WorldWideScience

Sample records for internal consistency ranged

  1. Comment on the internal consistency of thermodynamic databases supporting repository safety assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arthur, R.C.

    2001-11-01

    This report addresses the concept of internal consistency and its relevance to the reliability of thermodynamic databases used in repository safety assessments. In addition to being internally consistent, a reliable database should be accurate over a range of relevant temperatures and pressures, complete in the sense that all important aqueous species, gases and solid phases are represented, and traceable to original experimental results. No single definition of internal consistency need to be universally accepted as the most appropriate under all conditions, however. As a result, two databases that are each internally consistent may be inconsistent with respect to each other, and a database derived from two or more such databases must itself be internally inconsistent. The consequences of alternative definitions that are reasonably attributable to the concept of internal consistency can be illustrated with reference to the thermodynamic database supporting SKB's recent SR 97 safety assessment. This database is internally inconsistent because it includes equilibrium constants calculated over a range of temperatures: using conflicting reference values for some solids, gases and aqueous species that are common to two internally consistent databases (the OECD/NEA database for radioelements and SUPCRT databases for non-radioactive elements) that serve as source databases for the SR 97 TDB, using different definitions in these source databases of standard states for condensed phases and aqueous species, based on different mathematical expressions used in these source databases representing the temperature dependence of the heat capacity, and based on different chemical models adopted in these source databases for the aqueous phase. The importance of such inconsistencies must be considered in relation to the other database reliability criteria noted above, however. Thus, accepting a certain level of internal inconsistency in a database it is probably preferable to use a

  2. Comment on the internal consistency of thermodynamic databases supporting repository safety assessments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arthur, R.C. [Monitor Scientific, LLC, Denver, CO (United States)

    2001-11-01

    This report addresses the concept of internal consistency and its relevance to the reliability of thermodynamic databases used in repository safety assessments. In addition to being internally consistent, a reliable database should be accurate over a range of relevant temperatures and pressures, complete in the sense that all important aqueous species, gases and solid phases are represented, and traceable to original experimental results. No single definition of internal consistency need to be universally accepted as the most appropriate under all conditions, however. As a result, two databases that are each internally consistent may be inconsistent with respect to each other, and a database derived from two or more such databases must itself be internally inconsistent. The consequences of alternative definitions that are reasonably attributable to the concept of internal consistency can be illustrated with reference to the thermodynamic database supporting SKB's recent SR 97 safety assessment. This database is internally inconsistent because it includes equilibrium constants calculated over a range of temperatures: using conflicting reference values for some solids, gases and aqueous species that are common to two internally consistent databases (the OECD/NEA database for radioelements and SUPCRT databases for non-radioactive elements) that serve as source databases for the SR 97 TDB, using different definitions in these source databases of standard states for condensed phases and aqueous species, based on different mathematical expressions used in these source databases representing the temperature dependence of the heat capacity, and based on different chemical models adopted in these source databases for the aqueous phase. The importance of such inconsistencies must be considered in relation to the other database reliability criteria noted above, however. Thus, accepting a certain level of internal inconsistency in a database it is probably preferable to

  3. Choice, internal consistency, and rationality

    OpenAIRE

    Aditi Bhattacharyya; Prasanta K. Pattanaik; Yongsheng Xu

    2010-01-01

    The classical theory of rational choice is built on several important internal consistency conditions. In recent years, the reasonableness of those internal consistency conditions has been questioned and criticized, and several responses to accommodate such criticisms have been proposed in the literature. This paper develops a general framework to accommodate the issues raised by the criticisms of classical rational choice theory, and examines the broad impact of these criticisms from both no...

  4. Delimiting Coefficient a from Internal Consistency and Unidimensionality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sijtsma, Klaas

    2015-01-01

    I discuss the contribution by Davenport, Davison, Liou, & Love (2015) in which they relate reliability represented by coefficient a to formal definitions of internal consistency and unidimensionality, both proposed by Cronbach (1951). I argue that coefficient a is a lower bound to reliability and that concepts of internal consistency and…

  5. [Factor analysis and internal consistency of pedagogical practices questionnaire among health care teachers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez V, Cristhian; Vaccarezza G, Giulietta; Aguilar A, César; Coloma N, Katherine; Salgado F, Horacio; Baquedano R, Marjorie; Chavarría R, Carla; Bastías V, Nancy

    2016-06-01

    Teaching practice is one of the most complex topics of the training process in medicine and other health care careers. The Teaching Practices Questionnaire (TPQ) evaluates teaching skills. To assess the factor structure and internal consistency of the Spanish version of the TPP among health care teachers. The TPQ was answered by 315 university teachers from 13 of the 15 administrative Chilean regions, who were selected through a non-probabilistic volunteer sampling. The internal consistency of TPP factors was calculated and the correlation between them was analyzed. Six factors were identified: Student-centered teaching, Teaching planning, Assessment process, Dialogue relationship, Teacher-centered teaching and Use of technological resources. They had Cronbach alphas ranging from 0.60 to 0.85. The factorial structure of TPQ differentiates the most important functions of teaching. It also shows a theoretical consistency and a practical relevance to perform a diagnosis and continuous evaluation of teaching practices. Additionally, it has an adequate internal consistency. Thus, TPQ is valid and reliable to evaluate pedagogical practices in health care careers.

  6. Internal Branding and Employee Brand Consistent Behaviours

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mazzei, Alessandra; Ravazzani, Silvia

    2017-01-01

    constitutive processes. In particular, the paper places emphasis on the role and kinds of communication practices as a central part of the nonnormative and constitutive internal branding process. The paper also discusses an empirical study based on interviews with 32 Italian and American communication managers...... and 2 focus groups with Italian communication managers. Findings show that, in order to enhance employee brand consistent behaviours, the most effective communication practices are those characterised as enablement-oriented. Such a communication creates the organizational conditions adequate to sustain......Employee behaviours conveying brand values, named brand consistent behaviours, affect the overall brand evaluation. Internal branding literature highlights a knowledge gap in terms of communication practices intended to sustain such behaviours. This study contributes to the development of a non...

  7. International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS): Terms of Reference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husson, Van; Noll, Carey

    2000-01-01

    The International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) is an established Service within Section II , Advanced Space Technology, of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). The primary objective of the ILRS is to provide a service to support, through Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging data and related products, geodetic and geophysical research activities as well as International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) products important to the maintenance of an accurate International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). The service also develops the necessary standards/specifications and encourages international adherence to its conventions.

  8. A consistent response spectrum analysis including the resonance range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmitz, D.; Simmchen, A.

    1983-01-01

    The report provides a complete consistent Response Spectrum Analysis for any component. The effect of supports with different excitation is taken into consideration, at is the description of the resonance ranges. It includes information explaining how the contributions of the eigenforms with higher eigenfrequencies are to be considered. Stocking of floor response spectra is also possible using the method described here. However, modified floor response spectra must now be calculated for each building mode. Once these have been prepared, the calculation of the dynamic component values is practically no more complicated than with the conventional, non-consistent methods. The consistent Response Spectrum Analysis can supply smaller and larger values than the conventional theory, a fact which can be demonstrated using simple examples. The report contains a consistent Response Spectrum Analysis (RSA), which, as far as we know, has been formulated in this way for the first time. A consistent RSA is so important because today this method is preferentially applied as an important tool for the earthquake proof of components in nuclear power plants. (orig./HP)

  9. Delimiting coefficient alpha from internal consistency and unidimensionality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sijtsma, K.

    2015-01-01

    I discuss the contribution by Davenport, Davison, Liou, & Love (2015) in which they relate reliability represented by coefficient α to formal definitions of internal consistency and unidimensionality, both proposed by Cronbach (1951). I argue that coefficient α is a lower bound to reliability and

  10. Using X-ray microbeam diffraction to study the long-range internal stresses in aluminum processed by ECAP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, I-Fang; Phan, Thien Q.; Levine, Lyle E.; Tischler, Jonathan Z.; Geantil, Peter T.; Huang, Yi; Langdon, Terence G.; Kassner, Michael E.

    2013-01-01

    Aluminum alloy 1050 was processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) using a single pass (equivalent uniaxial strain of about 0.88). Long-range internal stresses (LRISs) were assessed in the grain/subgrain interiors using X-ray microbeam diffraction to measure the spacing of {5 3 1} planes, with normals oriented approximately +27.3°, +4.9° and −17.5° off the pressing (axial) direction. The results are consistent with mechanical analysis that suggests the maximum tensile plastic-strain after one pass is expected for +22.5°, roughly zero along the pressing axis, and maximum compressive strain for the −67.5° direction. The magnitude of the measured maximum compressive long-range internal stress is about 0.13σ a (applied stress) in low-dislocation regions within the grain/subgrain interiors. This work is placed in the context of earlier work where convergent beam electron diffraction was used to analyze LRISs in close proximity to the deformation-induced boundaries. The results are complementary and the measured stresses are consistent with a composite model for long-range internal stresses

  11. Psychometrics and the neuroscience of individual differences: Internal consistency limits between-subjects effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajcak, Greg; Meyer, Alexandria; Kotov, Roman

    2017-08-01

    In the clinical neuroscience literature, between-subjects differences in neural activity are presumed to reflect reliable measures-even though the psychometric properties of neural measures are almost never reported. The current article focuses on the critical importance of assessing and reporting internal consistency reliability-the homogeneity of "items" that comprise a neural "score." We demonstrate how variability in the internal consistency of neural measures limits between-subjects (i.e., individual differences) effects. To this end, we utilize error-related brain activity (i.e., the error-related negativity or ERN) in both healthy and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) participants to demonstrate options for psychometric analyses of neural measures; we examine between-groups differences in internal consistency, between-groups effect sizes, and between-groups discriminability (i.e., ROC analyses)-all as a function of increasing items (i.e., number of trials). Overall, internal consistency should be used to inform experimental design and the choice of neural measures in individual differences research. The internal consistency of neural measures is necessary for interpreting results and guiding progress in clinical neuroscience-and should be routinely reported in all individual differences studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. On the internal consistency of the term structure of forecasts of housing starts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pierdzioch, C.; Rulke, J. C.; Stadtmann, G.

    2013-01-01

    We use the term structure of forecasts of housing starts to test for rationality of forecasts. Our test is based on the idea that short-term and long-term forecasts should be internally consistent. We test the internal consistency of forecasts using data for Australia, Canada, Japan and the United...

  13. Factorial Validity and Internal Consistency of Malaysian Adapted Depression Anxiety Stress Scale - 21 in an Adolescent Sample

    OpenAIRE

    Hairul Anuar Hashim; Freddy Golok; Rosmatunisah Ali

    2011-01-01

    Background: Psychometrically sound measurement instrument is a fundamental requirement across broad range of research areas. In negative affect research, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) has been identified as a psychometrically sound instrument to measure depression, anxiety and stress, especially the 21-item version. However, its psychometric properties in adolescents have been less consistent. Objectives: Thus, the present study sought to examine the factorial validity and internal c...

  14. Validity and internal consistency of a whiplash-specific disability measure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pinfold, Melanie; Niere, Ken R.; O'Leary, Elizabeth F.; Hoving, Jan Lucas; Green, Sally; Buchbinder, Rachelle

    2004-01-01

    STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of patients with whiplash-associated disorders investigating the internal consistency, factor structure, response rates, and presence of floor and ceiling effects of the Whiplash Disability Questionnaire (WDQ). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to confirm the

  15. Validity and internal consistency of a whiplash-specific disability measure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinfold, Melanie; Niere, Ken R; O'Leary, Elizabeth F; Hoving, Jan Lucas; Green, Sally; Buchbinder, Rachelle

    2004-02-01

    Cross-sectional study of patients with whiplash-associated disorders investigating the internal consistency, factor structure, response rates, and presence of floor and ceiling effects of the Whiplash Disability Questionnaire (WDQ). The aim of this study was to confirm the appropriateness of the proposed WDQ items. Whiplash injuries are a common cause of pain and disability after motor vehicle accidents. Neck disability questionnaires are often used in whiplash studies to assess neck pain but lack content validity for patients with whiplash-associated disorders. The newly developed WDQ measures functional limitations associated with whiplash injury and was designed after interviews with 83 patients with whiplash in a previous study. Researchers sought expert opinion on items of the WDQ, and items were then tested on a clinical whiplash population. Data were inspected to determine floor and ceiling effects, response rates, factor structure, and internal consistency. Packages of questionnaires were distributed to 55 clinicians, whose patients with whiplash completed and returned 101 questionnaires to researchers. No substantial floor or ceiling effects were identified on inspection of data. The overall floor effect was 12%, and the overall ceiling effect was 4%. Principal component analysis identified one broad factor that accounted for 65% of the variance in responses. Internal consistency was high; Cronbach's alpha = 0.96. Results of the study supported the retention of the 13 proposed items in a whiplash-specific disability questionnaire. Dependent on the results of further psychometric testing, the WDQ is likely to be an appropriate outcome measure for patients with whiplash.

  16. The Karen instruments for measuring quality of nursing care: construct validity and internal consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindgren, Margareta; Andersson, Inger S

    2011-06-01

    Valid and reliable instruments for measuring the quality of care are needed for evaluation and improvement of nursing care. Previously developed and evaluated instruments, the Karen-patient and the Karen-personnel based on Donabedian's Structure-Process-Outcome triad (S-P-O triad) had promising content validity, discriminative power and internal consistency. The objective of this study was to further develop the instruments with regard to construct validity and internal consistency. This prospective study was carried out in medical and surgical wards at a hospital in Sweden. A total of 95 patients and 120 personnel were included. The instruments were tested for construct validity by performing factor analyses in two steps and for internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The first confirmatory factor analyses, with a pre-determined three-factor solution did not load well according to the S-P-O triad, but the second exploratory factor analysis with a six-factor solution appeared to be more coherent and the distribution of variables seemed to be logical. The reliability, i.e. internal consistency, was good in both factor analyses. The Karen-patient and the Karen-personnel instruments have achieved acceptable levels of construct validity. The internal consistency of the instruments is good. This indicates that the instruments may be suitable to use in clinical practice for measuring the quality of nursing care.

  17. Internal consistency of a Spanish translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity Short Form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Oviedo, Heidi Celina; Díaz, Carmen Elena; Cogollo, Zuleima

    2006-12-01

    This study evaluated the internal consistency of a Spanish version of the short form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity based on responses of 405 Colombian adolescent students ages 13 to 17 years. This translated short-form version of the scale had an internal consistency of .80. This estimate indicates suitable internal consistency reliability for research use in this population.

  18. [Validity and internal consistency of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in Dental Students from Cartagena, Colombia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simancas-Pallares, Miguel Angel; Fortich Mesa, Natalia; González Martínez, Farith Damián

    To determine the internal consistency and content validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) in dental students from Cartagena, Colombia. Scale validation study in 886 dental students from Cartagena, Colombia. Factor structure was determined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency was measured using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Analyses were performed using the Stata v.13.2 for Windows (Statacorp., USA) and Mplus v.7.31 for Windows (Muthén & Muthén, USA) software. Internal consistency was α=.806. The factor structure showed three that accounted for the 56.6% of the variance. CFA revealed: χ 2 =926.036; df=85; RMSEA=.106 (90%CI, .100-.112); CFI=.947; TLI=.934. The MBI showed an adequate internal consistency and a factor structure being consistent with the original proposed structure with a poor fit, which does not reflect adequate content validity in this sample. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  19. Construct validity and internal consistency in the Leisure Practices Scale (EPL) for adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Rubian Diego; Schwartz, Gisele Maria; Tavares, Giselle Helena; Pelegrini, Andreia; Teixeira, Clarissa Stefani; Felden, Érico Pereira Gomes

    2018-02-01

    This study proposes and analyzes the construct validity and internal consistency of the Leisure Practices Scale (EPL). This survey seeks to identify the preferences and involvement in in different leisure practices in adults. The instrument was formed based on the cultural leisure content (artistic, manual, physical, sports, intellectual, social, tourist, virtual and contemplation/leisure). The validation process was conducted with: a) content analysis by leisure experts, who evaluated the instrument for clarity of language and practical relevance, which allowed the calculation of the content validity coefficient (CVC); b) reproducibility test-retest with 51 subjects to calculate the temporal variation coefficient; c) internal consistency analysis with 885 participants. The evaluation presented appropriate coefficients, both with respect to language clarity (CVCt = 0.883) and practical relevance (CVCt = 0.879). The reproducibility coefficients were moderate to excellent. The scale showed adequate internal consistency (0.72). The EPL has psychometric quality and acceptable values in its structure, and can be used to investigate adult involvement in leisure activities.

  20. Internal Consistency and Convergent Validity of the Klontz Money Behavior Inventory (KMBI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colby D. Taylor

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The Klontz Money Behavior Inventory (KMBI is a standalone, multi-scale measure than can screen for the presence of eight distinct money disorders. Given the well-established relationship between mental health and financial behaviors, results from the KMBI can be used to inform both mental health care professionals and financial planners. The present study examined the internal consistency and convergent validity of the KMBI, through comparison with similar measures, among a sample of college students (n = 232. Results indicate that the KMBI demonstrates acceptable internal consistency reliability and some convergence for most subscales when compared to other analogous measures. These findings highlight a need for literature and assessments to identify and describe disordered money behaviors.

  1. Online self-report questionnaire on computer work-related exposure (OSCWE): validity and internal consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mekhora, Keerin; Jalayondeja, Wattana; Jalayondeja, Chutima; Bhuanantanondh, Petcharatana; Dusadiisariyavong, Asadang; Upiriyasakul, Rujiret; Anuraktam, Khajornyod

    2014-07-01

    To develop an online, self-report questionnaire on computer work-related exposure (OSCWE) and to determine the internal consistency, face and content validity of the questionnaire. The online, self-report questionnaire was developed to determine the risk factors related to musculoskeletal disorders in computer users. It comprised five domains: personal, work-related, work environment, physical health and psychosocial factors. The questionnaire's content was validated by an occupational medical doctor and three physical therapy lecturers involved in ergonomic teaching. Twenty-five lay people examined the feasibility of computer-administered and the user-friendly language. The item correlation in each domain was analyzed by the internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha; alpha). The content of the questionnaire was considered congruent with the testing purposes. Eight hundred and thirty-five computer users at the PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited registered to the online self-report questionnaire. The internal consistency of the five domains was: personal (alpha = 0.58), work-related (alpha = 0.348), work environment (alpha = 0.72), physical health (alpha = 0.68) and psychosocial factor (alpha = 0.93). The findings suggested that the OSCWE had acceptable internal consistency for work environment and psychosocial factors. The OSCWE is available to use in population-based survey research among computer office workers.

  2. Reliability, Dimensionality, and Internal Consistency as Defined by Cronbach: Distinct Albeit Related Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davenport, Ernest C.; Davison, Mark L.; Liou, Pey-Yan; Love, Quintin U.

    2015-01-01

    This article uses definitions provided by Cronbach in his seminal paper for coefficient a to show the concepts of reliability, dimensionality, and internal consistency are distinct but interrelated. The article begins with a critique of the definition of reliability and then explores mathematical properties of Cronbach's a. Internal consistency…

  3. Internal Consistency, Retest Reliability, and their Implications For Personality Scale Validity

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCrae, Robert R.; Kurtz, John E.; Yamagata, Shinji; Terracciano, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    We examined data (N = 34,108) on the differential reliability and validity of facet scales from the NEO Inventories. We evaluated the extent to which (a) psychometric properties of facet scales are generalizable across ages, cultures, and methods of measurement; and (b) validity criteria are associated with different forms of reliability. Composite estimates of facet scale stability, heritability, and cross-observer validity were broadly generalizable. Two estimates of retest reliability were independent predictors of the three validity criteria; none of three estimates of internal consistency was. Available evidence suggests the same pattern of results for other personality inventories. Internal consistency of scales can be useful as a check on data quality, but appears to be of limited utility for evaluating the potential validity of developed scales, and it should not be used as a substitute for retest reliability. Further research on the nature and determinants of retest reliability is needed. PMID:20435807

  4. A diagnostic test for apraxia in stroke patients: internal consistency and diagnostic value.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heugten, C.M. van; Dekker, J.; Deelman, B.G.; Stehmann-Saris, F.C.; Kinebanian, A.

    1999-01-01

    The internal consistency and the diagnostic value of a test for apraxia in patients having had a stroke are presented. Results indicate that the items of the test form a strong and consistent scale: Cronbach's alpha as well as the results of a Mokken scale analysis present good reliability and good

  5. Analysis of self-consistency effects in range-separated density-functional theory with Møller-Plesset perturbation theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fromager, Emmanuel; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aagaard

    2011-01-01

    Range-separated density-functional theory combines wave function theory for the long-range part of the two-electron interaction with density-functional theory for the short-range part. When describing the long-range interaction with non-variational methods, such as perturbation or coupled......-cluster theories, self-consistency effects are introduced in the density functional part, which for an exact solution requires iterations. They are generally assumed to be small but no detailed study has been performed so far. Here, the authors analyze self-consistency when using Møller-Plesset-type (MP......) perturbation theory for the long range interaction. The lowest-order self-consistency corrections to the wave function and the energy, that enter the perturbation expansions at the second and fourth order, respectively, are both expressed in terms of the one-electron reduced density matrix. The computational...

  6. The internal consistency of the standard gamble: tests after adjusting for prospect theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliver, Adam

    2003-07-01

    This article reports a study that tests whether the internal consistency of the standard gamble can be improved upon by incorporating loss weighting and probability transformation parameters in the standard gamble valuation procedure. Five alternatives to the standard EU formulation are considered: (1) probability transformation within an EU framework; and, within a prospect theory framework, (2) loss weighting and full probability transformation, (3) no loss weighting and full probability transformation, (4) loss weighting and no probability transformation, and (5) loss weighting and partial probability transformation. Of the five alternatives, only the prospect theory formulation with loss weighting and no probability transformation offers an improvement in internal consistency over the standard EU valuation procedure.

  7. Determining the Feasibility, Content Validity, and Internal Consistency of a Newly Developed Care Coordination Scale for People with Brain Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian P. Johnson

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: With the increasing complexity of care, people with disabilities and supportive significant others (SSO must often coordinate key aspects of their own care, but no validated scale currently exists to comprehensively characterize the activities done to manage and coordinate their care. Method: This study aimed to improve the feasibility, acceptability, and content validity of the Care and Service Coordination and Management (CASCAM scale and to test its internal consistency. Questionnaire items were administered to 23 individuals with acquired brain injury and 17 SSO. Results: Respondents confirmed content validity and that the instrument addresses important care coordination and management issues. The internal consistency of care coordination domains for medical/ rehabilitative and independent living needs for people with brain injury and their SSO ranged from α = .774 to .945. Conclusion: Care coordination activities by persons with disabilities, including brain injury, and their SSO are multifaceted but feasibly measurable and should be assessed to improve care.

  8. Assessing motivation for work environment improvements: internal consistency, reliability and factorial structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedlund, Ann; Ateg, Mattias; Andersson, Ing-Marie; Rosén, Gunnar

    2010-04-01

    Workers' motivation to actively take part in improvements to the work environment is assumed to be important for the efficiency of investments for that purpose. That gives rise to the need for a tool to measure this motivation. A questionnaire to measure motivation for improvements to the work environment has been designed. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the domains of the questionnaire have been measured, and the factorial structure has been explored, from the answers of 113 employees. The internal consistency is high (0.94), as well as the correlation for the total score (0.84). Three factors are identified accounting for 61.6% of the total variance. The questionnaire can be a useful tool in improving intervention methods. The expectation is that the tool can be useful, particularly with the aim of improving efficiency of companies' investments for work environment improvements. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Studies on the consistency of internally taken contrast medium for pancreas CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsushima, Kishio; Mimura, Seiichi; Tahara, Seiji; Kitayama, Takuichi; Inamura, Keiji; Mikami, Yasutaka; Hashimoto, Keiji; Hiraki, Yoshio; Aono, Kaname

    1985-02-01

    A problem of Pancreatic CT scanning is the discrimination between the pancreas and the adjacent gastrointestinal tract. Generally we administer a dilution of gastrografin internally to make the discrimination. The degree of dilution has been decided by experience at each hospital. When the consistency of the contrast medium is low in density, an enhancement effect cannot be expected, but when the consistency is high, artifacts appear. We have experimented on the degree of the dilution and CT-No to decide the optimum consistency of gastrografin for the diagnosis of pancreatic disease. Statistical analysis of the results show the optimum dilution of gastrografin to be 1.5%.

  10. Internal consistency of the CHAMPS physical activity questionnaire for Spanish speaking older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosario, Martín G; Vázquez, Jenniffer M; Cruz, Wanda I; Ortiz, Alexis

    2008-09-01

    The Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) is a physical activity monitoring questionnaire for people between 65 to 90 years old. This questionnaire has been previously translated to Spanish to be used in the Latin American population. To adapt the Spanish version of the CHAMPS questionnaire to Puerto Rico and assess its internal consistency. An external review committee adapted the existent Spanish version of the CHAMPS to be used in the Puerto Rican population. Three older adults participated in a second phase with the purpose of training the research team. After the second phase, 35 older adults participated in a third content adaptation phase. During the third phase, the preliminary Spanish version for Puerto Rico of the CHAMPS was given to the 35 participants to assess for clarity, vocabulary and understandability. Interviews to each participant in the third phase were carried out to obtain feedback and create a final Spanish version of the CHAMPS for Puerto Rico. After analyses of this phase, the external review committee prepared a final Spanish version of the CHAMPS for Puerto Rico. The final version was administered to 15 older adults (76 +/- 6.5 years) to assess the internal consistency by using Cronbach's Alpha analysis. The questionnaire showed a strong internal consistency of 0.76. The total time to answer the questionnaire was 17.4 minutes. The Spanish version of the CHAMPS questionnaire for Puerto Rico suggested being an easy to administer and consistent measurement tool to assess physical activity in older adults.

  11. Consistent force fields for saccharides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Kjeld

    1999-01-01

    Consistent force fields for carbohydrates were hitherto developed by extensive optimization ofpotential energy function parameters on experimental data and on ab initio results. A wide range of experimental data is used: internal structures obtained from gas phase electron diffraction and from x......-anomeric effects are accounted for without addition of specific terms. The work is done in the framework of the Consistent Force Field which originatedin Israel and was further developed in Denmark. The actual methods and strategies employed havebeen described previously. Extensive testing of the force field...

  12. Expanding the Reach of Participatory Risk Management: Testing an Online Decision-Aiding Framework for Informing Internally Consistent Choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessette, Douglas L; Campbell-Arvai, Victoria; Arvai, Joseph

    2016-05-01

    This article presents research aimed at developing and testing an online, multistakeholder decision-aiding framework for informing multiattribute risk management choices associated with energy development and climate change. The framework was designed to provide necessary background information and facilitate internally consistent choices, or choices that are in line with users' prioritized objectives. In order to test different components of the decision-aiding framework, a six-part, 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted, yielding eight treatment scenarios. The three factors included: (1) whether or not users could construct their own alternatives; (2) the level of detail regarding the composition of alternatives users would evaluate; and (3) the way in which a final choice between users' own constructed (or highest-ranked) portfolio and an internally consistent portfolio was presented. Participants' self-reports revealed the framework was easy to use and providing an opportunity to develop one's own risk-management alternatives (Factor 1) led to the highest knowledge gains. Empirical measures showed the internal consistency of users' decisions across all treatments to be lower than expected and confirmed that providing information about alternatives' composition (Factor 2) resulted in the least internally consistent choices. At the same time, those users who did not develop their own alternatives and were not shown detailed information about the composition of alternatives believed their choices to be the most internally consistent. These results raise concerns about how the amount of information provided and the ability to construct alternatives may inversely affect users' real and perceived internal consistency. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  13. Consistent adoption of the International System of Units (SI) in nuclear science and technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klumpar, J; Kovar, Z [Ceskoslovenska Akademie Ved, Prague. Laborator Radiologicke Dozimetrie; Sacha, J [Slovenska Akademia Vied, Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Fyzikalny Ustav

    1975-11-01

    The principles are stressed behind a consistent introduction of the International System of Units (SI) in Czechoslovakia complying with the latest edition of the Czechoslovak Standard CSN 01 1300 on the prescribed system of national and international units. The use of special and auxiliary units in nuclear physics and technology is discussed, particular attention being devoted to the units of activity and to the time units applied in radiology. Conversion graph and tables are annexed.

  14. Factorial validity and internal consistency of the motivational climate in physical education scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soini, Markus; Liukkonen, Jarmo; Watt, Anthony; Yli-Piipari, Sami; Jaakkola, Timo

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine the construct validity and internal consistency of the Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale (MCPES). A key element of the development process of the scale was establishing a theoretical framework that integrated the dimensions of task- and ego involving climates in conjunction with autonomy, and social relatedness supporting climates. These constructs were adopted from the self-determination and achievement goal theories. A sample of Finnish Grade 9 students, comprising 2,594 girls and 1,803 boys, completed the 18-item MCPES during one physical education class. The results of the study demonstrated that participants had highest mean in task-involving climate and the lowest in autonomy climate and ego-involving climate. Additionally, autonomy, social relatedness, and task- involving climates were significantly and strongly correlated with each other, whereas the ego- involving climate had low or negligible correlations with the other climate dimensions.The construct validity of the MCPES was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The statistical fit of the four-factor model consisting of motivational climate factors supporting perceived autonomy, social relatedness, task-involvement, and ego-involvement was satisfactory. The results of the reliability analysis showed acceptable internal consistencies for all four dimensions. The Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale can be considered as psychometrically valid tool to measure motivational climate in Finnish Grade 9 students. Key PointsThis study developed Motivational Climate in School Physical Education Scale (MCPES). During the development process of the scale, the theoretical framework using dimensions of task- and ego involving as well as autonomy, and social relatedness supporting climates was constructed. These constructs were adopted from the self-determination and achievement goal theories.The statistical fit of the four-factor model of the

  15. Test of Gross Motor Development : Expert Validity, confirmatory validity and internal consistence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Cristina Valentini

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2 is an instrument used to evaluate children’s level of motordevelopment. The objective of this study was to translate and verify the clarity and pertinence of the TGMD-2 items by expertsand the confirmatory factorial validity and the internal consistence by means of test-retest of the Portuguese TGMD-2. Across-cultural translation was used to construct the Portuguese version. The participants of this study were 7 professionalsand 587 children, from 27 schools (kindergarten and elementary from 3 to 10 years old (51.1% boys and 48.9% girls.Each child was videotaped performing the test twice. The videotaped tests were then scored. The results indicated thatthe Portuguese version of the TGMD-2 contains clear and pertinent motor items; demonstrated satisfactory indices ofconfirmatory factorial validity (χ2/gl = 3.38; Goodness-of-fit Index = 0.95; Adjusted Goodness-of-fit index = 0.92 and Tuckerand Lewis’s Index of Fit = 0.83 and test-retest internal consistency (locomotion r = 0.82; control of object: r = 0.88. ThePortuguese TGMD-2 demonstrated validity and reliability for the sample investigated.

  16. Test of Gross Motor Development: expert validity, confirmatory validity and internal consistence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Cristina Valentini

    2008-01-01

    The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2 is an instrument used to evaluate children’s level of motor development. The objective of this study was to translate and verify the clarity and pertinence of the TGMD-2 items by experts and the confirmatory factorial validity and the internal consistence by means of test-retest of the Portuguese TGMD-2. A cross-cultural translation was used to construct the Portuguese version. The participants of this study were 7 professionals and 587 children, from 27 schools (kindergarten and elementary from 3 to 10 years old (51.1% boys and 48.9% girls. Each child was videotaped performing the test twice. The videotaped tests were then scored. The results indicated that the Portuguese version of the TGMD-2 contains clear and pertinent motor items; demonstrated satisfactory indices of confirmatory factorial validity (÷2/gl = 3.38; Goodness-of-fit Index = 0.95; Adjusted Goodness-of-fit index = 0.92 and Tucker and Lewis’s Index of Fit = 0.83 and test-retest internal consistency (locomotion r = 0.82; control of object: r = 0.88. The Portuguese TGMD-2 demonstrated validity and reliability for the sample investigated.

  17. Internal consistency and content validity of a questionnaire aimed to assess the stages of behavioral lifestyle changes in Colombian schoolchildren: The Fuprecol study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasmira CARRILLO-BERNATE

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To assess internal consistency and content validity of a questionnaire aimed to assess the stages of Behavioural Lifestyle Changes in a sample of school-aged children and adolescents aged 9 to 17 years-old. Methods This validation study involved 675 schoolchildren from three official school in the city of Bogota, Colombia. A self-administered questionnaire called Behavioural Lifestyle Changes has been designed to explore stages of change regarding to physical activity/exercise, fruit and vegetable consumption, alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and drug abuse. Cronbach-α, Kappa index and exploratory factor analysis were used for evaluating the internal consistency and validity of content, respectively. Results The study population consisted of 51.1% males and the participants’ average age was 12.7±2.4 years-old. Behavioural Lifestyle Changes scored 0.720 (range 0.691 to 0.730 on the Cronbach α and intra-observer reproducibility was good (Kappa=0.71. Exploratory factor analysis determined two factors (factor 1: physical activity/exercise, fruit and vegetable consumption, and factor 2: alcohol abuse tobacco use and drug abuse, explaining 67.78% of variance by the items and six interactions χ2/gL=11649.833; p<0.001. Conclusion Behavioural Lifestyle Changes Questionnaire was seen to have suitable internal consistency and validity. This instrument can be recommended, mainly within the context of primary attention for studying the stages involved in the lifestyle behavioural changes model on a school-based population.

  18. WOrk-Related Questionnaire for UPper extremity disorders (WORQ-UP): Factor Analysis and Internal Consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aerts, Bas R; Kuijer, P Paul; Beumer, Annechien; Eygendaal, Denise; Frings-Dresen, Monique H

    2018-04-17

    To test a 17-item questionnaire, the WOrk-Related Questionnaire for UPper extremity disorders (WORQ-UP), for dimensionality of the items (factor analysis) and internal consistency. Cross-sectional study. Outpatient clinic. A consecutive sample of patients (N=150) consisting of all new referral patients (either from a general physician or other hospital) who visited the orthopedic outpatient clinic because of an upper extremity musculoskeletal disorder. Not applicable. Number and dimensionality of the factors in the WORQ-UP. Four factors with eigenvalues (EVs) >1.0 were found. The factors were named exertion, dexterity, tools & equipment, and mobility. The EVs of the factors were, respectively, 5.78, 2.38, 1.81, and 1.24. The factors together explained 65.9% of the variance. The Cronbach alpha values for these factors were, respectively, .88, .74, .87, and .66. The 17 items of the WORQ-UP resemble 4 factors-exertion, dexterity, tools & equipment, and mobility-with a good internal consistency. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Internal Consistency and Concurrent Validity of the Questionnaire for Limitations and Restrictions Assessment in Children with ADHD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luisa Matilde Salamanca-Duque

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: ADHD is one of the most common diagnoses in child psychiatry, its early diagnosis is of great importance for intervention at family, school and social environment. Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF, a questionnaire was designed to assess activity limitations and participation restrictions in children with ADHD. The questionnaire was called “CLARP-ADHD Parent and Teacher Version”. Objective: To determine the degree of internal consistency of the CLARP-ADHD questionnaire, and its concurrent validity with the “Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ parent and teacher version”. Material and Methods: A sample of 203 children aged 6 to 12 with ADHD, currently attending school in five Colombian cities. The questionnaires were applied to parents and teachers. The internal consistency analysis was performed through Cronbach coefficient and concurrent validity using the Spearman correlation coefficient utilizing multiple and unique predictors through multiple linear regression as well as simple regression models. Results: A high internal consistency was found for global questionnaires for each of its domains. The CLARP-ADHD for parents gave as result an internal consistency of 0.83, and the CLARP-ADHD for teachers one of 0.93. Concurrent validity was found between the CLARP-ADHD and the SDQ Parent and Teacher version; also, concurrence between the CLARPADHD for Teachers and the SDQ Teachers was found, as well as between CLARP ADHD for Parents and CLARP ADHD Teachers, given by p values of p < 0.001.

  20. Large tensor mode, field range bound and consistency in generalized G-inflation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kunimitsu, Taro; Suyama, Teruaki; Watanabe, Yuki; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

    2015-01-01

    We systematically show that in potential driven generalized G-inflation models, quantum corrections coming from new physics at the strong coupling scale can be avoided, while producing observable tensor modes. The effective action can be approximated by the tree level action, and as a result, these models are internally consistent, despite the fact that we introduced new mass scales below the energy scale of inflation. Although observable tensor modes are produced with sub-strong coupling scale field excursions, this is not an evasion of the Lyth bound, since the models include higher-derivative non-canonical kinetic terms, and effective rescaling of the field would result in super-Planckian field excursions. We argue that the enhanced kinetic term of the inflaton screens the interactions with other fields, keeping the system weakly coupled during inflation

  1. Large tensor mode, field range bound and consistency in generalized G-inflation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kunimitsu, Taro; Suyama, Teruaki; Watanabe, Yuki; Yokoyama, Jun' ichi, E-mail: kunimitsu@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: suyama@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: watanabe@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: yokoyama@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Research Center for the Early Universe, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

    2015-08-01

    We systematically show that in potential driven generalized G-inflation models, quantum corrections coming from new physics at the strong coupling scale can be avoided, while producing observable tensor modes. The effective action can be approximated by the tree level action, and as a result, these models are internally consistent, despite the fact that we introduced new mass scales below the energy scale of inflation. Although observable tensor modes are produced with sub-strong coupling scale field excursions, this is not an evasion of the Lyth bound, since the models include higher-derivative non-canonical kinetic terms, and effective rescaling of the field would result in super-Planckian field excursions. We argue that the enhanced kinetic term of the inflaton screens the interactions with other fields, keeping the system weakly coupled during inflation.

  2. The Internal Consistency and Validity of the Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale: A Replication Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Louise; Smith, Michael; Miller, Christopher B; O'Carroll, Ronan E

    2018-06-19

    Vaccinations are important preventative health behaviors. The recently developed Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale aims to measure the reasons behind refusal/hesitancy regarding vaccinations. The aim of this replication study is to conduct an independent test of the newly developed VAX Scale in the UK. We tested (a) internal consistency (Cronbach's α); (b) convergent validity by assessing its relationships with beliefs about medication, medical mistrust, and perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) construct validity by testing how well the VAX Scale discriminated between vaccinators and nonvaccinators. A sample of 243 UK adults completed the VAX Scale, the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire, the Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines Scale, and the Medical Mistrust Index, in addition to demographics of age, gender, education levels, and social deprivation. Participants were asked (a) whether they received an influenza vaccination in the past year and (b) if they had a young child, whether they had vaccinated the young child against influenza in the past year. The VAX (a) demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .92); (b) was positively correlated with medical mistrust and beliefs about medicines, and less strongly correlated with perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) successfully differentiated parental influenza vaccinators from nonvaccinators. The VAX demonstrated good internal consistency, convergent validity, and construct validity in an independent UK sample. It appears to be a useful measure to help us understand the health beliefs that promote or deter vaccination behavior.

  3. Consistency of Teacher-Reported Problems for Students in 21 Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rescorla, Leslie A.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ginzburg, Sofia; Ivanova, Masha; Dumenci, Levent; Almqvist, Fredrik; Bathiche, Marie; Bilenberg, Niels; Bird, Hector; Domuta, Anca; Erol, Nese; Fombonne, Eric; Fonseca, Antonio; Frigerio, Alessandra; Kanbayashi, Yasuko; Lambert, Michael C.; Liu, Xianchen; Leung, Patrick; Minaei, Asghar; Roussos, Alexandra; Simsek, Zeynep; Weintraub, Sheila; Weisz, John; Wolanczyk, Tomasz; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Zukauskiene, Rita; Verhulst, Frank

    2007-01-01

    This study compared teachers' ratings of behavioral and emotional problems on the Teacher's Report Form for general population samples in 21 countries (N = 30,957). Correlations between internal consistency coefficients in different countries averaged 0.90. Effects of country on scale scores ranged from 3% to 13%. Gender effects ranged from less…

  4. Psychometric analyses and internal consistency of the PHEEM questionnaire to measure the clinical learning environment in the clerkship of a Medical School in Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riquelme, Arnoldo; Herrera, Cristian; Aranis, Carolina; Oporto, Jorge; Padilla, Oslando

    2009-06-01

    The Spanish version of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) was evaluated in this study to determine its psychometric properties, validity and internal consistency to measure the clinical learning environment in the hospital setting of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Medical School's Internship. The 40-item PHEEM questionnaire was translated from English to Spanish and retranslated to English. Content validity was tested by a focus group and minor differences in meaning were adjusted. The PHEEM was administered to clerks in years 6 and 7. Construct validity was carried out using exploratory factor analysis followed by a Varimax rotation. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha. A total of 125 out of 220 students responded to the PHEEM. The overall response rate was 56.8% and compliances with each item ranged from 99.2% to 100%. Analyses indicate that five factors instrument accounting for 58% of the variance and internal consistency of the 40-item questionnaire is 0.955 (Cronbach's alpha). The 40-item questionnaire had a mean score of 98.21 +/- 21.2 (maximum score of 160). The Spanish version of PHEEM is a multidimensional, valid and highly reliable instrument measuring the educational environment among undergraduate medical students working in hospital-based clerkships.

  5. Cross- cultural validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN): study of the items and internal consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osório, Flávia de Lima; Crippa, José Alexandre S; Loureiro, Sonia Regina

    2009-03-01

    The objective of the present study was to carry out the cross- cultural validation for Brazilian Portuguese of the Social Phobia Inventory, an instrument for the evaluation of fear, avoidance and physiological symptoms associated with social anxiety disorder. The process of translation and adaptation involved four bilingual professionals, appreciation and approval of the back- translation by the authors of the original scale, a pilot study with 30 Brazilian university students, and appreciation by raters who confirmed the face validity of the Portuguese version, which was named ' Inventário de Fobia Social' . As part of the psychometric study of the Social Phobia Inventory, analysis of the items and evaluation of the internal consistency of the instrument were performed in a study conducted on 2314 university students. The results demonstrated that item 11, related to the fear of public speaking, was the most frequently scored item. The correlation of the items with the total score was quite adequate, ranging from 0.44 to 0.71, as was the internal consistency, which ranged from 0.71 to 0.90. The authors conclude that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Social Phobia Inventory proved to be adequate regarding the psychometric properties initially studied, with qualities quite close to those of the original study. Studies that will evaluate the remaining indicators of validity of the Social Phobia Inventory in clinical and non-clinical samples are considered to be opportune and necessary.

  6. Factorial Validity and Internal Consistency of the Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus Soini

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to examine the construct validity and internal consistency of the Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale (MCPES. A key element of the development process of the scale was establishing a theoretical framework that integrated the dimensions of task- and ego involving climates in conjunction with autonomy, and social relatedness supporting climates. These constructs were adopted from the self-determination and achievement goal theories. A sample of Finnish Grade 9 students, comprising 2,594 girls and 1,803 boys, completed the 18-item MCPES during one physical education class. The results of the study demonstrated that participants had highest mean in task-involving climate and the lowest in autonomy climate and ego-involving climate. Additionally, autonomy, social relatedness, and task- involving climates were significantly and strongly correlated with each other, whereas the ego- involving climate had low or negligible correlations with the other climate dimensions.The construct validity of the MCPES was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The statistical fit of the four-factor model consisting of motivational climate factors supporting perceived autonomy, social relatedness, task-involvement, and ego-involvement was satisfactory. The results of the reliability analysis showed acceptable internal consistencies for all four dimensions. The Motivational Climate in Physical Education Scale can be considered as psychometrically valid tool to measure motivational climate in Finnish Grade 9 students.

  7. Internal consistency of a five-item form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity among adolescent students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Oviedo, Heidi Celina; Cogollo, Zuleima

    2009-04-01

    The short form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity (L. J. Francis, 1992) is a 7-item Likert-type scale that shows high homogeneity among adolescents. The psychometric performance of a shorter version of this scale has not been explored. The authors aimed to determine the internal consistency of a 5-item form of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity among 405 students from a school in Cartagena, Colombia. The authors computed the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the 5 items with a greater corrected item-total punctuation correlation. The version without Items 2 and 7 showed internal consistency of .87. The 5-item version of the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity exhibited higher internal consistency than did the 7-item version. Future researchers should corroborate this finding.

  8. Assessment of disabilities in stroke patients with apraxia : Internal consistency and inter-observer reliability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Heugten, CM; Dekker, J; Deelman, BG; Stehmann-Saris, JC; Kinebanian, A

    1999-01-01

    In this paper the internal consistency and inter-observer reliability of the assessment of disabilities in stroke patients with apraxia is presented. Disabilities were assessed by means of observation of activities of daily living (ADL). The study was conducted at occupational therapy departments in

  9. Assessment of disabilities in stroke patients with apraxia: internal consistency and inter-observer reliability.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heugten, C.M. van; Dekker, J.; Deelman, B.G.; Stehmann-Saris, J.C.; Kinebanian, A.

    1999-01-01

    In this paper the internal consistency and inter-observer reliability of the assessment of disabilities in stroke patients with apraxia is presented. Disabilities were assessed by means of observation of activities of daily living (ADL). The study was conducted at occupational therapy departments in

  10. International cooperation for the development of consistent and stable transportation regulations to promote and enhance safety and security

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strosnider, J.

    2004-01-01

    International commerce of radioactive materials crosses national boundaries, linking separate regulatory institutions with a common purpose and making it necessary for these institutions to work together in order to achieve common safety goals in a manner that does not place an undue burden on industry and commerce. Widespread and increasing use of radioactive materials across the world has led to increases in the transport of radioactive materials. The demand for consistency in the oversight of international transport has also increased to prevent unnecessary delays and costs associated with incongruent or redundant regulatory requirements by the various countries through which radioactive material is transported. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the authority for international regulation of transportation of radioactive materials responsible for promulgation of regulations and guidance for the establishment of acceptable methods of transportation for the international community. As such, the IAEA is seen as the focal point for consensus building between its Member States to develop consistency in transportation regulations and reviews and to ensure the safe and secure transport of radioactive material. International cooperation is also needed to ensure stability in our regulatory processes. Changes to transportation regulations should be based on an anticipated safety benefit supported by risk information and insights gained from continuing experience, evaluation, and research studies. If we keep safety as the principle basis for regulatory changes, regulatory stability will be enhanced. Finally, as we endeavour to maintain consistency and stability in our international regulations, we must be mindful of the new security challenges that lay before the international community as a result of a changing terrorist environment. Terrorism is a problem of global concern that also requires international cooperation and support, as we look for ways to

  11. Are range-size distributions consistent with species-level heritability?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borregaard, Michael Krabbe; Gotelli, Nicholas; Rahbek, Carsten

    2012-01-01

    The concept of species-level heritability is widely contested. Because it is most likely to apply to emergent, species-level traits, one of the central discussions has focused on the potential heritability of geographic range size. However, a central argument against range-size heritability has...... been that it is not compatible with the observed shape of present-day species range-size distributions (SRDs), a claim that has never been tested. To assess this claim, we used forward simulation of range-size evolution in clades with varying degrees of range-size heritability, and compared the output...

  12. Internal Consistency of Performance Evaluations as a Function of Music Expertise and Excerpt Familiarity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinney, Daryl W.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music experience and excerpt familiarity on the internal consistency of performance evaluations. Participants included nonmusic majors who had not participated in high school music ensembles, nonmusic majors who had participated in high school music ensembles, music majors, and experts…

  13. Consistência interna da versão em português do Mini-Inventário de Fobia Social (Mini-SPIN Internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo J. Fonseca D'El Rey

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available CONTEXTO: A fobia social é um grave transtorno de ansiedade que traz incapacitação e sofrimento. OBJETIVOS: Investigar a consistência interna da versão em português do Mini-Inventário de Fobia Social (Mini-SPIN. MÉTODOS: Foi realizado um estudo da consistência interna do Mini-SPIN em uma amostra de 206 estudantes universitários da cidade de São Paulo, SP. RESULTADOS: A consistência interna do instrumento, analisada pelo coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, foi de 0,81. CONCLUSÕES: Esses achados permitiram concluir que a versão em português do Mini-SPIN exibiu resultados de boa consistência interna, semelhantes aos da versão original em inglês.BACKGROUND: Social phobia is a severe anxiety disorder that brings disability and distress. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN. METHODS: We conducted a study of internal consistency of the Mini-SPIN in a sample of 206 college students of the city of São Paulo, SP. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the instrument, analyzed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was 0.81. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the Portuguese version of the Mini-SPIN has a good internal consistency, similar to those obtained with the original English version.

  14. Internal consistency & validity of Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS in patients with schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandeep Grover

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: The Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS has been recommended for assessment and certification of disability by the Government of India (GOI. However, the psychometric properties of IDEAS as adopted by GOI remain understudied. Our aim, thus, was to study the internal consistency and validity of IDEAS in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 103 consenting patients with residual schizophrenia were assessed for disability, quality of life (QOL and psychopathology using the IDEAS, WHO QOL-100 and Positive and Negative symptom scale (PANSS respectively. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach′s alpha. For construct validity, relations between IDEAS, and psychopathology and QOL were studied. Results: The inter-item correlations for IDEAS were significant with a Cronbach′s alpha of 0.721. All item scores other than score on communication and understanding; total and global IDEAS scores correlated significantly with the positive, negative and general sub-scales, and total PANSS scores. Communication and understanding was significantly related to negative sub-scale score only. Total and global disability scores correlated negatively with all the domains of WHOQOL-100 (ρ<0.01. The individual IDEAS item scores correlated negatively with various WHOQOL-100 domains (ρ0< 0.01. Interpretation & conclusions: This study findings showed that the GOI-modified IDEAS had good internal consistency and construct validity as tested in patients with residual schizophrenia. Similar studies need to be done with other groups of patients.

  15. Internal consistency, reliability, and temporal stability of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire short-form: Test-retest data over two weeks

    OpenAIRE

    MCGUCKIN, CONOR

    2006-01-01

    PUBLISHED The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire short-form is a recently developed eight-item measure of happiness. This study evaluated the internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire short-form among 55 Northern Irish undergraduate university students who completed the measure on two occasions separated by two weeks. Internal consistency of the measure on both occasions was satisfactory at both Time 1 (alpha = .62) and Time 2 (alpha = ....

  16. Factor Structure, Internal Consistency, and Screening Sensitivity of the GARS-2 in a Developmental Disabilities Sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin A. Volker

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2 is a widely used screening instrument that assists in the identification and diagnosis of autism. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and screening sensitivity of the GARS-2 using ratings from special education teaching staff for a sample of 240 individuals with autism or other significant developmental disabilities. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a correlated three-factor solution similar to that found in 2005 by Lecavalier for the original GARS. Though the three factors appeared to be reasonably consistent with the intended constructs of the three GARS-2 subscales, the analysis indicated that more than a third of the GARS-2 items were assigned to the wrong subscale. Internal consistency estimates met or exceeded standards for screening and were generally higher than those in previous studies. Screening sensitivity was .65 and specificity was .81 for the Autism Index using a cut score of 85. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for instrument revision.

  17. The Brazilian version of the Constant-Murley Score (CMS-BR): convergent and construct validity, internal consistency, and unidimensionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barreto, Rodrigo Py Gonçalves; Barbosa, Marcus Levi Lopes; Balbinotti, Marcos Alencar Abaide; Mothes, Fernando Carlos; da Rosa, Luís Henrique Telles; Silva, Marcelo Faria

    2016-01-01

    To translate and culturally adapt the CMS and assess the validity of the Brazilian version (CMS-BR). The translation was carried out according to the back-translation method by four independent translators. The produced versions were synthesized through extensive analysis and by consensus of an expert committee, reaching a final version used for the cultural adaptation. A field test was conducted with 30 subjects in order to obtain semantic considerations. For the psychometric analyzes, the sample was increased to 110 participants who answered two instruments: CMS-BR and the Disabilities of the Arm, shoulder and Hand (DASH). The CMS-BR and DASH score range from 0 to 100 points. For the first, higher points reflect better function and for the latter, the inverse is true. The validity was verified by Pearson's correlation test, the unidimensionality by factorial analysis, and the internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha. The explained variance was 60.28% with factor loadings ranging from 0.60 to 0.91. The CMS-BR exhibited strong negative correlation with the DASH score (-0.82, p  CMS was satisfactorily adapted for Brazilian Portuguese and demonstrated evidence of validity that allows its use in this population.

  18. An overview of coefficient alpha and a reliability matrix for estimating adequacy of internal consistency coefficients with psychological research measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponterotto, Joseph G; Ruckdeschel, Daniel E

    2007-12-01

    The present article addresses issues in reliability assessment that are often neglected in psychological research such as acceptable levels of internal consistency for research purposes, factors affecting the magnitude of coefficient alpha (alpha), and considerations for interpreting alpha within the research context. A new reliability matrix anchored in classical test theory is introduced to help researchers judge adequacy of internal consistency coefficients with research measures. Guidelines and cautions in applying the matrix are provided.

  19. Is cosmology consistent?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiaomin; Tegmark, Max; Zaldarriaga, Matias

    2002-01-01

    We perform a detailed analysis of the latest cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements (including BOOMERaNG, DASI, Maxima and CBI), both alone and jointly with other cosmological data sets involving, e.g., galaxy clustering and the Lyman Alpha Forest. We first address the question of whether the CMB data are internally consistent once calibration and beam uncertainties are taken into account, performing a series of statistical tests. With a few minor caveats, our answer is yes, and we compress all data into a single set of 24 bandpowers with associated covariance matrix and window functions. We then compute joint constraints on the 11 parameters of the 'standard' adiabatic inflationary cosmological model. Our best fit model passes a series of physical consistency checks and agrees with essentially all currently available cosmological data. In addition to sharp constraints on the cosmic matter budget in good agreement with those of the BOOMERaNG, DASI and Maxima teams, we obtain a heaviest neutrino mass range 0.04-4.2 eV and the sharpest constraints to date on gravity waves which (together with preference for a slight red-tilt) favor 'small-field' inflation models

  20. Internal Consistency of the easyCBM© CCSS Reading Measures: Grades 3-8. Technical Report #1407

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerreiro, Meg; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2014-01-01

    This technical report documents findings from a study of the internal consistency and split-half reliability of the easyCBM© CCSS Reading measures, grades 3-8. Data, drawn from an extant data set gathered in school year 2013-2014, include scores from over 150,000 students' fall and winter benchmark assessments. Findings suggest that the easyCBM©…

  1. How Well Does the Sum Score Summarize the Test? Summability as a Measure of Internal Consistency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goeman, J.J.; De, Jong N.H.

    2018-01-01

    Many researchers use Cronbach's alpha to demonstrate internal consistency, even though it has been shown numerous times that Cronbach's alpha is not suitable for this. Because the intention of questionnaire and test constructers is to summarize the test by its overall sum score, we advocate

  2. Internally consistent thermodynamic data for aqueous species in the system Na-K-Al-Si-O-H-Cl

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miron, George D.; Wagner, Thomas; Kulik, Dmitrii A.; Heinrich, Christoph A.

    2016-08-01

    A large amount of critically evaluated experimental data on mineral solubility, covering the entire Na-K-Al-Si-O-H-Cl system over wide ranges in temperature and pressure, was used to simultaneously refine the standard state Gibbs energies of aqueous ions and complexes in the framework of the revised Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers equation of state. The thermodynamic properties of the solubility-controlling minerals were adopted from the internally consistent dataset of Holland and Powell (2002; Thermocalc dataset ds55). The global optimization of Gibbs energies of aqueous species, performed with the GEMSFITS code (Miron et al., 2015), was set up in such a way that the association equilibria for ion pairs and complexes, independently derived from conductance and potentiometric data, are always maintained. This was achieved by introducing reaction constraints into the parameter optimization that adjust Gibbs energies of complexes by their respective Gibbs energy effects of reaction, whenever the Gibbs energies of reactant species (ions) are changed. The optimized thermodynamic dataset is reported with confidence intervals for all parameters evaluated by Monte Carlo trial calculations. The new thermodynamic dataset is shown to reproduce all available fluid-mineral phase equilibria and mineral solubility data with good accuracy and precision over wide ranges in temperature (25-800 °C), pressure (1 bar to 5 kbar) and composition (salt concentrations up to 5 molal). The global data optimization process adopted in this study can be readily repeated any time when extensions to new chemical elements and species are needed, when new experimental data become available, or when a different aqueous activity model or equation of state should be used. This work serves as a proof of concept that our optimization strategy is feasible and successful in generating a thermodynamic dataset reproducing all fluid-mineral and aqueous speciation equilibria in the Na-K-Al-Si-O-H-Cl system within

  3. Internal roosting location is associated with differential use of the outdoor range by free-range laying hens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettersson, I C; Weeks, C A; Norman, K I; Knowles, T G; Nicol, C J

    2018-04-01

    1. In commercial free-range systems for laying hens, popholes to the outdoor range are often installed on one side of the house only. In multi-tier systems, it is possible that some individuals fail to access the range due to internal barriers to movement. 2. Five commercial multi-tier flocks from different units were studied. For each flock, two different colour markers were used to distinguish 200 birds roosting near the popholes (NP-Roost) and 200 birds roosting far from the popholes (FP-Roost) at night. The following day, counts of marked birds on the range and inside the house were performed. 3. Significantly more NP-Roost birds were observed in all areas of the outdoor range than FP-Roost birds the next day. Distance of FP area from the popholes was very strongly positively correlated with effect size in the adjacent range area. 4. Additionally, in the indoor area far from the popholes (FP) more FP-Roost birds were observed the next day than NP-Roost birds. In the indoor area near to the popholes (NP) more NP-Roost birds were observed the next day than FP-Roost birds. 5. These results suggest that roosting location is associated with differential range use when popholes are only available on one side of the shed as birds that roosted far from the popholes used the range less.

  4. The memory failures of everyday questionnaire (MFE): internal consistency and reliability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montejo Carrasco, Pedro; Montenegro, Peña Mercedes; Sueiro, Manuel J

    2012-07-01

    The Memory Failures of Everyday Questionnaire (MFE) is one of the most widely-used instruments to assess memory failures in daily life. The original scale has nine response options, making it difficult to apply; we created a three-point scale (0-1-2) with response choices that make it easier to administer. We examined the two versions' equivalence in a sample of 193 participants between 19 and 64 years of age. The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the version we propose were also computed in a sample of 113 people. Several indicators attest to the two forms' equivalence: the correlation between the items' means (r = .94; p MFE 1-9. The MFE 0-2 provides a brief, simple evaluation, so we recommend it for use in clinical practice as well as research.

  5. [Discomfort associated with dental extraction surgery and development of a questionnaire (QCirDental). Part I: Impacts and internal consistency].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortoluzzi, Marcelo Carlos; Martins, Luciana Dorochenko; Takahashi, André; Ribeiro, Bianca; Martins, Ligiane; Pinto, Marcia Helena Baldani

    2018-01-01

    The scope of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire (QCirDental) to measure the impacts associated with dental extraction surgery. The QCirDental questionnaire was developed in two steps; (1) question and item generation and selection, and (2) pretest of the questionnaire with evaluation of the its measurement properties (internal consistency and responsiveness). The sample was composed of 123 patients. None of the patients had any difficulty in understanding the QCirDental. The instrument was found to have excellent internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of 0.83. The principal component analysis (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0,72 and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity with p < 0.001) showed six (6) dimensions explaining 67.5% of the variance. The QCirDental presented excellent internal consistency, being a questionnaire that is easy to read and understand with adequate semantic and content validity. More than 80% of the patients who underwent dental extraction reported some degree of discomfort within the perioperative period which highlights the necessity to assess the quality of care and impacts of dental extraction surgery.

  6. Link between self-consistent pressure profiles and electron internal transport barriers in tokamaks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Razumova, K A [Nuclear Fusion Institute, RRC ' Kurchatov Institute' , 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Andreev, V F [Nuclear Fusion Institute, RRC ' Kurchatov Institute' , 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Donne, A J H [FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, Association EURATOM-FOM, partner in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster, PO Box 1207, 3430 BE Nieuwegein (Netherlands); Hogeweij, G M D [FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, Association EURATOM-FOM, partner in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster, PO Box 1207, 3430 BE Nieuwegein (Netherlands); Lysenko, S E [Nuclear Fusion Institute, RRC ' Kurchatov Institute' , 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Shelukhin, D A [Nuclear Fusion Institute, RRC ' Kurchatov Institute' , 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Spakman, G W [FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, Association EURATOM-FOM, partner in the Trilateral Euregio Cluster, PO Box 1207, 3430 BE Nieuwegein (Netherlands); Vershkov, V A [Nuclear Fusion Institute, RRC ' Kurchatov Institute' , 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Zhuravlev, V A [Nuclear Fusion Institute, RRC ' Kurchatov Institute' , 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2006-09-15

    Tokamak plasmas have a tendency to self-organization: the plasma pressure profiles obtained in different operational regimes and even in various tokamaks may be represented by a single typical curve, called the self-consistent pressure profile. About a decade ago local zones with enhanced confinement were discovered in tokamak plasmas. These zones are referred to as internal transport barriers (ITBs) and they can act on the electron and/or ion fluid. Here the pressure gradients can largely exceed the gradients dictated by profile consistency. So the existence of ITBs seems to be in contradiction with the self-consistent pressure profiles (this is also often referred to as profile resilience or profile stiffness). In this paper we will discuss the interplay between profile consistency and ITBs. A summary of the cumulative information obtained from T-10, RTP and TEXTOR is given, and a coherent explanation of the main features of the observed phenomena is suggested. Both phenomena, the self-consistent profile and ITB, are connected with the density of rational magnetic surfaces, where the turbulent cells are situated. The distance between these cells determines the level of their interaction, and therefore the level of the turbulent transport. This process regulates the plasma pressure profile. If the distance is wide, the turbulent flux may be diminished and the ITB may be formed. In regions with rarefied surfaces the steeper pressure gradients are possible without instantaneously inducing pressure driven instabilities, which force the profiles back to their self-consistent shapes. Also it can be expected that the ITB region is wider for lower dq/d{rho} (more rarefied surfaces)

  7. The Internal Consistency Reliability of the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism among Australian Jews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Lumbroso

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism was developed initially to extend among the Hebrew-speaking Jewish community in Israel a growing body of international research concerned to map the correlates, antecedents and consequences of individual differences in attitude toward religion as assessed by the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity. The present paper explored the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the English translation of the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism among 101 Australian Jews. On the basis of these data, this instrument is commended for application in further research.

  8. Content validation: clarity/relevance, reliability and internal consistency of enunciative signs of language acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crestani, Anelise Henrich; Moraes, Anaelena Bragança de; Souza, Ana Paula Ramos de

    2017-08-10

    To analyze the results of the validation of building enunciative signs of language acquisition for children aged 3 to 12 months. The signs were built based on mechanisms of language acquisition in an enunciative perspective and on clinical experience with language disorders. The signs were submitted to judgment of clarity and relevance by a sample of six experts, doctors in linguistic in with knowledge of psycholinguistics and language clinic. In the validation of reliability, two judges/evaluators helped to implement the instruments in videos of 20% of the total sample of mother-infant dyads using the inter-evaluator method. The method known as internal consistency was applied to the total sample, which consisted of 94 mother-infant dyads to the contents of the Phase 1 (3-6 months) and 61 mother-infant dyads to the contents of Phase 2 (7 to 12 months). The data were collected through the analysis of mother-infant interaction based on filming of dyads and application of the parameters to be validated according to the child's age. Data were organized in a spreadsheet and then converted to computer applications for statistical analysis. The judgments of clarity/relevance indicated no modifications to be made in the instruments. The reliability test showed an almost perfect agreement between judges (0.8 ≤ Kappa ≥ 1.0); only the item 2 of Phase 1 showed substantial agreement (0.6 ≤ Kappa ≥ 0.79). The internal consistency for Phase 1 had alpha = 0.84, and Phase 2, alpha = 0.74. This demonstrates the reliability of the instruments. The results suggest adequacy as to content validity of the instruments created for both age groups, demonstrating the relevance of the content of enunciative signs of language acquisition.

  9. Internal consistency and validity of an observational method for assessing disability in mobility in patients with osteoarthritis.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steultjens, M.P.M.; Dekker, J.; Baar, M.E. van; Oostendorp, R.A.B.; Bijlsma, J.W.J.

    1999-01-01

    Objective: To establish the internal consistency of validity of an observational method for assessing diasbility in mobility in patients with osteoarthritis (OA), Methods: Data were obtained from 198 patients with OA of the hip or knee. Results of the observational method were compared with results

  10. Internal consistency and validity of an observational method for assessing disability in mobility in patients with osteoarthritis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steultjens, M. P.; Dekker, J.; van Baar, M. E.; Oostendorp, R. A.; Bijlsma, J. W.

    1999-01-01

    To establish the internal consistency and validity of an observational method for assessing disability in mobility in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Data were obtained from 198 patients with OA of the hip or knee. Results of the observational method were compared with results of self-report

  11. Gene-Environment Interplay in Internalizing Disorders: Consistent Findings across Six Environmental Risk Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, Brian M.; DiRago, Ana C.; Iacono, William G.; McGue, Matt

    2009-01-01

    Background Newer behavior genetic methods can better elucidate gene-environment (G-E) interplay in the development of internalizing (INT) disorders (i.e., major depression and anxiety disorders). However, no study to date has conducted a comprehensive analysis examining multiple environmental risks with the purpose of delineating how general G-E mechanisms influence the development of INT disorders. Methods The sample consisted of 1315 male and female twin pairs participating in the age 17 assessment of the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Quantitative G-E interplay models were used to examine how genetic and environmental risk for INT disorders changes as a function of environmental context. Multiple measures and informants were employed to construct composite measures of INT disorders and 6 environmental risk factors including: stressful life events, mother-child and father-child relationship problems, antisocial and prosocial peer affiliation, and academic achievement and engagement. Results Significant moderation effects were detected between each environmental risk factor and INT such that in the context of greater environmental adversity, nonshared environmental factors became more important in the etiology of INT symptoms. Conclusion Our results are consistent with the interpretation that environmental stressors have a causative effect on the emergence of INT disorders. The consistency of our results suggests a general mechanism of environmental influence on INT disorders regardless of the specific form of environmental risk. PMID:19594836

  12. The eye-complaint questionnaire in a visual display unit work environment: Internal consistency and test-retest reliability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenstra, Ivan A.; Sluiter, Judith K.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

    2009-01-01

    The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of a 10-item eye-complaint questionnaire (ECQ) were examined within a sample of office workers. Repeated within-subjects measures were performed within a single day and over intervals of 1 and 7 d. Questionnaires were completed by 96 workers (70%

  13. Electronic structure of disordered alloys - I: self-consistent cluster CPA incorporating off-diagonal disorder and short-range order

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, V.; Mookerjee, A.; Srivastava, V.K.

    1980-09-01

    We have developed here a self-consistent coherent potential approximation generalized to take into account effect of clusters. Off-diagonal disorder and short-range order are taken into account. A graphical method married to the recursion technique, enables us to work on realistic three-dimensional lattices. Calculations are shown for a binary alloy on a diamond lattice. (author)

  14. International standards for monoclonal antibodies to support pre- and post-marketing product consistency: Evaluation of a candidate international standard for the bioactivities of rituximab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prior, Sandra; Hufton, Simon E; Fox, Bernard; Dougall, Thomas; Rigsby, Peter; Bristow, Adrian

    2018-01-01

    The intrinsic complexity and heterogeneity of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is built into the biosimilarity paradigm where critical quality attributes are controlled in exhaustive comparability studies with the reference medicinal product. The long-term success of biosimilars will depend on reassuring healthcare professionals and patients of consistent product quality, safety and efficacy. With this aim, the World Health Organization has endorsed the need for public bioactivity standards for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in support of current controls. We have developed a candidate international potency standard for rituximab that was evaluated in a multi-center collaborative study using participants' own qualified Fc-effector function and cell-based binding bioassays. Dose-response curve model parameters were shown to reflect similar behavior amongst rituximab preparations, albeit with some differences in potency. In the absence of a common reference standard, potency estimates were in poor agreement amongst laboratories, but the use of the candidate preparation significantly reduced this variability. Our results suggest that the candidate rituximab standard can support bioassay performance and improve data harmonization, which when implemented will promote consistency of rituximab products over their life-cycles. This data provides the first scientific evidence that a classical standardization exercise allowing traceability of bioassay data to an international standard is also applicable to rituximab. However, we submit that this new type of international standard needs to be used appropriately and its role not to be mistaken with that of the reference medicinal product.

  15. Towards consistent and reliable Dutch and international energy statistics for the chemical industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neelis, M.L.; Pouwelse, J.W.

    2008-01-01

    Consistent and reliable energy statistics are of vital importance for proper monitoring of energy-efficiency policies. In recent studies, irregularities have been reported in the Dutch energy statistics for the chemical industry. We studied in depth the company data that form the basis of the energy statistics in the Netherlands between 1995 and 2004 to find causes for these irregularities. We discovered that chemical products have occasionally been included, resulting in statistics with an inconsistent system boundary. Lack of guidance in the survey for the complex energy conversions in the chemical industry in the survey also resulted in large fluctuations for certain energy commodities. The findings of our analysis have been the basis for a new survey that has been used since 2007. We demonstrate that the annual questionnaire used for the international energy statistics can result in comparable problems as observed in the Netherlands. We suggest to include chemical residual gas as energy commodity in the questionnaire and to include the energy conversions in the chemical industry in the international energy statistics. In addition, we think the questionnaire should be explicit about the treatment of basic chemical products produced at refineries and in the petrochemical industry to avoid system boundary problems

  16. A study of self-consistent Hartree-Fock plus Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer calculations with finite-range interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anguiano, M.; Lallena, A. M.; Co', G.; De Donno, V.

    2014-02-01

    In this work we test the validity of a Hartree-Fock plus Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer model in which a finite-range interaction is used in the two steps of the calculation by comparing the results obtained to those found in fully self-consistent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations using the same interaction. Specifically, we consider the Gogny-type D1S and D1M forces. We study a wide range of spherical nuclei, far from the stability line, in various regions of the nuclear chart, from oxygen to tin isotopes. We calculate various quantities related to the ground state properties of these nuclei, such as binding energies, radii, charge and density distributions, and elastic electron scattering cross sections. The pairing effects are studied by direct comparison with the Hartree-Fock results. Despite its relative simplicity, in most cases, our model provides results very close to those of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations, and it reproduces the empirical evidence of pairing effects rather well in the nuclei investigated.

  17. Factor Structure, Internal Consistency, and Screening Sensitivity of the GARS-2 in a Developmental Disabilities Sample

    OpenAIRE

    Martin A. Volker; Elissa H. Dua; Christopher Lopata; Marcus L. Thomeer; Jennifer A. Toomey; Audrey M. Smerbeck; Jonathan D. Rodgers; Joshua R. Popkin; Andrew T. Nelson; Gloria K. Lee

    2016-01-01

    The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2) is a widely used screening instrument that assists in the identification and diagnosis of autism. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and screening sensitivity of the GARS-2 using ratings from special education teaching staff for a sample of 240 individuals with autism or other significant developmental disabilities. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a correlated three-factor solution si...

  18. New internal multi-range resistors for ac voltage calibration by using TVC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, Rasha S M

    2015-01-01

    Accurate calibration of ac voltages up to 1000 V by using thermal converters requires range resistors connected in series with the converter. The combination of a thermal converter and range resistor is known as the thermal voltage converter. In this paper, multi-range internal range resistors are designed and implemented in the National Institute for Standards (NIS), Egypt to cover the ac voltage ranges from 10 V to 750 V. The range resistor values are 2 kΩ, 10 kΩ, 20 kΩ, 40 kΩ, 100 kΩ, and 150 kΩ to cover the voltage ranges 10 V, 50 V, 100 V, 200 V, 500 V, and 750 V, respectively. The six range resistors are mounted in series with a single-junction thermo-element in the same box to provide a new thermal voltage converter. The required range resistor is selected by using a six-pin selector switch. Each resistor is connected to a selector pin. The new thermal voltage converter ranges are automatically calibrated against other standard thermal voltage converters at different frequencies by using a LabVIEW program to determine their ac–dc transfer difference at each range. The expanded uncertainties are estimated according to the GUM for all ranges at different frequencies. The performance of the new thermal voltage converter is also evaluated by comparing its ac–dc differences and its accuracy in measuring the ac voltage at different frequencies with a traditional thermal voltage converter. (paper)

  19. Validity and internal consistency of a Hausa version of the Ibadan knee/hip osteoarthritis outcome measure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akinpelu Aderonke O

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Ibadan Knee/Hip Osteoarthritis Outcome Measure (IKHOAM was developed for measuring end results of care in patients with knee or hip OA in Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to validate a Hausa translation of IKHOAM in order to promote its use among the Hausa populations of Nigeria and other West African countries. Methods Sixty-seven patients with knee OA, literate in Hausa and English, recruited consecutively from all government hospitals in Kano were assessed on both English and Hausa versions of IKHOAM. The order of assessment with the versions was randomized and separated by 24 hours. Participants also rated their pain intensity on the Visual Analogue Scale. Data was analyzed using the Spearman Rank Order correlation and Cronbach's alpha. Results The participants (17 males, 50 females were aged 55.7 ± 13.4 years. Participants' scores on the Hausa version correlated significantly with the original version (r = 0.67, p = 0.000 and with pain intensity scores on the Visual Analogue Scale (r = -0.24, p = 0.005. The Cronbach's alpha for correlation on the different parts of the Hausa version ranged between 0.28 and 0.95. Conclusion The Hausa version of IKHOAM meets the criteria for validity and internal consistency and may be used in the Hausa speaking parts of Nigeria and other West African countries.

  20. International migration to and from the United Kingdom, 1975-1999: consistency, change and implications for the labour market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobson, J; McLaughlan, G

    2001-01-01

    This article presents some findings of a recent study carried out for the Home Office by the Migration Research Unit (MRU) in the Department of Geography at UCL. The study was concerned with patterns and trends in international migration to and from the United Kingdom since 1975, with a particular focus on those in employment, and drew on many sources. The statistics analysed here derive from the International Passenger Survey, including hitherto unpublished tables provided by the Office for National Statistics on migration of the employed by citizenship. They indicate remarkable consistency in some aspects of migration flows and major change in others.

  1. An internally consistent pressure calibration of geobarometers applicable to the Earth’s upper mantle using in situ XRD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beyer, Christopher; Rosenthal, Anja; Myhill, Robert; Crichton, Wilson A.; Yu, Tony; Wang, Yanbin; Frost, Daniel J.

    2018-02-01

    We have performed an experimental cross calibration of a suite of mineral equilibria within mantle rock bulk compositions that are commonly used in geobarometry to determine the equilibration depths of upper mantle assemblages. Multiple barometers were compared simultaneously in experimental runs, where the pressure was determined using in-situ measurements of the unit cell volumes of MgO, NaCl, Re and h-BN between 3.6 and 10.4 GPa, and 1250 and 1500 °C. The experiments were performed in a large volume press (LVPs) in combination with synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Noble metal capsules drilled with multiple sample chambers were loaded with a range of bulk compositions representative of peridotite, eclogite and pyroxenite lithologies. By this approach, we simultaneously calibrated the geobarometers applicable to different mantle lithologies under identical and well determined pressure and temperature conditions. We identified discrepancies between the calculated and experimental pressures for which we propose simple linear or constant correction factors to some of the previously published barometric equations. As a result, we establish internally-consistent cross-calibrations for a number of garnet-orthopyroxene, garnet-clinopyroxene, Ca-Tschermaks-in-clinopyroxene and majorite geobarometers.

  2. Internal friction and linear expansion coefficient in zirconium and cobalt within the range of phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyarskij, S.V.

    1986-01-01

    Experimental results are presented for internal friction and linear expansion coefficient at zirconium and cobalt in the temperature range from 440 K to the point of the phase transition of the first kind (1138 K for Zr and 706 for Co). Anomalous changes of the internal friction and linear expansion coefficient in the phase transition region are found. Theoretical considerations are given to explain the sharp decrease of the internal friction as temperature approaches the phase transition point

  3. Felder-Soloman's Index of Learning Styles: internal consistency, temporal stability, and factor structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosford, Charles C; Siders, William A

    2010-10-01

    Strategies to facilitate learning include using knowledge of students' learning style preferences to inform students and their teachers. Aims of this study were to evaluate the factor structure, internal consistency, and temporal stability of medical student responses to the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) and determine its appropriateness as an instrument for medical education. The ILS assesses preferences on four dimensions: sensing/intuitive information perceiving, visual/verbal information receiving, active/reflective information processing, and sequential/global information understanding. Students entering the 2002-2007 classes completed the ILS; some completed the ILS again after 2 and 4 years. Analyses of responses supported the ILS's intended structure and moderate reliability. Students had moderate preferences for sensing and visual learning. This study provides evidence supporting the appropriateness of the ILS for assessing learning style preferences in medical students.

  4. The role of interactive control systems in obtaining internal consistency in the management control system package

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toldbod, Thomas; Israelsen, Poul

    2014-01-01

    Companies rely on multiple Management Control Systems to obtain their short and long term objectives. When applying a multifaceted perspective on Management Control System the concept of internal consistency has been found to be important in obtaining goal congruency in the company. However, to d...... management is aware of this shortcoming they use the cybernetic controls more interactively to overcome this shortcoming, whereby the cybernetic controls are also used as a learning platform and not just for performance control....

  5. Reliability, factor analysis and internal consistency calculation of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) in French and in English among Lebanese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chahoud, M; Chahine, R; Salameh, P; Sauleau, E A

    2017-06-01

    Our goal is to validate and to verify the reliability of the French and English versions of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) in Lebanese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was implemented. 104 Lebanese students aged between 14 and 19 years participated in the study. The English version of the questionnaire was distributed to English-speaking students and the French version was administered to French-speaking students. A scale (1 to 7 with 1 = very well understood and 7 = not at all) was used to identify the level of the students' understanding of each instruction, question and answer of the ISI. The scale's structural validity was assessed. The factor structure of ISI was evaluated by principal component analysis. The internal consistency of this scale was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha. To assess test-retest reliability the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used. The principal component analysis confirmed the presence of a two-component factor structure in the English version and a three-component factor structure in the French version with eigenvalues > 1. The English version of the ISI had an excellent internal consistency (α = 0.90), while the French version had a good internal consistency (α = 0.70). The ICC presented an excellent agreement in the French version (ICC = 0.914, CI = 0.856-0.949) and a good agreement in the English one (ICC = 0.762, CI = 0.481-890). The Bland-Altman plots of the two versions of the ISI showed that the responses over two weeks' were comparable and very few outliers were detected. The results of our analyses reveal that both English and French versions of the ISI scale have good internal consistency and are reproducible and reliable. Therefore, it can be used to assess the prevalence of insomnia in Lebanese adolescents.

  6. Construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the Malay version of the 21-item depression anxiety stress scale (Malay-DASS-21) among male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusli, B N; Amrina, K; Trived, S; Loh, K P; Shashi, M

    2017-10-01

    The 21-item English version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) has been proposed as a method for assessing self-perceived depression, anxiety and stress over the past week in various clinical and nonclinical populations. Several Malay versions of the DASS-21 have been validated in various populations with varying success. One particular Malay version has been validated in various occupational groups (such as nurses and automotive workers) but not among male clinic outpatient attendees in Malaysia. To validate the Malay version of the DASS-21 (Malay-DASS-21) among male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor. A validation study with a random sample of 402 male respondents attending the outpatient clinic of a major public outpatient clinic in Johor Bahru and Segamat was carried out from January to March 2016. Construct validity of the Malay-DASS-21 was examined using Exploratory Factor Analysis (KMO = 0.947; Bartlett's test of sphericity is significant, pDASS- 21 and the internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity of the Malay-DASS-21 based on eigenvalues and factor loadings to confirm the three factor structure (depression, anxiety, and stress) was acceptable. The internal consistency reliability of the factor construct was very impressive with Cronbach's alpha values in the range of 0.837 to 0.863. The present study showed that the Malay- DASS-21 has acceptable psychometric construct and high internal consistency reliability to measure self-perceived depression, anxiety and stress over the past week in male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor. Further studies are necessary to revalidate the Malay-DASS-21 across different populations and cultures, and using confirmatory factor analyses.

  7. Nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards aged sexuality: validity and internal consistency of the Dutch version of the Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahieu, Lieslot; de Casterlé, Bernadette Dierckx; Van Elssen, Kim; Gastmans, Chris

    2013-11-01

    This paper reports a study testing the content and face validity and internal consistency of the Dutch version of the Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale. The ability of older residents to sexually express themselves is known to be influenced by the knowledge and attitudes of nursing home staff towards later-life sexuality. Although the Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale is a widely used instrument to measure this, there is no validated, Dutch translation available. Instrument development. Following a standard forward/backward translation into Dutch, the scale was further adapted for use in Flemish nursing home settings. Content and face validity and user-friendliness were assessed. The psychometric properties were determined by means of an exploratory study. Data were collected from March-April 2011 at eight Flemish nursing homes. Reliability was assessed using internal consistency and item-total correlations. Both subscales of the Flemish adaptation showed acceptable content validity. The face validity and user-friendliness were deemed favourable with hardly any remarks given by the expert panel. The Cronbach's α was 0.80 and 0.88 for the knowledge and attitude subscales, respectively. The item-total correlations ranged from 0.21-0.48 for the knowledge section and from 0.09-0.68 for the attitude subscale. We conclude from our study that the Dutch version of the scale has acceptable to good psychometric properties. The Flemish adaptation therefore seems to be a valuable instrument for studying nursing staff's knowledge and attitudes towards aged sexuality in Flanders. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  8. Internal consistency and construct validity of the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD) proxy – a secondary data analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hylla, Jonas; Schwab, Christian G G; Isfort, Michael; Halek, Margareta; Dichter, Martin N

    2016-07-01

    Background: The maintenance and promotion of Quality of Life (QoL) of people with dementia is a major outcome in intervention studies and health care. The Quality of Life Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD) is an internationally recommended QoL measurement also available in German language. Until now, only a few results on the psychometric properties of the German QoL-AD were available. Objective: Evaluation of internal consistency and construct validity of the QoL-AD proxy. Method: A principal component analysis (secondary data analysis) of the 13 QoL-AD items was carried out based on the total sample of 234 people with dementia from nine nursing homes in Germany. Subsequently, the internal consistency of the identified factors was examined using Cronbach's alpha. Results: Two factors physical and mental health and social network were determined. Both factors explain 53 % of the total variance. The stability of both factors was validated in two sensitivity analyses. The internal consistency is good for both factors with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.88 (physical and mental health) and 0.75 (social network). Conclusion: The QoL-AD proxy allows the assessment of two relevant health-related QoL domains of people with dementia. However, in future studies especially the inter-rater reliability of the QoL-AD proxy has to be examined.

  9. Range-efficient consistent sampling and locality-sensitive hashing for polygons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gudmundsson, Joachim; Pagh, Rasmus

    2017-01-01

    Locality-sensitive hashing (LSH) is a fundamental technique for similarity search and similarity estimation in high-dimensional spaces. The basic idea is that similar objects should produce hash collisions with probability significantly larger than objects with low similarity. We consider LSH for...... or union of a set of preprocessed polygons. Curiously, our consistent sampling method uses transformation to a geometric problem....

  10. 26 CFR 301.6224(c)-3 - Consistent settlements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Consistent settlements. 301.6224(c)-3 Section... settlements. (a) In general. If the Internal Revenue Service enters into a settlement agreement with any..., settlement terms consistent with those contained in the settlement agreement entered into. (b) Requirements...

  11. Five-Item Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity: Construct and Nomological Validity and Internal Consistency among Colombian College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos, Guillermo A.; Suescun, Jesus D.; Oviedo, Heidi C.; Herazo, Edwin; Campo-Arias, Adalberto

    2015-01-01

    The Spanish version of the five-item Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity is a refinement of the short version of the Francis scale of attitude toward Christianity. The scale is a good measurement for intrinsic religiosity. It has been applied previously among Colombian adolescent students. The internal consistency and construct and…

  12. Temporal and Geographic variation in the validity and internal consistency of the Nursing Home Resident Assessment Minimum Data Set 2.0.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mor, Vincent; Intrator, Orna; Unruh, Mark Aaron; Cai, Shubing

    2011-04-15

    The Minimum Data Set (MDS) for nursing home resident assessment has been required in all U.S. nursing homes since 1990 and has been universally computerized since 1998. Initially intended to structure clinical care planning, uses of the MDS expanded to include policy applications such as case-mix reimbursement, quality monitoring and research. The purpose of this paper is to summarize a series of analyses examining the internal consistency and predictive validity of the MDS data as used in the "real world" in all U.S. nursing homes between 1999 and 2007. We used person level linked MDS and Medicare denominator and all institutional claim files including inpatient (hospital and skilled nursing facilities) for all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries entering U.S. nursing homes during the period 1999 to 2007. We calculated the sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of diagnoses taken from Medicare hospital claims and from the MDS among all new admissions from hospitals to nursing homes and the internal consistency (alpha reliability) of pairs of items within the MDS that logically should be related. We also tested the internal consistency of commonly used MDS based multi-item scales and examined the predictive validity of an MDS based severity measure viz. one year survival. Finally, we examined the correspondence of the MDS discharge record to hospitalizations and deaths seen in Medicare claims, and the completeness of MDS assessments upon skilled nursing facility (SNF) admission. Each year there were some 800,000 new admissions directly from hospital to US nursing homes and some 900,000 uninterrupted SNF stays. Comparing Medicare enrollment records and claims with MDS records revealed reasonably good correspondence that improved over time (by 2006 only 3% of deaths had no MDS discharge record, only 5% of SNF stays had no MDS, but over 20% of MDS discharges indicating hospitalization had no associated Medicare claim). The PPV and sensitivity levels of

  13. The test of variables of attention (TOVA): Internal consistency (Q1 vs. Q2 and Q3 vs. Q4) in children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The internal consistency of the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) was examined in a cohort of 6- to 12-year-old children (N = 63) strictly diagnosed with ADHD. The internal consistency of errors of omission (OMM), errors of commission (COM), response time (RT), and response time variability (RTV...

  14. Adaptação transcultural e consistência interna do Early Trauma Inventory (ETI Early Trauma Inventory (ETI: cross-cultural adaptation and internal consistency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Feijó de Mello

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available As experiências traumáticas precoces são um fator de risco preditivo de problemas psicopatológicos futuros. O Early Trauma Inventory (ETI é um instrumento que avalia em indivíduos adultos experiências traumáticas ocorridas antes dos 18 anos de idade. Tal instrumento foi traduzido, transculturalmente adaptado e sua consistência interna foi avaliada. Vítimas de violência que preencheram os critérios de inclusão e exclusão foram submetidas a uma entrevista diagnóstica (SCID-I e ao ETI. Foram incluídos 91 pacientes com o transtorno do estresse pós-traumático (TEPT. O alfa de Cronbach nos diferentes domínios variou de 0,595-0,793, e o escore total foi de 0,878. A maior parte dos itens nos vários domínios, com exceção do abuso emocional, apresentou índices de correlação interitem entre 0,51-0,99. A versão adaptada foi útil tanto na clínica quanto na pesquisa. Apresentou boa consistência interna e na correlação interitem. O ETI é um instrumento válido, com boa consistência para se avaliar a presença de história de traumas precoces em indivíduos adultos.Early life stress is a strong predictor of future psychopathology during adulthood. The Early Trauma Inventory (ETI was developed to detect the presence and impact of traumatic experiences that occurred up to 18 years of age. The ETI was translated and cross-culturally adapted and had its consistency evaluated. Victims of violence that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were submitted to SCID-I and ETI. Ninety-one patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD were included. Cronbach's alpha in the different domains varied from 0.595 to 0.793, and the total score was 0.878. Except for emotional abuse, most of the various domains displayed inter-item correlation rates of 0.51 to 0.99. The adapted version was useful for clinical and research purposes and showed good internal consistency and inter-item correlation. The ETI is a valid instrument with good

  15. Reliability, factor analysis and internal consistency calculation of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI in French and in English among Lebanese adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Chahoud

    2017-06-01

    Conclusion: The results of our analyses reveal that both English and French versions of the ISI scale have good internal consistency and are reproducible and reliable. Therefore, it can be used to assess the prevalence of insomnia in Lebanese adolescents.

  16. Crosslinguistic Developmental Consistency in the Composition of Toddlers’ Internal State Vocabulary: Evidence from Four Languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanne Kristen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Mental state language, emerging in the second and third years of life in typically developing children, is one of the first signs of an explicit psychological understanding. While mental state vocabulary may serve a variety of conversational functions in discourse and thus might not always indicate psychological comprehension, there is evidence for genuine references to mental states (desires, knowledge, beliefs, and emotions early in development across languages. This present study presents parental questionnaire data on the composition of 297 toddler-aged (30-to 32-month-olds children’s internal state vocabulary in four languages: Italian, German, English, and French. The results demonstrated that across languages expressions for physiological states (e.g., hungry and tired were among the most varied, while children’s vocabulary for cognitive entities (e.g., know and think proved to be least varied. Further, consistent with studies on children’s comprehension of these concepts, across languages children’s mastery of volition terms (e.g., like to do and want preceded their mastery of cognition terms. These findings confirm the cross-linguistic consistency of children’s emerging expression of abstract psychological concepts.

  17. Factor structure, internal consistency and reliability of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL: an exploratory study Estrutura fatorial, consistência interna e confiabilidade do Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL: um estudo exploratório

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo de Paula Lima

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD is an anxiety disorder resulting from exposure to traumatic events. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL is a self-report measure largely used to evaluate the presence of PTSD. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the internal consistency, temporal reliability and factor validity of the Portuguese language version of the PCL used in Brazil. METHODS: A total of 186 participants were recruited. The sample was heterogeneous with regard to occupation, sociodemographic data, mental health history, and exposure to traumatic events. Subjects answered the PCL at two occasions within a 15 days’ interval (range: 5-15 days. RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha coefficients indicated high internal consistency for the total scale (0.91 and for the theoretical dimensions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV (0.83, 0.81, and 0.80. Temporal reliability (test-retest was high and consistent for different cutoffs. Maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis (EFA was conducted and oblique rotation (Promax was applied. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO index (0.911 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ² = 1,381.34, p INTRODUÇÃO: O transtorno do estresse pós-traumático (TEPT é um transtorno de ansiedade decorrente da exposição a eventos traumáticos. Entre as medidas de avaliação dos sintomas, destaca-se o Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL. OBJETIVO: Investigar a consistência interna, a confiabilidade temporal e a validade fatorial da versão do PCL em português, utilizada no Brasil. MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo 186 indivíduos heterogêneos em relação a ocupação, características sociodemográficas, histórico de saúde mental e exposição a eventos traumáticos. O PCL foi aplicado em dois momentos considerando um intervalo máximo de 15 dias (intervalo: 5-15 dias. RESULTADOS: A consistência interna (alfa de Cronbach foi adequada para a escala

  18. The influence of international and domestic events in the evolution of forest inventory and reporting consistency in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    W. Brad Smith

    2009-01-01

    This article takes a brief chronological look at resource inventory and reporting and links to international influences. It explores events as drivers of more consistent data within the United States and highlights key dates and events in the evolution of inventory policy and practice. From King George to L?Ecole nationale forestiere to the Food and Agriculture...

  19. Assessment of test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Wisconsin Gait Scale in hemiparetic post-stroke patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guzik Agnieszka

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: A proper assessment of gait pattern is a significant aspect in planning the process of teaching gait in hemiparetic post-stroke patients. The Wisconsin Gait Scale (WGS is an observational tool for assessing post-stroke patients’ gait. The aim of the study was to assess test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the WGS and examine correlations between gait assessment made with the WGS and gait speed, Brunnström scale, Ashworth’s scale and the Barthel Index.

  20. Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Profile Fitness Mapping Neck Questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese: Internal Consistency, Reliability, and Construct and Structural Validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Mariana Cândido; Björklund, Martin; Dach, Fabiola; Chaves, Thais Cristina

    The purpose of this study was to adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the ProFitMap-neck to Brazilian Portuguese. The cross-cultural adaptation consisted of 5 stages, and 180 female patients with chronic neck pain participated in the study. A subsample (n = 30) answered the pretest, and another subsample (n = 100) answered the questionnaire a second time. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity (hypothesis testing and structural validity) were estimated. For construct validity, the scores of the questionnaire were correlated with the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Internal consistency was determined by adequate Cronbach's α values (α > 0.70). Strong reliability was identified by high intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC > 0.75). Construct validity was identified by moderate and strong correlations of the Br-ProFitMap-neck with total NDI score (-0.56 50%, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index > 0.50, eigenvalue > 1, and factor loadings > 0.2. Br-ProFitMap-neck had adequate psychometric properties and can be used in clinical settings, as well as research, in patients with chronic neck pain. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  1. Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg (EAR: validade fatorial e consistência interna Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSS: factorial validity and internal consistency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Burges Sbicigo

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar as propriedades psicométricas da Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg (EAR para adolescentes. Participaram 4.757 adolescentes, com idades entre 14 e 18 anos (M=15,77; DP=1,22, de nove cidades brasileiras. Os participantes responderam a uma versão da EAR adaptada para o Brasil. A análise fatorial exploratória apontou uma estrutura bidimensional, com 51.4% da variância explicada, que foi sustentada pela análise fatorial confirmatória. As análises de consistência interna realizadas por meio do coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, confiabilidade composta e variância extraída indicaram bons valores de fidedignidade. Diferenças nos escores de autoestima em função do sexo e da idade não foram encontradas. Conclui-se que a EAR apresenta qualidades psicométricas satisfatórias, mostrando-se um instrumento confiável para medir autoestima em adolescentes brasileiros.The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometrics properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSS for adolescents. The sample was composed of 4.757 adolescents, with ages between 14 and 18 years old (M=15.77; SD=1.22 in nine Brazilian cities. Participants responded to an adapted version of the RSS for Brazil. Exploratory factorial analysis showed a bidimensional structure, with 51.4% of explained variance. This result was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency analysis by Cronbach alpha coefficient, composite reliability and extracted variance indicated good reliability. Differences in self-esteem for gender and age were not found. These findings show that RSS has satisfactory psychometric qualities and it's a reliable instrument to assess self-esteem in Brazilian adolescents.

  2. Sixteen-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index: Confirmatory factor analytic evidence, internal consistency, and construct validity in a young adult sample from the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vujanovic, Anka A.; Arrindell, Willem A.; Bernstein, Amit; Norton, Peter J.; Zvolensky, Michael J.

    The present investigation examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity of the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss Peterson, Gursky, & McNally 1986) in a young adult sample (n = 420)from the Netherlands. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to comparatively

  3. Consistent guiding center drift theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wimmel, H.K.

    1982-04-01

    Various guiding-center drift theories are presented that are optimized in respect of consistency. They satisfy exact energy conservation theorems (in time-independent fields), Liouville's theorems, and appropriate power balance equations. A theoretical framework is given that allows direct and exact derivation of associated drift-kinetic equations from the respective guiding-center drift-orbit theories. These drift-kinetic equations are listed. Northrop's non-optimized theory is discussed for reference, and internal consistency relations of G.C. drift theories are presented. (orig.)

  4. Collective action on the western range: coping with external and internal threats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abigail M. York

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Collaborative natural resource management institutions enable agents with diverse interests to come together to solve complex problems. These actors must overcome a series of collective action problems to create, maintain, and evolve these institutions. In addition to the challenge of heterogeneous actors, these commons social-ecological systems often face internal and external threats or disturbances. The institutional arrangements may be effective with problems that are internal to a social-ecological system – ones that they are designed to handle, but how do these arrangements cope with external disturbances, especially ones caused by large-scale political and economic decisions, events, and processes. Using ethnographic and archival data we conduct an institutional analysis outlining the existing and emerging collaboratives, the important actors, and ongoing efforts to cope with the five major challenges identified by rangeland actors. We trace the evolution of institutions on the western range with a focus on their ability to cope with challenges that are largely within the system – biodiversity, fire, and water management, and those that are driven externally by actors who are largely absent – border militarization and violence and exurbanization.

  5. Role of the Office International des Epizooties in protecting the health of free-ranging mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blancou, J

    1992-12-01

    The various activities undertaken by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) since 1924 to protect the helth of free-ranging mammals are outlined and discussed. Two types of activity have been conducted over the years: --The first type promotes measures to protect the health of free-ranging mammals in order to safeguard the health of domestic animals and human beings. These measures have prevented the propagation of the highly contagious diseases of animals and the more serious zoonoses. --The second type aims at protecting the health of free-ranging mammals in order to maintain the fauna and the natural equilibrium. Ecological and epidemiological studies are promoted with a view to effective management of wildlife populations and overcoming the associated health risks. By virtue of its close contacts with officials in charge of animal health in 126 Member Countries, the OIE has made a noteworthy contribution to the protection of populations of free-ranging mammals.

  6. Mutually consistent thermodynamic potentials for fluid water, ice and seawater: a new standard for oceanography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Feistel

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available A new seawater standard for oceanographic and engineering applications has been developed that consists of three independent thermodynamic potential functions, derived from extensive distinct sets of very accurate experimental data. The results have been formulated as Releases of the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam, IAPWS (1996, 2006, 2008 and are expected to be adopted internationally by other organizations in subsequent years. In order to successfully perform computations such as phase equilibria from combinations of these potential functions, mutual compatibility and consistency of these independent mathematical functions must be ensured. In this article, a brief review of their separate development and ranges of validity is given. We analyse background details on the conditions specified at their reference states, the triple point and the standard ocean state, to ensure the mutual consistency of the different formulations, and the necessity and possibility of numerically evaluating metastable states of liquid water. Computed from this formulation in quadruple precision (128-bit floating point numbers, tables of numerical reference values are provided as anchor points for the consistent incorporation of additional potential functions in the future, and as unambiguous benchmarks to be used in the determination of numerical uncertainty estimates of double-precision implementations on different platforms that may be customized for special purposes.

  7. Evidence for the Psychometric Validity, Internal Consistency and Measurement Invariance of Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale Scores in Scottish and Irish Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, Michael T; Andretta, James R

    2017-09-01

    Mental well-being is an important indicator of current, but also the future health of adolescents. The 14-item Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) has been well validated in adults world-wide, but less work has been undertaken to examine the psychometric validity and internal consistency of WEMWBS scores in adolescents. In particular, little research has examined scores on the short 7-item version of the WEMWBS. The present study used two large samples of school children in Scotland and Northern Ireland and found that for both forms of the WEMWBS, scores were psychometrically valid, internally consistent, factor saturated, and measurement invariant by country. Using the WEMWBS full form, males reported significantly higher scores than females, and Northern Irish adolescents reported significantly higher scores than their Scottish counterparts. Last, the lowest overall levels of well-being were observed among Scottish females. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. Detector with internal gain for short-wave infrared ranging applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fathipour, Vala; Mohseni, Hooman

    2017-09-01

    Abstarct.Highly sensitive photon detectors are regarded as the key enabling elements in many applications. Due to the low photon energy at the short-wave infrared (SWIR), photon detection and imaging at this band are very challenging. As such, many efforts in photon detector research are directed toward improving the performance of the photon detectors operating in this wavelength range. To solve these problems, we have developed an electron-injection (EI) technique. The significance of this detection mechanism is that it can provide both high efficiency and high sensitivity at room temperature, a condition that is very difficult to achieve in conventional SWIR detectors. An EI detector offers an overall system-level sensitivity enhancement due to a feedback stabilized internal avalanche-free gain. Devices exhibit an excess noise of unity, operate in linear mode, require bias voltage of a few volts, and have a cutoff wavelength of 1700 nm. We review the material system, operating principle, and development of EI detectors. The shortcomings of the first-generation devices were addressed in the second-generation detectors. Measurement on second-generation devices showed a high-speed response of ˜6 ns rise time, low jitter of less than 20 ps, high amplification of more than 2000 (at optical power levels larger than a few nW), unity excess noise factor, and low leakage current (amplified dark current ˜10 nA at a bias voltage of -3 V and at room temperature. These characteristics make EI detectors a good candidate for high-resolution flash light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications with millimeter scale depth resolution at longer ranges compared with conventional p-i-n diodes. Based on our experimentally measured device characteristics, we compare the performance of the EI detector with commercially available linear mode InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD) as well as a p-i-n diode using a theoretical model. Flash LiDAR images obtained by our model show that the EI

  9. Interface Consistency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Staunstrup, Jørgen

    1998-01-01

    This paper proposes that Interface Consistency is an important issue for the development of modular designs. Byproviding a precise specification of component interfaces it becomes possible to check that separately developedcomponents use a common interface in a coherent matter thus avoiding a very...... significant source of design errors. Awide range of interface specifications are possible, the simplest form is a syntactical check of parameter types.However, today it is possible to do more sophisticated forms involving semantic checks....

  10. Happiness as stable extraversion : internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire among undergraduate students\\ud \\ud

    OpenAIRE

    Robbins, Mandy; Francis, Leslie J.; Edwards, Bethan

    2010-01-01

    The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) was developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) to provide a more accessible equivalent measure of the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI). The aim of the present study was to examine the internal consistency reliability, and construct validity of this new instrument alongside the Eysenckian dimensional model of personality. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was completed by a sample of 131 undergraduate students together with the abbreviated form of the Revise...

  11. A dynamic Thurstonian item response theory of motive expression in the picture story exercise: solving the internal consistency paradox of the PSE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Jonas W B

    2014-07-01

    The measurement of implicit or unconscious motives using the picture story exercise (PSE) has long been a target of debate in the psychological literature. Most debates have centered on the apparent paradox that PSE measures of implicit motives typically show low internal consistency reliability on common indices like Cronbach's alpha but nevertheless predict behavioral outcomes. I describe a dynamic Thurstonian item response theory (IRT) model that builds on dynamic system theories of motivation, theorizing on the PSE response process, and recent advancements in Thurstonian IRT modeling of choice data. To assess the models' capability to explain the internal consistency paradox, I first fitted the model to archival data (Gurin, Veroff, & Feld, 1957) and then simulated data based on bias-corrected model estimates from the real data. Simulation results revealed that the average squared correlation reliability for the motives in the Thurstonian IRT model was .74 and that Cronbach's alpha values were similar to the real data (value of extant evidence from motivational research using PSE motive measures. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  12. The Iranian version of 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12: factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mousavi Sayed

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12 as a shorter alternative of the SF-36 is largely used in health outcomes surveys. The aim of this study was to validate the SF-12 in Iran. Methods A random sample of the general population aged 15 years and over living in Tehran, Iran completed the SF-12. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and validity was assessed using known groups comparison and convergent validity. In addition, the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing both exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA. Results: In all, 5587 individuals were studied (2721 male and 2866 female. The mean age and formal education of the respondents were 35.1 (SD = 15.4 and 10.2 (SD = 4.4 years respectively. The results showed satisfactory internal consistency for both summary measures, that are the Physical Component Summary (PCS and the Mental Component Summary (MCS; Cronbach's α for PCS-12 and MCS-12 was 0.73 and 0.72, respectively. Known-groups comparison showed that the SF-12 discriminated well between men and women and those who differed in age and educational status (P Conclusion In general the findings suggest that the SF-12 is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among Iranian population. However, further studies are needed to establish stronger psychometric properties for this alternative form of the SF-36 Health Survey in Iran.

  13. 26 CFR 1.338-8 - Asset and stock consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... that are controlled foreign corporations. (6) Stock consistency. This section limits the application of... 26 Internal Revenue 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Asset and stock consistency. 1.338-8 Section 1... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Effects on Corporation § 1.338-8 Asset and stock consistency. (a) Introduction—(1...

  14. Selective Synthesis of Gasoline-Ranged Hydrocarbons from Syngas over Hybrid Catalyst Consisting of Metal-Loaded ZSM-5 Coupled with Copper-Zinc Oxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting Ma

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The conversion of syngas (CO + H2 to gasoline-ranged hydrocarbons was carried out using a hybrid catalyst consisting of metal-loaded ZSM-5 coupled with Cu-ZnO in a near-critical n-hexane solvent. Methanol was synthesized from syngas over Cu-ZnO; subsequently, was converted to hydrocarbons through the formation of dimethyl ether (DME over the metal-loaded ZSM-5. When 0.5 wt% Pd/ZSM-5 and 5 wt% Cu/ZSM-5 among the metal-loaded ZSM-5 catalysts with Pd, Co, Fe or Cu were employed as a portion of the hybrid catalyst, the gasoline-ranged hydrocarbons were selectively produced (the gasoline-ranged hydrocarbons in all hydrocarbons: 59% for the hybrid catalyst with Pd/ZSM-5 and 64% for that with Cu/ZSM-5 with a similar CO conversion during the reaction. An increase in the Cu loading on ZSM-5 resulted in increasing the yield of the gasoline-ranged hydrocarbons, and in decreasing the yield of DME. Furthermore, the hybrid catalyst with Cu/ZSM-5 exhibited no deactivation for 30 h of the reaction. It was revealed that a hybrid catalyst containing Cu/ZSM-5 was efficient in the selective synthesis of gasoline-ranged hydrocarbons from syngas via methanol in the near-critical n-hexane fluid.

  15. Toward a consistent modeling framework to assess multi-sectoral climate impacts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monier, Erwan; Paltsev, Sergey; Sokolov, Andrei; Chen, Y-H Henry; Gao, Xiang; Ejaz, Qudsia; Couzo, Evan; Schlosser, C Adam; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie; Fant, Charles; Scott, Jeffery; Kicklighter, David; Morris, Jennifer; Jacoby, Henry; Prinn, Ronald; Haigh, Martin

    2018-02-13

    Efforts to estimate the physical and economic impacts of future climate change face substantial challenges. To enrich the currently popular approaches to impact analysis-which involve evaluation of a damage function or multi-model comparisons based on a limited number of standardized scenarios-we propose integrating a geospatially resolved physical representation of impacts into a coupled human-Earth system modeling framework. Large internationally coordinated exercises cannot easily respond to new policy targets and the implementation of standard scenarios across models, institutions and research communities can yield inconsistent estimates. Here, we argue for a shift toward the use of a self-consistent integrated modeling framework to assess climate impacts, and discuss ways the integrated assessment modeling community can move in this direction. We then demonstrate the capabilities of such a modeling framework by conducting a multi-sectoral assessment of climate impacts under a range of consistent and integrated economic and climate scenarios that are responsive to new policies and business expectations.

  16. Biological effects of tritium on fish cells in the concentration range of international drinking water standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart, Marilyne; Festarini, Amy; Schleicher, Krista; Tan, Elizabeth; Kim, Sang Bog; Wen, Kendall; Gawlik, Jilian; Ulsh, Brant

    2016-10-01

    To evaluate whether the current Canadian tritium drinking water limit is protective of aquatic biota, an in vitro study was designed to assess the biological effects of low concentrations of tritium, similar to what would typically be found near a Canadian nuclear power station, and higher concentrations spanning the range of international tritium drinking water standards. Channel catfish peripheral blood B-lymphoblast and fathead minnow testis cells were exposed to 10-100,000 Bq l(-1) of tritium, after which eight molecular and cellular endpoints were assessed. Increased numbers of DNA strand breaks were observed and ATP levels were increased. There were no increases in γH2AX-mediated DNA repair. No differences in cell growth were noted. Exposure to the lowest concentrations of tritium were associated with a modest increase in the viability of fathead minnow testicular cells. Using the micronucleus assay, an adaptive response was observed in catfish B-lymphoblasts. Using molecular endpoints, biological responses to tritium in the range of Canadian and international drinking water standards were observed. At the cellular level, no detrimental effects were noted on growth or cycling, and protective effects were observed as an increase in cell viability and an induced resistance to a large challenge dose.

  17. The initial safe range of motion of the ankle joint after three methods of internal fixation of simulated fractures of the medial malleolus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimamura, Yoshio; Kaneko, Kazuo; Kume, Kazuhiko; Maeda, Mutsuhiro; Iwase, Hideaki

    2006-07-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated the safe passive range of ankle motion for inter-bone stiffness after internal fixation under load but there is a lack of information about the safe range of ankle motion for early rehabilitation in the absence of loading. The present study was designed to assess the effect of ankle movement on inter-bone displacement characteristics of medial malleolus fractures following three types of internal fixation to determine the safe range of motion. Five lower legs obtained during autopsy were used to assess three types of internal fixation (two with Kirschner-wires alone; two with Kirschner-wires plus tension band wiring; and, one with an AO/ASIF malleolar screw alone). Following a simulated fracture by sawing through the medial malleolus the displacement between the fractured bone ends was measured during a passive range of movement with continuous monitoring using omega (Omega) shaped transducers and a biaxial flexible goniometer. Statistical analysis was performed with repeated measures analysis of variance. Inter-bone displacement was not proportional to the magnitude of movement throughout the range of ankle motion as, when separation exceeded 25 microm, there was increasingly wide separation as plantar-flexion or dorsal-flexion was increased. There was no statistical significant difference between the small amount of inter-bone displacement observed with three types of fixation within the safe range of dorsal-flexion and plantar-flexion for early rehabilitation. However the inter-bone separation when fixation utilized two Kirschner-wires alone tended to be greater than when using the other two types of fixation during dorsal-flexion and eversion. The present study revealed a reproducible range of ankle motion for early rehabilitation which was estimated to be within the range of 20 degrees of dorsal-flexion and 10 degrees of plantar-flexion without eversion. Also, internal fixation with two Kirschner-wires alone does not seem to

  18. Dental examiners consistency in applying the ICDAS criteria for a caries prevention community trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, S; Eggertsson, H; Powell, B; Mandelaris, J; Ntragatakis, M; Richardson, T; Ferretti, G

    2011-09-01

    To examine dental examiners' one-year consistency in utilizing the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria after baseline training and calibration. A total of three examiners received baseline training/calibration by a "gold standard" examiner, and one year later re-calibration was conducted. For the baseline training/calibration, subjects aged 8-16 years, and for the re-calibration subjects aged five to six years were recruited for the study. The ICDAS criteria were used to classify visual caries lesion severity (0-6 scale), lesion activity (active/inactive), and presence of filling material (0-9 scale) of all available tooth surfaces of permanent and primary teeth. The examination used a clinical light, mirror and air syringe. Kappa (weighted: Wkappa, unweighted: Kappa) statistics were used to determine inter-and intra-examiner reliability at baseline and re-calibration. For lesion severity and filling criteria, the baseline calibration on 35 subjects indicated an inter-rater Wkappa ranging from 0.69-0.92 and intra-rater Wkappa ranging from 0.81-0.92. Re-calibration on 22 subjects indicated an inter-rater Wkappa of 0.77-0.98 and intra-rater Wkappa ranged from 0.93-1.00. The Wkappa for filling was consistently in the excellent range, while lesion severity was in the good to excellent range. Activity kappa was in the poor to good range. All examiners improved with time. The baseline training/calibration in ICDAS was crucial to maintain the stability of the examiners reliability over a one year period. The ICDAS can be an effective assessment tool for community-based clinical trials.

  19. Internally consistent gamma ray burst time history phenomenology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cline, T.L.

    1985-01-01

    A phenomenology for gamma ray burst time histories is outlined. Order of their generally chaotic appearance is attempted, based on the speculation that any one burst event can be represented above 150 keV as a superposition of similarly shaped increases of varying intensity. The increases can generally overlap, however, confusing the picture, but a given event must at least exhibit its own limiting characteristic rise and decay times if the measurements are made with instruments having adequate temporal resolution. Most catalogued observations may be of doubtful or marginal utility to test this hypothesis, but some time histories from Helios-2, Pioneer Venus Orbiter and other instruments having one-to several-millisecond capabilities appear to provide consistency. Also, recent studies of temporally resolved Solar Maximum Mission burst energy spectra are entirely compatible with this picture. The phenomenology suggested here, if correct, may assist as an analytic tool for modelling of burst processes and possibly in the definition of burst source populations

  20. Developing consistent pronunciation models for phonemic variants

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Davel, M

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available Pronunciation lexicons often contain pronunciation variants. This can create two problems: It can be difficult to define these variants in an internally consistent way and it can also be difficult to extract generalised grapheme-to-phoneme rule sets...

  1. The model of the long-range effect in solids: Evolution of structure, clusters of internal boundaries, and their statistical descriptors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herega, Alexander; Sukhanov, Volodymyr; Vyrovoy, Valery

    2017-12-01

    It is known that the multifocal mechanism of genesis of structure of heterogeneous materials provokes intensive formation of internal boundaries. In the present papers, the dependence of the structure and properties of material on the characteristic size and shape, the number and size distribution, and the character of interaction of individual internal boundaries and their clusters is studied. The limitation on the applicability of the material damage coefficient is established; the effective information descriptor of internal boundaries is proposed. An idea of the effect of long-range interaction in irradiated solids on the realization of the second-order phase transition is introduced; a phenomenological percolation model of the effect is proposed.

  2. The Rucio Consistency Service

    CERN Document Server

    Serfon, Cedric; The ATLAS collaboration

    2016-01-01

    One of the biggest challenge with Large scale data management system is to ensure the consistency between the global file catalog and what is physically on all storage elements. To tackle this issue, the Rucio software which is used by the ATLAS Distributed Data Management system has been extended to automatically handle lost or unregistered files (aka Dark Data). This system automatically detects these inconsistencies and take actions like recovery or deletion of unneeded files in a central manner. In this talk, we will present this system, explain the internals and give some results.

  3. Exploring the consistency, transparency and portability of dental technology education: benchmarking across Norway, Ireland and Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myhrer, T; Evans, J L; Haugen, H K; Gorman, C; Kavanagh, Y; Cameron, A B

    2016-08-01

    Dental technology programmes of study must prepare students to practice in a broad range of contemporary workplaces. Currently, there is limited evidence to benchmark dental technology education - locally, nationally or internationally. This research aims to improve consistency, transparency and portability of dental technology qualifications across three countries. Data were accessed from open-source curriculum documents and five calibrated assessment items. Three institutions collaborated with Oslo and Akershus University College, Norway; Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; and Griffith University, Australia. From these, 29-44 students completed 174 assessments. The curricula reflect the community needs of each country and display common themes that underpin professional dental technology practice. Assessment results differed between institutions but no more than a normal distribution. Face-to-face assessment moderation was critical to achieve consistency. This collaborative research has led to the development of a set of guidelines for other dental technology education providers interested in developing or aligning courses internationally to enhance the portability of qualifications. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, internal consistency and validation of the Hand Function Sort (HFS©) for French speaking patients with upper limb complaints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konzelmann, M; Burrus, C; Hilfiker, R; Rivier, G; Deriaz, O; Luthi, F

    2015-03-01

    Functional evaluation of upper limb is not only based on clinical findings but requires self-administered questionnaires to address patients' perspective. The Hand Function Sort (HFS©) was only validated in English. The aim of this study was the French cross cultural adaptation and validation of the HFS© (HFS-F). 150 patients with various upper limbs impairments were recruited in a rehabilitation center. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were made according to international guidelines. Construct validity was estimated through correlations with Disabilities Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, SF-36 mental component summary (MCS),SF-36 physical component summary (PCS) and pain intensity. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation. Cronbach's α was 0.98, test-retest reliability was excellent at 0.921 (95 % CI 0.871-0.971) same as original HFS©. Correlations with DASH were-0.779 (95 % CI -0.847 to -0.685); with SF 36 PCS 0.452 (95 % CI 0.276-0.599); with pain -0.247 (95 % CI -0.429 to -0.041); with SF 36 MCS 0.242 (95 % CI 0.042-0.422). There were no floor or ceiling effects. The HFS-F has the same good psychometric properties as the original HFS© (internal consistency, test retest reliability, convergent validity with DASH, divergent validity with SF-36 MCS, and no floor or ceiling effects). The convergent validity with SF-36 PCS was poor; we found no correlation with pain. The HFS-F could be used with confidence in a population of working patients. Other studies are necessary to study its psychometric properties in other populations.

  5. Bootstrap embedding: An internally consistent fragment-based method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Welborn, Matthew; Tsuchimochi, Takashi; Van Voorhis, Troy [Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

    2016-08-21

    Strong correlation poses a difficult problem for electronic structure theory, with computational cost scaling quickly with system size. Fragment embedding is an attractive approach to this problem. By dividing a large complicated system into smaller manageable fragments “embedded” in an approximate description of the rest of the system, we can hope to ameliorate the steep cost of correlated calculations. While appealing, these methods often converge slowly with fragment size because of small errors at the boundary between fragment and bath. We describe a new electronic embedding method, dubbed “Bootstrap Embedding,” a self-consistent wavefunction-in-wavefunction embedding theory that uses overlapping fragments to improve the description of fragment edges. We apply this method to the one dimensional Hubbard model and a translationally asymmetric variant, and find that it performs very well for energies and populations. We find Bootstrap Embedding converges rapidly with embedded fragment size, overcoming the surface-area-to-volume-ratio error typical of many embedding methods. We anticipate that this method may lead to a low-scaling, high accuracy treatment of electron correlation in large molecular systems.

  6. Construct validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Thai version of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand questionnaire (DASH-TH) in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buntragulpoontawee, Montana; Phutrit, Suphatha; Tongprasert, Siam; Wongpakaran, Tinakon; Khunachiva, Jeeranan

    2018-03-27

    This study evaluated additional psychometric properties of the Thai version of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand questionnaire (DASH-TH) which included, test-retest reliability, construct validity, internal consistency of in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. As for determining construct validity, the Thai EuroQOL questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) was also administered in order to examine convergent and divergent validity. Fifty patients completed both questionnaires. The DASH-TH showed excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.811) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.911). The exploratory factor analysis yielded a six-factor solution while the confirmatory factor analysis denoted that the hypothesized model adequately fit the data with a comparative fit index of 0.967 and a Tucker-Lewis index of 0.964. The related subscales between the DASH-TH and the Thai EQ-5D-5L were significantly correlated, indicating the DASH-TH's convergent and discriminant validity. The DASH-TH demonstrated good reliability, internal consistency construct validity, and multidimensionality, in assessing the upper extremity function in carpal tunnel syndrome patients.

  7. Risk management and internal audit: Evidence from Greece

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Drogalas

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Risk management is ranked by financial executives as one of their most important objectives. For this reason, a wide range of literature on risk management has been developed. Within this fluid business environment, internal audit plays a key role in monitoring a company’s risk profile and identifying areas for improving risk management processes. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the factors that impact on risk management regarding internal audit function. Empirical evidence was collected by means of a mailed survey. Regression analysis is used in order to illustrate the information gathered. Consistent with theory and our expectations, the results indicate that internal audit, internal auditor and added value of internal audit are statistically significantly associated with risk management.

  8. A Time consistent model for monetary value of man-sievert

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Na, S.H.; Kim, Sun G.

    2008-01-01

    Full text: Performing a cost-benefit analysis to establish optimum levels of radiation protection under the ALARA principle, we introduce a discrete stepwise model to evaluate man-sievert monetary value of Korea. The model formula, which is unique and country-specific, is composed of GDP, the nominal risk coefficient for cancer and hereditary effects, the aversion factor against radiation exposure, and the average life expectancy. Unlike previous researches on alpha-value assessment, we showed different alpha values optimized with respect to various ranges of individual dose, which would be more realistic and applicable to the radiation protection area. Employing economically constant term of GDP we showed the real values of man-sievert by year, which should be consistent in time series comparison even under price level fluctuation. GDP deflators of an economy have to be applied to measure one's own consistent value of radiation protection by year. In addition, we recommend that the concept of purchasing power parity should be adopted if it needs international comparison of alpha values in real terms. Finally, we explain the way that this stepwise model can be generalized simply to other countries without normalizing any country-specific factors. (author)

  9. Evaluation of the accuracy, consistency, and stability of measurements of the Planck constant used in the redefinition of the international system of units

    Science.gov (United States)

    Possolo, Antonio; Schlamminger, Stephan; Stoudt, Sara; Pratt, Jon R.; Williams, Carl J.

    2018-02-01

    The Consultative Committee for Mass and related quantities (CCM), of the International Committee for weights and measures (CIPM), has recently declared the readiness of the community to support the redefinition of the international system of units (SI) at the next meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) scheduled for November, 2018. Such redefinition will replace the international prototype of the Kilogram (IPK), as the definition and sole primary realization of the unit of mass, with a definition involving the Planck constant, h. This redefinition in terms of a fundamental constant of nature will enable widespread primary realizations not only of the kilogram but also of its multiples and sub-multiples, best to address the full range of practical needs in the measurement of mass. We review and discuss the statistical models and statistical data reductions, uncertainty evaluations, and substantive arguments that support the verification of several technical preconditions for the redefinition that the CCM has established, and whose verification the CCM has affirmed. These conditions relate to the accuracy and mutual consistency of qualifying measurement results. We review also an issue that has surfaced only recently, concerning the convergence toward a stable value, of the historical values that the task group on fundamental constants of the committee on Data for Science and Technology CODATA-TGFC has recommended for h over the years, even though the CCM has not deemed this issue to be relevant. We conclude that no statistically significant trend can be substantiated for these recommended values, but note that cumulative consensus values that may be derived from the historical measurement results for h seem to have converged while continuing to exhibit fluctuations that are typical of a process in statistical control. Finally, we argue that the most recent consensus value derived from the best measurements available for h, obtained using

  10. 26 CFR 301.6222(a)-1 - Consistent treatment of partnership items.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Consistent treatment of partnership items. 301... Consistent treatment of partnership items. (a) In general. The treatment of a partnership item on the partner's return must be consistent with the treatment of that item by the partnership on the partnership...

  11. Test-Retest Reliability, Convergent Validity, and Internal Consistency of the Persian Version of Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale in Iranian Community-Dwelling Older Adults

    OpenAIRE

    Azar Sabet; Akram Azad; Ghorban Taghizadeh

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate convergent validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Persian translation of the Fullerton advanced balance (FAB) for use in Iranian community- dwelling older adults and improve the quality of their functional balance assessment. Methods & Materials: The original scale was translated with forward-backward protocol. In the next step, using convenience sampling and inclusion criteria, 88 functionally indep...

  12. Precise Range Determination Using Laser Ranging Data of LAGEOS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwang-Ryul Kim

    1993-12-01

    Full Text Available Satellite laser ranging observation of LAGEOS ¥± has been performed using the SLR System at Sheshan Laser Ranging Station, Shanghai Observatory. And we obtained 1,838 observational points The observed range data is corrected by means of system delay correction using ground target observation, atmospheric refraction delay correction, offset correction, general relativistic correction and tide correction including solid tide, polar tide and ocean tide. As a result, the determined range delay mean value is 19.12m and the mean internal accuracy by means of polynomial fitting and least square method is ¡¾7cm. Corrected observational points are 1,340 and noise ratio to total observational points is 27.1%

  13. Actinide data in the thermal energy range - International Evaluation Co-operation Volume 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tellier, Henri; Weigmann, H.; Sowerby, M.; Mattes, Margarete; Matsunobu, Hiroyuki; Tsuchihashi, Keichiro; Halsall, M.J.; Weston, L.; Deruytter, A.J.

    1994-01-01

    A Working Party on International Evaluation Co-operation was established under the sponsorship of the OECD/NEA Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) to promote the exchange of information on nuclear data evaluations, validation, and related topics. Its aim is also to provide a framework for co-operative activities between members of the major nuclear data evaluation projects. This includes the possible exchange of scientists in order to encourage co-operation. Requirements for experimental data resulting from this activity are compiled. The Working Party determines common criteria for evaluated nuclear data files with a view to assessing and improving the quality and completeness of evaluated data. The Parties to the project are: ENDF (United States), JEFF/EFF (NEA Data Bank Member countries), and JENDL (Japan). Co-operation with evaluation projects of non-OECD countries are organised through the Nuclear Data Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This report was issued by a Subgroup investigating actinide data in the thermal energy range. Thermal nuclear constants for the primary actinides have been extensively studies, but the most recent evaluations are not in full agreement with thermal reactor calculations. The objective of the Subgroup was to identify the origin of these differences and to reassess the recent evaluations. A considerable effort was devoted to the η of U-235, where analysis of lattice temperature coefficient measurements has suggested an energy dependent shape below thermal energy

  14. Database for the geologic map of upper Eocene to Holocene volcanic and related rocks in the Cascade Range, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron, Andrew D.; Ramsey, David W.; Smith, James G.

    2014-01-01

    This geospatial database for a geologic map of the Cascades Range in Washington state is one of a series of maps that shows Cascade Range geology by fitting published and unpublished mapping into a province-wide scheme of lithostratigraphic units. Geologic maps of the Eocene to Holocene Cascade Range in California and Oregon complete the series, providing a comprehensive geologic map of the entire Cascade Range that incorporates modern field studies and that has a unified and internally consistent explanantion. The complete series will be useful for regional studies of volcanic hazards, volcanology, and tectonics.

  15. Dental students consistency in applying the ICDAS system within paediatric dentistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, J I

    2012-12-01

    To examine dental students' consistency in utilising the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) one and three months after training. A prospective study. All clinical dental students (Year Two: BDS2; Year Three: BDS3; Year Four: BDS4) as part of their education in Paediatric Dentistry at Aberdeen Dental School (n = 56) received baseline training by two "gold-standard" examiners and were advised to complete the 90-minute ICDAS e-learning program. Study One: One month later, the occlusal surface of 40 extracted primary and permanent molar teeth were examined and assigned both a caries (0-6 scale) and restorative code (0-9 scale). Study Two: The same teeth were examined three months later. Kappa statistics were used to determine inter- and intra-examiner reliability at baseline and after three months. In total, 31 students (BDS2: n = 9; BDS3: n = 8; BDS4: n = 14) completed both examinations. The inter-examiner reliability kappa scores for restoration codes for Study One and Study Two were: BDS2: 0.47 and 0.38; BDS3: 0.61 and 0.52 and BDS4: 0.56 and 0.52. The caries scores for the two studies were: BDS2: 0.31 and 0.20; BDS3: 0.45 and 0.32 and BDS4: 0.35 and 0.34. The intra-examiner reliability range for restoration codes were: BDS2: 0.20 to 0.55; BDS3: 0.34 to 0.72 and BDS4: 0.28 to 0.80. The intra-examiner reliability range for caries codes were: BDS2: 0.35 to 0.62; BDS3: 0.22 to 0.53 and BDS4: 0.22 to 0.65. The consistency of ICDAS codes varied between students and also, between year groups. In general, consistency was greater for restoration codes.

  16. Time series pCO2 at a coastal mooring: Internal consistency, seasonal cycles, and interannual variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimer, Janet J.; Cai, Wei-Jun; Xue, Liang; Vargas, Rodrigo; Noakes, Scott; Hu, Xinping; Signorini, Sergio R.; Mathis, Jeremy T.; Feely, Richard A.; Sutton, Adrienne J.; Sabine, Christopher; Musielewicz, Sylvia; Chen, Baoshan; Wanninkhof, Rik

    2017-08-01

    Marine carbonate system monitoring programs often consist of multiple observational methods that include underway cruise data, moored autonomous time series, and discrete water bottle samples. Monitored parameters include all, or some of the following: partial pressure of CO2 of the water (pCO2w) and air, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), and pH. Any combination of at least two of the aforementioned parameters can be used to calculate the others. In this study at the Gray's Reef (GR) mooring in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) we: examine the internal consistency of pCO2w from underway cruise, moored autonomous time series, and calculated from bottle samples (DIC-TA pairing); describe the seasonal to interannual pCO2w time series variability and air-sea flux (FCO2), as well as describe the potential sources of pCO2w variability; and determine the source/sink for atmospheric pCO2. Over the 8.5 years of GR mooring time series, mooring-underway and mooring-bottle calculated-pCO2w strongly correlate with r-values > 0.90. pCO2w and FCO2 time series follow seasonal thermal patterns; however, seasonal non-thermal processes, such as terrestrial export, net biological production, and air-sea exchange also influence variability. The linear slope of time series pCO2w increases by 5.2 ± 1.4 μatm y-1 with FCO2 increasing 51-70 mmol m-2 y-1. The net FCO2 sign can switch interannually with the magnitude varying greatly. Non-thermal pCO2w is also increasing over the time series, likely indicating that terrestrial export and net biological processes drive the long term pCO2w increase.

  17. Individual Ranging Behaviour Patterns in Commercial Free-Range Layers as Observed through RFID Tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Hannah; Cronin, Greg M; Gebhardt-Henrich, Sabine G; Smith, Carolynn L; Hemsworth, Paul H; Rault, Jean-Loup

    2017-03-09

    In this exploratory study, we tracked free-range laying hens on two commercial flocks with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology with the aim to examine individual hen variation in range use. Three distinct outdoor zones were identified at increasing distances from the shed; the veranda [0-2.4 m], close range [2.4-11.4 m], and far range [>11.4 m]. Hens' movements between these areas were tracked using radio frequency identification technology. Most of the hens in both flocks (68.6% in Flock A, and 82.2% in Flock B) accessed the range every day during the study. Of the hens that accessed the range, most hens accessed all three zones (73.7% in Flock A, and 84.5% in Flock B). Hens spent half of their time outdoors in the veranda area. Within-individual consistency of range use (daily duration and frequency) varied considerably, and hens which were more consistent in their daily range use spent more time on the range overall ( p ranging behaviour may help elucidate the implications of ranging for laying hens.

  18. The Iranian version of 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12): factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montazeri, Ali; Vahdaninia, Mariam; Mousavi, Sayed Javad; Omidvari, Speideh

    2009-09-16

    The 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) as a shorter alternative of the SF-36 is largely used in health outcomes surveys. The aim of this study was to validate the SF-12 in Iran. A random sample of the general population aged 15 years and over living in Tehran, Iran completed the SF-12. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and validity was assessed using known groups comparison and convergent validity. In addition, the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In all, 5587 individuals were studied (2721 male and 2866 female). The mean age and formal education of the respondents were 35.1 (SD = 15.4) and 10.2 (SD = 4.4) years respectively. The results showed satisfactory internal consistency for both summary measures, that are the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS); Cronbach's alpha for PCS-12 and MCS-12 was 0.73 and 0.72, respectively. Known-groups comparison showed that the SF-12 discriminated well between men and women and those who differed in age and educational status (P < 0.001). In addition, correlations between the SF-12 scales and single items showed that the physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain and general health subscales correlated higher with the PCS-12 score, while the vitality, social functioning, role emotional and mental health subscales more correlated with the MCS-12 score lending support to its good convergent validity. Finally the principal component analysis indicated a two-factor structure (physical and mental health) that jointly accounted for 57.8% of the variance. The confirmatory factory analysis also indicated a good fit to the data for the two-latent structure (physical and mental health). In general the findings suggest that the SF-12 is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among Iranian population. However, further studies are needed to

  19. The system of marketing information in research of attractiveness on international markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prygara О.

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The peculiarities of forming the system of marketing information for the analysis of international market attractiveness are viewed in an article. It is stated that this system should include wide range of indicators. The author introduces a multilevel system of characteristics of attractiveness analysis on the international markets. This system consists of megalevel – world level; macrolevel – country level; mezolevel – branch level; microlevel – firm level. Sources of information which can be used for the research of international market attractiveness are viewed in the article.

  20. Factor structure and internal consistency of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12 and the Subjective Vitality Scale (VS, and the relationship between them: a study from France

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismaïl Amany

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The objectives of this study were to test the factor structure and internal consistency of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12 and the Subjective Vitality Scale (VS in elderly French people, and to test the relationship between these two questionnaires. Methods Using a standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure, the English language versions of the two instruments (i.e. the 12-item General Health Questionnaire and the Subjective Vitality Scale were translated into French. A sample of adults aged 58–72 years then completed both questionnaires. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The factor structures of the two instruments were extracted by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA. Finally, the relationship between the two instruments was assessed by correlation analysis. Results In all, 217 elderly adults participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 61.7 (SD = 6.2 years. The mean GHQ-12 score was 17.4 (SD = 8.0, and analysis showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.78. The mean VS score was 22.4 (SD = 7.4 and its internal consistency was found to be good (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.83. While CFA showed that the VS was uni-dimensional, analysis for the GHQ-12 demonstrated a good fit not only to the two-factor model (positive vs. negative items but also to a three-factor model. As expected, there was a strong and significant negative correlation between the GHQ-12 and the VS (r = -0.71, P Conclusion The results showed that the French versions of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12 and the Subjective Vitality Scale (VS are reliable measures of psychological distress and vitality. They also confirm a significant negative correlation between these two instruments, lending support to their convergent validity in an elderly French population. The findings indicate that both measures have good structural

  1. Structural Consistency, Consistency, and Sequential Rationality.

    OpenAIRE

    Kreps, David M; Ramey, Garey

    1987-01-01

    Sequential equilibria comprise consistent beliefs and a sequentially ra tional strategy profile. Consistent beliefs are limits of Bayes ratio nal beliefs for sequences of strategies that approach the equilibrium strategy. Beliefs are structurally consistent if they are rationaliz ed by some single conjecture concerning opponents' strategies. Consis tent beliefs are not necessarily structurally consistent, notwithstan ding a claim by Kreps and Robert Wilson (1982). Moreover, the spirit of stru...

  2. Protective Factors, Risk Indicators, and Contraceptive Consistency Among College Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Leslie F; Sieving, Renee E; Pettingell, Sandra L; Hellerstedt, Wendy L; McMorris, Barbara J; Bearinger, Linda H

    2016-01-01

    To explore risk and protective factors associated with consistent contraceptive use among emerging adult female college students and whether effects of risk indicators were moderated by protective factors. Secondary analysis of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health Wave III data. Data collected through in-home interviews in 2001 and 2002. National sample of 18- to 25-year-old women (N = 842) attending 4-year colleges. We examined relationships between protective factors, risk indicators, and consistent contraceptive use. Consistent contraceptive use was defined as use all of the time during intercourse in the past 12 months. Protective factors included external supports of parental closeness and relationship with caring nonparental adult and internal assets of self-esteem, confidence, independence, and life satisfaction. Risk indicators included heavy episodic drinking, marijuana use, and depression symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate relationships between protective factors and consistent contraceptive use and between risk indicators and contraceptive use. Self-esteem, confidence, independence, and life satisfaction were significantly associated with more consistent contraceptive use. In a final model including all internal assets, life satisfaction was significantly related to consistent contraceptive use. Marijuana use and depression symptoms were significantly associated with less consistent use. With one exception, protective factors did not moderate relationships between risk indicators and consistent use. Based on our findings, we suggest that risk and protective factors may have largely independent influences on consistent contraceptive use among college women. A focus on risk and protective factors may improve contraceptive use rates and thereby reduce unintended pregnancy among college students. Copyright © 2016 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published

  3. The use of new facility by means internal balance with sting support for wide range Angle of Attack aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subagyo; Daryanto, Yanto; Risnawan, Novan

    2018-04-01

    The development of facilities for the testing of wide range angle of attack aircraft in the wind tunnel at subsonic regime has done and implemented. Development required to meet the test at an angle of attack from -20 ° to 40 °. Testing the wide range angle of attack aircraft with a wide variation of the angle of attack become important needs. This can be done simply by using the sting support-equipped by internal balance to measure the forces and moments component aerodynamics. The results of development and use on the wide range angle of attack aircraft testing are aerodynamics characteristics in the form of the coefficient three components forces and the three components of the moment. A series of test aircraft was successfully carried out and the results are shown in the form of graphs of characteristic of aerodynamics at wind speed 70 m/s.

  4. Compact Antenna Range

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — Facility consists of a folded compact antenna range including a computer controlled three axis position table, parabolic reflector and RF sources for the measurement...

  5. Assessing the internal consistency of the CARINA database in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Lo Monaco

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Carbon and carbon-relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical ancillary data from previously not publicly available cruises were retrieved and recently merged to a new data base, CARINA (CARbon IN the Atlantic. The initial North Atlantic project, an international effort for ocean carbon synthesis, was extended to include the Arctic Mediterranean Seas (Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas and all three sectors of the Southern Ocean. Of a total of 188 cruises, 37 cruises are part of the Southern Ocean. The present work focuses on data collected in the Indian sector (20° S–70° S; 30° E–150° E. The Southern Indian Ocean dataset covers the period 1992–2004 and includes seasonal repeated observations. Parameters including salinity, dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2, total alkalinity (TA, oxygen, nitrate, phosphate and silicate were examined for cruise-to-cruise and overall consistency. In addition, data from an existing, quality controlled data base (GLODAP were introduced in the CARINA analysis to improve data coverage in the Southern Ocean. A global inversion was performed to synthesize the information deduced from objective comparisons of deep measurements (>1500 m at nearby stations (generally <220 km. The corrections suggested by the inversion were allowed to vary within a fixed envelope, thus accounting for ocean interior variability. The adjustments applied to CARINA data and those recommended for GLODAP data, in order to obtain a consistent merged dataset, are presented and discussed. The final outcome of this effort is a new quality controlled data base for TCO2 and other properties of the carbon system that can now be used to investigate the natural variability or stability of ocean chemistry and the accumulation of anthropogenic carbon. This data product also offers an important new synthesis of seasonal to decadal observations to validate ocean biogeochemical models in a region where available historical data were very

  6. Self-consistency in Capital Markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benbrahim, Hamid

    2013-03-01

    Capital Markets are considered, at least in theory, information engines whereby traders contribute to price formation with their diverse perspectives. Regardless whether one believes in efficient market theory on not, actions by individual traders influence prices of securities, which in turn influence actions by other traders. This influence is exerted through a number of mechanisms including portfolio balancing, margin maintenance, trend following, and sentiment. As a result market behaviors emerge from a number of mechanisms ranging from self-consistency due to wisdom of the crowds and self-fulfilling prophecies, to more chaotic behavior resulting from dynamics similar to the three body system, namely the interplay between equities, options, and futures. This talk will address questions and findings regarding the search for self-consistency in capital markets.

  7. Self-consistent asset pricing models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malevergne, Y.; Sornette, D.

    2007-08-01

    We discuss the foundations of factor or regression models in the light of the self-consistency condition that the market portfolio (and more generally the risk factors) is (are) constituted of the assets whose returns it is (they are) supposed to explain. As already reported in several articles, self-consistency implies correlations between the return disturbances. As a consequence, the alphas and betas of the factor model are unobservable. Self-consistency leads to renormalized betas with zero effective alphas, which are observable with standard OLS regressions. When the conditions derived from internal consistency are not met, the model is necessarily incomplete, which means that some sources of risk cannot be replicated (or hedged) by a portfolio of stocks traded on the market, even for infinite economies. Analytical derivations and numerical simulations show that, for arbitrary choices of the proxy which are different from the true market portfolio, a modified linear regression holds with a non-zero value αi at the origin between an asset i's return and the proxy's return. Self-consistency also introduces “orthogonality” and “normality” conditions linking the betas, alphas (as well as the residuals) and the weights of the proxy portfolio. Two diagnostics based on these orthogonality and normality conditions are implemented on a basket of 323 assets which have been components of the S&P500 in the period from January 1990 to February 2005. These two diagnostics show interesting departures from dynamical self-consistency starting about 2 years before the end of the Internet bubble. Assuming that the CAPM holds with the self-consistency condition, the OLS method automatically obeys the resulting orthogonality and normality conditions and therefore provides a simple way to self-consistently assess the parameters of the model by using proxy portfolios made only of the assets which are used in the CAPM regressions. Finally, the factor decomposition with the

  8. Validation of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIFE) for Use in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzáles, Ana Inês; Sties, Sabrina Weiss; Wittkopf, Priscilla Geraldine; Mara, Lourenço Sampaio de; Ulbrich, Anderson Zampier; Cardoso, Fernando Luiz; Carvalho, Tales de

    2013-01-01

    The International Index of Erectile Function has been proposed as a method for assessing sexual function assisting the diagnosis and classification of erectile dysfunction. However, IIEF was not validated for the Portuguese language. Validate the International Index of Erectile Function in patients with cardiopulmonary and metabolic diseases. The sample consisted of 108 participants of to Cardiopulmonary and Metabolic program Rehabilitation (CPMR) in southern Brazil. The clarity assessment of the instrument was performed using a scale ranging from zero to 10. The construct validity was carried out by confirmatory factor analysis (KMO = 0.85; Barllet p < 0.001), internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha and reproducibility and interrater reliability via the test retest method. The items were considered very clear with averages superior to 9. The internal consistency resulted in 0.89. The majority of items related correctly with their domains, with exception of three questions from sexual satisfaction domain, and one from erectile function. All items showed excellent stability of measure and substantial to almost perfect agreement. The present study showed that the IIEF is valid and reliable for use in participants of a cardiopulmonary and metabolic rehabilitation program

  9. Validation of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIFE) for Use in Brazil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzáles, Ana Inês; Sties, Sabrina Weiss; Wittkopf, Priscilla Geraldine, E-mail: sabrinasties@yahoo.com.br; Mara, Lourenço Sampaio de; Ulbrich, Anderson Zampier; Cardoso, Fernando Luiz; Carvalho, Tales de [Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC (Brazil)

    2013-08-15

    The International Index of Erectile Function has been proposed as a method for assessing sexual function assisting the diagnosis and classification of erectile dysfunction. However, IIEF was not validated for the Portuguese language. Validate the International Index of Erectile Function in patients with cardiopulmonary and metabolic diseases. The sample consisted of 108 participants of to Cardiopulmonary and Metabolic program Rehabilitation (CPMR) in southern Brazil. The clarity assessment of the instrument was performed using a scale ranging from zero to 10. The construct validity was carried out by confirmatory factor analysis (KMO = 0.85; Barllet p < 0.001), internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha and reproducibility and interrater reliability via the test retest method. The items were considered very clear with averages superior to 9. The internal consistency resulted in 0.89. The majority of items related correctly with their domains, with exception of three questions from sexual satisfaction domain, and one from erectile function. All items showed excellent stability of measure and substantial to almost perfect agreement. The present study showed that the IIEF is valid and reliable for use in participants of a cardiopulmonary and metabolic rehabilitation program.

  10. Arctic Sovereignty Disputes: International Relations Theory in the High North

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-01

    Russians continue to retain their long-range strategic bombing fleets, consisting of the TU-160 Supersonic ( Blackjack ), an all-weather aircraft with...icebreakers, and the only operational heavy icebreaker, it is already beyond service life expectations and recently suffered a major engine failure...DISPUTES: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY IN THE HIGH NORTH by Darrin D. Davis December 2011 Thesis Co-Advisors: Anne L. Clunan

  11. Self-consistent many-body perturbation theory in range-separated density-functional theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fromager, Emmanuel; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aagaard

    2008-01-01

    effects adequately which, on the other hand, can be described by many-body perturbation theory MBPT. It is therefore of interest to develop a hybrid model which combines the best of both the MBPT and DFT approaches. This can be achieved by splitting the two-electron interaction into long-range and short...

  12. 7th International Geostatistics Congress

    CERN Document Server

    Deutsch, Clayton

    2005-01-01

    The conference proceedings consist of approximately 120 technical papers presented at the Seventh International Geostatistics Congress held in Banff, Alberta, Canada in 2004. All the papers were reviewed by an international panel of leading geostatisticians. The five major sections are: theory, mining, petroleum, environmental and other applications. The first section showcases new and innovative ideas in the theoretical development of geostatistics as a whole; these ideas will have large impact on (1) the directions of future geostatistical research, and (2) the conventional approaches to heterogeneity modelling in a wide range of natural resource industries. The next four sections are focused on applications and innovations relating to the use of geostatistics in specific industries. Historically, mining, petroleum and environmental industries have embraced the use of geostatistics for uncertainty characterization, so these three industries are identified as major application areas. The last section is open...

  13. Gene-Environment Interplay in Internalizing Disorders: Consistent Findings across Six Environmental Risk Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hicks, Brian M.; Dirago, Ana C.; Iacono, William G.; McGue, Matt

    2009-01-01

    Background: Behavior genetic methods can help to elucidate gene-environment (G-E) interplay in the development of internalizing (INT) disorders (i.e., major depression and anxiety disorders). To date, however, no study has conducted a comprehensive analysis examining multiple environmental risk factors with the purpose of delineating general…

  14. An energetically consistent vertical mixing parameterization in CCSM4

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Søren Borg; Jochum, Markus; Eden, Carsten

    2018-01-01

    An energetically consistent stratification-dependent vertical mixing parameterization is implemented in the Community Climate System Model 4 and forced with energy conversion from the barotropic tides to internal waves. The structures of the resulting dissipation and diffusivity fields are compared......, however, depends greatly on the details of the vertical mixing parameterizations, where the new energetically consistent parameterization results in low thermocline diffusivities and a sharper and shallower thermocline. It is also investigated if the ocean state is more sensitive to a change in forcing...

  15. An Adapted Measure of Sibling Attachment: Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the Sibling Attachment Inventory in Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noel, Valerie A; Francis, Sarah E; Tilley, Micah A

    2018-04-01

    Parent-youth and peer relationship inventories based on attachment theory measure communication, trust, and alienation, yet sibling relationships have been overlooked. We developed the Sibling Attachment Inventory and evaluated its psychometric properties in a sample of 172 youth ages 10-14 years. We adapted the 25-item Sibling Attachment Inventory from the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Revised peer measure. Items loaded onto three factors, identified as communication, trust, and alienation, α = 0.93, 0.90, and 0.76, respectively. Sibling trust and alienation correlated with depression (r s  = -0.33, r s  = 0.48) and self-worth (r s  = 0.23; r s  = -0.32); sibling trust and alienation correlated with depression after controlling for parent trust and parent alienation (r s  = -0.23, r s  = 0.22). Preliminary analyses showed good internal consistency, construct validity, and incremental predictive validity. Following replication of these properties, this measure can facilitate large cohort assessments of sibling attachment.

  16. Internal friction in uranium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paulin Filho, Pedro Iris

    1979-01-01

    The uranium dioxide inelastic properties were studied measuring internal friction at low frequencies (of the order of 1 Hz). The work was developed in the 160 to 400 deg C temperature range. The effect of stoichiometry variation was studied oxidizing the sample with consequent change of the defect structure originally present in the non-stoichiometric uranium dioxide. The presence of a wide and irregular peak due to oxidation was observed at low temperatures. Activation energy calculations indicated the occurrence of various relaxation processes and assuming the existence of a peak between - 80 and - 70 deg C , the absolute value obtained for the activation energy (0,54 eV) is consistent with the observed values determined at medium and high frequencies for the stress induced reorientation of defects. The microstructure effect on the inelastic properties was studied for stoichiometric uranium dioxide, by varying grain size and porosity. These parameters have influence on the high temperature measurements of internal friction. The internal friction variation for temperatures higher than 340 deg C is thought to be due to grain boundary relaxation phenomena. (author)

  17. MRI EVALUATION OF INTERNAL DERANGEMENT OF KNEE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashok Srikar Chowdhary

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Internal derangement of knee means loss of normal knee function due to ligament or meniscal injuries. MRI is a routinely utilised noninvasive modality for evaluation of various knee disorders including internal derangement. MRI provides excellent soft tissue contrast and multiplanar images when compared to other musculoskeletal imaging modalities. The aim of the study is to study the demographic profile of patients presenting with internal derangement of knee, identify the various ligament and meniscal injuries causing internal derangement of knee and describe the MRI features of the ligament and meniscal injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was undertaken from January 2016 to mid-December 2017 in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital, Hoskote. The study population consisted of 108 patients with internal derangement of knee who underwent MRI of knee. All the MRI scans of the knee in this study were performed using Siemens Magnetom Essenza (A Tim+Dot system MR machine with a 1.5 tesla field strength magnet using a flex coil. RESULTS The study population consisted of 108 patients comprising of 90 males and 18 females. The age of the patients ranged from 16 to 67 years. Majority of the patients belonged to the age group of 21-30 years constituting about 41% of the total study population. Anterior cruciate ligament injury was the commonest followed by medial and lateral meniscus tears. Flap tear was the commonest type of meniscal tear. Posterior horn of the meniscus was the commonest tear site. CONCLUSION MRI is the investigation of choice in evaluating internal derangement of knee. MRI can accurately diagnose ligament and meniscal injuries and guide arthroscopy.

  18. Application of Short-Range LIDAR in Early Alerting for Low-Level Windshear and Turbulence at Hong Kong International Airport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. K. Hon

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Hong Kong Observatory currently uses a series of meteorological instruments, including long-range LIDAR (light detection and ranging systems, to provide alerting services of low-level windshear and turbulence for Hong Kong International Airport. For some events that are smaller in spatial dimensions and are rapidly changing, such as low altitude windshear and turbulence associated with buildings or man-made structures, it would be necessary to involve meteorological instruments that offer greater spatial resolution. Therefore, the Observatory has set up a short-range LIDAR on the roof of the AsiaWorld-Expo during the summers over the past several years, conducting field research on the feasibility of strengthening early alerting for windshear and turbulence over the north runway’s eastern arrival runway (Runway 25RA and developing an automated early alerting algorithm. This paper takes the pilot reports for Runway 25RA during the 2013 field research as verification samples, using different thresholds for radial wind velocity spatial and temporal changes detected by the short-range LIDAR to calculate the relative operating characteristic (ROC curve, and analyzes its early alerting performance.

  19. Internal Interdecadal Variability in CMIP5 Control Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, A. H.; Mann, M. E.; Frankcombe, L. M.; England, M. H.; Steinman, B. A.; Miller, S. K.

    2015-12-01

    Here we make use of control simulations from the CMIP5 models to quantify the amplitude of the interdecadal internal variability component in Atlantic, Pacific, and Northern Hemisphere mean surface temperature. We compare against estimates derived from observations using a semi-empirical approach wherein the forced component as estimated using CMIP5 historical simulations is removed to yield an estimate of the residual, internal variability. While the observational estimates are largely consistent with those derived from the control simulations for both basins and the Northern Hemisphere, they lie in the upper range of the model distributions, suggesting the possibility of differences between the amplitudes of observed and modeled variability. We comment on some possible reasons for the disparity.

  20. Cross- cultural validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN: study of the items and internal consistency Validação transcultural da versão para o português do Brasil do Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN: estudo dos itens e da consistência interna

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flávia de Lima Osório

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to carry out the cross- cultural validation for Brazilian Portuguese of the Social Phobia Inventory, an instrument for the evaluation of fear, avoidance and physiological symptoms associated with social anxiety disorder. METHOD: The process of translation and adaptation involved four bilingual professionals, appreciation and approval of the back- translation by the authors of the original scale, a pilot study with 30 Brazilian university students, and appreciation by raters who confirmed the face validity of the Portuguese version, which was named " Inventário de Fobia Social" . As part of the psychometric study of the Social Phobia Inventory, analysis of the items and evaluation of the internal consistency of the instrument were performed in a study conducted on 2314 university students. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that item 11, related to the fear of public speaking, was the most frequently scored item. The correlation of the items with the total score was quite adequate, ranging from 0.44 to 0.71, as was the internal consistency, which ranged from 0.71 to 0.90. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Social Phobia Inventory proved to be adequate regarding the psychometric properties initially studied, with qualities quite close to those of the original study. Studies that will evaluate the remaining indicators of validity of the Social Phobia Inventory in clinical and non-clinical samples are considered to be opportune and necessary.OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar a validação transcultural para o português do Brasil do Social Phobia Inventory, um instrumento para avaliação e mensuração dos sintomas de medo, evitação e sintomas fisiológicos associados ao transtorno de ansiedade social. MÉTODO: O processo de tradução e adaptação envolveu quatro profissionais bilingües, apreciação e aprovação da back

  1. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and measurement error of the self-report version of the social skills rating system in a sample of Australian adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharmila Vaz

    Full Text Available The social skills rating system (SSRS is used to assess social skills and competence in children and adolescents. While its characteristics based on United States samples (US are published, corresponding Australian figures are unavailable. Using a 4-week retest design, we examined the internal consistency, retest reliability and measurement error (ME of the SSRS secondary student form (SSF in a sample of Year 7 students (N = 187, from five randomly selected public schools in Perth, western Australia. Internal consistency (IC of the total scale and most subscale scores (except empathy on the frequency rating scale was adequate to permit independent use. On the importance rating scale, most IC estimates for girls fell below the benchmark. Test-retest estimates of the total scale and subscales were insufficient to permit reliable use. ME of the total scale score (frequency rating for boys was equivalent to the US estimate, while that for girls was lower than the US error. ME of the total scale score (importance rating was larger than the error using the frequency rating scale. The study finding supports the idea of using multiple informants (e.g. teacher and parent reports, not just student as recommended in the manual. Future research needs to substantiate the clinical meaningfulness of the MEs calculated in this study by corroborating them against the respective Minimum Clinically Important Difference (MCID.

  2. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and measurement error of the self-report version of the social skills rating system in a sample of Australian adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaz, Sharmila; Parsons, Richard; Passmore, Anne Elizabeth; Andreou, Pantelis; Falkmer, Torbjörn

    2013-01-01

    The social skills rating system (SSRS) is used to assess social skills and competence in children and adolescents. While its characteristics based on United States samples (US) are published, corresponding Australian figures are unavailable. Using a 4-week retest design, we examined the internal consistency, retest reliability and measurement error (ME) of the SSRS secondary student form (SSF) in a sample of Year 7 students (N = 187), from five randomly selected public schools in Perth, western Australia. Internal consistency (IC) of the total scale and most subscale scores (except empathy) on the frequency rating scale was adequate to permit independent use. On the importance rating scale, most IC estimates for girls fell below the benchmark. Test-retest estimates of the total scale and subscales were insufficient to permit reliable use. ME of the total scale score (frequency rating) for boys was equivalent to the US estimate, while that for girls was lower than the US error. ME of the total scale score (importance rating) was larger than the error using the frequency rating scale. The study finding supports the idea of using multiple informants (e.g. teacher and parent reports), not just student as recommended in the manual. Future research needs to substantiate the clinical meaningfulness of the MEs calculated in this study by corroborating them against the respective Minimum Clinically Important Difference (MCID).

  3. A review of culturally adapted versions of the Oswestry Disability Index: the adaptation process, construct validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheahan, Peter J; Nelson-Wong, Erika J; Fischer, Steven L

    2015-01-01

    The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is a self-report-based outcome measure used to quantify the extent of disability related to low back pain (LBP), a substantial contributor to workplace absenteeism. The ODI tool has been adapted for use by patients in several non-English speaking nations. It is unclear, however, if these adapted versions of the ODI are as credible as the original ODI developed for English-speaking nations. The objective of this study was to conduct a review of the literature to identify culturally adapted versions of the ODI and to report on the adaptation process, construct validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of these ODIs. Following a pragmatic review process, data were extracted from each study with regard to these four outcomes. While most studies applied adaptation processes in accordance with best-practice guidelines, there were some deviations. However, all studies reported high-quality psychometric properties: group mean construct validity was 0.734 ± 0.094 (indicated via a correlation coefficient), test-retest reliability was 0.937 ± 0.032 (indicated via an intraclass correlation coefficient) and internal consistency was 0.876 ± 0.047 (indicated via Cronbach's alpha). Researchers can be confident when using any of these culturally adapted ODIs, or when comparing and contrasting results between cultures where these versions were employed. Implications for Rehabilitation Low back pain is the second leading cause of disability in the world, behind only cancer. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) has been developed as a self-report outcome measure of low back pain for administration to patients. An understanding of the various cross-cultural adaptations of the ODI is important for more concerted multi-national research efforts. This review examines 16 cross-cultural adaptations of the ODI and should inform the work of health care and rehabilitation professionals.

  4. Internal friction and dislocation collective pinning in disordered quenched solid solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Anna, G.; Benoit, W.; Vinokur, V. M.

    1997-12-01

    We introduce the collective pinning of dislocations in disordered quenched solid solutions and calculate the macroscopic mechanical response to a small dc or ac applied stress. This work is a generalization of the Granato-Lücke string model, able to describe self-consistently short and long range dislocation motion. Under dc applied stress the long distance dislocation creep has at the microscopic level avalanche features, which result in a macroscopic nonlinear "glassy" velocity-stress characteristic. Under ac conditions the model predicts, in addition to the anelastic internal friction relaxation in the high frequency regime, a linear internal friction background which remains amplitude-independent down to a crossover frequency to a strongly nonlinear internal friction regime.

  5. A proposed grading system for standardizing tumor consistency of intracranial meningiomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zada, Gabriel; Yashar, Parham; Robison, Aaron; Winer, Jesse; Khalessi, Alexander; Mack, William J; Giannotta, Steven L

    2013-12-01

    Tumor consistency plays an important and underrecognized role in the surgeon's ability to resect meningiomas, especially with evolving trends toward minimally invasive and keyhole surgical approaches. Aside from descriptors such as "hard" or "soft," no objective criteria exist for grading, studying, and conveying the consistency of meningiomas. The authors designed a practical 5-point scale for intraoperative grading of meningiomas based on the surgeon's ability to internally debulk the tumor and on the subsequent resistance to folding of the tumor capsule. Tumor consistency grades and features are as follows: 1) extremely soft tumor, internal debulking with suction only; 2) soft tumor, internal debulking mostly with suction, and remaining fibrous strands resected with easily folded capsule; 3) average consistency, tumor cannot be freely suctioned and requires mechanical debulking, and the capsule then folds with relative ease; 4) firm tumor, high degree of mechanical debulking required, and capsule remains difficult to fold; and 5) extremely firm, calcified tumor, approaches density of bone, and capsule does not fold. Additional grading categories included tumor heterogeneity (with minimum and maximum consistency scores) and a 3-point vascularity score. This grading system was prospectively assessed in 50 consecutive patients undergoing craniotomy for meningioma resection by 2 surgeons in an independent fashion. Grading scores were subjected to a linear weighted kappa analysis for interuser reliability. Fifty patients (100 scores) were included in the analysis. The mean maximal tumor diameter was 4.3 cm. The distribution of overall tumor consistency scores was as follows: Grade 1, 4%; Grade 2, 9%; Grade 3, 43%; Grade 4, 44%; and Grade 5, 0%. Regions of Grade 5 consistency were reported only focally in 14% of heterogeneous tumors. Tumors were designated as homogeneous in 68% and heterogeneous in 32% of grades. The kappa analysis score for overall tumor consistency

  6. Evaluation of hip internal and external rotation range of motion as an injury risk factor for hip, abdominal and groin injuries in professional baseball players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinning Li

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Normal hip range of motion (ROM is essential in running and transfer of energy from lower to upper extremities during overhead throwing. Dysfunctional hip ROM may alter lower extremity kinematics and predispose athletes to hip and groin injuries. The purpose of this study is characterize hip internal/external ROM (Arc and its effect on the risk of hip, hamstring, and groin injuries in professional baseball players. Bilateral hip internal and external ROM was measured on all baseball players (N=201 in one professional organization (major and minor league during spring training. Players were organized according to their respective positions. All injuries were documented prospectively for an entire MLB season (2010 to 2011. Data was analyzed according to position and injuries during the season. Total number of players (N=201 with an average age of 24±3.6 (range=17-37. Both pitchers (N=93 and catchers (N=22 had significantly decreased mean hip internal rotation and overall hip arc of motion compared to the positional players (N=86. Players with hip, groin, and hamstring injury also had decreased hip rotation arc when compared to the normal group. Overall, there is a correlation between decreased hip internal rotation and total arc of motion with hip, hamstring, and groin injuries.

  7. Cultural competence in mental health nursing: validity and internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the multicultural mental health awareness scale-MMHAS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Almeida Vieira Monteiro, Ana Paula Teixeira; Fernandes, Alexandre Bastos

    2016-05-17

    Cultural competence is an essential component in rendering effective and culturally responsive services to culturally and ethnically diverse clients. Still, great difficulty exists in assessing the cultural competence of mental health nurses. There are no Portuguese validated measurement instruments to assess cultural competence in mental health nurses. This paper reports a study testing the reliability and validity of the Portuguese version of the Multicultural Mental Health Awareness Scale-MMHAS in a sample of Portuguese nurses. Following a standard forward/backward translation into Portuguese, the adapted version of MMHAS, along with a sociodemographic questionnaire, were applied to a sample of 306 Portuguese nurses (299 males, 77 females; ages 21-68 years, M = 35.43, SD = 9.85 years). A psychometric research design was used with content and construct validity and reliability. Reliability was assessed using internal consistency and item-total correlations. Construct validity was determined using factor analysis. The factor analysis confirmed that the Portuguese version of MMHAS has a three-factor structure of multicultural competencies (Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills) explaining 59.51% of the total variance. Strong content validity and reliability correlations were demonstrated. The Portuguese version of MMHAS has a strong internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.958 for the total scale. The results supported the construct validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of MMHAS, proving that is a reliable and valid measure of multicultural counselling competencies in mental health nursing. The MMHAS Portuguese version can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of multicultural competency training programs in Portuguese-speaking mental health nurses. The scale can also be a useful in future studies of multicultural competencies in Portuguese-speaking nurses.

  8. Cervical range of motion, cervical and shoulder strength in senior versus age-grade Rugby Union International front-row forwards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Mark; Moore, Isabel S; Moran, Patrick; Mathema, Prabhat; Ranson, Craig A

    2016-05-01

    To provide normative values for cervical range of motion (CROM), isometric cervical and shoulder strength for; International Senior professional, and International Age-grade Rugby Union front-row forwards. Cross-sectional population study. All international level front-row players within a Rugby Union Tier 1 Nation. Nineteen Senior and 21 Age-grade front-row forwards underwent CROM, cervical and shoulder strength testing. CROM was measured using the CROM device and the Gatherer System was used to measure multi-directional isometric cervical and shoulder strength. The Age-grade players had significantly lower; cervical strength (26-57% deficits), cervical flexion to extension strength ratios (0.5 vs. 0.6), and shoulder strength (2-36% deficits) than the Senior players. However, there were no differences between front-row positions within each age group. Additionally, there were no differences between age groups or front-row positions in the CROM measurements. Senior Rugby Union front-row forwards have greater cervical and shoulder strength than Age-grade players, with the biggest differences being in cervical strength, highlighting the need for age specific normative values. Importantly, Age-grade players should be evaluated to ensure they have developed sufficient cervical strength prior to entering professional level Rugby Union. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Long-Range Goals in International Telecommunications and Information: An Outline for United States Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

    This report presents a comprehensive delineation of the principal issues in the field of international telecommunications and information, as well as an overview of United States policy in this area. The first part discusses international trends in protectionism and the politicization of international forums; it also outlines United States goals,…

  10. Range extender module. Enabler for electric mobility; Range-Extender-Modul. Wegbereiter fuer elektrische Mobilitaet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, Robert; Fraidl, Guenter Karl; Hubmann, Christian; Kapus, Paul Ernst; Kunzemann, Ralf; Sifferlinger, Bernhard; Beste, Frank [AVL List GmbH, Graz (Austria)

    2009-10-15

    The Range Extender as an auxiliary power supply for extended driving ranges is of significant importance in achieving a high level of customer acceptance for electric vehicles. The AVL concept is optimized for electric power generation in single-point operation and allows a compactly integrated, cost-efficient and weight-efficient module design. The internal combustion engine requirements of the Pure Range Extender from AVL permit not only the use of simplified four-stroke concepts but also the application of emission-optimized and fuel consumption-optimized two-stroke and rotary piston engines. (orig.)

  11. Feasibility, internal consistency and covariates of TICS-m (telephone interview for cognitive status-modified) in a population-based sample: findings from the KORA-Age study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacruz, Me; Emeny, Rt; Bickel, H; Linkohr, B; Ladwig, Kh

    2013-09-01

    Test the feasibility of the modified telephone interview for cognitive status (TICS-m) as a screening tool to detect cognitive impairment in a population-based sample of older subjects. Data were collected from 3,578 participants, age 65-94 years, of the KORA-Age study. We used analysis of covariance to test for significant sex, age and educational differences in raw TICS-m scores. Internal consistency was analysed by assessing Cronbach's alpha. Correction for education years was undertaken, and participants were divided in three subgroups following validated cut-offs. Finally, a logistic regression was performed to determine the impact of sex on cognition subgroups. Internal consistency of the TICS-m was 0.78. Study participants needed approximately 5.4 min to complete the interview. Lower raw TICS-m scores were associated with male sex, older age and lower education (all p education years, 2,851 (79%) had a non-impaired cognitive status (score >31). Male sex was independently associated with having a score equal to or below 27 and 31 (OR = 1.9, 95% CI 1.4-2.5 and OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-1.7, respectively). The TICS-m is a feasible questionnaire for community-dwelling older adults with normal cognitive function or moderate cognitive impairment. Lower cognitive performance was associated with being a man, being older, and having fewer years of formal education. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Internal Friction Angle of Metal Powders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiri Zegzulka

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Metal powders are components with multidisciplinary usage as their application is very broad. Their consistent characterization across all disciplines is important for ensuring repeatable and trouble-free processes. Ten metal powders were tested in the study. In all cases, the particle size distribution and morphology (scanning electron microscope—SEM photos were determined. The aim of this work was to inspect the flow behavior of metal powders through another measured characteristic, namely the angle of internal friction. The measured values of the effective internal friction angle in the range 28.6–32.9°, together with the spherical particle shape and the particle size distribution, revealed the likely dominant mode of the metal particle transfer mechanism for stainless steel 316L, zinc and aluminum powder. This third piston flow mechanism is described and illustrated in detail. The angle of internal friction is mentioned as another suitable parameter for the characterization of metal powders, not only for the relative simplicity of the determination but also for gaining insight into the method of the movement of individual particles during the flow.

  13. Report to the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reisdorf, Jill [University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR/CPAESS), Boulder, CO (United States); Wiedinmyer, Christine [National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR/ACOM), Boulder, CO (United States)

    2017-04-21

    IGAC’s mission is to facilitate atmospheric chemistry research towards a sustainable world. This is achieved through IGAC’s three focal activities: fostering community, building capacity, and providing leadership. A key component to achieving IGAC’s mission is its developing early career program. These scientists join an international network early in their career that puts the cogs in motion to further facilitate atmospheric chemistry research at an international level for years to come. IGAC’s Science Conference is a primary mechanism for IGAC to build cooperation and disseminate scientific information across its international community. The first IGAC Science Conference was held in 1993 in Eilat, Israel. Since then, IGAC has successfully held fourteen science conferences, consistently becoming a biennial conference starting in 2002. The biennial IGAC Science Conference is regarded as THE international conference on atmospheric chemistry and participation in the conference is typically in the range of 350-650 participants. Since 2004, IGAC has included an Early Career Scientists Program as part of the conference to foster the next generation of scientists. IGAC believes, and has seen, that by allowing scientists to form an international network of colleagues early in their career that future international collaborations in atmospheric chemistry are enhanced. The 2016 IGAC Science Conference Early Career Program consisted of numerous events throughout the week giving these scientists the opportunity to not only create a community amongst themselves, but to also engage and build relationships with senior scientists. In order to support the Early Career Scientists Program, IGAC sought funding from international, regional and local organizations to provide Travel Grants to the conference based on an assessment of both need and merit. This conference summary reports on outcomes of the 2016 IGAC Science Conference and the Early Career Program, which included

  14. The internal consistency and validity of the Self-assessment Parkinson's Disease Disability Scale.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biemans, M.A.J.E.; Dekker, J.; Woude, L.H.V. van der

    2001-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To test the consistency and validity of the Self-assessment Parkinson's Disease Disability Scale in patients with Parkinson's disease living at home. DESIGN: Patients with Parkinson's disease responded to a set of questionnaires. In addition, an observation of the performance of daily

  15. Internal consistency and validity of the self-assessment Parkinson's Disease disability scale. Abstract.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dekker, J.; Biemans, M.A.J.E.; Woude, L.H.V. van der

    2000-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To test the consistency and validity of the Self-assessment Parkinson's Disease Disability Scale in patients with Parkinson's disease living at home. DESIGN: Patients with Parkinson's disease responded to a set of questionnaires. In addition, an observation of the performance of daily

  16. Equivalência semântica e avaliação da consistência interna da versão em português do Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3 Semantic equivalence and internal consistency of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Carolina Soares Amaral

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo do estudo foi descrever o processo de adaptação transcultural do Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3 para a língua portuguesa. A metodologia foi baseada nas etapas de (1 tradução do questionário para o português; (2 retrotradução para o inglês; (3 comitê de peritos para construção da primeira versão; (4 avaliação da compreensão verbal por especialistas e por uma amostra da população-alvo; (5 análise da consistência interna do instrumento a partir do alfa de Cronbach. O instrumento foi traduzido para o português e a versão final contou com os 30 itens do instrumento original. Todos os itens foram interpretados como de fácil compreensão, tanto por especialistas quanto pela população-alvo. Os valores de consistência interna foram satisfatórios, sendo de 0,91 para toda a escala. O instrumento encontra-se traduzido e adaptado para o português, com evidências de boa compreensão e consistência interna, sendo ainda necessária a avaliação de sua equivalência de mensuração, validade externa e reprodutibilidade.This study aimed to describe the cross-cultural adaptation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3 into Brazilian Portuguese. The methodology involved the following stages: (1 translation of the questionnaire into Portuguese; (2 back-translation into English; (3 meeting with experts to prepare a draft version; (4 assessment of verbal understanding of the draft by experts and by a sample of the target population; and (5 analysis of the tool's internal consistency, using Cronbach's alpha. The questionnaire was translated into Portuguese, and the scale's final version included 30 items, as in the original. Both the experts and target population members assessed all the items as easy to understand. Internal consistency was satisfactory, reaching 0.91 for the scale as a whole. The questionnaire has now been translated and adapted into

  17. Is There a Future for Education Consistent with Agenda 21?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, John

    1999-01-01

    Discusses recent experiences in developing and implementing strategies for education consistent with the concept of sustainable development at two different levels: (1) the international level characterized by Agenda 21 along with the efforts of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to foster its progress; and (2) the national…

  18. International spinal cord injury musculoskeletal basic data set

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biering-Sørensen, Fin; Burns, A S; Curt, A

    2012-01-01

    To develop an International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Musculoskeletal Basic Data Set as part of the International SCI Data Sets to facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic musculoskeletal findings in the SCI population.Setting:International.......To develop an International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Musculoskeletal Basic Data Set as part of the International SCI Data Sets to facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic musculoskeletal findings in the SCI population.Setting:International....

  19. Out-of-range international normalized ratio values and healthcare cost among new warfarin patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Winnie W; Wang, Li; Baser, Onur; Damaraju, C V; Schein, Jeffrey R

    2015-05-01

    Patients with out-of-range international normalized ratio (INR) values 3.0 have been associated with increased risk of thromboembolic and bleeding events. INR monitoring is costly, because of associated physician and nurse time, laboratory resource use, and dose adjustments. This study assessed the healthcare cost burden associated with out-of-range INR among warfarin initiator patients diagnosed with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) population. Adult NVAF patients (≥18 years) initiating warfarin were selected from the VHA dataset for the study period October 1, 2007-September 30, 2012. Only valid INR measurements (0.5 ≤ INR ≤ 20) were examined for the follow-up period, from the index date (warfarin initiation date) until the end of warfarin exposure or death. All-cause healthcare costs within 30 days were measured starting from the second month (31 days post-index date) to the end of the study period. Costs for inpatient stays, emergency room, outpatient facility, physician office visits, and other services were computed separately. Multiple regression was performed using the generalized linear model for overall cost analysis. In total, 29,463 patients were included in the study sample. Mean costs for out-of-range INR ranged from $3419 to $5126. Inpatient, outpatient, outpatient pharmacy, and total costs were significantly higher after patients experienced out-of-range results (INR  3), compared with in-range INR (2 ≤ INR ≤ 3). When exposed to out-of-range INR, patients also incurred higher mean total costs within 2-6 months ($3840-$5820) than after the first 6 months ($2789-$3503) of warfarin therapy. In the VHA population, INR measures outside of the 2-3 range were associated with significantly higher healthcare costs. Increased costs were especially apparent when INR values were below 2, although INR measures above 3 were also associated with higher costs relative to in-range

  20. International Relations

    OpenAIRE

    McGlinchey, S.

    2017-01-01

    A ‘Day 0’ introduction to International Relations for beginners. Written by a range of emerging and established experts, the chapters offer a broad sweep of the basic components of International Relations and the key contemporary issues that concern the discipline. The narrative arc forms a complete circle, taking readers from no knowledge to competency. The journey starts by examining how the international system was formed and ends by reflecting that International Relations is always adapti...

  1. Internal consistency and factor structure of the Portuguese version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale among alcoholic patients Consistência interna e estrutura fatorial da versão em português da Escala de Ansiedade Social de Liebowitz entre pacientes alcoolistas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauro B Terra

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale is an instrument used to evaluate the severity of social phobia. It has been widely used in different contexts and cultures, presenting variable psychometric properties. The objective of this article is to investigate the internal consistency and the factor structure of this scale. METHOD: In a sample of 300 alcoholic patients hospitalized in 3 mental clinics in Southern Brazil, 74 of them were social phobics (24.6%. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-Axis I Disorders - Patient Edition, a semi-structured clinical interview based on DSM-IV, was used to check for the diagnosis of social phobia. The internal consistency was measured by Cronbach's alpha. Data were subjected to a factor analysis with the principal component method of parameter estimation. Questionnaire items loading at 0.35 or above were considered in the final factor solution. RESULTS: The coefficient of internal consistency was 0.95. All items showed corrected item-total correlation coefficient above 0.15, considered the minimum requested index. The factor analysis resulted in 5 dimensions which corresponded to 52.9% of the total variance. The five factors extracted were: factor I - speaking in a group, factor II - activity in public, factor III - social interaction with unknown person, factor IV - attitude of disagreement or disapproval and factor V - social interaction in leisure activity. CONCLUSIONS: The scale proved to be reliable and structurally valid instrument for use in a population of alcoholic patients. The possibility of screening for social phobia through the use of the instrument may be helpful in identifying probable cases of the disorder among alcoholics.OBJETIVO: A Escala de Ansiedade Social de Liebowitz é um instrumento utilizado na avaliação da gravidade da fobia social. Tem sido amplamente usada em diferentes contextos e culturas, apresentando propriedades psicométricas variadas. O objetivo do artigo

  2. Internal consistency reliability and validity of the Hebrew translation of the Oxford Happiness Inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, L J; Katz, Y J

    2000-08-01

    The Hebrew translation of the Oxford Happiness Inventory and the short form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire were completed by 298 undergraduate women in Israel. The findings confirm the internal reliability of the Hebrew translation of the Oxford Happiness Inventory and support the construct validity according to which "happiness is a thing called stable extraversion."

  3. Conformal consistency relations for single-field inflation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Creminelli, Paolo; Noreña, Jorge; Simonović, Marko

    2012-01-01

    We generalize the single-field consistency relations to capture not only the leading term in the squeezed limit — going as 1/q 3 , where q is the small wavevector — but also the subleading one, going as 1/q 2 . This term, for an (n+1)-point function, is fixed in terms of the variation of the n-point function under a special conformal transformation; this parallels the fact that the 1/q 3 term is related with the scale dependence of the n-point function. For the squeezed limit of the 3-point function, this conformal consistency relation implies that there are no terms going as 1/q 2 . We verify that the squeezed limit of the 4-point function is related to the conformal variation of the 3-point function both in the case of canonical slow-roll inflation and in models with reduced speed of sound. In the second case the conformal consistency conditions capture, at the level of observables, the relation among operators induced by the non-linear realization of Lorentz invariance in the Lagrangian. These results mean that, in any single-field model, primordial correlation functions of ζ are endowed with an SO(4,1) symmetry, with dilations and special conformal transformations non-linearly realized by ζ. We also verify the conformal consistency relations for any n-point function in models with a modulation of the inflaton potential, where the scale dependence is not negligible. Finally, we generalize (some of) the consistency relations involving tensors and soft internal momenta

  4. Higher Storage Temperature Causes Greater Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Internal Penetration of Artificially Contaminated, Commercially Available, Washed Free Range Eggs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whiley, Alice; Fallowfield, Howard; Ross, Kirstin; McEvoy, Vanessa; Whiley, Harriet

    2016-07-01

    Foodborne salmonellosis is a major public health concern, with contaminated eggs identified as a significant source of infection. In Australia, the most prevalent cause of salmonellosis from eggs is Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium. This study explored the effect of temperature after 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of storage on commercially available washed free range eggs, artificially contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium on the external surface. At each time point, the external surface of the egg, the crushed eggshell, and the internal egg yolk and albumen were analyzed for Salmonella. After 28 days of storage, 25% of eggs stored at 4°C, 50% of eggs stored at 14°C, and 100% of eggs stored at 23 and 35°C were internally contaminated with Salmonella. After 1 day of storage, more than 50% of all eggs had Salmonella present in the crushed shell after the external surface had been disinfected with ethanol. This is the first study to demonstrate that refrigeration reduced the potential for Salmonella Typhimurium to penetrate the eggshell membrane and internally contaminate table eggs commercially available in Australia. It also suggests that the processes of cracking eggs may be a source of cross-contamination within the kitchen.

  5. International Comparisons of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Preschool Children: Parents’ Reports From 24 Societies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rescorla, Leslie A.; Achenbach, Thomas M.; Ivanova, Masha Y.; Harder, Valerie S.; Otten, Laura; Bilenberg, Niels; Bjarnadottir, Gudrun; Capron, Christiane; De Pauw, Sarah S. W.; Dias, Pedro; Dobrean, Anca; Döpfner, Manfred; Duyme, Michel; Eapen, Valsamma; Erol, Nese; Esmaeili, Elaheh Mohammad; Ezpeleta, Lourdes; Frigerio, Alessandra; Fung, Daniel S. S.; Gonçalves, Miguel; Guđmundsson, Halldór; Jeng, Suh-Fang; Jusiené, Roma; Kim, Young Ah; Kristensen, Solvejg; Liu, Jianghong; Lecannelier, Felipe; Leung, Patrick W. L.; Machado, Bárbara César; Montirosso, Rosario; Oh, Kyung Ja; Ooi, Yoon Phaik; Plück, Julia; Pomalima, Rolando; Pranvera, Jetishi; Schmeck, Klaus; Shahini, Mimoza; Silva, Jaime R.; Simsek, Zeynep; Sourander, Andre; Valverde, José; van der Ende, Jan; Van Leeuwen, Karla G.; Wu, Yen-Tzu; Yurdusen, Sema; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Verhulst, Frank C.

    2014-01-01

    International comparisons were conducted of preschool children’s behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½–5 by parents in 24 societies (N =19,850). Item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–oriented scales; a Stress Problems scale; and Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to medium (3–12%). Although societies differed greatly in language, culture, and other characteristics, Total Problems scores for 18 of the 24 societies were within 7.1 points of the omnicultural mean of 33.3 (on a scale of 0–198). Gender and age differences, as well as gender and age interactions with society, were all very small (effect sizes societies, correlations between mean item ratings averaged .78, and correlations between internal consistency alphas for the scales averaged .92, indicating that the rank orders of mean item ratings and internal consistencies of scales were very similar across diverse societies. PMID:21534056

  6. Impact of Alzheimer's Disease on Caregiver Questionnaire: internal consistency, convergent validity, and test-retest reliability of a new measure for assessing caregiver burden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Jason C; Ito, Diane; Chen, Yaozhu J; Cheng, Rebecca; Bolognese, Jennifer; Li-McLeod, Josephine

    2014-09-04

    There is a lack of validated instruments to measure the level of burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) on caregivers. The Impact of Alzheimer's Disease on Caregiver Questionnaire (IADCQ) is a 12-item instrument with a seven-day recall period that measures AD caregiver's burden across emotional, physical, social, financial, sleep, and time aspects. Primary objectives of this study were to evaluate psychometric properties of IADCQ administered on the Web and to determine most appropriate scoring algorithm. A national sample of 200 unpaid AD caregivers participated in this study by completing the Web-based version of IADCQ and Short Form-12 Health Survey Version 2 (SF-12v2™). The SF-12v2 was used to measure convergent validity of IADCQ scores and to provide an understanding of the overall health-related quality of life of sampled AD caregivers. The IADCQ survey was also completed four weeks later by a randomly selected subgroup of 50 participants to assess test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was implemented to test the dimensionality of the IADCQ items. Classical item-level and scale-level psychometric analyses were conducted to estimate psychometric characteristics of the instrument. Test-retest reliability was performed to evaluate the instrument's stability and consistency over time. Virtually none (2%) of the respondents had either floor or ceiling effects, indicating the IADCQ covers an ideal range of burden. A single-factor model obtained appropriate goodness of fit and provided evidence that a simple sum score of the 12 items of IADCQ can be used to measure AD caregiver's burden. Scales-level reliability was supported with a coefficient alpha of 0.93 and an intra-class correlation coefficient (for test-retest reliability) of 0.68 (95% CI: 0.50-0.80). Low-moderate negative correlations were observed between the IADCQ and scales of the SF-12v2. The study findings suggest the IADCQ has appropriate psychometric characteristics as a

  7. Do Countries Consistently Engage in Misinforming the International Community about Their Efforts to Combat Money Laundering? Evidence Using Benford's Law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deleanu, Ioana Sorina

    2017-01-01

    Indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, collected by EUROSTAT, are plagued with shortcomings. In this paper, I have carried out a forensic analysis on a 2003-2010 dataset of indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, that European Union member states self-reported to EUROSTAT, and on the basis of which, their efforts were evaluated. I used Benford's law to detect any anomalous statistical patterns and found that statistical anomalies were also consistent with strategic manipulation. According to Benford's law, if we pick a random sample of numbers representing natural processes, and look at the distribution of the first digits of these numbers, we see that, contrary to popular belief, digit 1 occurs most often, then digit 2, and so on, with digit 9 occurring in less than 5% of the sample. Without prior knowledge of Benford's law, since people are not intuitively good at creating truly random numbers, deviations thereof can capture strategic alterations. In order to eliminate other sources of deviation, I have compared deviations in situations where incentives and opportunities for manipulation existed and in situations where they did not. While my results are not a conclusive proof of strategic manipulation, they signal that countries that faced incentives and opportunities to misinform the international community about their efforts to combat money laundering may have manipulated these indicators. Finally, my analysis points to the high potential for disruption that the manipulation of national statistics has, and calls for the acknowledgment that strategic manipulation can be an unintended consequence of the international community's pressure on countries to put combatting money laundering on the top of their national agenda.

  8. Do Countries Consistently Engage in Misinforming the International Community about Their Efforts to Combat Money Laundering? Evidence Using Benford's Law.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Sorina Deleanu

    Full Text Available Indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, collected by EUROSTAT, are plagued with shortcomings. In this paper, I have carried out a forensic analysis on a 2003-2010 dataset of indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, that European Union member states self-reported to EUROSTAT, and on the basis of which, their efforts were evaluated. I used Benford's law to detect any anomalous statistical patterns and found that statistical anomalies were also consistent with strategic manipulation. According to Benford's law, if we pick a random sample of numbers representing natural processes, and look at the distribution of the first digits of these numbers, we see that, contrary to popular belief, digit 1 occurs most often, then digit 2, and so on, with digit 9 occurring in less than 5% of the sample. Without prior knowledge of Benford's law, since people are not intuitively good at creating truly random numbers, deviations thereof can capture strategic alterations. In order to eliminate other sources of deviation, I have compared deviations in situations where incentives and opportunities for manipulation existed and in situations where they did not. While my results are not a conclusive proof of strategic manipulation, they signal that countries that faced incentives and opportunities to misinform the international community about their efforts to combat money laundering may have manipulated these indicators. Finally, my analysis points to the high potential for disruption that the manipulation of national statistics has, and calls for the acknowledgment that strategic manipulation can be an unintended consequence of the international community's pressure on countries to put combatting money laundering on the top of their national agenda.

  9. Quantitative verification of ab initio self-consistent laser theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Li; Tandy, Robert J; Stone, A D; Türeci, Hakan E

    2008-10-13

    We generalize and test the recent "ab initio" self-consistent (AISC) time-independent semiclassical laser theory. This self-consistent formalism generates all the stationary lasing properties in the multimode regime (frequencies, thresholds, internal and external fields, output power and emission pattern) from simple inputs: the dielectric function of the passive cavity, the atomic transition frequency, and the transverse relaxation time of the lasing transition.We find that the theory gives excellent quantitative agreement with full time-dependent simulations of the Maxwell-Bloch equations after it has been generalized to drop the slowly-varying envelope approximation. The theory is infinite order in the non-linear hole-burning interaction; the widely used third order approximation is shown to fail badly.

  10. X-ray microbeam measurements of long-range internal stresses in commercial-purity aluminum processed by multiple passes of equal-channel angular pressing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phan, Thien Q.; Lee, I-Fang; Levine, Lyle E.; Tischler, Jonathan Z.; Huang, Yi; Fox, Alan G.; Langdon, Terence G.; Kassner, Michael E.

    2014-01-01

    X-ray microbeam diffraction was used to measure long-range internal stresses (LRISs) in the grain/subgrain interiors of commercial-purity aluminum processed by equal-channel angular pressing for up to eight passes. The LRIS values at +4.9° off the axial (pressing) direction show only a slight increase with increasing numbers of passes. The normalized stress remains approximately constant at ∼0.10 of the flow stress

  11. International Construction Measurement Standard

    OpenAIRE

    Mitchell, Charles

    2016-01-01

    The International Construction Measurement Standard Coalition (the Coalition) was formed on 17 June 2015 after meeting at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, USA. The Coalition, comprising the organisations listed below at the date of publication, aims to bring about consistency in construction cost reporting standards internationally. This is achieved by the creation and adoption of this ICMS, an agreed international standard for the structuring and presentation of cost reports...

  12. Consistent Kaluza-Klein truncations via exceptional field theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hohm, Olaf [Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Samtleben, Henning [Université de Lyon, Laboratoire de Physique, UMR 5672, CNRS,École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46, allée d’Italie, F-69364 Lyon cedex 07 (France)

    2015-01-26

    We present the generalized Scherk-Schwarz reduction ansatz for the full supersymmetric exceptional field theory in terms of group valued twist matrices subject to consistency equations. With this ansatz the field equations precisely reduce to those of lower-dimensional gauged supergravity parametrized by an embedding tensor. We explicitly construct a family of twist matrices as solutions of the consistency equations. They induce gauged supergravities with gauge groups SO(p,q) and CSO(p,q,r). Geometrically, they describe compactifications on internal spaces given by spheres and (warped) hyperboloides H{sup p,q}, thus extending the applicability of generalized Scherk-Schwarz reductions beyond homogeneous spaces. Together with the dictionary that relates exceptional field theory to D=11 and IIB supergravity, respectively, the construction defines an entire new family of consistent truncations of the original theories. These include not only compactifications on spheres of different dimensions (such as AdS{sub 5}×S{sup 5}), but also various hyperboloid compactifications giving rise to a higher-dimensional embedding of supergravities with non-compact and non-semisimple gauge groups.

  13. Ranging Behaviour of Commercial Free-Range Laying Hens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chielo, Leonard Ikenna; Pike, Tom; Cooper, Jonathan

    2016-04-26

    In this study, the range use and behaviour of laying hens in commercial free-range flocks was explored. Six flocks were each visited on four separate days and data collected from their outdoor area (divided into zones based on distance from shed and available resources). These were: apron (0-10 m from shed normally without cover or other enrichments); enriched belt (10-50 m from shed where resources such as manmade cover, saplings and dust baths were provided); and outer range (beyond 50 m from shed with no cover and mainly grass pasture). Data collection consisted of counting the number of hens in each zone and recording behaviour, feather condition and nearest neighbour distance (NND) of 20 birds per zone on each visit day. In addition, we used techniques derived from ecological surveys to establish four transects perpendicular to the shed, running through the apron, enriched belt and outer range. Number of hens in each 10 m × 10 m quadrat was recorded four times per day as was the temperature and relative humidity of the outer range. On average, 12.5% of hens were found outside. Of these, 5.4% were found in the apron; 4.3% in the enriched zone; and 2.8% were in the outer range. This pattern was supported by data from quadrats, where the density of hens sharply dropped with increasing distance from shed. Consequently, NND was greatest in the outer range, least in the apron and intermediate in the enriched belt. Hens sampled in outer range and enriched belts had better feather condition than those from the apron. Standing, ground pecking, walking and foraging were the most commonly recorded activities with standing and pecking most likely to occur in the apron, and walking and foraging more common in the outer range. Use of the outer range declined with lower temperatures and increasing relative humidity, though use of apron and enriched belt was not affected by variation in these measures. These data support previous findings that outer range areas tend to be

  14. Sample environment for neutron scattering measurements of internal stresses in engineering materials in the temperature range of 6 K to 300 K.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirichek, O; Timms, J D; Kelleher, J F; Down, R B E; Offer, C D; Kabra, S; Zhang, S Y

    2017-02-01

    Internal stresses in materials have a considerable effect on material properties including strength, fracture toughness, and fatigue resistance. The ENGIN-X beamline is an engineering science facility at ISIS optimized for the measurement of strain and stress using the atomic lattice planes as a strain gauge. Nowadays, the rapidly rising interest in the mechanical properties of engineering materials at low temperatures has been stimulated by the dynamic development of the cryogenic industry and the advanced applications of the superconductor technology. Here we present the design and discuss the test results of a new cryogenic sample environment system for neutron scattering measurements of internal stresses in engineering materials under a load of up to 100 kN and in the temperature range of 6 K to 300 K. Complete cooling of the system starting from the room temperature down to the base temperature takes around 90 min. Understanding of internal stresses in engineering materials at cryogenic temperatures is vital for the modelling and designing of cutting-edge superconducting magnets and other superconductor based applications.

  15. Global health diplomacy in Iraq: international relations outcomes of multilateral tuberculosis programmes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevany, Sebastian; Jaf, Payman; Workneh, Nibretie Gobezie; Abu Dalod, Mohammad; Tabena, Mohammed; Rashid, Sara; Al Hilfi, Thamer Kadum Yousif

    2014-01-01

    International development programmes, including global health interventions, have the capacity to make important implicit and explicit benefits to diplomatic and international relations outcomes. Conversely, in the absence of awareness of these implications, such programmes may generate associated threats. Due to heightened international tensions in conflict and post-conflict settings, greater attention to diplomatic outcomes may therefore be necessary. We examine related 'collateral' effects of Global Fund-supported tuberculosis programmes in Iraq. During site visits to Iraq conducted during 2012 and 2013 on behalf of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on-site service delivery evaluations, unstructured interviews with clinical and operational staff, and programme documentary review of Global Fund-supported tuberculosis treatment and care programmes were conducted. During this process, a range of possible external or collateral international relations and diplomatic effects of global health programmes were assessed according to predetermined criteria. A range of positive diplomatic and international relations effects of Global Fund-supported programmes were observed in the Iraq setting. These included (1) geo-strategic accessibility and coverage; (2) provisions for programme sustainability and alignment; (3) contributions to nation-building and peace-keeping initiatives; (4) consistent observation of social, cultural and religious norms in intervention selection; and (5) selection of the most effective and cost-effective tuberculosis treatment and care interventions. Investments in global health programmes have valuable diplomatic, as well as health-related, outcomes, associated with their potential to prevent, mitigate or reverse international tension and hostility in conflict and post-conflict settings, provided that they adhere to appropriate criteria. The associated international presence in such regions may also contribute to peace

  16. Normal range of human dietary sodium intake

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McCarron, David A; Kazaks, Alexandra G; Geerling, Joel C

    2013-01-01

    The recommendation to restrict dietary sodium for management of hypertensive cardiovascular disease assumes that sodium intake exceeds physiologic need, that it can be significantly reduced, and that the reduction can be maintained over time. In contrast, neuroscientists have identified neural...... circuits in vertebrate animals that regulate sodium appetite within a narrow physiologic range. This study further validates our previous report that sodium intake, consistent with the neuroscience, tracks within a narrow range, consistent over time and across cultures....

  17. 3rd international conference, LDIC 2012

    CERN Document Server

    Scholz-Reiter, Bernd; Thoben, Klaus-Dieter

    2013-01-01

    The volume comprises the proceedings of the third International Conference on Dynamics in Logistics LDIC 2012. The scope of the conference targeted the identification, analysis, and description of the dynamics of logistic processes and networks. The spectrum ranged from the modeling and planning of processes and innovative methods like autonomous control and knowledge management to the new technologies provided by radio frequency identification, mobile communication, and networking. The growing dynamics in the area of logistics poses completely new challenges: Logistic processes and networks must rapidly and flexibly adapt to continuously changing conditions. LDIC 2012 provided a venue for researchers from academia and industry interested in the technical advances in dynamics in logistics. The conference addressed research in logistics from a wide range of fields, e.g. engineering, computer science and operations research. The volume consists of two invited papers and of 49 contributed papers divided into var...

  18. International Aspects of Nuclear Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lash, T.R.

    2000-01-01

    Even though not all the world's nations have developed a nuclear power industry, nuclear safety is unquestionably an international issue. Perhaps the most compelling proof is the 1986 accident at Chornobyl nuclear power plant in what is now Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Energy conducts a comprehensive, cooperative effort to reduce risks at Soviet-designed nuclear power plants. In the host countries : Armenia, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan joint projects are correcting major safety deficiencies and establishing nuclear safety infrastructures that will be self-sustaining.The U.S. effort has six primary goals: 1. Operational Safety - Implement the basic elements of operational safety consistent with internationally accepted practices. 2. Training - Improve operator training to internationally accepted standards. 3. Safety Maintenance - Help establish technically effective maintenance programs that can ensure the reliability of safety-related equipment. 4. Safety Systems - Implement safety system improvements consistent with remaining plant lifetimes. 5. Safety Evaluations - Transfer the capability to conduct in-depth plant safety evaluations using internationally accepted methods. 6. Legal and Regulatory Capabilities - Facilitate host-country implementation of necessary laws and regulatory policies consistent with their international treaty obligations governing the safe use of nuclear power

  19. Self-consistent approximations beyond the CPA: Part II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, T.; Gray, L.J.

    1982-01-01

    This paper concentrates on a self-consistent approximation for random alloys developed by Kaplan, Leath, Gray, and Diehl. The construction of the augmented space formalism for a binary alloy is sketched, and the notation to be used derived. Using the operator methods of the augmented space, the self-consistent approximation is derived for the average Green's function, and for evaluating the self-energy, taking into account the scattering by clusters of excitations. The particular cluster approximation desired is derived by treating the scattering by the excitations with S /SUB T/ exactly. Fourier transforms on the disorder-space clustersite labels solve the self-consistent set of equations. Expansion to short range order in the alloy is also discussed. A method to reduce the problem to a computationally tractable form is described

  20. Consistent probabilities in loop quantum cosmology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craig, David A; Singh, Parampreet

    2013-01-01

    A fundamental issue for any quantum cosmological theory is to specify how probabilities can be assigned to various quantum events or sequences of events such as the occurrence of singularities or bounces. In previous work, we have demonstrated how this issue can be successfully addressed within the consistent histories approach to quantum theory for Wheeler–DeWitt-quantized cosmological models. In this work, we generalize that analysis to the exactly solvable loop quantization of a spatially flat, homogeneous and isotropic cosmology sourced with a massless, minimally coupled scalar field known as sLQC. We provide an explicit, rigorous and complete decoherent-histories formulation for this model and compute the probabilities for the occurrence of a quantum bounce versus a singularity. Using the scalar field as an emergent internal time, we show for generic states that the probability for a singularity to occur in this model is zero, and that of a bounce is unity, complementing earlier studies of the expectation values of the volume and matter density in this theory. We also show from the consistent histories point of view that all states in this model, whether quantum or classical, achieve arbitrarily large volume in the limit of infinite ‘past’ or ‘future’ scalar ‘time’, in the sense that the wave function evaluated at any arbitrary fixed value of the volume vanishes in that limit. Finally, we briefly discuss certain misconceptions concerning the utility of the consistent histories approach in these models. (paper)

  1. Long-Range WindScanner System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vasiljevic, Nikola; Lea, Guillaume; Courtney, Michael

    2016-01-01

    The technical aspects of a multi-Doppler LiDAR instrument, the long-range WindScanner system, are presented accompanied by an overview of the results from several field campaigns. The long-range WindScanner system consists of three spatially-separated, scanning coherent Doppler LiDARs and a remote......-rangeWindScanner system measures the wind field by emitting and directing three laser beams to intersect, and then scanning the beam intersection over a region of interest. The long-range WindScanner system was developed to tackle the need for high-quality observations of wind fields on scales of modern wind turbine...

  2. Reliability of AOFAS diabetic foot questionnaire in Charcot arthropathy: stability, internal consistency, and measurable difference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhawan, Vibhu; Spratt, Kevin F; Pinzur, Michael S; Baumhauer, Judith; Rudicel, Sally; Saltzman, Charles L

    2005-09-01

    The development of Charcot changes is known to be associated with a high rate of recurrent ulceration and amputation. Unfortunately, the effect of Charcot arthropathy on quality of life in diabetic patients has not been systematically studied because of a lack of a disease-specific instrument. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument to evaluate the health-related quality of life of diabetic foot disease. Subjects diagnosed with Charcot arthropathy completed a patient self-administered questionnaire, and clinicians completed an accompanying observational survey. The patient self-administered questionnaire was organized into five general sections: demographics, general health, diabetes-related symptoms, comorbidities, and satisfaction. The scales measured the effect in six health domains: 1) general health, 2) care, 3) worry, 4) sleep, 5) emotion, and 6) physicality. The psychometric properties of the scales were evaluated and the summary scores for the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) were compared to published norms for other major medical illnesses. Of the 89 enrolled patients, 57 who completed the questionnaire on enrollment returned a second completed form at 3-month followup. Over the 3-month followup period most of the patients showed an improvement in the Eichenholtz staging. The internal consistency of most was moderate to high and, in general, the scale scores were stable over 3 months. However, several of the scales suffered from low-ceiling or high-floor effects. Patients with Charcot arthropathy had a much lower physical component score on enrollment than the reported norms for other disease conditions, including diabetes. Quality of life represents an important set of outcomes when evaluating the effectiveness of treatment for patients with Charcot arthropathy. This study represents an initial attempt to develop a standardized survey for use with this patient population. Further studies need to be done with larger groups of

  3. Measuring Systems for Thermometer Calibration in Low-Temperature Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szmyrka-Grzebyk, A.; Lipiński, L.; Manuszkiewicz, H.; Kowal, A.; Grykałowska, A.; Jancewicz, D.

    2011-12-01

    The national temperature standard for the low-temperature range between 13.8033 K and 273.16 K has been established in Poland at the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research (INTiBS). The standard consists of sealed cells for realization of six fixed points of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) in the low-temperature range, an adiabatic cryostat and Isotech water and mercury triple-point baths, capsule standard resistance thermometers (CSPRT), and AC and DC bridges with standard resistors for thermometers resistance measurements. INTiBS calibrates CSPRTs at the low-temperature fixed points with uncertainties less than 1 mK. In lower temperature range—between 2.5 K and about 25 K — rhodium-iron (RhFe) resistance thermometers are calibrated by comparison with a standard which participated in the EURAMET.T-K1.1 comparison. INTiBS offers a calibration service for industrial platinum resistance thermometers and for digital thermometers between 77 K and 273 K. These types of thermometers may be calibrated at INTiBS also in a higher temperature range up to 550°C. The Laboratory of Temperature Standard at INTiBS acquired an accreditation from the Polish Centre for Accreditation. A management system according to EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 was established at the Laboratory and presented on EURAMET QSM Forum.

  4. A consistent, differential versus integral, method for measuring the delayed neutron yield in fissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flip, A.; Pang, H.F.; D'Angelo, A.

    1995-01-01

    Due to the persistent uncertainties: ∼ 5 % (the uncertainty, here and there after, is at 1σ) in the prediction of the 'reactivity scale' (β eff ) for a fast power reactor, an international project was recently initiated in the framework of the OECD/NEA activities for reevaluation, new measurements and integral benchmarking of delayed neutron (DN) data and related kinetic parameters (principally β eff ). Considering that the major part of this uncertainty is due to uncertainties in the DN yields (v d ) and the difficulty for further improvement of the precision in differential (e.g. Keepin's method) measurements, an international cooperative strategy was adopted aiming at extracting and consistently interpreting information from both differential (nuclear) and integral (in reactor) measurements. The main problem arises from the integral side; thus the idea was to realize β eff like measurements (both deterministic and noise) in 'clean' assemblies. The 'clean' calculational context permitted the authors to develop a theory allowing to link explicitly this integral experimental level with the differential one, via a unified 'Master Model' which relates v d and measurables quantities (on both levels) linearly. The combined error analysis is consequently largely simplified and the final uncertainty drastically reduced (theoretically, by a factor √3). On the other hand the same theoretical development leading to the 'Master Model', also resulted in a structured scheme of approximations of the general (stochastic) Boltzmann equation allowing a consistent analysis of the large range of measurements concerned (stochastic, dynamic, static ... ). This paper is focused on the main results of this theoretical development and its application to the analysis of the Preliminary results of the BERENICE program (β eff measurements in MASURCA, the first assembly in CADARACHE-FRANCE)

  5. Estimators of internal consistency in health research: the use of the alpha coefficient

    OpenAIRE

    Cascaes da Silva, Fraciele; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil.; Gonçalves, Elizandra; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil.; Valdivia Arancibia, Beatriz Angélica; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil; Graziele Bento, Salma; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil.; da Silva Castro, Thiago Luis; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil; Soleman Hernandez, Salma Stephany; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil; da Silva, Rudney; Centro de Ciencias de la Salud y del Deporte, Universidad del Estado de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil

    2015-01-01

    Academic production has increased in the area of health, increasingly demanding high quality in publications of great impact. One of the ways to consider quality is through methods that increase the consistency of data analysis, such as reliability which, depending on the type of data, can be evaluated by different coefficients, especially the alpha coefficient. Based on this, the present review systematically gathers scientific articles produced in the last five years, which in a methodologi...

  6. Ranging Behaviour of Commercial Free-Range Laying Hens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonard Ikenna Chielo

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the range use and behaviour of laying hens in commercial free-range flocks was explored. Six flocks were each visited on four separate days and data collected from their outdoor area (divided into zones based on distance from shed and available resources. These were: apron (0–10 m from shed normally without cover or other enrichments; enriched belt (10–50 m from shed where resources such as manmade cover, saplings and dust baths were provided; and outer range (beyond 50 m from shed with no cover and mainly grass pasture. Data collection consisted of counting the number of hens in each zone and recording behaviour, feather condition and nearest neighbour distance (NND of 20 birds per zone on each visit day. In addition, we used techniques derived from ecological surveys to establish four transects perpendicular to the shed, running through the apron, enriched belt and outer range. Number of hens in each 10 m × 10 m quadrat was recorded four times per day as was the temperature and relative humidity of the outer range. On average, 12.5% of hens were found outside. Of these, 5.4% were found in the apron; 4.3% in the enriched zone; and 2.8% were in the outer range. This pattern was supported by data from quadrats, where the density of hens sharply dropped with increasing distance from shed. Consequently, NND was greatest in the outer range, least in the apron and intermediate in the enriched belt. Hens sampled in outer range and enriched belts had better feather condition than those from the apron. Standing, ground pecking, walking and foraging were the most commonly recorded activities with standing and pecking most likely to occur in the apron, and walking and foraging more common in the outer range. Use of the outer range declined with lower temperatures and increasing relative humidity, though use of apron and enriched belt was not affected by variation in these measures. These data support previous findings that outer range

  7. Adolescents’ internalizing problems following traumatic brain injury are related to parents’ psychiatric symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Robin L.; Kirkwood, Michael W.; Taylor, H. Gerry; Stancin, Terry; Brown, Tanya M.; Wade, Shari L.

    2013-01-01

    Background A small body of previous research has demonstrated that pediatric traumatic brain injury increases risk for internalizing problems, but findings have varied regarding their predictors and correlates. Methods We examined the level and correlates of internalizing symptoms in 130 teens who had sustained a complicated mild to severe TBI within the past 1 to 6 months. Internalizing problems were measured via both maternal and paternal report Child Behavior Checklist. We also measured family functioning, parent psychiatric symptoms, and post-injury teen neurocognitive function. Results Mean parental ratings of internalizing problems were within the normal range. Depending on informant, 22–26% of the sample demonstrated clinically elevated internalizing problems. In multiple and binary logistic regression models, only parent psychiatric symptoms consistently provided unique prediction of teen internalizing symptoms. For maternal but not paternal report, female gender was associated with greater internalizing problems. Conclusion Parent and teen emotional problems are associated following adolescent TBI. Possible reasons for this relationship, including the effects of TBI on the family unit, are discussed. PMID:22935574

  8. A model for cytoplasmic rheology consistent with magnetic twisting cytometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, J P; Kelly, S M

    1998-01-01

    Magnetic twisting cytometry is gaining wide applicability as a tool for the investigation of the rheological properties of cells and the mechanical properties of receptor-cytoskeletal interactions. Current technology involves the application and release of magnetically induced torques on small magnetic particles bound to or inside cells, with measurements of the resulting angular rotation of the particles. The properties of purely elastic or purely viscous materials can be determined by the angular strain and strain rate, respectively. However, the cytoskeleton and its linkage to cell surface receptors display elastic, viscous, and even plastic deformation, and the simultaneous characterization of these properties using only elastic or viscous models is internally inconsistent. Data interpretation is complicated by the fact that in current technology, the applied torques are not constant in time, but decrease as the particles rotate. This paper describes an internally consistent model consisting of a parallel viscoelastic element in series with a parallel viscoelastic element, and one approach to quantitative parameter evaluation. The unified model reproduces all essential features seen in data obtained from a wide variety of cell populations, and contains the pure elastic, viscoelastic, and viscous cases as subsets.

  9. Poppet valve control of throat stability bypass to increase stable airflow range of a Mach 2.5. inlet with 60 percent internal contraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, G. A.; Sanders, B. W.

    1975-01-01

    The throat of a Mach 2.5 inlet with a coldpipe termination was fitted with a stability-bypass system. System variations included several stability bypass entrance configurations. Poppet valves controlled the bypass airflow. The inlet stable airflow range achieved with each configuration was determined for both steady state conditions and internal pulse transients. Results are compared with those obtained without a stability bypass system. Transient results were also obtained for the inlet with a choke point at the diffuser exit and for the inlet with large and small stability bypass plenum volumes. Poppet valves at the stability bypass exit provided the inlet with a stable airflow range of 20 percent or greater at all static and transient conditions.

  10. Gentzen's centenary the quest for consistency

    CERN Document Server

    Rathjen, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Gerhard Gentzen has been described as logic’s lost genius, whom Gödel called a better logician than himself. This work comprises articles by leading proof theorists, attesting to Gentzen’s enduring legacy to mathematical logic and beyond. The contributions range from philosophical reflections and re-evaluations of Gentzen’s original consistency proofs to the most recent developments in proof theory. Gentzen founded modern proof theory. His sequent calculus and natural deduction system beautifully explain the deep symmetries of logic. They underlie modern developments in computer science such as automated theorem proving and type theory.

  11. International Mentoring Programs: Leadership Opportunities to Enhance Worldwide Pharmacy Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ubaka, Chukwuemeka; Brechtelsbauer, Erich; Goff, Debra A

    2017-07-01

    Health-system and community pharmacy practice in the United States is experiencing transformational change; however, this transformation is lagging in the international arena. As a result, efforts are being made to provide support and education to the international pharmacy leaders and practitioners. This article describes one effort, the Mandela Washington Fellows Program, and suggests areas where pharmacy leaders can be involved to help advance the practice of pharmacy on an international level. The Mandela Washington Fellows Program for young Africa leaders consists of a US-Africa pharmacy-mentoring program identified ranging from educational opportunities to collaboration for implementation of patient care programs. The specifics of the mentoring program include daily meetings, clinic and ward rounds, round table discussions with mentors, and visits to various hospital care systems. Lessons were learned and strategies for sustaining the program are discussed. These types of programs represent leadership opportunities that may not be apparent to most pharmacy directors, but expanding their view to helping international pharmacists expand their practice only strengthens the professional goal of providing patient-centered pharmacy services.

  12. 7th International Symposium on Gaseous Dielectrics

    CERN Document Server

    James, David

    1994-01-01

    The Seventh International Symposium on Gaseous Dielectrics was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, U. S. A. , on April 24-28, 1994. The symposium continued the interdisciplinary character and comprehensive approach of the preceding six symposia. Gaseous DielecIries VII is a detailed record of the symposium proceedings. It covers recent advances and developments in a wide range of basic, applied and industrial areas of gaseous dielectrics. It is hoped that Gaseous DielecIries VII will aid future research and development in, and encourage wider industrial use of, gaseous dielectrics. The Organizing Committee of the Seventh International Symposium on Gaseous Dielectrics consisted of G. Addis (U. S. A. ), L. G. Christophorou (U. S. A. ), F. Y. Chu (Canada), A. H. Cookson (U. S. A. ), O. Farish (U. K. ), I. Gallimberti (Italy) , A. Garscadden (U. S. A. ), D. R. James (U. S. A. ), E. Marode (France), T. Nitta (Japan), W. Pfeiffer (Germany), Y. Qiu (China), I. Sauers (U. S. A. ), R. J. Van Brunt (U. S. A. ), and W. Zaengl...

  13. Thermodynamic consistency of viscoplastic material models involving external variable rates in the evolution equations for the internal variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malmberg, T.

    1993-09-01

    The objective of this study is to derive and investigate thermodynamic restrictions for a particular class of internal variable models. Their evolution equations consist of two contributions: the usual irreversible part, depending only on the present state, and a reversible but path dependent part, linear in the rates of the external variables (evolution equations of ''mixed type''). In the first instance the thermodynamic analysis is based on the classical Clausius-Duhem entropy inequality and the Coleman-Noll argument. The analysis is restricted to infinitesimal strains and rotations. The results are specialized and transferred to a general class of elastic-viscoplastic material models. Subsequently, they are applied to several viscoplastic models of ''mixed type'', proposed or discussed in the literature (Robinson et al., Krempl et al., Freed et al.), and it is shown that some of these models are thermodynamically inconsistent. The study is closed with the evaluation of the extended Clausius-Duhem entropy inequality (concept of Mueller) where the entropy flux is governed by an assumed constitutive equation in its own right; also the constraining balance equations are explicitly accounted for by the method of Lagrange multipliers (Liu's approach). This analysis is done for a viscoplastic material model with evolution equations of the ''mixed type''. It is shown that this approach is much more involved than the evaluation of the classical Clausius-Duhem entropy inequality with the Coleman-Noll argument. (orig.) [de

  14. The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale: validation of the Japanese version.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanabe, Yosuke; Hayashi, Kunihiko; Ideno, Yuki

    2016-04-29

    The present study investigated the reliability and validity of a Japanese version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale, designed to assess internalized stigma experienced by people with mental illness. A survey was conducted with 173 outpatients with mental illness who attended psychiatric clinics on a regular basis. A retest was conducted with 51 participants to evaluate the scale's psychometric properties. The alpha coefficient for the overall internal consistency was 0.91, and the coefficients of the individual ISMI subscales ranged from 0.57 to 0.81. The test-retest reliability was r = 0.85 (n = 51, P stigma resistance items excluded. The Japanese version of the ISMI scale demonstrated similar reliability and validity to the original English version. Therefore, the Japanese version of the ISMI scale may be an effective and valid tool to measure internalized stigma among Japanese people who have a mental illness.

  15. Consistency of differential and integral thermonuclear neutronics data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reupke, W.A.

    1978-01-01

    To increase the accuracy of the neutronics analysis of nuclear reactors, physicists and engineers have employed a variety of techniques, including the adjustment of multigroup differential data to improve consistency with integral data. Of the various adjustment strategies, a generalized least-squares procedure which adjusts the combined differential and integral data can significantly improve the accuracy of neutronics calculations compared to calculations employing only differential data. This investigation analyzes 14 MeV neutron-driven integral experiments, using a more extensively developed methodology and a newly developed computer code, to extend the domain of adjustment from the energy range of fission reactors to the energy range of fusion reactors

  16. The availability and consistency of dengue surveillance data provided online by the World Health Organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruberto, Irene; Marques, Ernesto; Burke, Donald S; Van Panhuis, Willem G

    2015-04-01

    The use of high quality disease surveillance data has become increasingly important for public health action against new threats. In response, countries have developed a wide range of disease surveillance systems enabled by technological advancements. The heterogeneity and complexity of country data systems have caused a growing need for international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate the standardization, integration, and dissemination of country disease data at the global level for research and policy. The availability and consistency of currently available disease surveillance data at the global level are unclear. We investigated this for dengue surveillance data provided online by the WHO. We extracted all dengue surveillance data provided online by WHO Headquarters and Regional Offices (RO's). We assessed the availability and consistency of these data by comparing indicators within and between sources. We also assessed the consistency of dengue data provided online by two example countries (Brazil and Indonesia). Data were available from WHO for 100 countries since 1955 representing a total of 23 million dengue cases and 82 thousand deaths ever reported to WHO. The availability of data on DengueNet and some RO's declined dramatically after 2005. Consistency was lacking between sources (84% across all indicators representing a discrepancy of almost half a million cases). Within sources, data at high spatial resolution were often incomplete. The decline of publicly available, integrated dengue surveillance data at the global level will limit opportunities for research, policy, and advocacy. A new financial and operational framework will be necessary for innovation and for the continued availability of integrated country disease data at the global level.

  17. Image dynamic range test and evaluation of Gaofen-2 dual cameras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhenhua; Gan, Fuping; Wei, Dandan

    2015-12-01

    In order to fully understand the dynamic range of Gaofen-2 satellite data and support the data processing, application and next satellites development, in this article, we evaluated the dynamic range by calculating some statistics such as maximum ,minimum, average and stand deviation of four images obtained at the same time by Gaofen-2 dual cameras in Beijing area; then the maximum ,minimum, average and stand deviation of each longitudinal overlap of PMS1,PMS2 were calculated respectively for the evaluation of each camera's dynamic range consistency; and these four statistics of each latitudinal overlap of PMS1,PMS2 were calculated respectively for the evaluation of the dynamic range consistency between PMS1 and PMS2 at last. The results suggest that there is a wide dynamic range of DN value in the image obtained by PMS1 and PMS2 which contains rich information of ground objects; in general, the consistency of dynamic range between the single camera images is in close agreement, but also a little difference, so do the dual cameras. The consistency of dynamic range between the single camera images is better than the dual cameras'.

  18. Brazil-Portugal Transcultural Adaptation of the UWES-9: Internal Consistency, Dimensionality, and Measurement Invariance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinval, Jorge; Pasian, Sonia; Queirós, Cristina; Marôco, João

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to present a revision of international versions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and to describe the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the UWES-9 developed simultaneously for Brazil and Portugal, the validity evidence related with the internal structure, namely, Dimensionality, measurement invariance between Brazil and Portugal, and Reliability of the scores. This is the first UWES version developed simultaneously for both countries, and it is an important instrument for understanding employees' work engagement in the organizations, allowing human resources departments to better use workforces, especially when they are migrants. A total of 524 Brazilian workers and 522 Portuguese workers participated in the study. Confirmatory Factor Analysis, group comparisons, and Reliability estimates were used. The use of workers who were primarily professionals or administrative support, according to ISCO-08, reinforced the need to collect data on other professional occupations. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable fit for the UWES-9 original three-factor solution, and a second-order factor structure has been proposed that presented an acceptable fit. Full-scale invariance was obtained between the Portuguese and Brazilian samples, both for the original three-factor first-order and second-order models. Data revealed that Portuguese and Brazilian workers didn't show statistically significant differences in the work engagement dimensions. This version allows for direct comparisons of means and, consequently, for performance of comparative and cross-cultural studies between these two countries.

  19. Brazil-Portugal Transcultural Adaptation of the UWES-9: Internal Consistency, Dimensionality, and Measurement Invariance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Sinval

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present a revision of international versions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and to describe the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the UWES-9 developed simultaneously for Brazil and Portugal, the validity evidence related with the internal structure, namely, Dimensionality, measurement invariance between Brazil and Portugal, and Reliability of the scores. This is the first UWES version developed simultaneously for both countries, and it is an important instrument for understanding employees' work engagement in the organizations, allowing human resources departments to better use workforces, especially when they are migrants. A total of 524 Brazilian workers and 522 Portuguese workers participated in the study. Confirmatory Factor Analysis, group comparisons, and Reliability estimates were used. The use of workers who were primarily professionals or administrative support, according to ISCO-08, reinforced the need to collect data on other professional occupations. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable fit for the UWES-9 original three-factor solution, and a second-order factor structure has been proposed that presented an acceptable fit. Full-scale invariance was obtained between the Portuguese and Brazilian samples, both for the original three-factor first-order and second-order models. Data revealed that Portuguese and Brazilian workers didn't show statistically significant differences in the work engagement dimensions. This version allows for direct comparisons of means and, consequently, for performance of comparative and cross-cultural studies between these two countries.

  20. Syneresis, rheological characteristic and sensory consistency of the artichoke sauce (Cynara scolymus L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Mora Barandiarán

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The effect of the concentration of three hydrocolloids: CMC, guar gum and xanthan gum on the syneresis, rheological features and sensory consistency of the artichoke sauce (Cynara scolymus L. Imperial Star variety was studied. The syneresis was determined by the water loss by centrifugation, the rheological features of the artichoke sauce was determined using a Brookfield RVDV – III model rheometer and finally, the sensory consistency was determined by measuring the degree of satisfaction with hedonic scale of nine points. A simplex lattice design blends with centroid expanded under the response surface methodology was applied to establish the effect of the concentration of hydrocolloid on syneresis, rheological features and sensory consistency. In all treatments, the apparent viscosity decreased with shear rate demonstrating a “non Newtonian” behavior of “general plastic” type with an “n” value less than 1 and an initial shear stress. The flow behavior index “n” was in the range of 0.0856 and 0.3131 (n < 1 and the consistency index “k” in the range of 84.55 y 167.80 Pa.sn , the initial shear stress was in the range of 9,10 y 13,51 Pa and consistency sensory presented score of “like” to “like slightly”. Finally, the hydrocolloid mixture was optimized over the area of feasible formulation. With the optimal mixture, corresponding to 0.28% CMC, 0.13% guar gum and 0.59% xanthan gum is expected to obtain a 0.089% of syneresis and a rating of 6 in terms of sensory consistency.

  1. Do Countries Consistently Engage in Misinforming the International Community about Their Efforts to Combat Money Laundering? Evidence Using Benford’s Law

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, collected by EUROSTAT, are plagued with shortcomings. In this paper, I have carried out a forensic analysis on a 2003–2010 dataset of indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, that European Union member states self-reported to EUROSTAT, and on the basis of which, their efforts were evaluated. I used Benford’s law to detect any anomalous statistical patterns and found that statistical anomalies were also consistent with strategic manipulation. According to Benford’s law, if we pick a random sample of numbers representing natural processes, and look at the distribution of the first digits of these numbers, we see that, contrary to popular belief, digit 1 occurs most often, then digit 2, and so on, with digit 9 occurring in less than 5% of the sample. Without prior knowledge of Benford’s law, since people are not intuitively good at creating truly random numbers, deviations thereof can capture strategic alterations. In order to eliminate other sources of deviation, I have compared deviations in situations where incentives and opportunities for manipulation existed and in situations where they did not. While my results are not a conclusive proof of strategic manipulation, they signal that countries that faced incentives and opportunities to misinform the international community about their efforts to combat money laundering may have manipulated these indicators. Finally, my analysis points to the high potential for disruption that the manipulation of national statistics has, and calls for the acknowledgment that strategic manipulation can be an unintended consequence of the international community’s pressure on countries to put combatting money laundering on the top of their national agenda. PMID:28122058

  2. International spinal cord injury pulmonary function basic data set

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biering-Sørensen, Fin; Krassioukov, A; Alexander, M S

    2012-01-01

    To develop the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Pulmonary Function Basic Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets in order to facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic bronchopulmonary findings in the SCI population.......To develop the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Pulmonary Function Basic Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets in order to facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic bronchopulmonary findings in the SCI population....

  3. A paradigm shift toward a consistent modeling framework to assess climate impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monier, E.; Paltsev, S.; Sokolov, A. P.; Fant, C.; Chen, H.; Gao, X.; Schlosser, C. A.; Scott, J. R.; Dutkiewicz, S.; Ejaz, Q.; Couzo, E. A.; Prinn, R. G.; Haigh, M.

    2017-12-01

    Estimates of physical and economic impacts of future climate change are subject to substantial challenges. To enrich the currently popular approaches of assessing climate impacts by evaluating a damage function or by multi-model comparisons based on the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), we focus here on integrating impacts into a self-consistent coupled human and Earth system modeling framework that includes modules that represent multiple physical impacts. In a sample application we show that this framework is capable of investigating the physical impacts of climate change and socio-economic stressors. The projected climate impacts vary dramatically across the globe in a set of scenarios with global mean warming ranging between 2.4°C and 3.6°C above pre-industrial by 2100. Unabated emissions lead to substantial sea level rise, acidification that impacts the base of the oceanic food chain, air pollution that exceeds health standards by tenfold, water stress that impacts an additional 1 to 2 billion people globally and agricultural productivity that decreases substantially in many parts of the world. We compare the outcomes from these forward-looking scenarios against the common goal described by the target-driven scenario of 2°C, which results in much smaller impacts. It is challenging for large internationally coordinated exercises to respond quickly to new policy targets. We propose that a paradigm shift toward a self-consistent modeling framework to assess climate impacts is needed to produce information relevant to evolving global climate policy and mitigation strategies in a timely way.

  4. Whole-body counting installation for assessment of internal contamination in workers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, C.A.N.; Cunha, P.G.; Lipsztein, J.L.; Bertelli, L.N.; Fonseca, A.M.G.; Ramalho, A.T.

    1985-01-01

    A whole-body counting installation for assessment of internal contamination in workers has recently been added to the Bioassay Division of the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria, Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (IRD/CNEN). For the last two years the laboratory has been monitoring personnel involved in uranium mining and milling activities, monazite industry workers and nuclear medicine staff dealing with iodine-131 and technetium-99. Uptakes of radionuclides by the different organs and also dose equivalents are evaluated through the use of mathematical models. The IRD whole-body counter unit was specially designed to detect a variety of internally deposited radionuclides which emit photons in the energy range of 15 keV to 3 MeV. It consists of a monitoring room (2.5x2.5x2.5 m internal dimension), with 0.15 m thick steel walls, internally lined with 0.3 cm lead, 0.15 cm cadmium and 0.05 cm thick copper sheets. The facility is equipped with three different size NaI(T1) detectors and three 12.7 cm diameter phoswich detectors. (author)

  5. Internal consistency reliability and validity of the Arabic translation of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkhateeb, Haitham M

    2004-06-01

    The Arabic translation of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs was completed by 144 undergraduate students (M age=20.6) in Jordan. The findings support the internal reliability of the Arabic translation of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs as well as its construct validity.

  6. Self-consistent gyrokinetic modeling of neoclassical and turbulent impurity transport

    OpenAIRE

    Estève , D. ,; Sarazin , Y.; Garbet , X.; Grandgirard , V.; Breton , S. ,; Donnel , P. ,; Asahi , Y. ,; Bourdelle , C.; Dif-Pradalier , G; Ehrlacher , C.; Emeriau , C.; Ghendrih , Ph; Gillot , C.; Latu , G.; Passeron , C.

    2018-01-01

    International audience; Trace impurity transport is studied with the flux-driven gyrokinetic GYSELA code [V. Grandgirard et al., Comp. Phys. Commun. 207, 35 (2016)]. A reduced and linearized multi-species collision operator has been recently implemented, so that both neoclassical and turbulent transport channels can be treated self-consistently on an equal footing. In the Pfirsch-Schlüter regime likely relevant for tungsten, the standard expression of the neoclassical impurity flux is shown t...

  7. Time-consistent and market-consistent evaluations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelsser, A.; Stadje, M.A.

    2014-01-01

    We consider evaluation methods for payoffs with an inherent financial risk as encountered for instance for portfolios held by pension funds and insurance companies. Pricing such payoffs in a way consistent to market prices typically involves combining actuarial techniques with methods from

  8. Consistent biokinetic models for the actinide elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leggett, R.W.

    2001-01-01

    The biokinetic models for Th, Np, Pu, Am and Cm currently recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) were developed within a generic framework that depicts gradual burial of skeletal activity in bone volume, depicts recycling of activity released to blood and links excretion to retention and translocation of activity. For other actinide elements such as Ac, Pa, Bk, Cf and Es, the ICRP still uses simplistic retention models that assign all skeletal activity to bone surface and depicts one-directional flow of activity from blood to long-term depositories to excreta. This mixture of updated and older models in ICRP documents has led to inconsistencies in dose estimates and interpretation of bioassay for radionuclides with reasonably similar biokinetics. This paper proposes new biokinetic models for Ac, Pa, Bk, Cf and Es that are consistent with the updated models for Th, Np, Pu, Am and Cm. The proposed models are developed within the ICRP's generic model framework for bone-surface-seeking radionuclides, and an effort has been made to develop parameter values that are consistent with results of comparative biokinetic data on the different actinide elements. (author)

  9. Consistency of self-reported alcohol consumption on randomized and sequential alcohol purchase tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael eAmlung

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Behavioral economic demand for addictive substances is commonly assessed via purchase tasks that measure estimated drug consumption at a range of prices. Purchase tasks typically use escalating prices in sequential order, which may influence performance by providing explicit price reference points. This study investigated the consistency of value preferences on two alcohol purchase tasks (APTs that used either a randomized or sequential price order (price range: free to $30 per drink in a sample of ninety-one young adult monthly drinkers. Randomization of prices significantly reduced relative response consistency (p < .01, although absolute consistency was high for both versions (>95%. Self-reported alcohol consumption across prices and indices of demand were highly similar across versions, although a few notable exceptions were found. These results suggest generally high consistency and overlapping performance between randomized and sequential price assessment. Implications for the behavioral economics literature and priorities for future research are discussed.

  10. Quantitative analysis of terahertz spectra for illicit drugs using adaptive-range micro-genetic algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yi; Ma, Yong; Lu, Zheng; Peng, Bei; Chen, Qin

    2011-08-01

    In the field of anti-illicit drug applications, many suspicious mixture samples might consist of various drug components—for example, a mixture of methamphetamine, heroin, and amoxicillin—which makes spectral identification very difficult. A terahertz spectroscopic quantitative analysis method using an adaptive range micro-genetic algorithm with a variable internal population (ARVIPɛμGA) has been proposed. Five mixture cases are discussed using ARVIPɛμGA driven quantitative terahertz spectroscopic analysis in this paper. The devised simulation results show agreement with the previous experimental results, which suggested that the proposed technique has potential applications for terahertz spectral identifications of drug mixture components. The results show agreement with the results obtained using other experimental and numerical techniques.

  11. Proposed Strategy Improvement for Ngurah Rai International Airport

    OpenAIRE

    Ayu, Astrid Puspa; Wandebori, Harimukti

    2013-01-01

    The number of visitors to Bali is increasing. Indirectly its affect Ngurah Rai International Airport as one of the entrances to Bali to give a good service for their visitors and influence Balinese people about their fear of losing their culture due to other cultures. The analysis consists of Internal and External Analysis. The internal and external analysis consists of Marketing Mix, Value Chain Analysis, PESTEL and Questionnaire. The analysis shows that visitor feel unsatisfied with some of...

  12. Performance and consistency of indicator groups in two biodiversity hotspots.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joaquim Trindade-Filho

    Full Text Available In a world limited by data availability and limited funds for conservation, scientists and practitioners must use indicator groups to define spatial conservation priorities. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of indicator groups, but still little is known about the consistency in performance of these groups in different regions, which would allow their a priori selection.We systematically examined the effectiveness and the consistency of nine indicator groups in representing mammal species in two top-ranked Biodiversity Hotspots (BH: the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. To test for group effectiveness we first found the best sets of sites able to maximize the representation of each indicator group in the BH and then calculated the average representation of different target species by the indicator groups in the BH. We considered consistent indicator groups whose representation of target species was not statistically different between BH. We called effective those groups that outperformed the target-species representation achieved by random sets of species. Effective indicator groups required the selection of less than 2% of the BH area for representing target species. Restricted-range species were the most effective indicators for the representation of all mammal diversity as well as target species. It was also the only group with high consistency.We show that several indicator groups could be applied as shortcuts for representing mammal species in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest to develop conservation plans, however, only restricted-range species consistently held as the most effective indicator group for such a task. This group is of particular importance in conservation planning as it captures high diversity of endemic and endangered species.

  13. Performance and consistency of indicator groups in two biodiversity hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trindade-Filho, Joaquim; Loyola, Rafael Dias

    2011-01-01

    In a world limited by data availability and limited funds for conservation, scientists and practitioners must use indicator groups to define spatial conservation priorities. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of indicator groups, but still little is known about the consistency in performance of these groups in different regions, which would allow their a priori selection. We systematically examined the effectiveness and the consistency of nine indicator groups in representing mammal species in two top-ranked Biodiversity Hotspots (BH): the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. To test for group effectiveness we first found the best sets of sites able to maximize the representation of each indicator group in the BH and then calculated the average representation of different target species by the indicator groups in the BH. We considered consistent indicator groups whose representation of target species was not statistically different between BH. We called effective those groups that outperformed the target-species representation achieved by random sets of species. Effective indicator groups required the selection of less than 2% of the BH area for representing target species. Restricted-range species were the most effective indicators for the representation of all mammal diversity as well as target species. It was also the only group with high consistency. We show that several indicator groups could be applied as shortcuts for representing mammal species in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest to develop conservation plans, however, only restricted-range species consistently held as the most effective indicator group for such a task. This group is of particular importance in conservation planning as it captures high diversity of endemic and endangered species.

  14. Satellite laser ranging to low Earth orbiters: orbit and network validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Daniel; Montenbruck, Oliver; Hackel, Stefan; Sośnica, Krzysztof

    2018-04-01

    Satellite laser ranging (SLR) to low Earth orbiters (LEOs) provides optical distance measurements with mm-to-cm-level precision. SLR residuals, i.e., differences between measured and modeled ranges, serve as a common figure of merit for the quality assessment of orbits derived by radiometric tracking techniques. We discuss relevant processing standards for the modeling of SLR observations and highlight the importance of line-of-sight-dependent range corrections for the various types of laser retroreflector arrays. A 1-3 cm consistency of SLR observations and GPS-based precise orbits is demonstrated for a wide range of past and present LEO missions supported by the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS). A parameter estimation approach is presented to investigate systematic orbit errors and it is shown that SLR validation of LEO satellites is not only able to detect radial but also along-track and cross-track offsets. SLR residual statistics clearly depend on the employed precise orbit determination technique (kinematic vs. reduced-dynamic, float vs. fixed ambiguities) but also reveal pronounced differences in the ILRS station performance. Using the residual-based parameter estimation approach, corrections to ILRS station coordinates, range biases, and timing offsets are derived. As a result, root-mean-square residuals of 5-10 mm have been achieved over a 1-year data arc in 2016 using observations from a subset of high-performance stations and ambiguity-fixed orbits of four LEO missions. As a final contribution, we demonstrate that SLR can not only validate single-satellite orbit solutions but also precise baseline solutions of formation flying missions such as GRACE, TanDEM-X, and Swarm.

  15. Electrostatic Spectrograph with a Wide Range of Simultaneously Recorded Energies Composed of Two Coaxial Electrodes with Closed End Faces and a Discrete Combined External Electrode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fishkova, T. Ya.

    2018-01-01

    An optimal set of geometric and electrical parameters of a high-aperture electrostatic charged-particle spectrograph with a range of simultaneously recorded energies of E/ E min = 1-50 has been found by computer simulation, which is especially important for the energy analysis of charged particles during fast processes in various materials. The spectrograph consists of two coaxial electrodes with end faces closed by flat electrodes. The external electrode with a conical-cylindrical form is cut into parts with potentials that increase linearly, except for the last cylindrical part, which is electrically connected to the rear end electrode. The internal cylindrical electrode and the front end electrode are grounded. In the entire energy range, the system is sharply focused on the internal cylindrical electrode, which provides an energy resolution of no worse than 3 × 10-3.

  16. Self-consistent Green’s-function technique for surfaces and interfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skriver, Hans Lomholt; Rosengaard, N. M.

    1991-01-01

    We have implemented an efficient self-consistent Green’s-function technique for calculating ground-state properties of surfaces and interfaces, based on the linear-muffin-tin-orbitals method within the tight-binding representation. In this approach the interlayer interaction is extremely short...... ranged, and only a few layers close to the interface need be treated self-consistently via a Dyson equation. For semi-infinite jellium, the technique gives work functions and surface energies that are in excellent agreement with earlier calculations. For the bcc(110) surface of the alkali metals, we find...

  17. Tradução, adaptação e avaliação da consistência interna do Eating Behaviours and Body Image Test para uso com crianças do sexo feminino Translation, adaptation and internal consistency evaluation of the Eating Behaviours and Body Image Test for female children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizângela Moreira Careta Galindo

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho tem por objetivo traduzir, adaptar e validar o Eating Behaviours and Body Image Test, para uso com crianças de uma cidade do interior do estado de São Paulo. Foram sujeitos do estudo 261 escolares do sexo feminino, na faixa etária de 9 a 12 anos. Por meio da análise fatorial, com rotação varimax avaliou-se a consistência interna do instrumento. Esta análise, realizada com o auxílio do programa Statistical Package for Social Sciences, versão 10.0, revelou dois fatores. Para o instrumento total a consistência interna foi adequada (coeficiente a de Cronbach: 0,89 e para os dois fatores (1 e 2 os valores de a também foram considerados satisfatórios (alfa=0,90 e alfa=0,80, respectivamente, mostrando, assim, que o Eating Behaviours and Body Image Test é útil para uma avaliação precoce, rastreando atitudes indicadoras de possíveis distúrbios no comportamento alimentar. Foram mantidas as características psicométricas do instrumento original.This study aimed to translate, adapt and validate the Eating Bahaviours and Body Image Test, to be used with children in a city in upstate São Paulo. Study subjects were 261 female students aging from 9 to 12 years. The internal consistency of the instrument was evaluated by means of factorial analysis with varimax rotation. This analysis was accomplished through Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 10.0, revealing two factors. The internal consistency was adequate for the total instrument (Cronbach's alpha=0.89 and a values were also considered satisfactory for the two factors (1 and 2 (alpha=0.90 and alpha=0.80, respectively, which demonstrated that the Eating Bahaviours and Body Image Test is useful for an initial evaluation, tracing symptoms that indicate possible eating behavior disorders. The psychometric characteristics of the original instrument were maintained.

  18. Temporal coherence of the acoustic field forward propagated through a continental shelf with random internal waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Zheng; Chen, Tianrun; Ratilal, Purnima; Makris, Nicholas C

    2013-11-01

    An analytical model derived from normal mode theory for the accumulated effects of range-dependent multiple forward scattering is applied to estimate the temporal coherence of the acoustic field forward propagated through a continental-shelf waveguide containing random three-dimensional internal waves. The modeled coherence time scale of narrow band low-frequency acoustic field fluctuations after propagating through a continental-shelf waveguide is shown to decay with a power-law of range to the -1/2 beyond roughly 1 km, decrease with increasing internal wave energy, to be consistent with measured acoustic coherence time scales. The model should provide a useful prediction of the acoustic coherence time scale as a function of internal wave energy in continental-shelf environments. The acoustic coherence time scale is an important parameter in remote sensing applications because it determines (i) the time window within which standard coherent processing such as matched filtering may be conducted, and (ii) the number of statistically independent fluctuations in a given measurement period that determines the variance reduction possible by stationary averaging.

  19. View from Europe: stability, consistency or pragmatism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunster, H.J.

    1988-01-01

    The last few years of this decade look like a period of reappraisal of radiation protection standards. The revised risk estimates from Japan will be available, and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation will be publishing new reports on biological topics. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has started a review of its basic recommendations, and the new specification for dose equivalent in radiation fields of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) will be coming into use. All this is occurring at a time when some countries are still trying to catch up with committed dose equivalent and the recently recommended change in the value of the quality factor for neutrons. In Europe, the problems of adapting to new ICRP recommendations are considerable. The European Community, including 12 states and nine languages, takes ICRP recommendations as a basis and develops council directives that are binding on member states, which have then to arrange for their own regulatory changes. Any substantial adjustments could take 5 y or more to work through the system. Clearly, the regulatory preference is for stability. Equally clearly, trade unions and public interest groups favor a rapid response to scientific developments (provided that the change is downward). Organizations such as the ICRP have to balance their desire for internal consistency and intellectual purity against the practical problems of their clients in adjusting to change. This paper indicates some of the changes that might be necessary over the next few years and how, given a pragmatic approach, they might be accommodated in Europe without too much regulatory confusion

  20. Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Comprehensive Range Plan (CRP), Melrose Air Force Range (AFR), New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-01

    intensity, frequency, and duration. Sound is created by acoustic energy, which produces minute pressure waves that travel through a medium (like air...concave plains associated with playa lake basins. Slope ranges from zero to 1 percent. Olton Loams – Consist of very deep, well-drained, moderately slow...gently sloping plains and upper side slopes of playas and draws. Slopes range from zero to 5 percent. 3.5.2.2 Water Resources Surface Water – The most

  1. Consistent quantification of climate impacts due to biogenic carbon storage across a range of bio-product systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guest, Geoffrey, E-mail: geoffrey.guest@ntnu.no; Bright, Ryan M., E-mail: ryan.m.bright@ntnu.no; Cherubini, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.cherubini@ntnu.no; Strømman, Anders H., E-mail: anders.hammer.stromman@ntnu.no

    2013-11-15

    Temporary and permanent carbon storage from biogenic sources is seen as a way to mitigate climate change. The aim of this work is to illustrate the need to harmonize the quantification of such mitigation across all possible storage pools in the bio- and anthroposphere. We investigate nine alternative storage cases and a wide array of bio-resource pools: from annual crops, short rotation woody crops, medium rotation temperate forests, and long rotation boreal forests. For each feedstock type and biogenic carbon storage pool, we quantify the carbon cycle climate impact due to the skewed time distribution between emission and sequestration fluxes in the bio- and anthroposphere. Additional consideration of the climate impact from albedo changes in forests is also illustrated for the boreal forest case. When characterizing climate impact with global warming potentials (GWP), we find a large variance in results which is attributed to different combinations of biomass storage and feedstock systems. The storage of biogenic carbon in any storage pool does not always confer climate benefits: even when biogenic carbon is stored long-term in durable product pools, the climate outcome may still be undesirable when the carbon is sourced from slow-growing biomass feedstock. For example, when biogenic carbon from Norway Spruce from Norway is stored in furniture with a mean life time of 43 years, a climate change impact of 0.08 kg CO{sub 2}eq per kg CO{sub 2} stored (100 year time horizon (TH)) would result. It was also found that when biogenic carbon is stored in a pool with negligible leakage to the atmosphere, the resulting GWP factor is not necessarily − 1 CO{sub 2}eq per kg CO{sub 2} stored. As an example, when biogenic CO{sub 2} from Norway Spruce biomass is stored in geological reservoirs with no leakage, we estimate a GWP of − 0.56 kg CO{sub 2}eq per kg CO{sub 2} stored (100 year TH) when albedo effects are also included. The large variance in GWPs across the range of

  2. Consistent quantification of climate impacts due to biogenic carbon storage across a range of bio-product systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guest, Geoffrey; Bright, Ryan M.; Cherubini, Francesco; Strømman, Anders H.

    2013-01-01

    Temporary and permanent carbon storage from biogenic sources is seen as a way to mitigate climate change. The aim of this work is to illustrate the need to harmonize the quantification of such mitigation across all possible storage pools in the bio- and anthroposphere. We investigate nine alternative storage cases and a wide array of bio-resource pools: from annual crops, short rotation woody crops, medium rotation temperate forests, and long rotation boreal forests. For each feedstock type and biogenic carbon storage pool, we quantify the carbon cycle climate impact due to the skewed time distribution between emission and sequestration fluxes in the bio- and anthroposphere. Additional consideration of the climate impact from albedo changes in forests is also illustrated for the boreal forest case. When characterizing climate impact with global warming potentials (GWP), we find a large variance in results which is attributed to different combinations of biomass storage and feedstock systems. The storage of biogenic carbon in any storage pool does not always confer climate benefits: even when biogenic carbon is stored long-term in durable product pools, the climate outcome may still be undesirable when the carbon is sourced from slow-growing biomass feedstock. For example, when biogenic carbon from Norway Spruce from Norway is stored in furniture with a mean life time of 43 years, a climate change impact of 0.08 kg CO 2 eq per kg CO 2 stored (100 year time horizon (TH)) would result. It was also found that when biogenic carbon is stored in a pool with negligible leakage to the atmosphere, the resulting GWP factor is not necessarily − 1 CO 2 eq per kg CO 2 stored. As an example, when biogenic CO 2 from Norway Spruce biomass is stored in geological reservoirs with no leakage, we estimate a GWP of − 0.56 kg CO 2 eq per kg CO 2 stored (100 year TH) when albedo effects are also included. The large variance in GWPs across the range of resource and carbon storage

  3. International Data Base for the U.S. Renewable Energy Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    none

    1986-05-01

    The International Data Base for the US Renewable Energy Industry was developed to provide the US renewable energy industry with background data for identifying and analyzing promising foreign market opportunities for their products and services. Specifically, the data base provides the following information for 161 developed and developing countries: (1) General Country Data--consisting of general energy indicators; (2) Energy Demand Data--covering commercial primary energy consumption; (3) Energy Resource Data--identifying annual average insolation, wind power, and river flow data; (4) Power System Data--indicating a wide range of electrical parameters; and (5) Business Data--including currency and credit worthiness data.

  4. Individual Consequences of Internal Marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naghi Remus Ionut

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Since the emergence of the concept of internal marketing in the literature there have been almost 40 years. This period was marked by a constant increase of the concerns in the internal marketing area, these efforts being evidenced by the publication of a consistent number of articles (conceptual and empirical which analyze this subject. Considering the previous empirical studies, most of them have focused on studying the relationship between internal marketing and employee satisfaction and / or organizational commitment. However, the relationship between internal marketing and its consequences has been less analyzed in the context of emergent economies. In this paper we aimed to analyze the individual consequences of the internal marketing in the Romanian economy context, focusing our attention on three constructs: employee satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. The research was conducted on a sample of 83 medium and large companies in various sectors of the Romanian economy. In order to proceed with the statistical data analyses we followed these steps: verifying the scales reliability, determining factor loadings and research hypotheses testing. Our research results are consistent with results of previous studies showing that the adoption of internal marketing practice has a positive effect on employee satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior

  5. International comparison for RF power in the frequency range up to 18 GHz

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    De Vreede, JPM

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available A Euromet international laboratory comparison (Project 393) has been carried out between 14 national standards laboratories. Thermistor mounts were used, equipped with PC7 as well as Type N connectors. The comparison is carried out using the normal...

  6. The Cambridge Companion to International Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achmad Gusman Siswandi

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRAK This book provides a thorough introduction to international law in a way that is rather unique compared to similar references. The subject matteris divided in a more concise way, while still giving rich perspective as it covers not only theories but also case studies and practices. This book consists of four parts, namely: the contexts of international law; international law and the state; techniques and arenas; and projects of international law.

  7. Research on volume metrology method of large vertical energy storage tank based on internal electro-optical distance-ranging method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Huadong; Shi, Haolei; Yi, Pengju; Liu, Ying; Li, Cunjun; Li, Shuguang

    2018-01-01

    A Volume Metrology method based on Internal Electro-optical Distance-ranging method is established for large vertical energy storage tank. After analyzing the vertical tank volume calculation mathematical model, the key processing algorithms, such as gross error elimination, filtering, streamline, and radius calculation are studied for the point cloud data. The corresponding volume values are automatically calculated in the different liquids by calculating the cross-sectional area along the horizontal direction and integrating from vertical direction. To design the comparison system, a vertical tank which the nominal capacity is 20,000 m3 is selected as the research object, and there are shown that the method has good repeatability and reproducibility. Through using the conventional capacity measurement method as reference, the relative deviation of calculated volume is less than 0.1%, meeting the measurement requirements. And the feasibility and effectiveness are demonstrated.

  8. Martial arts striking hand peak acceleration, accuracy and consistency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neto, Osmar Pinto; Marzullo, Ana Carolina De Miranda; Bolander, Richard P; Bir, Cynthia A

    2013-01-01

    The goal of this paper was to investigate the possible trade-off between peak hand acceleration and accuracy and consistency of hand strikes performed by martial artists of different training experiences. Ten male martial artists with training experience ranging from one to nine years volunteered to participate in the experiment. Each participant performed 12 maximum effort goal-directed strikes. Hand acceleration during the strikes was obtained using a tri-axial accelerometer block. A pressure sensor matrix was used to determine the accuracy and consistency of the strikes. Accuracy was estimated by the radial distance between the centroid of each subject's 12 strikes and the target, whereas consistency was estimated by the square root of the 12 strikes mean squared distance from their centroid. We found that training experience was significantly correlated to hand peak acceleration prior to impact (r(2)=0.456, p =0.032) and accuracy (r(2)=0. 621, p=0.012). These correlations suggest that more experienced participants exhibited higher hand peak accelerations and at the same time were more accurate. Training experience, however, was not correlated to consistency (r(2)=0.085, p=0.413). Overall, our results suggest that martial arts training may lead practitioners to achieve higher striking hand accelerations with better accuracy and no change in striking consistency.

  9. The prediction of semantic consistency in self-descriptions: characteristics of persons and of terms that affect the consistency of responses to synonym and antonym pairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, L R; Kilkowski, J M

    1985-01-01

    Subjects described themselves, using an alphabetically ordered list of 191 trait adjectives, which included sets of synonyms and antonyms, half of each type more difficult than the other half. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions. In one condition, each adjective was listed with its dictionary definition; in the other condition, only the adjectives were listed. All subjects were administered a battery of demographic, cognitive, and personality measures. We analyzed both the relative consistency elicited by different pairs of terms and the individual differences in semantic consistency displayed by different sorts of subjects. Although the provision of definitions served to increase consistency (especially for the difficult antonyms), it did not decrease the range of consistency values across either synonym or antonym pairs. And, although interpair differences in semantic consistency were as difficult to predict in this study as in previous ones, individual differences were highly predictable. The implications of our many findings are discussed in the context of various hypotheses about semantic inconsistency in self-reports.

  10. Planck 2013 results. XXXI. Consistency of the Planck data

    CERN Document Server

    Ade, P A R; Ashdown, M; Aumont, J; Baccigalupi, C; Banday, A.J; Barreiro, R.B; Battaner, E; Benabed, K; Benoit-Levy, A; Bernard, J.P; Bersanelli, M; Bielewicz, P; Bond, J.R; Borrill, J; Bouchet, F.R; Burigana, C; Cardoso, J.F; Catalano, A; Challinor, A; Chamballu, A; Chiang, H.C; Christensen, P.R; Clements, D.L; Colombi, S; Colombo, L.P.L; Couchot, F; Coulais, A; Crill, B.P; Curto, A; Cuttaia, F; Danese, L; Davies, R.D; Davis, R.J; de Bernardis, P; de Rosa, A; de Zotti, G; Delabrouille, J; Desert, F.X; Dickinson, C; Diego, J.M; Dole, H; Donzelli, S; Dore, O; Douspis, M; Dupac, X; Ensslin, T.A; Eriksen, H.K; Finelli, F; Forni, O; Frailis, M; Fraisse, A A; Franceschi, E; Galeotta, S; Ganga, K; Giard, M; Gonzalez-Nuevo, J; Gorski, K.M.; Gratton, S.; Gregorio, A; Gruppuso, A; Gudmundsson, J E; Hansen, F.K; Hanson, D; Harrison, D; Henrot-Versille, S; Herranz, D; Hildebrandt, S.R; Hivon, E; Hobson, M; Holmes, W.A.; Hornstrup, A; Hovest, W.; Huffenberger, K.M; Jaffe, T.R; Jaffe, A.H; Jones, W.C; Keihanen, E; Keskitalo, R; Knoche, J; Kunz, M; Kurki-Suonio, H; Lagache, G; Lahteenmaki, A; Lamarre, J.M; Lasenby, A; Lawrence, C.R; Leonardi, R; Leon-Tavares, J; Lesgourgues, J; Liguori, M; Lilje, P.B; Linden-Vornle, M; Lopez-Caniego, M; Lubin, P.M; Macias-Perez, J.F; Maino, D; Mandolesi, N; Maris, M; Martin, P.G; Martinez-Gonzalez, E; Masi, S; Matarrese, S; Mazzotta, P; Meinhold, P.R; Melchiorri, A; Mendes, L; Mennella, A; Migliaccio, M; Mitra, S; Miville-Deschenes, M.A; Moneti, A; Montier, L; Morgante, G; Mortlock, D; Moss, A; Munshi, D; Murphy, J A; Naselsky, P; Nati, F; Natoli, P; Norgaard-Nielsen, H.U; Noviello, F; Novikov, D; Novikov, I; Oxborrow, C.A; Pagano, L; Pajot, F; Paoletti, D; Partridge, B; Pasian, F; Patanchon, G; Pearson, D; Pearson, T.J; Perdereau, O; Perrotta, F; Piacentini, F; Piat, M; Pierpaoli, E; Pietrobon, D; Plaszczynski, S; Pointecouteau, E; Polenta, G; Ponthieu, N; Popa, L; Pratt, G.W; Prunet, S; Puget, J.L; Rachen, J.P; Reinecke, M; Remazeilles, M; Renault, C; Ricciardi, S.; Ristorcelli, I; Rocha, G.; Roudier, G; Rubino-Martin, J.A; Rusholme, B; Sandri, M; Scott, D; Stolyarov, V; Sudiwala, R; Sutton, D; Suur-Uski, A.S; Sygnet, J.F; Tauber, J.A; Terenzi, L; Toffolatti, L; Tomasi, M; Tristram, M; Tucci, M; Valenziano, L; Valiviita, J; Van Tent, B; Vielva, P; Villa, F; Wade, L.A; Wandelt, B.D; Wehus, I K; White, S D M; Yvon, D; Zacchei, A; Zonca, A

    2014-01-01

    The Planck design and scanning strategy provide many levels of redundancy that can be exploited to provide tests of internal consistency. One of the most important is the comparison of the 70 GHz (amplifier) and 100 GHz (bolometer) channels. Based on different instrument technologies, with feeds located differently in the focal plane, analysed independently by different teams using different software, and near the minimum of diffuse foreground emission, these channels are in effect two different experiments. The 143 GHz channel has the lowest noise level on Planck, and is near the minimum of unresolved foreground emission. In this paper, we analyse the level of consistency achieved in the 2013 Planck data. We concentrate on comparisons between the 70, 100, and 143 GHz channel maps and power spectra, particularly over the angular scales of the first and second acoustic peaks, on maps masked for diffuse Galactic emission and for strong unresolved sources. Difference maps covering angular scales from 8°...

  11. Nurse teacher candidates learned to use social media during the international teacher training course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salminen, Leena; Gustafsson, Marja-Liisa; Vilén, Liisa; Fuster, Pilar; Istomina, Natalja; Papastavrou, Evridiki

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe the nurse teacher candidates' learning outcomes and experiences in social media during the international nurse teacher training course, Empowering learning environments in nursing education, Intensive Program (EleneIP). The pre-post research design was used. The data was collected before and after the course, with the questionnaire consisting of structured and open questions. Altogether, 24 nurse teacher candidates from four different European countries participated in the course and this study. The results showed that the knowledge of using social media applications increased during the course from 5.2 (range 1-9) to 8.1 (range 4-10), and their skills increased from 4.5 (range 1-8) to 7.6 (range 4-10).The main topics learnt during the course were divided in two categories: subjects of the course and teaching and learning methods. The students' experiences concerning the EleneIP course were positive in both categories. The international group created during EleneIP course also allowed the students to achieve another important aim, learning from a collaborative group the importance and possibilities of different learning environments, considering the cultural and social characteristics of each country participating in it. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Johnson Space Center's Free Range Bicycle Program.- Fall 2015 Intern Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee-Stockton, Willem

    2015-01-01

    NASA's Johnson Space Center is a big place, encompassing 1,620 acres and more than a hundred buildings. Furthermore, there are reportedly 15 thousand employees, all of which have somewhere to be. To facilitate the movement of all these people JSC has historically relied on human power. Pedaling their way towards deep space, bicycles have been the go to method. Currently there are about 200 Free Range Bicycles at JSC. Free Range Bicycles belong to nobody, except NASA, and are available for anybody to use. They are not to be locked or hidden (although frequently are) and the intention is that there will always be a bike to hop on to get where you're going (although it may not be the bike you rode in on). Although not without its own shortcomings, the Free Range Bicycle Program has continued to provide low cost, simple transportation for NASA's JSC. In addition to the approximately 200 Free Range Bicycles, various larger divisions (like engineering) will often buy a few dozen bikes for their team members to use or individuals will bring their own personal bike to either commute or use on site. When these bicycles fall into disrepair or are abandoned (from retirees etc) they become a problem at JSC. They are an eye sore, create a safety hazard and make it harder to find a working bike in a time of need. The Free Range Program hopes to address this first problem by "tagging out" abandoned or out of service bicycles. A bright orange "DO NOT OPERATE" tag is placed on the bike and given a serial number for tracking purposes. See picture to the right. If the bike has an active owner with intentions to repair the bike the bottom of the tag has instructions for how to claim the abandoned bicycle. After being tagged the owner of the bicycle has 30 days to claim the bicycle and either haul it off site or get it repaired (and labeled) in accordance with Johnson's Bicycle Policy. If the abandoned bicycle is not claimed within 30 days it becomes the property of the Government. The

  13. Study on internal to surface fingerprint correlation using optical coherence tomography and internal fingerprint extraction

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Darlow, LN

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available of, the above-mentioned works. Internal fingerprint zone detection is an improvement as it uses fuzzy c-means to improve clustering performance, uses better cluster result postprocessing, and improves upon the fine-tuning procedure through... Internal fingerprint extraction consists of two main parts: fingerprint zone detection and extraction. Zone detection uses fuzzy c-means clustering to approximate the location of the papillary junction (i.e., the internal fingerprint zone). Edge detection...

  14. Item wording and internal consistency of a measure of cohesion: the group environment questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eys, Mark A; Carron, Albert V; Bray, Steven R; Brawley, Lawrence R

    2007-06-01

    A common practice for counteracting response acquiescence in psychological measures has been to employ both negatively and positively worded items. However, previous research has highlighted that the reliability of measures can be affected by this practice (Spector, 1992). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect that the presence of negatively worded items has on the internal reliability of the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ). Two samples (N = 276) were utilized, and participants were asked to complete the GEQ (original and revised) on separate occasions. Results demonstrated that the revised questionnaire (containing all positively worded items) had significantly higher Cronbach alpha values for three of the four dimensions of the GEQ. Implications, alternatives, and future directions are discussed.

  15. 26 CFR 1.167(l)-4 - Public utility property; election to use asset depreciation range system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... depreciation range system. 1.167(l)-4 Section 1.167(l)-4 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... Individuals and Corporations § 1.167(l)-4 Public utility property; election to use asset depreciation range system. (a) Application of section 167(l) to certain property subject to asset depreciation range system...

  16. Thermodynamically self-consistent integral equations and the structure of liquid metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pastore, G.; Kahl, G.

    1987-01-01

    We discuss the application of the new thermodynamically self-consistent integral equations for the determination of the structural properties of liquid metals. We present a detailed comparison of the structure (S(q) and g(r)) for models of liquid alkali metals as obtained from two thermodynamically self-consistent integral equations and some published exact computer simulation results; the range of states extends from the triple point to the expanded metal. The theories which only impose thermodynamic self-consistency without any fitting of external data show an excellent agreement with the simulation results, thus demonstrating that this new type of integral equation is definitely superior to the conventional ones (hypernetted chain, Percus-Yevick, mean spherical approximation, etc). (author)

  17. Correlates and consequences of internalized stigma for people living with mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, James D; Boyd, Jennifer E

    2010-12-01

    An expansive body of research has investigated the experiences and adverse consequences of internalized stigma for people with mental illness. This article provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of the extant research regarding the empirical relationship between internalized stigma and a range of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and psychiatric variables for people who live with mental illness. An exhaustive review of the research literature was performed on all articles published in English that assessed a statistical relationship between internalized stigma and at least one other variable for adults who live with mental illness. In total, 127 articles met the inclusion criteria for systematic review, of which, data from 45 articles were extracted for meta-analyses. None of the sociodemographic variables that were included in the study were consistently or strongly correlated with levels of internalized stigma. The review uncovered a striking and robust negative relationship between internalized stigma and a range of psychosocial variables (e.g., hope, self-esteem, and empowerment). Regarding psychiatric variables, internalized stigma was positively associated with psychiatric symptom severity and negatively associated with treatment adherence. The review draws attention to the lack of longitudinal research in this area of study which has inhibited the clinical relevance of findings related to internalized stigma. The study also highlights the need for greater attention on disentangling the true nature of the relationship between internalized stigma and other psychosocial variables. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Self-consistent electric field effect on electron transport of ECH plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, V.S.; Murakami, S.

    1999-02-01

    An algorithm is proposed which treats the ECH generated potential in a self-consistent way, by extending the Monte-Carlo Fokker-Planck method used by Murakami [S. Murakami et al., Proc. 17th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, Yokohama, 1998 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, in press), paper CN-69/TH2/1]. The additional physics is expected to influence the transport of both thermal and suprathermal electrons in a helical toroidal system. (author)

  19. Self-consistency and sum-rule tests in the Kramers-Kronig analysis of optical data: Applications to aluminum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiles, E.; Sasaki, T.; Inokuti, M.; Smith, D.Y.

    1980-01-01

    An iterative, self-consistent procedure for the Kramers-Kronig analysis of data from reflectance, ellipsometric, transmission, and electron-energy-loss measurements is presented. This procedure has been developed for practical dispersion analysis since experimentally no single optical function can be readily measured over the entire range of frequencies as required by the Kramers-Kronig relations. The present technique is applied to metallic aluminum as an example. The results are then examined for internal consistency and for systematic errors by various optical sum rules. The present procedure affords a systematic means of preparing a self-consistent set of optical functions provided some optical or energy-loss data are available in all important spectral regions. The analysis of aluminum discloses that currently available data exhibit an excess oscillator strength, apparently in the vicinity of the L edge. A possible explanation is a systematic experimental error in the absorption-coefficient measurements resulting from surface layers: possibly oxides: present in thin-film transmission samples. A revised set of optical functions has been prepared by an ad hoc reduction of the reported absorption coefficient above the L edge by 14%. These revised data lead to a total oscillator strength consistent with the known electron density and are in agreement with dc-conductivity and stopping-power measurements as well as with absorption coefficients inferred from the cross sections of neighboring elements in the periodic table. The optical functions resulting from this study show evidence for both the redistribution of oscillator strength between energy levels and the effects on real transitions of the shielding of conduction electrons by virtual processes in the core states

  20. An International Disaster Management SensorWeb Consisting of Space-based and Insitu Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandl, D.; Frye, S. W.; Policelli, F. S.; Cappelaere, P. G.

    2009-12-01

    For the past year, NASA along with partners consisting of the United Nations Space-based Information for Disaster and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) office, the Canadian Space Agency, the Ukraine Space Research Institute (SRI), Taiwan National Space Program Office (NSPO) and in conjunction with the Committee on Earth Observing Satellite (CEOS) Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS) have been conducting a pilot project to automate the process of obtaining sensor data for the purpose of flood management and emergency response. This includes experimenting with flood prediction models based on numerous meteorological satellites and a global hydrological model and then automatically triggering follow up high resolution satellite imagery with rapid delivery of data products. This presentation will provide a overview of the effort, recent accomplishments and future plans.

  1. Genus Ranges of Chord Diagrams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Jonathan; Jonoska, Nataša; Saito, Masahico

    2015-04-01

    A chord diagram consists of a circle, called the backbone, with line segments, called chords, whose endpoints are attached to distinct points on the circle. The genus of a chord diagram is the genus of the orientable surface obtained by thickening the backbone to an annulus and attaching bands to the inner boundary circle at the ends of each chord. Variations of this construction are considered here, where bands are possibly attached to the outer boundary circle of the annulus. The genus range of a chord diagram is the genus values over all such variations of surfaces thus obtained from a given chord diagram. Genus ranges of chord diagrams for a fixed number of chords are studied. Integer intervals that can be, and those that cannot be, realized as genus ranges are investigated. Computer calculations are presented, and play a key role in discovering and proving the properties of genus ranges.

  2. Accuracy and Consistency of Grass Pollen Identification by Human Analysts Using Electron Micrographs of Surface Ornamentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luke Mander

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Premise of the study: Humans frequently identify pollen grains at a taxonomic rank above species. Grass pollen is a classic case of this situation, which has led to the development of computational methods for identifying grass pollen species. This paper aims to provide context for these computational methods by quantifying the accuracy and consistency of human identification. Methods: We measured the ability of nine human analysts to identify 12 species of grass pollen using scanning electron microscopy images. These are the same images that were used in computational identifications. We have measured the coverage, accuracy, and consistency of each analyst, and investigated their ability to recognize duplicate images. Results: Coverage ranged from 87.5% to 100%. Mean identification accuracy ranged from 46.67% to 87.5%. The identification consistency of each analyst ranged from 32.5% to 87.5%, and each of the nine analysts produced considerably different identification schemes. The proportion of duplicate image pairs that were missed ranged from 6.25% to 58.33%. Discussion: The identification errors made by each analyst, which result in a decline in accuracy and consistency, are likely related to psychological factors such as the limited capacity of human memory, fatigue and boredom, recency effects, and positivity bias.

  3. Correlations and self-consistency in pion scattering. II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, M.B.; Keister, B.D.

    1978-01-01

    In an attempt to overcome certain difficulties of summing higher order processes in pion multiple scattering theories, a new, systematic expansion for the interaction of a pion in nuclear matter is derived within the context of the Foldy-Walecka theory, incorporating nucleon-nucleon correlations and an idea of self-consistency. The first two orders in the expansion are evaluated as a function of the nonlocality range; the expansion appears to be rapidly converging, in contrast to expansion schemes previously examined. (Auth.)

  4. Evaluating the factor structure, item analyses, and internal consistency of hospital anxiety and depression scale in Iranian infertile patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Payam Amini

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS is a common screening tool designed to measure the level of anxiety and depression in different factor structures and has been extensively used in non-psychiatric populations and individuals experiencing fertility problems. Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate the factor structure, item analyses, and internal consistency of HADS in Iranian infertile patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 651 infertile patients (248 men and 403 women referred to a referral infertility Center in Tehran, Iran between January 2014 and January 2015. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the underlying factor structure of the HADS among one, two, and threefactor models. Several goodness of fit indices were utilized such as comparative, normed and goodness of fit indices, Akaike information criterion, and the root mean squared error of approximation. In addition to HADS, the Satisfaction with Life Scale questionnaires as well as demographic and clinical information were administered to all patients. Results: The goodness of fit indices through CFAs exposed that three and onefactor model provided the best and worst fit to the total, male and female datasets compared to the other factor structure models for the infertile patients. The Cronbach’s alpha for anxiety and depression subscales were 0.866 and 0.753 respectively. The HADS subscales significantly correlated with SWLS, indicating an acceptable convergent validity. Conclusion: The HADS was found to be a three-factor structure screening instrument in the field of infertility.

  5. A CONSISTENT RETRIEVAL ANALYSIS OF 10 HOT JUPITERS OBSERVED IN TRANSMISSION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barstow, J. K. [Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Aigrain, S.; Irwin, P. G. J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom); Sing, D. K., E-mail: j.eberhardt@ucl.ac.uk [School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter (United Kingdom)

    2017-01-01

    We present a consistent optimal estimation retrieval analysis of 10 hot Jupiter exoplanets, each with transmission spectral data spanning the visible to near-infrared wavelength range. Using the NEMESIS radiative transfer and retrieval tool, we calculate a range of possible atmospheric states for WASP-6b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, WASP-31b, WASP-39b, HD 189733b, HD 209458b, HAT-P-1b, and HAT-P-12b. We find that the spectra of all 10 planets are consistent with the presence of some atmospheric aerosol; WASP-6b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, WASP-19b, HD 189733b, and HAT-P-12b are all fit best by Rayleigh scattering aerosols, whereas WASP-31b, WASP-39b and HD 209458b are better represented by a gray cloud model. HAT-P-1b has solutions that fall into both categories. WASP-6b, HAT-P-12b, HD 189733b, and WASP-12b must have aerosol extending to low atmospheric pressures (below 0.1 mbar). In general, planets with equilibrium temperatures between 1300 and 1700 K are best represented by deeper, gray cloud layers, whereas cooler or hotter planets are better fit using high Rayleigh scattering aerosol. We find little evidence for the presence of molecular absorbers other than H{sub 2}O. Retrieval methods can provide a consistent picture across a range of hot Jupiter atmospheres with existing data, and will be a powerful tool for the interpretation of James Webb Space Telescope observations.

  6. Internal friction of molybdenum during microplastic deformation in the temperature range of ductile-brittle transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beloshenko, V.A.; Datsko, O.I.; Shakhova, A.D.

    1986-01-01

    Internal friction of Q -1 samples prepared of technically pure molybdenum wire 1.2 mm in diameter in the initial state and after annealing in the inert atmosphere at 800, 1050, 1200 deg C respectively during 2.5 ad 13 hours is investigated. The initial material had fibrous structure. It is shown that the method of low-frequency internal friction can be applied to study ductile-brittle transition (DBT) in metals at amplitude of oscillations bringing about irreversible microplastic strain

  7. Study on phase transformations in superconducting Ti-50%Nb alloy using temperature-dependent internal friction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shapoval, B.I.; Tikhinskij, G.F.; Somov, A.I.; Chernyj, O.V.; Rudycheva, T.Yu.; Andrievskaya, N.F.

    1980-01-01

    The internal friction method is used to study phase transformations in the Ti-50%Nb alloy parallel with other methods. The effect of annealing temperature and time, as well as the content of interstitial impurities in the alloy and its thermomechanical treatment (TMT) is studied. In the 250-300 deg C temperature range the complex maximum of internal friction caused by extraction of secondary phases is observed. The latter is confirmed by the measurement data of mechanical properties and electron microscopic analysis. The maximum consists of three overlapping peaks that reflects stepped form of the decomposition process of the metastable solid solution. The preliminary thermo-mechanical alloy treatment consisting of equidirectional plastic deformation with the following recrystallization annealing leads to peak increase. This fact testifies to the stimulating effect of thermo-mechanical treatment on the degree of solid solution decomposition and reveals in the increase of the critical current density of a wire made of the ingot. The increase of the interstitial impurity content in the alloy has the analogous effect. The reduction of the internal friction level during isothermal stand-up at temperatures higher than the third peak temperature proceeds in two stages [ru

  8. PROBABILISTIC MODEL OF LASER RANGE FINDER FOR THREE DIMENSIONAL GRID CELL IN CLOSE RANGE ENVIRONMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hafiz b Iman

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The probabilistic model of a laser scanner presents an important aspect for simultaneous localization and map-building (SLAM. However, the characteristic of the beam of the laser range finder under extreme incident angles approaching 900 has not been thoroughly investigated. This research paper reports the characteristic of the density of the range value coming from a laser range finder under close range circumstances where the laser is imposed with a high incident angle. The laser was placed in a controlled environment consisting of walls at a close range and 1000 iteration of scans was collected. The assumption of normal density of the metrical data collapses when the beam traverses across sharp edges in this environment. The data collected also shows multimodal density at instances where the range has discontinuity. The standard deviation of the laser range finder is reported to average at 10.54 mm, with 0.96 of accuracy. This significance suggests that under extreme incident angles, a laser range finder reading behaves differently compared to normal distribution. The use of this information is crucial for SLAM activity in enclosed environments such as inside piping grid or other cluttered environments.KEYWORDS:   Hokuyo UTM-30LX; kernel density estimation; probabilistic model  

  9. Computed tomography angiographic study of internal mammary perforators and their use as recipient vessels for free tissue transfer in breast reconstruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aditya V Kanoi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: The internal mammary artery perforator vessels (IMPV as a recipient in free flap breast reconstruction offer advantages over the more commonly used thoracodorsal vessels and the internal mammary vessels (IMV. Aims: This study was designed to assess the anatomical consistency of the IMPV and the suitability of these vessels for use as recipients in free flap breast reconstruction. Patients and Methods: Data from ten randomly selected female patients who did not have any chest wall or breast pathology but had undergone a computed tomography angiography (CTA for unrelated diagnostic reasons from April 2013 to October 2013 were analysed. Retrospective data of seven patients who had undergone mastectomy for breast cancer and had been primarily reconstructed with a deep inferior epigastric artery perforator free flap transfer using the IMPV as recipient vessels were studied. Results: The CTA findings showed that the internal mammary perforator was consistently present in all cases bilaterally. In all cases, the dominant perforator arose from the upper four intercostal spaces (ICS with the majority (55% arising from the 2nd ICS. The mean distance of the perforators from the sternal border at the level of pectoralis muscle surface on the right side was 1.86 cm (range: 0.9–2.5 cm with a mode value of 1.9 cm. On the left side, a mean of 1.77 cm (range: 1.5–2.1 cm and a mode value of 1.7 cm were observed. Mean perforator artery diameters on the right and left sides were 2.2 mm and 2.4 mm, respectively. Conclusions: Though the internal mammary perforators are anatomically consistent, their use as recipients in free tissue transfer for breast reconstruction eventually rests on multiple variables.

  10. Self-consistent calculation of steady-state creep and growth in textured zirconium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tome, C.N.; So, C.B.; Woo, C.H.

    1993-01-01

    Irradiation creep and growth in zirconium alloys result in anisotropic dimensional changes relative to the crystallographic axis in each individual grain. Several methods have been attempted to model such dimensional changes, taking into account the development of intergranular stresses. In this paper, we compare the predictions of several such models, namely the upper-bound, the lower-bound, the isotropic K* self-consistent (analytical) and the fully self-consistent (numerical) models. For given single-crystal creep compliances and growth factors, the polycrystal compliances predicted by the upper- and lower-bound models are unreliable. The predictions of the two self-consistent approaches are usually similar. The analytical isotropic K* approach is simple to implement and can be used to estimate the creep and growth rates of the polycrystal in many cases. The numerical fully self-consistent approach should be used when an accurate prediction of polycrystal creep is required, particularly for the important case of a closed-end internally pressurized tube. In most cases, the variations in grain shape introduce only minor corrections to the behaviour of polycrystalline materials. (author)

  11. REFLECTIONS ON PRODUCTION INTERNALIZATION AND ITS INTERNATIONAL TRADE IMPLICATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CLIPA RALUCA IRINA

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Vertically-integrated multinational companies place the different stages of production and marketing chain in different countries, looking for advantages such as low production costs, lower taxes, abundant resources and so on, while benefiting from the advantages of economies of scale, control of supplies or outlets. In fact, this vertical integration of multinational companies has led to the expansion of intra-firm trade and "internalized" operations, thus creating their own markets for the vertically-integrated production. Internationally active firms operate in a way that replaces the different functions of an open market with internal transactions, i.e. intra-firm transactions, whenever internal transaction costs are lower than the open-market ones. The direct consequence over international trade is the increase of intra-firm share of trade flows to one third of world trade, those companies making a suppression of international market segments that act in favour of an internal market. The creation of a multinational market and the enhancement of intra-firm trade have profound quantitative and qualitative implications on the composition, geographic orientation and dynamics of international trade. This paper deals with the issue of production internalization, with an overview of the main contributions made to the theory of internalization, while tackling its relative dimension. However, we intend to highlight the implications of this phenomenon on international trade. The work methodology falls within the range of qualitative approaches: logical argumentation, critical theoretical analysis.

  12. Consistent realization of Celestial and Terrestrial Reference Frames

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, Younghee; Bloßfeld, Mathis; Schmid, Ralf; Angermann, Detlef; Gerstl, Michael; Seitz, Manuela

    2018-03-01

    The Celestial Reference System (CRS) is currently realized only by Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) because it is the space geodetic technique that enables observations in that frame. In contrast, the Terrestrial Reference System (TRS) is realized by means of the combination of four space geodetic techniques: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), VLBI, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite. The Earth orientation parameters (EOP) are the link between the two types of systems, CRS and TRS. The EOP series of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service were combined of specifically selected series from various analysis centers. Other EOP series were generated by a simultaneous estimation together with the TRF while the CRF was fixed. Those computation approaches entail inherent inconsistencies between TRF, EOP, and CRF, also because the input data sets are different. A combined normal equation (NEQ) system, which consists of all the parameters, i.e., TRF, EOP, and CRF, would overcome such an inconsistency. In this paper, we simultaneously estimate TRF, EOP, and CRF from an inter-technique combined NEQ using the latest GNSS, VLBI, and SLR data (2005-2015). The results show that the selection of local ties is most critical to the TRF. The combination of pole coordinates is beneficial for the CRF, whereas the combination of Δ UT1 results in clear rotations of the estimated CRF. However, the standard deviations of the EOP and the CRF improve by the inter-technique combination which indicates the benefits of a common estimation of all parameters. It became evident that the common determination of TRF, EOP, and CRF systematically influences future ICRF computations at the level of several μas. Moreover, the CRF is influenced by up to 50 μas if the station coordinates and EOP are dominated by the satellite techniques.

  13. [Internal migration studies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stpiczynski, T

    1986-10-01

    Recent research on internal migration in Poland is reviewed. The basic sources of data, consisting of censuses or surveys, are first described. The author discusses the relationship between migration studies and other sectors of the national economy, and particularly the relationship between migration and income.

  14. Multi-configuration time-dependent density-functional theory based on range separation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fromager, E.; Knecht, S.; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aagaard

    2013-01-01

    Multi-configuration range-separated density-functional theory is extended to the time-dependent regime. An exact variational formulation is derived. The approximation, which consists in combining a long-range Multi-Configuration- Self-Consistent Field (MCSCF) treatment with an adiabatic short...... (srGGA) approximations. As expected, when modeling long-range interactions with the MCSCF model instead of the adiabatic Buijse-Baerends density-matrix functional as recently proposed by Pernal [J. Chem. Phys. 136, 184105 (2012)10.1063/1.4712019], the description of both the 1D doubly-excited state...

  15. Relationship between welfare and individual ranging behaviour in commercial free-range laying hens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, H; Hemsworth, P H; Cronin, G M; Gebhardt-Henrich, S G; Smith, C L; Rault, J-L

    2018-01-24

    Laying hens housed in free-range systems have access to an outdoor range, and individual hens within a flock differ in their ranging behaviour. Whether there is a link between ranging and laying hen welfare remains unclear. We analysed the relationships between ranging by individual hens on a commercial free-range layer farm and behavioural, physiological and health measures of animal welfare. We hypothesised that hens that access the range more will be (1) less fearful in general and in response to novelty and humans, (2) have better health in terms of physical body condition and (3) have a reduced physiological stress response to behavioural tests of fear and health assessments than hens that use the range less. Using radio frequency identification tracking across two flocks, we recorded individual hens' frequency, duration and consistency of ranging. We also assessed how far hens ventured into the range based on three zones: 0 to 2.4, 2.4 to 11.4 or >11.4 m from the shed. We assessed hen welfare using a variety of measures including: tonic immobility, open field, novel object, human approach, and human avoidance (HAV) behavioural tests; stress-induced plasma corticosterone response and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites; live weight, comb colour, and beak, plumage, footpad, and keel bone condition. Range use was positively correlated with plasma corticosterone response, faecal glucocorticoid metabolites, and greater flight distance during HAV. Hens that used the range more, moved towards rather than away from the novel object more often than hens that ranged less. Distance ranged from the shed was significantly associated with comb colour and beak condition, in that hens with darker combs and more intact beaks ranged further. Overall the findings suggest that there is no strong link between outdoor range usage and laying hen welfare. Alternatively, it may be that hens that differed in their ranging behaviour showed few differences in measures of welfare because

  16. Internal consistency, concurrent validity, and discriminant validity of a measure of public support for policies for active living in transportation (PAL-T) in a population-based sample of adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, Daniel; Gauvin, Lise; Fournier, Michel; Kestens, Yan; Daniel, Mark; Morency, Patrick; Drouin, Louis

    2012-04-01

    Active living is a broad conceptualization of physical activity that incorporates domains of exercise; recreational, household, and occupational activities; and active transportation. Policy makers develop and implement a variety of transportation policies that can influence choices about how to travel from one location to another. In making such decisions, policy makers act in part in response to public opinion or support for proposed policies. Measures of the public's support for policies aimed at promoting active transportation can inform researchers and policy makers. This study examined the internal consistency, and concurrent and discriminant validity of a newly developed measure of the public's support for policies for active living in transportation (PAL-T). A series of 17 items representing potential policies for promoting active transportation was generated. Two samples of participants (n = 2,001 and n = 2,502) from Montreal, Canada, were recruited via random digit dialling. Analyses were conducted on the combined data set (n = 4,503). Participants were aged 18 through 94 years (58% female). The concurrent and discriminant validity of the PAL-T was assessed by examining relationships with physical activity and smoking. To explore the usability of the PAL-T, predicted scale scores were compared to the summed values of responses. Results showed that the internal consistency of the PAL-T was 0.70. Multilevel regression demonstrated no relationship between the PAL-T and smoking status (p > 0.05) but significant relationships with utilitarian walking (p public opinion can inform policy makers and support advocacy efforts aimed at making built environments more suitable for active transportation while allowing researchers to examine the antecedents and consequences of public support for policies.

  17. The Intern Studio: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wix, Linney

    1995-01-01

    Describes and discusses the Intern Studio Project, which consists of the provision of regular open studio time for art therapy interns in a state university graduate program. Psychological and artistic bases for the open studio approach are discussed, and include the relational approach, Hillman's essentialist paradigm, and series and context…

  18. Hybrid Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Consisting of Double Titania Layers for Harvesting Light with Wide Range of Wavelengths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadamasu, Kengo; Inoue, Takafumi; Ogomi, Yuhei; Pandey, Shyam S.; Hayase, Shuzi

    2011-02-01

    We report a hybrid dye-sensitized solar cell consisting of double titania layers (top and bottom layers) stained with two dyes. A top layer fabricated on a glass was mechanically pressed with a bottom layer fabricated on a glass cloth. The glass cloth acts as a supporter of a porous titania layer as well as a holder of electrolyte. The incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) curve had two peaks corresponding to those of the two dyes, which demonstrates that electrons are collected from both the top and bottom layers.

  19. International Comparative Studies in Mathematics Education: Are We Obsessed with the International Rankings of Measured Educational Outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Tsung-Lung; Li, Hui-Chuan

    2017-01-01

    Over the past few decades, researchers, policy makers, educators and the general public, who have an interest in mathematics education in different countries, pay a great deal of attention to the results from international comparative studies. Of great interest to the international studies is the results of Eastern students consistently achieving…

  20. Effects of group dynamics and diet on the ranging patterns of a western gorilla group (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cipolletta, Chloé

    2004-10-01

    This study describes how group dynamics and diet have influenced the ranging patterns of a western gorilla group at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. The results are compared with those from an earlier study [Cipolletta, International Journal of Primatology, 2003], when the same group was larger and undergoing the process of habituation to humans. Data were obtained from maps of the gorillas' travel routes, direct observations, and analysis of fecal samples. Through the years, the group has experienced a decrease in size, from eight to three individuals, with periods of membership fluctuation. The male's search for new mates resulted in a larger home range than was recorded when the group consisted of more individuals. Moreover, despite an average group size of three throughout this study, the monthly range and mean daily path length (DPL) were also larger when the group was acquiring/losing members in new areas, than when no new members joined or left the group. Fruit was consumed year-round, although more heavily so during wet months. The influence of fruit consumption on the ranging patterns was concealed initially by the effect of habituation [Cipolletta, International Journal of Primatology, 2003], and later (at least partially) by the male's search for new mates. In the last 14 months of the study, when the group numbered only three individuals and was ranging in a restricted area, the average DPL, but not the monthly range, increased when the gorillas were consuming more fruit.

  1. Consistent model driven architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niepostyn, Stanisław J.

    2015-09-01

    The goal of the MDA is to produce software systems from abstract models in a way where human interaction is restricted to a minimum. These abstract models are based on the UML language. However, the semantics of UML models is defined in a natural language. Subsequently the verification of consistency of these diagrams is needed in order to identify errors in requirements at the early stage of the development process. The verification of consistency is difficult due to a semi-formal nature of UML diagrams. We propose automatic verification of consistency of the series of UML diagrams originating from abstract models implemented with our consistency rules. This Consistent Model Driven Architecture approach enables us to generate automatically complete workflow applications from consistent and complete models developed from abstract models (e.g. Business Context Diagram). Therefore, our method can be used to check practicability (feasibility) of software architecture models.

  2. Hip strength and range of motion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mosler, Andrea B.; Crossley, Kay M.; Thorborg, Kristian

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To determine the normal profiles for hip strength and range of motion (ROM) in a professional football league in Qatar, and examine the effect of leg dominance, age, past history of injury, and ethnicity on these profiles. Design Cross-sectional cohort study. Methods Participants...... values are documented for hip strength and range of motion that can be used as reference profiles in the clinical assessment, screening, and management of professional football players. Leg dominance, recent past injury history and ethnicity do not need to be accounted for when using these profiles...... included 394 asymptomatic, male professional football players, aged 18–40 years. Strength was measured using a hand held dynamometer with an eccentric test in side-lying for hip adduction and abduction, and the squeeze test in supine with 45° hip flexion. Range of motion measures included: hip internal...

  3. Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passot, Jean-Baptiste; Luque, Niceto R; Arleo, Angelo

    2013-01-01

    The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body-environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to account for the adaptation performance of humans during sensorimotor learning. The proposed model takes inspiration from the cerebellar microcomplex circuit, and employs spiking neurons to process information. We investigate the intrinsic properties of the cerebellar circuitry subserving efficient adaptation properties, and we assess the complementary contributions of internal representations by simulating our model in a procedural adaptation task. Our simulation results suggest that the coupling of internal models enhances learning performance significantly (compared with independent forward and inverse models), and it allows for the reproduction of human adaptation capabilities. Furthermore, we provide a computational explanation for the performance improvement observed after one night of sleep in a wide range of sensorimotor tasks. We predict that internal model coupling is a necessary condition for the offline consolidation of procedural memories.

  4. Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Baptiste ePassot

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body–environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to account for the adaptation performance of humans during sensorimotor learning. The proposed model takes inspiration from the cerebellar microcomplex circuit, and employs spiking neurons to process information. We investigate the intrinsic properties of the cerebellar circuitry subserving efficient adaptation properties, and we assess the complementary contributions of internal representations by simulating our model in a procedural adaptation task. Our simulation results suggest that the coupling of internal models enhances learning performance significantly (compared with independent forward and inverse models, and it allows for the reproduction of human adaptation capabilities. Furthermore, we provide a computational explanation for the performance improvement observed after one night of sleep in a wide range of sensorimotor tasks. We predict that internal model coupling is a necessary condition for the offline consolidation of procedural memories.

  5. International Spinal Cord Injury Upper Extremity Basic Data Set

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biering-Sørensen, F; Bryden, A; Curt, A

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To develop an International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Upper Extremity Basic Data Set as part of the International SCI Data Sets, which facilitates consistent collection and reporting of basic upper extremity findings in the SCI population. SETTING: International. METHODS: A first draft...

  6. Long-range psu(2,2|4) Bethe ansatze for gauge theory and strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beisert, Niklas; Staudacher, Matthias

    2005-01-01

    We generalize various existing higher-loop Bethe ansatze for simple sectors of the integrable long-range dynamic spin chain describing planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory to the full psu(2,2|4) symmetry and, asymptotically, to arbitrary loop order. We perform a large number of tests of our conjectured equations, such as internal consistency, comparison to direct three-loop diagonalization and expected thermodynamic behavior. In the special case of the su(1|2) subsector, corresponding to a long-range t-J model, we are able to derive, up to three loops, the S-matrix and the associated nested Bethe ansatz from the gauge theory dilatation operator. We conjecture novel all-order S-matrices for the su(1|2) and su(1,1|2) subsectors, and show that they satisfy the Yang-Baxter equation. Throughout the paper, we muse about the idea that quantum string theory on AdS 5 xS 5 is also described by a psu(2,2|4) spin chain. We propose asymptotic all-order Bethe equations for this putative ''string chain'', which differ in a systematic fashion from the gauge theory equations

  7. DIII-D tokamak long range plan. Revision 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-08-01

    The DIII-D Tokamak Long Range Plan for controlled thermonuclear magnetic fusion research will be carried out with broad national and international participation. The plan covers: (1) operation of the DIII-D tokamak to conduct research experiments to address needs of the US Magnetic Fusion Program; (2) facility modifications to allow these new experiments to be conducted; and (3) collaborations with other laboratories to integrate DIII-D research into the national and international fusion programs. The period covered by this plan is 1 November 19983 through 31 October 1998

  8. TEDS-M 2008 User Guide for the International Database. Supplement 1: International Version of the TEDS-M Questionnaires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brese, Falk, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    The Teacher Education Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) International Database includes data for all questionnaires administered as part of the TEDS-M study. These consisted of questionnaires administered to future teachers, educators, and institutions with teacher preparation programs. This supplement contains the international version of the TEDS-M…

  9. Internal friction behavior of liquid Bi-Sn alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Aiqing; Guo Lijun; Liu Changsong; Jia Erguang; Zhu Zhengang

    2005-01-01

    Pure Bi and Sn and four Bi-Sn alloys distributed on the entire concentration range were selected for internal-friction investigation over a wide temperature range. There exist two peaks in the plots of internal friction versus temperature for liquid Sn, Bi-Sn60 and Bi-Sn90 alloys, one peak being located at about 480 - bar Cand another at about 830 - bar C. Only a single internal-friction peak at about 830 - bar C occurs in liquid Bi-Sn43 (eutectic composition). No internal-friction peak appears in liquid Bi-Sn20 alloy and pure Bi. The height of the internal-friction peaks depends on the content of Sn. The present finding suggests that Sn-rich Bi-Sn alloys may inherit the internal-friction behaviors of pure Sn, whereas Bi-rich Bi-Sn alloy seems to be like pure Bi. The position of the internal-friction peaks is frequency dependent, which resembles the internal-friction feature in structure transition in solids

  10. Internal friction behavior of liquid Bi-Sn alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu Aiqing [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Guo Lijun [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Liu Changsong [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Jia Erguang [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China); Zhu Zhengang [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1129, Hefei 230031 (China)]. E-mail: zgzhu@issp.ac.cn

    2005-12-01

    Pure Bi and Sn and four Bi-Sn alloys distributed on the entire concentration range were selected for internal-friction investigation over a wide temperature range. There exist two peaks in the plots of internal friction versus temperature for liquid Sn, Bi-Sn60 and Bi-Sn90 alloys, one peak being located at about 480{sup -}bar Cand another at about 830{sup -}bar C. Only a single internal-friction peak at about 830{sup -}bar C occurs in liquid Bi-Sn43 (eutectic composition). No internal-friction peak appears in liquid Bi-Sn20 alloy and pure Bi. The height of the internal-friction peaks depends on the content of Sn. The present finding suggests that Sn-rich Bi-Sn alloys may inherit the internal-friction behaviors of pure Sn, whereas Bi-rich Bi-Sn alloy seems to be like pure Bi. The position of the internal-friction peaks is frequency dependent, which resembles the internal-friction feature in structure transition in solids.

  11. A Dual-Range Strain Gage Weighing Transducer Employing Automatic Switching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodger A. Arola

    1968-01-01

    Describes a dual-range strain gage transducer which has proven to be an excellent weight-sensing device for weighing trees and tree-length logs; discusses basic principals of the design and operation; and shows that a single transducer having two sensitivity ranges with automatic internal switching can sense weight with good repeatability and that one calibration curve...

  12. International migration and the gender

    OpenAIRE

    Koropecká, Markéta

    2010-01-01

    My bachelor thesis explores the connection between international migration and gender. Gender, defined as a social, not a biological term, has a huge impact on the migration process. Statistics and expert studies that have been gender sensitive since 1970s demonstrate that women form half of the amount of the international migrants depending on the world region and representing a wide range of the kinds of international migration: family formation and reunification, labour migration, illegal ...

  13. Parton Distributions based on a Maximally Consistent Dataset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojo, Juan

    2016-04-01

    The choice of data that enters a global QCD analysis can have a substantial impact on the resulting parton distributions and their predictions for collider observables. One of the main reasons for this has to do with the possible presence of inconsistencies, either internal within an experiment or external between different experiments. In order to assess the robustness of the global fit, different definitions of a conservative PDF set, that is, a PDF set based on a maximally consistent dataset, have been introduced. However, these approaches are typically affected by theory biases in the selection of the dataset. In this contribution, after a brief overview of recent NNPDF developments, we propose a new, fully objective, definition of a conservative PDF set, based on the Bayesian reweighting approach. Using the new NNPDF3.0 framework, we produce various conservative sets, which turn out to be mutually in agreement within the respective PDF uncertainties, as well as with the global fit. We explore some of their implications for LHC phenomenology, finding also good consistency with the global fit result. These results provide a non-trivial validation test of the new NNPDF3.0 fitting methodology, and indicate that possible inconsistencies in the fitted dataset do not affect substantially the global fit PDFs.

  14. Development (design and systematization) of HMS Group pump ranges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tverdokhleb, I.; Yamburenko, V.

    2017-08-01

    The article reveals the need for pump range charts development for different applications and describes main principles used by HMS Group. Some modern approaches to pump selection are reviewed and highlighted the need for pump compliance with international standards and modern customer requirements. Even though pump design types are similar for different applications they need adjustment to specific requirements, which gets manufacturers develop their particular design for each pump range. Having wide pump ranges for different applications enables to create pump selection software, facilitating manufacturers to prepare high quality quotations in shortest time.

  15. Reliability and Concurrent Validity of the International Personality ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Reliability and Concurrent Validity of the International Personality item Pool (IPIP) Big-five Factor Markers in Nigeria. ... Nigerian Journal of Psychiatry ... Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the internal consistency and concurrent validity ...

  16. Diffractive stacks of metamaterial lattices with a complex unit cell : Self-consistent long-range bianisotropic interactions in experiment and theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kwadrin, A.; Koenderink, A.F.

    2014-01-01

    Metasurfaces and metamaterials promise arbitrary rerouting of light using two-dimensional (2D) planar arrangements of electric and magnetic scatterers, respectively, 3D stacks built out of such 2D planes. An important problem is how to self-consistently model the response of these systems in a

  17. Are exposure index values consistent in clinical practice? A multi-manufacturer investigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butler, M. L.; Rainford, L.; Last, J.; Brennan, P. C.

    2010-01-01

    The advent of digital radiography poses the risk of unnoticed increases in patient dose. Manufacturers have responded to this by offering an exposure index (EI) value to the clinician. Whilst the EI value is a measure of the air kerma at the detector surface, it has been recommended by international agencies as a method of monitoring radiation dose to the patient. Recent studies by the group have shown that EI values are being used in clinical practice to monitor radiation dose and assess image quality. This study aims to compare the clinical consistency of the EI value in computed radiography (CR) and direct digital radiography (DR) systems. An anthropomorphic phantom was used to simulate four common radiographic examinations: skull, pelvis, chest and hand. These examinations were chosen as they provide contrasting exposure parameters, image detail and radiation dose measurements. Four manufacturers were used for comparison: Agfa Gaevert CR, Carestream CR, Philips Digital Diagnost DR and Siemens DR. For each examination, the phantom was placed in the optimal position and exposure parameters were chosen in accordance with European guidelines and clinical practice. Multiple exposures were taken and the EI recorded. All exposure parameters and clinical conditions remained constant throughout. For both DR systems, the EI values remained consistent throughout. No significant change was noted in any examination. In both CR systems, there were noteworthy fluctuations in the EI values for all examinations. The largest for the Agfa system was a variation of 1.88-2.21 for the skull examination. This represents to the clinician a doubling of detector dose, despite all exposure parameters remaining constant. In the Kodak system, the largest fluctuation was seen for the chest examination where the EI ranged from 2560 to 2660, representing approximately an increase of 30% in radiation dose, despite consistent parameters. The fluctuations seen with the CR systems are most likely

  18. The precautionary principle in international environmental law and international jurisprudence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tubić Bojan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analysis international regulation of the precautionary principle as one of environmental principles. This principle envisages that when there are threats of serious and irreparable harm, as a consequence of certain economic activity, the lack of scientific evidence and full certainty cannot be used as a reason for postponing efficient measures for preventing environmental harm. From economic point of view, the application of precautionary principle is problematic, because it creates larger responsibility for those who create possible risks, comparing to the previous period. The precautionary principle can be found in numerous international treaties in this field, which regulate it in a very similar manner. There is no consensus in doctrine whether this principle has reached the level of international customary law, because it was interpreted differently and it was not accepted by large number of countries in their national legislations. It represents a developing concept which is consisted of changing positions on adequate roles of science, economy, politics and law in the field of environmental protection. This principle has been discussed in several cases before International Court of Justice and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

  19. The International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Basic Data Set

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Widerstrom-Noga, E.; Bryce, T.; Cardenas, D.D.

    2008-01-01

    Objective:To develop a basic pain data set (International Spinal Cord Injury Basic Pain Data Set, ISCIPDS:B) within the framework of the International spinal cord injury (SCI) data sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of pain in the SCI population.Setting:International.......Methods:The ISCIPDS:B was developed by a working group consisting of individuals with published evidence of expertise in SCI-related pain regarding taxonomy, psychophysics, psychology, epidemiology and assessment, and one representative of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets...... on suggestions from members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA and APS Boards, and the Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group of the IASP, individual reviewers and societies and the ISCoS Council.Results:The final ISCIPDS:B contains...

  20. Revising Sangiovanni's reciprocity-based internationalism: towards international egalitarian obligations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Conor Heaney

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available To whom do we owe obligations of socio-economic justice? How are such obligations generated? Internationalism denotes a range of approaches to these questions. This paper examines Andrea Sangiovanni's—an internationalist—response to these questions. Sangiovanni argues that we owe egalitarian obligations only to those in the state, and that egalitarian obligations are generated through relationships of ‘reciprocity’. His is a ‘reciprocity-based internationalism’ (RBI. RBI has two components—one normative and another empirical. In this paper, I will assume the normative component, but reject its empirical component. My rejection of the empirical component has normative implications for RBI, which generate egalitarian obligations beyond the state. In other words, my revision of RBI is an argument in favour of international egalitarian obligations not generated through cosmopolitanism, but through internationalism.

  1. DRI internal Wave Simulations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Reynolds, Stephen A; Levine, Murray D

    2005-01-01

    .... A processing module is developed that takes profile estimates as input and uses numerically simulated linear internal wave displacements to create two-dimensional range-dependent sound speed fields...

  2. Internal validity of a household food security scale is consistent among diverse populations participating in a food supplement program in Colombia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackett, Michelle; Melgar-Quinonez, Hugo; Uribe, Martha C Alvarez

    2008-05-23

    We assessed the validity of a locally adapted Colombian Household Food Security Scale (CHFSS) used as a part of the 2006 evaluation of the food supplement component of the Plan for Improving Food and Nutrition in Antioquia, Colombia (MANA - Plan Departamental de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional de Antioquia). Subjects included low-income families with pre-school age children in MANA that responded affirmatively to at least one CHFSS item (n = 1,319). Rasch Modeling was used to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the items through measure and INFIT values. Differences in CHFSS performance were assessed by area of residency, socioeconomic status and number of children enrolled in MANA. Unidimensionality of a scale by group was further assessed using Differential Item Functioning (DIF). Most CHFSS items presented good fitness with most INFIT values within the adequate range of 0.8 to 1.2. Consistency in item measure values between groups was found for all but two items in the comparison by area of residency. Only two adult items exhibited DIF between urban and rural households. The results indicate that the adapted CHFSS is a valid tool to assess the household food security of participants in food assistance programs like MANA.

  3. Short-range correlations in quark and nuclear matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Froemel, Frank

    2007-06-15

    In the first part of this thesis, the role of short-range correlations in quark matter is explored within the framework of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. Starting from a next-to-leading order expansion in the inverse number of the quark colors, a fully self-consistent model constructed that employs the close relations between spectral functions and self-energies. In contrast to the usual quasiparticle approximations, this approach allows the investigation of the collisional broadening of the quark spectral function. Numerical calculations at various chemical potentials and zero temperature show that the short-range correlations do not only induce a finite width of the spectral function but also have some influence on the structure of the chiral phase transition. In the second part of this thesis, the temperature and density dependence of the nucleon spectral function in symmetric nuclear matter is investigated. The short-range correlations can be well described by a simple, self-consistent model on the one-particle-two-hole and two-particle-one-hole level (1p2h, 2p1h). The thermodynamically consistent description of the mean-field properties of the nucleons is ensured by incorporating a Skyrme-type potential. Calculations at temperatures and densities that can also be found in heavy-ion collisions or supernova explosions and the formation of neutron stars show that the correlations saturate at high temperatures and densities. (orig.)

  4. The Nurses Self-Concept Instrument (NSCI): assessment of psychometric properties for Australian domestic and international student nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angel, Elizabeth; Craven, Rhonda; Denson, Nida

    2012-07-01

    Professional self-concept is a critical driver of job satisfaction. In Australia, as international nursing enrolments rise, nursing is increasingly characterised by a professional body of international nurses who may differ from domestic Australian nurses in their nursing self-concept. At present, no psychometrically sound instrument for assessing nursing self-concept for Australian domestic and international nursing students is available. The purpose of this study was to: (1) develop an instrument (the Nurses' Self-Concept Instrument (NSCI)) to measure the professional self-concept of domestic and international nursing students in Australia, and (2) test the psychometric properties of this newly developed instrument. A literature review was conducted to generate the initial dimension and item pools to measure nurses' professional self-concept (NSCI). Two stakeholders examined the content and face validity of dimensions and items. Analysis was performed on data collected from 253 undergraduate nursing students in a large public university in Sydney, Australia, and consisted of domestic (n=218) and international (n=35) nursing students. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the construct validity of the NSCI. The resulting NSCI consisted of 14 items across four self-concept domains: care, leadership, staff relations, and knowledge. The CFA supported the hypothesised factor structure of the self-concept model. All reliabilities were acceptable for both domestic and international students (ranging from r=.78 to .93). The NSCI was shown to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing Australian domestic and international student nurses' professional self-concept. This instrument may also enable those responsible for recruitment of students into nursing courses to assess students' professional self-concept and implement appropriate strategies to foster the growth of lifelong career development

  5. Consistency and robustness of forecasting for emerging technologies: The case of Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakti, Apurba; Azevedo, Inês M.L.; Fuchs, Erica R.H.; Michalek, Jeremy J.; Gallagher, Kevin G.; Whitacre, Jay F.

    2017-01-01

    There are a large number of accounts about rapidly declining costs of batteries with potentially transformative effects, but these accounts often are not based on detailed design and technical information. Using a method ideally suited for that purpose, we find that when experts are free to assume any battery pack design, a majority of the cost estimates are consistent with the ranges reported in the literature, although the range is notably large. However, we also find that 55% of relevant experts’ component-level cost projections are inconsistent with their total pack-level projections, and 55% of relevant experts’ elicited cost projections are inconsistent with the cost projections generated by putting their design- and process-level assumptions into our process-based cost model (PBCM). These results suggest a need for better understanding of the technical assumptions driving popular consensus regarding future costs. Approaches focusing on technological details first, followed by non-aggregated and systemic cost estimates while keeping the experts aware of any discrepancies, should they arise, may result in more accurate forecasts. - Highlights: • New technology cost projections often confuse underlying technical assumptions. • We use a novel method combining expert elicitations and production cost models. • 55% of experts’ component-level cost projections contain internal inconsistencies. • Technical assumptions driving popular consensus regarding future costs are key.

  6. Consistent framework data for modeling and formation of scenarios in the Federal Environment Office; Konsistente Rahmendaten fuer Modellierungen und Szenariobildung im Umweltbundesamt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weimer-Jehle, Wolfgang; Wassermann, Sandra; Kosow, Hannah [Internationales Zentrum fuer Kultur- und Technikforschung an der Univ. Stuttgart (Germany). ZIRN Interdisziplinaerer Forschungsschwerpunkt Risiko und Nachhaltige Technikentwicklung

    2011-04-15

    Model-based environmental scenarios normally require multiple framework assumptions regarding future social, political and economic developments (external developments). In most cases these framework assumptions are highly uncertain. Furthermore, different external developments are not isolated from each other and their interdependences can be described by qualitative judgments only. If the internal consistency of framework assumptions is not methodologically addressed, environmental models risk to be based on inconsistent combinations of framework assumptions which do not reflect existing relations between the respective factors in an appropriate way. This report aims at demonstrating how consistent context scenarios can be developed with the help of the cross-impact balance analysis (CIB). This method allows not only for the internal consistency of framework assumptions of a single model but also for the overall consistency of framework assumptions of modeling instruments, supporting the integrated interpretation of the results of different models. In order to demonstrate the method, in a first step, ten common framework assumptions were chosen and their possible future developments until 2030 were described. In a second step, a qualitative impact network was developed based on expert elicitation. The impact network provided the basis for a qualitative but systematic analysis of the internal consistency of combinations of framework assumptions. This analysis was carried out with the CIB-method and resulted in a set of consistent context scenarios. These scenarios can be used as an informative background for defining framework assumptions for environmental models at the UBA. (orig.)

  7. Long-range correlation in cosmic microwave background radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Movahed, M Sadegh; Ghasemi, F; Rahvar, Sohrab; Tabar, M Reza Rahimi

    2011-08-01

    We investigate the statistical anisotropy and gaussianity of temperature fluctuations of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe survey, using the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, Rescaled Range, and Scaled Windowed Variance methods. Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis shows that CMB fluctuations has a long-range correlation function with a multifractal behavior. By comparing the shuffled and surrogate series of CMB data, we conclude that the multifractality nature of the temperature fluctuation of CMB radiation is mainly due to the long-range correlations, and the map is consistent with a gaussian distribution.

  8. Research Handbook on International Environmental Law

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Merkouris, Panos; Fitzmaurice, Malgosia; Ong, David

    2010-01-01

    This wide-ranging and comprehensive Handbook examines recent developments in international environmental law (IEL) and the crossover effects of this expansion on other areas of international law, such as trade law and the law of the sea. The expert contributors offer analyses of foundational issues

  9. Free Range Hens Use the Range More When the Outdoor Environment Is Enriched

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. A. D. Nagle

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available To evaluate the role of using forage, shade and shelterbelts in attracting birds into the range, three trials were undertaken with free range layers both on a research facility and on commercial farms. Each of the trials on the free range research facility in South Australia used a total of 120 laying hens (Hyline Brown. Birds were housed in an eco-shelter which had 6 internal pens of equal size with a free range area adjoining the shelter. The on-farm trials were undertaken on commercial free range layer farms in the Darling Downs in Southeast Queensland with bird numbers on farms ranging from 2,000–6,800 hens. The first research trial examined the role of shaded areas in the range; the second trial examined the role of forage and the third trial examined the influence of shelterbelts in the range. These treatments were compared to a free range area with no enrichment. Aggressive feather pecking was only observed on a few occasions in all of the trials due to the low bird numbers housed. Enriching the free range environment attracted more birds into the range. Shaded areas were used by 18% of the hens with a tendency (p = 0.07 for more hens to be in the paddock. When forage was provided in paddocks more control birds (55% were observed in the range in morning than in the afternoon (30% while for the forage treatments 45% of the birds were in the range both during the morning and afternoon. When shelterbelts were provided there was a significantly (p<0.05 higher % of birds in the range (43% vs. 24% and greater numbers of birds were observed in areas further away from the poultry house. The results from the on-farm trials mirrored the research trials. Overall 3 times more hens used the shaded areas than the non shaded areas, with slightly more using the shade in the morning than in the afternoon. As the environmental temperature increased the number of birds using the outdoor shade also increased. Overall 17 times more hens used the shelterbelt

  10. Consistency of Higher Education Institutions’ Strategies: A Study Based on the Stakeholders’ Perception using the Balanced Scorecard

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexsandra Barcelos Dias

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The strategic orientation of the company was conceived as a management tool known as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC, which aims to measure and monitor the strategy in action. The objective of this study was to verify the strategic consistency in the perception of the stakeholders at Private Higher Education Institutions (HEI, through the perspective of the Balanced Scorecard. The method used was a descriptive research, through a quantitative approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire, applied at four HEIs in the State of Minas Gerais, including directors / coordinators, teachers and students called stakeholders, to identify, based on a Balanced Scorecard model with four indicators in each perspective (financial, clients, learning and growth and internal processes, the consistency of the strategies as perceived by these groups. The main results pointed to a perception difference of the managers regarding the perspectives, with a greater degree of importance given to the perspective “Learning and Growth” and “Internal Processes”. The group of teachers attributed less importance to the “Customers” perspective. The main inconsistencies were found in the “Internal Processes” perspective. The “Financial” perspective presented less gaps when compared between the groups, which reveals a strategic inconsistency at the HEIs through the stakeholders’ perception. It is concluded that strategic consistency can contribute to organizational competitiveness, identifying the existence of alignment in the actions developed that result in greater efficiency for a competitive scenario according to its stakeholders.

  11. An Introduction to International Factoring & Project Finance

    OpenAIRE

    Glinavos, Ioannis

    2002-01-01

    This work consists of two essays on law and finance in international trade. It addresses the means of raising funds for investment through receivables financing and project finance. The first essay discusses the role of receivables financing and in particular factoring in international trade. It examines the nature of factoring transactions and presents the efforts at regulation on an international level aimed at overcoming the difficulties in enforcement. The second essay discusses project f...

  12. The prepossession of international institutions for energy. The example International Energy Agency (IEA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fell, H.J.

    2007-01-01

    In the contribution under consideration, the author reports on the fact that large international energy agencies, which are advisory active in energy questions active, affect the world-wide policy. In particular, these are the International Atomic Energy Authority in Vienna (Austria) and the International Energy Agency in Paris (France). The International Energy Agency is considered world-wide as the most important institution for all energy questions. Nearly annually, it publishes the World Energy Outlook by summarizing the most important current energy data of the world, prognoses the future power supply and makes future energy prices. The reality of the International Energy Agency looks completely differently: It performs no own sciences, but consists of statisticians, who gather only statistical data without scientific analysis. The author of this contribution summarizes the work of the International Energy Agency in three points: (a) Promotion of the interests of companies in mineral oil, natural gas, coal and atomic energy; (b) Hindering the world-wide conversion of renewable energy; (c) Endangerment of the world economy and prevention of an effective climate protection. The International Energy Agency does not justice to its own goal of a reliable, economical and pollution free power supply

  13. International symposium on NMR spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    The publication consists of 32 papers and presentations from the field of NMR spectroscopy applications submitted to the International Symposium on NMR Spectroscopy held at Smolenice between 29 Sep and 3 Oct, 1980. (B.S.)

  14. Analysis of (d,n) reactions via the Dirac DWBA with finite range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawk, Eric; McNeil, J. A.

    2004-10-01

    The Distorted-wave Born Approximation (DWBA) is used to calculate differential cross sections of low-energy deuteron stripping reactions. The implementation makes use of Dirac phenomenological potentials with an exact treatment of finite-range effects. The mutual interaction of these effects upon the resulting calculations will be presented. In addition, we use our finite-range implementation to study the effect on the cross sections due to the model dependence of the internal deuteron wave function. Specifically, we examine this effect using the internal deuteron wave functions generated with the Reid soft-core, Bonn, and Argonne-V18 potentials.

  15. Free range hens use the range more when the outdoor environment is enriched.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagle, T A D; Glatz, P C

    2012-04-01

    To evaluate the role of using forage, shade and shelterbelts in attracting birds into the range, three trials were undertaken with free range layers both on a research facility and on commercial farms. Each of the trials on the free range research facility in South Australia used a total of 120 laying hens (Hyline Brown). Birds were housed in an eco-shelter which had 6 internal pens of equal size with a free range area adjoining the shelter. The on-farm trials were undertaken on commercial free range layer farms in the Darling Downs in Southeast Queensland with bird numbers on farms ranging from 2,000-6,800 hens. The first research trial examined the role of shaded areas in the range; the second trial examined the role of forage and the third trial examined the influence of shelterbelts in the range. These treatments were compared to a free range area with no enrichment. Aggressive feather pecking was only observed on a few occasions in all of the trials due to the low bird numbers housed. Enriching the free range environment attracted more birds into the range. Shaded areas were used by 18% of the hens with a tendency (p = 0.07) for more hens to be in the paddock. When forage was provided in paddocks more control birds (55%) were observed in the range in morning than in the afternoon (30%) while for the forage treatments 45% of the birds were in the range both during the morning and afternoon. When shelterbelts were provided there was a significantly (prange (43% vs. 24%) and greater numbers of birds were observed in areas further away from the poultry house. The results from the on-farm trials mirrored the research trials. Overall 3 times more hens used the shaded areas than the non shaded areas, with slightly more using the shade in the morning than in the afternoon. As the environmental temperature increased the number of birds using the outdoor shade also increased. Overall 17 times more hens used the shelterbelt areas than the control areas, with slightly

  16. Developing organizational structures for international marketing

    OpenAIRE

    Ioan Cucu

    2002-01-01

    International marketing represents marketing activities performed across national boundaries. The level of involvement in international marketing can range from casual exporting to globalization of markets. Although most firms adjust their marketing mixes for differences in target markets, some firms are able to standardize their marketing efforts worldwide

  17. International environmental agreements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Zeeuw, Aart

    2015-01-01

    The regulation of environmental externalities at the global level requires international agreements between sovereign states. Game theory provides an appropriate theoretical tool for analysis. However, game theory can result in a wide range of outcomes, and therefore it is important to discuss the

  18. Internal migration: why do Filipinos move?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolipa, N

    1980-01-01

    The rapid movement of Filipinos from 1 part of the Philippines to another is not a new phenomenon, but mobility has been increasing. A study conducted by Peter C. Smith revealed that interprovincial lifetime mobility of the national population increased from 15.8% in 1960 to 17.6% in 1970, while interregional mobility increased from 12.7% to 13.4%. People still disagree as to whether the size and rate of growth of the population are excessive, but there seems to be total consensus as regards its spatial imbalance. Because internal migration appears to be an important factor in national development, a need exists to examine different aspects of internal migration, such as the directions taken by migration flows, the migrants' reasons for moving, the migrants' characteristics, the migrants' success or lack of success at their places of destination, the social problems accompanying internal migration, effforts to deal with the problems caused by internal migration, and the implications of migration trends for policy and for the country's development programs. The most dominant migration trend in the Philippines in recent years has been toward the urban, or more accurately the suburban, areas adjacent to Metropolitan Manila. The city of Manila itself suffered a net outflow, further pointing to the trend toward suburbanization. Migration flows are primarily caused by economic reasons. About one half the sample of a Filipinas Foundation Study moved to provinces other than the province of birth in the pursuit of employment and other economic opportunities. A study of the country's migrant population age 15 and older showed that 53% of migrants were female. For male migrants, age ranges from 20-40; it ranges from 15-35 for females. Where cash income is concerned, migrants in Pernia's study of rural urban migration were better off than nonmigrants. Migrants were, on the average, as well off as native urbanites or metropolitanites. Among the more significant points raised by

  19. Self-consistent modeling of amorphous silicon devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hack, M.

    1987-01-01

    The authors developed a computer model to describe the steady-state behaviour of a range of amorphous silicon devices. It is based on the complete set of transport equations and takes into account the important role played by the continuous distribution of localized states in the mobility gap of amorphous silicon. Using one set of parameters they have been able to self-consistently simulate the current-voltage characteristics of p-i-n (or n-i-p) solar cells under illumination, the dark behaviour of field-effect transistors, p-i-n diodes and n-i-n diodes in both the ohmic and space charge limited regimes. This model also describes the steady-state photoconductivity of amorphous silicon, in particular, its dependence on temperature, doping and illumination intensity

  20. Descriptive profile of hip rotation range of motion in elite tennis players and professional baseball pitchers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellenbecker, Todd S; Ellenbecker, Gail A; Roetert, E Paul; Silva, Rogerio Teixeira; Keuter, Greg; Sperling, Fabio

    2007-08-01

    Repetitive loading to the hip joint in athletes has been reported as a factor in the development of degenerative joint disease and intra-articular injury. Little information is available on the bilateral symmetry of hip rotational measures in unilaterally dominant upper extremity athletes. Side-to-side differences in hip joint range of motion may be present because of asymmetrical loading in the lower extremities of elite tennis players and professional baseball pitchers. Cohort (cross-sectional) study (prevalence); Level of evidence, 1. Descriptive measures of hip internal and external rotation active range of motion were taken in the prone position of 64 male and 83 female elite tennis players and 101 male professional baseball pitchers using digital photos and computerized angle calculation software. Bilateral differences in active range of motion between the dominant and nondominant hip were compared using paired t tests and Bonferroni correction for hip internal, external, and total rotation range of motion. A Pearson correlation test was used to test the relationship between years of competition and hip rotation active range of motion. No significant bilateral difference (P > .005) was measured for mean hip internal or external rotation for the elite tennis players or the professional baseball pitchers. An analysis of the number of subjects in each group with a bilateral difference in hip rotation greater than 10 degrees identified 17% of the professional baseball pitchers with internal rotation differences and 42% with external rotation differences. Differences in the elite male tennis players occurred in only 15% of the players for internal rotation and 9% in external rotation. Female subjects had differences in 8% and 12% of the players for internal and external rotation, respectively. Statistical differences were found between the mean total arc of hip range of internal and external rotation in the elite tennis players with the dominant side being greater

  1. Measuring process and knowledge consistency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edwards, Kasper; Jensen, Klaes Ladeby; Haug, Anders

    2007-01-01

    When implementing configuration systems, knowledge about products and processes are documented and replicated in the configuration system. This practice assumes that products are specified consistently i.e. on the same rule base and likewise for processes. However, consistency cannot be taken...... for granted; rather the contrary, and attempting to implement a configuration system may easily ignite a political battle. This is because stakes are high in the sense that the rules and processes chosen may only reflect one part of the practice, ignoring a majority of the employees. To avoid this situation......, this paper presents a methodology for measuring product and process consistency prior to implementing a configuration system. The methodology consists of two parts: 1) measuring knowledge consistency and 2) measuring process consistency. Knowledge consistency is measured by developing a questionnaire...

  2. 4th International Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials

    CERN Document Server

    Yatsenko, Leonid

    2017-01-01

    This book presents some of the latest achievements in nanotechnology and nanomaterials from leading researchers in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. It features contributions from participants in the 4th International Science and Practice Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials (NANO2016) held in Lviv, Ukraine on August 24-27, 2016. The International Conference was organized jointly by the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine), University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Turin (Italy), and Pierre and Marie Curie University (France). Internationally recognized experts from a wide range of universities and research institutions share their knowledge and key results on topics ranging from nanooptics, nanoplasmonics, and interface studies to energy storage and biomedical applications. Presents cutting-edge advances in nanocomposites and carbon and silicon-based nanomaterials for a wide range of engineering and medical applications Co...

  3. 3rd International Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials

    CERN Document Server

    Yatsenko, Leonid

    2016-01-01

    This book presents some of the latest achievements in nanotechnology and nanomaterials from leading researchers in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. It features contributions from participants in the 3rd International Science and Practice Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials (NANO2015) held in Lviv, Ukraine on August 26-30, 2015. The International Conference was organized jointly by the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, University of Tartu (Estonia), Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine), University of Turin (Italy), Pierre and Marie Curie University (France), and European Profiles A.E. (Greece). Internationally recognized experts from a wide range of universities and research institutions share their knowledge and key results on topics ranging from nanooptics, nanoplasmonics, and interface studies to energy storage and biomedical applications. Presents cutting-edge advances in nanocomposites and carbon and silicon-based nanomaterials for a wide range of engine...

  4. Bitcoin Meets Strong Consistency

    OpenAIRE

    Decker, Christian; Seidel, Jochen; Wattenhofer, Roger

    2014-01-01

    The Bitcoin system only provides eventual consistency. For everyday life, the time to confirm a Bitcoin transaction is prohibitively slow. In this paper we propose a new system, built on the Bitcoin blockchain, which enables strong consistency. Our system, PeerCensus, acts as a certification authority, manages peer identities in a peer-to-peer network, and ultimately enhances Bitcoin and similar systems with strong consistency. Our extensive analysis shows that PeerCensus is in a secure state...

  5. New functional insights into the internal architecture of the laminated anchor spicules of Euplectella aspergillum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monn, Michael A; Weaver, James C; Zhang, Tianyang; Aizenberg, Joanna; Kesari, Haneesh

    2015-04-21

    To adapt to a wide range of physically demanding environmental conditions, biological systems have evolved a diverse variety of robust skeletal architectures. One such example, Euplectella aspergillum, is a sediment-dwelling marine sponge that is anchored into the sea floor by a flexible holdfast apparatus consisting of thousands of anchor spicules (long, hair-like glassy fibers). Each spicule is covered with recurved barbs and has an internal architecture consisting of a solid core of silica surrounded by an assembly of coaxial silica cylinders, each of which is separated by a thin organic layer. The thickness of each silica cylinder progressively decreases from the spicule's core to its periphery, which we hypothesize is an adaptation for redistributing internal stresses, thus increasing the overall strength of each spicule. To evaluate this hypothesis, we created a spicule structural mechanics model, in which we fixed the radii of the silica cylinders such that the force transmitted from the surface barbs to the remainder of the skeletal system was maximized. Compared with measurements of these parameters in the native sponge spicules, our modeling results correlate remarkably well, highlighting the beneficial nature of this elastically heterogeneous lamellar design strategy. The structural principles obtained from this study thus provide potential design insights for the fabrication of high-strength beams for load-bearing applications through the modification of their internal architecture, rather than their external geometry.

  6. Recommended ALIs and DACs for 10 CFR part 220: A consistent numerical set

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eckerman, K.F.

    1996-05-01

    Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 20 contains numerical data for controlling the intake of radionuclides in the workplace or in the environment. These data, derived from the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), do not provide a numerically consistent basis for demonstrating compliance with the limitation on dose stated in the regulation. This situation is largely a consequence of the numerical procedures used by the ICRP which did not maintain, in a strict numerical sense, the hierarchial relationship among the radiation protection quantities. In this work recommended values of the quantities in Appendix B to CFR Part 20 are developed using the dose coefficients of the applicable ICRP publications and a numerical procedure which ensures that the tabulated quantities are numerically consistent.

  7. Continuous limit of discrete systems with long-range interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarasov, Vasily E

    2006-01-01

    Discrete systems with long-range interactions are considered. Continuous medium models as continuous limit of discrete chain system are defined. Long-range interactions of chain elements that give the fractional equations for the medium model are discussed. The chain equations of motion with long-range interaction are mapped into the continuum equation with the Riesz fractional derivative. We formulate the consistent definition of continuous limit for the systems with long-range interactions. In this paper, we consider a wide class of long-range interactions that give fractional medium equations in the continuous limit. The power-law interaction is a special case of this class

  8. The Gogebic Iron Range - A Sample of the Northern Margin of the Penokean Fold and Thrust Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannon, William F.; LaBerge, Gene L.; Klasner, John S.; Schulz, Klaus J.

    2008-01-01

    Ironwood Iron-Formation. The thickness of the Ironwood increases into the graben and its internal stratigraphy also changes. The most prominent changes in the graben are the presence of a thick volcanic unit, the Emperor Volcanic Complex of the Menominee Group, and comagmatic gabbro sills that interfinger with the Ironwood. In the western part of the range, volcanic rocks and comagmatic gabbro sills are also present in the Ironwood, but a graben that is equivalent to the Presque Isle trough is not evident.Penokean structures are well developed in both the eastern and western parts of the iron range. They consist of folds ranging from outcrop to regional scale and thrust faults which, in places, either repeated the section or detached it from Neoarchean basement. The sharp transition from the little-deformed central part of the range to the more intensely deformed eastern and western parts coincides closely with the earlier developed transition from the stable sedimentary setting in the central part to the tectonically active sedimentation in the east and west parts. The extensional structures that formed during sedimentation may have helped to control the extent of later Penokean compressional structures.

  9. Characterization of internal dosimetry practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Traub, R.J.; Heid, K.R.; Mann, J.C.

    1983-01-01

    Current practices in internal dosimetry at DOE facilities were evaluated with respect to consistency among DOE Contractors. All aspects of an internal dosimetry program were addressed. Items considered include, but are not necessarily limited to, record systems and ease of information retrieval; ease of integrating internal dose and external dose; modeling systems employed, including ability to modify models depending on excretion data, and verification of computer codes utilized; bioassay procedures, including quality control; and ability to relate air concentration data to individual workers and bioassay data. Feasibility of uranium analysis in solution by laser fluorescence excitation at uranium concentrations of one part per billion was demonstrated

  10. 17th International Cryocooler Conference

    CERN Document Server

    Ross, Ronald G

    2012-01-01

    Cryocoolers 17 archives developments and performance measurements in the field of cryocoolers based on the contributions of leading international experts at the 17th International Cryocooler Conference that was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 9-12, 2012. The program of this conference consisted of 94 papers; of these, 71 are published here. Over the years the International Cryocoolers Conference has become the preeminent worldwide conference for the presentation of the latest developments and test experiences with cryocoolers. The typical applications of this technology include cooling space and terrestrial infrared focal plane arrays, space x-ray detectors, medical applications, and a growing number of high-temperature superconductor applications.

  11. 16th International Cryocooler Conference

    CERN Document Server

    Ross, Ronald G

    2011-01-01

    Cryocoolers 16 archives developments and performance measurements in the field of cryocoolers based on the contributions of leading international experts at the 16th International Cryocooler Conference that was held in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 17-20, 2010. The program of this conference consisted of 116 papers; of these, 89 are published here. Over the years the International Cryocoolers Conference has become the preeminent worldwide conference for the presentation of the latest developments and test experiences with cryocoolers. The typical applications of this technology include cooling space and terrestrial infrared focal plane arrays, space x-ray detectors, medical applications, and a growing number of high-temperature superconductor applications.

  12. The law of international organisations

    CERN Document Server

    White, Nigel D

    2017-01-01

    This book provides a concise account of the principles and norms of international law applicable to the main-type of international organisation - the inter-governmental organisation (IGO). That law consists of principles and rules found in the founding documents of IGOs along with applicable principles and rules of international law. The book also identifies and analyses the law produced by IGOs, applied by them and, occasionally, enforced by them. There is a concentration upon the United Nations, as the paradigmatic IGO, not only upon the UN organisation headquartered in New York, but on other IGOs in the UN system (the specialised agencies such as the World Health Organisation).

  13. Unit and internal chain profiles of maca amylopectin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ling; Li, Guantian; Yao, Weirong; Zhu, Fan

    2018-03-01

    Unit chain length distributions of amylopectin and its φ, β-limit dextrins, which reflect amylopectin internal structure from three maca starches, were determined by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection after debranching, and the samples were compared with maize starch. The amylopectins exhibited average chain lengths ranging from 16.72 to 17.16, with ranges of total internal chain length, external chain length, and internal chain length of the maca amylopectins at 12.49 to 13.68, 11.24 to 11.89, and 4.27 to 4.48. The average chain length, external chain length, internal chain length, and total internal chain length were comparable in three maca amylopectins. Amylopectins of the three maca genotypes studied here presented no significant differences in their unit chain length profiles, but did show significant differences in their internal chain profiles. Additional genetic variations between different maca genotypes need to be studied to provide unit- and internal chain profiles of maca amylopectin. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Sparse PDF Volumes for Consistent Multi-Resolution Volume Rendering

    KAUST Repository

    Sicat, Ronell Barrera

    2014-12-31

    This paper presents a new multi-resolution volume representation called sparse pdf volumes, which enables consistent multi-resolution volume rendering based on probability density functions (pdfs) of voxel neighborhoods. These pdfs are defined in the 4D domain jointly comprising the 3D volume and its 1D intensity range. Crucially, the computation of sparse pdf volumes exploits data coherence in 4D, resulting in a sparse representation with surprisingly low storage requirements. At run time, we dynamically apply transfer functions to the pdfs using simple and fast convolutions. Whereas standard low-pass filtering and down-sampling incur visible differences between resolution levels, the use of pdfs facilitates consistent results independent of the resolution level used. We describe the efficient out-of-core computation of large-scale sparse pdf volumes, using a novel iterative simplification procedure of a mixture of 4D Gaussians. Finally, our data structure is optimized to facilitate interactive multi-resolution volume rendering on GPUs.

  15. Anaesthesia training for interns at a metropolitan training complex ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Belinda Kusel

    2014-08-20

    Aug 20, 2014 ... assessment of interns by senior doctors in respect of three cases, an overall assessment of the interns' performance ... The transition from being a student to an intern is associated .... Formative assessments include a range of.

  16. Intersectionality of internalized HIV stigma and internalized substance use stigma: Implications for depressive symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earnshaw, Valerie A; Smith, Laramie R; Cunningham, Chinazo O; Copenhaver, Michael M

    2015-08-01

    We adopted an intersectionality framework and examined whether the relationship between internalized HIV stigma and depressive symptoms is moderated by internalized substance use stigma. A total of 85 people living with HIV with a history of substance use in the Bronx, New York, completed a survey. Results revealed evidence of moderation: Participants who internalized HIV stigma experienced greater depressive symptoms only if they also internalized substance use stigma. Researchers should examine stigma associated with multiple socially devalued characteristics to best understand how stigma impacts mental health among people living with HIV. Healthcare providers should address stigma associated with the full range of socially devalued characteristics with which people living with HIV live. © The Author(s) 2013.

  17. Middle Range Theory: A Perspective on Development and Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liehr, Patricia; Smith, Mary Jane

    This replication and critique addresses ongoing development and use of middle range theory since considering this body of nursing knowledge 18 years ago. Middle range theory is appreciated as essential to the structure of nursing knowledge. Nine middle range theories that demonstrate ongoing use by the theory authors are analyzed using the criteria of theory name, theory generation, disciplinary perspective, theory model, practice use and research use. Critique conclusions indicate the importance of staying with the theory over time, naming and development consistent with the disciplinary perspective, movement to an empirical level, and bringing middle range theory to the interdisciplinary table.

  18. The reliability of the Brazilian version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 2.1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Quintana M.I.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to determine the reliability of the Brazilian version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1 (CIDI 2.1 in clinical psychiatry. The CIDI 2.1 was translated into Portuguese using WHO guidelines and reliability was studied using the inter-rater reliability method. The study sample consisted of 186 subjects from psychiatric hospitals and clinics, primary care centers and community services. The interviewers consisted of a group of 13 lay and three non-lay interviewers submitted to the CIDI training. The average interview time was 2 h and 30 min. General reliability ranged from kappa 0.50 to 1. For lifetime diagnoses the reliability ranged from kappa 0.77 (Bipolar Affective Disorder to 1 (Substance-Related Disorder, Alcohol-Related Disorder, Eating Disorders. Previous year reliability ranged from kappa 0.66 (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to 1 (Dissociative Disorders, Maniac Disorders, Eating Disorders. The poorest reliability rate was found for Mild Depressive Episode (kappa = 0.50 during the previous year. Training proved to be a fundamental factor for maintaining good reliability. Technical knowledge of the questionnaire compensated for the lack of psychiatric knowledge of the lay personnel. Inter-rater reliability was good to excellent for persons in psychiatric practice.

  19. Novel gravimetric measurement technique for quantitative volume calibration in the sub-microliter range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, Dong; Zengerle, Roland; Steinert, Chris; Ernst, Andreas; Koltay, Peter; Bammesberger, Stefan; Tanguy, Laurent

    2013-01-01

    We present a novel measurement method based on the gravimetric principles adapted from the ASTM E542 and ISO 4787 standards for quantitative volume determination in the sub-microliter range. Such a method is particularly important for the calibration of non-contact micro dispensers as well as other microfluidic devices. The novel method is based on the linear regression analysis of continuously monitored gravimetric results and therefore is referred to as ‘gravimetric regression method (GRM)’. In this context, the regression analysis is necessary to compensate the mass loss due to evaporation that is significant for very small dispensing volumes. A full assessment of the measurement uncertainty of GRM is presented and results in a standard measurement uncertainty around 6 nl for dosage volumes in the range from 40 nl to 1 µl. The GRM has been experimentally benchmarked with a dual-dye ratiometric photometric method (Artel Inc., Westbrook, ME, USA), which can provide traceability of measurement to the International System of Units (SI) through reference standards maintained by NIST. Good precision (max. CV = 2.8%) and consistency (bias around 7 nl in the volume range from 40 to 400 nl) have been observed comparing the two methods. Based on the ASTM and ISO standards on the one hand and the benchmark with the photometric method on the other hand, two different approaches for establishing traceability for the GRM are discussed. (paper)

  20. Leprosy: International Public Health Policies and Public Health Eras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niyi Awofeso

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Public health policies continue to play important roles in national and international health reforms. However, the influence and legacies of the public health eras during which such policies are formulated remain largely underappreciated. The limited appreciation of this relationship may hinder consistent adoption of public health policies by nation-states, and encumber disinvestment from ineffective or anachronistic policies. This article reviews seven public health eras and highlights how each era has influenced international policy formulation for leprosy control—“the fertile soil for policy learning”. The author reiterates the role of health leadership and health activism in facilitating consistency in international health policy formulation and implementation for leprosy control.

  1. Internal validity of a household food security scale is consistent among diverse populations participating in a food supplement program in Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melgar-Quinonez Hugo

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective We assessed the validity of a locally adapted Colombian Household Food Security Scale (CHFSS used as a part of the 2006 evaluation of the food supplement component of the Plan for Improving Food and Nutrition in Antioquia, Colombia (MANA – Plan Departamental de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional de Antioquia. Methods Subjects included low-income families with pre-school age children in MANA that responded affirmatively to at least one CHFSS item (n = 1,319. Rasch Modeling was used to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the items through measure and INFIT values. Differences in CHFSS performance were assessed by area of residency, socioeconomic status and number of children enrolled in MANA. Unidimensionality of a scale by group was further assessed using Differential Item Functioning (DIF. Results Most CHFSS items presented good fitness with most INFIT values within the adequate range of 0.8 to 1.2. Consistency in item measure values between groups was found for all but two items in the comparison by area of residency. Only two adult items exhibited DIF between urban and rural households. Conclusion The results indicate that the adapted CHFSS is a valid tool to assess the household food security of participants in food assistance programs like MANA.

  2. 11th International Workshop on Railway Noise

    CERN Document Server

    Anderson, David; Gautier, Pierre-Etienne; Iida, Masanobu; Nelson, James; Thompson, David; Tielkes, Thorsten; Towers, David; Vos, Paul

    2015-01-01

    The book reports on the 11th International Workshop on Railway Noise, held on 9 – 13 September, 2013, in Uddevalla, Sweden. The event, which was jointly organized by the Competence Centre Chalmers Railway Mechanics (CHARMEC) and the Departments of Applied Mechanics and Applied Acoustics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, covered a broad range of topics in the field of railway noise and vibration, including: prospects, legal regulations and perceptions; wheel and rail noise; prediction, measurements and monitoring; ground-borne vibration; squeal noise and structure-borne noise; and aerodynamic noise generated by high-speed trains. Further topics included: resilient track forms; grinding, corrugation and roughness; and interior noise and sound barriers. This book, which consists of a collection of peer-reviewed papers originally submitted to the workshop, not only provides readers with an overview of the latest developments in the field, but also offers scientists and engineers essent...

  3. OPTIMAL AIRCRAFT TRAJECTORIES FOR SPECIFIED RANGE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, H.

    1994-01-01

    For an aircraft operating over a fixed range, the operating costs are basically a sum of fuel cost and time cost. While minimum fuel and minimum time trajectories are relatively easy to calculate, the determination of a minimum cost trajectory can be a complex undertaking. This computer program was developed to optimize trajectories with respect to a cost function based on a weighted sum of fuel cost and time cost. As a research tool, the program could be used to study various characteristics of optimum trajectories and their comparison to standard trajectories. It might also be used to generate a model for the development of an airborne trajectory optimization system. The program could be incorporated into an airline flight planning system, with optimum flight plans determined at takeoff time for the prevailing flight conditions. The use of trajectory optimization could significantly reduce the cost for a given aircraft mission. The algorithm incorporated in the program assumes that a trajectory consists of climb, cruise, and descent segments. The optimization of each segment is not done independently, as in classical procedures, but is performed in a manner which accounts for interaction between the segments. This is accomplished by the application of optimal control theory. The climb and descent profiles are generated by integrating a set of kinematic and dynamic equations, where the total energy of the aircraft is the independent variable. At each energy level of the climb and descent profiles, the air speed and power setting necessary for an optimal trajectory are determined. The variational Hamiltonian of the problem consists of the rate of change of cost with respect to total energy and a term dependent on the adjoint variable, which is identical to the optimum cruise cost at a specified altitude. This variable uniquely specifies the optimal cruise energy, cruise altitude, cruise Mach number, and, indirectly, the climb and descent profiles. If the optimum

  4. Relative contribution of organs other than brain to resting energy expenditure is consistent among male power athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oshima, Satomi; Miyauchi, Sakiho; Asaka, Meiko; Kawano, Hiroshi; Taguchi, Motoko; Torii, Suguru; Higuchi, Mitsuru

    2013-01-01

    We have previously shown that resting energy expenditure (REE) adjusted by fat-free mass (FFM) in male college athletes remains consistent regardless of FFM. The FFM comprises internal organs with high metabolic activity, such as liver and brain, which account for 60 to 80% of REE in adults. The purpose of the present study is to examine the contribution of internal organs to the REE of the FFM fraction among male power athletes. The study included 37 American male college football players. REE was measured by indirect calorimetry and body composition was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Mass of brain, liver, and kidneys was measured by MRI and mass of heart was estimated by echocardiography. Normal levels of thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine: T3) were confirmed in all subjects prior to the analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the influence of FFM, fat mass (FM), T3, and mass of organs on variance of REE. Average body weight and FFM were 81.2±11.3 kg and 67.7±7.4 kg, respectively. The relative contributions of liver, kidneys, and heart to REE were consistent regardless of FFM, while the REE of brain was negatively correlated with FFM (r=-0.672, pFFM and T3 were found to be independent factors influencing REE. These results suggest that a steady contribution of internal organs other than the brain is the major reason for the consistency of the REE/FFM ratio in male power athletes.

  5. Strategies for ensuring global consistency/comparability of water-quality data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, J.M.

    1999-01-01

    In the past 20 years the water quality of the United States has improved remarkably-the waters are safer for drinking, swimming, and fishing. However, despite many accomplishments, it is still difficult to answer such basic questions as: 'How clean is the water?' and 'How is it changing over time?' These same questions exist on a global scale as well. In order to focus water-data issues in the United States, a national Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality (ITFM) was initiated for public and private organizations, whereby key elements involved in data collection, analysis, storage, and management could be made consistent and comparable. The ITFM recommended and its members are implementing a nationwide strategy to improve water-quality monitoring, assessment, and reporting activities. The intent of this paper is to suggest that a voluntary effort be initiated to ensure the comparability and utility of hydrological data on a global basis. Consistent, long-term data sets that are comparable are necessary in order to formulate ideas regarding regional and global trends in water quantity and quality. The author recommends that a voluntary effort similar to the ITFM effort be utilized. The strategy proposed would involve voluntary representation from countries and international organizations (e.g. World Health Organization) involved in drinking-water assessments and/or ambient water-quality monitoring. Voluntary partnerships such as this will improve curability to reduce health risks and achieve a better return on public and private investments in monitoring, environmental protection, and natural resource management, and result in a collaborative process that will save millions of dollars.In this work it is suggested that a voluntary effort be initiated to ensure the comparability and utility of hydrological data on a global basis. The strategy proposed would involve voluntary representation from countries and international organizations involved in

  6. Early identification of technical issues: a sensitivity study to check LISTRA1A internal consistency and structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harvey, T.F.; Maninger, R.C.; Rabsatt, S.

    1979-01-01

    This report describes a sensitivity study using LISTRA1A, a model for use in the development of a long-range, time-dependent plan for licensing nuclear waste repositories. The objectives of the model are: (1) to provide information concerning the impact of various licensing strategies on the ability to dispose of nuclear waste effectively; and (2) to provide long-range budget forecasts for differing strategies of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Energy (DOE). The model is designed to analyze the interaction between NRC regulatory policy and DOE technical programs. A sensitivity study is reported for a single parameter in a hypothetical review process

  7. Consistently violating the non-Gaussian consistency relation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mooij, Sander; Palma, Gonzalo A.

    2015-01-01

    Non-attractor models of inflation are characterized by the super-horizon evolution of curvature perturbations, introducing a violation of the non-Gaussian consistency relation between the bispectrum's squeezed limit and the power spectrum's spectral index. In this work we show that the bispectrum's squeezed limit of non-attractor models continues to respect a relation dictated by the evolution of the background. We show how to derive this relation using only symmetry arguments, without ever needing to solve the equations of motion for the perturbations

  8. The self-consistent calculation of the edge states in bilayer quantum Hall bar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kavruk, A E; Orzturk, T; Orzturk, A; Atav, U; Yuksel, H

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we present the spatial distributions of the edge channels for each layer in bilayer quantum Hall bar geometry for a wide range of applied magnetic fields. For this purpose, we employ a self-consistent Thomas-Fermi-Poisson approach to obtain the electron density distributions and related screened potential distributions. In order to have a more realistic description of the system we solve three dimensional Poisson equation numerically in each iteration step to obtain self consistency in the Thomas-Fermi-Poisson approach instead of employing a 'frozen gate' approximation.

  9. Practical applications of internal dose calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carbaugh, E.H.

    1994-06-01

    Accurate estimates of intake magnitude and internal dose are the goal for any assessment of an actual intake of radioactivity. When only one datum is available on which to base estimates, the choices for internal dose assessment become straight-forward: apply the appropriate retention or excretion function, calculate the intake, and calculate the dose. The difficulty comes when multiple data and different types of data become available. Then practical decisions must be made on how to interpret conflicting data, or how to adjust the assumptions and techniques underlying internal dose assessments to give results consistent with the data. This article describes nine types of adjustments which can be incorporated into calculations of intake and internal dose, and then offers several practical insights to dealing with some real-world internal dose puzzles

  10. Do Health Systems Have Consistent Performance Across Locations and Is Consistency Associated With Higher Performance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crespin, Daniel J; Christianson, Jon B; McCullough, Jeffrey S; Finch, Michael D

    This study addresses whether health systems have consistent diabetes care performance across their ambulatory clinics and whether increasing consistency is associated with improvements in clinic performance. Study data included 2007 to 2013 diabetes care intermediate outcome measures for 661 ambulatory clinics in Minnesota and bordering states. Health systems provided more consistent performance, as measured by the standard deviation of performance for clinics in a system, relative to propensity score-matched proxy systems created for comparison purposes. No evidence was found that improvements in consistency were associated with higher clinic performance. The combination of high performance and consistent care is likely to enhance a health system's brand reputation, allowing it to better mitigate the financial risks of consumers seeking care outside the organization. These results suggest that larger health systems are most likely to deliver the combination of consistent and high-performance care. Future research should explore the mechanisms that drive consistent care within health systems.

  11. Consistency argued students of fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viyanti; Cari; Suparmi; Winarti; Slamet Budiarti, Indah; Handika, Jeffry; Widyastuti, Fatma

    2017-01-01

    Problem solving for physics concepts through consistency arguments can improve thinking skills of students and it is an important thing in science. The study aims to assess the consistency of the material Fluid student argmentation. The population of this study are College students PGRI Madiun, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta and Lampung University. Samples using cluster random sampling, 145 samples obtained by the number of students. The study used a descriptive survey method. Data obtained through multiple-choice test and interview reasoned. Problem fluid modified from [9] and [1]. The results of the study gained an average consistency argmentation for the right consistency, consistency is wrong, and inconsistent respectively 4.85%; 29.93%; and 65.23%. Data from the study have an impact on the lack of understanding of the fluid material which is ideally in full consistency argued affect the expansion of understanding of the concept. The results of the study as a reference in making improvements in future studies is to obtain a positive change in the consistency of argumentations.

  12. Toward a consistent model for glass dissolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strachan, D.M.; McGrail, B.P.; Bourcier, W.L.

    1994-01-01

    Understanding the process of glass dissolution in aqueous media has advanced significantly over the last 10 years through the efforts of many scientists around the world. Mathematical models describing the glass dissolution process have also advanced from simple empirical functions to structured models based on fundamental principles of physics, chemistry, and thermodynamics. Although borosilicate glass has been selected as the waste form for disposal of high-level wastes in at least 5 countries, there is no international consensus on the fundamental methodology for modeling glass dissolution that could be used in assessing the long term performance of waste glasses in a geologic repository setting. Each repository program is developing their own model and supporting experimental data. In this paper, we critically evaluate a selected set of these structured models and show that a consistent methodology for modeling glass dissolution processes is available. We also propose a strategy for a future coordinated effort to obtain the model input parameters that are needed for long-term performance assessments of glass in a geologic repository. (author) 4 figs., tabs., 75 refs

  13. Consistency of orthodox gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bellucci, S. [INFN, Frascati (Italy). Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati; Shiekh, A. [International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy)

    1997-01-01

    A recent proposal for quantizing gravity is investigated for self consistency. The existence of a fixed-point all-order solution is found, corresponding to a consistent quantum gravity. A criterion to unify couplings is suggested, by invoking an application of their argument to more complex systems.

  14. An algebraic method for constructing stable and consistent autoregressive filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harlim, John; Hong, Hoon; Robbins, Jacob L.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce an algebraic method to construct stable and consistent univariate autoregressive (AR) models of low order for filtering and predicting nonlinear turbulent signals with memory depth. By stable, we refer to the classical stability condition for the AR model. By consistent, we refer to the classical consistency constraints of Adams–Bashforth methods of order-two. One attractive feature of this algebraic method is that the model parameters can be obtained without directly knowing any training data set as opposed to many standard, regression-based parameterization methods. It takes only long-time average statistics as inputs. The proposed method provides a discretization time step interval which guarantees the existence of stable and consistent AR model and simultaneously produces the parameters for the AR models. In our numerical examples with two chaotic time series with different characteristics of decaying time scales, we find that the proposed AR models produce significantly more accurate short-term predictive skill and comparable filtering skill relative to the linear regression-based AR models. These encouraging results are robust across wide ranges of discretization times, observation times, and observation noise variances. Finally, we also find that the proposed model produces an improved short-time prediction relative to the linear regression-based AR-models in forecasting a data set that characterizes the variability of the Madden–Julian Oscillation, a dominant tropical atmospheric wave pattern

  15. [The Computer Book of the Internal Medicine resident: validity and reliability of a questionnaire for self-assessment of competences in internal medicine residents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oristrell, J; Casanovas, A; Jordana, R; Comet, R; Gil, M; Oliva, J C

    2012-12-01

    There are no simple and validated instruments for evaluating the training of specialists. To analyze the reliability and validity of a computerized self-assessment method to quantify the acquisition of medical competences during the Internal Medicine residency program. All residents of our department participated in the study during a period of 28 months. Twenty-two questionnaires specific for each rotation (the Computer-Book of the Internal Medicine Resident) were constructed with items (questions) corresponding to three competence domains: clinical skills competence, communication skills and teamwork. Reliability was analyzed by measuring the internal consistency of items in each competence domain using Cronbach's alpha index. Validation was performed by comparing mean scores in each competence domain between senior and junior residents. Cut-off levels of competence scores were established in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our training program. Finally, self-assessment values were correlated with the evaluations of the medical staff. There was a high internal consistency of the items of clinical skills competences, communication skills and teamwork. Higher scores of clinical skills competence and communication skills, but not in those of teamwork were observed in senior residents than in junior residents. The Computer-Book of the Internal Medicine Resident identified the strengths and weaknesses of our training program. We did not observe any correlation between the results of the self- evaluations and the evaluations made by staff physicians. The items of Computer-Book of the Internal Medicine Resident showed high internal consistency and made it possible to measure the acquisition of medical competences in a team of Internal Medicine residents. This self-assessment method should be complemented with other evaluation methods in order to assess the acquisition of medical competences by an individual resident. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Espa

  16. International boundary experiences by the United Nations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kagawa, A.

    2013-12-01

    Over the last few decades, the United Nations (UN) has been approached by Security Council and Member States on international boundary issues. The United Nations regards the adequate delimitation and demarcation of international boundaries as a very important element for the maintenance of peace and security in fragile post-conflict situations, establishment of friendly relationships and cross-border cooperation between States. This paper will present the main principles and framework the United Nations applies to support the process of international boundary delimitation and demarcation activities. The United Nations is involved in international boundary issues following the principle of impartiality and neutrality and its role as mediator. Since international boundary issues are multi-faceted, a range of expertise is required and the United Nations Secretariat is in a good position to provide diverse expertise within the multiple departments. Expertise in different departments ranging from legal, political, technical, administrative and logistical are mobilised in different ways to provide support to Member States depending on their specific needs. This presentation aims to highlight some of the international boundary projects that the United Nations Cartographic Section has been involved in order to provide the technical support to different boundary requirements as each international boundary issue requires specific focus and attention whether it be in preparation, delimitation, demarcation or management. Increasingly, the United Nations is leveraging geospatial technology to facilitate boundary delimitation and demarcation process between Member States. Through the presentation of the various case studies ranging from Iraq - Kuwait, Israel - Lebanon (Blue Line), Eritrea - Ethiopia, Cyprus (Green Line), Cameroon - Nigeria, Sudan - South Sudan, it will illustrate how geospatial technology is increasingly used to carry out the support. In having applied a range

  17. Challenging international criminal tribunals before domestic courts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    d' Aspremont, J.; Brölmann, C.; Reinisch, A.

    2011-01-01

    International courts, despite the wide-ranging means that have been put at their disposal, need the cooperation of various domestic actors. The cooperation of States with international criminal tribunals has not always been without difficulty, as these tribunals have been the object of various

  18. Free cooling of hard-spheres with short and long range interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gonzalez Briones, Sebastián; Thornton, Anthony Richard; Luding, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    We study the stability, the clustering and the phase-diagram of free cooling granular gases. The systems consist of mono-disperse particles with additional non-contact (long-range) interactions, and are simulated here by the event-driven molecular dynamics algorithm with discrete (short-range

  19. Out-of-range INR values and outcomes among new warfarin patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Winnie W; Wang, Li; Baser, Onur; Damaraju, Chandrasekharrao V; Schein, Jeffrey R

    2015-02-01

    Although efficacious in stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, many warfarin patients are sub-optimally managed. To evaluate the association of international normalized ratio control and clinical outcomes among new warfarin patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Adult non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients (≥18 years) initiating warfarin treatment were selected from the US Veterans Health Administration dataset between 10/2007 and 9/2012. Valid international normalized ratio values were examined from the warfarin initiation date through the earlier of the first clinical outcome, end of warfarin exposure or death. Each patient contributed multiple in-range and out-of-range time periods. The relative risk ratios of clinical outcomes associated with international normalized ratio control were estimated. 34,346 patients were included for analysis. During the warfarin exposure period, the incidence of events per 100 person-years was highest when patients had international normalized ratio 3, patients had significantly increased risk of major bleeding (relative risk ratio: 1.5; 95 % confidence interval 1.2-2.0). In a Veterans Health Administration non-valvular atrial fibrillation population, exposure to out-of-range international normalized ratio values was associated with significantly increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes.

  20. The solid state detector technology for picosecond laser ranging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prochazka, Ivan

    1993-01-01

    We developed an all solid state laser ranging detector technology, which makes the goal of millimeter accuracy achievable. Our design and construction philosophy is to combine the techniques of single photon ranging, ultrashort laser pulses, and fast fixed threshold discrimination while avoiding any analog signal processing within the laser ranging chain. The all solid state laser ranging detector package consists of the START detector and the STOP solid state photon counting module. Both the detectors are working in an optically triggered avalanche switching regime. The optical signal is triggering an avalanche current buildup which results in the generation of a uniform, fast risetime output pulse.

  1. The Interday Measurement Consistency of and Relationships Between Hamstring and Leg Musculo-articular Stiffness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waxman, Justin P; Schmitz, Randy J; Shultz, Sandra J

    2015-10-01

    Hamstring stiffness (K(HAM)) and leg stiffness (K(LEG)) are commonly examined relative to athletic performance and injury risk. Given these may be modifiable, it is important to understand day-to-day variations inherent in these measures before use in training studies. In addition, the extent to which K(HAM) and K(LEG) measure similar active stiffness characteristics has not been established. We investigated the interday measurement consistency of K(HAM) and K(LEG), and examined the extent to which K(LEG) predicted K(HAM) in 6 males and 9 females. K(HAM) was moderately consistent day-to-day (ICC(2,5) = .71; SEM = 76.3 N·m(-1)), and 95% limits of agreement (95% LOA) revealed a systematic bias with considerable absolute measurement error (95% LOA = 89.6 ± 224.8 N·m(-1)). Day-to-day differences in procedural factors explained 59.4% of the variance in day-to-day differences in K(HAM). Bilateral and unilateral K(LEG) was more consistent (ICC(2,3) range = .87-.94; SEM range = 1.0-2.91 kN·m(-1)) with lower absolute error (95% LOA bilateral= -2.0 ± 10.3; left leg = -0.36 ± 3.82; right leg = -1.05 ± 3.61 kN·m(-1)). K(LEG) explained 44% of the variance in K(HAM) (P consistent and precise K(HAM) measures. The ease and consistency of K(LEG), and moderate correlation with K(HAM), may steer clinicians toward K(LEG) when measuring lower-extremity stiffness for screening studies and monitoring the effectiveness of training interventions over time.

  2. Bosons system with finite repulsive interaction: self-consistent field method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renatino, M.M.B.

    1983-01-01

    Some static properties of a boson system (T = zero degree Kelvin), under the action of a repulsive potential are studied. For the repulsive potential, a model was adopted consisting of a region where it is constant (r c ), and a decay as 1/r (r > r c ). The self-consistent field approximation used takes into account short range correlations through a local field corrections, which leads to an effective field. The static structure factor S(q-vector) and the effective potential ψ(q-vector) are obtained through a self-consistent calculation. The pair-correlation function g(r-vector) and the energy of the collective excitations E(q-vector) are also obtained, from the structure factor. The density of the system and the parameters of the repulsive potential, that is, its height and the size of the constant region were used as variables for the problem. The results obtained for S(q-vector), g(r-vector) and E(q-vector) for a fixed ratio r o /r c and a variable λ, indicates the raising of a system structure, which is more noticeable when the potential became more repulsive. (author)

  3. Development and initial validation of the internalization of Asian American stereotypes scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Frances C; Wang, Yu-Wei; Swanson, Jane L

    2011-07-01

    This research consists of four studies on the initial reliability and validity of the Internalization of Asian American Stereotypes Scale (IAASS), a self-report instrument that measures the degree Asian Americans have internalized racial stereotypes about their own group. The results from the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a stable four-factor structure of the IAASS: Difficulties with English Language Communication, Pursuit of Prestigious Careers, Emotional Reservation, and Expected Academic Success. Evidence for concurrent and discriminant validity is presented. High internal-consistency and test-retest reliability estimates are reported. A discussion of how this scale can contribute to research and practice regarding internalized stereotyping among Asian Americans is provided.

  4. Internal friction and microplasticity of ice Isub(h)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, J.; Mai, C.; Tatibouet, J.; Vassoille, R.

    1976-01-01

    This study is concerned with internal-friction measurements made at low frequency (torsion pendulum) on specimens of ice Isub(h). In the case of a single crystal, the spectrum of internal friction vs. temperature exhibits the classical relaxation peak. This peak is followed by an increase of damping above 260 K. Furthermore, in this temperature range, the internal friction delta is shown to be amplitude dependent: delta increases with shear strain γ as long as the temperature T is high. These features are strongly modified by plastic deformation of ice in particular i) high-temperature internal friction is increased as long as the plastic defomation ratio is important, ii) high-temperature internal friction becomes more amplitude dependent. In the high-temperature range the mobility of dislocations in ice increase quickly. During the internal-friction measurements the cyclic stress causes movement of linear defects and, hence, damping phenomena. Then, the theoretical analysis of the dynamic behaviour of dislocations in ice has been used to interpret the preceding results. This interpretation allows us to connect our damping data with the microplastic behaviour of ice

  5. Internal dosimetry technical basis manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    The internal dosimetry program at the Savannah River Site (SRS) consists of radiation protection programs and activities used to detect and evaluate intakes of radioactive material by radiation workers. Examples of such programs are: air monitoring; surface contamination monitoring; personal contamination surveys; radiobioassay; and dose assessment. The objectives of the internal dosimetry program are to demonstrate that the workplace is under control and that workers are not being exposed to radioactive material, and to detect and assess inadvertent intakes in the workplace. The Savannah River Site Internal Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual (TBM) is intended to provide a technical and philosophical discussion of the radiobioassay and dose assessment aspects of the internal dosimetry program. Detailed information on air, surface, and personal contamination surveillance programs is not given in this manual except for how these programs interface with routine and special bioassay programs

  6. Internal dosimetry technical basis manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-12-20

    The internal dosimetry program at the Savannah River Site (SRS) consists of radiation protection programs and activities used to detect and evaluate intakes of radioactive material by radiation workers. Examples of such programs are: air monitoring; surface contamination monitoring; personal contamination surveys; radiobioassay; and dose assessment. The objectives of the internal dosimetry program are to demonstrate that the workplace is under control and that workers are not being exposed to radioactive material, and to detect and assess inadvertent intakes in the workplace. The Savannah River Site Internal Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual (TBM) is intended to provide a technical and philosophical discussion of the radiobioassay and dose assessment aspects of the internal dosimetry program. Detailed information on air, surface, and personal contamination surveillance programs is not given in this manual except for how these programs interface with routine and special bioassay programs.

  7. Range conditions for a spherical mean transform

    KAUST Repository

    Agranovsky, Mark

    2009-07-01

    The paper is devoted to the range description of the Radon type transform that averages a function over all spheres centered on a given sphere. Such transforms arise naturally in thermoacoustic tomography, a novel method of medical imaging. Range descriptions have recently been obtained for such transforms, and consisted of smoothness and support conditions, moment conditions, and some additional orthogonality conditions of spectral nature. It has been noticed that in odd dimensions, surprisingly, the moment conditions are superfluous and can be eliminated. It is shown in this text that in fact the same happens in any dimension.

  8. Range conditions for a spherical mean transform

    KAUST Repository

    Agranovsky, Mark; Finch, David; Kuchment, Peter

    2009-01-01

    The paper is devoted to the range description of the Radon type transform that averages a function over all spheres centered on a given sphere. Such transforms arise naturally in thermoacoustic tomography, a novel method of medical imaging. Range descriptions have recently been obtained for such transforms, and consisted of smoothness and support conditions, moment conditions, and some additional orthogonality conditions of spectral nature. It has been noticed that in odd dimensions, surprisingly, the moment conditions are superfluous and can be eliminated. It is shown in this text that in fact the same happens in any dimension.

  9. Range of Applicability and Bias Determination for Postclosure Criticality of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radulescu, Georgeta; Mueller, Don; Goluoglu, Sedat; Hollenbach, Daniel F; Fox, Patricia B

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this calculation report, Range of Applicability and Bias Determination for Postclosure Criticality of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel, is to validate the computational method used to perform postclosure criticality calculations. The validation process applies the criticality analysis methodology approach documented in Section 3.5 of the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology Topical Report. The application systems for this validation consist of waste packages containing transport, aging, and disposal canisters (TAD) loaded with commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) of varying assembly types, initial enrichments, and burnup values that are expected from the waste stream and of varying degree of internal component degradation that may occur over the 10,000-year regulatory time period. The criticality computational tool being evaluated is the general-purpose Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code. The nuclear cross-section data distributed with MCNP 5.1.40 and used to model the various physical processes are based primarily on the Evaluated Nuclear Data File/B Version VI (ENDF/B-VI) library. Criticality calculation bias and bias uncertainty and lower bound tolerance limit (LBTL) functions for CSNF waste packages are determined based on the guidance in ANSI/ANS 8.1-1998 (Ref. 4) and ANSI/ANS 8.17-2004 (Ref. 5), as described in Section 3.5.3 of Ref. 1. The development of this report is consistent with Test Plan for: Range of Applicability and Bias Determination for Postclosure Criticality. This calculation report has been developed in support of licensing activities for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and the results of the calculation may be used in the criticality evaluation for CSNF waste packages based on a conceptual TAD canister.

  10. On high temperature internal friction in metallic glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zolotukhin, I.V.; Kalinin, Yu.E.; Roshchupkin, A.M.

    1992-01-01

    High temperature background of internal friction in amorphous lanthanum-aluminium alloys was investigated. More rapid growth of internal friction was observed at temperature ∼ 453 K reaching maximal value at 495 K. Crystallization process was accompanied by decrease of internal friction. Increase of mechanical vibration frequency to 1000 Hz leads to rise of internal friction background in the range of room temperatures and to decrease at temperatures above 370 K. Bend was observed on temperature dependence of internal friction at 440 K

  11. Internal variability of fine-scale components of meteorological fields in extended-range limited-area model simulations with atmospheric and surface nudging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Separovic, Leo; Husain, Syed Zahid; Yu, Wei

    2015-09-01

    Internal variability (IV) in dynamical downscaling with limited-area models (LAMs) represents a source of error inherent to the downscaled fields, which originates from the sensitive dependence of the models to arbitrarily small modifications. If IV is large it may impose the need for probabilistic verification of the downscaled information. Atmospheric spectral nudging (ASN) can reduce IV in LAMs as it constrains the large-scale components of LAM fields in the interior of the computational domain and thus prevents any considerable penetration of sensitively dependent deviations into the range of large scales. Using initial condition ensembles, the present study quantifies the impact of ASN on IV in LAM simulations in the range of fine scales that are not controlled by spectral nudging. Four simulation configurations that all include strong ASN but differ in the nudging settings are considered. In the fifth configuration, grid nudging of land surface variables toward high-resolution surface analyses is applied. The results show that the IV at scales larger than 300 km can be suppressed by selecting an appropriate ASN setup. At scales between 300 and 30 km, however, in all configurations, the hourly near-surface temperature, humidity, and winds are only partly reproducible. Nudging the land surface variables is found to have the potential to significantly reduce IV, particularly for fine-scale temperature and humidity. On the other hand, hourly precipitation accumulations at these scales are generally irreproducible in all configurations, and probabilistic approach to downscaling is therefore recommended.

  12. The 'war on terror"and international law

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Duffy, Helen

    2013-01-01

    The thesis analyses international law and practice in relation to terrorism and counter-terrorism in the post 9/11 environment. It finds terrorism to be a term of acute and wide-ranging political significance yet one which is not defined under generally accepted treaty or customary international

  13. 76 FR 53056 - Outbound International Mailings of Lithium Batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-25

    ... POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 20 Outbound International Mailings of Lithium Batteries AGENCY: Postal... incorporate new maximum limits for the outbound mailing of lithium batteries. This is consistent with [email protected] , with a subject line of ``International Lithium Batteries.'' Faxed comments are not...

  14. Free-ranging farm cats: home range size and predation on a livestock unit in Northwest Georgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitts-Morgan, Susanna E; Caires, Kyle C; Bohannon, Lisa A; Parsons, Elizabeth I; Hilburn, Katharine A

    2015-01-01

    This study's objective was to determine seasonal and diurnal vs. nocturnal home range size, as well as predation for free-ranging farm cats at a livestock unit in Northwest Georgia. Seven adult cats were tracked with attached GPS units for up to two weeks for one spring and two summer seasons from May 2010 through August 2011. Three and five cats were tracked for up to two weeks during the fall and winter seasons, respectively. Feline scat was collected during this entire period. Cats were fed a commercial cat food daily. There was no seasonal effect (P > 0.05) on overall (95% KDE and 90% KDE) or core home range size (50% KDE). Male cats tended (P = 0.08) to have larger diurnal and nocturnal core home ranges (1.09 ha) compared to female cats (0.64 ha). Reproductively intact cats (n = 2) had larger (P ranges as compared to altered cats. Feline scat processing separated scat into prey parts, and of the 210 feline scats collected during the study, 75.24% contained hair. Of these 158 scat samples, 86 contained non-cat hair and 72 contained only cat hair. Other prey components included fragments of bone in 21.43% of scat and teeth in 12.86% of scat. Teeth were used to identify mammalian prey hunted by these cats, of which the Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) was the primary rodent. Other targeted mammals were Peromyscus sp., Sylvilagus sp. and Microtus sp. Invertebrates and birds were less important as prey, but all mammalian prey identified in this study consisted of native animals. While the free-ranging farm cats in this study did not adjust their home range seasonally, sex and reproductive status did increase diurnal and nocturnal home range size. Ultimately, larger home ranges of free-ranging cats could negatively impact native wildlife.

  15. International safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The system of international safeguards carried out by the IAEA is designed to verify that governments are living up to pledges to use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes under the NPT (Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons) and similar agreements. The film illustrates the range of field inspections and analytical work involved. It also shows how new approaches are helping to strengthen the system

  16. [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor support

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dean, S.O.

    1990-01-01

    This report summarizes the activities under LLNL Purchase Order B089367, the purpose of which is to ''support the University/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Magnetic Fusion Program by evaluating the status of research relative to other national and international programs and assist in long-range plans and development strategies for magnetic fusion in general and for ITER in particular.'' Two specific subtasks are included: ''to review the LLNL Magnet Technology Development Program in the context of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Design Study'' and to ''assist LLNL to organize and prepare materials for an International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Design Study information meeting.''

  17. 47 CFR 73.23 - AM broadcast station applications affected by international agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... consistency with international relationships and as to which no final decision has been rendered, whenever action under this section becomes appropriate because of inconsistency with international relationships... international agreements. 73.23 Section 73.23 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED...

  18. Market-consistent actuarial valuation

    CERN Document Server

    Wüthrich, Mario V

    2016-01-01

    This is the third edition of this well-received textbook, presenting powerful methods for measuring insurance liabilities and assets in a consistent way, with detailed mathematical frameworks that lead to market-consistent values for liabilities. Topics covered are stochastic discounting with deflators, valuation portfolio in life and non-life insurance, probability distortions, asset and liability management, financial risks, insurance technical risks, and solvency. Including updates on recent developments and regulatory changes under Solvency II, this new edition of Market-Consistent Actuarial Valuation also elaborates on different risk measures, providing a revised definition of solvency based on industry practice, and presents an adapted valuation framework which takes a dynamic view of non-life insurance reserving risk.

  19. Wide range radiation monitoring apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldstein, N.P.

    1983-01-01

    There is described a simple and rugged detector capable of measuring radiation fields over the range of 0.02 R/hr up to 10/8 R/hr or higher. The device consists of an emitter element of high atomic number material which is connected to the center conductor of a signal cable. This emitter element is positioned in a spaced-apart relationship between collector element of a low atomic number material with a gap region between the emitter element and the adjacent collector elements

  20. Quasiparticles and thermodynamical consistency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shanenko, A.A.; Biro, T.S.; Toneev, V.D.

    2003-01-01

    A brief and simple introduction into the problem of the thermodynamical consistency is given. The thermodynamical consistency relations, which should be taken into account under constructing a quasiparticle model, are found in a general manner from the finite-temperature extension of the Hellmann-Feynman theorem. Restrictions following from these relations are illustrated by simple physical examples. (author)

  1. Meteorological perspective on intermediate range atmospheric dispersion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van der Hoven, I.

    1981-01-01

    The intermediate range of atmospheric transport and diffusion is defined as those dispersion processes which take place at downwind distances of 10 to 100 kilometers from pollutant sources. Meteorologists often define this range as the mesoscale. It is the range of distances where certain environmental assessments are of concern such as the determination of significant deterioration of visibility, the effect of effluent releases from tall stacks, and the effect of pollutant sources in rural settings upon the more distant urban centers. Atmospheric diffusion theory is based on steady state conditions and spatial homogeniety. Techniques must be developed to measure the inhomogenieties, models must be devised to account for the complexities, and a data base consisting of appropriate measured meteorological parameters concurrent with tracer gas concentrations should be collected

  2. Essays on Multinational Production and International Trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clementi, Federico

    This Thesis consists of an introduction followed by three independent chapters. Each chapter is a self-contained paper that can be read independently. They cover different topics of international economics with a specific focus on multinational production and international trade. A common feature...... the intensity of spillovers to local suppliers. Domestic firms benefit only from the activity of foreign clients that are not vertically integrated in their industry. In the last chapter, I use a detailed dataset of international transactions of Danish companies to study the impact of Chinese competition...

  3. Generalized internal multiple imaging

    KAUST Repository

    Zuberi, M. A. H.

    2014-08-05

    Internal multiples deteriorate the image when the imaging procedure assumes only single scattering, especially if the velocity model does not have sharp contrasts to reproduce such scattering in the Green’s function through forward modeling. If properly imaged, internal multiples (internally scattered energy) can enhance the seismic image. Conventionally, to image internal multiples, accurate, sharp contrasts in the velocity model are required to construct a Green’s function with all the scattered energy. As an alternative, we have developed a generalized internal multiple imaging procedure that images any order internal scattering using the background Green’s function (from the surface to each image point), constructed from a smooth velocity model, usually used for conventional imaging. For the first-order internal multiples, the approach consisted of three steps, in which we first back propagated the recorded surface seismic data using the background Green’s function, then crosscorrelated the back-propagated data with the recorded data, and finally crosscorrelated the result with the original background Green’s function. This procedure images the contribution of the recorded first-order internal multiples, and it is almost free of the single-scattering recorded energy. The cost includes one additional crosscorrelation over the conventional single-scattering imaging application. We generalized this method to image internal multiples of any order separately. The resulting images can be added to the conventional single-scattering image, obtained, e.g., from Kirchhoff or reverse-time migration, to enhance the image. Application to synthetic data with reflectors illuminated by multiple scattering (double scattering) demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach.

  4. Consistency of the National Realization of Dew-Point Temperature Using Standard Humidity Generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benyon, R.; Vicente, T.

    2012-09-01

    The comparison of two high-range standard humidity generators used by Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial to realize dew-point temperature in the range from -10 °C to +95 °C has been performed using state-of-the art transfer standards and measurement procedures, over their overlapping range from -10 °C to +75 °C. The aim of this study is to investigate the level of agreement between the two generators, to determine any bias, and to quantify the level of consistency of the two realizations. The measurement procedures adopted to minimize the effect of the influence factors due to the transfer standards are described, and the results are discussed in the context of the declared calibration and measurement capabilities (CMCs).

  5. Internal Consistency in Components of International Management/International Business Syllabi: Roadmaps with Mixed Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veliyath, Rajaram; Adams, Janet S.

    2005-01-01

    The course syllabus is a contract between instructor and students, a schedule of course assignments and activities, and a roadmap delineating objectives and checkpoints in the course. It is also a planning and reference tool for both students and instructor, and it models professors' expectations for their students. This study investigated whether…

  6. International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    Depicts the nature and operations of the first truly international, decentralized and computerized information processing and dissemination system, INIS. The products of the system, consisting of various literature indexes issued in both printed form and on magnetic tapes are described and their utility to scientists is demonstrated

  7. Free-Ranging Farm Cats: Home Range Size and Predation on a Livestock Unit In Northwest Georgia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitts-Morgan, Susanna E.; Caires, Kyle C.; Bohannon, Lisa A.; Parsons, Elizabeth I.; Hilburn, Katharine A.

    2015-01-01

    This study’s objective was to determine seasonal and diurnal vs. nocturnal home range size, as well as predation for free-ranging farm cats at a livestock unit in Northwest Georgia. Seven adult cats were tracked with attached GPS units for up to two weeks for one spring and two summer seasons from May 2010 through August 2011. Three and five cats were tracked for up to two weeks during the fall and winter seasons, respectively. Feline scat was collected during this entire period. Cats were fed a commercial cat food daily. There was no seasonal effect (P > 0.05) on overall (95% KDE and 90% KDE) or core home range size (50% KDE). Male cats tended (P = 0.08) to have larger diurnal and nocturnal core home ranges (1.09 ha) compared to female cats (0.64 ha). Reproductively intact cats (n = 2) had larger (P cats. Feline scat processing separated scat into prey parts, and of the 210 feline scats collected during the study, 75.24% contained hair. Of these 158 scat samples, 86 contained non-cat hair and 72 contained only cat hair. Other prey components included fragments of bone in 21.43% of scat and teeth in 12.86% of scat. Teeth were used to identify mammalian prey hunted by these cats, of which the Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) was the primary rodent. Other targeted mammals were Peromyscus sp., Sylvilagus sp. and Microtus sp. Invertebrates and birds were less important as prey, but all mammalian prey identified in this study consisted of native animals. While the free-ranging farm cats in this study did not adjust their home range seasonally, sex and reproductive status did increase diurnal and nocturnal home range size. Ultimately, larger home ranges of free-ranging cats could negatively impact native wildlife. PMID:25894078

  8. Self-consistent mean-field models for nuclear structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bender, Michael; Heenen, Paul-Henri; Reinhard, Paul-Gerhard

    2003-01-01

    The authors review the present status of self-consistent mean-field (SCMF) models for describing nuclear structure and low-energy dynamics. These models are presented as effective energy-density functionals. The three most widely used variants of SCMF's based on a Skyrme energy functional, a Gogny force, and a relativistic mean-field Lagrangian are considered side by side. The crucial role of the treatment of pairing correlations is pointed out in each case. The authors discuss other related nuclear structure models and present several extensions beyond the mean-field model which are currently used. Phenomenological adjustment of the model parameters is discussed in detail. The performance quality of the SCMF model is demonstrated for a broad range of typical applications

  9. 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing

    CERN Document Server

    Howlett, Robert; Liu, Ying; Theobald, Peter

    2016-01-01

    This volumes consists of 59 peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-16) held in Chania, Crete Greece in April 2016. Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. SDM-16 covers a wide range of topics from sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable process and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of societal impact of sustainability including research for circular economy. Application areas are wide and varied. The book will provide an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

  10. International Journal of Health Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Erah

    Reference Ranges for Fasting Profiles and Oral Glucose Tolerance Test ... Submission of Manuscript: The International Journal of Health Research uses a journal management software to allow .... medical textbooks [4, 5] and internet. In the.

  11. Geology of the Horse Range Mesa quadrangle, Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cater, Fred W.; Bush, A.L.; Bell, Henry; Withington, C.F.

    1953-01-01

    The Horse Range Mesa quadrangle is one of eighteen 7 1/2-minute quadrangles covering the principal carnotite-producing area of southwestern Colorado. The geology of the quadrangles was mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Atomic Energy Commission as part of a comprehensive study of carnotite deposits. The rocks exposed in the eighteen quadrangles consist of crystalline rocks of pre-Cambrian age and sedimentary rocks that range in age from late Paleozoic to Quaternary. Over much of the area the sedimentary rocks are flat lying, but in places the rocks are disrupted by high-angle faults, and northwest-trending folds. Conspicuous among the folds are large anticlines having cores of intrusive salt and gypsum. Most of the carnotite deposits are confined to the Salt Wash sandstone member of the Jurassic Morrison formation. Within this sandstone, most of the deposits are spottily distributed through an arcuate zone known as the "Uravan Mineral Belt". Individual deposits range in size from irregular masses containing only a few tons of ore to large, tabular masses containing many thousands of tons. The ore consists largely of sandstone selectively impregnated and in part replaced by uranium and vanadium minerals. Most of the deposits appear to be related to certain sedimentary strictures in sandstones of favorable composition.

  12. Development and validation of a 5 stroke engine for range extenders application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kéromnès, A.; Delaporte, B.; Schmitz, G.; Le Moyne, L.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We have designed and built an innovative five stroke internal combustion engine. • The design includes an innovative exhaust gas management system, the smart waste gate. • The turbocharged port-injection spark ignition engine has a fuel conversion efficiency of 36%. - Abstract: A 5-stroke turbo-charged port-injection spark-ignition engine has been developed in the present study for use as a range extender or series-hybrid main power source. The development and the design of the engine are based on 0D/1D model and experimental results have been compared with the engine model. The 5-stroke engine is a three-cylinder in which two cylinders perform a four-stroke cycle and alternatively a second expansion of the burnt gases is performed in the third cylinder. The boost pressure delivered by the turbocharger is controlled by a particular innovative system called “smart wastegate”, different from a conventional wastegate, consisting in a variable valve timing of the two exhaust valves of the low pressure cylinder. The engine develops up to 40 kW for a speed range of 3500–4500 rpm. BSFC is 226 g/kW.h which corresponds to a fuel conversion efficiency of 36.1%. This efficiency can be achieved for an engine speed of 4000 rpm and a brake power of 32.5 kW, which are notable scores for an MPI two-valve per cylinder engine. Expected optimum should be below 217 g/kW.h BSFC and over 90 N.m torque. The engine has been tested over a wide range of conditions; model predictions and experimental results are compared and combustion efficiency increase discussed

  13. Long-range interactions among three alkali-metal atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marinescu, M.; Starace, A.F.

    1996-01-01

    The long-range asymptotic form of the interaction potential surface for three neutral alkali-metal atoms in their ground states may be expressed as an expansion in inverse powers of inter-nuclear distances. The first leading powers are proportional to the dispersion coefficients for pairwise atomic interactions. They are followed by a term responsible for a three body dipole interaction. The authors results consist in evaluation of the three body dipole interaction coefficient between three alkali-metal atoms. The generalization to long-range n atom interaction terms will be discussed qualitatively

  14. Public Relations: Membangun Komunikasi Internal dalam Perusahaan

    OpenAIRE

    Setyanto, Yugih; Anggarina, Paula T.

    2017-01-01

    Public relations had a management function within the company. The process of public relations entirely refers to a managerial approach consisting of fact finding, planning, communications and evaluation. In addition, public relations also runs internal activities to build good communication between the parties involved in the company to create a conducive working atmosphere. Internal communication within the company becomes an important element in creating a good working climate especially i...

  15. Consistent resolution of some relativistic quantum paradoxes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffiths, Robert B.

    2002-01-01

    A relativistic version of the (consistent or decoherent) histories approach to quantum theory is developed on the basis of earlier work by Hartle, and used to discuss relativistic forms of the paradoxes of spherical wave packet collapse, Bohm's formulation of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, and Hardy's paradox. It is argued that wave function collapse is not needed for introducing probabilities into relativistic quantum mechanics, and in any case should never be thought of as a physical process. Alternative approaches to stochastic time dependence can be used to construct a physical picture of the measurement process that is less misleading than collapse models. In particular, one can employ a coarse-grained but fully quantum-mechanical description in which particles move along trajectories, with behavior under Lorentz transformations the same as in classical relativistic physics, and detectors are triggered by particles reaching them along such trajectories. States entangled between spacelike separate regions are also legitimate quantum descriptions, and can be consistently handled by the formalism presented here. The paradoxes in question arise because of using modes of reasoning which, while correct for classical physics, are inconsistent with the mathematical structure of quantum theory, and are resolved (or tamed) by using a proper quantum analysis. In particular, there is no need to invoke, nor any evidence for, mysterious long-range superluminal influences, and thus no incompatibility, at least from this source, between relativity theory and quantum mechanics

  16. The Bioenvironmental modeling of Bahar city based on Climate-consistent Architecture

    OpenAIRE

    Parna Kazemian

    2014-01-01

    The identification of the climate of a particularplace and the analysis of the climatic needs in terms of human comfort and theuse of construction materials is one of the prerequisites of aclimate-consistent design. In studies on climate and weather, usingillustrative reports, first a picture of the state of climate is offered. Then,based on the obtained results, the range of changes is determined, and thecause-effect relationships at different scales are identified. Finally, by ageneral exam...

  17. 26 CFR 12.4 - Election of Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System (ADR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Election of Class Life Asset Depreciation Range... Election of Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System (ADR). (a) Elections filed before February 1, 1972... tax return in accordance with § 1.167(a)-11 of this chapter (relating to depreciation allowances using...

  18. Consistent-handed individuals are more authoritarian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyle, Keith B; Grillo, Michael C

    2014-01-01

    Individuals differ in the consistency with which they use one hand over the other to perform everyday activities. Some individuals are very consistent, habitually using a single hand to perform most tasks. Others are relatively inconsistent, and hence make greater use of both hands. More- versus less-consistent individuals have been shown to differ in numerous aspects of personality and cognition. In several respects consistent-handed individuals resemble authoritarian individuals. For example, both consistent-handedness and authoritarianism have been linked to cognitive inflexibility. Therefore we hypothesised that consistent-handedness is an external marker for authoritarianism. Confirming our hypothesis, we found that consistent-handers scored higher than inconsistent-handers on a measure of submission to authority, were more likely to identify with a conservative political party (Republican), and expressed less-positive attitudes towards out-groups. We propose that authoritarianism may be influenced by the degree of interaction between the left and right brain hemispheres, which has been found to differ between consistent- and inconsistent-handed individuals.

  19. 1995 International Sherwood Fusion Theory Conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    This book is a guide to the 1995 International Sherwood Fusion Theory Conference. It consists largely of abstracts of the oral and poster presentations that were to be made, and gives some general information about the conference and its schedule

  20. Vibration behavior of PWR reactor internals Model experiments and analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Assedo, R.; Dubourg, M.; Livolant, M.; Epstein, A.

    1975-01-01

    In the late 1971, the CEA and FRAMATOME decided to undertake a comprehensive joint program of studying the vibration behavior of PWR internals of the 900 MWe, 50 cycle, 3 loop reactor series being built by FRAMATOME in France. The PWR reactor internals are submitted to several sources of excitation during normal operation. Two main sources of excitation may effect the internals behavior: the large flow turbulences which could generate various instabilities such as: vortex shedding: the pump pressure fluctuations which could generate acoustic noise in the circuit at frequencies corresponding to shaft speed frequencies or blade passing frequencies, and their respective harmonics. The flow induced vibrations are of complex nature and the approach selected, for this comprehensive program, is semi-empirical and based on both theoretical analysis and experiments on a reduced scale model and full scale internals. The experimental support of this program consists of: the SAFRAN test loop which consists of an hydroelastic similitude of a 1/8 scale model of a PWR; harmonic vibration tests in air performed on full scale reactor internals in the manufacturing shop; the GENNEVILLIERS facilities which is a full flow test facility of primary pump; the measurements carried out during start up on the Tihange reactor. This program will be completed in April 1975. The results of this program, the originality of which consists of studying separately the effects of random excitations and acoustic noises, on the internals behavior, and by establishing a comparison between experiments and analysis, will bring a major contribution for explaining the complex vibration phenomena occurring in a PWR

  1. International Financial Reporting Standards

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pontoppidan, Caroline Aggestam

    2011-01-01

    The advance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) across the globe has accelerated over the last few years. This is placing increasing demands on educators to respond to these changes by an increased focus on IFRS in the curricula of accounting students. This paper reviews a range...

  2. Agreements on climatic protection - the verification problem. IKARUS. Instrumente fuer Klimagas-Reduktionsstrategien. Final report. Subproject 9: International Greenhouse Gas Verification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, W.; Hoffmann, H.J.; Katscher, W.; Kotte, U.; Lauppe, W.D.; Stein, G.

    1995-12-31

    The sustained reduction of climate gas emissions associated with the generation, conversion and utilization of energy is clearly becoming an ever more important task in energy and environmental policy. Different strategies are conceivable in order to fulfil this mission. The aim of the IKARUS Project (Instrumente fuer Klimagas-Reduktionsstrategien - Instruments for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies) was to provide a set of tools with which strategies can be developed and reconstructed (making conceptual use of the various technologies) and also tested with respect to their internal consistency and examined with regard to their economic impacts. Corresponding to the great complexity of the task in hand and the technological range of energy applications, the set of instruments is very extensive. It consists of two parts: a data base with a comprehensive data collection and several computer models of various types.The ``Verification`` project was integrated into IKARUS as a link between the national project and the international environment, enabling the examination of technologies and methods for verifying the compliance of statesparty to the Framwork Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).(orig/KW)

  3. Self-consistent quark bags

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rafelski, J.

    1979-01-01

    After an introductory overview of the bag model the author uses the self-consistent solution of the coupled Dirac-meson fields to represent a bound state of strongly ineteracting fermions. In this framework he discusses the vivial approach to classical field equations. After a short description of the used numerical methods the properties of bound states of scalar self-consistent Fields and the solutions of a self-coupled Dirac field are considered. (HSI) [de

  4. Planck 2013 results. XXXI. Consistency of the Planck data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ade, P. A. R.; Arnaud, M.; Ashdown, M.

    2014-01-01

    The Planck design and scanning strategy provide many levels of redundancy that can be exploited to provide tests of internal consistency. One of the most important is the comparison of the 70 GHz (amplifier) and 100 GHz (bolometer) channels. Based on dierent instrument technologies, with feeds...... in the HFI channels would result in shifts in the posterior distributions of parameters of less than 0.3σ except for As, the amplitude of the primordial curvature perturbations at 0.05 Mpc-1, which changes by about 1.We extend these comparisons to include the sky maps from the complete nine-year mission...... located dierently in the focal plane, analysed independently by dierent teams using dierent software, and near∫ the minimum of diuse foreground emission, these channels are in eect two dierent experiments. The 143 GHz channel has the lowest noise level on Planck, and is near the minimum of unresolved...

  5. Transformative Learning Experiences of International Graduate Students from Asian Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumi-Yeboah, Alex; James, Waynne

    2014-01-01

    This article investigates the transformative learning experiences of international graduate students from Asian countries. Data collection consisted of quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants included international graduate students from Asia, in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. Overall, 82.3% of the participants…

  6. Needs Assessment of International Students at Eastern Oregon State College.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eid, Mamoud Taha; Jordan-Domschot, Theresa

    The purpose of the research project was to assess the needs, satisfaction, and concerns of international students attending Eastern Oregon State College. The international student population consisted of students from Micronesia, Netherlands, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Japan, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Canada, Nigeria, China,…

  7. Positive Illusions of Preference Consistency: When Remaining Eluded by One's Preferences Yields Greater Subjective Well-Being and Decision Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Rachael E.; Iyengar, Sheena S.

    2005-01-01

    Psychological research has repeatedly demonstrated two seemingly irreconcilable human tendencies. People are motivated towards internal consistency, or acting in accordance with stable, self-generated preferences. Simultaneously though, people demonstrate considerable variation in the content of their preferences, often induced by subtle external…

  8. Internal Displacement Reactions in Multicomponent Oxides: Part I. Line Compounds with Narrow Homogeneity Range

    OpenAIRE

    Reddy, SNS; Leonard, DN; Wiggins, LB; Jacob, KT

    2005-01-01

    As a model of an internal displacement reaction involving a ternary oxide line compound, the following reaction was studied at 1273 K as a function of time, t: $Fe+NiTiO_3 = Ni + FeTiO_3$ Both polycrystalline and single-crystal materials were used as the starting $NiTiO_3$ oxide. During the reaction, the Ni in the oxide compound is displaced by Fe and it precipitates as a \\gamma -(Ni-Fe) alloy. The reaction preserves the starting ilmenite structure. The product oxide has a consta...

  9. Free-ranging farm cats: home range size and predation on a livestock unit in Northwest Georgia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanna E Kitts-Morgan

    Full Text Available This study's objective was to determine seasonal and diurnal vs. nocturnal home range size, as well as predation for free-ranging farm cats at a livestock unit in Northwest Georgia. Seven adult cats were tracked with attached GPS units for up to two weeks for one spring and two summer seasons from May 2010 through August 2011. Three and five cats were tracked for up to two weeks during the fall and winter seasons, respectively. Feline scat was collected during this entire period. Cats were fed a commercial cat food daily. There was no seasonal effect (P > 0.05 on overall (95% KDE and 90% KDE or core home range size (50% KDE. Male cats tended (P = 0.08 to have larger diurnal and nocturnal core home ranges (1.09 ha compared to female cats (0.64 ha. Reproductively intact cats (n = 2 had larger (P < 0.0001 diurnal and nocturnal home ranges as compared to altered cats. Feline scat processing separated scat into prey parts, and of the 210 feline scats collected during the study, 75.24% contained hair. Of these 158 scat samples, 86 contained non-cat hair and 72 contained only cat hair. Other prey components included fragments of bone in 21.43% of scat and teeth in 12.86% of scat. Teeth were used to identify mammalian prey hunted by these cats, of which the Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus was the primary rodent. Other targeted mammals were Peromyscus sp., Sylvilagus sp. and Microtus sp. Invertebrates and birds were less important as prey, but all mammalian prey identified in this study consisted of native animals. While the free-ranging farm cats in this study did not adjust their home range seasonally, sex and reproductive status did increase diurnal and nocturnal home range size. Ultimately, larger home ranges of free-ranging cats could negatively impact native wildlife.

  10. Consistency of Use and Effectiveness of Household Water Treatment among Indian Households Claiming to Treat Their Water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Ghislaine; Clasen, Thomas

    2017-07-01

    Household water treatment (HWT) can improve drinking water quality and prevent disease if used correctly and consistently by populations at risk. Current international monitoring estimates by the Joint Monitoring Programme for water and sanitation suggest that at least 1.1 billion people practice HWT. These estimates, however, are based on surveys that may overstate the level of consistent use and do not address microbial effectiveness. We sought to assess how HWT is practiced among households identified as HWT users according to these monitoring standards. After a baseline survey (urban: 189 households, rural: 210 households) to identify HWT users, 83 urban and 90 rural households were followed up for 6 weeks. Consistency of reported HWT practices was high in both urban (100%) and rural (93.3%) settings, as was availability of treated water (based on self-report) in all three sampling points (urban: 98.8%, rural: 76.0%). Nevertheless, only 13.7% of urban and 25.8% of rural households identified at baseline as users of adequate HWT had water free of thermotolerant coliforms at all three water sampling points. Our findings raise questions about the value of the data gathered through the international monitoring of HWT as predictors of water quality in the home, as well as questioning the ability of HWT, as actually practiced by vulnerable populations, to reduce exposure to waterborne diseases.

  11. Tree range expansion in eastern North America fails to keep pace with climate warming at northern range limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sittaro, Fabian; Paquette, Alain; Messier, Christian; Nock, Charles A

    2017-08-01

    Rising global temperatures are suggested to be drivers of shifts in tree species ranges. The resulting changes in community composition may negatively impact forest ecosystem function. However, long-term shifts in tree species ranges remain poorly documented. We test for shifts in the northern range limits of 16 temperate tree species in Quebec, Canada, using forest inventory data spanning three decades, 15° of longitude and 7° of latitude. Range shifts were correlated with climate warming and dispersal traits to understand potential mechanisms underlying changes. Shifts were calculated as the change in the 95th percentile of latitudinal occurrence between two inventory periods (1970-1978, 2000-2012) and for two life stages: saplings and adults. We also examined sapling and adult range offsets within each inventory, and changes in the offset through time. Tree species ranges shifted predominantly northward, although species responses varied. As expected shifts were greater for tree saplings, 0.34 km yr -1 , than for adults, 0.13 km yr -1 . Range limits were generally further north for adults compared to saplings, but the difference diminished through time, consistent with patterns observed for range shifts within each life stage. This suggests caution should be exercised when interpreting geographic range offsets between life stages as evidence of range shifts in the absence of temporal data. Species latitudinal velocities were on average climate change and were mostly unrelated to dispersal traits. Finally, our results add to the body of evidence suggesting tree species are mostly limited in their capacity to track climate warming, supporting concerns that warming will negatively impact the functioning of forest ecosystems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. A consistent model for the equilibrium thermodynamic functions of partially ionized flibe plasma with Coulomb corrections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaghloul, Mofreh R.

    2003-01-01

    Flibe (2LiF-BeF2) is a molten salt that has been chosen as the coolant and breeding material in many design studies of the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) chamber. Flibe plasmas are to be generated in the ICF chamber in a wide range of temperatures and densities. These plasmas are more complex than the plasma of any single chemical species. Nevertheless, the composition and thermodynamic properties of the resulting flibe plasmas are needed for the gas dynamics calculations and the determination of other design parameters in the ICF chamber. In this paper, a simple consistent model for determining the detailed plasma composition and thermodynamic functions of high-temperature, fully dissociated and partially ionized flibe gas is presented and used to calculate different thermodynamic properties of interest to fusion applications. The computed properties include the average ionization state; kinetic pressure; internal energy; specific heats; adiabatic exponent, as well as the sound speed. The presented results are computed under the assumptions of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and electro-neutrality. A criterion for the validity of the LTE assumption is presented and applied to the computed results. Other attempts in the literature are assessed with their implied inaccuracies pointed out and discussed

  13. Multi-input wide dynamic range ADC system for use with nuclear detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Austin, R W [National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Ala. (USA). George C. Marshall Space Flight Center

    1976-04-15

    A wide dynamic range, eight input analog-to-digital converter system has been developed for use in nuclear experiments. The system consists of eight dual-range sample and hold modules, an eight input multiplexer, a ten-bit analog-to-digital converter, and the associated control logic.

  14. Validity and reliability of an adapted arabic version of the long international physical activity questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helou, Khalil; El Helou, Nour; Mahfouz, Maya; Mahfouz, Yara; Salameh, Pascale; Harmouche-Karaki, Mireille

    2017-07-24

    The International Physical Actvity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is a validated tool for physical activity assessment used in many countries however no Arabic version of the long-form of this questionnaire exists to this date. Hence, the aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate an Arabic version of the long International Physical Activity Questionnaire (AIPAQ) equivalent to the French version (F-IPAQ) in a Lebanese population. The guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation provided by the World Health Organization and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire committee were followed. One hundred fifty-nine students and staff members from Saint Joseph University of Beirut were randomly recruited to participate in the study. Items of the A-IPAQ were compared to those from the F-IPAQ for concurrent validity using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Content validity of the questionnaire was assessed using factor analysis for the A-IPAQ's items. The physical activity indicators derived from the A-IPAQ were compared with the body mass index (BMI) of the participants for construct validity. The instrument was also evaluated for internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Finally, thirty-one participants were asked to complete the A-IPAQ on two occasions three weeks apart to examine its test-retest reliability. Bland-Altman analyses were performed to evaluate the extent of agreement between the two versions of the questionnaire and its repeated administrations. A high correlation was observed between answers of the F-IPAQ and those of the A-IPAQ, with Spearman's correlation coefficients ranging from 0.91 to 1.00 (p reliability with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.769-1.00 (p reliability for most of its items (ICC ranging from 0.66-0.96; p validity and reliability for the assessment of physical activity among Lebanese adults. More studies are necessary in the future to assess its validity compared

  15. Consistently Showing Your Best Side? Intra-individual Consistency in #Selfie Pose Orientation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindell, Annukka K.

    2017-01-01

    Painted and photographic portraits of others show an asymmetric bias: people favor their left cheek. Both experimental and database studies confirm that the left cheek bias extends to selfies. To date all such selfie studies have been cross-sectional; whether individual selfie-takers tend to consistently favor the same pose orientation, or switch between multiple poses, remains to be determined. The present study thus examined intra-individual consistency in selfie pose orientations. Two hundred selfie-taking participants (100 male and 100 female) were identified by searching #selfie on Instagram. The most recent 10 single-subject selfies for the each of the participants were selected and coded for type of selfie (normal; mirror) and pose orientation (left, midline, right), resulting in a sample of 2000 selfies. Results indicated that selfie-takers do tend to consistently adopt a preferred pose orientation (α = 0.72), with more participants showing an overall left cheek bias (41%) than would be expected by chance (overall right cheek bias = 31.5%; overall midline bias = 19.5%; no overall bias = 8%). Logistic regression modellng, controlling for the repeated measure of participant identity, indicated that sex did not affect pose orientation. However, selfie type proved a significant predictor when comparing left and right cheek poses, with a stronger left cheek bias for mirror than normal selfies. Overall, these novel findings indicate that selfie-takers show intra-individual consistency in pose orientation, and in addition, replicate the previously reported left cheek bias for selfies and other types of portrait, confirming that the left cheek bias also presents within individuals’ selfie corpora. PMID:28270790

  16. Liquidity, Investors and International Capital Markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D. Vagias

    2013-01-01

    textabstractThis dissertation consists of four empirical studies that seek to furnish a better understanding over liquidity’s broader implications in the decision-making process of investors, managers and regulators in international capital markets. Chapter 2 investigates the time-series as well as

  17. SU-E-J-29: Audiovisual Biofeedback Improves Tumor Motion Consistency for Lung Cancer Patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, D; Pollock, S; Makhija, K; Keall, P; Greer, P; Arm, J; Hunter, P; Kim, T

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate whether the breathing-guidance system: audiovisual (AV) biofeedback improves tumor motion consistency for lung cancer patients. This will minimize respiratory-induced tumor motion variations across cancer imaging and radiotherapy procedues. This is the first study to investigate the impact of respiratory guidance on tumor motion. Methods: Tumor motion consistency was investigated with five lung cancer patients (age: 55 to 64), who underwent a training session to get familiarized with AV biofeedback, followed by two MRI sessions across different dates (pre and mid treatment). During the training session in a CT room, two patient specific breathing patterns were obtained before (Breathing-Pattern-1) and after (Breathing-Pattern-2) training with AV biofeedback. In each MRI session, four MRI scans were performed to obtain 2D coronal and sagittal image datasets in free breathing (FB), and with AV biofeedback utilizing Breathing-Pattern-2. Image pixel values of 2D images after the normalization of 2D images per dataset and Gaussian filter per image were used to extract tumor motion using image pixel values. The tumor motion consistency of the superior-inferior (SI) direction was evaluated in terms of an average tumor motion range and period. Results: Audiovisual biofeedback improved tumor motion consistency by 60% (p value = 0.019) from 1.0±0.6 mm (FB) to 0.4±0.4 mm (AV) in SI motion range, and by 86% (p value < 0.001) from 0.7±0.6 s (FB) to 0.1±0.2 s (AV) in period. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that audiovisual biofeedback improves both breathing pattern and tumor motion consistency for lung cancer patients. These results suggest that AV biofeedback has the potential for facilitating reproducible tumor motion towards achieving more accurate medical imaging and radiation therapy procedures

  18. SU-E-J-29: Audiovisual Biofeedback Improves Tumor Motion Consistency for Lung Cancer Patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, D; Pollock, S; Makhija, K; Keall, P [The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW (Australia); Greer, P [The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Arm, J; Hunter, P [Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Kim, T [The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW (Australia); University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: To investigate whether the breathing-guidance system: audiovisual (AV) biofeedback improves tumor motion consistency for lung cancer patients. This will minimize respiratory-induced tumor motion variations across cancer imaging and radiotherapy procedues. This is the first study to investigate the impact of respiratory guidance on tumor motion. Methods: Tumor motion consistency was investigated with five lung cancer patients (age: 55 to 64), who underwent a training session to get familiarized with AV biofeedback, followed by two MRI sessions across different dates (pre and mid treatment). During the training session in a CT room, two patient specific breathing patterns were obtained before (Breathing-Pattern-1) and after (Breathing-Pattern-2) training with AV biofeedback. In each MRI session, four MRI scans were performed to obtain 2D coronal and sagittal image datasets in free breathing (FB), and with AV biofeedback utilizing Breathing-Pattern-2. Image pixel values of 2D images after the normalization of 2D images per dataset and Gaussian filter per image were used to extract tumor motion using image pixel values. The tumor motion consistency of the superior-inferior (SI) direction was evaluated in terms of an average tumor motion range and period. Results: Audiovisual biofeedback improved tumor motion consistency by 60% (p value = 0.019) from 1.0±0.6 mm (FB) to 0.4±0.4 mm (AV) in SI motion range, and by 86% (p value < 0.001) from 0.7±0.6 s (FB) to 0.1±0.2 s (AV) in period. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that audiovisual biofeedback improves both breathing pattern and tumor motion consistency for lung cancer patients. These results suggest that AV biofeedback has the potential for facilitating reproducible tumor motion towards achieving more accurate medical imaging and radiation therapy procedures.

  19. INTERNATIONAL PAYMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FROM THE ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MAGDALENA MIHAI

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The starting point in our study regarding the international payment methods and techniques is the ideaaccording to which the international settlements are based on uniform fundament rules set by the states that takepart in international trade. Since the world economy and especially the international trade have evolved, theserules are changed and adapted to international trade necessities resulted from international trade. Theimportance of the topic consists in the idea that companies in our country are increasingly adopting,international trade activities. For this reason, in this paper we will conceptually determine the methods forinternational settlement, as well as present the accounting consequences regarding the international tradeactivity settlement. It is necessary to study the accounting implications that regard the management of collectionand payment activities in the intra- and extra-community trade since international trade as well as Europeanand international influences in national accounting regulations have been developed in our country.

  20. Low Vagal Tone Magnifies the Association Between Psychosocial Stress Exposure and Internalizing Psychopathology in Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLaughlin, Katie A.; Rith-Najarian, Leslie; Dirks, Melanie A.; Sheridan, Margaret A.

    2014-01-01

    Vagal tone is a measure of cardiovascular function that facilitates adaptive responses to environmental challenge. Low vagal tone is associated with poor emotional and attentional regulation in children and has been conceptualized as a marker of sensitivity to stress. We investigated whether the associations of a wide range of psychosocial stressors with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology were magnified in adolescents with low vagal tone. Resting heart period data were collected from a diverse community sample of adolescents (ages 13–17; N =168). Adolescents completed measures assessing internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and exposure to stressors occurring in family, peer, and community contexts. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was calculated from the interbeat interval time series. We estimated interactions between RSA and stress exposure in predicting internalizing and externalizing symptoms and evaluated whether interactions differed by gender. Exposure to psychosocial stressors was associated strongly with psychopathology. RSA was unrelated to internalizing or externalizing problems. Significant interactions were observed between RSA and child abuse, community violence, peer victimization, and traumatic events in predicting internalizing but not externalizing symptoms. Stressors were positively associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescents with low RSA but not in those with high RSA. Similar patterns were observed for anxiety and depression. These interactions were more consistently observed for male than female individuals. Low vagal tone is associated with internalizing psychopathology in adolescents exposed to high levels of stressors. Measurement of vagal tone in clinical settings might provide useful information about sensitivity to stress in child and adolescent clients. PMID:24156380

  1. Replica consistency in a Data Grid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Domenici, Andrea; Donno, Flavia; Pucciani, Gianni; Stockinger, Heinz; Stockinger, Kurt

    2004-01-01

    A Data Grid is a wide area computing infrastructure that employs Grid technologies to provide storage capacity and processing power to applications that handle very large quantities of data. Data Grids rely on data replication to achieve better performance and reliability by storing copies of data sets on different Grid nodes. When a data set can be modified by applications, the problem of maintaining consistency among existing copies arises. The consistency problem also concerns metadata, i.e., additional information about application data sets such as indices, directories, or catalogues. This kind of metadata is used both by the applications and by the Grid middleware to manage the data. For instance, the Replica Management Service (the Grid middleware component that controls data replication) uses catalogues to find the replicas of each data set. Such catalogues can also be replicated and their consistency is crucial to the correct operation of the Grid. Therefore, metadata consistency generally poses stricter requirements than data consistency. In this paper we report on the development of a Replica Consistency Service based on the middleware mainly developed by the European Data Grid Project. The paper summarises the main issues in the replica consistency problem, and lays out a high-level architectural design for a Replica Consistency Service. Finally, results from simulations of different consistency models are presented

  2. Search for an intermediate-range composition-dependent force

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boynton, P.E.; Crosby, D.; Ekstrom, P.; Szumilo, A.

    1987-01-01

    We have conducted an experiment to detect a composition-dependent force with range λ between 10 m and 1 km, and find a statistically significant effect. If interpreted as arising from a new force, this result and other recent measurementes would be consistent in strength only if the coupling were predominantly to nuclear isospin

  3. Long-range order in canary song.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markowitz, Jeffrey E; Ivie, Elizabeth; Kligler, Laura; Gardner, Timothy J

    2013-01-01

    Bird songs range in form from the simple notes of a Chipping Sparrow to the rich performance of the nightingale. Non-adjacent correlations can be found in the syntax of some birdsongs, indicating that the choice of what to sing next is determined not only by the current syllable, but also by previous syllables sung. Here we examine the song of the domesticated canary, a complex singer whose song consists of syllables, grouped into phrases that are arranged in flexible sequences. Phrases are defined by a fundamental time-scale that is independent of the underlying syllable duration. We show that the ordering of phrases is governed by long-range rules: the choice of what phrase to sing next in a given context depends on the history of the song, and for some syllables, highly specific rules produce correlations in song over timescales of up to ten seconds. The neural basis of these long-range correlations may provide insight into how complex behaviors are assembled from more elementary, stereotyped modules.

  4. Full data consistency conditions for cone-beam projections with sources on a plane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clackdoyle, Rolf; Desbat, Laurent

    2013-01-01

    Cone-beam consistency conditions (also known as range conditions) are mathematical relationships between different cone-beam projections, and they therefore describe the redundancy or overlap of information between projections. These redundancies have often been exploited for applications in image reconstruction. In this work we describe new consistency conditions for cone-beam projections whose source positions lie on a plane. A further restriction is that the target object must not intersect this plane. The conditions require that moments of the cone-beam projections be polynomial functions of the source positions, with some additional constraints on the coefficients of the polynomials. A precise description of the consistency conditions is that the four parameters of the cone-beam projections (two for the detector, two for the source position) can be expressed with just three variables, using a certain formulation involving homogeneous polynomials. The main contribution of this work is our demonstration that these conditions are not only necessary, but also sufficient. Thus the consistency conditions completely characterize all redundancies, so no other independent conditions are possible and in this sense the conditions are full. The idea of the proof is to use the known consistency conditions for 3D parallel projections, and to then apply a 1996 theorem of Edholm and Danielsson that links parallel to cone-beam projections. The consistency conditions are illustrated with a simulation example. (paper)

  5. Efficient self-consistency for magnetic tight binding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soin, Preetma; Horsfield, A. P.; Nguyen-Manh, D.

    2011-06-01

    Tight binding can be extended to magnetic systems by including an exchange interaction on an atomic site that favours net spin polarisation. We have used a published model, extended to include long-ranged Coulomb interactions, to study defects in iron. We have found that achieving self-consistency using conventional techniques was either unstable or very slow. By formulating the problem of achieving charge and spin self-consistency as a search for stationary points of a Harris-Foulkes functional, extended to include spin, we have derived a much more efficient scheme based on a Newton-Raphson procedure. We demonstrate the capabilities of our method by looking at vacancies and self-interstitials in iron. Self-consistency can indeed be achieved in a more efficient and stable manner, but care needs to be taken to manage this. The algorithm is implemented in the code PLATO. Program summaryProgram title:PLATO Catalogue identifier: AEFC_v2_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEFC_v2_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 228 747 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1 880 369 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: C and PERL Computer: Apple Macintosh, PC, Unix machines Operating system: Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows XP Has the code been vectorised or parallelised?: Yes. Up to 256 processors tested RAM: Up to 2 Gbytes per processor Classification: 7.3 External routines: LAPACK, BLAS and optionally ScaLAPACK, BLACS, PBLAS, FFTW Catalogue identifier of previous version: AEFC_v1_0 Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Comm. 180 (2009) 2616 Does the new version supersede the previous version?: Yes Nature of problem: Achieving charge and spin self-consistency in magnetic tight binding can be very

  6. Locking internal fixator with minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis for the proximal and distal tibial fractures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TONG Da-ke

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available 【Abstract】Objective: To investigate the efficacy of the locking internal fixator (LIF, which includes the locking compression plate (LCP and the less invasive stable system (LISS, in the proximal and distal tibial fractures. Methods: We did a retrospective study on a total of 98 patients with either proximal or distal tibial fractures from January 2003 to January 2007, who had received the opera- tion with LIF by the minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO technique. The data consisted of 43 proximal tibial fractures (type AO41C3 and 55 distal tibial fractures (type AO43C3. Results: No complications were observed in all patients after operation. The mean healing time was 8.4 months (range 5-14 months. Only two cases of delayed union occurred at postoperative 10 months. No infections were reported after the definitive surgery even in the cases of open fractures. All patients reached a full range of motion at postoperative 6 to 9 months and regained the normal functions of knee and ankle joints. Conclusion: Using LIF in MIPO technique is a reliable approach towards the proximal and distal tibial fractures that are not suitable for intramedullary nailing. Key words: Internal fixator; Tibial fractures; Fracture fixation, intramedullary; Bone plates

  7. Shakedown and stress range of torispherical heads under cyclic internal pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalnins, A.; Updike, D.P.

    1996-01-01

    Two effects on shakedown of torispherical heads are addressed in this paper: (1) changing geometry, and (2) initial pressurization, such as by a hydro (or proof) test. Shakedown and the cycled stress intensity range are calculated for two head geometries, having diameter-to-thickness ratios of 238 and 192. The calculations are carried out following two approaches: (1) using a nonlinear, elastic-plastic algorithm that accounts for changes in geometry, and (2) using elastic stresses in the undeformed geometry, which is the commonly used approach. The results show that, when the two geometries are subjected to the same initial and cyclic pressures, shakedown is achieved by the first approach but not by the second. Since real heads do benefit from geometry changes, and since most design codes require hydro (or proof) tests before operation, the first approach is recommended for the design of torispherical heads

  8. Essays in banking and international finance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schäfer, Larissa

    2015-01-01

    This thesis consists of three chapters, two in banking and one in international finance. The first two chapters examine how bank business models and foreign ownership structures affect bank-firm lending relationships. In particular, the first chapter reveals that foreign banks can overcome their

  9. Comparing Self-Report Measures of Internalized Weight Stigma: The Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire versus the Weight Bias Internalization Scale.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Hübner

    Full Text Available Internalized weight stigma has gained growing interest due to its association with multiple health impairments in individuals with obesity. Especially high internalized weight stigma is reported by individuals undergoing bariatric surgery. For assessing this concept, two different self-report questionnaires are available, but have never been compared: the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ and the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS. The purpose of the present study was to provide and to compare reliability, convergent validity with and predictive values for psychosocial health outcomes for the WSSQ and WBIS.The WSSQ and the WBIS were used to assess internalized weight stigma in N = 78 prebariatric surgery patients. Further, body mass index (BMI was assessed and body image, quality of life, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety were measured by well-established self-report questionnaires. Reliability, correlation, and regression analyses were conducted.Internal consistency of the WSSQ was acceptable, while good internal consistency was found for the WBIS. Both measures were significantly correlated with each other and body image. While only the WSSQ was correlated with overweight preoccupation, only the WBIS was correlated with appearance evaluation. Both measures were not associated with BMI. However, correlation coefficients did not differ between the WSSQ and the WBIS for all associations with validity measures. Further, both measures significantly predicted quality of life, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety, while the WBIS explained significantly more variance than the WSSQ total score for self-esteem.Findings indicate the WSSQ and the WBIS to be reliable and valid assessments of internalized weight stigma in prebariatric surgery patients, although the WBIS showed marginally more favorable results than the WSSQ. For both measures, longitudinal studies on stability and predictive validity are warranted, for example, for weight

  10. The Internalized Homophobia Scale for Vietnamese Sexual Minority Women: Conceptualization, Factor Structure, Reliability, and Associations With Hypothesized Correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Trang Quynh; Poteat, Tonia; Bandeen-Roche, Karen; German, Danielle; Nguyen, Yen Hai; Vu, Loan Kieu-Chau; Nguyen, Nam Thi-Thu; Knowlton, Amy R

    2016-08-01

    We developed the first Vietnamese Internalized Homophobia (IH) scale for use with Vietnamese sexual minority women (SMW). Drawing from existing IH scales in the international literature and based on prior qualitative research about SMW in the Viet Nam context, the scale covers two domains: self-stigma (negative attitudes toward oneself as a sexual minority person) and sexual prejudice (negative attitudes toward homosexuality/same-sex relations in general). Scale items, including items borrowed from existing scales and items based on local expressions, were reviewed and confirmed by members of the target population. Quantitative evaluation used data from an anonymous web-based survey of Vietnamese SMW, including those who identified as lesbian (n = 1187), or as bisexual (n = 641) and those who were unsure about their sexual identity (n = 353). The scale was found to consist of two highly correlated factors reflecting self-stigma (not normal/wholesome and self-reproach and wishing away same-sex sexuality) and one factor reflecting sexual prejudice, and to have excellent internal consistency. Construct validity was evidenced by subscale associations with a wide range of hypothesized correlates, including perceived sexual stigma, outness, social support, connection to other SMW, relationship quality, psychological well-being, anticipation of heterosexual marriage, and endorsement of same-sex marriage legalization. Self-stigma was more strongly associated with psychosocial correlates, and sexual prejudice was more associated with endorsement of legal same-sex marriage. The variations in these associations across the hypothesized correlates and across sexual identity groups were consistent with the minority stress model and the IH literature, and exhibited context-specific features, which are discussed.

  11. Direct vision internal urethrotomy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, H; Willumsen, H; Søndergaard Jensen, L

    1984-01-01

    During a five-year period, direct vision internal urethrotomy was used for the treatment of urethral strictures in 34 men. After the primary operation the patients were followed for an average period of 29 months (range 3-73 months). During this period 53% of the patients were found to have one...

  12. Coordinating user interfaces for consistency

    CERN Document Server

    Nielsen, Jakob

    2001-01-01

    In the years since Jakob Nielsen's classic collection on interface consistency first appeared, much has changed, and much has stayed the same. On the one hand, there's been exponential growth in the opportunities for following or disregarding the principles of interface consistency-more computers, more applications, more users, and of course the vast expanse of the Web. On the other, there are the principles themselves, as persistent and as valuable as ever. In these contributed chapters, you'll find details on many methods for seeking and enforcing consistency, along with bottom-line analys

  13. Global assessment of internal audit competence: Does one size fi t all?

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Data from the Institute of Internal Auditors' (IIA's) latest global Common Body of Knowledge ... Australia consistently indicated different perceptions of the levels of ... Australia's need for a country-specifi c internal audit competency assessment.

  14. Home range and travels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stickel, L.F.; King, John A.

    1968-01-01

    The concept of home range was expressed by Seton (1909) in the term 'home region,' which Burr (1940, 1943) clarified with a definition of home range and exemplified in a definitive study of Peromyscus in the field. Burt pointed out the ever-changing characteristics of home-range area and the consequent absence of boundaries in the usual sense--a finding verified by investigators thereafter. In the studies summarized in this paper, sizes of home ranges of Peromyscus varied within two magnitudes, approximately from 0.1 acre to ten acres, in 34 studies conducted in a variety of habitats from the seaside dunes of Florida to the Alaskan forests. Variation in sizes of home ranges was correlated with both environmental and physiological factors; with habitat it was conspicuous, both in the same and different regions. Food supply also was related to size of home range, both seasonally and in relation to habitat. Home ranges generally were smallest in winter and largest in spring, at the onset of the breeding season. Activity and size also were affected by changes in weather. Activity was least when temperatures were low and nights were bright. Effects of rainfall were variable. Sizes varied according to sex and age; young mice remained in the parents' range until they approached maturity, when they began to travel more widely. Adult males commonly had larger home ranges than females, although there were a number of exceptions. An inverse relationship between population density and size of home range was shown in several studies and probably is the usual relationship. A basic need for activity and exploration also appeared to influence size of home range. Behavior within the home range was discussed in terms of travel patterns, travels in relation to home sites and refuges, territory, and stability of size of home range. Travels within the home range consisted of repeated use of well-worn trails to sites of food, shelter, and refuge, plus more random exploratory travels

  15. Temporal consistent depth map upscaling for 3DTV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, Sebastian; Sjöström, Mârten; Olsson, Roger

    2014-03-01

    The ongoing success of three-dimensional (3D) cinema fuels increasing efforts to spread the commercial success of 3D to new markets. The possibilities of a convincing 3D experience at home, such as three-dimensional television (3DTV), has generated a great deal of interest within the research and standardization community. A central issue for 3DTV is the creation and representation of 3D content. Acquiring scene depth information is a fundamental task in computer vision, yet complex and error-prone. Dedicated range sensors, such as the Time­ of-Flight camera (ToF), can simplify the scene depth capture process and overcome shortcomings of traditional solutions, such as active or passive stereo analysis. Admittedly, currently available ToF sensors deliver only a limited spatial resolution. However, sophisticated depth upscaling approaches use texture information to match depth and video resolution. At Electronic Imaging 2012 we proposed an upscaling routine based on error energy minimization, weighted with edge information from an accompanying video source. In this article we develop our algorithm further. By adding temporal consistency constraints to the upscaling process, we reduce disturbing depth jumps and flickering artifacts in the final 3DTV content. Temporal consistency in depth maps enhances the 3D experience, leading to a wider acceptance of 3D media content. More content in better quality can boost the commercial success of 3DTV.

  16. Multiphase flows of N immiscible incompressible fluids: A reduction-consistent and thermodynamically-consistent formulation and associated algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, S.

    2018-05-01

    We present a reduction-consistent and thermodynamically consistent formulation and an associated numerical algorithm for simulating the dynamics of an isothermal mixture consisting of N (N ⩾ 2) immiscible incompressible fluids with different physical properties (densities, viscosities, and pair-wise surface tensions). By reduction consistency we refer to the property that if only a set of M (1 ⩽ M ⩽ N - 1) fluids are present in the system then the N-phase governing equations and boundary conditions will exactly reduce to those for the corresponding M-phase system. By thermodynamic consistency we refer to the property that the formulation honors the thermodynamic principles. Our N-phase formulation is developed based on a more general method that allows for the systematic construction of reduction-consistent formulations, and the method suggests the existence of many possible forms of reduction-consistent and thermodynamically consistent N-phase formulations. Extensive numerical experiments have been presented for flow problems involving multiple fluid components and large density ratios and large viscosity ratios, and the simulation results are compared with the physical theories or the available physical solutions. The comparisons demonstrate that our method produces physically accurate results for this class of problems.

  17. International consensus and States non-Parties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kellman, B.

    1996-01-01

    It is significant to recognize the contribution that international law can make to the promotion of consensus for arms control. Issues surface with a constancy that demand consistent, codified responses. International law should be more powerful, especially in addressing non-members and non-complying states. Successful negotiation of a multilateral treaty is not an end but a means to establish a law enforcement system capable of promoting important global interests. Accordingly arms control should generate the development of authoritative legal doctrines and institutions that can meet the challenge

  18. Weight bias internalization across weight categories among school-aged children. Validation of the Weight Bias Internalization Scale for Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuba, Anna; Warschburger, Petra

    2018-06-01

    Anti-fat bias is widespread and is linked to the internalization of weight bias and psychosocial problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the internalization of weight bias among children across weight categories and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Weight Bias Internalization Scale for Children (WBIS-C). Data were collected from 1484 primary school children and their parents. WBIS-C demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .86) after exclusion of Item 1. The unitary factor structure was supported using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (factorial validity). Girls and overweight children reported higher WBIS-C scores in comparison to boys and non-overweight peers (known-groups validity). Convergent validity was shown by significant correlations with psychosocial problems. Internalization of weight bias explained additional variance in different indicators of psychosocial well-being. The results suggest that the WBIS-C is a psychometrically sound and informative tool to assess weight bias internalization among children. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Nanoimprinted reflecting gratings for long-range surface plasmon polaritons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Rasmus Haugstrup; Boltasseva, Alexandra; Johansen, Dan Mario

    2007-01-01

    We present a novel design, fabrication, and characterization of reflecting gratings for long-range surface plasmon polaritons (LR-SPPs) at telecom wavelengths. LR-SPP waveguides consisting of a thin (12 nm) gold film embedded in a thick (45 μm) layer of dielectric polymer cladding are structured...

  20. Conformal invariance in the long-range Ising model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel F. Paulos

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider the question of conformal invariance of the long-range Ising model at the critical point. The continuum description is given in terms of a nonlocal field theory, and the absence of a stress tensor invalidates all of the standard arguments for the enhancement of scale invariance to conformal invariance. We however show that several correlation functions, computed to second order in the epsilon expansion, are nontrivially consistent with conformal invariance. We proceed to give a proof of conformal invariance to all orders in the epsilon expansion, based on the description of the long-range Ising model as a defect theory in an auxiliary higher-dimensional space. A detailed review of conformal invariance in the d-dimensional short-range Ising model is also included and may be of independent interest.

  1. Conformal Invariance in the Long-Range Ising Model

    CERN Document Server

    Paulos, Miguel F; van Rees, Balt C; Zan, Bernardo

    2016-01-01

    We consider the question of conformal invariance of the long-range Ising model at the critical point. The continuum description is given in terms of a nonlocal field theory, and the absence of a stress tensor invalidates all of the standard arguments for the enhancement of scale invariance to conformal invariance. We however show that several correlation functions, computed to second order in the epsilon expansion, are nontrivially consistent with conformal invariance. We proceed to give a proof of conformal invariance to all orders in the epsilon expansion, based on the description of the long-range Ising model as a defect theory in an auxiliary higher-dimensional space. A detailed review of conformal invariance in the d-dimensional short-range Ising model is also included and may be of independent interest.

  2. Conformal invariance in the long-range Ising model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paulos, Miguel F. [CERN, Theory Group, Geneva (Switzerland); Rychkov, Slava, E-mail: slava.rychkov@lpt.ens.fr [CERN, Theory Group, Geneva (Switzerland); Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de l' École Normale Supérieure (LPTENS), Paris (France); Faculté de Physique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris (France); Rees, Balt C. van [CERN, Theory Group, Geneva (Switzerland); Zan, Bernardo [Institute of Physics, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2016-01-15

    We consider the question of conformal invariance of the long-range Ising model at the critical point. The continuum description is given in terms of a nonlocal field theory, and the absence of a stress tensor invalidates all of the standard arguments for the enhancement of scale invariance to conformal invariance. We however show that several correlation functions, computed to second order in the epsilon expansion, are nontrivially consistent with conformal invariance. We proceed to give a proof of conformal invariance to all orders in the epsilon expansion, based on the description of the long-range Ising model as a defect theory in an auxiliary higher-dimensional space. A detailed review of conformal invariance in the d-dimensional short-range Ising model is also included and may be of independent interest.

  3. Homogeneous internal wave turbulence driven by tidal flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Reun, Thomas; Favier, Benjamin; Le Bars, Michael; Erc Fludyco Team

    2017-11-01

    We propose a novel investigation of the stability of strongly stratified planetary fluid layers undergoing periodic tidal distortion in the limit where rotational effects are negligible compared to buoyancy. With the help of a local model focusing on a small fluid area compared to the global layer, we find that periodic tidal distortion drives a parametric subharmonic resonance of internal. This instability saturates into an homogeneous internal wave turbulence pervading the whole fluid interior: the energy is injected in the unstable waves which then feed a succession of triadic resonances also generating small spatial scales. As the timescale separation between the forcing and Brunt-Väisälä is increased, the temporal spectrum of this turbulence displays a -2 power law reminiscent of the Garrett and Munk spectrum measured in the oceans (Garett & Munk 1979). Moreover, in this state consisting of a superposition of waves in weak non-linear interaction, the mixing efficiency is increased compared to classical, Kolmogorov-like stratified turbulence. This study is of wide interest in geophysical fluid dynamics ranging from oceanic turbulence and tidal heating in icy satellites to dynamo action in partially stratified planetary cores as it could be the case in the Earth. We acknowledge support from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 681835-FLUDYCO-ERC-2015-CoG).

  4. Hip and ankle range of motion and hip muscle strength in young female ballet dancersand controls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennell, K.; Khan, K. M.; Matthews, B.; De Gruyter, M.; Cook, E.; Holzer, K.; Wark, J. D.

    1999-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To compare the hip and ankle range of motion and hip muscle strength in 8-11 year old novice female ballet dancers and controls. METHODS: Subjects were 77 dancers and 49 controls (mean (SD) age 9.6 (0.8) and 9.6 (0.7) years respectively). Supine right active hip external rotation (ER) and internal rotation (IR) were measured using an inclinometer. A turnout protractor was used to assess standing active turnout range. The measure of ER achieved from below the hip during turnout (non-hip ER) was calculated by subtracting hip ER range from turnout range, and hip ER:IR was derived by dividing ER range by IR range. Range of right weight bearing ankle dorsiflexion was measured in a standing lunge using two methods: the distance from the foot to the wall (in centimetres) and the angle of the shank to the vertical via an inclinometer (in degrees). Right calf muscle range was measured in weight bearing using an inclinometer. A manual muscle tester was used to assess right isometric hip flexor, internal rotator, external rotator, abductor, and adductor strength. RESULTS: Dancers had less ER (pballetic training. 


 PMID:10522638

  5. Internal Structure and Partial Invariance across Gender in the Spanish Version of the Reasoning Test Battery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elosua, Paula; Mujika, Josu

    2015-10-13

    The Reasoning Test Battery (BPR) is an instrument built on theories of the hierarchical organization of cognitive abilities and therefore consists of different tasks related with abstract, numerical, verbal, practical, spatial and mechanical reasoning. It was originally created in Belgium and later adapted to Portuguese. There are three forms of the battery consisting of different items and scales which cover an age range from 9 to 22. This paper focuses on the adaptation of the BPR to Spanish, and analyzes different aspects of its internal structure: (a) exploratory item factor analysis was applied to assess the presence of a dominant factor for each partial scale; (b) the general underlined model was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis, and (c) factorial invariance across gender was studied. The sample consisted of 2624 Spanish students. The results concluded the presence of a general factor beyond the scales, with equivalent values for men and women, and gender differences in the factorial structure which affect the numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning and mechanical reasoning scales.

  6. [Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the internalized stigma of mental illness scale].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ersoy, Mehmet Akif; Varan, Azmi

    2007-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI) in patients with psychiatric disorders. The study included 203 patients diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders in a psychiatry outpatient clinic of a university hospital. The reliability of the scale was assessed by investigation of its internal consistency and split-half reliability. The convergent validity of the scale was demonstrated by the relationship between the Turkish form of the ISMI and various criteria scales. Cronbach's alpha value was 0.93 for the entire scale and ranged between 0.63 and 0.87 for the 5 subscales of the ISMI. In terms of convergent validity, the total score of the Turkish ISMI significantly correlated with the Beck Depression Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Clinical Global Impression Scale, and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale scores. All values were in the expected direction. In the light of the findings, it was concluded that the Turkish version of ISMI could be used as a reliable and valid tool in assessing internalized stigma of the Turkish psychiatric patients.

  7. Interplay of long-range and short-range Coulomb interactions in an Anderson-Mott insulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baćani, Mirko; Novak, Mario; Orbanić, Filip; Prša, Krunoslav; Kokanović, Ivan; Babić, Dinko

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, we tackle the complexity of coexisting disorder and Coulomb electron-electron interactions (CEEIs) in solids by addressing a strongly disordered system with intricate CEEIs and a screening that changes both with charge carrier doping level Q and temperature T . We report on an experimental comparative study of the T dependencies of the electrical conductivity σ and magnetic susceptibility χ of polyaniline pellets doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid over a wide range. This material is special within the class of doped polyaniline by exhibiting in the electronic transport a crossover between a low-T variable range hopping (VRH) and a high-T nearest-neighbor hopping (NNH) well below room temperature. Moreover, there is evidence of a soft Coulomb gap ΔC in the disorder band, which implies the existence of a long-range CEEI. Simultaneously, there is an onsite CEEI manifested as a Hubbard gap U and originating in the electronic structure of doped polyaniline, which consists of localized electron states with dynamically varying occupancy. Therefore, our samples represent an Anderson-Mott insulator in which long-range and short-range CEEIs coexist. The main result of the study is the presence of a crossover between low- and high-T regimes not only in σ (T ) but also in χ (T ) , the crossover temperature T* being essentially the same for both observables over the entire doping range. The relatively large electron localization length along the polymer chains results in U being small, between 12 and 20 meV for the high and low Q , respectively. Therefore, the thermal energy at T* is sufficiently large to lead to an effective closing of the Hubbard gap and the consequent appearance of NNH in the electronic transport within the disorder band. ΔC is considerably larger than U , decreasing from 190 to 30 meV as Q increases, and plays the role of an activation energy in the NNH.

  8. Consistency Anchor Formalization and Correctness Proofs

    OpenAIRE

    Miguel, Correia; Bessani, Alysson

    2014-01-01

    This is report contains the formal proofs for the techniques for increasing the consistency of cloud storage as presented in "Bessani et al. SCFS: A Cloud-backed File System. Proc. of the 2014 USENIX Annual Technical Conference. June 2014." The consistency anchor technique allows one to increase the consistency provided by eventually consistent cloud storage services like Amazon S3. This technique has been used in the SCFS (Shared Cloud File System) cloud-backed file system for solving rea...

  9. Hydropower - internalized costs and externalized benefits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koch, F.H.

    2002-01-01

    The benefits of hydropower consist of the minimal level of noxious and greenhouse gas emissions, it's energy security from political instability, and its renewable, non-depletable nature. The costs of hydropower consist of negative effects on the river ecosystem and of social changes in communities in the vicinity of large projects. Public awareness of these costs has increased dramatically during the past two decades, and new hydro projects will not get approval unless adequate mitigation measures are taken to avoid, offset, or compensate for adverse environmental and social effects. To a very large extent, the hydropower industry has internalized what were previously social and environmental externalities. However, hydropower operators do not receive any compensation for the benefits, and to date their competitors (coal, natural gas, oil) have not been required to internalize their adverse environmental externalities. (emissions, depletion of supplies, and sometimes dependence on imported primary energy sources). This creates an uneven playing field, and the hydropower industry enthusiastically welcomes a discussion of this issue, and eventually measures to rectify the situation. The IEA Hydropower Agreement has completed a major international study on the environmental and social impacts of hydropower, and one major component of this study was a Life Cycle Assessment and comparison of all the most important electricity generation technologies. (author)

  10. International organizations and their exercise of sovereign powers

    CERN Document Server

    Sarooshi, Dan

    2005-01-01

    This book considers the exercise of sovereign powers by international organizations that include the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the European Union in order to answer fundamental questions about the relationship between an international organization and its member states. In their membership of international organizations, states must confer some of their sovereign powers upon those organizations. This book develops a three-tiered typology of conferrals which ranges from agency relationships, to delegations of authority, to full transfers of power. The legal aspects of these conferrals are examined, and their implications for the growing importance of international organizations in international relations are assessed.

  11. Training in Innovative Technologies for Close-Range Sensing in Alpine Terrain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutzinger, M.; Bremer, M.; Höfle, B.; Hämmerle, M.; Lindenbergh, R.; Oude Elberink, S.; Pirotti, F.; Scaioni, M.; Wujanz, D.; Zieher, T.

    2018-05-01

    The 2nd international summer school "Close-range sensing techniques in Alpine terrain" was held in July 2017 in Obergurgl, Austria. Participants were trained in selected close-range sensing methods, such as photogrammetry, laser scanning and thermography. The program included keynotes, lectures and hands-on assignments combining field project planning, data acquisition, processing, quality assessment and interpretation. Close-range sensing was applied for different research questions of environmental monitoring in high mountain environments, such as geomorphologic process quantification, natural hazard management and vegetation mapping. The participants completed an online questionnaire evaluating the summer school, its content and organisation, which helps to improve future summer schools.

  12. Multi-Canister overpack internal HEPA filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    SMITH, K.E.

    1998-01-01

    The rationale for locating a filter assembly inside each Multi-Canister Overpack (MCO) rather than include the filter in the Cold Vacuum Drying (CVD) process piping system was to eliminate the potential for contamination to the operators, processing equipment, and the MCO. The internal HEPA filters provide essential protection to facility workers from alpha contamination, both external skin contamination and potential internal depositions. Filters installed in the CVD process piping cannot mitigate potential contamination when breaking the process piping connections. Experience with K-Basin material has shown that even an extremely small release can result in personnel contamination and costly schedule disruptions to perform equipment and facility decontamination. Incorporating the filter function internal to the MCO rather than external is consistent with ALARA requirements of 10 CFR 835. Based on the above, the SNF Project position is to retain the internal HEPA filters in the MCO design

  13. Summary Report on the SAE 2016 Range Extenders for Electric Vehicles Symposium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Curran, Scott [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wagner, Robert M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Campbell, Russ [SRA International, Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)

    2017-03-01

    The SAE 2016 Range Extenders for Electric Vehicles Symposium was a 2-day technical meeting focused on the role of advanced internal combustion engines (ICEs) and other novel energy converter technologies for extending the range of electric vehicles (EVs). The first-of-its-kind symposium was notable for focusing solely on the range extender (REx) technologies and not the EVs. The technical program featured presentations from international leaders from industry, government, national laboratories, and academia. The opening keynote presentations covered a broad range of topics including consumer behavior, policy implications, regulatory considerations, and REx architectures as enablers for advanced technologies. The technical sessions focused on an array of REx technologies including conventional ICEs, as well as less conventional or emerging technologies such as microturbines, fuel cells, low-temperature combustion engines, and aluminum-air batteries. The symposium included two panel sessions. The trend toward increasing vehicle electrification and the changing role of ICEs and other auxiliary power unit technologies for use as REx’s is leading to new research and design development needs. The symposium captured the interest of the industry and research communities in exploring the opportunities and challenges associated with REx’s for EVs. This report includes key takeaways, summarized below, and draft notes for each presentation and panel discussion.

  14. Children's knowledge of internal anatomy: conceptual orientation and review of research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, E G; Badger, T A; Moore, I

    1992-08-01

    Children's understanding of health and illness is influenced by their knowledge of internal anatomy and physiological functioning. This article provides a comprehensive review of studies of children's knowledge of internal anatomy, one component of internal body image. Consistencies, controversies, and methodological issues that emerge across the studies are discussed. A conceptual framework for the development of children's internal body image is presented. The framework posits relationships between cognitive development, health status, knowledge of internal body image, and understanding of physiological functioning. Future studies are needed to test and refine the conceptual framework and to develop interventions to facilitate children's internal body image.

  15. Research on range-gated laser active imaging seeker

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Mu; Wang, PengHui; Tan, DongJie

    2013-09-01

    Compared with other imaging methods such as millimeter wave imaging, infrared imaging and visible light imaging, laser imaging provides both a 2-D array of reflected intensity data as well as 2-D array of range data, which is the most important data for use in autonomous target acquisition .In terms of application, it can be widely used in military fields such as radar, guidance and fuse. In this paper, we present a laser active imaging seeker system based on range-gated laser transmitter and sensor technology .The seeker system presented here consist of two important part, one is laser image system, which uses a negative lens to diverge the light from a pulse laser to flood illuminate a target, return light is collected by a camera lens, each laser pulse triggers the camera delay and shutter. The other is stabilization gimbals, which is designed to be a rotatable structure both in azimuth and elevation angles. The laser image system consists of transmitter and receiver. The transmitter is based on diode pumped solid-state lasers that are passively Q-switched at 532nm wavelength. A visible wavelength was chosen because the receiver uses a Gen III image intensifier tube with a spectral sensitivity limited to wavelengths less than 900nm.The receiver is image intensifier tube's micro channel plate coupled into high sensitivity charge coupled device camera. The image has been taken at range over one kilometer and can be taken at much longer range in better weather. Image frame frequency can be changed according to requirement of guidance with modifiable range gate, The instantaneous field of views of the system was found to be 2×2 deg. Since completion of system integration, the seeker system has gone through a series of tests both in the lab and in the outdoor field. Two different kinds of buildings have been chosen as target, which is located at range from 200m up to 1000m.To simulate dynamic process of range change between missile and target, the seeker system has

  16. A new approach to hull consistency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kolev Lubomir

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Hull consistency is a known technique to improve the efficiency of iterative interval methods for solving nonlinear systems describing steady-states in various circuits. Presently, hull consistency is checked in a scalar manner, i.e. successively for each equation of the nonlinear system with respect to a single variable. In the present poster, a new more general approach to implementing hull consistency is suggested which consists in treating simultaneously several equations with respect to the same number of variables.

  17. Time-Consistent and Market-Consistent Evaluations (Revised version of 2012-086)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stadje, M.A.; Pelsser, A.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract: We consider evaluation methods for payoffs with an inherent financial risk as encountered for instance for portfolios held by pension funds and insurance companies. Pricing such payoffs in a way consistent to market prices typically involves combining actuarial techniques with methods from

  18. Consistency of cruise data of the CARINA database in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Hoppema

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Initially a North Atlantic project, the CARINA carbon synthesis was extended to include the Southern Ocean. Carbon and relevant hydrographic and geochemical ancillary data from cruises all across the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean were released to the public and merged into a new database as part of the CARINA synthesis effort. Of a total of 188 cruises, 37 cruises are part of the Southern Ocean, including 11 from the Atlantic sector. The variables from all Southern Ocean cruises, including dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2, total alkalinity, oxygen, nitrate, phosphate and silicate, were examined for cruise-to-cruise consistency in one collective effort. Seawater pH and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs are also part of the database, but the pH quality control (QC is described in another Earth System Science Data publication, while the complexity of the Southern Ocean physics and biogeochemistry prevented a proper QC analysis of the CFCs. The area-specific procedures of quality control, including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data (i.e. secondary QC, are briefly described here for the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Data from an existing, quality controlled database (GLODAP were used as a reference for our computations – however, the reference data were included into the analysis without applying the recommended GLODAP adjustments so the corrections could be independently verified. The outcome of this effort is an internally consistent, high-quality carbon data set for all cruises, including the reference cruises. The suggested corrections by the inversion analysis were allowed to vary within a fixed envelope, thus accounting for natural variability. The percentage of cruises adjusted ranged from 31% (for nitrate to 54% (for phosphate depending on the variable.

  19. International trade and investment law: a new framework for public health and the common good.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delany, Louise; Signal, Louise; Thomson, George

    2018-05-08

    International trade and investment agreements can have positive outcomes, but also have negative consequences that affect global health and influence fundamental health determinants: poverty, inequality and the environment. This article proposes principles and strategies for designing future international law to attain health and common good objectives. Basic principles are needed for international trade and investment agreements that are consistent with the common good, public health, and human rights. These principles should reflect the importance of reducing inequalities, along with social and environmental sustainability. Economic growth should be recognised as a means to common good objectives, rather than an end in itself. Our favoured approach is both radical and comprehensive: we describe what this approach would include and outline the strategies for its implementation, the processes and capacity building necessary for its achievement, and related governance and corporate issues. The comprehensive approach includes significant changes to current models for trade and investment agreements, in particular (i) health, social and environmental objectives would be recognised as legitimate in their own right and implemented accordingly; (ii) changes to dispute-resolution processes, both state-to-state and investor-state; (iii) greater deference to international legal frameworks for health, environmental protection, and human rights; (iv) greater coherence across the international law framework; (v) limitations on investor privileges, and (vi) enforceable corporate responsibilities for contributing to health, environmental, human rights and other common good objectives. We also identify some limited changes that could be considered as an alternative to the proposed comprehensive approach. Future research is needed to develop a range of model treaties, and on the means by which such treaties and reforms might be achieved. Such research would focus also on

  20. Does computer-synthesized speech manifest personality? Experimental tests of recognition, similarity-attraction, and consistency-attraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nass, C; Lee, K M

    2001-09-01

    Would people exhibit similarity-attraction and consistency-attraction toward unambiguously computer-generated speech even when personality is clearly not relevant? In Experiment 1, participants (extrovert or introvert) heard a synthesized voice (extrovert or introvert) on a book-buying Web site. Participants accurately recognized personality cues in text to speech and showed similarity-attraction in their evaluation of the computer voice, the book reviews, and the reviewer. Experiment 2, in a Web auction context, added personality of the text to the previous design. The results replicated Experiment 1 and demonstrated consistency (voice and text personality)-attraction. To maximize liking and trust, designers should set parameters, for example, words per minute or frequency range, that create a personality that is consistent with the user and the content being presented.

  1. Modelling of thermoelectric generator with heat pipe assist for range extender application

    OpenAIRE

    Brito, F. P.; Martins, Jorge; Gonçalves, L. M.; Sousa, R.

    2011-01-01

    Recent trends towards electrification of vehicles favour the adoption of waste energy recovery into electricity. Battery-only Electric Vehicles (BEV) need a very large energy storage system so the use of a Range Extender (RE) may allow a significant downsizing of these bulky components. The Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) have two major discarded energy fluxes, engine cooling and exhaust gas. In Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREV) and hybrids the potential for heat conversion into elect...

  2. Using English for International Business: A European Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogerson-Revell, Pamela

    2007-01-01

    With the continuing globalisation of markets and internationalisation of trade, professionals from a wide range of organisations, from large multinational corporations to small to medium size enterprises, are increasingly coming together to do business in the international workplace, particularly in meetings. Such international events usually…

  3. 4th International Cryocoolers Conference

    CERN Document Server

    Patton, George; Knox, Margaret

    1987-01-01

    The Cryocoolers 4 proceedings archives the contributions of leading international experts at the 4th International Cryocooler Conference that was held in Easton, Maryland on September 25-26, 1986. About 170 people attended the conference representing 11 countries, 14 universities, 21 government laboratories and 60 industrial companies. Thirty-one papers were presented describing advancements and applications of cryocoolers in the temperature range below 80K. This year's conference was sponsored by the David Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center of Annapolis, Maryland, and the conference proceedings reproduced here was published by them.

  4. Budgeting-Based Organization of Internal Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogulenko, Tatiana; Ponomareva, Svetlana; Bodiaco, Anna; Mironenko, Valentina; Zelenov, Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    The article suggests methodical approaches to the budgeting-based organization of internal control, determines the tasks and subtasks of control that consist in the construction of an efficient system for the making, implementation, control, and analysis of managerial decisions. The organization of responsibility centers by means of implementing…

  5. THE FUTURE OF INTERNAL AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    COSMIN DUMITRU MATIȘ

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Over the years, the purpose of internal audit has continued to evolve and expand, managing to successfully transition from its traditional function of monitoring financial statements to the strategic and operational efforts of checking the organization’s compliance at all levels. Regarding the future, it is assumed that the internal audit will play an important advisory role, becoming an important catalyst of business development, focusing organizations on emerging risks. This transformation of the whole internal system, consisting in both control and audit, which seeks to promote a risk-centered organizational culture, is in the process of evolution, but it complexity, the conflicts of interest, the little understanding of most companies when it comes to implementing such a system as well as various issues of credibility, limit the pace of development for now. Our belief, however, is that this slow evolution is favorable for the alternative purpose of building the functions of the new internal control and audit on a more credible and relevant foundation for the organizational management.

  6. 5th International Conference on Cryocoolers

    CERN Document Server

    1989-01-01

    The Cryocoolers 5 proceedings archives the contributions of leading international experts at the 5th International Cryocooler Conference that was held in Monterey, California on August 18-19, 1988. The authors submitted twenty six papers describing advancements and applications of cryocoolers in the temperature range below 80K. This year's conference was hosted by the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and the conference proceedings reproduced here were published by the Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio.

  7. The international spinal cord injury pain basic data set.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widerström-Noga, E; Biering-Sørensen, F; Bryce, T; Cardenas, D D; Finnerup, N B; Jensen, M P; Richards, J S; Siddall, P J

    2008-12-01

    To develop a basic pain data set (International Spinal Cord Injury Basic Pain Data Set, ISCIPDS:B) within the framework of the International spinal cord injury (SCI) data sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of pain in the SCI population. International. The ISCIPDS:B was developed by a working group consisting of individuals with published evidence of expertise in SCI-related pain regarding taxonomy, psychophysics, psychology, epidemiology and assessment, and one representative of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets. The members were appointed by four major organizations with an interest in SCI-related pain (International Spinal Cord Society, ISCoS; American Spinal Injury Association, ASIA; American Pain Society, APS and International Association for the Study of Pain, IASP). The initial ISCIPDS:B was revised based on suggestions from members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA and APS Boards, and the Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group of the IASP, individual reviewers and societies and the ISCoS Council. The final ISCIPDS:B contains core questions about clinically relevant information concerning SCI-related pain that can be collected by health-care professionals with expertise in SCI in various clinical settings. The questions concern pain severity, physical and emotional function and include a pain-intensity rating, a pain classification and questions related to the temporal pattern of pain for each specific pain problem. The impact of pain on physical, social and emotional function, and sleep is evaluated for each pain.

  8. Internal combustion engine system having a power turbine with a broad efficiency range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whiting, Todd Mathew; Vuk, Carl Thomas

    2010-04-13

    An engine system incorporating an air breathing, reciprocating internal combustion engine having an inlet for air and an exhaust for products of combustion. A centripetal turbine receives products of the combustion and has a housing in which a turbine wheel is rotatable. The housing has first and second passages leading from the inlet to discrete, approximately 180.degree., portions of the circumference of the turbine wheel. The passages have fixed vanes adjacent the periphery of the turbine wheel and the angle of the vanes in one of the passages is different than those in the other so as to accommodate different power levels providing optimum approach angles between the gases passing the vanes and the blades of the turbine wheel. Flow through the passages is controlled by a flapper valve to direct it to one or the other or both passages depending upon the load factor for the engine.

  9. The International Prevalence Study on Physical Activity: results from 20 countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bowles Heather R

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical activity (PA is one of the most important factors for improving population health, but no standardised systems exist for international surveillance. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ was developed for international surveillance. The purpose of this study was a comparative international study of population physical activity prevalence across 20 countries. Methods Between 2002–2004, a standardised protocol using IPAQ was used to assess PA participation in 20 countries [total N = 52,746, aged 18–65 years]. The median survey response rate was 61%. Physical activity levels were categorised as "low", "moderate" and "high". Age-adjusted prevalence estimates are presented by sex. Results The prevalence of "high PA" varied from 21–63%; in eight countries high PA was reported for over half of the adult population. The prevalence of "low PA" varied from 9% to 43%. Males more frequently reported high PA than females in 17 of 20 countries. The prevalence of low PA ranged from 7–41% among males, and 6–49% among females. Gender differences were noted, especially for younger adults, with males more active than females in most countries. Markedly lower physical activity prevalence (10% difference with increasing age was noted in 11 of 19 countries for males, but only in three countries for women. The ways populations accumulated PA differed, with some reporting mostly vigorous intensity activities and others mostly walking. Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility of international PA surveillance, and showed that IPAQ is an acceptable surveillance instrument, at least within countries. If assessment methods are used consistently over time, trend data will inform countries about the success of their efforts to promote physical activity.

  10. Professional Training of Specialists in International Marketing in Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zukowski, Wojciech

    2015-01-01

    Polish experience in training specialists in international marketing in the context of globalization and integration processes has been studied. A range of theoretical resources, namely Market Entry Strategy for Poland; the articles dedicated to international marketing and economy development (W. Grzegorczyk, M. Viachevskyi, M. Urbanetst); program…

  11. Clinical Supervision of International Supervisees: Suggestions for Multicultural Supervision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ahram

    2018-01-01

    An increase of international students in various settings has been noted in a range of disciplines including counseling and other mental health professions. The author examined the literature on international counseling students related to their experiences in counseling training, particularly in supervision. From the counseling literature, five…

  12. The Principle of Energetic Consistency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Stephen E.

    2009-01-01

    A basic result in estimation theory is that the minimum variance estimate of the dynamical state, given the observations, is the conditional mean estimate. This result holds independently of the specifics of any dynamical or observation nonlinearity or stochasticity, requiring only that the probability density function of the state, conditioned on the observations, has two moments. For nonlinear dynamics that conserve a total energy, this general result implies the principle of energetic consistency: if the dynamical variables are taken to be the natural energy variables, then the sum of the total energy of the conditional mean and the trace of the conditional covariance matrix (the total variance) is constant between observations. Ensemble Kalman filtering methods are designed to approximate the evolution of the conditional mean and covariance matrix. For them the principle of energetic consistency holds independently of ensemble size, even with covariance localization. However, full Kalman filter experiments with advection dynamics have shown that a small amount of numerical dissipation can cause a large, state-dependent loss of total variance, to the detriment of filter performance. The principle of energetic consistency offers a simple way to test whether this spurious loss of variance limits ensemble filter performance in full-blown applications. The classical second-moment closure (third-moment discard) equations also satisfy the principle of energetic consistency, independently of the rank of the conditional covariance matrix. Low-rank approximation of these equations offers an energetically consistent, computationally viable alternative to ensemble filtering. Current formulations of long-window, weak-constraint, four-dimensional variational methods are designed to approximate the conditional mode rather than the conditional mean. Thus they neglect the nonlinear bias term in the second-moment closure equation for the conditional mean. The principle of

  13. International comparative studies in mathematics education: are we obsessed with the international rankings of measured educational outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Tsung-Lung; Li, Hui-Chuan

    2017-11-01

    Over the past few decades, researchers, policy makers, educators and the general public, who have an interest in mathematics education in different countries, pay a great deal of attention to the results from international comparative studies. Of great interest to the international studies is the results of Eastern students consistently achieving higher marks among the participating countries. In recent years, we have seen a climate of intense global economic competition and a growing belief in the key role of education, which have persuaded governments to become increasingly obsessed with the international rankings of measured educational outcomes. Accordingly, educational policy is increasingly driven by national attempts to "copy" the perceived advantage associated with the educational strategies and techniques of other countries. In this note, we present a discussion of the benefits and criticisms of one of these international comparative studies: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) studies. In so doing, we attempt to call attention to a continuously growing culture of "teaching to the test" in mathematics education.

  14. Internal irradiation for cystic craniopharyngioma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, T.; Kageyama, N.; Ohara, K.

    1981-01-01

    The authors report the results of internal irradiation with labeled chromic phosphate (32P) and gold-198 (198Au) colloid in eight cases of cystic craniopharyngiomas. They used a newly developed dosimetric formula, by which the radiation dose at the cyst wall and at any point far from the radioactive source can be calculated. Ten courses of irradiation in eight patients were carried out by injection of either 32P or 198Au colloid into the cyst through an Ommaya drainage system that had been placed at craniotomy. Follow-up studies ranging from 13 to 156 months revealed that all cysts were effectively treated, with elimination of fluid or collapse of the cyst. This was confirmed by Conray cystography and/or computerized tomography. Not only the dose delivered to the wall but also the thickness of the cyst wall and the location of the cyst are important factors in planning internal irradiation. A safe and adequate dose to the cyst wall could range between 9000 to 30,000 rads for craniopharyngioma. This treatment is suitable for large cysts that are thought to be difficult to remove radically, recurrent cysts resistant to previous treatment, or multiple cysts. Internal irradiation may also be applicable in other cystic intracranial tumors if dosimetry is calculated accurately

  15. Protected area types, strategies and impacts in Brazil's Amazon: public protected area strategies do not yield a consistent ranking of protected area types by impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Sandoval, Catalina; Herrera, Diego

    2015-01-01

    The leading policy to conserve forest is protected areas (PAs). Yet, PAs are not a single tool: land users and uses vary by PA type; and public PA strategies vary in the extent of each type and in the determinants of impact for each type, i.e. siting and internal deforestation. Further, across regions and time, strategies respond to pressures (deforestation and political). We estimate deforestation impacts of PA types for a critical frontier, the Brazilian Amazon. We separate regions and time periods that differ in their deforestation and political pressures and document considerable variation in PA strategies across regions, time periods and types. The siting of PAs varies across regions. For example, all else being equal, PAs in the arc of deforestation are relatively far from non-forest, while in other states they are relatively near. Internal deforestation varies across time periods, e.g. it is more similar across the PA types for PAs after 2000. By contrast, after 2000, PA extent is less similar across PA types with little non-indigenous area created inside the arc. PA strategies generate a range of impacts for PA types—always far higher within the arc—but not a consistent ranking of PA types by impact. PMID:26460126

  16. Protected area types, strategies and impacts in Brazil's Amazon: public protected area strategies do not yield a consistent ranking of protected area types by impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Sandoval, Catalina; Herrera, Diego

    2015-11-05

    The leading policy to conserve forest is protected areas (PAs). Yet, PAs are not a single tool: land users and uses vary by PA type; and public PA strategies vary in the extent of each type and in the determinants of impact for each type, i.e. siting and internal deforestation. Further, across regions and time, strategies respond to pressures (deforestation and political). We estimate deforestation impacts of PA types for a critical frontier, the Brazilian Amazon. We separate regions and time periods that differ in their deforestation and political pressures and document considerable variation in PA strategies across regions, time periods and types. The siting of PAs varies across regions. For example, all else being equal, PAs in the arc of deforestation are relatively far from non-forest, while in other states they are relatively near. Internal deforestation varies across time periods, e.g. it is more similar across the PA types for PAs after 2000. By contrast, after 2000, PA extent is less similar across PA types with little non-indigenous area created inside the arc. PA strategies generate a range of impacts for PA types--always far higher within the arc--but not a consistent ranking of PA types by impact. © 2015 The Author(s).

  17. A Thermodynamically-Consistent Non-Ideal Stochastic Hard-Sphere Fluid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Donev, A; Alder, B J; Garcia, A L

    2009-08-03

    A grid-free variant of the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is proposed, named the Isotropic DSMC (I-DSMC) method, that is suitable for simulating collision-dominated dense fluid flows. The I-DSMC algorithm eliminates all grid artifacts from the traditional DSMC algorithm and is Galilean invariant and microscopically isotropic. The stochastic collision rules in I-DSMC are modified to introduce a non-ideal structure factor that gives consistent compressibility, as first proposed in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101:075902 (2008)]. The resulting Stochastic Hard Sphere Dynamics (SHSD) fluid is empirically shown to be thermodynamically identical to a deterministic Hamiltonian system of penetrable spheres interacting with a linear core pair potential, well-described by the hypernetted chain (HNC) approximation. We develop a kinetic theory for the SHSD fluid to obtain estimates for the transport coefficients that are in excellent agreement with particle simulations over a wide range of densities and collision rates. The fluctuating hydrodynamic behavior of the SHSD fluid is verified by comparing its dynamic structure factor against theory based on the Landau-Lifshitz Navier-Stokes equations. We also study the Brownian motion of a nano-particle suspended in an SHSD fluid and find a long-time power-law tail in its velocity autocorrelation function consistent with hydrodynamic theory and molecular dynamics calculations.

  18. The international spinal cord injury endocrine and metabolic function basic data set

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bauman, W A; Biering-Sørensen, Fin; Krassioukov, A

    2011-01-01

    To develop the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Endocrine and Metabolic Function Basic Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic endocrine and metabolic findings in the SCI population....

  19. International Physical Education Recreation and Dance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 1987

    1987-01-01

    This feature, consisting of 14 articles, looks at physical education from an international perspective. Programs in Nigeria, the USSR, Papua New Guinea, China, Denmark, West Germany, and Bahrain are explored. Exchange programs, culture shock, and barriers to understanding are discussed. The impact of the Olympic Games on Korea is analyzed. (MT)

  20. The Various forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR in International Commercial Disputes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelica Rosu

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Alternative dispute resolution, usually referred to by the acronym ADR, is the focus ofgrowing interest in the business world, and particularly the international business world. Contractdrafters are continuously inventing new ADR procedures, most of which are derived from, or inspiredby mediation, although in fact this is only one type of alternative dispute resolution. There is no doubtthat ADR has emerged out of practice. At present, there is a very broad range of alternative means ofdispute resolution used in equally broad array of circumstances. An exhaustive list of different typesof ADR cannot be drawn because ADR lends itself to numerous derivatives consisting ofcombinations of common types. Of all the ADR types, mediation is the most traditional and the mostcentral, around which all the other derivatives gravitate.

  1. COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mircea Alexandru Răduţeanu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent decades international management itself as a separate component of the general science of leadership, is an intercultural management. In this context of globalization, computerization, any business that wants have a modern management should have a structured information system based on communication, overall objective consisting in providing accurate data in real time all parties, increasing the level of communication. Given these considerations, we conducted this work trying to highlight the role of communication in achieving a modern, emphasizing international management features.The paper is divided into 6 parts, prefaced by an introduction of the paper we presented and completed within a set of conclusions on the effectiveness of communication. During the other paragraphs, we present the theoretical concepts of international management, communication, after which I stressed the role of information communication, managerial communication and will then focus on the process, taking stock of its specific stages in international management.

  2. Development of wide range charge integration application specified integrated circuit for photo-sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katayose, Yusaku, E-mail: katayose@ynu.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 240-8501 (Japan); Ikeda, Hirokazu [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS)/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Tanaka, Manobu [National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801 (Japan); Shibata, Makio [Department of Physics, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 240-8501 (Japan)

    2013-01-21

    A front-end application specified integrated circuit (ASIC) is developed with a wide dynamic range amplifier (WDAMP) to read-out signals from a photo-sensor like a photodiode. The WDAMP ASIC consists of a charge sensitive preamplifier, four wave-shaping circuits with different amplification factors and Wilkinson-type analog-to-digital converter (ADC). To realize a wider range, the integrating capacitor in the preamplifier can be changed from 4 pF to 16 pF by a two-bit switch. The output of a preamplifier is shared by the four wave-shaping circuits with four gains of 1, 4, 16 and 64 to adapt the input range of ADC. A 0.25-μm CMOS process (of UMC electronics CO., LTD) is used to fabricate the ASIC with four-channels. The dynamic range of four orders of magnitude is achieved with the maximum range over 20 pC and the noise performance of 0.46 fC + 6.4×10{sup −4} fC/pF. -- Highlights: ► A front-end ASIC is developed with a wide dynamic range amplifier. ► The ASIC consists of a CSA, four wave-shaping circuits and pulse-height-to-time converters. ► The dynamic range of four orders of magnitude is achieved with the maximum range over 20 pC.

  3. Consistent Quantum Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Robert B.

    2001-11-01

    Quantum mechanics is one of the most fundamental yet difficult subjects in physics. Nonrelativistic quantum theory is presented here in a clear and systematic fashion, integrating Born's probabilistic interpretation with Schrödinger dynamics. Basic quantum principles are illustrated with simple examples requiring no mathematics beyond linear algebra and elementary probability theory. The quantum measurement process is consistently analyzed using fundamental quantum principles without referring to measurement. These same principles are used to resolve several of the paradoxes that have long perplexed physicists, including the double slit and Schrödinger's cat. The consistent histories formalism used here was first introduced by the author, and extended by M. Gell-Mann, J. Hartle and R. Omnès. Essential for researchers yet accessible to advanced undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, this book is supplementary to standard textbooks. It will also be of interest to physicists and philosophers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics. Comprehensive account Written by one of the main figures in the field Paperback edition of successful work on philosophy of quantum mechanics

  4. Consistent expression of guanylyl cyclase-C in primary and metastatic gastrointestinal cancers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Danaee

    Full Text Available The transmembrane receptor guanylate cyclase-C (GCC has been found to be expressed in colorectal cancers. However, limited data are available on GCC protein expression in non-colorectal gastrointestinal tumors and few studies have reported whether GCC protein expression was consistently preserved in synchronous primary and metastatic cancer tissues.GCC protein status was assessed by immunohistochemistry in tumor specimens from individuals (n = 627 with gastrointestinal tumors, including esophageal (n = 130, gastric (n = 276, pancreatic (n = 136, and colorectal (n = 85 primary and metastatic tumors. Tissue specimens consisted of tissue microarrays containing esophageal, gastric, pancreatic tumors, and whole-slide tissue sections from colorectal cancer patients with matching primary and metastatic tumors.Among the evaluated esophageal, gastric, and pancreatic tumors, the frequency of GCC positivity at the protein level ranged from 59% to 68%. GCC was consistently expressed in primary and matched/synchronous metastatic lesions of colorectal cancer tissues derived from the same patients.This observational study demonstrated the protein expression of GCC across various gastrointestinal malignancies. In all cancer histotypes, GCC protein localization was observed predominantly in the cytoplasm compared to the membrane region of tumor cells. Consistent immunohistochemistry detection of GCC protein expression in primary colorectal cancers and in their matched liver metastases suggests that the expression of GCC is maintained throughout the process of tumor progression and formation of metastatic disease.

  5. Interrelationships and consequential effects among technological innovation, service consistency, customer satisfaction and loyalty in banking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asare Yaw Obeng

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The key to long-term success in banking is consistent improvement and delivering of quality product and or value-added service that conform to the expectations of customers. IT-innovative products/services and processes (technological innovation facilitate these key elements of customer satisfaction and critical factors for retaining valued customers. The objective of this paper is to explore the effects of technological innovation on service consistency and the consequential effects on customer satisfaction and loyalty covering seven universal banks in Ghana. The results of the empirically tested model reveal new/improved product/process functionalities, service consistency and innovative product/process satisfaction contribute significantly to customer loyalty (p < 0.001. Service consistency has a marginal higher impact (β = .373 on customer loyalty than the others. Product/process quality contributes significantly (with β ranging from .345 to .742 and p < 0.001 to each of the above three antecedents than all other items.

  6. Resident learning across the full range of core competencies through a transitions of care curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavon, Juliessa M; Pinheiro, Sandro O; Buhr, Gwendolen T

    2018-01-01

    The authors developed a Transitions of Care (TOC) curriculum to teach and measure learner competence in performing TOC tasks for older adults. Internal medicine interns at an academic residency program received the curriculum, which consisted of experiential learning, self-study, and small group discussion. Interns completed retrospective pre/post surveys rating their confidence in performing five TOC tasks, qualitative open-ended survey questions, and a self-reflection essay. A subset of interns also completed follow-up assessments. For all five TOC tasks, the interns' confidence improved following completion of the TOC curriculum. Self-confidence persisted for up to 3 months later for some but not all tasks. According to the qualitative responses, the TOC curriculum provided interns with learning experiences and skills integral to performing safe care transitions. The TOC curriculum and a mixed-method assessment approach effectively teaches and measures learner competency in TOC across all six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competency domains.

  7. High power cable with internal water cooling 400 kV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasquin, W.; Harjes, B.

    1982-08-01

    Due to the concentration of electricity production in large power plants, the need of higher power transmissions, and the protection of environment, developement of a 400 kV water cooled cable in the power range of 1 to 5 GVA was undertaken. The fabrication and testing of equipment, engineering of cable components, fabrication of a test cable, development of cable terminal laboratory, testing of test cable, field testing of test cable, fabrication of industrial cable laboratory, testing of industrial cable, field testing of industrial cable, and system analysis for optimization were prepared. The field testing was impossible to realize. However, it is proved that a cable consisting of an internal stainless steel water cooled tube, covered by stranded copper profiles, insulated with heavy high quality paper, and protected by an aluminum cover can be produced, withstand tests accordingly to IEC/VDE recommendations, and is able to fulfill all exploitation conditions.

  8. Short-range wireless communication fundamentals of RF system design and application

    CERN Document Server

    Bensky, Alan

    2004-01-01

    The Complete "Tool Kit” for the Hottest Area in RF/Wireless Design!Short-range wireless-communications over distances of less than 100 meters-is the most rapidly growing segment of RF/wireless engineering. Alan Bensky is an internationally recognized expert in short-range wireless, and this new edition of his bestselling book is completely revised to cover the latest developments in this fast moving field.You'll find coverage of such cutting-edge topics as: architectural trends in RF/wireless integrated circuits compatibility and conflict issues between differen

  9. Working for Change across International Borders: The Association of Headmistresses and Education for International Citizenship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Joyce

    2007-01-01

    This article contributes to the retrieval of the "lost history" of interwar internationalism that is increasingly receiving attention from historians of education. It traces the involvement of the English Association of Headmistresses (AHM) in a range of organizations that networked women educationists with women's organizations, with…

  10. International Physical Protection Advisory Service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soo Hoo, M.S.; Ek, D.; Hageman, A.; Jenkin, T.; Price, C.; Weiss, B.

    1998-01-01

    Since its inception in 1996, the purpose of the International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) has been to provide advice and assistance to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Member States on strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of their state system of physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities. Since the protection of nuclear materials and facilities is a Member State's responsibility, participation within the IPPAS program is voluntary. At the request of a Member State, the IAEA forms a multinational IPPAS team consisting of physical protection specialists. These specialists have broad experience in physical protection system design, implementation, and regulatory oversight. The exact make-up of the team depends upon the needs of the requesting state. IPPAS missions to participating states strive to compare the domestic procedures and practices of the state against international physical protection guidelines (IAEA Information Circular 225) and internationally accepted practice. The missions utilize a top to bottom approach and begin by reviewing the legal and regulatory structure and conclude with reviews of the implementation of the state regulations and international guidelines at individual facilities. IPPAS findings are treated as IAEA Safeguards Confidential Information. To date, IPPAS missions have been concluded in Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland

  11. Structure of the strongly coupled classical plasma in the self-consistent mean spherical approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaturvedi, D.K.; Senatore, G.; Tosi, M.P.

    1980-10-01

    An analytic theory is presented for the static structure factor of the one-component classical plasma at strong couplings. The theory combines the hard-core model of Gillan for short-range correlations in the Coulomb fluid with a semiempirical representation of intermediate-range correlations, through which the requirement of thermodynamic consistency on the ''compressibility'' and the known equation of state of the system are satisfied. Excellent agreement is found with the available computer simulation data on the structure of the fluid. The approach becomes inapplicable at intermediate and weak couplings where effects of penetration in the Coulomb hole of each particle become important. (author)

  12. Quasiparticle self-consistent GW method for the spectral properties of complex materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruneval, Fabien; Gatti, Matteo

    2014-01-01

    The GW approximation to the formally exact many-body perturbation theory has been applied successfully to materials for several decades. Since the practical calculations are extremely cumbersome, the GW self-energy is most commonly evaluated using a first-order perturbative approach: This is the so-called G 0 W 0 scheme. However, the G 0 W 0 approximation depends heavily on the mean-field theory that is employed as a basis for the perturbation theory. Recently, a procedure to reach a kind of self-consistency within the GW framework has been proposed. The quasiparticle self-consistent GW (QSGW) approximation retains some positive aspects of a self-consistent approach, but circumvents the intricacies of the complete GW theory, which is inconveniently based on a non-Hermitian and dynamical self-energy. This new scheme allows one to surmount most of the flaws of the usual G 0 W 0 at a moderate calculation cost and at a reasonable implementation burden. In particular, the issues of small band gap semiconductors, of large band gap insulators, and of some transition metal oxides are then cured. The QSGW method broadens the range of materials for which the spectral properties can be predicted with confidence.

  13. Quantitative assessment of the physical potential of proton beam range verification with PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopf, A.; Parodi, K.; Paganetti, H.; Cascio, E.; Bonab, A.; Bortfeld, T.

    2008-08-01

    A recent clinical pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of offline PET/CT range verification for proton therapy treatments. In vivo PET measurements are challenged by blood perfusion, variations of tissue compositions, patient motion and image co-registration uncertainties. Besides these biological and treatment specific factors, the accuracy of the method is constrained by the underlying physical processes. This phantom study distinguishes physical factors from other factors, assessing the reproducibility, consistency and sensitivity of the PET/CT range verification method. A spread-out Bragg-peak (SOBP) proton field was delivered to a phantom consisting of poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), lung and bone equivalent material slabs. PET data were acquired in listmode at a commercial PET/CT scanner available within 10 min walking distance from the proton therapy unit. The measured PET activity distributions were compared to simulations of the PET signal based on Geant4 and FLUKA Monte Carlo (MC) codes. To test the reproducibility of the measured PET signal, data from two independent measurements at the same geometrical position in the phantom were compared. Furthermore, activation depth profiles within identical material arrangements but at different positions within the irradiation field were compared to test the consistency of the measured PET signal. Finally, activation depth profiles through air/lung, air/bone and lung/bone interfaces parallel as well as at 6° to the beam direction were studied to investigate the sensitivity of the PET/CT range verification method. The reproducibility and the consistency of the measured PET signal were found to be of the same order of magnitude. They determine the physical accuracy of the PET measurement to be about 1 mm. However, range discrepancies up to 2.6 mm between two measurements and range variations up to 2.6 mm within one measurement were found at the beam edge and at the edge of the field of view (FOV) of the PET

  14. Quantitative assessment of the physical potential of proton beam range verification with PET/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knopf, A; Paganetti, H; Cascio, E; Bortfeld, T [Department of Radiation Oncology, MGH and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 (United States); Parodi, K [Heidelberg Ion Therapy Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Bonab, A [Department of Radiology, MGH and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114 (United States)

    2008-08-07

    A recent clinical pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of offline PET/CT range verification for proton therapy treatments. In vivo PET measurements are challenged by blood perfusion, variations of tissue compositions, patient motion and image co-registration uncertainties. Besides these biological and treatment specific factors, the accuracy of the method is constrained by the underlying physical processes. This phantom study distinguishes physical factors from other factors, assessing the reproducibility, consistency and sensitivity of the PET/CT range verification method. A spread-out Bragg-peak (SOBP) proton field was delivered to a phantom consisting of poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), lung and bone equivalent material slabs. PET data were acquired in listmode at a commercial PET/CT scanner available within 10 min walking distance from the proton therapy unit. The measured PET activity distributions were compared to simulations of the PET signal based on Geant4 and FLUKA Monte Carlo (MC) codes. To test the reproducibility of the measured PET signal, data from two independent measurements at the same geometrical position in the phantom were compared. Furthermore, activation depth profiles within identical material arrangements but at different positions within the irradiation field were compared to test the consistency of the measured PET signal. Finally, activation depth profiles through air/lung, air/bone and lung/bone interfaces parallel as well as at 6{sup 0} to the beam direction were studied to investigate the sensitivity of the PET/CT range verification method. The reproducibility and the consistency of the measured PET signal were found to be of the same order of magnitude. They determine the physical accuracy of the PET measurement to be about 1 mm. However, range discrepancies up to 2.6 mm between two measurements and range variations up to 2.6 mm within one measurement were found at the beam edge and at the edge of the field of view (FOV) of the

  15. Quantitative assessment of the physical potential of proton beam range verification with PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopf, A; Parodi, K; Paganetti, H; Cascio, E; Bonab, A; Bortfeld, T

    2008-08-07

    A recent clinical pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of offline PET/CT range verification for proton therapy treatments. In vivo PET measurements are challenged by blood perfusion, variations of tissue compositions, patient motion and image co-registration uncertainties. Besides these biological and treatment specific factors, the accuracy of the method is constrained by the underlying physical processes. This phantom study distinguishes physical factors from other factors, assessing the reproducibility, consistency and sensitivity of the PET/CT range verification method. A spread-out Bragg-peak (SOBP) proton field was delivered to a phantom consisting of poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), lung and bone equivalent material slabs. PET data were acquired in listmode at a commercial PET/CT scanner available within 10 min walking distance from the proton therapy unit. The measured PET activity distributions were compared to simulations of the PET signal based on Geant4 and FLUKA Monte Carlo (MC) codes. To test the reproducibility of the measured PET signal, data from two independent measurements at the same geometrical position in the phantom were compared. Furthermore, activation depth profiles within identical material arrangements but at different positions within the irradiation field were compared to test the consistency of the measured PET signal. Finally, activation depth profiles through air/lung, air/bone and lung/bone interfaces parallel as well as at 6 degrees to the beam direction were studied to investigate the sensitivity of the PET/CT range verification method. The reproducibility and the consistency of the measured PET signal were found to be of the same order of magnitude. They determine the physical accuracy of the PET measurement to be about 1 mm. However, range discrepancies up to 2.6 mm between two measurements and range variations up to 2.6 mm within one measurement were found at the beam edge and at the edge of the field of view (FOV) of the

  16. The Bouguer Correction Algorithm for Gravity with Limited Range

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MA Jian

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Bouguer correction is an important item in gravity reduction, while the traditional Bouguer correction, whether the plane Bouguer correction or the spherical Bouguer correction, exists approximation error because of far-zone virtual terrain. The error grows as the calculation point gets higher. Therefore gravity reduction using the Bouguer correction with limited range, which was in accordance with the scope of the topographic correction, was researched in this paper. After that, a simplified formula to calculate the Bouguer correction with limited range was proposed. The algorithm, which is innovative and has the value of mathematical theory to some extent, shows consistency with the equation evolved from the strict integral algorithm for topographic correction. The interpolation experiment shows that gravity reduction based on the Bouguer correction with limited range is prior to unlimited range when the calculation point is taller than 1000 m.

  17. Is international junior success a reliable predictor for international senior success in elite combat sports?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Pingwei; De Bosscher, Veerle; Pion, Johan; Weissensteiner, Juanita R; Vertonghen, Jikkemien

    2018-05-01

    Currently in the literature, there is a dearth of empirical research that confirms whether international junior success is a reliable predictor for future international senior success. Despite the uncertainty of the junior-senior relationship, federations and coaches still tend to use junior success as a predictor for long-term senior success. A range of former investigations utilising a retrospective lens has merely focused on success that athletes attained at junior level competitions. Success that was achieved at senior-level competitions but at a junior age was relatively ignored. This study explored to what extent international senior success can be predicted based on success that athletes achieved in either international junior level competitions (i.e. junior medalists) or senior competitions at a junior age (i.e. early achievers). The sample contains 4011 international male and female athletes from three combat sports (taekwondo, wrestling and boxing), who were born between 1974 and 1990 and participated in both international junior and senior-level competitions between 1990 and 2016. Gender and sport differences were compared. The results revealed that 61.4% of the junior medalists and 90.4% of the early achievers went on to win international medals at a senior age. Among the early achievers, 92.2% of the taekwondo athletes, 68.4% of the wrestling athletes and 37.9% of the boxing athletes could be reliably "predicted" to win international senior medals. The findings demonstrate that specific to the three combat sports examined, international junior success appears to be an important predictor to long-term international senior success.

  18. The Internalized Homophobia Scale for Vietnamese Sexual Minority Women (IHVN-W): Conceptualization, factor structure, reliability, and associations with hypothesized correlates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Trang Quynh; Poteat, Tonia; Bandeen-Roche, Karen; German, Danielle; Nguyen, Yen Hai; Vu, Loan Kieu-Chau; Nguyen, Nam Thi-Thu; Knowlton, Amy R.

    2016-01-01

    We developed the first Vietnamese internalized homophobia (IH) scale, for use with Vietnamese sexual minority women (SMW). Drawing from existing IH scales in the international literature and based on prior qualitative research about SMW in the Viet Nam context, the scale covers two domains: self-stigma (negative attitudes toward oneself as a sexual minority person) and sexual prejudice (negative attitudes toward homosexuality/same-sex relations in general). Scale items, including items borrowed from existing scales and items based on local expressions, were reviewed and confirmed by members of the target population. Quantitative evaluation used data from an anonymous web-based survey of Vietnamese SMW, including those who identified as lesbian (n=1187), or as bisexual (n=641) and those who were unsure about their sexual identity (n=353). The scale was found to consist of two highly correlated factors reflecting self-stigma (not normal/wholesome and self-reproach and wishing away same-sex sexuality) and one factor reflecting sexual prejudice, and to have excellent internal consistency. Construct validity was evidenced by subscales’ associations with a wide range of hypothesized correlates including perceived sexual stigma, outness, social support, connection to other SMW, relationship quality, psychological well-being, anticipation of heterosexual marriage and endorsement of same-sex marriage legalization. Self-stigma was more strongly associated with psychosocial correlates and sexual prejudice was more associated with endorsement of legal same-sex marriage. The variations in these associations across the hypothesized correlates and across sexual identity groups were consistent with the Minority Stress Model and the IH literature, and exhibited context-specific features, which are discussed. PMID:27007469

  19. Electrolytes for Low Impedance, Wide Operating Temperature Range Lithium-Ion Battery Module

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallac, Boutros (Inventor); Krause, Frederick C. (Inventor); Jiang, Junwei (Inventor); Smart, Marshall C. (Inventor); Metz, Bernhard M. (Inventor); Bugga, Ratnakumar V. (Inventor)

    2018-01-01

    A lithium ion battery cell includes a housing, a cathode disposed within the housing, wherein the cathode comprises a cathode active material, an anode disposed within the housing, wherein the anode comprises an anode active material, and an electrolyte disposed within the housing and in contact with the cathode and anode. The electrolyte consists essentially of a solvent mixture, a lithium salt in a concentration ranging from approximately 1.0 molar (M) to approximately 1.6 M, and an additive mixture. The solvent mixture includes a cyclic carbonate, an non-cyclic carbonate, and a linear ester. The additive mixture consists essentially of lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) in an amount ranging from approximately 0.5 weight percent to approximately 2.0 weight percent based on the weight of the electrolyte, and vinylene carbonate (VC) in an amount ranging from approximately 0.5 weight percent to approximately 2.0 weight percent based on the weight of the electrolyte.

  20. The reliability and internal consistency of one-shot and flicker change detection for measuring individual differences in visual working memory capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pailian, Hrag; Halberda, Justin

    2015-04-01

    We investigated the psychometric properties of the one-shot change detection task for estimating visual working memory (VWM) storage capacity-and also introduced and tested an alternative flicker change detection task for estimating these limits. In three experiments, we found that the one-shot whole-display task returns estimates of VWM storage capacity (K) that are unreliable across set sizes-suggesting that the whole-display task is measuring different things at different set sizes. In two additional experiments, we found that the one-shot single-probe variant shows improvements in the reliability and consistency of K estimates. In another additional experiment, we found that a one-shot whole-display-with-click task (requiring target localization) also showed improvements in reliability and consistency. The latter results suggest that the one-shot task can return reliable and consistent estimates of VWM storage capacity (K), and they highlight the possibility that the requirement to localize the changed target is what engenders this enhancement. Through a final series of four experiments, we introduced and tested an alternative flicker change detection method that also requires the observer to localize the changing target and that generates, from response times, an estimate of VWM storage capacity (K). We found that estimates of K from the flicker task correlated with estimates from the traditional one-shot task and also had high reliability and consistency. We highlight the flicker method's ability to estimate executive functions as well as VWM storage capacity, and discuss the potential for measuring multiple abilities with the one-shot and flicker tasks.