Genes Important for Schizosaccharomyces pombe Meiosis Identified Through a Functional Genomics Screen

Science.gov (United States)

Blyth, Julie; Makrantoni, Vasso; Barton, Rachael E.; Spanos, Christos; Rappsilber, Juri; Marston, Adele L.

2018-01-01

Meiosis is a specialized cell division that generates gametes, such as eggs and sperm. Errors in meiosis result in miscarriages and are the leading cause of birth defects; however, the molecular origins of these defects remain unknown. Studies in model organisms are beginning to identify the genes and pathways important for meiosis, but the parts list is still poorly defined. Here we present a comprehensive catalog of genes important for meiosis in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Our genome-wide functional screen surveyed all nonessential genes for roles in chromosome segregation and spore formation. Novel genes important at distinct stages of the meiotic chromosome segregation and differentiation program were identified. Preliminary characterization implicated three of these genes in centrosome/spindle pole body, centromere, and cohesion function. Our findings represent a near-complete parts list of genes important for meiosis in fission yeast, providing a valuable resource to advance our molecular understanding of meiosis. PMID:29259000

Methodology for identifying boundaries of systems important to safety in CANDU nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Therrien, S.; Komljenovic, D.; Therrien, P.; Ruest, C.; Prevost, P.; Vaillancourt, R.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a methodology developed to identify the boundaries of the systems important to safety (SIS) at the Gentilly-2 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Hydro-Quebec. The SIS boundaries identification considers nuclear safety only. Components that are not identified as important to safety are systematically identified as related to safety. A global assessment process such as WANO/INPO AP-913 'Equipment Reliability Process' will be needed to implement adequate changes in the management rules of those components. The paper depicts results in applying the methodology to the Shutdown Systems 1 and 2 (SDS 1, 2), and to the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS). This validation process enabled fine tuning the methodology, performing a better estimate of the effort required to evaluate a system, and identifying components important to safety of these systems. (author)

Analyzing the topological, electrical and reliability characteristics of a power transmission system for identifying its critical elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zio, E.; Golea, L.R.

2012-01-01

The subject of this paper is the analysis of an electrical transmission system with the objective of identifying its most critical elements with respect to failures and attacks. The methodological approach undertaken is based on graph-theoretical (topological) network analysis. Four different perspectives of analysis are considered within the formalism of weighed networks, adding to the purely topological analysis of the system, the reliability and electrical characteristics of its components. In each phase of the analysis: i) a graph-theoretical representation is offered to highlight the structure of the most important system connections according to the particular characteristics examined (topological, reliability, electrical or electrical-reliability), ii) the classical degree index of a network node is extended to account for the different characteristics considered. The application of these concepts of analysis to an electrical transmission system of literature confirms the importance of different perspectives of analysis on such a critical infrastructure. - Highlights: ► We analyze a power system from topological, reliability and electrical perspectives. ► We rank critical components within a vulnerability assessment framework. ► We compute an extended degree to rank critical energy paths. ► We compare several analytical approaches and provide a table for choosing among them. ► We suggest network changes to increase the reliability of highly loaded energy paths.

40 CFR 261.10 - Criteria for identifying the characteristics of hazardous waste.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Criteria for identifying the characteristics of hazardous waste. 261.10 Section 261.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... solid waste through their knowledge of their waste. (b) [Reserved] ...

Perceived importance of fuel characteristics and its match with consumer beliefs about biofuels in Belgium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van de Velde, Liesbeth; Verbeke, Wim; Buysse, Jeroen; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido; Popp, Michael

2009-01-01

Consumer consciousness concerning the environment has increased and become a major factor in purchasing behaviour. Consumer research to understand and influence the adoption of green technologies and products is therefore important. This paper investigates the beliefs of Belgian consumers concerning the use of biofuels and identifies four consumer segments based on the perceived importance of different fuel characteristics. To convince the performance-oriented consumers to use biofuels, information about these fuels has to stress their quality and performance standards. The society-oriented cluster attaches great importance to environmental friendliness, odour, production origin, the opportunity to decrease energy dependency and job creation. To persuade the environment-oriented consumers low odour, beneficial environmental influence and quality assurance of biofuels have to be emphasized. The convenience-oriented consumers will be the most difficult to persuade to use biofuels. They need to be convinced that every vehicle can drive with biofuel blends without the need for engine modifications. Concerns relating to the price and perceived low availability of biofuels at fuel stations are major obstacles for all consumers involved in this study. (author)

Systematic reviews identify important methodological flaws in stroke rehabilitation therapy primary studies: review of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Santaguida, Pasqualina; Oremus, Mark; Walker, Kathryn; Wishart, Laurie R; Siegel, Karen Lohmann; Raina, Parminder

2012-04-01

A "review of reviews" was undertaken to assess methodological issues in studies evaluating nondrug rehabilitation interventions in stroke patients. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from January 2000 to January 2008 within the stroke rehabilitation setting. Electronic searches were supplemented by reviews of reference lists and citations identified by experts. Eligible studies were systematic reviews; excluded citations were narrative reviews or reviews of reviews. Review characteristics and criteria for assessing methodological quality of primary studies within them were extracted. The search yielded 949 English-language citations. We included a final set of 38 systematic reviews. Cochrane reviews, which have a standardized methodology, were generally of higher methodological quality than non-Cochrane reviews. Most systematic reviews used standardized quality assessment criteria for primary studies, but not all were comprehensive. Reviews showed that primary studies had problems with randomization, allocation concealment, and blinding. Baseline comparability, adverse events, and co-intervention or contamination were not consistently assessed. Blinding of patients and providers was often not feasible and was not evaluated as a source of bias. The eligible systematic reviews identified important methodological flaws in the evaluated primary studies, suggesting the need for improvement of research methods and reporting. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study of the scientific reasoning methods: Identifying the salient reasoning characteristics exhibited by engineers and scientists in an R&D environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, William F.

At the core of what it means to be a scientist or engineer is the ability to think rationally using scientific reasoning methods. Yet, typically if asked, scientist and engineers are hard press for a reply what that means. Some may argue that the meaning of scientific reasoning methods is a topic for the philosophers and psychologist, but this study believes and will prove that the answers lie with the scientists and engineers, for who really know the workings of the scientific reasoning thought process than they. This study will provide evidence to the aims: (a) determine the fundamental characteristics of cognitive reasoning methods exhibited by engineer/scientists working in R&D projects, (b) sample the engineer/scientist community to determine their views as to the importance, frequency, and ranking of each of characteristics towards benefiting their R&D projects, (c) make concluding remarks regarding any identified competency gaps in the exhibited or expected cognitive reasoning methods of engineer/scientists working on R&D projects. To drive these aims are the following three research questions. The first, what are the salient characteristics of cognitive reasoning methods exhibited by engineer/scientists in an R&D environment? The second, what do engineer/scientists consider to be the frequency and importance of the salient cognitive reasoning methods characteristics? And the third, to what extent, if at all, do patent holders and technical fellows differ with regard to their perceptions of the importance and frequency of the salient cognitive reasoning characteristics of engineer/scientists? The methodology and empirical approach utilized and described: (a) literature search, (b) Delphi technique composed of seven highly distinguish engineer/scientists, (c) survey instrument directed to distinguish Technical Fellowship, (d) data collection analysis. The results provide by Delphi Team answered the first research question. The collaborative effort validated

Socioemotional characteristics of elementary school children identified as exhibiting social leadership qualities.

Science.gov (United States)

Scharf, Miri; Mayseless, Ofra

2009-03-01

Elementary school teachers identified characteristics in 4 major socioemotional domains associated with children's social leadership: self-perception, social anxiety, attachment orientation with peers, and interpersonal goals and skills in close friendships. Participants were 260 4th- and 5th-grade students (126 boys, 134 girls) from 10 classes in a school in northern Israel. Social leadership skills were associated with positive self-perceptions in various domains, low social anxiety, secure orientation to peers, higher levels of relationship-maintenance goal, lower levels of revenge goal in close friendships, and-unexpectedly-lower levels of accommodation as a strategy to solve conflicts with a friend. Positive self-concept and attachment security were indirectly associated with leadership qualities through their significant association with prosocial orientation skills. The authors discuss these findings as reflecting an internalization of positive model of self and positive model of others in children who exhibit social leadership qualities. The authors also discuss implications of these qualities for school and class ecology, as well as the importance of culture.

Characteristics of Self-Harm Behaviour among Identified Self-Harming Youth in Care

Science.gov (United States)

Grenville, Jeffrey; Goodman, Deborah; Macpherson, Alison K.

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to describe deliberate self-harming (DSH) characteristics in a child-welfare population identified as having threatened or completed self-harm. Secondary data from 621 serious occurrence reports (SOR) that documented 2004-2007 DSH incidents and DSH threats with 252 Canadian youth in care (Y-INC) of the Children's…

Pragmatic characteristics of patient-reported outcome measures are important for use in clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroenke, Kurt; Monahan, Patrick O; Kean, Jacob

2015-09-01

Measures for assessing patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that may have initially been developed for research are increasingly being recommended for use in clinical practice as well. Although psychometric rigor is essential, this article focuses on pragmatic characteristics of PROs that may enhance uptake into clinical practice. Three sources were drawn on in identifying pragmatic criteria for PROs: (1) selected literature review including recommendations by other expert groups; (2) key features of several model public domain PROs; and (3) the authors' experience in developing practical PROs. Eight characteristics of a practical PRO include: (1) actionability (i.e., scores guide diagnostic or therapeutic actions/decision making); (2) appropriateness for the relevant clinical setting; (3) universality (i.e., for screening, severity assessment, and monitoring across multiple conditions); (4) self-administration; (5) item features (number of items and bundling issues); (6) response options (option number and dimensions, uniform vs. varying options, time frame, intervals between options); (7) scoring (simplicity and interpretability); and (8) accessibility (nonproprietary, downloadable, available in different languages and for vulnerable groups, and incorporated into electronic health records). Balancing psychometric and pragmatic factors in the development of PROs is important for accelerating the incorporation of PROs into clinical practice. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Identifying protein complex by integrating characteristic of core-attachment into dynamic PPI network.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianjun Shen

Full Text Available How to identify protein complex is an important and challenging task in proteomics. It would make great contribution to our knowledge of molecular mechanism in cell life activities. However, the inherent organization and dynamic characteristic of cell system have rarely been incorporated into the existing algorithms for detecting protein complexes because of the limitation of protein-protein interaction (PPI data produced by high throughput techniques. The availability of time course gene expression profile enables us to uncover the dynamics of molecular networks and improve the detection of protein complexes. In order to achieve this goal, this paper proposes a novel algorithm DCA (Dynamic Core-Attachment. It detects protein-complex core comprising of continually expressed and highly connected proteins in dynamic PPI network, and then the protein complex is formed by including the attachments with high adhesion into the core. The integration of core-attachment feature into the dynamic PPI network is responsible for the superiority of our algorithm. DCA has been applied on two different yeast dynamic PPI networks and the experimental results show that it performs significantly better than the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of prediction accuracy, hF-measure and statistical significance in biology. In addition, the identified complexes with strong biological significance provide potential candidate complexes for biologists to validate.

Importance of surface characteristics of QUARTZ DQ 12 for acute inflammation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrecht, C.; Becher, A.; Scins, R.P.F.; Hoehr, D.; Unfried, K.; Knaapen, A.M.; Borm, P.J.A. [Institut fuer medizinische Forschung (IUF), Duesseldorf (Germany)

2004-07-01

Although quartz is known to induce inflammation in rat lungs, mechanisms are not yet fully understood. The importance of particle surface characteristics was investigated in vivo after intratracheal instillation of different preparations of quartz in rat lungs. Three days after instillation of 2 mg DQ12 quartz, or DQ12 coated with polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide (PVNO) or Aluminium lactate (AL), lungs of female Wistar rats were lavaged in situ to determine markers of inflammation. Control rats received saline or the coating substances alone. DQ12 induced a marked inflammatory response, as indicated by a significant increase in the number of neutrophils and macrophages, as well as in the levels of b-glucuronidase and myeloperoxidase. None of these inflammatory markers was increased for both coated quartz preparations, with the exception of neutrophil influx which was also increased after treatment with AL quartz. Our results indicate that surface characteristics are important in the onset of quartz-induced lung inflammation which could imply a different development of persistent inflammation. This will be investigated in later follow-up time points of the same animal study. (orig.)

The strategic importance of identifying knowledge-based and intangible assets for generating value, competitiveness and innovation in sub-Saharan Africa

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Nicoline Ondari-Okemwa

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the strategic importance of identifying intangible assets for creating value and enhancing competitiveness and innovation in science and technology in a knowledge economy with particular reference to the sub- Saharan Africa region. It has always been difficult to gather the prerequisite information to manage such assets and create value from them. The paper discusses the nature of intangible assets, the characteristics of a knowledge economy and the role of knowledge workers in a knowledge economy. The paper also discusses the importance of identifying intangible assets in relation to capturing the value of such assets, the transfer of intangible assets to other owners and the challenges of managing organizational intangible assets. Objectives of the article include: underscoring the strategic importance of identifying intangible assets in sub-Saharan Africa; examining the performance of intangible assets in a knowledge economy; how intangible assets may generate competitiveness, economic growth and innovation; and assess how knowledge workers are becoming a dominant factor in the knowledge economy. An extensive literature review was employed to collect data for this article. It is concluded in the article that organizations and governments in sub-Saharan Africa should look at knowledge-based assets as strategic resources, even though the traditional accounting systems may still be having problems in determining the exact book value of such assets. It is recommended that organizations and government departments in sub-Saharan Africa should implement a system of the reporting of the value of intangible organizational assets just like the reporting of the value of tangible assets; and that organizations in sub-Saharan Africa should use knowledge to produce “smart products and services” which command premium prices.

Identifying important motivational factors for professionals in Greek hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

Kontodimopoulos, Nick; Paleologou, Victoria; Niakas, Dimitris

2009-01-01

Background The purpose of this study was to identify important motivational factors according to the views of health-care professionals in Greek hospitals and particularly to determine if these might differ in the public and private sectors. Methods A previously developed -and validated- instrument addressing four work-related motivators (job attributes, remuneration, co-workers and achievements) was used. Three categories of health care professionals, doctors (N = 354), nurses (N = 581) and office workers (N = 418), working in public and private hospitals, participated and motivation was compared across socio-demographic and occupational variables. Results The range of reported motivational factors was mixed and Maslow's conclusions that lower level motivational factors must be met before ascending to the next level were not confirmed. The highest ranked motivator for the entire sample, and by professional subgroup, was achievements (P motivators were similar, and only one significant difference was observed, namely between doctors and nurses in respect to co-workers (P motivated by all factors significantly more than their public-hospital counterparts. Conclusion The results are in agreement with the literature which focuses attention to management approaches employing both monetary and non-monetary incentives to motivate health care workers. This study showed that intrinsic factors are particularly important and should become a target for effective employee motivation. PMID:19754968

Czech teachers’ attitudes toward typical characteristics of intellectually gifted learners with dyslexia and the issue of identifying and educating them

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šárka Portešová

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The presented study deals with the issue of basic school teachers’ attitudestowards selected behavioral and cognitive characteristics of intellectually gifted lear-ners with dyslexia and the issue of identifying and educating these learners. Researchis being conducted at the time as a Greek-Czech intercultural study. However, in thepresented contribution only Czech research data are analyzed and interpreted. In theresearch, we used Attitudes Toward Giftedness/Learning disability – Dyslexia Scale byGreek authors Gari, Panagiota, Nikolopoulou (2006. This method was administeredto 158 teachers from all over the Czech Republic. Based on statistical analysis, thepresented empirical examination reached some important conclusions. It became clearthat Czech teachers are good at identifying characteristics related to manifestations ofa “gifted learner” and a “learner with a learning disability”. Moreover, they are able toidentify also the so-called duality in learning abilities, i.e. the simultaneousness of abi-lity and handicap in the learning process manifested in a particular cognitive domain.However, they identify this duality especially within Czech language. The most proble-matic appears to be the accepting of the existence of this typical characteristic of thegiven population of learners in other academic subjects, for example in mathematics.It is here in particular where teachers tend to expect nothing but exceptional perfor-mance, without a possibility of partial failure (they derive it from giftedness. It seemsthat due to the refusal of the existence of duality in learning ability intervening in allacademic subjects, it can lead to a wrong identification of this minority group of thegifted. Nevertheless, this fact must be confirmed in further empiric research.

Identifying the relevant dependencies of the neural network response on characteristics of the input space

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

This talk presents an approach to identify those characteristics of the neural network inputs that are most relevant for the response and therefore provides essential information to determine the systematic uncertainties.

Characteristics of self-identified sexual addicts in a behavioral addiction outpatient clinic.

OpenAIRE

Wéry, Aline; Vogelaere, Kim; Challet-Bouju, Gaëlle; Poudat, François-Xavier; Caillon, Julie; Lever, Delphine; Billieux, Joël; Grall-Bronnec, Marie

2016-01-01

Background and aims Research on sexual addiction flourished during the last decade, promoted by the development of an increased number of online sexual activities. Despite the accumulation of studies, however, evidence collected in clinical samples of treatment-seeking people remains scarce. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics (socio-demographics, sexual habits, and comorbidities) of self-identified "sexual addicts." Methods The sample was composed of 72 patients who con...

Study of a methodology of identifying important research problems by the PIRT process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Takayuki; Takagi, Toshiyuki; Urayama, Ryoichi; Komura, Ichiro; Furukawa, Takashi; Yusa, Noritaka

2014-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new methodology of identifying important research problems to be solved to improve the performance of some specific scientific technologies by the phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) process which has been used as a methodology for demonstrating the validity of the best estimate simulation codes in US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) licensing of nuclear power plants. The new methodology makes it possible to identify important factors affecting the performance of the technologies from the viewpoint of the figure of merit and problems associated with them while it keeps the fundamental concepts of the original PIRT process. Also in this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the new methodology by applying it to a task of extracting research problems for improving an inspection accuracy of ultrasonic testing or eddy current testing in the inspection of objects having cracks due to fatigue or stress corrosion cracking. (author)

Study of a methodology of identifying important research problems by the PIRT process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Takayuki; Takagi, Toshiyuki; Urayama, Ryoichi; Komura, Ichiro; Furukawa, Takashi; Yusa, Noritaka

2013-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new methodology of identifying important research problems to be solved to improve the performance of some specific scientific technologies by the phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) process, which has been used as a methodology for demonstrating the validity of the best estimate simulation codes in USNRC licensing of nuclear power plants. It keeps the fundamental concepts of the original PIRT process but makes it possible to identify important factors affecting the performance of the technologies from the viewpoint of the figure of merit and problems associated with them, which need to be solved to improve the performance. Also in this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method by showing a specific example of the application to physical events or phenomena in objects having fatigue or SCC crack(s) under ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing. (author)

The importance of organizational characteristics for psychosocial working conditions and health

OpenAIRE

Bolin, Malin

2009-01-01

The importance of organizations for understanding differences in the working conditions and health of employees is often emphasized but rarely explored empirically. The general aim of this thesis is to describe organizational characteristics of workplaces, and to assess their impact on the psychosocial working conditions and health of employees. In modern working life, it is assumed that employees' working conditions and health are affected by a general transformation of workplaces from burea...

Characteristics of Reticent and Disruptive Children As Identified by the Barclay Classroom Climate Inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

Barclay, James R.

The Barclay Classroom Climate Inventory was employed to identify the psychometric characteristics of reticent and disruptive children. The BCCI utilizes self-competency judgments, peer nominations, vocational interests and teacher adjectival ratings in an effort to measure the various expectations which interact in the elementary classroom. A…

Statistical Analyses of Scatterplots to Identify Important Factors in Large-Scale Simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleijnen, J.P.C.; Helton, J.C.

1999-04-01

The robustness of procedures for identifying patterns in scatterplots generated in Monte Carlo sensitivity analyses is investigated. These procedures are based on attempts to detect increasingly complex patterns in the scatterplots under consideration and involve the identification of (1) linear relationships with correlation coefficients, (2) monotonic relationships with rank correlation coefficients, (3) trends in central tendency as defined by means, medians and the Kruskal-Wallis statistic, (4) trends in variability as defined by variances and interquartile ranges, and (5) deviations from randomness as defined by the chi-square statistic. The following two topics related to the robustness of these procedures are considered for a sequence of example analyses with a large model for two-phase fluid flow: the presence of Type I and Type II errors, and the stability of results obtained with independent Latin hypercube samples. Observations from analysis include: (1) Type I errors are unavoidable, (2) Type II errors can occur when inappropriate analysis procedures are used, (3) physical explanations should always be sought for why statistical procedures identify variables as being important, and (4) the identification of important variables tends to be stable for independent Latin hypercube samples.

PIKE (Esox lucius L., ITS CHARACTERISTIC AND IMPORTANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dobrila Habeković

1998-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents data on pike spread, its morphological description and biology of species. The dynamics of the length growth in some waters is described, as well as the economic value. Only one species of the Escoidae family lives in Croatia: the pike - Esox lucius L. 1758. It inhabits plain waters in the Danube basin, and in the Adriatic basin it lives in waters of Istria, in the Vrana lake on the island of Cres and in the Gacka river. Pike growth depends on water characteristics and on food quantity. Table 1 gives data on pike growth in some waters in Croatia. In all the waters good growth of pike has been found, especially in the Lonja river. In terms of its economic value, pike is very important. It is interesting for breeding in fish farms and for catching in open waters. 22 to 23 tons of pike per year is being caught in Croatia lately.

Buyer-focused operations as a supply chain strategy : Identifying the influence of business characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Vaart, T; van Donk, DP

2006-01-01

Purpose - Buyer-focused operations aim at a high level of supply chain alignment by singling out resources for one buyer in order to serve this buyer optimally. The purpose of this paper is to identify what business characteristics make suppliers choose buyer-focused operations as a supply chain

Shifting the Focus to Student Learning: Characteristics of Effective Teaching Practice As Identified by Experienced Pre-service Faculty Advisors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy Maynes

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Cochrane-Smith and Power identify trends in teacher education programs with some relating to heightened teacher accountability for students’ learning. In this paper we provide a model that identifies characteristics believed to be critical elements related to a teacher’s conceptual focus shifting from an emphasis on their teaching to their students’ learning and we have grounded these characteristics in current educational research. Through focus group inquiry, we have identified those teacher characteristics thought to account for effective teaching practice. These characteristics include: a professional growth perspective, passion and enthusiasm for the  content, pedagogical content knowledge, a rich instructional repertoire of strategies, awareness of assessment for, as, and of learning, ability to read the body language  of the learner, caring classroom management strategies, and instructional efforts (e.g., social justice. Our research data provide a conceptual framework for further study.

Identifying the Family, Job, and Workplace Characteristics of Employees Who Use Work-Family Benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Secret, Mary

2000-01-01

Employs a contextual effects perspective to identify family, job, and workplace characteristics associated with the use of work-family benefits of 527 employees in 83 businesses. Determined that particular family problems predict female employee use of paid leave and mental health benefits. Summarizes that workplace size, sector, and culture are…

Importance of growth characteristics for yield of barley in different growing systems: will growth characteristics describe yield diffently in different growing systems?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Kristian; Ericson, Lars

2008-01-01

The interest in organic grown cereals has increased the need for variety tests under organic growing systems and/or the knowledge on whether growth characteristics describe yield differently under conventional and organic conditions. This paper is a contribution to that question by examining...... the relationships between some important growth characteristics in barley trials in both systems in Northern Sweden and in Denmark. Mixed model analyses were used for regressions of growth characteristics (or transformations of those) on yield (and log-transformed yield), allowing the slope to depend on the growing...... system. The analyses showed that diseases seemed to have a less negative effect on yield in the organic growing system than in the conventional growing system if pesticides were not applied. For other characteristics the effect depended on the country. This was the case for grain characteristics where...

The importance of lake-specific characteristics for water quality across the continental United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Emily K; Patil, Vijay P; Oliver, Samantha K; Hetherington, Amy L; Brentrup, Jennifer A; Zwart, Jacob A; Winters, Kirsten M; Corman, Jessica R; Nodine, Emily R; Woolway, R Iestyn; Dugan, Hilary A; Jaimes, Aline; Santoso, Arianto B; Hong, Grace S; Winslow, Luke A; Hanson, Paul C; Weathers, Kathleen C

2015-06-01

Lake water quality is affected by local and regional drivers, including lake physical characteristics, hydrology, landscape position, land cover, land use, geology, and climate. Here, we demonstrate the utility of hypothesis testing within the landscape limnology framework using a random forest algorithm on a national-scale, spatially explicit data set, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's 2007 National Lakes Assessment. For 1026 lakes, we tested the relative importance of water quality drivers across spatial scales, the importance of hydrologic connectivity in mediating water quality drivers, and how the importance of both spatial scale and connectivity differ across response variables for five important in-lake water quality metrics (total phosphorus, total nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, turbidity, and conductivity). By modeling the effect of water quality predictors at different spatial scales, we found that lake-specific characteristics (e.g., depth, sediment area-to-volume ratio) were important for explaining water quality (54-60% variance explained), and that regionalization schemes were much less effective than lake specific metrics (28-39% variance explained). Basin-scale land use and land cover explained between 45-62% of variance, and forest cover and agricultural land uses were among the most important basin-scale predictors. Water quality drivers did not operate independently; in some cases, hydrologic connectivity (the presence of upstream surface water features) mediated the effect of regional-scale drivers. For example, for water quality in lakes with upstream lakes, regional classification schemes were much less effective predictors than lake-specific variables, in contrast to lakes with no upstream lakes or with no surface inflows. At the scale of the continental United States, conductivity was explained by drivers operating at larger spatial scales than for other water quality responses. The current regulatory practice of using

On the relationship between perceived importance of ERP systems selection characteristics and satisfaction with selected ERP systems in these characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek; Pucihar, Andreja; Lenart, Gregor

2011-01-01

of the relationship between the two. The paper focuses on the correlation between importance of ERP system selection criteria and the level of satisfaction with the chosen ERP systems in these characteristics. The research hypothesis is that there exists a correlation between the two. The analysis presented...

The relative importance of relational and scientific characteristics of psychotherapy: Perceptions of community members vs. therapists.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Nicholas R; Deacon, Brett J

2016-03-01

Although client preferences are an integral component of evidence-based practice in psychology (American Psychological Association, 2006), relatively little research has examined what potential mental health consumers value in the psychotherapy they may receive. The present study was conducted to examine community members' preferences for the scientific and relational aspects of psychotherapy for different types of presenting problems, and how accurately therapists perceive these preferences. Community members (n = 200) were surveyed about the importance of scientific (e.g., demonstrated efficacy in clinical trials) and relational (e.g., therapist empathy) characteristics of psychotherapy both for anxiety disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder) and disorder-nonspecific issues (e.g., relationship difficulties). Therapists (n = 199) completed the same survey and responded how they expected the average mental health consumer would. Results showed that although community members valued relational characteristics significantly more than scientific characteristics, the gap between these two was large for disorder-nonspecific issues (d = 1.24) but small for anxiety disorders (d = .27). Community members rated scientific credibility as important across problem types. Therapists significantly underestimated the importance of scientific characteristics to community members, particularly in the treatment of disorder-nonspecific issues (d = .74). Therapists who valued research less in their own practice were more likely to underestimate the importance of scientific credibility to community members. The implications of the present findings for understanding the nature of client preferences in evidence-based psychological practice are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The importance of scale-dependent ravine characteristics on breeding-site selection by the Burrowing Parrot, Cyanoliseus patagonus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myriam Ramirez-Herranz

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In birds, the environmental variables and intrinsic characteristics of the nest have important fitness consequences through its influence on the selection of nesting sites. However, the extent to which these variables interact with variables that operate at the landscape scale, and whether there is a hierarchy among the different scales that influences nest-site selection, is unknown. This interaction could be crucial in burrowing birds, which depend heavily on the availability of suitable nesting locations. One representative of this group is the burrowing parrot, Cyanoliseus patagonus that breeds on specific ravines and forms large breeding colonies. At a particular site, breeding aggregations require the concentration of adequate environmental elements for cavity nesting, which are provided by within ravine characteristics. Therefore, intrinsic ravine characteristics should be more important in determining nest site selection compared to landscape level characteristics. Here, we assess this hypothesis by comparing the importance of ravine characteristics operating at different scales on nest-site selection and their interrelation with reproductive success. We quantified 12 characteristics of 105 ravines in their reproductive habitat. For each ravine we quantified morphological variables, distance to resources and disturbance as well as nest number and egg production in order to compare selected and non-selected ravines and determine the interrelationship among variables in explaining ravine differences. In addition, the number of nests and egg production for each reproductive ravine was related to ravine characteristics to assess their relation to reproductive success. We found significant differences between non-reproductive and reproductive ravines in both intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics. The multidimensional environmental gradient of variation between ravines, however, shows that differences are mainly related to intrinsic

Learner characteristics involved in distance learning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cernicek, A.T.; Hahn, H.A.

1991-01-01

Distance learning represents a strategy for leveraging resources to solve educational and training needs. Although many distance learning programs have been developed, lessons learned regarding differences between distance learning and traditional education with respect to learner characteristics have not been well documented. Therefore, we conducted a survey of 20 distance learning professionals. The questionnaire was distributed to experts attending the second Distance Learning Conference sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory. This survey not only acquired demographic information from each of the respondents but also identified important distance learning student characteristics. Significant distance learner characteristics, which were revealed statistically and which influence the effectiveness of distance learning, include the following: reading level, student autonomy, and self-motivation. Distance learning cannot become a more useful and effective method of instruction without identifying and recognizing learner characteristics. It will be important to consider these characteristics when designing all distance learning courses. This paper will report specific survey findings and their implications for developing distance learning courses. 9 refs., 6 tabs.

HOW TO ESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS MISSING IN A CONSUMERS SAMPLE BY USING BAYESIAN ESTIMATORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sueli A. Mingoti

2001-06-01

Full Text Available Consumers surveys are conducted very often by many companies with the main objective of obtaining information about the opinions the consumers have about a specific prototype, product or service. In many situations the goal is to identify the characteristics that are considered important by the consumers when taking the decision of buying or using the products or services. When the survey is performed some characteristics that are present in the consumers population might not be reported by those consumers in the observed sample. Therefore, some important characteristics of the product according to the consumers opinions could be missing in the observed sample. The main objective of this paper is to show how the amount of characteristics missing in the observed sample could be easily estimated by using some Bayesian estimators proposed by Mingoti & Meeden (1992 and Mingoti (1999. An example of application related to an automobile survey is presented.Pesquisas de mercado são conduzidas freqüentemente com o propósito de obter informações sobre a opinião dos consumidores em relação a produtos já existentes no mercado, protótipos, ou determinados tipos de serviços prestados pela empresa. Em muitas situações deseja-se identificar as características que são consideradas importantes pelos consumidores no que se refere à tomada de decisão de compra do produto ou de opção pelo serviço prestado pela empresa. Como as pesquisas são feitas com amostras de consumidores do mercado potencial, algumas características consideradas importantes pela população podem não estar representadas nas amostras. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar como a quantidade de características presentes na população e que não estão representadas nas amostras, pode ser facilmente estimada através de estimadores Bayesianos propostos por Mingoti & Meeden (1992 e Mingoti (1999. Como ilustração apresentamos um exemplo de uma pesquisa de mercado sobre um

A landscape ecology approach identifies important drivers of urban biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Turrini, Tabea; Knop, Eva

2015-04-01

Cities are growing rapidly worldwide, yet a mechanistic understanding of the impact of urbanization on biodiversity is lacking. We assessed the impact of urbanization on arthropod diversity (species richness and evenness) and abundance in a study of six cities and nearby intensively managed agricultural areas. Within the urban ecosystem, we disentangled the relative importance of two key landscape factors affecting biodiversity, namely the amount of vegetated area and patch isolation. To do so, we a priori selected sites that independently varied in the amount of vegetated area in the surrounding landscape at the 500-m scale and patch isolation at the 100-m scale, and we hold local patch characteristics constant. As indicator groups, we used bugs, beetles, leafhoppers, and spiders. Compared to intensively managed agricultural ecosystems, urban ecosystems supported a higher abundance of most indicator groups, a higher number of bug species, and a lower evenness of bug and beetle species. Within cities, a high amount of vegetated area increased species richness and abundance of most arthropod groups, whereas evenness showed no clear pattern. Patch isolation played only a limited role in urban ecosystems, which contrasts findings from agro-ecological studies. Our results show that urban areas can harbor a similar arthropod diversity and abundance compared to intensively managed agricultural ecosystems. Further, negative consequences of urbanization on arthropod diversity can be mitigated by providing sufficient vegetated space in the urban area, while patch connectivity is less important in an urban context. This highlights the need for applying a landscape ecological approach to understand the mechanisms shaping urban biodiversity and underlines the potential of appropriate urban planning for mitigating biodiversity loss. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Work Practice Characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pors, Jens Kaaber; Simonsen, Jesper

2003-01-01

and work practice. To understand these issues a framework of characteristics is identified and termed work practice characteristics to describe important aspects of the hybrid configuration of groupware and situated work practices. Drawing on concepts and work practice studies in the field of computer...... investigation of how groupware is employed to support new ways of working in a large European financial organisation are analysed to illustrate situations with high and low integration of groupware. The framework of work practice characteristics is discussed in the light of these findings and implications...

Important Text Characteristics for Early-Grades Text Complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Jill; Elmore, Jeff; Koons, Heather; Hiebert, Elfrieda H.; Bowen, Kimberly; Sanford-Moore, Eleanor E.; Stenner, A. Jackson

2015-01-01

The Common Core set a standard for all children to read increasingly complex texts throughout schooling. The purpose of the present study was to explore text characteristics specifically in relation to early-grades text complexity. Three hundred fifty primary-grades texts were selected and digitized. Twenty-two text characteristics were identified…

Identify the Important Decision Factors of Online Shopping Adoption in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lailatul HIJRAH

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to identify factors encouraging a consumer to engage in online shopping activities. The expected contribution of this study is for online entrepreneurs, in order to develop the most suitable business strategy, so that it will be clearly identified and sorted out which factors are the most important and the main motivation of Indonesian consumers to shop via online by using responses from respondents who usually shop online and offline in 3 cities in Indonesia, Jakarta, Surabaya and Samarinda. The research instruments were developed by conducting FGDs on relevant groups, either academics, online shopping activists, suppliers and courier businessmen in Jakarta, Surabaya and Samarinda Cities in effort to extract any information that encourages consumers to online shopping. After conducting FGD, the researcher produced 48 items proposed for factor analysis and after extracted to form eleven constructs, some items were removed because they had less loading factors. The eleven constructs or dimensions are trust, risk, consumer factors, website factors, price, service quality, convenience, subjective norm, product guarantee, variety of products and lifestyle. The implications of this study provide valuable insights about consumer decisions to online shopping or not online shopping.

The Importance of identifiers: IWGSC Meeting 20170720

OpenAIRE

Haak, Laurel

2017-01-01

Presentation by Laure Haak at the 20 July 2017 meeting of the IWGSC, about use of identifiers in connecting researchers, funding, facilities, and publications. Description of approach and initial results of User Facilities and Publications Working Group, and applications for Scientific Collections.

Procedural justice in prison: the importance of staff characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Beijersbergen, Karin A; Dirkzwager, Anja J E; Molleman, Toon; van der Laan, Peter H; Nieuwbeerta, Paul

2015-04-01

A humane and fair treatment of prisoners is of intrinsic value in itself, and is generally acclaimed to reduce prisoners' psychological distress and misconduct in prison, and their criminal behavior after release from prison. To create a more just prison climate, scholars have emphasized the importance of correctional staff. However, there is a lack of empirical research on the relationship between correctional officers' characteristics and prisoners' perceptions of a just treatment in prison. Our study fills this gap in knowledge. Data were used from (a) the Prison Project, a large-scale study in which prisoners held in all Dutch remand centers were surveyed (n = 1,610) and (b) the Dutch Correctional Staff Survey 2011 (n = 690). Multilevel analyses showed that prisoners perceived their treatment in prison as more procedurally just in units where there are more female officers, where officers held more positive attitudes toward rehabilitation, and where there is a higher officer-to-inmate ratio. © The Author(s) 2013.

Effect of Friction-Induced Nonlinearity on OMA-Identified Dynamic Characteristics of Offshore Platform Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Tobias; Orfanos, Antonios; Katsanos, Evangelos

The identification of the modal characteristics of engineering systems under operational conditions is commonly conducted with the use of the Operational Modal Analysis (OMA), being a class of useful tools employed within various fields of structural, mechanical as well as marine and naval...... engineering. The current OMA methods have been advanced on the basis of two fundamental, though, restrictive assumptions: (i) linearity and (ii) stationarity. Nevertheless, there are several applications that are inherently related to various nonlinear mechanisms, which, in turn, violate the two cornerstones...... of OMA and hence, question its robustness and efficiency. Along these lines, the current study addresses the effect of friction-induced nonlinearity on OMA-identified dynamic characteristics of an experimental set up consisting of a pair of reduced scale offshore platform models that are connected...

Identifying the unique characteristics of independent fashion retailers in Scotland by utilising Porter’s generic competitive strategy model and the marketing mix

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola O’HARE

2018-01-01

Full Text Available El mismo texto del Independent retailers in the fashion sector make a substantial contribution to the UK economy at the time of significant change on the high street due to financial pressures and the growth of online trade. They provide an element of creativity and innovation to a homogenous retail landscape. The independent fashion retailer creates a destination and individual identity by presenting a unique offering and differentiated experience. Whilst independent retailers are important to the future of our high street, research is limited, particularly in the area of fashion independents. Therefore this research examines and identifies the unique characteristics of independent fashion retailers within Scotland. The research adopts a case study approach, qualitative methods of data collection in order to fulfil the aim and objectives of the study. Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies and the marketing mix were utilised as a means of drawing out the individual aspects and unique characteristics of the independent fashion retailer.

Identifying mechanisms that structure ecological communities by snapping model parameters to empirically observed tradeoffs.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas Clark, Adam; Lehman, Clarence; Tilman, David

2018-04-01

Theory predicts that interspecific tradeoffs are primary determinants of coexistence and community composition. Using information from empirically observed tradeoffs to augment the parametrisation of mechanism-based models should therefore improve model predictions, provided that tradeoffs and mechanisms are chosen correctly. We developed and tested such a model for 35 grassland plant species using monoculture measurements of three species characteristics related to nitrogen uptake and retention, which previous experiments indicate as important at our site. Matching classical theoretical expectations, these characteristics defined a distinct tradeoff surface, and models parameterised with these characteristics closely matched observations from experimental multi-species mixtures. Importantly, predictions improved significantly when we incorporated information from tradeoffs by 'snapping' characteristics to the nearest location on the tradeoff surface, suggesting that the tradeoffs and mechanisms we identify are important determinants of local community structure. This 'snapping' method could therefore constitute a broadly applicable test for identifying influential tradeoffs and mechanisms. © 2018 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mechanical and mechanobiological influences on bone fracture repair : identifying important cellular characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Isaksson, H.E.

2007-01-01

Fracture repair is a complex and multifactorial process, which involves a well-programmed series of cellular and molecular events that result in a combination of intramembranous and endochondral bone formation. The vast majority of fractures is treated successfully. They heal through ‘secondary

Identifying the characteristic of SundaParahiyangan landscape for a model of sustainable agricultural landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlan, M. Z.; Nurhayati, H. S. A.; Mugnisjah, W. Q.

2017-10-01

This study was an explorative study of the various forms of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of Sundanese people in the context of sustainable agriculture. The qualitative method was used to identify SundaParahiyangan landscape by using Rapid Participatory Rural Appraisal throughsemi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and field survey. The Landscape Characteristic Assessment and Community Sustainability Assessment were used to analyze the characteristic of landscape to achieve the sustainable agricultural landscape criteria proposed by US Department of Agriculture. The results revealed that the SundaParahiyangan agricultural landscape has a unique characteristic as a result of the long-term adaptation of agricultural society to theirlandscape through a learning process for generations. In general, this character was reflected in the typical of Sundanese’s agroecosystems such as forest garden, mixed garden, paddy field, and home garden. In addition, concept of kabuyutan is one of the TEKs related to understanding and utilization of landscape has been adapted on revitalizing the role of landscape surrounding the agroecosystem as the buffer zone by calculating and designating protected areas. To support the sustainability of production area, integrated practices of agroforestry with low-external-input and sustainable agriculture (LEISA) system can be applied in utilizing and managing agricultural resources.

Characteristics and availability of commercially important woods

Science.gov (United States)

Regis B. Miller

1999-01-01

Throughout history, the unique characteristics and comparative abundance of wood have made it a natural material for homes and other structures, furniture, tools, vehicles, and decorative objects. Today, for the same reasons, wood is prized for a multitude of uses. All wood is composed of cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, and minor amounts (5% to 10%) of extraneous...

The use of deconvolution techniques to identify the fundamental mixing characteristics of urban drainage structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Stovin, V R; Guymer, I; Chappell, M J; Hattersley, J G

2010-01-01

Mixing and dispersion processes affect the timing and concentration of contaminants transported within urban drainage systems. Hence, methods of characterising the mixing effects of specific hydraulic structures are of interest to drainage network modellers. Previous research, focusing on surcharged manholes, utilised the first-order Advection-Dispersion Equation (ADE) and Aggregated Dead Zone (ADZ) models to characterise dispersion. However, although systematic variations in travel time as a function of discharge and surcharge depth have been identified, the first order ADE and ADZ models do not provide particularly good fits to observed manhole data, which means that the derived parameter values are not independent of the upstream temporal concentration profile. An alternative, more robust, approach utilises the system's Cumulative Residence Time Distribution (CRTD), and the solute transport characteristics of a surcharged manhole have been shown to be characterised by just two dimensionless CRTDs, one for pre- and the other for post-threshold surcharge depths. Although CRTDs corresponding to instantaneous upstream injections can easily be generated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, the identification of CRTD characteristics from non-instantaneous and noisy laboratory data sets has been hampered by practical difficulties. This paper shows how a deconvolution approach derived from systems theory may be applied to identify the CRTDs associated with urban drainage structures.

NRC Information No. 90-01: Importance of proper response to self-identified violations by licensees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunningham, R.E.

1992-01-01

NRC expects a high standard of compliance by its licensees and requires that licensees provide NRC accurate and complete information and that required records will also be complete and accurate in all material respects. Licensees should be aware of the importance placed by NRC on licensee programs for self detection, correction and reporting of violations or errors related to regulatory requirements. The General Statement of Policy and Procedures for NRC Enforcement Actions in Appendix C to 10 CFR Part 2 underscores the importance of licensees responding promptly and properly to self-identified violations in two ways. It is suggested that when a licensee identifies a violation involving an NRC-required record, the licensee should make a dated notation indicating identification, either on the record itself or other appropriate documentation retrievable for NRC review. The record with the self-identified violation noted should not be altered in any way to mask the correction. The licensee should determine the cause of the violation, correct the root cause of the violation, and document such findings in an appropriate manner. Licensees should also assure that if a report of the violation is required, the report is submitted to NRC in a timely manner. These actions will be considered by NRC in making any enforcement decision, and generally lead to lesser or no civil penalty

Utilization characteristics and importance of woody biomass resources on the rural-urban fringe in botswana.

Science.gov (United States)

Nkambwe, Musisi; Sekhwela, Mogodisheng B M

2006-02-01

This article examines the utilization characteristics and importance of woody biomass resources in the rural-urban fringe zones of Botswana. In the literature for Africa, attention has been given to the availability and utilization of biomass in either urban or rural environments, but the rural-urban fringe has been neglected. Within southern Africa, this neglect is not justified; the rural-urban fringe, not getting the full benefits available in urban environments in Botswana, has developed problems in woody biomass availability and utilization that require close attention. In this article, socioeconomic data on the importance of woody biomass in the Batlokwa Tribal Territory, on the rural-urban fringe of Gaborone, Botswana, were collected together with ecologic data that reveal the utilization characteristics and potential for regrowth of woody biomass. The analysis of these results show that local woody biomass is very important in the daily lives of communities in the rural-urban fringe zones and that there is a high level of harvesting. However, there is no effort in planning land use in the tribal territory to either conserve this resource or provide alternatives to its utilization. The future of woody biomass resources in Botswana's rural-urban fringe is uncertain. The investigators recommend that a comprehensive policy for the development of the rural-urban fringe consider the importance of this resource. The neglect of this resource will have far-reaching implications on the livelihoods of residents as well as the environment in this zone.

Identifying play characteristics of pre-school children with developmental coordination disorder via parental questionnaires.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblum, Sara; Waissman, Pola; Diamond, Gary W

2017-06-01

Motor coordination deficits that characterize children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affect their quality of participation. The aim of the current study was to identify play characteristics of young children with DCD, compared to those of children with typical development in three dimensions: activity and participation, environmental factors and children's impairments. Sixty-four children, aged four to six years, participated. Thirty were diagnosed as having DCD; the remaining 34 children were age, gender and socioeconomic level matched controls with typical development. The children were evaluated by the M-ABC. In addition, their parents completed a demographic questionnaire, the Children's Activity Scale for Parents (CHAS-P), the Children's Leisure Assessment Scale for preschoolers (CLASS-Pre), and My Child's Play Questionnaire (MCP). Children with DCD performed significantly poorer in each of the four play activity and participation domains: variety, frequency, sociability, and preference (CLASS-Pre). Furthermore, their environmental characteristics were significantly different (MCP). They displayed significantly inferior performance (impairments) in interpersonal interaction and executive functioning during play, in comparison to controls (MCP). Moreover, the children's motor and executive control as reflected in their daily function as well as their activities of daily living (ADL) performance level, contributed to the prediction of their global play participation. The results indicate that the use of both the CLASS-Pre and the MCP questionnaires enables the identification of unique play characteristics of pre-school children with DCD via parents' reports. A better insight into these characteristics may contribute to theoretical knowledge and clinical practice to improve the children's daily participation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the importance of identifying, characterizing, and predicting fundamental phenomena towards microbial electrochemistry applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, César Iván

2014-06-01

The development of microbial electrochemistry research toward technological applications has increased significantly in the past years, leading to many process configurations. This short review focuses on the need to identify and characterize the fundamental phenomena that control the performance of microbial electrochemical cells (MXCs). Specifically, it discusses the importance of recent efforts to discover and characterize novel microorganisms for MXC applications, as well as recent developments to understand transport limitations in MXCs. As we increase our understanding of how MXCs operate, it is imperative to continue modeling efforts in order to effectively predict their performance, design efficient MXC technologies, and implement them commercially. Thus, the success of MXC technologies largely depends on the path of identifying, understanding, and predicting fundamental phenomena that determine MXC performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis to identify medically important Candida spp., including C-dubliniensis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borst, A; Theelen, B; Reinders, E; Boekhout, T; Fluit, AC; Savelkoul, PHM

Non-Candida albicans Candida species are increasingly being isolated. These species show differences in levels of resistance to antimycotic agents and mortality. Therefore, it is important to be able to correctly identify the causative organism to the species level. Identification of C. dubliniensis

Use of amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis to identify medically important Candida spp., including C. dubliniensis.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borst, A; Theelen, B; Reinders, E; Boekhout, T; Fluit, AC; Savelkoul, P.H.M.

2003-01-01

Non-Candida albicans Candida species are increasingly being isolated. These species show differences in levels of resistance to antimycotic agents and mortality. Therefore, it is important to be able to correctly identify the causative organism to the species level. Identification of C. dubliniensis

A Comparison of Educational Statistics and Data Mining Approaches to Identify Characteristics That Impact Online Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, L. Dee; Soh, Leen-Kiat; Samal, Ashok; Kupzyk, Kevin; Nugent, Gwen

2015-01-01

Learning objects (LOs) are important online resources for both learners and instructors and usage for LOs is growing. Automatic LO tracking collects large amounts of metadata about individual students as well as data aggregated across courses, learning objects, and other demographic characteristics (e.g. gender). The challenge becomes identifying…

Reducing uncertainty at minimal cost: a method to identify important input parameters and prioritize data collection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Uwizeye, U.A.; Groen, E.A.; Gerber, P.J.; Schulte, Rogier P.O.; Boer, de I.J.M.

2016-01-01

The study aims to illustrate a method to identify important input parameters that explain most of the output variance ofenvironmental assessment models. The method is tested for the computation of life-cycle nitrogen (N) use efficiencyindicators among mixed dairy production systems in Rwanda. We

Willingness to Use Microbicides Is Affected by the Importance of Product Characteristics, Use Parameters, and Protective Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Kathleen M.; Fava, Joseph L.; Rosen, Rochelle K.; Vargas, Sara; Barroso, Candelaria; Christensen, Anna L.; Woodsong, Cynthia; Severy, Lawrence

2008-01-01

Background Along with efficacy, a microbicide’s acceptability will be integral to its impact on the pandemic. Understanding Product Characteristics that users find most acceptable and determining who will use which type of product are key to optimizing use effectiveness. Objectives To evaluate psychometrically the Important Microbicide Characteristics (IMC) instrument and examine its relationship to willingness to use microbicides. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed 2 IMC subscales (Cronbach’s coefficient α: Product Characteristics subscale (α = 0.84) and Protective Properties subscale (α = 0.89)). Significant differences on Product Characteristics subscale scores were found for history of douching (P = 0.002) and employment status (P = 0.001). Whether a woman used a method to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the last 3 months (P IMC instrument serves as a template for future studies of candidate microbicides. PMID:17325607

PCR-RFLP Method to Identify Salmonid Species of Economic Importance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea Dudu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The identification of different fish species by molecular methods has become necessary to avoid both the incorrect labelling of individuals involved in repopulation programmes and the commercial frauds on the fish market. Different fish species of great economical importance, like the salmonids, which are very much requested for their meat, can be identified using molecular techniques such as PCR-RFLP. The method is based on the amplification of a target region from the genome by PCR reaction followed by endonucleases digestion to detect the polymorphism of restriction fragments. In our study we analysed the following salmonid species from Romania: Salmo trutta fario, Salmo labrax, Salvelinus fontinalis, Onchorhynchus mykiss, Thymallus thymallus and Hucho hucho. In order to discriminate between the analysed species we amplified a fragment of mitochondrial genome comprising tRNAGlu/ cytochrome b/ tRNAThr/ tRNAPro/ D-loop/ tRNAPhe, followed by digestion with a specific restriction enzyme. The direct digestion of unpurified PCR products generated species-specific restriction patterns and proved to be a simple, reliable, inexpensive and fast method. Thus, it may be successfully utilized in specialized laboratories for the correct identification of the fish species for multiple purposes, including the traceability of fish food products.

Perceptions of Important Characteristics of Physical Activity Facilities: Implications for Engagement in Walking, Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrich, Katie M; Haddock, Christopher K; Jitnarin, Natinee; Hughey, Joseph; Berkel, LaVerne A; Poston, Walker S C

2017-01-01

Although few United States adults meet physical activity recommendations, those that do are more likely to access to physical activity facilities. Additionally, vigorous exercisers may be more likely to utilize a nearby physical activity facility, while light-to-moderate exercisers are less likely to do so. However, it is unclear what characteristics of those facilities are most important as well as how those characteristics are related to activity intensity. This study examined relationships between self-reported leisure-time physical activities and the use of and perceived characteristics of physical activity facilities. Data were from a cross-sectional study in a major metropolitan area. Participants ( N  = 582; ages 18-74, mean age = 45 ± 14.7 years) were more likely to be female (69.9%), Caucasian (65.6%), married (51.7%), and have some college education (72.8%). Household surveys queried leisure-time physical activity, regular physical activity facility use, and importance ratings for key facility characteristics. Leisure-time physical activity recommendations were met by 41.0% of participants and 50.9% regularly used a physical activity facility. Regular facility use was positively associated with meeting walking ( p  = 0.036), moderate ( p  importance on facility quality ( p  = 0.022), variety of physical activity options offered ( p  = 0.003), and availability of special equipment and resources ( p  = 0.01). The facility characteristics of low or free cost ( p  = 0.02) and offering childcare ( p  = 0.028) were barriers for walking, and being where friends and family like to go were barriers for moderate leisure-time physical activity ( p  = 0.013). Findings offer insights for structuring interventions using the social ecological model as well as for improving existing physical activity facilities.

Clinical characteristics of importance to outcome in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Rikke Asmussen; Kristensen, Lars Erik; Ellingsen, Torkell

2017-01-01

the PDQ and other phenotypical patient characteristics are prognostically important for response to biological therapy according to established response criteria like 50% improvement in the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (50%) and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score. ETHICS......-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). Tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitors have revolutionised the treatment of patients with axSpA who failed to respond to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy. Chronic pain is common in patients with SpA and may still persist despite the lack of signs...... of the PDQ regarding treatment response in patients with axSpA 3 months after initiating a biological agent. Secondary aim is to evaluate the impact of extra-articular manifestations, comorbidities and patient-reported outcomes and elucidate if these factors influence treatment response. METHOD AND ANALYSIS...

Postural Response Signal Characteristics Identified by Method of Developed Statokinesigram

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbolyas Boris

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Human postural system is taken as complex biological system with specific input and output time characteristics, in this study. Evaluation of measured output characteristics is useful in medical diagnostics or in describing postural system disorders. System theory principle provide suitable basis for postural signals analysis. Participating volunteers were instructed to maintain quiet upright stance posture on firm support surface of stabilometric platform for 60s. Postural system actuation was realized by vibration stimuli applied bilaterally on Achilles tendons for 20s. Postural reaction signal, its time profile and static and dynamic characteristics were evaluated by Method of Developed Statokinesigram Trajectory (MDST.

Identifying criteria and establishing parameters for forest-based ecotourism in Northern Ontario, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen W. Boyd; Richard W. Butler; Wolfgang Haider

1995-01-01

This paper identifies the following criteria as indicators for ecotourism suitability within a Northern Ontario context: naturalness, wildlife, cultural heritage, landscape and community. A methodology is proposed which uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to identify ecotourism sites by linking criteria deemed important with actual landscape characteristics of...

The Fit between Students’ Lesson Perceptions and Desires: Relations with Student Characteristics and the Importance of Motivation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Könings, Karen; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen

2011-01-01

Könings, K. D., Brand-Gruwel, S., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2011). The match between students’ lesson perceptions and preferences: Relations with student characteristics and the importance of motivation. Educational Research, 53(4), 439-457.

Identification of basin characteristics influencing spatial variation of river flows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mazvimavi, D.; Burgers, S.L.G.E.; Stein, A.

2006-01-01

The selection of basin characteristics that explain spatial variation of river flows is important for hydrological regionalization as this enables estimation of flow statistics of ungauged basins. A direct gradient analysis method, redundancy analysis, is used to identify basin characteristics,

Importance and Use of Morphological Characteristics of Blackberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. in the Course of DUS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Л. І. Улич

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The article offers results of research on morphological characteristics and biological properties of blackberry, their inheritance, as well as stability and variability under the influence of agro-ecological conditions and stress factors of the environment with a view of recognizing, describing and identifying varieties undergoing official research and technical examination on DUS, which also could be used in the breeding process.

Importance of non-local electron-positron correlations for positron annihilation characteristics in solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubaszek, A.

2001-01-01

Several methods to describe the electron-positron (e-p) correlation effects are used in calculations of positron annihilation characteristics in solids. The weighted density approximation (WDA), giving rise to the non-local, state-selective e-p correlation functions, is applied to calculate positron annihilation rates and e-p momentum densities in a variety of metals and silicon. The WDA results are compared to the results of other methods such as the independent particle model, local density approximation, generalised gradient approximation, and also to experiments. The importance of non-locality and state-dependence of the e-p correlation functions is discussed. (orig.)

Identifying persistent and characteristic features in firearm tool marks on cartridge cases

Science.gov (United States)

Ott, Daniel; Soons, Johannes; Thompson, Robert; Song, John

2017-12-01

Recent concerns about subjectivity in forensic firearm identification have motivated the development of algorithms to compare firearm tool marks that are imparted on ammunition and to generate quantitative measures of similarity. In this paper, we describe an algorithm that identifies impressed tool marks on a cartridge case that are both consistent between firings and contribute strongly to a surface similarity metric. The result is a representation of the tool mark topography that emphasizes both significant and persistent features across firings. This characteristic surface map is useful for understanding the variability and persistence of the tool marks created by a firearm and can provide improved discrimination between the comparison scores of samples fired from the same firearm and the scores of samples fired from different firearms. The algorithm also provides a convenient method for visualizing areas of similarity that may be useful in providing quantitative support for visual comparisons by trained examiners.

Accounting choices in Brazil: identifying the characteristics of publicly traded companies that opted to maintain versus derecognise deferred assets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Drago Lorencini

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The issuance of Brazilian Law 11.638/2007 is a critical step in the convergence of the Brazilian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs towards International Financial Reporting Standards. After the law was implemented and later modified by Provisional Executive Order 449/2008 (converted into Law 11.941/2009, certain accounting choices were allowed during the transition period. The Brazilian GAAPs allowed for restructuring costs and costs related to opening a new facility to be recognised as assets. As a transitional provision, companies were allowed to choose between maintaining or eliminating these values. In this paper, we attempted to identify which company characteristics were associated with this accounting choice. The final sample consisted of Brazilian companies listed on the BM & FBOVESPA, and a logistic regression identified two characteristics. Participation in one of the three different corporate governance levels of the BM & FBOVESPA was associated with the choice to derecognise the deferred assets, while companies decided to maintain the deferred asset if it was relatively large. The empirical evidence reported here contributes to the literature by explaining the manner in which a set of firm characteristics is related to a firm's accounting choices.

Identifying Students' Characteristic Learning Behaviors in an Intelligent Tutoring System Fostering Self-Regulated Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchet, Francois; Azevedo, Roger; Kinnebrew, John S.; Biswas, Gautam

2012-01-01

Identification of student learning behaviors, especially those that characterize or distinguish students, can yield important insights for the design of adaptation and feedback mechanisms in Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). In this paper, we analyze trace data to identify distinguishing patterns of behavior in a study of 51 college students…

Using the Developmental Gene Bicoid to Identify Species of Forensically Important Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae

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Seong Hwan Park

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Identifying species of insects used to estimate postmortem interval (PMI is a major subject in forensic entomology. Because forensic insect specimens are morphologically uniform and are obtained at various developmental stages, DNA markers are greatly needed. To develop new autosomal DNA markers to identify species, partial genomic sequences of the bicoid (bcd genes, containing the homeobox and its flanking sequences, from 12 blowfly species (Aldrichina grahami, Calliphora vicina, Calliphora lata, Triceratopyga calliphoroides, Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya pinguis, Phormia regina, Lucilia ampullacea, Lucilia caesar, Lucilia illustris, Hemipyrellia ligurriens and Lucilia sericata; Calliphoridae: Diptera were determined and analyzed. This study first sequenced the ten blowfly species other than C. vicina and L. sericata. Based on the bcd sequences of these 12 blowfly species, a phylogenetic tree was constructed that discriminates the subfamilies of Calliphoridae (Luciliinae, Chrysomyinae, and Calliphorinae and most blowfly species. Even partial genomic sequences of about 500 bp can distinguish most blowfly species. The short intron 2 and coding sequences downstream of the bcd homeobox in exon 3 could be utilized to develop DNA markers for forensic applications. These gene sequences are important in the evolution of insect developmental biology and are potentially useful for identifying insect species in forensic science.

Using the Developmental Gene Bicoid to Identify Species of Forensically Important Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seong Hwan; Park, Chung Hyun; Zhang, Yong; Piao, Huguo; Chung, Ukhee; Kim, Seong Yoon; Ko, Kwang Soo; Yi, Cheong-Ho; Jo, Tae-Ho; Hwang, Juck-Joon

2013-01-01

Identifying species of insects used to estimate postmortem interval (PMI) is a major subject in forensic entomology. Because forensic insect specimens are morphologically uniform and are obtained at various developmental stages, DNA markers are greatly needed. To develop new autosomal DNA markers to identify species, partial genomic sequences of the bicoid (bcd) genes, containing the homeobox and its flanking sequences, from 12 blowfly species (Aldrichina grahami, Calliphora vicina, Calliphora lata, Triceratopyga calliphoroides, Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya pinguis, Phormia regina, Lucilia ampullacea, Lucilia caesar, Lucilia illustris, Hemipyrellia ligurriens and Lucilia sericata; Calliphoridae: Diptera) were determined and analyzed. This study first sequenced the ten blowfly species other than C. vicina and L. sericata. Based on the bcd sequences of these 12 blowfly species, a phylogenetic tree was constructed that discriminates the subfamilies of Calliphoridae (Luciliinae, Chrysomyinae, and Calliphorinae) and most blowfly species. Even partial genomic sequences of about 500 bp can distinguish most blowfly species. The short intron 2 and coding sequences downstream of the bcd homeobox in exon 3 could be utilized to develop DNA markers for forensic applications. These gene sequences are important in the evolution of insect developmental biology and are potentially useful for identifying insect species in forensic science. PMID:23586044

Organizational characteristics and processes are important in the adoption of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth in child-care centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, Anna P; Nikolopoulos, Hara; McCargar, Linda; Berry, Tanya; Mager, Diana

2015-06-01

The objective of the present study was to gain an understanding of the organizational characteristics and processes in two child-care centres that may influence adoption of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth (ANGCY). In-depth qualitative case studies. Data were collected through direct observations, key informant interviews and field notes. Diffusion of Innovations theory guided the evaluation and intrinsic case analysis. Two urban child-care centres in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada identified as exemplary early adopter cases. Ten key informants comprised of directors, junior and senior staff members participated in interviews. Organizational processes such as leadership, networking and knowledge brokering, health champions and organizational culture positively influenced adoption behaviour in child-care centres. A key determinant influencing organizational behaviour within both centres was the directors' strong leadership. Acceptance of and adherence to the guidelines were facilitated by organizational factors, such as degree of centralization, formalization and complexity, level of staff training and education. Knowledge brokering by directors was important for transferring and exchanging information across the centre. All child-care staff embraced their informal role as health champions as essential to supporting guideline adherence and encouraging healthy food and eating environments. Organizational processes and characteristics such as leadership, knowledge brokering and networking, organizational culture and health champions played an important role in the adoption of nutrition guidelines in child-care centres. The complex interplay of decision making, organization of work and specialization of roles influenced the extent to which nutrition guidelines were adopted.

Resequencing 50 accessions of cultivated and wild rice yields markers for identifying agronomically important genes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Xun; Liu, Xin; Ge, Song

2012-01-01

Rice is a staple crop that has undergone substantial phenotypic and physiological changes during domestication. Here we resequenced the genomes of 40 cultivated accessions selected from the major groups of rice and 10 accessions of their wild progenitors (Oryza rufipogon and Oryza nivara) to >15 x...... diversity in cultivated but not wild rice, which represent candidate regions selected during domestication. Some of these variants are associated with important biological features, whereas others have yet to be functionally characterized. The molecular markers we have identified should be valuable...... raw data coverage. We investigated genome-wide variation patterns in rice and obtained 6.5 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) after excluding sites with missing data in any accession. Using these population SNP data, we identified thousands of genes with significantly lower...

Perceptions of Important Characteristics of Physical Activity Facilities: Implications for Engagement in Walking, Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity

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Katie M. Heinrich

2017-11-01

Full Text Available BackgroundAlthough few United States adults meet physical activity recommendations, those that do are more likely to access to physical activity facilities. Additionally, vigorous exercisers may be more likely to utilize a nearby physical activity facility, while light-to-moderate exercisers are less likely to do so. However, it is unclear what characteristics of those facilities are most important as well as how those characteristics are related to activity intensity.PurposeThis study examined relationships between self-reported leisure-time physical activities and the use of and perceived characteristics of physical activity facilities.MethodsData were from a cross-sectional study in a major metropolitan area. Participants (N = 582; ages 18–74, mean age = 45 ± 14.7 years were more likely to be female (69.9%, Caucasian (65.6%, married (51.7%, and have some college education (72.8%. Household surveys queried leisure-time physical activity, regular physical activity facility use, and importance ratings for key facility characteristics.ResultsLeisure-time physical activity recommendations were met by 41.0% of participants and 50.9% regularly used a physical activity facility. Regular facility use was positively associated with meeting walking (p = 0.036, moderate (p < 0.001, and vigorous (p < 0.001 recommendations. Vigorous exercisers were more likely to use a gym/fitness center (p = 0.006 and to place higher importance on facility quality (p = 0.022, variety of physical activity options offered (p = 0.003, and availability of special equipment and resources (p = 0.01. The facility characteristics of low or free cost (p = 0.02 and offering childcare (p = 0.028 were barriers for walking, and being where friends and family like to go were barriers for moderate leisure-time physical activity (p = 0.013.ConclusionFindings offer insights for structuring interventions using the social ecological

Deep Learning Identifies High-z Galaxies in a Central Blue Nugget Phase in a Characteristic Mass Range

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Huertas-Company, M.; Primack, J. R.; Dekel, A.; Koo, D. C.; Lapiner, S.; Ceverino, D.; Simons, R. C.; Snyder, G. F.; Bernardi, M.; Chen, Z.; Domínguez-Sánchez, H.; Lee, C. T.; Margalef-Bentabol, B.; Tuccillo, D.

2018-05-01

We use machine learning to identify in color images of high-redshift galaxies an astrophysical phenomenon predicted by cosmological simulations. This phenomenon, called the blue nugget (BN) phase, is the compact star-forming phase in the central regions of many growing galaxies that follows an earlier phase of gas compaction and is followed by a central quenching phase. We train a convolutional neural network (CNN) with mock “observed” images of simulated galaxies at three phases of evolution— pre-BN, BN, and post-BN—and demonstrate that the CNN successfully retrieves the three phases in other simulated galaxies. We show that BNs are identified by the CNN within a time window of ∼0.15 Hubble times. When the trained CNN is applied to observed galaxies from the CANDELS survey at z = 1–3, it successfully identifies galaxies at the three phases. We find that the observed BNs are preferentially found in galaxies at a characteristic stellar mass range, 109.2–10.3 M ⊙ at all redshifts. This is consistent with the characteristic galaxy mass for BNs as detected in the simulations and is meaningful because it is revealed in the observations when the direct information concerning the total galaxy luminosity has been eliminated from the training set. This technique can be applied to the classification of other astrophysical phenomena for improved comparison of theory and observations in the era of large imaging surveys and cosmological simulations.

Assessing the relative importance of correlates of loneliness in later life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ejlskov, Linda; Wulff, Jesper; Bøggild, Henrik

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Improving the design and targeting of interventions is important for alleviating loneliness among older adults. This requires identifying which correlates are the most important predictors of loneliness. This study demonstrates the use of recursive partitioning in exploring...... the characteristics and assessing the relative importance of correlates of loneliness in older adults. METHOD: Using exploratory regression trees and random forests, we examined combinations and the relative importance of 42 correlates in relation to loneliness at age 68 among 2453 participants from the birth cohort...... study the MRC National Survey of Health and Development. RESULTS: Positive mental well-being, personal mastery, identifying the spouse as the closest confidant, being extrovert and informal social contact were the most important correlates of lower loneliness levels. Participation in organised groups...

Review on identification study of driver behavior intention and characteristics

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Gang LI

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In order to better improve vehicle active safety and realize personalized driving, aiming at the problem of the identification of driver behavior intention and characteristics, the electronic control systems' important role in the automobile and the importance of the driver behavior intention and characteristic identification are discussed. The relative domestic and foreign research is summarized, and the prospect is put forward. In order to improve the performance of automobile electronic control system and realize the intelligent control for the cars, the identification of driver behavior intention and characteristics needs to be studied. How to rationally classify and on-line identify drivers' characteristics correctly for the steering, braking and acceleration characteristics is a long term research topic.

Child-rearing practices toward children with hemophilia: The relative importance of clinical characteristics and parental emotional reactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Banis, Hendrika; Suurmeijer, Th.P.B.M.; van Peer, D.R.

This study addresses the relative importance of clinical characteristics of the child and parental emotional reactions, to child-rearing practices towards children who suffer from hemophilia. The variables were assessed in a Dutch sample of 108 zero-to-twelve-year-old boys with hemophilia and their

Identifying important parameters for a continuous bioscouring process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenting, H.B.M.; Lenting, H.B.M.; Zwier, E.; Nierstrasz, Vincent

2002-01-01

Compared to a bioscouring process in the batch mode, a continuously operating process requires relatively short processing steps. This study focusses on minimizing the required enzymatic incubation time. It is clear that the presence of a sufficient level of surfactant is of major importance in

The hierarchy-by-interval approach to identifying important models that need improvement in severe-accident simulation codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heames, T.J.; Khatib-Rahbar, M.; Kelly, J.E.

1995-01-01

The hierarchy-by-interval (HBI) methodology was developed to determine an appropriate phenomena identification and ranking table for an independent peer review of severe-accident computer codes. The methodology is described, and the results of a specific code review are presented. Use of this systematic and structured approach ensures that important code models that need improvement are identified and prioritized, which allows code sponsors to more effectively direct limited resources in future code development. In addition, critical phenomenological areas that need more fundamental work, such as experimentation, are identified

Important characteristics of a director of medical education.

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Powell, V D; George, R J

1993-11-01

In osteopathic graduate medical education programs, the Director of Medical Education (DME) plays the key leadership role. This article outlines critical characteristics and skills that the DME should possess to successfully perform in this role. Central to this success is a passionate commitment to osteopathic medical education and a commitment to justice and fairness.

Completion in Vocational and Academic Upper Secondary School: The Importance of School Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Individual Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Daehlen, Marianne

2017-01-01

A vast amount of research is devoted to identifying factors that predict early school leaving. However, there is no simple explanation because the results show that young people leave education prematurely for various reasons, such as their level of school involvement, their background characteristics and different school systems. This article…

The importance of job characteristics in determining medical care-seeking in the Dutch working population, a longitudinal survey study.

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Steenbeek, Romy

2012-08-31

The working population is ageing, which will increase the number of workers with chronic health complaints, and, as a consequence, the number of workers seeking health care. It is very important to understand factors that influence medical care-seeking in order to control the costs. I will investigate which work characteristics independently attribute to later care-seeking in order to find possibilities to prevent unnecessary or inefficient care-seeking. Data were collected in a longitudinal two-wave study (n = 2305 workers). The outcome measures were visits (yes/no and frequency) to a general practitioner (GP), a physical therapist, a medical specialist and/or a mental health professional. Multivariate regression analyses were carried out separately for men and women for workers with health complaints. In the Dutch working population, personal, health, and work characteristics, but not sickness absence, were associated with later care-seeking. Work characteristics independently attributed to medical care-seeking but only for men and only for the frequency of visits to the GP. Women experience more health complaints and seek health care more often than men. For women, experiencing a work handicap (health complaints that impede work performance) was the only work characteristic associated with more care-seeking (GP). For men, work characteristics that led to less care-seeking were social support by colleagues (GP frequency), high levels of decision latitude (GP frequency) and high levels of social support by the supervisor (medical specialist). Other work characteristics led to more care-seeking: high levels of engagement (GP), full time work (GP frequency) and experiencing a work handicap (physical therapist). We can conclude that personal and health characteristics are most important when explaining medical care-seeking in the Dutch working population. Work characteristics independently attributed to medical care-seeking but only for men and only for the

Statistical analyses of scatterplots to identify important factors in large-scale simulations, 2: robustness of techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleijnen, J.P.C.; Helton, J.C.

1999-01-01

The robustness of procedures for identifying patterns in scatterplots generated in Monte Carlo sensitivity analyses is investigated. These procedures are based on attempts to detect increasingly complex patterns in the scatterplots under consideration and involve the identification of (i) linear relationships with correlation coefficients, (ii) monotonic relationships with rank correlation coefficients, (iii) trends in central tendency as defined by means, medians and the Kruskal-Wallis statistic, (iv) trends in variability as defined by variances and interquartile ranges, and (v) deviations from randomness as defined by the chi-square statistic. The following two topics related to the robustness of these procedures are considered for a sequence of example analyses with a large model for two-phase fluid flow: the presence of Type I and Type II errors, and the stability of results obtained with independent Latin hypercube samples. Observations from analysis include: (i) Type I errors are unavoidable, (ii) Type II errors can occur when inappropriate analysis procedures are used, (iii) physical explanations should always be sought for why statistical procedures identify variables as being important, and (iv) the identification of important variables tends to be stable for independent Latin hypercube samples

Application of multiple tracers (SF6 and chloride) to identify the transport by characteristics of contaminant at two separate contaminated sites

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, K. K.; Lee, S. S.; Kim, H. H.; Koh, E. H.; Kim, M. O.; Lee, K.; Kim, H. J.

2016-12-01

Multiple tracers were applied for source and pathway detection at two different sites. CO2 gas injected in the subsurface for a shallow-depth CO2 injection and leak test can be regarded as a potential contaminant source. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the migration pattern of CO2 gas. Also, at a DNAPL contaminated site, it is important to figure out the characteristics of plume evolution from the source zone. In this study, multiple tracers (SF6 and chloride) were used to evaluate the applicability of volatile and non-volatile tracers and to identify the characteristics of contaminant transport at each CO2 injection and leak test site and DNAPL contaminated site. Firstly, at the CO2 test site, multiple tracers were used to perform the single well push-drift-pull tracer test at total 3 specific depth zones. As results of tests, volatile and non-volatile tracers showed different mass recovery percentage. Most of chloride mass was recovered but less than half of SF6 mass was recovered due to volatile property. This means that only gaseous SF6 leak out to unsaturated zone. However, breakthrough curves of both tracers indicated similar peak time, effective porosity, and regional groundwater velocity. Also, at both contaminated sites, natural gradient tracer tests were performed with multiple tracers. With the results of natural gradient tracer test, it was possible to confirm the applicability of multiple tracers and to understand the contaminant transport in highly heterogeneous aquifer systems through the long-term monitoring of tracers. Acknowledgement: financial support was provided by the R&D Project on Environmental Management of Geologic CO2 Storage)" from the KEITI (Project Number: 2014001810003) and Korea Ministry of Environment as "The GAIA project (2014000540010)".

Identifying molecular markers associated with stigma characteristics in rice

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Stigma characteristics play essential roles in hybrid seed production of rice and marker-assisted breeding plays essential role because they are quantitatively inherited with single-flowered perfect spikelet. Ninety four accessions originated from 47 countries were selected from the USDA rice core c...

Comparison of the clinical and microbiological characteristics of Campylobacter and Helicobacter bacteremia: the importance of time to blood culture positivity using the BACTEC blood culture systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Kei; Hayakawa, Kayoko; Nagashima, Maki; Shimada, Kayo; Kutsuna, Satoshi; Takeshita, Nozomi; Kato, Yasuyuki; Kanagawa, Shuzo; Yamada, Koji; Mezaki, Kazuhisa; Kirikae, Teruo; Ohmagari, Norio

2017-11-28

Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp. are rare but important causes of bacteremia in humans. Distinguishing these bacteria is complicated because of their similar phenotypic profiles. We conducted clinical and microbiological investigations of Campylobacter spp. or Helicobacter spp. bacteremia. Patients diagnosed with bacteremia from 2008 to 2014 were included. The clinical and microbiological characteristics of Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp. bacteremia were compared. The BACTEC system was used in blood cultures. A receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted based on the time to blood culture positivity. Sixteen cases of Helicobacter spp. bacteremia (patient age: 61 ± 18 years) and 14 cases of Campylobacter spp. bacteremia (patient age: 49 ± 21 years) were identified. Median time to blood culture positivity was longer for the Helicobacter spp. cases than the Campylobacter spp. cases (91.4 h vs 55.3 h, p culture positivity > 75 h predicted Helicobacter spp. bacteremia with a sensitivity of 0.88 and a specificity of 0.93 (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.90). In conclusion, a time to blood culture positivity was useful in distinguishing Helicobacter spp. bacteremia from Campylobacter spp. bacteremia.

A multi-resolution analysis of lidar-DTMs to identify geomorphic processes from characteristic topographic length scales

Science.gov (United States)

Sangireddy, H.; Passalacqua, P.; Stark, C. P.

2013-12-01

Characteristic length scales are often present in topography, and they reflect the driving geomorphic processes. The wide availability of high resolution lidar Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) allows us to measure such characteristic scales, but new methods of topographic analysis are needed in order to do so. Here, we explore how transitions in probability distributions (pdfs) of topographic variables such as (log(area/slope)), defined as topoindex by Beven and Kirkby[1979], can be measured by Multi-Resolution Analysis (MRA) of lidar DTMs [Stark and Stark, 2001; Sangireddy et al.,2012] and used to infer dominant geomorphic processes such as non-linear diffusion and critical shear. We show this correlation between dominant geomorphic processes to characteristic length scales by comparing results from a landscape evolution model to natural landscapes. The landscape evolution model MARSSIM Howard[1994] includes components for modeling rock weathering, mass wasting by non-linear creep, detachment-limited channel erosion, and bedload sediment transport. We use MARSSIM to simulate steady state landscapes for a range of hillslope diffusivity and critical shear stresses. Using the MRA approach, we estimate modal values and inter-quartile ranges of slope, curvature, and topoindex as a function of resolution. We also construct pdfs at each resolution and identify and extract characteristic scale breaks. Following the approach of Tucker et al.,[2001], we measure the average length to channel from ridges, within the GeoNet framework developed by Passalacqua et al.,[2010] and compute pdfs for hillslope lengths at each scale defined in the MRA. We compare the hillslope diffusivity used in MARSSIM against inter-quartile ranges of topoindex and hillslope length scales, and observe power law relationships between the compared variables for simulated landscapes at steady state. We plot similar measures for natural landscapes and are able to qualitatively infer the dominant geomorphic

Prevalence and characteristics of asthma–COPD overlap syndrome identified by a stepwise approach

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Inoue H

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Hiromasa Inoue,1 Takahide Nagase,2 Satoshi Morita,3 Atsushi Yoshida,4 Tatsunori Jinnai,4 Masakazu Ichinose5 1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 3Department of Biomedical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, 4Medical Department, AstraZeneca K.K., Osaka, 5Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan Background and objective: There is increasing recognition of asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS, which shares some features of both asthma and COPD; however, the prevalence and characteristics of ACOS are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of ACOS among patients with COPD and its characteristics using a stepwise approach as stated in the recent report of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD. Methods: This multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study enrolled outpatients who were receiving medical treatment for COPD. Clinical data, including spirometry results, were retrieved from medical records. For symptom assessment, patients were asked to complete the Clinical COPD questionnaire and the modified British Medical Research Council questionnaire. Results: Of the 1,008 patients analyzed, 167 (16.6% had syndromic features of ACOS. Of the total number of patients, 93 and 42 (9.2% and 4.2% also had a predefined clinical variability of ≥12%/≥200 mL and ≥12%/≥400 mL in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1, respectively, and therefore were identified as having ACOS. Conversely, the number of patients who had either syndromic or spirometric feature of ACOS was 595 (59.0%, ≥12%/≥200 mL FEV1 clinical variability, and 328 patients (32.5%, ≥12%/≥400 m

Identifying individual- and population-level characteristics that influence rates of risky alcohol consumption in regional communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Breen, Courtney; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Sanson-Fisher, Rob; D'Este, Catherine; Mattick, Richard P; Gilmour, Stuart

2014-02-01

To examine the extent to which individual- and community- level characteristics account for differences in risky alcohol consumption. A cross-sectional postal survey of 2,977 randomly selected individuals from 20 regional communities in NSW, Australia. Individuals drinking at harmful levels on the AUDIT and for risk of harm in the short term and long-term were identified. Multi-level modelling of the correlates of risky alcohol consumption at the individual and community level was conducted. There were differences between communities in alcohol consumption patterns. Being male, unmarried and reporting worse health were significant individual-level correlates for drinking at levels for risk of harm in the long term. The number of GPs (+) and police (-) were significant community characteristics. Being younger (≤25), unmarried, Australian born and with a larger income was associated with drinking at levels for risk of harm in the short term and harmful drinking on the AUDIT. The number of hotels and clubs was positively associated with drinking at levels for risk of harm in the short term. Rates of risky drinking vary significantly between communities and both individual and community characteristics are significantly associated with risky alcohol consumption. A combination of individual- and population-level interventions, tailored to the risk profile of individual communities, is most likely to be optimally effective. © 2014 The Authors. ANZJPH © 2014 Public Health Association of Australia.

Importância das características na precificação de veículos nacionais Importance of characteristics in pricing national vehicles

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Camilo Brandão de Resende

2009-01-01

Full Text Available O mercado de bens de consumo é constituído por produtos heterogêneos que podem ser vistos como uma união de atributos ou características. Quantificar o valor dessas características pode auxiliar na criação de uma regra de precificação que permita, por exemplo, precificar um produto não existente, auxiliando na sua previsão de demanda. O objetivo deste trabalho é utilizar a teoria do preço hedônico para determinar empiricamente o valor e a importância relativa das características na precificação de veículos nacionais brasileiros. O modelo de previsão foi obtido utilizando-se uma função hedônica linear, cujos coeficientes foram estimados através de mínimos quadrados ordinários. Pode-se concluir que a potência é o fator de maior impacto no preço de um veículo, seguido pelo grau de luxo e marca.The market of consumer goods is consisted of heterogeneous products which can be viewed as a union of attributes or characteristics. Quantifying the value of these characteristics can help in the creation of a pricing rule, allowing, for example, pricing a product which is not available, and helping in the estimates of its demand. The purpose of this work is to use the theory of hedonic price to determine empirically the value of characteristics, as well as their relative importance, in the price of Brazilian vehicles. The model was obtained using data regarding 150 national vehicles and a linear hedonic function, which coefficients were estimated by ordinary least squares. It can be concluded that the engine power is the factor which has the greatest impact on a vehicle price, followed by the luxury level and the brand.

Assessing the relative importance of correlates of loneliness in later life: Gaining insight using recursive partitioning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ejlskov, Linda; Wulff, Jesper; Bøggild, Henrik

2017-01-01

and demographic correlates were poor identifiers of loneliness. The regression tree suggested that loneliness was not raised among those with poor mental wellbeing if they identified their partner as closest confidante and had frequent social contact. CONCLUSION: Recursive partitioning can identify which......OBJECTIVES: Improving the design and targeting of interventions is important for alleviating loneliness among older adults. This requires identifying which correlates are the most important predictors of loneliness. This study demonstrates the use of recursive partitioning in exploring...... the characteristics and assessing the relative importance of correlates of loneliness in older adults. METHOD: Using exploratory regression trees and random forests, we examined combinations and the relative importance of 42 correlates in relation to loneliness at age 68 among 2453 participants from the birth cohort...

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifying Candidate Genes Influencing Important Agronomic Traits of Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) Using SLAF-seq.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Dongwei; Dai, Zhigang; Yang, Zemao; Sun, Jian; Zhao, Debao; Yang, Xue; Zhang, Liguo; Tang, Qing; Su, Jianguang

2017-01-01

Flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.) is an important cash crop, and its agronomic traits directly affect yield and quality. Molecular studies on flax remain inadequate because relatively few flax genes have been associated with agronomic traits or have been identified as having potential applications. To identify markers and candidate genes that can potentially be used for genetic improvement of crucial agronomic traits, we examined 224 specimens of core flax germplasm; specifically, phenotypic data for key traits, including plant height, technical length, number of branches, number of fruits, and 1000-grain weight were investigated under three environmental conditions before specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) was employed to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for these five agronomic traits. Subsequently, the results were used to screen single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci and candidate genes that exhibited a significant correlation with the important agronomic traits. Our analyses identified a total of 42 SNP loci that showed significant correlations with the five important agronomic flax traits. Next, candidate genes were screened in the 10 kb zone of each of the 42 SNP loci. These SNP loci were then analyzed by a more stringent screening via co-identification using both a general linear model (GLM) and a mixed linear model (MLM) as well as co-occurrences in at least two of the three environments, whereby 15 final candidate genes were obtained. Based on these results, we determined that UGT and PL are candidate genes for plant height, GRAS and XTH are candidate genes for the number of branches, Contig1437 and LU0019C12 are candidate genes for the number of fruits, and PHO1 is a candidate gene for the 1000-seed weight. We propose that the identified SNP loci and corresponding candidate genes might serve as a biological basis for improving crucial agronomic flax traits.

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifying Candidate Genes Influencing Important Agronomic Traits of Flax (Linum usitatissimum L. Using SLAF-seq

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongwei Xie

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Flax (Linum usitatissimum L. is an important cash crop, and its agronomic traits directly affect yield and quality. Molecular studies on flax remain inadequate because relatively few flax genes have been associated with agronomic traits or have been identified as having potential applications. To identify markers and candidate genes that can potentially be used for genetic improvement of crucial agronomic traits, we examined 224 specimens of core flax germplasm; specifically, phenotypic data for key traits, including plant height, technical length, number of branches, number of fruits, and 1000-grain weight were investigated under three environmental conditions before specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq was employed to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS for these five agronomic traits. Subsequently, the results were used to screen single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP loci and candidate genes that exhibited a significant correlation with the important agronomic traits. Our analyses identified a total of 42 SNP loci that showed significant correlations with the five important agronomic flax traits. Next, candidate genes were screened in the 10 kb zone of each of the 42 SNP loci. These SNP loci were then analyzed by a more stringent screening via co-identification using both a general linear model (GLM and a mixed linear model (MLM as well as co-occurrences in at least two of the three environments, whereby 15 final candidate genes were obtained. Based on these results, we determined that UGT and PL are candidate genes for plant height, GRAS and XTH are candidate genes for the number of branches, Contig1437 and LU0019C12 are candidate genes for the number of fruits, and PHO1 is a candidate gene for the 1000-seed weight. We propose that the identified SNP loci and corresponding candidate genes might serve as a biological basis for improving crucial agronomic flax traits.

Physician-patient communication in HIV disease: the importance of patient, physician, and visit characteristics.

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Wilson, I B; Kaplan, S

2000-12-15

Although previous work that considered a variety of chronic conditions has shown that higher quality physician-patient communication care is related to better health outcomes, the quality of physician-patient communication itself for patients with HIV disease has not been well studied. To determine the relationship of patient, visit, physician, and physician practice characteristics to two measures of physician-patient communication for patients with HIV disease. Cross-sectional survey of physicians and patients. Cohort study enrolling patients from throughout eastern Massachusetts. 264 patients with HIV disease and their their primary HIV physicians (n = 69). Two measures of physician-patient communication were used, a five-item general communication measure (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93), and a four-item HIV-specific communication measure that included items about alcohol, drug use, and sexual behaviors (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92). The mean age of patients was 39. 5 years, 24% patients were women, 31.1% were nonwhite, and 52% indicated same-sex contact as their principal HIV risk factor. The mean age of physicians was 39.1 years, 33.3% were female, 39.7% were specialists, and 25.0% self-identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In multivariable models relating patient and visit characteristics to general communication, longer reported visit length (pbetter communication. The interaction of patient gender and visit length was also significant (p =.02); longer visit length was more strongly associated with better general communication for male than female patients. In similar models relating patient and visit characteristics to HIV-specific communication, longer visit length (p better communication. In multivariable models relating physician and practice characteristics to general communication no variables were significant. However, both female physician gender (p =.002) and gay/lesbian/bisexual sexual preference (p =.003) were significantly associated with better HIV

Crowd-sourced Ontology for Photoleukocoria: Identifying Common Internet Search Terms for a Potentially Important Pediatric Ophthalmic Sign.

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Staffieri, Sandra E; Kearns, Lisa S; Sanfilippo, Paul G; Craig, Jamie E; Mackey, David A; Hewitt, Alex W

2018-02-01

Leukocoria is the most common presenting sign for pediatric eye disease including retinoblastoma and cataract, with worse outcomes if diagnosis is delayed. We investigated whether individuals could identify leukocoria in photographs (photoleukocoria) and examined their subsequent Internet search behavior. Using a web-based questionnaire, in this cross-sectional study we invited adults aged over 18 years to view two photographs of a child with photoleukocoria, and then search the Internet to determine a possible diagnosis and action plan. The most commonly used search terms and websites accessed were recorded. The questionnaire was completed by 1639 individuals. Facebook advertisement was the most effective recruitment strategy. The mean age of all respondents was 38.95 ± 14.59 years (range, 18-83), 94% were female, and 59.3% had children. An abnormality in the images presented was identified by 1613 (98.4%) participants. The most commonly used search terms were: "white," "pupil," "photo," and "eye" reaching a variety of appropriate websites or links to print or social media articles. Different words or phrases were used to describe the same observation of photoleukocoria leading to a range of websites. Variations in the description of observed signs and search words influenced the sites reached, information obtained, and subsequent help-seeking intentions. Identifying the most commonly used search terms for photoleukocoria is an important step for search engine optimization. Being directed to the most appropriate websites informing of the significance of photoleukocoria and the appropriate actions to take could improve delays in diagnosis of important pediatric eye disease such as retinoblastoma or cataract.

Influences on the diet quality of pre-school children: importance of maternal psychological characteristics.

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Jarman, Megan; Inskip, Hazel M; Ntani, Georgia; Cooper, Cyrus; Baird, Janis; Robinson, Sian M; Barker, Mary E

2015-08-01

To test the hypothesis that maternal psychological profiles relate to children's quality of diet. Cross-sectional study. Mothers provided information on their health-related psychological factors and aspects of their child's mealtime environment. Children's diet quality was assessed using an FFQ from which weekly intakes of foods and a diet Z-score were calculated. A high score described children with a better quality diet. Cluster analysis was performed to assess grouping of mothers based on psychological factors. Mealtime characteristics, describing how often children ate while sitting at a table or in front of the television, their frequency of takeaway food consumption, maternal covert control and food security, and children's quality of diet were examined, according to mothers' cluster membership. Mother-child pairs (n 324) in the Southampton Initiative for Health. Children were aged 2-5 years. Hampshire, UK. Two main clusters were identified. Mothers in cluster 1 had significantly higher scores for all psychological factors than mothers in cluster 2 (all P diets (β = -0.61, 95% CI -0.82, -0.40, P ≤ 0.001). This association was attenuated, but remained significant after controlling for confounding factors that included maternal education and home/mealtime characteristics (P = 0.006). The study suggests that mothers should be offered psychological support as part of interventions to improve children's quality of diet.

Important characteristics and constitutional law basis of the optional instrument for European contract law

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Silvija Petrić

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is dedicated to the analysis of the optional instrument for European contract law as one of the measures which the European Commission suggests within the framework of the initiative of European contract law. It is about the system of general rules of contract law and particular rules for those contracts which are the most important for the functioning of a unified European market. The paper analyses the reasons for suggesting such measures, the basic characteristics and purpose, possible ways of application, potential content and structure, its relation to other Acts and measures of community law, and, in particular, the possible constitutional law basis for the bringing in of such an act of Community law.

Warning dreams preceding the diagnosis of breast cancer: a survey of the most important characteristics.

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Burk, Larry

2015-01-01

There are rare reports of warning dreams about breast cancer in the dream literature and even fewer in the medical literature. Anxiety about breast cancer is increasing due to uncertainty about conflicting guidelines regarding mammography screening. The purpose of the study was to survey women with breast cancer who had warning dreams prior to diagnosis to determine the most common and important characteristics of these dreams. Eighteen women with a known diagnosis of breast cancer completed a survey of 19 Yes or No questions about their warning dreams and submitted dream narratives. The five most common characteristics of warning dreams in descending order of frequency reported in the survey were: a sense of conviction about the importance in 94%; the dreams were more vivid, real or intense than ordinary in 83%; an emotional sense of threat, menace or dread in 72%; the use of the specific words breast cancer/tumor in 44%; and the sense of physical contact with the breast in 39%. Warning dreams of breast cancer were often reported to be life changing experiences that prompted medical attention leading directly to diagnosis. Further research needs to be done to determine the frequency of such dreams in women without known breast cancer in order to assess the predictive value of a warning dream. These preliminary results suggest that keeping a dream diary might be a useful adjunct to routine self-examination as part of a breast self-care program, particularly for women in a high-risk category. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring the e-cigarette e-commerce marketplace: Identifying Internet e-cigarette marketing characteristics and regulatory gaps.

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Mackey, Tim K; Miner, Angela; Cuomo, Raphael E

2015-11-01

The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) market is maturing into a billion-dollar industry. Expansion includes new channels of access not sufficiently assessed, including Internet sales of e-cigarettes. This study identifies unique e-cigarette Internet vendor characteristics, including geographic location, promotional strategies, use of social networking, presence/absence of age verification, and consumer warning representation. We performed structured Internet search engine queries and used inclusion/exclusion criteria to identify e-cigarette vendors. We then conducted content analysis of characteristics of interest. Our examination yielded 57 e-cigarette Internet vendors including 54.4% (n=31) that sold exclusively online. The vast majority of websites (96.5%, n=55) were located in the U.S. Vendors used a variety of sales promotion strategies to market e-cigarettes including 70.2% (n=40) that used more than one social network service (SNS) and 42.1% (n=24) that used more than one promotional sales strategies. Most vendors (68.4%, n=39) displayed one or more health warnings on their website, but often displayed them in smaller font or in their terms and conditions. Additionally, 35.1% (n=20) of vendors did not have any detectable age verification process. E-cigarette Internet vendors are actively engaged in various promotional activities to increase the appeal and presence of their products online. In the absence of FDA regulations specific to the Internet, the e-cigarette e-commerce marketplace is likely to grow. This digital environment poses unique challenges requiring targeted policy-making including robust online age verification, monitoring of SNS marketing, and greater scrutiny of certain forms of marketing promotional practices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a strategy to identify the characteristics of babie‘s rooms associated with volatile organic compounds and with the occurrence of wheezing

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Raquel Rodrigues dos Santos

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The air quality in residential contexts is still poorly understood. However, it is assumed to be very important in children's health, especially as a contributor to the onset of respiratory disease. Some volatile organic compounds (VOCs have been associated with the occurrence of asthma and respiratory disease symptoms. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to identify the characteristics of the rooms where babies (0 to 36 months old sleep, potentially associated with exposure to volatile organic compounds and with the occurrence of wheezing. The design of the questionnaire involved bibliographic research, selection of (research articles, definition of appropriate variables and pretesting. As a result, we obtained an instrument comprised of 50 questions, suitable for the analysis of the data sought. This questionnaire also serves as a tool that may be useful in other studies in the scope of indoor air quality.

The use of random-effects models to identify health care center-related characteristics modifying the effect of antipsychotic drugs.

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Nordon, Clementine; Battin, Constance; Verdoux, Helene; Haro, Josef Maria; Belger, Mark; Abenhaim, Lucien; van Staa, Tjeerd Pieter

2017-01-01

A case study was conducted, exploring methods to identify drugs effects modifiers, at a health care center level. Data were drawn from the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcome cohort, including hierarchical information on 6641 patients, recruited from 899 health care centers from across ten European countries. Center-level characteristics included the following: psychiatrist's gender, age, length of practice experience, practice setting and type, countries' Healthcare System Efficiency score, and psychiatrist density in the country. Mixed multivariable linear regression models were used: 1) to estimate antipsychotic drugs' effectiveness (defined as the association between patients' outcome at 3 months - dependent variable, continuous - and antipsychotic drug initiation at baseline - drug A vs other antipsychotic drug); 2) to estimate the similarity between clustered data (using the intra-cluster correlation coefficient); and 3) to explore antipsychotic drug effects modification by center-related characteristics (using the addition of an interaction term). About 23% of the variance found for patients' outcome was explained by unmeasured confounding at a center level. Psychiatrists' practice experience was found to be associated with patient outcomes ( p =0.04) and modified the relative effect of "drug A" ( p <0.001), independent of center- or patient-related characteristics. Mixed models may be useful to explore how center-related characteristics modify drugs' effect estimates, but require numerous assumptions.

Characteristics of self-identified sexual addicts in a behavioral addiction outpatient clinic.

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Wéry, Aline; Vogelaere, Kim; Challet-Bouju, Gaëlle; Poudat, François-Xavier; Caillon, Julie; Lever, Delphine; Billieux, Joël; Grall-Bronnec, Marie

2016-12-01

Background and aims Research on sexual addiction flourished during the last decade, promoted by the development of an increased number of online sexual activities. Despite the accumulation of studies, however, evidence collected in clinical samples of treatment-seeking people remains scarce. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics (socio-demographics, sexual habits, and comorbidities) of self-identified "sexual addicts." Methods The sample was composed of 72 patients who consulted an outpatient treatment center regarding their sexual behaviors. Data were collected through a combination of structured interviewing and self-report measures. Results Most patients were males (94.4%) aged 20-76 years (mean 40.3 ± 10.9). Endorsement of sexual addiction diagnosis varied from 56.9% to 95.8% depending on the criteria used. The sexual behaviors reported to have the highest degree of functional impairment were having multiple sexual partners (56%), having unprotected sexual intercourse (51.9%), and using cybersex (43.6%). Ninety percent of patients endorsed a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, and 60.6% presented at least one paraphilia. Conclusions Results showed highly different profiles in terms of sexual preferences and behaviors, as well as comorbidities involved. These findings highlight the need to develop tailored psychotherapeutic interventions by taking into account the complexity and heterogeneity of the disorder.

Imaging-Based Screen Identifies Laminin 411 as a Physiologically Relevant Niche Factor with Importance for i-Hep Applications

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John Ong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Summary: Use of hepatocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (i-Heps is limited by their functional differences in comparison with primary cells. Extracellular niche factors likely play a critical role in bridging this gap. Using image-based characterization (high content analysis; HCA of freshly isolated hepatocytes from 17 human donors, we devised and validated an algorithm (Hepatocyte Likeness Index; HLI for comparing the hepatic properties of cells against a physiological gold standard. The HLI was then applied in a targeted screen of extracellular niche factors to identify substrates driving i-Heps closer to the standard. Laminin 411, the top hit, was validated in two additional induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC lines, primary tissue, and an in vitro model of α1-antitrypsin deficiency. Cumulatively, these data provide a reference method to control and screen for i-Hep differentiation, identify Laminin 411 as a key niche protein, and underscore the importance of combining substrates, soluble factors, and HCA when developing iPSC applications. : Rashid and colleagues demonstrate the utility of a high-throughput imaging platform for identification of physiologically relevant extracellular niche factors to advance i-Heps closer to their primary tissue counterparts. The extracellular matrix (ECM protein screen identified Laminin 411 as an important niche factor facilitating i-Hep-based disease modeling in vitro. Keywords: iPS hepatocytes, extracellular niche, image-based screening, disease modeling, laminin

Important characteristics of an entrepreneur in relation to risk taking: Czech Republic case study

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Ludmila Kozubíková

2017-10-01

Full Text Available New businesses arising at the market usually operate in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises and account for a significant part of the whole global economy. Not only the success of a start-up company, but also its sequel within the SME sector are significantly influenced by entrepreneur's personality. The aim of this article is to explore the attitude to financial risk in relation to sociodemographic characteristics (gender, education, age and the most important personality traits of entrepreneurs (risk-taking, decisiveness, optimism. We have analyzed the data collected from 1141 respondents during 2015 in 14 regions of Czech Republic. Empirical results of our paper show that the researched entrepreneurs rather can't manage financial risks in their firms regardless their gender, education, age or personality traits. Most entrepreneurs consider the importance of financial risk to increase during the crisis period. These opinions differed in relation to age, gender and such personality traits as "decisiveness" and "optimism". The results also show that the entrepreneurs try to minimise the financial risk through building-up reserves in relation to such qualities as "risk-taking" and "decisiveness" in comparison to a rather negative attitude to "optimism".

Imported malaria in Scotland--an overview of surveillance, reporting and trends.

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Unger, Holger W; McCallum, Andrew D; Ukachukwu, Vincent; McGoldrick, Claire; Perrow, Kali; Latin, Gareth; Norrie, Gillian; Morris, Sheila; Smith, Catherine C; Jones, Michael E

2011-11-01

Imported malaria cases continue to occur and are often underreported. This study assessed reporting of malaria cases and their characteristics in Scotland. Cases were identified at the study sites of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. The number of cases identified in the period 2003-2008 was compared to surveillance databases from Health Protection Scotland (HPS) and the Malaria Reference Laboratory (MRL). Case characteristics were recorded and analysed. Of 252 cases of malaria diagnosed and treated, an estimated 235 (93.3%) were reported to the MRL. Between 2006 and 2008, 114 of 126 cases (90.5%) were reported to HPS. Plasmodium falciparum caused 173 cases (68.7%). Business and professional travel accounted for 35.3% of cases (higher in Aberdeen), followed by visiting friends and relatives (33.1%) and holiday makers (25.5%). The majority of infections were imported from West Africa and 65.7% of patients for whom data on prophylaxis was available had taken no or inappropriate prophylaxis. Reporting of malaria in Scotland can be improved. There is a continued need to optimise preventive measures and adherence to chemoprophylaxis amongst business travellers, those visiting friends and relatives, and holiday makers in endemic countries in order to reduce imported malaria cases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Importance of soil physical characteristics for petroleum ...

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interaction between the soil, plant and organisms (Zhang et al., 2010). .... only the diversity and abundance of the clay, minerals is an important ..... the main supplier of the essential water for plant growth. Soil water ... This also leads to inhibition of roots to ..... contaminated soil with pentachlorophenol and cadmium. Int. J.

Veterans' voices: use of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Survey to identify My HealtheVet personal health record users' characteristics, needs, and preferences

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Background Consumer research reveals considerable interest in the use of Personal Health Records (PHRs), yet adoption remains relatively low. Both adopters and nonadopters represent important perspectives from which to understand this paradox. Objective This study focuses on direct feedback from adopters obtained using the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey on the My HealtheVet PHR portal (http://www.myhealth.va.gov) of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The results represent a source of direct feedback with which to better understand veterans' needs and preferences. Methods The ACSI Survey was implemented in October 2007 to measure satisfaction and elicit information about characteristics and preferences of My HealtheVet PHR adopters. The data represent a continuous random sample of site visitors who have navigated at least four pages on the site. A total of 100 617 surveys were completed (17.2%). Results Satisfaction with My HealtheVet is high (8.3/10.0), and users are highly likely to return to the site (8.6/10.0) and recommend the site to other veterans (9.1/10.0). The majority of system adopters are male (91%), between the ages of 51 and 70 (68%), and served in the Vietnam War (60%). Most veterans currently visit the site to utilize pharmacy-related features. Conclusion VHA has used the ACSI to monitor satisfaction, and to better understand the characteristics, needs, and preferences of early adopters. The data provide an important source of direct feedback to inform program development. Future research will include monitoring the impact of enhancements and new features on satisfaction, and conducting additional research with nonadopters to identify barriers to adoption and use. PMID:20190065

Veterans' voices: use of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Survey to identify My HealtheVet personal health record users' characteristics, needs, and preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazi, Kim M

2010-01-01

Consumer research reveals considerable interest in the use of Personal Health Records (PHRs), yet adoption remains relatively low. Both adopters and nonadopters represent important perspectives from which to understand this paradox. This study focuses on direct feedback from adopters obtained using the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey on the My HealtheVet PHR portal (http://www.myhealth.va.gov) of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The results represent a source of direct feedback with which to better understand veterans' needs and preferences. The ACSI Survey was implemented in October 2007 to measure satisfaction and elicit information about characteristics and preferences of My HealtheVet PHR adopters. The data represent a continuous random sample of site visitors who have navigated at least four pages on the site. A total of 100 617 surveys were completed (17.2%). Satisfaction with My HealtheVet is high (8.3/10.0), and users are highly likely to return to the site (8.6/10.0) and recommend the site to other veterans (9.1/10.0). The majority of system adopters are male (91%), between the ages of 51 and 70 (68%), and served in the Vietnam War (60%). Most veterans currently visit the site to utilize pharmacy-related features. VHA has used the ACSI to monitor satisfaction, and to better understand the characteristics, needs, and preferences of early adopters. The data provide an important source of direct feedback to inform program development. Future research will include monitoring the impact of enhancements and new features on satisfaction, and conducting additional research with nonadopters to identify barriers to adoption and use.

Characteristics important for organic breeding of vegetable crops

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Zdravković Jasmina

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The remarkable development and application of new genetic The Institute for Vegetable Crops possesses a rich germplasm collection of vegetables, utilized as gene resource for breeding specific traits. Onion and garlic breeding programs are based on chemical composition improvement. There are programs for identification and use of genotypes characterized by high tolerance to economically important diseases. Special attention is paid to breeding cucumber and tomato lines tolerant to late blight. As a result, late blight tolerant pickling cucumber line, as well as late blight tolerant tomato lines and hybrids are realized. Research on bean drought stress tolerance is initiated. Lettuce breeding program including research on spontaneous flora is started and interspecies hybrids were observed as possible genetic variability source. It is important to have access to a broad range of vegetable genotypes in order to meet the needs of organic agriculture production. Appreciating the concept of sustainable agriculture, it is important to introduce organic agriculture programs in breeding institutions.

To Identify the Important Soil Properties Affecting Dinoseb Adsorption with Statistical Analysis

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Yiqing Guan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Investigating the influences of soil characteristic factors on dinoseb adsorption parameter with different statistical methods would be valuable to explicitly figure out the extent of these influences. The correlation coefficients and the direct, indirect effects of soil characteristic factors on dinoseb adsorption parameter were analyzed through bivariate correlation analysis, and path analysis. With stepwise regression analysis the factors which had little influence on the adsorption parameter were excluded. Results indicate that pH and CEC had moderate relationship and lower direct effect on dinoseb adsorption parameter due to the multicollinearity with other soil factors, and organic carbon and clay contents were found to be the most significant soil factors which affect the dinoseb adsorption process. A regression is thereby set up to explore the relationship between the dinoseb adsorption parameter and the two soil factors: the soil organic carbon and clay contents. A 92% of the variation of dinoseb sorption coefficient could be attributed to the variation of the soil organic carbon and clay contents.

Life cycle, Ecological Characteristics, and Control of Trachys yanoi (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), an Important Pest of Zelkova serrata

OpenAIRE

Ohsawa, Masashi

2017-01-01

This study was conducted to elucidate the life cycle and the ecological characteristics of Trachys yanoi Y. Kurosawa, an important pest of Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino. Life cycle, mortality rates in developmental stages, annual population dynamics, and early leaf abscission were investigated. Adults emerged from under the bark of Zelkova trees in April and fed on Zelkova leaves. Females laid 49 eggs on average, mainly in May and early June. Eggs hatched after 17 days, and the larvae fed i...

Timing of Occurrence Is the Most Important Characteristic of Spot Sign.

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Wang, Binli; Yan, Shenqiang; Xu, Mengjun; Zhang, Sheng; Liu, Keqin; Hu, Haitao; Selim, Magdy; Lou, Min

2016-05-01

Most previous studies have used single-phase computed tomographic angiography to detect the spot sign, a marker for hematoma expansion (HE) in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. We investigated whether defining the spot sign based on timing on perfusion computed tomography (CTP) would improve its specificity for predicting HE. We prospectively enrolled supratentorial spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage patients who underwent CTP within 6 hours of onset. Logistic regression was performed to assess the risk factors for HE and poor outcome. Predictive performance of individual CTP spot sign characteristics were examined with receiver operating characteristic analysis. Sixty-two men and 21 women with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage were included in this analysis. Spot sign was detected in 46% (38/83) of patients. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the timing of spot sign occurrence on CTP had the greatest area under receiver operating characteristic curve for HE (0.794; 95% confidence interval, 0.630-0.958; P=0.007); the cutoff time was 23.13 seconds. On multivariable analysis, the presence of early-occurring spot sign (ie, spot sign before 23.13 seconds) was an independent predictor not only of HE (odds ratio=28.835; 95% confidence interval, 6.960-119.458; Pspot sign maintained a higher specificity for HE compared with spot sign (91% versus 74%). Redefining the spot sign based on timing of contrast leakage on CTP to determine early-occurring spot sign improves the specificity for predicting HE and 3-month mortality. The use of early-occurring spot sign could improve the selection of ICH patients for potential hemostatic therapy. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

Fingerprints of zones in boreholes. An approach to identify the characteristics of structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Straeng, Thomas; Waenstedt, Stefan; Tiren, Sven (GEOSIGMA AB (Sweden))

2010-11-15

The classification of geophysical borehole data in order to identify and characterize structures, which intercepts the borehole, is an important part of 3D modelling of the structural pattern of the bedrock. The objective of this study is to test a statistical approach, cluster analysis, on site data in order to see if it is possible to classify complex data set, geological and geophysical borehole data, in order to identify borehole intersects with increased brittle deformation, i.e. brittle deformation zones. The base data used in the study have been provided and delivered by SKB and consist of borehole logging data from the cored borehole KFM03A. The statistical method chosen for this study, cluster analysis using K-means method, groups data into a pre-defined number of clusters with the goal to minimize the variance of data within the group and to maximize the variance between the clusters. The idea is that data can and should be grouped into two categories, two clusters -corresponding to homogeneous bedrock (matrix) in one cluster and open fractures in the other cluster. The analysis also includes a repetition of the cluster analysis, with a stepwise refined data set to see whether strongly accentuated features could be identified. The results show that the use of K-mean Cluster analysis will present clusters that could represent the spatial distribution of bedrock matrix and the location of fractures respectively down the borehole. The results were compared with fracture frequency data (from core mapping) and also with the geological Single Hole Interpretation of KFM03A performed by SKB. The fracture zones identified in the Single Hole Interpretation process are all indicated in the cluster analysis results. The cluster analysis revealed eight additional possible zones. A majority of these are smaller than 5 metres (section width in the borehole) but they are still pronounced in the analysis. Based on the geophysical data, these sections should be taken into

The Importance of Memory Specificity and Memory Coherence for the Self: Linking Two Characteristics of Autobiographical Memory

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Elien Vanderveren

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Autobiographical memory forms a network of memories about personal experiences that defines and supports well-being and effective functioning of the self in various ways. During the last three decades, there have been two characteristics of autobiographical memory that have received special interest regarding their role in psychological well-being and psychopathology, namely memory specificity and memory coherence. Memory specificity refers to the extent to which retrieved autobiographical memories are specific (i.e., memories about a particular experience that happened on a particular day. Difficulty retrieving specific memories interferes with effective functioning of the self and is related to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Memory coherence refers to the narrative expression of the overall structure of autobiographical memories. It has likewise been related to psychological well-being and the occurrence of psychopathology. Research on memory specificity and memory coherence has developed as two largely independent research domains, even though they show much overlap. This raises some important theoretical questions. How do these two characteristics of autobiographical memory relate to each other, both theoretically and empirically? Additionally, how can the integration of these two facilitate our understanding of the importance of autobiographical memory for the self? In this article, we give a critical overview of memory specificity and memory coherence and their relation to the self. We link both features of autobiographical memory by describing some important similarities and by formulating hypotheses about how they might relate to each other. By situating both memory specificity and memory coherence within Conway and Pleydell-Pearce’s Self-Memory System, we make a first attempt at a theoretical integration. Finally, we suggest some new and exciting research possibilities and explain how both research fields could benefit

Global sensitivity analysis for identifying important parameters of nitrogen nitrification and denitrification under model uncertainty and scenario uncertainty

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Chen, Zhuowei; Shi, Liangsheng; Ye, Ming; Zhu, Yan; Yang, Jinzhong

2018-06-01

Nitrogen reactive transport modeling is subject to uncertainty in model parameters, structures, and scenarios. By using a new variance-based global sensitivity analysis method, this paper identifies important parameters for nitrogen reactive transport with simultaneous consideration of these three uncertainties. A combination of three scenarios of soil temperature and two scenarios of soil moisture creates a total of six scenarios. Four alternative models describing the effect of soil temperature and moisture content are used to evaluate the reduction functions used for calculating actual reaction rates. The results show that for nitrogen reactive transport problem, parameter importance varies substantially among different models and scenarios. Denitrification and nitrification process is sensitive to soil moisture content status rather than to the moisture function parameter. Nitrification process becomes more important at low moisture content and low temperature. However, the changing importance of nitrification activity with respect to temperature change highly relies on the selected model. Model-averaging is suggested to assess the nitrification (or denitrification) contribution by reducing the possible model error. Despite the introduction of biochemical heterogeneity or not, fairly consistent parameter importance rank is obtained in this study: optimal denitrification rate (Kden) is the most important parameter; reference temperature (Tr) is more important than temperature coefficient (Q10); empirical constant in moisture response function (m) is the least important one. Vertical distribution of soil moisture but not temperature plays predominant role controlling nitrogen reaction. This study provides insight into the nitrogen reactive transport modeling and demonstrates an effective strategy of selecting the important parameters when future temperature and soil moisture carry uncertainties or when modelers face with multiple ways of establishing nitrogen

The characteristics of a good clinical teacher as perceived by resident physicians in Japan: a qualitative study.

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Kikukawa, Makoto; Nabeta, Hiromi; Ono, Maiko; Emura, Sei; Oda, Yasutomo; Koizumi, Shunzo; Sakemi, Takanobu

2013-07-25

It is not known whether the characteristics of a good clinical teacher as perceived by resident physicians are the same in Western countries as in non-Western countries including Japan. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of a good clinical teacher as perceived by resident physicians in Japan, a non-Western country, and to compare the results with those obtained in Western countries. Data for this qualitative research were collected using semi-structured focus group interviews. Focus group transcripts were independently analyzed and coded by three authors. Residents were recruited by maximum variation sampling until thematic saturation was achieved. Twenty-three residents participated in five focus group interviews regarding the perceived characteristics of a good clinical teacher in Japan. The 197 descriptions of characteristics that were identified were grouped into 30 themes. The most commonly identified theme was "provided sufficient support", followed by "presented residents with chances to think", "provided feedback", and "provided specific indications of areas needing improvement". Using Sutkin's main categories (teacher, physician, and human characteristics), 24 of the 30 themes were categorized as teacher characteristics, 6 as physician characteristics, and none as human characteristics. "Medical knowledge" of teachers was not identified as a concern of residents, and "clinical competence of teachers" was not emphasized, whereas these were the two most commonly recorded themes in Sutkin's study. Our results suggest that Japanese and Western resident physicians place emphasis on different characteristics of their teachers. We speculate that such perceptions are influenced by educational systems, educational settings, and culture. Globalization of medical education is important, but it is also important to consider differences in educational systems, local settings, and culture when evaluating clinical teachers.

Patient- and Family-Identified Problems of Traumatic Brain Injury: Value and Utility of a Target Outcome Approach to Identifying the Worst Problems

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Laraine Winter

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This study aimed to identify the sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI that are most troubling to veterans with TBI and their families and identify veteran-family differences in content and ranking. Instead of standardized measures of symptom frequency or severity, which may be insensitive to change or intervention effects, we used a target outcome measure for veterans with TBI and their key family members, which elicited open-ended reports concerning the three most serious TBI-related problems. This was followed by Likert-scaled ratings of difficulty in managing the problem. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, interviews were conducted in veterans’ homes. Participants included 83 veterans with TBI diagnosed at a Veterans Affairs medical rehabilitation service and a key family member of each veteran. We utilized open-ended questions to determine the problems caused by TBI within the last month. Sociodemographic characteristics of veterans and family members, and veterans’ military and medical characteristics were collected. A coding scheme was developed to categorize open-ended responses. Results: Families identified nearly twice as many categories of problems as did veterans, and veterans and families ranked problem categories very differently. Veterans ranked cognitive and physical problems worst; families ranked emotional and interpersonal problems worst. Conclusions: Easily administered open-ended questions about the most troubling TBI-related problems yield novel insights and reveal important veteran-family discrepancies.

New land disposal restrictions on contaminated soil and debris, and newly identified toxicity characteristic organics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fortune, William B.; Schumann, Jean C.; Fallon, William E.; Badden, Janet W.; Smith, Edward H.

1992-01-01

The applicability of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) program to radioactive mixed wastes (RMW) has been clarified through U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rulemakings and notices. However, a number of waste management concerns involving RMW and RMW-contaminated soil and debris continue to exist with respect to achieving compliance with LDR provisions and treatment standards. Consequently, DOE has become increasingly proactive in its participation in the LDR rulemaking process and in the identification of LDR compliance issues associated with its RMW inventories. Both data and recommendations from across the DOE complex were collected and transmitted to EPA in response to proposed requirements that would implement LDR for contaminated soil and debris, and certain newly identified toxicity characteristic (TC) organics. Much of this information focused on concerns related to the application of proposed regulatory approaches to RMW streams. Highlights from the information included in these DOE responses are presented. (author)

Integral characteristics of spectra of ions important for EUV lithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karazija, R; Kucas, S; Momkauskaite, A

2006-01-01

The emission spectrum corresponding to the 4p 5 4d N+1 + 4p 6 4d N-1 4f → 4p 6 4d N transition array is concentrated in a narrow interval of wavelengths. That is due to the existence of an approximate selection rule and quenching of some lines by configuration mixing. Thus such emission of elements near Z = 50 is considered to be the main candidate for the EUV lithography source at λ = 13.5 nm. In the present work the regularities of these transition arrays are considered using their integral characteristics: average energy, total line strength, variance and interval of array containing some part of the total transition probability. Calculations for various ions of elements In, Sn, Sb, Te, I and Xe have been performed in a two-configuration pseudorelativistic approximation, which describes fairly well the main features of the spectra. The variation in the values of the main integral characteristics of the spectra with atomic number and ionization degree gives the possibility of comparing quantitatively the suitability of the emission of various ions for EUV lithography

What should we be selecting for? A systematic approach for determining which personal characteristics to assess for during admissions

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Conlon Peter

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Admission committees are responsible for creating fair, defensible, reliable, and valid processes that assess those attributes considered important for professional success. There is evidence for the continuing use of academic ability as a selection criterion for health professional schools; however, there is little evidence for the reliability and validity of measures currently in place to assess personal characteristics. The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC initiated a review of its admissions criteria in order to implement an evidence-based method to determine which characteristics veterinary stakeholders consider important to assess for admission. Methods Eleven characteristics were identified by the OVC Admissions Committee and a survey was sent to all licensed veterinarians in Ontario (n=4,068, OVC students (n=450, and OVC faculty, interns and residents (n=192. A paired comparison method was used to identify the relative rank order of the characteristics, and multivariate analysis of variance with post hoc analyses was used to determine between group differences in the returned survey data. Results Surveys were returned from 1,312 participants (27.86% response rate; female 59.70%. The relative rank of the characteristics was reasonably consistent among participant groups, with ethical behaviour, sound judgment, communication, and critical and creative thinking being ranked as the top four. However, the importance of certain characteristics like communication and empathy were perceived differently by groups. For instance, females scored communication (F(1, 1289 = 20.24, p d = .26 and empathy (F(1, 1289 = 55.41, p d = 0.42 significantly higher than males, while males scored knowledge of profession (F(1, 1289 = 12.81, p d = 0.20, leadership (F(1, 1289 = 10.28, p = .001, d = 0.18, and sound judgment (F(1, 1289 = 13.56, p d = 0.21 significantly higher than females. Conclusions The data from the paired comparison method

Identification of important nodes in directed biological networks: a network motif approach.

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Pei Wang

Full Text Available Identification of important nodes in complex networks has attracted an increasing attention over the last decade. Various measures have been proposed to characterize the importance of nodes in complex networks, such as the degree, betweenness and PageRank. Different measures consider different aspects of complex networks. Although there are numerous results reported on undirected complex networks, few results have been reported on directed biological networks. Based on network motifs and principal component analysis (PCA, this paper aims at introducing a new measure to characterize node importance in directed biological networks. Investigations on five real-world biological networks indicate that the proposed method can robustly identify actually important nodes in different networks, such as finding command interneurons, global regulators and non-hub but evolutionary conserved actually important nodes in biological networks. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC curves for the five networks indicate remarkable prediction accuracy of the proposed measure. The proposed index provides an alternative complex network metric. Potential implications of the related investigations include identifying network control and regulation targets, biological networks modeling and analysis, as well as networked medicine.

Iodine concentration: a new, important characteristic of the spot sign that predicts haematoma expansion.

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Fu, Fan; Sun, Shengjun; Liu, Liping; Li, Jianying; Su, Yaping; Li, Yingying

2018-04-19

The computed tomography angiography (CTA) spot sign is a validated predictor of haematoma expansion (HE) in spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (SICH). We investigated whether defining the iodine concentration (IC) inside the spot sign and the haematoma on Gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) would improve its sensitivity and specificity for predicting HE. From 2014 to 2016, we prospectively enrolled 65 SICH patients who underwent single-phase spectral CTA within 6 h. Logistic regression was performed to assess the risk factors for HE. The predictive performance of individual spot sign characteristics was examined via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The spot sign was detected in 46.1% (30/65) of patients. ROC analysis indicated that IC inside the spot sign had the greatest area under the ROC curve for HE (0.858; 95% confidence interval, 0.727-0.989; p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis found that spot sign with higher IC (i.e. IC > 7.82 100 μg/ml) was an independent predictor of HE (odds ratio = 34.27; 95% confidence interval, 5.608-209.41; p spot sign showed sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of 0.81, 0.79, 0.73 and 0.86. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the IC in haematomas was independently associated with HE (odds ratio = 1.525; 95% confidence interval, 1.041-2.235; p = 0.030). ICs in haematoma and in spot sign were all independently associated with HE. IC analysis in spectral imaging may help to identify SICH patients for targeted haemostatic therapy. • Iodine concentration in spot sign and haematoma can predict haematoma expansion • Spectral imaging could measure the IC inside the spot sign and haematoma • IC in spot sign improved the positive predictive value (PPV) cf. CTA.

Statistical analyses of scatterplots to identify important factors in large-scale simulations, 1: Review and comparison of techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleijnen, J.P.C.; Helton, J.C.

1999-01-01

Procedures for identifying patterns in scatterplots generated in Monte Carlo sensitivity analyses are described and illustrated. These procedures attempt to detect increasingly complex patterns in scatterplots and involve the identification of (i) linear relationships with correlation coefficients, (ii) monotonic relationships with rank correlation coefficients, (iii) trends in central tendency as defined by means, medians and the Kruskal-Wallis statistic, (iv) trends in variability as defined by variances and interquartile ranges, and (v) deviations from randomness as defined by the chi-square statistic. A sequence of example analyses with a large model for two-phase fluid flow illustrates how the individual procedures can differ in the variables that they identify as having effects on particular model outcomes. The example analyses indicate that the use of a sequence of procedures is a good analysis strategy and provides some assurance that an important effect is not overlooked

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING QUALITY AND ITS DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS

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Andra M. ACHIM

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The importance ofhigh-quality financial statements is highlighted by the main standard-setting institutions activating in the field of accounting and reporting. These have issued Conceptual Frameworks which state and describe the qualitative characteristics of accounting information. In this qualitative study, the research methodology consists of reviewing the literature related to the definition of accounting quality and striving for understanding how it can be explained. The main objective of the study is to identify the characteristics information should possess in order to be of high quality. These characteristics also contribute to the way of defining financial accounting quality. The main conclusions that arise from this research are represented by the facts that indeed financial accounting quality cannot be uniquely defined and that financial information is of good quality when it enhances the characteristics incorporated in the conceptual frameworks issued by both International Accounting Standards Board and Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Pragmalinguistic characteristics of Biblical idiomatic expressions in Russian, Spanish, Italian, French, and English

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Елена Владимировна Реунова

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article is a cross-cultural analysis of idiomatic expressions of biblical origin in five languages: Russian, Spanish, Italian, French and English. Biblical idioms are regarded as important phenomena which strongly influence different speech acts. The article discusses the most important structural and stylistic characteristics of these idioms and identifies and compares their substantive differences.

Symptom outcomes important to women with anal incontinence: a conceptual framework.

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Sung, Vivian W; Rogers, Rebecca G; Bann, Carla M; Arya, Lily; Barber, Matthew D; Lowder, Jerry; Lukacz, Emily S; Markland, Alayne; Siddiqui, Nazema; Wilmot, Amanda; Meikle, Susan F

2014-05-01

To develop a framework that describes the most important symptom outcomes for anal incontinence treatment from the patient perspective. A conceptual framework was developed by the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network based on four semistructured focus groups and confirmed in two sets of 10 cognitive interviews including women with anal incontinence. We explored: 1) patient-preferred terminology for describing anal incontinence symptoms; 2) patient definitions of treatment "success"; 3) importance of symptoms and outcomes in the framework; and 4) conceptual gaps (defined as outcomes not previously identified as important). Sessions were conducted according to grounded theory transcribed, coded, and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed to identify relevant themes. Content and face validity of the framework were further assessed using cognitive interviews. Thirty-four women participated in focus groups and 20 in cognitive interviews. Overall, 29 (54%) were aged 60 years or older, 42 (78%) were white, and 10 (19%) had a high school degree or less. Two overarching outcome themes were identified: "primary bowel leakage symptoms" and "ancillary bowel symptoms." Subdomains important in primary bowel leakage symptoms included leakage characteristics (symptom frequency, amount of leakage, symptom bother) and conditions when bowel leakage occurs (predictability, awareness, urgency). Subdomains important under ancillary bowel symptoms included emptying disorders (constipation, obstructed defecation, and wiping issues) and discomfort (pain, burning). New outcomes identified included predictability, awareness, wiping issues, and discomfort. Women with anal incontinence desire a wide range of symptom outcomes after treatment. These are captured in our conceptual framework, which can aid clinicians and researchers in assessing anal incontinence. LEVEL OF EVIEDENCE: II.

IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING ANGIOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TENSOR FASCIAE LATAE VASCULAR STALK

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Sladjana Ugrenovic

2006-07-01

the most common site for infections in vascular surgery. Good cognition of angiographic characteristics of m. TFL vascular stalk is of great importance for prevention of its necrosis before its usage in surgical purposes.

Dynamic characteristics of a flywheel energy storage system using superconducting magnetic bearings

CERN Document Server

Kim, J S

2003-01-01

The high-temperature superconducting magnetic bearing flywheel energy storage system (SMB-FESS) is proposed as an efficient energy storage system. It is important to identify the dynamic behaviour and the characteristics of the SMB-FESS. First, a new method for identifying SMB characteristics has been suggested. The suggested modelling method is verified by comparing the experimental and analytical frequency response functions. In this study, the analyses of critical speed and unbalance response are performed using the analytical model. The experimental test has been carried out to verify the result of simulation. A good agreement has been observed between the experiment and the simulation result.

CT Perfusion Characteristics Identify Metastatic Sites in Liver

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Yuan Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Tissue perfusion plays a critical role in oncology because growth and migration of cancerous cells require proliferation of new blood vessels through the process of tumor angiogenesis. Computed tomography (CT perfusion is an emerging functional imaging modality that measures tissue perfusion through dynamic CT scanning following intravenous administration of contrast medium. This noninvasive technique provides a quantitative basis for assessing tumor angiogenesis. CT perfusion has been utilized on a variety of organs including lung, prostate, liver, and brain, with promising results in cancer diagnosis, disease prognostication, prediction, and treatment monitoring. In this paper, we focus on assessing the extent to which CT perfusion characteristics can be used to discriminate liver metastases from neuroendocrine tumors from normal liver tissues. The neuroendocrine liver metastases were analyzed by distributed parameter modeling to yield tissue blood flow (BF, blood volume (BV, mean transit time (MTT, permeability (PS, and hepatic arterial fraction (HAF, for tumor and normal liver. The result reveals the potential of CT perfusion as a tool for constructing biomarkers from features of the hepatic vasculature for guiding cancer detection, prognostication, and treatment selection.

Importance of demographic characteristics and nurses' role in women's perceptions and experiences of gynaecological examination

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Dušanka Zaić

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Gynaecological examination is crucial for protecting the reproductive health of women. The purpose of the study was to explore the perception of women towards gynaecological examination, the importance of some demographic characteristics and the role of a nurse. Methods: A quantitative methodology was used for study purposes. A structured web questionnaire was applied on a non-random, convenience sample of women (n = 476. The questionnaire was published on the most popular Slovenian web forums. Prior to the main research project, a pilot study was conducted on a sample of 10 women. The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results: Results of the study show a statistically significant correlation between the respondents' residential environment (t = -2.436, p = 0.015, the level of educational attainment (rs=-0.153, p = 0.001 and the presence of discomfort and fear before the gynaecological examination. The role of a nurse in reducing the level of discomfort and fear before (t = -0.931, p = 0.352 and during (t = -0.888, p = 0.375 the gynaecological examination was not proven statistically significant. Discussion and conclusions: Besides the demographic characteristics, a number of personal and societal factors influence women's attitudes towards gynaecological examination and the associated discomfort and fear. The study suggests that further qualitative studies are needed to gain a deeper understanding of how women experience a pelvic examination.

BICEPP: an example-based statistical text mining method for predicting the binary characteristics of drugs

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Tsafnat Guy

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The identification of drug characteristics is a clinically important task, but it requires much expert knowledge and consumes substantial resources. We have developed a statistical text-mining approach (BInary Characteristics Extractor and biomedical Properties Predictor: BICEPP to help experts screen drugs that may have important clinical characteristics of interest. Results BICEPP first retrieves MEDLINE abstracts containing drug names, then selects tokens that best predict the list of drugs which represents the characteristic of interest. Machine learning is then used to classify drugs using a document frequency-based measure. Evaluation experiments were performed to validate BICEPP's performance on 484 characteristics of 857 drugs, identified from the Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH and the PharmacoKinetic Interaction Screening (PKIS database. Stratified cross-validations revealed that BICEPP was able to classify drugs into all 20 major therapeutic classes (100% and 157 (of 197 minor drug classes (80% with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC > 0.80. Similarly, AUC > 0.80 could be obtained in the classification of 173 (of 238 adverse events (73%, up to 12 (of 15 groups of clinically significant cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP inducers or inhibitors (80%, and up to 11 (of 14 groups of narrow therapeutic index drugs (79%. Interestingly, it was observed that the keywords used to describe a drug characteristic were not necessarily the most predictive ones for the classification task. Conclusions BICEPP has sufficient classification power to automatically distinguish a wide range of clinical properties of drugs. This may be used in pharmacovigilance applications to assist with rapid screening of large drug databases to identify important characteristics for further evaluation.

Identifying selectively important amino acid positions associated with alternative habitat environments in fish mitochondrial genomes.

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Xia, Jun Hong; Li, Hong Lian; Zhang, Yong; Meng, Zi Ning; Lin, Hao Ran

2018-05-01

Fish species inhabitating seawater (SW) or freshwater (FW) habitats have to develop genetic adaptations to alternative environment factors, especially salinity. Functional consequences of the protein variations associated with habitat environments in fish mitochondrial genomes have not yet received much attention. We analyzed 829 complete fish mitochondrial genomes and compared the amino acid differences of 13 mitochondrial protein families between FW and SW fish groups. We identified 47 specificity determining sites (SDS) that associated with FW or SW environments from 12 mitochondrial protein families. Thirty-two (68%) of the SDS sites are hydrophobic, 13 (28%) are neutral, and the remaining sites are acidic or basic. Seven of those SDS from ND1, ND2 and ND5 were scored as probably damaging to the protein structures. Furthermore, phylogenetic tree based Bayes Empirical Bayes analysis also detected 63 positive sites associated with alternative habitat environments across ten mtDNA proteins. These signatures could be important for studying mitochondrial genetic variation relevant to fish physiology and ecology.

Further characteristics important in the operation of ceramic BeO TLD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gammage, R.B.

1977-01-01

There is now a considerable volume of published research dealing with ceramic BeO--TLD (Crase and Gammage, 1975; Yamashita et al., 1974; Scarpa et al., 1971). Its high sensitivity to radiation (1 mR), cheapness, commercial availability, non-toxicity, chemical stability, an atomic number of near tissue equivalence, and resistance to thermal fading, suggest that it should, by now, have found widespread acceptance as a TLD phosphor. It has not. There are only a small handful of reports dealing with the practical application of this type of dosimeter (Puite et al., 1974; Gammage and Haywood, 1976; Gesell et al., 1975). It seems wise, therefore, to look at the phosphor more closely and to focus on characteristics likely to cause problems under real operating conditions, especially those which are acting as a deterrent to its widespread acceptance. Operational characteristics were studied and the results are discussed

Identifying and Characterizing Important Trembling Aspen Competitors with Juvenile Lodgepole Pine in Three South-Central British Columbia Ecosystems

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Teresa A. Newsome

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Critical height ratios for predicting competition between trembling aspen and lodgepole pine were identified in six juvenile stands in three south-central British Columbia ecosystems. We used a series of regression analyses predicting pine stem diameter from the density of neighbouring aspen in successively shorter relative height classes to identify the aspen-pine height ratio that maximized R2. Critical height ratios varied widely among sites when stands were 8–12 years old but, by age 14–19, had converged at 1.25–1.5. Maximum R2 values at age 14–19 ranged from 13.4% to 69.8%, demonstrating that the importance of aspen competition varied widely across a relatively small geographic range. Logistic regression also indicated that the risk of poor pine vigour in the presence of aspen varied between sites. Generally, the degree of competition, risk to pine vigour, and size of individual aspen contributing to the models declined along a gradient of decreasing ecosystem productivity.

Triangulating Principal Effectiveness: How Perspectives of Parents, Teachers, and Assistant Principals Identify the Central Importance of Managerial Skills. Working Paper 35

Science.gov (United States)

Grissom, Jason A.; Loeb, Susanna

2009-01-01

While the importance of effective principals is undisputed, few studies have addressed what specific skills principals need to promote school success. This study draws on unique data combining survey responses from principals, assistant principals, teachers and parents with rich administrative data to identify which principal skills matter most…

Application of the RES methodology for identifying features, events and processes (FEPs) for near-field analysis of copper-steel canister

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieno, T.; Hautojaervi, A.; Raiko, H.; Ahonen, L.; Salo, J.P.

1994-12-01

Rock Engineering Systems (RES) is an approach to discover the important characteristics and interactions of a complex problem. Recently RES has been applied to identify features, events and processes (FEPs) for performance analysis of nuclear waste repositories. The RES methodology was applied to identify FEPs for the near-field analysis of the copper-steel canister for spent fuel disposal. The aims of the exercise were to learn and test the RES methodology and, secondly, to find out how much the results differ when RES is applied by two different groups on the same problem. A similar exercise was previously carried out by a SKB group. A total of 90 potentially significant FEPs were identified. The exercise showed that the RES methodology is a practicable tool to get a comprehensive and transparent picture of a complex problem. The approach is easy to learn and use. It reveals the important characteristics and interactions and organizes them in a format easy to understand. (9 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.)

The use of a social network analysis technique to investigate the characteristics of crew communications in nuclear power plants-A feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jinkyun

2011-01-01

Effective and reliable communications are very important in securing the safety of human-involved large process control systems because human operators have to accomplish their tasks in cooperative ways. This means that it is very important to understand the characteristics of crew communications, which can provide useful insights for preventing inappropriate communications. Unfortunately, in the nuclear industry, a systematic framework that can be used to identify the characteristics of crew communications seems to be rare. For this reason, the applicability of the social network analysis (SNA) technique to identifying the characteristics of crew communications was investigated in this study. To this end, the communication data of operating crews working in the main control room (MCR) of nuclear power plants (NPPs) were collected under two kinds of simulated off-normal conditions. Then the communication characteristics of MCR operating crews, which can be represented by the associated SNA metrics, were compared with communication characteristics that are already known from existing studies. As a result, it was found that SNA metrics could be meaningful for explaining the communication characteristics of MCR operating crews. Accordingly, it is expected that the SNA technique can be used as one of the serviceable tools to investigate the characteristics of crew communications in NPPs. - Highlights: → Communications are very important for the safety of complicated socio-technical systems. → A systematic framework to identify communication characteristics seems to be rare. → The feasibility of the social network analysis (SNA) technique was investigated. → It is expected that SNA metrics is meaningful for explaining communication characteristics.

Characteristics of health care organizations associated with learning and development: lessons from a pilot study.

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Nyström, Monica

2009-01-01

Characteristics of health care organizations associated with an ability to learn from experiences and to develop and manage change were explored in this study. Understanding of these characteristics is necessary to identify factors influencing success in learning from the past and achieving future health care quality objectives. A literature review of the quality improvement, strategic organizational development and change management, organizational learning, and microsystems fields identified 20 organizational characteristics, grouped under (a) organizational systems, (b) key actors, and (c) change management processes. Qualitative methods, using interviews, focus group reports, and archival records, were applied to find associations between identified characteristics and 6 Swedish health care units externally evaluated as delivering high-quality care. Strong support for a characteristic was defined as units having more than 4 sources describing the characteristic as an important success factor. Eighteen characteristics had strong support from at least 2 units. The strongest evidence was found for the following: (i) key actors have long-term commitment, provide support, and make sense of ambiguous situations; (ii) organizational systems encourage employee commitment, participation, and involvement; and (iii) change management processes are employed systematically. Based on the results, a new model of "characteristics associated with learning and development in health care organizations" is proposed.

Are characteristics of team members important for quality management of chronic patients at primary care level?

Science.gov (United States)

Klemenc-Ketis, Zalika; Poplas-Susič, Antonija

2017-12-01

To determine the possible associations between higher levels of selected quality indicators and the characteristics of providers. In 2011, an ongoing project on a new model of family medicine practice was launched in Slovenia; the family physicians' working team (a family physician and a practice nurse) was extended by a nurse practitioner working 0.5 full-time equivalents. This was an example of a personalised team approach to managing chronic patients. We included all family medicine practices in the six units of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana which were participating in the project in December 2015 (N = 66). Data were gathered from automatic electronic reports on quality indicators provided monthly by each practice. We also collected demographic data. There were 66 family medicine teams in the sample, with 165 members of their teams (66 family physicians, 33 nurse practitioners and 66 practice nurses). Fifty-six (84.4%) of the family physicians were women, as were 32 (97.0%) of the nurse practitioners, and 86 (95.5%) of the practice nurses. Multivariate analysis showed that a higher level of the quality indicator "Examination of diabetic foot once per year" was independently associated with nurse practitioners having attended additional education on diabetes, duration of participation in the project, age and years worked since graduation of nurse practitioners, working in the Center unit and not working in the Bezigrad unit. Characteristics of team members are important in fostering quality management of chronic patients. Nurse practitioners working in new model family practices need obligatory, continuous professional education in the management of chronic patients. The quality of care of chronic patients depends on the specific characteristics of the members of the team, which should be taken into account when planning quality improvements. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Importance of structural stability to success of mourning dove nests

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Coon, R.A.; Nichols, J.D.; Percival, H.F.

1981-01-01

Studies of nest-site selection and nesting habitats often involve a "characterization" of nests and of habitats in which nests are found. Our objective in the present work is to identify nest-site characteristics that are associated with variation in components of Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) fitness (e.g. the probability of a nest succeeding), as opposed to simply "characterizing" dove nest sites. If certain nest- site characteristics affect the probability that a nest will succeed, then we suspect that these characteristics will be associated with either concealment (the probability of detection by certain predators) or structural stability (the probability of eggs or entire nests falling to the ground as a result of wind, rain storms, parental activity, etc.). Although other workers agree that structural stability is an important determinant of Mourning Dove nesting success (e.g. McClure 1944: 384; Woolfenden and Rohwer 1969: 59), we are aware of no actual tests of this hypothesis.

Identifying problematic drugs based on the characteristics of their targets.

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Lopes, Tiago J S; Shoemaker, Jason E; Matsuoka, Yukiko; Kawaoka, Yoshihiro; Kitano, Hiroaki

2015-01-01

Identifying promising compounds during the early stages of drug development is a major challenge for both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. The difficulties are even more pronounced when we consider multi-target pharmacology, where the compounds often target more than one protein, or multiple compounds are used together. Here, we address this problem by using machine learning and network analysis to process sequence and interaction data from human proteins to identify promising compounds. We used this strategy to identify properties that make certain proteins more likely to cause harmful effects when targeted; such proteins usually have domains commonly found throughout the human proteome. Additionally, since currently marketed drugs hit multiple targets simultaneously, we combined the information from individual proteins to devise a score that quantifies the likelihood of a compound being harmful to humans. This approach enabled us to distinguish between approved and problematic drugs with an accuracy of 60-70%. Moreover, our approach can be applied as soon as candidate drugs are available, as demonstrated with predictions for more than 5000 experimental drugs. These resources are available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/psin/.

Identifying problematic drugs based on the characteristics of their targets

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Tiago Jose eDa Silva Lopes

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Identifying promising compounds during the early stages of drug development is a major challenge for both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. The difficulties are even more pronounced when we consider multi-target pharmacology, where the compounds often target more than one protein, or multiple compounds are used together. Here, we address this problem by using machine learning and network analysis to process sequence and interaction data from human proteins to identify promising compounds. We used this strategy to identify properties that make certain proteins more likely to cause harmful effects when targeted; such proteins usually have domains commonly found throughout the human proteome. Additionally, since currently marketed drugs hit multiple targets simultaneously, we combined the information from individual proteins to devise a score that quantifies the likelihood of a compound being harmful to humans. This approach enabled us to distinguish between approved and problematic drugs with an accuracy of 60%¬–70%. Moreover, our approach can be applied as soon as candidate drugs are available, as demonstrated with predictions for more than 5000 experimental drugs. These resources are available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/psin/.

Characteristics explaining performance in downhill mountain biking.

Science.gov (United States)

Chidley, Joel B; MacGregor, Alexandra L; Martin, Caoimhe; Arthur, Calum A; Macdonald, Jamie H

2015-03-01

To identify physiological, psychological, and skill characteristics that explain performance in downhill (DH) mountain-bike racing. Four studies were used to (1) identify factors potentially contributing to DH performance (using an expert focus group), (2) develop and validate a measure of rider skill (using video analysis and expert judge evaluation), (3) evaluate whether physiological, psychological, and skill variables contribute to performance at a DH competition, and (4) test the specific contribution of aerobic capacity to DH performance. STUDY 1 identified aerobic capacity, handgrip endurance, anaerobic power, rider skill, and self-confidence as potentially important for DH. In study 2 the rider-skill measure displayed good interrater reliability. Study 3 found that rider skill and handgrip endurance were significantly related to DH ride time (β=-0.76 and -0.14, respectively; R2=.73), with exploratory analyses suggesting that DH ride time may also be influenced by self-confidence and aerobic capacity. Study 4 confirmed aerobic capacity as an important variable influencing DH performance (for a DH ride, mean oxygen uptake was 49±5 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), and 90% of the ride was completed above the 1st ventilatory threshold). In order of importance, rider skill, handgrip endurance, self-confidence, and aerobic capacity were identified as variables influencing DH performance. Practically, this study provides a novel assessment of rider skill that could be used by coaches to monitor training and identify talent. Novel intervention targets to enhance DH performance were also identified, including self-confidence and aerobic capacity.

Inequalities in Educational Outcomes: How Important is the Family?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smith, Nina; Bredtmann, Julia

In this paper, we investigate sibling correlations in educational outcomes, which serve as a broad measure of the importance of family and community background. Making use of rich longitudinal survey and register data for Denmark, our main aim is to identify the parental background characteristics...... that are able to explain the resemblance in educational outcomes among siblings. We find sibling correlations in educational outcomes in the range of 15 to 33 percent, suggesting that up to a third of the variation in educational achievement can be explained by family and community background. Our results...... further reveal that parents' socio-economic background can account for a large part of the sibling correlation. Other family characteristics such as family structure, the incidence of social problems, and parents' educational preferences also play a role, though these factors only contribute to explaining...

Identifying risk factors for first-episode neck pain: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Rebecca; Wiest, Colin; Clark, Kelly; Cook, Chad; Horn, Maggie

2018-02-01

Neck pain affects 15.1% of the United States' general population every 3 months, and ranks fourth in global disability. Because of the tendency for neck pain to become a chronic issue, it is important to identify risk factors that could encourage prevention and early diagnosis. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify risk factors for a first episode of neck pain. Three databases were searched with key words such as "neck pain" and "first incidence." Risk factors from the resulting articles were reported as either a physical or psychosocial risk factor and ranked by the strength of their odds/risk/hazard ratio: empowering leadership, high perceived social climate, leisure physical activity, and cervical extensor endurance. Most risk factors found for neck pain were related to psychosocial characteristics, rather than physical characteristics. A number of these risk factors were mediating factors, suggesting that a prevention-based program may be useful in modifying the existence of the risk factors before the occurrence of neck pain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying a Computer Forensics Expert: A Study to Measure the Characteristics of Forensic Computer Examiners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory H. Carlton

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The usage of digital evidence from electronic devices has been rapidly expanding within litigation, and along with this increased usage, the reliance upon forensic computer examiners to acquire, analyze, and report upon this evidence is also rapidly growing. This growing demand for forensic computer examiners raises questions concerning the selection of individuals qualified to perform this work. While courts have mechanisms for qualifying witnesses that provide testimony based on scientific data, such as digital data, the qualifying criteria covers a wide variety of characteristics including, education, experience, training, professional certifications, or other special skills. In this study, we compare task performance responses from forensic computer examiners with an expert review panel and measure the relationship with the characteristics of the examiners to their quality responses. The results of this analysis provide insight into identifying forensic computer examiners that provide high-quality responses. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Importance of characteristics and modalities of physical activity and exercise in the management of cardiovascular health in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhees, L; Geladas, N; Hansen, D

2012-01-01

In a previous paper, as the first of a series of three on the importance of characteristics and modalities of physical activity (PA) and exercise in the management of cardiovascular health within the general population, we concluded that, in the population at large, PA and aerobic exercise capacity...

Characteristics of Ethical Business Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Ardichvili, Alexandre A.; Jondle, Douglas J.; Mitchell, James A.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify general characteristics attributed to ethical business cultures by executives from a variety of industries. Our research identified five clusters of characteristics: (1) Mission- and Values-Driven; (2) Stakeholder Balance; (3) Leadership Effectiveness; (4) Process Integrity; and (5) Long-term Perspective.…

Identifying the performance characteristics of a winning outcome in elite mixed martial arts competition.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Lachlan P; Robertson, Sam; Haff, G Gregory; Beckman, Emma M; Kelly, Vincent G

2017-03-01

To determine those performance indicators that have the greatest influence on classifying outcome at the elite level of mixed martial arts (MMA). A secondary objective was to establish the efficacy of decision tree analysis in explaining the characteristics of victory when compared to alternate statistical methods. Cross-sectional observational. Eleven raw performance indicators from male Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts (n=234) from July 2014 to December 2014 were screened for analysis. Each raw performance indicator was also converted to a rate-dependent measure to be scaled to fight duration. Further, three additional performance indicators were calculated from the dataset and included in the analysis. Cohen's d effect sizes were employed to determine the magnitude of the differences between Wins and Losses, while decision tree (chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID)) and discriminant function analyses (DFA) were used to classify outcome (Win and Loss). Effect size comparisons revealed differences between Wins and Losses across a number of performance indicators. Decision tree (raw: 71.8%; rate-scaled: 76.3%) and DFA (raw: 71.4%; rate-scaled 71.2%) achieved similar classification accuracies. Grappling and accuracy performance indicators were the most influential in explaining outcome. The decision tree models also revealed multiple combinations of performance indicators leading to victory. The decision tree analyses suggest that grappling activity and technique accuracy are of particular importance in achieving victory in elite-level MMA competition. The DFA results supported the importance of these performance indicators. Decision tree induction represents an intuitive and slightly more accurate approach to explaining bout outcome in this sport when compared to DFA. Copyright © 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying Characteristics of a "Good School" in the British and Saudi Arabian Education Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Alzahrani, Saeed Musaid H.; Hammersley-Fletcher, Linda; Bright, Geoff

2016-01-01

This study aims at establishing whether primary schools in the Saudi education system conform to the characteristics of what are referred to as "good schools" in the British education system. The findings established through this study show that only 43.75% of primary schools in Saudi conform to the characteristics of what are referred…

Study of damping characteristics of fibre reinforced composite aerospace structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M.Z.; Saleh, S.; Munir, A.

2006-01-01

Composite materials are used in a variety of high demanding structural applications. Apart from their other preferable properties, they have high-energy dissipation characteristics, which is important aspect when we repeatedly wiggle the system back and forth. It is important to have thorough understanding of material damping behavior; in general materials damping tends to be complex nonlinear function of vibration amplitude, frequency of loading and material formulation. There are number of mathematical models available in literature to obtain hysteresis curves. One approach for identifying damping characteristics used mechanical hysteresis curves. In present work, a phenomenon was observed during testing of fibre reinforced composite beam of an aerospace structure, that for increase load in structure, the path of Force vs. Displacement curve is different than the path of unloading. A plot is generated which indicate the hysteresis loop representing the steady state dynamic behavior of material. The area enclosed by such curves is proportional to energy dissipation per cycle. However, the specific shape of the curve also has important implications for characterizing the specific functional form of the damping. Therefore, it is important to develop methods for accurately accounting for such effects. The current work explores the damping characteristics both theoretically and experimentally. (author)

Robbery characteristics and employee injuries in convenience stores.

Science.gov (United States)

Faulkner, K A; Landsittel, D P; Hendricks, S A

2001-12-01

Each year approximately 30,000 convenience store employees are at risk for injuries related to robberies and many are fatal. A prospective cohort study of 460 convenience store robberies from 1 February 1995 to 30 September 1996 was conducted to uncover possible associations between injury and pertinent robbery circumstances and work environments. Data collection sources included police reports, employee interviews, store evaluations, and relevant Census data. Rate ratios and correlation statistics were calculated to identify associations with injury and relationships between variables. Injury risk was strongly associated with the following characteristics: employee resistance, robberies without firearms or money taken, daytime and merchandise robberies, stores with limited escape routes and no cash policy or drop safe, older clerks, and surrounding areas with lower valued buildings, less expensive rent, more vacant structures, and younger residents. Numerous intercorrelations between these characteristics were identified. Training opportunities, store procedures, and environmental designs are important factors to consider in reducing robbery-related injuries. Published 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Using Functional or Structural Magnetic Resonance Images and Personal Characteristic Data to Identify ADHD and Autism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sina Ghiassian

Full Text Available A clinical tool that can diagnose psychiatric illness using functional or structural magnetic resonance (MR brain images has the potential to greatly assist physicians and improve treatment efficacy. Working toward the goal of automated diagnosis, we propose an approach for automated classification of ADHD and autism based on histogram of oriented gradients (HOG features extracted from MR brain images, as well as personal characteristic data features. We describe a learning algorithm that can produce effective classifiers for ADHD and autism when run on two large public datasets. The algorithm is able to distinguish ADHD from control with hold-out accuracy of 69.6% (over baseline 55.0% using personal characteristics and structural brain scan features when trained on the ADHD-200 dataset (769 participants in training set, 171 in test set. It is able to distinguish autism from control with hold-out accuracy of 65.0% (over baseline 51.6% using functional images with personal characteristic data when trained on the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE dataset (889 participants in training set, 222 in test set. These results outperform all previously presented methods on both datasets. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a single automated learning process that can produce classifiers for distinguishing patients vs. controls from brain imaging data with above-chance accuracy on large datasets for two different psychiatric illnesses (ADHD and autism. Working toward clinical applications requires robustness against real-world conditions, including the substantial variability that often exists among data collected at different institutions. It is therefore important that our algorithm was successful with the large ADHD-200 and ABIDE datasets, which include data from hundreds of participants collected at multiple institutions. While the resulting classifiers are not yet clinically relevant, this work shows that there is a signal in

Student Media in U.S. Secondary Schools: Associations with School Demographic Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Bobkowski, Piotr S.; Goodman, Mark; Bowen, Candace Perkins

2012-01-01

This study provides an up-to-date counting of student media in U.S. public high schools. The analysis underscores the importance of school demographic characteristics in predicting whether schools offer student media. The disparities identified here should inform how journalism schools, scholastic journalism organizations, funding agencies, and…

Physiotherapy practice in the private sector: organizational characteristics and models.

Science.gov (United States)

Perreault, Kadija; Dionne, Clermont E; Rossignol, Michel; Poitras, Stéphane; Morin, Diane

2014-08-29

Even if a large proportion of physiotherapists work in the private sector worldwide, very little is known of the organizations within which they practice. Such knowledge is important to help understand contexts of practice and how they influence the quality of services and patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to: 1) describe characteristics of organizations where physiotherapists practice in the private sector, and 2) explore the existence of a taxonomy of organizational models. This was a cross-sectional quantitative survey of 236 randomly-selected physiotherapists. Participants completed a purpose-designed questionnaire online or by telephone, covering organizational vision, resources, structures and practices. Organizational characteristics were analyzed descriptively, while organizational models were identified by multiple correspondence analyses. Most organizations were for-profit (93.2%), located in urban areas (91.5%), and within buildings containing multiple businesses/organizations (76.7%). The majority included multiple providers (89.8%) from diverse professions, mainly physiotherapy assistants (68.7%), massage therapists (67.3%) and osteopaths (50.2%). Four organizational models were identified: 1) solo practice, 2) middle-scale multiprovider, 3) large-scale multiprovider and 4) mixed. The results of this study provide a detailed description of the organizations where physiotherapists practice, and highlight the importance of human resources in differentiating organizational models. Further research examining the influences of these organizational characteristics and models on outcomes such as physiotherapists' professional practices and patient outcomes are needed.

Cost and Demand Characteristics of Telecom Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falch, Morten

1997-01-01

The Chapter presents the general characteristics of the cost and demand profiles for telecommunication services and identifies the barriers towards a free competitive market for telecommunication services related to these characteristics.......The Chapter presents the general characteristics of the cost and demand profiles for telecommunication services and identifies the barriers towards a free competitive market for telecommunication services related to these characteristics....

Perceived cultural importance and actual self-importance of values in cultural identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Ching; Chiu, Chi-yue; Tam, Kim-pong; Lee, Sau-lai; Lau, Ivy Yee-man; Peng, Siqing

2007-02-01

Cross-cultural psychologists assume that core cultural values define to a large extent what a culture is. Typically, core values are identified through an actual self-importance approach, in which core values are those that members of the culture as a group strongly endorse. In this article, the authors propose a perceived cultural importance approach to identifying core values, in which core values are values that members of the culture as a group generally believe to be important in the culture. In 5 studies, the authors examine the utility of the perceived cultural importance approach. Results consistently showed that, compared with values of high actual self-importance, values of high perceived cultural importance play a more important role in cultural identification. These findings have important implications for conceptualizing and measuring cultures. ((c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).

Depressive and anxiety disorders on-the-job: The importance of job characteristics for good work functioning in persons with depressive and anxiety disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plaisier, I.; de Graaf, R.; de Bruijn, J.G.M.; Smit, J.H.; van Dyck, R.; Beekman, A.T.F.; Penninx, B.W.J.H.

2012-01-01

This study examines the importance of job characteristics on absence and on-the-job performance in a large group of employees with diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders. In a sample of 1522 employees (1129 persons with and 393 persons without psychopathology) participating in Netherlands Study

Depressive and anxiety disorders on-the-job : The importance of job characteristics for good work functioning in persons with depressive and anxiety disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plaisier, Inger; de Graaf, Ron; Smit, Johannes; van Dyck, Richard; Beekman, Aartjan; Penninx, Brenda; de Bruijn, Jeanne G. M.

2012-01-01

This study examines the importance of job characteristics on absence and on-the-job performance in a large group of employees with diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders. In a sample of 1522 employees (1129 persons with and 393 persons without psychopathology) participating in Netherlands Study

Characteristics of an ideal practice educator: Perspectives from undergraduate students in diagnostic radiography, nuclear medicine, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perram, A.; Hills, C.; Johnston, C.; MacDonald-Wicks, L.; Surjan, Y.; James, D.; Warren-Forward, H.

2016-01-01

Background: Practice education is a core component of undergraduate health programs, with the characteristics of the practice educator reported to have an influence on student experience during practical. This study analyses Australian student perceptions from six allied health professional undergraduate programs, to identify the characteristics of the ideal practice educator leading to successful placement experiences. Methods: An existing survey developed for medical students was modified to incorporate both quantitative and qualitative responses. Participants included all students enrolled in six undergraduate health professions in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia (n = 1485). Students were invited to complete the survey via hard copy or online. Results: There was a 54% response rate. The most valued characteristics were non-judgemental, clarity and feedback. The three least valued characteristics were scholarly activity, role model and practices evidence base practice. Students identified the importance of their relationship (respectful, inspirational and supportive) with the practice educator as being fundamental to a productive placement. Conclusion: The characteristics identified by respondents were common to all six professions, with little differences between gender, year of program or number of placements completed. This study suggests that the attitude of the practice educator towards the student is one of the key factors that underpin the success of practice experience across allied health professions. - Highlights: • The most important characteristics were non-judgmental and clarity. • The least important characteristics were scholarly activity and being a role model. • Female students valued all characteristics except being a role model as being more important. • Participants older than 30 years valued being “available”, “aware” and “well prepared” more than the younger participants. • High

The role of surgeons in identifying emerging technologies for health technology assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Stafinski, Tania; Topfer, Leigh-Ann; Zakariasen, Ken; Menon, Devidas

2010-04-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) is a tool intended to help policy-makers decide which technologies to fund. However, given the proliferation of new technologies, it is not possible to undertake an HTA of each one before it becomes funded. Consequently, "horizon-scanning" processes have been developed to identify emerging technologies that are likely to have a substantial impact on clinical practice. Although the importance of physicians in the adoption of new technologies is well recognized, their role in horizon scanning in Canada has been limited. The purpose of this project was to pilot an approach to engage physicians, specifically surgeons, in provincial horizon-scanning activities. We invited 18 surgeons from Alberta's 2 medical schools to a horizon-scanning workshop to solicit their views on emerging technologies expected to impact surgical practice within the next 5 years and/or the importance of different attributes or characteristics of new technologies. Surgeons, regardless of specialty, identified developments designed to enhance existing minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as endoscopic, robotic and image-guided surgery. Several nonsurgical areas, including molecular genetics and nano technology, were also identified. Of the 13 technology attributes discussed, safety or risk, effectiveness and feasibility were rated as most important. Lastly, participating surgeons expressed an interest in becoming further involved in local HTA initiatives. Surgeons, as adopters and users of health technologies, represent an important and accessible information source for identifying emerging technologies for HTA. A more formal, ongoing relationship between the government, HTA and surgeons may help to optimize the use of HTA resources.

The importance of the food and physical activity environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Oppert, Jean-Michel; Charreire, Hélène

2012-01-01

There is increasing interest in identifying characteristics of neighborhood environments (physical, social, economical) that might favor unhealthy dietary and physical activity patterns leading to excess weight at population level. Measurement of characteristics of the physical environment in relation to food and physical activity has greatly improved in recent years. Methods based on assessment of perceptions by residents of their neighborhood or on objective assessment of the actual built environment (such as provided by Geographic Information Systems tools) would benefit to be combined. A number of recent systematic reviews have updated our knowledge on relationships of food and physical activity environments with relevant behaviors and obesity. Available evidence appears to show more consistent evidence of association between built environment characteristics related to physical activity ('walkability' indices, land use mix, variety of transports. . .) with physical activity behavior than with weight status. In contrast, built environment characteristics related to food habits (accessibility to different types of food outlets, availability of healthy foods. . .) would be more consistently associated with weight status than with eating behavior. The need for data from different countries and cultures is emphasized, as much as the importance of transdisciplinary research efforts for translation of these findings into our living environment. Copyright © 2012 Nestec Ltd., Vevey/S. Karger AG, Basel.

Occurrence of measles in a country with elimination status: Amplifying measles infection in hospitalized children due to imported virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, HyeEun; Park, YoungJoon; Kim, JooWhee; Yang, Jeong-Sun; Kang, HaeJi; Kim, Kisoon; Chun, Byung Chul; Park, Ok; Hong, Jeong Ik

2018-01-01

The Republic of Korea declared measles elimination in 2006. However, a measles outbreak occurred in 2013. This study aimed to identify the epidemiological characteristics of the sources of infection and the pattern of measles transmission in 2013 in South Korea. We utilized surveillance data, epidemiological data, immunization registry data, and genetic information. We describe the epidemiological characteristics of all measles case patients (sex, age distribution, vaccination status, sources of infection) as well as details of the outbreak (the pattern of transmission, duration, mean age of patients, and generation time). In 2013, a total of 107 measles cases were notified. Most patients were infants (43.0%) and unvaccinated individuals (60.7%). We identified 4 imported and 103 import-related cases. A total of 105 cases were related to four outbreaks that occurred in Gyeongnam, northern Gyeonggi, southern Gyeonggi, and Seoul. The predominant circulating genotype was B3 type, which was identified in the Gyeongnam, northern Gyeonggi, and southern Gyeonggi outbreaks. The B3 type had not been in circulation in South Korea in the previous 3 years; virologic evidence suggests that these outbreaks were import-related. Most measles cases in South Korea have been associated with imported measles virus. Although Korea has maintained a high level of herd immunity, clustering of susceptible people can cause such measles outbreaks.

GFT centrality: A new node importance measure for complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Rahul; Chakraborty, Abhishek; Manoj, B. S.

2017-12-01

Identifying central nodes is very crucial to design efficient communication networks or to recognize key individuals of a social network. In this paper, we introduce Graph Fourier Transform Centrality (GFT-C), a metric that incorporates local as well as global characteristics of a node, to quantify the importance of a node in a complex network. GFT-C of a reference node in a network is estimated from the GFT coefficients derived from the importance signal of the reference node. Our study reveals the superiority of GFT-C over traditional centralities such as degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, eigenvector centrality, and Google PageRank centrality, in the context of various arbitrary and real-world networks with different degree-degree correlations.

Identifying Important Career Indicators of Undergraduate Geoscience Students Upon Completion of Their Degree

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, C. E.; Keane, C. M.; Houlton, H. R.

2012-12-01

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) decided to create the National Geoscience Student Exit Survey in order to identify the initial pathways into the workforce for these graduating students, as well as assess their preparedness for entering the workforce upon graduation. The creation of this survey stemmed from a combination of experiences with the AGI/AGU Survey of Doctorates and discussions at the following Science Education Research Center (SERC) workshops: "Developing Pathways to Strong Programs for the Future", "Strengthening Your Geoscience Program", and "Assessing Geoscience Programs". These events identified distinct gaps in understanding the experiences and perspectives of geoscience students during one of their most profound professional transitions. Therefore, the idea for the survey arose as a way to evaluate how the discipline is preparing and educating students, as well as identifying the students' desired career paths. The discussions at the workshops solidified the need for this survey and created the initial framework for the first pilot of the survey. The purpose of this assessment tool is to evaluate student preparedness for entering the geosciences workforce; identify student decision points for entering geosciences fields and remaining in the geosciences workforce; identify geosciences fields that students pursue in undergraduate and graduate school; collect information on students' expected career trajectories and geosciences professions; identify geosciences career sectors that are hiring new graduates; collect information about salary projections; overall effectiveness of geosciences departments regionally and nationally; demonstrate the value of geosciences degrees to future students, the institutions, and employers; and establish a benchmark to perform longitudinal studies of geosciences graduates to understand their career pathways and impacts of their educational experiences on these decisions. AGI's Student Exit Survey went through

Experimental assessment of the importance of amino acid positions identified by an entropy-based correlation analysis of multiple-sequence alignments.

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Susanne; Borst, Nadine; Schlee, Sandra; Schneider, Daniel; Janda, Jan-Oliver; Sterner, Reinhard; Merkl, Rainer

2012-07-17

The analysis of a multiple-sequence alignment (MSA) with correlation methods identifies pairs of residue positions whose occupation with amino acids changes in a concerted manner. It is plausible to assume that positions that are part of many such correlation pairs are important for protein function or stability. We have used the algorithm H2r to identify positions k in the MSAs of the enzymes anthranilate phosphoribosyl transferase (AnPRT) and indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase (IGPS) that show a high conn(k) value, i.e., a large number of significant correlations in which k is involved. The importance of the identified residues was experimentally validated by performing mutagenesis studies with sAnPRT and sIGPS from the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. For sAnPRT, five H2r mutant proteins were generated by replacing nonconserved residues with alanine or the prevalent residue of the MSA. As a control, five residues with conn(k) values of zero were chosen randomly and replaced with alanine. The catalytic activities and conformational stabilities of the H2r and control mutant proteins were analyzed by steady-state enzyme kinetics and thermal unfolding studies. Compared to wild-type sAnPRT, the catalytic efficiencies (k(cat)/K(M)) were largely unaltered. In contrast, the apparent thermal unfolding temperature (T(M)(app)) was lowered in most proteins. Remarkably, the strongest observed destabilization (ΔT(M)(app) = 14 °C) was caused by the V284A exchange, which pertains to the position with the highest correlation signal [conn(k) = 11]. For sIGPS, six H2r mutant and four control proteins with alanine exchanges were generated and characterized. The k(cat)/K(M) values of four H2r mutant proteins were reduced between 13- and 120-fold, and their T(M)(app) values were decreased by up to 5 °C. For the sIGPS control proteins, the observed activity and stability decreases were much less severe. Our findings demonstrate that positions with high conn(k) values have an

Key Design Characteristics for Developing Usable E-Commerce Websites in the Arab World

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Layla Hasan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This research aims to suggest key design characteristics that are necessary for developing usable e-commerce websites in the Arab world. A comprehensive usability evaluation of four leading Arab e-commerce websites was conducted using the heuristic evaluation method. The results identified major and minor usability problems and major and minor good design characteristics on the selected websites. Based on the results, 51 key design characteristics were suggested. The recommended key design characteristics comprised two levels according to their priority: level one which includes mandatory key design characteristics and level two which includes supplementary design characteristics. The key design characteristics in each level were categorized under specific pages and areas that can be found on any e-commerce website. Such categorizations could direct website evaluators and designers to important pages and areas that should be considered to improve the overall usability of e-commerce websites. The results of this research are particularly important to developing countries which are still facing challenges that may affect the design and accessibility of usable and useful websites. These relate to low speed of accessing the Internet and a lack of website designers who have experience in customers’ needs and websites’ usable design characteristics.

Characteristic odor of Osmoderma eremita identified as a male-released pheromone.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsson, Mattias C; Hedin, Jonas; Svensson, Glenn P; Tolasch, Till; Francke, Wittko

2003-03-01

Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli) is an endangered scarab beetle living in hollow trees. It has mainly been known for its characteristic odor, typically described as a fruity, peachlike or plumlike aroma. The odor emanating from a single beetle can sometimes be perceived from a distance of several meters. In this paper, we show that the characteristic odor from O. eremita is caused by the compound (R)-(+)-gamma-decalactone, released in large quantities mainly or exclusively by male beetles. Antennae from male and female beetles responded in a similar way to (R)-(+)-gamma-decalactone in electroantennographic recordings. Field trapping experiments showed that (R)-(+)-gamma-decalactone is a pheromone attracting female beetles. Lactones similar to (R)-(+)-gamma-decalactone are frequently used as female-released sex pheromones by phytophagous scarabs. This is, however, the first evidence of a lactone used as a male-produced pheromone in scarab beetles. We propose that the strong signal from males is a sexually selected trait used to compete for females and matings. The signal could work within trees but also act as a guide to tree hollows, which are an essential resource for O. eremita. Males may, thus, attract females dispersing from their natal tree by advertising a suitable habitat. This signal could also be exploited by other males searching for tree hollows or for females, which would explain the catch of several males in our traps.

Creativity-Relevant Personal Characteristics among Indonesia Creative Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nugroho J. Setiadi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The study aims to identify Creativity-relevant Personal Characteristics among creative workers in Indonesia’s creative industry. Identification of the constituent elements of the nature of the changes needs to be measured. Researchers have advocated replacing creativity-relevant personal characteristics based on the five-factor model to investigate how individual differences stimulate creativity. This study presents data supporting reliability (internal consistency and validity (criterion and construct of the instrument. Validity of the instrument is based on the content validity involving art and design experts. The 220 creative workers from several creative industry firms in Indonesia participated as samples in this research. Results of a factor analysis indicated a five factor solution of creative characteristics and behavior. Discussion of findings and the most important ways in which individuals differ in their enduring emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles for stimulating creativity are presented.

The use of random-effects models to identify health care center-related characteristics modifying the effect of antipsychotic drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nordon C

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Clementine Nordon,1 Constance Battin,1 Helene Verdoux,2 Josef Maria Haro,3 Mark Belger,4 Lucien Abenhaim,1 Tjeerd Pieter van Staa5 On behalf of the IMI GetReal WP2 Group 1Epidemiological Research, Analytica LASER, Paris, 2Population Health Research Center, Team Pharmaco-Epidemiology, UMR 1219, Bordeaux-2 University, INSERM, Bordeaux, France; 3Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 4Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Erl Wood Manor, Windlesham, 5Farr Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Purpose: A case study was conducted, exploring methods to identify drugs effects modifiers, at a health care center level.Patients and methods: Data were drawn from the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcome cohort, including hierarchical information on 6641 patients, recruited from 899 health care centers from across ten European countries. Center-level characteristics included the following: psychiatrist’s gender, age, length of practice experience, practice setting and type, countries’ Healthcare System Efficiency score, and psychiatrist density in the country. Mixed multivariable linear regression models were used: 1 to estimate antipsychotic drugs’ effectiveness (defined as the association between patients’ outcome at 3 months – dependent variable, continuous – and antipsychotic drug initiation at baseline – drug A vs other antipsychotic drug; 2 to estimate the similarity between clustered data (using the intra-cluster correlation coefficient; and 3 to explore antipsychotic drug effects modification by center-related characteristics (using the addition of an interaction term.Results: About 23% of the variance found for patients’ outcome was explained by unmeasured confounding at a center level. Psychiatrists’ practice experience was found to be associated with patient outcomes (p=0.04 and modified the relative effect of “drug A” (p<0.001, independent of center- or patient

Psychological characteristics of juvenile offenders with constant integration problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Démuthová Slávka

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to identify the typical psychological, demographic, socio-economical, educational, health, and criminological characteristics of juvenile delinquents who tend to continue in their criminal career to adulthood and therefore obstruct the possibility of successful, non-offending integration to society. Subjects of research were young male prisoners jailed in the Juvenile imprisonment house that completed the test battery. By ex-post analysis after a period of five years, the differences between offenders and non-offenders were identified. Results show significant differences in the age of prisoners, length of imprisonment, presence of violent offence (esp. robbery in the criminal history, number of previous offences recorded, differences in factors i, h, and q1 from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, responses within the Hand test characteristic (affection, dependence, and communication, and in several signs of the drawings in a Draw-A-Person test. The importance and influence of listed factors is discussed.

Nursing Students’ Perceptions on Characteristics of an Effective Clinical Instructor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joan E. Niederriter PhD, MSN, CMSRN, RN-BC

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose To identify characteristics and teaching techniques of effective clinical instructors that can be utilized or implemented to improve the student nurse clinical experience. Background The clinical instructor is an integral part of a quality clinical experience. They help students transfer didactic information to the practice setting. The clinical nursing experience is a vital component in the developmental process of the nursing student. Research has been done on this subject, but gaps remain. The need for a more in-depth understanding of students’ perceptions of the characteristics and teaching techniques that best aid their comprehension and learning will help instructors to maximize student learning experiences in the practice setting. Method This qualitative research study utilized the phenomenological research method. Three open-ended questions were posed to 14 nursing students to identify the characteristics and teaching techniques they believed comprised an effective clinical instructor. Individual interviews were conducted and transcribed interviews were reviewed to identify common themes. Three faculty members provided member checking to prevent bias by reviewing the transcribed interviews for common themes. Findings Participants identified four main themes which include a trusting relationship, experience or knowledge, coach, and role model. The students found that they gained more knowledge, developed more critical thinking, and felt more confident with instructors who utilized characteristics and techniques from these four areas. Conclusion Clinical instructors play an important role in preparing the student nurse in becoming a competent nurse in the practice setting. This information can be used to provide a foundation in creating an educational opportunity to inform nurse educators in the ways to become a more effective clinical instructor.

Clinical Characteristics of Exacerbation-Prone Adult Asthmatics Identified by Cluster Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Mi Ae; Shin, Seung Woo; Park, Jong Sook; Uh, Soo Taek; Chang, Hun Soo; Bae, Da Jeong; Cho, You Sook; Park, Hae Sim; Yoon, Ho Joo; Choi, Byoung Whui; Kim, Yong Hoon; Park, Choon Sik

2017-11-01

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease characterized by various types of airway inflammation and obstruction. Therefore, it is classified into several subphenotypes, such as early-onset atopic, obese non-eosinophilic, benign, and eosinophilic asthma, using cluster analysis. A number of asthmatics frequently experience exacerbation over a long-term follow-up period, but the exacerbation-prone subphenotype has rarely been evaluated by cluster analysis. This prompted us to identify clusters reflecting asthma exacerbation. A uniform cluster analysis method was applied to 259 adult asthmatics who were regularly followed-up for over 1 year using 12 variables, selected on the basis of their contribution to asthma phenotypes. After clustering, clinical profiles and exacerbation rates during follow-up were compared among the clusters. Four subphenotypes were identified: cluster 1 was comprised of patients with early-onset atopic asthma with preserved lung function, cluster 2 late-onset non-atopic asthma with impaired lung function, cluster 3 early-onset atopic asthma with severely impaired lung function, and cluster 4 late-onset non-atopic asthma with well-preserved lung function. The patients in clusters 2 and 3 were identified as exacerbation-prone asthmatics, showing a higher risk of asthma exacerbation. Two different phenotypes of exacerbation-prone asthma were identified among Korean asthmatics using cluster analysis; both were characterized by impaired lung function, but the age at asthma onset and atopic status were different between the two. Copyright © 2017 The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology · The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease

A Bayesian Network to Predict Barrier Island Geomorphologic Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Gutierrez, B.; Plant, N. G.; Thieler, E. R.; Turecek, A.; Stippa, S.

2014-12-01

Understanding how barrier islands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States respond to storms and sea-level rise is an important management concern. Although these threats are well recognized, quantifying the integrated vulnerability is challenging due to the range of time and space scalesover which these processes act. Developing datasets and methods to identify the physical vulnerabilities of coastal environments due to storms and sea-level rise thus is an important scientific focus that supports land management decision making. Here we employ a Bayesian Network (BN) to model the interactions between geomorphic variables sampled from existing datasets that capture both storm-and sea-level rise related coastal evolution. The BN provides a means of estimating probabilities of changes in specific geomorphic characteristics such as foredune crest height, beach width, beach height, given knowledge of barrier island width, maximum barrier island elevation, distance from an inlet, the presence of anthropogenic modifications, and long-term shoreline change rates, which we assume to be directly related to sea-level rise. We evaluate BN skill and explore how different constraints, such as shoreline change characteristics (eroding, stable, accreting), distance to nearby inlets and island width, affect the probability distributions of future morphological characteristics. Our work demonstrates that a skillful BN can be constructed and that factors such as distance to inlet, shoreline change rate, and the presence of human alterations have the strongest influences on network performance. For Assateague Island, Maryland/Virginia, USA, we find that different shoreline change behaviors affect the probabilities of specific geomorphic characteristics, such as dune height, which allows us to identify vulnerable locations on the barrier island where habitat or infrastructure may be vulnerable to storms and sea-level rise.

Observational study identifies non-attendance characteristics in two hospital outpatient clinics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blæhr, Emely; Søgaard, Rikke; Kristensen, Thomas

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Non-attended hospital appointments are receiving increasing attention in times when rapid access and efficient service delivery at public hospitals are on the agenda. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of non-attendance in a Danish outpatient setting and its...... association with user-level and provider-level characteristics. METHODS: The study was based on appointments scheduled from June 2013 to March 2015 at an orthopaedic and a radiologic outpatient clinic. Data on outcomes of cancellation on the part of the user or the provider, and non-attendance without giving...

Streamflow characteristics and benthic invertebrate assemblages in streams across the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Brasher, Anne M.D.; Konrad, Chris P.; May, Jason T.; Edmiston, C. Scott; Close, Rebecca N.

2010-01-01

Hydrographic characteristics of streamflow, such as high-flow pulses, base flow (background discharge between floods), extreme low flows, and floods, significantly influence aquatic organisms. Streamflow can be described in terms of magnitude, timing, duration, frequency, and variation (hydrologic regime). These characteristics have broad effects on ecosystem productivity, habitat structure, and ultimately on resident fish, invertebrate, and algae communities. Increasing human use of limited water resources has modified hydrologic regimes worldwide. Identifying the most ecologically significant hydrographic characteristics would facilitate the development of water-management strategies.Benthic invertebrates include insects, mollusks (snails and clams), worms, and crustaceans (shrimp) that live on the streambed. Invertebrates play an important role in the food web, consuming other invertebrates and algae and being consumed by fish and birds. Hydrologic alteration associated with land and water use can change the natural hydrologic regime and may affect benthic invertebrate assemblage composition and structure through changes in density of invertebrates or taxa richness (number of different species).This study examined associations between the hydrologic regime and characteristics of benthic invertebrate assemblages across the western United States and developed tools to identify streamflow characteristics that are likely to affect benthic invertebrate assemblages.

How important is importance for prospective memory? A review

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Stefan eWalter

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Forgetting to carry out an intention as planned can have serious consequences in everyday life. People sometimes even forget intentions that they consider as very important. Here, we review the literature on the impact of importance on prospective memory performance. We highlight different methods used to manipulate the importance of a prospective memory task such as providing rewards, importance relative to other ongoing activities, absolute importance, and providing social motives. Moreover, we address the relationship between importance and other factors known to affect prospective memory and ongoing task performance such as type of prospective memory task (time-, event- or activity-based, cognitive loads, and cue focality. Finally, we provide a connection to motivation, we summarize the effects of task importance and we identify important venues for future research.

How important is importance for prospective memory? A review

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Stefan; Meier, Beat

2014-01-01

Forgetting to carry out an intention as planned can have serious consequences in everyday life. People sometimes even forget intentions that they consider as very important. Here, we review the literature on the impact of importance on prospective memory performance. We highlight different methods used to manipulate the importance of a prospective memory task such as providing rewards, importance relative to other ongoing activities, absolute importance, and providing social motives. Moreover, we address the relationship between importance and other factors known to affect prospective memory and ongoing task performance such as type of prospective memory task (time-, event-, or activity-based), cognitive loads, and processing overlaps. Finally, we provide a connection to motivation, we summarize the effects of task importance and we identify important venues for future research. PMID:25018743

Statistical Primer for Athletic Trainers: The Essentials of Understanding Measures of Reliability and Minimal Important Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Riemann, Bryan L; Lininger, Monica R

2018-01-01

  To describe the concepts of measurement reliability and minimal important change.   All measurements have some magnitude of error. Because clinical practice involves measurement, clinicians need to understand measurement reliability. The reliability of an instrument is integral in determining if a change in patient status is meaningful.   Measurement reliability is the extent to which a test result is consistent and free of error. Three perspectives of reliability-relative reliability, systematic bias, and absolute reliability-are often reported. However, absolute reliability statistics, such as the minimal detectable difference, are most relevant to clinicians because they provide an expected error estimate. The minimal important difference is the smallest change in a treatment outcome that the patient would identify as important.   Clinicians should use absolute reliability characteristics, preferably the minimal detectable difference, to determine the extent of error around a patient's measurement. The minimal detectable difference, coupled with an appropriately estimated minimal important difference, can assist the practitioner in identifying clinically meaningful changes in patients.

Importance measures and resource allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guey, C.N.; Morgan, T.; Hughes, E.A.

1987-01-01

This paper discusses various importance measures and their practical relevance to allocating resources. The characteristics of importance measures are illustrated through simple examples. Important factors associated with effectively allocating resources to improve plant system performance or to prevent system degradation are discussed. It is concluded that importance measures are only indicative of and not equal to the risk significance of a component, system, or event. A decision framework is suggested to provide a comprehensive basis for resource allocation

THE OLD GENOTYPES OF WHEAT, THE SOURCE OF IMPORTANT QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS

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H FRANČÁKOVÁ

2002-05-01

Full Text Available Technological quality of 35 chosen genotypes of wheat was analysed during two years. The genotypes included 4 standards (Astella, Ilona, Samanta, Šárka and the old European Land varietes of wheat. A large amount of various genetic material was evaluated for various use. It is possible to choice the best genotypes which are exceptional for certain characteristic. Obtained results can be applied for further breeding process. Data of technological parameters are included in tables 1 and 2.

Characteristics valued by the pharmacy practice community when hiring a recently graduated pharmacist.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, David C; Nuffer, Wesley; Brown, Kristen

2012-11-12

To determine those characteristics that are most valued by members of the pharmacy practice community when hiring a new pharmacist. A survey instrument describing 20 characteristics that a pharmacy graduate may possess was created and sent to pharmacists licensed in Colorado. Respondents were asked to select and prioritize the top 5 characteristics considered most important in hiring a new graduate pharmacist. Responses were segregated by practice (retail vs. institutional) and/or by pharmacist role (manager vs. staff). Three hundred eighteen survey instruments were received. Having good/strong communication skills was the characteristic ranked highest by all groups. Professional behavior and being adaptable were also ranked highly. The characteristics of using the literature and punctuality ranked low overall. Differences were identified in how the groups valued some characteristics. Characteristics preferred in a new pharmacist varied depending on practice site and the managerial responsibilities of the potential employer. Some characteristics, such as communication skills and professional behavior, were considered of high value by all pharmacist groups.

[Identifying indicators of good practice in clinical and healthcare management].

Science.gov (United States)

Bermúdez Tamayo, C; Olry de Labry Lima, A; García Mochón, L

2018-03-06

To identify good practices in order to develop and implement indicators of health outcomes for clinical and healthcare management, as well as the characteristics for an indicator to be considered adequate. A scoping review was performed, with the following phases: 1) Search and identification of bibliography. 2) Selection of relevant documents. Including those studies that discussed issues related to good practices for the use of health indicators in the management field. Those published in a language other than English or Spanish or before 2006 were excluded. 3) Analysis and extraction of information. 4) Consultation with stakeholders, using a qualitative methodology through Concept Mapping, with the participation of 40 experts (decision-makers, scientific societies, and health professionals). The data collection process included an inductive and structured procedure, with prioritisation of ideas grouped into clusters, according to feasibility and importance criteria (0-10 scale). Good practices identified 2 levels: 1) macro-management: Define a framework for the evaluation of indicators and establish a benchmark of indicators. 2) meso-management: Establish indicators according to evidence and expert consensus, taking into account priority areas and topics, testing before final use, and communicate results adequately. The characteristics of a suitable indicator are: 1) Approach of an important issue, 2) Scientific validity, 3) Possibility of measurement with reliable data, 4) Meaning of useful and applicable measurement, and 5) Wide scope. The best practices for the use of indicators in clinical and healthcare management can make it easier to monitor performance and accountability, as well as to support the decision-making addressed at the development of initiatives for quality improvement. Copyright © 2018 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Moving beyond caregiver burden: identifying helpful interventions for family caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorrell, Jeanne M

2014-03-01

Family members serving as informal caregivers for loved ones often experience physical, psychological, emotional, social, and financial consequences that can be conceptualized as caregiver burden. As the number of older adults in our society continues to increase, there will be even more demand for family caregivers. It is important to move beyond a focus on the statistics and characteristics of caregiver burden and identify helpful interventions to reduce this burden. Interventions that decrease caregiver burden can enable family caregivers to delay placement of the individual in an institutional setting and improve quality of life for both the caregiver and care recipient. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Payment Instrument Characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holst, Jacques; Kjeldsen, Martin; Hedman, Jonas

2015-01-01

Over the last decade, we have witnessed payment innovations that fundamentally have changed the ways we pay. Payment innovations, such as mobile payments and on-line banking, include characteristics or features that are essential to understand if we want to know how and why payers choose among...... payment innovations. Using the Repertory Grid technique to explore 15 payers’ perception of six payment instruments, including coins, banknotes, debit cards, credit cards, mobile payments, and on-line banking, we identify 16 payment characteristics. The characteristics aggregate seventy-six unique...

Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

Science.gov (United States)

Piersma, Tjeerd W.; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F.; de Kort, Wim L.A.M.; Merz, Eva-Maria

2017-01-01

Background The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts. Methods The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review. Results Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors. Discussion Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood

Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Piersma, Tjeerd W; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F; De Kort, Wim L A M; Merz, Eva-Maria

2017-09-01

The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related to blood donor status and behaviour, to systematically discuss differences between study results, and to identify possible factors to target in recruitment and retention efforts. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with a predefined PROSPERO protocol (CRD42016039591). After quality assessments by multiple independent raters, a final set of 66 peer-reviewed papers, published between October 2009 and January 2017, were included for review. Individual and contextual characteristics of blood donor status and behaviour were categorised into five main lines of research: donor demographics, motivations and barriers, adverse reactions and deferral, contextual factors, and blood centre factors. Results on donor demographics, motivations and barriers, and contextual factors were inconclusive, differing between studies, countries, and sample characteristics. Adverse reactions and deferral were negatively related to blood donor behaviour. Blood centre factors play an important role in donor management, e.g., providing information, reminders, and (non-)monetary rewards. No studies were found on network characteristics of (non-)donors. Although individual and contextual characteristics strongly relate to blood donor status and behaviour, mechanisms underlying these relations have not been studied sufficiently. We want to stress the importance of longitudinal studies in donor behaviour, exploring the role of life events and network characteristics within blood donor careers. Increased understanding of donor behaviour will assist policy makers of blood collection agencies, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding a sufficient and matching blood supply.

Maternal characteristics associated with vaccination of young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Luman, Elizabeth T; McCauley, Mary Mason; Shefer, Abigail; Chu, Susan Y

2003-05-01

Mothers can be instrumental in gaining access to vaccination services for their children. This study examines maternal characteristics associated with vaccination in US preschool children. We analyzed data from 21 212 children aged 19 to 35 months in the National Immunization Survey. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify maternal characteristics associated with completion of all recommended vaccinations in these children. Factors most strongly associated with undervaccination included having mothers who were black; had less than a high school education; were divorced, separated, or widowed; had multiple children; were eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) but not participating; or had incomes below 50% of the federal poverty level. Because most mothers play an important role in their children's vaccination, it is important to address maternal concerns and barriers when developing public health interventions for promoting childhood vaccinations. Encouraging eligible women and their children to participate in the WIC program and providing support and encouragement for immunization to mothers with multiple children may improve early childhood vaccination coverage.

Identifying Important Atlantic Areas for the conservation of Balearic shearwaters: Spatial overlap with conservation areas

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Roda, Amparo; Delord, Karine; Boué, Amélie; Arcos, José Manuel; García, David; Micol, Thierry; Weimerskirch, Henri; Pinaud, David; Louzao, Maite

2017-07-01

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are considered one of the main tools in both fisheries and conservation management to protect threatened species and their habitats around the globe. However, MPAs are underrepresented in marine environments compared to terrestrial environments. Within this context, we studied the Atlantic non-breeding distribution of the southern population of Balearic shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus) breeding in Eivissa during the 2011-2012 period based on global location sensing (GLS) devices. Our objectives were (1) to identify overall Important Atlantic Areas (IAAs) from a southern population, (2) to describe spatio-temporal patterns of oceanographic habitat use, and (3) to assess whether existing conservation areas (Natura 2000 sites and marine Important Bird Areas (IBAs)) cover the main IAAs of Balearic shearwaters. Our results highlighted that the Atlantic staging (from June to October in 2011) dynamic of the southern population was driven by individual segregation at both spatial and temporal scales. Individuals ranged in the North-East Atlantic over four main IAAs (Bay of Biscay: BoB, Western Iberian shelf: WIS, Gulf of Cadiz: GoC, West of Morocco: WoM). While most individuals spent more time on the WIS or in the GoC, a small number of birds visited IAAs at the extremes of their Atlantic distribution range (i.e., BoB and WoM). The chronology of the arrivals to the IAAs showed a latitudinal gradient with northern areas reached earlier during the Atlantic staging. The IAAs coincided with the most productive areas (higher chlorophyll a values) in the NE Atlantic between July and October. The spatial overlap between IAAs and conservation areas was higher for Natura 2000 sites than marine IBAs (areas with and without legal protection, respectively). Concerning the use of these areas, a slightly higher proportion of estimated positions fell within marine IBAs compared to designated Natura 2000 sites, with Spanish and Portuguese conservation

Buying Imported Products Online : A quantitative study about Chinese Online consumer behavior towards imported products

OpenAIRE

Chen, Qianqian; Wang, Yuren

2015-01-01

With the fast growing Chinese online marketplace and the increasing popularity of shopping imported products online in China, more and more practitioners and researchers are interested in understanding the cues that Chinese consumers use to evaluate imported products consumption online. Our quantitative study aims to identify what factors affect the behavior of Chinese online consumers towards imported products and the relationships between the identified factors and purchase intention, and t...

Nuclide Importance and the Steady-State Burnup Equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimoto, Hiroshi; Nemoto, Atsushi

2000-01-01

Conventional methods for evaluating some characteristic values of nuclides relating to burnup in a given neutron spectrum are reviewed in a mathematically systematic way, and a new method based on the importance theory is proposed. In this method, these characteristic values of a nuclide are equivalent to the importances of the nuclide. By solving the equation adjoint to the steady-state burnup equation with a properly chosen source term, the importances for all nuclides are obtained simultaneously.The fission number importance, net neutron importance, fission neutron importance, and absorbed neutron importance are evaluated and discussed. The net neutron importance is a measure directly estimating neutron economy, and it can be evaluated simply by calculating the fission neutron importance minus the absorbed neutron importance, where only the absorbed neutron importance depends on the fission product. The fission neutron importance and absorbed neutron importance are analyzed separately, and detailed discussions of the fission product effects are given for the absorbed neutron importance

MULTICULTURALISM AS IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC OF CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aneta Barakoska

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The introduction of the multicultural principles in education is a result of common processes of modern societies’ democratisation, requirements for law and respect of the Human Rights and Liberties, the process of globalisation and the economic, technological, and cultural connection among peoples and countries.Multicultural education presents educational program which does not concern only certain minorities, but it also refers to the social groups as a whole, no matter big or small. It refers to every social group which has distinctive culture and to the disparate relations and attitudes that a group develops toward other peoples’ cultures. Some authors point out different models regarding multicultural education in Europe and the USA. Different attitudes towards multiculturalism in Europe and the USA arise from various conditions and situations of minorities.Along with these distinctions go the disparities in educational policy and attitudes towards multicultural education, values, needs, operationalisation, etc. If the ‘educational ideal’ means formation of new citizen that would live in multicultural society, than ‘additional’ programs for education of children based on interculturalism and multiculturalism must be created. The subject matters of the ‘additional’ programs should be incorporated in every general educational subject. Schools should play an important role in encouraging multiculturalism, especially the multinational schools, because they are concrete educational institutions where children are taught proper behaviour.

Important patient characteristics differ prior to total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty between Switzerland and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Franklin, Patricia D; Miozzari, Hermes; Christofilopoulos, Panayiotis; Hoffmeyer, Pierre; Ayers, David C; Lübbeke, Anne

2017-01-11

Outcomes after total knee (TKA) and hip (THA) arthroplasty are often generalized internationally. Patient-dependent factors and preoperative symptom levels may differ across countries. We compared preoperative patient and clinical characteristics from two large cohorts, one in Switzerland, the other in the US. Patient characteristics were collected prospectively on all elective primary TKAs and THAs performed at a large Swiss hospital and in a US national sample. Data included age, sex, education level, BMI, diagnosis, medical co-morbidities, PROMs (WOMAC pain/function), global health (SF-12). Six thousand six hundred eighty primary TKAs (US) and 823 TKAs (Swiss) were evaluated. US vs. Switzerland TKA patients were younger (mean age 67 vs. 72 years.), more obese (BMI ≥30 55% vs. 43%), had higher levels of education, more cardiac disease. Swiss patients had lower preoperative WOMAC pain scores (41 vs. 52) but pre-operative physical disability were comparable. 4,647 primary THAs (US) and 1,023 THAs (Swiss) were evaluated. US vs. Switzerland patients were younger (65 vs. 68 years.), more obese (BMI ≥30: 38% vs. 24%), had higher levels of education, more diabetes. Swiss patients had lower preoperative WOMAC pain scores (40 vs. 48 points). Physical disability was reported comparable, but Swiss patients indicated lower mental health scores. We found substantial differences between US and Swiss cohorts in pre-operative patient characteristics and pain levels, which has potentially important implications for cross-cultural comparison of TKA/THA outcomes. Reports from national registries lack detailed patient information while these data suggest the need for adequate risk adjustment of patient factors.

Helminth communities of four commercially important fish species from Chetumal Bay, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre-Macedo, M L; Vidal-Martínez, V M; González-Solís, D; Caballero, P I

2007-03-01

The relative importance of ecology and evolution as factors determining species richness and composition of the helminth communities of fish is a matter of current debate. Theoretical studies use host-parasite lists, but these do not include studies on a temporal or spatial scale. Local environmental conditions and host biological characteristics are shown to influence helminth species richness and composition in four fish species (Eugerres plumieri, Hexanematichthys assimilis, Oligoplites saurus, and Scomberomorus maculatus) in Chetumal Bay, Mexico. With the exception of H. assimilis, the helminth communities had not been previously studied and possible associations between environmental and host biological characteristics as factors determining helminth species richness and composition using redundancy analysis (RDA) are described. Thirty-four helminth species are identified, with the highest number of species (19 total (mean = 6.3 +/- 2.1)) and the lowest (9 (4.0 +/- 1.0)) occurring in H. assimilis and S. maculatus, respectively. The larval nematodes Contracaecum sp. and Pseudoterranova sp. were not only the helminth species shared by all four host species but also were the most prevalent and abundant. Statistical associations between helminth community parameters and local ecological variables such as host habitat use, feeding habits, mobility, and time of residence in coastal lagoons are identified. Phylogeny is important because it clearly separates all four host species by their specialist parasites, although specific habitat and feeding habits also significantly influence the differentiation between the four fish species.

Characteristic groundwater level regimes in the capture zones of radial collector wells and importance of identification (Case study of Belgrade Groundwater Source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Božović Đorđije

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Assessment of the operating modes of radial collector wells reveals that the pumping levels in the well caissons are very low relative to the depth/elevation of the laterals, which is a common occurrence at Belgrade Groundwater Source. As a result, well discharge capacities vary over a broad range and groundwater levels in the capture zones differ even when the rate of discharge is the same. Five characteristic groundwater level regimes are identified and their origin is analyzed using representative wells as examples. The scope and type of background information needed to identify the groundwater level regime are presented and an interpretation approach is proposed for preliminary assessment of the aquifer potential at the well site for providing the needed amount of groundwater. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. OI176022, br. TR33039 i br. III43004

Characterization of clinical-imaging characteristics of the binswanger's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez Mutuberria, Livan; Serra Valdes, Yusimi

2002-01-01

A review was made to go deep into the understanding of vascular dementias that behave as the second cause of dementia in practice. Binswanger's disease is one of the most important among them. Its detection has progressively increased with the continual improvement of the radiological diagnostic tools that allow to identify the ischemic damage of the hemispherical cerebral white matter and the presence of lacunar infarctions. It is a disease of chronic course and inexorably progressive that is characterized by the association of subcortical cognitive dysfunction, evidence of cerebrovascular disease, Parkinsonian rigidity and vesicle dysfunction with a characteristic imaging picture. The clinical picture and the main imaging characteristics are explained in this paper and the pathogens of the disease is briefly described

Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Piersma, Tjeerd W.; Bekkers, Rene; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F.; De Kort, Wim L.A.M.; Merz, Eva-Maria

2017-01-01

Background The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply on the long-term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics related

Individual, contextual and network characteristics of blood donors and non-donors: a systematic review of recent literature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Piersma, Tjeerd W.; Bekkers, René; Klinkenberg, Elisabeth F.; de Kort, Wim L. A. M.; Merz, Eva-Maria

2017-01-01

Background. The ageing population and recent migration flows may negatively affect the blood supply in the long term, increasing the importance of targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address donors. This review sought to identify individual, network and contextual characteristics

Pituitary gigantism: Causes and clinical characteristics.

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Rostomyan, Liliya; Daly, Adrian F; Beckers, Albert

2015-12-01

Acromegaly and pituitary gigantism are very rare conditions resulting from excessive secretion of growth hormone (GH), usually by a pituitary adenoma. Pituitary gigantism occurs when GH excess overlaps with the period of rapid linear growth during childhood and adolescence. Until recently, its etiology and clinical characteristics have been poorly understood. Genetic and genomic causes have been identified in recent years that explain about half of cases of pituitary gigantism. We describe these recent discoveries and focus on some important settings in which gigantism can occur, including familial isolated pituitary adenomas (FIPA) and the newly described X-linked acrogigantism (X-LAG) syndrome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Identifying the Critical Links in Road Transportation Networks: Centrality-based approach utilizing structural properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chinthavali, Supriya [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-04-01

Surface transportation road networks share structural properties similar to other complex networks (e.g., social networks, information networks, biological networks, and so on). This research investigates the structural properties of road networks for any possible correlation with the traffic characteristics such as link flows those determined independently. Additionally, we define a criticality index for the links of the road network that identifies the relative importance in the network. We tested our hypotheses with two sample road networks. Results show that, correlation exists between the link flows and centrality measures of a link of the road (dual graph approach is followed) and the criticality index is found to be effective for one test network to identify the vulnerable nodes.

Importance of characteristics and modalities of physical activity and exercise in defining the benefits to cardiovascular health within the general population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhees, L; De Sutter, J; GeladaS, N

2012-01-01

Over the last decades, more and more evidence is accumulated that physical activity (PA) and exercise interventions are essential components in primary and secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease. However, it is less clear whether and which type of PA and exercise intervention (aerobic...... exercise, dynamic resistive exercise, or both) or characteristic of exercise (frequency, intensity, time or duration, and volume) would yield more benefit in achieving cardiovascular health. The present paper, as the first of a series of three, will make specific recommendations on the importance...

The Most Important Attributes of Entrepreneurs. Case Study of the Environment of Czech SMEs.

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Belás J.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to define and quantify the most important attributes of entrepreneurs in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises. The partial objective was to compare the opinions of the entrepreneurs in relation to their gender, age and level of education. Scientific questions, defined in this paper, were verified through empirical research conducted in the Czech Republic in 2015 on a sample of 1,141 entrepreneurs. In our research, we found that entrepreneurs consider expertise, responsibility and perseverance to be the most important personal characteristics and skills. Propensity to risk and decisiveness are ranked right after them. The same group of three most important attributes is presented by all defined groups of entrepreneurs, which means that the assessment of the importance of these attributes remains the same regardless of gender, age and level of education of the entrepreneur. It is interesting that the weight of the expertise increases with the age of the entrepreneur. This trend is caused by the fact that men significantly more intensively presented this opinion. When evaluating the attitudes of entrepreneurs to other characteristics and skills no significant differences in relation to gender, age and education were identified.

Identifying and annotating human bifunctional RNAs reveals their versatile functions.

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Chen, Geng; Yang, Juan; Chen, Jiwei; Song, Yunjie; Cao, Ruifang; Shi, Tieliu; Shi, Leming

2016-10-01

Bifunctional RNAs that possess both protein-coding and noncoding functional properties were less explored and poorly understood. Here we systematically explored the characteristics and functions of such human bifunctional RNAs by integrating tandem mass spectrometry and RNA-seq data. We first constructed a pipeline to identify and annotate bifunctional RNAs, leading to the characterization of 132 high-confidence bifunctional RNAs. Our analyses indicate that bifunctional RNAs may be involved in human embryonic development and can be functional in diverse tissues. Moreover, bifunctional RNAs could interact with multiple miRNAs and RNA-binding proteins to exert their corresponding roles. Bifunctional RNAs may also function as competing endogenous RNAs to regulate the expression of many genes by competing for common targeting miRNAs. Finally, somatic mutations of diverse carcinomas may generate harmful effect on corresponding bifunctional RNAs. Collectively, our study not only provides the pipeline for identifying and annotating bifunctional RNAs but also reveals their important gene-regulatory functions.

Identifying salmon lice transmission characteristics between Faroese salmon farms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kragesteen, Trondur J.; Simonsen, Knud; Visser, AW

2018-01-01

Sea lice infestations are an increasing challenge in the ever-growing salmon aquaculture sector and cause large economic losses. The high salmon production in a small area creates a perfect habitat for parasites. Knowledge of how salmon lice planktonic larvae disperse and spread the infection...... between farms is of vital importance in developing treatment management plans to combat salmon lice infestations. Using a particle tracking model forced by tidal currents, we show that Faroese aquaculture farms form a complex network. In some cases as high as 10% of infectious salmon lice released at one...... for the entire Faroese salmon industry...

Transcriptomic meta-analysis identifies gene expression characteristics in various samples of HIV-infected patients with nonprogressive disease.

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Zhang, Le-Le; Zhang, Zi-Ning; Wu, Xian; Jiang, Yong-Jun; Fu, Ya-Jing; Shang, Hong

2017-09-12

A small proportion of HIV-infected patients remain clinically and/or immunologically stable for years, including elite controllers (ECs) who have undetectable viremia (10 years). However, the mechanism of nonprogression needs to be further resolved. In this study, a transcriptome meta-analysis was performed on nonprogressor and progressor microarray data to identify differential transcriptome pathways and potential biomarkers. Using the INMEX (integrative meta-analysis of expression data) program, we performed the meta-analysis to identify consistently differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in nonprogressors and further performed functional interpretation (gene ontology analysis and pathway analysis) of the DEGs identified in the meta-analysis. Five microarray datasets (81 cases and 98 controls in total), including whole blood, CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, were collected for meta-analysis. We determined that nonprogressors have reduced expression of important interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), CD38, lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3) in whole blood, CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed a significant enrichment in DEGs that function in the type I interferon signaling pathway. Upregulated pathways, including the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in whole blood, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction in CD4 + T cells and the MAPK signaling pathway in CD8 + T cells, were identified in nonprogressors compared with progressors. In each metabolic functional category, the number of downregulated DEGs was more than the upregulated DEGs, and almost all genes were downregulated DEGs in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in the three types of samples. Our transcriptomic meta-analysis provides a comprehensive evaluation of the gene expression profiles in major blood types of nonprogressors, providing new insights in the understanding of HIV pathogenesis and developing strategies to delay HIV disease progression.

The Effect of Personal Characteristics, Perceived Threat, Efficacy and Breast Cancer Anxiety on Breast Cancer Screening Activation

OpenAIRE

De Pelsmacker, Patrick; Lewi, Martine; Cauberghe, Veroline

2017-01-01

Abstract: In order to activate women to participate in breast cancer screening programs, a good understanding is needed of the personal characteristics that influence how women can be activated to search for more information, consult friends and doctors, and participate in breast cancer screening programs. In the current study, we investigate the effect of six personal characteristics that have in previous research been identified as important triggers of health behavior on breast cancer scre...

User-identified gel characteristics: a qualitative exploration of perceived product efficacy of topical vaginal microbicides.

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Morrow, Kathleen M; Underhill, Kristen; van den Berg, Jacob J; Vargas, Sara; Rosen, Rochelle K; Katz, David F

2014-10-01

Research has demonstrated that certain vaginal gel products--microbicides containing antiretroviral drugs--may reduce HIV infection risk among women. But for vaginal gels to avert HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), at-risk women must be willing to use them as directed. These products must therefore be "acceptable" to women and an important component of acceptability is users' perception that the product will work to prevent infection. We sought to understand how women's perceptions of vaginal gel properties may shape their understanding of product efficacy for HIV and STI prevention. Sixteen women completed two in-depth qualitative interviews (k = 32) to identify the range and types of sensory perceptions they experienced when using two vaginal gels. We identified emergent themes and linkages between users' sensory perceptions and their beliefs about product efficacy. Users' predictions about product efficacy for preventing infection corresponded to measurable physical properties, including gel volume, location in the vagina, coating behavior, sensation of the gel in the vagina, leakage, and gel changes during coital acts. Although the women described similar sensory experiences (e.g., gel leaked from the vagina), they interpreted these experiences to have varying implications for product efficacy (e.g., leakage was predicted to increase or decrease efficacy). To improve microbicide acceptability, gel developers should investigate and deliberately incorporate properties that influence users' perceptions of efficacy. When a microbicide is approved for use, providers should educate users to anticipate and understand their sensory experiences; improving users' experience can maximize adherence and product effectiveness.

Combining Methods to Describe Important Marine Habitats for Top Predators: Application to Identify Biological Hotspots in Tropical Waters.

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Thiers, Laurie; Louzao, Maite; Ridoux, Vincent; Le Corre, Matthieu; Jaquemet, Sébastien; Weimerskirch, Henri

2014-01-01

In tropical waters resources are usually scarce and patchy, and predatory species generally show specific adaptations for foraging. Tropical seabirds often forage in association with sub-surface predators that create feeding opportunities by bringing prey close to the surface, and the birds often aggregate in large multispecific flocks. Here we hypothesize that frigatebirds, a tropical seabird adapted to foraging with low energetic costs, could be a good predictor of the distribution of their associated predatory species, including other seabirds (e.g. boobies, terns) and subsurface predators (e.g., dolphins, tunas). To test this hypothesis, we compared distribution patterns of marine predators in the Mozambique Channel based on a long-term dataset of both vessel- and aerial surveys, as well as tracking data of frigatebirds. By developing species distribution models (SDMs), we identified key marine areas for tropical predators in relation to contemporaneous oceanographic features to investigate multi-species spatial overlap areas and identify predator hotspots in the Mozambique Channel. SDMs reasonably matched observed patterns and both static (e.g. bathymetry) and dynamic (e.g. Chlorophyll a concentration and sea surface temperature) factors were important explaining predator distribution patterns. We found that the distribution of frigatebirds included the distributions of the associated species. The central part of the channel appeared to be the best habitat for the four groups of species considered in this study (frigatebirds, brown terns, boobies and sub-surface predators).

Combining Methods to Describe Important Marine Habitats for Top Predators: Application to Identify Biological Hotspots in Tropical Waters.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurie Thiers

Full Text Available In tropical waters resources are usually scarce and patchy, and predatory species generally show specific adaptations for foraging. Tropical seabirds often forage in association with sub-surface predators that create feeding opportunities by bringing prey close to the surface, and the birds often aggregate in large multispecific flocks. Here we hypothesize that frigatebirds, a tropical seabird adapted to foraging with low energetic costs, could be a good predictor of the distribution of their associated predatory species, including other seabirds (e.g. boobies, terns and subsurface predators (e.g., dolphins, tunas. To test this hypothesis, we compared distribution patterns of marine predators in the Mozambique Channel based on a long-term dataset of both vessel- and aerial surveys, as well as tracking data of frigatebirds. By developing species distribution models (SDMs, we identified key marine areas for tropical predators in relation to contemporaneous oceanographic features to investigate multi-species spatial overlap areas and identify predator hotspots in the Mozambique Channel. SDMs reasonably matched observed patterns and both static (e.g. bathymetry and dynamic (e.g. Chlorophyll a concentration and sea surface temperature factors were important explaining predator distribution patterns. We found that the distribution of frigatebirds included the distributions of the associated species. The central part of the channel appeared to be the best habitat for the four groups of species considered in this study (frigatebirds, brown terns, boobies and sub-surface predators.

The investigation of identifying method on grass fire by FY-3 VIRR images

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Youyan; Han, Tao; Wang, Dawei

2018-03-01

Grassland fire has the characteristics of fierce fire and rapid spreading, and many fires occur in sparsely populated places. Satellite remote sensing has the characteristics of fast imaging period and wide coverage, and plays an important role in the rapid monitoring and evaluation of grassland fire. FY-3 satellite has been widely used since its launch in September 2008, and this paper uses the fire information of Gansu grassland from 2011 to 2016, based on the more mature MODIS and NOAA-AVHRR fire identification method. The results show that the accuracy of FY-3/VIRR satellite data fire detection are higher than that of NOAA-AVHRR satellite, and the accuracy of FY-3/VIRR satellite data is described. There is a greater improvement, the ability to identify slightly worse than the MODIS satellite, the region is relatively large fire detection accuracy is higher.

How the choice of safety performance function affects the identification of important crash prediction variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ketong; Simandl, Jenna K; Porter, Michael D; Graettinger, Andrew J; Smith, Randy K

2016-03-01

Across the nation, researchers and transportation engineers are developing safety performance functions (SPFs) to predict crash rates and develop crash modification factors to improve traffic safety at roadway segments and intersections. Generalized linear models (GLMs), such as Poisson or negative binomial regression, are most commonly used to develop SPFs with annual average daily traffic as the primary roadway characteristic to predict crashes. However, while more complex to interpret, data mining models such as boosted regression trees have improved upon GLMs crash prediction performance due to their ability to handle more data characteristics, accommodate non-linearities, and include interaction effects between the characteristics. An intersection data inventory of 36 safety relevant parameters for three- and four-legged non-signalized intersections along state routes in Alabama was used to study the importance of intersection characteristics on crash rate and the interaction effects between key characteristics. Four different SPFs were investigated and compared: Poisson regression, negative binomial regression, regularized generalized linear model, and boosted regression trees. The models did not agree on which intersection characteristics were most related to the crash rate. The boosted regression tree model significantly outperformed the other models and identified several intersection characteristics as having strong interaction effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensory characteristics and consumer preference for chicken meat in Guinea.

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Sow, T M A; Grongnet, J F

2010-10-01

This study identified the sensory characteristics and consumer preference for chicken meat in Guinea. Five chicken samples [live village chicken, live broiler, live spent laying hen, ready-to-cook broiler, and ready-to-cook broiler (imported)] bought from different locations were assessed by 10 trained panelists using 19 sensory attributes. The ANOVA results showed that 3 chicken appearance attributes (brown, yellow, and white), 5 chicken odor attributes (oily, intense, medicine smell, roasted, and mouth persistent), 3 chicken flavor attributes (sweet, bitter, and astringent), and 8 chicken texture attributes (firm, tender, juicy, chew, smooth, springy, hard, and fibrous) were significantly discriminating between the chicken samples (Pchicken, the live spent laying hen, and the ready-to-cook broiler (imported) were very well represented and clearly distinguished from the live broiler and the ready-to-cook broiler. One hundred twenty consumers expressed their preferences for the chicken samples using a 5-point Likert scale. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the preference data identified 4 homogenous consumer clusters. The hierarchical cluster analysis results showed that the live village chicken was the most preferred chicken sample, whereas the ready-to-cook broiler was the least preferred one. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) type 1 showed that 72% of the sensory data for the first 2 principal components explained 83% of the chicken preference. The PLSR1 identified that the sensory characteristics juicy, oily, sweet, hard, mouth persistent, and yellow were the most relevant sensory drivers of the Guinean chicken preference. The PLSR2 (with multiple responses) identified the relationship between the chicken samples, their sensory attributes, and the consumer clusters. Our results showed that there was not a chicken category that was exclusively preferred from the other chicken samples and therefore highlight the existence of place for development of

The effect of frame rate on the ability of experienced gait analysts to identify characteristics of gait from closed circuit television footage.

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, Ivan; Vernon, Wesley; Burrow, Gordon; Walker, Jeremy

2014-03-01

Forensic gait analysis is increasingly being used as part of criminal investigations. A major issue is the quality of the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage used, particularly the frame rate which can vary from 25 frames per second to one frame every 4s. To date, no study has investigated the effect of frame rate on forensic gait analysis. A single subject was fitted with an ankle foot orthosis and recorded walking at 25 frames per second. 3D motion data were also collected, providing an absolute assessment of the gait characteristics. The CCTV footage was then edited to produce a set of eight additional pieces of footage, at various frame rates. Practitioners with knowledge of forensic gait analysis were recruited and instructed to record their observations regarding the characteristics of the subject's gait from the footage. They were sequentially sent web links to the nine pieces of footage, lowest frame rate first, and a simple observation recording form, over a period of 8 months. A sample-based Pearson product-moment correlation analysis of the results demonstrated a significant positive relationship between frame rate and scores (r=0.868, p=0.002). The results of this study show that frame rate affects the ability of experienced practitioners to identify characteristics of gait captured on CCTV footage. Every effort should therefore be made to ensure that CCTV footage likely to be used in criminal proceedings is captured at as high a frame rate as possible. © 2013.

Characteristics and distribution of trulli constructions in the area of the site of community importance Murgia of Trulli

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Giuseppe Ruggiero

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The agro-forestry territory in the Region of Apulia, southern Italy, is characterised by a widespread and diversified presence of dry stone constructions, including trulli, rural buildings with a characteristic a conical shape. The trulli are mainly to be found in the central and eastern part of the region, called Murgia of Trulli. Trulli are perfectly integrated with the agro-environment specificity of the area, creating a unique landscape and establishing themselves as a testimony of tradition and rural culture. In fact, in this area, from the 17th until the mid-20th century, the trulli accompanied the development of agricultural activities. According to the number of cones they had, they were used as temporary shelters, places of support for primary production, or comfortable houses for the rural population. In recent decades, for several social and economic reasons, this heritage of rural buildings has been affected by abandonment and degradation phenomena. Interventions aimed at recovery and re-use have not always respected the origin of the buildings, their design characteristics or the landscape in which they had been built. In order to reduce the impact that this situation has had on environmental and territorial quality it is, therefore, necessary to develop initiatives to protect and valorise the trulli while respecting the identity of place, the architectural elements, and the agricultural and environmental characteristics of the territory. For this purpose, we need to analyse and characterise the heritage of the existing trulli and its relationship with the local reality. The present paper analyses the typology and distribution of the trulli located on the site of community importance Murgia of Trulli, a protected area with high environmental value in the central-eastern area of the Region of Apulia. Specifically, we analysed the relationship between the trulli buildings and the agro-environment context to acquire a basic

Setting Priorities for Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research and Identifying Evidence Gaps.

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Le, Jimmy T; Hutfless, Susan; Li, Tianjing; Bressler, Neil M; Heyward, James; Bittner, Ava K; Glassman, Adam; Dickersin, Kay

2017-01-01

Prioritizing comparative effectiveness research may contribute to obtaining answers that clinicians perceive they need and may minimize research that could be considered wasteful. Our objective was to identify evidence gaps and set priorities for new systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials for managing diabetic retinopathy (DR), including diabetic macular edema (DME). Cross-sectional study. Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) investigators. We provided recommendations from the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 2012 Preferred Practice Patterns for Diabetic Retinopathy as 91 answerable clinical research questions about intervention effectiveness to 410 DRCR.net investigators to rate each question's importance from 0 (not important) to 10 (very important) using a 2-round Delphi survey and to suggest additional questions. We considered questions as high priority if at least 75% of respondents to both rounds assigned an importance rating of 5 or more in round 2. We also extracted outcome measures relevant to DR and asked respondents to identify those that must be measured in all studies. We mapped Cochrane reviews published up to March 2016 to high-priority clinical research questions. Ranking of importance of each clinical question. Thirty-two individuals completed rounds 1 and 2 and suggested 15 questions. Among the final list of 106 clinical research questions, 22 questions met our definition of high priority: 9 of 22 concerned the effectiveness of anti-VEGF therapy, and 13 of 22 focused on how often patients should be followed up (re-examination) and treatment effectiveness in patients with specific characteristics (e.g., DME). Outcomes that 75% or more of respondents marked as "must be measured in all studies" included visual acuity and visual loss, death of participants, and intraocular pressure. Only 1 prioritized question was associated with conclusive evidence from a Cochrane systematic review. A limited response rate among

An in-silico insight into the characteristics of β-propeller phytase.

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Mathew, Akash; Verma, Anukriti; Gaur, Smriti

2014-06-01

Phytase is an enzyme that is found extensively in the plant kingdom and in some species of bacteria and fungi. This paper identifies and analyses the available full length sequences of β-propeller phytases (BPP). BPP was chosen due to its potential applicability in the field of aquaculture. The sequences were obtained from the Uniprot database and subject to various online bioinformatics tools to elucidate the physio-chemical characteristics, secondary structures and active site compositions of BPP. Protparam and SOPMA were used to analyse the physiochemical and secondary structure characteristics, while the Expasy online modelling tool and CASTp were used to model the 3-D structure and identify the active sites of the BPP sequences. The amino acid compositions of the four sequences were compared and composed in a graphical format to identify similarities and highlight the potentially important amino acids that form the active site of BPP. This study aims to analyse BPP and contribute to the clarification of the molecular mechanism involved in the enzyme activity of BPP and contribute in part to the possibility of constructing a synthetic version of BPP.

Characteristics and Motivational Factors of Effective Extension Advisory Leaders: Implications for Building Strong Extension Advisory Councils

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Joy Kish

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics and motivational factors of effective Extension advisory leaders. This Delphi study was conducted with a selected group of County Extension Directors and a group of Extension State Advisory Leaders. The study identified 10 characteristics that distinguish an effective Extension advisory leader. Some of these characteristics are explicit and easy to observe, while others are implicit and difficult to directly observe. Therefore, it is practical to use directly observable characteristics of effective advisory leaders when selecting volunteers. Once potential volunteers are spotted in the community, implicit characteristics of effective advisory leaders should be used to further screen them before they are selected. The study also identified the eight most important factors motivating individuals to volunteer as effective advisory leaders. Understanding these motivational factors is helpful for creating an environment for attracting and retaining effective volunteers. Understanding their motivation for volunteer work and creating an environment for them to meet the motivating factors for volunteering will lead to volunteer satisfaction and retention. The findings of this study can be used to build strong Extension advisory councils.

Assessment of the relationships between morphometric characteristics of relief with quantitative and qualitative characteristics of forests using ASTER and SRTM digital terrain models

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D. M. Chernikhovsky

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In the article are shown results of assessment of relationships between quantitative and qualitative characteristics of forests and morphometric characteristics of relief on an example model plot in Nanayskoe forest district of Khabarovsk Territory. The relevance of the investigation is connected with need for improvement of the system of forest evaluation operations in the Russian Federation, including with use of the landscape approach. The tasks of the investigation were assessment of relationships between characteristics of relief and characteristics of forest vegetation cover on different levels of forest management; evaluation of morphometric characteristics of relief are important for structure and productivity of forests; comparison of the results obtained through the use of digital terrain models ASTER and SRTM. Geoinformatic projects were formed for a model plot on the basis of digital terrain models and data of forest mensuration and State (National Forest Inventory. On the basis of the developed method with use geoinformatic technologies were estimated morphometric characteristics of relief (average height, standard deviation of height, entropy, exposition and gradient of slopes, indexes of ruggedness and roughness, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of forests. The multifactor regression analysis, where characteristics of forests (as dependent variables and morphometric characteristics of relief (as independent variables were used, have been done. As a result of research, the set of morphometric characteristics of relief able to influence to variability of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of forests was identified. The set of linear regression equations able to explain 30–50 % of variability of dependent variables was obtained. The regression equations, obtained on base of digital terrain models ASTER and SRTM, comparable to each other in strength of relations (coefficients of determination, but includes the

Genome-wide association study identified copy number variants important for appendicular lean mass.

Science.gov (United States)

Ran, Shu; Liu, Yong-Jun; Zhang, Lei; Pei, Yufang; Yang, Tie-Lin; Hai, Rong; Han, Ying-Ying; Lin, Yong; Tian, Qing; Deng, Hong-Wen

2014-01-01

Skeletal muscle is a major component of the human body. Age-related loss of muscle mass and function contributes to some public health problems such as sarcopenia and osteoporosis. Skeletal muscle, mainly composed of appendicular lean mass (ALM), is a heritable trait. Copy number variation (CNV) is a common type of human genome variant which may play an important role in the etiology of many human diseases. In this study, we performed genome-wide association analyses of CNV for ALM in 2,286 Caucasian subjects. We then replicated the major findings in 1,627 Chinese subjects. Two CNVs, CNV1191 and CNV2580, were detected to be associated with ALM (p = 2.26×10(-2) and 3.34×10(-3), respectively). In the Chinese replication sample, the two CNVs achieved p-values of 3.26×10(-2) and 0.107, respectively. CNV1191 covers a gene, GTPase of the immunity-associated protein family (GIMAP1), which is important for skeletal muscle cell survival/death in humans. CNV2580 is located in the Serine hydrolase-like protein (SERHL) gene, which plays an important role in normal peroxisome function and skeletal muscle growth in response to mechanical stimuli. In summary, our study suggested two novel CNVs and the related genes that may contribute to variation in ALM.

Genome-wide association study identified copy number variants important for appendicular lean mass.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu Ran

Full Text Available Skeletal muscle is a major component of the human body. Age-related loss of muscle mass and function contributes to some public health problems such as sarcopenia and osteoporosis. Skeletal muscle, mainly composed of appendicular lean mass (ALM, is a heritable trait. Copy number variation (CNV is a common type of human genome variant which may play an important role in the etiology of many human diseases. In this study, we performed genome-wide association analyses of CNV for ALM in 2,286 Caucasian subjects. We then replicated the major findings in 1,627 Chinese subjects. Two CNVs, CNV1191 and CNV2580, were detected to be associated with ALM (p = 2.26×10(-2 and 3.34×10(-3, respectively. In the Chinese replication sample, the two CNVs achieved p-values of 3.26×10(-2 and 0.107, respectively. CNV1191 covers a gene, GTPase of the immunity-associated protein family (GIMAP1, which is important for skeletal muscle cell survival/death in humans. CNV2580 is located in the Serine hydrolase-like protein (SERHL gene, which plays an important role in normal peroxisome function and skeletal muscle growth in response to mechanical stimuli. In summary, our study suggested two novel CNVs and the related genes that may contribute to variation in ALM.

Identifying obstacles and ranking common biological control research priorities for Europe to manage most economically important pests in arable, vegetable and perennial crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Bischoff-Schaefer, Monika; Bluemel, Sylvia; Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Silke; Dreux, Laure; Jansen, Jean-Pierre; Kiss, Jozsef; Köhl, Jürgen; Kudsk, Per; Malausa, Thibaut; Messéan, Antoine; Nicot, Philippe C; Ricci, Pierre; Thibierge, Jérôme; Villeneuve, François

2017-01-01

EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I), although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operational outputs of national efforts would benefit from closer collaboration among stakeholders via transnationally coordinated approaches, as most economically important pests are similar across Europe. This paper proposes a common European framework on biocontrol R&I. It identifies generic R&I bottlenecks and needs as well as priorities for three crop types (arable, vegetable and perennial crops). The existing gap between the market offers of biocontrol solutions and the demand of growers, the lengthy and expensive registration process for biocontrol solutions and their varying effectiveness due to variable climatic conditions and site-specific factors across Europe are key obstacles hindering the development and adoption of biocontrol solutions in Europe. Considering arable, vegetable and perennial crops, a dozen common target pests are identified for each type of crop and ranked by order of importance at European level. Such a ranked list indicates numerous topics on which future joint transnational efforts would be justified. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

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

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

2017-07-01

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

Automatic Detection and Visualization of Qualitative Hemodynamic Characteristics in Cerebral Aneurysms.

Science.gov (United States)

Gasteiger, R; Lehmann, D J; van Pelt, R; Janiga, G; Beuing, O; Vilanova, A; Theisel, H; Preim, B

2012-12-01

Cerebral aneurysms are a pathological vessel dilatation that bear a high risk of rupture. For the understanding and evaluation of the risk of rupture, the analysis of hemodynamic information plays an important role. Besides quantitative hemodynamic information, also qualitative flow characteristics, e.g., the inflow jet and impingement zone are correlated with the risk of rupture. However, the assessment of these two characteristics is currently based on an interactive visual investigation of the flow field, obtained by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or blood flow measurements. We present an automatic and robust detection as well as an expressive visualization of these characteristics. The detection can be used to support a comparison, e.g., of simulation results reflecting different treatment options. Our approach utilizes local streamline properties to formalize the inflow jet and impingement zone. We extract a characteristic seeding curve on the ostium, on which an inflow jet boundary contour is constructed. Based on this boundary contour we identify the impingement zone. Furthermore, we present several visualization techniques to depict both characteristics expressively. Thereby, we consider accuracy and robustness of the extracted characteristics, minimal visual clutter and occlusions. An evaluation with six domain experts confirms that our approach detects both hemodynamic characteristics reasonably.

Identifying indicators of harmful and problem gambling in a Canadian sample through receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Quilty, Lena C; Avila Murati, Daniela; Bagby, R Michael

2014-03-01

Many gamblers would prefer to reduce gambling on their own rather than to adopt an abstinence approach within the context of a gambling treatment program. Yet responsible gambling guidelines lack quantifiable markers to guide gamblers in wagering safely. To address these issues, the current investigation implemented receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to identify behavioral indicators of harmful and problem gambling. Gambling involvement was assessed in 503 participants (275 psychiatric outpatients and 228 community gamblers) with the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Overall gambling frequency, duration, and expenditure were able to distinguish harmful and problematic gambling at a moderate level. Indicators of harmful gambling were generated for engagement in specific gambling activities: frequency of tickets and casino; duration of bingo, casino, and investments; and expenditures on bingo, casino, sports betting, games of skill, and investments. Indicators of problem gambling were similarly produced for frequency of tickets and casino, and expenditures on bingo, casino, games of skill, and investments. Logistic regression analyses revealed that overall gambling frequency uniquely predicted the presence of harmful and problem gambling. Furthermore, frequency indicators for tickets and casino uniquely predicted the presence of both harmful and problem gambling. Together, these findings contribute to the development of an empirically based method enabling the minimization of harmful or problem gambling through self-control rather than abstinence.

Drought propagation and its relation with catchment biophysical characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez-Garreton, C. D.; Lara, A.; Garreaud, R. D.

2016-12-01

Droughts propagate in the hydrological cycle from meteorological to soil moisture to hydrological droughts. To understand the drivers of this process is of paramount importance since the economic and societal impacts in water resources are directly related with hydrological droughts (and not with meteorological droughts, which have been most studied). This research analyses drought characteristics over a large region and identify its main exogenous (climate forcing) and endogenous (biophysical characteristics such as land cover type and topography) explanatory factors. The study region is Chile, which covers seven major climatic subtypes according to Köppen system, it has unique geographic characteristics, very sharp topography and a wide range of landscapes and vegetation conditions. Meteorological and hydrological droughts (deficit in precipitation and streamflow, respectively) are characterized by their durations and standardized deficit volumes using a variable threshold method, over 300 representative catchments (located between 27°S and 50°S). To quantify the propagation from meteorological to hydrological drought, we propose a novel drought attenuation index (DAI), calculated as the ratio between the meteorological drought severity slope and the hydrological drought severity slope. DAI varies from zero (catchment that attenuates completely a meteorological drought) to one (the meteorological drought is fully propagated through the hydrological cycle). This novel index provides key (and comparable) information about drought propagation over a wide range of different catchments, which has been highlighted as a major research gap. Similar drought indicators across the wide range of catchments are then linked with catchment biophysical characteristics. A thorough compilation of land cover information (including the percentage of native forests, grass land, urban and industrial areas, glaciers, water bodies and no vegetated areas), catchment physical

An assessment on seasonal analysis of wind energy characteristics and wind turbine characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akpinar, E. Kavak; Akpinar, S.

2005-01-01

This paper presents seasonal variations of the wind characteristics and wind turbine characteristics in the regions around Elazig, namely Maden, Agin and Keban. Mean wind speed data in measured hourly time series format is statistically analyzed for the six year period 1998-2003. The probability density distributions are derived from the time series data and their distributional parameters are identified. Two probability density functions are fitted to the measured probability distributions on a seasonal basis. The wind energy characteristics of all the regions is studied based on the Weibull and Rayleigh distributions. Energy calculations and capacity factors for the wind turbine characteristics were determined for wind machines of different sizes between 300 and 2300 kW. It was found that Maden is the best region, among the regions analyzed, for wind characteristics and wind turbine characteristics

Molten Salts for High Temperature Reactors: University of Wisconsin Molten Salt Corrosion and Flow Loop Experiments -- Issues Identified and Path Forward

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piyush Sabharwall; Matt Ebner; Manohar Sohal; Phil Sharpe; Thermal Hydraulics Group

2010-03-01

Considerable amount of work is going on regarding the development of high temperature liquid salts technology to meet future process needs of Next Generation Nuclear Plant. This report identifies the important characteristics and concerns of high temperature molten salts (with lesson learned at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Molten Salt Program) and provides some possible recommendation for future work

Exploratory Cluster Analysis to Identify Patterns of Chronic Kidney Disease in the 500 Cities Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shelley H; Li, Yan; Liu, Bian

2018-05-17

Chronic kidney disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. We used cluster analysis to explore patterns of chronic kidney disease in 500 of the largest US cities. After adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, we found that unhealthy behaviors, prevention measures, and health outcomes related to chronic kidney disease differ between cities in Utah and those in the rest of the United States. Cluster analysis can be useful for identifying geographic regions that may have important policy implications for preventing chronic kidney disease.

Clinical characteristics and persistence of bovine mastitis caused by different species of coagulase-negative staphylococci identified with API or AFLP

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taponen, S.; Simojoki, H.; Haveri, M.

2006-01-01

The coagulase-negative staphylococcal species causing mastitis in lactating cattle were identified and possible differences in the clinical characteristics or persistence of mastitis caused by different CNS were evaluated. The effect of antimicrobial treatment was also assessed. In addition, AFLP...... of these species. Approximately half of the mastitis cases were clinical, and in the majority clinical signs were mild. The severity and persistence of intramammary infection were unaffected by CNS species. Fifty-nine percent of the quarter cases were treated with antimicrobials, and the rest were left without...... treatment. Mastitis due to P-lactamase-negative CNS was treated with penicillin G and that due to beta-lactamase-positive CNS with cloxacillin. Nineteen percent of the isolates were P-lactamase-positive. The bacterial cure rate for quarters treated with antimicrobials was high, 85.9%, as opposed to only 45...

Seed Potato Production and Its Importance

OpenAIRE

Erdoğan ÖZTÜRK; Taşkın POLAT

2017-01-01

Our country has different agricultural regions showed different ecological properties in terms of climate and soil characteristics increase the plant variety. Within this variety the potato is one of the most important plants for agriculture and economic of our country, also it is an important food source for human. It is important to use productive and quality seed for healthy agricultural production. With the using of good quality seed, can be obtained about 20% increase in yield. Certified...

The Current Landscape of US Pediatric Anesthesiologists: Demographic Characteristics and Geographic Distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Muffly, Matthew K; Muffly, Tyler M; Weterings, Robbie; Singleton, Mark; Honkanen, Anita

2016-07-01

There is no comprehensive database of pediatric anesthesiologists, their demographic characteristics, or geographic location in the United States. We endeavored to create a comprehensive database of pediatric anesthesiologists by merging individuals identified as US pediatric anesthesiologists by the American Board of Anesthesiology, National Provider Identifier registry, Healthgrades.com database, and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia membership list as of November 5, 2015. Professorial rank was accessed via the Association of American Medical Colleges and other online sources. Descriptive statistics characterized pediatric anesthesiologists' demographics. Pediatric anesthesiologists' locations at the city and state level were geocoded and mapped with the use of ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 mapping software (Redlands, CA). We identified 4048 pediatric anesthesiologists in the United States, which is approximately 8.8% of the physician anesthesiology workforce (n = 46,000). The median age of pediatric anesthesiologists was 49 years (interquartile range, 40-57 years), and the majority (56.4%) were men. Approximately two-thirds of identified pediatric anesthesiologists were subspecialty board certified in pediatric anesthesiology, and 33% of pediatric anesthesiologists had an identified academic affiliation. There is substantial heterogeneity in the geographic distribution of pediatric anesthesiologists by state and US Census Division with urban clustering. This description of pediatric anesthesiologists' demographic characteristics and geographic distribution fills an important gap in our understanding of pediatric anesthesia systems of care.

Simulating streamflow in ungauged basins under a changing climate: The importance of landscape characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Teutschbein, Claudia; Grabs, Thomas; Laudon, Hjalmar; Karlsen, Reinert H.; Bishop, Kevin

2018-06-01

In this paper we explored how landscape characteristics such as topography, geology, soils and land cover influence the way catchments respond to changing climate conditions. Based on an ensemble of 15 regional climate models bias-corrected with a distribution-mapping approach, present and future streamflow in 14 neighboring and rather similar catchments in Northern Sweden was simulated with the HBV model. We established functional relationships between a range of landscape characteristics and projected changes in streamflow signatures. These were then used to analyze hydrological consequences of physical perturbations in a hypothetically ungauged basin in a climate change context. Our analysis showed a strong connection between the forest cover extent and the sensitivity of different components of a catchment's hydrological regime to changing climate conditions. This emphasizes the need to redefine forestry goals and practices in advance of climate change-related risks and uncertainties.

Clinical Significance and Characteristic Clinical Differences of Cytolytic Vaginosis in Recurrent Vulvovaginitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shuhua; Zhang, Yuexiang; Liu, Ying; Wang, Jianhong; Chen, Shuqin; Li, Shuxia

2017-01-01

The study aimed to evaluate whether cytolytic vaginosis (CV) has important clinical implications for recurrent vulvovaginitis and to identify clinical differences between CV and vulvovaginal candidosis (VVC). Medical histories, physical examinations and laboratory findings were used to diagnose and assess the prevalence rates of various vulvovaginal infections among 536 women with recurrent vulvovaginitis. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to compare age, menstrual cycle phase at episode onset, symptoms/signs of infection and discharge characteristics between CV and VVC with single infection. Among the 484 women with a single-infection recurrent vulvovaginitis, the prevalence of CV (n = 143; 26.7%) was second only to VVC (n = 196; 36.6%). CV symptoms occurred predominantly during the ovulatory and luteal phases. Meanwhile, VVC episodes were not concentrated premenstrually, but rather occurred throughout the menstrual cycle. Significant differences were found in the vaginal pH, discharge characteristics and frequency of inflammatory symptoms between the 2 groups. CV is clinically important, because it is a common cause of recurrent vulvovaginitis. To distinguish CV from VVC, gynecologists should consider the patient's medical history, physical and laboratory findings, vaginal pH and vaginal discharge characteristics. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Identifying the main mosquito species in China based on DNA barcoding.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Wang

Full Text Available Mosquitoes are insects of the Diptera, Nematocera, and Culicidae families, some species of which are important disease vectors. Identifying mosquito species based on morphological characteristics is difficult, particularly the identification of specimens collected in the field as part of disease surveillance programs. Because of this difficulty, we constructed DNA barcodes of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, the COI gene, for the more common mosquito species in China, including the major disease vectors. A total of 404 mosquito specimens were collected and assigned to 15 genera and 122 species and subspecies on the basis of morphological characteristics. Individuals of the same species grouped closely together in a Neighborhood-Joining tree based on COI sequence similarity, regardless of collection site. COI gene sequence divergence was approximately 30 times higher for species in the same genus than for members of the same species. Divergence in over 98% of congeneric species ranged from 2.3% to 21.8%, whereas divergence in conspecific individuals ranged from 0% to 1.67%. Cryptic species may be common and a few pseudogenes were detected.

Biodiversity of Aspergillus species in some important agricultural products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perrone, Giancarlo; Susca, A.,; Cozzi, G.

2007-01-01

The genus Aspergillus is one of the most important filamentous fungal genera. Aspergillus species are used in the fermentation industry, but they are also responsible of various plant and food secondary rot, with the consequence of possible accumulation of mycotoxins. The aflatoxin producing A....... flavus and A. parasiticus, and ochratoxinogenic A. niger, A. ochraceus and A. carbonarius species are frequently encountered in agricultural products. Studies on the biodiversity of toxigenic Aspergillus species is useful to clarify molecular, ecological and biochemical characteristics of the different...... occurring in agricultural fields. Altogether nine different black Aspergillus species can be found on grapes which are often difficult to identify with classical methods. The polyphasic approach used in our studies led to the identification of three new species occurring on grapes: A. brasiliensis, A...

Characteristics of irradiation creep in the first wall of a fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coghlan, W.A.; Mansur, L.K.

1981-01-01

A number of significant differences in the irradiation environment of a fusion reactor are expected with respect to the fission reactor irradiation environment. These differences are expected to affect the characteristics of irradiation creep in the fusion reactor. Special conditions of importance are identified as the (1) large number of defects produced per pka, (2) high helium production rate, (3) cyclic operation, (4) unique stress histories, and (5) low temperature operations. Existing experimental data from the fission reactor environment is analyzed to shed light on irradiation creep under fusion conditions. Theoretical considerations are used to deduce additional characteristics of irradiation creep in the fusion reactor environment for which no experimental data are available

Variation in guideline adherence in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma care: impact of patient and hospital characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stienen, Jozette J.C.; Hermens, Rosella P.M.G.; Wennekes, Lianne; Schans, Saskia A.M. van de; Maazen, Richard W.M. van der; Dekker, Helena M.; Liefers, Janine; Krieken, Johan H.J.M. van; Blijlevens, Nicole M.A.; Ottevanger, Petronella B.

2015-01-01

The objective of this observational study was to assess the influence of patient, tumor, professional and hospital related characteristics on hospital variation concerning guideline adherence in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) care. Validated, guideline-based quality indicators (QIs) were used as a tool to assess guideline adherence for NHL care. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to calculate variation between hospitals and to identify characteristics explaining this variation. Data for the QIs regarding diagnostics, therapy, follow-up and organization of care, together with patient, tumor and professional related characteristics were retrospectively collected from medical records; hospital characteristics were derived from questionnaires and publically available data. Data of 423 patients diagnosed with NHL between October 2010 and December 2011 were analyzed. Guideline adherence, as measured with the QIs, varied considerably between the 19 hospitals: >20 % variation was identified in all 20 QIs and high variation between the hospitals (>50 %) was seen in 12 QIs, most frequently in the treatment and follow-up domain. Hospital variation in NHL care was associated more than once with the characteristics age, extranodal involvement, multidisciplinary consultation, tumor type, tumor aggressiveness, LDH level, therapy used, hospital region and availability of a PET-scanner. Fifteen characteristics identified at the patient level and at the hospital level could partly explain hospital variation in guideline adherence for NHL care. Particularly age was an important determinant: elderly were less likely to receive care as measured in the QIs. The identification of determinants can be used to improve the quality of NHL care, for example, for standardizing multidisciplinary consultations in daily practice

Studies and research concerning BNFP. Identification and simplified modeling of economically important radwaste variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebel, P.E.; Godfrey, W.L.; Henry, J.L.; Postles, R.L.

1983-09-01

An extensive computer model describing the mass balance and economic characteristics of radioactive waste disposal systems was exercised in a series of runs designed using linear statistical methods. The most economically important variables were identified, their behavior characterized, and a simplified computer model prepared which runs on desk-top minicomputers. This simplified model allows the investigation of the effects of the seven most significant variables in each of four waste areas: Liquid Waste Storage, Liquid Waste Solidification, General Process Trash Handling, and Hulls Handling. 8 references, 1 figure, 12 tables

The anchor-based minimal important change, based on receiver operating characteristic analysis or predictive modeling, may need to be adjusted for the proportion of improved patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Terluin, Berend; Eekhout, Iris; Terwee, Caroline B

2017-03-01

Patients have their individual minimal important changes (iMICs) as their personal benchmarks to determine whether a perceived health-related quality of life (HRQOL) change constitutes a (minimally) important change for them. We denote the mean iMIC in a group of patients as the "genuine MIC" (gMIC). The aims of this paper are (1) to examine the relationship between the gMIC and the anchor-based minimal important change (MIC), determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis or by predictive modeling; (2) to examine the impact of the proportion of improved patients on these MICs; and (3) to explore the possibility to adjust the MIC for the influence of the proportion of improved patients. Multiple simulations of patient samples involved in anchor-based MIC studies with different characteristics of HRQOL (change) scores and distributions of iMICs. In addition, a real data set is analyzed for illustration. The receiver operating characteristic-based and predictive modeling MICs equal the gMIC when the proportion of improved patients equals 0.5. The MIC is estimated higher than the gMIC when the proportion improved is greater than 0.5, and the MIC is estimated lower than the gMIC when the proportion improved is less than 0.5. Using an equation including the predictive modeling MIC, the log-odds of improvement, the standard deviation of the HRQOL change score, and the correlation between the HRQOL change score and the anchor results in an adjusted MIC reflecting the gMIC irrespective of the proportion of improved patients. Adjusting the predictive modeling MIC for the proportion of improved patients assures that the adjusted MIC reflects the gMIC. We assumed normal distributions and global perceived change scores that were independent on the follow-up score. Additionally, floor and ceiling effects were not taken into account. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of DNA sequences to identify forensically important fly species and their distribution in the coastal region of Central California.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakano, Angie; Honda, Jeff

2015-08-01

Forensic entomology has gained prominence in recent years, as improvements in DNA technology and molecular methods have allowed insect and other arthropod evidence to become increasingly useful in criminal and civil investigations. However, comprehensive faunal inventories are still needed, including cataloging local DNA sequences for forensically significant Diptera. This multi-year fly-trapping study was built upon and expanded a previous survey of these flies in Santa Clara County, including the addition of genetic barcoding data from collected species of flies. Flies from the families Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, and Muscidae were trapped in meat-baited traps set in a variety of locations throughout the county. Flies were identified using morphological features and confirmed by molecular analysis. A total of 16 calliphorid species, 11 sarcophagid species, and four muscid species were collected and differentiated. This study found more species of flies than previous area surveys and established new county records for two calliphorid species: Cynomya cadaverina and Chrysomya rufifacies. Differences were found in fly fauna in different areas of the county, indicating the importance of microclimates in the distribution of these flies. Molecular analysis supported the use of DNA barcoding as an effective method of identifying cryptic fly species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Depressive and anxiety disorders on-the-job: the importance of job characteristics for good work functioning in persons with depressive and anxiety disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Plaisier, Inger; de Graaf, Ron; de Bruijn, Jeanne; Smit, Johannes; van Dyck, Richard; Beekman, Aartjan; Penninx, Brenda

2012-12-30

This study examines the importance of job characteristics on absence and on-the-job performance in a large group of employees with diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders. In a sample of 1522 employees (1129 persons with and 393 persons without psychopathology) participating in Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA, n=2981) we examined associations between job characteristics and work functioning (absenteeism and work performance) in multinominal logistic regression models. Job characteristics were working hours, psychosocial working conditions and occupational status. As expected, depressed and anxious patients were at significantly elevated risk for absenteeism and poor work performance. In analyses adjusted for psychopathology, absenteeism and poor performance were significantly lower among persons reporting high job support, high job control, less working hours, self-employed and high skilled jobs. Associations were comparable between persons with and without psychopathology. High job support, high job control and reduced working hours were partially related to work functioning in both workers with- and without-psychopathology. Since depressed and anxious employees are at a substantially increased risk for absenteeism and poor work performance, strategies that improve job support and feelings of control at work may be especially helpful to prevent poor work functioning in this at-risk group of employees. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measures of risk importance and their applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vesely, W.E.; Davis, T.C.; Denning, R.S.; Saltos, N.

1983-07-01

This work is part of a project being conducted for the Division of Risk Analysis (DRA) of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The objectives of the project are to evaluate the importances of containment, the different safety functions, and other various contributers as assessed in probabilistic risk analyses and to identify generic conclusions regarding the importances. Effective display of the importances is an important part of these objectives. To address these objectives, measures of risk importance need to be first identified and then they need to be evaluated for the different risk analyses which have been performed. This report describes the risk importance measures that were defined and were applied to the risk analyses which were performed as part of the Reactor Safety Study Methodology Applications Program (RSSMAP). The risk importance measures defined in this report measure the importance of features not only with regard to risk reduction but also with regard to reliability assurance, or risk maintenance. The goal of this report is not to identify new mathematical formulas for risk importance but to show how importance measures can be interpreted and can be applied

Characteristics Associated With Active Defects in Juvenile Spondylolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gum, Jeffrey L; Crawford, Charles H; Collis, Philip C; Carreon, Leah Y

2015-10-01

Diagnosis is crucial in early-stage lumbar spondylolysis, as osseous healing can occur with conservative treatment. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) traditionally has been the most sensitive modality for diagnosing active (early) spondylolysis. More recently, high signal change (HSC) in the pedicle or pars interarticularis on fluid-specific (T2) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to be important in the diagnosis of early spondylolysis. We conducted a study to determine the clinical and radiographic characteristics associated with the diagnosis of early or active spondylolysis. Fifty-seven patients with a total of 108 pars defects and a mean age of 14.6 years were retrospectively identified. Defects with a positive SPECT or HSC on T2 MRI were classified as active. There were 49 active and 59 inactive defects. The active and inactive groups did not differ in age, body mass index, symptom duration, lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, slip percentage, or laterality. There was a difference in sex (35 vs 19 males; P spondylolysis appears to be associated with male patients and the absence of listhesis, which may be important in identifying patients with a higher potential to experience osseous healing with nonoperative treatment.

Performance characteristics of long-track speed skaters: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Konings, Marco J; Elferink-Gemser, Marije T; Stoter, Inge K; van der Meer, Dirk; Otten, Egbert; Hettinga, Florentina J

2015-04-01

Speed skating is an intriguing sport to study from different perspectives due to the peculiar way of motion and the multiple determinants for performance. This review aimed to identify what is known on (long-track) speed skating, and which individual characteristics determine speed skating performance. A total of 49 studies were included. Based on a multidimensional performance model, person-related performance characteristics were categorized in anthropometrical, technical, physiological, tactical, and psychological characteristics. Literature was found on anthropometry, technique, physiology, and tactics. However, psychological studies were clearly under-represented. In particular, the role of self-regulation might deserve more attention to further understand mechanisms relevant for optimal performance and for instance pacing. Another remarkable finding was that the technically/biomechanically favourable crouched skating technique (i.e. small knee and trunk angle) leads to a physiological disadvantage: a smaller knee angle may increase the deoxygenation of the working muscles. This is an important underlying aspect for the pacing tactics in speed skating. Elite speed skaters need to find the optimal balance between obtaining a fast start and preventing negative technical adaptations later on in the race by distributing their available energy over the race in an optimal way. More research is required to gain more insight into how this impacts on the processes of fatigue and coordination during speed skating races. This can lead to a better understanding on how elite speed skaters can maintain the optimal technical characteristics throughout the entire race, and how they can adapt their pacing to optimize all identified aspects that determine performance.

Molecular characterization of NRXN1 deletions from 19,263 clinical microarray cases identifies exons important for neurodevelopmental disease expression

Science.gov (United States)

Lowther, Chelsea; Speevak, Marsha; Armour, Christine M.; Goh, Elaine S.; Graham, Gail E.; Li, Chumei; Zeesman, Susan; Nowaczyk, Malgorzata J.M.; Schultz, Lee-Anne; Morra, Antonella; Nicolson, Rob; Bikangaga, Peter; Samdup, Dawa; Zaazou, Mostafa; Boyd, Kerry; Jung, Jack H.; Siu, Victoria; Rajguru, Manjulata; Goobie, Sharan; Tarnopolsky, Mark A.; Prasad, Chitra; Dick, Paul T.; Hussain, Asmaa S.; Walinga, Margreet; Reijenga, Renske G.; Gazzellone, Matthew; Lionel, Anath C.; Marshall, Christian R.; Scherer, Stephen W.; Stavropoulos, Dimitri J.; McCready, Elizabeth; Bassett, Anne S.

2016-01-01

Purpose The purpose of the current study was to assess the penetrance of NRXN1 deletions. Methods We compared the prevalence and genomic extent of NRXN1 deletions identified among 19,263 clinically referred cases to that of 15,264 controls. The burden of additional clinically relevant CNVs was used as a proxy to estimate the relative penetrance of NRXN1 deletions. Results We identified 41 (0.21%) previously unreported exonic NRXN1 deletions ascertained for developmental delay/intellectual disability, significantly greater than in controls [OR=8.14 (95% CI 2.91–22.72), p< 0.0001)]. Ten (22.7%) of these had a second clinically relevant CNV. Subjects with a deletion near the 3′ end of NRXN1 were significantly more likely to have a second rare CNV than subjects with a 5′ NRXN1 deletion [OR=7.47 (95% CI 2.36–23.61), p=0.0006]. The prevalence of intronic NRXN1 deletions was not statistically different between cases and controls (p=0.618). The majority (63.2%) of intronic NRXN1 deletion cases had a second rare CNV, a two-fold greater prevalence than for exonic NRXN1 deletion cases (p=0.0035). Conclusions The results support the importance of exons near the 5′ end of NRXN1 in the expression of neurodevelopmental disorders. Intronic NRXN1 deletions do not appear to substantially increase the risk for clinical phenotypes. PMID:27195815

DTI measures identify mild and moderate TBI cases among patients with complex health problems: A receiver operating characteristic analysis of U.S. veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Main, Keith L; Soman, Salil; Pestilli, Franco; Furst, Ansgar; Noda, Art; Hernandez, Beatriz; Kong, Jennifer; Cheng, Jauhtai; Fairchild, Jennifer K; Taylor, Joy; Yesavage, Jerome; Wesson Ashford, J; Kraemer, Helena; Adamson, Maheen M

2017-01-01

Standard MRI methods are often inadequate for identifying mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Advances in diffusion tensor imaging now provide potential biomarkers of TBI among white matter fascicles (tracts). However, it is still unclear which tracts are most pertinent to TBI diagnosis. This study ranked fiber tracts on their ability to discriminate patients with and without TBI. We acquired diffusion tensor imaging data from military veterans admitted to a polytrauma clinic (Overall n  = 109; Age: M  = 47.2, SD  = 11.3; Male: 88%; TBI: 67%). TBI diagnosis was based on self-report and neurological examination. Fiber tractography analysis produced 20 fiber tracts per patient. Each tract yielded four clinically relevant measures (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and axial diffusivity). We applied receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses to identify the most diagnostic tract for each measure. The analyses produced an optimal cutpoint for each tract. We then used kappa coefficients to rate the agreement of each cutpoint with the neurologist's diagnosis. The tract with the highest kappa was most diagnostic. As a check on the ROC results, we performed a stepwise logistic regression on each measure using all 20 tracts as predictors. We also bootstrapped the ROC analyses to compute the 95% confidence intervals for sensitivity, specificity, and the highest kappa coefficients. The ROC analyses identified two fiber tracts as most diagnostic of TBI: the left cingulum (LCG) and the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (LIF). Like ROC, logistic regression identified LCG as most predictive for the FA measure but identified the right anterior thalamic tract (RAT) for the MD, RD, and AD measures. These findings are potentially relevant to the development of TBI biomarkers. Our methods also demonstrate how ROC analysis may be used to identify clinically relevant variables in the TBI population.

Sensory properties of Californian and imported extra virgin olive oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Claudia; Guinard, Jean-Xavier

2011-04-01

Production and consumption of extra-virgin olive has been increasing in the United States, particularly in California. The objective of this study was to compare the sensory characteristics of 22 extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) from California, Italy, Spain, Chile, and Australia using a generic descriptive analysis. A total of 22 sensory attributes were identified and defined by the descriptive panel. With the exception of thick and citrus, all sensory attributes were significantly different among the oils. Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) showed that California oils differed from some imported EVOOs, mainly by their absence of defects. A second analysis, of only those attributes included in the International Olive Council (IOC) official scorecard, provided a less detailed description of the samples and did not allow for a full characterization of the oils. While the IOC attributes allowed for faster classification in terms of clean versus defective EVOOs, the more comprehensive descriptive analysis provided both more information and a more refined classification of the samples. Variety and region of origin were important factors in the classification of both Californian and imported EVOOs.   Measuring olive oil sensory quality using the IOC method-positive attributes of fruitiness, bitterness, and pungency, and defects including fusty, musty, winey, and rancid-allows for the certification of oils as extra virgin but it provides limited information on the sensory characteristics of the oils. A full descriptive profile, on the other hand, provides information that can be used by producers in the processing and marketing of their oils, and is a useful tool in the education of consumers about the wide range of (positive) sensory attributes in EVOO and the various sensory styles of EVOO.

To Evaluate the Effect of Soil Physical and Chemical Characteristics on the Growth Characteristics of Saffron (Crocus sativus L. Corms in Tornbat-e Heydariyeh Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fariba Zarghani

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction Saffron is one of the most economically important plants across Iran and all over the world. The most important cultivated areas of saffron are in Khorasan-e Razavi and Southern Khorasan provinces (Jihad Keshavarzi Khorasan Razavi, 2013. The corm is the reservoir of photosynthetic materials and plays an important role in the saffron life cycle. Corm size and physicochemical characteristics of soil determine the growth and yield of saffron (Aytekin et al., 2008. It has been advised to use corms with diameter more than 2.5 cm (Kafi et al., 2002. Despite the importance of this plant, few studies have been conducted on the effects of soil characteristics on the growth of the plant in natural field conditions. Therefore, the objective which we will try to achieve is: to evaluate the effect of soil physical and chemical characteristics of the growth of saffron corm and determine the most important effect characteristics. Materials and methods In September 2012, 30 samples of 3 to 5 years old saffron corms were taken from the fields with similar management in Torbat Heydariyeh. The surrounding soil corms (depth of 0 to 30 cm were sampled, too. Dry weight of corms was measured in the laboratory. Air dried soil samples were passed through a 2 mm sieve and used for physical-chemical analyses. Soil texture was determined by using pipet method. Total nitrogen, available phosphorous, available potassium, soil organic carbon and calcium carbonate equivalent were measured in bulk soil samples. Calcium, magnesium, sodium, EC and pH were measured in the saturated soil paste. Fe, Cu and Zn were extracted by DTPA and measured by atomic adsorption spectroscopy. Correlation, regression and neural network technique were used to analyze the data and to identify the most important soil characteristics on the corms characteristics. Results and discussion Diameter and dry weight of corms with mean values of 34.04 mm and 3.72 g, ranged from 22.8 to 51.7 mm

Diptera of sanitary importance associated with composting of biosolids in Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeria Alejandra Labud

2003-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Odorous compounds produced at the biosolids composting plant in Bariloche (NW Patagonia attract a variety of insects, mainly belonging to the order Diptera. In order to characterize these flies, collected specimens were taxonomically identified, their community characteristics were described and their sanitary and synanthropic importance and autochthonous or introduced character were determined. METHODS: Sampling was performed from October 1999 until March 2000. Adults were collected using an entomological net, and larvae and puparia were obtained from the composting material and incubated to obtain adults. Richness, abundance and sex ratio were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 9 taxa of Diptera were identified: Sarconesia chlorogaster, Phaenicia sericata, Calliphora vicina, Cochliomya macellaria, Ophyra sp, Muscina stabulans, Musca domestica, Sarcophaga sp and Fannia sp. Specimens of Anthomyiidae, Acaliptratae and one larva of Eristalis tenax were also found. Ophyra sp. was the most abundant taxa. All the captured Diptera belonged to introduced taxa. Most of them are considered to be eusynanthropic and/or hemisynanthropic and have sanitary importance as they may cause myiasis and pseudomyiasis. The high number of females registered and the finding of immature stages indicated that flies can develop their complete life cycle on biosolid composting windrows. CONCLUSIONS: The characterization of flies obtained in this study may be useful for defining locations of urban or semi-urban composting facilities. It also highlights the importance of sanitary precautions at such plants.

Quantifying the relative irreplaceability of important bird and biodiversity areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Marco, Moreno; Brooks, Thomas; Cuttelod, Annabelle; Fishpool, Lincoln D C; Rondinini, Carlo; Smith, Robert J; Bennun, Leon; Butchart, Stuart H M; Ferrier, Simon; Foppen, Ruud P B; Joppa, Lucas; Juffe-Bignoli, Diego; Knight, Andrew T; Lamoreux, John F; Langhammer, Penny F; May, Ian; Possingham, Hugh P; Visconti, Piero; Watson, James E M; Woodley, Stephen

2016-04-01

World governments have committed to increase the global protected areas coverage by 2020, but the effectiveness of this commitment for protecting biodiversity depends on where new protected areas are located. Threshold- and complementarity-based approaches have been independently used to identify important sites for biodiversity. We brought together these approaches by performing a complementarity-based analysis of irreplaceability in important bird and biodiversity areas (IBAs), which are sites identified using a threshold-based approach. We determined whether irreplaceability values are higher inside than outside IBAs and whether any observed difference depends on known characteristics of the IBAs. We focused on 3 regions with comprehensive IBA inventories and bird distribution atlases: Australia, southern Africa, and Europe. Irreplaceability values were significantly higher inside than outside IBAs, although differences were much smaller in Europe than elsewhere. Higher irreplaceability values in IBAs were associated with the presence and number of restricted-range species; number of criteria under which the site was identified; and mean geographic range size of the species for which the site was identified (trigger species). In addition, IBAs were characterized by higher irreplaceability values when using proportional species representation targets, rather than fixed targets. There were broadly comparable results when measuring irreplaceability for trigger species and when considering all bird species, which indicates a good surrogacy effect of the former. Recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has convened a consultation to consolidate global standards for the identification of key biodiversity areas (KBAs), building from existing approaches such as IBAs. Our results informed this consultation, and in particular a proposed irreplaceability criterion that will allow the new KBA standard to draw on the strengths of both threshold- and

Importance of characteristics and modalities of physical activity and exercise in the management of cardiovascular health in individuals with cardiovascular disease (Part III)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhees, L; Rauch, B; Piepoli, M

2012-01-01

. However, it remains largely obscure, which characteristics of physical activity (PA) and exercise training--frequency, intensity, time (duration), type (mode), and volume (dose: intensity x duration) of exercise--are the most effective. The present paper, therefore, will deal with these exercise...... Association on Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation are formulated regarding frequency, intensity, time and type of PA, and safety aspects during exercise inpatients with cardiovascular disease. This paper is the third in a series of three papers, all devoted to the same theme: the importance...

Methods of Developing User-Friendly Keys to Identify Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas L. from Photographs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane R. Lloyd

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Identifying individual animals is important in understanding their ecology and behaviour, as well as providing estimates of population sizes for conservation efforts. We produce identification keys from photographs of green sea turtles to identify them while foraging in Akumal Bay, Mexico. We create three keys, which (a minimise the length of the key, (b present the most obvious differential characteristics first, and (c remove the strict dichotomy from key b. Keys were capable of identifying >99% of turtles in >2500 photographs during the six-month study period. The keys differed significantly in success rate for students to identify individual turtles, with key (c being the best with >70% success and correctly being followed further than other keys before making a mistake. User-friendly keys are, therefore, a suitable method for the photographic identification of turtles and could be used for other large marine vertebrates in conservation or behavioural studies.

Characteristics of highly rated leadership in nursing homes using item response theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Backman, Annica; Sjögren, Karin; Lindkvist, Marie; Lövheim, Hugo; Edvardsson, David

2017-12-01

To identify characteristics of highly rated leadership in nursing homes. An ageing population entails fundamental social, economic and organizational challenges for future aged care. Knowledge is limited of both specific leadership behaviours and organizational and managerial characteristics which have an impact on the leadership of contemporary nursing home care. Cross-sectional. From 290 municipalities, 60 were randomly selected and 35 agreed to participate, providing a sample of 3605 direct-care staff employed in 169 Swedish nursing homes. The staff assessed their managers' (n = 191) leadership behaviours using the Leadership Behaviour Questionnaire. Data were collected from November 2013 - September 2014, and the study was completed in November 2016. A two-parameter item response theory approach and regression analyses were used to identify specific characteristics of highly rated leadership. Five specific behaviours of highly rated nursing home leadership were identified; that the manager: experiments with new ideas; controls work closely; relies on subordinates; coaches and gives direct feedback; and handles conflicts constructively. The regression analyses revealed that managers with social work backgrounds and privately run homes were significantly associated with higher leadership ratings. This study highlights the five most important leadership behaviours that characterize those nursing home managers rated highest in terms of leadership. Managers in privately run nursing homes and managers with social work backgrounds were associated with higher leadership ratings. Further work is needed to explore these behaviours and factors predictive of higher leadership ratings. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

DNA-SIP identifies sulfate-reducing Clostridia as important toluene degraders in tar-oil-contaminated aquifer sediment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winderl, C.; Penning, H.; von Netzer, F.; Meckenstock, R.U.; Lueders, T. [Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, Neuherberg (Germany)

2010-10-15

Global groundwater resources are constantly challenged by a multitude of contaminants such as aromatic hydrocarbons. Especially in anaerobic habitats, a large diversity of unrecognized microbial populations may be responsible for their degradation. Still, our present understanding of the respective microbiota and their ecophysiology is almost exclusively based on a small number of cultured organisms, mostly within the Proteobacteria. Here, by DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP), we directly identified the most active sulfate-reducing toluene degraders in a diverse sedimentary microbial community originating from a tar-oil-contaminated aquifer at a former coal gasification plant. On incubation of fresh sediments with {sup 13}C{sub 7}-toluene, the production of both sulfide and (CS{sub 2}){sup 13}CO{sub 2} was clearly coupled to the {sup 13}Clabeling of DNA of microbes related to Desulfosporosinus spp. within the Peptococcaceae (Clostridia). The screening of labeled DNA fractions also suggested a novel benzylsuccinate synthase alpha-subunit (bssA) sequence type previously only detected in the environment to be tentatively affiliated with these degraders. However, carbon flow from the contaminant into degrader DNA was only similar to 50%, pointing toward high ratios of heterotrophic CS{sub 2}-fixation during assimilation of acetyl-CoA originating from the contaminant by these degraders. These findings demonstrate that the importance of non-proteobacterial populations in anaerobic aromatics degradation, as well as their specific ecophysiology in the subsurface may still be largely ungrasped.

Sensory characteristics and volatile composition of a cereal beverage fermented with Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB 702257.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmerón, Ivan; Rozada, Raquel; Thomas, Keith; Ortega-Rivas, Enrique; Pandiella, Severino S

2014-04-01

Most of the commercialized lactic acid fermented products are dairy-based. Hence, the development of non-dairy fermented products with probiotic properties draws significant attention within the functional foods industry. The microorganisms used in such products have complex enzyme systems through which they generate diverse metabolites (volatile and non-volatile) that provide significant flavour attributes of importance for fermented foods. The correlation of the volatile flavour compounds of a malt beverage fermented with a Bifidobacterium breve strain with its unique sensory characteristics was performed. The volatile composition analysis exposed the presence of 12 components. Eight of these flavour volatiles were produced through the metabolic activity of the bifidobacteria strain. Notably acetic acid, of reported sour flavour characteristics, exhibited the greatest intensity. Four components of considerable organoleptic characteristics were identified as Maillard-derived products, namely maltol, pyranone, 2 (5H)-furanmethanol and 3-furanmethanol. The sensory evaluation exhibited that the fermented cereal beverage had a sour flavour with mild sweet and malty notes. These results indicate that the volatile compounds identified can be appointed as significant flavour markers of the novel fermented cereal beverage.

Determination of Systemically Important Companies with Cross-Shareholding Network Analysis: A Case Study from an Emerging Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Dastkhan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Systemic risk events constitute an important issue in current financial systems. A leading course of action used to mitigate such events is identification of systemically important agents in order to implement the prudential policies in a financial system. In this paper, a bi-level cross-shareholding network of the stock market is considered according to direct and integrated ownership structure. Furthermore, different systemic risk indices are applied to identify systemically important companies in an early warning system. Results of application of these indices on cross-shareholding data from Tehran Stock Exchange show that integrated network indices produce more reliable results. Moreover, results of statistical analysis of the networks indicated the existence of scale-free characteristics in the TSE cross-shareholding network.

Pedestrian Zones As Important Urban Strategies in Redeveloping the Community - Case Study: Alba Iulia Borough Park

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana Elena BLAGA

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The pedestrian zone issue is by far an important matter in the context of urban regeneration. Cities which adopted this strategy – the pedestrian zones – have recorded better urban attitudes regarding the urban environment, a continuous growth of the urban quality, an improved urban ecosystem  and continuous attractiveness for investment and  tourism. This article explores the evolution of the pedestrian zones as ideas in utopian urban models in the early 1900 and later as efficient environmental friendly strategies adopted by cities. After identifying the path this concept followed, from a simple idea to an important strategy of urban development, the paper focuses on the major characteristics and benefits of the pedestrian precincts. Next, the article focuses on the newest pedestrian zone in one of the Romanian cities, Alba Iulia and it tries to identify the types of impact this area has so far on the community and entire city.

High throughput phenotypic selection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutants with impaired resistance to reactive oxygen species identifies genes important for intracellular growth.

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Olga Mestre

Full Text Available Mycobacterium tuberculosis has the remarkable capacity to survive within the hostile environment of the macrophage, and to resist potent antibacterial molecules such as reactive oxygen species (ROS. Thus, understanding mycobacterial resistance mechanisms against ROS may contribute to the development of new anti-tuberculosis therapies. Here we identified genes involved in such mechanisms by screening a high-density transposon mutant library, and we show that several of them are involved in the intracellular lifestyle of the pathogen. Many of these genes were found to play a part in cell envelope functions, further strengthening the important role of the mycobacterial cell envelope in protection against aggressions such as the ones caused by ROS inside host cells.

Identifying Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Burden Among Caregivers of the Urban Homebound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ania Wajnberg MD

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Limited research has explored whether the burden associated with caring for homebound patients varies across racial groups or by relationship status. We examined these variations for this vulnerable population. Patients self-identified informal caregivers and caregiver burden/depression were assessed using the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale (CES-D. Forty-nine informal caregivers completed the interview. Mean age was 58 ( SD = 14, 78% were female, 37% Black, 35% Hispanic, and 46% had completed high school. Over 60% of caregivers had moderate or severe caregiver burden and 30% had significant depression. White caregivers had greater burden than Black and Hispanic caregivers ( p = .02. Mean caregiver burden was higher among spouse/partner caregivers, versus those who identified as children or other family or friends ( p = .004. Additional research is needed to better understand the experience of racial and ethnic minorities and spouses in providing informal care to homebound adults.

Perceived importance of substance use prevention in juvenile justice: a multi-level analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sales, Jessica M; Wasserman, Gail; Elkington, Katherine S; Lehman, Wayne; Gardner, Sheena; McReynolds, Larkin; Wiley, Tisha; Knudsen, Hannah

2018-05-15

Youth under juvenile justice (JJ) supervision are at high-risk of adverse outcomes from substance use, making prevention important. Few studies have examined prevention-related attitudes of JJ employees, yet such attitudes may be important for implementing prevention programs. Attitudes toward prevention may reflect individual characteristics and organizational contexts. Mixed effects regression was used to analyze data from 492 employees in 36 sites participating in the Juvenile Justice-Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ-TRIALS) cooperative agreement. JJ employees' perceived importance of substance use prevention was measured. Staff-level variables included attitudes, job type, and demographic characteristics. Site-level variables focused on use of evidence-based screening tools, prevention programs, and drug testing. On average, JJ employees rated substance use prevention as highly important (mean = 45.9, out of 50). JJ employees generally agreed that preventing substance use was part of their agency's responsibility (mean = 3.8 on scale ranging from 1 to 5). At the site level, 72.2% used an evidence-based screening tool, 22.2% used one or more evidence-based prevention program, and 47.2% used drug testing. Reported importance of prevention was positively associated with site-level use of screening tools and drug testing as well as staff-level attitudes regarding prevention being consistent with the agency's mission. The associations between screening and prevention attitudes suggest that commitment to identifying youth needs may result in greater openness to preventing substance use. Future efforts to implement substance use prevention within JJ agencies charged with supervising youth in the community may benefit from highlighting the fit between prevention and the agency's mission.

[Management characteristics in charity hospitals in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Sheyla Maria Lemos; Barbosa, Pedro Ribeiro; Portela, Margareth C; Ugá, Maria Alicia Dominguez; Vasconcellos, Miguel Murat; Gerschman, Silvia

2004-01-01

This paper presents the management characteristics of charity hospitals in Brazil, based on data from a national survey developed in 2001. The sample accounted for the random inclusion of 66 Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) inpatient care providers with less than 599 beds and all 26 hospitals with at least 599 beds. It also included 10 institutions assumed as non-providers of services to the SUS. The analyses are descriptive, focusing on the classification of the hospitals according to their managerial development level, as well as selected issues regarding the utilization of specific managerial technologies, human resources, technical services, and services contracting. Distinct managerial levels were identified, but it is important to note that 83% of the SUS providers with less than 599 beds were classified as having incipient management. The authors discuss implications of the findings for inpatient care policies, considering the importance of charity hospitals for the Brazilian Health System.

The mental health characteristics of pregnant women with depressive symptoms identified by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Lydsdottir, Linda B; Howard, Louise M; Olafsdottir, Halldora; Thome, Marga; Tyrfingsson, Petur; Sigurdsson, Jon F

2014-04-01

Few studies are available on the effectiveness of screening tools such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in pregnancy or the extent to which such tools may identify women with mental disorders other than depression. We therefore aimed to investigate the mental health characteristics of pregnant women who screen positive on the EPDS. Consecutive women receiving antenatal care in primary care clinics (from November 2006 to July 2011) were invited to complete the EPDS in week 16 of pregnancy. All women who scored above 11 (screen positive) on the EPDS and randomly selected women who scored below 12 (screen negative) were invited to participate in a psychiatric diagnostic interview. 2,411 women completed the EPDS. Two hundred thirty-three women (9.7%) were screened positive in week 16, of whom 153 (66%) agreed to a psychiatric diagnostic interview. Forty-eight women (31.4%) were diagnosed with major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV criteria, 20 (13.1%) with bipolar disorder, 93 (60.8%) with anxiety disorders (including 27 [17.6%] with obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD]), 8 (5.2%) with dysthymia, 18 (11.8%) with somatoform disorder, 3 (2%) with an eating disorder, and 7 (4.6%) with current substance abuse. Women who screened positive were significantly more likely to have psychosocial risk factors, including being unemployed (χ(2)(1) = 23.37, P ≤.001), lower educational status (χ(2)(1)= 31.68, P ≤ .001), and a history of partner violence (χ(2)(1) = 10.30, P ≤ 001), compared with the women who screened negative. Use of the EPDS early in the second trimester of pregnancy identifies a substantial number of women with potentially serious mental disorders other than depression, including bipolar disorder, OCD, and eating disorders. A comprehensive clinical assessment is therefore necessary following use of the EPDS during pregnancy to ensure that women who screen positive receive appropriate mental health management. © Copyright 2014

[Diagnosing imported helminthiasis].

Science.gov (United States)

Pardo, Javier; Pérez-Arellano, José Luis; Galindo, Inmaculada; Belhassen, Moncef; Cordero, Miguel; Muro, Antonio

2007-05-01

In recent years, there has been an increase in cases of imported helminthiasis in Spain because of two complementary causes: immigration and international travel. Although the prevalence of helminthiasis is high in the immigrant population, the risk of transmission to the Spanish population is low. In this review, we provide clues to aid in the diagnosis of the helminthiasis, highlighting the geographic characteristics, clinical findings and analytical results of the most frequent types. The low sensitivity of the classic parasitological diagnostic test, mainly in tissue helminthiasis, is described. In addition, the advantages and limitations of the common serological methods for detecting related circulating antigens and antibodies are presented. Certain molecular methods used in the diagnosis of imported helminthiasis and the best strategies for screening of this condition are discussed.

Import Penetration, Export Orientation and Plant Size in Indonesian Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Sadayuki TAKII

2014-01-01

This paper empirically examines differential impacts of globalisation on plant size among plants with different characteristics, including initial plant size, import and export status, and ownership. After accounting for other characteristics, results of this analysis suggest that both import penetration and export orientation do not have differential impacts on the size of larger and smaller plants. This is contrary to fears that only relatively large plants can benefit from globalisation wh...

Morphological and hydrological characteristics of the Serbian border zone towards Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurović Predrag

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Morphological and hydrological analyses of the characteristics of the Serbian border zone towards Bulgaria were performed. The morphological analysis included the mountain (Stara Planina, Tupižnica, Svrljiške Planine, Suva Planina and Vidlič, structural basin (Zaječar, Knjaževac, Svrljig and Bela Palanka and valley (Veliki Timok, Beli Timok, Visočica, Dragovištica parts. Within the hydrological analysis, the areas with the highest and lowest annual amount of precipitation were identified, as well as the hottest and coldest areas. The change of river basins runoff was analysed, as well as the distribution of waters throughout the year in the studied area. The most important elements of the water balance were shown and the hydrological characteristics of the karst terrain were analysed.

PFGE: importance in food quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernile, Anna; Giammanco, Giovanni; Massa, Salvatore

2009-11-01

In late 19 century, great interest has arisen for food quality. This is referred as absence of pathogens in food (safety for consumers) and as nutritional quality of food (organoleptic characteristics). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is, among the molecular techniques developed in the last years, one of the most reliable, discriminative and reproducible technique. It can be used in clinical field for the identification of pathogens and the origin of outbreaks, and in food microbiology for the identification of pathogens (food borne disease surveillance) or of microorganisms responsible for the organoleptic characteristics of food. The present article shows some useful patents related to PFGE and importance in food quality.

7 CFR 657.5 - Identification of important farmlands.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Identification of important farmlands. 657.5 Section... Farmlands Inventory § 657.5 Identification of important farmlands. (a) Prime farmlands—(1) General. Prime..., tree nuts, olives, cranberries, fruit, and vegetables. (2) Specific characteristics of unique farmland...

New discovery in study of remote sensing image characteristics at sandstone-type uranium deposits in China and its important significance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Dechang; Huang Xianfang; Ye Fawang

2004-01-01

Sandstone-type uranium deposit now is one of main targets in uranium prospecting in China. During the prospecting, the study is often emphasized on those ore-controlling factors such as the lithology and lithofacies of ore-hosting strata. While the ore-controlling factor of fault structure is usually neglected. By means of systematic research on remote sensing image features of sandstone-type uranium deposits, it is found that fault structure is always present at most main sandstone-type uranium ore districts. Based on above research achievements characteristics of ore-controlling fault and its ore-controlling role are analysed and a new metallogenetic model--'structural-geochemical barrier model' is put forward. Finally, the difference between the sturctural-geochemical barrier model and traditional interlayer oxidation zone front model is elaborated and its important significance is discussed. (authors)

Identifying Method of Drunk Driving Based on Driving Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohua Zhao

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Drunk driving is one of the leading causes contributing to traffic crashes. There are numerous issues that need to be resolved with the current method of identifying drunk driving. Driving behavior, with the characteristic of real-time, was extensively researched to identify impaired driving behaviors. In this paper, the drives with BACs above 0.05% were defined as drunk driving state. A detailed comparison was made between normal driving and drunk driving. The experiment in driving simulator was designed to collect the driving performance data of the groups. According to the characteristics analysis for the effect of alcohol on driving performance, seven significant indicators were extracted and the drunk driving was identified by the Fisher Discriminant Method. The discriminant function demonstrated a high accuracy of classification. The optimal critical score to differentiate normal from drinking state was found to be 0. The evaluation result verifies the accuracy of classification method.

TCGA study identifies genomic features of cervical cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Investigators with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have identified novel genomic and molecular characteristics of cervical cancer that will aid in subclassification of the disease and may help target therapies that are most appropriate for each patient.

Characterizing Density and Complexity of Imported Cargos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Birrer, Nathaniel [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Divin, Charles [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Glenn, Steven [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Martz, Harry [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-08-01

X-ray inspection systems are used to detect radiological and nuclear threats in imported cargo. In order to better understand performance of these systems, system imaging capabilities and the characteristics of imported cargo need to be determined. This project involved calculation of the modulation transfer function as a metric of system imaging performance and a study of the density and inhomogeneity of imported cargos, which have been shown to correlate with human analysts, threat detection performance.

The characteristics and experiences of anticipatory mourning in caregivers of teenagers and young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffith, Rachel; Davies, Kerry; Lavender, Verna

2015-11-01

This article reports a systematic review of literature undertaken to identify characteristics and experiences of anticipatory mourning in caregivers of teenagers and young adults with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the key words 'anticipatory', 'mourning', 'grief', and synonyms. This review focused on six studies that met inclusion criteria and reported characteristics of anticipatory mourning in caregivers of teenagers and young adults. Characteristics and experiences were sorted into four main themes: symptoms; a sense of loss; caregiver behaviour; and the unique experience of caring for, or losing, a teenager or young adult. The review suggests that there are characteristics and experiences of anticipatory mourning that are unique to caregivers of this age group. The review also suggests that consideration of anticipatory mourning is important in offering holistic care to young adults and their caregivers, and points to the need for further research in this area.

Basic study on characteristics of some important equilibrium fuel cycles of PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waris, A.; Sekimoto, H.

2001-01-01

Equilibrium fuel cycle characteristics of a light water reactor (LWR) with enriched uranium supply were evaluated. In this study, five kinds of fuel cycles of 3000 MWt pressurized water reactor (PWR) were investigated, and a method to determine the uranium enrichment in order to achieve their criticality was presented. The results show that the enrichment decreases considerably with increasing number of confined heavy nuclides when U is discharged from the reactor. The required natural uranium was also evaluated for two different enrichment processes. The amount of required natural uranium also decreases as well. On the other hand, when U is totally confined, the enrichment becomes unacceptably high. Furthermore, Pu and minor actinides (MA) confining seem effective to incinerate the discharged radio-toxic wastes

Identifying 8-hydroxynaringenin as a suicide substrate of mushroom tyrosinase.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Te-Sheng; Lin, Meng-Yi; Lin, Hsuan-Jung

2010-01-01

A biotransformed metabolite of naringenin was isolated from the fermentation broth of Aspergillus oryzae, fed with naringenin, and identified as 8-hydroxynaringenin based on the mass and (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectral data. The compound showed characteristics of both an irreversible inhibitor and a substrate of mushroom tyrosinase in preincubation and HPLC analysis. These results demonstrate that 8-hydroxynaringenin belongs to a suicide substrate of mushroom tyrosinase. The partition ratio between the compound's molecules in the formation of product and in the inactivation of the enzyme was determined to be 283 +/- 21. The present study's results, together with our previous findings, which proved that both 8-hydroxydaidzein and 8-hydroxygenistein are suicide substrates of mushroom tyrosinase, show that 7,8,4'-trihydroxyl functional groups on flavonoids' skeletons play important roles in producing suicide substrate properties toward mushroom tyrosinase.

Physician Rating Websites: What Aspects Are Important to Identify a Good Doctor, and Are Patients Capable of Assessing Them? A Mixed-Methods Approach Including Physicians' and Health Care Consumers' Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothenfluh, Fabia; Schulz, Peter J

2017-05-01

Physician rating websites (PRWs) offer health care consumers the opportunity to evaluate their doctor anonymously. However, physicians' professional training and experience create a vast knowledge gap in medical matters between physicians and patients. This raises ethical concerns about the relevance and significance of health care consumers' evaluation of physicians' performance. To identify the aspects physician rating websites should offer for evaluation, this study investigated the aspects of physicians and their practice relevant for identifying a good doctor, and whether health care consumers are capable of evaluating these aspects. In a first step, a Delphi study with physicians from 4 specializations was conducted, testing various indicators to identify a good physician. These indicators were theoretically derived from Donabedian, who classifies quality in health care into pillars of structure, process, and outcome. In a second step, a cross-sectional survey with health care consumers in Switzerland (N=211) was launched based on the indicators developed in the Delphi study. Participants were asked to rate the importance of these indicators to identify a good physician and whether they would feel capable to evaluate those aspects after the first visit to a physician. All indicators were ordered into a 4×4 grid based on evaluation and importance, as judged by the physicians and health care consumers. Agreement between the physicians and health care consumers was calculated applying Holsti's method. In the majority of aspects, physicians and health care consumers agreed on what facets of care were important and not important to identify a good physician and whether patients were able to evaluate them, yielding a level of agreement of 74.3%. The two parties agreed that the infrastructure, staff, organization, and interpersonal skills are both important for a good physician and can be evaluated by health care consumers. Technical skills of a doctor and outcomes

Visualizing the characteristics of a work process being observed from the main control room of nuclear power plants - identifying underlying requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea

2015-01-01

One of the disseminated approaches is to identify and manage vulnerable tasks (i.e., error-prone tasks) by applying many kinds of human reliability assessment (HRA) techniques. That is, if HRA practitioners are able to identify plausible error forcing factors (e.g., performance shaping factors; PSFs) under a given task context, effective countermeasures that are helpful for reducing the possibility of human error can be drawn by deducing how to eliminate the associated PSFs. In order to reduce the variability of HRA results, the development of an objective criterion for determining the level of each PSF could be the most plausible countermeasure. In order to address this issue, this paper applied a process mining technique to the analysis of communication logs gathered from main control room (MCR) crews in NPPs, which could be useful for visualizing their characteristics in terms of the Work process. In this study, before providing additional information that is helpful for HRA practitioners in determining the quality of the Work process, three kinds of underlying requirements are identified. They are: (1) an ability to describe the flow of a work, (2) an ability to incorporate time and spatial information into the flow of a work, and (3) an ability to identify the flow of symptoms and/or knowledge being employed by an MCR crew. In order to satisfy these requirements, a couple of techniques can be used. This might allow partial pooling of log information according to how the information can be clustered.' In other words, the process mining technique is very useful for discovering the flow of a work being involved in a given situation, it is strongly expected that the analysis of communication logs that allow us to understand what and how they did in order to cope with a situation at hand. If so, it is possible to visualize necessary information that is essential for minimizing the variability of HRA practitioners who have to determine the quality of the Work

Visualizing the characteristics of a work process being observed from the main control room of nuclear power plants - identifying underlying requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

One of the disseminated approaches is to identify and manage vulnerable tasks (i.e., error-prone tasks) by applying many kinds of human reliability assessment (HRA) techniques. That is, if HRA practitioners are able to identify plausible error forcing factors (e.g., performance shaping factors; PSFs) under a given task context, effective countermeasures that are helpful for reducing the possibility of human error can be drawn by deducing how to eliminate the associated PSFs. In order to reduce the variability of HRA results, the development of an objective criterion for determining the level of each PSF could be the most plausible countermeasure. In order to address this issue, this paper applied a process mining technique to the analysis of communication logs gathered from main control room (MCR) crews in NPPs, which could be useful for visualizing their characteristics in terms of the Work process. In this study, before providing additional information that is helpful for HRA practitioners in determining the quality of the Work process, three kinds of underlying requirements are identified. They are: (1) an ability to describe the flow of a work, (2) an ability to incorporate time and spatial information into the flow of a work, and (3) an ability to identify the flow of symptoms and/or knowledge being employed by an MCR crew. In order to satisfy these requirements, a couple of techniques can be used. This might allow partial pooling of log information according to how the information can be clustered.' In other words, the process mining technique is very useful for discovering the flow of a work being involved in a given situation, it is strongly expected that the analysis of communication logs that allow us to understand what and how they did in order to cope with a situation at hand. If so, it is possible to visualize necessary information that is essential for minimizing the variability of HRA practitioners who have to determine the quality of the Work

Primary Tumor Thickness is a Prognostic Factor in Stage IV Melanoma: A Retrospective Study of Primary Tumor Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Luen, Stephen; Wong, Siew Wei; Mar, Victoria; Kelly, John W; McLean, Catriona; McArthur, Grant A; Haydon, Andrew

2018-01-01

Stage IV melanoma exhibits a diverse range of tumor biology from indolent to aggressive disease. Many important prognostic factors have already been identified. Despite this, the behavior of metastatic melanoma remains difficult to predict. We sought to determine if any primary tumor characteristics affect survival following the diagnosis of stage IV melanoma. All patients diagnosed with stage IV melanoma between January 2003 and December 2012 were identified from the Victorian Melanoma Service database. Retrospective chart review was performed to collect data on primary tumor characteristics (thickness, ulceration, mitotic rate, melanoma subtype, or occult primary). Known and suspected prognostic factors were additionally collected (time to diagnosis of stage IV disease, age, sex, stage, receipt of chemotherapy, and era of recurrence). The effect of primary tumor characteristics on overall survival from the date of diagnosis of stage IV disease was assessed. A total of 227 patients with a median follow-up of 5 years from diagnosis of stage IV disease were identified. Median overall survival of the cohort was 250 days.Of the primary tumor characteristics assessed, only tumor thickness affected survival from diagnosis of stage IV disease, hazard ratio=1.09 (1.02 to 1.16), P=0.008. This remained significant in multivariate analysis, P=0.007. Other primary tumor characteristics did not significantly influence survival. Primary tumor thickness is a significant prognostic factor in stage IV melanoma. Our data suggest that the biology of the primary melanoma may persist to influence the behavior of metastatic disease.

Caesarean section rates in Southwestern Ontario: changes over time after adjusting for important medical and social characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Hilary K; Hill, Jacquelyn; Natale, Renato

2014-07-01

To compare Caesarean section rates in a cohort of women in Southwestern Ontario over time, overall, and in patient subgroups defined by the Robson criteria, after adjusting for important medical and social characteristics. We obtained data from a perinatal database on deliveries at ≥ 22 weeks' gestation at a level II centre and a level III centre in London, Ontario between 1999 and 2010. Caesarean section rates were examined overall and in subgroups defined by parity, presentation, plurality, gestational age, and history of previous Caesarean section. Multivariable modified Poisson regression was used to compare Caesarean section rates in 2003-2006 and 2007-2010 versus 1999-2002. In the fully adjusted models, the overall Caesarean section rate was significantly higher in 2007-2010 than in 1999-2002 for the level II centre (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.12; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.21). An increase was also seen in the level III centre in both 2003 to 2006 (aRR 1.19; 95% CI 1.14 to 1.24) and 2007 to 2010 (aRR 1.17; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.22). Similar increases were seen over time among patient subgroups. Notably, repeat Caesarean sections without labour increased at the level II centre (2003 to 2006 aRR 1.21; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.45, and 2007 to 2010 aRR 1.44; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.71) and the level III centre (2003 to 2006 aRR 1.72; 95% CI 1.53 to 1.94, and 2007 to 2010 aRR 1.77; 95% CI 1.57 to 2.00). There has been a significant increase over time in the Caesarean section rate overall and in important subgroups. This increase remains even after controlling for other factors which may explain the trend.

Characteristics of vibrator use by gay and bisexually identified men in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Reece, Michael; Rosenberger, Joshua G; Schick, Vanessa; Herbenick, Debby; Dodge, Brian; Novak, David S

2010-10-01

Recent reports indicate that vibrator use during solo and partnered sexual activities is common among heterosexual men and women in the United States. However, little research has comprehensively assessed vibrator use among gay and bisexually identified men. This study sought to document the extent to which gay and bisexually identified men report using vibrators, the sexual and relational situations within which they use them, and how men use vibrators on their own and their partners' bodies. Data were collected from 25,294 gay and bisexually identified men from 50 U.S. states and from the District of Columbia via an internet-based survey. Measures included sociodemographics, health-related indicators, sexual behaviors, and those related to recent and past use of vibrators during solo and partnered sexual interactions with other men. Approximately half (49.8%) of gay and bisexually identified men reported having used vibrators. Most men who had used a vibrator in the past reported use during masturbation (86.2%). When used during partnered interactions, vibrators were incorporated into foreplay (65.9%) and intercourse (59.4%). Men reported frequent insertion of vibrators into the anus or rectum when using them during masturbation (87.3%), which was also common during partnered interactions (∼60%), but varied slightly for casual and relationship sex partners. For both masturbation and partnered interactions, men overwhelmingly endorsed the extent to which vibrator use contributed to sexual arousal, orgasm, and pleasure. Vibrator use during both solo and partnered sexual acts was common among the gay and bisexually identified men in this sample and was described by men as adding to the quality of their sexual experiences. © 2010 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Characteristics of the Nursing Practice Environment Associated With Lower Unit-Level RN Turnover.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson-Brantley, Heather V; Park, Shin Hye; Bergquist-Beringer, Sandra

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine characteristics of the nursing practice environment associated with lower RN turnover. Identifying characteristics of the practice environment that contribute to lower RN turnover is important for meeting the national quality strategy priority of reducing healthcare costs. Data from 1002 adult care units in 162 National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators participating hospitals were analyzed using multivariate linear regression. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index was used to measure practice environment characteristics. RN turnover was measured at the unit level. Nursing units with higher overall ratings of the nursing practice environment had lower rates of RN turnover. Units with higher RN perceived staffing and resource adequacy experienced significantly lower RN turnover. Unit managers and hospital administrators should consider RN perception of staffing and resource adequacy and the overall practice environment when developing targeted strategies for decreasing RN turnover.

respondents characteristics, their awareness and benefits of sukur

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Tersor

characteristics and to identify the economic benefits derived by the support zone dwellers from the ... used for the presentation of the results on socio–economic characteristics and the benefits ..... need to develop sustainable management.

What factors do patients consider most important in making lung cancer screening decisions? Findings from a demonstration project conducted in the Veterans Health Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Lillie, Sarah E; Fu, Steven S; Fabbrini, Angela E; Rice, Kathryn L; Clothier, Barbara; Nelson, David B; Doro, Elizabeth A; Moughrabieh, M Anas; Partin, Melissa R

2017-02-01

The National Lung Screening Trial recently reported that annual low-dose computed tomography screening is associated with decreased lung cancer mortality in high-risk smokers. This study sought to identify the factors patients consider important in making lung cancer screening (LCS) decisions, and explore variations by patient characteristics and LCS participation. This observational survey study evaluated the Minneapolis VA LCS Clinical Demonstration Project in which LCS-eligible Veterans (N=1388) were randomized to either Direct LCS Invitation (mailed with decision aid, N=926) or Usual Care (provider referral, N=462). We surveyed participants three months post-randomization (response rate 44%) and report the proportion of respondents rating eight decision-making factors (benefits, harms, and neutral factors) as important by condition, patient characteristics, and LCS completion. Overall, the most important factor was personal risk of lung cancer and the least important factor was health risks from LCS. The reported importance varied by patient characteristics, including smoking status, health status, and education level. Overall, the potential harms of LCS were reported less important than the benefits or the neutral decision-making factors. Exposure to Direct LCS Invitation (with decision aid) increased Veterans' attention to specific decision-making factors; compared to Usual Care respondents, a larger proportion of Direct LCS Invitation respondents rated the chance of false-positive results, LCS knowledge, LCS convenience, and anxiety as important. Those completing LCS considered screening harms less important, with the exception of incidental findings. Decision tools influence Veterans' perceptions about LCS decision-making factors. As the factors important to LCS decision making vary by patient characteristics, targeted materials for specific subgroups may be warranted. Attention should be paid to how LCS incidental findings are communicated. Published by

Identifying county characteristics associated with resident well-being: A population based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Brita; Riley, Carley; Herrin, Jeph; Spatz, Erica S; Arora, Anita; Kell, Kenneth P; Welsh, John; Rula, Elizabeth Y; Krumholz, Harlan M

2018-01-01

Well-being is a positively-framed, holistic assessment of health and quality of life that is associated with longevity and better health outcomes. We aimed to identify county attributes that are independently associated with a comprehensive, multi-dimensional assessment of individual well-being. We performed a cross-sectional study examining associations between 77 pre-specified county attributes and a multi-dimensional assessment of individual US residents' well-being, captured by the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index. Our cohort included 338,846 survey participants, randomly sampled from 3,118 US counties or county equivalents. We identified twelve county-level factors that were independently associated with individual well-being scores. Together, these twelve factors explained 91% of the variance in individual well-being scores, and they represent four conceptually distinct categories: demographic (% black); social and economic (child poverty, education level [divorced); clinical care (% eligible women obtaining mammography, preventable hospital stays per 100,000, number of federally qualified health centers); and physical environment (% commuting by bicycle and by public transit). Twelve factors across social and economic, clinical care, and physical environmental county-level factors explained the majority of variation in resident well-being.

Visualizing team characteristics from the HRA perspective-its feasibility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jinkyun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

In this study, as a method to visualize the nature of the team characteristics, the applicability of Hofstede's culture model is investigated. In this study, as a promising solution for visualizing the team characteristics, the applicability of Hofstede's culture model is briefly investigated. As a result, it is expected that the use of Hofstede's culture model allows us to have another viewpoint that is helpful for understanding the relationship between the team characteristics and the associated team performance. Actually, the following excerpts advocate the importance of a cultural aspect in understanding the responses of operating personnel working in NPPs: 'However, the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident identified significant and new human, organisational and cultural challenges that also need to be addressed. The accident revealed the importance of applying existing concepts and technical knowledge throughout the decision-making processes for design, operation and accident management.' (p. 54) 'Nuclear industry culture has been described as culture of control where organisations and workers emphasise that risks are in control and they do not appreciate the inherent uncertainties. This has also been recognised by some of the Fukushima accident investigations. In reality many activities in the nuclear industry, for example maintenance, design work, construction of new plants and emergency management involve dealing with unforeseen situations and performing underspecified work tasks. In order to smoothly cope with these the culture of the organisation need to support flexibility and adaptability to some degree.' (p. 19) Therefore, although this study is still premature, it is reasonable to say that this study is a good starting point to scrutinize the nature of the team characteristics in a systematic manner, at least to some extent.

Characteristics and importance of the genus Prototheca in human and veterinary medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milanov Dubravka S.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Prototheca spp. are strange algae, assigned to the genus Prototheca, family Chlorelaceae. They are ubiquitous in nature, living predominantly in aqueous locales containing decomposing plant material. Prototheca spp. were isolated from skin scarificates, sputum and feces of humans in absence of infection as well as in a variety of domestic and some wild animals. Prototheca spp. are unicellular organisms, oval or spheric in shape. They differ from bacteria and fungi in size, shape and reproductive characteristics. Of the five known species of the genus, only P. wickerhamii and P. zopfii are considered pathogenic, and they are the only known plant causative agents of human and animal infections. Over the past 25 years medical references reported more than 100 cases of human protothecoses, mostly induced by P. wickerhamii and rarely by P. zopfii. A half of the reports on human protothecoses relates to localized cutaneous infections and oleocranon bursitis. The rarest and most severe form of the infection is disseminated or systemic protothecosis, described in patients with durable course of primary disease or immune disfunction. In veterinary medicine, Prototheca zopfii and rarely also P. wickerhamii are reported as causative agents of cutaneous protothecosis in dogs and cats, systemic protothecosis in dogs and mastitis in dairy cows. Protothecal infections are diagnosed by histopathology examination or, more exactly, by isolation of the agent, although the organism cannot be distinguished from the yeasts by its cultural characteristics. Final diagnosis is made by the carbon-hydrate assimilation test. Protothecal infections are easily missed in routine practice. Pharmacological protocol for therapy of this rare infection has not been developed yet either in human or in veterinary medicine. Several antifungal agents are applied for treatment; however, the effects are variable. Where possible, surgical excision is treatment of choice. Prognosis is

Characteristic Processes in Close Peer Friendships of Preterm Infants at Age 12

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary C. Sullivan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Close friendships become important at middle-school age and are unexplored in adolescents born prematurely. The study aimed to characterize friendship behaviors of formerly preterm infants at age 12 and explore similarities and differences between preterm and full-term peers on dyadic friendship types. From the full sample of N=186, one hundred sixty-six 12-year-old adolescents (40 born full term, 126 born preterm invited a close friend to a 1.5 hour videotaped laboratory play session. Twenty adolescents were unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts or developmental disability. Characteristic friendship behaviors were identified by Q-sort followed by Q-factoring analysis. Friendship duration, age, and contact differed between the full-term and preterm groups but friendship activities, behaviors, and quality were similar despite school service use. Three Q-factors, leadership, distancing, and mutual playfulness, were most characteristic of all dyads, regardless of prematurity. These prospective, longitudinal findings demonstrate diminished prematurity effects at adolescence in peer friendship behavior and reveal interpersonal dyadic processes that are important to peer group affiliation and other areas of competence.

Import of metal scrap - risks associated with radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elert, M.

1992-11-01

There is a growing concern in Sweden for the possibility that imported metal scrap is radioactive. The recent political and economical changes in eastern Europe and the increased cooperation with the CEC has affected Swedens import. In the last years, the import of metal scrap from the former USSR has increased considerably. In view of recent incidents, when radioactive materials have been found, the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute has detected a need for identifying the potential risk sources and evaluating the magnitude of the risk associated with the import of metal scrap. The purpose of this report is to provide some background material concerning import statistics, use of metal scrap in Sweden and to identify potential sources of radioactive metal scrap. In addition, the radionuclides of most concern has been identified and the possibility of detecting them in metal scrap shipments is analyzed

Identification of forensically important fly eggs using a potassium permanganate staining technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Sukontason, Kom; Sukontason, Kabkaew L; Piangjai, Somsak; Boonchu, Noppawan; Kurahashi, Hiromu; Hope, Michelle; Olson, Jimmy K

2004-01-01

Fly eggs found in corpses can be utilized as entomological evidence in forensic investigations of deaths if the species of fly and the developmental rate at a temperature similar to the death scene are known. The species identification of fly eggs is particularly important, and previously, scanning electron microscope has been used for this purpose. Herein, we report a simple technique, using light microscopy, to identify forensically important eggs of Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius), Chrysomya pacifica Kurahashi, Chrysomya nigripes Aubertin, Aldrichina grahami (Aldrich), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann), Musca domestica L. and Megaselia scalaris (Loew). A 1% potassium permanganate solution was used to stain egg surfaces for 1 min, followed by dehydration in 15, 70, and 95%, absolute alcohol (each solution for 1 min) and the eggs were permanently mounted. The characteristics are based on the width of plastron, morphology of plastron area surrounding the micropyle and chorionic sculpturing, with the length of egg being used as supplemental feature.

Finding Important Terms for Patients in Their Electronic Health Records: A Learning-to-Rank Approach Using Expert Annotations

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jiaping; Yu, Hong

2016-01-01

Background Many health organizations allow patients to access their own electronic health record (EHR) notes through online patient portals as a way to enhance patient-centered care. However, EHR notes are typically long and contain abundant medical jargon that can be difficult for patients to understand. In addition, many medical terms in patients’ notes are not directly related to their health care needs. One way to help patients better comprehend their own notes is to reduce information overload and help them focus on medical terms that matter most to them. Interventions can then be developed by giving them targeted education to improve their EHR comprehension and the quality of care. Objective We aimed to develop a supervised natural language processing (NLP) system called Finding impOrtant medical Concepts most Useful to patientS (FOCUS) that automatically identifies and ranks medical terms in EHR notes based on their importance to the patients. Methods First, we built an expert-annotated corpus. For each EHR note, 2 physicians independently identified medical terms important to the patient. Using the physicians’ agreement as the gold standard, we developed and evaluated FOCUS. FOCUS first identifies candidate terms from each EHR note using MetaMap and then ranks the terms using a support vector machine-based learn-to-rank algorithm. We explored rich learning features, including distributed word representation, Unified Medical Language System semantic type, topic features, and features derived from consumer health vocabulary. We compared FOCUS with 2 strong baseline NLP systems. Results Physicians annotated 90 EHR notes and identified a mean of 9 (SD 5) important terms per note. The Cohen’s kappa annotation agreement was .51. The 10-fold cross-validation results show that FOCUS achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) of 0.940 for ranking candidate terms from EHR notes to identify important terms. When including term

Seizure semiology: an important clinical clue to the diagnosis of autoimmune epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Rui-Juan; Ren, Hai-Tao; Guan, Hong-Zhi; Cui, Tao; Shao, Xiao-Qiu

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study is to analyze the seizure semiologic characteristics of patients with autoimmune epilepsy (AE) and describe the investigation characteristics of AE using a larger sample size. This observational retrospective case series study was conducted from a tertiary epilepsy center between May 2014 and March 2017. Cases of new-onset seizures were selected based on laboratory evidence of autoimmunity. At the same time, typical mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) patients with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) were recruited as the control group from the subjects who underwent presurgical evaluation during the same period. A total of 61 patients with AE were identified. Specific autoimmune antibodies were detected in 39 patients (63.93%), including anti-VGKC in 23 patients (37.70%), anti-NMDA-R in 9 patients (14.75%), anti-GABA B -R in 6 patients (9.84%), and anti-amphiphysin in 1 patient (1.64%). Regarding the seizure semiology, no significant differences were noted between AE patients with autoantibody and patients with suspected AE without antibody. Compared to typical MTLE patients with HS, both AE patients with autoantibody and patients with suspected AE without antibody had the same seizure semiologic characteristics, including more frequent SPS or CPS, shorter seizure duration, rare postictal confusion, and common sleeping SGTC seizures. This study highlights important seizure semiologic characteristics of AE. Patients with autoimmune epilepsy had special seizure semiologic characteristics. For patients with autoimmune epilepsy presenting with new-onset seizures in isolation or with a seizure-predominant neurological disorder, the special seizure semiologic characteristics may remind us to test neuronal nuclear/cytoplasmic antibodies early and initiate immunomodulatory therapies as soon as possible. Furthermore, the absence of neural-specific autoantibodies does not rule out AE.

Differences in the importance of weather and weather-based decisions among campers in Ontario parks (Canada)

Science.gov (United States)

Hewer, Micah J.; Scott, Daniel J.; Gough, William A.

2017-10-01

Parks and protected areas represent an important resource for tourism in Canada, in which camping is a common recreational activity. The important relationship between weather and climate with recreation and tourism has been widely acknowledged within the academic literature. Howbeit, the need for activity-specific assessments has been identified as an on-going need for future research in the field of tourism climatology. Furthermore, very little is known about the interrelationships between personal characteristics and socio-demographics with weather preferences and behavioural thresholds. This study uses a stated climate preferences approach (survey responses) to explore differences in the importance of weather and related weather-based decisions among summer campers in Ontario parks. Statistically significant differences were found among campers for each of the four dependent variables tested in this study. Physically active campers placed greater importance on weather but were still more tolerant of adverse weather conditions. Older campers placed greater importance on weather. Campers travelling shorter distances placed greater importance on weather and were more likely to leave the park early due to adverse weather. Campers staying for longer periods of time were less likely to leave early due to weather and were willing to endure longer durations of adverse weather conditions. Beginner campers placed greater importance on weather, were more likely to leave early due to weather and recorded lower temporal weather thresholds. The results of this study contribute to the study of tourism climatology by furthering understanding of how personal characteristics such as gender, age, activity selection, trip duration, distance travelled, travel experience and life cycles affect weather preferences and decisions, focusing this time on recreational camping in a park tourism context.

Importance Sampling for Stochastic Timed Automata

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jegourel, Cyrille; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand; Legay, Axel

2016-01-01

We present an importance sampling framework that combines symbolic analysis and simulation to estimate the probability of rare reachability properties in stochastic timed automata. By means of symbolic exploration, our framework first identifies states that cannot reach the goal. A state-wise cha......We present an importance sampling framework that combines symbolic analysis and simulation to estimate the probability of rare reachability properties in stochastic timed automata. By means of symbolic exploration, our framework first identifies states that cannot reach the goal. A state...

Understanding Team Communication Characteristics using Social Network Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ar Ryum; Lee, Seung Woo; Seong, Poong Hyun; Park, Jin Kyun

2011-01-01

An important aspect of human behavior in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is team interaction since operating NPPs involves the coordination of several team members among and within workplaces. Since operators in main control room (MCR) get a great deal of information through communication to perform a task, communication is one of the important characteristics for team characteristics. Many researchers have been studying how to understand the characteristics of communication. Social network analysis (SNA) which is considered as an objective and easily applicable method has been already applied in many fields to investigate characteristics of team communication. Henttonen (2010) has struggled to perform the research on the impact of social networks in a team and he found some team communication characteristics could be obtained using some properties of SNA. In this paper, SNA is used to understand communication characteristics within operators in NPPs

Effects of Alternative Framing on the Publics Perceived Importance of Environmental Conservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda E Sorensen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Effective communication of science to the general public is important for numerous reasons, including support for policy, funding, informed public decision making, among others. Prior research has found that scientists participating in public policy and public communication must frame their communication efforts in order to connect with audiences. A frame is the mechanism that individuals use to understand and interpret the world around them. Framing can encourage specific interpretations and reference points for a particular issue or event; especially when meaning is negotiated between the media and public audiences. In this study, we looked at the effect of framing within an environmental conservation context. To do this we had survey respondents rank common issues, among them being environmental conservation, from most important to least important for the government to address. We framed environmental conservation using three synonymous terms (environmental security, ecosystem services, and environmental quality to assess whether there was an effect on rankings dependent on how we framed environmental conservation. We also investigated the effect of individuals’ personality characteristics (identity frame on those environmental conservation rankings. We found that individuals who self-identified as environmentalist were positively associated with ranking highly (most important environmental conservation when it was framed as either environmental quality or ecosystem services, but not when it was framed as environmental security. Conversely, those individuals who did not rank themselves highly as self-identified environmentalists were positively associated with environmental conservation when it was framed as environmental security. This research suggests that framing audience specific messages can engender audience support in hot-button issues such as environmental conservation and climate change.

Pioneer settlement of U.S. immigrants: Characteristics of pioneer migrants and places

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Gurak

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Research on immigrant dispersion to new U.S. destinations has not addressed the question of how place and individual characteristics influence pioneer settlement. While origin-group social networks influence immigrants' settlement choices upon U.S. arrival and secondary destination decisions within the USA, other factors must be important when immigrants move to places where they have no compatriots. Objective: By examining national origin differences in pioneer migration for ten Asian and Latin American national origin groups, our goal was to determine whether and how they differed in their pioneer settlement responses to economic, demographic, social, and pan-ethnic labor markets conditions. Methods: We used 1990 and 2000 confidential decennial census data because they have sufficient sample cases and geographic detail to study national origin differences. We estimated two types of model for each origin group: a zero-inflated Poisson model that identifies the place characteristics associated with higher pioneer settlement counts in the 1990s and a logistic regression model that identifies the individual characteristics of immigrants who settled pioneer places. Results: The major context correlates of pioneer settlement were 1990 population size, the pan-ethnic presence of foreign-born from each group's origin region (Asia or Latin America, and the lack of a significant agricultural presence in the labor force. The logistic models indicated that pioneers were likely to be internal migrants rather than recent immigrants, fluent English speakers, and residents of relatively dispersed places prior to moving to pioneer labor markets. Conclusions: The analyses showed the importance of secondary migration and prior dispersion from gateways for pioneer settlement. They also revealed considerable national origin heterogeneity in pioneer settlement dynamics and indicated that national origin differences merit further attention.

Identifying county characteristics associated with resident well-being: A population based study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brita Roy

Full Text Available Well-being is a positively-framed, holistic assessment of health and quality of life that is associated with longevity and better health outcomes. We aimed to identify county attributes that are independently associated with a comprehensive, multi-dimensional assessment of individual well-being.We performed a cross-sectional study examining associations between 77 pre-specified county attributes and a multi-dimensional assessment of individual US residents' well-being, captured by the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index. Our cohort included 338,846 survey participants, randomly sampled from 3,118 US counties or county equivalents.We identified twelve county-level factors that were independently associated with individual well-being scores. Together, these twelve factors explained 91% of the variance in individual well-being scores, and they represent four conceptually distinct categories: demographic (% black; social and economic (child poverty, education level [

Gene Expression Profiling Identifies Important Genes Affected by R2 Compound Disrupting FAK and P53 Complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golubovskaya, Vita M.; Ho, Baotran; Conroy, Jeffrey; Liu, Song; Wang, Dan; Cance, William G.

2014-01-01

Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor kinase that plays an important role in many cellular processes: adhesion, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis and survival. Recently, we have shown that Roslin 2 or R2 (1-benzyl-15,3,5,7-tetraazatricyclo[3.3.1.1~3,7~]decane) compound disrupts FAK and p53 proteins, activates p53 transcriptional activity, and blocks tumor growth. In this report we performed a microarray gene expression analysis of R2-treated HCT116 p53 +/+ and p53 −/− cells and detected 1484 genes that were significantly up- or down-regulated (p < 0.05) in HCT116 p53 +/+ cells but not in p53 −/− cells. Among up-regulated genes in HCT p53 +/+ cells we detected critical p53 targets: Mdm-2, Noxa-1, and RIP1. Among down-regulated genes, Met, PLK2, KIF14, BIRC2 and other genes were identified. In addition, a combination of R2 compound with M13 compound that disrupts FAK and Mmd-2 complex or R2 and Nutlin-1 that disrupts Mdm-2 and p53 decreased clonogenicity of HCT116 p53 +/+ colon cancer cells more significantly than each agent alone in a p53-dependent manner. Thus, the report detects gene expression profile in response to R2 treatment and demonstrates that the combination of drugs targeting FAK, Mdm-2, and p53 can be a novel therapy approach

A Systematic Review of the Reliability and Validity of Behavioural Tests Used to Assess Behavioural Characteristics Important in Working Dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Karen; Cracknell, Nina; Zulch, Helen; Mills, Daniel Simon

2018-01-01

Working dogs are selected based on predictions from tests that they will be able to perform specific tasks in often challenging environments. However, withdrawal from service in working dogs is still a big problem, bringing into question the reliability of the selection tests used to make these predictions. A systematic review was undertaken aimed at bringing together available information on the reliability and predictive validity of the assessment of behavioural characteristics used with working dogs to establish the quality of selection tests currently available for use to predict success in working dogs. The search procedures resulted in 16 papers meeting the criteria for inclusion. A large range of behaviour tests and parameters were used in the identified papers, and so behaviour tests and their underpinning constructs were grouped on the basis of their relationship with positive core affect (willingness to work, human-directed social behaviour, object-directed play tendencies) and negative core affect (human-directed aggression, approach withdrawal tendencies, sensitivity to aversives). We then examined the papers for reports of inter-rater reliability, within-session intra-rater reliability, test-retest validity and predictive validity. The review revealed a widespread lack of information relating to the reliability and validity of measures to assess behaviour and inconsistencies in terminologies, study parameters and indices of success. There is a need to standardise the reporting of these aspects of behavioural tests in order to improve the knowledge base of what characteristics are predictive of optimal performance in working dog roles, improving selection processes and reducing working dog redundancy. We suggest the use of a framework based on explaining the direct or indirect relationship of the test with core affect.

CONTEXT MATTERS: THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKET CHARACTERISTICS IN THE VOLATILITY OF FEEDSTOCK COSTS FOR BIOGAS PLANTS.

Science.gov (United States)

Mertens, A; Van Meensel, J; Mondelaers, K; Buysse, J

2015-01-01

Recently, biogas plant managers in Flanders face increased financial uncertainty. Between 2011 and 2012, 20% of the Flemish biogas plants went bankrupt. Difficulties in obtaining feedstock at stable and affordable prices is one reason why the biogas sector struggles. In literature, contracting is often proposed as a way to decrease the volatility of the feedstock costs. However, these studies generally do not consider the context in which the biogas plant manager needs to buy the feedstock. Yet, this context could be of specific importance when biogas plant managers are in competition with other users of the same biomass type. Silage maize is an example of such a feedstock, as it is both used by dairy farmers and biogas plant managers. Using a combination of qualitative research and agent-based modelling, we investigated the effect of specific characteristics of the silage maize market on the acquisition of local silage maize by biogas plant managers. This paper details the institutional arrangements of the silage maize market in Flanders and the results of a scenario analysis, simulating three different scenarios. As shown by the results, the time of entry into the market, as well as the different institutional arrangements used by the biogas plant managers as opposed to dairy farmers could explain the difficulties in obtaining a stable supply of local silage maize by biogas plants. Our findings can help to develop mitigation strategies addressing these difficulties.

Bacterial Species and Biochemical Characteristic Investigations of Nostoc flagelliforme Concentrates during its Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Lifang; Lv, Hexin; Zhen, Jing; Jiang, Shengping; Jia, Shiru; Shen, Shigang; Gao, Lu; Dai, Yujie

2016-04-28

Preservation of fresh algae plays an important role in algae seed subculture and aquaculture. The determination and examination of the changes of cell viability, composition, and bacterial species during storage would help to take suitable preservation methods to prolong the preservation time of fresh algae. Nostoc flagelliforme is a kind of edible cyanobacterium with important herbal and dietary values. This article investigated the changes of bacterial species and biochemical characteristics of fresh N. flagelliforme concentrate during natural storage. It was found that the viability of cells decreased along with the storage time. Fourteen bacteria strains in the algae concentrate were identified by PCR-DGGE and were grouped into four phyla, including Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Among them, Enterococcus viikkiensis may be a concern in the preservation. Eleven volatile organic compounds were identified from N. flagelliforme cells, in which geosmin could be treated as an indicator of the freshness of N. flagelliforme. The occurrence of indole compound may be an indicator of the degradation of cells.

Evaluation of bentonite alteration due to interactions with iron. Sensitivity analyses to identify the important factors for the bentonite alteration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasamoto, Hiroshi; Wilson, James; Sato, Tsutomu

2013-01-01

Performance assessment of geological disposal systems for high-level radioactive waste requires a consideration of long-term systems behaviour. It is possible that the alteration of swelling clay present in bentonite buffers might have an impact on buffer functions. In the present study, iron (as a candidate overpack material)-bentonite (I-B) interactions were evaluated as the main buffer alteration scenario. Existing knowledge on alteration of bentonite during I-B interactions was first reviewed, then the evaluation methodology was developed considering modeling techniques previously used overseas. A conceptual model for smectite alteration during I-B interactions was produced. The following reactions and processes were selected: 1) release of Fe 2+ due to overpack corrosion; 2) diffusion of Fe 2+ in compacted bentonite; 3) sorption of Fe 2+ on smectite edge and ion exchange in interlayers; 4) dissolution of primary phases and formation of alteration products. Sensitivity analyses were performed to identify the most important factors for the alteration of bentonite by I-B interactions. (author)

Customers’ Perceptions on the Objectives, Characteristics and Selection Criteria of Islamic Bank in Thailand

OpenAIRE

Lateh, Nasrina; Ismail, Suhaiza; Ariffin, Noraini Mohd

2009-01-01

Due to relatively new establishment of islamic bank in Thailand and paucity of empirical research undertaken in the area, this study intends to capture the perceptions of Thai customers towards the objectives and characteristics of the islamic bank. In addition, this study aims to determine the important bank selection criteria as perceived by the customers and the differences in the perceptions of moslem and non-moslem customers were identified. The study surveys a sample of 462 respondents....

Sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of fermented soybean paste (Doenjang).

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, H G; Hong, J H; Song, C K; Shin, H W; Kim, K O

2010-09-01

This study was conducted to examine the sensory profiles of fermented soybean paste (Doenjang), to understand consumers' acceptability of different types of Doenjang samples and to identify the sensory characteristics that drive consumer acceptability of Doenjang products. Descriptive analysis and consumer acceptability test were conducted for 7 different types of Doenjang samples. The samples included 2 types of Doenjang made by either traditional or commercially modified methods. For the descriptive analysis, 8 trained panelists developed and evaluated 31 descriptors. There were significant differences in all 31 attributes among the samples. Principal component analysis was also performed to summarize the sensory characteristics of the samples. In consumer testing, 200 consumers evaluated the acceptability of Doenjang samples. Significant differences in consumer acceptability were observed among the samples. The consumers preferred the Doenjang samples manufactured using a commercially modified method. In overall point of view, most consumers liked the Doenjang samples that had strong "sweet" and "MSG (monosodium glutamate)" tastes. It appears that "sweet" and "MSG" tastes are the drivers of liking for Doenjang. "Salty" taste, "meju,"traditional Korean soy sauce," and "fermented fish" odor/flavors seem to be the drivers of disliking for Doenjang. Cluster analysis identified 3 subconsumer segments sharing a common preference pattern for the 7 samples within a cluster. The results showed that each consumer cluster preferred different Doenjang samples. External preference mapping was performed to establish the relationships between the sensory attributes and consumer acceptability in each cluster. Consumption of the fermented soybean products is gradually expanding around the world, due to their various health benefits. Therefore, understanding sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of Doenjang are becoming increasingly important. The intense and complex

Identifying and Evaluating Chaotic Behavior in Hydro-Meteorological Processes

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Soojun Kim

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to identify and evaluate chaotic behavior in hydro-meteorological processes. This study poses the two hypotheses to identify chaotic behavior of the processes. First, assume that the input data is the significant factor to provide chaotic characteristics to output data. Second, assume that the system itself is the significant factor to provide chaotic characteristics to output data. For solving this issue, hydro-meteorological time series such as precipitation, air temperature, discharge, and storage volume were collected in the Great Salt Lake and Bear River Basin, USA. The time series in the period of approximately one year were extracted from the original series using the wavelet transform. The generated time series from summation of sine functions were fitted to each series and used for investigating the hypotheses. Then artificial neural networks had been built for modeling the reservoir system and the correlation dimension was analyzed for the evaluation of chaotic behavior between inputs and outputs. From the results, we found that the chaotic characteristic of the storage volume which is output is likely a byproduct of the chaotic behavior of the reservoir system itself rather than that of the input data.

Consensus of sample-balanced classifiers for identifying ligand-binding residue by co-evolutionary physicochemical characteristics of amino acids

KAUST Repository

Chen, Peng

2013-01-01

Protein-ligand binding is an important mechanism for some proteins to perform their functions, and those binding sites are the residues of proteins that physically bind to ligands. So far, the state-of-the-art methods search for similar, known structures of the query and predict the binding sites based on the solved structures. However, such structural information is not commonly available. In this paper, we propose a sequence-based approach to identify protein-ligand binding residues. Due to the highly imbalanced samples between the ligand-binding sites and non ligand-binding sites, we constructed several balanced data sets, for each of which a random forest (RF)-based classifier was trained. The ensemble of these RF classifiers formed a sequence-based protein-ligand binding site predictor. Experimental results on CASP9 targets demonstrated that our method compared favorably with the state-of-the-art. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DATA USED FOR IDENTIFYING ...

Science.gov (United States)

Due to unique social and demographic characteristics, various segments of the population may experience exposures different from those of the general population, which, in many cases, may be greater. When risk assessments do not characterize subsets of the general population, the populations that may experience the greatest risk remain unidentified. When such populations are not identified, the social and demographic data relevant to these populations is not considered when preparing exposure estimates, which can underestimate exposure and risk estimates for at-risk populations. Thus, it is necessary for risk or exposure assessors characterizing a diverse population, to first identify and then enumerate certain groups within the general population who are at risk for greater contaminant exposures. The document entitled Sociodemographic Data Used for Identifying Potentially Highly Exposed Populations (also referred to as the Highly Exposed Populations document), assists assessors in identifying and enumerating potentially highly exposed populations. This document presents data relating to factors which potentially impact an individual or group's exposure to environmental contaminants based on activity patterns (how time is spent), microenvironments (locations where time is spent), and other socio-demographic data such as age, gender, race and economic status. Populations potentially more exposed to various chemicals of concern, relative to the general population

Identification and characteristics of vaccine refusers

OpenAIRE

Wei, Feifei; Mullooly, John P; Goodman, Mike; McCarty, Maribet C; Hanson, Ann M; Crane, Bradley; Nordin, James D

2009-01-01

Abstract Background This study evaluated the utility of immunization registries in identifying vaccine refusals among children. Among refusers, we studied their socioeconomic characteristics and health care utilization patterns. Methods Medical records were reviewed to validate refusal status in the immunization registries of two health plans. Racial, education, and income characteristics of children claiming refusal were collected based on the census tract of each child. Health care utilizat...

MODEL OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NURSE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT BASED ON ASSOCIATION OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTIC, ORGANIZATION CHARACTERISTIC AND JOB CHARACTERISTIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Margaretha Bogar

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nursing care is integral part of health care and having important role in management of patient with emergency condition. The purpose of this research was to develop nurse performance improvement model based on individual, organization and job characteristics association in Emergency Department of RSUD dr TC Hillers Maumere. Method: This was an explanative survey by cross sectional approach held on July -August 2012. Respondents in this study were 22 nurses and 44 patients were obtained by purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed by partial least square test and signi fi cant t value > 1.64 (alpha 10%. Result: Results showed that individual characteristic had effect on nurse performance (t = 7.59, organization characteristic had effect on nurse performance (t = 2.03 and job characteristic didn’t have effect on nurse performance (t = 0.88. Nurse performance had effect on patient satisfaction (t = 6.54 but nurse satisfaction didn’t have effect on nurse performance (t = 1.31, and nurse satisfaction didn’t have effect either on patient satisfaction (t = 0.94. Discussion: This research concluded that individual characteristics which in fl uence nurse performance in nursing care were ability and skill, experience, age, sex, attitude and motivation. Organization characteristic that influence nurse performance was reward while job characteristic that include job design and feedback didn’t influence nurse performance in nursing care. Nurse performance influenced patient satisfaction but nurse satisfaction didn’t influence patient satisfaction and nurse performance.

Energy saving in Swedish households. The (relative) importance of environmental attitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinsson, Johan; Lundqvist, Lennart J.; Sundstroem, Aksel

2011-01-01

The objectives for energy saving in the housing sector set by recent Swedish energy and climate policies are quite demanding. This article uses nation-wide Swedish survey data from 2004 to 2007 to explore the potential for achieving those targets. Earlier findings that socio-economic characteristics such as age, housing type and income are strongly linked to higher propensities to save on heating and hot water usage are confirmed by ordered logistic regression models. However, general environmental attitudes are also found to play a crucial role. When assessing the relative importance of socio-economic factors and environmental attitudes, the effect on energy saving is generally greater for the former than the latter. In addition, important interaction effects are identified. In relative terms, the effect of environmental attitudes is clearly stronger among households in apartment blocks than among those in detached housing, and stronger among households with higher income than among those with lower income. We end by discussing the implications for the selection and targeting of policy measures to tap the energy savings potential in the population. - Highlights: → We use Swedish survey data to analyse the determinants of household energy saving. → Housing type plays a crucial role for individuals' propensity to save energy. → Environmental attitudes are clearly more important in high-income households. → Environmental attitudes are clearly more important for people in apartment blocks.

Increasing Working Mothers' Earnings: The Importance of Race, Family, and Job Characteristics. Research-in-Brief.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Taleria R.

Women's economic responsibility for their families has increased as more married women contribute to family income and more mothers head families alone. In view of this fact, a study compared the characteristics of Black, White, and Hispanic working mothers and the factors affecting working mothers' wages. Black working mothers were much less…

Linking the salt transcriptome with physiological responses of a salt-resistant Populus species as a strategy to identify genes important for stress acclimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Brinker, Monika; Brosché, Mikael; Vinocur, Basia; Abo-Ogiala, Atef; Fayyaz, Payam; Janz, Dennis; Ottow, Eric A; Cullmann, Andreas D; Saborowski, Joachim; Kangasjärvi, Jaakko; Altman, Arie; Polle, Andrea

2010-12-01

To investigate early salt acclimation mechanisms in a salt-tolerant poplar species (Populus euphratica), the kinetics of molecular, metabolic, and physiological changes during a 24-h salt exposure were measured. Three distinct phases of salt stress were identified by analyses of the osmotic pressure and the shoot water potential: dehydration, salt accumulation, and osmotic restoration associated with ionic stress. The duration and intensity of these phases differed between leaves and roots. Transcriptome analysis using P. euphratica-specific microarrays revealed clusters of coexpressed genes in these phases, with only 3% overlapping salt-responsive genes in leaves and roots. Acclimation of cellular metabolism to high salt concentrations involved remodeling of amino acid and protein biosynthesis and increased expression of molecular chaperones (dehydrins, osmotin). Leaves suffered initially from dehydration, which resulted in changes in transcript levels of mitochondrial and photosynthetic genes, indicating adjustment of energy metabolism. Initially, decreases in stress-related genes were found, whereas increases occurred only when leaves had restored the osmotic balance by salt accumulation. Comparative in silico analysis of the poplar stress regulon with Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) orthologs was used as a strategy to reduce the number of candidate genes for functional analysis. Analysis of Arabidopsis knockout lines identified a lipocalin-like gene (AtTIL) and a gene encoding a protein with previously unknown functions (AtSIS) to play roles in salt tolerance. In conclusion, by dissecting the stress transcriptome of tolerant species, novel genes important for salt endurance can be identified.

Characteristics of cyclist crashes in Italy using latent class analysis and association rule mining.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriele Prati

Full Text Available The factors associated with severity of the bicycle crashes may differ across different bicycle crash patterns. Therefore, it is important to identify distinct bicycle crash patterns with homogeneous attributes. The current study aimed at identifying subgroups of bicycle crashes in Italy and analyzing separately the different bicycle crash types. The present study focused on bicycle crashes that occurred in Italy during the period between 2011 and 2013. We analyzed categorical indicators corresponding to the characteristics of infrastructure (road type, road signage, and location type, road user (i.e., opponent vehicle and cyclist's maneuver, type of collision, age and gender of the cyclist, vehicle (type of opponent vehicle, and the environmental and time period variables (time of the day, day of the week, season, pavement condition, and weather. To identify homogenous subgroups of bicycle crashes, we used latent class analysis. Using latent class analysis, the bicycle crash data set was segmented into 19 classes, which represents 19 different bicycle crash types. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between class membership and severity of the bicycle crashes. Finally, association rules were conducted for each of the latent classes to uncover the factors associated with an increased likelihood of severity. Association rules highlighted different crash characteristics associated with an increased likelihood of severity for each of the 19 bicycle crash types.

A Large-Scale RNAi Screen Identifies SGK1 as a Key Survival Kinase for GBM Stem Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Shreya; Goel-Bhattacharya, Surbhi; Sengupta, Sejuti; Cochran, Brent H

2018-01-01

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common type of primary malignant brain cancer and has a very poor prognosis. A subpopulation of cells known as GBM stem-like cells (GBM-SC) have the capacity to initiate and sustain tumor growth and possess molecular characteristics similar to the parental tumor. GBM-SCs are known to be enriched in hypoxic niches and may contribute to therapeutic resistance. Therefore, to identify genetic determinants important for the proliferation and survival of GBM stem cells, an unbiased pooled shRNA screen of 10,000 genes was conducted under normoxic as well as hypoxic conditions. A number of essential genes were identified that are required for GBM-SC growth, under either or both oxygen conditions, in two different GBM-SC lines. Interestingly, only about a third of the essential genes were common to both cell lines. The oxygen environment significantly impacts the cellular genetic dependencies as 30% of the genes required under hypoxia were not required under normoxic conditions. In addition to identifying essential genes already implicated in GBM such as CDK4, KIF11 , and RAN , the screen also identified new genes that have not been previously implicated in GBM stem cell biology. The importance of the serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) for cellular survival was validated in multiple patient-derived GBM stem cell lines using shRNA, CRISPR, and pharmacologic inhibitors. However, SGK1 depletion and inhibition has little effect on traditional serum grown glioma lines and on differentiated GBM-SCs indicating its specific importance in GBM stem cell survival. Implications: This study identifies genes required for the growth and survival of GBM stem cells under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions and finds SGK1 as a novel potential drug target for GBM. Mol Cancer Res; 16(1); 103-14. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Gender, Parenthood and Wage Differences: The Importance of Time-Consuming Job Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnusson, Charlotta; Nermo, Magnus

2017-01-01

Using data from the Swedish Level of Living Survey (2000, 2010), we investigate how the gender wage gap varies with occupational prestige and family status and also examine the extent to which this gap is explained by time-consuming working conditions. In addition, we investigate whether there is an association between parenthood, job characteristics and wage (as differentiated by gender). The analyses indicate that there are gender differences regarding prestige-based pay-offs among parents that are partly explained by fathers' greater access to employment characterized by time-consuming conditions. Separate analyses for men and women demonstrate the presence of a marriage wage premium for both genders, although only men have a parenthood wage premium. This fatherhood premium is however only present in high-prestigious occupations. Compared with childless men, fathers are also more advantaged in terms of access to jobs with time-consuming working conditions, but the wage gap between fathers and childless men is not explained by differences in access to such working conditions.

Characteristics of Soil Fauna Communities and Habitat in Small- Holder Cocoa Plantation in South Konawe

OpenAIRE

Laode Muhammad Harjoni Kilowasid; Tati Suryati Syamsudin; Franciscus Xaverius Susilo; Endah Sulistyawati; Hasbullah Syaf

2013-01-01

The composition of the soil fauna community have played an important role in regulating decomposition and nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystems (include cocoa plantation). Changes in food availability and conditions in the soil habitat can affected the abundance and diversity of soil fauna. This study aimed: (i) to analyze the pattern of changes in soil fauna community composition and characteristic of soil habitat based on the age increasing of cocoa plantation, and (ii) to identify taxa of so...

Identifying organisational principles and management practices important to the quality of health care services for chronic conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Frølich, Anne

2012-02-01

effect of financial incentives and public performance reporting on the behaviour of professionals and quality of care. Using secondary data, KP and the Danish health care system were compared in terms of six central dimensions: population, health care professionals, health care organisations, utilization patterns, quality measurements, and costs. Differences existed between the two systems on all dimensions, complicating the interpretation of findings. For instance, observed differences might be due to similar tendencies in the two health care systems that were observed at different times, rather than true structural differences. The expenses in the two health care systems were corrected for differences in the populations served and the purchasing power of currencies. However, no validated methods existed to correct for observed differences in case-mixes of chronic conditions. Data from a population of about half a million patients with diabetes in a large U.S. integrated health care delivery system affiliated with 41 medical centers employing 15 different CCM management practices was the basis for identifying effective management practices. Through the use of statistical modelling, the management practice of provider alerts was identified as most effective for promoting screening for hemoglobin A1c and lipid profile. The CCM was used as a framework for implementing four rehabilitation programs. The model promoted continuity of care and quality of health care services. New management practices were developed in the study, and known practices were further developed. However, the observational nature of the study limited the generalisability of the findings. In a structured literature survey focusing on the effect of financial incentives and public performance reporting on the quality of health care services, few studies documenting an effect were identified. The results varied, and important program aspects or contextual variables were often omitted. A model describing

Residency characteristics that matter most to plastic surgery applicants: a multi-institutional analysis and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinno, Sammy; Mehta, Karan; Squitieri, Lee; Ranganathan, Kavitha; Koeckert, Michael S; Patel, Ashit; Saadeh, Pierre B; Thanik, Vishal

2015-06-01

The National Residency Matching Program Match is a very unique process in which applicants and programs are coupled to each other based on a ranking system. Although several studies have assessed features plastic surgery programs look for in applicants, no study in the present plastic surgery literature identifies which residency characteristics are most important to plastic surgery applicants. Therefore, we sought to perform a multi-institutional assessment as to which factors plastic surgery residency applicants consider most important when applying for residency. A validated and anonymous questionnaire containing 37 items regarding various program characteristics was e-mailed to 226 applicants to New York University, Albany, University of Michigan, and University of Southern California plastic surgery residency programs. Applicants were asked to rate each feature on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important. The 37 variables were ranked by the sum of the responses. The median rating and interquartile range as well as the mean for each factor was then calculated. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare medians in rank order. A total of 137 completed questionnaires were returned, yielding a 61% response rate. The characteristics candidates considered most important were impressions during the interview, experiences during away rotations, importance placed on resident training/support/mentoring by faculty, personal experiences with residents, and the amount of time spent in general surgery. The characteristics candidates considered least important were second-look experiences, compensation/benefits, program reputation from Internet forums, accessibility of program coordinator, opportunity for laboratory research, and fellowship positions available at the program. Applicants value personal contact and time spent in general surgery when selecting residency programs. As the number of integrated programs continues to grow, programs will benefit

On the identifiability of inertia parameters of planar Multi-Body Space Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Nabavi-Chashmi, Seyed Yaser; Malaek, Seyed Mohammad-Bagher

2018-04-01

This work describes a new formulation to study the identifiability characteristics of Serially Linked Multi-body Space Systems (SLMBSS). The process exploits the so called "Lagrange Formulation" to develop a linear form of Equations of Motion w.r.t the system Inertia Parameters (IPs). Having developed a specific form of regressor matrix, we aim to expedite the identification process. The new approach allows analytical as well as numerical identification and identifiability analysis for different SLMBSSs' configurations. Moreover, the explicit forms of SLMBSSs identifiable parameters are derived by analyzing the identifiability characteristics of the robot. We further show that any SLMBSS designed with Variable Configurations Joint allows all IPs to be identifiable through comparing two successive identification outcomes. This feature paves the way to design new class of SLMBSS for which accurate identification of all IPs is at hand. Different case studies reveal that proposed formulation provides fast and accurate results, as required by the space applications. Further studies might be necessary for cases where planar-body assumption becomes inaccurate.

Research and development of a super fast reactor (12). Considerations for the reactor characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goto, Shoji; Ishiwatari, Yuki; Oka, Yoshiaki

2008-01-01

A research program aimed at developing the Super Fast Reactor (Super FR) has been entrusted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan since December 2005. It includes the following three projects. (A) Development of the Super Fast Reactor concept. (B)Thermal-hydraulic experiments. (C) Materials development. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has joined this program and works on part (A) together with the University of Tokyo. From the utility's viewpoint, it is important to consider the most desirable characteristics for Super FR to have. Four issues were identified in project (A), (1) Fuel design, (2) Reactor core design, (3) Safety, and (4) Plant characteristics of Super FR. This report describes the desired characteristics of Super FR with respect to item (1) fuel design and item (2) Reactor core design, as compared with a boiling water reactor (BWR) plant. The other two issues will be discussed in this project, and will also be considered in the design process of Super FR. (author)

Biodiversity of Aspergillus species in some important agricultural products.

Science.gov (United States)

Perrone, G; Susca, A; Cozzi, G; Ehrlich, K; Varga, J; Frisvad, J C; Meijer, M; Noonim, P; Mahakarnchanakul, W; Samson, R A

2007-01-01

The genus Aspergillus is one of the most important filamentous fungal genera. Aspergillus species are used in the fermentation industry, but they are also responsible of various plant and food secondary rot, with the consequence of possible accumulation of mycotoxins. The aflatoxin producing A. flavus and A. parasiticus, and ochratoxinogenic A. niger, A. ochraceus and A. carbonarius species are frequently encountered in agricultural products. Studies on the biodiversity of toxigenic Aspergillus species is useful to clarify molecular, ecological and biochemical characteristics of the different species in relation to their different adaptation to environmental and geographical conditions, and to their potential toxigenicity. Here we analyzed the biodiversity of ochratoxin producing species occurring on two important crops: grapes and coffee, and the genetic diversity of A. flavus populations occurring in agricultural fields. Altogether nine different black Aspergillus species can be found on grapes which are often difficult to identify with classical methods. The polyphasic approach used in our studies led to the identification of three new species occurring on grapes: A. brasiliensis, A. ibericus, and A. uvarum. Similar studies on the Aspergillus species occurring on coffee beans have evidenced in the last five years that A. carbonarius is an important source of ochratoxin A in coffee. Four new species within the black aspergilli were also identified in coffee beans: A. sclerotioniger, A. lacticoffeatus, A. sclerotiicarbonarius, and A. aculeatinus. The genetic diversity within A. flavus populations has been widely studied in relation to their potential aflatoxigenicity and morphological variants L- and S-strains. Within A. flavus and other Aspergillus species capable of aflatoxin production, considerable diversity is found. We summarise the main recent achievements in the diversity of the aflatoxin gene cluster in A. flavus populations, A. parasiticus and the non

Study of characteristics of linac with TWRR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Y.L.; Toyama, S.; Emoto, T.; Nomura, M.; Takahashi, N.; Oshita, H.; Hirano, K.; Sato, I.

1994-01-01

High power electron linac which is developed by PNC is an electron linac with the TWRR (Traveling Wave Resonant Ring). Some phenomena occurred on our high power test are mentioned. Some important characteristics such as stability and phase characteristic are discussed. (author)

ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM - QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION AT TRADE ENTITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARAIMAN ADRIAN-COSMIN

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Financial and accounting information systems, today, no longer are the traditional ones, they are subject to the normalisation and harmonisation, in the idea of globalization, and as a natural consequence of this situation, the users of accounting information require more and more diverse information from these systems. The economic entities in general, and those in the trade, in particular, performance management, management of the current situation, with multiple phenomena of crisis, require substantiation of decisions on the basis of a system of real information, pertinent, relevant and provided in a timely manner (Radu, 2011 [7]. Apart from users and goals of information provided by entities of the accounting information system of trade entities, they must have certain qualitative characteristics that facilitate the process of interpretation and use of accounting information. At the same time they are needed because their accounting information through its better goal, to represent the support base for the elaboration of certain decisions by those interested. In this article I propose to introduce qualitative characteristics of accounting information provided by IASB (International Accounting Standards Board, which, incidentally, have been taken up initially by the Romanian accounting regulations, with their subsequent amendments and additions, so far, because, in the end, as a conclusion, I consider that I should be noted that these qualities cannot be effective unlessin turn, the users themselves have the quality to have the knowledge required to understand the information that is intended for them.

Psychosocial Characteristics of Optimum Performance in Isolated and Confined Environments (ICE)

Science.gov (United States)

Palinkas, Lawrence A.; Keeton, Kathryn E.; Shea, Camille; Leveton, Lauren B.

2010-01-01

The Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) Element addresses human health risks in the NASA Human Research Program (HRP), including the Risk of Adverse Behavioral Conditions and the Risk of Psychiatric Disorders. BHP supports and conducts research to help characteristics and mitigate the Behavioral Medicine risk for exploration missions, and in some instances, current Flight Medical Operations. The Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) Element identified research gaps within the Behavioral Medicine Risk, including Gap BMed6: What psychosocial characteristics predict success in an isolated, confined environment (ICE)? To address this gap, we conducted an extensive and exhaustive literature review to identify the following: 1) psychosocial characteristics that predict success in ICE environments; 2) characteristics that are most malleable; and 3) specific countermeasures that could enhance malleable characteristics.

Identifying motivational factors within a multinational company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Bradutanu

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to identify the main motivational factors within a multinational company. The first objective is to identify work functions, formulated on Abraham Maslow’s pyramid, following the identification of the key characteristics that motivate an employee at the work place and last, but not least, the type of motivation that employees focus, intrinsic or extrinsic. The research method targeted a questionnaire based survey, including various company employees and an interview with the manager. The results confirmed that in Romania, employees put great emphasis on extrinsic motivation, a certain income and job security being primary. These results have implications for managers that in order to effectively motivate staff, first, must know their needs and expectations. To identify the main needs and motivational factors we had as a starting point Maslow's pyramid.

Identifying victims of violence using register-based data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse, Marie; Sørensen, Jan; Brønnum-Hansen, Henrik

2010-01-01

AIMS: The aim of this study was twofold. Firstly we identified victims of violence in national registers and discussed strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Secondly we assessed the magnitude of violence and the characteristics of the victims using register-based data. METHODS: We used three...... nationwide registers to identify victims of violence: The National Patient Register, the Victim Statistics, and the Causes of Death Register. We merged these data and assessed the degree of overlap between data sources. We identified a reference population by selecting all individuals in Denmark over 15....... RESULTS: In 2006, 22,000 individuals were registered as having been exposed to violence. About 70% of these victims were men. Most victims were identified from emergency room contacts and police records, and few from the Causes of Death Register. There was some overlap between the two large data sources...

Factors Affecting the Perception of Importance and Practice of Patient Safety Management among Hospital Employees in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, In-Sook; Park, MiJeong; Park, Mi-Young; Yoo, Hana; Choi, Jihea

2013-03-01

The study was undertaken to identify factors affecting perception of the importance and practice of patient safety management (PSM) among hospital employees in Korea. This study was conducted using a descriptive design and a self-report questionnaire. Two hundred and eighty employees were recruited from three hospitals using a convenience sampling method. Measures were perception of the importance, practice, and characteristics of PSM. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including t test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation analysis, and multiple regression. Factors affecting perception of the importance of PSM were whether hospital employees were in contact with patients while on duty, weekly working hours, education on PSM, and perceived adequacy of PSM system construction. Factors affecting the practice of PSM were perceived adequacy of work load, perceived adequacy of PSM system construction and perception of its importance. The findings of this study indicate a need for developing strategies to improve perception of the importance and practice of PSM among all hospital employees, and provide a reference for future experimental studies. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A Study on the System Importance Analysis in SMART

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kil Yoo; Kang, Dae Il; Kim, Tae Woon; Jin, Young Ho

2011-01-01

Importance analysis using RAW(Risk Achievement Worth) and RRW(Risk Reduction Worth) for the systems of SMART(System integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) was performed. Usually PSA quantification software provide importance measures for basic events(BEs), and for components with receiving some users' input. However, generally, importance measures for systems are not automatically supplied by the software, but require the users' manual work. In this paper, the method how to get system importance measures is described using AIMS, and the characteristics of system importance measures in SMART are described

Identifying faecal impaction is important for ensuring the timely diagnosis of childhood functional constipation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Modin, Line; Walsted, Anne-Mette; Jakobsen, Marianne Skytte

2015-01-01

AIM: Most research on functional constipation has been carried out at a tertiary level. We focused this study on a secondary-level hospital outpatients' department, assessing the distribution of diagnostic criteria for childhood functional constipation and evaluating the consequences of current...... diagnostic practice based on current guidelines. METHODS: We enrolled 235 children, aged two to 16 years of age, with functional constipation according to the Rome III criteria and assessed them using medical histories and physical examinations, including rectal examinations and ultrasound measurements...... the timely diagnosis of childhood functional constipation at the secondary care level. Ultrasound examination proved a reliable alternative to rectal examination or abdominal radiography when identifying faecal impaction....

Colostomy Irrigation: Issues Most Important to Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Tallman, Nancy J; Cobb, Martha D; Grant, Marcia; Wendel, Christopher S; Colwell, Janice; Ercolano, Elizabeth; Krouse, Robert

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe issues that WOC nurses find most important related to colostomy irrigation (CI). This is an additional analysis of a study focusing on qualitative responses to a survey querying WOC nurses about CI practices. The target population was members of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society. Of the 985 nurses who responded to the survey, 338 (34.3%) answered the optional open-ended question asking for additional comments. A 1-time online survey was conducted. In addition to demographic, educational information, and forced-choice questions about CI, an open-ended question asked for any additional comments about their experience with irrigation and WOC practice. Content analysis was used to identify common themes identified by WOC nurses. Three hundred thirty-eight out of 985 WOC nurses (34.3%) answered the optional open-ended question asking for additional comments; analysis for this study is based on these responses. WOC nurses who responded to the open-ended question had similar characteristics to those who responded to the entire survey but were significantly more experienced (15.1 vs 11.0 years; P irrigation techniques are recommended.

Sensitivity Analysis of Nuclide Importance to One-Group Neutron Cross Sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimoto, Hiroshi; Nemoto, Atsushi; Yoshimura, Yoshikane

2001-01-01

The importance of nuclides is useful when investigating nuclide characteristics in a given neutron spectrum. However, it is derived using one-group microscopic cross sections, which may contain large errors or uncertainties. The sensitivity coefficient shows the effect of these errors or uncertainties on the importance.The equations for calculating sensitivity coefficients of importance to one-group nuclear constants are derived using the perturbation method. Numerical values are also evaluated for some important cases for fast and thermal reactor systems.Many characteristics of the sensitivity coefficients are derived from the derived equations and numerical results. The matrix of sensitivity coefficients seems diagonally dominant. However, it is not always satisfied in a detailed structure. The detailed structure of the matrix and the characteristics of coefficients are given.By using the obtained sensitivity coefficients, some demonstration calculations have been performed. The effects of error and uncertainty of nuclear data and of the change of one-group cross-section input caused by fuel design changes through the neutron spectrum are investigated. These calculations show that the sensitivity coefficient is useful when evaluating error or uncertainty of nuclide importance caused by the cross-section data error or uncertainty and when checking effectiveness of fuel cell or core design change for improving neutron economy

Runoff generation in a Mediterranean semi-arid landscape: Thresholds, scale, rainfall and catchment characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Ries, Fabian; Schmidt, Sebastian; Sauter, Martin; Lange, Jens

2016-04-01

Surface runoff acts as an integrated response of catchment characteristics and hydrological processes. In the Eastern Mediterranean region, a lack of runoff data has hindered a better understanding of runoff generation processes on the catchment scale, despite the importance of surface runoff as a water resource or flood hazard. Our main aim was to identify and explain differences in catchment runoff reactions across a variety of scales. Over a period of five years, we observed runoff in ephemeral streams of seven watersheds with sizes between 3 and 129 km2. Landuse and surface cover types (share of vegetation, bare soil and rock outcrops) were derived from aerial images by objective classification techniques. Using data from a dense rainfall network we analysed the effects of scale, catchment properties and aridity on runoff generation. Thereby we extracted rainfall and corresponding runoff events from our time-series to calculate event based rainfall characteristics and catchment runoff coefficients. Soil moisture observations provided additional information on antecedent moisture conditions, infiltration characteristics and the evolution of saturated areas. In contrast to the prevailing opinion that the proportion of Hortonian overland flow increases with aridity, we found that in our area the largest share (> 95 %) of runoff is generated by saturation excess overland flow in response to long lasting, rainfall events of high amount. This was supported by a strong correlation between event runoff and precipitation totals. Similar rainfall thresholds (50 mm) for runoff generation were observed in all investigated catchments. No scale effects on runoff coefficients were found; instead we identified up to three-fold runoff coefficients in catchments with larger extension of arid areas, higher percentage of rock outcrops and urbanization. Comparing two headwater catchments with noticeable differences in extent of olive orchards, no difference in runoff generation was

Identifying the Characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Someki, Fumio

2011-01-01

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), characterized by various levels of dysmorphia and behavioral and cognitive dysfunctions, is the result of prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD characteristics can be masked by many other conditions. As a result, early identification of FASD is often difficult, leading to a delay of children with FASD receiving…

Importance of unit cells in accurate evaluation of the characteristics of graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sabzyan, Hassan; Sadeghpour, Narges [Isfahan Univ. (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Chemistry

2016-08-01

Effects of the size of the unit cell on energy, atomic charges, and phonon frequencies of graphene at the Γ point of the Brillouin zone are studied in the absence and presence of an electric field using density functional theory (DFT) methods (LDA and DFT-PBE functionals with Goedecker-Teter-Hutter (GTH) and Troullier-Martins (TM) norm-conserving pseudopotentials). Two types of unit cells containing n{sub c}=4-28 carbon atoms are considered. Results show that stability of graphene increases with increasing size of the unit cell. Energy, atomic charges, and phonon frequencies all converge above n{sub c}=24 for all functional-pseudopotentials used. Except for the LDA-GTH calculations, application of an electric field of 0.4 and 0.9 V/nm strengths does not change the trends with the size of the unit cell but instead slightly decreases the binding energy of graphene. Results of this study show that the choice of unit cell size and type is critical for calculation of reliable characteristics of graphene.

Identifying important and feasible policies and actions for health at community sports clubs: a consensus-generating approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Bridget; King, Lesley; Bauman, Adrian E; Baur, Louise A; Macniven, Rona; Chapman, Kathy; Smith, Ben J

2014-01-01

Children's high participation in organised sport in Australia makes sport an ideal setting for health promotion. This study aimed to generate consensus on priority health promotion objectives for community sports clubs, based on informed expert judgements. Delphi survey using three structured questionnaires. Forty-six health promotion, nutrition, physical activity and sport management/delivery professionals were approached to participate in the survey. Questionnaires used an iterative process to determine aspects of sports clubs deemed necessary for developing healthy sporting environments for children. Initially, participants were provided with a list of potential standards for a range of health promotion areas and asked to rate standards based on their importance and feasibility, and any barriers to implementation. Subsequently, participants were provided with information that summarised ratings for each standard to indicate convergence of the group, and asked to review and potentially revise their responses where they diverged. In a third round, participants ranked confirmed standards by priority. 26 professionals completed round 1, 21 completed round 2, and 18 completed round 3. The highest ranked standards related to responsible alcohol practices, availability of healthy food and drinks at sports canteens, smoke-free club facilities, restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol during junior sporting activities, and restricting unhealthy food and beverage company sponsorship. Identifying and prioritising health promotion areas that are relevant to children's sports clubs assists in focusing public health efforts and may guide future engagement of sports clubs. Approaches for providing informational and financial support to clubs to operationalise these standards are proposed. Copyright © 2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying States of a Financial Market

Science.gov (United States)

Münnix, Michael C.; Shimada, Takashi; Schäfer, Rudi; Leyvraz, Francois; Seligman, Thomas H.; Guhr, Thomas; Stanley, H. Eugene

2012-09-01

The understanding of complex systems has become a central issue because such systems exist in a wide range of scientific disciplines. We here focus on financial markets as an example of a complex system. In particular we analyze financial data from the S&P 500 stocks in the 19-year period 1992-2010. We propose a definition of state for a financial market and use it to identify points of drastic change in the correlation structure. These points are mapped to occurrences of financial crises. We find that a wide variety of characteristic correlation structure patterns exist in the observation time window, and that these characteristic correlation structure patterns can be classified into several typical ``market states''. Using this classification we recognize transitions between different market states. A similarity measure we develop thus affords means of understanding changes in states and of recognizing developments not previously seen.

Identifying states of a financial market.

Science.gov (United States)

Münnix, Michael C; Shimada, Takashi; Schäfer, Rudi; Leyvraz, Francois; Seligman, Thomas H; Guhr, Thomas; Stanley, H Eugene

2012-01-01

The understanding of complex systems has become a central issue because such systems exist in a wide range of scientific disciplines. We here focus on financial markets as an example of a complex system. In particular we analyze financial data from the S&P 500 stocks in the 19-year period 1992-2010. We propose a definition of state for a financial market and use it to identify points of drastic change in the correlation structure. These points are mapped to occurrences of financial crises. We find that a wide variety of characteristic correlation structure patterns exist in the observation time window, and that these characteristic correlation structure patterns can be classified into several typical "market states". Using this classification we recognize transitions between different market states. A similarity measure we develop thus affords means of understanding changes in states and of recognizing developments not previously seen.

Exploring Lawyer-Client Interaction: A Qualitative Study of Positive Lawyer Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Elbers, Nieke A; van Wees, Kiliaan A P C; Akkermans, Arno J; Cuijpers, Pim; Bruinvels, David J

2012-03-01

Personal injury victims involved in compensation processes have a worse recovery than those not involved in compensation processes. One predictor for worse recovery is lawyer engagement. As some people argue that this negative relation between lawyer engagement and recovery may be explained by lawyers' attitude and communications to clients, it seems important to investigate lawyer-client interaction. Although procedural justice and therapeutic jurisprudence had previously discussed aspects relevant for lawyer-client interaction, the client's perspective has been rather ignored and only few empirical studies have been conducted. In this qualitative study, 21 traffic accident victims were interviewed about their experiences with their lawyer. Five desirable characteristics for lawyers were identified: communication, empathy, decisiveness, independence, and expertise. Communication and empathy corresponded with aspects already discussed in literature, whereas decisiveness, independence and expertise had been addressed only marginally. Further qualitative and quantitative research is necessary to establish preferable lawyer characteristics and to investigate what would improve the well-being of personal injury victims during the claims settlement process.

Use of multilevel logistic regression to identify the causes of differential item functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Balluerka, Nekane; Gorostiaga, Arantxa; Gómez-Benito, Juana; Hidalgo, María Dolores

2010-11-01

Given that a key function of tests is to serve as evaluation instruments and for decision making in the fields of psychology and education, the possibility that some of their items may show differential behaviour is a major concern for psychometricians. In recent decades, important progress has been made as regards the efficacy of techniques designed to detect this differential item functioning (DIF). However, the findings are scant when it comes to explaining its causes. The present study addresses this problem from the perspective of multilevel analysis. Starting from a case study in the area of transcultural comparisons, multilevel logistic regression is used: 1) to identify the item characteristics associated with the presence of DIF; 2) to estimate the proportion of variation in the DIF coefficients that is explained by these characteristics; and 3) to evaluate alternative explanations of the DIF by comparing the explanatory power or fit of different sequential models. The comparison of these models confirmed one of the two alternatives (familiarity with the stimulus) and rejected the other (the topic area) as being a cause of differential functioning with respect to the compared groups.

[Characteristics of systematic reviews about the impact of pharmacists].

Science.gov (United States)

Tanguay, C; Guérin, A; Bussières, J-F

2014-11-01

The pharmacists' role is varied and numerous articles evaluate the outcomes of pharmaceutical interventions. The main objectives of this study were to establish the characteristics of systematic reviews about pharmacists' interventions that were published in the last five years. A literature search was performed on Pubmed for French and English articles published between 01-01-2008 and 31-05-2013. Systematic reviews that presented the role, the interventions and the impact of pharmacists were selected by two research assistants. A total of 46 systematic reviews was identified, amongst which one third (n=15/46, 33 %) were meta-analyses. A quarter of systematic reviews did not evaluate the quality of included articles (n=13/46, 28 %). Twelve themes were identified. A median [min-max] of 16 [2-298] articles was included per systematic review. The most frequent pharmaceutical activities were patient counseling (n=41 systematic reviews), patient chart review (n=29), pharmacotherapy evaluation (n=27) and recommendations (n=26). The least frequent activities were teaching others than patients (n=12) and medical rounds participation (n=7). Many elements can influence the completion of pharmacy practice research projects; however, there exists no link between the presence of systematic reviews and the importance of pharmacists in a given healthcare program. This study presents the characteristics of 46 systematic reviews about pharmacists interventions published since 2008. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Homeless youths' HIV risk behaviors with strangers: Investigating the importance of social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyler, Kimberly A

2013-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between homeless youths' HIV risk behaviors with strangers and risk and protective characteristics of their social networks. Data were from the Social Network and Homeless Youth Project. A total of 249 youth aged 14-21 years were interviewed over 15 months in three Midwestern cities in the United States using a systematic sampling strategy. Multivariate results revealed that homeless youth with a greater average number of network members who engaged in more drug risk behaviors and who pressured them into precarious behaviors at least once were more likely to have participated in a greater number of HIV risk behaviors with strangers compared to homeless youth without such network characteristics. Additionally, 19-21 year olds, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth, and those who have run away from home more frequently, participated in more HIV risk behaviors with strangers than 14-18 year olds, heterosexual youth, and those who have run away less often. The final model explained 43 % of the variance in homeless youths' HIV risk behaviors with strangers. It is important to identify network characteristics that are harmful to homeless youth because continued exposure to such networks and participation in dangerous behaviors may result in detrimental outcomes, including contraction of sexually transmitted infections and potentially HIV.

Monochromatic and identifiable photons used in photonuclear research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beil, Hans; Bergere, Roland.

1980-07-01

A general overview is given of the most common experimental procedures for the production and utilisation of monochromatic and (or) identifiable photon probes actually operational in 1979. Their basic characteristics, merits and drawbacks, together with their respective major domains of experimental physics to which they are usually applied, are also investigated. Methods for producing such monochromatic and (or) identifiable photon probes, with a continuously variable energy from a few MeV up till about 180 GeV, are treated in some detail. Some of the most promising future trends in the ulterior development of such electromagnetic probes are also mentioned

Life cycle, Ecological Characteristics, and Control of Trachys yanoi (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), an Important Pest of Zelkova serrata.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohsawa, Masashi

2017-03-24

This study was conducted to elucidate the life cycle and the ecological characteristics of Trachys yanoi Y. Kurosawa, an important pest of Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino. Life cycle, mortality rates in developmental stages, annual population dynamics, and early leaf abscission were investigated. Adults emerged from under the bark of Zelkova trees in April and fed on Zelkova leaves. Females laid 49 eggs on average, mainly in May and early June. Eggs hatched after 17 days, and the larvae fed inside the leaves. They developed through three instars. In July, leaves with the final stage of larvae were abscised. Four days after abscission, the larvae pupated. New adults eclosed from pupae seven days after pupation, and the adults emerged from abscised leaves after an additional two days. In total, 1650 adults emerged per 1 m² of forest floor, resulting in a major population increase. The newly emerged adults fed on the remaining Zelkova leaves, compounding the damage. In October, adults overwintered under the tree bark. Mortality rates in the egg, larval, and pupal stages were 41%, 58%, and 31%, respectively. The mortality rate among overwintering individuals was 43%. Because only Zelkova leaves that were abscised in July contained the larvae, and because only a small number of beetles emerged from non-abscised, mined leaves, the removal of abscised leaves at nine-day intervals over period of early leaf abscission is a simple and effective way to control the beetle.

Importance of Natural and Anthropogenic Environmental Factors to Fish Communities of the Fox River in Illinois

Science.gov (United States)

Schnier, Spencer; Cai, Ximing; Cao, Yong

2016-02-01

The dominant environmental determinants of aquatic communities have been a persistent topic for many years. Interactions between natural and anthropogenic characteristics within the aquatic environment influence fish communities in complex ways that make the effect of a single characteristic difficult to ascertain. Researchers are faced with the question of how to deal with a large number of variables and complex interrelationships. This study utilized multiple approaches to identify key environmental variables to fish communities of the Fox River Basin in Illinois: Pearson and Spearman correlations, an algorithm based on information theory called mutual information, and a measure of variable importance built into the machine learning algorithm Random Forest. The results are based on a dataset developed for this study, which uses a fish index of biological integrity (IBI) and its ten component metrics as response variables and a range of environmental variables describing geomorphology, stream flow statistics, climate, and both reach-scale and watershed-scale land use as independent variables. Agricultural land use and the magnitude and duration of low flow events were ranked by the algorithms as key factors for the study area. Reach-scale characteristics were dominant for native sunfish, and stream flow metrics were rated highly for native suckers. Regression tree analyses of environmental variables on fish IBI identified breakpoints in percent agricultural land in the watershed (~64 %), duration of low flow pulses (~12 days), and 90-day minimum flow (~0.13 cms). The findings should be useful for building predictive models and design of more effective monitoring systems and restoration plans.

Competence Description for Personal Recommendations: The Importance of Identifying the Complexity of Learning and Performance Situations

Science.gov (United States)

Prins, Frans J.; Nadolski, Rob J.; Berlanga, Adriana J.; Drachsler, Hendrik; Hummel, Hans G. K.; Koper, Rob

2008-01-01

For competences development of learners and professionals, target competences and corresponding competence development opportunities have to be identified. Personal Recommender Systems (PRS) provide personal recommendations for learners aimed at finding and selecting learning activities that best match their needs. This article argues that a…

Collaboration between employers and occupational health service providers: a systematic review of key characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Halonen, Jaana I; Atkins, Salla; Hakulinen, Hanna; Pesonen, Sanna; Uitti, Jukka

2017-01-05

Employees are major contributors to economic development, and occupational health services (OHS) can have an important role in supporting their health. Key to this is collaboration between employers and OHS. We reviewed the evidence regarding the characteristics of good collaboration between employers and OHS providers that is essential to construct more effective collaboration and services. A systematic review of the factors of good collaboration between employers and OHS providers was conducted. We searched five databases between January 2000 and March 2016 and back referenced included articles. Two reviewers evaluated 639 titles, 63 abstracts and 20 full articles, and agreed that six articles, all on qualitative studies, met the predetermined relevance and publication criteria and were included. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer and analysed using thematic analysis. Three themes and nine subthemes related to good collaboration were identified. The first theme included time, space and contract requirements for effective collaboration with three subthemes (i.e., key characteristics): flexible OHS/flexible contracts including tailor-made services accounting for the needs of the employer, geographical proximity of the stakeholders allowing easy access to services, and long-term contracts as collaboration develops over time. The second theme was related to characteristics of the dialogue in effective collaboration that consisted of shared goals, reciprocity, frequent contact and trust. According to the third theme the definition of roles of the stakeholders was important; OHS providers should have competence and knowledge about the workplace, become strategic partners with the employers as well as provide quality services. Although literature regarding collaboration between the employers and OHS providers was limited, we identified several key factors that contribute to effective collaboration. This information is useful in

Collaboration between employers and occupational health service providers: a systematic review of key characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaana I. Halonen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Employees are major contributors to economic development, and occupational health services (OHS can have an important role in supporting their health. Key to this is collaboration between employers and OHS. We reviewed the evidence regarding the characteristics of good collaboration between employers and OHS providers that is essential to construct more effective collaboration and services. Methods A systematic review of the factors of good collaboration between employers and OHS providers was conducted. We searched five databases between January 2000 and March 2016 and back referenced included articles. Two reviewers evaluated 639 titles, 63 abstracts and 20 full articles, and agreed that six articles, all on qualitative studies, met the predetermined relevance and publication criteria and were included. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes and nine subthemes related to good collaboration were identified. The first theme included time, space and contract requirements for effective collaboration with three subthemes (i.e., key characteristics: flexible OHS/flexible contracts including tailor-made services accounting for the needs of the employer, geographical proximity of the stakeholders allowing easy access to services, and long-term contracts as collaboration develops over time. The second theme was related to characteristics of the dialogue in effective collaboration that consisted of shared goals, reciprocity, frequent contact and trust. According to the third theme the definition of roles of the stakeholders was important; OHS providers should have competence and knowledge about the workplace, become strategic partners with the employers as well as provide quality services. Conclusion Although literature regarding collaboration between the employers and OHS providers was limited, we identified several key factors that contribute

[The acerola fruit: composition, productive characteristics and economic importance].

Science.gov (United States)

Mezadri, Tatiana; Fernández-Pachón, Ma Soledad; Villaño, Débora; García-Parrilla, Ma Carmen; Troncoso, Ana M

2006-06-01

The acerola (Malpighia emarginata Sessé y Mociño ex DC) is a wild plant grown in zones of tropical and subtropical climate. Acerola is origin from South of Mexico, Central America and Septentrional area of South America. Its scientific name was adopted in 1986 by the International Council of Vegetable Genetic Resources. Malpighia emarginata has a subglobulose drupa fruit with three seeds which account between the 19 - 25% of the total weight. The diameter and weight of the fruit varies between 1 - 4 cm and 2 - 15 g, respectively. The fruit shows green color when it is developing, which changes to yellow and red tones when it is mature. Each plant produces annually 20 - 30 kg of fruits. This fruit contents macro and micronutrients: proteins (0.21-0.80 g/100 g), fats (0.23-0.80 g/100 g), carbohydrates (3.6-7.80 g/100 g), mineral salts (iron 0.24, calcium 11.7, phosphorus 17.1 mg/100 g) and vitamins (thiamine 0.02, riboflavine 0.07, piridoxine 8.7 mg/100 g). Its high content in vitamin C (695 a 4827 mg/100 g) is remarkable, therefore acerola has an increasing economic value by its great consume during last years. Acerola also presents carotenoids and bioflavonoids which provide important nutritive value and its potential use as antioxidant. Brazil has a climate and soil appropriate for the culture of acerola, thus this country is the main mundial productor. Acerola is commercialised as juices, jams, ices, gelatins, sweets or liquors. Bibliographical data have been mainly supplied by Electronic Resources of the University of Seville and the University do Vale do Itajaí (Santa Catarina, Brazil).

Mixed-Methods Research in a Complex Multisite VA Health Services Study: Variations in the Implementation and Characteristics of Chiropractic Services in VA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raheleh Khorsan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Maximizing the quality and benefits of newly established chiropractic services represents an important policy and practice goal for the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ healthcare system. Understanding the implementation process and characteristics of new chiropractic clinics and the determinants and consequences of these processes and characteristics is a critical first step in guiding quality improvement. This paper reports insights and lessons learned regarding the successful application of mixed methods research approaches—insights derived from a study of chiropractic clinic implementation and characteristics, Variations in the Implementation and Characteristics of Chiropractic Services in VA (VICCS. Challenges and solutions are presented in areas ranging from selection and recruitment of sites and participants to the collection and analysis of varied data sources. The VICCS study illustrates the importance of several factors in successful mixed-methods approaches, including (1 the importance of a formal, fully developed logic model to identify and link data sources, variables, and outcomes of interest to the study’s analysis plan and its data collection instruments and codebook and (2 ensuring that data collection methods, including mixed-methods, match study aims. Overall, successful application of a mixed-methods approach requires careful planning, frequent trade-offs, and complex coding and analysis.

Comparing complete and partial classification for identifying customers at risk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bloemer, J.M.M.; Brijs, T.; Swinnen, S.P.; Vanhoof, K.

2003-01-01

This paper evaluates complete versus partial classification for the problem of identifying customers at risk. We define customers at risk as customers reporting overall satisfaction, but these customers also possess characteristics that are strongly associated with dissatisfied customers. This

Transverse vibration technique to identify deteriorated wood floor systems

Science.gov (United States)

R.J. Ross; X. Wang; M.O. Hunt; L.A. Soltis

2002-01-01

The Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, has been developing nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques to identify degradation of wood in structures and the performance characteristics that remain in the structure. This work has focused on using dynamic testing techniques, particularly stress wave and ultrasonic transmission NDE techniques for both...

Investigating important factors influencing purchasing from chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naser Azad

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we survey important factors, influencing customers to buy more from one of well known food market operating in capital city of Iran named Shahrvand. The survey studies the effects of six factors including customer's perception, persuasive factors, brand, customers' expectations, product's characteristics and special features of store on attracting more customers. We have distributed questionnaire among 196 customers who regularly visit stores and analyzed details of the data. The results indicate that customers' perception is the most important item, which includes eight components. Years of experience is the most important item in our survey followed by impact of color and working hours. Diversity of services is another factor, which plays the most important role followed by quality of services. Next, fidelity and brand are other most important factors and the name of store and risk are in lower degree of importance.

[Absorption Characteristics and Simulation of LLM-105 in the Terahertz Range].

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Zeng-rui; Shang, Li-ping; Du, Yu; Deng, Hu

2015-07-01

2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (LLM-105), a novel explosive with high energy and low sensibility. In order to study the molecular structure characteristics of the explosive, the absorption spectra of LLM-105 in the frequency range of 0.2-2.4 THz were detected by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The results showed that a number of characteristic absorption peaks with different intensity located at 1.27, 1.59, 2.00, 2.08, 2.20, 2.29 THz. The article also simulated the absorption spectra of LLM-105 molecular crystal within 0.2-2.5 THz region by using Materials Studio 6.0 software based on density functional theory (DFT), and the simulated results agreed well with the experimental data except for the peak at 2.29 THz, which verified theoretically the accuracy of the experimental data. In addition, the vibrational modes of the characteristic peaks in the experimental absorption spectra were analyzed and identified, the results showed that the forming of the characteristic absorption peaks and the molecular vibration were closely related, which further provided important laboratory and technology support for the study of the transformation of molecule structure of LLM-105. There was no simulated frequency agreed with the experimental absorption peak at 2.29 THz, which may be caused by the vibration of the crystal lattice or other reasons.

Cadmium stress assessment based on the electrocardiogram characteristics of zebra fish (Danio rerio): QRS complex could play an important role.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Na; Ji, Lizhen; Song, Jie; Ma, Jingchun; Li, Shangge; Ren, Zongming; Xu, Fei; Zhu, Jianping

2017-10-01

The electrocardiogram (ECG) of zebra fish (Danio rerio) expresses cardiac features that are similar to humans. Here we use sharp microelectrode measurements to obtain ECG characteristics in adult zebra fish and analyze the effects of cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 ) on the heart. We observe the overall changes of ECG parameters in different treatments (0.1 TU, 0.5 TU and 1.0 TU CdCl 2 ), including P wave, Q wave, R wave, S wave, T wave, PR interval (atrial contraction), QRS complex (ventricular depolarization), ST segment, and QT interval (ventricular repolarization). The trends of the ECG parameters showed some responses to the concentration and exposure time of CdCl 2 , but it was difficult to obtain more information about the useful indicators in water quality assessment depending on tendency analysis alone. A self-organizing map (SOM) showed that P values, R values, and T values were similar; R wave and T wave amplitude were similar; and most important, QRS value was similar to the CdCl 2 stress according to the classified data patterns including CdCl 2 stress (E) and ECG components based on the Ward linkage. It suggested that the duration of QRS complex was related to environmental stress E directly. The specification and evaluation of ECG parameters in Cd 2+ pollution suggested that there is a markedly significant correlation between QRS complex and CdCl 2 stress with the highest r (0.729) and the smallest p (0.002) among all ECG characteristics. In this case, it is concluded that QRS complex can be used as an indicator in the CdCl 2 stress assessment due to the lowest AIC data abased on the linear regression model between the CdCl 2 stress and ECG parameters. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance testing of supercapacitors: Important issues and uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jingyuan; Gao, Yinghan; Burke, Andrew F.

2017-09-01

Supercapacitors are a promising technology for high power energy storage, which have been used in some industrial and vehicles applications. Hence, it is important that information concerning the performance of supercapacitors be detailed and reliable so system designers can make rational decisions regarding the selection of the energy storage components. This paper is concerned with important issues and uncertainties regarding the performance testing of supercapacitors. The effect of different test procedures on the measured characteristics of both commercial and prototype supercapacitors including hybrid supercapacitors have been studied. It was found that the test procedure has a relatively minor effect on the capacitance of carbon/carbon devices and a more significant effect on the capacitance of hybrid supercapacitors. The device characteristic with the greatest uncertainty is the resistance and subsequently the claimed power capability of the device. The energy density should be measured by performing constant power discharges between appropriate voltage limits. This is particularly important in the case of hybrid supercapacitors for which the energy density is rate dependent and the simple relationship E = ½CV2 does not yield accurate estimates of the energy stored. In general, most of the important issues for testing carbon/carbon devices become more serious for hybrid supercapacitors.

Antigenic characteristics as taxonomic criterion of differentiation of Alternaria spp., pathogenic for carrot and parsley

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bulajić Aleksandra R.

2007-01-01

identification. All investigated isolates, both domestic and the standards, were similar to each other, and they could be correctly identified to the species level using EBIA. Besides grouping to the species level, antigenic characteristics indicated similarities and differences among the isolates within the same and different species, showing their complex relationships which properly reflect their diversity in nature. In all the previous investigations of Alternaria genus fungi up to now, there have been no data about their serological characteristics as possible taxonomic criteria. Introduction of this group of characteristics represents an important contribution both to the taxonomy and implementation of fast and accurate methods of phytopathogenic fungi identification.

Claudin-Low Breast Cancer; Clinical & Pathological Characteristics.

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Kay Dias

Full Text Available Claudin-low breast cancer is a molecular type of breast cancer originally identified by gene expression profiling and reportedly associated with poor survival. Claudin-low tumors have been recognised to preferentially display a triple-negative phenotype, however only a minority of triple-negative breast cancers are claudin-low. We sought to identify an immunohistochemical profile for claudin-low tumors that could facilitate their identification in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumor material. First, an in silico collection of ~1600 human breast cancer expression profiles was assembled and all claudin-low tumors identified. Second, genes differentially expressed between claudin-low tumors and all other molecular subtypes of breast cancer were identified. Third, a number of these top differentially expressed genes were tested using immunohistochemistry for expression in a diverse panel of breast cancer cell lines to determine their specificity for claudin-low tumors. Finally, the immunohistochemical panel found to be most characteristic of claudin-low tumors was examined in a cohort of 942 formalin fixed paraffin embedded human breast cancers with >10 years clinical follow-up to evaluate the clinico-pathologic and survival characteristics of this tumor subtype. Using this approach we determined that claudin-low breast cancer is typically negative for ER, PR, HER2, claudin 3, claudin 4, claudin 7 and E-cadherin. Claudin-low tumors identified with this immunohistochemical panel, were associated with young age of onset, higher tumor grade, larger tumor size, extensive lymphocytic infiltrate and a circumscribed tumor margin. Patients with claudin-low tumors had a worse overall survival when compared to patients with luminal A type breast cancer. Interestingly, claudin-low tumors were associated with a low local recurrence rate following breast conserving therapy. In conclusion, a limited panel of antibodies can facilitate the identification of

The Characteristics of a Model Technology Education Teacher

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Andrew R.; Warner, Scott A.; Buechele, Jessica R.

2011-01-01

The things that make the quality of a teacher stand out can cover a wide range of characteristics, actions, words, and experiences. The mark left on a student by a teacher, for good or bad, is written in an ink that will last a lifetime. This article describes a study that identifies the characteristics of exceptional technology education…

The importance of team level tacit knowledge and related characteristics of high-performing health care teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Leonard H; Bernell, Stephanie L

2006-01-01

Team level tacit knowledge is related to the collective knowledge of the team members. It is the shared experience that results in the ability to successfully anticipate the reactions of teammates in typical and nontypical situations. This study evaluates how tacit knowledge and related team characteristics influence the performance of cardiothoracic surgery teams.

Identifying the Dimensional Characteristics of the Cone Surfaces for the Transmission Synchronization Members

Science.gov (United States)

Pobijak, Jozef; Czan, Andrej; Czánová, Tatiana; Daniš, Igor; Holubják, Jozef; Martinček, Juraj; Pustay, Jozef

2017-10-01

The article is about auxiliary equipment into service, specifically, it is control device which is to be designed to check the components for synchronization speed between gears in cars. In the introduction of article is described substance and necessary these equipment into in enterprises, their technical and economic importance. The core of the article readers will know firstly with a component for which is a device design. The most important on a component will be a measured parameters. Next in the core of the article, is described and illustrated design of the device with a brief functional description and control procedure. Of course that in the article is drafted verification of device capability with using the statistical method, where is the functionality of the device is expressed using indexes Cgm a Cgmk . Benefits, asset and evaluation of work for the application area are listed at the end of this article.

Distributed Persistent Identifiers System Design

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Pavel Golodoniuc

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The need to identify both digital and physical objects is ubiquitous in our society. Past and present persistent identifier (PID systems, of which there is a great variety in terms of technical and social implementation, have evolved with the advent of the Internet, which has allowed for globally unique and globally resolvable identifiers. PID systems have, by in large, catered for identifier uniqueness, integrity, and persistence, regardless of the identifier’s application domain. Trustworthiness of these systems has been measured by the criteria first defined by Bütikofer (2009 and further elaborated by Golodoniuc 'et al'. (2016 and Car 'et al'. (2017. Since many PID systems have been largely conceived and developed by a single organisation they faced challenges for widespread adoption and, most importantly, the ability to survive change of technology. We believe that a cause of PID systems that were once successful fading away is the centralisation of support infrastructure – both organisational and computing and data storage systems. In this paper, we propose a PID system design that implements the pillars of a trustworthy system – ensuring identifiers’ independence of any particular technology or organisation, implementation of core PID system functions, separation from data delivery, and enabling the system to adapt for future change. We propose decentralisation at all levels — persistent identifiers and information objects registration, resolution, and data delivery — using Distributed Hash Tables and traditional peer-to-peer networks with information replication and caching mechanisms, thus eliminating the need for a central PID data store. This will increase overall system fault tolerance thus ensuring its trustworthiness. We also discuss important aspects of the distributed system’s governance, such as the notion of the authoritative source and data integrity

"We are the best to stand in for patients": a qualitative study on nurses' advocacy characteristics in Ghana.

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Dadzie, Grace; Aziato, Lydia; Aikins, Ama de-Graft

2017-01-01

Patient advocacy has been identified as a core duty of the nurse, and certain nurse characteristics influence the performance of the role. However, these characteristics have not been adequately explored in Ghana. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of nurses about the characteristics of nurses that influence their role as patient advocates. An exploratory descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 15 nurses from a regional hospital in Ghana. Purposive sampling was used to select participants and individual in-depth interviews were conducted in English using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Data analysis was done concurrently employing the principles of thematic analysis. Ethical approval was obtained for the study from the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research and the Ghana Health Service Ethical Review Committee. Themes generated revealed nurse traits which enhanced the advocacy role of nurses such as being empathetic, nurturing, ethical, assertive and persistent and nurse states which hindered the performance of the role such as fatigue and frustration. However, "compassionate" emerged as an additional nurse trait from this study. Out of empathy, participants availed themselves for patients to share their problems with them. In their nurturing roles, spending more time with patients and providing personal care fostered closeness which helped in identifying patients' problems. Helping patients navigate the health system was also found. They perceived patient advocacy as a moral responsibility and identified good communication skills and determination to help patients get their problems solved as important in patient advocacy. Some participants also described compassion-based activities such as pleading on patients' behalf, providing material and financial assistance, facilitating care and providing emotional support in their advocacy. However, heavy workload and lack of appreciation from

Food allergens in mattress dust in Norwegian homes - a potentially important source of allergen exposure.

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Bertelsen, R J; Faeste, C K; Granum, B; Egaas, E; London, S J; Carlsen, K-H; Lødrup Carlsen, K C; Løvik, M

2014-01-01

Sensitization to food allergens and food allergic reactions are mostly caused by ingesting the allergen, but can also occur from exposure via the respiratory tract or the skin. Little is known about exposure to food allergens in the home environment. The objective of this study was firstly to describe the frequency of detection of allergens from fish, egg, milk, and peanut in mattress dust collected from homes of 13-year-old adolescents and secondly to identify home characteristics associated with the presence of food allergen contamination in dust. Food allergens were measured by dot blot analysis in mattress dust from 143 homes in Oslo, Norway. We analysed associations between home characteristics (collected by parental questionnaires and study technicians) and food allergens by multivariate regression models. Fish allergen was detected in 46%, peanut in 41%, milk in 39%, and egg allergen in 22% of the mattress dust samples; only three samples contained none of these allergens. All four food allergens were more frequently detected in mattresses in small dwellings (Food allergens occurred frequently in beds in Norwegian homes, with dwelling size and proximity of kitchen and bedroom as the most important determinants. Due to the amount of time children spent in the bedroom, mattress dust may be an important source of exposure to food allergens. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Off-premise alcohol outlet characteristics and violence.

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Snowden, Aleksandra J; Pridemore, William Alex

2014-07-01

There is considerable evidence of an association between alcohol outlet density and violence. Although prior research reveals the importance of specific characteristics of bars on this association and that the relationship between bar density and violence may be moderated by these characteristics, there are few similar studies of the characteristics of off-premise outlets (e.g., liquor and convenience stores). We examined whether immediate environment, business practice, staff, and patron characteristics of off-premise alcohol outlets are associated with simple and aggravated assault density. Cross-sectional design using aggregate data from 65 census block groups in a non-metropolitan college town, systematic social observation, and spatial modeling techniques. We found limited effects of immediate environment, business practice, staff, and patron characteristics on simple assault density and no effect on aggravated assault density. Only two out of 17 characteristics were associated with simple assault density (i.e., nearby library and male patrons). This is the first study to examine the association between several off-premise alcohol outlet characteristics and assault. Our findings suggest that where the off-premise outlets are located, how well the immediate environment is maintained, what types of beverages the outlets sell, who visits them, and who works there matter little in their association with violence. This suggests the importance of outlet density itself as a primary driver of any association with violence. Public policies aimed at reducing alcohol outlet density or clustering may be useful for reducing violence.

Characteristics Of Virgin And Pulled Wool Fibres Used In Tunisian Handmade Carpets

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Taoufik Harizi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Many factors such as production methods fibre quality and structural parameters have distinctive influence on the quality and performance of a hand woven carpet. Because the most common fiber used for producing handmade carpet is wool this experiment was aimed to identify virgin and pulled wool characteristics of Tunisian sheep breeds. A total of 84 sheep and 15 samples of commercial pulled wool were used in this study. Samples of fiber were analyzed using standard objective measurements for staple length SL mean fiber diameter MFD coefficient of variation of fiber diameter FDCV fine fiber contain FC Breaking strength and Elongation. Results showed that Tunisian wool can be considered as medium wool. By conducting well-planned sorting Fine Queue of west sheep breed can supply the wool needed for textile industries. The wool of other sheep breeds can be used in handmade carpets. Also staple strength as one of the important wool characteristic affected significantly by alkali treatment during chemical unhairing process compared with wool collected by shearing process. Great attention must be paid to know the real characteristics of pulled wool before using it in handmade carpet industry.

Are All Pixels Equally Important?

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

When we look at our environment, we primarily pay attention to visually distinctive objects. We refer to these objects as visually important or salient. For efficient visual processing, the human visual system identifies salients objects and dedicates most of its processing resources to them. An analogous resource allocation can be performed by salient-object detection algorithms, which identify objects of interest in an image. Consequently, thanks to salient-object detection, complex visual computing operations can focus on the important parts of the visual data and can save time and resources. About the speaker Dr. Gokhan Yildirim is a research assistant in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC) at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). His research interests include image understanding, multimedia, pattern recognition, machine learning, salient-object detection on images & videos and its applications on image proces...

INTERESTING TASKS, INDEPENDENCE OR IMPORTANCE TO SOCIETY? - THE VOCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS OF GENERATION Y

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Kirsten Wüst

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Choosing a profession is complex and often affects many areas of one’s future life. In a representative study we analyzed data of 4,447 German adolescents, aged seventeen, who were interviewed in the years between 2000 and 2013. The aim of the study was to identify the effects of gender, school type, personality and leisure activities on vocational expectations and career-choice stages of generation Y. Especially, it was of interest which effect remained as a generational time effect after controlling for the named variables. For the analysis we used descriptive statistics with rank orders and mean values as well as linear and logistic regression analyses. Engagement in different leisure activities, gender and form of education all greatly affect the perceived importance of profession characteristics. While young women and students from German grammar schools rank “stimulating tasks” first, young men and students from all other school forms feel that a “secure position” is the most important. Also, personality factors influence the perceived importance of vocational features, with agreeable and extravert adolescents rating “contact to others”, “importance to society”, “helping others” and similar features significantly higher. After controlling for the named variables, there remained a significant correlation between the survey year and the term “secure position” which became less important, and the terms “working conditions”, “importance for society” and “helping others” all three of which became more important. A trend towards a higher valuation of one’s individual social responsibility can thus be noticed.

Bioinformatics analysis identifies several intrinsically disordered human E3 ubiquitin-protein ligases

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Wouter Boomsma

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The ubiquitin-proteasome system targets misfolded proteins for degradation. Since the accumulation of such proteins is potentially harmful for the cell, their prompt removal is important. E3 ubiquitin-protein ligases mediate substrate ubiquitination by bringing together the substrate with an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, which transfers ubiquitin to the substrate. For misfolded proteins, substrate recognition is generally delegated to molecular chaperones that subsequently interact with specific E3 ligases. An important exception is San1, a yeast E3 ligase. San1 harbors extensive regions of intrinsic disorder, which provide both conformational flexibility and sites for direct recognition of misfolded targets of vastly different conformations. So far, no mammalian ortholog of San1 is known, nor is it clear whether other E3 ligases utilize disordered regions for substrate recognition. Here, we conduct a bioinformatics analysis to examine >600 human and S. cerevisiae E3 ligases to identify enzymes that are similar to San1 in terms of function and/or mechanism of substrate recognition. An initial sequence-based database search was found to detect candidates primarily based on the homology of their ordered regions, and did not capture the unique disorder patterns that encode the functional mechanism of San1. However, by searching specifically for key features of the San1 sequence, such as long regions of intrinsic disorder embedded with short stretches predicted to be suitable for substrate interaction, we identified several E3 ligases with these characteristics. Our initial analysis revealed that another remarkable trait of San1 is shared with several candidate E3 ligases: long stretches of complete lysine suppression, which in San1 limits auto-ubiquitination. We encode these characteristic features into a San1 similarity-score, and present a set of proteins that are plausible candidates as San1 counterparts in humans. In conclusion, our work

Importance of characteristics and modalities of physical activity and exercise in defining the benefits to cardiovascular health within the general population: recommendations from the EACPR (Part I).

Science.gov (United States)

Vanhees, L; De Sutter, J; GeladaS, N; Doyle, F; Prescott, E; Cornelissen, V; Kouidi, E; Dugmore, D; Vanuzzo, D; Börjesson, M; Doherty, P

2012-08-01

Over the last decades, more and more evidence is accumulated that physical activity (PA) and exercise interventions are essential components in primary and secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease. However, it is less clear whether and which type of PA and exercise intervention (aerobic exercise, dynamic resistive exercise, or both) or characteristic of exercise (frequency, intensity, time or duration, and volume) would yield more benefit in achieving cardiovascular health. The present paper, as the first of a series of three, will make specific recommendations on the importance of these characteristics for cardiovascular health in the population at large. The guidance offered in this series of papers is aimed at medical doctors, health practitioners, kinesiologists, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists, politicians, public health policy makers, and the individual member of the public. Based on previous and the current literature, recommendations from the European Association on Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation are formulated regarding type, volume, and intensity of PA and exercise.

Can patients at risk for persistent negative symptoms be identified during their first episode of psychosis?

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Malla, Ashok K; Norman, Ross M G; Takhar, Jatinder; Manchanda, Rahul; Townsend, Laurel; Scholten, Derek; Haricharan, Raj

2004-07-01

Patients with schizophrenia who show persistent negative symptoms are an important subgroup, but they are difficult to identify early in the course of illness. The objective of this study was to examine characteristics that discriminate between first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients in whom primary negative symptoms did or did not persist after 1 year of treatment. Patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of FEP whose primary negative symptoms did (N = 36) or did not (N = 35) persist at 1 year were contrasted on their baseline and 1-year characteristics. Results showed that patients with persistent primary negative symptoms (N = 36) had a significantly longer duration of untreated psychosis (p < .005), worse premorbid adjustment during early (p < .001) and late adolescence (p < .01), and a higher level of affective flattening (p < .01) at initial presentation compared with patients with transitory primary negative symptoms. The former group also showed significantly lower remission rates at 1 year (p < .001). Multiple regression analysis confirmed the independent contribution of duration of untreated psychosis, premorbid adjustment, and affective flattening at baseline to the patients' likelihood of developing persistent negative symptoms. It may therefore be possible to distinguish a subgroup of FEP patients whose primary negative symptoms are likely to persist on the basis of characteristics shown at initial presentation for treatment.

Thiosemicarbazones: preparation methods, synthetic applications and biological importance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenorio, Romulo P.; Goes, Alexandre J.S.; Lima, Jose G. de; Faria, Antonio R. de; Alves, Antonio J.; Aquino, Thiago M. de

2005-01-01

Thiosemicarbazones are a class of compounds known by their chemical and biological properties, such as antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral and antiprotozoal activity. Their ability to form chelates with metals has great importance in their biological activities. Their synthesis is very simple, versatile and clean, usually giving high yields. They are largely employed as intermediates, in the synthesis of others compounds. This article is a survey of some of these characteristics showing their great importance to organic and medicinal chemistry. (author)

Association of emergency department and hospital characteristics with elopements and length of stay.

Science.gov (United States)

Handel, Daniel A; Fu, Rongwei; Vu, Eugene; Augustine, James J; Hsia, Renee Y; Shufflebarger, Charles M; Sun, Benjamin

2014-06-01

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures in 2013 compare Emergency Department (ED) treatment time intervals, it is important to identify ED and hospital characteristics associated with these metrics to facilitate accurate comparisons. The objective of this study is to assess differences in operational metrics by ED and hospital characteristics. ED-level characteristics included annual ED volume, percentage of patients admitted, percentage of patients presenting by ambulance, and percentage of pediatric patients. Hospital-level characteristics included teaching hospital status, trauma center status, hospital ownership (nonprofit or for-profit), inpatient bed capacity, critical access status, inpatient bed occupancy, and rural vs. urban location area. Data from the ED Benchmarking Alliance from 2004 to 2009 were merged with the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey Database to include hospital characteristics that may impact ED throughput. Overall median length of stay (LOS) and left before treatment is complete (LBTC) were the primary outcome variables, and a linear mixed model was used to assess the association between outcome variables and ED and hospital characteristics, while accounting for correlations among multiple observations within each hospital. All data were at the hospital level on a yearly basis. There were 445 EDs included in the analysis, from 2004 to 2009, with 850 observations over 6 years. Higher-volume EDs were associated with higher rates of LBTC and LOS. For-profit hospitals had lower LBTC and LOS. Higher inpatient bed occupancies were associated with a higher LOS. Increasing admission percentages were positively associated with overall LOS for EDs, but not with rates of LBTC. Higher-volume EDs are associated with higher LBTC and LOS, and for-profit hospitals appear more favorably in these metrics compared with their nonprofit counterparts. It is important to appreciate that hospitals have different baselines

Soft wheat quality characteristics required for making baking powder biscuits

Science.gov (United States)

Fifteen soft wheat varieties were evaluated for their grain, milling, flour and dough mixing characteristics, as well as their solvent retention capacities (SRCs), pasting properties and suitability for making baking powder biscuits, to identify wheat quality characteristics required for making bisc...

What Is Design Thinking and Why Is It Important?

Science.gov (United States)

Razzouk, Rim; Shute, Valerie

2012-01-01

Design thinking is generally defined as an analytic and creative process that engages a person in opportunities to experiment, create and prototype models, gather feedback, and redesign. Several characteristics (e.g., visualization, creativity) that a good design thinker should possess have been identified from the literature. The primary purpose…

Future demands for imported coal in Asian countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, T.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that one of the main characteristics of international coal trade in the 1980's was a much higher growth rate recorded in steam coal trade than in coking coal trade. Another was that coal import in Asia started to expand rapidly at the start of the 1980's. Increased coal imports by Asian countries is primarily attributed to growing steam coal imports. Steam coal accounted for more than two-thirds of the additional coal imports by Asian countries between 1980 and 1988. Nonetheless, coking coal still forms the largest segment of Pacific coal trade. Only in the early 1990's is steam coal trade expected to exceed coking coal trade in the Pacific

Identifiers for the 21st century: How to design, provision, and reuse persistent identifiers to maximize utility and impact of life science data.

Science.gov (United States)

McMurry, Julie A; Juty, Nick; Blomberg, Niklas; Burdett, Tony; Conlin, Tom; Conte, Nathalie; Courtot, Mélanie; Deck, John; Dumontier, Michel; Fellows, Donal K; Gonzalez-Beltran, Alejandra; Gormanns, Philipp; Grethe, Jeffrey; Hastings, Janna; Hériché, Jean-Karim; Hermjakob, Henning; Ison, Jon C; Jimenez, Rafael C; Jupp, Simon; Kunze, John; Laibe, Camille; Le Novère, Nicolas; Malone, James; Martin, Maria Jesus; McEntyre, Johanna R; Morris, Chris; Muilu, Juha; Müller, Wolfgang; Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Sariyar, Murat; Snoep, Jacky L; Soiland-Reyes, Stian; Stanford, Natalie J; Swainston, Neil; Washington, Nicole; Williams, Alan R; Wimalaratne, Sarala M; Winfree, Lilly M; Wolstencroft, Katherine; Goble, Carole; Mungall, Christopher J; Haendel, Melissa A; Parkinson, Helen

2017-06-01

In many disciplines, data are highly decentralized across thousands of online databases (repositories, registries, and knowledgebases). Wringing value from such databases depends on the discipline of data science and on the humble bricks and mortar that make integration possible; identifiers are a core component of this integration infrastructure. Drawing on our experience and on work by other groups, we outline 10 lessons we have learned about the identifier qualities and best practices that facilitate large-scale data integration. Specifically, we propose actions that identifier practitioners (database providers) should take in the design, provision and reuse of identifiers. We also outline the important considerations for those referencing identifiers in various circumstances, including by authors and data generators. While the importance and relevance of each lesson will vary by context, there is a need for increased awareness about how to avoid and manage common identifier problems, especially those related to persistence and web-accessibility/resolvability. We focus strongly on web-based identifiers in the life sciences; however, the principles are broadly relevant to other disciplines.

Identifiers for the 21st century: How to design, provision, and reuse persistent identifiers to maximize utility and impact of life science data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie A McMurry

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In many disciplines, data are highly decentralized across thousands of online databases (repositories, registries, and knowledgebases. Wringing value from such databases depends on the discipline of data science and on the humble bricks and mortar that make integration possible; identifiers are a core component of this integration infrastructure. Drawing on our experience and on work by other groups, we outline 10 lessons we have learned about the identifier qualities and best practices that facilitate large-scale data integration. Specifically, we propose actions that identifier practitioners (database providers should take in the design, provision and reuse of identifiers. We also outline the important considerations for those referencing identifiers in various circumstances, including by authors and data generators. While the importance and relevance of each lesson will vary by context, there is a need for increased awareness about how to avoid and manage common identifier problems, especially those related to persistence and web-accessibility/resolvability. We focus strongly on web-based identifiers in the life sciences; however, the principles are broadly relevant to other disciplines.

Identifying Factors for Worker Motivation in Zambia's Rural Health Facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Samuel S; Baernholdt, Dr Marianne

2017-01-01

Within Zambia there is a shortage of health workers in rural areas. This study aims to identify motivating factors for retaining rural health workers. Sixty rural health workers completed surveys and 46 were interviewed. They rated the importance of six motivating factors and discussed these and other factors in interviews. An interview was conducted with a Government Human Resources Manager (HR Manager) to elicit contextual information. All six factors were identified as being very important motivators, as were two additional factors. Additional career training was identified by many as the most important factor. Comparison of results and the HR Manager interview revealed that workers lacked knowledge about opportunities and that the HR manager was aware of barriers to career development. The Zambian government might better motivate and retain rural health workers by offering them any combination of identified factors, and by addressing the barriers to career development.

Human characteristics affecting nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skof, M.

1990-01-01

It is important to collect data about human behavior in work situation and data about work performance. On the basis of these data we can analyse human errors. Human reliability analysis gives us the input data to improve human behavior at a work place. We have tried to define those human characteristics that have impact on safe work and operation. Estimation of a work place was used for determination of important human characteristics. Performance estimations were used to define the availability of workers at a work place. To our experience it is very important to pay attention to R.A. and R.C. also in the area of human factor. Data for quality assurance in the area of human factor should be collected from selection procedure (the level of cognitive and conative abilities, the level of physical characteristics, the level of education and other personal data). Data for quality control should be collected from the periodical examinations of annual checking and evaluation of human working capacity as well as from training. For quality control of every day human performance data of staff estimation of their daily working performance and well-being should also be collected. With all these data more effective analyses of all events in nuclear power plants could be provided. Quality assurance and quality control in the area of human factor could help us to keep the optimum performance level of the plant staff and to avoid human errors. (author). 3 refs, 3 figs

Characteristics of cholinoreceptors on identified TAN neurons of the ground snail Achatina fulica.

Science.gov (United States)

Stepanov, I I; Losev, N A

2000-01-01

The characteristics of cholinoreceptors located on neurons TAN1, TAN2, and TAN3 of the ground snail Achatina fulica were studied by incubation of the central ganglia in a bath with cholinotropic preparations during intracellular recording of background neuron spike activity. Acetylcholine, nicotine, the selective n-cholinoreceptor agonist suberyldicholine, and the selective n-cholinoreceptor agonist 5-methylfurmethide concentration-dependently inhibited background spike activity to the level of complete blockade at concentrations of 500 microM. The m-cholinoblocker metamizil (500 microM) completely prevented the inhibitory activity of concentrations of 5-methylfurmethide of up to 500 microM. The central n-cholinoblocker etherophen (500 microM) completely blocked the inhibitory activity of 500 microM suberyldicholine. However, metamizil and etherophen added separately only partially decreased the inhibitory effects of acetylcholine but could not completely block the effect of acetylcholine. At the same time, mixtures of metamizil and etherophen (500 microM each) completely blocked the inhibition of background spike activity induced by acetylcholine. These results show that both classes of cholinoreceptors act on TAN neurons in the same direction.

School and local authority characteristics associated with take-up of free school meals in Scottish secondary schools, 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Stephanie; Dundas, Ruth; Torsney, Ben

2016-01-02

School meals are an important state-delivered mechanism for improving children's diets. Scottish local authorities have a statutory duty to provide free school meals (FSM) to families meeting means-testing criteria. Inevitably take-up of FSM does not reach 100%. Explanations put forward to explain this include social stigma, as well as a more general dissatisfaction amongst pupils about lack of modern facilities and meal quality, and a preference to eat where friends are eating. This study investigated characteristics associated with take-up across Scottish secondary schools in 2013-2014 using multilevel modelling techniques. Results suggest that stigma, food quality and the ability to eat with friends are associated with greater take-up. Levels of school modernisation appeared less important, as did differences between more urban or rural areas. Future studies should focus on additional school-level variables to identify characteristics associated with take-up, with the aim of reducing the number of registered pupils not taking-up FSM.

Resilient modulus characteristics of soil subgrade with geopolymer additive in peat

Science.gov (United States)

Zain, Nasuhi; Hadiwardoyo, Sigit Pranowo; Rahayu, Wiwik

2017-06-01

Resilient modulus characteristics of peat soil are generally very low with high potential of deformation and low bearing capacity. The efforts to improve the peat subgrade resilient modulus characteristics is required, one among them is by adding the geopolymer additive. Geopolymer was made as an alternative to replace portland cement binder in the concrete mix in order to promote environmentally friendly, low shrinkage value, low creep value, and fire resistant material. The use of geopolymer to improve the mechanical properties of peat as a road construction subgrade, hence it becomes important to identify the effect of geopolymer addition on the resilient modulus characteristics of peat soil. This study investigated the addition of 0% - 20% geopolymer content on peat soil derived from Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatera Province. Resilient modulus measurement was performed by using cyclic triaxial test to determine the resilience modulus model as a function of deviator stresses and radial stresses. The test results showed that an increase in radial stresses did not necessarily lead to an increase in modulus resilient, and on the contrary, an increase in deviator stresses led to a decrease in modulus resilient. The addition of geopolymer in peat soil provided an insignificant effect on the increase of resilient modulus value.

Examining Characteristics of Opinion Leaders in Social Media: A Motivational Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Winter

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Social networking sites offer various opportunities to express opinions on politics and public affairs and to disseminate information to a large circle of acquaintances. The present research aims to identify the characteristics of people who consider themselves as opinion leaders on these new channels, the features they use in order to influence others, and the psychological motives they pursue. A survey ( N  = 527 among Facebook users identified political interest and personality strength as significant predictors of perceived Facebook opinion leadership, while the influence of extraversion was not significant. Those who write private messages on political debates do this in order to raise awareness of specific topics, while opinion expression in public status updates is also strongly connected to self-presentational goals (impression motivation. Moreover, the motives of presenting oneself positively and convincing others are particularly important for people with high personality strength. The present findings extend previous knowledge by redefining the concept of opinion leadership in new media environments and describing motivational links between individuals’ predispositions and their activities to influence others’ opinions. On a practical level, the pronounced role of self-presentational motives is likely to have important implications for the dynamics of public debates in social media.

Characteristics of an Organizational Environment Which Stimulate and Inhibit Creativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Alencar, Eunice M. L. Soriano de; Bruno-Faria, Maria de Fatima

1997-01-01

Analysis of interviews with 25 Brazilian workers concerning characteristics of a work environment that promote or inhibit creativity identified stimulants (such as organization support, support from bosses, and support from colleagues) and obstacles (such as organization structure, boss characteristics, and personal relationships). (DB)

High-Frequency Technical Trading: The Importance of Speed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.L. Scholtus (Martin); D.J.C. van Dijk (Dick)

2012-01-01

textabstractThis paper investigates the importance of speed for technical trading rule performance for three highly liquid ETFs listed on NASDAQ over the period January 6, 2009 up to September 30, 2009. In addition we examine the characteristics of market activity over the day and within subperiods

Decision tree analyses of key patient characteristics in Middle Eastern/North African and Latin American men treated with long-acting and short-acting PDE5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubio-Aurioles, Eusebio; El-Meliegy, Amr; Abdulwahed, Samer; Henneges, Carsten; Sorsaburu, Sebastian; Gurbuz, Sirel

2015-02-01

Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors have discontinuation rates as high as 60% in men with erectile dysfunction. Treatment satisfaction has been significantly associated with treatment continuation. Understanding key characteristics in terms of treatment preference, relationship, and lifestyle issues could provide direction on how to improve compliance with PDE5 inhibitor treatment globally. The objective was to identify subgroups of interest in the pooled database of two observational studies conducted in Latin America (LA) and Middle East/North Africa (MENA) exploring patient characteristics and prescription of either a long- or short-acting PDE5 inhibitor at baseline. Two identical prospective, non-interventional, observational, studies in MENA (N = 493) and LA (N = 511) treated men with an 'on demand' (pro re nata, PRN) PDE5 inhibitor (sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, or lodenafil) during 6 months. In this post-hoc meta-analysis of two observational studies with equal design, pooled data were analyzed to determine patient characteristics and PDE5 inhibitor prescribed/used most likely to be associated with patient expectations, satisfaction, self-esteem, and patient-partner relationships. Decision tree analyses, with and without weighting, were used to identify and describe key features. In each analysis of patient expectations, patient-partner relationship, and self-esteem, we describe the two major subgroups at baseline for each decision tree. Analyses of patient expectations and sexual self-esteem revealed that patients prescribed long-acting PDE5 inhibitors (59%) highlighted the importance of treatment effect duration, second to partner satisfaction with treatment, while patients prescribed short-acting PDE5 inhibitors (32%) placed less importance on treatment effect duration but considerable importance on treatment effect lasting until intercourse completion. Further insights regarding patients, partner relationship characteristics, and

Identifying characteristics and outcomes that are associated with fall-related fatalities: multi-year retrospective summary of fall deaths in older adults from 2005-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Deprey, Sara M; Biedrzycki, Lynda; Klenz, Kristine

2017-12-01

Fall-related deaths continue to be the leading cause of accidental deaths in the older adult (65+ year) population. However, many fall-related fatalities are unspecified and little is known about the fall characteristics and personal demographics at the time of the fall. Therefore, this report describes the characteristics, circumstances and injuries of falls that resulted in older adult deaths in one U.S. County and explores the variables associated with fatal injuries from falls. This is a continued retrospective analysis of 841older adults whose underlying cause of death was due to a fall over an 8-year period (2005-2012). Demographics and logistic regression of fall characteristics and injuries were analyzed. Falls that led to death most often occurred when walking in one's own home. Most of the residents in this study were community-dwellers who had previous comorbidities taking an average of six medications prior to their fall. Survival after a fall was on average 31 days. The two most common injuries after a fatal fall were hip fractures (54%), and head injuries (21%). A logistic regression identified two variables associated with hip fracture, advancing age (OR = 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-1.08) and diagnosis of a prior neurological condition (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.4-3.1). Variables associated with head injuries included younger age (OR = .91, 95% CI = .89-.94), male gender (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.7-3.8), prescribed anticoagulants (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.5-3.9) and negative musculoskeletal comorbidity (OR = 1.9. 95% CI = 1.1-3.0). Hip fractures and head injuries were the most common injury after a fall that led to death in older adults greater than 65 years. There are opposing risk factors for older adults who incur a hip fracture compared to a head injury. Thus, health professionals will need to individualize prevention efforts to reduce fall fatalities.

Simulation Study on Freeze-drying Characteristics of Mashed Beef

OpenAIRE

Tambunan, Armansyah H; Solahudin, M; Rahajeng, Estri

2000-01-01

Drying characteristic of a particular product is important in analyzing the appropriateness of the drying method for the product. This is especially important for freeze drying, which is known as the most expensive drying method, asideji-om its good drying quality. The objectives of this experiment are to develop a computer simulation program using a retreating drying-frontmodel for predicting freeze drying characteristics of mashed nteat, especially for the influence of sublimation temperatu...

Identifying the dynamic characteristics of a dual core-wall and frame building in Chile using aftershocks of the 27 February 2010 (Mw=8.8) Maule, Chile, earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Çelebi, Mehmet; Sereci, Mark; Boroschek, Ruben; Carreño, Rodrigo; Bonelli, Patricio

2013-01-01

Following the 27 February 2010 (Mw = 8.8) Offshore Maule, Chile earthquake, a temporary, 16-channel, real-time data streaming array was installed in a recently constructed building in Viña del Mar to capture its responses to aftershocks. The cast-in-place, reinforced concrete building is 16 stories high, with 3 additional basement levels, and has dual system comprising multiple structural walls and perimeter frames. This building was not damaged during the main-shock, but other buildings of similar design in Viña del Mar and other parts of Chile were damaged, although none collapsed. Dynamic characteristics of the building identified from the low-amplitude (PGA of about 2 Gal) response recordings of aftershocks are found to compare well with those determined from modal analyses using a design level FEM model. Distinct “major-axes” translational and torsional fundamental frequencies, as well as frequencies of secondary modes, are identified. Evidence of beating is consistently observed in the response data for each earthquake. Results do not match well with U.S. code formulas.

Epidemiological characteristics of classical scrapie outbreaks in 30 sheep flocks in the United Kingdom.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Marie McIntyre

Full Text Available Most previous analyses of scrapie outbreaks have focused on flocks run by research institutes, which may not reflect the field situation. Within this study, we attempt to rectify this deficit by describing the epidemiological characteristics of 30 sheep flocks naturally-infected with classical scrapie, and by exploring possible underlying causes of variation in the characteristics between flocks, including flock-level prion protein (PrP genotype profile. In total, the study involved PrP genotype data for nearly 8600 animals and over 400 scrapie cases.We found that most scrapie cases were restricted to just two PrP genotypes (ARQ/VRQ and VRQ/VRQ, though two flocks had markedly different affected genotypes, despite having similar underlying genotype profiles to other flocks of the same breed; we identified differences amongst flocks in the age of cases of certain PrP genotypes; we found that the age-at-onset of clinical signs depended on peak incidence and flock type; we found evidence that purchasing infected animals is an important means of introducing scrapie to a flock; we found some evidence that flock-level PrP genotype profile and flock size account for variation in outbreak characteristics; identified seasonality in cases associated with lambing time in certain flocks; and we identified one case that was homozygous for phenylalanine at codon 141, a polymorphism associated with a very high risk of atypical scrapie, and 28 cases that were heterozygous at this codon.This paper presents the largest study to date on commercially-run sheep flocks naturally-infected with classical scrapie, involving 30 study flocks, more than 400 scrapie cases and over 8500 PrP genotypes. We show that some of the observed variation in epidemiological characteristics between farms is related to differences in their PrP genotype profile; although much remains unexplained and may instead be attributed to the stochastic nature of scrapie dynamics.

Identifying novel phenotypes of vulnerability and resistance to activity-based anorexia in adolescent female rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarich-Marsteller, Nicole C; Underwood, Mark D; Foltin, Richard W; Myers, Michael M; Walsh, B Timothy; Barrett, Jeffrey S; Marsteller, Douglas A

2013-11-01

Activity-based anorexia is a translational rodent model that results in severe weight loss, hyperactivity, and voluntary self-starvation. The goal of our investigation was to identify vulnerable and resistant phenotypes of activity-based anorexia in adolescent female rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained under conditions of restricted access to food (N = 64; or unlimited access, N = 16) until experimental exit, predefined as a target weight loss of 30-35% or meeting predefined criteria for animal health. Nonlinear mixed effects statistical modeling was used to describe wheel running behavior, time to event analysis was used to assess experimental exit, and a regressive partitioning algorithm was used to classify phenotypes. Objective criteria were identified for distinguishing novel phenotypes of activity-based anorexia, including a vulnerable phenotype that conferred maximal hyperactivity, minimal food intake, and the shortest time to experimental exit, and a resistant phenotype that conferred minimal activity and the longest time to experimental exit. The identification of objective criteria for defining vulnerable and resistant phenotypes of activity-based anorexia in adolescent female rats provides an important framework for studying the neural mechanisms that promote vulnerability to or protection against the development of self-starvation and hyperactivity during adolescence. Ultimately, future studies using these novel phenotypes may provide important translational insights into the mechanisms that promote these maladaptive behaviors characteristic of anorexia nervosa. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The digital object identifier (DOI in electronic scientific journals of communication and information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik André de Nazaré Pires

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The present study seeks to investigate the use of the Digital Object Identifier (DOI in the scientific journals of Communication and Information and, providing new integration utilities with the Lattes Platform. In this sense, it aims to inform the existing titles in Communication Information in electronic format, demonstrate the importance of DOI in the integration with the Lattes Platform in order to guarantee author credibility and analyze the characteristics of publications that have DOI. The methodology used for the development of this study is bibliographic, research with descriptive-descriptive characteristics. From the development of the research, it is inferred that of all the analyzed journals (33 journals, 10 titles in the evaluation of 2013 and 06 titles of the evaluation of 2014 present DOI in their publications, all have WebQualis classification, Qualis A1 in the area Communication and Information. Most publications are international and only 3 titles are national. It is necessary that journals, principally national ones, accompany new technologies such as DOI for objects and ORCID for the identification of people, bringing more mechanisms that guarantee authors 'credibility and to bring the researchers' connection, and both can already be adopted in the Platform Lattes.

Identifying Characteristics of High School Dropouts: Data Mining with A Decision Tree Model

Science.gov (United States)

Veitch, William Robert.

2004-01-01

The notion that all students should finish high school has grown throughout the last century and continues to be an important goal for all educational levels in this new century. Non-completion has been related to all sorts of social, financial, and psychological issues. Many studies have attempted to put together a process that will identify…

Plant distribution and stand characteristics in brackish marshes: Unravelling the roles of abiotic factors and interspecific competition

Science.gov (United States)

Carus, Jana; Heuner, Maike; Paul, Maike; Schröder, Boris

2017-09-01

Due to increasing pressure on estuarine marshes from sea level rise and river training, there is a growing need to understand how species-environment relationships influence the zonation and growth of tidal marsh vegetation. In the present study, we investigated the distribution and stand characteristics of the two key brackish marsh species Bolboschoenus maritimus and Phragmites australis in the Elbe estuary together with several abiotic habitat factors. We then tested the effect of these habitat factors on plant growth and zonation with generalised linear models (GLMs). Our study provides detailed information on the importance of single habitat factors and their interactions for controlling the distribution patterns and stand characteristics of two key marsh species. Our results suggest that flow velocity is the main factor influencing species distribution and stand characteristics and together with soil-water salinity even affects the inundation tolerance of the two specie investigated here. Additionally, inundation height and duration as well as interspecific competition helped explain the distribution patterns and stand characteristics. By identifying the drivers of marsh zonation and stand characteristics and quantifying their effects, this study provides useful information for evaluating a future contribution of tidal marsh vegetation to ecosystem-based shore protection.

Identifying organisational principles and management practices important to the quality of health care services for chronic conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frølich, Anne

2012-01-01

are limited, it is necessary to identify efficient methods to improve the quality of care. Comparing health care systems is a well-known method for identifying new knowledge regarding, for instance, organisational methods and principles. Kaiser Permanente (KP), an integrated health care delivery system...... in the U.S., is recognized as providing high-quality chronic care; to some extent, this is due to KP's implementation of the chronic care model (CCM). This model recommends a range of evidence-based management practices that support the implementation of evidence-based medicine. However, it is not clear...... which management practices in the CCM are most efficient and in what combinations. In addition, financial incentives and public reporting of performance are often considered effective at improving the quality of health care services, but this has not yet been definitively proved....

The Patent Literature As A Shortcut To Identify Knowledge Suppliers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søberg, Peder Veng

patents which decreases the time span between a patent is filed and its value can be evaluated when searching the patent literature. A potential benefit thereof could be that the patent literature could become relevant in order to identify potential knowledge suppliers.......The present paper explores characteristics of valuable patents that have been subject to litigation which resulted in some of the largest fines to patent infringers reported in history. The valuable patents are compared with less valuable patents in order to identify new methods of evaluating...

Evaluations and utilizations of risk importances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vesely, W.E.; Davis, T.C.

1985-08-01

This report presents approaches for utilizing Probabilistic Risk Analyses (PRA's) to determine risk importances. Risk importances are determined for design features, plant operations, and other factors that can affect risk. PRA's can be used to identify the importances of risk contributors or proposed changes to designs or operations. The objective of this report is to serve as a handbook and guide in evaluating and applying risk importances. The utilization of both qualitative risk importances and quantitative risk importances is described in this report. Qualitative risk importances are based on the logic models in the PRA, while quantitative risk importances are based on the quantitative results of the PRA. Both types of importances are among the most robust and meaningful information a PRA can provide. A wide variety of risk importance evaluations are described including evaluations of the importances of design changes, testing, maintenance, degrading environments, and aging. Specific utilizations are described in inspection and in reliability assurance programs, however the general approaches have widespread applicability. The role of personal computers and decision support programs in applying risk importance evaluations is also described

Social Network Analysis Identifies Key Participants in Conservation Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Farr, Cooper M; Reed, Sarah E; Pejchar, Liba

2018-05-01

Understanding patterns of participation in private lands conservation, which is often implemented voluntarily by individual citizens and private organizations, could improve its effectiveness at combating biodiversity loss. We used social network analysis (SNA) to examine participation in conservation development (CD), a private land conservation strategy that clusters houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Using data from public records for six counties in Colorado, USA, we compared CD participation patterns among counties and identified actors that most often work with others to implement CDs. We found that social network characteristics differed among counties. The network density, or proportion of connections in the network, varied from fewer than 2 to nearly 15%, and was higher in counties with smaller populations and fewer CDs. Centralization, or the degree to which connections are held disproportionately by a few key actors, was not correlated strongly with any county characteristics. Network characteristics were not correlated with the prevalence of wildlife-friendly design features in CDs. The most highly connected actors were biological and geological consultants, surveyors, and engineers. Our work demonstrates a new application of SNA to land-use planning, in which CD network patterns are examined and key actors are identified. For better conservation outcomes of CD, we recommend using network patterns to guide strategies for outreach and information dissemination, and engaging with highly connected actor types to encourage widespread adoption of best practices for CD design and stewardship.

Personal circumstances and social characteristics as determinants of landholder participation in biodiversity conservation programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Katie; Marshall, Nadine; Cocklin, Chris

2012-12-30

Adequate conservation of biodiversity on private land remains elusive due, in part, to a failure to understand the personal circumstances and social characteristics of private landholders. Our aim was to identify those personal and social dimensions of landholders that might contribute to improved conservation policy and program design and, thereby, participation in private land conservation. We tested whether personal circumstances of landholders (e.g., lifestyle and wellbeing, information and knowledge, financial security) and social characteristics (e.g., attitudes, norms, and trust) would be important predictors of landholders' capacity and willingness to participate in biodiversity conservation programs. Forty-five participants and twenty-nine non-participants of biodiversity conservation programs in north Queensland, Australia, were surveyed to: 1) examine differences between their personal circumstances and social characteristics that may influence participation; and 2) explore whether personal circumstances and social characteristics were influenced by participation. The results revealed that, compared to participants, non-participants in conservation programs had significantly different personal circumstances and social characteristics for four of eight measured variables. Compared to participants, non-participants demonstrated a reduced capacity and willingness to participate in conservation programs. Participation did not appear to have a strong influence on participants' personal circumstances or social characteristics, and when social norms supported conservation, programs did not demonstrate additionality. Conservation policies that maintain or improve landholders' personal circumstances and that promote pro-environmental norms may result in increased participation and thereby conservation outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vulnerability to terrorist attacks in European electricity decarbonisation scenarios: Comparing renewable electricity imports to gas imports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lilliestam, Johan

2014-01-01

The decarbonised future European electricity system must remain secure: reliable electricity supply is a prerequisite for the functioning of modern society. Scenarios like Desertec, which partially rely on solar power imports from the Middle East and North Africa, may be attractive for decarbonisation, but raise concerns about terrorists interrupting supply by attacking the long, unprotected transmission lines in the Sahara. In this paper, I develop new methods and assess the European vulnerability to terrorist attacks in the Desertec scenario. I compare this to the vulnerability of today's system and a decarbonisation scenario in which Europe relies on gas imports for electricity generation. I show that the vulnerability of both gas and electricity imports is low, but electricity imports are more vulnerable than gas imports, due to their technical characteristics. Gas outages (and, potentially, resulting blackouts) are the very unlikely consequence even of very high-number attacks against the gas import system, whereas short blackouts are the potential consequence of a few attacks against the import electricity lines. As the impacts of all except extreme attacks are limited, terrorists cannot attack energy infrastructure and cause spectacular, fear-creating outages. Both gas and electricity import infrastructure are thus unattractive and unlikely terrorist targets. - Highlights: • A comparison of terrorism risks of importing solar power and gas for power generation. • Both scenarios show low vulnerability to terrorist attacks. • Within low vulnerabilities, gas imports are less vulnerable than electricity imports. • Causing spectacular, large and long outages is very difficult for attacker. • The attractiveness of gas and power import infrastructure as terrorist target is low

Investigating User Interfaces of Non-Iranian Digital Libraries based on Social Bookmarking Capabilities and Characteristics to Use by Iranian Digital Libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Naseri

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Current study aims to investigate the status of user interfaces of non-Iranian digital libraries’ based on social bookmarking capabilities and characteristics to use by Iranian digital libraries. This research studies the characteristics and capabilities of top digital libraries’ user interfaces in the world based on social bookmarking used by library users. This capability facilitates producing, identifying, organizing, and sharing contents using tags. Survey method was used with descriptive-analytical approach in this study. Populations include non-Iranian digital libraries interfaces. Top ten digital libraries’ interfaces were selected as the sample. A researcher-made checklist prepared based on literature review and investigating four distinguished websites (Library Thing, Delicious, Amazon, and Google Book. Faced validity evaluated by 10 experts’ viewpoints, then reliability calculated 0.87.Findings of this study are important because of two reasons: first, it provides a comprehensive and an unambiguous vision for recognizing user interfaces’ basic capabilities and characteristics based on social bookmarking. Second, it can provide a base for designing digital libraries in Iran. The results showed that the majority of digital libraries around the world had not used web 2.0 characteristics such as producing, identifying, organizing, and sharing contents except two digital libraries (Google Books, and Ibiblio.

A procedure for identifying textile bast fibres using microscopy: Flax, nettle/ramie, hemp and jute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergfjord, Christian; Holst, Bodil

2010-01-01

Identifying and distinguishing between natural textile fibres is an important task in both archaeology and criminology. Wool, silk and cotton fibres can readily be distinguished from the textile bast fibres flax, nettle/ramie, hemp and jute. Distinguishing between the bast fibres is, however, not easily done and methods based on surface characteristics, chemical composition and cross section size and shape are not conclusive. A conclusive method based on X-ray microdiffraction exists, but as the method requires the use of a synchrotron it is not readily available. In this paper we present a simple procedure for identifying the above mentioned textile bast fibres. The procedure is based on measuring the fibrillar orientation with polarised light microscopy and detecting the presence of calcium oxalate crystals (CaC 2 O 4 ) in association with the fibres. To demonstrate the procedure, a series of fibre samples of flax, nettle, ramie, hemp and jute were investigated. The results are presented here. An advantage of the procedure is that only a small amount of fibre material is needed.

A procedure for identifying textile bast fibres using microscopy: Flax, nettle/ramie, hemp and jute

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergfjord, Christian, E-mail: christian.bergfjord@uib.no [Institute for Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Allegt. 55, 5007 Bergen (Norway); Holst, Bodil, E-mail: bodil.holst@uib.no [Institute for Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Allegt. 55, 5007 Bergen (Norway)

2010-08-15

Identifying and distinguishing between natural textile fibres is an important task in both archaeology and criminology. Wool, silk and cotton fibres can readily be distinguished from the textile bast fibres flax, nettle/ramie, hemp and jute. Distinguishing between the bast fibres is, however, not easily done and methods based on surface characteristics, chemical composition and cross section size and shape are not conclusive. A conclusive method based on X-ray microdiffraction exists, but as the method requires the use of a synchrotron it is not readily available. In this paper we present a simple procedure for identifying the above mentioned textile bast fibres. The procedure is based on measuring the fibrillar orientation with polarised light microscopy and detecting the presence of calcium oxalate crystals (CaC{sub 2}O{sub 4}) in association with the fibres. To demonstrate the procedure, a series of fibre samples of flax, nettle, ramie, hemp and jute were investigated. The results are presented here. An advantage of the procedure is that only a small amount of fibre material is needed.

Patterns of daily energy management at work: relations to employee well-being and job characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinnunen, Ulla; Feldt, Taru; de Bloom, Jessica; Korpela, Kalevi

2015-11-01

The present study aimed at identifying subgroups of employees with similar daily energy management strategies at work and finding out whether well-being indicators and job characteristics differ between these subgroups. The study was conducted by electronic questionnaire among 1122 Finnish employees. First, subgroups of employees with unique and distinctive patterns of energy management strategies were identified using latent profile analysis. Second, differences in well-being indicators and job characteristics between the subgroups were investigated by means of ANCOVA. Four subgroups (i.e., patterns) were identified and named: Passives (n = 371), Averages (n = 390), Casuals (n = 272) and Actives (n = 89). Passives used all three (i.e., work-related, private micro-break and physical micro-break) strategies less frequently than other subgroups, whereas Actives used work-related and physical energy management strategies more frequently than other subgroups. Averages used all strategies on an average level. Casuals' use of all strategies came close to that of Actives, notably in a shared low use of private micro-break strategies. Active and Casual patterns maintained vigor and vitality. Autonomy and social support at work played a significant role in providing opportunities for the use of beneficial energy management strategies. Autonomy and support at work seem to support active and casual use of daily energy management, which is important in staying energized throughout the working day.

Most important needs of family members of critical patients in light of the critical care family needs inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

Padilla Fortunatti, Cristóbal Felipe

2014-01-01

This work sought to identify the most important needs for family members of adult critical patients as described in the literature pursuant to the dimensions established in the "Critical Care Family Needs Inventory" (CCFNI) by Molter and Leske. A literature review was carried out by using the CCFNI instrument. The databases used were: Pubmed, CINAHL, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health Source, Proquest Psychology Journals, LILACS, Science Direct, Ovid SP, PsyicINFO, and SciELO. The following limitations for the search were identified: adult patients, articles in English and Spanish, with abstract and complete text available and which had been published from 2003 to June 2013; 15 articles were included. The family's hope on desired results and sincere communication with the healthcare staff turned out to be the most relevant needs, while the least important were related to comfort and having support structures or systems. Most of the studies were conducted in Asia and North America revealing differences in the order of importance assigned to each necessity. Certain sociodemographic and cultural characteristics impact upon how family members rank their needs; this also occurs with the nature of the most important needs for the family and the factors determining their prioritization. The articles included in this review mention the frequent interaction with the family and their holistic view of the person beyond the illness, determine that nurses are the most appropriate professionals to know and satisfy the family needs of critical patients.

Most Important Needs of Family Members of Critical Patients in Light of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristóbal Felipe Padilla Fortunatti

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objective. This work sought to identify the most important needs for family members of adult critical patients as described in the literature pursuant to the dimensions established in the "Critical Care Family Needs Inventory" (CCFNI by Molter and Leske. Methodology. A literature review was carried out by using the CCFNI instrument. The databases used were: Pubmed, CINAHL, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health Source, Proquest Psychology Journals, LILACS, Science Direct, Ovid SP, PsyicINFO, and SciELO. The following limitations for the search were identified: adult patients, articles in English and Spanish, with abstract and complete text available and which had been published from 2003 to June 2013; 15 articles were included. Results. The family's hope on desired results and sincere communication with the healthcare staff turned out to be the most relevant needs, while the least important were related to comfort and having support structures or systems. Most of the studies were conducted in Asia and North America revealing differences in the order of importance assigned to each necessity. Certain sociodemographic and cultural characteristics impact upon how family members rank their needs; this also occurs with the nature of the most important needs for the family and the factors determining their prioritization. Conclusion. The articles included in this review mention the frequent interaction with the family and their holistic view of the person beyond the illness, determine that nurses are the most appropriate professionals to know and satisfy the family needs of critical patients.

A local outbreak of dengue caused by an imported case in Dongguan China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Hong-Juan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dengue, a mosquito-borne febrile viral disease, is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Since the first occurrence of dengue was confirmed in Guangdong, China in 1978, dengue outbreaks have been reported sequentially in different provinces in South China transmitted by.peridomestic Ae. albopictus mosquitoes, diplaying Ae. aegypti, a fully domestic vector that transmits dengue worldwide. Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is a characteristic change in developing countries, which impacts greatly on vector habitat, human lifestyle and transmission dynamics on dengue epidemics. In September 2010, an outbreak of dengue was detected in Dongguan, a city in Guangdong province characterized by its fast urbanization. An investigation was initiated to identify the cause, to describe the epidemical characteristics of the outbreak, and to implement control measures to stop the outbreak. This is the first report of dengue outbreak in Dongguan, even though dengue cases were documented before in this city. Methods Epidemiological data were obtained from local Center of Disease Control and prevention (CDC. Laboratory tests such as real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR, the virus cDNA sequencing, and Enzyme-Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA were employed to identify the virus infection and molecular phylogenetic analysis was performed with MEGA5. The febrile cases were reported every day by the fever surveillance system. Vector control measures including insecticidal fogging and elimination of habitats of Ae. albopictus were used to control the dengue outbreak. Results The epidemiological studies results showed that this dengue outbreak was initiated by an imported case from Southeast Asia. The outbreak was characterized by 31 cases reported with an attack rate of 50.63 out of a population of 100,000. Ae. albopictus was the only vector species responsible for the outbreak. The virus c

Applying importance-performance analysis to patient safety culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yii-Ching; Wu, Hsin-Hung; Hsieh, Wan-Lin; Weng, Shao-Jen; Hsieh, Liang-Po; Huang, Chih-Hsuan

2015-01-01

The Sexton et al.'s (2006) safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ) has been widely used to assess staff's attitudes towards patient safety in healthcare organizations. However, to date there have been few studies that discuss the perceptions of patient safety both from hospital staff and upper management. The purpose of this paper is to improve and to develop better strategies regarding patient safety in healthcare organizations. The Chinese version of SAQ based on the Taiwan Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation is used to evaluate the perceptions of hospital staff. The current study then lies in applying importance-performance analysis technique to identify the major strengths and weaknesses of the safety culture. The results show that teamwork climate, safety climate, job satisfaction, stress recognition and working conditions are major strengths and should be maintained in order to provide a better patient safety culture. On the contrary, perceptions of management and hospital handoffs and transitions are important weaknesses and should be improved immediately. Research limitations/implications - The research is restricted in generalizability. The assessment of hospital staff in patient safety culture is physicians and registered nurses. It would be interesting to further evaluate other staff's (e.g. technicians, pharmacists and others) opinions regarding patient safety culture in the hospital. Few studies have clearly evaluated the perceptions of healthcare organization management regarding patient safety culture. Healthcare managers enable to take more effective actions to improve the level of patient safety by investigating key characteristics (either strengths or weaknesses) that healthcare organizations should focus on.

Importance of characteristics and modalities of physical activity and exercise in the management of cardiovascular health in individuals with cardiovascular disease (Part III).

Science.gov (United States)

Vanhees, L; Rauch, B; Piepoli, M; van Buuren, F; Takken, T; Börjesson, M; Bjarnason-Wehrens, B; Doherty, P; Dugmore, D; Halle, M

2012-12-01

The beneficial effect of exercise training and exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation on symptom-free exercise capacity,cardiovascular and skeletal muscle function, quality of life, general healthy lifestyle, and reduction of depressive symptoms and psychosocial stress is nowadays well recognized. However, it remains largely obscure, which characteristics of physical activity (PA) and exercise training--frequency, intensity, time (duration), type (mode), and volume (dose: intensity x duration) of exercise--are the most effective. The present paper, therefore, will deal with these exercise characteristics in the management of individuals with cardiovascular disease, i.e. coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure patients, but also in patients with congenital or valvular heart disease. Based on the current literature, and if sufficient evidence is available, recommendations from the European Association on Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation are formulated regarding frequency, intensity, time and type of PA, and safety aspects during exercise inpatients with cardiovascular disease. This paper is the third in a series of three papers, all devoted to the same theme: the importance of the exercise characteristics in the management of cardiovascular health. Part I is directed to the general population and Part II to individuals with cardiovascular risk factors. In general, PA recommendations and exercise training programmes for patients with coronary artery disease or chronic heart failure need to be tailored to the individual's exercise capacity and risk profile, with the aim to reach and maintain the individually highest fitness level possible and to perform endurance exercise training 30–60 min daily (3–5 days per week) in combination with resistance training 2–3 times a week. Because of the frequently reported dose–response relationship between training effect and exercise intensity, one should seek sufficiently high training intensities

Level of importance attached to competitive intelligence at a mass import retail organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Begg

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to establish the level of importance attached to competitive intelligence (CI at a mass import retail organization in South Africa. The rationale of CI is to alert an organization about the current situation as it relates to its business environment and competitors, and how these aspects affect the competitive situation. In this article, the value and significance that CI presents to organizations upon implementation are discussed by focusing upon the need for a competitive strategy, the significance of institutionalizing CI, various organizational structure options and the establishment of a CI culture. A survey was conducted at a mass import retail organization to determine the level of importance attached to CI. A total of 107 employees were randomly selected to participate in the completion of a questionnaire. Based on the results, it was found that this organization practised CI, albeit in an informal manner, and it was concluded that there was a relatively high level of importance attached to CI within this organization. However, areas for improvement were identified and a recommendation was made of implementing a formal CI function within the organization.

Level of importance attached to competitive intelligence at a mass import retail organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Begg

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to establish the level of importance attached to competitive intelligence (CI at a mass import retail organization in South Africa. The rationale of CI is to alert an organization about the current situation as it relates to its business environment and competitors, and how these aspects affect the competitive situation. In this article, the value and significance that CI presents to organizations upon implementation are discussed by focusing upon the need for a competitive strategy, the significance of institutionalizing CI, various organizational structure options and the establishment of a CI culture. A survey was conducted at a mass import retail organization to determine the level of importance attached to CI. A total of 107 employees were randomly selected to participate in the completion of a questionnaire. Based on the results, it was found that this organization practised CI, albeit in an informal manner, and it was concluded that there was a relatively high level of importance attached to CI within this organization. However, areas for improvement were identified and a recommendation was made of implementing a formal CI function within the organization.

Use of computed tomography to identify atrial fibrillation associated differences in left atrial wall thickness and density.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewland, Thomas A; Wintermark, Max; Vaysman, Anna; Smith, Lisa M; Tong, Elizabeth; Vittinghoff, Eric; Marcus, Gregory M

2013-01-01

Left atrial (LA) tissue characteristics may play an important role in atrial fibrillation (AF) induction and perpetuation. Although frequently used in clinical practice, computed tomography (CT) has not been employed to describe differences in LA wall properties between AF patients and controls. We sought to noninvasively characterize AF-associated differences in LA tissue using CT. CT images of the LA were obtained in 98 consecutive patients undergoing AF ablation and in 89 controls. A custom software algorithm was used to measure wall thickness and density in four prespecified regions of the LA. On average, LA walls were thinner (-15.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] -23.2 to -7.8%, P identified significant thinning of the LA wall and regional alterations in tissue density in patients with a history of AF. These findings suggest differences in LA tissue composition can be noninvasively identified and quantified using CT. ©2012, The Authors. Journal compilation ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

MRI characteristics of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Friedemann; Lana-Peixoto, Marco A.; Tenembaum, Silvia; Asgari, Nasrin; Palace, Jacqueline; Klawiter, Eric C.; Sato, Douglas K.; de Seze, Jérôme; Wuerfel, Jens; Banwell, Brenda L.; Villoslada, Pablo; Saiz, Albert; Fujihara, Kazuo; Kim, Su-Hyun

2015-01-01

Since its initial reports in the 19th century, neuromyelitis optica (NMO) had been thought to involve only the optic nerves and spinal cord. However, the discovery of highly specific anti–aquaporin-4 antibody diagnostic biomarker for NMO enabled recognition of more diverse clinical spectrum of manifestations. Brain MRI abnormalities in patients seropositive for anti–aquaporin-4 antibody are common and some may be relatively unique by virtue of localization and configuration. Some seropositive patients present with brain involvement during their first attack and/or continue to relapse in the same location without optic nerve and spinal cord involvement. Thus, characteristics of brain abnormalities in such patients have become of increased interest. In this regard, MRI has an increasingly important role in the differential diagnosis of NMO and its spectrum disorder (NMOSD), particularly from multiple sclerosis. Differentiating these conditions is of prime importance because early initiation of effective immunosuppressive therapy is the key to preventing attack-related disability in NMOSD, whereas some disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis may exacerbate the disease. Therefore, identifying the MRI features suggestive of NMOSD has diagnostic and prognostic implications. We herein review the brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord MRI findings of NMOSD. PMID:25695963

Identifying depression severity risk factors in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Ryan T; Wilson, Catherine S; Heinemann, Allen W; Lazowski, Linda E; Fann, Jesse R; Bombardier, Charles H

2014-02-01

Examine the relationship between demographic characteristics, health-, and injury-related characteristics, and substance misuse across multiple levels of depression severity. 204 persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) volunteered as part of screening efforts for a randomized controlled trial of venlafaxine extended release for major depressive disorder (MDD). Instruments included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) depression scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Substance Abuse in Vocational Rehabilitation-Screener (SAVR-S), which contains 3 subscales: drug misuse, alcohol misuse, and a subtle items scale. Each of the SAVR-S subscales contributes to an overall substance use disorder (SUD) outcome. Three proportional odds models were specified, varying the substance misuse measure included in each model. 44% individuals had no depression symptoms, 31% had mild symptoms, 16% had moderate symptoms, 6% had moderately severe symptoms, and 3% had severe depression symptoms. Alcohol misuse, as indicated by the AUDIT and the SAVR-S drug misuse subscale scores were significant predictors of depression symptom severity. The SAVR-S substance use disorder (SUD) screening outcome was the most predictive variable. Level of education was only significantly predictive of depression severity in the model using the AUDIT alcohol misuse indicator. Likely SUD as measured by the SAVR-S was most predictive of depression symptom severity in this sample of persons with traumatic SCI. Drug and alcohol screening are important for identifying individuals at risk for depression, but screening for both may be optimal. Further research is needed on risk and protective factors for depression, including psychosocial characteristics. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COUNTRY BRAND FOR TOURISM: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN ROMANIA AND GREECE

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Ionela-Valeria POPESCU

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The country brand is becoming an ever more important topic considering that, as is the case of a company, the brand is what makes the difference between the product that each country proposes to its consumers, its characteristic features, the values it relates to and the image it promotes. The aim of the work is to outline the role that the country brand holds for tourism, analyzing the situation of two European states with high tourist potential. Moreover, throughout its summary, the work follows the extent to which, by having a strong country brand, it is possible to create a tourist brand reflecting the representative elements of the promoted country, and a clear image of the destination. The research consists of identifying the results obtained by Romania and Greece, following the outlining of a country brand, the implications it has on the economy, and the future directions that can be taken in the development of tourism according to the most important values of each such state.

[Rapidly identify oligosaccharides in Morinda officinalis by UPLC-Q-TOF-MSE].

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Qing-Xiu; Kang, Li-Ping; Zhu, Shou-Dong; Yu, Yi; Hu, Ming-Hua; Ma, Fang-Li; Zhou, Jie; Guo, Lan-Ping

2018-03-01

In this paper, an approach was applied for separation and identification of oligosaccharides in Morinda officinalis How by Ultra performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) with collision energy. The separation was carried out on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH Amide C₁₈(2.1mm×100 mm，1.7 μm) with gradient elution using acetonitrile(A) and water(B) containing 0.1% ammonia as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.2 mL·min⁻¹. The column temperature was maintained at 40 °C. The information of accurate mass and characteristic fragment ion were acquired by MSE in ESI negative mode in low and high collision energy. The chemical structures and formula of oligosaccharides were obtained and identified by the software of UNIFI and Masslynx 4.1 based on the accurate mass, fragment ions, neutral losses, mass error, reference substance, isotope information, the intensity of fragments, and retention time. A total of 19 inulin oligosaccharide structures were identified including D(+)-sucrose, 1-kestose, nystose, 1F-fructofuranosyl nystose and other inulin oligosaccharides (DP 5-18). This research provided important information about the inulin oligosaccharides in M. officinalis. The results would provide scientific basis for innovative utilization of M. officinalis. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Identifying Key Drivers of Return Reversal with Dynamical Bayesian Factor Graph.

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Shuai Zhao

Full Text Available In the stock market, return reversal occurs when investors sell overbought stocks and buy oversold stocks, reversing the stocks' price trends. In this paper, we develop a new method to identify key drivers of return reversal by incorporating a comprehensive set of factors derived from different economic theories into one unified dynamical Bayesian factor graph. We then use the model to depict factor relationships and their dynamics, from which we make some interesting discoveries about the mechanism behind return reversals. Through extensive experiments on the US stock market, we conclude that among the various factors, the liquidity factors consistently emerge as key drivers of return reversal, which is in support of the theory of liquidity effect. Specifically, we find that stocks with high turnover rates or high Amihud illiquidity measures have a greater probability of experiencing return reversals. Apart from the consistent drivers, we find other drivers of return reversal that generally change from year to year, and they serve as important characteristics for evaluating the trends of stock returns. Besides, we also identify some seldom discussed yet enlightening inter-factor relationships, one of which shows that stocks in Finance and Insurance industry are more likely to have high Amihud illiquidity measures in comparison with those in other industries. These conclusions are robust for return reversals under different thresholds.

Effects of age and body mass index on breast characteristics: A cluster analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Coltman, Celeste E; Steele, Julie R; McGhee, Deirdre E

2018-05-24

Limited research has quantified variation in the characteristics of the breasts among women and determined how these breast characteristics are influenced by age and body mass. The aim of this study was to classify the breasts of women in the community into different categories based on comprehensive and objective measurements of the characteristics of their breasts and torsos, and to determine the effect of age and body mass index (BMI) on the prevalence of these breast categories. Four breast characteristic clusters were identified (X-Large, Very-ptotic & Splayed; Large, Ptotic & Splayed; Medium & Mildly-ptotic; and Small & Non-ptotic), with age and BMI shown to significantly affect the breast characteristic clusters. These results highlight the difference in breast characteristics exhibited among women and how these clusters are affected by age and BMI. The breast characteristic clusters identified in this study could be used as a basis for future bra designs and sizing systems in order to improve bra fit for women.

Spatiotemporal analysis of indigenous and imported dengue fever cases in Guangdong province, China

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Li Zhongjie

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dengue fever has been a major public health concern in China since it re-emerged in Guangdong province in 1978. This study aimed to explore spatiotemporal characteristics of dengue fever cases for both indigenous and imported cases during recent years in Guangdong province, so as to identify high-risk areas of the province and thereby help plan resource allocation for dengue interventions. Methods Notifiable cases of dengue fever were collected from all 123 counties of Guangdong province from 2005 to 2010. Descriptive temporal and spatial analysis were conducted, including plotting of seasonal distribution of cases, and creating choropleth maps of cumulative incidence by county. The space-time scan statistic was used to determine space-time clusters of dengue fever cases at the county level, and a geographical information system was used to visualize the location of the clusters. Analysis were stratified by imported and indigenous origin. Results 1658 dengue fever cases were recorded in Guangdong province during the study period, including 94 imported cases and 1564 indigenous cases. Both imported and indigenous cases occurred more frequently in autumn. The areas affected by the indigenous and imported cases presented a geographically expanding trend over the study period. The results showed that the most likely cluster of imported cases (relative risk = 7.52, p  Conclusions This study demonstrated that the geographic range of imported and indigenous dengue fever cases has expanded over recent years, and cases were significantly clustered in two heavily urbanised areas of Guangdong province. This provides the foundation for further investigation of risk factors and interventions in these high-risk areas.

Characteristic Changes in the Aroma Profile of Patchouli Depending on Manufacturing Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasegawa, Toshio; Yoshitome, Kazuma; Fujihara, Takashi; Santoso, Mardi; Aziz, Muhammad Abdul

2017-08-01

Patchouli is used as an incense material and essential oil. The characteristic odor of patchouli leaves results from the drying process used in their production; however, there have to date been no reports on the changes in the odor of patchouli leaves during the drying process. We investigated the aroma profile of dried patchouli leaves using the hexane extracts of fresh and dried patchouli leaves. We focused on the presence or absence of the constituents of the fresh and dried extracts, and the differences in the content of the common constituents. Fourteen constituents were identified as characteristic of dried patchouli extract odor by gas chromatography-olfactometry analysis. The structures of seven of the 14 constituents were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (α-patchoulene, seychellene, humulene, α-bulnesene, isoaromadendrene epoxide, caryophyllene oxide, and patchouli alcohol). The aroma profile of the essential oil obtained from the dried patchouli leaves was clearly different from that of dried patchouli. The aroma profile of the essential oil was investigated by a similar method. We identified 12 compounds as important odor constituents. The structures of nine of the 12 constituents were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (cis-thujopsene, caryophyllene, α-guaiene, α-patchoulene, seychellene, α-bulnesene, isoaromadendrene epoxide, patchouli alcohol, and corymbolone). Comparing the odors and constituents demonstrated that the aroma profile of patchouli depends on the manufacturing process.

The influence of organizational characteristics on employee solidarity in the long-term care sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Cramm, Jane M; Strating, Mathilde M H; Nieboer, Anna P

2013-03-01

This article is a report of a study that identifies organizational characteristics explaining employee solidarity in the long-term care sector. Employee solidarity reportedly improves organizations' effectiveness and efficiency. Although general research on solidarity in organizations is available, the impact of the organizational context on solidarity in long-term care settings is lacking. Cross-sectional survey. The study was carried out in Dutch long-term care. A total of 313 nurses, managers and other care professionals in 23 organizations were involved. Organizational characteristics studied were centralization, hierarchical culture, formal and informal exchange of information and leadership style. The study was carried out in 2009. Findings.  All organizational characteristics significantly correlated with employee solidarity in the univariate analyses. In the multivariate analyses hierarchical culture, centralization, exchange of formal and informal information and transformational leadership appears to be important for solidarity among nurses, managers and other professionals in long-term care organizations, but not transactional and passive leadership styles. The study increased our knowledge of solidarity among nurses, managers and other professionals in the long-term care settings. Organizational characteristics that enhance solidarity are high levels of formal and informal information exchange, less hierarchical authority, decentralization and transformational leadership styles. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Children with Physical Disabilities at School and Home: Physical Activity and Contextual Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ru; Sit, Cindy Hui-Ping; Yu, Jane Jie; Sum, Raymond Kim-Wai; Wong, Stephen Heung-Sang; Cheng, Kenneth Chik-Chi; McKenzie, Thomas L

2017-06-25

The purpose of this study was to assess the physical activity (PA) of children with physical disabilities (PD) in school and home settings and to simultaneously examine selected contextual characteristics in relation to PA in those settings. Children with PD (N = 35; Mean age = 15.67 ± 4.30 years; 26 boys) were systematically observed using BEACHES (Behaviors of Eating and Activity for Children's Health: Evaluation System) at school (before school, recess, lunch break, after class) and at home (before dinner) during four normal school days. The children spent most of their time in all five settings being physically inactive, but had slightly more PA during recess and lunch break periods. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that selected contextual characteristics explained 18.9-56.0% ( p motivators at home. This study highlights how little PA that children with PD receive and identifies the importance of the provision of prompts for PA at both school and home with this special population.

Antenatal care and pregnancy outcome in Ghana, the importance of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Antenatal care and pregnancy outcome in Ghana, the importance of women\\'s ... The antenatal characteristics of 503 pregnant women attending maternal and child ... Higher educational level associated with early antenatal care attendance.

Functional and structural characteristics of secretory IgA antibodies elicited by mucosal vaccines against influenza virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Tadaki; Ainai, Akira; Hasegawa, Hideki

2017-09-18

Mucosal tissues are major targets for pathogens. The secretions covering mucosal surfaces contain several types of molecules that protect the host from infection. Among these, mucosal immunoglobulins, including secretory IgA (S-IgA) antibodies, are the major contributor to pathogen-specific immune responses. IgA is the primary antibody class found in many external secretions and has unique structural and functional features not observed in other antibody classes. Recently, extensive efforts have been made to develop novel vaccines that induce immunity via the mucosal route. S-IgA is a key molecule that underpins the mechanism of action of these mucosal vaccines. Thus, precise characterization of S-IgA induced by mucosal vaccines is important, if the latter are to be used successfully in a clinical setting. Intensive studies identified the fundamental characteristics of S-IgA, which was first discovered almost half a century ago. However, S-IgA itself has not gained much attention of late, despite its importance to mucosal immunity; therefore, some important questions remain. This review summarizes the current understanding of the molecular characteristics of S-IgA and its role in intranasal mucosal vaccines against influenza virus infection. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic aspects and classification of important Canadian uranium deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMillan, R.H.

1978-01-01

A classification of important uranium deposits which utilizes both genetic and descriptive criteria is presented. The dual aspect is useful because, while the non-genetic nomenclature for the different deposit types is amenable to various interpretations, the critical characteristics of each deposit can be analyzed to clarify various genetic points. Although the classification is intended primarily for Canadian uranium deposits, most of the important deposit types known elsewhere can be accommodated. (auth)

Genetic aspects and classification of important Canadian uranium deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMillan, R.H.

1978-01-01

A classification of important uranium deposits which utilizes both genetic and descriptive criteria is presented. The dual aspect is useful because, while the non-genetic nomenclature for the different deposit types is amenable to various interpretations, the critical characteristics of each deposit type can be analyzed to clarify various genetic points. Although the classification is intended primarily for Canadian uranium deposits, most of the important deposit types known elsewhere can be accommodated. (author)

Characteristics of national and statewide health care-associated infection surveillance programs: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Philip L; Havers, Sally M; Cheng, Allen C; Richards, Michael; Graves, Nicholas; Hall, Lisa

2016-12-01

There are many well-established national health care-associated infection surveillance programs (HAISPs). Although validation studies have described data quality, there is little research describing important characteristics of large HAISPs. The aim of this study was to broaden our understanding and identify key characteristics of large HAISPs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected leaders from national and state-based HAISPs. Interview data were analyzed following an interpretive description process. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted over a 6-month period during 2014-2015. Analysis of the data generated 5 distinct characteristics of large HAISPs: (1) triggers: surveillance was initiated by government or a cooperative of like-minded people, (2) purpose: a clear purpose is needed and determines other surveillance mechanisms, (3) data measures: consistency is more important than accuracy, (4) processes: a balance exists between the volume of data collected and resources, and (5) implementation and maintenance: a central coordinating body is crucial for uniformity and support. National HAISPs are complex and affect a broad range of stakeholders. Although the overall goal of health care-associated infection surveillance is to reduce the incidence of health care-associated infection, there are many crucial factors to be considered in attaining this goal. The findings from this study will assist the development of new HAISPs and could be used as an adjunct to evaluate existing programs. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying Future Sacred Heart Administrators by Examining the Characteristics, Commonalities, and Personal Motivations of Current School Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Julie Brill

2012-01-01

Since their inception, all schools of the Sacred Heart have been headed by nuns of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus [RSCJ]. As the years have passed, many RSCJ nuns have aged and retired leaving vacancies that have proven difficult to fill. In this qualitative study, the characteristics, commonalities, and personal motivations of Sacred…

A comparison of cross-country mountain destination importance performance as perceived by international and domestic tourists: a cast study of Mt. Huang (China and Mt. Seorak (South Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renuka Newpaney

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, we examine visitor’s importance and destination performance with respect to tourist attractions such as the environment, adventure, social culture, accessibility and relaxation of participants at Mt. Huang and Mt. Seorak respectively. This study identified the demographic characteristics of visitors to both mountain destinations. The researchers used the Importance Performed Analysis (IPA method to identify the importance and satisfaction levels of various attributes of both Mt. Huang and Mt. Seorak. They identified that the most important attributes sought after related to the natural environment, mountaineering, knowledge and information sharing, value of money and escape from a mundane daily job routine, while the least important would relate to mountain sports and the localities' inviting ambience for both mountain destinations. Using a simple questionnaire sample procedure, 247 visitors were considered in order to determine what the visitor’s deemed to be important, and what was satisfying from a destination performance perspective. SPSS 17 was used to analyze the data in different stages and pilot testing was conducted. The finding of this study can be helpful for tourist decision-makers in the public and private sectors. It is also useful to improve tourism services and to develop strategies for greater tourism promotion to the two destinations. Furthermore, this study can be a powerful source of input for destination promotion and positioning activities.

Employment characteristics and health status among men and women.

Science.gov (United States)

Hibbard, J H; Pope, C R

1987-01-01

This study examines the characteristics of jobs held by women as compared to men during the 1970s and assesses associations between job characteristics and family status with health status by sex. Sex differences in perceptions about the meaning of work, commitment to the work role, and stresses and rewards are considered. Survey data on 1490 employed men and women, ages 18-64, drawn from a random sample of enrollees of a large health maintenance organization in 1970-71 are linked with medical record data covering seven years of outpatient and inpatient services. The findings suggest important differences in the characteristics of jobs held by men and women and in the relative importance of these job characteristics in relation to health. Men held jobs with higher quality intrinsic work characteristics and perceived their jobs to be less stressful and less physically and mentally tiring than did women. Social support and integration through work and occupational status were significantly related to health status for both sexes, however, family responsibilities interact with job characteristics to affect health status for women. Single motherhood, in combination with low social support and integration through work, was related to poor health among women.

Machine Learning Analysis Identifies Drosophila Grunge/Atrophin as an Important Learning and Memory Gene Required for Memory Retention and Social Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kacsoh, Balint Z; Greene, Casey S; Bosco, Giovanni

2017-11-06

High-throughput experiments are becoming increasingly common, and scientists must balance hypothesis-driven experiments with genome-wide data acquisition. We sought to predict novel genes involved in Drosophila learning and long-term memory from existing public high-throughput data. We performed an analysis using PILGRM, which analyzes public gene expression compendia using machine learning. We evaluated the top prediction alongside genes involved in learning and memory in IMP, an interface for functional relationship networks. We identified Grunge/Atrophin ( Gug/Atro ), a transcriptional repressor, histone deacetylase, as our top candidate. We find, through multiple, distinct assays, that Gug has an active role as a modulator of memory retention in the fly and its function is required in the adult mushroom body. Depletion of Gug specifically in neurons of the adult mushroom body, after cell division and neuronal development is complete, suggests that Gug function is important for memory retention through regulation of neuronal activity, and not by altering neurodevelopment. Our study provides a previously uncharacterized role for Gug as a possible regulator of neuronal plasticity at the interface of memory retention and memory extinction. Copyright © 2017 Kacsoh et al.

Leading change: 1--identifying the issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerridge, Joanna

To enable sustainable change, nurses need to take the lead in managing it. Recent national initiatives have emphasised the importance of frontline staff in service improvement. The ability to influence and manage change has been identified as an essential skill for delivering new models of care. This article is the first in a three-part series designed to help nurses at all levels develop the knowledge and skills they will need to initiate and manage change. This article focuses on identifying what needs to be changed and why.

Model Of Emergency Department Nurse Performance Improvement Based on Association of Individual Characteristic, Organization Characteristic and Job Characteristic

OpenAIRE

Bogar, Maria Margaretha; Nursalam, Nursalam; Dewi, Yulis Setiya

2017-01-01

Introduction: Nursing care is integral part of health care and having important role in management of patient with emergency condition. The purpose of this research was to develop nurse performance improvement model based on individual, organization and job characteristics association in Emergency Department of RSUD dr TC Hillers Maumere. Method: This was an explanative survey by cross sectional approach held on July -August 2012. Respondents in this study were 22 nurses and 44 patients were ...

Characteristics associated with media use in early adolescence

OpenAIRE

Godinho, José; Araújo, Joana; Barros, Henrique; Ramos, Elisabete

2014-01-01

This study aimed to identify socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics associated with media use in early adolescence. The sample was comprised of 1,680 adolescents (884 girls and 796 boys) aged 13, attending private and public schools in Porto, Portugal, during 2003/2004. Adolescents completed questionnaires pertaining to demographic, social and behavioral characteristics, including the time spent watching television and playing computer games on week and weekend days. Logistic and propor...

Staircase falls: High-risk groups and injury characteristics in 464 patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boele van Hensbroek, P.; Mulder, S.; Luitse, J. S. K.; van Ooijen, M. R.; Goslings, J. C.

2009-01-01

Introduction: Few data are available about the epidemiology and injury characteristics in staircase falls. The available literature mainly concerns children and autopsy studies. Objective: To describe the epidemiology and injury characteristics of staircase falls, and to identify high-risk groups

Intracranial Infections: Clinical and Imaging Characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foerster, B.R.; Thurnher, M.M.; Malani, P.N.; Petrou, M.; Carets-Zumelzu, F.; Sundgren, P.C. [Dept. of Radiology, and Divisions of Infectious Diseases and G eriatric Medicine, Dept. of Internal Medicine, Univ. of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2007-10-15

The radiologist plays a crucial role in identifying and narrowing the differential diagnosis of intracranial infections. A thorough understanding of the intracranial compartment anatomy and characteristic imaging findings of specific pathogens, as well incorporation of the clinical information, is essential to establish correct diagnosis. Specific types of infections have certain propensities for different anatomical regions within the brain. In addition, the imaging findings must be placed in the context of the clinical setting, particularly in immunocompromised and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. This paper describes and depicts infections within the different compartments of the brain. Pathology-proven infectious cases are presented in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients, with a discussion of the characteristic findings of each pathogen. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) characteristics for several infections are also discussed.

Identifying clusters of active transportation using spatial scan statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lan; Stinchcomb, David G; Pickle, Linda W; Dill, Jennifer; Berrigan, David

2009-08-01

There is an intense interest in the possibility that neighborhood characteristics influence active transportation such as walking or biking. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a spatial cluster identification method can evaluate the geographic variation of active transportation and identify neighborhoods with unusually high/low levels of active transportation. Self-reported walking/biking prevalence, demographic characteristics, street connectivity variables, and neighborhood socioeconomic data were collected from respondents to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS; N=10,688) in Los Angeles County (LAC) and San Diego County (SDC). Spatial scan statistics were used to identify clusters of high or low prevalence (with and without age-adjustment) and the quantity of time spent walking and biking. The data, a subset from the 2001 CHIS, were analyzed in 2007-2008. Geographic clusters of significantly high or low prevalence of walking and biking were detected in LAC and SDC. Structural variables such as street connectivity and shorter block lengths are consistently associated with higher levels of active transportation, but associations between active transportation and socioeconomic variables at the individual and neighborhood levels are mixed. Only one cluster with less time spent walking and biking among walkers/bikers was detected in LAC, and this was of borderline significance. Age-adjustment affects the clustering pattern of walking/biking prevalence in LAC, but not in SDC. The use of spatial scan statistics to identify significant clustering of health behaviors such as active transportation adds to the more traditional regression analysis that examines associations between behavior and environmental factors by identifying specific geographic areas with unusual levels of the behavior independent of predefined administrative units.

A systematic review of patient and health system characteristics associated with late referral in chronic kidney disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aloudat Sarah

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To identify patient and health system characteristics associated with late referral of patients with chronic kidney disease to nephrologists. Methods MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and CINAHL were searched using the appropriate MESH terms in March 2007. Two reviewers individually and in duplicate reviewed the abstracts of 256 articles and selected 18 observational studies for inclusion. The reasons for late referral were categorized into patient or health system characteristics. Data extraction and content appraisal were done using a prespecified protocol. Results Older age, the existence of multiple comorbidities, race other than Caucasian, lack of insurance, lower socioeconomic status and educational levels were patient characteristics associated with late referral of patients with chronic kidney disease. Lack of referring physician knowledge about the appropriate timing of referral, absence of communication between referring physicians and nephrologists, and dialysis care delivered at tertiary medical centers were health system characteristics associated with late referral of patients with chronic kidney disease. Most studies identified multiple factors associated with late referral, although the relative importance and the combined effect of these factors were not systematically evaluated. Conclusion A combination of patient and health system characteristics is associated with late referral of patients with chronic kidney disease. Overall, being older, belonging to a minority group, being less educated, being uninsured, suffering from multiple comorbidities, and the lack of communication between primary care physicians and nephrologists contribute to late referral of patients with chronic kidney disease. Both primary care physicians and nephrologists need to engage in multisectoral collaborative efforts that ensure patient education and enhance physician awareness to improve the care of patients with chronic kidney disease.

Imports/exports issues and options : discussion paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The Alberta marketplace is ideally located for connections to British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Mid-Continental Area Power Pool (MAPP). Alignment with other markets becomes an important issue and provides challenges that must be overcome. It provides an opportunity for expanded trade in Alberta based loads and generation. The Real Time (RT) market for the trading of physical, dispatchable energy and the forwards markets (financial and intended to go to delivery through the RT market) are comprised in the Alberta marketplace. The development of a complete marketplace for electricity is fully supported by the Power Poll of Alberta. Developments in those two markets allow greater opportunity for a review of the interconnections in the Alberta electricity market. In this document, an attempt is made to identify issues relating to the imports and exports and develop alternative mechanisms to resolve these issues. Three main objectives were put forth: identify a better mechanism to meet the requirements of the Pool Price Deficiency Regulation (PPDR), identify a better mechanism to allow imports and exports to participate in the Alberta market that takes into consideration the impact of transmission constraints, and to better align with external markets. An hour ahead firm market for interconnections was one option that addresses the issues under consideration

Drought resistant rice mutants, characteristics and discussions on possibilities for planting them in some Arab Countries which import rice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abo-Hegazi, A.M.T.

1994-01-01

A number of drought resistant mutants of rice were produced from ordinary rice varieties being planted in several parts of Egypt through utilization of gamma rays as a mutagen. The mutants have water requirements less than one half of that of their mother varieties. According to official data, authorities in Egypt insure about 18000 M 3 of irrigation water for every hectare (10000 M 2 ) of rice and about 6700 M 3 , 6900 M 3 for every hectare of corn and ground nuts, respectively. Peanuts and corn are summer crops like the drought resistant rice mutants. The mentioned mutants can produce good yield under water requirements very near to that of corn and peanuts. The wide gap in agricultural food stuffs for the Arab Countries (more than 20000 million US $ annually) includes rice imports usually exceeds 700 million US $ per year> Rice imports of Arab Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Libya and the Sudan, reached 180, 47, 21, 16 and 14 million US $ in 1988 as an example. Such countries could make use of the drought resistant rice mutants for plantation on water requirements very near to those of usual summer crops such as corn and peanuts which is significantly less than one half of water requirements of their mother varieties. Some characteristics of such mutants as well as discussions on possibilities for planting them in some of the nominated Arab Countries are presented. However, arrangements for ensuring the minimum water requirements during the growing period irrespective to rain which in many cases did not accord the growing period of the mutants should be taken if such countries wants to make use of the drought resistant rice mutants. The author believe that most if not all requirements of rice of such countries could locally be ensured through planting of the above mentioned rice mutants. In this case, maximizing the efficiency of utilizing the limited water resources of such countries could also be counted as another cause for presenting this

Application of Bayesian Networks for Estimation of Individual Psychological Characteristics

KAUST Repository

Litvinenko, Alexander

2017-07-19

In this paper we apply Bayesian networks for developing more accurate final overall estimations of psychological characteristics of an individual, based on psychological test results. Psychological tests which identify how much an individual possesses a certain factor are very popular and quite common in the modern world. We call this value for a given factor -- the final overall estimation. Examples of factors could be stress resistance, the readiness to take a risk, the ability to concentrate on certain complicated work and many others. An accurate qualitative and comprehensive assessment of human potential is one of the most important challenges in any company or collective. The most common way of studying psychological characteristics of each single person is testing. Psychologists and sociologists are constantly working on improvement of the quality of their tests. Despite serious work, done by psychologists, the questions in tests often do not produce enough feedback due to the use of relatively poor estimation systems. The overall estimation is usually based on personal experiences and the subjective perception of a psychologist or a group of psychologists about the investigated psychological personality factors.