The Effects of Music during a Physical Examination Skills Practice: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elpida Artemiou

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Some veterinary students experience elevated stress, anxiety, and depression resulting in disease and psychological changes. Elevated arousal, negative moods, and lack of interest can negatively affect performance and learning. Psychoacoustic music promotes calming effects using simple and slow piano sounds and can positively impact well-being and functioning. This pilot study assessed the effects of music on blood pressure, pulse, arousal, and mood during a canine physical examination laboratory. In an AB/BA crossover study, 17 students were randomly allocated to practice physical examination skills while listening to Through a Dog’s Ear, Volume 1. Psychological and physiologic data were collected. Nonparametric methods were used to test for significant differences in psychological and physiologic data and a linear mixed models approach was used to test for physiological differences. There were no significant baseline differences between the music and no music groups for DASS-21 depression, anxiety, or stress scores; however, there were significant time differences between pretest and posttest on arousal and mood as measured by the Profile of Mood Sates (POMS Depression, Fatigue–Inertia, and Tension Anxiety subscales. Linear mixed models revealed no significant treatment effect on the pulse and diastolic blood pressure; however, there was a significant systolic blood pressure treatment effect. Future indications include repeating the study with a larger sample to examine longitudinal psychological and physiological benefits.

[Research progress of larger flexion gap than extension gap in total knee arthroplasty].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Weisong; Hao, Dingjun

2017-05-01

To summarize the progress of larger flexion gap than extension gap in total knee arthro-plasty (TKA). The domestic and foreign related literature about larger flexion gap than extension gap in TKA, and its impact factors, biomechanical and kinematic features, and clinical results were summarized. During TKA, to adjust the relations of flexion gap and extension gap is one of the key factors of successful operation. The biomechanical, kinematic, and clinical researches show that properly larger flexion gap than extension gap can improve both the postoperative knee range of motion and the satisfaction of patients, but does not affect the stability of the knee joint. However, there are also contrary findings. So adjustment of flexion gap and extension gap during TKA is still in dispute. Larger flexion gap than extension gap in TKA is a new joint space theory, and long-term clinical efficacy, operation skills, and related complications still need further study.

Larger Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Volume Predicts Better Exercise Adherence Among Older Women: Evidence From Two Exercise Training Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Best, John R; Chiu, Bryan K; Hall, Peter A; Liu-Ambrose, Teresa

2017-06-01

Recent research has suggested an important role of lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) in consistent implementation of positive health behaviors and avoidance of negative health behaviors. We examined whether gray matter volume in the lPFC prospectively predicts exercise class attendance among older women (n = 122) who underwent either a 52-week or 26-week exercise training intervention. Structural magnetic resonance imaging determined gray matter volume at baseline. Independent of intracranial volume, age, education, body composition, mobility, depressive symptoms, and general cognitive functioning, larger lPFC volume predicted greater exercise class attendance (all p values exercise adherence as well as identified other regions, especially in the insula and temporal cortex, that predicted exercise adherence. These findings suggest that sustained engagement in exercise training might rely in part on functions of the lPFC and that lPFC volume might be a reasonable proxy for such functions. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Biological control agent of larger black flour beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae): A nuisance pest developing in cotton gin trash piles.

Science.gov (United States)

Larger black flour beetles (LBFB), Cynaeus angustus, feed on saprophytic fungi found in gin trash piles, and become nuisance pests in homes and businesses. We examined the dose-response of three entomopathogenic nematode species (Steinernema carpocapsae, S. feltiae, and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora...

Size selectivity of commercial (300 MC) and larger square mesh top ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In the present study, size selectivity of a commercial (300 MC) and a larger square mesh top panel (LSMTPC) codend for blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) were tested on a commercial trawl net in the international waters between Turkey and Greece. Trawling, performed during daylight was carried out at depths ...

Larger foraminifera of the Devil's Den and Blue Hole sinkholes, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Cotton, Laura J.; Eder, Wolfgang; Floyd, James

2018-03-01

Shallow-water carbonate deposits are well-known from the Eocene of the US Gulf Coast and Caribbean. These deposits frequently contain abundant larger benthic foraminifera (LBF). However, whilst integrated stratigraphic studies have helped to refine the timing of LBF overturning events within the Tethys and Indo-Pacific regions with respect to global bio- and chemo-stratigraphic records, little recent work has been carried out in the Americas. The American LBF assemblages are distinctly different from those of Europe and the Indo-Pacific. It is therefore essential that the American bio-province is included in studies of LBF evolution, biodiversity and climate events to understand these processes on a global scale.Here we present the LBF ranges from two previously unpublished sections spanning 35 and 29 m of the upper Eocene Ocala limestone, as the early stages of a larger project addressing the taxonomy and biostratigraphy of the LBF of Florida. The study indicates that the lower member of the Ocala limestone may be Bartonian rather than Priabonian in age, with implications for the biostratigraphy of the region. In addition, the study highlights the need for multiple sites to assess the LBF assemblages and fully constrain ranges across Florida and the US Gulf and suggests potential LBF events for future integrated stratigraphic study.

Imaging samples larger than the field of view: the SLS experience

Science.gov (United States)

Vogiatzis Oikonomidis, Ioannis; Lovric, Goran; Cremona, Tiziana P.; Arcadu, Filippo; Patera, Alessandra; Schittny, Johannes C.; Stampanoni, Marco

2017-06-01

Volumetric datasets with micrometer spatial and sub-second temporal resolutions are nowadays routinely acquired using synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM). Although SRXTM technology allows the examination of multiple samples with short scan times, many specimens are larger than the field-of-view (FOV) provided by the detector. The extension of the FOV in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis remains non-trivial. We present a method that can efficiently increase the FOV merging volumetric datasets obtained by region-of-interest tomographies in different 3D positions of the sample with a minimal amount of artefacts and with the ability to handle large amounts of data. The method has been successfully applied for the three-dimensional imaging of a small number of mouse lung acini of intact animals, where pixel sizes down to the micrometer range and short exposure times are required.

Specific Noncovalent Association of Chiral Large-Ring Hexaimines: Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry and PM7 Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Troć, Anna; Gajewy, Jadwiga; Danikiewicz, Witold; Kwit, Marcin

2016-09-05

Ion mobility mass spectrometry and PM7 semiempirical calculations are effective complementary methods to study gas phase formation of noncovalent complexes from vaselike macrocycles. The specific association of large-ring chiral hexaimines, derived from enantiomerically pure trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane and various isophthaldehydes, is driven mostly by CH-π and π-π stacking interactions. The isotrianglimine macrocycles are prone to form two types of aggregates: tail-to-tail and head-to-head (capsule) dimers. The stability of the tail-to-tail dimers is affected by the size and electronic properties of the substituents at the C-5 position of the aromatic ring. Electron-withdrawing groups stabilize the aggregate, whereas bulky or electron-donating groups destabilize the complexes. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Comparison between smaller ruptured intracranial aneurysm and larger un-ruptured intracranial aneurysm: gene expression profile analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hao; Li, Haowen; Yue, Haiyan; Wang, Wen; Yu, Lanbing; ShuoWang; Cao, Yong; Zhao, Jizong

2017-07-01

As it grows in size, an intracranial aneurysm (IA) is prone to rupture. In this study, we compared two extreme groups of IAs, ruptured IAs (RIAs) smaller than 10 mm and un-ruptured IAs (UIAs) larger than 10 mm, to investigate the genes involved in the facilitation and prevention of IA rupture. The aneurismal walls of 6 smaller saccular RIAs (size smaller than 10 mm), 6 larger saccular UIAs (size larger than 10 mm) and 12 paired control arteries were obtained during surgery. The transcription profiles of these samples were studied by microarray analysis. RT-qPCR was used to confirm the expression of the genes of interest. In addition, functional group analysis of the differentially expressed genes was performed. Between smaller RIAs and larger UIAs, 101 genes and 179 genes were significantly over-expressed, respectively. In addition, functional group analysis demonstrated that the up-regulated genes in smaller RIAs mainly participated in the cellular response to metal ions and inorganic substances, while most of the up-regulated genes in larger UIAs were involved in inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization. Moreover, compared with control arteries, inflammation was up-regulated and muscle-related biological processes were down-regulated in both smaller RIAs and larger UIAs. The genes involved in the cellular response to metal ions and inorganic substances may facilitate the rupture of IAs. In addition, the healing process, involving inflammation and ECM organization, may protect IAs from rupture.

Base stock policies with degraded service to larger orders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du, Bisheng; Larsen, Christian

We study an inventory system controlled by a base stock policy assuming a compound renewal demand process. We extend the base stock policy by incorporating rules for degrading the service of larger orders. Two specific rules are considered, denoted Postpone(q,t) and Split(q), respectively. The aim...... of using these rules is to achieve a given order fill rate of the regular orders (those of size less than or equal to the parameter q) having less inventory. We develop mathematical expressions for the performance measures order fill rate (of the regular orders) and average on-hand inventory level. Based...

Examining Gender Bias in Studies of Innovation

OpenAIRE

Crowden, N.

2003-01-01

This paper examines the presence of a gender bias in studies of innovation. Using the Innovation Systems Research Network (ISRN) and its interview guide as a case study, this research project examines how accurately and completely such innovation studies present gender differences in the innovation process.

Larger fig wasps are more careful about which figs to enter--with good reason.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Cong; Yang, Da-Rong; Compton, Stephen G; Peng, Yan-Qiong

2013-01-01

Floral longevity reflects a balance between gains in pollinator visitation and the costs of flower maintenance. Because rewards to pollinators change over time, older flowers may be less attractive, reducing the value of extended longevity. Un-pollinated figs, the inflorescences of Ficus species, can remain receptive for long periods, but figs that are older when entered by their host-specific fig wasp pollinators produce fewer seeds and fig wasp offspring. Our field experiments with Ficushispida, a dioecious fig tree, examined how the length of time that receptive figs have remained un-pollinated influences the behaviour and reproductive success of its short-lived fig wasp pollinator, Ceratosolensolmsi marchali. The results were consistent in three different seasons, and on male and female trees, although receptivity was greatly extended during colder months. Pollinators took longer to find the ostioles of older figs, and longer to penetrate them. They also became increasingly unwilling to enter figs as they aged, and increasing numbers of the wasps became trapped in the ostiolar bracts. Larger individuals were particularly unwilling to enter older figs, resulting in older figs being pollinated by smaller wasps. On female trees, where figs produce only seeds, seed production declined rapidly with fig age. On male trees, the numbers and size of fig wasp offspring declined, and a higher proportion were male. Older male figs are harder to enter, especially for larger individuals, and offer poorer quality oviposition opportunities. This study opens an interesting new perspective on the coevolution of figs and their pollinators, especially factors influencing pollinator body size and emphasises the subtleties of interactions between mutualists.

Delivering Online Examinations: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John MESSING

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Delivering Online Examinations: A Case Study Jason HOWARTH John MESSING Irfan ALTAS Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga-AUSTRALIA ABSTRACT This paper represents a brief case study of delivering online examinations to a worldwide audience. These examinations are delivered in partnership with a commercial online testing company as part of the Industry Master’s degree at Charles Sturt University (CSU. The Industry Master’s degree is an academic program for students currently employed in the IT industry. Using Internet Based Testing (IBT, these students are examined in test centres throughout the world. This offers many benefits. For example, students have the freedom of sitting exams at any time during a designated interval. Computer-based testing also provides instructors with valuable feedback through test statistics and student comments. In this paper, we document CSU’s use of the IBT system, including how tests are built and delivered, and how both human and statistical feedback is used to evaluate and enhance the testing process.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery with Neoadjuvant Embolization of Larger Arteriovenous Malformations: An Institutional Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Dalyai

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. This study investigates the safety and efficacy of a multimodality approach combining staged endovascular embolizations with subsequent SRS for the management of larger AVMs. Methods. Ninety-five patients with larger AVMs were treated with staged endovascular embolization followed by SRS between 1996 and 2011. Results. The median volume of AVM in this series was 28 cm3 and 47 patients (48% were Spetzler-Martin grade IV or V. Twenty-seven patients initially presented with hemorrhage. Sixty-one patients underwent multiple embolizations while a single SRS session was performed in 64 patients. The median follow-up after SRS session was 32 months (range 9–136 months. Overall procedural complications occurred in 14 patients. There were 13 minor neurologic complications and 1 major complication (due to embolization while four patients had posttreatment hemorrhage. Thirty-eight patients (40% were cured radiographically. The postradiosurgery actuarial rate of obliteration was 45% at 5 years, 56% at 7 years, and 63% at 10 years. In multivariate analysis, larger AVM size, deep venous drainage, and the increasing number of embolization/SRS sessions were negative predictors of obliteration. The number of embolizations correlated positively with the number of stereotactic radiosurgeries (P<0.005. Conclusions. Multimodality endovascular and radiosurgical approach is an efficacious treatment strategy for large AVM.

Larger error signals in major depression are associated with better avoidance learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James F eCavanagh

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC is particularly reactive to signals of error, punishment, and conflict in the service of behavioral adaptation and it is consistently implicated in the etiology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD. This association makes conceptual sense, given that MDD has been associated with hyper-reactivity in neural systems associated with punishment processing. Yet in practice, depression-related variance in measures of mPFC functioning often fails to relate to performance. For example, neuroelectric reflections of mediofrontal error signals are often found to be larger in MDD, but a deficit in post-error performance suggests that these error signals are not being used to rapidly adapt behavior. Thus, it remains unknown if depression-related variance in error signals reflects a meaningful alteration in the use of error or punishment information. However, larger mediofrontal error signals have also been related to another behavioral tendency: increased accuracy in avoidance learning. The integrity of this error-avoidance system remains untested in MDD. In this study, EEG was recorded as 21 symptomatic, drug-free participants with current or past MDD and 24 control participants performed a probabilistic reinforcement learning task. Depressed participants had larger mPFC EEG responses to error feedback than controls. The direct relationship between error signal amplitudes and avoidance learning accuracy was replicated. Crucially, this relationship was stronger in depressed participants for high conflict lose-lose situations, demonstrating a selective alteration of avoidance learning. This investigation provided evidence that larger error signal amplitudes in depression are associated with increased avoidance learning, identifying a candidate mechanistic model for hypersensitivity to negative outcomes in depression.

Listing of nuclear power plant larger than 100 MWe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHugh, B.

1976-03-01

This report contains a list of all nuclear power plants larger than 100 MWe, printed out from the Argus Data Bank at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The plants are listed by NSSS supply. (M.S.)

A pilot study to examine maturation of body temperature control in preterm infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Knobel, Robin B; Levy, Janet; Katz, Laurence; Guenther, Bob; Holditch-Davis, Diane

2013-01-01

To test instrumentation and develop analytic models to use in a larger study to examine developmental trajectories of body temperature and peripheral perfusion from birth in extremely low-birth-weight (EBLW) infants. A case study design. The study took place in a Level 4 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in North Carolina. Four ELBW infants, fewer than 29 weeks gestational age at birth. Physiologic data were measured every minute for the first 5 days of life: peripheral perfusion using perfusion index by Masimo and body temperature using thermistors. Body temperature was also measured using infrared thermal imaging. Stimulation and care events were recorded over the first 5 days using video which was coded with Noldus Observer software. Novel analytical models using the state space approach to time-series analysis were developed to explore maturation of neural control over central and peripheral body temperature. Results from this pilot study confirmed the feasibility of using multiple instruments to measure temperature and perfusion in ELBW infants. This approach added rich data to our case study design and set a clinical context with which to interpret longitudinal physiological data. © 2013 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Demonstrating the value of larger ensembles in forecasting physical systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reason L. Machete

2016-12-01

its relative information content (in bits using a proper skill score. Doubling the ensemble size is demonstrated to yield a non-trivial increase in the information content (forecast skill for an ensemble with well over 16 members; this result stands in forecasting a mathematical system and a physical system. Indeed, even at the largest ensemble sizes considered (128 and 256, there are lead times where the forecast information is still increasing with ensemble size. Ultimately, model error will limit the value of ever larger ensembles. No support is found, however, for limiting design studies to the sizes commonly found in seasonal and climate studies. It is suggested that ensemble size be considered more explicitly in future design studies of forecast systems on all time scales.

Why borrowers pay premiums to larger lenders: Empirical evidence from sovereign syndicated loans

OpenAIRE

Hallak, Issam

2002-01-01

All other terms being equal (e.g. seniority), syndicated loan contracts provide larger lending compensations (in percentage points) to institutions funding larger amounts. This paper explores empirically the motivation for such a price design on a sample of sovereign syndicated loans in the period 1990-1997. I find strong evidence that a larger premium is associated with higher renegotiation probability and information asymmetries. It hardly has any impact on the number of lenders though. Thi...

The Larger Linear N-Heteroacenes

KAUST Repository

Bunz, Uwe H. F.

2015-01-01

© 2015 American Chemical Society. ConspectusThe close structural and chemical relationship of N-heteroacenes to pentacene suggests their broad applicability in organic electronic devices, such as thin-film transistors. The superb materials science properties of azaacenes result from their improved resistance toward oxidation and their potential for electron transport, both of which have been demonstrated recently. The introduction of nitrogen atoms into the aromatic perimeter of acenes stabilizes their frontier molecular orbitals and increases their electron affinity. The HOMO-LUMO gaps in azaacenes in which the nitrogen atoms are symmetrically placed are similar to those of the acenes. The judiciously placed nitrogen atoms induce an "umpolung" of the electronic behavior of these pentacene-like molecules, i.e., instead of hole mobility in thin-film transistors, azaacenes are electron-transporting materials. The fundamental synthetic approaches toward larger azaacenes are described and discussed. Several synthetic methodologies have been exploited, and some have been newly developed to assemble substituted azaacenes. The oldest methods are condensation-based. Aromatic o-diamines are coupled with o-dihydroxyarenes in the melt without solvent. This method works well for unsubstituted azaacenes only. The attachment of substituents to the starting materials renders these "fire and sword" methods less useful. The starting materials decompose under these conditions. The direct condensation of substituted o-diamines with o-quinones proceeds well in some cases. Fluorinated benzene rings next to a pyrazine unit are introduced by nucleophilic aromatic substitution employing hexafluorobenzene. However, with these well-established synthetic methodologies, a number of azaacene topologies cannot be synthesized. The Pd-catalyzed coupling of aromatic halides and aromatic diamines has therefore emerged as versatile tool for azaacene synthesis. Now substituted diaza- and

The Larger Linear N-Heteroacenes

KAUST Repository

Bunz, Uwe H. F.

2015-06-16

© 2015 American Chemical Society. ConspectusThe close structural and chemical relationship of N-heteroacenes to pentacene suggests their broad applicability in organic electronic devices, such as thin-film transistors. The superb materials science properties of azaacenes result from their improved resistance toward oxidation and their potential for electron transport, both of which have been demonstrated recently. The introduction of nitrogen atoms into the aromatic perimeter of acenes stabilizes their frontier molecular orbitals and increases their electron affinity. The HOMO-LUMO gaps in azaacenes in which the nitrogen atoms are symmetrically placed are similar to those of the acenes. The judiciously placed nitrogen atoms induce an "umpolung" of the electronic behavior of these pentacene-like molecules, i.e., instead of hole mobility in thin-film transistors, azaacenes are electron-transporting materials. The fundamental synthetic approaches toward larger azaacenes are described and discussed. Several synthetic methodologies have been exploited, and some have been newly developed to assemble substituted azaacenes. The oldest methods are condensation-based. Aromatic o-diamines are coupled with o-dihydroxyarenes in the melt without solvent. This method works well for unsubstituted azaacenes only. The attachment of substituents to the starting materials renders these "fire and sword" methods less useful. The starting materials decompose under these conditions. The direct condensation of substituted o-diamines with o-quinones proceeds well in some cases. Fluorinated benzene rings next to a pyrazine unit are introduced by nucleophilic aromatic substitution employing hexafluorobenzene. However, with these well-established synthetic methodologies, a number of azaacene topologies cannot be synthesized. The Pd-catalyzed coupling of aromatic halides and aromatic diamines has therefore emerged as versatile tool for azaacene synthesis. Now substituted diaza- and

Collision cascades and sputtering induced by larger cluster ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigmund, P.

1988-01-01

Recent experimental work on larger cluster impact on solid surfaces suggests large deviations from the standard case of additive sputter yields both in the nuclear and electronic stopping regime. The paper concentrates on elastic collision cascades. In addition to very pronounced spike effects, two phenomena are pointed out that are specific to cluster bombardment. Multiple hits of cluster atoms on one and the same target atom may result in recoil atoms that move faster than the maximum recoil speed for monomer bombardment at the same projectile speed. This effect is important when the atomic mass of a beam atom is less than that of a target atom, M 1 2 . In the opposite case, M 1 >> M 2 , collisions between beam particles may accelerate some beam particles and slow down others. Some consequences are mentioned. Remarks on the nuclear stopping power of larger clusters and on electronic sputtering by cluster bombardment conclude the paper. 38 refs., 2 figs

Colorectal cancer: screening double-contrast barium enema examination in average-risk adults older than 50 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Kung, Justin W; Levine, Marc S; Glick, Seth N; Lakhani, Paras; Rubesin, Stephen E; Laufer, Igor

2006-09-01

To retrospectively determine the diagnostic yield of double-contrast barium enema examinations performed for colorectal cancer screening of neoplasms 1 cm or larger or advanced neoplastic lesions of any size in average-risk adults older than 50 years. The Institutional Review Board at the affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center approved this HIPAA-compliant study protocol and did not require informed consent from patients. Computerized databases revealed 276 double-contrast barium enema examinations performed for colorectal cancer screening in average-risk adults older than 50 years. Radiographic and pathologic reports were reviewed to determine the number of patients who had polypoid lesions 1 cm or larger, polyps smaller than 1 cm, or advanced neoplastic lesions of any size. Forty-five (16.3%) of the 276 patients underwent follow-up sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. Medical, endoscopic, and pathologic records were reviewed and compared with radiographic findings. The results of double-contrast barium enema examination revealed 74 (26.8%) of 276 patients with 104 polypoid lesions in the colon, including 32 patients (11.6%) with 41 polypoid lesions 1 cm or larger, 15 patients (5.4%) with 19 polyps 6-9 mm, and 27 patients (9.8%) with 44 polyps 5 mm or smaller. Endoscopy was performed in 24 (75%) of 32 patients, the results of which confirmed 23 (72%) of 32 radiographically diagnosed lesions 1 cm or larger in 16 (67%) of 24 patients. In two of these individuals, the polyps were hyperplastic. The remaining 14 patients had a total of 21 neoplastic lesions 1 cm or larger, including 11 tubular adenomas, seven tubulovillous adenomas, one villous adenoma with marked dysplasia, and two cancers. The diagnostic yield of screening double-contrast barium enema examination was 5.1% (14 of 276 patients) for neoplastic lesions 1 cm or larger and 6.2% (17 of 276 patients) for advanced neoplastic lesions of any size. Double-contrast barium enema examinations performed in average

Quality assessment and comparison of grading between examiners and supervisors of Bachelor theses in nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Solveig M; Halvarsson, Maud; Robertsson, Barbro

2008-01-01

This study compares supervisors' and examiners' grading of quality of theses at Bachelor level in nursing. An instrument developed to asses the quality of theses was used. Eight aspects of quality were rated. One hundred and fifteen theses were rated by both examiner and supervisor. Significant correlations were found between examiners' and supervisors' ratings of all aspects of quality. Good agreement was found in 89-96% of the ratings on individual aspects of quality. The means of differences between ratings were small but significantly differed from zero in four out of eight aspects. In theses rated low for quality of language and formality, differences between examiners' and supervisors' ratings on all aspects of quality were significantly larger than in theses rated high for quality of language and formality. The general conclusion is that the evaluations made by examiners and by supervisors corresponded well. Differences found indicates that examiners in general give lower scores than supervisors especially on quality aspects that are most closely related to research methods and experiences. This study is part of a larger project that is investigating quality of theses and the student's attitudes and learning experiences of writing theses.

Determining the effectiveness of an Elder Abuse Nurse Examiner Curriculum: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Du Mont, Janice; Kosa, Daisy; Yang, Rebecca; Solomon, Shirley; Macdonald, Sheila

2017-08-01

To pilot and evaluate a novel Elder Abuse Nurse Examiner Curriculum and its associated training materials for their efficacy in improving Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)s' knowledge of elder abuse and competence in delivering care to abused older adults. Pilot training was held with 18 SANEs from across Ontario, Canada. A 52-item pre- and post-training questionnaire was administered that assessed participants' self-reported knowledge and perceived skills-based competence related to elder abuse care. A curriculum training evaluation survey was also delivered following the training. Qualitative non-participant observational data were collected throughout the training. There were statistically significant improvements in self-reported knowledge and perceived skills-based competence from pre-training to post-training for all content domains of the curriculum: older adults and abuse (pElder Abuse Nurse Examiner Curriculum and associated training materials were efficacious in improving SANEs' self-reported knowledge of and perceived competence in delivering elder abuse care. Future steps will further evaluate these materials as a component of a pilot of a larger comprehensive Elder Abuse Intervention at multiple sites across Ontario. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

29 CFR 779.232 - Franchise or other arrangements which create a larger enterprise.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Franchise or other arrangements which create a larger... Apply; Enterprise Coverage Leased Departments, Franchise and Other Business Arrangements § 779.232 Franchise or other arrangements which create a larger enterprise. (a) In other instances, franchise...

Harnessing water power in the larger Hannover area. Study commissioned by the local administration union larger Hannover area; Nutzung der Wasserkraft im Grossraum Hannover. Eine Studie im Auftrag des Zweckverbandes Grossraum Hannover

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahling, U [comp.

1993-12-31

Within the framework of an inventory of possible sites for hydroelectric power plants in the larger Hannover area, 60 sites in the rural district of Hannover were more closely investigated. 57 of these were former water mills and 3 were hydraulic structures that have nothing to do with former water mills. 29 water mills are to be considered as dismantled in hydraulic engineering terms, 8 are in operation, and 20 are decommissioned. Furthermore, 2 weirs and 1 barrage were included in the investigation.- In the area of the city of Hannover, there are four more sites of hydroelectric power plants, of which one is dismantled, two are decommissioned and one is in operation.- In order to complement the inventory, object expertises of different depths were prepared for eight selected sites. They permit a qualified assessment of the chances of reactivation of each site, taking the respective specific conditions into account. At the same time, they represent a first step towards detailed advice for a prospective operator (orig.). [Deutsch] Im Rahmen der Studie zur Bestandserhebung von moeglichen Standorten fuer Wasserkraftanlagen im Grossraum Hannover wurden 60 Standorte im Landkreis Hannover naeher untersucht. Es handelt sich um 57 ehemalige Wassermuehlen und 3 wasserbauliche Anlagen, die nichts mit ehemaligen Wassermuehlen zu tun haben. 29 Wassermuehlen sind im wasserbaulichen Sinn als beseitigt anzusehen, 8 sind in Betrieb, 20 liegen still. Darueberhinaus wurden 2 Wehre und 1 Stauanlage in die Untersuchungen einbezogen. Im Gebiet der Stadt Hannover befinden sich 4 weitere Wassrkraftstandorte, von denen einer als beseitigt anzusehen ist, zwei stilliegen und einer in Betrieb ist. Ergaenzend zu der Bestandserhebung wurden fuer acht ausgewaehlte Standorte Objektgutachten unterschiedlicher Bearbeitungstiefe erstellt. Sie ermoeglichen eine qualifizierte Beurteilung der Reaktivierungschancen unter Beruecksichtigung der jeweiligen standortspezifischen Besonderheiten

Listing of nuclear power plant larger than 100 MWe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHugh, B.

1975-06-01

This report contains a list of all nuclear power plants larger than 100 MWe, printed out from the Argus Data Bank at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The plants are listed alphabetically. The report contains also a plant ranking list, where the plants are listed by the load factor (12 months) (M.S.)

Listing of nuclear power plant larger than 100 MWe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHugh, B.

1975-12-01

This report contains a list of all nuclear power plants larger than 100 MWe, printed out from the Argus Data Bank at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The plants are listed by country. The report contains also a plant ranking list, where the plants are listed by the load factor (12 months). (M.S.)

More 'altruistic' punishment in larger societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Frank W; Berbesque, J Colette

2008-03-07

If individuals will cooperate with cooperators, and punish non-cooperators even at a cost to themselves, then this strong reciprocity could minimize the cheating that undermines cooperation. Based upon numerous economic experiments, some have proposed that human cooperation is explained by strong reciprocity and norm enforcement. Second-party punishment is when you punish someone who defected on you; third-party punishment is when you punish someone who defected on someone else. Third-party punishment is an effective way to enforce the norms of strong reciprocity and promote cooperation. Here we present new results that expand on a previous report from a large cross-cultural project. This project has already shown that there is considerable cross-cultural variation in punishment and cooperation. Here we test the hypothesis that population size (and complexity) predicts the level of third-party punishment. Our results show that people in larger, more complex societies engage in significantly more third-party punishment than people in small-scale societies.

Sequencing Larger Intact Proteins (30-70 kDa) with Activated Ion Electron Transfer Dissociation

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Nicholas M.; Westphall, Michael S.; Coon, Joshua J.

2018-01-01

The analysis of intact proteins via mass spectrometry can offer several benefits to proteome characterization, although the majority of top-down experiments focus on proteoforms in a relatively low mass range (AI-ETD) to proteins in the 30-70 kDa range. AI-ETD leverages infrared photo-activation concurrent to ETD reactions to improve sequence-informative product ion generation. This method generates more product ions and greater sequence coverage than conventional ETD, higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD), and ETD combined with supplemental HCD activation (EThcD). Importantly, AI-ETD provides the most thorough protein characterization for every precursor ion charge state investigated in this study, making it suitable as a universal fragmentation method in top-down experiments. Additionally, we highlight several acquisition strategies that can benefit characterization of larger proteins with AI-ETD, including combination of spectra from multiple ETD reaction times for a given precursor ion, multiple spectral acquisitions of the same precursor ion, and combination of spectra from two different dissociation methods (e.g., AI-ETD and HCD). In all, AI-ETD shows great promise as a method for dissociating larger intact protein ions as top-down proteomics continues to advance into larger mass ranges. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Juvenile exposure to predator cues induces a larger egg size in fish

Science.gov (United States)

Segers, Francisca H. I. D.; Taborsky, Barbara

2012-01-01

When females anticipate a hazardous environment for their offspring, they can increase offspring survival by producing larger young. Early environmental experience determines egg size in different animal taxa. We predicted that a higher perceived predation risk by juveniles would cause an increase in the sizes of eggs that they produce as adults. To test this, we exposed juveniles of the mouthbrooding cichlid Eretmodus cyanostictus in a split-brood experiment either to cues of a natural predator or to a control situation. After maturation, females that had been confronted with predators produced heavier eggs, whereas clutch size itself was not affected by the treatment. This effect cannot be explained by a differential female body size because the predator treatment did not influence growth trajectories. The observed increase of egg mass is likely to be adaptive, as heavier eggs gave rise to larger young and in fish, juvenile predation risk drops sharply with increasing body size. This study provides the first evidence that predator cues perceived by females early in life positively affect egg mass, suggesting that these cues allow her to predict the predation risk for her offspring. PMID:21976689

Changes in the food environment over time: examining 40 years of data in the Framingham Heart Study.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Peter; Seward, Michael W; James O'Malley, A; Subramanian, S V; Block, Jason P

2017-06-24

Research has explored associations between diet, body weight, and the food environment; however, few studies have examined historical trends in food environments. In the Framingham Heart Study Offspring (N = 3321) and Omni (N = 447) cohorts, we created food environment metrics in four Massachusetts towns utilizing geocoded residential, workplace, and food establishment addresses from 1971 to 2008. We created multilevel models adjusted for age, sex, education, and census tract poverty to examine trends in home, workplace, and commuting food environments. Proximity to and density of supermarkets, fast-food, full service restaurants, convenience stores, and bakeries increased over time for residential, workplace, and commuting environments; exposure to grocery stores decreased. The greatest increase in access was for supermarkets, with residential distance to the closest supermarket 1406 m closer (95% CI 1303 m, 1508 m) by 2005-2008 than in 1971-1975. Although poorer census tracts had higher access to fast-food restaurants consistently across follow-up, this disparity dissipated over time, due to larger increases in proximity to fast-food in wealthier neighborhoods. Access to most food establishment types increased over time, with similar trends across home, workplace, and commuter environments.

A contribution to radiotherapy of the larger-celled bronchial carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zoubie, I.

1982-01-01

This work consists of a retrospective definition of disease courses of 859 patients with lung tumors and the definition of the survival curves in their dependence on histology, radiation dose and sex. With 721 larger-celled bronchial carcinomas the ratio of men to women was 12:1. The age peak lay between 60 and 70 years. The one/five year survival rate of all included larger-celled bronchial carcinomas (n=701) was, independent from the therapy form, 35.7, resp. 4.78%. The one year/five year survival rates were for the squamous epithelia 31.08/0.58%, for the undifferentiated carcinomas 25.34/3.41%, and for the lung tumors without histology 35.4/5.14%. Lobectomized patients with squamous epithelium carcinoma had in comparison to pneumonectomized patients a clearly higher survival chance. A clearly sex-dependent predisposition for a certain type of carcinoma was not present. (TRV) [de

Larger red-shift in optical emissions obtained from the thin films of globular proteins (BSA, lysozyme) – polyelectrolyte (PAA) complexes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talukdar, Hrishikesh [Physical Sciences Division, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Vigyan Path, Paschim Boragaon, Garchuk, Guwahati 781035, Assam (India); Kundu, Sarathi, E-mail: sarathi.kundu@gmail.com [Physical Sciences Division, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Vigyan Path, Paschim Boragaon, Garchuk, Guwahati 781035, Assam (India); Basu, Saibal [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085 (India)

2016-09-30

Graphical abstract: Thin films of protein-polyelectrolyte complexes show larger red-shift in optical emission. - Highlights: • Globular proteins (lysozyme and BSA) and polyelectrolyte (sodium polyacrylic acid) are used to form protein-polyelectrolyte complexes (PPC). • Larger red-shift in optical emission is obtained from the thin films of PPC. • Red-shift is not obtained from the solution of PPC and pure protein thin films. • Larger red-shift from PPC films is due to the energy dissipation as non-radiative form through interactions with nearby atoms. • Red-shift in optical emission is independent on the thickness of the PPC film. - Abstract: Globular proteins (lysozyme and BSA) and polyelectrolyte (sodium polyacrylic acid) are used to form protein-polyelectrolyte complexes (PPC). Out-of-plane structures of ≈30–60 nm thick PPC films and their surface morphologies have been studied by using X-ray reflectivity and atomic force microscopy, whereas optical behaviors of PPC and protein conformations have been studied by using UV–vis, photoluminescence and FTIR spectroscopy respectively. Our study reveals that thin films of PPC show a larger red-shift of 23 and 16 nm in the optical emissions in comparison to that of pure protein whereas bulk PPC show a small blue-shift of ≈3 nm. A small amount of peak-shift is found to occur due to the heat treatment or concentration variation of the polyelectrolyte/protein in bulk solution but cannot produce such film thickness independent larger red-shift. Position of the emission peak remains nearly unchanged with the film thickness. Mechanism for such larger red-shift has been proposed.

Emotional event-related potentials are larger to figures than scenes but are similarly reduced by inattention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nordström Henrik

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In research on event-related potentials (ERP to emotional pictures, greater attention to emotional than neutral stimuli (i.e., motivated attention is commonly indexed by two difference waves between emotional and neutral stimuli: the early posterior negativity (EPN and the late positive potential (LPP. Evidence suggests that if attention is directed away from the pictures, then the emotional effects on EPN and LPP are eliminated. However, a few studies have found residual, emotional effects on EPN and LPP. In these studies, pictures were shown at fixation, and picture composition was that of simple figures rather than that of complex scenes. Because figures elicit larger LPP than do scenes, figures might capture and hold attention more strongly than do scenes. Here, we showed negative and neutral pictures of figures and scenes and tested first, whether emotional effects are larger to figures than scenes for both EPN and LPP, and second, whether emotional effects on EPN and LPP are reduced less for unattended figures than scenes. Results Emotional effects on EPN and LPP were larger for figures than scenes. When pictures were unattended, emotional effects on EPN increased for scenes but tended to decrease for figures, whereas emotional effects on LPP decreased similarly for figures and scenes. Conclusions Emotional effects on EPN and LPP were larger for figures than scenes, but these effects did not resist manipulations of attention more strongly for figures than scenes. These findings imply that the emotional content captures attention more strongly for figures than scenes, but that the emotional content does not hold attention more strongly for figures than scenes.

Emotional event-related potentials are larger to figures than scenes but are similarly reduced by inattention

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background In research on event-related potentials (ERP) to emotional pictures, greater attention to emotional than neutral stimuli (i.e., motivated attention) is commonly indexed by two difference waves between emotional and neutral stimuli: the early posterior negativity (EPN) and the late positive potential (LPP). Evidence suggests that if attention is directed away from the pictures, then the emotional effects on EPN and LPP are eliminated. However, a few studies have found residual, emotional effects on EPN and LPP. In these studies, pictures were shown at fixation, and picture composition was that of simple figures rather than that of complex scenes. Because figures elicit larger LPP than do scenes, figures might capture and hold attention more strongly than do scenes. Here, we showed negative and neutral pictures of figures and scenes and tested first, whether emotional effects are larger to figures than scenes for both EPN and LPP, and second, whether emotional effects on EPN and LPP are reduced less for unattended figures than scenes. Results Emotional effects on EPN and LPP were larger for figures than scenes. When pictures were unattended, emotional effects on EPN increased for scenes but tended to decrease for figures, whereas emotional effects on LPP decreased similarly for figures and scenes. Conclusions Emotional effects on EPN and LPP were larger for figures than scenes, but these effects did not resist manipulations of attention more strongly for figures than scenes. These findings imply that the emotional content captures attention more strongly for figures than scenes, but that the emotional content does not hold attention more strongly for figures than scenes. PMID:22607397

Examining spiritual support among African American and Caucasian Alzheimer's caregivers: A risk and resilience study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilks, Scott E; Spurlock, Wanda R; Brown, Sandra C; Teegen, Bettina C; Geiger, Jennifer R

2018-05-25

Research shows African Americans at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to the Caucasian population, suggesting African American AD caregivers are rising in numbers at a greater rate than Caucasian counterparts. Over a decade ago, an article in Geriatric Nursing revealed spiritual well-being differences among these caregiver groups. The purpose of this study was a quasi-follow-up, utilizing a larger caregiver sample to test spiritual support as a moderator via a risk-and-resilience framework. Secondary data analysis from a sample of 691 AD caregivers examined data on demographics and standardized measures of spiritual support, caregiver burden, and psychological resilience. One-third of the sample reported as African American. Resilience negatively regressed, though not significantly, on caregiving burden among both groups. Spiritual support positively, significantly impacted resilience among both groups, slightly stronger among African Americans. Spiritual support did not significantly moderate risk with either group. Implications for professional healthcare practice are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ultrastructural and histological findings on examination of skin in osteogenesis imperfecta: a novel study.

Science.gov (United States)

Balasubramanian, Meena; Wagner, Bart E; Peres, Luiz C; Sobey, Glenda J; Parker, Michael J; Dalton, Ann; Arundel, Paul; Bishop, Nicholas J

2015-04-01

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders of bone formation, resulting in low bone mass and an increased propensity for fractures. It is a variable condition with a range of clinical severities. The histological and ultrastructural findings in the skin of patients with OI have not been described in detail in the previously published literature. Although protein analysis of cultured fibroblasts has historically been used in the diagnostic work-up of OI patients, other aspects of skin examination are not routinely performed as part of the diagnostic pathway in patients with OI. The aims of this study were to perform histological and ultrastructural examination of skin biopsies in patients with OI. This was to identify common and distinguishing features in the numerous genetically distinct subtypes of OI and compare the findings with those in patients who did not present with fractures, and to enable the use of the results thus obtained to aid in the diagnostic work-up of patients with OI. As part of a larger research study set-up to identify clinical features and natural history in patients with atypical features of OI, skin biopsy and examination (histology and electron microscopy) were undertaken. Genetic analysis and ancillary investigations were also performed to identify similarities within this group and to differentiate this group from the 'normal' population. At the end of this study, we were able to demonstrate that the histological and electron microscopic findings on a skin biopsy may be an indicator of the likelihood of identifying a pathogenic mutation in type 1 collagen genes. This is because patients with specific findings on examination, such as elastic fibre area fraction (on histological analysis), collagen fibril diameter variability, deviation from the expected mean and collagen flowers (on electron microscopy), are more likely to be positive on genetic analyses. This has, in turn, provided more insight into the

Global warming may disproportionately affect larger adults in a predatory coral reef fish

KAUST Repository

Messmer, Vanessa

2016-11-03

Global warming is expected to reduce body sizes of ectothermic animals. Although the underlying mechanisms of size reductions remain poorly understood, effects appear stronger at latitudinal extremes (poles and tropics) and in aquatic rather than terrestrial systems. To shed light on this phenomenon, we examined the size dependence of critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and aerobic metabolism in a commercially important tropical reef fish, the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) following acclimation to current-day (28.5 °C) vs. projected end-of-century (33 °C) summer temperatures for the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). CTmax declined from 38.3 to 37.5 °C with increasing body mass in adult fish (0.45-2.82 kg), indicating that larger individuals are more thermally sensitive than smaller conspecifics. This may be explained by a restricted capacity for large fish to increase mass-specific maximum metabolic rate (MMR) at 33 °C compared with 28.5 °C. Indeed, temperature influenced the relationship between metabolism and body mass (0.02-2.38 kg), whereby the scaling exponent for MMR increased from 0.74 ± 0.02 at 28.5 °C to 0.79 ± 0.01 at 33 °C, and the corresponding exponents for standard metabolic rate (SMR) were 0.75 ± 0.04 and 0.80 ± 0.03. The increase in metabolic scaling exponents at higher temperatures suggests that energy budgets may be disproportionately impacted in larger fish and contribute to reduced maximum adult size. Such climate-induced reductions in body size would have important ramifications for fisheries productivity, but are also likely to have knock-on effects for trophodynamics and functioning of ecosystems.

Global warming may disproportionately affect larger adults in a predatory coral reef fish

KAUST Repository

Messmer, Vanessa; Pratchett, Morgan S.; Hoey, Andrew S.; Tobin, Andrew J.; Coker, Darren James; Cooke, Steven J.; Clark, Timothy D.

2016-01-01

Global warming is expected to reduce body sizes of ectothermic animals. Although the underlying mechanisms of size reductions remain poorly understood, effects appear stronger at latitudinal extremes (poles and tropics) and in aquatic rather than terrestrial systems. To shed light on this phenomenon, we examined the size dependence of critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and aerobic metabolism in a commercially important tropical reef fish, the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) following acclimation to current-day (28.5 °C) vs. projected end-of-century (33 °C) summer temperatures for the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). CTmax declined from 38.3 to 37.5 °C with increasing body mass in adult fish (0.45-2.82 kg), indicating that larger individuals are more thermally sensitive than smaller conspecifics. This may be explained by a restricted capacity for large fish to increase mass-specific maximum metabolic rate (MMR) at 33 °C compared with 28.5 °C. Indeed, temperature influenced the relationship between metabolism and body mass (0.02-2.38 kg), whereby the scaling exponent for MMR increased from 0.74 ± 0.02 at 28.5 °C to 0.79 ± 0.01 at 33 °C, and the corresponding exponents for standard metabolic rate (SMR) were 0.75 ± 0.04 and 0.80 ± 0.03. The increase in metabolic scaling exponents at higher temperatures suggests that energy budgets may be disproportionately impacted in larger fish and contribute to reduced maximum adult size. Such climate-induced reductions in body size would have important ramifications for fisheries productivity, but are also likely to have knock-on effects for trophodynamics and functioning of ecosystems.

Global warming may disproportionately affect larger adults in a predatory coral reef fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Messmer, Vanessa; Pratchett, Morgan S; Hoey, Andrew S; Tobin, Andrew J; Coker, Darren J; Cooke, Steven J; Clark, Timothy D

2017-06-01

Global warming is expected to reduce body sizes of ectothermic animals. Although the underlying mechanisms of size reductions remain poorly understood, effects appear stronger at latitudinal extremes (poles and tropics) and in aquatic rather than terrestrial systems. To shed light on this phenomenon, we examined the size dependence of critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and aerobic metabolism in a commercially important tropical reef fish, the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) following acclimation to current-day (28.5 °C) vs. projected end-of-century (33 °C) summer temperatures for the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). CTmax declined from 38.3 to 37.5 °C with increasing body mass in adult fish (0.45-2.82 kg), indicating that larger individuals are more thermally sensitive than smaller conspecifics. This may be explained by a restricted capacity for large fish to increase mass-specific maximum metabolic rate (MMR) at 33 °C compared with 28.5 °C. Indeed, temperature influenced the relationship between metabolism and body mass (0.02-2.38 kg), whereby the scaling exponent for MMR increased from 0.74 ± 0.02 at 28.5 °C to 0.79 ± 0.01 at 33 °C, and the corresponding exponents for standard metabolic rate (SMR) were 0.75 ± 0.04 and 0.80 ± 0.03. The increase in metabolic scaling exponents at higher temperatures suggests that energy budgets may be disproportionately impacted in larger fish and contribute to reduced maximum adult size. Such climate-induced reductions in body size would have important ramifications for fisheries productivity, but are also likely to have knock-on effects for trophodynamics and functioning of ecosystems. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pre study. Prototype of CO2 heat pump system for heating and cooling of a larger building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stene, Joern; Jakobsen, Arne

2006-03-01

The activities concerning CO 2 heat pumps during NTNU-SINTEF's strategic research program SMARTBYGG (2002-2006) has lead to an increased interest in planning, building, installing and testing a prototype CO 2 heat pump for heating and cooling of a larger building. In cooperation with Statsbygg and Naeringslivets Idefond a p restudy was initiated in 2005, with the main aim to carry out a set of defined activities, preparing the ground for the realization of a prototype. The following subjects are treated in the p restudy: a technological assessment of the CO 2 heat pumps, a technological assessment of the interaction between the CO 2 heat pump and the secondary systems, a study of the possibilities regarding suitable CO 2 components including compressors, heat exchangers, valves etc., and a presentation of Teknotherm AS (Halden), a Norwegian industrial partner that can project, build and maintain a CO 2 heat pump prototype. During the project period Statsbygg has not found a suitable building where a prototype can be installed. It is recommended that further work is made on the realization of a CO 2 prototype plant by setting up a main project (ml)

Magnetic nanoparticles formed in glasses co-doped with iron and larger radius elements

OpenAIRE

Edelman , Irina; Ivanova , Oxana; Ivantsov , Ruslan; Velikanov , D.; Zabluda , V.; Zubavichus , Y.; Veligzhanin , A.; Zaikovskiy , V.; Stepanov , S.; Artemenko , Alla; Curély , Jacques; Kliava , Janis

2012-01-01

International audience; A new type of nanoparticle-containing glasses based on borate glasses co-doped with low contents of iron and larger radius elements, Dy, Tb, Gd, Ho, Er, Y, and Bi, is studied. Heat treatment of these glasses results in formation of magnetic nanoparticles, radically changing their physical properties. Transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation-based techniques: x-ray diffraction, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, x-ray absorption near-edge struct...

Cross-sectional study examining four types of male penile and urethral "play".

Science.gov (United States)

Rinard, Katherine; Nelius, Thomas; Hogan, LaMicha; Young, Cathy; Roberts, Alden E; Armstrong, Myrna L

2010-12-01

To provide further quantitative and qualitative evidence about men who insert foreign liquids and objects into their penis and/or urethra. As part of a larger, cross-sectional study examining men (n = 445) with genital piercings (GP), 2 questions inquired whether the respondents had penile tattoos and/or inserted other materials, such as fluids and foreign objects, into their penis and urethra. Four different practices have been described in the literature: embedding (a) foreign objects and/or (b) liquids subcutaneously into penile tissue, as well as inserting (c) liquids and/or (d) foreign objects into the urethra. In our study, 354 (78%) men with GP responded to the 2 questions; 85 (24%) replied affirmatively and 68 (80%) provided comments. Respondents coined their practices penile and/or urethral "play." Two respondents embedded metal balls into their penis, 1 at age 13 injected water for penis enlargement; 11 inserted liquids into the urethra, and 63 reported insertion of 32 different objects, frequently urethral sounds or "sounding" (n = 33/52%) were mentioned. Major motivation themes focused on sexual stimulation and experimentation. Penile tattoos (n = 14) were also reported, mainly for esthetics. Few complications or STDs were reported. Basic demographic assumptions of those who participate in these actions were challenged, and this study provides evidence of a wider distribution of men using penile or urethral play, and "sounding." Clinician awareness of these practices are important to obtain accurate health histories, manage genitourinary tract complications, as well as provide applicable patient education. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An improved permanent magnet quadrupole design with larger good field region for high intensity proton linacs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathew, Jose V., E-mail: josev.mathew@gmail.com; Rao, S.V.L.S.; Krishnagopal, S.; Singh, P.

2013-11-01

The Low Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA), being developed at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will produce a 20 MeV, 30 mA, continuous wave (CW) proton beam. At these low velocities, space-charge forces dominate, and could lead to larger beam sizes and beam halos. Hence in the design of the focusing lattice of the LEHIPA drift tube linac (DTL) using permanent magnet quadrupoles (PMQs), a larger good field region is preferred. Here we study, using the two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) simulation codes PANDIRA and RADIA, four different types of cylindrical PMQ designs: 16-segment trapezoidal Halbach configuration, bullet-nosed geometry and 8- and 16-segment rectangular geometries. The trapezoidal Halbach geometry is used in a variety of accelerators since it provides very high field gradients in small bores, while the bullet-nosed geometry, which is a combination of the trapezoidal and rectangular designs, is used in some DTLs. This study shows that a larger good field region is possible in the 16-segment rectangular design as compared to the Halbach and bullet-nosed designs, making it more attractive for high-intensity proton linacs. An improvement in good-field region by ∼16% over the Halbach design is obtained in the optimized 16-segment rectangular design, although the field gradient is lower by ∼20%. Tolerance studies show that the rectangular segment PMQ design is substantially less sensitive to the easy axis orientation errors and hence will be a better choice for DTLs. -- Highlights: • An improved permanent magnet quadrupole (PMQ) design with larger good field region is proposed. • We investigate four PMQ designs, including the widely used Halbach and bullet nosed designs. • Analytical calculations are backed by 2D as well as 3D numerical solvers, PANDIRA and RADIA. • The optimized 16 segment rectangular PMQ design is identified to exhibit the largest good field region. • The effect of easy axis orientation

An improved permanent magnet quadrupole design with larger good field region for high intensity proton linacs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathew, Jose V.; Rao, S.V.L.S.; Krishnagopal, S.; Singh, P.

2013-01-01

The Low Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA), being developed at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will produce a 20 MeV, 30 mA, continuous wave (CW) proton beam. At these low velocities, space-charge forces dominate, and could lead to larger beam sizes and beam halos. Hence in the design of the focusing lattice of the LEHIPA drift tube linac (DTL) using permanent magnet quadrupoles (PMQs), a larger good field region is preferred. Here we study, using the two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) simulation codes PANDIRA and RADIA, four different types of cylindrical PMQ designs: 16-segment trapezoidal Halbach configuration, bullet-nosed geometry and 8- and 16-segment rectangular geometries. The trapezoidal Halbach geometry is used in a variety of accelerators since it provides very high field gradients in small bores, while the bullet-nosed geometry, which is a combination of the trapezoidal and rectangular designs, is used in some DTLs. This study shows that a larger good field region is possible in the 16-segment rectangular design as compared to the Halbach and bullet-nosed designs, making it more attractive for high-intensity proton linacs. An improvement in good-field region by ∼16% over the Halbach design is obtained in the optimized 16-segment rectangular design, although the field gradient is lower by ∼20%. Tolerance studies show that the rectangular segment PMQ design is substantially less sensitive to the easy axis orientation errors and hence will be a better choice for DTLs. -- Highlights: • An improved permanent magnet quadrupole (PMQ) design with larger good field region is proposed. • We investigate four PMQ designs, including the widely used Halbach and bullet nosed designs. • Analytical calculations are backed by 2D as well as 3D numerical solvers, PANDIRA and RADIA. • The optimized 16 segment rectangular PMQ design is identified to exhibit the largest good field region. • The effect of easy axis orientation

Studies of $b$-tagging performance and jet substructure in a high $p_\\rm{T}$ $g\\rightarrow b\\bar{b}$ rich sample of large-$R$ jets from $pp$ collisions at $\\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

This note summarizes studies of $b$-tagging performance and the modelling of jet properties in high $p_{\\rm T}$, double $b$-tagged, large-$R$ jets from $\\sqrt{s} = 8 TeV$ $pp$ collisions collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The double $b$-tag requirement yields a sample rich in jets originating from the $g\\rightarrow b\\bar{b}$ process. Using this sample, the performance of $b$-tagging at small $b$-quark angular separations is probed, and the modeling of jet properties, including substructure variables, is examined. Good agreement between data and Monte Carlo simulation is found within the experimental uncertainties.

Impact of Alternative Inputs and Grooming Methods on Large-R Jet Reconstruction in ATLAS

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

During Run 1 of the LHC, the optimal reconstruction algorithm for large-$R$ jets in ATLAS, characterized in terms of the ability to discriminate signal from background and robust reconstruction in the presence of pileup, was found to be anti-$k_{t}$ jets with a radius parameter of 1.0, formed from locally calibrated topological calorimeter cell clusters and groomed with the trimming algorithm to remove contributions from pileup and underlying event. Since that time, much theoretical, phenomenological, and experimental work has been performed to improve both the reconstruction of the jet inputs as well as the grooming techniques applied to reconstructed jets. In this work, an inclusive survey of both pileup mitigation algorithms applied to calorimeter cell clusters and grooming algorithms is done to study their pileup stability and ability to identify hadronically decaying W bosons within the ATLAS experiment. It is found that compared to the conventional reconstruction algorithm of large-$R$ trimmed jets form...

Development and Examination of a Family Triadic Measure to Examine Quality of Life Family Congruence in Nursing Home Residents and Two Family Members.

Science.gov (United States)

Aalgaard Kelly, Gina

2015-01-01

Objective: The overall purpose of this study was to propose and test a conceptual model and apply family analyses methods to understand quality of life family congruence in the nursing home setting. Method: Secondary data for this study were from a larger study, titled Measurement, Indicators and Improvement of the Quality of Life (QOL) in Nursing Homes . Research literature, family systems theory and human ecological assumptions, fostered the conceptual model empirically testing quality of life family congruence. Results: The study results supported a model examining nursing home residents and two family members on quality of life family congruence. Specifically, family intergenerational dynamic factors, resident personal and social-psychological factors, and nursing home family input factors were examined to identify differences in quality of life family congruence among triad families. Discussion: Formal family involvement and resident cognitive functioning were found as the two most influential factors to quality of life family congruence (QOLFC).

Post-irradiation handling and examination at the HFEF complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacca, J.P.

1980-01-01

The Hot Fuel Examination Facility provides postirradiation handling and examination of fast reactor irradiation experiments and safety tests for the United States Breeder Reactor Program. Nondestructive interim examinations and destructive terminal examinations at HFEF derive data from tests irradiated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor No. II, in the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), and in the Sodium Loop Safety Facility. Similar support will be provided in the near future for tests irradiated in the Fast Flux Test Facility, and for the larger sodium loops to be irradiated in TREAT

Examining the Complexities of School-Museum Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Preeti; Adams, Jennifer; Kisiel, James; Dewitt, Jennifer

2010-01-01

We examine the research conducted by Kang, Anderson and Wu by discussing it in a larger context of science museum-school partnerships. We review how the disconnect that exists between stakeholders, the historical and cultural contexts in which formal and informal institutions are situated, and ideas of globalization, mediate the success for…

Study on Accuracy of Judgments by Chinese Fingerprint Examiners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shiquan Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The interpretation of fingerprint evidence depends on the judgments of fingerprint examiners. This study assessed the accuracy of different judgments made by fingerprint examiners following the Analysis, Comparison, and Evaluation (ACE process. Each examiner was given five marks for analysis, comparison, and evaluation. We compared the experts′ judgments against the ground truth and used an annotation platform to evaluate how Chinese fingerprint examiners document their comparisons during the identification process. The results showed that different examiners demonstrated different accuracy of judgments and different mechanisms to reach them.

Practical aspects of NMR signal assignment in larger and challenging proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Frueh, Dominique P.

2014-01-01

NMR has matured into a technique routinely employed for studying proteins in near physiological conditions. However, applications to larger proteins are impeded by the complexity of the various correlation maps necessary to assign NMR signals. This article reviews the data analysis techniques traditionally employed for resonance assignment and describes alternative protocols necessary for overcoming challenges in large protein spectra. In particular, simultaneous analysis of multiple spectra may help overcome ambiguities or may reveal correlations in an indirect manner. Similarly, visualization of orthogonal planes in a multidimensional spectrum can provide alternative assignment procedures. We describe examples of such strategies for assignment of backbone, methyl, and nOe resonances. We describe experimental aspects of data acquisition for the related experiments and provide guidelines for preliminary studies. Focus is placed on large folded monomeric proteins and examples are provided for 37, 48, 53, and 81 kDa proteins. PMID:24534088

Hypofractionated regional nodal irradiation for breast cancer: Examining the data and potential for future studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badiyan, Shahed N.; Shah, Chirag; Arthur, Douglas; Khan, Atif J.; Freedman, Gary; Poppe, Matthew M.; Vicini, Frank A.

2014-01-01

Limited data are available examining the role of hypofractionated radiation schedules in the management of women requiring regional nodal irradiation (RNI). The purpose of this review is to examine the available literature for the efficacy (where available) and toxicity of hypofractionated radiation schedules in breast cancer with RNI limited to the axilla and supraclavicular regions. Multiple randomized and prospective studies have documented the safety and efficacy of hypofractionated schedules delivering whole breast irradiation (WBI) alone. Subsets from these randomized trials and smaller prospective/single-institution studies have documented the feasibility of hypofractionated RNI but the limited numbers prevent definitive conclusions and limited efficacy data are available. With regard to possible toxicity affecting organs at risk with RNI, key structures include the breast, skin, heart, lungs, axilla (lymphedema), and brachial plexus. Based on data from several randomized trials, hypofractionated radiation is not associated with significant changes in breast toxicity/cosmesis or cardiac toxicity; the addition of hypofractionated RNI would not be expected to change the rates of breast or cardiac toxicity. While RNI has been shown to increase rates of pulmonary toxicity, hypofractionated RNI has not been associated with more frequent pulmonary complications than standard RNI. Moving forward, future studies will have to evaluate for increased lung toxicity. With regard to lymphedema, data from randomized hypofractionated WBI trials failed to demonstrate an increase in lymphedema and smaller studies utilizing hypofractionated RNI have failed to as well. Data from head and neck cancer as well as hypofractionated breast radiation with RNI have failed to demonstrate an increase in brachial plexopathy with the exception of older trials that used much larger dose per fraction (>4 Gy/fraction) schedules. At this time, published data support the feasibility of

Evolution of students’ friendship networks: Examining the influence of group size

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Valentina Sokolovska

2017-01-01

Full Text Available  The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of the network size on formation and evolution of students’ friendship relations. Data was collected from two groups of sociology freshmen: a group from the University of Belgrade, which represents a larger group, and a group from the University of Novi Sad, which represents a smaller group. The data was collected in three periods of one academic year. We analyzed the structural features of students’ networks and constructed a stochastic model of network evolution in order to explore how friendships form and change during one year. The results showed that structural features of the larger and the smaller group differ in each stage of friendship formation. At the beginning of group forming, small world structure was noticeable in the larger group, although full small world structure was not confirmed in both groups. Furthermore, transitivity of triads had effect on the evolution of the larger network, while balance or structural equivalence had effect on the evolution of the smaller network. Results of the structural analysis are in line with findings of the network evolution model and together they provide an insight into how friendship evolves in groups of different sizes.

Larger miliolids of the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene seen through space and time

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Vlasta Ćosović

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Spatial and temporal occurrences of the larger (complex miliolids are discussed to give more light on biostratigraphy and paleobiogeographic provinces distribution. Seven generaand 47 species from the Late Cretaceous to Oligocene inhabited shallow marine settings in the Indo-Pacific, Tethyan and Caribbean regions. Of all genera only four (Idalina, Periloculina, Pseudolacazina, Lacazina widespread throughout Tethys in theLate Cretaceous and Paleogene. Single occurrence of Lacazina was recorded further to east (Moluccas. By now the Late Cretaceous genus Adrahentina is known only from the Spain. The newcomer’s Eocene genera were Fabularia and Lacazinella. Fabularia reachedhigh diversity in species term in the Central and Western Tethys and occured as unique genus in Caribbean realm, too. Conversely, during the same period, Lacazinella spread over the southern border of Neo-Tethys reaching New Guinea.On the Adriatic – Dinaric Carbonate Platform, larger miliolids occurred from the Late Cretaceous to Cuisian, having the same biostratigraphically trends and distribution as contemporaneous larger miliolids from the Tethys.

Burdigalian turbid water patch reef environment revealed by larger benthic foraminifera

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, V.; Renema, W.; Throughflow-project

2012-04-01

Ancient isolated patch reefs outcropping from siliciclastic sediments are a trademark for the Miocene carbonate deposits occurring in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. They develop in transitional shelf sediments deposited between deltaic and deep marine deposits (Allen and Chambers, 1998). The Batu Putih Limestone (Wilson, 2005) and similar outcrops in adjacent areas have been characterized as shallow water carbonates influenced by high siliciclastic input, showing low relief patch reefs in turbid waters. Larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) are excellent markers for biochronology and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. This study aims to reveal age and paleoenvironment of a shallow water carbonate patch reef developed in mixed depositional system by using LBF and microfacies analysis. The studied section is located near Bontang, East Kalimantan, and is approximately 80 m long and 12 m high. It is placed within Miocene sediments in the central part of the Kutai Basin. Patch reef and capping sediments were logged through eight transects along section and divided into nine different lithological units from which samples were collected. Thin sections and isolated specimens of larger benthic foraminifera were analyzed and recognized to species level (where possible) providing age and environmental information. Microfacies analysis of thin sections included carbonate classification (textural scheme of Dunham, 1962) and assemblage composition of LBF, algae and corals relative abundance. Three environmentally indicative groups of LBF were separated based on test morphology, habitat or living relatives (Hallock and Glenn, 1986). Analysed foraminifera assemblage suggests Burdigalian age (Tf1). With use of microfacies analysis nine successive lithological units were grouped into five facies types. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of LBF fossil assemblage indicate two cycles of possible deepening recorded in the section. Based on high muddy matrix ratio in analyzed thin-sections we

More ‘altruistic’ punishment in larger societies

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Frank W; Berbesque, J. Colette; Barr, Abigail; Barrett, Clark; Bolyanatz, Alexander; Cardenas, Juan Camilo; Ensminger, Jean; Gurven, Michael; Gwako, Edwins; Henrich, Joseph; Henrich, Natalie; Lesorogol, Carolyn; McElreath, Richard; Tracer, David

2007-01-01

If individuals will cooperate with cooperators, and punish non-cooperators even at a cost to themselves, then this strong reciprocity could minimize the cheating that undermines cooperation. Based upon numerous economic experiments, some have proposed that human cooperation is explained by strong reciprocity and norm enforcement. Second-party punishment is when you punish someone who defected on you; third-party punishment is when you punish someone who defected on someone else. Third-party punishment is an effective way to enforce the norms of strong reciprocity and promote cooperation. Here we present new results that expand on a previous report from a large cross-cultural project. This project has already shown that there is considerable cross-cultural variation in punishment and cooperation. Here we test the hypothesis that population size (and complexity) predicts the level of third-party punishment. Our results show that people in larger, more complex societies engage in significantly more third-party punishment than people in small-scale societies. PMID:18089534

Computer assisted Objective structured clinical examination versus Objective structured clinical examination in assessment of Dermatology undergraduate students.

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Chaudhary, Richa; Grover, Chander; Bhattacharya, S N; Sharma, Arun

2017-01-01

The assessment of dermatology undergraduates is being done through computer assisted objective structured clinical examination at our institution for the last 4 years. We attempted to compare objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and computer assisted objective structured clinical examination (CA-OSCE) as assessment tools. To assess the relative effectiveness of CA-OSCE and OSCE as assessment tools for undergraduate dermatology trainees. Students underwent CA-OSCE as well as OSCE-based evaluation of equal weightage as an end of posting assessment. The attendance as well as the marks in both the examination formats were meticulously recorded and statistically analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Intercooled Stata V9.0 was used to assess the reliability and internal consistency of the examinations conducted. Feedback from both students and examiners was also recorded. The mean attendance for the study group was 77% ± 12.0%. The average score on CA- OSCE and OSCE was 47.4% ± 19.8% and 53.5% ± 18%, respectively. These scores showed a mutually positive correlation, with Spearman's coefficient being 0.593. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between attendance scores and assessment score was 0.485 for OSCE and 0.451 for CA-OSCE. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for all the tests ranged from 0.76 to 0.87 indicating high reliability. The comparison was based on a single batch of 139 students. Such an evaluation on more students in larger number of batches over successive years could help throw more light on the subject. Computer assisted objective structured clinical examination was found to be a valid, reliable and effective format for dermatology assessment, being rated as the preferred format by examiners.

Breast self-examination: do religious beliefs matter? A descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Montazeri, Ali; Haji-Mahmoodi, Mehregan; Jarvandi, Soghra

2003-06-01

A descriptive study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, to investigate the beliefs of Muslim women and their practices regarding screening modalities of breast cancer. A questionnaire was specially designed and validated to collect data and was completed by 410 Muslim women. A vast majority of women (90 per cent) said that breast self-examination is not against their religious beliefs. With regard to clinical breast examination, although 58 per cent preferred to be examined by a female physician, 47 per cent said that clinical breast examination by a male physician is not against their Islamic beliefs. However, only 6 per cent of respondents performed breast self-examination on a regular basis (monthly). The study findings suggest that most Muslim women do not perceive breast self-examination as being against their Islamic beliefs and that they believe clinical breast examination by a male physician does not interfere with their religious beliefs.

How do environmental policies fit within larger strategic planning processes

OpenAIRE

Crowe, Lynn

2015-01-01

This chapter explores how environmental policies fit within larger strategic processes relevant to sport management and development. It identifies key policy areas such as environmental impact assessment, sustainable land use planning, environmental protection and visitor impact management. Good practice and guidelines which will enable sport managers to integrate their work with these environmental policies are explored. Detailed guidance on design and longer term management and maintenance ...

Great tits provided with ad libitum food lay larger eggs when exposed to colder temperatures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schaper, S.V.; Visser, M.E.

2013-01-01

The amount of nutrients deposited into a bird egg varies both between and within clutches of the same female. Larger eggs enhance offspring traits, but as a tradeoff, laying large eggs also infers energetic costs to the female. Income breeders usually lay larger eggs later in the season, when

Larger Neural Responses Produce BOLD Signals That Begin Earlier in Time

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Serena eThompson

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Functional MRI analyses commonly rely on the assumption that the temporal dynamics of hemodynamic response functions (HRFs are independent of the amplitude of the neural signals that give rise to them. The validity of this assumption is particularly important for techniques that use fMRI to resolve sub-second timing distinctions between responses, in order to make inferences about the ordering of neural processes. Whether or not the detailed shape of the HRF is independent of neural response amplitude remains an open question, however. We performed experiments in which we measured responses in primary visual cortex (V1 to large, contrast-reversing checkerboards at a range of contrast levels, which should produce varying amounts of neural activity. Ten subjects (ages 22-52 were studied in each of two experiments using 3 Tesla scanners. We used rapid, 250 msec, temporal sampling (repetition time, or TR and both short and long inter-stimulus interval (ISI stimulus presentations. We tested for a systematic relationship between the onset of the HRF and its amplitude across conditions, and found a strong negative correlation between the two measures when stimuli were separated in time (long- and medium-ISI experiments, but not the short-ISI experiment. Thus, stimuli that produce larger neural responses, as indexed by HRF amplitude, also produced HRFs with shorter onsets. The relationship between amplitude and latency was strongest in voxels with lowest mean-normalized variance (i.e., parenchymal voxels. The onset differences observed in the longer-ISI experiments are likely attributable to mechanisms of neurovascular coupling, since they are substantially larger than reported differences in the onset of action potentials in V1 as a function of response amplitude.

The interplay between interpersonal dynamics, treatment barriers, and larger social forces: an exploratory study of drug-using couples in Hartford, CT

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Simmons Janie

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The drug treatment field tends to place emphasis on the individual rather than the individual in social context. While there are a growing number of studies indicating that drug-using intimate partners are likely to play an important role in determining treatment options, little attention has been given to the experience and complex treatment needs of illicit drug-using (heroin, cocaine, crack couples. Methods This exploratory study used in-depth interviews and ethnographic engagement to better understand the relationship between interpersonal dynamics and the treatment experience of ten relatively stable drug-using couples in Hartford, CT. Semi-structured and open-ended qualitative interviews were conducted with each couple and separately with each partner. Whenever possible, the day-to-day realities and contexts of risk were also observed via participant and non-participant observation of these couples in the community. A grounded theory approach was used to inductively code and analyze nearly 40 transcripts of 60–90 minute interviews as well as fieldnotes. Results This study builds on a concept of complex interpersonal dynamics among drug users. Interpersonal dynamics of care and collusion were identified: couples cared for each other and colluded to acquire and use drugs. Care and collusion operate at the micro level of the risk environment. Treatment barriers and inadequacies were identified as part of the risk environment at the meso or intermediate level of analysis, and larger social forces such as gender dynamics, poverty and the "War on Drugs" were identified at the macro level. Interpersonal dynamics posed problems for couples when one or both partners were interested in accessing treatment. Structural barriers presented additional obstacles with the denial of admittance of both partners to treatment programs which had a sole focus on the individual and avoided treating couples. Conclusion Detoxification and

Facilities for the examination of radioactive bodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginniff, M.E.; Richardson, E.K.

1981-01-01

A facility for the examination of radioactive bodies comprises carriages, each transporting one or more radioactive bodies, e.g. nuclear fuel elements, which travel along a shielded passage to bring the bodies to examination stations spaced along the passage. The passage comprises a circular section tube surrounded by a thick cylinder of shielding material e.g. lead. The transverse sectional dimensions of the passage are not much larger than the corresponding dimensions of the carriages in order to maintain the radioactive region as small as possible. Equipment for the examination of the radioactive bodies is located outside the shielded passage, and may be for metallurgical examination, e.g. by ultrasonics, radiography or other non-destructive testing means, or for mensuration to identify changes in shape, dimensions or weight. (author)

Possible Evolution of the Pulsar Braking Index from Larger than Three to About One

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tong, H. [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, 510006 Guangzhou (China); Kou, F. F., E-mail: htong_2005@163.com [Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011 (China)

2017-03-10

The coupled evolution of pulsar rotation and inclination angle in the wind braking model is calculated. The oblique pulsar tends to align. The pulsar alignment affects its spin-down behavior. As a pulsar evolves from the magneto-dipole radiation dominated case to the particle wind dominated case, the braking index first increases and then decreases. In the early time, the braking index may be larger than three. During the following long time, the braking index is always smaller than three. The minimum braking index is about one. This can explain the existence of a high braking index larger than three and a low braking index simultaneously. The pulsar braking index is expected to evolve from larger than three to about one. The general trend is for the pulsar braking index to evolve from the Crab-like case to the Vela-like case.

Possible Evolution of the Pulsar Braking Index from Larger than Three to About One

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong, H.; Kou, F. F.

2017-01-01

The coupled evolution of pulsar rotation and inclination angle in the wind braking model is calculated. The oblique pulsar tends to align. The pulsar alignment affects its spin-down behavior. As a pulsar evolves from the magneto-dipole radiation dominated case to the particle wind dominated case, the braking index first increases and then decreases. In the early time, the braking index may be larger than three. During the following long time, the braking index is always smaller than three. The minimum braking index is about one. This can explain the existence of a high braking index larger than three and a low braking index simultaneously. The pulsar braking index is expected to evolve from larger than three to about one. The general trend is for the pulsar braking index to evolve from the Crab-like case to the Vela-like case.

Ventricular arrhythmia burst is an independent indicator of larger infarct size even in optimal reperfusion in STEMI

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Weg, Kirian; Majidi, Mohamed; Haeck, Joost D. E.; Tijssen, Jan G. P.; Green, Cynthia L.; Koch, Karel T.; Kuijt, Wichert J.; Krucoff, Mitchell W.; Gorgels, Anton P. M.; de Winter, Robbert J.

2016-01-01

We hypothesized that ventricular arrhythmia (VA) bursts during reperfusion phase are a marker of larger infarct size despite optimal epicardial and microvascular perfusion. 126 STEMI patients were studied with 24h continuous, 12-lead Holter monitoring. Myocardial blush grade (MBG) was determined and

Speaker Input Variability Does Not Explain Why Larger Populations Have Simpler Languages.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Mark; Kirby, Simon; Smith, Kenny

2015-01-01

A learner's linguistic input is more variable if it comes from a greater number of speakers. Higher speaker input variability has been shown to facilitate the acquisition of phonemic boundaries, since data drawn from multiple speakers provides more information about the distribution of phonemes in a speech community. It has also been proposed that speaker input variability may have a systematic influence on individual-level learning of morphology, which can in turn influence the group-level characteristics of a language. Languages spoken by larger groups of people have less complex morphology than those spoken in smaller communities. While a mechanism by which the number of speakers could have such an effect is yet to be convincingly identified, differences in speaker input variability, which is thought to be larger in larger groups, may provide an explanation. By hindering the acquisition, and hence faithful cross-generational transfer, of complex morphology, higher speaker input variability may result in structural simplification. We assess this claim in two experiments which investigate the effect of such variability on language learning, considering its influence on a learner's ability to segment a continuous speech stream and acquire a morphologically complex miniature language. We ultimately find no evidence to support the proposal that speaker input variability influences language learning and so cannot support the hypothesis that it explains how population size determines the structural properties of language.

Larger amygdala volume in first-degree relatives of patients with major depression

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Nina Romanczuk-Seiferth

2014-01-01

Conclusions: Larger gray matter volume in healthy relatives of MDD patients point to a possible vulnerability mechanism in MDD etiology and therefore extend knowledge in the field of high-risk approaches in MDD.

Larger Gray Matter Volume in the Basal Ganglia of Heavy Cannabis Users Detected by Voxel-Based Morphometry and Subcortical Volumetric Analysis

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Ana Moreno-Alcázar

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Structural imaging studies of cannabis users have found evidence of both cortical and subcortical volume reductions, especially in cannabinoid receptor-rich regions such as the hippocampus and amygdala. However, the findings have not been consistent. In the present study, we examined a sample of adult heavy cannabis users without other substance abuse to determine whether long-term use is associated with brain structural changes, especially in the subcortical regions.Method: We compared the gray matter volume of 14 long-term, heavy cannabis users with non-using controls. To provide robust findings, we conducted two separate studies using two different MRI techniques. Each study used the same sample of cannabis users and a different control group, respectively. Both control groups were independent of each other. First, whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM was used to compare the cannabis users against 28 matched controls (HC1 group. Second, a volumetric analysis of subcortical regions was performed to assess differences between the cannabis users and a sample of 100 matched controls (HC2 group obtained from a local database of healthy volunteers.Results: The VBM study revealed that, compared to the control group HC1, the cannabis users did not show cortical differences nor smaller volume in any subcortical structure but showed a cluster (p < 0.001 of larger GM volume in the basal ganglia, involving the caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens, bilaterally. The subcortical volumetric analysis revealed that, compared to the control group HC2, the cannabis users showed significantly larger volumes in the putamen (p = 0.001 and pallidum (p = 0.0015. Subtle trends, only significant at the uncorrected level, were also found in the caudate (p = 0.05 and nucleus accumbens (p = 0.047.Conclusions: This study does not support previous findings of hippocampal and/or amygdala structural changes in long-term, heavy cannabis users. It

Directed fusion of cardiac spheroids into larger heterocellular microtissues enables investigation of cardiac action potential propagation via cardiac fibroblasts

Science.gov (United States)

Markes, Alexander R.; Okundaye, Amenawon O.; Qu, Zhilin; Mende, Ulrike; Choi, Bum-Rak

2018-01-01

Multicellular spheroids generated through cellular self-assembly provide cytoarchitectural complexities of native tissue including three-dimensionality, extensive cell-cell contacts, and appropriate cell-extracellular matrix interactions. They are increasingly suggested as building blocks for larger engineered tissues to achieve shapes, organization, heterogeneity, and other biomimetic complexities. Application of these tissue culture platforms is of particular importance in cardiac research as the myocardium is comprised of distinct but intermingled cell types. Here, we generated scaffold-free 3D cardiac microtissue spheroids comprised of cardiac myocytes (CMs) and/or cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and used them as building blocks to form larger microtissues with different spatial distributions of CMs and CFs. Characterization of fusing homotypic and heterotypic spheroid pairs revealed an important influence of CFs on fusion kinetics, but most strikingly showed rapid fusion kinetics between heterotypic pairs consisting of one CF and one CM spheroid, indicating that CMs and CFs self-sort in vitro into the intermixed morphology found in the healthy myocardium. We then examined electrophysiological integration of fused homotypic and heterotypic microtissues by mapping action potential propagation. Heterocellular elongated microtissues which recapitulate the disproportionate CF spatial distribution seen in the infarcted myocardium showed that action potentials propagate through CF volumes albeit with significant delay. Complementary computational modeling revealed an important role of CF sodium currents and the spatial distribution of the CM-CF boundary in action potential conduction through CF volumes. Taken together, this study provides useful insights for the development of complex, heterocellular engineered 3D tissue constructs and their engraftment via tissue fusion and has implications for arrhythmogenesis in cardiac disease and repair. PMID:29715271

Directed fusion of cardiac spheroids into larger heterocellular microtissues enables investigation of cardiac action potential propagation via cardiac fibroblasts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Yun Kim

Full Text Available Multicellular spheroids generated through cellular self-assembly provide cytoarchitectural complexities of native tissue including three-dimensionality, extensive cell-cell contacts, and appropriate cell-extracellular matrix interactions. They are increasingly suggested as building blocks for larger engineered tissues to achieve shapes, organization, heterogeneity, and other biomimetic complexities. Application of these tissue culture platforms is of particular importance in cardiac research as the myocardium is comprised of distinct but intermingled cell types. Here, we generated scaffold-free 3D cardiac microtissue spheroids comprised of cardiac myocytes (CMs and/or cardiac fibroblasts (CFs and used them as building blocks to form larger microtissues with different spatial distributions of CMs and CFs. Characterization of fusing homotypic and heterotypic spheroid pairs revealed an important influence of CFs on fusion kinetics, but most strikingly showed rapid fusion kinetics between heterotypic pairs consisting of one CF and one CM spheroid, indicating that CMs and CFs self-sort in vitro into the intermixed morphology found in the healthy myocardium. We then examined electrophysiological integration of fused homotypic and heterotypic microtissues by mapping action potential propagation. Heterocellular elongated microtissues which recapitulate the disproportionate CF spatial distribution seen in the infarcted myocardium showed that action potentials propagate through CF volumes albeit with significant delay. Complementary computational modeling revealed an important role of CF sodium currents and the spatial distribution of the CM-CF boundary in action potential conduction through CF volumes. Taken together, this study provides useful insights for the development of complex, heterocellular engineered 3D tissue constructs and their engraftment via tissue fusion and has implications for arrhythmogenesis in cardiac disease and repair.

Three dimensional morphological studies of Larger Benthic Foraminifera at the population level using micro computed tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Shunichi; Eder, Wolfgang; Woeger, Julia; Hohenegger, Johann; Briguglio, Antonino; Ferrandez-Canadell, Carles

2015-04-01

Symbiont-bearing larger benthic Foraminifera (LBF) are long-living marine (at least 1 year), single-celled organisms with complex calcium carbonate shells. Their morphology has been intensively studied since the middle of the nineteenth century. This led to a broad spectrum of taxonomic results, important from biostratigraphy to ecology in shallow water tropical to warm temperate marine palaeo-environments. However, it was necessary for the traditional investigation methods to cut or destruct specimens for analysing the taxonomically important inner structures. X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) is one of the newest techniques used in morphological studies. The greatest advantage is the non-destructive acquisition of inner structures. Furthermore, the running improve of microCT scanners' hard- and software provides high resolution and short time scans well-suited for LBF. Three-dimensional imaging techniques allow to select and extract each chamber and to measure easily its volume, surface and several form parameters used for morphometric analyses. Thus, 3-dimensional visualisation of LBF-tests is a very big step forward from traditional morphology based on 2-dimensional data. The quantification of chamber form is a great opportunity to tackle LBF structures, architectures and the bauplan geometry. The micrometric digital resolution is the only way to solve many controversies in phylogeny and evolutionary trends of LBF. For the present study we used micro-computed tomography to easily investigate the chamber number of every specimen from statistically representative part of populations to estimate population dynamics. Samples of living individuals are collected at monthly intervals from fixed locations. Specific preparation allows to scan up to 35 specimens per scan within 2 hours and to obtain the complete digital dataset for each specimen of the population. MicroCT enables thus a fast and precise count of all chambers built by the foraminifer from its

Wrestling with Expectations: An Examination of How Asian American College Students Negotiate Personal, Parental, and Societal Expectations

Science.gov (United States)

Samura, Michelle

2015-01-01

This research draws on a broader study that situates Asian American college students within larger sociohistorical and political contexts. I examined Asian American college students' experiences and what it means to be "Asian American" in and through these experiences. Two types of expectations emerged from the data: students' internal…

Learning and Study Strategies Inventory subtests and factors as predictors of National Board of Chiropractic Examiners Part 1 examination performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Schutz, Christine M; Dalton, Leanne; Tepe, Rodger E

2013-01-01

This study was designed to extend research on the relationship between chiropractic students' learning and study strategies and national board examination performance. Sixty-nine first trimester chiropractic students self-administered the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). Linear trends tests (for continuous variables) and Mantel-Haenszel trend tests (for categorical variables) were utilized to determine if the 10 LASSI subtests and 3 factors predicted low, medium and high levels of National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) Part 1 scores. Multiple regression was performed to predict overall mean NBCE examination scores using the 3 LASSI factors as predictor variables. Four LASSI subtests (Anxiety, Concentration, Selecting Main Ideas, Test Strategies) and one factor (Goal Orientation) were significantly associated with NBCE examination levels. One factor (Goal Orientation) was a significant predictor of overall mean NBCE examination performance. Learning and study strategies are predictive of NBCE Part 1 examination performance in chiropractic students. The current study found LASSI subtests Anxiety, Concentration, Selecting Main Ideas, and Test Strategies, and the Goal-Orientation factor to be significant predictors of NBCE scores. The LASSI may be useful to educators in preparing students for academic success. Further research is warranted to explore the effects of learning and study strategies training on GPA and NBCE performance.

Larger foraminifera from a relict structure off Karwar western Indian continental margin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Setty, M.G.A.P.

of such water masses having been present in the region. Among the larger forms, @iAmphistegina bicirculata, A. radiata@@ var. @ipapillosa@@ and @iOperculina ammonoides@@ indicate mixing, while @iNummulites cumingii@@ and @iBorelis schlumbergeri@@ were relict...

Histological Examination of Precious Corals from the Ryukyu Archipelago

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Masanori Nonaka

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we examined the histology of three commercially valuable species of precious corals (Paracorallium japonicum, Corallium elatius, and C. konojoi from the Ryukyu Archipelago. In order to observe their inner structure, samples were thin sectioned and examined with a digital light microscope. Colonies of C. konojoi had thicker coenenchyme and larger autozooids than those of C. elatius and P. japonicum. The sclerites of the three species tended to be concentrated in the outer layers of coenenchyme. The gastric cavities of autozooids of all three species were found to be relatively empty. Some symbiotic polychates were observed in the axis of P. japonicum. As well, a zoanthid (Corallizoanthus tsukaharai was often observed living on the coenenchyme surface of P. japonicum. It is hoped our observations will provide a good foundation of future study of Japanese Coralliidae corals.

A Qualitative Study Examining Young Adults' Experiences of Disclosure and Nondisclosure of LGBTQ Identity to Health Care Providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossman, Kinton; Salamanca, Paul; Macapagal, Kathryn

2017-01-01

Shifting cultural attitudes and legislation have increased focus on the health care needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) patients. However, patient nondisclosure of LGBTQ identity creates a barrier to accessing care. This qualitative study examined a diverse sample of LGBTQ young adults and their experiences of disclosure and nondisclosure to medical providers. Participants (n = 206, age range 18-27) completed questionnaires assessing health care access and use as part of a larger study. Participants' responses to open-ended items asking about experiences of LGBTQ identity disclosure to medical providers and reasons for nondisclosure were analyzed thematically. Results revealed intra- and interpersonal factors related to patient disclosure and nondisclosure of LGBTQ identity. Reasons for participant nondisclosure included providers not asking about identity, internalized stigma, and belief that health and LGBTQ identity are not related. When participants did disclose, they experienced reactions ranging from discrimination and disbelief to affirmation and respect. Findings confirm and extend previous research on young adults' identity disclosure and provide avenues for health professionals' continuing education when working with LGBTQ patients.

Larger ATV engine size correlates with an increased rate of traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Butts, C Caleb; Rostas, Jack W; Lee, Y L; Gonzalez, Richard P; Brevard, Sidney B; Frotan, M Amin; Ahmed, Naveed; Simmons, Jon D

2015-04-01

Since the introduction of all-terrain vehicles (ATV) to the United States in 1971, injuries and mortalities related to their use have increased significantly. Furthermore, these vehicles have become larger and more powerful. As there are no helmet requirements or limitations on engine-size in the State of Alabama, we hypothesised that larger engine size would correlate with an increased incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in patients following an ATV crash. Patient and ATV data were prospectively collected on all ATV crashes presenting to a level one trauma centre from September 2010 to May 2013. Collected data included: demographics, age of driver, ATV engine size, presence of helmet, injuries, and outcomes. The data were grouped according to the ATV engine size in cubic centimetres (cc). For the purposes of this study, TBI was defined as any type of intracranial haemorrhage on the initial computed tomography scan. There were 61 patients identified during the study period. Two patients (3%) were wearing a helmet at the time of injury. Patients on an ATV with an engine size of 350 cc or greater had higher Injury Severity Scores (13.9 vs. 7.5, p ≤ 0.05) and an increased incidence of TBI (26% vs. 0%, p ≤ 0.05) when compared to patients on ATV's with an engine size less than 350 cc. Patients on an ATV with an engine size of 350 cc or greater were more likely to have a TBI. The use of a helmet was rarely present in this cohort. Legislative efforts to implement rider protection laws for ATVs are warranted. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-term changes in quitting-related cognitions and behaviours after the implementation of plain packaging with larger health warnings: findings from a national cohort study with Australian adult smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Durkin, Sarah; Brennan, Emily; Coomber, Kerri; Zacher, Meghan; Scollo, Michelle; Wakefield, Melanie

2015-04-01

Plain packaging (PP) with larger graphic health warnings (GHWs) was implemented in Australia in late 2012. This study examined effects of these packaging changes on short-term changes in quitting-related cognitions and behaviours. We used a series of cohorts of Australian adult cigarette smokers originally sourced from a nationally representative cross-sectional tracking survey, followed up approximately 1 month after their baseline interview (n(weighted)=5441). Logistic regression analyses compared changes in seven quitting-related outcomes over this 1-month follow-up period for the cohorts surveyed before PP, over the period of transition to PP, and during the first year of PP, adjusting for baseline levels of the outcome and covariates. Compared to the referent group of smokers who completed their follow-up survey pre-PP, those who were followed-up in the early transition period showed significantly greater increases in rates of stopping themselves from smoking (OR=1.51, 95% CI (1.08 to 2.10)) and higher quit attempt rates (OR=1.43, 95% CI (1.00 to 2.03)), those followed-up in the late transition period showed greater increases in intentions to quit (OR=1.42, 95% CI (1.06 to 1.92)) and pack concealment (OR=1.55, 95% CI (1.05 to 2.31)), and those followed-up in the first year of PP showed higher levels of pack concealment (OR=1.65, 95% CI (1.01 to 2.72)), more premature stubbing out of cigarettes (OR=1.55, 95% CI (1.01 to 2.36)), and higher quit attempt rates (OR=1.52, 95% CI (1.01 to 2.30)). These findings provide some of the strongest evidence to date that implementation of PP with larger GHWs was associated with increased rates of quitting cognitions, microindicators of concern and quit attempts among adult cigarette smokers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Review of Factor Analytic Studies Examining Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Shuster, Jill; Perry, Adrienne; Bebko, James; Toplak, Maggie E.

2014-01-01

Factor analytic studies have been conducted to examine the inter-relationships and degree of overlap among symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This paper reviewed 36 factor analytic studies that have examined ASD symptoms, using 13 different instruments. Studies were grouped into three categories: Studies with all DSM-IV symptoms, studies…

The study on quality control of bedside CR examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xufeng; Luo Xiaomei; Xu Qiaolan; Wu Tengfang; Wen Xingwei

2007-01-01

Objective: To study the quality controll of bedside CR examination and improves the imaging quality. Methods: X-ray examination with CR system were performed on 3,300 patients. All CR cassettes were encoded. The imaging plate and cassettes were cleaned regularly. Results: With and without quality control, the percentage of first-rate film was 58.2% and 51%, the second-rate film was 40% and 45.5%, the third-rate film was 1.3% and 2%, respectively. Corxespondingly, the ratio of re-examination decreased from 1.5% to 0.5% after quality control, and imaging quality was stable. Conclusion: The quality control of bedside CR examination can improve the image quality as well as lighten the labor of radiographers. (authors)

4π Noncoplanar Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Centrally Located or Larger Lung Tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Peng; Lee, Percy; Ruan, Dan; Long, Troy; Romeijn, Edwin; Low, Daniel A.; Kupelian, Patrick; Abraham, John; Yang, Yingli; Sheng, Ke

2013-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the dosimetric improvements in stereotactic body radiation therapy for patients with larger or central lung tumors using a highly noncoplanar 4π planning system. Methods and Materials: This study involved 12 patients with centrally located or larger lung tumors previously treated with 7- to 9-field static beam intensity modulated radiation therapy to 50 Gy. They were replanned using volumetric modulated arc therapy and 4π plans, in which a column generation method was used to optimize the beam orientation and the fluence map. Maximum doses to the heart, esophagus, trachea/bronchus, and spinal cord, as well as the 50% isodose volume, the lung volumes receiving 20, 10, and 5 Gy were minimized and compared against the clinical plans. A dose escalation study was performed to determine whether a higher prescription dose to the tumor would be achievable using 4π without violating dose limits set by the clinical plans. The deliverability of 4π plans was preliminarily tested. Results: Using 4π plans, the maximum heart, esophagus, trachea, bronchus and spinal cord doses were reduced by 32%, 72%, 37%, 44%, and 53% (P≤.001), respectively, and R 50 was reduced by more than 50%. Lung V 20 , V 10 , and V 5 were reduced by 64%, 53%, and 32% (P≤.001), respectively. The improved sparing of organs at risk was achieved while also improving planning target volume (PTV) coverage. The minimal PTV doses were increased by the 4π plans by 12% (P=.002). Consequently, escalated PTV doses of 68 to 70 Gy were achieved in all patients. Conclusions: We have shown that there is a large potential for plan quality improvement and dose escalation for patients with larger or centrally located lung tumors using noncoplanar beams with sufficient quality and quantity. Compared against the clinical volumetric modulated arc therapy and static intensity modulated radiation therapy plans, the 4π plans yielded significantly and consistently improved tumor coverage and

4π Noncoplanar Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Centrally Located or Larger Lung Tumors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Peng; Lee, Percy; Ruan, Dan [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (United States); Long, Troy; Romeijn, Edwin [Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (United States); Low, Daniel A.; Kupelian, Patrick; Abraham, John; Yang, Yingli [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (United States); Sheng, Ke, E-mail: ksheng@mednet.ucla.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (United States)

2013-07-01

Purpose: To investigate the dosimetric improvements in stereotactic body radiation therapy for patients with larger or central lung tumors using a highly noncoplanar 4π planning system. Methods and Materials: This study involved 12 patients with centrally located or larger lung tumors previously treated with 7- to 9-field static beam intensity modulated radiation therapy to 50 Gy. They were replanned using volumetric modulated arc therapy and 4π plans, in which a column generation method was used to optimize the beam orientation and the fluence map. Maximum doses to the heart, esophagus, trachea/bronchus, and spinal cord, as well as the 50% isodose volume, the lung volumes receiving 20, 10, and 5 Gy were minimized and compared against the clinical plans. A dose escalation study was performed to determine whether a higher prescription dose to the tumor would be achievable using 4π without violating dose limits set by the clinical plans. The deliverability of 4π plans was preliminarily tested. Results: Using 4π plans, the maximum heart, esophagus, trachea, bronchus and spinal cord doses were reduced by 32%, 72%, 37%, 44%, and 53% (P≤.001), respectively, and R{sub 50} was reduced by more than 50%. Lung V{sub 20}, V{sub 10}, and V{sub 5} were reduced by 64%, 53%, and 32% (P≤.001), respectively. The improved sparing of organs at risk was achieved while also improving planning target volume (PTV) coverage. The minimal PTV doses were increased by the 4π plans by 12% (P=.002). Consequently, escalated PTV doses of 68 to 70 Gy were achieved in all patients. Conclusions: We have shown that there is a large potential for plan quality improvement and dose escalation for patients with larger or centrally located lung tumors using noncoplanar beams with sufficient quality and quantity. Compared against the clinical volumetric modulated arc therapy and static intensity modulated radiation therapy plans, the 4π plans yielded significantly and consistently improved tumor

The Larger Bound on the Domination Number of Fibonacci Cubes and Lucas Cubes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shengzhang Ren

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Let Γn and Λn be the n-dimensional Fibonacci cube and Lucas cube, respectively. Denote by Γ[un,k,z] the subgraph of Γn induced by the end-vertex un,k,z that has no up-neighbor. In this paper, the number of end-vertices and domination number γ of Γn and Λn are studied. The formula of calculating the number of end-vertices is given and it is proved that γ(Γ[un,k,z]≤2k-1+1. Using these results, the larger bound on the domination number γ of Γn and Λn is determined.

Problem-based learning and larger student groups: mutually exclusive or compatible concepts – a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lymn Joanne S

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Problem-based learning is recognised as promoting integration of knowledge and fostering a deeper approach to life-long learning, but is associated with significant resource implications. In order to encourage second year undergraduate medical students to integrate their pharmacological knowledge in a professionally relevant clinical context, with limited staff resources, we developed a novel clustered PBL approach. This paper utilises preliminary data from both the facilitator and student viewpoint to determine whether the use of this novel methodology is feasible with large groups of students. Methods Students were divided into 16 groups (20–21 students/group and were allocated a PBL facilitator. Each group was then divided into seven subgroups, or clusters, of 2 or 3 students wh each cluster being allocated a specific case. Each cluster was then provided with more detailed clinical information and studied an individual and distinct case-study. An electronic questionnaire was used to evaluate both student and facilitator perception of this clustered PBL format, with each being asked to rate the content, structure, facilitator effectiveness, and their personal view of the wider learning experience. Results Despite initial misgivings, facilitators managed this more complex clustered PBL methodology effectively within the time restraints and reported that they enjoyed the process. They felt that the cases effectively illustrated medical concepts and fitted and reinforced the students' pharmacological knowledge, but were less convinced that the scenario motivated students to use additional resources or stimulated their interest in pharmacology. Student feedback was broadly similar to that of the facilitators; although they were more positive about the scenario stimulating the use of additional resources and an interest in pharmacology. Conclusion This clustered PBL methodology can be successfully used with larger groups of

EOCENE LARGER FORAMINIFERAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHY IN THE SOUTHERNMOST DAUPHINOIS DOMAIN (MARITIME ALPS, FRANCE-ITALY BORDER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DARIO VARRONE

2007-07-01

Full Text Available The Trucco Formation and the Nummulitic Limestone (Dauphinois Domain, Maritime Alps are characterized by abundant larger foraminifera, specifically nummulitids, orthophragminids and encrusting foraminifera. In the Maritime Alps, previous studies suggest a late Lutetian age for the Trucco Formation and a late Lutetian-Priabonian age for the Nummulitic Limestone.Biostratigraphic analysis of the nummulitids, in 11 stratigraphic sections, allowed us to distinguish 3 biozones:MALF1 Zone: defined by the presence of Nummulites brongniarti d’Archiac & Haime, N. puschi d’Archiac, N. perforatus de Montfort, N. striatus (Bruguière, N. cf. dufrenoyi d’Archiac & Haime, N. variolarius/incrassatus and Operculina schwageri Silvestri.MALF2 Zone: defined by the presence of Nummulites perforatus de Montfort, N. striatus (Bruguière, N. cf. dufrenoyi d’Archiac & Haime, N. variolarius/incrassatus and Operculina schwageri Silvestri.MALF 3 Zone: defined by the presence of gr. Nummulites variolarius/incrassatus, N. striatus (Bruguière and Operculina schwageri Silvestri.According to current larger foraminiferal biozonal schemes, the age of these local biozones corresponds to the Bartonian p.p.Moreover, the comparison with biostratigraphic schemes established for the Dauphinois Domain and for the Tethyan area evidences that several typical nummulitid species of the late Bartonian are lacking in the southern Dauphinois Domain, probably due to a paleogeographic control. 

78 FR 18902 - Defining Larger Participants of the Student Loan Servicing Market

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-28

... BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 12 CFR Part 1090 [Docket No. CFPB-2013-0005] RIN 3170-AA35... Protection. ACTION: Proposed rule; request for public comment. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) proposes to amend the regulation defining larger participants of certain consumer...

Action video game players and deaf observers have larger Goldmann visual fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, David; Codina, Charlotte; Bhardwaj, Palvi; Pascalis, Olivier

2010-03-05

We used Goldmann kinetic perimetry to compare how training and congenital auditory deprivation may affect the size of the visual field. We measured the ability of action video game players and deaf observers to detect small moving lights at various locations in the central (around 30 degrees from fixation) and peripheral (around 60 degrees ) visual fields. Experiment 1 found that 10 habitual video game players showed significantly larger central and peripheral field areas than 10 controls. In Experiment 2 we found that 13 congenitally deaf observers had significantly larger visual fields than 13 hearing controls for both the peripheral and central fields. Here the greatest differences were found in the lower parts of the fields. Comparison of the two groups showed that whereas VGP players have a more uniform increase in field size in both central and peripheral fields deaf observers show non-uniform increases with greatest increases in lower parts of the visual field.

Mid-Eocene (Bartonian) larger benthic foraminifera from southeastern Turkey and northeastern Egypt: New evidence for the palaeobiogeography of the Tethyan carbonate platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Sallam, Emad S.; Erdem, Nazire Özgen; Sinanoğlu, Derya; Ruban, Dmitry A.

2018-05-01

Larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the mid-Eocene (Bartonian) sedimentary successions of the Tethyan carbonate platforms have been studied in southeastern Turkey and northeastern Egypt. In the Hazro-Diyarbakir section (SE Turkey), small-medium miliolids and textularinids are identified from the lower intervals of the Hoya Formation, whereas alveolinids and soritids (porcellaneous) and orbitolinids (agglutinated) increase in diversity and abundance in the upper intervals. The Dictyoconus aegyptiensis (Chapman) and Somalina stefaninii Silvestri are recorded for the first time from the Hoya Formation. The larger benthic foraminiferal assemblage from the Hoya Formation shows a significant similarity to those reported from the Observatory Formation (coeval with the Sannor Formation) in the Cairo-Suez district (NE Egypt). The studied foraminiferal assemblages imply restricted lagoonal-tidal flat palaeoenvironments. Palaeobiogeographically, the larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages recorded in southeastern Turkey and northeastern Egypt carbonate platforms display a strong affinity to the Arabian, Middle East and African platforms. The position of the global sea-level and the plate tectonic organization of the studied region during the Bartonian were the main factors that facilitated faunal exchange within the carbonate platforms.

Investigation of Larger Poly(α-Methylstyrene) Mandrels for High Gain Designs Using Microencapsulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takagi, Masaru; Cook, Robert; McQuillan, Barry; Gibson, Jane; Paguio, Sally

2004-01-01

In recent years we have demonstrated that 2-mm-diameter poly(α-methylstyrene) mandrels meeting indirect drive NIF surface symmetry specifications can be produced using microencapsulation methods. Recently higher gain target designs have been introduced that rely on frequency doubled (green) laser energy and require capsules up to 4 mm in diameter, nominally meeting the same surface finish and symmetry requirements as the existing 2-mm-diameter capsule designs. Direct drive on the NIF also requires larger capsules. In order to evaluate whether the current microencapsulation-based mandrel fabrication techniques will adequately scale to these larger capsules, we have explored extending the techniques to 4-mm-diameter capsules. We find that microencapsulated shells meeting NIF symmetry specifications can be produced, the processing changes necessary to accomplish this are presented here

Examination of human diaphragms for trichinosis, Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gould, S E; Ozaki, Hiroyuki; Kimura, Kazuo

1961-11-30

Trichinella spiralis has been found in three species of mammals born in Hokkaido so it possibly infects other species in Japan, including man. Although examination of human diaphragms in a small series of 149 autopsies in Hiroshima and 37 autopsies in Nagasaki (by digestion, compression, and microscopic sections) failed to reveal any instance of trichinous infection, it is felt that the existence or absence of human trichinosis inJapan can be determined only by examination covering a larger series of autopsies, and performed in various parts of the country. 6 references.

Studies of the impact and mitigation of pile-up on large-$R$ and groomed jets in ATLAS at $\\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

Large radius jets provide one avenue towards efficient reconstruction of massive boosted objects whose decay products are sufficiently collimated so as to make standard reconstruction techniques impractical. The potentially adverse impact of additional proton-proton interactions on such large jets is assessed for a variety of jet types and hadronic final state topologies. The mitigation of these effects via jet grooming algorithms such as trimming, pruning, and filtering is then studied for high transverse momentum jets at $\\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV using an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the ATLAS detector. A total of 29 jet algorithms and grooming configuration combinations are studied. The application of jet trimming and filtering significantly improves the robustness of large-$R$ jets and reduces their sensitivity to the intense environment of the high-luminosity LHC. The consequence is an overall improvement in the physics potential of searches for heavy boosted objects.

Behavior and Body Patterns of the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, Roy L; Ross, Richard; Rodaniche, Arcadio; Huffard, Christine L

2015-01-01

Over thirty years ago anecdotal accounts of the undescribed Larger Pacific Striped Octopus suggested behaviors previously unknown for octopuses. Beak-to-beak mating, dens shared by mating pairs, inking during mating and extended spawning were mentioned in publications, and enticed generations of cephalopod biologists. In 2012-2014 we were able to obtain several live specimens of this species, which remains without a formal description. All of the unique behaviors listed above were observed for animals in aquaria and are discussed here. We describe the behavior, body color patterns, and postures of 24 adults maintained in captivity. Chromatophore patterns of hatchlings are also shown.

Framing the Discussion: Elections as Components of Larger Political and Cultural Geographies

Science.gov (United States)

Knopp, Larry

2016-01-01

It is important to remember that elections are but one piece--albeit an important one--of much larger processes of politics and governance. Moreover, in the United States they are increasingly implicated in the construction of identities and places. What goes on in the course of electoral politics (creating electoral systems and voting districts,…

Effect of high dietary copper on growth, antioxidant and lipid metabolism enzymes of juvenile larger yellow croaker Larimichthys croceus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fanxing Meng

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A study was carried out to test the responses of juvenile larger yellow croaker Larimichthys croceus to high Cu intake. Experimental diets were formulated containing three levels of Cu: low Cu (3.67 mg/kg, middle Cu (13.65 mg/kg and high Cu (25.78 mg/kg, and each diet were fed to large yellow croaker in triplicate for 10 weeks. Final body weight, weight gain and feed intake were the lowest in high Cu group, but hepatosomatic index was the highest; Cu concentrations in the whole-body, muscle and liver of fish fed low Cu diet was the lowest; Liver superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities in fish fed high Cu diet were lower than those in fish fed other diets; The higher content of liver thiobarbituric acid reactive substance content was found in high Cu group, followed by middle Cu group, and the lowest in low Cu group; Liver 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, isocitrate dehydrogenase and fatty acid synthase activities were the lowest in high Cu group, but lipoprotein lipase activity was the highest. This study indicated that high copper intake reduced growth of juvenile larger yellow croaker, inhibited activities of antioxidant enzymes and lipid synthetases, and led to energy mobilization. Keywords: Larger yellow croaker, Copper, Antioxidant enzyme, Lipid metabolism enzyme

Larger eggs in resident brown trout living in sympatry with anadromous brown trout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olofsson, H.; Mosegaard, Henrik

1999-01-01

Freshwater resident brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) in the stream Jorlandaan (southwestern Sweden) had larger eggs (range of actual mean egg wet weights, 65.9-108.5 mg) than both sympatric migratory trout (76.8-84.2 mg) and trout from five other Swedish streams with allopatric resident (23.7-80.1 mg......) or migratory populations (44.5-121.9 mg), after accounting for differences in body size. In Jorlandaan, some resident females even had a larger absolute mean egg weight than any of the migratory females found in the stream Resident trout had low absolute fecundity, and our data suggest that resident females...... in Jorlandan produce large eggs at the expense of their fecundity The extremely large relative egg size in resident Jorlandaan females suggests that the production of large offspring enhances fitness, possibly through increased fry survival....

Ecological tolerances of Miocene larger benthic foraminifera from Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Vibor; Renema, Willem

2018-01-01

To provide a comprehensive palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on larger benthic foraminifera (LBF), a quantitative analysis of their assemblage composition is needed. Besides microfacies analysis which includes environmental preferences of foraminiferal taxa, statistical analyses should also be employed. Therefore, detrended correspondence analysis and cluster analysis were performed on relative abundance data of identified LBF assemblages deposited in mixed carbonate-siliciclastic (MCS) systems and blue-water (BW) settings. Studied MCS system localities include ten sections from the central part of the Kutai Basin in East Kalimantan, ranging from late Burdigalian to Serravallian age. The BW samples were collected from eleven sections of the Bulu Formation on Central Java, dated as Serravallian. Results from detrended correspondence analysis reveal significant differences between these two environmental settings. Cluster analysis produced five clusters of samples; clusters 1 and 2 comprise dominantly MCS samples, clusters 3 and 4 with dominance of BW samples, and cluster 5 showing a mixed composition with both MCS and BW samples. The results of cluster analysis were afterwards subjected to indicator species analysis resulting in the interpretation that generated three groups among LBF taxa: typical assemblage indicators, regularly occurring taxa and rare taxa. By interpreting the results of detrended correspondence analysis, cluster analysis and indicator species analysis, along with environmental preferences of identified LBF taxa, a palaeoenvironmental model is proposed for the distribution of LBF in Miocene MCS systems and adjacent BW settings of Indonesia.

The cavity-nest ant Temnothorax crassispinus prefers larger nests.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitrus, S

Colonies of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus inhabit mostly cavities in wood and hollow acorns. Typically in the field, nest sites that can be used by the ant are a limited resource. In a field experiment, it was investigated whether the ants prefer a specific size of nest, when different ones are available. In July 2011, a total of 160 artificial nests were placed in a beech-pine forest. Four artificial nests (pieces of wood with volume cavities, ca 415, 605, 730, and 980 mm 3 , respectively) were located on each square meter of the experimental plot. One year later, shortly before the emergence of new sexuals, the nests were collected. In July 2012, colonies inhabited more frequently bigger nests. Among queenright colonies, the ones which inhabited bigger nests had more workers. However, there was no relationship between volume of nest and number of workers for queenless colonies. Queenright colonies from bigger nests produced more sexual individuals, but there was no correlation between number of workers and sex allocation ratio, or between volume of nest and sex allocation ratio. In a laboratory experiment where ant colonies were kept in 470 and 860 mm 3 nests, larger colonies allocated more energy to produce sexual individuals. The results of this study show the selectivity of T. crassispinus ants regarding the size of nest cavity, and that the nest volume has an impact on life history parameters.

Historical Carbon Dioxide Emissions Caused by Land-Use Changes are Possibly Larger than Assumed

Science.gov (United States)

Arneth, A.; Sitch, S.; Pongratz, J.; Stocker, B. D.; Ciais, P.; Poulter, B.; Bayer, A. D.; Bondeau, A.; Calle, L.; Chini, L. P.;

A study to determine whether the volume-weighted computed tomography dose index gives reasonable estimates of organ doses for thai patients undergoing abdomen and pelvis computed tomography examinations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Supawitoo Sookpeng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Values for the CTDIvol, which is displayed on scanner consoles, give doses relative to a phantom much larger than most Thai patients, and the CTDIvoldoes not take account of differences in patient size, which affect organ doses. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships for size specific dose estimate (SSDE and volume weighted computed tomography (CT dose index (CTDIvol with patient size for CT scanners operating under automatic tube current modulation (ATCM. Methods: Retrospective data from 244 patients who had undergone abdomen and pelvis examination on GE and Siemens CT scanners were included in this study. The combination of anteroposterior (AP and lateral dimensions at the level of the first lumbar vertebra (L1 was used to represent patient size. Image noise within the liver was measured, and values of the absorbed dose for organs covered by the primary beam such as the liver, stomach and kidney were calculated using methods described in the literature. Values of CTDIvolwere recorded and SSDE calculated according to the American Association of Physics in Medicine (AAPM Report No.204. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between SSDE, CTDIvol, image noise and patient size. Results: SSDE is 20%-50% larger than the CTDIvol, with values for larger patients being more representative. Both the CTDIvoland image noise decreased with patient size for Siemens scanners, but the decline in SSDE was less significant. For the GE scanner, the CTDIvolwas a factor of 3-4 lower in small patients compared to larger ones, while the SSDE only decreased by a factor of two. Noise actually decreased slightly with patient size. Conclusion: Values of SSDE were similar to the doses calculated for the liver, stomach and kidney, which are covered by the primary beam, confirming that it provides a good estimate of organ-absorbed dose.

Groups have a larger cognitive capacity than individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Takao; Pratt, Stephen C

2012-10-09

Increasing the number of options can paradoxically lead to worse decisions, a phenomenon known as cognitive overload [1]. This happens when an individual decision-maker attempts to digest information exceeding its processing capacity. Highly integrated groups, such as social insect colonies, make consensus decisions that combine the efforts of many members, suggesting that these groups can overcome individual limitations [2-4]. Here we report that an ant colony choosing a new nest site is less vulnerable to cognitive overload than an isolated ant making this decision on her own. We traced this improvement to differences in individual behavior. In whole colonies, each ant assesses only a small subset of available sites, and the colony combines their efforts to thoroughly explore all options. An isolated ant, on the other hand, must personally assess a larger number of sites to approach the same level of option coverage. By sharing the burden of assessment, the colony avoids overtaxing the abilities of its members. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dust captures effectiveness of scrubber systems on mechanical miners operating in larger roadways.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Hole, BJ

1998-03-01

Full Text Available The project was directed towards bord and pillar working by mechanised miners operating in larger section roadways, where the problem of scrubber capture tends to be greatest owing to the limited size of the zone of influence around exhaust...

Working with and promoting early career scientists within a larger community

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, K.

2017-12-01

For many scientific communities, engaging early career researchers is critical for success. These young scientists (graduate students, postdocs, and newly appointed professors) are actively forming collaborations and instigating new research programs. They also stand to benefit hugely from being part of a scientific community, gaining access to career development activities, becoming part of strong collaborator networks, and achieving recognition in their field of study — all of which will help their professional development. There are many ways community leaders can work proactively to support and engage early career scientists, and it it is often a community manager's job to work with leadership to implement such activities. In this presentation, I will outline ways of engaging early career scientists at events and tailored workshops, of promoting development of their leadership skills, and of creating opportunities for recognizing early career scientists within larger scientific communities. In this talk, I will draw from my experience working with the Deep Carbon Observatory Early Career Scientist Network, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Examination of returned solar-max surfaces for impacting orbital debris and meteoroids

Science.gov (United States)

Kessler, D. J.; Zook, H. A.; Potter, A. E.; Mckay, D. S.; Clanton, U. S.; Warren, J. L.; Watts, L. A.; Schultz, R. A.; Schramm, L. S.; Wentworth, S. J.

1985-01-01

Previous theoretical studies predicted that in certain regions of earth orbit, the man-made earth orbiting debris environment will soon exceed the interplanetary meteoroid environment for sizes smaller than 1 cm. The surfaces returned from the repaired Solar Max Mission (SMM) by STS 41-C on April 12, 1984, offered an excellent opportunity to examine both the debris and meteoroid environments. To date, approximately 0.7 sq. met. of the thermal insulation and 0.05 sq. met of the aluminum louvers have been mapped by optical microscope for crater diameters larger than 40 microns. Craters larger in diameter than about 100 microns found on the initial 75 micron thick Kapton first sheet on the MEB (Main Electronics Box) blanket are actually holes and constitute perforations through that blanket. The following populations have been found to date in impact sites on these blankets: (1) meteoritic material; (2) thermal paint particles; (3) aluminum droplets; and (4) waste particles.

An exploration of adolescents' perceptions of X-ray examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O' Shea, C.; Davis, M.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The research presented in this paper is taken from a larger study whose aims were to explore adolescents' perceptions of X-ray examinations and more specifically middle adolescents' perceptions of X-ray examinations. Middle adolescents are between the ages of 15 and 17 years and experience many changes in their lives that differentiate them from young and late adolescents. There is limited research available on middle adolescents' perceptions of the X-ray examination process Methodology: 18 adolescents, age range 15–17 years, took part in the research study. This included 9 male and 9 female adolescents from 2 secondary schools in the Dublin area. A self-completion questionnaire was used as the method of investigating their perceptions of the X-ray examination process. The data, which consisted of feelings and opinions, was analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Results: Analysis suggested that the adolescents perceived that the ‘wait’ in the waiting room was long and boring. They expressed an interest in the provision of suitable recreational facilities to distract them from feeling nervous, bored and from the pain they felt. 16 of the adolescents found the X-ray examination interesting, although they appeared to have little knowledge of what was happening. 14 of the adolescents perceived the radiographer to be friendly. More boys than girls complained about the radiographer. Conclusion: The study indicates that middle adolescents are not receiving effective quality care that meets their specific needs when presenting for an X-ray examination. Further research could help in providing the adolescents with the optimum care they need. - Highlights: • Waiting was long and boring. • X-ray examination was interesting. • Adolescents had little knowledge of what was happening. • Adolescents would like more age appropriate material

Behavior and Body Patterns of the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus.

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Roy L Caldwell

Full Text Available Over thirty years ago anecdotal accounts of the undescribed Larger Pacific Striped Octopus suggested behaviors previously unknown for octopuses. Beak-to-beak mating, dens shared by mating pairs, inking during mating and extended spawning were mentioned in publications, and enticed generations of cephalopod biologists. In 2012-2014 we were able to obtain several live specimens of this species, which remains without a formal description. All of the unique behaviors listed above were observed for animals in aquaria and are discussed here. We describe the behavior, body color patterns, and postures of 24 adults maintained in captivity. Chromatophore patterns of hatchlings are also shown.

Assignment methodology for larger RNA oligonucleotides: Application to an ATP-binding RNA aptamer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dieckmann, Thorsten; Feigon, Juli

1997-01-01

The use of uniform 13C, 15N labeling in the NMR spectroscopic study of RNA structures has greatly facilitated the assignment process in small RNA oligonucleotides. For ribose spinsystem assignments, exploitation of these labels has followed previously developed methods for the study of proteins. However, for sequential assignment of the exchangeable and nonexchangeable protons of the nucleotides, it has been necessary to develop a variety of new NMR experiments. Even these are of limited utility in the unambiguous assignment of larger RNAs due to the short carbon relaxation times and extensive spectral overlap for all nuclei.These problems can largely be overcome by the additional use of base-type selectively 13C, 15N-labeled RNA in combination with a judicious use of related RNAs with base substitutions. We report the application of this approach to a 36-nucleotide ATP-binding RNA aptamer in complex with AMP. Complete sequential 1H assignments, as well as the majority of 13C and 15N assignments, were obtained

Performance of large-R jets and jet substructure reconstruction with the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

This paper presents the application of techniques to study jet substructure. The performance of modified jet algorithms for a variety of jet types and event topologies is investigated. Properties of jets subjected to the mass-drop filtering, trimming and pruning algorithms are found to have a reduced sensitivity to multiple proton-proton interactions and exhibit improved stability at high luminosity. Monte Carlo studies of the signal-background discrimination with jet grooming in new physics searches based on jet invariant mass and jet substructure properties are also presented. The application of jet trimming is shown to improve the robustness of large-R jet measurements, reduce sensitivity to the superfluous effects due to the intense environment of the high luminosity LHC, and improve the physics potential of searches for heavy boosted objects. The analyses presented in this note use the full 2011 ATLAS dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 \\pm 0.2 fb−1 .

Intrarater and interrater reliability of pulse examination in traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine.

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Kurande, Vrinda; Waagepetersen, Rasmus; Toft, Egon; Prasad, Ramjee

2013-09-01

In Ayurveda, pulse examination ( nadipariksha ) is an important tool to assess the status of three doshas : vata , pitta , and kapha . Long historical use has been seen as a documentation of its efficacy; however, there is a lack of a quantitative measure of the reliability of the pulse examination method. The objective of this study was to test the intrarater and interrater reliability of pulse examination in Ayurveda. Fifteen registered Ayurvedic doctors with 3-15 years of experience examined the pulse of 20 healthy volunteers twice, for a total of 600 examinations. The examinations were performed blind and in a random order. Only the current status of dosha- specific methods of pulse examination were considered. Cohen's weighted κ statistic was used as a measure of intrarater and interrater reliability, and a hypothesis of homogeneous diagnosis (random rating) was tested. Following this, we tested whether proportions of ratings were equal between doctors. According to the Landis and Koch scale, the level of reliability ranged from poor to moderate. It was observed that the doctors more frequently diagnosed a combination of two doshas than a single dosha. The κ values were generally larger for experienced doctors ( p   =  0.04). Experience and proper training have important roles in pulse examination.

Detection of colonic polyps in the elderly: Optimization of the single-contrast barium enema examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelfand, D.W.; Chen, Y.M.; Ott, D.J.; Munitz, H.A.

1986-01-01

Single-contrast studies account for 75% of barium enema examinations and are often performed in the elderly. By optimizing all factors, the following results were obtained: for polyps of less than 1 cm, 40 of 57 were detected (sensitivity, 70.2%); for polyps of 1 cm or larger, 33 of 35 were detected (sensitivity, 94%). Overall, 73 of 92 polyps were detected (sensitivity, 79.3%). These sensitivities result from meticulous preparation and the use of compression filming, low-density barium, moderate kilovoltages, high-resolution screens, remote control apparatus, and high-bandpass TV fluoroscopy. The authors conclude that an optimal single-contrast barium enema examination detects colonic polyps with a sensitivity approaching that of the double-contrast study and may be employed in elderly patients who cannot undergo the double-contrast study

Exploring Specialized STEM High Schools: Three Dissertation Studies Examining Commonalities and Differences Across Six Case Studies

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Tofel-Grehl, Colby

This dissertation is comprised of three independently conducted analyses of a larger investigation into the practices and features of specialized STEM high schools. While educators and policy makers advocate the development of many new specialized STEM high schools, little is known about the unique features and practices of these schools. The results of these manuscripts add to the literature exploring the promise of specialized STEM schools. Manuscript 1¹ is a qualitative investigation of the common features of STEM schools across multiple school model types. Schools were found to possess common cultural and academic features regardless of model type. Manuscript 2² builds on the findings of manuscript 1. With no meaningful differences found attributable to model type, the researchers used grounded theory to explore the relationships between observed differences among programs as related to the intensity of the STEM experience offered at schools. Schools were found to fall into two categories, high STEM intensity (HSI) and low STEM intensity (LSI), based on five major traits. Manuscript 3³ examines the commonalities and differences in classroom discourse and teachers' questioning techniques in STEM schools. It explicates these discursive practices in order to explore instructional practices across schools. It also examines factors that may influence classroom discourse such as discipline, level of teacher education, and course status as required or elective. Collectively, this research furthers the agenda of better understanding the potential advantages of specialized STEM high schools for preparing a future scientific workforce. ¹Tofel-Grehl, C., Callahan, C., & Gubbins, E. (2012). STEM high school communities: Common and differing features. Manuscript in preparation. ²Tofel-Grehl, C., Callahan, C., & Gubbins, E. (2012). Variations in the intensity of specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) high schools. Manuscript in preparation

Analysis of Factors Related to Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid Examination on Child Bearing Women

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Esti Yunitasari

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Not only the health promotion about Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA examination and servical cancer but also free for VIA examination have been held in Polindes Tanjunganom, but the scope of VIA examination is still in low grade. Health Belief Model (HBM theory is used to evaluate and explain the differences of individual perception towards preventive behaviors. This study was aimed to analyze the factors correlating with VIA examination in women by HBM. Design used in this study was cross sectional. The population was all child bearing women in Puskesmas Tanjunganom region. Total sample was 50 respondents, taken according to simple random technique. The independent variabels were perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action. The dependent variabel was VIA examination. Data were collected by using structured questionnaire and analyzed by using chi square test with level of significance of ≤ 0,05. Results showed that perceived susceptibility had correlation with VIA examination (p=0,026, perceived seriousness had correlation with VIA examination (p=0,004, perceived benefits had correlation with VIA examination (p=0,016, perceived barriers had correlation with VIA examination (p=0,016, and cues to action (p=0,000 had correlation with VIA examination. It can be concluded that HBM has correlation with VIA examination and cues to action has the strongest variabel related to VIA examination. Further studies should involve larger respondents and better measurement tools to obtain more accurate results.

Larger aftershocks happen farther away: nonseparability of magnitude and spatial distributions of aftershocks

Science.gov (United States)

Van Der Elst, Nicholas; Shaw, Bruce E.

2015-01-01

Aftershocks may be driven by stress concentrations left by the main shock rupture or by elastic stress transfer to adjacent fault sections or strands. Aftershocks that occur within the initial rupture may be limited in size, because the scale of the stress concentrations should be smaller than the primary rupture itself. On the other hand, aftershocks that occur on adjacent fault segments outside the primary rupture may have no such size limitation. Here we use high-precision double-difference relocated earthquake catalogs to demonstrate that larger aftershocks occur farther away than smaller aftershocks, when measured from the centroid of early aftershock activity—a proxy for the initial rupture. Aftershocks as large as or larger than the initiating event nucleate almost exclusively in the outer regions of the aftershock zone. This observation is interpreted as a signature of elastic rebound in the earthquake catalog and can be used to improve forecasting of large aftershocks.

[A school-level longitudinal study of clinical performance examination scores].

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jang Hee

2015-06-01

This school-level longitudinal study examined 7 years of clinical performance data to determine differences (effects) in students and annual changes within a school and between schools; examine how much their predictors (characteristics) influenced the variation in student performance; and calculate estimates of the schools' initial status and growth. A school-level longitudinal model was tested: level 1 (between students), level 2 (annual change within a school), and level 3 (between schools). The study sample comprised students who belonged to the CPX Consortium (n=5,283 for 2005~2008 and n=4,337 for 2009~2011). Despite a difference between evaluation domains, the performance outcomes were related to individual large-effect differences and small-effect school-level differences. Physical examination, clinical courtesy, and patient education were strongly influenced by the school effect, whereas patient-physician interaction was not affected much. Student scores are influenced by the school effect (differences), and the predictors explain the variation in differences, depending on the evaluation domain.

The Therapy Beneath the Fun: Medical Clowning During Invasive Examinations on Children.

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Ofir, Shoshi; Tener, Dafna; Lev-Wiesel, Rachel; On, Avi; Lang-Franco, Nessia

2016-01-01

The qualitative research presented here is part of a larger project on the significance of medical clowning during invasive examinations in children in the Department of Gastroenterology and the Center for the Sexually Abused in a hospital in Israel. It investigated what makes up the essence of medical clowning, what skills and techniques are used by medical clowns, and whether their work contains therapeutic elements. A total of 9 children undergoing invasive examinations and 9 of their accompanying parents participated in semistructured interviews, which were analyzed using a thematic analysis methodology assisted by an Atlas-ti software program. The interviews revealed that the medical clowning intervention during invasive examinations was essentially therapeutic, with the clown using theatrical and clowning tools to incorporate therapeutic elements such as empowerment, reversal of role, reframing, and building a therapeutic alliance. In addition, during the invasive examinations, the medical clowning followed the model of brief crisis intervention therapy. The study advances the need to incorporate medical clowns as an integral part of medical teams performing invasive procedures and to include clowns in all stages of the hospital visit when children undergo invasive examinations. © The Author(s) 2015.

Larger Subcortical Gray Matter Structures and Smaller Corpora Callosa at Age 5 Years in HIV Infected Children on Early ART

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Steven R. Randall

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 90% of HIV infected (HIV+ children. Since the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART, HIV/AIDS has transitioned to a chronic condition where central nervous system (CNS damage may be ongoing. Although, most guidelines recommend early ART to reduce CNS viral reservoirs, the brain may be more vulnerable to potential neurotoxic effects of ART during the rapid development phase in the first years of life. Here we investigate differences in subcortical volumes between 5-year-old HIV+ children who received early ART (before age 18 months and uninfected children using manual tracing of Magnetic Resonance Images. Participants included 61 Xhosa children (43 HIV+/18 uninfected, mean age = 5.4 ± 0.3 years, 25 male from the children with HIV early antiretroviral (CHER trial; 27 children initiated ART before 12 weeks of age (ART-Before12Wks and 16 after 12 weeks (ART-After12Wks. Structural images were acquired on a 3T Allegra MRI in Cape Town and manually traced using MultiTracer. Volumetric group differences (HIV+ vs. uninfected; ART-Before12Wks vs. ART-After12Wks were examined for the caudate, nucleus accumbens (NA, putamen (Pu, globus pallidus (GP, and corpus callosum (CC, as well as associations within infected children of structure volumes with age at ART initiation and CD4/CD8 as a proxy for immune health. HIV+ children had significantly larger NA and Pu volumes bilaterally and left GP volumes than controls, whilst CC was smaller. Bilateral Pu was larger in both treatment groups compared to controls, while left GP and bilateral NA were enlarged only in ART-After12Wks children. CC was smaller in both treatment groups compared to controls, and smaller in ART-After12Wks compared to ART-Before12Wks. Within infected children, delayed ART initiation was associated with larger Pu volumes, effects that remained significant when controlling for sex and duration of treatment interruption (left β = 0.447, p = 0.005; right β = 0

Dynamics Of Human Motion The Case Study of an Examination Hall

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunjo, Samuel; Ajayi, Oluwaseyi; Fuwape, Ibiyinka; Dansu, Emmanuel

Human behaviour is difficult to characterize and generalize due to ITS complex nature. Advances in mathematical models have enabled human systems such as love interaction, alcohol abuse, admission problem to be described using models. This study investigates one of such problems, the dynamics of human motion in an examination hall with limited computer systems such that students write their examination in batches. The examination is characterized by time (t) allocated to each students and difficulty level (dl) associated with the examination. A stochastic model based on the difficulty level of the examination was developed for the prediction of student's motion around the examination hall. A good agreement was obtained between theoretical predictions and numerical simulation. The result obtained will help in better planning of examination session to maximize available resources. Furthermore, results obtained in the research can be extended to other areas such as banking hall, customer service points where available resources will be shared amongst many users.

Social thermoregulation as a potential mechanism linking sociality and fitness: Barbary macaques with more social partners form larger huddles.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Liz A D; Tkaczynski, Patrick J; Lehmann, Julia; Mouna, Mohamed; Majolo, Bonaventura

2018-04-17

Individuals with more or stronger social bonds experience enhanced survival and reproduction in various species, though the mechanisms mediating these effects are unclear. Social thermoregulation is a common behaviour across many species which reduces cold stress exposure, body heat loss, and homeostatic energy costs, allowing greater energetic investment in growth, reproduction, and survival, with larger aggregations providing greater benefits. If more social individuals form larger thermoregulation aggregations due to having more potential partners, this would provide a direct link between sociality and fitness. We conducted the first test of this hypothesis by studying social relationships and winter sleeping huddles in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), wherein individuals with more social partners experience greater probability of winter survival. Precipitation and low temperature increased huddle sizes, supporting previous research that huddle size influences thermoregulation and energetics. Huddling relationships were predicted by social (grooming) relationships. Individuals with more social partners therefore formed larger huddles, suggesting reduced energy expenditure and exposure to environmental stressors than less social individuals, potentially explaining how sociality affects survival in this population. This is the first evidence that social thermoregulation may be a direct proximate mechanism by which increased sociality enhances fitness, which may be widely applicable across taxa.

MASSIVE GALAXIES ARE LARGER IN DENSE ENVIRONMENTS: ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF MASS–SIZE RELATION OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Yongmin; Im, Myungshin; Kim, Jae-Woo, E-mail: yymx2@astro.snu.ac.kr, E-mail: mim@astro.snu.ac.kr [Center for the Exploration of the Origin of the Universe (CEOU), Astronomy Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-742 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-01-01

Under the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological models, massive galaxies are expected to be larger in denser environments through frequent hierarchical mergers with other galaxies. Yet, observational studies of low-redshift early-type galaxies have shown no such trend, standing as a puzzle to solve during the past decade. We analyzed 73,116 early-type galaxies at 0.1 ≤  z  < 0.15, adopting a robust nonparametric size measurement technique and extending the analysis to many massive galaxies. We find for the first time that local early-type galaxies heavier than 10{sup 11.2} M {sub ⊙} show a clear environmental dependence in mass–size relation, in such a way that galaxies are as much as 20%–40% larger in the densest environments than in underdense environments. Splitting the sample into the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and non-BCGs does not affect the result. This result agrees with the ΛCDM cosmological simulations and suggests that mergers played a significant role in the growth of massive galaxies in dense environments as expected in theory.

A pilot study of same day sputum smear examination, its feasibility and usefulness in diagnosis of pulmonary TB.

Science.gov (United States)

Myneedu, V P; Verma, A K; Sharma, P P; Behera, D

2011-10-01

standard and proposed new method smear microscopy was 58.25% and 40.07% respectively and specificity was 99.55% in both the methods. Same day smear microscopy for diagnosing tuberculosis by a proposed new method of smear examination in the case of suspected tuberculosis seems not a promising step towards improving the quality of sputum smear examination. The results of sensitivity and specificity of the two approaches were not similar. More than eighty per cent responded in favour of same day sputum delivery system and getting result on same day. This study can be confirmed on larger scale and preference of patients can be examined in peripheral laboratory also before taking it up for consideration in the national tuberculosis programme.

Born-Infeld magnetars: larger than classical toroidal magnetic fields and implications for gravitational-wave astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Jonas P.; Coelho, Jaziel G.; de Lima, Rafael C. R.

2018-05-01

Magnetars are neutron stars presenting bursts and outbursts of X- and soft-gamma rays that can be understood with the presence of very large magnetic fields. In this setting, nonlinear electrodynamics should be taken into account for a more accurate description of such compact systems. We study that in the context of ideal magnetohydrodynamics and make a realization of our analysis to the case of the well known Born-Infeld (BI) electromagnetism in order to come up with some of its astrophysical consequences. We focus here on toroidal magnetic fields as motivated by already known magnetars with low dipolar magnetic fields and their expected relevance in highly magnetized stars. We show that BI electrodynamics leads to larger toroidal magnetic fields when compared to Maxwell's electrodynamics. Hence, one should expect higher production of gravitational waves (GWs) and even more energetic giant flares from nonlinear stars. Given current constraints on BI's scale field, giant flare energetics and magnetic fields in magnetars, we also find that the maximum magnitude of magnetar ellipticities should be 10^{-6}-10^{-5}. Besides, BI electrodynamics may lead to a maximum increase of order 10-20% of the GW energy radiated from a magnetar when compared to Maxwell's, while much larger percentages may arise for other physically motivated scenarios. Thus, nonlinear theories of the electromagnetism might also be probed in the near future with the improvement of GW detectors.

Protecting the larger fish: an ecological, economical and evolutionary analysis using a demographic model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verdiell, Nuria Calduch

. Recently, there is increasing evidence that this size-selective fishing reduces the chances of maintaining populations at levels sufficient to produce maximum sustainable yields, the chances of recovery/rebuilding populations that have been depleted/collapsed and may causes rapid evolutionary changes...... and the consequent changes in yield. We attempt to evaluate the capability of the larger fish to mitigate the evolutionary change on life-history traits caused by fishing, while also maintaining a sustainable annual yield. This is achieved by calculating the expected selection response on three life-history traits......Many marine fish stocks are reported as overfished on a global scale. This overfishing not only removes fish biomass, but also causes dramatic changes in the age and size structure of fish stocks. In particular, targeting of the larger individuals truncates the age and size structure of stocks...

The effectiveness of immediate feedback during the objective structured clinical examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodder, R V; Rivington, R N; Calcutt, L E; Hart, I R

1989-03-01

Using eight different physical examination or technical stations, 400 examinations were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of immediate feedback during the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The test group comprised 50 medical students who underwent a standard 4-minute examination followed by 2 minutes of feedback. Immediately following feedback the students repeated an identical 4-minute examination scored by the same examiners. The control group consisted of 50 students from the same class who underwent an identical testing sequence, but instead of receiving feedback, they were instructed to continue their examinations for an additional 2 minutes before repeating the stations. Simple repetition of the task did not significantly improve score (mean increase 2.0%, NS). Extending the testing period from 4 to 6 minutes resulted in a small but significant increase in score (mean 6.7%, P less than 0.001). However, there was a much larger increase in the scores obtained following 2 minutes of immediate feedback compared to pre-feedback performance (mean 26.3%, P less than 0.0001). The majority of students and examiners felt that feedback, as administered in this study, was valuable both as a learning and teaching experience. Short periods of immediate feedback during an OSCE are practical and can improve competency in the performance of criterion-based tasks, at least over the short term. In addition, such feedback provides students with valuable self-assessment that may stimulate further learning.

Flower-Visiting Butterflies Avoid Predatory Stimuli and Larger Resident Butterflies: Testing in a Butterfly Pavilion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuya Fukano

Full Text Available The flower-visiting behaviors of pollinator species are affected not only by flower traits but also by cues of predators and resident pollinators. There is extensive research into the effects of predator cues and resident pollinators on the flower-visiting behaviors of bee pollinators. However, there is relatively little research into their effects on butterfly pollinators probably because of the difficulty in observing a large number of butterfly pollination events. We conducted a dual choice experiment using artificial flowers under semi-natural conditions in the butterfly pavilion at Tama Zoological Park to examine the effects of the presence of a dead mantis and resident butterflies have on the flower-visiting behavior of several butterfly species. From 173 hours of recorded video, we observed 3235 visitations by 16 butterfly species. Statistical analysis showed that (1 butterflies avoided visiting flowers occupied by a dead mantis, (2 butterflies avoided resident butterflies that were larger than the visitor, and (3 butterflies showed greater avoidance of a predator when the predator was present together with the resident butterfly than when the predator was located on the opposite flower of the resident. Finally, we discuss the similarities and differences in behavioral responses of butterfly pollinators and bees.

Flower-Visiting Butterflies Avoid Predatory Stimuli and Larger Resident Butterflies: Testing in a Butterfly Pavilion.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukano, Yuya; Tanaka, Yosuke; Farkhary, Sayed Ibrahim; Kurachi, Takuma

2016-01-01

The flower-visiting behaviors of pollinator species are affected not only by flower traits but also by cues of predators and resident pollinators. There is extensive research into the effects of predator cues and resident pollinators on the flower-visiting behaviors of bee pollinators. However, there is relatively little research into their effects on butterfly pollinators probably because of the difficulty in observing a large number of butterfly pollination events. We conducted a dual choice experiment using artificial flowers under semi-natural conditions in the butterfly pavilion at Tama Zoological Park to examine the effects of the presence of a dead mantis and resident butterflies have on the flower-visiting behavior of several butterfly species. From 173 hours of recorded video, we observed 3235 visitations by 16 butterfly species. Statistical analysis showed that (1) butterflies avoided visiting flowers occupied by a dead mantis, (2) butterflies avoided resident butterflies that were larger than the visitor, and (3) butterflies showed greater avoidance of a predator when the predator was present together with the resident butterfly than when the predator was located on the opposite flower of the resident. Finally, we discuss the similarities and differences in behavioral responses of butterfly pollinators and bees.

"Crazyghettosmart": A Case Study in Latina Identities

Science.gov (United States)

Vetter, Amy M.; Fairbanks, Colleen; Ariail, Mary

2011-01-01

Drawing from recent scholarship that examines schooling and the shifting terrain of youth identities, this study examines the identity constructions of Jessica, a Latina high school student. Our portrait of Jessica is part of a larger longitudinal study in which the middle and high school experiences of three Latinas, including Jessica, were…

Secure E-Examination Systems Compared: Case Studies from Two Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew E. Fluck

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Aim/Purpose: Electronic examinations have some inherent problems. Students have expressed negative opinions about electronic examinations (e-examinations due to a fear of, or unfamiliarity with, the technology of assessment, and a lack of knowledge about the methods of e-examinations. Background: Electronic examinations are now a viable alternative method of assessing student learning. They provide freedom of choice, in terms of the location of the examination, and can provide immediate feedback; students and institutions can be assured of the integrity of knowledge testing. This in turn motivates students to strive for deeper learning and better results, in a higher quality and more rigorous educational process. Methodology\t: This paper compares an e-examination system at FUT Minna Nigeria with one in Australia, at the University of Tasmania, using case study analysis. The functions supported, or inhibited, by each of the two e-examination systems, with different approaches to question types, cohort size, technology used, and security features, are compared. Contribution: The researchers’ aim is to assist stakeholders (including lecturers, invigilators, candidates, computer instructors, and server operators to identify ways of improving the process. The relative convenience for students, administrators, and lecturer/assessors and the reliability and security of the two systems are considered. Challenges in conducting e-examinations in both countries are revealed by juxtaposing the systems. The authors propose ways of developing more effective e-examination systems. Findings: The comparison of the two institutions in Nigeria and Australia shows e-examinations have been implemented for the purpose of selecting students for university courses, and for their assessment once enrolled. In Nigeria, there is widespread systemic adoption for university entrance merit selection. In Australia this has been limited to one subject in one state, rather

A specialist toxicity database (TRACE) is more effective than its larger, commercially available counterparts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anderson, C.A.; Copestake, P.T.; Robinson, L.

2000-01-01

The retrieval precision and recall of a specialist bibliographic toxicity database (TRACE) and a range of widely available bibliographic databases used to identify toxicity papers were compared. The analysis indicated that the larger size and resources of the major bibliographic databases did not,

New nonbinary quantum codes with larger distance constructed from BCH codes over 𝔽q2

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Gen; Li, Ruihu; Fu, Qiang; Ma, Yuena; Guo, Luobin

2017-03-01

This paper concentrates on construction of new nonbinary quantum error-correcting codes (QECCs) from three classes of narrow-sense imprimitive BCH codes over finite field 𝔽q2 (q ≥ 3 is an odd prime power). By a careful analysis on properties of cyclotomic cosets in defining set T of these BCH codes, the improved maximal designed distance of these narrow-sense imprimitive Hermitian dual-containing BCH codes is determined to be much larger than the result given according to Aly et al. [S. A. Aly, A. Klappenecker and P. K. Sarvepalli, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 53, 1183 (2007)] for each different code length. Thus families of new nonbinary QECCs are constructed, and the newly obtained QECCs have larger distance than those in previous literature.

HIPAA is larger and more complex than Y2K.

Science.gov (United States)

Tempesco, J W

2000-07-01

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a larger and more complex problem than Y2K ever was. According to the author, the costs associated with a project of such unending scope and in support of intrusion into both information and operational systems of every health care transaction will be incalculable. Some estimate that the administrative simplification policies implemented through HIPAA will save billions of dollars annually, but it remains to be seen whether the savings will outweigh implementation and ongoing expenses associated with systemwide application of the regulations. This article addresses the rules established for electronic data interchange, data set standards for diagnostic and procedure codes, unique identifiers, coordination of benefits, privacy of individual health care information, electronic signatures, and security requirements.

Designing key-dependent chaotic S-box with larger key space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Ruming; Yuan Jian; Wang Jian; Shan Xiuming; Wang Xiqin

2009-01-01

The construction of cryptographically strong substitution boxes (S-boxes) is an important concern in designing secure cryptosystems. The key-dependent S-boxes designed using chaotic maps have received increasing attention in recent years. However, the key space of such S-boxes does not seem to be sufficiently large due to the limited parameter range of discretized chaotic maps. In this paper, we propose a new key-dependent S-box based on the iteration of continuous chaotic maps. We explore the continuous-valued state space of chaotic systems, and devise the discrete mapping between the input and the output of the S-box. A key-dependent S-box is constructed with the logistic map in this paper. We show that its key space could be much larger than the current key-dependent chaotic S-boxes.

Males that drop a sexually selected weapon grow larger testes.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Paul N; Emberts, Zachary; Sasson, Daniel A; Miller, Christine W

2018-01-01

Costly sexually selected weapons are predicted to trade off with postcopulatory traits, such as testes. Although weapons can be important for achieving access to females, individuals of some species can permanently drop (i.e. autotomize) their weapons, without regeneration, to escape danger. We capitalized on this natural behavior to experimentally address whether the loss of a sexually selected weapon leads to increased testes investment in the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata Stål (Hemiptera: Coreidae). In a second experiment, we measured offspring production for males that lost a weapon during development. As predicted, males that dropped a hind limb during development grew significantly larger testes than the control treatments. Hind-limb autotomy did not result in the enlargement of other nearby traits. Our results are the first to experimentally demonstrate that males compensate for natural weapon loss by investing more in testes. In a second experiment we found that females paired with males that lost a hind limb had 40% lower egg hatching success than females paired with intact males, perhaps because of lower mating receptivity to males with a lost limb. Importantly, in those cases where viable offspring were produced, males missing a hind limb produced 42% more offspring than males with intact limbs. These results suggest that the loss of a hind-limb weapon can, in some cases, lead to greater fertilization success. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Selandian-Thanetian larger foraminifera from the lower Jafnayn Formation in the Sayq area (eastern Oman Mountains)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serra-Kiel, J.; Vicedo, V.; Razin, P.; Grelaud, C.

2016-07-01

The larger foraminifera of the lower part of the Jafnayn Formation outcropping in the Wadi Sayq, in the Paleocene series of the eastern Oman Mountains, have been studied and described in detail. The analysis have allowed us to develop a detailed systematic description of each taxa, constraining their biostratigraphic distribution and defining the associated foraminifera assemblages. The taxonomic study has permitted us to identify each morphotype precisely and describe three new taxa, namely, Ercumentina sayqensis n. gen. n. sp. Lacazinella rogeri n. sp. and Globoreticulinidae new family. The first assemblage is characterized by the presence of Coskinon sp., Dictyoconus cf. turriculus Hottinger and Drobne, Anatoliella ozalpiensis Sirel, Ercumentina sayqensis n. gen. n. sp. SerraKiel and Vicedo, Lacazinella rogeri n. sp. Serra-Kiel and Vicedo, Mandanella cf. flabelliformis Rahaghi, Azzarolina daviesi (Henson), Lockhartia retiata Sander, Dictyokathina simplex Smout and Miscellanites globularis (Rahaghi). The second assemblage is constituted by the forms Pseudofallotella persica (Hottinger and Drobne), Dictyoconus cf. turriculus Hottinger and Drobne, Lacazinella rogeri n. sp. Serra-Kiel and Vicedo, Azzarolina daviesi (Henson), Keramosphera? cf. iranica Rahaghi, Lockhartia haimei (Davies), Lockhartia retiata Sander, Sakesaria trichilata Sander, Kathina delseota Smout, Elazigina harabekayisensis Sirel, Daviesina khatiyahi Smout, and Miscellanea juliettae Leppig. The first assemblage can be considered to belong to the Shallow Bentic Zone SBZ2 (early Selandian age), and the second assemblage to the SBZ3 (late Selandian-early Thanetian age).This paper shows, for the first time in the Middle East area, a correlation between the Selandian larger foraminifera and planktonic foraminifera biozones. (Author)

Selandian-Thanetian larger foraminifera from the lower Jafnayn Formation in the Sayq area (eastern Oman Mountains)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serra-Kiel, J.; Vicedo, V.; Razin, P.; Grelaud, C.

2016-01-01

The larger foraminifera of the lower part of the Jafnayn Formation outcropping in the Wadi Sayq, in the Paleocene series of the eastern Oman Mountains, have been studied and described in detail. The analysis have allowed us to develop a detailed systematic description of each taxa, constraining their biostratigraphic distribution and defining the associated foraminifera assemblages. The taxonomic study has permitted us to identify each morphotype precisely and describe three new taxa, namely, Ercumentina sayqensis n. gen. n. sp. Lacazinella rogeri n. sp. and Globoreticulinidae new family. The first assemblage is characterized by the presence of Coskinon sp., Dictyoconus cf. turriculus Hottinger and Drobne, Anatoliella ozalpiensis Sirel, Ercumentina sayqensis n. gen. n. sp. SerraKiel and Vicedo, Lacazinella rogeri n. sp. Serra-Kiel and Vicedo, Mandanella cf. flabelliformis Rahaghi, Azzarolina daviesi (Henson), Lockhartia retiata Sander, Dictyokathina simplex Smout and Miscellanites globularis (Rahaghi). The second assemblage is constituted by the forms Pseudofallotella persica (Hottinger and Drobne), Dictyoconus cf. turriculus Hottinger and Drobne, Lacazinella rogeri n. sp. Serra-Kiel and Vicedo, Azzarolina daviesi (Henson), Keramosphera? cf. iranica Rahaghi, Lockhartia haimei (Davies), Lockhartia retiata Sander, Sakesaria trichilata Sander, Kathina delseota Smout, Elazigina harabekayisensis Sirel, Daviesina khatiyahi Smout, and Miscellanea juliettae Leppig. The first assemblage can be considered to belong to the Shallow Bentic Zone SBZ2 (early Selandian age), and the second assemblage to the SBZ3 (late Selandian-early Thanetian age).This paper shows, for the first time in the Middle East area, a correlation between the Selandian larger foraminifera and planktonic foraminifera biozones. (Author)

Drill-back studies examine fractured, heated rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wollenberg, H.A.; Flexser, S.; Myer, L.R.

1990-01-01

To investigate the effects of heating on the mineralogical, geochemical, and mechanical properties of rock by high-level radioactive waste, cores are being examined from holes penetrating locations where electric heaters simulated the presence of a waste canister, and from holes penetration natural hydrothermal systems. Results to date indicate the localized mobility and deposition of uranium in an open fracture in heated granitic rock, the mobility of U in a breccia zone in an active hydrothermal system in tuff, and the presence of U in relatively high concentration in fracture-lining material in tuff. Mechanical -- property studies indicate that differences in compressional- and shear-wave parameters between heated and less heated rock can be attributed to differences in the density of microcracks. Emphasis has shifted from initial studies of granitic rock at Stripa, Sweden to current investigations of welded tuff at the Nevada Test Site. 7 refs., 8 figs

Analysis on actual state of selective upper gastrointestinal study in medical examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Seong Ho; Son, Soon Yong; Joo, Mi Hwa; Kim, Chang Bok; Kim, Keon Chung

1999-01-01

The purpose of this study is to present controversial point and reform measurements by analysing factors having important effect on selection of upper gastrointestinal study in total health promotion. We examined 200 persons for this study, who visited for upper gastrointestinal study from January to February in 1999. We classified this group into Endoscopy, Upper gastrointestinal series, and sleeping endoscopy. We also investigated standard of satisfaction and factors having effect on selection of each study. As is results, in the motive of selection, Item of 'making accurate observation' and 'without pain' was 39.3% and 34.7%, respectively. In this study, sleeping endoscopy was 45.7%, but on the other side upper gastrointestinal series was low 22.6%(P<0.05). In the standard of preference of study, the man was 55.7% in the endoscopy, and the woman was 61.8% in the upper gastrointestinal series(P<0.05). The standard of preference of upper gastrointestinal series show that it was satisfied on the whole irrespective of sex, dwelling place, age, occupation, and level of education. In the selection of study, one's own will was showed the highest frequency, and family inducement was showed second(P<0.05). Persons over 60% were examined before the same study. Selection of upper gastrointestinal series was 47.9% of person with normal findings, and endoscopy and sleeping endoscopy was over 70% with gastritis, gastric and duodenal(P<0.01). For one's accurate selection of examination, it is important that objective and credible information should be given to a recipient for examination

Examples of fatigue lifetime and reliability evaluation of larger wind turbine components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tarp-Johansen, N.J.

2003-01-01

This report is one out of several that constitute the final report on the ELSAM funded PSO project “Vindmøllekomponenters udmattelsesstyrke og levetid”, project no. 2079, which regards the lifetime distribution of larger wind turbine components in ageneric turbine that has real life dimensions....... Though it was the initial intention of the project to consider only the distribution of lifetimes the work reported in this document provides also calculations of reliabilities and partial load safetyfactors under specific assumptions about uncertainty sources, as reliabilities are considered...

Impact of practice leadership management style on staff experience in services for people with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour: A further examination and partial replication.

Science.gov (United States)

Deveau, Roy; McGill, Peter

2016-09-01

Practice leadership (PL) style of frontline management has been shown to be associated with better experiences for staff working with people who may exhibit challenging behaviours (Deveau & McGill, 2014). This study aimed to examine additional staff experience factors with a different, larger sample and to partially replicate the findings of (Deveau & McGill, 2014). This study was a survey of staff self-reported data collected as part of a larger study. Information was collected on PL and staff experiences of: stress, turnover, job satisfaction and positive work experiences. The results broadly supported Deveau and McGill (2014) and demonstrated an association between PL and greater job satisfaction and positive experiences for staff. Results on staff turnover were inconsistent. The positive impact of PL on staff experience was further supported by this study. Suggestions are made for further research. These findings suggest further research is needed to examine the potential of interventions in frontline management/leadership practice to improve staff experience of working in challenging environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  Information and acceptance of prenatal examinations - a qualitative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fleron, Stina Lou; Dahl, Katja; Risør, Mette Bech

by the health care system offering it. By prenatal examinations the pregnant women want to be giving the choice of future management should there be something wrong with their child. Conclusions:Participation in prenatal examinations is not based on a thorough knowledge of pros and contra of the screening tests......  Background:In 2004 The Danish National Board of Health issued new guidelines on prenatal examinations. The importance of informed decision making is strongly emphasised and any acceptance of the screenings tests offered should be based on thorough and adequate information. Objective...... and hypothesis:To explore the influence of information in the decision-making process of prenatal screenings tests offered, the relation between information, knowledge and up-take rates and reasons for accepting or declining the screenings tests offered.  Methods:The study is based on a qualitative approach...

Analysis on actual state of selective upper gastrointestinal study in medical examination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Seong Ho; Son, Soon Yong; Joo, Mi Hwa; Kim, Chang Bok; Kim, Keon Chung [Asan Medical Center, Asan (Korea, Republic of)

1999-04-01

The purpose of this study is to present controversial point and reform measurements by analysing factors having important effect on selection of upper gastrointestinal study in total health promotion. We examined 200 persons for this study, who visited for upper gastrointestinal study from January to February in 1999. We classified this group into Endoscopy, Upper gastrointestinal series, and sleeping endoscopy. We also investigated standard of satisfaction and factors having effect on selection of each study. As is results, in the motive of selection, Item of 'making accurate observation' and 'without pain' was 39.3% and 34.7%, respectively. In this study, sleeping endoscopy was 45.7%, but on the other side upper gastrointestinal series was low 22.6%(P<0.05). In the standard of preference of study, the man was 55.7% in the endoscopy, and the woman was 61.8% in the upper gastrointestinal series(P<0.05). The standard of preference of upper gastrointestinal series show that it was satisfied on the whole irrespective of sex, dwelling place, age, occupation, and level of education. In the selection of study, one's own will was showed the highest frequency, and family inducement was showed second(P<0.05). Persons over 60% were examined before the same study. Selection of upper gastrointestinal series was 47.9% of person with normal findings, and endoscopy and sleeping endoscopy was over 70% with gastritis, gastric and duodenal(P<0.01). For one's accurate selection of examination, it is important that objective and credible information should be given to a recipient for examination.

TaGS5-3A, a grain size gene selected during wheat improvement for larger kernel and yield.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Lin; Li, Tian; Hao, Chenyang; Wang, Yuquan; Chen, Xinhong; Zhang, Xueyong

2016-05-01

Grain size is a dominant component of grain weight in cereals. Earlier studies have shown that OsGS5 plays a major role in regulating both grain size and weight in rice via promotion of cell division. In this study, we isolated TaGS5 homoeologues in wheat and mapped them on chromosomes 3A, 3B and 3D. Temporal and spatial expression analysis showed that TaGS5 homoeologues were preferentially expressed in young spikes and developing grains. Two alleles of TaGS5-3A, TaGS5-3A-T and TaGS5-3A-G were identified in wheat accessions, and a functional marker was developed to discriminate them. Association analysis revealed that TaGS5-3A-T was significantly correlated with larger grain size and higher thousand kernel weight. Biochemical assays showed that TaGS5-3A-T possesses a higher enzymatic activity than TaGS5-3A-G. Transgenic rice lines overexpressing TaGS5-3A-T also exhibited larger grain size and higher thousand kernel weight than TaGS5-3A-G lines, and the transcript levels of cell cycle-related genes in TaGS5-3A-T lines were higher than those in TaGS5-3A-G lines. Furthermore, systematic evolution analysis in diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid wheat showed that TaGS5-3A underwent strong artificial selection during wheat polyploidization events and the frequency changes of two alleles demonstrated that TaGS5-3A-T was favoured in global modern wheat cultivars. These results suggest that TaGS5-3A is a positive regulator of grain size and its favoured allele TaGS5-3A-T exhibits a larger potential application in wheat high-yield breeding. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Examination of Student Outcomes in Play Therapy: A Qualitative Case Study Design

Science.gov (United States)

Dillman Taylor, Dalena L.; Blount, Ashley J.; Bloom, Zachary

2017-01-01

Outcome research examining the effectiveness of teaching methods in counselor education is sparse. The researchers conducted a qualitative investigation utilizing an instrumental case study to examine the influence of a constructivist-developmental format on a play therapy counseling course in a large CACREP accredited university in the…

Assessment of differences in psychosocial resources and state of health of rural and urban residents – based on studies carried out on students during examination stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danuta Zarzycka

2014-11-01

Full Text Available [b]introduction[/b]. Civilization changes of the environment shaping the psychosocial resources from rural to urban influence human health. [b]aim.[/b] The study aimed to identify the differences due to the place of residence (rural, urban as far as health resources are concerned (social support, sense of coherence, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentration in plasma and health in examination stress situations. The study also determined the concentration of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (health resource and cortisol (stress indicator. [b]material and methods.[/b] The psychosocial variables were assessed using the scales: ISEL-48v. Coll., SOC-29, SF-36v.2™ o and analogue scale (perception of examination stress. The study included, based on a stratified sampling (year of study and purposive sampling (written examination, major, 731 students representing the six universities in Lublin, south-east Poland. Among the respondents, 130 students were rural residents. [b]results.[/b] Health resources of students living in rural and urban areas generally differ statistically significantly in social support and the subscales of availability of tangible support, availability of appreciative support, the availability of cognitive-evaluative support and a sense of resourcefulness. The study recorded a sstatistically significantly larger network of family ties among students living in rural areas. The demonstrated diversity of resources did not substantially affect the perceived health, with the exception of pain sensation. Examination stress assessed by subjective opinion of the respondents and plasma cortisol levels vary relative to the place of residence. Students residing in rural areas showed significantly lower cortisol levels values, but subjectively perceived the situation of examation as more stressful. [b]conclusions[/b]. Differences in health resources and their mechanism of impact on health, to a limited extent, were conditioned by the place

An examination of school- and student-level characteristics associated with the likelihood of students' meeting the Canadian physical activity guidelines in the COMPASS study.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Amanda; Faulkner, Guy; Giangregorio, Lora; Leatherdale, Scott T

2017-11-09

To examine school- and student-level correlates of physical activity. Cross-sectional Year 2 data collected from 45 298 grade 9-12 students attending 89 secondary schools in the COMPASS study were examined using multi-level modelling to predict the likelihood of students a) achieving 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily; and b) achieving the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) activity guideline for youth (60 minutes/MVPA daily, vigorous physical activity at least three days in a week, and resistance training at least three days in a week). The prevalence of students achieving 60 minutes of MVPA daily and meeting the CSEP guideline was 49.3% and 31.0% respectively. Modest between-school variability was identified (1.1% for 60 minutes MVPA and 0.8% for CSEP guideline). School-level characteristics significantly associated with the outcome measures included location, school size, quality of facilities, and accessibility of facilities. Significant student-level correlates included sex, grade, weekly income, binge drinking, fruit and vegetable consumption, and body mass index. Most youth in this large study reported inadequate physical activity levels. Students were more likely to achieve 60 minutes of MVPA if they attended a larger school or a school in an urban location, whereas students were less likely to meet the CSEP guideline if they attended a school in a small urban location. However, student-level factors, such as binge drinking and inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, were more strongly associated with the outcomes examined.

Exploring Specialized STEM High Schools: Three Dissertation Studies Examining Commonalities and Differences across Six Case Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Tofel-Grehl, Colby

2013-01-01

This dissertation is comprised of three independently conducted analyses of a larger investigation into the practices and features of specialized STEM high schools. While educators and policy makers advocate the development of many new specialized STEM high schools, little is known about the unique features and practices of these schools. The…

Student performance of the general physical examination in internal medicine: an observational study

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Many practicing physicians lack skills in physical examination. It is not known whether physical examination skills already show deficiencies after an early phase of clinical training. At the end of the internal medicine clerkship students are expected to be able to perform a general physical examination in every new patient encounter. In a previous study, the basic physical examination items that should standardly be performed were set by consensus. The aim of the current observational study was to assess whether medical students were able to correctly perform a general physical examination regarding completeness as well as technique at the end of the clerkship internal medicine. Methods One hundred students who had just finished their clerkship internal medicine were asked to perform a general physical examination on a standardized patient as they had learned during the clerkship. They were recorded on camera. Frequency of performance of each component of the physical examination was counted. Adequacy of performance was determined as either correct or incorrect or not assessable using a checklist of short descriptions of each physical examination component. A reliability analysis was performed by calculation of the intra class correlation coefficient for total scores of five physical examinations rated by three trained physicians and for their agreement on performance of all items. Results Approximately 40% of the agreed standard physical examination items were not performed by the students. Students put the most emphasis on examination of general parameters, heart, lungs and abdomen. Many components of the physical examination were not performed as was taught during precourses. Intra-class correlation was high for total scores of the physical examinations 0.91 (p internal medicine clerkship. Possible causes and suggestions for improvement are discussed. PMID:24712683

Self-detection and clinical breast examination: comparison of the two "classical" physical examination methods for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwab, Fabienne Dominique; Huang, Dorothy Jane; Schmid, Seraina Margaretha; Schötzau, Andreas; Güth, Uwe

2015-02-01

This is the first comprehensive analysis comparing specific aspects of tumor detection between the two "traditional" breast cancer detection methods self-detection (SD) and clinical breast examination (CBE). a) Which method is better in detecting smaller tumors? Both methods showed similar mean tumor diameters (SD: 22.1 mm vs. CBE: 21.9 mm; p = 0.991). b) Different frequency distributions of tumor locations would indicate that certain locations in the breast are more difficult to palpate: comparison of both methods showed comparable results (p = 0.835). c) General differences in tumor sizes with regard to certain locations would be of importance because the patients and/or the physicians could be educated to pay particular attention to certain locations during physical examination, where larger tumors tend to be found: tumors located in the central region were with 25.0 mm significantly larger than those in the peripheral regions of the breast (superior: 21.6 mm, p = 0.001; inferior: 21.6 mm, p = 0.015; lateral: 21.9 mm, p = 0.002; medial (20.9 mm, p = 0.001). Tumor sizes within the four peripheral regions did not differ significantly. d) Patients whose tumors were found by CBE were older than those whose tumors were found by SD (67 years vs. 60 years, p < 0.001). annual CBE should be an integral part of general medical care in older women. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Two-Study Examination of Work-Family Conflict, Production Deviance and Gender

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Merideth; Carlson, Dawn; Hunter, Emily M.; Whitten, Dwayne

2012-01-01

Building on the spillover and crossover literatures of work-family conflict and the theoretical framework of Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll, 1989) we examine the effects of conflict on production deviance. Using a two-study constructive replication and extension design, we examine how partner work-to-family conflict contributes to job…

Efficiency and Reliability of Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy for Renal Tumors Larger than 4 cm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faruk Özgör

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Aim: To evaluate safety and efficiency of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for renal tumors larger than 4 cm. Methods: We retrospectivelly evaluated the medical records of 65 patients who underwent laparascopic partial nephrectomy between May 2009 and June 2013 in our clinic. The patients were divided into two groups according to tumor size. Patients with a tumor 4 cm were included in group 1 (n=45 and group 2 (n=20, respectively. Demographic, perioperative and postoperative parameters were compared between the groups. Histopathological examination and surgical margin status were also evaluated. Results: The mean age of the patients was 59.2±10.9 (range: 26- 81 years. The mean tumor size and the mean RENAL nephrometry score were significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1. The mean operation time and warm ischemia time were similar between groups but estimated blood loss and transfusion requirement were significantly higher in group 2. Convertion to open surgery was seen two patients in group 2 and one patient in group 1. Only one patient underwent radical nephrectomy for uncontrolled bleeding in group 2. There was no difference in preoperative and 3-month postoperative serum creatinine levels between the groups. The incidence of positive surgical margin was 0% and 5% in group 1 and group 2, respectively. Conclusion: Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for renal tumors is an effective and feasible procedure with acceptable oncologic results. However, tranfusion rate and requiremet of pelvicaliceal system repair were more common in patients with tumor >4 cm. (The Medical Bulletin of Haseki 2015; 53:30-5

A comparative study on radiological and endoscopic examinations of the stomach cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jung Sook; Lee, Yong Chul; Kim, Han Suk [National Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1985-12-15

An analysis was done for the diagnostic accuracy of radiological and endoscopic examinations in 132 cases of the histologically proved stomach cancer at the national Medical Center from Jan. 1975 to Jan. 1979. The problem in radiological misdiagnosis was especially discussed aimed to improve the further diagnostic accuracy. The following results were obtained: 1. The incidence of the stomach cancer was higher in male than that of female, and was most prevalent in 5th and 6th decades. 2. The misdiagnosis rate of radiological examination of the stomach cancer was 13.5% (18 cases), that of endoscopic examination was 8.3% (11 cases) and that of both examination was 4.6% (6 cases). 3. In most cases of misdiagnosis, the majority were diagnosed as benign gastric ulcer. 4. The causative factors of misdiagnosis in radiological examination were interpretation error in 8 cases and technically poor, unsatisfactory study in 10 cases. 5. In order to decrease the misdiagnosis rate, standardization of radiological examination and careful interpretation are necessary. 6. Complementary examinations of radiology and endoscopy can decrease the misdiagnosis rate.

When larger brains do not have more neurons: Increased numbers of cells are compensated by decreased average cell size across mouse individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzana eHerculano-Houzel

2015-06-01

Full Text Available There is a strong trend toward increased brain size in mammalian evolution, with larger brains composed of more and larger neurons than smaller brains across species within each mammalian order. Does the evolution of increased numbers of brain neurons, and thus larger brain size, occur simply through the selection of individuals with more and larger neurons, and thus larger brains, within a population? That is, do individuals with larger brains also have more, and larger, neurons than individuals with smaller brains, such that allometric relationships across species are simply an extension of intraspecific scaling? Here we show that this is not the case across adult male mice of a similar age. Rather, increased numbers of neurons across individuals are accompanied by increased numbers of other cells and smaller average cell size of both types, in a trade-off that explains how increased brain mass does not necessarily ensue. Fundamental regulatory mechanisms thus must exist that tie numbers of neurons to numbers of other cells and to average cell size within individual brains. Finally, our results indicate that changes in brain size in evolution are not an extension of individual variation in numbers of neurons, but rather occur through step changes that must simultaneously increase numbers of neurons and cause cell size to increase, rather than decrease.

Parental Characteristics Have a Larger Effect on Children's Health Behaviour than Their Body Weight

OpenAIRE

Drenowatz, Clemens; Erkelenz, Nanette; Wartha, Olivia; Brandstetter, Susanne; Steinacker, Jürgen M.

2014-01-01

Objective Parents take an important role in a child's development, but there is currently limited information on parental correlates with children's health behaviour. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine whether parental characteristics, such as body weight, TV consumption and sport participation, affect children's body weight and health behaviour. Methods To examine the effects of parental characteristics on children's body weight and health behaviour, baseline data of 1,118 ...

Application of chemical mutagens and radiation in breeding buckwheat for larger seeds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseeva, E.S.

1988-01-01

Full text: In 1974, seeds of the Viktoriya variety of buckwheat were treated with 20-30 krad gamma radiation and chemical mutagens in the Biophysics Department of the Kishinev Agricultural Institute. For the chemical mutagen treatment, we used N-ethylnitroso-urea NEH (0.025 and 0.012%), N-methylnitroso-urea NMH (0.01 and 0.005%), ethylenimine EI (0.01 and 0.005%), dimethyl sulphate DMS (0.01 and 0.005%) and 1.4-bis-diazoacetyl butane DAB (0.01 and 0.05%). Since some investigators think that different results are produced by changing the order of the treatment, we treated seeds with chemical mutagens before and after irradiation and this was followed by drying. A total of 2400 seeds were treated. Selection started with M 2 seeds produced by M 1 plants. The thousand seed weight of the best ones ranged from 40.7 to 47.8 g, which was 11.9-18.7 g heavier than the control. The large seed size thus selected was heritable. Since larger seeds are very important for the creation of high yielding varieties buckwheat, only families with these characteristics were selected for further work. We observed even some further increase in seed weight in the next generation. It was observed that when planting large seeds, after six days of growth the cotyledons were significantly larger than in the control plants. This characteristic was used in selecting for a high yielding large-seed variety of buckwheat. The plants were selected twice: once for development of large cotyledon leaves and the second time for plant yield. In the fourth generation, the families thus obtained continued to be studied in greenhouse experiments and the same time be propagated under field conditions. The seeds of these families were then combined and under the name Podolyanka in 1976 were subjected to competitive variety testing. Following the competitive variety testing the mutant variety Podolyanka was released in 1984. It is high yielding (2950 kg/ha), has a short vegetation period (matures 17-18 days

Smoking Topography among Korean Smokers: Intensive Smoking Behavior with Larger Puff Volume and Shorter Interpuff Interval.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungroul; Yu, Sol

2018-05-18

The difference of smoker's topography has been found to be a function many factors, including sex, personality, nicotine yield, cigarette type (i.e., flavored versus non-flavored) and ethnicity. We evaluated the puffing behaviors of Korean smokers and its association with smoking-related biomarker levels. A sample of 300 participants was randomly recruited from metropolitan areas in South Korea. Topography measures during a 24-hour period were obtained using a CReSS pocket device. Korean male smokers smoked two puffs less per cigarette compared to female smokers (15.0 (13.0⁻19.0) vs. 17.5 (15.0⁻21.0) as the median (Interquartile range)), but had a significantly larger puff volume (62.7 (52.7⁻75.5) mL vs. 53.5 (42.0⁻64.2) mL); p = 0.012). The interpuff interval was similar between men and women (8.9 (6.5⁻11.2) s vs. 8.3 (6.2⁻11.0) s; p = 0.122) but much shorter than other study results. A dose-response association ( p = 0.0011) was observed between daily total puff volumes and urinary cotinine concentrations, after controlling for sex, age, household income level and nicotine addiction level. An understanding of the difference of topography measures, particularly the larger puff volume and shorter interpuff interval of Korean smokers, may help to overcome a potential underestimation of internal doses of hazardous byproducts of smoking.

Use of high performance computing to examine the effectiveness of aquifer remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tompson, A.F.B.; Ashby, S.F.; Falgout, R.D.; Smith, S.G.; Fogwell, T.W.; Loosmore, G.A.

1994-06-01

Large-scale simulation of fluid flow and chemical migration is being used to study the effectiveness of pump-and-treat restoration of a contaminated, saturated aquifer. A three-element approach focusing on geostatistical representations of heterogeneous aquifers, high-performance computing strategies for simulating flow, migration, and reaction processes in large three-dimensional systems, and highly-resolved simulations of flow and chemical migration in porous formations will be discussed. Results from a preliminary application of this approach to examine pumping behavior at a real, heterogeneous field site will be presented. Future activities will emphasize parallel computations in larger, dynamic, and nonlinear (two-phase) flow problems as well as improved interpretive methods for defining detailed material property distributions

Satisfaction with social networks: an examination of socioemotional selectivity theory across cohorts.

Science.gov (United States)

Lansford, J E; Sherman, A M; Antonucci, T C

1998-12-01

This study examines L. L. Carstensen's (1993, 1995) socioemotional selectivity theory within and across three cohorts spanning 4 decades. Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as individuals age, they narrow their social networks to devote more emotional resources to fewer relationships with close friends and family. Data from 3 cohorts of nationally representative samples were analyzed to determine whether respondents' satisfaction with the size of their social networks differed by age, cohort, or both. Results support socioemotional selectivity theory: More older adults than younger adults were satisfied with the current size of their social networks rather than wanting larger networks. These findings are consistent across all cohorts. Results are discussed with respect to social relationships across the life course.

Auditory Processing Assessment in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: An Open Study Examining Methylphenidate Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Lanzetta-Valdo, Bianca Pinheiro; Oliveira, Giselle Alves de; Ferreira, Jane Tagarro Correa; Palacios, Ester Miyuki Nakamura

2017-01-01

Introduction  Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can present Auditory Processing (AP) Disorder. Objective  The study examined the AP in ADHD children compared with non-ADHD children, and before and after 3 and 6 months of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment in ADHD children. Methods  Drug-naive children diagnosed with ADHD combined subtype aging between 7 and 11 years, coming from public and private outpatient service or public and private school, and age-gender-matched non-ADHD children, participated in an open, non-randomized study from February 2013 to December 2013. They were submitted to a behavioral battery of AP tests comprising Speech with white Noise, Dichotic Digits (DD), and Pitch Pattern Sequence (PPS) and were compared with non-ADHD children. They were followed for 3 and 6 months of MPH treatment (0.5 mg/kg/day). Results  ADHD children presented larger number of errors in DD ( p  < 0.01), and less correct responses in the PPS ( p  < 0.0001) and in the SN ( p  < 0.05) tests when compared with non-ADHD children. The treatment with MPH, especially along 6 months, significantly decreased the mean errors in the DD ( p  < 0.01) and increased the correct response in the PPS ( p  < 0.001) and SN ( p  < 0.01) tests when compared with the performance before MPH treatment. Conclusions  ADHD children show inefficient AP in selected behavioral auditory battery suggesting impaired in auditory closure, binaural integration, and temporal ordering. Treatment with MPH gradually improved these deficiencies and completely reversed them by reaching a performance similar to non-ADHD children at 6 months of treatment.

Larger Gray Matter Volume in the Basal Ganglia of Heavy Cannabis Users Detected by Voxel-Based Morphometry and Subcortical Volumetric Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno-Alcázar, Ana; Gonzalvo, Begoña; Canales-Rodríguez, Erick J; Blanco, Laura; Bachiller, Diana; Romaguera, Anna; Monté-Rubio, Gemma C; Roncero, Carlos; McKenna, Peter J; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith

2018-01-01

Background: Structural imaging studies of cannabis users have found evidence of both cortical and subcortical volume reductions, especially in cannabinoid receptor-rich regions such as the hippocampus and amygdala. However, the findings have not been consistent. In the present study, we examined a sample of adult heavy cannabis users without other substance abuse to determine whether long-term use is associated with brain structural changes, especially in the subcortical regions. Method: We compared the gray matter volume of 14 long-term, heavy cannabis users with non-using controls. To provide robust findings, we conducted two separate studies using two different MRI techniques. Each study used the same sample of cannabis users and a different control group, respectively. Both control groups were independent of each other. First, whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to compare the cannabis users against 28 matched controls (HC1 group). Second, a volumetric analysis of subcortical regions was performed to assess differences between the cannabis users and a sample of 100 matched controls (HC2 group) obtained from a local database of healthy volunteers. Results: The VBM study revealed that, compared to the control group HC1, the cannabis users did not show cortical differences nor smaller volume in any subcortical structure but showed a cluster ( p users showed significantly larger volumes in the putamen ( p = 0.001) and pallidum ( p = 0.0015). Subtle trends, only significant at the uncorrected level, were also found in the caudate ( p = 0.05) and nucleus accumbens ( p = 0.047). Conclusions: This study does not support previous findings of hippocampal and/or amygdala structural changes in long-term, heavy cannabis users. It does, however, provide evidence of basal ganglia volume increases.

Meeting Air Transportation Demand in 2025 by Using Larger Aircraft and Alternative Routing to Complement NextGen Operational Improvements

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jeremy C.; Guerreiro, Nelson M.; Viken, Jeffrey K.; Dollyhigh, Samuel M.; Fenbert, James W.

2010-01-01

A study was performed that investigates the use of larger aircraft and alternative routing to complement the capacity benefits expected from the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) in 2025. National Airspace System (NAS) delays for the 2025 demand projected by the Transportation Systems Analysis Models (TSAM) were assessed using NASA s Airspace Concept Evaluation System (ACES). The shift in demand from commercial airline to automobile and from one airline route to another was investigated by adding the route delays determined from the ACES simulation to the travel times used in the TSAM and re-generating new flight scenarios. The ACES simulation results from this study determined that NextGen Operational Improvements alone do not provide sufficient airport capacity to meet the projected demand for passenger air travel in 2025 without significant system delays. Using larger aircraft with more seats on high-demand routes and introducing new direct routes, where demand warrants, significantly reduces delays, complementing NextGen improvements. Another significant finding of this study is that the adaptive behavior of passengers to avoid congested airline-routes is an important factor when projecting demand for transportation systems. Passengers will choose an alternative mode of transportation or alternative airline routes to avoid congested routes, thereby reducing delays to acceptable levels for the 2025 scenario; the penalty being that alternative routes and the option to drive increases overall trip time by 0.4% and may be less convenient than the first-choice route.

Stable isotope stratigraphy and larger benthic foraminiferal extinctions in the Melinau Limestone, Sarawak

Science.gov (United States)

Cotton, Laura J.; Pearson, Paul N.; Renema, Willem

2014-01-01

Important long-ranging groups of larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) are known to have become extinct during a period of global cooling and climate disruption at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) but the precise timing and mechanisms are uncertain. Recent study showed unexpectedly that the LBF extinction in Tanzania occurs very close to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, as recognised by the extinction of the planktonic foraminiferal Family Hantkeninidae, rather than at the later period of maximum global ice growth and sea-level fall, as previously thought. Here we investigate the same phase of extinction in the Melinau Limestone of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, Malaysia one of the most complete carbonate successions spanning the Eocene to Lower Miocene. Assemblages of LBF from the Melinau Limestone were studied extensively by Geoffrey Adams during the 1960s-80s, confirming a major extinction during the EOT, but the section lacked independent means of correlation. By analysing rock samples originally studied by Adams and now in the Natural History Museum, London, we provide new bulk stable isotope (δ13C and δ18O) records. This enables us to identify, albeit tentatively, the level of maximum stable isotope excursion and show that the LBF extinction event in the Melinau Limestone occurs below this isotope excursion, supporting the results from Tanzania and indicating that the extinction of LBF close to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary may be a global phenomenon.

The erection of larger windmills in the open countryside - an investigation of the visual effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-12-01

The future use of larger windmills will result in new visual effects. The investigation points out that these effects will be dependent on the main characteristics of the landscape. Windmills with a height of 90 m will be taller than any other element found in the landscape with the exception of some chimneys, masts, etc. It is shown that very tall windmills should not be set up in large dominating groups, that it is important that the towers are slender and that the blades rotate slowly (in order to give a more peaceful effect), if the landscape should not be spoiled. Large windmills dominate an area of 1 - 3 kilometers, but at a distance of 10 - 12 km they can appear to fade away between woods and large buildings etc. Naturally, large windmills will be prominent on heaths and moors, and would not be welcome where there are buildings of cultural interest or where the landscape is under conservation. They could, it is stated, be placed amongst a group of smaller windmills, as this would help to lessen their dominance, but should not be positioned where one type of landscape merges into another, as here they would show up more. Local boundaries should also be taken into consideration. When planning where to locate windmills the overall visual effect over larger areas should be contemplated in addition to the preservation of views of buildings etc. of historical interest. Photographs should be taken of proposed sites so that paper models can be placed so as to produce an idea of the visual effects of erecting larger windmills in various positions in specified areas

Referring physicians' experiences of outsourcing radiological examinations – A variety of views on the consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olofsson, P.T.; Blomqvist, L.; Fridell, K.; Aspelin, P.

2016-01-01

Introduction: There are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges when outsourcing advanced radiological examinations such as magnetic resonance examinations from university hospitals to external private institutions. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of referring physicians when their referrals for radiological examinations are outsourced from a university hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. Method: This qualitative study is a part of a larger study investigating the consequences of outsourcing referrals for radiological examinations from a university hospital to private external units. Ten referring physicians from orthopedic and oncology departments, representing clinics with large volumes of radiological referrals at a university hospital, were interviewed. Results: The results showed that the requirements for radiological services differ between these specialties. The overall opinion was that examinations performed by external radiology departments needed additional re-assessment work which causes higher costs for their clinics. This indicates that there is insufficient communication between referring physicians and the radiological department at the University Hospital. Conclusions: For better planning of radiological services, radiology departments must consider the referring physicians' needs and develop suitable contract when organizing the practice of outsourcing. The management structure in radiology departments and communication between referring physicians and radiologists in the radiology departments should be studied further, to promote better understanding and improve the efficiency of the outsourcing process. - Highlights: • The requirements for radiological services differ between specialties. • Outsourced examinations need more frequent re-assessment. • Outsourced examinations cause higher costs for referring departments. • Outsourcing radiological examinations entail more administrative work. �

A Scoping Review of Observational Studies Examining Relationships between Environmental Behaviors and Health Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayne Hutchinson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Individual lifestyles are key drivers of both environmental change and chronic disease. We undertook a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies which examined associations between environmental and health behaviors of individuals in high-income countries. We searched EconLit, Medline, BIOSIS and the Social Science Citation Index. A total of 136 studies were included. The majority were USA-based cross-sectional studies using self-reported measures. Most of the evidence related to travel behavior, particularly active travel (walking and cycling and physical activity (92 studies or sedentary behaviors (19 studies. Associations of public transport use with physical activity were examined in 18 studies, and with sedentary behavior in one study. Four studies examined associations between car use and physical activity. A small number included other environmental behaviors (food-related behaviors (n = 14, including organic food, locally-sourced food and plate waste and other health behaviors ((n = 20 smoking, dietary intake, alcohol. These results suggest that research on individual environmental and health behaviors consists largely of studies examining associations between travel mode and levels of physical activity. There appears to be less research on associations between other behaviors with environmental and health impacts, and very few longitudinal studies in any domain.

Does Changing Examiner Stations During UK Postgraduate Surgery Objective Structured Clinical Examinations Influence Examination Reliability and Candidates' Scores?

Science.gov (United States)

Brennan, Peter A; Croke, David T; Reed, Malcolm; Smith, Lee; Munro, Euan; Foulkes, John; Arnett, Richard

2016-01-01

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) are widely used for summative assessment in surgery. Despite standardizing these as much as possible, variation, including examiner scoring, can occur which may affect reliability. In study of a high-stakes UK postgraduate surgical OSCE, we investigated whether examiners changing stations once during a long examining day affected marking, reliability, and overall candidates' scores compared with examiners who examined the same scenario all day. An observational study of 18,262 examiner-candidate interactions from the UK Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons examination was carried at 3 Surgical Colleges across the United Kingdom. Scores between examiners were compared using analysis of variance. Examination reliability was assessed with Cronbach's alpha, and the comparative distribution of total candidates' scores for each day was evaluated using t-tests of unit-weighted z scores. A significant difference was found in absolute scores differences awarded in the morning and afternoon sessions between examiners who changed stations at lunchtime and those who did not (p design and examiner experience in surgical OSCEs and beyond. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning and examination strategies: a case study of students of a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Learning and examination strategies: a case study of students of a public university in Ghana. ... Journal of Business Research ... A focus group of three categories of Bachelor of Science Marketing students of the university who were in final year (level 400) of their programme of study were used as respondents. Each focus ...

Knowledge Management Technology for Decision Support: an empirical examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meliha Handzic

2001-11-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the results of an empirical examination of the effectiveness of one type of knowledge management technology, namely 'contextual knowledge repository', for supporting individual decision makers in a predictive judgement task context. 31 volunteer subjects participated in the study. The results indicate that a given technology was fairly useful, but insufficient to maximally enhance individual decision making. On one hand, subjects were found to extract more knowledge and make significantly smaller decision errors than their notional naive counterparts. On the other hand, subjects tended to extract less knowledge and make significantly larger decision errors compared to notional optimal counterparts. These findings suggest that individuals could potentially benefit from those knowledge management technologies that would provide additional explicit analytical and procedural knowledge, or those that would facilitate sharing of tacit knowledge through interaction with others. Future research is necessary to address these issues.

Carl Rogers and the larger context of therapeutic thought.

Science.gov (United States)

Wachtel, Paul L

2007-09-01

Carl Rogers' classic account (see record 2007-14639-002) of the necessary and sufficient conditions for therapeutic personality change is examined in light of developments in theory and practice since the time he wrote. Rogers' ideas, which diverged from and were very largely a challenge to, the dominant psychoanalytic ideology of the era in which he wrote, are considered in relation to new theoretical developments in what has come to be called relational psychoanalysis. They are also considered in light of the greatly increased influence of and substantial evidence supporting behavioral and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Points of convergence and divergence among these approaches are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

A Quantitative Study Examining Teacher Stress, Burnout, and Self-Efficacy

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Timar D.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationships between stress, burnout, and self-efficacy in public school teachers in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Teacher Stress Inventory was used to collect data on teacher stress, the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey was used to obtain data on teacher…

Sampling and examination methods used for TMI-2 samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marley, A.W.; Akers, D.W.; McIsaac, C.V.

1988-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the sampling and examination techniques that were used in the collection and analysis of TMI-2 samples. Samples ranging from auxiliary building air to core debris were collected and analyzed. Handling of the larger samples and many of the smaller samples had to be done remotely and many standard laboratory analytical techniques were modified to accommodate the extremely high radiation fields associated with these samples. The TMI-2 samples presented unique problems with sampling and the laboratory analysis of prior molten fuel debris. 14 refs., 8 figs

Purchasing innovations in the construction sector in the Netherlands : a comparison between SMEs and larger companies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Rijk, Melissa

2015-01-01

Posterpresentatie Ondernemerschapsmiddag KCO, gehouden op 16 november 2015. Main research question: To what extend does the purchasing activity of incremental and radical innovations of SMEs differ from that of larger companies in the construction sector in the Netherlands?

A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of Time Constraints on Student Performance in Accounting Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, David E., Sr.; Scott, John

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects, if any, of time constraints on the success of accounting students completing exams. This study examined how time allowed to take exams affected the grades on examinations in three different accounting classes. Two were sophomore classes and one was a senior accounting class. This limited pilot…

Molecular evidence for Lessepsian invasion of soritids (larger symbiont bearing benthic foraminifera.

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Gily Merkado

Full Text Available The Mediterranean Sea is considered as one of the hotspots of marine bioinvasions, largely due to the influx of tropical species migrating through the Suez Canal, so-called Lessepsian migrants. Several cases of Lessepsian migration have been documented recently, however, little is known about the ecological characteristics of the migrating species and their aptitude to colonize the new areas. This study focused on Red Sea soritids, larger symbiont-bearing benthic foraminifera (LBF that are indicative of tropical and subtropical environments and were recently found in the Israeli coast of the Eastern Mediterranean. We combined molecular phylogenetic analyses of soritids and their algal symbionts as well as network analysis of Sorites orbiculus Forskål to compare populations from the Gulf of Elat (northern Red Sea and from a known hotspot in Shikmona (northern Israel that consists of a single population of S. orbiculus. Our phylogenetic analyses show that all specimens found in Shikmona are genetically identical to a population of S. orbiculus living on a similar shallow water pebbles habitat in the Gulf of Elat. Our analyses also show that the symbionts found in Shikmona and Elat soritids belong to the Symbiodinium clade F5, which is common in the Red Sea and also present in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Our study therefore provides the first genetic and ecological evidences that indicate that modern population of soritids found on the Mediterranean coast of Israel is probably Lessepsian, and is less likely the descendant of a native ancient Mediterranean species.

Developing the Blueprint for a General Surgery Technical Skills Certification Examination: A Validation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

de Montbrun, Sandra; Louridas, Marisa; Szasz, Peter; Harris, Kenneth A; Grantcharov, Teodor P

There is a recognized need to develop high-stakes technical skills assessments for decisions of certification and resident promotion. High-stakes examinations requires a rigorous approach in accruing validity evidence throughout the developmental process. One of the first steps in development is the creation of a blueprint which outlines the potential content of examination. The purpose of this validation study was to develop an examination blueprint for a Canadian General Surgery assessment of technical skill certifying examination. A Delphi methodology was used to gain consensus amongst Canadian General Surgery program directors as to the content (tasks or procedures) that could be included in a certifying Canadian General Surgery examination. Consensus was defined a priori as a Cronbach's α ≥ 0.70. All procedures or tasks reaching a positive consensus (defined as ≥80% of program directors rated items as ≥4 on the 5-point Likert scale) were then included in the final examination blueprint. Two Delphi rounds were needed to reach consensus. Of the 17 General Surgery Program directors across the country, 14 (82.4%) and 10 (58.8%) program directors responded to the first and second round, respectively. A total of 59 items and procedures reached positive consensus and were included in the final examination blueprint. The present study has outlined the development of an examination blueprint for a General Surgery certifying examination using a consensus-based methodology. This validation study will serve as the foundational work from which simulated model will be developed, pilot tested and evaluated. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distribution of living larger benthic foraminifera in littoral environments of the United Arab Emirates

Science.gov (United States)

Fiorini, Flavia; Lokier, Stephen W.

2015-04-01

The distribution of larger benthic foraminifera in Recent littoral environment of the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Western regions) was investigated with the aim of understanding the response of those foraminifera to an increase in water salinity. For this purpose, 100 sediment samples from nearshore shelf, beach-front, channel, lagoon, and intertidal environment were collected. Sampling was undertaken at a water depth shallower than 15 m in water with a temperature of 22 to 35˚C, a salinity ranging from 40 to 60‰ and a pH of 8. Samples were stained with rose Bengal at the moment of sample collection in order to identify living specimens. The most abundant epiphytic larger benthic foraminifera in the studied area were Peneroplis pertusus and P. planatus with less common Spirolina areatina, S. aciculate and Sorites marginalis. The living specimens of the above mentioned species with normal test growing were particularly abundant in the nearshore shelf and lagoonal samples collected on seaweed. Dead specimens were concentrated in the coarser sediments of the beach-front, probably transported from nearby environments. Shallow coastal ponds are located in the upper intertidal zone and have a maximum salinity of 60‰ and contain abundant detached seagrass. Samples collected from these ponds possess a living foraminifera assemblage dominated by Peneroplis pertusus and P. planatus. High percentages (up to 50% of the stained assemblage) of Peneroplis presented abnormality in test growth, such as the presence of multiple apertures with reduced size, deformation in the general shape of the test, irregular suture lines and abnormal coiling. The high percentage of abnormal tests reflects natural environmental stress mainly caused by high and variable salinity. The unique presence of living epiphytic species, suggests that epiphytic foraminifera may be transported into the pond together with seagrass and continued to live in the pond. This hypothesis is supported by

Human resource management and career planning in a larger library

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Jelka Gazvoda

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Human resource management is presented as a managerial function which is used to develop potential abilities of the employees to achieve organizational goals.Different perception of the employees is essential - people working in the organization are treated as capital and not as an expenditure. In human resource management the most important view of the employees is their potential growth and professional development, training for acquiring new responsibilities and encouragement for innovation. Library management is becoming more and more complex as the result of introducing new technologies. For this reason libraries need well trained people with potentials to modernize library performance and to overcome the conflict between the traditional organizational culture and the requirements of the modem technologically developed environment. The author presents different techniques of active human resource management, which can be used in larger libraries where an appropriate number of employees exists to realize different programmes with. These are programmes for education, staffing,career planning, stimmulation and reward systems, job redefinition and enrichment,and other forms of internal segmentation.

Clinical neurological examination vs electrophysiological studies: Reflections from experiences in occupational medicine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Jørgen Riis

2015-01-01

a diagnosis requires the identification of the responsible pathology and the involved tissues and structures. Consequently, improved diagnostic approaches are needed. This editorial discusses the potentials of using the clinical neurologic examination in patients with upper limb complaints related to work....... It is argued that a simple but systematic physical approach permits the examiner to frequently identify patterns of neurological findings that suggest nerve afflictions and their locations, and that electrophysiological studies are less likely to identify pathology. A diagnostic algorithm for the physical...... assessment is provided to assist the clinician. Failure to include representative neurological items in the physical examination may result in patients being misinterpreted, misdiagnosed and mistreated....

Consideration of the usefulness of a size-specific dose estimate in pediatric CT examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsujiguchi, Takakiyo; Obara, Hideki; Ono, Shuichi; Saito, Yoko; Kashiwakura, Ikuo

2018-04-05

Computed tomography (CT) has recently been utilized in various medical settings, and technological advances have resulted in its widespread use. However, medical radiation exposure associated with CT scans accounts for the largest share of examinations using radiation; thus, it is important to understand the organ dose and effective dose in detail. The CT dose index and dose-length product are used to evaluate the organ dose. However, evaluations using these indicators fail to consider the age and body type of patients. In this study, we evaluated the effective dose based on the CT examination data of 753 patients examined at our hospital using the size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) method, which can calculate the exposure dose with consideration of the physique of a patient. The results showed a large correlation between the SSDE conversion factor and physique, with a larger exposure dose in patients with a small physique when a single scan is considered. Especially for children, the SSDE conversion factor was found to be 2 or more. In addition, the patient exposed to the largest dose in this study was a 10-year-old, who received 40.4 mSv (five series/examination). In the future, for estimating exposure using the SSDE method and in cohort studies, the diagnostic reference level of SSDE should be determined and a low-exposure imaging protocol should be developed to predict the risk of CT exposure and to maintain the quality of diagnosis with better radiation protection of patients.

A preliminary study of the mini-mental state examination in a Spanish child population.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubial-Alvarez, Sandra; Machado, María-Clara; Sintas, Elena; de Sola, Susana; Böhm, Peter; Peña-Casanova, Jordi

2007-11-01

The Mini-Mental State Examination is one of the most widely used screening tests for the adult population in daily neurologic practice. The aim of this study was to describe and to analyze the results of the Mini-Mental State Examination administered to Spanish children and to assess the relationship between Mini-Mental State Examination scores and the child's mental age/intelligence quotient. The study population included 181 children whose ages ranged between 4 and 12 years. The neuropsychologic battery consisted of the Mini-Mental State Examination and Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test. Percentiles were obtained for the Mini-Mental State Examination total score according to age ranges. Performance gradually increased from 4 to 10 years of age when a plateau in the total Mini-Mental State Examination score was reached. At the age of 6 years, results exceeded 24 on average. Pairwise mean comparisons showed statistically significant differences between the age groups (P Mini-Mental State Examination score correlated significantly with the child's chronologic (r = 0.80, P mental (r = 0.76, P Mini-Mental State Examination in a Spanish child population as well as a first step for the assessment of the usefulness of this instrument as a cognitive screening tool for children's development.

.\tA Study on Cervical Pap Smear Examination in Patient Living with HIV.

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Dr. Devanshi Gosai

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Extensive screening programme of cervical Pap smear examination can detect the precancerous and cancerous lesions at an early stage and mortality & morbidity due to these lesions can be reduced. HPV infection is a known etiological agent for cervical cancer. HIV infected women are at higher risk of contracting HPV infection due to immune compromised status. Objective: Present study has been undertaken mainly to detect precancerous & cancerous lesions as well as inflammatory lesions in female patients living with HIV & to emphasize the fact that Pap smear examination should be established as a part of routine protocol for examination in HIV infected women. Methods: The study was carried out on 369 HIV infected females attending Integrated Counselling &Testing Centre of government institute. As controls, 142 females (not falling under high risk category, attending the Obstetrics& Gynaecology OPD with various gynaecological complaints were taken & results were compared. Results: Squamous cell abnormalities were found about four times high as compared to control group. High incidences of squamous cell abnormalities were noted in patients with high parity (parity three or more. Conclusion: Regular gynaecological examination including Pap smear examinations is highly recommended for HIV infected females. Pap smear examination is a simple, cheap, safe & practical diagnostic tool for early detection of cervical cancer in high risk population.

Patient dosimetry study of a paediatric CT examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hranitzky, C.; Stadtmann, H.

2011-01-01

Dosimetry studies are of increasing interest in diagnostic high-dose applications such as computed tomography especially for examinations of children. A routine CT scan protocol for paediatric head and neck imaging was investigated at a new multi-detector CT scanner using LiF:Mg,Cu,P thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLDs) and a 0.125 cm 3 thimble ionization chamber. Calibrations of the detectors in terms of absorbed dose to water were carried out at the Dosimetry Laboratory Seibersdorf in standard radiation fields. The dosimetry method was validated in the spiral CT X-ray field by comparing TLD and ionization chamber measurement results in cylindrical PMMA phantoms. Absorbed dose results were within stated uncertainties. An anthropomorphic phantom representing a child of about 5 years was loaded with TLD chips at various organ and tissue positions in the head and neck region as well as at some critical organ locations. Organ dose values were calculated from TLD based average absorbed dose with about 5% total uncertainty, e.g. 22 mGy (eyes), 21 mGy (thyroid), 19 mGy (brain), 3.4 mGy (thymus), and 0.03 mGy (testes). For comparison purposes an effective dose of 1.9 mSv was estimated for the investigated paediatric CT examination based on ICRP-103 age-independent tissue-weighting factors.

Are larger and/or more symmetrical Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera, Drosophilidae males more successful in matings in nature?

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Sofija Pavković-Lučić

Full Text Available Are larger and/or more symmetrical Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera, Drosophilidae males more successful in matings in nature? Sexual selection in Drosophila melanogaster, related to body size and fluctuating asymmetry in wing length and number of sex comb teeth in males, was tested in natural conditions. Males collected in copula were significantly larger than those collected as a single, while no difference in mean number of sex comb teeth between copulating and single males was observed. On the other hand, single males had greater asymmetry both for wing length and number of sex comb teeth than their mating counterparts. It looks like that symmetry of these bilateral traits also may play a role in sexual selection in this dipteran species in nature.

Examination performances of German and international medical students in the preclinical studying-term--a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Huhn, D; Resch, F; Duelli, R; Möltner, A; Huber, J; Karimian Jazi, K; Amr, A; Eckart, W; Herzog, W; Nikendei, C

2014-01-01

Medical students with a migration background face several specific problems during their studies. International surveys show first indications that this group of students performs worse in written, oral or practical exams. However, so far, nothing is known about the performance of international students in written pre-clinical tests as well as in pre-clinical State Examinations for German-speaking countries. A descriptive, retrospective analysis of the exam performances of medical students in the pre-clinical part of their studies was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of Heidelberg in for the year 2012. Performance in written tests of the final exams in the second (N=276), third (N=292) and fourth semester (N=285) were compared between German students, students from EU countries and students from non-EU countries. Same comparison was drawn for the performance in the oral exam of the First State Examination in the period from 2009 - 2012 (N=1137). German students performed significantly better than students with a non-EU migration background both in all written exams and in the oral State Examination (all pstudents with an EU migration background was significantly better than that of students with a non-EU background in the written exam at the end of the third and fourth semester (pstudents completed the oral exam of the First State Examination significantly earlier than students with a non-EU migration background (students with a country of origin outside of the European Union has to be seen as a high-risk group among students with a migration background. For this group, there is an urgent need for early support to prepare for written and oral examinations.

Patient doses from CT examinations in the United Arab Emirates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janeczek, J.

2006-01-01

Full text of publication follows: The main goal of the study was to estimate effective patient doses from the 6 most common CT examinations for different types of CT scanners within the United Arab Emirates. The results were used to assess future trends in patient CT doses following rapid replacement of axial and single-slice spiral scanners by multi-slice scanners. At present all three types of scanner technology exist: axial, spiral and multi-slice with axial scanners being gradually replaced by multi-slice scanners as the medical infrastructure of the country is modernized. Altogether there are more than 30 CT scanners in the country with a population of 4 million. Out of these 11 scanners are 16-slice models with tube-current modulation system. The majority of larger United Arab Emirates hospitals have at least two CT scanners: a single slice and 4 or 16-slice scanner. The survey was carried out with data collection forms distributed to the majority of CT scanner users in the United Arab Emirates hospitals, both private and government. Effective doses for different examinations were calculated from T.L.D. measurements using an Alderson Rando phantom simulating an average size patient. Our results show that effective doses to patients initially increased with the introduction of 4-slice scanners. Multi-slice scanners with 16 and more slices have tube-current modulation system as a standard. It is routinely used by radiographers in almost all examinations resulting in patient dose reduction up to 40 % in certain examinations. Another factor affecting population dose is the increased number of patients examined using multi-slice scanners. In the United Arab Emirates there was an increase of more than 30 % in the annual number of patients examined using multi-slice scanners in comparison to single-slice scanners. This fact is attributed to the ease and speed of operation of multi-slice scanners. Rapid increase in number of CT examinations is of concern. Medical

Exploring Management Strategies to Reduce Cheating in Written Examinations: Case Study of Midlands State University

Science.gov (United States)

Taderera, Ever; Nyikahadzoi, Loveness; Matamande, Wilson; Mandimika, Elinah

2014-01-01

This study was concerned about cheating in written examinations at Midlands State University (MSU). The study revealed that both male and female students cheat in written examination; business studies students cheat more than other faculties, and younger (lower class) students cheat more than (upper class) older students. Factors influencing…

Recombining overlapping BACs into a single larger BAC

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Huxley Clare

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background BAC clones containing entire mammalian genes including all the transcribed region and long range controlling elements are very useful for functional analysis. Sequenced BACs are available for most of the human and mouse genomes and in many cases these contain intact genes. However, large genes often span more than one BAC, and single BACs covering the entire region of interest are not available. Here we describe a system for linking two or more overlapping BACs into a single clone by homologous recombination. Results The method was used to link a 61-kb insert carrying the final 5 exons of the human CFTR gene onto a 160-kb BAC carrying the first 22 exons. Two rounds of homologous recombination were carried out in the EL350 strain of bacteria which can be induced for the Red genes. In the first round, the inserts of the two overlapping BACs were subcloned into modified BAC vectors using homologous recombination. In the second round, the BAC to be added was linearised with the very rare-cutting enzyme I-PpoI and electroporated into recombination efficient EL350 bacteria carrying the other BAC. Recombined BACs were identified by antibiotic selection and PCR screening and 10% of clones contained the correctly recombined 220-kb BAC. Conclusion The system can be used to link the inserts from any overlapping BAC or PAC clones. The original orientation of the inserts is not important and desired regions of the inserts can be selected. The size limit for the fragments recombined may be larger than the 61 kb used here and multiple BACs in a contig could be combined by alternating use of the two pBACLink vectors. This system should be of use to many investigators wishing to carry out functional analysis on large mammalian genes which are not available in single BAC clones.

Utility of the physical examination in detecting pulmonary hypertension. A mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Colman, Rebecca; Whittingham, Heather; Tomlinson, George; Granton, John

2014-01-01

Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) often present with a variety of physical findings reflecting a volume or pressure overloaded right ventricle (RV). However, there is no consensus regarding the diagnostic utility of the physical examination in PH. We conducted a systematic review of publications that evaluated the clinical examination and diagnosis of PH using MEDLINE (1946-2013) and EMBASE (1947-2013). We also prospectively evaluated the diagnostic utility of the physical examination findings. Patients who underwent right cardiac catheterization for any reason were recruited. After informed consent, participants were examined by 6 physicians (3 "specialists" and 3 "generalists") who were unaware of the results of the patient's hemodynamics. Each examiner independently assessed patients for the presence of a RV lift, loud P2, jugular venous distension (JVD), tricuspid insufficiency murmur and right-sided 4th heart sound at rest and during a slow inspiration. A global rating (scale of 1-5) of the likelihood that the patient had pulmonary hypertension was provided by each examiner. 31 articles that assessed the physical examination in PH were included in the final analysis. There was heterogeneity amongst the studies and many did not include control data. The sign most associated with PH in the literature was a loud pulmonic component of the second heart sound (P2). In our prospective study physical examination was performed on 52 subjects (25 met criteria for PH; mPAP ≥ 25 mmHg). The physical sign with the highest likelihood ratio (LR) was a loud P2 on inspiration with a LR +ve 1.9, 95% CrI [1.2, 3.1] when data from all examiners was analyzed together. Results from the specialist examiners had higher diagnostic utility; a loud P2 on inspiration was associated with a positive LR of 3.2, 95% CrI [1.5, 6.2] and a right sided S4 on inspiration had a LR +ve 4.7, 95% CI [1.0, 15.6]. No aspect of the physical exam, could consistently rule out PH (negative LRs 0

Development of depressive symptoms and depression during organizational change--a two-year follow-up study of civil servants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Netterstrøm, Bo; Blønd, Morten; Nielsen, Martin

2010-01-01

On 1 January 2007, Denmark went through a major reorganization, where most of its 275 municipalities and 14 counties merged into larger units. Our study aimed to examine the development of depressive symptoms and incident depression among employees affected by this organizational change.......On 1 January 2007, Denmark went through a major reorganization, where most of its 275 municipalities and 14 counties merged into larger units. Our study aimed to examine the development of depressive symptoms and incident depression among employees affected by this organizational change....

Undressing "health fashion": an examination of health-cause clothing and accessories.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Kandi L; Hart, Joy L; Gregg, Jennifer L; LaJoie, A Scott

2010-09-01

Today, fashion items such as rubber wristbands in various colors, pink ribbons, and red dresses represent different health-related causes and can be seen frequently across demographic groups. Complete with pithy slogans (e.g., "Go Red for Women"), these items are part of a larger "health fashion" trend--one that involves wearing, using, and displaying health-cause clothing and accessories. In this article, the authors explore recent interest in "health fashion," examining in particular its origins, effectiveness, and implications.

Beyond Panglossian Optimism: Larger N2 Amplitudes Probably Signal a Bilingual Disadvantage in Conflict Monitoring

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Kenneth R. Paap

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this special issue on the brain mechanisms that lead to cognitive benefits of bilingualism we discussed six reasons why it will be very difficult to discover those mechanisms. Many of these problems apply to the article by Fernandez, Acosta, Douglass, Doshi, and Tartar that also appears in the special issue. These concerns include the following: 1 an overly optimistic assessment of the replicability of bilingual advantages in behavioral studies, 2 reliance on risky small samples sizes, 3 failures to match the samples on demographic characteristics such as immigrant status, and 4 language group differences that occur in neural measures (i.e., N2 amplitude, but not in the behavioral data. Furthermore the N2 amplitude measure in general suffers from valence ambiguity: larger N2 amplitudes reported for bilinguals are more likely to reflect poorer conflict resolution rather than enhanced inhibitory control.

Weapons make the man (larger: formidability is represented as size and strength in humans.

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Daniel M T Fessler

Full Text Available In order to determine how to act in situations of potential agonistic conflict, individuals must assess multiple features of a prospective foe that contribute to the foe's resource-holding potential, or formidability. Across diverse species, physical size and strength are key determinants of formidability, and the same is often true for humans. However, in many species, formidability is also influenced by other factors, such as sex, coalitional size, and, in humans, access to weaponry. Decision-making involving assessments of multiple features is enhanced by the use of a single summary variable that encapsulates the contributions of these features. Given both a the phylogenetic antiquity of the importance of size and strength as determinants of formidability, and b redundant experiences during development that underscore the contributions of size and strength to formidability, we hypothesize that size and strength constitute the conceptual dimensions of a representation used to summarize multiple diverse determinants of a prospective foe's formidability. Here, we test this hypothesis in humans by examining the effects of a potential foe's access to weaponry on estimations of that individual's size and strength. We demonstrate that knowing that an individual possesses a gun or a large kitchen knife leads observers to conceptualize him as taller, and generally larger and more muscular, than individuals who possess only tools or similarly mundane objects. We also document that such patterns are not explicable in terms of any actual correlation between gun ownership and physical size, nor can they be explained in terms of cultural schemas or other background knowledge linking particular objects to individuals of particular size and strength. These findings pave the way for a fuller understanding of the evolution of the cognitive systems whereby humans--and likely many other social vertebrates--navigate social hierarchies.

ABCC-JNIH Adult Health Study. Report 3. 1958-1960 cycle of examinations, Hiroshima

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Finch, S C; Anderson, Jr, P S

1963-10-29

Results of 10,368 examinations of participants in the ABCC-JNIH Adult Health Study, Hiroshima, were tabulated and discussed. About 82% of the entire sample was examined at least once during the 1958-60 cycle. Physical and laboratory findings as well as major diagnoses were considered by comparison group, age, and sex. 8 references, 7 figures, 13 tables.

Upper gastrointestinal examinations: a radiographic study of clinically normal Beagle puppies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyabayashi, T.; Morgan, J.P.

1991-01-01

A total of 24 upper gastrointestinal examinations were performed on four weanling beagle puppies over six weeks, using liquid barium (10 ml/kg body weight of 60 per cent w/v barium sulphate suspension] and barium food (8 g/kg of crushed kibble dog food and 7 ml/kg body weight of 60 per cent w/v barium sulphate suspension) as contrast media. The radiographic appearance was similar to that noted in adult dogs except for the consistent location of the pylorus on or near the midline. Duodenal pseudoulcers were seen more often with liquid barium and the caecal shadows were identified more often with the longer examination time with barium food. The stomach of the puppies appeared to have discriminatory emptying function; that is, semi-solid food was emptied from the stomach at a slower rate (210 to 450 minutes) than liquid (60 to 90 minutes). Solid meals emptied faster in puppies than in adult dogs. Dosages of 13 to 15 mg/kg body weight for the liquid barium examination and 14 g of ground kibble and 16 ml of barium sulphate suspension per m2 of body surface area for the barium food examination are suggested as more appropriate for contrast studies in puppies

Cheating in Examinations: A Study of Academic Dishonesty in a Malaysian College

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Asmawati Shariffuddin

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Recent empirical studies indicate that cheating by post-secondary students is prevalent in many countries. This study attempts to explore academic dishonesty among students at Terengganu Advanced Technical Institute University College (TATiUC in Malaysia. Cheating techniques, preventive measures and the support required by lecturers to handle cheating incidents were examined. Six former students who were confirmed cheaters and two lecturers and administrators at TATiUC participated in the study. Data were collected by using narrative responses and interviews. The results showed that creative and innovative techniques were used to cheat successfully. It was also found that participants believed that even if preventive measures were taken, it was not possible to stop academic cheating entirely although it could be deterred to a certain extent. Furthermore, it was discovered that there were variations in the implementation of examination rules and regulations by lecturers. Finally, the study revealed that support in terms of training and courses was needed to deal with academic dishonesty.

Virtual study groups and online Observed Structured Clinical Examinations practices - enabling trainees to enable themselves.

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Dennisa; Evans, Lois

2018-03-01

To explore online study groups as augmentation tools in preparing for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Observed Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) for fellowship. An online survey of New Zealand trainees was carried out to assess exam preparedness and openness to virtual study groups and results analysed. Relevant material around virtual study groups for fellowship examinations was reviewed and used to inform a pilot virtual study group. Four New Zealand trainees took part in the pilot project, looking at using a virtual platform to augment OSCE preparation. Of the 50 respondents 36% felt adequately prepared for the OSCE. Sixty-four per cent were interested in using a virtual platform to augment their study. Virtual study groups were noted to be especially important for rural trainees, none of whom felt able to form study groups for themselves. The pilot virtual study group was trialled successfully. All four trainees reported the experience as subjectively beneficial to their examination preparation. Virtual platforms hold promise as an augmentation strategy for exam preparation, especially for rural trainees who are more geographically isolated and less likely to have peers preparing for the same examinations.

Intraoperative Physical Examination for Diagnosis of Interosseous Ligament Rupture-Cadaveric Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kachooei, Amir Reza; Rivlin, Michael; Wu, Fei; Faghfouri, Aram; Eberlin, Kyle R; Ring, David

2015-09-01

To study the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of the diagnosis of interosseous ligament (IOL) rupture in a cadaver model. On 12 fresh frozen cadavers, radial heads were cut using an identical incision and osteotomy. After randomization, the soft tissues of the limbs were divided into 4 groups: both IOL and triangular fibrocartilage (TFCC) intact; IOL disruption but TFCC intact; both IOL and TFCC divided; and IOL intact but TFCC divided. All incisions had identical suturing. After standard instruction and demonstration of radius pull-push and radius lateral pull tests, 10 physician evaluators with different levels of experience examined the cadaver limbs in a standardized way (elbow at 90° with the forearm held in both supination and pronation) and were asked to classify them into one of the 4 groups. Next, the same examiners were asked to re-examine the limbs after randomly changing the order of examination. The interobserver reliability of agreement for the diagnosis of IOL injury (groups 2 and 3) was fair in both rounds of examination and the intraobserver reliability was moderate. The intra- and interobserver reliabilities of agreement for the 4 groups of injuries among the examiners were fair in both rounds of examination. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive, and negative predictive values were all around 70%. The likelihood of a positive test corresponding with the presence of IOL rupture (positive likelihood ratio) was 2.2. The likelihood of a negative test correctly diagnosing an intact IOL was 0.40. In cadavers, intraoperative tests had fair reliability and 70% accuracy for the diagnosis of IOL rupture using the push-pull and lateral pull maneuvers. The level of experience did not have any effect on the correct diagnosis of intact versus disrupted IOL. Although not common, some failure of surgeries for traumatic elbow fracture-dislocations is because of failure in timely diagnosis of IOL disruption. Copyright © 2015 American

Magnetic nanoparticles formed in glasses co-doped with iron and larger radius elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edelman, I.; Ivanova, O.; Ivantsov, R.; Velikanov, D.; Zabluda, V. [L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics SB RAS, 660036 Krasnoyarsk (Russian Federation); Zubavichus, Y.; Veligzhanin, A. [NRC ' Kurchatov Institute,' 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Zaikovskiy, V. [Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch of RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Stepanov, S. [S.I. Vavilov State Optical Institute, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Artemenko, A. [ICMCB, UPR CNRS 9048, 33608 Pessac cedex (France); Curely, J.; Kliava, J. [LOMA, UMR 5798 Universite Bordeaux 1-CNRS, 33405 Talence cedex (France)

2012-10-15

A new type of nanoparticle-containing glasses based on borate glasses co-doped with low contents of iron and larger radius elements, Dy, Tb, Gd, Ho, Er, Y, and Bi, is studied. Heat treatment of these glasses results in formation of magnetic nanoparticles, radically changing their physical properties. Transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation-based techniques: x-ray diffraction, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, x-ray absorption near-edge structure, and small-angle x-ray scattering, show a broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes with characteristics depending on the treatment regime; a crystalline structure of these nanoparticles is detected in heat treated samples. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) studies of samples subjected to heat treatment as well as of maghemite, magnetite, and iron garnet allow to unambiguously assign the nanoparticle structure to maghemite, independently of co-dopant nature and of heat treatment regime used. Different features observed in the MCD spectra are related to different electron transitions in Fe{sup 3+} ions gathered in the nanoparticles. The static magnetization in heat treated samples has non-linear dependence on the magnetizing field with hysteresis. Zero-field cooled magnetization curves show that at higher temperatures the nanoparticles occur in superparamagnetic state with blocking temperatures above 100 K. Below ca. 20 K, a considerable contribution to both zero field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations occurs from diluted paramagnetic ions. Variable-temperature electron magnetic resonance (EMR) studies unambiguously show that in as-prepared glasses paramagnetic ions are in diluted state and confirm the formation of magnetic nanoparticles already at earlier stages of heat treatment. Computer simulations of the EMR spectra corroborate the broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes found by 'direct' techniques as well as superparamagnetic nanoparticle behaviour demonstrated in the

Magnetic nanoparticles formed in glasses co-doped with iron and larger radius elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edelman, I.; Ivanova, O.; Ivantsov, R.; Velikanov, D.; Zabluda, V.; Zubavichus, Y.; Veligzhanin, A.; Zaikovskiy, V.; Stepanov, S.; Artemenko, A.; Curély, J.; Kliava, J.

2012-01-01

A new type of nanoparticle-containing glasses based on borate glasses co-doped with low contents of iron and larger radius elements, Dy, Tb, Gd, Ho, Er, Y, and Bi, is studied. Heat treatment of these glasses results in formation of magnetic nanoparticles, radically changing their physical properties. Transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation-based techniques: x-ray diffraction, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, x-ray absorption near-edge structure, and small-angle x-ray scattering, show a broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes with characteristics depending on the treatment regime; a crystalline structure of these nanoparticles is detected in heat treated samples. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) studies of samples subjected to heat treatment as well as of maghemite, magnetite, and iron garnet allow to unambiguously assign the nanoparticle structure to maghemite, independently of co-dopant nature and of heat treatment regime used. Different features observed in the MCD spectra are related to different electron transitions in Fe 3+ ions gathered in the nanoparticles. The static magnetization in heat treated samples has non-linear dependence on the magnetizing field with hysteresis. Zero-field cooled magnetization curves show that at higher temperatures the nanoparticles occur in superparamagnetic state with blocking temperatures above 100 K. Below ca. 20 K, a considerable contribution to both zero field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations occurs from diluted paramagnetic ions. Variable-temperature electron magnetic resonance (EMR) studies unambiguously show that in as-prepared glasses paramagnetic ions are in diluted state and confirm the formation of magnetic nanoparticles already at earlier stages of heat treatment. Computer simulations of the EMR spectra corroborate the broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes found by “direct” techniques as well as superparamagnetic nanoparticle behaviour demonstrated in the magnetization

Magnetic nanoparticles formed in glasses co-doped with iron and larger radius elements

Science.gov (United States)

Edelman, I.; Ivanova, O.; Ivantsov, R.; Velikanov, D.; Zabluda, V.; Zubavichus, Y.; Veligzhanin, A.; Zaikovskiy, V.; Stepanov, S.; Artemenko, A.; Curély, J.; Kliava, J.

2012-10-01

A new type of nanoparticle-containing glasses based on borate glasses co-doped with low contents of iron and larger radius elements, Dy, Tb, Gd, Ho, Er, Y, and Bi, is studied. Heat treatment of these glasses results in formation of magnetic nanoparticles, radically changing their physical properties. Transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation-based techniques: x-ray diffraction, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, x-ray absorption near-edge structure, and small-angle x-ray scattering, show a broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes with characteristics depending on the treatment regime; a crystalline structure of these nanoparticles is detected in heat treated samples. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) studies of samples subjected to heat treatment as well as of maghemite, magnetite, and iron garnet allow to unambiguously assign the nanoparticle structure to maghemite, independently of co-dopant nature and of heat treatment regime used. Different features observed in the MCD spectra are related to different electron transitions in Fe3+ ions gathered in the nanoparticles. The static magnetization in heat treated samples has non-linear dependence on the magnetizing field with hysteresis. Zero-field cooled magnetization curves show that at higher temperatures the nanoparticles occur in superparamagnetic state with blocking temperatures above 100 K. Below ca. 20 K, a considerable contribution to both zero field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations occurs from diluted paramagnetic ions. Variable-temperature electron magnetic resonance (EMR) studies unambiguously show that in as-prepared glasses paramagnetic ions are in diluted state and confirm the formation of magnetic nanoparticles already at earlier stages of heat treatment. Computer simulations of the EMR spectra corroborate the broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes found by "direct" techniques as well as superparamagnetic nanoparticle behaviour demonstrated in the magnetization studies.

Examining E-Loyalty in a Sexual Health Website: Cross-Sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunn, Alexandra; Crutzen, Rik; Haag, Devon; Chabot, Cathy; Carson, Anna; Ogilvie, Gina; Shoveller, Jean; Gilbert, Mark

2017-11-02

Web-based sexual health resources are typically evaluated in terms of their efficacy. Information is lacking about how sexual health promotion websites are perceived and used. It is essential to understand website use to address challenges with adherence and attrition to Web-based health interventions. An existing theoretical framework for examining loyalty to electronic health (eHealth) interventions has been not yet been applied in the context of sexual health promotion nor has the association between e-loyalty and intended intervention efficacy outcomes been investigated. The objectives of this study were to investigate users' loyalty toward a sexual health website (ie, e-loyalty), measure user perceptions of the website, and measure the association between e-loyalty and perceived knowledge increase and intent to change behavior. Over 4 months, website users (clients and health care providers) participated in an open, online, cross-sectional survey about their user experiences that measured e-loyalty, user perceptions, and intended website efficacy outcomes. Relationships between user perceptions and e-loyalty were investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Associations between e-loyalty and website efficacy outcomes were tested using Spearman rank correlation. A total of 173 participants completed user perception questions and were included in the analysis. E-loyalty was high for both clients and providers and was significantly correlated with clients' perceived knowledge increase (ρ(171)=.30, Ployalty. Finding the website "easy to understand" was significantly related to active trust (ie, participants' willingness to act upon information presented on the website). E-loyalty may be related to the efficacy of the selected website in improving one's sexual health and was significantly associated with all three intended knowledge and behavioral outcomes. To increase e-loyalty, trustworthiness and active trust are important user perceptions to

When gains loom larger than losses: reversed loss aversion for small amounts of money.

Science.gov (United States)

Harinck, Fieke; Van Dijk, Eric; Van Beest, Ilja; Mersmann, Paul

2007-12-01

Previous research has generally shown that people are loss averse; that is, they weigh losses more heavily than gains. In a series of three experiments, we found that for small outcomes, this pattern is reversed, and gains loom larger than losses. We explain this reversal on the basis of (a) the hedonic principle, which states that individuals are motivated to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain, and (b) the assumption that small losses are more easily discounted cognitively than large losses are.

Utility of the physical examination in detecting pulmonary hypertension. A mixed methods study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Colman

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH often present with a variety of physical findings reflecting a volume or pressure overloaded right ventricle (RV. However, there is no consensus regarding the diagnostic utility of the physical examination in PH. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of publications that evaluated the clinical examination and diagnosis of PH using MEDLINE (1946-2013 and EMBASE (1947-2013. We also prospectively evaluated the diagnostic utility of the physical examination findings. Patients who underwent right cardiac catheterization for any reason were recruited. After informed consent, participants were examined by 6 physicians (3 "specialists" and 3 "generalists" who were unaware of the results of the patient's hemodynamics. Each examiner independently assessed patients for the presence of a RV lift, loud P2, jugular venous distension (JVD, tricuspid insufficiency murmur and right-sided 4th heart sound at rest and during a slow inspiration. A global rating (scale of 1-5 of the likelihood that the patient had pulmonary hypertension was provided by each examiner. RESULTS: 31 articles that assessed the physical examination in PH were included in the final analysis. There was heterogeneity amongst the studies and many did not include control data. The sign most associated with PH in the literature was a loud pulmonic component of the second heart sound (P2. In our prospective study physical examination was performed on 52 subjects (25 met criteria for PH; mPAP ≥ 25 mmHg. The physical sign with the highest likelihood ratio (LR was a loud P2 on inspiration with a LR +ve 1.9, 95% CrI [1.2, 3.1] when data from all examiners was analyzed together. Results from the specialist examiners had higher diagnostic utility; a loud P2 on inspiration was associated with a positive LR of 3.2, 95% CrI [1.5, 6.2] and a right sided S4 on inspiration had a LR +ve 4.7, 95% CI [1.0, 15.6]. No aspect of the physical exam, could

Utility of the Physical Examination in Detecting Pulmonary Hypertension. A Mixed Methods Study

Science.gov (United States)

Colman, Rebecca; Whittingham, Heather; Tomlinson, George; Granton, John

2014-01-01

Introduction Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) often present with a variety of physical findings reflecting a volume or pressure overloaded right ventricle (RV). However, there is no consensus regarding the diagnostic utility of the physical examination in PH. Methods We conducted a systematic review of publications that evaluated the clinical examination and diagnosis of PH using MEDLINE (1946–2013) and EMBASE (1947–2013). We also prospectively evaluated the diagnostic utility of the physical examination findings. Patients who underwent right cardiac catheterization for any reason were recruited. After informed consent, participants were examined by 6 physicians (3 “specialists” and 3 “generalists”) who were unaware of the results of the patient's hemodynamics. Each examiner independently assessed patients for the presence of a RV lift, loud P2, jugular venous distension (JVD), tricuspid insufficiency murmur and right-sided 4th heart sound at rest and during a slow inspiration. A global rating (scale of 1–5) of the likelihood that the patient had pulmonary hypertension was provided by each examiner. Results 31 articles that assessed the physical examination in PH were included in the final analysis. There was heterogeneity amongst the studies and many did not include control data. The sign most associated with PH in the literature was a loud pulmonic component of the second heart sound (P2). In our prospective study physical examination was performed on 52 subjects (25 met criteria for PH; mPAP ≥25 mmHg). The physical sign with the highest likelihood ratio (LR) was a loud P2 on inspiration with a LR +ve 1.9, 95% CrI [1.2, 3.1] when data from all examiners was analyzed together. Results from the specialist examiners had higher diagnostic utility; a loud P2 on inspiration was associated with a positive LR of 3.2, 95% CrI [1.5, 6.2] and a right sided S4 on inspiration had a LR +ve 4.7, 95% CI [1.0, 15.6]. No aspect of the physical exam, could

Biofuels that cause land-use change may have much larger non-GHG air quality emissions than fossil fuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsao, C-C; Campbell, J E; Mena-Carrasco, M; Spak, S N; Carmichael, G R; Chen, Y

2012-10-02

Although biofuels present an opportunity for renewable energy production, significant land-use change resulting from biofuels may contribute to negative environmental, economic, and social impacts. Here we examined non-GHG air pollution impacts from both indirect and direct land-use change caused by the anticipated expansion of Brazilian biofuels production. We synthesized information on fuel loading, combustion completeness, and emission factors, and developed a spatially explicit approach with uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to estimate air pollution emissions. The land-use change emissions, ranging from 6.7 to 26.4 Tg PM(2.5), were dominated by deforestation burning practices associated with indirect land-use change. We also found Brazilian sugar cane ethanol and soybean biodiesel including direct and indirect land-use change effects have much larger life-cycle emissions than conventional fossil fuels for six regulated air pollutants. The emissions magnitude and uncertainty decrease with longer life-cycle integration periods. Results are conditional to the single LUC scenario employed here. After LUC uncertainty, the largest source of uncertainty in LUC emissions stems from the combustion completeness during deforestation. While current biofuels cropland burning policies in Brazil seek to reduce life-cycle emissions, these policies do not address the large emissions caused by indirect land-use change.

Examining teacher self-efficacy about best practices in science during a professional development series

Science.gov (United States)

Menez, Jessica L.

Using extant data that were collected as part of a larger project, the current study examined teacher self-efficacy and the teachers' intentions to implement workshop content throughout the course of a six-week professional development workshop focused on enhancing science motivation for students through the adoption of specific instructional strategies. There were a total of 20 middle and high school teacher participants. Results indicated teacher self-efficacy changed significantly from pre to post. Teachers showed higher teacher self-efficacy after the professional development, in particular for influencing student engagement. In addition, we found a moderate correlation between the level of confidence after the implementation of a strategy and teachers intention of trying the strategy again. Finally, new direction for future research topics made possible by this study are presented.

Trophic interactions between larger crocodylians and giant tortoises on Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean, during the Late Pleistocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheyer, Torsten M; Delfino, Massimo; Klein, Nicole; Bunbury, Nancy; Fleischer-Dogley, Frauke; Hansen, Dennis M

2018-01-01

Today, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aldabra Atoll is home to about 100 000 giant tortoises, Aldabrachelys gigantea , whose fossil record goes back to the Late Pleistocene. New Late Pleistocene fossils (age ca . 90-125 000 years) from the atoll revealed some appendicular bones and numerous shell fragments of giant tortoises and cranial and postcranial elements of crocodylians. Several tortoise bones show circular holes, pits and scratch marks that are interpreted as bite marks of crocodylians. The presence of a Late Pleistocene crocodylian species, Aldabrachampsus dilophus , has been known for some time, but the recently found crocodylian remains presented herein are distinctly larger than those previously described. This indicates the presence of at least some larger crocodylians, either of the same or of a different species, on the atoll. These larger crocodylians, likely the apex predators in the Aldabra ecosystem at the time, were well capable of inflicting damage on even very large giant tortoises. We thus propose an extinct predator-prey interaction between crocodylians and giant tortoises during the Late Pleistocene, when both groups were living sympatrically on Aldabra, and we discuss scenarios for the crocodylians directly attacking the tortoises or scavenging on recently deceased animals.

Is a larger refuge always better? Dispersal and dose in pesticide resistance evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Daisuke; Yamanaka, Takehiko; Sudo, Masaaki; Andow, David A

2017-06-01

The evolution of resistance against pesticides is an important problem of modern agriculture. The high-dose/refuge strategy, which divides the landscape into treated and nontreated (refuge) patches, has proven effective at delaying resistance evolution. However, theoretical understanding is still incomplete, especially for combinations of limited dispersal and partially recessive resistance. We reformulate a two-patch model based on the Comins model and derive a simple quadratic approximation to analyze the effects of limited dispersal, refuge size, and dominance for high efficacy treatments on the rate of evolution. When a small but substantial number of heterozygotes can survive in the treated patch, a larger refuge always reduces the rate of resistance evolution. However, when dominance is small enough, the evolutionary dynamics in the refuge population, which is indirectly driven by migrants from the treated patch, mainly describes the resistance evolution in the landscape. In this case, for small refuges, increasing the refuge size will increase the rate of resistance evolution. Our analysis distils major driving forces from the model, and can provide a framework for understanding directional selection in source-sink environments. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Radionuclide examination of motility disorders of the esophagus: a comparative study with manometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heukelem, H.A. van.

1985-01-01

The primary aim of this investigation is to determine the value of radionuclide studies for clinical diagnostics in the light of its advantages over the manometric examination by means of available casuistics. A general review of the development of the examinations for assessment of the motility of the esophagus is given and both normal and disturbed motor function are described. The details of the patient groups and the techniques used in this study are presented. The results obtained for normal subjects and patients with achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, systemic connective tissue diseases with esophageal involvement and reflux esophagitis are reported and discussed. (Auth.)

HISTOPATHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF LIVER LESIONS IN AUTOPSY EXAMINATION- A HOSPITAL-BASED STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratan Konjengbam

2017-06-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Liver is the main site of various primary and secondary diseases including variety of external agents. Most of the chronic liver diseases remained asymptomatic even in the late stage. In apparently healthy persons, many liver lesions are detected incidentally following a postmortem examination. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was done for a period of 5 years in a tertiary hospital to evaluate the histopathological profile of liver specimen in autopsy examination. Haematoxylin and Eosin sections of liver specimen were studied. A total of 352 samples were evaluated with male predominates the female sex in the ratio of 5.2:1. RESULTS The most common lesion was fatty liver (19% followed by cirrhosis (11.8%, venous congestion (11.5%, portal triaditis (10.9%, chronic hepatitis (6.2%, granulomatous hepatitis (2.1%, autolysis (16% and others (0.96%. Liver finding was normal in 14% of the cases. CONCLUSION Silent liver diseases are a quite regular finding in autopsy cases and thereby may implicate a common occurrence in general population. Autopsy examination of liver is a must for detection of silent liver diseases like fatty change, cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis.

The genetic architecture of novel trophic specialists: larger effect sizes are associated with exceptional oral jaw diversification in a pupfish adaptive radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Christopher H; Erickson, Priscilla A; Miller, Craig T

2017-01-01

The genetic architecture of adaptation is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms and constraints governing diversification. However, most case studies focus on loss of complex traits or parallel speciation in similar environments. It is still unclear how the genetic architecture of these local adaptive processes compares to the architecture of evolutionary transitions contributing to morphological and ecological novelty. Here, we identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) between two trophic specialists in an excellent case study for examining the origins of ecological novelty: a sympatric radiation of pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas, containing a large-jawed scale-eater and a short-jawed molluscivore with a skeletal nasal protrusion. These specialized niches and trophic traits are unique among over 2000 related species. Measurements of the fitness landscape on San Salvador demonstrate multiple fitness peaks and a larger fitness valley isolating the scale-eater from the putative ancestral intermediate phenotype of the generalist, suggesting that more large-effect QTL should contribute to its unique phenotype. We evaluated this prediction using an F2 intercross between these specialists. We present the first linkage map for pupfishes and detect significant QTL for sex and eight skeletal traits. Large-effect QTL contributed more to enlarged scale-eater jaws than the molluscivore nasal protrusion, consistent with predictions from the adaptive landscape. The microevolutionary genetic architecture of large-effect QTL for oral jaws parallels the exceptional diversification rates of oral jaws within the San Salvador radiation observed over macroevolutionary timescales and may have facilitated exceptional trophic novelty in this system. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Phantom examination for reduction of radiation dose using new needle screen storage phosphor radiography and add beam filter in digital thoracic radiography on adolescents and larger children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heyne, J.P.; Mentzel, H.J.; Neumann, R.; Lopatta, E.; Zimmermann, U.; Kaiser, W.A.

2008-01-01

Purpose: how much can the radiation dose be reduced in thoracic radiography on adolescents and larger children by using needle screen storage phosphor (NIP) radiography and add beam filtration? Materials and methods: a chest phantom with typical anatomical structures, pathological findings, added catheters, and simulated nodules, tumors, and calcifications was X-rayed digitally (DX-S, Agfa Healthcare) in posterior-anterior (p.a.) orientation with and without add beam filter. While keeping the voltage constant, the tube current time product was reduced gradually. In addition to LgM, the surface entrance dose (ED) and the dose area product (DAP) were measured by the Dosimax sensor and Kerma X-plus (both Wellhoefer). Five investigators evaluated the images for characteristics and critical features, pathological findings, and catheter recognizability. Results: the ED of the digital chest radiogram p.a. with 115 kV and 0.71 mAs was 27 μGy, the DAP 3.6 μGy x m 2 , the LgM value 1.56. This initial radiogram was able to be evaluated very well and conforms to the quality guidelines. The dose-reduced chest radiograms with the add beam filter Al 1.0 mm/Cu 0.1 mm were evaluated as sufficiently reduced to a dose of 63% of the initial dose, with the add beam filter Al 1.0 mm/Cu 0.2 mm reduced to 50% (0.52 mAs, DAP 1.82 μGy x m 2 , LgM 1.35). P.a. radiograms were able to be X-rayed on 115 kV with 0.52 mAs. (orig.)

Testing the snake-detection hypothesis: larger early posterior negativity in humans to pictures of snakes than to pictures of other reptiles, spiders and slugs

OpenAIRE

Van Strien, Jan W.; Franken, Ingmar H. A.; Huijding, Jorg

2014-01-01

According to the snake detection hypothesis (Isbell, 2006), fear specifically of snakes may have pushed evolutionary changes in the primate visual system allowing pre-attentional visual detection of fearful stimuli. A previous study demonstrated that snake pictures, when compared to spiders or bird pictures, draw more early attention as reflected by larger early posterior negativity (EPN). Here we report two studies that further tested the snake detection hypothesis. In Study, 1 we tested whe...

Examination performances of German and international medical students in the preclinical studying-term – A descriptive study

Science.gov (United States)

Huhn, D.; Resch, F.; Duelli, R.; Möltner, A.; Huber, J.; Karimian Jazi, K.; Amr, A.; Eckart, W.; Herzog, W.; Nikendei, C.

2014-01-01

Introduction: Medical students with a migration background face several specific problems during their studies. International surveys show first indications that this group of students performs worse in written, oral or practical exams. However, so far, nothing is known about the performance of international students in written pre-clinical tests as well as in pre-clinical State Examinations for German-speaking countries. Method: A descriptive, retrospective analysis of the exam performances of medical students in the pre-clinical part of their studies was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of Heidelberg in for the year 2012. Performance in written tests of the final exams in the second (N=276), third (N=292) and fourth semester (N=285) were compared between German students, students from EU countries and students from non-EU countries. Same comparison was drawn for the performance in the oral exam of the First State Examination in the period from 2009 - 2012 (N=1137). Results: German students performed significantly better than students with a non-EU migration background both in all written exams and in the oral State Examination (all pstudents with an EU migration background was significantly better than that of students with a non-EU background in the written exam at the end of the third and fourth semester (pstudents completed the oral exam of the First State Examination significantly earlier than students with a non-EU migration background (students with a country of origin outside of the European Union has to be seen as a high-risk group among students with a migration background. For this group, there is an urgent need for early support to prepare for written and oral examinations. PMID:25228931

Laser-Induced Damage Growth on Larger-Aperture Fused Silica Optical Components at 351 nm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan-Qing, Huang; Wei, Han; Fang, Wang; Yong, Xiang; Fu-Quan, Li; Bin, Feng; Feng, Jing; Xiao-Feng, Wei; Wan-Guo, Zheng; Xiao-Min, Zhang

2009-01-01

Laser-induced damage is a key lifetime limiter for optics in high-power laser facility. Damage initiation and growth under 351 nm high-fluence laser irradiation are observed on larger-aperture fused silica optics. The input surface of one fused silica component is damaged most severely and an explanation is presented. Obscurations and the area of a scratch on it are found to grow exponentially with the shot number. The area of damage site grows linearly. Micrographs of damage sites support the micro-explosion damage model which could be used to qualitatively explain the phenomena

[On the necessity to prepare new "Rules for the organization and conduction of forensic biological examination and studies by the State Forensic Examination Boards of the Russian Federation"].

Science.gov (United States)

Gusarov, A A

2010-01-01

The author substantiates the necessity to prepare new "Rules for the organization and conduction of forensic biological examination and studies by the State Forensic Examination Boards of the Russian Federation". Their long-term absence of the reviewed document has negatively influenced the quality of work of these facilities. The structure and contents of the three previous versions of the Rules for the study of material evidence (1934, 1956, and 1996) are analysed. The structure of the new variant is designed to optimize the work of forensic medical examination bureaus and the performance of relevant studies.

Dose variation in the practice of medical examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huyskens, C.

1989-01-01

A discussion is presented on dose variation in the practice of the x-ray examination and on the desirability of checks in the framework of quality care. It is shown that, roughly speaking, for all examination types the dose distribution per action shows the same character. About 20% of the actions cause about half of the collective dose and the individual radiation burden in this is a factor 3 up to 10 larger than average, the remaining 80%. Insight in the distribution of the use of radiation per action is characterized as a necessary step in the control of patient doses. Radiation protection of patients is of avail mostly when the attention is aimed in first instance at examination categories with an average high dose and at the 2-% group of actions with the relatively highest radiation use. Regularly measuring of the 'actual practice' in relation to the 'good practice' is a logical test which makes part of the general quality assurance of medical action. It is recommended to take in hand the care for radiation protection of the patient in this way, within the own department or institute as well as by means of inter collegial checks on a national level. (author). 2 refs.; 3 figs

A Comparative Study Examining Academic Cohorts with Transnational Migratory Intentions towards Canada and Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, John

2016-01-01

This research examines the issue of transnational academic mobility of academic staff, those choosing to migrate to higher education institutions in different countries as part of their career development, and performs a comparative study between the characteristics of academics examining Australia as a possible migratory destination with those…

Sensitivity and specificity of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, Frontal Assessment Battery and Mini Mental State Examination for diagnosing dementia in Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaszás, B; Kovács, N; Balás, I; Kállai, J; Aschermann, Z; Kerekes, Z; Komoly, S; Nagy, F; Janszky, J; Lucza, T; Karádi, K

2012-06-01

Among the non-motor features of Parkinson's disease (PD), cognitive impairment is one of the most troublesome problems. Highly sensitive and specific screening instruments for detecting dementia in PD (PDD) are required in the clinical practice. In our study we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of different neuropsychological tests (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, ACE; Frontal Assessment Battery, FAB and Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, MDRS) in 73 Parkinson's disease patients without depression. By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, these screening instruments were tested against the recently established clinical diagnostic criteria of PDD. Best cut-off score for ACE to identify PDD was 80 points (sensitivity = 74.0%, specificity = 78.1%). For FAB the most optimal cut-off value was 12 points (sensitivity = 66.3%, specificity = 72.2%); whereas for MDRS it was 125 points (sensitivity = 89.8%, specificity = 98.3%). Among the examined test batteries, MDRS had the best clinicometric profile for detecting PDD. Although the types of applied screening instruments might differ from movement disorder clinic to clinic within a country, determination of the most specific and sensitive test for the given population remains to be an important task. Our results demonstrated that the specificity and sensitivity of MDRS was better than those of ACE, FAB and MMSE in Hungary. However, further studies with larger sample size and more uniform criteria for participation are required to determine the most suitable screening instrument for cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Origami-inspired metamaterial absorbers for improving the larger-incident angle absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Yang; Pang, Yongqiang; Wang, Jiafu; Ma, Hua; Pei, Zhibin; Qu, Shaobo

2015-01-01

When a folded resistive patch array stands up on a metallic plane, it can exhibit more outstanding absorption performance. Our theoretical investigations and simulations demonstrated that the folded resistive patch arrays can enhance the absorption bandwidth progressively with the increase of the incident angle for the oblique transverse magnetic incidence, which is contrary to the conventional resistive frequency selective surface absorber. On illumination, we achieved a 3D structure metamaterial absorber with the folded resistive patches. The proposed absorber is obtained from the inspiration of the origami, and it has broadband and lager-incident angle absorption. Both the simulations and the measurements indicate that the proposed absorber achieves the larger-incident angle absorption until 75° in the frequency band of 3.6–11.4 GHz. In addition, the absorber is extremely lightweight. The areal density of the fabricated sample is about 0.023 g cm −2 . Due to the broadband and lager-incident angle absorption, it is expected that the absorbers may find potential applications such as stealth technologies and electromagnetic interference. (paper)

Ultrasonographic findings in patients examined in cataract detection-andtreatment campaigns: a retrospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcio Henrique Mendes

2009-01-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: A cataract is defined as an opacity of any portion of the lens, regardless of visual acuity. In some advanced cases of cataracts, in which good fundus visualization is not possible, an ultrasound examination provides better assessment of the posterior segment of the globe. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the ultrasonographic records of patients with advanced cataracts who were examined during cataract campaigns. METHODS: The ultrasonographic findings obtained from 215 patients examined in cataract campaigns conducted by the Hospital das Clínicas Department of Ophthalmology of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo between the years of 2005 and 2007 were evaluated, and the utility of this exam in changing the treatment procedures was studied. RESULTS: A total of 289 eyes from 215 patients were examined. Of the eyes examined, 77.5% presented with findings in the vitreous cavity and the posterior pole. A posterior vitreous detachment with no other complications was observed in 47.4% of the eyes. The remaining 30.1% presented with eye diseases that could result in a reduced visual function after surgery. The most frequent eye diseases observed were diffuse vitreous opacity (12.1% of the eyes and detachment of the retina (9.3% of the eyes. DISCUSSION: In many cases, the ultrasonographic evaluation of the posterior segment revealed significant anomalies that changed the original treatment plan or contra-indicated surgery. At the very least, the evaluation was useful for patient counseling. CONCLUSION: The ultrasonographic examination revealed and differentiated between eyes with cataracts and eyes with ocular abnormalities other than cataracts as the cause of poor vision, thereby indicating the importance of its use during ocular evaluation.

Overeating among Seriously Overweight Children Seeking Treatment: Results of the Children’s Eating Disorder Examination

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Michele D.; Ringham, Rebecca M.; Kalarchian, Melissa A.; Wisniewski, Lucene; Marcus, Marsha D.

2010-01-01

Objective We sought to examine rates of eating disorder symptoms among seriously overweight children seeking treatment using the Eating Disorder Examination for Children (ChEDE) and to provide initial data about their association with treatment outcome. Method Overweight children (N = 27) 8–13 years old were interviewed using the ChEDE before participating in a family-based behavioral treatment program. Height and weight were measured pretreatment, posttreatment, and approximately 8 months posttreatment. Results Fifteen percent of children reported subjective bulimic episodes (SBE). Weight loss did not differ for children with and without SBEs, but concerns about body shape were related to larger weight losses during treatment. Conclusion A considerable minority of treatment-seeking overweight children report an episodic sense of loss of control over eating. Loss of control is related to other disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, but does not appear to affect treatment outcome. Future studies are needed to replicate these initial findings. PMID:16231347

Clinico-statistical study of preoperative examination for the dental implant using multi-detector row computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekiya, Keiko; Mori, Shintaro; Sekiya, Kotaro

2008-01-01

In April 2006, a new affiliated hospital opened at Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, and the latest model was introduced into the department of radiology. CT examinations for preoperative dental implant going on 64 multi-detector row CT, the number of cases has increased. CT examination is useful for preoperative dental implant, and many studies of concerning clinical studies using CT images have been reported. The purpose of this study was to the clinico-statistical studies of preoperative CT examinations for dental implant at our radiology department using 64 multi-detector row CT. The subjects consisted of 5174 regions in 1312 cases of preoperative CT examinations, between April 2006 and December 2007. CT machine used was the Aquilion TM 64 (Toshiba Medical Systems, Japan), and the workstation used was the ZIOSTATION (ZIOSOFT, Japan). All of CT examinations were performed the position of implant placement and disease examined from CT findings. The following results were obtained: The 1312 cases consisted of 426 males and 886 females. Patient age ranged from 16 yrs to 86 yrs old, the average age were 55.5 yrs old. Six hundred and seventy four cases were ordered at another private dental office not our hospital, and 638 cases were ordered at our hospital. The numbers of implant placement were on the average of 3.9, and the rate got higher with age. The lesions which detected by preoperative CT examination were maxillary sinusitis, periodontitis, ectopic calcification, and mucous retention cyst. (author)

TMI-2 core-examination program: INEL facilities-readiness study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLaughlin, T.B.

1982-09-01

This document is a review of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's (INEL) remote handling facilities. Their availability and readiness to conduct examination and analyses of TMI-2 core samples was determined. Examination of these samples require that the facilities be capable of receiving commercial casks, unloading canisters from the casks, opening the canisters, handling the fuel debris and assemblies, and performing various examinations. The documentation that was necessary for the INEL to have before the receipt of the core material was identified. The core information was also required for input to these documents. The costs, schedules, and a preliminary-project plan are presented for the tasks which are identified as prerequisites to the receipt of the first core sample

A Validation Study of the Japanese Version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised

OpenAIRE

dos Santos Kawata, Kelssy Hitomi; Hashimoto, Ryusaku; Nishio, Yoshiyuki; Hayashi, Atsuko; Ogawa, Nanayo; Kanno, Shigenori; Hiraoka, Kotaro; Yokoi, Kayoko; Iizuka, Osamu; Mori, Etsuro

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to validate the Japanese version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) [Mori: Japanese Edition of Hodges JR’s Cognitive Assessment for Clinicians, 2010] designed to detect dementia, and to compare its diagnostic accuracy with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination. The ACE-R was administered to 85 healthy individuals and 126 patients with dementia. The reliability assessment revealed a strong correlation in both groups. The internal consistenc...

Transmissible Plasmids and Integrons Shift Escherichia coli Population Toward Larger Multiple Drug Resistance Numbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Suhartono, Suhartono; Savin, Mary C; Gbur, Edward E

2018-04-01

Transmissible plasmids and integrons may play important roles in the persistence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria throughout aquatic environment by accumulating antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). Class 1 and class 2 integron (intI), mobilization (mob), sulfamethoxazole resistance (sul), and trimethoprim resistance (dfr) genes were PCR-amplified and confirmed through DNA sequencing following plasmid extraction from 139 antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli. E. coli had previously been recovered from wastewater treatment plant effluent and receiving stream water in Northwest Arkansas and isolates had expressed resistance to one to six antibiotics. Almost half of the total isolates (47%) carried putatively transmissible plasmids with mob F12 gene as the most frequently detected mobilization gene. When two or three mob genes were detected per isolate, there was a significant shift in the population toward larger multiple drug resistance (MDR) number. Class 1 and/or 2 integrons were prevalent (46%), and the presence of integron significantly shifted the isolate population toward larger MDR number. More isolates carried single or coexistence of two or three sul genes (99.3%), and single or a combination up to five dfr genes (89.3%) than had exhibited in vitro resistance to the respective antibiotics. These findings indicate not only the role of the wastewater treatment effluent and the stream environment in coaccumulation of ARG with transmissible plasmids and integrons in multiple antibiotic-resistant E. coli populations but also suggest that density of sul and dfr resistance genes within an isolate may serve as a biomarker for mobile MDR in general.

Validity of using modified capillary column with larger diameter to study the Cs diffusion in local Taiwan laterite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsing-Hai Wang; National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Wen-Chun Yeh; Shih-Chin Tsai; Yi-Lin Jan; Shi-Ping Teng

2008-01-01

We have examined the working diameter of capillary columns with diameter of 5, 7, 10 and 20 mm. These modified capillary columns were carefully filled with local Taiwan laterite (LTL). The porosity and density of these packed columns was 0.51±0.02 g/g and 1.27±0.05 g/cm 3 , respectively. The diffusion experiments were then carried out in synthetic groundwater with Cs loading of 0.1mM at room temperature. Experimental results have shown that the diffusion profiles of modified capillary columns fit Fick's second law very well. This result revealed that the working diameter of a capillary column can be expanded to at least to 20 mm without affecting the validity of the derived diffusion coefficients. Among these columns, the ones with 5 mm diameter show the most consistent results of the derived K d , apparent and effective diffusion coefficients. Although the derived distribution and effective diffusion coefficients slightly decrease as the diameter of these columns increases due to the increase of the solid/liquid ratio. These values are still informative of the Cs diffusion in local Taiwan laterite. Moreover, our results clearly demonstrate the potential of using 'modified capillary method' to study the diffusion behaviors of concerned radionuclide because columns with large diameter enable the filling with more versatile geological substances. (author)

Destructive examination of the PVRC plates Nos. 50/52, 51/53 and 204

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

The present document describes the destructive examination of the blocks required to obtain the precise and complete description of all the defects the NDT techniques were supposed to find, locate and size. This precise map of defects has to be used as the reference for the PISC trial results evaluation. The destructive examination was discontinued once NDT, conducted under very favourable conditions on small sections of the plate, was able to detect all defects larger than or equal to 1 mm in diameter, and also to size the defects when only one portion of the defect was visible after cutting. Complete destructive examination has therefore only been carried out on some sections, either when it was absolutely necessary, or in order to give illustrative examples. In order to avoid any doubt as to the original position of a defect, scrupulous attention has been paid to marking the specimen pieces at all stages of the destructive examination

Cooperative Group Performance in Graduate Research Methodology Courses: The Role of Study Coping and Examination-Taking Coping Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, Qun G.; Collins, Kathleen M. T.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.

2013-01-01

This study seeks to examine the extent to which cooperative group members' levels of coping strategies (study and examination-taking coping strategies) and the degree that heterogeneity (variability of study coping strategies and examination-taking coping strategies) predict cooperative groups' levels of achievement in research methodology…

Examining Masculine Norms and Peer Support within a Sample of Incarcerated African American Males.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Derrick M; Hawes, Samuel W; Perez-Cabello, M Arturo; Brabham-Hollis, Tamika; Lanza, A Stephen; Dyson, William J

2013-01-01

The adherence to masculine norms has been suggested to be influenced by social settings and context. Prisons have been described as a context where survival is dependent on adhering to strict masculine norms that may undermine reintegration back into the larger society. This study attempted to examine the relationship between masculine norms, peer support, and an individual's length of incarceration on a sample of 139 African American men taking part in a pre-release community re-entry program. Results indicate that peer support was associated with length of incarceration and the interaction between the endorsement of masculine norms and peer support significantly predicted the length of incarceration for African American men in this sample. Implications for incarcerated African American men and future research directions are discussed.

Electrodialytic removal of cadmium from biomass combustion fly ash in larger scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Anne Juul; Ottosen, Lisbeth M.; Simonsen, Peter

2005-01-01

Due to a high concentration of the toxic heavy metal cadmium (Cd), biomass combustion fly ash often fails to meet the Danish legislative requirements for recycling on agricultural fields. It has previously been shown that it is possible to reduce the concentration of Cd in different bio ashes...... significantly by using electrodialytic remediation, an electrochemically assisted extraction method. In this work the potential of the method was demonstrated in larger scale. Three different experimental set-ups were used, ranging from bench-scale (25 L ash suspension) to pilot scale (0.3 - 3 m3......). The experimental ash was a straw combustion fly ash suspended in water. Within 4 days of remediation, Cd concentrations below the limiting concentration of 5.0 mg Cd/kg DM for straw ash were reached. On the basis of these results, the energy costs for remediation of ash in industrial scale have been estimated...

Dynamics of Transformation from Platinum Icosahedral Nanoparticles to Larger FCC Crystal at Millisecond Time Resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Wenpei [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Fredrick Seitz Materials Research Lab.; Wu, Jianbo [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Fredrick Seitz Materials Research Lab. and Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ. (China). School of Materials Science and Engineering; Yoon, Aram [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Fredrick Seitz Materials Research Lab.; Lu, Ping [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Qi, Liang [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Wen, Jianguo [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials and Electron Microscopy Center; Miller, Dean J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials and Electron Microscopy Center; Mabon, James C. [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Fredrick Seitz Materials Research Lab.; Wilson, William L. [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Fredrick Seitz Materials Research Lab.; Yang, Hong [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Zuo, Jian-Min [Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Fredrick Seitz Materials Research Lab.

2017-12-08

Atomic motion at grain boundaries is essential to microstructure development, growth and stability of catalysts and other nanostructured materials. However, boundary atomic motion is often too fast to observe in a conventional transmission electron microscope (TEM) and too slow for ultrafast electron microscopy. We report on the entire transformation process of strained Pt icosahedral nanoparticles (ICNPs) into larger FCC crystals, captured at 2.5 ms time resolution using a fast electron camera. Results show slow diffusive dislocation motion at nm/s inside ICNPs and fast surface transformation at μm/s. By characterizing nanoparticle strain, we show that the fast transformation is driven by inhomogeneous surface stress. And interaction with pre-existing defects led to the slowdown of the transformation front inside the nanoparticles. Particle coalescence, assisted by oxygen-induced surface migration at T ≥ 300°C, also played a critical role. Thus by studying transformation in the Pt ICNPs at high time and spatial resolution, we obtain critical insights into the transformation mechanisms in strained Pt nanoparticles.

Where are weather-suicide associations valid? An examination of nine US counties with varying seasonality

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, P. Grady; Kalkstein, Adam J.

2018-05-01

There has been much research on the associations between weather variables and suicide rates. However, the state of understanding has remained rather stagnant due to many contradictory findings. The purpose of this project is to examine a larger database of suicides that includes a longer and more recent period of record (1975-2010) across numerous locations in the USA. In all, we examine nine total counties (and the primary city associated with them) with a special effort made to compare locations with varying degrees of temperature seasonality: Cook (Chicago), Fulton (Atlanta), King (Seattle), Los Angeles (Los Angeles), Maricopa (Phoenix), Miami-Dade (Miami), Philadelphia (Philadelphia), Salt Lake (Salt Lake City), and St. Louis (St. Louis). We first examine the unique seasonal cycle in suicides evident in each locale and then use distributed lag nonlinear modeling (DLNM) to relate the suicide data to daily surface temperatures. Results suggest that a late spring/summer peak generally exists in suicide rates, and above average temperatures are associated with increased suicide risk in almost all study counties. Further, it appears that these associations can be found in both mid-latitude and sub-tropical climate types.

Sudden cardiac death in dogs with remodeled hearts is associated with larger beat-to-beat variability of repolarization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Morten Bækgaard; Truin, Michiel; van Opstal, Jurren M

2005-01-01

Increased proarrhythmia in dogs with chronic AV block (AVB) has been explained by ventricular remodeling causing a decrease in repolarization reserve. Beat-to-beat variability of repolarization (BVR) has been suggested to reflect repolarization reserve, in which high variability represents...... diminished reserve and larger propensity for repolarization-dependent ventricular arrhythmia. A subset of chronic AVB dogs (10%) suffers sudden cardiac death (SCD). With the assumption that repolarization defects constitute a potentially lethal proarrhythmic substrate, we hypothesized that BVR in SCD dogs...... are larger than in matched control chronic AVB dogs. From a population of 200 chronic AVB dogs, initially two groups were chosen retrospectively: 8 dogs that died suddenly (SCD) and 8 control dogs. Control dogs had a longer lifespan after AVB (10 to 18 weeks) than SCD dogs (5 to 10 weeks). All dogs had...

Benign core biopsy of probably benign breast lesions 2 cm or larger: correlation with excisional biopsy and long-term follow-up

OpenAIRE

Jung, Hyun Kyung; Moon, Hee Jung; Kim, Min Jung; Kim, Eun-Kyung

2014-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of benign core biopsy of probably benign breast lesions (category 3) 2 cm or larger on the basis of excisional biopsy and long-term follow-up. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 146 category 3 lesions in 146 patients 2 cm or larger which were diagnosed as benign by ultrasound (US)-guided core biopsy. Patients were initially diagnosed as benign at core needle biopsy and then followed up with excisional biopsy (surgical excision, n=91; US-guided vacuum assist...

Examination of shipping package 9975-04985

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daugherty, W. L. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2017-08-01

Package 9975-04985 was examined following the identification of several unexpected conditions during surveillance activities. A heavy layer of corrosion product on the shield and the shield outer diameter being larger that allowed by drawing tolerances contributed to a very tight fit between the upper fiberboard assembly and shield. The average corrosion rate for the shield is estimated to be 0.0018 inch/year or less, which falls within the bounding rate of 0.002 inch/year that has been previously recommended for these packages. Several apparent foreign objects were noted within the package. One object observed on the air shield was identified as tape. The other objects were comprised of mostly fine fibers from the cane fiberboard. It is postulated that the upper and lower fiberboard assemblies were able to rub against each other due to the upper fiberboard assembly being held tight to the shield, and a few stray cane chips became frayed under vibratory motions.

A study of requested CT head examinations and their positive yield rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coakley, K.S.

2004-01-01

Full text: Requests for CT examinations are ever increasing, partly due to the excellent clinical information they can provide for patient management and partly due to a perceived need for 'evidence' that everything has been done to diagnose a patient correctly. This has led to many CT examinations being done on patients where many of the radiology community does not necessarily feel CT will yield a positive finding, i.e. in their eyes - a possible unjustified use of radiation. To determine whether this was in fact true, or merely a perception, a study was performed by medical imaging and physics staff at the Royal Brisbane Hospital to determine statistics of positive yield for CT head exams. 600 CT head examinations from the Emergency Department at the Royal Brisbane Hospital were retrospectively examined and their findings were tabulated under various clinical categories to determine positive yield statistics. These categories were also tabulated with the radiologists advice as to whether they would have expected a positive finding. For several categories the positive yield for CT head exams was so low as to be considered negligible. Other categories, although low were still considered significant. These will be presented to the emergency department along with a suggested protocol for requesting CT head exams. It was unfortunate that this study had to be performed to prove to clinical staff that medical imaging staff members do in general have an excellent idea of what will show up in an x-ray and what will not! However, it was useful to be able to categorise 'positive yield' statistics into such specific classes. The next step is to try and communicate these findings to staff to create more trust and better communication between departments. Copyright (2004) Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine

Trunk Muscle Size and Composition Assessment in Older Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: An Intra-Examiner and Inter-Examiner Reliability Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sions, Jaclyn Megan; Smith, Andrew Craig; Hicks, Gregory Evan; Elliott, James Matthew

2016-08-01

 To evaluate intra- and inter-examiner reliability for the assessment of relative cross-sectional area, muscle-to-fat infiltration indices, and relative muscle cross-sectional area, i.e., total cross-sectional area minus intramuscular fat, from T1-weighted magnetic resonance images obtained in older adults with chronic low back pain.  Reliability study.  n = 13 (69.3 ± 8.2 years old)  After lumbar magnetic resonance imaging, two examiners produced relative cross-sectional area measurements of multifidi, erector spinae, psoas, and quadratus lumborum by tracing regions of interest just inside fascial borders. Pixel-intensity summaries were used to determine muscle-to-fat infiltration indices; relative muscle cross-sectional area was calculated. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to estimate intra- and inter-examiner reliability; standard error of measurement was calculated.  Intra-examiner intraclass correlation coefficient point estimates for relative cross-sectional area, muscle-to-fat infiltration indices, and relative muscle cross-sectional area were excellent for multifidi and erector spinae across levels L2-L5 (ICC = 0.77-0.99). At L3, intra-examiner reliability was excellent for relative cross-sectional area, muscle-to-fat infiltration indices, and relative muscle cross-sectional area for both psoas and quadratus lumborum (ICC = 0.81-0.99). Inter-examiner intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from poor to excellent for relative cross-sectional area, muscle-to-fat infiltration indices, and relative muscle cross-sectional area.  Assessment of relative cross-sectional area, muscle-to-fat infiltration indices, and relative muscle cross-sectional area in older adults with chronic low back pain can be reliably determined by one examiner from T1-weighted images. Such assessments provide valuable information, as muscle-to-fat infiltration indices and relative muscle cross-sectional area indicate that a substantial amount of

Examining the Reproducibility of 6 Published Studies in Public Health Services and Systems Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Jenine K; B Wondmeneh, Sarah; Zhao, Yiqiang; Leider, Jonathon P

2018-02-23

Research replication, or repeating a study de novo, is the scientific standard for building evidence and identifying spurious results. While replication is ideal, it is often expensive and time consuming. Reproducibility, or reanalysis of data to verify published findings, is one proposed minimum alternative standard. While a lack of research reproducibility has been identified as a serious and prevalent problem in biomedical research and a few other fields, little work has been done to examine the reproducibility of public health research. We examined reproducibility in 6 studies from the public health services and systems research subfield of public health research. Following the methods described in each of the 6 papers, we computed the descriptive and inferential statistics for each study. We compared our results with the original study results and examined the percentage differences in descriptive statistics and differences in effect size, significance, and precision of inferential statistics. All project work was completed in 2017. We found consistency between original and reproduced results for each paper in at least 1 of the 4 areas examined. However, we also found some inconsistency. We identified incorrect transcription of results and omitting detail about data management and analyses as the primary contributors to the inconsistencies. Increasing reproducibility, or reanalysis of data to verify published results, can improve the quality of science. Researchers, journals, employers, and funders can all play a role in improving the reproducibility of science through several strategies including publishing data and statistical code, using guidelines to write clear and complete methods sections, conducting reproducibility reviews, and incentivizing reproducible science.

Examining Elementary Teachers' Use of Online Learning Environments: An Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Beach, Pamela

2018-01-01

This article presents the results of a study that examined elementary teachers' use of online learning environments for their informal professional learning in literacy instruction. Forty-five elementary teachers from a metropolitan area in Ontario, Canada, completed an online survey and participated in a semistructured interview. Survey and…

A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF MARKET ORIENTATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED COMPANIES: EVIDENCE FROM GHANA

OpenAIRE

Solomon A. Keelson

2012-01-01

The study is part of a larger research of market orientation, which was conducted to build on previous research, and particularly examined the association between market orientation and business performance in a larger market context, using a synthesis model approach. Using the survey approach 24 companies out of 37 listed companies participated in the quantitative study; where 72 senior officials were surveyed from August 2011 to September 2011, through a five-likert scale questions. In this...

Examining the Variability of Sleep Patterns during Treatment for Chronic Insomnia: Application of a Location-Scale Mixed Model.

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Ong, Jason C; Hedeker, Donald; Wyatt, James K; Manber, Rachel

2016-06-15

The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel statistical technique called the location-scale mixed model that can be used to analyze the mean level and intra-individual variability (IIV) using longitudinal sleep data. We applied the location-scale mixed model to examine changes from baseline in sleep efficiency on data collected from 54 participants with chronic insomnia who were randomized to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; n = 19), an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBTI; n = 19), or an 8-week self-monitoring control (SM; n = 16). Sleep efficiency was derived from daily sleep diaries collected at baseline (days 1-7), early treatment (days 8-21), late treatment (days 22-63), and post week (days 64-70). The behavioral components (sleep restriction, stimulus control) were delivered during late treatment in MBTI. For MBSR and MBTI, the pre-to-post change in mean levels of sleep efficiency were significantly larger than the change in mean levels for the SM control, but the change in IIV was not significantly different. During early and late treatment, MBSR showed a larger increase in mean levels of sleep efficiency and a larger decrease in IIV relative to the SM control. At late treatment, MBTI had a larger increase in the mean level of sleep efficiency compared to SM, but the IIV was not significantly different. The location-scale mixed model provides a two-dimensional analysis on the mean and IIV using longitudinal sleep diary data with the potential to reveal insights into treatment mechanisms and outcomes. © 2016 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Three Dimensional Structures of Particles Recovered from the Asteroid Itokawa by the Hayabusa Mission and a Role of X-Ray Microtomography in the Preliminary Examination

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuchiyama, A.; Uesugi, M.; Uesugi, K.; Nakano, T.; Nakamura, T.; Noguchi, T.; Noguchi, R.; Matsumoto, T.; Matsuno, J.; Nagano, T.;

Assessment of knee laxity using a robotic testing device: a comparison to the manual clinical knee examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Branch, T P; Stinton, S K; Siebold, R; Freedberg, H I; Jacobs, C A; Hutton, W C

2017-08-01

The purpose of this study was to collect knee laxity data using a robotic testing device. The data collected were then compared to the results obtained from manual clinical examination. Two human cadavers were studied. A medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear was simulated in the left knee of cadaver 1, and a posterolateral corner (PLC) injury was simulated in the right knee of cadaver 2. Contralateral knees were left intact. Five blinded examiners carried out manual clinical examination on the knees. Laxity grades and a diagnosis were recorded. Using a robotic knee device which can measure knee laxity in three planes of motion: anterior-posterior, internal-external tibia rotation, and varus-valgus, quantitative data were obtained to document tibial motion relative to the femur. One of the five examiners correctly diagnosed the MCL injury. Robotic testing showed a 1.7° larger valgus angle, 3° greater tibial internal rotation, and lower endpoint stiffness (11.1 vs. 24.6 Nm/°) in the MCL-injured knee during varus-valgus testing when compared to the intact knee and 4.9 mm greater medial tibial translation during rotational testing. Two of the five examiners correctly diagnosed the PLC injury, while the other examiners diagnosed an MCL tear. The PLC-injured knee demonstrated 4.1 mm more lateral tibial translation and 2.2 mm more posterior tibial translation during varus-valgus testing when compared to the intact knee. The robotic testing device was able to provide objective numerical data that reflected differences between the injured knees and the uninjured knees in both cadavers. The examiners that performed the manual clinical examination on the cadaver knees proved to be poor at diagnosing the injuries. Robotic testing could act as an adjunct to the manual clinical examination by supplying numbers that could improve diagnosis of knee injury. Level II.

Factors influencing medical students' self-assessment of examination performance accuracy: A United Arab Emirates study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaban, Sami; Aburawi, Elhadi H; Elzubeir, Khalifa; Elango, Sambandam; El-Zubeir, Margaret

2016-01-01

Assessment of one's academic capabilities is essential to being an effective, self-directed, life-long learner. The primary objective of this study was to analyze self-assessment accuracy of medical students attending the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, by examining their ability to assess their own performance on an MCQ examination. 1 st and 2 nd year medical students (n = 235) self-assessed pre and post-examination performance were compared with objectively measured scores (actual examination performance). Associations between accuracy of score prediction (pre and post assessment), and students' gender, year of education, perceived preparation, confidence and anxiety were also determined. Expected mark correlated significantly with objectively assessed marks (r = 0.407; P self-assessment accuracy. Findings reinforce existing evidence indicating that medical students are poor self-assessors. There are potentially multiple explanations for misjudgment of this multidimensional construct that require further investigation and change in learning cultures. The study offers clear targets for change aimed at optimizing self-assessment capabilities.

Design of reactor internals in larger high-temperature reactors with spherical fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elter, C.

1981-01-01

In his paper, the author analyzes and summarizes the present state of the art with emphasis on the prototype reactor THTR 300 MWe, because in addition to spherical fuel elements, this type includes other features of future HTR design such as the same flow direction of cooland gas through the core. The paper on hand also elaborates design guidelines for reactor internals applicable with large HTR's of up to 1200 MWe. Proved designs will be altered so as to meet the special requirements of larger cores with spherical elements to be reloaded according to the OTTO principle. This paper is furthermore designed as a starting point for selective and swift development of reactor internals for large HTR's to be refuelled according to the OTTO principle. (orig./GL) [de

Examinations for radiologists. 1250 examination questions, with comments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albes, G.

2007-01-01

The first section presents self-tests and learning tips for a realistic assessment and optimisation of students' learning styles. Rhetoric and communicative competences are looked into, and hints are given on how to organize ones's documents. The second section contains more than 1250 examination questions from all fields of radiology, with which examination situations can be simulated for self-studies. The student is shown how to provide structured answers to complex questions, how to solve clinical problems step by step, how to assess facts, to develop key statements, etc. (orig.)

Examining the long-term stability of overgeneral autobiographical memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumner, Jennifer A; Mineka, Susan; Zinbarg, Richard E; Craske, Michelle G; Vrshek-Schallhorn, Suzanne; Epstein, Alyssa

2014-01-01

Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) is a proposed trait-marker for vulnerability to depression, but relatively little work has examined its long-term stability. This study investigated the stability of OGM over several years in 271 late adolescents and young adults participating in a larger longitudinal study of risk for emotional disorders. The Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) was administered twice, with test-retest intervals ranging from approximately 3 to 6 years. There was evidence of significant but modest stability in OGM over several years. Specifically, Spearman rank correlations (ρs) between the proportions of specific and categoric memories generated on the two AMTs were .31 and .32, respectively. We did not find evidence that the stability of OGM was moderated by the length of the test-retest interval. Furthermore, the stability coefficients for OGM for individuals with and without a lifetime history of major depressive disorder (MDD) were relatively similar in magnitude and not significantly different from one another (ρs=.34 and .42 for the proportions of specific and categoric memories for those with a history of MDD; ρs=.31 for both the proportions of specific and categoric memories for those without a history of MDD). Implications for the conceptualisation of OGM are discussed.

Overactive pelvic floor muscles (OPFM): improving diagnostic accuracy with clinical examination and functional studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Aw, Hau Choong; Ranasinghe, Weranja; Tan, Philip Huang Min; O'Connell, Helen E

2017-07-01

To identify the functional correlation of overactive pelvic floor muscles (OPFM) with cystoscopic and fluoroscopic urodynamic studies (FUDS), including urethral pressure measurements. Patients refractory to conservative therapy including bladder retraining, medications and pelvic muscle exercises for a variety of gamut of storage and voiding disorders were evaluated. Prospective data for 201 patients across both genders who underwent flexible cystoscopy and urodynamics for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) refractory to conservative management between 01 Jan 2014 and 01 Jan 2016 was collected. Factors studied included history of LUTS, voiding patterns, physical examination, cystoscopic findings and functional studies, with maximum urethral closing pressure (MUCP). A total of 201 were patients recruited. The 85 were diagnosed with OPFM based on clinical presentation and presence of pelvic floor tenderness on examination. Significant differences were noted on functional studies with FUDS and urethral pressure measurement. Subjects with pelvic floor tenderness were found to have a higher (MUCP) at 93.1 cm H2O compared to 80.6 cm H2O (P=0.015). There are distinct characteristics of OPFM on clinical examination and functional studies, in particular MUCP. In patients refractory to conservative treatments, specific urodynamics tests are useful in sub-categorising patients. When OPFM is diagnosed, the impact on patient management is significant, and targeted intervention with pelvic floor physiotherapy is central in the multimodal approach of this complex condition.

Examining College Students' Culture Learning before and after Summer Study Abroad in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Paik, Chie Matsuzawa; Anzai, Shinobu; Zimmerman, Erica

2011-01-01

With study abroad becoming an integral part of the American higher-education curriculum, home-institution instructors face the challenge of understanding the type and content of learning taking place abroad. We report on a study conducted at a service academy on the U.S. East Coast to examine American college students' cultural learning in the…

Reliable Refuge: Two Sky Island Scorpion Species Select Larger, Thermally Stable Retreat Sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Jamie E; Brown, Christopher A

2016-01-01

Sky island scorpions shelter under rocks and other surface debris, but, as with other scorpions, it is unclear whether these species select retreat sites randomly. Furthermore, little is known about the thermal preferences of scorpions, and no research has been done to identify whether reproductive condition might influence retreat site selection. The objectives were to (1) identify physical or thermal characteristics for retreat sites occupied by two sky island scorpions (Vaejovis cashi Graham 2007 and V. electrum Hughes 2011) and those not occupied; (2) determine whether retreat site selection differs between the two study species; and (3) identify whether thermal selection differs between species and between gravid and non-gravid females of the same species. Within each scorpion's habitat, maximum dimensions of rocks along a transect line were measured and compared to occupied rocks to determine whether retreat site selection occurred randomly. Temperature loggers were placed under a subset of occupied and unoccupied rocks for 48 hours to compare the thermal characteristics of these rocks. Thermal gradient trials were conducted before parturition and after dispersal of young in order to identify whether gravidity influences thermal preference. Vaejovis cashi and V. electrum both selected larger retreat sites that had more stable thermal profiles. Neither species appeared to have thermal preferences influenced by reproductive condition. However, while thermal selection did not differ among non-gravid individuals, gravid V. electrum selected warmer temperatures than its gravid congener. Sky island scorpions appear to select large retreat sites to maintain thermal stability, although biotic factors (e.g., competition) could also be involved in this choice. Future studies should focus on identifying the various biotic or abiotic factors that could influence retreat site selection in scorpions, as well as determining whether reproductive condition affects thermal

Effect Size (Cohen's d of Cognitive Screening Instruments Examined in Pragmatic Diagnostic Accuracy Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Larner

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Many cognitive screening instruments (CSI are available to clinicians to assess cognitive function. The optimal method comparing the diagnostic utility of such tests is uncertain. The effect size (Cohen's d, calculated as the difference of the means of two groups divided by the weighted pooled standard deviations of these groups, may permit such comparisons. Methods: Datasets from five pragmatic diagnostic accuracy studies, which examined the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE, the Mini-Mental Parkinson (MMP, the Six-Item Cognitive Impairment Test (6CIT, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA, the Test Your Memory test (TYM, and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R, were analysed to calculate the effect size (Cohen's d for the diagnosis of dementia versus no dementia and for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment versus no dementia (subjective memory impairment. Results: The effect sizes for dementia versus no dementia diagnosis were large for all six CSI examined (range 1.59-1.87. For the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment versus no dementia, the effect sizes ranged from medium to large (range 0.48-1.45, with MoCA having the largest effect size. Conclusion: The calculation of the effect size (Cohen's d in diagnostic accuracy studies is straightforward. The routine incorporation of effect size calculations into diagnostic accuracy studies merits consideration in order to facilitate the comparison of the relative value of CSI.

A study comparing MRI with clinical examinations on wrists with rheumatoid arthritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jun; Niu Jinliang; Xie Weina; Song Zhizhen; Zheng Jie; Ma Qiang

2004-01-01

Objective: To study the appearances of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on MRI, and compare MRI with clinical examinations on wrists with RA. Methods: Fifty patients, fulfilled 1987 American Rheumatism Association (ARA) revised criteria, and 10 age-matched healthy controls entered the study. T 1 -weighted spin echo, short time inversion recovery (STIR) of both wrists, gadolinium contrast material-enhanced sequences of dominant wrists were performed in the coronal planes. MRl, plain wrist radiographs, clinical date, including swollen joint, patient global assessment (AIMS), and laboratory examinations including ESR, RF, APF, and AKA were obtained at the same time. Functional disability was assessed using the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Score. Results: In 50 patients, all had pannus on MRI of wrists, 38 patients had enhanced signal intensity for pannus, 21 patients had bone marrow edema, 37 patients had joint effusion, and 37 patients had bone erosions. There were significant difference in the ESR, HAQ, AIMS as well as swollen joint count between patients with bone marrow edema and patients without bone marrow edema (P 2 =5.06, P=0.025; χ 2 =5.59, P=0.018). Number of patients with MRI erosion of wrists was associated with the number of patients without MRI bone marrow edema of wrists (χ 2 =5.11, P=0.024). Conclusion: MRI can find the appearances of wrists with RA. Comparing MRI with clinical examinations on wrists with RA, authors can assess and evaluate the role of MRI on RA

Examining the link between traumatic events and delinquency among juvenile delinquent girls: A longitudinal study

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Marsiglio, Mary C.; Chronister, Krista M.; Gibson, Brandon; Leve, Leslie D.

2014-01-01

Researchers have postulated associations between childhood trauma and delinquency, but few have examined the direction of these relationships prospectively and, specifically, with samples of delinquent girls. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between traumatic events and delinquency for girls in the juvenile justice system using a cross-lagged model. Developmental differences in associations as a function of high school entry status were also examined. The sample included 166 girls in the juvenile justice system who were mandated to community-based out-of-home care due to chronic delinquency. Overall, study results provide evidence that trauma and delinquency risk pathways vary according to high school entry status. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. PMID:25580179

Adult health study Hiroshima analysis of participation in examinations, July 1958-December 1960

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Jr, P S

1961-07-19

The participation data for Adult Health Study examinations conducted in Hiroshima during the period July 1958 to December 31, 1960, are presented. The continuing medical examination program includes approximately 13,700 individuals who form the Adult Health Study population of ABCC in Hiroshima. The Adult Health Study population is composed of four exposure groups of equal size, matched by age and sex. Participation scores are analyzed with respect to exposure, age, sex, and socioeconomic variables as well as history of previous contact with the ABCC programs. Significant differences were demonstrated between the participation scores by age, marital status, history of prior contact with ABCC, and occupation; this latter category was significant only for males. Although differences were observed for these variables, the significance was usually attributable to one category in each of the variables, often the least populated, such as separated or divorced for marital status; and previous history unknown for prior ABCC contact. A trend was apparent with respect to exposure, with the lowest participation noted in the nonexposed and the highest participation in the exposed group with symptoms. Sex differences were not significant. Although relatively minor differences were demonstrated for some variables, the outstanding features of this program are the remarkable high participation scores. Only 9 percent of the population were in the so-called refusal category and over 80 percent of the living Adult Health Study population, including non-Hiroshima residents, were examined during the period considered by this report. 6 references, 1 figure, 9 tables.

Examining Current Beliefs, Practices and Barriers about Technology Integration: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Pi-Sui

2016-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the current beliefs, practices and barriers concerning technology integration of Kindergarten through Grade Six teachers in the midwestern United States. The three data collection methods were online surveys with 152 teachers as well as interviews and observations with 8 teachers. The findings…

Collecting the neclected kingdom: Guidelines for the field mycologist with emphasis on the larger fungi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buyck, B.; Læssøe, Thomas; Meyer, Marianne

2010-01-01

Guidelines are provided for collecting a group of organisms that has often been overlooked in earlier inventories: the kingdom Fungi and other groups that are traditionally collected by mycologists such as slime molds. After a short introduction on fungi and the feasibility of an ‘all fungal taxa......’ inventory, the authors divide the fungi in six ‘practical’ groups that require specific approaches: slime molds, lichens, parasitic fungi of plants and animals, larger mushrooms, microscopic fungi. Various topics are discussed in relation to three chronological stages (before, during and after...

Examining the Purdue Pegboard Test for Occupational Therapy Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debra Lindstrom-Hazel

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Occupational therapy ethics require that therapists use current assessment tools that provide useful comparison data. When an assessment only has normative data that is more than 40 years old, it cannot be considered current. The purpose of this study was to examine the past and current use of the Purdue Pegboard Test by occupational therapists and other professionals and to determine if it is beneficial to conduct a large normative study on the Purdue Pegboard Assembly Task (PPAT in order to bring the test up to date. Method: This was a psychometric study of inter-rater reliability and a small normative study of the PPAT with 150 healthy working adults from MI. Descriptive statistics were used for normative means, standard deviations, and standard errors of measurement. Results: Inter-rater reliability was measured using the intra-class correlation coefficient for the mean of all student-rating teams of seven occupational therapy students. The result of the psychometric study determined the ICC was above .99. During the normative study, 150 participants performed the PPAT for three trials. Norms for gender and ages 18-49 and 50-62 are presented. Conclusion: The result of the inter-rater reliability test determined that OT students can be reliable raters for the PPAT. The normative study collected current norms for healthy working adults in MI, but validity testing and a larger normative study is needed to bring the psychometrics of the PPAT up to date to be generalized for current use by occupational therapists.

[Computer optical topography: a study of the repeatability of the results of human body model examination].

Science.gov (United States)

Sarnadskiĭ, V N

2007-01-01

The problem of repeatability of the results of examination of a plastic human body model is considered. The model was examined in 7 positions using an optical topograph for kyphosis diagnosis. The examination was performed under television camera monitoring. It was shown that variation of the model position in the camera view affected the repeatability of the results of topographic examination, especially if the model-to-camera distance was changed. A study of the repeatability of the results of optical topographic examination can help to increase the reliability of the topographic method, which is widely used for medical screening of children and adolescents.

Regular tobacco use among American Indian and Alaska native adolescents: an examination of protective mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Osilla, Karen Chan; Lonczak, Heather S; Mail, Patricia D; Larimer, Mary E; Marlatt, G Alan

2007-01-01

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) adolescents use tobacco at earlier ages and in larger quantities compared to non-AIAN peers. Regular tobacco use was examined against five protective factors (peer networks supportive of not using drugs, college aspirations, team sports, playing music, and volunteerism). Participants consisted of 112 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 who participated in a study testing the efficacy of a life-skills program aimed at reducing substance-related consequences. Findings indicated that, with the exception of prosocial peer networks and volunteerism, each of the above factors was significantly associated with a reduced probability of being a regular tobacco user. Gender differences were notable. These results hold important treatment implications regarding the reduction and prevention of tobacco use among AIAN youth.

Graduation and Withdrawal from RN Programs. A Report of the Nurse Career-Pattern Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Knopf, Lucille

Based on a larger longitudinal study, this document examines three nursing groups--those entering schools preparing registered nurses in 1962, 1965, and 1967. It describes and compares those who graduated and those who withdrew before graduation and examines the reasons why the students withdraw from both the students' and the program directors'…

Inter-examiner reproducibility of tests for lumbar motor control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elkjaer Arne

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many studies show a relation between reduced lumbar motor control (LMC and low back pain (LBP. However, test circumstances vary and during test performance, subjects may change position. In other words, the reliability - i.e. reproducibility and validity - of tests for LMC should be based on quantitative data. This has not been considered before. The aim was to analyse the reproducibility of five different quantitative tests for LMC commonly used in daily clinical practice. Methods The five tests for LMC were: repositioning (RPS, sitting forward lean (SFL, sitting knee extension (SKE, and bent knee fall out (BKFO, all measured in cm, and leg lowering (LL, measured in mm Hg. A total of 40 subjects (14 males, 26 females 25 with and 15 without LBP, with a mean age of 46.5 years (SD 14.8, were examined independently and in random order by two examiners on the same day. LBP subjects were recruited from three physiotherapy clinics with a connection to the clinic's gym or back-school. Non-LBP subjects were recruited from the clinic's staff acquaintances, and from patients without LBP. Results The means and standard deviations for each of the tests were 0.36 (0.27 cm for RPS, 1.01 (0.62 cm for SFL, 0.40 (0.29 cm for SKE, 1.07 (0.52 cm for BKFO, and 32.9 (7.1 mm Hg for LL. All five tests for LMC had reproducibility with the following ICCs: 0.90 for RPS, 0.96 for SFL, 0.96 for SKE, 0.94 for BKFO, and 0.98 for LL. Bland and Altman plots showed that most of the differences between examiners A and B were less than 0.20 cm. Conclusion These five tests for LMC displayed excellent reproducibility. However, the diagnostic accuracy of these tests needs to be addressed in larger cohorts of subjects, establishing values for the normal population. Also cut-points between subjects with and without LBP must be determined, taking into account age, level of activity, degree of impairment and participation in sports. Whether reproducibility of these

Sampling challenges in a study examining refugee resettlement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulaiman-Hill, Cheryl Mr; Thompson, Sandra C

2011-03-15

As almost half of all refugees currently under United Nations protection are from Afghanistan or Iraq and significant numbers have already been resettled outside the region of origin, it is likely that future research will examine their resettlement needs. A number of methodological challenges confront researchers working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups; however, few detailed articles are available to inform other studies. The aim of this paper is to outline challenges with sampling and recruitment of socially invisible refugee groups, describing the method adopted for a mixed methods exploratory study assessing mental health, subjective wellbeing and resettlement perspectives of Afghan and Kurdish refugees living in New Zealand and Australia. Sampling strategies used in previous studies with similar refugee groups were considered before determining the approach to recruitment A snowball approach was adopted for the study, with multiple entry points into the communities being used to choose as wide a range of people as possible to provide further contacts and reduce selection bias. Census data was used to assess the representativeness of the sample. A sample of 193 former refugee participants was recruited in Christchurch (n = 98) and Perth (n = 95), 47% were of Afghan and 53% Kurdish ethnicity. A good gender balance (males 52%, females 48%) was achieved overall, mainly as a result of the sampling method used. Differences in the demographic composition of groups in each location were observed, especially in relation to the length of time spent in a refugee situation and time since arrival, reflecting variations in national humanitarian quota intakes. Although some measures were problematic, Census data comparison to assess reasonable representativeness of the study sample was generally reassuring. Snowball sampling, with multiple initiation points to reduce selection bias, was necessary to locate and identify participants, provide reassurance and

Sampling challenges in a study examining refugee resettlement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thompson Sandra C

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As almost half of all refugees currently under United Nations protection are from Afghanistan or Iraq and significant numbers have already been resettled outside the region of origin, it is likely that future research will examine their resettlement needs. A number of methodological challenges confront researchers working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups; however, few detailed articles are available to inform other studies. The aim of this paper is to outline challenges with sampling and recruitment of socially invisible refugee groups, describing the method adopted for a mixed methods exploratory study assessing mental health, subjective wellbeing and resettlement perspectives of Afghan and Kurdish refugees living in New Zealand and Australia. Sampling strategies used in previous studies with similar refugee groups were considered before determining the approach to recruitment Methods A snowball approach was adopted for the study, with multiple entry points into the communities being used to choose as wide a range of people as possible to provide further contacts and reduce selection bias. Census data was used to assess the representativeness of the sample. Results A sample of 193 former refugee participants was recruited in Christchurch (n = 98 and Perth (n = 95, 47% were of Afghan and 53% Kurdish ethnicity. A good gender balance (males 52%, females 48% was achieved overall, mainly as a result of the sampling method used. Differences in the demographic composition of groups in each location were observed, especially in relation to the length of time spent in a refugee situation and time since arrival, reflecting variations in national humanitarian quota intakes. Although some measures were problematic, Census data comparison to assess reasonable representativeness of the study sample was generally reassuring. Conclusions Snowball sampling, with multiple initiation points to reduce selection bias, was

A Validation Study of the Japanese Version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised.

Science.gov (United States)

Dos Santos Kawata, Kelssy Hitomi; Hashimoto, Ryusaku; Nishio, Yoshiyuki; Hayashi, Atsuko; Ogawa, Nanayo; Kanno, Shigenori; Hiraoka, Kotaro; Yokoi, Kayoko; Iizuka, Osamu; Mori, Etsuro

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to validate the Japanese version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) [Mori: Japanese Edition of Hodges JR's Cognitive Assessment for Clinicians, 2010] designed to detect dementia, and to compare its diagnostic accuracy with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination. The ACE-R was administered to 85 healthy individuals and 126 patients with dementia. The reliability assessment revealed a strong correlation in both groups. The internal consistency was excellent (α-coefficient = 0.88). Correlation with the Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes score was significant (r(s) = -0.61, p Examination. The cut-off score of 80 showed a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 94%. Like the original ACE-R and the versions designed for other languages, the Japanese version of the ACE-R is a reliable and valid test for the detection of dementia.

Examination of "Art Literacy" Levels of Students Studying in the Education Faculties

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Koksoy, Aylin Mentis

2018-01-01

Art literacy refers to achieving artistic knowledge, evaluating this knowledge and integrating it with experiences. The aim of the study is to examine the ''art literacy'' levels of the students attending the educational faculty in terms of grade level, gender, the fact that they love art books, the fact that they love doing research in library,…

Subjective neighborhood assessment and physical inactivity: An examination of neighborhood-level variance.

Science.gov (United States)

Prochaska, John D; Buschmann, Robert N; Jupiter, Daniel; Mutambudzi, Miriam; Peek, M Kristen

2018-06-01

Research suggests a linkage between perceptions of neighborhood quality and the likelihood of engaging in leisure-time physical activity. Often in these studies, intra-neighborhood variance is viewed as something to be controlled for statistically. However, we hypothesized that intra-neighborhood variance in perceptions of neighborhood quality may be contextually relevant. We examined the relationship between intra-neighborhood variance of subjective neighborhood quality and neighborhood-level reported physical inactivity across 48 neighborhoods within a medium-sized city, Texas City, Texas using survey data from 2706 residents collected between 2004 and 2006. Neighborhoods where the aggregated perception of neighborhood quality was poor also had a larger proportion of residents reporting being physically inactive. However, higher degrees of disagreement among residents within neighborhoods about their neighborhood quality was significantly associated with a lower proportion of residents reporting being physically inactive (p=0.001). Our results suggest that intra-neighborhood variability may be contextually relevant in studies seeking to better understand the relationship between neighborhood quality and behaviors sensitive to neighborhood environments, like physical activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study of amount of information in x-ray examination of gastric diseases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, A [Kyoto Prefectural Univ. of Medicine (Japan)

1981-08-01

Gastrointestinal X-ray examinations are widely utilized to find gastric cancers because of the high incidence of this disease in Japan. Because of the high frequency of this examination relatively high gonad and bone marrow radiation exposure due to this kind of examination cannot be ignored. The relationship between exposed doses and amount of information are in inverse proportion. Therefore, this study of the relationship between amount of information and accuracy in gastric X-ray diagnosis was carried out to determine the necessary amount of information in this examination. To intentionally reduce the amount of information air gap method is utilized. Five each copies were made from various original G.I. tract films, and when copies were made air gap is intentionally reduced between original and duplicating films. The air gaps were 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mm. Fifty original films were prepared thus 250 copies (50 sets of 5 each copies) were made. These copied films were read by 10 radiologists and results were scored as true positive and false positive. The results showed that increase of amount of information itself does not mean the increase of diagnostic accuracy. Also it is suggested that the limit of diagnostic accuracy lies between 5 and 10 mm air spaced films. Diagnoses of early gastric cancer and scar of gastric ulcer are easily effected by sharpness of image, but gastric ulcer are relatively not.

Women play larger role in Latin America's commercial urban waste ...

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

21 juin 2016 ... The research examines the role women play in marketing urban waste as a commercial enterprise and their important contribution to municipal recyclable waste activities. This book ... De courts téléromans pour encourager l'éducation financière et l'inclusion des femmes au Pérou. Le fait de ne pas avoir ...

Visual exposure to large and small portion sizes and perceptions of portion size normality: Three experimental studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Eric; Oldham, Melissa; Cuckson, Imogen; Brunstrom, Jeffrey M; Rogers, Peter J; Hardman, Charlotte A

2016-03-01

Portion sizes of many foods have increased in recent times. In three studies we examined the effect that repeated visual exposure to larger versus smaller food portion sizes has on perceptions of what constitutes a normal-sized food portion and measures of portion size selection. In studies 1 and 2 participants were visually exposed to images of large or small portions of spaghetti bolognese, before making evaluations about an image of an intermediate sized portion of the same food. In study 3 participants were exposed to images of large or small portions of a snack food before selecting a portion size of snack food to consume. Across the three studies, visual exposure to larger as opposed to smaller portion sizes resulted in participants considering a normal portion of food to be larger than a reference intermediate sized portion. In studies 1 and 2 visual exposure to larger portion sizes also increased the size of self-reported ideal meal size. In study 3 visual exposure to larger portion sizes of a snack food did not affect how much of that food participants subsequently served themselves and ate. Visual exposure to larger portion sizes may adjust visual perceptions of what constitutes a 'normal' sized portion. However, we did not find evidence that visual exposure to larger portions altered snack food intake. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Usefulness of ultrasonographic examination of diagnosis of muscle hernia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jin Soo; Lee, Sung Moon

2003-01-01

To evaluate the usefulness of ultrasonography in diagnosis of muscle hernia. Ultrasonographic findings of seven patients with muscle hernia were retrospectively reviewed. The subjects consisted of 6 males and 1 female, age ranged from 17 to 66 years (mean=45 years). Ultrasonographic examination was performed using a high-frequency (7-15 MHz) linear probe during rest and stress states of the affected muscle, and both tranverse and longitudinal views were obtained. Six muscle herniations were located in the lower extremity in six cases while only one muscle herniation, in the upper extremity. Four cases showed a focal defect of the fascia with a localized bulging out of the muscle substance through the defect. Herniated muscle in stress state was larger and harder than in rest state. In 3 cases, defect of the fascia was not noted on ultrasonography. However, the affected muscle showed an abnormal contraction with a focal bulging out appearance during stress state. Ultrasonographically, the herniated muscle substance was less echogenic than the normal muscle without any evidence of muscle tear or associated mass in all cases. Ultrasonography is a simple and useful dynamic study of muscle hernia in diagnosis and differentiation of muscle hernia.

In-vivo study and histological examination of laser reshaping of cartilage

Science.gov (United States)

Sviridov, Alexander P.; Sobol, Emil N.; Bagratashvili, Victor N.; Omelchenko, Alexander I.; Ovchinnikov, Yuriy M.; Shekhter, Anatoliy B.; Svistushkin, Valeriy M.; Shinaev, Andrei A.; Nikiforova, G.; Jones, Nicholas

1999-06-01

The results of recent study of cartilage reshaping in vivo are reported. The ear cartilage of piglets of 8-12 weeks old have been reshaped in vivo using the radiation of a holmium laser. The stability of the shape and possible side effects have been examined during four months. Histological investigation shown that the healing of irradiated are could accompany by the regeneration of ear cartilage. Finally, elastic type cartilage has been transformed into fibrous cartilage or cartilage of hyaline type.

Mud deposit formation on the open coast of the larger Patos Lagoon-Cassino Beach system

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Vinzon, S. B.; Winterwerp, J. C.; Nogueira, R.; de Boer, G. J.

2009-03-01

the deposits largely, whereas the remote wind effect has the largest influence on the amount of sediment released from the Lagoon. It is noted that this paper analyzes the initial deposition patterns induced by current effects only. However, in reality, these deposits are further redistributed over the Shelf by wave effects—these are subject of a next study on the sediment dynamics of the larger Patos Lagoon-Cassino Beach system.

Study of radiation dosimetry for child in dentistry, 1. Examination survey on radiation dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tateno, H; Shinji, H; Higaki, M; Kanno, M; Higashi, T [Kanagawa Dental Coll., Yokosuka (Japan)

1980-09-01

Patients in pedodontics usually do not appropriately report the symptoms of their own disease because of their immaturity. For this reason X-ray inspection plays a big part in diagnosis. It is considered that radiation injury for children is generally more severe than that for adults under the same exposure dose. Therefore it is necessary to detect the effective minimum exposure dose as accurately as possible for protection. The exposure dose was surveyed by use of TLD combined with the 6-films technique for children (child intraoral technique) currently used in the dental clinic. First, the reliability of TLD, the effect of scattered rays and indicator dependence etc. were tested. Second, the distribution of exposure dose in the intraoral technique for children was examined by water phantom. The following results were obtained. 1. It was necessary to select the stabilized TLD as the measuring values were comparatively scattered. 2. Measuring of the effect of scattered rays showed that it was the least in use of Pb, value of which was 101 for air dose 100. This indicated that Pb was the best for scatter protection. 3. For the indicator dependence it was unnecessary to adjust the glancing angle in case it was below 60 degrees. 4. TLD showed a stable result even in the increased time of exposure, and at the same time there was no error with the electric timer. 5. The result of the basic experiment of water phantom required further investigation as to the overlapped exposure in treatment of child patients with much smaller dental arches where the irradiation field was bigger than in that of adult patients with larger dental arches.

Scaling local species-habitat relations to the larger landscape with a hierarchical spatial count model

Science.gov (United States)

Thogmartin, W.E.; Knutson, M.G.

2007-01-01

Much of what is known about avian species-habitat relations has been derived from studies of birds at local scales. It is entirely unclear whether the relations observed at these scales translate to the larger landscape in a predictable linear fashion. We derived habitat models and mapped predicted abundances for three forest bird species of eastern North America using bird counts, environmental variables, and hierarchical models applied at three spatial scales. Our purpose was to understand habitat associations at multiple spatial scales and create predictive abundance maps for purposes of conservation planning at a landscape scale given the constraint that the variables used in this exercise were derived from local-level studies. Our models indicated a substantial influence of landscape context for all species, many of which were counter to reported associations at finer spatial extents. We found land cover composition provided the greatest contribution to the relative explained variance in counts for all three species; spatial structure was second in importance. No single spatial scale dominated any model, indicating that these species are responding to factors at multiple spatial scales. For purposes of conservation planning, areas of predicted high abundance should be investigated to evaluate the conservation potential of the landscape in their general vicinity. In addition, the models and spatial patterns of abundance among species suggest locations where conservation actions may benefit more than one species. ?? 2006 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Why droplet dimension can be larger than, equal to, or smaller than the nanowire dimension

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammad, S. Noor

2009-11-01

Droplets play central roles in the nanowire (NW) growth by vapor phase mechanisms. These mechanisms include vapor-liquid-solid (VLS), vapor-solid-solid or vapor-solid (VSS), vapor-quasisolid-solid or vapor-quasiliquid-solid (VQS), oxide-assisted growth (OAG), and self-catalytic growth (SCG) mechanisms. Fundamentals of the shape, size, characteristics, and dynamics of droplets and the impacts of them on the NW growth, have been studied. The influence of growth techniques, growth parameters (e.g., growth temperature, partial pressure, gas flow rates, etc.), thermodynamic conditions, surface and interface energy, molar volume, chemical potentials, etc. have been considered on the shapes and sizes of droplets. A model has been presented to explain why droplets can be larger than, equal to, or smaller than the associated NWs. Various growth techniques have been analyzed to understand defects created in NWs. Photoluminescence characteristics have been presented to quantify the roles of droplets in the creation of NW defects. The study highlights the importance of the purity of the droplet material. It attests to the superiority of the SCG mechanism, and clarifies the differences between the VSS, VQS, VLS, and SCG mechanisms. It explains why droplets produced by some mechanisms are visible but droplets produced by some other mechanisms are not visible. It elucidates the formation mechanisms of very large and very small droplets, and discusses the ground rules for droplets creating necked NWs. It puts forth reasons to demonstrate that very large droplets may not behave as droplets.

Trends in size and treatment of recently diagnosed choroidal melanoma, 1987-1997: findings from patients examined at collaborative ocular melanoma study (COMS) centers: COMS report no. 20.

Science.gov (United States)

2003-08-01

To describe time trends, from 1987 through 1997, (1) in size of choroidal melanoma among patients with recent diagnosis confirmed at a clinical center that participated in the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS) and (2) in choice of treatment by patients who did not enroll in one of the COMS randomized trials. Investigators at all COMS clinical centers (41 in the United States and 2 in Canada) agreed to report, in a masked fashion that did not include personal identifiers, all patients diagnosed as having choroidal melanoma during the accrual period for COMS randomized trials of radiotherapy. Information reported for patients who did not enroll in a COMS randomized trial included tumor dimensions, date of diagnosis, and initial treatment selected. Patients reported by centers that continued to report cases until 1997 and diagnosed as having choroidal melanoma no more than 1 year before evaluation at a participating COMS center contributed the data analyzed. Time trends in tumor size among patients reported and in elective treatment of patients not enrolled in COMS randomized trials. Of 8712 patients with choroidal melanoma examined, 6703 met criteria for analysis of time trend in tumor size and 4077 were analyzed for treatment trends over time. The number of cases with longest tumor basal diameter greater than 15.0 mm declined over time from 393 (30%) of 1330 cases reported in 1987 through 1989 to 345 (25%) of 1397 cases reported in 1996 or 1997. The proportion of patients eligible for COMS randomized trials who did not enroll and who elected enucleation remained stable over time for tumors of all sizes; the proportion of these patients who elected eye-conserving radiotherapy increased over time. Juxtapapillary tumors accounted for nearly half of the enucleations among ineligible patients who had tumors no larger than 15.0 mm in longest basal diameter. Among patients examined at COMS centers during 1987 through 1997, the trends observed for patients with

Testing the snake-detection hypothesis: larger early posterior negativity in humans to pictures of snakes than to pictures of other reptiles, spiders and slugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Strien, Jan W; Franken, Ingmar H A; Huijding, Jorg

2014-01-01

According to the snake detection hypothesis (Isbell, 2006), fear specifically of snakes may have pushed evolutionary changes in the primate visual system allowing pre-attentional visual detection of fearful stimuli. A previous study demonstrated that snake pictures, when compared to spiders or bird pictures, draw more early attention as reflected by larger early posterior negativity (EPN). Here we report two studies that further tested the snake detection hypothesis. In Study 1, we tested whether the enlarged EPN is specific for snakes or also generalizes to other reptiles. Twenty-four healthy, non-phobic women watched the random rapid serial presentation of snake, crocodile, and turtle pictures. The EPN was scored as the mean activity at occipital electrodes (PO3, O1, Oz, PO4, O2) in the 225-300 ms time window after picture onset. The EPN was significantly larger for snake pictures than for pictures of the other reptiles. In Study 2, we tested whether disgust plays a role in the modulation of the EPN and whether preferential processing of snakes also can be found in men. 12 men and 12 women watched snake, spider, and slug pictures. Both men and women exhibited the largest EPN amplitudes to snake pictures, intermediate amplitudes to spider pictures and the smallest amplitudes to slug pictures. Disgust ratings were not associated with EPN amplitudes. The results replicate previous findings and suggest that ancestral priorities modulate the early capture of visual attention.

Videoconference-based mini mental state examination: a validation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Timpano, Francesca; Pirrotta, Fabio; Bonanno, Lilla; Marino, Silvia; Marra, Angela; Bramanti, Placido; Lanzafame, Pietro

2013-12-01

Neuropsychological testing is a prime criterion of good practice to document cognitive deficits in a rapidly aging population. Telecommunication technologies may overcome limitations related to test administration. We compared performance of the Italian videoconference-based version of the Mini Mental State Examination (VMMSE) with performance of the standard MMSE administered face-to-face (F2F), to validate the Italian version of the 28-item VMMSE. To validate the Italian version of the VMMSE, we compared its performance with standard F2F. The sample (n=342) was administered three VMMSEs within 6 weeks after F2F testing. We identified the optimal cutoff through the receiver operating characteristic curve, as well as the VMMSE consistency through inter- and intrarater reliability (Inter/RR and Intra/RR) analysis. We found high levels of sensitivity and specificity for the optimal VMMSE cutoff identification and an accuracy of 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.94-0.98). Intra/RR and inter/RR were highly significant. This study demonstrates that VMMSE is a valid instrument in clinical and research screening and monitoring of subjects affected by cognitive disorders. This study shows a significant correlation between videoconference assessment and the F2F one, providing an important impetus to expand studies and the knowledge about the usefulness of tele-assistance services. Our findings have important implications for both longitudinal assistance and clinical care of demented patients.

A cross-sectional study examining factors related to critical thinking in nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Gary Morris; Beach, Nick Lee; Patrician, Patricia A; Martin, Cheryl

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine critical thinking skills among registered nurses who work in a military hospital. Sixty-five nurses were administered the Health Sciences Reasoning Test to obtain scores in inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation skills. Results showed no significant association between critical thinking skills and years of experience; however, differences were identified among racial/ethnic groups. It is hoped that findings from this study create a platform for dialogue among staff development nurses who are best situated to develop strategies that address these issues.

Examining a participation-focused stroke self-management intervention in a day rehabilitation setting: a quasi-experimental pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Danbi; Fischer, Heidi; Zera, Sarah; Robertson, Rosetta; Hammel, Joy

2017-12-01

Background People with stroke often find discharge from rehabilitation distressing because they do not feel prepared to participate in life roles as they want. A self-management approach can facilitate improvement in confidence and ability to manage post-stroke community living and participation after transitioning into the community. Objective To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the Improving Participation After Stroke Self-management program - Rehab version (IPASS-R) in a day rehabilitation setting. Methods We used a mixed-method non-randomized quasi-experimental design. The IPASS-R program is a six-session group-based intervention led by a trained occupational therapist and lay person with stroke. The program uses an efficacy building approach to support aging adults to maintain active participation in home and community activities post-stroke. Primary outcome measures were the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI), Stroke Impact Scale (SIS), and Participation Strategies Self-Efficacy Scale. Qualitative feedback was collected post-treatment. Results Seventeen participants with stroke (intervention n = 9; control n = 8) were enrolled across two sites. Non-parametric effect sizes calculated using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test revealed larger effects on RNLI and SIS outcomes in the intervention group. The Mann-Whitney U test showed significant differences between the two groups' changes in scores on perceived recovery and strength. Conclusions The result shows that IPASS-R has the potential to be integrated into a day rehabilitation setting with a positive impact on community integration and perceived recovery outcomes. Future study is needed to investigate the IPASS-R with a larger sample size and more rigorous study design.

Study of problems associated with the ultrasonic examination of repeatedly repaired austenitic stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subbaratnam, R.; Palaniappan, M.; Baskaran, A.; Chandramohan, R.

1994-01-01

In recent years the ultrasonic examination of austenitic stainless steel weldments has gained increased importance as an NDE technique for the volumetric examination in the nuclear power plant construction and other industries. A study has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of multiple repairs on austenitic stainless steel weldments, for the successful ultrasonic examination. The test welds have been subjected to repeated welding cycles and the ultrasonic parameters including the defect characterization have been evaluated for analysis. The paper discusses the approach followed, analysis, results obtained and the recommendations based on the above. 1 fig., 2 tabs

Evaluation of radiation dose in pediatric head CT examination: a phantom study

Science.gov (United States)

Norhasrina Nik Din, Nik; Zainon, Rafidah; Rahman, Ahmad Taufek Abdul

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiation dose in pediatric head Computed Tomography examination. It was reported that decreasing tube voltage in CT examination can reduce the dose to patients significantly. A head phantom was scanned with dual-energy CT at 80 kV and 120 kV. The tube current was set using automatic exposure control mode and manual setting. The pitch was adjusted to 1.4, 1.45 and 1.5 while the slice thickness was set at 5 mm. The dose was measured based on CT Dose Index (CTDI). Results from this study have shown that the image noise increases substantially with low tube voltage. The average dose was 2.60 mGy at CT imaging parameters of 80 kV and 10 - 30 mAs. The dose increases up to 17.19 mGy when the CT tube voltage increases to 120 kV. With the reduction of tube voltage from 120 kV to 80 kV, the radiation dose can be reduced by 12.1% to 15.1% without degradation of contrast-to-noise ratio.

Knowledge brokers, companions, and navigators: a qualitative examination of informal caregivers' roles in medical tourism.

Science.gov (United States)

Casey, Victoria; Crooks, Valorie A; Snyder, Jeremy; Turner, Leigh

2013-12-01

Many studies examining the phenomena of medical tourism have identified health equity issues associated with this global health services practice. However, there is a notable lack of attention in this existing research to the informal care provided by the friends and family members who typically accompany medical tourists abroad. To date, researchers have not examined the care roles filled by informal caregivers travelling with medical tourists. In this article, we fill this gap by examining these informal caregivers and the roles they take on towards supporting medical tourists' health and wellbeing. We conducted 21 interviews with International Patient Coordinators (IPCs) working at medical tourism hospitals across ten countries. IPCs work closely with informal caregivers as providers of non-medical personal assistance, and can therefore offer broad insight on caregiver roles. The interviews were coded and analyzed thematically. Three roles emerged: knowledge broker, companion, and navigator. As knowledge brokers, caregivers facilitate the transfer of information between the medical tourist and formal health care providers as well as other staff members at medical tourism facilities. The companion role involves providing medical tourists with physical and emotional care. Meanwhile, responsibilities associated with handling documents and coordinating often complex journeys are part of the navigation role. This is the first study to examine informal caregiving roles in medical tourism. Many of the roles identified are similar to those of conventional informal caregivers while others are specific to the transnational context. We conclude that these roles make informal caregivers an integral part of the larger phenomenon of medical tourism. We further contend that examining the roles taken on by a heretofore-unconsidered medical tourism stakeholder group sheds valuable insight into how this industry operates and that such knowledge is necessary in order to respond to

TMI-2 core-examination program: INEL facilities readiness study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLaughlin, T.B.

1983-02-01

This report reviews the capability and readiness of remote handling facilities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to receive, and store the TMI-2 core, and to examine and analyze TMI-2 core samples. To accomplish these objectives, the facilities must be able to receive commercial casks, unload canisters from the casks, store the canisters, open the canisters, handle the fuel debris and assemblies, and perform various examinations. The report identifies documentation, including core information, necessary to INEL before receiving the entire TMI-2 core. Also identified are prerequisites to INEL's receipt of the first canister: costs, schedules, and a preliminary project plan for the tasks

Basic heart examination: feasibility study of first-trimester systematic simplified fetal echocardiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Quarello, E; Lafouge, A; Fries, N; Salomon, L J

2017-02-01

First-trimester fetal cardiac screening examinations in low-risk populations should not have to meet the specifications required for high-risk populations. Our aim was to evaluate a simplified fetal echocardiographic ('basic heart') examination for early detection of severe congenital heart defects in a low-risk population. This was a first-trimester national 'flash study', performed over a 2-week period. Each observer was requested to perform simplified echocardiography without modifying the time and methods deemed necessary for the routine first-trimester ultrasound examination, in fetuses with crown-rump length between 45 and 84 mm. This basic heart assessment used targeted cross-sections of the four-chamber view (4CV) and of the three vessels and trachea (3VT) view, using color and/or directional power Doppler. All examinations were then reviewed offline and scored for quality by a qualified expert. Sixty observers performed a total of 597 first-trimester ultrasound examinations, each performing an average of 10 (range, 1-26) procedures. Examinations were conducted transabdominally (79%; 472/597), transvaginally (3%; 17/597) or both (18%; 108/597). In 8% (45/597) of cases, the fetal back was anterior, in 18% (108/597) it was on the left side, in 63% (377/597) it was posterior and in 11% (67/597) it was on the right side. It became clear during scoring by the expert that, unlike the Herman quality score for nuchal translucency measurement, it was difficult to assess the quality of these images without taking into account normality of the heart itself. Analysis of scores showed that the 4CV was obtained successfully and was deemed normal in 86% (512/597) of the patients, in 7% (41/597) it was deemed technically infeasible and in 7% (44/597) it was deemed feasible but atypical, which may have been due to the presence of an abnormality or to poor quality of the image. The 3VT view was obtained successfully and was normal in 79% (472/597) of the patients, in 13

Low local recurrence rate without postmastectomy radiation in node-negative breast cancer patients with tumors 5 cm and larger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floyd, Scott R.; Buchholz, Thomas A.; Haffty, Bruce G.; Goldberg, Saveli; Niemierko, Andrzej; Raad, Rita Abi; Oswald, Mary J.; Sullivan, Timothy; Strom, Eric A.; Powell, Simon N.; Katz, Angela; Taghian, Alphonse G.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To assess the need for adjuvant radiotherapy following mastectomy for patients with node-negative breast tumors 5 cm or larger. Methods and Materials: Between 1981 and 2002, a total of 70 patients with node-negative breast cancer and tumors 5 cm or larger were treated with mastectomy and adjuvant systemic therapies but without radiotherapy at three institutions. We retrospectively assessed rates and risk factors for locoregional failure (LRF), overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) in these patients. Results: With a median follow-up of 85 months, the 5-year actuarial LRF rate was 7.6% (95% confidence interval, 3%-16%). LRF was primarily in the chest wall (4/5 local failures), and lymphatic-vascular invasion (LVI) was statistically significantly associated with LRF risk by the log-rank test (p = 0.017) and in Cox proportional hazards analysis (p 0.038). The 5-year OS and DFS rates were 83% and 86% respectively. LVI was also significantly associated with OS and DFS in both univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusions: This series demonstrates a low LRF rate of 7.6% among breast cancer patients with node-negative tumors 5 cm and larger after mastectomy and adjuvant systemic therapy. Our data indicate that further adjuvant radiation therapy to increase local control may not be indicated by tumor size alone in the absence of positive lymph nodes. LVI was significantly associated with LRF in our series, indicating that patients with this risk factor require careful consideration with regard to further local therapy

Maintaining students’ Speaking Fluency through Exhibition Examination in Sociolinguistic Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khusnul Qhotimah Yuliatuty

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Using exhibition for the final project in Sociolinguistic study is really interesting for Universitas Siswa Bangsa Internasional students, especially for 2011 English Department students. Exhibition becomes interesting because this is the new thing to conduct the final project for English Department students’ cohort 2011 at Universitas Siswa Bangsa Internasional. The lecturer divides the students into pairs and each pairs should master one content or topic in Sociolinguistic study.  The students will do the exhibition about the topic that they get in a pairs. The lecturer also gives the students rubric sheet to fill by the visitors. The exhibition will make the students prepare themselves well because they will face many questions about the content which will be delivered by them. Beside, this exhibition also maintains students’ fluency in speaking English because they will explain and answer the questions from visitors with English. This paper tries to focus on how exhibition examination can maintain students’ fluency in speaking English.

Multiple physical healthcare needs among outpatients with schizophrenia: findings from a health examination study.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskelinen, Saana; Sailas, Eila; Joutsenniemi, Kaisla; Holi, Matti; Koskela, Tuomas H; Suvisaari, Jaana

2017-08-01

Despite the abundant literature on physical comorbidity, the full range of the concurrent somatic healthcare needs among individuals with schizophrenia has rarely been studied. This observational study aimed to assess the distressing somatic symptoms and needs for physical health interventions in outpatients with schizophrenia, and factors predicting those needs. A structured, comprehensive health examination was carried out, including a visit to a nurse and a general practitioner on 275 outpatients with schizophrenia. The required interventions were classified by type of disease. Logistic regression was used to assess the influence of sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, functional limitations, factors related to psychiatric disorder, and healthcare use on the need for interventions. In total, 44.9% of the patients (mean age 44.9 years) reported somatic symptoms affecting daily life; 87.6% needed specific interventions for a disease or condition, most commonly for cardiovascular, dermatological, dental, ophthalmological, and gastrointestinal conditions, and for altered glucose homeostasis. Smoking and obesity predicted significantly a need of any intervention, but the predictors varied in each disease category. Strikingly, use of general practitioner services during the previous year did not reduce the need for interventions. Health examinations for outpatients with schizophrenia revealed numerous physical healthcare needs. The health examinations for patients with schizophrenia should contain a medical history taking and a physical examination, in addition to basic measurements and laboratory tests. Prevention and treatment of obesity and smoking should be given priority in order to diminish somatic comorbidities in schizophrenia.

Physical Examination for Men and Women With Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A MAPP (Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain) Network Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Claire C; Miller, Jane L; Omidpanah, Adam; Krieger, John N

2018-06-01

To examine the feasibility of implementing a standardized, clinically relevant genitourinary examination for both men and women, and to identify physical examination findings characteristic of urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS). This study analyzed 2 samples: men and women with UCPPS who participated in the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network Epidemiology and Phenotyping (EP) Study, and age-matched controls who were either positive for chronic fatigue syndrome or healthy (pain-free). We compared physical examination findings in both positive and healthy controls with UCPPS cases: findings from both the EP examinations and from an extended genitourinary examination. EP and extended examinations were performed on 143 participants: 62 UCPPS cases (30 women, 32 men), 42 positive controls (15 women, 27 men), and 39 healthy controls (22 women, 17 men). EP examinations showed that pelvic floor tenderness was more prevalent in cases (55.0%) than in positive (14.6%) or healthy controls (10.5%). Extended examinations revealed specific areas of tenderness in the pelvic floor musculature. Cases were also more likely than healthy controls to report tenderness in multiple areas, including suprapubic, symphysis pubis, and posterior superior iliac spine, and on bimanual examination. No comparative findings were specific to biological sex, and no evidence of pudendal neuropathy was observed on extended examination of cases or controls. The extended genitourinary examination is an easily administered addition to the assessment of men and women during evaluation for UCPPS. Physical findings may help to better categorize patients with UCPPS into clinically relevant subgroups for optimal treatment. Published by Elsevier Inc.

An exploratory examination of philanthropy in the New Zealand, Spanish and US wine industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharon L. Forbes

2018-06-01

Full Text Available This exploratory study provides an insight into the concept of philanthropy and how it is applied in the context of wineries. Researchers in three nations interviewed winery owners or managers to obtain qualitative data; this data was categorised to identify common themes, similarities and differences across wineries or nations. Our findings indicate that all the wineries are undertaking philanthropic activities, ranging from donations of wine, time, cash or facilities, to organising or participating in events. These activities are primarily driven by altruistic rather than strategic motivations, and the predominant benefits achieved from philanthropy are personal satisfaction rather than financial. Although only a small number of wineries were interviewed (11, this study of philanthropy is unique as it has examined both small and large businesses operating in a single industry sector, across multiple nations. Whilst the small sample is an obvious limitation of this study, future quantitative research with a larger sample will determine the degree to which these exploratory findings can be deemed to represent the global wine industry. Keywords: Philanthropy, Wine industry, Motives, Benefits, Cross-cultural

Active commuting among K-12 educators: a study examining walking and biking to work.

Science.gov (United States)

Bopp, Melissa; Hastmann, Tanis J; Norton, Alyssa N

2013-01-01

Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC) is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. A volunteer sample of K-12 educators (n = 437) was recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants responded about AC patterns and social ecological influences on AC (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors). t-tests and ANOVAs examined trends in AC, and Pearson correlations examined the relationship between AC and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis determined the relative influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental levels on AC. Participants actively commuted 0.51 ± 1.93 times/week. There were several individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors significantly related to AC. The full model explained 60.8% of the variance in AC behavior. This study provides insight on the factors that determine K-12 educators mode of commute and provide some insight for employee wellness among this population.

Active Commuting among K-12 Educators: A Study Examining Walking and Biking to Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa Bopp

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. Methods. A volunteer sample of K-12 educators ( was recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants responded about AC patterns and social ecological influences on AC (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors. -tests and ANOVAs examined trends in AC, and Pearson correlations examined the relationship between AC and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis determined the relative influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental levels on AC. Results. Participants actively commuted times/week. There were several individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors significantly related to AC. The full model explained 60.8% of the variance in AC behavior. Conclusions. This study provides insight on the factors that determine K-12 educators mode of commute and provide some insight for employee wellness among this population.

The influence of students' gender on equity in Peer Physical Examination: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vnuk, Anna K; Wearn, Andy; Rees, Charlotte E

2017-08-01

Peer Physical Examination (PPE) is an educational tool used globally for learning early clinical skills and anatomy. In quantitative research, there are differences in students' preferences and actual participation in PPE by gender. This novel study qualitatively explores the effect that gender has on medical students' experiences of learning physical examination through PPE. We employ an interpretative approach to uncover the PPE experiences of students from a European, graduate-entry medical school. Volunteers participated in either individual or group interviews. The data were transcribed, de-identified and analysed using thematic analysis. There was evidence of gender inequity in PPE, with students describing significant imbalances in participation. Male students adopted roles that generated significant personal discomfort and led to fewer experiences as examiners. Assumptions were made by tutors and students about gender roles: male students' ready acceptance of exposure to be examined and female students' need to be protected from particular examinations. In contrast with the first assumption, male students did feel coerced or obliged to be examined. Students described their experiences of taking action to break down the gender barrier. Importantly, students reported that tutors played a role in perpetuating inequities. These findings, whilst relating to one university, have implications for all settings where PPE is used. Educators should be vigilant about gender issues and the effect that they may have on students' participation in PPE to ensure that students are not disadvantaged in their learning.

EnCE EnCase computer forensics : the official EnCase certified examiner : study guide

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Bunting, Steve

2012-01-01

The official, Guidance Software-approved book on the newest EnCE exam! The EnCE exam tests that computer forensic analysts and examiners have thoroughly mastered computer investigation methodologies, as well as the use of Guidance Software's EnCase Forensic 7. The only official Guidance-endorsed study guide on the topic, this book prepares you for the exam with extensive coverage of all exam topics, real-world scenarios, hands-on exercises, up-to-date legal information, and sample evidence files, flashcards, and more. Guides readers through preparation for the newest EnCase Certified Examiner

Early studies of instant-fMRI for routine examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Yuuki; Harada, Kuniaki; Nagahama, Hiroshi; Akatsuka, Yoshihiro; Shinozaki, Jun

2010-01-01

Authors are developing a low-burden, short-time acquisition method of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 3T machine, named ''Instant-fMRI'', aiming for its application to routine examinations, of which results of early studies on identification of the language hemisphere are reported. Subjects were 10 healthy volunteers (8 males, 2 females, mean age 34.2 y, 8 right-handers) and 5 right-hander patients with brain tumor (4 males, 1 female, mean age 50 y). The machine was GE Signa HDx 3.0T ver. 14, using 8 channel head coil. For Instant-fMRI, T1-weighted imaging sequence for mapping was in fast spoiled gradient recalled acquisition in the steady state (fSPGR) mode (scan time: 1 min 44 sec) and fMRI sequence, in GRE-EPI (scan time: 1 min), which thus required only about 3 min in total. Reference was defined to be the anterior-posterior commissure line, to which parallel sections involving centriciput and cerebellum were acquired. Rest (30 sec)-task (shiritori language game, 30 sec) cycle was to be one in instant-fMRI in contrast to three in the conventional fMRI. Volunteers received both instant-fMRI and conventional fMRI and patients, the former alone. Data were analyzed by GE Brain Wave PA. Right and left hemisphere of the left and right hander, respectively, was identified to be activated by instant-fMRI in 9 of 10 volunteers and in all patients, and by the conventional fMRI, in all volunteers. The instant-fMRI can be a useful examination of other brain functions as well as identifying the language field when acquisition parameters for desired diagnostic purpose are optimized. (T.T.)

Strategy for improving the detailed examination rate for colorectal cancer screening. New approach for detailed colorectal cancer examination. Study for optimal pre-treatment for CT colonography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitsushima, Toru; Fujiwara, Masanori; Nagata, Koichi

2012-01-01

In order to drastically improve the detailed examination rate for strategic colorectal cancer examination in Japan, it is necessary to introduce CT colonography (CTC) as a detailed examination method for colorectal cancer examination, in addition to colonoscopy (CS) which is the conventional detailed examination method. In our study, a cleansing enema/contrast solution (3% Nif-C) was prepared by adding 60 ml of a water-soluble iodine-based contrast agent (Gastrografin) and water to an oral cleansing enema agent (Niflec) in solid (powder) form to a final amount of 2000 ml. The solution was compared with a Niflec solution. In terms of patient's acceptability, more than half of the examined patients answered ''easier to drink than the Niflec solution'' or ''as easy to drink as the Niflec solution. '' Also, the Nif-C solution was comparable or superior to the Niflec solution in terms of cleansing enema effects. Regarding imaging effects essential for CTC, the CT level was found to be 200 HU or greater for any large intestine region upon CTC using the Nif-C solution. Thus, practically sufficient imaging effects were achieved. In conclusion, CTC with pretreatment involving a cleansing enema with oral administration of 3% Nif-C is superior to CS in terms of patient's acceptability. In addition, at least in view of the overseas reports on CTC, there is no particular problem in terms of diagnostic accuracy. Thus, CTC is expected to resolve various problems related to colorectal cancer examination in Japan. (author)

Guys and Dolls: A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Views of Gendered Play in Kindergarten

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, M.

2015-01-01

Drawing on data collected for a larger study investigating kindergarten teachers' online discussions of play, the present qualitative study examines teachers' discussions of gender. Findings suggest that teachers' project onto their kindergarten students many of their own gender prejudices about play. These teachers reinforced gendered attitudes…

CT examinations in older patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sciuk, J.; Peters, P.E.

1989-01-01

A total of 2,878 unselected subsequent CT examinations carried out in 1984 were analyzed retrospectively. All studies were performed in a university hospital with a centralized department of diagnostic radiology. Most of the patients investigated were hospitalized; there were only 12% outpatients. Of the patients studied 12.6% were older than 65 years and 20.5% older than 60; 17.7% were emergency cases and patients between 16 and 25 years of age represented the largest fraction. In all other age groups the relative distribution between emergency cases and regular studies revealed no significant differences. There was no statistically significant difference between the older age group (patients older than 65 years) and the total population of this study in almost all items investigated, i.e., no differences in CT examination time and no differences in preparation time (time between two CT studies). The rate of abdominal CT examinations was 7% higher in the older age group, while the relative distribution of all other CT examinations was again comparable to the total population under study. Thus, the expected increase in patients in the older age group does not measurably prolong the CT examination time. This statement applies to a major referral center with a high percentage of inpatients. (orig.) [de

A Pilot Study Examining ADHD and Behavioural Disturbance in Female Mentally Disordered Offenders

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Jack Hollingdale

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Compared with general population rates, prevalence rates of ADHD have been consistently reported to be higher in both male and female offender populations, the latter estimated to range between 10–29%. Research in forensic institutional settings has reported that aggressive behaviour is a particularly prominent source of impairment among men with ADHD. However there is a paucity of research investigating the type of behavioural incidents that may arise in female offenders with ADHD. This pilot study therefore aimed to further our understanding of ADHD within a cohort of female mentally disordered offenders by ascertaining estimated rates of ADHD and associated functional disturbance presenting in this population. Fifty female offenders completed the Barkley ADHD rating scales. Data on aggressive and self-harming behaviours were obtained from patients’ clinical records. Almost one-third of patients (28% screened positive for ADHD, most commonly hyperactive/impulsive and combined subtypes. They were significantly younger than their peers and there were no significant differences in behavioural disturbance records between groups. When controlling for age, hyperactive/impulsive symptoms and combined symptoms were significantly and positively correlated with measures of behavioural disturbance. ADHD symptoms correlated more strongly with self-harm than outward aggression, which is a novel finding. This pilot study has contributed to the knowledge base about the rate and functional problems of female offenders with ADHD. Future research should replicate the study using a larger sample and explore the effect of treatment (pharmacological and psychological on the reduction of ADHD symptoms, behavioural disturbance, length of stay and quality of life.

Study of skin markers for magnetic resonance imaging examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takatsu, Yasuo; Umezaki, Yoshie; Miyati, Tosiaki; Yamamura, Kenichirou

2013-01-01

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), skin markers are used as a landmark in order to make plans for examinations. However, there isn't a lot of research about the material and shape of skin markers. The skin marker's essential elements are safety, good cost performance, high signal intensity for T 1 weighted image (T 1 WI) and T 2 weighted image (T 2 WI), and durable. In order to get a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of T 1 WI and T 2 WI, baby oil, salad oil and olive oil were chosen, because these materials were easy to obtain and safe for the skin. The SNR of baby oil was the best. Baby oil was injected into the infusion tube, and the tube was solvent welded and cut by a heat sealer. In order to make ring shaped skin markers, both ends of the tube were stuck with adhesive tape. Three different diameters of markers were made (3, 5, 10 cmφ). Ring shaped skin markers were put on to surround the examination area, therefore, the edge of the examination area could be seen at every cross section. Using baby oil in the ring shaped infusion tube is simple, easy, and a highly useful skin marker. (author)

Exploration of the attitudes of nursing students to peer physical examination and physical examination of patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Wearn, Andy M; Bhoopatkar, Harsh; Mathew, Thomas K; Stewart, Lisa

2013-08-01

The use of peer physical examination (PPE) in early clinical skills has been studied amongst medical students. The majority of students are comfortable with using peer physical examination, when sensitive areas are excluded. Students' attitudes are related to their personal characteristics: gender, age, religious faith, and ethnicity. There is no data on nursing students' attitudes to peer physical examination. Identify and explore: Dual cohort, cross-sectional, anonymous survey. Three-year undergraduate nursing programme, skills centre and service clinical learning. All first and third year nursing students were asked to complete a modified Examining Fellow Students questionnaire at the end of 2008. The questionnaire asked students to indicate which of 12 body areas they would not be willing to examine/have examined by a peer of the same/opposite gender. This study also asked students which of the 12 body areas they felt uncomfortable examining on patients. The response rate was 76% (128/168). The students were predominantly female (93% female; 7% male). Most students were comfortable with examining non-sensitive body regions of peers (78.2%-100% willing) and patients (92.3-100% willing). Male gender was significantly associated with willingness to examine and be examined by peers (p=0.001); Asian students were significantly less willing to engage in peer physical examination with opposite gender (pexamining patients of either gender (pexamination shows similarities and differences to other studies. Student characteristics were not related to patient examination attitudes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Benign core biopsy of probably benign breast lesions 2 cm or larger: correlation with excisional biopsy and long-term follow-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Hyun Kyung; Moon, Hee Jung; Kim, Min Jung; Kim, Eun Kyung

2014-01-01

To evaluate the accuracy of benign core biopsy of probably benign breast lesions (category 3) 2 cm or larger on the basis of excisional biopsy and long-term follow-up. We retrospectively reviewed 146 category 3 lesions in 146 patients 2 cm or larger which were diagnosed as benign by ultrasound (US)-guided core biopsy. Patients were initially diagnosed as benign at core needle biopsy and then followed up with excisional biopsy (surgical excision, n=91; US-guided vacuum assisted excision, n=35) or breast ultrasonography (n=20). Of the 126 patients who underwent surgical excision or US-guided vacuum-assisted excision, 114 patients were diagnosed with benign lesions, 10 patients with borderline lesions (benign phyllodes tumor), and two patients with malignant phyllodes tumors. The probabilities of lesions being benign, borderline and malignant were 91.8% (134/146), 6.8% (10/146), and 1.4% (2/146), respectively. Of 13 patients who had growing masses on follow-up ultrasonography, three (23.1%) were non-benign (two benign phyllodes tumors and one malignant phyllodes tumor). US-guided core needle biopsy of probably benign breast mass 2 cm or larger was accurate (98.6%) enough to rule out malignancy. But, it was difficult to rule out borderline lesions even when they were diagnosed as benign.

New rather than old? For working memory tasks with abstract patterns the P3 and the single-trial delta response are larger for modified than identical probe stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathes, B; Schmiedt, J; Schmiedt-Fehr, C; Pantelis, C; Basar-Eroglu, C

2012-07-01

Memory-guided decision making is dynamic and context-dependent, even though many studies describe an enhancement of the P3 for recognized items in memory tasks ("old-new effect"). This study utilized a delay-dependent working memory task during which decision making could be optimized by focusing attention on detected changes instead of recognized similarities. Mean P3 amplitude and delta activity were analyzed from participants who classified probe stimuli as identical or modified. The P3 amplitudes were larger for modified than for identical probes, even when the probe occurred 4,000 ms after the primary stimulus. Enhanced single-trial amplitude, trial-by-trial consistency, and frontoparietal phase coherence of delta activity contributed to the larger P3 for the modified probe. Thus, context-dependent attentional resource allocation supporting memory-guided decisions might explain the enhancement of the P3 for specific probe types. Copyright © 2012 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Examination of studies on technology-assisted collaborative learning published between 2010-2014

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Ahmet Arnavut

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract This study is a content analysis of the articles about technology-assisted collaborative learning published in Science Direct database between the years of 2010 and 2014. Developing technology has become a topic that we encounter in every aspect of our lives. Educators deal with the contribution and integration of technology into education. Therefore, in this study it was aimed to examine how integration of collaborative learning into technology would contribute to education or it would contribute to education or not. According to the results of the studies obtained from Science Direct database, there are many research related with technology-assisted collaborative learning. However, since all of the studies did not fulfill our search criteria for content analysis, a total number of 58 articles published between the years of 2010 and 2014 were used in this study.

In Search of Evidence for the Effectiveness of Professional Development: An Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Armour-Thomas, Eleanor

2008-01-01

This study examines the evidence for the effectiveness of professional development using a sample of ten elementary school teachers. These teachers were part of a larger intervention study that investigated the impact of a teaching model, Dynamic Pedagogy on student mathematics achievement. Positive results were obtained from the analysis of three…

Examination of the Professional Self-Esteem of Teacher Candidates Studying at a Faculty of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Aral, Neriman; Gursoy, Figen; Ceylan, Remziye; Bicakci, Mudriye Yildiz

2009-01-01

This study aims to determine the professional self-esteem levels of teacher candidates studying at the Faculty of Education, Ahi Evran University, Kirsehir, Turkey, to examine whether certain variables create any differences in their professional self-esteem levels and to propose suggestions in accordance with the results. The study was conducted…

The 'Natural Laboratory', a tool for deciphering growth, lifetime and population dynamics in larger benthic foraminifera

Science.gov (United States)

Hohenegger, Johann

2015-04-01

The shells of symbiont-bearing larger benthic Foraminifera (LBF) represent the response to physiological requirements in dependence of environmental conditions. All compartments of the shell such as chambers and chamberlets accommodate the growth of the cell protoplasm and are adaptations for housing photosymbiotic algae. Investigations on the biology of LBF were predominantly based on laboratory studies. The lifetime of LBF under natural conditions is still unclear. LBF, which can build >100 chambers during their lifetime, are thought to live at least one year under natural conditions. This is supported by studies on population dynamics of eulittoral foraminifera. In species characterized by a time-restricted single reproduction period the mean size of specimens increases from small to large during lifetime simultaneously reducing individual number. This becomes more complex when two or more reproduction times are present within a one-year cycle leading to a mixture of abundant small individuals with few large specimens during the year, while keeping mean size more or less constant. This mixture is typical for most sublittoral megalospheric (gamonts or schizonts) LBF. Nothing is known on the lifetime of agamonts, the diploid asexually reproducing generation. In all hyaline LBF it is thought to be significantly longer than 1 year based on the large size and considering the mean chamber building rate of the gamont/schizonts. Observations on LBF under natural conditions have not been performed yet in the deeper sublittoral. This reflects the difficulties due to intense hydrodynamics that hinder deploying technical equipment for studies in the natural environment. Therefore, studying growth, lifetime and reproduction of sublittoral LBF under natural conditions can be performed using the so-called 'natural laboratory' in comparison with laboratory investigations. The best sampling method in the upper sublittoral from 5 to 70 m depth is by SCUBA diving. Irregular

An Examination of Police Officers' Perceptions of Effective School Responses to Active Shooter Scenarios: A Phenomenological Narrative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Adkins, Florence E.

2015-01-01

This qualitative phenomenological research study used narrative inquiry to examine police officer perceptions of effective school responses to active shooting scenarios. Creswell's (2013) six step process for analyzing and interpreting qualitative data was used to examine the interview information. The study results support the idea that changes…

Introgression of a Rare Haplotype from Southeastern Africa to Breed California Blackeyes with Larger Seeds

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Mitchell R Lucas

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Seed size distinguishes most crops from their wild relatives and is an important quality trait for the grain legume cowpea. In order to breed cowpea varieties with larger seeds we introgressed a rare haplotype associated with large seeds at the Css-1 locus from an African buff seed type cultivar, IT82E-18 (18.5g/100 seeds, into a blackeye seed type cultivar, CB27 (22g/100 seed. Four RILs derived from these two parents were chosen for marker-assisted breeding based on SNP genotyping with a goal of stacking large seed haplotypes into a CB27 background. Foreground and background selection were performed during two cycles of backcrossing based on genome-wide SNP markers. The average seed size of introgression lines homozygous for haplotypes associated with large seeds was 28.7g/100 seed and 24.8g/100 seed for cycles 1 and 2, respectively. One cycle 1 introgression line with desirable seed quality was selfed for two generations to make families with very large seeds (28-35g/100 seeds. Field-based performance trials helped identify breeding lines that not only have large seeds but are also desirable in terms of yield, maturity, and plant architecture when compared to industry standards. A principal component analysis was used to explore the relationships between the parents relative to a core set of landraces and improved varieties based on high-density SNP data. The geographic distribution of haplotypes at the Css-1 locus suggest the haplotype associated with large seeds is unique to accessions collected from Southeastern Africa. Therefore this QTL has a strong potential to develop larger seeded varieties for other growing regions which is demonstrated in this work using a California pedigree.

Ultrasonographic examination of plantar fasciitis: a comparison of patient positions during examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Jae Hoon; Lee, Choong Woo; Park, ChanJoo; Kim, Yoon-Chung

2016-01-01

Musculoskeletal ultrasound is a non-invasive and low-cost modality for real-time visualisation of the plantar fascia. Ultrasound examination for plantar fasciitis is generally performed with the patient in a prone position, although the rational for using a prone position has not been validated. The aim of the study was to investigate if ultrasound examination in a supine position, which is more comfortable than the prone position, is valid. We conducted a prospective study of 30 participants with plantar fasciitis, 8 men (27 %) and 22 women (73 %), with a mean age of 53.9 ± 12.6 (range, 32 to 77) years, and an equal distribution of left and right feet. The plantar heel was divided into three portions for ultrasound examination: medial, central and lateral. Two measurements of plantar fascia thickness were obtained for each portion, with participants in 2 positions (supine and prone) and for 2 ankle postures (neutral and 15° of plantarflexion). Mean measurements of plantar fascia thickness were compared between the two positions (Wilcoxon signed rank tests for non-normally distributed data and paired t-tests for normally distributed data). Participants were asked to report their preferred position for examination, supine or prone. The measured thickness was comparable for both supine and prone positions, for both ankle postures, neutral and 15° of plantarflexion (p > 0.05). A specific self-reported preferred position was not identified. Ultrasound examination of plantar fasciitis can be performed in the supine position without any significant difference in measurement compared to examination in the conventional prone position. The Catholic Medical Center Office of Human Research Protection Program (CMC-OHRP)/Institutional Review Board approved the current study (Approval No. KC12DISI0338), and all participants provided their written informed consent for participation and publication.

Rationale and design of a pilot study examining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for persistent pain in an integrated primary care clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanzler, Kathryn E; Robinson, Patricia J; McGeary, Donald D; Mintz, Jim; Potter, Jennifer Sharpe; Muñante, Mariana; Lopez, Eliot J; Dougherty, Donald M; Hale, Willie J; Velligan, Dawn I

2018-03-01

Most of the 100 million Americans with persistent pain are treated in primary care clinics, but evidence-based psychosocial approaches targeting pain-related disability are not usually provided in these settings. This manuscript describes the rationale and methods for a protocol to pilot test the feasibility and effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an evidence-based psychological treatment for persistent pain, delivered by a Behavioral Health Consultant in primary care. Eligible patients are identified through electronic health record registries and invited to participate via secure messaging, letters and a follow-up phone call. Participants are also recruited with advertising and clinician referral. Patients agreeing to participate are consented and complete initial assessments, with a target of 60 participants. Randomization is stratified based on pain severity with participants assigned to either ACT or Enhanced Treatment as Usual (E-TAU). ACT participants receive one standardized Behavioral Health Consultation visit followed by three ACT-based group visits and one group booster visit. All patients attend six assessment visits, during which the E-TAU patients are provided with educational pain management handouts based on standard cognitive behavioral treatment of pain. The study aims to determine feasibility and effectiveness of brief ACT for persistent pain delivered by an integrated behavioral health clinician in primary care from pre- to post-treatment, and to examine mechanisms of change in ACT participants. This study, in a "real-world" setting, will lay groundwork for a larger trial. If effective, it could improve treatment methods and quality of life for patients with persistent pain using a scalable approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Telemedicine Physical Examination Utilizing a Consumer Device Demonstrates Poor Concordance with In-Person Physical Examination in Emergency Department Patients with Sore Throat: A Prospective Blinded Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhtar, Moneeb; Van Heukelom, Paul G; Ahmed, Azeemuddin; Tranter, Rachel D; White, Erinn; Shekem, Nathaniel; Walz, David; Fairfield, Catherine; Vakkalanka, J Priyanka; Mohr, Nicholas M

2018-02-22

Telemedicine allows patients to connect with healthcare providers remotely. It has recently expanded to evaluate low-acuity illnesses such as pharyngitis by using patients' personal communication devices. The purpose of our study was to compare the telemedicine-facilitated physical examination with an in-person examination in emergency department (ED) patients with sore throat. This was a prospective, observational, blinded diagnostic concordance study of patients being seen for sore throat in a 60,000-visit Midwestern academic ED. A telemedicine and a face-to-face examination were performed independently by two advanced practice providers (APP), blinded to the results of the other evaluator. The primary outcome was agreement on pharyngeal redness between the evaluators, with secondary outcomes of agreement and inter-rater reliability on 14 other aspects of the pharyngeal physical examination. We also conducted a survey of patients and providers to evaluate perceptions and preferences for sore throat evaluation using telemedicine. Sixty-two patients were enrolled, with a median tonsil size of 1.0. Inter-rater agreement (kappa) for tonsil size was 0.394, which was worse than our predetermined concordance threshold. Other kappa values ranged from 0 to 0.434, and telemedicine was best for detecting abnormal coloration of the palate and tender superficial cervical lymph nodes (anterior structures), but poor for detecting abnormal submandibular lymph nodes or asymmetry of the posterior pharynx (posterior structures). In survey responses, telemedicine was judged easier to use and more comfortable for providers than patients; however, neither patients nor providers preferred in-person to telemedicine evaluation. Telemedicine exhibited poor agreement with the in-person physical examination on the primary outcome of tonsil size, but exhibited moderate agreement on coloration of the palate and cervical lymphadenopathy. Future work should better characterize the importance of

Epidemiologic Studies of Isoflavones & Mammographic Density

Science.gov (United States)

Maskarinec, Gertraud; Verheus, Martijn; Tice, Jeffrey A.

2010-01-01

Isoflavones, phytoestrogens in soy beans with estrogen-like properties, have been examined for their cancer protective effects. Mammographic density is a strong predictor of breast cancer. This review summarizes studies that have examined the association between isoflavones and breast density. Observational investigations in Hawaii and Singapore suggest slightly lower breast density among women of Asian descent with regular soy intake, but two larger studies from Japan and Singapore did not observe a protective effect. The findings from seven randomized trials with primarily Caucasian women indicate that soy or isoflavones do not modify mammographic density. Soy foods and isoflavone supplements within a nutritional range do not appear to modify breast cancer risk as assessed by mammographic density. PMID:22253990

Epidemiologic Studies of Isoflavones & Mammographic Density

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey A. Tice

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Isoflavones, phytoestrogens in soy beans with estrogen-like properties, have been examined for their cancer protective effects. Mammographic density is a strong predictor of breast cancer. This review summarizes studies that have examined the association between isoflavones and breast density. Observational investigations in Hawaii and Singapore suggest slightly lower breast density among women of Asian descent with regular soy intake, but two larger studies from Japan and Singapore did not observe a protective effect. The findings from seven randomized trials with primarily Caucasian women indicate that soy or isoflavones do not modify mammographic density. Soy foods and isoflavone supplements within a nutritional range do not appear to modify breast cancer risk as assessed by mammographic density.

Comparison of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Mini-Mental State Examination in detecting multi-domain mild cognitive impairment in a Chinese sub-sample drawn from a population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, YanHong; Yean Lee, Wah; Hilal, Saima; Saini, Monica; Wong, Tien Yin; Chen, Christopher Li-Hsian; Venketasubramanian, Narayanaswamy; Ikram, Mohammad Kamran

2013-11-01

We examined the discriminant validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in detecting multiple-domain mild cognitive impairment (md-MCI) in a Chinese sub-sample drawn from elderly population-based study. This study included Chinese participants from the Epidemiology of Dementia in Singapore (EDIS) study aged ≥ 60 years who underwent cognitive screening with the Abbreviated Mental Test and Progressive Forgetfulness Questionnaire. Screen-positive participants subsequently underwent MoCA, MMSE, and a comprehensive formal neuropsychological battery. MCI was defined by Petersen's criteria and further classified into single-domain MCI (sd-MCI) and md-MCI. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was computed for the MoCA and the MMSE in detecting md-MCI. A total of 300 participants were recruited: 128 (42.7%) were diagnosed with no cognitive impairment (NCI), 47 (15.7%) with sd-MCI, and 83 (28.0%) with md-MCI. Forty-one participants were excluded, 7 (2.3%) had dementia, and 34 (11.3%) had only objective cognitive impairment without subjective complaints. Although the MoCA had a significantly larger AUC than the MMSE (0.94 (95% CI = 0.91-0.97) vs. 0.91 (95% CI = 0.86-0.95), p= 0.04), at optimal cut-off points, the MoCA (19/20) was equivalent to the MMSE (25/26) in detecting md-MCI (sensitivity: 0.80 vs. 0.87, specificity: 0.92 vs. 0.80). Both screening tests had good discriminant validity and can be used in detecting md-MCI in a sub-sample of Chinese drawn from a population-based study.

Transformational change in healthcare: an examination of four case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlesworth, Kate; Jamieson, Maggie; Davey, Rachel; Butler, Colin D

2016-04-01

Objectives Healthcare leaders around the world are calling for radical, transformational change of our health and care systems. This will be a difficult and complex task. In this article, we examine case studies in which transformational change has been achieved, and seek to learn from these experiences. Methods We used the case study method to investigate examples of transformational change in healthcare. The case studies were identified from preliminary doctoral research into the transition towards future sustainable health and social care systems. Evidence was collected from multiple sources, key features of each case study were displayed in a matrix and thematic analysis was conducted. The results are presented in narrative form. Results Four case studies were selected: two from the US, one from Australia and one from the UK. The notable features are discussed for each case study. There were many common factors: a well communicated vision, innovative redesign, extensive consultation and engagement with staff and patients, performance management, automated information management and high-quality leadership. Conclusions Although there were some notable differences between the case studies, overall the characteristics of success were similar and collectively provide a blueprint for transformational change in healthcare. What is known about the topic? Healthcare leaders around the world are calling for radical redesign of our systems in order to meet the challenges of modern society. What does this paper add? There are some remarkable examples of transformational change in healthcare. The key factors in success are similar across the case studies. What are the implications for practitioners? Collectively, these key factors can guide future attempts at transformational change in healthcare.

An Examination of Reciprocal Associations Between Social Preference, Popularity, and Friendship during Early Adolescence.

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Stotsky, Miriam T; Bowker, Julie C

2018-04-03

Getting along with peers becomes increasingly important to health and well-being during early adolescence (10-14 years). Young adolescents may succeed with peers when they are well-liked by and popular among the larger peer group (or at the group-level of social complexity). They might also fare well with peers when they are able to form numerous mutual and high quality friendships (at the dyadic-level of social complexity). Theory emphasizes the interrelatedness of different types of peer experiences, but few longitudinal studies have examined the interplay among and between group- and dyadic-level peer experiences in the same study. As a result, it is not known whether group-level peer experiences are predictors of dyadic-level peer experiences, and/or vice versa. To address this limitation, this study examined the prospective and reciprocal relations between four indices of peer experiences, preference (or being highly liked and not disliked by peers), popularity (or having a reputation as popular), friendship quantity (or having many mutual friends), and friendship or relationship quality, during early adolescence. Participants were 271 adolescents (49% girls; M age  = 11.52 years) who completed peer nominations of preference and popularity, a self-report measure of friendship quality, and nominated friends at two waves (Wave 1: November, Grade 6; Wave 2: October, Grade 7). Structural equation modeling indicated that friendship quantity predicted increases in preference and popularity and that friendship quality predicted increases in friendship quantity. Initial popularity was associated with decreases in preference. The importance of these findings for future research is discussed along with study limitations.

A study of amount of information in x-ray examination of gastric diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Akiro

1981-01-01

Gastrointestinal X-ray examinations are widely utilized to find gastric cancers because of the high incidence of this disease in Japan. Because of the high frequency of this examination relatively high gonad and bone marrow radiation exposure due to this kind of examination cannot be ignored. The relationship between exposed doses and amount of information are in inverse proportion. Therefore, this study of the relationship between amount of information and accuracy in gastric X-ray diagnosis was carried out to determine the necessary amount of information in this examination. To intentionally reduce the amount of information air gap method is utilized. Five each copies were made from various original G.I. tract films, and when copies were made air gap is intentionally reduced between original and duplicating films. The air gaps were 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mm. Fifty original films were prepared thus 250 copies (50 sets of 5 each copies) were made. These copied films were read by 10 radiologists and results were scored as true positive and false positive. The results showed that increase of amount of information itself does not mean the increase of diagnostic accuracy. Also it is suggested that the limit of diagnostic accuracy lies between 5 and 10 mm air spaced films. Diagnoses of early gastric cancer and scar of gastric ulcer are easily effected by sharpness of image, but gastric ulcer are relatively not. (author)

The social experiences of cancer patients under treatment: a comparative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tempelaar, R.; de Haes, J. C.; de Ruiter, J. H.; Bakker, D.; van den Heuvel, W. J.; van Nieuwenhuijzen, M. G.

1989-01-01

As part of a larger study on the quality of life of cancer patients under treatment, the positive and negative experiences in social interaction have been examined as compared to those of a control group (nonpatients, n = 201). Two patient groups were included: 109 patients who had recently

Examiner Reliability of Fluorosis Scoring: A Comparison of Photographic and Clinical Examination Findings

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Cruz-Orcutt, Noemi; Warren, John J.; Broffitt, Barbara; Levy, Steven M.; Weber-Gasparoni, Karin

2012-01-01

Objective To assess and compare examiner reliability of clinical and photographic fluorosis examinations using the Fluorosis Risk Index (FRI) among children in the Iowa Fluoride Study (IFS). Methods The IFS examined 538 children for fluorosis and dental caries at age 13 and obtained intra-oral photographs from nearly all of them. To assess examiner reliability, duplicate clinical examinations were conducted for 40 of the subjects. In addition, 200 of the photographs were scored independently for fluorosis by two examiners in a standardized manner. Fluorosis data were compared between examiners for the clinical exams and separately for the photographic exams, and a comparison was made between clinical and photographic exams. For all 3 comparisons, examiner reliability was assessed using kappa statistics at the tooth level. Results Inter-examiner reliability for the duplicate clinical exams on the sample of 40 subjects as measured by kappa was 0.59, while the repeat exams of the 200 photographs yielded a kappa of 0.64. For the comparison of photographic and clinical exams, inter-examiner reliability, as measured by weighted kappa, was 0.46. FRI scores obtained using the photographs were higher on average than those obtained from the clinical exams. Fluorosis prevalence was higher for photographs (33%) than found for clinical exam (18%). Conclusion Results suggest inter-examiner reliability is greater and fluorosis scores higher when using photographic compared to clinical examinations. PMID:22316120

A Comprehensive Examination of Changes in Psychological Flexibility Following Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain.

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Scott, Whitney; Hann, Katie E J; McCracken, Lance M

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for chronic pain aims to improve patient functioning by fostering greater psychological flexibility. While promising, ACT treatment process research in the context of chronic pain so far has only focused on a few of the processes of psychological flexibility. Therefore, this study aimed to more comprehensively examine changes in processes of psychological flexibility following an ACT-based treatment for chronic pain, and to examine change in these processes in relation to improvements in patient functioning. Individuals with chronic pain attending an interdisciplinary ACT-based rehabilitation program completed measures of pain, functioning, depression, pain acceptance, cognitive fusion, decentering, and committed action at pre- and post-treatment and during a nine-month follow-up. Significant improvements were observed from pre- to post-treatment and pre-treatment to follow-up on each of the treatment outcome and process variables. Regression analyses indicated that change in psychological flexibility processes cumulatively explained 6-27 % of the variance in changes in functioning and depression over both assessment periods, even after controlling for changes in pain intensity. Further research is needed to maximize the effectiveness of ACT for chronic pain, and to determine whether larger improvements in the processes of psychological flexibility under study will produce better patient outcomes, as predicted by the psychological flexibility model.

Dysphagia in Lewy body dementia - a clinical observational study of swallowing function by videofluoroscopic examination.

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Londos, Elisabet; Hanxsson, Oskar; Alm Hirsch, Ingrid; Janneskog, Anna; Bülow, Margareta; Palmqvist, Sebastian

2013-10-07

Dysphagia, which can result in aspiration pneumonia and death, is a well-known problem in patients with dementia and Parkinson's disease. There are few studies on dysphagia in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), especially studies objectively documenting the type of swallowing dysfunction. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the prevalence, and define the actual swallowing dysfunction according to a videofluoroscopic swallowing examination (VFSE) in patients with DLB and PDD. Eighty-two consecutive patients with DLB or PDD in a clinical follow-up program were asked about symptoms of dysphagia. Those experiencing dysphagia were examined with VFSE. Prevalence and type of swallowing dysfunction was recorded. Twenty-six patients (32%) reported symptoms of dysphagia such as swallowing difficulties or coughing. Twenty-four (92%) of these had a documented swallowing dysfunction on VFSE. Eighty-eight percent suffered from pharyngeal dysfunction. Almost all DLB or PDD patients with subjective signs of dysphagia had pathologic results on VFSE, the majority of pharyngeal type. This type of dysphagia has not been reported in DLB before. The results have clinical implications and highlight the importance of asking for and examining swallowing function to prevent complications such as aspiration.

Sedation for pediatric neuroradiological examinations. Retrospective study of 160 cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shose, Yoshiteru; Oi, Shizuo

1995-01-01

A retrospective study of 160 pediatric neuroradiological examinations was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of two sedation regimens (figs. 1, 2). For CT purposes, 150 patients (fig. 3) were orally given monosodium trichlorethyl phosphate syrup (100 mg/kg, with repeat 50 mg/kg if necessary), and for cerebral angiography, 15 patients (fig. 4) were intramuscularly administered a modified D.P.T. cocktail (pentazocine, chlorpromadine, promethazine). Failure rate in the oral syrup group was 6%, and in the D.P.T. group 6.7%. Diagnostic-quality images were obtained in 99.3% and 100%, respectively, of the two groups. There were neither mortality nor significant complications (table 3). It was concluded that each method had proved acceptably safe and effective, and that measures can be taken to further decrease complications and sedation failures. (author)

Peer feedback for examiner quality assurance on MRCGP International South Asia: a mixed methods study.

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Perera, D P; Andrades, Marie; Wass, Val

2017-12-08

The International Membership Examination (MRCGP[INT]) of the Royal College of General Practitioners UK is a unique collaboration between four South Asian countries with diverse cultures, epidemiology, clinical facilities and resources. In this setting good quality assurance is imperative to achieve acceptable standards of inter rater reliability. This study aims to explore the process of peer feedback for examiner quality assurance with regard to factors affecting the implementation and acceptance of the method. A sequential mixed methods approach was used based on focus group discussions with examiners (n = 12) and clinical examination convenors who acted as peer reviewers (n = 4). A questionnaire based on emerging themes and literature review was then completed by 20 examiners at the subsequent OSCE exam. Qualitative data were analysed using an iterative reflexive process. Quantitative data were integrated by interpretive analysis looking for convergence, complementarity or dissonance. The qualitative data helped understand the issues and informed the process of developing the questionnaire. The quantitative data allowed for further refining of issues, wider sampling of examiners and giving voice to different perspectives. Examiners stated specifically that peer feedback gave an opportunity for discussion, standardisation of judgments and improved discriminatory abilities. Interpersonal dynamics, hierarchy and perception of validity of feedback were major factors influencing acceptance of feedback. Examiners desired increased transparency, accountability and the opportunity for equal partnership within the process. The process was stressful for examiners and reviewers; however acceptance increased with increasing exposure to receiving feedback. The process could be refined to improve acceptability through scrupulous attention to training and selection of those giving feedback to improve the perceived validity of feedback and improved reviewer feedback

Adolescents as Readers of Social Studies: Examining the Relationship between Youth's Everyday and Social Studies Literacies and Learning

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Stockdill, Darin B.; Moje, Elizabeth B.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we examine the relationship between student engagement and social studies literacy, exploring the possible connections between students' reading interests and practices and social studies learning. With a sample of 802 secondary students from five schools in one urban community, we use complementary methods to explore survey and…

The Use of Fluorescence Technology versus Visual and Tactile Examination in the Detection of Oral Lesions: A Pilot Study.

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Ayoub, Hadeel M; Newcomb, Tara L; McCombs, Gayle B; Bonnie, Marshall

2015-02-01

This study compared the effectiveness of the VELscope® Vx versus visual and tactile intraoral examination in detecting oral lesions in an adult, high risk population. The pilot study compared the intra oral findings between 2 examination types. The sample was comprised of 30 participants who were addicted to either cigarettes or a dual addiction (cigarettes plus hookah). High risk population was defined as males who were current cigarette smokers or had a dual addiction. Two trained and experienced licensed dental hygienists conducted all examinations. Throughout the study, all visual and tactile intraoral examinations were conducted first by one dental hygienist first, followed by the VELscope® Vx fluorescence examinations by the second dental hygienist. All subjects received an inspection of the lips, labial and buccal mucosa, floor of the mouth, dorsal, ventral and lateral sides of the tongue, hard and soft palate, and visual inspection of the oropharynx and uvula. Both evaluations took place in 1 visit in the Dental Hygiene Research Center at Old Dominion University and external sites. All participants received oral cancer screening information, recommendations, referrals for tobacco cessation programs and brochures on the 2 types of examinations conducted. Participants were considered high risk based on demographics (current smokers and mostly males). Neither visual and tactile intraoral examination nor the VELscope® Vx examination showed positive lesions. No lesions were detected; therefore, no referrals were made. Data indicated the duration of tobacco use was significantly higher in cigarette smokers (14.1 years) than dual addiction smokers (5 years) (p>0.005). The average numbers of cigarettes smoked per day were 13.5 compared to 14.2 cigarettes for dual addiction smokers. Results from this study suggest the visual and tactile intraoral examination produced comparative results to the VELscope® Vx examination. Findings from this study support that the

Parental Characteristics Have a Larger Effect on Children's Health Behaviour than Their Body Weight

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Clemens Drenowatz

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: Parents take an important role in a child's development, but there is currently limited information on parental correlates with children's health behaviour. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine whether parental characteristics, such as body weight, TV consumption and sport participation, affect children's body weight and health behaviour. Methods: To examine the effects of parental characteristics on children's body weight and health behaviour, baseline data of 1,118 elementary school children (7.6 ± 0.4 years participating in a school-based intervention in southwest Germany was used. Children's height and weight were measured and parent as well as child behaviour was assessed via questionnaire. Results: BMI percentiles of children were positively associated with parental BMI (r = 0.2, p mother = 2.2, ORfather = 2.3 and parental club sport participation increased the odds for club sport participation in children (ORmother = 1.9, ORfather = 1.7. The relationship between parental and child behaviour was stronger than the relationship between parental BMI and BMI percentiles of the child. Conclusion: These results suggest that parental behaviour and role modelling provide an important contribution to childrens' health behaviour, especially at younger ages.

A critical examination of developments in nursing doctoral education in the United States

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Shaké Ketefian

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Graduate nursing education in the United States is undergoing major transformations, as a result of factors both within nursing and in the larger society.OBJECTIVE: In this paper the authors examine the trends and factors that are influencing the changes, especially in doctoral education, for both nurse scientist and advanced practice preparation.CONCLUSION: The paper provides a background that serves as context, it gives an overview of the PhD and the DNP degrees, focusing on the recent changes and identifying the most compelling issues and concerns, ending with a series of recommendations.

Diagnostic strategies using physical examination are minimally useful in defining carpal tunnel syndrome in population-based research studies.

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Descatha, A; Dale, A-M; Franzblau, A; Coomes, J; Evanoff, B

2010-02-01

We evaluated the utility of physical examination manoeuvres in the prediction of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in a population-based research study. We studied a cohort of 1108 newly employed workers in several industries. Each worker completed a symptom questionnaire, a structured physical examination and nerve conduction study. For each hand, our CTS case definition required both median nerve conduction abnormality and symptoms classified as "classic" or "probable" on a hand diagram. We calculated the positive predictive values and likelihood ratios for physical examination manoeuvres in subjects with and without symptoms. The prevalence of CTS in our cohort was 1.2% for the right hand and 1.0% for the left hand. The likelihood ratios of a positive test for physical provocative tests ranged from 2.0 to 3.3, and those of a negative test from 0.3 to 0.9. The post-test probability of positive testing was study found that physical examination, alone or in combination with symptoms, was not predictive of CTS in a working population. We suggest using specific symptoms as a first-level screening tool, and nerve conduction study as a confirmatory test, as a case definition strategy in research settings.

A Systematic Review of Research Studies Examining Telehealth Privacy and Security Practices Used By Healthcare Providers

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Valerie J.M. Watzlaf

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The objective of this systematic review was to systematically review papers in the United States that examine current practices in privacy and security when telehealth technologies are used by healthcare providers. A literature search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P. PubMed, CINAHL and INSPEC from 2003 – 2016 were searched and returned 25,404 papers (after duplications were removed. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were strictly followed to examine title, abstract, and full text for 21 published papers which reported on privacy and security practices used by healthcare providers using telehealth.  Data on confidentiality, integrity, privacy, informed consent, access control, availability, retention, encryption, and authentication were all searched and retrieved from the papers examined. Papers were selected by two independent reviewers, first per inclusion/exclusion criteria and, where there was disagreement, a third reviewer was consulted. The percentage of agreement and Cohen’s kappa was 99.04% and 0.7331 respectively. The papers reviewed ranged from 2004 to 2016 and included several types of telehealth specialties. Sixty-seven percent were policy type studies, and 14 percent were survey/interview studies. There were no randomized controlled trials. Based upon the results, we conclude that it is necessary to have more studies with specific information about the use of privacy and security practices when using telehealth technologies as well as studies that examine patient and provider preferences on how data is kept private and secure during and after telehealth sessions. Keywords: Computer security, Health personnel, Privacy, Systematic review, Telehealth

Patients with proximal junctional kyphosis requiring revision surgery have higher postoperative lumbar lordosis and larger sagittal balance corrections.

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Kim, Han Jo; Bridwell, Keith H; Lenke, Lawrence G; Park, Moon Soo; Song, Kwang Sup; Piyaskulkaew, Chaiwat; Chuntarapas, Tapanut

2014-04-20

Case control study. To evaluate risk factors in patients in 3 groups: those without proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) (N), with PJK but not requiring revision (P), and then those with PJK requiring revision surgery (S). It is becoming clear that some patients maintain stable PJK angles, whereas others progress and develop severe PJK necessitating revision surgery. A total of 206 patients at a single institution from 2002 to 2007 with adult scoliosis with 2-year minimum follow-up (average 3.5 yr) were analyzed. Inclusion criteria were age more than 18 years and primary fusions greater than 5 levels from any thoracic upper instrumented vertebra to any lower instrumented vertebrae. Revisions were excluded. Radiographical assessment included Cobb measurements in the coronal/sagittal plane and measurements of the PJK angle at postoperative time points: 1 to 2 months, 2 years, and final follow-up. PJK was defined as an angle greater than 10°. The prevalence of PJK was 34%. The average age in N was 49.9 vs. 51.3 years in P and 60.1 years in S. Sex, body mass index, and smoking status were not significantly different between groups. Fusions extending to the pelvis were 74%, 85%, and 91% of the cases in groups N, P, and S. Instrumentation type was significantly different between groups N and S, with a higher number of upper instrumented vertebra hooks in group N. Radiographical parameters demonstrated a higher postoperative lumbar lordosis and a larger sagittal balance change, with surgery in those with PJK requiring revision surgery. Scoliosis Research Society postoperative pain scores were inferior in group N vs. P and S, and Oswestry Disability Index scores were similar between all groups. Patients with PJK requiring revision were older, had higher postoperative lumbar lordosis, and larger sagittal balance corrections than patients without PJK. Based on these data, it seems as though older patients with large corrections in their lumbar lordosis and sagittal balance

Initial contents of residue quality parameters predict effects of larger soil fauna on decomposition of contrasting quality residues

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Ratikorn Sanghaw

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A 52-week decomposition study employing the soil larger fauna exclusion technique through litter bags of two mesh sizes (20 and 0.135 mm was conducted in a long-term (18 yr field experiment. Organic residues of contrasting quality of N, lignin (L, polyphenols (PP and cellulose (CL all in grams per kilogram: rice straw (RS: 4.5N, 22.2L, 3.9PP, 449CL, groundnut stover (GN: 21.2N, 71.4L, 8.1PP, 361CL, dipterocarp leaf litter (DP: 5.1N, 303L, 68.9PP, 271CL and tamarind leaf litter (TM: 11.6N, 190L, 27.7PP, 212CL were applied to soil annually to assess and predict soil larger fauna effects (LFE on decomposition based on the initial contents of the residue chemical constituents. Mass losses in all residues were not different under soil fauna inclusion and exclusion treatments during the early stage (up to week 4 after residue incorporation but became significantly higher under the inclusion than the exclusion treatments during the later stage (week 8 onwards. LFE were highest (2–51% under the resistant DP at most decomposition stages. During the early stage (weeks 1–4, both the initial contents of labile (N and CL and recalcitrant C, and recalcitrant C interaction with labile constituents of residues showed significant correlations (r = 0.64–0.90 with LFE. In the middle stage (week 16, LFE under resistant DP and TM had significant positive correlations with L, L + PP and L/CL. They were also affected by these quality parameters as shown by the multiple regression analysis. In the later stages (weeks 26–52, the L/CL ratio was the most prominent quality parameter affecting LFE. Keywords: Mesofauna and macrofauna, Microorganisms, Recalcitrant and labile compounds, Residue chemical composition, Tropical sandy soil

Examination to assess the clinical examination and documentation of spine pathology among orthopedic residents.

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Haglin, Jack M; Zeller, John L; Egol, Kenneth A; Phillips, Donna P

2017-12-01

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) guidelines requires residency programs to teach and evaluate residents in six overarching "core competencies" and document progress through educational milestones. To assess the progress of orthopedic interns' skills in performing a history, physical examination, and documentation of the encounter for a standardized patient with spinal stenosis, an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was conducted for 13 orthopedic intern residents, following a 1-month boot camp that included communications skills and curriculum in history and physical examination. Interns were objectively scored based on their performance of the physical examination, communication skills, completeness and accuracy of their electronic medical record (EMR), and their diagnostic conclusions gleaned from the patient encounter. The purpose of this study was to meaningfully assess the clinical skills of orthopedic post-graduate year (PGY)-1 interns. The findings can be used to develop a standardized curriculum for documenting patient encounters and highlight common areas of weakness among orthopedic interns with regard to the spine history and physical examination and conducting complete and accurate clinical documentation. A major orthopedic specialty hospital and academic medical center. Thirteen PGY-1 orthopedic residents participated in the OSCE with the same standardized patient presenting with symptoms and radiographs consistent with spinal stenosis. Videos of the encounters were independently viewed and objectively evaluated by one investigator in the study. This evaluation focused on the completeness of the history and the performance and completion of the physical examination. The standardized patient evaluated the communication skills of each intern with a separate objective evaluation. Interns completed these same scoring guides to evaluate their own performance in history, physical examination, and communications

Examining weight and eating behavior by sexual orientation in a sample of male veterans.

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Bankoff, Sarah M; Richards, Lauren K; Bartlett, Brooke; Wolf, Erika J; Mitchell, Karen S

2016-07-01

Eating disorders are understudied in men and in sexual minority populations; however, extant evidence suggests that gay men have higher rates of disordered eating than heterosexual men. The present study examined the associations between sexual orientation, body mass index (BMI), disordered eating behaviors, and food addiction in a sample of male veterans. Participants included 642 male veterans from the Knowledge Networks-GfK Research Panel. They were randomly selected from a larger study based on previously reported trauma exposure; 96% identified as heterosexual. Measures included the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale, the Yale Food Addiction Scale, and self-reported height and weight. Heterosexual and sexual minority men did not differ significantly in terms of BMI. However, gay and bisexual men (n=24) endorsed significantly greater eating disorder symptoms and food addiction compared to heterosexual men. Our findings that sexual minority male veterans may be more likely to experience eating disorder and food addiction symptoms compared to heterosexual male veterans highlight the importance of prevention, assessment, and treatment efforts targeted to this population. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Examining the mediating effect of work-to-family conflict on the associations between job stressors and employee psychological distress: a prospective cohort study

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Oshio, Takashi; Inoue, Akiomi; Tsutsumi, Akizumi

2017-01-01

Objectives The mediating effect of work-to-family conflict (WFC) on the associations between eight types of job stressors (measured based on the job demands-control, effort–reward imbalance and organisational justice models) and psychological distress in employees was examined. Design This study employed a prospective design. Setting An occupational cohort study in Japan (Japanese Study of Health, Occupation, and Psychosocial Factors Related Equity; J-HOPE). Participants 5859 men and 1560 women who were working for 11 firms and participated at three consecutive waves of J-HOPE, at 1-year intervals, from 2010 to 2013. Main outcome measures Psychological distress, as measured by Kessler 6 scores. Results Mediation analysis using data on job stressors at baseline, WFC at 1-year follow-up and psychological distress at 2-year follow-up showed that WFC mediated 39.1% (95% CI 29.1% to 49.1%) and 44.5% (95% CI 31.4% to 51.7%) of the associations of psychological distress with job demands and effort, respectively, for men. The mediating effect of WFC was smaller for job stressors indicating reduced job resources, compared with job demands and effort. The mediating effect of WFC was somewhat larger for women than it was for men, with WFC mediating 47.5% (95% CI 22.5% to 72.6%) and 64.0% (95% CI 24.3% to 100.0%) of the associations of psychological distress with job demands and effort, respectively. Conclusions WFC was a key mediator in the associations between most job stressors and employee psychological distress. Results suggest that policy measures and support from supervisors, to prevent job stressors from adding to WFC, are needed to reduce employee psychological distress. PMID:28775183

Addenbrooke's cognitive examination test for brief cognitive assessment of adolescents suffering from migraine with aura.

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Petrusic, Igor; Pavlovski, Vera; Savkovic, Zorica; Vucinic, Dragana; Filipovic, Branislav; Jancic, Jasna

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to assess the role of the Addenbrooke's cognitive examination test (ACE-R) in the evaluation of cognitive status in migraineurs interictally. A total of 44 adolescent patients and 44 healthy controls, matched by age and gender, have undergone ACE-R testing. Migraineurs were additionally questioned about migraine aura features and presence of higher cortical dysfunctions (HCD) during an aura. According to the questionnaire results, patients were subsequently divided into HCD and Non-HCD group. ACE-R scores of migraine patients were significantly lower than in healthy controls (93.68 ± 3.64 vs 96.91 ± 2.49; t = 4.852, p cognitive examination score, although Non-HCD subgroup achieved better score (93.13 ± 3.91 vs 94.29 ± 3.30; t = 1.053, p = 0.298). Findings have shown that migraineurs get lower ACE-R test scores, with a tendency to have a poorer outcome in more complex aura. Also, our study has revealed that the ACE-R test is an easily administered test for brief assessment of cognitive status in migraineurs. Future perspectives could be further evaluation of ACE-R test in larger sample size and the impact of migraine with aura on cognitive function in adolescents.

Radiofrequency Ablation Combined with Renal Arterial Embolization for the Treatment of Unresectable Renal Cell Carcinoma Larger Than 3.5 cm: Initial Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamakado, Koichiro; Nakatsuka, Atsuhiro; Kobayashi, Shigeki; Akeboshi, Masao; Takaki, Haruyuki; Kariya, Zentaro; Kinbara, Hiroyuki; Arima, Kiminobu; Yanagawa, Makoto; Hori, Yasuhide; Kato, Hiromi; Sugimura, Yoshiki; Takeda, Kan

2006-01-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and therapeutic effects of the combination of renal arterial embolization and radiofrequency (RF) ablation to reinforce the anticancer effect on renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) measuring 3.5 cm or larger. This study was undertaken to evaluate this combined therapy on large RCCs-based tumor geometry. Eleven patients with 12 RCCs 3.5 cm or larger in diameter (3.5-9.0 cm) underwent combined therapy. Two were exophytic tumors, and the remaining 10 tumors had components extending into the renal sinus fat. Tumor vessels were selectively embolized in nine patients and the renal artery was completely embolized in two patients with polyvinyl alcohol or ethanol mixed with iodized oil. RF ablation was percutaneously done under the computed tomographic (CT)-fluoroscopic guidance. Response to treatment was evaluated by dynamic contrast-enhanced CT and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Tumor enhancement was eliminated after a single RF session in nine tumors (75%), after two sessions in two tumors (17%), and after four sessions in one tumor (8%). Both exophytic tumors (100%) and 7 of 10 tumors having components in the renal sinus fat (70%) were completely ablated with a single RF session. All tumors remained controlled during a mean follow-up period of 13 months and showed significant reduction in tumor sizes (5.2 ± 1.7 cm to 3.6 ± 1.4 cm, p < 0.001). A delayed abscess developed in the ablated lesion in a patient, which was percutaneously drainaged. Combined therapy as described in this report is a feasible, relatively safe, and promising treatment method for large RCCs regardless of tumor geometry

Examining an Evolution: A Case Study of Organizational Change Accompanying the Community College Baccalaureate

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McKinney, Lyle; Morris, Phillip A.

2010-01-01

This study examined the nature and degree of organizational change that occurs when community colleges offer their own baccalaureate degree programs. Utilizing qualitative research methodology, we investigated how executive administrators at two Florida colleges managed this momentous change process and how this transformation has affected their…

Examination of muscle composition and motor unit behavior of the first dorsal interosseous of normal and overweight children.

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Miller, Jonathan D; Sterczala, Adam J; Trevino, Michael A; Herda, Trent J

2018-05-01

We examined differences between normal weight (NW) and overweight (OW) children aged 8-10 yr in strength, muscle composition, and motor unit (MU) behavior of the first dorsal interosseous. Ultrasonography was used to determine muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), subcutaneous fat (sFAT), and echo intensity (EI). MU behavior was assessed during isometric muscle actions at 20% and 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) by analyzing electromyography amplitude (EMG RMS ) and relationships between mean firing rates (MFR), recruitment thresholds (RT), and MU action potential amplitudes (MUAP size ) and durations (MUAP time ). The OW group had significantly greater EI than the NW group ( P = 0.002; NW, 47.99 ± 6.01 AU; OW, 58.90 ± 10.63 AU, where AU is arbitrary units) with no differences between groups for CSA ( P = 0.688) or MVC force ( P = 0.790). MUAP size was larger for NW than OW in relation to RT ( P = 0.002) and for MUs expressing similar MFRs ( P = 0.011). There were no significant differences ( P = 0.279-0.969) between groups for slopes or y-intercepts from the MFR vs. RT relationships. MUAP time was larger in OW ( P = 0.015) and EMG RMS was attenuated in OW compared with NW ( P = 0.034); however, there were no significant correlations ( P = 0.133-0.164, r = 0.270-0.291) between sFAT and EMG RMS . In a muscle that does not support body mass, the OW children had smaller MUAP size as well as greater EI, although anatomical CSA was similar. This contradicts previous studies examining larger limb muscles. Despite evidence of smaller MUs, the OW children had similar isometric strength compared with NW children. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Ultrasound data and motor unit action potential sizes suggest that overweight children have poorer muscle composition and smaller motor units in the first dorsal interosseous than normal weight children. Evidence is presented that suggests differences in action potential size cannot be explained

Radiology as part of an objective structured clinical examination on clinical skills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berk, I.A.H. van den; Ridder, J.M.M. van de; Schaik, J.P.J. van

2011-01-01

Introduction: An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) assessess clinical competence in a standardised and context related manner. Compared with written tests, OSCE's are more susceptible to reliability errors because of the use of multiple cases and multiple examiners. In the pre-clinical phase of the medical curriculum of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, an OSCE is organised as a medical consult. We evaluated the radiology station. Method: Four questions were formulated: ·What is the internal consistency of the items of the radiology station? ·How do the scores on the radiology station compare with the scores on the test excluding radiology? ·How do different cases differ in scores? ·What are the differences in score between the examiners? We analysed the OSCE results of second year medical students in 2004. Results: Two hundred and sixty-five students were examined in the OSCE in 2004. Ninty-three Students were examined in the radiology station. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the radiology station was 0.92. The average score for the radiology station was 3.8 (0.87). The average score for the test without radiology was 3.9 (0.32). The range of the average scores for the six different cases was 0.5 (3.6-4.1). The range of the average scores for the five examiners was 1.0 (3.3-4.3). Conclusion: The internal consistency of the items in the radiology station is good. The average score for the radiology station is similar to that of the other stations. The range of the scores between the different cases was relatively small. The range of the scores between the different examiners was clearly larger.

A STUDY OF THE REQUIRED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PROGRAM IN PUBLIC COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS HELD BY CESPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fátima de Souza Freire

2012-11-01

Full Text Available With a view to standardizing the contents offered to future Accounting professionals, the Federal Accounting Council (CFC elaborated the National Proposal for Undergraduate Accountancy Program Contents. Thus, the curriculum that Higher Education Institutions (HEI adopt serves as an ally for students’ professional conquests. Stability and favorable job conditions attract many people to the dispute for a public function, with a growing Braz ilian public competitive examination market. According to the National Association for Protection and Support to Public Competitive Examinations (Anpac, between 2003 and 2009, the number of public servants in the executive power with a higher education degree in Brazil increased by 26%. The aim of this study was to confront the CFC’s suggested knowledge with the contents required during tests applied in public competitive examinations for Accountancy professionals. The intent is to identify what Public Accounting knowledge is demanded from candidates for the public career. Through a documentary research, 561 calls from public competitive examinations exclusively for Accountancy professionals were selected for the study sample. They were classified according to the proposed program contents, the test questions by the Center for Selection and Event Promotion (Cespe, between 2000 and 2009. In conclusion, the most frequent required Public Accounting areas are contents related to Public Equity and Budget. The results demonstrate that the CFC’s suggested content is in line with the knowledge required from candidates for public functions.

Medical students' attitudes towards peer physical examination: findings from an international cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees, Charlotte E; Wearn, Andy M; Vnuk, Anna K; Sato, Toshio J

2009-03-01

Although studies have begun to shed light on medical students' attitudes towards peer physical examination (PPE), they have been conducted at single sites, and have generally not examined changes in medical students' attitudes over time. Employing both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, the current study examines medical students' attitudes towards PPE at schools from different geographical and cultural regions and assess changes in their attitudes over their first year of medical study. Students at six schools (Peninsula, UK; Durham, UK; Auckland, New Zealand; Flinders, Australia; Sapporo, Japan and Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong) completed the Examining Fellow Students (EFS) questionnaire near the start of their academic year (T1), and students at four schools (Peninsula, Durham, Auckland and Flinders) completed the EFS for a second time, around the end of their academic year (T2). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed a high level of acceptance for PPE of non-intimate body regions amongst medical students from all schools (greater than 83%, hips, at T1 and 94.5%, hips and upper body, at T2). At T1 and T2, students' willingness to engage in PPE was associated with their gender, ethnicity, religiosity and school. Typically, students least comfortable with PPE at T1 and T2 were female, non-white, religious and studying at Auckland. Although students' attitudes towards PPE were reasonably stable over their first year of study, and after exposure to PPE, we did find some statistically significant differences in attitudes between T1 and T2. Interestingly, attitude changes were consistently predicted by gender, even when controlling for school. While male students' attitudes towards PPE were relatively stable over time, females' attitudes were changeable. In this paper, we discuss our findings in light of existing research and theory, and discuss their implications for educational practice and further research.

Recognition memory for Braille or spoken words: an fMRI study in early blind.

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J; Agato, Alvin

2012-02-15

We examined cortical activity in early blind during word recognition memory. Nine participants were blind at birth and one by 1.5years. In an event-related design, we studied blood oxygen level-dependent responses to studied ("old") compared to novel ("new") words. Presentation mode was in Braille or spoken. Responses were larger for identified "new" words read with Braille in bilateral lower and higher tier visual areas and primary somatosensory cortex. Responses to spoken "new" words were larger in bilateral primary and accessory auditory cortex. Auditory cortex was unresponsive to Braille words and occipital cortex responded to spoken words but not differentially with "old"/"new" recognition. Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex had larger responses to "old" words only with Braille. Larger occipital cortex responses to "new" Braille words suggested verbal memory based on the mechanism of recollection. A previous report in sighted noted larger responses for "new" words studied in association with pictures that created a distinctiveness heuristic source factor which enhanced recollection during remembering. Prior behavioral studies in early blind noted an exceptional ability to recall words. Utilization of this skill by participants in the current study possibly engendered recollection that augmented remembering "old" words. A larger response when identifying "new" words possibly resulted from exhaustive recollecting the sensory properties of "old" words in modality appropriate sensory cortices. The uniqueness of a memory role for occipital cortex is in its cross-modal responses to coding tactile properties of Braille. The latter possibly reflects a "sensory echo" that aids recollection. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Catalytic burners in larger boiler appliances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silversand, Fredrik; Persson, Mikael (Catator AB, Lund (Sweden))

2009-02-15

This project focuses on the scale up of a Catator's catalytic burner technology to enable retrofit installation in existing boilers and the design of new innovative combinations of catalytic burners and boilers. Different design approaches are discussed and evaluated in the report and suggestions are made concerning scale-up. Preliminary test data, extracted from a large boiler installation are discussed together with an accurate analysis of technical possibilities following an optimization of the boiler design to benefit from the advantages of catalytic combustion. The experimental work was conducted in close collaboration with ICI Caldaie (ICI), located in Verona, Italy. ICI is a leading European boiler manufacturer in the effect segment ranging from about 20 kWt to several MWt. The study shows that it is possibly to scale up the burner technology and to maintain low emissions. The boilers used in the study were designed around conventional combustion and were consequently not optimized for implementation of catalytic burners. From previous experiences it stands clear that the furnace volume can be dramatically decreased when applying catalytic combustion. In flame combustion, this volume is normally dimensioned to avoid flame impingement on cold surfaces and to facilitate completion of the gas-phase reactions. The emissions of nitrogen oxides can be reduced by decreasing the residence time in the furnace. Even with the over-dimensioned furnace used in this study, we easily reached emission values close to 35 mg/kWh. The emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons were negligible (less than 5 ppmv). It is possible to decrease the emissions of nitrogen oxides further by designing the furnace/boiler around the catalytic burner, as suggested in the report. Simultaneously, the size of the boiler installation can be reduced greatly, which also will result in material savings, i.e. the production cost can be reduced. It is suggested to optimize the

TOGAF version 9 foundation study guide preparation for the TOGAF 9 Part 1 examination

CERN Document Server

Harrison, Rachel

2009-01-01

This document is a Study Guide for TOGAF™ 9 Foundation.It gives an overview of every learning objective for the TOGAF 9 Foundation Syllabus and in-depth coverage on preparing and taking the TOGAF 9 Part 1 Examination. It is specifically designed to help individuals prepare for certification.

An examination of impact damage in glass-phenolic and aluminum honeycomb core composite panels

Science.gov (United States)

Nettles, A. T.; Lance, D. G.; Hodge, A. J.

1990-01-01

An examination of low velocity impact damage to glass-phenolic and aluminum core honeycomb sandwich panels with carbon-epoxy facesheets is presented. An instrumented drop weight impact test apparatus was utilized to inflict damage at energy ranges between 0.7 and 4.2 joules. Specimens were checked for extent of damage by cross sectional examination. The effect of core damage was assessed by subjecting impact-damaged beams to four-point bend tests. Skin-only specimens (facings not bonded to honeycomb) were also tested for comparison purposes. Results show that core buckling is the first damage mode, followed by delaminations in the facings, matrix cracking, and finally fiber breakage. The aluminum honeycomb panels exhibited a larger core damage zone and more facing delaminations than the glass-phenolic core, but could withstand more shear stress when damaged than the glass-phenolic core specimens.

Analytic examination of mechanism for compressive residual stress introduction with low plastic strain using peening

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishibashi, Ryo; Hato, Hisamitsu; Miyazaki, Katsumasa; Yoshikubo, Fujio

2016-01-01

Our goal for this study was to understand the cause of the differences in surface properties between surfaces processed using water jet peening (WJP) and shot peening (SP) and to examine the compressive residual stress introduction process with low plastic strain using SP. The dynamic behaviors of stress and strain in surfaces during these processes were analyzed through elasto-plastic calculations using a finite-element method program, and the calculated results were compared with measured results obtained through experiments. Media impacting a surface results in a difference in the hardness and microstructure of the processed surface. During SP, a shot deforms the surface locally with stress concentration in the early stages of the impact, while shock waves deform the surface evenly throughout the wave passage across the surface during WJP. A shot with a larger diameter creates a larger impact area on the surface during shot impact. Thus, SP with a large-diameter shot suppresses the stress concentration under the same kinetic energy condition. As the shot diameter increases, the equivalent plastic strain decreases. On the other hand, the shot is subject to size restriction since the calculated results indicate the compressive residual stress at the surface decreased and occasionally became almost zero as the shot diameter increased. Thus, compressive residual stress introduction with low plastic strain by using SP is considered achievable by using shots with a large diameter and choosing the appropriate peening conditions. (author)

Parental characteristics have a larger effect on children's health behaviour than their body weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Drenowatz, Clemens; Erkelenz, Nanette; Wartha, Olivia; Brandstetter, Susanne; Steinacker, Jürgen M

2014-01-01

Parents take an important role in a child's development, but there is currently limited information on parental correlates with children's health behaviour. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine whether parental characteristics, such as body weight, TV consumption and sport participation, affect children's body weight and health behaviour. To examine the effects of parental characteristics on children's body weight and health behaviour, baseline data of 1,118 elementary school children (7.6 ± 0.4 years) participating in a school-based intervention in southwest Germany was used. Children's height and weight were measured and parent as well as child behaviour was assessed via questionnaire. BMI percentiles of children were positively associated with parental BMI (r = 0.2, p parental TV time increased the odds for high TV time in children (OR mother= 2.2, OR father = 2.3) and parental club sport participation increased the odds for club sport participation in children (OR mother = 1.9, OR father = 1.7). The relationship between parental and child behaviour was stronger than the relationship between parental BMI and BMI percentiles of the child. These results suggest that parental behaviour and role modeling provide an important contribution to childrens' health behaviour, especially at younger ages.

The Expanding Digital Media Landscape of Qualitative and Decolonizing Research: Examining Collaborative Podcasting as a Research Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindsay Day

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Technology of the twenty-first century has transformed our ability to create, modify, store, and share digital media and, in so doing, has presented new possibilities for how social science research can be conducted and mobilized. This paper introduces the use of collaborative podcasting as a research method of critical inquiry and knowledge mobilization. Using a case study, we describe the methodological process that our transdisciplinary team engaged in to create the Water Dialogues podcast, a collaborative initiative stemming from a larger research project examining approaches to implementing Indigenous and Western knowledge in water research and management. We situate collaborative podcasting within an expanding field of collaborative and participatory media practice in social research, and consider how the method may align with and support research within a decolonizing agenda.

Radiologic examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thoeni, R.F.

1989-01-01

The radiographic examination of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract has been changed drastically by the introduction of endoscopic procedures that are now widely available. However, the diagnostic approach to the small bowel remains largely unchanged. Ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are occasionally employed but are not primary imaging modalities for small bowel disease. Even though small bowel endoscopes are available, they are infrequently used, and no scientific paper on their employment has been published. Barium studies are still the mainstay for evaluating patients with suspected small bowel abnormalities. This paper discusses the anatomy and physiology of the small bowel and lists the various types of barium and pharmacologic aids used for examining it. The different radiographic methods for examining the small bowel with barium, including SBFT, dedicated SBFT, enteroclysis, peroral pneumocolon (PPC), and retrograde small bowel examination, are described and put into perspective. To some degree such an undertaking must be a personal opinion, but certain conclusions can be made based on the available literature and practical experience. This analysis is based on the assumption that all the various barium techniques are performed with equal expertise by the individual radiologist, thus excluding bias from unfamiliarity with certain aspects of a procedure, such as intubation or skilled compression during fluoroscopy. Also, the use of water-soluble contrast material, CT, and MRI for evaluating suspected small bowel abnormalities is outlined

A Critical Examination of Education Reforms Implemented in the Early Years of the Turkish Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaya Yılmaz

2011-05-01

Full Text Available A wide variety of fundamental reforms in different spheres of Turkey’s institutions were swiftly implemented in a top-down manner in the early years of the Turkish Republic under Atatürk’s leadership. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the alphabet and language reforms put into practice in the years between the 1920s and 1930s. Since an analysis of socio-cultural and socio-political context is fundamental to understanding any reform initiatives, the article examines the alphabet and language reforms within the larger social, cultural, and political context within which they were carried out. In order to evaluate these reforms from a broader perspective, the article also scrutinizes the assumptions, beliefs, ideologies, and goals of those politicians or reformers who implemented them.

A Validation Study of the Japanese Version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelssy Hitomi dos Santos Kawata

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to validate the Japanese version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R [Mori: Japanese Edition of Hodges JR’s Cognitive Assessment for Clinicians, 2010] designed to detect dementia, and to compare its diagnostic accuracy with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination. The ACE-R was administered to 85 healthy individuals and 126 patients with dementia. The reliability assessment revealed a strong correlation in both groups. The internal consistency was excellent (α-coefficient = 0.88. Correlation with the Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes score was significant (rs = –0.61, p < 0.001. The area under the curve was 0.98 for the ACE-R and 0.96 for the Mini-Mental State Examination. The cut-off score of 80 showed a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 94%. Like the original ACE-R and the versions designed for other languages, the Japanese version of the ACE-R is a reliable and valid test for the detection of dementia.

Context Matters for Social-Emotional Learning: Examining Variation in Program Impact by Dimensions of School Climate.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Meghan P; Cappella, Elise; O'Connor, Erin E; McClowry, Sandee G

2015-09-01

This paper examines whether three dimensions of school climate-leadership, accountability, and safety/respect-moderated the impacts of the INSIGHTS program on students' social-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Twenty-two urban schools and N = 435 low-income racial/ethnic minority students were enrolled in the study and received intervention services across the course of 2 years, in both kindergarten and first grade. Intervention effects on math and reading achievement were larger for students enrolled in schools with lower overall levels of leadership, accountability, and safety/respect at baseline. Program impacts on disruptive behaviors were greater in schools with lower levels of accountability at baseline; impacts on sustained attention were greater in schools with lower levels of safety/respect at baseline. Implications for Social-Emotional Learning program implementation, replication, and scale-up are discussed.

Volcanism in slab tear faults is larger than in island-arcs and back-arcs.

Science.gov (United States)

Cocchi, Luca; Passaro, Salvatore; Tontini, Fabio Caratori; Ventura, Guido

2017-11-13

Subduction-transform edge propagators are lithospheric tears bounding slabs and back-arc basins. The volcanism at these edges is enigmatic because it is lacking comprehensive geological and geophysical data. Here we present bathymetric, potential-field data, and direct observations of the seafloor on the 90 km long Palinuro volcanic chain overlapping the E-W striking tear of the roll-backing Ionian slab in Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The volcanic chain includes arc-type central volcanoes and fissural, spreading-type centers emplaced along second-order shears. The volume of the volcanic chain is larger than that of the neighbor island-arc edifices and back-arc spreading center. Such large volume of magma is associated to an upwelling of the isotherms due to mantle melts upraising from the rear of the slab along the tear fault. The subduction-transform edge volcanism focuses localized spreading processes and its magnitude is underestimated. This volcanism characterizes the subduction settings associated to volcanic arcs and back-arc spreading centers.

A prospective field study examining the association between environmental emissions from the petroleum industry and the productivity of commercial beef cows

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waldner, C.L.; Ribble, C.S.; Janzen, E.D.; Campbell, J.R. [Western College of Veterinary Medicine, AB (Canada). Dept. of Herd Medicine and Theriogenology

2000-07-01

The health and productivity of seven cow-calf herds located near a new sour gas processing plant was measured using newly developed intensive biological accounting methods. Production records from more than 7000 bull contacts were examined from 1991 to 1997. Detailed information was collected on other risk factors which could influence beef herd productivity. Published reports were in good agreement with the collected data on the median risks for non-pregnancy, abortion, late calving, stillbirth, calf mortality, calving date or weaning weight. Herd age-adjusted weight for both male and female calves improved significantly. Exposure assessments made on individual animals indicated that there is no consistent association between the total sulfation and H{sub 2}S deposition which was used as markers for the compounds found in emissions from sour gas processing plants and flares. However, five examples of association were found to exist between increasing exposure to total sulfation and decreased productivity. Finally, the association between cow-calf productivity and cumulative animal proximity to petroleum field facilities and sour gas flares from battery sites was examined. It was determined that an increased risk of non-pregnancy was sometimes associated with exposure to sour flaring, battery facilities, active gas wells and larger field facilities, but the association was not consistent from from year to year. Flaring was not found to be associated with increased abortion risk, but volume of flared sour gas from battery sites was associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. In the 1992-1993 calf crop, sour flaring was found to be associated with an increased risk in calf mortality.

Examining Intertextual Connections in Written Arguments: A Study of Student Writing as Social Participation and Response

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Allison Wynhoff; VanDerHeide, Jennifer; Goff, Brenton; Dunn, Mandie B.

2018-01-01

Writing studies scholarship has long understood the need for context-based studies of student writing. Few studies, however, have closely examined how students use intertextual relationships in the context of learning to compose argumentative essays. Drawing on a 17-day argumentative writing unit in a ninth-grade humanities classroom, this article…

MRI examination of West syndrome complicated by periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuda, Kuniaki; Yamashita, Akiko; Endo, Shoichi; Gouda, Tomoko

2001-01-01

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of 19 low-birth-weight infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) and cerebral palsy, 6 with West syndrome as a complication (group III) and 13 without it (group II), were compared with those of normal 13 low-birth-weight infants without PVL or cerebral palsy (group I) to investigate the pathogenetic mechanism of West syndrome. All of the subjects were born between 1989 and 1997, and there were no significant differences between the three groups in birth weight or age at the time of the examination. Although the gestation period was significantly longer in the group III (infants with West syndrome) than in group I (control infants), there was no significant difference was seen between group I and group II (infants with PVL and cerebral palsy). PVL was diagnosed by MRI, and the diagnostic standards included periventricular high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, decreased cerebral white matter, and deformity or enlargement of the lateral ventricles. The area of periventricular high signal intensity was significantly larger in group II and group III than in group I, and the occipital lobe white matter was significantly thinner in the former than the latter. The lateral ventricles were significantly larger in group II than in the other two groups. The area of the corpus callosum and the thickness of the splenium and trunk of the corpus callosum were significantly smaller in group II and group III than in group I, but the corpus callosum was significantly shorter in group III than in the other two groups. Findings in the brain stem showed a significantly smaller pons and medulla oblongata in group III than in group I, but there were no significant differences between group II and group I. The results of this study indicate that lower brainstem lesions as well as cerebral lesions are associated with the development of West syndrome. (K.H.)

MRI examination of West syndrome complicated by periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukuda, Kuniaki; Yamashita, Akiko; Endo, Shoichi [National Kagawa Children' s Hospital, Zentuji (Japan); Gouda, Tomoko

2001-10-01

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of 19 low-birth-weight infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) and cerebral palsy, 6 with West syndrome as a complication (group III) and 13 without it (group II), were compared with those of normal 13 low-birth-weight infants without PVL or cerebral palsy (group I) to investigate the pathogenetic mechanism of West syndrome. All of the subjects were born between 1989 and 1997, and there were no significant differences between the three groups in birth weight or age at the time of the examination. Although the gestation period was significantly longer in the group III (infants with West syndrome) than in group I (control infants), there was no significant difference was seen between group I and group II (infants with PVL and cerebral palsy). PVL was diagnosed by MRI, and the diagnostic standards included periventricular high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, decreased cerebral white matter, and deformity or enlargement of the lateral ventricles. The area of periventricular high signal intensity was significantly larger in group II and group III than in group I, and the occipital lobe white matter was significantly thinner in the former than the latter. The lateral ventricles were significantly larger in group II than in the other two groups. The area of the corpus callosum and the thickness of the splenium and trunk of the corpus callosum were significantly smaller in group II and group III than in group I, but the corpus callosum was significantly shorter in group III than in the other two groups. Findings in the brain stem showed a significantly smaller pons and medulla oblongata in group III than in group I, but there were no significant differences between group II and group I. The results of this study indicate that lower brainstem lesions as well as cerebral lesions are associated with the development of West syndrome. (K.H.)

Analysis of larger than tetrameric poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) by a radioimmunoassay in nuclei separated in organic solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferro, A.M.; Minaga, T.; Piper, W.N.; Kun, E.

1978-01-01

Antibodies were prepared against poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) of an average chain length of 40 adenosine diphosphoribose units by repeated injection of the polymer mixed with methylated albumin and adjuvants into rabbits. The antibody was present mainly in the 7 S fraction of the immunoglobulins. A membrane binding assay was developed, and its specificity determined for the detection of (adenosine diphosphoribose) (n>4) in organs. The method is suitable for the study of the variation of the polymer content of nuclei. The size recognition of the anti-poly(adenosine diphosphoribose) globulin fraction was the same for polymers composed of 4-40 adenosine diphosphoribose units, but smaller oligomers were not detectible. A quantitative extraction technique was developed and applied for radioimmunoassay of nuclear (adenosine diphosphoribose) n>4. Organs were freeze-clamped, freeze dried, broken into subcellular fragments in a colloid mill, and the nuclear fraction was subsequently separated in organic solvents in order to preserve the polymer. Nicotinamide and nicotinic acid, when administered in vivo, augmented the (adenosine diphosphoribose) (n>4) content of rat liver and heart. Tissues of infant pigeons contained larger quantities of (adenosine diphosphoribose) (n>4) than tissues of adult rates. (Auth.)

Lecture archiving on a larger scale at the University of Michigan and CERN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herr, Jeremy; Lougheed, Robert; Neal, Homer A, E-mail: herrj@umich.ed [University of Michigan, 450 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2010-04-01

The ATLAS Collaboratory Project at the University of Michigan has been a leader in the area of collaborative tools since 1999. Its activities include the development of standards, software and hardware tools for lecture archiving, and making recommendations for videoconferencing and remote teaching facilities. Starting in 2006 our group became involved in classroom recordings, and in early 2008 we spawned CARMA, a University-wide recording service. This service uses a new portable recording system that we developed. Capture, archiving and dissemination of rich multimedia content from lectures, tutorials and classes are increasingly widespread activities among universities and research institutes. A growing array of related commercial and open source technologies is becoming available, with several new products introduced in the last couple years. As the result of a new close partnership between U-M and CERN IT, a market survey of these products was conducted and a summary of the results are presented here. It is informing an ambitious effort in 2009 to equip many CERN rooms with automated lecture archiving systems, on a much larger scale than before. This new technology is being integrated with CERN's existing webcast, CDS, and Indico applications.

Lecture archiving on a larger scale at the University of Michigan and CERN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herr, Jeremy; Lougheed, Robert; Neal, Homer A

2010-01-01

The ATLAS Collaboratory Project at the University of Michigan has been a leader in the area of collaborative tools since 1999. Its activities include the development of standards, software and hardware tools for lecture archiving, and making recommendations for videoconferencing and remote teaching facilities. Starting in 2006 our group became involved in classroom recordings, and in early 2008 we spawned CARMA, a University-wide recording service. This service uses a new portable recording system that we developed. Capture, archiving and dissemination of rich multimedia content from lectures, tutorials and classes are increasingly widespread activities among universities and research institutes. A growing array of related commercial and open source technologies is becoming available, with several new products introduced in the last couple years. As the result of a new close partnership between U-M and CERN IT, a market survey of these products was conducted and a summary of the results are presented here. It is informing an ambitious effort in 2009 to equip many CERN rooms with automated lecture archiving systems, on a much larger scale than before. This new technology is being integrated with CERN's existing webcast, CDS, and Indico applications.

Examining Teacher Job Satisfaction and Principals' Instructional Supervision Behaviours: A Comparative Study of Turkish Private and Public School Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Sungu, Hilmi; Ilgan, Abdurrahman; Parylo, Oksana; Erdem, Mustafa

2014-01-01

In spite of a strong body of research examining teacher job satisfaction and teachers' assessment of their principals' behaviours, most studies focus on the educational systems in the first world countries. This quantitative study focuses on a lesser-examined educational context by comparing school teachers' job satisfaction levels and principals'…

A Larger Social Network Enhances Novel Object Location Memory and Reduces Hippocampal Microgliosis in Aged Mice

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Bryon M.; Yao, Xinyue; Chen, Kelly S.; Kirby, Elizabeth D.

2018-01-01

The mammalian hippocampus shows marked decline in function with aging across many species, including humans and laboratory rodent models. This decline frequently manifests in memory impairments that occur even in the absence of dementia pathology. In humans, a number of factors correlate with preserved hippocampal memory in aging, such as exercise, cognitive stimulation and number of social ties. While interventional studies and animal models clearly indicate that exercise and cognitive stimulation lead to hippocampal preservation, there is relatively little research on whether a decline in social ties leads to cognitive decline or vice versa. Even in animal studies of environmental enrichment in aging, the focus typically falls on physical enrichment such as a rotating cast of toys, rather than the role of social interactions. The present studies investigated the hypothesis that a greater number of social ties in aging mice would lead to improved hippocampal function. Aged, female C57/Bl6 mice were housed for 3 months in pairs or large groups (7 mice per cage). Group-housed mice showed greater novel object location memory and stronger preference for a spatial navigation strategy in the Barnes maze, though no difference in escape latency, compared to pair-housed mice. Group-housed mice did not differ from pair-housed mice in basal corticosterone levels or adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Group-housed mice did, however, show reduced numbers of Iba1/CD68+ microglia in the hippocampus. These findings suggest that group housing led to better memory function and reduced markers of neuroinflammation in aged mice. More broadly, they support a causative link between social ties and hippocampal function, suggesting that merely having a larger social network can positively influence the aging brain. Future research should address the molecular mechanisms by which a greater number of social ties alters hippocampal function. PMID:29904345

Will it hurt? Patients' experience of X-ray examinations: a pilot study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chesson, Rosemary A.; Good, Maureen; Hart, Cleone L.

2002-01-01

Background: There is a worldwide trend towards involving patients in health care, but little is known about children's expectations of routine radiological procedures. Objective: To determine children's perceptions of X-ray examinations. Materials and methods: A convenience sample was selected from consecutive patients referred to a children's hospital in Scotland. Children were allocated either to a drawing study (n=20) or a two-stage interview (n=25). The investigation was restricted to first-time users of the radiological service aged 7-14 years if accompanied by a parent and consent having been obtained. Children were excluded if pain control was administered in the Accident and Emergency Department. Children's drawings were reported on by an art therapist and a child psychiatrist. Results: All children approached agreed to participate. Seventeen children provided accurate pictures of the X-ray examination room. Concordance existed between the psychiatrist's and art therapist's reports. Children at interview had at least a minimal level of knowledge of X-rays and this was from (1) family, friends and neighbours, (2) the school classroom, and (3) television programmes. Conclusions: Children had anxieties revealed through drawings and interviews. We recommend drawings for establishing children's views of radiology. (orig.)

Radiology as part of an objective structured clinical examination on clinical skills

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berk, I.A.H. van den, E-mail: i.a.h.van_den_berk@lumc.nl [Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Postbus 9600, 2300 RC Leiden (Netherlands); Ridder, J.M.M. van de, E-mail: J.M.M.vandeRidder@umcutrecht.nl [School of Medical Sciences, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht (Netherlands); Schaik, J.P.J. van, E-mail: J.P.J.vanSchaik@umcutrecht.nl [Department of Radiology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100 E01-132, 3584 CX Utrecht (Netherlands)

2011-06-15

Introduction: An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) assessess clinical competence in a standardised and context related manner. Compared with written tests, OSCE's are more susceptible to reliability errors because of the use of multiple cases and multiple examiners. In the pre-clinical phase of the medical curriculum of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, an OSCE is organised as a medical consult. We evaluated the radiology station. Method: Four questions were formulated: {center_dot}What is the internal consistency of the items of the radiology station? {center_dot}How do the scores on the radiology station compare with the scores on the test excluding radiology? {center_dot}How do different cases differ in scores? {center_dot}What are the differences in score between the examiners? We analysed the OSCE results of second year medical students in 2004. Results: Two hundred and sixty-five students were examined in the OSCE in 2004. Ninty-three Students were examined in the radiology station. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the radiology station was 0.92. The average score for the radiology station was 3.8 (0.87). The average score for the test without radiology was 3.9 (0.32). The range of the average scores for the six different cases was 0.5 (3.6-4.1). The range of the average scores for the five examiners was 1.0 (3.3-4.3). Conclusion: The internal consistency of the items in the radiology station is good. The average score for the radiology station is similar to that of the other stations. The range of the scores between the different cases was relatively small. The range of the scores between the different examiners was clearly larger.

Examination of the association between male gender and preterm delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Brettell, Rachel; Yeh, Peter S; Impey, Lawrence W M

2008-12-01

To examine possible reasons why a male fetus constitutes a risk factor for preterm delivery. Retrospective study of deliveries from hospital database in a UK teaching hospital. The population comprised all deliveries >23 weeks over an 11-year period, excluding multiples, terminations and pregnancies with major abnormalities including indeterminate gender. Obstetric variables and outcomes were initially compared in male and female babies for preterm births in different gestation bands, extreme (pathways that might explain the male excess were tested. 75,725 deliveries occurred, of which 4003 (5.3%) were preterm. Males delivered preterm more frequently (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.06-1.20). This was due to spontaneous (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.19-1.42) but not iatrogenic (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.87-1.05) preterm birth. There was an increased risk of pre eclampsia among preterm females. Although males were larger, and male pregnancies were more frequently nulliparous and affected by some other obstetric complications (abruption, urinary tract infection), these did not account for their increased risk. Any effect of growth restriction could not be properly determined. Being male carries an increased risk of spontaneous but not iatrogenic preterm birth. The reasons behind this remain obscure.

Developing Renewable Energy Projects Larger Than 10 MWs at Federal Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2013-03-01

To accomplish Federal goals for renewable energy, sustainability, and energy security, large-scale renewable energy projects must be developed and constructed on Federal sites at a significant scale with significant private investment. For the purposes of this Guide, large-scale Federal renewable energy projects are defined as renewable energy facilities larger than 10 megawatts (MW) that are sited on Federal property and lands and typically financed and owned by third parties.1 The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) helps Federal agencies meet these goals and assists agency personnel navigate the complexities of developing such projects and attract the necessary private capital to complete them. This Guide is intended to provide a general resource that will begin to develop the Federal employee’s awareness and understanding of the project developer’s operating environment and the private sector’s awareness and understanding of the Federal environment. Because the vast majority of the investment that is required to meet the goals for large-scale renewable energy projects will come from the private sector, this Guide has been organized to match Federal processes with typical phases of commercial project development. FEMP collaborated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and professional project developers on this Guide to ensure that Federal projects have key elements recognizable to private sector developers and investors. The main purpose of this Guide is to provide a project development framework to allow the Federal Government, private developers, and investors to work in a coordinated fashion on large-scale renewable energy projects. The framework includes key elements that describe a successful, financially attractive large-scale renewable energy project. This framework begins the translation between the Federal and private sector operating environments. When viewing the overall

Examining the mediating effect of work-to-family conflict on the associations between job stressors and employee psychological distress: a prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Oshio, Takashi; Inoue, Akiomi; Tsutsumi, Akizumi

2017-08-03

The mediating effect of work-to-family conflict (WFC) on the associations between eight types of job stressors (measured based on the job demands-control, effort-reward imbalance and organisational justice models) and psychological distress in employees was examined. This study employed a prospective design. An occupational cohort study in Japan (Japanese Study of Health, Occupation, and Psychosocial Factors Related Equity; J-HOPE). 5859 men and 1560 women who were working for 11 firms and participated at three consecutive waves of J-HOPE, at 1-year intervals, from 2010 to 2013. Psychological distress, as measured by Kessler 6 scores. Mediation analysis using data on job stressors at baseline, WFC at 1-year follow-up and psychological distress at 2-year follow-up showed that WFC mediated 39.1% (95% CI 29.1% to 49.1%) and 44.5% (95% CI 31.4% to 51.7%) of the associations of psychological distress with job demands and effort, respectively, for men. The mediating effect of WFC was smaller for job stressors indicating reduced job resources, compared with job demands and effort. The mediating effect of WFC was somewhat larger for women than it was for men, with WFC mediating 47.5% (95% CI 22.5% to 72.6%) and 64.0% (95% CI 24.3% to 100.0%) of the associations of psychological distress with job demands and effort, respectively. WFC was a key mediator in the associations between most job stressors and employee psychological distress. Results suggest that policy measures and support from supervisors, to prevent job stressors from adding to WFC, are needed to reduce employee psychological distress. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

SHOULD EVERY APPENDECECTOMY SPECIMEN BE SUBJECTED TO HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION? A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF HISTOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN APPENDICECTOMY SPECIMENS

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Shahanuma Shaik

2017-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Appendicitis is one of the commonest surgical emergencies with a lifetime risk of 7-8%. The appendicectomy specimens operated upon clinically-suspected appendicitis often appear normal on gross examination, but histopathological evaluation may reveal a diverse underlying pathology. Therefore, for accurate diagnosis, histopathological examination of all appendicectomy specimens is mandatory. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective study of 175 appendicectomy cases operated over a period of two years. The clinical data and histopathological reports were reviewed and various histopathological findings are categorised. RESULTS Out of the total 175 appendicectomies, 155 emergency appendicectomy cases were included in the study, while 20 cases of incidental appendicectomy were excluded. The peak incidence was found in the 2nd and 3rd decades with male predominance. Among the 155 specimens, 96.8% had histological features of appendicitis and 1.9% were normal appendix. The unusual histopathological findings were Carcinoid tumour and Enterobius vermicularis. CONCLUSION The definitive diagnoses of appendicitis as well as the unusual incidental findings that were missed intraoperatively are established by histopathological examination. The study supports the histological examination of all resected appendicectomy specimens.

Recognition Memory for Braille or Spoken Words: An fMRI study in Early Blind

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Harold; Sinclair, Robert J.; Agato, Alvin

2012-01-01

We examined cortical activity in early blind during word recognition memory. Nine participants were blind at birth and one by 1.5 yrs. In an event-related design, we studied blood oxygen level-dependent responses to studied (“old”) compared to novel (“new”) words. Presentation mode was in Braille or spoken. Responses were larger for identified “new” words read with Braille in bilateral lower and higher tier visual areas and primary somatosensory cortex. Responses to spoken “new” words were larger in bilateral primary and accessory auditory cortex. Auditory cortex was unresponsive to Braille words and occipital cortex responded to spoken words but not differentially with “old”/“new” recognition. Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex had larger responses to “old” words only with Braille. Larger occipital cortex responses to “new” Braille words suggested verbal memory based on the mechanism of recollection. A previous report in sighted noted larger responses for “new” words studied in association with pictures that created a distinctiveness heuristic source factor which enhanced recollection during remembering. Prior behavioral studies in early blind noted an exceptional ability to recall words. Utilization of this skill by participants in the current study possibly engendered recollection that augmented remembering “old” words. A larger response when identifying “new” words possibly resulted from exhaustive recollecting the sensory properties of “old” words in modality appropriate sensory cortices. The uniqueness of a memory role for occipital cortex is in its cross-modal responses to coding tactile properties of Braille. The latter possibly reflects a “sensory echo” that aids recollection. PMID:22251836

Is work organisation associated with work status 3 months after injury? Results from a case-control study of New Zealand workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lilley, Rebbecca; Derrett, Sarah; Davie, Gabrielle

2015-01-01

Little empirical examination of the relationship between work organisational factors and return to work following injury has been undertaken despite the growing recognition of examining broader multi-dimensional contexts for recovery following injury. To explore relationships between pre-injury work organisational factors and work status (working/work absent) 3-month after injury among people employed prior to injury. Cases (work absent) and controls (working), selected from a larger study of injury outcomes according to reported work status 3-month after injury, completed a postal questionnaire. Work organisational factors were compared between cases and controls using univariate and multivariable analyses. One hundred and twelve participants completed the questionnaire (44 cases; 68 controls). Of 11 work organisation factors examined, organisational size was the only explanatory variable significantly associated with work status in the multivariable model. Higher odds of work absence were found in small ( 500 employees) (OR 7.2) workplaces, compared with medium-sized (50-500 employees) organisations. Variations in post-injury work patterns among those working pre-injury may be partly explained by organisation size. Future research examining work status following injury should examine the influence of work organisational factors in larger studies.

The in-training examination: an analysis of its predictive value on performance on the general pediatrics certification examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Althouse, Linda A; McGuinness, Gail A

2008-09-01

This study investigates the predictive validity of the In-Training Examination (ITE). Although studies have confirmed the predictive validity of ITEs in other medical specialties, no study has been done for general pediatrics. Each year, residents in accredited pediatric training programs take the ITE as a self-assessment instrument. The ITE is similar to the American Board of Pediatrics General Pediatrics Certifying Examination. First-time takers of the certifying examination over a 5-year period who took at least 1 ITE examination were included in the sample. Regression models analyzed the predictive value of the ITE. The predictive power of the ITE in the first training year is minimal. However, the predictive power of the ITE increases each year, providing the greatest power in the third year of training. Even though ITE scores provide information regarding the likelihood of passing the certification examination, the data should be used with caution, particularly in the first training year. Other factors also must be considered when predicting performance on the certification examination. This study continues to support the ITE as an assessment tool for program directors, as well as a means of providing residents with feedback regarding their acquisition of pediatric knowledge.

Southeast Asian Languages Proficiency Examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, James Dean; And Others

The design, administration, revision, and validation of the Southeast Asian Summer Studies Institute proficiency examinations are reported. The examinations were created as parallel language proficiency tests in each of five languages: Indonesian, Khmer, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. Four tests were developed in each language: multiple-choice…

How well do second-year students learn physical diagnosis? Observational study of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Steven R

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE in physical diagnosis courses. The purpose of this study was to describe student performance on an OSCE in a physical diagnosis course. Methods Cross-sectional study at Harvard Medical School, 1997–1999, for 489 second-year students. Results Average total OSCE score was 57% (range 39–75%. Among clinical skills, students scored highest on patient interaction (72%, followed by examination technique (65%, abnormality identification (62%, history-taking (60%, patient presentation (60%, physical examination knowledge (47%, and differential diagnosis (40% (p Conclusions Students scored higher on interpersonal and technical skills than on interpretive or integrative skills. Station scores identified specific content that needs improved teaching.

A Constructivist Case Study Examining the Leadership Development of Undergraduate Students in Campus Recreational Sports

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Stacey L.; Forrester, Scott; Borsz, Melissa

2008-01-01

This constructivist case study examined undergraduate student leadership development. Twenty-one student leaders, 13 females and 8 males, in a campus recreational sports department were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. Seven broad themes: organizing, planning, and delegating; balancing academic, personal and professional…

Viral recombination blurs taxonomic lines: examination of single-stranded DNA viruses in a wastewater treatment plant

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Victoria M. Pearson

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Understanding the structure and dynamics of microbial communities, especially those of economic concern, is of paramount importance to maintaining healthy and efficient microbial communities at agricultural sites and large industrial cultures, including bioprocessors. Wastewater treatment plants are large bioprocessors which receive water from multiple sources, becoming reservoirs for the collection of many viral families that infect a broad range of hosts. To examine this complex collection of viruses, full-length genomes of circular ssDNA viruses were isolated from a wastewater treatment facility using a combination of sucrose-gradient size selection and rolling-circle amplification and sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq. Single-stranded DNA viruses are among the least understood groups of microbial pathogens due to genomic biases and culturing difficulties, particularly compared to the larger, more often studied dsDNA viruses. However, the group contains several notable well-studied examples, including agricultural pathogens which infect both livestock and crops (Circoviridae and Geminiviridae, and model organisms for genetics and evolution studies (Microviridae. Examination of the collected viral DNA provided evidence for 83 unique genotypic groupings, which were genetically dissimilar to known viral types and exhibited broad diversity within the community. Furthermore, although these genomes express similarities to known viral families, such as Circoviridae, Geminiviridae, and Microviridae, many are so divergent that they may represent new taxonomic groups. This study demonstrated the efficacy of the protocol for separating bacteria and large viruses from the sought after ssDNA viruses and the ability to use this protocol to obtain an in-depth analysis of the diversity within this group.

Brain pathology after mild traumatic brain injury: an exploratory study by repeated magnetic resonance examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Lannsjö, Marianne; Raininko, Raili; Bustamante, Mariana; von Seth, Charlotta; Borg, Jörgen

2013-09-01

To explore brain pathology after mild traumatic brain injury by repeated magnetic resonance examination. A prospective follow-up study. Nineteen patients with mild traumatic brain injury presenting with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 14-15. The patients were examined on day 2 or 3 and 3-7 months after the injury. The magnetic resonance protocol comprised conventional T1- and T2-weighted sequences including fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), two susceptibility-weighted sequences to reveal haemorrhages, and diffusion-weighted sequences. Computer-aided volume comparison was performed. Clinical outcome was assessed by the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE). At follow-up, 7 patients (37%) reported ≥  3 symptoms in RPQ, 5 reported some anxiety and 1 reported mild depression. Fifteen patients reported upper level of good recovery and 4 patients lower level of good recovery (GOSE 8 and 7, respectively). Magnetic resonance pathology was found in 1 patient at the first examination, but 4 patients (21%) showed volume loss at the second examination, at which 3 of them reported GOSE scores of 8. Loss of brain volume, demonstrated by computer-aided magnetic resonance imaging volumetry, may be a feasible marker of brain pathology after mild traumatic brain injury.

Surgical outcome of primary clipping for anterior circulation aneurysms of size 2 centimeters or larger.

Science.gov (United States)

Furtado, Sunil V; Saikiran, Narayanam A; Thakar, Sumit; Dadlani, Ravi; Mohan, Dilip; Aryan, Saritha; Hegde, Alangar S

2014-07-01

Aneurysms of the anterior circulation larger than 2cm have a complex relationship to the anterior skull base, requiring a multi-modality management approach. This retrospective study of 54 patients with such aneurysms who underwent clipping between 2001 and 2012 analyzes clinical and surgical data, aneurysm characteristics and correlates them with respect to the Glasgow outcome score at follow-up and immediate post-operative clinical status. Patients with an outcome score of 5 or 4 were categorized as "good", while those with score 3-1 were "poor". Fisher's exact test and paired T-test (p<0.5) were used to test statistical significance for discrete and continuous variables respectively. 44 (81.4%) patients had a good outcome. Patients with non-ophthalmic/paraclinoid aneurysms had significantly lower incidence of adverse intra-operative events (p=0.035). Patients older than 50 years (p=0.045), with adverse intra-operative events (p=0.015) and post-operative infarction (p<0.001) had a poor outcome compared to those younger than 50 years age and those without adverse intra-operative events or infarctions. The grouped age variable had maximum influence on patient outcome. Location and size of aneurysm did not have an overall impact on surgical outcome. There were 4 mortalities. Primary clipping of proximal non-cavernous aneurysms on the internal carotid artery is associated with adverse intra-operative events. A multi-modality treatment approach in these aneurysms should be individualized, more so in patients older than 50 years. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Examining variation in working memory capacity and retrieval in cued recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Unsworth, Nash

2009-05-01

Two experiments examined the notion that individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) are partially due to differences in search set size in cued recall. High and low WMC individuals performed variants of a cued recall task with either unrelated cue words (Experiment 1) or specific cue phrases (Experiment 2). Across both experiments low WMC individuals recalled fewer items, made more errors, and had longer correct recall latencies than high WMC individuals. Cross-experimental analyses suggested that providing participants with more specific cues decreased the size of the search set, leading to better recall overall. However, these effects were equivalent for high and low WMC. It is argued that these results are consistent with a search model framework in which low WMC individuals search through a larger set of items than high WMC individuals.

ABR Core examination preparation: results of a survey of fourth-year radiology residents who took the 2013 examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Shetty, Anup S; Grajo, Joseph R; Decker, Summer; Heitkamp, Darel E; DeStigter, Kristen K; Mezwa, Duane G; Deitte, Lori

2015-01-01

A survey was administered to fourth-year radiology residents after receiving their results from the first American Board of Radiology (ABR) Core examination in 2013. The purpose was to gather information regarding resources and study strategies to share with program directors and future resident classes. An online survey was distributed to examinees nationwide. The survey included free-response and multiple choice questions that covered examination results, perceived value of enumerated study resources, case-based and didactic teaching conferences, board reviews, study materials for noninterpretive skills, multidisciplinary conference attendance, and free-form comments. Two hundred sixty-six of 1186 residents who took the Core examination responded to the survey. Some resources demonstrated a significant difference in perceived value between residents who passed the examination and residents who failed, including internal board reviews (1.10, P multiple choice questions, audience response, and integration of clinical physics and patient safety topics compared to residents who failed. Radiology residents and residency programs have adapted their preparations for the ABR Core examination in a variety of ways. Certain practices and study tools, including daily conferences and internal board reviews, had greater perceived value by residents who passed the examination than by residents who failed. This survey provides insights that can be used to assess and modify current preparation strategies for the ABR Core examination. Copyright © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Outcomes of multiple wire localization for larger breast cancers: when can mastectomy be avoided?

Science.gov (United States)

Kirstein, Laurie J; Rafferty, Elizabeth; Specht, Michelle C; Moore, Richard H; Taghian, Alphonse G; Hughes, Kevin S; Gadd, Michele A; Smith, Barbara L

2008-09-01

Mastectomy is often recommended when mammography shows a breast cancer with extensive calcifications. We wished to determine whether the use of multiple localizing wires to guide lumpectomy in this setting was associated with increased rates of breast conservation. We also wanted to identify factors that predicted a poor chance of successful lumpectomy, to avoid multiple lumpectomy attempts in a patient who would ultimately require mastectomy. Records of 153 women with breast cancer who underwent lumpectomy for larger lesions that required multiple wire localization and 196 controls who required only single wire localization were reviewed retrospectively. The number of localizing wires, specimen volume, largest specimen dimension, number of surgical procedures, and rates of breast conservation were scored. Seventy-seven percent of patients requiring multiple wire localization had successful breast conservation, compared with 90% of those needing only single wire localization. Only 28% of multiple wire patients required more than 1 excision to achieve clear margins, compared with 36% of single wire patients (p localizing wires for excision. The use of multiple wires can decrease the number of procedures required to obtain clear lumpectomy margins.

Technique for Extension of Small Antenna Array Mutual-Coupling Data to Larger Antenna Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, M. C.

1996-01-01

A technique is presented whereby the mutual interaction between a small number of elements in a planar array can be interpolated and extrapolated to accurately predict the combined interactions in a much larger array of many elements. An approximate series expression is developed, based upon knowledge of the analytical characteristic behavior of the mutual admittance between small aperture antenna elements in a conducting ground plane. This expression is utilized to analytically extend known values for a few spacings and orientations to other element configurations, thus eliminating the need to numerically integrate a large number of highly oscillating and slowly converging functions. This paper shows that the technique can predict very accurately the mutual coupling between elements in a very large planar array with a knowledge of the self-admittance of an isolated element and the coupling between only two-elements arranged in eight different pair combinations. These eight pair combinations do not necessarily have to correspond to pairs in the large array, although all of the individual elements must be identical.

Examination of Conservatism in Ground-level Source Release Assumption when Performing Consequence Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sung-yeop; Lim, Ho-Gon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

One of these assumptions frequently assumed is the assumption of ground-level source release. The user manual of a consequence analysis software HotSpot is mentioning like below: 'If you cannot estimate or calculate the effective release height, the actual physical release height (height of the stack) or zero for ground-level release should be used. This will usually yield a conservative estimate, (i.e., larger radiation doses for all downwind receptors, etc).' This recommendation could be agreed in aspect of conservatism but quantitative examination of the effect of this assumption to the result of consequence analysis is necessary. The source terms of Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP accident have been estimated by several studies using inverse modeling and one of the biggest sources of the difference between the results of these studies was different effective source release height assumed by each studies. It supports the importance of the quantitative examination of the influence by release height. Sensitivity analysis of the effective release height of radioactive sources was performed and the influence to the total effective dose was quantitatively examined in this study. Above 20% difference is maintained even at longer distances, when we compare the dose between the result assuming ground-level release and the results assuming other effective plume height. It means that we cannot ignore the influence of ground-level source assumption to the latent cancer fatality estimations. In addition, the assumption of ground-level release fundamentally prevents detailed analysis including diffusion of plume from effective plume height to the ground even though the influence of it is relatively lower in longer distance. When we additionally consider the influence of surface roughness, situations could be more serious. The ground level dose could be highly over-estimated in short downwind distance at the NPP sites which have low surface roughness such as Barakah site in

Examination stress at unified state examination: student destabilization or success factor?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana N. Kostromina

2017-01-01

. Stress reactions were already recorded when the students read the instructions, and their number increased in the process of the examination, reaching the maximum by the end of completing the work. The analysis of subjective evaluation of the state by the students themselves reveals that they often evaluate it inadequately. Significant statistical differences were found between the levels of stress at examinations in different subjects. The highest stress level was recorded at the examination in Russian. It was revealed, that the students who chose a free strategy of completing the tasks and followed it, had fewer stress reactions than those who completed the tasks one by one. The differences in the stress levels were registered between students who got different grades: the students who were graded “good”, had the most stress reactions, those who were graded “satisfactory”, had the fewest stress reactions.The results of the study show that the General and Unified State Examinations are highly stressful events: in average, the students were under stress about one third of the time of completing the exam tasks. The given events have a significant impact on school leavers’ psychophysiological state. Additional factors were determined that cause stress reactions at the examination.

Examination of transient characteristics of two-phase natural circulation within a Freon-113 boiling/condensation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanimoto, K.; Ishii, M.

1998-01-01

Transient characteristics of two-phase natural circulation within a Freon-113 loop with a large condenser have been examined mainly focused on the flashing phenomenon. General behavior was described and parametric studies were performed. The items observed were the period and duration of flashing, peak flow rate, amount of flow carryover per flashing, lowest-peak liquid level within the condenser, and the peak void distribution in the riser section. The parameters considered were the heater power input, valve friction at the heater inlet (simulating the loopwise friction), condenser cooling, degree of subcooling at the heater inlet, and the heat loss to the surroundings. As a whole, the heater power input, valve friction, and the rate of condenser cooling played important roles in flashing while the other effects being marginal. In general, the flow appeared to be more unstable with the larger condensing surface which causes the condensation-induced flashing. (orig.)

An examination of the relationships between psychiatric disorders and traumatic brain injury: a prospective study

OpenAIRE

Gould, Kate Rachel

2017-01-01

Psychiatric disorders are commonly associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, pre- and post-injury frequencies of disorders are variable, and their course, associated risk factors and relationship with psychosocial outcome are poorly understood due to methodological inconsistencies. No studies have prospectively examined the full range of Axis I psychiatric disorders using semi-structured clinical interview. Accordingly, the main aims of the current study were to (a) investigate t...

Secular changes in personality: study on 75-year-olds examined in 1976-1977 and 2005-2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Billstedt, E; Waern, M; Duberstein, P; Marlow, T; Hellström, T; Ostling, S; Skoog, I

2013-03-01

In order to study secular changes in personality factors neuroticism and extroversion, representative population samples of non-demented 75-year-olds underwent psychiatric examinations in 1976-1977 (total n = 223, 138 women, 85 men) and 2005-2006 (total n = 556, 322 women and 234 men). Eysenck Personality Inventory was used at both occasions. Demographic factors (educational level, marital status, having children) were registered. Seventy-five-year-olds examined in 2005-2006 had higher values on extroversion and lower values on the Lie scale compared with those examined in 1976-1977. Neuroticism did not differ between the two birth cohorts. Neuroticism scores were higher in women than in men both in 1976-1977 and 2005-2006, and Lie score was higher in women than in men in 2005-2006. Our findings suggest that present cohorts of 75-year-olds are more extroverted and less prone to respond in a socially desirable manner than those born three decades earlier. Neuroticism levels remained unchanged, suggesting this trait may be less influenced by environmental factors than the other traits studied. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ABCC-JNIH Adult Health Study. Report 2. 1958-1960 cycle of examinations Nagasaki

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sagan, L; Seigel, D

1963-10-29

This report has presented the basic data collected during the 1958 to 1960 cycle of examinations in the ABCC-JNIH Adult Health Study in Nagasaki. No large differences were found among the 4 comparison groups. The only exceptions are to be found in a number of nonspecific complaints elicited during the review of systems. Inevitably in a review of this size some differences appeared between groups. These are pointed out in the text whenever possible. None were so large, nor so consistent within specific age and sex groups, however, that they could be categorically attributed to radiation. It will be necessary to compare them with subsequent medical experience in this study group and in Hiroshima. 13 references, 41 tables.

Obturator externus was larger, while obturator internus size was similar in ballet dancers compared to nondancing athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayes, Susan; Ferris, April-Rose; Smith, Peter; Cook, Jill

2018-06-02

To compare the cross-sectional area (CSA) of hip external rotators, obturator externus (OE) and obturator internus (OI), in ballet dancers and nondancing athletes, and evaluate the relationship between obturator muscle size and hip pain. Case-control study. Elite ballet and sport. 33 male and female professional ballet dancers and 33 age and sex-matched athletes. CSA's of OE and OI measured on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of one hip. Hip pain was scored with the Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS): HAGOS pain score of 100 was defined as no pain and a score less than 100 was defined as pain. Participants weight and height. Estimated marginal mean CSA of OE was 14% larger in dancers than athletes (p = 0.01, ηp2 = 0.1); the size of OI was similar (p > 0.05). Men and women in both groups had similar sized OI and OE. There was no interaction between the estimated marginal mean CSA of either obturator and hip pain. It appears that ballet selectively increases muscle size of OE, but not OI. Obturator size was not related to mild hip pain, as OE and OI size was similar in dancers and athletes with and without pain. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A comparative study of postmortem MR imaging and pathological examination of human brain specimens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiga, Tohru

1998-01-01

This study was designed to assess the value of MRI of the postmortem brain specimens by comparing MRI findings with neuropathological findings. Postmortem MRI was performed in 17 consecutive formalin-fixed whole brains comprising 3 with primary CNS neoplasm, 1 with metastatic brain tumor, 6 with cerebral vascular disease (CVD), 1 with degenerative disease, 1 with spongy state in thalamus, and 5 with no abnormality. Postmortem T2WI detected all neuropathological abnormalities but sparsely distributed tumor cells without edema. In one case of CNS neoplasm, the tumor lesions with little necrosis or edema showed isointensity to brain tissue, while others with large amounts of necrosis and edema showed high signal intensity on T2WI. In the cases of CVD, the major signal changes on T2WI were due to edema, necrosis, and damage of the organization as observed on neuropathological studies. There was one case in which both MRI and neuropathological examination showed an abnormality, which was pathologically unexplainable. In two cases, findings of postmortem MRI were more apparent than those of macroscopic examination. Postmortem MRI appeared different from premortem MRI in one of the rest three cases whereas the postmortem MRI correlated well with neuropathological findings. Progression of the disease immediately before death may have caused this difference. In conclusion, the correlations between MRI and neuropathological findings facilitate understanding the mechanisms responsible for MRI abnormalities. An increase in free water in edema, necrosis, and damage in brain tissue can explain an increased signal intensity on T2WI. Postmortem MRI may contribute to the effective pathological examination by pointing out subtle abnormalities before brain cutting. (author)

Examination of optimal radiation quality in the lead equivalent examination of x-ray protective clothing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Shinichi; Matsuzawa, Rie; Matsumoto, Mitsuhiro

2004-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the effective lead thickness of the apron for radiation protective clothing, i.e., the lead equivalent, a method of performing the lead equivalent examination is provided in the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS). We proposed a method of computation using an attenuation coefficient, and examined the measurement accuracy and optimal radiation quality using both. We were able to compute the lead equivalent with sufficient accuracy when using radiation quality of about 60 keV in the range of radiation quality examined. This technique was also examined in the measurement used for the marketing of radiation protective clothing. (author)

Results of the study of entrance surface dose from conventional examinations in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, A.; Jova, L.; Carrazana, J.; Diaz, E.; Mora, R. de la; Guevara, C.; Fleitas, I.

2001-01-01

The wide diffusion of X-ray diagnostic together with the quick development and expansion that has come with experiencing the technology in this practice, has motivated the emission of recommendations in the Basic Safety Standards of the IAEA for the establishment of guidance levels for different radiological examinations in each country that allow the optimization of the medical exposure. Considering the above-mentioned and the existence in Cuba in a great number of conventional X-ray equipment, with an average of over 10 years of use which influences directly on the patient dose, in 1999, an investigation began in the country on the patient exposure in this practice. This work shows the first results of measurements carried out in 9 major hospitals of several provinces of the country. The doses were evaluated in the examinations of lumbar spine AP, lumbar spine LAT, thorax PA, skull AP and skull LAT. The determination of the doses in these examinations was carried out by 'in-vivo' measurements on the patients, placing in the center of the irradiation field TLD of LiF. The distributions obtained in the studies are compared with the guidance levels that is shown in the Basic Safety Standards of the IAEA. (author)

Development of depressive symptoms and depression during organizational change--a two-year follow-up study of civil servants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Netterstrøm, Bo; Blønd, Morten; Nielsen, Martin

2010-01-01

On 1 January 2007, Denmark went through a major reorganization, where most of its 275 municipalities and 14 counties merged into larger units. Our study aimed to examine the development of depressive symptoms and incident depression among employees affected by this organizational change....

DO GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS EXAMINE INJURED RUNNERS?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Videbæk, Solvej; Jensen, A V; Rasmussen, S

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: General Medical Practitioners (GMP) in Denmark perform clinical examinations of patients with musculoskeletal pain. However, the prevalence proportion of examinations caused by running-related injuries remains unknown. PURPOSE: The primary purpose of the present study was to estimate...... the prevalence proportion of consultations in general medical practice caused by running-related injuries. The secondary purpose was to estimate the prevalence proportion of injured runners, who consult their GMP, that are referred to additional examinations or treatments. STUDY DESIGN: A survey-based study...

Class-related health inequalities are not larger in the East : A comparison of four European regions using the new European socioeconomic classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.A. Eikemo (Terje); A.E. Kunst (Anton); K. Judge; J.P. Mackenbach (Johan)

2008-01-01

textabstractBackground: The article investigates whether people in Eastern Europe have larger health inequalities than their counterparts in three West European regions (North, Central and the South). Methods: Data were obtained for 63 754 individuals in 23 countries from the first (2002) and

Step-2 Thai Medical Licensing Examination result: a follow-up study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wanvarie, Samkaew; Prakunhungsit, Supavadee

2008-12-01

The Thai medical students sat for the Medical Licensing Examination of Thailand (MLET) Step 2 for the first time in 2008. This paper analysed the first batch of Ramathibodi students taking the MLET Steps 1 and 2 in 2006 and 2008 respectively. The scores from the MLET Steps1 and 2, and fifth-year cumulative grade point averages (GPAX) of 108 students were analysed. Only 6 (5.6%) students failed the MLET Step 2 examination. Students who failed the MLET Step1 were more likely to fail their MLET Step 2 (relative risk, 5.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-26.0). Students with low GPAX or scoring in the lowest quintile or tertile on the MLET Step1 were also at increased risk of failing the LET Step 2. The data suggest that performance on the MLET Step 1 and GPAX are important predictors of a student's chances of passing the MLET Step 2. Students with poor academic achievement or failing the MLET Step1 should be given intensive tutorials to pass the medical licensing examination.

Physical examination of dizziness in athletes after a concussion: A descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Reneker, Jennifer C; Cheruvu, Vinay K; Yang, Jingzhen; James, Mark A; Cook, Chad E

2018-04-01

Dizziness is commonly reported after concussion. With the forces experienced at the time of the injury, several anatomical locations may have been altered, causing dizziness. Describe an objective examination and the types of impairment/dysfunction implicated by the results of clinical examination tests in subjects with dizziness after a concussion. Cross-Sectional. Athletes between ages 10-23 were enrolled with a diagnosis of concussion. An examination was completed to identify areas potentially contributing to dizziness, including tests of oculomotor control, the vestibular system, neuromotor control, and musculoskeletal components of the cervical spine. Descriptive analyses were completed to define the anatomical areas/types of dysfunction identified by positive findings of the examination tests. All (n = 41; 100%) subjects had examination findings consistent with central dysfunction. Of these, 36 (97.8%) had oculomotor control deficits; 29 (70.7%) demonstrated motion sensitivity; and 6 (15%) had central vestibular deficits. Nineteen (46.3%) had peripheral dysfunction, including 18 (43.9%) with unilateral hypofunction, and 2 (4.9%) with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Thirty-four (82.9%) had cervical dysfunction, with 11 (26.8%) presenting with cervicogenic dizziness, and 31 (75.6%) with altered neuromotor control. Functional injury to centrally-mediated pathways, specifically oculomotor control, and afferent and efferent pathways in the cervical spine are commonly identified through clinical examination tests in individuals with a complaint of dizziness post-concussion. According to results presented here, a high majority (90%) of the participants demonstrated dizziness that appeared to be multifactorial in nature and was not attributable to one main type of dysfunction. The common pathways between the systems make it difficult to isolate only one anatomical area as a contributor to dizziness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of jet substructure techniques for large-R jets in proton-proton collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

Aad, Georges; Abbott, Brad; Abdallah, Jalal; Abdel Khalek, Samah; Abdelalim, Ahmed Ali; Abdinov, Ovsat; Aben, Rosemarie; Abi, Babak; Abolins, Maris; AbouZeid, Ossama; Abramowicz, Halina; Abreu, Henso; Abulaiti, Yiming; Acharya, Bobby Samir; Adamczyk, Leszek; Adams, David; Addy, Tetteh; Adelman, Jahred; Adomeit, Stefanie; Adye, Tim; Aefsky, Scott; Aguilar-Saavedra, Juan Antonio; Agustoni, Marco; Ahlen, Steven; Ahles, Florian; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Ahsan, Mahsana; Aielli, Giulio; Åkesson, Torsten Paul Ake; Akimoto, Ginga; Akimov, Andrei; Alam, Muhammad Aftab; Albert, Justin; Albrand, Solveig; Aleksa, Martin; Aleksandrov, Igor; Alessandria, Franco; Alexa, Calin; Alexander, Gideon; Alexandre, Gauthier; Alexopoulos, Theodoros; Alhroob, Muhammad; Aliev, Malik; Alimonti, Gianluca; Alison, John; Allbrooke, Benedict; Allison, Lee John; Allport, Phillip; Allwood-Spiers, Sarah; Almond, John; Aloisio, Alberto; Alon, Raz; Alonso, Alejandro; Alonso, Francisco; Altheimer, Andrew David; Alvarez Gonzalez, Barbara; Alviggi, Mariagrazia; Amako, Katsuya; Amaral Coutinho, Yara; Amelung, Christoph; Ammosov, Vladimir; Amor Dos Santos, Susana Patricia; Amorim, Antonio; Amoroso, Simone; Amram, Nir; Anastopoulos, Christos; Ancu, Lucian Stefan; Andari, Nansi; Andeen, Timothy; Anders, Christoph Falk; Anders, Gabriel; Anderson, Kelby; Andreazza, Attilio; Andrei, George Victor; Anduaga, Xabier; Angelidakis, Stylianos; Anger, Philipp; Angerami, Aaron; Anghinolfi, Francis; Anisenkov, Alexey; Anjos, Nuno; Annovi, Alberto; Antonaki, Ariadni; Antonelli, Mario; Antonov, Alexey; Antos, Jaroslav; Anulli, Fabio; Aoki, Masato; Aperio Bella, Ludovica; Apolle, Rudi; Arabidze, Giorgi; Aracena, Ignacio; Arai, Yasuo; Arce, Ayana; Arfaoui, Samir; Arguin, Jean-Francois; Argyropoulos, Spyridon; Arik, Engin; Arik, Metin; Armbruster, Aaron James; Arnaez, Olivier; Arnal, Vanessa; Artamonov, Andrei; Artoni, Giacomo; Arutinov, David; Asai, Shoji; Asbah, Nedaa; Ask, Stefan; Åsman, Barbro; Asquith, Lily; Assamagan, Ketevi; Astalos, Robert; Astbury, Alan; Atkinson, Markus; Auerbach, Benjamin; Auge, Etienne; Augsten, Kamil; Aurousseau, Mathieu; Avolio, Giuseppe; Axen, David; Azuelos, Georges; Azuma, Yuya; Baak, Max; Baccaglioni, Giuseppe; Bacci, Cesare; Bach, Andre; Bachacou, Henri; Bachas, Konstantinos; Backes, Moritz; Backhaus, Malte; Backus Mayes, John; Badescu, Elisabeta; Bagiacchi, Paolo; Bagnaia, Paolo; Bai, Yu; Bailey, David; Bain, Travis; Baines, John; Baker, Oliver Keith; Baker, Sarah; Balek, Petr; Balli, Fabrice; Banas, Elzbieta; Banerjee, Piyali; Banerjee, Swagato; Banfi, Danilo; Bangert, Andrea Michelle; Bansal, Vikas; Bansil, Hardeep Singh; Barak, Liron; Baranov, Sergei; Barber, Tom; Barberio, Elisabetta Luigia; Barberis, Dario; Barbero, Marlon; Bardin, Dmitri; Barillari, Teresa; Barisonzi, Marcello; Barklow, Timothy; Barlow, Nick; Barnett, Bruce; Barnett, Michael; Baroncelli, Antonio; Barone, Gaetano; Barr, Alan; Barreiro, Fernando; Barreiro Guimarães da Costa, João; Bartoldus, Rainer; Barton, Adam Edward; Bartsch, Valeria; Basye, Austin; Bates, Richard; Batkova, Lucia; Batley, Richard; Battaglia, Andreas; Battistin, Michele; Bauer, Florian; Bawa, Harinder Singh; Beale, Steven; Beau, Tristan; Beauchemin, Pierre-Hugues; Beccherle, Roberto; Bechtle, Philip; Beck, Hans Peter; Becker, Anne Kathrin; Becker, Sebastian; Beckingham, Matthew; Becks, Karl-Heinz; Beddall, Andrew; Beddall, Ayda; Bedikian, Sourpouhi; Bednyakov, Vadim; Bee, Christopher; Beemster, Lars; Beermann, Thomas; Begel, Michael; Belanger-Champagne, Camille; Bell, Paul; Bell, William; Bella, Gideon; Bellagamba, Lorenzo; Bellerive, Alain; Bellomo, Massimiliano; Belloni, Alberto; Beloborodova, Olga; Belotskiy, Konstantin; Beltramello, Olga; Benary, Odette; Benchekroun, Driss; Bendtz, Katarina; Benekos, Nektarios; Benhammou, Yan; Benhar Noccioli, Eleonora; Benitez Garcia, Jorge-Armando; Benjamin, Douglas; Bensinger, James; Benslama, Kamal; Bentvelsen, Stan; Berge, David; Bergeaas Kuutmann, Elin; Berger, Nicolas; Berghaus, Frank; Berglund, Elina; Beringer, Jürg; Bernat, Pauline; Bernhard, Ralf; Bernius, Catrin; Bernlochner, Florian Urs; Berry, Tracey; Bertella, Claudia; Bertolucci, Federico; Besana, Maria Ilaria; Besjes, Geert-Jan; Besson, Nathalie; Bethke, Siegfried; Bhimji, Wahid; Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; Bianchini, Louis; Bianco, Michele; Biebel, Otmar; Bieniek, Stephen Paul; Bierwagen, Katharina; Biesiada, Jed; Biglietti, Michela; Bilokon, Halina; Bindi, Marcello; Binet, Sebastien; Bingul, Ahmet; Bini, Cesare; Bittner, Bernhard; Black, Curtis; Black, James; Black, Kevin; Blair, Robert; Blanchard, Jean-Baptiste; Blazek, Tomas; Bloch, Ingo; Blocker, Craig; Blocki, Jacek; Blum, Walter; Blumenschein, Ulrike; Bobbink, Gerjan; Bobrovnikov, Victor; Bocchetta, Simona Serena; Bocci, Andrea; Boddy, Christopher Richard; Boehler, Michael; Boek, Jennifer; Boek, Thorsten Tobias; Boelaert, Nele; Bogaerts, Joannes Andreas; Bogdanchikov, Alexander; Bogouch, Andrei; Bohm, Christian; Bohm, Jan; Boisvert, Veronique; Bold, Tomasz; Boldea, Venera; Bolnet, Nayanka Myriam; Bomben, Marco; Bona, Marcella; Boonekamp, Maarten; Bordoni, Stefania; Borer, Claudia; Borisov, Anatoly; Borissov, Guennadi; Borri, Marcello; Borroni, Sara; Bortfeldt, Jonathan; Bortolotto, Valerio; Bos, Kors; Boscherini, Davide; Bosman, Martine; Boterenbrood, Hendrik; Bouchami, Jihene; Boudreau, Joseph; Bouhova-Thacker, Evelina Vassileva; Boumediene, Djamel Eddine; Bourdarios, Claire; Bousson, Nicolas; Boutouil, Sara; Boveia, Antonio; Boyd, James; Boyko, Igor; Bozovic-Jelisavcic, Ivanka; Bracinik, Juraj; Branchini, Paolo; Brandt, Andrew; Brandt, Gerhard; Brandt, Oleg; Bratzler, Uwe; Brau, Benjamin; Brau, James; Braun, Helmut; Brazzale, Simone Federico; Brelier, Bertrand; Bremer, Johan; Brendlinger, Kurt; Brenner, Richard; Bressler, Shikma; Bristow, Timothy Michael; Britton, Dave; Brochu, Frederic; Brock, Ian; Brock, Raymond; Broggi, Francesco; Bromberg, Carl; Bronner, Johanna; Brooijmans, Gustaaf; Brooks, Timothy; Brooks, William; Brown, Gareth; Bruckman de Renstrom, Pawel; Bruncko, Dusan; Bruneliere, Renaud; Brunet, Sylvie; Bruni, Alessia; Bruni, Graziano; Bruschi, Marco; Bryngemark, Lene; Buanes, Trygve; Buat, Quentin; Bucci, Francesca; Buchanan, James; Buchholz, Peter; Buckingham, Ryan; Buckley, Andrew; Buda, Stelian Ioan; Budagov, Ioulian; Budick, Burton; Bugge, Lars; Bulekov, Oleg; Bundock, Aaron Colin; Bunse, Moritz; Buran, Torleiv; Burckhart, Helfried; Burdin, Sergey; Burgess, Thomas; Burke, Stephen; Busato, Emmanuel; Büscher, Volker; Bussey, Peter; Buszello, Claus-Peter; Butler, Bart; Butler, John; Buttar, Craig; Butterworth, Jonathan; Buttinger, William; Byszewski, Marcin; Cabrera Urbán, Susana; Caforio, Davide; Cakir, Orhan; Calafiura, Paolo; Calderini, Giovanni; Calfayan, Philippe; Calkins, Robert; Caloba, Luiz; Caloi, Rita; Calvet, David; Calvet, Samuel; Camacho Toro, Reina; Camarri, Paolo; Cameron, David; Caminada, Lea Michaela; Caminal Armadans, Roger; Campana, Simone; Campanelli, Mario; Canale, Vincenzo; Canelli, Florencia; Canepa, Anadi; Cantero, Josu; Cantrill, Robert; Cao, Tingting; Capeans Garrido, Maria Del Mar; Caprini, Irinel; Caprini, Mihai; Capriotti, Daniele; Capua, Marcella; Caputo, Regina; Cardarelli, Roberto; Carli, Tancredi; Carlino, Gianpaolo; Carminati, Leonardo; Caron, Sascha; Carquin, Edson; Carrillo-Montoya, German D; Carter, Antony; Carter, Janet; Carvalho, João; Casadei, Diego; Casado, Maria Pilar; Cascella, Michele; Caso, Carlo; Castaneda-Miranda, Elizabeth; Castelli, Angelantonio; Castillo Gimenez, Victoria; Castro, Nuno Filipe; Cataldi, Gabriella; Catastini, Pierluigi; Catinaccio, Andrea; Catmore, James; Cattai, Ariella; Cattani, Giordano; Caughron, Seth; Cavaliere, Viviana; Cavalli, Donatella; Cavalli-Sforza, Matteo; Cavasinni, Vincenzo; Ceradini, Filippo; Cerio, Benjamin; Santiago Cerqueira, Augusto; Cerri, Alessandro; Cerrito, Lucio; Cerutti, Fabio; Cervelli, Alberto; Cetin, Serkant Ali; Chafaq, Aziz; Chakraborty, Dhiman; Chalupkova, Ina; Chan, Kevin; Chang, Philip; Chapleau, Bertrand; Chapman, John Derek; Chapman, John Wehrley; Charlton, Dave; Chavda, Vikash; Chavez Barajas, Carlos Alberto; Cheatham, Susan; Chekanov, Sergei; Chekulaev, Sergey; Chelkov, Gueorgui; Chelstowska, Magda Anna; Chen, Chunhui; Chen, Hucheng; Chen, Shenjian; Chen, Xin; Chen, Yujiao; Cheng, Yangyang; Cheplakov, Alexander; Cherkaoui El Moursli, Rajaa; Chernyatin, Valeriy; Cheu, Elliott; Cheung, Sing-Leung; Chevalier, Laurent; Chiarella, Vitaliano; Chiefari, Giovanni; Childers, John Taylor; Chilingarov, Alexandre; Chiodini, Gabriele; Chisholm, Andrew; Chislett, Rebecca Thalatta; Chitan, Adrian; Chizhov, Mihail; Choudalakis, Georgios; Chouridou, Sofia; Chow, Bonnie Kar Bo; Christidi, Ilektra-Athanasia; Christov, Asen; Chromek-Burckhart, Doris; Chu, Ming-Lee; Chudoba, Jiri; Ciapetti, Guido; Ciftci, Abbas Kenan; Ciftci, Rena; Cinca, Diane; Cindro, Vladimir; Ciocio, Alessandra; Cirilli, Manuela; Cirkovic, Predrag; Citron, Zvi Hirsh; Citterio, Mauro; Ciubancan, Mihai; Clark, Allan G; Clark, Philip James; Clarke, Robert; Clemens, Jean-Claude; Clement, Benoit; Clement, Christophe; Coadou, Yann; Cobal, Marina; Coccaro, Andrea; Cochran, James H; Coelli, Simone; Coffey, Laurel; Cogan, Joshua Godfrey; Coggeshall, James; Colas, Jacques; Cole, Stephen; Colijn, Auke-Pieter; Collins, Neil; Collins-Tooth, Christopher; Collot, Johann; Colombo, Tommaso; Colon, German; Compostella, Gabriele; Conde Muiño, Patricia; Coniavitis, Elias; Conidi, Maria Chiara; Consonni, Sofia Maria; Consorti, Valerio; Constantinescu, Serban; Conta, Claudio; Conti, Geraldine; Conventi, Francesco; Cooke, Mark; Cooper, Ben; Cooper-Sarkar, Amanda; Cooper-Smith, Neil; Copic, Katherine; Cornelissen, Thijs; Corradi, Massimo; Corriveau, Francois; Corso-Radu, Alina; Cortes-Gonzalez, Arely; Cortiana, Giorgio; Costa, Giuseppe; Costa, María José; Costanzo, Davide; Côté, David; Cottin, Giovanna; Courneyea, Lorraine; Cowan, Glen; Cox, Brian; Cranmer, Kyle; Crépé-Renaudin, Sabine; Crescioli, Francesco; Cristinziani, Markus; Crosetti, Giovanni; Cuciuc, Constantin-Mihai; Cuenca Almenar, Cristóbal; Cuhadar Donszelmann, Tulay; Cummings, Jane; Curatolo, Maria; Curtis, Chris; Cuthbert, Cameron; Czirr, Hendrik; Czodrowski, Patrick; Czyczula, Zofia; D'Auria, Saverio; D'Onofrio, Monica; D'Orazio, Alessia; Da Cunha Sargedas De Sousa, Mario Jose; Da Via, Cinzia; Dabrowski, Wladyslaw; Dafinca, Alexandru; Dai, Tiesheng; Dallaire, Frederick; Dallapiccola, Carlo; Dam, Mogens; Damiani, Daniel; Daniells, Andrew Christopher; Danielsson, Hans Olof; Dao, Valerio; Darbo, Giovanni; Darlea, Georgiana Lavinia; Darmora, Smita; Dassoulas, James; Davey, Will; Davidek, Tomas; Davidson, Nadia; Davies, Eleanor; Davies, Merlin; Davignon, Olivier; Davison, Adam; Davygora, Yuriy; Dawe, Edmund; Dawson, Ian; Daya-Ishmukhametova, Rozmin; De, Kaushik; de Asmundis, Riccardo; De Castro, Stefano; De Cecco, Sandro; de Graat, Julien; De Groot, Nicolo; de Jong, Paul; De La Taille, Christophe; De la Torre, Hector; De Lorenzi, Francesco; De Nooij, Lucie; De Pedis, Daniele; De Salvo, Alessandro; De Sanctis, Umberto; De Santo, Antonella; De Vivie De Regie, Jean-Baptiste; De Zorzi, Guido; Dearnaley, William James; Debbe, Ramiro; Debenedetti, Chiara; Dechenaux, Benjamin; Dedovich, Dmitri; Degenhardt, James; Del Peso, Jose; Del Prete, Tarcisio; Delemontex, Thomas; Deliyergiyev, Maksym; Dell'Acqua, Andrea; Dell'Asta, Lidia; Della Pietra, Massimo; della Volpe, Domenico; Delmastro, Marco; Delsart, Pierre-Antoine; Deluca, Carolina; Demers, Sarah; Demichev, Mikhail; Demilly, Aurelien; Demirkoz, Bilge; Denisov, Sergey; Derendarz, Dominik; Derkaoui, Jamal Eddine; Derue, Frederic; Dervan, Paul; Desch, Klaus Kurt; Deviveiros, Pier-Olivier; Dewhurst, Alastair; DeWilde, Burton; Dhaliwal, Saminder; Dhullipudi, Ramasudhakar; Di Ciaccio, Anna; Di Ciaccio, Lucia; Di Donato, Camilla; Di Girolamo, Alessandro; Di Girolamo, Beniamino; Di Luise, Silvestro; Di Mattia, Alessandro; Di Micco, Biagio; Di Nardo, Roberto; Di Simone, Andrea; Di Sipio, Riccardo; Diaz, Marco Aurelio; Diehl, Edward; Dietrich, Janet; Dietzsch, Thorsten; Diglio, Sara; Dindar Yagci, Kamile; Dingfelder, Jochen; Dinut, Florin; Dionisi, Carlo; Dita, Petre; Dita, Sanda; Dittus, Fridolin; Djama, Fares; Djobava, Tamar; Barros do Vale, Maria Aline; Do Valle Wemans, André; Doan, Thi Kieu Oanh; Dobos, Daniel; Dobson, Ellie; Dodd, Jeremy; Doglioni, Caterina; Doherty, Tom; Dohmae, Takeshi; Doi, Yoshikuni; Dolejsi, Jiri; Dolezal, Zdenek; Dolgoshein, Boris; Donadelli, Marisilvia; Donini, Julien; Dopke, Jens; Doria, Alessandra; Dos Anjos, Andre; Dotti, Andrea; Dova, Maria-Teresa; Doyle, Tony; Dris, Manolis; Dubbert, Jörg; Dube, Sourabh; Dubreuil, Emmanuelle; Duchovni, Ehud; Duckeck, Guenter; Duda, Dominik; Dudarev, Alexey; Dudziak, Fanny; Duflot, Laurent; Dufour, Marc-Andre; Duguid, Liam; Dührssen, Michael; Dunford, Monica; Duran Yildiz, Hatice; Düren, Michael; Dwuznik, Michal; Ebke, Johannes; Eckweiler, Sebastian; Edson, William; Edwards, Clive; Edwards, Nicholas Charles; Ehrenfeld, Wolfgang; Eifert, Till; Eigen, Gerald; Einsweiler, Kevin; Eisenhandler, Eric; Ekelof, Tord; El Kacimi, Mohamed; Ellert, Mattias; Elles, Sabine; Ellinghaus, Frank; Ellis, Katherine; Ellis, Nicolas; Elmsheuser, Johannes; Elsing, Markus; Emeliyanov, Dmitry; Enari, Yuji; Endner, Oliver Chris; Engelmann, Roderich; Engl, Albert; Erdmann, Johannes; Ereditato, Antonio; Eriksson, Daniel; Ernst, Jesse; Ernst, Michael; Ernwein, Jean; Errede, Deborah; Errede, Steven; Ertel, Eugen; Escalier, Marc; Esch, Hendrik; Escobar, Carlos; Espinal Curull, Xavier; Esposito, Bellisario; Etienne, Francois; Etienvre, Anne-Isabelle; Etzion, Erez; Evangelakou, Despoina; Evans, Hal; Fabbri, Laura; Fabre, Caroline; Facini, Gabriel; Fakhrutdinov, Rinat; Falciano, Speranza; Fang, Yaquan; Fanti, Marcello; Farbin, Amir; Farilla, Addolorata; Farooque, Trisha; Farrell, Steven; Farrington, Sinead; Farthouat, Philippe; Fassi, Farida; Fassnacht, Patrick; Fassouliotis, Dimitrios; Fatholahzadeh, Baharak; Favareto, Andrea; Fayard, Louis; Federic, Pavol; Fedin, Oleg; Fedorko, Wojciech; Fehling-Kaschek, Mirjam; Feligioni, Lorenzo; Feng, Cunfeng; Feng, Eric; Feng, Haolu; Fenyuk, Alexander; Ferencei, Jozef; Fernando, Waruna; Ferrag, Samir; Ferrando, James; Ferrara, Valentina; Ferrari, Arnaud; Ferrari, Pamela; Ferrari, Roberto; Ferreira de Lima, Danilo Enoque; Ferrer, Antonio; Ferrere, Didier; Ferretti, Claudio; Ferretto Parodi, Andrea; Fiascaris, Maria; Fiedler, Frank; Filipčič, Andrej; Filthaut, Frank; Fincke-Keeler, Margret; Finelli, Kevin Daniel; Fiolhais, Miguel; Fiorini, Luca; Firan, Ana; Fischer, Julia; Fisher, Matthew; Fitzgerald, Eric Andrew; Flechl, Martin; Fleck, Ivor; Fleischmann, Philipp; Fleischmann, Sebastian; Fletcher, Gareth Thomas; Fletcher, Gregory; Flick, Tobias; Floderus, Anders; Flores Castillo, Luis; Florez Bustos, Andres Carlos; Flowerdew, Michael; Fonseca Martin, Teresa; Formica, Andrea; Forti, Alessandra; Fortin, Dominique; Fournier, Daniel; Fox, Harald; Francavilla, Paolo; Franchini, Matteo; Franchino, Silvia; Francis, David; Franklin, Melissa; Franz, Sebastien; Fraternali, Marco; Fratina, Sasa; French, Sky; Friedrich, Conrad; Friedrich, Felix; Froidevaux, Daniel; Frost, James; Fukunaga, Chikara; Fullana Torregrosa, Esteban; Fulsom, Bryan Gregory; Fuster, Juan; Gabaldon, Carolina; Gabizon, Ofir; Gabrielli, Alessandro; Gabrielli, Andrea; Gadatsch, Stefan; Gadfort, Thomas; Gadomski, Szymon; Gagliardi, Guido; Gagnon, Pauline; Galea, Cristina; Galhardo, Bruno; Gallas, Elizabeth; Gallo, Valentina Santina; Gallop, Bruce; Gallus, Petr; Gan, KK; Gandrajula, Reddy Pratap; Gao, Yongsheng; Gaponenko, Andrei; Garay Walls, Francisca; Garberson, Ford; García, Carmen; García Navarro, José Enrique; Garcia-Sciveres, Maurice; Gardner, Robert; Garelli, Nicoletta; Garonne, Vincent; Gatti, Claudio; Gaudio, Gabriella; Gaur, Bakul; Gauthier, Lea; Gauzzi, Paolo; Gavrilenko, Igor; Gay, Colin; Gaycken, Goetz; Gazis, Evangelos; Ge, Peng; Gecse, Zoltan; Gee, Norman; Geerts, Daniël Alphonsus Adrianus; Geich-Gimbel, Christoph; Gellerstedt, Karl; Gemme, Claudia; Gemmell, Alistair; Genest, Marie-Hélène; Gentile, Simonetta; George, Matthias; George, Simon; Gerbaudo, Davide; Gershon, Avi; Ghazlane, Hamid; Ghodbane, Nabil; Giacobbe, Benedetto; Giagu, Stefano; Giangiobbe, Vincent; Gianotti, Fabiola; Gibbard, Bruce; Gibson, Adam; Gibson, Stephen; Gilchriese, Murdock; Gillam, Thomas; Gillberg, Dag; Gillman, Tony; Gingrich, Douglas; Giokaris, Nikos; Giordani, MarioPaolo; Giordano, Raffaele; Giorgi, Francesco Michelangelo; Giovannini, Paola; Giraud, Pierre-Francois; Giugni, Danilo; Giuliani, Claudia; Giunta, Michele; Gjelsten, Børge Kile; Gkialas, Ioannis; Gladilin, Leonid; Glasman, Claudia; Glatzer, Julian; Glazov, Alexandre; Glonti, George; Goddard, Jack Robert; Godfrey, Jennifer; Godlewski, Jan; Goebel, Martin; Goeringer, Christian; Goldfarb, Steven; Golling, Tobias; Golubkov, Dmitry; Gomes, Agostinho; Gomez Fajardo, Luz Stella; Gonçalo, Ricardo; Goncalves Pinto Firmino Da Costa, Joao; Gonella, Laura; González de la Hoz, Santiago; Gonzalez Parra, Garoe; Gonzalez Silva, Laura; Gonzalez-Sevilla, Sergio; Goodson, Jeremiah Jet; Goossens, Luc; Gorbounov, Petr Andreevich; Gordon, Howard; Gorelov, Igor; Gorfine, Grant; Gorini, Benedetto; Gorini, Edoardo; Gorišek, Andrej; Gornicki, Edward; Goshaw, Alfred; Gössling, Claus; Gostkin, Mikhail Ivanovitch; Gough Eschrich, Ivo; Gouighri, Mohamed; Goujdami, Driss; Goulette, Marc Phillippe; Goussiou, Anna; Goy, Corinne; Gozpinar, Serdar; Graber, Lars; Grabowska-Bold, Iwona; Grafström, Per; Grahn, Karl-Johan; Gramstad, Eirik; Grancagnolo, Francesco; Grancagnolo, Sergio; Grassi, Valerio; Gratchev, Vadim; Gray, Heather; Gray, Julia Ann; Graziani, Enrico; Grebenyuk, Oleg; Greenshaw, Timothy; Greenwood, Zeno Dixon; Gregersen, Kristian; Gregor, Ingrid-Maria; Grenier, Philippe; Griffiths, Justin; Grigalashvili, Nugzar; Grillo, Alexander; Grimm, Kathryn; Grinstein, Sebastian; Gris, Philippe Luc Yves; Grishkevich, Yaroslav; Grivaz, Jean-Francois; Grohs, Johannes Philipp; Grohsjean, Alexander; Gross, Eilam; Grosse-Knetter, Joern; Groth-Jensen, Jacob; Grybel, Kai; Guescini, Francesco; Guest, Daniel; Gueta, Orel; Guicheney, Christophe; Guido, Elisa; Guillemin, Thibault; Guindon, Stefan; Gul, Umar; Gunther, Jaroslav; Guo, Jun; Gutierrez, Phillip; Guttman, Nir; Gutzwiller, Olivier; Guyot, Claude; Gwenlan, Claire; Gwilliam, Carl; Haas, Andy; Haas, Stefan; Haber, Carl; Hadavand, Haleh Khani; Haefner, Petra; Hajduk, Zbigniew; Hakobyan, Hrachya; Hall, David; Halladjian, Garabed; Hamacher, Klaus; Hamal, Petr; Hamano, Kenji; Hamer, Matthias; Hamilton, Andrew; Hamilton, Samuel; Han, Liang; Hanagaki, Kazunori; Hanawa, Keita; Hance, Michael; Handel, Carsten; Hanke, Paul; Hansen, John Renner; Hansen, Jørgen Beck; Hansen, Jorn Dines; Hansen, Peter Henrik; Hansson, Per; Hara, Kazuhiko; Hard, Andrew; Harenberg, Torsten; Harkusha, Siarhei; Harper, Devin; Harrington, Robert; Harris, Orin; Hartert, Jochen; Hartjes, Fred; Haruyama, Tomiyoshi; Harvey, Alex; Hasegawa, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Yoji; Hassani, Samira; Haug, Sigve; Hauschild, Michael; Hauser, Reiner; Havranek, Miroslav; Hawkes, Christopher; Hawkings, Richard John; Hawkins, Anthony David; Hayakawa, Takashi; Hayashi, Takayasu; Hayden, Daniel; Hays, Chris; Hayward, Helen; Haywood, Stephen; Head, Simon; Heck, Tobias; Hedberg, Vincent; Heelan, Louise; Heim, Sarah; Heinemann, Beate; Heisterkamp, Simon; Hejbal, Jiri; Helary, Louis; Heller, Claudio; Heller, Matthieu; Hellman, Sten; Hellmich, Dennis; Helsens, Clement; Henderson, James; Henderson, Robert; Henke, Michael; Henrichs, Anna; Henriques Correia, Ana Maria; Henrot-Versille, Sophie; Hensel, Carsten; Herbert, Geoffrey Henry; Medina Hernandez, Carlos; Hernández Jiménez, Yesenia; Herrberg-Schubert, Ruth; Herten, Gregor; Hertenberger, Ralf; Hervas, Luis; Hesketh, Gavin Grant; Hessey, Nigel; Hickling, Robert; Higón-Rodriguez, Emilio; Hill, John; Hiller, Karl Heinz; Hillert, Sonja; Hillier, Stephen; Hinchliffe, Ian; Hines, Elizabeth; Hirose, Minoru; Hirschbuehl, Dominic; Hobbs, John; Hod, Noam; Hodgkinson, Mark; Hodgson, Paul; Hoecker, Andreas; Hoeferkamp, Martin; Hoffman, Julia; Hoffmann, Dirk; Hofmann, Julia Isabell; Hohlfeld, Marc; Holmgren, Sven-Olof; Holzbauer, Jenny; Hong, Tae Min; Hooft van Huysduynen, Loek; Hostachy, Jean-Yves; Hou, Suen; Hoummada, Abdeslam; Howard, Jacob; Howarth, James; Hrabovsky, Miroslav; Hristova, Ivana; Hrivnac, Julius; Hryn'ova, Tetiana; Hsu, Pai-hsien Jennifer; Hsu, Shih-Chieh; Hu, Diedi; Hu, Xueye; Hubacek, Zdenek; Hubaut, Fabrice; Huegging, Fabian; Huettmann, Antje; Huffman, Todd Brian; Hughes, Emlyn; Hughes, Gareth; Huhtinen, Mika; Hülsing, Tobias Alexander; Hurwitz, Martina; Huseynov, Nazim; Huston, Joey; Huth, John; Iacobucci, Giuseppe; Iakovidis, Georgios; Ibragimov, Iskander; Iconomidou-Fayard, Lydia; Idarraga, John; Iengo, Paolo; Igonkina, Olga; Ikegami, Yoichi; Ikematsu, Katsumasa; Ikeno, Masahiro; Iliadis, Dimitrios; Ilic, Nikolina; Ince, Tayfun; Ioannou, Pavlos; Iodice, Mauro; Iordanidou, Kalliopi; Ippolito, Valerio; Irles Quiles, Adrian; Isaksson, Charlie; Ishino, Masaya; Ishitsuka, Masaki; Ishmukhametov, Renat; Issever, Cigdem; Istin, Serhat; Ivashin, Anton; Iwanski, Wieslaw; Iwasaki, Hiroyuki; Izen, Joseph; Izzo, Vincenzo; Jackson, Brett; Jackson, John; Jackson, Paul; Jaekel, Martin; Jain, Vivek; Jakobs, Karl; Jakobsen, Sune; Jakoubek, Tomas; Jakubek, Jan; Jamin, David Olivier; Jana, Dilip; Jansen, Eric; Jansen, Hendrik; Janssen, Jens; Jantsch, Andreas; Janus, Michel; Jared, Richard; Jarlskog, Göran; Jeanty, Laura; Jeng, Geng-yuan; Jen-La Plante, Imai; Jennens, David; Jenni, Peter; Jentzsch, Jennifer; Jeske, Carl; Jež, Pavel; Jézéquel, Stéphane; Jha, Manoj Kumar; Ji, Haoshuang; Ji, Weina; Jia, Jiangyong; Jiang, Yi; Jimenez Belenguer, Marcos; Jin, Shan; Jinnouchi, Osamu; Joergensen, Morten Dam; Joffe, David; Johansen, Marianne; Johansson, Erik; Johansson, Per; Johnert, Sebastian; Johns, Kenneth; Jon-And, Kerstin; Jones, Graham; Jones, Roger; Jones, Tim; Jorge, Pedro; Joshi, Kiran Daniel; Jovicevic, Jelena; Jovin, Tatjana; Ju, Xiangyang; Jung, Christian; Jungst, Ralph Markus; Jussel, Patrick; Juste Rozas, Aurelio; Kabana, Sonja; Kaci, Mohammed; Kaczmarska, Anna; Kadlecik, Peter; Kado, Marumi; Kagan, Harris; Kagan, Michael; Kajomovitz, Enrique; Kalinin, Sergey; Kama, Sami; Kanaya, Naoko; Kaneda, Michiru; Kaneti, Steven; Kanno, Takayuki; Kantserov, Vadim; Kanzaki, Junichi; Kaplan, Benjamin; Kapliy, Anton; Kar, Deepak; Karakostas, Konstantinos; Karnevskiy, Mikhail; Kartvelishvili, Vakhtang; Karyukhin, Andrey; Kashif, Lashkar; Kasieczka, Gregor; Kass, Richard; Kastanas, Alex; Kataoka, Yousuke; Katzy, Judith; Kaushik, Venkatesh; Kawagoe, Kiyotomo; Kawamoto, Tatsuo; Kawamura, Gen; Kazama, Shingo; Kazanin, Vassili; Kazarinov, Makhail; Keeler, Richard; Keener, Paul; Kehoe, Robert; Keil, Markus; Keller, John; Keoshkerian, Houry; Kepka, Oldrich; Kerševan, Borut Paul; Kersten, Susanne; Kessoku, Kohei; Keung, Justin; Khalil-zada, Farkhad; Khandanyan, Hovhannes; Khanov, Alexander; Kharchenko, Dmitri; Khodinov, Alexander; Khomich, Andrei; Khoo, Teng Jian; Khoriauli, Gia; Khoroshilov, Andrey; Khovanskiy, Valery; Khramov, Evgeniy; Khubua, Jemal; Kim, Hyeon Jin; Kim, Shinhong; Kimura, Naoki; Kind, Oliver; King, Barry; King, Matthew; King, Robert Steven Beaufoy; King, Samuel Burton; Kirk, Julie; Kiryunin, Andrey; Kishimoto, Tomoe; Kisielewska, Danuta; Kitamura, Takumi; Kittelmann, Thomas; Kiuchi, Kenji; Kladiva, Eduard; Klein, Max; Klein, Uta; Kleinknecht, Konrad; Klemetti, Miika; Klier, Amit; Klimek, Pawel; Klimentov, Alexei; Klingenberg, Reiner; Klinger, Joel Alexander; Klinkby, Esben; Klioutchnikova, Tatiana; Klok, Peter; Kluge, Eike-Erik; Kluit, Peter; Kluth, Stefan; Kneringer, Emmerich; Knoops, Edith; Knue, Andrea; Ko, Byeong Rok; Kobayashi, Tomio; Kobel, Michael; Kocian, Martin; Kodys, Peter; Koenig, Sebastian; Koetsveld, Folkert; Koevesarki, Peter; Koffas, Thomas; Koffeman, Els; Kogan, Lucy Anne; Kohlmann, Simon; Kohn, Fabian; Kohout, Zdenek; Kohriki, Takashi; Koi, Tatsumi; Kolanoski, Hermann; Koletsou, Iro; Koll, James; Komar, Aston; Komori, Yuto; Kondo, Takahiko; Köneke, Karsten; König, Adriaan; Kono, Takanori; Kononov, Anatoly; Konoplich, Rostislav; Konstantinidis, Nikolaos; Kopeliansky, Revital; Koperny, Stefan; Köpke, Lutz; Kopp, Anna Katharina; Korcyl, Krzysztof; Kordas, Kostantinos; Korn, Andreas; Korol, Aleksandr; Korolkov, Ilya; Korolkova, Elena; Korotkov, Vladislav; Kortner, Oliver; Kortner, Sandra; Kostyukhin, Vadim; Kotov, Sergey; Kotov, Vladislav; Kotwal, Ashutosh; Kourkoumelis, Christine; Kouskoura, Vasiliki; Koutsman, Alex; Kowalewski, Robert Victor; Kowalski, Tadeusz; Kozanecki, Witold; Kozhin, Anatoly; Kral, Vlastimil; Kramarenko, Viktor; Kramberger, Gregor; Krasny, Mieczyslaw Witold; Krasznahorkay, Attila; Kraus, Jana; Kravchenko, Anton; Kreiss, Sven; Kretzschmar, Jan; Kreutzfeldt, Kristof; Krieger, Nina; Krieger, Peter; Kroeninger, Kevin; Kroha, Hubert; Kroll, Joe; Kroseberg, Juergen; Krstic, Jelena; Kruchonak, Uladzimir; Krüger, Hans; Kruker, Tobias; Krumnack, Nils; Krumshteyn, Zinovii; Kruse, Amanda; Kruse, Mark; Kubota, Takashi; Kuday, Sinan; Kuehn, Susanne; Kugel, Andreas; Kuhl, Thorsten; Kukhtin, Victor; Kulchitsky, Yuri; Kuleshov, Sergey; Kuna, Marine; Kunkle, Joshua; Kupco, Alexander; Kurashige, Hisaya; Kurata, Masakazu; Kurochkin, Yurii; Kus, Vlastimil; Kuwertz, Emma Sian; Kuze, Masahiro; Kvita, Jiri; Kwee, Regina; La Rosa, Alessandro; La Rotonda, Laura; Labarga, Luis; Lablak, Said; Lacasta, Carlos; Lacava, Francesco; Lacey, James; Lacker, Heiko; Lacour, Didier; Lacuesta, Vicente Ramón; Ladygin, Evgueni; Lafaye, Remi; Laforge, Bertrand; Lagouri, Theodota; Lai, Stanley; Laier, Heiko; Laisne, Emmanuel; Lambourne, Luke; Lampen, Caleb; Lampl, Walter; Lançon, Eric; Landgraf, Ulrich; Landon, Murrough; Lang, Valerie Susanne; Lange, Clemens; Lankford, Andrew; Lanni, Francesco; Lantzsch, Kerstin; Lanza, Agostino; Laplace, Sandrine; Lapoire, Cecile; Laporte, Jean-Francois; Lari, Tommaso; Larner, Aimee; Lassnig, Mario; Laurelli, Paolo; Lavorini, Vincenzo; Lavrijsen, Wim; Laycock, Paul; Le Dortz, Olivier; Le Guirriec, Emmanuel; Le Menedeu, Eve; LeCompte, Thomas; Ledroit-Guillon, Fabienne Agnes Marie; Lee, Hurng-Chun; Lee, Jason; Lee, Shih-Chang; Lee, Lawrence; Lefebvre, Guillaume; Lefebvre, Michel; Legendre, Marie; Legger, Federica; Leggett, Charles; Lehmacher, Marc; Lehmann Miotto, Giovanna; Leister, Andrew Gerard; Leite, Marco Aurelio Lisboa; Leitner, Rupert; Lellouch, Daniel; Lemmer, Boris; Lendermann, Victor; Leney, Katharine; Lenz, Tatiana; Lenzen, Georg; Lenzi, Bruno; Leonhardt, Kathrin; Leontsinis, Stefanos; Lepold, Florian; Leroy, Claude; Lessard, Jean-Raphael; Lester, Christopher; Lester, Christopher Michael; Levêque, Jessica; Levin, Daniel; Levinson, Lorne; Lewis, Adrian; Lewis, George; Leyko, Agnieszka; Leyton, Michael; Li, Bing; Li, Bo; Li, Haifeng; Li, Ho Ling; Li, Shu; Li, Xuefei; Liang, Zhijun; Liao, Hongbo; Liberti, Barbara; Lichard, Peter; Lie, Ki; Liebal, Jessica; Liebig, Wolfgang; Limbach, Christian; Limosani, Antonio; Limper, Maaike; Lin, Simon; Linde, Frank; Lindquist, Brian Edward; Linnemann, James; Lipeles, Elliot; Lipniacka, Anna; Lisovyi, Mykhailo; Liss, Tony; Lissauer, David; Lister, Alison; Litke, Alan; Liu, Dong; Liu, Jianbei; Liu, Kun; Liu, Lulu; Liu, Miaoyuan; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Yanwen; Livan, Michele; Livermore, Sarah; Lleres, Annick; Llorente Merino, Javier; Lloyd, Stephen; Lo Sterzo, Francesco; Lobodzinska, Ewelina; Loch, Peter; Lockman, William; Loddenkoetter, Thomas; Loebinger, Fred; Loevschall-Jensen, Ask Emil; Loginov, Andrey; Loh, Chang Wei; Lohse, Thomas; Lohwasser, Kristin; Lokajicek, Milos; Lombardo, Vincenzo Paolo; Long, Robin Eamonn; Lopes, Lourenco; Lopez Mateos, David; Lorenz, Jeanette; Lorenzo Martinez, Narei; Losada, Marta; Loscutoff, Peter; Losty, Michael; Lou, XinChou; Lounis, Abdenour; Loureiro, Karina; Love, Jeremy; Love, Peter; Lowe, Andrew; Lu, Feng; Lubatti, Henry; Luci, Claudio; Lucotte, Arnaud; Ludwig, Dörthe; Ludwig, Inga; Ludwig, Jens; Luehring, Frederick; Lukas, Wolfgang; Luminari, Lamberto; Lund, Esben; Lundberg, Johan; Lundberg, Olof; Lund-Jensen, Bengt; Lundquist, Johan; Lungwitz, Matthias; Lynn, David; Lysak, Roman; Lytken, Else; Ma, Hong; Ma, Lian Liang; Maccarrone, Giovanni; Macchiolo, Anna; Maček, Boštjan; Machado Miguens, Joana; Macina, Daniela; Mackeprang, Rasmus; Madar, Romain; Madaras, Ronald; Maddocks, Harvey Jonathan; Mader, Wolfgang; Madsen, Alexander; Maeno, Mayuko; Maeno, Tadashi; Magnoni, Luca; Magradze, Erekle; Mahboubi, Kambiz; Mahlstedt, Joern; Mahmoud, Sara; Mahout, Gilles; Maiani, Camilla; Maidantchik, Carmen; Maio, Amélia; Majewski, Stephanie; Makida, Yasuhiro; Makovec, Nikola; Mal, Prolay; Malaescu, Bogdan; Malecki, Pawel; Malecki, Piotr; Maleev, Victor; Malek, Fairouz; Mallik, Usha; Malon, David; Malone, Caitlin; Maltezos, Stavros; Malyshev, Vladimir; Malyukov, Sergei; Mamuzic, Judita; Mandelli, Luciano; Mandić, Igor; Mandrysch, Rocco; Maneira, José; Manfredini, Alessandro; Manhaes de Andrade Filho, Luciano; Manjarres Ramos, Joany Andreina; Mann, Alexander; Manning, Peter; Manousakis-Katsikakis, Arkadios; Mansoulie, Bruno; Mantifel, Rodger; Mapelli, Livio; March, Luis; Marchand, Jean-Francois; Marchese, Fabrizio; Marchiori, Giovanni; Marcisovsky, Michal; Marino, Christopher; Marques, Carlos; Marroquim, Fernando; Marshall, Zach; Marti, Lukas Fritz; Marti-Garcia, Salvador; Martin, Brian; Martin, Brian Thomas; Martin, Jean-Pierre; Martin, Tim; Martin, Victoria Jane; Martin dit Latour, Bertrand; Martinez, Homero; Martinez, Mario; Martin-Haugh, Stewart; Martyniuk, Alex; Marx, Marilyn; Marzano, Francesco; Marzin, Antoine; Masetti, Lucia; Mashimo, Tetsuro; Mashinistov, Ruslan; Masik, Jiri; Maslennikov, Alexey; Massa, Ignazio; Massol, Nicolas; Mastrandrea, Paolo; Mastroberardino, Anna; Masubuchi, Tatsuya; Matsunaga, Hiroyuki; Matsushita, Takashi; Mättig, Peter; Mättig, Stefan; Mattravers, Carly; Maurer, Julien; Maxfield, Stephen; Maximov, Dmitriy; Mazini, Rachid; Mazur, Michael; Mazzaferro, Luca; Mazzanti, Marcello; Mc Kee, Shawn Patrick; McCarn, Allison; McCarthy, Robert; McCarthy, Tom; McCubbin, Norman; McFarlane, Kenneth; Mcfayden, Josh; Mchedlidze, Gvantsa; Mclaughlan, Tom; McMahon, Steve; McPherson, Robert; Meade, Andrew; Mechnich, Joerg; Mechtel, Markus; Medinnis, Mike; Meehan, Samuel; Meera-Lebbai, Razzak; Meguro, Tatsuma; Mehlhase, Sascha; Mehta, Andrew; Meier, Karlheinz; Meineck, Christian; Meirose, Bernhard; Melachrinos, Constantinos; Mellado Garcia, Bruce Rafael; Meloni, Federico; Mendoza Navas, Luis; Mengarelli, Alberto; Menke, Sven; Meoni, Evelin; Mercurio, Kevin Michael; Meric, Nicolas; Mermod, Philippe; Merola, Leonardo; Meroni, Chiara; Merritt, Frank; Merritt, Hayes; Messina, Andrea; Metcalfe, Jessica; Mete, Alaettin Serhan; Meyer, Carsten; Meyer, Christopher; Meyer, Jean-Pierre; Meyer, Jochen; Meyer, Joerg; Michal, Sebastien; Middleton, Robin; Migas, Sylwia; Mijović, Liza; Mikenberg, Giora; Mikestikova, Marcela; Mikuž, Marko; Miller, David; Mills, Bill; Mills, Corrinne; Milov, Alexander; Milstead, David; Milstein, Dmitry; Minaenko, Andrey; Miñano Moya, Mercedes; Minashvili, Irakli; Mincer, Allen; Mindur, Bartosz; Mineev, Mikhail; Ming, Yao; Mir, Lluisa-Maria; Mirabelli, Giovanni; Mitrevski, Jovan; Mitsou, Vasiliki A; Mitsui, Shingo; Miyagawa, Paul; Mjörnmark, Jan-Ulf; Moa, Torbjoern; Moeller, Victoria; Mohapatra, Soumya; Mohr, Wolfgang; Moles-Valls, Regina; Molfetas, Angelos; Mönig, Klaus; Monini, Caterina; Monk, James; Monnier, Emmanuel; Montejo Berlingen, Javier; Monticelli, Fernando; Monzani, Simone; Moore, Roger; Mora Herrera, Clemencia; Moraes, Arthur; Morange, Nicolas; Morel, Julien; Moreno, Deywis; Moreno Llácer, María; Morettini, Paolo; Morgenstern, Marcus; Morii, Masahiro; Moritz, Sebastian; Morley, Anthony Keith; Mornacchi, Giuseppe; Morris, John; Morvaj, Ljiljana; Möser, Nicolas; Moser, Hans-Guenther; Mosidze, Maia; Moss, Josh; Mount, Richard; Mountricha, Eleni; Mouraviev, Sergei; Moyse, Edward; Mudd, Richard; Mueller, Felix; Mueller, James; Mueller, Klemens; Mueller, Thibaut; Mueller, Timo; Muenstermann, Daniel; Munwes, Yonathan; Murillo Quijada, Javier Alberto; Murray, Bill; Mussche, Ido; Musto, Elisa; Myagkov, Alexey; Myska, Miroslav; Nackenhorst, Olaf; Nadal, Jordi; Nagai, Koichi; Nagai, Ryo; Nagai, Yoshikazu; Nagano, Kunihiro; Nagarkar, Advait; Nagasaka, Yasushi; Nagel, Martin; Nairz, Armin Michael; Nakahama, Yu; Nakamura, Koji; Nakamura, Tomoaki; Nakano, Itsuo; Namasivayam, Harisankar; Nanava, Gizo; Napier, Austin; Narayan, Rohin; Nash, Michael; Nattermann, Till; Naumann, Thomas; Navarro, Gabriela; Neal, Homer; Nechaeva, Polina; Neep, Thomas James; Negri, Andrea; Negri, Guido; Negrini, Matteo; Nektarijevic, Snezana; Nelson, Andrew; Nelson, Timothy Knight; Nemecek, Stanislav; Nemethy, Peter; Nepomuceno, Andre Asevedo; Nessi, Marzio; Neubauer, Mark; Neumann, Manuel; Neusiedl, Andrea; Neves, Ricardo; Nevski, Pavel; Newcomer, Mitchel; Newman, Paul; Nguyen, Duong Hai; Nguyen Thi Hong, Van; Nickerson, Richard; Nicolaidou, Rosy; Nicquevert, Bertrand; Niedercorn, Francois; Nielsen, Jason; Nikiforou, Nikiforos; Nikiforov, Andriy; Nikolaenko, Vladimir; Nikolic-Audit, Irena; Nikolics, Katalin; Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos; Nilsson, Paul; Ninomiya, Yoichi; Nisati, Aleandro; Nisius, Richard; Nobe, Takuya; Nodulman, Lawrence; Nomachi, Masaharu; Nomidis, Ioannis; Norberg, Scarlet; Nordberg, Markus; Novakova, Jana; Nozaki, Mitsuaki; Nozka, Libor; Nuncio-Quiroz, Adriana-Elizabeth; Nunes Hanninger, Guilherme; Nunnemann, Thomas; Nurse, Emily; O'Brien, Brendan Joseph; O'Neil, Dugan; O'Shea, Val; Oakes, Louise Beth; Oakham, Gerald; Oberlack, Horst; Ocariz, Jose; Ochi, Atsuhiko; Ochoa, Ines; Oda, Susumu; Odaka, Shigeru; Odier, Jerome; Ogren, Harold; Oh, Alexander; Oh, Seog; Ohm, Christian; Ohshima, Takayoshi; Okamura, Wataru; Okawa, Hideki; Okumura, Yasuyuki; Okuyama, Toyonobu; Olariu, Albert; Olchevski, Alexander; Olivares Pino, Sebastian Andres; Oliveira, Miguel Alfonso; Oliveira Damazio, Denis; Oliver Garcia, Elena; Olivito, Dominick; Olszewski, Andrzej; Olszowska, Jolanta; Onofre, António; Onyisi, Peter; Oram, Christopher; Oreglia, Mark; Oren, Yona; Orestano, Domizia; Orlando, Nicola; Oropeza Barrera, Cristina; Orr, Robert; Osculati, Bianca; Ospanov, Rustem; Otero y Garzon, Gustavo; Ottersbach, John; Ouchrif, Mohamed; Ouellette, Eric; Ould-Saada, Farid; Ouraou, Ahmimed; Ouyang, Qun; Ovcharova, Ana; Owen, Mark; Owen, Simon; Ozcan, Veysi Erkcan; Ozturk, Nurcan; Pacheco Pages, Andres; Padilla Aranda, Cristobal; Pagan Griso, Simone; Paganis, Efstathios; Pahl, Christoph; Paige, Frank; Pais, Preema; Pajchel, Katarina; Palacino, Gabriel; Paleari, Chiara; Palestini, Sandro; Pallin, Dominique; Palma, Alberto; Palmer, Jody; Pan, Yibin; Panagiotopoulou, Evgenia; Panduro Vazquez, William; Pani, Priscilla; Panikashvili, Natalia; Panitkin, Sergey; Pantea, Dan; Papadelis, Aras; Papadopoulou, Theodora; Papageorgiou, Konstantinos; Paramonov, Alexander; Paredes Hernandez, Daniela; Park, Woochun; Parker, Michael Andrew; Parodi, Fabrizio; Parsons, John; Parzefall, Ulrich; Pashapour, Shabnaz; Pasqualucci, Enrico; Passaggio, Stefano; Passeri, Antonio; Pastore, Fernanda; Pastore, Francesca; Pásztor, Gabriella; Pataraia, Sophio; Patel, Nikhul; Pater, Joleen; Patricelli, Sergio; Pauly, Thilo; Pearce, James; Pedersen, Maiken; Pedraza Lopez, Sebastian; Pedraza Morales, Maria Isabel; Peleganchuk, Sergey; Pelikan, Daniel; Peng, Haiping; Penning, Bjoern; Penson, Alexander; Penwell, John; Perez Cavalcanti, Tiago; Perez Codina, Estel; Pérez García-Estañ, María Teresa; Perez Reale, Valeria; Perini, Laura; Pernegger, Heinz; Perrino, Roberto; Perrodo, Pascal; Peshekhonov, Vladimir; Peters, Krisztian; Peters, Yvonne; Petersen, Brian; Petersen, Jorgen; Petersen, Troels; Petit, Elisabeth; Petridis, Andreas; Petridou, Chariclia; Petrolo, Emilio; Petrucci, Fabrizio; Petschull, Dennis; Petteni, Michele; Pezoa, Raquel; Phan, Anna; Phillips, Peter William; Piacquadio, Giacinto; Pianori, Elisabetta; Picazio, Attilio; Piccaro, Elisa; Piccinini, Maurizio; Piec, Sebastian Marcin; Piegaia, Ricardo; Pignotti, David; Pilcher, James; Pilkington, Andrew; Pina, João Antonio; Pinamonti, Michele; Pinder, Alex; Pinfold, James; Pingel, Almut; Pinto, Belmiro; Pizio, Caterina; Pleier, Marc-Andre; Pleskot, Vojtech; Plotnikova, Elena; Plucinski, Pawel; Poblaguev, Andrei; Poddar, Sahill; Podlyski, Fabrice; Poettgen, Ruth; Poggioli, Luc; Pohl, David-leon; Pohl, Martin; Polesello, Giacomo; Policicchio, Antonio; Polifka, Richard; Polini, Alessandro; Polychronakos, Venetios; Pomeroy, Daniel; Pommès, Kathy; Pontecorvo, Ludovico; Pope, Bernard; Popeneciu, Gabriel Alexandru; Popovic, Dragan; Poppleton, Alan; Portell Bueso, Xavier; Pospelov, Guennady; Pospisil, Stanislav; Potrap, Igor; Potter, Christina; Potter, Christopher; Poulard, Gilbert; Poveda, Joaquin; Pozdnyakov, Valery; Prabhu, Robindra; Pralavorio, Pascal; Pranko, Aliaksandr; Prasad, Srivas; Pravahan, Rishiraj; Prell, Soeren; Pretzl, Klaus Peter; Price, Darren; Price, Joe; Price, Lawrence; Prieur, Damien; Primavera, Margherita; Proissl, Manuel; Prokofiev, Kirill; Prokoshin, Fedor; Protopapadaki, Eftychia-sofia; Protopopescu, Serban; Proudfoot, James; Prudent, Xavier; Przybycien, Mariusz; Przysiezniak, Helenka; Psoroulas, Serena; Ptacek, Elizabeth; Pueschel, Elisa; Puldon, David; Purohit, Milind; Puzo, Patrick; Pylypchenko, Yuriy; Qian, Jianming; Quadt, Arnulf; Quarrie, David; Quayle, William; Quilty, Donnchadha; Raas, Marcel; Radeka, Veljko; Radescu, Voica; Radloff, Peter; Ragusa, Francesco; Rahal, Ghita; Rajagopalan, Srinivasan; Rammensee, Michael; Rammes, Marcus; Randle-Conde, Aidan Sean; Randrianarivony, Koloina; Rangel-Smith, Camila; Rao, Kanury; Rauscher, Felix; Rave, Tobias Christian; Ravenscroft, Thomas; Raymond, Michel; Read, Alexander Lincoln; Rebuzzi, Daniela; Redelbach, Andreas; Redlinger, George; Reece, Ryan; Reeves, Kendall; Reinsch, Andreas; Reisinger, Ingo; Relich, Matthew; Rembser, Christoph; Ren, Zhongliang; Renaud, Adrien; Rescigno, Marco; Resconi, Silvia; Resende, Bernardo; Reznicek, Pavel; Rezvani, Reyhaneh; Richter, Robert; Richter-Was, Elzbieta; Ridel, Melissa; Rieck, Patrick; Rijssenbeek, Michael; Rimoldi, Adele; Rinaldi, Lorenzo; Rios, Ryan Randy; Ritsch, Elmar; Riu, Imma; Rivoltella, Giancesare; Rizatdinova, Flera; Rizvi, Eram; Robertson, Steven; Robichaud-Veronneau, Andree; Robinson, Dave; Robinson, James; Robson, Aidan; Rocha de Lima, Jose Guilherme; Roda, Chiara; Roda Dos Santos, Denis; Roe, Adam; Roe, Shaun; Røhne, Ole; Rolli, Simona; Romaniouk, Anatoli; Romano, Marino; Romeo, Gaston; Romero Adam, Elena; Rompotis, Nikolaos; Roos, Lydia; Ros, Eduardo; Rosati, Stefano; Rosbach, Kilian; Rose, Anthony; Rose, Matthew; Rosenbaum, Gabriel; Rosendahl, Peter Lundgaard; Rosenthal, Oliver; Rossetti, Valerio; Rossi, Elvira; Rossi, Leonardo Paolo; Rotaru, Marina; Roth, Itamar; Rothberg, Joseph; Rousseau, David; Royon, Christophe; Rozanov, Alexandre; Rozen, Yoram; Ruan, Xifeng; Rubbo, Francesco; Rubinskiy, Igor; Ruckstuhl, Nicole; Rud, Viacheslav; Rudolph, Christian; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Rühr, Frederik; Ruiz-Martinez, Aranzazu; Rumyantsev, Leonid; Rurikova, Zuzana; Rusakovich, Nikolai; Ruschke, Alexander; Rutherfoord, John; Ruthmann, Nils; Ruzicka, Pavel; Ryabov, Yury; Rybar, Martin; Rybkin, Grigori; Ryder, Nick; Saavedra, Aldo; Saddique, Asif; Sadeh, Iftach; Sadrozinski, Hartmut; Sadykov, Renat; Safai Tehrani, Francesco; Sakamoto, Hiroshi; Salamanna, Giuseppe; Salamon, Andrea; Saleem, Muhammad; Salek, David; Salihagic, Denis; Salnikov, Andrei; Salt, José; Salvachua Ferrando, Belén; Salvatore, Daniela; Salvatore, Pasquale Fabrizio; Salvucci, Antonio; Salzburger, Andreas; Sampsonidis, Dimitrios; Sanchez, Arturo; Sánchez, Javier; Sanchez Martinez, Victoria; Sandaker, Heidi; Sander, Heinz Georg; Sanders, Michiel; Sandhoff, Marisa; Sandoval, Tanya; Sandoval, Carlos; Sandstroem, Rikard; Sankey, Dave; Sansoni, Andrea; Santoni, Claudio; Santonico, Rinaldo; Santos, Helena; Santoyo Castillo, Itzebelt; Sapp, Kevin; Saraiva, João; Sarangi, Tapas; Sarkisyan-Grinbaum, Edward; Sarrazin, Bjorn; Sarri, Francesca; Sartisohn, Georg; Sasaki, Osamu; Sasaki, Yuichi; Sasao, Noboru; Satsounkevitch, Igor; Sauvage, Gilles; Sauvan, Emmanuel; Sauvan, Jean-Baptiste; Savard, Pierre; Savinov, Vladimir; Savu, Dan Octavian; Sawyer, Craig; Sawyer, Lee; Saxon, David; Saxon, James; Sbarra, Carla; Sbrizzi, Antonio; Scannicchio, Diana; Scarcella, Mark; Schaarschmidt, Jana; Schacht, Peter; Schaefer, Douglas; Schaelicke, Andreas; Schaepe, Steffen; Schaetzel, Sebastian; Schäfer, Uli; Schaffer, Arthur; Schaile, Dorothee; Schamberger, R. Dean; Scharf, Veit; Schegelsky, Valery; Scheirich, Daniel; Schernau, Michael; Scherzer, Max; Schiavi, Carlo; Schieck, Jochen; Schillo, Christian; Schioppa, Marco; Schlenker, Stefan; Schmidt, Evelyn; Schmieden, Kristof; Schmitt, Christian; Schmitt, Christopher; Schmitt, Sebastian; Schneider, Basil; Schnellbach, Yan Jie; Schnoor, Ulrike; Schoeffel, Laurent; Schoening, Andre; Schorlemmer, Andre Lukas; Schott, Matthias; Schouten, Doug; Schovancova, Jaroslava; Schram, Malachi; Schroeder, Christian; Schroer, Nicolai; Schultens, Martin Johannes; Schultz-Coulon, Hans-Christian; Schulz, Holger; Schumacher, Markus; Schumm, Bruce; Schune, Philippe; Schwartzman, Ariel; Schwegler, Philipp; Schwemling, Philippe; Schwienhorst, Reinhard; Schwindling, Jerome; Schwindt, Thomas; Schwoerer, Maud; Sciacca, Gianfranco; Scifo, Estelle; Sciolla, Gabriella; Scott, Bill; Scutti, Federico; Searcy, Jacob; Sedov, George; Sedykh, Evgeny; Seidel, Sally; Seiden, Abraham; Seifert, Frank; Seixas, José; Sekhniaidze, Givi; Sekula, Stephen; Selbach, Karoline Elfriede; Seliverstov, Dmitry; Sellers, Graham; Seman, Michal; Semprini-Cesari, Nicola; Serfon, Cedric; Serin, Laurent; Serkin, Leonid; Serre, Thomas; Seuster, Rolf; Severini, Horst; Sfyrla, Anna; Shabalina, Elizaveta; Shamim, Mansoora; Shan, Lianyou; Shank, James; Shao, Qi Tao; Shapiro, Marjorie; Shatalov, Pavel; Shaw, Kate; Sherwood, Peter; Shimizu, Shima; Shimojima, Makoto; Shin, Taeksu; Shiyakova, Mariya; Shmeleva, Alevtina; Shochet, Mel; Short, Daniel; Shrestha, Suyog; Shulga, Evgeny; Shupe, Michael; Sicho, Petr; Sidoti, Antonio; Siegert, Frank; Sijacki, Djordje; Silbert, Ohad; Silva, José; Silver, Yiftah; Silverstein, Daniel; Silverstein, Samuel; Simak, Vladislav; Simard, Olivier; Simic, Ljiljana; Simion, Stefan; Simioni, Eduard; Simmons, Brinick; Simoniello, Rosa; Simonyan, Margar; Sinervo, Pekka; Sinev, Nikolai; Sipica, Valentin; Siragusa, Giovanni; Sircar, Anirvan; Sisakyan, Alexei; Sivoklokov, Serguei; Sjölin, Jörgen; Sjursen, Therese; Skinnari, Louise Anastasia; Skottowe, Hugh Philip; Skovpen, Kirill; Skubic, Patrick; Slater, Mark; Slavicek, Tomas; Sliwa, Krzysztof; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Smart, Ben; Smestad, Lillian; Smirnov, Sergei; Smirnov, Yury; Smirnova, Lidia; Smirnova, Oxana; Smith, Kenway; Smizanska, Maria; Smolek, Karel; Snesarev, Andrei; Snidero, Giacomo; Snow, Joel; Snyder, Scott; Sobie, Randall; Sodomka, Jaromir; Soffer, Abner; Soh, Dart-yin; Solans, Carlos; Solar, Michael; Solc, Jaroslav; Soldatov, Evgeny; Soldevila, Urmila; Solfaroli Camillocci, Elena; Solodkov, Alexander; Solovyanov, Oleg; Solovyev, Victor; Soni, Nitesh; Sood, Alexander; Sopko, Vit; Sopko, Bruno; Sosebee, Mark; Soualah, Rachik; Soueid, Paul; Soukharev, Andrey; South, David; Spagnolo, Stefania; Spanò, Francesco; Spighi, Roberto; Spigo, Giancarlo; Spiwoks, Ralf; Spousta, Martin; Spreitzer, Teresa; Spurlock, Barry; St Denis, Richard Dante; Stahlman, Jonathan; Stamen, Rainer; Stanecka, Ewa; Stanek, Robert; Stanescu, Cristian; Stanescu-Bellu, Madalina; Stanitzki, Marcel Michael; Stapnes, Steinar; Starchenko, Evgeny; Stark, Jan; Staroba, Pavel; Starovoitov, Pavel; Staszewski, Rafal; Staude, Arnold; Stavina, Pavel; Steele, Genevieve; Steinbach, Peter; Steinberg, Peter; Stekl, Ivan; Stelzer, Bernd; Stelzer, Harald Joerg; Stelzer-Chilton, Oliver; Stenzel, Hasko; Stern, Sebastian; Stewart, Graeme; Stillings, Jan Andre; Stockton, Mark; Stoebe, Michael; Stoerig, Kathrin; Stoicea, Gabriel; Stonjek, Stefan; Stradling, Alden; Straessner, Arno; Strandberg, Jonas; Strandberg, Sara; Strandlie, Are; Strang, Michael; Strauss, Emanuel; Strauss, Michael; Strizenec, Pavol; Ströhmer, Raimund; Strom, David; Strong, John; Stroynowski, Ryszard; Stugu, Bjarne; Stumer, Iuliu; Stupak, John; Sturm, Philipp; Styles, Nicholas Adam; Su, Dong; Subramania, Halasya Siva; Subramaniam, Rajivalochan; Succurro, Antonella; Sugaya, Yorihito; Suhr, Chad; Suk, Michal; Sulin, Vladimir; Sultansoy, Saleh; Sumida, Toshi; Sun, Xiaohu; Sundermann, Jan Erik; Suruliz, Kerim; Susinno, Giancarlo; Sutton, Mark; Suzuki, Yu; Suzuki, Yuta; Svatos, Michal; Swedish, Stephen; Swiatlowski, Maximilian; Sykora, Ivan; Sykora, Tomas; Ta, Duc; Tackmann, Kerstin; Taffard, Anyes; Tafirout, Reda; Taiblum, Nimrod; Takahashi, Yuta; Takai, Helio; Takashima, Ryuichi; Takeda, Hiroshi; Takeshita, Tohru; Takubo, Yosuke; Talby, Mossadek; Talyshev, Alexey; Tam, Jason; Tamsett, Matthew; Tan, Kong Guan; Tanaka, Junichi; Tanaka, Reisaburo; Tanaka, Satoshi; Tanaka, Shuji; Tanasijczuk, Andres Jorge; Tani, Kazutoshi; Tannoury, Nancy; Tapprogge, Stefan; Tardif, Dominique; Tarem, Shlomit; Tarrade, Fabien; Tartarelli, Giuseppe Francesco; Tas, Petr; Tasevsky, Marek; Tashiro, Takuya; Tassi, Enrico; Tayalati, Yahya; Taylor, Christopher; Taylor, Frank; Taylor, Geoffrey; Taylor, Wendy; Teinturier, Marthe; Teischinger, Florian Alfred; Teixeira Dias Castanheira, Matilde; Teixeira-Dias, Pedro; Temming, Kim Katrin; Ten Kate, Herman; Teng, Ping-Kun; Terada, Susumu; Terashi, Koji; Terron, Juan; Testa, Marianna; Teuscher, Richard; Therhaag, Jan; Theveneaux-Pelzer, Timothée; Thoma, Sascha; Thomas, Juergen; Thompson, Emily; Thompson, Paul; Thompson, Peter; Thompson, Stan; Thomsen, Lotte Ansgaard; Thomson, Evelyn; Thomson, Mark; Thong, Wai Meng; Thun, Rudolf; Tian, Feng; Tibbetts, Mark James; Tic, Tomáš; Tikhomirov, Vladimir; Tikhonov, Yury; Timoshenko, Sergey; Tiouchichine, Elodie; Tipton, Paul; Tisserant, Sylvain; Todorov, Theodore; Todorova-Nova, Sharka; Toggerson, Brokk; Tojo, Junji; Tokár, Stanislav; Tokushuku, Katsuo; Tollefson, Kirsten; Tomlinson, Lee; Tomoto, Makoto; Tompkins, Lauren; Toms, Konstantin; Tonoyan, Arshak; Topfel, Cyril; Topilin, Nikolai; Torrence, Eric; Torres, Heberth; Torró Pastor, Emma; Toth, Jozsef; Touchard, Francois; Tovey, Daniel; Tran, Huong Lan; Trefzger, Thomas; Tremblet, Louis; Tricoli, Alessandro; Trigger, Isabel Marian; Trincaz-Duvoid, Sophie; Tripiana, Martin; Triplett, Nathan; Trischuk, William; Trocmé, Benjamin; Troncon, Clara; Trottier-McDonald, Michel; Trovatelli, Monica; True, Patrick; Trzebinski, Maciej; Trzupek, Adam; Tsarouchas, Charilaos; Tseng, Jeffrey; Tsiakiris, Menelaos; Tsiareshka, Pavel; Tsionou, Dimitra; Tsipolitis, Georgios; Tsiskaridze, Shota; Tsiskaridze, Vakhtang; Tskhadadze, Edisher; Tsukerman, Ilya; Tsulaia, Vakhtang; Tsung, Jieh-Wen; Tsuno, Soshi; Tsybychev, Dmitri; Tua, Alan; Tudorache, Alexandra; Tudorache, Valentina; Tuggle, Joseph; Tuna, Alexander Naip; Turala, Michal; Turecek, Daniel; Turk Cakir, Ilkay; Turra, Ruggero; Tuts, Michael; Tykhonov, Andrii; Tylmad, Maja; Tyndel, Mike; Uchida, Kirika; Ueda, Ikuo; Ueno, Ryuichi; Ughetto, Michael; Ugland, Maren; Uhlenbrock, Mathias; Ukegawa, Fumihiko; Unal, Guillaume; Undrus, Alexander; Unel, Gokhan; Ungaro, Francesca; Unno, Yoshinobu; Urbaniec, Dustin; Urquijo, Phillip; Usai, Giulio; Vacavant, Laurent; Vacek, Vaclav; Vachon, Brigitte; Vahsen, Sven; Valencic, Nika; Valentinetti, Sara; Valero, Alberto; Valery, Loic; Valkar, Stefan; Valladolid Gallego, Eva; Vallecorsa, Sofia; Valls Ferrer, Juan Antonio; Van Berg, Richard; Van Der Deijl, Pieter; van der Geer, Rogier; van der Graaf, Harry; Van Der Leeuw, Robin; van der Ster, Daniel; van Eldik, Niels; van Gemmeren, Peter; Van Nieuwkoop, Jacobus; van Vulpen, Ivo; Vanadia, Marco; Vandelli, Wainer; Vaniachine, Alexandre; Vankov, Peter; Vannucci, Francois; Vari, Riccardo; Varnes, Erich; Varol, Tulin; Varouchas, Dimitris; Vartapetian, Armen; Varvell, Kevin; Vassilakopoulos, Vassilios; Vazeille, Francois; Vazquez Schroeder, Tamara; Veloso, Filipe; Veneziano, Stefano; Ventura, Andrea; Ventura, Daniel; Venturi, Manuela; Venturi, Nicola; Vercesi, Valerio; Verducci, Monica; Verkerke, Wouter; Vermeulen, Jos; Vest, Anja; Vetterli, Michel; Vichou, Irene; Vickey, Trevor; Vickey Boeriu, Oana Elena; Viehhauser, Georg; Viel, Simon; Villa, Mauro; Villaplana Perez, Miguel; Vilucchi, Elisabetta; Vincter, Manuella; Vinogradov, Vladimir; Virzi, Joseph; Vitells, Ofer; Viti, Michele; Vivarelli, Iacopo; Vives Vaque, Francesc; Vlachos, Sotirios; Vladoiu, Dan; Vlasak, Michal; Vogel, Adrian; Vokac, Petr; Volpi, Guido; Volpi, Matteo; Volpini, Giovanni; von der Schmitt, Hans; von Radziewski, Holger; von Toerne, Eckhard; Vorobel, Vit; Vos, Marcel; Voss, Rudiger; Vossebeld, Joost; Vranjes, Nenad; Vranjes Milosavljevic, Marija; Vrba, Vaclav; Vreeswijk, Marcel; Vu Anh, Tuan; Vuillermet, Raphael; Vukotic, Ilija; Vykydal, Zdenek; Wagner, Wolfgang; Wagner, Peter; Wahrmund, Sebastian; Wakabayashi, Jun; Walch, Shannon; Walder, James; Walker, Rodney; Walkowiak, Wolfgang; Wall, Richard; Waller, Peter; Walsh, Brian; Wang, Chiho; Wang, Haichen; Wang, Hulin; Wang, Jike; Wang, Jin; Wang, Kuhan; Wang, Rui; Wang, Song-Ming; Wang, Tan; Wang, Xiaoxiao; Warburton, Andreas; Ward, Patricia; Wardrope, David Robert; Warsinsky, Markus; Washbrook, Andrew; Wasicki, Christoph; Watanabe, Ippei; Watkins, Peter; Watson, Alan; Watson, Ian; Watson, Miriam; Watts, Gordon; Watts, Stephen; Waugh, Anthony; Waugh, Ben; Weber, Michele; Webster, Jordan S; Weidberg, Anthony; Weigell, Philipp; Weingarten, Jens; Weiser, Christian; Wells, Phillippa; Wenaus, Torre; Wendland, Dennis; Weng, Zhili; Wengler, Thorsten; Wenig, Siegfried; Wermes, Norbert; Werner, Matthias; Werner, Per; Werth, Michael; Wessels, Martin; Wetter, Jeffrey; Whalen, Kathleen; White, Andrew; White, Martin; White, Ryan; White, Sebastian; Whitehead, Samuel Robert; Whiteson, Daniel; Whittington, Denver; Wicke, Daniel; Wickens, Fred; Wiedenmann, Werner; Wielers, Monika; Wienemann, Peter; Wiglesworth, Craig; Wiik-Fuchs, Liv Antje Mari; Wijeratne, Peter Alexander; Wildauer, Andreas; Wildt, Martin Andre; Wilhelm, Ivan; Wilkens, Henric George; Will, Jonas Zacharias; Williams, Eric; Williams, Hugh; Williams, Sarah; Willis, William; Willocq, Stephane; Wilson, John; Wilson, Alan; Wingerter-Seez, Isabelle; Winkelmann, Stefan; Winklmeier, Frank; Wittgen, Matthias; Wittig, Tobias; Wittkowski, Josephine; Wollstadt, Simon Jakob; Wolter, Marcin Wladyslaw; Wolters, Helmut; Wong, Wei-Cheng; Wooden, Gemma; Wosiek, Barbara; Wotschack, Jorg; Woudstra, Martin; Wozniak, Krzysztof; Wraight, Kenneth; Wright, Michael; Wrona, Bozydar; Wu, Sau Lan; Wu, Xin; Wu, Yusheng; Wulf, Evan; Wynne, Benjamin; Xella, Stefania; Xiao, Meng; Xie, Song; Xu, Chao; Xu, Da; Xu, Lailin; Yabsley, Bruce; Yacoob, Sahal; Yamada, Miho; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Yohei; Yamamoto, Akira; Yamamoto, Kyoko; Yamamoto, Shimpei; Yamamura, Taiki; Yamanaka, Takashi; Yamauchi, Katsuya; Yamazaki, Takayuki; Yamazaki, Yuji; Yan, Zhen; Yang, Haijun; Yang, Hongtao; Yang, Un-Ki; Yang, Yi; Yang, Zhaoyu; Yanush, Serguei; Yao, Liwen; Yasu, Yoshiji; Yatsenko, Elena; Yau Wong, Kaven Henry; Ye, Jingbo; Ye, Shuwei; Yen, Andy L; Yildirim, Eda; Yilmaz, Metin; Yoosoofmiya, Reza; Yorita, Kohei; Yoshida, Rikutaro; Yoshihara, Keisuke; Young, Charles; Young, Christopher John; Youssef, Saul; Yu, Dantong; Yu, David Ren-Hwa; Yu, Jaehoon; Yu, Jie; Yuan, Li; Yurkewicz, Adam; Zabinski, Bartlomiej; Zaidan, Remi; Zaitsev, Alexander; Zambito, Stefano; Zanello, Lucia; Zanzi, Daniele; Zaytsev, Alexander; Zeitnitz, Christian; Zeman, Martin; Zemla, Andrzej; Zenin, Oleg; Ženiš, Tibor; Zerwas, Dirk; Zevi della Porta, Giovanni; Zhang, Dongliang; Zhang, Huaqiao; Zhang, Jinlong; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Xueyao; Zhang, Zhiqing; Zhao, Zhengguo; Zhemchugov, Alexey; Zhong, Jiahang; Zhou, Bing; Zhou, Ning; Zhou, Yue; Zhu, Cheng Guang; Zhu, Hongbo; Zhu, Junjie; Zhu, Yingchun; Zhuang, Xuai; Zibell, Andre; Zieminska, Daria; Zimin, Nikolai; Zimmermann, Christoph; Zimmermann, Robert; Zimmermann, Simone; Zimmermann, Stephanie; Zinonos, Zinonas; Ziolkowski, Michael; Zitoun, Robert; Živković, Lidija; Zmouchko, Viatcheslav; Zobernig, Georg; Zoccoli, Antonio; zur Nedden, Martin; Zutshi, Vishnu; Zwalinski, Lukasz

2013-09-13

This paper presents the application of a variety of techniques to study jet substructure. The performance of various modified jet algorithms, or jet grooming techniques, for several jet types and event topologies is investigated for jets with transverse momentum larger than 300 GeV. Properties of jets subjected to the mass-drop filtering, trimming, and pruning algorithms are found to have reduced sensitivity to multiple proton-proton interactions, are more stable at high luminosity and improve the physics potential of searches for heavy boosted objects. Studies of the expected discrimination power of jet mass and jet substructure observables in searches for new physics are also presented. Event samples enriched in boosted W and Z bosons and top-quark pairs are used to study both the individual jet invariant mass scales and the efficacy of algorithms to tag boosted hadronic objects. The analyses presented use the full 2011 ATLAS dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 $\\pm$ 0.1 /fb from proto...

The relationships between work characteristics and mental health: Examining normal, reversed and reciprocal relationships in a 4-wave study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lange, A.H. de; Taris, T.W.; Kompier, M.A.J.; Houtman, I.L.D.; Bongers, P.M.

2004-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the causal relationships between job demands, job control and supervisor support on the one hand and mental health on the other. Whereas we assumed that work characteristics affect mental health, we also examined reversed causal relationships (mental health

A Study of Gender and Performance on Advanced Placement History Examinations. College Board Report No. 91-4.

Science.gov (United States)

Breland, Hunter M.; And Others

Several studies have shown that, on average, women perform slightly better than men on free-response tests, while men perform slightly better on multiple-choice tests. Two advanced placement examinations, United States History (USH) and European History (EH), were chosen for study because previous studies have shown that sex differences on the…

Radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunoassay of antibodies directed against lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV) proteins larger than the core protein (P24)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neurath, A.R.; Strick, N.; Lee, Y.S.; Nilsen, T.; Baker, L.; Sproul, P.; Rubinstein, P.; Taylor, P.; Stevens, C.E.; Gold, J.W.M.

1985-01-01

Molecular exclusion chromatography of crude LAV antigen preparations allows separation of most of P24 from larger proteins of LAV (PL). PL and 125 I- or beta-lactamase-labeled anti-LAV were used as reagents for radioimmunoassay (RIA) - or enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) - inhibition tests to detect antibodies directed predominantly against PL (anti-PL). Among 257 individuals belonging to groups at high risk of developing AIDS, 117 (45.5%) were positive for anti-PL and 108 (42%) for anti-P24, respectively. The 2 individuals among 600 random blood donors found to be anti-P24-positive in the preceding study also had anti-PL in their serum. Sera from 500 additional blood donors were screened for anti-PL and 1 of these was positive. The implication of these findings for screening of blood donors is discussed. (Auth.)

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CLINICAL EXAMINATION, ULTRASOUND FINDINGS, DIAGNOSTIC HYSTEROSCOPY WITH HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION REPORT OF ENDOMETRIUM IN PATIENTS WITH ABNORMAL UTERINE BLEEDING

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Sathenahalli Devegowda Prathibha

2016-08-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB is a very frequent gynaecological complaint and occurs across the entire age spectrum, approximately 75000 hysterectomies are carried out each year with 30% of these for menstrual problems alone. These menstrual aberrations occur more commonly at extremes of reproductive life. The introduction of hysteroscopy has opened a new dimension in evaluation of patient with AUB replacing the blind technique of Dilatation and Curettage. The present study was undertaken to know the accuracy of various tests with Histopathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present prospective study was carried out on 100 patients from reproductive, perimenopausal and postmenopausal age group with abnormal uterine bleeding in Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital. RESULTS In the present study, in relation to histopathological examination, clinical findings and hysteroscopy had better accuracy (72% as compared to ultrasound findings (41% in diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding. CONCLUSION Hysteroscopy guided biopsy and histopathology complements each other in the evaluation of patient with abnormal uterine bleeding for accurate diagnosis and further treatment.

Lack of differences in the regional variation of oxygen saturation in larger retinal vessels in diabetic maculopathy and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jørgensen, Christina Mørup; Bek, Toke

2017-06-01

Diabetic retinopathy is characterised by morphological lesions in the ocular fundus related to disturbances in retinal blood flow. The two vision threatening forms of retinopathy show specific patterns of distribution of retinal lesions with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) developing secondary to ischaemia and hypoxia in the retinal periphery and diabetic maculopathy (DM) developing secondary to hyperperfusion and increased vascular permeability in the macular area. These differences in the distribution of retinal lesions might be reflected in regional differences in oxygen saturation in the larger retinal vessels. Dual-wavelength retinal oximetry was performed in 30 normal persons, 30 patients with DM and 30 patients with PDR, and the oxygen saturation was measured in peripapillary vessels supplying the four retinal quadrants and in branches from the upper temporal arcades supplying, respectively, the macular area and the retinal periphery. The overall oxygen saturation was significantly higher in diabetic patients than in normal persons and the arteriovenous (AV) saturation difference significantly lower in the patients with DM. The regional variation in oxygen saturation was similar in the three studied groups with a decreasing saturation from the upper nasal through the lower nasal, lower temporal and the upper temporal peripapillary vessels, and with a significantly higher oxygen saturation in venules draining the macular area than in venules draining the retinal periphery. The regional differences in retinal lesions in vision threatening diabetic retinopathy are not reflected in regional differences in the oxygen saturation of larger retinal vessels. The development of vision threatening diabetic retinopathy depends on other factors, such as, for example, regional differences in the retinal microcirculation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The application of slip length models to larger textures in turbulent flows over superhydrophobic surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Fairhall, Chris; Garcia-Mayoral, Ricardo

2017-11-01

We present results from direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows over superhydrophobic surfaces. We assess the validity of simulations where the surface is modelled as homogeneous slip lengths, comparing them to simulations where the surface texture is resolved. Our results show that once the coherent flow induced by the texture is removed from the velocity fields, the remaining flow sees the surface as homogeneous. We then investigate how the overlying turbulence is modified by the presence of surface texture. For small textures, we show that turbulence is shifted closer to the wall due to the presence of slip, but otherwise remains essentially unmodified. For larger textures, the texture interacts with the turbulent lengthscales, thereby modifying the overlying turbulence. We also show that the saturation of the effect of the spanwise slip length (Fukagata et al. 2006, Busse & Sandham 2012, Seo & Mani 2016), which is drag increasing, is caused by the impermeability imposed at the surface. This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Communication: Relativistic Fock-space coupled cluster study of small building blocks of larger uranium complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tecmer, Paweł; Visscher, Lucas; Severo Pereira Gomes, André; Knecht, Stefan

2014-01-01

We present a study of the electronic structure of the [UO 2 ] + , [UO 2 ] 2 + , [UO 2 ] 3 + , NUO, [NUO] + , [NUO] 2 + , [NUN] − , NUN, and [NUN] + molecules with the intermediate Hamiltonian Fock-space coupled cluster method. The accuracy of mean-field approaches based on the eXact-2-Component Hamiltonian to incorporate spin–orbit coupling and Gaunt interactions are compared to results obtained with the Dirac–Coulomb Hamiltonian. Furthermore, we assess the reliability of calculations employing approximate density functionals in describing electronic spectra and quantities useful in rationalizing Uranium (VI) species reactivity (hardness, electronegativity, and electrophilicity)

Communication: Relativistic Fock-space coupled cluster study of small building blocks of larger uranium complexes

Science.gov (United States)

Tecmer, Paweł; Severo Pereira Gomes, André; Knecht, Stefan; Visscher, Lucas

2014-07-01

We present a study of the electronic structure of the [UO2]+, [UO2]2 +, [UO2]3 +, NUO, [NUO]+, [NUO]2 +, [NUN]-, NUN, and [NUN]+ molecules with the intermediate Hamiltonian Fock-space coupled cluster method. The accuracy of mean-field approaches based on the eXact-2-Component Hamiltonian to incorporate spin-orbit coupling and Gaunt interactions are compared to results obtained with the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian. Furthermore, we assess the reliability of calculations employing approximate density functionals in describing electronic spectra and quantities useful in rationalizing Uranium (VI) species reactivity (hardness, electronegativity, and electrophilicity).

A Cross-Cultural Study of Reference Point Adaptation: Evidence from China, Korea, and the US

Science.gov (United States)

Arkes, Hal R.; Hirshleifer, David; Jiang, Danling; Lim, Sonya S.

2010-01-01

We examined reference point adaptation following gains or losses in security trading using participants from China, Korea, and the US. In both questionnaire studies and trading experiments with real money incentives, reference point adaptation was larger for Asians than for Americans. Subjects in all countries adapted their reference points more…

An Examination of Dissociative Symptoms As They Relate To Indigenous Filipino Concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather J. Davediuk Gingrich

2006-12-01

Full Text Available In one phase of a larger study entitled Dissociation in a student sample in the Philippines (Gingrich, 2004, interviewees were asked to give their opinions about various scenarios involving dissociative symptoms, including whether they would regard specific dissociative experiences as normal or pathological.These college students were also requested to suggest indigenous terms for dissociative symptoms in Filipino languages. In order to provide a context for a discussion of these qualitative research findings, dissociation is defined, andplaced in its historical and cross-cultural context. A summary of how dissociative symptoms have generally been viewed within the Philippines is also included. The methodology used in the larger study is briefly outlined, while the procedures used to collect the data most relevant to the purposes ofthis article are more thoroughly described. Relevance of the findings for the social sciences is discussed, and recommendations for further research made.

Hypothesis-driven physical examination curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Sharon; Olson, Andrew; Menk, Jeremiah; Nixon, James

2017-12-01

Medical students traditionally learn physical examination skills as a rote list of manoeuvres. Alternatives like hypothesis-driven physical examination (HDPE) may promote students' understanding of the contribution of physical examination to diagnostic reasoning. We sought to determine whether first-year medical students can effectively learn to perform a physical examination using an HDPE approach, and then tailor the examination to specific clinical scenarios. Medical students traditionally learn physical examination skills as a rote list of manoeuvres CONTEXT: First-year medical students at the University of Minnesota were taught both traditional and HDPE approaches during a required 17-week clinical skills course in their first semester. The end-of-course evaluation assessed HDPE skills: students were assigned one of two cardiopulmonary cases. Each case included two diagnostic hypotheses. During an interaction with a standardised patient, students were asked to select physical examination manoeuvres in order to make a final diagnosis. Items were weighted and selection order was recorded. First-year students with minimal pathophysiology performed well. All students selected the correct diagnosis. Importantly, students varied the order when selecting examination manoeuvres depending on the diagnoses under consideration, demonstrating early clinical decision-making skills. An early introduction to HDPE may reinforce physical examination skills for hypothesis generation and testing, and can foster early clinical decision-making skills. This has important implications for further research in physical examination instruction. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Melanoma awareness and prevalence of dermoscopic examination among internet users: a cross-sectional survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grazyna Kaminska-Winciorek

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction : Melanoma presents the greater threat to health the later the disease is detected and treated, although treatment results can be improved by the widespread use of dermoscopy. However, scarce data are available concerning the awareness of dermoscopy and the frequency of its performance in the non-patient population. Aim: To assess the awareness of melanoma detection by dermoscopic examination among the audience of a scientific website. Material and methods : Respondents were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey. They were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed by the authors. The preliminary analysis of 5,154 collected forms and the exclusion of incomplete forms yielded 4,919 fully completed questionnaires; the resulting database was analyzed statistically using logistic regression with the R software program (95% CI. Results: Less than two-fifths (39.2% of respondents reported ever having sought the advice of a medical professional (dermatologist or other specialist, and 25.4% of the respondents had undergone dermoscopy at least once in their life. Furthermore, approximately one-tenth of respondents (10.7% were not aware of this detection tool. The study respondents gained knowledge about dermoscopic examination from television and magazines. The performance of dermoscopy was more increasingly associated with inhabitants of larger locales, the use of higher-SPF sunscreens, and greater awareness of the relationship between the risk of melanoma and sunburn. Conclusions : Awareness of melanoma and sun care varied within the analyzed population. A subset of individuals at high risk of melanoma was identified. This group included those who engaged in risky sun exposure behaviors and who had never been examined by dermoscopy.

[Are Higher Prices for Larger Femoral Heads in Total Hip Arthroplasty Justified from the Perspective of Health Care Economics? An Analysis of Costs and Effects in Germany].

Science.gov (United States)

Grunert, R; Schleifenbaum, S; Möbius, R; Sommer, G; Zajonz, D; Hammer, N; Prietzel, T

2017-02-01

Background: In total hip arthroplasty (THA), femoral head diameter has not been regarded as a key parameter which should be restored when reconstructing joint biomechanics and geometry. Apart from the controversial discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of using larger diameter heads, their higher cost is another important reason that they have only been used to a limited extent. The goal of this study was to analyse the price structure of prosthetic heads in comparison to other components used in THA. A large group of patients with hip endoprostheses were evaluated with respect to the implanted socket diameter and thus the theoretically attainable head diameter. Materials and Methods: The relative prices of various THA components (cups, inserts, stems and ball heads) distributed by two leading German manufacturers were determined and analysed. Special attention was paid to different sizes and varieties in a series of components. A large patient population treated with THA was evaluated with respect to the implanted cup diameter and therefore the theoretically attainable head diameter. Results: The pricing analysis of the THA components of two manufacturers showed identical prices for cups, inserts and stems in a series. In contrast to this, the prices for prosthetic heads with a diameter of 36-44 mm were 11-50 % higher than for 28 mm heads. Identical prices for larger heads were the exception. The distribution of the head diameter in 2719 THA cases showed significant differences between the actually implanted and the theoretically attainable heads. Conclusion: There are proven advantages in using larger diameter ball heads in THA and the remaining problems can be solved. It is therefore desirable to correct the current pricing practice of charging higher prices for larger components. Instead, identical prices should be charged for all head diameters in a series, as is currently established practice for all other THA components. Thus when

Larger spontaneous polarization ferroelectric inorganic-organic hybrids: [PbI3](infinity) chains directed organic cations aggregation to Kagomé-shaped tubular architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hai-Rong; Li, Dong-Ping; Ren, Xiao-Ming; Song, You; Jin, Wan-Qin

2010-01-13

Four isostructural inorganic-organic hybrid ferroelectric compounds, assembled from achiral 3-R-benzylidene-1-aminopyridiniums (R = NO(2), Br, Cl, or F for 1-4, respectively) and [PbI(3)](-) anions with the chiral Kagomé-shaped tubular aggregating architecture, show larger spontaneous polarizations.

Class-related health inequalities are not larger in the East: a comparison of four European regions using the new European socioeconomic classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eikemo, T. A.; Kunst, A. E.; Judge, K.; Mackenbach, J. P.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: The article investigates whether people in Eastern Europe have larger health inequalities than their counterparts in three West European regions (North, Central and the South). METHODS: Data were obtained for 63,754 individuals in 23 countries from the first (2002) and second (2004)

DIETFITS study (diet intervention examining the factors interacting with treatment success) - Study design and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, Michael V; Robinson, Jennifer L; Kirkpatrick, Susan M; Farzinkhou, Sarah; Avery, Erin C; Rigdon, Joseph; Offringa, Lisa C; Trepanowski, John F; Hauser, Michelle E; Hartle, Jennifer C; Cherin, Rise J; King, Abby C; Ioannidis, John P A; Desai, Manisha; Gardner, Christopher D

2017-02-01

Numerous studies have attempted to identify successful dietary strategies for weight loss, and many have focused on Low-Fat vs. Low-Carbohydrate comparisons. Despite relatively small between-group differences in weight loss found in most previous studies, researchers have consistently observed relatively large between-subject differences in weight loss within any given diet group (e.g., ~25kg weight loss to ~5kg weight gain). The primary objective of this study was to identify predisposing individual factors at baseline that help explain differential weight loss achieved by individuals assigned to the same diet, particularly a pre-determined multi-locus genotype pattern and insulin resistance status. Secondary objectives included discovery strategies for further identifying potential genetic risk scores. Exploratory objectives included investigation of an extensive set of physiological, psychosocial, dietary, and behavioral variables as moderating and/or mediating variables and/or secondary outcomes. The target population was generally healthy, free-living adults with BMI 28-40kg/m 2 (n=600). The intervention consisted of a 12-month protocol of 22 one-hour evening instructional sessions led by registered dietitians, with ~15-20 participants/class. Key objectives of dietary instruction included focusing on maximizing the dietary quality of both Low-Fat and Low-Carbohydrate diets (i.e., Healthy Low-Fat vs. Healthy Low-Carbohydrate), and maximally differentiating the two diets from one another. Rather than seeking to determine if one dietary approach was better than the other for the general population, this study sought to examine whether greater overall weight loss success could be achieved by matching different people to different diets. Here we present the design and methods of the study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Examination Management and Examination Malpractice: The Nexus

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunji, James A.

2011-01-01

Examination malpractice or cheating has become a global phenomenon. In different countries of the world today, developed and developing, academic dishonesty especially cheating in examinations has heightened and taken frightening dimension. In many countries of the world this phenomenon has become a serious matter of concern that has left many…

Pulmonary and Critical Care In-Service Training Examination Score as a Predictor of Board Certification Examination Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kempainen, Robert R; Hess, Brian J; Addrizzo-Harris, Doreen J; Schaad, Douglas C; Scott, Craig S; Carlin, Brian W; Shaw, Robert C; Duhigg, Lauren; Lipner, Rebecca S

2016-04-01

Most trainees in combined pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship programs complete in-service training examinations (ITEs) that test knowledge in both disciplines. Whether ITE scores predict performance on the American Board of Internal Medicine Pulmonary Disease Certification Examination and Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination is unknown. To determine whether pulmonary and critical care medicine ITE scores predict performance on subspecialty board certification examinations independently of trainee demographics, program director competency ratings, fellowship program characteristics, and prior medical knowledge assessments. First- and second-year fellows who were enrolled in the study between 2008 and 2012 completed a questionnaire encompassing demographics and fellowship training characteristics. These data and ITE scores were matched to fellows' subsequent scores on subspecialty certification examinations, program director ratings, and previous scores on their American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine Certification Examination. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used to identify independent predictors of subspecialty certification examination scores and likelihood of passing the examinations, respectively. Of eligible fellows, 82.4% enrolled in the study. The ITE score for second-year fellows was matched to their certification examination scores, which yielded 1,484 physicians for pulmonary disease and 1,331 for critical care medicine. Second-year fellows' ITE scores (β = 0.24, P ITE odds ratio, 1.12 [95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.16]; Internal Medicine Certification Examination odds ratio, 1.01 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.02]). Similar results were obtained for predicting Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination scores and for passing the examination. The predictive value of ITE scores among first-year fellows on the subspecialty certification examinations was comparable to second

Special physical examination tests for superior labrum anterior-posterior shoulder tears: an examination of clinical usefulness.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandrey, Michelle A

2013-01-01

Calvert E, Chambers GK, Regan W, Hawkins RH, Leith JM. Special physical examination tests for superior labrum anterior-posterior shoulder injuries are clinically limited and invalid: a diagnostic systematic review. J Clin Epidemiol. 2009;62(5):558-563. The systematic review focused on diagnostic accuracy studies to determine if evidence was sufficient to support the use of superior labrum anterior-posterior (SLAP) physical examination tests as valid and reliable. The primary question was whether there was sufficient evidence in the published literature to support the use of SLAP physical examination tests as valid and reliable diagnostic test procedures. Studies published in English were identified through database searches on MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane database (1970-2004) using the search term SLAP lesions. The medical subject headings of arthroscopy, shoulder joint, and athletic injuries were combined with test or testing, physical examination, and sensitivity and specificity to locate additional sources. Other sources were identified by rereviewing the reference lists of included studies and review articles. Studies were eligible based on the following criteria: (1) published in English, (2) focused on the physical examination of SLAP lesions, and (3) presented original data. A study was excluded if the article was limited to a clinical description of 1 or more special tests without any research focus to provide clinical accuracy data or if it did not focus on the topic. The abstracts that were located through the search strategies were reviewed, and potentially relevant abstracts were selected. Strict epidemiologic methods were used to obtain and collate all relevant studies; the authors developed a study questionnaire to record study name, year of publication, study design, sample size, and statistics. Validity of the diagnostic test study was determined by applying the 5 criteria proposed by Calvert et al. If the study met the inclusion and validity

Entrance surface dose and image quality: Comparison of adult chest and abdominal X-ray examinations in general practitioner clinics, public and private hospitals in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hambali, A. S.; Ng, K. H.; Abdullah, B. J. J.; Wang, H. B.; Jamal, N.; Spelic, D. C.; Suleiman, O. H.

2009-01-01

This study was undertaken to compare the entrance surface dose (ESD) and image quality of adult chest and abdominal X-ray examinations conducted at general practitioner (GP) clinics, and public and private hospitals in Malaysia. The surveyed facilities were randomly selected within a given category (28 GP clinics, 20 public hospitals and 15 private hospitals). Only departmental X-ray units were involved in the survey. Chest examinations were done at all facilities, while only hospitals performed abdominal examinations. This study used the x-ray attenuation phantoms and protocols developed for the Nationwide Evaluation of X-ray Trends (NEXT) survey program in the United States. The ESD was calculated from measurements of exposure and clinical geometry. An image quality test tool was used to evaluate the low-contrast detectability and high-contrast detail performance under typical clinical conditions. The median ESD value for the adult chest X-ray examination was the highest (0.25 mGy) at GP clinics, followed by private hospitals (0.22 mGy) and public hospitals (0.17 mGy). The median ESD for the adult abdominal X-ray examination at public hospitals (3.35 mGy) was higher than that for private hospitals (2.81 mGy). Results of image quality assessment for the chest X-ray examination show that all facility types have a similar median spatial resolution and low-contrast detectability. For the abdominal X-ray examination, public hospitals have a similar median spatial resolution but larger low-contrast detectability compared with private hospitals. The results of this survey clearly show that there is room for further improvement in performing chest and abdominal X-ray examinations in Malaysia. (authors)

Study of the examination times using radiation equipments and the radiation exposure control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koshida, Kichiro; Orito, Takeo; Maekawa, Ryuichi; Hiraki, Tatsunosuke [Kanazawa Univ. (Japan). School of Paramedicine; Koga, Sukehiko

1985-01-01

The relation between the examination time and the exposure to the personnel was investigated. In order to minimize radiation injury, special exposure dose-rate distribution curves were performed at the maximum exposure condition setting the phantom, and the examination times could be limited from the exprosure dose for the place where the personnel presented. The examination times are possible to be ten times by those with the Medical X-ray Protective Aprons.

Using Peer Reviews to Examine Micropolitics and Disciplinary Development of Engineering Education: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Beddoes, Kacey

2014-01-01

This article presents a case study of the peer review process for a feminist article submitted to an engineering education journal. It demonstrates how an examination of peer review can be a useful approach to further understanding the development of feminist thought in education fields. Rather than opposition to feminist thought per se, my…

Transport properties of a Kondo dot with a larger side-coupled noninteracting quantum dot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y S; Fan, X H; Xia, Y J; Yang, X F

2008-01-01

We investigate theoretically linear and nonlinear quantum transport through a smaller quantum dot in a Kondo regime connected to two leads in the presence of a larger side-coupled noninteracting quantum dot, without tunneling coupling to the leads. To do this we employ the slave boson mean field theory with the help of the Keldysh Green's function at zero temperature. The numerical results show that the Kondo conductance peak may develop multiple resonance peaks and multiple zero points in the conductance spectrum owing to constructive and destructive quantum interference effects when the energy levels of the large side-coupled noninteracting dot are located in the vicinity of the Fermi level in the leads. As the coupling strength between two quantum dots increases, the tunneling current through the quantum device as a function of gate voltage applied across the two leads is suppressed. The spin-dependent transport properties of two parallel coupled quantum dots connected to two ferromagnetic leads are also investigated. The numerical results show that, for the parallel configuration, the spin current or linear spin differential conductance are enhanced when the polarization strength in the two leads is increased

Triple jump examination evaluation of faculty examiners by dental student examinees.

Science.gov (United States)

Navazesh, Mahvash; Rich, Sandra K; Keim, Robert G

2014-05-01

The triple jump examination (TJE) is an oral examination that poses challenges for objective assessment. Student satisfaction levels with faculty assessment can provide information on quality of teaching and students' perceptions of the learning environment. The purpose of this study was to determine scale and interrater reliability of an instrument used by approximately 576 first-year dental students at one U.S. dental school for assessment of their faculty evaluators following midterm and final TJEs over a three-year period. One hundred and one faculty members served as administrators of the TJE with a range of one to 187 times (mean=44.10, median=29, mode=11). The grand mean for six items on a six-point Likert scale was 5.39 with a pooled standard deviation of 1.01. Results indicate positive agreement toward performance of examiners with strong interrater reliability (Average Measures ICC=0.936, Single Measures ICC=0.708) (F5,23475 = 51.564, pperform acceptable assessment from the students' perspective. Overall, these students expressed a high level of satisfaction with TJE faculty performance.

Doses from nuclear medicine examinations: A 25-year follow-up study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kairemo, K.J.A.; Korpela, H.

2001-01-01

New radiopharmaceuticals have been introduced in nuclear medicine examinations, and on the other hand, the amount of many routine nuclear medicine procedures have been replaced with clinical methods utilising non-ionisating radiation (ultrasonography, MRI). To clarify the situation in Finland, a country wide survey on the use of radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostics and therapy was made in 1975, 1982, 1989, 1994, 1997 and will be made in 2000. A questionnaire was sent to all hospitals and institutes using unsealed sources in both diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures. For each procedure, the pharmaceutical used, the number of procedures and the typical administered activities were recorded. The collective effective doses from nuclear medicine examinations were calculated according to the ICRP formulae similarly for each survey. In Finland, in each of these years, more than 50,000 procedures in more than 30 different laboratories were performed. Significant changes in collective doses were observed: for example, the collective dose from I-131 was 350 manSv in 1975, and 20 manSv in 1997. In 1975, 68% (n=23967) of collective dose originated from I-131, whereas in 1997 the percentage of I-131 in collective dose was 10 % (n=1118). In 1994 and 1997, the use of the three radionuclides (Tc-99m, I-131 and Tl-201) accounted for 96% and 95% of the collective effective dose. Our results indicate that the collective effective dose from nuclear medicine examinations has decreased in last 25 years. National surveys form the basis when setting reference levels for typical nuclear medicine examinations. By introducing reference levels based on national practice it is possible to even decrease the collective effective dose. (author)

Care and economic impact of thyroid ultrasound examination at single visits to endocrinology clinics (the ETIEN 1 study).

Science.gov (United States)

Carral, Florentino; Ayala, María del Carmen; Jiménez, Ana Isabel; García, Concepción

2016-02-01

Routine thyroid ultrasound examination in a single medical appointment is rarely performed in Spain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the care and economic impact of thyroid US examination in a single endocrine appointment. A prospective, observational, descriptive study was conducted to analyze data from 2274 patients (mean age, 59±16 years; 83% females) performed at least one thyroid US in a single visit to an endocrinology clinic during 2013 and 2014. The number of endocrine acts with thyroid US, single endocrine and US acts without review, and the change in the number of thyroid US requested by endocrinologists to the radiology department and total thyroid US examinations performed at the radiology department during the study period were assessed. In 2013 and 2014, 2558 endocrine acts with thyroid US were performed, of which 42.2% were single endocrine and US appointments without a second endocrine act, with estimated savings of €58,946.40. As compared to 2012, the number of thyroid US requested by endocrinologists to the radiology department decreased by 43.3% and 86.0% in 2013 and 2014 respectively, and total thyroid US performed by the radiology department decreased by 28.1% and 68.3% respectively, with estimated savings of €94,441.36. Thyroid US examination in a single endocrine appointment allows for decreasing the number of both second endocrine acts and thyroid US examinations performed at the radiology department, thus reducing the number of unnecessary clinic visits and promoting considerable economic savings. Copyright © 2015 SEEN. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of MRI acquisition workflow with lean six sigma method: case study of liver and knee examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Christopher J; Boll, Daniel T; Wall, Lisa K; Merkle, Elmar M

2010-08-01

The purpose of this investigation was to assess workflow for medical imaging studies, specifically comparing liver and knee MRI examinations by use of the Lean Six Sigma methodologic framework. The hypothesis tested was that the Lean Six Sigma framework can be used to quantify MRI workflow and to identify sources of inefficiency to target for sequence and protocol improvement. Audio-video interleave streams representing individual acquisitions were obtained with graphic user interface screen capture software in the examinations of 10 outpatients undergoing MRI of the liver and 10 outpatients undergoing MRI of the knee. With Lean Six Sigma methods, the audio-video streams were dissected into value-added time (true image data acquisition periods), business value-added time (time spent that provides no direct patient benefit but is requisite in the current system), and non-value-added time (scanner inactivity while awaiting manual input). For overall MRI table time, value-added time was 43.5% (range, 39.7-48.3%) of the time for liver examinations and 89.9% (range, 87.4-93.6%) for knee examinations. Business value-added time was 16.3% of the table time for the liver and 4.3% of the table time for the knee examinations. Non-value-added time was 40.2% of the overall table time for the liver and 5.8% for the knee examinations. Liver MRI examinations consume statistically significantly more non-value-added and business value-added times than do knee examinations, primarily because of respiratory command management and contrast administration. Workflow analyses and accepted inefficiency reduction frameworks can be applied with use of a graphic user interface screen capture program.

Study of the examination times using radiation equipments and the radiation exposure control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshida, Kichiro; Orito, Takeo; Maekawa, Ryuichi; Hiraki, Tatsunosuke; Koga, Sukehiko.

1985-01-01

It was investigated for the relation between the examination times and the exposure to the personnel. At the purpose to minimize the radiation injury, the special exposure dose-rate distribution curves were performed at the maximum exposure condition setting the phantom, and the examination times could be limited from the exprosure dose for the place where the personnel presented. The examination times are possible to be ten times by those with the Medical X-ray Protective Aprons. (author)

Examination of Relationship Between Photonic Signatures and Fracture Strength of Fused Silica Used in Orbiter Windows

Science.gov (United States)

Yost, William T.; Cramer, K. Elliott; Estes, Linda R.; Salem, Jonathan A.; Lankford, James, Jr.; Lesniak, Jon

2011-01-01

A commercially available grey-field polariscope (GFP) instrument for photoelastic examination is used to assess impact damage inflicted upon the outermost pane of the orbiter windows. Four categories of damage: hyper-velocity impacts that occur during space-flight (HVI); hypervelocity impacts artificially made at the Hypervelocity Impact Technology Facility (HIT-F); impacts made by larger objects falling onto the pane surface to simulate dropped items on the window during service/storage of vehicle (Bruises); and light scratches from dull objects designed to mimic those that might occur by dragging a dull object across the glass surface (Chatter Checks) are examined. The damage sites are cored from fused silica window carcasses, examined with the GFP and other methodologies, and broken using the ASTM Standard C1499-09 to measure the fracture strength. A correlation is made between the fracture strength and damage-site measurements including geometrical measurements and GFP measurements of photoelastic retardation (stress patterns) surrounding the damage sites. An analytical damage model to predict fracture strength from photoelastic retardation measurements is presented and compared with experimental results.

Larger Angles For COMPASS

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

A new magnet at CERN is going to allow COMPASS (Common Muon Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy) maximum acceptance. Thanks to the 5 tonne, 2.5 m long magnet, which arrived last December, many more events are expected compared to the previous data-taking.

Casting a larger net

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Morten Balle; Villadsen, Anders Ryom

2013-01-01

Managerial networking is an important part of public management. Research has forcefully demonstrated how this aspect of management directly and indirectly is related to organizational outcomes. Much less is known, however, about the determinants of managerial networking. This is especially true ...

Estimate of S-values for children due to six positron emitting radionuclides used in PET examinations

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Belinato, Walmir; Santos, William S.; Perini, Ana P.; Neves, Lucio P.; Caldas, Linda V. E.; Souza, Divanizia N.

2017-11-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) has revolutionized the diagnosis of cancer since its conception. When combined with computed tomography (CT), PET/CT performed in children produces highly accurate diagnoses from images of regions affected by malignant tumors. Considering the high risk to children when exposed to ionizing radiation, a dosimetric study for PET/CT procedures is necessary. Specific absorbed fractions (SAF) were determined for monoenergetic photons and positrons, as well as the S-values for six positron emitting radionuclides (11C, 13N, 18F, 68Ga, 82Rb, 15O), and 22 source organs. The study was performed for six pediatric anthropomorphic hybrid models, including the newborn and 1 year hermaphrodite, 5 and 10-year-old male and female, using the Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended code (MCNPX, version 2.7.0). The results of the SAF in source organs and S-values for all organs showed to be inversely related to the age of the phantoms, which includes the variation of body weight. The results also showed that radionuclides with higher energy peak emission produces larger auto absorbed S-values due to local dose deposition by positron decay. The S-values for the source organs are considerably larger due to the interaction of tissue with non-penetrating particles (electrons and positrons) and present a linear relationship with the phantom body masses. The results of the S-values determined for positron-emitting radionuclides can be used to assess the radiation dose delivered to pediatric patients subjected to PET examination in clinical settings. The novelty of this work is associated with the determination of auto absorbed S-values, in six new pediatric virtual anthropomorphic phantoms, for six emitting positrons, commonly employed in PET exams.

Experimental study on embedment effect of foundation, 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohtomo, Keizo; Toma, Junichi; Hashimoto, Koichi; Hanada, Kazutake; Ueshima, Teruyuki; Yajima, Hiroshi

1986-01-01

In order to make clear the dynamic behavior of a embeded foundation on the quarternary ground experimentally, a series of forced vibration tests and seismic observation on both the small foundation (4 x 4 x 3 m) and the embeded form larger scale foundation of the shaking table (16 x 16 x 7.7 m) were conducted at the same site. The purposes this study are evaluating the dynamic behavior and the characteristics of dynamic stiffness and damping of the larger foundation based on forced vibration tests, and applying them to the dynamic response analysis of variable embedded foundations. In this report, the authors first examine frequency dependent property and its theoretical tendency of dynamic stiffness and damping surrounding table foundation. And then, consider an applicability and point of discussion related with the some theories which influence the embedment effect, in contrast with the experimental datum of the model foundation are past studies on a embedment effect (JPDR, Large-Scale Foundation in Tadotsu). (author)

Association Between National Board Dental Examination Part II Scores and Comprehensive Examinations at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

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Lee, Min Kyeong; Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Howell, T Howard; Karimbux, Nadeem Y

2011-01-01

Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) uses a hybrid problem-based approach to teaching in the predoctoral program. The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a formative examination designed to assess the performance of students in the problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. At HSDM three comprehensive examinations with OSCE components are administered during the third and fourth years of clinical training. The National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part II is taken in the final year of the predoctoral program. This study examines the association between the NBDE Part II and the comprehensive exams held at HSDM. Predoctoral students from the HSDM classes of 2005 and 2006 were included in this study. The outcome variable of interest was the scores obtained by students in the NBDE Part II, and the main independent variable of interest was the performance of students in the comprehensive exams (honors, pass, make-up exam to pass). The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to examine the association between the grades obtained in the each of the three comprehensive exams and the NBDE Part II scores. Multivariable linear regression analysis was also used to examine the association between the NBDE Part II scores and the comprehensive exam grades. The effect of potential confounding factors including age, sex, and race/ethnicity was adjusted. The results suggest that students who performed well in the comprehensive exams performed better on the NBDE Part II, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Future studies will examine the long-term impact of PBL on postdoctoral plans and career choices.

Examining the Psychological Effect of Rape Acknowledgment: The Interaction of Acknowledgment Status and Ambivalent Sexism.

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Wilson, Laura C; Miller, Katherine E; Leheney, Emma K; Ballman, Alesha D; Scarpa, Angela

2017-07-01

Although the majority of rape survivors do not label their experiences as rape (i.e., unacknowledged rape), the literature is mixed in terms of how this affects survivors' psychological functioning. To elucidate the discrepancies, the present study examined the interaction between rape acknowledgement and ambivalent sexism in relation to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The analyzed sample included 128 female rape survivors who were drawn from a larger college sample of 1,595 participants. The participants completed measures of sexual assault experiences, ambivalent sexism, and depression and PTSD symptoms. The results supported a significant interaction between acknowledgement status and benevolent sexism in relation to both depression and PTSD symptoms. Conversely, the present study failed to find support for an interaction between acknowledgment status and hostile sexism. The clinical implications suggest that rather than seeing acknowledging rape as essential to the recovery process, clinicians should assess for and take into account other factors that may contribute to psychological functioning. Additionally, the findings support that more complex models of trauma recovery should be investigated with the goal of working toward a more comprehensive understanding of the longitudinal process of rape acknowledgment. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

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Gregory H. Carlton

2010-03-01

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

Accounting for Dynamic Fluctuations across Time when Examining fMRI Test-Retest Reliability: Analysis of a Reward Paradigm in the EMBARC Study.

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Henry W Chase

Full Text Available Longitudinal investigation of the neural correlates of reward processing in depression may represent an important step in defining effective biomarkers for antidepressant treatment outcome prediction, but the reliability of reward-related activation is not well understood. Thirty-seven healthy control participants were scanned using fMRI while performing a reward-related guessing task on two occasions, approximately one week apart. Two main contrasts were examined: right ventral striatum (VS activation fMRI BOLD signal related to signed prediction errors (PE and reward expectancy (RE. We also examined bilateral visual cortex activation coupled to outcome anticipation. Significant VS PE-related activity was observed at the first testing session, but at the second testing session, VS PE-related activation was significantly reduced. Conversely, significant VS RE-related activity was observed at time 2 but not time 1. Increases in VS RE-related activity from time 1 to time 2 were significantly associated with decreases in VS PE-related activity from time 1 to time 2 across participants. Intraclass correlations (ICCs in VS were very low. By contrast, visual cortex activation had much larger ICCs, particularly in individuals with high quality data. Dynamic changes in brain activation are widely predicted, and failure to account for these changes could lead to inaccurate evaluations of the reliability of functional MRI signals. Conventional measures of reliability cannot distinguish between changes specified by algorithmic models of neural function and noisy signal. Here, we provide evidence for the former possibility: reward-related VS activations follow the pattern predicted by temporal difference models of reward learning but have low ICCs.

TOGAF 9 foundation study guide preparation for the TOGAF 9 part 1 examination

CERN Document Server

Harrison, Rachel

2013-01-01

This title is a Study Guide for Togaf® 9 Foundation. It gives an overview of every learning objective for the Togaf 9 Foundation Syllabus and in-depth coverage on preparing and taking the Togaf 9 Part 1 Examination. It is specifically designed to help individuals prepare for certification. This Study Guide is excellent material for: * Individuals who require a basic understanding of Togaf 9; * Professionals who are working in roles associated with an architecture project such as those responsible for planning, execution, development, delivery, and operation; * Architects who are looking for a first introduction to Togaf 9; * Architects who want to achieve Level 2 certification in a stepwise manner and have not previously qualified as Togaf 8 Certified. A prior knowledge of enterprise architecture is advantageous but not required.

Health Examination by PET. (1) Cancer Examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uno, Koichi

2006-01-01

Cancer examination by positron emission tomography (PET) started in Japan in 1994 and has been rapidly popularized. This paper describes author's experience of the examination in his hospital along the recent Japanese guideline for the PET cancer examination. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is intravenously injected at 3.7 (or 4.6, for diabetic patients) MBq/kg after 4-5 hr fasting and 40 min later, imaging is conducted with additional delayed scan at 2 hr to reduce the possible false positive. Image is taken by the equipment with PET-specific camera, of which quality assurance (QA) is maintained according to the guideline, and 3D image is constructed by the ordered subset expectation maximization method. Number of examinees during 4.5 years are 18,210 (M/F=9,735/8,475), and 236 (1.3%), together with use of other test measures like ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), biochemical marker and occult blood as well, are found to have cancer of thyroid, large bowel, lung, breast and others. The false negative rate by PET alone is 78/236 (33%) for cancer. PET examination has problems of image reading and specificity of organs, and tasks of informed consent, test cost, increased exchange of information and radiation exposure. However, PET cancer examination will be established as a routine diagnostic tool when the accumulated evidence of early cancer detection is shown useful for improving the survival rate and for reducing the medicare cost. (T.I.)

Korean Version of the Mini-Mental State Examination Using Smartphone: A Validation Study.

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Park, Hae-Yeon; Jeon, Sung-Soo; Lee, Jin-Youn; Cho, Ah-Ra; Park, Joo Hyun

2017-10-01

Stroke often leads to disability, and poststroke survivors often have limited accessibility to medical facilities. For such patients, mobile videoconferencing technology offers an opportunity to perform follow-up assessment and appropriate management of cognitive impairment. We aimed to determine the validity of the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) when administered using a smartphone. Thirty patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke were included in this study (20 males, 10 females; mean age, 69.8 ± 12.9 years). Both face-to-face and remote assessments of cognitive function through MMSE-K were performed for each patient at an interval of at least 3 days. Additionally, an in-person collaborator evaluated the MMSE-K score during the remote assessment. A smartphone and a tablet were used by the patient and the examiner, respectively, and remote connection was mediated using a dedicated videoconferencing application. The MMSE-K scores obtained through face-to-face, remote, and in-person assessments were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Spearman correlation analysis. There was good agreement between face-to-face and remote assessments, as well as between remote assessment and in-person collaborator's evaluation regarding total MMSE-K score and subscores for each MMSE-K domain (orientation, memory, attention/calculation, language, and visuospatial function). Remote assessment can be a useful clinical evaluation method, and this study confirmed the validity. The smartphone represents a promising tool for the assessment of cognitive function in clinical practice, but further research into the intra- and inter-rater reliability of observations is warranted.

Using death certificates and medical examiner records for adolescent occupational fatality surveillance and research: a case study.

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Rauscher, Kimberly J; Runyan, Carol W; Radisch, Deborah

2012-01-01

Death certificates and medical examiner records have been useful yet imperfect data sources for work-related fatality research and surveillance among adult workers. It is unclear whether this holds for work-related fatalities among adolescent workers who suffer unique detection challenges in part because they are not often thought of as workers. This study investigated the utility of using these data sources for surveillance and research pertaining to adolescent work-related fatalities. Using the state of North Carolina as a case study, we analyzed data from the death certificates and medical examiner records of all work-related fatalities data among 11- to 17-year-olds between 1990-2008 (N = 31). We compared data sources on case identification, of completeness, and consistency information. Variables examined included those on the injury (e.g., means), occurrence (e.g., place), demographics, and employment (e.g., occupation). Medical examiner records (90%) were more likely than death certificates (71%) to identify adolescent work-related fatalities. Data completeness was generally high yet varied between sources. The most marked difference being that in medical examiner records, type of business/industry and occupation were complete in 72 and 67% of cases, respectively, while on the death certificates these fields were complete in 90 and 97% of cases, respectively. Taking the two sources together, each field was complete in upward of 94% of cases. Although completeness was high, data were not always of good quality and sometimes conflicted across sources. In many cases, the decedent's occupation was misclassified as "student" and their employer as "school" on the death certificate. Even though each source has its weaknesses, medical examiner records and death certificates, especially when used together, can be useful for conducting surveillance and research on adolescent work-related fatalities. However, extra care is needed by data recorders to ensure that

Radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunoassay of antibodies directed against lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV) proteins larger than the core protein (P24)

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Neurath, A R; Strick, N; Lee, Y S; Nilsen, T; Baker, L; Sproul, P; Rubinstein, P; Taylor, P; Stevens, C E; Gold, J W.M.

1985-10-01

Molecular exclusion chromatography of crude LAV antigen preparations allows separation of most of P24 from larger proteins of LAV (PL). PL and /sup 125/I- or beta-lactamase-labeled anti-LAV were used as reagents for radioimmunoassay (RIA) - or enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) - inhibition tests to detect antibodies directed predominantly against PL (anti-PL). Among 257 individuals belonging to groups at high risk of developing AIDS, 117 (45.5%) were positive for anti-PL and 108 (42%) for anti-P24, respectively. The 2 individuals among 600 random blood donors found to be anti-P24-positive in the preceding study also had anti-PL in their serum. Sera from 500 additional blood donors were screened for anti-PL and 1 of these was positive. The implication of these findings for screening of blood donors is discussed. 17 refs.; 2 figs.; 1 table.

Dementia and cognitive disorder identified at a forensic psychiatric examination - a study from Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekström, Anette; Kristiansson, Marianne; Björkstén, Karin Sparring

2017-09-18

Few studies have addressed the relationship between dementia and crime. We conducted a study of persons who got a primary or secondary diagnosis of dementia or cognitive disorder in a forensic psychiatric examination. In Sweden, annually about 500 forensic psychiatric examinations are carried out. All cases from 2008 to 2010 with the diagnoses dementia or cognitive disorder were selected from the database of the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine. Out of 1471 cases, there were 54 cases of dementia or cognitive disorder. Case files were scrutinized and 17 cases of dementia and 4 cases of cognitive disorder likely to get a dementia diagnosis in a clinical setting were identified and further studied. There were 18 men and 3 women; Median age 66 (n = 21; Range 35-77) years of age. Eleven men but no women had a previous criminal record. There were a total of 38 crimes, mostly violent, committed by the 21 persons. The crimes were of impulsive rather that pre-meditated character. According to the forensic psychiatric diagnoses, dementia was caused by cerebrovascular disorder (n = 4), alcohol or substance abuse (n = 3), cerebral haemorrhage and alcohol (n = 1), head trauma and alcohol (n = 2), Alzheimer's disease (n = 2), Parkinson's disease (n = 1), herpes encephalitis (n = 1) and unspecified (3). Out of four persons diagnosed with cognitive disorder, one also had delusional disorder and another one psychotic disorder and alcohol dependence. An alcohol-related diagnosis was established in ten cases. There were only two cases of Dementia of Alzheimer's type, one of whom also had alcohol intoxication. None was diagnosed with a personality disorder. All but one had a history of somatic or psychiatric comorbidity like head traumas, stroke, other cardio-vascular disorders, epilepsy, depression, psychotic disorders and suicide attempts. In this very ill group, the suggested verdict was probation in one case and different forms of care in the remaining

Does consideration of larger study areas yield more accurate estimates of air pollution health effects?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Marie; Siroux, Valérie; Pin, Isabelle

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Spatially-resolved air pollution models can be developed in large areas. The resulting increased exposure contrasts and population size offer opportunities to better characterize the effect of atmospheric pollutants on respiratory health. However the heterogeneity of these areas may......: Simulations indicated that adjustment for area limited the bias due to unmeasured confounders varying with area at the costs of a slight decrease in statistical power. In our cohort, rural and urban areas differed for air pollution levels and for many factors associated with respiratory health and exposure....... Area tended to modify effect measures of air pollution on respiratory health. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing the size of the study area also increases the potential for residual confounding. Our simulations suggest that adjusting for type of area is a good option to limit residual confounding due to area...

Transvaginal ultrasound examination of women with and without pelvic venous congestion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halligan, Steve; Campbell, Deidre; Bartram, Clive I.; Rogers, Vera; El-Haddad, Cadria; Patel, Sujata; Beard, Richard W.

2000-01-01

AIM: To determine if transvaginal ultrasound, including power Doppler examination, can distinguish between women with and without pelvic congestion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six women with pelvic congestion were prospectively examined using transvaginal ultrasonography and standard uterine and ovarian measurements made. Additionally, planimetric measurements of each ovary were taken using an image analysis program to determine the cross-sectional area of ovarian stroma and follicles, if any. Power Doppler images of adnexal vessels were obtained and planimetric estimates of surface area calculated. A congestion score was assigned to each patient, based on vein number, diameter and morphology on grey-scale scanning. Identical measurements were obtained from 19 asymptomatic women and results compared. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between women with pelvic congestion and controls with respect to power Doppler or grey-scale images of adnexal vessels, or congestion score. However, women with pelvic congestion had significantly larger and multicystic ovaries when compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal ultrasound measurements of adnexal vasculature, including power Doppler measurements, cannot reliably distinguish women with pelvic congestion from controls. However, ultrasound may remain useful for diagnosis of pelvic congestion, predominantly because it is able to visualize multi-cystic ovaries in these patients. Halligan, S. (2000).Clinical Radiology 55 , 954-958

Comparative study of colorectal carcinoma examination with four postprocessing of CT colonography

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Mingyue, Luo; Kangrong, Zhou [The 3rd Affilated Hospital Sun Yat-sen Univ. of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou (China). Dept. of Radiology

2001-10-01

Objective: To study the clinical value of colorectal carcinoma examination by comparison of different postprocessing techniques such as multiplanar reformation (MPR), CT virtual colonoscopy (CTVC), shaded surface display (SSD) and Raysum. Methods: 64 patients with colorectal carcinomas underwent volume scanning using spiral CT. MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum images were obtained by using 4 different software in workstation. All cases were proved by surgical or CC biotic histology. The results were compared and analyzed according to the circumferential extension, length and pathologic patterns of colorectal carcinoma with MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum. Results: The correction rate of determination the circumferential extension of colorectal carcinoma with MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum were 100.0%, 82.8%, 79.7% and 79.7%, respectively. There was significant statistical difference between MPR and CTVC; The accuracy of judging the length of carcinoma were 89.1%, 76.6%, 95.3% and 100.0%, respectively. There was statistical difference between CTVC and SSD; The accuracy of showing carcinoma pathologic patterns were 81.3%, 92.2%, 71.9% and 71.0%, respectively. There was statistical difference between CTVC and SSD, too. MPR could correctly determine the circumferential extension of colorectal carcinoma. In determination the length of carcinoma, Raysum was more accurate than SSD. CTVC could be more helpful in showing carcinoma pathologic patterns. Conclusion: There were advantages and disadvantages in colorectal carcinoma examination with MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum, and the combination could display colorectal carcinoma more completely and comprehensively.

Comparative study of colorectal carcinoma examination with four postprocessing of CT colonography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Mingyue; Zhou Kangrong

2001-01-01

Objective: To study the clinical value of colorectal carcinoma examination by comparison of different postprocessing techniques such as multiplanar reformation (MPR), CT virtual colonoscopy (CTVC), shaded surface display (SSD) and Raysum. Methods: 64 patients with colorectal carcinomas underwent volume scanning using spiral CT. MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum images were obtained by using 4 different software in workstation. All cases were proved by surgical or CC biotic histology. The results were compared and analyzed according to the circumferential extension, length and pathologic patterns of colorectal carcinoma with MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum. Results: The correction rate of determination the circumferential extension of colorectal carcinoma with MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum were 100.0%, 82.8%, 79.7% and 79.7%, respectively. There was significant statistical difference between MPR and CTVC; The accuracy of judging the length of carcinoma were 89.1%, 76.6%, 95.3% and 100.0%, respectively. There was statistical difference between CTVC and SSD; The accuracy of showing carcinoma pathologic patterns were 81.3%, 92.2%, 71.9% and 71.0%, respectively. There was statistical difference between CTVC and SSD, too. MPR could correctly determine the circumferential extension of colorectal carcinoma. In determination the length of carcinoma, Raysum was more accurate than SSD. CTVC could be more helpful in showing carcinoma pathologic patterns. Conclusion: There were advantages and disadvantages in colorectal carcinoma examination with MPR, CTVC, SSD and Raysum, and the combination could display colorectal carcinoma more completely and comprehensively

Stochastic Dominance and Omega Ratio: Measures to Examine Market Efficiency, Arbitrage Opportunity, and Anomaly

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Xu Guo

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Both stochastic dominance and Omegaratio can be used to examine whether the market is efficient, whether there is any arbitrage opportunity in the market and whether there is any anomaly in the market. In this paper, we first study the relationship between stochastic dominance and the Omega ratio. We find that second-order stochastic dominance (SD and/or second-order risk-seeking SD (RSD alone for any two prospects is not sufficient to imply Omega ratio dominance insofar that the Omega ratio of one asset is always greater than that of the other one. We extend the theory of risk measures by proving that the preference of second-order SD implies the preference of the corresponding Omega ratios only when the return threshold is less than the mean of the higher return asset. On the other hand, the preference of the second-order RSD implies the preference of the corresponding Omega ratios only when the return threshold is larger than the mean of the smaller return asset. Nonetheless, first-order SD does imply Omega ratio dominance. Thereafter, we apply the theory developed in this paper to examine the relationship between property size and property investment in the Hong Kong real estate market. We conclude that the Hong Kong real estate market is not efficient and there are expected arbitrage opportunities and anomalies in the Hong Kong real estate market. Our findings are useful for investors and policy makers in real estate.

The assessment of neurovascular coupling with the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination: a functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonographic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Beishon, Lucy C; Williams, Claire A L; Panerai, Ronney B; Robinson, Thompson G; Haunton, Victoria J

2018-03-01

Cerebrovascular dysfunction occurs early in dementia and can be identified by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). Few studies have examined cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv) responses to a detailed cognitive battery. This study aimed to characterize all CBFv responses, and the effect of hemispheric dominance, to the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-III) in healthy volunteers. Forty volunteers underwent continuous bilateral TCD, beat-to-beat blood pressure (MAP; Finapres), heart rate (HR; electrocardiogram), and end-tidal CO 2 (ETCO 2 ; capnography) monitoring. After a 5-min baseline period, all tasks from the ACE-III were performed in 3 sections (A: attention, fluency, memory; B: language; C: visuospatial, memory). Data are population mean normalized percentage (PM%) change from a 20-s baseline period before task initiation. Forty bilateral data sets were obtained (27 women, 37 right-hand dominant). All paradigms produced a sharp increase in CBFv in both dominant (PM% range: 3.29 to 9.70%) and nondominant (PM% range: 4.34 to 11.63%) hemispheres at task initiation, with associated increases in MAP (PM% range: 3.06 to 16.04%). ETCO 2 did not differ significantly at task initiation (PM% range: -1.1 to 2.4%, P > 0.05). HR differed significantly across A and C tasks at initiation (PM% range: -1.1 to 2.4%, P cognitively impaired population. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to provide a normative data set of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv) responses to a complete cognitive assessment (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, ACE-III) in a large sample ( n = 40) of healthy volunteers. All tasks produced peak and sustained increases in CBFv to different extents. The ACE-III is a feasible tool to assess neurovascular coupling with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. These data can be used to inform the most appropriate cognitive task to elicit CBFv responses for future studies.

A cross-sectional pilot study to examine food sufficiency and assess nutrition among low-income patients with injection-related venous ulcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Pieper, Barbara; Templin, Thomas N

2015-04-01

Adequate nutrition has long been considered a critical component for wound healing, but literature regarding the relationship between nutrition and venous ulcer (VU) healing is limited. A person's nutrition is affected by the availability of food as well as his/her overall health. Food sufficiency and nutrition are important concerns in the care of persons of low income with injection-related VUs, which tend to be large and slow to heal. A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted to explore the relationship between food sufficiency/security and nutrition with regard to demographic, wound, quality-of-life, physical activity, falls, and fall risk variables. Nutrition was examined using 2 well-developed instruments that measure food sufficiency/security and assess nutrition--the United States Department of Agriculture's Adult Food Sufficiency Questionnaire (FSQ) and the Nestle Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). All participants (N = 31, 54% men, mean age 56.1 ± 3.6 years, all African American) were recruited from an outpatient clinic. All had injection-related VUs from a history of injecting illicit substances. In terms of food sufficiency/security, most participants (26, 84%) reported having enough food in the house, but 10 (32%) worried about running out of food. From 16% to 22.6% of participants expressed concern with food sufficiency/security in terms of cutting meal size, eating less, hunger, and weight loss. Food sufficiency/security was high for 19 (61.3%), but 12 (39%) had marginal or lower food sufficiency/security. MNA scores showed 16 participants (52%) were at risk of malnutrition or malnourished. Low food sufficiency/security was significantly (P nutrition assessment scores were significantly associated (P nutrition assessment are important to assess in low-income persons with injection-related VUs. A number of significant relationships of the FSQ and MNA to other variables was found but needs further investigation with a larger sample.

A Longitudinal Examination of Childhood Maltreatment and Adolescent Obesity: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) Study