting infectious risks, both in general and for SSIs. These models differ in the number of variables; inclusion of pre-operative, intra-operative, or post-operative variables; ease of calculation; and specificity for particular procedures. Furthermore, the models differ in their accuracy in stratifying risk. Biomarkers may be a promising way to identify patients at high risk of infectious complications. Although multiple strategies exist for identifying surgical patients at high risk for SSIs, no one strategy is superior for all patients. Further efforts are necessary to determine if risk stratification in combination with risk modification can reduce SSIs in these patient populations.

Assessing the risk of work-related international travel.

Science.gov (United States)

Druckman, Myles; Harber, Philip; Liu, Yihang; Quigley, Robert L

2014-11-01

To identify factors affecting the likelihood of requiring medical services during international business trips. Data from more than 800,000 international trips and medical assistance cases provided to 48 multinational corporations in 2009. Travel destination countries were grouped into four a priori risk-related categories. Travel to "low" medical risk countries in aggregate accounted for more hospitalizations and medical evacuations than travel to "high" medical risk countries. Nevertheless, the risk per trip was much higher for travel to higher medical risk countries. Corporations with employees on international travel should allocate sufficient resources to manage and ideally prevent medical issues during business travel. Travel medicine must focus on more than infectious diseases, and programs are necessary for both high- and low-risk regions. Improved understanding of travel-related needs determines resource allocation and risk mitigation efforts.

Hippocampus and amygdala volumes in children and young adults at high-risk of schizophrenia: research synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganzola, Rossana; Maziade, Michel; Duchesne, Simon

2014-06-01

Studies have reported hippocampal and amygdala volume abnormalities in schizophrenic patients. It is necessary to explore the potential for these structures as early disease markers in subjects at high risk (HR) of schizophrenia. We performed a review of 29 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies measuring hippocampal and amygdala volumes in subjects at HR for schizophrenia. We reclassified subjects in 3 new HR categories: presence of only risk symptoms (psychotic moderate symptoms), presence of only risk factors (genetic, developmental or environmental), and presence of combined risk symptoms/factors. Hippocampal volume reductions were detected in subjects with first episode (FE) of psychosis, in all young adults and in adolescents at HR of schizophrenia. The loss of tissue was mainly located in the posterior part of hippocampus and the right side seems more vulnerable in young adults with only risk symptoms. Instead, the anterior sector seems more involved in HR subjects with genetic risks. Abnormal amygdala volumes were found in FE subjects, in children with combined risk symptoms/factors and in older subjects using different inclusion criteria, but not in young adults. Hippocampal and amygdala abnormalities may be present before schizophrenia onset. Further studies should be conducted to clarify whether these abnormalities are causally or effectually related to neurodevelopment. Shape analysis could clarify the impact of environmental, genetic, and developmental factors on the medial temporal structures during the evolution of this disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The development of automaticity in short-term memory search: Item-response learning and category learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Rui; Nosofsky, Robert M; Shiffrin, Richard M

2017-05-01

In short-term-memory (STM)-search tasks, observers judge whether a test probe was present in a short list of study items. Here we investigated the long-term learning mechanisms that lead to the highly efficient STM-search performance observed under conditions of consistent-mapping (CM) training, in which targets and foils never switch roles across trials. In item-response learning, subjects learn long-term mappings between individual items and target versus foil responses. In category learning, subjects learn high-level codes corresponding to separate sets of items and learn to attach old versus new responses to these category codes. To distinguish between these 2 forms of learning, we tested subjects in categorized varied mapping (CV) conditions: There were 2 distinct categories of items, but the assignment of categories to target versus foil responses varied across trials. In cases involving arbitrary categories, CV performance closely resembled standard varied-mapping performance without categories and departed dramatically from CM performance, supporting the item-response-learning hypothesis. In cases involving prelearned categories, CV performance resembled CM performance, as long as there was sufficient practice or steps taken to reduce trial-to-trial category-switching costs. This pattern of results supports the category-coding hypothesis for sufficiently well-learned categories. Thus, item-response learning occurs rapidly and is used early in CM training; category learning is much slower but is eventually adopted and is used to increase the efficiency of search beyond that available from item-response learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Composite Flood Risk for Virgin Island

Science.gov (United States)

The Composite Flood Risk layer combines flood hazard datasets from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood zones, NOAA's Shallow Coastal Flooding, and the National Hurricane Center SLOSH model for Storm Surge inundation for category 1, 2, and 3 hurricanes.Geographic areas are represented by a grid of 10 by 10 meter cells and each cell has a ranking based on variation in exposure to flooding hazards: Moderate, High and Extreme exposure. Geographic areas in each input layers are ranked based on their probability of flood risk exposure. The logic was such that areas exposed to flooding on a more frequent basis were given a higher ranking. Thus the ranking incorporates the probability of the area being flooded. For example, even though a Category 3 storm surge has higher flooding elevations, the likelihood of the occurrence is lower than a Category 1 storm surge and therefore the Category 3 flood area is given a lower exposure ranking. Extreme exposure areas are those areas that are exposed to relatively frequent flooding.The ranked input layers are then converted to a raster for the creation of the composite risk layer by using cell statistics in spatial analysis. The highest exposure ranking for a given cell in any of the three input layers is assigned to the corresponding cell in the composite layer.For example, if an area (a cell) is rank as medium in the FEMA layer, moderate in the SLOSH layer, but extreme in the SCF layer, the cell will be considere

A Strategic Risk Management Framework for Multinational Enterprise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul Andersen, Torben

2005-01-01

and economic risks that can be monitored within conventional reporting systems and managed through use of various derivative instruments. All the while, a dispersed multinational structure can be vulnerable to disruptions caused by changing economic conditions, competitive moves, and geopolitical developments......-frequency high-impact disaster events based on scenario analyses. Hence, there is a need to consider risk management approaches that integrate relatively transparent financial exposures with the consequences of uncertain and hard-to-quantify event risks. This paper outlines the contours of such a strategic risk...

Breast Tissue Composition and Immunophenotype and Its Relationship with Mammographic Density in Women at High Risk of Breast Cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia-Min B Pang

Full Text Available To investigate the cellular and immunophenotypic basis of mammographic density in women at high risk of breast cancer.Mammograms and targeted breast biopsies were accrued from 24 women at high risk of breast cancer. Mammographic density was classified into Wolfe categories and ranked by increasing density. The histological composition and immunophenotypic profile were quantified from digitized haematoxylin and eosin-stained and immunohistochemically-stained (ERα, ERβ, PgR, HER2, Ki-67, and CD31 slides and correlated to mammographic density.Increasing mammographic density was significantly correlated with increased fibrous stroma proportion (rs (22 = 0.5226, p = 0.0088 and significantly inversely associated with adipose tissue proportion (rs (22 = -0.5409, p = 0.0064. Contrary to previous reports, stromal expression of ERα was common (19/20 cases, 95%. There was significantly higher stromal PgR expression in mammographically-dense breasts (p=0.026.The proportion of stroma and fat underlies mammographic density in women at high risk of breast cancer. Increased expression of PgR in the stroma of mammographically dense breasts and frequent and unexpected presence of stromal ERα expression raises the possibility that hormone receptor expression in breast stroma may have a role in mediating the effects of exogenous hormonal therapy on mammographic density.

Predictive Accuracy of a Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction Model in Rural South India – A Community Based Retrospective Cohort Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farah N Fathima

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Identification of individuals at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases by risk stratification is the first step in primary prevention. Aims & Objectives: To assess the five year risk of developing a cardiovascular event from retrospective data and to assess the predictive accuracy of the non laboratory based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES risk prediction model among individuals in a rural South Indian population. Materials & Methods: A community based retrospective cohort study was conducted in three villages where risk stratification was done for all eligible adults aged between 35-74 years at the time of initial assessment using the NHANES risk prediction charts. Household visits were made after a period of five years by trained doctors to determine cardiovascular outcomes. Results: 521 people fulfilled the eligibility criteria of whom 486 (93.3% could be traced after five years. 56.8% were in low risk, 36.6% were in moderate risk and 6.6% were in high risk categories. 29 persons (5.97% had had cardiovascular events over the last five years of which 24 events (82.7% were nonfatal and five (17.25% were fatal. The mean age of the people who developed cardiovascular events was 57.24 ± 9.09 years. The odds ratios for the three levels of risk showed a linear trend with the odds ratios for the moderate risk and high risk category being 1.35 and 1.94 respectively with the low risk category as baseline. Conclusion: The non laboratory based NHANES charts did not accurately predict the occurrence of cardiovascular events in any of the risk categories.

Shape configuration and category-specificity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian; Law, Ian; Paulson, Olaf B.

2006-01-01

a recent account of category-specificity and lends support to the notion that category-specific impairments can occur for both natural objects and artefacts following damage to pre-semantic stages in visual object recognition. The implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to theories...

Modeling of Lossy Inductance in Moving-Coil Loudspeakers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kong, Xiao-Peng; Agerkvist, Finn T.; Zeng, Xin-Wu

2015-01-01

The electrical impedance of moving-coil loudspeakers is dominated by the lossy inductance in high frequency range. Using the equivalent electrical circuit method, a new model for the lossy inductance based on separate functions for the magnitude and phase of the impedance is presented. The electr......The electrical impedance of moving-coil loudspeakers is dominated by the lossy inductance in high frequency range. Using the equivalent electrical circuit method, a new model for the lossy inductance based on separate functions for the magnitude and phase of the impedance is presented...

The effect of midazolam on implicit and explicit memory in category exemplar production and category cued recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, Jason; Passannante, Anthony; Hirshman, Elliot

2004-03-01

Transfer-appropriate processing theory (Roediger, Weldon, & Challis, 1989) proposes that dissociations between performance on explicit and implicit memory tests arise because these tests often rely on different types of information processing (e.g., perceptual processing vs conceptual processing). This perspective predicts that implicit and explicit memory tasks that rely primarily on conceptual processing should show comparable results, not dissociations. Numerous studies have demonstrated such similarities. It is, however, possible that these results arise from explicit memory contamination of performance on implicit memory tasks. To address this issue, an experiment was conducted in which participants were administered the sedative midazolam prior to study. Midazolam is known to create a temporary, but dense, period of anterograde amnesia. The effects of blocking stimulus materials by semantic category at study and generation at study were investigated on category exemplar production and category-cued recall. The results of this study demonstrated a dissociation of the effects of midazolam on category exemplar production and category-cued recall. Specifically, midazolam reduced the effect of blocking stimulus materials in category-cued recall, but not in category exemplar production. The differential effect of midazolam on explicit and implicit memory is at odds with transfer-appropriate processing theory and suggests that theories of memory must distinguish the roles of different types of conceptual processing on implicit and explicit memory tests.

International Conference on Category Theory

CERN Document Server

Pedicchio, Maria; Rosolini, Guiseppe

1991-01-01

With one exception, these papers are original and fully refereed research articles on various applications of Category Theory to Algebraic Topology, Logic and Computer Science. The exception is an outstanding and lengthy survey paper by Joyal/Street (80 pp) on a growing subject: it gives an account of classical Tannaka duality in such a way as to be accessible to the general mathematical reader, and to provide a key for entry to more recent developments and quantum groups. No expertise in either representation theory or category theory is assumed. Topics such as the Fourier cotransform, Tannaka duality for homogeneous spaces, braided tensor categories, Yang-Baxter operators, Knot invariants and quantum groups are introduced and studies. From the Contents: P.J. Freyd: Algebraically complete categories.- J.M.E. Hyland: First steps in synthetic domain theory.- G. Janelidze, W. Tholen: How algebraic is the change-of-base functor?.- A. Joyal, R. Street: An introduction to Tannaka duality and quantum groups.- A. Jo...

A comparison of moving object detection methods for real-time moving object detection

Science.gov (United States)

Roshan, Aditya; Zhang, Yun

2014-06-01

Moving object detection has a wide variety of applications from traffic monitoring, site monitoring, automatic theft identification, face detection to military surveillance. Many methods have been developed across the globe for moving object detection, but it is very difficult to find one which can work globally in all situations and with different types of videos. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing moving object detection methods which can be implemented in software on a desktop or laptop, for real time object detection. There are several moving object detection methods noted in the literature, but few of them are suitable for real time moving object detection. Most of the methods which provide for real time movement are further limited by the number of objects and the scene complexity. This paper evaluates the four most commonly used moving object detection methods as background subtraction technique, Gaussian mixture model, wavelet based and optical flow based methods. The work is based on evaluation of these four moving object detection methods using two (2) different sets of cameras and two (2) different scenes. The moving object detection methods have been implemented using MatLab and results are compared based on completeness of detected objects, noise, light change sensitivity, processing time etc. After comparison, it is observed that optical flow based method took least processing time and successfully detected boundary of moving objects which also implies that it can be implemented for real-time moving object detection.

Sex Differences in Emotional Evaluation of Film Clips: Interaction with Five High Arousal Emotional Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Maffei, Antonio; Vencato, Valentina; Angrilli, Alessandro

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in the emotional evaluation of 18 film clips divided into six categories: Erotic, Scenery, Neutral, Sadness, Compassion, and Fear. 41 female and 40 male students rated all clips for valence-pleasantness, arousal, level of elicited distress, anxiety, jittery feelings, excitation, and embarrassment. Analysis of positive films revealed higher levels of arousal, pleasantness, and excitation to the Scenery clips in both genders, but lower pleasantness and greater embarrassment in women compared to men to Erotic clips. Concerning unpleasant stimuli, unlike men, women reported more unpleasantness to the Compassion, Sadness, and Fear compared to the Neutral clips and rated them also as more arousing than did men. They further differentiated the films by perceiving greater arousal to Fear than to Compassion clips. Women rated the Sadness and Fear clips with greater Distress and Jittery feelings than men did. Correlation analysis between arousal and the other emotional scales revealed that, although men looked less aroused than women to all unpleasant clips, they also showed a larger variance in their emotional responses as indicated by the high number of correlations and their relatively greater extent, an outcome pointing to a masked larger sensitivity of part of male sample to emotional clips. We propose a new perspective in which gender difference in emotional responses can be better evidenced by means of film clips selected and clustered in more homogeneous categories, controlled for arousal levels, as well as evaluated through a number of emotion focused adjectives. PMID:26717488

Sex Differences in Emotional Evaluation of Film Clips: Interaction with Five High Arousal Emotional Categories.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Maffei

Full Text Available The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in the emotional evaluation of 18 film clips divided into six categories: Erotic, Scenery, Neutral, Sadness, Compassion, and Fear. 41 female and 40 male students rated all clips for valence-pleasantness, arousal, level of elicited distress, anxiety, jittery feelings, excitation, and embarrassment. Analysis of positive films revealed higher levels of arousal, pleasantness, and excitation to the Scenery clips in both genders, but lower pleasantness and greater embarrassment in women compared to men to Erotic clips. Concerning unpleasant stimuli, unlike men, women reported more unpleasantness to the Compassion, Sadness, and Fear compared to the Neutral clips and rated them also as more arousing than did men. They further differentiated the films by perceiving greater arousal to Fear than to Compassion clips. Women rated the Sadness and Fear clips with greater Distress and Jittery feelings than men did. Correlation analysis between arousal and the other emotional scales revealed that, although men looked less aroused than women to all unpleasant clips, they also showed a larger variance in their emotional responses as indicated by the high number of correlations and their relatively greater extent, an outcome pointing to a masked larger sensitivity of part of male sample to emotional clips. We propose a new perspective in which gender difference in emotional responses can be better evidenced by means of film clips selected and clustered in more homogeneous categories, controlled for arousal levels, as well as evaluated through a number of emotion focused adjectives.

Reconceptualizing 'extremism' and 'moderation': from categories of analysis to categories of practice in the construction of collective identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Nick; Kahani-Hopkins, Vered

2009-03-01

Much psychological research employs the categories of extremism and moderation as categories of analysis (e.g. to identify the psychological bases for, and consequences of, holding certain positions). This paper argues these categorizations inevitably reflect one's values and taken-for-granted assumptions about social reality and that their use as analytic categories limits our ability to explore what is really important: social actors' own constructions of social reality. In turn we argue that if we are to focus on this latter, there may be merit in exploring how social actors themselves use the categories of moderation and extremism to construct their own terms of reference. That is we propose to re-conceptualize the categories of moderation and extremism as categories of practice rather than analysis. The utility of this approach is illustrated with qualitative data. We argue that these data illustrate the importance of respecting social actors' own constructions of social reality (rather than imposing our own). Moreover, we argue that categories of moderation and extremism may be employed by social actors in diverse ways to construct different terms of reference and so recruit support for different identity-related projects.

Moving Object Detection Using Scanning Camera on a High-Precision Intelligent Holder

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuoyang; Xu, Tingfa; Li, Daqun; Zhang, Jizhou; Jiang, Shenwang

2016-01-01

During the process of moving object detection in an intelligent visual surveillance system, a scenario with complex background is sure to appear. The traditional methods, such as “frame difference” and “optical flow”, may not able to deal with the problem very well. In such scenarios, we use a modified algorithm to do the background modeling work. In this paper, we use edge detection to get an edge difference image just to enhance the ability of resistance illumination variation. Then we use a “multi-block temporal-analyzing LBP (Local Binary Pattern)” algorithm to do the segmentation. In the end, a connected component is used to locate the object. We also produce a hardware platform, the core of which consists of the DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) platforms and the high-precision intelligent holder. PMID:27775671

Moving Object Detection Using Scanning Camera on a High-Precision Intelligent Holder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuoyang Chen

2016-10-01

Full Text Available During the process of moving object detection in an intelligent visual surveillance system, a scenario with complex background is sure to appear. The traditional methods, such as “frame difference” and “optical flow”, may not able to deal with the problem very well. In such scenarios, we use a modified algorithm to do the background modeling work. In this paper, we use edge detection to get an edge difference image just to enhance the ability of resistance illumination variation. Then we use a “multi-block temporal-analyzing LBP (Local Binary Pattern” algorithm to do the segmentation. In the end, a connected component is used to locate the object. We also produce a hardware platform, the core of which consists of the DSP (Digital Signal Processor and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array platforms and the high-precision intelligent holder.

Estimation of percentage breast tissue density: comparison between digital mammography (2D full field digital mammography) and digital breast tomosynthesis according to different BI-RADS categories.

Science.gov (United States)

Tagliafico, A S; Tagliafico, G; Cavagnetto, F; Calabrese, M; Houssami, N

2013-11-01

To compare breast density estimated from two-dimensional full-field digital mammography (2D FFDM) and from digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) according to different Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) categories, using automated software. Institutional review board approval and written informed patient consent were obtained. DBT and 2D FFDM were performed in the same patients to allow within-patient comparison. A total of 160 consecutive patients (mean age: 50±14 years; mean body mass index: 22±3) were included to create paired data sets of 40 patients for each BI-RADS category. Automatic software (MedDensity(©), developed by Giulio Tagliafico) was used to compare the percentage breast density between DBT and 2D FFDM. The estimated breast percentage density obtained using DBT and 2D FFDM was examined for correlation with the radiologists' visual BI-RADS density classification. The 2D FFDM differed from DBT by 16.0% in BI-RADS Category 1, by 11.9% in Category 2, by 3.5% in Category 3 and by 18.1% in Category 4. These differences were highly significant (pBI-RADS categories and the density evaluated using 2D FFDM and DBT (r=0.56, pBI-RADS categories. These data are relevant for clinical practice and research studies using density in determining the risk. On DBT, breast density values were lower than with 2D FFDM, with a non-linear relationship across the classical BI-RADS categories.

Energy information data base: energy categories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-03-01

Citations entered into DOE's computerized bibliographic information system are assigned six-digit subject category numbers to group information broadly for storage, retrieval, and manipulation. These numbers are used in the preparation of printed documents, such as bibliographies and abstract journals, to arrange the citations and as searching aids in the on-line system, DOE/RECON. This document has been prepared for use by those individuals responsible for the assignment of category numbers to documents being entered into the Technical Information Center (TIC) system, those individuals and organizations processing magnetic tape copies of the files, those individuals doing on-line searching for information in TIC-created files, and others who, having no access to RECON, need printed copy. The six-digit numbers assigned to documents are listed, along with the category names and text to define the scope of interest. Asterisks highlight those categories added or changed since the previous printing, and a subject index further details the subject content of each category

Designing components using smartMOVE electroactive polymer technology

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenthal, Marcus; Weaber, Chris; Polyakov, Ilya; Zarrabi, Al; Gise, Peter

2008-03-01

Designing components using SmartMOVE TM electroactive polymer technology requires an understanding of the basic operation principles and the necessary design tools for integration into actuator, sensor and energy generation applications. Artificial Muscle, Inc. is collaborating with OEMs to develop customized solutions for their applications using smartMOVE. SmartMOVE is an advanced and elegant way to obtain almost any kind of movement using dielectric elastomer electroactive polymers. Integration of this technology offers the unique capability to create highly precise and customized motion for devices and systems that require actuation. Applications of SmartMOVE include linear actuators for medical, consumer and industrial applications, such as pumps, valves, optical or haptic devices. This paper will present design guidelines for selecting a smartMOVE actuator design to match the stroke, force, power, size, speed, environmental and reliability requirements for a range of applications. Power supply and controller design and selection will also be introduced. An overview of some of the most versatile configuration options will be presented with performance comparisons. A case example will include the selection, optimization, and performance overview of a smartMOVE actuator for the cell phone camera auto-focus and proportional valve applications.

Associations of Body Mass Index with Sexual Risk-Taking and Injection Drug Use among US High School Students

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Richard Lowry

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine if body mass index (BMI is associated with behaviors that may increase risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs among US high school students. We analyzed nationally representative data from the 2005–2011 national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS to examine associations of BMI categories with sexual risk behaviors and injection drug use among sexually active high school students, using sex-stratified logistic regression models. Controlling for race/ethnicity and grade, among female and male students, both underweight (BMI < 5th percentile and obesity (BMI ≥ 95th percentile were associated with decreased odds of being currently sexually active (i.e., having had sexual intercourse during the past 3 months. However, among sexually active female students, obese females were more likely than normal weight females to have had 4 or more sex partners (odds ratio, OR = 1.59, not used a condom at last sexual intercourse (OR = 1.30, and injected illegal drugs (OR = 1.98. Among sexually active male students, overweight (85th percentile ≤ BMI < 95th percentile was associated with not using a condom at last sexual intercourse (OR = 1.19 and obesity was associated with injection drug use (OR = 1.42. Among sexually active students, overweight and obesity may be indicators of increased risk for HIV and other STDs.

Conformal field theories and tensor categories. Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bai, Chengming [Nankai Univ., Tianjin (China). Chern Institute of Mathematics; Fuchs, Juergen [Karlstad Univ. (Sweden). Theoretical Physics; Huang, Yi-Zhi [Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States). Dept. of Mathematics; Kong, Liang [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Inst. for Advanced Study; Runkel, Ingo; Schweigert, Christoph (eds.) [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Mathematics

2014-08-01

First book devoted completely to the mathematics of conformal field theories, tensor categories and their applications. Contributors include both mathematicians and physicists. Some long expository articles are especially suitable for beginners. The present volume is a collection of seven papers that are either based on the talks presented at the workshop ''Conformal field theories and tensor categories'' held June 13 to June 17, 2011 at the Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research, Peking University, or are extensions of the material presented in the talks at the workshop. These papers present new developments beyond rational conformal field theories and modular tensor categories and new applications in mathematics and physics. The topics covered include tensor categories from representation categories of Hopf algebras, applications of conformal field theories and tensor categories to topological phases and gapped systems, logarithmic conformal field theories and the corresponding non-semisimple tensor categories, and new developments in the representation theory of vertex operator algebras. Some of the papers contain detailed introductory material that is helpful for graduate students and researchers looking for an introduction to these research directions. The papers also discuss exciting recent developments in the area of conformal field theories, tensor categories and their applications and will be extremely useful for researchers working in these areas.

The ethnic category from a linguistic perspective

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Răzvan Săftoiu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I put forward an analysis from a linguistic perspective of an ethnic category in Romania that is defined by at least two terms: gypsy and Romany. The concept of category refers to the members of a particular group that sets apart from other groups by a set of specific elements acknowledged at the level of a larger community. In interaction, individuals frequently use categories and the set of features that a certain category is characterized by, since it is easier to deal with sets of knowledge than with references for each individual separately. The analysis is based on a series of expressions and phrases, proverbs and jokes which were (or still are getting about in the Romanian space and which delineated, at the level of the collective mentality, the image of an ethnic category whose name (still oscillates between two terms. The texts were grouped depending on the different stereotypes associated with the ethnic category under discussion, by highlighting the pejorative connotations of the uses of the term gypsy in relation to the ethnic category Romany, a significance-free category that can be ‘filled up’ by elements that can sketch a positive image.

Conformal field theories and tensor categories. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Chengming; Fuchs, Juergen; Huang, Yi-Zhi; Kong, Liang; Runkel, Ingo; Schweigert, Christoph

2014-01-01

First book devoted completely to the mathematics of conformal field theories, tensor categories and their applications. Contributors include both mathematicians and physicists. Some long expository articles are especially suitable for beginners. The present volume is a collection of seven papers that are either based on the talks presented at the workshop ''Conformal field theories and tensor categories'' held June 13 to June 17, 2011 at the Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research, Peking University, or are extensions of the material presented in the talks at the workshop. These papers present new developments beyond rational conformal field theories and modular tensor categories and new applications in mathematics and physics. The topics covered include tensor categories from representation categories of Hopf algebras, applications of conformal field theories and tensor categories to topological phases and gapped systems, logarithmic conformal field theories and the corresponding non-semisimple tensor categories, and new developments in the representation theory of vertex operator algebras. Some of the papers contain detailed introductory material that is helpful for graduate students and researchers looking for an introduction to these research directions. The papers also discuss exciting recent developments in the area of conformal field theories, tensor categories and their applications and will be extremely useful for researchers working in these areas.

Predicting high risk births with contraceptive prevalence and contraceptive method-mix in an ecologic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Perin, Jamie; Amouzou, Agbessi; Walker, Neff

2017-11-07

Increased contraceptive use has been associated with a decrease in high parity births, births that occur close together in time, and births to very young or to older women. These types of births are also associated with high risk of under-five mortality. Previous studies have looked at the change in the level of contraception use and the average change in these types of high-risk births. We aim to predict the distribution of births in a specific country when there is a change in the level and method of modern contraception. We used data from full birth histories and modern contraceptive use from 207 nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys covering 71 countries to describe the distribution of births in each survey based on birth order, preceding birth space, and mother's age at birth. We estimated the ecologic associations between the prevalence and method-mix of modern contraceptives and the proportion of births in each category. Hierarchical modelling was applied to these aggregated cross sectional proportions, so that random effects were estimated for countries with multiple surveys. We use these results to predict the change in type of births associated with scaling up modern contraception in three different scenarios. We observed marked differences between regions, in the absolute rates of contraception, the types of contraceptives in use, and in the distribution of type of birth. Contraceptive method-mix was a significant determinant of proportion of high-risk births, especially for birth spacing, but also for mother's age and parity. Increased use of modern contraceptives is especially predictive of reduced parity and more births with longer preceding space. However, increased contraception alone is not associated with fewer births to women younger than 18 years or a decrease in short-spaced births. Both the level and the type of contraception are important factors in determining the effects of family planning on changes in distribution of

Predicting high risk births with contraceptive prevalence and contraceptive method-mix in an ecologic analysis

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Jamie Perin

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Increased contraceptive use has been associated with a decrease in high parity births, births that occur close together in time, and births to very young or to older women. These types of births are also associated with high risk of under-five mortality. Previous studies have looked at the change in the level of contraception use and the average change in these types of high-risk births. We aim to predict the distribution of births in a specific country when there is a change in the level and method of modern contraception. Methods We used data from full birth histories and modern contraceptive use from 207 nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys covering 71 countries to describe the distribution of births in each survey based on birth order, preceding birth space, and mother’s age at birth. We estimated the ecologic associations between the prevalence and method-mix of modern contraceptives and the proportion of births in each category. Hierarchical modelling was applied to these aggregated cross sectional proportions, so that random effects were estimated for countries with multiple surveys. We use these results to predict the change in type of births associated with scaling up modern contraception in three different scenarios. Results We observed marked differences between regions, in the absolute rates of contraception, the types of contraceptives in use, and in the distribution of type of birth. Contraceptive method-mix was a significant determinant of proportion of high-risk births, especially for birth spacing, but also for mother’s age and parity. Increased use of modern contraceptives is especially predictive of reduced parity and more births with longer preceding space. However, increased contraception alone is not associated with fewer births to women younger than 18 years or a decrease in short-spaced births. Conclusions Both the level and the type of contraception are important factors in

Judge upholds closing of theater that was site of high-risk sex.

Science.gov (United States)

1995-05-05

New York City's decision to close a gay movie theater where inspectors found male patrons engaging in unsafe sexual activity with other men was upheld by Justice Marilyn G. Diamond of the Supreme Court in Manhattan. She rejected the theater owner's argument that the city's March 31, 1995 closure of the New David Cinema on West 54th Street violated the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech. The city based its action on a provision in the state health code which prohibits oral, anal or vaginal sex in commercial establishments. Despite several warnings from the city, the movie house did not follow the demands that it move forcefully to prevent high-risk sexual activity among patrons. The New David was one of two theaters and one sex club shut down by the Health Department in recent weeks, but the only one still closed at press time. Some gay activists contend the action was unjustified, since most of the sex that occurs in those establishments in consensual and involves solo or mutual masturbation. Others point out that a good deal of unsafe sex does occur. Because men often have several sexual liaisons during a single night at a theater or club, the risk of HIV transmission is magnified many-fold.

Monitoring of sport participation and injury risk in young athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Malisoux, Laurent; Frisch, Anne; Urhausen, Axel; Seil, Romain; Theisen, Daniel

2013-11-01

Careful modulation of training characteristics in high-level sports optimizes performance and avoids inappropriate workloads and associated sports injury risk. The aims of this study were to compare sport participation characteristics in different youth sport categories and to investigate their relationship with injury. Prospective cohort follow-up. Young (12-19 years) high-level athletes (n=154) from a regional sport school were followed during 41 weeks regarding sport participation characteristics and traumatic and overuse sports injuries (time-loss definition). All data were self-recorded by the athletes in an electronic system "TIPPS" (Training and Injury Prevention Platform for Sports) and subject to a systematic data quality control. Volume and intensity (self-rated perceived exertion) of each sport session were used to compute weekly load, monotony and strain. Sport categories were defined as team, racket, and individual sports. All sport participation characteristics were dependent on sport category (psports were associated with lower injury risk (HR=0.37 and 0.34, p=0.001 and psports. Average sport participation characteristics were not related to injury according to the survival analysis. However, intensity during the week prior to injury was significantly higher (psport participation pattern and injury risk in young athletes. The monitoring method was sensitive to variations according to pertinent variables and might help identify athletes with increased sports injury risk. Copyright © 2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A deep learning method for classifying mammographic breast density categories.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed, Aly A; Berg, Wendie A; Peng, Hong; Luo, Yahong; Jankowitz, Rachel C; Wu, Shandong

2018-01-01

Mammographic breast density is an established risk marker for breast cancer and is visually assessed by radiologists in routine mammogram image reading, using four qualitative Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System (BI-RADS) breast density categories. It is particularly difficult for radiologists to consistently distinguish the two most common and most variably assigned BI-RADS categories, i.e., "scattered density" and "heterogeneously dense". The aim of this work was to investigate a deep learning-based breast density classifier to consistently distinguish these two categories, aiming at providing a potential computerized tool to assist radiologists in assigning a BI-RADS category in current clinical workflow. In this study, we constructed a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based model coupled with a large (i.e., 22,000 images) digital mammogram imaging dataset to evaluate the classification performance between the two aforementioned breast density categories. All images were collected from a cohort of 1,427 women who underwent standard digital mammography screening from 2005 to 2016 at our institution. The truths of the density categories were based on standard clinical assessment made by board-certified breast imaging radiologists. Effects of direct training from scratch solely using digital mammogram images and transfer learning of a pretrained model on a large nonmedical imaging dataset were evaluated for the specific task of breast density classification. In order to measure the classification performance, the CNN classifier was also tested on a refined version of the mammogram image dataset by removing some potentially inaccurately labeled images. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to measure the accuracy of the classifier. The AUC was 0.9421 when the CNN-model was trained from scratch on our own mammogram images, and the accuracy increased gradually along with an increased size of training samples

WILD FIRE RISK MAP IN THE EASTERN STEPPE OF MONGOLIA USING SPATIAL MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS

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E. Nasanbat

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Grassland fire is a cause of major disturbance to ecosystems and economies throughout the world. This paper investigated to identify risk zone of wildfire distributions on the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia. The study selected variables for wildfire risk assessment using a combination of data collection, including Social Economic, Climate, Geographic Information Systems, Remotely sensed imagery, and statistical yearbook information. Moreover, an evaluation of the result is used field validation data and assessment. The data evaluation resulted divided by main three group factors Environmental, Social Economic factor, Climate factor and Fire information factor into eleven input variables, which were classified into five categories by risk levels important criteria and ranks. All of the explanatory variables were integrated into spatial a model and used to estimate the wildfire risk index. Within the index, five categories were created, based on spatial statistics, to adequately assess respective fire risk: very high risk, high risk, moderate risk, low and very low. Approximately more than half, 68 percent of the study area was predicted accuracy to good within the very high, high risk and moderate risk zones. The percentages of actual fires in each fire risk zone were as follows: very high risk, 42 percent; high risk, 26 percent; moderate risk, 13 percent; low risk, 8 percent; and very low risk, 11 percent. The main overall accuracy to correct prediction from the model was 62 percent. The model and results could be support in spatial decision making support system processes and in preventative wildfire management strategies. Also it could be help to improve ecological and biodiversity conservation management.

Perspectives on a ‘Sit Less, Move More’ Intervention in Australian Emergency Call Centres

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Michelle Daley

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Prolonged sitting is associated with increased risk of chronic diseases. Workplace programs that aim to reduce sitting time (sit less and increase physical activity (move more have targeted desk-based workers in corporate and university settings with promising results. However, little is known about ‘move more, sit less’ programs for workers in other types of jobs and industries, such as shift workers. This formative research examines the perceptions of a ‘sit less, move more’ program in an Australian Emergency Call Centre that operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Methods: Participants were employees (N = 39, 72% female, 50% aged 36–55 years recruited from Emergency Services control centres located in New South Wales, Australia. The ‘sit less, move more’ intervention, consisting of emails, posters and timer lights, was co-designed with the management team and tailored to the control centre environment and work practices, which already included electronic height-adjustable sit-stand workstations for all call centre staff. Participants reported their perceptions and experiences of the intervention in a self-report online questionnaire, and directly to the research team during regular site visits. Questionnaire topics included barriers and facilitators to standing while working, mental wellbeing, effects on work performance, and workplace satisfaction. Field notes and open-ended response data were analysed in an iterative process during and after data collection to identify the main themes. Results: Whilst participants already had sit-stand workstations, use of the desks in the standing position varied and sometimes were contrary to expectations (e.g, less tired standing than sitting; standing when experiencing high call stress. Participants emphasised the “challenging” and “unrelenting” nature of their work. They reported sleep issues (“always tired”, work stress (“non-stop demands”, and feeling

The outcome of I-131 ablation therapy for intermediate and high-risk differentiated thyroid cancer using a strict definition of successful ablation.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Ken; Uchiyama, Mayuki; Fukuda, Kunihiko

2017-09-01

This article examines the outcome of radioactive iodine ablation therapy for thyroid cancer in high-risk patients and investigates background factors influencing ablation failure. We included 91 patients in this retrospective analysis and evaluated the ablation success rate. Successful ablation was defined as the absence of visible iodine-131 (I-131) accumulation in the thyroid bed after whole-body scans and thyroglobulin levels sex, I-131 dose, pathology, resection stump findings, tumor T category and thyroglobulin levels, which could affect ablation outcome. Successful ablation was achieved in only 14 patients (15.4%). Pre-ablation serum thyroglobulin levels were significantly higher in the ablation failure group than in the success group (P 10 ng/ml were significantly related to ablation failure after multivariate analysis (odds ratio 27.2; 95% confidence interval 2.469-299.7; P = 0.007). The ablation success rate was very low because of high thyroglobulin levels, even with high-dose I-131. High-risk patients, especially those with high thyroglobulin levels (>10 ng/ml), are unlikely to reach levels low enough to meet successful ablation criteria.

Investigating cross-category brand loyalty behavior in FMCG

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boztug, Yasemin; Hildebrandt, Lutz; Silberhorn, Nadja

category depend on purchases in other categories. The aspect of cross-category related brand loyalty has been somewhat neglected so far. We concentrate on cross-category relationships of strong national brands and on how customers' brand choice decisions are related across several product categories.......In competitive markets, customer retention is more efficient than trying to attract new customers. Brand loyalty is an intrinsic commitment to repeatedly purchase a particular brand. But most analyses have been conducted in one specific category only. It has been shown that product purchases in one...

Diversity in Risk Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agung Nur Probohudono

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This study analyses the communication of the five major categories of risk (business, strategy, market and credit risk disclosure over the volatile 2007-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC time period in key South East Asian countries’ manufacturing listed companies. This study is important as it contributes to the literature by providing insights into the voluntary risk disclosure practices using sample countries with different economic scenarios. Key findings are that business risk is the most disclosed category and strategy risk is the least disclosed. Business and credit risk disclosure consistently increase over the three year period, while operating, market and strategy risk disclosure increase in 2008, but then decrease slightly in 2009. Statistical analysis reveals that country of incorporation and size help predict risk disclosure levels. The overall low disclosure levels (26-29% highlight the potential for far higher communication of key risk factors.

Genetic risk, coronary heart disease events, and the clinical benefit of statin therapy: an analysis of primary and secondary prevention trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Mega, J L; Stitziel, N O; Smith, J G; Chasman, D I; Caulfield, M; Devlin, J J; Nordio, F; Hyde, C; Cannon, C P; Sacks, F; Poulter, N; Sever, P; Ridker, P M; Braunwald, E; Melander, O; Kathiresan, S; Sabatine, M S

2015-06-06

Genetic variants have been associated with the risk of coronary heart disease. In this study, we tested whether or not a composite of these variants could ascertain the risk of both incident and recurrent coronary heart disease events and identify those individuals who derive greater clinical benefit from statin therapy. A community-based cohort study (the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study) and four randomised controlled trials of both primary prevention (JUPITER and ASCOT) and secondary prevention (CARE and PROVE IT-TIMI 22) with statin therapy, comprising a total of 48,421 individuals and 3477 events, were included in these analyses. We studied the association of a genetic risk score based on 27 genetic variants with incident or recurrent coronary heart disease, adjusting for traditional clinical risk factors. We then investigated the relative and absolute risk reductions in coronary heart disease events with statin therapy stratified by genetic risk. We combined data from the different studies using a meta-analysis. When individuals were divided into low (quintile 1), intermediate (quintiles 2-4), and high (quintile 5) genetic risk categories, a significant gradient in risk for incident or recurrent coronary heart disease was shown. Compared with the low genetic risk category, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for coronary heart disease for the intermediate genetic risk category was 1·34 (95% CI 1·22-1·47, pgenetic risk category was 1·72 (1·55-1·92, pgenetic risk categories. Similarly, we noted greater absolute risk reductions in those individuals in higher genetic risk categories (p=0·0101), resulting in a roughly threefold decrease in the number needed to treat to prevent one coronary heart disease event in the primary prevention trials. Specifically, in the primary prevention trials, the number needed to treat to prevent one such event in 10 years was 66 in people at low genetic risk, 42 in those at intermediate genetic risk, and 25 in those at high

Hippocampal activation during episodic and semantic memory retrieval: comparing category production and category cued recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Lee; Cox, Christine; Hayes, Scott M; Nadel, Lynn

2008-01-01

Whether or not the hippocampus participates in semantic memory retrieval has been the focus of much debate in the literature. However, few neuroimaging studies have directly compared hippocampal activation during semantic and episodic retrieval tasks that are well matched in all respects other than the source of the retrieved information. In Experiment 1, we compared hippocampal fMRI activation during a classic semantic memory task, category production, and an episodic version of the same task, category cued recall. Left hippocampal activation was observed in both episodic and semantic conditions, although other regions of the brain clearly distinguished the two tasks. Interestingly, participants reported using retrieval strategies during the semantic retrieval task that relied on autobiographical and spatial information; for example, visualizing themselves in their kitchen while producing items for the category kitchen utensils. In Experiment 2, we considered whether the use of these spatial and autobiographical retrieval strategies could have accounted for the hippocampal activation observed in Experiment 1. Categories were presented that elicited one of three retrieval strategy types, autobiographical and spatial, autobiographical and nonspatial, and neither autobiographical nor spatial. Once again, similar hippocampal activation was observed for all three category types, regardless of the inclusion of spatial or autobiographical content. We conclude that the distinction between semantic and episodic memory is more complex than classic memory models suggest.

Category O for quantum groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Henning Haahr; Mazorchuk, Volodymyr

2015-01-01

We study the BGG-categories O_q associated to quantum groups. We prove that many properties of the ordinary BGG-category O for a semisimple complex Lie algebra carry over to the quantum case. Of particular interest is the case when q is a complex root of unity. Here we prove a tensor decomposition...... for simple modules, projective modules, and indecomposable tilting modules. Using the known Kazhdan–Lusztig conjectures for O and for finite-dimensional U_q-modules we are able to determine all irreducible characters as well as the characters of all indecomposable tilting modules in O_q . As a consequence......, we also recover the known result that the generic quantum case behaves like the classical category O....

Stock Returns and Risk: Evidence from Quantile

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Thomas C. Chiang

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper employs weighted least squares to examine the risk-return relation by applying high-frequency data from four major stock indexes in the US market and finds some evidence in favor of a positive relation between the mean of the excess returns and expected risk. However, by using quantile regressions, we find that the risk-return relation moves from negative to positive as the returns’ quantile increases. A positive risk-return relation is valid only in the upper quantiles. The evidence also suggests that intraday skewness plays a dominant role in explaining the variations of excess returns.

Identifying Aboriginal-specific AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 cutoff scores for at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent drinkers using measures of agreement with the 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a 10-item alcohol screener that has been recommended for use in Aboriginal primary health care settings. The time it takes respondents to complete AUDIT, however, has proven to be a barrier to its routine delivery. Two shorter versions, AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3, have been used as screening instruments in primary health care. This paper aims to identify the AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 cutoff scores that most closely identify individuals classified as being at-risk drinkers, high-risk drinkers, or likely alcohol dependent by the 10-item AUDIT. Methods Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted from June 2009 to May 2010 and from July 2010 to June 2011. Aboriginal Australian participants (N = 156) were recruited through an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service, and a community-based drug and alcohol treatment agency in rural New South Wales (NSW), and through community-based Aboriginal groups in Sydney NSW. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of each score on the AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 were calculated, relative to cutoff scores on the 10-item AUDIT for at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent drinkers. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were conducted to measure the detection characteristics of AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 for the three categories of risk. Results The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves were high for drinkers classified as being at-risk, high-risk, and likely dependent. Conclusions Recommended cutoff scores for Aboriginal Australians are as follows: at-risk drinkers AUDIT-C ≥ 5, AUDIT-3 ≥ 1; high-risk drinkers AUDIT-C ≥ 6, AUDIT-3 ≥ 2; and likely dependent drinkers AUDIT-C ≥ 9, AUDIT-3 ≥ 3. Adequate sensitivity and specificity were achieved for recommended cutoff scores. AUROC curves were above 0.90. PMID:25179547

Reconceptualising risk: Perceptions of risk in rural and remote maternity service planning.

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Barclay, Lesley; Kornelsen, Jude; Longman, Jo; Robin, Sarah; Kruske, Sue; Kildea, Sue; Pilcher, Jennifer; Martin, Tanya; Grzybowski, Stefan; Donoghue, Deborah; Rolfe, Margaret; Morgan, Geoff

2016-07-01

to explore perceptions and examples of risk related to pregnancy and childbirth in rural and remote Australia and how these influence the planning of maternity services. data collection in this qualitative component of a mixed methods study included 88 semi-structured individual and group interviews (n=102), three focus groups (n=22) and one group information session (n=17). Researchers identified two categories of risk for exploration: health services risk (including clinical and corporate risks) and social risk (including cultural, emotional and financial risks). Data were aggregated and thematically analysed to identify perceptions and examples of risk related to each category. fieldwork was conducted in four jurisdictions at nine sites in rural (n=3) and remote (n=6) Australia. 117 health service employees and 24 consumers. examples and perceptions relating to each category of risk were identified from the data. Most medical practitioners and health service managers perceived clinical risks related to rural birthing services without access to caesarean section. Consumer participants were more likely to emphasise social risks arising from a lack of local birthing services. our analysis demonstrated that the closure of services adds social risk, which exacerbates clinical risk. Analysis also highlighted that perceptions of clinical risk are privileged over social risk in decisions about rural and remote maternity service planning. a comprehensive analysis of risk that identifies how social and other forms of risk contribute to adverse clinical outcomes would benefit rural and remote people and their health services. Formal risk analyses should consider the risks associated with failure to provide birthing services in rural and remote communities as well as the risks of maintaining services. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Category-specificity in visual object recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian

2009-01-01

Are all categories of objects recognized in the same manner visually? Evidence from neuropsychology suggests they are not: some brain damaged patients are more impaired in recognizing natural objects than artefacts whereas others show the opposite impairment. Category-effects have also been...... demonstrated in neurologically intact subjects, but the findings are contradictory and there is no agreement as to why category-effects arise. This article presents a Pre-semantic Account of Category Effects (PACE) in visual object recognition. PACE assumes two processing stages: shape configuration (the...... binding of shape elements into elaborate shape descriptions) and selection (among competing representations in visual long-term memory), which are held to be differentially affected by the structural similarity between objects. Drawing on evidence from clinical studies, experimental studies...

Risk-Based School Inspections: Impact of Targeted Inspection Approaches on Dutch Secondary Schools

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Ehren, Melanie C.; Shackleton, Nichola

2016-01-01

In most countries, publicly funded schools are held accountable to one inspectorate and are judged against agreed national standards. Many inspectorates of education have recently moved towards more proportional risk-based inspection models, targeting high-risk schools for visits, while schools with satisfactory student attainment levels are…

Performance of a risk index for advanced proximal colorectal neoplasia among a racially/ethnically diverse patient population (risk index for advanced proximal neoplasia).

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Levitzky, Benjamin E; Brown, Colin C; Heeren, Timothy C; Schroy, Paul C

2011-06-01

Tailoring the use of screening colonoscopy based on the risk of advanced proximal neoplasia (APN) has been advocated as a strategy for reducing demand and optimizing effectiveness. A 7-point index based on age, sex, and distal findings at sigmoidoscopy has been proposed that stratifies individuals into low, intermediate, and high-risk categories. The aim of this cross-sectional analysis was to determine the validity of this index, which was originally derived and validated among mostly whites, for black and Hispanic patients. Data, including age, sex, colonoscopic findings, and pathology, were collected retrospectively from 1,481 white, 1,329 black, and 689 Hispanic asymptomatic, average-risk patients undergoing screening colonoscopy between 2000 and 2005. Cumulative scores ranging from 0 to 7 were derived for each subject and categorized as low, intermediate, or high risk. Rates of APN were assessed for each risk category after stratification by race/ethnicity. Index performance was assessed using the C-statistic and compared across the three racial groups. Rates of APN among patients categorized as low, intermediate, or high risk increased from 1.0 to 2.8 to 3.7% for whites, 1.0 to 2.2 to 4.2% for blacks, and 0.6 to 1.9 to 3.7% for Hispanics. The index performed similarly for all three groups, but showed limited ability to discriminate low from intermediate-risk patients, with C-statistic values of 0.62 for whites, 0.63 for blacks, and 0.68 for Hispanics. A risk index based on age, sex, and distal endoscopic findings has limited ability to discriminate low from intermediate-risk white, black, and Hispanic patients for APN.

Metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk among adults

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Reem Hunain

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Mortality and morbidity due cardiovascular diseases in India is on the rise. Metabolic Syndrome which is a collection of risk factors of metabolic origin, can greatly contribute to its rising burden. Aims & Objectives: The present study was conducted with the objective of estimating the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and 10-year cardiovascular risk among adults. Material & Methods: This hospital-based study included 260 adults aged 20-60 years. Metabolic Syndrome was defined using National Cholesterol Education Program –Adult Treatment Panel -3 criteria. The 10 year cardiovascular risk was estimated using Framingham risk scoring. Results: The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome among the study participants was 38.8%. Age (41-60yrs, male gender and daily consumption of high salt items were positively associated with metabolic syndrome whereas consumption of occasional high sugar items showed an inverse association with metabolic syndrome. According to Framingham Risk Scoring, 14.3% of the participants belonged to intermediate/high risk category. Conclusion: With a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and a considerable proportion of individuals with intermediate to high 10 yr CVD risk, there is a need to design strategies to prevent future cardiovascular events.

[Spanish adolescents' low perception of risk in alcohol consumption].

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Suárez-Relinque, Cristian; Arroyo, Gonzalo Del Moral; Ferrer, Belén Martínez; Ochoa, Gonzalo Musitu

2017-08-07

According to recent studies, Spanish adolescents show low perception of risk in alcohol consumption. The current study aims to analyze the factors that favor this low perception based on the opinion of a group of 32 professional experts on adolescence, family, school, mass media, and local policies. A qualitative methodology was used, based on Grounded Theory, using information from 5 focus groups guided by semi-structured interviews. Twelve factors or subcategories were identified, grouped in 4 general categories: short-term risk, immediacy, and perception of invulnerability ("adolescent thinking" category); benevolent view of alcohol, normalization of consumption, and alcohol-entertainment binomial ("social norms" category); parents' habitual consumption, verbal/non-verbal inconsistency in parental model, risk-free consumption depicted in the mass media, consumption with positive results in the media ("social models" category); and excessive health content, long-term risk ("preventive discourse" category). After discussing the results in the context of the current scientific literature, the article offers various proposals for increasing risk perception in adolescents: stronger impact of contents on short-term risks of alcohol; educational strategies targeted to adolescents to include agents of socialization, especially parents; and policies centered on the substance and reduction of supply.

Individual differences in attention during category learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, M.D.; Wetzels, R.

2010-01-01

A central idea in many successful models of category learning—including the Generalized Context Model (GCM)—is that people selectively attend to those dimensions of stimuli that are relevant for dividing them into categories. We use the GCM to re-examine some previously analyzed category learning

[Targeting high-risk drugs to optimize clinical pharmacists' intervention].

Science.gov (United States)

Mouterde, Anne-Laure; Bourdelin, Magali; Maison, Ophélie; Coursier, Sandra; Bontemps, Hervé

2016-12-01

By the Order of 6 April 2011, the pharmacist must validate all the prescriptions containing "high-risk drugs" or those of "patients at risk". To optimize this clinical pharmacy activity, we identified high-risk drugs. A list of high-risk drugs has been established using literature, pharmacists' interventions (PI) performed in our hospital and a survey sent to hospital pharmacists. In a prospective study (analysis of 100 prescriptions for each high-risk drug selected), we have identified the most relevant to target. We obtained a statistically significant PI rate (P<0.05) for digoxin, oral anticoagulants direct, oral methotrexate and colchicine. This method of targeted pharmaceutical validation based on high-risk drugs is relevant to detect patients with high risk of medicine-related illness. Copyright © 2016 Société française de pharmacologie et de thérapeutique. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Off the top of my head: Malleability and stability in natural categories.

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Palma, Tomás A; Santos, Ana Sofia; Garcia-Marques, Leonel

2018-04-01

Previous research has found that category representations are highly malleable knowledge structures, varying widely across different contexts and individuals. However, it has also been found that such malleability does not apply equally to all types of category information. The present research further investigates the representational malleability versus stability of natural taxonomic categories. Using perceptual fluency as means to induce malleability, we explored whether malleability is moderated by the degree of typicality of category information. In the first experiment, we found that fluency-based malleability only occurs for non-typical category information. In follow-up experiments, we investigated the boundary conditions under which such fluency-based malleability occurs. Namely, in Experiment 2, we showed that the effect of fluency on non-typical features disappeared when there is a sensory modality mismatch between study and test phases. Finally, in Experiment 3, we demonstrated that this effect reappears in the modality mismatch condition when participants are given a response deadline. The implications of these findings to current theories of category representation and the perceptual fluency literature are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Principles for the Safe Moving and Handling of Patients

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Wanless Stephen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Human movement when walking or running is a widely researched area. However, there is an increased incidence of musculoskeletal injury from poor positioning when moving and handling patients amongst healthcare professionals and is one of the main causes of long term musculoskeletal health problems. In the clinical area, an individual’s musculoskeletal health system is subjected to mechanical loading, increasing the body’s stress and strain limits, and once these are exceeded injury occurs. The risk of pain and injury has a direct relation from the over use of poor posture from poor moving and handling, which in turn can cause loss of strength and reduce musculoskeletal function. This can be changed through healthcare workers adopting safe biomechanical body movements during patient handling tasks.

Order of Presentation Effects in Learning Color Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Sandhofer, Catherine M.; Doumas, Leonidas A. A.

2008-01-01

Two studies, an experimental category learning task and a computational simulation, examined how sequencing training instances to maximize comparison and memory affects category learning. In Study 1, 2-year-old children learned color categories with three training conditions that varied in how categories were distributed throughout training and…

Supervised and Unsupervised Learning of Multidimensional Acoustic Categories

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Goudbeek, Martijn; Swingley, Daniel; Smits, Roel

2009-01-01

Learning to recognize the contrasts of a language-specific phonemic repertoire can be viewed as forming categories in a multidimensional psychophysical space. Research on the learning of distributionally defined visual categories has shown that categories defined over 1 dimension are easy to learn and that learning multidimensional categories is…

Reevaluation and whole distribution areas of endemic plants of Kütahya (Turkey according to new IUCN danger categoriesSpread Areas on Kütahya (Turkey of Some Endemic Plants and Reevaluation According to New IUCN Danger Categories

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Ahmet Tel

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This study is carried to determine the localities of endemic taxa of Kütahya, in the inner Western part of Anatolia, and later to delineate their spread in other parts of Turkey and to reevaluate IUCN categories in light of these data. According to this, there are 291 endemic taxa and 4 rare taxa belonging to 39 families are determined in the boundaries of Kütahya. Only, 16 taxa were spread on city of Kütahya. 45 taxa were spread on Aegean region; other taxa were spread on outside of Aegean region. Most families contain more taxa are Asteraceae (43 taxa, Fabaceae (35 taxa, Scrophulariaceae (29 taxa, Lamiaceae (27 taxa and Brassicaceae (18 taxa. The endemic taxa numbers (114 taxa of endemic taxa on the Murat Mountain (the highest altitude of Kütahya are more than other localities. The phytogeographic elements of endemic plants of Kütahya are represented as follows: Irano-Turanian 93 taxa, Mediterranean 72 taxa and Europe-Siberian region 10 taxa. The threatened catagories of these endemics taxa were reevaluated and certain danger categories are updated by using literature. According to the new IUCN danger categories as follows; 2 taxa in CR (critically endangered category, 17 taxa in EN (endangered category, 30 taxa in VU (vulnerable, 28 taxa in the cd (conservation sub-category of LR (lower risk, 23 taxa in the nt (near threatened sub-cetagory of LR, 190 taxa in lc (least concern sub-category of LR and one takson in DD (data deficient categories were determined.

Basic category theory

CERN Document Server

Leinster, Tom

2014-01-01

At the heart of this short introduction to category theory is the idea of a universal property, important throughout mathematics. After an introductory chapter giving the basic definitions, separate chapters explain three ways of expressing universal properties: via adjoint functors, representable functors, and limits. A final chapter ties all three together. The book is suitable for use in courses or for independent study. Assuming relatively little mathematical background, it is ideal for beginning graduate students or advanced undergraduates learning category theory for the first time. For each new categorical concept, a generous supply of examples is provided, taken from different parts of mathematics. At points where the leap in abstraction is particularly great (such as the Yoneda lemma), the reader will find careful and extensive explanations. Copious exercises are included.

Abrupt category shifts during real-time person perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Jonathan B

2014-02-01

Previous studies have suggested that real-time person perception relies on continuous competition, in which partially active categories smoothly compete over time. Here, two studies demonstrated the involvement of a different kind of competition. In Study 1, before participants selected the correct sex category for morphed faces, their mouse trajectories often exhibited a continuous attraction toward the incorrect category that increased with sex-category ambiguity, indicating continuous competition. On other trials, however, trajectories initially pursued the incorrect category and then abruptly redirected toward the correct category, suggesting early incorrect category activation that was rapidly reversed later in processing. These abrupt category reversals also increased with ambiguity. In Study 2, participants were presented with faces containing a sex-typical or sex-atypical hair cue, in a context in which the norm was either sex-typical targets (normative context) or sex-atypical targets (counternormative context). Sex-atypical targets induced greater competition in the normative context, but sex-typical targets induced greater competition in the counternormative context. Together, these results demonstrate that categorizing others involves both smooth competition and abrupt category shifts, and that these flexibly adapt to the social context.

Receipt of Caregiving and Fall Risk in US Community-dwelling Older Adults.

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Hoffman, Geoffrey J; Hays, Ron D; Wallace, Steven P; Shapiro, Martin F; Yakusheva, Olga; Ettner, Susan L

2017-04-01

Falls and fall-related injuries (FRI) are common and costly occurrences among older adults living in the community, with increased risk for those with physical and cognitive limitations. Caregivers provide support for older adults with physical functioning limitations, which are associated with fall risk. Using the 2004-2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we examined whether receipt of low (0-13 weekly hours) and high levels (≥14 weekly hours) of informal care or any formal care is associated with lower risk of falls and FRIs among community-dwelling older adults. We additionally tested whether serious physical functioning (≥3 activities of daily living) or cognitive limitations moderated this relationship. Caregiving receipt categories were jointly significant in predicting noninjurious falls (P=0.03) but not FRIs (P=0.30). High levels of informal care category (P=0.001) and formal care (Pfall risk relative to low levels of informal care. Among individuals with ≥3 activities of daily living, fall risks were reduced by 21% for those receiving high levels of informal care; additionally, FRIs were reduced by 42% and 58% for those receiving high levels of informal care and any formal care. High levels of informal care receipt were also associated with a 54% FRI risk reduction among the cognitively impaired. Fall risk reductions among older adults occurred predominantly among those with significant physical and cognitive limitations. Accordingly, policy efforts involving fall prevention should target populations with increased physical functioning and cognitive limitations. They should also reduce financial barriers to informal and formal caregiving.

Risk perception, risk evaluation and human values: cognitive bases of acceptability of a radioactive waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Earle, T.C.; Lindell, M.K.; Rankin, W.L.

1981-07-01

Public acceptance of radioactive waste management alternatives depends in part on public perception of the associated risks. Three aspects of those perceived risks were explored in this study: (1) synthetic measures of risk perception based on judgments of probability and consequences; (2) acceptability of hypothetical radioactive waste policies, and (3) effects of human values on risk perception. Both the work on synthetic measures of risk perception and on the acceptability of hypothetical policies included investigations of three categories of risk: (1) Short-term public risk (affecting persons living when the wastes are created), (2) Long-term public risk (affecting persons living after the time the wastes were created), and (3) Occupational risk (affecting persons working with the radioactive wastes). The human values work related to public risk perception in general, across categories of persons affected

Is better beautiful or is beautiful better? Exploring the relationship between beauty and category structure.

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Sanders, Megan; Davis, Tyler; Love, Bradley C

2013-06-01

We evaluate two competing accounts of the relationship between beauty and category structure. According to the similarity-based view, beauty arises from category structure such that central items are favored due to their increased fluency. In contrast, the theory-based view holds that people's theories of beauty shape their perceptions of categories. In the present study, subjects learned to categorize abstract paintings into meaningfully labeled categories and rated the paintings' beauty, value, and typicality. Inconsistent with the similarity-based view, beauty ratings were highly correlated across conditions despite differences in fluency and assigned category structure. Consistent with the theory-based view, beautiful paintings were treated as central members for categories expected to contain beautiful paintings (e.g., art museum pieces), but not in others (e.g., student show pieces). These results suggest that the beauty of complex, real-world stimuli is not determined by fluency within category structure but, instead, interacts with people's prior knowledge to structure categories.

Surgeon Experience is Strongly Associated with Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy for all Preoperative Risk Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Eric A; Bianco, Fernando J; Serio, Angel M; Eastham, James A; Kattan, Michael W; Pontes, J. Edson; Vickers, Andrew J; Scardino, Peter T

2013-01-01

Background We have previously demonstrated that there is a learning curve for open radical prostatectomy. In this study we sought to determine whether the effects of the learning curve are modified by patient risk as defined by preoperative tumor characteristics. Methods The study included 7,683 eligible prostate cancer patients treated with open radical prostatectomy by one of 72 surgeons. Surgeon experience was coded as the total prior number of radical prostatectomies conducted by the surgeon prior to a patient’s surgery. Multivariable survival-time regression models were used to evaluate the association between surgeon experience and biochemical recurrence, separately for each preoperative risk group. Results We saw no evidence that patient risk affects the learning curve: there was a statistically significant association between biochemical recurrence and surgeon experience in all analyses. The absolute risk difference for a patient receiving treatment from a surgeon with 10 compared to 250 prior radical prostatectomies was 6.6% (95% C.I. 3.4%, 10.3%), 12.0% (6.9%, 18.2%) and 9.7% (1.2%, 18.2%) for patients at low, medium and high preoperative risk patients. Recurrence-free probability for patients with low risk disease approached 100% for the most experienced surgeons Conclusions Cancer control after radical prostatectomy improves with increasing surgeon experience irrespective of patient risk. Excellent rates of cancer control for patients with low risk disease treated by the most experienced surgeons suggests that the primary reason such patients recur is inadequate surgical technique. The results have significant implications for clinical care. PMID:18423716

High-Quality Large-Magnification Polymer Lens from Needle Moving Technique and Thermal Assisted Moldless Fabrication Process.

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Ratthasart Amarit

Full Text Available The need of mobile microscope is escalating as well as the demand of high quality optical components in low price. We report here a novel needle moving technique to fabricate milli-size lens together with thermal assist moldless method. Our proposed protocol is able to create a high tensile strength structure of the lens and its base which is beneficial for exploiting in convertinga smart phone to be a digital microscope. We observe that no bubble trapped in a lens when this technique is performed which can overcome a challenge problem found in a typical dropping technique. We demonstrate the symmetry, smoothness and micron-scale resolution of the fabricated structure. This proposed technique is promising to serve as high quality control mass production without any expensive equipment required.

High-Risk and Low-Risk Human Papillomavirus and the Absolute Risk of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia or Cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Louise T; Frederiksen, Kirsten; Munk, Christian

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine the absolute risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 3 or cervical cancer (CIN 3 or worse) after detection of low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and after a negative high-risk HPV test. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, consecutive liquid......-based cervical cytology samples were collected from women screened for cervical cancer in Copenhagen, Denmark, during 2002-2005. Samples were tested with a clinical test for 13 high-risk and five low-risk HPV types. The cohort (N=35,539; aged 14-90 years) was monitored in a nationwide pathology register for up...... cytology. Detection of low-risk HPV does not predict CIN 3 or worse. Cervical cancer screening should not include testing for low-risk HPV types. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II....

Occupational risk and chronic kidney disease: a population-based study in the United States adult population.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinstein, Sofia; Wang, Chengwei; Qu, Wenchun

2013-01-01

Previous studies on occupational risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) have analyzed a limited range of occupations and focused on nephrotoxins. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relative risk for the occurrence of CKD between different occupations in the US adult population. This was a population-based survey study of 91,340 participants in the US, who completed the National Health Interview Survey, 2004 through 2008. The outcome variable, CKD, was defined as having weakening/failing kidneys in the past 12 months, as diagnosed by a physician. The predictor variable, occupation, was obtained using the census occupational codes, regrouped according to North American Industrial Classification System. After controlling for age, gender, hypertension, and education, and with the category Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations as a reference group, the likelihood of developing CKD was 4.3 times higher in respondents working in Building, Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations, 4.4 times higher in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, 4.7 times higher in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations and in Computer and Mathematical Occupations, 4.8 times higher in Production Occupations, 5.3 times higher in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations, and 6.1 times higher in Healthcare Support Occupations and in Legal Occupations. This study identified occupation groups in US adult population with increased risk for CKD. Alleviation of workplace stress is suggested as a goal for behavioral intervention in high-risk occupations.

Embodied affectivity: On moving and being moved

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Thomas eFuchs

2014-06-01

Full Text Available There is a growing body of research indicating that bodily sensation and behaviour strongly influences one’s emotional reaction towards certain situations or objects. On this background, a framework model of embodied affectivity is suggested: we regard emotions as resulting from the circular interaction between affective qualities or affordances in the environment and the subject’s bodily resonance, be it in the form of sensations, postures, expressive movements or movement tendencies. Motion and emotion are thus intrinsically connected: one is moved by movement (perception; impression; affection and moved to move (action; expression; e-motion. Through its resonance, the body functions as a medium of emotional perception: it colours or charges self-experience and the environment with affective valences while it remains itself in the background of one’s own awareness. This model is then applied to emotional social understanding or interaffectivity which is regarded as an intertwinement of two cycles of embodied affectivity, thus continuously modifying each partner’s affective affordances and bodily resonance. We conclude with considerations of how embodied affectivity is altered in psychopathology and can be addressed in psychotherapy of the embodied self.

THE CATEGORY OF COUNTABILITY IN THE CROATIAN LANGUAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Znika

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the category of countability as a category established on the lexical meaning of nouns. The lexical meaning of nouns can be dually structured, in a unit and mass forms, relative to the opposition one ≠ many. The category of countability has its content and expression. The content of the category of countability consists of the feature [± countable], and its marker [+ countable] and [- countable]. A noun is countable if its content can be conceived as a unit opposed to mass (table, apple. A noun is uncoutable if its content cannot be perceived as a unit that could be opposed to mass (water, sugar. The expression of the category of countability depends on its content. In the Croatian language the category of countability has its expression in the grammatical category of number and its grammems: singular and plural. These two grammems are formally, and frequently accentually, distinctive from the majority of nouns. The analysis focuses on the meaning of nouns, while their expression is considered as a possible indicator of semantic relationships the category of countability is based on. The paper analyses pluralia tantum and singularia tantum, and their different status countability-wise. It points out the possibility of semantic recategorization of nouns and thus demonstrates a dynamic quality of the category of countability. It also analyses the process of appelativisation (eponomisation of personal names, and the process of appelative deappelativisation. It shows the relationship between the category of countability and the category of definiteness, when definiteness is expressed by an adjectival aspect.

Go with the Flow. Moving meshes and solution monitoring for compressible flow simulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dam, A.

2009-01-01

The simulation of time-dependent physical problems, such as flows of some kind, places high demands on the domain discretization in order to obtain high accuracy of the numerical solution. We present a moving mesh method in which the mesh points automatically move towards regions where high spatial

Method and apparatus for a combination moving bed thermal treatment reactor and moving bed filter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badger, Phillip C.; Dunn, Jr., Kenneth J.

2015-09-01

A moving bed gasification/thermal treatment reactor includes a geometry in which moving bed reactor particles serve as both a moving bed filter and a heat carrier to provide thermal energy for thermal treatment reactions, such that the moving bed filter and the heat carrier are one and the same to remove solid particulates or droplets generated by thermal treatment processes or injected into the moving bed filter from other sources.

High-risk PCI: how to define it today?

Science.gov (United States)

DE Marzo, Vincenzo; D'Amario, Domenico; Galli, Mattia; Vergallo, Rocco; Porto, Italo

2018-04-11

Before the percutaneous spread, the mortality rate of patients with coronary heart disease not suitable for cardiac surgery was markedly high. This limit has been progressively exceeded with the advent of minimally invasive approaches, which, although was initially intended exclusively for low risk patients, was then employed in complex patients often too compromised to undergo cardiac surgery. Given to the rising of high-risk population, due to an increase of patients with multiple chronic conditions linked to the best care offered, we are witnessing an expansion of the high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) population. Despite defining what high-risk is remains still unclear, all proposed definitions of high-risk PCI combine features related to three clinical areas: 1) patient risk factors and comorbidities (incorporating those which preclude surgical or percutaneous revascularization such as diabetes, COPD, CKD, lung disease, frailty, advanced age); 2) location of the disease and complexity of coronary anatomy (including multi-vessel disease, left main disease, CTO, bifurcations); 3) hemodynamic clinical status (ventricular dysfunction, concomitant valvular disease or unstable characteristics). Since cardiologists have ascertained the encouraging results in terms of efficacy and rewards compared to the low-risks patients, the important role of treating high-risk patients is becoming more and more relevant to the point that current guidelines have now changed the appropriateness of percutaneous interventions indications. Considering the complexity in managing higher-risk patients with coronary artery disease, the next step to ensure the best care for this type of patients is to create a team-based model of cooperation in order to properly establish the right treatment for the right patient.

SUSTAIN: a network model of category learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Bradley C; Medin, Douglas L; Gureckis, Todd M

2004-04-01

SUSTAIN (Supervised and Unsupervised STratified Adaptive Incremental Network) is a model of how humans learn categories from examples. SUSTAIN initially assumes a simple category structure. If simple solutions prove inadequate and SUSTAIN is confronted with a surprising event (e.g., it is told that a bat is a mammal instead of a bird), SUSTAIN recruits an additional cluster to represent the surprising event. Newly recruited clusters are available to explain future events and can themselves evolve into prototypes-attractors-rules. SUSTAIN's discovery of category substructure is affected not only by the structure of the world but by the nature of the learning task and the learner's goals. SUSTAIN successfully extends category learning models to studies of inference learning, unsupervised learning, category construction, and contexts in which identification learning is faster than classification learning.

CHURCH, Category, and Speciation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rinderknecht Jakob Karl

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Roman Catholic definition of “church”, especially as applied to groups of Protestant Christians, creates a number of well-known difficulties. The similarly complex category, “species,” provides a model for applying this term so as to neither lose the centrality of certain examples nor draw a hard boundary to rule out border cases. In this way, it can help us to more adequately apply the complex ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council. This article draws parallels between the understanding of speciation and categorization and the definition of Church since the council. In doing so, it applies the work of cognitive linguists, including George Lakoff, Zoltan Kovecses, Giles Fauconnier and Mark Turner on categorization. We tend to think of categories as containers into which we sort objects according to essential criteria. However, categories are actually built inductively by making associations between objects. This means that natural categories, including species, are more porous than we assume, but nevertheless bear real meaning about the natural world. Taxonomists dispute the border between “zebras” and “wild asses,” but this distinction arises out of genetic and evolutionary reality; it is not merely arbitrary. Genetic descriptions of species has also led recently to the conviction that there are four species of giraffe, not one. This engagement will ground a vantage point from which the Council‘s complex ecclesiology can be more easily described so as to authentically integrate its noncompetitive vision vis-a-vis other Christians with its sense of the unique place held by Catholic Church.

Similitude study of a moving bed granular filter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert C. Brown; Huawei Shi; Gerald Colver; Saw-Choon Soo [Iowa State University, IA (United States)

2003-12-10

The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of a moving bed granular filter designed for hot gas clean up. This study used similitude theory to devise experiments that were conducted at near-ambient conditions while simulating the performance of filters operated at elevated temperatures and pressures (850{sup o}C and 1000 kPa). These experiments revealed that the proposed moving bed granular filter can operate at high collection efficiencies, typically exceeding 99%, and low pressure drops without the need for periodic regeneration through the use of a continuous flow of fresh granular filter media in the filter. In addition, important design constraints were discovered for the successful operation of the proposed moving bed granular filter.

Quasi-coherent Hecke category and Demazure descent

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arkhipov, Sergey; Kanstrup, Tina

2015-01-01

Let G be a reductive algebraic group with a Borel subgroup B. We define the quasi-coherent Hecke category for the pair (G,B). For any regular Noetherian G- scheme X we construct a monoidal action of the Hecke category on the derived category of B-equivariant quasi-coherent sheaves on X. Using the...

Homological algebra in -abelian categories

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Deren Luo

2017-08-16

Aug 16, 2017 ... Homological algebra in n-abelian categories. 627. We recall the Comparison lemma, together with its dual, plays a central role in the sequel. Lemma 2.1 [13, Comparison lemma 2.1]. Let C be an additive category and X ∈ Ch. ≥0(C) a complex such that for all k ≥ 0the morphism dk+1. X is a weak cokernel ...

Visual object recognition and category-specificity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian

This thesis is based on seven published papers. The majority of the papers address two topics in visual object recognition: (i) category-effects at pre-semantic stages, and (ii) the integration of visual elements into elaborate shape descriptions corresponding to whole objects or large object parts...... (shape configuration). In the early writings these two topics were examined more or less independently. In later works, findings concerning category-effects and shape configuration merge into an integrated model, termed RACE, advanced to explain category-effects arising at pre-semantic stages in visual...... in visual long-term memory. In the thesis it is described how this simple model can account for a wide range of findings on category-specificity in both patients with brain damage and normal subjects. Finally, two hypotheses regarding the neural substrates of the model's components - and how activation...

Simulation of petcoke gasification in slagging moving bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagpal, Soumitro; Sarkar, T.K.; Sen, P.K. [Research and Development Center, Engineers India Limited, Gurgaon 122001 (India)

2005-03-25

A mathematical model for simulation of moving bed petcoke gasifiers was developed. The model introduces a new feed characterization method, gas-phase resistance and volatilization models. The model is validated using reported data for a slagging gasifier. Effect of feed oxygen-to-coke and steam-to-coke ratios and feed coke rates on gasification performance was examined. Slagging zone moving bed gasifier operation with very high petcoke fluxes of over 4000 kg/m{sup 2}/h was possible with high petcoke conversion. Peak gas temperatures exceeded 1500 {sup o}C. Fluxes higher than 5000 kg/m{sup 2}/h are limited by an approach to fluidization of small particles in the combustion zone. The moving bed gasifier performance was found superior to performance of an entrained flow gasifier (EFG) with respect to energy efficiency and oxygen consumption.

More than words: Adults learn probabilities over categories and relationships between them.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson Kam, Carla L

2009-04-01

This study examines whether human learners can acquire statistics over abstract categories and their relationships to each other. Adult learners were exposed to miniature artificial languages containing variation in the ordering of the Subject, Object, and Verb constituents. Different orders (e.g. SOV, VSO) occurred in the input with different frequencies, but the occurrence of one order versus another was not predictable. Importantly, the language was constructed such that participants could only match the overall input probabilities if they were tracking statistics over abstract categories, not over individual words. At test, participants reproduced the probabilities present in the input with a high degree of accuracy. Closer examination revealed that learner's were matching the probabilities associated with individual verbs rather than the category as a whole. However, individual nouns had no impact on word orders produced. Thus, participants learned the probabilities of a particular ordering of the abstract grammatical categories Subject and Object associated with each verb. Results suggest that statistical learning mechanisms are capable of tracking relationships between abstract linguistic categories in addition to individual items.

Kuranishi spaces as a 2-category

OpenAIRE

Joyce, Dominic

2015-01-01

This is a survey of the author's in-progress book arXiv:1409.6908. 'Kuranishi spaces' were introduced in the work of Fukaya, Oh, Ohta and Ono in symplectic geometry (see e.g. arXiv:1503.07631), as the geometric structure on moduli spaces of $J$-holomorphic curves. We propose a new definition of Kuranishi space, which has the nice property that they form a 2-category $\\bf Kur$. Thus the homotopy category Ho$({\\bf Kur})$ is an ordinary category of Kuranishi spaces. Any Fukaya-Oh-Ohta-Ono (FOOO)...

Analysis of the Dose Distribution of Moving Organ using a Moving Phantom System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yon Lae; Park, Byung Moon; Bae, Yong Ki; Kang, Min Young; Bang, Dong Wan; Lee, Gui Won

2006-01-01

Few researches have been performed on the dose distribution of the moving organ for radiotherapy so far. In order to simulate the organ motion caused by respiratory function, multipurpose phantom and moving device was used and dosimetric measurements for dose distribution of the moving organs were conducted in this study. The purpose of our study was to evaluate how dose distributions are changed due to respiratory motion. A multipurpose phantom and a moving device were developed for the measurement of the dose distribution of the moving organ due to respiratory function. Acryl chosen design of the phantom was considered the most obvious choice for phantom material. For construction of the phantom, we used acryl and cork with density of 1.14 g/cm 3 , 0.32 g/cm 3 respectively. Acryl and cork slab in the phantom were used to simulate the normal organ and lung respectively. The moving phantom system was composed of moving device, moving control system, and acryl and cork phantom. Gafchromic film and EDR2 film were used to measure dose distributions. The moving device system may be driven by two directional step motors and able to perform 2 dimensional movements (x, z axis), but only 1 dimensional movement(z axis) was used for this study. Larger penumbra was shown in the cork phantom than in the acryl phantom. The dose profile and isodose curve of Gafchromic EBT film were not uniform since the film has small optical density responding to the dose. As the organ motion was increased, the blurrings in penumbra, flatness, and symmetry were increased. Most of measurements of dose distributions, Gafchromic EBT film has poor flatness and symmetry than EDR2 film, but both penumbra distributions were more or less comparable. The Gafchromic EBT film is more useful as it does not need development and more radiation dose could be exposed than EDR2 film without losing film characteristics. But as response of the optical density of Gafchromic EBT film to dose is low, beam profiles

Smart moves in superfund - revitalization one year later. Volume 1, Number 3, January 1993. Bulletin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The issue of the Smart Moves in Superfund bulletin series provides an update on the revitalization effort, highlighting National Priorities List (NPL) construction completions, accelerating cleanup, the Superfund Accelerated Cleanup Model, risk assessment/risk management, contracts management, enforcement policy/equity, interagency cooperation, public forms, and state meetings

Shape configuration and category-specificity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian; Law, I; Paulson, Olaf B.

2006-01-01

and fragmented drawings. We also examined whether fragmentation had different impact on the recognition of natural objects and artefacts and found that recognition of artefacts was more affected by fragmentation than recognition of natural objects. Thus, the usual finding of an advantage for artefacts...... in difficult object decision tasks, which is also found in the present experiments with outlines, is reversed when the stimuli are fragmented. This interaction between category (natural versus artefacts) and stimulus type (outlines versus fragmented forms) is in accordance with predictions derived from...... a recent account of category-specificity and lends support to the notion that category-specific impairments can occur for both natural objects and artefacts following damage to pre-semantic stages in visual object recognition. The implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to theories...

Management of safety and risk at the HFIR [High-Flux Isotope Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glovier, H.A.

1990-01-01

This paper discusses the management of safety and risk at the High-Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), a category A research reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The HFIR went critical in 1966 and operated at its designed 100 MW for 20 yr until it was shut down on November 14, 1986. It operated at a >90% availability and without significant event during this period. The result was a complacent management program lacking rigor. This complacency came to an end with the Chernobyl accident, which led to the appointment of an internal committee to assess the safety of ORNL reactor operations. This committee found that HFIR pressure vessel material specimens removed several years earlier had not been analyzed. This issue led to a general review of management practices that were found lacking in quality assurance, safety documentation, training process, and emergency planning, among others. Management accountability was lacking, as shown by design basis and safety analyses that were not up to data and by the fact that reactor operators whose requalification examinations had not been graded were allowed to continue operating the reactor over a long period of time. Between shutdown in 1986 and restart in April 1989, significant management changes and initiatives were made in the area of risk and safety management of ORNL reactors. These are presented briefly in this paper

Comparative Analysis of Several Real-Time Systems for Tracking People and/or Moving Objects using GPS

OpenAIRE

Radinski, Gligorcho; Mileva, Aleksandra

2015-01-01

When we talk about real-time systems for tracking people and/or moving objects using a Global Positioning System (GPS), there are several categories of such systems and the ways in which they work. Some uses additional hardware to extend the functionality of the offered opportunities, some are free, some are too complex and cost too much money. This paper aims to provide a clearer picture of several such systems and to show results from a comparative analysis of some popular systems for trac...

Diagnostic Categories in Autobiographical Accounts of Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Michael P

2015-01-01

Working within frameworks drawn from the writings of Immanuel Kant, Alfred Schutz, and Kenneth Burke, this article examines the role that diagnostic categories play in autobiographical accounts of illness, with a special focus on chronic disease. Four lay diagnostic categories, each with different connections to formal medical diagnostic categories, serve as typifications to make sense of the way the lifeworld changes over the course of chronic illness. These diagnostic categories are used in conjunction with another set of typifications: lay epidemiologies, lay etiologies, lay prognostics, and lay therapeutics. Together these serve to construct and reconstruct the self at the center of the lifeworld. Embedded within the lay diagnostic categories are narratives of progression, regression, or stability, forms of typification derived from literary and storytelling genres. These narratives are developed by the self in autobiographical accounts of illness.

Advanced colorectal neoplasia risk stratification by penalized logistic regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yunzhi; Yu, Menggang; Wang, Sijian; Chappell, Richard; Imperiale, Thomas F

2016-08-01

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. To facilitate the efficiency of colorectal cancer screening, there is a need to stratify risk for colorectal cancer among the 90% of US residents who are considered "average risk." In this article, we investigate such risk stratification rules for advanced colorectal neoplasia (colorectal cancer and advanced, precancerous polyps). We use a recently completed large cohort study of subjects who underwent a first screening colonoscopy. Logistic regression models have been used in the literature to estimate the risk of advanced colorectal neoplasia based on quantifiable risk factors. However, logistic regression may be prone to overfitting and instability in variable selection. Since most of the risk factors in our study have several categories, it was tempting to collapse these categories into fewer risk groups. We propose a penalized logistic regression method that automatically and simultaneously selects variables, groups categories, and estimates their coefficients by penalizing the [Formula: see text]-norm of both the coefficients and their differences. Hence, it encourages sparsity in the categories, i.e. grouping of the categories, and sparsity in the variables, i.e. variable selection. We apply the penalized logistic regression method to our data. The important variables are selected, with close categories simultaneously grouped, by penalized regression models with and without the interactions terms. The models are validated with 10-fold cross-validation. The receiver operating characteristic curves of the penalized regression models dominate the receiver operating characteristic curve of naive logistic regressions, indicating a superior discriminative performance. © The Author(s) 2013.